November CTMH SOTM

I finally broke out this months Stamp of The Month Set..... Around the Block. I will definitely be using this set allot. There are still a few more days left to get this set. You can get it at a discounted or even for Free!



My Creations from today using Jingle Level 2 paper packet and the SOTM


I am going to make 1 more taller candle and 1 more shorter candle, get a little tray from the dollar store and put them all in a cute basket for a Christmas gift. Your own little candle village. I just love how everything turned out!

Close up of the Card.... I colored things in with Crayola Colored Pencils, this was a first for me. I hope Tyler and Emily don't notice their pencils are missing :)


Close up of Candle.....
These are super fun and easy to make.
1. Trim white tissue paper the height of your white candle (bought mine at the dollar store).
2. Cut tissue paper long enough to wrap around your candle with about 1/2 " overhang.
3. Stamp your images on tissue paper, then color in with colored pencils however you choose.
4. Wrap tissue paper around candle. Needs to be smooth around candle.
5. Wrap wax paper around candle, grasping the ends with your hand by bunching it up in your fist.
6. Heat one side of candle with heat tool. You will be able to see the tissue paper melting into the candle.
7. Remove wax paper and continue to re wrap and heating until you have completed all around the candle.
Don't worry if you don't get every spot, you can touch up any areas without the wax paper if you have any areas that didn't melt good.



Close up of Writing Tablet.... (You can buy these in packs of 3 at the dollar store).


Inside of writing tablet..... Notice the cute little pocket.


My final project today was this adorable snowflake ornament. I used the new Cricut Cartridge I bought yesterday called When It's Cold Outside. You can't tell by the picture, but the silver is actually stickles. I can't wait to make some of the other patterns, especially the 3 D ones.


When I uploaded my pictures I remembered I had taken a couple pictures of Baby Ruby Over the weekend. Such a little chunky monkey :)





Back to work tomorrow..... Have a great day!

visit to Brenda's

The kids and I stayed the night with my sister Brenda and Connie last night. Of course we had a great time. Brenda's house is always so casual and comfortable. Ivy and Ruby are getting so big. Ivy is becoming quite the character, she has discovered the word NO and uses it proudly. If you ask her to sing or do something, she says NO in the cutest voice then waits for a response. She is saying allot of words now and putting them together in short sentences. She can sing the entire Alphabet, which is amazing for being 21 months old. Ruby is the sweetest little chunk, she is now smiling and cooing. She is now 3 months old. Before we know it, she'll be on the run as well. Then look out! 2 little munchkins running around.

My little sister Connie is leaving for Asia tomorrow. She will be gone 3 months this time. This is her second trip over there. Love that she has the opportunity to experience these adventures. She is so excited! It will take 25 hours to get there. I just cannot imagine sitting on a plane for that many hours..... BORING!

On a scrappy note..... While visiting Vanessa at The Scrapbook Nook in Ludington yesterday, I picked up the Cricut Snowflake Cartridge. I had some store credit for design work and only had to pay $8! I was so excited! I will be playing with it tomorrow while the kids are at school. I am a little worried that the paper will tear on some of the more intricate designs. I don't think you will be able to cut them real small. I am thinking 2-3 inches minimum.

While at my sisters, I did get a gathering booked for this Sunday up in Cadillac. So we will be heading there again this weekend. I am really enjoying sharing and helping others get started in scrapbooking and cardmaking! The girl Alisha that is hosting the gathering is really excited about getting into scrapbooking, she is an awesome person with 2 little ones. Now is the perfect time for her to get started!

No scrappy goodies to show today..... I should have some time tomorrow to create something!

vintage fun....

So Heather came over last night to play with her new CTMH products. I find her so inspiring, her style is totally different then mine. Love it! We were not very productive because we couldn't stop talking...... She totally surprised me with this awesome bag of goodies


I love how she alters things into something fantastic. Inside the bag was some items she has made. I can't wait to play with the tea stained fabric she gave me. She did some stamping on some last night and it is so vintage. Very fun!


We did work on these adorable little bags Heather had made. She had folded and stitched the little paper card bags to form a envelope. I didn't make much progress on mine, so I finished it up some more today.



Used allot of different products on here. I think it ended up a little busy, but that's me.... just keep going and going until there is no more space left to cover :) The presents / quote are from the CTMH October stamp of the month, the Santa is from the Happy Christmas set. The borders are from the Boutique Borders set. I used lots of stickles, chalk, and bling to color everything in. I forgot how much fun it is using chalk on stamped images.

The kids and I are heading to Cadillac today to visit the family. My little sister Connie is going to Asia for 3 months, so she is having a little going away party. Going to play some Texas Hold Em' Maybe I will win some cash, so I can buy some new scrappy goodies.

On our way, we need to look for a dress for Emily. The father daughter dance is coming up soon. I am so sad this is the last year she can go... It is such a special time for Zane and Emily to hang out together. I think Emily and her friends do all the dancing though, while Zane and the Dads hang out at the food table. LOL!

Yesterday was a great day for Emily at school. She received 2 awards..... 1 for High Honor Roll which means all A's and 1 for Top Student in the class. I am so proud of her and she is so proud of herself, which is awesome!

Well off for our eventful day!

Using up some scraps....

I was looking through my stash and found some new inspiration.... Normally I always use cardstock for my page base. Over the weekend I decided to use patterned paper. When I pulled out this piece I knew it was perfect for Emilys Jazz class recital picture. The stars are chipboard with the pixie stix glitter on them. To adhere the glitter I used CTMH liquid glass. This was my first time using the liguid glass but can already tell it will be a new staple in my tool box. Love it! The glitter is staying on perfectly!



The next page I did over the weekend was from Tylers first Christmas band concert. The border at the top is one of the Bazzill basics borders. I used CTMH Hemp to "hang" the ornaments from the border. The ornaments were stamped with the CTMH Holiday Trinkets stamp set using the second generation stamping technique, I then covered them spiced them up a bit with some stickles.



My last page from the weekend was from basketball 2007. The patterned paper is from American crafts Junior line. This line is great for sport pictures, especially since our colors are Red / White. The photo corners are from the CTMH stamp set Delightful things, letters CTMH Posterboard. Very versatile letters, the stitching is actually stamped with another stamp. You can do so many things with these letters.



I have been really trying to catch up on Tyler and Emily's sport / school albums. Normally I jump from one thing to another, whatever mood I am in. Since Tyler will be starting high school next year I am trying to put more effort into these albums so I am not frantically throwing them together their senior year.

Tomorrow night my friend Heather is coming over for a "play date".... I am super excited. She is new to CTMH products, and has a very unique style. I really think we will learn alot from one another. She has a very vintage / shabby chic style. I can't wait to learn some new techniques together. I should have some more scrappy goodness to share soon!

If you see any CTMH products you would like more information on, let me know! Novemeber is almost over, but there is still time to catch the Stampaganza special. Buy 2 stamp sets, get 1 free up to $22.95. Awesome deal and boy does my checkbook reflect it. lol!

latest creations

Things have been very busy around here. It seems like I have been packing and unpacking for the last few weeks. I have managed to complete a few layouts in my "spare time". I have been trying to use up some past kits from www.scrap-room.com . I would like to start getting the kits again, but have to use up some of the past ones I have first. I just cannot justify spending the money, when I have several waiting to be played with :)

Here is some from August October Afternoon. I still have enough for at least 1 more page and probobly a couple of cards.





Vanessa from The Scrapbook Nook in Ludington asked me to do a layout with the LUXE ecology line. I love this line, perfect for outdoor pictures. Very pretty colors. This was my second attempt. The first one, I got a little carried away with the glimmer mist. She liked it, but I think she was just being nice. I figured I better do another one for her to displey....



There was alot of cutting with the exacto knife in this one. I do love how it turned out! You probobly can't tell from the picture, but I used some of the new smooch inkers to highlight some of the leaves and the flowers.

Well off to the grocery store! Have a great Day!

Sweet Ivy!

After prepping for Jan's gathering next week, I couldn't help but make a LO with the leftover pieces.....


Ivy has taken over alot of my scrapbook pages over the last 18 months. She is just so darn cute! Now, that she has a little sister Ruby.... I can't wait to get creative with some pages of her. I have this great 8 x 10 just screaming scrap me.... I think that will be my next project.


I don't know about fellow scrapbookers, but for me, the more I create the more creative I am. It seems like one project leads into inspiration for another. Love this hobby!

Grace papers.....

I love these fall papers! They are perfect for Thank you cards and Thanksgiving LO's....



I was looking for a fun card idea for a workshop next week. We will be making this card and a candle at Jan's Gathering! Can't wait! Let me know what you think :)

Good intentions......:)

I woke up this morning all ready to clean! I turned some music on, started the laundry, unloaded the dishwasher, swept the floor.....Then decided to clean out a "junk basket" that sits on the counter. All was moving along great until Zane and Tyler left for the night to a friends cabin for this weekends youth hunt, Emily went to stay the night with her friend Kylee..... Then it was just me and the housework. Blah! I thought gosh, the house is quiet, the coffee is brewing, I cannot possibly clean when I could be in the scraproom with uninterrupted creating! Off I went...... 9 hours later, the "junk" is still on the counter,

the wet clothes are still in the washer, and the shower still hasn't been cleaned. All is not lost though, I did clean up the scraproom (again), found some great ideas on the web, and finished the 2 LO's from the crop with the scrappy friends at the LSS last night. So all in all a very productive day, just not cleaning :) Now the coffee is brewing again, so I can scramble to get the cleaning finished. I can't have everyone coming home tomorrow thinking I scrapped the day away now can I?

Onto the good stuff, the pages I finished up..... I am determined to get Emily's sport album caught up, I think I only have 5 or 6 pages to go. Yeah! I am so happy to have used up some old paper from at least 4 years ago. I love mixing old stash with the new.....

This page is pretty basic supplies... just some PP, cardstock, chipboard, ink, and 1 stamp. Goes to show, you really can create with minimal supplies.

The stamped strips were stamped with this great border stamp from CTMH Delightful Things. I really like this set, and think I will use the corners on my next LO. (after the cleaning is done of course).

The second page I finished up, I used allot more product... The banner and baseballs I cut with Cricut Baseball solutions cartridge, The TEAM letters were cut out of left over packaging. I love doing this with the Cricut! Great transparent letters for FREE, and recycling what would otherwise be garbage. I stamped the design on the back of the letters to make them stand out a little. The faux stitching on the banner and around the page was done with the CTMH piercing tool and a white uniball pen. LOVE this technique, the look of stitching without hauling out the needle.

The tags on each side of the page for the players names, I used this AWESOME bracket stamp that came with the CTMH celebration kit.You can get this for free this month by purchasing $60 in stamp sets. The stamp is actually about 5 inches long, I just trimmed the paper to fit where I wanted them to go. Here is what the entire set looks like....

The other new items I added with the old stash of PP is the small American craft letter stickers. I just picked these up and they are a great bargain.... 7 pages of letters for $5. I also used the giant felt border from the CTMH heartfelt whimsy collection.

That was today's adventure, now off to finish cleaning up the "junk" I dumped on the counter hours ago!

If you would like to purchase any of the CTMH products used.... Let me know :)

being true to myself.....

I am sad to say my CTMH workshop did not go as well as I would have liked. I am blaming this on the economy, the weather was gorgeous outside, Sunday afternoon.... a day most people like to spend lounging the afternoon away at home. I am actually glad I did not have a big turnout because this gave me a good "practice run". I learned some things to do / not do and all in all was a good learning experience. Now, I will feel more confident the next time around. That is the plan anyways.

Last night, it felt so good to create something for me! Let my inner artist flow, the quiet of my scrap room.... this is why I love this hobby! I had a great big "Aaaah Ha" moment..... with the DT work I have been doing, and preparing projects to get my new endeaver off the ground, I have not been creating for me. I must stay true to my "style" and not be persuaded to ever let my hobby become a "job".... I will continue to do the DT work and pursue the CTMH consultant, but I will create my way while incorporating their products. If others like them great, if not great! The important thing is I enjoy what I create and never let anything stand in the way.

Here is the page I created, using a past kit from http://www.scrap-room.com/ featuring American Crafts Everyday paper line. Such fun summer colors!


When I talk about my "style".... it is all the little details. I don't care if a page takes 4 hours, I love adding the finishing touches that make the page mine :)
Here I used the CTMH postorboard alphabet to stamp the letters, cut them out, embossed them with the Cuttlebug Stars embossing folder, then added the white pen lines.



Buttons never look complete to me without some floss ran through them.... adds just the finishing touch I strive for....


The felt frame is CTMH felt embellishments, love them! This is the first time I have added stitching to felt. I really like the look and will definitely do it again and again.....



These little details all take time, but to me it is time well spent. It is like I have added my "signature". Anyways, the moral of my post is.... if you enjoy how you create, what you are creating then don't change a thing. Everyone has a different unique style and that is awesome! Just enjoy the process!

How did this happen????

Pretty soon I will be turning 50! Not really, but geez where does time go. I have not been very good about blog posting the last 2 weeks. Have been very busy getting ready for my first CTMH gathering on Sunday. I am very nervous but very excited. I know I can do this, Scrapbooking is what I do. It is what I am passionate about. I promise on Saturday I will post some pics of the projects we will be creating as well as the bulletin board I have ready for display.

I really could not believe it today when I checked in here.... The last time I was on I had 23 visitors, since then 11,000...what the Heck! How did that happen? Either the counter is broken or I really need to get busy putting some scrappy goodness on here.

Some big exciting news! Well for a scrapbooker anyways... I do some design work for the Scrapbook Nook in Ludington, she sent me an email wondering if Quickuts sent me some free dies a month for a few months if I would be interested in creating some displays to promote the product in her store. WELL HECK YES! Not only do I love using machines in scrapbooking but I love free stuff and prizes! My scrapbooking buddy Lynne always laughs at the contests and "prizes" I am trying to win. LOVE IT! Don't get me wrong, I love to share and give prizes as well! lol! Anyways, back to the Nook.... I am really looking forward to this adventure... My brain likes to be pressured into creating something fantastic :)

Last weekend was a blast! 7 crazy girls spending the weekend at a crop together. I am very embaressed to admit I only created 4 pages and 16 cards the entire weekend. Its a good think I took the entire scraproom so I didn't run out of supplies... tee hee! You would think after 10 years I would know I am not going to get much done, too busy chit chatting! The highlight of the weekend was Saturday night Dinner.... Poor Dee Intoxicated after one White Russion, she sure did like the bartender though.

We are into the second week of school now, kids are glad to be back. Zane and I are happy to be getting back into a routine. It is hard to believe Tyler is in 8th grade and Emily in 5th.... Where oh where has the time gone. I do enjoy that they are becoming more independent but really miss the sweet moments of toddlerhood.

Emily started her 7th year of dance this week. This year she will be stepping it up a notch, so am curious to see how she likes it if she is having to put more effort into it. There are only 4 girls in her Ballet class and 3 in Tap. I think she will enjoy having less kids in class.

There now that I did a brief update for all these viewers I am getting... I feel much better. I will have some fun scrappy stuff tomorrow or Saturday. Promise!

Well I did it!

I am very excited! I have been contemplating for 2 months now, if I should sign up to be a CTMH consultant. I finally took the plunge and did it. Now, I am sooooo excited! They have a great promotion this month, so it was a good month to start. I just think they have such fun stamps and great paper. I just need to get past the nervousness of booking my first party!
Now..... waiting for the consultant kit! Hopefully it comes by next Friday before my scrapbooking weekend!

another late night creating.....

So last night I was up creating until 2 am again. I just love getting new pictures printed! It is like a whole new pile of inspiration. Both of these pages are from our visit to Cadillac. Even though the weather was crappy, rainy and wet, we still had a great time. The best part was Sean, Sarah, and Ivy bringing their new bundle of joy into the world..... Ruby Lucille! She is so beautiful! They are certainly going to be busy with their 2 girls. Ivy is so smart for 18 mos. old. She talks and talks. I especially love it when she says "Hello, How are you? " and "Where'd doggies go?". She will try to say pretty much anything. It will be interesting to see what she thinks of a new little sister in the house.

Enough rambling, how about some pages......



Sadly, my creating has probably come to an end for a few days. Tomorrow it is back to work, and Emily has friends coming over today. I just can't stay up half the night on work nights :)

my try at glimmer mist....

I finally had some time to create something last night. It seems lately I have had a hard time squeezing in some creativity. It felt so good to sit down with a cup of coffee and let the juices flow, even if it was 11 at night!

This page started out as a simple page, and well anyone that knows me knows simple is not my style! 4 hrs later this is what I ended up with.....



After I had the page all done, it was missing something. I have had this bottle of glimmer mist that I had bought on clearance for over a year and never tried it. I like the concept, although next time if I am going to use it on the cardstock base, it needs to be done prior to gluing everything else down. I ended up with much more "mist" then I would have liked because I kept trying to even it out. I used letters cut from Cricut tear drop cartridge as a mask, then took them off after I sprayed the glimmer mist. I have never done this and will do it again, love the effect of the base cardstock showing through.

Papers are from Luxe design Ecology line, love this line! Thanks Vanessa at the scrapbook nook for ordering it in!

Now, the creativity is flowing again, and am scrambling to get this house clean so I can play in the scraproom again tonite!

getting excited!

I have decided to take the plunge and become a CTMH consultant. I love sharing my creativity with others and could use the cash to support my hobby! I have been brainstorming some ideas for a open house, getting the word out, and getting some workshops rolling. I think I have come up with some fun ideas! Now, I just need to wait until my consultant kit comes so I can get creative and get the ball rolling!

Septembers SOTM is awesome! I can't wait until it is released. They also have a great deal for the month. If you purchase $60 in stamp sets you get a celebration card kit free ($39.95 value). The stamp set that comes with the kit is great for birthdays!

I am determined to recruit some new scrapbookers / cardmakers into this awesome hobby. I think alot of people feel they are "not creative", you don't need to be. Scrapbooking can be as simple or as detailed as you want it to be. The important thing is that you are happy with your creations. I look back at my albums from 6 or 8 years ago, and love reading the stories, reliving the memories. This is what scrapbooking is about. Plus, it is a whole lot of fun, especially when you have some great friends like I do to create with on Friday night! Love this hobby!

preparing......

Lately it seems that I have been doing a lot of preparing for things...... School will be starting soon, so of course both kids need things. New backpacks, shoes, clothes..... $$$! I think we are about ready, they still need shoes and we will likely wait until the last minute for that one.

I have this week off work and are going camping for 4 days. We all know camping takes a lot of preparing. Today I am going to get the food. I like to cook / prepare as much ahead of time as I can. So, when we want shish k bobs, or sloppy Jo's , everything is done, just have to heat up and eat. I don't like to spend the camping trip cooking! So, the list is made and of course the coupons are printed....$23 worth this week. Woo Hoo! I am very nervous how Murphy will be camping, really hoping we don't get kicked out with his barking. He has a naughty streak that's for sure:)

September 11, 12, and 13, I will be scrapping for the weekend with my good scrappin' friends. I am determined that I will be super organized and accomplish a lot! So, also preparing for that. lol! I pulled everything I need to catch up on Emily's sports album. Now, I need to get everything ready for Tylers. I am about 4 yrs behind on both the school and sport albums. I really need to get them caught up.

I've been very busy making cards for the CAD challenge I am hosting at the www.scrap-room.com . Really has been fun, but having some LO withdrawal. I did manage to create a couple of LO's at a crop with my girlfriends Friday....

I had started this page at least 3 months ago, finally finished it up. The title is kind of hard to see in the picture, but I used leftover plastic packaging to cut the letters with Cricut (AKA buttons). Initially I was hoping they would have been cut all the way through, but the end result was ok. The best part.... Recycling the packaging which would have been in the landfill otherwise.


These are also some very old pictures, back from 2006. I can't believe how little T & E look here, oh how time flies!


I absolutely love this picture of Lars and Ivy. They both have such great smiles!

waiting, waiting, waiting.....

Today has been a very looooong day! I had mentioned earlier that I tried out for the design team over at www.scrap-room.com , while the new DT members were to be announced 7/31/09. Because of busy schedules, they had to postpone the announcement until this evening. All day, I have been lurking the boards wondering who the lucky winners are. I really hope I am one of the three chosen. I know there are a lot of talented ladies over there and my chances are slim, but I can still hope:)

Yesterday marked the beginning of my Diva reign for the month of August at the scraproom as well. I posted a fun mini album challenge, and also a card a day challenge. I have some other ideas up my sleeve for the month as well. You should come visit and play along, I have been doing lots of shopping for some great prizes. I can't wait to see all the great creations everyone will come up with.

While amongst my waiting and lurking today, I did manage to complete this 2 page LO. I am also on the design team for the LSS in Ludingon called The Scrapbook Nook. Vanessa is super nice and always has something new every time I visit her store. This months kit she put together was divine. I love the papers from the Mommy and me line by Prima, there was also this great little mini stamp kit. I hadn't seen them before and will be on the lookout for more. I hope she likes my page when I take it in tomorrow.


On a non scrappy note, the annual cousins family reunion yesterday was a great time once again. The weather was terrible though. It was cold, windy, and rainy, which really put a damper on things. We were not able to play all the games that make the family reunion so much fun. We did luck out, and were able to go in the pavilion long enough to eat and let the rain pass. Of course Max held his crazy auction in efforts to raise money for next year. Everyone brought some great white elephant gifts. Zane must have been feeling generous, because he even bought 2. He got a bag full of new T - Shirts, which he will wear proudly and a awesome candle holder which has already found a home in my scraproom. Emily even made a few dollars on the questions Max was asking. If your answer was correct, he gave you $1-$5... She has enough to go swimming at the Comfort Inn, so looks like that is what we will be doing tomorrow. Tyler wasn't able to go this year because he had a family reunion with Rick to go to. I hope he had a great time, he should be home shortly.

Well off to lurk at the scraproom some more. It's been a good 30 minutes since I last checked. LOL!

Hmmmm. What did my sister teach them?

Tyler and Emily came home from Aunt Brenda's today. They are playing so well together, but this is what they are playing.... Poker! I was cracking up when they come out with their poker faces on. I couldn't help but get a picture. They were using household items to bet with, hence all the stuff on the counter. It was good to see them playing so well together, using their imaginations.

playing with scraps

I love making cards from leftover scraps, it is a great way to use up them pieces of paper without throwing them away. In preparation for a couple challenges, this is what I came up with last night. Of course the pot of coffee helped. I used sketches from www.pagemaps.com for inspiration. Becky has the best sketches. Love them!

A peek into my space....

Last night after coming home from scrapping with my girlfriends at the LSS, I was feeling quite ambitious. I started cleaning my scraproom. I did some rearranging and organizing, and am very happy with the results.

The 2 main counters of my space. Zane built them out of plywood when we first bought our house 5 years. Cost less than $100 and have held up very well




The other side of my room is where the TV, file cabinet, etc. are


The main area I work. The little tin buckets hold odd n' end embellies.


The cutting area, with my scraps of paper above on the shelf. I keep all the 12" strips in the bucket, works great for a quick border.


Cricut, cuttlebug area. The black box holds Cricut cartridges, Cuttlebug plates, spellbinders, some stamp sets, and embossing folders /dies. This is my favorite box to take with me scrapbooking because I can have alot of options in there without taking up alot of room. I also have accryllic blocks, baby wipes, sanding block, and cat eye inks in here. I just recently took the important parts out of the cricut books so they all fit nicely on this binder ring and store neatly in the box. The cartridges are on a piece of pullout chipboard with Velcro. The CD cases have stamps / spellbinders in them. Love this box!




The "eye candy" area. My friend Sharon at the LSS found this great MM embellishment box for me, she knows how I like my boxes.....I was up until 3 am filling it up. I think this is going to work out great!


Up above on the shelf are more stamp sets in CD cases, ink pads, some punches, and markers.



Under the counter is a pullout rack where I store chalks, chipboard, grungeboard, any other odds and ends I come acorss. This is actually a pull out for a cupboard, we just assembled it upside down. There is also a rolling cart for extra cardstock, and specialty papers.



Hanging on a curtain rod are all my kits. I love the kits over at http://www.scrap-room.com/ , when you get a minute, check them out. Now, whenever I buy PP, I always buy 3 pieces and 4 coordinating cardstock, so I can hang it together in a kit when I get home. I have also been working on putting my older pp into kits, so hopefully I start using some of it up.

So this is my space. I love being in here, especially with a big cup of coffee and a good movie or some Celtic music in the background.