Christmas Tree decorations (4th and final post tonight)

These are some of my favourite decorations that I made this year. I got the glass bulbs at Michaels. I used reinkers and prisma glitter to decorate them. The first is twilight reinker and the second is sweet leaf reinker. I would love comments on them.

scrapbook for my Nanny

This is a scrapbook that I made up for my Nanny. I haven't put any pictures in it yet as I am still trying to find them. I am going to put pictures of her and my Papa in there. She really misses him as he has been gone since 1981. I am really excited to give this to her. I chose this as it really feels like it has an antique feel to it.

calendar

These are a couple of pages from 2 calendars I made this year as Christmas gifts. I had to keep them really simple with very little embellishment. I used my cricut to cut out and shadow each month title.

This one is for my mom. On each page is 3 pictures - 1 of each of my kids during a common event. I journaled on each page of her calendar. I am fairly pleased with how it came out.

This calendar is for my 94 year old Nanny. Her vision is limited so I needed to put large pictures with little distration from it. Hopefully she will enjoy it. This is the 4th year that I have made her one. So far, each year it has touched her heart to bring tears to her eyes.

Rich Razzleberry Christmas card

This is a card I made using my cuttlebug, rich razzleberry paper and ink from SU and then the decoration punch from SU to. The ribbon is from michaels. This was such an easy card to make and really looks great. At the bottom I also embossed a Merry Christmas in Silver.

third post today. My kids are so proud of these.

These are some balls that we got from Michaels. We put paint in them in a couple different colours and then put rub ons on the outside. They truly make a wonderful gift that will keep going on and on. They are so excited to give these to family members.

sad news

If you remember from an earlier post I had a friend of a friend who had her baby taken from her at 28 weeks gestation as she had cancer. I am so sad to report that Keri passed away yesterday. My donations for baby girl Austin are just over $126.00. I have decided to extend this fundraiser until the end of december. I can't imagine growing up without knowing my mother and likewise I can't imagine my kids growing up without me or never having known me. It truly breaks my heart and I just pray that God will be there for the family over this holiday season.

Club Christmas party

Here is the votive card that we made for our final club of 2009. They turned out so beautifully and everyone really enjoyed them.

These are the members of my clubs (minus one who was fortunate enough to be in Mexico). We had a great time that night - potluck, good company and time to make one card. I am looking forward to continuing in 2010. Oh, and ladies you all look good so no need to worry!

I am still here

Wow, I can't believe how busy we have been this Christmas season. I am in the process of making some Christmas ornaments with my kids that I will post. I should be done tomorrow. I am also working on a couple calendars, photo tiles for coasters, and then I still have about 20 Xmas cards to make. I have a pretty ambitious weekend ahead of me. I would love to get this all done and be able to relax and enjoy the rest of the season.

My favourite gift this year that I am making is a scrapbook for my 94 year old Nanny. My Papa died in 1981 and she has been very alone without him. I made a book and am putting pictures of the two of them in it. It won't be done for a couple weeks. I can't wait to see how it turns out.

There is some stuff coming up shortly. Please bear with me.

Great Day for a workshop

A month or so ago I was asked by a good friend of mine Amanda, to give a card workshop at her church's Women of Destiny group on Nov 21. I only had a 20 minute window so I needed to do something simple. I did all the stamping, sponging and cutting for 35 people. It was such a wonderful opportunity and I really had a lot of fun. I think that it went well and the women were all really great! From this opportunity steamed another......I was asked to come back in the coming days. My role will again be to make cards but this time it will be with the homeless. This way they can give a card to a person who has impacted their lives. I am actually really looking forward to this. This is one of those times that you can actually take a skill that you have and are passionate about and use it for a good cause with no expectations of anything in return. I am a firm believer in what you put out into the universe you get back. What a great opportunity.

Craft room

I have had a few people ask me about where I do my scrapbooking. Well here are some pictures. It is actually a very small storage closet. It isn't much, but it is mine.

This is my wall of storage. I have several of the making memories storage system from Michael's. This is where all my scrapbooks, samples, papers etc etc etc are held.

The two boxes with flourishes on it hold my CTMH stamps. This area has all of my accessories - brads, buttons, stamp sets, pens, scissors, etc etc etc. Also, my cropadile, heat tool and brayer type tools are in the bottom drawer.

This is an area that houses some of my punches, ribbon and cards. It is a continuation of the last picture. Of course, the desk that I work on is here too. I got this table from Ikea.

This is my inks, punches, ribbon rounds, adhesives etc etc etc. It is within easy grasp for everything I need.

This is a picture from the door. As you can see it is just plain drywall and there is no ceiling . It is nothing special, but it gives me a space to get away. There is also a lock on the door so if the kids feel so inclined to start snooping, I can just lock it away. Also, if I am working on a project that I don't want anyone to see, I can lock it up. This is one of my favourite spaces in my house. The pictures make it look a lot smaller than it is. Don't get me wrong, it is a small space but there is still enough room for me.

card club projects

Here are the two projects that we are doing for card club on Tuesday. The first one is called a triangle trifold card. You can really see it but there are several clear embossed snowflakes on the creme brulee cardstock. It is a really fun little card.

This is a card that I have wanted to try out for a long time. I got the template off of Splitcoast stampers (what a great website). This is a cute little drawer box and ontop is the card. It is all one. Just a really fun idea.

Why is it that bad things happen to good people? Keri is a friend of a very good friend of mine, she is 32 year old who has always wanted to have a baby. She has struggled for several years to get pregnant and finally she conceived. When she was at 28 weeks gestation the Dr.'s had to take her baby due to Keri's health. She delivered a baby girl and she is doing well. 1 lb 8 oz when she was born (Sept 30) and she is steadily growing. This family has certainly been blessed with this beautiful little miracle. However, Keri's health isn't good. They took the baby as she has cancer and isn't expected to recover. Keri gets to see her baby when someone wheels her over there or when they bring baby to her (as a new mom it just isn't enough). They are giving Keri chemo just to buy her a bit more time.

This has rocked me to the core. I have really wanted to do something but what can I do? I have decided that I am going to donate all of my commissions in sales from Close To My Heart for the month of November to the trust fund that has been set up for the baby. I would love if you could find it in you to donate to this child who will grow up without a mother. I have set up a paypal donate button up on the right hand of the screen. I can't thank you enough for your donations. Also, please feel free to leave a message on this post for Keri and baby I will ensure they all get to her.

Out for a bit

Well there hasn't been much creating going on in my household for the past week. It seems that we all got the H1N1 flu. I can't believe how contagious and horrible this illness it. We were with a friends this weekend and within 5 days all 11 of us had it. CRAZY! I am pretty sure it will be a couple more days before I am fully back to myself and creating again.

Christmas Card Workshop cards

Here are the cards that I am doing November 7 for my Christmas Card Workshop. There are 4 more spots so if you are interested, please let me know. We will be making 5 cards and 3 of each for a total of 15 cards. The cost will be $20.00.

updated tri-fold card

Here is my Evensong Tri-fold card updated. I put liquid glass on the dove and on the brackets and stars around Merry and Bright. I also added a sparkle beside the Merry and by the Let there Be Peace stamp.

I'd love to know what you think of it.

a couple more cards

Here are a couple more cards that I just finished up. The first one I will be doing at my card workshop in a couple weeks. It is really simple yet very cute.


I really like the start of this card. I am not quite sure how to finish it so am looking for advice. I think I should just walk away from it and then return to it later. I am on brain drain today.



This is such a fun card which I totally scraplifted. A lot of work but FUN! The middle section (with the vellum) is a square. In the middle of the square you put a battery operated candle and it looks like a real burning candle. It is really cute. What a super fun card to give someone. Since you can get those little candles at the $$ store it can be used as an inexpensive gift too. I am not an ornament or "stuff" person but I think I would leave this on my piano for a period of time to look at. What do you think?

second post tonight - cards

These are a few cards that I created tonight. All of them were inspired by others and I apologize for not having all the names on hand. I really like them all. Again, the pictures are dark due to the bad lighting. The last card is SU. All the rest are CTMH cardstock and B&T. I also used my cuttlebug to enhance the artwork on one of the cards. Please tell me what you think.

Grace scrapbooking layouts

This is from the Grace Workshop on the Go. I must say I wasn't sure about these layouts when I first saw the kit but I LOVE them. The Grace paper is amazing. I used my Cuttlebug to do some alphabet work. Sorry my pictures are so dark tonight. Bad lighting.

The first two page layout is the one that you use Imagine for. It is my son's second birthday (yes I am a few years behind).

We had professional pictures taken of the kids last year and this layout displays a few of what my daughter's pictures turned out like. The paper goes so well with the pictures.