All Decked Out!!

Here is the third card I did for yesterday's CTMH Party.  I had a blast putting this little guy together!

All the stamps are from the All Decked Out set, except for the sentiment, which is from Ms. Holiday Cheer.  I wanted to do a non-traditional color scheme for this card, so the paper is actually from the Twitterpated pack!  I used Chocolate, Sweet Leaf and Crystal Blue cardstock for the mats, hat, and scarf.  I think this is by far my favorite card of the three!  I wanted to do a "get your feet wet," a "normal," and a "slightly more involved" card for the gathering.  Obviously, this is the "slightly more involved" one!

Thanks for looking!

Cheers!

An easier Holiday Cheer

Here's the second card I made for the Close To My Heart party I will be doing on Sunday.

It's the same design as this card, but I kept this one a little simpler.  I eliminated the distressing and the label for the sentiment, just to make it a little easier to put together for everyone.  The tree, present, and "bow" flourish are all from the A Timber set, and the sentiment is from Ms. Holiday Cheer.  The papers and ribbon are from the Mistletoe Creative Basics pack, and the green mat is New England Ivy cardstock.

Thanks for looking!

Cheers!

Finally Finished!!!

I FINALLY finished the second curtain for my living room window!  It's only been sitting on my kitchen table since last Christmas! 

I picked up this lovely fabric from Hancock about three years ago.  They were having an unadvertised sale on Home Decor fabrics at 75% off, so I picked up 10 yards of it!  I knew I wanted it to be in the living room, but had no idea what style of curtain I wanted, so it sat behind a door for over a year.  I finally pulled it out before Christmas last year and figured out a pattern based on some drapes I had seen online.  The first curtain turned out beautifully!  Unfortunately, I could NOT get myself to make the second one!  The pieces were even already cut out, all I had to do was iron and sew it up! 

Well, I sat down last night to finally start working on it, since we'll have a house full of company for Thanksgiving.  It was either finish the second curtain, or take down the first one so the window didn't look lopsided!  I hemmed up the first edge, and went to iron the seam, and promptly MELTED the fabric.  *sigh*  It's also not the first time I've melted the fabric.  The bolt sat in the direct line of a space heater two winters ago, and it melted a lovely triangle through about 3 layers of fabric.  This would be why my Dining Room curtain is a Roman Shade instead of drapes!

 So then I cut ANOTHER piece, and started over.  This is why I bought ten yards of it!!  Anyway, to make a short story long, the curtain is finally done!  Now I can go to bed and get some rest for tomorrows mayhem!

Thanks for looking!

Cheers!

A Holiday Thank You!

Here is the first card I made for the Close To My Heart party I'm doing this weekend.  I wanted to start out with a very simple card that had a bit of pop!

The papers are from the Jingle Level 2 paper pack.  The sentiment is from the set Thank You, and the flourish is from the Free Spirit set.  The layout is from the Wishes book, and the brads are from CTMH as well. 

Thanks for looking!

Cheers!

A Bit of a Bloggy Break

I'm taking a bit of a bloggy break this week, I have several projects to complete before next week's Thanksgiving shindig, and none of them are really post-worthy!  I've also had a serious mojo block when it comes to stamping, so I've been working on some other crafts to mix things up a little bit.  Hopefully I'll have some progress to show for it next week!

Cheers!

Angels Among Us

Here is a third layout I did for last weekend's VSBN challenge, Angels Among Us:

The challenge was to create a layout of some sort of angel in your life.  I decided to celebrate our sweet sugar-kitty, Tigger.  We lost him in 2004 from complications from Diabetes, and I've had a hard time deciding how to approach a page about him.  The journaling is hidden in the lower left panel, and held in place by the photo turn.  I used a silver leafing pen on clear acrylic letters for the butterfly and the title, and then used glue dots to attach all the acrylic pieces down.

Thanks for looking!

Cheers!

Grooms Dinner

Here is another layout I did for last weekend's VSBN challenge, Define Cloud Nine:

The challenge was three-fold; to step outside your comfort zone, have a minimum of three layers somewhere on the page, and to accent one of the photos in some sort of "ultimate" way!  I've been meaning to get a start on my wedding photos for quite a while, since we've been married almost 10 years now!  I used a pattern out of one of my CTMH books for the design, and used the Manhattan paper stack for the layout.  The bigger group shot is accented with photo turns as an "ultimate" touch, and most of my layouts unclude only one or two photos, so using six was definately stepping out of my comfort zone!

Thanks for looking!

Cheers!

Looking for the Silver Lining

Here is the layout I did for my challenge during this weekend's VSBN, Looking for the Silver Lining:

The challenge was to use silver somewhere on your page, and to create a layout describing a time in your life when it seemed like you were living under a cloud, but when you look back on that time it had a silver lining after all!  Moving North definately took me out of my comfort zone, but looking back I think it was the best decision we ever made!  The journaling is on the card that is tucked behind the leftmost picture, and the pictures are all one print that I cut into thirds.  I used the CTMH Chocolate Large and Small stamp sets to do the title, and embossed the stamping with Silver Embossing Powder.

Thanks for looking!

Cheers!

VSBN is HERE!!!

This is a quick page I did to get my mojo going for this weekend's VSBN.

I had made this page during the last VSBN I participated in, and I'm definately a two-page layout kind of girl!  I've been wanting to do a companion page since I finished the first one, so kept the scraps and embellies seperated out so it would be quick and easy!  Now, I'm off to fortify myself with some serious caffeine to get ready for Coordinator Duty over at Splitcoast!!

Thanks for looking!

Cheers!

Cat Bed or Clown Car??

It looks like someone is reeeeeeeally tired of the cats always taking over her bed:

I tossed the cat bed on the floor because I needed to get into the drawer it was on, and Little Missy here made herself comfortable!  I was amazed, not a single part of her was on the floor!  Such a poor, dejected mutt!

Cheers!

Bitten by the Sewing Bug!

While trying to distract ourselves from a disappointing performance on Sunday Football, the Hubs asked if I could make something to keep his hands warm while he hunts.  He prefers to not wear gloves, because they keep him from feeling the trigger on his rifle, and up until now he has just pulled his hands into his coat.  As we all learned when we were kids, this No-Workey so well!  I offered to make a Manly Muff like the ones the Quarterbacks wear.  (You were wondering what this had to do with football, huh?)  He was very excited to go to Gander to buy one, and I asked him if he really wanted to spend the cash on something I could make pretty easily with the stash I have on hand... it's amazing what the guy will agree to when it protects his Hunting Beer budget!  ;)

Anywhoo, this is what I came up with.  I'm definately a Make It Up As You Go type of person, especially when it comes to sewing.  I threatened to make this with pink fleece and add little lace trim to it.... but he behaved himself and earned the boy colors.  The outside layer is a waterproof flannel, and the inside is two layers of polar fleece.  I made straps on the back so he can use the belt of his pack to hold it in place, that way he doesn't get stuck in it when he goes to shoot.  I had visions of a Chinese Finger Trap when I was making it; that kept me very entertained while I repeatedly ripped out seams!  The Hubs kept asking what I was giggling about, but I didn't want to hurt his feelings, and thankfully he doesn't read my Girly Blog!

Thanks for looking!

Cheers!

Crocheted Flowers

In the next card swap with the NMD Ladies over at SCS, we're supposed to include a little something from our stash as a care package for each of the other ladies!  Yes, I do have a rediculous stash, but I couldn't for the life of me think of something to send the girls that they didn't already have!  There's a few little things I'm including, but wanted a lil somethin that really packed a punch.  I know how expensive these little flowers can be when you buy them, and they take maybe 10 minutes to make!  So here's what I'm adding in!

I got the idea when I was paging through the most recent issue of Paper Crafts Magazine, they actually include the pattern in there in the description of one of the cards.  Since my rediculous stash also happens to include many MANY crochet supplies, I was able to whip these little bad boys out in no time!  I figured the white would be a good choice, and maybe I'll make up some in cream as well and send a few of each to the ladies.  Of course, now my mind is churning with ideas to make my own lace too! 

Thanks for looking!

Cheers!

A bit of Housekeeping!

Is it too late to be suffering from Spring Fever??  Or is there such a thing as Fall Fever?  I've had a pile of scrappy stuff to sell or give away for ages, and I finally called up our local elementary school to see if they accepted donations.  I had orignally planned to bring my solid cardstock and the punches and tools, but when the lady told me they had a few scrappers there I went gung-ho on my patterned paper too!  I actually went through every single sheet and pulled out the ones I would never realistically use, and so far, this is the pile!

So far I have only gone through my single sheet paper, I have yet to attach the Paper Stacks.  I have at least twice as many of those as I do single sheets, so I'm betting this pile is going to end up HUGE!  I just hope the ladies at the school can use it all!

Cheers!