T.G.I.S. - Thank Goodness it's Saturday

My Saturdays go by so quickly but they have been full of crafting goodness. Since the beginning of the New Year I have been teaching scrapbooking classes at an Assisted Living Facility. For the first month we worked on an album. This month I have been focusing on paper folding and altered art. Tonight we are going to alter a birdhouse. (I really wanted to do a chipboard mini album but I could not find them in stock at the local hobby stores). I hope they like it. I love how mine turned out.

I am addicted!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just tried working with vinyl for the first time and I just can't believe how easy it is. Iffy and I were talking about giving it a shot a little while ago and she place an order for some vinyl sheets. I tried waiting patiently to see how she liked it before I placed my order but she wans't able to use it. So inspired once again by the wonderful work of Nubian Crafter I decided to take the plunge. So after a few more video tutorials and a modest investment into the vinyl I have created my first vinyl project. This is a birthday present for my husband's boss. I love everything about it. I used my i-rock to hot-glue the bling onto the glass, what a nice touch.I have a million ideas running through my head right now, I think I am really addicted!

Calgon take me away!

Oh how I wish I were home right now, taking a bubble bath and living in a world of rest and relaxation. I don't know who coined the term"Oh how time flies" but boy were they right. I sat up in the middle of the night realizing that next week is the last week of February and as the temperatures warm up I have so many things I want to accomplish. The porch and shutters need to be painted, the car needs to be re-reigstered and needs new brakes, I need to plan our family vacation, I have to start planning one daughter's graduation party and the other's junior prom sendoff and then there is our annual huge block party. In the midst of all of this I am applying for a new job (interoffice) and I am teaching scrapbooking classes on the weekend. So just to preserve what sanity I have left and to try to keep my grey hairs to a minimum I am taking time out to go here, check it out maybe I will see you there! -

Creative Expressions Escape

Date: March 11-13, 2011 ( I am only going for the day on Saturday from 9 a.m. - 12 midnight)
Time: 9am (or) 6pm Friday to 4pm Sunday
(or)
9am Saturday to 4pm Sunday
(or)
9am Saturday to Midnight Sunday
Place: ACE Conference Center, Lafayette Hill, PA -
http://www.aceconferencecenter.com

Escape Includes:
* Deluxe guest room with FREE WiFi!
* Your OWN 5 ft table, rolling leather chair AND real trash can!
* Meals Galore -- Friday evening: Welcome Reception w/ hot & cold hors d'eourves, dessert & beverages. Saturday & Sunday: Deluxe continental breakfast, lunch buffet, continuous snacks & beverages. Saturday evening: Dinner buffet and late night snacks!
(Depending on your package.) The food here is Awesome! I am so excited!
* Around the clock cropping room!
* Inspiration Center: Idea Books, Title Books, Page Maps, etc.
* Tool Center: 2 Cricut Machines, Library of Cricut Cartridges, Punches, Paper Trimmers, etc.
* Thank you gift :)
* Door Prizes
* Layout contests with prizes!
* On-site vendors & classes
* Massage therapist
* Chocolate, Chocolate and more Chocolate!

Event Pricing: All rates are per person.
2 Night Stay:
* Single guest room: $445
* Double guest room: $355
* Triple guest room: $325
* Quad guest room; $290
Add $85 and arrive at 9am on Friday! This gives you 9 more hours of cropping time, deluxe continental breakfast, lunch buffet, continuous snacks & beverages.

1 Night Stay:
* Single guest room: $345
* Double guest room: $258
* Triple guest room: $228
* Quad guest room: $215

This is my package - Local Day Cropper: $130 (Saturday only. Includes deluxe continental breakfast, lunch buffet, continuous snacks & beverages. Does NOT include dinner buffet. You may crop from 9am-Midnight.)

Taxes & gratuities are included. Please see the registrations form for additional information on payment& cancellation policies. If you have any questions, please contact Kim Sheller at kimberlysheller@gmail.com.

THE COUNTDOWN IS ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Mail! Scrapbooks Etc. April 2011 Review

I was very excited to see my newest issue of Scrapbooks etc. sitting on my coffee table when I came home yesterday and I was even happier that my family gave me a chance to look through it. so without further ado, here are some highlights -

1. They are keeping the Craft it forward project going,that is nice to see. This month it is a banner, nicely done.

In the fond memories section the question is "What is your favorite movie"? Mine is "Sparkle" starring Lonette McKee and Irene Cara.

There are ads for Fancy Pants new "It's the Little Things" collection and Basic Grey's "Hello Luscious" collection - two must haves for me.

Some sweet party ideas start on page 48, including a tutorial on tissue paper pom-poms on page 53

There is a featured article on DIY Flowers starting on page 64, including a tutorial on making pleated rosette, looped, and edgy flowers.

Another featured article on using spray inks starts on page 74.

There is a nice guide on which adhesives to use when starting on page 88.

Don't miss the pet picture-taking guide starting on page 96.

and the Show and Tell section is full of hot must-have products.

Of course there is much more including sketches, paper piecing ideas and a lot of fun layouts for inspiration.

Happy Scrapping!

Eat. Pray. Love. and eat some more!

We love to cook so my husband, the girls and I had a decadent meal full of love for Valentine's day-
Shrimp and Crab Cakes
Asparagus
Lobster Tails
Steak & Potatoes
and Mojitos (not for the girls, lol)

Latte Bliss

I don't know why but making a card can really get the creative juices flowing, now I am ready to scrap but I have to run some errands and get Sunday dinner done. I was so happy to finally use my mft stamps that my bestie gave me for christmas, I can't wait to do more with them. The pattern paper is Crate Paper's Bliss.

A little love struck...................

Mika and I were talking today about all of the the projects we would love to complete as soon as possible and that is when I realized I haven't started working on any Valentine's day cards, so last night I stole a few moments to do a little sumthin'.

I used a white cardstock as a base and ran it through my Cuttlebug with the Swiss dot folder. A card is just not a card for me without a little embossing. My pattern paper is from Bo Bunny's Love Bandit Line and I embossed that too. I cut the felt heart from the brush stroke sizzlits die using a piece of pretty pink felt. The pin is Jenni Bowlin and I used some bakers twine on the pink button. The curvy white cardstock piece is embossed with the script folder and I stamped the sentiment on the card. I used my apron bunch on the border strip. and though you can't tell in this picture each little heart is accented with stickles for a little added glitz!

Making Progress

Although I think I am the slowest scrapper on the planet I feel really good about my pace so far this year. I have been getting at least one layout done a week which for me is a good thing.
This weekend I started a new layout and finished up this one. I saw the super talented Keisha use vellum butterflies on her layout and I decied to give it a try. They are so pretty in person. Inspired by the bright color of my daughter's shirt I used my American Crafts City Park collection and put my Slice to work for my row of butterfliies. I am not happy with the way the journaling turned out because it is not spaced exactly right but I didn't want to labor over it so I just took a deep breathe and left it as is.

Top 5 of 2010

My scrapbooking friends and I challenged each other to pick out our favorite layouts from 2010 and here are mine.

This layout is my number one pick, just because it really shows the silly side my family. We laugh all of the time. My husband is the ultimate jokester. And although he drives my daughters crazy they have so much fun with him.



My second pick is this layout of my baby niece. I love the pictures and the colors of the Crate paper Pink Plum are just yummy.



My third fave is this layout of me and the hubby getting it on at our wedding, lol. I love being able to immortalize this moment for life.



My fourth pick is a layout of my bestie and her children. I love the bright and fresh feel of this layout.


And lastly this is a layout of me. I picked this one because when I first saw this paper collection I could not imagine what I was going to do with it. But once I sat down and let the creative juices flow this layout came together very easily.

Can you believe..............

That I am just discovering how convenient digital paper can be!

As you can see in my previous post I am in the beginning stages of doing my daughter-in-law's baby shower favors. So far my list of "to-dos" include the mini mailbox favor boxes, teddy bear cake pops, and teddy bear shaped cookies. I also want to do a diaper cake as her gift from me and my husband.

The color scheme for the shower is mint green, yellow and brown (with a teddy bear theme) so this weekend I hit the internet hard looking for a paper that was "just right" I went to every store i could think of and flipped through pages of baby themed search results until I finally decided to check out Esty. There I found so many digital paper sites including this one - Sherry K Designs. I purchased a few of the kits and I settled on this pack to work with. The green is not really a mint green but I think it will work.


Stay tuned - I will post a picture of the final results.