When Life gives you Lemons.........Create!

I am very blessed to have several very supportive, loving scrapping girlfriends that I met right here through the internet. We talk almost every day and the days we don't just feel weird. I have met most of them in person, all except one - and that is my sweet Southern Belle Barb (Hopefully that is going to change this summer)!. she was generous enough to send me the DCWV lemon stack and can I tell you that it is gorgeous. I created this decorative coaster, post-it notepad and magnet gift set for another friend of mind, I love paying it forward.

All in the Mustard and can't Ketch-up!

Wow, where does the time go? I haven't felt like I have had a quiet weekend in such a long time. I have so much to share but I will try to be as brief as possible. First my biggest news, and I have been hesistant to share it, is that I am on a weight loss journey. I don't know what kicked it off officially but i just decided that it is time. I decided four weeks ago to begin the Dukan diet, like Kate Middleton and so far I have lost 20 pounds. I did not take a before picture and I haven't been doing a great job taking pictures along the way but one day at work while wearing a pair of pants that I couldn't even get both legs in for two years I got this bathroom shot. My hips and stomach are a little bit smaller and I notice the difference. This motivates me to keep on moving!

Oh My, Happy belated Mother's day to everyone! My family and I attend the Race for a Cure every year and this year my nieces and daughters got really creative with their outfits. Their "Touch Yourself" shirts were reminders to everyone to do your self-exams.

My first craft fair went well. I sold about 1/2 of my products and I stuck to mainly my glasses when I saw that it was a fair geared more to home items. Unfortunately most of my profits was used to buy food for my hungry helpers (my daughters, lol) but it was still a good experience. I would definitely do it again and I am looking forward to going to different venues in the fall. Here is a picture of part of our set-up.

and back to Mother's day for a moment the girls bought me some new workout clothes, my stepson gave me a beautiful card and my husband well ..............not a thing. See every other week he buys me roses, different colors and different sizes like these without a holiday or special event, just because he loves me. Who could ask for more?

But then this weekend he bought this for me,

and this for me. I guess I am getting a little spoiled and loving every moment of it.
and last on the news list is I became a step-grandmother this weekend. I think I am going to have him call me La-La like my niece does. Little Jaiden Jefferson was born Friday May 13th, sounds pretty lucky to me!

I will be back soon with some crafty goodness, I promise.

Just a few scraps............

When my first daughter was born I got professonal pictures done pretty regularly and she was such a little ham she loved every minute of it. Here she is at the age of two all dolled up. I used Basic Grey's Lemonade collection with a black background. The doilly is by Martha Stewart and the butterfly is chipboard by Maya Road that I covered and then traced to add another butterfly on top for dimension. The title is done with American Craft thickers and the round bling is by Recollections and is sold at Michaels, they have a very nice variety of bling there, you should check it out. The pink swirls are by Prima. I am thinking now that I should have matted the photos but..........

This next layout features my baby niece who is just such a sweetie. Here she is with two of her favorite foods at the time, Danimals, and Pizza. She is four now and is still a picky eater. The PP is from MME 's Fine and Dandy collection. I fussy cut one of the banners and added foam tape under each triangle for dimension. The buttons are from Jenni Bowlin and if you look closely you will see I used the packaging from the buttons as an embellishment on the layout, just trying to be green and creative at the same time. Oh yeah, I used Ms. Elizabeth alpha stickers from the Dollar Store for the title, do they still sell them? Glad I have my stash just in case they don't.

Take that Procrastination!

I have been trying to do a craft fair for a while, but I tend to wait until the last minute to begin working on my projects, running out of time, staying up for 24 hours straight and then crumbling up in the middle of the floor tired and disappointed with myself in tears, but not this time! I signed up for a craft fair on May 7 and I am really excited because I am determined to have a good day. I have already started working on my projects and I will begin sharing them with your over the next couple of weeks. So first up are my decorated coasters. I bought the coasters from Papertrey ink and since they are a little thin I glued two of them together, decorated them and added a beaded chain to hang them from. I love my digital stamp boxing girl from Whimsie Doodles. I feel like I am really getting the hang of hand coloring images and I like using different mediums. On my boxing girl I used color pencils, watercolor pencils and markers. I made nine of these in different skin tones. For the other coaster I used real thread on the spool for a nice 3-d effect! I am in business baby, and feeling good!

A Layout a Day #3

Have you ever fallen in love with a paper collection the moment you saw it. That is how I felt about Cosmo Cricket's Circa 1934. Now I am not sure if I told you before but I have a paper obssession and when I really, really like a collection I don't want to use it. But I broke down, pulled out the scissors and put this layout together of my daughter. She loves celebrities and fashion and my goodness does she have expensive taste so when I saw the sticker "10 thing I love" I decided to do a layout on a few of her favorite fashion items. I made the flower using a tutorial in the last issue of Scrapbook etc and I jumbled her name for a different effect that me and Mika always tease each other about, lol. Overall I love this layout and how it turned out, I've said that before though right?

A layout a Day #2

A friend of mine just sent me an article describing the difference between an addiction and a compulsion and i have to admit My Mind's Eye papers are my compulsion. They are a great heavy-weight (at times I wish they were just a little lighter) and they come in great colors. For this layout I used a piece of navy cardstock as my background and the paper line is from the Stella Rose collection. I made the tag using my Making Memories tag maker and an extra piece of pattern paper. I used the pleating technique from the April edition of Scrapbooks etc for the flowers and then used a varitey of border punches for the paper strips, oh yes and the little label came from a close to my heart vendor at a crop I recently attended, I like their products and will definitely be back for more. The tickets were made using the die and stamp set from Papertrey Ink, it is definitely one of my favorites!

I didn't really have a title for this layout. These pictures were taken at Domino's Pizza on my daughter's 14th birthday, so I used my Slice and the Teen design card to cut out the TTYL which reminds me of how teens communicate nowadays.

A Layout a Day #1

I have been working on a stack of Works In Progess (WIPs) and even though I am pretty good about posting them once they are complete I don't always tell the story behind the layout. This is a layout of my daughters and their father in NY from last year. They just went for the day on a bus from Chinatown in downtown Philly. While there they visited Times Square and the Empire State Building (at least from the outside, the girls were too nervous to go to the top). I used the Girls' Paperie from the July 2010 www.scrap-room.com kit. I die cut the paper using a template I made from a previous die cut paper and if you look very closely you can see I inked the edges. I cut the banner from the pattern paper and added the bakers twine. I made the pinwheel flowers from a piece of red cardstock and I kind of struggled with them because I just could not get them to stay glued down so I went on glue overload (you can even see it on one of them, ooops!). I used a variety of Alpha sitckers for the title and added some buttons to top it off. Overall this is a fave for me. Even though their father and I are not together I love seeing him take time out for his girls.

Totally Teen Girl

My daughter asked me to make a birthday card for her classmate turning 14 tomorrow. Her favorite color is red. I am trying to put a few more miles on my Cricut so I used the George and Basic Shapes to make the frame and Forever Young to make the girl. The paper line is from Imaginisce.

Let them eat Cake.

One of my favorite gift items to make is a diaper cake. Unfortunately I don't get to do it too often, I don't know that many people having babies so I was super excited to make one for my oldest stepson and his wife. This one is choc-full of goodness. The rolled flowers are baby socks and it is decorated with washcloths, teethers and undershirts. In the middle there are wipes. The outside is covered with receiving blankets and I decorated the base with some border punched paper strips. I used my nestabilities and my cricut to make the scalloped circles with his name and attached them to toothpicks to place in the cake. Even though it is not edible it is especially yummy! I can't wait to drop it off.

It's a Boy!

Saturday I attended my oldest step-son and his wife's baby shower. It was a very nice well attended event. She is due May 16th and we already know it is a boy. It was a teddy bear theme and I made each of the little favor boxes (40 in all) and filled them with packages of teddy grahams.




I also tried to make cake pops for the first time. First I tried them with the wilton bear shaped pan and that was a total disaster. When I dipped the bears in the chocolate their heads would snap off. It was not pretty so I settled on doing the round cake pops but I could not get my chocolate to coat evenly. I will try again soon. I have to revisit Bakerella's web site for another tutorial. I did find this cute cake pop stand at Michaels though that added just the right touch.

New Job

Last Thursday was a great day for me. I got a new position and although I am still an Analyst this position comes with a lot of new perks like an office, a cell phone and oh yeah a raise, lol. I was even more excited when I got home Friday and walked up the steps to see this -

And once I got inside I saw this with even more balloons that are not in the photo and to top it all off

There were these waiting for me, all done by my husband. What is even more remarkable is that he takes public transportation home and this was a lot to carry. I felt so special and loved. What more can a girl ask for?

Where to begin?

I just spent two minutes trying to think of a catchy title for today's post but alas, this is the best that I can do.

First let me give you a update on "The Wire". I have made it to season five! I feel like I have been on the streets of Baltimore right along withMcNulty and Greggs. This show is so fascinating! I would be done except some how Xfinitytv.com skipped an episode and it is throwing me off. I have to email them, maybe they just don't know.

I did complete several projects over the weekend that I can't wait to share. My last project of Sunday evening was another Unique-tini glass for one of my husband's co-workers. Her favorite color is purple and she said she wanted it to bling and here are the results.


Next my husband asked me to scrap a portofolio for one of his business partners who just had a big birthday party. It took me forever to get this completed! I hate being so slow but I just want things to be right. I used one of my favorite products from Oriental Trading, the 8x8 accordian chpboard album as my base. I cut it down to two sides and painted it black. I then took it outside and sprayed it with an acrylic sealer. (I wish I had thought about taking before pictures so that you will get the full effect, oh well next time.) I used the DCWV Le creme's paper line for a sophisticated look. Here is a total look at the front, inside and back covers in that order.

Wired

I am so hooked on The Wire! How did I miss this series?

Maybe it was during time when I refused to pay for TV and would not get cable. Now I think my family will shrivel into dust if I get it taken away. While scrapping I watch xfinitytv.com on my laptop and Friday night I discovered they have all five seasons. I started watching one episode and then had to watch the next and the next until my eyes hurt and I had to go to bed but hey there is always tomorrow right? So I got up Saturday, scrapped and watched more of The Wire. Sunday it rained all day here in Philly so after cooking dinner and getting everyone in the house ready for the work week guess what I did, YES! I watched The Wire until 1:00 a.m. and now I am at work paying for it. I hope this third cup of coffee does the trick, lol.

In scrapping news I could not control my impulses and placed a small but sweet order at Two Peas. How could I resist? It ships on Wednesday, I can't wait!

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.