Ice Cream Cone card

Another scrap card with what I had laying on the table, but I don't mind this one.  The ice cream cone is a rub-on that was left from a "beach" theme sheet.  The doily is one I cut to try on something else and had just been laying there, and the word set was an extra....love it when it comes together!

Leftover scrap card

Okay.  I'm not ALWAYS feeling super creative, and sometimes I just want to use up scraps and things I have laying around on my table.  I didn't mind this card until I added the stamped ornaments and the tree.  Even I can't junk up things like that...can I?  So, I made it, but then I just threw it in the garbage.  Mission accomplished. 

Card from Liz

Liz gave me this card a couple of weeks ago, with my CTMH order.  I thought it was just too special not to share with everyone.  She's very creative and loves tearing and distressing.  I have this displayed in my craft room.  Thanks for sharing Liz.
Love ya!

Week 3 challenge for the retreat

I saved this sketch out of a magazine, thinking I'd use it sometime because in incorporated quite a few photos, which I'm always doing.  These are photos that Robin shared with me, and I loved them.  Chris and Taylor are such good kids and I just love them.  So I'm glad Robin shares photos with me, because since they live in Idaho Falls, I don't see the every day things.

I usually start with a sketch and try to figure out what colors I want to use, then I start trimming photos and laying them out on the pages.  That gives me an idea of what's really going to fit and look decent, and still leave me some room for journaling.

February exchange cards #4

In my quest of always making men's cards, I thought I'd use a Western theme for the last set of "punch" cards.  The stars are always so easy to punch and use.  Pretty simple, but I liked it.
I have been trying to organize my scrapping materials as you know, and I had a stack of paper with single sheets and I laid them out and was determined to try and use some of them up.  I used several sheets on the exchange cards this month, and helped Jeff's mom using some up also.  I'm actually proud of myself!

February exchange cards #3

This was my 3rd "punch" card.  The flower was punched with a scallop punch, and then you sliced between the 2nd "petal" all the way around.  Then ou placed it upside down on some foam, and used something rounded to work the ends of the petal so they had some texture and shape to them.  When you were finished, you poked the middle so it sort of gathered up.  When I made a second set, I actually punched two scallops and doubled the petals.  I like that better, but I'd already put the buttons on this set.  I thought it turned out fairly cute though.
Got haircuts tonight.  Cinda straightened my hair, and it looked nice...but I don't have enough time to do that every morning.  Too lazy I guess.

February exchange cards #2

Here's the "egg" tulips while I was in the process of making them.  I thought they were way cute, and can't figure out how people come up with all these ideas.

The whole card.  These were the 2nd set of cards I made using punches.  I used the oval punch for the eggs, and the owl punch to make the tulip flowers and the leaves. 

Self Portrait

I finally decided that maybe I needed a pair of glasses.  The last pair I got was about 20 years old, and I might have worn them 3-4 times.  They were bi-focals, and I just couldn't get used to using them.  So, when I would get home from work I would take out my contacts, and just go without anything all evening.  I look to read for awhile when I go to bed, and it was getting so I couldn't read my scrapbook magazines because they wrote in white on a pastel color so much...and I couldn't see it.  The first night after I got my glasses, I couldn't believe it!  I could read those pages.  So, I'm using them more already than I did the last pair.  These are tri-focals.  Does that mean I'm getting old or what?

Photo a day

I was on some blog a few weeks ago, and she had a theme of "photo" a day.  Sort of like the project life, except you gave you an idea of what to take photos of each day.  I wrote down the topic for each day on a scrap of paper, and then I put it on the counter, carried it out to my truck, back to the craft room...short story, I started doing it.  And I'm actually really liking it. 
Now, as you can see, the theme for this day was "the inside of my closet".  It's embarrassing, but I took these photos of the closets in my scrap room.  They are way too full and over crowded, and I thought maybe posting the photo would make me do something about it!  LOL. 
The photo above, is taken inside of the south closet, which is where I keep my scrapbooking & card making & painting, and....you get the idea.  These containers hold alot of my CTMH stamp sets.

These two photos are taken in the north closet, which holds my fabric, wrapping, yarns, baskets, etc.  It's WAYYYY over crowded.  Most of the flannel you see stacked up in the second photo is for the backs of quilts, so there's about 7 yards of each of those, so they take up alot of room.  Then there's the scraps from quilts that I've made in the first one.  All in all, I think I could sew for a very long time without running out of fabric.
So, there you have my embarrassing photos of my messy closets, and I'm hoping I am soooo embarrassed that I get busy and clean them.

Week 2 challenge for the retreat

This week's challenge was to use a "wild" paper on a layout.  I chose to use zebra skin.  The paper was some I had actually bought awhile back, thinking I'd use it on cards.  It was sort of a cream color with black flocked stripes.  I did a layout of photos of Chelsey, because she loves zebra skinned things.

Yesterday, Jeff's mom came down and we spent the day making cards for her.  She seemed really excited with them.  We made twelve.  I forgot to take photos though...opps...
Jeff & Vern went for a drive while we were crafting. 

February exchange cards #1

The February theme for the exchange cards was:  "punches".  Use punches in some form on your card.  I watched some Utube clips and was fascinated with all the things people make from their punches!  I had never used mine like that.  So, I finally gave up watching Utube and started making cards.  This was my first set.  The tulip is made with the SU owl punch...owl?  Yes.  If you look at it closely, you can see the little feet at the bottom.  You cut the owl in half and then round it to make the petals.  The inside is the small oval.  I actually thought this was pretty clever.

Now...go get out all those punches!

VD treats

I think I wrote that I baked for about four hours on Monday evening....I was sick of baking.  But, it was fun to make up some treat containers to deliver.  Jeff loves these sugar cookies (even though he shouldn't be eating them) so I bake them about once a year.  Then I tried to give most of them away to keep him out of them.  I also baked chocolate chip cookies.

These are the containers that I filled to give away.  I put about a dozen cookies in each one.  Some of both kinds, put a card with it, and made a little tag.  Nothing big or time consuming.

I delivered them before I went to work on Tuesday morning.  I just put them in the widows mailbox, and dropped mom's off to her, and then we had lunch with Vern & Reta so I gave them theirs then.  I also took a couple of sugar cookies and a card for each person at work.  Lynn was funny.  He said..."oh, oh...I'm in trouble.  I didn't get Lois a Valentine's gift".

I hate to admit this, but I never did get anything out in the mailbox for the mailman at Christmas time and felt bad.  So, I covered a box of licorice and put a tag on it and put it in the mailbox that day also.  I guess he got it.

Last night, I got a call from one of the widows thanking me for the "cutest little containers full of goodies and the cutest card".  He said I can't do anything for you but thank you and it means alot.  That made me feel really good.  He also said, "I hope you both keep working because I need the money to live on".  I told him we keep telling our kids that too.