Many Thanks!

Christmas was amazing! I have such a wonderful family, and my friends - well, you're just the BEST! I thought I'd better get started on all my "thank-you's" to start my new year off right. I dry embossed vellum with my Cuttlebug - I just LOVE this elegant look! - and layered onto DCWV sage metallic cardstock using vellum glue dots. I wrapped the layer with Martha Stewart silver sage ribbon adorned with a shrink plastic charm stamped with "Thanks". I had to try my new Bella Baubles on the lower right corner - thanks Becky, I now have a new addiction! The completed front was layered onto brown Bazzill Bling cardstock.

B-day Rolodex

Well, I've had some requests to show the birthday rolodex that I did last year. So, here it is.....

I took a small Rolodex and altered it using patterned paper, ribbons, stamps, and embellishments. It is divided by month - each containing index cards for birthdays and anniversaries for the month. Each index card has the name and date on the front and contact info on the back. It has really helped to keep me organized and on top of all those special occasions!

They say it's your birthday....

In an effort to be a little more organized this year, I'm trying to get a jump start on birthday cards. My hubby has a large extended family, and with all my friends & angels, it can be a little challenging. Last year I made a birthday rolodex organized by month. Each month has index cards for each person's b-day that falls within the month. On the front is their name and birthday; on the back is their address. I started the year off great last year, but started slacking around August. This year, my goal will be to stay 2 months ahead - Yeah, we'll see how long that lasts!!!!! LOL :)
This will be the card I use for my January and February birthdays. I used a plain crimson red cardstock, layered with a cream cardstock, and the Admire pattern from Basic Grey's Blush. I then stamped a floral florish in umber on birch cardstock (all TAC). I embellished using a loopy brad, ribbon, bitty Prima flowers and a little bling. The edges of the image and mat are distressed using the Heidi Swapp edge distresser and umber ink.

Lucky Travel

Many of you know that I travel to Ireland every other year with one of my best Irish friends. It's just one of those things that I do for me! This next year (2008), we will have 10 travelers! I've never traveled with more than 6 women at a time - it will be interesting, but FUN! We decided to rent a 5-bedroom castle in the southwest area of the country. I've never been to that section of the country, so I'm jazzed!
I wanted to give the gals a little something to take with them, and Kris and I learned the first year to journal our trip. It was so hard to remember even from day-to-day where we'd been and what we'd seen - much less wait to get home and try to remember. I bought a Bind-it-All about 6 months ago and hadn't even touched it yet. So, I thought I'd give it a try. I came up with these adorable little journals. They are 6" X 6" with 40 linen paper pages. I added a couple of coordinating envelops in the back in case the gals wanted to save little mementos. The paper is "Stroke of Luck" and "Run of Luck" by Reminisce. It is an iridescent paper. I will stamp each person's initial on front inside the stationery circle using the alphabet stamps, both by Inkadinkado. The spines are embellished with ribbon - of course, and I made a matching beaded pen.

Jessie's Box

A friend of mine, Jessie, asked if I could make a decorative gift box for her mother's Christmas gift. I LOVE to help people out while challenging my creativity, so I agreed. When asked what she would like, she said her mother's favorite character was Betty Boop. I didn't think it would be a problem. Well, it was....

I could NOT find Betty Boop anything - paper, stickers, fabric - nothing! Perhaps if we lived in a bigger town and I had access to different stores. But, in Clovis, nothing and I didn't have time to order anything. Now what? I asked Jessie what would be second best. She said her mother's favorite color was purple. Okay, now that I can work with! I found this Daisy D's paper at the local craft store. I cover a pencil box and adorned it with a flower and a ribbon/button closure. PERFECT! Jessie was thrilled!

It's Here!

I've been working tons of overtime this week - staying from 7:30 am - at least 8:00 pm. I came home on Thursday evening to a WONDERFUL surprise! My secret santa package had arrived!!!! My hubby had loving set it in my chair in the living room just awaiting my arrival. Of course, I had to open it right away - I already had a "hint" as to who my Santa was! My very good friend Awna had drawn my name this year! I couldn't wait to rip into the box. It was filled with crumpled pieces of wrapping paper - so I just kept digging! I came across two wrapped gifts - now, do I put them under the tree for Christmas, open one and put the other under the tree, or open them both? Of course, I chose the latter of the three! The first one I opened was an adorable altered frame in shades of retro Christmas - pink and lime. It was adorned with ribbons and a little tag at the bottom - "priceless". I LOVE it! The next gift was a little larger and oddly shaped. As I began to open it, I realized it was an altered wooden purse. Awna had coordinated the papers on it to the frame. The front had "XMAS" in large letters at the bottom. I'm thinking, "wow, these are AWESOME gifts". Then, I opened the purse - NO WAY! - it was FILLED with even more goodies. Tons of embellishments, glitter pens, ribbon, some stamps, and even a hand-made album the shape of the box. Girl - I LOVE it all - you outdid yourself! I had the BEST santa a girl could ask for! Enjoy the pix!

Down to the Wire!

Well, I've never waited this long to send out my Christmas cards! But, they are finally finished and went postal this afternoon! My cards are usually in the mail the weekend following Thanksgiving; not this year. I have no idea how I got so far behind, except for the little trips I've taken this year, and probably trying to keep up with the blog! My hubby and I were joking around that maybe I should start next year's NOW. LOL! Maybe it's not such a bad idea.....

When you send about 200, it takes quite some time. The cardstock is DCWV, the yorkie stamp is from JessicaLynn Originals, the patterned paper is Cosmo Cricket, and the remaining stamps are TAC. I think they turned out very cute - we had to include our favorite girl, Tinkerbell!

Criss-Cross

I used Nichole's Criss-Cross template to make these cute little boxes for last minute stocking stuffers. The paper is Cosmo Cricket, and I used the Holiday Treats stamp set from PaperTrey for the front. They are embellished with some simple ribbon and of course a little bling! I filled them with shredding and then some goodies for the gals.

Secret Santa

Well, I've finally finished everything! I'm so excited to be a part of a VERY special monthly swap!!! We normally swap a themed card front each month. But, December is extra special! We take the month off from card swaps and exchange names for a Secret Santa. This year, I had a BALL! I am Santa to a precious person with an amazing spirit! I couldn't surprise her too much, as she is the hostess, and had to post the partners. She loves hard candy, crazy socks and her favorite colors are pink, brown and green. I hope she LOVES her gifts!
The frame and calendar were both created using Basic Grey's Infuse collection. I embellished with coordinating ribbon and a little bling using LadyBug Jewels from Doodlebug Designs. The candy is held in an acetate box I created using Lauren's Ghiradelli template. The tag was stamped using Holiday Treats by PaperTrey. The little embellishment box is filled with some adorable socks that I picked up at Target! Enjoy, my friend!

Last Weekend

This last weekend was a blur! Saturday was Dad's 66th birthday. I made this simple outdoorsy card for him using Mountain Scenery from TAC, some brown and birch cardstock, layered with Infuse from Basic Grey. I embellished it using some brown gingham ribbon. To have my Dad with us for the last 5 years have truly been a blessing! He survived a massive heart attack in 2002, and only has about 25% function of his heart left. Every day is a gift!
We also took my sister's kids to see the Nutcracker in Amarillo, Texas. Rilee is 9, Sophie 5, and Corbin 4. They had a wonderful time! The two younger ones fell asleep during the second set, but to be expected after a long morning of travel!

Jessica's Birthday

Brody's girlfriend, Jessica aka "Jess", turns 17 tomorrow. Her favorite color is red and she asked Brody for an initial necklace. Since he's a high school student with no job or money, we had to improvise a little. I made the pendant using a picture pebble from TAC, some Basic Grey paper, ribbon, and an "S" shaped clip. The box was the Chris box from B.E. I painted it using red acrylic paint and embellished it with Basic Grey paper and a coordinating die cut. Of course I had to add a little bling with Doodlebug jewels! I sure hope she likes it!

Christmas Advent Calendar

WOW! Christmas is JUST around the corner! I can't believe it. Thanksgiving was wonderful, spent with family. We were able to hit the stores early this morning and catch some good bargins, but it reminded me just how close to Christmas we really are - 31 days to be exact!
So, I came up with this little clipboard Advent Calendar to begin the countdown! (Cased from several examples on SCS) The chipboard calendar, papers, and stamps are all from TAC. The ribbons are just scraps I've been hanging onto. Each numbered tag has a magnet on the back to make the countdown a breeze! I have a little pocket on the back to hold the unused numbers.

It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas!

St. Louis

I just returned from a week in St. Louis. I went with a colleague for an Infection Control conference with APIC. We arrived on Sunday afternoon. Once we checked into the hotel, we decided to do some exploring. We were several miles from "downtown" and rather than taking a cab, decided to hit the Metro. We had lunch at the Hard Rock, Union Station, then headed downtown. We walked and walked. The day was perfect - the air light and crisp, the trees turning, and the sun warm! Unfortunately, tickets to go to the top of the Arch were sold out for the day, so we only got some pictures from the outside. We saw some other sights and headed back to the hotel.
The conference was good, but the evenings were even better! We spent our evenings exploring the area around the hotel. We were in a fairly wealthy area of town, so we were able to visit a galleria, and some exclusive wine/cheese shops. I ended up buying a couple of great bottles that I'm not able to get here.
Well, back to work and the real world tomorrow!

Etsy Store

Etsy Store!

Thanks, Mabelle! I finally opened my Etsy Store!!!! Please take a couple of minutes and check it out. I have posted this calendar for purchase, but could also custom create one just for you using your favorite colors, theme, or designer paper collection!

Becky's Halloween Challenge

Just before we left Orlando, Becky threw out a challenge to Misty and I to create a Halloween card using at least one of the Michaels $1 bin Halloween stamps and post before Halloween.
Well, here's what I came up with....
The card is purple cardstock (5 1/2" Square). The edges are inked using Noir Palette ink (TAC). The next layer is a 5" square dark metallic Emerald cardstock with the corners punched using a ticket punch. I then placed a birch colored cardstock (TAC) on top of the emerald cardstock and stamped my image. I paper-pieced the numbers using Adam's Family cardstock from Rusty Pickle. I then cut a frame (4 1/2" Square) from black cardstock and also ticket punched the corners. I adorned the left edge of the frame with a scrap of green gingham ribbon. Using a simple Iris folding technique, I filled in the black frame using scraps of the Adam's Family cardstock. I attached the frame in place on top of the layers to complete the card.
Thanks, Becky! I had a great time doing this card!

More Ghoulish Goodies

I had such a GREAT time creating these little goody boxes! I got the template from Brenda Quintana on Split Coast Stampers. They are SO easy and quick to make. They would be awesome for a classroom treat or a little party favor! I used Sparkle Ima Ghost (Cloud9Design) cardstock for the box. I cut a 12" X 12" sheet into an 8 1/2" X 11", and ran it through my printer to get the pattern. I adorned it with Halloween ribbon from Michaels, and used a little purple stickles (TAC) for some BLING! I stamped "BOO" (Papertrey) onto the acetate window using black stazon ink (TAC) and outlined using black stickles (TAC). The box is aged using a sponge and a little Noir Palette ink (TAC). Enjoy!

Orlando Projects

Halloween

One of my favorite times of the year is the beginning of fall. The days are still warm, but the air is crisp with light blue skies. It's hard to believe it has come around again so soon, especially after just leaving 90 degree weather in Florida! But, it is time to think about the little ghosts and goblins in our lives. I'm working on some little treat pails for my neices and nephew. I altered some empty Prima flower pails that I had using B.A. Ghoul (Cloud9Design) and Along Came a Spider (Reminisce) papers. I stamped the jack-o-lantern's face and tag using Spooky Sweets (Papertrey). I will fill each pail with goodies for the kids. I think they will really enjoy them!

The gang in my office LOVES gum, so I also designed some little gum holders that work perfect with the Orbitz brand gum. It just wraps around the original packaging and uses a ribbon for a slider. I thought they turned out pretty cute, too! I used a burnt orange cardstock covered with Gomez, Adams Family collection (Rusty Pickle) for the cover, some Halloween ribbon from Michaels, and Trick or Treat from the Spooky Sweets set (Papertrey).

Happy Halloween to all those ghouls out there! More haunting projects to come.......

Orlando

I was so blessed to have spent a week with two of my BEST girlfriends, Becky and Misty, in Orlando earlier this month. We stayed in my timeshare in Kissimmee, FL, and spent most of our time stamping and creating. One of my favorite projects that we worked on was an altered Bare Elements (B.E.) Reyna Castle book. We used halloween paper turning it into a Haunted Castle. First, we painted the books with Making Memories black paint, then covered them with paper. The papers I used were: Spider Web, Silly Spiders (Adorn It), Ghoulish Green (Karen Foster), and Happy Halloween (K & Co). In addition, I added dimensional stickers from the $1 bin at Michaels and some Halloween ribbon from Michaels. The edges of the papers were all inked using Noir Palette ink. We had many laughs trying to get these done. See, Misty and I are both, well, BUSTY. We had a great "shelf" to hold our projects on while we sanded the edges. Poor miss Becky was working from her lap. The books were a little difficult to manipulate, but SO worth it! They turned out adorable!

We also had the chance to spend Saturday stamping with Mabelle Ramirez-Ortiz, a fabulous artist and designer for The Angel Company. She is a beautiful person with an amazing gift! I absolutely LOVE her designs. We all had a project to share with each other, and had a wonderful day. I feel so blessed to have such amazing friends!

Vintage Christmas Mini Album

This is a gorgeous little album made from one manila folder! I got my inspiration from Taylor VanBruggen - she is FAB! Check her out: http://tayloredexpressions.blogspot.com/2007/08/manila-folder-album.html I will be teaching this class Sunday, Sept. 16th, in our local scrapbook store. I used all the new Cosmo Cricket "Be Good" Christmas papers, Buck Naked chipboard elements and Ornament Fashions, and ribbon. I am really liking their line. The papers are all double-sided, slightly textured, and very easy to work with. It is a fairly quick project and would make a really nice gift for Granny! Sarah doesn't care what products I use, which is wonderful! But, I do want to support her new business - so I choose to use products that she had in stock. Once we get rolling, I'll start using some TAC stuff.

This is the inside of the album. When the folder is scored and folded, you have pockets all along the bottom. I made some inserts that can be used to mat some pix or for journaling those Holiday memories. I inked all the edges with Burnt Umber Palette ink. I am VERY pleased with the end result. I hope you enjoy looking!

HUGS!

WHEW!

Wow! The last few weeks have been a whirl-wind! The last weekend in August, I attended a benefit dinner in Albuquerque with some girlfriends. It was a silent auction, gourmet dinner, and comedian show with Paul Rodriquez. We shopped til we literally DROPPED, then attended the dinner. We were exhausted!

Dan and I went to New York over Labor Day weekend for his cousin's wedding - a classic Italian Catholic wedding - we had a BLAST! Let me introduce Jason & Bridget Rocco! They are a gorgeous couple and will have beautiful children one day. Other than the wedding, we were able to spend some time with Dan's family.

The week after the wedding was our local Buddy Holly music festival. Dan is the chair of the committee, and heavily involved with the Chamber. He spend 90% of this past weekend at the civic center working out last minute details, providing security, putting out fires, etc. We had some friends in from England for the week-long events! We had a really good time, but I'm glad it's over for another year.

Also, last week, Brody (on the right) was promoted to Cadet 2nd Lt. in the AFJROTC. He is the Flight Commander for the Junior Flight at CHS. He has had a very busy summer as well. He attended a week-long swim camp in Vail, CO. He has really trimmed down and buffed up! He looks GREAT! He's been working very hard toward his goal of an appointment to the Air Force Academy after graduation. In fact, late this summer, he received an initial recruitment letter from the head coach of the AFA swim team - he is so THRILLED! Now, we have to search for Congressional backing.

This is Brody (on the left) and his best friend, Bryant, just after their promotions last week. Bryant also made Cadet 2nd Lt.

We have a new scrapbook store in town. They opened up while I was in New York. I took a ride by the other day - not too bad! I got to talking with the owner, Sarah, and she invited me to teach some classes! I'm really jazzed! I took a few of my projects in on Sunday afternoon, and she said, "when do you want to change the calendar - can you teach on Sunday?" I just jumped right in - I will be teaching on Sunday. I'll post another blog with my project later.

I'm going to try to be better about posting - it's just been SO crazy!

TTFN!

Thank You

I made this card for one of my best friends. She sent me the most awesome board book kit for my birthday. I used BasicGrey, Stampendous Clipboard Bracket stamp set, Autumn Leaves Sentiment Circles stamp set, a decorative pin from Heidi Grace, some solid cardstock, and Burnt Umber Palette ink. I am so blessed to have such wonderful friends in my life!