My creative sidekick...

Just like Batman had Robin and Peanut Butter has Jelly, I have a creative sidekick...my niece Taylor...(loving that toothless grin!) She has been wanting to come over and spend the day in my craft room for some time. My brother (her dad) called me over the weekend to ask if she could come over to make a special project...

She wanted to make a book about her super sweet dog, Dutch. They had to put Dutch down on New Years Eve. Dutch was the sweetest Weimaraner you would ever meet. Mike and I both thought this would be a great tool for the healing process. It was nice to see her share the pictures with me, telling me stories about Dutch. She made a couple pages of him. Here is a peek at one in the beginning stages... We love you Dutch. You will be missed. I went to Borders recently and purchased THIS book for the kids. My brother said the kids found comfort in it, especially the part where it says that the dogs are always by their sides and that they get dog treats in Heaven. :)

Okay. Off to get some crafting done since I'm snowed in. Thanks for stopping by!

Oh, and the winner from the last post is...JESS (Email me with your address and I'll get some goodies out to you!)

Cards for St. Jude & Prize

I was excited to hear from Winter that she was doing the card drive for St. Jude again this year. (See last year's cards I made HERE) Here is the card I made tonight for the drive and plan to make a bunch more just like it...Sorry, not the best picture but you get the idea. I wanted to put some glossy accents on the fish scales but before I did, I outlined them with a glitter pen. LOVE how it turned out. Here is a close up...
The inside reads, "Valentine Wishes". (forgot to photograph it. duh!)

Okay, now for the prize. Leave a comment to this post telling me how many cards you plan to make for this card drive. Remember, one card = one smile! :) I will randomly pick a winner to send a box of scrap goodies to on Friday night. Also, please check Winter's Post HERE for all the information...there are a few guidelines to follow. Thank you in advance for creating for this great cause.

As of right now...

Hi! I don't know about you but I'm still trying to get back into the swing of things from the holidays so I thought I'd do a "as of right now" post that I saw on Carla's blog the other day. (love that girl!)

as of right now...
Eating - Chocolate Covered Pretzels...Yum!

Drinking -Sprite

Last Night's Dinner - We went out with my parents...ate at Tumbleweed

Listening To - my son drumming

Reading - new Scrapbooks Etc. Magazine

Doing -Editing Christmas Photos

Next Crafty Thing I Want To Explore -Photography Skills

Waiting On - Ted to get home so we can catch up on our DVR shows.

Excited About - using my new photo printer that Ted and Alex got me for Christmas! :)

Super Thankful For - my husband and son being off for the past two weeks!

Watching - Rules of Engagement...love that show!

Last Movie Watched -Grown Ups (SOOOO FUNNY!)

Next Movie To See - Little Fockers (the sequel to Meet the Parents and Meet the Fockers)

What I'm Wearing - Pajamas (always in p.j.'s when I'm at home)

To-Do, At This Very Second - Catch up on emails

So consider yourself tagged....would love to see what you are up to...leave a link in the comments if you do a as of right now post. :)

Hope you all had a fabulous holiday. Happy New Year!

Our Christmas Card-2010

Hi friends! Thought I would share my Christmas cards with all of you. I started out with a picture of Alex from his band's photo shoot this year, knowing I wanted to use something about a drummer boy in the card. I love that pic of him holding his drumsticks. So, I printed a whole bunch in a 2x3 size.

Here is the outside of the card...(sentiment-Hero Arts, patterned paper-Jillibean Soup)

A peek at the inside...Last year I included hot cocoa in my Christmas cards and this year I wanted to give a little something again so I created handmade gift tags. Here's a close up of the pocket that held them...

and the greeting on the inside...

Now for a closer look at the tags... I bought THIS stamp set and knew I wanted to create the tags out of it. It seemed like such a good idea until I had to stamp and color all 100 of them! LOL
The backs of each tag...

Believe it or not, I'm already thinking of next year's card. Yep, I'm crazy like that. lol

BTW, If you are new to my blog and want to see my Christmas cards from previous years, click HERE and HERE.

Okay, off to wrap some more presents. Thanks for stopping by! Be back soon...

Personalized Cards & Color Recipe

Today, as I was going through my Christmas shopping lists (yes, I'm still not done yet!), I felt like I needed something to add to Betty's gift. Betty is my next door neighbor and the sweetest lady you will ever meet. She is in her mid 80's and I always find it hard to shop for her because she has everything. We go to the same hair salon and I always get her a gift certificate there and homemade buckeye and peanut butter fudge candy....but I wanted to add a little something extra so I got crafty today...I decided to make her a set of personalized cards since I know she sends out many because most of her family lives in other states. I also wanted to create a Color Recipe to show what color ink and color card I paired together, for anyone wanting to whip up a set of these for a last minute gift. If you're like me and are a HUGE Hero Arts fan, then this will be easy peasy.

To get started, pick out a background stamp. I used THIS one like I did in my last post. I thought it was elegant and classy just like Betty. ;)

I'll start with the RED group first...

You will need THIS multi pack of cards. Here's a breakdown of each card...
1. Carnation card stamped with Soft Blossom Ink
2. Punch card stamped with Punch Chalk Ink

3. Grenadine card stamped with Ruby Dye Ink

Next, the ORANGE group...

You will need THIS multi pack of cards. Here's a breakdown of each card...

1. Poppy card stamped with Poppy Chalk Ink

2. Mandarin card stamped with Poppy Chalk Ink

3. Daffodil card stamped with Soft Yellow Shadow Ink

Next, the GREEN group...

You will need THIS multi pack of cards. Here's a breakdown of each card...
1. Celadon card stamped with Soft Green Shadow Ink
2. Grass card stamped with Grass Chalk Ink
3. Pine card stamped with Grass Chalk Ink

Next, the BLUE group...

You will need THIS multi pack of cards. Here's a breakdown of each card...
1. Powder card stamped with Soft Pool Shadow Ink
2. Cerulean card stamped with Cerulean Chalk Ink
3. Azure card stamped with Cerulean Chalk Ink

and finally, the PURPLE group...

You will need THIS multi pack of cards. Here's a breakdown of each card...
1. Lilac card stamped with Soft Purple Shadow Ink
2. Iris card stamped with Iris Chalk Ink
3. Aubergine card stamped with Iris Chalk Ink

Onto presentation. I LOVE THESE clear boxes from Papertrey Ink. I put each card inside the envelope flap and then place them inside like this...

except for the card that goes in the front....The final product...
I think Betty is going to love them. Thanks for stopping by!

Hero Arts 2011 & Tutorial

Hello! Hello! Hello! I am back and ready to share! I am happy to report that my Christmas cards are complete and will be mailed out tomorrow. Woohoo! I'm a happy girl. :)

Today, I have a tutorial using a NEW Hero Arts stamp from their 2011 Catalog. I purchased THIS stamp and I have to say it was love at first sight. lol Here is a quick card set I made with it...I have a tutorial for you on how I made these. It is a technique I use to turn regular cardstock into glossy/texture yumminess. :) See.....
Here is the play by play in case you want to try this technique...

(That great banner die is from Papertrey Ink)

A few more close up shots...

Thanks for visiting and not giving up on me. lol

Okay, off to take a hot shower and relax. Had a bad spin out on the expressway tonight due to icy roads and so happy that Alex and I are okay but I have some serious stiff muscles from tensing up! Feeling blessed. Night.

Publications & Music Monday

I've been under the weather but wanted to log on and share some recent publications of mine. :)

This specialty issue...features these snowflake embossed cards/tags....
and this issue...features my Christmas Card from last year. The hot cocoa card...
I also wanted to do another Music Monday. Here's some songs I've recently downloaded to my i-pod...

1. THIS song is my new favorite. She is so talented.

2. THIS song is so pretty.

3. I can't get THIS outta my head. What a fun song and the video is so funny.

4. You know how much I love PINK....THIS song makes me dance.

5. Love this artist's spunk...I just downloaded THIS song. :)

Alright. Off to rest and try to beat this cold. Thanks for stopping by!