Ahhhhh......Kansas

Today I don't have anything creative to share that's from my own hands...but I do have something to share from one whos creations far outshine any that I could ever hope to make!

We all know that Kansas is famous for it's acres of sunflowers, and they in themselves are gorgeous when you glimpse row upon row of them lifting their faces to the sun. Of course there's a joke that goes around that says "Welcome to Kansas, set your clocks back 50 years"....As I get older I'm learning to appreciate that slower pace of living that so much of the world shuns.





It simply takes my breath away to see the rich beauty around us that is there if we just pay attention. In our everyday rush to get things done and go here and go there, we miss these instant snaphots of God's love.





My daughter Kristy snapped these pictures on her way home from work one day. She likes to carry her camera with her for just such moments as these. I may have to follow her lead on this one, as these are definately keepers. I see this, and I know why I love Kansas.

Each day is a gift. At the end of each is a time of rest and renewal, for with the daybreak is a new day, a new beginning, a new hope.

Have a wonderful day!

Quick Note Card Stationary

I have a customer who was wanting some Western theme stationary note cards....Riley the Moose to the rescue! As I've said before, I love this little moose. He seems to be into everything! You can see Riley over at Hanna Stamps.
These note cards are just 5 1/2 X 4 1/4 inch base card. They fit into a regular size invitation envelope. I colored Riley with KOH-I-NOOR woodless colour pencils using odorless mineral spirits and a blending stump. I'll try and get a tutorial up on the way that I color with colored pencils to blend the colors together. The cardstock and patterned paper is from Close To My Heart's Sasparilla collection. I also used CTMH's markers for the Twilight and Barn Red of Riley's hat, scarf, and holsters so I could match the color of the papers better. I love the way he turned out! I packed them all up in a clear box and put a wrap around it to package them nicely for giving. It took just one evening to make this set, and would be great for quick gifts!

I think I'll be making up a few more sets with different themes to have on hand for gift giving!

Hope you have a wonderful day! The snow and ice are melting and it's warming up. Yeah!

Perfect Day for stamping!

It's cold here in Kansas today! The roads are icy, it's snowing, and it's FREEZING! My hubby got a snow day from work, and made a big batch of chili (hmmmm! he makes the most divine chili!). It's a perfect day for stamping. I finished up my grand kiddies valentines today, and have several other projects to work on, so it'll be a good day for me! I even took a "snow day" from the gym today. I just couldn't make myself get out in the cold!

I made these valentines with stamps from CTMH and Papertrey ink. Patterned paper is from the "Silhouette" collection from CTMH and card base is Kraft. I couldn't help myself and had to add the "googly" eyes on the animals. However, the rabbit looks rather myoptic with her googly eyes

Sorry, this one is kinda blurry.

I tried to keep them fairly simple with a lot of repeatitive elements which makes it easier to stamp several of the same type of cards, just changing a few things. Like an assembly line!

This one is for Carleigh, who is crazy about ladybugs. She even dressed up as a ladybug for halloween last year! And, her most favorite dog's name was Ladybug. So very fitting for my little lady! (But trust me, little lady she is not! She's usually dirtier then the boys!)


Hope you've enjoyed this peek at some of my valentines day cards. Till later....stay warm!

Dropping you a quick line!

Today I'm doing the grandma thing, so just a quick post! I love Riley the Moose from Hanna Stamps. He's so cute in all his different elements! I colored him with colored pencils and mineral spirits using a blending stump. Paper is from a pak I picked up at Walmart and embellished with CTMH bigger brads. Scalloped and plain oval cut with my Nestibilitie dies and cuttlebug. Hope you have a wonderful weekend! Check back next week for some valentines day cards.

Paper Bag Album

Today I'm going to give you a quick tutorial on making a paper bag album. The great thing about these albums is they're cheap, you can use up all your scrap papers you have lying around, you can embellish to your hearts content, and they make great gifts for friends and family. You can make a paper bag album for any occasion or event, or just because!







You first start with 3 lunch size paper bags. The ones I used were just plain ole lunch sacks that you get at Walmart or wherever. They also come in white if you prefer that color background for your album.

Fold each paper bag in half making a center crease line.
You stack the 3 paper bags together as pictured alternating the bottom fold. I like to sew the three of them together down the center fold line to keep them nice and tidy(no slipping around!). I just use a regular sewing machine. Punch 3 holes down the side.



Now you are ready to start embellishing however you like.



I like to make all kinds of tags to put into the different pockets I made. Some will hold pictures and some journaling. The rest is all to your imagination! These are really easy peasy to make. So why don't you go get some lunch bags and try it!



Here's a few pages of one of the albums I have done. Lots of pockets, and lots of tags, little envelopes etc. Now I just need to get some pictures in it!



I used lots of scraps of ribbon from CTMH, walmart and hobby lobby. I have tons of ribbon, so this is a great project to use up some bits and pieces!



All the patterned paper I used for this album is from CTMH's Sonata paper pak. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. Have a wonderful day!

Valentine's Day is coming!

I for one, am more then ready to put away the Christmas theme. Let's make room for Spring! Okay, maybe it's a little soon for that, but Valentine's Day is on the way toward Spring, so I'll settle for that! I broke out some brand new stamps from CTMH along with the matching paper. They come in the "Key To My Heart" special that CTMH is having in January. I love these papers..they are so pretty, and the patterns so fresh and well..."Springy"! I whipped up this Valentine's Day card today, tho I think I'll give it to my hubby for our anniversary at the end of this month. We celebrate both our anniversarys (both in January) the day we met, and the day we got married. He NEVER forgets the dates either! Much better at remembering them then I am, how sad is that? John always used to buy me yellow roses for our anniversary....1 rose for each year we've been together....I had to have a serious talk with him last year! Roses are expensive...we've been together a very long time.... Although I LOVE the thought behind it, a card and dinner will be just as nice and much less expensive!

And of course, you can't give a special card without finishing out the inside, to make it that much more special!

I'll be posting some more Valentine's Day cards as the days go by.

Have a wonderful Day!

These cards warm my heart....

I love this stamp set called "Treasure Life" from Close To My Heart. The images can be used for all different occasions. When I make cards, I like to stamp up several of the same image while I have the stamp inked up. I then have cards ready to just add a sentiment that I need. In this case, I've made sympathy, birthday, anniversary, and thank you cards all out of the same stamp, and just changed out the paper and ink. Easy!

And....it just so happens today is my sweetie and I's anniversary of the day we met, so guess I'd better get one of these addressed to him pronto!

Have a great day!

Scrapbook Club Nite Fun

Last night was Scrapbook Club....the girls were in rare form! We had a really good time with lots of laughs and made a really cute layout that is right in step with the COLD weather! I'm putting up a couple pictures of the layout we created. If you are interested in joining the scrapbook club just let me know. It's a great way to get out for a girl's nite out and have some fun. I promise you don't have to have a creative bone in your body...it's easy as can be.

Here's a close up of that cute little snowman!

New Spring Close To My Heart Catalog has arrived!

The new spring catalog is chalk full of fabulous papers, some great new colors (juniper, sorbet, tulip, and creme brulee), and lots of coordinating accessories for all your paper crafting needs. If you do not have the new Spring 2009 Idea Book please contact me TODAY for one. You are going to be so inspired by the ideas in the Idea book and all the fabulous new stamp sets, scrapbooking kits, accessories and embellishments! You can get a peek at it here. Contact me for your hard copy!

In case you're interested, I do hold monthly workshops at my house where we create some fantastic scrapbook pages and have lots of fun playing, eating and talking! I'd love for you to join us. I'll try and post a pic today of the layouts we will be doing on Thursday at this month's workshop!

Welcome To My Blog!

Well, I've finally taken the plunge to start my own blog/newsletter! I'm hoping this will be a better way to keep my friends and fellow papercrafters and customers up to date on what's happening in and around my world! It won't always be craft related, maybe sometimes personal, but hopefully always fun! So with that said....let's get started!