countdown to Halloween...

...this time of year is one of my favorites. The colors, the creating and all the fun memories that go along with Halloween. When I was younger, much younger, for Halloween my costume was a princess. A blonde hair plastic mask for my face with two little holes to breathe through making much condensation on the inside of the mask. I can still remember how damp and wet that felt.

Trick or Treating was always a treat. Candy galore! and the fun of running around after dark bumping into ghost and witches :) Very scary but oh so safe because our parents were right there behind us.
(with garlic to ward off vampires) LOL

mysterious passage of time...

...why as I get older does time go by so much more quickly? I mean, now as I have time to while away, my time is "whiled" away. I notice this today as I look at my blog. Can it really be almost two weeks since I've posted anything? It seems like yesterday.

So that's why I've decided to start my Halloween decorating now! The stores are all decked out in spooky decorations and treats. If I wait 'til October to start putting out the eerie fun decor the season will be over and I'll just have to take it down the next day. Or maybe this is more likely to happen...I will buy my batty windsocks, ghost garland and jack-o-lantern sign posts, bring them home and then forget about them or at least forget where I put them when October rolls around to "deck the creepy halls".

Today I have bats in the belfry! "jacks" dancing around the pine trees and ghost peeking in the windows...and it makes me smile :)

busy, busy, busy

here it is the last day of August! Summer is almost over and I haven't got around to doing half of what I wanted to do ;)
Oh well, "tomorrow is another day"...
Busy is the word for the last few weeks, busy with making projects for challenges I'm hosting for the online crop at the Fiskateers site :) and then joining in on some of the challenges which include "lifting" other Fiskateer's projects, being inspired by them and then creating to make it my own. These are a few projects that I've completed,

Love making Halloween cards, orange is one of my favorite colors :)

first pinwheels that I've made

created this layout playing Simon Says challenge, what a Fun! game...after following the directions you just don't know what it's going to look like in the end, it's a surprise :)

I have realized that I am hyper-motivated by challenges! not competition but the challenge to get 'er done :) and working under pressure seems to push me to complete the project. Not sure if this is a good thing or not but just looking at my work, looks pretty good to me ;)

Harry Potter in 3D

...the 3D was AWEsome! and it was sad to think it was the last movie but...being the last one it just didn't live up to the previous episodes' adventure, action and whole magical & mysterious drama, IMHO :)

two of my favorite crafting companies...

I love Fiskars and My Favorite Things! Here's a card I made using both :) Two border punches by Fiskars and a stamp set by My Favorite Things.



These stamps are so adorable and fun to color. I'm going to try and practice more with my Copics. And I can never have too many punches from Fiskars ;)

there's no place like home...

...on this layout I went pictureless ;) for the first time!



But I did create 3 journaling pockets out of an old shirt which had lots of decorative patches and embroidering. Just backed each patch with cardstock and pop-up foam squares to create a "pocket" then cut cardstock to size to slip in, stapled rick-rack to tag and ta-da! recycled upcycled journaling tag :)
Did a little fussy cutting on a flower laser-cut sheet and the airplane & map, added sheer turquoise ribbon, the embroidered collar of the old shirt, more rick-rack and baker's twine. Lovin' baker's twine in all different colors :)

what a cutie...

...my kitty, Jack :) He usually doesn't like bags, paper or plastic, because of the noise they make when crumpled...he goes running. But this morning I heard the paper bag rustle and turned to see Pretty Boy, my nickname for Jack, in the bag! How adorable! He stayed in there quite a long time so I was able to snap several great photos, that is a miracle too :)


This was the layout I made with one of the pics and the Furever Friends collection I picked up at Paper Studio. Isn't Jack so cute! and don't ya love my title, "Jack in a Bag" instead of "Jack in a Box" :)

a Gate-Fold card

here's a different spin on making a card, Gate-Fold. This card is scored and folded so that the two side flaps come together and meet in the center, then an added piece is taped onto one side flap to create a spot to embellish, stamp a sentiment or like I did, use a tag from a paper collection. Super easy card to make using the Scor-pal and I just love this new collection, Friends Furever at Paper Studio :)

The Front...

and the Inside,

and here's what I came up with...

This week is the CHA (Craft and Hobby Association) convention in Chicago. My lss, Paper Studio, is there scouting out the new products for fall, winter, holidays and especially Christmas :) Can hardly wait to see what Micaela finds! Check out Paper Studio's Facebook page, Micaela has posted some pics :)

Also the Lead Fiskateers are there having fun working with Fiskars products, showing off what wonderful projects that can be made with crafting companies products. While they are gone, over at the Fiskateers site we are having an online crop with challenges to make and share in the gallery. Love this! It motivates me to create and think of other ways to use my supplies...inspiring! I love seeing what everyone comes up with, totally amazing and awesome!

Here's one of the challenges I worked on making the card below. In this challenge we needed to come up with a crafty C-H-A! Create a project that includes an item, embellishment or technique that starts with a “C”, an “H” and an “A”.


My "C" was Chalk ink around the edges of my pattered paper, "H" was cutting my patterned paper in Half and "A" was for Accenting with gems :)

There are 24 challenges and I've gotten 18 completed so far!

dreaming...

what a night! All night long I kept dreaming about food! Pizza, hamburgers, ice cream... I have a friend who's on vacation out west with her family. She keeps posting on facebook their journey which is so very cool! She also shares where they eat :) and you know, people can eat alot on vacation for 8 days! and it's always the good stuff :)

taught a card class today

I am in love with the My Favorite Things stamp sets and their die sets! So I created this card with the "Something's Fishy" stamp set and the Die-namics "Fishtail Banner" set. Isn't she just the cutest! and in the stamp set there are three sentiments that are adorable! "Feeling a little green around the gills?" and "That's Just Crappie"...see, aren't they fun!



...and here's the inside of one of the cards that I wanted to use for a birthday card, I used a sentiment stamp from Hero Arts. It's OK to mix and match stamp sets :)



I'll be teaching this class again next week at Paper Studio which includes making two cards with envelopes and the stamp set!

Yay! I finished....

...the book with 760 pages! Whew! I'm so glad to be done, even though it was an interesting informative fictional tale of a true and horrifying event occurring in our own country. Andersonville by MacKinlay Kantor written in 1955 told what might have or better said what probably had happened to Union prisoners of the Civil War being held captive in an inhumane fenced in area for almost 2 years. This act of utter dominance and irreverence of life is shameful.

Here is an interesting quote from this book; "But he felt also that he must not lie to Pepe. He had been taught that there was an infallible virtue in truth for its own sake. Solomon Dreyfoos said that even in business it was not necessary to lie. There were wiser and more diplomatic ways to avoid offending, or to convey an intended meaning; a man should cultivate these methods, and not burden his conscience with untruths." - page 536

Would these methods be...ignorance, denial or out and out evil to avoid the truth.

Hot & Humid...

...air conditioning or no air conditioning, that is the question. Our summers are so short I feel that I should savor the heat. How I can be thinking that when my fingertips are sticking to the keys on my keyboard, I just don't know, and it's only 9am :}

It'll be a good day to sit at the beach, take a pontoon boat ride or lounge in the sun finishing up a book that I've been reading for 2 months now! Not because I'm a slow reader or the book is not interesting...but it's over 700 pages, small print and the author is so very detailed that it sends me to the land of nod...zzzzzzzz :)

Soon it will be time for the local clubs to have their garden walks and I so love seeing all the flowers. Here are some pics of a beautiful lily and a vignette from last year, it was an amazing garden.

Serendipity Style

A challenge was posted at If It's Groovy to create a layout Serendipity Style. Simply put it's using papers, usually scrap papers, in the same color family, by tearing or cutting them into 1"-2" pieces and randomly adhering them to a piece of paper, again in the same color family, to create a new piece of paper. But there are many variations to this design as you can see at If It's Groovy from the design team there.

Here's my take on the challenge :)



Did you notice my pear paper and my title "what a pair"...cute, right :D This was a challenge for me. I had to totally step out of my comfort zone. Rip up paper! but once I got going it was fun! and I LOVE the result! So I will be creating more layouts using the Serendipity Style, especially since I'll be able to put good use to my scraps!

Featured on a Blog

I am so thrilled! One of my scrapbook pages, or now as they are called...layouts, is being featured on the Paper Studio blog, take a look :)
http://paperstudioink.blogspot.com/2011/06/saturday-scrapbook-sketch-and-layout.html

a Card I made

making cards is another crafty thing I do :) Whatever I create it's always fun to imagine a "story" to go with the image and sentiment. Can't you just hear the story behind these two fine ladies, "This is how it happened:"

Layering multiple pieces of cardstock/color block background, stamping a sentiment, a little ribbon and adding the image from Crafty Secrets Heartwarming Vintage Collections makes this card so adorable!
hmmmmm, what secrets could they be hiding....wouldn't you like to know ;o)

Smiley Faces

There may be times when you see these alot in my posts --> :) or :P or ;) or :} or :o) or :D etc.... because I like to use them ALOT :) They make me happy :) Hopefully they will also help the meaning of what I say come through. Oh, I like to use this alot too ....... and !?! It just must be the creativeness in me :D

Flag Day in America

In the United States, Flag Day is celebrated on June 14. It commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States of America, which happened that day by resolution of the Second Continental Congress in 1777.

so, I Scrapbook...

...since elementary school I've had a Scrapbook. Now, back then, I'd put in every birthday card I received, cut out comics, advertising pictures and I remember cutting out and pasting all the Kool-Aid characters in my large red scrapbook...Goofy Grape, Rootin' Tootin' Raspberry, Freckle Face Strawberry...all those Funny Face Kool-Aid names :) Can you remember any more?

My scrapbooking over the years has now evolved to a more sophisticated style, yeah, right ;) Here is a scrapbook layout (page) that I created based on the photos of my Azalea flowers this year. Did a little "fussy" cutting, hand stitching and stamping...it even looks prettier in person!

This is the first layout I'm showing you on my blog and it won't be the last :) I love to scrapbook!

Beautiful Azalea Flowers

Azalea flowers are so beautiful, I never knew that until I had some of my own, but they come and go before I can look twice. One day buds, then blooms, then the flowers are dropping off like flies....way too short of a life span for me but worth every moment. This year I captured the life of my Azalea flowers in photos.

Big Fat Juicy Buds

Budding

Full Bloom

New Growth

It was fun taking these pics but I had to be quick 'cause it seemed there was only a matter of a week with flowers then the ground was strewn with spent blossoms. I'm getting me some more Azalea plants and fill my border garden for next year! On my travels this week I saw some fluorescent orange Azalea...Yay! Oh, and the deer don't eat them...Double Yay!!

no Frills, nothing Fancy

well, I'm going to bite the bullet and actually write my first post...
and here it is :)
thanks for looking!