Birthday Bash

My daughter celebrated her Birthday back in March. We had a fun day playing at the dunes. I wanted to dress up her Birthday layout and found my inspiration within the pages of Creating Keepsakes magazine. The right page was taken from CK's June 2009 issue on page 57. I fell in love with the banner idea strung across the page. The base page was stamped to match the paper used in the magazine. I think it came out great. The pages are fun, playful and girly!

All product is Close To My Heart:

Colors: Honey, Crystal Blue, Twilight, Sweet Leaf, Tulip, Sorbet, Desert Sand, Bamboo, White Daisy

Stamps: Make a Wish, Journaling Jots, Fringed Phrases, Friendship Alpha

Paper: Emporium, Magic Moments, Perfect Day

Embellies & misc: brads, buttons, thread, ribbon, dimensional elements, sassy strands, scallop punches (fiskars, ek success)

"O" Bear!

Anyone in the mood for some Bingo?? I'm hoping that my kids and their cousins will be in the mood for some Bingo this summer. We love going camping every summer. Our favorite destination is Lake Tahoe. These Bingo boards will be perfect for hanging out at the campground. I chose images that would be perfect for our adventure. Once all the boards and cards were stamped I used self laminating product to protect them. Easy project that should come in handy for my little campers!

My Scrap Studio

I finished some final details in my scrap room this weekend. I'm not certain that it's complete and figure I'll continue to add more 'stuff'. Hopefully I can incorporate more character, but right now it's simple and clean and that works for me just fine! I always enjoy looking at other crafter's creative spaces and have been amazed by so many styles. I'd like to think my room is clean, modern and budget friendly. { I Love IKEA} Hopefully it inspires you and I hope to get busy in there too.

Click on My Scrap Studio in the right hand column to see slideshow of all the pics.

Bella Card Workshop

I am holding a card workshop this week inspired by the Wishes card program. The card workshops in the Wishes book are simply fantastic. They allow you to make multiple handmade cards with minimal supplies and little money spent. The cards are perfect to have on hand for any occasion that may come up or create all of your Holiday cards in one afternoon.

This workshop uses the Bella papers, Endless Friendship stamp, Thank You stamp and Designer Ribbon Rounds in Creme Brulee and Hollyhock.

These simply elegant cards will be perfect to have for last minute occasions or to bundle up together as a gift for a friend or loved one.

Off to the Races!

I just wanted to share the Father's Day card I created for my Dad. He moved back to Illinois (his hometown) almost two years ago. One of the things he enjoys most about being back there are the stock car races. I thought this card would fit him well this Daddy's Day. I used the Bullseye template from the new Wishes book, but instead of the upper circle I cut it rectangular for a checkered flag.

All product is CTMH except ribbon:

Stamps: Little boys, Say it in Style, Classic Numbers, Boutique Numbers; B&T is old CTMH product; Big Brads; Ink & Cardstock colors: Clover Meadow, Holiday Red, Sunflower, Black, White Daisy {ribbon is Michaels}

Blog Award

Thank you Carla and Tammy for the lovely blog award. I am surprised and grateful. My goal of having this blog is to inspire others and make them happy. Thank you again!

So here are the rules for this award:

1. Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link.

2. Pass the award on to 15 other blogs that you've newly discovered.Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

Here are my choices:

Kathi

Stacie

Creative Momma

Karen

Rachel

Tiffany

Jen

Yvette

Artsy Mama

Lisa

Nona

Tresa

Sarah

Kelly Jo

Kim

These ladies are all so crafty and creative. They inspire me and I hope they will inspire you too. Congrats and keep blogging!

Simply Wrapped

I wanted to share these simply wrapped gifts. I enjoy wrapping up gifts for Christmas, Birthdays or any special occasion. My Aunt would wrap gifts in the comic pages of the newspaper and tie them together with thick colored yarn. I really like the idea of recycling too. These gifts were wrapped in brown paper and I tied them together with some fun, bright, polka dot ribbon. I simply stamped a frame tag and attatched it with floss to the bow. It's really simple, but not plain!


Stamp: Annotations, Ink: Bubblegum and Sweet Leaf {CTMH} Ribbon {Offray}

Vote!

You may have noticed the Scrapbook and Share button on the right of the screen. If you have not had a chance to look at the submitted artwork your really missing out. Several talented artists have been submitting their artwork for scrabooking month. {May} Now is the time to vote for a winner and Close To My Heart is letting you judge! Simply go to scrapbookandshare.com and vote for your favorite finalist in each category. There are some amazing projects, maybe some will inspire you.

A New Nest

A few months ago I reported our discovery of a bird's nest with tiny blue eggs inside. Unfortunately, a gust a wind destroyed the nest and the eggs inside.

I am happy to report that a new nest has been discovered in the backyard. I will add that it is in the oddest of places too!

One morning I noticed some birds swooping in and out of the posts that support our above ground pool. A couple days passed and I continued to see them visit these posts. I really thought nothing of it and certainly would not believe that a bird could fit into the tiny opening.

Then our observant Beagle caught on to the invasion of her backyard. She started to paw the side of the pool and yelp at them. My husband and I decided we should investigate this further. Inside of two posts there were pieces of scraps and debris, but on the third post there was a beautiful little nest with four eggs inside. We decided to leave it alone and keep an eye on it.

These birds have outsmarted the weather, this was certainly a protected place.

I am happy to report that the eggs have hatched. Peeking through the crack we can see little feathery heads. I would love to catch a picture of the babies, but would not want to upset momma bird. What a cool experience for my kids, especially my daughter who just loves to check them out a couple times a day!

Thanks, Your a Star!

I meant to post this little thank you card last week. The colors were inspired by Jeanette's color combination last Monday. However, I used indian corn blue instead of the twilight. I also opened up my Wishes book for template inspiration. I used the Collage template and just loved all the layers.

Supplies: {all product is CTMH, punch is EK Success}

Paper; B&T magic moments, cardstock and ink colors; grey wool, white daisy, cranberry, heavenly blue, indian corn blue, stamps; star struck and thank you, clear button, denim floss (not ctmh)

Outdoor Layout

It's officially summer break! {YEAH} Summer makes me think of so many fun things, so many activities that our family loves to do. One of the biggest events we look forward to is camping in Lake Tahoe. If there is one thing you can count on in Lake Tahoe is an encounter with a bear or the story of another camper's experience. This month my club members with be making a two page layout with a great outdoors theme. I can't wait to experience some fun this summer, and maybe I'll snap a picture of a bear to scrap on these pages!!

Last Day of School!

Today was the last day of school for my kiddo's and the last day of work for me! I can't wait to hibernate in my craft room now all summer long. Speaking of craft room... it has been under remodeling now since Spring Break. I hope to finish some last details and will reveal pictures soon.

I really enjoyed being a classroom aide this year and found the position to be very rewarding. The school I work at is also where my daughter attended fourth grade. It is a wonderful, well run school and has the best staff among other area schools. My daughter and I put together some little treats for her teachers and other school leaders to show our appreciation. These goodies were made with recycled Crystal Light containers. We simply decorated them, added a thank you note and filled with wrapped chocolates.

Supplies used: All Close To My Heart

Key to my Heart B&T papers, Stamps; checklist, thank you, Paper Flowers, Spring Brads, Creme Bulee ribbon, Inks; tulip, juniper, creme brulee, sorbet

Flowers, Ribbons & Curls!

One of my favorite things about having a little girl, is dressing her up. Even before my daughter was born I was buying darling little pink and yellow frilly dresses. After her arrival I would spend days just dressing her up and snapping pictures. She is quickly becoming a young lady now and prefers to pick out her own clothing and style her own hair.

The other night she came to me after her shower and wanted me to curl up her hair in sponge rollers. This is something I've done with her since she had hair long enough to curl. This was the first time though since she cut her hair shorter. In the morning we unrolled all of her locks to reveal a very curly style. {She described it as looking like a blonde version of Annie} We fussed it up a little bit and pinned a flower to the side. I couldn't help but snap a pic just as I would have done when she was my little baby. I hope she will let me dress her up for a few more years!

Speaking of ribbons, flowers and frills. Here is my little girly gift for one my customers expecting her 1st baby girl. I suspect she will enjoy dressing up her little darling as much as I enjoyed my little girl. I'm certain her daughter will be adorned in bling from head to toe daily!

Here is Mom~to~be with her gift. Doesn't she look fabulous!

Supplies: {all Close To My Heart products except some ribbon}

My Creations Cube, Daydream Level 2 papers, Cardstock and inks in the following colors: Blush, Creme Brulee, Lilac Mist, Sweet Leaf and White Daisy, Stamps: Girly Girl, Family Ties Children, Cupcake Sprinkles, Embellishments: white daisy mini medley, floss, green brads, corduroy big brad from Autumn Garden mini medley collection

Recipe Swap Workshop

What a fun day! I just completed my Recipe Swap Workshop and boy am I tired. Not to mention stuffed with some yummy food! The workshop was a big success. All of the recipes were wonderful and the recipe books turned out so cute. I will forever treasure by book and all of the recipes from such talented women.

This was also one of my customers last class with us {unless she comes back to visit} ! She just married her sweetheart a week ago and will be moving across country. Julie has been a fun, big-hearted, laugh~a~minute gal and we will all miss her. Good luck with your big move and many happy moments to you and your hubby. Never stop crafting and creating!!
{dot, dot, dot, dot}

Here are some pics of the yummy food and our crafty gang!


The Recipes of the Day:

Pat's Veggie Pizza
Slow Cooked Mac~n~Cheese
Dirty Rice
Fruit Ambrosia
Tooty Fruity Sugar Cookies
Strawberry Whipped Sensation

Here's my recipe: Layered Mexican Dip

1 package 8 oz light cream cheese

1/2 cup shredded hot pepper jack cheese

1/4 cup bean dip

1/2 cup thick and chunky salsa

1/2 chopped green onion

1/4 cup sliced ripe olives

Place cream cheese in mixer bowl. Beat on low/medium speed for 30 seconds. Stop and scrape the bowl. Add the pepper jack cheese and mix again for 30 seconds.

Spread cheese mixture on 10 inch serving plate. Spread bean dip over cheese. Spread salsa over bean dip. Top with onions and olives. Refigerate until ready to serve. Serve with tortilla chips and enjoy! {I like a variety of chips; yellow corn, whole wheat and blue corn}

P.S. Our friend Nikki is expecting her second baby {she's the one glowing in the photo} and she received a little gift from my daughter and I today. I will post pictures of her sweet girly present soon!

Snapping Circles!

My Nephew recently had a Birthday, so we did some shopping for him. My daughter picked out his gift. He loves our Silly Six Pins interactive game. So my daughter found him another interactive game called Gator Golf. I thought it was perfect for him too, especially scince he has the perfect patch of turf in his backyard already. How wonderfully it worked out that I have the cutest alligator stamp for the card to adorn the gift! Here is my first attempt at one of the circle templates in the new Wishes book. And of course I had to match the colors with the wrapping paper!!

A Good Recipe

Nothings better than a good recipe, especially when it is shared between friends or passed down from generations. Next weekend I am hosting a recipe exchange and attendees will make a fun recipe pocket book. In addition to making the book we will be sampling the foods from those recipes being shared. I used the new Animal Cookie papers which I felt gave the book a 'retro' feel. I also liked the "cooking girl" from the Ms. On the Go stamp set. The new Recipe Box stamp worked perfectly and has many more possibilities. I will post more pictures from the event, I can't wait to see and taste all of the food!

A Color Combo Deal

I've been having some fun with color challenges. I've sort of become addicted to them. On Monday's you can find a color challenge over on KJ's blog as well as CTMH founder Jeanette Lynton's blog. This week I needed to come up with a project for my daughter's school group and instead of creating from just one color challenge I merged them together. The Sweet Leaf and White Daisy are from KJ's blog and the Indian Corn Blue and Sorbet are from Jeanette's blog. Go check out what other crafty creators came up with, then challenge yourself to do something fun!

Supplies for hershey bar wraps: Cardstock; white daisy & sorbet, Stamps; Star Struck, Good Times, Inks; sorbet, indian corn blue, sweet leaf

Springy Colors!

This week's color challenge over on KJ's Blog was very "springy". The colors are so light and playful. I thought that flowers worked perfectly into the design. I also wanted to do some random stamping. It is a technique I love and have not done for some time now. The template for the card was from the new Wishes book... of course! I did change the dimensions just slightly though to accomodate my "scrap" piece of random stamped cardstock. Hope you like it. Remember to check out other artwork using the same color scheme here.

Card File Box Finale

I have been posting pics of my recent card file box projects. Here is the final one, I promise. My Scramp Club members will meet this Friday and are excited to learn how to make these. This one is decorated with the new Treetops stamp set and in addition to the box they will make a coordinating card using a new template from Wishes! Check it out.

A couple of wishes...{cards that is}

Just a couple of cards I made using the new Wishes book. By the way, it is available to order now and worth every dime!! Love, love, love this book.

The first card was made using the "name plate" template.

The second card was made using the "Bullseye" template and the new Tinkerin papers.

Supplies: all CTMH unless noted otherwise

{Card 1} Cardstock: bamboo, dutch blue, white daisy, Ink: tulip, dutch blue, Stamps: Star Struck, Say it in Style, Embellishments: spiral clip in topiary and brads in tulip (brown twine is not CTMH)

{Card 2} Cardstock: white daisy, twilight, goldrush, sunny yellow, Ink: twilight, garden green, goldrush, sunny yellow, B&T paper from Tinkerin papers level 2, Stamps: Star Struck, For Every Occasion, Embellishments: bigger brad in sunny yellow (small brad is not CTMH)

Here is an image of the Tinkerin papers in the new Summer Idea Book!