Pens, Pens, Glorious Pens!

I love to do pen work on my pages and cards.  I love how it gives a little bit extra to whatever project I am working on.

My go to pens are usually Sakura Souffle or Glaze pens.  I also love my Micron pens.  The points are awesome and gives such detail to things. Use the .05 and the really fine tips, .01.  LOVE them!!

When I am journalling I love my Creative Memories colored pens.  The CM pens are about a .05 tip. The thin tips are awesome for journalling. 

I have several cups of pens on my desk.  I love that they are right at my fingertips. I also have some markers, from Creative Memories in thick  point that I use sometimes.  Watercolor pencils are also on my desk. I do love shading with those when using stamps. 

Teachers need cards too!

I was a classroom teacher for 19 years.  Now we homeschool our kids so I am not in the classroom anymore.  When I was teaching in school I always needed note cards.  I would use them to write a quick thank you to a child for doing something awesome, a thank you for a parent who contributed to the class in some way, a thank you to another teacher, principal or guest speaker.  I used the cards to write a quick note home to a parent about their child (usually a good note) or requesting something from a parent.  Anyway, I loved it when I would receive gifts of a note card set from others.

Here is a set that would be fun to receive if I were teaching again.

I used the DCWV Grade School (with glitter) stack.  I love the foil and glitter on the papers.  I had the 4.5" by 6.5" paper stack that I had gotten on sale a couple years ago.  These are so much fun.  I used pen on the edges to draw the dots and lines.  The pens were Sakura Glaze and Souffle.  I love these pens!!!

Scrappy Goodness-Note Cards

I haven't scrapped in like forever (in my best Valley Girl voice).  So I decided to start with some cards.  Everyone needs a few note cards laying around the house for when you need to write a note. People still do that, right??? Write????

I was unpacking my FEW supplies I still had and came across some old scrapbook kits I had never used.  Well I did use this kit but I didn't like it.  So I had a lot of paper and embellishments left over. I decided to dust off the rust with this kit because if I didn't like what I created it wouldn't really matter.

However, I really liked what I came up with.  These all came from the same kit.  Like I said, I didn't like the kit so much for scrapbooking so I had a lot of paper left.

Time Flies:

 I used pen around the edges to make the dots.  This pen was a thick point pen.  I stickled the butterfly's body with Gold Stickles to give it some bling.

True Love:

I had fun with the Diamond Stickles on these cards to really make them shine.

You're such a HOOT!

These cards were a lot of fun and I used more layers on them.  I blinged them out with Gold Stickles and made them really extra shiny.

I am taking these up to a local store where people can sell their handwork. Maybe I might actually sell a few. Who knows!

My New Scrap Room

I can't be more excited. I love my new space. After much thought and more thought and then discussion we decided to let me have the dining room as my space. I am closer to the kids who hang out in the living room and I am close to the kitchen so I can cook and such in there and slip into my scrap room and work on a project or two also.

I have a few pictures of my new scrap room.

Here is my new armoire I got from the Goodwill yesterday. It is solid wood and I love love love this piece.

This is the inside. The top of the armoire holds all my paper. My kits and inks are on the top shelf. Below is two 12x12 drawer sets with more paper in it. (and that isn't all my paper)

In the bottom drawer is my cuttlebug and baby bug.

The very bottom drawer holds empty albums and some of my ribbon.

Then we have more "views" of the room. It is no where near being "done". I still have some sorting and straightening and putting away but it is so much better than this morning.

This is a big file cabinet that we have had for a while now.

The top drawer has embellies and stamps in it.

The bottom drawer has alphabets and more smaller paper packs and pads. 8x8s 6x6s, and 4x6.

And of course my desk, complete with a project on it already. I just had to play for a few minutes tonight.

Story Tellers Kit Club

This past spring I joined Story Tellers Kit Club and thought I would like to get kits each month for scrapbooking. I love kits because they are already put together with coordinating papers and embellishments. I don't need to go searching for anything. It is all there in the kit. I heard great reviews from this club and I was anxious to join another club again. I love getting monthly "surprises" in the mail, even though I am expecting them and even though I pay for them they are still like presents to me, from me.

I got my first kit for $6 (can't beat that with a stick) and a discount on other past kits. I bought one more. I anxiously awaited the kits to come in the mail. I was so disappointed though when the first two came. They weren't packaged in a box, they were just in a clear cellophane bag. The post office had actually mutilated one of the kits in their automatic machines. It had punctured a couple holes in the kit's bag that it comes in. So sad but it didn't mess up any of the papers.

I looked at the kit and the paper was just okay. It was nice and heavy but it wasn't really my style of patterned papers. I set the kit aside. I forgot about it until the next month's kit came. I glanced at the kit and wasn't excited about it and planned to cancel the membership. But alas, I forgot until the next month's kit came. The kit's packaging again didn't protect the kit and it got damage. I again wasn't thrilled and I did cancel the club. At the same time I mentioned to their customer service that I was disappointed with the packaging and that two of the kit bags were damaged. They were nice enough to replace my bags and shipped two more out to me. But in the shipping one of them was damaged as well. I didn't worry with telling them though. It wasn't worth my time even though I would venture to bet they would have replaced it again. Their customer service is really good.

Here are a few layouts I did with one kit.

What I don't like is that the pp is not the kind that you can cut and use parts of on different layouts. It sort of is its own picture. I also didn't like the embellishments that you get. They are all die cuts and are slick. You punch them out and then use them on your layout just as they are. They are sort of difficult to use when you are used to using other types of embellies. The solid cardstock had a lot of linen in it and it tended to get fuzzy on the edges when you cut it.

I am still looking for a good kit club for the money. If you have any suggestions feel free to leave me a comment and let me know. I like to feel like I got a lot for my money, so I am looking for a kit that is packed with stuff.

Sparkly Cupcakes

I saw this big fat ribbon at Michaels the other day in the $1 discount bin outside of the store and I had to have it. I knew I wanted to make a card with it. I bought it and some other colors of big fat ribbon and came home and immediately made this card.

I love how the ribbon is polka dotted. I love the colors and the brown of the ribbon. I was not always a brown kind of person but over the years this color has grown on me. I used to hate how they made brown part of an infant color palette too but now I am loving how it goes so nicely with the pastel and bright colors. I played up the colors on the ribbon in the dots with matching cardstock. I had this cute cupcake bling in my stash. I got it in the $1 spot at Michaels a month or two back. I love that place (the $1 spot at Michaels). I love now that they are selling more scrappy stuff in that spot too now.

Back to the card. I put more dots around the borders to highlight the "dot" theme. It is blank inside but this card will be used as a birthday card.

What do you do when you need a photo album but can't find one for a big boy?

Just change the ones you find!

My son likes to put his photos in little albums. We used to be able to get them that had a pretty generic cover on them, but in the past year or so we haven't been able to find ANY that were big boy appropriate. I don't like to spend too much money on them either. I can usually find them in the dollar range. That is a good price to me.

The other day I was at Walmart and found the albums I wanted but they all looked like this:

They were not big boy appropriate. I couldn't find any with a cover that was even decent for a boy at all. Or an adult for that matter. I was frustrated but looking at them anyway, when I opened the cover and I realized that these you could take the cover out! BINGO! I can use my scraps and make a cover to his liking and not embarrassing to pull out with his friends and show them the big fish he caught or the latest Boy Scout camping trip. Three albums hopped into my cart. They were also on sale for 67 cents a piece. BONUS!

I got home and showed him my find. He of course turned his nose up at them until I told him that we could change the cover. He went with me to my scrapbook paper and we looked through and found some paper that he liked. I went immediately to work as he gathered his photos.

This is what they look like now!

I used a piece of cardstock inside under the patterned paper to give it some stiffness. Inside the cover and the back I placed a journaling card so he could write what the event was and the date.

I also put patterned paper on the back too so it matched the front but not exactly the same as the front.

I was thinking that these would be great little gifts for grandparents, family, friends, etc.

Puzzles and Cards

Over the past few weeks we have been dumped on with snow. Not near as much as those in PA and WVA but we have had our fair share. In the process of waiting to be melted out of the house the kids and I did some puzzles. We took pictures of two. We got them from the Goodwill and the top puzzle had four pieces missing. Do you know how hard it is to do a puzzle when there are mystery pieces missing?

This puzzle below had all the pieces. It was a thousand piece puzzle as the other one was "only" five hundred pieces. They both took us a couple days to complete. I tell you, my smallest child is the one with the most patience to complete the puzzles. She does a good amount of the work on them too.

Below, I have a few of the Valentine's Day cards I made. The top is just a general one.

These are the cards I made for the kids! They turned out great and the kids love the handmade cards.

This Valentine's Day card below was to my wonderful husband.


This is a close up. I just love this stamp.

This was a 'warm up' card to get the juices flowing. I hate this one. I don't think I did very well and because of that I just kind of stopped and didn't finish it. I am not really sure why I took the picture of it either. Oh well.

My Daily Online Routine

In my daily online routine I scan a few sites. The first on I go to every morning is Peachy Cheap. If you have never been then I suggest you go if you are a scrapbooker or a paper crafter. They have a daily deal and have great prices on the product (s) they feature daily. So I went to that site this morning and this is what I saw:

It is the Daily Grind kit from Fancy Pants. AND the bonus is that it is ONLY $5.99!!! So hurry over there and grab yourself one!!

The second place I go is the AMR message board! I check in with all my friends there and see what they are doing, what news they have, etc. I love this group of fun, caring, talented group. Check us out! All Moments Remembered.

I am so ready...

for summer. The kids get out of school for the year on Friday and I have so many projects I want to do. BUT I still have school until June 30th. I am not feeling good about being at work and the kids being out of school without me. Not that I think that they will be injured or anything. I am just plain jealous. Okay, there, I said it, I am jealous! I want to be home too and it isn't fair.

I know that the end of the month will come quickly and I will have my measly month off of work. But right now I am stewing in jealousy.

I haven't been very crafty recently. I have sewed on all my daughter's Brownie patches on her vest. I have made two and a half baby blankets in the granny square pattern. They are really cute and they are mindless. I have thought about cleaning off my scrap table, which desperitely needs to be done but not feeling the mojo there at all. I don't think that I have 'moved on' from scrapbooking but I think I just need a bit of a break. It has been almost three months though and I am getting a bit worried.

So help me out my oh, two readers here, how long have you gone without scrapping? Should I be worried?

Still haven't found my mojo yet.

Hmmmm....if you have found it at your house can you ship it back to me. I am a bit frustrated by the lack of even interest in scrapbooking and that is just not like me. What is worse is that I have two of my children's birthdays coming up and I thought about making invitations but thought against it and decided to BUY! Oh my, my creative strike is worse than I originally thought. However, I might be FORCED to make the invitations just due to lack of funds in our household right now. Maybe if I am forced to do it then the Mojo will be found in the stacks of junk on my scrabook table.

Anyway, I have NOT been without a project and I recently picked up a couple skeins of yarn and am crocheting again. It is nice to have the rhythem and pace of crocheting back. You really move into a trance with it and it is welcoming to my brain. I am currently making two baby blankets. One is green and off white and the other is a blue yarn with pink, purple, yellow, and green specks. Both are make in the granny square pattern and will be a square blanket. I sure hope the recipients like them. A baby is always great for crocheting.

So check back because I might just have to play with some paper soon. Or maybe I will just make the invites on the computer instead......

A few layouts I did this past weekend. These photos are from 2005 and were taken at the beach in the spring.

A layout and a Card

This is the card that I made for the AMR challenge. The challenge was to make a card that was mostly green. I used a pattern from a Stampin' Up video I saw on YouTube. It thought it was neat how the card was a Z-fold. However, when I made it I didn't like it so much. Perhaps with different paper or a different style but this card is just okay in my book. I ended up having to glue the short foldover on the front of the card down. I am not sure that the card was supposed to be glued on the top but it just wouldn't stay shut. Maybe it was the thickness of the paper. I am rambling. I used crystal stickles on the chick and around the border.

The layout is from 2005. It is of my son and youngest daughter. It was bathtime. Well, I guess you can surmise that from the pictures of the layouts. It is a two-page spread and I used skittles to resemble bubble water spray. How did I do?

A "No Adhesive" Card

If you are not familiar, All Moments Remembered has challenges every day. I tried a few weeks ago to keep up with them but just can't do that. So I pick and choose what I want to challenge myself with. They are great challenges and this one was no different. This card challenge was to make a card with no adhesive. Nope, nada, nothing. So here is my card.

I sewed for the first time ever paper to paper. And I also sewed the ribbon on. Everything else was done with brads. It was a lot of fun AND most of all challenged me to do something that I wouldn't probably have ever done, and I liked it. I sewed. I have liked the looks of stitching or sewing on layouts and cards before but have never done it myself. This challenge stretched me to do just that. And I am glad for it.

Head on over there and check out the challenges in the scrapbooking section.

Lookie what my friends sent me! And other Random Thoughts.

I got these for Valentine's Day. I love them.

This one is from my friend Gay. She and I scrap together once a month and hang out together on the AMR message board.

This one is from my great Scrap Pal Cheeky! She lives way up north and is enjoying much snow while we are just wishing for it. She is so cute and I just love her card.

And now for some random thoughts:
I have been thinking a lot about those cute little crocheted flowers. I really would love to try them in a varigated thread. I am going to stop by the store tomorrow and check out their threads. I can't stand it. I think they may become addicting.
I posted a few cards for Cliff's Card Challenge (ha ha CCC) over on AMR MB. He is great and a scrapper too. He joins us for the crops over there and comes up with some fun layouts and some fun cards. He is so cute. His wife Melonscraps is an avid scrapper too. I guess in their family "if you can't beat em join em" fits. They are wonderful and I highly suggest you head over to Melonscraps blog. She has some great stuff over there. Okay, I am rambling. So I made two cards for the challenge. Here they are:

I started on my daughter's sweater and have chosen to do the child's size 6-8. She is petite and I think if the arms are too short I can lengthen them with no problem. I will measure her several times throughout the knitting process. Again like the last one, the back and front go so fast and then the sleeves just drag along. I am about a fifth of the way up the back already. She chose a bright blue and a coral color for her accent stripe. I think it will be cute and if she doesn't like it in the end I will give it to the other daughter and she will love it. I am not worried. Someone will wear this sweater.

Here is another flower

This flower pattern that I blogged about yesterday has been bothering me a bit. As I was working the other flowers yesterday I felt that the center was too big and that the flowers were still a bit large for scrapbooking. So today I worked up a few more. I used crochet thread this time, like the stuff you use to make doilies and a #6 hook (1.80mm). I chose off white in color because that was all I had available to play with right then.

I made these:

Now I know that they are a bit different from the original Lionbrand.com pattern. I made the center of the flower smaller making a chain of 5 instead of 8. I also only did 5 petals instead of 6. These measure 1 1/2 inches in diameter and are a good size for scrapbooking.

They sort of look like little pansies to me and I am anxious to try them in another color. But to do that I need to convince my husband to let me spend some money and I don't think he will go for it right now. I may need to wait a week or so. Laugh.

Paper roses

I made some paper roses. AND I think they turned out great. I followed the directions from here: http://nancyburke.typepad.com/scraps_and_ink/2009/02/roses-are-red.html and it was super easy.

Here is mine: