Pregabella

Here is the shower card I made for my pregnant friend! It is loosely based on this week's Papertake challenge. Too much time has passed since I made my last Bella card, and this Bella is oh-so-perfect for a baby shower!

All supplies are CTMH except the Bella image. This is one of my favorite paper packets, Let's Get Together. For the dangle, I colored the back of it with the Exclusive Inks Markers in Cranberry, Breeze, and Buttercup.





patterned paper (Let's Get Together, Level 2), cardstock (Buttercup), Accents (Friendship Clear Inspirations dangle)

Life's a Jungle

In my circle of long-time friends with children, most of them have girls. Beginning with the birth of my daughter, there are only 5 boys and more than 20 girls! The trend continues...

Here is a birth announcement I made for one of my best friends. She is pregnant with twin girls (the 4th set of twins in our group of friends, I might add)! The stamp set I used is the Close to my Heart July Stamp of the Month. You can get this set for free, just ask me how!

ETA: 4th set of twins in our group of friends, not the 4th set for the one family. It was late last night when I was typing ;-)

OPH #4 and 12x12 Scrapbooking

Over at One Powerful Hour, Caroline challenged us to create something around the theme of fashion. I have absolutely no gorgeous, glamorous stamps such as Elisabeth's. So, I improvised.

Last month, my in-laws dug up an incredibly entertaining picture of DH in his Hair Metal Band days (circa 1992). If this doesn't speak to fashion trends, then I don't know what does. His pants lace up on both sides! So, I created a then-and-now 2-page 12x12 layout. I finished in an hour, and I even cleaned up after myself!

I absolutely love these Rock Star papers by DCWV. I purchased them before the Hair Metal Band picture fell into my hands. And when it did, I knew what had to be done!

Yes, his hair was longer than mine has ever been.

This picture was taken the day we got a PS2 and Guitar Hero, the day after Thanksgiving, 2007. Here is DH and my sister's DH jamming out.

Supplies: patterned paper (DCWV Rock Star stacks)* chipboard letters (Thickers by American Crafts) * ink (Close to my Heart Exclusive Inks in Key Lime, and Distressing Ink in Chocolate) * accents (silver hinges and brads by CTMH) * adhesive (Zip Dry Paper Glue by Beacon Adhesives and Bonding Memories glue by CTMH)

For the love of coffee!

One Powerful Hour challenged us this week to create something using food or beverage as an item. This idea has been floating in my head lately, so I put it to paper. It's a pet peeve of mine!



All supplies from Close to my Heart: cardstock (Parchment, Garden Green, Petal), dye inks (Chocolate, Garden Green, Petal), pigment-based ink (White Daisy), glitter (Prisma Glitter), sentiment (handmade using Sans Alphabet, Believe Lowercase, Coffee Shop), stamped image (Coffee Shop).

I am busy working on swaps for the upcoming CTMH convention. Wow. I should have started as soon as I registered. I have some great ideas, though!

Thanks for stopping by!

Challenges

In my quest to do different challenges, I have found a couple blogs (Thanks, Anna!).

For Allison's Suggestive Sunday Challenge this week, she suggested we use a sentiment as the focus of our card and refrain from using any other stamped images. I don't have very many sentiment stamps, so it was a challenge just to find one! I finally located one I liked that was included in the CTMH My Acrylix (R) Stamp of the Month set from February, Endless Love.



All products from Close to my Heart: paper packet (More to Adore, Level 2), Exclusive Inks (tm) Stamp Pads (Chocolate, Hollyhock), eyelet (Holloyhock), textured cardstock (Blush), Cardstock (Vanilla Cream, Chocolate), button (Hollyhock), adhesive (Bonding Memories).

The second challenge in which I participated was from the Arty Girlz Challenge Blog. This week, they offered a sketch challenge. The format I chose was 2.5" x 3.5", a.k.a. Artist Trading Card. I love, love, love sketch challenges, and this was no exception. I liked it so much that I made several of these ATCs to swap.



Products: cardstock (Die Cuts With a View Pocket full of Posies premium 12x12 and mat stacks and Glitter mat stack), clear epoxy stickers (JoAnn Craft Essentials large square bubbles), adhesive (Glue Dots, mini).

Changes

Did you notice I renamed my blog? Lately "scrappin', stampin', & knittin'" just really didn't cover it all. And since I have dived (dove? doven?) into beading and jewelry, now is the time for change.

I'm involved in several swaps on the CTMH consultant bulletin boards, and it is like a juggling act. I have even dropped the ball a couple times. I want to make a concerted effort to follow through on my commitments, and that starts with a reality check. I realistically can't prepare for the national CTMH convention and a labor day consultant retreat while creating gifts and examples, managing my day-to-day business, searching for a part-time job, being a good wife, mother, sister, daughter, friend... So, I backed out of a big swap. ETA: Late last night I put myself in that hostess' shoes and thought about how I would feel if someone backed out less than a month before the due date. I am staying in the swap. I have all the supplies anyway, plus I should get some nice stuff in return!

I am also an angel for a different swap. It seems that one consultant couldn't finish her creations for a Charm Swap, so I picked up the ball and ran with it (Note to self: ditch the cliches, please?). The weekend was perfect for creating charms. I loved it! I loved it so much that I made an extra charm for each participant! The rules were to create one charm reminiscent of scrapbooking, and one plain charm of glass beads. Both were to be done in shades pink and brown. The extra one I did was a white and silver glass bead charm.

Here they are:



I had aspired to create a bead project several years ago, so I had the basic tools, thank goodness. I just needed the beads and some jump rings. I learned a lot while making the 33 charms. Now I am looking forward to the next Charm Swap over Labor Day weekend!

Here is the slideshow of the charms. Enjoy!

If you're still with me, I appreciate it. To show my thanks, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Shhhhhh... I'm going to be giving away blog candy when my blog counter turns over 3,000 visitors. I'm still putting together the set, but trust me. This isn't just a blog candy where I give away things on the clearance rack from 2001. There will be some excellent pieces in this box of candy, including a ready-to-use chipboard album dressed in some awesome CTMH paper, embellished to match, and spiral bound with a Bind-It-All. More information coming soon!

Playday mini-album

Back in May, I posted about pictures I took while at my daughter's Play Day (read here). I just finished a mini-album using the pictures and DCWV Pocket Full of Posies. I am very pleased with the outcome!


And, for your viewing pleasure, a slideshow...