Blog Update?

We are sitting in our hotel room in Kansas City, just taking it easy this morning. We loved seeing the piles of snow as we drove in last night :) I am working on my blog, trying to add a gadget that will allow others to subscribe via email. Wish I was more tech savvy, maybe this wouldn't be so frustrating. If you have suggestions let me know...

On the Road Again...

We will be leaving today for a gymnastics meet in Kansas City. Andrew competes tomorrow evening. During meet season we seem to travel every other weekend or so. It never gets old though, because we so enjoy watching our boy do his thing! Thought I would share some pictures with you from his last meet. I created this page with My Digital Studio. It took me about 20 minutes, maybe less. I know every time I use it I go on & on about how much I love it, but I do. So easy to use & with great results.

Hope you are blessed today! And if so, remember to give God the glory for it.

A Blessing A Day

February is fast approaching. Since one of the holidays we celebrate this month is associated with love, I decided to make it a theme for the entire month. I am going to make something each day to send or give away to bless someone & let them know they are loved. I could start now & be ahead of the game, but I want to challenge myself to create everyday in February. You have a couple of days to think about it, maybe you'd like to join me? If you don't want a daily commitment, you could make it a weekly challenge. The point is to look for ways to bless others. If you decide to join me, leave a comment and let me know.

Catching Up

I held a card class on Monday evening and I wanted to share with you the fun projects we made. Here are some pictures.

The first project is a birthday card made using the new stamp set Build a Blossom along with the coordinating punch. This is how we made the flame for the candles. I love being able to use my punches & stamp sets in unique ways.

The next project uses the same stamp set & punch in an ordinary way, but with extraordinary results. This set makes creating beautiful flowers easy! We used our flowers to decorate some yummy chocolate treats for Valentines Day. A personal greeting was added to the back of our flowers using the white gel pen.

Lastly we made an elegant Valentine card. This project was fairly simple, but had lots of details. We used the big shot die cut machine to cut & to emboss on this card. And we used several different stamp sets & punches.

Hope you have the opportunity this week to bless someone with something you've made, or done, or said...just be a blessing!

A Creative Mess

This weekend I am teaching a friend a little about scrapbooking. They have tons of newspaper articles that have been saved from their children's activites. These date from 1996 to 2010 and include honor roll announcements, school plays, sports, etc. etc, even a wedding announcement. Here's a picture of the mess on my dining room table.

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We have sorted them all by year and are in the process of trimming, scanning, printing. Then we'll have the daunting task of mounting them all on paper and putting them in an album. Did I mention that my friend is a newbie at this craft? He called me from Hobby Lobby with questions about paper, album choices, adhesives---you can imagine. And that is not a misprint, my friend is a HE! Although I don't think he'll be coming to my next card class, I hope that he enjoys reliving the memories as he sorts, and the finished product when its finally done.

Including newspaper clippings in scrapbooks can be kind of tricky because of the acid in the paper. You can purchase a neutralizing spray to treat the clipping with so that your pictures and other paper are protected. It will also help to prevent the clipping from yellowing as quickly. The other option is to scan the articles and print them on archival safe paper.

My friend is scanning most of his articles. The ones that take up a full newsprint page are going to be treated with a neutralizing spray and included in a pocket page. But we are also going to take pictures of the page & focus on the area that talks about his son. Maybe he'll let me share some of the finished pages with you once the project is done. We'll see at that point if he allows me to print his name or wants to remain anonymous. :)

Snow Day!

I love snow. That's really my only complaint about living in Arkansas---not enough snow! So even a small amount brings joy. It is snowing like crazy at my house right now :) I just had to go out and get a picture. This is when the snow had just started. Hopefully we'll get a sizeable amount, or at least enough to make snow cream!

After I took my pic, I decided to share it with you on a page I made using My Digital Studio. It is such an easy scrapbooking tool! Pages come together much quicker for me digitally than otherwise. I know some of you really want that Scrapbook to hold in your hand...and I like that too for some projects. But I find creating digital scrapbooks allows my pictures to find a home faster. I can always print or have them printed and if I want I can embellish them further after I print.

I hope you get a chance to enjoy the gift of snow that God has given us today. And if not, just be sure to thank Him for the other multitude of blessings you have recieved!

Get ready to Sale-a-brate!

Just wanted to remind everyone that Sale-A-Bration starts on January 25 and goes till March 31. This is Stampin' Up!'s biggest sale event of the year. For every $50 you spend you earn a free Sale-A-Bration product of your choice. Host a workshop of at least $300 and earn a free Sale-A-Bration product, in addition to the generous hostess benefits you already recieve. And the free options just get better every year. This year, in addition to stamp sets, your options include a paper pack, a ribbon & button pack, a digital content CD, and even decor elements! I love free stuff!


With February just around the corner, I have been working on some Valentines items. Here's a peek at something you may see again at my next workshop.





This project uses the Greeting Card Kids stamp set. And if you think she is sweet, wait till you see what's inside!


Let me know if you are interested in hosting a workshop during Sale-A-Bration or you would like more information.