(The Layout was made with Webster's Pages Park Drive Collection.)

I can't believe it's been two years since Stephanie and Zach were married.

This month's Designer Craft Connection theme is:  Happiness Is...

For me, Happiness is spending time with my family and of course

playing with paper.

If you want to find out what makes the other designers happy, 

check out their blogs by clicking on the

Designer Crafts Connection Logo on the top right side of my blog.

In an effort to create a beautiful and organized studio to work in,

I will be having a Garage Sale at my home on June 7th.  

I've been really busy Organizing and Purging.

It's been such a crazy busy week around here.  

I'm so glad it's Friday.

Tomorrow we have the family coming over for Justin's Graduation Party.

It should be fun.

I'm glad it's a long week-end.  

Today, I thought I'd share with you a card I made a few weeks ago.

"You are so Wonderful" card was made with The Sweetest Thing Collection

by Jen Allyson from My Mind's Eye.

Justin graduated from 8th Grade tonight.  

He's my youngest, my baby.  

I can't believe it's here already.  

It doesn't seem that long ago that I was holding his hand waiting for

the bus on the first day of Kindergarten.  

He was so nervous.  (so was I)

I was so proud of him tonight and the nice young man he's become.  

Earlier this week, my dad emailed this picture to all of us kids.

I guess he's missing my mom this week as much as the rest of us.

It just doesn't feel right to celebrate Mother's Day with out her.

This week has been really busy.  

A flurry of activity in my home, several projects being completed.  

(another post, another day)  

I think being so busy has been a good thing.  

Especially this week.

I think about my Mom a lot.  

I miss her.  

She was a really good Mom.

So this week-end, between the Baby Shower and Get-togethers,

we will celebrate the wonderful extended family she and my dad created.

My daughter's home again, that makes me happy.

We spent the day yesterday doing lunch and shopping.  

I love hanging out with my kids.  

It's so much fun just being a Mom myself.  

I had a good teacher.

(below is the Mother's Day tribute I posted last year.)

Every year in April, I help out with our schools Art's Day.  

This year the project was Crayon Melt Art.  

We had four classes of 20 plus seventh and eighth graders.

With the exception of blowing the circuits every class, I think it went well.

They originally thought the kids would blow right through the project in

ten minutes, but the kids really took their time, worked hard and got creative.  

I was pleased how the projects turned out.

Melting Crayons is a little messy.  (We tried covering the surfaces well.)

We did end up with a few splatters on the floor and walls.  

It was a good day and I went home extremely tired.  

I don't know how teachers do this every day.

A lot of controlled chaos.

I will be teaching Basic Grey's Card of the Month Class on

Thursday, May 16th, 5:30-7:00 p.m. at The Paper Forest in Washington, IL.

The cost of the class is $20 and you will get all the supplies and instructions

to make all 8 cards plus so much more.

Our goal during the class will be to make 6 of the 8 cards.

Contact The Paper Forest at 309-745-3440 to sign up.

You'll have plenty of supplies left to create several more projects.

 

Nothing warms my heart more than having my family all together.

Yesterday was the first time we'd all been together since Christmas.

So... I grabbed the tri-pod, we set the self timer and got a family picture.

(With this family it's the best way.)   These memories are so important.

 

One of the best part of my job, if you could call it a job, is trying out new

products from different companies.  Last week, Cousin sent me a fun box of

jewelry making supplies.  I've always been intrigued with jewelry making but

have been a little intimidated.  (I'm a paper crafter.)

With Cousin, even I can make jewelry.

They have a new product called "Slide bracelets".  

Above is the one that I made.

It is super simple to make and comfortable to wear.  

The retail cost of all the products I used including the clasp is $12.00.  

You can see the video and all the information here.

If you want to make one for yourself, the supplies are available at JoAnn Fabrics.

So many creative possibilities.  

In the box of goodies I also received this blue bead set.  (retail value $4.00)

I added the beads to a simple silver chain for a completely new look.  

At the risk of sounding like a commercial, this really is an inexpensive way

to change up or add to a simple silver chain.  

I may see a new hobby in my future.

Thanks Liz and Cousin Corporation for the opportunity

to play with your products.

The Basic Grey Card of the Month Class for April is completely different than

the previous months.  A lot more interactive.

You receive a lot of goodies, enough to make all the eight cards and a lot more.

You'll get full color photo's and written direction.

Our goal for the class will be to make 6 of the eight cards.

The class is April 18th from 5:30-7:00 at The Paper Forest in Washington.

Contact the store at 309-745-3440 to sign up.

I thought they were so adorable.  (I got three with my purchase, I used two.)  

The other day I was playing around in the studio and decided to make a

mini album out of the extra gift bag.  

When I opened my email later in the day and saw the April Challenge for the

Designer Craft Connection was Handmade Flowers with an extra challenge of 

Recycle - Reuse - Rejoice!  Using only things you find around the house.  

I thought this would be perfect.

I made a simple rolled flower edged with red ink.  To make the flower more 

substantial I painted the flower and leaves with Liquid Laminate

from Beacon Adhesives.

 

Ink the outside edges with Tea Rose Ink.  (like above) 

Start at the outside edge and start rolling in. 

When you're finished rolling, hold for a few seconds before letting go. 

The rose will start to unwind.  It's like it's blooming. 

Put a bit of glue under the spiral and onto the center end to hold

the rose together. For the leaves, cut a few leaf shapes from

cardstock and ink.  I used Vivid's Vintage Green.

This month's Designer Craft Connection Blog Hop Theme is: 

Handmade Flowers

If you'd like to join the Hop and see what the other designers have created

look for this logo on my upper right sidebar to start hopping.

working on a photo book.  I received an offer for a "Free Book" from 

Shutterfly a few days ago and the offer was due to expire at Midnight.   

As for most procrastinators, I work best under pressure.

I have made several photo books before for gifts and special occasions.

I knew what I was getting into.  

The dilemma....... What kind of book do I make?  (So many choices.)

Next, I needed to view the hundreds of photos on my computer, 

choose and edit the photo's.  (no small feat)  

Maybe next time I won't wait until the last day.  (who am I kidding?)

Here is the finished book, you can view it here.  

Years ago, when I used rolls of film and had to pay for expensive processing,

I didn't take as many pictures.  Now that I have a digital camera, I take

hundreds, maybe thousands of pictures each year.  

When I post a picture of a project here on my blog, I may take 40 plus

pictures of that project.  Why?  Because I can.

Anyway....My pictures are fairly organized.  

When I upload pictures on my computer I always give them a description

or month/theme and year.  I put each of those photo's into a folder.

Then those folders go into another folder for the year.  (make sense?)

The best tip I can give you for all those pictures stored on your computer

is.... delete the blurry and bad ones.  Chances are you have 10 other good

ones to use instead.  Then you won't have as many pictures to go through.

Want a easy way to edit your photos?  I use an online site called "picmonkey"

to edit and enhance my pictures.  You don't need to subscribe and most of the

editing services are free.  www.picmonkey.com  It's very easy to use.

(Disclaimer:  Since I added so many extra pages to my book it didn't end 

up being free.  I did, however, get $29.99 off the cost of the book.)

 

I thought maybe I should post something for Easter before it's come and gone.

With all the snowfall we've had around here it's hard to believe it's really Spring.

We had another snow day on Monday, I'm thinking I better put away those

last few remaining snowmen before we're completely jinxed. 

***The bunny was cut from white chipboard using the Easter Elements die

from Tim Holtz and Sizzix.  It was distressed with my Vintage Photo Distress

Ink Pad and stamped with the "Almanac" cling stamp from Prima Marketing.

The cute little nest comes from Melissa Frances.  

 I love how real it looks with those speckled jelly beans.

 I love buttons.  My favorite go to embellishment is buttons.  

I might even go as far to say I am a button collector/hoarder.

I get excited every time I find an old tin of buttons at an estate sale.  

I just can't resist them.  You can't go wrong with buttons.

So, I jumped at the chance to join in the Buttons Galore & More Blog Hop.

Buttons Galore & More sent me a great assortment of buttons to use on

my projects.  Of course, I was drawn to the vintage style ones.

To start my projects, I whipped up some ribbon rosettes.

I love all the different looks you can get by just changing the trim.

I used all my different rosettes along with a few die cut pieces cut from

Spellbinder's Dies.  The paper is from My Minds Eye.  

The black pleated trim and buttons are from Buttons Galore & More.

Now for the Blog Hop Part.  

Handmade craft ideas abound in this creative blog hop.  

Please join the Designer Craft Connection, Viewtainer and Buttons Galore

in presenting this blog hop.  

You have a chance to win a Viewtainer filled with an assortment

buttons and 45 feet of ribbon. (picture below)

What is a craft ideas blog hop you ask?

A blog hop is where, as a reader you check out the host blog and then

follow the links to the other blogs participating in the hop.  

You hop from one blog to another by clicking the 

Designer Craft Connection logo on each page.  

The arrows will take you backward and forward.  

Leave comments if you like something, follow them on facebook, twitter

or even pinterest.  Most of all have fun and enjoy the projects.

The designers have created projects that include paper crafts,

sewn projects, jewelry and mixed -media and much more.

To win one of the Viewtainers filled with ribbons and buttons –

Leave a comment here on the BGM Blog.  

The comment should contain your favorite project from the hop,

and the container you would like to win.  

Comments need to be made by March 17th, 2013 at 11:59 eastern standard time.

 

Cost:  $18.00

"Just Because" collection. This collection has such a fun playful look.

On Nick's 2nd Birthday Aunt Stephanie and Uncle Zach got him this cool

Strider bike for his birthday. He loved his new bike.

This is my girl Stephanie. She and her husband love riding bikes.

This is a picture he took while riding one day.

I love how the colors of the collection go perfectly with the outfit

she was wearing.

I love the blurred background on this picture.  Life in motion.

The little chipboard pieces in this collection are just too cute.

 

We've been wishing for an early spring around here.  (I'm sooo ready)

Instead I'm sitting here with my snowflake socks on wondering how much 

snow we're going to get.  (Although, I wouldn't mind a snow day)

This week on the Little Yellow Bicycle blog they've been showing all

kinds of projects using their "Just Because" line.  

You should check it out.

Here's a simple little card I made.

I have a couple of scrapbook pages I'll share with you tomorrow.

Stay warm.

 

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Let me start by saying, I'm not really a mushy person and... 

I don't usually get carried away on Valentine's Day.

But on Valentine's Day and everyday the thing that is most important

to me is that my family knows that I love them.  

I tell them whenever I can.  (It's that simple.)

I started this project last night for one of my final design team projects

for The Scrapbooking Studio.  It was not meant to be for Valentine's Day.

It just kinda fit.

What started the project was these glassine bags that I was given to

play with.  I love glassine bags.  

They are a great way to make a simple treat feel really special.  

I wanted to try something a little different and I ran my glassine

bag through my Big Shot with a swiss dot embossing plate.

Now my glassine bag has little polka dots all over it.  (love!!!)

So many possibilities.  

Does that great your creative juices flowing or what?

The bag is decorated with paper and chipboard pieces

from the "Just Because" Collection from Little Yellow Bicycle.

I made the card using a few chipboard pieces from Maya Road.

The postage stamp piece was painted with cream acrylic paint and 

I inked the sides with vintage photo distress ink and ink blending tool.

I used my markers to color the "bird" and "love" pieces.  

The stickers and papers are from the "Lovely" collection from 

Authentique Papers.

 

Join me Thursday, March 21st from 5:30-7:00 p.m. 

at The Paper Forest Scrapbooking Boutique in Washington, IL

for the Basic Grey Card of the Month Class.

Cost for the class is:  $20.00

In the class you will get all the papers and components to make all 8 cards.  

(We, however, will most likely only have time to finish 6.)

Contact the store at  309-745-3440 to sign up.  

Remember when we used to make Valentine Boxes for school each year?

Here is my grown up version.

I started with an old cigar box which measures 5" x 6 1/4".

I used paper and stickers from the "Lovely" collection from Authentique Papers.

I covered the entire box.  (Top, bottom and sides)  

I poked holes in the top and side of the box with a piercing tool and sewed the

buttons on.  A thin piece of looped silver elastic holds my box closed.

For the legs, I painted small spools and covered them with paper and pearls.

You can't forget the inside of the box.

On the top of the box I made some simple rolled flowers from cardstock and 

scrapbook paper.  

This month's Designer Craft Connection Blog Hop Theme is:

Handmade with Love 

If you'd like to join the Hop and see what the other designers have created

look for this logo on my upper right sidebar to start hopping.

I can't remember the last time I did a two page layout.  

I'm not sure why.  Maybe it's the commitment of such a large layout.

I was given the wonderful Valentine's Collection from Authentique Papers.

It's a great vintage collection of valentine images from the past.  I just love it.

Anyway... reality.  I don't take Valentine's Day photos.  

Maybe when the kids were little.

I'd take pictures of their valentine boxes or of class parties.

So I decided to do a layout to celebrate all my sweethearts.

I'm going to add a picture of my son and his family, 

a picture of my daughter and her husband,

and the third space I will add a picture of my husband and son.  

All my current sweeties.

A couple more design team projects for The Scrapbooking Studio

using the "For the Record 2" collection from Echo Park.

I just love all the reds in this collection. (sooo me!!!)

A fun gift idea for your "sweetie" or just anytime.

Anyone who knows me knows I love the color red.  

I just love all the wonderful patterns of red in this collection.  

(Inside of the "today" card.)

This candy container was made using a "Dove" chocolate container

from last year's Christmas Holiday.  

(you just never know when things like that will come in handy)

Today, Cherish this Moment.

I will be teaching this class at The Paper Forest in Washington, IL

Contact the store at 309-745-3440 to sign up.

Basic Grey's Card of the Month for February

I will be teaching this at The Paper Forest in Washington, IL

 

I will be teaching this class at Scrapadoodle in Peoria, IL 

on Saturday, January 26th from 10:30-12:30

Cost:  $20.00

 

look a little bare.  It's time to start thinking of new and crafty ways to

decorate the house.  (I am such a collector and lover of beautiful paper.)

The other day I picked up a sheet of Valentine's paper from Graphic 45

called February Cut-Aparts from my local scrapbook store. 

The graphics are so wonderful and vintage.  I started cutting it apart

like the name sugests using both the front and back of the paper.

I even covered the cream mat in the 5" x 7" black frame that I picked

up from IKEA.  (A $3.00 total investment)  It took less than an hour to 

put together.  Most of that time deciding what I wanted to do.  

And... I'm quite pleased with it if I don't say so myself.  

This month's Designer Craft Connection Blog hop is: 

Handmade Decorations for the Home.  

Log onto this Logo on the right sidebar to start hopping.  

Many of these creative ladies will be going to CHA (Craft and Hobby Association)

later this week in Anaheim.  Good Luck Ladies, I wish I was joining you this year.

For my Scrapbooking Studio Design Team project I was given an assortment

of papers and stickers from Crate Paper's "On Trend" Collection.  

I think this collection has a nice modern look for scrapbooking. 

For this layout I have an image of the perfect photo in my mind.

It's such happy layout.  Now, I just have to take it.

Do you ever do that?  Take a photo to match a layout?

Is it alright to say, I love the simplicity of this card?