Sue's Creative Workshop

Stephanie Pop's the Cork

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

The day began at the hair salon where all the girls had gathered.

The owner had set out bagels and ingredients to make mimosa's.

Stephanie decided to be the first one to eat and went about opening the bottle.

I had just told her to be careful, she said "I know Mom", when the cork popped

across the room with lots of laughter following.

I'm so glad this moment was captured forever.

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.

Sue's Creative Workshop Garage Sale

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.

Oh my goodness, I have accumulated a lot of crafty treasures.

One gal's overflow is another's person's treasure.

I've created a new fan page on Facebook: Sue's Creative Workshop Garage Sale

I want to give my friends first choice of my items.

I will be posting pictures on this page of items I have for sale.

It's easy, if you see something you would like it. Post a comment saying so.

First one to comment gets it.

You will have until Thursday, June 6th to make arrangements for payment

and pick-up. All left over items will be put in the actual garage sale which

will have tons more items than I could ever list.

Please like my new Facebook page: Sue's Creative Workshop Garage Sale

to get all the info as I add new items to the page.

If you live in the Central Illinois area and would like to come to my

Crafty Garage Sale on Friday, June 7th, 8:00-4:00 (?)

Send me a message in the comment section and I will give you all the details.

(We will also have a lot of other garage sale goodies not craft related.)

Justin's and Josiah's Graduation Party

We celebrated both Justin's and my nephew Josiah's Graduation

with a dual Graduation Party last night. Both boys graduated Tuesday night.

My nephew Matthew is graduating this afternoon from High School.

Lots of Celebrations this week-end.

Bring on Summer!!!

You are so Wonderful

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.

Here is the complete list products from My Mind's Eye:

ST009 Tangerine "Wonderful" chipboard elements

ST1017 Tangerine "Hello" Greetings paper

ST1006 Tangerine "Happy" Sunny paper

ST1023 Tangerine "Sunshine" Blossom paper

ST1029 Tangerine "Together" Chevron Paper

Justin's Graduation

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.

My Mom

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.)

Shabby Welcome

I've been waiting for weeks for the New Spring Darjeeling Collection from

Petaloo and the flowers have finally arrived.

Just in time for my new class at The Paper Forest.

Shabby Welcome

Saturday, May 18th

1:30-3:30

A little Shabby, a little Vintage. Using new Flowers and Butterflies from Petaloo,

create a “Not so Shabby Welcome Sign” to greet family and friends. Your banner

could also double as a album cover if you choose.

You will get a full set of chipboard alphabet letters to customize your greeting.

Supplies Needed: Double Stick Tape Roller, Glue Stick, Scissors,

1/2” Flat Paint brush, Vintage Photo Distress Ink Pad, Ink Applicator

Cost: $28.00

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

Arts Day

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.

May Card of the Month Class

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.

together again

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.

Cousin "Jewelry Basics"

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.

April Card of the Month Class

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.

Recycled Gymboree Bag

At Christmas time, I got the cutest bags while shopping at Gymboree.

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.

Making the Rose is easy. (image and directions from a previous project)

Cut an irregular circle, mine is approx. 2 1/2". Cut the circle in a spiral.

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 with Photo Books

Yesterday, I spent the better part of the afternoon and the entire evening

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.)

For my photo book, I settled on a Family Memories Book for 2012.

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.)

Happy Spring

Happy Spring Everyone!

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.

New Class: Woodland Park Mini Album

Woodland Park Mini Album: October Afternoon’s Woodland Park brings

you the colors, texture and patterns of those pleasant blue-skied days.

Flips, Flaps, Pockets and more in this cute 6" x 6" mini album.

Monday, April 29th 10:30-12:30
Saturday, May 4th 10:30-12:30

Cost: $26.00

I will be teaching the Woodland Park Mini Album at:

The Paper Forest in Washington, IL

Contact the store to sign up: 309-745-3440

Buttons Galore and More Blog Hop and chance to win...

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.

Easter Elements

I will be teaching a new class called "Easter Elements"

at The Paper Forest in Washington, IL

Thurs. March 14th 10:30-12:00 (yeah! a week-day class)

Sat. March 23rd 1:30-3:00

Cost: $18.00

Class Description: Create chipboard embellishments with the Tim Holtz

Easter Elements Die, Sizzix Big Shot and paper from Authentique Paper

and Graphic 45. Creative embellishments and lots of inking in this class.

We will make two tags, a card and a fun little Easter treat bag.
Supplies: double stick tape runner, glue stick, scissors
Optional Supplies: vintage photo distress inkpad, ink applicator,

tea rose and sky blue vivid inkpads

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

The Scrapbooking Studio

This week ends my time with The Scrapbooking Studio Design team.

One of the best parts about being on a creative design team,

besides making new creative friends,

is the opportunity to try new products and stretch your boundaries.

I also love the challenge to create new scrapbooking layouts every month.

(I need to have challenges and the deadlines)

Thanks to everyone at The Scrapbooking Studio for an enjoyable experience.

Today I thought I'd share my favorite layouts from my time on the team.

LYB "Just Because" Layouts

Here are a couple of layouts that I did using Little Yellow Bicycle's

"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.

LYB "Just Because"

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

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.

love

Sending a little Valentine's love today.

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.

March Card of the Month Class

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.

My Grown-up Valentine Box

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.

a little valentine inspiration

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.

For The Record 2

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.

I also love the pop of yellow.

(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.

more upcoming classes

Now that the Holidays are officially over,

I'm finally getting back to teaching more classes.

Here are a few of my upcoming classes that I'm teaching at a new store

called The Paper Forest in Washington, IL. I'd love to see you there.

Show your special Valentine how much you care with handmade

Valentine's Day Cards made with Love.

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

Saturday, February 2nd, 10:30-12:00

Cost: $15.00

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

Thursday, February 21st, 5:30-7:00

Cost: $20.00

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

(class size is limited and will fill up quickly)

You will get all the materials and instructions to complete all 8 cards.

(Depending on how hard we work we will probably only finish 5 or 6.)

Cards with Heart

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

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

Cost: $20.00

Contact Scrapadoodle to sign up: 309-691-5152

Close up pictures on my Facebook Page: Sue's Creative Workshop

For the Record

Sometimes it feels like the posts on my blog are like online scrapbook pages.

If you could actually read all the journaling on these pages you might

recognize the stories.

In May I did a tribute for Mother's Day about the special women in my life.

Echo Park has a collection of paper and stickers called "For the Record".

When I saw this collection I knew immediately that I wanted to make pages

using those posts. These two lovely ladies are my grandmas.

Oh, what special memories I have. Good memories!!!

DCC: Graphic 45 Valentine's Day Frame

Now that the Christmas decorations are coming down things are starting to

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.

Crate Paper: On Trend

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?

I was able to use just one sheet of paper as my base for my mini tag book.

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

Holiday Inspiration Day ??? It's OK not to be like Martha Stewart

My daughter in law once told me...

"people probably think you decorate your house like Martha Stewart."

While I may aspire to be more like Martha. The reality is far from it.

Sometimes I have to tell myself to slow down, say no and just be realistic.

Focus on what really matters. Get done what's important.

After months of creating Holiday projects for my classes, workshop and blog,

I don't even make my own Christmas Cards.

I buy Hallmark.

I admit it and I don't feel guilty. (And neither should you.)

My week has been unusual to say the least. A lot of things have happened.

So, after watching two full days of Hallmark Christmas movies

being side-lined with the flu and losing my camera to an unfortunate fall.

I've decided to shorten the 12 Days of Holiday Inspiration and tell myself

"It's OK not to be like Martha Stewart."

I'm sure you'll understand. Sometimes life just happens.

So here is my last Holiday Inspiration Project.

An idea I got off Pinterest, originally found on marthastewart.com.

Ironic, isn't it.

It's made with felt and can be used as a pin, hair bow, package topper or ornament.

Mine is a Poinsettia Pin.

I cut 8 petals approx. 2" -2 1/2" to make a 5" poinsettia.

My center is made from a Bazzill Basics vintage button.

And...Just because I won't being able to finish my

12 Days of Holiday Inspiration doesn't mean I won't be blogging.

I still have pictures saved on my computer from projects you haven't seen.

Maybe Santa will give me a new camera early. (you never know)

Remember to slow down and do what's really important this Holiday Season.

Holiday Inspiration Day #6: The Joy of Christmas Cookies

I share this Sugar Cookie recipe every year on my blog.

Last year I shared the story behind the recipe here.

They are the best sugar cookies ever.

Just ask Nicholas. (see pictures below)

The other night the kids came over for dinner.

Nicholas was excited to see that Grandma had finally put up her tree.

He'd been asking "Mom-mom free, pleeez".

After dinner Nicholas and his mom made Sugar Cookies.

He is actually quite good. He knows exactly how much flour to sprinkle on.

And... he can cut the cookies out by himself and put them on the tray.

Which we found out while we were not looking.

By the time it came to decorating the cookies, he had climbed up on the counter

and stripped down to his diaper. (it's much more efficient that way)

What a mess. A fun mess, but a mess.

We even caught him licking the icing off his foot. He's thorough.

After the kitchen and boy was cleaned up we headed out to see

The Festival of Lights. Oh how excited he was.

Nicholas is really discovering Christmas for the very first time.

He is jump up and down excited.

I just love the spirit of Christmas!!!

Holiday Inspiration Day #5: Felt Mitten Ornament

I enjoy creating simple little ornaments with felt. They make me happy.

Just a little felt mitten with a snowflake, vintage button, lace, a little trim,

tied with baker's twine with a simple little red gingham bow.

Ready to hang on the mantle or tree.

If you haven't figured it out already. When it comes to Christmas I love the

color scheme of red and cream. If you ask my family, I love those colors

all the time. It's true. I try to add a little red accent in every room.

Maybe it comes from being born four days before Christmas and coming home

on Christmas Eve. Maybe it's from all the birthday presents conveniently

wrapped in red paper. All I know is I love the color red. (There I've said it.)

If you'd like to make some mitten ornaments of your own, I happen to

have a few listed in my Etsy shop along with the felt snowflakes.

Just let me know if you're looking for a specific color.

felt mittens available here $3.00 for a set of six 3 1/2" x 5" mittens

snowflakes available here set of eight 3" snowflakes for $2.00

Holiday Inspiration Day #4: Acrylic Frame Post It Note Holder

Here is another quick and easy Holiday Gift Idea. Great for teachers or

anyone that you just want to give a thoughtful "no obligation" gift too.

It's also a great way to use up scraps of paper and trim.

I started with a clear 4" x 6" clear acrylic frame and instead of inserting a

photo, I used paper and letter stickers from Basic Grey's Picadilly Collection.

The lace I glued onto the front of the frame with my favorite Fabri Tac glue.

A real inexpensive gift that you can customize for each recipient.

NOTE: The original idea was found on Pinterest here project made by

Tracy Crosby. Here is her original post: violetpaperwings.blogspot.com.

Join me tomorrow for another day of Holiday Inspiration.

Holiday Inspiration Day #3: Shadow Box Frame

Are you making any handmade gifts for Christmas this year?

In following with my glittery bottle brush obsession, I made up this cute

and easy Holiday Shadow Box Frame. (see day #2 for obsession explanation)

I picked up this 6" x 6" frame last year at IKEA and knew I wanted to save

it for something special. And.....if luck is on my side, I will pick up several

more to make as gifts when I visit IKEA in Chicago this week-end.

For photography purposes, I took out the glass to shoot the above picture.

For the one currently residing in my dining room, I added mica flakes

before closing it all up. Now, it's a Shaker Shadow Box Frame.

Trust me, too cute. So many possibilites.

I have several boxes of Christmas Decorations including one box that

usually doesn't make the cut. It's full of ornaments that are just not quite right,

they may be missing a piece or two. For some reason I just can't throw them away.

Like the Nutcracker Ornament that lost it's string hanger.

Have you seen the "Nutcracker Suite" Collection from Graphic 45?

Again, so many possibilities.

This month's Designer Crafts Connection Blog Hop is all about

"Handmade Holiday Gifts".

Look for this logo on my right side bar to stop hopping.

And make sure to join me again tomorrow for another day of Holiday Inspiration.

Holiday Inspiration Day #2: Mini Forest Ornament Ball

I am not usually a glittery type person.

But this year, glitter has become my new obsession. (well, kinda)

I have been adding glitter to everything. I think I may need a "glittervention".

My dad was visiting the other day and he had this little piece of glitter

that was traveling around his face. I finally broke down and told him

he had glitter on his face and he said "Good, now I won't be the only

one having to look at someone with glitter on their face."

(oh, my! I wonder who he was talking about)

Anyway..... My project for today is my Mini Forest Ornament.

It was supposed to be my "quick and easy" ornament project.

While for most people it probably would be, I was a little challenged

gluing a flat base to a rounded bottom. Other than that "easy peasy".

I picked up one of those inexpensive clear plastic ornaments from the

craft store (under $1) and a little package of bottle brush trees to put inside.

(bottle brush trees, another new obsession of mine)

You'll want to make sure that the bases of the trees are small enough

go through the opening of the ornament. I added glue to the bottom

of the tree and inserted it with a pair of long needle nosed pliers.

You'll need to use the pliers to hold it in place for a couple of seconds

until the glue sets up a bit. I used Fabri Tac from Beacon Adhesives.

(I use Fabri Tac Adhesive for almost everything.)

Once you have your trees in place add a teaspoon or two of glitter to the

ornament. The top for my ornament had two small holes, so,

I glued a small circle disk on the top to seal in the glitter. Next, I

replaced the spring loaded wire holder with a piece of silver thread

and glued the top back onto my ornament.

I'm kind of thinking I should of added a tiny snowman inside.

Come back tomorrow for another day of Holiday Inspiration as I

join the designers from The Designer Craft Connection as we hop

around with "Handmade Holiday Gift Ideas".

Holiday Inspiration Day #1: December Daily

Welcome to Day One of the 12 Days of Holiday Inspiration.

I'm so excited to be doing it again this year. Christmas is my favorite

holiday and I love any excuse to challenge myself to be more creative.

My hope is that I'll inspire you to take time to be creative also.

I have been intrigued by the concept of the December Daily Album.

I like the idea of taking a little time each day to think about Christmas,

our traditions and what it really means to me and my family.

I take a lot of pictures during the holidays and now I will have an excuse

to make sure to take one every day. (not that I needed one)

I started with 6" x 8" Handmade Holidays Pages from Simple Stories.

I decided to make my own cover with matboard and additional holiday papers

and embellishments. I will fill each page with journaling, photos and additional

fun embellishments. (Maybe if you're lucky I will share it with you next month.)

Join me tomorrow for Day 2 of the 12 Days of "Holiday Inspiration".

Smile

One of my Design Team Projects

using

Crate Paper's "On Trend Collection".

Oh how I miss these two lovely ladies.

Smoothfoam Challenge plus a Giveaway

I, along with several other ladies of the Designer Craft Connection

was given the opportunity to work with a product called Smoothfoam.

"Smoothfoam the Crafter's foam."

I definitely had fun making some new projects for the Holidays

I decoupaged a smoothfoam ball with snowflake tissue paper and mod podge.

(lightly sand the seam around ball before decoupage.)

I rubbed the ball with Tim Holtz Vintage Photo Distress Ink when the ball

was dry.

I decoupaged another smoothfoam ball with pink floral tissue paper.
After it dried, I added another coat of mod podge and added glitter.

This Silver and Glitter Holiday Ball will adorn my mantel this year.

(my husband thinks it look like a trophy, men!)

To make one for yourself you will need:

1" x 6" x 12" Smoothfoam sheet

4" x 4" x 4" Smoothfoam cube

6" Smoothfoam ball

craft knife

wood dowel rod

black acrylic paint

silver acrylic paint

silver glitter

tacky glue

paintbrush

sanding block

silver ribbon

decorative button

1. Cut the smoothfoam sheet into two pieces. One- 5" x 5" and the other 6" x 6".

2. Stack and glue those pieces together along with a 4" cube using a tacky glue.

(note: do not use a quick dry alcohol based adhesive, it will eat the foam)

3. Once the glue is dry, paint the smoothfoam base with black acrylic paint.

4. Sponge silver acrylic paint over the black to create a fun patina.

5. Paint the dowel rod with silver acrylic paint.

6. Lightly sand the seams of the 6" circle.

7. Poke hole into the circle and insert the rod. (I used a pen to start the hole.)

8. Cover the ball with glue and apply glitter. Allow to dry.

9. Poke hole in the center of the 4" cube and insert circle and rod.

10. Wrap base with silver ribbon and glue into place.

11. Glue decorative button.

Be sure to click on the "hop forward" link under the

Designer Crafts Connection Logo on my right sidebar to visit the next blog.

To enter to win a kit to make an adorable Snowman,

leave a comment here on my blog (under contact) of your

favorite projects and say what you would make with Smoothfoam.

The more often you comment the more chances you have to win.

All the projects will be posted on Pinterest so you can comment there too.

The winner will be announced on November 19th on our

Designer Craft Connection Facebook Page

Winter Wonderland

I had so much fun designing these projects with My Mind's Eye

Winter Wonderland Collection.

Stephanie took the cutest pictures of Nicholas last Christmas.

We called this our "Risky Business" Santa.

Christmas Quilt Layout using My Mind's Eye Winter Wonderland.

I love creating Pop Up Cards using dimensional stickers. (inside)

Front of Winter Wonderland Pop-Up Card

Sue's Holiday Workshop 2012

Thank You ladies for a wonderful day of Holiday Crafting. You gals are the best!

You are the reason I do this. I really enjoy spending time with you.

Additional Workshop photos on my Facebook Page: Sue's Creative Workshop

Makin's Clay Blog Hop and a chance to WIN!!!

I received another great opportunity along with several other designers of

Designer Crafts Connection. This time we got to play with products from

Makin's Clay. This was my first time to play with the clay and I can tell you

I'm now hooked. When they let us choose which products to work with

of course I chose Christmas. (I'm a little Christmas Crazy right now)

For the Snowflake Ornament I used:

38004 Makin's Texture Sheets Set D

39008 Makin's Push Mold Christmas Nature

35002 Makin's Clay White

32006 Makin's Clay Red

32009 Makin's Clay Green

35001 Makin's Roller & Cutters

35002 Makin's Clay Tool Set

and Liquid Laminate (from Beacon Adhesives)

Making the Ornament was actually very easy.

1. The clay rolls out smooth and easy with the Makin's Clay Roller.

Roll the clay onto the texture sheet to emboss the snowflake design.

2. Add a small ball of white clay into the snowflake mold to make a

snowflake. Poke a small hole using the tool kit for the jump ring.

3. Mix green and white clay to make a lighter green clay. Add a small a

small amount of clay to the leaf mold. (make two leaves)

4. Use a very small amount of red clay and the mold set for the berries.

5. Allow the clay to dry for at least 24 hours.

6. Paint on a thin layer of liquid laminate to give the ornament a shiny

porcelain look.

The Poinsettia Card (above) used:

32006 Makin's Clay Red

35002 Makin's Clay White

32009 Makin's Clay Green

35001 Makin's Roller & Cutters

35002 Makin's Clay Tool Set

36028 Makin's Clay Cutter Set-3pcs (Holly Leaf)

Fired Brick and Peeled Paint Distress Ink (Ranger Industries)

Butterscotch dye ink (Ranger Industries)

Ink Applicator

Glossy Accents

1. Cut 8 large Holly Leaves from the red clay.

2. Cut 2 large Holly leaves from the left over green and white mixed clay.

3. Using the pointed tip from the Tool Set, draw vein lines.

4. After letting the leaves dry 24 hours, I inked the red leaves with Fired Brick

ink and the green leaves with the Peeled Paint ink. Allow ink to dry before

assembling Poinsettia.

5. Mold white clay to make the center berries. Paint dried berries with

butterscotch ink.

For the Pink Poinsettia Tag I decided I wanted to try something different

with the clay. I molded white clay into the Christmas Nature Mold to create

the small poinsettia. After my clay poinsettia had fully dried I painted the

poinsettia with a soft pink ink. After it had dried again, I painted it with

Diamond Stickles Glitter Glue. Such a pretty and simple embellishment.

I see so many possibilities with this set.

To see what the other Designers have made with their clay look for this

Designer Craft Connection Logo on my right side bar to start hopping.

Check out this great giveaway from Makin's Clay.

Makin's Clay is also offering a price package valued at just over $111.00

with products including clay, tools and a Memory Frame Kit.....

to enter leave a comment on the Makin's Clay® Blog telling us which project

you liked best on the blog hop. The winner will be randomly drawn from all

entries on or about October 24th.

We will announce the winner on the Makin's Clay blog so please check back

Thursday, October 25th to see if you have won!

A beautiful fall day

Yesterday was another beautiful fall day.

My sister, her grandaughter, my grandson, my daughter-in-law and I took a

trip to Rader Family Farms. The kids had a blast.

They loved the little houses and the corn crib the best.

We spent 2 1/2 hours there just playing in the sun. A good day!

World Card Making Day

Happy World Cardmaking Day!

Are you planning on making cards today?

My Cards were made using the "Once Upon A Halloween" Collection

from Webster's Pages. www.websterspages.com

Webster's Pages Products Used:

PP03 Once Upon a Halloween 6" x 6" 24pc. Paper Pad
US1683 Once Upon a Halloween Double Sided Journaling Cards
WS1073 Once Upon a Halloween Tags & Prompts
WS1074 Once Upon a Halloween Words
CM5032 Once Upon a Halloween Perfect Accents

Graphic 45: Happy Hauntings

Here are my first Design Team projects for The Scrapbooking Studio.

I was happy to receive the Happy Haunting Collection from Graphic 45.

I just love anything Graphic 45, so this was easy to work with.

All of these projects can be seen at The Scrapbooking Studio in Bloomington, IL.

The giant tag uses stickers, papers, tags from the Graphic 45 "Happy Haunting"

collection. The rose at the top is just a simple spiral cut rose and edged with some

black glitter glam.

I loved using lots of dimension on this 5" x 7" frame.

This is Jim and I at Tanner's last fall.

The spiral around the clock was made using a picket fence punch.

I am a little behind on my scrapbooking. So this lay out uses a picture of Justin from

2009. I fussy cut the pumpkin background paper to give me the look of a pile of pumpkins.

(are you starting to get ready for fall???)

Grief

Grief is a funny thing.

After my mom's death I wasn't sure if I wanted to do anything for a while.

Nothing seemed important.

At first, I wasn't even going to let anyone know about my loss.

It felt so personal and definitely not Facebook or blog worthy.

The first few cards I received I couldn't even open until the next day,

I cried at every comment left.

I didn't want condolences.

But after a while, I started to feel comforted by the sweet words and prayers.

After the visitation and the funeral,

I realized all the lives my mom had touched and all the people

that cared about my family and myself.

Thank You!

taking a break

I have decided to take a short break from my blog and facebook.

I lost my dear sweet mother on Friday.

Serendipity Stamps Ornament Die Card

Although I said last week that summer is my favorite time of year,

my favorite crafting season would have to be Christmas.

I just love this new Ornament Die from Serendipity Stamps.

It is also available as a stamp. I combined the die with the new

"Peaceful" collection from Authentique Papers. Love this combination!!!

I used silver mirror paper to cut out the die ornament and backed it with a

red punched circle. I topped it off with a few punched pine sprigs.

(I'm just thinking, this might be my Christmas Card this year.)

that time of year....

Every year about this time, I get a little melancholy.

I love summer. It's my favorite time of year.

It always feels when the kids go back to school that summer is over.

I know it's not true, but it feels that way.

I started making a list years ago for Justin of "what we did on summer vacation".

Kind of a reminder of all we did. (tip: it's also a great scrapbooking resource)

This year if I was to use one word to describe the summer it would be "baseball".

Even when we got away it was to see the Cardinals or our minor league play.

Justin plays summer ball which takes up the first half of the summer.

With the exception of a brief visit to Chicago for CHA, this summer was baseball.

After CHA, was baseball camp and then school tryouts which lead to more

practices and games. Don't get me wrong. I love watching the boys play.

I love how baseball has kept him busy, helped him mature and especially the

part where it's kept him off the computer.

Monday was the last day before school. Justin was up extremely early (for him)

riding skateboards trying to make the most of the day. Around 10:30, I offered to

take them over to the park where there's a good incline that the boys could ride.

I've been wanting to read all summer, so I grabbed a book on my way out.

I sat on a park bench under a tree for about an hour when the boys came back.

After a quick lunch and detour into Walmart, it was off to practice before the

game. After the game and a quick supper I anxiously sat down with my book.

I sat in my chair until about 1:45 when I decided to make myself go to bed.

The next day was as busy as most and it took until after last night's game

that I had a chance to read and finish my book. Justin came in at one time

and exclaimed "how lame I was, just sitting, reading, with no tv or music on

and with no snacks". (sigh...teenagers!!!)

This book was a quick, easy read. Just like I like it.

Oh, FYI, I was allowed to take a picture of Justin yesterday morning before

the first day of school. Of course, their would be no smile and I had to swear

I would not post it online. (no fun!!!)

Anyway.... enjoy the rest of your summer. I'm going to try and soak up as

much as possible and hopefully get a chance to read another book.

Country Snowman

I know it's still August, but...

Last night I was feeling a little creative and I decided to grab this cute little

snowman stamp that I received from Serendipity Stamps last week.

I originally started coloring with the typical cool colors for my snowman.

Then, I decided to warm things up a bit.

I used my Distress Inks from Tim Holtz to watercolor in the image.

(I apply ink to my acrylic block and lift the color using a water brush.)

I sponged Vintage Photo ink onto the outside edges and used white liquid

applique to the top of his hat, snowflakes and tree. To soften up the look,

I used a homemade texture block to add white ink to the card.

I picked up the little felt snowflakes last year from a cute little shop,

I wish I had a resource to get more of these.

Webster's Pages

Don't you just love it when you get an exciting email?

Yesterday, I received an email from Brandin O'Neill letting me know that I

am now a Certified Educator for Webster's Pages. How exciting is that?

I am sooo ready to get started planning classes with their wonderful collections

of papers, stickers and embellishments. Oh... the possibilities.

Check out all the new goodies from Webster's Pages at www.websterspages.com

(can you tell I'm excited???)

I am so honored for my name to be included among these talented women:

Steph Ackerman (USA) her blog

Maggie Armstrong (New Zealand) her blog

Anna Belyanina (Kazakhstan) her blog

Sue Eldred (USA) that's Me!!!

Michelle Hartjes (Australia) her blog

Jaz Lee Soo Hui (Singapore) her blog

Trina McClune (New Zealand) her blog

Jing van Opstal (United Arab Emirates) her blog

Christine Ousley (USA) her blog

Mona Pendleton (USA) her blog

Candy Rosenberg (USA) her blog

Emeline Seet (Singapore) her blog

Shemaine Smith (USA) her blog

Emma Trout (UK) her blog

Iris Babao Uy (Philippines) her blog

Crafting with Back to School Supplies

When I was a young girl I used to love shopping for back to school supplies.

As a crafter, I still like to shop for back to school supplies.

I stock up on those .10 glue sticks and try to look for crafty uses for all those bargins.

Last year Office Max had a promotion on folders for one penny.

I stocked up just in case. (you never know, right?)

This month's Designer Craft Connection Blog Hop is "Crafting with School Supplies".

So... I dug out my folders and played around on what I wanted to make.

What I ended up doing was making a Mini Accordion Folder Album.

I started with a plain folder with no prongs. I cut it down to 6 inches tall.

I scored the folder into six, 3 1/8" sections. I used a corner rounder punch to

round out each section. Then, I went to town decorating each of the sections.

I used paper and stickers from the "5 & Dime" collection from October Afternoon.

(I'm not sure if it's still available but I'm sure you have something equally as fun.)

Check out what the other designers have come up with

Look for this logo on my right side bar to start hopping.

And....make sure to leave me a comment by midnight Tuesday night if

you'd like to win one of those pink pens from Marvy (see post below)

CHA Make and Takes and more...

This week has been a whirlwind of activity.

I apologize for not posting these last pictures from CHA sooner.

During my two days at the Craft and Hobby Association Trade Show

I tried to soak up as much information and inspiration as possible.

I walked the show and lugged around what felt like 10-15 lbs of catalogs

and misc. at all times. To keep productivity up, I used Make and Takes

as my time to take a break. A few of the samples didn't make the journey

back home. Here are a few of the samples that I did make.

The New Soleil Collection and Monogram Chipboard from Basic Grey.

Of course, I had to do the Make and Take in the Idealology Booth.

An Adorable Card from Heidi Swapp, Pink Paislee and Glue Arts.

Made this cute messenger bag using the Silhouette Cameo.

This shoe tape dispenser was a popular Make and Take over at Scotch Brands.

I waited in line 30 minutes to decorate my shoe, which I decided to keep simple.

(FYI... 30 minutes was actually considered a short wait.)

Scotch has this Hype your Heel Contest if your interested.

Visit Facebook.com/Scotch for more information.

And speaking of Scotch/3M.... If you did a make and take at the booth they

would give you a ticket. And... Every day at 2:00 at the 3M booth they gave

away great prizes. Of course, I stood around with hundreds of others to see

if they'd call my number. And, lucky me, they called my number and I won

a wonderful black 3M bag full of 3M products.

Check out my loot!!! Totally made my day.

I am so fortunate to be able to attend this show, display at the Designer

Showcase, and meet some of the most wonderfully creative people.

I hope you've enjoyed this little glimpse into CHA. Have a great week-end.

(Now I need to use all this inspiration and get busy!)

Summer CHA 2012: Graphic 45

I love soaking up all the creative inspiration at CHA.

And.... when it comes to eye candy, in my opinion, no one does it better than

Graphic 45

CHA Photo's #1

There are so many great things to take pictures of at CHA.

Here is just a small sample.

I walked around the showfloor for two days, camera in one pocket,

cell phone in the other. Remembering to take pictures is another story.

Those who know me, know I like to talk.

So..... the more I talked the less pictures I took.

great layouts from Fab Scraps a South African Company

Cute little Idealology display.

Idealology Booth. Cute Samples by Stephanie Ackerman.

Tim Holtz Idealology Booth. Love the new lantern with battery pack.

I thought this was pretty inspiring. Tim Holtz booth showing all the color

combinations to use on the new bottle brush trees using the Distress re-inkers.

Kaisercraft Booth (from Australia). Always full of great samples.

Kaisercraft Christmas

Melissa Frances Booth. Love how sweet and delicate everything looks.

Melissa Frances: this is so adorable.

I fell in love with Melissa Frances mini house kits last year. She now has them

in bigger sizes. (I see a new class in the future.)

these are wonderful!

Melissa Frances: Vintage Inspired

Simple Stories. Loved all the wonderful papers and stickers

I love this Christmas Countdown. Another great class idea.

Wendy Vecchi's new Blossom Bucket.

Stop by tomorrow and I'll share more pictures.

CHA Designer Showcase

While there I took around 100 pictures that need to be sorted

and edited before sharing.

Here are a couple of pictures of the Designer Showcase I participated in.

I loved getting a chance to meet and talk with the other designers.

(I will share the rest of the pictures this week-end.)

Summer Baseball

Summer around here is baseball, swimming and lots of friends.

Not to mention the endless loads of wet towels.

So in between baseball and impromptu swim parties, I've been working on

getting ready for CHA (Craft and Hobby Trade Show) in one week.

This year I joined CHA as a Designer Member and I'm participating in the

Designer Showcase. I'm anxiously awaiting my trip to Chicago.

I'm excited at the opportunity to meet all my new designer friends in person.

Tonight was the first game of the sudden death tournament.

Justin's team definitely went in as the underdogs.

The boys played their hearts out.

They never gave up and it paid off.

Now if only we can play this well on Thursday night.

The boys doused the pitcher with a bucket of water. So much excitement.

I have so many great pictures. Now to get them all scrapbooked.

DCC: Vacation Crafts

This month's Designer Crafts Connection Blog Hop is all about Vacation Crafts.

A few years ago after a trip to Myrtle Beach, SC my son Justin and I started

a Vacation Frame with the shells that we had collected. When Justin lost

interest, I'm ashamed to say that this is as far as we got. I put the frame

away in the closet along with the yellow bucket with the shells still inside.

So when it came to the Vacation Craft project, I pulled the frame along

with the original yellow bucket out of the closet.

This time I decided to tone it down a little.

I gave the frame a quick white wash with some antique white acrylic paint.

I grabbed a couple of old beachy chipboard pieces that I'd been hoarding

and started gluing away. The hardest part was knowing when to stop.

I don't know why it took me so long to finish it.

This was a fun project that would be great to do with the kids.

As long as you don't let them lose interest.

Make Sure to Check out the other Designers.

Just look for the Designer Crafts Logo on my right side bar to start hopping.

keys from the past...

The other day I picked up a new 6" x 6" pad of paper from Simple Stories and

this adorable little stamp set from Prima Marketing while at Prairie Art Stamps.

I loved all the patterns of paper in this pad. So many possibilities, great for

card makers like myself. And... the little stamp set was under $2. (what a bargain)

I can tell I'm going to get a lot of use out of this.

www.simple-stories.com

www.primamarketinginc.com

Mini Fold Album

When my dear friend Cindy (Children's Librarian) asked me to do a special

Mother Daughter class for the Morton Library, of course, I said yes.

I will be at the Morton Public Library on Wednesday, June 27th from

11:30 to 12:30. Contact the Morton Library for more info on signing up.

another crazy week.

Do you ever have one of those weeks that go by so fast that you have

to sit down and think about what you did?

That was this week.

Three games (two wins) and one out of town trip to see the Cardinals beat

the White Soxs.

It was of those weeks that I didn't do one creative thing except put away

my class supplies from last Saturday's class at Prairie Art Stamps.

Summertime, Baseball, Lazy Days. (I Love it!!!)

Celebrate Each Day

Today's Serendipity Design Team Challenge is Patriotic.

Whenever I think of Patriotic, I think Summer, 4th of July, Fireworks.

There's no reason why we can't be Patriotic and "Celebrate Each Day".

(love this Bikini Kitty)

Be sure to check out the other Serendipity Design Team members:

Miriam Napier

Kathie Bailey

Jenny Gropp

Jeanne Jachna

Amy Cockley

"Bikini Kitty" and "Celebrate Each Day" stamps from Serendipity Stamps.

www.serendipitystamps.com

Grilling

Summertime and the living is easy.

Whether we're having a picnic in the park or grilling in the backyard,

I love a good picnic.

This month's Designer Craft Connection Blog Hop theme is Summer Picnic.

Make Sure to Check out the other Designers

Just look for the Designer Crafts logo on my right side bar to start hopping.

Grill Stamp available from Serendipity Stamps.

Grandma's Doily Card

I love my new "Grandma's Doily" punch from Fiskars.

Designer Jenni Bowlin made a series of Limited Edition punches for Fiskars

that's available only in the Spring and Summer of 2012.

To Make the Grandma's Doily Card:

1. Punch “Grandma’s Doily” in cardstock to make a stencil.

2. Stencil the doily pattern onto white cardstock using white pigment ink.

3. Heat emboss with white embossing powder.

4. Using an ink applicator, rub tea rose ink into the background.

5. Use this as the background paper for your card.

6. Punch “Grandma’s Doily” in white cardstock

7. Punch the image out with a 1” circle punch.

8. Punch a slightly larger circle from pink cardstock.

9. Punch a white scalloped circle and adhere all layers together to make a

“Grandma’s Doily” medallion. Embellish with a self-adhesive pearl rhinestone.

10. Punch “Grandma’s Doily close together to form a border on a 5” x 5” piece

of white cardstock.

11. Cut embossed background paper to 4 ¾” x 3 ½” and adhere to white.

12. Adhere card front onto a 5 ¼” x 5 ¼” dark pink cardstock layer.

13. Tie a knot in a white satin ribbon, add white satin ribbon with 1/8” red

lined tape to card front and fold extra ribbon around back.

14. Adhere all layers onto a 5 ½” x 5 ½” light pink card.

15. Add “Grandma’s Doily” medallion and “Happy Birthday” greeting with a

foam mounting square onto front of card.

Mini Junk Album: Part 2

Mini Junk Album Part 2

I really love the concept of the "Mini Junk Album."

Yesterday morning I spent three hours putting together this book

from the pile of stuff I gathered the day before.

No rules, no preconceived idea of how it would go together.

Just playing. The hard part was knowing when to stop.

I showed it to Lynne yesterday at Scrapadoodle.

She thought this concept would make a neat class? What do you think?

If you're local I left the book at Scrapadoodle stop by and check it out.

Stamping in Embossing Powder

Today's Serendipity Design Team Challenge is: Spring Cleaning

The idea was to use something in our stash that we hadn't used in awhile.

I thought embossing powder!

While they say embossing powder has a shelf life.

I've had this embossing powder for over 10 years.

This is a fun technique that I learned a long, long time ago.

Here's what you'll need:

Embossing Powder (I used Gold, Brass, Copper and Silver)

Embossing Heat Tool

Color Box Pigment Ink Pad (any color)

Matboard (or paper)

Retro Owl Stamp (from Serendipity Stamps, of course)

Piercing Tool

Twigs

Wire

Black Brads

Frame

How to make the framed Owl:

1. Pour gold embossing powder in a shallow container or dish.

2. Rub pigment ink all over the matboard.

3. Immerse matboard in embossing powder and shake off excess.

4. Heat matboard with Embossing Heat Tool until all the powder is melted.

5. This is where you'll have to work fast. As soon as you've finished

melting the powder, immerse it back into the embossing powder. Because

the powder is still hot, the embossing powder will stick.

6. Reheat the second layer of embossing powder. Repeat the process

two more times for a total of 4 layers of embossing powder.

7. Pick a couple of colors of embossing powder. I used Copper, Brass,

and Silver. (colored embossing powder works well also)

8. Heat a section of the matboard until melted. Pour a little of the next

color of embossing powder on it. Some of the powder will melt immediately.

Heat until fully melted. Continue reheating sections of the matboard and

adding additional embossing powders until satisfied.

9. Ink Owl Stamp with pigment ink. (this keeps it from sticking)

10. Reheat matboard and embossing powder until molten state.

Stamp into melted powder with Owl Stamp. Wait a few seconds and

pull up. (Success!!!)

11. Poke holes into eyes with piercing tool and add shiny round black brads.

12. Adhere onto a additional piece of black matboard, poke holes on the

bottom and wire a couple small twigs. Put into frame.

When I got the idea of stamping into the embossing powder I knew I wanted

to use the Retro Owl, but, I had no idea what I was going to do with it.

I guess it was "Serendipity" that it fit perfectly into the little black frame.

Be sure to check out the other Serendipity Design Team members:

Miriam Napier

Kathie Bailey

Jenny Gropp

Jeanne Jachna

Amy Cockley

Enabler Alert!!!

It’s coupon time at www.serendipitystamps.com.

Just enter the code “40FROMHIGH” on the checkout page after

you select your shipping.

You will get 40% off the highest priced item in your cart.

This code expires Monday May 21st. One coupon per customer.

Remembering the special women in my life: part 3

This is my mom.

She is a sweet, loving, kind woman with beautiful blue eyes.

Family is everything to her.

My mom was a stay at home mom.

As a child I felt so much comfort in always having her around.

As I grew to a woman she became a friend and confidant.

My mom went to college the same year as me.

We even had a few classes at the same time and carpooled.

How weird is that?

Honestly, I was extremely proud of my mom.

She had the courage to go after her dreams.

Mom would do anything for you. She is a good woman.

I learned so much from her.

She raised 5 kids in a very small home.

She made sure we all made it to Sunday School and Church every week.

She taught Childrens Church for over 25 years.

She instilled my good Christian faith.

She taught me value, honesty, kindness and to be fair.

Several years ago, my mom was diagnosed with Dementia.

At first, we weren’t allowed to say the “D” word.

We hid it as long as we could.

We went to every specialist, took every advice.

Did all we could.

As Mom progresses into advanced stages,

we still try to do all we can.

Sometimes, it just isn’t enough.

I love my Mom and it hurts me to see her this way.

The good thing is that her hugs still feel the same.

She can still say “I love you.”

Happy Mother’s Day!

(I love you too, Mom.)

ImpressArt Blog Hop and Drawing

A few weeks ago, I was given the opportunity along with 21 of my fellow

Designers to make a project using ImpressArt's metal stamping products.

I had never used metal stamps before and was excited at the possibility

of what I would create. Every once in a great while, I get a vision of exactly

what I want to make and this was that time. (I love it when that happens)

We were all given a variety of tools to play with. (so much fun!)

Let me tell you, these tools are great if you have a little extra energy

to use up. (Not so good if the family is sleeping.)

I started with an inexpensive wood frame from IKEA and acrylic paint.

Using my ImpressArt Metal Stamping Hammer and ImpressArt Design Heart Stamp,

I randomly stamped the heart design onto the wood frame by tapping the end of

the metal heart stamp with the 1-lb. brass hammer using medium pressure.

Because the frame was inexpensive and the wood type not the same all over,

I did get a little inconsistency in my stamping. (I embraced the imperfection)

I will be honest, I did practice on two frames before I deemed this one

acceptable. After I finished stamping, I painted the frame with Engine Red

acrylic paint and allowed it to dry thoroughly. I then painted over the frame

with the Black acrylic paint making sure to get the paint into the stamped hearts.

I quickly wiped the excess paint off with a damp paper towel.

To give the paint a shiny look, I painted it again with Liquid Laminate

from Beacon Adhesives.

Next I wanted to stamp on the metal. That took a little more practice.

After checking out the instructions on the website and watching a video

on YouTube. I practiced several times on the extra pieces of metal

stamping blanks. I then stamped the word "England" on a little brass tag.

I used a black paint pen to color over the letters and then lightly sanded

over the letters with a sanding block. (Too darn cute!!!)

Even though the "g" isn't perfect, I love the look.

I finished off the frame with a pinwheel made from paper from

My Minds Eye and some ribbon and trim.

The picture is from Mom and Dad's 50th Anniversary Trip to England.

Thank You Adam and Jeff of ImpressArts Metal Stamps for this opportunity!

www.impressart.com

Here's the Good Part! ImpressArts Metal Stamps is giving away a

Grand Prize valued at up to $120.00 and contains:

1 ImpressArt alphabet set of the winner's choice

1 ImpressArt Steel Stamping Block, small

1 ImpressArt Metal Stamping Hammer

1 ImpressArt Stamp Straight Tape

An Assortment of metal discs

To enter the contest, click here.

Check out the other Designers participating in the ImpressArt Blog Hop.

Scroll back up and look for this logo on the right sidebar.

Remembering the special women in my life: part 2

Grandma M is another special woman in my life.

She was the Creative Grandma.

A very loving, extremely talented, deeply religious woman.

Grandma was a known for being a seamtress. That lady could sew anything.

Most of the clothes we wore as young kids came from my Grandma.

She sewed all of our dresses, barbie clothes, stuffed animals. You name it.

She even made my Wedding Dress. She was special!

Grandma was the Ultimate Crafter/ Craft Hoarder. I believe she tried

every craft available to her. She painted ceramics, oil, acrylics and even

got into beading for a while. She took great pride in all her work.

While Grandma B. was known for her perfectly kept house,

Grandma M. was the "messy grandma", always a project in process.

As a creative soul, I understand.

When it came to helping Grandma M. move to a Senior Complex it

took a bit longer to clear out her stuff. (a whole summer, I believe)

She had a back bedroom that used to be her "storage".

Way back in the late 70's or early 80's, boxes shifted and she no

longer could open the door. When it came time to cleaning out her

place, that was the last room to be tackled. We all dreaded that room.

What we didn't know was that room was like a time capsule,

all the good stuff was in that room.

Like this vintage doll outfit that she had sewn and never given away.

One of my favorite memories of helping her move was the evening

in that old back room when we found her old love letters written

to my grandfather at the age of 14.

I remember racing my brother and sister back to my mom's house

so that we could show Grandma what we had found.

She tried to act embarrassed, all the time loving all the attention.

My first grandma died when I was in my early twenties, I think of her often.

She's the reason I love old photo's and why I'm so sentimental.

Grandma M. died when I was in my forties, so, I had her a lot longer.

She showed me the "joy of creating".

I loved them equally, they were both wonderful women who

helped shape my life and influence who I am today.

Remembering the special women in my life: part 1

Growing up as a child I was lucky to have two grandmas.

Both grandmas were special and both grandmas were quite different.

Grandma B. was the traditional grandma.

She was sweet, consistent and extremely kind hearted.

She had a strong sense of family and instilled my love of old photographs.

She was one of the youngest of 14 children.

Her name was Emma and she had my father, her first child,

in 1931 at the age of 34.

(Grandma B. was 20 years older than my other Grandma,

so she seemed much older.)

When I was young, we’d spend every Sunday afternoon over at Grandmas

playing with cousins. In the evening we'd have to be real quiet as grandma

watched "The Lawrence Welk Show". I loved it when she'd dance to the music.

I can still hear her singing "Let me call you Sweetheart." (I love that song.)

This is how I like to remember Grandma's house.

(I'm the one on the bottom left making my cousin laugh)

In 1980, after almost 50 years in her home, the city took her block by

eminent domain. (They put up a shopping plaza, I won't shop there!)

After losing the fight, she moved to a Senior Complex with grace.

Even though it was a sad situation,

helping Grandma move is still one of my fondest memories.

One day while helping her pack, we stumbled across Grandma's

old hats in the wardrobe of her bedroom.

We all picked a hat, grandma included, and wore them while we worked.

After the day was done, she allowed me to keep my hat and pearls.

(see above picture) I keep them on my dresser.

See this old bowl?

Several, several years ago, I stumbled across a bowl at a garage sale for a

quarter. I was so excited to find the bowl because it looked just like one of

grandma’s bowls. (the girls at the sale thought I was nuts)

I loved that bowl, even though it wasn’t hers it still reminded me of her.

A few years later my husband broke the bowl.

I was sad, but it still was just a garage sale bowl.

That year for mother’s day, he found another bowl at an antique shop for $5.00

and bought me that bowl. I still think of grandma every time I use that bowl.

I know, call me a sentimental fool.

One of Grandma's favorite sayings "See you in the funny papers."

Happy National Scrapbooking Day!

To Celebrate National Scrapbooking day, I thought I'd bring out some

of my first scrapbook pages. I started Scrapbooking in the late 90's when

supplies were very limited. Stickers and templates were the trend.

I looked for my very first scrapbook page but couldn't seem to locate it.

Just as well, you would have laughed.

Remember when templates was the trend?

At least I used a little memorabilia on my page. (Very Simple.)

I love this layout. Love the pictures. (Cousins, not twins)

Sometimes I wish they were this little again. (just sometimes)

Have a great day and remember to catch some memories!

Bluebird of Happiness Necklace

Todays Designer Craft Connection Blog Hop is: Quick and Easy Jewelry

The other day I picked up the new “Flight” Squeeze Punch from Fiskars.

The “flight” squeeze punch is part of a series of designer punches from

Jenni Bowlin that’s only available in the spring and summer of 2012.

I punched the “flight” punch out of sanded shrink plastic. Color the punched

image with colored pencils. Then shrink using a heat tool or oven.

Punch a 1” circle from decorative scrapbook paper. Glue pieces inside a

flattened bottle cap. (available online www.sunandmooncraftkits.com)

Add a “happy” sticker and fill with Glossy Accents, Diamond Glaze or

Crystal Lacquer.

As it dries it will become clear. Allow approx. 10-12 hours to dry.

The project takes less than an hour to put together.

Wouldn’t it make a great gift? (Mother's Days coming, Hint, Hint!!!)

Make Sure to Check out the other Designers

Just look for the Designer Crafts logo on my right side bar to start hopping.

Coming up Saturday May 12th

Join me and 19 other designers for a special Impress Arts Blog Hop.

Sprinkler

I just love my new stamp "Sprinkler" from Serendipity Stamps.

The little boy playing in the sprinkler reminds me of my grandson, Nicholas.

Nicholas is a water baby, he loves being in the pool, playing in the water.

This summer should be extra fun now that he's running around.

Serendipity Stamps has several images in their new Spring and Summer release.

Check them out at www.serendipitystamps.com

Delightful Album

I just finished my "Delightful Album" for National Scrapbooking Day.

I will be teaching this album at Scrapadoodle in Peoria, IL.

Saturday, May 5th 1:00-3:00 p.m.

Cost is $25.00

If your local, please come and join me. This album is full of tips, techniques

and embellishments for the "girly" side of you.

Made with papers and stickers from Authentiques Papers "Delightful" Collection.

Contact Scrapadoodle at 309-691-5152 to sign up.

Arts Day

Yesterday was Arts Day at my son's school. It's one of those crazy, chaotic

days that I try not to teach. I like to go and just help out.

This year I got to learn something new, Glass Art.

The kids were allowed to either... make a suncatcher, owl necklace or pendant.

For the suncatcher, the kids were given a clear piece of glass.

They drew their design on the glass with a sharpie. Then they went over their

lines with a clear glue that burns off. After they finished with their designs,

finely ground black glass was poured over the glue and allowed to set.

After a couple of minutes the kids were allowed to pour off the black powder.

The kids then spooned on small coarser pieces of glass to fill in the pattern.

The tile will then be taken back to the shop and fired in a kiln.

(examples of finished glass owls after being fired)

I was even allowed to play.

I made and owl necklace and pendant, I can't wait to get it back after its been fired.

The shop is called Created Just By Me. www.createdjustbyme.com

If your local, the shop is in Washington on the Square.

They are a pottery and art studio.

Tattered Angels

(Sue, Stayce DeWid of Tattered Angels and Laura of Scrapadoodle)

It's been years since I've taken the time to sit down and actually take a class.

So, when I heard that Stayce DeWid of Tattered Angels was coming to Scrapadoodle

I rearranged my schedule so that I could attend. I'm so glad I did.

I'd never played with the Tattered Angels products and I really learned a lot.

We all enjoyed making a "glimmery" mess.

Loads of neat techniques in this class.

Stayce shared canvas scrapbook pages she made with Glimmer Mist.

It was definitely an afternoon well spent. Thanks Stayce!

Celebrate National Scrapbooking Day at Scrapadoodle

I will teaching the "Delightful" Album at Scrapadoodle in Peoria, IL

to celebrate National Scrapbooking Day on Saturday, May 5th. 1:00-3:00 p.m.

Contact Scrapadoodle at 309-691-5151 to sign up.

The "Delightful" Album is made with papers and stickers from

Authentique Paper's "Delightful" Collection.

The album measures 5 1/4" x 5 1/4" and is a 6 panel accordion style scrapbook.

The front cover was inspired by a project done by www.paisleysandpolkadots.com

Mini Mother's Day Box

Time again for another Serendipity Stamps Design Team Hop.

The Design Team Challenge for today is "Flourishes".

For my project, I decided to make a mini box for Mother's Day.

Serendipity Stamps Used:

378B Scroll Small

615B For You Small

www.serendipitystamps.com

Additional Supplies:

Extra Jumbo Scalloped Circle (Marvy Uchida)

Vivid Inks: Tea Rose, Olive (Clearsnap)

Stickles: Cotton Candy, Diamond (Ranger)

Mini Mister (Ranger)

Corner Rounder

Scrapbook Paper (October Afternoon)

White and Olive cardstock

Lace and mauve ribbon

Small Paper Mache Box

1. Stamp Scroll stamp with Olive Ink onto each edge of a 2 1/4" x 2 1/4"

piece of white cardstock to create a frame.

2. Using the corner rounder punch, round out each corner.

3. Layer onto a rounded piece of 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" olive cardstock.

4. Dot Cotton Candy Stickles onto flourishes. Allow to dry thoroughly.

5. Making the flower is easy. Punch six white scallop circles.

6. Ink the edge of each circle with the tea rose ink. (as shown above)

7. Mist the circles with water, allowing ink to run.

8. Stack all circles together and pierce a hole through the center of all circles.

Attach circles with small brad.

9. Starting with the top circle, scrunch the circle to the center. One by one,

continue scrunch the circles to a small wadded up piece of paper.

10. Gently open up the circles to allow the flower to form. Allow flower to dry.

11. Squeeze out Diamond Stickles onto a piece of scratch paper and paint

with paint brush onto the flower. Allow to dry.

12. Cover small box with scrapbook paper. Embellish with lace and ribbon.

13. Add flourish square and flower to top of the box.

Check out the other Serendipity Design Team members:

Miriam Napier

Kathie Bailey

Jenny Gropp

Jeanne Jachna

Amy Cockley

Prairie Art Stamps

I will be teaching my Shabby Ruffled Flower Mini Album and Card Class at

Prairie Art Stamps in Springfield, IL

Saturday, June 9th

10:30-12:30

Contact the store at: 217-679-0148

I can't believe that it's been almost two years since I was there.

I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone again.

a perfect memory

I made this card for a magazine sketch submission. Even though it didn't

get selected, I thought I'd go ahead a share it with you. It is made with

Basic Grey's Curio Collection of stickers and paper.

I like to keep the inside of the card simple. It's a great place to add a

stamped sentiment or a lovely note thanking a friend for a perfect memory.

My Sweet Little Easter Bunny

One more day until Easter and I've started seeing sightings of the Easter Bunny.

Isn't he just the cutest little Easter Bunny. I love this little guy!!!

Happy Easter Everyone.

The Ladies from Wisconsin

Yesterday, these ladies took a road trip to my neck of the woods.

I went over to Scrapadoodle to meet them and play.

I decided to let them be my guinnea pigs for my next class the Ruffled Shabby Flower.

They were such a sweet and fun group of ladies.

Thanks ladies for such a fun afternoon. Our time together went so fast.

It was such a pleasure meeting you all.

April Flowers bring May Flowers

This month's theme for the Designer Craft Connection Blog Hop is

April Showers brings May Flowers.

Around here the flowers and trees are already blooming. My lovely lilacs

are at least 4 weeks early. Everyone is working in their yards and I'm

just itching to go to the Garden Shop to buy my flowers. If feels like summer.

For my Umbrella card:

1. Cut a 6" circle in half. Fold the half circle in half and then half again.

2. Fold each one of those sections in half.

3. Using a small circle punch, cut a small scallop out of each section.

4. Paint a coffee stirer with a silver paint pen.

5. Put together background layers. (5" x 5") Adhere to a 5 1/2" x 5 1/2" card.

6. Fold back the end two sections of the umbrella, trim as needed and adhere

to front of card.

7. Apply a little bit of glue to the back of the silver stick and glue under umbrella.

8. Punch a picket fence border and adhere to front of card using small slivers of

foam mounting squares.

9. Add small adhesive flowers. (mine are from the shabby chic colletion at Michaels)

Check out the other Designers on the Blog Hop. Some are doing Give Aways.

Look for this Logo on my

right side bar to start hopping.

Happy Spring

Even though the temperature is cooler and the rain is coming.

I'm in a good mood! A perfect day for a Happy Spring Card.

The card was made using paper, stickers, buttons and diecuts from Jillibean Soup.

www.jillibean-soup.com

Happy Monday Everybody!!!

Patchwork Card

I got inspired last night and whipped up this patchwork card.
(I quess I was feeling a little square.)

The squares are 1 1/2" and put on a 5" layer. That leaves plenty of room for spacing.

I used a straight edge and fine point marker to draw in stitching.

The paper is from Basic Grey's Indie Bloom Collection.

Serendipity Design Team Challenge: Acetate

When the challenge came to work with acetate I thought gee what am I

going to do? Then inspiration hit and I decided to make a shaker card.

I used this sweet little skunk from Serendipity Stamps.

I think he's so stinkin cute. (pun intended)

I used an Accu-Cut Shaker card die and filled it with tiny daises with

a Marvy Uchida Daisy punch.

The skunk is stamped in black and colored with tombow markers.

Need Acetate sheets and don't want to buy a box of 100?

Serendipity Stamps now has 8 1/2 x 11 acetate sheets in packs of

10 for only $1.00 you can get it here.

(You can add that to your order with the stinkin adorable skunk)

I know you're going to need it.

Check out the other Serendipity Design Team members:

Miriam Napier

Kathie Bailey

Jenny Gropp

Jeanne Jachna

Amy Cockley

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Just stopped in to say hoping Good Luck goes your Way!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

little things make me happy

One of my favorite songs is Louie Armstrong's "It's a Wonderful World."

It's one of those songs that just makes me happy.

I like being happy!

Little things make me happy.

Like new flowers in Spring.

and playing with my favorite little guy.

Take time today to embrace the little things in life that makes you happy!

Roses in Winter

The Serendipity Design Team is at it again with another Blog Hop.

The theme this time is Mother's Day with a Dimensional Flower.

I really love the sentiment on this card. It holds a special meaning.

With my mother's memory fading. I want to hold onto as much as possible.

You can get the Serendipity Stamps sentiment here.

Making the Rose is easy.

Cut an irregular circle, mine is approx. 2 1/2". Cut the circle in a spiral.

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.

The paper is from October Afternoon. www.octoberafternoon.com

I used Marvy Uchida's Border Punch system with the Antique Floral Cartridge.

Check out all the wonderful creations from the Serendipity Design Team.

Sue Eldred (that's me)

I am pleased to announce that one of the Winners from the Serendipity Stamps

drawing for the New Die/Stamp Set came from a comment left on my blog.

Congratulations goes out to April B. from Burlington, Iowa!!!

FYI: Even thought the drawing over, you can still leave comments on my blog.

I love to hear what you have to say. (it's nice to know you're there)

Cards Magazine: March 2012

Check out yours truly on page #80 of Cards Magazine

by Northridge Publishing.

I know I'm bragging a little but I was so excited that this card was chosen

last Sept. to be in the March 2012 issue of Cards Magazine. (pg. #80)

and... I've been waiting 6 months to share it with you.

The card was made with papers and stickers from Basic Grey's

"Out of Print" Collection. www.basicgrey.com

Designer Craft Connection Blog Hop

It's the first Monday of the month, time for the Designer Craft Connection

Blog Hop. This month's theme is a Spring Theme.

I decided to reach into my stash and pull out one of my favorite old retired

Hero Arts Stamp. I used my Vivid inks and markers to color certain areas

of the stamp first and then huffed and puffed a little on the stamp to

moisten it before I stamped it onto the white cardstock. I then went back

and colored in certain areas of the stamp like the flowers and leaves.

I stamped the image again in black onto lavender cardstock and cut out

the small letters that spell the word "create".

I tried in vein to get a really great shot of this card. I even tried getting a

little creative. (as you can see up above) I've decided that getting a clear

picture of a white card on an overcast week-end is next to impossible.

To check out what the other designers have come up with

look for this logo on my right side bar to start hopping.

Shared Inspiration

This little Mini Fold Book was inspired by a post I saw on Teresa Collins Blog.

The original idea came from Lisa Johnson on her blog www.poppypaperie.com.

Here is Lisa's original post from October 2010.

Lisa gives you easy to follow step by step instructions.

So many possiblities and so quick and easy.

The little rhinestone in the center of my ribbon flower came from a box

I recently found of old buttons that my grandma had saved long ago.

Thanks Grandma for saving all these buttons!!!

Don't forget you still have until March 2nd to enter Serendipity Stamps Drawing!

Serendipity Stamps Design Team Blog Hop and DRAWING!!!

After years of owning a Accu-Cut Machine and hundreds of punches.

I've finally gave in and bought a Big Shot Die Cutting Machine.

I've always been curious about those intricate dies but just couldn't

commit. I recently got another incentive. Serendipity Stamps

has just came out with some new thin dies. They are so beautiful

when cut.

Here is the Heart Scroll Die and the Heart Outline Die.

You can purchase it here individually or as a set with matching stamp

for only $23.99 (it's like getting the stamp for $2.00)

The best part is that the Serendipity Design Team is having a Blog Hop and

Serendipity Stamps is choosing two winners to win a set of dies for your own.

To be eligible to win one of two sets of dies:

Visit each blog and leave a comment (where comments are accepted)

Sue Eldred (that's me)

To be eligible for the two random drawings:

one for the Heart Stamp/Die Set

and one for the Egg Stamp/Die Set.

You have through March 2nd to leave comments.

Comments on my blog are emailed to me and not public. (they will count!!!)

Happy Hopping!!!

Serendipity Stamps Blog Hop Challenge: Layouts

The Serendipity Design Team Blog Hop Challenge this time was to do a layout

using stamps. I knew exactly which picture and stamps I wanted to use.

Mary from Serendipity Stamps asked me if this was a family picture.

Sorry to say, it is not. I purchased the photo several years ago. I liked the photo

because there are four sisters in my family. One of my sisters and I used to joke

at which one we were. (Since, it's my photo I always got to be the pretty one. )

Serendipity Stamps used were:

282K Postcards

285F Letters Mingle Souls

www.serendipitystamps.com

Background papers and stickers are "Little Black Dress" (www.basicgrey.com)

Check out the other Serendipity Design Team Members:

My Creative Space

Some of the ladies in one of my Facebook Groups have been brave

enough to share pictures of their work spaces. So... I decided to

share with you the real "Sue's Creative Workshop".

My space is really small, it's only 8 1/2 feet by 10 1/2 feet.

I have to be really organized to be able to be creative in this space.

(I totally trash it everytime I work on a project.)

My Desk: This is the cleaned up version.

I really do like it clean. When I'm working on a project, it's completely covered

with piles. I always feel the need to clean it up before starting a new project.

Behind the cabinet doors are my office supplies. I also have a filing cabinet

underneath the bookcase area. Up above the cabinets are black storage

boxes from IKEA. I have a couple of drawers to my right that holds my favorite

inkpads and the other holds scratch paper and tape runners.

In my tiny little space I have three doors. One to my bedroom, one to the hall

and another large patio door to our upper balcony where I take most of my pictures.

My Stamp Rack: Just a few of my favorite stamps and punches.

It also holds extra cardstock. I have hundreds of stamps.

I have most of my stamps in boxes by seasons or type.

Another view of my stamp rack. To the left of the rack is the door leading

to my bedroom to the right is the small little closet with shelves.

My Die Cut Center:

I have an Accu-Cut machine with lots of dies. The cabinet above

holds my embellishments and doo-dads. The drawers hold stamp pads and

refill inks. I have a paper rack for my go to cardstock.

The basket holds misc cardstock scraps and the wooden box holds glue.

Just a few punches hanging over the door leading to the hall.

I have two extra large storage boxes full of punches underneath my bed.

(hazard of working with a punch company for so many years)

White cubbies full of paper and Markers.

I have three drawers that are Christmas, Valentine's Day and Fall/Halloween

the other drawers are divided by manufacturers.

The Closet: My dirty little secret. But.....I can find anything I need in it.

I may have to remove things to get to it though. I love shutting the door

so I don't have to look at it. My dream space would be much, much larger

with a center work space and sink. I hope you enjoyed the tour!

2 Soar Free

We have had such a mild winter here in my little corner of the midwest.

Today another beautiful sunny day. I believe I have Spring Fever.

I just love Basic Grey.

This card is made with Basic Grey's "Out of Print" Collection.

Look for it at your local scrapbook store. Or you can find it here.

This is the inside of the card. I love their letter stickers!

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

I wish I remember where I got this idea. (I love giving credit to good ideas.)

I used a wood sign that I purchased from Hobby Lobby for around $3.00.

The letters on the sign were put together with small tack nails.

I took the sign apart and covered each letter with scrapbook paper and

glued it back together with my favorite Fabri Tac glue from Beacon Adhesives.

I eliminated the frame portion and decided not to use it as a hanging sign.
I have it up on my mantel instead.

Would you believe that as I was taking the picture it blew off the balcony and fell

into the bushes? You'd think one day I'd learn!

Serendipity Stamps Easter Blog Hop

Today is Serendipity Stamps Easter Blog Hop.

And....I'm cheating a little showing a card that I made last year.

But.....This is probably my favorite bunny image.

I colored the bunny using my Tombow Markers.

I used liquid applique on the tail to make it fluffy.

It is available as a set here at www.serendipitystamps.com

Check out more Easter cards from the Serendipity Design Team Blog Hop.

Come back tomorrow and I'll show you a new Easter image

from Serendipity Stamps.

My Restless Heart

I call this My Restless Heart for a couple of reasons.

First because I wanted to do something completely different.

And second, because I fully assembled a different tag,

photographed it and then tore it apart because I wasn't satisfied.

I used the same Scroll Heart from Serendipity Stamps that I used on the

previous post. This time I stamped it in black onto chili cardstock.

I used my white opaque stix from Marvy Uchida to color in the image.

I used it to make brush strokes. The color goes on light and darkens as it dries.

The back ground paper is from Basic Grey's " Out of Print" and

" Little Black Dress" Collections. "love you" stamp is also from Serendipity Stamps.

Serendipity Stamps: Scroll Heart

I made this card with a new stamp I received from Serendipity Stamps.

www.serendipitystamps.com

Serendipity Stamps:

1253E Scroll Heart
564E I'm beginning to learn

Additional Supplies:

Vivid Ink: Tea Rose
White Color Box Ink
White Embossing Powder
Heat Tool
Ink Applicator
Paper Doily Heart
Ribbon
Foam Mounting Squares
White, Pink and Mauve Cardstock (Worldwin Papers)
Scissors
Double Stick Adhesive
Glue Stick
Fabri Tac Glue

Directions:

1. Stamp Scroll Heart with White Color Box Ink onto white cardstock.
2. Emboss with white embossing powder.
3. Using the Ink Applicator, gently rub Tea Rose Ink over embossed heart.

(if your pad is newer or real inky, you may need to rub some of the color

off before applying to cardstock.) Rub with clean rag or towel any excess

ink off the embossed area.
4. Cut out embossed heart and add foam mounting squares to the back.
5. Adhere cardstock layers. (my card is 5" x 7") Stamp verse in Tea Rose

ink onto bottom of white layer.
6. Gently rub Tea Rose Ink onto edge of heart doily. Carefully apply gluestick

to back of doily and adhere to front of card. Mount embossed heart and add

ribbon bow with a dab of Fabri Tac Glue.

Floral Felt Pouch

I saw these simple instructions posted on Pinterest showing how to make these

simple felt flowers. It came from www.marthastewart.com. (I was intrigued.)

This is what I made this week-end. A simple Floral Felt Pouch.

I made the flowers with felt just like the picture above. I wasn't happy with the first

few flowers I made, so I made the petals smaller and I added an extra leaf.

To make the pouch I started with a piece of felt approx. 5" x 11".

For simplicity I put my pouch together with Fabri Tac from Beacon Adhesives.

I folded one end of the felt approx. 4" up and glued the sides.

The other end I embellished with 1 1/2" burlap ribbon, lace and adhesive rhinestones

from Want to Scrap. The flowers and embellished were glued on with Fabri Tac glue.

Yarn Art

My daughter Stephanie posted this onto Pinterest yesterday. I was so impressed

by her creativity that I asked her if I could share it here on my blog.

She made her yarn art to match the Pendleton Blanket that she received as a

wedding present.

Stephanie said: "The frame was from the thrift store, and then I just wrapped

thrifted (or free from work) yarn around a piece of cardboard from a cereal box.

Im trying to make my projects with things I already have."

Here is the project in process.

It just goes to show what you can do with a little creative imagination.

Simple White Card

The Serendipity Stamps Challenge for today was to make an all white card.

The only color we were allowed to use was in the image.

A simple white card. That should be easy right? (You'd think!)

Like I've said before, I have a way of making things a lot harder than they should be.

But...I am happy with the result.

Check out more beautiful cards made by the Serendipity Design Team.

Serendipity Stamps used:

689E Floral Heart Small

556E Hugs and Kisses

www.serendipitystamps.com

The heart was colored using Tombow Markers:

#800 baby pink (background of heart)

#620 lilac (flowers)

#553 mist purple (border around heart)

#158 dark olive (leaves and vines)

#993 chrome orange (center of flowers)

my shabby heart

I've had these elements laying around on my desk for the last couple of weeks.

Not exactly sure what I wanted to do with them. Finally I put them all together.

I am a frugal crafter. I found this heart for .25 and the frame for

.50 at the local thrift store. The heart was a brassy color so I painted it

with my white paint pen and sanded it once it was dry to expose the

silver color underneath. I thought the heart looked a little warped

so I tried to gently bend it and broke the top. (I glued it back together)

So.... I added the small paper rose at the top. Sometimes little accidents work out o.k.

(finished piece measures 6 1/4" x 6 1/4")

Jillibean Soup

Nothing warms me more than soup on a cold winter's day.

So you can imagine how happy I was when I received this

special surprise present from Jill at Jillibean Soup.

I had sent Jill one of my Holiday Planners from the Holiday Workshop.

She in turn sent me the Sept. 2011 Card Kitchen Kit Club.

It completely made my day!!!

Inside the box was a complete card kit with full instructions to make 8 cards.

To show respect to the designer, Kimber McGray, I made the cards

98% as shown. I had so many goodies left over I had to add a

couple of extra embellishments to the cards. I could easily make

another 6 or more cards and a layout with the materials left over.

The kit used was the September 2011 Card Kitchen Kit Club.

It is available to purchase from Jillibean Soup here for $24.99.

Check out all the great products at Jillibean Soup www.jillibean-soup.com

Serendipity Stamps: August and September Calendar Pages

Here are the correct Calendar Pages for the Serendipity Design Team's

first challenge of the year. (see previous post)

I used the Picadilly Collection from Basic Grey for the August Calendar.

I used the Summer's End Collection of papers from Fancy Pants Designs for the

September Calendar.

Stamps from Serendipity Stamps www.serendipitystamps.com

I have most of the months on a board on Pinterest. Check it out here.

Serendipity Stamps Calendar Pages

Well.... Today was the first Challenge of the Year for the

Serendipity Design Team. We were each assigned two months

to create the Calendar. I'm not sure how I did it, but I mis-read

the comma in the email and I mistakenly created the wrong two months.

Since they are done and photographed, I will share them with you

anyway. Please check out the other Serendipity Design Team member

on my side bar to see their calendar pages. My two months were

August and September instead of October and November. I promise

I will create the correct pages and post them here and on Facebook.

I used the Illustrated Months Stamps 597FCL

it is available as a Cling Set for $29.95 from Serendipity Stamps.

www.serendipitystamp.com

Little Black Dress Album

This Album made with paper and stickers from Basic Grey's

Little Black Dress has all kind of tricks and techniques.

I used Marvy Uchida's Border Punch System to punch the inside pages

and to also add a lace detail to the inside back cover.

I made plain stickers dimensional by dusting the back of the stickers with

Baby Powder and layering them up with foam mounting squares. I also used

Marvy's Deco Color Markers to color plain corsage pins to match my album.

The album also taught me a little bit about patience.

I realized that in my hast I had punched the wrong edge of my book.

I quickly recovered with a Tim Holtz Book Plate and a tied ribbon by the binding.

I used my bind it all to punch and bind the book.

Little Black Dress Collection from Basic Grey. www.basicgrey.com

The entire collection is available from www.scrapbook.com for $21.99

My Mini Altered Cabinet

After weeks of Spring like temperatures in December and January,

we finally had our first significant snow.

I cozied in, listened to some music and decided which project

I wanted to work on.

I purchased this mini cabinet from Hobby Lobby awhile back

with the intention of altering it.

I first painted, inked and sanded then decided to cover it with paper

from Basic Grey's Little Black Dress line of papers.

You know when you hear that little voice inside your head saying

maybe you should add some glue to those screws before putting

it back together?

Maybe I should have listened.

This morning I had the bright idea to take a picture outside.

I went out on my deck, set up the picture and the whole thing

fell off the deck and apart. I quickly ran down to pick up the pieces.

Luckily for me, I was able to put it all back together

with only a few screws and a little silver cup being missing in the snow.

A Day with Grandpa

This book was the most talked about Family Gift of the Season.

The gift was given to my siblings and I by my sister Rebecca.

It was written by my nephew about my father. It is stories in my

father's words about his life growing up. Some of the stories I remember

some I didn't. It is so great to have them recorded and written down.

My nephew, who is into genealogy, added dates, family history and pictures

that he had collected along the way.

It's fun to hear someone talking about a story from the book and hearing

someone else say, "Oh, I haven't got that far."

My son and daughter in law have finished the book and are anxiously

waiting for the sequel.

It's so interesting to learn about someone you thought you knew everything.

My father always felt he was a simple man who lived a simple life.

My dad was a Remarkable Man with many gifts.

Many gifts that he gave his family daily.

Reading all the experiences and adventures that he had growing up,

this book was a amazing gift given to my entire family.

Thanks to my sister Rebecca and especially to my nephew Michael who took the

time to write this wonderful book.

My New Personalized 2012 Planner

Why settle for a plain old planner when you can make it truly special.

I'm pretty picky when it comes to getting my new planner for the year.
It needs to be a "month at a glance". It needs to be thin, fit in my purse,
but big enough to be able to put multiple entries if necessary.
And... I don't want to pay over $10.00.
I was originally frustrated when I couldn't find the same old planner that
I've been using for the last several years.

Then I ran across this at CVS for $1.99
At first I wasn't impressed because the cover was kind of thin.
It came with a clear protective plastic cover so I knew it had potential.

Then I started thinking I could beef up the cover with additional papers.
The colors were limited and bright, but then I stumbled across this teal one
and I knew exactly what papers I would use.
I used papers from Picadilly and Indie Bloom line from Basic Grey.

(back of my planner)

(a subtle reminder of my 2012 Goal)

Now I'm completely happy and somewhat giddy with my new planner.

January...

I just realized this morning that today is the first day I've been

alone in over two weeks. I'm not complaining though.

I love having the family home.

I enjoy being lazy, sleeping in, no real schedules.

Except, I find it's really hard to concentrate on being a good blogger.

I've thought about this blog several times.

Wishing I had something really great to share with you.

Something really Profound.

I read an article recently on blogging, how we get caught up

on the numbers. That's Me!

How many people are on your Facebook Page,

how many people read your blog. (Sometimes, it surprises me.)

Then I feel guilty like I should be blogging more,

that I'm letting you all down.

(It was a lot easier when I thought no one was reading.)

A while back I started following other designers for inspiration.

Sometimes it helped, most of the time it just made me feel inadequate.

Why do we do that to ourselves? We are all creative individuals!

We all have our own special talents. Right?

With that said, I've decided to work this year re-focusing on

finding my own style again.

The great thing about January is a fresh new start.

A brand new calendar with clean empty pages, just waiting to be filled.

Gone is the messy one with scribbled notes and dates.

I'm ready to get started. (I've got a lot to do.)

So here's to a brand new year!!!

Love in the House

The Holidays are barely over and I'm thinking Valentine's Day.

I love it when the Creative Juices are flowing. I started rummaging

through my drawer of valentine's stuff and found all kinds of

neat stuff to play with. I worked on this until 1:30 this morning.

This afternoon while I was waiting in line to do a return, I was chatting

with a couple of ladies. The line went past the Valentine's Display, they

started talking about how it was too soon. (I didn't say a thing!)

Home for the Holidays

There's nothing better than having all your kids home together for Christmas.

On Christmas night we all slept under one roof. If felt good.

Christmas Time

I guess I've been a little absent since the 12 days of Holiday Inspiration.

I been spending my time enjoying the family, getting everything ready.

I felt like that one Target commercial and shouting "Done, Done, Done".

The house is decorated. (it kind of feels like a Christmas explosion)

Shopping is done.

I plan on doing some baking today and working some more on my

wrapping. I try and do a little each day so it doesn't become too much.

Yesterday, was a big day. It was my birthday. The big 50. (gasp!)

I'm not a big party kind of girl, I wanted to keep it simple.

Jim gave me a beautiful necklace from Na Hoku.

I always said I wanted to be sitting on a beach for my 50th birthday.

But he knew he'd never be able to get me away.

So he gave me a little piece of Hawaii. Hawaii is a special place for us.

We met there a little more than 30 years ago. (he's so sweet)

So, yesterday, Jim took the day off and we went to this quaint little town

not quite two hours away and did some fun shopping.

Just browsing and looking at all the beautiful displays.

I just wanted to go some place different.

We got home around 4 and waited for the kids to come, then off to

Olive Garden for dinner. Jim made me chocolate cupcakes when we

got home. A nice relaxing kind of day. Just like I like it

(especially around the holidays)

Saturday, the kids took Lil' Nick to meet St. Nick.

As you can tell, he wasn't impressed.

Holiday Inspiration Day Twelve: Wrapping it Up

I can't believe that it's already Day 12 of my 12 Days of Holiday Inspiration.

I've really enjoyed taking the time this Christmas and being Creative.

Now it's time for me to Wrap It Up.

There's a lot to do!!!

1. Address Christmas Cards

2. Finish Christmas Shopping.

3. Wrap Presents

4. Make and Decorate Christmas Cookies

5. Stocking Stuffers

6. Family Christmas Party on Saturday

7. Double Check List.

Here's a couple of quick and easy soup recipes to make whether your

finishing up wrapping or doing last minute crafting. These will warm you up

and keep you going.

We started a tradition a few years ago of making soups for Christmas Night Dinner.

As my large family congregates late in the day, we make soups, sandwiches

and left overs. (since we've all had a big meal earlier in the day)

You can keep the pots on the stove and as people

arrive, they can grab a bowl of soup when they're ready.

picture from Better Homes and Gardens www.bhg.com

Cheesy Vegetable Soup

1 Qt. Water

2 Cups Diced Potatoes

1/4 Cup Chopped Onions

4 Chicken Bouillon Cubes

1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 Bag of Frozen California Mix Vegetables

1 lb. Velvetta Cheese loaf

Directions:

1. Boil potatoes, onions & bouillon in water and cook.

2. Add frozen vegetables and cook to slightly softened.

3. Add mushroom soup.

4. Cut cheese into cubes and add to soup mix.

5. Heat until cheese is fully melted. Don't allow soup to

boil at this time.

picture from southernliving.com

Tortellini Soup

1/2 lb. of Italian Sausage

8 Cups of Chicken Broth

1 Can of tomatoes

Spinach

Tortellini

Directions:

1. Cut up and brown sausage. Drain and rinse.

2. Add Chicken Broth, Tomatoes (don't drain) and Spinach

3. Heat to a Boil, add tortellini

This is one of the simplest tags to make. All you'll need is a

Snowflake punch, Corner Punch, Red and White Cardstock,

Small Christmas Greeting, Bakers Twine

I plan on whipping out several this week to put on my packages

for the Christmas party on Saturday.

One last Tag before I go. This tag was made with Die Cuts from Melissa Frances.

Thanks to everyone who followed my 12 Days of Holiday Inspiration.

This was my gift to YOU.

Merry Christmas,

Sue

Holiday Inspiration Day Eleven: Better Not Pout

It was just one week ago today, that I was feeling no stress about Christmas.

Then the flu hit our house last week and I wasn't able to get out and do any

Christmas shopping. I look at the calendar and see it's two weeks exactly from

today. Now, I feel a little like this.

I took this picture last year of my new grandson Nick. We were trying to set up a

Christmas picture under the tree. He was all smiles until I stuck the Santa Hat on

him. Then nothing was the same.

Even though he's not happy, I still like the picture.

I finally put it on a page this year.

I used the Nordic Holiday Collection from Basic Grey.

Here he is one month ago. What a difference a year makes.

Yesterday, my sweet sister threw me an early birthday party.

It was a Holiday Tea. It was a nice relaxing day with family and

my daughter Stephanie surprised me by coming.

Of course, I forgot to take pictures.

Peppermint Marshmallows

I shared this easy Holiday Recipe with the ladies at the Holiday Workshop.

It's pretty easy to do. A couple things I found out.

Candy canes are a lot easier to use than

peppermint disks. You really need to make them the day you'll be using them.

They start getting hard the next. They're great in hot cocoa.

picture from mileskimball.com

Candy Canes (crushed)

Bag of Marshmallows

Powdered Sugar

1. Stir together a cup of powdered sugar with water a teaspoon at a time (3-4 tsps.)

Until it is the consistency of a thin glaze.

2. Dip half of marshmallow in glaze, lightly shaking to remove excess.

3. Roll glazed end of marshmallow in finely crushed candy canes.

4. Place on waxed paper coated side up to set.

Here's another Holiday marshmallow to try.

I believe the picture is from American Girl or maybe Hallmark.

Come back tomorrow for the last day of Holiday Inspiration.

Holiday Inspiration Day Ten: No Sew Christmas Tree Ornament

I really tried not to use a red and cream theme in this project today.

But seriously, it was just too hard. This tree needed red! (who doesn't?)

I'm really having fun making all these Holiday Inspiration projects.

Are you playing along?

I whipped up this No Sew Christmas Tree Ornament in just a

few minutes with all things I had on hand.

I used cream and brown craft store felt, a tiny bit of poly fill, an old button,

mini rick rack, red and white baker's twine, jingle bell, red gingham ribbon

and my favorite Fabri Tac from Beacon Adhesives.

1. Cut a triangle template from cardstock.

2. Trace around cream felt with template and cut out. (You'll need two.)

3. Cut a small rectangle from brown felt approx. 3" long.

For added stability I folded and glued the rectangle in half.

4. Glue the brown felt trunk to the bottom of one of the cream triangles.

5. Lay a very small bit of poly fill in the center of the triangle.

6. Apply Fabri Tac around the edge of the second triangle and lay on top of

the first triangle to create the tree. You may need to pinch and hold the edges.

7. Glue cream rick rack around both of the cream triangles. Each side of the

triangle is a separate piece of rick rack.

8. Thread red and white baker's twine on cream button and tie with bow.

Glue button onto the middle of the cream tree.

9. I poked a hole in the top of the tree with a darning needle. Thread a

smaller needle with the twine to make the hanger. Add silver Jingle Bell

before tying it off with a knot.

10. Glue small red gingham bow to the top of the ornament and Enjoy!!!

Since we haven't put our tree up yet. I braved the wind and cold and hung

it on one of the trees outside. If you look real close you can see snow

on the branches.

Stop by tommorrow for more Holiday Inspiration!

Holiday Inspiration Day Nine: My Town

I have a fascination with Miniatures. Especially miniature houses.

I fell in love with these little House Ornaments the first time I saw them last summer

in Chicago at the CHA trade show. I finally got my hands on some last week.

They retail for $2.99 and are so darn cute. They are from Melissa Frances and

you can go onto her website to find a local or online store that carries them.

Make sure to order several, you'll be glad you did.

They come plain and flat. Here is how they look assembled. You'll need to add

a little imagination and embellishments for your house to come alive.

I used vintage rick rack, tiny adhesive rhinestones, a star brad I antiqued and glittered.

I also used plain glitter along with Stickles Glitter Glue and Marvy White Liquid Applique.

Now if you can't find those little Ornament Houses. How about using some

wood trim and make some block houses.

Here is the project that we did last month at the Holiday Workshop. It uses Authentique Paper

Die Cuts and scrapbook paper and the Martha Stewart fence punch. I have several kits with

everything you'll need to finish this Mini Holiday Village available here.

This was made using Melissa Frances paper.

Don't feel like cutting your own wood blocks? You can find them here

in my Etsy Shop. I have several sets available.

Join me tomorrow for more Holiday Inspiration.

Holiday Inspiration Day Eight: Gift Card Holder Tag

Is it a gift or is it a tag? How about both.

A Tag that has a pocket in front to hold a gift card. Add a little

greenery, a candy cane and tie it up with red and cream baker's

twine. (you can get some here at The Twinery)

With the right gift card, you'll have a present that anyone would want.

I was so inspired with the red and cream theme. That I made a

couple of other simple tags to inspire you.

I added red rhinestones and my own bow to this tiny craft store wreath.

Another idea, how about tying up some cardstock for your favortite

cardmaker. It doesn't take much to make a subtle difference.

Make some tags today, it's addicting. In a couple of weeks you'll be

glad you did.

Join me tomorrow for more Holiday Inspiration: My Town

Holiday Inspiration Day Seven: Snowman Trio

Are you making Christmas Cards this year?

This Snowman Trio was made with a stamp from Serendipity Stamps.

It was simply colored in using my Tombow Markers, I also used paper

from Fancy Pants Designs and framed it with a left over frame from

Little Yellow Bicycle. I purchased the little wood snowflake at Hobby Lobby.

Would you like to win a Snowflake Trio Stamp???

Leave me a comment by midnight tommorrow night. Thursday Dec. 8th.

I will pick one winner to win the Snowman Trio Cling Stamp.

You can also leave a comment on my Facebook Page for an additional

chance to win.

Holiday Inspiration Day Six: Christmas Frame

A quick and simple Holiday Decoration to make.

I am so happy how this Christmas Frame turned out. It is so

simple to do and it looks great on a shelf in my newly cleaned

office.

It started out as this sad hot pink frame left over from Stephanie's

teen age years. We couldn't even sell this frame in our garage sale

for fifty cents.

I got the idea to spray paint this frame with off white paint.

The hardest part about this frame was finding a warm enough place to

paint the frame, I quickly brought it in doors to dry. The one thing I did not

do, but should of was to give it a light sanding with sand paper.

After it was all dry, I added simple red and white gingham ribbon,

these cool buttons from Prima Marketing.

I added some glittery greenery and a silver jingle bell and glued it

all together using my Fabri Tac Glue. (or use hot glue)

Use either one of your Holiday Pictures or add a Santa picture

from a Christmas Card, Calendar Page. I got my Santa from

a piece of scrapbook paper from Graphic 45.

This past week-end, Jim and I headed up to Chicago for our

Anniversary week-end. We went for a wonderful dinner at

Gene & Georgetti's, where Jim surprised me with roses waiting

on the table.

We stayed right downtown on Michigan Ave. After dinner we walked

around to see some of the windows and lights.

Right outside the radio station there was a gathering of dozens of Santa's.

I'm not sure what that was about.

Then we took a Carriage Ride around the City. I'm a lucky girl!

This is the Christmas Tree in the Lobby of the Hotel.

We had a wonderful breakfast in the Grand Luxe Cafe with a table

over looking Michigan Ave. Did a little shopping and stopped at

Ikea on our way home. A great Anniversary Week-end.

Holiday Inspiration Day Five: Carol the Crafty Christmas Monkey

I would like to introduce to you my friend Carol. She's the Crafty Christmas

Monkey. She just loves Christmas, everything about it. Decorating the tree,

making paper chains, she's even made her family a Christmas Scrapbook.

She's decked out in her favorite Christmas Vest with red pom pom fringe,

jingle bell necklace, Santa Hat and comfy pajama pants.

Now that the house is all decorated. Carol decided to go to the Windy City

this past week-end and shop on Michigan Ave.

Carol was so excited to have all her Christmas Shopping done that she

decided to celebrate with friends.

This month's Designer Craft Connection's Blog Hop

was the Sock Monkey Challenge.

I was so excited to be able to play along.

The idea came from fellow designer Ana Araujo of When Creativity Knocks,

who also sent us a great DVD called Sock Monkey's Gone BanAna's

We was also given a pair of socks from Fox River the Original Sock maker,

along with the opportunity to use Rit Dye. They also gave us a cute

Sock Monkey stamp from Judikins.

When I first learned of the Challenge it was World Series Time and with the

house cheering for the St. Louis Cardinals, my plan was to make Bushy the

Rally Squirrel.

I got the idea from this book.

This Vintage Sock Monkey book from the 60's. I found this book when I was helping

clean out my Grandma's stuff. My Grandma was the ultimate crafter.

I figured if I ever made it onto the Carol Duvall Show (pipe dream)

I'd show it to Carol since she was into Sock Monkeys.

Since, sewing is not my thing, I decided to forget the squirrel idea and use Ana's video

instead. I watched it a couple of times, then watched and paused and worked right

along with her and my monkey turned out o.k. Thanks Ana!!!

So in honor of Carol Duvall, I named my sock monkey Carol the Crafty Christmas Monkey.

Please Hop around the other designers in the Designer Crafts Connection to see what they

came up with. (link on the right side bar) These monkeys are Wild, and will make you laugh.

No Sock Monkey post is complete without a CONTEST! Enter to win a sock monkey prize

valued at over $40.00 from When Creativity Knocks. Giveaway ends December 19, 2011.

1. Go to When Creativity Knocks www.whencreativityknocks.com
2. While in the Member Log inbox, click on “Create An Account”
3. Make sure to enter the code: Sock Monkey

NOTE: There is also a discount coupon to purchase the WCK VideoBook: Sock Monkey Goes BanAnas

Come back tomorrow for more Holiday Inspiration and some additional pictures from our

week-end in Chicago.

Holiday Inspiration Day Four: Sue's Favorite Sugar Cookies

I know I've shared my favorite Christmas Cookie Recipe here on my blog before.

But, I think the meaning this recipe holds for me bears repeating.

When I was a new bride (29 years ago) I asked my mother for her

Sugar Cookie Recipe. It was a Tupperware Recipe.

She wrote it out on a piece of notebook paper.

(I have always loved my mom's handwriting)

It is now yellowed, stained with vanilla, brittle, ripped and creased.

But it is priceless.

I never realized how much until several years ago

when my Mom was diagnosed with Dementia.

All of a sudden I realized how much we all take for granted.

My Mom can not even sign her own name let alone write out a recipe.

I now keep this recipe saved in a protective sleeve. One day I'll put it in a frame.

I have shared this recipe with dozens of friends and family

and if I haven't shared it with you, then, here it is.

Sue's Favorite Sugar Cookie Recipe

1 1/2c. Powdered Sugar

1 c. Butter (I use stick margarine)

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

2 1/2 c. of flour

1 tsp. cream of tartar

1 tsp. baking soda

1. Cream sugar & butter. Add egg, flavoring and mix together.

2. Add dry ingredients together and stir in.

3. Refrigerate 2 to 3 hours.

4. Heat oven to 375. Divide dough in half and roll out on lightly

floured pastry sheet.

5. Dip cutters in flour before each cutting. Cut as many cookies

from each rolling as possible.

6. Place on lightly greased baking sheet. Bake 7-8 minutes

or until golden.

Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

dash of vanilla

1-2 tablespoons of milk

(picture from ourbestbites.com)

We've all heard it before about using our own handwriting when scrapbooking.

"It'll be cherished years down the line..." I'm as guilty as the next about using my

computer to do the journaling, everyone wants their pages to look perfect.

Save something in your own handwriting for your kids.

Just like you've saved pieces of what they've written.

Can you recognize your mother's handwriting? Your grandmothers?

Call me a sentimental fool, but, I wish I'd saved more.

As I look through the recipes in my recipe box, I find several recipes written

years ago by my grandmothers. Some written quickly on small pieces of

paper, some carefully written by hand. All of these are priceless to me.

When I was a young girl, we'd go visit my grandfather and his wife at

Christmas time. His wife's mother lived with them. She was a

very sweet old lady, whom we all called Patty (which I never understood because

that wasn't her name). Anyway, Patty made the very best sugar cookies,

I still remember them today. They were the softest and the fattest sugar cookies

I ever had with colored sugar sprinkled on top.

(my other grandma made thin crisp Christmas cookies)

Whenever anyone would ask Patty about the recipe she'd say she didn't have one,

she just used her eyes. One Christmas before she couldn't make them anymore,

they sat down and measured out everything she used. They wrote the recipe down,

and I'm the only one in my family that has that recipe, written in my grandmother's

hand. How lucky am I! Over twenty years later, I still have that recipe.

To be honest, I've never made them. I guess I'm afraid they wouldn't be the same.

Maybe one day I will.

Holiday Inspiration Day Three: Holiday Bracelets

It's Saturday, the kids are out of school.

It's still early, you're still relaxed about the Holidays.

Stress hasn't set in...

Grab the kids and do some projects today.

Now these projects I'm sharing would be best if you have girls,

especially pre-teen girls. But, maybe you can talk the

guys into making one for Grandma or a teacher or maybe

even a friend.

Today I've got two bracelets to show you.

The first one is the Jingle Bell Bracelet

I used approx 45-50 medium sized jingle bells to make this bracelet which

depending on the size of the jingle bell and the size of the wrist, you will

have to adjust accordingly.

Your strand will look something like this. Tie both ends of the elastic cord

together with a good knot.

If you want to Jazz Up the Bracelet. I added small ornaments and bigger

Jingle Bells around the Bracelet with jump rings.

If you would like to purchase this finished bracelet it is available here.

The Second Bracelet helped make me one of the coolest Aunts with two of my

nieces. It is a great pre-teen project. There are so many other cool things that

you can make with Duck tape. (I know a several kids with Duck Tape on their

Christmas Lists.

The Duck Tape Bracelet

Here's what I used to make the Duck Tape Bracelet:

Black and White Houndstooth Duck Tape

Gold Duck Tape

Black Stick Back Velcro

Non-Stick Titanium Scissors from Westcott (a must when cutting duck tape)

Fabri Tac Glue

Making Memories Baubles

I got this idea from Marisa Pawelko the Duck Tape Queen. She has a great

video that you can watch here. She has so many other ideas for Duck Tape

it'll astound you. Check out Marisa's website: www.modernsurrealist.com

And for a fun treat. If you leave a comment on my website or on my Facebook

Page I will pick one of you to win these Holiday Baubles from Making Memories.

You have until midnight Sunday night December 4th to leave a comment.

Join me tomorrow for more Holiday Inspiration.

Holiday Inspiration Day Two: Mini Pine and Pinecone Wreath

Today, I wanted to do something with things I already had around the house.

I started with a 6" grapevine wreath and greenery I cut from around my

yard.

I happen to live with a dozen pine trees in my front yard. So getting

greenery is fairly easy to obtain. If your not as lucky as me, use some of the

greenery cut from a fresh Christmas Tree. I also used some small

pinecone clusters. (my pinecones were too large)

I used the Fabri Tac Glue to glue on my greenery and pinecones.

(Beacon Adhesives calls Fabri Tac hot glue in a bottle)

The entire project took me just minutes to put together and should

last for several weeks.

I put it on a white plate and added a clear votive with red candle and set

it onto my dining room table. It smells wonderful.

(please take care that no greenery comes in contact with the flame)

How about adding a red gingham ribbon and hanging it on a chair.

Or use it to hang on your front screen door.

Join me tomorrow for more inspiration.

Holiday Inspiration Day One: Holiday Joy Tag

Welcome to the first day of 12 Days of Holiday Inspiration.

I've been thinking about this for some time, and while I say I'm

hoping to Inspire You. The real reason I've done this was to challenge

and inspire myself. I love the Holidays and always plan on being Creative.

Some years I really get into the craftiness and other's I'm working so hard

getting ready for the next trade show that I don't have time to create for

myself. This year is for me!

For more inspiration, my friend and fellow designer Niki Meiners is doing

12 Days of Christmas on her blog www.365daysofcrafts.com

HOLIDAY JOY TAG

First, I want to show you how to make the "Joy" embellishment on the center of

the tag.

I start with a small piece of matboard or chipboard approx. 2" x 2 1/2" and

chipboard letters spelling the word "joy".

I also used:

Zip Dry Glue

Decocolor pens in white and pale blue

Foil Tape (found in the hardware store, used to seal duct work seams)

Bone Folder

1. Glue letters onto the small chipboard with Zip Dry Glue.

2. Apply Foil Tape over chipboard. I make the chipboard slightly smaller than

the tape so that I don't have any seams.

3. Using the bone folder, gently go around each letter to bring out the detail.

4. Paint the background with the paint pen. To give it a snowy affect, when

giving a second coat of paint, dot the paint with the tip instead of brushing.

5. Use the pale blue pen to color the letters. Allow both colors to thoroughly

dry.

6. Using a sanding block, lightly sand the letters and edges of the chipboard.

7. For a finishing touch, paint the letters with stickles glitter glue.

The tag also uses:

Prima Flowers (Holiday Celebration Snow Drop)

Vivid Ink: Aqua

Ink Applicator

Scrapbook Paper (Fancy Pants Designs)

Cardstock

Corner Rounder

1/8' Hole Punch

Lace, Silver Ribbon and Small Flat Snowflake Ornament

Silver Greenery

To Customize my flowers to match the tag background: I used the

Aqua Ink with the Ink Applicator to add a subtle color to each flower.

I also painted on clear stickles glitter glue onto the flowers before

adding to my tag.

Tag Measures: 3 3/4" x 6 1/2"

Come back tomorrow for more Holiday Inspiration.

Counting My Blessings

I am Thankful Today and Everyday!

I am so thankful that I was able to have all my kids together to

help celebrate Justin's 13th Birthday. Where has the time gone?

Now that Justin is getting older he doesn't really like getting his

picture taken. So, as I was getting ready to take some Birthday

pictures he asked "are these going to be posted on your blog?"

Really? I can't believe he'd ask me that. To respect his wishes,

no Birthday Photo's here today. Geez, he's no fun. (teenagers!!!)

Summer's End Cards Summer's End Stripes

Fancy Pants Designs

www.fancypantsdesigns.com

Orange Frame is from Little Yellow Bicycle (www.mylyb.com)

Falling Leaves Sticker is from Bo Bunny

Holiday Workshop Update and more...

I had a wonderful time this past week-end at my annual Holiday Workshop.

If it wasn't so much work I'd do this every month.

It was a joy planning and creating with 30 lovely ladies. (We created for hours.)

I only wish I had taken a Group Photo. Every year I plan to take one and every year

I forget. Thanks to my wonderful daughter-in-law Bonnie, I have pictures.

Look at these yummy Chocolate Mousse Cups Bonnie made for us to enjoy.

(extremely good!!!)

Thanks Ladies for a Great Day.

(additional Holiday Workshop photo's available to view on my

facebook page Sue's Creative Workshop)

Flip Pal Challenge and Designer Craft Connection Blog Hop

Several Designers in the Designer Craft Connection received a Flip Pal to play

with and come up with ideas on how they'd use this great little gadget. I didn't

have time to play along, but, if I had, I would of used it to sneek over to my

parents house and scan those old pictures that can't be taken out of those

old photo albums. Take the time to Hop the Designer Craft Connections

(located on the right side of my site) check out the video on Julie Mc Guffee's site

"Life in the Craft Lane" www.juliemcguffee.blogspot.com

to see this fun tool in action and for ways that you can win one for yourself.

Sue's Tip of the Day

To make your own Customized Trinket Pins.

Use Marvy Uchida's Deco Color Markers to paint plain corsage pins.

So many colors available.

Get real creative and add polka dots, lines and other designs.

Another Beautiful Fall Day

The other morning when I was returning home from taking my son to school,

I noticed how the sun was illuminating this beautiful fall tree in my front yard.

I just had to run in and grab my camera. (a hint of frost on the ground)

Today's another Beautiful Fall Day.

I'm enjoying it by working on finishing up my packets for next week's workshop

while the guys are outside putting in a new front storm door.

Later we'll go to my son's house for dinner. A good productive Day.

Happy Week-end!!!

Envelope Gift Bag

Halloween is not even here and I'm sharing Christmas ideas. (never to early?)

This idea can be easily adapted to all gift giving.

I'm not sure who taught me this trick. I used it when I had my store over 10 years ago.

Directions:

1. I started with a A-7 envelope (which fits a 5 x 7 card).

2. Seal the envelope shut.

3. Cut 3/4" off one side of the envelope.

4. Score and fold the remaining sides 1/2" on all three sides.

5. Using the Marvy Border Punch System and Ribbon Stitch Cartridge,

punch the ribbon stitch on the open side of the envelope.

6. Carefully open the envelope and folding the sides and bottom.

You will end up with two flaps on the bottom of the envelope.

Fold flaps under and glue to bottom of bag.

7. Cut Saint Nick scrapbook paper 1/4" smaller than the white section of your bag.

Adhere scrapbook paper to all four sides and bottom of bag.

8. Run approx. 20" of ribbon through ribbon stitch opening.

Tie off with red jingle bell on jump ring.

9. Punch Merchandise Tag, decorate with strips of paper and lace.

10. Punch Snowflake and add sticker and rhinestone to center. Adhere to tag.

11. Stamp Merry Christmas greeting.

Marvy Border Punch System, Ribbon Stitch cartridge,

Merchandise Tag Punch, Snowflake Punch

Fancy Pants Saint Nick Scrapbook Paper.

First Day of Kindergarten

I ran across this picture today while searching for something else.

It is Justin's first day of Kindergarten.

It was featured in the book "Scrap Your Stuff".

I used Justin's practice writing sheet, pictures,

bus name tag (which at the time was hard to give up),

his drawing, Chuck E. Cheese sketch, tokens and tickets.

Justin's now in 7th Grade.

He'd be so embarrassed that I'm showing this. (which is half the fun)

Good thing he doesn't read my blog.

But, he's always liked this page. Capturing this memory was important.

I only wish I had more time to scrapbook more.

Tanner's Orchard

Last week, I said that I wasn't ready for fall.

This week we did our annual Trek to Tanner's Orchard.

I think now, I'm finally ready.

Here's a picture of me and my sweetie.

I remember

I remember, I was getting ready for work when my then 13 year old daughter

banged on the door and told me that an airplane had just hit a building in New York.

(I assured her that the pilot probably had a heart attack or something.)

Minutes later, she ran and told me that another plane had hit a building.

Stunned and running late, we finished our morning.

Of course, my day at work was probably similar to most everyone else in the US.

Frozen in front of a television.

The thing I remember most was when my daughter came home from school that day,

she told me that her homeroom teacher trying to explain to the kids what was

happening. He Said, I don't care if it's against the rules or not, we're going to pray.

And with that, the teacher prayed in front of the whole class. No one complained.

I gained so much respect for that man that day.

Fave Crafts Radio

Listen to internet radio with FaveCrafts on Blog Talk Radio

Wednesday, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Pat Sloan for Fave Crafts Radio.

Thank You Pat and Fave Crafts for the opportunity.

today it was finally worth getting up early

Now that Justin is back in school.

I started going to sales once a week. Until today, I'd had no luck.

I picked up all this and more, for under $50.

1/2 round table

international silver clock

Drexel Heritage night stand

100 year old rocker

nike bag and baseball

hardy boy book

4 cigar boxes

2 plain wood ikea frames

5 wooden spools of thread

12 packs of seam binding

2 state plates

2 blue ball mason jars

1 spring pan

1 crystal necklace pendant

Beautiful

I'm really happy that Stephanie and Zach are home this Labor Day Week-end.

We haven't seen them in over a month.

Nick and Bonnie and the little guy are coming over today for a family day.

Beautiful weather, Beautiful family, Beautiful day.

(scrapbook page is done with basic grey's new picadilly and indie bloom papers and stickers)

Picadilly Pop Up Card

I just love Pop-Up cards.

The card was made using Basic Grey new Picadilly scrapbook paper and Stickers.

Check out all the new releases at www.basicgrey.com

this is the front of the card

(I also used a couple stickers from the new Indie Bloom Collection)

this is the inside of the card

close up of the dimension (I also used Martha Stewarts picket fence punch)

Enjoy!!!

lazy days of summer

I always start wondering where the summer went as soon as school starts. I began making a list a few summers ago of what we did on our summer vacation as kind of a reminder for Justin and to me. (also a great tool when catching up on scrapbooking) Explains just how lazy and busy we were.

Summer always starts out with Baseball. Lots of games.

Justin was awesome this year, not to brag, but I don't think he struck out once. He became quite the hitter this year and even though his team didn't win the tournament, they did a great job. I was so proud.

The big highlight of the summer was Stephanie's wedding.

She was such a beautiful bride. (I really miss having her around!!!)

I get a big kick out of this little guy.

Watching all the changes that this summer brought.

Crawling, first cheerios, playing in tents. pulling up and taking those first steps.

He's a bundle of adorable personality.

Here's my two Nick's at one of Justin's games.

He was quite the ham that night. Nick's such a great daddy!!!

Then of course there's goofing off in the pool with friends.

A lot of pool time, BBQ's (and loads and loads of wet towels to wash)

Several Xbox fueled sleep-overs. (Justin and his buddies)

Then our vacation to Myrtle Beach. (thank goodness it was a month earlier than Irene's visit)

learning how to skim board

playing football with dad

Vacation brought 7 games of mini golf. skim boarding, boogie boarding,

throwing the football in the ocean with dad,

suntans, good food and great memories. (me lazing and reading on the beach)

Along with all that, we took on several home remodeling projects: new tile floors in the kitchen,

refinishing the wood floors in dining room, and gutting the basement family room and putting in new walls,

floors and bathroom with shower. Also, I managed to take the time and read three books this summer.

Maybe it wasn't such a lazy summer after all.

Nothing like a Good Book on the Beach

One thing I wanted to do while on vacation, was to sit under a beach umbrella and read a good book.

Even though I forgot to pick one up before I left, I figured I could find a book store and get one there.

Honestly, I'm not much of a reader. Matter of fact, the last time I read a book it was last June after a meeting, sitting, killing three hours by myself in the Dallas Airport.

I was thrilled to see this book that was left by one of the previous condo occupants. I was even more excited when I realized that it was written by the same author of the book I had read last summer. (and a new release)

I read about 8 chapters on the beach that day and figured I'd have to be real faithful to finish it before we left. After our usual vacation routine of Dinner and Mini Golf, (Myrtle Beach is the Mini Golf Capitol of the World) I started reading again at bedtime. It was 3:45 in the morning before I made myself stop. I finished the next day on the beach. I enjoyed the book so much the following day I re-read the last half of the book while the guys were out.

So....If your looking for a good read, (without garbage). I highly recommend it. I would love to see this book made into a movie. I just haven't figured out in my mind who would be cast as the characters. So, if you read it, let me know who you'd pick.

Read any good books lately?

One of My Favorite Techniques: Baby Powder

In the Designer Connection Group we we're asked to blog about our favorite technique. I learned this technique over 10 years ago while taking a class with Mrs Grossman herself. I taught it last year at a workshop and the women thought it was the best, one said it was worth the cost of the workshop itself.

Whenever I want to use a sticker as either a dimensional piece on a pop-up card or with a pop dot underneath, or hanging off the edge of a card or layout. Just use plain old baby powder with a paintbrush and paint the underneath of the sticker and it looses its stickiness. Simple as that to make your stickers into die-cuts. (Think of all the possibilities.)

before and after, and an unexpected visitor

I am a list person, I actually have several perpetual lists. Daily ones, weekly ones and larger Project List called "Sue's Wish List".

I bought this old chair from an antique store about 18 years ago. At the time it had a great patina, over the past several years it had just became sad. Painting this chair has been on my "to do" list for the past several years. (I just hated the thought of scraping paint) Fortunately for me, I had left it long enough that the paint practically fell off.

After a few hours scraping and painting on one of the hottest days of the summer. Here's the after. Looks pretty good with just a little creative elbow grease and $5 worth of paint.

Some of you may know, that after our "new" dishwasher flooded our basement, that we've taken on a new project of remodeling our main room downstairs. So... after church the other day, my husband asked me to come down, take a look at the progress and see what I thought. After going over everything, walking in and out of the gutted bathroom several times, we started to head upstairs. Then I noticed the plastic snake wrapped around the top hinge of the bathroom door. "Very funny, guys" I said when I saw it. My husband, Jim, acting very innocently kept saying "where?". Then on closer inspection, I realized it was wrapped to tight to be plastic. I, of course, ran upstairs, shuttering and going "uck, uck, uck". (that's what a real woman does, right?) Luckily for me, Jim who isn't afraid of snakes, brought it upstairs for me to take a picture and then promptly took it to the woods. (it makes me shutter just thinking about it)

Like Jim Stafford says... "I don't like spiders and snakes!"

Clever Lever Border Punch from Marvy

I recieved this cool Clever Lever Border Punch System from Marvy Uchida and I have fallen in love with these borders.

Check out all the cool cartridges available at www.marvy.com

"This is the Life" Album measures 5 1/2" x 6".

The "Memories" Mini Album measures 4" x 5".

I punched the inside pages of my book with the border punch before I assembled.

Both Albums were made using:

Bind It All

Creative Imaginations paper & stickers

Marvy Clever Lever Border System Marvy Clever Lever Punches

Ribbon and other embellishments

4th of July

I had a nice 4th of July this past week-end. We ended up having an impromptu BBQ Swim Party. The kids had a blast. The lighting that evening was perfect and the kids were more than willing to have me take their pictures. We ended the night at the fireworks where more than 20 family members gathered to watch the display. (I can't even remember the last time that happened)

Note the Jello Parfait's in the top right corner? (I was festively inspired.) I made the bottom layer with Cherry Jello (the store was out of Strawberry) and used frozen strawberries instead of cold water. The middle layer is just whipped cream and the top was Blueberry Jello. I thought it tasted good, and the kids liked it. So, I guess it was a success.

I'm sorry about the short post. (this is the 4th attempt at this post) Hopefully, the pictures will make up for it.

I hope you had a good 4th!

Sue

Changes

I'm not sure where to start when talking about all the changes going on around here.

Weddings, Demolition and last but not least my decision to leave Mc Gill.

I have worked as a freelance designer with Mc Gill for the last eight years and the time had finally come for me to move on.

I will still be working in the industry with other companies and I have some fun opportunities on the horizon.

But... Sorry to say, no more Paper Blossom classes.

I've decided to leave you with one last Paper Blossoms project using October Afternoon's 5 & Dime Collection.

On the night of Stephanie's Wedding Rehearsal, less than an hour before we were to leave, Jim dutifully started our dishwasher. A little while later, Justin went into the kitchen to discover it completely flooded. After turning off the water, they checked the basement to find it raining (pouring) all over the couch and bed we have down there. Monday morning, the repairman said we had a faulty valve, but on inspection also found a small pinhole in the tub of the dishwasher. Now let me back up a bit. This dishwasher is the new dishwasher that replaced the new dishwasher that was also defective. It still had the protective plastic on the front of the door. Long story short, yesterday they installed my third new dishwasher in one year. And... needless to say the manufacture is paying for the dumpster and repairs to the basement. So.... the dumpster is being delivered today and the demo of the basement starts tomorrow. (yuck)

Marjolaine Guest Book

After making the guest book for Stephanie's Wedding. She got me thinking that maybe there are other brides out there that's looking for something other than the traditional type guest books. So.... I played around and made another.

It was made using Basic Grey's Marjolaine Collection of papers and stickers and my bind it all. It comes with 20 cardstock pages with 10 lines on the front of each page. The book measures 5 1/5" x 8 1/2".

Enjoy!

Sue

Random Wedding Photos

It's taken me a little longer to post these pictures. (my internet was down for a few days, stupid storms)

Here's the lovely Bride and Groom.

I thought for sure that I would cry during the ceremony. (I had tears in my eyes during the rehersal.) The kids were so happy that all I could do was smile. (I did see her dad wipe his eyes) The ceremony was beautiful and the only thing traditional. The music was so sweet and personal. I was so proud of them. I know they will be very happy.

They're not the clearest pictures, but you can see a little bit more of her dress in these.

They are cute together. (there's more than a foot difference between their heights)

Laughing with Friends and Family.

Friends of Stephanie's from High School.

Even my girlfriends from High School. I had so much fun.

I got a call from Stephanie this week from Portland. Everything is going good.

I can't wait to see the actual wedding photo's, and hear all about their trip. (more to come....)

leading up to the Wedding

The wedding has come and gone, with beautiful skies and hot humid weather. A perfect June day. Stephanie was lovely and was pleased at how everything turned out. It was a really good day.

Here a little view of the mess staged before we left to take everything to the church on Friday.

Set up was fairly painless, except for stubborn wrinkles in the table cloths that took forever (4 hours to iron out).

Cute little displays. (totally Steph)

the centerpieces worked out perfectly.

Getting ready for the Rehersal had it's own challenges. Like the brand new dishwasher flooding the kitchen and basement less than an hour before we were to leave. (another story for another day, you won't believe)

The kids at the Rehersal Dinner. (pizza, of course)

The girls got up early for their 8:00 a.m. hair appts. They all looked beautiful.

Tomorrow Snapshots from the Wedding!

more wedding stuff

Stephanie and I have been racking our little brains trying to come up with something for favors at the wedding. We didn't want to do anything too cheesy. So, instead of table favor's we came up with the idea of donating to the World's Bicycle Relief. www.worldsbicyclerelief.org

World Bicycle Relief is dedicated to providing access to independence and livelihood through the power of bicycles.

Zach's mom bought these cute little pins.

We finished the guest book last night. Stephanie is thrilled how it turned out. It was made with Basic Grey's "Hello Luscious" line of paper and stickers along with some matboard, adhesive and my bind it all.

You know... I was thinking just the other day. If Princess Diana was still alive and had her own blog, I'm sure she would have been doing a lot of posts on William and Kate. And.... I'm sure we'd be checking everyday to see what she had to say. (I'm just saying...)

Anyway.....I hope your not getting too tired of all this wedding stuff. (cause there is definitely more to come)

Just 3 more days!!!

"Happy" layout

I wanted to share with you a quick layout I did using October Afternoon's 5 & Dime Collection. (www.octoberafternoon.com) It just makes me "Happy".

Just one more week till "THE BIG DAY"!!! and that makes me happy too.

Suescreativeworkshop is now on Facebook. Go to my facebook tab at the top of the site and go onto my facebook page and "like me".

19 more days

I can hardly believe that we only have 19 more days until the wedding. We're hard at work finishing up all those last minute details, getting her packed and ready to move.

And would you believe, I'm also going through stuff getting ready for our Neighborhood's Annual Garage Sale. (Am I nuts??? maybe a little) I've been pulling out old stamps, stickers, punches and a lot of misc. stuff that I've hoarded for long enough. (gotta make room for more) One's girls junk is another girl's treasure. So, If you live in the Peoria area and want to stop by, send me a message sue@suescreativeworkshop.com and I'll give you directions. I'm contemplating having a pre-sale on Friday. I'll let you all know.

The weather is supposed to be wonderful all week and I'm praying the weatherman's wrong for Saturday. (no rain please!!!)

Wish me luck!

If you've read the earlier posts on my daughter's wedding, you've realized that she's a non-traditional girl. Here's the outside of the invitation announcing their "BIG DAY". My niece framed it and had it on display at Stephanie's Bridal Shower. (she's the fox and he's the bear)

Enjoy!

more engagement photos

Yesterday marked one month before the big day for Stephanie and Zach.

She got a nice little surprise when she arrived home. Zach had sent her a bouquet of flowers with a note, "one more month". How sweet. He's already moved to their new place in Madison, so it's hard for her with all the wedding planning and him to being over 3 hours away. Just one more month! WOW!!!, it's approaching fast. Tonight's her second and last Bridal Shower, she's been so blessed by wonderful friends and family who've showered her with so many wonderful gifts. (where to put all this stuff?)

Anyway, I thought I'd share a couple more of their engagement pictures.

I think this has to be one of my favorite ones. I can't wait to scrapbook these.

Have a great Day,

Sue

farewell to my old piano

This old piano came to live with my family in the late 60's when I was a young girl. It had lived with a piano teacher who told us in it's previous life it was a bar piano. Oh, if only this piano could talk. (The number of stories it could tell on me alone.) I inherited the piano sometime in the 90's when my parents got an upgraded piano. I loved this old piano and it was part of the family. I took piano lessons on it, we played and sang with it. We hung our Christmas stockings from the lid. What a good piano.

About a year or so ago, after we put in new floors in the living room, it was moved into my dining room. The table shifted over and it became the white elephant in the room. I didn't like it there, nobody ever played it, but I just couldn't get rid of it. It was family. I asked my brother and sisters and nobody wanted it, although everyone said "awww" when it came time to getting rid of it. Finally after much, much, much procrastination I put a sappy ad on Craigslist. "Looking for a Good Home for a Free Vintage Piano" (with this picture). My husband said I'd never be able to get rid of it and even suggested putting it out on the curb. But after approx. 30 emails from people wanting it, I choose a local woman to come and look at it. She immediately fell in love with it's sappy story and old looks. After searching hard to get someone to move it, she paid local movers $200 to come and get my piano.

Today I lost another piece of my childhood, and I am a little sad.

sneak peek

Stephanie shared this picture with me the other night and I asked her if I could put it on my blog to share with you. She and Zach went on Sunday and had their engagement pictures taken in the park. This is the first sneak peek. I couldn't believe how cute it was. It's hard to believe that it wasn't taken many, many years ago. I can't wait to see the rest of them.

Helping Stephanie plan this wedding has taken a different philosophy on my part. If I would have envisioned years ago what my daughter's wedding would look like, it would have been a very traditional, somewhat formal affair.

Stephanie has a different look on life and simplicity. I have enjoyed the fact that I have raised a creative, artistic soul. (Stephanie's degree is in fashion merchandising) So, I have to step back, relax and trust that her vision is perfect. She has a great eye for detail.

This wedding will be a simple wedding, with a simple but elegantly beautiful dress, no tuxes, no flower girls, no ringbearers, simple and eclectic decorations. It's turning out to be a lot of fun and surprising enough fairly simple on the pocketbook. She has a good group of artistic friends, one friend is making her invitations (definately not traditional), another is making vegan cupcakes (did I mention no wedding cake? just a fabulous desert bar), another is taking the photo's (see picture above). We have bought eco friendly cutlery, eco friendly bamboo plates, we will serve flavored teas and coffee (and lemonade for the kids and me). It will be completly the way she wants it. (Just an intimate gathering for approx. 150)

So, as her dad and I say... "If she's happy, we're happy!!!"