Mojo in Outer Space

I knew my mojo was in outer space somewhere and today a sighting was confirmed. I hope it will return home soon. *snicker*

Our Dad

These pictures were taken on Father's Day 2008. I just now got around to doing a layout with them. With the busy pattern in Rhonda's shirt, I knew I wanted a toned-down color scheme so that things didn't get too visually busy. I picked the sage tone and then I found some patterned paper and die-cut words by My Mind's Eye that I bought ages ago. They were a "father" theme and I am just tickled I came across them while planning this page. How often do you really buy something at a scrapbook store then use it for what you originally intended? Me...rarely, especially if it all gets organized into my stash of things.

I colored the chipboard letters and brackets using Chocolate Chip craft ink, then sanded the edges of the letters. (I love to use my heat tool to speed the drying time.) The chipboard frames were covered with the patterned paper by Making Memories, then I sanded the edges. The metal embellishments and solid Sage Shadow cardstock are from SU! The word "our" is some Velvet Thickers mom gave me. The ribbons and solid tan cardstock are misc. from my stash.

Since I wanted the frames to go off the edge of the page, I simply lined them up where I wanted them, made a pencil mark for the "new edge" and cut it with my craft knife. I adhered them after I cut the edges.

*click on the picture and you can see all the details*

I am super tired this week, despite many, many blessings. I will be stretching out my posts for the next little while since my mojo is in outer space somewhere. If I show you all my newest stuff several days in a row, you'll really have a gap in posting from me.

Ok, let's have a song today. Click HERE, then choose the arrow on the first song to play. :) whistle along if you wish...I know I can use this "happy" reminder to not get so stressed. Besides, I'm too blessed to be stressed and I just need to remind myself of that sometimes!

Scrap Pink Highlights

I attended a very special 10-hour crop on Saturday in Mansfield that was hosted by The Scrapbooking Cafe (TSC). Scrap Pink benefits the Susan G. Komen Foundation. TSC will be donating $10 per person plus 10% of sales for the day.

Jenn, Holly and Debbi are the team who planned the event. Jenn and Debbi are co-owners of the new scrapbook store in Mansfield. Some of you may be familiar with Holly VanDyne, a nationally published scrapbooker and finalist for Creating Keepsakes Scrapbooker of the Year. These ladies are just sweethearts! Everyone who attended received one of these t-shirts designed for Scrap Pink.
Five of us (Mom, Tammy, Connie, Me, Joan) enjoyed a day filled with friendship, creativity, fun, food, prizes and lots of giggles! By the time this picture was taken, we were all so tired...but in a good way! We really did crop 'til we dropped!
Each person received a packet with free goodies. This is what was in mine.
There were many prizes during the event. I was lucky enough to win this Basic Grey 6x6 paper pack! Love these colors! I can't wait to make some awesome cards with some of it!
Here are the goodies I purchased. I forgot to put the Fiskars Threading Water punch in the picture. I bought 11 sheets of the printed paper to use on Christmas cards this year. Then, I had to have this funky orange paper with holes, two die-cuts, Stickles and yummy super-wide ribbon.

A very special part of the event was the story about a local lady who is battling cancer. She will travel to Minnesota's Mayo Clinic for treatment. I took a picture of the flyer about her. Crop attendees had the opportunity to create pages that will go in an album for her. All she has to do is add pictures (she isn't a scrapper). There were several themes pertaining to her family for which we could create pages. I failed to get a pic of the two birthday pages my mom did, but you can see the "mom" page I did and the incredible paper-pieced cat Tammy made for the Halloween page.

In summary, it was a great day! Remember, you can click on any picture for a closer look. I will share the pages I finished at Scrap Pink in future blog posts. Everyone have a blessed week!

She said YES!

Julie called me early this morning

to tell me that Josh asked

her to marry him.

She said YES!!

The happy couple...
Oh, I think this looks stunning on her hand! Wow!

Now, so many details to decide for the big day...including the wedding date! Wow!

Gratitude

It's creeping close to midnight on Tuesday night as I post this, so I'll make it quick. I made this card after being inspired by the colors in the ribbon. Colors are Barely Banana and Groovy Guava. I used retired SU! sets Define Your Life and Time Well Spent. Accessories are white gel pen, self-stick pearls, ribbon and white chipboard shape. Oh, and Stampin' Dimensionals. I love those dumb things!

When I started this card, I was just stamping to be stamping. Once I added the sentiment, I knew EXACTLY who would receive it. I am holding onto it for a very special moment of expressing my gratitude. :)

The word gratitude is a wonderful word. Doesn't it just make you want to start counting your blessings?! Ah....I have SO many. On a bad day, yeah...I tend to forget to keep that list fresh and never-ending. If I hang my head with worry, I forget to look up and SEE all that I have to be grateful for...I am so glad I "wake up" and get back on track. Gratitude should be a part of my life at all times. Always. As I get ready to slip into bed tonight, I am immediately thinking of the soft sheets, the warm bed, my sweet sleeping husband (yes, the one I sometimes call knucklehead and who keeps me awake with snoring. LOL), my sweet little pooch and so on and so on. And, that's just what I'm thankful for at bedtime. Ooh...can't forget my toothbrush. I love that wonderful little thing!

OH and I have to add one to the list. Wanda. Macy and I visited her Tuesday night. It's been a while since I've been next door to see her. Her bruises are all gone. I am so grateful for her recovery. If you don't know the story, you can read it HERE. (scroll down a bit) I could go on and on, but...I've got to be rested for work in the morning.

See ya and thanks for stopping by...

Big Thanks

My mom gave me some of these neat mini die-cut label papers from Jenni Bowlin. You can see the colors in the pack by clicking on Jenni's name. I decided to create a card with the blue and green one and will most likely use the others in scrapbooking. If you click on the picture, you can see more of the details of the card. The card size is 4 1/4" x 5 1/2". I used the SU! spiral punch to create the interesting "notebook" effect on the fold. I had seen that idea in my demo publication.

Tip for using spiral punch on fold: When using this punch, there is a guide for where you put the edge of your paper. Turn the punch over so you can see the punch guide. You will punch from right to left. I scooted my paper over a bit to the left (and away from the guide), then punched the first time. It can be hard to do as you're punching two layers. For the following punches, put the guide piece into the last slot you punched, then punch again. This will create only one new slot and helps eliminate the extra stress on your punch. If your cardstock is super thick, you can break your punch! Please don't force it. Continue punching one new slot at a time until you have the desired number of spiral slots on the fold.

Products used:
SU! cardstock=Night of Navy, Whisper White, Wild Wasabi (retired)
Stamps= SU! Think Big (retired) & Papertrey Ink Polka Dot Basics
Inks= SU! Wild Wasabi (retired), Night of Navy craft and classic inks
Accessories= Stampin' Dimensionals, Sponge Dauber, paper piercer, silver brads, Wild Wasabi stitched grosgrain ribbon, white gel pen, Stamp-a-ma-jig, punches (spiral, small star, 1" circle)

And...a big thanks to all of you who visit my blog. I rarely get comments, but do see the number of visitors rising each day. If you like what you see, please take a moment to comment. It will make my day! Just wondering whatcha think of Create Share Bless. :)

Here's how: Just click on the word "comments" at the end of this post. Type your comment, click on the little circle next to "name/URL", fill in the box with your real name or nickname and click "publish your comment". You will then be sent to a second screen to type in a scrambled code. Fill that in and click again. It's that easy. I have the code feature enabled to deter any automatic robots who will bombard my blog with spam. I've had different people say they liked so and so, yet didn't know how to comment. Hopefully this will help. Thanks!

Have a happy Tuesday!

Friends

This sentiment is so true! It immediately makes me count the blessing of the women in my life whom I call friends. The neat thing is that several of them are scrappers, too! I can't wait to have "time well spent" with them at the Scrap Pink crop this Saturday!!

The trick to getting the "frame" lined up on this card is to 1)cut out the oval on the green piece/card front using the Coluzzle system, 2) adhere the second color piece inside the card, 3) lay the clear Coluzzle template over the card front and line up with first cut, 4) cut next smaller oval in pink layer. *click for a closer look* You can see a picture of the inside of the card below.
A few details: I distressed the edges of each oval and added some glittery Stickles to the flowers. The sentiment was stamped using the Stamp-a-ma-jig for precise placement. I colored the word Friends and the little flowers using markers. The color combo was directly inspired by this fun ribbon in my stash.
Stamps=Time Well Spent, Polka Dots & Paisley (both retired from SU!). Cardstock=Green Galore, Regal Rose, Whisper White. Ink=Purely Pomegranate. Accessories= Coluzzle, Cutter Kit, Paper Piercer, Gable Green and Regal Rose SU! markers, white brads, ribbon, Crystal Stickles

Thanks for stopping by...