January Layouts!

So I know I'm about to start my Creative Retreat class, but I've already done five layouts so far this year! I will share some with you now:

These were all created in response to challenges at Two Peas in a Bucket. It's loads of fun over there... if you go, you can find me there, I'm Scrapfaire :)

My stalking has not been in vain.

So most of you here in bloggerland (at least the scrappy peeps) know next week is CHA (actually I think it starts Saturday.) All the manufacturers are sneaking peeks to get us all revved up about the new releases (oh yeah, it's working). Anyways, I digress (lol) I finally won one of the new collections! Over at the My Little Shoebox Blog! The link goes to the post where I won and where they revealed the entire collections YAY! I am so excited. I already have a paperbag mini forming in my mind from this collection...so pumped, now I just have to wait a few weeks for them to finish with CHA and mail it out. I think today I may go ahead and make the Thank you card so I can pop it in the mail when my prize pack gets here!
I wish you all luck winning! If you haven't made it out to many of the blogs then you can go by Scrapbook Update to find a giant list (this link goes straight there) so you too can enter to win. Good luck everyone!

Here are a couple of things I have made recently just so you have some eye candy.

I made this card for a coworker recently. The flowers are unity stamps that I just stamped onto canvas fabric and painted with Glimmer Mist. The leaves were stamped onto white cardstock and colored with Prismacolor Pencils and Gamisol. the flowerpot is just cut out on the fly (ode to MEF). The stems of the flowers are just green cording (Thanks Pam).The frame around the photo is from Photoshop Express on my iphone. 

This is a birthday card that I gave as a gift in a set of cards. The stamps are all from American Crafts and the cake was paper pieced and the "icing" was covered in Rock Candy Stickles. The trim came in a "grab bag" that I purchased at Hancock Fabrics.

This is one of the favorite things I've done lately. My little zipper flower makes me SMILE! There's even a video on it, just click here. Hope you have a lovely day all!

Exciting news!

I am so excited! I'm making chili again today and there's no ice on the ground. It is still a little cold outside so, I thought I better take advantage of the fact that I finally have a recipe that I can duplicate and so this batch is as yummy as the last! Whoo! I have to tell you I have been scouring websites, blogs and facebook to find all the sneak peeks of the new products coming soon! My favorite place to start is Scrapbook Update at the top of the website over to the right handside there is a button that says CHA Winter 2011 Sneak Peeks. There are some things I want to mention because I feel like maybe you won't go down the whole list so here they are:
Core'dination (they have patterns from EVERYONE now and are giving things away!)
Tim Holtz  (he has so many new things coming out, I need a job just to be able to afford more things with his name on them! New dies, new papers, new STUFF! Can't wait!)
Glitz  (I haven't seen there stuff around here before but WOW I have already emailed my LSS Eclectica to tell them to please stock it. Could you please email them as well, it looks incredible!
I'm still making the youtube videos. I'd love it if you'd rate, comment and subscribe over there. I'm current up to today, I haven't posted today's video yet, but will do that before I retire for the evening.
I'm taking a class over at Big Picture Classes that starts February 3. I purchased the Retreat (the class is the 2011 Creative Retreat) which is taught by May Flaum for myself and as a birthday gift for a friend. She and I are all signed up and ready to go. There's plenty of room left over there so if you want something to kickstart your creativity and push you to use your stash, just go on over and sign up. It's a four week class for only 25.00. You are welcomed and even encouraged to "attend" in your jammies, who could ask for more? May will even be available for skyping! Go on sign up, play with us. This IS my first class over there but I'm pumped! They even have free classes if you want to try them out that way. The classes they have are not just for scrapbookers, so check them out and let me know what you think!

Hugs!

Thanks so much everyone!

I would like to thank you all for all the support (and subscribing) and emails and voice chats about how to keep improving my videos, keep it coming ya'll! I swear it is harder than I thought to make a nice looking video for youtube, I'm sure if I do some more research it will get easier, but it's hard to research and get those projects banged out! I would love it if you would "like" my videos on youtube, but only if you really like the projects, it's nice to feel the love and have others who maybe don't read my blog watching. I have gotten so much inspiration out of watching everyone else's videos that I encourage you to do it as well.
I am taking all constructive criticism to heart so if you guys have some advice and don't want to post it as a comment, be sure to email me :)! Hugs!

Photo from Day 15 of 31 and then about day 16...

Ok, so here's a much better look at my sympathy card. I think it's really pretty.
As for my day 16 video, I don't know what kind of mental lapse either I or my computer is having but for some reason I can't import it into the software I normally use for editing so I could only chop off the last bit and load that. So I did. So sorry it's like half a video but for the life of me I couldn't figure out what was wrong.
I have taken the precaution of reformatting my SD card so that today's vid will be better. I have a lot to do this evening after work, what with our monthly staff meeting, my Monday Zumba class and there are groceries still to buy for the week. Oh well, it feels like the more I have to do the more I am actually getting done! YAY! Hugs and have a great day everyone!

Who wants to do a swap?

I'm thinking a mini album with a theme or an atc swap would be good right about now! Anyone want in on this??? I'm open to suggestion but I'm thinking binary would be a fun theme about now!

What else is going on here in 2011?

So you may ask yourself, is this woman really married? She talks about herself an awful lot here and pimps her scrappy style, but what else is going on at her house? Lemme tell you a little, and I mean just a little about that.
I have possibly the best DH in the entire world. He works hard, puts in more than his fare share of work around the house, and has started learning to cook again. This makes me SO VERY happy!
I love cooking (on occasion, not every day). I really, really enjoy the eating portion of the cooked food, but it's not always first on my list of things to do everyday. I try to cook a few times a week and have leftovers and cereal, salad and sandwich makings available the rest of the time. We are both trying to eat healthier and that means less pre processed (IE frozen) foods that are yummy and really bad for us. Don't get me wrong, there are a couple of hot pockets in the freezer as I type, but we're trying to make them less and less a part of our lives.
When DH decided he wanted to start cooking again (he makes the BEST egg rolls in the world, he used to cook chinese on a regular basis and it was GOOD) I made a recommendation in the form of Pioneer Woman as it has always been very hard in my own mind to prepare food that I've never eaten, Ree makes every recipe look doable. And that gets two big thumbs up in my world!
The first meal was cooked on Friday and it was YUMMY, we made critical notes about exactly how much spice we might like to have in this dish for future times, but I sincerely loved the dish. We had the Meatballs with Pepper and Pineapple and I will suggest to anyone who even thinks this might sound good, that you go cook some up yourself because it was SO good! I wish I had made a photo of our dishes, I'll have to start because he loved the experience. The directions were easy to follow and the photos were the BEST part. There was no question of does this look right, because there was always a pic to verify the progress.
Big Thanks to Ree and all her hard work! I hope everyone who reads this runs over to follow along. Can't wait for the new book!

Let me know if you try the food, we're gonna have Fried Round Steak and Crash Hot Potatoes this week. I feel so spoiled. Have I mentioned that I am now taking Zumba classes two nights a week? This good cooking may mean I need to bump it up to three. LOL! Off to craft a bit so I can video away.

Just in case you haven't been to my youtube channel.

I have been working extra hard on cards for my challenges lately and using new products and techniques (well, new to me.) I think my photos are looking a little nicer as well. Does the top card seem bare to you? TFL!!

Bargain Ideas!

Okay so most of you may aready do this very same thing, but since imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I'm gonna copy May Flaum here and let you know what I like to buy at after holiday sales. Anything solid colors. Many holidays have the same colors that will work. Christmas, Valentine's Day, Fourth of July, Veteran's Day, Memorial Day, Halloween can all use things in Red and White (although usually just the red is on sale LOL!) You can use Green in your spring/summer holidays/decor St. Patty's Day, Easter, My Birthday, even Halloween and Thanksgiving! (don't you love how I threw in the bday reminder LOLOL.)
I buy the stuff in green, black, purple and orange after Halloween because those colors work other seasons and not just plates and napkins, I have icing that I bought, black works anytime and green is almost as awesome for all the time. Orange has a lot of use as well and those icing tubes are in date for quite some time. I have solid color cupcake wrappers where my green is really pretty for Easter coming up and after last Easter I bought some "seasonal" plasticware that was clear with silver glitter inside that I used this Thanksgiving. LOVELY! (And so inexpensive!!)

Anyway, just wanted to share since I know there's still stuff at my stores on clearance now 80 percent off. There are some beaded things that are in colors like gold, silver, red and purple that would work for all the time or different seasons, but I think I am shopped out for the year and for sure my "Christmas" container of scrappy stuff is FULL! (The good news is, it WAS almost empty.)

Thanks for stopping by!

Contest time...please "like" my comment!

Ok so Paperclipping Round Table and May Flaum have both sung praises in the name of Persnickety Prints! They are having a contest right now and the winner gets 50.00 to spend there. If you have a Facebook account, would you mind terribly hopping over to "like" the comment that I made (my photo on my comment is she-hulk and my name is Charity Donaldson). I realize this is shameless, but I would love to win this prize and check them out myself. Thanks for you time. Here's the LINK. Oh, if you've always wanted to give digi scrapping a try, they send out newsletters and offer free kits including templates on a semi regular basis. They even started tutorials teaching how to scrap with Picasa so you can do the digi scrapping for FREE!

Photo of my Project complete and on the door for Day 8 of 31

So I made the wreath (yes, I know it's kind of square, I wanted it that way) yesterday on the actual day 8, but it was finished last night and all the paint and glue needed to dry before hanging so today, I have hung my Valentine Wreath on my door ( or we can just call it the wreath of love.) I think it's really pretty. The darker red hearts and the black hearts are just painted. The  red is painted with glimmer glaze and the black is acrylic paint with Black Diamond stickles over the paint. Thanks so much for stopping by to take a look, I think I need to paint the door this spring, It's not very pretty, even for a background LOL!

Sunday Snowday? Maybe...

Today is a very exciting day. Today my oldest niece turns 29. It has been a really hard week for her because she lost someone very dear to her earlier in the year, and the funeral is supposed to be tomorrow. I pray she has peace in her heart.

The weather people are saying that we are going to have snow with ice (humph, I personally prefer snow with no ice) so I made an extra trip to the grocery store today. I work today, both Sunday kennel shifts so it was really super convenient to run by and pick up stuff for snow/ice weather. DH had bought real groceries on Friday, but I am in the mood to cook things we didn't have (of course). The cornbread is currently filling the house with heavenly aroma and shells are boiling to become shells and cheese. Chili is next on the billet. Boy, I'm really hungry. I'll get you some photos as it gets ready. I hope you are all warm and safe and having a lovely weekend. I have a project photo I'm going to be posting as soon as I go pull the cornbread out of the oven.

Hugs!

This IS cornbread, it's upside down because I tumped it out from the skillet onto a plate to cool (just in case someone didn't know.)

This is homemade chili (no beans per dh because he hates beans and I don't care as long as he'll eat). MMMMM, it's still simmering right now but it smells yummy and wow the taste test gets two thumbs up from me.

Homemade shells and cheese. Hope DH is happy surprised, I usually don't go with shells, but today they looked prettier than the spiral noodles I normally like to use. I am starving and now just need to decide what to eat first. BTW this is the best way to fill your house with lovely scents! No glade candle on earth smells this good!

Tag, I finally did it!

So as you may or may not have read from last year, I got the 12x12 thing. I have no problem scrapping a page. After working super hard on my cards in 2010, I now feel totally competent when it comes to cards. I mentioned that I was playing along in Marion Smith's 31 challenges, 31 videos, 31 days challenge at A Piece of Craft . I have done a challenge for myself and a video every day. Day 6 was a two-parter because I was off this Thursday and decided to whip out my/our video camera so that the videos would be better (I will get better at this, this one wasn't it. LOL!



Anyway, I wanted to let you know that it's not too late! The weekend is upon us and you don't have to do a long video full of editing, make little short ones like my first five. It really is just about getting stuff done for me. I get discouraged so many times because I start a project and feel like I can't get back to it right away or I sit down and think, man I wish I was making something, but I really don't have the time.

Surprize!! If you really want to do it, you CAN get it done! Hugs everyone and thanks for all the comments on the vids so far!

I really am proud of my tag, I even photographed it. Thanks for the sticker M.E. they ARE being used!

Challenges for January.

Just so you know, I am being a busy little beaver so far this year. I have decided to participate in Marion Smith's 31 Days, 31 Challenges, 31 Videos. I decided to let you know that I'm particpating in case you are too, or you want to. Sorry I didn't let you know yesterday, but I was really slammed trying to get the mini finished. LOL! You can use the link above to look over my videos, the quality isn't where I want it to be, but you know, it's a video a day so....

Ok, I like the mini a lot so I'll go ahead and share the video here:




BTW I'd really like it if you'd let me know how you like the new look to the blog. The header was my challenge for myself for today.
Have a great day!

Happy New Decade 2011!

So this past decade was pretty awesome! Lots of good things happened for us. We lost some loved ones, gained some new family members, moved to a new state, I got a job that is allowing me education in a field I always wanted to be in (I just never thought about the possibilities before). We added two wonderful kitty cats to our little family and we've made some awesome friends. I found scrapbooking and papercrafting which has changed my life and given me such a wonderful outlet!

I don't have a lot of resolutions for 2011.

1. Be healthier. (I made really good progress with this one in 2010, just want to keep it up for the new year.)
2. Design and teach a papercraft class at some point this year. (Just something I want to do for myself.)
3. Do more housework (Which is my favorite thing to let slide, but not today because I don't housework on Jan 1, it's my own personal habit that lets me not fall into any of the superstitious nono areas with which I was raised.)

I hope all of you have had a wonderful holiday celebration and are ready to face the coming decade. Hugs to you all.