Current stuff

Okay, here are a bunch of projects that I have been working on. I have been checking out alot of blogs recently and have been very inspired. I cannot remember where all of the ideas come from, but most of them are from the sites I have listed on the left of my blog. There are some awesome tutorials and templates out there. I would love to put some together to demo here on my blog. Just have to be a bit more 'techy'. (is that a word?) ;) Anyway here are a few valentine themed projects.

Candy Wrapper with nuggets: Papertrey Ink; Chocolate card and acetate candy box: Chic'n scratch; Coffee cup pattern: Giftmaker magazine.

Hot Stuff

Well the card says it all. I had so much fun doing this card. I am working on some other v-day projects. I have been so inspired by this blog http://www.chicnscratch.typepad.com/ you should check it out if you have a chance. She does great tutorials. I have many exciting ideas I am trying to iron out the details on. So, as soon as I can I will be posting here what 2008 holds for me (& you, I hope) creatively! Have a great day!

The stamp set is Close To My Heart's Serendipity set. The cardstock is from Stampin' Up, Versamark ink, Stampendous embossing glitter powder, Bazzill heart tag & Rub-on's from Jeneva & Co. The paper covering the heart tag is from Sassafrass Lass's Serendipity collection How funny that 2 serendipity named products were used I didn't notice until after the card was finished.

Playing with my new toy

Can I just say how amazing I think the new CADII is?? Well I will. IT IS AMAZING!! ;) If you know me, you know I love to alter just about anything. Being able to punch a hole just about anywhere and on just about anything just thrills me more than you will ever know. Here are a few items I made over the weekend.

Finding time to craft a bit is tough on the weekends. With errands to run, cleaning to catch up on, family time and watching football, basketball, etc. who has time to craft? ME!! I try and squeeze it in. I am also working on a few jewelry and sewing projects. That brings up a good question. When do you find or take time to craft? I would love to know. Do you have a certain day? Time?

Cards to share

I received a very cute stamp set from my friend Mrs. B. and decided to do a little card crafting today. I in the mail. If you haven't signed up for it here is the address: kraftfoods.com It is free and it is full of great recipes. :)

IT"S HERE!!

I received my Crop-A-Dile II today. Ok, first let me say I could have waited. BUT WHY?? :) This was a good deal in my opinion and as much as I use my regular CAD this was a must have. NOW!! ;) I will be working a project soon to show here. I bought a few little tins in anticipation of this FABULOUS tool! I will be checking out the We R Memory Keepers website for more inspiration. I also cleaned up my scrap space today so I could justify some playtime. I think Marissa will be happy to sit in here and color with me.

The other photo here is Marissa's 'creation'. She quietly sat and stuufed all of these crayons in this water bottle. Which she first stripped the label off of. It's an original that's for sure. Of course I had to dump out the water that was still in the bottom. They are washable crayons so they were 'melting'. ick.

Spice up Life!

That is what I was to think about and create a card for this week. Well, it is probably more info than most want to know. So, I attached a cute little booklet (made by Bazzill), decorated it with a new stamp (Memory Box) and wrote my personal 'stuff' inside. ;) I am trying to use up some of my supplies and scraps that have been hangin' around for way too long. Not my best work, but, the inspiration hit, so I went with it and now it is complete. Just letting the glitter glue dry. The boys have their trap shooting league tonight so 'us girls' will be cleaning and crafting a bit. Along with a few games of chase and tea party.

Cutie Cupcake

Marissa looked so cute in her little cupcake t-shirt and striped leggings today. We had playtime at one of the little gym for kids. She had a blast! It was -7 degrees today. Too cold to do anything, for most people. But not us tough Alaskans! (wink, wink) With our heated seats, heated steering wheels and rest mode (keeps the heater running in the car for 30 min.). Anyway, I nothing crafty to post today. Just some ramblings from me. We were so busy running around today, we didn't return home until dinner time. Warm thoughts to you.

Winter Beauty

These two photos are views from our house. One is south. It is a shot of Turnagain Arm (which connects to Cook Inlet, Gulf of Alaska, Pacific Ocean). The other shot is east. This is part of the Chugach Mountain range. It is another gorgeous, sunny day and 1 degree. We will be staying in today and having some cozy family time. The menu includes homemade chili over rice (thank you BP for introduucing that to me) and warm bread for those who don't want rice. ;) Good day to all and stay warm.

Who turned off the heat?

It is sooooo cold out today, 4 degrees! Yikes!! It is absolutely beautiful out, but freeeeeezing. Good thing we have a warm home and heated seats in the car. :) The sun is shining without a cloud in the sky. Perfect! If it was june, not january. All of this gorgeous snow we have now is getting covered in a sparkly, glittery crystal. But, better to admire it from inside with a hot cup of coffee than be out in it. Robert is shooting today. CRAZY!! And he thinks I am nuts about my hobbies?? No way woud I be out in this trap shooting. I will however be going out to buy some new stamps, etc. this afternoon. I will not stay in any store long, can't let the car engine cool off too much. I am not patient enough to sit and let the car engine heat up so that there will be wam air. Nope, get it and go on days like this. The other downside to a spectacular sunny day, I can see every bit of dust and cat/dog hair in my house. The advantage of it being dark out most of the winter is you don't feel so guilty for not dusting everyday. And where does all of this dust come from anyway? There is 2+ feet of snow outside. Oh well, break out the dyson and the pledge and be happy. Could be worse, I could not have this lovely (and warm) home to clean. I will leave you with a few coaster calendars I made for Cody's teachers. They were really fun and quick to make. :)

Still snowing

Not as hard as yesterday, but it seemed to come down harder mid-day.

I joined a group to do a card-a-week. Not greeting cards, playing cards. We will be given a journaling prompt at the beginning of each week and the we use a card to express our creativity about it. The first 2 weeks I have done. Goals & quote. I will be sharing them here as well as in our group. It is a great creative outlet as well as taking time to really think about what she is asking. At the end of the year I will have 52 cards about me and my life. Kind of a neat thing to have and pass on. Plus anytime I can get my crafty mojo workin' is a good time for me. Altered art is so freeing. No rules! Just the way I like it. ;) Have a great day!

Why I love living here

Is this not just beautiful? I took these photos this morning around 9:15am. This is the view out our front door. The 2 penquins to the right are almost covered and our snowman has lost his 'carrot' nose. A curious moose knocked him over on Christmas Eve and his nose fell into the snow. Guess we will find it in the spring! :) I just love how the colorful lights reflect on the new fallen snow. It is still snowing and supposed to keep snowing until tomorrow. Then it is supposed to be sunny and below zero. BRRRRRR!! Very typical weather for january. We are tucked snuggly in the house and will venture out this afternoon to pick up Cody. I can hear the hum of snowplows/snowblowers in the neighborhood. So nice a sound. This is what winter is supposed to be like. It has been so icy and dark, with little snow. This, I am sure, will be making alot of people very happy. Especially the snowplowers, 'pennies from heaven' with every flake. ;) Hope you have a great day. And, if you live here, be safe on the roads!

Back to our regularly scheduled lives

The holidays are officialy over and everyone is back on their regular schedules. The kids started school today. I can hardly believe they are into the second semester already. Cody returned safely from Mexico. A bit more tan (I swear he grew some more) and very relaxed. I think he really needed the vacation. We are all still fighting thru our colds. Feeling a bit better each day. I held my last crop with Becky on saturday. We are going to miss hosting them and seeing our friends monthly, but look forward to being able to offer new and exciting things in the future. It was so nice to sit and scrap. If I wasn't in such a fog from my cold it would have been more fun. I did complete quite a few projects. The first is a photo wallet that I will be sending to my cousin in IL. She was such a dear for letting all of us invade her house and pool for two days. The instructions came from spiltcoaststampers.com. The second is our dvd's from our Hawaii trip in March '07. Very simple projects, but they came out fantastic, I think. ;)

Sick Day

Well, it has been a sick start to 2008. Let's hope we are getting all of our illness out of the way right now for the rest of the year. :) Cody came home Christmas day with a horrid cough and stuffy head. Well, Marissa, my mom and I have all had it now. Let's hope everyone else stays healthy. This one is a doozy! I finished another recipe album for a client this week. I really like the colors on this one. Nice to do a 'winter' theme without the standard colors. I hope she likes it as much. I am co-hosting an all day crop tomorrow with my friend Becky. It will be our last one for a while. Needing to refocus our energies in the new year led us to this decision. We want to be able to continue to offer high-end scrapbooking events to our clients. So, we needed to take a breather and reevaluate what we are doing. Anchorage has a great group of women who share this wonderful hobby. We will miss seeing them on a monthly basis, but look forward to being able to 'play' with them at other events. Here's to you! Have a great day! :)