A few projects to share...

So we're back from our little mini-vacation to Charleston and I remembered I forgot to post these before I left! I put a couple little packages together for my MIL and SIL and took a crazy chance that the chocolates I stuck inside weren't gonna turn into soup during shipment. Since procrastinating has been my thing lately, I waited until a lovely 90 degree day to mail them off.These were supposed to be a Valentine's surprise in the mail for them--it turned into an Easter surprise(they made it ok amazingly).

The little notepad holders were so fun to make! I'm always thinking up new ways to use those QK Santa's Workshop mini-album dies, so if you have any cool ideas and you'd like to share them with me--please leave me a comment here:) The gift bag instructions can be found on the SCS website here

I've got some fresh new pics to hopefully inspire some layouts and a whole lotta time at the end of the week to lock myself in the scraproom. We'll see what happens...

Supplies used: Quickutz Santa's Workshop dies,SU ribbon,Quickutz Chick-a-dee alpha,Prima flowers,KI sheer daisy,Spellbinders Nesties,Quickutz love birds die,Martha Stewart punch,Michaels ribbon,SU tab punch,My Mind's Eye paper.

Sent off my first batch of OWH cards!

Here's just a few of them I sent off yesterday. It was a small first shipment, but I really wanted to send a few Mother's Day cards and the deadline was yesterday(nothing like waiting until the last minute,right?). I didn't make them "mother's day" specific in case they don't arrive on time.

I've been busy this week with lots of card-making and a few projects for Easter gifts that I mailed just in time(do you see a pattern here?) But--it's been a VERY productive week and I even squeezed in some scrappy shopping:)

I have a few more things to share this weekend and then it's off to Charleston for a romantic getaway next week with my hubby--and a gorgeous picture-taking opportunity that will hopefully inspire me to actually scrap a layout. You know you're a total addict when you have the punches,QK alphas, and paper picked out for a particular vacation.It's ok--you can laugh. I know most of you reading this have done it too:)

Supplies used:BG Lemonade and Kioshi, EK Success punches, SU ribbon and stamps,DCWV cs,Cornish Heritage Farms stamps,QK flourish

MOJO131-take two.

I liked this week's sketch so much I used it again on this Asian inspired card. I thought the 3 panel frame was perfect for those blossoms. If you've never checked out the MojoMonday sketch blog, go give it a try! It might be just the thing to jumpstart your mojo!

I said I wouldn't do it(I know, Yvonne, you can scold me for this)but I caved late last week and bought some Copics. It was the airbrush possibilities that pushed me over the edge. I've been playing with them ever since in detailed images(since I'm still too scared to color a giant empty space) and trying to get the hang of it. Clearly, there's a learning curve but it's not as bad as some would make you think. I plan on taking an online course in a bit to build my skills.

Hope your week is going great so far! I'm buried in my scrap room this week churning out a few more Easter cards for family and Mother's day cards for OWH!

Supplies used:SU stamps and ribbon,BasicGrey pp,DCWV cs,Copics R22,R24,Spellbinders labels ten,Recollections pearls,Cuttlebug embossing folder,Neenah 80# solar white,Memento ink,MS border punch

MOJO-131 For Peeps Sake

So I had a few Easter cards to make for family(sadly, I missed the OWH Easter card deadline) and this week's MOJO-131 sketch was absolutely perfect! I've been wanting to line these little guys up on a card ever since I picked up this punch:


The first thing I thought of when I saw this punch was Peeps. I just cut the little tail off and it was my own Peeps punch:) I'm on a roll with the cards now, that bloghop was just the push I needed to get moving and get those Mother's day cards done for the troops!

Supplies used:Fiskars punch,EK Success(SU)border punch,BasicGrey paper,Queen & Co pearls, SU sentiment stamp, Spellbinders labels, Sizzix(SU)embossing folder,Darice ribbon,DCWV cardstock.

We have a WINNER!!

And the winner of my BLOG CANDY from the OWH Springbreak Bloghop is.........

Martha!!(Is that not funny?? Martha wins a Martha punch:))

I've left you a little note on your blog:)

Thanks so much everyone for visiting my blog over the weekend and participating in OWH's Springbreak bloghop. I hope you had a fun time looking at all the eye candy and amazing inspiration out there, I know I did! Can't wait to play in more bloghops with OWH in the future!

A Salute to OWH!

*EDITED: With 93 stops on this fabulous hop...it's taking a LONG time to really check out all the goodness out there and give each blog the attention they all so deserve SO--I'm extending the deadline to post a comment to enter for my blog candy until 12:00noon Mon 3/22. I'll post the winner here Monday before 5:00pm and contact the winner as well*

Happy Spring everybody! What better way to kick off a new season than start a new venture, right? ...So... Welcome to my stop on the OWH Springbreak bloghop! If this is your next stop on the hop, welcome! If you have absolutely no idea what 'OWH' is, you've got to check out the start of the hop at http://www.owhstarsandstamps.org. You won't want to miss a single stop!

Here's my first card for the troops:


I used lots of fun stuff on this one. Flocking on the bunny(Doodlebug), MS border punch,QK Santa's Workshop, Nesties labels ten and thirteen, and the new SU border punch. The paper is BG Lemonade and Bo Bunny.


Here's a quick and easy tutorial on making the grass border in the nestabilities:

First, you'll need the Martha Stewart grass border punch
and your chosen paper. Punch along one edge.

Next, line up the grass border where you want it
on the nestabilities die and tape the
die cutting-edge down on the front of your paper.

Turn the die with paper attached cutting-edge up
and run it through your die-cutting machine.

Here's what your grass border looks like.

Now, cut your full nestabilities shape out with
the same die you used for the border.

To finish it up and add a little extra dimension,
I used pop-dots on the back of the grass border and bunny.

I adhered the grass a little higher to keep
the white border all around, but it would also
look great flush with the bottom edge.

Just a simple, quick technique for those who might be new to nesties or die-cutting in general.

I'm super excited to participate in the OWH cause. I was in the Army for 8 years and my husband just recently retired last fall from active-duty after 20 years of service. When we heard about what OWH does, we both thought how awesome that would've been as a soldier to not only have the means of sending cards home to family, but to receive boxes and boxes of these lovingly handmade cards from so many people showing their support.

If you're not familiar with this awesome organization and you'd like to learn more, spend a little time at their homefront blog here. I just loved the topic of their March 12th post about involving kids with sending letters to the troops. One of the questions asked was "will the service members write back to the children?" I can't speak for all of them, but I do know when my husband and I were deployed and would receive 'anyhero' letters from back home, it was a very special feeling of pride in country and staying connected to home and the real meaning behind what we were doing. Long before the days of OWH, when my husband was a brand new soldier and deployed to Somalia in 1993, his hometown school would send letters to the troops and he had a penpal that he wrote to for many months. He still talks about this kid nearly 20 years later and how much those letters of encouragement meant.

Here's a pic of my hero on the day of his retirement ceremony last September.



Now for some real fun!
Anyone who's visited my blog before knows what a total Martha Stewart punch addict I am. So in honor of my first bloghop with OWH, I'm giving away a brand new Martha Stewart grass border punch just like the one I used on my card to one lucky winner! All you have to do to be entered to win is leave me a comment on this post(if you're not with blogger, be sure to put your email addy in your comment) by 11:59pm Sunday 3/21. The winner will be selected by random number generator and posted here on Monday 3/22. (Sorry--only open to US residents)

If you'd like to start making cards for the troops, be sure to check out all the details on the OWH site. The deadline for Mother's Day cards is April 1st. The next stop on the OWH Springbreak bloghop is Stephanie's. I love her clean gorgeous style! Click HERE to visit Stephanie's blog and keep hopping!!

Where did January go??

This month just flew by. I'm sticking to my goals for the year so far. I took an honest look at why I've been unable to drop those 10 lbs for the past 10 years and the answer may not have been what I wanted to hear--but it's working. Finally. Jeff and I have made a pact to go to the gym every. day. of. the. week. I've increased my cardio to 50 minutes and fallen in love with a new machine that's part elliptical part stair-stepper. It's an @ss-kicker. Of course, I don't ever feel my workout's complete unless I've run. This year makes 20 straight years of running. I hope I get 20 more out of my knees. Doubtful, but a girl can dream. I've also recently cut caffeine out of my life and we're both calorie-counting. Not cuckoo-crazy calorie counting, but just being much more aware of what's going in. I'm down 6 lbs in 3 weeks. Woohoo!

As for the time management--it's slowly starting to happen. I've scrapbooked a few times this month. I've spent more time purging my supplies of old stuff I just don't think I'll ever use. My niece is getting a fun surprise donation in a few weeks! I can finally take stock of what I have and get excited again about using it.

I've also made another honest observation after seeing all the new MS punches coming out this spring--- a girl does not have to own EVERY SINGLE PUNCH. I love them, I really do, but I'm running out of space to store them. I think I'm also getting a little overwhelmed with the choices I currently have so I don't want to keep adding to it. I'm vowing to enjoy the plethora of punches I already own and STOP BUYING MORE. ( there are a TON of new border/corner ones coming out--at least 30 that I saw, not to enable or anything)

Here's a layout I did this week in the spirit of Valentine's (of course). Just wanted to do at least one using the MME LoveNest stack. I have some Valentine's projects/gifts I hope to finish this week using this paper and then I might just donate the rest. That's the problem with stacks sometimes. I get sick of creating with it after awhile. Note to self: STOP BUYING STACKS.

Other supplies used on this:
QK Gazebo
MS lattice heart
MS eyelet lace heart
MS scroll heart
QK label
MS doily heart lace
MS loopy hearts
Bazzill In-stitches
Cuttlebug embossing folders

I hope to post in a few days with some V-day cards. Enjoy your upcoming week!

My Martha addiction continues...

I can't help it. I LOVE Martha Stewart border punches. I went into Michael's yesterday just looking for ONE corner punch to go with one of the borders I bought a few weeks ago and BAM!--right there in front of me was the border/corner punch snowflake set from the holiday release ON CLEARANCE. Yep, that's right. It was the LAST one on the shelf and it was $4.99. There was NO way I was passing that deal by. I didn't want these punches at Christmas time. Really had no interest. But for $4.99--I think they'll be making their way onto a few cards and layouts this winter ;)

Speaking of Martha punches--here's a little birthday card I gave my mom a few weeks ago using the deep edge lattice punch. I'm a little ashamed to admit it, but I kinda forgot about making her a card until the last minute. These BG papers saved the day. I just used some Nesties and a couple punches (and of course some QK) and voila! It was done.AND on time.

I'm working away on a BUNCH of projects this week. I've got a layout in the works, some cute Valentines gifts and cards, and a MAJOR reorganization of my digital pics. Along with regular organizing of my scrap room, I'm making picture organization and backup a priority this year.

Hope everyone enjoys the weekend! Tomorrow's my birthday so I'm looking forward to a pampered LONG holiday weekend and some ME time!!!

Happy New Year everyone!

I hope everyone had a safe and fun New Year's Eve last night. Jeff and I spent the night watching hours of DVR'd shows to free up space and we were both crashed on the sofa before midnight. Guess you could say we must be getting old :).

I'm not one to make New Year's resolutions, but I woke up this morning with a renewed sense of purpose and direction for this next year. No big changes planned--just more focus on the things that matter most in my life. I intend to make those daily workouts at the gym really count. No more "oh, I'll just do 30 minutes today, I have a lot of things to take care of and can't really spend the time this morning". No more "I have plenty of time next weekend to work on that layout or that mini-album, but right now I have to vacuum". That means-- I have to work on better time management. Who doesn't, right? I think that's where my focus will be this year. Make the most of my time. You don't get it back. You don't get a do-over.

2009 was a turning point in our life. Jeff and I said goodbye to the Army when he retired in November after 20 years and one month of service. It was a stressful year. The transition from military life to the civilian world was a rough ride. It was a risky decision in a poor economy with so many unemployed. Thankfully, he has a new job working for a great bunch of people and we're finally starting to live the life we've dreamed about for so long. One with no fear of deployments, no fear of moving(at least not with just 30 days notice), and no lost time together.

I'm excited for what this new year holds for us. I'm gonna make every second count.

Here's hoping everyone embraces a new fresh start in 2010 and may you all have a productive, prosperous and happy year!

Merry Christmas!

I had a few minutes here to post this little gift card holder I finished just in the nick of time. This is the 'Peppermint' Quickutz mini-album dies from their holiday release this year. The cover is a KI Sheer Delights and the little cocoa mugs are punched from velvet paper with a Martha Stewart punch. All paper is the fabulous SEI WinterSong and I also used QK Sonja, Banana Split, and Nutmeg on the front cover.

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!