A Scrap Mom's Musings

2012-02-07T15:33:00.003-05:00

Today, I added some Page Tabs to the top of this blog. I'm slowly working on adding items to each page, but so far I have layouts and altered art (under My Gallery) as well as a bunch of Mini Albums pictures uploaded. If you're interested, just click on the page and take a look.

I'm off to work on my scraproom which hasn't been seen or touched in a week. Still have more to do before making a video of the completed room.

That's all for now. I'll post tomorrow.

Check Out This Great Giveaway!

2012-02-02T17:40:00.002-05:00

I want to share with you a wonderful giveaway over at Sharon's blog: "Sharon, the Night Owl Scrapper". Click HERE to check it out. She has a video on her blog as well as on YouTube explaining what you need to do to have a chance to win. Of course, my fingers are crossed (and toes as well!).

Aren't these goodies fantastic! I LOVE them! So, if you're interested, stop by her blog, check out the video for a chance to win. Also, check out the rest of her blog as well. Love her creations!

Thanks for stopping by, my friends.
Lori

Random Things To Share

2012-01-29T12:52:00.002-05:00

I mailed off two more swap items plus the teacup pincushions. All of these swaps were over at Your Paper Pantry. Love that site!

This was for the Flower Swap for January. The theme/challenge was to make them from tissue paper. We had to make three sets of four flowers and we'll get 12 different ones back. But, I goofed and made four sets of three flowers. I'm sure the hostess will fix it up for me.

Here is a video at YouTube of my black and white pages for the "Mini Me A Page" swap: http://youtu.be/aRwHRskfZMA

I thought that I had taken photos of the black and white pages, but I guess I didn't, so the video is the only way to show you what I made.

Also, on a sad note, we lost our cute little hamster, Coco, yesterday morning. She wasn't even quite 2 years old. Just a week ago, she was running around and acting normal and then all of sudden became sluggish, didn't eat or drink and finally passed away. She was a cutie and we'll miss her.

and, I'm still working on my scraproom. Today I plan on making a tableskirt from scraps of fabric that I've had for YEARS! That's about it for now. I'll share more soon.

Have a great day!

Teacup Pincushions to Share.....

2012-01-23T11:03:00.001-05:00

I just finished up these two cute little teacup pincushions for the "Sew Crafty" over at Your Paper Pantry. I still have to make the stick pin that's required to go with it, but thought I'd share what I've done so far. Have a look:

I added a Prima Rose, velveteen ribbon for 'leaves', a paper rose on the saucer as well as some feathers, bling and fringe around the edge of the cup.

Thanks for looking! They'll be going in the mail tomorrow. I'll be getting two different ones back in a week or so. Once I get them, you can be sure I'll be sharing them.

Wishing all of you a great day!

My Room Is Almost Done!

2012-01-19T11:09:00.001-05:00

My husband and I put up a 'ceiling' of sorts the other day using sheets. I think it came out pretty good! We don't have the money right now to put up a hung ceiling and I didn't feel comfortable sitting at my desk scrapping with the thought of dust, dirt, etc falling down on me. Plus it just didn't give the room a "completely" finished look. My poor hubby though has injured his fingers to the point of needing stitches (which he refused to get) all in the name of making me my own room. Ah, what a guy!

Once the ceiling was up, I started adding some decorative touches. I put an old sheet around a small table that I'll use for my Cricut, Cuttlebug and other machines. I plan on making a tableskirt for my big table out of scraps of fabric. My other 'to-do's' for the room is to make a curtain, hang layouts along the wall, add labels to all the drawers of the plastic units, and organize the rest of my stuff.

Here are more pictures:

This picture shows the 'ceiling'. Don't mind the ugly red floor.

This is what it looks like standing at the door coming into the basement

Another view of the back wall where I covered a table with a sheet. You can also see the 'ceiling' draped with sheets.

Looking toward the wall with the ugly red door.

The UGLY red floor and door are soon to be painted. ICK! But for now, it'll have to do.

A Nor'Easter Today

2012-01-12T11:21:00.002-05:00

This is what I woke up to this morning:

At this point, we had about 3 inches of snow, but it's still falling. We're supposed to get around 6 before it changes over to freezing rain/sleet---just plain yucky stuff! I'm glad I don't have to go to work today. I'm staying home in my jammies, blogging and working on my 'new' scrap room.

This is the view from my bedroom window:

It's a beautiful winter wonderland out there. I sent Zachery out to shovel----

Here's the backyard:

Farview Drive looking towards Curtis Lake Road

Farview Drive looking toward the slope and curve

I really shouldn't complain about the snow--it's the first real storm we've had all winter. We've had a very mild winter so far.

Enjoy your day, my friends!

"Building" A New Scrap Space

2012-01-07T12:29:00.002-05:00

We've been in our 'new' house for about 6 weeks now and we're getting settled in. I'm still unpacking boxes and putting things where they should be. Yesterday, I spent the day hanging pictures on my bedroom walls and hanging draperies. Also worked on the livingroom a bit as well. My biggest project though is my scraproom in the basement.

Because we moved, I no longer have the room that I once had. But, this time, it's bigger and everything is in one room. Before I had items in the basement, in my bedroom and of course, in the scrap room. My husband has been building shelves upon shelves and helping me organize.

My husband has been building lots of shelves for me which I need. I'm re-using old bookcases as well as parts of our old entertainment center. I'm using the two 'bookcases' that were on each end of the entertainment center because the middle section (where the TV would go) was trashed. I still have soooo much organizing to do, but I'll share some pictures of the before, during and once it's complete, the after.

Here's the before picture:

The basement already had this existing 'shelf' if that's what you want to call it, so my husband built upon this skeleton. The floor was already painted red, so I'm leaving like that for now. I took this picture before we moved in, when we were just looking at the house.

This is the opposite end (where my hubby's space will be). Straight ahead is the red door that goes upstairs into the garage.

Look at the first picture I posted and then at this. What a difference! 'Course, my room is a horrible mess, because I had to put all my scrapping stuff down here and we're working around it.

Yikes! What a mess! Hubby installed more shelves (the unit on the left).

This is standing at the oil burner looking over at the corner. Michael is working on the two shelves we salvaged from the entertainment center. Below is the "Before" picture:

And, here's another photo after a bit more work:

I'll have more pictures to follow soon. Thanks for looking.

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T21:53:00.000-05:00

Wishing all my followers a very happy new year. May it be healthy, prosperous and creative! I don't do resolutions as they've always failed in the past. I only pray for my father to stay as well as expected and that his health doesn't deteriorate any further. I only want my family to be healthy and happy. Wishing you the best for 2012!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

2011-12-24T14:38:00.000-05:00

To All My Followers:

I want to take this opportunity, especially this time of year, to thank each and every one of you for being a follower. I know some of you probably just peek in once in awhile to see what's happening, others leave messages, and some have found inspiration. For this, I want to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year. If you're driving, be safe. If you're drinking, do so with care, and most of all, enjoy the time you have with your family and friends--for they are the best gift of all! And remember.....

The Reason for the Season

Wishing all of you the Merriest and Brightest of Christmases!
Lori

Paper Crafted ornaments to share

2011-12-22T20:41:00.004-05:00

I am linking up today at Pandora's Craft Box Link Party.--http://www.pandoras-craftbox.com. This week's theme is all about projects we've been working on. Well I made some ornaments for a craft fair a month ago that I'd like to share. Most of these are now hanging on my tree. I can't take credit for these birdhouse ornaments though. These were designed by Marion Smith over at A Piece of Craft dot com. She does sell the template for a few dollars.

I love birdhouses and these were a perfect addition to my tree.

I also made some pinecone ornaments that I plan on giving to my sisters and my mom with their gifts. Each year I try to give them a homemade ornament.

These pinecone ornaments are not difficult to make, just time-consuming. If you want to make these, check out my tutorial here: http://scrapmomsmusings.blogspot.com/2011/12/tutorial-paper-pinecone-ornament.html I hope you enjoyed my projects for this week. Thanks for stopping by. Please stop by Pandora's Craft Box for some inspiration.

Another Special Order Mini is Complete!

2011-12-21T20:40:00.002-05:00

I finally finished the special-order mini album that a customer ordered from me a couple of months back. She wanted a spring themed mini album for her niece who gardens. I had created a Spring mini back in April and she had seen it on YT. She loved it so much that she wanted me to replicate it. Unfortunately, I couldn't do that, but I do believe she and her niece will be happy with what I've made. Because there are so many pictures, I made a slideshow of it. It's not on YT because I had to get it in the mail and wasn't quite used to making videos on my new camera. I hope you like this mini. Enjoy!

"Bloom" Mini Album - slideshows

Thought I'd Share My Gingerbread Kitchen

2011-12-21T16:40:00.001-05:00

Here it is only 4 days before Christmas and I'm still decorating! I love decorating for Christmas and if I could get away with it, I'd be decorating right up to Christmas Eve. My husband, of course, thinks it's too much, but oh well. We just moved into our house about 3 weeks ago. Our kitchen is not updated, but that'll change in a few years (fingers crossed). For now, though, it'll do. Enjoy!

This is my gingerbread garland along with gingerbread ornaments that hangs above my sink. The gingerbread men are hard to see against the fabric, so you might have to look real close.

I have a VERY small kitchen with very limited counter space. This is the corner which is pretty much 'dead space', so I decorated it with a gingerbread serving tray, striped candles, some old Avon gingerbread ornies, a soft cloth gingerbread angel, whimsy style place mats and some gingerbread S&P shakers. Oh, and I hung gingerbread ornies from the cupboard handles.

Here's a close-up on part of the corner (above)

I even decorate my stove top! Here are 2 gingerbread S&P shakers with chef hats and a gingerbread warmer. I just bought the soft gingerbread boy and girl at Target. I did a simple garland with more gingerbread men.

Here are some closeups:

Well, that's it. I'm done with the decorating until next year.

2011-12-20T23:45:00.001-05:00

I haven't participated in a "Meet Me On Monday" question and answer post in a very long time. So, I decided I should do one now--although it's 2 days late.   This is a weekly 'linky' 'get to know you party' sort of thing done each Monday and hosted by "Never Growing Old" blog. Normally there are 5 questions that are posted on a Sunday for bloggers to answer and post on Mondays. This week, though there'll be 15. wow!

So, let's get to it, shall we?

Questions:
1.Wrapping paper or gift bags?   Both--it all depends on the gift
2.Real or artificial tree?   Real. Every year, we go out and cut one down.
3.When do you put your tree up?   About 2 weeks before Christmas
4.When do you take your tree down? New Year's Eve
5.Do you like eggnog?    No
6.Do you have a nativity scene? Yes--I've had it for 26 years. I can't imagine Christmas without it!
7.Favorite Christmas Movie?   It's A Wonderful Life
8.Favorite Christmas cookie?   Chocolate Crinkles
9.Where will you eat Christmas dinner?   We have dinner (1:00) at my sister-in-law's and then we travel to my parents and have a buffet.
10.Angel, bow or star on top of your tree?   Angel
11.Most annoying thing about this time of the year?   Rudeness
12.Do you like Fruitcake?   Ewww! No!
13.What are you most excited about the holidays? Opening gifts and visiting family
14.Do you open presents Christmas Eve or Christmas Morning? Christmas Morning
15.Will you still be wrapping presents on Christmas Eve?   Most likely, but I hope not

If you want to play along, head on over to Never Growing Old HERE

thanks for getting to know me.

I've Updated My Christmas Decor

2011-12-18T23:45:00.000-05:00

I decided to change things up a bit since Wednesday (see previous post), so here are some new photos of my (now finished) Christmas decor. Hope you like what I've done.

I added more snowmen, Santas and rearranged a few things.

This is my hutch before: (very blah)

Then I added some more snowmen, rearranged others:

and then I added some snowflakes:

Below is a tray on my antique trunk that serves as a coffee table. It's filled with ornaments, a candle and pinecones.

The hearth is updated:

I think that's about it.....for now. I'm hoping to decorate the kitchen and dining area with a gingerbread theme. Hope you'll stop by later to see what I've done.

Happy Holidays!

Tutorial: Paper Pinecone Ornament

2011-12-17T23:56:00.005-05:00

I originally posted this back in 2009 and thought I'd repost. These make wonderful gifts for teachers, friends, co-workers, neighbors or even for yourself! Have fun!

Here are instructions on how to create a Pinecone Ornament.
Materials:
* One (1) 12x12 sheet of patterned paper
* One 3" styrofoam egg
* 18" length of ribbon to match (not shown)
* Dressmakers Pins--also known as bridal or lace pins or even 'common' pins
* Glue Gun
* 12 inch cutter
* Assorted greenery, faux berries, faux pearls, or other embellishments (optional)

1. Start by cutting your pattern paper into 1" strips (1" x 12").

2. Trim those strips into 1 inch pieces. Each piece should measure 1"x1". You will use most, if not all, these pieces depending on how tight you layer your pieces.

3. Next, take your 1 inch squares and fold in the two edges of one side to create a triangle. There should be about a half inch, perhaps slightly less, on the opposite side. I fold all my squares so when I start layering, I'll have plenty.

4. Now you're ready to place these triangles onto the styrofoam egg. Tip the egg so the narrowest part is facing up. Place two triangles with the tips touching at the base and pin in place using the dressmaker pins. You want to place the pins near the very edge and at the corners so they're hidden by the next layer. Next, add two more triangles at the tip to create your first 'row'. See photo below.

5. Continue to layer the pieces, overlapping the triangles as you go around the egg. Make sure you're covering up the pins from the previous row.

6. Keep layering the pieces, as in step 5, and continue in this circular movement until you reach the 'bottom' of the egg, which once decorated is actually the 'top' of the egg, but for layering purposes, I'm calling it the bottom....for now.

This is how it should look:

7. The top might be a bit confusing, but just pin the triangles on until there isn't any white showing. Don't worry about the pins being exposed on the top--these will be covered up by the ribbon and embellishments.
8. Cut your length of ribbon into one 8 inch piece and two 5 inch pieces.

9. Make a large loop using the 8 inch piece and pin the ends to the center of the egg as shown. This is the loop that will be used to hang the ornament.

10. Make 2 smaller loops with the 5 inch pieces, criss-crossing them in the center of the loop and pinning in place.

11. Using the glue gun, add your greenery, faux berries, and other embellishments if you choose. I do this because I think it adds more elegance to the ornament. Have fun with creating your ornament and make it as personal as you like. Put your personality into it.
Here is an example of the finished ornament:

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. If you have any questions, please contact me via email or leave a comment.

I'm linking up to these parties:
DIY Home Sweet Home : More the Merrier Monday #41
A Fish Who Likes Flowers: Help Save My Christmas Spirit
Craft Junkie Too: TGIF Linky Party #36

My Christmas Tree and Mantel

2011-12-14T21:37:00.000-05:00

Hello friends,

I thought I'd share some pictures of my Christmas tree and mantel. First of all, this is the smallest tree we've had in a very long time. There's only so much space in my living room now that we've moved, so we had to get a smaller tree. It's also scrawnier. This tree was not my first choice when we were hunting for a tree last Saturday. I wanted to walk through more fields and find the perfect tree, but hubby and the kids out-voted me. So this little tree came home with us.

Now that it's decorated, it doesn't look too bad at all! My tree is an odd assortment of ornaments that tell a special story of our family through 27 years of marriage. Of course, some of the ornaments are alot older! The Santa (below) was made by me when I was 11 years old. It's the oldest and most treasured ornament I own.

Here are some birdhouses I made this year. The tutorial is from Marion Smith over at A Piece of Craft dot com.

What I was more excited to decorate this year was the mantel. I've never had a fireplace before and I've always admired the beautiful mantels I've seen in mags and on line. I have a very long mantel--9 feet! So, it can be difficult. This is what I did, but I need your input. Is it too much? Should I just do a smaller area with fewer decorations? I plan on adding lights to my greenery in the basket over the weekend. I also want to put up a wreath over the fireplace.

So far this is as far as I've gotten with my decorating. Considering we've only been in the house for two weeks, I haven't done too bad! Thanks for stopping by.

Wishing a great day (or night)

Christmas Decor Photos soon to be posted

2011-12-14T12:49:00.000-05:00

I've been so darn busy decorating, shopping, unpacking boxes from our move and just recently feeling blah because of a head cold. So, I've been taking pictures of our tree and decorated mantel but I'm having difficulty uploading them as I have a new camera that the printer doesn't recognize. I load the SD card into the card reader and the printer will say: "Memory Card Error". Now, it's off to the manual to see what else to do.

So, I hope you'll stop by soon to take a look at our tree and mantel. Have a great day, my friends!

We're In The House, but It's Chaos!

2011-12-03T21:52:00.000-05:00

Hello friends,
we have officially moved into the house. We moved last Sunday but because we didn't rent a typical moving van, we used my car, my husband's car, my daughter's boyfriend's trailer and his truck and my brother-in-law's truck. Now that sounds as though we had a lot of vehicles to move all our stuff and most likely get it done in a day, right? .......wrong!
We didn't completely finish moving until Wednesday. I can't believe how much stuff we had to move! I was even putting things I knew I wouldn't use out front with a big FREE sign. We got rid of 3 TV's--they were a few years old and working, but we wanted to update to flatscreen digi TV's. Those TV's were gone in 5 minutes. I also got rid of a baby changing table, an end table, a bureau and loads of little things. And, I had a microwave that was 25 years old---still works too and that was gone within a few seconds of putting it out there.

Anyway, we're now in the house and are slowly getting things organized. Normally at this time of year, I'd be decorating, but I'm so busy putting things in order that decorating for Christmas is on hold for about a week. I just wanted to update all of you on why I've been MIA. I'll be posting again in a few days.

Tomorrow is the Big Day!

2011-11-22T20:56:00.000-05:00

I'm so excited! Tomorrow at 11:00 a.m., my husband and I will be closing on our house. I can't wait!! I was in there today cleaning, but there's still alot more to do plus painting. The house has been empty for several months so it definitely needs a good cleaning. I've been busy packing as well, but am close to running out of boxes. I need to find some----fast! So, if I'm not around for awhile, you 'll know why. My husband and I will be working on the interior until Sunday when we move all the 'big stuff'. We're down-sizing and it's difficult to get rid of stuff that I've accumulated over the years, but it needs to be done.

Here's a picture of our home:

Here's a view from the driveway:

Once the house is clean and decorated, I'll share more pictures. Well, that's it for now. I'm off to pack.

Two Day Craft Fair and I'm Packing to Move to my new home!

2011-11-21T20:34:00.000-05:00

I spent my weekend working at the Alfred Elementary School Holiday Craft Fair. Saturday had alot of customers and I had sooo many people state how much they loved my pinecone ornies, but not one of them sold. I was selling them for $12.00 which I thought was a reasonable price, but evidently potential customers thought it was too much money. Here's what they look like:

I also sold one birdhouse ornament. Credit for these cute little ornies goes to Marion Smith of A Piece of Craft Dot Com. You can purchase the template off her blog.

I also made some Explosion Box ornies:

My daughter also made up some packets of Snowman Soup, chocolate-dipped pretzels and bags of mixed candy for stocking stuffers. She did quite well selling these:

The biggest seller were my notebook pads. These were a real hit with the teens and pre-teen girls. The previous weekend during a show, I had a lady buy 5 of them as gifts for her 'club'.

Sorry the above picture is sideways, but blogger won't put it in the right direction.

Now I'm busy packing for our move this coming weekend. We're closing on Wednesday, November 23rd and I'm excited. I've been packing all my scrapping stuff today and let me tell you----I'm not even 1/4 of the way done! Here's a look at my room:

above is a photo of my room before taken in July

below is my room today---what a mess!

This is where I sit and create (most of the time)

Below is what the area looks like right now:

This picture was back in July.

Here it is today:

I am just so overwhelmed (and interrupted quite a bit) that I get frustrated. I keep moving things from one spot to another, making it look worse. Oh well, it'll get done. It's been 4 years since I've had to move, but I'm looking forward to it.

Have a great day, my friends!

One Craft Fair Down, One More to Go!

2011-11-14T09:49:00.000-05:00

Hello friends,
I have soooo busy finishing up projects for "The Holiday Market Fair" held at Absolutely Everything in Topsfield, Mass. yesterday. I had fun and enjoyed listening to people admire my work. It did my heart good. There were other wonderful crafters there as well and I wanted to spend all the money I made on their stuff, but I had to resist. I did take a few pictures, but I forgot to take pictures of some of the items I made . So, here's my table:

That's my daughter sitting there. She helps me out plus she's my scrapping partner!

And below are some pictures of my favorite store---"Absolutely Everything!" (did I say how much I LOVE that store?!)

Below is the Inspiration Wall: This wall displays projects of upcoming classes and what you can create with items purchased at the store.

Look at the store sign above. Isn't it awesome! Every letter is cut from a license plate! So unusual and wonderful! Kate has all kinds of creative items hanging around her store. It is truly an inspirational store.

Well, that's all I have to share for today. Do stop by again.

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T18:13:00.000-04:00

Halloween is not a holiday that I go all out for, but I do love to see the various costumes. I'm usually working, but tonight I'm home. It's so fun to see what people have come up with for costumes using their own creativity.

This year my daughter was supposed to go to a Halloween Party, but it was cancelled due the freak snowstorm we got on Saturday. So, tonight she's dressing up in her "Bee" costume to hand out candy.

My daughter, Jaclyn, is a blonde, but tonight we sprayed her hair black, painted her face black and had her put on over-sized 'bug' glasses. I thought it was toooooo cute! Here's an even better photo.

Well, here's wishing you a Happy and Safe Halloween.

Snow and Pumpkins

2011-10-30T11:00:00.000-04:00

I can not believe that we got nearly a foot of snow overnight! According to the Weather Bureau, the Northeast hasn't had snow this early since 1898! And, it's a heavy, wet snow which makes shoveling difficult. After today, the temps should be in the high 50's so the snow won't be sticking around too long. Here's Zachery shoveling the nasty stuff. (Can you tell I don't like snow!)

This morning, my daughter, made sugar cookies coated with spooky sprinkles

and she also carved her pumpkin to set out on the steps for Halloween night. It's a simple pumpkin which is okay. I, personally, think he's kinda cute!

And, in a few hours I'm off to work--my last day for awhile. Then it's back to packing and getting everything in order for moving day. Yippee!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

So Busy---but it's a good busy!

2011-10-25T17:58:00.000-04:00

Hello friends,

Just a post to let all of you know that I'm very busy finalizing all the 'stuff' that has to be done when purchasing a house. I can't believe how different it is now than it was 18 years ago when we bought one. I think it's more complicated now because it's a HUD owned home. There are alot more stipulations, rules and regulations compared to buying a house that is currently occupied. I'm getting excited though. Last week was a tough week because we thought we might not be getting the house.   I haven't slept well, either, in probably two weeks. I'm packing slow but sure as I get boxes from work. I'm also busy as a bee with completing swaps that are late as of today. Too much to do with so little time.

Buying a house can be so.....stressful with feelings ranging from confusing to anxiety to meloncholy (leaving the place we've been in for almost 4 years) to excitement and joy. Some days my husband and I are fighting over stupid stuff then we're hugging.   Ah, the joys of home ownership.    We'll be down-sizing big time and that's hard for me as well. I really have to put my mind on the fact that I can't drag boxes and boxes of stuff with me that I haven't used in years.   My oldest daughter who's living with her boyfriend also has to come over and pack her personal belongings and take them with her. We just won't have the rooom anymore.   I'll still have my own personal scrap space but it'll be in the basement. My husband is going to put up wall to wall shelves, pegboards, etc. It'll probably take a few months to complete so in the meantime, I'll be scrapping in the bedroom or on the dining room table. Oh well. It'll be worth it in the end.

I plan on making some vids for YouTube tomorrow and will share them here as well. At this point, all I ask is that you send up prayers for us. If I'm not posting as often, you'll know why.

Well, I'm off to pack......

We Got The House!!!

2011-10-11T21:11:00.000-04:00

I am so excited. I'm not sure if I even posted that we were looking to buy a house. My husband and I have looked at soooo many houses and each one had something wrong with it or the seller wouldn't accept our offer, etc. Well, last week, on the 4th, we put in a bid on a cute little ranch in town here, hoping and praying that we would get it. This house is a HUD listed home which means that it's open to all 50 states and would-be buyers could bid on line for it. Michael and I decided to put in a bid, hoping and praying that our bid would be accepted. The bids were to be closed on October 8th by midnight, but when I went to the site to see what was happening, I saw that the corporation handling the bids, was still accepting them. I couldn't believe it! So, now I'm figuring that ours wasn't accepted and that we'll have to continue looking. Well....

this morning, my husband decided that if we didn't get this house, that he wasn't going to look anymore--it was too emotionally exhausting to see homes we liked and not be able to get our offers accepted. Not 15 minutes went by that our friend, Karen, the realtor helping us find a house, called to say that we had gotten the house. I was stunned. I was shocked! I thought it was a joke! I even asked her that. She said, No, it wasn't a joke--that the house was ours. My daughter was jumping up and down and hootin' and a hollerin', she was so excited. My husband just sat at the table, not doing or saying anything. I think he thought it was all a joke.

I kept telling myself to have faith. Faith moves mountains. I had to trust in God that this place would be ours if he willed it so. I am telling you----Faith is a wonderful thing. GOD is listening! I thank God for giving us this house and starting us on a new journey.

Now, I need to start packing. We're not sure of the closing date, but it should be within a couple of weeks.

Here are some photos of the house:

I thank all of you who prayed for me and my family. I really appreciate it.

My Newest Travelogue to Share

2011-10-05T20:41:00.002-04:00

Hello everyone! I just completed my newest travelogue--my third one--which was also mailed out today. I am a Team Leader for Team Lori over at Your Paper Pantry. There are several teams going on right now and new teams always forming. Each team is made up of 6 members including the Team Leader. Each girl decides on a theme and creates a mini album with a welcome page, an instruction page, a sign in page and her own two page (or more) 'layout'. She adds enough pages for the rest of the team to create their pages. It takes about six months before the travelogue gets back to its owner.

My last two travelogues were "My Artistic Self" (very steam-punky) and my second one which is due back any time now is "What's Cookin'" . My theme this time around is "Classic Movies" which I just love!

Here are some pics to share with you:

And, here's the YouTube video:

Thanks for stopping by and looking at what I've been working on. Come back soon as I'll have more!

Some Mini Albums to Share!

2011-10-04T11:12:00.002-04:00

I have some mini's to share with you. I finally completed the special-order baby mini that was for a shower last Saturday. From what I hear, everyone just loved it!!! Here are some photos:

This diaper bag was made from a Priority Mail box (free at the post office) and covered in fabric purchased at Joanne's. The handles are made from grungeboard for flexibility. The parents-to-be are expecting a little boy and the nursery is Monkey themed, so this fabric was perfect.

This is the inside of the diaper bag showing the binding of the mini album.

This shows the side using grungeboard that is flexible, yet strong. I covered the handles and sides with the same fabric. I wanted something for the edges but didn't want it to look too girly, so I found this yellow trim which worked perfect for this project.

and here is the cover of the mini album. This is my version of a "Flip-Flap" mini made entirely from cardstock. The only chipboard in the whole mini are the covers. I might (might) do a tutorial on this in the future. It's quite thick. The purpose of the mini was to show off photos of mom and dad and infants up to 2 years of age with a photo of their baby in the center.

This is dad as a newborn. The flip out piece has a poem on it. I had to keep the embellies simple and somewhat flat or else the flaps wouldn't close properly.

This shows the flap opened with a photo of mom as a baby. The center piece is for their baby.

Between the flip-flaps is a double page for more photos. Here, I added a copy of the baby shower invitation.

Here's dad at three months. The flap has a poem and a photo mat. I created the album in portions of 3 months: newborn, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, etc up to 2 years.

Here is another double page between flaps. This mini has lots of room for plenty of photos. I'm not going to share each and every page as they're all basically the same. I just wanted to give you an idea of how it was put together. I do have a video on YouTube which can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/user/loridee21?feature=mhee

This is the inside of the diaper bag without the mini album. All rough edges of fabric were covered with brown ribbon.

This shows the thickness of the mini album. It's the thickest mini I've ever made.

And here is the back of the mini. Very simple. I should've added my name. Oops.

Now for the other mini album-----this was made by my daughter, Valerie. She doesn't scrap as much as me, but considering that, she did a wonderful job. I helped out a bit, but she did about 90% of the work.

The baby's name is Colin and Valerie created this mini in keeping with the Monkey/Jungle theme of the room. This mini is made from paper bags with canvas on the binding. The tutorial for this is on Laura Denison's YT channel. Instead of adding a caption to each page which is pretty much self-explanatory, I'll just post all the pictures. Enjoy!

So, those are the two recent minis I wanted to share. I also have a mini that I'll be posting on here either today or tomorrow that's for a swap over at Your Paper Pantry. I have alot of projects I'm working on, so I'll post when I can. Thanks for stopping by, my friends!

Wishing you a great day!

Today is a tragically sad day

2011-09-24T12:10:00.000-04:00

How do you accept the loss of a child? How do you stay strong when your little one is gone? Why would God take such an innocent child before she even had the chance to really live?

I have asked so many questions on why a little baby was taken away from her loving parents last Monday. Isabella was only 3 months old. And she died of SIDS. I have never met this baby, but I know the family through my daughter who is dating a man who is a cousin to the father of the baby. Isabella was napping while her aunt babysat and mom was at work. She was discovered at 4:00 in the afternoon by both aunt and mom. She had a blanket by her nose and mouth and the autopsy showed that she had suffocated. Isabella was at the age where she was learning to roll over and was putting things in her mouth. Evidently there was a blanket in the crib and she brought it up to her face but couldn't take it off. By the time the aunt checked on her, she was gone. When I heard about this Monday night when I got home from work, I was so heart sick!   I want to yell to parents of infants to NOT put blankets, stuffed animals, bumper pads, etc in their cribs. It doesn't take much for a baby to stop breathing.

So, this morning at 10:00, I went to the wake. The family chose to have an open casket and there was little Isabella lying in this tiny white coffin. It was so horribly sad. My daughter and the sister-in-law put together some 'posters' displaying all the photos of her. There were so many! She was such an adorable baby--very happy, very healthy. Although I didn't know the baby personally, I just couldn't stop crying. Mom and Dad were doing quite well considering what they've been through this past week.   There were a few photos of Isabella sitting in an apple tree (with mom's help of course) last Saturday. She was full of smiles. Who would think that a week later, people would be at her funeral.   I try not to blame God. I try not to question why He does what He does, but sometimes, I just do.

I ask that you pray for this family that God will give them strength to endure the heartache on the loss of baby Isabella. And, hug your babies.

Wishing you God's Blessings today.....

My Parents Have A Brand New Baby!

2011-09-13T13:15:00.002-04:00

And it's a boy! Now, seeing as my parents are in their 70's, it would be a bit difficult for them to be parents of a baby at least of the human kind. What I'm referring to is their newest addition to the family:

His name is Thumper because he has such big feet and when he runs or comes down the stairs, he sounds like he's thumping. He's an orange tabby and is just adorable! I believe he's 3 months old. I took tons of pictures to send to my parents because neither one of them have a working camera!

Here are some other pics of Thumper:

Now I have to make a Cat Mini Album. Ah, I love another reason to create.

Anyway, on another note, my daughter and I went to a bridal shower on Sunday (9-11-11) and the theme was "Breakfast at Tiffany's". We had to dress up as Audrey Hepburn in the movie--black dress, sunglasses and big hats. So here I am dressed in my best:

Sorry for the blurriness. My daughter tends to move the camera as she's taking the picture. The shower was held at the Clipper Merchant Tea House in Limerick Maine. What a nice place to have tea and finger sandwiches with friends. I never saw so many teacups in one place!

This is a vintage wedding gown worn by the lady of the house back in the 1800's. The house was loaded with antiques and each room had a theme. The room behind the room I was in and behind the gown was "The China Room", named for the daughter the owners adopted in China. It has 2 tables for 2 people, so it's very small and every inch is decorated in items from China.

This room had a feel of Presidents about it, seeing that all the photographs and paintings around the room were of past Presidents. The rooms were so nice, that my daughter and I couldn't decide where to sit!

This is the "Tartan Room"--I think in memory of their Scottish ancestors.

And below is the Bride To Be! Sarah who is soon to be the daughter-in-law of one of my closest friends:

My plate of goodies:

And here's the quaint little tea house from the outside:

And below are all the ladies who attended Tea:

Thanks for looking and I hope you'll come back again to see some of my latest creations that have kept me so busy and away from my blog.

Have a great day!

Wow! What a Busy Summer.....

2011-09-03T10:25:00.000-04:00

and I'm going to miss it. It has just flown by. Of course, living in New England, summer is a very short season so we enjoy it as much as we can. Already our leaves are changing and the nights are cooler. I do love Fall as well, but that only means that winter is around the corner and I DON"T like winter--at all!

But, besides that, I've been a busy gal. I've been camping this summer, working on several projects, completing swaps, working and just recently.....broke my right foot! Yup, I figured I had to do one last thing before the summer ended.   Just kidding!   I broke it 2 weeks ago heading off to work at 2:15 pm---stepped onto the slate walkway when my shoe (Crocs) hit the angle of a slate just right and my foot "rolled".   Man, did it hurt! I went down with tears in my eyes. I thought it was just sprained, so I hobbled into the house, put on a pair of sneakers and went to work.

Now, my job requires a tremendous amount of walking, standing, pushing, pulling, twisting and turning. I'm a certified nursing assistant. I tell you, my foot swelled up, was an awful shade of black and blue and hurt like Hell! I asked to leave twice....but I was denied because those in charge didn't think it looked that bad.   W-H-A-T!! So, by 9:45 pm, I had had it, so I drove to the ER (about a half hour from work) and had it X-Rayed. Sure enough, it was broken. I knew it! I should've gone right to the ER when it happened. When the doctor found out it had happened 8 hours previously he wasn't happy. Not with me, but with my supervisor. So, I'm now in a "Frankenstein boot" hobbling around. I was out of work for a week, but am back now. I am restricted, although that's a joke as it doesn't work out.

Meanwhile, I'm busy working on swaps (which were late), working on a new travelogue, starting and completing special orders, and doing my best to stay organized. My husband and I are also looking for a house, so we've been really busy with that as well. I've spent the last 3 weeks looking at so many houses! We put an offer in on one just the other day and I'm hoping and praying that it's accepted. So, if you feel obliged, please say a prayer to the Almighty that we get this house. Thank you from the bottom of my heart if you do.

So, here are some photos of some journal spots I made for the Journal Me This Spot group over at Your Paper Pantry (I just LOVE that place!).   If you're not a member (only $12 a year), please stop by---it is so much fun with so many fantastic groups--there's something for everyone there!   I tossed aside the first ones I made. We were to use certain paper lines--October Afternoon, Sassafrass Lass or Cosmo Cricket. I used scraps of OA and CC. The theme was "kids, bikes and bruised knees", in other words, we had to make journal spots in a retro kids style.  Not sure how they'll go over by the recipients, but these are what I came up with:

Thanks for looking!

Our First Family Reunion in 27 years!

2011-08-20T10:41:00.000-04:00

It's been 27 years since our last reunion. Alot of family members have passed away, some have moved away, new ones have been born and we've all gotten quite a bit older. I'm heading out to Hudson, NH to see family that I haven't seen in a very long time. I'm not even sure if I'll recognize anyone! I was newly married and newly pregnant during the last reunion, so it'll be quite interesting. I'll be taking lots and lots of photos and will share tomorrow (maybe tonight, depending on when I get home).

Wishing you a great day,

I've Been MIA!

2011-08-13T21:43:00.001-04:00

I'm sorry I haven't posted in nearly 3 weeks. I had to finish up a custom order and was also on vacation, so I didn't do much scrapping. My husband and I are also looking into buying another house and so I've been house-hunting as well. I'm just so busy lately! I also have several swaps that I need to finish up within the next few days. I'll be making some videos so I hope you'll stop by here or go to my YouTube page and check them out.

Be patient as I'll have more things to share soon.

More Creations to Share With You!

2011-07-25T18:00:00.002-04:00

Hello,
I just finished and mailed off the special order 50th Anniversary Beach Mini Album. It took up all my free time but it's done. It's the biggest mini I've ever created--9"x 10 1/2"! I really hope the recipients like it--better yet--that they LOVE it! I also made 2 notepad holders and 2 purse minis that the buyer wants to use for gift cards. So, they are now enroute to a new home where I hope my creations are well cared for and appreciated.

Here's the video of the Beach Mini, Part 1:

And here's Part 2:

And, here are the two notepad holders:

And, here are the two purse minis:

Here is the inside of the Blue Purse:

And the inside of the Brown Purse

If anyone wants me to do a tutorial on the Purse Minis, please let me know. I'm now working on some pages for two travelogues and hope to get those uploaded soon as well. Thanks for looking!

Welcome to the 3rd Annual "Where Bloggers Create" Blog Party!

2011-07-15T11:36:00.005-04:00

Hello fellow bloggers and crafters,

Today is the day that Karen Valentine, over at My Desert Cottage, is putting on this blog hop for crafters to show off their crafty spaces whether it be a dining room, a closet, a corner of the living room, the kitchen table or a room of their own. I've been waiting an entire year to do this again! This party is for us to share our 'little bit of heaven' and share with all of you where it all happens. It might seem to some of you that I have alot of stuff but, I'm not the only one scrapping here. My youngest daughter, Jaclyn who's 23, scraps with me, hence the amount of stuff we own. Pssst, she also has more money to buy scrappy goodness and I get to use it!

This is my second year attending. Before we start, let me tell you that I'm an obsessed scrapper, a paper affaciando, an amateur photographer and a collector of eclectic items that touch my heart and soul. This is a long post, only because I can't seem to not show everything in my room. I hope you won't mind.

I've been scrapping for 13 years and I just love it! My obsession at the moment is mini albums--all sorts. I spend hours in here when I'm not working or cleaning the house. I invite you to take the tour:

My room hasn't changed a whole lot since last year, but I did want to share it again with those who may not have seen it last year. Some things have been removed, other items added and some have been moved from one spot to another. My creative space is always changing to suit my mood at the moment. My room isn't big at all. It's only approx. 12'x9'. I'm limited to moving things because it has 2 built in wall units, a radiator under the picture window in front of my desk and the 2 French doors.

My room isn't fancy or huge nor has all the bells and whistles that you might find in other rooms. It certainly wouldn't qualify for Better Homes and Gardens or be on the cover of "Where Women Create", but to me, it's my haven--my place of inspiration--the place where I create and am fulfilled. As you tour my scrap room, you'll see that I've added touches of teddy bears, handmade soft dolls, old cameras, items I've received from swaps, and other items that hold some sentimental value and I believe add character to my room.

So, without further adieu, here is my room. I hope you enjoy the 'tour'.

These are the French doors that open up into my scraproom. My room is off of the livingroom. It faces the side yard as well as the main street.

Let's start the 'tour' by looking around the room from left to right in a clock-wise direction.

These bookshelves are to the left as you walk in. These shelves are filled with patterned paper that would've fit on the paper racks. Plastic boxes are covered with paper and hold chipboard. I have a ton of chipboard. The bottom two shelves hold my and my daughters (she scraps with me) page kits (incomplete ones).

The tall narrow white bookcase holds an assortment of things from unfinished minis to CD's. This paper rack holds my cardstock sorted in ROYGBIV. Other slots hold themed paper (baby, vintage, holidays, seasons, etc). I've used many systems over the years and this works the best for me. To the right of the paper rack is my computer desk.

This is where I blog and meet people like you who inspire and encourage me. The top of the desk holds my printer and scanner. I 'decorated' my scanner and printer with a vintage style tea-dyed doll, an altered tray received in a swap over at Your Paper Pantry. The printer holds a box inspired by Laura Denison over at Following the Paper Trail along with another swap item from YPP. I love to display my swap items.

These are mini's that need more work and sit on top of the paper rack that I just showed.

This is a vintage suitcase bought at a yardsale that sits on top of the white bookcase (shown above) that hold my stencils. A cloth doll, vintage books and a couple of out-dated cameras sit up here as well.

A close up of the items sitting on top of the computer desk. I love having items like these around me as I create.

A different view of the paper rack and the narrow bookcase.

Sorry for the blurred photo. This is to the right of my desk. The cage is home to our hamster, Coco shown below:

This unit holds all my blank chipboard, mostly minis. The metal stand holds containers found at yards sales. The tin coffee pot hold colored pencils, the planter holds decorative scissors and the bottom glass jar hold trimmer blades and other small items.

This is a build-in book case to the left of the window. This is also to the right of my desk. This was one of the features when we came to look at the house, that made me decide we had to live here so I could use this room as my scrap room. My husband wanted it as a bedroom, but I put my foot down. This unit holds so much! The top shelf holds a box of K&co. stickers and embellies;, another holds Lisa Bearnson foam stamps. The top is decorated with items purchased at yard sales. The second shelf down holds a box of tags received from many swaps over the years; another box holds items for the Book of Me I've yet to make; another holds small paper packs and another some items for altering. The third shelf hold boxes and boxes of stamps from acrylic to wood. The fourth shelf has everything from tags, paper piecings, rubons, and miscell. embellies. Other shelves hold photos, stickers, computer stuff and sheets of chipboard and packs of cardstock.

If you look closely you'll see that all the 'boxes' (which are the containers from the Sterilite units bought at Walmart) are covered with patterned paper. That's because I couldn't stand to see the 'innards' of the boxes. As long as the boxes are labeled, then I know where to find things. Some people need to see where all their stuff is, but it was to much for me.

This wooden rack was bought at a yard sale. I'm not sure what it's original intent was, but I keep all the inks that I use 90% of the time here. Other inks are stored elsewhere.

The vintage style birdhouse that hangs above the window seat.

This is the 'window seat' that faces the side yard. The seat holds all the minis I've received from swaps over the last year or so. I just LOVE mini albums! The bottom space is where I store my sewing machine, my sewing box along with a box that holds patterns, a cloth doll, a book on vintage scrapping and a small cabinet bought at a yard sale that displays tiny teddy bears and minature items. If you were standing at the French doors looking in, this is what you would face.

Sorry it's a bit blurred. This is to the right of the window seat. This book case holds tons of stuff stored in an assortment of Sterilite containters. The 'stuff" I refer to ranges from themed embellies, buttons, flowers, paints, vintage embellies, glitter, floss, inks, fibers, etc. I have small tags on most of them so I know where to find things. I used a rose garland to decorate the top edges of my book cases and the valances.

The baskets holding SOME of my ribbon, were once used to hold my 9x13 Pyrex baking dishes. I decided they were more useful for storing my ribbon.

I have to label most of the drawers. These small ones hold themed embellies.

Just a small sampling of my flowers.

This is to the right of the doorway. This is the desk that I create at, if it's not too messy! I added another bookcase (see below) and two more of the Sterilite units. These units hold ribbon, wooden embellies, punches, etc. The baskets (see photos below) hold more embellies. One stores letter and word stickers and rubons. The other holds a wide assortment of paper embellies. I store them this way because I just like to look at them.

This is my desk which won't stay clean for long! It faces the porch and Main Street.

To the right of the desk sits these items: Stickles, Xyron, a vintage style suitcase that hold all kinds of Tim Holtz items. The small box with the bird stores small tools.

This is a vintage sewing box that stores lace--some vintage and others that look and feel very vintage. The cover of the sewing box displays two bracelets that a friend of mine made from vintage type-writer keys.

Assorted tools

I use items found at flea markets and yard sales for storage. The purse is one of them. the altered tin was made for me from a swap over at Your Paper Pantry. I just LOVE Tim Holtz.

Another yard sale item that stores pens, business cards and other little assorted misc. items. The top has another box that holds handmade cards received from swaps. I also display 3 altered spools.

To the right of my desk and behind the door is another paper rack and bookcase made by my dad. The bookcase holds books and magazines related to scrapping and the paper arts

The top of the bookcase displays a small assortment of birdhouses. I love birdhouses.

A small sterilite container holding all my journaling pens

This is the bookcase to the left of my desk facing the wall unit. These are more punches, my alcohol inks (need to find storage for these). This unit sits on top of a bookcase bought at a yardsale. Here it is:

This bookcase holds my Cricut and cartridges, the Cuttlebug, circle cutters, the Slice and the Gator.

Here's a closeup of the covered containers.

A closeup of the mini albums (half of them) on the window seat.

The other minis

Below the window seat----:

And a close up of the little cabinet:

Well, that's it everyone! I hope you enjoyed my room and are inspired in some way. I'll be visiting you as well and I'm sure I'll walk away with more ideas to use in my room.

Thanks for stopping by

I'm Going to be Late for the Party!

2011-07-14T23:40:00.000-04:00

Hello fellow creative bloggers,
If you're visiting for the "Where Bloggers Create" party hosted by the wonderful and talented Karen Valentine of My Desert Cottage, then you'll have to forgive me. I'm going to be late. I thought this party was for Saturday and then I realized it's tomorrow (or today), depending on when you read this. I am not even ready. How did the time get away from me?! First thing in the morning, I'll be rearranging, organizing and doing what is necessary for me to post my creative space.

I hope you'll return later today or over the weekend.

Help! Where are my followers?

2011-07-11T00:30:00.000-04:00

I hope you can help me, my friends. I changed the font style on my blog and next thing I knew, my Followers went missing! Does anyone know what I might've done or how to get them back? I posted a question to blogger but haven't gotten an answer. It shows that I have 193 followers on my dashboard, but the 'block' of followers doesn't show. If anyone can help me, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks,

Happy 4th of July, My Friends!

2011-07-04T14:06:00.000-04:00

Just a quick post to wish all my followers and readers a wonderful and safe 4th of July. God Bless America!! We celebrated yesterday (Sunday) by having a cookout at a good friend of ours on the lake, enjoyed good company, good food, good fishing and some great fireworks. Here are some pics:

My oldest daughter, Valerie trying to catch a bass. The fish was circling her bait.

She caught a pickerel---not the Bass she wanted. Oh well...better luck next time

James (Val's boyfriend) with his large-mouthed bass. They were catching fish like you wouldn't believe!

Our friends' son, Briar. He caught about a dozen fish.

Jackie with her fish. She wouldn't hold it for the camera.

Zachery with is large mouthed bass.

Briar caught his bass too!

Zac caught the monster fish of the day! A 4 lb large mouthed bass. He reeled it in by himself without any help from us. That's a first for him!

It rained while the sun was out and I was fortunate to catch this rainbow. It didn't last too long after this picture was taken.

Michael warming up his hotdog.

The start of the fireworks.

What a beauty!

My favorite shot!

I took tons of pics but these were the best out of them all. Wishing you a wonderful Independence Day. Stay safe!

The Craft Show was a Success!

2011-06-28T20:51:00.000-04:00

I finally finished all my projects, packed them with care, drove one and a half hours to Absolutely Everything in Topsfield, MA, set up my creations, waited for the customers to swarm my booth and have a fabulous time! Well, 5 out of 6 isn't bad. I didn't have customers swarming my booth all day, except for a mere 10 minutes around 1:00. I was so excited to hear the customers tell me that they loved my stuff. It's so encouraging to receive such fantastic compliments. My mom and dad stopped by as well--they live about 20 minutes away--and they said that I was just beaming. The craft fair was open from noon to 3:00 and in that time, I made $140. Not too shabby. I almost gave up on doing craft shows because I didn't make any money during the otehr two. This gave me the incentive and encouragement now to do more in the Fall. I've got plenty of ideas for November.

I also got a phone call from a customer who has special-ordered two minis. One is a beach-themed anniversary album for a 50th wedding anniversary and another is Spring themed. So, I'll be busy working on those 2 items.

I haven't posted a YouTube video in awhile and will be doing a few tomorrow. Keep an eye out for my newest videos to be uploaded in the next couple of days. Also, I'll have more creations uploaded on this blog as well.

Thanks for stopping by.

So Very Busy Creating

2011-06-17T22:35:00.000-04:00

I have been busy making lots of mini albums for a craft fair that I'll be at next Sunday. I still have alot to do and now I'm worrying that I won't have enough 'stock' to bring down with me. I planned on too much with too little time. For the last 2 weeks, I've been staying awake until 2 in the morning and getting up at 6:30 to get Zak off to school. I have about 6 mini's made and will do some YT videos early next week. Well, I'm off to work on another mini. I'll share some photos soon as well.

I'm Sorry......

2011-06-11T12:20:00.000-04:00

for not being ready for the CSD Summer School Blog Hop. I've been sick with a horrible head cold and just haven't been motivated to do a project. I do apologize. If you're new to viewing this blog and like what you see, please become a follower. If I feel better, I'll post a tutorial for the chipboard birdhouse early in the week. Thank you for understanding.

Wishing you a great day!

Mark Your Calendars for Another Blog Hop

2011-06-04T20:29:00.000-04:00

Creative Scrapbooking Divas of which I was a Design Team member until a short time ago, is having another blog hop for its members. It'll be held on June 11th and as the date gets closer (one week from today), I will be adding more info here on my blog. I'll be posting a tutorial for a chipboard birdhouse and will probably make a YouTube video of it as well. I hope you'll stop by CSD and hop along with us.

Date: Saturday June 11
Theme: Divas' Scrappin' Summer School !!!
What: Our theme for this members hop is tutorials/how to's. '

I'll be offering an RAK for anyone who completes my project and posts on CSD. Also, CSDivas is offering a Grand Prize. To be eligible, blog hoppers will need to post their entries into the specified BH Discussion no later than Tuesday 6/14. They will earn a ticket for each entry they upload. So, I hope you'll hop along!

Another Mini is finished!

2011-05-27T22:02:00.001-04:00

I just finished a mini album that will be going out to Teresa Stinnette today. She was my partner for this swap over at MiniAlbumScraps. We had a choice from three different themes: Easter, Spring or Mother's Day. We chose Spring as I don't have enough photos to fill up an Easter mini or a Mother's Day one either. I'm uploading a video on YouTube at the moment and I'll share that here when it's complete.

This mini is just as bulky as my others---I just can't seem to make them non-bulky!--but the pages are simpler. I didn't add any bling or a ton of flowers and ribbon. I did do alot of inking though. I used papers from 7Gypsies and alot of scraps. Now that I'm caught up on all my swaps except the Travelogues (which take about 5 to 6 months to complete) I now need to work on my items for the artists craft fair in June. I only have 4 weeks to finish everything! Yikes!

Well, enjoy the pictures of my mini. I hope you're inspired to create one of your own.

Thanks for taking a look!

I Just Love Spring!

2011-05-25T19:51:00.000-04:00

Spring is my favorite season. So, why am I talking about Spring when May is nearly over? Well, I live in Maine and Spring is slow in getting here. And, March and April we still had snow and most of this month saw rain---lots of rain! Last Saturday we saw the sun for the first time in almost 2 weeks, but it lasted only a day. Then it started raining again. Today, the sun shone bright with temps in the mid-70's. What a gorgeous Spring day! I love how the grass 'greens up' after months of snow--and the brown mud of March and April rainstorms. I also love the look of flowering trees, the tulips, Irises, and the scent of lilacs in the air. Hearing the sound of lawn mowers is a sweet sound after a long winter of listening to the grinding of snowplows. Then there's the smell of spring barbeques---ahhh. And although dandelions can be a nuisance, I happen to like the weeds--their bright yellow fluffy heads remind me of the sun and the best part are the longer days. There is a dramatic change in my personality as the days get longer and warmer. I feel more alive, vibrant and well,....happy! That's what Spring is to me---the beginning of happiness!

We don't have too many flowers right now. Within a week, we'll be planting and in a month or so, I'll share my 'green thumb' with you (for what it's worth). Thanks for looking, my friends.

A Page Swap is Complete!

2011-05-15T13:40:00.000-04:00

Just a quick post to share with you some 6x6 pages I made for a swap over at MiniAlbumScraps. The theme was BLUE so here's what I made. These will be going in the mail tomorrow. I should be getting 5 pages back to create my own mini that is entirely blue in color. TFL!

This is the 'front' in which I added a photo mat with a tag tucked beneath. The flowers are Prima with assorted buttons and bling.

I created a pocket page to hold 3 tags. I used a Martha Stewart punch for the butterfly and added tiny bling for the body. I hope the recipient likes it!

A Walk on the Beach

2011-05-15T11:12:00.000-04:00

The other day, my kids and I met my daughter, Valerie and her boyfriend James, at Kennebunk beach to celebrate Rusty's birthday. Rusty is a Vishla breed of dog and he turned 2 on Friday. Kennebunk Beach is one of the few beaches in Maine in which you can let your dog run--until summer is officially then it's only in the wee hours of the morning or after six p.m. Anyway, we had been out shopping--buying scrapping supplies of course, when my daughter called asking if we wanted to meet her at the beach. Sure, why not! We arrived around 5:30 p.m.--the tide was coming in which made the air feel alot cooler than the 68 degrees it was inland and created a gustier wind. It's a good thing we brought our sweatshirts---just in case!

Rusty loved running on the beach and sniffing at every single dog that walked by.

And my favorite picture of the entire day is.......

I swear Rusty thinks he's human!! He's too darn cute! Thanks for stopping by and sharing the day with me.

My Entry in Tamara's Travelogue at Your Paper Pantry

2011-05-10T14:09:00.001-04:00

This is what I made for Tamara's travelogue for our group over at Your Paper Pantry. I just love doing travelogues! Tamara's theme was "Your Favorite Era". I chose the Edwardian/Titanic era--so much elegance and so many inventions were made that have made our lives so much easier today--100 years later! The Edwardian/Titanic era was from 1901 to the beginning of World War 1. Here are some pics:

These 2 pages show the fashions and the homes of this era. I created a small accordion album with several (alot!) of pictures of the 1910 fashions--most from the movie Titanic. The next page is about the homes that were popular which were the Arts and Crafts style bungalows. I live in one at the moment. I printed off lots of pics with description of the interiors of these homes.

The page on the left depicts the inventions of the era--and there were so many. There was the airplane, the automobile, electric-ware, ovens, the camera, crayons, etc. So many of these inventions paved the way for what we enjoy now and what has made our lives so much easier---100 years later! The page on the right are pictures of movies set during the Edwardian/Titanic era. I love all these movies!

I hope Tamara enjoys my entry into her travelogue. Thanks, ladies, for looking!

Happy National Scrapbooking Day!

2011-05-07T16:07:00.000-04:00

I so wanted to get involved in some blog hops today and do some challenges, but I've been out of the house most of the day. I guess I could still browse and start. I know that 2Peas has some great challenges for NSD and I'll have until the 15th to upload them. Just thought I'd make a quick post wishing all of you a great NSD and hope you get to create, create, and CREATE! I hope you get projects completed and find inspiration along the way. Well, I'm off to see what great sites are doing for NSD.

Creating Keepsakes Convention

2011-05-03T13:17:00.001-04:00

My daughter, Jaclyn, and I spent last weekend at CKC in Manchester, NH. We arrived last Thursday and came home late Saturday night. As always we spent more time socializing and eating than cropping and spent lots of money! We got some great things and if I had had the money, I'm sure I would've spent more than what I had brought with me. I totally broke the bank, but I love what I bought. I did make some videos so check them out here: http://www.youtube.com/user/loridee21?feature=mhum It's in 2 parts,but I may have to make a third video.

Here are a few pictures (all 27 of them!) of our time at CKC:

Enjoying the pool on Thursday after we arrived and checked in. Not much else going on.

Jackie checks out which vendors we'll go to first on Friday morning. Checking out the 'route' we'll take.

My friend and boss (at work) Jane, me and Jaclyn waiting in line at 7:30 a.m. Early entrance to the fair started at 9:00. We were a bit tired and those floors were c-o-l-d!

Sam from Technique Tuesday showing us how to put together the "Out of the Box" (an explosion box)

Jackie showing off her cover at The Button Farm class. Check me out below

Angela Moen ---founder of The Button Farm. You gotta love this gal! Love her minis and kits!

Every night we ate at JD's Cafe and got their buffet meals. Thursday was pasta, Friday was Mexican (above) and Saturday was BBQ! Yum-oh!

Working on our projects at the Friday Night Crop. The place was packed!

Jane working on one of her page kits

Betty Libby (Jane's sister) joined us for the convention.

Megan Hoepner at the Friday night crop (She's the Associate Editor of CK mag)

Me and Jaclyn at the Friday night Crop. Below is Jackie, Me, Jane and Betty

Jackie spending some money! I think this was the Strictly Scrapbooking booth

Our first stop on Friday morning was The Button Farm! Love this booth!!

A photo shoot of me and Jackie by the Lickity Split display

The Center of New Hampshire (Radisson) where the convention was held.

I had to take this photo because my daughter's initials are JD. JD's Tavern has great food!

Jackie and I busily working on her Dog Mini before heading home on Saturday

This is looking down into the lobby from the Mezzanine level Some ladies crop here (which is what we did) instead of spending the money for the nightly crop. This was soooo much quieter.

I peeked in on the Saturday night crop and took a picture. These crops are always full, but very noisy. I find it hard to get anything done at these crops.

Well, thanks for stopping by and taking a look.

Meet Me On Monday

2011-05-02T08:48:00.000-04:00

I haven't done a "Meet Me On Monday" post from Never Growing Old in a long time! So, I thought I'd do one today. This is just for fun but if you want to get involved, please click here: Meet Me On Monday and post the questions and answers to your blog. Here are my answers:

Questions:
1. What is your favorite kind of muffin? Blueberry. Especially with a streusel topping!

2. What was the first car you ever owned? It was a blue 1968 Ford Falcon. It was literally owned by a little old lady who drove the car once a week. I loved that car!

3. Which TV Show were you sad to see end? There are so many but I'd have to say "Knots Landing". I really loved that show!

4. What is your lucky number? Hmm, not sure if I have one, but I do love the numbers 4 and 7

5. Pretzels or Potato Chips? definitely potato chips.

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T10:08:00.000-04:00

I'm wishing all my followers a very Happy and Blessed Easter. I hope your day is filled with God's blessings on you and your family and that you enjoy a wonderful day!

God Bless All of You!

I Am A Guest Designer this Week.....

2011-04-17T14:16:00.000-04:00

on Mini Album Scraps! I am so honored to be a guest designer this week. If you're not familiar with this site, please stop by. The ladies there are so nice and very talented. It's a great group of gals! Click Mini Album Scraps and check it out!

I was asked to create a Spring-themed home decor project. When I think of Spring, I think of birds, flowers blooming, new growth, and lots of colors. I also wanted this project to be more than an item that would sit on a table or shelf so I designed this Birdhouse from a Priority Box. Okay, you're thinking---it's an ordinary cardboard birdhouse. Look again----there's a mini album inside! I have to admit that I was inspired by Laura Denison but I totally changed it up to make it my own. The roof of the birdhouse is actually the covers to the album! How cool is that! I cut the fencing from a Cricut cartridge that I can't think of at the moment (brain cramp!). I also used an assortment of flowers--mostly Prima. I cut a vine with leaves from cardstock and inked it then added white felt flowers. K&Co. butterflies were added as well. The box is covered in paper from the Mariposa collection as well as the pages in the mini album.

I'll be making a tutorial on this sometime this week and it'll be posted on YT as well as here. If you want to make this, gather a priority box (free at the post office), chipboard for your album, paper of your choice and lots and lots of Springy embellishments.

I'll add photos of the mini tomorrow. Well, I'm off to work.

Thanks for looking!

My Trip to NYC

2011-04-17T11:45:00.001-04:00

Hello Everyone!

My husband and I went to NYC last weekend and had a good time. My husband doesn't like cities or crowds, so this was an experience to say the least! He really had to keep his calm. I'll be honest though----it was a nice place to visit--lots to see and do, but I wouldn't want to live there! We were only there for a weekend and Sunday didn't count as we were only there in the morning. To see more of NYC, I would've needed a good week. But anyway.....we saw a Broadway show--The Jersey Boys and we LOVED it! What a great show! These guys can sing and sound exactly like the Four Seasons. I still have more pictures to upload, but for now, here's a slideshow of my visit.....so far.

I'm Leaving On A Jet Plane....

2011-04-07T19:20:00.001-04:00

to New York City! Tomorrow morning (Friday) at 9:08 a.m., hubby and I will be flying down to NYC. I am excited! My husband won the Employee of the Year and the prize is a trip to New York City---all expenses paid! I'm all packed and ready to go! I'm bringing two---yes, two---cameras. You never know if one might break and being the photographer and scrapbooker that I am, I can't go without a camera. I'm not a city gal, so this visit should be interesting. It'll be a fast weekend, that's for sure. We arrive home around 6:30 Sunday night. I'll post pictures during the week.

Exciting News!

2011-03-28T11:46:00.000-04:00

I'm excited to announce that I will be the Guest Designer at Mini Album Scraps! They had a challenge to create a piece of wall art and I won for a one week Guest Designer spot. Another talented gal won for a month guest DT spot. Her piece was just amazing!

So, I'll be creating a Spring themed item (shhhh, it's a secret right now) to share on Mini Album Scraps and also on my YouTube channel. I hope you'll come back within the next few days and check out what I'll be making.

If you want to get involved in some wonderful swaps, become inspired and love to make mini albums, stop by Mini Album Scraps and join in on the fun!

Wishing you a wonderful day!

A Sneak Peak of Another Project

2011-03-23T00:29:00.001-04:00

Wow--it's been over a week since I posted! Life has been a bit topsy-turvy lately with my emotions on a roller coaster, to say the least! My job is wearing me out physically and emotionally and I'm contemplating moving on. But, I've also been working on some swap items as well as another project which is for me. It's been a long, long time since I made something just for me.

This is a Bird House Mini Album. It's created from none other than a Priority Box! I was inspired by Laura Denison at Following The Paper Trail. Now, don't get me wrong, I LOVE Laura's work, but I can't always afford to buy the kits and/or the patterns so I played around with a box that I had on hand and came up with this:

These are just a few of the photos of the inside pages. I'll be working on it over the next few days and will post pictures and a video when it's complete. Thanks for looking!

I've Been Updating My Blog

2011-03-13T20:31:00.000-04:00

As you might (or might not) have noticed, I've changed my blog a bit. I went for a more vintage/fantasty look this time because I just loved the banner of the girl lying in the grass day-dreaming. Of course, if you know me well enough, this will last a bit and then I'll change it up--either because of a seasonal change, holiday or I'm just plain bored to death with the background. I also added some 'tabs' beneath the banner. Just click on any of them and they should bring you to the correct page. Fingers crossed. I've been doing this all day. I'm also working on a mini that involves an altered priority box. I won't say more until it's done and I've uploaded it.

Well, there's not much going on, so I'll make this a short post. I'll try to post tomorrow.

Do You Want to Win Some Copics?

2011-03-10T17:51:00.001-05:00

I sure do! I've heard so many great things about Copics and yet I haven't purchased them. I just don't have the money. So, I'm hoping I'll win a set. I found Dana's Inspirations blog through one of my followers, Rosie. Dana makes some fantastic cards and has a wonderful blog full of inspiration. Click HERE to view her blog. If you want the chance to win, you have until March 12th.

Wish me luck!
Lori

A 6x6 Page to Share

2011-03-10T10:59:00.001-05:00

I completed my 2 sided 6x6 mini album page for KayTee's travelogue. KayTee's theme was "Artistic Memories". She wanted us to create a page (2 sides) depicting how we were inspired in the past and in the present.

The above is my 'story' telling how I was inspired by my mother and grandmother. The center block is a double-slider that, when pulled, shows a photo of my mother and grandmother. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a photo of the slider pulled. I used vintage stickers from Colorbok, designed by Sandy Clough. I've had these stickers for a long, long time and they were perfect for this page. I used vintage buttons and wrapped thread onto a mini spool. The advertisement for a Singer sewing machine was perfect because that was the machine I learned to sew on--my great-grandmother had one just like it! My mother made alot of our clothes on that ancient machine. Hence that's how I was inspired! My mother and grandmother pretty much taught me all the 'crafty knowledge' I know today. The background paper is a sewing pattern made by October Afternoon. The gray button on the right is attached to a smaller tag that has my journaling.

This is the backside of the page. This depicts how I'm inspired today. The photo, in case you didn't recognize it, is of my blog page. I find my 'bliss' (inspiration) by blogging and perusing videos on YouTube. I used Webster's paper with Prima flowers; a white butterfly (K&Co.); butterflies punched from a MS punch. I created a pocket to hold a tag with my journaling. The pocket is edged with paper punched with another MS punch.

I have 5 more travelogues coming my way to create for. I'll share my pages as they are completed. Thanks for looking and have a great day!

Three Blog Awards in One Week!

2011-03-05T10:08:00.001-05:00

Hello everyone! I hope your day (or evening) is going well. This week, I received three blog awards! Wow! It's been awhile since an award has been given to me and so I'm thrilled to accept these and show these with pride on my blog.

The first award was given to me by Ginger over at Making.Memories.Iowa (http://memories-by-gn.blogspot.com/). Check out her blog.

The Leibster Blog Award is given to bring new blogs to light. It's a great way to share blogs that might not be otherwise seen or ones you want to share with others.
                     As a recipient you must share the love and pay it forward by:
       1. Creating a post where you blog about the Leibster award and reveal
           your 3 to 5 blog picks.
       2. Let them know you chose them
       3. Copy and paste the blog awrd on your blog
       4. Have faith that your followers will rally and show their craft love back out to
           those you awarded
      5. Have fun!

I'm awarding the Leibster blog award to:
Paula at Craftymommy24cs
Eileen at My Scrap Pit
Theresa at A Scrapper's Life

The 2nd blog award, the "Stylish Blogger Award", was given to me from Ann Lenth, a co-DT member over at Creative Scrapbooking Divas. Thanks Ann!
For this award, I will need to pay it forward to 8 people and let you know 8 things you don't already know about me.

Here are 8 things you didn't know about me:
1. I have a fear of drowning and extreme heights
2. I won a legs contest when I was 20 years old
3. I collect teddy bears
4. I once wrote romance stories
5. I was born on Easter Sunday and my birthday has never fallen on Easter since
6. My parent's home was a stop for the Underground Railroad and has had paranormal activity
7. I have a special needs daughter and am raising my special needs grandson
8. I own a hamster named CoCo

I'm awarding this Stylish Award to:
* Sarah - the Handmade Card blog
* Amanda - PickADilly Craft
* Julie - All Things Crafty
* Loretta - Stamping with Loretta
* Arte Dar - ArteDar's Attic
* Robin - Stamping Crazy
* Dawn - Crafting on the Prairie
* Alyson - Crafting To Stay Sane

I hope these ladies will except this award for their blogs.

and for the third blog award--Leibster Blog Love Award--was given to me by Jacque (http://jacque4u2c.blogspot.com/) who said this about me: "Lori is so inspiring, she is like the queen of mini-albums and I just love all of the different elements and colors she incorporates in her designs!!!." Thanks for that wonderful compliment, Jacque!!

1. If you've been tagged, if you want to accept, then you have to create a post on your blog and post the LOVE blog photo.

2. Choose 3 to 5 of your favorite blogs to tag, link these in your blog too and tell the lucky people that they've been tagged.

* Luisa - Creative Designs by Luisa
* Sandy - Scrapbook Blessings
* Pam - Dreamer's Klub

I appreciate all 3 awards, ladies! Thank you so much!

Two More Mini's to share

2011-03-02T20:14:00.061-05:00

I have been a busy scrapper lately! I've been in some wonderful swaps lately, all of them due to be mailed on February 25th. Unfortunately, due to winter storms and me being sick for a few days, my mini's didn't go postal as expected. Both of these albums went out just a short time ago and are now on their way to new destinations!

The heart-shaped mini is for Kathrin F over at Life on the Scrap Beach for the TWS (Trade Wind Scrappers) Mini Album Swap. These swaps are monthly except for the summer months. Each month has a different theme and you're given a partner to mail the finished mini to. Kathrin lives in France and the paper line I used suited her, I think. It's by Making Memories and it's called "Je t'adore". I absolutely LOVE this paper! No matter how hard I try, though, my mini's cannot come out sleek and slim. They're always bulky and full of embellishments. I guess I do it this way because that's how I like my mini's--chock full of scrappin' goodness!

Here's the video of the Love Mini for Kathrin. I can't seem to find the photos in My Pictures.

Below are pictures of the Travelogue Mini that I just mailed out today to Natalie. We have 6 ladies in the group including me, each one of us having a different theme. My theme is "An Artistic Self Portrait". Most of the papers are Graphic 45's Steampunk Debutante. I won't see the completed Travelogue for about 6 months.

Cover of Travelogue

Inside of the front cover. This is the Welcome letter that should be included in each travelogue.

The Instruction Page--this is obviously the page in which I explain to the other girls what type of album it is, what they should do (colors, etc) and my expectations of the album.

Each travelogue has a one or two page layout created first by the 'author' of the album and then she includes blank pages for the other participants to use. This layout is my way of showing that I love to create with alot of vintage style items. I'm in love with anything vintage. The photo is of me taken when I was in my early 20's at a fair. It was taken in one of those 'antique photo' booths.

A close up of the handmade rose which is glimmer misted. I used an old key, vintage style buttons, Prima flowers, stick pin, Tim Holtz gears and Adage ticket.

Above is the right side of my two page layout. I was inspired by the lady and used this sheet as the focal point. I added black feathers for her wings and also used a glaze on the hat and all the clock pieces to give them shine. I added roses that are glimmer misted in gold, added an antique button, a TH adage ticket, TH gears, Prima flowers and keys. I created a pocket to hold 2 tags that tell my 'story' of why I create the way I do.

Above are the 2 tags I used for my journaling. These were cut from an 8x8 sheet and were the perfect size for a tag. I love them! I added star eyelets, a ball chain (?) with a Tim Holtz key and a glimmer misted Prima Rose. The back of the tags were covered in cardstock where I wrote my journaling.

So now my travelogue is on it's journey to be filled with more wonderful pages for me to enjoy.

Wishing all of you a wonderful day!

Exciting News to Share!

2011-02-24T10:01:00.000-05:00

For me, this is exciting. For others, maybe not. But, you have to know my husband to understand my excitement. My husband doesn't like to go anywhere. He loves his couch, his TV and hanging out at home. So, when he called me from work a couple of weeks ago telling me he won Employee of the Year, I thought that was great news until he told me that we would be going to New York City---all expenses paid! I couldn't believe it! Plus, he's getting a bonus--a substantial one at that! This is a man who doesn't like to travel and he's just as excited as I am! I haven't been to NYC since I was 15! And we still laugh wondering how he got Employee of the Year. My husband isn't exactly 'Mr. Personality" when he's at work---but, he knows his job and is an excellent worker.

We fly out from Portland, Maine on Friday morning April 8th and return on April 10th. We're staying at the Michelangelo Hotel (very, very nice) and will arrive there from the airport in a limo. Our first evening there, we'll be going to dinner at the Harvard Club and I have to dress semi-formal. La-dee-da!

Before dinner, my husband and I will have our portrait taken. From there it's the Awards Dinner. Once dinner is over, we'll be going to the top of the Rockefeller Center (Top of the Rock)--70 stories high! Did I tell you that I don't like heights--even in buildings?!

Saturday we have a choice of different tours----we chose the "Bite of the Big Apple" tour and the "NBC Studio Tour". We also will have free time for shopping. Saturday night we're having dinner at the famous Palm Restaurant. I plan on getting the 6 pound lobster!

After dinner we're going to a Broadway show to see the "Jersey Boys". Then Sunday we check out. I'm not sure when our flight is as we're not coordinating it--someone from the company is. I'm hoping that we'll be there for awhile on Sunday as well so I can see more of the sights.

So, I'm excited. I plan on taking lots of pictures and will make a mini of my adventure.

Wishing you a wonderfuly day!

I've been busy creating

2011-02-20T11:17:00.001-05:00

I've been so busy creating items for several swaps that I'm in as well as making some things for a local store that is selling my creations. I thought I'd share with you an altered journal that is going out to Lyla over at Your Paper Pantry on Tuesday:

This album uses the "Once Upon a Springtim" paper collection from Graphic 45. It's so pretty with a vintage look and beautiful colors. The idea was to alter a journal with 120 blank pages. Within the journal, we had to decorate it using pockets and whatever else we wanted to do (tags, pull-outs, etc). There was no size limit. We also were given 12 journaling prompts to use and had to create 12 more of our own. The journal is supposed to encompass the year 2011, but this journal isn't limited to a specific year.

The original journal was pretty plain but of high-quality. It has canvas on the left side that I kept there as it went well with the paper. The original binding was a sort of cotton-twine combo in a criss-cross along the spine. I removed that and used 4 rings in place of it. These are decorated with an assortment of ribbons. I wanted to dress it up a bit more and give it a bit of a shabby vintage feel, so I added tulle, a K&Co. "Life's Journey" (appropriate, don'tcha think?!) timepiece, Prima flowers, bling flourishes and a Recollections metal butterfly. I covered the word "Springtime" with a part of the book plate and inserted the word "journey".

The following photos are of the inside of the album. I divided the album into 12 sections giving each section about 9 pages. I think the journal is slightly less than 120 pages. I didn't do a ton of embellishing because it would've made the journal too bulky, but I did send all the extra papers and embellies I didn't use for Lyla to embellish as she liked. So, enjoy the rest of the pictures. Leave a comment as well.

Above is the inside of the front cover. She can add a photo of herself if she wants.

This is opposite the inside front cover. It holds 3 tags to use for photos and the letter "L" for her name.

Another page in the journal--an altered envie that holds a quote inside.

A pocket page decorated with a doily that's been inked, a Bazzill flower (from way back) and 2 tags.

This is a photo mat that can be used for additional journaling and more photos.

This photo mat is actually packaging from K&Co. "Life's Journey". I loved the look of it and just added paper to the back to create an oversized tag.

This page is a decorated library pocket with a tag inside:

On the above, I inked the edges of 2 small envies, cut off about 1/8" from the side (which is the top now) and decorated the fronts with tags from the collection. I just added a tag for each pocket.

A postcard pocket holding a tag

Well, that's it. I do hope Lyla likes it. Check back again as I'll have other projects to share with you soon.

Welcome to Day 7 of the "Be My Valentine" Blog Hop

2011-02-14T11:30:00.003-05:00

Today is the last day of the CSD Be My Valentine Blog Hop. If you've been following along each day, I hope you've had fun and have been inspired by the great projects offered. For me, it's given me a chance to create everyday and to force myself to finish a project. If you step into my scrap room, you'll see too many projects not completed. I've had alot of fun making these items and I hope you will to. So, let's get on with today's creation:

I want to share with you a layout that I made to celebrate (hence the title) my wedding shower (back in 1984). This layout is very shabby which is how I love to scrap. I used real fabric doilies as an oversized accent. I also used bling, flowers, ribbon, felt filligree (Queen & Co.), paper doilies--anything to make it look feminine and romantic.

I also cut out a large heart from paper and stitched around the edges then roughened up the edges as well. On top of that, I adhered the fabric doily. I layered strips of patterned paper on top of this. Shabby is all about layers and distressing and adding embellies in clusters. My CHALLENGE for you is......

to create a layout using FABRIC. It doesn't have to be a doily. Try your hand at making your layout shabby, but you don't have to. It doesnt' have to be a 2 page layout either. I'd love to see what you make with fabric and paper.

Remember that your project can play to win in two ways:

1) Upload your project(s) to CSDivas Gallery for a ticket and...
2) post in my entries discussion: Valentines BH-Lori's Challenge Entries and you will earn 1 extra ticket!!!
The final day to have any or all projects completed for a chance at the Grand Prize and for my RAK (scrapping goodies, of course!) is February 17th, 2011. A winner will be drawn for the Grand Prize (and second prize as well) on February 22nd. I will draw one winner by random.org on February 23rd to win my RAK.

I'm so glad you stopped by and I do hope you had fun participating in the CSD first ever Valentine Blog Hop. Now, it's time to head on over to Creative Scrapbooking Divas to let us know your thoughts on our blog hop.

Wishing you a wonderful Valentine's Day filled with romance (maybe) and most of all, LOVE.

Welcome to Day 6 of the "Be My Valentine" Blog Hop

2011-02-14T10:44:00.003-05:00

Hello and welcome to the 6th day of the CSD Be My Valentine Blog Hop. Actually, it's Day 7, but I'm a day late in posting my project. I will be doing Day 7 as well in a separate post.

All week, the Design Team and members of Creative Scrapbooking Divas have been sharing projects to inspire others to create something for their loved ones (or for themselves!). If you've just come here, not realizing there was a blog hop, please start at SANDY'S Blog. The main page of Creative Scrapbooking Divas will have the full list of DT's and members in the blog hop. If you haven't hopped yet, you should, as there are some great projects for Valentine's Day.

You will have until February 17th to upload your projects to my blog hop thread found HERE. I have posted examples of all 7 projects. I will draw a name via random.org for anyone who posts their project(s) in my blog hop thread by February 22nd. The winner will be notified on February 23rd. I have a nice little package of scrapping goodies for the lucky winner.

Now that the 'formalities' are done, let's get on with my project. Today I made a very simple accent/embellishment that can be used on cards, layouts and altered projects. Do you remember making tissue flowers as a child? I do. It was one of my favorite things to do with my friends. This is the same process but on a smaller scale.

You will need scissors, one twist tie and an assortment of tissue paper. You can use one color, but it looks better with 3 different colors.

Cut your tissue paper into squares (whatever size you prefer). I did mine in 3" squares. Then stack them. I did dark, light, dark, light and added one white square on top (the center of the flower).

Next, fold these into an accordian.

Wrap the twist tie around the center of the folded tissue paper:

Next, trim the edges into a curved shape:

Very gently, fan out the folds on each side of the twist tie:

The next step, you need to be real gentle as the slightest pull too hard will rip the tissue paper (it happened to me). Pull each layer towards the twist tie on one side, then repeat on the other. This is what it should look like:

Play around with the flower to get the shape you want. I just manipulated it (gently) until it resembled a flower. You might have to 'squish' it around the bottom as well.

I wanted to add some 'extra' to this to make it look like a real flower, so I cut some leaves from scrap paper and also cut a circle (1") for a base. Glue the leaves to the base:

Add a dollop of glue to the center and set the flower on top. Again, be gentle, yet press down to get it to stick. Use strong wet adhesive.

Note: If you want to add lace, tulle, or fabric to this for more dimension, glue it before adding the flower as I did above. This is the final look of the flower:

I hope you'll make some! These look great on layouts, mini albums, altered projects, tags, gift bags, etc. You can make these any size you want and you can make them from napkins as well. I even used dryer sheets!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day! Please come back for Day 7's project.

Day 6 Project will be delayed

2011-02-12T08:20:00.000-05:00

I'm off for most of the day, so Day 6's project will be late. I might combine them with Day 7. I plan on creating another fun project, so I hope you'll stop by and check it out. So, stop by later and see what I'll be sharing.

Have a great day everyone!

Welcome to Day 5 of the CSD "Be My Valentine" Blog Hop

2011-02-11T11:55:00.004-05:00

Today I want to share with you another simple project that is wonderful for small gifts, candies and love notes! Pillow boxes are perfect for candies, jewelry, tiny confetti pouches or any number of decorative gift or party needs. You can make pillow boxes for many different uses with card stock or beautiful papers. The template can be re-sized on your computer to make them larger or smaller. I hope you'll enjoy the project.

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Paper
• Card stock
• Scoring tool or empty pen
• Glue stick, adhesive or double-sided tape
* Pillow box Template

Here's the template to use. Just copy and paste to your computer then print

1. Select and print a pattern on copy paper.

2. Cut out the pattern.

3. Trace a pattern onto the card stock or heavy decorative paper. Trace directly over the scoring and folding lines, pressing down to indent the paper.

4. Cut out the pillow box design.

5. Fold all of the scored lines in the piece.

6. Fold in the end flaps. Glue one end of the pillow box.

7. Hold the flap in place to keep the paper lined up to the very edge. Let the adhesive set.

8. Glue the side flat. Make sure to keep the shape intact.

9. Fold in the open end of the pillow box after filling it with your material of choice. Hold it closed with a piece of tape, round label or a decorative sticker. Tie a piece of lace, satin ribbon or fiber around the pillow box.

I "borrowed" these photos from another site as I couldn't take pictures. Please upload your Day 5 projects to my Challenge thread HERE.

For the chance to earn a Grand Prize at CSDivas post your creations in this discussion thread: VALENTINES BH - LORI'S CHALLENGE ENTRIES (the link is above) and in the gallery with the tag- VDhop- Lori. Due date to upload entries at CSDivas is Thursday February 17, 2011. Winner will be announced on Tuesday February 22, 2011...

I'll be offering an RAK to one lucky winner via Random.org on Wed, Feb 23rd, 2011. To have the chance to win, you must complete the challenges and have them uploaded to my Challenge thread. I hope you'll participate.

If you're looking for Day 1's project: go HERE

If you're looking for Day 2's project: go HERE

If you're looking for Day 3's project: go HERE

If you're looking for Day 4's project: HERE

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Welcome to Day 4 of the "Be My Valetine" blog hop

2011-02-10T11:36:00.004-05:00

Today, I thought I'd share a simple layout. It's not my usual style of scrapping. This is more linear for me. I love more shabbiness. Also, I really wanted to show off the photograph. This is my daughter when she was 5 months old--she's now 25, almost 26! Wow, how time flies.

This layout is called a "monochromatic" layout. Only ONE color is used on about 95% of the layout. I did use 2 strips of striped paper to show off the stripes in my daughter's shirt.

So, the CHALLENGE for you is to create a layout in ONE color--it can be any color and of any event--it doesn't have to be about love or Valentine's day. You can use a TINY bit of another color/or pattern. You can use as many embellishments as you want, but they MUST be the same monochromatic color. White does not count. And, to add to the challenge, I want you to include journaling on strips of paper.

Each day of the hop, I'll be giving you a challenge for a chance to win some great scrapbooking goodies from me! (still putting things together for a photo). Everyone who completes all the projects will have a chance to win this prize. Please upload your project to My Challenge Thread. I hope you'll play along.

If you're looking for Day One's project, click HERE

If you're looking for Day 2's project, click HERE

If you're looking for Day 3's project, click HERE

For the chance to earn a Grand Prize at CSDivas post your creations by clicking "my challenge" thread listed above.

The due date to upload entries at CSDivas is Thursday February 17, 2011.

The winner will be announced on Tuesday, February 22, 2011. That gives you plenty of time (hopefully) to post your projects. I'll be choosing a winner for my prize on February 23rd.

Thanks for stopping by and come back tomorrow!

"Be My Valentine" Blog Hop-Day 3

2011-02-09T11:47:00.046-05:00

Hello again. Today is Day 3 of the "Be My Valentine" blog hop over at Creative Scrapbooking Divas. If this is your first day here and your first stop, then please start 'hoppin' at Sandy's blog. This blog hop is special because it's the first time CSD has included its MEMBERS to be part of the blog hop list. I've enjoyed visiting each blog and seeing how creative and talented our members are. When you're done here, the next stop is: KATIE at Katie's Nesting Spot.

If you want to see my project from Day 1, go to HERE. For Day 2's project, hop on over HERE and see that day's special project. If you like what you see, please leave a comment.

I created a matchbook mini album. It's easy to do, so I hope you'll make one for yourself or for a loved one. Please upload your project to my

To make the basic matchbook album you will need:
--1 strip of 12" x 4 1/2" strip cardstock for the cover (double sided paper works well for this project)
--4 to 8 pieces of 4 1/2" x 5" for the inside pages
--patterned paper to coordinate with cardstock
--Stapler and staples
--embellishments--ribbon, flowers, lace, stickers, etc

The final project will have up to 8 pages and will be about 5 1/4" x 4"

1. Trim a strip of cardstock 4 1/2" x 12" long. This is the outer cover so use heavy cardstock to ensure firmness.

2. Measure in from the left edge (short) 1 1/2", score and fold the flap inwards.

3. From the fold (on the left) measure in another 5 1/4", score and fold. Measure 1/4" in from that score line and score again. Fold. You should have a 1/4" gutter. If you fold the right side over and tuck under the flap, it should look like a matchbook.

4. Cut 4 to 8 pages from cardstock 5" x 4 1/2" for the inside pages. Also cut the same number of pages from patterned paper at 4 3/4" x 4 1/4".

5. Embellish your pages BEFORE putting into the album. You can decorate both sides if you choose, but I only did one. Also, don't embellish an inch from the bottom as this needs to be flat because it's going under the flap. Warning: try not to use too many bulky items or the matchbook won't close.

6. Embellish the cover and the inside of the cover (optional)

7. Before attaching the pages to the inside, I scored each page 1/2" in from the bottom. This helps in 'turning' the pages.

8. Staple about 1/4" from each side to hold the pages in place.

9. Pull down the cover and tuck under the flap. Your album is now complete!

If you want more projects, please visit the other blog hostesses:

SANDY Scrapbook Blessings
DENINE Pumpkin Spice
BRANDI Joyfully Creative
PAM Dreamers Klub
ANGELA tealfully Cuttin Up
MARYANNE Scrappy Gifts
LORI Scrapmom's Musings
KATIE Katie's Nesting Spot
ANN Ann Lenth
BRENDA Brenda's Joy
STEPHANIE Today's Magical
ALECIA Freak Alecia's
CHERYL Tickled Pink
LUISA Creative Designs by Luisa

CHALLENGE: Create the matchbook mini or...make another type of Valentine mini. Each day during the hop I will challenge you to a project. If you complete all the projects and post it to my Blog Hop thread HERE, then you'll go in the drawing for a nice prize from me. The winner will be chosen via Random.org.

And, CSD is offering a Grand Prize to one lucky winner! Here's a photo.

Have Fun!

DAY 2 of "Be My Valentine" Blog Hop

2011-02-08T19:59:00.010-05:00

Welcome to Day 2of the CSD "Be My Valentine" blog hop. In case you weren't here yesterday to start the hop and view everyone's projects, go to the previous post found HERE.

We all know that Valentine's Day is to celebrate LOVE and most of us think of it as a day for couples. But, I believe that V-Day can be a day to celebrate your love for....anything! So, for today, I thought I'd share a layout I created showing my love for CHOCOLATE!

I used an actual candy wrapper as an embellishment for this layout. Before I ate it though, I took a photo of the candy bar. The wrapper needed "something", so I attached a decorative square with scalloped edges adhered to a red paper clip and attached a red flower with a silver heart brad. The note paper used for my journaling is a page torn from the Making Memories "Noteworthy" spiral journal set. I used red cardstock with a sheet of brown vintage style patterned paper attached to that.

If you want to make something similar, here are the directions:

1. Choose a 12x12 piece of cardstock in your choice of color
2. Choose a 12x12 piece of patterned paper and cut down to 11 1/2 square
3. Adhere the patterned paper to the cardstock
4. Choose a 3rd sheet of coordinating patterned paper for the heart. I cut mine by lightly folding the paper in half and cutting a heart shape. (think first grade-LOL)
5. If you like texture on your layouts, stitch around the heart before adhering to the page or....draw some 'stitch' lines which is what I did.
6. Attach your photo and/or large embellie on top of the heart
7. Adhere your title in the upper left corner
8. Jot or type your journaling on some journal style paper and adhere
9. Cut a length of ribbon 14" in length and wrap around the entire layout about 3" up from the bottom and glue to the back (1" on each side).
10. Adhere a cluster of embellies in the lower right corner.

The layout is now complete.

CHALLENGE: Create a layout using a candy wrapper; or some sort of packaging material as an embellishment. Upload your project to my challenge thread found HERE. Each day of the hop, I will be challenging you to a new project. For each project you complete and upload, you'll earn one ticket towards my nice prize (which I'm still putting together). I hope you'll play along. I am looking forward to seeing what you make! Thanks for participating. Come back tomorrow for Day 3's project.

Here is the list of blog hop hostesses. Check them out as most also did a Day 2 project.

SANDY Scrapbook Blessings

DENINE Pumpkin Spice

BRANDI Joyfully Creative

PAM Dreamers Klub

ANGELA tealfully Cuttin Up

MARYANNE Scrappy Gifts

LORI Scrapmom's Musings

KATIE Katie's Nesting Spot

ANN Ann Lenth

BRENDA Brenda's Joy

STEPHANIE Today's Magical

ALECIA Freak Alecia's

CHERYL Tickled Pink

LUISA Creative Designs by Luisa

Have a great day!

Welcome to the CSD Be My Valentine Blog Hop!

2011-02-07T08:00:00.081-05:00

Welcome to CSDivas first members "Be My Valentine Blog Hop"! If you are coming from MARYANNE'S blog, then you're on the right track!! If you started here to find out about the blog hop, then please go back to SANDY'S blog to start hoppin!!!

I'm so glad you stopped by from Maryanne's blog. I hope you're having fun hopping along with the rest of us to view some fantastic projects. Before I show you my project, let me share some things you should know first:

"Creative Scrapbooking Divas is a place for Divas to inspire, create and enjoy the process! We encourage members to create, try different things, challenge themselves and enjoy the process. At CSDivas, we have monthly challenges with RAKs offered, great comradarie and, we like to Spotlight our members and their fabulous creations. Most of all, we want our Diva members to have fun!!!"

The "Be My Valentine" blog hop is all about the Valentine projects! We will showcase an assortment of projects from layouts, cards, treat bags, to altered projects, etc - just in time for Valentine's Day. You can visit 14 Diva blogs with awesome creations and most of them are offering an RAK. Here's the list of blog hops:

SANDY: Scrapbook Blessings
DENIN: Pumpkin Spice
BRANDI: Joyfully Creative
PAM: Dreamers Klub
ANGELA: Tealfully Cuttin Up
MARYANNE: Scrappy Gifts
LORI: A Scrapmoms Musings
KATIE: Katie's Nesting Spot
ANN: Ann Lenth
BRENDA: Brenda's Joy
ALECIA: Freak Alecia's
STEPHANIE: Today's Magical
CHERYL: Tickled Pink
LUISA: Creative Designs by Luisa

Also, CSDivas is offering a Grand Prize! Who doesn't like the chance to win a prize! Of course, these are separate from each blog challenge or giveaway, (if there is one offered).

Now, onto my project!

For this hop, I decided to create something a bit different. This is an altered McDonald's french fry container! Yup, that's right--an altered fast food box! How cool is that! But, I have to give credit to Laura Denison of Following the Paper Trail. She is sooo talented and I thought that this would be a perfect item to make to hold a gift, love notes, candy--whatever your heart desires.

Step 1. Gather 2 types of patterned paper, a French Fry container, trimmer, scissors, and adhesive. Please don't use cardstock-it's too thick.

Step 2. Open the FF container and flatten it. Place on a sheet of patterned paper and trace. Cut out.

Step 3: Put adhesive around the edges of the designer paper. With the outside of the container facing down, press the paper onto the inside of the FF container.

Step 4: Crease at all the folds to reshape the container

Step 5: Repeat the same process with the paper you're using on the outside.

Step 6: Reshape the container and glue the tabs to the back. Press against the creases to shape and form the box.

Step 7: Add trim (lace, faux pearls, ribbon, etc) to the edges if you'd like. Create tags and embellish to your liking. Add love quotes, photos, etc. Add tags to the inside of the container and you're done!

My CHALLENGE for you is to create a Valentine project (it must be new) by altering some sort of box/container and it MUST have a Valentine theme. You may use non-traditional colors. If you want to try the french fry container--that's great! I can't wait to see what you create.

Each day I willl challenge you to create something for the chance to win a prize from me. (Hint: it's a bunch of scrapping goodies!) You will get a ticket for each project you complete! I hope you'll play along.

For the chance to earn a Grand Prize at CSDivas post your creations in this discussion thread: VALENTINES BH -LORI'S CHALLENGE ENTRIES. The due date to upload entries at CSDivas is Thursday February 17, 2011.

The winner will be announced on Tuesday, February 22, 2011. That gives you plenty of time (hopefully) to post your projects.

Now let's hop to KATIE's blog HERE to see her awesome creation!!! Thank you for joining in on the Fun!

Get Ready for Another Blog Hop!

2011-02-01T13:17:00.002-05:00

Join us in the first CSDivas MEMBERS "Be My Valentines Blog Hop"

Blog Hop will run from February 7 thru 14, 2011. The Creative Scrapbooking Divas is hosting another blog hop--this time to celebrate Valentine's Day. This blog hop is meant to showcase our talented and creative CSDivas members Valentine's creations! Any CSDivas member is welcome to participate!!! If you're interested in showcasing your Valentine project, just join CSD and go HERE to sign up. I hope to see some of my followers join in on the fun.

What is expected from you to participate:

- Sign-up here no later then February 4th, by posting your NAME, BLOG ADDRESS and EMAIL ADDRESS (we need your email address to send you all the links and blog hop order).

- Post about the blog hop in your blog and post your link in this discussion:
http://divascreativas.ning.com/forum/topics/valentines-bh-blog-posts-here
- Feel free to post our Valentines Blog Hop blinkie (is on the top of this post) in your blog.
- Please be aware that we need a minimum of 5 non DT blog hoppers sign-up by February 4th for this blog hop.
- Maximum number of Non DT blog hoppers is 20.

1) Post a blog post on February 7 at 8am EST featuring your Valentines creations, specifically created for this blog hop please! Can be a layout, card, treat, gift, etc. 1, 2, 3 or more. Totally up to you!
2) Include in your blog post a link to CSDivas, where the list of blog hoppers links will be posted AND a link to the next person to hop.
3) Is up to each member to offer a RAK in their blogs

I'm offering an RAK by random.org to one lucky winner who completes my project, links to their post via Mr. Linky and also posts it to CSD. Here it is:

Because I can't wait for Spring to come, I'm offering an Inkadinkadoo Stamp Set of birds (a definite sign of Spring!) and a wooden stamp.

I hope you'll join me and the other members for this Valentine Blog Hop.

Wishing all of you a great day!

Meet On Monday--32nd Edition

2011-01-24T14:04:00.001-05:00

This is my second posting for the Meet Me on Monday "hop" per se' where "over 40" (the age) bloggers post answers to 5 questions from the Never Growing Old blog and then we 'hop' to each blog to get to know each other better. So, here are this week's questions:

1. What is your favorite kind of fudge? Chocolate--no walnuts though. Allergies

2. Is there snow outside your window? Oh Yeah! Alot!   Matter of fact, I'll give it away to anyone who wants it. Any takers?!

3. What is your favorite meal of the day?   Supper (dinner). This is the meal that I put some effort into.

4. Do you text on your cell phone? No. I never got the hang of it and really don't have an urge for it. If I need to say something to someone, I just call them!

5. Waffles or pancakes?   Both!! With strawberries and whip cream---YUM!

I'm linking to http://nevergrowingold.blogspot.com/search/label/Meet%20Me%20On%20Monday

If you're over 40 (hee-hee) and want to meet other bloggers--stop by.