Card Contest Entry

This is my entry for Sarah Bertein's Christmas Card Contest. I was thrilled that she created the contest and couldn't wait to receive my "kit"! She sends a blank white card, couple of circles and scallop-circles and 2 pieces of decorative paper. That's it; so simple.

This contest made me step out of my routine of Christmas-card-making and try some different elements. I've never made a card like this one and it inspired me to create others that are similar -- love that!

If you get a chance, hop over the facebook.com/sarahcrafts today and put in a good word for my card! Check out the other entries too! Lots of good ones!

Chipboard Scrapbook Makes a Great Gift

Chipboard Album

This was a fun album to make! I was really in a creative groove when I put it together. I just love it when things flow and new ideas come together! Created from sturdy chipboard and covered in warm colored paper, this album has many surfaces ready to be decorated. Add your own pictures and journal and you've got a keepsake. Makes an unforgettable gift!

3 Rings on both sides of album are embellished with fun ribbons. The front leaves room for a title, picture, or date.

The first panel on the inside has plenty of room for journaling. The middle section has a file folder with pockets, tags and more room for pictures. The panel on the right has multiple flaps, hinged at the top. Add photos and journal on both sides of each flap and you can add LOTS of greatness to this album!




The back is blank along with one other back panel. Add a great photo or leave it blank, you decide!

Please visit my Etsy store for more information on this product and others.

Finished My Etsy Christmas Albums!

cow, cat & goat


birds

more farm animals

The finished album!

At the end of October I posted a sneak peak of my "repurposed" Christmas tag album. Well... drum roll... I finished it! Yea! It's a terrific reflection of the tradition of Christmas with its rich colors and images. I bound it with a fun, silver, twisty wire -- make it any shape you like! I aged the tags with a little bit of watercolor spotting and it really brought the whole thing together.

This is a 4-fold Christmas album from my past. I used to love to make these and then I stopped for one reason or another. I had never completed this one so I decided to make it happen! I added ribbons, a buckle, the letter "C" and presto... Scrapbook Completed!!! Makes a great gift!

New Christmas products listed on Etsy!

I'm proud of myself for getting my Christmas tags listed today in my Etsy shop! I'm working on a cellophane gift bag for each listing too -- that way they can be given as a gift. So fun!

Getting ready for the crafty holidays!

It's hard to make Christmas crafts when we're celebrating Halloween, but it must be done! Don't want to get too far behind the other crafters!

I have posted a few cards in my Etsy shop, some new, some old. I made some Christmas tags today too! Can't wait to add ribbons and package them in cellophane! I'll bundle them by the dozen!

Tags glimmer with the addition of glitter!

I'm almost finished with a repurposed calendar/new scrapbook! It's an experimental scrapbook but I'm thrilled with the way it's turning out! I've had this old calendar for YEARS and finally decided to do something with it! Hope you like it! I will most likely post it in my Etsy shop.

Cover: hasn't been bound yet.

One of the inside pockets; each have a removable tag.

Giveaway from Off Switch!

Check out this great giveaway from Off Switch: Roadside Photographs! You could win the "instant roadtrip: 6 postcard set". Jen will pick a winner on 10/8, so hurry and enter (3 ways to win!).

http://tinyurl.com/y8qdqgm

She's also offering free shipping from her Etsy shop, Roadside Photographs. Does it get any better than that!?

http://tinyurl.com/qj8d59

Back from vacation!

Having a week off is always refreshing -- although I'm a bit tired! A trip to Seattle followed by a few days in Leavenworth. Leavenworth is such a fun little Bavarian town! Lot of fun shops and great German food! I would recommend spending a day there (2 days was too much).

When we returned to home, we spent one night in our own bed

(thank goodness!) and then we headed to Bozeman to see my cousin get married. I haven't seen her since she was a child so it was exciting to see her all grown up. Beautiful outdoor wedding! It was actually a lot like ours -- I was thrilled! It was fun seeing other relatives I haven't seen in years including the parents of the bride.

New Cards (and I'm ready for Fall!)

I've been in my craftroom more and more and I was able to produce a couple of Fall inspired cards. The first one is a collage and although I don't collage much, I really enjoyed making this card.

The second one, "Discover Fall", is simple and just a nice way to send a note to your favorite person. I find it so much more meaningful to receive a handmade card from someone vs. a store-bought version. Also, I would much rather receive snail mail than e-mail. I know it's a lost art but I hope you will do your best to keep it alive -- send a handmade card to a loved one or friend today!

New Cards!

Okay, so I haven't been tending to my Etsy shop AND it shows! I recently added these floral cards as a kick start. The floral image is hand-drawn then watercolored and I've used it on many cards because it brings me pleasure. Each card has a 3-D element to it to bring up the oomph factor. Check out my shop sometime and pick out your favorites!

I also posted some "destash" bridal items. I thought I was done with that area of inventory and then my parents call. "We're bringing over some of your things." Okay. I listed some bolts of bridal veiling and sold them immediately -- THANKS CHARLOTTE! I also listed a beautiful bouquet that I used for my bridal displays years ago. It still looks as beautiful today as it did back then!

Beautiful Card by "1 Card Creator"

Isn't this a beautiful card? And it has moving parts! The bottom butterfly spins when you tilt the card!

Check out Diane's Etsy shop: http://www.1cardcreator.etsy.com/

She has a lot of great cards!

Craft Room Makeover

I realized that I never posted a picture of this! I used the recycled board with hooks to create a hanging jar organizer. I'm always saving jars so I was very proud of myself for actually creating something with them! Adds a little "art" to the wall and it's functional!

Trip to Glacier National Park

St. Mary's Falls

Mountain Goat

Lake McDonald

We just got back from a trip to Glacier National Park. What an incredible place! So much to see! It was unbelievable! We camped the night we were there, and I thought we were going to get blown away by a wind storm! We hiked and shot lots of pictures (more to share in the future). We saw mountain goats, big horn sheep, a coyote, deer and all of the magnificent glaciers and some waterfalls! You've gotta go!

Lovely Gift from Croatia

A friend of mine just returned from a trip to Croatia. Look what she brought me! The BEST olive oil I've ever tasted and a sachel of lavendar! Thoughtful, eh!? The olive oil tastes like OLIVES not just oil. Such a rich flavor! The lavendar is unlike any I've smelled before. Really sweet and yummy!

Craft Room Makeover

My new craft corner!

Oh joy! My craftroom is starting to come together! Here's a picture of the corner of my new desk (made from 2 doors). My desk features the following:

Fun pink & brown photo album I found for a steal!

Fun vase from my Mom.

"Happeez" clips that I'll eventually stick to the wall, or something, to display projects. Found 'em at a local store, Noteworthy (AKA: http://www.nightowlpapergoods.com/).

Green suitcases from http://www.pinklovesbrown.com/

The "Organized & Inspired Scrapbooker" that has helped me organize my space.

Flowers from my wedding.

I'll keep you updated with more pictures!

Craft Room Makeover

The desk legs - white dowels

For those of you following my craftroom makeover, I haven't stopped working on it. I painted a second door/desktop and I just painted the second coat on the legs. These legs were recycled from a desktop we put in our office -- we didn't end up needing the legs.

I went to the hardware store today to purchase brackets/supports to secure the desktop to the wall. I was shocked to learn I would be paying $7/each! $7 x 6 = $42! Ugh! Oh well, it will be worth it in the end. Besides, that's the most money I've had to spend so far because I have been recycling pieces that I already had. I hope to assemble the desk tomorrow with my husband's help. I want my craftroom back in order! I haven't made a greeting card or scrapbooked in a month!

Great Summer Necklace from Beadup!

I just notice this beautiful necklace on www.beadup.etsy.com. Would this be beautiful to wear to a wedding with a linen dress? Lovely work!

Craft Room Makeover

The desk! I finished my second layer of paint and moved each piece into my craftroom. This wasn't what I had in mind when I first designed my space (a few years ago...). I had planned on using 2 doors in an L-shape for my desk. Well... now that I've got the 3 pieces in the room, I want the second door/desktop. So I will be sanding, priming, and painting AGAIN. I'm not looking forward to the whole process but know it will be worth it in the end. Working 2, 12 hour shift over the next 2 days, this project will have to wait awhile!

Craft Room Makeover

I was so proud of myself for finding these 12 x 12 storage bins on sale! I just happened to wander into Michael's Craft Store and bingo, there they were! I like the idea of storing current projects in them instead of leaving everything out on my desk. Kind of like in my early school days when we had to keep everything in our pencil box or desk. =0)

I got some good ideas from Molly when I read her comments on one of my recent posts. We are similar in that we don't keep things neat and tidy all of the time. Finding ways to get things off our desks and organized is a must!

Craft Room Makeover

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with these boards but I'm going to figure something out! I inherited them when I moved into our current house. They were too nice to throw away and I thought I might use them "someday". I considered using them to hang glass jars. What do you think? I was going to wrap wire around the neck of the jar, put ribbon and such in the jars, and hang them from the hooks near my scrapbook desk. I bought wire from our local hardware store but when I got it home I realized it had a cancer warning on it. I'm a freak about that kind of warning so I put it in a plastic bag and my husband returned it. I'm going to look for another type of wire and go from there.

Craft Room Makeover

I'm back! Per usual, I know it has been awhile since I've reported on the progress of my craftroom makeover. Well, here's what I've been working on. I primed and painted(1st coat) the door/desk and I painted the 1st coat on the bookshelves. This is a big deal for me to have gotten this far! I'm thrilled! Without this challenge, the door and shelves would still be gathering dust!

Oh and I spray painted my pink magazine rack! You might remember this from an earlier post. I got a steal of a deal on it at Joann's Fabric: $34.99 reduced to $9!!! One can of spray paint and I've got a great magazine organizer! I've got a few runs in the paint but I'm going to try to avoid going into panic mode. My goal is to organize the room NOT make it perfect.

Craft Room Makeover Aid

As a move forward with the makeover, I continue to refer to my copy of "The Organized & Inspired Scrapbooker". I'm glad that I made it through the book & "homework" before I started this makeover because I don't think I would have been able to do both in 4 weeks. I put a lot of time and thought into each chapter and I'm still refering to the 1st chapter on organization as I plan my space.

This part of the book reads "if you aren't naturally inclined to tidy up your space...". That's me! I'm glad that was included in the book because as I look at my handwritten entries/answers, I realize how I need to organize my work table. I need to get ahold of some type of 12x12 bin that isn't very deep and will provide storage for a single page/project.

I'm visual so I like to SEE what I have. Well, that's impossible as a scrapbooker! We accumulate so much stuff! I've got some great ideas for displaying/storing embellishments in clear containers -- I can see them but they're contained! I am also going to use a basket to hold my "new" embellishments. You know the items that you just have to buy at the scrapbook store?! I buy them and then they get shuffled around and I forget about them. I figure I'll leave them in the new basket for a month or so and then put them away. My mind is spinning with ideas! I've got to get some work done in that room! I'll post again real soon!