My latest card for Regina's BBTB challenge

Okay, so no one in the above poll has voted for Scrapworks, but they have some absolutely delicious paper. This elegant line was perfect for Regina's challenge this week -- to use the diamond on the Cricut Jasmine cartridge in black on a card. The "hi" card below also uses paper from this collection, and I love it so much I'm even planning on using it as a jumping off point to do my scraproom!

Card sketches and examples

I LOVE working with sketches, both for scrapbooking and cardmaking. Everyone needs a jumpstart for their creativity sometimes, right? I thought I'd add a couple of my "go-to" sketches here, along with some examples of just how versatile they are, for your viewing pleasure.

Fun thank you card and a few handy sketches

Well, I am ever so thankful tonight for the help of our neighbors Dave and Alyssa in saving us from flood damage, so this card is for them. On the inside it says "You really saved our bacon." It's a new sketch for me, inspired in part by the cards of my friend CandaceLightly, and I think it could be really versatile! I can envision big flowers taking place of the scalloped circle, or all sorts of other shapes or designs in the middle of the circle. It also inspired me to convert a few of my favorite cards to sketch format, so I'll be posting those next.

Here is a link to all the details of how this card is put together:

http://www.cricut.com/messageboard/tm.aspx?m=923262&mpage=1&key=󡙾

Scrap Room Floods -- Ack!

I had quite the adventure last night. I was about to post here when thunder started shaking the house, so I decided I better unplug my computer and bug. The rain was pouring torrentially, and a few minutes later I heard the sound of running water -- uh-oh! I ran into my office and water was pouring into the window well from the sides, and it was starting to fill up! Even worse, it was the window well right next to my scrapbook table! My paper is all in those vertical Crop-in-Style storage cubes, so I was freaking out. I ran outside to see what was going on, and our whole backyard was flooded. The water was running like a river down the side of our house, which is where the window well is. I looked down into the window well, and in the about 30 seconds that had passed it had filled up past the window line and started leaking into the house! So I ran back inside (spreadng mud EVERYWHERE) and got every bucket and trashcan I could find to put under the window. Then I evacuated my paper and everything important from the floor of my office and ran to grabbed another bucket to go out and try to start bailing out the window well. On the way I ran next door to my neighbor’s to warn them. By the time I got back to the window well and climbed down in, the water was up past my knees. Even getting in the window well was an adventure! We have window well covers with latches on the inside to keep them from being opened. Luckily (or more likely blessedly) we’d only fastened one of them and I was able to pull it half-way off. If they had both been fastened, it would have been a disaster. At any rate, I couldn’t climb down the ladder so I had to jump down in, but there was 6 inches of mud in the bottom and I slipped and fell down, at which point I was in mud and water up to my armpits!
So I tried to start bailing, but I could see every bucketful of water I poured out running around to the puddle that was coming in the sides! Total exercise in futility. So I climbed out and tried to figure out what to do. There was a big pile of dirt (well, mud now) in the side yard from the fence installation, so I thought maybe I could build a dam that would channel the water away from the window well. When I first started it seemed pointless as well, but it actually worked! It took me quite a while, but I was able to keep any more water from running into the window well. Marvelous as this was, I still had a window well with 3 feet of water in it! Enter Dave and Alyssa, our fabulous next door neighbors, who had finished pumping out their own window wells and came to my rescue! Without them, we would have had serious flood damage, but with their pump they had that window well empty in just a few minutes! We had next to no damage, but at least 50 gallons of water had been caught in the various buckets, bins and trash cans under the window. After the window well was empty, Dave and Alyssa pumped out as much of the water from the yard as they could. I am so grateful for my awesome neighbors!
I was also proud of myself for solving part of the problem by building the dam. Dan was still on his way home from Grand Junction and didn’t get here until it was all over, so I was pretty much on my own until Dave and Alyssa came over. Shovelling and moving all that thick clay mud was definitely a good workout!
Most of all I’m SO glad none of my scrapping stuff was damaged – now THAT would have been tragic! :) I have some pics of my very dishevelled scrap room, but I don't know where the cord is to get them to the computer in this big mess!

More pics!

Why do I love crafting?

My family and friends, by and large, are not paper-crafty people (not yet, anyway -- muahahahaha!). Amazingly artistic and creative, yes, but not crafty. I am frequently called upon to explain my addiction to paper -- why do I HAVE to scrapbook and make cards for every occasion? I've thought about it a lot, and here is my answer:

#1 -- I am a stay-at-home mom, which is wonderful all by itself and I wouldn't want to trade, but it does have its own frustrations. I wash the same clothes, do the same dishes, and sweep the same cheerio-covered floor over and over and over again. But when I make a scrapbook page, mini-album, or card, it's permanent! It's something that can be enjoyed forever, that doesn't have to be redone.

#2 -- This is the main reason, though I'm sure some people would think it's corny: I craft because I care! (I couldn't think of a cornier way to say it than that!) Really, though, I make cards and mini-albums and such as gifts because I want the people in my life to know that they mean something to me, that I care about them enough to invest my time and talents in creating something that (hopefully) they will treasure. Same goes for scrapbooking -- I want my sweet little boys and the rest of my family to know that I love them enough to keep a record of the amazing, sweet people they are. I want them to know that the memories we share are the treasures of my life. My boys are only 3 and 1, and I know I don't remember anything that far back except a few flashes. If something happened to me (or my husband, parents, grandparents, etc.), neither of them would remember us later in life. There is so much love in our family, in spite of and because of our struggles. The thought that such love might be forgotten is so sad to me; I want to document our family relationships in a way that will serve as a permanent, tangible reminder of all that we share.

#3 -- I just really love pretty things. :)

Thanks for bearing with me...

Hello, my name is Tomi Ann and I'm a paperholic...

I admit it -- I love paper. Pretty paper, cute paper, boyish paper, girly paper, Christmas, Easter, 4th of July, and Halloween paper... I just can't get enough (as my dearest hubby would attest). Who could resist the hundreds and even thousands of gorgeous papers found at craft stores and online? Not me! Especially when they can be turned into cards and scrapbook pages that bring joy and memories for years to come! I decided to start this blog as an online gallery for my favorite cards, scrapbook pages, and other crafts, and hopefully as a fun place to chat for other paper-holics like myself!