"Owl" Surely Miss You!

This card is for a dear friend of mine who is moving way, way too far away. Sniff! I used this week's sketch from 2 Sketches 4 You -- this is a great one! I used Scenic Route paper (another sniff! - I hear they're going out of business) and the cute little owly is from Sassafrass Lass. I used my Heidi Swapp edger to add that worn edge -- that is seriously the best cheap tool out there!

Let It Snow -- Handmade Ornament Giveaway! **GIVEAWAY CLOSED**

**GIVEAWAY CLOSED**

I'm so excited to announce that my snowflake ornaments are finally ready and listed in my etsy shop! They are already selling like hotcakes, and I'm so excited to be able to share these everyone. I'd like to announce that I will be giving away a set of 5 snowflakes to one lucky commenter! I'll choose someone at random on November 21st, so you have until then to enter. In fact, I'll even give you a few chances to win (in the style of my favorite giveaway site, giveawaytoday.blogspot.com):

For one chance, leave a comment with your name.

For a second chance, visit my etsy shop, look through the listings, and tell me which one is your favorite. (Like this: Your name -- description of snowflake)

For a third chance, post about this giveaway on your blog, Facebook, Twitter, or wherever you connect with the world. (Like this: Your name -- where you posted)

Good luck to all, and thanks for visiting my blog and shop! It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

The Gypsy 24-hour Design Challenge Project by Lori McClellan

If you get a minute today, I would love it if you could go to this link and help my friend win the 24-hour Gypsy Challenge. She received the instructions yesterday and had 24 hours to create this her project and get it posted for the contest. I just love seeing all her ideas for great stuff like this wonderful magnetic calendar. So, please go and vote for her here:

The Gypsy 24-hour Design Challenge Project by Lori McClellan


If you would like to see more of her great craftiness and more pictures of her fabulous project, visit her blog HERE.

Twirly Skirts!

I have never been a seamstress, but something about having a little girl and seeing cute fabrics and patterns makes me go a little crazy! When we made a spur-of-the-moment plan to go to Disneyland for our family trip instead of to Lake Powell, I thought, "Sure I have a thousand things to do to get ready, but surely the top of my priority list should be making matching twirly skirts for Eliza, Amelia and Taya to wear to Disneyland!" Amelia and Taya are my adorable nieces, and Amelia was here all the way from England for our fun family trip! She and Eliza are just 9 days apart. I used the same Pink Fig pattern as I used for Eliza's birthday skirt, and my workmanship definitely improved with this go-round! Sadly, my kids and I all got swine flu the weekend we were supposed to leave, so we didn't get to go to Disneyland after all, but yesterday we got the girlies all dressed up in their skirts so we could at least get some pictures! Nana had bought them the cute little Minnie Mouse ears at Disneyland. I was very gratified that Taya is totally in love with her skirt -- she insisted she wear it both days they went to Disneyland, and she described to me in great detail how pretty it is when she twirls in it!.

Eliza's skirt is still quite big on her -- I think next Halloween she might just have to be Minnie Mouse!

Some digi-scrapping love!

Sometimes I'm not in the mood to do anything but sit in front of the computer and push a few pixels, and that means only one thing: digi-scrapping! I love having this scrapping option available, even though it will never replace "real" scrapping for me. I love how it opens up new possibilities for style, as in this layout here:


Love this pic! I took it last year as a cover for the photo books I was making all the grandparents for Christmas. I tell ya, that 3 yards of black velvet was the best photo investment I ever made -- I just laid it out on the guest room bed (in front of the big window with the best light in the house) and got the kids to snuggle up together.

But it took a LOT of pictures to get a winner, and I couldn't let all those funny pictures go to waste, so I made another layout to go with the first. I created the elements in this layout myself, and the font is Scriptina.



This layout is another one for the extended-family scrapbook, so I'll be making copies for my mom and the parents of the nieces and nephews in the pic. It's such a great way to include my non-scrapping family in the memory-keeping process! This layout and the next use the free kit from Shabby Princess called "Happy Go Lucky."

This last layout is for a new album I'm starting with pictures from my childhood and older family photos. I'm doing these in 8.5x11 size so I can easily print them and put them in a book with all the papers I've saved from those early years.

Cards, cards, cards...

I've been working on lots of cards lately but haven't had much time for the blog. Now, though, I'm stuck at home with the swine flu, so I thought I'd post them in one card-tastic go!



First, I created these cards from Kazan's really unique sketch over at 2 Sketches 4 You. This one really made me think! And once I had all the pieces created, I realized that this one works exceptionally well upside down, too, so I did one of the cards that way. How many of you are like me, and you create two cards at a time? I really like to do that -- it doesn't take a lot of extra time, but it really helps build my card stash.




I also tackled this adorable bonus sketch from 2S4Y Design Team member Cheryl. You should really check out her blog -- not only are her creations beautiful, but she is a really beautiful person. I LOVE how this card turned out. I just recently bought the Lyrical Letters cartridge for my Cricut, and it is an incredible tool for cardmaking -- so many great sentiments, on top of 7 fun, versatile fonts. Can't believe I avoided it for so long!

Materials for all above cards: PP -- Scenic Route, Cardstock -- DCWV, Crate Paper, Die Cuts -- Cricut "Lyrical Letters" cartridge, branch from Sizzix SU die

Before that, my most recent project was a thank you card and package of yummy pumpkin chocolate chip mini-muffins for a dear friend who is always helping me out in a pinch.



My favorite thing about this card is the buttons -- I recently discovered buttons from Sassafrass Lass, which come prestitched in yummy colors with adhesive already attached to the back. PERFECT! Those will be the subject of my next product review, so stay tuned! I also misted the big flower with Glimmer Mist, which I love.

Materials: PP -- Crate Paper, Flowers -- Heidi Swapp (large red), Fancy Pants, Buttons -- Sassafrass Lass, Die Cut -- Storybook Cricut cartridge, Stamps: Stampin Up

Lastly, I have a few of the projects I worked on at our Cricut SWARM in September. We had such an awesome time, and I actually got a ton accomplished -- yippee!

These thank you cards were for the ladies who hooked us up with an awesome venue for the SWARM:



Materials: PP -- "Lullaby of Birdland" collection from Scribble Scrabble, Snap -- We R Memory Keepers, Die Cuts -- Plantin Schoolbook and Lyrical Letters cartridges



Materials: PP, Stamps -- Sassafrass Lass, Die Cuts -- Mini-Monograms cartridge

Thanks for checking out my projects, especially if you made it all the way to the end -- I hope you enjoyed them!