Fabric, Felt and Paper Christmas Wreath

I love taking these $1 wreaths and covering them with creative goodies. Here's the one I just made for Christmas. Cut strips of a heather red T-shirt, wrapped and glued. Poinsettia is from the Dollar Tree too. Made the paper rosettes using the Tim Holtz Rosette Die. You can see how to make the felt "roses" at an earlier post where I made them for my autumn wreath (my placement here is a bit "Rudolphish", don't ya think?) I'm working on another one that is lime green, red and white with yo-yos and pom-poms... so fun! Thanks for stopping by!

December Daily Tag Album & Memory Box

I'm trying again this year to keep a December Daily. I've made a small Tag Album where I'll journal little tidbits of our December activities, as well as include small index or 2x2 photos. I also decorated a photo box to use as a Memory Keepsake box and in it I'll collect Christmas cards, programs, etc. I'm thankful for Ali Edward's inspiration, The Scrapping Spot's December kit, and a lot of other online scrapping friends' wonderful ideas about preserving special holiday memories.

Vacation to Disney and Sea World

Last week we went to Orlando. We went to Disney (Magic Kingdom for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party and Hollywood Studios with our "Give a Day, Get a Day" volunteer tickets) and Sea World. It was HOT (record hi temps for 3 days), and a lot of fun. Here are a few photos from our trip:

As Seth and Tessa approached Mickey, he gave Seth a "thumbs up" for his Perry the Platypus shirt! You don't see Perry (or any of the other Phineas and Ferb gang) much yet at Disney World. But the Cast Members like them! We found Mickey at the exit of Disney Animations in Hollywood Studios.

Feeding the dolphins was a delightful treat (but it's an extra $7 per person, so I took photos).

Snow White's witch made Tessa a bit nervous. She was quite curious about those hands!

Finally (we didn't see them when we went 3 years ago), Tessa gets to see the Princesses (and the Princes, too!) She saw Cinderella and Prince Charming, Snow White and her Prince, and Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) and Prince Phillip.

Kent's not wearing his Dr. Doofinshmirtz costume yet, but here you see Phineas and Isabella from Phineas and Ferb... Perry, Ferb and Pinky were in the backpack too (Dr. D used his "shrinkinator" on Ferb I guess... and hooked him to a keychain... oops! I was "Mom" (yes, my name is Candace but somehow wearing a short red and white go-go dress didn't do it for me).

Tessa is now "Daddy's RCG: Roller Coaster Girl" - she rode Big Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain, and Rockin' Roller Coaster multiple times! I am the new Buzz Lightyear family champion - Galactic Hero (999,999 maximum score thanks to getting stuck in just the right spot and Seth showing me a 100,000 point target). But I think I like Toy Story Mania even better, and Seth has our family high score on that one! It was a wonderful vacation, filled with many magical memories!

Autumn Wreath

I've been seeing so many beautiful handmade Autumn wreaths so I decided to try one myself. I bought a round styrofoam ring at The Dollar Tree, wrapped it in some burlap and hot glued it down. Then I used a Leaf Template to print the leaves on brown paper and book paper, spritzing the bookpage ones with Chalkboard mist. I made some felt spiral flowers (tried to show you how below) and added some pearl beads to them. For the acorns, I used my Fiskars acorn punch and leftover scraps from The Scrapping Spot's October kit. The metal butterfly is also from that kit. Had some burlap trim from an etsy shop (Frog Feathers) and used it to hang the wreath. Voilá, in about an hour I now have a new fall decoration for my door!

The Scrapping Spot October Designs

I hear it is Autumn. It's been in the 90s here for a while, so I'm not sure. But I've gotten more into a "Fall" frame of mind lately as I have designed with The Scrapping Spot's fabulous October kit (it's sold out, sorry... there may be some papers left in the store!)

Here are my layouts and a card. Almost everything is from the kit or an add-on. I did add a piece of brown cardstock and a little alpabet from my stash. Had fun using my acorn, leaf and border punches.

Now I'm longing for cooler temperatures, leaves blowing off the trees, picking out a pumpking and many other fun Autumn activities!

A new book from Proverbs 31 Ministries author Rachel Olsen

I receive daily email devotions from Proverbs31 and find them encouraging, convicting and always a blessing. Today a willow scrapbooking friend posted a link to Rachel Olsen's blog where she has a giveaway of her newest book It’s No Secret: Revealing Divine Truths Every Woman Should Know. Rachel is giving away a copy of her book and a necklace from Lisa Leonard designs.

What a wonderful gift this would make for a friend, a relative, or maybe even for myself. :-) I'd need to give that some thought if I won. Be sure to go check out her giveaway and get entered yourself! I believe this is a book I will be reading in the future, perhaps after I complete the next Bible Study I'm doing (The Patriarchs by Beth Moore).

A TSS September challenge to use paint

One of the September challenges at The Scrapping Spot is to use paint on a layout. I used the August kit from The Scrapping Spot for this one (yes, I do believe there are a few left in the store, as well as the "delovely" September kits). I took some ivory paint and a wood grain tool to do the background that is behind the photo. Also painted the edge of the acrylic star that was in the kit. I wanted more of a "showcase" layout to put in a shadow box or display on our entertainment center, so the journaling about Seth is on the back. This kit is great for boys and men, but stay tuned because I have a layout of Tessa planned too!

And I will have something very special to write on the back, since today Seth "went down" at church and will be baptized soon. I've decided to "take the plunge" or "dive in" as well. It's time to make the transition from Presbyterian to Baptist. It's taken me a long time. And I'm really not making light of a very serious life decision (for both of us). Given a choice, I'd prefer non-denominational because it's really all about your personal relationship with Jesus Christ. That said, Lawndale is a wonderful church that teaches God's truth, where the people love and care for each other and the community. I've been serving and worshipping at Lawndale for over 15 years, but now I'll be "official." And we pray that Tessa will come to the same decision in her time, and then our whole family will be members.

More TSS September Layouts and a card

Wow, August is gone and September is here. Once school starts back, time really starts flying. Speaking of school, here's a picture of S and T on the first day of school, August 25, 2010. A 6th grade middle-schooler and a 1st grader. So far, so good. It's hard to get back into a routine, but they both seem to be doing fine.


Now I'd like to share the rest of the creations I made with The Scrapping Spot's gorgeous September kit. In this layout, I got a collage print from Winkflash of our summer hightlights. In addition to the papers and journaling cards from the kit, I pulled out a template from The Crafter's Workshop and my sharpie pens.

In "Scootin' along" I used a sketch from Nuts About Sketches (you have to check out Shawn's site!) I used sketch #123.

I made a card and will probably get to use it this fall as I have several friends in my Life Journey Group due to have babies before Christmas!

Tessa had a big "summer of firsts" and I had to give her an "award" for them. Made the medallion/ribbon using some crepe streamer and a gold foil sticker, in addtion to the kit papers. Also used some My Mind's Eye acrylic stamps on this one.

On "like a kid again" I used another template from The Crafter's Workshop and some homemade mist (I put a few drops of yellow acrylic paint in a spray bottle with water and misted away).

I promise that if you get the September kit with all it's "Delovelies", you will ♥ using it! Thanks for stopping by and visiting my blog!

September Kit from The Scrapping Spot

The September kit from The Scrapping Spot is gorgeous! I'm having the best time designing with it. The Cosmo Cricket "Delovely" papers are wonderful, and Jill and Cathy chose some seriously beautiful embellies!

I've done 2 layouts so far and have several others in the works. I'll be finishing them up in the next few days, so check back soon!

Layouts Galore!

I had fun participating in Noel Mignon's "Fun in the Sun Crop" this past week. I loved all the challenges and was able to complete a few of them.

This page is for Virginia's "Freaky Friday" challenge (inspired by the movie where the 13-year-old girl switches places with her mom). I used the June kit from Color Me Miki:

This layout was inspired by Noel's Summer Recap challenge (I've ordered a photo collage of summer photos to do a true recap layout later, but wanted to do this one of the movies we saw this summer):

Michele's challenge was to make a banner (and I made an Autumn one, using items from last Nov's The Scrapping Spot kit):

Jill's challenge was to make masculine cards:

And I did this layout for Jana's sketch challenge (and also The Scrapping Spot's August challenge to rip something on the layout):

I'm looking forward to LOTS more scrapping soon since I have just joined The Scrapping Spot's Design Team and will be starting with the September kit soon! I'm so excited!

Scrappy Weekend

I participated in an online crop over at Simply Obsessed this weekend and got 4 of the challenges done. It felt so good to do some scrapping! I used some of the July kit from The Scrapping Spot, as well as some stash. Spray painted the green cardstock with a fabric paint and a doily mask on the "Me" layout. Thanks for stopping by!

A layout and a gift card holder

Seth is invited to a birthday party today for a girl who was in his class this year. He said to me "Mom, I don't want to give her anything too girly... just a gift card, okay?" Well, you know I had to try to think of a "cute but not too girly" way to package it. I've been recycling old denim jeans to use for projects and one of my favorite things to do is use the pockets. Tag made with Unity stamp.

Yesterday, I did this layout of us celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary. Nikki Silvils papers, Unity stamps and assorted embellies. Thanks for stopping by my blog this weekend!

And one more...

Also did this layout using the Sweet Peach Crop Shop Juicy Themed kit for July and The Scrapping Spot challenge to use at least 5 buttons (sorry for the crooked picture):

A 2-pager

Angie posted a challenge over at Sweet Peach Crop Shop to use spray mist on a layout. I happened to "steal" a Sweet Peach kit during our recent Willow Desperate Traders game, and I thought some of the papers and embellies were just right for my Lake Lure layout, but the cream cardstock needed something. I mixed a few drops of a Stampin' Up re-inker and some water in a "used and cleaned" candy flavor spray bottle and sprayed the cardstock (it's subtle). Then I also misted the Bazzill cardstock strips (click images to see details).

I made the torn fabric flower, used a Martha Stewart punch, and alphas. from my stash. Thanks for stopping by!

Finally, some layouts!

I've been scrapping with some friends this weekend and it felt GREAT!

I took a couple of kits with me; the April kit from The Scrapping Spot and the Juicy Themed July kit from Sweet Peach Crop Shop (I won this kit in our recent Desperate Traders game over at Willow Traders). I used the July Scrap Your Stash challenges from The Scrapping Spot as my inspiration. The first layout uses a sketch from Nuts About Sketches: The next layout was scraplifted from Julie's TSS July layout "blooming". I used some Martha Steward doilies and punch, and the bicycle is a Unity stamp.This summer will be one of "firsts" for Tessa. She lost her first tooth, is learning to ride a bike without training wheels, and is learning to swim (stay tuned for that layout soon!)

I need to post more.

Tessa, rising 1st grader... had an amazing Kindergarten year and loves school! She's terrific!

Seth, rising 6th grader and middle schooler... wow, time flies! Had a great academic career at Jones Elementary - very proud of him!

So, I'm spending a lot of time with these 2 cute kids for the next 2 & a half months. School's out! It's been a week now and it's been filled with friend playdates, a few cleaning projects, Tessa's first swim lesson and quite a few reminders to get off the computer or turn off the TV. Next week we have VBS at church. The rest of the summer we have basketball camps, Lego and Farm camps at the Nature Science Center, Safety Town, more swim lessons, visits to Hendersonville and Mississippi, lots of summer reading program activities and other fun things yet to be planned. So far, it's been quite hot. We're all really excited about seeing Toy Story 3 soon. Tessa's embraced 1 and 2 (finally) and spent some of her savings on Jessie and Bullseye toys ( and small Woody, Buzz, Rex and Slinky). I'd forgotten how much we ♥ Toy Story. Seth was Buzz Lightyear one Halloween... he watched 1 and 2 over and over again. Good times...

I have been crafty (mostly in the "arts and crafts" sense)... but I have not remembered to take photos of the things I have made. Most were for year-end teacher gifts (tote bags, earrings, flower pins, etc.) Perhaps soon I will make something and remember to take a photo. In the meantime, catch a few fireflies, run in the sprinkler, have an icy pop and enjoy the summer - I will!

Addicted to making fabric flowers!

First, I was making fabric flower pins (see this post) and I still am. After seeing Lisa Andrew's blog post about making flower clips (which she learned from Rhonna Farrar's video), I am loving these torn fabric flowers. I haven't decided how I will use them all yet (hair clips, necklaces, purse embellishments... so many possibilities!) but I know I can't wait to make more!
I haven't scrapped a layout in a few weeks, but I did create a new blog header this week (it even has a few sheer fabric flowers in it!) So if I can get my fingers out of the fabric and glue, maybe I'll scrap or make some cards soon! Of course, with all the end-of-school activities coming up and soccer in full swing, I should have lots of photos and memories to record!

Appreciation...

This week has been about appreciation. Mainly, teacher (and staff) appreciation at my kids' school. I'm the PTA chair for Staff Appreciation, so "Teacher Appreciation Week" looms large in my life. I ♥ showing the hard-working school staff how much we ♥ them; they work so hard and do so much for our kids. Thought I'd share a couple of pics from the week (didn't take any at the Breakfast or Luncheon). The Strawberries & Chocolate Snack is a big hit (local farm berries picked that morning) and the mailbox treats were fun (made 85 felt butterfly pins).