AI Sunday with chocolate and a little bear Scrapbooking in Melbourne, Florida

I have been an absent blogger this week!  I am in good company....I know a lot of us are focusing on other things right now.

Today's my posting day as a member of the Artful Inkables Design Team.  Don't you love your Artful Inkables stamps?  I know that I do! 

Here's a little sumpin' sumpin' I cooked up with one of the new sets, "License To Chill". 

The first photo is the inside of a little Ghirardelli candy holder.  Of course, other goodies will fit inside as well, but look how perfectly three little candies tuck in there so neatly!

The papers are all from Close To My Heart.  The patterned paper is one of six patterns from the "Jingle" paper pack. 

I also used my brand new EK Success Diamond Scalloped Slim Line Punch.  I ended up buying it online, 'cause I couldn't find it locally.  It was worth the wait, as far as I am concerned!

One of these days I will be happy with my coloring abilities and you will know all about it!  In the meantime.....here's the outside of the little treat box....

I wish I could be this little guy, sliding with glee down a big ol' hill!  I have only done so once in my entire life.  My family moved to Florida when I was 3 yo.  Needless to say, there was so snow in my life for a loooong time. 

When I was married, we lived in southern Maryland for a couple of years.  We lived at the top of a verrrry steep hill.  People were afraid to drive up to the house.  Seriously.  So Alan was about four years old.  You don't need to know how old I was - tee hee!  One day we had a heavy snowstorm.  We were ready with a red plastic sled purchased just with this day in mind.

Of course Alan went first.  Little did I know that he would go SOOO fast that he flew all the way to the bottom of the hill, across the road and halfway up the neighbor's driveway across the street!!!  WHEEE!  Exciting indeed, but just a big dangerous, right?  Well, I had to try it myself....what a thrill!  Boy, did I miss a lot growing up here in the Sunshine State!  The cold air taking your breath away, the snow flying back up onto your face, the sound of your own voice screaming....what complete joy! 

Till you had to trudge back up the hill.  Too bad we didn't have a ski lift back up to the house - ha!  I suppose a lot of you are experiencing this fun with your kids this very day.  Scream a little louder and take one more ride for use Florida girls!!!

Smiles,

Deb

Mojo Monday 112 CTMH Scrapbooking in Melbourne, Florida

I did it!  I actually completed the Mojo Monday sketch challenge on Monday, instead of waiting till Sunday!  Woohoooo!!  Now, if I could only get it posted on Monday....ha!!!!

This is such a cool sketch!  How can you not get inspired by it?  I decided to pull out my Close To My Heart "Jingle" paper pack and make a little holiday card this time.  And I made it in no time!

The main image/sentiment is just one of several images in the "Just for the holidays" stamp set.  I love, love, LOVE this stamp set!  Click on the link to get a closer look at all of the cute images - great for gift tags - just stamp 'em, punch 'em and add some twine!  I already have mine ready!

My photo is sort of stinky - the flash went off and I realized it too late.  So everything looks flat.  In fact, the two rectangular panels are popped up, as are the Creme Brulee flower, the Juniper snowflake, and the Tulip stamped sentiment.

So, do you like this stamp set?  Would you like to get it FREE?  Buy two sets, get one free in November!  All the scoop is on my CTMH homepage.  Or shop online and the computer will figure it up for you!  If you need any advice, e-mail me.  I'm going to collect the rest of my Solo Alpha's this month.  How about you?

Smiles,

Deb

Holly Treat Bag from AI - another doily! Scrapbooking in Melbourne, Florida

Hey, y'all!  My beloved Dodgers won last night....wooHOOO!!!  Now let's have a repeat performance tonight!

Here's a cute little treat bag for the holidays.  Who said you can't use pink for Christmas?  I decided to finally pull out my Cricuit and use it for the second time - ha!  I cut the bag using Baby Pink CTMH cardstock.  Then used another tool - an edge punch - for the CTMH Jingle paper border at the bottom.  Then another tool - Nestabilities - to cut the precious tags!  Then another tool - good grief- a Martha Stewart punch - for the little cedar branch.  What would we do without our tools???

The image and sentiment are from Artful Inkables' delightful September release, "Holiday Beavers".  Yes, all of those cute little candy-cane sparkly beavers have their own holly sprig for decoration!  I also used some golden stickles on the holly's jingle bells and three tiny Cranberry CTMH brads on the cedar/holly branch.

And of course, one more doily.  These things seem to be multiplying like rabbits!  The more I use, the more I have left!  Maybe I should start using them as tissues.  Or as post-it notes.  Now, what would my boss think if he received a note from me written on a little white doily.  Good grief.  HA!!!!!

Till next time,

Deb

Artful Inkables/Mojo Monday/Think Ink Tuesday Challenge Card....phew!!! Scrapbooking in Melbourne, Florida

Did you enjoy World Cardmaking Day yesterday?  Did you make a pretty card, or two?  I hope you enjoyed some creative time....I know I did!

Well, this is the first time I have completed a project that meets three challenges.....good grief....I've never been able to get two into one, much less three!

So this is my Sunday AI post using the cute new stamp set, Holiday Treats and Tails.  Now, how adorable is this little Beaver?  I stamped her on the Creme Brulee cardstock, then paper pieced all but her tail with Cocoa, White Daisy and Tulip cardstock.  I used CTMH markers on her tail.

The second challenge that it meets is the Think Ink Tuesday challenge wherein Lisa challenges us to make our card sparkly!  wooHOOO!  What girl doesn't love a little (or a LOT) of sparkle?  So I pulled out the Stickles that I have been collecting and used it on the lights.  Added CTMH sparkles to her ears and my favorite, the CTMH rhinestone frames....a square one around the sentiment and a curvy one to the left of the bow.  Check out the Think Ink Tuesday link and submit your sparkly card for a chance to win a grab bag of cool AI goodies!

Here's a closeup that highlights the image a little better.  The third challenge that it meets is the Mojo Monday sketch challenge.  These sketches rock!  The paper is from CTMH's Jingle paper packet.  The ribbon is a new suede ribbon by May Arts that I purchased from Sharon's store.  Oh, it feels so delightful....it really is suede! 

I nearly finished this post with "now hop on over to......." since my last two posts were blog hops.  And what fun they were!  It's only going to get busier with the holidays approaching, right?

Tomorrow I'll be back with those photos that I promised - the acrylic album workshop with Sweet Home.  For now...off to watch my beloved Dodgers!

Sweet dreams,

Deb

Close To My Heart's October Stamp of the Month Blog Hop CTMH Scrapbooking in Melbourne, Florida

Welcome to Close to My Heart's monthly Stamp of the Month (SOTM) Blog Hop! Woohoo!!! This time we have three groups of 20+ gals participating with dozens and dozens of great ideas to inspire you when you are using October's Stamp of the Month, "HolidayWarmth".  If you came here from the amazing Nona's blog, welcome!

Well, I went a little crazy this time.  tee hee....imagine that!!!  Instead of a card or a layout, I created three little altered items, all pretty quick and easy!

First is my Rudolph Christmas List Notebook.  As you know, I just love our Heartfelt Die-Cuts, and the new collection includes this precious little reindeer!  Cute, cute, cute!  I used the Jingle paper and Stickease (for the little ornament), a Cranberry Tiny Brad for his nose, some White Ricrac and Juniper Waxy Flax.  I used White Daisy Ink to random stamp one of the cute snowflakes from the Stamp of the Month.  Then, I used a branch punch to make Rudolph some cute little Juniper antlers!  Now to fill it up with gift ideas for my friends and family!


Next up is a super inexpensive little Holiday Recipe Box!  Now, don't you have a collection of family recipes that you pull out just for the holidays?  Green bean casserole....sweet potato casserole (good grief....lots of casseroles!)      Gingerbread....Granny's peanut butter fudge...you have your own to add to the list.  Well, I found this little recipe box in Michael's $1 bin (gotta love that!).  I used CTMH's Everlasting Creative Basics Paper, Cranberry Ribbon and a sentiment from the Stamp of the Month stamped with Ponderosa Pine ink.  Now, I actually just inked up part of the sentiment.  I could have cut it apart, but I was too lazy.  HA! 

Here's a closeup of the top.  I used Pewter Designer Brads and the super-cute crocheted flowers from the White Mini-Medleys, plus a bit of Cranberry Ribbon to make a handle.  So easy!  The hardest part was covering up the Halloween-ie paper on the box.  Bonding Memories Glue makes it really smooth. 

Oh!  The doilies.  Good grief.  I bought these little guys in the cake decorating dept. for the card that I posted last Thursday (remember the little skirt?).  So now it appears that I will be using a little paper doily or two each week until they are gone.  HA!

Finally, here's my last project.  It's a poorly-lit (sorry!) Christmas mug filled with hot chocolate mix (YUM!).  The mug was a $1 store find. I stamped this yummy sentiment from the Stamp of the Month with Tulip Ink, cut it out, mounted it on Juniper Cardstock, cut it again, smushed some Tulip Ink on, added some polkie dots with a Tulip Marker.  The snowflake is actually one of CTMH's white chipboard Dimensional Elements.  I could have left it white (rumors have it that snowflakes are white...I wouldn't know, being as I'm in Florida - ha), but I decided to rub in some Juniper Ink (just use a sponge...it absorbs real nicely and evens out as it dries!).  Tied it all together with some Tulip Ricrac and Juniper Waxy Flax.  It's so true.....having everything that matches makes it go together so quickly!  Faster.  Simpler.  Easier!

Now, I'm sure you've seen the cute images that accompany these sentiments as you've hopped along the blog hop - a festive Christmas tree, a big ol' pile of gifts and more!  Want to own this Stamp of the Month yourself? Ask your consultant how, or e-mail me for details!

Now, hop on over to my friend Terrie's blog for some more ideas on using "Treasures"!

Thanks for stopping by!

See you tomorrow,

Deb

Card Kit (free???) and a sneak peek! CTMH Scrapbooking in Melbourne, Florida

Happy Tuesday! Can you tell that I am typing this on my new computer? tee hee. I tell you, last week I had this odd feeling that my home computer was about to give up the ghost. So I went to Wally-World last week and bought an external hard drive and back up the whole darned thing. I should have done that a looooong time ago! Then I called my brilliant son and asked him to find a deal for me. So he did! And today I am typing on an uber-cool laptop. Yep, it's sittin' on my lap as we speak!!! I finally figured out how to transfer my files, but not my internet favorites. So if you're not seeing my comments on your blog, it's because I have to find you again!!!

Now, look at this cute, CUTE card kit!!! Close To My Heart is so great at offering great product deals. This kit, "Everyday Celebrations", gives you 16 card bases (look at the cute curved die-cut on the front) and envelopes, two mini-inks, a big ol' bunch of Chocolate Mini-Medleys, ribbon, paper, cardstock and - the best part - a full-color brochure with cutting instructions to make 16 cards (two each of eight different cards)!!! This cool paper is great for those guy/boy cards everyone always has problems with. But wait - there's more! ha

Look at the cute cards I made with our new (to be released September 1!) papers and the card kit patterns! Woohooo!!!!

The cards on the right are the cards from the Everyday Celebrations kit. The cards on the left are quick cards that I made using the same patterns, but different paper!!!!

How cute is the sofa stamp! And the little felt leaf! And Ms. Holiday Cheer! woooHOOO!!!! You will die when you see the new book September 1. I cannot wait to show it to you!

You may order the card kit while supplies last via my website. It's $39.95, or FREE if you order $60 in stamps!!! It's also FREE if you sign up to join my team in September! It's also FREE if you host a gathering with $400 in sales! wooHOOO!!!! e-mail me for details or get the scoop here.

I hope you are as excited about this as I am! I just loooove Close To My Heart! Can you tell?

Smiles,

Deb