JUGS - Just Us GirlS Challenge - Scrapbooking in Melbourne, Florida

Hey y'all!

Have you tried my friend Lisa Kind's JUGS challenges?  It's pretty cool 'cause they host a different type of challenge each week - sketch, color, templates....you get the idea.

This week it's a sketch challenge and I used it to vent a little about my unfortunate incarceration - subtly, of course!

The awesome little tag from the paper pack (CTMH's Notebook) afforded me the opportunity to circle the exact date of my layoff...and then at the bottom is my editorial comment - 'f-r-e-e-d-o-m'.  tee hee

I sliced up some Prima flowers I've had for eons.  This quick card took maybe 15 minutes to make, which is a record for me!

I'm having a blast doing these challenges....and lovin' the return of my mojo!  New Spellinders(TM) die templates are on the way.....ah, life is great!

Peace out,

March Stamp of the Month Blog Hop from Close To My Heart! Scrapbooking in Melbourne, Florida

Welcome to our Close To my Heart March Stamp of the Month Blog Hop!  Did you hop over from Sarita's blog?  I hope you enjoyed her project!
This time we have over 70 consultants using the same stamp set - A Little Everthing.  This set of over twenty sentiments and images will be a staple in your collection. You'll want to play with all of them!  I've already used the scallop border on many personal projects.  So settle in and find some inspiration!

I've been dying to make something that was just a little vintage.  This doesn't go overboard nor does it hit the grunge stage, but it's close enough to give me a taste of it!  

Remember those little paper-sack-purses I've shared in the past?  Well, I pulled out another one, teamed it with some textured cardstock, Notebook paper (looooOOVVVE it!) and a few fun embellishments to make the perfect gift bag for a Mother's Day present! 

I suppose I could have done a little more distressing and sanding, but I didn't want to go overboard, thinking there might be too much contrast with the start white bag.  But I didn't want to cover up the bag so much either, ha.  So this is what I ended up with!

Here's a closeup of the sentiments I used from the March Stamp of the Month.  I inked the stamps with Hollyhock, then used a sponge dauber to apply Chocolate ink directly to the bottom of the stamp's letters before stamping.  Easy peasy!

Now hop on over to my girlfriend Carla's blog for more ideas!  Take it away, Carla!

p.s.  Thanks for all your well wishes on my new position on the Spellbinders(TM) Design Team.  I can't wait to share new products with you!

Deb

Layouts of me and Teresa CTMH Scrapbooking in Melbourne, Florida

Greetings! Good grief - I haven't posted since Wednesday! I have been busy preparing for today's crop. We had a super time! I made two wonderful new friends, too! Neva and Stephanie had never made cards, and they rocked! I took photos and will post them tomorrow. I am usually drained after these crops and classes, even though I sit around and do nothing all day. hA! Do you know what I mean? Can you relate? I can't begin to tell you how many dear friends I have made since I started doing this nearly two years ago. We have the best time together. It's so fulfilling!


Here are a couple of layouts I made with CTMH's "Workshop On The Go" program, using one of my favorite papers, "Notebook". Aren't they great? No, I didn't place a dirty coffee mug on the layout - ha - it's the paper! That is me (above) in the black velvet dress, right after we moved to Florida. Then with my sister in the right page. This is probably the last year I was shorter than her - tee hee! She is five years older but much, MUCH smaller! In every way - trust me! Oh well. See how the grass had not even filled in the Florida sand?


I was just three when we moved here from Virginia, so I don't remember, but apparently we drove down in this big ol' black Cadillac (pictured here). Teresa and I slept in the back seat, on top of a big console tv! Remember how huge the consoles were, with the small picture tube? Ah, those were the days!!! My parents were brave, though, leaving all of their family and friends in Virginia to bring us to Florida, the promised land - tee hee. My dad had contracted pneumonia and was given marching orders to better weather. And we've been here ever since!


RECIPE (All CTMH):

Paper: Notebook Level II
Ink: Desert Sand
Stamps: Shining Star
Other: Hollyhock Twill, Colonial White Brads, Notebook My Stickease(R), Notebook WOTG Guide


I had so much fun with the girls today that I am inspired and in a creative mood!!! However, most of my stuff is still packed, and the rest of my room looks like a cyclone went through it! I am going to have to spend some time tomorrow straightening up before I make anything else, I
am afraid.


Thank you so much for all of your kind comments. It means more to me than you will know! I must say that I have been having issues again posting to other Blogger accounts. Am I the only one?

What have you been doing this weekend? Is your mojo 'on'?

Sweet dreams,

The time I dyed Teresa's hair green Scrapbooking in Melbourne, Florida

Yes, I dyed my sister's hair green when I was in Junior High School.

But I'll show you this card first, in case you don't want to read the whole silly story. I l-o-v-e the "Notebook" paper pack! That's the paper I used for this card. And do you have the new "Wishes" card template book yet? It is to die for! I finally feel like I can make cards now! This card is fashioned after the pattern "Top It Off". I just love it!

RECIPE (all products CTMH):

Paper: Notebook, Black Cardstock, Colonial White Cardstock

Stamps: Thank You My Acrylix(TM)

Ink: Hollyhock

Other: Black Mini-Brads, Black Ribbon Rounds

Okay. Now about the green hair. It was the 70's. Gone was the long straight hair of the 60's. Mary Lou Retten made the short wedge cut popular. Well, my older sister Teresa had pretty short hair. She had been "highlighting" it. Now, highlighting from the 70's was not as evolved as the products that are available today. As a matter of fact, it was brand new.

Well. I had just bought another new hair care product - the Curling Iron. It rocked! Well, Teresa decided to try it on her short, highlighted hair and she LOVED IT! She loved it so much that she decided this was the time for me to give her a perm!

A little background here. We grew up with Toni Home Perms in our heads from the moment we could walk. I used to cry and cry 'cause all the girls in the magazines had the long straight hair, and my head looked like Shirley Temple's. So we were comfortable with the idea of having perm rods in our head.

Secondly....we have VERY thick hair and LOTS of it. It takes a l-o-n-g time to roll it on those tiny little perm rods. But we had watched our mom do it our whole lives. No problem, right?

Well. This was a humid Sunday evening and my mom left for church, leaving Teresa's little head in my capable 14-year-old hands. Ha. HA. HA!!! So she read the directions to me as I started rolling. and rolling....and rolling.....ugh. Anyway, the instructions directed me to apply the perm solution to each roller as I went along. Which I did. After all, she was telling me how to do it. I can still smell that solution. Ugh. Well, by the time I got to the end, we realized it had taken a long, LONGGG time.

So I checked the first roller. Oh dear. Why did it have a sickly green hue? Sort of a cross between black and garden green. And it wasn't really curly....it was sort of......wiry. Yeah, it was wiry. The combination of the previously-mentioned highlighting and the long-standing perm solution....oh my goodness.

Well, thank God I was bigger than her (that's an understatement)! Needless to say, it was a disaster. I'm surprised all of her hair didn't fall out! I'm surprised she didn't pull out all of mine! So we took a trip to TG&Y to try to find something to bleach the color out of her hair. Then a stop at our neighbor Ruth's house. Ruth is a hairdresser, and Teresa wasn't about to let anyone else touch her head at this point.

My subconscious mind has blocked out everything after this point. It must have eventually worked out, because her hair is no longer green or wiry. As a matter of fact, she even trusted me to color it a couple of times recently!

Do you have a silly family hair story?

My favorite project - Scrapbooking in Melbourne, Florida

One of my favorite Close To My Heart products is the "My Creations Memory Keeper". I have made four of them now, and this one is still my favorite. I used Jeanette Lynton's pattern without any changes. You can view a tutorial on making this box, as well as written instructions and cutting directions, by watching MyCTMH TV's Art and Soul episode "Scrapbooking the Non-Traditional" here.

The Memory Keeper is a sturdy box (approximately 10" x 10") with a magnetic closure. A cool feature is that it closes flat for shipping, so it makes an awesome gift.

I'm currently creating a Wedding Keepsake Box using our elegant "Silhouette" paper pack. When finished, I'll post it here. I'll be offering a workshop for anyone who would like to make one for either their own wedding treasures or as a cherished gift. I'll also offer a kit version for those of you out of the area.

Here is the inside cover, complete with vintage tags. The tutorial leaves the inside blank, so I ceated this part on my own.This paper packet is "Notebook" by Close To My Heart. I also used coordinating Stickease and Big Pinks Just Blooms.

Well, I'm off to watch my beloved Dodgers beat the Astros (I hope so, anyway)! Their games are rarely televised here in Florida, so I drink them in whever I get the chance!

Sweet dreams,

Deb