Anniversary Card

Today's our anniversary. I made this card for my husband, incorporating my love of Twilight (which he indulges...).

Here's the front:

And here's the inside:

All papers, chipboard, and vellum accents (with the exception of "Happy Anniversary") are from the DCWV Immortal Love collection.

Hope he likes it!

Will be back with more projects soon.  I've been working on a HUGE landscaping project that is taking up a lot of my time.

Awesome giveaway!

Check out the great giveaway at K. Andrew Designs: 

http://www.gettingcricky.com/2011/06/oh-happy-happy-monday-its-marvleous.html#comment-form

Her blog is a great way to learn about all things crafty and gorgeous!  Tell her Christie sent you!

Another Craft Link Party!

This one is at You Had Me At Craft!  Check it out, and if you're a crafter too, link up!

Linky party and tons of craft ideas!

http://www.craftjunkietoo.com/search/label/T.G.I.F.%20Linky%20Party

Craft Junkie-Too's blog is one of my favorites, along with others I follow, such as You Had Me At Craft.

Tracy does a TGIF Linky Party, and I love seeing all the creations there!  Be sure to follow these creative ladies.

JoAnn's Scrapbook Haul and Mini Album Project!

I got a gift card for JoAnn's as a retirement gift.  The note inside said $40.  I was trying to be a good girl and not go over.  However, the sales today at JoAnn's were phenomenal!  Everything was rung up, and the total came to $55 and some change.  Ok, I thought...  I have a 40% off coupon on one regularly priced item that I printed off the internet.  I gave that to the cashier.  She then told me that my grand total that I owed her was $.38!!  What???  Turns out the gift card was for $50, instead of $40.  Yay!!  Anyway, I got all this stuff for $.38!!

I've been doing some research on You Tube (yes, you can actually research stuff on You Tube - LOL).  I have some cool old pictures of my mom and dad, and wanted to do something small with them as a gift for my mom. 

So - I decided to make a Toilet Paper Roll Mini Album!  Yes - you read that right!

I raided the bathrooms in the house and got 5 empty toilet paper rolls.  (The guys in my house are not good about throwing them out - lucky for me this time!)

I flattened them out, and creased them well using my bone folder.  It's important to be sure to use the same size rolls.  That was easy, as I always buy the same brand of TP - LOL.

They still aren't quite flat, so I put them under a heavy dictionary, and let them sit there overnight to flatten.

The final thing I did for the night was to cut tags using my Cricut to insert inside the tubes.  I used my Graphically Speaking cartridge (which is one of my favorites) and cut the tags at 4".  (During assembly, I had to cut about 3/4" off the bottoms to keep them from sticking out too far, but the width was perfect)  I cut them on cream cardstock.  I had already decided on a tan/brown and aqua color scheme, so I used Glimmer Mist in Sand and Patina to color the tags and left them to dry overnight.

After I got home from the JoAnn's run, it was time to begin assembly.  I had my photos ready.

Note:  When making a heritage album of any kind with old photos, please do yourself a favor, and scan those photos into your computer.  Best not to take a chance of ruining the originals!  I scanned the photos in, and printed them out on photo paper.  Now, if I mess up, the original photo is still in pristine condition, and I can always print out another copy from my computer!

I decided that I wanted to begin with the brown/tan page and end with the same.  I alternated pages between the brown/tan and the aqua.  Here's closeups of the cover page and the back page:

The grandfather clock on the first page I cut out from some Heritage cardstock that I had.  It's glittery, but doesn't show that too well in the photo.  I trimmed both the front and back cover in the same ribbon for continuity, and used the new stamp I got at JoAnn's on the back!

Now, on to the rest of the album.  As I created each "page", I then went on to create the tag that slips inside the tube.  I did it that way so that I wouldn't mess up and forget which photo I wanted to use where.

After all the "pages" were complete, now comes the fun part of assembly.  I used my hole punch to punch holes in each tube.  That was fun - not!  It used a lot of strength to punch through the tube.  As I punched each tube, I lined it up with the next one, and drew a pencil circle inside the punched tube onto the next tube.  This way, all the holes would line up.  (Man, I decided I need to get a cinch binding machine!! They are kind of pricey, so it'll go on my wish list.)

Once all the holes were punched, I used 1 1/2 " binder rings to hold it together.  I then cut lengths of gold tulle, and wrapped through each ring, tying a bow. 

Here's pics of the finished album:

For embellishments, I used a few vellum quotes about memories, family, and friends.  There's also some puffy stickers.  Some of the tags have photos, such as the first tag that has a photo of my Great Grandmother, who raised my mom.  The second tag has a pretty risque photo of my mom posing on a car.  I put it on a tag, so that she doesn't have to pull it out to show anyone if she doesn't want to.  I included it as it really is a beautiful picture of her.  (She is going to croak when she finds out I have that photo!!)

I began with photos of her as a teenager, then photos of my dad when he was in his early 20's, then photos of them together and separately throughout the years.  I'll give it to her when I go to visit her next week.  She and dad are both in a nursing home now unfortunately.  Mom is 74 now and still has all her mental faculties.  However, Dad is going to be 77 next week and suffers from Alzheimers.  He still knows Mom most of the time though - she visits him daily.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the photos and the project!  If you like what you see, click the "Follow" button, and follow me as I create new projects!

Have a great weekend!

Organizing my card/scrap room...

i worked today on organizing my craft space.  I have a bunch of baskets to put things in, but nowhere to put the baskets...  :(

I've decided to get a shelving unit to set the baskets on.  I sorted my stickers by category and used a large filing box to put them in.  I have my punches in a basket, and a decorative metal pail for my craft scissors.

Tomorrow I'm going to work on organizing my scraps.  Right now, they are in a drawer sorted into:  white, color, and patterned.

I'm also going to begin labeling drawers and baskets.  Whew - it's going to be a lot of work!  it's amazing what supplies I've already collected in this short time!

If you have any good organizing ideas or tips, please share them in the comments section!

Also, if you are reading my blog and enjoying my cards, please become a follower!  I'd love to have you.

New cards and more pictures...

I made a couple of cards for Father's Day - one for my husband, and one for my son in law.  My son in law loves bowling, so that one is bowling themed:

This is the outside of the card.  I used the Nifty Fifties Cricut cartridge, and cut it at 2", plus did the shadow in red.  The ribbon is red with black dots, and the bow is black with white dots.

Here's the inside:

Again, I used the Nifty Fifties cartridge to make the bowling ball and pin. 

The one I made for hubby needs a little explanation - LOL.  He plays an online game, and it has sound effects.  One is a little kid singing, and he loves that one and plays it all the time.  So - I typed it up and printed it on cardstock and matted it.  He got a kick out of it.  I used the Graphically Speaking cartridge to cut the "Play Hard" sentiment.

Today's my son's birthday, so I made a birthday card for him.  He loves fishing, so I covered the card stock with patterned paper that has a fishing theme:

Then for today's last effort, I needed to make a Thank You card for a gift. 

On this card, I tried out a ribbon pleating technique that I saw in an Archivers video, and added a lavender brad.  The flower at the top I made from 3 circles of coordinating paper that I tore and distressed, and added a heart gem in the center.  The sentiment I printed from my computer.  You can't see it in this photo, but it has star embellishments that I filled in with StarDust Stickles.

So, all in all, it's been a pretty productive day!  And how was your day?

Had a busy weekend. We redecorated the bedroom in our ancient, but trusty RV.  Hubby hung new wallpaper and curtains, and I recovered the headboard.  Then we took it out for an overnight stay so DH and son could do some fishing, and I could just chill out.

Forgot to take pics though!  Will have to do that next time we go out.  I have a busy week ahead, but hope to get to do some card making later this week.  Hope everyone has a great week.  Happy Monday!

It's been a very busy week for me!  Memorial Day weekend was fun - we had the kids and the grands over for a cookout.

I retired from my job on June 3rd.  I just feel like I am on vacation right now.  It hasn't sunk in yet that I don't ever have to go back to work again. 

My office had an open house to celebrate my retirement, and I got to see a lot of old friends and coworkers; both from other offices and ones that have already retired.  I was given tons of cards, and some gifts as well, including some greatly appreciated gift cards!

I've spent the last two days making Thank You cards.  One was from an Archiver's kit I had, but all the rest came from my own imagination.  I'm pretty proud of what I was able to accomplish.  I hope you enjoy them (and I hope the recipients do too!).

A trip to the scrapbook shop....

After work today, I decided to treat myself.  I visited a local flea market (why do they call them that?  They don't sell fleas.  Isn't that a violation of truth in advertising laws?)

They have a booth that sells all sorts of stickers (mainly Jolee's), some scrapbook papers, and copic markers among other things at 60-70% off.  I scored some major bling.

Then I went to a new (to me) scrapbook store, and fell in love.  I wandered the aisles till closing time, and walked out with some journaling items, Glimmer Mists (which I've been dying to try out), some stamps, and some new Distress Ink colors.

Guess what I plan to do this weekend?  I'm still working on a scrapbook I'm making for my co-workers.

My retirement is one week from today.  I think some scrapbook therapy is in order.  I'm excited about retiring, but more than just a little scared about it too.  It's a big life altering decision.  I got a little preview of what it will be like for me on my last day.  One of my coworkers left today for vacation.  She won't be back before I leave, so I caught her to say goodbye.  There were many hugs, and even more tears.

I try to focus on the positives - it's not like my coworkers are dying.  I can still talk to them and even go meet them for lunch.  I will have plenty of time to devote to my house and family, and to scrapbooking and cardmaking.

I can do this.

What I did this weekend......

I made some cool cards!  I am a huge Twilight fan, and I dearly love the DCWV Immortal Love collection, so I made a card using paper and a tag from the collection and embellished it with ribbon, a vellum quote, and a pretty flower and brad.  This paper represents Bella's lullaby, and is actually for a retirement card for a co-worker.

The next card is for a male co-worker that is retiring, and was my first attempt at making a window in a card.  I used a square punch.  It wasn't big enough to get to the middle of the card, but it still looks decent for a first attempt!  I stamped the inside of the card with "congrats!", then glued rick rack to the outside of the window.  I goofed though - the card was closed when I put the glue on, so some of got on the inside. 

So - I improvised!  I sprinkled glitter on the glue on the inside, so now the sentiment has a glittered frame on the inside!  I embellished it with a coordinating twill ribbon, using a button threaded with fibers as a focal point.

I'll post some pics of my scrap pages later!  Have a great evening!

Inaugural post

I've finally entered the world of blogging.  I don't know why it took me so long.  I guess I figured I didn't have the time.  However, I am getting ready to retire and devote more time to my scrapbooking and card making, and need a place to show it off. 

In addition, I follow a lot of blogs, and can't link up to them since I didn't have a blog of my own.

I just began scrapping in October of 2010.  My first project was a labor of love.  It was a scrapbook for my dear online friend, Phyllis.  She is recovering from breast cancer.  I got several of my dear online friends to contribute photos, cards, and original artwork, and I scrapped it all for her.

And then, I was hooked.

I've recently ventured into the realm of card making, and find that I am really enjoying it.  This will give me a chance to share my work with others, and hopefully learn something from everyone.

The blogs I follow frequently have really inspired me.  I will figure out how to link up to them, as if you like crafts, you will love their blogs!

A little about me - I am retiring June 3rd, 2011 from my job with the US Government.  I had 38 years of service.  (...of course, I started when I was still in diapers... LOL)

I have 2 grown children, and 3 beautiful grandchildren - a girl age 17, and two grandsons ages 14 and 11.  (plus 3 lovely little feline furbabies!)

We love to take road trips, and have driven across Route 66 twice.  We are drive in theater enthusiasts, and stop and take in a movie under the stars along the way.

I welcome comments about my projects, and can't wait to learn more from all of you!