Red & Pink

I found this image in a folder, one that was sent to me in a swap, and I thought she looked like she needed some color. So I took out my Copics and glitzed her a bit with Liquid Glass, Stickles and a few jewels. Then I attached her to some embossed cardstock, and added patterned paper.

Finally, I punched holes on the edge of the card and tied ribbons to each for a froufrou look. I like the way it turned out, something a little different than my usual card.

I think I'm going to set the theme of the Card Exchange Swap on Scrapbook Place Yahoo Groups to a Red and Pink-colored card for next month.

365 Days of Me album

Seven 4x6 photos on two pages take up a lot of room, so on these pages you will not see a lot of embellishments. What you will see is a glimpse into my life, with a nice fat space for journaling. That's why I won't bore you with each and every page I make for this album. After all, you're here to see something new, something you might like to try yourself, something thaty might inspire.
But I did want you to know that I've started like gangbangers on my 2010 scrapping goal. I have also purged quite a bit of items from my craft room. Using my stash to fill the pages of this album helped a bunch. Bringing my paper stash to a friend's house and using her cricut carts also depleted some of my stock. Not enough yet to allow me to purchase more paper (sigh) but enough to make me feel I'm off to a good start.



I used Copics to shade the white paper doily for my journaling this first week. I decided to go with white metal-rimmed tags for the dates on each photo,

except for the one of the Magnolia Calendar. The photo of January 7th is a view from inside my car after work. It had snowed non-stop while I was at the office, and took a while to clean off my car. Love the snow, but hate driving in it. Next time I hope we have a snowstorm on a weekend!

Handbook for Feeling Good in 2010

This is from one of those "pass it along" emails I often get. I think it's good enough to share here:
1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees & plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
4. Live with Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
5. Make time to pray.
6. Play more games.
7. Read more books than you did in last year.
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk daily. And while you walk, smile.
11. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don't worry over things you cannot control; invest your energy in the present moment.
13. Don't over do it; keep your limits.
14. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake.
17. Envy is a waste of time; you already have all you need.
18. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
19. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
20. Realize that life is a school & you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum; the lessons you learn will last your lifetime.
21. Smile and laugh more.
22. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree...
23. Call your family often.
24. Each day give something good to others.
25. Forgive everyone for everything.
26. Spend time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
27. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
28. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch. Life :
29. Do the right thing!
30. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
31. GOD heals everything.
32. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
33. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
34. Today is the first day of the rest of your life.

Card Exchange CLub

I am in a Card Exchange Swap on Scrapbook Place Yahoo Group. We sign up each month (or not) and send one card to another participant. That's all, no sweat, no grinding out seventy cards at a time. Just one. And her is my card for January. I almost colored an image and placed it on the cover, but it just wanted some bling. So...

I placed it on the inside of the card. Here sits Riley, toasty warm in his comfy chair, cupcake in one hand and cocoa in the other (He, like me, doesn't like coffee). I added some more silvery bling to the top of the card.

The card is an omen, you know. We're expecting 6-8 inches of snow before the end of the week. It's certainly cold enough, and yet northern Illinois has enjoyed a fairly mild winter.

Hope y'all are toasty warm tonight!

New Technique for me

I do not like round cards. I never could figure out how to decorate and embellish it. But since learning and trying out new things this year is high on my list of goals for 2010, and since one of my yahoo groups are hosting a swap of shaped cards, I thought I'd bite the bullet and try it on for size.
And you know what, I like what I made! I even thought of making a few extra, but the papers and embellishments are all used up. I used paper Studio 3D stickers, a few adhesive backed jewels, and papers from Hobby Lobbly. Oh, and the white paper doily put a nice scalloped spin on it. The sentiment reads: "Always maintain a kind of summer even in the middle of winter."

I stamped the envies with a set of Basic Grey acrylic stamps, and cut additional paper for the inside of the card. A few more jewels and some inking around the edges and voila! a round card made by mwah!

Finished!

Finally scrapped the last December days before Christmas. I feel refreshed, now that the album is complete.

It'll be interesting to check this out next year, and compare the days before Christmas 2010.

I really learned a few things about photography from this exercise. Sometimes the most mundane things will spark a story, or in this case a memory.

And the things we stress over the most, that was in the forefront of all your thoughts, can be laughed at over the distance of time.

I know I'll count my blessings next year if everyone is healthy and home for the holidays. I hope this album will remind me not to sweat the small things.

Happy New Year

Another year, another 365 days of opportunities to learn, to create, to share, to make friends, to teach, to scrap memories, to love, to live. I think I did an outstanding job on my 2009 New Year's Resolutions, but it's time to move on to a new year. So saying, here ar my 2010 Goals:

1:It's All About ME! - Today I'm starting my "365 Days of Me" album. I plan to take a photo a day and scrap layouts by the week.

2:When you stop Learning, you stop living - I'm going to try at least one new technique a month. It may not be the most recent fad, but it will be something I've never tried before, or something I shy away from because I'm not adept at it.
3:Ruthless People - I vow to clean out, simplify, cut down and share what's in my craft room. I will reuse, recycle, and reduce my supplies. I will ruthlessly keep my craft room and supplies organized. Idon't just want to feel like I'm getting somewhere, I want to see my efforts succeed in a cleaner, more organized craft room.

4:Out with the Old - Well, not exactly out, more like scrap the old--photos, I mean. I am still fairly new to scrapbooking and have boxes of printed photos waiting for their home in nice, neat albums. I would like to play "catch-up" with these photos, getting them more organized and onto pages.

So saying, the photo above is my first attemptt at trying new things. I am not comfortable with cards that aren't your standard sizes. I'm not talking boxes, they're fun and not exactly what I'd consider cards. So I made these "purse" cards off a card that was sent to me. It's for a Valentine swap, and the photo below is the "treat" that goes with each card.

(sigh) I lost the photo and now it's at the top of my post. The treat is a Website Address book that i scraplifted from the convention in St. Charles this summer. I think it's a great idea to have one, and if I didn't give them all away, I get to keep one myself.

So that's it, my newest art and my newest crafting goals. Here's to a year filled with discovery, friendship and more time for everyone to do what they love!!