Tuesday's Trigger

I decided this week to participate in the infamous "Tuesday Trigger" challenge over at Moxie Fab's blog...I've seen the triggers many times, but this is my first time sending something in (there's so much awesome talent out there). Here's the trigger picture straight out of the Pottery Barn catalog:
And here's what I put together this afternoon....nothing like waiting until the last moment:

And because I love the close-ups so much better than the front-facing pictures (I've got to get myself a macro lens) here's another look:

Supplies I used include: cardstock from Stampin' Up, a Cuttlebug embossing folder, scraps from my stash, American Crafts Thickers letter stickers, my Spellbinders scallop die and my favorite PTI rustic twine. The border punch is from Fiskars. My inspiration came not only from the trigger but a piece of Cosmo Cricket paper I found in my paper drawer. I recreated the pattern on the paper for the focal point.

Thanks for taking a look!

When Life Gives You Lemons

Our neighbor gave us the most delicious blood oranges and lemons over the holiday break. They were straight out of his backyard and he was so generous by giving us several sackfuls.

Did you know that you can freeze lemon slices to use later on? My neighbor's Mom shared that tip with me several years ago and I'm so glad she did.

I decided not to let these juicy babies go to waste, so I sliced them up and flash froze them in my freezer.
Now I've got a big bag of lemons for lemonade, pound cake, cooking, whatever! Try it when you have too much to eat at one time, or when a friendly neighbor gives you lemons the size of mini footballs.

Pages to Share

I found myself way behind on the pages of my "40th" album...remember the one my sister made for my birthday that I should have been keeping up with [daily, weekly, monthly???]...well, I sat down over the holiday break and made of list of some things that I wanted to include and got busy. Some of these pages are good [in my humble opinion] and some are just "put together" and I'm happy with them....you know how that goes sometimes.

I made this page to celebrate winning a book from the Papercrafts blog. I was hugely excited to win such a great prize. [Although this page came together easily, I can't put my finger on what it's missing...]
This next page was done to remember the time I spent making moose costumes for my daughter's 2nd grade class. We made moose antlers, hooves and muffins in a stack. In the end, all the work (and burnt fingers) were worth it because the kids had a great time. Did you notice the mini-antlers I added to the "Super Costume" award ribbon?

Next up, is a page documenting our "101" and "202" photography classes that we took in July and August. There's so much our cameras will do, it's just hard for me to remember everything. I kept a notebook of meticulous notes and refer back to them often. I love the colors on this page.

And last up, is a page reflecting back on a neat Christmas activity we did with the girls on Christmas Eve eve...in St. Augustine they have trolley tours that take you throughout the city. At Christmas, they run the trolleys at night so you can see the city with all of its pretty Christmas lights everywhere. During the tour you sing songs, drink hot apple cider and munch on delicious sugar cookies. It was so much fun and the weather was perfect.

Here's a close up of my snowflake embellies:

The only bad thing was with the trolley moving about and the darkness of the night, it was so hard to get any good pictures. My husband managed to sneak in these two shots and for that I am thankful. They aren't the best, but good enough for me when that's all I've got.

I'll be back with more! Thanks for letting me share.

Scrap-tastic Challenge

When I saw the "Scrap-tastic Challenge" on Nichole Heady's [Papertrey] blog I knew I had to participate. What a fun way to use up your scraps and brighten someone's day.

I went to my cardstock scrap pile first and pulled out two pieces of "Spring Rain" along with a strip of "Hibiscus Burst." Next up, was a visit to my drawer labeled "die cuts" - this is where I keep my bits and pieces of things that don't make it on a scrapbook page, card or whatever paper design I'm working with. That's where I found the punched border and small white flowers.

Adding some American Crafts striped ribbon, stamped images from "Turning a New Leaf" and "Floral Fusion" along with a matching button and my favorite twine, here's what I put together:
The gems were actually added to cover up a design flaw, but I really think they added to the card. I originally wanted to weave the sentiment strip on the front of the card, but didn't like the way it looked so, I improvised and added the gems.

Here's a closer look:

Thanks for taking a look!

A Christmas Thank You & New Stuff

I wanted to make some personal thank you cards for some very special gifts we received this Christmas season. So, I sat down this morning, in my pjs, and "played" until noon! Don't you just love it when there's no schedule???

I blended several of my favorite stamp sets, along with some of my favorite supplies and colors and came up with this:
Here's the full view:

I went to my kraft paper stash and cut them down to an A2 sized card (4.25 x 5.5"), next I grabbed my SU Very Vanilla paper, a sheet of red Bitty Dots paper from Papertrey Ink and a smidgen of Old Olive SU paper for the tag. I also used my Fiskars Apron Lace border punch and my tag die from Spellbinders. The stamp sets I grabbed were "Signature Christmas" and "Turning a New Leaf" from PTI and one of my absolute favorites, "Berry Christmas" from Stampin' Up. The ink colors I used included, Old Olive and Real Red (SU), along with Vintage Cream (PTI). I also raised the tag up a bit using some dimensionals.

I needed to keep it simple and not so bulky because I had several to make.

Next, I wanted to share something I bought a week or so ago and it has made a WORLD of difference in my stamping....have you seen these foamy pads (or craft mats as they are called) that are made specifically for rubber stamping? It reminds me of my Bazzill stitching pad, but the size is great for card making or even scrapbooking.

I didn't take a picture of the packaging, but mine is made by the Darice company and was a steal for only $5.99 at my local scrapbook store.

I tried to get a source for you to check one out on your own, but so far, no luck. Be on the lookout next time you visit your craft store and ask to try one out. My local store had these on their make-n-take table. See you later!

Got to See it....Finally!

Nothing crafty about this post....but I just had to share....I finally got to see Sandra Bullock's "The Blind Side" movie. I've wanted to see it ever since I saw the previews on TV and as soon as it came out (over Thanksgiving I believe) I was sure everyone in my family (especially my hubby) would be as anxious as I was to stand in line to check it out. Well, unfortunately, it didn't work out that way....no one wanted to see it, not even my hubby.

So, this past Saturday, I d-r-u-g my 7-year old and my sister to see it. And, believe it or not, the theatre was packed!!!
And, better than that.....it was soooo good! It was a really awesome feel-good movie and it was funny too, and let's not even mention the really handsome country music star in all his glory ready to gaze at on the big screen. I was so inspired by the story I thought about it for the next two days. I'm ready to see it again and invite all my friends!

Decorate Your Dog

If you want to see a really easy way to "dress up" your dog....check these out! I made several of these in minutes....I call them "Dog Collar Sleeves" and I found the pattern here.

I went through some of my holiday fabric and made several to keep handy for the future.

Here's my dog, "Baby" dressed up for the Christmas holiday:
I made a few more, one for Valentine's, Halloween and one which can be for everyday, pretty in pink:

I prefer these over the traditional "scarf" which we get when we go to the vet's office, because they always become frayed, and look a little messy after a few days. These sleeves have an opening, which slips over your dog's collar.

Here's a shot showing you the opening: (and aren't my hands starting to look W-A-Y old??)

If you don't sew, let me know and maybe I can make one for you, my treat....Happy New Year's!