Creations By Christie

Tagging Made Easy

2012-02-02T09:18:00.001-06:00

I needed some price tags for my upcoming craft shows and didn't want to just buy some boring ones that everyone has. So I decided to create some of my own. I really like how they turned out and they have a very vintage feel to them. I used the Tim Holtz Alterations Ticket Strip Die in the photos below but you can also use the small Ticket Movers and Shapers die. I used that my first batch which is pictured in the above photo.

I started with some kraft card stock and cut it into 2 inch strips. I then made the "sandwich" for the Vagabond (same as for the Cuttlebug). Base plate, thin clear (B), Die, Paper, thin clear (B).

Run it through your machine.

The Vagabond has tons of power to I ran a couple sheets of card stock at a time with no effort.

I then used the Stampers Anonymous Odds and Ends stamp collection to stamp both sides of the tickets. The first side has a large blank area that I can put the price of the item. The other side says Limited Edition created by: leaving a place for me to sign my name. This makes the customers feel confident that they are getting a handmade item that is not mass produced but that was made with special thought, care and love.

Lastly, I punch a small hole in the tickets and tie it on with some thin twine. Now I'm good to go. Love this! I think I may make some for my Christmas tags next year :)

Mini Blog Makeover

2012-01-31T09:12:00.000-06:00

Matt,my computer genius son,came over last night to lend me a hand updating my blog page. My first thing on my list was to move the comment button to the bottom of each post. I don't know why it was originally at the top. I have had several readers email me confusing on where to leave comments or couldn't find the comment button. We have made it simple to find at the bottom of each post, you Are of course welcome to email me anytime also. I love hearing from you.

For those of you that are as addicted to Pintrest as I am you will be happy to see that we have added a "pin it" button at the top of each post. Just click it and pin it to you board. Eye candy for the crafters soul.
Also added was a end of post break line among some other things that were to techie for me. Lol hopefully you all will find it running smoothly. Don't ask me any programming questions, I would love to help but unfortunately I am lost when it comes to all of that. Enjoy the new look!

Did You Know It's A Tape Dispenser???

2012-01-30T09:05:00.000-06:00

Did you know that you can use the Tim Holtz tissue tape dispenser to dispense regular Scotch tape?
This weekend I needed to tape up a gift and was one hand shy. Isn't everyone when they are wrapping a gift? I was trying to hold the paper with one hand and rip off the tape with the other and kept failing. I thought why don't they come out with a dispenser like Tim's for tape (like the packing tape but smaller) Well I ran up to my studio and grabbed my tissue tape dispenser and gave it a try and what do you know it worked like a charm!!! It's the perfect size and make my gift wrapping quick and easy. Now I'll have to get another, one for my tissue tape and one for my regular tape.

Pocket Watches Featured in Newspaper

2012-01-28T08:19:00.001-06:00

I did a craft show before Christmas and a reporter and photographer from one of the newspapers came to cover the show. I was honored and surprised to find out that MY altered pocket watches were featured in the newspaper the next morning!!! How exciting!!! I am new to the whole craft show thing but I thought it would be a way to help with the costs of my addiction to crafting! LOL

Craft Shows coming up!

2012-01-28T07:51:00.002-06:00

Time to make some money to afford all those awesome new products coming out at CHA this year!!! I have a few craft shows coming up in Febuary. If you are in the area I would love if you could come on by and say hi! On Febuary 4 & 5th I will be at the DuPage Expo Center.

DuPage Expo Center
4050 East Main St
St. Charles, IL 60174

SHOW HOURS: SATURDAY 11AM - 5PM & SUNDAY 9AM - 3PM

*****

On Feb 25th I will be participating in the Minooka High Craft Fair

to raise money for their band.

Saturday, February 25, 2012 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM

Minooka Community High School

Central Campus

301 South Wabena Avenue - Minooka, Illinois 60447

Stop on by and say hi! I would love to meet you!

Organizing my Movers & Shapers

2012-01-26T12:22:00.002-06:00

This morning I worked on organizing my Alteration Movers & Shapers. I had picked up this metal board from Ikea and hung it on one of my studio walls. It was only $12.99. I originally just hung it plain but then gad a great idea to cover it in Tim Holtz's Composer tissue wrap. I used ripped off pieces of the tissue and attached it using matte medium overlapping the layers. The metal board fit perfectly on the wall under the hanging cabinet and above my Vagabond. I now can see all my Movers and Shapers at a glance instead of sifting through a box to see which ones I have. Great for inspiration too. Sometimes I will get a great idea and then realize Oh No, I don't have that die. I can now just glance and grab what I want to play with :)

Pinecone Paper Roses

2012-01-23T10:38:00.000-06:00

I have been having a blast making roses with Tim Holtz' Pinecone die. I originally bought it because I loved the tiny pinecone but after playing with it I have become addicted to making paper roses with it. I use Core'dination paper so I can sand the edges and create a beautiful depth of color. Seed beads added a little realistic center to the center of the flowers. I created a quick little video tutorial showing how to create these simple, beautiful flowers. ENJOY!!

Recycled License Plates

2012-01-19T08:37:00.002-06:00

I was super excited to see Tim's new Idea-ology line. Especially the license plate paper and stickers!!! I have created these two signs out of ACTUAL license plates. Some are vintage. They add so much character to our game room. I love them. I am so excited and my mind is spinning with the possibilities of what I can do with these stickers. Hey Tim... How about a stamp set???

New Tim Holtz Idea-ology Destinations Paper Stash

One of my favorite pages...just one, I have many...

Part of New Tim Holtz Idea-ology Destinations Salvage Stickers

Sorry I was gone so long....

2012-01-17T10:02:00.000-06:00

I have to apologize for being gone so long. I have missed all of you so much and OMG have I missed getting my fingers good and inky!!! As many if not most of you know that when I came home from the cruise in September I was met with horrible news of my old friends passing. I stepped up when others looked the other way. We did what was the right thing to do, providing medical, dental and emotional help for the family. The youngest was ,at times,with us almost full time and had extra help with tutoring, got braces, and involved in karate. He is now back living with his family and they are hopefully on the road to recovery. Thank you all for your prayers and wishes for us and their family. You are all so kind.

I am not going to CHA winter this year, Boo. But I have been trying to keep up with the sneak peeks. I was thrilled to see that Tim Holtz is releasing the Compendium Of Curiosities vol. II. Linda Ledbetter of Studio L3 hosted a Compendium of Curiosities challenge having us all do one technique from the book a week. I loved it. I got so inspired by it, last Christmas I caught up on all the past 12 Tags of Christmas, making 48 tags and having you all naming them. Remember that, what fun! You can bet that I will be doing all of these new techniques from his new book and sharing my tags with all of you. If you don't already haveTim's first book I would definitely run out and get it now. It's outstanding!

Here are a couple ideas on how to use your tags for future reference.

This is how I have all of my 12 Tags of Christmas' displayed

Click on the picture or HERE to see the original post

I keep all of my Compendium of Curiosities tags handy for reference or creative block. I write on the back the technique and page # for quick reference. You can click the photo or HERE to see the original post.

Ranger Ink featured my post :)

2012-01-11T09:20:00.000-06:00

OMG... I just found out that my Stickles organization has been featured on the Ranger Ink Blog!!! What an honor! You can see my original post HERE and the Ranger blog post HERE.

I will be at Grey Barn Holiday Market

2011-10-10T09:09:00.002-05:00

This weekend I will be at the Grey Barn Holiday Market will all of my creations that I have for sale. As you can see on the flyer the sale is Friday October 14th 6-9pm and Saturday, October 15th 9-3. Since many of the items are in my online Etsy shop I will have to put my Etsy shop on vacation hold during sale hours. For all of you that don't live in the area don't worry it will be open until Friday. Also if you have been eyeing an item in my store this is a great time to pick it up before it's gone, I am offering a 10% discount with discount code greybarn. You can click here check out A Creation By Christie, my online Etsy store. I am really looking forward to the sale this weekend. I have been busy making sure everything is perfect for it. I have tons of products that I haven't listed in my Etsy store yet that I'm very excited about. I'm bringing all my stock of Post It note holders, Diaper Creations, Candles and I have created 100's of pendants and charms. I hope to see a lot of you there :)

Tim Holz Cruise Day 1-3

2011-10-04T09:11:00.000-05:00

All Aboard! We had a great time on our Tim Holz Cruise. My husband Tim and I met a lot of great new friends. We also loved all of Tim's great classes, we made some FANTASTIC projects!

We started out the cruise with a Welcome Reception and met Tim's great team! All the members from the All Things Tim group got together for a picture with Tim.

Day 2 was spent at Coco Cay, Bahamas.

Day 3 we were all geared up for class!!! We loved hanging out with Linda and her mom, Pat. What great friends! Tim and I loved sharing a dinner table with them too.

Our first project was an altered coffee thermos

Tim really got into the projects and after the first few minutes he realized that he too could do this and got into the project of the day.

Here is our finished coffee mugs, Tim's is on the left and mine is on the right. :)

I have way, WAY more to share... so keep tuned for more!

Christening Cake

2011-09-19T07:34:00.002-05:00

I planned on posting this last week while I was away at the Creative Connection Event but I was unable to get my laptop to connect at the hotel. I learned that you can't do much on blogger with a Ipad, which was my only source of Internet connection for that week. Anyways, here it is... the 3 tier fondant cake I created for Kyler's baptism. I know the first question every one is going to ask is where did I get the stand... I bought it at Michael's and used my coupon for it. P.S. there is a smart phone App from JoAnn and Michael coupons now.

I want to get started by stating I am not an expert at baking or decorating cakes. I only make them for my family occasions, occasionally. Usually I'm so busy I run out to the store and buy anything that looks yummy. But since Kyler's Christening was so special I wanted his cake to be special too. So I decided to make one for the celebration. And I'm glad I did. The bottom tier was 14" and was made of a Red Velvet cake. My favorite! Mmmm!!! The middle tier is a 12" White Cake and the top tier is a 10" chocolate cake. I am by no means a chef or a baker but just wanted something beautiful for his Christening. I could bake a cake so I gave it a go! I think it turned out pretty dang good, if I say so myself. Personally, I think fondat "frosting" is kind of thick and tasteless I served the cake with loads of whipped cream and sliced strawberries. That way you still get lots of flavors and don't miss the creamy texture that fondant lacks. Enjoy the pics!

Top 10" Chocolate tier

The picture below is the middle tier, a 12" white cake.

This next one is the bottom layer, the 14" Red Velvet cake. It takes some arm strength to roll out the fondant for that one. LOL I had my husband help. I found it incredibly useful to use the Wilton tools, rolling pin, levelers, etc. when making the cake. I got everything at Michael's and Jo Ann's.

Here's a couple close ups of the birds on the branches. I used a mold to form the birds, branches, flowers, and leaves. The mold can be found also in the cake department at your local craft store. when coloring the fondant add a touch of shortening to keep it from becoming sticky. I found out the hard way. My final touch was a bit of edible glitter on the centers of the flowers and leaves.

I hope you enjoyed the pics. Don't be afraid to try something new.

You never know what you can accomplish if you never try!

Designer Book Covers

2011-09-14T08:27:00.002-05:00

When I was camping this past summer I found that the covers of my puzzle books were taking a beating! I found an easy, and I mean EASY, solutions to my problem. I created a video tutorial showing just how easy and durable my books are now. I love them now and especially love that they match my car! I keep them in the passenger door so whenever I'm bored (which isn't often) I can pull them out and keep me busy.

Great for gifts...think of all the stocking that could be stuffed or Easter baskets! Birthdays, party favors...the ideas are endless. Plus, it's a great way to use up all that extra paper.

3 Dimensional Christening Card

2011-09-13T07:21:00.001-05:00

Kyler's Christening deserved an extra special card.

So I created this one especially for him.

The first element I created was the Bible, for that I used the Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels #7 die. I cut a larger one out of brown shimmer card stock . From the die that was one size smaller than the cover of the bible I cut four sheets of cream color shimmer card stock. I inked, stamped and distressed the bible to give it an aged look. I rolled the edges of the pages and added some foam tape in between the pages to add dimension. The bookmark is made from a piece of leather and a little metal cross. This fall I will be catching up on all my video tuts and this book is already on my list to do a tutorial on. So look for it soon.

The next element that I worked on was the banner across the front of the card. I wanted to bring in elements from the decorations from the party so they would have memories from the celebration built in to the card. The banner is similar to the one that I created for the party decor. The birds and little flowers are like the ones that were on his cake and centerpiece (those will be future posts). These little birds are from Jolee and the banner is from My Minds Eye.

For the inside of the card I made a simple sentiment using my Word processing in my computer and cut it to fit the space. I matted it with the same brown shimmer card stock as the bible and used a banner tag from My Minds Eye to bring in a hint of the light blue from the banner.

Since this card was going to be hand delivered I didn't worry about the bulk that the dimensional bible gave to the card. If it was going to be mailed I probably wouldn't have made it with so many pages. But it REALLY turned out phenomenal with all that dimension and texture!

Something to treasure forever.

God Bless Kyler Banner

2011-09-12T07:28:00.000-05:00

I preparing for little Kyler's Christening I wanted to create some simple, yet elegant decorations. For this banner I turned to Lettering Delights. They have two perfect SVG collections that were just perfect! I used the Accordion Fold Rosettes and the Pennants to cut the perfect size every time, quickly and easily. (There is a picture at the bottom of the page of the size and what it looked like before I cut it out). Along the edge of each pennant I used the Tim Holtz mini rosette die and pleated it to create a beautiful trim along the edge. The lettering if from the Cricut Storybook cartridge. I cut the white shadow twice. I placed one white shadow letter on the rosette and added dimension with foam tape raising the rest of the letters up a bit. The finishing touch was a clear dangling teardrop gem that I added to the bottom of each pennant. I hung the entire banner over the curtain rod going out to our back yard.

The Accordion Fold Rosettes from Lettering Delight come with 18 different rosette patterns so I had plenty to choose from. I like this one and made it nice and large so I could fit my letters on top of it.

I put the pennants on on it's side so I could fit 2 on each page saving time and paper.

Tim Holtz Mini Rosettes

Hugs & Kisses For All - Favor Cake

2011-09-10T07:35:00.001-05:00

This gorgeous cake is entirely made of paper, well... it has a chocolate center if that counts! I needed to come up with something fabulous for Kyler's Christening favors and I wanted to make it special. So I started creating these cake slices...one thing led to another and I ended up with a beautiful 3 layer cake with some cupcakes gathered at the base (possibly looks like a 4th layer?). Whenever I'm working on a project I usually don't have my entire project mapped out ahead of me, maybe I have a general idea of what I want to do and then just let creativity take over.

Both the cake slice box and the cupcake box were cut from the Eclips Albums, Bags & Boxes #2 cartridge. I cut the cake slices in two different sizes to get the layered cake effect and then topped it with one of the cupcakes.

Each one has is filled with HUGS & KISSES from baby Kyler!!!

I have always loved Penny Duncan's creations and she had just the perfect cross for this occasion. And, of course I had to dress up those sweet little cupcakes! I used the Flower Burst punch from EK Success to adorn the all the sides. A perfect fit!

The flowers on this cake were all cut with the Eclips using the Albums, Bags & Boxes #2 cartridge. I liked that I could cut the flower at a variety of sizes to give them a more natural and nonuniform shape. That is as natural as blue flowers can be. I cut them all from white card stock and then sprayed them with my homemade shimmer mist. Once all my flowers were cut, I rolled them while zoning out in front of the TV. A quick spritz of water before shaping helps soften the paper making it easy to mold just how you want, even on the tiniest of flowers.

I just love how this favor cake turned out. I see making many more in the future! So many ideas running through my head...the wheels are spinning...

Don't worry there will be a video coming in the very, very near future on how exactly I made this. I just wanted to share the pics right away with you. But I promise you it will be coming :)

Fabulous Folds

2011-09-09T08:07:00.003-05:00

These cards are ones that I made in the Fabulous Folds class that I took at the Scrapbook Expo. The class featured products by Rubber Cafe. We were lucky enough to get the stamp set free for signing up for the class. So cute with the cute fruit. After playing with the Scrap Happy Sheer Glue I had to go down to the showroom and get some for myself. I just love it! It's not like ordinary glue, this dries tacky so you can then add your glitter or flock on top of your dried glue and since it has a fine point applicator it's perfect for writing. We used it in class to add fine glitter to the centers of the fruits. It doesn't show as well in the photos but is stunning in person.

Halloween Batch of OWH Cards

2011-09-08T08:39:00.000-05:00

I am shipping off another big box of 192 Operation Write Home cards to our fine Soldiers! I wanted to share them with you before I got them mailed off. Most of the cards are Halloween but I also made some for Everyday, I love you, Missing you and Thinking of you. I worked on this project while I was in the car traveling to our camping trips this past summer. I will have a future video showing just how I can scrap in the front seat of a car (no, we weren't traveling by moder home, LOL). All of the Halloween cards were made from one single paper stack. I used the Ravenhead Manor paper stack by Recollections, I purchased it on clearance last year after Halloween. Since I was away from my studio and only had the supplies that I brought with me it challenged me to work with what I had. I enjoy a challenge and challenge you to also do the same sometime. It is rewarding to find out what you can come up with when you are not able to have all your resources available to you. Once my brain started really cranking I started thinking of ideas for other things too. I had to write them down so I wouldn't forget them by the time we got home.

All packed up and ready to go!

Here's a peek at what's inside, this is just SOME of the cards...

Some of the die cuts words were made at home using the Cricut Martha Stewart Seasonal Cake cartridge. There are some great seasonal words on there...Boo, Trick or treat, Happy haunting, etc.

As you can see with the cards below the same paper I used it in both landscape and portrait format. When I cut all my mats I was not sure what my plan was going to be for them at that time so I gave myself some options.

I also created some everyday, I love you, and I miss you cards to send. They always need those!

For these butterflies below I used a layering punch from EK Success. It has all 3 layered punches in the one single punch. Ingenious!

Post Card Mini Book

2011-09-06T07:34:00.002-05:00

This gorgeous mini book I created at the Scrapbook Expo in St. Charles. It was in a class that featured Melissa Frances products. I was lucky enough to be introduced to some things that I haven't used before.

The Mica Flakes that I used to glitter up the flowers that I created for the front cover really gives it some shimmer without being over powering. There are several spots in the book that I used the Mica.

For the next page I outlined some spots on the rose and added Glass Glitter.

Here again the Mica Flakes was used.

I created several fringe accents on the bottom of pages.

Cute little flower made from crepe paper.

Here is an excellent example of the Mica Flakes. Since they are clear you can still see the details below but adds a bit of depth and shimmer.

Glass Glitter used to frame and accent.

And last but not least I added a fringe to the back cover and inked it to age.

Distress Stickle Bookmarks

2011-09-02T07:25:00.001-05:00

I created this set of bookmarks using the fabulous Distress Stickles as my main coloring medium. After stamping my images with Archival Ink I softly inking the bookmark with Distress Inks. I then used a variety of colors of Distress Stickles to "paint" my images. I was able to achieve shading, depth and texture by using a couple of shades of the same color. Love the effect that it gave. Especially on the pine cones and the fall leaves.

Transparency Bookmarks

2011-09-01T08:15:00.002-05:00

I think you are really going to like today's group of bookmarks. I know I do! It may be harder than I originally thought to let these go. I am really getting my creative flow going, now if I just could find a few more hours in each day.

For this set I decided to use transparencies in a way that some people may not have though of. I to show motion without bulk, as these are to be usable I wanted them to be able to lay flat. The technique I used for most of them was to stamp my image on the dictionary print covered bookmark and also on the transparency using Archival Ink. I carefully cut out my transparency image. Then on the back of the transparency I "colored" it in. That way the details are not disturbed and show through. I used a variety of mediums to create my desired effects. The girl on the book mark above was done with Stickles. I also stamped and cut out her face and body in Grunge Paper so I could place the wings behind her back. I attached everything with my favorite adhesive Glossy Accents!

The hand I inked with a variety of colors of Alcohol Inks. The hand is from the Tim Holtz SA Oddities Collection.

The bees, also from Tim Holtz SA Oddities, I colored in with some metallic paint. The photos don't do any of these bookmarks justice they are way cooler in person!

This one was done very similarly to the first. I used Stickles for her hat and wings and Grunge Paper for her body.

These butterflies I didn't color in the backs as I thought they were perfect as is. I simply used the Mini Attacher (tiny stapler) to put a staple through the center of their bodies and then attached them to the bookmark with Glossy Accents. I fluffed up their wings by giving them a slight bend where they attach to the body. Since the image is also printed on the book mark it gives the illusion of motion as you can see through their wings giving a flutter effect. Beautiful! You can find the butterflies in the Papillion collection by Tim Holtz.

Here are some of the other supplies that I used:

Introduction to the Eclips

2011-08-31T07:20:00.000-05:00

I want to introduce you to the Eclips by Sizzix. I know many of you have been looking for a die cut machine that is compatible with third party software like Sure Cuts A Lot. At CHA Summer in July, Sizzix and SCAL announcethat will be exclusively compatible with the Sizzix eclips machine. d that they are working together to launch a new version of the very popular SCAL software With the unique features and capabilities of the eclips machine, it is necessary to develop a “stand alone” software solution that allows the user to leverage such machine features as scoring, laser cut preview and others, which are not available on other consumer electronic cutters. This software is in the beta test phase and is anticipated to be available at a special price for consumers to purchase at their favorite Sizzix retailer in October of 2011. Watch for more details coming soon.

This first video tutorial shows you some of the basic features of the machine...there are many! I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was so easy to learn how to maneuver through the menus to find just what I was looking for. There are even some surprises hidden in the embellishment section of some of the items. I will talk more about this in my next time. This is the first in a series of videos I will be doing as I learn about the Eclips and it's possibilities. My next video will feature scoring. You don't want to miss that one. I'm working on a very special project that is awesome, if I say so myself. LOL For now ENJOY the video!

Charm Making 101

2011-08-30T06:15:00.001-05:00

I received lots of request for instructions on how I created my charms for the Tim Holtz cruise charm swap so here they are! I included the directions for the front and the back metal embossed! Enjoy! The video should be very easy to follow and hopefully the sound quality is better. I used my new Flip. :) To see the charms in more detail you can click HERE to view the post where I show all the charms in detail.

Here are the supplies that I used to create the charms...

Quikutz Adhesive Metal Sheets

Weathered Wood Bookmarks

2011-08-29T08:23:00.000-05:00

More bookmarks for the cruise! These I make with the Grungy Monday #6 technique which was using Tim's Weathered Wood technique. This is a technique he showed us way back in 2007 during his 12 Tags of Christmas. I used the technique over some green and lightly pattered paper and then stamped over top. I didn't want to over embellish because these are going to be used as bookmarks and want to keep them as flat as possible. The back side is dry embossed with a variety of TH folders and inked on top to bring out the patterns.

We R Memory Keepers OWH Challenge Final Results

2011-08-29T08:04:00.000-05:00

45,000 GREETING cards DONATED TO AMERICAN SOLDIERS

As, some of you remember I hosted a challenge for the We R Memory Keepers Operation We R Grateful. I started it a bit late, just finding out about it at CHA, but I wanted to do what I could to help. I created a video tutorial using the Designer Card Kit showing how you can make 8 cards in under an hour. I challenged you all to create cards for OWH and send them in. At the end of the challenge, Maria Soto was the big winner of two Designer Card Kits. I just found out how the overall card campain did....

(Pictured: Salt Lake City Mayor, Ralph Becker, with wife and Operation Write Home

and We R Memory Keepers representatives)

We R Memory Keepers teams up with partners and over 50 retailers to collect over 45,000 cards
for United States Military Personnel

Salt Lake City – (August 18, 2011) We R Memory Keepers, a leading craft and hobby manufacturer in the United States, teamed up with Better Homes and Garden’s Scrapbooks Etc Magazine, Operation Write Home, Cruise & Crop and over 50 retailers across the United States to host a card making initiative called Operation We R Grateful that created over 45,000 cards for active duty members of the U.S. Armed Forces to use to write their friends and family.

When the campaign was launched in June, We R Memory Keepers reached out to its customers asking retailers to become “drop zones” and collect homemade blank cards for the troops. The troops will then use the cards to write since there aren’t usually stationary stores on the battlefront. Over 50 retailers scattered across America answered the call, and most hosted special “make and give” events where local crafters made hundreds and even thousands of cards in themes such as: thinking of you, thank you, love, birthday, holiday and get well.

On Wednesday, August 17, the last of the cards arrived at the We R Memory Keepers warehouse at which time the total count was 46,774! “This is the most cards any one campaign has generated – we are just so thrilled an appreciative to We R Memory Keepers for organizing it, and to the thousands of volunteers who made the cards. We know the service members and their families will be grateful as well,” says Sandy Allnock, President of Operation Write Home.

“It was very touching and inspiring to visit with our countries heroes and help them make cards for their brothers and sisters in arms,” says Andrew Hiller, President of We R Memory Keepers. “We R Memory Keepers is especially grateful to their partners, Craft it Forward and Cruise and Crop for their help in promoting the cause. We urge everyone in the crafting community to get involved with Operation Write Home to help make an even greater impact on the lives of the nation’s military and their families.”

(Pictured: Scrapbook Barn, Gilbert-AZ, representatives with over 600 cards)

(Pictured: A sample of cards from Stamp This Scrap That, Minocqua, WI)

Glossy Accented Bookmarks

2011-08-26T08:36:00.000-05:00

I have been busy working on a variety of projects but I am trying to get all my bookmarks finished for the cruise. For this set I decided to use Glossy Accents as a detail on each bookmark. For those of you that aren't familiar with Glossy Accents. It is a dimensional adhesive by Inksentials / Ranger. It is probably my favorite as it has an incredibly fast dry time and you only need a tiny bit to hold an item. As you can see it dries clear and my favorite thing is it is strong! I use it to hold my metal and plastic embellishments to projects. On these bookmarks I used it on top of my project to add dimension.

The umbrella man is one of my favorite Tim Holtz stamps and decided that you need to see the rain. I used the Glossy Accents to create the raindrops by adding a drop and dragging the bottle upwards on the page to create the drop. It dries raised, clear & glossy creating the perfect rain drops.

For this next one I used the pen nip rubber stamp from his Artful Artifacts. I repeated the stamp along the bookmark. I then added Glossy Accents over the top to add dimension.

Here's another raindrop one. This one I used the umbrella man die by Sizzix. Stamped it with the Papillon stamp. I used the Glossy Accents to attach the umbrella man as well as to make the rain drops.

The fallen leaves I used the Matte Accents instead of the Glossy Accents. It just gives a different affect.

The clocks and timepieces were glossied up before I inked the bookmark. It will act as a resist allowing the bottom color to show through. I also added the game spinners while the Glossy Accents was still wet so that it worked as an adhesive as well. :)

Charms for Tim Holtz Cruise Swap

2011-08-25T07:23:00.001-05:00

I finally finished all my charms for the Tim Holtz Cruise charm swap. I could have made them all the same but you know me...always up for a challenge. I made each one different. I think they all turned out pretty cool. I do have a few favorites but I must say I put as much thought and attention into each and every one of them. I am going to be a bit sad to see them go but I'm sure that the wonderful talented women that will be receiving them will enjoy them as much as I enjoyed making them. I have a video showing them in more detail. And here the post where you can find a video showing just how to make them yourself !

Grungy Monday #21

2011-08-24T09:37:00.001-05:00

This weeks Grungy Monday challenge was using packing tape to make custom transparencies. Since I am making mine into bookmarks for the cruise I thought it would be fun to use pictures of Tim for my transparencies since the bookmarks are going to Tim fans. This is a technique that I learned long ago and LOVE it! I like to use my laser printer when I'm doing any kind of transfer of images. I decided to add some fringe on the side with Tim Holtz tissue tape as the packing tape was just a bit to narrow for my bookmarks. I simply stuck it to the edge of the bookmark pleating along the way. On the back side where the tissue tape was still sticky I sprinkled it with a bit of baby powder. Now it's no longer sticky. Here's another great tip for baby powder: put it on your feet to remove sand from the beach. Just sprinkle your feet (or wherever you may be sandy) and rub the sand will just fall off with ease. No more sandy car floors or carpets.

Love Birds Anniversary Card

2011-08-23T08:05:00.001-05:00

My husband and I are celebrating our anniversary today! 15 magical years together! We've been through a lot together but our love continues to grow stronger every day. Through the years we have grown even closer, finding that we share even more in common than we had originally though. We are truly soul mates. Enough about our mushy stuff, on with my project... I've been exploring my new Eclips. And am really impressed with it. I will be doing a tutorial (later this week) showing some of the great features. I created this Anniversary card using the Card Front cartridge.

The card stock I used was a shimmer paper by DCWV. I like how detailed the cuts are. For the second flap, behind the birds, I inserted a piece of white cardstock that I inked a bit to make look like the sky. I wanted to have it shadow a bit so the scrolls and birds stood out. I love how you are able to choose which pieces you wish to cut, and are able to see them all on the screen. It also has an envelope that you can cut to fit your card. I think it turned out fabulous! My husband thought so too.

Geared Up Birthday Card

2011-08-22T07:37:00.006-05:00

My Dad's birthday is coming up and I wanted to make him a Birthday card that goes along with his personality. Since his mind is always churning and never stops I thought this was appropriate. I used paper from the DCWV Tattered Time collection and added some Tim Holtz gears and game spinners to the front attached with long brads.

Here are some of the products I used in my card.

You can just click on the image to find out more about them.

Flip Video

2011-08-22T07:06:00.001-05:00

Whew ! I had a great weekend! Besides the Expo, I got to babysit my Grandson for the first time, and Sunday night we had a family get together for my parents birthday. That's always special for me, seeing and catching up with family.

The Scrapbook Expo was great, saw some old friends, met some new, got some great deals, took a couple classes and all in all had a good time. Now back to work... lots to catch up on. You will be happy to know that I took the advice of those who answered my quest for a new & cheap video recorder and I ordered the Flip last night. So rest easy those that have had audio problems hopefully there is a solution coming. If this does not solve the problem I don't know what to tell you. Unfortunately,this is an unpaid job, everything comes out of my own pocket so I can only do so much. I try to help all those I can, that is who I am but sometimes things are beyond my control. And for that I apologize. I would love to be able to provide good, quality tutorials several times a week along with projects and other ideas and tips.

So, long story short, I thought you all were worth it and went to the Flip website and ordered mine. I found out that you can design your own cover or pick one of there covers for free. This is what my Flip Video will look like. Too Awesome! Lovin" that mustache!

A Haunting We Will Go!

2011-08-18T07:11:00.000-05:00

I made this adorable little mini book while in the car on our way to our campground. I find I get lots done while glued to my seat for 6 hours. LOL

Page 1 & 2 has this adorable dangling spider, space for journaling and a place for a picture of Kyler, my grandson on his first Halloween.

The next two pages have sections that flip out making it ideal for extra journaling or photos.

Pages 5 & 6 are pocket pages with 4 double sided tags for photos. You know us Grandmas, we like to take lots of photos!!!

The last two pages have a cute little quote, another dangling cutout and space for one last photo. Probably the classic, Kyler sleeping in his costume. There won't be candy this year as he is still just a sweet little angel baby.

To keep everything in place while driving I use my Scrap N Easel. It has magnets to hold everything in place and I can put everything aside when I get to where I'm going or if we make a pit stop. Here is a video on how it is used. The one thing you won't see in the video is that when I'm in the car I have it flat on my lap. Here's the video... Enjoy!

From Flat to Fab! New Technique to Add Dimension

2011-08-17T12:31:00.000-05:00

I created these chic cards for Operation Write Home while I was camping this past weekend at Black Lake in Upper Wisconsin. I was inspired by this little black and white butterfly that hung out with us the whole weekend in our campsite. I punched the butterflies with the Martha Stewart punch using the gorgeous DCWV La Creme 4.5" X6.5" paper stack. I glued down the centers with Glossy Accents and then realized that the card was BORING! as it had NO dimension. As our campsite friend fluttered around I decided to make the wings on my butterflies stand up...but how?

If I just pushed them up they would flatten back down in the mail. Not an option. I have seen others use glue dots that they crunch up into a ball to help hold the item in place but I have a few problems with that option: 1) the sticky is still exposed so everything sticks to it, as these cards will be sent overseas to the soldiers they could end up having sand , etc stuck to it before reaching their loved ones.

2) wadded up glue dots look like little bugger snots. Ewww. Enough said...

So, I had some brainstorming time and came up with a great idea! Since Enamel Accents hold their shape after they dry I can put a drop of that under each wing, let dry and it should hold the wing up. I only had to wait 2 days to give my experiment a try. Well, it worked!!! You can also use Dimensional Pearls or any other dimensional paint that you can dispense by the drop. I created a video tutorial showing you exactly how to do it. Enjoy!

The wonderful thing is you can barely see the dot so you get a professional looking

card or project with long lasting dimension!

I added a bit of bling to the centers of each butterfly for a little extra sparkle!

This is a great any occasion card.

I got lots of questions on how the heck I could work on projects in the car??? I work in my lap with the help of my Scrap N Easel. The magnets keep everything in place and keep stuff from sliding around when my hubby stops to fast or I set anything aside for a break. I also have pictured some of the other stuff that I used in making this card.

Winners Announced + Savings Continue....

2011-08-17T12:30:00.000-05:00

The winners of the Summer Blog Hop and Etsy Sale are...

Trisha Too and Bishops Mommie

They will be receiving a georgous pendant with chain.

Congratulations!!!

But wait you ALL are WINNERS!!!

I have decided to extend my Etsy sale one more week!

I have extended the sale and you can receive the 10% off anything in my store until Sunday, August 21.

Just enter coupon code SUMMERSALE to receive your 10% off.

ENJOY!!!

Frightful Page Layout

2011-08-15T10:16:00.000-05:00

This past weekend we went to Black Lake to go camping, since I had a very long drive and plenty of time to fill I worked on some projects in the car. I made this Frightful double page layout from the Little Yellow Bicycle. I wanted to share it with you before I put in the photos in. I think I will put some from oldies from my kids past Halloween. I love the dimension and texture of the chipboard ghosts and flocked web and ghost border. The bits of glitter give it a bit of glam.

Summer Sale Blog Hop Continues!

2011-08-10T08:16:00.000-05:00

Don't forget our Summer Sale Blog Hop continues till August 14th! Alot of the girls have great giveaways and prizes!!! My Etsy Store is having a sale of 10% off with coupon code SUMMERSALE , also if you order more than one item you receive a discount on shipping. I have added an extra deal on the post it note holders! Any $3 for 12. Add 10% off of that and you have yourself a steal! You can find it HERE. Don't forget to check out everyone else's sites. Leave me a comment for a chance to win one of my two giveaways! The giveaway will be a not yet debuted pendant that I created. So be sure to leave those comments!!

Clare Dempsey

ETSY http://www.etsy.com/shop/scrapguild

Blog http://www.cricutcraftyclare.blogspot.com/

Christie Hund- That's Me :)

ETSY http://www.etsy.com/shop/acreationbychristie

Blog http://creationsbychristie.blogspot.com

Anna Fearer

ETSY http://www.etsy.com/shop/morepaperthanshoes

Blog http://www.annafearer.blogspot.com

Korie

ETSY http://www.etsy.com/shop/alwayshaveparis

Blog http://www.wewillalwayshaveparis.com/

Fran

ETSY http://www.etsy.com/shop/allstickeredup

Blog http://thetwintornadosmommy.blogspot.com

Sue Stoughton

ETSY http://www.etsy.com/shop/itsalwaysfabulous

Blog http://www.suesfabulouslife.blogspot.com

SheilaOx

ETSY http://www.etsy.com/shop/sheilaox

Blog http://sheilaoxley.blogspot.com

Kim

ETSY http://www.etsy.com/shop/endlessinkabilities

Blog http://www.endlessinkabilities.blogspot.com

Dardi

ETSY http://www.etsy.com/shop/dandithings

Blog www.dtsartblog.com

Scrappers Summer Sale & Blog Hop

2011-08-07T00:01:00.002-05:00

Welcome to the Scrappers Summer Sale and Blog Hop!!!

There is lots of great finds to discover along the way along with some great prizes so be sure to visit all the blogs and Etsy Shops!

You may have just arrived here from the first stop on the hop which would be Clare's site
Clare Dempsey

Clarie's Etsy Shop - Scrapguild

Her Blog - Cricut Crafty Clare

Stop #Two is mine...
Christie Hund - That's ME!!

This is My Etsy's Shop - A Creation by Christie

My Blog - Creations By Christie

In honor of this wonderful blog hop I am offering 10% OFF EVERYTHING in my ETSY STORE!!!
Just enter coupon code SUMMERSALE
Plus, if you order more than one item there is discounted shipping. The holidays are right around the corner!

And that's not all... leave a comment on my blog and let me know what you think of my Etsy shop. I'm still a newbie (it's only been open 9 mos.) At the end of the sale I will pull 2 names to win some of my creations. It may be a surprise what the receive... but I will be sure to announce it on my blog.

I have tons of great things in my store!!! I'm sure I have something for everyone! The Diaper Creations are perfect for Baby Showers and gift for New Parents. And wait till you see everyones favorite REUSABLE Post It Note Holders!!! So many styles to choose from you may decide to stock up for Christmas. I also have some cards (and for those Indy fans, she has her own collection!). Recently added, is a line of Customizable QR Code Pendants, I am including a Free ball chain with every order. I also have QR Code pins, GREAT for conventions and trade shows. I can inprint a custom message, website, or contact details into the Personal QR Code then when you are out people can just scan with their smart phone and they have it all saved! Available in 10 color choices! The pins are great for women as well as men!

Check out all the styles of Reusable Post It Note Holders. These look great on your desk and with school starting they make great teacher or coach gifts!

You can't buy a card at the store for $3.00 how much would your loved one appreciate a handmade card

Purses, bags and Totes!

Domino Tile Pendants with Free Ball Chain!

and your next stop on the hop is...
Anna Fearer

Anna's Etsy Shop - More Paper Than Shoes

Her Blog - Anna Fearer

Onesie Baby Book

2011-08-04T08:25:00.002-05:00

I created this adorable little onesie mini book for my Grandson Kyler. I used the way too cute paper pad, Playday by SEI. To be able to journal the milestones for each month I used the Babysaurus Journal Cards by Little Yellow Bicycle. I love that they come in a variety of colors, shapes and are dry embossed. I used a variety of letters and inked them up to match the book. This book has just begun, it's got lots more coming.

I always try to push the limits for myself, so I scanned the papers and created iron ons for each months for little Kyler to wear for his photo. This is a work in progress for the next year. I am not done embellishing it until all the journaling and pics are in. And because I am such a proud Grandma, I couldn't part with this little brag book so I made two. One for us and one for Kyler's proud parents to have.

First Month

Two Months

Three Months

Four Months

Five Months

Six Months

Seven Monts

Eight Months

Nine Months

Ten Months

Eleven Months

One Year

8 Cards In Under an Hour

2011-08-03T01:00:00.003-05:00

Who says you can't create 8 cards in under an hour??? With the help of the designer card kit by We R Memory Keepers it was a piece of cake. I whipped them out in no time at all. They did all the leg work for me. When I opened the package I was pleasantly surprised that everything was labeled as to which card it belonged to. My only gripe would be that I wish that it was labeled a little bigger (everything has a number inside a arrow pointing to it) my sight is getting a bit weak as I age. LOL. As I worked on my cards I, as I often do as I work, began to think of all the possibilities of the card kits. Not only can you use them as cards but you could create mini books or journals from the cards by adhering them to chipboard. You could also give a completed set of cards as a gift set (they also come with all the envelopes). When I travel I like to work on projects in the car, this is great because I don't have to worry about forgetting a piece at home, it's all included, just bring glue! Because there is no cutting involved it's a great project for kids to do. All the cards are so adorable just as they are but I wanted to give them a little personalization of my own. I took one picture before and one after of most of the cards so you can see the changes. Just, LOVE them! Ok, enough about my touting about how much I enjoyed making the cards...on with the video. And for all the Indy fans out there, she's overseeing most of my work in the video. She thinks she's a star!

I want to remind you that you have a chance to win 2 of these Card Kits. Just click HERE for all the details

You Are My Sunshine! Added a bit of Stickles.

Bloom Where You Are Planted! For this one I added just a dab of Dimensional Pearls to the center of the flowers. To avoid peaks, keep it level and tap the back of the card.

Party Animal!

Birthday Candle Card

For this one I added some of that shimmery Stickles that I love so much! I used ICE Stickles in lemon ice

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You...

A little Glossy Accents can go a long way. To make this card look even more dimensional I added glossy accents to the orange floral rings and to the center chipboard flower. It gives it an epoxy look.

Froggy Card

I guess those were flies not bees as I was calling them in the video. LOL

I Love You!

Mmmm! Stickles!!! The Crystal Stickles really makes that heart POP! Stickles has quite a variety of "white" or "clear" colors but they actually have quite a lot of color to their shimmer. Next time you are at your local scrapbook store take a look at the difference in the colors of Crystal, Stardust, Icicle, Frosted Lace, and Diamond. It's hard to see online but incredible in real life. You may find that you may need to pick up one or two...or three (like me). LOL

Hello!

embossed and textured paper is so hot right now! When you don't have it why not make your own? I used a touch of Glossy Accents on the background paper to create the effect. I also used it on the tops of the buttons to make them look more realistic. Use what you have!

And of course here's superstar Indy posing with the cards that she "helped" create!

And Indy says "That's a wrap, time to take a break and cuddle with me"

You can find the We R Memory Keepers Designer Card Kits HERE
and that ATG glue runner that I rave about is HERE

Creative Connection Event

2011-08-01T07:00:00.004-05:00

This is truly an exciting year for me!!! My head is still spinning from all the greatness from CHA, the Scrapbook Expo is in a few weeks, since it's only a few miles from my home I go every year. I've been looking forward to Tim Holtz Cruise, which is quickly approaching and now this... today I finalized my registration to The Creative Connection Event!!! I'm so excited! I am so looking forward to attending this great gathering of women. It really looks like they are going to have us busy for those three days! You can find out more about The Creative Connection Event HERE. It wraps up on Saturday and since I'll already be in Minnesota and I figure why not hop on over to Scrapfest on Sunday for a day of classes. I can't wait to take Claudine Hellmuth's class. I took her online class through Big Picture Classes last summer and LOVED it! Whoo...I'm going to be exhausted!!! So if I miss a post or two you will now know why, I'm getting up with what's new so I can bring you only the best info, the newest and the greatest!!!

You too can attend the Creative Connection they are having a contest to win 2 tickets + hotel room click HERE to find out more.

I'm sure by now you all have heard that Tim Holtz has made history being the first "man" in the Where Women Create magazine. Well, I picked up 2 copies of Where Women Create. Because while I'm at the Creative Connection Event they will having a book signing one of the nights and I am going to have both copies signed by Tim Holtz plus all the other fabulous women that will be attending the signing party! One of the copies I will keep for myself but the other I am going to pass on to one of you. When I get home I will have a giveaway on my blog so keep posted! Yeah YOU!!!

Grungy Monday #17

2011-07-29T06:00:00.000-05:00

I created these bookmarks for the Grungy Monday # 17 Challenge. This weeks challenge was to use Tim's Rock Candy Stickles or Rock Candy Crackle. It doesn't show well in my photos because I don't have close-ups but I used the Stickles on the butterfly above left and the Postmark above left. I also used it over the entire background on the lower right one before applying the grunge swirls that I alcohol inked.

The dripping butterfly also got the Rock Candy Stickles. The back of the bookmark was covered with a coating of Rock Candy Crackle Paint. Just love that stuff, I am jazzed it will be coming in a larger size!

This awesome bird got a bit of Rock Candy Stickles on his little blue belly. I also added some Vintage Photo Distress Stickles here and there along the branch. The back of the bookmark got just the hint of some Rock Candy along one side and the bottom. Just to give some shimmer.

This one I tried something new. The front I didn't use any Rock but on the back I first coated it with Blending Fibers a texture gel by Liquitex. It give it lots of texture and a fabric like appearance (but a bit shinier) I then added a thin coat of Rock Candy Stickles with my finger to catch in the grooves. It gives it just a shimmer. Love the effect.

How to Label Your Distress Ink Pads

2011-07-27T07:09:00.002-05:00

I have received lots of questions about how I have labeled my Distress Ink pads. Well, here I am to answer all your questions...I have created a short video to help you see how easy it is. I also created a free PDF file for you to download with all the Distress Ink Names on them so you can label yours. Sweet!

You can get a copy of my Distress Ink Labels HERE

I store all my blenders right next to my Distress Inks. I place clear velcro on the wall and then white on one side of the applicator. On the side that is facing out I place a sticker with the color family that I use it for. Red, Yellow, Orange, Purple, Blue, Green, Tan, Brown, Black, 2 for Alchohol Inks & 1 unlabeled for Misc.

To answer another question, I got my ink pad storage from Ebay. I bought it for $40 each (I have 2) each holds 72 ink pads. Each slot is wide enough to hold the average size ink pad or a distress pad and refill bottle. The seller is called Pastimeworks and ships from Brantford, Canada. The item is called Stampin Storage Rack Up to 72 Ink Pads Stamp Pad. It comes natural wood color and then I painted it white. Hope this helps

Operation We R Grateful Contest

2011-07-26T10:40:00.001-05:00

As you all know I whole heartily support Operation Write Home! Last year I created over 1000 cards for them. So I am excited to tell you that when I heard We R Memory Keepers was having a Operation We R Grateful Card Contest I was all over it!!! I am super trilled to tell you that you have a chance to win an EXTRA PRIZE on top of all that they are giving away!!! I have teamed with We R Memory Keepers and will also have my own blog contest along with theirs. Whoo Hoo! The winner from my blog will receive Two We R Memory Keeper Designer Card Kits!! Everything you need to create 16 cards! To enter to win these just click the InLinkz at the bottom of this post to add your photo of your card or cards that you created for the contest. Then drop or send your cards to locations listed below to enter their contest.

That's 2 contests in 1, you can't beat that!

We R Memory Keepers Winners...

•Daily Winners: Everyday they will randomly draw 1 card from the received cards and award the cardmaker with their incredible Heart Attack Distressing tool! (about 25 winners)

•Best Of: After they've received all of the cards (Deadline August 5th, 2011) they will pick their favorite 3 in each of the categories (Thinking of You, Love, Birthday, Thank You, Get Well, and Major Holidays) and upload them to an album on their Facebook Fan Page and let you vote on the best card in each category! The card that gets the most votes (Picture "likes") will win a fantastic Yankee Doodles Prize Pack with one of our best tools, the Brad Setter & Piercing Tool!

•GRAND PRIZE: Cruise and Crop's Caribbean Cruise: The retail store that collects the most cards will win a Caribbean Cruise Giveaway for their store! One lucky cardmaker will win the Caribbean Cruise with Picture In Time's Cruise and Crop vacation. So, help your LSS collect the most cards and you could be on your way to scrappin' in paradise!

**The Important Stuff **

Operation We R Grateful Contest

•Who: Anyone and everyone can get involved! However, the Cruise giveaway does have a few requirements; please see the Rules and Regulations section below for details.

•What: Send us blank homemade cards for the troops with your ENTRY FORM (Please see the guidelines below or click here) The categories of cards are: Birthday, Love (Anniversary or Miss You), Thank You, Thinking of you, Get well, and Major Holidays.

•When: please send us the blank cards by the DEADLINE: 5 PM, August 5th

•Where: Please drop off your blank cards to a Drop Zone (A participating scrapbook store collecting cards - deadline to have them into the retailers is July 29th, 2011) or mail directly to us (with your ENTRY FORM):

We R Memory Keepers

Attn: Operation We R Grateful

631 North 400 West

Salt Lake City, UT 84103

Drop Zone and Make & Give Class Locations Be See the List Page

click HERE for the guidelines

Thanks & GOOD LUCK!!!

Grungy Monday #12

2011-07-26T08:14:00.002-05:00

Although I'm working on several other projects right now I'm still working on getting all my bookmarks finished for the cruise in September. You know me busy little bee. I am a great multi-tasker. For this set I'm using the Grungy Monday challenge #12. It was on Tim's 2008 April technique you can find out how you can do it HERE. I really like how they turned out. It can totally change the appearance of a paper that you may not care for or may be to "wild" for the project you are working on. I chose papers from Tim's line that didn't exactly "go" with what I was working with to challenge myself. I love the effect.

To answer some of your questions I have gotten about the bookmarks... I created the base out of white medium weight chipboard. They measure 2.25" X 6". I covered one side with vintage dictionary paper using Ranger Glue N' Seal in matte finish. I then punched the hole in the top of each. Now I am ready to create each one in it's own style. I am making 5 at a time, using the same technique for those 5. I have 20 done...100 to go!

Do you get the little joke on this first bookmark?

SKELETON on one side + KEY on the other side = SKELETON KEY he he he

Try stamping your solid prints cockeyed so you don't have to worry about them looking so rigid and uniform

CHA - The Day After

2011-07-25T07:28:00.000-05:00

I shot this after picture of what the CHA trade show looks like the day after. Not quite like the day before. LOL!

Since I live here in only a few minutes from Rosemont I decided to stop by the so called CHA Super Show. It doesn't compare to the CHA trade show but I was hoping to find some goodies like I did last year. Sadly, I was very disappointed in this years show. It was grouped with the Jewelry, Fashion and Accessories show this year. The craft area was tough to find being pushed into the back corner of the huge convention center. Plus there was not much there at all, just a handful of booths. The Jewelry had a firm upper hand on this show! I don't understand the logic to grouping these two shows. And as I had to make my way through the maze of hundreds of other booths to find the craft ones, I was finding myself wondering why didn't they just put them towards the front? It seemed like the craft section was the "kiddie table" hidden in the corner of the room. Oh well, that's my take on it.

Grungy Monday #16

2011-07-24T18:20:00.002-05:00

REPURPOSE - RECYCLE - REUSE

Front side

Back Side

This weeks challenge for Grungy Monday was to use Grungeboard or Grunge paper. One of my favorites... When I opened up my box of Grungeboard sitting on top was the leftovers from when I punched out the Grungeboard letters. I thought why not use those! So I looked no further and inked them up to add to my bookmarks. I added backed them with gold or silver Adirondack Paint Dabbers to really make them pop! On the reverse side I clear embossed with a variety stamps from Tim Holtz Psychedelic Grunge #56 and then sprayed them with Perfect Pearl Mists.

CHA 2011 part 2

2011-07-22T08:45:00.005-05:00

Ok, I'll admit I sometimes don't mind starting with dessert! So I thought I'd show you some sweet eye candy I saw at the show. These cute designs are decorated with ribbon. So sweet and made me hungry for some real sweets...Both days here I was on an adrenaline rush and skipped lunch and just running on my morning coffee. So exciting being here, I hope you all are enjoying what I am sharing with you.

Check out Echo Park's new line of Apothecary Emporium and Happy Days lines

Julie and Lindsay from Cosmo Cricket crack me up. Sorry that's why the pic is a bit blurry (we were laughing while trying to take the picture)

The video is of Julie making a ribbon flower with the Glubers (funny name, cool product). The scissors she is using is Gingher sewing scissors. P.S. Check out Julie's shirt, too cute!!! I just love it!

Heartfelt Creations and Spellbinders have teamed up to create some really great 3D flowers!!! Make sure to watch the video I created of Emma showing how to line up your stamped image and the die to create crisp beautiful designs every time. I can't wait to try them out myself!!! It reminds me of the flower that I made on the present in a previous post but with much more detail.

And who can't get enough Ranger??? Here's myself and Mario. I shouldn't let anyone see this nasty pic of myself but it was 104 and humid. I thought I was going to collapse. Looking forward to a nice long weekend. But not yet, heading back to the Supershow today.

Love the new black craft tags

More inspriation....

Tsukineko has some great new products hitting the market...

Goosebumps and GlazeOn are awesome!

Click HERE for a How To technique sheet for the Goosebumps

Click HERE for a How To technique sheet for the GlazeOn

Here's a little video using the Goosebumps, Mementos & the new Fireworks sprays.

CHA Pics & Video clips - part one

2011-07-21T08:21:00.018-05:00

On my way to CHA 2011 WHOO HOO!!!

Marlo & Myself at CHA. Marlo is the owner of Contain Ya Crafts and is proud to say that the Scrap N Easel is one of the top 20 Innoventions of CHA this year!!! To celebrate she is offering 25% off till July 24th just use coupon code CHATOP20

As you walk into the showroom you are blown away by these awesome trees made by DCWV

Of course I had to go by the Ranger booth, here's a pic with Wendy Vecchi.

And who could forget good ol' Timmy

I just loved the displays that they had

The new storage box is absolutely to die for!!!

I will have more pics and video later....

Graphic 45 is another favorite of mine.

More to come, heading back right now...

Where I Create...

2011-07-14T23:28:00.002-05:00

Hi for those that are new to my site I'm Christie and this is my craft studio! This is one of my favorite places to be. You can say that I am a collector of hobbies. There isn't one yet that I've tried that I haven't enjoyed on some level. Some more than others, but I love to combine what I have learned over the years in my art. So when I designed my room I needed to plan my space carefully as I had lots of stuff I needed to store but still have access to. I also needed to have a place where it was functional and inspiring to me. I definitely achieved my goal. I hope you like it...

Welcome to my craft studio. The dimensions of the room are 13' X 15'. My husband and I remodeled this room a few years ago. I love my new granite counter tops and custom made cabinets purchased at Home Depot, they are KraftMaid brand. I even have a mini fridge stocked with water bottles to keep me hydrated while I work, you can see it in the right hand corner under the window. I also love my big Wacom monitor and my LCD TV that when I am facing away from it reflects in the mirror across the room so I can still watch what's going on. Clever, huh? Since most of the walls were going to be covered with cabinets and windows I decided to add texture and interest by adding wallpaper to the ceiling. It is a textured wallpaper and we painted it white, it looks like a pressed tin ceiling. My handy father helped install the cabinets and the crown moulding and I made the curtains. Voila!

I have a great spot for my Cricut and printer on the wall to the right of my computer. I used velcro to attach all my cartridges to the wall behind my machine (they are in alphabetical order) The booklet and overlays are kept in the bottom narrow drawer right next to my computer. Everything is very handy.

To the right of the door I have a few shelves that I added after we designed the room I store all my paints on the shelves and I have drawers that I got at Container Store that I keep all my chipboard alphabet letter in. It makes it very easy to find just what I am looking for. The cabinet just to the left of this is a pull down ironing board (you can see this in a earlier blog post on altered clipboards). Underneath I keep a roll of papertowels for quick clean ups along with babywipes.
I have several cabinet that have pull out shelves this one has alot of my embellishments. I show 2 of the drawers below where I store brads, beads, gems, etc.
And...Of course a GLITTER drawer!
Another drawer...With my alcohal Inks.

This wall I have my Embroidery machine and Serger on the desks, when I am not using them I can store them under it. I keep my wood rubber stamp in view on the rounded shelves next to the mirror but I keep the clear mount ones in 3 ring binders.

I have all my Distress Inks on one side and all my other ink pads on another side. The drawer with the alcohal inks is right below the distress inks, so when I'm doing techinques with those items they are handy.

I store my stickles upside down by gluing a magnet to the bottom of the bottle and adhering a metal strip to the underside of my cabinet. Love my Stickles :)

You can also see a video tour of my Studio. Don't forget to see Part one and two.

PART ONE

PART TWO

Still didn't get enough...

You can see some of my favorite organization ideas HERE

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed your visit and you will come back again soon. Feel free to become a subscriber or follower to stay posted to the new and greatest news, projects and ideas. Have a great day!!!

CHA here I come!!!

2011-07-13T11:54:00.005-05:00

I'm Going to CHA Baby!!!! Yeah!!!! I am so excited I can hardly wait!!!! I will be attending both the Professional and the Consumer CHA shows this year. So I will have LOTS to share with you. I got 2 invites to go... Mary, with Laser Blazed Designs invited me to go with her. I will be showing you more of Mary's cool acrylic albums in the near future and show you the possiblities that they can bring to your designs and Marlo, with Contain Ya Crafts, the maker of Scrap N Tote and Scrap N Easel!

Another bit of exciting news...Marlo, with Scrap N Tote and Contain Ya Crafts. I am also proud to tell you that the Scrap N Easel that I have shown you in the past has been chosen as a one of the Top 20 Summer 2011 Innovations Award! Keep your fingers crossed that they make #1! Congratulations Marlo! I couldn't say enough good things about the Scrap N Easel. I just love it, if you missed my past posts and want to learn more about it you can see it HERE .

Now the big question is since CHA isn't till next week, how am I ever going to be able to sleep at night till then. I'm so JAZZED! Whoo Hoo!

Grungy Monday Week #14 Bookmarks

2011-07-12T22:21:00.001-05:00

I'm going back in time now working on my bookmarks for my fellow cruisers that will be sailing with Tim Holtz and gang. This technique is from last weeks Grungy Monday challenge. It features the gorgeous perfect pearls that I love so much and bold white paint dabbers. Tim taught us this one way back in March 2008.

Grungy Monday Week # 14 Bookmark #1

Front & Back

Grungy Monday Week #14 Bookmark #2

Front & Back

Grungy Monday Week #14 Bookmark #3

Front & Back

Grungy Monday Week # 14 Bookmark #4
Front & Back

Grungy Monday Week #14 Bookmark #5

Front & Back

First Set of Bookmarks

2011-07-12T08:54:00.006-05:00

In preparation for the Tim Holtz cruise in September I am starting to make bookmarks for all the wonderful other creative people that will be joining in this exciting trip. To help me keep this energy and creativity flowing I once again am turning to Linda at StudioL3. She is the host of Grungy Monday, you may remember all the fun I had with the Compendium of Curiosities Challenge. Well this is very similar. Once a week she posts one of Tim's techniques for us to try. I have challenged myself to do 5 bookmarks for each technique. Since I have had a very busy summer so far I have slacked a bit on my Grungy Monday. But I am going to make up for lost time. I will be doing all the past weeks that I missed. So stay posted for lots of posts! LOL

My goal is to make 120 bookmarks! Let's see if I can do it. And I plan for them all to be original pieces of art, 2 sided and gorgeous! If I'm going to do it I'm going to do it right. No slacking!

My Bookmark Bootcamp!

This week the challenge is from Tim's Christmas 2007 day 7 tag challenge

Grungy Monday Week #15 Bookmark #1

Front & Back

Grungy Monday Week #15 Bookmark #2

Front & Back

Grungy Monday Week #15 Bookmark #3

Front & Back

Grungy Monday Week #15 Bookmark #4

Front & Back

Grungy Monday Week # 15 Bookmark #5

Front and Back

Over $900. of products for $35. WOW!!!

2011-07-08T07:24:00.013-05:00

I know I've talked about Lettering Delights before but it's only because I LOVE there stuff! Right now they are having a clearance sale. Tons of their products are reduced from $4.00 to 50 cents. You can purchase them separately or in bundles. The bundles are definitely the best way to go!!! An example of one of the bundles is the Best of Lettering Delight Super Bundle it is worth $214.50 but marked down to $10. WHOLLY COW!!! They have a number of those bundles available. I did the math and if you ordered the 5 bundles that are on sale, the regular price total comes to $901.00 but the total is $50. want it for only $35. pick out $10 in anything else and use coupon code: SparkleSavings. You can't beat that!!! Even though I already had some of the items in the bundles it was such a great deal I couldn't pass it up! I ended up saving money. Now I can whip out cards and layouts quickly and easily with all these great graphics at my fingertips. Just click on the graphic above to be taken to their site you can find all the goodies in the Value Bundle or the What's New sections. These BIG bonus savings are sure to blow you away! Take an additional $25 off a purchase of $60 or more. At checkout enter coupon code: SparkleSavings. ($25 savings does not apply towards the Simple Shapes Super Bundle.)

Another great deal that they have right now is the Simple Shapes Super Bundle. 50 sets of new single-layer cuttable images are now available in multiple cutting file formats. Whether your machines requires ai, eps, svg, svg without layers, dxf or pdf files, you won’t want to miss these 750+ images. But hurry! The set is just $49 now through Sunday.

Before you checkout don't forget to grab your freebie. This month it is Summer Treats Alphabet and you get it for $0.00 Yeah!!!

1st time camping in 15 years!

2011-07-05T07:12:00.007-05:00

This weekend my husband and I went camping at the Trail of Tears State Forest in southern Illinois. I used to take my boys camping all the time when I was single. It was a great way to spend good quality time with them and a great way to teach them and myself to enjoy the simple things in life. Once I married my husband, who has 5 kids, we stopped camping. That was 15 years ago. I was shocked when on our last trip to South Dakota, Tim, my husband said he wanted to go camping! I was instantly on board. Within 2 weeks we had all the gear and a trip planned. No backing out of that one! LOL. Well the trip was a success. We battled all the camping nightmares like high temperatures and rain like champs. We ate like kings, cooking over our camp fire. Napping in a hammock is a MANDATORY! when camping. LOL Humongous Mushroom we saw while taking a walk one day. Check out the daddy long-legs on the bottom part of the mushroom.The forest is full of crazy things. We would sit by the fire at night watching the bats swoop out of the trees. I had forgotten about those. We woke up the first night to the coyotes howling and tons and tons of birds singing. We also heard an owl on our last night that sounded like he was very close. And here is the picture of the infamous Black Widow Spider. He had caught a wasp and was having him for lunch so he wasn't a threat to us. Plus I figure we are in his territory not the other way around so he didn't get squashed.

P.S. if you are looking for a great tent...the Instant Tent from Coleman is AWESOME! Sets up and takes down in a just a minute!

Travel Journal

2011-06-26T09:10:00.000-05:00

I created this travel journal using the hot new binders from Ditto! The Smash books have become all the rave right now but I love the versatility of the Ditto. Because it is a 3 ring binder it allows me to add my own papers and fill it to the brim with all my ideas and designs. I inked up the binder with my favorite inks Tim Holtz Distress Inks in Vintage Photo and Broken China. I started this one this week to journal all the travels that my husband and I take together. I also have space in it to clip and stick ideas for future travel plans. I decorated the front cover with the gorgeous Little Yellow Bicycle Twig collection. The "on this journey together" tag that I made is from Authentique. It is made from heavy weight card stock that I made heavy duty by embossing both sides with 2 coats of UTEE. The "Hit the Road" canvas sticker is also from Little Yellow Bicycle but from the Pack Your Bags line.

Scrapbook Expo

2011-06-21T07:31:00.013-05:00

I just registered for the Scrapbook Expo that is held in Saint Charles, IL. Aug. 19 & 20th. This is by far my favorite scrapbook show that I attend. There are tons of great deals, the classes are wonderful with great instructors plus they are very generous with lots of extra freebies in your classes. The Scrapbook Expo is held at Pheasant Run Resort, I personally have never stayed at the resort (I live only 10 min. from the expo). Friends have stayed there and have loved it, I recommend Harvest, an upscale restaurant in the hotel (located near Zanies Comedy Club), it also has a Mario Tricoci Spa for anyone looking for a spa treatment.

Here are a couple videos from the Expo last year...

Personalized Black Belt Card

2011-06-20T07:31:00.007-05:00

This is the card that I created to congratulate Nick on his 4th Degree Black Belt. I used the Karate uniform that is from Jolee's Dimensional Stickers SPJJ095. They are white when you purchase them but I simple changed the color by using the Tim Holtz Distress Stains to color them to the color I needed. Worked like a charm! To add the stripes to the belts I just cut up the yellow belt that comes in the same Jolee pkg. I added the dates to the bottom of the card for each of his promotions (First Degree, Second Degree, etc). At his karate school they have not only different color belts but different color uniforms for stages of advancement.

On the inside of the card I couldn't find the sentiment or poem that said just how I felt so instead I wrote him a letter. I think it is much more personal and touching and I know he knows now just how I feel. I also added photos from the first day that he took karate and of each black belt testing. The first page in his scrapbook has a place for him to keep the card so he can look back on it from time to time.

Nick was the only one to receive his 4th Degree Black Belt that day. He got a standing ovation and I was not the only one with tears in their eyes. His strong will and determination has paid off and he can now proudly wear the coveted BLACK uniform with pride. After the testing and after all of Nicks fans came up to congratulate him, we headed out for a bite to eat with some friends and family. He received lots of flower bouquets, posters made by his students and home made cupcakes, mmmm. I gave him his Karate photo album. He loved it!!!

I'm Back!!!

2011-06-11T10:20:00.005-05:00

I disappeared for a few weeks there! I was on vacation to South Dakota with my husband, Tim and my parents. I just got back late Thursday. I am now trying to get the finishing touches on Nick's Karate Scrapbook done. He tests for his 4th degree black belt today!!! Yeah for him! What an accomplishment! After that I will be working on my South Dakota Scrapbook. I will be sharing that with you as well. Here is a sneak peak at some of the fun we had!
The burros in Custer State Park decided they LOVED me!

This one was especially a charmer! LOL!!! Tim and I in our matching monkey PJ's after a long day of sight seeing!
Lots more to come!!!

Ninja Nick

2011-05-26T07:50:00.005-05:00

I've been busy with lots of projects lately. I've been up to my eyeballs in photos! My beautiful Grandson, Kyler is so much fun to scrapbook. I have been working on getting all the photos that I have taken of the little guy in my special scrapbook of him. I am making it in a 8 1/2" X 11" size so I can easily scan and print out a copy to give to them also.

My son, Nick, is testing for his 4th degree black belt in Karate in June. I thought it would be special to make him a scrapbook of all his Karate pictures that I have. He began karate in September of 1997. This has been a huge part of his life and is now his career. I couldn't be prouder of him. Yesterday I worked like a crazy woman on this project and was able to get 28 pages done!!! Since most of the pictures are of the same thing (belt testing, competitions, parades) it was a challenge to find different ways to scrap the same but give it a unique look. I think I was keep each page interesting and with Nick's personality in it. Because I did so many pages at one time I will go back and do some final touches, like journaling. But I was very happy with my accomplishment. Today I am pretty whooped from yesterdays scrap-a-thon so I doubt I will get as much done but I hope to get a bunch done! How rewarding!

RSD/CRPS Awareness Hop Winner

2011-05-21T13:59:00.004-05:00

The RSD/CRPS Awareness Blog Hop was successful. I found from your comments that many of you learned for the first time about it. I am thankful that it was able to help so many people. I don't share my story with many people because I don't want people to look at me differently or treat me any different than they did before. I have found that because I don't "look sick" many people don't know what to do or how to act. I can also relate to many of the comments that spoke of fibromyalgia, unfortunately that is one of the problems of your nervous system going wonky due to RSD/CRPS, you can get Fibro. I have the misfortune of having that too but left that out to focus on the reason for the hop. My heart goes out to all of those that also have any type of pain, you are in my thoughts and prayers!

Now for the winner of the drawing.... Terry Kelling

Thank You all for your wonderful comments!

RSD/CRPS Awareness Blog Hop

2011-05-20T00:01:00.007-05:00

You know you want to cool down your foot fast when you stick it in a hotel toilet!

When Deanne at Deanne Creative Juice and Dusti at Scrappin with Cricut decided to do a RSD/CRPS Awareness Blog Hop; I knew I had to participate!!! I unfortunately know all too well about it. September 2006, I got CRPS (complex regional pain syndrome also known as RSD (reflex systematic dystrophy). There are 2 types type I (without nerve injury) & type II (with nerve injury). I got it immediately after foot surgery. I had a tumor in a nerve in my foot. During surgery they removed that section of nerve. The surgery when fine but instead of the pain getting better, it got worse...much, much worse! Before I was even out of the recovery room there were signs of trouble. My foot turned blue. (The first of many times). To try to explain the pain of RSD/CRPS is difficult, it is like putting your foot in a fire while crushing it in a vise. Sometimes it's more like an icy burning cramping achy stabby pain. If you don't have it you won't get what I mean and don't try, just be thankful you don't. Thankfully, I was diagnosed early and was able to get much needed help. I also found some great doctors, but I had to search for them. I had never heard of RSD/CRPS and it's amazing how many medical personel (even doctors) are unfamiliar and uneducated in such an important disease. I found that I needed to be an advocate for myself and do as much research as I could. I couldn't always rely on my doctors and I definitely couldn't rely on my body anymore. One Dr. wanted to do another surgery on my foot, no thanks (I found out later that would have made it worse)! Another, said I would be wheelchair bound and wanted to fill me with meds (Not ME)! I finally found someone who knew I was a fighter and I received my first Lumbar Sympathetic Spinal block that day. Tried two more blocks...not much relief! Then tried an Algoline Catheter . That was an experience. It is an IV that goes in your lower spine and delivers Buvicane (like Novocaine) to numb my left leg/foot. The idea was to make my body forget it's in pain so it stop sending the pain signal. Well needless to say it didn't work. I can also say that I gave it a good shot. I had it in for almost 3 months and that's tough when you are trying to do anything with one leg asleep all the time. It took the edge off the pain but didn't do what we had hoped. Lastly, when I had that removed I had a Lumbar Raidofrequency Neuronomy performed which has helped the most, I think. During this entire experience my foot was hypersensitive to any touch, vibration, heat and so many other things. I couldn't stand or walk for any distance. It was nearly impossible to wear sock, let alone shoes. Taking a shower was like showering with pins. All that's in the past now. I have come a long way.

Today almost 5 years later, I am doing MUCH, MUCH better. I don't look at how I'm doing today compared to yesterday. I look at how much better I am today compared to last year or the year before that. I am still extremely heat sensitive (most RSD patients are cold sensitive) I have to shield my foot from the sun always or it will flare up. The heat thing is probably my biggest challenge...it's everywhere and in the least expected places... heat from a car engine, sunlight coming in a window, hair dryer, oven, socks or shoes, blankets, even the heat from my own body can set off my foot if it is touching another part of my body. I usually sleep with my one foot outside the blankets. I wear a Lidocaine patch when I need to walk more than usual or stand, but I can walk (not far but I can). I don't take pain meds because I want to remember and experience my life to the fullest. I have learned a lot of other ways to deal with the pain. I also have a TENS unit that I use to "distract" the nerve signal. I use meditation, distraction (scrapbooking), nutrition, physical therapy among other things to keep the pain under control. But I would have to say the biggest thing that helps is a positive attitude! Never give up, this is a disease that there is no cure, it is forever. I don't mean that to sound somber, you just learn how to relearn how to do things. I do not blame the doctor, I am not on disability, these thing just sometimes happen. You have to make the best of what God gives you. I am a positive thinking person. I was very go-go- go before, now I am able to stop and smell the roses. One of the best gifts it has given me is SCRAPBOOKING!!! I didn't really scrapbook until 4 years ago. Then I started to do it to distract from the pain. For me it's more than just scrapping it's therapeutic. RSD/CRPS has also taught me a lot about myself and others. I am especially grateful for Tim who has been my rock through this. He is more than just my husband, my friend and my soul mate and for that I blessed.

One of the things that he always says is that I have SUPER POWERS now. I can tell you where every heat source is, I have super smell, hyper sensitive touch, I can even tell the difference in flooring (concrete, asphalt, tile, wood, etc.) by how quickly my foot flares.

Now for the PRIZE!!! I am giving away a package of Tim Holtz Idea-ology Grungeboard Shapes (176 swirls texture shapes) and a package of Tim Holtz Idea-ology Fragments (48 squares and rectangles). Just leave a comment to enter to win. Sorry no picture...Blogger decided to not upload my pics. Tomarrow morning I will randomly draw a winner!

Baby Robin #1 has hatched!!!!

2011-05-18T07:38:00.012-05:00

I just had to update you all on our little Robin family. Chickie #1 was born yesterday!!! I was passing by the window and saw Mommy bird, my neighbor's daughter named her Lucy, feeding a baby. I was so excited!!! I thought they had all hatched but when she left to get some more worms to feed the little one I got my camera a took a picture. Sure enough only one had hatched. Since the mom feels safe with us I can pop out the door and take quick pics or video using my IPhone. She will let me know when she is ready to come back to her nest. Maybe she knows I helped her make her nest and is grateful so she is letting me catch a peek or two at her little ones. I hear that they can be very protective but she is comfortable with having me around. I'm grateful to have her around too. :) So here are the beautiful pictures and you must see this video it's truly amazing!!!! A must see!!!

Precious Layouts of Baby Kyler

2011-05-12T07:00:00.000-05:00

I finally found a few spare moments to do some actually scrapbooking. LOL!!! I met with some friends at Archivers, away from all distractions, and did some chatting and some scrapping. I worked on some of Kylers Baby pics. I haven't had a second to scrap any of them done so I got to work. I got 6 pages done in a little over 3 hours. It was a total adjustment for me as I didn't have any of my usual stuff on had, just what I brought. You see...this was my first crop away from home. I felt a little out of my element but I did just fine. I didn't start rocking in the corner when I didn't have my die cut machine or heat gun. I just made do with what I brought. I had great fun chatting and look forward to doing it again soon.

I'm doing his whole album in 8 1/2" X 11" format so that I can scan and give copies to the parents and great grandparents.

Winners Announced + Savings Continue....

2011-05-09T05:58:00.004-05:00

Winners Announced For My Blogaversary Week

Monday's WINNER of the Ranger Pastel Perfect Pearl Set, 3 Ranger Mini Misters and 1 Darice Metal Bead Scoop is DJScrappiness
Tuesday's WINNER of the Scrap N Easel is Judy Jackson
Wednesday's Winner of the Bow Easy and large spool of ribbon is Colleenfroud@yahoo.com

Thursday's Winner of the Scrap N Tote is Cathie Holt
Friday's Winner everyone got free designs from Lettering Delight
Saturday's Winner of the Scrap N Easel is Carla (Snoopea6@yahoo.com)

Congratulations and I want to thank everyone for making my first year such a great success!!!

I want to remind you that you can still receive 30% off Scrap N Tote .Just enter coupon code CREATIONS1 this offer is good through May 15th.
And included in every Scrap N Easel order you will receive a free project tote ( a $20 value). through May 15th

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T11:17:00.003-05:00

Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms, Step-Moms, Grand moms, God moms, Foster Moms, Adoptive Moms, and any other kind of Mom there is.... Thank you for all that you do! Take a minute and give yourself a giant hug for me!!! You deserve it!

This year I got the pleasure of becoming a Grandmother and I can't tell you how much I love that little guy. He means the world to me! And he couldn't ask for a better Mommy than Felicia!

This past winter Nick, our son, bought his house so we became empty nester's. Well we are no longer "empty nester's". Lucy, as our neighbors daughter named her, moved in. Lucy, is a robin that is going to raise her little chicks right outside our living room window. After lots of failed attempts I decided to help this sweet little robin mommy build her nest by anchoring the lantern to the post. I wound a piece of wire around the lantern, through the door, around the post and out the screen. She was thrilled to be able to build her nest. And what a nest it is!

I made a little sign to block off the outside path to our bistro area and front enterance to the sunroom where she built her nest. That way she gets her peace and quiet without anyone disturbing her.

A Card for Someone Who Has It All...Almost!

2011-05-07T00:01:00.002-05:00

Today is a super great idea that I came up with today as I was racking my brain what to get for my son's birthday. He is such a great kid (not quite a kid anymore at 24 yrs.). He really has everything he needs and has very little wants. Then it dawned on me!!! For his birthday card I would create his own wooly willy (I think in the video I called it Wooly Bully). He was cursed with a receding hairline early so he always looked older than he was. Recently he shaved his head to raise money for cancer. That day he came over and surprised me with his newly shaved head. I am so glad that I took a picture of his big cue ball head because as I was running errands I thought... Wow I'm gonna give him something he hasn't had in over a decade!!! HAIR! So I ran home and I tore one of my wooly willy, making sure not to spill the magnetic shavings. And yes, I did have them on hand, our game room has lots of nostalgic stuff including those. LOL . I wrote on the back "Happy Birthday, To a son who has everything...well almost.

So in celebration of my Blog-Aversary, Matt's Birthday and Mother's Day we are giving away one last SCRAP N EASEL!!!! WOO HOOO!!!! All You have to do is leave a comment on today's post with your email! That easy! Thanks for making this a great year!

Just a reminder Contain Ya Crafts is celebrating joining us in celebrating my Blog-averary by offering all of you 30% off of any Scrap N Tote (including the new color!). The Scrap N Easel offer is a different, Instead of a discount they are giving you a free project tote with any Scrap N Easel (a $20 value)!!! Just use coupon code CREATIONS1 offer good now until May 15th!!!

Freebies For All + How to use SVGs from LD

2011-05-06T12:01:00.008-05:00

How about $50 in Freebies For ALL!!! YEAH!!! I have not hid my love for Lettering Delight in the past and again I am singing their praises!!! For those of you that don't know about LD they offer great Fonts, Doodle fonts, SVGs, Digital Paper Packs, Alphabets, Graphics, and so much more I can't even list it all. Last month they had their Dollar Delights (which I just couldn't get enough of) But now they have blown my socks off. They are offering their entire American Pride Super bundle for the low price of $0.00 WOW!!! I first tried them out a long time ago with the free bundle that you get when you sign up for an account with them (which is also free). To be honest I was sceptical, "how could this be???" "is this too good to be true??? I asked myself all the usual Q's. But after I tried out the freebies and loved them I got a couple of others. Then went a bit crazy at the Dollar sale. LOL But the best thing about signing up with them is that you get the occasional email of a free offer like this one. :)

My tutorial today shows how I download and cut one of the free items. I've had a few ask what you do you do with everything once you get them. I created a video tutorial to show you just how easy they are to use. I will be creating other videos but wanted to get this one out there so everyone can see that is is so easy and they can get on board the great Giveaway they are having! At the end of the post I have links to both Make the Cut and Lettering Delight if you are interested. Recently there has been a change and Make the Cut is no longer supports the Cricut. If you already have Make The Cut installed it should continue to work like mine as long as you don't upgrade the software. Make the Cut does work with a ton of other die cut machines though and will continue to do so such as...Silhouette, KNK, Pazzles, BossKut Gazelles, Black Cat Cougar/Lynx, eCraft and others. I hope this helps. Enjoy the Video!

Creations By Christie

Tagging Made Easy

Mini Blog Makeover

Did You Know It's A Tape Dispenser???

Pocket Watches Featured in Newspaper

Craft Shows coming up!

Time to make some money to afford all those awesome new products coming out at CHA this year!!! I have a few craft shows coming up in Febuary. If you are in the area I would love if you could come on by and say hi! On Febuary 4 & 5th I will be at the DuPage Expo Center.

DuPage Expo Center4050 East Main StSt. Charles, IL 60174

SHOW HOURS: SATURDAY 11AM - 5PM & SUNDAY 9AM - 3PM

Organizing my Movers & Shapers

Pinecone Paper Roses

Recycled License Plates

Sorry I was gone so long....

Ranger Ink featured my post :)

I will be at Grey Barn Holiday Market

Tim Holz Cruise Day 1-3

Christening Cake

Designer Book Covers

3 Dimensional Christening Card

God Bless Kyler Banner

Hugs & Kisses For All - Favor Cake

Fabulous Folds

Halloween Batch of OWH Cards

Post Card Mini Book

Distress Stickle Bookmarks

Transparency Bookmarks

Introduction to the Eclips

Charm Making 101

Weathered Wood Bookmarks

We R Memory Keepers OWH Challenge Final Results

Glossy Accented Bookmarks

Charms for Tim Holtz Cruise Swap

Grungy Monday #21

Love Birds Anniversary Card

Geared Up Birthday Card

Flip Video

A Haunting We Will Go!

From Flat to Fab! New Technique to Add Dimension

Winners Announced + Savings Continue....

Frightful Page Layout

Summer Sale Blog Hop Continues!

Scrappers Summer Sale & Blog Hop

Onesie Baby Book

8 Cards In Under an Hour

Creative Connection Event

Grungy Monday #17

How to Label Your Distress Ink Pads

Operation We R Grateful Contest

Grungy Monday #12

CHA - The Day After

Grungy Monday #16

CHA 2011 part 2

CHA Pics & Video clips - part one

Where I Create...

CHA here I come!!!

Grungy Monday Week #14 Bookmarks

First Set of Bookmarks

Over $900. of products for $35. WOW!!!

1st time camping in 15 years!

Travel Journal

Scrapbook Expo

Personalized Black Belt Card

I'm Back!!!

Ninja Nick

RSD/CRPS Awareness Hop Winner

RSD/CRPS Awareness Blog Hop

Baby Robin #1 has hatched!!!!

Precious Layouts of Baby Kyler

Winners Announced + Savings Continue....

Happy Mother's Day

A Card for Someone Who Has It All...Almost!

Freebies For All + How to use SVGs from LD

DuPage Expo Center
4050 East Main St
St. Charles, IL 60174