i-top brad maker giveaway

Head on over to Stacy Julian's blog to enter for a chance to win a cool brad maker! (If YOU win because I told you to enter, you better make me a few fun brads, okay?!?) I know I've met my quota on winning prizes this year (scroll down for Tresa's amazing canvas if you didn't see it already) but it's fun to play along anyway.

It is definitely Monday- though it was a good one- and I am tired. I have one set of papers left to grade to be caught up (at least until tomorrow) but I am going to pull a Scarlett and put off until tomorrow what should be done today. (Y'all know, dahlin's, tomorrow IS another day!)

Scroll down if you're looking for today's artwork post... Happy Blogtoberfest!

So Grateful/Color Me Monday Combo

If it's Monday it must mean back to the grindstone! I hope my students are well rested and ready to get back to work. I'm not sure I am, but boy was it a fun fall break! (I truly am grateful for my job and my students.)

This simple card measures 4.75"x3". I love its smaller size! My color palette was taken directly from a past "Color Me Monday" combo by Jeanette Lynton.

Customers at a recent gathering received this card as a thank you with their order, and I was very flattered when one of them asked where they could buy the leaf paper. I told her that she would have to make it. I stamped it using the colors at right and my November Word Puzzle stamp set. (I am still so sad that they are being retired, but at least you have until 12/31 to get them.)

Twitterpated Card & Alex's Birthday

Today my nephew Alex turns 3! We are celebrating with a party this afternoon. No, we didn't get enough of him (or his brother) on vacation! I'll definitely be posting pictures later of the party and these handsome fellows. (At left he is enjoying strawberry soup on our cruise.)

It is wonderful to be home safe and sound from our trip. Now to get papers graded between church, the birthday party, and getting ready for work/school tomorrow!

This fall card was literally made with scraps, and I love how it turned out! The circles were leftover from my accordian card (see my post on 10/3, World Card Making Day). I had a piece of Chocolate cardstock that measured 4"x12", so I cut it down to 4"x11" to make an almost-standard-size card. I modeled it after the Wishes "Circle Collection" pattern. I did have to cut the striped paper to size, but that was easy. Even the ribbon was scrap.

All the paper comes from the Twitterpated paper pack. The adorable felt leaf came from the Heartfelt Whimsy felt collection. I can't wait to show you more with these cool felt pieces! The cute little bluebird on its branch is from the Whoo Loves You stamp set. Thanks for looking! Hope you find a little happiness today too.

Spooky Sky Cards

Today's challenge over at 365 Cards is to incorporate the sky into your project. Though I still have tropical skies on my mind, the weather here at home has definitely turned to fall. I was trying my hand at brayering a la Michelle Zindorf. She offers some amazing tutorials on her site, so I'll let you go there to learn since I obviously still need help. (I definitely understand now why she clear embosses everything. No matter how small I made my mask I still had a white "ghost" around my tree. I finally traced around them w/my lightest colored marker, and now they "glow.") I also think that sponging the sky would have been more effective, but it was fun to try something different. (It's been forever since I've used my rubber brayer.) The great thing about paper crafting is that the sky's the limit. (Okay, not so "pun-ny" I admit.) Why don't you try something new today, or pull out something "old" and make it new again? I'd love to see what you come up with.

I think I've also qualified for Saturday Spotlight's Challenge #3: Make a Scene. Do you think I've also qualified for Cute Card Thursday's SPOOKY challenge? I wish the green ground actually looked green instead of gray-ish as it does here.

Happy paper crafting! (Scroll down if you have any interest in my first post of the day.)

Both cards use the October Word Puzzle (soon to be retired) and Grown with Love stamp sets on 5"x7" Pansy Purple card bases.

Top card inks: Garden Green, Cocoa, Sunflower, Autumn Terracotta, Outdoor Denim, Pansy Purple, and Black

Bottom card inks: Garden Green, Cocoa, Crystal Blue, Moonstruck, Pansy Purple, and Black

(All supplies from Close To My Heart.)

I'm a Winner! Woohoo!

In between loads of laundry yesterday, I was catching up on some of my favorite blogs and was shocked to find that I WON this gorgeous canvas from my fabulously artsy friend, Tresa! Am I super lucky or what?!? I am sure to have more photos when it arrives and I add my own picture. Now to decide on just the right one...

If you'd like to learn how to make those gorgeous paper roses, just click right here. Check her blog often because Tresa is fabulously talented, and not just in the paper crafting department, although there is no doubt that she is indeed the Stamp Goddess! Thank you so much! Muchas gracias!! Merci mille fois!!!

Yesterday I did indeed get the laundry finished and put away (hooray!). We got most of the household chores finished too, so we're going to our town's fall festival this afternoon. I'm glad we're back in time to go. I'm trying a new recipe in the crockpot (which I love to use) so I'll let you know how it turns out. Have a happy Saturday wherever you are and whatever you're doing!

Highlights from our Holiday

We are home safe & sound from our lovely vacation. (We had thought to go to New Orleans yesterday, but with the weather and the President coming to town, we headed back home instead. We'll hit the Big Easy another time when we can stay a bit longer.)

Here are a few photo highlights of our trip. We surprised our parents with "FFF" t-shirts the first night on board. FFF = Forced Family Fun, a tradition that started way back when I was in high school. We've added several Fs to the list:
Foreign
Free
Floating
Freaky (by Ansley)
and a few other Fs you can imagine...



The grandparents kept the little boys so that the rest of us could tour Uxmal Mayan ruins. They were absolutely incredible, but here are only two of my photos.














We went to a "private club" on Cozumel where we were able to swim and snorkel without any hassle. The girls also got a few Caribbean braids in their hair.






















The girls learned to make towel puppies at Camp Carnival.




Warm Chocolate Melting Cake

(Need I say more?!?)









The famous Carnival "fan tail"

Now let the laundry begin!

More Holiday Warmth

We leave the Holiday today but the adventure is not over! Stay tuned for more...

This is my final Holiday Warmth card (for now). It is based on the Top It Off sketch from Wishes. One thing I love about the 8"x3.5" cards is that they fit in a business envelope. If you write a holiday newsletter, it would slip into this card perfectly.

Can you see the prisma glitter bling?

I colored this whimsical tree with my waterbrush and Juniper ink. When it was completely dry, I traced the lines with my Juniper marker because the waterbrush had faded them. I love how it turned out!

If you have any questions about this card or any other, just ask me in the comments and I will get back to you. Thanks!

Holiday Warmth/Just Because Workshop Card 3

While on Holiday, here are a pair of cards using the Holiday Warmth stamp set (Oct. stamp of the month).

Both cards use a card pattern from the Wishes "Just Because" card workshop. I love the simplicity of this sketch and stamping on the white space.

These may be my holiday card this year. I am really thinking that less is more. The adhesive clear sparkles add just the right touch of bling without adding bulk, which is a big plus when making and mailing in bulk.

I'm having a Christmas card class on 12/5 so mark your calendars!

Mermaids (Layout #43)

Mermaids will probably not be sighted in Cozumel today, but we are planning to head to the beach to do a bit of swimming and snorkeling.

These photos of my sweethearts playing at the beach were taken Spring Break 2007. They played together so sweetly, and watching them was such joy. Ah, the simple pleasures in life. Enjoy those little moments.

This layout uses the now-retired Whoops-A-Daisy papers. I borrowed my Mom's Daydream stamp set for the images (Chocolate Alphabet Small also used). White ricrac was the perfect embellishment.

I think I may have invented a new technique! See the waves on the lefthand layout (stamped under the picture)? The Ocean ink turns purple on the Watermelon cardstock, so I first stamped my image in White Daisy ink (which I also used to distress the edges of my Watermelon cardstock) and then when it dried, I stamped again with Ocean ink. This was a great way to try to keep the color "true" on the darker cardstock.

Finally, if this layout looks somewhat familiar, it's because it is based on the layout featured in the Grace Workshop on the Go (last month's workshop)!

Uxmal

Today we are docking in Progreso, Yucatan, Mexico. The four of us, my brother, and sister/BIL have booked a shore excursion to visit Uxmal, a Mayan ruin that means "thrice built." We debated between here and Chichen Itza and are hoping for less crowds here. (Grammie & Grumps will be keeping the wee boys on the ship.)

Here are some pictures I found online to whet your appetite (and ours) for the trip.

I'm not sure whose idea it was to book an excursion without looking at what time it leaves! This one departs pretty early in the morning. Maybe a nap will tide us over to dinner.

Holiday Warmth Swap Cards

Since I'm sailing on the Holiday, I thought that I should probably share some more Holiday Warmth cards with you.

These gorgeous cards were all made by members of my Close To My Heart unit. I believe the Juniper square card (top left) was made by my upline, Chris Hill. Pamela Berry made the 3"x6" card at the bottom left. I love her attention to details! Taralyn made the precious 3" square card.

This lovely card by Tonya Stone uses the create-a-shade paint to give it the pearlized finish.

Carla Ramirez made the darling square card at right, Bridget Mahler made the festive card at center, and Camy Eisentrager made the card at right with the metal rimmed tag.

Holiday

No, I'm not talking about the October stamp of the month, Holiday Warmth. It's the Carnival Holiday! There is a connection to Christmas, though. We are celebrating Christmas about two months early with a Bell family cruise.

I am sooooo looking forward to spending time with my family! My parents are taking my brother, my sister and her family, and me and my family on a cruise this week. Fortunately, we have Fall Break so we're not even breaking any truancy laws. :)

If you'd like to follow along in "real time," be sure to check out my parents' blog, The Traveling Bells. I will not be posting live from the cruise, but I have scheduled some posts while we're away, so please check back.

Bon voyage!