Decorated Album Cover & People We Love (layout #24)

You may recall that I have been re-taking an online class over at Bigpicturescrapbooking.com called "Library of Memories." I really love Stacy Julian's sytem of recording her family's memories. She basically has four categories of albums: All About Us, People We Love, Things We Do, and Places We Go. (The albums are color coded, so as her layouts grow, she can just add another album.) I am taking her ideas and making them my own. I will continue to create albums for my girls, especially now that they are getting older and can take over some of that responsibility, but I love the idea of not doubling up on everything that I create!

Here is my title page for our "People We Love" album. I need to figure out a way to journal about the actual pictures on the title page, but at the same time these pictures will probably appear again in layouts about these people we love. FYI (clockwise from top left): My parents in Switzerland on our '93 trip; Ansley w/BJ & JC on her 10th birthday; Logan w/our friends the Maggios on the Tennessee Tornado rollercoaster (it's a photo of a keychain w/a photo from the ride!), and our nephews this past Christmas. I used the Silhouette paper pack w/the addition of Cranberry to match the album. I made the tabs w/my Coluzzle File Folder template to serve as section dividers for family and friends.

To decorate the cover of our People We Love album, I used a strip from the new Fancy Cuts Borders. I hadn't preplanned this cover and was delighted to find that strip in my stash. I just sort of tacked it down to the cover w/a little Bonding Memories glue.

The quote came from my Pure Love stamp set (which I also used on the title page for "Love") and it says "To truly love someone, we must laugh with them." The heart came from my February Word Puzzle stamp set.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE our album label holders! I have wanted to decorate the spines of my albums for a long time but never got around to it. These are soooo easy to use- just slip a title into the holder and then slip the holder onto your album's spine. You get 2 for only $4.95, so it's instant inexpensive organization. (And y'all know I need all the help I can get in that department!)

One word of caution though on decorating your album covers: be sure you are working with the FRONT before you actually glue anything down. Our beautiful linen albums look the same front and back, except for that cute little Close To My Heart label ON THE BACK. You know how you said I tacked down that border? It is stuck very well, thank you! So I just improvised on my dedication, upside down logo and all.

Lemonade Award!

What a nice surprise I received recently from my new friend, Paige! She nominated me for this Lemonade award.

Here are the "rules":

- comment on this blog
- cut and paste the award logo and use it on your own blog"
- nominate 5 to 10 blogs you feel show great attitude and gratitude
- link to your nominees within your blog post- comment on their blogs to let them know they received the award
- link back to the person who gave you the award to show your appreciation

Here are my nominees:

1. My Mom over at the Traveling Bells

2. My most frugal friend Chunkygal

3. My cousin over at Life As We Know It

4. My brother at Life of Bell

5. My cousin at House #1...

If you haven't visited their sites, go say hi and tell them I sent you. ;) Thanks again, Paige!

Aunt Amy's Girl? (Layout #23)

This layout has been in the works for a LONG time! I knew that I wanted to record how much my youngest is like my baby sister. We laugh sometimes that I carried her daughter. Of course, she is also a lot like her daddy, which I will showcase at another point in time. It must have something to do with all three of them being the babies of their families!

The photo op presented itself at the baby shower for my nephew, held when he was about a month old. (I don't think I included that info on the layout so I will go back and add that journaling.) Aunt Amy had kicked off her shoes and Macey soon followed suit, even though she wasn't copying Aunt Amy. Macey NEVER keeps her shoes on- JUST LIKE Aunt Amy! I couldn't resist snapping a photo of their shoes side-by-side. ;) The funniest part was that when I got my photos back, NONE of us were wearing our shoes by the time the shower was over. Not Grammie, Aunt Amy, her boys, my girls, nor me.

If you're still with me, then you might be interested to know that this layout sketch (called Easy Inspiration) came from my Close To My Heart Cherish how-to book. I used my favorite Emporium paper pack and a sheet from the Emporium Creative Basics paper pack. Don't they compliment the photos nicely? Blue is Macey's favorite color, and neither she nor Aunt Amy are frilly girly girls. The colors are Twilight, Crystal Blue, and Sweet Leaf. I used The Works alphabet stamp set for my title, and I couldn't resist the shoes from my retired Let's Shop set. The only things non-CTMH are my computer journaling and the blue flowers. Thanks for looking!

Some Gave All

Take time today to remember the true reason for this holiday!

Wishes & Teacher Appreciation

The new Wishes Card Confidence Program (how-to) book has arrived, and it is absolutely amazing!!! You will not believe all the cool new cards and the attention to detail you will find in this book. Plus, the instructions are wonderful! You'll create phenomenal cards in no time flat.

When I saw the Five Square Challenge over at 365 Cards (It's Hip to Be Square, Day 81), I knew that this sketch was perfect! In fact, I created a half dozen of these teacher thank-yous last night in about an hour. I think that they turned out so cute. I used the "Collage" sketch and the Animal Cookies paper pack for these fun cards. I also used the Doodle Art, For Every Occasion, and September Word Puzzle stamps. Since these were school themed, I used staples and paper clips as my embellishments. The color scheme is Clover Meadow, Tulip, Dutch Blue, and Sunflower. I hope the girls' teachers like them and that they can help express our gratitude for a fantastic school year. (They have both had terrific teachers this year. Macey asked me the other night if she could be held back so that she could have her teacher again! I told her in no uncertain terms that we could not do that.)

Let me show you my copy of Wishes today. You will love creating cards faster, simpler, easier!

School's Out

for the summer! Or at least it is for the girls. (I have 6 days of post-planning including 2 snow make-up days, plus I have started my reading endorsement and the final class meets 6/30.)

This day is always so bittersweet for me. Not that I'm not excited about summer, but I'm sad to send this bunch of kids on. They're ready, so I've done my job, but it's still a wee bit sad. (And yes, I feel this way every year!) The girls are spending the night at G&G's so I'm sure DH can cheer me up.

Happy summer!

Emporium Cards

Here are a pair of cards I made with the Emporium Creative Basics paper pack. I LOVE this paper! (Did you know that in addition to the My Reflections Level 2 paper packs, CTMH offers a creative basic choice for one pack each catalog? You get 16 sheets of B&T Duos- 8 each of 2 patterns- and a spool of matching ribbon!)

The first card is the Originals "A Heartfelt Classic" sketch. Believe it or not, I used my Cupcake Sprinkles stamp set, with nary a cupcake in sight. Instead, I curved the dashed line stamp to create my stems. The flowers are the plain Just Blooms that I sponged with Twilight & Vineyard Berry inks. The leaves are a few Just Blooms petals sponged with Sweet Leaf. How cool is that? Now before you think that I am oh-so-clever, I have to confess: this same card was featured in the Daydream Workshop on the Go guide. I just used different papers and inks. ;) The Vineyard Berry ribbon came in the Creative Basics pack.

My next card is also from Originals (the "Uppler Level Focus" sketch that I LOVE to recreate). I used the April Word Puzzle for the bird and the flower background, and the Thanks sentiment came from my For Every Occasion stamp set. I used another Just Blooms and a brad for embellishments.

The girls only have two days of school left, so we are holding on to our hats as we wind down the year. A & I have field day tomorrow. Tonight we're going to work on our teacher thank-you cards since we don't have dance, Girl Scouts, etc.

Spring

Spring is probably my favorite season, especially here in the mountains! Here are some of the wildflowers growing around our house:

Pink Trillium

Trillium & Lady Slippers

Lady Slipper bud (no, it's not a yellow lady slipper like I had hoped, but it's beautiful anyway)

An iris (or two) from my garden

A fox kit! A vixen had four kits in a clever den that she has built. It is in the curve of our road, at the top of the bank but under the pine tree. There is a little strip of woods there that then open into a clearing where the deer love to graze.

The kits are adorable, and we usually see them in the evening. As of today, all four are still at home. They have been there for a few weeks, and I do not know how long they will stay. Apparently, the vixen will run them off when they're old enough, but for now they're all content together. Our beagle goes crazy on our walks when we get to the curve in the road!

Hope you've enjoyed a little slice of my personal heaven on Earth!

Quote of the Week

This one made me smile, especially with only 6 days left of school...

Lord,
Keep your arm around my shoulder
And your hand over my mouth.

Wonderful Wednesday from Longaberger (+ a Special through Friday)

Save on each of these three baskets TODAY ONLY at my Longaberger website.

If you are interested in something else, from now until Friday (5/15), you will receive FREE SHIPPING on all show orders — no minimum order required. That's a whopping 12% savings for us gals here on the East coast! This offer is not available online (sorry that it can't be combined with the Wednesday online special), so call or e-mail me and I will be happy to place your order for you! I must receive your order and payment by Friday, so hurry. You can browse all our fabulous products online at my website (link above or to the right). Thanks for looking!

Simply Elegant Card Class

A few weeks ago I held my "Simply Elegant" card class. Here are a few of the cards that we made. I have to say thank you to all of the consultants who inspired me! I'm not sure any of these were an original thought from my head, though hopefully I've put my own twist on each one. They all use the Tickled Pink stamp set, which is quickly becoming unavailable. (If you'd like you're own Tickled Pink scrapbooking kit, you'd better contact me quickly!) I did not use any of the paper from the kit. Instead I used some from the Unforgettable paper pack (the Sorbet, Cocoa, Blush, and Juniper cards) and from the Emporium paper pack (Vineyard Berry, Twilight, and Sweet Leaf). Of course a little bling was just the right touch!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day! Be sure to remember your mom today.

I am fortunate to have the best mother in the world! It's okay if you think that your mom is the best; this really isn't a competition but a day of appreciation. My kids and DH have been very sweet to me the entire weekend. Macey made me a card and bookmark, Ansley made me a card and brought me a begonia, and Logan brought me a beautiful bouquet of flowers. He says I'm getting a bird feeder too. :) I think we're going to work on our garden this afternoon.

My siblings and I took our parents out to lunch yesterday, and it was so nice to have the entire family (all 11 of us) together. Tonight, we're going out w/Logan's mom. We are blessed to have our parents living nearby.

Whatever you do today, may you enjoy some fond memories of your mom, even if you can't be with her in person. Hope you enjoy my mother's day cards!

Purses

A woman's purse is a great window into her life. I love, love, love my purses, especially my current one. (It's my 3rd On the Go style Vera Bradley; this fabric is called Purple Punch.)

What's in your purse that you can't live without? I can't live w/o my "mouthstick" (chapstick) and of course the contents of my wallet- though pickings are pretty slim right now. I rarely have much cash on hand, though I might have a bill secreted away. My husband says I "rat hole" everything, but that is simply not true. As for cash, I've never had a problem at school w/missing moola, but why tempt fate?

What item in your purse would others think is weird? Here are two of mine:
-seeds from the Hard Rock Cafe's children's menu (You know, save the planet and all! These are leftovers from our spring break trip, and Mom's purse is a catchall for everybody's stuff.)
-two tea bags (You never know when you might get the urge, right?)

Wouldn't this make a great layout? Are you scrapping YOUR story? Come on, leave me a comment and share your little purse secret.

Check Out Joy's Layout

Head on over to the Scrapbook and Share site to see my dear friend Joy's layout! You can get there by clicking on the flower widget at right, then scroll down to the Charleston layout. Go give Joy some love over there by leaving her a comment.

The best friend she refers to in her post is my Mom, and we couldn't ask for a better family friend (and godmother). Joy is an incredibly talented lady. You can see her creative talents on her layout, but I sure wish you could hear her sing and play the piano or organ. Joy is also the mother of three beautiful college "kids." (I can say kids since Melissa, the oldest, is ten years younger than me.)

Okay, go check out that layout now!

P.S. Each day, a name from ALL the comments posted that day will be drawn to win a Tickled Pink scrapboook kit! (Check out Jeanette's blog for complete details.) Go leave a comment!

P.P.S. Consider sending in YOUR layout to Scrapbook & Share. They are running several contests. Good luck!

May Stamp of the Month: Be Yourself

My girls and I absolutely LOVE the May stamp of the month, Be Yourself! We had so much fun yesterday decorating t-shirts. :) We used my old Fabrico ink pads (I think the name changed to VersaCraft or something like that), but I've been told that acrylic paint works too.

In case you can't see all the details, both shirts say "Be Yourself..." at the top, and "everyone else is taken" at the bottom. The girls picked out their favorite image to be the highlighted one. On the back, we stamped "One of a Kind." The iron-on bling came from Wal-Mart in the fabric section. Hope you enjoy these as much as we do. I am even thinking about making myself one...

Last but not least is a card I made for a swap using the Be Yourself stamp set and the Bella papers. Instead of using all the colors of the Bella pack, I used the back side of two of the papers to show off the Hollyhock. To me, the Desert Sand paper looks a lot like cheetah or jaguar spots. (Insert "sexy" rolling-r sound here.) You can check out what my talented swap group created on my CTMH website (link at right) under My Art.

Remember, no matter what, always be yourself! Everyone else is taken.

Cousin Fun

The girls have so much fun when they get to play with their cousins! We kept the boys for a few hours the other afternoon. The baby thought the big kids jumping and cutting up on the trampoline was so funny. I didn't think to get his picture, but you should have heard all their laughter. Ahh, the sweet sounds of children playing!


You should have heard my girls laughing over the series of photos I took. Who knew it would be so funny to enjoy the photos of the fun?

Hope you've had a good weekend! Yesterday's crop and last night's class were quite fun. I will try to post photos later in the week. It has been a rainy, rainy weekend, so having the girls' friend Isabel over made for a much better afternoon for them.

National Scrapbook Day!

Happy National Scrapbook Day!

To celebrate, I am hosting a crop at my house from 1:00-6:00. At 3:00, we'll be creating a layout together. (More on that when I have pictures!)

The layouts shown here are actually from my Crop for a Cure event a few weekends ago. If you're following my ticker, this is layout #22. I used the Emporium paper pack, Chocolate Large and Small alphabets, and swirl from the Connections stamp set. The only thing not from CTMH are the light blue flowers.

The layout sketch, called Monologue, is from the how-to book Imagine. As a special gift for stopping by and in honor of NSD, I can send you a PDF of this layout sketch so you can recreate it for yourself. Just leave me a comment w/your email address or email me at haleyd@myctmh.com.

We'd love to see what you create based on this sketch! Since I don't have time right now to figure out how to set up Mr. Linky, leave me a comment with a web address so that we can see your take on the sketch. I think I'll give away a bit of blog candy for playing along, so upload your creation this weekend. I'll select a random winner on Monday. Happy scrapbooking!

New Idea Book Release and New Stamp of the Month

Looks like you enjoyed the blog hop yesterday! I can't wait to finish looking through them all this weekend.

Today is an exciting day in the CTMH world because it's the release of the Summer '09 Idea Book and Catalog! I love, love, love this one!!!! I know I say that every time, but it's true each time. They just get better and better!!!! If you would like to get your own copy, I would be happy to hook you up. They're only $3.95, but you can earn one free. If you stop by my house tomorrow from 1:00-6:00 (while we're cropping in celebration of National Scrapbook Day), you can get a FREE copy, just for stopping by. :)

Another exciting thing about today is that you can now order the gorgeous May stamp of the month, Be Yourself! I have to say that this is one of my favorites so far. (What can I say with two girls of my own?!?) I'll save my swap artwork for another post, but here's a peek:

D1349 Be Yourself: (Set of 14) $22.95*

Beauty and individuality come in all shapes and sizes—take your pick from these strong, confident words and striking silhouettes. Available May 1–31, 2009 only.

Recommended Blocks: 1" × 1 1/2" (Y1001), 1" × 3 1/2" (Y1002), 2" × 3 1/2" (Y1009)
*You can always earn a discount on the stamp of the month or even earn it for FREE! Just ask me how.

Check out the new paper packs: Back Country





Animal Cookies









Moon Doggie









Tinkering






Bella