Two Challenges: One Card

It's week 43 and I'm behind (and missin') my OWH card challenges... even though New Year's is 7 weeks away, I'm resolving to do better beginning today. This week's sketch is so versatile.


This card is for the OWH Sketch Challenge and for a challenge on Priscillastyles' blog to celebrate her 400th member.. This is one of Priscilla's images -isn't it gorgeous? The card is colored with Faber Castell Aquaelle Pencils, used Stampin' Up! "old olive" paper and ink for the sentiment and some scraps of purple.. a combo I just love.... thanks, Priscilla for the gorgeous image!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like....

Christmas! Already? I did this adorable Adorn-It tree stand a while back and it's now residing at my friend Peggy's store, Southern Scrapbooks... but soon will come home with me since our Disney trip isn't far off. Since we're going during holiday season, I did this with a Christmas theme but made some of the "ornaments" to use with Disney pics. What fun this would be to do a tree stand for Easter with different Easter eggs or even for a child's room in their favorite "theme" using pictures and momentos.

Deadline for Christmas cards for Operation Write Home has passed... and it's time for Valentine Day cards??!! Sorry, I'm still doing winter theme cards and more card to go directly to the troops overseas... never done Christmas cards in September before and Valentine cards before turkey day is just weird to me... but shipping deadlines prevail, soo.......

Crazy for Canvas

Canvas is fun to work with in scrapbooking. You can use 6x6 panels to create a multiple of things: a "Dutch door" effect on the front of a 6x12" scrapbook; the front and back of a memory/recipe/momento box (the bottom is cardstock)that you can theme to any occasion; as background for a small wallhanging of a favorite photo.



Larger 12x12 canvas is excellent for creating a scrapbook page to hang by itself, or framed for a more dramatic effect. The most unique thing I've seen uses stretched artist canvas on a frame to make a clock! I'm not sure I love this paper now that I'm done with it but using favorite cropped photos to create a theme is something that IMHO is perfect for any room in the house! I chose to use a picture of our home for the center of the clock and then small cropped photos from our yard representing the four seasons as 12, 3, 6, and 9:00.

Working with canvas isn't difficult but you don't get a lot of second chances if you make a mistake. Quick Quotes recommends using Beacons 3-in-1 glue for canvas projects and it works well so I'm done experimenting with other glues!

Quick Quotes Private Reserve: Wow! What a Weekend!

I love Quick Quotes scrapbook product, I really do -- their papers and quotes are designed in large part by Patsy Gaut, the "momma hen" of the company (and I mean that in the best way) and their classes at Creating Keepsakes Conventions taught by the divine Michelle G. are always innovative, fun and frantic. But a whole weekend of that? Yep, the Quick Quotes Private Reserve weekend was a fabulous, longer version of fun, innovative and, yes, those sometimes frantic projects. But it is fun, right? So getting a bit behind or just deciding that the folding on one envelope project is just more than you can handle without wine is A-ok. Simply creating the rather intimidating flower technique project in under 2 hours was a major milestone in my crafting "career" as those who have tried to show me anything involving folding, sewing or wrapping will attest. The other projects all involved at least one new technique, and the Sunday scrapbook that's almost done will be a treasured momento. The make 'n takes for a nominal fee during evening crops benefited a great charity (and they were cute to boot!) so we helped other by having fun = how great is that? And throughout all of this the giveaways and prizes kept coming, the music put everyone in an upbeat mood and we chatted, shopped, cropped, ate chocolate and were treated like queens = what more can you ask for?

This was truly the "perfect" girlfriend getaway with a group of fun, crafty friends from Southern Scrapbooks. We came home with a few prizes, a ton of free product and learned so much to enhance our creativity.. QQ ladies are wonderful hostesses who are bringin' the "show" back to Atlanta next year and we're all ready to "save the date" as soon as it's announced. Highly recommend this if they come to a town near you.

OWH Mid-Week Challenge: Christmas Cards!

I just love Christmas and winter cards and will be making one or the other for OWH until January! This week's "midweek" throwdown was to make Christmas cards. I did a couple using new Stampin'Up tissue kind of paper and Cuttlebug that I learned at a class and then glued ornaments I had punched a couple of weeks ago for my "game day dozen" cards (which turned out to be 25 because our Panthers played soooo badly, very painful to watch and also because I'll be gone next Sunday). At least my Steelers start showing up on TV down here a lot in the next couple of months.....

Hail, Fall! October's Come.....

Carol Bishop Hipps says it well: "Bittersweet October. The mellow, messy, leaf-kicking, perfect pause between the opposing miseries of summer and winter." ... although I don't look at winter as really miserable.

October's the month when the deer come back and at dusk today one of the moms brought her newest fawn to show off... she/he is a real cutie, still has her markings and hasn't figured out how to get those leaves off the dangling branches.. hopefully this means that the herd or "Santa's reindeer" as I tell my nephews will be back. Steve and Rio took kibbles out for the deer tomorrow morning so the fawn will get used to his smell... Rio and the deer have a very sweet "me watching you watching me" relationship...



Rio is old now and slowing down.. watching but not chasing squirrels and the neighborhood cats, bunny hopping up the steps, sleeping a lot.. but still loves his squeaky toys and a good half-empty cup of yogurt ...

Next week is Quick Quotes Private Reserve in Atlanta and we are all sooo excited! Peggy from Southern Scrapbooks was chosen to be the "store" for the event and it promises to be 36 hours of nonstop creativity. I need to get my card mojo working or my picture taking of cards.. must have done 50 in the past two weeks but this picture, upload, wait thing just isn't in the cards this week...not yet, anyway...