Over the River...

I really love the red satin bridal bloom by Precocious Paper I used on yesterday's card.  I think it's my favorite color of my favorite flowers made by Precocious Paper. 

I'd based my card on a layout I'd made for the Scrapbook News and Review Holiday Sampler. 

Supplies Patterned Paper: Me and My Big Ideas; Flower: Precocious Paper; Stickers: Pink Paislee; Marker: Stampin' Up!; Pen: Zig; Glitter Glue: Ranger

Seriously, how gorgeous are those bridal blooms?

Check out the Precocious Paper blog for more beautiful flower creations. 

It's been raining here all day.  Normally I love it when it rains because it's usually few and far between but we've had quite a bit of rain in the last couple months.  I'm done with it.  LOL.

Hope you're having a great weekend!

Jingle Belles

Today on Sketchy Thursdays we're bringing you a Second Chance Challenge.  We haven't done one of those in a while.  Basically, it's a regular sketch challenge on an "off" day and can last longer than a week. 

This SCC partner is Jingle Belles, a card challenge site that is focused on helping you take back December one card at a time. The idea is that you can make one card a week for the duration of the year and would essentially have your holiday cards done and ready to go.

Here's my card:

Supplies:  Cardstock: The Paper Company; Patterned Paper: Me and My Big Ideas; Flower: Precocious Paper; Ribbon: Michaels; Sticker: SRM Stickers; Glitter Glue: Ranger Industries; Other: journaling spot

Here's the sketch:

It's a card sketch but you can translate it into a layout if you'd like.  You have until next Thursday night, 2/24, at 10pm EST to link up in the comments on this Sketchy Thursdays post and also over on the Jingle Belles site.  The lucky winner will receive this lovely holiday prize:

Anticipation

I've still got a few holiday layouts I haven't shared with you so I'm going to start sprinkling them in here and there.

Supplies Cardstock, Patterened Paper, Journaling Block & Ribbon: SEI; Felt Embellie: Precocious Paper; Clip: Making Memories; Stickers: American Crafts; Pen: Zig

Originally published in Scrapbook News and Review Holiday Sampler 2010

I think the picture here is so funny because this is the first year the kids really understood the concept of Christmas Eve presents. (That they were getting a present! LOL!)  The funny part to me is I know how their faces looked after they opened up these presents.  Because, although I want them to have the fun of opening up a Christmas Eve present, I don't want to give away the whole farm, so to speak, the night before the "real" fun. So, the CE presents are cool but not necessarily a toy.  In these presents there are robes.   Granted, they eventually came to love these robes and still wear them to this day but yeah, they weren't so enamored of them that night.  Ha ha ha!

Check out that awesome, gorgeous, enormous felt star on the layout.  That's one of Tessa's Precocious Paper goodies.  I ~heart~ these so much. 

Hope you're having a great weekend. 

We're off to yummy sushi for lunch in a bit - one of the kids' favorite!! 

- Heidi

Merry Christmas a la Sketchy Thursdays

Supplies Digital Kit: Jingle Jangle Mini Kit by Polka Dot Pixels; Font: Brush Script Std

Sketchy Thursdays is taking 2 weeks off from the blog for the holidays.  However we aren't going to leave those of you with some actual time to create (lucky you!) in a lurch. 

For the next two weeks we are running a special Facebook only sketch and prize on our Sketchy Thursdays Facebook Page.  Check out the FB page for details.

I used our special Facebook only sketch to make my photo card to include in my Christmas cards this year.  Like the layout?  Check out the Facebook page for the sketch.  You can only see it there!

We'd love for you to come play along with us on Facebook!

I hope everyone has a happy, calm, loving, quiet Christmas! 

XO,

Heidi

Holiday Deco

Wow!  I've been away a while, eh?  'Tis the season.  Lots of things to do, places to go, people to see, things to create (and sicknesses to endure, ugh!). 

I haven't gushed lately how GORGEOUS Precocious Paper's product is.  Here are a couple holiday decorations I made using some of her holiday blooms.

Here I made a Country Christmas Bouquet Fabric and Felt Flower into an ornament by dipping it in UTEE and then sprinkling it with a chunky Christmas glitter blend. 

The Christmas Scroll Fabric and Felt Flowers are the perfect size to top a canning jar!  This is a quick & simple but sweet gift to give a teacher, neighbor, or friend. 

Check out the Precocious Paper Etsy store.  She has lots of gorgeous holiday and everyday flowers and embellishments, as well as some adorable cards and albums.   

And don't forget to drop by the Precocious Paper blog to check out what the DT makes for your inspiration. 

Hope you are all having a delightful and calm holiday season.  I can't believe we are only a few days away from Christmas.  Off to make some yummies for the neighbors!

p.s.  There's still time to play along with this week's Sketchy Thursdays sketch, too.  Don't you just love this one?

I was a bit busy last week and skipped making this one...maybe I'll find a bit of time today.  I really love this sketch!

Scrap That Poetry Joy

I'm posting a little early Scrap That Poetry's next challenge.  We were going to do a Ho Ho Ho Hop today but you know how life can get in the way of our hobbies and the hop has been postponed.  Instead, this is a sneak preview of one of the poems that will be featured on the 15th's STP challenge.

Poem by Marinela Reka:

As you may or may not know about STP challenges, you can use as much or as little of the inspiration poem as you wish, or even just use it's inspiration!  For this poem, I focused on the idea of "joy":
 

Supplies Patterned Paper: Basic Grey; Stickers: Jolee's, Making Memories; Pearls: Prima Marketing; Ornament: Wal-Mart; Ink: Ranger Industries, Clearsnap; Other: chipboard sheet

I'm a hoarder.  I admit it.  And for years I've had sitting in my scraproom a sizeable stash of the negative chipboard sheets that are leftover after you remove all the chipboard shapes.  I figured they were too cool to trash but I hadn't used any of them until I recently completed another layout for an upcoming call in Scrapbook News and Review Magazine.  I loved the way it came out so much that I just had to do it again for this hop! 

Trace all the openings and outline of the chipboard sheet onto your patterned paper and carefully cut them all out a little bigger than original size to leave a border for the chipboard to peek through.  Then ink the chipboard edges and adhere the cut out to the chipboard.  I just love the dimension this gives the layout!

 Remember to stop by the Scrap That Poetry blog on Wednesday the 15th for the next TWO poem inspirations and check out what the DT has made. 

Thank you again for stopping by!
 
Heidi
 
p.s.  The special holiday edition of Scrapbook News and Review Magazine will publish this Sunday, 12/12!  You do NOT want to miss this one, chock full of gorgeous and inspiring holiday layouts, cards, and projects!   There are even a few of Tessa's flowers in there!  :o)  A sneak peek at a couple of my projects in the magazine:

Have a great time on the hop!

Santa Prep

We have quite a series of rituals built up in preparation for Santa's arrival on Christmas Eve. 

We make and put out the obligatory Milk & Cookies for Santa, plus a few carrots for the reindeer.  We make magic reindeer food and sprinkle it in the front yard so Santa and the Reindeer can find our house.  We leave a magic key on the doorstep so Santa can get into our chimney-less house. 

I also allow the kids to open up one present on Christmas Eve.  It's always one of MY choosing (so they don't open their most awesome and distracting presents just before they are supposed to go to bed) and usually I choose robes or pjs, a video, or a snuggly stuffed animal to sleep with.   I feel a tad bit naughty every year because the kids get all excited to get to open a present early but then the presents aren't necessarily all that fun.  Tee hee. 

I'm really happy with my title area because I finally used one of those definition stickers that I think Making Memories made tons of a few years back.  I have them for all sorts of occasions and don't think I've ever used one before.  I'm so happy with how tranparent the sticker applied considering they have almost a frosted appearance in hand. 

This layout is based on my sketch for Sketchy Thursdays this week:

Be sure to check out the Sketchy Thursdays site to see all the amazing inspiration made for you by our awesome DT. 

OK, gotta get back to making layouts.  I'm in a frenzy right now.  I'll share them as I can.  (Most right now are being made for the Scrapbook News & Review January issue.)

What are you working on right now?  Holiday layouts?  Cards?  Presents?  Or are you taking a well-deserved crafting break? 

SPCC #29

Please scroll down two posts for today's H{ippity} Hop post!

Yep, ANOTHER post for the day.  Mondays are busy! 

SPCC is finally back from holiday!  This week's Color Combo said "frosty and cheery" to me:

Now, to be fair, this combo was originally scheduled to post right before Christmas so my layout was themed accordingly:

I also used a Sketchy Thursdays sketch from 12/10 that I'd originally missed out on making.  (Leah - note the way I interpreted the circle element.) 

I "sugared" up some chipboard with some fun chunky purple, white, and clear glitter. I rubbed the chipboard with my Lavendar Lace ink pad before glittering so it would have a lavendar undertone. I used my metal tipped Art Glitter glue to draw the lines for the darker glitter to adhere to then covered the rest of the board with glue and pressed on the chunky white and clear glitter. 

Dontcha just love those little rosy cheekies?  See, we're from Gilbert, AZ where it doesn't snow so I'm not all snow savvy.  My poor kids' cheekies were red like that for a week after we returned from our snow trip.  Oops!

I also sugared some lavendar brads. You can get a good sense of the circle shapes in the glitter in this pic:

Be sure to check out the SPCC blog to see what the amazing SP Divas made for your inspiration and what yummy prize is up for grabs this week. Come, play along with us!!!!

- Heidi

Details:  DCWV paper; Fancy Pants chipboard; Stampin' Up! ink; Glitter - Joanns, Art Glitter; Art Glitter metal-tipped glue; unknown brads.

Merry Christmas!

Well, it's Christmas Eve.  About 3 weeks early, I believe.  Don't know how they do it but somehow every year someone manages to shift Christmas earlier and earlier into the year.  KWIM? 

I've still got a bit of straightening up to do, a smidge of shopping (oh joy), a bit of baking, A LOT of wrapping.  Hopefully I'll get all this done by mid-afternoon.  (Well, some of the wrapping will have to wait until after bedtime!)  Then it can be snuggle with the kids time.  Get in jammies time. 

Sprinkle the Reindeer Food time.

Leave the key out for Santa time.

Unwrap the highly anticipated Christmas Eve presents time.

Leaving out the milk, cookies, and carrots time.

And then snuggle in for a healthy ration of cuddling and classic Christmas cartoons before heading off to bed for those Sugarplum performances. 

One last bit of Christmas creating before I sign off for the big day:

Happiness is buying the final gift of the season.  Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh...........  Hope you've achieved your happieness today!

I really love the little Shinzi Katoh "I Love NY" shopping girl stamp that is in this month's Torendi Modern Red kit and had been planning to use it for a Christmas shopping-themed project all month.  Also from the kit are the Jillibean Soup patterned paper, the American Craft cardstock, and a GORGEOUS earth-toned button. 

If you don't get that perfect crafting gift under the tree tomorrow, are lucky enough to get some fun money, or just want to treat yourself after a hard few weeks of crafting, shopping, decorating, and baking in preparation for that perfect holiday you no doubt will have pulled off, there's still time to purchase the Torendi Modern Red kit!!!!!  Check it out!!

Thank you to everyone who has stopped by to look at and encourage my little crafty obsession this year!  I am humbled and honored.

Hope you have a happy, safe, healthy, loving holiday!


Heidi
Details:  Items from Torendi Modern Red kit - Shinzi Katoh I Love NY Stamp, Jillibean Soup patterened paper, American Craft cardstock, earthtone button; Stamps: WR Memory Keepers, Stampin' Up!; Ink - StazOn, Stampin' Up!; Memory Makers tiny alpha stickers; unknown ribbon.   

Sketchy Thursdays Second Chance Challenge - {ippity}!!!!!

We had such a great response to the card sketch challenge a few weeks ago on Sketchy Thursdays that we thought we'd give you another!!

Here's mine:

I used one of the new {ippity} kits, Life's Little Moments. 

This kit has some HUGE stamps just perfect for either cardmaking OR scrapbooking!!

As with all Unity products, the image stamps so crisp, even embossed!!

I wanted to make a Christmas card so I covered up a bit of the stamp with a Christmas brad .  This stamp would be so awesome on a scrapbook page, too.  The part I covered up said, "Life". 

You have until 12/31 to submit your creation to the comments on the Sketchy Thursdays SCC post HERE for your chance to win this {ippity} kit:

Can't wait to see if you win it?  Want to order it or other {ippity} kits now?  Check out this post for all the details on how to order {ippity} from me!!! 

Head on over to the Sketchy Thursdays blog to check out what the rest of the DT made for your inspiration!

Details:  {ippity} stamp from the Life's Little Moments kit; VersaMark ink; Stampendous embossing powder; Paper - DCWV, Stampin' Up!; Around the Block brad; Cropadile gromlet; ProvoCraft glitter; Martha Stewart pearls; Stampin' Up! silver cord; thread. 

Thanks for stopping by!!

- Heidi

p.s.  Don't forget about the Sketchy Thursdays January Guest Design Team challenge going on until this Friday 12/18!  Post your creation to the comments on this post here to be entered!

Feliz Naminah

No, that's not a misspelling.  That's the song my son sang all last Christmas season. 

Holiday Sampler 2010

Don't remember if I've shared this layout with you before but thought since I didn't have anything new to share, I'd post a fun Christmas layout.

The "lyrics" go, "Feliz Naminah, Feliz Naminah, Feliz Naminah, prospecto ocho y manicibah."  Unfailingly the same every single time he sang it.  And, as it says along the edge of the layout, "Song sung with great enthusiasm, LOUDLY, with disregard for the setting (the car...the swings...the bathroom at Wal*Mart)."

He always finished off with, "I want to wish you a Merry Christmas TO the bottom of my hea-a-art!"

Hope you are having a great holiday season so far, no matter which holiday you celebrate!

Off to continue decorating the tree!

Heidi

p.s.  Anyone watch "The Middle"?  See the one about Christmas where the mom keeps talking about all the fun things she likes to do with the family every year and then they do a flashback with her all angry and yelling while angrily decorating the tree, making the snowman, etc.??  Hmmm...that really hit too close to home.  Ha ha ha!!!  Maybe decorating for Christmas IS like childbirth...you forget from year to year how much work it is!!  Anyone with me on this?  Anyone?  Beuller?  Beuller? 

He Sees You

Have you been keeping up with Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of Christmas??  O.M.G. that is just about the most talented human on the planet.  Every single day when I think there is no way he could top the previous day's tag, BAM!  Sheer genius!!!

So, day 1 I was TOTALLY inspired and rushed right over to my craft table to play along.  And while it doesn't really resemble Tim's tag it is inspired by it in its rudimentary form:

The two items that most inspired me on Tim's tag were the crackle paint and the wired ribbon.  I didn't use any wired ribbon on this (oh, but I'll use that trick sometime!) but I sure played with my crackle medium.  I realized I really need to get me some of that Tim Holtz crackle.  His cracks so BIG.  While you can see the crackles pretty well on the chipboard swirl:

it doesn't show up as well on the tag itself, which is covered, because I think I painted it on and doing it that way with my crackle medium thins is out too much. 

Santa's covered with some glittery Stickles, as only Santa should be.  :o)

So I made this tag with a couple of the papers you will get in the December Torendi kit "Modern Red"!!!! 

This kit includes:


3 pieces of American Crafts Cardstock
2 12x12 sheets of Jillibean Soup Toasted Cumin Paper
2 12x12 sheet Jillibean Soup Alphabet Pasta Paper
1 12x12 piece of Shinzi Katoh Red Hood Fabric (blue)
1 I Love NY stamp from the Shinzi Katoh NY Stamp Set
1 Red Hood Postcard (one of two possible designs)
6 Jillibean Soup Square Kraft Journaling tags
1 Random Decole Little Red Clip (varies with kit)
Multiple Earth Toned Buttons

I soooooo have plans for that Red Hood Fabric & clip (I got the wolf one) and the I Love NY stamp.  My poor craft table is just crying out for my attention.  Soon, dear table, soon. 
 

Stinkin cute, no?

And if you purchase your Torendi Modern Red kit before the 21st, you can have a chance to go to CHA** in January and be a Torendi honorary employee for the day!!!!!  I am sooo jealous!  I'm unable to make it out there this time but why shouldn't you go in my place??!!!!   Check out this post for more details!!
 
** This is for tix to CHA only - Torendi is not covering airfare, hotel, meals or any other travel expenses.
 
Details:  Jillibean Soup patterned paper (from December Torendi Modern Red kit); The Paper Company cardstock; Stampin' Up! stamp and tag corner & circle punches; StazOn & ColorBox ink; Ranger Crackle Medium; Dymo tape; Fancy Pants chipboard; Adornaments fibers; American Craft white pen; Staples; Unknown eyelet and ribbon. 
 
OK, I know you're sick of hearing about it and I'm SICK of doing it, but back to the contracts.  Ugh.
 
Hope your Friday is awesome and you have cool plans for the weekend!
 
Heidi

Dear Santa, We Can Explain

This week's SPCC colors are SO holiday in my opinion:

I immediately thought of a cute laser cut Santa list I've had for years for the Kraft portion:

I just think my kids have funny little looks on their faces while sitting on Santa's lap:

This was during our Polar Express trip a few years ago (that's why they're in pj's & slippers, but also coats & hats). 

The snowflakes are covered with Diamond Dust.  Love it but have you ever worked with it??!!  It's actually shards of glass (that's why it sparkles so much) but I've been cut a few times while handling it.  It's soooo darn pretty, though.

Details:  DCWV paper; Deluxe Cuts laser diecut; American Crafts chipboard; Doodlebug trim; Diamond Dust; unknown rub ons. 

This week's SPCC challenge is sponsored by Danielle Wycough and Shimmerz.  One lucky participant is going to win 4 Shimmerz paints!!! 

Yummy!!!

You have until next Monday 12/14 to hook up your project to Mr. Linky HERE!

Have a great day!

Heidi

Blog Candy Winner!!!!

Thank you everyone who is following this humble little blog and who checked in on, blogged & tweeted about, and linked up my fun blog candy!    I'm one of those people who thinks nothing I do could possibly be interesting to anyone else so I am always so overwhelmed with the kind and encouraging comments I get from you wonderful people every day.

Of course, some of the reason I offered up this little blog candy challenge was to increase the number of my readers.  (I'm growing quite fond of the feedback!) 

MOST of the reason, though, is the hope that I can expose every person who checks out the happenings on this blog to all the other blogs and sites that I enjoy.  Gotta spread the love! 

So, I'm guessing you're getting a bit impatient with me at this point, huh?  You wanna know who won the blog candy?  LOL.

I employed the help of my little friend Random:

There were 65 comments and 99 followers at the close of the candy last night...





I started counting from the first comment...comment #25 was:


S said...


Congrats, your hit counter is just spinning like crazy!

November 14, 2009 2:43 PM
 
Congratulations S!!!!!!  Email me at heidi at heidimyers dot net to claim your prize!!!!   See this post HERE to check out what you won!
 
Thank you again to everyone who participated!! 
 
I can't wait to see how December shapes up.  Lots of fun holiday projects and challenges coming up.  
 
Which reminds me...Tim Holtz started his 12 Tags of Christmas today!   Have you ever seen this?  This man is the most creative person and his tags are AMAZING!  Every day he's offering up prizes AND gives the step by step instructions on how to make the tags!  Check it out!!!!!  LQQk at day 1:
 

 
Have a great Tuesday!
 
Heidi