Monthly Swap and Stamp Camp goodies

I have joined a monthly card swap group again.  It is fun to come up with new ideas each month (and to scour the internet for ideas too).  Last month I threw a quick card together.  This month I am actually early getting my cards finished.  I made 15 of these (12 for swap and 3 to add to my stash).

***Spoiler Alert :  If you are in my swap group and want to be surprised then don't look any further :)

I found my idea on the internet here.  I changed the background paper to a shimmer silver that I had on hand.  It's from Marcella by K and it is the wedding pad.  I also changed the texture at the bottom to swiss dots.  I liked the way it mirrors the dots on the center of the medallion. It is mounted on white cardstock.  This card is beautiful as a wedding or anniversary card.

 Last Saturday I attended the "Got Ink Girlz" Spring Stamp Camp.  What a blast!  The projects were adorable and fun to create, the lunch was yummy and I even won a door prize :)  Here are some pics of what we made (10 projects all together - total fun!!)

And here are a couple of close ups:

Fun, fun, fun!  I can't wait until they do it again.  It was well planned, organized and worth every penny.  Plus I got to spend 6 hours "off" from mom duty which was a much needed break.

22 Things

I'm going to post this entry on both of my blogs.  I think it is such a great idea.  I love to blog hop.  It's a great way for me to recharge my creative batteries.  One blog that I love is Stacy Julian's.  She is creative, cute and often kooky (right up my alley).  I love her take on scrapbooking and also the fun ideas she shares about life in general.  Her post here made me think that I needed a list like that.  I have learned many things about life from my nearly 22 years as a mom!    If you are a mom you should give it a try.  You might even want to make your own list before you read mine :)

22 Things These Amazing Humans have taught Me

 1.  Where you sit in the car really does affect the quality of the ride.

 2.  The telephone works as a magnet.  Every time your mom is on the phone    you are drawn right to her.

 3.  Sometimes putting together a puzzle is more important than mopping a  floor.

 4.  It doesn't matter where the toy came from.  A dollar store toy is just as fascinating and fun as one from FAO Schwartz.

 5.  Life is better when you have a blankie.

 6.  Peanut Butter and Jelly/Honey sandwiches are a universal meal.  They work for breakfast, lunch OR dinner

 7.  Going to the park can be even more fun than Disneyland

 8.  Unconditional love is amazing.  Love your family and friends just because you love them, no strings attached!

 9.   A toddler who is moving with a purpose is FASTER than Superman

10.  A clean room is not the most important thing in life - just ask a teenager

11.  If your teenager believes in #10 - don't take it too personally

12.  Someday, if you are lucky, your teenagers turn into young adults and still love you - heck, they may even like you!!  

13.  Eating food off the floor is ok 

14.  Never, ever, ever say "Never".  (You'll be sorry)

15.  A hug really does help

16.  Put your anger aside and look at the situation.  

17.  A soft voice really does turn away wrath (see #16)

18.  A band-aid heals everything, oh, and the ones with characters on them heal it faster!

19.  Always, always lick the beater (or taste the cookie dough)

20.  Sing no matter where you are and no matter who is listening or looking

21.  With boys (and I have 5), anything can be used as a weapon: spatulas, rulers, socks (even the spare tampon in mom's purse) 

22.  There is nothing better than little pudgy fingers on your cheeks,sweet slobbery kisses and three little words:  "I love you mama"

Being a mom for the past 22 years has been the best of time (and sometimes the worst), and I wouldn't trade it for anything!

I think I'm going to turn this list into a scrapbook page....

Easter Cards

Had a totally fun time making Easter Cards today! It felt really good to get crafty again :). Here is what I made:


Love this little rabbit stamp. It's in a set that belongs to my mom. She liked the all the stamps in set except this little guy, so now he lives with me........LOVE HIM!!!


Both of these cards were made with stuff I bought from Pebbles in My Pocket Las Vegas before they closed. I think I paid $8 for the whole kit. Some of the stickers were used and a few sheets of the paper had been cut, but I have made cards and pages and still have stuff left.............Hooray for using up some of my stash!!

This last set I made with some cute stickers that Austin gave me for my birthday (love that boy - he knows just what his mom loves).  The flowers and dragonflies were from him.  I used those and then I was having so much fun I used some double sided stickers and flocking and some hearts.  That way I can use some for Easter and some for other occasions. 

Wow!!  I got 8 cards finished today.  I also made 10 yesterday for a swap.  Forgot to take a photo of mine, so I will do that once I get my cards.  I'm excited to be in a swap group again.  It forces me to get creative at least once a month.  I really need to work on some scrapbook pages also.  It has been awhile since I felt like taking my stuff out, so now that I'm feeling crafty again, I'll have to get busy on that :)

Christmas cards.........the other one

Finally, it feels like I am getting back to some sort of "normalcy".  My son has been gone for 2 weeks tomorrow and it has taken me this long to catch up with everything I put on hold before he left on his mission.

I found one of the Christmas cards I mentioned in the last post.  Here it is (it was my "whimsical" design this year):

 

I found the elf stamp in the $1 bin at michael's at could NOT resist his cute ears and shoes!  The letters for "merry" were cut with my Cricut and place on the card.  Then I misted ink over them and took them off (reverse masking?).  The elf and "Christmas" are embossed with white.  This one was so much fun to make and it was really easy to do it assembly line style.  I think I made about 30.

I made Valentine's yesterday too - photos coming soon.  I promise they won't take as long to show up as the Christmas cards :)

Christmas crafts............NOT!

I did not manage to get much Christmas crafting done this year. Being in school full-time took a huge chunk of my fall! Final exams were only 1 week before Christmas, so that really hampered my creative time. I did manage to make my Christmas cards though. Here is one:


I made another one also, but somehow did not get a photo of it! I'll have to see if my sweet sister saved hers so I can take a photo.

Even though I didn't do much crafting, the holidays were fabulous. Having all of my kids home was the best present ever, especially since son #2 leaves in just 20 days for his mission in the Philippines!

Scrap Whispers Reveal

I took part in a Scrap Whispers challenge in October. The reveals are happening, so I can now share what I did. It was a fun challenge for me and it pushed me to really think about what I was doing. You are sent a photo of a layout and then you "scraplift" it in your own style and then pass your photo on to the next person. Fun!! I was on Team 1 (don't know who won yet).

Here is what I did:


I don't think I will do this next round since December is a busy month, but I will definitely try it again sometime.

Today I made my first Christmas card!!! Look for photos soon :)

Finally - some crafting time!

I have been so busy with a son returning from a mission, school, 5 other kids, etc., etc., that I haven't had much time for playing with paper. Yesterday I got the chance to go and work on projects that I missed at the "Got Ink Girlz" Stamp Camp and they are so stinkin' cute I had to share:


There were 12 projects and each one was so cute. The girls were so nice to those of us who just purchased kits - they cut out and stamped EVERYTHING - all we had to do was put them together. It was fun to go to Mary Lynn's house and visit, assemble and enjoy!

Here are some individual photos:

I love them all! The little bird card makes me giggle, the spider full of m&m's is adorable and the Build-a-Bear tin with the magnet dress ups inside is so dang cute! As you can see, they are a talented bunch of stampers! It was nice to be able to refill my stash a bit.

Thanks Mary Lynn and all of the "girls" for such cute projects!!!!