Card-Blanc by Kathy Martin

Bella Blvd. Inspiration Unlimited Week

2012-01-31T09:14:00.000-05:00

Welcome to day two of the Bella Blvd. Inspiration Unlimited Week! Great to have you stop by! Today we're revealing projects made with the oh so awesome Sunshine & Happiness collection!

Just like you, I can't wait to get my hands on this new line! With a limited amount of supplies, we designers didn't get to work with everything new. So...instead of showing you sample projects of this collection, I'm going to show off some Winter Wonder projects that I created for CHA.

You probably know by now just how much I adore Winter Wonder! I've made lots of projects with it and I never run out of ideas or inspiration to create more!

If you dropped by yesterday, you may remember me saying how much I love the Miniatures stickers. Can you tell on this project that I went a little crazy with them? ;)

Here's one of the new Flags that Bella Blvd. is debuting at CHA right now. I can tell already that these are going to be just as popular with me as the Miniatures!

Look, a Flag on this project too! I told you they are going to be showing up on a lot of my projects...I just love 'em!

If you would like to see some project samples of the Sunshine & Happiness line, hop over to the Bella Blvd. blog and you will be dazzled with a few!

I hope I've done my job to inspire you! And show you how awesome the Bella Blvd. collections are. They're truly a lot of fun to craft with!

Kathy :)

Bella Blvd. Inspiration Unlimited Week

2012-01-30T09:11:00.000-05:00

This week while Bella Blvd is in California at the CHA Trade Show debuting all the brand new products that we revealed over the past two weeks, the design team is going to share with you our projects, projects and more projects of everything new! Each day we will be featuring one of the new Collections and/or Embellishment products and showing you some great ideas! So, get ready for a fun energy boost ... here we go!

First up the Baby Boy collection...'It's a Boy' card...

This new Baby Boy collection is absolutely precious! I'm smitten over these adorable little onesies and the gray chevron paper!

I'm also thrilled to see that Bella Blvd. kept the Miniatures because I absolutely adore these little photo turn/banner stickers!

I have to tell you that it was so much fun to play with this new line that it brought out the best in my work! I adore this page of my son when he was wee and this giraffe is so stinkin' cute!

That monkey is just about as adorable as the giraffe!

I'm giddy that this scrapbook page made it into the Bella Blvd. catalog! Yippee! Fun stuff!

I just had to fussy cut some of these little onesies and hang them on a line! Had to! Just had to! ;)

So, what do you think of my Baby Boy projects? I really hope you felt inspired by them! Remember that the Bella Blvd. blog has more projects to show you! And each design team member has projects posted on their blogs too.

This is going to be one awesome week!

Kathy :)

Butterfly Card

2012-01-29T08:57:00.000-05:00

Hello!

Happy Sunday! It's a beautiful day here in North Carolina. What's it like your area? It's been a pretty mild winter so far all over the U.S. I don't know about you, but I like it!

Today I have a happy, colorful card I made with Doodlebug Design's Colorwheel collection.

I don't know if you can tell from my photos that the white embossed portion of my card is lifted with adhesive foam tape along with the floral scalloped die cut circle.

I love yellow, it's so bright and sunny! And this glittery flower is giving my card some sparkle along with a couple gems.

To give this butterfly sticker dimension, I folded the wings up from the body and then added a bit of adhesive foam underneath. That makes it look like my butterfly has just landed or is about to take off again.

I hope you enjoyed my card share and that it makes your day just a little bit brighter!

I'd love it if you join me tomorrow because I finally get to show you my Bella Blvd. projects that are at CHA. Oh, I wish I were there! How about you?

Kathy :)

Bella Blvd. Sneak Peak Week - Kits

2012-01-28T09:27:00.001-05:00

This post marks the end of the Bella Blvd. Sneak Peek weeks. I hope you've enjoy seeing all the fabulous new collections and brand new accents. I think this last peek is the perfect product to end with, Bella Blvd. Collection Kits! Now you can purchase your favorite lines with coordinating accents all in one package!

There are seven new Collection Kits in all, but I'm just going to show you the Baby Boy kit. You will have to hop over to the Bella Blvd. blog to see the other six!

And now it's giveaway time! Bella Blvd. wants to give two lucky blog readers a chance to win one Collection Kit of their choice, before they even hit the stores. Just leave a comment here to be entered. One comment per person, please. All of the giveaways for sneak peeks will be left open until Saturday, January 28th. All winners will be announced on Sunday, January 29th, which is the first day of the Winter CHA show!

Starting Monday the Bella Blvd. Design Team gals will be posting updates from the Bella Blvd. Booth at CHA! Also, we will be posting the projects that you've only been given peeks at. Hope you can stop by!

Kathy :)

Bella Blvd. Sneak Peak Week - Flags

2012-01-27T09:20:00.000-05:00

I couldn't be more excited about today's new Bella Blvd. reveal...flags! I love flags and can't get enough of them! I often make themfor my projects, but now I don't have to! There are so many whimsical flags for every collection and then some! And here are just a few peeks at how I used these fun flags.

Don't you just love them? You should see the way Diane Payne and Laura Vegas used these flags! Those two are very creative! Their pages are on display on the Bella Blvd. blog.

And now it's giveaway time! Bella Blvd. wants to give one lucky blog reader a chance to own 10 Flags of their choice, before they even hit the stores. Just leave a comment here to be entered. One comment per person, please. All of the giveaways for sneak peeks week will be left open until Saturday, January 28th. All winners will be announced on Sunday, January 29th, which is the first day of the Winter CHA show!

Thanks for stopping in again! I hope you've been enjoying all the darling new collections and accents from Bella Blvd. And I hope you are commenting on their blog for your chance to win these new goodies!

T.G.I.F.

Kathy :)

Bella Blvd. Sneak Peak Week - Crochet Flowers

2012-01-26T09:05:00.000-05:00

I'm in heaven.....simply heaven......because today's Bella Blvd. reveal is oh so fantastic...Crochet Flowers! Just think of all the possibilities for these beauties! Here's just two...sneak peeks of my projects using Crochet Flowers.

If you know how much I love buttons....than you know I'm especially smitten with these Crochet Flowers with their button centers! If you would like to see an amazing scrapbook page using these flowers, just stop by the Bella Blvd. blog.

And now for giveaway time! Bella Blvd. wants to give one lucky blog reader a chance to own a set of the new Crochet Flowers, before they even hit the stores. Just leave a comment here to be entered. One comment per person, please. All of the giveaways for our sneak peeks will be left open until Saturday, January 28th. All winners will be announced on Sunday, January 29th, which is the first day of the Winter CHA show!

Good luck....I hope you win some of these fabulous flowers!

Kathy :)

Everyday Moments

2012-01-25T09:26:00.000-05:00

Hi!

This is my second post for the day...please scroll down to see Bella Blvd. Sneak Peek. There's a giveaway you don't want to miss!

Last weekend I had some time to scrap just for the fun of it! I decided to create a scrapbook page using supplies other than the collections from my design team gigs. I had some old Fancy Pants "My Family" patterned paper and challenged myself to create with that.

I love to scrap the everyday stuff....the small things we would not remember years later. This is my hubs Dan reading the paper at the kitchen table with our cat Latte standing on the table next to him. Latte's wanting a little attention, don't you think? ;)

I spent a bit of time creating tags, rosettes and adding stitching to my page. Love details!

I used the Silhouette to create half of the title and the scalloped circle. Border punches were used for the bottom of the page.

Other embellishments include buttons, brads, washi tape and die cut butterflies.

I really enjoyed tinkering around with this page. I hope you like it! Thanks for popping in!

Kathy :)

Bella Blvd. Sneak Peak Week - Sophisticates

2012-01-25T09:10:00.000-05:00

Hello! Thanks for stopping by! The Bella Blvd. Sneak Peek week continues with some gorgeous new Sophisticates High Five Alphas! I'm so thrilled about these 12x12 alphabet pages because there five different fonts and styles to choose from...perfect for scrapbook pages and cards!

Here are a few sneak peeks of my projects using these fabulous High Five Alphas.

Aren't these alphas great? I 'll be using these a lot! If you have a moment, you will have to visit the Bella Blvd. blog to see some awesome scrapbook page examples from Laura Vegas and Becky Williams.

And now for giveaway time! Bella Blvd. wants to give one lucky blog reader a chance to own all 5 of our the Sophisticates High Five Alphabet stickers, before they even hit the stores. Just leave a comment here to be entered. One comment per person, please. All of the giveaways for sneak peeks will be left open until Saturday, January 28th. All winners will be announced on Sunday, January 29th, which is the first day of the Winter CHA show!

Kathy :)

Bella Blvd. Sneak Peak Week - Sunshine & Happiness

2012-01-24T08:47:00.000-05:00

Today's an awesome Bella Blvd. reveal! A brand new collection called Sunshine & Happiness! This line is appropriately named as it is truly as bright as sunshine and the colors and fabulous designs make me very happy!

Be sure to visit the Bella Blvd. blog to see these papers and accents up close and Laura's scrapbook page using this awesome new line!

And now for giveaway time! Bella Blvd. wants to give one lucky blog reader a chance to own the new Sunshine & Happiness collection, before it even hits the stores. Just leave a comment here to be entered. One comment per person, please. All of the giveaways for our sneak peeks will be left open until Saturday, January 28th. All winners will be announced on Sunday, January 29th, which is the first day of the Winter CHA show!

Wasn't this a great reveal?

Kathy :)

Bella Blvd. Sneak Peak Week - New Sophisticates

2012-01-23T09:38:00.000-05:00

Good day! It's Monday and the beginning of the second Sneak Peel week at Bella Blvd! Today we are revealing some fabulous new additions to the Sophisticates line!

There's are three new yummy colors added to the Sprinkles & Lace patterned paper line!

And five additions to the Sophisticates Ciao Chip! Oh so so CUTE! I love those chipboard borders! For larger detailed photos be sure and pop over to the Bella Blvd. blog to check them out!

And now it's giveaway time! Bella Blvd. wants to give one lucky blog reader a chance to own all the NEW and the old Sprinkles & Lace papers, along with all 6 new chip boards. This is a great chance to get it before it even hits the stores. Just leave a comment here to be entered. One comment per person, please. All of the giveaways for our sneak peeks will be left open until Saturday, January 28th. All winners will be announced on Sunday, January 29th, which is the first day of the Winter CHA show!

Thanks once again for popping in and sharing all the exciting new Bella Blvd. products with me!

Kathy :)

Bella Blvd. Sneak Peak Week - Stamps

2012-01-22T09:41:00.000-05:00

We're back from our Saturday break to continue revealing the latest and greatest from Bella Blvd. This coming week you will see another collection and more embellishments to get excited about! Today Bella Blvd. with Unity Stamps presents a new collection of stamps!

Don't you love stamps? I can't wait to work with these which means I don't have any projects of my own to show you, but if you head on over to the Bella Blvd. Blog, you can see the entire set of stamps and some projects! I'll just show you a couple of my favorite ones! ;)

Aren't these adorable?!?! I want to color this dress with Copics...those little flowers are just begging for some cheerful color!

And now for giveaway time! Bella Blvd. wants to give one lucky blog reader a chance to own a few of our new Itty Bitty Stamps from Unity Stamp Company. If chosen, you will receive 3 stamps of your choice, before they even hit the stores. Just leave us a comment here to be entered. One comment per person, please. All of the Bella Blvd. giveaways for our sneak peeks will be left open until Saturday, January 28th. All winners will be announced on Sunday, January 29th, which is the first day of the Winter CHA show!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed today's reveal and can join me again tomorrow!

Have a happy Sunday!

Kathy :)

Home is Where the Cat Is

2012-01-21T09:22:00.000-05:00

Hi!

Oh joy...it's the weekend! And a drizzly day in my area! Perfect for reading, spending time with my guys and getting crafty!

Did you expect to see another Bella Blvd. Sneak Peek reveal? Ah yes, there's a lot more to show you, but we're taking a day off from all the hoopla! It can wear you out, you know? That means, however, that I get to share a scrapbook page with you! Since my CHA projects are complete and in transit, I decided to play with an adorable Doodlebug collection called Welcome Home. It's an older one, but so stinkin' cute!

If you look up adorable in the dictionary, you just might find this line!

The Icon stickers in are so darn fun! I felt like a young girl playing Barbies, setting up the living room in my dream house! All these pieces are separate stickers that you can arrange anyway your heart desires!

And look at this neighborhood! All these individual houses are part of one long border called Fancy Frills. I added some adhesive foam tape under some of the houses and the sun to give it a little pop.

There are coordinating die cuts, buttons and brads...love this little house brad!

And this bird brad! Too tweet! ;) All the supplies I used for this page are from Doodlebug, the twine, the buttons, stickers, borders and die cuts. What I love about Doodlebug, besides the bright colors and adorable factor, is that all their collections are this fabulous, fun to work with and color coordinated to work with their other lines!

Purrrrr-fect, I'd say!

Well, I'm off to play some more! I'm purrrr-fectly content working away in my office with this cutie of a cat and his brother! I hope you enjoy your weekend too!

Kathy :)

Bella Blvd. Sneak Peek Week - Designer Tapes

2012-01-20T10:00:00.001-05:00

I've really enjoyed this sneak peek week! Haven't you? All these fabulous new products and collections from Bella Blvd. are awesome! Well, it's not over yet, not by a long shot! We've got another whole week because all the new products couldn't be squeezed into just one! I'm excited to show you today's new embellishment, it had me jumping up and down for joy! Designer tape! You know, washi tape! Woot woot! Until now I've only owned one roll of the stuff! Yep! Because I was resisting getting into yet another thing I had to have! Now that's all changed! :)

I'm in heaven! Simply heaven! And I have a peek project share!

I gave my piece of Designer Tape a fancy edge! Edgy, huh? ;)

As usual, head on over to the Bella Blvd. blog and leave a comment if you would like to win some of oh so fabulous Designer Tape!

Thanks for your visit. I hope to see you again tomorrow for another exciting reveal!

Kathy :)

Bella Blvd. Sneak Peek Week - We're Expecting

2012-01-19T09:08:00.001-05:00

This is the second post for today. Please scroll down for a "sweet" Doodlebug project.

Are you ready to see more brand new Bella Blvd products? This next collection pairs beautifully with the new Baby Boy and Baby Girl collections!

Would you like a tiny peek at a couple of the projects I created with this sweet new collection?

What an exciting week it's been helping Bella Blvd. to reveal their new collections for CHA! And how fun that each day you have a chance to win the collection of the day! To enter for today's giveaway click here.

Tomorrow I'll be back with another exciting new product announcement! Hope to see you then!

Kathy :)

Doodle Card Sketch

2012-01-19T09:07:00.000-05:00

Hi!

How about a little break from all the Bella Blvd. new product reveals? Only a short break since there's so much more to show you! :) And I know your going to love this! Doodlebug's fabulous Sweet Cakes line for Valentine's Day Projects is a must have! Last week I posted a scrapbook page created with this collection and today I have a card!

I want to eat that cupcake!

It's topped with yummy gems and a sugar coated heart!

Have you used these Doodles sentiment stickers? They're easy, fun and come in lots of phrases! I'm addicted! ;)

To add a bit more spice to my cupcake card I made some faux ribbon and topped it with a yummy red Boutique Button.

I tell you, Doodlebug makes it a cinch to create beautiful projects! And they also have a Doodle card sketch for you to play along with here.

Thanks for dropping by and letting me share my card with you!

Kathy:)

Bella Blvd. Sneak Peek Week - Baby Girl

2012-01-18T09:08:00.000-05:00

Are you enjoying the new Bella Blvd. collections? Would you like to see some more? I'm sure you could guess what's coming next!

Isn't this line adorable? Bella Blvd. wants to give one lucky blog reader a chance to own the new Baby Girl collection, before it even hits the stores. Just leave a comment here to be entered. One comment per person, please. All giveaways for our sneak peeks will be left open until Saturday, January 28th. All winners will be announced on Sunday, January 29th, which is the first day of the Winter CHA show!

Be sure and come back tomorrow for exciting new product reveals and more chances to win these fabulous new collections! And I'll have more peeks of my projects!

Kathy :)

Bella Blvd. Sneak Peek Week - Button Market

2012-01-17T09:19:00.001-05:00

Here we go! This is your first peek into some of the brand new embellishments for Bella Blvd! They've mentioned how excited they are to introduce new embellishments! Buttons are such a timeless embellishment that we all love to use so much! Now you'll have plenty to mix and match with your Bella Blvd papers and stickers! They've produced 20 different button items for you including plastic buttons, wooden buttons and button mix collections! You're going to love how affordable they are! All the plastic and wood button items will retail for only $1.75/each and the Button Mixes for only $2.99. Don't you want to have them all?!

I'm absolutely giddy about the addition of buttons to the Bella Blvd. line up since I'm a huge fan of them! And look at these designs! Swoon! How about a couple project peeks using these fabulous new buttons?

Such a lovely red and pretty flower shape!

Must have hearts! Sweet!

And now for giveaway time! Want a chance to win some buttons, before they even hit the stores? Bella Blvd. will be randomly choose three winners from today's reveal. One will receive all the plastic buttons, one will receive all the wood buttons, and one will receive the button mixes. Just leave a comment here to be entered. One comment per person, please. All of the Bella Blvd. giveaways for sneak peeks week will be left open until Saturday, January 28th. All winners will be announced on Sunday, January 29th, which is the first day of the Winter CHA show!

Good luck!

Kathy :)

Bella Blvd. Sneak Peek Week!

2012-01-16T08:44:00.000-05:00

It's finally here! Time to show off all the new collections and goodies from Bella Blvd! And because there are so many amazing new products to show you, they've decided to make it a full TWO WEEK reveal! Starting today, join Bella Blvd. and the design team as we share everything that's new for Winter CHA, all the way through January 27! We will have full product reveals, along with some layout inspiration from our Design Team. And you know we can't show you all our fabulous new products, without giving you a chance to win-it-before-you-can-buy-it ;) Are you ready to get started? Let's check out the first new collection!

"It's A Boy" exclaimed the doctor as your new bundle of joy was born! During the next few years he will become Momma's Boy and be constantly On The Go. Capture those baby moments before he grows out of his wardrobe of Baby Blue!

Isn't this the cutest baby collection EVER? Would you like to see a couple peeks at my projects for this adorable line?

This guy makes me happy! I would love to have a stuffed animal just like him!

I've been having a lot of fun playing with this new Baby Boy collection! It's so cheerful and the patterns are absolutely adorable!

Would you like a chance to win this collection? Bella Blvd. hopes you're loving what you see so far and wants to give one lucky blog reader a chance to own the new Baby Boy collection, before it even hits the stores. Just leave us a comment here be entered.

I hope to see you back here tomorrow for another look at the Bella Blvd. releases for CHA.

Kathy :)

Project 365

2012-01-15T09:46:00.000-05:00

Hello! Good Sunday to you!

Here at the Martin house we lead a rather simple life, one that we strive to keep that way in a world that gets a little more complicated by the day. We like to keep the calendar light and spend lots of time at home together reading, crafting, cooking, playing guitar, and taking care of our home. That's the way it was not too many decades ago. My husband's grandmother said they didn't have restaurants to go to or a mall to walk around, nor did they have the money for extras. If they needed to get out of the house for a while it was to go for a country drive or a long walk.

Our Project 365 photos reflect our simplified lives. There aren't a lot of travel photos or shots from numerous outings. Hopefully you will enjoy them...they're a little glimpse into our everyday.

Last Sunday while the sheets were being washed so the coverlet was hanging off the foot of the bed. Java thought this was a perfect little spot for relaxing.

If you've followed my blog for a length of time, you might have noticed that I love Pinterest? I find lots of great ideas, recipes and inspiration on that site. Here I have my hair in a sock bun, an overnight, no heat, no product bun that leaves your hair curly when you take it out in the morning.

I love to decorate our home with vintage goodies and items from nature like this bird nest found in our yard. This one I believe is a robin's nest which is a bit on the muddy/dirty side so I think we'll leave this one on the front porch.

Most evenings I spend a little time packaging up orders from my Etsy Shops. Here's the lot for the day.

Last Thursday was a gorgeous sunny day of about 60 degrees. It was so pretty outside that I decided the photo of the day should be looking out over our sunny front yard.

We do a lot of reading in our house! Now we read newspapers, magazines and books on our iPads. Yes, I miss holding a book and I love the way they smell, but we've decided to make the switch since it's important for the environment. I'm currently reading Baby Proof by Emily Giffin.

I started with a cat photo and now I'm ending with one. This is our other cat, Latte. He's quite the laid back guy...a great mascot for our home!

I hope you enjoyed my photos. And I hope you have a lovely Sunday!

Kathy :)

Walk Layout

2012-01-13T09:28:00.000-05:00

Happy T.G.I.F. everyone!

You've been hearing me talk about the exciting CHA projects that I've been working on for Bella Blvd. over the past week and starting next week, on Monday, I get to start showing you some peeks! If you aren't already subscribed to my blog, you should sign up because you don't want to miss all the new collections and brand new product that will be revealed! There will be give-a-ways too!

For now, how about a little taste of Bella Blvd. goodness with one of their latest releases, Spring Flings and Easter Things?

This adorable peanut is Christopher before he started kindergarten! These photos are from a March of Dimes walk that his preschool organized. The kids were so darling and excited to walk laps around the building!

I love these big bright Blooms a Bella flowers!

These colorful Spring Flings and Easter things papers are perfect for Christopher's clothes!

Those star sunglasses have me cracking up and if you click on the photo to enlarge it, you can see him peeking over the top of the rims...cute!

If you like this Bella Blvd. line, you're gonna love what's coming next week! See you then!

Kathy :)

Family

2012-01-11T09:16:00.000-05:00

Hello!

I've been anxiously waiting to show you the this scrapbook page! Doodlebug just released a new Valentine collection called Sweet Cakes and it's so colorful, cheerful, fun and full of glittery sparkle!

This line is a blast to work with and makes vibrant projects! I really like how my page turned out.

My teammate, Aphra, created the sketch for this page and I went crazy with the pennants! I used some of the die cuts and many of the pennants are topped with brads, rhinestones, stickers, twine or stitching.

It's all in the details, right?

I had fun with all these heart stickers and was able to incorporate pops of green from Doodlebug's Valentine line from last year...they work seamlessly together!

So what do you think of this yummy Sweet Cakes Collection? It's a must have in my book! If you would like to see more, visit the Doodlebug Designs blog.

Thanks for taking time out of your busy day to stop by!

Kathy :)

Take Time to Play

2012-01-10T10:53:00.000-05:00

Hello!

Do you ever run across a darling project on a blog or gallery that makes you stop in your tracks to create something similar? You know, drop the assignment that you're working on and just play? Yesterday while I was working on a page I found the cutest card on Andrea Budjack's blog, Creative Paper Trail. Her card was colorful, fun, creative and just made me feel happy so I lifted it and created this tag.

I couldn't resist! You have to go check out the card Andrea made that inspired this piece of happiness! Hers is even cuter than mine!

I chose to use the Country Drive collection from Echo park for this project because I knew the polka dots and bright colors would fit perfectly.

I hope my project puts a little smile on your face like Andrea's did for me! And maybe it'll even get you to drop everything and play!

Kathy :)

Pinteresting!

2012-01-08T10:14:00.000-05:00

Hello!

What's a girl to blog when she's creating secret CHA projects she can't show you? How about I share some of my favorite Pinterest finds? While I craft, I'm always blog hopping, lurking around Two Peas and spending a great deal of time on Pinterest! It's addicting and time consuming and I would probably get my projects done faster, but I love it! And I also use a lot of recipes and ideas I pin so I guess it's worth the time.

This is the cutest Father's Day card I've seen in a long time! This little masterpiece was created by Amber of Damask Love.

I'm in LOVE with these conversation bubbles that Lisa Truesdell created on her Silhouette for Project 365.

I can't resist quilts and I couldn't resist pinning this quilted card by Vicki Burdick. Swoon!

How about using rosemary to accent you home? This lovely idea is from a la parisienne.

I have the perfect old coffee table that desperately needs a makeover and I think this sheet music decoupage idea is perfect. This fantastic table is from Miss Mustard Seed.

Now for something sinful...Cake Mix Waffle Ice Cream Sandwiches from Tip Junkie. I can't vouch for these yet since I haven't made them myself, but I'm hoping to remedy that real soon!

Perhaps one of your New Year's resolutions is to eat healthier? This Banana Oatmeal Smoothie looks delicious, don't you think? I'd add just a touch of chocolate to this! A little chocolate never hurt anyone and has antioxidants! ;)

If you love banana recipes like I do, maybe you would be interested in trying this cocktail...a Banana Daiquiri! It's the drink of the week at Drink of the Week! All you need is white rum, sugar, ice, half a banana and juice of half a lime. Hmmm....I have all those things! Too bad it's only 10:00! Well, they say it's 5:00 p.m. somewhere! Gotta go! ;)

Have a happy day!

Kathy :)

Cards on Thursdays

2012-01-05T09:35:00.000-05:00

Hello! Great to have you stop by! :)

I finally have some crafty projects to share with you! Today is Cards on Thursdays at Bella Blvd. so if you're up to getting crafty with us, we would love for you to join in! One of the design team gals created a card sketch to go along with her projects...one I bet you would enjoy using!

It’s a new year and what better collection to get crafty with than Socialite!?!? It’s all about celebrations, New Year’s Eve and getting together with friends!

I created some rosettes to give this card a festive look.

I also added some brads, buttons and rhinestones for confetti.

I don't know about you, but a New Year kind of reminds me of birthdays. The Family Dynamics collection has a lot of bright and happy colored papers...perfect for a celebration!

The birthday cake sticker and 'You Rock' tag are from the Bella Blvd. Miniatures Card Sentiments stickers. Love, love, love them!

For my third card I chose to create a Valentine with the Bella Blvd. Flirty collection since Valentine's Day is on it's way!

Hearts, hearts and more hearts! Loved layering hearts on top of hearts and stitching them on!

I hope you enjoyed my cards and can make a stop at Bella Blvd. for more fabulous projects and Gretchen's sketch.

Have a great day!

Kathy :)

Big Improvement

2012-01-04T10:15:00.000-05:00

Hi!

I'm happy to report that after forgetting to take a photo on the first of the year, for project 365, I have taken one for the past three days! Whew!

I'm still working away on CHA projects and a couple fun new crafty things with the Doodlebug Designs new Valentine line called Sweet Cakes. I'll get to show those to you pretty soon. I've been up to some Pinteresting things that I can share...like this recipe from Weight Watchers for Summer Corn, Bacon and Potato Chowder.

This is what's on the menu for lunch this week! Yum! Since it's not summer and there wasn't any corn on the cob, I just used frozen and it's probably just as delicious! It has just a bit of kick from some hot pepper sauce. I want to go eat a bowl right now and it's just 10:00!

Would you like to see my project 365 photo for today? It's a cute one! You might recall from previous posts that we have a couple new pet sugar gliders? Well, just about everyday they sleep in a pocket, zippered pouch, or wrapped up in a t-shirt on my lap. This morning when I took a little peek at them, I snapped this photo.

Cinnamon woke up just as I was about to snap the photo. She did have her head down, right up against her sisters! They are always bundled together! They are so soft and sweet and I just love 'em to pieces!

So, have you taken down the tree and decorations yet? I did most of that yesterday. I just have our Department 56 Christmas Village to box up and then I'm done. The house could stand a good cleaning too. Hopefully I'll be able to work that in between craft projects!

Hope your day is a great one!

Kathy :)

I Crack Myself Up!

2012-01-02T09:03:00.001-05:00

I'm really quite funny! Not as much in a witty sort of way, but in a have to laugh at myself way! I've been thinking of doing a combination of project 365 and project life this year. The only thing that's held me back from a 100% commitment is that I know it's quite possible I will not make it through the first couple months let alone an entire year! But, I decide to go for it because I think it'll be a good exercise regardless. So what do I do? I forget to take a photo yesterday...THE VERY FIRST DAY! Remarkable, huh?!?!

Well, I'm not going to throw in the towel just yet. I'm going to use a photo of our cats since it was on thas day, seven years ago, that we adopted the two! They made it to our front door via a few neighbor boys who found the two running around the creek near our back yard. The boys went door-to-door to see if they belonged to anyone. Seven years later, we have ourselves a pair of very sweet and adored kitties!

I'm bummed that I don't have a project to share with you today. I've been a busy little bee creating some fun stuff for CHA that I'll get to share with you later. So today I thought I'd share a fabulous new blog I discovered these past few days. It's called Funkytime.

This is a fabulously fun blog with a lot of awesome free downloads! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Happy New Year!

Kathy :)

Snow Day

2011-12-31T09:20:00.000-05:00

It's New Year's Eve! Do you have any special plans for tonight? We always lay low on New Year's. We're not crazy about crowds and I can't stay up past 10:00 p.m. anyway! I'm such an old lady! ;) How about you? Do you enjoy ringing in the new year?

For this last day of 2011, Bella Blvd. has a Saturday Sketches post. Maybe you have a little time to create something with their fabulous sketch and can take a peek at the awesome projects my teammates created?

Since we’re just beginning winter, I thought it would be fun to use the Bella Blvd. Winter Wonder collection and create something with these adorable snowmen!

These guys wouldn't last throughout the day at our house since it'll be in the 60s today! So far we're experiencing a mild winter, but it's just started and Tuesday is supposed to stay in the 30s. Yikes!

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you all have a safe and fun New Year's Eve!

Kathy :)

Eleven in 2011

2011-12-29T09:22:00.000-05:00

Hi!

There are only a couple more days left in 2011 and then a whole new year begins! I always find it fascinating to look back over the year through the memories and accomplishments we made. Equally amazing is to look forward to the new year and anticipate the possibilities it holds.

Today I thought it would be fun to share with you eleven favorite projects I created this year. Sound fun?

Thank you for being a part of my blog this year! I hope that I have made spending time here worthwhile and inspiring!

Well, I hope you enjoy whatever it is you have planned for these last couple days of the year!

Kathy :)

Free Downloads

2011-12-27T10:01:00.000-05:00

Hi!

I hope you all have been having a wonderful holiday! I sure have! It's been lovely spending time with my boys and it's been lazy and relaxing! I barely came up to my office for two days! It felt so good to have a little break!

Today I'm going to try and ease back into things....slowly. Thought I'd start by leaving you a couple vintage downloads to play with when you get a chance.

Here's an image you can use for a New Year's card.

And since Valentine's Day is on its way, here's a cute image for your sweetheart!

So, will you be working this week? My husband and I are. Christopher has the week off to play with his new toys. I know some of our neighbors are on vacation for the week. Sounds lovely, doesn't it? Enjoy these last days of 2011!

Kathy :)

December Daily

2011-12-24T09:41:00.000-05:00

Hello!

It's Christmas Eve! The festivities are in full swing! Hope you all are having a merry time! I'm popping in to share a few pages of our December Daily and then it's off to bake our favorite sugar cookies. Must leave Santa fresh cookies, right? ;)

Our 10th and 11th of December is about giving...to the poor and to Christopher's teachers.

It's so important to give year round because there is so much need out there! And during the holidays it's time to give a little extra to help make every one's holiday special. We gave the Toys for Tots drive, at our local Whole Foods, a set of Melissa & Doug wood blocks. I figured every child should have building blocks!

Every year we thank Christopher's teachers for their dedication and hard work by giving them gift certificates to Target and sometimes Starbucks. We're sure they receive plenty of ornaments, candy and apple themed gifts and that they could really use some money!

On the 12th and 13th days of the month we featured our kitty Java and a snowflake handmade by Christopher!

It's been a tradition for many Christmases to unpack the reindeer antlers and plop them on one of our cats for a good chuckle. This year poor Java had the honors, but he doesn't look to thrilled about it does he?

I'm not the only one who gets to play with paper and craft up some fun during the holidays! Christopher made a snowflake at school that I folded up and placed in this tiny envelope.

I hope you are spending these holidays enjoying some baking, carols, crafting and family time! Enjoy!

Kathy :)

Dreaming of a White Christmas

2011-12-22T09:25:00.000-05:00

Hi!

Today is the first day of winter! I hope you are enjoying December and all the festivities! I'm lovin' it! I have a girlfriend coming over in a bit to bake today...our third annual holiday bake off! The house is going to smell so good and we're going to be jacked up on sugar and coffee! Life is good! ;)

I must be dreaming of a white Christmas because I choose to use the Winter Wonder collection and adorable snowmen images for my Bella Blvd. cards today !

I love this color combo for winter projects, don't you?

I went crazy with snowflakes here...I think they're making this little snowman very happy!

These snow dudes are so festive with their colorful hats and I love the blue mittens!

They are wishing you a white and wonderful Christmas!

If you have a few moments, please hop over to the Bella Blvd. blog to see all the fabulous Cards on Thursday creations....love them!

I'll be back tomorrow to share some more of our December Daily. I'm trying to keep up! I managed to finish day 14 yesterday. I'm a little behind, but it's an improvement over last year!

Hope you have a wonderful first day of winter! The days will get longer and longer after today! :)

Kathy :)

Thanks

2011-12-21T09:25:00.000-05:00

Hi!

Winter has just begun and I already have spring fever! What’s a girl to do? When I find myself dreaming of warm spring days, I like to break out a colorful collection of papers and accents, like Colorwheel from Doodlebug Designs, and craft up something fun! Doodlebug even has a Doodles Sketch up on their blog today to help inspire you!

Nothing says spring better than pretty posies and bright happy colors, right?

Oh and a glittery butterfly!

Add a lovely lime button, some bakers twine and a few rhinestones and you have yourself a happy little card!

It's a busy week with Christmas just days away, but if you'd like to take a break from the holiday rush or if you have a couple last minute holiday cards you need to whip up, come join us at Doodlebug for some crafty fun!

Kathy :)

Happy Birthday Stephanie!

2011-12-19T06:00:00.012-05:00

Hi! If you are joining me for Stephanie's surprise birthday blog hop from Carina Lindholm's blog, you're on the right track! Welcome! And for those that are just joining the party, you will want to begin at the Bella Blvd. blog so you can start at the beginning and not miss a thing!

I just recently started working with Stephanie at Bella Blvd. and I've got to tell you that she's a real doll and very generous person so we all wanted to do something extra special for her birthday!

I made this card for Stephanie using her adorable Lovey collection and my favorite Card Sentiments Miniatures.

It's always fun to work with Stephanie's products because of the cheerful colors and patterns that coordinate so beautifully!

Even thought it's Stephanie's birthday, we have some gifts for a few of you lucky readers as well! We know how generous and giving Stephanie is, and we know she would never have a fun blog hop, without a few giveaways up for grabs too. So we got permission from Robin, who works alongside Stephanie in the office, to pick TEN lucky winners, who will each receive a Bella Blvd. collection. All you need to do to be entered in the random drawings, is to leave Stephanie your birthday wishes in the comment section. You have lots of opportunities to up your chances, since you can leave a comment on each blog you visit, as you go through the blog hop. There are 26 blogs, plus the Bella Blvd blog, for a total of 27 chances to get your name in the pot. We will randomly choose winners, from 10 randomly chosen blogs, and announce them on Friday!

I don't know about you, but I'm excited! I can't wait to see all the beautiful handmade cards everyone has created for Stephanie! Your next stop along this surprise birthday hop is with Stacey Michaud.

Thanks for joining the party and good luck in the drawings!

Kathy :)

December Daily - Days Eight & Nine

2011-12-17T10:09:00.000-05:00

Hi!

I'm getting back on track with our December Daily after taking time to work on Christmas preparations and design team projects.

Here's our eighth and ninth days of December. On the eight I started working on our annual Christmas ornaments.

I've been using a lot of my favorite thin metal dies for our ornaments and December Daily.

Ahhh...hot chocolate! We drink a lot of cocoa during the holidays! With fresh made whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon! And we enjoy sipping it from these adorable cups a friend of mine gave us a few years ago.

Well, this is the last weekend before Christmas. What's on your agenda? Since I've got most of our Christmas preparations taken care of, I'm not venturing out into the hustle and bustle! I think I'll whip up a cup of hot cocoa and keep working on our December Daily! ;)

Hope you have a great weekend!

Kathy

Bella Buzz

2011-12-16T10:01:00.000-05:00

Hey!

Have your heard the latest news? The Bella Buzz is out and there's a fabulous prize package to be won!

Just click to be directed to the Bella Blvd. blog, download your free newsletter and see how you can win! Good luck!

Kathy :)

Keep it Simple Sister

2011-12-15T09:54:00.000-05:00

Hey!

How are those Christmas preparations going? Did I hear some groans? Didn't we all agree not to stress? We said we would enjoy the little pleasures of the season, didn't we? I know, it's a work in progress! And it might require a spiked eggnog! ;)

Well, this morning I started on my to-do list and began wrapping some presents. I reminded myself to keep it simple, that wrapping pretty gifts shouldn't take an entire day! And guess what? The first one I wrapped was so quick, easy and inexpensive, I had to share it with you!

Isn't it cute? The materials I used to wrap this little gift were all at my fingertips. The little box was recycled from last year, the Kraft wrapping papper was the center of a roll of gift wrap, the owl was colored months back when I was practicing with Copic Markers. The Kraft tag is from Martha Stewart, purchased at least a year ago, the twine and rub-ons from Doodlebug, don't we all have loads of twine and rub-ons in our stash? Lastly, that sweet little doily, I acquired long ago from a local vintage shop.

Quick and easy and nothing to buy! Gotta love it! I'll be done with my gift wrapping in no time if I can keep it simple and use things I lready have!

Hope your holiday preparations are going well, and those of you who have it all done...please let me in on your secrets! ;)

Kathy

Keeping Warm

2011-12-14T09:56:00.001-05:00

Hello!

Is the weather outside frightful in your neck of the woods? We're supposed to get up to about 60 degrees today which is not bad for mid-December, right? Many of you are probably much colder and may even have snow so I have a card today to help give you warm thoughts.

Love this pup! He's part of the Bella Blvd. Winter Wonder Collection. Don't you just love his little green snow shoes? :)

If it's chilly in your area, hope you keep cozy warm!

Kathy :)

Christmas Joy

2011-12-13T09:40:00.000-05:00

Hello!

This is my second post today so please make sure you scroll down to the first because I have a special tutorial for creating adorable little paper houses!

How are your Christmas preparations coming along? I can't believe some of my cards are being held up by lack of postage stamps! Yep, the post office was out! What the......! This is one snag I didn't anticipate! I ordered some stamps on-line right away so hopefully they'll arrive quickly and things will be back on track.

Today I have another project share, a Christmas card...'tis the season! :)

I created this card using the Bella Blvd. Christmas Wishes collection and an inspiration photo you have to check out here. I promise you will be happy you did because my teammates created some gorgeous projects that I had to Pin!

Don't you just love banners? And presents? Pretty wrapped presents?

I hope you enjoyed my share...and don't forget to check out my previous post for today for a gift giving tutorial!

Kathy :)

2011-12-13T09:06:00.001-05:00

Hello!

Oh my, did you notice that Christmas is less than two weeks away? The two week marker slipped passed me on Sunday! It's time to wrap up our presents and get those last minute gifts taken care of! So at the Doodlebug Designs blog, I have a tutorial to show you how to make the following little paper houses for gift giving.

Hope you have a bit of time to hop over and check out the different ways you can use these paper houses for gifts.

Kathy :)

December Daily - Days Six & Seven

2011-12-12T09:30:00.000-05:00

Good day!

The December Daily is moving right along and I couldn't be more happy about it. I know how much we'll enjoy it years down the road and I imagine that when Christopher is an adult, he will love reading about the activities we enjoyed during the season.

First, I have to tell you about a funny conversation that happened this morning while Dan, Christopher and I were getting breakfast together. As my husband was pouring a glass of orange juice, it reminded me of the fresh squeezed tangerine juice I picked up at Whole Foods over the weekend so I said, "I got you and Christopher some tangerine juice to try." Dan stood there looking at me like I just sprouted another eye so I said it again, "I got you some tangerine juice." I guess I'm pretty soft spoken because he just kept staring at me like I was crazy and then he said, "You got us some canned green juice?" Oh my! Canned green juice?!?! LOL I had to pull myself together so that I could say, "No! I got you some tangerine juice!" Finally he got it and was laughing too. All morning we just kept cracking up and making further jokes about it. Ah...the little things!

So here are days six and seven of our December Daily. On the sixth I typed up our family letter to send along with our Christmas cards.

For our seventh day I started addressing all the handmade cards I've been making for my design team assignments. I hope everyone enjoys the extra fancy one-of-a-kind cards this year! Usually I create a design or two and then duplicate it.

I got to do a little blog hopping yesterday and it's been fun seeing all the fabulous projects everyone is crafting and I loved seeing some of your decorated homes! Hope you are all having a great time preparing for Christmas! Thanks for stopping in!

Kathy :)

December Daily - Days Four & Five

2011-12-11T09:33:00.000-05:00

Hello! Hope you're having a fabulous weekend!

Since I posted on Friday, in a bit of panic about cards, ornaments and the December Daily, I've gotten all but one of my ornaments done and worked on our December Daily so that I'm not as far behind. I just might pull this thing off! But it's having me seriously reconsider doing a project 365! Oh my! If 25 days is difficult? Whew! We'll see.

Here's days four and five of our December Daily. I'm really liking this mini album! It's pages are pretty small (4" x 8 1/2") so there's not a lot of space which means I need to keep it simple. I like the shape of this Doodlebug Designs Plain & Simple book. And I really love that I didn't spend close to $100 dollars for the ultra cool Studio Calico version I would have enjoyed having! Oh, and of all the December Daily albums I've seen, my looks so different and unique!

On December fourth we hung our wreath on the front door. It's our only outside decoration besides seeing our tree through the window. I like to keep it simple and it looks so pretty.

On the fifth day of December we received our first gift of Christmas when Christopher came home from school with some presents for his mom, dad and kitties. So sweet!

So today I plan on finishing up a couple more pages of the December Daily and addressing the last of our cards. How about you? What's on your agenda today? Perhaps I'll have a little time to blog hop and see what you've been up to!

Kathy :)

December Daily - Days Two & Three

2011-12-09T10:22:00.000-05:00

Hello!

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can........keep up with the December Daily even though I've only finished up to December third and it's the ninth! ;) The project has been put aside temporarily so that I can make gift ornaments and address Christmas cards. I wish there were just a couple more hours in the day to get it all done; how about you?

Well, I'll make this a quick post so I can get back to it. I love making my ornaments and cards, I just don't like how quickly the days go by and that I need to get it all posted in the next couple of days so they arrive in the mail on time. After that things will calm down a bit. Ahhh.....just breath! ;)

So here's my 2nd and 3rd days of our December Daily...

I'm keeping it pretty simple, much like our 2010 December Daily. I'm adding some stitching and a couple extra accents.

Here's a little Sugar peeking out of the kitty Christmas Stocking! Isn't she adorable?

Christopher's awesome photo with Santa!

I better run and get a couple more ornaments made and I have to run to the post office with some of them. Hope you are enjoying these days and not too rushed.

Kathy :)

Christmas Cards

2011-12-08T09:20:00.000-05:00

Hello!

This month is traveling at the speed of light, isn't it? I'm bustling to get my cards, family letter and ornaments in the mail in the next few days so they reach their destinations by Christmas. How about you? How is your holiday shaping up? Do you still need to make a card or two? Can you use some crafty card inspiration? I hope you can because that's what's on the old blog menu today! ;)

It's cards on Thursdays over at the Bella Blvd. blog and three designers, including myself, were given the freedom to use whatever collection we wanted. Would you believe that all but one card was made with the Christmas Wishes line? Seems we're all in the thick of holiday card crafting!

This little penguin here is ready to deliver 'The Perfect Day' to his recipient!

I think you've heard me say it before...I LOVE these Alpha + Bits stickers! They're so fun and versatile!

Oh deer! What do you think of this card? Isn't this little deer precious?

I decked the little deer out a bit by giving him a red rhinestone nose that glows and a heart of gold!

Well, I'd love to stay and chit chat a bit more with you, but my holiday to-do list is calling! And it seems the more I check off the list, the more things get added to it! But it's all good and I'm enjoying every minute! I hope you are too!

Kathy :)

2011 Christmas Ornament

2011-12-06T09:30:00.000-05:00

Hello!

One of my favorite things to do during the holidays is to make an annual Christmas ornament for our tree and to give as gifts to some of our family and friends. Some years I dream up something on my own and then other years I see the perfect ornament in a magazine or blog. This year, a couple weeks back, I was blog hopping and found this year's ornament compliments of Laurie Schmidlin of Just Give Me Stamps.

Isn't it darling? Love! Thanks Laurie!

If you have a circle die, a snowflake die, like this one from The Cat's Pajamas, and some felt...you're good to go! Not only is this ornament cute, but I already had the tools and supplies. Gotta love it when there's nothing else to buy!

While Laurie machine stitched her ornaments, because she's probably a whiz at the sewing machine, I opted for a blanket stitch because my sewing machine hates me! ;) I also used some twine for my hanger while Laurie used jute, I think. And I added a little tag for the year. Both versions lovely! I bet you could get creative and use something different for the center, like another smaller snowflake, and use a different color felt. Imagine pink, cream and blue! I have only a few colors and a deep purple didn't seem to fit the spirit of Christmas!

Do you make ornaments? You can always start a new tradition this year! In all your spare time! ;) If you need some ideas, I've seen a lot on Pinterest! Thanks for stopping by today!

Kathy :)

December Daily 2011

2011-12-05T08:57:00.000-05:00

Hello!

Did you have a nice weekend? Did you get your tree put up? Did you do any baking? Shopping? Did you craft some Christmas cards? Tis the season for these activities. I started working on our December Daily and finished the cover and first day of December! Yippee! And I was able to put the finishing touches on last year's! Feels so good to get these things done!

I'm keeping the 2011 December Daily pretty simple since there are plenty of other things to do this month! ;) I'm using a mini album from Doodlebug Designs. The pages are 8 1/2" x 4". I would have loved to use the Santa's Workshop Collection with it, but I hardly have any left with all the projects I've been creating. I have this pretty 2010 'I Believe' line from My Mind's Eye and it works beautifully with the white chipboard album!

Visit with Santa

2011-12-04T09:20:00.000-05:00

Hello!

Hope you are enjoying your weekend! Yesterday we went to see Santa!

I love how Christopher is giving Santa two thumbs up! My goodness, what did Santa say he would leave under the tree? ;)

Hope your Sunday is lovey! Thanks so much for stopping by!

Kathy :)

December Daily

2011-12-02T10:03:00.000-05:00

Hello!

If you stopped by yesterday, you might have read the part of my post where I decided to create a December Daily this year. I haven't even finished last year's December Daily nor have I started one for this year, but I'm determined not to let these minor details trip me up! ;)

So after I signed off from my post yesterday I grabbed my incomplete 2010 December Daily, the papers and photos and got to work. I knew that if I spent too much time on any one page that I would never finish it so I went real bare bones and simply added the photo, some patterned paper and the date to each page.

It's funny how my memory told me I only had a few pages left to complete. NOT! Anyway, see how simple my pages are? Here are some pretty packages I wrapped for a friend of mine.

Baking day, acting goofy, holding up a rather large piece of peanut brittle. Simple page...just a strip of pretty paper, the photo and date circle. I used October Afternoon papers and made the date circles.

Here's a photo of our tree at night. So much prettier than the picture I posted a couple days ago!

Ah, Christmas eve! We spent the afternoon baking sugar cookies for Santa. Well, we made a few for us too! ;)

Now that the basics are done, I'll be able to make another pass with the title, journaling and a few accents. I've seen a lot of gorgeous December Daily albums out there with lots of fancy designs and accenting. Maybe this year, I'll keep up with it and be able to do something a bit more elaborate, but having done most of last year's album in a day, proves that it doesn't have to be a real time consuming project.

So, are you creating a December Daily? Did you buy a particular kit? The one I photographed here is a small binder style album created with a vintage book. I purchased it on Etsy. Then I picked a Christmas collection of patterned papers I liked and went from there. I'm planning on the same routine this year. I hope you enjoyed seeing my December Daily. :)

Kathy :)

December First

2011-12-01T09:53:00.000-05:00

Hi!

Can you believe it? It's December 1st! Time for the first advent calendar surprise! Our advent calendar is a little wooden chest of drawers. Christopher was so thrilled to pull out the first drawer this morning and find a quarter and a piece of caramel. Yum! We discovered early on that nothing beat a sweet treat in the calendar so that's how we roll!

Will you be starting a December Daily album today? I think I will. I can't believe that I've been dragging my heels about it. Maybe because last year's December Daily isn't quite done yet! Yikes! If I get myself in gear I could complete last years and start on today, right? We have a Christmas mini book from 2007 that we really enjoy looking at each year. It's not a December Daily, it has a few highlight photos from the holiday that's become a precious treasure we display each year so that's why I want to make another.

Well, on this first day of December I have a Christmas card to share with you.

Oh how I love Kraft stock and it looks awesome with Echo Park's Season's Greetings collection!

When I create snowy themed cards I almost always rub a little white stamp ink on my papers...gives it that frosty feel!

Christmas cards also call for jingle bells! Got to have 'em! Can you see my bell is a little rusty? Last year I put a handfull of bells in a zip-lock and added a bit of water. Every day I would shake up my bells and soon the water became quite muddy looking. I let them sit in that bag for an entire year and this is all the rust I got!!! The inside is probably the most rusted! I bet I would have had better luck barrying them in the back yard!

You know what I love most about the Season's Greetings line? The stickers! Oh my! There's a big 12x12 inch sheet of stickers that are to die for! CUTE! Like the one I used for this card!

Hope you enjoyed my share! And I wish for you to have an enjoyable first day of December!

I better scoot if I want to finish last years December Daily and start on another!

Kathy :)

2011 Christmas Tree

2011-11-30T09:50:00.000-05:00

Hello!

Would you like to see our Christmas tree? I took a photo this morning to show you. Shoot! As I'm typing this I realized I didn't turn the lights on! Ha! Oh well, I'll try and get another shot with the lights on, and at night, for another post.

You know...the good thing about taking a picture is that you can really see if your tree looks straight and if you like the ornaments where they are. Case in hand...I can see that the top of our tree could use a few more ornaments! :) Might have to find a little time to create a couple! :)

This little Santa is one of my fave decorations! He was given to me by a special friend a couple years ago and makes me smile! He's perched on a stack of books on the table next to the tree.

Here's another guy that makes my day...a snowy little fella holding a sign that says 'wish.' He's sitting in the foyer greeting all those who enter.

We have more decorations to share. In addition to the main tree with have three mini trees and a village, but I'll save some of those for other posts. I hope I get to see some of your favorite decorations on your blogs too!

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Kathy :)

Another Christmas Card

2011-11-29T10:17:00.000-05:00

Hey!

I've been working on some Christmas cards in between other projects...and here's one using the new Papertrey Ink thin die alphas and the Santa's Workshop collection from Doodlebug Designs.

Love these colorful papers and whimsical patterns!

These snowflakes are also thin metal dies. The center is a brad from Doodlebug's Happy Holidays Assortment of Boutique Brads.

To add just a touch of sparkle, I added my fave Doodlebug Mini Jewels.

I had fun with this one...and I'm currently working on another using a Bella Blvd. line I adore!

Well, have you gotten back into the swing of things after Thanksgiving weekend? I'm getting there. It hasn't been as difficult as I anticipated. I'm enjoying my 'work' so I 'm not too bummed that our fun weekend is over!

As always, thanks for visiting! Hope you have a terrific day!

Kathy :)

It's Begining to Look a lot Like Christmas!

2011-11-28T09:16:00.000-05:00

Hi!

How was your Thanksgiving weekend? Did you travel? Stay at home? Cook? Shop? I stayed home with my boys, cooked, relaxed, ate, decked the halls and ate some more! It was the most wonderful Thanksgiving!

Today will be a little difficult as I try to get back into routine. I was hardly in my office over the weekend so it's always a challenge to dive back in. To make it a little easier, I already have a cheerful and festive card to share with you!

Over at Doodlebug Designs there's an awesome Doodles card sketch for you that can be used for your Christmas card crafting.

I was in the mood to get stitchy with this one so I created a grid background. I think it's ideal for all these colorful Doodlebug papers and glittery Frills from the Santa's Workshop collection.

To make this card even more festive, I sprinkled it with gems and this totally adorable holly brad.

Thanks for stopping! I hope you enjoyed my card and have a little time to craft along with us at Doodlebug Designs. I've got to run to the post office. Shouldn't be too bad there yet! ;)

Kathy

Bella Blvd. Saturday Sketches

2011-11-26T08:58:00.000-05:00

Hello!

Have you eaten enough turkey to feed an army yet? ;) Yum! Such good eats! Do you begin decking your halls this weekend for Christmas or are you one of those Black Friday shoppers? Here at the Martin household it's tradition to put up the tree the day after Thanksgiving so we managed to do that. Today I'll spend more time decorating the mantle, banister and side tables. I'll put the finishing touches on everything and tidy up so we'll have lots of time to enjoy it all!

If you are in the mood to do a little crafting over this Thanksgiving weekend, Bella Blvd. has their Saturday Sketches challenge going on!

The sketch is awesome, made for scrapbook pages so it was a bit of a challenge to incorporate it into a card, and lots of fun too!

The Bella Blvd. collection I used for this project is one of my faves, the Finally Fall line. The leaf print paper is actually from last year's fall collection, and matches perfectly!

Whatever you are doing this weekend, I hope it's a lot of fun and shared with family and friends! Hopefully, I'll have some pictures of our decorations to share with you this week!

Kathy :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T09:12:00.001-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

If you happen to have some down time today or tomorrow and stop by, I'm leaving this Thanksgiving card and wish for you to have a lovely holiday! I hope you have oodles to be thankful for and enjoy sitting around the table with those you love and share a wonderful feast together!

These Bella Blvd. chipboard pumpkins remind me of pumpkin pie, a must for our Thanksgiving meal!

Thanksgiving just isn't complete without a slice of pumpkin pie with real whipped cream! I think if Thanksgiving had a taste, it would be of pumpkin pie! Maybe because it's only on this holiday that I eat pumpkin pie.

Well, I hope your table is full along with your hearts and that you have lots of yummy dishes that remind you of Thanksgiving too!

Kathy :)

October Birthday

2011-11-23T09:36:00.000-05:00

Hi!

If you stopped by yesterday, you would have seen the Doodlebug birthday card I made for my dear friend. She loved it and we had a great time at lunch and enjoyed a little browsing the shops in downtown Apex. The weather was so warm so we sat outside for awhile to watch all that was going on and had a nice chat.

Today I have another birthday themed project to share. This is a page I created for my husband's birthday last month.

Here he and Christopher are getting ready to blow out the candle on his birthday chocolate chip cookie! ;)

I created the title with a couple Silhouette cuts and used some Pink Paislee patterned paper for the background. This patterned paper is a grid of autumn phrases you can cut apart and use individually on cards and pages, but I thought they would be fun to use intact and make it look like individual pieces stitched together.

My journaling was created with a couple Papertrey Ink thin metal dies for the mini envelope and notebook paper.

Because it's a birthday page and I wanted it to be festive, I created some rosettes using a Tim Holtz die and some 'Season's Greetings' papers from Echo Park.

Well, I'm going to taking it easy today since I'll be plenty busy in the kitchen tomorrow. If you are traveling today, I wish you a pleasant and safe journey! I'll be stopping in for a moment tomorrow to leave you a Thanksgiving wish and card.

Kathy :)

Hooray - It's a Special Birthday!

2011-11-22T09:22:00.000-05:00

Hi!

Today is a special day because it's my BFFs birthday! And days like this call for handmade cards, right?

I made this colorful and happy card with a Doodlebug Designs collection called Cake and Ice Cream! What could be more perfect?

Love this yummy little cupcake and how Doodlebugs' brads and rhinestones match whichever paper line you choose!

What's a birthday without pretty packages? Doodlebug didn't leave those out!

So, I'm off to go celebrate and take my friend to lunch!

Thanks for dropping by today...I hope you enjoyed seeing my special card.

Kathy :)

Joy

2011-11-21T09:41:00.000-05:00

Hello and a happy Monday to you!

It's Thanksgiving week already! Are you ready? Yes? No? If you're not, let's agree that we're not going to sweat the details and just enjoy ourselves! And perhaps take a little time to unwind with a crafty project! Oh, and maybe a pomegranate martini! Sometimes a cocktail is just what the doctor ordered to relax a bit! ;)

I spent part of the weekend getting crafty and made this card.

It's a mixture of Echo Park and Papertrey Ink goodies. I think the two compliment each other beautifully!

I love using jingle bells on Christmas projects! And snowflakes!

I have a new picture of the babies, Cinnamon and Sugar!

This morning when I went up to my office the little rascals were still awake! They're usually fast asleep by the time I've showered and eaten breakfast. So the two of them crawled on me while I walked around the house for a bit. They love to take turns cruising around on the other's back!

Now don't ask me which one is which! I can't tell! I can only tell them apart by Cinnamon's ear; she has a little notch in her left ear, but I can't see it in this photo! Little Cinnamon is making progress, she's less and less afraid everyday. And Sugar is getting more playful and adventurous everyday too. They're a lot of fun!

Well, I have a few things I have to do so I'm going to leave you now and get to it. Thanks for stopping by! I hope you have a wonderful day!

Kathy :)

Free Bella Blvd. Digital Printables

2011-11-19T11:17:00.000-05:00

Hey! I have a message for you from Stephanie Hunt, owner of Bella Blvd...

"Ciao ciao Bella fans! Boy, do I have something fun & inspiring for you ... and guess what? I’ve done all the prep work for you! So, next week I host Thanksgiving, and each year I do some “crafty” something for everyone to participate in. Last weekend I thought to myself, "self, if you don’t get going on an idea it’s never going to happen-you’ll run out of time!". So I brainstormed up a digital mini album! Why digital? Because it takes less time (for you at least!) and this way I can have the ENTIRE album done and ready as soon as Thanksgiving is over."

To get all the free printable pages for Stephanie's Thanksgiving book click here.

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoy the free download and your weekend!

Kathy :)

Cup of Sugar

2011-11-18T09:53:00.000-05:00

Hi!

T.G.I.F! It's the last weekend before Thanksgiving! What do you have planned? I'll be making our grocery list and preparing for the big day. How about you? Will you cook this Thanksgiving or travel? Our family is scattered throughout the U.S., Australia and Canada so our Thanksgiving meal is usually the immediate family. Occasionally, we'll have extended family join us or have a friend over. I love to cook our feast! Everything is made from scratch, the kitchen warm, heavenly aromas, a hubbub of activity all day! And it never fails to amaze me that the hours of preparation take only 15 minutes to gobble up! :) But what a meal it is...and the leftovers are the best kind!

If you stopped by yesterday, you may have noticed that I promised a scrapbook page share of Sugar, our new little sugar glider. The name is so fitting because she's a real sweetie!

She's an itsy bitsy little thing, weighing only a couple ounces. Sugar gliders are marsupials from Australia. They make excellent pets if you have lots of time to devote to them since they love to spend the night, our daytime, sleeping in your pocket! I work at home so it's a perfect situation! At night, they are a bundle of energy hopping, jumping and running on their wheel together!

I created this colorful page with the Bella Blvd. Tail Waggers and Cat Naps collection. Included in this line are the perfect phrases and accents for all your non-human companions!

I did a hidden journaling circle behind one of the photos. I Often get so caught up in the designing and artistic part of a page that I forget where I'm going to put my journaling! Sometimes I use a tag that I can pull out from behind a photo which works too.

Both these photos are of Sugar. Cinnamon is still too frightened of people so I don't want to stress her out by taking pictures of her. She's making progress, one day at a time. Soon I'll have photos of her too, but I warn you, you will not be able to tell them apart! I struggle with that! They are identical!

Speaking of the babies, it's time for me to do some bonding exercises with them. Basically, you handle them a lot and let them sleep in a little pouch you wear. They have an acute sense of smell which helps them to know who is part of their 'colony.' I've had them just under two weeks and it's been such an amazing experience bonding with them. And our cats enjoy them too. They like to sit outside the cage and watch them play. Our boys (the cats) are really docile, indoor critters who will run off if the sugar gliders crab at them. I have no doubt they wouldn't hurt them and they'll be fast friends before long! After all, they live with two birds as well!

Please come back tomorrow because I have a freebie to tell you about! I hope you have a great Friday!

Kathy :)

Bella Blvd. Cards on Thursday

2011-11-17T08:57:00.000-05:00

Hey!

Wow, we've had some amazing weather this week! The past couple days were warm and summer-like with temperatures close to 80 degrees and today is the opposite, cold and rainy. A mix of everything!

Today I have a couple of fun card shares for you and the Bella Blvd. Cards on Thursday post.

I got to choose the Bella Blvd. collections that I want to use! I love free-for-all days because there are so many cool lines to choose from! For my ‘Family’ card I thought I’d take a break from holiday crafting, and use the Sunny Happy Skies collection.

These houses caught my eye … they’re so detailed, colorful and fun! Makes me want to move into that little neighborhood! I’d move into the red house with roof-top patio and shades lined with hearts!

After Halloween, I thought it was time to stash away the Too Cute to Spook line, but I didn’t want to! I’ve been having a good time playing with this line and decided to challenge myself to use it in a different way. So, I came up with this thank you card.

Usually when I sit down to make a thank you card, I start by choosing colors and accents like bright colors, butterflies and flowers. This time, going at it from a challenge to use a particular product, I ended up with a look I would have never thought of. I don’t think I would have used black for a thank you card, but I love the results!

Well, I have a special share tomorrow so I hope you can come back! I created my first scrapbook page using a picture of one of my new sugar gliders! I haven't even had the babies for two weeks yet, but one of them is a little friendlier and outgoing than the other so bonding is moving right along and I was able to get a few photos! The other is still to scared for a photo op so we'll just wait patiently, right? :)

Thanks for dropping in today! I hope you enjoyed the cards and you have a lovely day!

Kathy :)

Office Reveal

2011-11-15T10:39:00.000-05:00

Hi!

After the big clean-up last week, I've taken some pictures of the office for you. I don't have the best lighting with two smallish windows for a rather large space so the photos are a bit blurry.

Here's my desk with ladder shelving behind it.

The desk, where all the crafting and blog hopping happen. I love to do both at the same time.

Now that some of the shelves are free of excess supplies, I've started decorating them...it's a work in progress. Little by little I'll be arranging and re-arranging until I'm happy with the look.

Over the years I've purchased all these drawer units, in three sizes, from Target for holding all kinds of supplies.

Here's a sample...top drawer holds flowers, second drawer is full of metal accents and the last contains felt and fabric.

The smaller drawers on the top shelf are perfect for smaller items like brads, adhesives, etc.

I've added some of my vintage pieces for storage too.

I have two long folding tables along the opposite wall from my desk. At the far end is Christopher's computer where he spends a lot of his free time playing train simulator. The closest desk is my die machine station. I can fit chairs behind these tables and have a few friends over to crop.

These small drawers house lots of buttons, plastic accents and trinket type goodies. Many are for sale in my Etsy shop.

I love this old wood box...it's perfect for storing cards, some also for sale in my Etsy shop.

This little corner is Christopher's art nook. He's 10 now and he prefers the table where his computer is so this will probably go at some point in the near future.

I have a small space by one of the windows where I have a table for my cutter. Below is my scrap and recycle paper bins.

Behind the cutting table is this ladder shelf. It used to be full of how-to books and magazines that were donated. It's a work in progress...I want to fix it up so it looks nicer. Notice my 'photo station' on the third shelf down? That's where I photograph some of my projects. The light is nice and bright there.

On the last shelf is the enormous stack of scrapbook pages that need to be put in albums. I wish I had opted for D-Ring albums! The post bound type are so much harder to use!

I got these wire shelves from Target too. The shelves on the right hand side house most of my scrapbook paper. I was able to space the shelves about 1 1/2" apart using zip ties.

At the end of the shelving unit, closest to the window, I have little baskets that hold my ribbon. Those are drawer dividers I bought at Target and attached with zip ties.

So that's about it. It's not magazine or Pinterest worthy, but a very nice space with lots of room. I'm lucky to have my own place to work! It's a finished attic which makes it a nice get-a-way from the rest of our home. When I'm done with work/crafting, I can go downstairs, shut the door and leave it for another time. It doesn't interfere with the rest of the house. In the early days, I used our kitchen table to craft and it took over!

I hope you enjoyed my office share. Have a fantastic day, okay? :)

Kathy

Thanks

2011-11-14T09:14:00.000-05:00

Hi!

I have a hybrid card to share with you this Monday. I used an adorable new digital kit at Two Peas in a Bucket called 'When I Grow Up' by Edeline Martin for this project.

This digital kit is perfect for scrapping childhood memories and for just about any project you can think of like thank you cards.

I cut the sentiment with the Silhouette and used the reverse portion to make the tag.

I've added my go-to accents such as buttons, die cuts, and stitching. This time I included a little star charm and mini wood clothespin.

It's supposed to be a lovely, warm and sunny day here. I think I'll get out and run a couple errands to enjoy it. I hope you have a great day too. I really appreciate that you stopped by!

Kathy :)

Pinwheel Love

2011-11-12T10:51:00.000-05:00

Hi!

Lately I can't get enough of pinwheels! They're so easy to create and they make the cutest accents for paper crafts projects. I used a few on my last scrapbook page and one on this card share for today.

I used the new Bella Blvd. 'Spring Flings and Easter Things' line. What a perfect collection for Mother's Day!

If you've made pinwheels before, you know they are simple to make by hand, but now they're even easier with the thin metal dies available. The one I used for this card is from The Cat's Pajamas.

The sentiment is from my favorite new Minitatures stickers called Family, also from Bella Blvd. I used a little foam tape underneath to raise it from the card.

I'm still working on my office clean-up project. I've finished the stage of packing up all my stash for donation and just have to reorganize what's left and do a bit of decorating. I had to take a break from the project yesterday to create something! I was going through withdrawals! ;) And you know what? My creative mojo was fine without all the stuff I had! It felt good not to have to dig through enormous amounts of stuff to find the perfect accent or paper!!! I love it! Simplifying feels so good!

So what are you up to this weekend? Do share! And whatever it is...I hope it's a wonderful weekend for you!

Kathy :)

11-11-11

2011-11-11T09:05:00.000-05:00

T.G.I.F!

It's Friday, Veteran's Day and 11-11-11! Seems like we should be doing something to celebrate! But it's just another day, right? Hubs is working and I'm working. Christopher has the day off from school for Veteran's Day. Thank you to all our Veteran's and service people for your sacrifices and commitment to our country! I think we should remember this all the time, not just Veteran's Day!

If I hadn't been so busy tearing apart my office this week, I might have remembered to make a patriotic card to share today. Instead I have this hybrid card that I created with a new digital kit from Two Peas in a Bucket called 'Cupcake Toppers' from Tricia Chapman.

When I design with a digital kit made for something specific like this kit, I like to show how versatile it can be by making something different. I think these colorful cupcake toppers are perfect for Thanksgiving invitations, table setting place cards, scrapbook page accents, notes and greeting cards.

This card was quick and easy to pull together. All I did was to add a couple coordinating card stock colors and a sprinkling of gems. The black frame is a Spellbinders die cut and the yellow piece of card stock is a scalloped shaped scrap from Bazzill Basics.

Most times I like to add lots of stitching and accents, but for this, I wanted to show that you can also put together pretty paper crafts in no time and very little product.

Well, my office is looking pretty bare! Since Monday I've been emptying things out, dusting and vaccuming. Now comes the fun part...decorating! Without so much stuff everywhere I can make things look pretty! No more unsightly piles and things put in every possible nook and cranny! It'll be fun to incorporate some of my beloved vintage items as storage pieces. Hopefully, I can show you some photos next week!

Have a wonderful Veteran's Day, 11-11-11 and weekend!

Kathy :)

Nutcrackers

2011-11-09T09:29:00.000-05:00

Hello!

I'm typing up this post from a very messy office! If you stopped by yesterday, you may have read that I am on a mission to un-clutter my office like never before. Not just clean up or reorganization, but I'm getting rid of about half or more of everything in it! Not only have I been paper crafting for years, but I used to manufacture cards for stationery and gift shops and have tons of supplies from that. I have an Etsy store too! I also adore all things paper related and let's just say I've had to have it all! So over the past seven years, in our current home, I've packed in quite a lot of stuff! Time to change some buying habits and share all this with others! I've come to realize you don't need all this to created great projects!

Enough of that! How about a scrapbook page share?

This page isn't for an assignment, I just wanted to play with some of my Doodlebug goodies! The collection I used is called Santa's Workshop. Loaded with cute elves, fabulous patterned papers, and Santa!

I got the idea for these stitched half circles from a Pinterest photo of a quilt.

Isn't this quilt stunning? I love the colorful patterns on a white background! This quilt was made by Camilla Roskelley and can be found on her blog Simplify. There are oodles of beautiful items made of quilting along with patterns available for those who can sew...which is not me!

Going right along here...my page is about our nutcracker collection. We started collecting one nut cracker per Christmas when we moved to North Carolina seven years ago.

Have I mentioned how much I love this Santa's Workshop collection? This little elf cracks me up with his hammer in hand! He's been hard at work making toys for all the good little girls and boys...and maybe a few cool things for us paper crafters too? ;)

Well, I must get back to sorting through my office since I'm on a roll. And I've attempted to get this place pared down before without success!

I hope you all have a fabulous day!

Kathy :)

Bella Blvd. Inspiration Tuesday

2011-11-08T09:50:00.000-05:00

Hi!

Today I have a crafty share for you!

Over on the Bella Blvd. blog it's a Tuesday inspiration day and a couple of my teammates and I have projects posted that we created with this photo in mind.

The rich, warm colors remind me of our local farm and the Bella Blvd. Finally Fall collection!

I love how the Miniatures and Alpha + Bits stickers provided fun accents and phrases for my card!

I'm making my post short and sweet today because something hit me like a ton of bricks yesterday...and made me want to clean my office! I have soooooooooo much stuff that it's out of control! I'm sure a few of you can relate?!?! Maybe more than a few? Anyway, I have my work cut out for me so I better get to it. My hope is that I may be able to share some photos of my office for the first time...minus the clutter! Wish me luck, I'll need it!

Hope you have a swell day!

Kathy :)

Thank You!

2011-11-07T09:44:00.000-05:00

Hi!

Wow, I'm so thrilled and impressed with the response and comments from the Cards that Care blog hop! You guys ROCK! Thank you so much for participating and for all of you making cards for this drive! If you missed it and would like to participate, you can go to Vera Yate's blog for all the details.

I feel like it's been forever since I've posted, even though it's only been since Friday. I almost always post once during the weekend, but I decided to take the weekend off because Christopher was at camp and I had a rare weekend alone with hubs! We had a nice dinner out on Saturday night, and yesterday, we adopted two new pets! Can you believe it? We already have two cats and two parrots so we're not exactly in need of another non-human companion, but I couldn't resist! I'm a major animal lover, I used to work as a Vet Technician and I've done wild life rescue volunteering. So, what new pets did we get? You would never guess so I'll just show you a picture.

These cuties are Sugar Gliders! They are amazing little critters! We have two baby girls between the ages of 8-12 weeks. In the next few weeks I will be going through a bonding process with them so they recognize me and each family member as part of their colony. Once bonded these little sweeties enjoy sleeping many hours a day, their night, in a shirt pocket and when they are awake, they love to play. I'm really looking forward to getting to know them and this whole experience!

We're thinking of the names Cinnamon and Sugar. What do you think? Hubs isn't crazy about the name Sugar since they are Sugar Gliders. He thinks that's like naming a cat, Cat. Christopher loves the name Sugar. First, I suggested Cinnamon and Nutmeg, but he wasn't crazy about Nutmeg. There's also Ginger or Anise, if we want to stick to spices? I'd love to hear name ideas from you so go ahead and leave me a comment!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you have a great Monday!

Kathy :)