3x3 encouragement

I was getting to the last little scraps of my Scholastic paper pack and I thought what better way to use it all up than with some 3x3 cards. These little cards are great for lunchboxes, a quick little gift or as a gift set to someone special.

Lucy Trailer Update

 Several of you have asked me about the Trailer project, known as the Lucy Trailer. You can see more pictures and info about her here. **Most of these pics were taken with my phone, so they are not the greatest.
1st up I removed all of the thin wood covering all of the walls and seats. Then I removed so sticky faux tiles that the previous owner had installed. This was a back breaking job but worth it to get to the original floor.

 The back wall of the trailer had a lot of water damage ( the ac unit was not installed well and water leaked around it.) My sister came one weekend and helped me replace the whole back wall about the ac.

 As of today all of the wall, cabinets, drawers and the stove/oven have been repainted. Most of the aluminum on the inside has been polished. The fridge has been painted with chalk board paint. Vintage yellow knobs added to the cabinets and drawers. New breakers and wire for all the electrical stuff have been replaced, including plugs under the fridge so that I could inclose a couple of areas behind the table/seating area for more counter space.
Things that still need to be done is new lighting ( I have made my own chandaler that is super cute), the floor needs a good cleaning, cushions made for the table area and the back bench. And of course paint on the outside ( I may have to save more $$ before that gets done)
I am ready to be onto the decorating part of the project- all the fun stuff for the inside. I have been having lots of fun with the whole thing. I am glad all the labor part of it is over!

Over Thanksgiving new curtains were sewed and installed.

Book Review: Here Be Dragons

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^{Here Be Dragons is a historical novel written by Sharon Kay Penman published in 1985. The novel is the 1st in a trilogy know as the Welsh Princes series. It is set in medieval England, Wales and France.}  
The medieval princes of Gwynedd and the monarchs of England. England's King John uses his out-of-wedlock daughter Joanna as a negotiating tool by marrying her to the Welsh king Llewelyn to avoid war between England and Wales.
^{I will say that I had hard time with this book at the start. Welsh names are very hard and there are a lot of characters in this book. Once I gave up trying to figure out and keep everyone straight I did start to enjoy the book. It is still a shock to me that princes and kings would marry off their daughters at such young ages just for political purposes.}
History is stranger than fiction, true, and this was as unlikely a pair as could be imagined. Joanna and Lewelyn's love was strong, and true, and overcame Joana being torn in two between the father who showed her love when she was orphaned, and the husband who gave her the world, as well as showed Joanna her own faults. Joanna committed adultery, and yet Llewelyn's love for her was so powerful that her forgave it. In the 13th century Europe it was a big deal if a woman was unfaithful. It was common for men to have multiple mistresses on the side, but of course frowned upon for women.
I was heart broken at the thought of Llewelyn and Joanna forever apart, shed many tears when he took her back.
This was a very long book, it took me nearly a whole month to read it, but well worth my time.  Highly recommended!
 

READ bookmark

You all know that I am a reader- I do read on a Kindle for the most part, but sometimes its nice to hold a real book. In fact I love going to the book store and touching all the books. For this bookmark I fussy cut out a couple of the book images from the Scholastic patten paper. I then cut out the bookmark from the Artiste Cricut cartridge. Next I added the fun Canvas letters. These letters are so 3 denominational and they have a wonderful texture!

Celebrate today

How was your Thanksgiving? Mine was wonderful!! I so enjoy Thanksgiving food, it's lots of work but so worth it!  After the great meal it was time for football and crafting!  Our craft project this year was curtians for the Lucy Trailer-I will have an update later this week for you!
Now for my card- This paper is from the Scholastic Collection. Bet you didn't guess that!! I took the graph pattern and dressed it up with some flowers and twine.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thank you God for all that grows,
Thank you for the sky's rainbows,
Thank you for the stars that shine,
Thank you for these friends of mine,
Thank you for the moon and sun,
Thank you God for all you've done! 

 Praise God, from whom all blessings flow..

I am going to spend some time with my loved ones. I will be back on Monday! Have a great holiday!

Gift Box

This cute little bag is cut on the Artiste cricut cartridge. It's a good size box, it would nicely fit a small gift or candy! For this project I choose to pull out my re-inkers and spray pens. I cut down some burlap ribbon and tied on a cute tag.

You're the Best

I like to send cards just because. I think people enjoy getting a card for no reason, just to say hi or to tell them they are great!!  This is one of those cards. I used the great stamps from the CTMH Artiste Cricut cartridge to make the focal image. I added some burlap ribbon and little bit of twine to finish it off.

From the Library

I am such a big reader, so when I came across this "from the Libray" stamp in the Scholastic Workshop on the Go I fell in love. When my Lucy trailer is all done (and I promise to update you soon on that we are just about done with the inside) one of the 1st parties I plan to have is a book exchange party! This stamp will come in handy for that.

Highlight the Date

Remember the Advent Calendar from last month? The kit came with some extra chipboard pieces that I saved for.... well I just saved them. I had no real plan for them, but couldn't trash them. Take a look at what I used them for- to create a special birthday card highlighting the date-December 9th! I think this is a great way to personalize a card for a very special person.

 Now here is a deal for you! You can enjoy a new D-size stamp set, available for one month only, for just $5—that’s over 70% off retail! When you place an order of $50 or more in Close To My Heart products, you qualify for this special Stamp of the Month pricing.
 In celebration of our Stamp of the Month program, we’re throwing in a little something extra: a 50% off stamp set! In November, when you place an order of $50 or more in full retail products and purchase the November Stamp of the Month set, Capture the Date, for just $5, you can pick any stamp set* at 50% off

Help those affected by Hurricane Sandy

To show our support of Red Cross relief efforts for those areas of the US severely affected by Hurricane Sandy, Close To My Heart will donate $1 for every Stamp of the Month set sold as a part of this promotion during November.

12 month Mini Album

My little princess pug, Dixie makes a great mini album subject. For this tiny little mini album I chose to add a picture for each month of the year listed on the November Stamp of the Month. It folds up neatly and is held together with a band. The band has the cupcake from the Artiste cricut cartridge on the front with multicolored sprinkles from the November stamp of the Month stamp set.

 Now here is a deal for you! You can enjoy a new D-size stamp set, available for one month only, for just $5—that’s over 70% off retail! When you place an order of $50 or more in Close To My Heart products, you qualify for this special Stamp of the Month pricing.
 In celebration of our Stamp of the Month program, we’re throwing in a little something extra: a 50% off stamp set! In November, when you place an order of $50 or more in full retail products and purchase the November Stamp of the Month set, Capture the Date, for just $5, you can pick any stamp set* at 50% off

Help those affected by Hurricane Sandy

To show our support of Red Cross relief efforts for those areas of the US severely affected by Hurricane Sandy, Close To My Heart will donate $1 for every Stamp of the Month set sold as a part of this promotion during November.

Get creative with numbers

Number sprinkles!! I cut this card using the CTMH cricut Artiste cartridge- isn't it cute? Take a look at my sprinkles I used the tiny numbers from the November Stamp of the Month to create them. I created this card with no one in particular in mind, but what if it was for a 5 year old and you used the #5 as the sprinkles, that would make it personalized! The cherry is also cut on the Artiste cartridge and I added some red glitz glue to make it shine.

 Now here is a deal for you! You can enjoy a new D-size stamp set, available for one month only, for just $5—that’s over 70% off retail! When you place an order of $50 or more in Close To My Heart products, you qualify for this special Stamp of the Month pricing.
 In celebration of our Stamp of the Month program, we’re throwing in a little something extra: a 50% off stamp set! In November, when you place an order of $50 or more in full retail products and purchase the November Stamp of the Month set, Capture the Date, for just $5, you can pick any stamp set* at 50% off

Help those affected by Hurricane Sandy

To show our support of Red Cross relief efforts for those areas of the US severely affected by Hurricane Sandy, Close To My Heart will donate $1 for every Stamp of the Month set sold as a part of this promotion during November.

Get creative with stamps for borders

Today I want to show you how to get creative with the November Stamp of the Month. See the fun multicolored boarder on this card? I used the top half of the #2 to create it. Look at the picture below. I used the back side of the pattern paper to create a mask and I stamped the 2 all the way across. It's simple but it adds just the right detail. The cute little cupcake was cut with the Artiste Cartridge.

 Now here is a deal for you! You can enjoy a new D-size stamp set, available for one month only, for just $5—that’s over 70% off retail! When you place an order of $50 or more in Close To My Heart products, you qualify for this special Stamp of the Month pricing.
 In celebration of our Stamp of the Month program, we’re throwing in a little something extra: a 50% off stamp set! In November, when you place an order of $50 or more in full retail products and purchase the November Stamp of the Month set, Capture the Date, for just $5, you can pick any stamp set* at 50% off

Help those affected by Hurricane Sandy

To show our support of Red Cross relief efforts for those areas of the US severely affected by Hurricane Sandy, Close To My Heart will donate $1 for every Stamp of the Month set sold as a part of this promotion during November.

notes

By now you all know I have a thing for note pads or any kind of journals. This is one of the composition books cut in half. If you would like more info or to see what I am talking about see this older post here.
For the trim on this notebook I used some of CTMH's burlap ribbon and a scrap of old jeans that I had in my stash.

Super Star

This card style is great for all those scraps of papers left over. In addition to the scraps I added some silver glitter tape, fun!! For the main image I used 2 different stamps and a paper medallion. For the base image I used the Perfect Fit-Frames. This is a great stamp to have in your stash, not only does it work for just about any project but all the image also cut from the Cricut Artiste Cartridge. The star image comes from one of the stamps in the Cricut Artiste Bundle and you guessed it---the star also cuts on the cartridge. That means you can have this card done in no time at all!!

just for you

The Cricut Artiste Cartridge is great because it has several of what I call pocket cards. For example this card has a wrap around band and a wrap around sleeve creating a "pocket" for the card. And speaking of pockets how about that great pocket? I created that with a 2 step stamp called Rugged Dude .Head over to my website and order your Rugged Dude stamp-be sure to use the "I want to WIN" gathering so you will be entered to win great prizes!

I'm grateful for.....

This card is made from one of the die cut cards from my website and the Dakota paper pack.
Tip- I used hot glue to attach the twine bow, flower and pearl it seems to hold better and of course dries quicker.

Dakota Workshop Layout and 6 Cards

Dakota Card/Scrapbook Workshop
Class Date: Saturday Sept 17th
Time: 9:30 am
Place: My House
Please RSVP & Pre pay by Nov 5th
*Please bring standard class tool kit – Paper Trimmer, Scissors, and Permanent Adhesive


Cost: $29.95
Dakota Level 2 Paper Pack
Dakota stamp set
Black hemp  
Durable metal studs
Workshop booklet & Card directions
($35.00 including tax and shipping)

Fishing Shirt Tutorial

 I made this card for my Dad for his Birthday back in August!! The awesome shirt is cut with CTMH Artiste Cartridge. Below I show you the steps I used to make the vest. For the decor of the vest I used some older fish stamps for assorted sets and I hand drew some hooks. I add a little twine and some brown pearls to finish it off.

1st up I cut out 2 of the shirt patterns from the cartridge.

Next up I drew in the sleeves of the shirt and a v-neck for the vest.

After I cut the sleeve I used it as a pattern for the other side. Lastly decorate!!