Where have I been??

I have been far too lazy about my blog and my crafting in general. I have realized that this has also made me lazy and unhappy about other things...so I am making my commitment to get my focus back on the things I love to do most and to make myself and my passions a priority.

I am already working on the Halloween sour cream containers for DS's class. I also need to dive in and finish getting my scraproom back in order. It is far to out of control and not a pleasant place to be.

I also made a card and will get a picture posted soon! (And OKIE, I promise to get those magazines sent to you that I told you I was sending out a month ago! eekkk!)

Class Valentine's

Here are the Valentine containers I made for my son's class.

I made all the candy hearts from Wilton Candy Melts. There are 6 hearts (2 of each color) in each container.

The heart paper is from open stock at Michael's. I printed the tags on white cardstock from my computer and used a square punch to punch them out.

My Valentine for my Hubby

Here is the card I made for my hubby for Valentine's Day.

The card base is made from an embossed cardstock by DCWV from Joann's open stock. The blue cardstock and ribbon are American Crafts. The die cut hearts are Heidi Grace. The paper punch is "Mini Hearts" by Martha Stewart. The edges are inked in a cocoa brown and the "love" stamp is by Studio G.

My Amazing Friend

This is not craft related, but it is about a friend who also happens to be an avid card maker and scrapper.

Today I went to visit my friend at the hospital. On Wednesday she delivered her first child. I know millions and millions of women do this every year, but this was a very special birth.

She and her hubby had been trying for nearly 10 years (they never did IVF, just kept trying). What makes this even more amazing is that she was born with a heart condition and she has had 3 heart surgeries in her lifetime. The last one was just a few years ago.

Well she had a spectacular preganancy and surprised her doctors beyond words. She told me there were no less than 25 doctors in the delivery room as a pre-caution and she amazed all of them.

I happen to live in the same town as (and apparently just around the corner from) Nadya Suleman, the lady who delivered Octuplets just last week. This is all I have been hearing about in the news. Well, I happen to think my friend and the son she gave birth to, is a much bigger miracle.

When I held that beautiful (and I really mean beautiful for a newborn baby!) little miracle today, I couldn't control the tears...they just flowed. But, they were very happy tears...I was so happy my friend was finally going to experience the joy of motherhood and even more happy that God had taken care of her and her heart so she can be the wonderful mom I know she is going to be!

Birthday Card

Here is a birthday card I made recently.

The pattern paper is Crate Paper. The scallop dot punch is Martha Stewart Crafts. The flower is Prima. The buttons are craft supply and the ribbon is from Michael's. The edges are inked in Colorbox "Cocoa". The yellow card base is from Joann. I used Scrapper's Floss in "Red" to secure the buttons. The Happy Birthday rub-on is from American Crafts.

Another holiday card...just love candy canes!

Here is a card I made with a Candy Cane theme. The Ho Ho Ho printed cardstock is from the 2008 DCWV Xmas stack. I used the snow dots CB embossing folder on the white cardstock. The candy cane is stamped in white and I heat embossed it in clear. The ribbon is a silver grograin and the metal slide is from Making Memories. I used a corner rounder and nestabilities also. I inked the edges with silver ink.

Can't forget the Pets this season! (Updated)

I just LOVE the "sour cream containers" so much that I had to find other ways to gift them (specific directions are in an archive post on my blog).

What better to fill them with than "Scooby Snacks" (YES, there is such a thing!) for all the dogs we know!

I decided to try making them a little larger, since dog snacks are pretty big and I wanted to make sure I gave them more than 3 or 4 cookies.

I used a 6"x12" piece of paper for these (instead of the normal 4"x6"). The larger size actually came out pretty good. I found this dog bone paper at Michael's. I used a metal eyelet fo the ribon hole. I printed the text for the tags from my computer and used a tag shaped punch . I attached it with scrapper's floss.

I think they canine cousins and friends are going to be very happy!

Here is a picture of how much larger the 6"x12" size is versus the standard 4"x6" size.

Proof we ALL need a "Teddy" to hug!

Here is Kitman and his best friend "Teddy". He adopted this teddy bear when he was really little and hasn't let go of it since. He carries Teddy around the house like a mama cat by the nap of the neck and meows his loudest. The picture above is of him and Teddy napping on our bed not too long ago.

But, apparently, even the CAT thinks I take too many pictures around here because this is what he did after I snapped the first picture...gotta love him though!

Xmas Candy Containers

I am making these containers for a group my Mom belongs to. They are so fun and easy to make. I filled these with holiday color M&Ms.

I found the paper and coordinating ribbon at Michael's.

The How-To-Make instructions can be found in a blog post titled "Halloween Candy Containers" from early November.

First Holiday Card!

I made my first Christmas card last night. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. This is part of a set of cards I am selling to a friend.

The pattern paper is from My Mind's Eye, the cardstock is Bazzill, the brads are from M's and the snowflakes are made from the Martha Stewart 2008 Collectable Snowflake punch. I used Nestabilites rectangles for the sentiment insert inside. I also used the Making Memories Tag Maker and Punch for the rimmed tag on the front. I heat embossed the "Noel" stamped on the tag.

My Halloween candy containers

Here are the containers I made for Halloween treats for a few friends. They are so easy to make.

Here is what you will need:

One 4"x6" piece of printed paper (You can get 6 from (1) 12x12 piece)

Adhesive runner

Ribbon

Paper crimper

Hole punch

Small candy or goodie (i.e. M&Ms)

Run adhesive down the (2) long and (1) short side. Fold the short side over to the other short side (forming a toilet paper role like tube)and seal. Squeeze one end into a flat seam. Run seam thru paper crimper (about 1/4" inch (3-4 ridges). Fill 2/3 full, then squeeze together open end into a flat seam in the opposite direction of the other seam. Punch a hole in one seam and tie ribbon into a bow.

Happy Birthday to ME!!!!

Just 50 more minutes and it is my birthday! And I have decided I'm going to make it the best one yet. My DS and DH took me out to Downtown Disney and we had dinner at the Rainforest Cafe earlier tonight and we made a Cheetah at Build-A-Bear (of course, DS has already taken it to his room!). I'm having lunch with my SIL tomorrow and maybe even dinner out with my DS & DH again. It's going to be a great day!

Keep Your Fingers Crossed....

I'm still a little unsure about having sent the emails, but tonight I decided to finally try and submit some of my cards for publication in Cards Magazine. I sent them 3 submissions for the March 2009 issue. I'm not at all expecting to be chosen, but it would really make my year if I was! I submitted a baby card, a birthday card and a just for you card.

So keep your fingers crossed for me and say a little prayer :-)

Please Donate to a Great Cause

I have a cousin, Alexandra, who lives in Indiana. She is participating in the Indiana Down Syndrome Buddy Walk on October 11th. She was invited to particpate by a friend who's 10 month old son was born with Down Syndrome.

If you are able to donate to this wonderful cause, below is a link to her sponsorship page.

Thank you!

https://www.indianadsf.org/buddywalk/participant.cfm?type=indvd&userID=2901

Dieting

About 3 weeks ago, as a family we all decided to get healthier. DS has been doing at least 20 minutes a night on the treadmill for at least 6 months now so he has a jump on DH and I.

Well, as of this morning I have lost 7.5 pounds. That's not alot, but hey, at least it is something! I know most of it has to do with eating better and eating smaller portions. I have been trying to do my treadmill time everyday as well. We also got a Wii Fit and that is really fun too! If you burn calories laughing then we are even loosing weight just watching each other, especially when hula-hooping!

I hoping to drop another 30 pounds by Christmas. Wish me luck!