Sunday, December 10, 2017

Snowflakes

We woke up to a winter wonderland Friday morning!

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This doesn't happen often in Louisiana! No school for the parish and my Facebook feed was jam packed with pictures and video of "sneaux day"! The sun came out at lunchtime, but there were still a few Frosty the snowmen still standing at the end of the day.  I think it put all of us in the Christmas spirit!

I still haven't decorated my house yet, but I did make a Christmas card or two!

[caption id="attachment_12254" align="aligncenter" width="3161"]CIC 435 003E Just for Fun Rubber Stamps Sketchy Snowman and Snowflakes sentiment. Club Scrap® card stock.[/caption]

Today starts a new theme challenge at Cupcake Inspirations!

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This week's sponsor is Poppy Stamps and they are generously donating a $20 gift certificate to our randomly chosen winner!

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Make something festive and link up for a chance to win! I'll look for you in our gallery!

CIC Sweetie Signature
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Monday, December 4, 2017

It's Candy Cane Season!

It took a long time for peppermint to grow on me. My Memaw and Papaw kept a dish of starlight mints on their coffee table during Christmas. My sister and I would see it and think, CANDY! After it melted a few minutes in our mouths, we would spit it out like it was on fire. Too spicy! It's a childhood term. I get the biggest kick out of kids and their simple observations of the world. Peppermint, spearmint, peppers, cinnamon, etc. goes in the category of "spicy". My son, Jake, actually liked peppermint when he was little. He would crunch on a mini candy cane, eyes watering, swallow and then huff in your face and ask how his breath smelled! I would always say, "WOW, it smells just like Christmas!"

These were my favorite peppermint sticks.

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My Grandma Judy would have these in a Santa mug on the living room table for the grand kids. I would dip them in my hot cocoa. They were crumbly and easy to chew. I feel sure that's why I had so many cavities! I bet there is a picture of us somewhere pretending like we are smoking cigars...

What kid can resist these? I remember tearing open the ends and taking a lick of each to find out what flavor they were.

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In honor of "candy, candy canes, candy corn and syrup"...my first Christmas card of the season!

[caption id="attachment_12242" align="aligncenter" width="3456"]002E JFF Rubber Stamps Candy Canes, Stamptangle Christmas Trees images and The Best Things in Life sentiment stamp. Club Scrap® card stock.[/caption]

I didn't stop there! I found a cute wreath on Pinterest using real candy canes.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/292171094560488607/

Of course I had to make one out of paper!

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I stamped the candy canes image numerous times, colored with Spectrum Noir alcohol ink markers and trimmed with detail scissors. To create the heart shapes, I did some mirror image stamping on a piece of smooth rubber and pressed the paper evenly over the top. It worked like a charm!

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I glued the tips of the candy canes together and dipped each heart in melted UTEE using my poor neglected Melting Pot. It gave the pieces a glassy hard candy look, but dang that process is messy! I stamped the large stamptangle star with some gold glitter embossing powder, heat set and trimmed with detail scissors and hot glued all the pieces together. Now, I need to get motivated to decorate for Christmas!

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There's a new monthly challenge at Just For Fun Rubber Stamps and the theme is ANY HOLIDAY!

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Stamp a card, tag, ATC, mixed media project, etc. celebrating your favorite holiday for a chance to shop at jffstamps.com.  You don't have to use a JFF stamp, but if you DO you will receive a 2nd entry into the drawing doubling your chance to win!

Make something festive and link up! I'll look for you in our gallery!

Wendy Signature JFF DT1

CHALLENGES ENTERED:

Pile it On Challenge #137 ~Non Traditional Christmas Colors

Hiding in My Craft Room #329 Christmas Colors

Scrap and Craft Inspiration #10 Anything Christmas

Club Scrap 12-2017 Card Sketch Challenge

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Tuesday, November 28, 2017

How About a Pizza Pie?

Trattoria Blog Hop

Welcome to my stop on the Club Scrap® Trattoria Blog Hop! If you started on the Club Scrap blog, then you know this is the last blog hop for the Club Scrap Artist Team. I have been a member of Club Scrap® for many years and being a member of the Artist Team was just the icing on the cake for me. This has been such an awesome experience and I am so honored that I was a part of it! Molte grazie Club Scrap® !

This month's kit is the ultimate kit for foodies. After seeing these stamp images, I had to go with a pizza theme for my project!

[caption id="attachment_12231" align="alignnone" width="600"]1117jumbsq Trattoria Jumbo Unmounted Stamp Set[/caption]

I found this printable pie box template and my creative juices started flowing...or maybe I was just hungry!

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How about a pizza pie?

[caption id="attachment_12222" align="alignnone" width="4217"]002E Card stock and wooden die cut from the Trattoria Deluxe kit. [/caption]

Of course I had to fill the box with something!

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I enlarged the pie box template to fit on a 12x12 sheet of card stock and designed some pizza slice shaped cards to fit inside. I made a set of four cards, but there is plenty room for more!

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Card #1

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I stamped the plain side of the green printed card stock with images from the Jumbo Unmounted stamps. I stamped a collage of cheese wedges with Fossilized Amber Distress Oxide Ink and stamped an extra wedge onto cream plain card stock. I fussy cut the tiny image, punched holes with a piercing tool for effect and added it to the card front with a foam square. The sentiment and edges are stamped and inked using Club Scrap Earth ink.

Card #2

[caption id="attachment_12226" align="alignnone" width="3456"]015E Trattoria Grazie Stencil, jumbo fork charm and mini bows.[/caption]

This little googly eyed chef made an appearance on a card I made a few weeks ago. I liked him so much I had to make another one! Who would argue with an Italian chef holding a fork?!

Card #3

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Yeah, I know the print is upside down...wanna pizza me? This card features the pizza stamp image from the Jumbo Unmounted set and a sentiment from the Greeting Unmounted set. I colored the stamped image with colored pencils and cut the heart out with a craft knife (that sounds like a Mafia crime scene!). I added a piece of dark brown card stock to the back and adhered with foam tape.

Card #4

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This one was fun! I selectively inked the fork portion of the tri-panel collage stamp with a Perfect Medium pen, stamped on the edge of the card stock and heat embossed with silver embossing powder. I found some yellow waxed linen thread and stitched some "spaghetti noodles".  That Jumbo Unmounted sentiment cracks me up!

Your next stop on the hop is Kelly's blog! Be sure to check out what the rest of the Artist Team has created by beginning on the Club Scrap blog  where you'll find the full list of bloggers.

Do more of what makes you happy!

Wendy Signature with CS artist team

SUPPLIES USED:

I link to sources for your convenience. Affiliate links used at no extra cost to you.

Trattoria Deluxe Kit

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Trattoria Jumbo Unmounted Stamps

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Trattoria Greeting Unmounted Stamps

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Trattoria Grazie Stencil

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Club Scrap Earth Ink

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Monday, November 27, 2017

My Soul Mate

Twenty-seven years goes by fast.

[caption id="attachment_12216" align="aligncenter" width="421"]Image38 Chris and Wendy November 24, 1990[/caption]

We've moved seven times, had three dogs, two babies, graduated from college, had 7 different jobs between us, bought our first house, bought our first car, raised our boys and here we are. There are still so many firsts to experience. Sometimes I feel like we are just getting started.  Our life isn't just a merry go round, it's the Tilt a Whirl and Texas Cyclone all rolled into one. Would I ride it again? In a heartbeat! I have a forever pass and I'm never getting off!

[caption id="attachment_2918" align="alignnone" width="960"]group-pic-in-aspen It's so hard to get him to take a normal picture! [/caption]

We don't usually go crazy celebrating our anniversary. We do things together, and for each other, all the time. I do like to make special things for him. He likes my handmade creations. He never balked when I wanted the spare bedroom as a craft room. He even bought me work tables and put them together so that I would have a place to spread out. He says that my artwork will be here long after we are gone and that kind of legacy is more precious than something you can buy. He knows how to break me down like a fraction!

So, what do I get for the man who gives me everything I've ever wanted or needed for the last 27 years? A little piece of my heart.

[caption id="attachment_12215" align="alignnone" width="3456"]005E Lawn Fawn sentiment from the Say Cheese stamp set, Club Scrap® stamp image and sentiment from the Delft kit. Club Scrap® card stock.[/caption]

Today's post is part of the Cupcake Inspirations color theme challenge #433.

CIC 433 Inspiration cupcake photo

My mini "Ram's Horn" maze booklet was made using the A♠ card formula from the Club Scrap® ALCM Idea Deck Vol. 2. This is such a great tool when I need a little inspiration! The cutting and assembly instructions are listed on the back of each card. I love that the only thing I have to think about is picking out complementary card stock! CIC 433 003E

I thought it would be nice to make this tiny book an ornament to hang on our Christmas memory tree. Our Christmas ornaments are priceless little treasures and I have a story to go with every single one. Decorating the tree is my favorite part of Christmas!

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I plan to fill the tiny pages with "sweet nothings", but there are so many things you could fill this little book with. The decorating possibilities are endless!

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Cupcake Inspirations is sponsored this week by Freckled Fawn, and they are generously providing a $15 gift certificate to our randomly chosen winner!Freckled Fawn

https://youtu.be/1mn3yI68O8Y

Make something using our color theme and link up for a chance to be picked as one of our sweet six and a lucky number seven! I’ll look for you in our gallery!

CIC Sweetie Signature

SUPPLIES USED:

I link to sources for your convenience. Affiliate links used at no extra cost to you.

Club Scrap Delft Greeting Unmounted Stamps

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Club Scrap ALCM Idea Deck Vol. 2

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Thursday, November 23, 2017

Where the Wild Things Are

Welcome to my stop on the Club Scrap Artist Team Challenge Blog Hop! Today I’m utilizing elements from some of Club Scrap®'s digital kits to create a few “mash up” scrapbook layouts of our Thanksgiving adventure at Red Dirt!

I loved going to Red Dirt when I was growing up. I have such fond memories of those Sunday afternoons with a bucket of Popeyes chicken, all the fixings and an ice cold coke. We'd run around the hills like heathens while mom and dad napped on a blanket at the picnic site. I always like to have a "fun" day with my nieces and nephews when they come for the holidays.  This year, I decided to turn them loose at Red Dirt. The weather was gorgeous and chilly enough for a sweatshirt. I packed hotdogs, ingredients for s'mores and hot chocolate to cook over the campfire. No toys, no electronics...except for the car ride!

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We started out at the Kisatchie Bayou Complex. The creek was the perfect place to explore!

[caption id="attachment_12176" align="alignnone" width="864"]Red-Dirt-1 Club Scrap® Adirondacks, Oopsie Daisy, National Parks and Trees digital kit elements. Layout sketch from the London Calling monthly layout card.[/caption]

They all "oooohed" and "ahhhhed" over the cliff looking down into the creek and when we climbed down they all thought it was so beautiful. Haylan and Kyle found a rope swing hanging from a tree on the bank. They ended up with damp shoes, but I was impressed with their rope swinging skills! That water was cold!

[caption id="attachment_12175" align="alignnone" width="864"]Kisatchie-Bayou Club Scrap® digital elements from Get the Picture, National Parks, Adirondacks, and Trees. Layout sketch from the Reunion monthly layout card.[/caption]

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Millie entertained herself drawing in the sand with Ellie. They drew a hopscotch court but spent most of the time looking for rocks to use as markers.

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Jake took these two crazies on an adventure that their moms probably wouldn't approve of, but that's what makes it fun!

[caption id="attachment_12177" align="alignnone" width="864"]Red-Dirt-2-RZ Club Scrap® Comfort Zone, National Parks, Adirondacks, Oopsie Daisy and Trees digital kit elements. Layout sketch from the London Calling monthly layout card.[/caption]

We hiked the Longleaf Vista Nature Trail and they hung out on the butte for a while admiring the sunset. Kyle found a bunch of half burned emergency candles and stuffed them in his pockets. I balked when he wanted to bring them with us, but we actually used them later when the sun went down!

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That's a good lookin' crew!

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Jake said we had to have one with Aunt Wendy too!

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These are last three pics on my camera before I hyperextended my knee. I climbed down the side of the butte to snap these and stepped in a hole. Thankfully I had my walking sticks. If only I had used them. Yay me...

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The kids ran back to the campsite to tell Chris what happened while Jake helped me limp back. Deep down they are really worried about me.

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Uncle Chris let Kyle chop firewood with a machete and start the fire while Aunt Wendy cringed a little bit. You gotta learn sometime, right?

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The kids had a blast burning their marshmallows for s'mores and drinking hot cocoa by the fire.

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They had the full nature experience! We even had a doe run across the road in front of us when we were leaving the park! Lots of screaming ensued with excited comments of seeing eyes in the woods, until they all passed out in the back seat. Oh, and I made the mistake of telling Kyle a ghost story on the way home and scared him, even though he begged me to tell it. Well, he begged me! I sure do love those kiddos!

This month’s challenge is to utilize items from at least three past Club Scrap® collections. The kits I used today will be listed in the supplies list below. If you happened to miss out on some of Club Scrap’s paper kits, you should really check out all the corresponding digital kits! All you need is your computer and a software program that works with layers, JPG and PNG file types. Club Scrap®  recommends Adobe’s Photoshop Elements (tutorials are geared to this program) and GIMP (a free alternative program). Click here for a quick video tutorial on using GIMP with Club Scrap’s QDDLs. I won’t lie to you, there is a bit of a learning curve when using digital scrapbooking kits. But once you’ve mastered the basics, learning new techniques is easy AND you can print your projects and use the kit elements over and over. If you can do it with paper, you can do it with these digital scrapbooking kits! Click here to receive a free mini digital kit download and try it out for yourself! Be sure to check out what the rest of the artist team has created by beginning the hop on the Club Scrap blog!

Do more of what makes you happy!

Wendy Signature with CS artist team

DIGITAL SUPPLIES USED:

I link to sources for your convenience. Affiliate links used at no extra cost to you.

Page Layout Sketches

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Club Scrap Adirondacks Digital Kit

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Club Scrap National Parks Digital Kit

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Club Scrap Comfort Zone Digital Kit

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Club Scrap Get the Picture Digital Kit

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Club Scrap Oopsie Daisy Digital Kit

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Club Scrap Trees Digital Kit

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