My Finished Project

I hope everyone had a happy and safe holiday!  My 4th was pretty quiet.  But I did get my project finished - just in time for the 4th of July!  I'm very pleased with it!

I used the CTMH Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge, cutting 2-1/2" and 2" flowers, which can be found on p. 69 of the Art Philosophy booklet (it's the flower made with the Shift key on that page). I want to thank Angela Jones Garcia for her project, which was my inspiration!

I was so pleased with myself that I thought I'd take this crafting 'high' and keep going with it - I'm already working on my NEXT project! While I like to scrapbook, I also like to make things - home decor or gifts.  I decided I wanted to find something different to work on and hit Pinterest for ideas.  I found some really neat silhouette ideas using scrapbooking paper and the light-bulb in my head went off and away I went working on the idea! It's going to take a bit, but... Stay tuned!

(Plus, I am expecting a box from Close To My Heart coming tomorrow with some really neat paper and other things in it! I found cute pics of Matthew to scrapbook, so I ordered this paper.  Can't wait to show you!)

Besides my crafting 'high' there is another impetus for me to craft - CTMH's annual convention is this week and unfortunately I won't be going.  I'm excited to see new things, but also VERY envious of my CTMH sisters that are attending!

Have a MARVelous time crafting everyone!

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

I have just tonight and tomorrow to finish the project I've been working on - yes, it's a 4th of July project!  Nothing like waiting until the last minute, right? But that is SO me.

I spent last week at a meeting in Washington DC.  I love the history of our country, learning about the people that shaped it.  I took an afternoon and headed over to the Smithsonian Portrait Gallery and looked at the paintings of all of our presidents.  Each painting had a brief story about the president - very intriguing!  Of course, there were other portraits and sculptures, and even non-portrait paintings.  I'm in awe of the talent of these artists.

A business trip leaves little time for being creative - and getting back home and back into my routine has held me back, too.  But July 3 is a day off, and the holiday is Saturday.  After cooking for a friend's 4th of July party & attending the same party - I plan on scrapbooking.

Oh, really, tell you something you don't know, right?  ;-)

I hope everyone has a really fantastic holiday weekend!  Perhaps the rain will hold off a bit so we can sit in dry lawns and watch fireworks in amazement!

When you have the chance: Have a MARVelous time crafting everyone!

OITNB, GoT, and CRAFTING

These are sheer indulgences for me! All of which I'm going to give in to tonight.

Orange Is The New Black - my son has binge watched Season 3 and keeps telling me it's soooo good.  If it's anything like Seasons 1 & 2 it has to be great. I'm going to start watching tonight.

Then there's the finale of this season's Game of Thrones. I started reading the books well into Season 2 and then played catch-up with the show. I'm addicted and happy my son watches - it gives me someone to discuss it with! Love it so much I'm planning on reading the books again, even though I haven't yet finished the last one. The last 2 episodes have been so awesome - can't imagine how they're going to get the finale even close! Definitely watching that tonight.

And crafting - I've got that in my plans tonight, too!  I love to craft and watch my shows together.  Keeps my mind and my hands busy (and keeps my hands out of the chip bowl!).

I've got a few more flowers to make for my project. Here's a before quilling and after photo:

I'm also planning on working on a scrapbook page. I've been gathering parts, pieces, & papers as well as ideas on what I'd like to do.  Stay tuned - I'll post the finished product soon!

In the mean time, gotta go get my laptop ready for my shows...  Have a MARVelous time crafting everyone!

A LITTLE LOOK

A friend of mine from CTMH has a fantastic creative mind.  I love the projects she comes up with. In anticipation of the 4th of July I decided to make one of her pieces.

Here's a peek at what I'm working on:

These are cut from the CTMH Art Philosophy cartridge.  I love making them!

I still have more to make, enhancements to add, and the project to build.  Stay tuned and...

Have a MARVelous time crafting everyone!

What I've Been Up To

Wow, does time go by fast!  I kept telling myself I needed to post on here, but every time I thought about it I realized I hadn't been very creative!  Well, I've been creative MENTALLY.


My daughter Melissa had a wedding to go to and asked me to make a wedding card.  The colors were yellow & gray.  I made a very simple card, using embossing for only the 2nd time.  I really love the texture it adds to cards - it can really take plain up a few notches to sophisticated.



After the wedding my daughter brought home one of the programs and I was so pleased to see that my heart embellishment actually matched the hearts used in the program!

Other than that card I've been kind of busy and hadn't had a chance to really sit down and do anything.  But this past Saturday I took care of that!

I started at 9 PM and was really productive! I managed to get 5 pages done in just a few hours.  I finished scrapbook pages for the Justin Timberlake concert that Melissa and I attended.

I found the cutest photo of my son Matthew and my Mom from when Matthew was 1-1/2 years old, so I scrapbooked that page.

I'm planning a more creatively productive June - I already started working on a Red, White, & Blue project.  What are you working on?  Upload pics... and you just might find yourself the lucky winner of a little CTMH gift pack!

Have a MARVelous time crafting everyone!

Hope You Are Celebrating!

The group of ladies I scrapbook with every month held an all day crop on Saturday, May 2nd, which just happened to be National Scrapbooking Day.  I envy them for getting to craft all day! I couldn't be there - I was attending my cousin's fiancee's bridal shower, but I am really happy I went.

Of course, attending an event like a bridal shower means a present or two.  I did get them gifts off their registry, but of course I had to craft!

Clear Scraps had a booth at the recent Memories Expo in Columbus, OH and I found these really cool chipboard books you can put together, customized to your needs and desires.  I bought one, found out the wedding colors, and went crafting away!

 

 

 

 

I'm quite pleased with the result! The cut-outs (frames, embellishments, and tags) are from Close To My Heart's Art Philosopy and Artbooking Cricut cartridges.

What I love about these chipboard books is knowing that I can order the letter pages from www.clearscraps.com anytime!

I also couldn't just buy a card... Those cute little hearts are from CTMH;s Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge, and the sentiment is from one of their stamps (customized a little).

While I was hoping for a good reaction to the book, I certainly didn't expect Jen (the Bride-to-Be) to cry a little, but she did! And she sent me a special thank you text saying that she and Eric (cousin, Groom-to-Be) couldn't stop looking at it! I'm so happy they like it - I really enjoyed making the album!

And... if you didn't get to celebrate National Scrapbooking Day - you still have time to! Because May is actually National Scrapbooking Month!! So get going!  And please, feel free to post a pic to this blog.  You may just get a surprise thank you from me!!

Have a MARVelous time crafting everyone!

HAPPY MAY DAY!

Have a MARVelous time crafting (or May-pole dancing) everyone!