Little ‘Thank You’ Notes…

This was a set of cards I made really quickly as I just wanted to play with this SS. I think it is a Hero Arts one. They measure 4x4 and were very quick and easy to make. I also made the little box. Just a simple fun project. Cardstock and inks all CTMH, waxy flax is CTMH, images colored with Copics and Sakura glitter pens.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. I worked all weekend and I am recovering today. Hopefully I will get around to visiting your blogs and looking at some art here soon…and leaving some comments. Thanks for all your wonderful comments.

I have great news…my husband was offered the job he interviewed for. We don’t have to move and can stay right where we are! We are overjoyed and so thankful that God provided for us.  Thanks for all your prayers!

On a Wii Fit note…owwwwww….this thing is the best $$ I have spent …I am blown away by how good it is. No wonder they were so hard to come by! I can hardly laugh without my abdominal muscles screaming (which means I must have used them). If you are considering buying this …go for it. My kids LOVE it, so does my husband…It is well worth it.

Have a great Monday!

Enjoy!

Unscripted Sketches #21

Here it is another Saturday and another Unscripted Sketch. You HAVE to head over to the Unscripted site and see ALL the DT work…there is LOTS of art to see with all the new DT members. This is a very simple card using new SS from CTMH Holiday Trinkets. Also note the new Glitter Brads up there in the corner of the card…they are sooo cute.

Supplies: White Daisy and Tulip CS CTMH, Holiday Trinkets SS CTMH, Glitter Brads CTMH, Tulip Ink CTMH, Fiskars Border punch, Red Sparkles CTMH, Pop dots.

I am at work all this weekend, but I will catch up with you guys Monday…can’t wait to see what you do with this sketch!

Enjoy!

Another Simple LO….

 

    

I cannot take full credit for this LO…my Awesome friend Jessica made it up at out retreat. I just embellished , added photos, and a title. I loved the colors …the blue reminds me of the blue of a winter sky…which is why I went with winter pictures. My Lo’s are VERY simple compared to the amazing creations I see from you guys…but they will do . I haven’t added journaling yet or names under the pics on the left page….but you see the main idea.

Supplies: Serendipity/die cut PP CTMH (no longer available) Cricut Storybook , ribbon and embellies all CTMH.

I just realized I don’t use any stamping on my Layous???? Go figure.

On a more positive note, pending a background check, my husband looks to have got the job he interviewed for yesterday!!! I can’t tell you the relief and thanks I felt. God has answered our prayers once again, we are so lucky!

I am determined to do better…to ‘do’ more for people…to live a better life. One of those promises I made to myself was to start exercising and eating better. All my life I have been thin…able to eat anything and not gain weight…about a size 2…then I entered my late thirties and had my 3rd child…pow…goodbye metabolism helloooo flab. It is everywhere! Nothing is where it should be. I am heavier now that when I was pregnant with my 9lb 4 oz first child!!!! I just let it slide day after day. Most people would say that my weight of 145lbs is just fine….BUT I am only just 5’5” and I have gone from a size 2 to a 8/10….that is too much for my frame. So maybe…just maybe, if I write it on here I will actually DO SOMETHING!!!! I bought a Wii fit……so we will see how this ends. I will try to keep you updated…if you are interested. :-)

Have a great Friday and Weekend! I will have a scheduled post for Unscripted Sketches tomorrow ..other than that I will probably see you all Monday as I am working this weekend!

Enjoy!

Grace Card Using Mojo Monday Sketch 101

 

This card was made using the Mojo Monday 101 sketch.  I really like this sketch as it made using some intimidating papers easy to use!  I do love these papers but I am having a hard time using them.  The flowers were stamped and cut out and popped up, the little leaves are CTMH’s heartfelt Die Cuts.

Supplies: Grace Lv 2 PP CTMH, Cocoa Ribbon CTMH, SS Delightful Things (I think) CTMH, gold brads CTMH, Inks CTMH, Foam Tape, Heartfelt Die Cuts CTMH.

I am glad everyone enjoyed the golf club covers LOL..And thanks for all the good wishes and prayers for my husband. It is 63 degrees here in Iowa and raining…the public schools returned today. Going shopping with my kids when most others are in school is always a weird experience….I almost always get a comment. Well that was a lot of rambling thoughts LOL I better quit while I am ahead ha ha.

Have a wonderful Thursday!

Enjoy!

CASE’d Christmas Card…..

As a DT member for Unscripted Sketches I get to visit some amazing blogs. One that I have recently discovered is Tasha’s Design World. She is SO talented. She did a Christmas card here for Mojo Monday and I HAD to CASE it.  Thanks Tasha for some amazing inspiration..you have to go see the card that inspired this one…it is so beautiful!

Supplies: Jingle lv 2 PP CTMH, Holiday Trinkets SS CTMH, Tulip Ink CTMH, gold cord..my stash…Cuttlebug and circle Nestibilities, gold Stickles, pop dots.

I had an extra ornament leftover so I made a REALLY simple Kraft card….

Inside it says Merry Christmas..I forgot to take a pic.

I have some news to share…and ask once again for your prayers. Today my husband is flying out to California to interview for a job! I am so hopeful, yet pessimist that I am (my glass is always half empty) I can’t help worrying. I am a HUGE believer in the power of prayer and ask you for your help (if you can.)

On a lighter note I watched a couple of hilarious movies  the last couple of days and have to share…The first one was ‘Ghost Town’ with Ricky Gervais (from The Office), and the second one was ‘New in Town’ with Renee Zellweger….(Palm beach FL meets small town Minnesota…CRACK UP!!)

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Enjoy!

Blogging Friends are The BEST…..

This card uses The new Sweet Home Papers from CTMH and I had fun making it….I also stamped and cut up a storm! I Love the little house stamps in this set!  It is the Neighborhood SS (set of 20) from CTMH.  The card is a 6x6 size . I didn’t have any buttons that matched the paper so I cut some paper and backed it on to some clear buttons with LG.

Supplies: Sweet Home Lv 2 PP CTMH, Neighborhood SS CTMH, Olive, Indian Corn Blue, Heavenly Blue and Garnet Inks CTMH, Waxy Flax CTMH, Clear Buttons CTMH….Foam tape and pop dots.

OK I have more to share with you…first, for the knitters out there among you, is a picture of the gift my Mom sent from the UK to my hubby. Hubby has recently taken up golf and he asked her to knit him some club covers! The stripes on the side denote the # of the club..I think LOL.

Aren’t they hilarious!!! He just loves them.

OK on to the reason for my blog post title….My heart was so lifted yesterday..even my hubby was impressed and it takes a LOT to impress him…As you know my hubby was recently laid off and I posted it on here. I have been struggling with good days and bad days and I asked for your prayers! Well in the mail yesterday came not one but TWO cards from people I call my blogging friends! I was SOOO heartened! Wonderful cards and messages from wonderful people. I hope they don’t mind me posting their cards here and names  in thanks! I can’t tell you guys how it made me feel.

This card from Alanna

and this card from Jeanne

I am blessed with some wonderful blogging friends..and I am so thankful! Also to all the people who offered to help when I thought I wasn’t going to get my catalogs! I am blown away by the kindness I have been shown!

The word ‘Thanks’ just doesn’t seem enough….now I have to sign off before the tears in my eyes start to run down my face….

Thanks!

Don’t Faint, I did a Layout…

I told you Jeanne, I had some pics like you posted recently!  I was shocked at how similar they were. These pictures were taken on a trip to Ledges State Park in central Iowa. We were there with my Mom and Dad who were over from the UK on their yearly visit with us. (they will be coming back Sept 14th!!! for nearly 4 weeks…my kids are SO excited)  It was a beautiful early Fall day and the kids spent ages building a dam in the stream.  I used the new Twitterpated Lv2 papers and My Stickease from CTMH.

Supplies:All CTMH… Twitterpated Lv2 PP , My Stickease, Buttons and ribbon…WOW I just realized no stamping!

I am feeling a little better today probably as it is a home school day and I have to be focused. I hope you are all having a great Monday.

The Unscripted DT call is now closed and I have added the new DT to my list on the sidebar…be sure to send them some love!

Enjoy!

Round Gift Bag….

This would be perfect for a house warming gift. On my little getaway my friend Jessica brought her Cricut Expression…with the Plantin’ Schoolbook Cartridge (I think)…and one of the things that this cuts are these CUTE little round gift bags. I used some of the new fall papers from CTMH called Sweet Home. I borrowed a bit from one of the images in the new catalog and this is what I came up with.

Supplies: CTMH Sweet Home Lv 2 PP, CTMH Welcome Home SS, CTMH Buttercup,Garnet,Heavenly Blue, and Indian Corn Blue Inks, CTMH Brads, some pop dots.

This was a ton of fun to make. Thanks Jessica for letting me use the heck out of your new Cricut!  I hope you are all having a wonderful Sunday, the weather here in Iowa is just beautiful.

On a personal front I find I am cycling through some major ups and downs…some days it doesn’t feel too bad and others it is like the weight of the world is pressing down on me. I don’t know if this is ‘normal’ in our situation, but I am having a hard time with these extreme mood swings. Ok, thanks for letting me unload once again. As the very wonderful Jeanne says if you lasted this long in the post thanks for listening.

Have a wonderful Sunday.

Enjoy!

Unscripted Sketches #20

Happy Saturday everyone, here is my card for this weeks Unscripted Sketch #20.  This one was a lot of fun…even more so as it uses the new SOTM from CTMH for September called Treasures. No patterned paper on this one :-), just some clear embossing!

Supplies: Olive, Colonial White, and Chocolate CS CTMH, Treasures SS CTMH, Olive and Chocolate Ink CTMH, Brad CTMH,  Versamark and Clear detail embossing powder CTMH, Lace from stash, Spellbinders Circle and Scalloped circle Nesties, Cuttlebug.

I hope you give this sketch a try, so many possibilities, and definitely go check out the rest of the DT’s work.  Have a wonderful Saturday and stay safe.

Enjoy!

A quick post with some artwork…

I was inspired to create this little  card box after seeing the fantastic one that Carla made over at Carla Creates.  In fact she did two..here and here…You HAVE to go over and check out her blog, she is SOOO talented. The link to the template is here. I don’t know what I did wrong but I had to enlarge the lid by 1/4 of an inch to get it to fit over the top of the box. Other than that it was very easy. This is supposed to be a card that is incognito as a box…great idea! My friend did one as a Halloween treat box..such a cool idea, and perfect to add a little candy inside.

Supplies: CTMH Bella Lv 2 PP, Colonial White CS CTMH, Fringed Phrases SS CTMH, Martha Stewart butterfly punch, CTMH Button.

I will have my Unscripted Sketches work posted early tomorrow, then  I will post some of the stuff I worked on while I was away. I even did some LO’s!!!! Thanks for checking in. Stay safe.

Ohhh BTW Unscripted Sketches is having a DT call so go check it out.

Enjoy!

Update:

This is for all those people who took the time to comment or email me privately with responses to my ‘need to vent’ post.

THANK YOU!!!!

WOW I was blown away. So many people offering to send me catty’s for FREE or for a reduced cost! Or just sending their support. What with my husbands job loss..this did seem like a kick in the teeth. I probably shouldn’t have posted that here BUT I was so frustrated. Anyways… My update is, I got back from camp/retreat today and in my inbox was a shipping noticefor the catty’s for today. So I should get my catty’s some time next week! I have found out through my upline that there were some medical emergencies in the family of the person involved and being away from internet, SOOOO I am glad I held back from naming any names. So now I feel like a big fat jerk! Oh well…moving on! I hope to be back tomorrow with some art to post. As for right now all my crafting supplies are in totes that need to be unpacked….sigh. Why is it when you go on a crafting retreat it is necessary to take EVERYTHING you own???? I want to say thanks to my two dear friends Janice and Jessica who accompanied me, supplied fellowship, good company and good food. My spirits were lifted.

I hope you have a wonderful Thursday!

Need to Vent….

OK,  I am sorry to let go here, but I am thinking this may be good ‘therapy’. If you read my posts you know that life has dealt my family and I a biggie and that I am trying to hang in there. However there is always the straw that broke the camel’s back and boy have I found that straw!

SOOO if you don’t want to read the whining  leave now.

OK here goes…. As a CTMH consultant we get to buy our fall catalogs a month in advance. Sometimes consultants get more catalogs than they need and will sell their extras to other consultants. I usually buy mine from CTMH but this year I thought I would save myself $8 and buy from a fellow consultant. I chose one who was in my ‘unit’ as I figured that would be a safe bet.  I emailed her that I wanted x # of cattys and she gave me a price. The next day I received a Propay request for the amount. I waited maybe 2 days (as the cattys had not even been shipped from CTMH at that point) then paid the balance with a little note at how excited I was to get them. 1 week went by. 2 weeks went by. I decided to drop said consultant an email asking if she had received payment and when she would be getting her catalogs and when she expected to ship them to me.

Nothing..nada..no answer.

So I sent her another one using a different method (remember she had  answered me at this same email addy previously and it is the one listed on the Propay receipt) . My emails were VERY upbeat…nothing negative about them. No answer.

SO I thought, maybe she is out of town…but I saw her posting on our unit Yahoo group loop and on the CTMH BB. Hmmmmm No answer to my email and NO CATALOGS. So I contact my unit director for advice and enlist her help. She gives me a home phone number….I leave a message…very nice and upbeat….NO ANSWER. I am getting a little upset at this time…but there could still be an reason so I take a deep breath. I am so wanting to be unprofessional at this point and BLAST the person in public. ( on the BB or on my unit group loop.) BUT I refrain as I know it is not the right thing to do. My unit manager calls the number for me and leaves a message, she also leaves a message for said consultant  on FB..again very upbeat! NO ANSWER.

I don’t know what to think. I am hoping this is all a big misunderstanding…but my gut is telling me that I am out some few dollars at a time when I need it most AND have NO catalogs to share with my precious few customers! I am sad, pissed off and amazed that someone would knowingly do this! How much time does it take to answer an email???  So maybe the upshot will be the cattys will arrive on my doorstep and that will be that…or maybe I have learned my lesson that not everyone in this world is as honest as you think. I probably should not of posted this…but sometimes venting is good! I have named no names and so no one is damaged…but I still hold out hope that doing the right thing  is the way to go. If you lasted to the end of this…then thanks for listening. You just don’t know how much your words of support, thoughts, and prayers mean to me. I feel like I have a whole bunch of friends out there!!!

I hope I get a lot of crafting done on my get-away…see you all soon.

Unscripted Sketches #19

Here is my version of Unscripted Sketches 19th Sketch. I love CAS cards, and I also wanted  to try a lollipop flower, this is the result. I hope you go check out what the other talented DT members came up with. This sketch is WIDE open for you to use your imaginations and I look forward to seeing what everyone comes up with!

Supplies: CTMH White Daisy CS, CTMH Animal Cookies PP, CTMH ribbon, button and hemp, Swiss dots Cuttlebug folder, CTMH Treetops SS.

I am working this weekend and then I am going on a little retreat with a couple of friends, so I will probably be MIA for a while. Thanks so much for all your kind words, thoughts, and prayers. Please know that they lift my spirits and warm my heart.  Thanks friends.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Enjoy!

Nutty Card…..

Here is a quick, no stamp card using some new products from CTMH. I am a big fan of their felt die cuts and these are some new ones. I didn’t have a lot of mojo and wanted to post something for you guys.

Supplies: CTMH Twitterpated Lv2 PP, CTMH Twitterpated My Stickease, CTMH Heartfelt Wonder, Cuttlebug, Spellbinders Nestibilities,

I just want to share with you, my cyber friends, that my family is going through some trying times and are in need of your prayers.  We have been dealt a hard blow and are still reeling. My husband, who is our bread winner, has been laid off. I know we are not alone in these times, and that a lot of American’s are struggling. I am praying hard and finding solace and courage in the words of Our Lord. My posts will probably be fewer over the next few weeks and  I just ask you to bear with me. Life is forcing me to reevaluate a lot of things.

Wishing you all a wonderful Thursday,

Enjoy!

Mojo and Pile It On Card….

OK so this is also for the Pile it On challenge which was to use NO patterned paper! The paper you see on my card is all cardstock that has been random stamped. I used  a Ketto image from Beth and some Ketto flower’s. The sentiment is CTMH. I used some Sakura silver glitter pen and a Copic marker for the image and flowers. My Flowers are stamped in Versafine Onyx Black and a Platinum ink I can’t remember the name of. Add a bit of CTMH ribbon and a TON of popdots and you are done.

Hope you like it!

Enjoy!