Bind It All Christmas Album

Good morning.....The photo is a sneak peek at a Bind It All Class that Karen and I will be co-teaching on December 11th. Check here for more information I'll give you a hint....if you love Pinkpaislee DP as much as I do....you'll love this album. For those of you who don't know.... Karen's eye for embellishing pages is fantabulous and she didn't let us down on this project. Stop by Paradise Scrapbook Boutique for a look at the finished project. It's Beautiful! Sign up early, space is limited and when I checked the class is filling up quickly. Check out Karen's website....there is a special on Bind It All's....and it's a great opportunity to save money while getting a tool that you'll use over and over. Off I go for now. It's cooking and freezing day! And it's a great day for it. It's been raining/snowing all morning.

Santa - PPA70 Sketch Challenge

Happy Day After Thanksgiving...Black Friday for those of you who braved the weather and the crowds. And now....It's count down to Christmas!

Paper Pal Arts Sketch Challenge was quite the challenge for me. I am happy with how this card turned out. This is a stand up card, the front measures 5 1/2 x 5 1/2. I used Pink Paislee - Father Christmas DP for all but the solid base. I used both the 6x6 sheets and the 12x12 sheets. My squares were cut using the Creative Memories punch in 1 1/4 and 1 1/2 inches. I used a one inch circle punch to punch out the small Santas and Spellbinders were use for the large Santa and all other die embellishments. I used Quiet Fire Rubber Stamps for the sentiment. The gold Santa and Christmas bells were purchased from Paradise Scrapbook Boutique, as were all the Designer Papers and the Spellbinder dies. Thanks Karen for always having beautiful papers and great products.

Check out Paper Pal Arts blog page....there's still time to play. Posting your creation is very easy.

I had to include this photo of the gold embellishments. I absolutely LOVE them. Off I go, I should be cleaning my living room and getting it ready for the Christmas tree....I think I shall move on to that project.

I Won

Wow, I won....I'm so happy.....and to have won Happy Tilda....what a win! I want to thank Bev at All The Things I Love for posting the chance to win and Heidi at Simon Says Stamp for offering such a wonderful prize. I'm excited to make a card using "Happy Tilda" and I will, but it may not be until after the holidays. At present, I'm (as most of the world knows by now) getting ready for grand kids and a great 3 weeks with all of them. Little Tilda is expressing how I feel now.....Very, Very Happy! Again.....Bev and Heidi.....THANK YOU!

Waiting For Santa

I'm getting really, really excited about Christmas. For those of you who follow my blog page...you already know! It's one month and 6 days and the first group will arrive from Australia. My grandson was here 5 years ago, my granddaughter hasn't yet made the long trip. We've been talking on Skype about Santa and I told her I have "magic" glitter that glows in the dark and on Christmas Eve we will spread it on the lawn so Santa can find her. I'm sending a sleigh I cut using my Spellbinder die and it is now covered with the "magic" glitter. I'm mailing the sleigh so she can put it under light and at night when she turns off the light, the sleigh will show her how special the glitter will be. My card will accompany the sleigh.

Now about the card......I'm taking a water color background class from Kim Teasdale, through My Creative Classroom. Our assignment for this week was to create clouds. This was a fun card to make. Thanks to Kim the background was much easier than I thought it would be. I stamped the trees, embossed them with clear embossing powder, stamped the moon and embossed it the same way. Using a cloud template (Kim's from class) and Vivid sky blue ink the sky was made! I stamped Santa and the reindeer onto water color paper, colored and cut it out. The patterned DP is from Pink Paislee - Daydream. The sentiment was created using my computer. All DP and card stock was purchased through Paradise Scrapbook Boutique.

I highly recommend My Creative Classroom as a great source for on-line craft classes. This is the second class I've taken from Kim. Her classes are well planned, the video portions are easy to follow. She supplies her students with print material and I've referred often to the material from her first class.

Last year I enrolled in Nan Paturzo's Bind-It-All Class. Another winner! I'm no longer afraid of the Bind-It-All and I use it often. Speaking of Bind-It-All.....Karen and I have joined forces to teach a Bind-It-All class. The album is beautiful....Karen has a way of turning paper into a master piece. Check out Karen's blog page to see the album. If she doesn't have photos up now, she will very soon.

Mojo Monday 164

Hello and Happy Wednesday Evening. I've been busy today working on my card classes for the next three months. In between, I worked on a card for Mojo Monday Challenge 164. I need a card for a very special person's birthday. I like the MMC layout....so, this card is for her. (Note: I can't say who "her" is....cause it's a surprise!)

After finishing the layout, I noticed I was missing something....well not really missing, but mine is not a square, it's a circle. Is that poetic license? The DP is from Creative Imaginations and Fancy Pants Designs. Of course I used Spellbinder and BossKut dies. Ribbon, pearls, DP, chalks are all from Paradise Scrapbook Boutique. This was a fun layout....Well on to my craft room to clean up my mess. Is everyone as messy as I am?

He's Such A Good Boy

Good Morning....this post has absolutely nothing to do with crafting...ok, maybe a little! Let me give you a bit of a back story....I am most creative in the early morning, and I'm a TV junky. I also love talk radio (which has nothing to do with this....but now you know!) The Today Show is my very favorite morning news/info/ entertainment show. Having watched the Today Show for years, my husband and I noticed a man who is in the crowd daily. We also noticed nearly every day he is wearing something different. We began looking for him and we began wondering about him. One day Merideth called him by name, Lenny.... it was so good to put a name to him. As time passes, Lenny is talked to or referred to more often.

Now...to the title..."He's Such A Good Boy".... my son is looking for work in New York, as well as visiting with friends. He's leaving to come home tomorrow and I asked him to go to the Today Show and tell Lenny how we enjoy looking for him in the crowd. While watching the Today Show, I took a photo of Lenny and emailed it to Dan. See, he's such a good boy....getting up early, braving the cold to get a photo and a chat with Lenny! Thanks Dan!

Long story short.....above are the photos Dan sent me of his meeting with Lenny..... and here's part of the email he sent me: Good morning mom, this morning I met up with Lenny. He is quite an institution here, apparently, with the staff of the show talking with him, including the hosts - as Meredith came out and she hugged him. Tourists/crowd/fans were coming up to him having their pictures taken with him. He was actually being interviewed by a reporter during the first hour of standing in the crowd. Now you all know Lenny too!

Dan went on to say he saw Russell Crowe as Russell was walking down the street. No photo of that though....Russell came and went in a flash....so the camera wasn't ready!

Today will be a fun day. Shopping for ornaments for the Ornament Exchange during the December crop and Holiday party.....fun, fun, fun! Tomorrow it is SOS day at Paradise Scrapbook Boutique....hope to see you there!

Later today I'll post some photos of a "men's birthday card". I have lots of them to make this month.

Christmas Bells and My Creative Classroom

Two posts in one day....I'm on a roll...

I'm taking a sponged background class through My Creative Classroom the instructor for this class is Kim Teasdale check out both the links. Previous to this class, I've taken classes from Kim. she is one of my favorite instructors. She prepares well for each class, gives great instruction and both her video instruction and written instructions are easy to follow. I refer back to her written instruction often. I'm a great fan of Tombow markers....she's a Tombow Marker Pro! This card was made using Lesson 1. A sweet little card...and one more Christmas card made.....yippee! I've enjoyed every class I've taken through My Creative Classroom. I've met great people, and the instructors are always ready to answer questions....If you're looking for a good way to pass the wet and cold winter days....give it a try.

What's Black-White and Red?

Here's a quick post. I made this card for my newest daughter-in-law. I like the combination of black and white and love to add bits of red. The sentiment was done on my computer. The butterflies and the borders are Martha Stewart, the card stock and bling were purchased at Paradise Scrapbook Boutique. I don't make this shape of card very often, I guess I'm always trying new things and don't get back to the old standards. I do like how it turned out.

With Sympathy

No one ever wants to make sympathy cards, however, as sure as there is birth, there is also death. This week Tracy's dad passed away suddenly. I work through sadness by making cards, during the process, I have time to reflect on how precious life is and how suddenly life changes. I also use the time to send thoughts and prayers to the family. So, Tracy, you and your family are in my thoughts and prayers, may the sadness you feel now, be replaced with happy memories of time you shared with your dad.

November Card Class

OMG....where has the year gone....in 46 days my grand kids, daughter-in-law and son from Australia arrive... I can hardly wait! Not too long after that, it's Christmas. Am I ready? No... My class in November will offer two more Christmas/Winter/Holiday Season cards. My goal for the classes has been to keep the cards flat to keep the postage down. If you took my October class you have 5 cards made and this class will move you closer to your goal for handmade Christmas cards. I hope to see you in class. Remember to contact Paradise Scrapbook Boutique to secure your place. The class fills quickly, so don't wait! Again, there will be no kits offered for this class. Class will begin at 1:00 PM on Tuesday - November 16th.

For those new to card making, you will learn to heat and dry emboss. You'll become familiar with the Sizzix Big Shot, Spellbinder dies, Cuttlebug embossing folders, Martha Stewart border punch and you'll be introduced to my new favorite stamp company Quiet Fire. Their Sentiments are beautifully created, they are already cut and ready for stamping. The quality is very high. Did I tell you.....I love them....

Off I go for now....more to come. Have a super day

Mary (AKA: Glitter Grammy)