Friday, September 29, 2006

Almost The Weekend...


Cotmsept2The weather can't make up its mind today. We've had rain, clouds, sun, an ecelctic mix of just about everything except snow!   


Anyway, Allie's home from school today with a sinus infection (and she's NOT happy -- she loves school!) so while she was napping I decided to work on a few things.  This card is for a monthly online swap.  I used 7Gypsies papers, lots of rub-ons, and some Karen Foster and Making Memories stuff.  Not sure where the image is from but it looks like it may have been from an old Paperwhimsy sheet. I tend to cut up a bunch of stuff at once to see if it will work on a piece, so I have a lot of loose images floating around. If I can nail down the source, I'll post it!  The three pages below are from a book I'm working on. Again the paper and board book are 7 Gypsies, (from one of Regi's kits), and the images shown here are from Paperwhimsy and Paper Bag Studios.


Littlewomen1 Littlewomen2 Littlewomen3


Wow..it's good to be busy. I actually feel as if I'm accomplishing something (although my house is a complete disaster as a result!)  Off to check on Allie...Enjoy your weekend:-)

Wednesday, September 27, 2006


Findpeaceatc_2  I know it's been awhile..I've been super busy with some cool projects (can't bring myself to talk about them now, but will keep you posted). I was actually going to shut my blog down because I'm so bad about posting, but I know I'd regret it sooner or later.


So check it out...my friend Rande has her blog up and running.  That girl can do some serious art! You have to stop by and visit her. After I saw one of her collages I immediately ordered these  cool papers and let me tell you, they are to DIE for.  Awesome! Awesome!  Thanks for the heads up Rande.  And I'd love it if you'd say prayers and keep good thoughts for Nancy's son Andrew, who may be headed over to Iraq in the next few months. Why do they have to be so young?   Nancy is a talented artist and a real sweetie pie.  I'm wishing her and her family all the best.  And hopefully you all had a chance to see Traci Bautista on DIY Network's  new show "Craft Lab".   I almost missed this myself but thank goodness Audrey told me about it in a knick of time and I was able to tape the show.  Traci is incredibly talented and shared some amazing techniques.   If you missed the show, you might want to consider ordering her DVD from here.  You can also check out Barbara's blog for a few examples of the techniques she learned from a recent class with Traci.


More later when I finish up a few swap pieces I've got going...xoxo

Monday, September 11, 2006

Gone, But Not Forgotten

September11002_1 "I’m proud to be an American where at least I know I’m free.
And I won’t forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.
And I’d gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today.
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land...
        God bless the U.S.A."
(lyrics by Lee Greenwood)

Wednesday, September 6, 2006

Learning Something New Every Day...

The internet is amazing, and while I possess no technical savvy, I confess that I am completely addicted. I have met the most amazing, friendly and talented people through my online experiences. And now with the popularity of blogging, I have been able to reconnect with old friends while making even more new ones. Totally bliss! One of these wonderful people is Regina Casner, owner of ReDdiva. Regina is a very talented scrapbooker, who has been slowly but surely turning me on to the importance and beauty of this incredibly popular hobby. I'm still exploring where I fit in with this, but I'm beginning to try things and wanted to share this "Mom Moment" with you. I made this mini-album for my daughter Amanda using Regina's August project kit.  I really struggled with this because I was in "altered book" mode and it wasn't looking very altered. Finally I was so desperate to just "get it done" that I dumped all the contents of the kit on my kitchen table and started cutting and pasting away. I also grabbed a few items from my own stash to use. Needlessly to say, I got through it (thankfully the kit comes with instructions and samples to get you going) and actually enjoyed the process, even if I still  wasn't too crazy about the results.  Well, all worries were set aside when I finally gave Mandy the album. Just seeing her reaction was cause enough for me to realize that I had this all wrong. I was so concerned about what it would look like instead of what it represented.  It meant so much to her that she had her own little keepsake of this special time with her friend. In the end it didn't matter how "artsy" it looked..what did matter was the memories it contained.  <sigh>another lesson learned from my teenage daughter!  xoxo, Cris


9746702_1 
The flower, album, chipboard alphabet, ribbon, paper, and most embellishments came with the kit. I cut the album, as per Regi's instructions into a tiered, gatefold style, and used the kit stuff to finish it. Collage images are from my stash.


  Sleepoverpages1112
just one page out of 14! The blank squares with stamping across them are actually journaling blocks from Heidi Swapp. I left these blank for Mandy to complete in her own handwriting.