Almost The Weekend...

The 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.

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:-)

  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

Gone, But Not Forgotten

"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)

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

 
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.

 
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.

Getting into Gear...

  Just completed these two cards for another weekly challenge.  The theme for the 2 of Diamonds was "Circles" -- don't ask me to explain what I came up with! This just sorta "happened" on its own.  And the theme for the 3 of Diamonds was "White" -- which is quickly becoming my faorite theme to work with.

Been busy the past two weeks getting the girls ready for school.  Mandy had orientation over the weekend and finally started 8th grade today (she was so excited!).  Allie starts starts school next Thursday (the big 5th grader!).  I was able to get Allie's school supplies, uniforms and shoes in one day, but meeting Mandy's very strict dress code requirement took a few days. She's a teenager so all she owns are blue jeans. She's not used to wearing dress pants and a blazer!!! I still have some bits and pieces to gather together, but we're gettng through the lists. After two years of homeschooling seems we all have to make some adjustments! <sigh>

It's going to be a cold, rainy day here in NY and I was hoping to work on more cards for my deck, but am not sure if I will be able to.  I have chronic disc problems in my neck (it's acting up again) and am under doctor's orders to not do too much.  Luckily I have an amazing chiropractor so I should be back to normal soon!.  I was able to at move around much, much easier after one adjustment.  I'm far behind in most of my art commitments, but need to concentrate on getting the girls settled into their school routines.

Enjoy your day:-)

Alphabet ATCs

These are for an art deck I'm participating in.  The first card is "A" is for "All Alone".  I thought this image was so cute. It looks as if this child so desperately wants to play but no one is around to keep him company.  The second image is so strikingly beautiful, there really was no other title more fitting than "B is for "Beauty.  Well, two down, 24 more to go!

Midsummer Night's ATCs!

Wow, it feels great to be posting again. I almost forgot how much fun this is!

The summer has been flying by.  I can't believe it's August already.  It's been very hot and humid on Long Island, and we've lost power a few times here on the Neck.  Sean had to call and have a generator installed last week so we'd be prepared for another outage. 

Created these ATCs for Audrey's swap. I don't use children very often in my work, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I was so happy to find a few sweet images in my stash so I immediately started ripping paper and let everything fall into place. Needless to say, I had an absolute blast. I still have some finishing touches to put on them, which I will do tonight while I watch a movie with the girls.

Hope everyone is enjoying these lazy hot days of summer!

xoxo,
Cris