Happy Holidays Everyone!

I just realized I never posted my Christmas card for this year.

Credits: All papers, ricrac, and Joy stamp from A Merry Little Christmas by Michelle Coleman
Stitching from Girl Next Door Stitches by Christy Lyle
Flower from Flower Parts Bright by Flergs

My Tumbler Insert

I finished MY tumbler insert today (still need to print it out). This was a lot of fun to do - it has pictures of the most important people in my life (DH, DS, DDIL, cat, and dog).

Credits: Background paper from Eat Your Greenz by KSharonK Designs
Bottom paper from True Romance by Michelle Coleman
Stick pin from Mudd Pie by Manda Bean
Word strips from Label Me by Penny Springmann
Red daisy from Art Inspiration by Michelle Coleman
Green and yellow flower from Flower Parts Bright by Flergs
Ribbon from Twisted Up by Miriam Lima

I feel better today. I also finished binding one of the two quilts that need binding. I hope to work on the other one Wednesday. Tomorrow (Christmas day) my DS and DDIL will come over in the morning for breakfast and presents. Then in the afternoon we'll go to DDIL's parents' home for a late lunch. It should be a nice day.

Blech!

I've had a bad cold the past few days, so I haven't felt like doing much. I have 2 quilts I really want to get bound, but I just don't have the energy. Yesterday, I squared up one of the quilts, made a label and a hanging sleeve. Today I basted the sleeve and label to the back of the quilt, cut the binding, and sewed it together. Maybe tomorrow I'll put the binding on the quilt. Normally I get all of this done in just a couple of hours, but when it wears you out just to breathe, it's hard to get much done!

I worked on the insert today for my mug - I think it's almost done. I just have to decide if I need to add anything else.

Decorating

We finally put our tree up the first part of the week. My cat's new favorite place is under the tree. I know this isn't the best picture - I think the camera focused on the ornament in front of the cat instead of on the cat, but it's the best I can do at the moment. I made both the tree skirt and the ornament you see part of in the picture, btw.

New Layouts

Over the past week or so, I've finished several layouts. Only one of them is a traditional layout - all of the others are inserts for the Create Your Own Tumbler you can buy at Starbucks. They are all gifts, although I also bought one for myself. I just haven't gotten to my own yet.

First up is the actual layout. This is a photo from the wedding of the daughter of one of my friends.



Credits: Red paper from Remember When by The DigiChick Design Team
Left Paper strip from Classic by Eve Recinella
Scallop Paper from Food of Love by Jen Caputo
Bottom Paper from Puppy Paws by Heather Roselli
Red flower by Michelle Coleman
Word from Love by Vera Lim
Ribbon from Winter Wonderland by Michelle Coleman
Clip from Love Ya Muchly by Jennilyn Designs
Template by Shari Barnes

Now for those tumbler inserts I mentioned. First for another friend - pictures of her grandson.



Credits: Sweet label from Label Me by Penny Springman - Sweet Shoppe Designs
All Boy from Boyz World by Eve Recinella - Sweet Shoppe Designs
Like Father Like Son from Simple Sayings - Boy by Eve Recinella - Sweet Shoppe Designs
Dog stamp and chipboard circle from Puppy Paws by Heather Roselli - Sweet Shoppe Designs
Bottom paper from Shell Seekers by Jeri Ingalls - Scrapbook Elements
Top paper from Dreams Collection by Katie the Scrapbook Lady - Scrapbook Lady Designs

The next tumbler is for my son.



Credits: Background from Collingwood by Eve Recinella
Bottom paper from It’s a Guy Thing by Michelle Coleman
Heart from The Gazebo by Amber Clegg
Gold star from Frameworks by Cindy Simon
Today wordart from Cinnamon Tea by Peppermint Creative
Happiness definition from Shabby Smiles by Shabby Princess
Memories wordart from Simple Sayings by Eve
String tie from Organic by Miriam Lima

Next one is for still another friend - pictures of her kids.



Credits: Jumpring from Twist of Lime by Mari Koegelenberg - Snap and Scrap
Heart charm from First Love by Sandra Boddington - from Sweet Shoppe Designs
Precious definition from So Sentimental by Zoe Pearn - Sweet Shoppe Designs
Folded flower from Bingo by Kim Christensen - ScrapArtist
Red flower by Michelle Coleman - from Art Inspiration Collection
Staple, family tag, memories tag, stitches from Label Me by Penny Springman - Sweet Shoppe Designs
Top paper by Jomi Van Bekkum from Daydream by Jomi Van Bekkum and Eve Recinella - Sweet Shoppe Designs
Bottom paper from Marmelade by Eve Recinella - Sweet Shoppe Designs

And finally, this last one is for my daughter-in-law.



Credits: Background paper from Organic by Miriam Lima
Love definition from So Sentimental by Zoe Pearn
Bottom paper from Lucky You by Cindy Simon
Journaling rectangle from Stained Doodle Shapes by Eve Recinella
Wordart from Day to Remember by Sara Carling
Green flower from Summer Celebration by Diane Rigdon
Blue folded flower from Bingo by Kim Christensen
Hanging heart from Page Bracelet II by Cindy Simon
Jump Ring from Taste of Lime by Mari Koegelenberg

ETA: I see that I failed to give credit to Patty Knox for the template. It is free, and it can be found here. After making one insert, I scanned the paper that came inside the tumbler and modified the template slightly for a better fit - but I really do mean slightly. The template works fine as is.

Holiday Decorating

I've just been looking at Christmas decorations on blogs. I have had a really hard time getting into the spirit this year. I usually enjoy decorating for the holidays. I love my ornaments, since many of them are hand made - some by me, some by friends, some purchased. But we still don't have our tree up yet, and I really don't know when we will. But I did finally do some shopping today - and I feel much more prepared now. I even wrapped several presents tonight - just don't have a tree to put them under yet! Maybe this weekend. And I did get my DH to put up my Santa quilt on Saturday.

My DH has been out of town since Sunday, elk hunting in the Wichita Mountains of Oklahoma. It is a once-in-a-lifetime hunt (literally), because you have to put your name in to a drawing, and once you're drawn for it, you're ineligible to be drawn again. He's been putting in for the drawing as long as I've known him I think. Several years ago, they made a change so that for each year you put your name in and weren't drawn, you'd get an extra entry the next year. So he finally got drawn this year. He was SO excited when he was notified. He hasn't gotten his elk yet. At least he saw several today. He has one more morning to hunt - the hunt ends tomorrow at noon.

Memories of Alaska

I finally finished this quilt yesterday. I started it sometime after we went to Alaska in 2002; I then set it aside to work on something else, and all of a sudden, several years went by! But I'm really glad in one way that I didn't finish it a few years ago - because my quilting has improved so much that it is really much better now than it would have been then. The pattern is by McKenna Ryan.

From Our Blog To Yours

Another fun quiz - not too far off for me:

What Your Handwriting Says About You

You are a fairly energetic person. You know how do pace yourself, and you deal well with stress. You are somewhat outgoing, but you're not a natural extrovert. You think first before you act. You tend to be independent, rational, and logical. You are balanced and grounded. You know how to get along well with others. You need a bit of space in your life, but you're not a recluse. You expect people to give you a small amount of privacy, and you respect their privacy as well. You are a free thinker. You are unique, open minded, and artistic. You don't care what other people think. You are a decent communicator. You eventually get your point across, but sometimes you leave things a bit ambiguous.

What Does Your Handwriting Say About You?

Friends & Family (more wedding photos)

I finished this layout yesterday. I was reading on Jen Caputo's blog a few days ago that she had a new sketch collection done but she needed to get one more sample layout done before she could share them. I commented that if she sent me the sketch I could get a layout done for her, and she did! I was thrilled to be able to help her out - plus she sent me a coupon for the whole collection - WOOHOO! I love Jen's templates - I have almost every one she's ever done, and I use them a lot. It makes putting together a layout so much easier.

Credits: Template by Jen Caputo.
Papers from Beachcombing (background and title block) and ShellSeeker (circles) by Jeri Ingalls, Organic (journaling) by Miriam Lima, True Romance (scalloped strip) by Michelle Coleman, and Pacific (straight strip) by Sara Amarie.
Title - Distressed Alpha Brushes by Michelle Coleman.
Cardboard heart - Love by Vera Lim.
Open heart - True Romance by Michelle Coleman.
Stitches - Mega Stitch Pack by Christy Lyle.
Buttons and string tie - Organic by Vera Lim.
Flower by Dianne Rigdon from Summer Celebration kit.

Here's the whole collection:

What American Accent Do You Have?

This is the most accurate quiz I've done yet - I found it on Katie the Scrapbook Lady's blog.

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.
Philadelphia
The Inland North
The South
The Northeast
The West
Boston
North Central
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Asian Charm Quilt

I just finished this quilt this morning. Although I enjoy quilting now (I didn't used to - I've always loved piecing), I still don't quilt bed-size quilts myself. So I had this one quilted by a professional long-arm quilter. I really like what she did. I got it back last week, and finished binding it this morning.

Marmot

Journaling: "During our hike to Gebhart Mountain, Glen stopped to fish along the stream. While he was fishing, I hiked ahead to take pictures. I saw this marmot sunning itself on a large rock. It didn’t seem to be a bit afraid of me; in fact, it seemed to want to have its picture taken. So of course I obliged by taking lots of pictures. These are just a few of the many pictures I took of it."

Credits:
Papers from Naturally (journaling and background papers) and Snowfall for Him (blue and stripe) by Eve Recinella - Sweet Shoppe Designs (SSD)
Template by Jen Caputo - Scrapbook Graphics
Swirl from Graffiti Grunge Swirls by Shawna Clingerman - SSD
Scratch n Stamp Alpha by Eve Recinella - SSD
Sanding Brush from Digital Distressing Kit by Nancie Rowe Janitz - ScrapArtist
Stitching from Mega Stitch Pack by Christy Lyle - SSD

From Our Blog 2 Yours

Another funky quiz:

You Are The Stuffing

You're complicated and complex, yet all your pieces fit together. People miss you if you're gone - but they're not sure why.

What Part of Thanksgiving Are You?

New Stuff from Eve!

Eve Recinella has several new kits out that will be available on Black Friday (tomorrow, November 23). Here are some previews.

Lucky & Me

Credits: Background paper, frame, tag from Snowfall for Him by Eve Recinella - SSD (available tomorrow November 23, 2007)
Journaling arrow from Say Here Journaling Bits by Eve Recinella - SSD
Notebook paper from Daydream by Eve Recinella and Jomi Van Bekkum - SSD
Stitched star from Basic Shapes by Sandra Boddington - SSD
Gold stars from Celebrate by KSKDesigns - Pickleberry Pop
Stitched cardboard star from Super Stars by Lauren Grier and Shawna Clingerman - SSD
White star from Stained Doodle Shapes by Eve Recinella - SSD
Brown Star from Its All About You by Lauren Grier - SSD
Scraplift (for SSD Spin a Lift) of LisaRose’s Craziness:
http://www.sweetshoppedesigns.com/inspiration/showphoto.php?photo=10532&ppuser=42

Journaling states: "Like most photographers, I usually don't like pictures of myself, but this picture is an exception. Glen took it in July, 2006. I've used it as my avatar on all the forums I belong to, but I've never done a layout with it."

Planet Earth

We watched the first DVD of Planet Earth over the weekend. It was fabulous! We missed the series when it was on the Discovery Channel, so we are watching it on DVD now (there are 5 discs in the series). The photography alone is worth it! We are members of Netflix, so we get the DVDs from there - and their version is the original BBC version with David Attenborough as the narrator instead of Sigourney Weaver. I highly recommend it!

Creative Team Call

Credits: Template by Bree Clarkson - Sweet Shoppe Designs
Background paper, string tie, stitches from Magnolia Kit by Katie Pertiet - DST Gold kit
Date Taken and Memory tags from Spumoni Medley by Laura Deacetis - Sweet Shoppe Designs
Bottom paper from It’s a Guy Thing by Michele Coleman - Little Dreamer Designs
Button with ribbon from In The Lines by Angela Barton - Sweet Shoppe Designs

I love this template from Bree - she is having a Creative Team call with her templates and you need to do a layout with it and send it to her to apply, which I am doing. After I finished the above layout, I decided to do another one with the same template, and that's the one I'm submitting with my application.



Credits: Template by Bree Clarkson - Sweet Shoppe Designs
Papers from ShellSeeker Kit by Jeri Ingalls - Scrapbook Elements
Paper tear by Steph Krush - Steph's Digital Paper Tearing and More
Heart and Cherish from The Gazebo by Amber Clegg - ScrapArtist
Ric Rac from Marmelade by Eve Recinella - Eve Recinella Designs
Staples from Regality by Eve Recinella - Sweet Shoppe Designs
Fibers from Ana by Lauren Grier and Key Ingredients by Heather Roselli - Sweet Shoppe Designs
Photo corners by Angela Barton, Flower by Christy Lyle, Brad by Shawna Clingerman - all from Some Kind of Wonderful - Sweet Shoppe Designs

See how versatile templates can be? The template is a 12X12 square (as most templates are). Since I scrap 8.5X11, I always have to modify them. But I like doing that - sometimes I make them horizontal and sometimes vertical (and sometimes, like this time, I do both!).

From Our Blog 2 Yours

I really don't know who comes up with this stuff! I found it on the Sweet Shoppe Blog.

Your Pilgrim Name Is

Love Brewster

What's Your Pilgrim Name?

To see what your pilgrim name is, click on the link above.

Sunflower Sunrise Table Runner

This is the table runner that I mentioned in my last post. As you might be able to see from the pictures, the flowers are 3 dimensional. In the centers of the 3 sunflowers are Swarovski crystals. I really enjoyed making this, and am quite pleased with the results.

Postcards

I mailed off my K is for Kite postcards today. And I just realized that I never posted a picture of my J is for Jar postcards from last month (or the I is for Impatiens from the month before, but I can't find a picture of those). So here is the K is for Kite:





I used two fabrics for the background - grass and sky. I stamped the hedgehog, and put the kite string to the back where his "hand" is so it looks like he's holding the string. I was pretty happy with how it turned out.

And here is J is for Jar:



I have a machine embroidery design for the jar. I used button fabric for it and also clear vinyl, and put some real buttons between the vinyl and the button fabric - I have to admit I thought it was a pretty good idea. LOL!!

This is probably all the postcards I'm going to do for awhile; I've gotten just a little bit tired of doing them (and of not getting all the cards from my swap partners - doesn't happen a lot, but enough to get old).

I also finished up a sunflower table runner yesterday that I've been working on for quite awhile; it is another of the Mount Redoubt patterns that has 3 dimensional flowers on it. I am really happy with how it turned out - I will post a picture of it later.

My quilt guild is having a quilt show today and tomorrow, and I actually talked my DH into going with me this morning. It was a pretty nice show, and we had a few vendors there too. I bought several things from Homestead Quilting, which is an internet store that also goes to quilt shows and guilds. Most of what they sell is embellishment-type of stuff - I bought some hot fix crystals, a Ricky Tims DVD, some new glitter paint that I'd not seen or heard of before, and a book about using the glitter paint and other stuff by the same company.

New Blog Header

For some reason, I really enjoy making blog headers, so I made a new one tonight.

Credits: Techno flirty papers
Ribbon and stitching from Shabby Sundress Collection the Elements
Jewelry tags and jump ring from Fresh Delights
All above by Eve Recinella of Sweet Shoppe Designs
Painted wood alpha by Samara Gugler of Digital Scrapbook Place
Messy box alpha by Tamra Burwick of The DigiChick
Folded corner template by Karah Fredricks of The DigiChick

Japanese Autumn panel

At long last, I finished my Japanese Autumn panel! Now I have all four seasons finished, and I hung up Autumn yesterday. It's about time, since we're over a month into Autumn already.

Sweet Shoppe Blog

This week's From Our Blog 2 Yours is to choose our favorite layout and post it on our blog. This is really hard - I have a lot of favorites! LOL!! But this is one of them - because I really love the expressions in their faces and I love the kit (from Eve Recinella, of course) and I love the fact that I didn't use a template or scraplift or anything. It's one of my "older" layouts (from last year), but I still love it.

Books

I love to read. I always have a book I'm reading, and if it's a really good book, I have mixed feelings when I finish it. I want to find out how it ends, but I hate for it to end too.

Awhile back, I discovered the Outlander series of books by Diana Gabaldon, and I read every one that has been published so far. I really love them and am anxiously awaiting the next book in the series.

The author has recently published a few books about one of the better minor characters in that series. The first book in this new series is called Lord John and the Private Matter. It didn't get as good of reviews as the Outlander books, so I decided I would rather borrow the book from the library than buy it outright (I had borrowed all of the Outlander books from the library as well). The only catch was that our library didn't have the book. But some good friends of mine, who work with the Friends of the Library, told me that if I requested it, there was a good chance that the library would acquire the book. So I did.

It took a long time, but the library called me yesterday to let me know it was finally available to me. The only catch was, I had just started another book a few days ago. I always finish a book before starting a new one (or decide not to finish it if I don't like it) - the point being that I don't like to read 2 books at the same time (it's confusing enough keeping all of the characters straight in 1 book, let alone 2! LOL!!). Anyway, since the book was finally available and they would just hold it for me for 3 days, I checked it out today. So the other book will just have to wait I guess.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

I saw this image on Katie the Scrapbook Lady's blog (here), and just couldn't resist adding it to my blog too. Katie got the image from Jenn (here).

Second New Layout

Blogger is cooperating with me today - here is the second layout that I mentioned yesterday.

Credits: Quick Page by Cindy Schneider using Eve Recinella's Shabby Sundress Aqua Vita kit - available at Sweet Shoppe Designs

Crochet stitching and happiness label from Shabby Sundress the Elements by Eve Recinella of Sweet Shoppe Designs

Date stamp by Meryl Bartho of Digital Scrapbook Place

Two New Layouts (finally!)

I finally got some layouts done last night! I don't usually use quick pages, but these are just so cute - and so easy to use. Here is the first one (blogger is having problems and won't let me upload the other one now).



Credits: Quick Page by Cindy Schnieder using Eve Recinella’s Shabby Sundress Fruity Fun kit - available at Sweet Shoppe Designs
Fold template by Karah Fredericks of The DigiChick using Fruity Fun papers
Tab from Shabby Sundress the Elements by Eve Recinella of Sweet Shoppe Designs
Staple and green flowers from It’s a Spring Thing by Eve Recinella of Sweet Shoppe Designs
Fonts - DJBTabithaScript by Darcy Baldwin of The DigiChick, Artistamp Medium

What Carnival Ride Are You?

I don't even like carnival rides, but this quiz was fun - and actually fits me reasonable well.

You Are a Log Ride

You prefer to live a fairly calm, relaxed life... with a few surprises thrown in. You don't tend to get yourself worked up easily. You can roll with what life throws at you. In relationships, you are steady and solid. You maintain a pretty broad perspective on what's going on. That's not to say you can't get swept away. You're emotions run as deep as anyone else's. Your life seems like it has been remarkably easy so far. But that's due to how you manage it. You never stretch yourself too thinly, and you think out your decisions carefully. Taking the time to enjoy each day is important to you, and you don't let your emotions rule you. You stay the course and do what's right... knowing it will all work out in the end. At your best, you are tolerant and understanding of other people's quirks. You take "go with the flow" to the extreme. Even if you don't like where you're going. At your worst, you repress your feelings and end up being a little tightly wound. You definitely have some explosive emotions that occasionally come to the surface!

What Carnival Ride Are You?

Blog Action Day

I have to add my 2 cents worth to Blog Action Day. I was quite happy to hear that Al Gore was awarded the Nobel Prize for his lifetime of work on global warming. I saw his movie "An Inconvenient Truth" awhile back - if you ever had any doubts about global warming, the movie must convince you. We try to do what we can. We recycle what we can - although our community doesn't recycle everything. But after we started recycling, it was amazing how much less garbage we generated. We have been changing over our light bulbs to compact fluorescent bulbs. These are very simple changes that just about anyone can do.

We built our house to be quite energy efficient - we have south facing windows with a roof overhang to keep out the sun in the summer and get the sun in the winter. It is also well insulated. We changed from drapes to blinds this spring, because in the spring and fall we get the sun on warm days, and the blinds do a better job of blocking the sun and still allowing light in.

We also considered gas mileage very carefully when we bought our new car this summer. We really wanted to buy the Prius, but it wasn't comfortable for me. Hopefully by the time we buy our next new car, there will be a lot more energy efficient choices.

And here is a link to The Action Blog.

Love (version 2)

Yesterday, I worked some more on the layout I posted a couple of days ago (after getting some comments from Emma, my Montage instructor). I enlarged the upper left photo, worked on the blending some more, lightened 2 of the photos and darkened the 3rd to make them more similar to each other. The word art is by Tina Chambers.

Katie the Scrapbook Lady

Katie the Scrapbook Lady has a new website - it's worth a look! Click on the ad above or here.

Still Another Wedding Layout

I finally worked on another wedding layout the last couple of days. I'm really loving the montage style - and I think I'm getting just a bit better at the blending part (although it's still hard for me - the blending between the upper left photo and the larger right photo isn't quite right, but it's close). The word art is by Tina Chambers of Digital Scrapbook Place.

Slow Day

Some days I just don't get anything done! Today started out as one of those days. We went for our morning walk, then I ate my breakfast, then I added minutes to DH's cell phone (prepaid plan - we don't use them much), then I checked email and debated about ordering some stuff from Chico's (one of my favorite clothing stores). Still haven't decided on that yet! Before I knew it, it was time for lunch! At least this afternoon, I've gotten some embroidery done - 7th of 8 squares for my Japanese autumn panel (last of the 4 seasons - and since it's already autumn, I need to get it finished). I also finished my 2nd strip set for a quilt project I'm working on. And I'm almost finished with the most amazing book - it's called Follow the River by James Alexander Thom, and it's based on the true story of a woman who was kidnapped by Indians in 1755 and manages to escape and walk a thousand miles to return home. So I'm glad the afternoon got better!

What Gemstone Are You?

Your Gemstone is Topaz

Comforting, considerate, and stable. You are down to earth and grounded.

What Gemstone Are You?

Reworking Some Layouts

Based on comments from my Montage instructor, I spent some time re-working these layouts. I'm happier with them - she's very good with making suggestions.



I softened the blend (a LOT) on this one.



I enlarged the picture and added a date on this one.



I swapped the pictures (instructor pointed out that the small picture is a bit out of focus - I hadn't noticed but she's right). I blurred the hearts and changed the fonts.

In other news, I am going to another quilting retreat this weekend - in Lawton. This is farther from home than the one I went to last weekend. It is my state organization, of which I am the treasurer. And on Sunday, I come home from the retreat and then go another direction to see the first ballet of the season in Tulsa. I really wish the two events weren't on the same weekend!

Quilting

I spent Thursday through Saturday at a quilting retreat. It was so much fun - and I got a lot done too. I got one quilt top finished except for the last border, and I got a lot of tracing and some cutting done for another 3-D applique project.

Tomorrow I've got a quilt class for another new project.

It's All About Me

My latest photo assignment was to create a photographic self portrait, consisting of 8 photos. We weren't allowed to take pictures of husbands or children or other loved ones (pets). If we wanted to include our relationships with them, we had to find creative ways of expressing them.

So, here are my photographs:



I took this one in the mirror (my husband held up the quilt behind me, which I made), then flipped it horizontally in Photoshop.



Not the most creative way to show my cat, but it was all I could think of.



DH and me on our morning walk.



Breakfast of Champions (ha ha).



Emroidery for a quilt project I'm working on.




A small part of my bear collection.




When I'm not sewing or embroidering, I'm usually computing.




Adding the binding to a quilt (the last step).