Sunday, January 31, 2010

Sneaky Peeky

What a fabulous kit Amy has put together over at Scrap-Friendzy for February - Absolutely Lovin' it! 
I thought I'd share a few of the sneaky peeks of the projects that I created this weekend.  This kit goes on sale tomorrow and is $28 + $7 for shipping.  For the amazing papers, embellies and YUMMY stuff you get in this kit, it's a steal!  Don't miss out getting your hands on this gorgeous kit!  The Girlz will all be sharing their projects tomorrow, so be sure to stop by and check out the great projects!
And on top of the kit reveal & sale tomorrow, the new design team will also be announced..... so be sure to check in and see who the new Girlfriendz design team will include.

Thanks so much for stopping by tonight.  I hope you had a lovely weekend. 
Off to figure out what we're going to have for dinner.
Happy Craftin'!
Min

Saturday, January 30, 2010

A Perfect Day

Today was a busy and cold day.  I had a class that I'd planned to teach at the scrapbook store today.  We were surprised to get a call from Amy & Andy this morning that the baby might be on the way.  We're Colin's 'handlers' when his momma and daddy go to have baby sister.  So, off we went to pick up Colin and wait for baby labor news.  We had so much fun - we painted some chocolate molds, played hide & seek, made some neat Cuttlebug cards Colin style, and even had Mickey D's for lunch. 
Turns out it was a false alarm, no baby sister yet.  We're VERY excited for her to arrive - she is definitely waiting for Aunt Susan and Uncle Kris to get home from vacation. 
So, this weekend (Tomorrow actually) wraps up the month of January - Sketch A-Thon at Scrap-Friendzy.  We've had an amazing month - Everyone has been SO productive - the gallery is bursting at the seams with amazing layouts and cards.
Today was the last of the sketches I was posting - today the sketch we used was one that I created - a little quickie, but I love the way the layout turned out.  We've had this great sunset photo printed out and in my studio since before Christmas.  Today was the perfect day to scrap it (it only made it up to 20* today - it was downright bone chilling cold this morning.  Even our 'kids' (2 cats) thought it was cold - which is why they ended up in bed with us this morning.
Anyway, enough blah blah blah from me.  Here's a little Aruban warmth - my hubby took this photo on our last evening in Aruba in 2008 when we went to celebrate our 5th Wedding Anniversary. 

Makes you want to get your toes in the sand and feel the salty air on your face, don't it??
This was definitely one of our PERFECT DAYS!
Paper - Cardstock - Coredinations.  Paradise & Sunset Cruise 'cards' from paper from my stash, striped paper - Daisy Bucket, tan cardstock from my stash
Cricut - Life's a Beach - Sanddollars & Title
Cuttlebug - Bamboo & D'vine Swirl embossing folders
Miscellaneous - Starfish, Fish & Shell Brads from my stash, Scrap Swirl font - computer generated for Journaling
I hope this warms you up a bit - it sure does me thinking about the 10 days we spent in Aruba. 
I hope you're having a productive weekend!  Hoping to have a few more projects to share with you tomorrow.  I'm working on a fabulous kit that Scrap-Friendzy is offering beginning on Monday.  Be sure to stop by and check out some of the sneaky picks!  What a lovely kit!
I also want to say thank you to everyone for your prayers for my dad.  We continue to pray - his appointment with the oncologist is scheduled for Wednesday morning.  Hopefully at that time we'll get a bit more infomation and a plan of action.  I think once we have something like that, we'll all feel a bit better.  So thank you all again - prayers are a powerful thing and for those, we are so thankful.
Happy Craftin'!
Min

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Gettin' Ready for Happy Heart Day!


I thought I'd share a few quick cards I did for Valentine's Day.  I still have several more to make, but this is the start - I did my hubby's first, but can't show you that until Valentines Day (I don't want him to stop by and have the surprise ruined!)  ;o)
The Love 14 'stamp' is one of the Cuttlebug embossing folders/die combos that I've had in my drawer and what better reason to use it than 'Heart' Day. :o)

Everything that was used is from my stash - paper, cardstock, embossing folders, ribbon, dimensionals and ink.  And of course, I can't for the life of me remember what font I used on the front.  DOH!
Hope you're having a happy craftin' kind of day!
Min

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

The Ducks are Back!

Sorry I've been absent - This past week has been kind of a blur for our family.  My dad was diagnosed last week with Esophageal Cancer, so we've been playing the waiting game - waiting to hear from the oncologist, waiting for next steps, waiting for next tests and researching until we're all cross-eyed to find out all we can about this disease.  We are optimisitc that they have found it in the early stages and he will make a full recovery.  We are thankful too to be very close to the University of Michigan Hospital and many doctors that are highly touted in this field.
So, I thought I'd make a funny little card to include in his care package, if nothing else at least he'll get a little chuckle, right?
Image - High Hopes Stamped Image (duck)
Papers - Coredinations cardstock & Little Yellow Bicycle (I think)
Technique - Magic Colored Pencil Technique
Sentiment & ? marks - Computer Generated using Snap ITC
Thanks for stopping by today and if you have a chance and wouldn't mind saying a prayer for my dad, it would be much appreciated.
Happy Craftin'!
Min

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Cutie Kid Talk!

Wow, what a week.  Been kind of one of those crazy ones.  Yesterday my hubby and I spent the day taking down all our Christmas decorations (yep, we still had ALL our Christmas stuff up - and heck, we were even turning on the tree and Christmas village every night to enjoy).  It never seems like there's enough time to enjoy Christmas decorations.  So after yesterday, the house is put back together, everything looks naked.  :o(
This morning, I was up at 6:45.  Hoping to go back to sleep for a little bit, but no such luck.  So, I spent the morning working on this little beauty.  For some reason we're in the football mode right now - must be something to do with all the football playoffs.
My nephew Colin always gives us a ton of things to grin about.  The think I love about little kids, is that when they're learing to talk, they always say things so cute.  We're Michigan fans, and Colin's momma Amy is a Michigan State Spartan Grad......maybe you can see where this is going......one college football Saturday the Raz family was over and Uncle Glen thought I'd be fun to see if Colin could say "Go Blue".  After a little practice, we got "DOH BOO".  Hence this layout.

The layout sketch was from Pagemaps.  You can check out the sketch over at Scrap-Friendzy in the Sketch A-Thon forum.  All supplies are from my scrappy stash - I'm trying to use as much of what I have up so I have a reason to splurge after the Winter CHA - have you seen some of the fabulous stuff they're coming out with?!  Can't WAIT!!
Hope you're having a great Scrappy Saturday.
Happy Craftin'!
Min

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Some Days......

Wow, can you believe we've made it to Thursday already?!  I'm so looking forward to a long weekend.  Truth be told, ALL of our Christmas decorations are still up - tree, lights, village, wreaths, EVERYTHING.  So, this weekend, since we're supposed to see 40* and a little sunshine, we're going to try and get the outside lights taken down during the day and then move inside and 'De-Christmas' the house (that's a word in the K-ski house).  In the meantime, over the last week or so, we've accumulated about 8" of snow, and when I was going through some shared stamped images, I came across this one - way too funny in my mind and thought I'd whip up a little Hang in There card.
I used a Pagemaps sketch that Cheryl posted as part of  January's Sketch-A-Thon at Scrap-Friendzy.
The sentiment inside reads - "Some Days You Just Can't DUCK Quick Enough!  Hang In There"
Image - Not sure where it originated from, but LOVE LOVE LOVE it!
Technique - Magic Colored Pencil Technique
Papers:  Coredinations lime green, white & navy cardstock and printed paper from another old Christmas stack
Miscellaneous - Prima BLING snowballs, sheer ribbon, computer generated sentiment (LD Artsy - picked up from Scrapnfonts)
Thanks so much for stopping by and spending a little time here with me today.  This weekend we're switching to Valentines Day projects - I have the honor of helping with a few of Colin's Valentines Days cards this year because he's getting a new baby sister right around Valentines Day.  I'm also working on a 10 Things I Love About You album that I'll be teaching a class for the beginning of Febuary at Live Laugh Love Scrap in Oxford.  I hope to have some photos of that little baby this weekend!
Have a great day - keep warm and Happy Craftin'!
Min

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

New Year Productivity!


So, I thought I'd share a few cards that I created over the weekend.  These cards were created using Sketch #11 for the Scrap-Friendzy Sketch-A-Thon.  It was a sketch I created to use. 
These two cards are the last of the Christmas themed Thank You Cards.  I LOVE how the Pointsettia card turned out and the Penguin for my nephew turned out pretty cute too if I do say so myself.
Cricut - Joys of the Season - 2 pointsettia layers in red with leaves trimmed off.  One layer in green
Paper - From OLD OLD OLD Christmas stack
Miscellsneous:  Thanks - Studio G Stamp, Button from my stash, Ribbon from my stash, Chestnut Roan Ink
Image - Cute Penguin from Doodle Dragon Studios
Technique - Magic Colored Pencil
Same OLD OLD OLD Christmas Paper Stack
Cuttlebug - Candy Cane Stripe Embossing Folder (Thank you Jean!!)
Miscellaneous - Merry Christmas - Studio G Stamp, Colorbox Charcol Ink and Ribbon from my stash
These two below are movin' us into spring - can I tell you just HOW ready for spring I am??
Yesterday my commute was 5 1/2 hours to and from work - took me 3 1/2 hours to GET to work and another 2 to get home.  Yep, ready for the snow to go away and the flowers to start bloomin'!
.
Paper - Scenic Route - I think (more old paper from my stash)
Miscellaneous - Thanks - Studio G Stamps, Prima Flowers & Miscellaneous Flowers from my stash (tryin to make room for all the gorgeous Prima stuff that's coming out at Winter CHA!!!!), Brads & Ribbon from my stash as well as flat backed pink pearls (LOVE THESE)!
So, that's the creativity I was able to muster up lately. 
If you haven't had a chance to check out the Sketch-A-Thon at Scrap-Friendzy, please stop by and join us.  You won't be sorry.  There is so much fabulous inspiration not only from the sketches, but also the fabulous projects the Girlz are creating!
Hope you're having a great day!  Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing part of your day with me!
Happy Craftin'!
Min

Friday, January 8, 2010

It's all about the Football!


So, this year we celebrated Christmas with my girlfriends Susan & Amy and my favorite nephew Colin.  He was playing in an indoor soccer league, but when I asked Amy what he could use for Christmas (other than the super cute Blue & Purple little people slippers and neat personalized pillowcases), she said a football.  My hubby was happy to get the little guy a football, hoping maybe he can play with Andy, Colin's dad, Colin and Uncle Glen (maybe Uncle Kris too), even though the rule in our house is unless you've got a multi-million dollar contract, you shouldn't be playin' football (I remember the months with his broken leg, blood clots, therapy, hospital stays, etc.).  Anyway, we got Colin a football.  And like they say, if it ain't in the scrapbook, it didn't happen.  It was so cute, he was so excited about the football.  And I love the chocolate on his face from dessert.  I can't wait until the spring when the little man can get out and toss around the pig skin.  That'll be some fun scrapbook pages!
This is also Sketch #9 for the Scrap-Friendzy Sketch-A-Thon that will be posted on Saturday.  The sketch was courtsey of Julie Bonner, you can check out her great scrappy blog here.  She does some AMAZING work.  You can check out the actual sketch on Scrap-Friendzy on Saturday morning - it'll be in the Sketch-A-Thon forum under Sketch #9.


Kaiser Scrapbook printed papers - Rough & Tough paper line (Thank you Michelle)
Heidi Swapp Large Brads
Football textured paper, Off-white, Black and Navy Blue cardstock
Mini-aphabet, Twine, CK Urban font on round badge
Here's a few up close photos too -



We're dealing with 6" of snow that arrived last night and early this morning.
WOO HOO!  I'll be sure to take a photo - it is pretty but not very pretty driving home in. 
Thanks again as always for stopping by.  I always enjoy hearing from everyone.  I hope you're all having a wonderful new year so far - hard to believe we're 8 days into 2010.
Happy Craftin'!
Min

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

What's up on YOUR End?

Thought I'd share this quickie card I created - I'm trying to use up some of my scraps, so you'll probably see a few cards made out of this paper in the near future........
I thougth this image from High Hopes Stamps was just too funny - Ever have one of these days where the world looks better standing on your head?!
The inside of the the card says "What's Up On YOUR End?"  Seemed to be a bit better for the person it's going to than "What the Duck?!"  Maybe we'll save that sentiment for another day.  ;o)
Magic Colored Pencil Technique was used to color the duck.
Hope you're having a great day 5 of the new year!  If you haven't had a chance yet to get over to Scrap-Friendzy, RUN!  We're havin' a blast over there with all the great inspiring sketches.  You'll be amazed AND inspired!!
Happy Craftin'!
Min

Friday, January 1, 2010

Happy New Year!

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year - with nothing but GREAT things to come in 2010!
Why not get your scrappy mojo off to a great start this New Year.   Join us for the Super Sketch-A-Thon at Scrap Friendzy - a sketch a day for the entire month of January to get your creativity movin' in the New Year!  We'll have great layout and card sketches to inspire you and even contests to win!
Join us at Scrap-Friendzy, we'd love to have you!!
Happy Craftin' in 2010!!
Min