It's all about the Crumb Cake.

I love our Crumb Cake CS.  You can do so much with it and go most any direction with style and color stories when you start with Crumb Cake.  Here's the card I made for our church to send out for the May birthdays.

 

This card is fairly monochromatic, using Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla and Soft Suede in a delightful trio of rich neutrals.  The layering of the punched squares is what takes it all up a notch.  

When I walked into church Sunday, a delightful lady with the most beautiful white hair in the whole world stopped me and called me over to her pew.  She told me that she had just received one of my cards for her birthday and how much she loved it and that it just made her day to receive such a beautiful card.  She touched my heart.  Not only was I pleased that my card had this effect on her but she took the time to tell me and that made my day.  This is why I create!  I pray each day that I can use my art to touch the lives of others.  

What will you make today to bring joy to someone?  

 

Retirement is Fun ... Changes are Good ... and my Last Try It Kit Journal

First up, I want to share my last Try It Kit journal with you.  This one is very vintage in style.  It was super fun to make it.  If you missed my previous posts, check back here and here.  

My previous post has all the details for making a journal.  For this one, I added some bits of burlap, crochet trim, linen thread and a fancy button from our Artisan Embellishments Kit.  I am not sure if I like this one the best or the one with the seashells and sand dollars.  I love them both.  After we lost my mother to cancer, in going through her things, we often found little notebooks and journals with notes jotted in them.  I must have inherited some sort of gene for loving little books and journals:)

The remainder of today's post is all about 'out with the old and in with the new.'  Retiring items are going fast and I'm knee deep in big plans for the remainder of the calendar year.  Throw out your old schedules and get ready to embrace the new --- new catalog, new products, new class events, new and improved class events ... and it's all good!

Even rubber stamps deserve a good retirement!  I love this guy.  This is just a reminder to check the retirement list frequently.  We have 2 lists going... one for stamps and one for accessories.  When items are gone; they're gone.  Also, I sometimes forget to mention that the retirement list includes discounts!!!  If you are planning on ordering to qualify to attend the May 5 Left-Overs Party, you can really stretch your dollars a long way.  You can order up a boatload of new goodies AND go home with a boatload of finished projects from the class, not to mention prizes!!!  It's a win-win situation!!!

Now, for the new!  Please note and save this information.  More details will be coming soon.

Our last Friday 3-4-5 will be May 10.
Our last Walk-In Wednesday will be May 22.
Our last round of Hostess Scrapbook Club will be June 3.

I am NOT doing away with all of these classes.  I am going about them in a better way; a way that will make better use of my time and yours and give us more for our money, as well.  

These new plans are based on comments such as:
"I love all your classes and wish I could attend them all...  I love being in a club, but don't know if I can commit for 6 months at a time... I love your cards and love making the cards with lots of layers and embellishments the best... I love projects --- all kinds of projects... I love making little albums... I need to win the lottery so I can come to everything... I have accumulated a lot of products and am outgrowing my space... I have accumulated a lot of products and need help using them all... I wish I could attend all your classes, but can only come so many times a month... "

I could go on and on but you get the idea.  You talk and I listen.

Here's a peek at what's in the works:

We will have a new club, starting July 1 --- a Stamp Club.

• We will make all kinds of things, from cards to 3-D projects to scrapbooking...  
• You will sign up for just 3 months at a time.  
• I will show you everything that we'll be making for the 3 months BEFORE you sign up.  
• You will be required to pay $40.00 at least 2-4 weeks prior to the date we meet.  
• That money will be used for ordering all the products we will need to complete our special class projects.  
• All products left over from kits and packages, etc. you will get to keep and take home.  
• Stamp Club members may still attend Scraps and Prayers for 1/2 price.
• All classes will now include adhesive in the price of the class.  You won't have to bring your own.
• I think you will love the variety of projects that you will get to create.
• Instead of feeling bad that you can't be in a club AND come to a stamp camp, this will be a combined type of event.  You can do it all!!!
• More details soon, as well as sneak peeks at projects. 

Instead of a Friday 3-4-5 Card Buffet Class, we will have a Friday Night Cards Class.  

• This class will still meet on the second Friday of each month.
• You will make 6 beautiful cards, that have layers, embellishments, perhaps a bit of bling...
• Envelopes AND adhesive will be included.
• I will spread the type of cards out to include all occasions and focus a lot on holidays as we near each special holiday --- particularly Fall and Christmas. 
• Class fee will be just $16. and you must pay to register at least 2 days prior to the class. 
• All classes will now include adhesive in the price of the class.  You won't have to bring your own.

Instead of 3rd Thursday or other types of Stamp Camps, I am moving those projects to the Stamp Club.  It gives everyone more opportunity to do more!

• You will see all projects ahead of time and can sign up for just 3 months at a time.  
• You will get way more in value than the $40. you'll spend each month for the 3 months; I'm positive! 

The one class I will no longer be offering is the Walk-In Wednesday.  I liked doing it, but it was not supported enough to merit adding it to the schedule on a regular basis.  It was an experiment.  If you miss a class, I will still make a kit for you and be sure that you get it finished.  You will not be left out in the cold. 

Christmas News / Christmas Retreat

• I am still, tentatively planning on a Christmas Retreat (Sat., Nov. 16) to help us prepare for the holidays. 
• Details for this event will be announced soon.  
• Save the date!  
• If you join the Stamp Club, we will make holiday creations, as we get closer to the holidays.  
• The Friday Night Cards Class will include some Christmas cards, as we get closer to the holidays.
• If you join Stamp Club, attend Friday Night Cards Class AND come to the Christmas Retreat, you will end up with way more than previously planned in the schedule AND at a great deal of time and savings to us all.

So, in summary, here's what will be on the calendar for each month:

• Stamp Club
• Scraps and Prayers
• Team Meeting
• Friday Night Cards Class
• Special Events will be added occasionally, if noted, such as the Christmas Retreat

So... that's a lot to digest for one day.  You may want to print this out.  It is tentative, so I will let you know if there are any changes, errors, or anything.  Please let me know if you have questions.

February and March Pages... and My 600th Post!

Wow!  As I logged on today, I realized that this will be my 600th post on my little blogspot.  It's been fun and I hope you've found some inspiration and ideas for your own crafting projects.  For today, I have my next 2 calendar pages ready for you.  Enjoy!

For the February page, I used the new Hearts a Flutter stamp set and framelits.  In the background, I used the large heart from the You Are Loved stamp set.  I embossed across one little part on the light pink strip, using the Adorning Accents embossing folder.

For the March page, I used the Postage Due stamp set.  On the yellow strip, I used some stamps from the Feeling Sentimental stamp set.  This set will be available during our annual Sale-A-Bration, from January 22-March 22.  This is the fabulous time of year when you can earn a free S-A-B product for every $50. you spend.  If you're on my mailing list, you should have received a little catalog in the mail from me, showing all the products available for your choices.

I had sooooooo much fun with my ladies at our Hostess Scrapbook Club last night.  We made a Valentine's Day layout and a coaster calendar.  I will be posting these soon so you can see what we made.  I'll be starting a new round of scrapbook club on March 4.  Contact me ASAP if you would like details about joining us.  It's super fun!!!

I'm off to spend a delightful day creating away in my studio.  I have a 2-day chunk of time to really crank up my creative juices, so I'm super excited to work ahead on some class projects, personal projects, and more items to put into my Prairie Treasures booth at the Root Cellar.  Things are going great in my booth and it's keeping me pretty busy adding fun new items.

Leave a comment and share what you're working on lately.

Fun Fabric Project

While I'm home this morning with yet another asthma episode (forgot to wear my dust mask when I was shuffling Christmas decorations from storage), I'll share one of my latest fabric projects with you.  These were so much fun to make.

Using 1 piece of fabric from the package, you can make 2 wine bottle gift bags.  The packages come with 3 pieces of fabric, each a different design.  Each piece is slightly larger than a fat quarter, like you buy for quilting.

I dressed it up by tying it closed with some of our sweater trim.  Then I added a pair of our stitched felt mittens and a cute little tag.  I tied the tag on with bakers twine.

My husband had the idea to turn down the top edge a little and I liked it!  He's very clever sometimes and I'm glad he's interested in my projects.  Wouldn't this make a nice Christmas gift for someone.  Of course, my bottle is empty - for display only:)

Have a great day and remind me to use my dust mask whenever I handle anything from storage.  I can't believe I forgot it.  Come back soon.  In my next post, I'll show you another cute project using this same fabric.

Merry Minis --- so Incredibly Cute!

I just love, love, love the Merry Minis!  They are so cute and actually quite versatile.  Here's a card I made with them, using Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler and Gumball Green.

I embossed the Crumb Cake layer.  The stamped images are stamped onto white CS and then punched out with our square punch.  I stamped an extra tree, punched it out with the coordinating punch and them popped it up with layered glue dots.  The squares are popped up on dimensionals, so there is a lot of texture and layering going on here.

Have a great day!

To Do

Here's a memo board I made recently.  I decided to not make it have a Christmas theme, so it can be used all through the year.  It does use Christmas DSP though --- our Candlelight Christmas Specialty DSP.  It has a magnet on the back (optional) so you can place it on your fridge.  As we get closer to the holiday season, there's so much TO DO.  A memo board provides a good way to organize all the reminders.  It has a blank space on it so you can add a favorite photo.

If you'd like to learn how to make it, I have all the materials ready for you.  This is a sneak peek at another project for the Oct. 19 Touch of Christmas class.

Postage Due

I've actually been using 'snail mail' quite a bit lately, so I hope today's post won't jinx my mailings.  If there's a stamp set that jumped out at me from the first time I saw it, Postage Due is one of those sets.  I used cherry cobbler for my card base.  Here's my card:

Using the stamp set and the postage punch made it very easy to create this fun card.  I wanted just a touch more to accent my card, so I added a 'sprig' of crochet trim, crumb cake and cherry cobbler seam binding.  The 'stamps' are on dimensionals.

I had a fabulous time at the Chattanooga Regional.  My ears are still ringing a bit with the delightful southern accents of my table mates.  They talked so fast at times, that I could hardly keep up with them.  They were all from South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama.  I think I was the only one from Illinois!  Everyone was so nice and we had a lot of fun together.

I'll be sharing photos soon from the event, as well as our Aquarium trip.  I didn't get any photos on the boat trip because we were going pretty fast and it was a little crowded when we went up on deck.  I didn't want to risk losing my camera.  The scenery was gorgeous and every part of our day was fabulous, ending with grilled tuna and followed by sharing warm chocolate cake and vanilla bean ice cream, drizzled with a caramel sauce.  Yikes!  Back to Atkins today, for sure!!!

Don't forget:  Today is the last day to enter into my '500' blog special.  I'll be notifying the winner by email tomorrow.  Good luck!  Maybe it will be you!!!

Merry Minis

You don't have to be big to make a big impression in the world of creativity.  The Merry Minis stamp set is living proof!  To make it even more fun, it has a coordinating Punch Pack of the cutest little punches ever!  Here is just one of many cards I plan to make using this great set.

What makes this card so much fun to make is that there is absolutely no cutting.  It's all done with stamps and punches.  How fun is that?  But wait!  There's more!!!  I added texture to the Very Vanilla layer using the Stripes Embossing Folder.

With a color combo of Cherry Cobbler and Gumball Green, you can't miss.  The DSP is our Be of Good Cheer --- one of our Christmas papers.  I do believe it's my favorite.

If you look closely, you can see that I have an extra layer of Cherry Cobbler on the front of the card --- just to give it yet a little more texture.  I added a touch of bling with a rhinestone and a teeny, tiny brad to complete my card.

I'm working in my studio most of the day today, with a little laundry and cleaning sprinkled into the mix.  I hope you have a great day.