This is one more picture of the address book, just to show the binding of the book and how it was decorated.



This is a mini-book I made for my show table. It would be perfect for school pictures, senior pictures or just a little brag book for your purse or desk. It is 3x3 in size, which makes it very quick to decorate. One simple embellishment per page is more than adequate. I will post more of the inside pages in the coming days. (All products used in this book are from Close to my Heart)


j.

My address book. All products Close to my Heart.

This book is made by cutting out 4 File Folders with the File Folder Coluzzle template, which makes your middle pages. For your cover you cut the same file folder but only cut half of it and then lift the coluzzle, move it over about an inch and then continue cutting the other half of the template. Clear as mud?

Each "pocket" is made by just gluing the edges of a small piece of paper onto the top of the pages. Then make a library card for each month and decorate as you like.

The middle pages are attached by stitching them to the center of the cover.

j.

Gift Tag: All products Close to my Heart
Measures 2 1/2 X 3 roughly


Thanks card using Solo K stamp set. All papers, flower, brad, ribbon, flourish stamp set and liquid glass is from Close to my Heart. Measures 4 1/4 x 5 1/2.




In My Heart: All products from Close to my Heart.

j.

Here we go.....a lot to talk about.


Happy Everything - made with former Close to my Heart Stamp of the month.




This was a make a take at convention in 2007, I just keep hanging on to it, because

the color combo is strong and the fact that they used a couple of different patterned papers. It is really unique.
"Happy" is a monochromatic card that was trial and error....enough said. :-)

"Thankful" I was playing around with this Close to my Heart stamp set and it is really quite beautiful when watercolored. My design isn't much to talk about, but sometimes simple can be nice.

One of my favorite cards, I made this almost a year ago and have never given it away. I though it would be perfect for a friend or baby card.

"Free Spirit Box" I made this for my show table several months ago. I keep it on my shelf by my scrap desk, it holds all the cards and things I have made. My favorite color is orange so obviously this is one of my favorite papers from Close to my Heart.

Getting ready for Christmas. Addie's class made gingerbread houses last week. I was very impressed with this project. They saved their small milk cartons from lunch and we rinsed them out and dried them. Then we used tub icing and put a small amount on the carton and stuck graham crackers to the sides and top. I was surprised it would stick, but it did! We had tons of candy and the kids could decorate their house anyway they wanted. Some were very creative and others put just a few things.

Putting on the finishing touches. Beautiful.

Addie's house was really cute and she was so proud of it. We brought it home and put it in her room, by her little Christmas tree. The next day we had to run errands and apparently Milo, our 65 pound golden retriever got a little hungry. He ate the entire thing. The only thing left was a crushed milk carton and the little paper plate. Good thing we took pictures. :)

We will try to make another one this week maybe.

!CROP PHOTOS!

I have had a several people who have tried and tried to make it to a crop and just haven't been able to, but they wanted to see pictures, so here we go. We have a ton of fun at these and there is always so much food, we have to roll ourselves home.

The first pic is Debbie, she and I have been friends for many years. It goes back to girl scouting days when my oldest was probably in Brownies! That's been almost 10 years! Man time is just flyin' by. There have been a lot of venting sessions, tears, "what do you think?" conversations and many many many laughs! Thanks for all of it. :-)

Check out the background, you can see that the room is huge, with big round tables and we have lots of room to spread out all of our scrap crap. :)

This one is Sam (in red) and Marsha. Sam and I have known each other since girl scouting days too, but we didn't become close friends, until a couple of years ago when we realized that we both scrapbook. Since then I have had the honor of becoming good friends with her.

Marsha & I met through Sam. She is a Creative Memories consultant and with me being a Close to my Heart consultant, we instantly struck up a friendship. Marsha was putting on crops at the church every couple of months and invited me to help "co-host" them and the rest is history. We now try to have them every month and if one of us has something going on, we know we can trust the other one to make sure everything goes according to plan.

There are several other friends that I crop with and I thought I had taken more photos than I did, so this is fair warning, next time I'm bringing my camera! Martha, Courtney, Rosemary, Sharon, Cheryl......get ready! :)

Well, gotta get ready, Grandpa Bill will be here today and everyone is very excited. It's been a while since his last visit and Addie is about to burst at the seams!

j.

I love these pull apart cards. You can embellish them anyway you want and they are so different than a "normal" card! I made this one at CKC last year. There is a scrapbook store in Blue Springs that sells them in a pack of 10. I can't remember who the maker is right now.
(It's to early) :)


More than scrapbooks and cards can be made with paper. This is a paper basket I made.
Brads hold it all together at the top and ribbon makes the handles. This was a time consuming project, but well worth it!


Gift set of cards made from a recycled VCR tape box. All the cards and envelopes fit perfectly into the box. And it looks pretty enough to set out on your desk at work or home.

This picture doesn't show the actual size of this card. It is only 2x3 1/2, perfect for a lunch box or backpack. Also works well to just sit on a co-workers desk without an envelope. The message could be anything...."just because"......."thinking of you"....."heard your having a rough day", anything you want.

j.

OK, it's been awhile since I posted, several more days than I had planned. Life just keeps sending me in different directions. It seems like I have been going from project to project for 2 weeks now. Wrapping, buying, cropping, volunteering, kindergarten cookbooks, making gifts for scout troop, the list goes on and on!

I will probably post several posts in one day to wrap up the "12 days of Christmas" album and then I have a couple of requests for some past projects that never got posted! I won't be going into major detail with materials and descriptions, just pictures. With Christmas almost here and my to do list is huge, I hope to keep it simple! Enjoy!


"12 Days of Christmas" Page 9 & transparent extra....
(I will try to post rest of this later today.)




j.

Give Thanks.......

Today I am thankful for Grandpas that hold Grandbabies.
This picture was taken several years ago, but I remember it like it was yesterday. This was the first time Grandpa Bill got to see and hold Addie. Spring 2003

Give Thanks....

This picture was taken summer 2008.
To some of you it may look like just an average lake picture
but to me it will always remind me of a special moment in time.

Today I am thankful for all the places and events that I have seen in my life. I am healthy and very blessed. Some times the most wonderful things are right in front of us, we just have to open our eyes and enjoy the moment.

j.

Give Thanks..........

Picture taken at my uncle Jim's retirement party Summer 2008.
back row: Dad, Megan, Jared, Mom, Cindy, Bubba (Mark), Kari
front row: Catherine, Grace, Jim, Addie, me, Samantha


I am thankful for my family.

Note: The only one missing is John, he's taking the picture.

Give Thanks........

This picture was taken on Megan's birthday.
It is one of only a handful of pictures where
both kids are together and smiling!

I am very thankful for both of my kids. Yes, they can make me crazy at times, but they are my life & I wouldn't have it any other way! They each have very different personalities, one is more reserved and quiet for the most part. The other is everywhere, touching everything and talking non-stop! Together they keep my day full of surprises! Thank you Megan & Addie, I love you both.

j.

Give Thanks..........

I am pulling this out of the archives for today's post. It is Addie at school with Grandma & Grandpa for Grandparents day, 2008. I am very thankful my parents are healthy, happy and still on the go!

This post starts five days worth of thankful posts. Each one will have a picture associated with it, some will be old, some new. My challenge to you for today is tell someone you are thankful for them, it will make their day.

j.

Meg & friends @ the theater after seeing "Twilight" for the first time.
ALL SMILES!

"Twilight" was far more than I expected.....

My daughter Megan is on the right and her best friend Jolynn is on the left.

I have not read the books, because my teenage daughter and her 5 friends have been passing them around within their group. So I didn't know exactly what I was getting into or what to expect, but I can honestly say the movie was fantastic! When Edward flies through the air with Bella on his back, you feel like you are there and when they are perched hundreds of feet in the air in a tree, I felt like I was going to fall. The scenery is amazing and with each second of the movie, you are pulled more and more into the story and the eyes of the character. I have never been a scary movie fan or a vampire fan for that matter, but when Edward's eyes meet with Bella's you can feel the explosion of emotion. They are torn between two worlds, their love and her safety. The 6 teenagers that I took must have really enjoyed the movie also, because they talked non-stop on the way home! Re-hashing almost every scene! Now to sit and wait till 2009 for the second part of the Trilogy! I can't wait!

We took so many people tonight that we had to take two cars. Grandma & I both drove, (she & Addie saw Madagascar), which Addie seemed to really enjoy. If all the moms ok the picture I will post the group shot tomorrow.


j.

Extra - Day 9 - Extra

Extra pages - To make those gift checklists and a photo of decorations. White textured paper embossed with the swiss dots embossing folder. Red satin ribbon from Hobby Lobby "Make it Christmas" line. Chipboard circle with Christmas greeting rub-on.














Day 9 - White textured paper embossed with Swiss Dots embossing folder. Bronze buckle with a flourish that has been sprayed several times with Tattered Angels "Coffee". White flowers give the illusion of snowflakes.














Decorative clear page made with foam stamps and paint gives the countdown to Christmas.


We are almost to day twelve! I have saved the cover for last, I haven't had a "vision" yet as to the design. Most times it hits me and I either draw a rough sketch or I go create it immediately. We will see what happens in the next few days.

We are finally done with the Kindergarten Feast and Program. It went off without a hitch Thursday night. The dinner was fantastic and the program was adorable. I could not believe how much those little kids had memorized!
This is one of those really cool pictures that I didn't really try to take, it just happened. Addie was walking towards the stage and I grabbed the shot. I figured it would be blurry and I would delete it. After I uploaded the pictures I realized this is probably the best picture I took all night. I got Addie without blur and the two people in the background are my parents. Luck....pure luck. Sometimes it's on my side. :)



This has been a whirlwind week getting ready. I was lucky enough to get to help them in the class room. The kindergartner's made their own cornbread, cranberry salad, home made churned butter & 20 pumpkin pies. (By the way we made enough of each of those for 200 people!)


At last minute I decided the little pilgrim s needed white aprons with lace! So I ran to Wal-Mart and grabbed 2 yards of white fabric and 5 yards of lace and settled into my sewing machine with a big cup of coffee. Several hours later they had beautiful fancy little aprons fit for little pilgrim s. There are a couple of reasons why this makes me soooo happy that I made them. Number one they looked adorable! Number two, I actually started a project and FINISHED it! WOW! That is huge for me. I am terrible at starting things and not finishing them, so this was quite an achievement for me. :-)

Can't wait till tomorrow, I am chaperoning 6 teenagers to see "Twilight" at the movies. I am very excited. I have been watching the previews with Megan and it looks like it is going to be "edge of your seat" good! I will post my personal review Sunday.

j.