My Scrap Space

This is were I create! My little corner of the world were I can let my mess out on the table for days and days. I can toss paper scraps onto the floor, little bits of ribbon, too. I love having all my STUFF within arms reach! My main table was built by my DH, Ken.

On the far right there are white drawers that are organized by theme, winter; Valentine, wedding & love; baby; hunting, fishing, & fireman; autumn, halloween, & Thanksgiving; Christmas; patriotic & July 4.

On the green bookshelves you will find my albums. Some are complete, some in progress, and some brand spankin' new ones as well. The little black drawers hold rubber stamps also organized by theme if the don't belong to one of the groups mentioned above.

Under my scrapping desk I keep my paper stash. Yes, I am a paper junkie. Love it! My friend Jody says I can smell it when I walk into a store! It is sorted by color & pattern. I also now keep my Cuttlebug there in between the baskets.

The drawers on top of the desk hold new stuff that I need to sort out to their permanent homes as well as stuff that is just basic scrapping, not any particular theme.

Blue baskets hold sizzix dies, ink sprays, boxes, embossing paste and other misc. goodies! At the end of the desk is my tool chest. I love the bright green color. I keep all my tools and things in there. Coluzzle and corner rounders, adhesives, pens, markers, scissors, paper trimmer, chalks, inks, heat tool, Crop-a-dile, embossing powders, all the stuff that I haul with me when I scrap away from home. It is strapped to a luggage cart that is rated for 120 pounds, and no, I am not even close to that much stuff on it!

40 Techniques!

What an awesome little book! It is called Stacy and Friends : 40 Techniques for Making Cards. It is published by Paper Crafts magazine. An absolute powerhouse of card making ideas! Best of all it has a spiral bound top and a back cover that tents so that it stands up on its own on your table top so you can read and refer to the detailed instructions and pictures for each fun creative technique! It has sections on Embossing, Stamping, Aging and Inking, Creative Backgrounds, Color and Shine, Do It Yourself Embellishments, and Unique Additions. There are great ideas for bleaching, UTEE, and metal embossing. There is also a bonus CD with it that features another 40 projects! I found it to be quite the bargain at $20!

I purchased this book at Art Tech in Greensburg, PA. They are a fantastic scrapbook/ rubberstamping/ paper crafting/ artist supply store. The best part of the store though is the staff! Helpful beyond belief! Full of unique crafty ideas. Experienced in it as well. They can show you the project, explain how to do it, and send you on your way with all of the products to do it!

I will tell you though, that if you go there, be prepared for total sensory overload! The store space is tiny and there is product everywhere! It is hard for two people to stand on both sides of the same aisle, so claustrophobics beware. You will have to probably walk around it at least three times to see everything and then you will make a fourth trip and see that you missed something, and then it will hit you that you could spend a week in that small room and still not see everything!

My Mess!

How is that for a pile of pictures!?! That is my stack of photos, some organized, some not. Some scrapped already, some not. Some not even printed yet, still stuck on a CD. Some really just need weeded out, since they are truly not scrap worthy, unrecognizable, blurry, or one of a million pictures of the floor, my foot or the ceiling. Others need to be given to the people in them, since they were taken with that intention. My other little secret is an entire drawer full of negatives, completely unorganized! That is a whole other blog post though. Confession is good for the soul, right?

One of those boxes has pictures from two trips to National Youth Conference in Colorado. One of those boxes has my wedding pictures in it. (Bad scrapper, I will be married five years this year and I have only scrapped two wedding photos.) Another of those boxes is full of Camp Harmony and District Youth Choir and retreat events. The pink box has my husband's pictures in it. (Yeah I know, pink? What was I thinking?!) The basket is the catch all for pictures found here and there or after a project is completed and I am too lazy to find the envelope that the leftovers belong in.

Could be an interesting project for a cold snowy weekend. (Doubtful, but a nice thought!)

Blessed!

Yep! That is what I am. In spite of the picture that you see here I am blessed. You see that shattered window is on the tailgate of my van, not the windshield. If it had been the windshield I would have lost control of the car and wrecked for sure. So… count your blessings, busted glass and all!

Cuttlebug!

This is my Christmas gift from my DH Ken. He did an excellent job of choosing my gifts this year. We got to use it quite a bit this afternoon at my church scrapbook club crop. I love that it accepts all the dies I already own, plus some that I plan to buy! The absolute best thing about it though is the embossing folders that you can accessorize it with! They are just amazing, bold, crisp, deep impressions..WOW! I have been making birthday cards with it and everyone just loves them.

We had a nice small crowd at the crop club today, our first one for the year. We are hoping to grow though, so I will post when we have our next one, probably in April.

Happy 50th Birthday Joop!

Just wanted to wish my friend Joop a very happy day today!

MMMM....Chocolate!

Love, Love, Love, Love, Love It!!!

As promised, these are my gifts from my dear friends Dee and Joop.Caramel Chocolate Sticks... Belgian chocolate creamy smooth flavorful with sweet caramel in the center!

Dee's husband, Joop, is from Holland and it is fun to try things that he likes from there. The Stroopies are a wafer like cookie (think pizzelle) with a sweet syrupy filling in between them. Dee and Joop told me that you are supposed to put it over your cup of coffee in the morning and let it get warmed by the steam. Tried it! Loved it! YUMMY! (Little Dutch Girl, Spring TX)

Best for last! The Sprinkles! These are not those tasteless brown colored jimmies that we know here in America. These are real delicious DARK chocolate bits of heaven! I like to pour them straight out of the box into my hand and eat them straight. They are also pretty good on toast, ice cream and brownies!There was also a chocolate champagne bottle, long gone and some rich hot cocoa, as well that just didn't make it to the photo shoot! Thanks Dee and Joop for taking care of my chocolate tooth!

Dee has been my dear friend for over 20 years now. We celebrate our friendship anniversary every Labor Day weekend at the Fall Harvest Gospel Music Festival. After 20 years of friendship I could probably write about us everyday for a year and still have things to tell. Lets see if I can condense it down ... road trips, graduations, summer camp, festivals, diets, weddings, births, deaths, grandchildren, husbands, always lots of food and laughter ... hope we have 20+20+20 more years!

Dee had knee replacement surgery this Monday. Please keep her in your prayers for a speedy and complete recovery! Love ya!

Goose eggs and New shoes...

I was going to post about my presents from my dear friend Dee today, but since I forgot to take my SD card with me with the photo I will save it for another day.

Today's topic is goose eggs and new shoes (both of which are causing me some pain today!) The new shoes are a necessity since my old faithful Faded Glory brown leather clogs that form fit to me feet like they were made on a mold of my foot have ABSOLUTELY NO TREAD on the bottom as well as a crack on the sole big enough that if the ground is wet I get a wet sock. So I purchased a new pair of shoes, comfortable shoes. Atleast that is what I thought they were in the store. So I am breaking them in, and hoping that it isn't a long process. The first day I wore them all day. BIG mistake. Yesterday I wore them all of the day, but I worked a short shift. Today I switched to my old faithful clogs at lunch. My feet are so thankful tonight!

Now, moving on to goose eggs. Yeah, I have one on the top of my head. Go figure, graceful human that I am. LOL! That is what I get for taking out the ash buckets in anger. Love my old house. Love my warm (and cheap, $60/ton) coal heat. Really don't like that tending the furnace requires me to get dressed and go outside to get to the cellar which has a ceiling so low that my short Mom would have to duck to walk under it. Had to dump an ash bucket today and was a little perturbed about that, darn it if I didn't whack my noggin on the doorframe on the way back into the cellar. I said some words that I would have to bleep out if I want to keep my blog G-rated. (It is ok, you can laugh at the mental picture, if I wasn't so personally involved in it I would be cracking up...like the Stooges!) Lucky I didn't knock myself out or wind up on my bum. Saw stars, shed a few tears and went on about my business.

All is well with the world. Thanks so much everyone for leaving comments! I feel so special! They go directly to my email box and it is wonderful to get such nice emails! Also wanted to let you know, if you haven't already tried it, when you click on the posted pictures they will open up in another window BIG!

So tomorrow more Christmas gifts....MMMMM... CHOCOLATE ONES!

I wanted to share some of the wonderful gifts I received for Christmas this year. Over the next few days I will post some pictures and talk a little about them and the people who gave them to me.

This first one is from my cousin Amy and her family. I love it because it is scrapbook stuff! I am keeping it on my scrap desk so I can look at it every day! (Yes, I sit at my scrap desk EVERY DAY!) This great little page a day calendar has printed pages that you can cut apart into frames and embellishments or make die cuts from. Each week’s pages coordinate so you have enough matching prints to make a 2 page layout as well as a card or two from the scraps. There are great themes like Spring, Easter, Valentine, Winter, Halloween, School Days. The reason I chose to post this one first is because if you want one you should check out the bookstores and calendar stores and see if you can pick one up for yourself at a great discount before they are all gone!

My cousin Amy and I have been good friends since I arrived on the scene over 35 years ago. She was my Maid of Honor for my wedding over 4 years ago. She got me hooked on Nascar racing and I got her hooked on scrap booking! We spend New Year’s Eve with her family every year and traditionally have pork and sauerkraut and chicken cheese ball.

Just a few notes about some upcoming "Crop"portunities...

Jan 21st, 1:30 PM at Ridge Church of the Brethren. This is an informal gathering, bring a covered dish to share and come crop with us. I will have a make and take project of some sort as well. Let me know if you are interested in attending.

February 2nd, 6:00 PM at Berkey Church of the Brethren is my CMC's monthly crop. We have an awesome time! I will be doing a make and take, to be determined very soon. Her food is absolutely delicious and she has the entire CM product line available to purchase. If you are interested it is $12... contact me and I will tell you how to contact her!

February 9th and 10th, Crop the Day Away at St. Andrew's School, Johnstown, PA. Contact jboocboo@floodcity.net for more info.

Last but not least, our Spring Crop Day at Camp Harmony. We will crop from 9-9, includes breakfast, lunch, and supper, snacks and drinks, goodie pack, make and takes and tool table use all for the bargain price of $30. The room we were in has lots of space and the lighting is excellent. It was even raining but that wasn't a problem since you could pull right up to the door to unload! We had about 18 croppers last time and we would love to have an even bigger crowd this time! Contact me if you would like more info!

Hope to see you at an upcoming event!

Just a few random thoughts for today!

I hope that today doesn't set the tone for the year for my husband's fire and ambulance service! They are not the busiest company in the county, I am thankful for that since it means that people are not wrecking their cars, being sick or hurt or losing their home or business in a fire. That being said... They had 4 calls today!! They can go weeks with out a call and then have a day like this one. God Bless all of our volunteer firefighters and medics. They willingly give their time and talents to serve those in need no matter what the time of day or circumstance. They spend hours and evenings and weekends being trained and practicing just in case they are needed. The next time you see a blue light in your rear-view mirror pull on over and let them by, they could be on the way to help someone you love! (OK... Let me step down off my soap box...)

Next on the agenda... Chuck E. Cheese.
We had a guest pass and thought we would take the kids there this afternoon. Let me say that I work in one of the craziest places on earth (Wal-mart) and it is absolute bliss compared to CEC today. That place was chaos! Pandemonium! Ear piercing loud! NEVER EVER EVER AGAIN! We should have gone with our original plan to go to the movies... peaceful and dark and smelling like butter!

Final thought... I love a good deal and boy did I get a few today! Michael's Christmas clearance was marked 90% off taday. WOOOHOOOO!!!! I got some blank holiday note cards 8 in a pack with pretty colored envelopes for 10 cents, some holiday ribbon spools for 19 cents, huge rub ons 39 cents, and some regular clearance deals like spiral bound journals for $1. Plus I have been building up my stash of Cuttlebug embossing plates with Joann's coupons. I have some really neat ones that I will be sharing in the near future! (How's that for a teaser to get you to check back in a day or so!)

I really like where I live. It is in the sticks. We have few neighbors and the ones we have are great! The big draw back to living waaaayyyyy out here is that we do not have DSL, cable internet or any other high speed access. The powers that be have told us to not hold our breath while we wait for it either. So posting pictures is an exercise in patience, to say the least. Hope you enjoy these ones! I am actually at my parents house at the moment. We celebrated my Mom's birthday today. Dad and I are watching CMT's Top 100 Love Songs of All Time. It is a really great show if you can catch it at a later airing.

Maybe I will get it this time! I really want to share these pictures with you!
I am so proud of my purse~ the red and white snowflake one I made all by myself. (By myself, that is, AFTER my HUSBAND showed me how to thread the sewing machine. LOL!) The poinsettia one my Mom sewed while I explained how I thought it was supposed to be done. I am going to add the pictures for the other purse and the previously mentioned journal jar in another post.

I think that I figured out how to add some pictures. Thought I would share a couple of my recent projects. The first is a journal jar and journal. I just love the colors. Any one who has known me for any amount of time knows that my favorite colors are purple and green. I am not sure if I am keeping this one or gifting it.

The second project is courtesy of one of the great ladies on the AOL Scrapbook Community message boards. I got soooo many compliments on my cute Christmas purse. It is made from a PLACEMAT! (from the Dollar Tree, to boot!! and some recycled ribbon from somebody's Christmas gift!!!)

What a day! Our church took a trip to the Sight and Sound Theatre in Strasburg, PA. We saw the Miracle of Christmas. All I can say is that if you ever have the opportunity to see anything at this theatre you would be crazy to pass it up! It was worth a 4 hour trip on a school bus. I gained an entirely new perspective on the story of Christ's birth. I know that they take some creative license, but I really got to think about it from the viewpoints of Mary, Joseph, and each of their families. I also got a new look at what the conditions were in the city of Nazareth at that time. How Satan was (and still is) conspiring to keep us from Christ. How the first time that strangers laid eyes on Him they knew exactly who He was and what He had come to do. I think of how others should see Him in our faces and feel His presence in our spirits when they interact with us. I thought about how different my CHRISTmas would have been this year if I would have seen this on December 6th, instead of January 6th.

I thought alot today of this scripture....
"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."
(Heb. 11:1, NIV).

P.S. Dienner's Country Restaurant where we had lunch! Out of this world wonderful homemade food! Hopefully I will figure out how to post pictures soon and can add a few!