Miracle

I love the versatility of the Miracle papers.  Here is a variety of cards that I have created using these papers.

This was a card for my SIL Sandy's birthday - I used the button punch that she gave me for my birthday - love that thing!  I used the On The Side pattern from Originals.

Here is a close-up of the buttons - the punch embosses them as well so I sanded the Cocoa ones and inked the Colonial White one with Sweet Leaf ink.  I then 'tied' them with strips of paper instead of string.

I just love this Hedgehog from the Happy Forever stamp set - this was the first time I've used this set which was a Stamp of the Month last year, I just remember getting it around the time we moved so it hasn't seen ink until now.  I also used the A Little Everything stamp set and Over the Rainbow stamp set on this card.

One of David's coworkers had a new baby boy - this is the card I made for him using the Center Circles pattern from Wishes and the retired Little Boys stamp set for the dinosaur, Circle Around stamp set for the stitches, and Sweet Baby stamp set for the words.  I added more faux mini brads here.

I thought it matched the gift nicely.

We hosted David's family Easter party - these were the invites that I created.  I started off just cutting the frames using my paper cutter...

...then I remembered that I did have my Coluzzle once again so I cut the frames with that and liked it better when I angled it...

I used one of my dot cuttlebug folders and thanks to the past Stamp of the Month Easter Eggs stamp set, each one was unique!

Here are some long lost projects the girls helped me make - we did these last year when Miracle was one of the monthly specials.  This was a note holder for Kaylee's piano teacher.

These were for Brianna's dance teachers.

I also started working on a page using these papers for Brianna's dance recital pics, but they got packed up before our move and I haven't found them yet - I'm hoping to get them done soon, especially now that Miracle is a full paper pack - they matched Brianna's recital costume perfectly!

Convention, here I come!

No, I wasn't able to attend Close To My Heart's Convention this year in D.C. (which starts today) but I'd like to say a little piece of me is there this year! I was so honored earlier this year when I received a very special invitation from Close To My Heart. I was asked to participate in this year's Silent Auction to benefit Operation Smile. What an honor to be asked, but what pressure! I remembered a couple of last year's participants, Lisa and Tresa, and wondered how I could ever compare to the talented Consultants that would also be creating artwork for the auction. I finally accepted the fact that I could never compare but just to create something from my heart! I had plenty of time to work on it, luckily (though most of that time was spent just pondering my project) and finally the week that it was due to be postmarked, I started...and pulled it off!

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I am really pleased with how it turned out, and I look forward to seeing the other auction items. I hope it helps raise a lot of money for a good cause! I have shared a sneak peek here, but now here is the entire calendar project, as many of you correctly guessed. I used the Splendor paper pack on the entire calendar, just added a color here and there to fit with the month/theme. I also used the Irresistables Lots of Dots - it was great to customize the color for each month.

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January - also used Flurry Dimensional Elements and added Moonstruck CS - sponged the snowflake with Heavenly Blue and Moonstruck ink. It's hard to see in the picture, but under the chipboard snowflake and going up over the circle at the top, I stamped one of the snowy flourishes from the Flurries stamp set in White Daisy ink and chalked it with a light blue chalk.

February - also used the frog Stickease from Splendor, and a Heart Dimensional Element (but wish I would have sponged it a different color)

March - also used Bunny Love stamp set and Heavenly Blue buttons from the Spring Craft Button collection. The bubbles have the Glitz Stardust Glitter Gel on them to make them sparkle.

April - also used the Springtime stamp set, accented with Colonial White brads.

May - also used the Childhood stamp set for the kite.

June - also used Pizzazz Irresistables colored with Moonstruck and Topiary ink, and Splendor Designer Brads - dry embossed and sanded the border.

July - also used my new favorite stamp set Over the Rainbow - this month's page is one of my favorites - check out what I did with the window from the new A-Door-Ables. Here it is closed...can you see it?

and open...the balloon has the Glitz Stardust Glitter Gel on it.

August - also used the Summer Sweetness stamp set, Liquid Glass on the seeds, Tulip ribbon, and Topiary brads, and Tulip ink.

September - also used the Good Work stamp set and a bracket from the Pizzazz Irresistables inked with Heavenly Blue ink.

October - also used the Creepy Cobwebs stamp set and added black ink and black brads for the spiders.

November - this is another one of my favorites - I made the pumpkins using my oval Coluzzle cut from different Goldrush patterns from the Splendor pack and sponged the edges - I also added Splendor Designer Brads and Autumn Terracotta and Topiary Brads. This page got a little too thick with all of the brads but I still like it. I will be doing a lot more pumpkins like this - so cute and so easy - and you can do them any size you want!

December - I also used the Holiday Trinkets stamp set, some ricrac Stickease from the Splendor set, and added Tulip ink and CS. To create the scallop corner I took my Irresistables Lots of Dots 'leftovers' (the circles from the insides of the letters o, d, b, etc), colored them, and just added them under the corner.

Well, that's it - thanks for looking! I'd love to hear what you think - which month is your favorite?

Over the Rainbow

I can't believe how long it's been since I've shared something NEW and made of actual paper! I think Studio J may just become my new best friend this summer to make me feel like I'm creating something and not getting behind in my scrapbooking!

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This was the free Make & Take card I created for my Open House, which was last week. Actually, I can't say I created it, because I didn't even get my sample done before people started showing up! Yikes! I had it all in my head - paper pack to use, stamp set, ink colors needed, Wishes pattern to use, etc, and I was going to throw it all together after I set things up for my Open House and waited for people to show up. Well, as I was setting up, the Census man showed up - now he didn't take too long, but it was just enough to throw me off. And then just before my Open House was scheduled to start, I get a call from the girls' school - Kaylee had fallen and banged up her leg and head pretty bad coming in from recess. She was okay (at the moment) but they just wanted to let me know so I could keep an eye on her that night. So, Open House begins and it started off hopping - plus I had a couple ladies that I told could come early, so I didn't get a chance to pop out my card. But I did cut all the pieces for them and showed them what I had in mind and just let them do what they wanted. It was fun to see what they came up with! Then about 30 minutes later I get another call from the school - now they want Kaylee to come home, so I had to leave my Open House to pick her up. Thanks to my awesome ladies who were there and were so understanding and stuck around while I picked up Kaylee, especially since I had just put Trysten down for his nap. BTW - she was fine, just a little sore - she came home and rested for a few hours and ended up playing at their last soccer game that night! Anyway, it was just a busy day and I didn't even make my card until after my Open House, before I put everything away! Okay, enough jabber, here is my card!

And then since I had leftover pieces and another idea, I made another one - this time I flipped the pattern.

Products Used - all CTMH: Wishes Pattern - Simple Expression, NEW Splendor paper pack, NEW Over the Rainbow stamp set, Summer and Winter Brads, Colonial White ricrac, Goldrush, Heavenly Blue, Moonstruck, Bamboo, and Topiary inks, Edge Distressor.

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Thanks for looking!