I love to Circle Journal!!

The cover showing the theme: Simple Joys & Guilty Pleasures.

This is the first page in the book.  

This is my two page layout for the theme.

I think I've mentioned the Paper Crafts Club that I've been attending.  Six of us are participating in a circle journal.  I think they are so much fun!  I will be passing my book along tomorrow and getting another one to work on.  For my journal I used almost all Stampin' Up! products.  In fact, the only things that are not SU! is the flowers.  The book, paper and hardware are all SU!  The patterned paper is surely retired, it's been in my stash for quite a while and I love the bright colors.  I had plenty to be able to keep the coordinating paper throughout my book.

My friend, Martha asked for a quote from the Quote Book I shared last time.  So here is one of my favorites:

"It isn't the load that breaks you down; it's the way you carry it" -Anonymous

California Bella

Here is a Bella Circle Journal Page that I forgot to share with you. This photo has been stuck on my memory card for months without me downloading it. Silly me! So here you have Michelle my Bella. The facing page was a postcard of California Poppies which grow abundantly here. The journaling tells of some of the fun things to do in California. The page is simple but Bella steals the show, as she should!

So did you see American Idol last night? I have to admit I've become a wee bit obsessed with AI this season. It's the first season that i have seen every episode. And I'm even voting every week! I have four favorites so far and one of them-Jason Castro-sang my song last night: Michelle!!! I think he's so sweet and I just pretended that he was singing right to me. Ahhhhh. Gotta run. Bye.

The Last Two Bella Journal Pages

Today I am showing you the last two of the Bella Journal Pages. Let's start with Karen's. I love the Olive Green with the Deep Purple shown on her pages. Karen and I share love for junk food, candy and crafts.

And last but not least is Mary's pages. I love the title of her page: A Few of My Favorite Things. Why didn't think of that for the title of my book? What a "duh moment". Anyway we share love of the color purple, thunderstorms and music.

I have had such a great time reading through each entry and admiring every one's art. Next time I post I will show you some pages for a 6x6 desk calendar. I haven't actually purchased the calendar yet, but I was in a swap. I did twelve of one month and so did eleven other people. I'll be sharing my favorites.

Today I actually spent some time creating. I made a few Christmas gifts. I am looking forward to sharing them with you soon also.

Have a great day! I hope that you are enjoying this holiday season as much as I am.

More Bella Pages and Holiday Ramblings

So here is Chris' Bella page. I love the bright colors of pink and orange. They look great together. So the topic was 10 Things I Love, right? I share several of those with Chris: scrapbooking, photography, spring and fresh laundry. I just don't particularly like to fold all that fresh laundry. Ya know?

Elana also did a fabulous page. We share the love of Grey's Anatomy, pedicures and Bath & Body Works.

Tonight my oldest son, Jacob, is performing in the Drama Christmas Showcase at school. He has had a lot of fun working on his skits. He will be Santa Claus in one of the skits. I am really looking forward to seeing the show tonight. The whole family including grandparents will be there to cheer him on. Next week we'll get to see him singing and dancing in the Show Choir Christmas Show. He even has a solo!

I started my holiday baking yesterday. I got some Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Cookies done and mixed a batch of sugar cookie dough. Yeah, me!

Christmas Traditions and Journal Pages

Happy December! I'm having so much fun with all the holiday preparations and activities. Yesterday we went to the town Christmas Parade. One of our daughters marched in the parade with her JRROTC unit from school. Today we are heading to the Creche Festival. It's a lovely annual event here in town where there are over 1,000 nativity scenes on display. Here's a picture of a nativity that my kids got me for Christmas this year. I got to open it early so that I can decorate with it. I've been collecting creches since I first went to the Creche Festival. Musicians lend to the Christmas atmosphere. We are especially looking forward to the handbell group and the men's quartet.

Today I am sharing two of the pages from my Bella Circle Journal. These pages were done by Alicia and Anouk. They both did a great job. Alicia's page is so colorful! I love all the scalloped circles and the polka dotted paper.

On Anouk's pages I love the glittery pom-poms and the great background paper. She did a great job!

Grace's Bella Page

I've got another page for your from my completed Circle Journal. This page was done by Grace. She did a great job. I love the way she "dressed" her Bella! Also the circles with her information are computer generated. They say Love It all the way around the circle which is then punched out. Too cute! I want to know how to do that! So very cool!

When I sent my Circle Journal out on it's merry way around the country I hadn't decorated the front and back cover. I was worried about it looking terrible after so much handling. So I just finished with the covers the other day. I'll share that with you in a few days as well.

Journals & Traditions

Do you remember way back when I started the Bella Circle Journal? I posted several pages when I started. You can see them by clicking on the link for Circle Journals on the right side of the page. Well, the Journal has made it's way around the country and safely back to me all completed. I have to give a big shout out: Thank You!! to Jane for hosting this swap. I know it's a lot of work. So thanks again. Here you can see the pages that Jane did for my Journal. So cute! I love the SuperBella that Jane used here. You can check out Jane's blog here.

I'll be showing you the rest of the pages in the next few days. I highly recommend joining a Circle Journal swap or starting one of your own. They help to stretch you creatively and keep you connected to other stampers and/or friends.

I'm so excited about the Christmas season this year! I started listening to Christmas music on XM radio a week before Thanksgiving and I've already got the house decorated inside and out and we decorated the tree last night. I've also got a good start on my Christmas shopping. No wrapping yet. But I'll get there. I'm really looking forward to starting my baking, too. That is my favorite part of the season. Yummmm...cookies. Frosted sugar cookies are my absolute favorites. I think I'll be starting all that next week.

One of our family's traditions is to buy or make a new ornament for everyone in the family every year. We usually get at least one Tweety Bird ornament, for obvious reasons. We also are partial to Disney, Harry Potter and patriotic ornaments. I also like to pick up an ornament when we travel. Last year we went to Seattle for Christmas and I bought a Space Needle ornament with Santa Claus on top. So cute. I'm thinking of making a little journal featuring some of my favorite ornaments.

What are some of your favorite traditions for the holidays? I love to hear about other's traditions.

Journaling Again

Wow! I have had such a busy week! Kids activities, Dr. appointments, laundry, etc. And then there was the weekend. I did little other than read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I finished last night. Now life can get back to normal! We were at the bookstore at Midnight Saturday AM to get our three copies. Yes, three! I needed one, hubby needed one and oldest son needed one. We just could not wait for each other to finish! DS and I have both finished and hubby is about half way through. (He had places to go on Saturday) Anyway, I loved the book! No spoilers here, but, wow! I was not disappointed!!

Today is the mailing date for my Circle Journal Group. So here are the pages. I have completed for Charmaine's Journal. Her theme is travel. I used the So Saffron Prints Paper with Chocolate Chip layers. The stamp set is Polka Dots and Paisley stamped in Chocolate Chip and colored is markers of So Saffron and Almost Amethyst. I added strips of the reverse side of the paper and did paper piercing and faux stitching. I also added a punched flower with a So Saffron brad.

The Bella in Me

This week was also the mailing day for the Bella Circle Journal I'm in. For the page on the left I used PMSabella. I paper pieced her clothes and used marker to color the rest of her. The background paper is from the huge stack at Costco, accented with SU! paper in Pumpkin Pie and Chocolate Chip. I also added silver brads where I used my ticket corner punch. The tab is made with the Round Tab Punch.





For this journal entry we were to share the bellas in each of us. I used the same papers here and added a layered, punched flower, attached with another silver brad.

I'm having such fun with these journals. I can't wait for the next one to arrive!

More CJ Pages

More Circle Journal pics today. This is the page where each participant embellishes a tag and leaves it here. I included several items on the front and back about me and requested that each person do the same. For the scalloped circle around my photo, I took a cool idea from Beckie. I punched out several word windows and layered them around the back of my photo to make the scallop. Does that make sense? Let me know if you need more info explaining that one. I know I'm a visual person and sometimes I just don't get those verbal instructions!

Now on to my two-page spread of the theme: Things I Want to do in my Lifetime. So for the stamped image I used the set Summer by the Sea. I water colored it with aqua painters and reinkers and then did final touches with markers. The image is stamped with Staz On onto Watercolor Paper. This paper is awesome! I don't use it very often-because I'm hoarding. LOL You can see that I used Twill Tape and Hodgepodge Hardware as well.



For facing page I added my journaling, listing a few things on my list of things to do. The Journal went out in the mail yesterday to Germany! Let me know when it arrives, Jana!

Have a great day. Tomorrow is the fourth of July and I'm taking my kids to Magic Mountain!! We all love Roller Coasters and my mom is even coming along. The only bad part is that it's supposed to be 105 degrees tomorrow. Yuck!

ETA: The font used here is Retrospect by Creating Keepsakes.

Circle Journal Preview

Hey there! Long time no blog! Today is the first mail date for the Circle Journal Swap. Here is page one of mine. This is the title page. I have intentionally left the cover un-embellished. I will decorate it when it comes back to me in December. For the background paper I used Brocade Background Paper from the new SU! catty. I used Hodgepodge Hardware and Mellow Moss Grosgrain Ribbon.




Here is page two of the CJ. This is where each participant will sign their name. For the dots on the eyes of "sign in" I used Circle Rhinestone Brads. The stamp is from Stamp of Authenticity.






Here is page three. This is the instructions page.
I will show you the rest of the pages tomorrow. I am really looking forward to seeing the next CJ. It should be here later this week. Yeah!

Thanks to all of you who are participating in the CJ Swap. I hope you are as excited as I am!

Bold and Bright

I'm not a huge fan of bold brights but I thought I'd give it a try for this card. The card base is Green Galore stamped with flowers randomly in the same color. The Real Red layer is scalloped using the corner rounder and a piece of black gingham is wound around that. The focal image is on Whisper White stamped with Basic Black and colored with the markers. There is paper piercing in the corners. This layer is attached to Only Orange and the Round Tab Punch is added to the bottom. I stamped the word "friend" from the saying in the set. I used marker to only ink the word I wanted, thus omitting the rest of the saying.

I like the cheery feeling of this card. Maybe I'll have to use a little more brights.

Circle Journal News:: I can add more people to the swap. The cut off will be June 22nd. But be aware that the first mail out day is July 2nd! So if you are still interested please contact me via email with your information and I will forward the guidelines to you.

Baroque Motif in Pomegranate

Hello Stampers! Today I have a card to share with you done in one of the new In Colors and the Baroque Motif set. I'm really liking the richness of the Pomegranate on this card. The card base is Purely Pomegranate stamped in the same color using the flourish stamp. For the focal image I stamped the squarish flower on Confetti Cream and punched the corners with the Ticket Corner Punch. I layered that onto Basic Black and added silver brads. I stamped "kind" in pomegranate and punched out the word using the Round Tab Punch and attached behind the black layer. I wrapped some Black Gingham Ribbon around the card and tied in a square knot before attaching the focal image to the card. This card was quite simple to make. I hope you like!

Circle Journal News: We have eight participants for the Circle Journal. I'm so excited!! We are getting our themes ready and our first mail date will be: July 2nd. My theme will be: Things I Want to do Before I Die. I'm really looking forward to seeing every one's books as they make it through my house. I will post pics as they are available.

Pick a Pomegranate Petal

Pick a Petal is the other stamp set I bought from the Fall Preview Brochure. I admit that I'm having a difficult time make something cute with this set. I think I'm going to have to check out the SCS gallery for some more ideas. For this card I used card base of Purely Pomegranate. I stamped an image from the Pick a Petal set randomly over the background in the same color. On White I stamped the green circle using Wild Wasabi and then masked it off and added the petals in pomegranate. I cut that out and attached it to the triangular shape cut from Wasabi. I sponged the edges of the flower and the triangle. I also did paper piercing around the edges of the triangle. The sentiment is from Everyday Flexible Phrases and stamped in wasabi and punched with the file tab punch. I hope you like it!

Circle Journal News: I need emails from anyone who has signed up through the comments area if you have not already done so. Namely: Bonnie and Charmaine G. Bonnie...I can order the book for you. Just contact me via email and we'll get that taken care of. Just click on About Me on the left. You will than find a place to click on a link to email me. I would like to set the first mail out date for July 1st. So let's work toward that, stampers!

New Stamps to Play With!

I got my new stamps and paper and accessories from the Fall Preview Brochure on Thursday. I didn't order everything but I'm loving what I got! Here you see the Baroque Motifs stamped in Always Artichoke. I distressed the edges of the focal image and sponged with artichoke. I punched the word cherish with the large oval punch and sponged the edges there too. The background is the new designer paper. This beautiful paper is double sided so I decided to show both sides on this card. At the seams where the dp is cut I added a 1/2" strip of Chocolate Chip and added paper piercing which you cannot see in the photo. I used the corner rounder on two of the corners for the focal image and attached that piece with dimensionals. I am really loving this set so far. The large flourish is so pretty!! I've got more to show you very soon...so check back!

Circle Journal News: I need an email from Bonnie Sliper and Charmaine G. with your snail mail addys. So please send that ASAP so I can get the list together soon. Thanks for participating!!

Sleepover!!

Yeah! Convention is next month! I get to stamp and hang out with my best bud, Beckie!! I sent her this card. I started with an Almost Amethyst base and stamped the Flannel Plaid BG in White Craft Ink. I layered two patterns of the Palette O' Prints and added the jammie Bella. Some Hodgepodge Hardware finished off the card. The coloring was done with aqua painters and refills. I also sent Beckie some bella images to play with. So far she is resisting the Bella craze. I'm trying to be the enabler!! LOL

CIRCLE JOURNAL NEWS: So far I have 6 people signed up for the CJ. I'm hoping for a few more. So stop dragging your feet and sign up already!! It's not a lot of work, but it's so much fun!

Wanna Circle Journal With Me?

Are you up for a challenge? How about participating in a Circle Journal? It will be so much fun!! Here is how it works: Everyone starts a journal (preferably the 5x5 art book from Stampin' Up!). You decide the theme of your Journal. Some ideas are: favorite music, dream job, 10 thing I like. You can be totally creative here. Once you have decided your theme you make a page in your journal describing what the theme is and what you would like to see in your Journal. Like two page layouts, embellishments, layering, etc. You will need to include some kind of sign in page for your Journal and then create the first layout in your chosen theme. The journals will be mailed at the same time to the next person in the group. When you get someones journal you do the layout according to their theme and mail out on the next mail date. This will continue until everyone has done a layout for each journal and you get your own back.

One of the requirements that I would like to make for all books is that each layout uses a current Stampin' Up! stamp set and other current SU! products in the design including patterned paper. In addition to this being a lot of fun, it would be great to be able to use this as a sample for customers.

To sign up just leave me a comment to this post. Anyone can sign up as long as you are willing to use all SU! products and are ready to make this commitment. Of course, we would all expect that you would do your best work on the layouts and keep to the mail dates. Make sure that I have your email addy so that I can contact you directly about the mail dates and addresses. I would like to have at least 6 people sign up to begin.

Here is a sample of my first page in my Bella Circle Journal.