Birthday Cards

 Well, had a little time so I decided to get a jump on cards for an upcoming swap.  I used Doodle Pantry digi stamps for the images (http://doodlepantry.com/shop.html).  All the papers are from my scrap basket.  Had to get some bling in so, the flowers have rhinestone centers and the Popsicles are completely covered with Stickles.   

Now to work on scrap booking :)  I have a plan that will hopefully help me to not only get COMPLETELY caught up, but stay on track for the year...there are a few things I have to get in place though. 

Finally....

I can share what I made for my Secret Santa Swap.  I didn't want to spoil the surprise so I had to wait...I had a lot of fun with this swap.  My recipient was a friend of mine...I tried to do as much as i could to fulfill her questionnaire.  She likes purple, wanted a brag book, and liked embellishments, so....here is what I created to give her...

I fell in love with this brag book.  It is a paper bag album with double tags in each pocket.  I used the remainder of a stack pack, some handmade papers and lots of fun embellishments:  flowers, flocked stickers, jewels, pearls, velvet butterflies, etc.  I kept the color palette simple...white, black and purple.  I decorated the front with her initial cut on my Cricut from glitter card stock.  I hope she likes filling it as much as I liked creating it!

Then I made this recipe card tin.  She has been participating in our recipe card swap on the FB group, so...I kept it simple as I could not remember her kitchen color palette.  the stickers are from Martha Stewart and the papers were from my scrap basket. 

To mail her gift, I put the mini album in the tin and then added embellishments and Stickles I had purchased for her.  I also added a simple set of cards I had made. 

Card for my son....

Ok...made two cards for my DH now one for my DS...I used this free digi I had saved...and I can't remember where I got it...because it looks like his dog Thor.  I kept it simple...colored with Stampin'Up pencils & used gamsol to blend and I added Crystal Effects to the eyes and nose of the dog.  All the papers are from my scrap basket.  I really like this dog....now I have to remember where I got him as I bet they have him for other holiday/seasons! 

Melt My Heart

I had so much fun coloring, I decided to do another card for the challenge at Pixie Dust Studios:  http://pixieduststudiopixiechallenge.blogspot.com/ and ABC Challenge: F is for Frosty  http://abc-challenge.blogspot.com/  This time I used the "Melt My Heart" digi from Pixie Dust Studios and again patterened papers from my scrap basket...only 3 this time :)  This is going to be for my DH on our anniversary, only 3 days after Christmas..I added some chipboard embellishments, Prima flowers, stickles and Crystal Effects to the carrot noses.  Cute!  Another great digi!

Under the Mistletoe

Had a little time and needed to make my husband's Christmas card, so I decided to do a 'twofer"...card for hubby and to enter in Pixie Dust Challenge:  http://pixieduststudiopixiechallenge.blogspot.com/  the challenge was to use 3 patterned papers...I actually used 4!  The image is from Pixie Dust, "U is for Under the Mistletoe".  I colored it with my pencils.  I added stickles to the mistletoe berries, Crystal Effects to the eyes, beaks & feet; and a few miscellaneous embellishments from my scrap basket. I made it an easel card so DH can put on his office shelf.  I love it!  The digi is just so cute, I couldn't go wrong!

Just for fun...

 so I had a little free crafting time this weekend and I decided I wanted to create ATC's for two of my fellow divas.    One of my divas had posted a picture of an ATC she made for me of Keith Urban...my absolute favorite artist, so  that was my inspiration.  I went to her profile on FB and read through her favorites & interests....Elvis...perfect.  Now which Elvis...I decided to do two...young and Hawaiian.  Here is what I came up with...

Now for my other girlfriend...that was easy...George!  She loves George Strait.  Here is what I came up with for her....

Now to get them in the mail to them!

Busy, busy! It is that time of year...

...birthdays to celebrate, decorations to put up, presents to buy, parties to attend, etc.  And this past weekend was no exception.  on Friday Jarek had a few friends over to celebrate his 14th birthday.  They did what most boys that age do...ate, played PS3, and watched movies.  On Saturday he went to the mall with his friends to go to his favorite frozen yogurt place.  How simple these parties are as they get older...no pinatas, no treat bags, no party games...just give 'em $20 and send them for yogurt :)

While they were at the mall, I finished up my ATC for the last swap of the year.  The theme was, Winter Wonderland....and as usual I had too many ideas in my head.  So, as i was scouring through all my crafty stuff I found these 5 glass pebbles and I knew what it was going to be...snow globe!  the rest just fell into place...I used inked card board for the base of the snow globe.  If you look closely you can see their is a picture of the Snow Queen.  The background papers I had on hand...one of those from my paper pig stash ;)  I embellished the globe with all different snowflakes I had...felt, buttons, and pearl brads.  I then added a swirl of aqua flocking.  I like the finished card...actually came out the way I had it in my head!

Christmas Crafting: Ornaments

OK, we have a BIG open house every year for our neighbors & John's co-workers and, in the past, I have given a little something for each family to take home.  Usually it is something baked, but this year I decided to do something different.  This will probably e our last year (John will more than likely be transferred in June) so I thought an ornament might be more fitting.  Gingerbread house building is the big event that evening so I knew that had to be incorporated into the ornaments, so...here is what I came up with. 

I made several different variations of this ornament, but this is the one I am going with. 

First I printed the gingerbread image & colored it.  Then I took the glass ball, added some "snow", glitter and star shaped sequins.  I then attached a neutral colored thread to the back of the image, inserted it into the clear glass ball and arranged it the way I wanted it.  I the added a fluffy bow.  I am going to make some takes to hang on the side that will read, "From our house to yours.  the Franklins ~ 2011"  I think these will be a nice keepsake for those who have attended all our open houses....hopefully one the neighbors will carry on the tradition we have started once we are gone.

Now, on to cards and our annual letter.

Fast & Fun Layouts...

 I did this quick layout at SWARM last month...I used elements from a Page Element Swap and I added the title (cut from the same papers using Storybook Cricut Cartridge).  I added an oval cut for the journalling.  I decorated the journallign with some flowers, rhinestone brads, velvet flocked flourished, and ribbon.  Cute & simple layout.

I made this layout to show how to use the monthly sketch I give on my FB group and turn it into a layout.  The cuts are from a swap I was in...they are from the Sentiments Cricut Cartridge.  I will add pics after our anniversary this year. 

This is my Keith Urban layout...I kept it really simple as I wanted the focus to be on the pics.  I inked the edges of the photos with black permenant ink.  I layered the blue background on a black sheet of cardstock to give a frame effect.  Done!



Halloween Fun

 Another Halloween gone....

Jarek and I were a little more creative this year with the pumpkins.  I made the big pumpkin eating the little pumpkin & Jarek made the devil pumpkin.  The ghostly cupcakes were treats for Jarek's friends...I love the idea of putting them in a solo cup and then wrapping.  I just had to get a picture of one of the fiberglass beavers dressed for the holiday.

Jarek had a few friends over for a pizza dinner & then they left in a group to go trick-or-treating.  They came home at 8 with a little bit of candy...it was never about the candy though...and warmed up by the fire while roasting marshmallows & making s'mores.  It was a school night, so everyone was gone by 8:30.  On to Thanksgiving!

Pearls & Swirls..for a challenge

Decided to do the Dutch Dare Card Challenge ( http://dutchdare-cardchallenges.blogspot.com/).  There theme this week was "pearls & swirls"...right up my alley :)

I started with a scrap of black & white, flocked, handmade paper for the background.  I then made the lattice element with white and shiny black card stock, adding grey pearls for the trim.  I added a white scallop border to the top and bottom.

Then I made the flower using a Spellbinder's die.  After cutting the card stock I coated each piece with diamond glitter.  Once dry I layered them and attached with a rhinestone brad.  I inked the leaves and added a swirls flourished.  I cut the flourishes on my Cricut with Accent Essentials.

Not quite the look I sketched out, but still pretty.

Cricut Cards

This month for our Cricut Cut Swap for card sized cuts the theme was Winter Fun. ....I do not have many Winter or Christmas cartridges so this is what I came up with....



The deer is from Cindy Lou...I added a google eye and pretty bow.  For the card I layered Bo Bunny Cafe with white and scraps of brown from cutting the deer.  The white was cut with a Martha Stewart Snowflake border punch.  Simple, but cute.

On this card I cute the snowman from Winter Woodland.  I used scraps of Bo Bunny Coral for the hat and scarf.  I accented the snowman with a Christmas red Stickles heart and Diamond Stickles on the hat and scarf.  I free handed the eyes.  The background papers are scraps of Bo Bunny papers...I again used a border punch.  The sentiment was stamped on white, double matted on teal and black; then outlined with Christmas red Stickles.  Finally, a piece of black grosgrain ribbon was added.  Seems like a lot, but actually came together quickly.

SWARM Saturday

Yesterday was our monthly SWARM...cropping with Cricuts. Even though I was a little under the weather, I had a great time. We did a pot luck for Breast Cancer Awareness this month. Everyone brought stuff, donated stuff, etc. I made several things...SIN (my yummy breakfast pastry), green bean casserole, cookies (chocolate with pink M&M's) and a pink champagne cake. some of the other treats....corn casserole, yummy cupcakes, 7 layer salad, roast, mac'n'cheese, crudites,....we were definitely not lacking in the food department;) I did manage to get a few things done...swaps for next month, a couple of layouts and some planning for paper Crafting Divas for 2012. It was a nice day catching up with the other ladies.

Color Challenge

Had a little time today so I decided to do a challenge. Checked out a few and when I came the Pixie Dust Challenge (http://pixieduststudiopixiechallenge.blogspot.com/) I knew I had to do this challenge. The color palette reminded of some paper I had in my scrap box, so...to the craft room!

This is what I came up with...I really wanted to do something different so...here's is what I did.

I used a Pixie Dust image (Muddy Buddy: Playpen Pals). I colored it with Stampin' Up pencils, and used Gamsol to blend. I colored two images. I then cut out the head and feet from one image and pop dotted it onto the other image. I added Crystal Effects to the hooves and snout. I also added a white dot on the eye with my gel pen. I then matted the image onto Co-ordination Cappuccino. For the Card I used Co-ordiantions Cappuccino layered with a plaid by The Girls' Paperie (Jubilee line). I then created the border using a brown and white stripe punched and threaded with a gold ribbon. I adhered everything with glue dots, except the matted image I used pop dots. Final touch, I added two flowers also by The Girls' Paperie and embellished with rhinestones.

I think it turned out really cute...and I know just the person I am going to give it to :)

Kit Frenzy!

I have been on a major cleaning streak with my craft room...going through all my material, patterns, paper, embellishments, cards, etc. As I have been cleaning I have been gathering all kits into one spot. I always seem to buy these kits, especially when I was working at the scrap store, but never get them done. So, today decided I would only work on things from my kit box. Here is what I got done...


This set of cards was made using one BoBunny sticker sheet and papers from the birthday line. Cute & Quick....they were designed by Kelly Skidmore.









I bought this set of cards from a local store after the holidays...thought they were pretty. They are all Cricut cuts...lots of layers. I did add some stickles just for accents. I believe this was a kit by Kim Hildebrand...but I am not positive.









This is another kit I purchased from a local store. The black & white color scheme with the black rub-ons and purple gems is very pretty. I also used lavender stickles. I know this kit is by Kim Hildebrand.

She sells her kits at: http://www.kimscardkits.com/





I have been packaging them up to use for hostess' gifts over the holidays...I have a few more to do so I will be well stocked ;)

Halloween Happenings

Fall is finally hear...leaves are rustling, there's a chill in the air, and pumpkins are everywhere! So I decided to do some Halloween crafting to help get in the mood.

I created all the cards above using Twinichies from a recent swap. In the swap you received a set of 3 - twinichies from each person. Some of the sets had to be kept together, like the "BOO"; while others could be made into a set of cards. I still have several sets left to use.

These are treat bags I made for my parents' group. Each bag is made from one sheet of 8 1/2 x 11 paper using a rather simple fold technique. I then added the Mrs. Grossman's sticker, punched a hole & tied closed with some ribbon. I just have to fill them now.

Now I am off to decorate the house...must climb into the attic to get all the stuff down. Pretty windy here, so not sure how much will actually get put out...I can get it organize though.

Quick card....then cleaning:(

What a busy day today...lots of cleaning out, tidying up & laundry...but I have been trying to spend at least an hour a day in my craft room and i did. I knew I would have to do a "quickie" and when I was going through my papers and found this one I knew what I wanted to do. this is a simple card, but I really like it. Ofcourse all the bling is wonderful, but sometimes you don't have to do a lot when you have pretty pieces to work with. So, I used gold pearl paper for the bottom layer, some pretty handmade paper with gold embossing for the background, gold trimmed cream ribbon and leaf gem stones. Just a note...I got those leaf gem stones at Michael's in the dollar bins...30 for a dollar & the came with their own pop dots!

Ok, break is over on to the rest of the to do list...

ATC: Fright NIght

This month's swap theme was "Fright Night"...sooooo many ideas came to mind. It took me the most time to narrow it down to two ideas! Thank goodness I signed up for both groups!

So, my first idea was to do a whole scene...moon, creepy tree, bat, tombstones....but that really wasn't pushing me, so....I surfed around the net looking at a lot of ATC sites and then I decided I wanted to do a mixed media type of card. Initially I was going to use printed images of old horror movie posters...House on Haunted Hill, Dracula, Werewolf, etc...and then embellish them. Well, I didn't like the look so, back to the computer. I cam across an image of Jack Skully from "Nightmare...". Perfect! I printed the image on photo card stock. I then embellished the image with Smooch inks, Perfect Pearls on the moon and covered the entire image with Crystal Effects. I printed a second set of images and cut out the pumpkin and his hand. I popdotted this on the first image and then covered with a thick coat of Crystal Effects. I really like how it turned out.

Now on to my second card. I have always wanted to do the mummy card, so...I decided to use it here. First I made my mummies with tea stained gauze, google eyes and a piece of chipboard. Then I created my door...I used brown handmade paper for the door to give it the wood texture. I added the "iron" trim and doorknob. I layered everything up and added a magnet so the door will stay closed. Finally, a glittery, black spider. Love it!

On to my next swap creations...fall cards:)

Mummies, Frankies & Wolfies....Oh, My!

Latest swap I am participating in...Twinchies! On the left are the completed sets of twinchies. I kept 'em simple because I had these great dimensional stickers from Jolee's Boutique. I used my Cricut to cut the bracketed squares, glued them together and added the stickers.
On the right is my card i made with my set of Twinchies....scrap papers, little ribbon, done! On to the next swap...ATC's!

Where does the time go.....

I am always surprised when I get on here and realize that I have been away longer than I thought...2, sometimes even three weeks. I always wonder, where did the time go??? Well, this time I know....

My son started 8th grade and we we have had a lot of adjusting to do...not only is it a new grade, but they decided to totally rearrange the kids days.

Confirmation classes started back up, no I am not getting confirmed, but I volunteer with the youth minister to help keep this program going. 40 kids in the program, but only 8-9 actually do anything to help :( I don't mind, but...it keeps me busy. And this year, on top of doing all the organization for the program I am teaching the parent portion...yeah. This is SOOOO out of my box, but I am pushing through it. I actually did our opening prayer last week. Now, to some of you this is no big deal, but to anyone raised Catholic you will understand. Prayer is usually something you have remembered, not an impromptu, from the heart thing. I can do this!

My parents also came for a week visit. It is always nice to have them here, but it does tend to through me off a little...I stay up too late, don't workout, eat all the wrong things....Oh, well...I love having them here.

Ahhh....things are finally settling in. Fall is definitely in the air....cool, crisp weather, leaves falling, fuzzy sweaters...I love this time. Now, hopefully I can get back to some crafting :)

I was SWAPPED this weekend!

In between cleaning house, walking beasties, mulching the yard and shopping I managed to work on several swaps.



This one is for our monthly card challenge on Paper Crafting Divas. We did things a little differently this time...instead of a theme, you had to use the sketch. Here is my take on the sketch...the background is an older Heidi Grace paper. The image and sentiment are clip art from the computer...for the haunted house, I colored the windows with a Zig yellow marker and inked the entire sky with a plum Chalk Cat's Eye. Then, to give it more dimension, I covered the entire image with painted on crystal effects. The other circles are from a stack, they are metallic. I really like this card and had fun with the sketch. I am going to have to do a second set of cards to help a member out and I already have a fun idea for it...going to change up the circle...will post when completed!

Here are all the swaps I completed (from top left, clockwise): Recipe cards, Birthday Swap, Monthly card Swap, and Page Elements Swap.

It was a very productive weekend ;)

A Day of Rembrance...

Ten years ago today I was in the kitchen cleaning up for the crazy school morning rush. My two preteens were at school, John (DH) was out of town on business and my 3 year old was in the family room playing. I remember hearing my son say something like " the plane hit the buildings", but I really didn't pay too much attention to it...he was three. then my girlfriend, Brandi, called and asked me if I had the TV on. I went into the family room and immediately saw what she, and my three year old, had been talking about. I changed the channel for my son and went into the other room to watch while I talked to Brandi. I remember sitting there in utter shock. There were just no words for the feelings, tears streamed down my face for all those directly suffering, their families and for me. It did not take long for me to realize that as a military wife, our lives were about to change..this would effect us, even though we did not loose a loved one on that terrible day.

Over the past ten years my husband, a very proud Marine Colonel, has spent approximately 5+ years away from home. he has been deployed statewide and overseas, he has worked with reservists and active duty military . He has attended more funerals than any one should have too. He has missed many little things protecting our country with his fellow military.

My son has been without his father for 5+ years of the past ten, but he is very proud of his father and considers him a hero. He understand, as much as he can, what his father is doing is for him. As a result, their time together is very precious...they are very close.

Unfortunately, my two older children...my step children...did not behave the best when their father had to be away, so they went back to live with their mother. It has greatly effected our relationship with them.

Finally, I have been with out my husband for 5+ years and had to be a single mom a lot of the time. Now, I am not complaining, as I am also very proud of my husband...all military...and everyone who has had a part in the aftermath of 9/11...but I will admit that it has not been easy.

So, today I take a minute to reflect and remember, and to say a prayer for all the lives lots, the lives changed, the survivors, the first responders, the military.....for all Americans that we NEVER FORGET.

Do you remember what/where you were?

Under the Sea ATC's

The theme for the ATC Swap this month on Papercrafting Divas...Under the Sea. I had so many ideas running through my mind that I decided to sign up for both groups. Here is what I came up with...

This is my literal interpretation of the theme....the background paper is Heidi Grace flocked pearlescent paper, with Jolee stickers for the sea creatures. I used just tan paper for the sand, but covered it with Burlap Distressed Stickles. I think they are pretty cute.

This is my second set of cards....a little more out of the box. This is not my original plan...I had to change it up to get the look I wanted. Originally I wanted to do another literal card with a ship wreck and treasure under the sea. Well....I just could not get it to look the way I wanted, so...I found this clip art of the pirate ship in a storm and decided to use it. So, the ship is the literal, while the treasure is what you could find under the sea. I used a beautiful mirrored card stock that I embossed in the Cuttlebug for the background, pop dotted the image of the pirate ship. I cut the treasure cheasts from "Life's a Party" Cricut cartridge...distressed them and then added jewels, sea glass, shaped buttons, mini pearls, and gold stickles for the 'treasure". The sand is again tan card stock, but this time I ran it through the Xyron and then spinkled it with a very fine craft sand. Wasn't too sure about this one....but it is growing on me.

I am so enjoying this ATC's....I can really push myself to go outside of the box. Already planning & sketching next month's...Fright Night!

Cricut Cut Swap = Cute Card

This month's Cricut Cut Swap on my FB group was your favorite cut. So, while this cute cat is maybe not my favorite cut I do like it. I just got Happy Hauntings so I just had to do something from it. On the left is the finished swap item...cricut cut cat and stamped sentiment. I cut the cat from Raven card stock and used scraps of green and purple for the layers. Once all adhered together, I added green lime stickles. The sentiment is one from the $1 bin...I stamped in black and matted with another scrap of green.

The right is what I created with my cuts...I used a scrap of BoBunny paper from my scrap bin. Layered the card background and the sentiment on Raven card stock. I colored in the stamped image with orange. I added a pumpkin sticker, pop dotted and accented with yellow stickles on the features. Cute & Simple!

It's the most wonderful time of the year....

If there were no schools to take the children away from home part of the time, the insane asylums would be filled with mothers. ~Edgar W. Howe

Oh, how true. Now, don't get me wrong, I love my son and look forward to our summers together. Because he is the only one home now, and DH is a work, we tend to have a lot of together time. We enjoy each other's company...most of the time. I cherish this time with him now because I do realize it is limited. He will be away at college or on his own in no time. But the reality is that too much of even a good thing is, just that, too much. About the second week of August our summer honeymoon seems to start wearing thin. He begins to test me, and I annoy him. He is ready to have his time away, even if it is at school. At least there he will have the sympathy of his friends who have annoying mothers as well.

So...it is about this time every year that I remember my favorite Staples...or was it Office Depot...commercial. You know, the one where the parent are gleefully filling the shopping cart with school supplies while "It's the most wonderful time of the year...." plays in the background...and they are followed by two very forlorn children. Love it!

On a more serious note, Jarek made it onto the bus this morning with no drama...his room was actually clean! No hundreds of tops and bottoms all over from the hurried morning fashion frenzy...he actually wore the outfit he laid out the night before! And he made his bed! Wow...does this mean he is growing up??? Maybe I should just appreciate it quietly so as not to jinx myself:) He only groaned a little when I insisted on walking to the bus stop to take a picture of the kids...I was not the only mother there. I just love looking back at the pictures from each year and seeing how they all have grown and changed. I promise I will not do it in High School...or at least if I do, I will sneak it :)


So, now what to do...what to do...no one to play chauffeur for, to worry about leaving home too long, plan activities for, etc. I think I am going to go craft...at least until 4. Then, I have to be at the bus stop again...have to get that "after" pic, but more importantly I have to take the M&M ice creams up...it is tradition. This is one tradition even Jarek is not ready to give up. I am sure I will not be met with groans as long as I have ice cream.

and ice cream makes everything better!

Candy corn...

and another challenge card. I knew I wanted to do the Pixie Dust Challenge this week, but was having a little bit of a time getting started, so I decided to use the Sketch Challenge for Dutch Dare Card Challenges. So, now I knew how my card was going to be laid out, but what image...what papers??? I started browsing all of Pixie's images that would be appropriate for teen boys (the theme was: Teen/Tween ) When I saw this image (Frankie BOY) I knew he was the one. I then pulled papers from my scrap file and....here is is...my finished card. I colored the image with Stampin' Up pencils and then used the sketch from Dutch Dare. Rather simplistic, but I think teen boys would like that. I did add the black rhinestones....my son (13 years old) says that is "cool".

I entered this card in two challenges:

Pixie Dust Studio - http://pixiedustpixiechallenge.blogspot.com

Dutch Dare Card Challenges - http://dutchdare-cardchallenges.blogspot.com

Cards!

I made this card for one of my fellow divas. She has been asking for one of my book cards, so...here it is :) I knew I had to use black, it is her favorite color, but I had to lighten it up to go with the verse so I added white, pink and green. I used a Spellbinder to cut the book and pages. All papers are from my scrap basket...Raven card stock, glossy black card stock, hand made paper...I added charms, paper flowers, rhinestone brads, ribbon, glitter stickers and sequin butterflies. I think it turned out pretty.

This card is for another fellow Diva...for our birthday swap. Again I used scraps of card stock and Basic Grey patterned paper. The image is a digi stamp from Fred She Said. I colored it with Stampin'Up pencils and blended with Gamsol. I then cut the images out and covered with Glossy Accents. I used Dew Drops for the pearl like accents on the scalloped circle. When I put it all together I used pop dots on the cut outs for added dimension. I think she is going to like it!

Bed of Flowers card

Here is my entry for Pixie Dust Studio's Challenge (http://pixieduststudioixiechallenge.blogspot.com ) this week. The theme was "Anything Goes", but you had to use a pixie image. This is one of my favorite images, Bed of Flowers. I colored the image with my Stampin' Up pencils & used gamsol to blend. I embellished the image with Stickles. I matted the image on Raven cardstock. I used some BoBunny scraps for the background. I then added a bow and three punched flowers with jewel centers. Cute! I love her!

Cards I hate to make...

Sympathy or condolence cards...but they are needed now and then, so...

here is one I made last night for a lady at DH work who just lost her father. I kept it simple...handmade, velvet embossed papers, jewels, flowers & ribbon. I found the sentiment online & printed it on card stock. I think it turned out pretty.

Back to Reality....and a Christmas ATC

I am always amazed at all the things you have to do after taking a vacation...mail, yard work, bills, laundry, etc. You would not think 8 days would create so much pile of chores...and the e-mails, facebook, etc. are chores unto themselves. So many messages, so little time:) I think i finally weeded through my FB account messages, game requests, etc, got the two e-mail accounts all cleaned up, laundry in the washer, groceries in the fridge, mail sorted, bills paid, yard mowed, weeds pulled, plants watered....ahhhh, time for another vacation!

It was a wonderful, busy trip. We went to Key West for 8 days of sun, water and fun. We all came back a little tired and a little sunburned. We did it all...snorkeling, jet skiing, sailing, sunning, shopping, sight seeing, etc. It was a GREAT trip.

Now on to something a little craftier....my latest ATC. This month's swap on FB group was "Christmas Memories". I thought about this for several days and here is what I came up with...

A FIREPLACE! Let me explain...

When I was little we lived in an apartment...so there was always the dilemma of where to put stockings & how would Santa get in. One year, my father decided to make me a fireplace. He used colored paper & markers to turn a little bookshelf into a fireplace. So....a fireplace it was.

I used handmade paper to make the base for the fireplace. I then free handed liquid applique for the mortar. I added a mantle out of handmade papers. I free handed the stockings out of a velvet paper and added a candy cane sticker. I used a brad for the "nail" to hold the stocking on the fireplace. I used real twigs for the logs and the stickles for the flames.