Next Chapter

It has been almost 4 months since I last blogged, and a lot of things have changed.  We are on to a new adventure!  In July, after Jarek's graduation, we moved to Tennessee.  DH had already started a new job and had been living there since November 2015, it was time for us to join him.  Jarek came with us, he is currently attending college locally and living at home.  We are living in a rental townhouse...quite the fun with three adults & three dogs :)  We had hoped our house in Virginia would have sold already and we would be building our final home in a golf course community here, but, as it seems to always be lately, things are not going as planned.  The house in Virginia is still on the market!  DH &I have decided that since this is going to be a much longer term situation than originally thought we need more space.  So, in three weeks we will be moving into a rental house.  Yeah...moving again!  It will e a much better situation for us...4 bedrooms, fenced yard, and a pool.  While our living situation will be much improved, I have to find something for me to do.  I am feeling a little lost without all my volunteer "jobs", my real job, Bunco group, etc.  I am missing it all and have not found any replacement for it yet.  The good thing is I will have access to my craft stuff, so...maybe I will work on catching up my scrapbooks.   

While we have been in the townhouse I have been taking the dogs for twice daily walks at the marina in the neighborhood we are going to build our house.  In an effort to fill that creative spark I have been playing with photography.  It is a beautiful neighborhood with lots of photo opportunities.   To make it a little more challenging, I take a daily quote as my photo inspiration on my walk.  Here are a few:

While I am looking forward to having my craft stuff, I am enjoying the photography.  I have also been trying to bullet journal.  This I am having a little trouble with.  I just don't make the time daily to do it.  Maybe in the new house where the dogs will not have to be watched so much, I will be able to make a routine of it.  I do like it....just have to find the time to do it daily.   

I am also trying to catch up on my reading challenge...17 of 40 books read.  Only 23 more to read until the end of the year...I think I can!

What are you crafting?  Have you recently tried something new?  What do you think of bullet journaling?

~Marie

Make A Wish Card

I obviously love this layout as I have used it twice before (coffee card and good-bye card).  I needed some quick, but cute birthday cards.  I bought these dimensional candle stickers awhile ago with the intention of making some cards, so they were the perfect embellishment.  The sentiment is a Stampin'Up stamp.  I added a few Stampin' Up sequin stars and washi tape to the hand drawn border.  I think they are very festive.  What do you think?  Do you have a "go to" card layout?

~Marie

Best Friends Card

So, this card was for a swap.  I was pressed for time so I decided to use some leftover stickers from my scrap basket.  I found a perfect piece of patterened paper and used a cocoa piece of card stock for the base.  The card is a flip flap card, very cute and easier than it looks.  I think my partner will like it.     ~Marie

Reading Challenge : Update

Reading has been challenging lately....between prom, graduation, new puppies, tryign to sell our house, and trying to prepare to move, well, there just isn't much free time.  I am currently on the search for my next book as I am still determined to finish the challenge.  I tried to read two books that I just could not get into, so....suggestions welcome ;)      ~Marie

Good Bye Card

As summer begins we have friends that are moving and so does my son.  I needed a quick card, not much crafting time right now as we are preparing to move.  I found the clip art of the bottle online, no source info with picture, and I thought it was cute and would be perfect.  I lifted the layout from my previous coffee card.  I love it...I printed three copies of the bottle and then layered up certain parts to give it dimension.  The border is hand drawn.  I added a few sequin stars and some washi tape, done!  Sometimes simple is best.  

~Marie

Graduation Girl in Purple

Another graduation card using an older image from Saturated Canary; unfortunately, she is no longer available.  Like before, I colored her to resemble the graduate. I decided to make a box card so it could be used as a decoration.  I really wanted to make it festive so I used rhinestone numbers and tulle to add to the box.  I love it...I hope she does.  ~Marie

Hats Off Graduation Cards

These were so fun, and easy, to make.  I usually hate making shaker cards in mass; however, this time I had the WRMK Fuse Tool.  I love this tool.  I made 12 shaker cards in an hour...unheard of!  As these cards are for boys I kept them clean and simple.  The image in the shaker is a piece of clip art I found and, of course, they are done in the school colors.  The pennants are stickers from Jolee's.  I really like these and I can not wait to use my Fuse Tool again.  

Have your tried the Fuse tool yet?

~Marie

Blue Bird Card

Cute CAS card I made for a recent swap.  I love how they came out.  I used the Stampin' Up Bird Builder punch.  all the colored card stock is from my scrap stash.  Love when I can use up scraps! This card just makes me smile.

Back to graduation cards!

~Marie

Graduate Girl in Red

I love how this card turned out!  I made it for a very special girl.  I had the joy of caring for her when she was much younger.  She and Jarek were buddies.  We moved away when they were both 4 years old.  Through Facebook I have watched her grow into a beautiful young lady.                                                                                                                                                      I used an older image from Saturated Canary; unfortunately, she is no longer available.  I am glad I have her, she is my favorite image to use for female graduation cards.  I colored her to resemble the graduate.  The back ground is the starburst technique using pretty scraps.  I added a punched border, pretty ribbon & flower in her school colors, and a black rhinestone swirl.  I hope she likes it as much as I liked creating it for her.

More graduation cards to come!

~Marie

Operation Graduation

So, we are two weeks away from Graduation and I feel like all I do is make cards and send cards!  I only ordered a small amount of formal announcements so I made my own picture ones for far away friends.  
I then made all my "boy cards". I kept it simple.  I used a subway art I printed on the computer.  I matted it in their school colors and added a Jolee's graduation hat sticker.  Clean and Simple.  Now to make all the cards for Jarek's close friends here....I am thinking a shaker card....

Life....

it just gets in the way of my crafting time..and reading time!  I have had to put my crafting and reading on the back burner for a bit to start prepping for graduation and All Night Grad party (which I am the chair for), putting our house on the market, and taking care of two new puppies.  



I did get these photo announcements made and mailed out as well as the formal ones.  In the next two weeks we have prom and then Graduation on the 16th with All Night Grad Party immediately following.  I still have 10 graduation cards to make, a couple of presents to pick up, props for prom pictures to find, and prom favors to make.  All the while taking care of the new pups, going to baseball games, and finalizing all the plans for All Night Grad Party.  

I have made some nice graduation cards that I will share this week, so stay tuned!

What are you crafting today?  
~Marie

Bunny Blooms Card

I colored this bunny up around Easter, but never got him onto a card.  With Easter long gone, I decided to make a friendship card with him.  He is a coloring page I found.  I colored him with my Prismacolor pencils, fussy cut, and then added "pop dots' for dimension.  I added a stamped sentiment, Prima flowers, and faux stitching with white dimensional paint.  Pretty cute!                                                          What are you working on?                                                  ~Marie

Reading Challenge Update

This week I read a memoir.  It was supposed to be a "political memoir", but I was really intrigued by this book, Dear Zari.  I wish it had been as good as I expected.  While I enjoyed the writing and the stories were moving, I was confused by the author's need to constantly interject her personal tales.  I found this to be, sometimes, distracting to the story.  However, I did find the stories enlightening.  They helped give me a better appreciation for the freedoms I have and what the Afghan women have to endure in their culture.  

Now, I need to read something lighter...

What are you reading?

~Marie

Reading Challenge:

I was trying to read a dystopian novel this week,  just couldn't get into it.  So I decided to read a "self improvement" book.  I did a search on Goodreads and came across The 52 Weeks.  When reading the description I could completely relate to being "stuck" in life, feeling stagnant.  So, I gave it a go.  Honestly, there is no new advice, it is all stuff we know; however, the fact that they actually DID IT and wrote about it is what makes it a good read.  The two authors try new things, reconnect with old interests, and create new habits.  I enjoyed it so much that I was inspired to create my own list.                                             

~Marie

Faux Cloisonne Cards

Scout & Jax...Mini Australian/
Border Collie mix 

So, I have not had a lot of crafting time in the past couple weeks because of these two.  Yes, we got two puppies..or I should say my husband surprised us with these two.  While they are adorable, and I know they will grow out of this baby stage, I do not suggest getting two puppies when you are trying to sell your house.  What a feat to get these two gathered up, then harness Thor, our older dog, and get out the door for buyers to look.  

I am finally getting them on a bit of a schedule and am starting to have a bit of time.  So, I decided to join in a swap.  It was a technique swap, we had to create a card using the Faux Cloisonne technique.  I have been wanting to try this one, so it was perfect timing.  I loved it!  I will definitely do it again.  

The aqua flowers were a mountain sky, the dark blue are from a night city scape, and the magenta are from an ad for raisins.

The technique is really quite simple, heat emboss on glossy magazine pages and then "fussy cut" your images.  Well, I actually cheated a bit, I used a set from Stampin' Up (flower shop) that had a matching punch...so "no fussy" cutting for me.  This, of course, made it much faster.  The fun was seeing how the images would come out from the various pages.I kept the backgrounds simple so the flowers were the focal points.  I did add centers to the flowers...gotta have a little bling!  

I will definitely keep this technique in my repertoire and I will be looking at magazines in a whole new way!

Thanks for looking!

~Marie

Reading Challenge: 2nd Quarter Off to a Good Start!

I am so ahead for this 2nd quarter!  Barely a month in and I have already read 3 books.  This week  I only planned to read "a book that will bring you joy", but I ended up also do the "book you can read in 1 day".  Both were by my favorite author, Richard Paul Evans.  I read The Mistletoe Promise and The Mistletoe Inn.  

 This was an extremely fast read, but his books usually are for me.  It is a lovely Christmas story filled with Evans' usually optimism and great characters.  




Initially I was a bit disappointed when I realized this was not a "part 2" to the first book, but I quickly got over that as I began meeting the new characters for this story.  Another well written, fun read.  

I am now reading a "dystopian novel".  I have to say, this genre is really not my thing, but....I decided to read something that I managed to avoid reading is high school, but thought I might appreciate at this age.  

What are you reading?

~Marie

Sorry

Quick share today...this is a card I made for a far away friend who recently lost her beloved dog, Oreo.  I am not sure where the image is from, it was in my stash.  After coloring it with my Prismacolor pencils, I added Glossy Accents to his nose and eyes.  I used scrap from my stash for the card, added some black baker's twine, and a paw punch.  I think he is adorable.  What do you think?

Thanks for looking!

~Marie

Reading Challenge: Update

So, I have not updated in awhile.  Life is a little crazy, but I have manged to reach my quarterly goal for the reading challenge...10 books in 3 months.  

Since my last update I have read:  

*  Through the Looking Glass - book more than 100 years older than you
*  Drowning Ruth - book fro Oprah's Book club
*  Love Life - book written by a celebrity

I am going to give you a brief thought on each...

Through the Looking Glass - thank goodness it was short...did not enjoy it, took me a week to read this short book.  Just too strange, not my cup of tea.

Drowning Ruth - I was really looking forward to reading this book after the other reviews,; however, I personally found it to be rather anti-climatic and would not recommend.  There was great detail and character building, but I just felt like it went no where.

Love Life - I read Rob Lowe's first book, Stories I Only Tell My Friends, and thoroughly enjoyed it. This one was just as enjoyable. Some of the other reviews felt he bounced around, I liked that as it felt like you were in a conversation...who ever stays on one subject when having a chat with a friend?  I also like his sharing about
his son leaving for college, very touching for me since my son is graduation from high school this year.  

I have already picked my next book, one by my favorite author and will fulfill the  "book that's guaranteed to bring you joy".  I will tell you about it next week.

So, what are you reading?  Any suggestions?

~Marie

Heart Broken

We had a rough weekend.  On Thursday (3/24/16) we had to make

the difficult decision to put one of our fur babies to sleep.  It was sudden and he was in pain, so it was the only thing to do.  However, knowing that does not make it any easier,  then seeing your 18 year old cry like the 10 year old he was when you got the dog as a puppy just breaks your heart a little more  I have truly missed my silly Colonel the past few days...he was always happy and wagged with his whole body to show it.  His energy was unlimited always looking for a toy or a snack.  Nothing edible was safe from him....if he wanted it he would get it. My son and I have decided that he went to be with my dad as last Friday was the anniversary of his passing.  We like to think they are somewhere together enjoying each other's company without pain.  

Princess Rose Red

I know, it's been awhile.  I have had no time to craft or read :)  Between Senior year activities for my son, preparing the house to sell, packing up to move after graduation, and giving my two weeks notice life has been CRAZY!  

I managed to put this card together last night...just had to have some creative time.  The image is Princess Rose Red from Saturated Canary.  I colored her with my Prismcolor pencils.  I used scraps to make the starburst background.  Added a few embellishments, done.  I am loving this card.  
I hope to have a little more time for crafting once I am not working...I hope.

Thanks for looking!
~Marie

Sweet 16 for a Special Girl

 It is hard to believe that this cute, little cherub has grown into this beautiful young lady.  Her mother and I have been friends for 16+ years so I have enjoyed watching her grow and being a small part of her world.   She celebrated her Sweet 16 this past weekend and while I could not be there, my husband could.  He delivered a very special present and this card.  Of course I had to make a glittery, blinged out card for her special day.  

I loved this image, not too young. She is Let Us Eat Cake from Tiddly Inks.  I colored it with Prismcolor pencils and added gold Stickles to her crown and Diamond Dust Stickles to her dress.  I used a lot of rhinestones...more bling the better...so I kept the overall design simple.  

I hope she enjoyed her card, gifts and party.  

Next year I will be there to celebrate with her!

~Marie

Reading Challenge: Update

Little slow on the reading this week...but I did manage to finish a book.  
This week I read, Murder in Real Time, another Patience Price mystery and sadly, the last.  I have enjoyed them.  This one I used as my "murder mystery".  

Now, what to read for this week....I am thinking I will read a "YA bestseller", but we will see.  I am going to go scour my bookshelves, real and virtual, for unread books and see what fits one of the challenges.

What have you been reading?

~Marie

I'm Feeling Blue

Quick Share....I made this card for a swap.  The theme was monotone cards, so I started digging through my scrap basket.  This card was made completely with scraps!  Love when I can use up those pretty leftovers.  The rhinestone swirl was crystal, so I just colored it with my Spectum Noir pens in the right shade of blue and it fit right in. 

How do you use your pretty leftovers?

~Marie

Trying Something New: Napkin Fold Card

Quick share today...

I have been trying to challenge myself a bit and do new things.  this card, for a swap, did that.  This is the napkin fold card.  Honestly, I am not sure about it....although it seems to be growing on me.  the first two I made i just threw in the trash...awful!  The folds didn't match up, the card stock was too thick and cracked on the folds, etc.  So, this one, that made the cut, I used a medium weight card stock and really took my time with the folds.  I like it...I may even try another one!  

Do you challenge yourself when creating?  How?

~Marie

Reading Challenge: Moving Along!

So, I took last week off from blogging as it was an insanely busy week with meetings...PTSA, ANGP, etc.  However, I did manage to finish another book and start a new one!

I crossed off  "book with a blue cover" this week.  I so enjoyed the Patience Price book I read the week before that I decided to read the next one, Murder Comes Ashore.  

I am really enjoying this series.  The stories are entertaining, I like the characters, and the books are light.  Sometimes a light read is good....especially when you have a lot of other thing going on. Anyhow, this was definitely a good read an I even enjoyed the light romance.  

What are you reading?  

~Marie

Valentine's Day

Quick share...this is a card I made for a swap.  We had to use a sketch and make a Valentine's or Anniversary card.  I found the felt hearts at Michael's and designed my card around them. The paper is from my scrap basket.  I printed the sentiment on my computer.  I inked all the edges with Chestnut Roan chalk ink and added three red sequins. I don't usually make Valentine's cards, but I like how this one came out.  

Have you started on your Valentine's cards?  

~Marie

Reading Challenge: 5 Down!

Into the second month of this challenge and I have already read 5 books!  This past week I read 2 books, both lighter reads and on the shorter side.  

The first book I read was "a book you haven't read since high school", The Great Gatsby.  I have to say I definitely had a different take on the book this time.  Originally when I read it in high school I was looking for the happy ending to the love story between Gatsby and Daisy.  However, this time I realized the shallowness of both characters and had no sympathy for their situations.  Still a wonderful read, a true classic.

Next I read a book "that takes place on an island",  Murder by The Seaside.  I happened to find this book on bookbub , it is by an author I am not familiar with, but it takes place on Chincoteague Island in Virginia so it caught my eye.  I enjoyed the book, a light mystery with a dash of romantic comedy.  It was a nice light, entertaining read that went quickly.  I enjoyed it so much that I did a bit of research and found there are two more books in the series have begun the second one for "book with a blue cover".

 What are you reading?

Marie

My Type of Scrap-booking with 3D Embellishments

 So, last week I shared my new way of scrap booking...a hybrid of digital collages and traditional scrapbook elements. There was a concern about the flatness of the layouts.  These are two layouts that I think will show that it is really what you make of it.  The top one contains one collage and one traditional picture.  I made a pocket out of the collage to hold some items that go with the  traditional picture.  I used a Cricut cut chef to accent the cook out collage.  The black card stock will be the mat for my journaling.  

The "Lucky" layout is actually a traditional layout I made when I used to work at Stop'n'Crop.  The original layout held 3 - 4x6 plaid photo mats.  I removed the two on the right side and replaced with a collage.  I added the shamrock stickers for dimension.  The title and clover were cut on my Cricut.  The picture to the left is actually a screen shot from Jarek's instagram...I love using these as they require no journaling and are a memento in themselves.  

Do you have any tips for getting caught up on your scrapbooks?  I would love to hear them.

Marie

BRRRR....

Thought I would share this one in honor of our recent blizzard.  We were very fortunate and never lost power or Internet....thank goodness.  The kids were out of school for a total of 11 days including the weekends.   Now, I like snow as much as the next person, but this is just too much.  My poor dogs, who love snow, couldn't  even go play in it.  Oh, well, what are you going to do?  Catch up on craft projects!  

I had this little penguin in my stash already colored up.  He is from on of my favorite sets.  I just added some glittery papers, a stamped sentiment, and a few snowflake stickers.  Cute!  

If you were snowed in, how did you spend your time?

~Marie 

My New Way to Scrapbook

OK, if you are like me you are behind on your scrap booking.  Normally this would not bother me, but this is my son's senior year.  I would really like to have his books done...at least his high school one.  So, I contemplated how to get caught up.  Well, after scrolling through my iPad and all the collages I create for different social media, I realized that I really had already scrap booked most of the pictures.  Why couldn't I use those collages in my traditional scrapbooks?  So I gave it a try and I love it!  I printed my collages at 8.25 x 8.25, the largest I can do on my home printer.  I still get to do the creative part but I spend less time on cutting/cropping my pictures.

This is one of my favorite layouts so far.  It is a flip layout that can feature 5 of the collages, so it is perfect for "events".  This is the one I created for homecoming.  The flip layout is so easy to create. For this one I used 4 12x12 sheets of black card stock and glitter papers.  I am going to make a tutorial when I create this one again as it is had to explain, but so easy to do.  

What have you scrap booked lately?  

~Marie

  

Reading Challenge: 3 Down!

I missed last week's update...crazy busy. So, in the past two weeks I have read 2 books.  I am off to a good start with this challenge.  Now for the books...

First, I read Light Between the Oceans.  This one has actually been on my "to read list" for a year.  It was a perfect fit for the "book being made into a movie" on the challenge. I found the first few chapters a bit boring, but once I got past them I was hooked.  I enjoyed the book but found it rather sad.  It is a moving story of what happens when good people make bad choices.  



Second, I read one that was in my nightstand, and was under 150 pages. Richard Paul Evans is one of my favorite authors.  I picked this one up between the publishing of his other novels and just never got to it. The Four Doors is little more that a restating of Evans' ideas that he presents in his novels. The personal antidotes were interesting and insightful and helped to make the book more readable.

I am enjoying this challenge and trying new authors/genres.  I am on to book 4! 

What are you reading?  Any suggestions?

~Marie