Stylish Blogger Award & More to Celebrate!

I am having a great November. It started with some work I did for Jill D-Zines on my December Daily cover. It will be published on December 1st (that's tomorrow) at an online magazine. Come back tomorrow for pictures and a link.
My six year old had a Christmas card published and is now being sold!
I won some Bella Blvd paper and embellies! Thanks Bella Blvd! And for those of you who saw my prize post, I found the contest on Facebook.
Then I received a blog award from Whimsical Craft Loft and you can see my details below on that.
Had a few Etsy sales.
Today, I got an email from 2 Peas in a Bucket that my submission will be featured as the project in the 20 Days of Sharing on December 22, 2010.
So, now let's talk about the Creative Blogger Award. It was sent to me by Wildly Whimsical Craft Loft Blog. And I am to share 8 things about me. So here goes:
1) I am a one of eleven children. I have six sisters all named Mary and my Mother's name was Mary too! I also have four brothers, but they all have their own names.
2) I am married with two grade school age boys. That's all I'm sharing for safety reasons.
3) I started a non-profit scrapbooking and paper crafting guild with my friends when our local scrapbook store closed three years ago.
4) I read "Get the Sugar Out" and think sugar is evil! I do cheat now and again it is so tasty.
5) I love coffee with stevia and milk.
6) My favorite place to vacation is southwestern Michigan near South Haven. You have to see this great lake if you haven't!
7) I have been to Hong Kong, Greece, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and Luxenburg.
8) I love to read and am in a book club.
Now I am supossed to pass on the award to 8 bloggers. So here are my Stylish Blogger Award Nominees:
http://creationsbychristie.blogspot.com/
http://www.amazingpapergrace.com/
http://www.michellelanning.com/
http://suelelli.blogspot.com/
http://clare-buswell.blogspot.com/2010/11/holly-shaped-vintage-tags.html
http://lovelifeslittlepleasures.blogspot.com/
http://mistrabutterfly.blogspot.com/
http://livingorganizedchaos.blogspot.com/
Thanks so much Wildly Whimsical Craft Loft!

Do You Give Your Best Work Away too?

Just going through some older photos looking for quilts I made to apply for a design team and came across these pictures. They are not my best photos, and I have gotten much better about photographing my work. But I do what a lot of my crafting friends do and give away my best work to family, friends and loved ones. So, I can't retake the photos, and I realized there are several quilts I did not take pictures of. I am usually so excited when they are finished to give them and see their reaction.
It has been a busy day, putting up the Christmas tree & I thought I might share these. The first is a baby quilt in the bargelo style, the red and black quilt is a pineapple block (I think I got the pattern from Better Homes and Gardens Quilting), and the last is a log cabin with side details influence by the Buggy Barn Quilt Shops work.

My Prize Winning Secrets!

In the past few years I have become addicted to online scrap booking give aways and challenges. And I have been lucky! Some of the prizes I have won: a scrapmabob (drink holder with garbage for crops), a Martha Stewart Cake Cartridge, a mini album, a stamp set, some Bell Blvd items, a Pet Scrap book kit. So, what are my secrets?
1) The Cricut Message board-find lots of giveaway links in the Cricut Chat Section & RAK & Swaps. RAK stands for Random Acts of Kindness.
2) Facebook-Do a search for all of your favorite companies and like their pages. The post giveaways their all the time. You will need to set up a Facebook account to like another page. This actually has become my best source for give aways!
3) For blogs with regular give aways, subscribe to posts. For example, Everyday Cricut usually has weekly give aways and daily posts. Your chances increase if you leave a comment on each daily post. So, you want to know every time the post and then you can make a comment and enter. Look for subscribe to post at the bottom of the blog. This will generate an email to you every time they post to the blog.
4) For Challenges: Visit Craft Crave and click on the Craft Categories tab to see a list of current challenges. You can also subscribe to posts on blogs with regular challenges. For example, Etsy Inspired Challenges posts a weekly challenge with prizes. And if you did not win my last drawing, you can watch for my next prize at the Etsy Inspired Challenge blog December 11th, 2010. You could win the scrapbag at the top of the post and never lose your spatula again!
5) It's ok to follow to win. Most blogs are trying to generate income by blogging or promoting their product on a blog. So, if they want followers and often require this for entry into a contest. It is ok to follow. No email is generated by following, and they will only get your email address if it is listed on your Google account. Now if you want to see all the blogs you follow and if they are holding a contest, you will want to subscribe to them and choose follow in Google reader. Then go to Google reader daily or often and read the headlins of the blogs to see what you which blogs you want to visit.
6) If you leave contact information you will want to type in your address in the following manner to be safer "jsmith at hotmail dot com" This will prevent malware and spy ware programs from automatically finding your address and infecting your computer.
7) Create a contest or junk mail email account. If you are entering contest you will be asked by quite a few to provide an email address and then you will get all their online promotional emails. So, create a free account at hotmail, or yahoo and use that address instead of your personal address for these contests. But don't forget to check this address for contest information!
Now I've got you started, and if you have any tips please share them in the comments section. Also please check out my Etsy Store Sales thru Cyber Monday at Scrapguild and Scrapincovers! I hold a sale just 2times a year! I have great gift ideas for the crafter who has everything and the Cricut enthusiast! Be sure to use my coupon code at check out!

December Daily Updates

I have been making a few additions to my December Daily Album. This is a project that Ali Edwards does every year, and this year Scrapbooks Etc. is on board. They've started a online December Daily project, where you can see Ali's DD and every other scrapper who has shared a link. There are many wonderful ideas out there. Some of the ideas I incorporated are the lace card stock on overheads, and clear page pockets. I used some lace card stock to cover a sticker protector sheet that I cut up, and filled it with recipes that we will use on Make Mondays. One son wants Rice Krispie Wreaths and the other some Ginger cookies Grandmas makes.

I have also made an envelop to hold this years Christmas card. I am so excited about our card this year! My six year old entered a contest at the YMCA over the summer and he won!
His card, pictured above, (along with 4 others) has been published and is for sale! Funds raised go to benefit the Voluntary Action Center of DeKalb, which brings meals on wheels to all the local home bound. So, I skipped our usual picture card and am sending these this year. I created an envelope out of heavy card stock in the same paper line as my DD cover and added some circles and eyelets so that we could wrap and close the envelop and open to look at the card. I journaled on the back and added a tab punched out at the side.
I added some stamped images, Mary and Jesus on Christmas is a Close to My Heart set I used a crop that belongs to a friend (don't know the name of the set). The damask image is Inkadinkadoo.

I will be working on some Cricut cuts for the DD next. I would like a snowflake for the first snowfall (usually by December 6th around here). And will look through my Christmas cart for more inspiration.

Winner is & Black Friday thru Cyber Monday Sale!

We have a winner! I went to random.org and put in 30 as my number of entries. One person left a comment on another post. So, random.org chose 17, and that's you, Judy! Judy said, "Cricut Expression or Cake Cover in Michael Miller Carnival Bloom Chocolate Brown from Scrapincovers is one of my favorites. I also really like the cuttlebug cover. Love your products." Thanks Judy! I will be emailing you for your shipping information.
Now, on to the sale information! I am running a Black Friday to Cyber Monday sale at both of my Etsy stores. Find them here: Scrapguild & Scrapincovers. All items in the shop are 20% off! Please use the coupon code: BFthruSM10 at the check out. This is a new Etsy feature and it is my first attempt to use a coupon code, so please let me know if you have questions or problems!
I only run a sale twice a year, so if you did not win, you may want to consider a purchase! The next sale runs in the Summer!

Work the Stash Wednesday! Fabric & Garland

I had so much fun with my last Work the Stash Wednesday that I decided to do it again! This time I worked on a Santa page & am submiting it to a new challenge blog I found ABC DT Challenge. So, we all have stashes, what's the big deal? My goal was to use items older than a year, for which I did not have a scrap booking use and include sewing so I could enter the challenge. From my stash I pulled the red felt in the flower, the pink organza in the scallops (inside the circle) and the red star garland.
How did I make the scallops? Well I got out my Sizzix Circle dies and cut up a bunch of circles. I folded them in half and basted a stitch along the raw edge about 1/4" away from the edge.
I pulled the stitch to gather the thread, so that it was about an inch long and tied a knot.
I then glued them to my circle with my hot glue gun.

The felt flower was made with my Heartfelt Creations Dies and Stamps. I cut the felt with the die. Stamped the felt with some black Staz On, covered the stamped lines with liquid glass and sprinkled it with Martha Stewart red glitter. I then beaded the center.

Here's my list of supplies:
Patterned paper K & Company
Circle cut with George Basic Shapes
Swirls cut with Scal 2
Poinsettia multi colored flowers K & Company
Stickles in center of poinsettia
Spellbinder Nestabilites Blossom Two Heartfelt Creations Die
Heartfelt Creations Innoscents Flower 1 PreCut Set stamp
Liquid Glass
Martha Stewart Glitter
Organza
Sizzix Circle Die
Santa Claus Title Cricut Christmas Cartridge
Bling Queen and Co

A Tuesday Treat: Maple Pumpkin Butter

For the past few years I have made a batch of Maple Pumpkin Butter and given it to my children's teachers for Thanksgiving. Along with the Maple Pumpkin Butter, I usually make a card saying how thankful we are for them. Here is a photo of this years jar. I used my Tim Holtz Rosette, my Stampin Up Carved & Candlelit stamp set and some ribbon from Michaels. I did not have a pumpkin stamp that would fit inside my circle, so I used a portion of the image and wrote my title by hand.
The recipe is from the Parade magazine that you find in you Sunday paper and is a few years old.
Maple Pumpkin Butter
Ingredients
29 oz Pumpkin puree (unsweetened)
3/4 c Brown Sugar
3/4 c Apple Cider
3/4 c Maple Syrup
1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp Ginger
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients and put in a large heavy oven and stove proof casserole. Cook over med-low heat on stove top to boil. Reduce to low and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring during the entire cooking process. Slide casserole into oven and cook. Stir every 15 minutes with a total cook time of 1 1/2 to 2 hours. This is great for getting a squash into your picky eaters too! You will love how the house smells! Cool and refrigerate. Will keep one week in the fridge.

December Daily 2011

I saw the December Daily album in my latest Scrapbooks Etc and loved the idea. It has two of my obsessions in it, scrap booking and a calendar! I have a planner addiction. So, I thought on it a while and decided that it would be fun to do this year. My children will only be young for so long and Christmas is so magically to them still. So, why not journal about it?
Above is my base page, find more examples here. I used my Autumn Leaves "Messy Dates" and created the rest of the page from Ali's design with my own Microsoft word.
Another reason this appeals to me, is that I want to be more diligent in teaching my children about my faith. Christmas is the perfect time to do so! So, I have also decided to handle it like my summer schedule. I will have a theme for each day:
Make it Monday: Make gifts, holiday foods, etc.
Try it Tuesday: Make and try holiday foods like Stolen, green bean casserole, etc.
Why Wednesday: Talk with the boys about why I believe, why we have certain traditions, etc. December 1st is a Wednesday, and I have the luxury of scrapping the back of my December Daily cover to fit my Wednesday theme, "Why!" I save old Christmas cards and recycle them into gift tags, cards, and scrapbook pages. The picture at the top of the post is created from a card I saved.
Think About it Thursday: Work with the boys to think of others in need at this time of year and how we can help.
Family Friday: Time for just family game night or special event
Savior Saturday: while the Christmas season is magical, it is not the center of the Christian faith. I want to remind my children of the importance of the rest of the story! What happened on Good Friday, and Easter!
Scripture Sunday: Share parts of the story from the bible to correlate with Church services.
Above is my base page, find more examples here.

Friday Favorite Give Away! CLOSED

As Thanksgiving approaches, we all take time to think about the things we are thankful for. I am so thankful for all of my blog followers (over 200 whooo who!), customers, online friends, and fellow crafters! So, it's time to let you know how thankful! How about a give away?
Here are the details: the theme for the give away is Friday Favorite! Pictured above is my current favorite. The prize: any one in stock item shipped to US, and Canada for free. Winners outside the US and Canada, I will pay for amount for US shipping, if you wish to enter and can pay the difference to ship to your country, you may enter. So, to enter I am asking you to visit my two Etsy store and leave a comment below about which item is your favorite. Please be sure to leave your contact info in a safe manner in your comment. Did you know it is best to write your email address as "jsmith at msn dot com"? If you type it as is (with @ and dot), you may be targeted with a computer virus, or other privacy invasive program sent via email. You have one week to enter and I will draw a name the morning of the Friday after Thanksgiving. That's November 29, 2010. Please share this drawing with all your scrapping friends!
Here are the links for my Etsy stores: Scrapguild & Scrapincovers.

Advent Calendar: Thanks Christie!

So, this week I met Christie Hund from Creations by Christie to scrap. She is such a talented and generous artist! She helped me finish up my latest project and knew all the right details to give it that finished look. Thanks Christie!
We got to talking and turns out we both attended the same fashion design school, Harper College, in Palatine IL. Small world! You will want to check out her blog for regular tutorials and organization ideas!
Now on to the project at hand. This is a Karen Foster Christmas Countdown calendar that I found at Archivers at the end of the Christmas season last year. I have used Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses. The top of the calendar is a cut file I got free at SVG cuts. Have you subscribed to their newsletter yet? They share free cut files regularly.
I just have to give you a close up of the drawer for December 25th. Look who arrives then!
Love this calendar? It is for sale at my Etsy store. You can fill the drawers, with Legos and fossils for boys, or hair ribbons and stickers for girls, or candy for both!

Wildly Whimsical Crafting Loft Gift Bag Tote

I am excited to say that I am a designer for the Wildly Whimsical Craft Loft! You can check out their crafty newsletter here. For this month's newsletter, I decided to make a tote bag. It would make a great gift for the Grandmother or crafter in your life! The newsletter has five more projects; perfect for Thanksgiving and Christmas, for you to check out!

You can find instructions for this bag at the link above. If you have any questions after reading the instructions, please let me know. Below, I am sharing an idea for the Halloween version in a larger tote. Use this same concept on a larger bag and use a 12 x 12 page protector. This idea can be the gift that keeps on giving, just send Grandma a new photo or page insert every year!

Please Vote for My Storage Idea

I submitted a storage idea for The Scrapbook Etc. contest. I used a home decor bird cage (NO bird was evicted for this craft project). Of course it had to be embellished. Don't you think every craft room needs a whimsical piece? Please use the link here to vote for my idea: http://photos.scrapbooksetc.com/category/vote/photo/588594
I have to say, it worked well too! I could unroll the ribbon through the bars and get what I needed and it was still pretty!

More Moxie Fab World Challenge Zippers

Sometimes when the inspiration starts, it keeps going. So, I am adding a second entry to the Moxie Fab World Challenge Zippers. You see, we crafters are a funny bunch, splurging on somethings and saving on others. So, I had to find a use for all those zipper pulls, didn't I? And since we are in the Christmas mode, how about the center of a snowflake? You could also use these in a flower on a card, or a star.


So, here is my snowflake. And I have to confess, I am a space filler! And a bit of a bling addict. But if you can't go all out for Christmas pages, when can ya!? I had this Sparkle blue paper in the stash for a while. It is labeled on the back Kodak Paper, Sparkle blue. It reminds me of carnival rides. It just did not look good with any of my paper until I got out the DCWV Glitter stack. The bling is from Want2Scrap, Oriental Trading and Queen and Co. The green paper is Creative Imaginations.

The stamp is once again Fiskars Lil Davis Remember This. I have to tell you this stamp set is the best $3.00 I ever spent! I got it at the Scrapbucks booth at the Scrapbook Expo, in St. Charles. But don't worry Scrapbucks has an online store. I love that I have a beautiful journaling block that's, well quite frankly, small. I am willing and able to journal so much more now that I have these stamps!
And if you like the snowflake cut, just scroll down a few posts for the SVG file and you can cut your own. Title is cut with Cricut Songbird cartridge. Thanks for the inspiration again Moxie Fab World, but please stop the madness, I have to do some housework and start Christmas shopping!

Moxie Fab World Challenge: Zippers!

So, this World Challenge from Moxie Fab World is zippers! Oh yummy! You will need to visit Moxie Fab World even if you don't like challenges to see these beautiful creations with zippers. I knew I had to try this challenge, and even got out the wool and zippers to try my hand a the look by Woolyfabulous. But, I wasn't happy with my results and took a break. Then I got a catalog from Chico's and knew I wanted a zipper bow! Chicos and an over the top ribbon broach with lot of bling.
Here I scrapped my niece's 1st Holy Communion. Not a very good picture, but the only one I have of her in her Communion dress! She is such a tom boy and was anxious to change after church. By the time I took this photo, umpteen other relatives had made her pose for pictures. Such an important event, and wonderful girl I had to scrap it. So, then I had to try and distract people from the drain spout in the picture, so I really went overboard with embellies.
How did I get my zipper bow? Well I opened the zipper, cut off the ends and overlapped both sides so that the zipper teeth became the border on my bow. I topstitched a cream satin ribbon on top and added a button and a bit more ribbon. Something about this bow reminds me of my Mother's wedding dress fabric. So, I am happy to use it on a page for family too! Wouldn't this bow look great on a card too?
Supplies Used:
K & Company Silhouttes (Fall Orange Lace Paper)
Heidi Grace Winnefred St. Paper (Green and Brown printed paper)
Close to My Heart Flourish Blessings (Orange Leaf Stamp)
Cricut Heritage and Accent Essentials Cartridges (Bird)
Cricut Gypsy Font (Believe)
Want2Scrap Bling and pearls
Zipper
Fiskars Lil Davis Sentiments stamp (journaling block)
SCAL 2 Fancy frame (green and brown photo mat)

Snowflake SVG to Share

It has been so long since I shared a file, I think someone will ask me to change my blog name! So, I am sharing one today for my SVG friends. I love to make snowflakes with my PC ornaments font. Here is one I consider worthy of sharing!
Also, I am so excited that I can now create files in SCAL 2 and save to SVG! You just use File, Export and type in the extension .svg. Chose svg as your file type and click ok. Love it! Find the svg HERE. Love your comments!

Novembers Featured Etsy Blogger: Devine Designs Jewelry

This months featured Etsy blogger is a jewelry maker, and her blog Devine Designs journals her artist efforts as well as a few funny cat posts! I took a look through her Etsy shop also called Devine Designs Jewelry and found a little blue piece I loved. I love an anklet for dressing up my not so pretty feet.

Work the Stash Wednesday! Good Old Mrs. G!

If you have been scrap booking as long as I have, you may have a stash of Mrs. Grossman's border stickers. And I have to confess, I think I have had these stickers for over 6 years. But while going through my stash to try and purge, I just could not part with her lace border stickers! So, I had them fresh in my mind when I got the latest email from Heartfelt Creations. I thought I would use my lace stickers where they used their border punch. And you know, I use any old excuse to get out the Tim Holtz rosette!
So if you want this look, you will have to use a trick I learned at a Mrs. Grossman's sticker class. You will need a sticker kit (brush & powder) from Mrs. Grossman's or a small brush and baby powder. Cut your rosette and attach your border sticker with the edge of the sticker hanging off the edge of your rosette, on the right side your your rosette. BEFORE YOU FOLD OR GLUE YOUR ROSETTE, flip the rosette over so that the sticky side of the sticker is up, and carefully dust your sticker edge with baby powder.
Be sure to cover all of the open sticker areas so your lace won't stick together when you fold your rosette. For this ornament, I made two gold rosettes and sandwiched a ribbon in between. I used vintage buttons I have in my collection. Love, love, love vintage buttons!

I love Heartfelt creations!!! See picture above.
They used the Martha Stewart border punches for the edge of their rosettes and inked them. Is this fabulous!? I will be getting out my Heartfelt Creations stamps and dies and trying my own version with a flower soon! You simply must visit their gallery and get information about their Black Friday Sale!

My 1st Banner!

I made my first banner with Tie the Knot and I'm loving it! Did you know Tie the Knot had a banner cut? Well it does and isn't this font to die for? It's also from Tie the knot. I made this banner up for my shops booth at the craft fair and hung it on my mantle for this picture. But, I liked it so well, I will be making a Thanksgiving and Christmas banner! To separate my words I placed a photo in between.

Every year, my hubby and I have discussion over how to decorate the mantle at Christmas. No nails for hanging stockings. And the safety conscious man refuses to allow me to use the stocking weights, for fear the children will pull them down on their heads. Oh, why didn't I think of this when I bought them?! So, now I can decorate and just place the ribbon under my decorations on top of the mantle.

Live at the One Stop Shop Today!

Almost forgot to post about my live event. If you live in or near northern IL, please come see me today at One Stop Shopping Event, Saturday, November 6, 2010 in Sycamore IL. Come see my covers, scrapbags and gifts at this event from 10:00am to 4:00pm. Here are the details:

What: South Prairie’s Sycamore One-Stop Shopping Event!!!

When: Saturday November 6th 2010 10am to 4pm

Where: South Prairie Elementary School
820 Borden Ave, Sycamore, IL 60178

Who: Scrapincovers, All Stickered Up, Pampered Chef, Roundabout, Imported Greek Olive Oil, Tupperware, Scentsy, Tastefully Simple, Noah’s Ark, Craft Room Accessories, Gigi Hill Bags, Gold Canyon Candles, Thirty One Gifts, Tote Bag & Christmas Tree Toppers, Simply Created, Stampin Up, American Girl Size Doll Clothes, Chris’ Leather Wears, African Violets, Usborne Books, Beauticontrol, Inspiranza Designs, D’s Bagels, PenelliBelle Inc. Handcrafted jewelry, That Special Touch, Sami Jo Jewelry Creations, Moments in Time Photography, Personalized Ornaments, A Gang of Girls-Intuitive Readings & Reiki Energy Sessions, and more!

This event is a fundraiser for the South Prairie PTO and 10% off all sales go to benefit the PTO.

My Martha Stewart Iron Gate Christmas Tree

I keep seeing the paper Christmas Trees, first on Lolly Chessies blog and then in the Scrapbooks Etc. I so wanted to make one. This week, I found a paper mache tree at my local Michaels and snapped it up. Got home and began to ponder on my version. I realized that I could use my Martha Stewart Iron Gate Punch around the page set to make my tree.
To get this look, I cut lots of 1 1/2" squares and used the Iron Gate corner punch. Then the straight edge punch to finish the edges. I glued these about 1/3 of the way up the tree and then used smaller squares. The next 2/3's of the tree were done with 1 1/4" squares. When I was all done gluing, I used my Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist.
I love how this tree captures the beauty and delicacy of a fresh fallen snow! I have an ivory ceramic Christmas tree with white lights that I snagged at a garage sale for $9.00 that I am going to group it with. I think I just need one more tree for the grouping. Off to hunt for a smaller paper machee tree!

Blue Tuesday Trigger

Just posting my next Tuesday Trigger from the Moxie Fab World Blog. This weeks trigger is Blue, my favorite color and here is the inspiration photo.

I have always thought it was such a happy color and love the combination of rich royal and white! Ths week, I visited one of my favorite fabric blogs: Anna Maria Horner and knew I had to work this idea into my Tuesday Trigger! She designs quilt fabric and quilt patterns and I saw a picture of the most beautiful quilt called Gathering Flowers (pattern coming soon).
I so wanted to try this look in my paper crafting, but gathering fabric is so much easier than paper! So, I pulled out my satin ribbon and used the quilt to inspired my Tuesday Trigger entry. I cut a circle in my card front. Sewed a seam in my 12" piece of ribbon and ran a gathering stitch on one side. This formed a loop of ribbon. I stitched the ribbon to the circle opening, and gathered the inside edge and tied a not to hold it in place. I punched my petals with my Martha Stewart scalloped circle and cut them in half and just glued them on top. I also used my Swiss Dot cuttlebug folder and a stamp set by Clear Art Stamps, called Sew Special. Here is a close up view of the gathered ribbon, isn't it pretty!
Can't wait for Anna's pattern! Now where to put such a girly quilt in my house of men and boys?!

Pink Paisley Baby Bug Cover

I love this Water Lilly Fabric from In the Beginning Fabrics! I love that pink and brown, water lillies and paisley. I just finished up this baby bug cover for my One Stop shopping booth. It was the only Cricut I did not have a cover in stock for. Isn't it sweet?!
This is my first event that is not scrap booking related. There will be all sorts of home sales vendors and crafters. Do you sell at vendor or craft fairs? Share your tips in the comments section. Thanks!