Happy Sunday!!

We finally got some snow and thankfully it was on a weekend so we won't be missing any school. I am hoping that we don't get much more for the rest of the winter because I don't want to make up any more days then we have. The fall was bad enough and we deserve a mild winter!!

In honor of the snow, I thought I would post a few scrapbook layouts, one being a "winter themed" page with photos taken from last year. I created this page using Echo Park and Lily Bee Design patterned papers. The accents I cut using my Silhouette die cut machine. It is a very simple page but I love how it came out. 

The second page I am sharing is about a trip we took in August to NYC. We didn't do a ton of stuff but just walked around and showed my teenage niece the sites as she was a NYC virgin. I don't think my daughter wants to ever go back. She was traumatized by the 2 hours we spent at Macy's!! I used some fun My Mind's Eye borders on this and Crate Paper Christmas paper to accent the photos.

The last page I am posting is all about how much I have always loved Barbie. I HATE this photo of me but I am really trying to accept myself for who I am. I also made a huge change in December and hopefully I won't hate future photos of myself!!

I hope you have enjoyed looking at my pages today. Have a great week!!!

Nora

Simple Valentine

I love forced snow days!! Today I created a card that I wanted to share. I based it on a card by Danielle Flanders. I didn't have the die nor the stamp she used so instead I cut heart borders out with my Silhouette die cut machine and used a $1 stamp from Michael's to recreate her card. I also added red Stickles Glitter Glue to the heart to make it pop a bit. I like Danielle's better but for me not having any of the same supplies and making due, I think mine came out pretty nice!!

Thanks for looking today!!

Nora

Has it really been that long?

It is a new year and I am afraid I have neglected this blog immensely. I started it for personal motivation purposes and that soon fizzled out. I am now going to attempt to try this again and see if it works.

I think I will start with some of the things I made in December. The month was insane because I had to get all my Christmas shopping done and presents wrapped, my baking done and all my cards sent out before I had surgery on December 22nd. I think I was off my rocker to book that date but everything worked out for the best.

One of the first things I made was this snowman card. The stamp is by Unity Stamp Company and I had fun coloring it in with my Copic markers. I used diamond stickles glitter glue to give it some sparkle. I have to admit that I was surprised that it came out so well. Using Copic markers in tiny areas is not my specialty!!

The next three cards I made were hand stamped using Paper Trey Ink stamps. I love this company so much. The design team is amazing and I they have dies that match a lot of their images so you get a perfect cut.

I think my favorite is this reindeer card. I love the fun accents on the antlers!!

The next few cards I created for Scrapbook.com and Scrapjazz.com. I used the Christmas Eve Chowder stamps to create these adorable penguin cards and embellished with Basic Grey's Nordic Holiday patterned paper. I even think I might use these stamps again for Valentine cards but I will post more about that later!!

The last card is stamped with a Kaisercraft acrylic stamp and colored in with Copic Markers. I will definitely be making some tags with this stamp for next year. The image was a lot of fun to color in!!

I hope you enjoyed looking at all my Christmas cards. I know it is January but it might inspire you to make some cards ahead for next year. Have a great night!!

Nora

Happy Hump Day!!

It is Wednesday, the middle of the week and the day I think that is hardest for me to get through. Monday I know I have 5 days of work to go but Wednesdays just seem to drag even though I know I am am half way to the weekends. I miss my summer days of just doing anything I wanted! (But I don't miss not getting a check!!)

In honor of my lazy days of summer, I thought I would post four layouts that I created with a summer theme. The photos are from summer 2010 but the pages are ones that I created in July.

The first page I created was for Scrapjazz.com. I decided to play around with using mist for a title. I die cut letters out, stuck them to the page with temporary adhesive and then misted blue around them. I lifted the letters off after they dried and this is what was left. I love the effect and will be doing this again. I mixed goodies from Echo Park and Jillibean Soup to complete this page.

(If you want to know the specificsupplies I used, see this link. I was too lazy to list them all out today!)

The next two pages I created for an article over at Scrapjazz.com that reviewed the Splash Collection by Echo Park. These photos were taken on our vacation with my family in PA. Excuse the scan. I couldn't

get the blues to match on top no matter how I tried.

This page was really simple and fun to make. The papers were perfect for this photo of Charlotte and her cousins.

The last page is about how my two nephews loved to be buried in the sand. How cute are they? Again I had fun mixing Jillibean Soup products and Echo Park goodies. It is a bit bright but I like it!!

(Again, I am too lazy to post the supplies. If you want specifics, go to this link which will bring you to this page at Scrapjazz.com. All the supplies are listed there with links.)

I hope these bright and cheerful layouts will make you have a Happy Hump Day!!

Nora

Painting Our Room and Being a Horrible Aunt

I love summer. It isn't the weather, because I prefer color over heat, but the free time I have to do things that I don't have time to do in the summer. One of the big projects we tried to get done this summer was to paint our bedroom. It was the first room we redecorated when we moved into our house 14 years ago but we haven't redone it because we knew getting the crackle paint of the trim was going to be a nightmare. Yes, you read it right. I was in my faux finishing stage when we first bought the house and crackle painted my bedroom trim under protestation from Chris. He gave in and 14 years later, he was cursing me for it. Partly because I only partially stripped one window, which took 4 1/2 hours to do!!

My bum shoulder kicked in so Chris wound up having to strip it all. In frustration, he started ripping trim off rather then stripping it. I don't blame him either. Par for the course, we still are not done with the room but I thought I would post my hard work that I did one afternoon.  (I actually like this look but knew that it would never fly with Chris so I didn't mention it!!) Learn from my mistake-if you ever want a piece of furniture to be painted a different color, don't crackle paint it because it is not fun to strip!!

As for the bad Aunt part...I made this card 2 weeks ago for my nephew's birthday, and I still haven't sent it out. I have even had the present since the beginning of August! For some reason, I have trouble sending Birthday cards out on time. I make them on time, waiting to be filled out and then I never send them. Now I have a stack of extra cards.

Supplies: Paper-Diecuts with a View, Basic Grey and Creative Imaginations, Stamps-Paper Trey Ink, Embossing Folder-Cuttlebug, Punches- ALL byEK Success, Inks-Stampin Up!, Dies-Paper Trey Ink and Glitter Glue-Stickles.

This card is exactly like the card I created in Stamp-Affaire-Challenge #2 Post. I just changed the colors to make it more masculine. I tend to design cards and then create them over and over using different products once I find a design I like.

So that is my post for today. I hope you have a great Monday!!

Nora