6x6 Desk Scrapbook Album Calendar Gift using "My Creations Album" from CTMH

This is a desk calendar that I made for my sister in PA.

She can replace the dated calendar pages at the end of 2009 with 2010 pages or she can just remove the calendar pages and put more pictures in to make a cute desk scrapbook.








All supplies used are from Close To My Heart. I also sell this as a kit with all papers pre-cut and most embellishments placed. Of course, the pictures would not be included... ;-)
To order this flip calendar kit, email me at: bharris117@bellsouth.net

A "Challenge" Card using Close To My Heart Die Cuts and..........

.......ribbon, eyelets, colored stamp pads; we were also allowed to use white card stock & black ink.
Here it is:



All products used are CTMH products.
This was a super fun challenge.

Here's the recipe I used:
~ Cinnamon -- which was the ribbon - Smoky Plum from my ribbon rounds.
~ Salt -- which was the eyelets - Garden Green eyelets
~ Nutmeg -- which was the ink pads - Smoky Plum & New England Ivy
~ Powder Sugar -- which was the Die Cuts - CTMH constant campaign die cut flowers

I used my CTMH corner rounder for the corners of the card, the "hello" sentiment, & the card stock piece that I attached the die cuts to.
I am also using this card for another challenge, my SBS21 challenge, since I have NEVER used eyelets before.

All of you experienced cardmakers/scrappers would have split in two laughing at me attaching the eyelets!!!!!!!!! All I can say is that I had myself laughing at myself!!! LOL
.....Hey, but I did it!
And I learned something new!
And that's all that matters....lol

Thanks for stopping into my den and hopefully leaving a comment with your thoughts and any ideas that would help me do a better job next.
Hugs ...... Barb

Do you want some BLOG CANDY???????????

I just found this site that is offering the BEST blog candy I have EVER seen offered for us scrappers/card makers.
If you like to get FREE 1st class scrapbooking/cardmaking stuff.....you HAVE TO enter this give away....NOW
Here's the link.....a name will be picked in 3 days.....so hurry!
Click HERE to see this terrific collection being given away.

25th Anniversary Acrylic Album ....

I'm in search of ideas from you magnificent, creative paper crafters. ;-) I'll be the first to admit that I need all of my crafty blog buds to help me get my creative juices brewing.....
My plans are to make an acrylic album for someone special, but not really sure what I'm going to do. It's a 25th anniversary so I need to incorporate silver somehow....probably heat embellishing....not sure.
I do think that I'm going to use black cs, black & white filigree patterned paper(Close To My Heart's B&T Silhouette), twilight blue cs, and 2 or 3 patterned papers (CTMH's B&T paper) that are made with the twilight blue and white. I spent an hour last night putting papers together to see how they would look. I wanted to make sure I'd get the "anniversary" feel and I wanted to use colors which would reflect the 25th anniversary.
This project might just be the one to make me start using my CuttleBug.....FINALLY!!!
Any thoughts or ideas? Do you have an example of something made for a silver/25th anniversary that you want to share? If you leave a link to your creation, I will visit your site/project to get your "take" on 25th (or any other) anniversary colors and/or embellishing.
I'm real excited about making this acrylic album because the acrylic albums that De and I worked on are beautiful!! I love these things!! They make such a special gift for anyone.....
Your comments, ideas, & suggestions are gratefully appreciated and cherished. Thanks so much for dropping in at My Den. :-)
Oh! Sorry I haven't posted any projects, creations, or pictures in so long. I have been toiling away in my Scrappin' Den making a gift for my sister.....and I am so thrilled with the finished product! That's all I'm telling you about it until I get it posted here. I know she is going to love it!!!!
On Wednesday, I will be posting some pictures of the album that De & I created. It's made with the NOTEBOOK Level 2 paper pack....It's so pretty; I can't wait to get a picture of it here.

~~ Scrappin' Saturday.....Working on our 1st Acrylic Album

Here are a few pictures of me and De (our SBS21 Stampin De-Va and blog mom) spending a couple hours together at My Scrappin' Den yesterday, Saturday. We were working on our very first acrylic album. We didn't get a chance to finish it because we both had Halloween parties to get ready for......although I would have RATHER stay home playing with paper, if you know what I mean.....lol
Anyway......I can tell that our acrylic albums are going to be very cool, really precious. I will post mine here as soon as I finish it and I'm sure that De will do the same. You can visit De's blog site by clicking HERE.
We used Close To My Heart's NOTEBOOK paper pack and all the embellishments & ribbons are CTMH products. I love this paper design and can't wait until I can share my finished project with all of you.
Thanks for stopping by.....and remember....... you are always welcome to My Scrappin' & Stampin' Den.

It's A Dog's Life ~*~ SBS#21 Challenge using CTMH Sarsaparilla paper pack

I did the 2 page layout for our SBS#21 challenge posted by De....It was a lot of fun. I chose to display pictures of my darling little "grand-pups" because they are such a huge part of mine and my husband's life.

I used handwritten journaling along with paper tearing & scissor edge-distressing, which are 2 of my favorite forms of distressing. I also did second generation stamping using my Barn Red ink "shadowing" the title stamped with black ink.

All products used are from Close To My Heart, except for the ribbon from Micheals.

• Sarsaparilla paper pack (X7098B)
  
• Tiny Typewriter Alphabet acrylic stamp set (D1222)
  
• Delightful Alphabet acrylic stamp set (D1221)
  
• Mature's Ambience Rub-Ons (Z1097) - I used the black florishes....pack has a page of brown, white and black rub-ons....VERY cool!!
  
• Black ink pad (Z2105)
  
• Barn Red ink pad (Z2104)
  
• Square silver brads and silver hinges (Z291)
  
• Clear buttons (CON073)
  
• Tan Hemp (Z280)

All of the above CTMH products can be viewed by clicking HERE.

The close up pictures are to give you a better look at the detail embellishing.

I used Liquid Glass (Z679) to adhere the clear buttons to the plaid print paper, then I cut out the "altered" button and glued it onto my layout page. I did this because I wanted the buttons to coordinate with the B&T plaid print and to bring a little bit more of the blue colors into my scrapbook page.

Thanks for taking the time to drop into My Scrappin' Den to view what I've been working on....I also appreciate your thoughts and comments.

I would love to know what you like the most about this layout and if you think I should've done anything different.

~~ I've Been Tagged !!

De .... the stampin' Diva..... tagged me!
....and I have to tag 7 bloggers that I admire and visit.....
So.........
Here are the rules:

1. Link your tagger and list these rules on your blog.


2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.


3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.


4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Here ya go.....7 tidbits about me:

1. I'm the oldest of 8 children.


2. I am addicted to Pepsi......I can't keep it in my house.


3. I love, love, LOVE pajamas.....when I'm home, that's what I have on and wish I could wear them all of the time.


4. I used to read 3 - 4 novels a week (when I didn't work full time).


5. I enjoy reading astrology.....hey, the moon controls the tides so there must be other situations that those beautiful planets influence.


6. I collect autographed books.


7. Seedless red grapes are my favorite snack.
   

Ok......Tag!! ......You're it!!!

Here are the 7 bloggers that I'm tagging:

1. Jilli
2. Dawny
3. Trinka
4. Erica
5. Sandra
6. Karen
7. Jo

Please join in; it's really a lot of fun posting and reading the 7 unknown/funny facts each of us list.
Have fun and enjoy......I can't wait to visit each of the blogs again and read your posts to this. ;-)

FINALLY ---- Here's my SBS#21 "Paper Piecing" Challenge 3

Paper piecing isn't as easy as it sounded....lol Whew!! ......I have to tell all of you......this challenge took me longer to plan and complete than any challenge I've participated in....EVER!!

I don't know if I'm all that happy with what I made, but I sure learned a lot making this card....which means that this challenge was definitely worth my time. It's great to exercise the brain and get the creative juices flowing in a totally different direction.

Techniques:

• I used a "balled-up" baggie and second generation stamping on the card stock after I folded it to make a 4x5 card.
• Edge swipe distressing with both ink pads....Tulip first lightly & New England Ivy second heavily.

All products used are Close To My Heart items.

• Tulip & New England Ivy stamp pads
• Evensong Creative Basics paper
• Holiday Joy #D1224 acrylic stamp set
• Shining Star #D1320 acrylic stamp set

Can't wait to read your thoughts....so please critique my card. Thanks in advance for your comments. ;-)

A "Goodie" Gift Box Paper Craft Idea

I found a totally adorable crafty CRISCROSS BOX that would make a perfect "goodie" gift box for the upcoming holidays ....... Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, etc .....
I found it on a site while I was blog surfing and then I saw it on our CTMH bulletin board also.
Nicole Heady's site is where I found the step-by-step instructions.
Check it out; it's a great idea. You can see a picture of the finished project and the tutorial is you click here.
This tutorial is so cool that I also posted it on my "side bar" listed under Tutorials & Templates You Will Love.
Thanks for dropping in and visiting my Scrappin' Den ........now it's time to get some ink on those fingers! LOL

~~~> De is AWESOME !!!!

My blog finally looks a lot more inviting and interesting.....way better than the unimaginative look it had an hour ago..........thanks to our Stampin' Diva, the web geek, blog designer extraordinaire. She's the GREATEST!!!!!!!!!
De, thanks so much for coming over; I appreciate your time and you sharing your knowledge to help me. You sure impressed me with your super fast blog repair.
You don't just make beautiful cards and layouts, you're a computer whiz! Hugs to you, little lady!!

I Need Some Help ~ How do I ........

......add wallpaper or some type of design to the background of my blog site?
I downloaded a link that supposedly will add a free background, but I just can't figure out how to get the background onto my blog site from the samples.
Do I have to create a login name with a password and then login? I did do that but nothing happened when I chose the pattern. Maybe I entered it on the wrong part of the layout change/template.
I just need some help......some guidance......someone to hold my hand and help me through this nightmare........GEEZ!! .......I need a shoulder to cry on!!!!!!!!! LOL.....Only kidding about the crying, but I do need some help from one of you bloggin' geek-wizards.
HELP !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And thanks in advance for your time and any help you can direct my way.

**SBS21 Challenge #2 ~~~ Smokey Plum - Honey - New England Ivy

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I chose 3 colors that I could NOT imagine using together before I even thought about what I was going to create. At first, I decided to make a scrap page layout....but after spending too much time thinking "what should I do with these colors?!"..... my creative juices went towards creating a card. I've been wanting to use my September stamp of the month anyway.....So......Here's my card using some unusual colors (for me, that is). All supplies used are Close To My Heart products .....

• CTMH Sept. SOTM, Treasure Life #D1306


• Colonial card stock


• Garden Green card stock


• Smokey Plum ink


• New England Ivy ink


• Honey ink


• Autumn Harvest ribbon round purple

Please leave me a post & let me know what you think of my color combo & card.

Thanks bunches for looking. ;-)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

SBS #21 Card Challenge ~ Close To My Heart caprice paper

Here is the card I created for our 1st weekly challenge. I used CTMH'S Caprice level 2 paper pack. All supplies used are Close To My Heart products.

Chocolate ink pad

Crystal Blue ink pad

White flower from Big Pinks flowers

April Word Puzzle acrylic stamp set

Vanilla card stock

Natural hemp

Winter Cozy button

~ New Addition to Our Family ~

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

We have been blessed with this adorable 5 month old apricot Poodle puppy. She is so sweet and a bit mischievious......lol....she's just so curious! She's our little Pisces pup....sweet, loving, and does not like being alone. We named her Bella.

We already have a Chihuahua named Nugget (short for "Chicken Nugget"....lol). She will be 9 in October.....our secretive, loner Scorpio darling.

Bella gets along well with Nugget and with my daughter Rachel's new puppy, Wilson.....as a matter of fact, Bella and Wilson run and play and bark at each other.....it's TOO cute! Wilson is a Brussells Griffon. Nugget is a bit too old for all of that activity...lol....and she's not real fond of Wilson right now. He's way too rowdy for her (Nugget).....but Nugget is the most timid, loving Chihuahua ever born; she's pretty accepting of this little rammy fella although she does what she can to ignore him....lol

You'll be seeing scrapbook pages with these 4-legged darlings in the future. ;-)

OH!!! And the "big guy" napping in the chair with Nugget and Bella ....... that's my husband. They are "nap partners" and all 3 of them are pretty darn spoiled!!! :-)

Terrific Site To Learn New Techniques.......

I entered my very first challenge about a month ago and the voting is now in progress...... I want to share this awesome blog site with you. Here's the link: http://www.virtualconvention.blogspot.com/
There are always really cool techniques posted as well as beautiful, beautiful artwork & paper creations. I visit this site regularly....it's a terrific place to learn and see great artwork.....plus the folks there are soooo nice. ;-)
While visiting, take a look at the challenge entries and maybe even vote.
If you vote for my entry, thanks in advance......All of the entries are gorgeous; there is sure to be one there that will catch your creative eye and beg for your vote....lol
Barbara
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A Scrapping Addict's "Dream-Come-True"

I am hooked on scrapbooking and always looking for a GREAT deal...... Close To My Heart's scrapping/card making supplies annuual clearance helped me add a ton of embellishing supplies to my Scrapping Den pantry.
I couldn't pass up the UNBELIEVABLE PRICES......
When the UPS man blesses my front door with 12 lbs of goodies that I ordered, I will share a picture of the new arrival cache.
~~ I AM SO EXCITED...LIKE A KID ON CHRISTMAS EVE ~~

~ WHOOPS-A-DAISY ~ and A FAMILY REUNION.....

I did a lot of edge distressing with Hydrangea ink instead of the usual choice of brown or black distressing ink. This is a CTMH planned workshop and all I had to do was follow their directions and add some ideas of my own. I love being a consultant for this company!! They make is SO easy to learn new techniques.
Please let me know what you think of my pages....

Here are 2 page layouts of our family reunion using Close To My Heart's colorful Whoops-a-Daisy paper. At first, I thought this paper choice would be too colorful for my layouts, but I really think that this paper pack along with the embellishments I made with the matching inks just make these pictures "pop" in a nice way.

All supplies used are CTMH products.

My First LayOut Challenge........

I entered my first layout challenge at VirtualConvention and this is the page I created!

The pictures are of me and my husband at the Grand Canyon. That place is majestic!

It was a whole lot of fun. I am probably going to create 3 more page layouts to go along with this one for our Grand Canyon/Vegas vacation we went on in October 2007 since I have so many really nice pictures. My sister, Brenda, and my brother-in-law, Andy, went with us. We had so, so, SO much fun.....I always enjoy being with my sister; we are very much alike.

Please let me know what you think of my layout...... ;-)

All products used are CTMH items.

Paper ..... Caprice level 2

Ink Pads & Markers ..... Crystal Blue and Chocolate

Liquid Glass (on the chipboard dimensional elements)

Dimensional Elements Fresh Shapes

Ribbon Rounds ..... Basic Collection (chocolate) and Winter Cozy (crystal blue)

Stamp Sets ..... Hook, Line and Sinker & Friendship Word Puzzle

Brown Bigger Brads

Gold Picture Hanger (for ribbon)

Thanks for dropping in at my den ...... now ...... Get out your paper, scissors, & stamping supplies and lets get some ink on those fingers!! ......Barb in SC

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Layout pages from my FUN! May workshop.......

All products used are Close To My Heart items.

Good Times level 2 paper pack has turned into one of my favorites. It's bright, cheery and super versatile. Silver star embellishments, some clear heat embossing, Good Times MyStickEz card stock stickers, lots of stamping with MyAcrylic stamps, chocolate ink pad DTP (direct to paper) distressing, and....of course....Liquid Glass. I don't think I create very much without using liquid glass.....lol....I LOVE that stuff!!!!!!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

~*~ I've been tagged !! ~*~

De from http://www.stampin-de-va.blogspot.com/ tagged me! She's a fellow CTMH consultant that has super fun workshops at her house.

~*~ Here are the rules:

Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird. Tag 2 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

~*~ Here are my "facts":

1. I met my husband over the phone in 1978, have twin daughters 25 yrs old, and 2 sons in their upper 30s.

2. I have a grandpooch named Nugget, short for "Chicken Nugget" because she's a fawn colored toy Chihuahua and was small enough to fit in one hand when we first got her. She reminded us of a chicken nugget...lol

3. Hard to believe, but I grieved more when my other grandpooch, Sasha, crossed-over to doggy heaven then I have ever grieved for anyone. I miss her SO MUCH.

4. I owned a huge swimming pool business for 20 years...2 retail stores, concrete crews, inground pool installations, playground fabrications, etc.....Thank goodness that stress is in the past!!! Now I'm an administrative assistant in a dialysis facility.

5. I've lost 23 lbs on Weight Watchers since mid-April and dropped my colesterol 40 points!!!!

6. I love Crystal Lite Peach Tea and I usually drink a 64 oz pitcher of it a day!

7. And, last but by all means NOT LEAST.....I am SO addicted to making cards and scrapbooking! I'm not kidding....I would rather be in my scrapping den more than do anything!!

I tag:

Vicki at http://www.wizardshangout.blogspot.com/
AND
Kariberry over at http://www.kariberry97.blogspot.com/

If you ladies are too busy to play along, just let me know!

CTMH...Personalized calendar made w/My Creations Album....

Please see calendar images in next post

Here's a terrific gift idea......a personalized calendar !!

I used Close To My Heart's "My Creations Album" to make this personalized calendar using Simple Pleasures level 1 paper pack and our August '08 stamp of the month.I also used antique brads, spiral clips, photo clips, and the brown ribbon rounds.The stamping was done with desert sand ink; the white core of the card stock was exposed by aggressive sanding technique to tie in the white of the album base cover.


The 4 layout pages displayed (January, March, June, and August) are the 4 different layouts used 3 times for this calendar.
Our CTMH stamp of the month for Aug is used on the front cover. The month names are 2nd generation stamping technique with desert sand ink.
The pictures are of me, my husband, my twin daughters, and my sweet little Chihuahua, Nugget.

Create some really nice projects with these templates.....

I really need to stop surfing around the internet for scrapbooking and stamping ideas because I'm at the computer for an hour (or more.....lol) before I know it and then I'm flying around the house catching up on housekeeping chores and throwing together quick meals. Let me tell you......Rachel Ray has nothing on me when it comes to a terrific 30 minute meal....my hubby thinks I spend hours prepping for dinner and then cooking it.

Anyway....back to stamping, scrapping, and creating awesome envelopes. I found a site today that has some terrific envelope templates. The creator of the site, Ruthann Zaroff, has worked hard creating the templates and doesn't mind if we use her templates but she doesn't want them sold or auctioned.
Please see below:

Copyright 1999-2006 Mirkwood Designs, a division of ruthannzaroff.com These templates are free for your use to make craft items to give or sell, to use for teaching purposes, or for submitting projects to magazines. I would appreciate it if you provide a link to my Web site. The templates themselves may NOT be auctioned, sold, or published in any way without my permission.


Click here to enter Ruthann's template site. Enjoy and have fun creating!.....I'm going to, that's for sure! ;-)



Thanks for visiting My Den......Barbara

~~~> Now get busy! Have fun and get some ink on your fingers!

Cute thank you gift for gathering customers~~~

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ These are the "Thank you" cards that I made for the guests at the last gathering I had a little over a week ago. They are 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" and this picture doesn't do them justice because they are as cute as can be.

I distressed the Ocean card stock with my CTMH sand paper distressing block and used the White Daisy ink to stamp the tiny flower image and "I appreciate your business" on the inside. I used a consultant stamp set.

I also used the white ric rac over a 1/2" strip of the striped Whoops-a-Daisy B&T paper under a stamped flower from our June SOTM. I used Watermelon ink stamped on watermelon CS, then cut it out and lightly distressed the petals of the flower to let the white core of the card stock peep through.

I then threaded matching pieces of watermelon & ocean CTMH fibers through a pale yellow 4-holed button and glued on the button. I put some liquid glass on the center of the button and on the rounded tips of the flowers' petals.

We had a great time at the gathering.....These were some awesome ladies that love to scrapbook and stamp. I truly enjoyed meeting them and am planning another gathering at one their house's before the end of the month so they can take full advantage of the best MyAcrylics stamp sale ever.......buy 2 stamp sets & get one FREE ~~~~~> STAMPAGANZA !!!!

Buy 2 Close To My Heart's MyAcrylics stamp sets and then get a 3rd set FREE until the end of June !!!! It's an unbelievable sale. Visit http://www.beh.myctmh.com/ to take advantage of this awesome deal.....or call me....or email me....or leave me a post right here. :-)

Anyway......we are going to get together again and have a blast making another Create-and-Take scrapbook page.

~*~*~

Thanks for visiting My Den.......Barb

~*~*~

Now, get busy and get some ink on your fingers!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I found a really beautiful layout using CTMH's Boom-di-ada......

.....level 2 paper pack, MyStickease, and the 3 sets of matching MyAcrylic stamps. What I like a lot about the layout is that one of the pages has plenty of journaling along with 3 pictures and page 2 has 6 pictures as well as some stamping and embellishing.
I found this scrapbook layout at a really fun scrapbooking/stamping site called www.2PeasInABucket.com.

Here is the link to a picture of the finished LO along with the recipe and directions. If you end up making this LO, please come back and post your beautiful completed project.....and don't forget to thank Two Peas In A Bucket for this super project.

Here's the link: http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/cg_display.asp?cmd=display&seed_id=27154&f=n

OK....Now get busy and get some ink on your fingers!!
~*~ Thanks for stopping in.......Barb

My Bind-it-All arrived today......

.....and I am SO excited!!
This is going to be a super short post because I am going upstairs to put on my cozy pjs and then open my BIA. This is going to open a whole new world of scrapbook projects for me and my workshops. I canNOT wait to get together with De to see what we can create. She's as addicted as I am.....lol
I am hoping that Sherry is less busy soon so she can get back into the fun of scrapping and stamping. She's been working herself silly with her move from apartment to a house. Slow down a little, sweetheart, and treat yourself to some scrappin' fun!!
Thanks to Kelly T for hooking me up with the awesome supplier that I ordered this bind-it-all from. Kelly is also a Close to My Heart consultant. I met her on CTMH's bulletin board. Again, thank you, thank you, thank you Kelly!!
I will be back posting soon but I really want to get comfy and play with my new crafting toy.
ta-ta for now......
Now, get busy and get some ink on your fingers! ;-)
Barbara

6x6 "More to Adore" album for a special friend of the family........

I created the accordian album I posted here 2 days ago for Heather, my daughter Rebecca's sister-in-law. The album was a baby shower gift for Heather and her new baby girl, MacKensie, who is due within the next 3 or 4 weeks. I also gave Heather a CTMH workshop creation of note cards which fit into a little bag/purse. I used Close to My Heart's Sweet Pea level 2 paper pack and Big Pinks paper flowers.

The album is made with CTMH's More to Adore level 2 paper pack and lots of More to Adore MyStickease embellishing stickers. It was a fun project to make but it did take me longer than I expected; probably because I didn't start with any type of plan......I just cut and created as I went from page 1 to the back cover. The front cover was the last part of this album created.

I used a chipboard "M" covered with B&T paper matching a paper pattern used inside of the album. I also used some of CTMH's Liquid Glass to add dimension to the stamping and some of the MyStickease stickers.

The handmade cards and album were a HUGE hit at the shower! As a matter of fact, there was a lot of interest in joining a workshop to create some cards or albums. So.......I will be putting together another Close to My Heart workshop and I am sure all of the ladies will thoroughly enjoy themselves AND each of their creations. What I enjoy most about holding workshops is the shear amazement each person expresses when they see what they have created. I just LOVE that; it truly makes my heart smile!

Thanks for reading my blog and visiting my site. Your comments are appreciated......Please stop in again. :-)

6x6 Accordian Album for baby girl