With Sympathy...

I have goosebumps right now-I was running late for work as I was doing this post to help one of my CTMH sisters out as she needed ideas for a sympathy card.  I arrived at work (I am a church secretary) to find out a member had passed away over the week-end...! -- S.

No, no one has died

that I am sending sympathy wishes to--

but Sympathy Cards

are what I chose to do for our

Christmas Groupie Swap.

Why?

Because no one likes to have to buy them let alone make them.

So I thought I would do those.

I've made several different ones over the years...
from pets...

to people...

but I really really wanted something clean and simple

(somehow "extras" on a sympathy card just doesn't seem right to me-

too much glitz and whatever--well, it isn't what I wanted...)

and something that I could mass produce easily

and just have on hand

This is what I came up with

The "Thinking of You" is on a small flap that I just attached

to the back right-hand side of the card-

it just folds around the front-

Yes, you could cut the card base so it's all one piece

but this, for me, is easier...

I *think* the sentiment is from CTMH Card Chatter--

could be wrong, tho--

here's a view of it slightly open.

The inside sentiment says

Expressing heartfelt sympathy

and offering a prayer

that God above will comfort you

and ease the loss you bear

I have one more card that I will do for the swap-

yes, another sympathy,

based on

the card at the end of this post

(I couldn't find the photo easily)

I think I will avoid the pop-up look

but stick with the sentiment

we'll see-stay tuned!

Better go get these buns ready for work-

I am late!

Until next time, happy stamping and scrapping!

Blessings,

Order Finished!

Finally!

Something FINISHED

and artsy to show!

I do a customer's Christmas cards every year

and this is what her 2011 cards will be:

That photo frame is from the CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge!

I cut 30 of those and the background mat in no time!

Just load that paper on, hit, "repeat" and off it went!

Dear Santa-Did I mention I want the Cricut Expression for Christmas?!

My Martha Stewart punch even held in there to punch all those border strips

(THAT was a miracle on 32nd street East Beach Drive!)

Sorry about the poor colors/photos

my camera is acting poopy today-these colors are nice and vibrant

out of the box non-traditional Christmas colors---

but-if you've ever been to Charleston and seen Rainbow Row-

these fit right in!

And while we're just a stone's throw from SC--we still have

a good deal of these same beachy colors!

Her sentiment I used Publisher, a couple of free fonts

and matched the CTMH colors on the front

to the font color using the red, blue and green codes!

Then she needed a small
"who, what, where, when" card for some time in the sunny south

again-the CTMH AP cartridge to the rescue!

Die cut both cards (including the hole!),

added dp, stamped the images

using one odd flourish and the rest from the

CTMH September Stamp of the Month set (Limited Edition)

and those were done!

The tag slips into the little "slit" on the right-hand panel

thanks to the SU --well, I call it the "slitty punch"! Lol!

She's opted to send the cards in the same envy

so I was happy to find papers that matched (more or less!)

I am glad this order is done and can be crossed off my to-do list!

One more craft show next Sat.

and I am done.

Oh-well, there is a little shopping that needs to be taken care of

and OUR Christmas card to design

(I am thinking our double bike, ocean background,

Shutterfly photo card!

Hubby always accuses me of not peddling so am thinking

of kicking my heels up (and maybe even hands up as we ride by?!

Whatcha think?!

note to self: book photographer (aka Theresa!)

Inbetween all this---

I did the preschool scrapbook.

I took photos today,

blocked all the little angel's faces

and was ready to post

but

for some reason

Picasa (that I hate almost as much as Blogger)

didn't save my work.

And I can't post the kid's faces...

so until I have the patience that post will have to wait.

I've been busy as that scrapbook was done

in a week's time

after the marathon scrapbook my goddaughter and I did.

I worked so hard I ended up sick

and missed the kid's preschool program after all that work!

Oh well.

Maybe next year...

Until next time, happy stamping and scrapping.

Blessings,

 

Happy (Belated!) Thanksgiving!

That's me---

always late!

In fact my "nephew's" birthday was

yesterday

did I get the card out?

Nope.

But-I will.

And he can celebrate-again!

He's still young enough to appreciate that!

Lol.

Yesterday

hubby and I celebrated Thanksgiving.

It was just us.

And the cats, of course.

We had a very nice, relaxing, stress-free day!

We ate--a lot!

We even cooked and cleaned up together,

took a nap and read,

blog hopped and did a little gardening,

took a bike ride down to the pier,

ate some more,

watched an old Star Wars dvd,

and called it a day.

It was nice.

Here's a few photos-
I opted to keep it simple-

the "good china" stayed in the cupboard

and the heirloom silver in the drawer

so there's nothing fancy here-

it was ALL GOOD, tho (and a lot less work!)

(l to r): (wheat bread) stuffing, green bean casserole, (rice bread) stuffing, jello salad,

pumpkin pie, sweet potato pie and mashed potatoes in the middle!

Explanation...

This is the RICE BREAD STUFFING

I am allergic to wheat (regular bread/flour, etc)

so hubby has kindly worked hard

and perfected, I must add-

the stuffing recipe using rice bread!

You can never, ever have too much stuffing!

This is Theresa's PUMPKIN SOUP

it is delicious, too!

She served it last year and since we had pumpkin

left over from the pie

I called and got the recipe from her-

I'll post it below.

It has some zing and zip thanks to a little curry and red pepper!

The bird--minus a few parts!

The beach...

I was shooting "blind" here-

I could see absolutely nothing on my camera display...

worthy to add to a photo Christmas card?

"Behold-His Light Shines!"?! Hmmm...

Hubby

The bird nabbed a fish from a woman fishing on the pier-

she started to take it away, shrugged her shoulders

and then let him have his Thanksgiving "turkey" fish dinner...

Our feral cat, Moe

He was close to me but when I took out the camera

he bolted...down the walk...

and here's the Thanksgiving view

from our front deck...

Ahh---it was a really nice day!

Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time, happy stamping and scrapping!

Blessings,

THERESA'S PUMPKIN SOUP

1 cup chopped onion

1 clove garlic

1/2 stick butter

1 tsp. curry powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. corriander

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

5 cups chicken broth

1 15 oz. can pumpkin

1 cup half and half

sour cream and chives to garnish

sautee onions, garlic and butter

add spices and cook one minute

add chicken broth and bring to a boil

cook 15-20 minutes

add pumpkin and half and half.

Process in small batches in blender until smooth.  Garnish with a dallop of sour cream and chopped chives (neither of which I had...but it was good, anyway!) Enjoy!

Oh-and we used fresh cooked pumpkin-it (the soup) was a little thinner than when using the the canned pumpkin-I've not used fresh pumpkin before-it is very watery-wondering if I needed to smoosh it through a strainer to "drain" some of the liquid out first?  Hmm....

Naughty or Nice? And Slow Recovery...

  but recovering I am!

I stayed in again today

and took things easy

but after three days of bed

and as many novels...

I HAD to do something!

I had logged into Split Coast Stampers

and found
this tutorial for Santa's Drawers

and OHMYGOSH!!!

I had to try it!

I ran and got my Close to My Heart Believe paper packs

my Score Pal, scissors and my tape gun.

I fixed a bowl of soup, got a drink

and sat in front of the computer

watching and working my way through

not one but two tutorial videos!

But this is just too, too cute---

.and it really isn't hard at all!

You are basically making a lot--

ok-- 4 boxes.

There's a few "PAY ATTENTIONS"

I would point out--

watch the video steps all the way through

before cutting-

I stopped and started it-

but I made a cut she said make

and THEN she pointed out a paper orientation

that she should have had before telling you to cut!

So watch-then cut.

Also highly recommend her idea of "dry fitting" everything

then adding adhesive.

Lastly,

and  I really don't know how to explain this-

but I cut little angles

on the "wings/flaps" to be folded in...

I just nipped a little more off so it angled down some

rather than straight across

so folding things over would fold and fit easier.

She mentions this in one step-I did it for all.

This would make an awesome gift

filled with gift tags!

And you can really make a lot of those

if you save those little pieces you cut off the corners

< WINK!>

The question is...

whose names are in the NAUGHTY drawer

and whose are in the NICE one?!

Hmmm...!

Guess you'll have to wait and see!

Until next time

happy stamping and scrapping!

Blessings,

Excused absence, please...

I've not abandoned my blog---

I promise.

After the marathon scrapbook Friday night--Saturday afternoon

and the crop on Sunday

I was madly working to finish

the preschool scrapbook

for their Thanksgiving Feast

yesterday.

The good news is--

I did it.

The bad news is

I am sick.

Wed. afternoon the runny nose started

then the upset stomach through the night

nausea hit next

and by morning the being hot then freezing.

I delivered the scrapbook, put out Sunday's bulletins

and came home and went to bed

All day.

Today will be a repeat I think even tho I do feel a wee bit better.

When I recover I will share some photos of it.

The director was really pleased.

I had to rescue a layout or two-

the Firemen came in Oct. not Nov.

as I had scrapped-so had to juggle those

and then the Police Dog Oreo got sick and was a "no show"

so the page all ready for her photos

had to be redone as well.

Trials and trauma

and phone calls to Theresa

who gave me "what for"

for doing this to myself---

I know.

I always take on too much

to be done too soon

and end up stressed out.

The little ones are so cute tho!

And I have no little ones to scrap.

Since Thanksgiving is coming up,

I have to share this tho-and the retelling doesn't do it justice.

Not knowing the dog was a no-show,

I had gone down the hall to see if I could see her and the kids

out on the playground.

I did see and hear the police car and the two policemen

and children gathered around.

The two-year old's were lined up and coming in.

The first little blond haired girl

had two Junior Police badges in her hand.

I said, "Oh! Look what you got!"

And she looked up at me with her big eyes and smiled

and handed me one.

I looked at it, fussed over it,

and handed it back to her.

She shook her head---

I said, "is this for me?"

She shook her head "yes" and went on to her classroom.

I was soooo touched.

She so willingly gave me one of her treasures...

it was just one of those Hallmark moments--

I wore that badge proudly

all. day. long.

Out in public. To scrapbooking group (they know I am nuts anyway!)

and that little piece of made in Japan plastic

 it sits proudly on my dresser.

as a reminder

of what it means...to give.

We should all take a lesson in this.

We have wayyyy too much in this day and time

and so many needs surround us.

This Thanksgiving/Christmas

I am rethinking my giving.

And I going to do it with a grateful heart

like that little gal did. Hopefully.

We all have SOMETHING we can share-

even if it's as simple

as a junior police officer badge!

Until next time,

pass the Vitamin C, the Benedryl, the hot tea-

and happy stamping and scrapping!

Making up for lost time & MARATHON MADNESS!

I am T-totally worn out!

My soon to be 12 year old goddaughter, Maren,

tried to kill me this week-end.

Literally!

Her cousin got married a year ago...

fast forward to Wednesday evening

and I got this call...

"Can you pleeeeeaaaasssseeee help me finish

Kendra's wedding album

'cause we will see her over Thanksgiving..."

Ok.  We can do that.

Friday was no school-I am off on Friday's anyway

so at 2 Mom dropped her off.

She had paper, she had embellishments, she had tools...

but no photos!

OOPS!

Deeeeeeeeeeep Breath.

Called Mom.

Back to her house we went

where we spent the next 2+ hours

editing and uploading photos for one-hour printing.

Grabbed some dinner,

got the photos

some Peppermint Hot Chocolate

and at 7:30 last night...

we started!

She had a few pages already done...

but we had 42 photos to go!

By 9:30 the child was drooping and we didn't know what to do

with the last of the shower photos, so we called it a night.

After a much-deserved rum drink and a neck rub

I literally fell into bed

(I was that tired-not that much rum-

or well, being THAT TIRED that little bit of rum

went a long way!).

The alarm cat

went off at just shy of 6 AM...

I had just gotten them fed

and pushed the "on" button on the coffee pot-

and here she comes-bright eyed and bushy tailed.

So---we started. Again.

And an hour ago (1 PM)...we finished.

I lost count of layouts.

We tossed maybe 2 photos.

We were one page off...grrr....

add base page, decorative paper and a post it--

insert bulletin or invitation here

problem solved.

But, I highly recommend that you

DO NOT try this at home!

An entire 12x12  album in less than 24 hours!

Thank God for Close to My Heart,

now discontinued Wings paper pack

and the new CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge.

Oh-and Scotch tape gun.

And CTMH divided pages-

they saved my sanity in the end...!

Without further ado,

here are the photos-

they don't do the pages justice-

but you have an idea of just what a very creative

soon-to-be 12 year old can do...with a little help from her godmother...

Beginning with the cover-

a very pretty soft cream

The inside page...

The shower...

on the left we wrapped the photos like presents

since she was opening presents...

on the right---the underware---

with her new "mrs. name" in rhinestones!

Maren found a tiny embellishment

of a t and panties to match!

This was one of the favorite layouts for her!

LOL!

more presents-I love the fact that Maren got photos of  things

like the present at her feet--

great "non-traditional" shots-

even more awesome that a 12 year old thought of it!

Can we say the child is gifted--?!

More awesome shots-the card with wine bottles on it-

the gift bag with "I do!"...

Bridesmaids and groomsmen...

the pages she did in my class a few months back...

Coming down the aisle on dad's arm...

this is beautiful flocked paper she picked out!
The bird is holding two pieces of cream satin ribbon with

two little wire hearts dangling from them! Again-her idea!

The Vows...

with Art Philosophy butterflies! Aren't they pretty?!

She was all a-flutter over this these photos-

she said she wanted to BE SURE to get THE KISS

and she did!

We laughed, tho, at the minister's mouth in the middle of it!

The second page of the layout...back down the aisle-

she picked out this paper as well-a year ago-

She was bananas over it as it matched the setting perfectly!

On to the reception-they didn't have a cake-

they had a tower of cup cakes...

Art Philosophy to the rescue again!

We cut cream colored cupcakes, the green wrapper

and then cut the wrapper again out of brown and used the

sliversto make it appear as CHOCOLATE cupcakes!

For the icing we used Martha Stewart glitter glue swirled on

and then some snow glitter

FYI-if you are in a hurry

you can hit that concoction with a heat gun

and it will set right up!

(heat from both sides to even out any "curling" ; ) )

A small doily folded in half made the perfect "plate"!

We were getting very very burned out and tired-

so we pulled out the CTMH divided pages

and altered them to our liking-

we covered the top two vertical spaces with dp

and laid our photo in a flip flap over that!
She lamented that she didn't have a "First Dance" embellishment-

I said we have stamps, ink and a computer & printer-

we HAVE a First Dance AND Our family

(This is the brides stepson in the bottom photos)

embellishments!

Waving that magic wand, baby!

I did "First" and "family" on the computer

then stamped "Dance" and "Our" with the juniper ink

and the Bohemian alphabet stamps.

But wait-the rest of the reception photos wouldn't fit in the vertical spaces...

so we sacrificed that back side of that divided page

and attached another version of a divided page...

this one has two vertical and two horizontal spaces

(again, discontinued...)

but another dilemma still-there were two more photos to be used...

enter two more 4x6 Flip Flaps and an SU tab punch! Problem solved!

peekaboo!

And---we were off by one last page...

so AP and the Cricut to the rescue!

We cut the flouris (I'm too tired to try and spell Fleur de---whatever-)

you get the picture-literally!

She added the flower embellishment and crystals.

The end.

SO-there you have it!

A complete 12x12 album in less than 24 hours!

After a brief break

I need to go clean up

and then gather up my goodies

to go to a CROP tomorrow

(yes, I gotta be crazy!)

and work on the Preschool scrapbooks-

yes, PLURAL--

this years and last...

that need to be done

by Thursday AM!

Bring on the hot chocolate-

followed by the rum!

Until next time,

happy stamping and scrapping!

Blessings,