Very Thankful - Help Us to Remember

A Thankful Book. A book to jot down, to celebrate, to remember and to remind ourselves of all the reasons we have to be thankful. When I say we, I mean my family. No, it is not a finished version, I see this as an ongoing project. One of those projects that I will need to do a page as I am inspired. I have an almost completed music page. I have pulled papers for an America page. I can envision a family page but think I need several of these. I need to search through some photos. I hope I have complete family photos (sounds easy but there are a lot of nieces and nephews, aunts and uncles, we do not live near each other and someone had to snap the photo!). I need a food page (perhaps a photo of a Thanksgiving table - but I doubt I have ever snapped one of these - I will keep it in mind this year!). I need a separate page just for ice cream and chocolate (for which I am VERY THANKFUL). I need a school page with school and college logos, a hobby page, a house/home page, a friend page, a health page. I am setting it up with one decorative page against a blank page for notes and scribbles BUT, if as I suspect, it gets too large, I will add a small page/envelope in between pages to hold these notes. It will not be in order of significance simply because it 1-would be too hard to assign a rank and 2- is a purchased spiral scrapbook and would be hard to switch order (hence the idea of adding small pages in between - I should be able to use a spiral punch and add them).
The pictures are of the cover and cover page. Watch the blog for more pages to come.... (and remember - this is a long term project...). I would love to hear suggestions for more pages from you. I figure the more ideas the better. Then perhaps, when feeling sorry for ourselves (not me of course, but perhaps others...)- we take a peek at the book and smile!
Speaking of thankful, I am very thankful for all the inspiration over at Cuttlebug Challenges. This book is as a result of this Wednesday's challenge.

Vintage over at Our Creative Corner

OCC has a challenge this week to create something vintage- either in feel or with vintage dodads. I chose to use a little of both. I found this free digital image at Clearly Vintage and loved it. Now, before you say it, no the colors are not correct- however this is the color my printer is printing since the color cartridge is almost empty! I never use the color cartridges so I have given up changing them . Did you know that the ink jet cartridges can dry out before they are used up - very annoying when you do not print much!!! I really need to look into a better printer because I would love to print pictures and digital stamps, etc. On the upside, I have learned how to download a digital image and size it so I can print it the size I want and have the whole picture come out!!!! I am sooo excited. This is something I have been struggling with and that has kept me from digital (that and a total lack of really comprehending the whole process....). Now I feel motivated to experiment more with the computer as a creative tool and not just a word processor!
Back to the card... The paper is not vintage but I love the vintage feel to it! The rick rack and the eyelet are vintage pieces from my stash. The eyelet has had the edge colored with copics to make it feel even feel even more vintage like......

Simple Cards- Stash Building

Just a few simple cards to build my stash of "usable cards". Do you ever have those cards you can not send because either A-you can not part with them or B- nobody will understand them anyway? After all - not everyone I send cards to understands this need to create useless pieces of art -LOL!!! I have piles of these pieces and someday they will work their way into a scrapbook page or something but in the meantime - I need some cards to send. I also need to get this post written today because the simple joys one is going out to a friend who needs a smile.
In retrospect, I wish I had added an embellishment to the band on the pink and brown card (as well as centered the sentiment on the lighter checks!). It is funny how things show up in photos that do not jump out in real life. I think it has something to do with the fact that the card looks fine IRL, but lacks something in the picture. If I had a better camera (or let's face it, was a better photographer) would this make a difference? It is so hard to capture the beauty of some of these creations (not THESE specifically, haha, just in general).
On another note, I am thrilled the way my cut pieces of 6x6 paper are turning out. I am not afraid to cut them and I can look through so easily to find just the right piece. The down side is I did want to make one card a 7x5 and had already cut the paper into 6x6 but how often is that going to happen. At least that is what I told myself- then trotted off to my 12x12 stack to find different paper....

CPS 140

Here is my take on this week's CPS 140 sketch. It's a great sketch and lends itself to so many possibilities! I used this cute snowman image stamp from Rubber Stampede and colored it with copics. The half circles were cut from nestabilities and the snowflake is a Martha Stewart punch. A dab of stickles, a bit of piercing and done!

So..What did you do on Halloween?

No, I did not do any tricks, treats or partying. And no, we did not have any kids come to trick or treat-we never do. But I did spend my time cutting tons of 12x12 decorative paper into 6x6ish squares. Why you ask? Because I am sick of trying to paw through a huge stack of 12x12s to find paper. I am also sick of hating to cut into a 12x12 sheet to use a small part of it- silly right- it's not like it ruins it- But what if I need the whole sheet later??? So to get over these impediments to being creative- I cut and cut and cut some more and the result were these huge 6x6ish stacks of paper pieces that I can easily paw through to find what I want for cards. It's not like I don't have any 12x12 left-the picture above is the 12x12 I did not cut (and this doesn't show the tablets or the solid color. I am currently freaking out at having too much stuff and not being organized enough to find what I want. This freak out is all a result of the room painting and having to move all my stuff to paint- I thought I would be able to organize it all and put it back so I knew exactly where everything is. The problem is I do not have a year to sit and organize LOL! I think I need to call that Mission Organization show and get them over here (definitely do not call Nicey at Clean House-she would make me throw things out!!!!). Someday when I am all neat and organized I will post pictures- do not , however, hold your breath!

Cardinal Delight....

Ha- not what you were thinking! Sketch Saturday had a great sketch this week and this cardinal seemed to fit the pattern well. I do not know the company that made the stamp but isn't it cute! I used colored pencils to color it for a soft look (watch for a future card with a bright one in copics!). Nestibilities dies and a cuttle bug embossing folder (then cut into sticks) were used to cut the labels and branches.

A Tall Order....

Caardvarks' challenge this time is for tall cards. Sounds simple right? Well not necessarily - I really had to think about this one- not every design lends itself to tallness (is this a word?). I needed a card for James, my nephew so thought I could perhaps I would give this tall design a try. James is turning 14 and I needed to limit the "cuteness" of a card so as not to insult his maturity...and yet... this sizzix die so looks like him that I can never resist using it. I do believe Aunts have cuteness privilages, don't they???

A Celebration.....

I sent this card a bit ago to Patti, in celebration of her completion of chemotherapy. Hooray for her! I am so happy for her. I know, through her blog, what an ordeal it was. Read along with her - her writing is terrific! She will make you laugh - I guarantee it! She writes about her adjustment to life as an American in Denmark, as well as her journey with cancer. We miss her here in the states but our loss is Denmark's gain!
I have been terrifically busy once again. The family room did get it's coat of paint and I love the color (and yes, Patti, I did get Ruth's advice!). The kitchen has yet to get done but all in good time as they say!. We also took a wonderful trip to Williamsburg Va last week. It was heaven! A great week of relaxation and exploration. Joe was able to forget about work for a bit and travel back to centuries of old. We did tons of walking and then back to the B&B at night for tons of relaxation and reading in front of the fireplace. We stayed at The Legacy of Williamsburg and I highly recommend it if you are in the area. I have yet to find my camera since the trip (ok so I have a couple of totes to still unpack!) so I have not uploaded pictures yet but trust me when I say the area is simply beautiful this time of year.
I know I owe a lot of comments and such to my favorite buds - I am behind again but know that I am with you all in thoughts even if I have been silent as of late! I did do a challenge card a couple of days ago, but until that camera is unpacked, there will be no posts of it- I had better go look for it....

It's All In The Attitude...

How about another card from that rocker girl scrapbook kit? I'm telling you I am having a ball with these-it's like that cartoon -Rosie? whose alter ego comes out in leather and riding a motorcycle. How much fun is this. My husband looked at it and asked "Just what ARE you trying to say???" I thought THAT was hilarious. Apparently I have lost my edgy side (truth be told-I was never edgy- moody maybe but not edgy!)

And Without Further Ado...

Another sketch challenge! This time it's for CPS135. Wow- two challenges in a row... Ok so nothing else got done today but that's okay right? I flipped the sketch a bit to make my pattern work a bit better. The dp all came from a package at the dollar store, along with the chipboard letters. The daisy is a wooden trinket from Michael's- you know those cute pre painted wooden things that you can do so much with? I have tons of them and love to use them as little accents- especially on gift tags. They are very inexpensive and cute!