A long time coming

Well, I finally did it - I went to the gym!  I have been putting it off for way too long and my hubby just got us a really great deal at a good gym.  So...we dropped Noah at my parents' house and the three of us headed over to Body Zone.  Zach had his swimming lesson, I went to a Body Flow class (a mix between yoga & pilates) and my hubby swam.  I know this - I will be sore tomorrow!  By the time we picked up Noah, got home & in pj's and finally the boys to bed it is 10 o'clock!  Needless to say, I did not make anything today!  I pulled this picture out of my stash from my stamping marathon during the blizzard.

I used a rectangular chipboard coaster and cut the heart out using the Movers and Shapers die for the Big Shot.  The stamp is from the Sale-A-Bration set Whimsical Words and the paper is Sending Love DP (I do love that paper!).  I added a little hanger using Chocolate Chip Satin Ribbon.  I made this for my hair stylist after rescheduling appointments twice!  I thought it would be something cute for her to hang in her shop.

Another week begins

Another week begins; another Monday down.  I am still getting over this cold and had a very long day.  I have been playing around with lots of different things lately - I am trying to come up with some really cute kid's cards. Mainly, I have been experimenting with punch art but most of the ideas require punches that I don't have yet.  I have come up with a few and I hope to post them later this week.

For now, I will share a picture from this weekend.  My twin nieces celebrated their 1st Birthdays this weekend and the entire family had a party.  My husband's uncle thought it would be fun to give my kids candy bracelets (fun for him & the kids; not so much for me).  It took Noah (my 2-year-old) a while to figure it out.  Zachary, the 4-year-old, got a shot of him just as he got the knack of it.

Then he decided to try on one of the birthday tiaras...

A Cold Kicked My Butt

This cold I have has really kicked my butt!  I came home from work yesterday, got into my pajamas and relaxed (and/or slept) until 11 am this morning!  Then my husband and I took the boys to my twin nieces' birthday party - they just turned 1.  Luckily, my in-laws took the kids so I was able to relax on the sofa all night.

I have been invited to participate in a Quarter Auction in a few weeks and I have been working on my items to auction off and projects that I want to display.  So...I have been surfing the internet for the last 2 hours.  Now, when I have a little more energy I have a ton of projects to work on!

Since I didn't make anything today, I thought I would post the Valentine's I made for my 4-year-old to give to his classmates at school.  

I used scraps of Sending Love DP I had left over from my Valentine's Day class for the background of the bag topper and to punch hearts.  I also have been saving bottle caps for the last 6 months or so; I flattened them in my Big Shot and adhered hearts to them.  A cute and inexpensive way to embellish!

And now a little touch of Laryngitis

Well, as of 8th period today I have officially lost my voice.  I don't feel too bad but I can't talk.  However, I am really tired from straining to talk for the 3 classes I taught today.  I am really trying to post everyday, so I at least have a quick card.

This is a very simple layout but I added a twist.  I saw a tutorial for a Curly Label Punch Border and I had to try it.  Isn't it cute?!  I also used the new Chocolate Bunny stamp from the Occasions Mini - I clear embossed it on Soft Suede, cut it out and popped it out with a Dimensional.  I love Soft Suede - it is the new brown!  If you like the border, you can see the tutorial on Ilina Crouse's blog at:  http://ilinacrouse.blogspot.com/2010/02/punched-border-using-curly-label-punch.html

A Cure for the Common Cold??

Just a quick post tonight; I have a cold and my throat and head are killing me!  Hopefully I can get some rest tonight!  My hubby and I just joined a new gym and I must go with him tomorrow night during Zach's swimming lesson!

I was playing with my Decor Elements over my long "snow" weekend and came up with this:

I picked up a cute, plain black cosmetic bag at Target, cut out a Rose Red Decor Elements "N" and attached it to the bag.  Quick and easy, but really cute.  I think I might make a zipper pull using shrink plastic, but I haven't gotten around to it yet.

Back to work...

Well, I went back to work today after a 6-day weekend due to snow and the holiday.  I had so much fun crafting during my mini-vacation that I completely forgot to post!  I made many, many cards (stayed up way too late on too many nights).  So I will share a few each night this week.

While I was preparing for my Valentine's Class, I used the Movers & Shapers die for the first time - I LOVE it!  These are 2 cards I made with the die - one with a fold out and one with out.  I used the Crazy Cool stamp set to emboss the sentiment on Dusty Durango on the above card.  I used the I {Heart} Hearts set to stamp the "friend" heart in Crushed Curry and the card is Melon Mambo.  For both cards, I used the Rich Razzleberry DP pack and the Polka Dot ribbon (I turned it around on the card below).

And, just because I took some really great pictures of my kids during the blizzard, I will share 2 of` them.  The first is of Noah, my 2-year-old; the second is of Zachary, my 4-year-old. ~they both look just like their Daddy! :)

Blog Hopping

I have been doing a lot of blog hopping lately.  Whenever I am in a creative slump, I surf the web and look through magazines and catalogs for new ideas.  Of course, I always seem to find way too many to try!!  Whenever I find a picture I like, I save it to my flash drive and then open them up when I am ready to get down to business.  So tonight, since I finished the cards my Relay for Life team is selling for our current fundraiser and my son's Valentines, I decided to go through the tons of pictures that I have been saving (I knew I would need at least the 16 GB drive!) and subsequently went on a stamping marathon.  I am only going to post one at a time just in case I get into a slump later (I am really trying to post everyday).

This card I CASED directly from the Stampin' Up! Sale-A-Bration Brochure - I really like the color combination.  SU! really has outdone themselves with the products offered during Sale-A-Bration this year - I am loving all of them!  I needed a card for a friend of mine who just retired and "Best Wishes" seemed fitting. 

I have some cool news to share tonight:  last night I was going through my posts and checking out comments when I found that one of my projects was chosen as a Late Night Stampers Blog Find of the day.  Since I am new to blogging and really just starting to grow my business, I was so excited.  Check it out blog at: http://blogfindsoftheday.blogspot.com/2010/01/blog-finds-for-jan-29.html - I am listed under Decor Elements - Love Jar ~THANKS KELLY!  I have added both of your blogs to my Delicious.com account (a social bookmarking site) and I will be joining the group asap!

I must call it a night - we are expecting another snow storm and I believe that high school students are more unruly than elementary children when a storm is brewing!  Tomorrow should be interesting.

A New Home

A friend of mine at work moved into a new house over the weekend, so I thought it the perfect opportunity to use 2 of my Sale-A-Bration products.  SU's Sale-A-Bration is AWESOME this year!  I have gotten everything and all of the stamp sets in the new clear mount.  For this card I used the Good Neighbors stamp set and Welcome Neighbor DP Pad.  I also used one of the new Sending Love brads from the Occassions Mini Catalog to embellish the tag.

Too cute together!  Combining the houses, roofs and trees from the Good Neighbors stamp set was so easy with the clear blocks - I am LOVING the new clear mount stamps!! :)

Is it really February already?

I cannot believe that tomorrow is the beginning of February already. Wow, how time flies. I'm watching the Grammy's and enjoying the good music way too much.  It has been interesting; I have noticed 3 things:  I know the musicians from growing up (Michael Jackson, Bon Jovi, Lionel Richie) or from the radio (Green Day, Taylor Swift) or I have no idea who they are. I guess I am getting old and out of touch.  It does't matter too much - it has all been good music and very entertaining.  However, one of my students is playing in the Grammy Band on the show tonight- how cool is that! ~I guess I am not too out of touch!

I am still making things for Valentine's Day - I don't think I ever had so much fun with this holiday. I have been playing with Stampin' Up's new Clear Mount stamps and I LOVE THEM! Before I joined Stampin' Up! I tried all types of different stamps and really liked the idea of clear mount stamps. But, I hated the quality of the image compared to SU's rubber stamps. I was unsure what I would think when I heard we were coming out with clear mount stamps. I ordered som and am, I think, a convert!

I made these with the Sweetheart Stamp Set that coordinates with the Full Heart Punch and the Heart Treat Cups (loving these as well). I am thinking about having my 4-year-old give these out to his friends at preschool for Valentine's Day.

Wordle

Ok, this post is not like my usual posts but I created something today that I think is really cool.  I am taking a Web 2.0 class and am learning SO many new things.  Today I learned about a really cool site called WORDLE - you can visit and play with it at http://www.wordle.net/  You paste words into the site and out pops a word cloud.  You can change the colors and shapes - it is too cool!  ~yes, I know I am a geek!

Here is my wordle that I created for the Career Education class I teach:



I am going to have way too much fun with this! Try it!

Getting Ready for Valentine's Day

I am really excited about this new project.  I have made 2 so far and I really LOVE this one!

I took a glass jar, embellished it with Stampin' Up Real Red Decor Elements and filled it with 31 mini envelopes cut from DP (I used last year's Valentine's Day pack).  Each envelope has a "message of love" inside.  The intention is to give the jar to someone you love and he or she will open an envelope each day for 1 month.  When the jar is empty you can fill it up again with 31 new love notes!

Valentine Flowers

I am addicted to Stampin' Up!'s Sweet Treat Cups!  I must admit, I have had them since they were released but I didn't experiment with them until lately.  The Heart Treat Cups are super cute and I will post something with them this weekend.  But...I saw these flowers a few places and I had to try them.  They will be perfect for my son's preschool teachers as Valentine's Day gifts.  I made 2 different sets - one with Dazzling Diamonds and one with the petals stamped on white paper.  I can't decide which I like better.  I used 3 of the In Colors:  Crushed Curry, Melon Mambo, and Rich Razzleberry; I haven't really gotten into using them yet and I am forcing myself to use them more. 

Short Post (and I mean it this time!)

We are busy getting ready for my son Noah's 2nd birthday party tomorrow so I am going to post another one of my Valentine's Day cards.  I actually CASED this card from this great blog I stumbled upon recently - the Saucy Stamper.  I actually found so many great ideas on her website that I added it as a blog I follow.

I used the Sending Love DP and Real Red brads along with some Real Red 3/4" grosgrain ribbon.  It is also a criss cross card - I haven't made one for so long that I had to go to splitcoaststampers.com to review the tutorial.  I think this card is so pretty and I can't take much credit for it.

Thanks for stopping by!

More Valentines

Quick post tonight - I am watching the new Grey's Anatomy that I have been waiting forever for!  Yes, it is my guilty pleasure!

Another Valentine ~ actually three.  Two are 3x3 mini cards and the other is a NEW Sending Love Notes - Hugs card with a NEW Rectangular Glassine Envelope.  I am thinking about making the Loads of Love card (minus the "loads of love") for my 4-year-old to give to his preschool classmates.

Stampin' Up! products used:  Love You Much stamp set; Loads of Love stamp set; Chocolate Chip corduroy buttons; linen thread; Heart to Heart punch; Word Window punch

I also want to share a recipe.  I found a great website the other night:  CD Kitchen (check it out at http://www.cdkitchen.com/ They have some really great recipes but the feature I really like is the recipe box.  When you find a recipe you like, you can save it to your own recipe box.  Now I don't need to print them out and try to stuff them in my already over-full recipe box.

One of the recipes that I found at CD Kitchen was Burrito Lasagna and I made it for dinner tonight.  OMG - it was SO good!  Really easy and super yummy!  Here it is - enjoy!

BURRITO LASAGNA

Ingredients:
2 pounds ground beef
1 onion, chopped
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 small can black olives, sliced (I did not use them - we hate olives)
1 (4 oz.) can diced green chili peppers
1 (10 oz.) can diced tomatoes with green chili peppers
2 1/2 cups red taco sauce (I used mild because of the kids)
1 (16 oz.) can refried beans
12 (8 inch) tortillas
9 ounces shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large skillet over medium heat, saute the ground beef for 5 minutes.  Add the onion and gralic and saute for 5 more minutes.  Drain any excess fat.  Add the olives (save some for the end), chili peppers, tomatoes, taco sauce and refried beans.  Stir mixture thoroughly.  Reduce heat to low and let simmer for 20 minutes.  Spread a thin layer on the bottom of a 4-quart casserole dish.  Cover witha layer of tortillas followed by more meat mixture and then a layer of cheese.  Repeat tortilla, meat and cheese layers until you have used all of the meat mixture.  Top with cheese.  Bake for 20-30 minutes or untile cheese is slightly brown and bubbly.

I also made Spanish Rice and we topped it with sour cream.  Um, um, good!

~Yes, I do realize that my short post turned into a really long one!

On the mend

I stayed home from work today to try to get rid of this nasty cold I have.  I slept until 2 pm (something I haven't done since college!) so I think I am feeling better.  I decided to continue working on my Valentine's Day cards.  I am really excited to get my Heart Treat Cups but I still enjoyed working with what I have on hand.  I bought the Movers & Shapers die a while back and have only used it once.  Since I am making Valentines, the heart is perfect.  Designing tonight was difficult for me because I have so many ideas for the new stuff I am getting that I had trouble focusing on what I do have.  The only thing I stamped was the "happiness" sentiment from Warm Words - now the card is great for Valentine's Day or any other day.  I also had no matching ribbon on hand so I used a piece of hemp to finish the left side.  We will be making this card at a Valentine's workshop I am holding in a few weeks as yet another fundraiser for my Relay for Life team.

The Winter Blues

I haven't been crafting much lately for 2 reasons:  1) I have a cold that I just can't get rid of and 2) I have been feeling kind-of blah.  I guess it is the winter blues.  I pre-ordered a few things from the new Mini and the Sale-a-Bration catalog but I haven't even mounted the stamps or opened the paper.  Of course, opening something new always brightens my spirit.  

I got out the NEW DP (Sending Love) from the Occassions Mini ~LOVE IT!  So, I decided to make some valentines.  I pulled out my Valentine's Day stamps and a precut 5x5 square Very Vanilla card. I added a piece of pretty in pink cardstock and a piece of the DP.  I stamped the image in basic grey using the Love You Much set and colored it in using my markers.  Of course I added ribbon and a little brad for the center of the flower.  I also used my 2-Way Glue Pen to trace the letters and then dusted with Dazzling Diamonds to add just a little bit more sparkle.

Of course I am now fully primed to create but alas it is time for bed.  I must get up early to get to work and mold young minds (what a scary thought!)

I made it through the first day back to school!

Wow!  I am really tired after my first day back to school.  I also was at the IU after work for a class I am taking on Web 2.0 - I am really excited about this one!  Anyway...I am tired and hope to get to sleep a little earlier tonight, so I only have one easy project.

My Relay for Life team is going to sell my coaster calendars for another one of our fundraisers.  I wanted to have 4 designs to choose from so I made one more tonight.  I used the the Autumn Meadows DP because I wanted to have at least one calendar with a masculine feel.  I really like the woodgrain patterns in this paper - it is way more versatile than I originally thought.  I think I will be using this much more - especially for cards for the men in my life!  I also altered the design a little bit by printing a 2010 year view calendar.  I know I am lost without a year view calendar at work and at home! 

Last Day of Freedom

Today was the last day of my winter break.  I relaxed (as much as you can with 2 young boys) and spent some time in my craft room.  Since I am returning to work tomorrow and it is a new year, I am in need of a new calendar.  So of course, I made one!  I got these great chipboard coasters at http://www.stamponthis.com/ and have been trying to decide what to make first.

My desk set at work features the Thoroughly Modern DP set - so I made the calendar to match.  I printed the calendars using Word, stamped a little, cut the leaves and butterfly with the Cricut and put it together with my Bind-It-All.  Of course, I finished it off with some ribbon!

I have a few more things to do then it is off to bed - I have to set the alarm and get up at the crack of dawn.  Why do I always get inspired to create when it is time for bed???

The worst thing about any vacation - going back to work!  ~~~Have a great week!

An Idea Comes to Fruition

I have this crazy need to have everything match - I guess it is my obsessive-compulsive personality.  Anyway...I have always wanted a cute little box to put tissues in my purse.  I don't like the packages of designer tissues because they are usually too rough.  So, I decided to make my own.  I used DP and acetate to make the box and then finished off with some ribbon.  You can fit an entire Kleenex Pocket Pack of tissues inside - you do not even have to remove them from the plastic the come in. 

It is not a finished product yet - I still have a few kinks to fix.  But, I am really proud of this one.

Happy New Year!

Wow!  I can't believe it has been a week since Christmas and I only have 2 days left of Christmas break.  Now that Christmas is over and I no longer need to make gifts or Christmas cards, my new projects (at least for now) are going to be birthday cards.  I am working on a new aspect of my business and I will need lots of birthday cards to launch it - stay tuned!

Although this card looks difficult, it really was not.  I cut the card and the letters on the Cricut - designing it in Design Studio was the most difficult part.  I stamped the cupcakes using the Crazy for Cupcakes set from Stampin' Up! and colored them in using my markers (Orchid Oppulence and Old Olive - to match the DP).  I topped off the cupcakes with a little glitter.  The best way I have found to add just a little glitter is to use a 2-Way Glue Pen - dab a little on, sprinkle on the glitter and dust it off.

I am also working on listing items on Etsy and Ebay - check out my sites:

Etsy:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/CrazyCraftinMama

Ebay:  http://shop.ebay.com/nicolew2247/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p4340