Taking a break...

from working on re-doing my file drawers. I can't seem to find anything so I am purging my files and re-organizing everything. I really needed to do this! Especially with any of the Stampin Up records. So I've been cleaning and shredding and filing a good part of the day. I thought I would take a break and post a little photo of a cute Holiday Purse Planner I made. Just a little something to keep track of everything I have to do for the upcoming Christmas holidays. I think it makes a cute little stocking stuffer too!

Thanksgiving countdown...

One more day until Thanksgiving. I think tomorrow will be crazy for so many of you planning big family dinners. I hope you will stop at least once to take a deep breath and give thanks for all your blessings. It is so easy to get so caught up in the preparations for the holidays that we forget what we are actually celebrating. So, be good to yourself and take that moment and savor it. I'll be counting my blessings and you all will be among those blessings. Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving.
Hugs, Cathy

Sharing a hybrid card...

I was recently delighted to be asked to join the Creative Team of Jan Hosford at Scrapbook Graphics. Jan has created a lot of wonderful templates that are perfect for use in hybrid projects. I made this petal card invitation using her Card and Envelope Templates available at SBG. The papers and elements I used are from Kim Hill's colorful Carnival kit at CG Essentials. That gorgeous striped ribbon is from Stampin Up. Thanks for looking!

Back from a short "Blog-a-way"

That's like a Get-a-way only you don't leave town, you just stay away from your blog. Sometimes blogging moves down on the priority list, you know what I mean? I did something Tuesday evening that I really enjoyed. I was the "Craft Lady" at a meeting of my sister's Neighborhood Ladies' Group. Once in a while they have a craft night and my sister asked me to come up with a couple of easy crafts for about 20 people that we could complete in a hour or so. I chose a decorated mini journal, and a giant paper clip book mark. I pre-cut and stamped a lot of it so everything would go together easily and I was afraid it might be too simple, but they seem to love it. One lady said "Spoon-fed crafts, I love it!" Too funny, but wait, might be a great name for a business. Here is a picture of the bookmark.

Quick post tonight or should I say morning?

I've stayed up way too late tonight. We had our small group over and my friend Sandy stayed after and we talked until almost midnight. Of course I could have gone right to bed soon after but I had to check emails and whatnot. I have another layout to share with you and then I'll get myself off to bed. My younger sister is coming tomorrow to spend a couple of days and we are going to make some cards or do some crafts. I also have a new Stampin Up package sitting on my dining room table so after I get a few errands done in the morning it will be play time! It is also my sister's birthday today. Happy Birthday, Chris! Okay, so here is the layout. I hope you can see the journaling because I am too tired to type it out tonight. I will tell you I use Tracy Blankenship's Templates With Attitude Trios 1 and Kim Hill's Royally Grunged papers.

Big City Small Town



Okay, so I can't see the journaling so you probably can't either. I hate it
when I can't read the writing on a layout in a gallery so this is what it says:

There is nothing like the hustle bustle of a big city.
It has a vibrancy that makes you feel alive. The noises, the
smells, and the traffic all add to that energy. What makes
this city so different from other cities is the people.
The smiles, the hellos, and the easy way they ask about who
you are and where you’re from. This big city just has a
small town feel. Pittsburgh, PA

Off to bed, good night all.

Peace, what the world needs now........

Sharing a scrapbook page today. I've been looking through a lot of our Christmas photos and scrapping a few pages with a holiday theme. White doves always make me think of peace and hope. Our world could sure use a little of that.



Paper and digital bling are by Kim Hill at CG Essentials.

Black and blue all over...

no not me, but my card for the first SCS's Blog Group challenge sure is. I had my doubts when I started but I am really happy with the results. It is a little difficult to see the Dew Drops on the card but I think I know now why everyone loves those little clear dots. They do look like dew drops. Well anyway, here is a picture of the card. Now I am off to check out the other ladies' blogs to see what they came up with. Thanks for visiting my blog and all the nice comments. It sure is more fun to blog if you have a few readers!

Getting in the mood...

for Christmas that is. I scrapped some old pics of my daughter's visits with Santa. These photos are from the 70's. She never liked doing the Santa thing much, but she has always loved Christmas and still does. I used Kim Hill's Contemporary Christmas kit and Crumpled Edges element pack available at CG Essentials

Carol Loves Santa Not!



I like this kit so much that I had to make a card too. This is a hybrid card. I design it in Photoshop Elements, them deconstruct the card. Then the digital elements and background paper are printed, cut up and mounted on real cardstock. I used Demensions to pop up the layers for interest. Hybrid cards are so much fun to make. Here is the holiday card.

Thank you Erin...

One of my SCS blog group ladies gave me a Kreative Blogger award.
Thank you so much, Erin. Erin's blog always has gorgeous cards, so check out her blog here.

My first workshop went well...

I actually had fun. I think everyone had a good time! They all completed three cards and I taught them the "faux stitching" technique. These are the three cards I chose to demonstrate. I think I've posted the first two before. The Christmas card is new.



I included recipes or instruction sheets to take home too. Those were a big hit. I wanted my ladies to be able to make the cards again at home so I am planning to use them again.

Recipe for the Christmas card. See the supplies list here at my SCS gallery



Here is a bigger picture of the Christmas card.



I also want to thank all the SCS Blogger group girls for visiting and leaving such nice comments. Check out the SCS blog list on the right margin to visit some really creative blogs!