AMYRS 51 Part Deux- I love Winter!

I loved Amy's sketch so much, I had to make another! Plus, I am still using my copics etc to color images :)

I Love Winter!

Supplies: DP: Just Chillin Paper Pack, including CS from CTMH; Stamps: GingerSnaps Snow Angels and sentiment from Bear and Snowman set both by CC Designs; Ink: Palette Noir; Coloring Medium: Copic Ciaos, Prismacolor markers, and white gel pen for highlights; Other: sparkle ricrac from target, pink stickles, and American Crafts paper flowers, Cuttlebug embossing folder and scalloped circle nestabilities.

I love these girls- they're too cute!

2009 Word and goals: Believe

Wow, I know, 3 posts in 2 days. I must be insane.. or bored... or just on a roll. I'll go with the latter of the three :) I was reading Ali Edwards' blog. She never ceases to amaze me with her creativity. Anyway, for the third year in a row, she is encouraging herself and others to pick a word to live and create by in 2009. Her word is vitality. I went through the lists of possibilities she put together in 2008 and 2009 and I am keeping it simple.

Believe

Believe is such a simple yet powerful word. It can encompass so many things in life. On my desk at work is a poem, something I picked up years ago after being diagnosed with Lupus.

Believe in yourself~in the power you haveto control your own life, day by day,

Believe in the strength that you have deep inside,and your faith will help show you the way,

Believe in tomorrow and what it will bring,let a hopeful heart carry you through,

For things will work out if you trust and believe~there's no limit to what you can do!

So, for 2009, I'm coming up with these goals based on the word "Believe":

I will

• Believe in myself as a person
• Believe in myself as a mother
• Believe in myself as a teacher
• Believe in myself as an artist
• Believe in Nate's ability to overcome his obstacles
• Believe in Sam's ability to finish school
• Believe that all things are possible with God
• Believe that I can become healthier, both physically and mentally
• Believe that 2009 will be as good as I allow it to be

I hope I can remember these! I am going to create a mini album based on these goals and the word Believe. Not sure how or what I'm going to do this with but I will!

I encourage all of you to choose a word and live by it for 2009. Believing in something is a powerful tool! Have a fabulous day!

After Christmas UPDATE

I hope everyone had a great holiday! Christmas/Hanukkah went off without a hitch here. It has been a quiet holiday. I managed to get a Wii Fit and Jillian Michael's workout to go with it. Also got Shaun White Snowboarding for the balance board. Sam bought and wrote the most beautiful card for me :) I've been sick with headaches and nausea but hopefully will feel better soon. Here are a couple of cute pics of Nate on Christmas morning:

Looking at his new magnetic book.

Well, I also wanted to share a couple of altered items I made for Christmas.

Primitive Collage using Cornish Heritage Farm's Primitive Beginnings Set. My sister loves primitive items so I made this collage for her. I used crackle paint in peeled paint to make a messy border. I cut 3x3 squares and used the stamps to make various images. Also used a folk art star punch for some depth. My sheep has liquid applique on it.

I also made these 2 altered barn stars- first one is for my MIL, second for my parents. Paper is by Basic Grey and Cosmo Cricket. I used various rubons with family sentiments. Sorry the pics aren't great but short of hanging them up, it's hard to get a good pic of these!

I made this card for my parents. Uses the CTMH Evensong Creative Basics paper, TAC Mabelle RO limited edition vintage release Santa, and Scalloped greeting from SU Saleabration set last year.

This is a simple card using Sugarplum's Snowy Scene. I put my sparkling watercolors on the snowman and snowflakes.

Hope you enjoy these little creative bits! If you need any more details, leave a comment :)

AMYRS 51- Got Snow?

I am about to do a super update with some Christmas crafts but wanted to post Amy R's Sketch Challenge Separate. I enjoyed this challenge and finally used my new CC Designs SugarPlum Set!

Supplies: DP- Me and My Big Idea's Mittens (from Ellen Kraus' designs); CS- bazzill, stampin up white; Stamps: CC Designs Sugarplums; Coloring Medium: Copics and Prismacolors; Ink: Palette Noir; Accessories: Cuttlebug snowflake folder, nestabilities, MS snowflake punch, 1 1/2 in circle punch, Michael's ribbon.

I bought a 12 pack of Copic Ciaos- LOVE them!! I will definitely have to get more. I tried Copic Sketch before- Ciaos are more my style!

Hope you enjoy this cutie patootie card!

Mega Blog Candy!

Just wanted to share this opportunity for super dupa blog candy!
http://charmedcrafts.blogspot.com/2008/12/mega-mega-mega-christmas-blog-candy.html

AMYRS#50 AND ATSDT #30- More Winter Fun!

Another busy weekend gearing up for the holiday. Also a weekend filled with bad news. Shannon, from the scrapbook bungalow, suffered the tragic unexpected loss of her stepmom and best friend Debbie. My friend Sarah's husband has been in the hospital with an unexplained illness. Fortunately, they finally think they have linked it to an illness contracted from a contaminated bird (not the bird flu! pstiticosis). I have just been praying constantly!

When not watching episodes of House , I did some crafting, ordered Christmas cards... yes, ordered, not made. I was running out of time and didn't want to come up with a witty way to make a photo card! Here are the two cards I made for this week's challenges:

Amy R's Sketch Challenge- AMYRS#50- Snow Buddies

Supplies- DP- K and Company Swell Noel; CS- Bazzill CS, TAC U/S White; Stamp- Rachelle Anne Miller for Stampavie (from ATS!), Sentiment from SugarPlum Snowmen by CC Designs; Ink- Palette Noir; Coloring- Prismacolor Markers; Tools- Cuttlebug EP folder, nestabilities; Other- Target $1 ribbon, eyelets.

I got in all my new CC Designs stamps but also had this Stampavie Rachelle Anne Miller stamp that I ordered from ATS as well. I had to use it on this card! I love how the image turned out after being colored- brillant!

Next Challenge:

ATSDT#30- Winter Bear Gift Card/Money Holder

Supplies: Designer Paper- MME Christmas Short Stack; CS- CTMH Cranberry, TAC U/S White; Ink- Palette Noir; Stamps: CC Designs Winter Bear, Holiday Greetings sentiment by TAC; Coloring- Kohrinor Colored Pencils, OMS, Prisma Markers; Tools- Cuttlebug, nestabilities, embossing folder, Coluzzle and library pocket template; Other- CTMH twill ribbon, dimensionals, retired stampin up notched corner punch.
I am super pleased with how this turned out! I was going to make a library pocket with pull out gift card so I used my coluzzle template... Well, I got going and realized it made a kind of wallet type holder. I cut another template out using the red paper to line the inside. It didn't line up perfectly but I like the little red edge showing :) Inside, I cut a piece of white and used the retired SU notch corner punch so that a gift card or cash (as shown) will fit in. BTW- isn't this just one of the cutest stamps EVA?! So glad I got it!

Opening the holder...

Inside, showing how money fits in. The little pocket edges also keep the money from falling out when closed. Great huh?!

I have a couple more items I will share this week, if time allows. It's the last week before 2 weeks of Christmas break, YAHOO!! Have a great one!







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AMYRS #49 and ATSDT #29- Winter Weather!!

Thanks to everyone for all the well wishes. I am taking this situation as a wake up call to get my health together. I've gained a lot of weight in the last 2 yrs since having Nate and my cholesterol is high. At 26, this is insane :) So, I am going on the medifast diet and wii fit-ing my way to some weight loss. YAY!! My order will be in this week and I know starting around the holidays isn't easy but I have to. I think getting some of this weight off will also help get everything hormonally back in order. Once I get some weight off, we will start trying again.

I had a great weekend. I am finally NOT tired and nauseous anymore and I think my body is getting back to "normal". We put up some Christmas decorations and the ugliest little tree ever. Nate is definitely in his "terrible 2's" stage so I was not going to put up my big tree and all my nice ornaments so they could be pulled off and thrown around the house! I also took some pics of Nate to use in the Christmas Cards. Here is one of him and the "Grinch". Sam and I managed a theater when the live action movie came out and they sent us this huge Grinch stuffed animal that we still have.

My craft area is in definitely need of cleaning. However, I did get my 2 challenges done. I am working on taking better pics so here are some of them.



Amy R's Sketch Challenge- AMYRS49- Mittens for you.

Supplies- Stamps: CTMH; Paper: American Crafts, CTMH, K and Company; Ink: Palette Noir, Moulin Rouge; Coloring Medium- Kohrinoor and OMS; Other- Nestabilities.

This was a fun challenge- loved the sketch! I used my new nestabilities labels one dies and this fun CTMH retired set my TAC Secret Sister Sent. The mittens are cut from this cute mitten paper by American Crafts, It's Cold Outiside.

ATSDT#29- Winter Weather

Supplies- Stamps: CC Designs; Paper: Bazzill; DP: My Mind's Eye Christmas Short Stack; Coloring- Kohrinoor and OMS; Ink: Palette Noir; Other: Target Ribbon, MS Snowflake Punch, Stickles, 1 1/2 inch punch.

This color challenge is for a chance to be the Guest Designer for ATS and CC Designs. I am waiting on my new sets to come in but until them I pulled out an old but wonderful CC Designs set. The color challenge was for SU colors but I used bazzill coordinating colors with this My Minds Eye Paper. I love how this turned out!!

I hope you enjoy- I need to get cracking on Christmas cards and gifts!! I hope to share more this week!

Good and Bad News (RL update)

Just wanted to share with you guys:
Good News is: Most of the blood work came back ok. My Prolactin levels were a little high but they'll retest again soon. If it stays high, they will do a CT Scan on my brain to check for benign tumors on my pituitary gland. Yay.
Bad News: Well, it's 2 fold. It was kind of good.. because I was pregnant. However, I miscarried today. It was early. The good news is apparently my ovaries are working but this wasn't meant to be yet. We'll take some time off to get everything straightened and then hopefully, we'll be able to have baby 2.
Just wanted to share with you all. Please keep the prayers coming- I need them and am thankful for them!!

ATS DT #28 and AMYRS #48 and real life challenges...

I hope everyone had a fab Thanksgiving Day and Weekend!

I am a little late with both of these challenges but this weekend was challenging in many ways, as I explain after my creations for those interested... There were some good things about this weekend:

1- Time with Family, esp. Nate and Sam

2- A delicious Turkey day dinner with both families

3- An early Christmas Shopping Spree at Michaels thanks to my MIL! (Can you say Cricut cartridges, OttLite, paper...!!)

Anyway, on to the challenges:

ATSDT #28- Christmas Ornament

This was a great challenge because I am going to make some paper ornaments for the small upstair Christmas tree. That way if Nate destroys them, I won't feel TOO bad.

Delicious Christmas

Stamps: Cupcake Occassions by Cookie Crumb Designs (distributed by CC Designs), Christmas by TAC; Paper: Christmas Short Stack by My Mind's Eye; Ink: Palette Noir; Coloring: Prismacolor Markers; Other: Giga Circle, Nestabilities Scalloped Circle, Liquid Applique, Eyelet, Target Ribbon

I absolutely love this stamp set- so versatile and hello, who doesn't LOVE cupcakes?!

AMYRS #48

Let it Snow

Supplies: Stamps: "Let it Snow" by Inkadinkado, Penguin by CC Designs; Paper: My Mind's Eye Christmas and matching Bazzill CS (found at Michaels!); Ink: Palette Noir and Burnt Umber; Coloring: Prisma H2O's; Other: 1 1/2 inch circle punch, MS 2008 Snowflake punch, Target Brad.

When I first saw this sketch I thought "There is NO WAY I can do this...it's too hard." I even told my husband I wouldn't do it.. BUT, after mulling with it all weekend, I decided I kind of liked it, lol. This is a super simple card but it's still very pretty. This sketch really allows you to put the focus on small elements and beautiful designer paper. Don't know if I can do many more with this sketch but it was fun!!

*****End Creative Stuff: Enter Personal, probably boring, Rant*****

As I alluded to in the beginning, I am possibly facing some health problems. For all who don't know, I was diagnosed with Lupus, an autoimmune disease at 14. I've been blessed with great doctors and good health in recent years. My pregnancy with Nate was high risk- I have a blood clotting issue that required blood thinner shots daily. However, it went really well. Since having Nate though, I don't feel like my hormones have ever been right again. We have been trying for number 2 and it hasn't happened. My doc is checking me for an imbalance and possibly Premature Ovarian Failure (POF). Apparently, it can happen to women with auto immune diseases. I know I have been beyond blessed with Nate but we really want another child- this could make it very difficult or even impossible in some cases. At 26, this is kind of a scary and shocking possibility. Just keep me in your prayers. I should hear about the initial bloodwork tomorrow and go from there.

Well have a great week! I need to get on the Christmas Decorating Band Wagon but I'm still feeling pretty ucky- been nauseous for two weeks and keeping headaches. Yay.