O Holy Night Layout

Here is one layout I submitted for my applicaiton:

It is a design out of a previous year's Idea Book but I switched out the papers because I love purple and green (hmm, really?!?). It features the stamp set "John 3:16", and I ventured out of my comfort zone and added some stitching. I also used the zip strips from the paper pack add some punch to the layout.

(Yes, I whited out his face to protect his identity since he's not my kid)

You + Me card

This the first of two cards I submitted in my application. It is a card I made for my Valentine's Day class featuring the "Whooo's Your Valentine" stamp set. I chose a variety of colors to stamp the heart and used Gray Wool (retired) to stamp the sentiment. So easy! It took longer to arrange the colors in rainbow order than to make the card, but that's what I get for asking my (almost) 5 year old to help!

So Much To Do In Such a Short Time!

Ahh! I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel!

The last month has been a bit chaotic; planning two kid's birthday parties, Easter dinner, Easter baskets for four kids and then my friend (check out her blog here) talked me into applying to be a teacher at CTMH's convention this summer. So into the mix I had to make 5 items and a video (!!!!!) to submit by March 15th. Then I won a spot in Simplify 101's four week online class "Organizing Your Creative Space" from Craftaholics Anonymous . I have been a little overwhelmed lately (and this isn't mentioning the illnesses the kids' got, the stomach flu that ran through our house in 24 hours and our normal chaos we call "Life").

So.

Now that things have slowed down, I can start sharing them with you!

As you may have noticed, my plan to revamp my blog content fell flat. Hmpf. Well, that's my fault but it is what it is. So, I have re-evaluated and I just don't have the time for daily content; sorry. But! That frees me up to keep working in my craft room and sharing my adventures with you as I can. Which is much more entertaining (for all of us) anyway.

I'm going to start with the wreath I submitted for convention:

This wreath was a very happy accident. While I was cleaning up and out from the Simplify 101 workshop, I found a few projects-in-process that I forgot about. Unfortunately, I didn't find any instructions or sketches of what the finished project was supposed to look like. So I improvised. I used Sweet Leaf ribbon to make a bow and hanger (hot gluing it together for strength). Then I pinned all the flowers on to the wreath in a pretty pattern.

I used the Art Philosophy cartridge to make the flowers and I believe I used Sorbet and Spring Iris (retired) inks on Colonial White cardstock. I believe I had bought some white straight pins to make the wreath originally but since I couldn't find them (until the project was done and I was ready to hot glue everything together - really, why would I think to find my straight pins with my hot glue gun?!) I used my yellow straight pins from my sewing kit. Thankfully I had enough for the project and they actually looked nice with the flower colors! The Flutter shapes butterflies are from the video I made about the new alcohol markers (more on that another time) and I attached those with some of our decorative pins from the last Idea Book.

All supplies are Close to My Heart except the yellow pins and the wreath, both I bought at my local store.

I have a few more posts coming up so stay tuned!