Joyful Stars Blog Hop: Pathfinding Card Kit

Hi All!

Welcome to July's edition of the Joyful Stars Bog Hop. If you're coming from Marie's blog then you're on the right track. If you're starting here,  follow the links at the end of each post to circle 'round until you come back to where you started. If you get lost, you can go to Joyce's blog for the complete list. 

Currently I am in sunny California soaking up all the sunshine at CTMH's annual Convention! But with all my preparation before I left, I wanted to share with you one of my saving grace's: the Pathfinding Card Kit. This kit came in *very* handy for me this week. Even as a seasoned scrapper, I needed the convenience of this beautiful kit.

It always seems like I need thank you cards when I haven't been making them, and this past week was no exeption. I needed more than I had on hand. Cue the music! I rummaged through my stash (because we ALL have a stash!) and found this gem, unopened. I don't usually buy kits because - hello! I can do it myself. Famous last words! I remember buying this because I really liked the stamp set that came along with it. I loved the large stamp with the wood grain. I could do so many things with that stamp, I thought. Needless to say, it sat unopened most of  the year. *sigh*

The card kit makes 15 cards total, 3 styles of 5 cards each. The stamp set and card designs are all exclusive to the card kit and it's very easy to cut and assemble with the included instructions. I made this kit in about 30 minutes, with help from my two little helpers. I then sent out most of them in the mail that day. Thankfully, I had enough to start my stash again, so hopefully, I won't run out soon. :) Unfortunately, I didn't take a photo of all the cards before I sent them out - oops! But here's one that shows how easy and beautiful they turn out to be! ;)

Now you're off to Lori's blog to see her pretty creation. See you soon!

CTMH Convention 2015: Leadership Day recap

Hey All!

I just wrapped up the first day at CTMH's annual convention. Actually, it's a pre-convention day and it's only for leaders. There is so much information flowing throughout the day, it's hard to take notes. My upline Krista was taking photos of all the slides while I was feverishly writing down as much as I could. The afternoon's focus was on social media and how to make it work for our business. So if you don't follow me somewhere else, now is a good time to check out my other links!

Facebook - scrapbookyourmemories
Instagram - lavendersage
Pinterest - l8ybugs
Youtube - lavendersagedesigns

One benefit to the day was receiving a new Workshop on the Go for August featuring the new paper pack Zoe (you can see a sneak peak on my Instragram).

I'll be posting some of the highlights of each day during Convention but visit my other social media accounts to see more frequent photos. And bear with me as I am learning as I go! :)

See you next time!

Summer Class Schedule

Hey all!

I finally got a few things straight with my summer schedule so I can now post it for you!

July

July 8-11: I'll be at CTMH's Convention in Disney Land!!
July 17th, 10 am -11:30am: My Crush Workshop. All supplies available to choose an purchase at the event. RSVP by 7/15, space is limited to 6.
July 24th, 9am - 5pm: Free Crop. Bring your own project to work on. Free wi-fi available. Kids are welcome (please chip in for the babysitter).

August

August 5th, 9am - 5pm: Free Crop. Bring your own project to work on. Free wi-fi available. Kids are welcome (please chip in for the babysitter).
August 26th, 6-9pm: Scrapbooking Workshop. Cost/Project TBD mid-July.

September

September 1st - New Idea Book Launch!!
Fall Open House - TBD
Christmas Card Workshop - TBD

You can RSVP to me by the date specified (or the day before for free crops) so I can make sure to have enough materials and seats ready for you. As always, call me if you have any questions!!

Why do you create?

This is a question I've been contemplating lately. It's a question I get asked frequently by people who are making small talk or simply by those who are really wondering (but too polite to ask) "What is the purpose of making stuff?

The answer is individual, much like the creative process. The answer for me is simple but complex:

"It makes me happy."

A lot is meant in those little words. When I first started doing crops, I really had to figure out my "why". Setting up a day or weekend crop is a big endeavor. It takes a lot from my family and there's little monetary gain. The simple answer I give my hubby when he gets frustrated during these times is "This makes me happy". Happiness is something that is given and it's even better when it's given away. Planning time for my customers and friends to spend doing something for them is something that makes me happy (my spiritual gift is serving, so it makes sense). I'm happy when I give happiness away.

Early in the Bible, God explains that mankind was created in His image. This little tidbit of information explains mankind's desire to create: we were created in the image of the Creator. Of course we should use our minds and hands to create things of beauty and function!

When I create, it's finally something in my day (or week or month) that I feel competent at doing. There's very little about parenting two little ones that I feel competent about. I'm not inherently a clean person (we have a dog, she keeps the floors clean),  I only do laundry when little man is out of socks (I have been known to buy more just to avoid the washing machine). Meals are a pot luck - I'm constantly running out of key ingredients because I don't want to go to the grocery store with the littles in tow. But when I sit down in my craft space (or Mom Cave as little man has acknowledged), whatever happens is good. There is no right or wrong with creating. The project evolves, changes from the plan to something that works. There is no "perfect". There is only a release of positive energy.

I haven't created a lot recently. This past year and a half has been really hard. I may not recover, I can only move on but I can create something new. Something beautiful. Something that makes me happy. And we all crave a little happiness.

Why do you create? What makes you happy? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

It's been quite a year!

It's been awhile since I've devoted any time to my scrapbooking, or anything creative really. It's been a wild ride this last year and my free time evaporated overnight.

I was able to sneak away for two weekends over the winter but all my tools & scrapbooks just sat where I left them when I came home. In fact, they're still there now.

But I do have plans to get back into my (brand new) scrap room soon and when I do I will share with you the layouts I created while I was at my weekend crops as well the as start up to my summer classes and workshops. I have some plans to start up a card class and scrapbooking workshops soon.

I wanted to share with you the June specials this month because they are super cute.

My Crush books are a quick and easy way to preserve your summer memories while you make them. Simply add your ticket stubs, park maps or memorbilia into the pages then add your photos when you get them developed. Easy!

The Stamp of the Month is perfect for all the ice cream parties, root beer floats and melted goodness that are sure to show up in your summer photos. They also make a super cute party invitation!

I am really excited because Convention is right around the corner! After the chaos of the last year, I am looking forward to spending some time with my sister consultants playing and learning together. This is also my first year I am able to attend the Leadership Day which is an extra free day from Corp where we learn some great business building information. 

The best part of convention this year is that it's in Disney Land - simply my favorite place to be! 

Check out the tabs above to see what's new. I'll talk to you again in a few days! 'Bye!

March Joyful Stars Blog Hop

Hi all! Welcome to another blog hop with the Joyful Stars!

I'm fresh off two weekends in two months of scrapbooking crops so I have some new stuff to show you over the next few weeks! If you're coming from Nickie's blog then you're on the right track. If you get lost along the way,  so at Joyce's blog for the complete list.

I shared this layout with you back in September but didn't have any photos or embellishments on it. Here it is again but all dolled up.

Now you're of to Jolene's blog. See you next month!

February Joyful Stars Blog Hop

Hi all and welcome to the February edition of the Joyful Stars blog hop!

If you came here from Betty's blog then you're on the right track. If you're starting here then just follow the link at the bottom of the post to hop over the next blog. So grab your coffee and enjoy the eye candy!

It's been awhile since I've created anything but I finally got away last weekend to a winter scrapbooking retreat and created some lovely layouts that I'll be sharing with you over the next few weeks but the first layouts I want to share are two, single pages I did to try out a new (to me) technique: scrapbooking only one photo per page.

I've seen these pages all over the magazines and I'm really too much of a shutterbug to ever think about this technique until I get to my retreat and realize that I have two single photos of two different events. Seems like the perfect time to try something new!

CTMH Chalk It Up with lagoon shimmer tape, Chalk It Up accessories and white enamel stars

 I used the Chalk It Up paper pack (which by this time is just scraps), the matching Chalk It Up accessories, Lagoon shimmer tape and white enamel stars. I inked the edges of all the paper with Lagoon ink and colored in the enamel stars with Bronze Shin Han marker.

CTMH Chalk It Up with lagoon shimmer tape, Chalk It Up accessories and white enamel stars

 I love this picture because my husband is actually *smiling* !!!

CTMH Chalk It Up with lagoon shimmer tape, Chalk It Up accessories and white enamel stars

 The other page I'm going to share with you is made using the Paper Fundamentals, Avonlea Picture My Life cards, sparkle flourishes and the twill ribbon.

CTMH Paper Fundamentals, Lagoon ink, Avonlea Picture My Life cards, sparkle flourishes & twill ribbon

I used the Lagoon stamp pad to color in the paper (carefully wiping the ink off the resist pattern) then adhering the Picture My Life cards in a pretty pattern and adding the flourishes and ribbon.

 (Sorry this is turned, I can't get Blogger and my photo editor to stop over-thinking each other)

CTMH Paper Fundamentals, Lagoon ink, Avonlea Picture My Life cards, sparkle flourishes & twill ribbon

Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment (hint, hint). Now you're off to Marie's blog to see what she has for you. See you soon!

PS If you get lost along the way, check out Joyce's blog for the complete list.