More Things Christmas...

I am working on non-Christmas layouts right now but my lovely new Cameo is having a problem and I'm waiting for a new one to arrive from the wonderful folks over at Silhouette.  So...I have some layouts that are almost done except for the die cut elements.  I can't wait to share them with you though...soon, my crafty friends.

In the meantime I didn't want to leave you with nothing to look at so here are the Christmas cards that I made for my kiddos this year.

And the one I made for my wonderful husband...

I've made lots of kids' birthday cards lately but it's usually at the last minute, just before our boys are heading out the door to go the birthday parties.  Alas, those cards have not been photographed so I can't share them.

More things crafty (and non-Christmas) to come.  Hopefully my replacement Cameo will appear on my doorstep today and I can finish off the layouts that are waiting for their lovely die cuts.

Happy 2012

It was a busy end to the year for us.  I didn't get much done as far as scrapbooking or card making goes because I was busy finishing this...

I know he's 6 and it's about time his stocking was finished but counted cross-stitch is really hard to do when there are little people running around the house, distracting me from my counting.  Anyhow...I promised our youngest that his stocking would be done this year to join the rest of the family and so that is how I spent so many of my evenings leading up to Christmas.  And here it is, with the rest of the family, all safe and cozy and made with love.

Our Christmas and New Year's were incredibly blessed.  My parents and brother and his partner joined us to celebrate and my wonderful hubby and I are convinced it was the best holiday ever!  It seemed that at every turn, every meal, every moment...we were surrounded by those we love and who love us and it just doesn't get any better than that.

So now that some of the holiday hub-bub has died down (although our Christmas tree still stands proudly in our family room - hey, it's a lot of work to get all those ornaments off and put in their individual boxes) I am getting back to playing with paper.  Not to mention the fact that the aforementioned wonderful hubby of mine got me a Silhouette Cameo for Christmas.  Still trying to work some of the kinks out of that super sweet machine but I can promise you there will be some beautiful die cuts on future layouts and cards. 

My hope is to spend time every week in my craft room creating something beautiful, or at least meaningful, to share with all of you.  Don't hold me to it though - life can get pretty busy around here and I don't always find time to sneak away to my little corner of the house to play with all my crafty goodness.  So until next time...may your new year be incredibly blessed!

Cards, cards & more cards...

So I've been busy making cards, and helping kids with homework, and working, and, and, and... Still busy, still trying desperately to fit crafty time into my life.  Here are several cards I've made and taken the time to photograph.

The first two I used background stamps, my glue stamp pad and lots of Martha Stewart glitter.  I'd seen this technique used, purchased all the supplies to make it happen but hadn't had the guts to try it yet.  I love it...messy but oh so pretty.

This one was for a dear young man who is so close to our hearts.  He loves music so I thought the grungy, distressed look was perfect for him.



This last one was for my younger brother's birthday.  Lots of layers to make the card complete.

So as you can see, there has been lots of celebrating going on around us.  I just wish I could fit some scrapbooking into my schedule.  Maybe that's what I'll ask for for Christmas...time, just a little more time!

Have a blessed Thanksgiving my blog friends.

Feeling Like a Blog Slacker...

But there's certainly no slacking going on in my life.  I am so swamped between work, the kids' school and sports activities, my Bible study and MOPS work...the list just keeps growing.  Seriously!  I'm in some dire need of crafty time but it just never seems to materialize.  I do have another birthday card - the one I made for our oldest son who is now officially a licensed driver! How did that happen so fast???  For those of you with young children at home - don't blink because before you know it they will be all grown up.  Live in each moment and enjoy it all - I ought to listen more carefully to my own words I know because I blinked and I have a child driving and finishing up his last year of high school.  Anyhooo...onto celebrating him.

Because my wonderful mother taught me the importance of sending thank you cards, I have passed this little life lesson along to my children (often to their dismay) and make sure to provide them with thank you cards they can write for the gifts they so generously receive.

These are a lot of older products that I've had in my supplies for a while but I thought the colors and distressed look were perfect for a teenage boy. 

Another birthday...

I told you this time of year was birthday madness in our family.  Here is another birthday card I created for my wonderful Dad's birthday.

All the supplies used are from Echo Park Paper Co. For The Record line.  I have used that one for SO much.  The crazy thing is, I still have a lot of stuff left in my original kit.  Echo Park does know how to load up their kits!

I have yet another important birthday coming up soon so I'll be busy creating another card that I'll share once the birthday passes.  Until then...be blessed!

1st Days Layout...

So I finally got my hands on the Lawn Fawn Say Cheese stamp set and couldn't wait to start playing with it.  Seriously...that Polaroid style stamp is so stinkin cute!   I had high hopes of doing a layout with the kids' pictures from the first day of school this year only to discover that I didn't have any clear pictures from that day.  Really...what setting did I have that darn camera on anyhow???  I'm thinking I'll be doing a re-enactment with the kids so I can get good pictures - I'm sure my teenager will love that (wink!).  Anyhow...I was set on doing a first day of school layout - it's hard to change my mind when it's set on something.  I had to go back into the picture archives to find some that I hadn't already scrapped which took me back to 2009...the first year all three boys were even in school.  This is what I came up with.

Supplies Used: Acrylic die cuts - The Paper Studio; Alphabet die cuts - Jillibean Soup; Brad - Recollections; Cardstock - Bazzill; Die Cuts - Basic Grey; Embroidery Floss - DMC; Ink - ColorBox, Memento & StazOn; Patterned paper - Core'dinations & Basic Grey; Pen - Pigma; Stamps - Lawn Fawn, Studio Ali Edwards by Technique Tuesday & Imaginesce; Sticker - Karen Foster Designs

I started receiving the Studio Ali Edwards stamps in July and I've been watching a lot of Nichol Magouirk's videos over at Two Peas in a Bucket for inspiration on how to use them on my layouts and I love how I can create my own custom embellishments.  Besides...I love Ali's handwriting.  Now if we could only convince Kristina Werner to make stamp sets with her beautiful handwriting!

In the Running at GCD...

A little while back I created this card for my niece's birthday. 

Since I incorporated a large amount of GCD Studios product I decided to send a copy to Heidi Sonboul over at GCD.  Much to my surprise, I received an emal from her that my card was chosen in the top 3 for the month and I was in the running to win the kit of the month.   I'd love your support in this.  All you have to do is head over to GCD Studios Blog and leave a comment that you'd like to vote for me (Catherine Oakley).  Thanks in advance for your support.