Inspired Me

Can you believe Christmas is over? This year is going fast and I am so glad we were able to get off to a great start in getting our activities and traditions going early in December.  But between the rain and our colds we did have some fun leading up to Christmas day.  Then on Christmas day, Ron and I exchanged our gifts and watched that crazy Los Angeles Laker game.  We lost big time but we tried not to let it spoil our mood. We spent time with my mom later that day. I couldn't wait to see what she thought of my Christmas card. She loved it! It did my heart good to see her anticipation and excitment over my work. Usually I mail my cards to the many family and friends so it was a special treat to see a response.  So exciting! Then on Sunday, we visited my in-laws and had a wonderful time. They spoiled us with lots of love and gifts. My special card was a winner, too. They loved it. Feels good. Thanks mom and dad! Well, I hope you all had...

My husband was having a youth career event yesterday at his parents church.  He wanted me to make some special thank you holiday cards for the special participants. I was excited to do this for him. Then I instantly thought of these new tree ornaments my mom took me to get.  Yes, can you believe Walgreens? They had a package of 10 of the prettiest glittery ornaments in various holiday shapes.  Plus, two packages for $5.00 you can't beat that!   So, I got the red trees and the silver stars.  So here are a few I made.  I taped the ornament on the back of the card so they can take it off and use the tree or star on their tree.  Neat!

I am so pleased with how these Christmas cards turned out. I was struggling some weeks ago trying to decide on a color scheme and theme. But this year, ended up being a mixture of colors and styles. I like that they aren't so uniformed like past years.  They all had their own look and feel. I used My Mind's Eye patterned paper, Prima flowers, Maya Road envelop, K & Co. rub-ons and stickers and lots of leaves and berries from Michael's.  I love all those little sprigs of glittery leaves and branches Michael's has. I just cut small pieces off and there you have it.  Great for the holidays! So here are some of the cards. I got the star ornament from Walgreens.  So the person can remove it from the card and hang the star on their tree. COOL! Here are a few of the mini album cards I made. My minis are  two cards stapled together which is fun because I have more surfaces to decorate, front and back.  Also, I still need to fill these with pic...

Well, it is December 13 and we are getting ready for the holidays. We have our tree up, Ron is listening to his Christmas music, we have seen several holiday movies and I am finishing up my cards. Here are some pictures of our tree. We had lots of fun putting it up the week after Thanksgiving. Our finished little tree! I love the long hanging glass ornaments. My late Uncle George blow glass as one of his hobbies. He made these beautiful ornaments years ago and I am glad I still have them from my childhood. Here is Ron helping with the tree. Such a beautiful tree! Here I am with our tree and it has added the holiday spirit to our place. So now I have to get a few gifts and decide what to cook for Christmas.  Our family tradition is to have gumbo on Christmas. So maybe I will do that or something else. Let's just say it will be a surprise!

Hi friends! I hope you are having a wonderful week so far. I had a tough time but I am hanging in there. Something that helps is being creative. A few weeks ago I was watching Donna Dewberry, the one stroke artist, on t.v.  She was doing landscape paintings. I have never done landscapes and couldn't wait to try. She used acrylic paints but I used watercolor and oil pastels.  I do want to try acrylic paints next. So here are my first attempts. I am proud of them. If you want to learn more about Donna Dewberry go here: DONNA DEWBERRY BLOG My very first one! I really like the sky on this one. But the tree out of the water makes me laugh! Love this one overall. I used white oil pastel to make the moon and stars.  This is my best effort. Love the overall look and the moon is oil pastel.   Tried something new on this. Not bad. I added land and whole trees. 

I really hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. Ron and I had a nice time with my mom. We just relaxed all day. I didn't cook this year but ordered some yummy food from our local soul food place.  That was a relief not to have to worry about the big meal. I made some Thanksgiving cards but didn't get them out in time. So they became post holiday cards. (Smart idea Kelly :)) Most of those cards I posted in earlier writings. But this is one I just finished for my in-laws, Mom and Dad Roberts.  I had fun creating it and I know they will enjoy it. I used Teresa Collins pattern paper and words, Prima flowers and leaves, a Maya Road pocket and other items. Check it out!

Happy Monday! I hope your weekend was wonderful. Mine just went to fast! Well, just wanted to give you some good news updates. First, I went to my new favorite local scrapbook store, Scrapbook Daisies. If you live in the Southern California area you should check it out. Martha, the owner, is so nice and has created a great store. She has all the latest brands, classes, crops and kits. So even if you don't live close, you might want to consider her kit programs. Very nice! Here is the link to there site. Check 'em out! Scrapbook Daisies Next, my Two Pea friend, Pat has started her own scrapbook website called ScrappingThe Moments. It is a warm place for papercrafters to share ideas, meet new friends and play in challenges. Check it out at Scrapping The Moments Finally, the most exciting news is I won the prize on the Scrapgrlz blog. Shell does a weekly giveaway and this week I am the winner! WHOOOOOOO! I won a great Teresa Collins kit. I love her stuff and can't ...

Yesterday, Ron and I were able to get to my favorite place Alamitos Bay in Long Beach, CA.  I first discovered this place when I was looking for a reception site for our wedding over four years ago.  I have lived in So Cal all my life and never heard of this bay. After I first went there and saw the beauty and calm environment I was like, "This is the place for our reception!"  Ron and I were so excited! Some months later, we had our wonderful reception there.  This must be one of  the best keep secrets in all of So Cal.  It is so quiet, has a beautiful bay, ocean views and the best sunsets.  AW WWW! So, yesterday Ron and I really enjoyed the calm and peaceful afternoon.  Plus we sat for a while in front of the wedding day restaurant  and reflected over that fabulous day. What a day that was!  There are a few restaurants and shops around but it is never too crowded or busy. I usually just park my car right ...

Hi all! I hope you are having a great week so far.  It has been nice and hot out here in California but it doesn't seem to be so bad as summer heat. So I am sending some heat to all you folk in cold places. Ron had got me some oil pastels a few years ago. I never worked with them or even knew what to do. I played around with them and wasn't impressed so I left them at my mom's.  Then recently I saw Donna Downey using some on her Wednesday Inspiration video. So I went to mom's and got my pastel and started working with them.  It is sort of fun to blend the colors around. They look  like crayon but creamier. I also watched another lady teach a basic video on how to use them. So the pear and apple is from her lesson. It didn't come out so bad. Then, I tried some flowers. I am not using the correct paper but it is OK since I am experimenting. Well, I hope you have enjoyed these fun pastel pictures. I do prefer watercolors but it was fun trying something n...

Over the last month or so I made these Fall colored cards.  I have left most of them untitled so when I need to used one I will figure it out then.  So these are in my stash.  Plus adding a sentiment/title to my cards is the hardest part. I need more options of images to use.  Sometimes I will stamp the sentiment on the card and other times I want to put it on a cute tag or label.  That is when I get stuck trying to figure it out.  GHEEZ! Maybe if my husband is reading this post, he will get me a Spellbinder machine for Christmas so I can make my own variety of tags, labels and etc. Hint Hint! On most of the cards, I used My Mind's Eye patterned paper, Prima flowers/leaves, Maya Road trimming ribbon.  On the last one, I used Teresa Collins paper and Prima butterfly. So pretty! Enjoy!