A day (or two) late, but...Happy Easter!

I meant to post this Sunday, but I didn't get it finished and scheduled, and then the day got away from me, and then I tried to get it done yesterday, but that just didn't happen ;-P So here I am a couple of days late, but I hope you all had a very Happy Easter! I am so thankful for my Savior, Jesus Christ - He is Risen!

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Here are some more favorite Easter projects that I promised I would share...

...this isn't one that I did as a child, but I've done them with my kids for almost 8 years now, so I consider them an old favorite. These are Cascarones, or Confetti Eggs - you may remember me mentioning them when I posted pictures from last year's Easter Egg Hunt. First you hollow out the eggs (I use a spoon to break the fat end, then carefully peel away the shell and dump the insides in a bowl to use for scrambled eggs) and rinse them and let them dry, then you color them (we like to use markers, or you could use traditional egg coloring)...just be careful because they break easily! We had a lot more eggs when we started but thanks to a couple of mishaps, this is all we ended up with!

Then you fill them with confetti and cover the end with tissue paper - we attach the tissue paper with a glue/water mixture. They are a little bit of work, but it sure is fun to smash them over someone's head!

...another old favorite - some fun, washcloth bunnies

...and this one is a new project - we made these last year at Story Time at the Library so I decided it would be a fun gift for Grandparents for Easter. They are Handprint Lilies - a bouquet that lasts forever! I didn't want to mail them, so it's a good thing they last forever because it will be until the next time we see some of the Grandparents before they get theirs ;-P
...and since I haven't shared any pictures here in family quite a while, here we all are in our Easter fashions! This picture was actually taken the week before Easter since General Conference was this week. So we didn't have to get dressed up for church on Sunday - we had a nice lazy day together - recovering from our busy Spring Break week!

This picture would be better if Brianna were more centered, but I think it turned out pretty good - at least everyone is looking at the camera! I wish we had more time that morning to take pictures, but it's hard now that church is back to 9:00 in the morning - not much time for 6 people to get ready and pose for pictures ;-P

Thanks for visiting!

Flashback Friday

Today I am sharing some fun, old Easter themed projects for my Flashback Friday. I sure had fun looking back at some of these old creations. I will be sharing another old favorite Easter project that I created with the girls, so I hope you'll check back! Have a great weekend!

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First I want to share this old favorite project - one I remember doing with my mom. Here I re-did it using CTMH Sassy Strands but you can use any kind of thin string...

And here is how you create them:

*Blow up some water balloons (they are small and have an egg shape vs. other balloons)

*Dip your string in starch and wrap around the balloon

*Allow the balloon to dry completely (set it on wax paper to dry)

*Once the balloon is dry, pop the balloon and pull it out of your egg shape

And here are some fun pop-up cards with a bunny and a chick - I love these animals because they were created using the Happy Easter stamp set. Their bodies were the egg shape, the chick's feet were the tulip stamp, and the bunny ears were the leaf stamp - how fun is that! So many more possibilities with this stamp set than just eggs and flowers.

And here are some Easter pages that I created before I started blogging, so I haven't had a chance to share them here yet!

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You may recognize the big picture on the following layout if you have a CTMH Spring 2010 catalog - that's my girls on page 51! You can also check it out here if you missed it before! I used no patterned paper on this layout - only textured CS and the Friendship Flowers stamp set.

I created my patterned paper on the following layout using the Playful Flourishes stamp set with Buttercup and White Daisy inks.

And these pages I have shared on my blog already, but here they are again just because of their theme!

Here I used two Just Blooms flower petals for the bunny ears, and a pink brad for the bunny nose:

Notice how this page and the next are identical - I just used different papers but the same Imagine layout. This was a layout for a gathering, and I gave them a girly option and a boy option.

Thanks for looking!

So Lucky

This week's challenge over at Sketches! {by tamara} is a Journaling Challenge from Anita - journal about "Ten Reasons I Feel Lucky"

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While my pictures on this layout just show 4 of the reasons I feel lucky, my hidden journaling mentions all 10.

My heart element is actually an 'Exploding Heart' that opens up to reveal my journaling. My original idea was to create a 4-leaf clover on my page using hears and each kid's picture, but once I saw this fun folding heart, I couldn't wait to try it. I like that once the heart opens, it looks like a clover anyway. Once I put this page in a page protector, the heart will actually go on top of the plastic so it's easy to open and read.

CTMH Products Used: Scallop Scissors, Veranda paper pack, Love Is In The Air stamp set, Hodge Podge Color Ready Alphabets, Garden Green ink, Juniper ink, Pewter Accents (Hinge, Designer Brads, Bitty Brads, Photo Clips), Creme Brulee ribbon from Veranda Creative Basics pack, Juniper ribbon from the Jingle Creative Basics pack.

Other Products Used: Heart template, Nestabilities Label, Zig Marker

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Thanks for looking - don't forget to check out what the rest of the Design Team has created using this Journaling Challenge!

Flashback Friday

I've decided to start doing my Flashback Fridays again - I will mostly include old projects since I like to see how my style has changed over the many years that I have been creating! Either that or I will be sharing new projects with old pictures.

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This is a layout that I did just over 4 years ago, shortly after I became a CTMH Consultant. I used the Discovery paper pack and some Stickease, along with the Playful Alphabet stamp set (my first stamp set I purchased from CTMH) and some Liquid Glass - I still love that stuff! Look how my girls have grown as well!

Thanks for looking!

Yippee!

I just found out that I won First Runner-Up for CTMH's Make It From Your Heart Contest! I am glad that I started submitting artwork again - it's been over a year since I've sent anything in, and this was a fun way to start off! My goal last year was to submit something every month, but it just didn't happen. I hope to try at least every other month this year so wish me luck - the other artwork is always so amazing, so any time I win, I am always thrilled! Thanks for letting me share - I needed this pick-me-up!

ETA: Sorry, I didn't realize that CTMH no longer posts the contest results on the public side of their website. For those of you who are not CTMH Consultants, I wish you could see all the fabulous artwork, but for those who asked, THIS is my card that won.

Thank You

This week's challenge over at Sketches! {by tamara} is a Card Sketch:

I used this sketch to create a card for a dear friend who has really been there for me lately.

CTMH Products Used: Life Delights paper (retired), Thanks stamp set, Rhinestone Frame (CC Reward), Circle Window Charm (retired), Just Blooms Big Pinks flower, Chocolate ink, Blush Dot ribbon

Other Products Used: Fiskars Scallop punch

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Don't forget to check out what the rest of the Design Team has created using this sketch! Thanks for looking!

Head over Feet

This week's challenge over at Sketches! {by tamara} is a Recipe Challenge from Rachel - use the following items on your project:

*Vellum or Transparency

*Felt

*Embossing

I used the following sketch from Imaginisce...

...and created this layout. My journaling is hidden behind the pic on the left - just pull the tag to read. This page is about one of "Our Songs" - Head over Feet by Alanis Morissette.

Since the transparency and embossing is hard to see in the picture - here is an attempt to give you a close-up ;-P I heat embossed a line of circles around the edge of the transparency circle using clear embossing powder.

CTMH Products Used: Caprice paper (retired), Heartfelt Wonder Die-Cuts (brown felt scallop circle), Large Coluzzle Circle, Clear Embossing Powder, Circle Around stamp set, Chocolate Marker, Chocolate ink pad, Save the Date stamp set, 3-D foam squares

Other Products Used: SU! tag punch, Brown Thickers, Office Transparency

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Thanks for looking - don't forget to check out what the rest of the Design Team has created this week!

Hooded Towels

I've decided it's time for a break from posting paper-related projects and time to share something a little different. I've made lots of hooded towels - my kids love them, even the older ones still use them. Most of them have been plain, but I've done fun embroidered flowers on some and iron on ladybugs on others, but some have been even more fun. Here is the hooded towel I made for Trysten for his birthday - it's a frog!

And here is one I made almost 5 years ago - it was a horse! Kaylee and Brianna had fun modeling it for me ;-)

Thanks for looking!

Flyin' High

This week's challenge over at Sketches! {by tamara} is a layout sketch.

And here is the page I created using this sketch - I rotated the sketch to fit my pictures and took a sketch from the September 2009 PageMaps to create a companion page. I used some of the fun papers from Studio Calico that I won last year - I thought the butterflies were perfect.

For the butterflies I used my circle punch to punch the butterflies from the patterned paper - then I cut out another butterfly and pieced it on top using 3-D foam dots to add some fun dimension.

CTMH Products Used: Hodge Podge Color Ready Alphabet stickers, Summer Celebration Mini Medleys, Hodge Podge Alphabet stamp set, Friendship alphabet stamp set (small), White Daisy textured cardstock, Sweet Leaf cardstock and ink, Outdoor Denim Conchos

Other Products Used: Nestabilities Labels, Studio Calico papers, mini pop dots, circle punch, SU! photo corner punch

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Thanks for stopping by - don't forget to check out what the rest of the Design Team has created using this sketch, and I hope you'll get a chance to play as well!

A Little Everything - Blog Hop

Welcome to our CTMH Stamp of the Month Blog Hop! We are featuring the March SOTM, which is called A Little Everything.
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If you get lost along the way or find links that aren't working, click here to find a complete list of participants.
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When you're done here, the next stop is Helen's Blog, so don't forget to keep hopping and check out all the inspirational artwork!
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This stamp set is such an obvious one for cards, so I challenged myself to use it on a scrapbook page. This was such a super quick page, took less than 20 minutes, which is rare for me since I tend to over-think things, but I'm really pleased with the results. I also love how this stamp set matches the new Cocktail Alphabet stamp set as well - which is what I used to stamp her name on this page.


Products Used (all CTMH): Blue Ribbon paper pack, Autumn Harvest Textured CS (Outdoor Denim), new Spring Blossom Just Blooms, Indian Corn Blue ink, Outdoor Denim ink, A Little Everything stamp set, Cocktail Alphabet stamp set, Red Sparkles (retired), Outdoor Denim striped ribbon (retired).
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I also used the following sketch from Creative Scrappers:

Here is another card I've already posted using this stamp set.

Thanks for looking - happy hopping!

Clearly The Best!

Tomorrow is the last day for the You Tube viewing contest, so I'm just bumping this to the top to help my CTMH Sisters out! I also found a new one today - it's at the bottom.

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Close To My Heart is having a video contest - Consultants have been challenged to create short, informative videos posted on YouTube that demonstrate why Close To My Heart stamps are “Clearly the Best.” I am not participating in this contest myself, I just had to share some of the fabulous videos that have been created and shared so far. The entrant whose video garners the most YouTube views will win $500 cash, so be sure to watch your favorite over and over!

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If anyone would like me to link their video here, just leave me a comment and let me know - these are the ones I have viewed so far, but I would love to see them all!

Tresa Black

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tp424x13WIc

Teri Baxter

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWcadf8h68g

Melanie Harmsma

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6VgLmhwsVc

Elissa Stong

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81sYVsE09wc

Rachel Schumann

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2wyfLm7iNM

Clerissa Lewis

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ap3cv7rzDLs

Helen Onulak

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlRuPsvhZLU

Ruth De La Cruz-Nava

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDxfmJDREwk

Michelle Nist

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrdOTVe9mTw

Amanda DesJardins

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEhxF4U5-iM

Brae Montgomery

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfcVC4tOh-4

Christine David

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X593ZdFVkKQ

Kristina Baldwin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qMuJKN7Udg

Aaron Brown

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSQmJFBwrV8

Mandy Leahy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDHQfvrvLPM

Melissa Laverty

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXW0CGRas3o

Tarah Faulkner

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXxxkZa2iIQ

Card Make-Overs

To continue to go along with the challenge over at Practical Scrappers this week, I've decided to share some cards that have received make-overs!
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First, do you remember this card that I posted for the January SOTM Blog Hop? Well, I decided to re-do it with different colors/papers for a club gathering project - I like this one much better! We used the Felicity papers and True Friends stamp set. I love how the Barn Red ink looks on the Desert Sand cardstock.

And then do you remember the house card that I created for my November Workshop? Well, my original card just had a simple little house, it was nothing special. And then I saw Karen Pedersen's DARLING gingerbread house cards so this card got a make-over as well. Thanks to the online clearance sale I also was able to replace my Festive Thoughts stamp set that got lost. I just knew that this sentiment from that stamp set went perfectly - on the inside it says 'from our house to yours'. I also made my own glitter brads (using clear embossing powder mixed with glitter) to add to this card. So much cuter than the original!

Thanks for looking!

You are...

This week's challenge over at Sketches! {by tamara} is a Journaling Challenge from Karen - to "journal about an interesting characteristic or trait of someone you love"

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Here is the layout that I created - can you tell that I just LOVE this new Topstitch paper and Togetherness stamp! I liked the layout on page 8 of the new Spring Idea Book from CTMH, so I used that for my inspiration for this page.

This tag pulls out to reveal my hidden journaling...

And here is a close-up of the journaling...on the front I made a list of some of her traits...

...and on the back I added a little more detail about some of them - especially the more unique traits...

Here is a close-up of the Suede Pinwheels and Stickease that I clustered together.

Products Used (all CTMH): Topstitch paper and Stickease, Soft Suede Pinwheels, Togetherness stamp set, Cocktail Alphabet stamp set, 3-D Foam Squares, Vineyard Berry stamp pad, Chocolate stamp pad

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Thanks for looking! Don't forget to check out what the rest of the Design Team has created for this week's challenge!

1st B-day Invites

Here are the invites that the girls and I did for Trysten's 1st birthday. These cards go along with this week's challenge over at Practical Scrappers to use stamps. We used the train from the Childhood stamp set and '1st Birthday' came from Nursery Bash stamp set. I did this card using the Stardust papers...

...and the girls did the rest. I cut all the papers but they stamped, distressed, and glued together - didn't they do such a great job! Can you guess which one Brailee did - here's a hint, she LOVED playing with the buttons!

Thanks for looking!

One of a Kind

Here is a page I did of Trysten a while ago using the Felicity papers. Sorry for the crooked/flash/fingerprint covered pics, but you get the idea.

ETA: I forgot to mention that I got this layout from the October 2009 PageMaps.

I used the new Noted Background stamp set to Stamp Kiss the ONE in the title. There is hidden journaling behind the picture on this page.

Thanks for looking!

9 Months Old

This week's challenge over at Sketches! {by tamara} is a Recipe Challenge from Marcia - use the following on your cards or layouts.
*Staples

*Stitching (faux or real)

*Stamping

I decided to use these items on another one of Trysten's calendar pages - I'm hoping to get caught up on that soon! I used a sketch from the December 2009 PageMaps, I just rotated the sketch once to fit my vertical picture.

I had so much fun with this layout, but don't I always! I did lots of faux stitching using stamps, so I killed two birds with one stone! Plus there are stitches on the patterned paper as well so it all worked nicely together.

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Products Used (all CTMH): Stardust paper pack and Stickease, Solo 9 stamp set, Circle Around stamp set, Togetherness stamp set, Friendship Alphabet stamp set, blue and green staples (retired), Topiary, Moonstruck, and Heavenly Blue stamp pads.

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Here is a close-up of some of the stamping, stitches, and staples.

Don't forget to check out what the rest of the Design Team created for this week's challenge! Thanks for looking!