DT Challenge: 4x6 Calendar Case

Today’s DT challenge is to use these 4x6 CD cases. I’m using mine to make a desk calendar, just like I did last year.

I printed out the calendar from PrintFree.com and grouped them into seasons. I wanted them to have some continuity so I used the smallest of the Labels One that I sponged with Palette inks before I popped them out and various glimmer ribbons along the top. I also selected all stripy papers to help tie things together.

Here is my Winter design.

The embellishments are some leftovers from MME Colorful Christmas chipboard. The DP is the shimmery, beautiful Starry Eyed glitter paper.

For my Spring layout I used some daisies from my stash and a cutie little felt ladybug from my Lemonade Woolies. The DP is the backside to Play with Owl glitter paper. I love Best Creation’s paper. Their glitter does not come off.

For Summer I used some more felt embellishments from the Lemonade Woolies and paired it with some paper from my Colorful Christmas pack.

And finally….

for my Fall layout I used some more MME paper, this time from my Boo To You Collection Kit (on sale now!). I used another little feltie from my Indian Summer Woolies.

So there you have it! Please be sure to stop by all of the other DT members this month and check out their projects.

Amber
Carolyn
Cathleen
Deb
Gretchen
Kendra
Lynn
Megan
Tracy
Lori
Merry

Thanks for stopping by! I’ m busy getting ready to leave for CHA at the end of the week.

A brief note about ordering – orders WILL NOT BE SHIPPING from Saturday-Wednesday. All orders received during this time will go out on Thursday January 28.

Five Minute Friday: Musical Ornament Thanks & request

Happy Friday! First I want to wish my friend and DT member Lynn a very happy birthday. I'll see you at CHA soon and can give you a big hug then!

The CHA sneaks have begun! Cosmo Cricket has some on their blog and they're running a little contest. Can you do me a favor and hop over to THIS POST and give i {heart} papers a little shout out? THANKS!!!

For today's Five Minute Friday card, just like last week’s, I took a scrap of Ivory cs and embossed it with my A2 Snowflake folder. Then I wrapped a scrap of red faux suede ruffled edge ribbon, finished it off with a die-cut ornament from the Good Cheer line and stamped my Chelsea Sentiments in Palette Noir. The DP is also from the Good Cheer line. I tied a little scrap of metallic gold string at the top as a hanger.

That’s it! Five minutes! Have a great weekend! Thanks for popping in! Be sure to stop by on Tuesday for an IHP DT Challenge.

Spellbinders now available for PREORDER!

Just a quick note to let you know I’ve made all the new Spellbinders CHA dies available for pre-order.  Please be sure to put all of your pre-order items on ONE order.  These orders will not ship until February or early March (according to Spellbinders) but I am taking orders for them now so you can be one of the first to get your hands on them! 

Spellbinders routinely sells out of dies immediately after CHA because of the high demand.  CHA orders always get filled but then the next shipment could be many weeks after that.  I will be using my pre-orders to determine how many dies to purchase at CHA…so don’t wait or you might miss out!

PRE-ORDER ITEMS HERE.

I will be updating this section as more CHA sneaks are revealed so stay tuned! 

Thanks for popping by today!  Remember there’s LOTS of stuff on sale now to help make room for all of the upcoming new goodies from CHA.  Won’t you help?  :)

Ellie and Juliette

Oops!  I just realized this was saved as draft and I never posted it!

This is one of my favorite sets, Birthday Wishes from our exclusive line of stamps from Chickengirl Design.  This is Ellie, (stamped in Palette Charcoal) as I’ve named her.  She is colored with Prismacolor pencils.  The DP is from the SEI Juliette line and is called First Kiss.  It is cut with Labels One and wrapped with 1” Satin ribbon.  The brad holding the little tag is from the Bittersweet Glazed Brads and the greeting is stamped in Palette Toile Pink.

So there you have it!  I’m busy getting ready for CHA (that’s why there are about 800 items on sale right now – as they sell out they’re disappearing).

Thanks for stopping by today!  Have a great day!

Five Minute Friday: Snowflake Thanks

Happy Friday!  I’m back with a Five Minute Friday card after a short holiday break.  I’ve been working on some CAS holiday thank you cards and this is one of them.  I took a scrap of Ivory cs and embossed it with my A2 Snowflake folder.  Then I wrapped a scrap of red faux suede ruffled edge ribbon, finished it off with a die-cut snowflake from the Good Cheer line and stamped my Chelsea Sentiments in Palette Noir.  The rhinestone brad is from my stash.

That’s it!  Easy!  Five minutes!  I’ll have some more styles of these quick thank you notes to show you soon.

Have a great weekend!  Thanks for popping by!

Netflix gift

Hi there!  I’m still having a bit of a hard time getting back into the swing of things after the holidays.  We took the tree down for recycling last night and it reminded that that I hadn’t shared this gift packaging I  made over the holiday.  John gave his grandparents a Netflix starter gift (we {heart} Netflix) and needed a way to give it to them without just handing them a printed out piece of paper.

So…I put together this popcorn box which I cut and glued the stripes onto (because I didn’t have any DP that worked!) and made this card to go with it.  The gift certificate information is pasted on the inside of the card.  I used i {stick} papers redline tape to put the box together and then wrapped it with some red twill for accent.

I’ll be back tomorrow with Five Minute Friday!

One Little Word 2010 (long post)

Where did the time go?? The years are just flying by.  Sheesh. 
Happy New Year my blog friends!  If you’ve been a follower here for about a year then you know last year I joined in Ali Edwards’ One Little Word challenge.  My word for 2009 was balance.  I wanted to make a concerted effort to keep everything in check and learn to say no (or yes in some cases!) more often.  I think I did a pretty decent job in 2009 – at least it feels like I did.  I don’t think I got overwhelmed too much or too often and I worked hard to keep it all balanced without any one thing (work, personal, friends, etc.) taking a huge hit.  I even went on vacation a few times and things didn’t fall apart. (I want to do this more often now – it’s fun!)
So, I think I can keep that going alright and move onto a new word.   But first, an abbreviated (as much as possible) review of 2009…
2009 was a pretty mixed year good and bad.  For many people I   hold dear to my heart there was a lot of loss and sadness.  In March, John and I lost our 12 year old beloved dog, Bandit.  It look us many, many months to open our hearts and home to a new dog but in late October we adopted Mr. Barbo and couldn’t be happier.  We still miss Bandit terribly and I’m sure he’s trying to bite Mr. Barbo from doggy heaven but for now Barbo is safe here with us and has been the perfect fit for us. He’s ridiculously cute, cuddly and just incredibly sweet.  Plus he has a pretty cool and amazing backstory.  You can read some of the news coverage about his rescue here on his Facebook fanpage!
In July John and I took our first ever real vacation together since college, more than a decade ago.  With Bandit being so difficult (when he was alive) he couldn’t be boarded or safely left with anyone but one of us so for many, many years we each vacationed separately.  For my 35th birthday we went to Niagara Falls and it was amazing.  On our way back over to the US we even stopped and met (in person!) my DT Coordinator, Tracy and her hubby for lunch. 
A short time after returning from Niagara Falls I jetted off to CHA with a huge chunk of my fabulous design team and boy did we have a blast.  July was definitely a highlight of my year.
In August the store launched our very first exclusive stamp line from Chicken Girl Design.  And then again in September with our new line from The Petal Press.
In October the store celebrated its one year anniversary with a week long celebration of challenges, prizes and lots of fun.  Thank you to each of you for helping us reach that incredible milestone!
November brought tremendous sadness and unspeakable grief to inaugural DT member Sarah Anderson, who joined with me last year to do One Little Word.  Her word for 2009 was believe and I made her this little frame as a gift.  On Nov. 2, 2009 Sarah’s 3 year old son, Henry, died suddenly of an unknown cause.  They have since learned that both he and his little brother had an undiagnosed immune deficiency disorder.  Henry’s little body had a bacterial infection it overtook his body and he was gone in a flash.  The next few weeks were filled with questions, tears and eventually fundraisers to help build a memorial for Henry at his favorite zoo/park. 
Henry’s passing struck me inexplicably.  I never met him.  In fact, I’ve never met Sarah in person either.  I have no children so it wasn’t a case of a mother grieving for another mother.  I was just so incredibly saddened by her loss and the pain she was in.  And as if grieving wasn’t enough, to learn that her other child had the same deficiency…you can imagine the thoughts going through her mind.  But she’s been so amazing.  She’s got unwavering faith and her strength going through this has been incredible and inspiring and nothing short of a miracle.  
Then, the week before Christmas, a good friend’s father died.  Christmas was subdued, to say the least.
Still with me?  *wink*  There were lots of other things in between this events but I’m trying to keep this short.  All of these things made me think about life, good and bad, its brevity and what we do while we are here.   Last year’s word for me was about doing it all and keeping it all in balance…this year’s word is about taking it all in and trying to enjoy it while I can.
This year’s word is savor. 
To appreciate fully; enjoy or relish;
To derive or receive pleasure from; get enjoyment from; take pleasure in
I strive to savor each event, each moment, each success, each interaction and each hour I spend with the ones I love.  It can all change so suddenly…I don’t want to regret anything or miss a moment!
Thanks for sticking with me if you read all of this.  Are you participating in Ali’s One Word?  I’d love to know your word if you are! 
I wish each of you your best year yet!