Christmas in April: Part 4

     Today I'm feeling so amazing about life! After so many months of barely getting by and struggling with my husband's health, having him back to work and feeling good has been absolutely life-changing. I'm so grateful for this reprieve, and I feel so blessed. Anything worth having in life has it's ups and downs, and I'm feeling so incredibly grateful for the ups today!


     Here are the last of my December My Creative Scrapbook layouts (for a while at least since I still have some paper left!) The first is a layout featuring my daughter opening one of her favorite gifts of all time: a gum ball machine from Grandma Beverly. Her expression is so cute! She had "gum" on her list, and boy was she surprised to get a year's supply!

I love this little snowman from Echo Park, and I wanted to create a winter scene with him. I layered him over some tree stickers from the collection and used Picket Fence Stickles to create some snow.

     I found the photo on the last layout on a photo CD from years ago, and I don't know why I've never used it. The girls were so little and toothless and adorable, and they were (again) opening exciting gifts from Grandma Beverly. (She's truly an expert gift buyer!)

     Of course, no gift could ever compare to the love that surrounds us at Christmas and every day of the year. Family is such a precious gift, and I hope you have some time to cherish it today! Thanks for stopping by, my friends!

Christmas in April: Part 3

     Wow, it truly feels Christmasy here in Montana today! It's been snowing all day, and with the leaves already on the trees, everything looks so lovely covered in heavy snow. The best part about snow at this time of year is that it never lasts long, and we'll be back in the sun before we know it!

   

     Today I'm sharing the third of the Christmas-themed layouts I've been working on lately. This layout features Echo Park and Bo Bunny papers and a photo of my daughters being silly while we put the garland on the tree.  I love the layered chippie rocking horse from this Echo Park Collection!


     There's still more Christmas to come, so check back soon. Do you have your shopping done yet?

Christmas in April Part 2: Believe in Magic

     Hello, friends! It's a GORGEOUS day here in Montana, and I'm soaking up every ounce of vitamin D I can! Last night the sunset was absolutely radiant, with pink and the brightest orange I've ever seen screaming off the clouds and reflecting off the mountains. I'm so blessed to live in one of the most beautiful places on earth!

   I'm back today to share another Christmas layout. I originally thought this photo was a dud ... terrible lighting, no one's faces, a flash reflection, but I decided to use it anyway. My daughters are about to grow out of the Santa Claus stage, and I wanted to capture one last photo of them immersed in the magic of the season. Here they are looking out Grandma's window, watching for Rudolph's red nose to signal that Santa had arrived. Precious!

     Now that this page is finished, I'm sort of partial to this dud of a photo. I hope you find plenty of magic in the day wherever you are. Thanks for stopping by!

My Copics Have Arrived!

     I'm bouncing off the walls with delight! I received my first set of Copic markers recently, and they are every bit as much fun as I had hoped! I didn't really expect to find them so relaxing, but coloring is such a fun way to spend an hour when you're winding down at night.


     Since I'm new to Copics, I scoped out color collections I liked at Flourishes before ordering. I ordered with two specific sets in mind, so I knew I could start my collection with just a few markers and still have enough to finish some projects. Carpe Diem Store has the best prices for Copics anywhere I've found.


     I ordered purples and greens since I've had this stamp in my stash for so long:

Since this was my first attempt, it's nowhere near perfect, but I sure had a lot of fun!! I plan to give this card to my mom for Mother's Day, since she's an avid gardener.

I also ordered a set of browns and grays to finish this teddy bear for a baby card:

   
I don't have many graphic-style stamps or too many marker shades yet, but I did find a site online (by Elizabeth Dulemba) with some cute free digital images that I can print and work on just for fun. My daughter loves bunnies, so she was really excited by all the rabbit images!

I'm having lots of fun so far, and I can't wait to expand my coloring and stamping choices. Much to my husband's delight another crafting addiction is born!

You're Tweet

     After making a card last week with my Cosmo Cricket Early Bird and Garden Variety scraps, I felt inspired to round things out and make three! It takes me forever to use up a set I love, so I'll probably be making cards with this collection forever! 

     These two join the already posted Sugar and Spice card from last week for a fun gift pack for a friend. These cards make me want to buy an old farmhouse somewhere and get my garden started!

      Have a great week, my friends!

Christmas in April

     I'm just getting around to Christmas photos now, so today I'm sharing some holiday joy illuminated by spring sunshine! I broke out my December kit from My Creative Scrapbook over the weekend, which featured Echo Park papers, and I had so much fun making the layouts I'll be sharing for the next week.


     The first layout is for Once Upon a Sketch's April Challenge. The theme is "Home," and I thought this would be a great theme for a photo of my sister and I during the holidays. Wherever we can be together feels like home, and I'm so lucky to have such a great relationship with her!


     Here's the sketch for this month:

Here's my take on the sketch:

      It took about 800 tries to get this picture since we looked ridiculous in each and every one and they just got worse when we started laughing at ourselves. 


     Thanks for stopping by, my friends! Enjoy the sunshine wherever you may be!

Just Another Winter Day

   I've been a mad scrapper the last few weeks since meeting with my craft buddies! These ladies inspire me so much, and my crafting mojo is never far away when we meet regularly. I finished a personal record of six pages this week, and I can't wait to share them all!


     I'm absolutely in love with the Winterland Collection from Fancy Pants Designs, and I think this collection might just contain the most beautiful papers ever. They reflect how I feel about the softness and sweetness of the season, even before the Christmas tree goes up.


     This layout features a photo of my daughters showing what they're made of on a typical winter day in Montana. When you never get a snow day and winter goes on forever, you just take the weather in stride and make it part of the fun!

     We had so much fun taking these photos! I even stretched out in the snow in my shorts and tank for the cause!      

Thanks for stopping by today!   

Sugar and Spice ... You're Everything Nice

     It's snowing like crazy, so I bought myself a latte this morning, opened all the curtains, turned on TED lectures on YouTube, and did some crafting. (This is absolutely my definition of a PERFECT morning.)


     I was digging in my scrap box and found some old Cosmo Cricket goodies that I've had for ages, and I decided I had to use these Sugar and Spice chippy stickers for something. I found some country-style papers and bad-a-bing!

   The inside reads "You're Everything Nice." This card makes we want to go to the fair for some reason. :)


     Have a wonderful week, my friends!

PTI Up, Up, and Away Birthday

     This week I've been working on a few birthday cards to have on hand for the millions of birthday parties attended by elementary school girls. I wanted these to be light-hearted, fun, and gender-neutral so we can pull them out and use them for absolutely anyone.

This center step card is so enormous I had to make it it's own envelope (it measures 5.5"x 8.5") and uses a whole sheet of standard cardstock. I saw a card like this online and lamented that I didn't have instructions for it, but my 9-year-old daughter who was surfing with me said, "Oh, Mom, that would be easy," and proceeded to cut and fold a perfect template for me to use in about 35 seconds. Sheesh.

 

This card is paper pieced and layered (really high) for a 3-D effect. My kids love anything 3-D, movable, or gi-normous, so I used them as my muses. ;)

The last card is much like the first one on a smaller scale to fit in a traditional envelope. I love these kites!!

     Two bits of major excitingness: I finally ordered my first set of Copics, and I'm dying to receive them, and it's Friday, which means it's craft night with my crafting buddies. What could possibly be better? Happy weekend, everyone!

Elephant Baby Card

     I majorly need to update my card stash with some standby birthday and baby cards, so I set out today to work on at least one of those goals. I made this baby card out of scraps from my stash and this adorable little elephant stamp. I was going for a neutral baby card, but in the end I think this is more suitable for a little boy.

     One down, many to go, but I sure had fun with this little guy! I also made a set of birthday cards with PTI's Up, Up, and Away stamp set this afternoon that I'll share soon. Hope you had a wonderful weekend!