Loving Thoughts Mini Book

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Turn Your Regular Routine Into A Vacation Moment!
On Tuesday I asked Michael if he wanted to join me for a morning walk with Buddy.  Every once in awhile he will come along, rather than focus on doing his side of the morning chores.  He said he would come along, but rather than travel one of our usual routes, we decided to head down to a shopping district that is about a mile and a half from our house.  This was a detour from our usual routine and the minute we crossed over one of the main streets and began to walk in less familiar territory, we began to feel like we were on an adventure!  We walked down into the shopping district - lots of streets with outdoor stores and restaurants - and we found a little coffee shop with outdoor seating.  I sat outside in comfy chairs with Buddy by my side while Michael went in and bought a cup of tea and a cup of coffee.  We then sat there, in the sun in the comfy chairs and sipped our drinks and watched people come and go.  At one point Michael turned to me and said, "It feels like we're on vacation!"  And it absolutely did!  It's funny to have lived here for so many years and to never have taken such a vacation moment in the midst of our regular routine.  I have a feeling we'll be going on this vacation again in the not-too-distant future :)  How can you turn your regular routine into a vacation moment????
Today's small journal was inspired by an instructional dvd I watched highlighting Beryl Taylor and her amazing mixed media techniques.  I used some paper cloth I had created and stenciled and sewed on it.  I then did some random free-motion stitching on a folded piece of 6 1/2" x 9 1/2" card stock.  Next I sewed the paper cloth to the card stock.  The next layer is actually a few dried out tea bags glued together and then stenciled and trimmed down.  I stamped that piece with a stamp from Loving Thoughts using Versamark ink and heat embossed with white embossing powder.  Next, I sewed that piece to the journal cover.  A button was then sewn on with some embroidery thread.  I create these easy little books with recycled printer paper as the pages.  I usually add a small bit of stamping on the inside to hide any printing that doesn't get trimmed off.  I hope you like it!  Here is a close up of the embossing on the tea bag paper:

ONLINE EXTRAVAGANZA IS HERE!!!!!!
Our biggest online sale of the year, Online Extravaganza, is going on now and ends on Wednesday, November 28. We've got a fantastic selection of stamp sets, accessories, and tools that will be discounted up to 50 percent!  Log in to my Online Store NOW to take advantage of these savings including oodles of popular products discounted up to 50 percent!

Happy Thanksgiving Owl Ocassions Card

I know, I know...this card looks remarkably similar to a card I shared with you a week ago :)  But I just couldn't resist making this little guy into a Happy Thanksgiving card and it shows you how versatile a set like Owl Occasions can be since you just need to combine the owl with a banner with any sentiment you want!  Here I used a sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes and just inked up the straight line from the balloon stamp that comes with the Owl Occasions stamp set to create the "stick" for my banner.  I added a bit of dazzle to the owl with some adhesive rhinestones.
So, what lesson do I have for you today?  To just enjoy friends and family today - whether you are celebrating Thanksgiving or just enjoying another Thursday of your very special life :)  Thank you for sharing some of the moments of your life with me and for supporting me in my creativity.  I can't thank you enough!!!!!!!


ONLINE EXTRAVAGANZA IS HERE!!!!!!
Our biggest online sale of the year, Online Extravaganza, is going on now and ends on Wednesday, November 28. We've got a fantastic selection of stamp sets, accessories, and tools that will be discounted up to 50 percent!  Log in to my Online Store NOW to take advantage of these savings including oodles of popular products discounted up to 50 percent!

Out On A Whim Wednesday: Angel #8

 Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Get It Checked Out
I had a temporary crown put in last week and I have been in a bit of pain ever since.  I knew there would likely be sensitivity to cold/hot before I get the permanent crown put in, but I was not prepared for my gums to be so unhappy :(  I tried taking ibruprofen - which did help a bit, but the pain kept coming back and my gums looked, well, yucky!  I am scheduled to go back in a few days for the crown, but decided that I wouldn't wait and that I would get it checked out instead - for my piece of mind.  I am relieved to find out that what is happening to my gums is a bit of a reaction to the medication used during the initial procedure and that it is something that will heal on it's own in time.  Each day should feel a bit better.  I have to say that the peace of mind that comes with getting it checked out has already got me feeling better.  If you have questions about something you are experiencing, better to get it checked out and put your mind at ease or, if your mind does not get put at ease by what you discover, at least you have more information and can determine a path forward.
Today I'm sharing angel #8 :)  I have been collecting old clock parts (it's nice to have a significant other who is an antique dealer - he turns up some of the oddest and interesting things!).  I wasn't sure what I was collecting the clock parts for, but this challenge made me look at the parts differently.  Here is a close up of her face:

I hot glued Cherry Cobbler sweater trim (129938) to the rim of the clock face and left the front and back exposed.  I used smaller clock parts to create her facial features.  I used a selection of seam binding in different colors to create her skirt and then added a wrapped wire belt with hung clock parts.  Here is a close up of the skirt:

I have no idea what angel #9 will bring, but angel #8 has been a very fun adventure! :)  For those of you celebrating Thanksgiving tomorrow, I wish you and your loved ones a wonderful holiday filled with thoughts of all you have to be grateful for!!!!!!

ONLINE EXTRAVAGANZA IS HERE!!!!!!
Our biggest online sale of the year, Online Extravaganza, is going on now and ends on Wednesday, November 28. We've got a fantastic selection of stamp sets, accessories, and tools that will be discounted up to 50 percent!  Log in to my Online Store NOW to take advantage of these savings including oodles of popular products discounted up to 50 percent! 

Artistic Etchings Thank You Card

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Stop And Chat
Sometimes we are in a big hurry.  We say "hello!  how are you?" and keep walking without waiting for a response.  We multitask when we are on the phone so we miss about every third word that is said by the person on the other end of the line.  Yesterday I stopped a few times - I stopped to chat with some neighbors who are trying to manage their thoughts and feelings about their ailing cat.  I also stopped to chat with another neighbor who had the business trip from hell last week.  And we took and evening walk and chatted with one of Buddy's best friends and his human companion about the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday :)  My recommendation?  Slow down and stop and chat.  Really give your attention to the person you are speaking with.  You may actually enjoy the pace :)
Today's card was put together as a thank you card to my cousin and his wife who we recently visited.  They both love France so the Eiffel Tower image from Artistic Etchings was perfect!  I heat embossed the image with silver embossing powder.  I stamped the Sahara Sand card stock with Sahara Sand ink and the En Francais background stamp.  The embossed piece was then sewn to the Sahara Sand card stock with metallic thread on my sewing machine.  Next, I stamped the words from three different sets (Kindness Matters, Fabulous Phrases, and Loving Thoughts) using Early Espresso ink on Very Vanilla card stock.  The pieces were adhered with dimensionals.  The whole panel was then glued to a Soft Suede card base and spritzed with the Sahara Sand marker and the color spritzer tool.  I hope you like it!  For those of you following my angel challenge, I hope to share at least one other angel this week...and, I confess, I'm a bit behind with my challenge to make 30 angels in 30 days.  I haven't decided to extend my personal deadline yet...but I am at the stage where I'm willing to admit that an extension might be required...We'll see how things go over the next few days :)

ONLINE EXTRAVAGANZA IS HERE!!!!!!
Our biggest online sale of the year, Online Extravaganza, began on Monday and ends on Wednesday, November 28. We've got a fantastic selection of stamp sets, accessories, and tools that will be discounted up to 50 percent!  Log in to my Online Store NOW to take advantage of these savings including oodles of popular products discounted up to 50 percent! 

From My Heart Thank You Card & Online Extravaganza!!!!!

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Change Is Something I Need To Get Used To
New neighbors moved in on Friday and change is something I need to get used to...and it's not easy.  It's little things - no drapes on windows where drapes used to be, cars in the shared driveway where no cars used to be, visitors when there weren't any...just differences.  I seem to handle some change quite easily - the change of seasons; changing up the route on my walks with Buddy...hmmm, I just got stuck trying to think of other change that comes easy for me :)  Yup - I guess change is something I definitely need to get used to! :)
Today's card was made during my Thanksgiving Centerpiece and Card Workshop yesterday.  I figured it could be used as a Happy Thanksgiving card or as a general thank you card.  I love this stamp from the From My Heart stamp set.  We just inked it up with Cherry Cobbler ink and then used an Early Espresso marker to go over the words before stamping it onto a Crumb Cake base.  We then spritzed the card with a Crumb Cake marker in the color spritzer tool  A piece of Cherry Cobbler card stock was torn and then we tied a piece of knotted Crumb Cake seam binding around the Cherry Cobbler card stock before gluing it to the front of the card.  A final touch was some Cherry Cobbler dazzling details on the heart and a few of the dots in the image.  Simple and elegant.  I hope you like it!

ONLINE EXTRAVAGANZA IS HERE!!!!!!
Our biggest online sale of the year, Online Extravaganza, begins TODAY and ends on Wednesday, November 28. We've got a fantastic selection of stamp sets, accessories, and tools that will be discounted up to 50 percent!
Plus, you won't want to miss the first 24 hours of the sale when the Big Shot, Doctor's Bag, and Simply Scored Diagonal Plate will be 20 percent off retail price!  Log in to my Online Store NOW to take advantage of these 24-hour-only savings, as well as oodles of other popular products discounted up to 50 percent!