Last Day of March

March came in like a lion here in Utah and now it is leaving like a lion, we didn't really have many lamb days this month, LOL!
Since I am still dreaming of a spring that will (hopefully) come, I made a card that uses gorgeous Girls Paperie with a beautiful Zva Creative pearl flourish and little flower. It is happy, bright and the colors are prettier than the snow I am looking at that covers my muddy yard.

;o)

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Shes a Busy Girl!

Chloe has been so busy this year as a junior in high school. She is getting straight A's in her classes, and they aren't cream puff subjects. Her days are filled with subjects like math, chemistry, spanish, honors english and an art class that keeps her in balance. She loves school work and her teachers think she is a delightful student. We are so pleased with the choices she makes and has her priorities in good order. We are so blessed by her and our other kids, it makes everything so worth while. It is so funny to think that when Tyler gets home in a year, Chloe will be preparing to graduate from A.M.E.S. and they will both be freshmen in college at the same time! (my bank account groans at that thought, LOL!)

Some advice that a parent of older children told me when my kids were littles is that when they are busy they stay out of trouble. It is when they are not involved, committed and busy that trouble is easier to find. So if you have littles and wonder if you will ever make it out with your sanity intact (I wondered that!) the answer is yes, and it is all worth it! Find what they love and keep them busy with it if you can.

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p.s. The project was made with the Studio Calico Anthology line and a spray mist made from Adirondack Dimensional Pearls that had been loosened with water and spritzed from a mini mister. Zva Creative pearls are the finishing flourish.

A Quick Card

This sweet card was super fast to make, the Webster's Pages 6" x 6" paper did all the hard work, all I had to do was a little distressing on the edges, add a bit of beautiful Prima lace and tie a big bow and call it good! It was one of the projects I shared on my CLASS room post this week that was on the trend of banners. The little banner on the top piece is so gorgeous!

I am always needing thank you cards, so that is what I tend to make when I am creating for the heck of it. I really need to do some all purpose birthday cards too, and this one could easily have fit that bill as well with just a change of the sentiment. What are the quick projects you have as your go to?

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Banner Day!

Well, not in the "I have something amazing to announce..." kind of way, but in the "I wrote a fun blog post in the CLASS room" kind of way. ;o)

















It is such a fun trend, and I really love all of the terrific product Ellen has in her shop that help build a FAB banner for any kind of special occasion, or for the just because I can occasion. There are always so many more ideas that I have that I want to share so badly in these posts that there just isn't time to create, but I tell myself that someday I will get to do them (and then I see a squirrel and forget what it was I was thinking about, LOL!)

I was so irritated with myself as I was making projects for this post. The Maya Road canvas triangle banner is in my studio somewhere hiding along with the super cute Maya Road mini banner chipboard, so I had to continue on without them. Seriously couldn't find them anywhere. I am sure that they will show up sooner or later (and my studio isn't messy, I just did a really good job of "putting them away" when I got them home.) So as soon as I find them, they are going to be put to work on something darling!


Anyway, I just love this layout of Chloe with the Tattered Angels spray mist and the Webster's Pages paper for the banner, so happy and sweet!
And given that we have a blustery cold day here, it is the ray of sunshine that is keeping my heart warm!

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Jenni Bowlin Hybrid Tags

I just shared a post over at the CLASS room showing how to print Jenni Bowlin digital journaling houses that are found at Scrap HD onto a tag, Love the results, super fun, fast and easy!
The instructions on how to create your own are over there.

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Thinking of Spring

My trees are starting to bud up, the crocus pushing through and the birds are flying around with twigs in their beaks, busily building their nests. With spring in the air, I start wishing for the bright colors to arrive that are just around the corner. I couldn't help myself, I stamped that gorgeous Hero Arts "Dogwood" image and colored it again, this time with pinks, made me so happy to see some beautiful color, even if it was just on my desk for the moment.
If you have a moment, pop over to the Moxie Fab blog, Cath has got (as usual) a wonderful collection of projects from the March/April issue that she is sharing, and she used the card that I had sent in for World Card Making Day! There is still time to participate in the Stamping Royalty contest too, I was fortunate enough to win in 2009 and the prize package is definitely worth the try!! So if you have a little inspiration and time, you should go for it!!
I have had the chance to paper craft up a storm the last few days, and can't wait to share what it is that I have been up to, hints will be coming soon!!

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The Luxuries of Fur Kids

This is a very sweet photo of two of my fur kids. Referred to as the bad babies by my friends who know their whole story, they really aren't that bad in general but have done some really bad things. We won't go into all of that, but what is so funny about this darling picture of these two rascals is the location of the nap that I caught them in the middle of. That happens to be the headboard of my bed, and did you notice the chewed on corner? Of course being on the bed isn't nearly good enough if you can be the lucky dog that jockey's for the prime on the pillows position. And if you can't be the first 85 pound dog there then just lay on the one small inch that the other guy left and worm your way into the pillows until you have dethroned the original holder. Oh and if your paws are muddy from being out in the backyard running through the muddy (once flower) beds, don't worry, you can wipe them off on the carpet and finish them off on the bed cover for good measure. Isn't it a wonderful luxury to be a dog owner? (we consider ourselves the owners yet we are the ones picking up poop, go figure!)

The Projects From the Trend Post this Week at the CLASSroom

This was a fun trend watch to write about! I love buttons and creating a few projects that revolved around one of my favorite embellishments was a huge treat!
The first project uses Cosmo Cricket's "Joy Ride" line and a super cute Hero Arts Stamp.
























The second shows a technique using a chipboard button and Cosmo Cricket's "Garden Variety" line, super sweet!
























The technique of stamping on clear buttons has always felt like magic to me, so of course that had to have a place in the post.
























Re-purposing with Jenni Bowlin's gorgeous packaging is a no brainer!






















And using elegant black to add interest to a project is anything but basic!





















If you are interested in reading more about this topic pop on over the CLASSroom and take a peek!

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Not Much to Say Today

There isn't that much to say today, we are all a little under the weather so it makes for pretty boring company...

So how about I share a Zva Creative project that uses one of their new crystal flourishes? The silk flowers are bright and happy and make for a pretty way to say thank you to someone.

There is a new post over at the CLASSroom I wrote that is about buttons, will share some of the projects from that tomorrow.

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March Card Group Card

This month for card group we had the theme of "Green". So anything that had some green was fair game. It was fun to look through my fave papers and pick out some fun greens to go with what I had in mind. Stamping the Cornish Heritage Farms Gingham backgrounder in Adirondack Aqua for the background was a fun start, and building a cute little spring scene was a fun way to finish.

The birds have started on their nests here, and it looks like the trees are starting to get leaf and flower buds on them. So it must be just around the corner here in spite of the storm we had yesterday that left 8" of snow on the ground. The dogs were thrilled to have fresh snow to romp in, but of course now it is all a muddy mess. If they didn't have so much fun running through the flower beds, I might actually have had the opportunity to see the tulips and daffodils come up. There isn't much hope for that now, LOL! What are the signs of spring that you enjoy the most?

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New Hero Arts Stamps in da House!

I was so excited to get some new Hero Arts Stamps yesterday, gotta love happy mail!!
Ellen is carrying so many of their wonderful designs in her shop now, it makes me want one of everything, LOL!
This new dogwood image is so stunning that I had to get it inky as soon as it got out of the box. I stamped it with Coffee Archival on kraft and then colored with my Prismacolor pencils, so relaxing!
Things around here have been busy so when there was some quiet I took a minute to just make something pretty just for the heck of it. I think that is what I love most about paper crafting, those moments you have to yourself to create random beauty. Preserving memories and sharing projects that brighten other peoples days is such a wonderful thing to do, makes the world a happier place! That is a good thing!
Hope you have a brighter day!
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Rocking and Rolling and Zva Winners

Over at the CLASSroom blog I shared a fun technique called rock and roll, if you have a minute and want to see how this is done pop over and check it out.

Also, theZva winners have been chosen and their name will be announced sometime today on the following blogs:

Jana Eubank: http://www.janaeubank.com
Sherry Wright: www.sherrywright.typepad.com
Lynn Ghahary: http://lynnghahary.blogspot.com
Anabelle O'Malley: http://anabelleom.blogspot.com/
Kim Hughes: http://paperhugs.typepad.com/paper_hugs/

One winner from each of the 5 blogs will receive a Zva prize
pack worth $30.00. that consists of the newest Zva CHA release.
Congrats to those winners!

I received some very happy mail today from Hero Arts and I am looking forward to getting some fun things made, will share soon!!

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Zva Creative March Blog Hop!

Are you ready to be inspired?

We are joining together today to share a project that we have created using some of our favorite Zva Creative
products. I am hoping that
you will take some time to join us for a little bit of fun!

The Blog Hop begins at Kim Hughes' blog.
She is linking to one of the Zva designers and that designer is linking
to the next and so on. There are 12 design team members, so be prepared
to be inspired along the way. Hidden on 5 of the blogs is a Zva
Creative prize package consisting of the latest CHA release...YAY! Those blogs will be randomly chosen after the
hop is over, so it's important to leave a comment on as many blogs as
you can along the way.

This Blog Hop runs through midnight on Tuesday, March 2nd and the 5
winners will be announced on Wednesday, March 3rd. We will do our
best to notify each winner, but it's best if you can pop in to all of
the blogs once again on Wednesday...plus, you never know what kind of
inspirational creation that you may find there. All you need to do is
leave a comment on this Zva Blog Hop post...you do not need to leave a
comment on each and every designer's blog post to qualify. The more
times you leave a comment along the blog hop path though, the more
chances you will have to be one of the lucky winners.
























The flourish that I used on this project is PEB-02CB-104, and it is so beautiful!
One of my other favorite products is called Promenade Flourish (CRS-02CB-101) and you can find it at Scrapbook.com.

If you are ready for some more fabulous inspiration, please hop on over to see Lynn Ghahary!

Thank you SO MUCH for joining us, and good luck!!
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