Making the Cut

It has been about six weeks since I had eleven inches of hair cut off of my head. I can honestly say that I am so glad that I did it, but I am also still not used to the change. I started thinking about this last week when I was scheduling my appointment for getting it cut again and will be faced with the decision of keeping it shorter or starting the process of growing it back out to the length that I had become accustomed to. The interesting thing about having it short is that it reminds me of how lucky I am that I was able to have this experience and how it isn't something that is for everybody to do.

So I need some advice and opinions on what you think I should do when I am in the chair for my trim tomorrow. Do I enjoy the short while in the summer months and then think about going a little longer in the fall and winter or do I start the process of growing it out now? Maybe I should continue to get used to the change and embrace it and keep it this short for a long time...

thoughts?

Also wanted to share one of the projects that I did with my pics from that day, this one is with the Queen Bee line of products from Pink Paislee, these colors spoke to me from the second I saw them at CHA and I knew then I would be using them to do a page for myself. It was such a fun layout to do, a little whimsy, a little elegant and a little worn, just like me ;o)

Anyway, hope everyone is having a wonderful summer day (if you are in the northern hemisphere, lol!)

B-

Hambly Happiness has me on Cloud Nine!!

Long have I had an appreciation and crush on Allison's clever designs and Hambly's exceptional quality and beauty. They have always had design teams that are witty, artistic, innovative and inspirational. So when the call went out for their latest team I sent in an application and tried not to obsess about how amazing it would be to have the opportunity to work with these products and with the caliber of talent that they select to carry the Hambly brand forward. I knew that my chances were slim and that who ever they selected would be fantastic, I might mope and pout for a day or two but would most certainly be impressed and inspired by the projects that would soon be gracing the blogs and galleries. This being the case, you could have knocked me over with a feather when I got a call from THE FAB Allison!!! I think I might have even told her to shut up...
Of course I didn't mean it in the rude and absurd way that I am sure it came out, but I did have a wonderful visit with her, and I hope that she doesn't think that I am complete idiot from the babbling that she had to deal with!
It is going to be so fun to create and share my passion for this product line, and work with an incredible team of American and International superstars!!!

US Team:
Amy Tangerine (Culver City, California)
Laurie Cinotto (Tacoma, Washington)
Ann-Marie Norris (Simi Valley, California)
Tiffany Johnson (Fort Rucker, Alabama)
Becky Olsen (Cottonwood Heights, Utah)

International Team:
Jennifer Johner (Sexsmith AB, Canada)
Larissa Albernaz (Sao Jose dos Campos SP, Brazil)
Yukari Takanashi (Kanagawa, Japan)
Kim Jeffress (Australia)
Leena Loh (Singapore)
Stepanie Baxter (Surrey, United Kingdom)

Design Team Coordinators:
Kerry Lynn Yeary
Dina Wakley


I will soon have these links in my sidebar as well, if you are interested in visiting their blogs and seeing their work, please head over to the Hambly Screen Prints Blog and hop around, I think you will be impressed as well!

Wishing you all Hambly Happiness!!!
B-

Vintage Groove Prettiness!!

It has been so fun playing with the Vintage Groove jewelry pieces that Ellen has in her shop!
I wrote a fun tutorial on putting this elegant piece together over at the CLASS room this week.

It has been a wonderful week full of tennis and sunshine for me, so grateful that summer has finally arrived! I am trying to enjoy the fantastic mid-range temperatures before they start sky-rocketing into the low 100's that we start to get this time of year.

Does it seem kinda quiet out there in crafty land right now? I think everyone is so happy to have summer here that the crafty stuff is taking a little bit of a back seat at the moment. So out of curiosity, when you do have a little time to spend creating, what will you be working on? I think I will be making more soldering and jewelry pieces, some cards and a have a few scrapbook layouts in my mind that I want to try to get done.

happy summer time friends!!

B-

Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining

Card group was last Saturday night, and I love the card that I made for everyone! Our theme for the month was encouragement and using suns, clouds or rainbows. I just adore this Hero Arts stamp called "Clouds" so it of course was the first thing I thought of when we were informed of the theme for our exchange. I did need to make 12 of whatever I designed, so it had to be something that was realistic to get put together without breaking the bank. Stamping is a great way to do that! To get the look of the silver in the cloud lining I mixed up a mini mister with water, a few drops of Faded Jeans re-inker, a few drops of Broken China re-inker and a scoop of Perfect Pearl from my Perfect Pearls collection. Gave it some shaking for a minute and then spritzed it onto my craft mat, then dipped my stamp into it and stamped it onto some Neenah Solar White cardstock and set aside to air dry while I made some kites.
The body of the kite is made with paper from Cosmo Cricket's Girl Friday collection (although any cute paper would work!) and the twine is by Jenni Bowlin.
The sentiment is from a Cornish Heritage Farms set called Encouragement Expressions. I know there will be the right time to give this to someone, but this week was a bit of a challenge for me, so I kept it up where I could see it and let it keep me lifted up with its sweet message.

Hope you are having a happy Thursday!
B-

Are Your Teens Talented, Creative and Needing a Summer Project?

Creating Keepsakes might have the solution to your teens needs!
This summer they are holding a Teen Talent Search to find the next generation of scrapbooking talent! Is your teen between the age of 13 -18? Then this fun contest could hold the key to finding them something to do this summer that could be rewarding in many ways. by creating projects to send in for the contest they will not only be keeping their memories but will also be expanding their creative talents, a side bonus is that they might be the big winner!
The participants can submit as many projects as they want from June 15th to August 31st. The Creating Keepsakes team will choose the finalists. Click here for a complete look at the rules.
This is something that I would have loved to do as a kid, how about you? What a fantastic opportunity Creating Keepsakes is providing for our next generation of memory keepers!
Even if you don't have a teen, if you know one that would maybe interested in something fun like this, be sure to pass the information along!
B-

Happy Birthday Laura!!!

It is a very special girl's birthday today and a few of us have gotten together to help her celebrate in a way that she will always remember!

Happy 40th Birthday Laura Vegas!!!



Laura is a wonderfully talented scrapper whose delightful work has graced many pages of magazines. But in my opinion, this isn't what makes her amazing. What I think sets Laura apart as an exceptional woman is that she is a person of substance, authenticity and genuine kindness.

To let Laura know how excited I am that she is joining the over 40 club, so she can hang out with me more ;o) I have made her a little card that reminds her what she is now that she has made it into this elite group...




















But of course the fun doesn't end with me, to keep the celebration going you need to hop on over to Doris Sander's blog and see what is going on there!!

If you have joined the party in the middle and would like to start at the beginning, Lynn Ghahary is the official center of this soiree!!

And if you want a very clever and informative read about Laura and her first Forty years, pop over to her blog and have some giggles! She has included pictures and stories that are very funny!!

Laura, I hope that your next forty are as much fun and as memorable as your first forty!!!
Best wishes for a wonderful day and an exciting year!!

B-

What a Quick Week!

Can't believe that it is Friday already (and half done at that!).
It has been beautiful temperate weather so I have spent most eveyday outside playing tennis and taking long walks with the dogs and hubbers. There has been a little crafting and scrapping in there, but not much of it can be shared right now. My dad called and made a date with me to give me soldering lessons! It is hard to explain how incredible that is given his last few years of metal health, but I am so grateful for the opportunity to spend some time with him while he is feeling well. We have always had an interesting relationship. It might be because we are very similar in some ways or because I have had the role of adult in the interactions with my parents for most of my life. Whatever the issues are, it is a treat for us to be doing something together that we both enjoy and I am very excited that he is taking some time to share his extensive knowledge with me.
If you get a chance, pop by tomorrow there is something fun happening that I am excited to be helping with!

Happy Friday friends!!
B-

Fabric Flower Tutorial from a Re-Purposed T-Shirt!

So Chloe has been a busy girl since summer started...

She decided to make a new handbag for herself using a re-purposed t-shirt! She also wanted to make adjustments to a tried and true pattern to make it "her own"!
Here she is modeling the finished bag that is filled with the items she needs for her summer chemistry course.
























The sleeves were left over from when she cut the t-shirt apart, so I thought it would be fun to make her a few flowers that she could pin onto the bag when she uses the reverse side of the bag. (yes, super coolness, it is reversible!!)

To make one of these flowers for yourself you will need the sleeves from a t-shirt, a pair of scissors, needle and thread, a hot glue gun, a button, a large rhinestone, and a pin.

















Cut the sleeve into appox 2" strips.

















Use the threaded needle to do a running stitch along the edge of a piece of the sleeve. For this flower I used the two hem pieces so it would have a finished edge. The flowers look just as cool with a raw edge though, or if you want you can fold the pieces in half and do a running stitch through the two edges that are folded together.

















When you have the pieces all gathered it will form a fun spiral shape!
























Lay the spiral down and arrange the layers the way that you like them, tie off the thread.

















Use the hot glue gun to adhere the layers the way that you had them laid out.

















Hot glue a large button into the middle of the flower to hide the gathers. Then hot glue a large gem into the center of the button to glam it up!

















Hot glue a pin onto the back of the flower.

















Then cover with a little more hot glue and a scrap of fabric from the sleeve.

















This is what it looks like when it is finished! I think I might be "borrowing" this little beauty from her if she doesn't have it pinned to her bag ;o)

















This tutorial was requested by Marilyn whom I met while at the CKC in Buffalo!

Let me know if you try it and then how addicted you get to making these and sporting them everywhere!

B-

Wow, it has been a quick week! I don't have much to share, been really busy creating projects to submit and playing a lot of tennis in the other few hours in my day! So happy to finally be getting outside for a few hours a day, makes me so happy!
So my question is, how is it hanging?
My afternoon is going to be spent working on a post for the CLASS room blog and hopefully playing with my soldering stuff, loving that jewelry mess right now!

Hope everyone has a very happy weekend!
B-