Baby bump at 16 weeks...

Here is the baby bump photo from last week. I am getting huge already and in full-on maternity clothes. I had an OB appt. this week and the baby seems healthy and is growing perfectly. Now, we look forward to Jan. 3rd when we have the level 2 ultrasound and, hopefully, find out whether we are having a boy or girl.

I am "almost" caught up and ready for Christmas. Just a few more little things to get done and the house to thoroughly clean and we are ready. All of my Christmas cards made it out by the mailing deadline which was looking to be a really iffy proposition. It meant stamping a couple of mornings at 4:00 am, but they are done and sent. Here is one version of this year's card. I ended up with a couple of different color schemes because of lack of paper.


I hope that everyone is having a happy holiday season. I am hoping to find some time to myself this weekend and do some creating purely for the joy of it. It's been a while with the craziness of Christmas and I am ready to get creative. What about you?
smiles,
christi

How is it already December 12th?!?!

We are less than 2 weeks away from Christmas!! How in the world did that happen?!?! Now the race is on around here to see if I can get everything done and shipped (gifts, cards, and work are all running behind...accckkk!) Although, I do have to say that I feel a bit more prepared than I normally am, but that doesn't mean that I am not desperately behind because I definitely am. LOL!

But because I have been working on things that nobody is allowed to see yet. Shhhh, it's a secret. Here are some recent layouts that have been in The Scrapbook Magazine.








In other news, I did finally get my camera. I am still not too sure that I made the right decision on the model, but I need to experiment more before I make my final verdict.
smiles,
christi

Awwww, December....

December is a magical month! I love the feeling in the air with Christmas coming. I love the twinkle of the Christmas lights. I love the sound of Christmas carols in the air. I love the feeling of anticipation in the malls and stores(I know, it is crazy, but I adore going to the malls at this time of the year!) I love opening each day's square on the calendar and having chocolate for breakfast. It's a magical month and I am so glad that it is here. I hope that we can all take some time this month and sit back and enjoy it.

Well, I have continued to sleep well all week and am getting so much done. I am mailing off the artwork for an article this morning (as soon as I get the step-by-steps done...I hate doing that part! LOL!) I think that this is some of the best work that I have ever done...LOVE all of the projects! I hope that Natalie can forgive me for being a little late with it. It actually should have been in her hands today. Oooops!

This is a layout that I did late last night for my final layout for the Cottage for the month of November(nothing like making it just under the wire!) These are some photos from the Duke Homestead that we took on my birthday back in August. The papers are Crate Paper- Birdie collection. The rub-ons are Fancy Pants and Heidi Swapp and everything is available over in the Cottage store.


I had a realization yesterday about my camera. I was thinking that I could actually make it til after Christmas to buy it, but for my DT projects this month, I have to do actual projects not just layouts which will have to be photographed. Luckily just after I realized that, I received a paycheck in the mail which will pay for the camera. Whew! Now to get it deposited...

Totally off topic here...I think that my cat is developing OCD. LOL! Yesterday we were both here in the kitchen (that is where my computer is located) and the fridge made a funny noise that sounded like a rodent scurrying. I promise you...we have NO rodents, it was the fridge, but we both heard it and now he spends all day moving from the fridge to the oven waiting for something to come out. It is so funny in a pathetic, sad kind of way. Maybe I need to find some new toys for the cat.

Have a great weekend!
smiles,
christi

Good Tuesday Morning!!!

Well after a full week of being up every night for 2-3 hours in the middle of the night, I finally slept soundly last night. From 8:30-6:30 and I feel completely rejuvinated. It's amazing how just that little interuption each night makes you feel simply awful, but today I am energized and ready to get some stuff done! How am I ever going to handle those nighttime feedings?!? aaaacckkk! BTW, I am feeling the baby every day now...it is so incredible and it seems so early to already be feeling it. I hope that doesn't mean a big baby! LOL!

I did find a little bit of time to create in the last few days. This is a layout that I did playing with my Stamped In Ink stamps. This is a very simple layout. It uses Scenic Route and then Stamped in Ink's sets: Elegant Pennant, Simply Put, and one of the custom stamps.
By the way, Scrap Happy KT is featuring Stamped in Ink all this weekend. They just got in a huge shipment of the gorgeous new stamps and will be featuring:
*3 Challenges
*Live chat with Sue (owner of Stamped In Ink) on Sat. at 8pm
*All orders placed that weekend will be entered in a chance to win a prize
*Layout/ Project Contest (3 winners will be selected)
1st Place- $50 Gift Certificate to Scrap Happy KT
2nd Place- 2 Stamped In Ink stamp sets of your choice
3rd Place- 1 Stamped In Ink stamp set of your choice.

Other than that, I didn't get anything accomplished over the holiday like I had hoped, but we really did have a nice family holiday with lots of movies and time together with the three of us.

Today I am creating for an article for an upcoming issue of Creative Cardmaking (UK). Then I hope to get a start on some Christmas projects that I need to get started on. I just got my DT box for the Cropper's Cottage so I am excited to get to work on that. Shannon outdid herself with the kits this month.

I am still without a camera and wondering how long I can put off that rather expensive purchase. I have put up my tree and would really like to take some pics because I have done some different things with it, but would rather spend the money on family this time of the year.

smiles,
christi

Not only am I getting fat, but now I am officially elderly!?!

LOL! I am dying here. Because I am over 35 (barely, BTW!) I qualify for special prenatal care and yesterday I received the paperwork about it all including my referral to the specialist. The reason for the referral on my paperwork...ELDERLY MULTIGRAVIDA!!! Whoa...seriously?!?! You know when you are pregnant (esp. unexpectedly so) you are certainly not feeling your most attractive as the baby bump and many other squishy lumps are starting to appear and then the hospital sends me something like this telling me that I am officially elderly. Between that and the fact that they chose to put the coffee cart directly in front of the OB clinic (that is a post for another day) have me re-thinking my choice in hospitals. LOL!

But seriously, besides a huge blow to my ego, everything is going fine here. Actually last night I was laying on the couch and I can't actually feel the baby move yet, but I could definitely tell that the baby was awake and swimming. I kept getting different pressure points on my belly where I just could feel increased pressure as the baby moved around. No little flutters yet, but enough to know that the baby is doing well.

I have been really busy this week, but I really don't have anything that I can share because it has been magazine work. I did complete another cj. This is my entry in Mitchell Kraft's cj. His theme is about all the different kinds of crafts that you do. I included a couple of examples of things that I do and then did a lot of journaling.

I have lots of plans this weekend for crafting, but probably not a whole lot that I can share as most are gifts for people that read this blog so I wouldn't want to ruin the surprise.

I hope that everyone has fun plans for thanksgiving. We are doing a simple family dinner here with the 3 of us. I have to figure out our actual menu and make a final grocery run today. Think that there will be any bread crumbs left??? I am crossing my fingers!
smiles,
christi

Layouts for the Cropper's Cottage

I have been working on some layouts for the Cropper's Cottage. Everything on these layouts is available at the store.

These first couple of layouts are of my nieces from Halloween. Wasn't it nice of their mother to coordinate their costumes with my DT project for this month? LOL! This month we were sponsored by the awesome Li'l Davis. I love these products...you just put the photos down on the paper and it automatically looks awesome!




Then this is a double layout using simply a Chatterbox Memory Building Kit...nothing else added. These awesome kits have the perfect mix of embellishments and patterned paper so that is all you need and the good news is that I can easily still do another 2-5 layouts from what I still have left. The photos here are from Ely Cathedral in England.



Well, my Dr's appt. on Monday went really well. I got to not only hear the heartbeat, but got an ultrasound as well so I have baby pics. I was looking at scanning them for my blog, but I honestly don't think that you will be able to tell anything because the baby is still so small. Right now it measures at 4.3 cms. The good news is that it sounds like I will probably get an ultrasound most months because I am old and high risk so I will have lots of photos to share along the way. Our next appt. is the week before Christmas and that should be timed right so that we will know if we are having a boy or girl by Christmas. Yippee!

Happy Hump Day!!
smiles,
christi

Last Week's LSS projects

Here are the latest projects that I created for the LSS...

This line is the latest Melissa Frances Christmas line. Definitely my style and I loved working with it. All the photos on these two layouts are from our Austrian Christmas trip two years ago.




This line is using the Bo Bunny Christmas line. A bit bright for my taste which makes it harder for me to use.



smiles,
christi

FINALLY...my circle journal!

OMG, this book took me forever and I have no idea why! Usually I can knock one of these out in a day or two, but this one took me a full week and a half!?! This is for our Cropper's Cottage Design Team circle. My theme is Define Your Style.

Here is the cover:

Here is the intro page:

Here is my entry:

I mailed this off yesterday morning which finally left me some time to get to my other obligations. I did 4 layouts and 3 cards for the LSS yesterday and I will be uploading those throughout the weekend. Finally, my mojo is flowing good again.

BTW, for those of you keeping track, I am at 11 weeks now in my pregnancy and am feeling pretty good overall. I have a doctor's appt. Monday morning so I am excited to hear the baby's heartbeat again. I cannot wait til I can feel the baby move so that I have some reassurance that everything is okay in there.
smiles,
Christi

Playing Circle Journal Catch-up...

Over at the Cottage, I am involved in a couple of circle journals and this month I simply got desperately behind on them. If you have never done a circle journal before, it is simply a group of artists that gets together to form a circle. Each individual artist creates a journal and everyone has their own theme for their journal. The journals then go in a circle around the group and each artist makes an entry into the journal. It is a fun and fantastic way to create a keepsake/inspirational piece made up of other artist's/friend's work.

This is my entry in Cami's book. Her theme is The Ways you relax/de-stress... so my entry is all about escaping into a good book. The journaling says: "When it comes time for me to de-stress from my life, I like to escape within a good book. Modern chick-lit is my fave. I like novels that are happy and have a great sense of humor. It allows me to escape for a few hours and escape into someone else's life. Just that quick little escape usually gives me enough perspective on whatever is stressing me out in my life so that everything doesn't seem so bad when I come out of my book. Funnily enough, this is something that I have done my entire life. When I was a pre-teen/teenager, my favorite escape was into the pages of Pollyanna. Her "glad game" kept it all in perspective when teenage troubles got me down."

I think that the papers are foofala, but I am not sure... click on the image to get a better view of it.

I have a new circle journal starting and I almost have my book completed so I will be sharing it soon...

In other news, DH accidentally spilled his coffee on my camera on Saturday so I am shopping for a new camera. I think that I have decided on a Kodak Easyshare Z612...I know shocker, I NEVER thought that I would consider a Kodak, but everything I read about it, seems to make it the best option in my price range. Does anyone have any feedback or better ideas???

smiles,
Christi

November already?!?

Wow! Can you believe that it is already November?!? Where has the year gone and how am I ever going to be ready for Christmas??? But one thing that I am ready for is decorating. I cannot wait to put the tree up, but am not so sure that DH will like it going up before Thanksgiving. LOL! I may just have to settle with pulling out some of my Christmas cd's. Oh, and I probably should pull the cobwebs off the bushes and put away the jack-o-lanterns before I even consider pulling out the Christmas decor.

We made it through Halloween. DS was a revolutionary war soldier...he looks so cute in his costume! DH was out of town so I did the whole Halloween routine by myself (2 1/2 hours of trick or treating and we easily have 200-300 kids come through our neighborhood since we are on base and "safe"). It was crazy and I was absolutely exhausted when it ended at 8:00. I came inside and fell asleep pretty much immediately on the couch. I didn't even know that DS went to bed...luckily for me, he is very responsible!

I have a TON to do this week. I am desperately behind on the Cottage cj's so that is on my agenda today after I finish an article for Simply Cards that should have been sent yesterday. Sleeping so much is definitely taking away a lot of my creative energies!!!

I have a new layout to show. This was a layout that I did as an inspiration jolt over on the Cottage. I scraplifted Shalini's layout, http://pp.cropperscottage.com/showphoto.php?photo=23538&password=&sort=1&cat=500&page=1 . I loved the way that she used all the clothes labels on her layout and copied that with tags.

I love these photos of my niece, Mia, digging into her 1st birthday cake. It also gave me an opportunity to play with these new Stamped in Ink Pennant stamps. LOVE THOSE!!!
Products used:
*Stamped in Ink Pennant Stamps
*Stamped in Ink Alpha stamps
*Stamped in Ink Dove of Goodwill stamp
*Foofala tags & paper
*Making Memories gingham and ledger paper
*Karen Foster Metal embellishment
*misc. brads


I hope that you are having some time to create this week! I will be back soon with some cj's to share!
smiles,
christi

Happy Halloween!!!

I hope that you have a fun day with lots of treats, but not too many tricks!!!
smiles,
christi

Mourning the Loss of my Morning Routine...

Long time, no blog! I am so sorry that it has been so long since I blogged and thank you so much to those of you that have emailed me to check on me. Everything is fine. I have simply lost my morning routine and haven't quite figured out another one that doesn't involve sleeping the morning away. LOL!

Before I got pregnant, I would turn on the computer and start my gorgeous red 12 cup coffee pot with my wonderful German coffee and then I would proceed to sit here at the computer until all 12 cups were gone which allowed me ample time to get all my computer stuff done.

Now that I am pregnant, it's just not the same. I still have my German coffee (just decaffenated), but somehow the very fact that I don't have to have it (so that I don't have a vicious headache all day) has taken some of the joy out of drinking it. Add that to the fact that most mornings when DS leaves for school, I have gotten where I simply go back to bed (I forgot just how tiring this first trimester is), and there have been days (in fact, there were three in a row) where I don't even turn on the computer. *shock-horror*

But I am aware of the fact that I need this *me* time esp. as I only have a few months to continue it so I promise to try better. Overall, I am feeling pretty good and gaining lots of weight (something about sleeping all the time is NOT doing good things to my hips and I cannot blame that all on baby yet!!!)

I miss you, all my blogging friends and to make it up to you, how about a creative prompt?This is a piece called Spilling Over by Stacy Dynan. I love the color combination on this piece!!

I have a layout almost done laying on my scrap table so I should have it up within the next day or so. I also have a couple of cj's that need to go out on the first so they should be showing up soon too. I have lots to do over the next couple of days!!!

Happy Monday!
smiles,
christi

Happy Birthday, Mia!!!

Today is my niece, Mia's, 1st birthday. Happy Birthday little one. This is one of those things that is so difficult about being a military family...being so far from home. I have never gotten to meet this little cutie and I can't believe that she is already one!?! But I am lucky in that her mom and dad keep me supplied in these gorgeous photos (just wait til you see the ones of her eating her birthday cake!) Thanks, Kara and Dan... I love having the photos!!!

The papers are Prima (which Shannon just happened to upload to the cart today.) They are from the Erie and Odyssey Collections. What you can't see in the cart is that these patterned papers are double sided with another pattern on the back...gorgeous!!!

Inspired by Mou Saha's incredible painting, there are lots of custom paint details on here. The Heidi Swapp chipboard 1 was red, I just painted it with the yellow and green to make it coordinate. I also dry-brushed the edges with the same paints. The lettering is hand done.

I hope that you have a good day, Mia!
smiles,
christi

Feeling Better

Well, yesterday I was feeling much better than I have the last couple of weeks...dare I say that I actually felt normal, so I was able to do some fun scrapping. I am now at 38 layouts done for my 100 layout countdown til I can buy new stash (although I did have a minor setback last week in my buying.) I am back on track now and determined to use some of this old stash esp. as it looks like I will be losing my scraproom when the baby arrives (I have NO IDEA how in the world I will ever make that work!!?!!)

This layout was just a random shot that I took of DH one day when we were out. I love it because it is just so naturally him. This entire page has lots of old Heidi Swapp on it. Love pulling out these old products and using them.


I did another really cute layout yesterday, but it will have to wait til tomorrow because I did it for my niece, Mia's first birthday which is tomorrow.

BTW, for those of you that are hoping that this baby is a girl...I don't think so...I feel almost exactly the way that I felt when I was pregnant with Jacob...just older. :p

Happy Wednesday!!!
smiles,
Christi

Playing with K-ology & SURPRISE!!!

My LSS just got in this gorgeous K-Ology in and I was the lucky one to get to make the store samples with it. I think that I could create with this line forever...it is so gorgeous and even right now when I am not inspired to create at all, this was super-easy to work with...

BTW, I have no idea why blogger is cutting off the bottom of this layout, but it continues to do it so I am just going to leave it as is.

Everything on these two layouts is from K-ology except for the Bazzill cardstock.


In other news, you probably have noticed that I have been a bit lax lately about this blog. I actually have a good reason...Surprise, I am pregnant!

Needless to say this was all a bit of a surprise for me too and I am finally starting to come around to the idea. I cannot tell you how many ways this should not have happened, but obviously God has other plans for us and I am slowly starting to accept that. The only time I start to panic again is when I start to do the math (bit of trivia for you...When this baby is born~June 1st~ DH will be the same age that my parents were when DS was born (i.e. their grandchild)...see that is the kind of stuff that I have to stop thinking about!!!)
smiles,
christi

Catching Up...

Geez, I have gotten awful about updating this blog. I have been really distracted lately which is affecting all things creative, including the blog, but I promise to try and be better.

Today is my DT upload day over at the Croppers Cottage. Trace Industries were our sponsors this month and I wasn't sure what to expect since I wasn't really familiar with the company. Wow! I am a new fan!!! They have these incredible chipboard shapes and pieces that are really fun to work with. Lots of texture and really interesting patterns. There were a couple of products that I will admit that I wasn't really thrilled with, but then I started playing and fell in love! LOVE this stuff!!!

These gorgeous little file folders were part of my Trace Industries DT kit and I knew that they would be perfect for a journal. The swirl paper was originally black and white, but I sponged on the blue ink color as well as sponged the blue around all the edges of the chipboard.

Supplies used:
*Trace Industries Mini Chippers***
*Trace Industries Mini File Folders***
*Trace Industries Brackets***
*Trace Industries Natures Etchings Paper
*Technique Tuesday Petal Pushers Stamps***
*Heidi Swapp Schitzophrenic Alpha***

Trace Industries has a motto, Embracing the Past~Capturing the Present~Anticipating the Future, that they print on the bottoms of all their papers. The Embracing for the title on the journal was cut from this bottom bit of one of the papers.

***available from the Cottage


I apologize for the photo of this layout, but it was way too lumpy to scan without it all smudging.

I had a LOT of fun playing with these super-cool Trace products. When I opened my kit, one of the first things I saw was this beautiful embossed B and have since been trying to figure out what to do with it...so this is my neice, the Beautiful Ballerina. One of the fantastic things about Trace products are the awesome textures in them and I tried to highlight that on this layout by drybrushing everthing with the Making Memories Frost paint.

Supplies used:
*Trace Industries Perforated Paper- Antique Black***
*Trace Industries Embossed Monogram***
*Trace Industries Little Minis Chippers***
*Heidi Swapp Large Florals White***
*Biggie Brads

***available from the Cottage


This is a photo from Charleston, SC, but I could swear it is one of my photos from France. The styles are incredibly similar!!!


Supplies used:
*Trace Industries 12" Border Chippers***
*Trace Industries Canvas Postage Paper
*Trace Industries Mahogany Double Sided Paper
*Junkitz Long Bradz***
*Chatterbox Grafix Rub-ons***



I now have 34 of my layouts til new stash done.

BTW, if you were wondering, my crepes last week turned out amazing. They were so good...even DS ate them and he NEVER eats anything that I cook. LOL!

Happy Tuesday that feels like a MOnday!
smiles,
christi

I love Fall and Halloween Season...

I just realized that we are officially in October or as I like to call it, Halloween Season. I adore Halloween. I love the decorations, the night, the smell in the air. I love anything that looks vintage Halloween. I think a lot of it stems from my love of my black cats (if you have ever met a black cat, they are the friendliest, most outgoing cats...I personally think that it is because they have to make up for having such a bad reputation. It is all so much fun and is truly one of my favorite times of the year.

This fall has been crazy for us and I really thought about pulling out my halloween decor at the beginning of September, but I thought that may be pushing it a bit too early, but then life got crazy and October has snuck up on me. How did that happen??? So today, I am giving the house a good cleaning so that I can decorate it in style (and so that my decorations don't get lost in all the clutter! :D )

I also got started on my Halloween cards. This is the first prototype...I love that saying "It's all about the shoes..." Mom bought me a halloween towel when she was in town that says that and I absolutely adore it so I had to "lift it" for my card.



That and I am making crepes! How about that for a bad segway?!? LOL! I have never made crepes before, but I adore them. When we lived in New Mexico (back when DS was a baby) we used to go to this little bitty mom and pop bistro (the kind where you can bring your own bottle of wine) and they served the most amazing crepes. I have always wanted to try making them, but worried about not being able to do it which would be simply crushing. But tonight is the night...we are having ham and mushroom ones for dinner and strawberrry, choc, cream cheese ones for dessert. Yum...my mouth is watering simply thinking about it. Wish me luck! I will try to remember to take pics so you can see my success or failure.
smiles,
christi

Art Inspires Me

This is my latest Circle journal entry. This is in Mou's Inspiration cj. Her theme is that she wants us to tell her what inspires us. For me, that is easy...I love to be inspired by art (I think that you all knew that didn't you? LOL) The left side of the page is the original (i.e. copied off the net) art piece. The piece is called Vineyard Garden and was created by Natasha Wescoat. The right side is my interpretation of the piece. The bird is the Dove of Goodwill stamp from Stamped in Ink. All of the papers are from Daisy D's or Making Memories. It was really fun to create this bright and vibrant piece...I may have to use it again for a layout!


Be sure to click on the photo to make it larger so that you can see all the detail.
Smiles,
christi

Today's work...

I managed to make it into my scrap room bright and early this morning so I got quite a bit done before noon. These are all samples for my LSS using a Creative Imaginations line.



For this layout, I used the creative art prompt from below as inspiration...I just turned it on it's side. I think that there are better ways to interpret this piece though so I will probably be doing a different version of it.




Tonight is a Gilmore Girls night which always means that I am going to get creative (mainly because DH doesn't want to watch the show so I watch it in my scrap room.) I have a circle journal to do and I want to have a play with some Halloween cards as well as that Dove of Goodwill stamp set.

smiles,
christi

Good Tuesday Morning!!!

Good morning! I am still trying to dig myself out from under my humongous "to do" list so this morning, I am simply going to share a creative prompt with you. It has been a while since we have had one of these and I know that I certainly can use some prompting! LOL!

This is a piece called Palm Serenity II by an artist named Judeen. I think that it would translate into a scrapbook page perfectly!


In other news, I now have 30 layouts done for my no stash challenge, but I do feel the need to confess. I have spent money on some supplies, BUT... they were for card-making and since my cards don't count on my countdown, I feel that this is a perfectly legal purchase. :D

Oh, and go check out the Stamped in Ink website! Sue has posted some absolutely yummy new stamps that are coming soon! Yippeee! And be sure to go check out the gorgeous new examples from Chris Jenkins using the Dove of Goodwill stamp set. I love this set and it is for such a good cause!!! I have it sitting on my desk just waiting for me to play with it!! So hopefully I will have some stuff done with it within the next day or two!

Have a great day! I hope to be back later with some art to share!
smiles,
christi

Finding time...

I apologize...life has continued to be crazy the last week and actually looks like it is going to remain that way for a while, but I will try to be better about blogging.

Well it turned out that DS had a double ear infection and spent most of the week last week home from school. He is doing better now although he still has a wicked cough which is absolutely awful to listen to.

I did manage to do 10 pieces of artwork for a couple of UK magazine articles. Now I just need to find the time to actually do the writing on those. That is on the agenda this morning after I finish a circle journal which needs to go out in the mail today and a layout that also needs to go out in the mail today.

I am also working on LSS work... these two layouts fall in that category. They simply feature Bazzill and Heidi Swapp products. It's been a while since I created something without patterned paper and this was a real challenge. I still have 2 more layouts and a card that need to be done for them so hopefully I will get those done in the next day or so...




Happy Monday! 29 layouts done, 71 to go til new stash!
smiles,
christi

Craziness....

Life has been absolutely manic for the past week. It started out with a week-long cybercrop, followed by my mom coming into town, followed by DH and I leaving town for him to have a minor surgery, followed by trying to organize a nice luncheon on a C-130, followed by taking my mom back to the airport (her visit was WAY too short!), and all the while having a sick DS.

I am now seriously behind, trying to get DS into a doctor, and running a million plus one errands. Today had originally been my day (DH left to go out of town this morning). So I was going to get up, stay in my pj's or sweats all day and get the 20 or so projects started that need to be done by Friday. DH left, leaving me with several errands to run, DS woke up with another low-grade fever/ear-aches and a cough which is sounding more and more like bronchitis. So I already have a list of places to go for errands for the day and am waiting for calls back to see if we can go spend the day in Dr's waiting rooms.

It's never easy is it?

Needless to say, I am sorry that I have been absent for the last week, but it has been necessary.

Here are a couple more projects that I managed to complete from the Cottage cybercrop. The book is Dianne McInrue's design...she taught this awesome class for the cybercrop. LOVED it.





All of the events for the cybercrop were fantastic. The team really outdid themselves and I can't wait to play catch-up on all the events that I missed (which was a LOT).

This layout was from an art inspiration challenge at the crop.


But hopefully, life will calm down a little bit now and I can play catch-up...

Dove of Goodwill Stamp Set...

Look at this new stamp set that Sue/Stamped in Ink has created!!! It is an absolutely gorgeous set for cards and I can already picture putting titles for scrapbook pages in that banner. She has outdone herself again and all the proceeds are going towards Samaritan's Purse which is a phenomenal charity organization. And with a price of only $12.99 it is a win-win for everyone!!! I can't wait to get mine in!!!


Samaritan's Purse is a charity organization which comes to the aid of the world's sick, poor, and suffering. This holiday season we wanted to do something to help them and their incredible work. As a stamp company, that aid takes the form of a stamp set, but this is not just any stamp set.

The dove has long been the symbol of peace and love and we have created this "Dove of Goodwill" to reflect that ideal. Measuring 3 3/4" x 3" tall this dove carries the message of love and good wishes to those that receive it. Featuring 4 phrase stamps which fit into the flowing banner, this stamp will be one that you use over and over again. And you can feel happy knowing that 100% of the proceeds from this stamp set will benefit Samaritan's Purse.

Day 1 of the Cybercrop....

Whoohooo! We are officially off and running! The Cropper's Cottage Free to Create cybercrop made it through day 1. I really have so much to do with everything going on this week, but I couldn't resist the inspiration flowing out of the cybercrop so I actually created 3 pages yesterday. 25 down...I am 1/4 of the way to my 100 layout til new stash goal!

This layout is based on a sketch challenge posted by Susie King. I love this layout. These are simply some flower photos from one of my trees out in my backyard. This layout gave me a chance to play with these Rhonna Farrer stamps that I got for my birthday...lots of fun!


This layout is based on an ad challenge. I had received this photo cropped this way and it was my only photo from the event so it was nice to be given a layout where it work.


Finally, this is a scraplift challenge. I scraplifted the corner detail from a layout from the talented Rita.


We are having so much fun and the classes today are to die for gorgeous!!!! My goal is to QUICKLY get all of my errands/chores done this morning so that I can play for a bit later today. I hope that you all will come join us!!!
smiles,
christi

Playing Dress-Up and Taking Time to Create...

Last night was the Air Force ball to celebrate the AF's 59th birthday. It was a lot of fun!!! The 82nd Airborne Chorus came and sang and OMG!!! They were absolutely fantastic. We are talking chills!!! So great!!!

It was a fun evening. I don't dress up like this very often. Actually, I couldn't even tell you the last time that I wore a skirt, but I really loved this dress. What you can't see is the fact that there isn't much of a back to this at all and all the tape underneath those straps to keep this dress on. It was cut on the bias so if it wasn't taped, well then bad things might happen, but DH secured me in well.




In other news, it is time to get Creative!!!! This morning is the start of the Cropper's Cottage Free to Create Cybercrop. We kick everything off at 9:00 this morning and then go for 7 days until 8:00 Saturday night. We have lots of fun things planned. This CREATE banner is my class which will be up at 10:00 this morning.


Here is the schedule for the week:
Sunday, September 17th (all times are EST)
9:00 am… Welcome to the Free to Create Cybercrop…Challenge… Christi Snow
9:00 am… What’s for Dinner?
10:00 am… Class…Signs of Inspiration …Christi Snow
11:00 am… Challenge... Inspire your Creative Muse … Kim Rayas
2:00 pm… Challenge… Freestyle Blueprints … Susie King
4:00 pm… Challenge… Impression Obsession… Linda Peterson
6:00 pm… Class… Freedom of Speech … Rita
8:00 pm… Challenge… Feeling Chippy… Shannon Allor
9:00 pm… Game… Bingo Blast (will have new words every night at 9:00)… Pam Posch
10:00 pm… Challenge…Come, Play with Me… Mou Saha


Monday, September 18th (all times are EST)
8:00 am…Challenge…Journaling with Rita Barrick
9:00 am… What’s for Dinner?
10:00 am… Class… Details & Dreams … Dianne McInrue
11:00 am… Challenge… CREATE … Christi Snow
12:00 pm… Game… So here’s the Story… … Rita Barrick
2:00 pm… Challenge… Photo Party… Dianne McInrue
4:00 pm… Challenge... Purple Passion … Mou Saha
6:00 pm… Class... Creating Art … Pam Posch
7:00 pm…Live Chat…Ana Cabrera from SBA
8:00 pm… Class… Freestyle Fun … Susie King
9:00 pm… Bingo Words
10:00 pm… Challenge… Shaping Success … Linda Peterson


Tuesday, September 19th (all times are EST)
8:00 am…Challenge…Journaling with Rita
9:00 am… What’s for Dinner?
10:00 am… Class… Coming Out of Your Box … Pam Posch
11:00 am… Challenge … Eye Catching Inspiration … Kim Rayas
12:00 pm… Game… Scramble Madness… Carolyn
2:00 pm… Challenge… Making Your Mark … Susie King
4:00 pm… Challenge… The Color Effect … Lisa Simon
6:00 pm… Class… Correspondence Art … Pam Posch
8:00 pm… Game… Guess How Many??... Shannon Allor
9:00 pm… Bingo Words
10:00 pm… Challenge… Terrific Threes … Christi Snow


Wednesday, September 20th (all times are EST)
8:00 am…Challenge…Journaling with Rita
9:00 am… What’s for Dinner?
10:00 am… Class… Old Stash, New Style … Cari Fennell
11:00 am… Challenge…Freestyle Curves… Cari Fennell
12:00 pm… Class… Creating With Color … So You Think You Can Teach Winner… Mary Jo (Acrobat)
2:00 pm… Challenge…All That Glitters Isn’t Gold…Shannon Allor
4:00 pm… Class… A New Shape for Patterned Paper … Susie King
7:00 pm… Live Chat… Leslie Ayers from SBA
8:00 pm… Class… Tag, You’re It! …Linda Peterson
9:00 pm… Bingo Words
10:00 pm… Game… Fake Product Invasion … Carolyn
10:00 pm… Deadline for pre-crop Scraplift Challenge

Thursday, September 21st (all times are EST)
8:00 am…Challenge…Journaling with Rita
9:00 am… What’s for Dinner?
10:00 am… Challenge… Technique Thursday … Christi Snow
11:00 am… Class… Recipe for Success … Marnie Bushmole
12:00 pm… Game… Product Hunt… Carolyn
2:00 pm… Challenge… Layouts Can Be Sew Wonderful… Dianne McInrue
4:00 pm… Challenge…Break a Rule … Mou Saha
6:00 pm… Class… Artsy Altered Albums … Linda Peterson
9:00 pm… Bingo Words
10:00 pm… Challenge…Crossover Creations … Kim Rayas

Friday, September 22nd (all times are EST)
8:00 am…Challenge…Journaling with Rita
9:00 am… What’s for Dinner?
10:00 am… Class… Colors of Friendship … Mou Saha
11:00 am… Challenge… Artistic Muse … Christi Snow
12:00 pm… Game…Finding the Right Word … Linda Peterson
2:00 pm… Challenge… Express Yourself… Christi Snow
4:00 pm… Challenge… Dynamic Doodles … Susie King
6:00 pm… Game… Who’s that Artist?... Carolyn
8:00 pm… Class… Designing Digitally… So You Think You Can Teach Winner…ScrappyGuy (Gary)
9:00 pm… Bingo Words
10:00 pm… Challenge… Patterned Paper Philosophy… Christi Snow

Saturday, September 23rd (all times are EST)
8:00 am…Challenge…Journaling with Rita
9:00 am… What’s for Dinner?
9:00 am… Challenge… Sketchy Solutions … Carolyn
11:00 am…Class… Ana Cabrera from SBA
12:00 pm… Challenge... Stash Be Gone… Shannon Allor
2:00 pm… Class… Ambitious Binders … Lisa Simon
5:00 pm… Final Challenge (timed!!!)… Christi Snow
8:00 pm… Party!

I hope that you can find time to come play with us!
smiles,
christi