Something Old, Something New

Well Hello! I can not believe I haven't blogged since June! Wow! What can I say? Life...it happens.
Today's blog post is a mixed one. Part 1, my post for Crafting By Designs. We have moved to a new home, we have a blog now. It is only a month old. My debut will be on January 9th, but while my guys are out hunting today, I had time to play. You can find the challenge here. My take is a little different. I really do not have digi's. I just don't use them. I did, however, have a ton of hearts I cut out from last year. My mom gave me a new toy for Christmas and I am having a blast with it, a Cuttlebug. I never used embossing folders or anything of the such before. I'm in love...

I used craft card stock for my base, used a a piece of left over Christmas paper from a Recollection stack, a piece of dark brown card stock from my scrap pile and a craft heart I had cut out for something from last year. I ran the brown card stock and the heart through my Cuttlebug. Very simple card, took maybe 5 minutes to make.
Now my sister bought accessories to go with the Cuttlebug, this is the first time I ever did quilling before and quite possible the newest addiction of mine. My flower is the one on the right, it is supposed to look like the one on the left, but....although for it being the first time, it didn't turn out too bad.

Now for Part 2 of this blog post. It is December 31, 2012. New Year's Eve...the last day of the year. Today's mood seems to be a little melancholy. Reflecting back on the past year. There were happy moments, there were sad moments and some moments I would just like to forget. Friendships lost, new friendships made. Friendships that went beyond friendship during the most trying and difficult times. Loved ones were lost, new little ones born. Trips of a lifetime were made and a daughter from another mother moved far, far away.
This Christmas was the first one with the full belief in Santa Claus. I believe I had a harder time with it than my son did. No cookies and milk left out on Christmas Eve. No magic sprinkles thrown in the lawn for Santa to see from his sleigh in the sky. The Santa conversation with my son is one that I will never forget. After Danny realized there was no "Santa", instead of being mad like most kids are, he came over to me and thanked me for making all of his Christmas's so magical and special. As soon as his dad woke up he did the same with him. I couldn't help but shed a few tears over that one.
So as the last hours of 2012 go by reflect on the good, do your best to forgive the bad. Seek the warmth in your heart and try to forgive. Tomorrow is not a given, it is a gift. Be with those you love. Hug them tight and tell them how much they mean to you.
May 2013 bring every one lots of  peace, love, happiness and good health.
Happy New Year!

Cute as a Bug - Crafting by Designs Die Cut Challenge

Wholly Schmooley!!! Last night I rekindled my love affair with my Cricut. I had to dust it off. I created this cute little lady bug for the challenge I am hosting this week. The challenge is to use your Cricut/or any other type of die cut, but it must be a bug. Easy peasy and lots of fun! All paper is DCWV. I thought the plain red base looked a little blah, so I added a little bit of gold and brown rub ons. I roughed up the green paper and the base of the lady bug using sand paper. I like the rough look. The baker's twine is Martha Stewart.
My goodness, I have no idea where the time is going. It is June already! Or as my husband refers to it, "Christmas." Most of my family was born in June. June is a great month. It is perfect, 6 months after Christmas. As a kid, it was time to put away those Christmas toys and get brand new summer toys. As you get older, it goes the same way with clothes.
Another thing that I can not believe is that I have not blogged since April! April!! Really? I thought it had only been a couple of weeks. Something I really have to work on.
Anyway, if you get a chance and feel a little crafty, please join us at Crafting By Designs. We are a small group, but our friendship is huge! We would love to have you. Stop by, join, participate. Learn something new, be inspired or share your creations with us and inspire us.
Have a great day! Drop me a line, let me know you were here. If you like what you see, tell me. If you don't like what you see, tell me.
Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!

Paper Piecing - Crafting By Designs

April? Can you believe it is April already? Sheesh this year is flying right on by.
This week I am the hostess of the Paper Piecing Challenge at Crafting By Designs. I was very excited and a little nervous too, I've never done Paper Piecing before. I must have looked at all of my stamps a hundred times before I found one that I thought I could do. And I DID! I created this card:

Isn't it just the sweetest? I thought of a baby card because spring is the season of baby showers along with bridal showers. The stamp maker is unknown, the card base is from Recollections, most of the paper is DCWV and came from my scrap pin. The lettering is from Webster's Pages and the pearls are also from Recollections.
CBD has 3 wonderful sponsors for the month of April. If you get some time, stop over, check us out and hopefully you can play along. Remember to upload your creations by May 3rd for a chance at winning one of the awesome prizes.
I hope you all have a very Blessed Easter! Thanks for stopping by!

March Leap Year! Extra Challenge!

I was chosen as an extra Guest Designer this month at Crafting By Designs. The challenge I decided on was per a sketch, BUT to use TEA BAG FOLDING. I know Tea Bag Folding has been around forever, but it is new to me. I've always been intimidated by it, but have always been in complete awe of it. I realized it's not so hard after all. Of course practice always helps. My first couple of flowers didn't look quite like flowers at all, but some sort of mis-matched geometric shape.
The sketch I chose was from Mojo Mondays. I love their sketches!  You can find their blog here. The tutorial to learn how to make this flower from circles is right here.
Here is the sketch:

And here is my card:

Papers used for this card are from:  DCWV, Martha Stewart and unknown card stock.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great night!

It's a Great Day for Hockey and playing with paper!

 Hello~

It's Sunday night. My least favorite night of the week. Why? Because when I go to bed tonight, I know when I wake up in the morning I have to get ready for work (sigh) ... 

I wanted to play with paper, but didn't want to make a card, I didn't want to scrap. I wanted to play with paper and make flowers. I've been on such a flower kick lately. I'm trying to create more with handmade items, not die cuts, something I can actually create from scratch, basically.

A few weeks ago in the Dollar store, I bought a pack of clothes pins, not sure why. I have a gazillion, (at least), sitting in an coffee can somewhere. So as I was sitting at my desk in my messy, scrappy corner, creating flowers to my hearts content, I remembered the clothes pins and this is what I came up with:

I also had to find my roll of magnetic tape, which was buried
in the back of the junk drawer. I'm talking way back!

And since I was creating these flowers, I decided to create a different one too. I had a few paperclips sitting on my desk and decided to use them. I came up with these little bookmarks.

Aren't the bookmarks and the magnetic clips the cutest? They didn't take all that much time to make and would be perfect little gifts to give those special someones.

ALSO! A rare 7:00 hockey game tonight. The Pens won!!! YAY! Beat the Devils!! YAY!!! My boyfriend, Sidney Crosby, (in my head he is - lol), is back and on fire. By beating the Devils tonight, we are only 1 point behind the Rangers for play-offs. I love play off hockey!

Well, it is late, and 5:45 comes around pretty quick.

Drop me a line, let me know you were here. I love reading the comments left by all of you.

Have a great night!

~Hugs~

Cricut/Die Cut Challenge - Crafting By Designs

Hello Everyone!!
First off, I would just like to thank all of you lovely ladies for leaving wonderful comments on CBD's Blog Hop. Also, thank you so much for becoming a follower. If you stop in, let me know, say hello. See something you like, let me know, see something you don't, let me know : )
I am the lead on the Cricut/Die Cut Challenge this week and the theme is flowers. Spring is in full bloom. How can you not possibly create something with flowers?

My paper for the card is a combination from DCWV and
My Mind's Eye. I've been trying to use up the paper
from my scrap pile. I cut the flower image using my
Cricut Expression. I used the Create a Critter Cartridge,
the Fawn cut and used the accessory option. I cut it at 3".

I also had a little bit of time to play with paper for a couple of other challenges. This week at Cub Scouts, the younger dens were making cards for the residents at a senior living home. I helped them and in the meantime created a Spring Card for Tammy's Challenge.

And the lovely Beth Pollock was our Guest Designer for our Year in Cards series. She knocked it out of the park! Please stop by and check out her beautiful creation, you can find it here. This is what I came up with:

Please come visit us at Crafting By Designs. We have some fantastic challenges going on for the month of March. And we have some awesome prizes too.

Again - thank you for making the first ever CBD Blog Hop a HUGE Success!!!

Winner of the Birds & Blooms Blog Hop Candy

Drum roll please...................

Random.Org picked the lucky #5!!!!

Gwen!!! Gwen you are the winner of my blog hop candy!!  CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

Please email me your mailing information to:  shareeduff@aol.com
or send me a message through CBD
In the message/subject line, please type "Blog Hop Winner."

Thank you for your sweet comment and becoming a follower of my blog.

The Outlawz - Paper ala Mode - Go Green

Hello ~
I've been a little busy and haven't played with paper much over the past week...I miss it. Well when checking on the challenges going on over at The Outlawz, Saturday's Paper ala Mode just jumped out at me. Go Green. Create something by using a recycled item and use a touch of green.
My niece Lauren who is a junior in college has been accepted into the program that will allow her to student teach in Ireland! My little Princess Lauren is going to Ireland! We are so very proud of her. She will be there for 6 to 8 weeks in the fall, only to return and graduate in a few days, a semester early I might add.
I wanted to make her something for her trip. I had been saving this cardboard canister that held Christmas candy. My husband wanted to throw it away months ago, but I wouldn't let him. I knew someday I would have the perfect use for it. Yesterday, I did.
I made this little bank to give to Lauren on Easter. I will fill it with some Leprechaun Loot to get her started. I thought that she could save her change and have a little extra cash for her trip. For her 21st birthday in May, I am going to make her an Ireland Memory Box from a recycled Cigar Box. (I love cigar boxes!)

Please let me know you were here. I love reading your comments, I appreciate them so much.
As always thanks for stopping by and have a great night!

Wings & Blooms Blog Hop

Hi There! Welcome to the very first ever Crafting By Designs Wings & Blooms Blog Hop! We are all so happy that you are able to join us and can not wait for you to HOP into the fun.
Starting off our Hop is the multi-talented, founder of CBD, Doris. If at any time you get lost along the way, visit Doris at Mom's Been Scrappin and you will find the complete list there. You can also visit the Blog Hop posting at Crafting By Designs to get back on the right track.
Since you have found me, you surely came from Julia Vazquez at Papers & Scraps Creations. My goodness is Julia talented or what? You never know what you are going to find, but one thing for sure, you will never be disappointed.
Our theme is Wings & Blooms. Create projects with wings, anything with wings and blooms, anything with blooms. The weather is getting warmer, birds are singing, flowers are blooming....ahhhh the wonderful sights and sounds of spring. I used a combination of Wings and Blooms on my projects.

These cards were so fun to make. I recycled most of the
supplies. The paper came from my scrap bin. And the flower?
Guess what the flower is made from? I'll keep you guessing
a little bit longer....

The flower is made from recycled plain white cupcake liners!
I use 5 to make each flower. One for the base, then 4 to fold and
adhere to the base. I slightly colored them with my Marvey's first,
then sprayed them with water. I flattened them out on a towel
and let them dry. How cool is that?

0

I am in love with these little packets. A few years ago I made tons
of these and gave them out as favors to all of the Mom's at the
Cub Scout Blue and Gold Banquet. I forgot all about them. So when the
details for the hop were finalized, I was racking my brain trying to figure out
something unique to come up with. What else could be better than these
little seed packets?
I cut out the packs at 10-1/2" using my Cricut and the
Tags, Bags, Boxes and More Cartridge. You can fit 2 on a
12 x 12" sheet of paper. The flowers are by Prima and the
die-cut/embellies are from K & Co.

Don't these just sing spring?

Now from my blog, you are going to visit Chrissie Tobas at Harvestmoon Papiere. Chrissie's creations are stunning! She makes the most beautiful mini-albums. There are a few more things for you before you hop over to Chrissie.
Please hop into the fun and share your creations with us. Please post them under the Blog Hop Section at Crafting By Designs. We are a small, friendly, crafty community and would love for you and your friends to join us. Leave a comment on my blog with your email address and also leave a comment with your email at CBD for a chance at winning an awesome prize package! That's right, awesome PRIZE PACKAGE! All comments and projects must be posted NO LATER THAN 11:59 p.m. Monday, March 19th. Doris will use Random.Org to choose a winner on Tuesday March 20th.

Also, for the first time ever, I am offering the chance to win a little Blog Candy:

For a chance at winning, you must become a follower of my blog, leave me a comment and tell me you are a follower. I will announce the winner of my Blog Candy on Wednesday, March 21st after 4:00 p.m.
Thank you so much for stopping by. Enjoy the Hop!

Flower Power

Quick blogging before bed. If I don't do it now, I'll forget to do it tomorrow.
I had the lead on A Year in Cards at Crafting By Design, I used a sketch from Mojo Monday and created a St. Patrick's Day Card.

I also entered this at the Outlawz under the Greeting Card Challenge.
Tonight I was wearing my cranky pants, had very little spare time, but was able teach myself how to paper fold and came up with this:

Not quite perfection, but very happy with the first time result. I entered this one at the Outlawz under Clean & Simple.
I was a little overly excited about the Blog Hop at Crafting By Designs. I was ready to hop a little too soon. The correct date of the hop is March 16th. A fun filled weekend. Please join in with us. Become a member, leave a comment, play along.
I will have a little blog candy up for grabs the weekend of the hop. In order for a chance to win you must become a follower of my blog and leave a comment. I will choose one winner at random.
Have a great night and thanks for stopping by!

Use your Favorite Paper - CBD March 2

Hello ~
This week at Crafting By Designs I was lead on a new Challenge for the month of March. The challenge is to use your favorite paper. I love paper! I love the way it smells, I love the way it feels. I just love paper. Choosing a favorite patterned paper is hard! I'm a paper hoarder! Honestly I should by 2 of every piece of paper or paper stack I come across. One to use, the other to keep and just look at over and over again. Although with me there is no doubt about it, POLKA DOTS are my favorite. They make me happy. I love, love, love Polka Dots. When deciding what to create and what paper to use I discovered my polka dot stash is dwindling. I'm going to have to do something about it. For the challenge I created a 2 page layout. And here is what I came up with:

Although the reason as to why Danny was so emotional that day has long been forgotten, I knew at the time that this was a perfect scrapping moment. I kept snapping pics and Danny kept getting madder and madder to the point of tears. Complete torment on my part, yes I know, bad Mommy.

I also created 3 more bookmarks from Granny's sewing box. I made one for each of my nieces. Now I have to decide which niece gets which one. A small gesture, but something to treasure. Something that their Granny had once used, saved for a special reason, something that was touched by her hands.

And lastly before I go, Wednesday I will be posting the Challenge - A year in Cards. I'm going with a sketch and a St. Patrick's Day theme. This coming weekend, starting on Friday, Crafting By Designs will be having their first ever BLOG HOP! We are hopping right into spring with the theme of Flowers and Things with Wings. The ladies over there are so talented and I know you won't be disappointed. Please join us. Join CBD, play along with us. Hop to the blogs and along the way there will be chances at winning some awesome prizes. I'm going to be giving away blog candy, stop back towards the end of the week for a peek. To be able to win, become a follower of my blog, leave a comment and comment at CBD.
Here is a sneak peek at one of my projects:

Stop back at the end of the week to see the rest.
Have a great night! Thanks for stopping by.

In Loving Memory

February 23rd will never be forgotten. First off, it is the day that we buried my dad in 2003. Second of all, it is the day my mother-n-law passed away. I was sitting down at my scrappy desk when the phone call came, it was  a little after 6:00, my husband's brother, telling me that their mom isn't going to make it through the night. My husband was sleeping and I had to wake him up to tell him. I had a few moments at my desk, pulled myself together and woke him up. The next couple of hours were a little bit of blur, rambling, discussing things, Dan getting ready to go to the hospital. He left around 8:00, we just told Danny that he had to go into work early. Dan called me a little after 9:00, he couldn't speak and I knew. He missed seeing his mom by 10 minutes, then the what ifs began. We decided to keep Danny home from school on Friday and we would tell him together. We both pulled ourselves together the best that we could and told Danny that his Granny had passed. This is the first close death Danny has ever experienced. Danny did wonderfully on Sunday and Monday. He had his moments as all of us did. He wrote his Granny the most beautiful letter and laid it on top of her. When he said his final goodbyes, he held her hand as he wept. WOW! What a kid, something that I could never do.
My mother-n-law had 8 children, her oldest son, Buddy, passed away when he was young. She raised 7 kids. 5 boys and 2 girls. Not an easy task from some of the stories I've heard over the years. I met Renee in 1993. The year that Dan and I started dating. Her and her husband had moved to Florida and would stay in our driveway in their camper during the summer. Those summers were enjoyable. I enjoyed sitting outside talking to her and Bud. Renee and I would sit at the picnic table long after dark and just chat, the two of us, the guys would give up and go inside.
The only thing in life she ever wanted to be was a wife and a mom. She excelled at both. Renee had a love for life like no one I have ever known. Nothing gave her more pleasure than to see all of her kids and grand kids together. She loved her children, but loved her grandchildren even more.
Never keep words unspoken. I did. Renee was a fantastic mother-n-law, never interfered. At times the normal mother-n-law things would come up, but they never were a big deal. Renee would always thank me. She thanked me for filling a hole in her son's heart, for making a difference in his life. She thanked me for Danny. Her beautiful grandson. But you see, I never got to thank her. As I said my last goodbye, I thanked her for my guys. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have them. And they are my world.
Danny will improve over time. The nights are hard for him. I printed this picture for him and he has it above his pillow. He turns on a little battery operated tea light candle and keeps it in front of the photo.

Last night I felt out of sorts. Trying to get back to the every day schedule. Reflecting back on moments in my memory bank. One of the challenges at Crafting By Designs was to create a project by refurbishing items. Years ago, Renee gave me her sewing box. I cringed, I can't sew. Sewing a button puts me over the edge. I went downstairs and opened her sewing box. I looked at everything. I chose a few items and went to work. I cut the base from a piece of heavy, heavy card stock. I have about 100 sheets that I've been saving. I then covered with a piece of paper from a sewing pattern that she had saved. The buttons came from her little button container and I cut apart the packaging of a Talon Zipper. The zipper only cost .10 cents at the time! I cut the Talon label from the packaging.The lace came from her envelope of odds & ends pieces.  The flowers, pearls and fiber are from my own stash. I know if my mother-n-law were here, she would have loved it.

Sunday, Sunday

Ahhh, it's Sunday {Big Sigh} If there would be a day in the year that I could skip, it would be February 19th. Today is the 9 year anniversary of my dad's passing. I miss him so much. At times I forget he's not here, I want to tell him something, then I remember. It is really hard with Danny and trying to explain. He's young and doesn't understand, but I'm an adult and I don't understand. My dad was taken way too young. Danny was only 18 months when he passed. Danny didn't get a chance to know his Pap. The memories he holds are only those of the ones I've told him over the years....  O.k., time to move on.
For Valentine's Day, I created this for Danny to use as his Valentine Box. He really liked it, but being the age that he is, he was a little embarrassed to take it on the bus with him, so I ended up driving him to school. The kids in his classroom just looked at it and said, "Spongebob? Really?" I'm 43 and I love Spongebob! I've come to realize that there are a lot of kids out there in this world that I just do not like. The way they act and speak? Really? Do their parents not teach them manners? Respect of others?

I think Spongebob is A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E!

The following pics are from a few more challenges. (I am so horrible at keeping my blog up to date! I really have to work on that!)

Over at the fantabulous Crafting By Designs, the wonderful Design Team has come up with these:

JUST ONE LAYER - Just like it says, one layer, no layers and layers, just one....embellies are allowed. I stuck to just one layer.

I dug out my light box and my stencils. Then I colored with
chalk. I'm not happy with the colors - a little too green,
but that is something I am going to work on.

I also made this one and changed the sentiment.
I like it with just the plain white embossing too. This
challenge was brought to us by the ever so talented Rene.

Now we have the Year In Cards Challenge,
One Versatile Sketch.
The lovely Cindy provided the sketch.

And this is what I came up with:

Getting Ready for Christmas:  (I'm so happy we are doing this twice a month! I will not be stressing about getting my cards made this year!)

Our ever so talented, wonderful creator of CBD and the
one that challenges me the most, Doris, came up
with this one.

Time for a little catch up

I am so sorry for neglecting my blog for a week. Life got a way with me. A little busy and trying to limit computer time since the hubster isn't very fond of the time I spend on it.
Being on the Design Team at craftingbydesigns.ning.com is a lot of fun. The ladies over there are truly wonderful. Sometimes I feel as though I'm not as talented, but like my niece said to me, "Aunt Sher, every one has their own style. Your things are awesome." The encouragement was much appreciated.
I was lead on the February Week 1, Use your stamps challenge. The challenge was to create using heart stamps,   Tracy from the Stamping Boutique is graciously sponsoring a prize this month and asked if the DT would use one of her digis for a challenge. I used a cute little guy, his name is Trenton.

Isn't he adorable? I don't have Copic Markers, so I used chalks. I think he turned out really cute. The paper is from a DCWV stack and I'm not sure of the maker of the sentiment.

I also entered a couple of challenges over at the Outlawz. Don't really think my Nightmare Before Christmas Valentines went over too well, but I think they are cute and those that are going to receive them will think they are cute and that is all that really matters. I went outside of the box on creating and I like it. I'm going to try it a little more often.

How can you not love Jack from Nightmare before Christmas? One of Tim Burton's finest films.
I also entered this one at the Outlawz under the Twisted Thursday Valentine/Love Challenge:

I think that is all the catching up I have for now. Time to get dinner in the oven and start priming Danny for his homework.
I would love to hear from you, please leave a comment (I really do love reading them) to let me know you stopped by. Do something crazy....become a follower! I will possibly be participating in a blog hop at the end of March and just might have some yummy blog candy up for grabs, but you have to be a follower for a chance at winning.

More Me Time

Although my husband doesn't understand my whole need for paper, I am so thankful I get to play with it. Things have been crazy around here. Germs, germs and more germs. Started a week ago with Danny. He seemed to bounce back after Sunday. Wednesday morning, my husband comes home from work with it. Seemed to be fine Friday until the evening....it is back or never went away and is now striking with a vengeance! Danny's is starting back up again. And now me.....I am opposite on their germ spectrum. I am stuffy, major sore throat, stomach hurts on and off. Coughing....aching....I got a flu shot this year.
I had to escape the past couple of days, down to my corner in the basement. I worked on my challenge lead for CBD, I'm glad I got that finished just in case I'm not feeling quite up to par the next few days. I created for CBD's week 4 challenges and was also able to create a few for the Outlawz. I also made a lay out just because.

The Outlawz - CAS - Melting Pot
Create using at least 4 items and still keep it CAS

The Outlawz - Twisted Thursday
Anything Goes with a hint of red

Crafting By Designs - January Week 4 Guest Designer
The talented Gwen chose a CAS Sketch.

Just because - my baby 8 years ago. I am so far behind on scrapping!

Crafting By Designs - Get Ready for Christmas - Guest Designer
Again, the very talented Gwen was the Guest Designer
And another awesome sketch she chose.

The Outlawz - Wednesday's Sketch

The Outlawz - Paper ala Mode
SNOW
Stitching - Real or Faux, New stamp
Oval and White space

I also see I have a couple new followers - thank you! I hope to build up my following. I love sharing my creations with you.
Thanks for stopping by! Have a great night!

Bitten by the Bug 2 Flower Challenge and a few others...

After being crazy busy at work and trying to get my house in order after my son came home from school with a stomach virus at the end of last week AND my husband coming home from work with it this morning, I really needed some paper and me time.
I haven't participated in a BBTB2 challenge for a while. This week's challenge was to use a 6 petal flower cut and layer it on. I'm not exactly thrilled with what I made, but I was playing with paper and it made me happy.

I also made a couple of cards for a couple of the challenges over at the Outlawz. I haven't entered any thing over there for quite some time. I miss my crafty ladies over there.

Monday Greeting Card Challenge
The Outlawz just had a birthday and this week's challenge was
to create a western themed birthday card.

The Outlawz - CAS Sunday
Create a CAS card with something new or something that you
had stashed away and never used. I found these b-day embellishments
when I cleaned and organized my messy scrappy area a couple of weeks ago.

The Outlawz - Paper ala Mode
Create a CAS Valentine

It's late and that 5:30 a.m. alarm goes off too quick. Don't forget to check out all of the awesomeness over at Crafting by Designs. We may be small, but our friendships and talents are huge!

Have a great night!