Christmas Scrapping...

Ive been playing with My Digital Studio... I havn't really played with it (other than a couple of hours) since I bought it... BOY! do I wish I had used it more?!! In the space of 2 hours Ive finished about 7 pages. Im only doing 8x8" scrapbook pages because I can print them off at home but am finding I like this smaller size. For those of you starting with scrapbooking you should try the smaller 8x8", 6x6" or even the A4. Its not as intimidating as the larger 12x12" page which I still find hard to fill.

The kids actually cooperated on Christmas Day and posed for some really nice pictures in front of our tree.. I think I bribed them with more presents and Cadbury's Chocolate!
Anyway heres some more photos from Christmas...

Grandma & the Monsters.
Those of you who know your SU! Will be wondering what the colour is in the blue scallop square and the date... Well, its not a SU colour. Theres a nifty little button called "Colour Match" and you can select a portion of your photo to use as your colour. I chose Abbis sweater as I thought it was such a dominant colour in the picture I needed another 'pop' somewhere to balance it. Clever huh?

As you can see I kept the basic layouts really very simple. With these last two I ended up with the same layout for both and just highlighted the faces with a little frame over the top of the photo. I love how you can do this with the software, and you can also change the opacity (strength of colour) in your shapes so it looks transparant like vellum.

Well thats it for today. Back soon!!

Enjoy
TTFN

C xx

Randomness...

A few Random photos from our first Christmas in Texas...

An elf broke into my kitchen and made mince pies, and cherry pies, and bluberry pies! Yep! He made waaaay too much pastry!


The results of the excessive pastry making. An incredible feat of engineering... An Exploding Mince Pie!!! Dont ask me how... I have no clue!


For about an hour on Christmas Eve we thought we would have a white Christmas! Yes! We had more snow!!! The day before it was 75f, but in the evening it dropped about 40f in 1/2 hour (!) and was freezing overnight with high winds, hail and thunderstorms. Next morning we woke to blowing snow... It didnt stick though... No white Christmas here. For all of you in the UK who got gobs and gobs of the stuff, be grateful! Dontcha love Abbis face... 'Hurry up and take the picture already... its COLD'...

I bought a Gingerbread House Kit this year. The plan was to just stick it together and let the kids go for it. Well, said kids got bored waiting for the 'glue' to set and decided to watch TV instead. One came back every now and again, looked at the box and demanded I make it look like the photo! Ha ha ha ha ha! Heres MY effort... sad.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday, filled with fun, family and laughter. I should be back in a couple of days with a fun post... Im planning to do a top 10 favourite post of the year. Hopefully...

TTFN,
C xx

Merry Christmas

A festive photo of our Christmas Tree... With Best Wishes and Love for the holidays.

I will be back after Christmas with more updates...

TTFN
Carolynne xx

Holiday Baking...

I know you are all wondering whats happening here.... Well, not a lot of crafting I can tell ya!

Why do we feel the need at this time of year to suddenly spring into 'Suzy Homemaker' mode and start making things from scratch? I must admit that I make alot of these sugary, buttery goodies as teacher gifts but somehow this year I still have about 6 bags left over!!!

And this is whats inside...

Yummy homemade Vanilla and Pecan Fudge, made with the pecans from the tree in our yard!

This is Holiday Bark. Really simple, I just melt some dark chocolate and some white chocolate in separate bowls. Crush up some Christmassy Mints and stir 1/2 into each of the chocolates. Drop blobs of the choccy onto some wax paper, lightly mix the 2 choccies together and smooth out then pop in the fridge to set. Break it apart and pop into bags. Super Simple!

Now this last photo is in tribute to my fellow Military Wives... Out here at the base every christmas the students all go home. Its called Exodus. Now the lovely wives like to send all the single boys and girls home with a little bag filled with homemade treats and cookies. Some good friends of mine had about 200 baggies to organise and needed a silly number of dozen cookies to fill them. This is my small offering... only 4 dozen, but I hope it helped a little. I know the boys and girls were really thankful, I think they went away with about 5 cookies in each bag along with some other bits n pieces...

You girls are superstars!

I will be back with more holiday photos soon. The kids & I have made a Gingerbread House! ARGH!!!!!!

Enjoy,
TTFN

C xx

My favourite link from last Christmas...

** BEFORE YOU WATCH THIS VIDEO - SCROLL DOWN THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE AND TURN OFF THE MUSIC FROM MY PLAYLIST **

Amazing Grace 2008 - Holdman Christmas Display from Richard Holdman on Vimeo.

Still my favourite this year! There are lots of songs with different light combinations, visit the website to see more and to make a donation to the Make A Wish foundation...

Enjoy...

C xx

Promised Projects

So heres the projects I made this week... The first one was for Abbis class. They all had to take in their Christmas Stocking and enough little treats for each child. On Friday the class will have a little party and look in their stockings which should be filled with 17 goodies from their classmates...


As money is tight I must admit we visited the Dollar store... BUT we found these fab marshmallow candy cane thingys! And of course me being me(!) I HAD to decorate them...


Very simple... I punched the green with my curly label punch, stamped the greeting and the little star. I used my Crop-o-Dile and SU silver eyelets then threaded some silver cord in a loop so they could be hung on the Christmas Tree! Makes something out of nothing really! Im told I do that alot...

The next project is a cute little box (Which gave me a huge headache due to its size - 4X4X4" and me only having A4 paper...Hmmmmmm!). Anyways I went to a Christmas dinner with some of the girlies from my craft club (Thanks Karen & the girls it was a blast!) and we did an ornament exchange. My ornament didnt come in a box so I made one...


I thought that putting a window in the box would be a good idea and then took it a step further and extended the window to the front aswell.


Kraft carstock, white craft ink and some stickles glitter finished the project. If you make a box like this please remember to decorate before you assemble... Ask me how I know...?!

Please enjoy... If I remember I will take photos of the foodie projects Ive been working on too!

TTFN

C xx

Away with the Christmas Faries!

Apologies for the absence (it make the heart grow fonder you know!) The usual pre-Christmas hysteria has well and truly set in. The kids are off school as of friday so we are running around like loons trying to get everything done before then. Plus you have gifts and wrapping and cards and boxes and posting to the UK and other distant parts of the USA, plus last week of school/dance presents and festivities.

To top it all off I have developed a nervous twitch in my left eye!!! Looks like Im winking at you. The trash man at Walmart was giving me strange looks yesterday so I smiled at him (you know Christmas Spirit N all that!). Then I realised he thought I was winking at him... OMG!!! Aim High thats what I say!!!

I do actually have a couple of projects, a box for an Ornament Exchange with my craft group and my Daughters presents for her class... AND today Im making fudge... GALLLONS of the stuff! Teacher gifts etc... I might even take some photos of that if all goes well!

I will post tomorrow I promise... Dont desert me!

TTFN

C xx

Nutcracker Gifts

Ok, so Ive probably bored you already with The Nutcracker Ballet but I have gotten something crafty out of it too! I wanted to show you the gifts we made for all her co-dancers in the production...
This is the gorgeous outfit for the Gingerbread boys and girls...


And heres the gifts they will be getting today from Abbi.



Just a little baggie with some sweeties inside but I managed to use my punches and make a Gingerbread Girl that looks like Abs! The boys gift tags are mounted on blue, the girls on pink.

Next, heres the outfit for the Mice...


And heres the gifts!


I found some pink and silver organza bags in my stash and used those this time (same sweeties) and again used my punches to devise a mousie (I have seen something similar online but cannot find it again to give credit... if it was you - thanks!) I added the pink hands coz the girls wear little pink glove... Too Cute!


Its been really hard work this week between late night rehearsals and long nights performing... Last show today and its a matinee so by 4.30pm everyone can collapse in a heap and congratulate themselves on a job well done. The show is amazing! The girls (and boys) have done themselves proud and I look forward to next year... (do I, really?)

All cardstock is SU! Too many colours to mention. Anyone like a tutorial? Let me know and I might just come up with one!

TTFN

C xx

Christmas Star...

I was invited into my son's middle school today to see all the Christmas Trees he has decorated this last week... I must say I was impressed! The little 'grotto' area in the entry-way is really sweet and I was told that the little kids from the after school club run up to it every day for a good look... Well this tree needed a star so I made one for him...

This is a better look...


Theres alot of instructions around in blog-land on how to do this star but I got mine from the lovely Abi. Great instructions and easy to follow... Only thing I added was a star punch in the middle... This is 2 layers with the bottom layer punched with 2 small holes and some elastic cord threaded through. The 2 stars are glued together and I added gobs and gobs of red glitter to the top. The star is just tied around the centre and the ends of the cord are used to tie the star to the top of the tree.



I used some spare papers from the SU!- I wish Scrappin Kit from last year! For those that remember... Its the same one I used for my Craft Class! Nearly all gone now!!!

Enjoy..

TTFN

C xx

Snow in Texas...? Surely not?

Yep! It happened!!!

If you are on my facebook friends list, check out some really cute photos from Abs Dress Rehearsal...
Might be another post later - I made the star and it now sits proudly on the tree at Lewis' school...


TTFN

C xx

We have Mice!

First dress rehearsal for Abbis Ballet Show last night and the costumes are so stinkin' cute!


This is her mouse costume for Act I... The Gingerbread costume for Act II is even cuter! I didnt get a photo of that yet, will try tonight. I actually took some really nice group photos and a video of the rehearsal but out of respect for the other families wont post them here...

Final Dress Rehearsal tonight with full make-up and the professional dancers from New York will be here too! Exciting!

Sorry theres not been much crafting this week as things are pretty hectic, rehearsals every night till late, trying to make sure both kids are fed before practice, homework done... Things will be back to normal next week...

I do plan to make a Christmas Star today for one of Lewis' teachers. He has been the head Christmas Tree decorator at his school and decorated the trees for classrooms. One however is missing something for the top soooo... Come back to see what I come up with!

Back soon...

TTFN

C xx

By the way, the music you should be hearing is the music for the Gingerbread Dance!

SWU Challenge

Dontcha love the holidays....?

Well after giving up on the post Thanksgiving sales today (Not a great idea with a 13 yr old and a 9yr old in tow...!) I find that I have some spare time! The turkey hot-pot is in the slow cooker and the kids are plonked in front of yet another movie, happy with Pecan-chocolate-chunk bars and rice crispies treats (With CARAMEL marshmallows... Yum!) filling their never full bellies... So whats a girl to do? CRAFT!


This is a card I made for the SWU challenge this week... It was to use 1 Stamp, 2 Patterned Papers, and 3 brads.


My effort is nice and simple, easy to reproduce for all those thank you cards we will be needing after Christmas!. I stamped the main greeting onto cardstock and coloured the edges by swiping with a SU! Marker. Mat and layer and pop up on some dimensionals to give some height. The strip on the left is just scored and folded, then glued down for some texture.


Love the sentiment on this stamp. When you use pretty papers you really dont need to over-embellish a card.

Recipe All Stampin' Up!
Card: Kraft, Very Vanilla, Old Olive, So Saffron
Stamp: Simply Thanks
Ink: Always Artichoke Marker.
Papers: Brocade Backgrounds (Retired SU!)
Brads: SU!

Hope you enjoy!
Im off to fight for the last rice-crispy treat!

TTFN

C xx

Twelve Blogs Of Christmas...

Im really excited about this event... Over on ILWS we have organised a Christmas blog hop... Each of us in the hop have created some amazing Christmas Projects and shared them on our blogs. Each blog will have the '12 Blogs of Christmas' emblem which you just click on to take you to the next faberoonie stop on your travels where you will see more gorgeous projects. If you click the links on each blog (unfortunately due to illness there are only 11 blogs this time...Shhh dont tell!) eventually you will come full circle back to where you started, (Bit like the M25!) and your brain will be ready to explode with all the fabulousness you have just seen! Ha ha!

For those who have joined us from Debbi's Blog... WELCOME! Hope you are enjoying the inspiration...

So heres my little efforts...

Project 1.

Its all in the packaging!
Money is tight for us all this year so make the most of what you have... I found the templates (Anna Griffin) for the pillow box and the flowers hidden in my stash and decided to give it a go! Im lurving these!...


All made with Stampin' Up! (Bella Bleu) papers and cardstock (coz Ive got LOADS!!!) The bow is different but really easy. I tied 2 regular bows from ribbon, overlaid one across the other and tied with some silver elasic cord. I added some snowflake buttons from my stash and Ho Ho Ho!! There you go!


Just add some glitter and you are bling-i-licious baby!

Project 2.

My Christmas Survival Kit! How many times have you run out of cards 2 days before Christmas...? Lots! This box has 3 Christmas Cards and envelopes, 12 tags and of course CHOCOLATE!


This one is actually going to be a gift for someone (gosh I hope they dont read my blog!). Ive seen alot of these little boxes online recently so decided to try one for myself.. It was suprisingly easy! I simply measured the envelopes, chocolate and tags and after some sketching and some maths I had a box!

THANK YOU FOR JOINING US ON OUR BLOG TOUR... Your next stop on the tour will be lovely Jo who has a wicked sense of humour and makes some amazing things! Love ya Jo... CLICK HERE to be magically whizzed to her blog... (or click on the icon on the right.)

Please, please, please leave me some comments. Its always good to get some feedback and hear what people want to see from you! (Or not see as the case may be!)

Happy Hopping!

C xx

PS. I had so many people wanting to join in the hop that we made 2 groups... Click Here to jump to the other 12 days of Christmas Tour!.

Happy Thanksgiving

Just wanted to pop in and say a big Happy Thanksgiving to all me followers... Take some time today to think about all that you have to be thankful for. Health, family, friends, home.... I am thankful that Matt is actually here this year (although working nights and currently sleeping...!)

Spare a thought today for those who are not able to be with loved ones, those who are ill, friendless or homeless. Appreciate what you have.

Back over the weekend... Hitting the sales tomorrow, with 2 kids and grandma! OH FUN!

TTFN

C xx

Im Excited dot Com!

See the brand new pretty box on the right hand side...? Hmmmm what could that be..? Come visit over the weekend and you will have a fabulous time!

I and a few of my friends have got together for the '12 Blogs of Christmas' tour. We will be featuring 2 Christmas themed projects each and some people may offer some prizes and blog candy too! You can join the tour wherever you like but if you keep going you will come full circle - back to me! A bit like the M25 but without the roadworks!

The point? To provide you with some Christmas Cheer and share inspiration and ideas for the coming season and meet some new friends...

Come back over the weekend and see what we have made...!

C xx

Out of action.

Been felled by a nasty virus the last few days so no crafting. Trying desperately not to breathe on the Children so they dont get it... fingers crossed. Anyway Next week I will share with you all something Im really excited about. I hope it all works properly as Its my 'baby'... oooo, the pressure!

Stay tuned....!

C xx

Couple photos from the Parade...

Abbi is tired from rehearsals and after effects of the Flu Shot so we are going to veg out in front of the TV and watch girlie movies... Lewis is on his laptop and Matt is snoring away coz he's on nights...

Laters...

C xx

Santa's Doin the Hula!

Over on InLoveWithStamping this weekend we are having some Cinderella Effect Challenges... The reason being that those who were unable to go to the SU! Convention in Germany were feeling a little sad... So, swish and flick, behold! You shall go to the ball!

Well, Rachel gave us a great challenge yesterday, to make a modern Christmas Card. Modern image, modern colours, modern layout... She had one proviso, no Santas doin the Hula... Soooooooo...

Just for you Rachel!

YOU KNOW ME! How could I resist a challenge like that?
Well, it had to be done didnt it? Recipe to follow later...

Just got back from the Veterans Day Parade in town and it was great! So encouraging to see all the support for the military in this town... I have pictures to share but it will be a little while before I can edit them...

Bye for now,

C xx

Say a Prayer Please.

Please say a prayer today for those in Ft Hood, Texas who are injured or have loved ones who are affected by the diabolical act that one man did yesterday.

We are not far from Ft Hood which is near Abilene, about 2 hours away. Luckily we dont know anyone posted there who was involved but I find the whole thing sickening. As a Military Wife (Notice the Capital letters... It is a JOB!) I have supported my husband in his chosen career and ALL the enlisted boys & girls know that deploying is part of the job. Whether they like it or not. When its your turn, its your turn. You suck it up and deal with it.

NEVER in a milllion years would anyone have thought that this act could happen. On-base has always been thought of as a safe place, with no threat of violence from outside influences. NEVER in a million years would anyone have thought that murder and mayhem would be inflicted on innocents by one of our own.

Thats all for today. Shocked, horrified, apalled, puzzled.

TOmorrow is Veterans Day in the USA. Think on.

C xx

Happy Birthday Matt!

Today my old man is officially an 'OLD MAN'! for the next 25 days we are the same age, and boy do I give him schtick for it! Then after I turn a year older again he gives me schtick for the next 11 months... Fair huh?

I used this weeks MojoMonday layout for his card and got some inspiration from an old flannel shirt he used to wear ALL THE TIME when we first met.



So heres the card...


I love the way the background turned out! I just used some red and black card stock cut into 1" squares and lightly sponged some Grey ink on a few of the red squares to get the different tone...


The stamped image of the man has considerably more hair than Matt but I can dream!

Ill be back later with the details... I hear a-stirring from the bedroom and he hasnt opened this card yet... Shhhhhh!

C xx

Ok, I think were safe... The bear just grumbled and rolled over!

Recipe.
Stamps: Cheers to you from SU!, My Guy Ian from The Greeting Farm
Cardstock: All SU!. Basic Grey, Very Vanilla, Rose Red(!), Basic Black, Kraft.
Ink: StazOn Black. All others SU! Black, grey, image coloured with Markers and blender pens.
Buttons from stash.

Couple of the details Im lovin are the black brads... Theyre not brads! I couldnt find any black ones so I used my crop-o-dile and punched out some circles. I glued these down and added some highlights with a white gel pen. Did you notice the buttons are all 'threaded' well, thats not real thread either. I just cut a really thin strip of card and threaded through the holes... Cool huh? I saw this recently on somebodys blog, but for the life of me I cant remember who... Thanks whoever it was... coool tip!

We will be in and out most of the day today... I havnt bought gimpy anything yet coz the answer to the 'what do you want for your birthday' question was 'Uh Dunno'! We will be spending a few hours in Hastings I think! Then out for a family dinner tonight and who knows I might even have a spare 5 minutes to bake and decorate a birthday cake along the way...!

Enjoy...

C xx

Crafting today...

I WILL be crafting at some point today honest! I have a little shopping to do as its hubs birthday tomorrow and I have to make a card for him at some point today! What...? Me...? always leave it till the last minute...? Nah! Im planning a little something based around this horrible red check shirt he has had since before we met, kinda an inside joke... I will take piccies and let you have a peek.

Come on back y'all!
(d'ya like the texas drawl Ive picked up...?)

TTFN

C xx

Happy Halloween!

Ive not had time to do anything crafty this week so Im showing a project I worked on a while ago...


Happy Halloween everyone... Dont eat too much candy!

We are in and out with rehearsals and photo calls and haunted houses... Cant wait till tomorrow, clocks go back tonight so an extra hour in bed for us here!

Recipe.
Stamps: Recollections - Clear Halloween, and Inkadinkadoo - Creepy Crawly.
Cardstock: Basic Black, Only Orange Lavendar Lace and Green Galore, SU!
Ink: Momento Tuxedo Black. SU! Markers.
SU! Dazzling Diamonds Glitter & 2way glue pen. White Gel pen, Bling from stash.

Enjoy,

C xx