Countdown to Christmas Tree~

This is what happens when I clear my mind when riding around on my bike! I was noodling what I could make with one of Kim's newest releases, Number Fun, as I was on my ride yesterday. Kim has three new sets coming this week, Thursday, December 4th, you can see them all Thursday at Cornish Heritage Farms. I thought about making a countdown to Christmas something or other - I decided to go with the scalloped number ornaments. Not having anything in mind other than to:

1. Use the new Number Fun set.
2. Use only what I have here at home, meaning no new purchases to make the project.
3. Have each tag be different, but use the same supplies to keep it visually pleasing by having all the main ingredients be the same.
4. And finally, get it done before the 1st! (which is tomorrow in case you are wondering where the time goes!)

I designed each tag as I went, no plan at all other than to make it different than the one preceding it. By using only Kim Hughes line art sets for the images the ornaments are coordinated in appearance and feel.

As much as I would like to show each individual tag, that would take up wayyyy tooooo much space on here, so I've taken three views of the tree and this up close shot of the 25th ornament.

Now off to clean the mess that began last night at 7pm, a break for bed at around 11, and then a few more hours this morning. Lots of little snippets all over the place! :)

V.~

Supplies:
Stamps: All Kim Hughes for Cornish Heritage Farms: Number Fun, Christmas Critters, Heart Warmers, Quirky Alpha; Ink: Versafine Onyx Black by Tsukineko, Versafine Olympic Green by Tsukineko; Paper: Classic Crest Natural White by Neenah Paper, Red by Coordinations, Mossy Green by Bazzill; Patterned Paper: Fa La La Collection by Making Memories; Tools: Nestabilities Petite Scallop and Circle Dies by Spellbinder, Piercing tool by Making Memories, Hand held circle punches by Fiskars - 1/6th and 1/8th, Copic Markers; Other: May Arts ribbon, Offray ribbon, Mini brads, Felt snowflakes, Buttons, White hemp, Thread,
Embroidery Floss, Glue dots, Dimensional foam

A view of my lil town~

For my birthday I asked for, and received, a new bike. It's something I have wanted for quite a while, having been years since I'd owned one. I've been riding it to school with my youngest and then back home during the week. And on weekends toodling around the area. It's so calming and different than my daily walk with Riley. Anyway, today I added a new destination to the list of local destinations: Mission Trails Regional Park. I think it was about 12 miles round trip, according to MapQuest anyway. :) It's the largest urban park in the United States and full of local history and artifacts. Today's ride provided the calm I needed after a busy week. Luckily I had my camera phone so I could capture the beautiful sights!

A little bit of info: the main highway that leads into town is just to the right of the mountain range in the upper photo. The second picture is of the old dam built in the 1800's. The 3rd and 4th pictures are along the river that runs through the town and about 2 miles from my home. How close is civilization? Wal-Mart is just over the wooden bridge in the center of the third picture and and a housing complex is behind me as I took the picture. Still, you feel as if you are out and away from the hustle and bustle as you are walking, riding, or skating through this area.

I hope you are enjoying your Saturday!
V.~

Thanksgiving~

One day, the father of a very wealthy family took his son
on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing
him how poor people live.

They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what
would be considered a very poor family.

On their return from their trip, the father asked his son,
"How was the trip?"

It was great, Dad."
Did you see how poor people live?" the father asked.
Oh yeah," said the son.

So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?" asked
the father.

The son answered:

"I saw that we have one dog and they had four.
We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and
they have a creek that has no end.

We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the
stars at night.

Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole
horizon.

We have a small piece of land to live on and they have
fields that go beyond our sight.

We have servants who serve us, but they serve others.

We buy our food, but they grow theirs.

We have walls around our property to protect us, they have
friends to protect them."

The boy's father was speechless.

Then his son added, "Thanks Dad for showing me how
poor we are."

Isn't perspective a wonderful thing? Makes you
wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for
everything we have, instead of worrying about
what we don't have.

Rainbow day~

This beautiful rainbow I spied out of my family room window this morning made up for the very real and scary dream that forced me awake sooner than I wanted to be up and about this morning.

Have a beautiful day!

V.~

Felt Snowflakes~

Samples for an upcoming Stamp Nite.

Stamps: SU! Best Yet
Ink: SU! White Craft, Versafine Onyx Black
Paper: Elegant Eggplant, Riding Hood Red,
Cryogen white
Patterned Paper: Eggplant and Sage Strip by ColorBox, Arctic Star by Reminisce
Other: Felt snowflakes by Creative Impressions, Mini brads, Grosgrain Ribbon, Corner rounder, Dimensionals

V.~

It was a busy day around here~

For my dad

Comeback Elvis ® by Cornish Heritage Farms
You're the King by Cornish Heritage Farms
Aged Sheetmusic Scrapblock™ by Cornish Heritage Farms
Fine Houndstooth Scrapblock™ by Cornish Heritage Farms

Western Elvis
Releases November 25th at Cornish Heritage Farms
Western Elvis® by Cornish Heritage Farms
Weathered Wood by Cornish Heritage Farms
Nature Silhouettes (Kim Hughes) by Cornish Heritage Farms

CHF December Stamp of the Month
Fir Branch by Cornish Heritage Farms
Christmas Expressions (Mona Lisa Moments) by Cornish Heritage Farms
Fine Houndstooth Scrapblock™ by Cornish Heritage Farms

click here for Cornish Heritage Farms

Kids to school and back, to school and back
Arts Attack follow up
Walk Riley
Thanksgiving shopping
Laundry
Lawns mowed
Tutoring lesson
Dinner made
and in between all that, these cards were made, photographed, and uploaded.
Whew
.
.
.
Finally time for bed, goodnight~

V.~

You Warm my Heart~

Sometimes the best way to get out of a slump is to give yourself a task. Well at least for me it works that way if I've already done many of the suggested ideas: cleaning the area, looking through magazines, not trying to think about it, etc. But my unofficial ocd does not allow me to give up that easily, it also doesn't help that my area is in the family room, so there is no way to shut the door and forget about it, it stares at me, taunting me! So yesterday I pulled out a older set that I just got recently. Kim Hughes Hugs & Kisses. I got the set for that mug, do any of you out there do that? Get an entire set just because of one image?

Initially I was going to do something hot cocoa themed, but we didn't have in the house and I wasn't going to head out just for that reason, so I looked into the pantry and we had tea bags. I decided to make a gift of warmth by making a Jody Morrow box filled with tea bags. Usually when making a "warm" themed set I go for warm colors, which green doesn't necessarily fall under....but I had that wonderful wide ribbon out on my counter and it was calling to me again. And to be used in the same way - tied off with cording around the box. This idea was from the SU! holiday mini catalog, they did something similar around a cello bag, and I just loved the look. So the whole scheme is based on that ribbon, I warmed the color scheme up by using brown and kraft in conjunction with the green.

For the tea bags, I carefully deconstructed the name brand tea bag holder for the proper size and improvised just a bit, it doesn't seal shut, it is held together by the ribbon tie. Four of these fit inside the box perfectly.

Sending you warmth today!

V.~

p.s. if you are reading this and are coming to Stamp Nite in December, we will be making a similar project - look for a post coming soon to show that project! :)

Stamps:
Hugs and Kisses (Kim Hughes) for Cornish Heritage Farms
Burlap backgrounder by Cornish Heritage Farms
Ink:
Adirondack Lettuce, Latte, Espresso by Ranger
Paper:
Kraft and Natural Smooth by Prism
Mocha Chica Paper Pack by Cornish Heritage Farms
Other:
Offray ribbon
May Arts ribbon
Cord
String
Tea bags
Copic Markers
eyelet
Nestabilities Oval and Scalloped Oval dies
Corner rounder for scallops on box top and tea bag holder
1" circle punch for inside tea bag holder
dauber
Scor-Pal

Hellooooo!

So I have been trying to locate Mo and Jo, really, I have! I had to get some stamping things done that have a time line on them. Place cards for Thanksgiving for starters. So, it doesn't take much mojo to recreate something you've already done for a sample. Brett (he colored the acorns and leaves) and I worked on these (22 in all) the other night to get them finished before next week. I just love that while we were making these, he says "Mom, I love stamping with you." It made my heart swell! I did them just a tad differently than the one from the Thanksgiving post - no dimensional foam under the image/tag. They stack much easier without it and since these will be reused for several years, it just made sense to have them take up less space for storage.



And nothing like a request on Wednesday night to get a project done by tomorrow. Morgan has another Sweet 16 party this weekend and requested a card/pkg using a crown and the color green. I didn't have just a crown stamp and didn't have time to order one, so I hopped over to JoAnn's looking for stickers or die cuts or something.....not much to speak of that would work, except I found one of those chunky foam stamps, perfect at .79! The rest is stuff I had here at home, a combination of SU! papers and cord, Offray ribbon, Gold Encore ink, Clear EP, Pink mini brads, Cuttlebug Red Tag and a clear take out box from Target.

Have a wonderful weekend!

V.~

APB~

When you find my vacationing Mo and Jo will you please direct them back home?





Thanks!
V.~

Cards for Alec~

I made this set of 8 robot cards to give to Brett's best friend's dad to send in the mail to his son, Alec. One card per week for 8 weeks. Dad has never been gone for 8 consecutive weeks and Alec is taking it pretty hard. Hopefully these cards will help those weeks go a little bit faster. Originally I wanted to make 8 different cards, but time got the best of me and these needed to be done today and I hadn't even started them until this afternoon. So, it was assembly line style with a little variation in the robot colors and ribbons.

Layout from my previous robot card, Robot from Lil Guy (Kim Hughes) for CHF, sentiments form Lil Guy and Tag, You're It! (Kim Hughes) for CHF, Patterned paper by Sassafrass Lass, Neenah white and Prism Black card stock, assorted Copic Markers, various ribbons from my stash, Silver mini brads and dimensional foam. Envelopes are stamped with the robot and address labels applied, and they are all tucked into a clear box for safekeeping during the luggage ride to dad's destination. All dad needs is his inside message and a postage stamp.

Gotta run, it's 8:30 and bedtime for Brett!

V.~

Wedding Centers~

Centers are sentiment stamp sets by Mona Lisa Moments for Cornish Heritage Farms. They include outside and inside sentiments. Many of the inside sentiments can stand on their own on the outside of the card as well. This month's release is Wedding Centers.


It's been a crazy week and little to no stamping has happened, I hope to play more in the coming days and have projects to share with you. Until then, have a wonderful day.

V.~

You're Engaged!
Stamps: Wedding Centers (Mona Lisa Moments) by Cornish Heritage Farms, Aged Sheet Music Scrapblock™ by Cornish Heritage Farms; Ink: Versafine Vintage Sepia by Tsukineko, Adirondack Lemonade by Ranger;
Paper: Cryogen White by Prism, Candle Glow Light by Prism; Tools: Piercing tool by Making Memories
Square Punch by EK Success; Other: Gold mini brads, Prima flowers, Clear buttons by Hero Arts, Seed beads
Gold cord, Dimensional foam

Fairy Tale
Stamps: Wedding Center (Mona Lisa Moments) by Cornish Heritage Farms, Fiery Florals Scrapblocks™ by Cornish Heritage Farms; Ink: Adirondack Willow by Ranger, Versafine Vintage Sepia by Tsukineko; Paper: Classic Crest Natural White by Neenah, Spring Willow Dark by Prism, Tools: Piercing tool by Making Memories; Accessories: Organdy ribbon, Gold mini brads, Dimensional foam

First Comes Love~

Then Comes Marriage~

Kim Hughes newest sets release today, a fantastically fun set for Valentine's or little love notes called The Birds and The Bees, and a simply perfect wedding set called I Thee Wed. Both available today at Cornish Heritage Farms.





















V.~

Bee Mine
Stamps: The Birds and The Bees (Kim Hughes) for Cornish Heritage Farms, Open Plaid Backgrounder by Cornish Heritage Farms; Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Adirondack Sunshine Yellow by Ranger; Paper: Cryogen White by Prism, Black by Prism, Classic Yellow by Prism; Tools: Copic Markers: Y15, Y17, RV29, Piercing tool by Making Memories, Square punch by EK Success (for tag), Heat tool by Marvy; Accessories: Clear embossing powder, 2 way glue, Loose Glitter, Black mini brads, Gingham check ribbon, Glossy Accents by Ranger

Best Wishes
Stamps: I Thee Wed (Kim Hughes) for Cornish Heritage Farms; Ink: Brilliance Pearlescent Poppy by Tsukineko; Paper: Simply Smooth by Prism, Crabapple Dark by Prism; Patterned Paper: Wonderland - Let It Snow from Dana Miron Designs by Dream Street Papers; Tools: Piercing tool by Making Memories, 1 1/4" Circle punch by EK Success; Accessories: Silver mini brads, Silver cording, White craft seam binding by Martha Stewart

Why Women Should Vote ~

This is why.

Whether you vote democratic, republican or independent party - remember to vote.

V.~

Let's Get Stuffed~

It's Monday's CHF DT Blog Chicks Challenge (boy that's a mouthful!) time and this week's challenge was to use Brilliance Inks by Tsukineko. Since Thanksgiving is at our house this year, I knew I needed to get out a simple invite and start on casual place cards for the table. I chose to make the invites "Mish Mash" notecard style with coordinated envelopes. I used CHF's Kim Hughes Let's Get Stuffed, The Landing Pad and Quirky Alphabet to create this Thanksgiving grouping.

The notecard invite

The casual place cards

Be sure to check out the links to the rest of the Design Team, you'll find them on the left side bar under CHF Design Team.

Have a marvelous Monday!

V.~

Supplies:
Stamps:
Let's Get Stuffed (Kim Hughes) by Cornish Heritage Farms
The Landing Pad (Kim Hughes) by Cornish Heritage Farms
Quirky Alphabet (Kim Hughes) by Cornish Heritage Farms
Ink:
Brilliance Coffee Bean by Tsukineko
ColorBox Fluid Chalk Dark Moss by Clearsnap
Paper:
Natural Smooth, Papaya Dark, Spring Willow Dark, Spring Willow Medium by Prism
Patterned Paper:
Spirit "Sisters" Woven Together from Jen Wilson's 29th Street Market by My Minds Eye
Tools:
Nestabilites Scalloped Square Die by Spellbinders
Copic Markers: 0, W1, W2, E53, E97, E99, YG91, YG95, YR15, YR18
Other:
Dimensional foam

Live, Laugh and Love Gift Card Tote

Seems the time of year most of Morgan's friends are celebrating birthdays. This is one of the cool Halloween Treat Bags by Tracy Durcan that is on the Scor-Pal site. I needed something I could quickly make for a not too girly teen that could hold the gift card, matching mini card, and a couple pieces of our way too much remaining Halloween candy. This went together really quickly, thanks to the fantastic tutorial. A good thing. I started it one hour before she was to be at the party. The only thing I did differently than the tutorial was to use Basic Grey magnetic snaps for the closure in the back, that way she wouldn't have to tear the bag apart to get to the cello inside. Other than that, the tutorial was followed to the letter. Thanks Tracy!

V.~

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! Sweet Shapes, On Your Birthday
Ink: SU! Red Riding Hood, So Saffron, Tangerine Tango, Soft Sky, Pacific Point
Paper: SU! So Saffron, Red Riding Hood, Prism Natural Smooth
Patterned Paper: Office Space by Fancy Pants
Tools: Scor-Pal, Stamp a Majig, 1/8" hand held circle punch, Piercing tool, Basic Grey Magnetic Snaps
Accessories: Gold mini brads, Scor-Tape, Dimensionals, Cello bag, Red Riding Hood satin ribbon