The Serendipity Design Team Blog Hop Challenge this time was to do a layout

or card using stamps. I knew exactly which picture and stamps I wanted to use.

Mary from Serendipity Stamps asked me if this was a family picture.

Sorry to say, it is not. I purchased the photo several years ago. I liked the photo

because there are four sisters in my family. One of my sisters and I used to joke

at which one we were. (Since, it's my photo I always got to be the pretty one. )

Background papers and stickers are "Little Black Dress" (www.basicgrey.com)

Jeanne Jachna

Kathie Bailey

Miriam Napier

Amy Cockley

Some of the ladies in one of my Facebook Groups have been brave

enough to share pictures of their work spaces. So... I decided to

share with you the real "Sue's Creative Workshop".

My space is really small, it's only 8 1/2 feet by 10 1/2 feet.

I have to be really organized to be able to be creative in this space.

(I totally trash it everytime I work on a project.)

My Desk: This is the cleaned up version.

I really do like it clean. When I'm working on a project, it's completely covered

with piles. I always feel the need to clean it up before starting a new project.

Behind the cabinet doors are my office supplies. I also have a filing cabinet

underneath the bookcase area. Up above the cabinets are black storage

boxes from IKEA. I have a couple of drawers to my right that holds my favorite

inkpads and the other holds scratch paper and tape runners.

In my tiny little space I have three doors. One to my bedroom, one to the hall

and another large patio door to our upper balcony where I take most of my pictures.

My Stamp Rack: Just a few of my favorite stamps and punches.

It also holds extra cardstock. I have hundreds of stamps.

I have most of my stamps in boxes by seasons or type.

Another view of my stamp rack. To the left of the rack is the door leading

to my bedroom to the right is the small little closet with shelves.

My Die Cut Center:

I have an old school Accu-Cut machine with lots of dies. The cabinet above

holds my embellishments and doo-dads. The drawers hold stamp pads and

refill inks. I have a paper rack for my go to cardstock.

The basket holds misc cardstock scraps and the wooden box holds glue.

Just a few punches hanging over the door leading to the hall.

I have two extra large storage boxes full of punches underneath my bed.

(hazard of working with a punch company for so many years)

White cubbies full of paper and Markers.

I have three drawers that are Christmas, Valentine's Day and Fall/Halloween

the other drawers are divided by manufacturers.

The Closet: My dirty little secret. But.....I can find anything I need in it.

I may have to remove things to get to it though. I love shutting the door

so I don't have to look at it. My dream space would be much, much larger

with a center work space and sink. I hope you enjoyed the tour!

We have had such a mild winter here in my little corner of the midwest.

Today another beautiful sunny day. I believe I have Spring Fever.

I just love Basic Grey.

This card is made with Basic Grey's "Out of Print" Collection.

Look for it at your local scrapbook store. Or you can find it here.

This is the inside of the card. I love their letter stickers!

While trying to clean up my office the other day, I got side track by my box of felt.

I just had to make a couple more flowers before putting it away.

These simple little flowers are so easy to make.

(If you're new to the blog, scroll down about 6 posts for directions.)

My sister asked me to come and help her girl scout troop with a

project this Spring. I think this little Purple Polka Dot pouch with

velcro enclosure would be fun for the girls.

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

I wish I remember where I got this idea. (I love giving credit to good ideas.)

I used a wood sign that I purchased from Hobby Lobby for around $3.00.

The letters on the sign were put together with small tack nails.

I took the sign apart and covered each letter with scrapbook paper and

glued it back together with my favorite Fabri Tac glue from Beacon Adhesives.

I eliminated the frame portion and decided not to use it as a hanging sign.
I have it up on my mantel instead.

Would you believe that as I was taking the picture it blew off the balcony and fell

into the bushes? You'd think one day I'd learn!

The Egg Scroll Stamp is from Serendipity Stamps. You can get it here.

Today is Serendipity Stamps Easter Blog Hop.

It is available as a set here at www.serendipitystamps.com

Check out more Easter cards from the Serendipity Design Team Blog Hop.

I call this My Restless Heart for a couple of reasons.

First because I wanted to do something completely different.

And second, because I fully assembled a different tag,

photographed it and then tore it apart because I wasn't satisfied.

I used the same Scroll Heart from Serendipity Stamps that I used on the

previous post. This time I stamped it in black onto chili cardstock.

I used my white opaque stix from Marvy Uchida to color in the image.

I used it to make brush strokes. The color goes on light and darkens as it dries.

The back ground paper is from Basic Grey's " Out of Print" and

" Little Black Dress" Collections. "love you" stamp is also from Serendipity Stamps.

Here is the project in process.

It just goes to show what you can do with a little creative imagination.

The Serendipity Stamps Challenge for today was to make an all white card.

The only color we were allowed to use was in the image.

A simple white card. That should be easy right? (You'd think!)

Like I've said before, I have a way of making things a lot harder than they should be.

But...I am happy with the result.

Nothing warms me more than soup on a cold winter's day.

So you can imagine how happy I was when I received this

special surprise present from Jill at Jillibean Soup.

I had sent Jill one of my Holiday Planners from the Holiday Workshop.

She in turn sent me the Sept. 2011 Card Kitchen Kit Club.

It completely made my day!!!

Inside the box was a complete card kit with full instructions to make 8 cards.

To show respect to the designer, Kimber McGray, I made the cards

98% as shown. I had so many goodies left over I had to add a

couple of extra embellishments to the cards. I could easily make

another 6 or more cards and a layout with the materials left over.

The kit used was the September 2011 Card Kitchen Kit Club.

It is available to purchase from Jillibean Soup here for $24.99.

Check out all the great products at Jillibean Soup www.jillibean-soup.com

Here are the correct Calendar Pages for the Serendipity Design Team's

first challenge of the year. (see previous post)

I used the Picadilly Collection from Basic Grey for the August Calendar.

I used the Summer's End Collection of papers from Fancy Pants Designs for the

September Calendar.

Stamps from Serendipity Stamps www.serendipitystamps.com

I have most of the months on a board on Pinterest. Check it out here.

Well.... Today was the first Challenge of the Year for the

Serendipity Design Team. We were each assigned two months

to create the Calendar. I'm not sure how I did it, but I mis-read

the comma in the email and I mistakenly created the wrong two months.

Since they are done and photographed, I will share them with you

anyway. Please check out the other Serendipity Design Team member

on my side bar to see their calendar pages. My two months were

August and September instead of October and November. I promise

I will create the correct pages and post them here and on Facebook.

I used the Illustrated Months Stamps 597FCL

it is available as a Cling Set for $29.95 from Serendipity Stamps.

www.serendipitystamp.com

I used Marvy Uchida's Border Punch System to punch the inside pages

and to also add a lace detail to the inside back cover.

Yesterday was Spring. Today is Winter. I feel cold just looking outside.

Funny thing it makes me want to settle in and get creative.

Yesterday I made a couple of Valentine's Cards for my Etsy Shop.

Today I've got bigger plans in the works.

What are you working on???

More tomorrow....

This book was the most talked about Family Gift of the Season.

Why settle for a plain old planner when you can make it truly special.

I'm pretty picky when it comes to getting my new planner for the year.
It needs to be a "month at a glance". It needs to be thin, fit in my purse,
but big enough to be able to put multiple entries if necessary.
And... I don't want to pay over $10.00.
I was originally frustrated when I couldn't find the same old planner that
I've been using for the last several years.

Then I ran across this at CVS for $1.99
At first I wasn't impressed because the cover was kind of thin.
It came with a clear protective plastic cover so I knew it had potential.

Then I started thinking I could beef up the cover with additional papers.
The colors were limited and bright, but then I stumbled across this teal one
and I knew exactly what papers I would use.
I used papers from Picadilly and Indie Bloom line from Basic Grey.

(back of my planner)

(a subtle reminder of my 2012 Goal)

Now I'm completely happy and somewhat giddy with my new planner.

I just realized this morning that today is the first day I've been

alone in over two weeks. I'm not complaining though.

I love having the family home.

I enjoy being lazy, sleeping in, no real schedules.

Except, I find it's really hard to concentrate on being a good blogger.

I've thought about this blog several times.

Wishing I had something really great to share with you.

Something really Profound.

I read an article recently on blogging, how we get caught up

on the numbers. That's Me!

How many people are on your Facebook Page,

how many people read your blog. (Sometimes, it surprises me.)

Then I feel guilty like I should be blogging more,

that I'm letting you all down.

(It was a lot easier when I thought no one was reading.)

A while back I started following other designers for inspiration.

Sometimes it helped, most of the time it just made me feel inadequate.

Why do we do that to ourselves? We are all creative individuals!

We all have our own special talents. Right?

With that said, I've decided to work this year re-focusing on

finding my own style again.

The great thing about January is a fresh new start.

A brand new calendar with clean empty pages, just waiting to be filled.

Gone is the messy one with scribbled notes and dates.

I'm ready to get started. (I've got a lot to do.)

So here's to a brand new year!!!

The Holidays are barely over and I'm thinking Valentine's Day.

I love it when the Creative Juices are flowing. I started rummaging

through my drawer of valentine's stuff and found all kinds of

neat stuff to play with. I worked on this until 1:30 this morning.

This afternoon while I was waiting in line to do a return, I was chatting

with a couple of ladies. The line went past the Valentine's Display, they

started talking about how it was too soon. (I didn't say a thing!)

There's nothing better than having all your kids home together for Christmas.

On Christmas night we all slept under one roof. If felt good.

I guess I've been a little absent since the 12 days of Holiday Inspiration.

I been spending my time enjoying the family, getting everything ready.

I felt like that one Target commercial and shouting "Done, Done, Done".

The house is decorated. (it kind of feels like a Christmas explosion)

Shopping is done.

I plan on doing some baking today and working some more on my

wrapping. I try and do a little each day so it doesn't become too much.

Yesterday, was a big day. It was my birthday. The big 50. (gasp!)

I'm not a big party kind of girl, I wanted to keep it simple.

Jim gave me a beautiful necklace from Na Hoku.

I always said I wanted to be sitting on a beach for my 50th birthday.

But he knew he'd never be able to get me away.

So he gave me a little piece of Hawaii. Hawaii is a special place for us.

We met there a little more than 30 years ago. (he's so sweet)

So, yesterday, Jim took the day off and we went to this quaint little town

not quite two hours away and did some fun shopping.

Just browsing and looking at all the beautiful displays.

I just wanted to go some place different.

We got home around 4 and waited for the kids to come, then off to

Olive Garden for dinner. Jim made me chocolate cupcakes when we

got home. A nice relaxing kind of day. Just like I like it

(especially around the holidays)

Saturday, the kids took Lil' Nick to meet St. Nick.

As you can tell, he wasn't impressed.

I can't believe that it's already Day 12 of my 12 Days of Holiday Inspiration.

I've really enjoyed taking the time this Christmas and being Creative.

Now it's time for me to Wrap It Up.

There's a lot to do!!!

1. Address Christmas Cards

2. Finish Christmas Shopping.

3. Wrap Presents

4. Make and Decorate Christmas Cookies

5. Stocking Stuffers

6. Family Christmas Party on Saturday

7. Double Check List.

Here's a couple of quick and easy soup recipes to make whether your

finishing up wrapping or doing last minute crafting. These will warm you up

and keep you going.

We started a tradition a few years ago of making soups for Christmas Night Dinner.

As my large family congregates late in the day, we make soups, sandwiches

and left overs. (since we've all had a big meal earlier in the day)

You can keep the pots on the stove and as people

arrive, they can grab a bowl of soup when they're ready.

picture from Better Homes and Gardens www.bhg.com

Cheesy Vegetable Soup

1 Qt. Water

2 Cups Diced Potatoes

1/4 Cup Chopped Onions

4 Chicken Bouillon Cubes

1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 Bag of Frozen California Mix Vegetables

1 lb. Velvetta Cheese loaf

Directions:

1. Boil potatoes, onions & bouillon in water and cook.

2. Add frozen vegetables and cook to slightly softened.

3. Add mushroom soup.

4. Cut cheese into cubes and add to soup mix.

5. Heat until cheese is fully melted. Don't allow soup to

boil at this time.

picture from southernliving.com

Tortellini Soup

1/2 lb. of Italian Sausage

8 Cups of Chicken Broth

1 Can of tomatoes

Spinach

Tortellini

Directions:

1. Cut up and brown sausage. Drain and rinse.

2. Add Chicken Broth, Tomatoes (don't drain) and Spinach

3. Heat to a Boil, add tortellini

One last Tag before I go. This tag was made with Die Cuts from Melissa Frances.

Thanks to everyone who followed my 12 Days of Holiday Inspiration.

This was my gift to YOU.

Merry Christmas,

Sue

It was just one week ago today, that I was feeling no stress about Christmas.

Then the flu hit our house last week and I wasn't able to get out and do any

Christmas shopping. I look at the calendar and see it's two weeks exactly from

today. Now, I feel a little like this.

Here's another Holiday marshmallow to try.

I believe the picture is from American Girl or maybe Hallmark.

Come back tomorrow for the last day of Holiday Inspiration.

I really tried not to use a red and cream theme in this project today.

But seriously, it was just too hard. This tree needed red! (who doesn't?)

I'm really having fun making all these Holiday Inspiration projects.

Are you playing along?

I whipped up this No Sew Christmas Tree Ornament in just a

few minutes with all things I had on hand.

I used cream and brown craft store felt, a tiny bit of poly fill, an old button,

mini rick rack, red and white baker's twine, jingle bell, red gingham ribbon

and my favorite Fabri Tac from Beacon Adhesives.

1. Cut a triangle template from cardstock.

2. Trace around cream felt with template and cut out. (You'll need two.)

3. Cut a small rectangle from brown felt approx. 3" long.

For added stability I folded and glued the rectangle in half.

4. Glue the brown felt trunk to the bottom of one of the cream triangles.

5. Lay a very small bit of poly fill in the center of the triangle.

6. Apply Fabri Tac around the edge of the second triangle and lay on top of

the first triangle to create the tree. You may need to pinch and hold the edges.

7. Glue cream rick rack around both of the cream triangles. Each side of the

triangle is a separate piece of rick rack.

8. Thread red and white baker's twine on cream button and tie with bow.

Glue button onto the middle of the cream tree.

9. I poked a hole in the top of the tree with a darning needle. Thread a

smaller needle with the twine to make the hanger. Add silver Jingle Bell

before tying it off with a knot.

10. Glue small red gingham bow to the top of the ornament and Enjoy!!!

Since we haven't put our tree up yet. I braved the wind and cold and hung

it on one of the trees outside. If you look real close you can see snow

on the branches.

Stop by tommorrow for more Holiday Inspiration!

in Chicago at the CHA trade show. I finally got my hands on some last week.

They retail for $2.99 and are so darn cute. They are from Melissa Frances and

you can go onto her website to find a local or online store that carries them.

Make sure to order several, you'll be glad you did.

They come plain and flat. Here is how they look assembled. You'll need to add

a little imagination and embellishments for your house to come alive.

I used vintage rick rack, tiny adhesive rhinestones, a star brad I antiqued and glittered.

I also used plain glitter along with Stickles Glitter Glue and Marvy White Liquid Applique.

Now if you can't find those little Ornament Houses. How about using some

wood trim and make some block houses.

Is it a gift or is it a tag? How about both.

I added red rhinestones and my own bow to this tiny craft store wreath.

Another idea, how about tying up some cardstock for your favortite

cardmaker. It doesn't take much to make a subtle difference.

Make some tags today, it's addicting. In a couple of weeks you'll be

glad you did.

Join me tomorrow for more Holiday Inspiration: My Town

Are you making Christmas Cards this year?

This Snowman Trio was made with a stamp from Serendipity Stamps.

It was simply colored in using my Tombow Markers, I also used paper

from Fancy Pants Designs and framed it with a left over frame from

Little Yellow Bicycle. I purchased the little wood snowflake at Hobby Lobby.

Would you like to win a Snowflake Trio Stamp???

Leave me a comment by midnight tommorrow night. Thursday Dec. 8th.

I will pick one winner to win the Snowman Trio Cling Stamp.

You can also leave a comment on my Facebook Page for an additional

chance to win.

A quick and simple Holiday Decoration to make.

I am so happy how this Christmas Frame turned out. It is so

simple to do and it looks great on a shelf in my newly cleaned

office.

It started out as this sad hot pink frame left over from Stephanie's

teen age years. We couldn't even sell this frame in our garage sale

for fifty cents.

I got the idea to spray paint this frame with off white paint.

The hardest part about this frame was finding a warm enough place to

paint the frame, I quickly brought it in doors to dry. The one thing I did not

do, but should of was to give it a light sanding with sand paper.

After it was all dry, I added simple red and white gingham ribbon,

these cool buttons from Prima Marketing.

I added some glittery greenery and a silver jingle bell and glued it

all together using my Fabri Tac Glue. (or use hot glue)

Use either one of your Holiday Pictures or add a Santa picture

from a Christmas Card, Calendar Page. I got my Santa from

a piece of scrapbook paper from Graphic 45.

This past week-end, Jim and I headed up to Chicago for our

Anniversary week-end. We went for a wonderful dinner at

Gene & Georgetti's, where Jim surprised me with roses waiting

on the table.

Right outside the radio station there was a gathering of dozens of Santa's.

I'm not sure what that was about.

Then we took a Carriage Ride around the City. I'm a lucky girl!

This is the Christmas Tree in the Lobby of the Hotel.

We had a wonderful breakfast in the Grand Luxe Cafe with a table

over looking Michigan Ave. Did a little shopping and stopped at

Ikea on our way home. A great Anniversary Week-end.

I would like to introduce to you my friend Carol. She's the Crafty Christmas

Monkey. She just loves Christmas, everything about it. Decorating the tree,

making paper chains, she's even made her family a Christmas Scrapbook.

Now that the house is all decorated. Carol decided to go to the Windy City

this past week-end and shop on Michigan Ave.

Carol was so excited to have all her Christmas Shopping done that she

decided to celebrate with friends.

This month's Designer Craft Connection's Blog Hop

was the Sock Monkey Challenge.

I was so excited to be able to play along.

The idea came from fellow designer Ana Araujo of When Creativity Knocks,

who also sent us a great DVD called Sock Monkey's Gone BanAna's

We was also given a pair of socks from Fox River the Original Sock maker,

along with the opportunity to use Rit Dye. They also gave us a cute

Sock Monkey stamp from Judikins.

When I first learned of the Challenge it was World Series Time and with the

house cheering for the St. Louis Cardinals, my plan was to make Bushy the

Rally Squirrel.

I got the idea from this book.

This Vintage Sock Monkey book from the 60's. I found this book when I was helping

clean out my Grandma's stuff. My Grandma was the ultimate crafter.

I figured if I ever made it onto the Carol Duvall Show (pipe dream)

I'd show it to Carol since she was into Sock Monkeys.

Since, sewing is not my thing, I decided to forget the squirrel idea and use Ana's video

instead. I watched it a couple of times, then watched and paused and worked right

along with her and my monkey turned out o.k. Thanks Ana!!!

So in honor of Carol Duvall, I named my sock monkey Carol the Crafty Christmas Monkey.

Please Hop around the other designers in the Designer Crafts Connection to see what they

came up with. (link on the right side bar) These monkeys are Wild, and will make you laugh.

No Sock Monkey post is complete without a CONTEST! Enter to win a sock monkey prize

valued at over $40.00 from When Creativity Knocks. Giveaway ends December 19, 2011.

1. Go to When Creativity Knocks www.whencreativityknocks.com
2. While in the Member Log inbox, click on “Create An Account”
3. Make sure to enter the code: Sock Monkey

NOTE: There is also a discount coupon to purchase the WCK VideoBook: Sock Monkey Goes BanAnas

Come back tomorrow for more Holiday Inspiration and some additional pictures from our

week-end in Chicago.

I know I've shared my favorite Christmas Cookie Recipe here on my blog before.

But, I think the meaning this recipe holds for me bears repeating.

When I was a new bride (29 years ago) I asked my mother for her

Sugar Cookie Recipe. It was a Tupperware Recipe.

She wrote it out on a piece of notebook paper.

(I have always loved my mom's handwriting)

It is now yellowed, stained with vanilla, brittle, ripped and creased.

But it is priceless.

I never realized how much until several years ago

when my Mom was diagnosed with Dementia.

All of a sudden I realized how much we all take for granted.

My Mom can not even sign her own name let alone write out a recipe.

I now keep this recipe saved in a protective sleeve. One day I'll put it in a frame.

I have shared this recipe with dozens of friends and family

and if I haven't shared it with you, then, here it is.

Sue's Favorite Sugar Cookie Recipe

1 1/2c. Powdered Sugar

1 c. Butter (I use stick margarine)

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

2 1/2 c. of flour

1 tsp. cream of tartar

1 tsp. baking soda

1. Cream sugar & butter. Add egg, flavoring and mix together.

2. Add dry ingredients together and stir in.

3. Refrigerate 2 to 3 hours.

4. Heat oven to 375. Divide dough in half and roll out on lightly

floured pastry sheet.

5. Dip cutters in flour before each cutting. Cut as many cookies

from each rolling as possible.

6. Place on lightly greased baking sheet. Bake 7-8 minutes

or until golden.

Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

dash of vanilla

1-2 tablespoons of milk

(picture from ourbestbites.com)

We've all heard it before about using our own handwriting when scrapbooking.

"It'll be cherished years down the line..." I'm as guilty as the next about using my

computer to do the journaling, everyone wants their pages to look perfect.

Save something in your own handwriting for your kids.

Just like you've saved pieces of what they've written.

Can you recognize your mother's handwriting? Your grandmothers?

Call me a sentimental fool, but, I wish I'd saved more.

As I look through the recipes in my recipe box, I find several recipes written

years ago by my grandmothers. Some written quickly on small pieces of

paper, some carefully written by hand. All of these are priceless to me.

When I was a young girl, we'd go visit my grandfather and his wife at

Christmas time. His wife's mother lived with them. She was a

very sweet old lady, whom we all called Patty (which I never understood because

that wasn't her name). Anyway, Patty made the very best sugar cookies,

I still remember them today. They were the softest and the fattest sugar cookies

I ever had with colored sugar sprinkled on top.

(my other grandma made thin crisp Christmas cookies)

Whenever anyone would ask Patty about the recipe she'd say she didn't have one,

she just used her eyes. One Christmas before she couldn't make them anymore,

they sat down and measured out everything she used. They wrote the recipe down,

and I'm the only one in my family that has that recipe, written in my grandmother's

hand. How lucky am I! Over twenty years later, I still have that recipe.

To be honest, I've never made them. I guess I'm afraid they wouldn't be the same.

Maybe one day I will.

It's Saturday, the kids are out of school.

It's still early, you're still relaxed about the Holidays.

Stress hasn't set in...

Grab the kids and do some projects today.

Now these projects I'm sharing would be best if you have girls,

especially pre-teen girls. But, maybe you can talk the

guys into making one for Grandma or a teacher or maybe

even a friend.

Today I've got two bracelets to show you.

The first one is the Jingle Bell Bracelet

If you want to Jazz Up the Bracelet. I added small ornaments and bigger

Jingle Bells around the Bracelet with jump rings.

If you would like to purchase this finished bracelet it is available here.

The Second Bracelet helped make me one of the coolest Aunts with two of my

nieces. It is a great pre-teen project. There are so many other cool things that

you can make with Duck tape. (I know a several kids with Duck Tape on their

Christmas Lists.

The Duck Tape Bracelet

Here's what I used to make the Duck Tape Bracelet:

Black and White Houndstooth Duck Tape

Gold Duck Tape

Black Stick Back Velcro

Non-Stick Titanium Scissors from Westcott (a must when cutting duck tape)

Fabri Tac Glue

Making Memories Baubles

I got this idea from Marisa Pawelko the Duck Tape Queen. She has a great

video that you can watch here. She has so many other ideas for Duck Tape

it'll astound you. Check out Marisa's website: www.modernsurrealist.com

And for a fun treat. If you leave a comment on my website or on my Facebook

Page I will pick one of you to win these Holiday Baubles from Making Memories.

You have until midnight Sunday night December 4th to leave a comment.

Join me tomorrow for more Holiday Inspiration.

Today, I wanted to do something with things I already had around the house.

I started with a 6" grapevine wreath and greenery I cut from around my

yard.

I happen to live with a dozen pine trees in my front yard. So getting

greenery is fairly easy to obtain. If your not as lucky as me, use some of the

greenery cut from a fresh Christmas Tree. I also used some small

pinecone clusters. (my pinecones were too large)

I used the Fabri Tac Glue to glue on my greenery and pinecones.

(Beacon Adhesives calls Fabri Tac hot glue in a bottle)

The entire project took me just minutes to put together and should

last for several weeks.

Or use it to hang on your front screen door.

Join me tomorrow for more inspiration.

Welcome to the first day of 12 Days of Holiday Inspiration.

I've been thinking about this for some time, and while I say I'm

hoping to Inspire You. The real reason I've done this was to challenge

and inspire myself. I love the Holidays and always plan on being Creative.

Some years I really get into the craftiness and other's I'm working so hard

getting ready for the next trade show that I don't have time to create for

myself. This year is for me!

For more inspiration, my friend and fellow designer Niki Meiners is doing

12 Days of Christmas on her blog www.365daysofcrafts.com

HOLIDAY JOY TAG

I start with a small piece of matboard or chipboard approx. 2" x 2 1/2" and

chipboard letters spelling the word "joy".

I also used:

Zip Dry Glue

Decocolor pens in white and pale blue

Foil Tape (found in the hardware store, used to seal duct work seams)

Bone Folder

4. Paint the background with the paint pen. To give it a snowy affect, when

giving a second coat of paint, dot the paint with the tip instead of brushing.

5. Use the pale blue pen to color the letters. Allow both colors to thoroughly

dry.

6. Using a sanding block, lightly sand the letters and edges of the chipboard.

7. For a finishing touch, paint the letters with stickles glitter glue.

The tag also uses:

Prima Flowers (Holiday Celebration Snow Drop)

Vivid Ink: Aqua

Ink Applicator

Scrapbook Paper (Fancy Pants Designs)

Cardstock

Corner Rounder

1/8' Hole Punch

Lace, Silver Ribbon and Small Flat Snowflake Ornament

Silver Greenery

To Customize my flowers to match the tag background: I used the

Aqua Ink with the Ink Applicator to add a subtle color to each flower.

I also painted on clear stickles glitter glue onto the flowers before

adding to my tag.

Tag Measures: 3 3/4" x 6 1/2"

Come back tomorrow for more Holiday Inspiration.

I had a wonderful time this past week-end at my annual Holiday Workshop.

If it wasn't so much work I'd do this every month.

It was a joy planning and creating with 30 lovely ladies. (We created for hours.)

I only wish I had taken a Group Photo. Every year I plan to take one and every year

I forget. Thanks to my wonderful daughter-in-law Bonnie, I have pictures.

Look at these yummy Chocolate Mousse Cups Bonnie made for us to enjoy.

(extremely good!!!)

Thanks Ladies for a Great Day.

(additional Holiday Workshop photo's available to view on my

facebook page Sue's Creative Workshop)

Flip Pal Challenge and Designer Craft Connection Blog Hop

Several Designers in the Designer Craft Connection received a Flip Pal to play

with and come up with ideas on how they'd use this great little gadget. I didn't

have time to play along, but, if I had, I would of used it to sneek over to my

parents house and scan those old pictures that can't be taken out of those

old photo albums. Take the time to Hop the Designer Craft Connections

(located on the right side of my site) check out the video on Julie Mc Guffee's site

"Life in the Craft Lane" www.juliemcguffee.blogspot.com

to see this fun tool in action and for ways that you can win one for yourself.

To make your own Customized Trinket Pins.

Use Marvy Uchida's Deco Color Markers to paint plain corsage pins.

So many colors available.

Get real creative and add polka dots, lines and other designs.

The other morning when I was returning home from taking my son to school,

I noticed how the sun was illuminating this beautiful fall tree in my front yard.

I just had to run in and grab my camera. (a hint of frost on the ground)

Today's another Beautiful Fall Day.

I'm enjoying it by working on finishing up my packets for next week's workshop

while the guys are outside putting in a new front storm door.

Later we'll go to my son's house for dinner. A good productive Day.

Happy Week-end!!!

Halloween is not even here and I'm sharing Christmas ideas. (never to early?)

This idea can be easily adapted to all gift giving.

I'm not sure who taught me this trick. I used it when I had my store over 10 years ago.

1. I started with a A-7 envelope (which fits a 5 x 7 card).

2. Seal the envelope shut.

3. Cut 3/4" off one side of the envelope.

4. Score and fold the remaining sides 1/2" on all three sides.

5. Using the Marvy Border Punch System and Ribbon Stitch Cartridge,

punch the ribbon stitch on the open side of the envelope.

6. Carefully open the envelope and folding the sides and bottom.

You will end up with two flaps on the bottom of the envelope.

Fold flaps under and glue to bottom of bag.

7. Cut Saint Nick scrapbook paper 1/4" smaller than the white section of your bag.

Adhere scrapbook paper to all four sides and bottom of bag.

8. Run approx. 20" of ribbon through ribbon stitch opening.

Tie off with red jingle bell on jump ring.

9. Punch Merchandise Tag, decorate with strips of paper and lace.

10. Punch Snowflake and add sticker and rhinestone to center. Adhere to tag.

11. Stamp Merry Christmas greeting.

Marvy Border Punch System, Ribbon Stitch cartridge,

Merchandise Tag Punch, Snowflake Punch

Fancy Pants Saint Nick Scrapbook Paper.

I ran across this picture today while searching for something else.

It is Justin's first day of Kindergarten.

It was featured in the book "Scrap Your Stuff".

I used Justin's practice writing sheet, pictures,

bus name tag (which at the time was hard to give up),

his drawing, Chuck E. Cheese sketch, tokens and tickets.

Justin's now in 7th Grade.

He'd be so embarrassed that I'm showing this. (which is half the fun)

Good thing he doesn't read my blog.

But, he's always liked this page. Capturing this memory was important.

I only wish I had more time to scrapbook more.

Last week, I said that I wasn't ready for fall.

This week we did our annual Trek to Tanner's Orchard.

I think now, I'm finally ready.

Here's a picture of me and my sweetie.

I remember, I was getting ready for work when my then 13 year old daughter

banged on the door and told me that an airplane had just hit a building in New York.

(I assured her that the pilot probably had a heart attack or something.)

Minutes later, she ran and told me that another plane had hit a building.

Stunned and running late, we finished our morning.

Of course, my day at work was probably similar to most everyone else in the US.

Frozen in front of a television.

The thing I remember most was when my daughter came home from school that day,

she told me that her homeroom teacher trying to explain to the kids what was

happening. He Said, I don't care if it's against the rules or not, we're going to pray.

And with that, the teacher prayed in front of the whole class. No one complained.

I gained so much respect for that man that day.

Now that Justin is back in school.

I started going to sales once a week. Until today, I'd had no luck.

I picked up all this and more, for under $50.

1/2 round table

international silver clock

Drexel Heritage night stand

100 year old rocker

nike bag and baseball

hardy boy book

4 cigar boxes

2 plain wood ikea frames

5 wooden spools of thread

12 packs of seam binding

2 state plates

2 blue ball mason jars

1 spring pan

1 crystal necklace pendant

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I'm really happy that Stephanie and Zach are home this Labor Day Week-end.

We haven't seen them in over a month.

Nick and Bonnie and the little guy are coming over today for a family day.

Beautiful weather, Beautiful family, Beautiful day.

(scrapbook page is done with basic grey's new picadilly and indie bloom papers and stickers)

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I just love Pop-Up cards.

The card was made using Basic Grey new Picadilly scrapbook paper and Stickers.

Check out all the new releases at www.basicgrey.com

this is the front of the card

(I also used a couple stickers from the new Indie Bloom Collection)

this is the inside of the card

close up of the dimension (I also used Martha Stewarts picket fence punch)

Enjoy!!!

I always start wondering where the summer went as soon as school starts. I began making a list a few summers ago of what we did on our summer vacation as kind of a reminder for Justin and to me. (also a great tool when catching up on scrapbooking) Explains just how lazy and busy we were.

Summer always starts out with Baseball. Lots of games.

Justin was awesome this year, not to brag, but I don't think he struck out once. He became quite the hitter this year and even though his team didn't win the tournament, they did a great job. I was so proud.

The big highlight of the summer was Stephanie's wedding.

She was such a beautiful bride. (I really miss having her around!!!)

I get a big kick out of this little guy.

Watching all the changes that this summer brought.

Crawling, first cheerios, playing in tents. pulling up and taking those first steps.

He's a bundle of adorable personality.

Here's my two Nick's at one of Justin's games.

He was quite the ham that night. Nick's such a great daddy!!!

Then of course there's goofing off in the pool with friends.

A lot of pool time, BBQ's (and loads and loads of wet towels to wash)

Several Xbox fueled sleep-overs. (Justin and his buddies)

Then our vacation to Myrtle Beach. (thank goodness it was a month earlier than Irene's visit)

learning how to skim board

playing football with dad

Vacation brought 7 games of mini golf. skim boarding, boogie boarding,

throwing the football in the ocean with dad,

suntans, good food and great memories. (me lazing and reading on the beach)

Along with all that, we took on several home remodeling projects: new tile floors in the kitchen,

refinishing the wood floors in dining room, and gutting the basement family room and putting in new walls,

floors and bathroom with shower. Also, I managed to take the time and read three books this summer.

Maybe it wasn't such a lazy summer after all.

One thing I wanted to do while on vacation, was to sit under a beach umbrella and read a good book.

Even though I forgot to pick one up before I left, I figured I could find a book store and get one there.

Honestly, I'm not much of a reader. Matter of fact, the last time I read a book it was last June after a meeting, sitting, killing three hours by myself in the Dallas Airport.

I was thrilled to see this book that was left by one of the previous condo occupants. I was even more excited when I realized that it was written by the same author of the book I had read last summer. (and a new release)

I read about 8 chapters on the beach that day and figured I'd have to be real faithful to finish it before we left. After our usual vacation routine of Dinner and Mini Golf, (Myrtle Beach is the Mini Golf Capitol of the World) I started reading again at bedtime. It was 3:45 in the morning before I made myself stop. I finished the next day on the beach. I enjoyed the book so much the following day I re-read the last half of the book while the guys were out.

So....If your looking for a good read, (without garbage). I highly recommend it. I would love to see this book made into a movie. I just haven't figured out in my mind who would be cast as the characters. So, if you read it, let me know who you'd pick.

Read any good books lately?

In the Designer Connection Group we we're asked to blog about our favorite technique. I learned this technique over 10 years ago while taking a class with Mrs Grossman herself. I taught it last year at a workshop and the women thought it was the best, one said it was worth the cost of the workshop itself.

Whenever I want to use a sticker as either a dimensional piece on a pop-up card or with a pop dot underneath, or hanging off the edge of a card or layout. Just use plain old baby powder with a paintbrush and paint the underneath of the sticker and it looses its stickiness. Simple as that to make your stickers into die-cuts. (Think of all the possibilities.)

I am a list person, I actually have several perpetual lists. Daily ones, weekly ones and larger Project List called "Sue's Wish List".

I bought this old chair from an antique store about 18 years ago. At the time it had a great patina, over the past several years it had just became sad. Painting this chair has been on my "to do" list for the past several years. (I just hated the thought of scraping paint) Fortunately for me, I had left it long enough that the paint practically fell off.

After a few hours scraping and painting on one of the hottest days of the summer. Here's the after. Looks pretty good with just a little creative elbow grease and $5 worth of paint.

Some of you may know, that after our "new" dishwasher flooded our basement, that we've taken on a new project of remodeling our main room downstairs. So... after church the other day, my husband asked me to come down, take a look at the progress and see what I thought. After going over everything, walking in and out of the gutted bathroom several times, we started to head upstairs. Then I noticed the plastic snake wrapped around the top hinge of the bathroom door. "Very funny, guys" I said when I saw it. My husband, Jim, acting very innocently kept saying "where?". Then on closer inspection, I realized it was wrapped to tight to be plastic. I, of course, ran upstairs, shuttering and going "uck, uck, uck". (that's what a real woman does, right?) Luckily for me, Jim who isn't afraid of snakes, brought it upstairs for me to take a picture and then promptly took it to the woods. (it makes me shutter just thinking about it)

Like Jim Stafford says... "I don't like spiders and snakes!"

"This is the Life" Album measures 5 1/2" x 6".

The "Memories" Mini Album measures 4" x 5".

I punched the inside pages of my book with the border punch before I assembled.

I had a nice 4th of July this past week-end. We ended up having an impromptu BBQ Swim Party. The kids had a blast. The lighting that evening was perfect and the kids were more than willing to have me take their pictures. We ended the night at the fireworks where more than 20 family members gathered to watch the display. (I can't even remember the last time that happened)

Note the Jello Parfait's in the top right corner? (I was festively inspired.) I made the bottom layer with Cherry Jello (the store was out of Strawberry) and used frozen strawberries instead of cold water. The middle layer is just whipped cream and the top was Blueberry Jello. I thought it tasted good, and the kids liked it. So, I guess it was a success.

I'm sorry about the short post. (this is the 4th attempt at this post) Hopefully, the pictures will make up for it.

I hope you had a good 4th!

Sue

I'm not sure where to start when talking about all the changes going on around here.

Weddings, Demolition and last but not least my decision to leave Mc Gill.

I have worked as a freelance designer with Mc Gill for the last eight years and the time had finally come for me to move on.

I will still be working in the industry with other companies and I have some fun opportunities on the horizon.

But... Sorry to say, no more Paper Blossom classes.

I've decided to leave you with one last Paper Blossoms project using October Afternoon's 5 & Dime Collection.

On the night of Stephanie's Wedding Rehearsal, less than an hour before we were to leave, Jim dutifully started our dishwasher. A little while later, Justin went into the kitchen to discover it completely flooded. After turning off the water, they checked the basement to find it raining (pouring) all over the couch and bed we have down there. Monday morning, the repairman said we had a faulty valve, but on inspection also found a small pinhole in the tub of the dishwasher. Now let me back up a bit. This dishwasher is the new dishwasher that replaced the new dishwasher that was also defective. It still had the protective plastic on the front of the door. Long story short, yesterday they installed my third new dishwasher in one year. And... needless to say the manufacture is paying for the dumpster and repairs to the basement. So.... the dumpster is being delivered today and the demo of the basement starts tomorrow. (yuck)

After making the guest book for Stephanie's Wedding. She got me thinking that maybe there are other brides out there that's looking for something other than the traditional type guest books. So.... I played around and made another.

It was made using Basic Grey's Marjolaine Collection of papers and stickers and my bind it all. It comes with 20 cardstock pages with 10 lines on the front of each page. The book measures 5 1/5" x 8 1/2".

Enjoy!

Sue

It's taken me a little longer to post these pictures. (my internet was down for a few days, stupid storms)

Here's the lovely Bride and Groom.

I thought for sure that I would cry during the ceremony. (I had tears in my eyes during the rehersal.) The kids were so happy that all I could do was smile. (I did see her dad wipe his eyes) The ceremony was beautiful and the only thing traditional. The music was so sweet and personal. I was so proud of them. I know they will be very happy.

They're not the clearest pictures, but you can see a little bit more of her dress in these.

They are cute together. (there's more than a foot difference between their heights)

Laughing with Friends and Family.

Friends of Stephanie's from High School.

Even my girlfriends from High School. I had so much fun.

I got a call from Stephanie this week from Portland. Everything is going good.

I can't wait to see the actual wedding photo's, and hear all about their trip. (more to come....)

The wedding has come and gone, with beautiful skies and hot humid weather. A perfect June day. Stephanie was lovely and was pleased at how everything turned out. It was a really good day.

Here a little view of the mess staged before we left to take everything to the church on Friday.

Set up was fairly painless, except for stubborn wrinkles in the table cloths that took forever (4 hours to iron out).

Cute little displays. (totally Steph)

the centerpieces worked out perfectly.

Getting ready for the Rehersal had it's own challenges. Like the brand new dishwasher flooding the kitchen and basement less than an hour before we were to leave. (another story for another day, you won't believe)

The kids at the Rehersal Dinner. (pizza, of course)

The girls got up early for their 8:00 a.m. hair appts. They all looked beautiful.

Tomorrow Snapshots from the Wedding!

Stephanie and I have been racking our little brains trying to come up with something for favors at the wedding. We didn't want to do anything too cheesy. So, instead of table favor's we came up with the idea of donating to the World's Bicycle Relief. www.worldsbicyclerelief.org

World Bicycle Relief is dedicated to providing access to independence and livelihood through the power of bicycles.

Zach's mom bought these cute little pins.

We finished the guest book last night. Stephanie is thrilled how it turned out. It was made with Basic Grey's "Hello Luscious" line of paper and stickers along with some matboard, adhesive and my bind it all.

You know... I was thinking just the other day. If Princess Diana was still alive and had her own blog, I'm sure she would have been doing a lot of posts on William and Kate. And.... I'm sure we'd be checking everyday to see what she had to say. (I'm just saying...)

Anyway.....I hope your not getting too tired of all this wedding stuff. (cause there is definitely more to come)

Just 3 more days!!!

I wanted to share with you a quick layout I did using October Afternoon's 5 & Dime Collection. (www.octoberafternoon.com) It just makes me "Happy".

Just one more week till "THE BIG DAY"!!! and that makes me happy too.

Suescreativeworkshop is now on Facebook. Go to my facebook tab at the top of the site and go onto my facebook page and "like me".

I can hardly believe that we only have 19 more days until the wedding. We're hard at work finishing up all those last minute details, getting her packed and ready to move.

And would you believe, I'm also going through stuff getting ready for our Neighborhood's Annual Garage Sale. (Am I nuts??? maybe a little) I've been pulling out old stamps, stickers, punches and a lot of misc. stuff that I've hoarded for long enough. (gotta make room for more) One's girls junk is another girl's treasure. So, If you live in the Peoria area and want to stop by, send me a message sue@suescreativeworkshop.com and I'll give you directions. I'm contemplating having a pre-sale on Friday. I'll let you all know.

The weather is supposed to be wonderful all week and I'm praying the weatherman's wrong for Saturday. (no rain please!!!)

Wish me luck!

If you've read the earlier posts on my daughter's wedding, you've realized that she's a non-traditional girl. Here's the outside of the invitation announcing their "BIG DAY". My niece framed it and had it on display at Stephanie's Bridal Shower. (she's the fox and he's the bear)

Enjoy!

Yesterday marked one month before the big day for Stephanie and Zach.

She got a nice little surprise when she arrived home. Zach had sent her a bouquet of flowers with a note, "one more month". How sweet. He's already moved to their new place in Madison, so it's hard for her with all the wedding planning and him to being over 3 hours away. Just one more month! WOW!!!, it's approaching fast. Tonight's her second and last Bridal Shower, she's been so blessed by wonderful friends and family who've showered her with so many wonderful gifts. (where to put all this stuff?)

Anyway, I thought I'd share a couple more of their engagement pictures.

I think this has to be one of my favorite ones. I can't wait to scrapbook these.

Have a great Day,

Sue

This old piano came to live with my family in the late 60's when I was a young girl. It had lived with a piano teacher who told us in it's previous life it was a bar piano. Oh, if only this piano could talk. (The number of stories it could tell on me alone.) I inherited the piano sometime in the 90's when my parents got an upgraded piano. I loved this old piano and it was part of the family. I took piano lessons on it, we played and sang with it. We hung our Christmas stockings from the lid. What a good piano.

About a year or so ago, after we put in new floors in the living room, it was moved into my dining room. The table shifted over and it became the white elephant in the room. I didn't like it there, nobody ever played it, but I just couldn't get rid of it. It was family. I asked my brother and sisters and nobody wanted it, although everyone said "awww" when it came time to getting rid of it. Finally after much, much, much procrastination I put a sappy ad on Craigslist. "Looking for a Good Home for a Free Vintage Piano" (with this picture). My husband said I'd never be able to get rid of it and even suggested putting it out on the curb. But after approx. 30 emails from people wanting it, I choose a local woman to come and look at it. She immediately fell in love with it's sappy story and old looks. After searching hard to get someone to move it, she paid local movers $200 to come and get my piano.

Today I lost another piece of my childhood, and I am a little sad.

Stephanie shared this picture with me the other night and I asked her if I could put it on my blog to share with you. She and Zach went on Sunday and had their engagement pictures taken in the park. This is the first sneak peek. I couldn't believe how cute it was. It's hard to believe that it wasn't taken many, many years ago. I can't wait to see the rest of them.

Helping Stephanie plan this wedding has taken a different philosophy on my part. If I would have envisioned years ago what my daughter's wedding would look like, it would have been a very traditional, somewhat formal affair.

Stephanie has a different look on life and simplicity. I have enjoyed the fact that I have raised a creative, artistic soul. (Stephanie's degree is in fashion merchandising) So, I have to step back, relax and trust that her vision is perfect. She has a great eye for detail.

This wedding will be a simple wedding, with a simple but elegantly beautiful dress, no tuxes, no flower girls, no ringbearers, simple and eclectic decorations. It's turning out to be a lot of fun and surprising enough fairly simple on the pocketbook. She has a good group of artistic friends, one friend is making her invitations (definately not traditional), another is making vegan cupcakes (did I mention no wedding cake? just a fabulous desert bar), another is taking the photo's (see picture above). We have bought eco friendly cutlery, eco friendly bamboo plates, we will serve flavored teas and coffee (and lemonade for the kids and me). It will be completly the way she wants it. (Just an intimate gathering for approx. 150)

So, as her dad and I say... "If she's happy, we're happy!!!"