I'm sending out a request to anyone who visits my blog. I'm in want of a banner for my blog. Something nice and at least semi-classy to replace the junk I've got up there! Are you able to do this? Are you willing to help me out? Please email me merr@mchsi.com and let me know! You'd have my unending gratitude!!
Thanks in advance!!
Today has been so much warmer than recent history! I'm so glad too, this meant that I got to go run errands without shivering the entire time! What did you do today? I started by hitting the ATM, paying my library fines (I'm HORRIBLE at remembering to return books on time!), had David's hair cut and I got some waxing done, took my main man out for lunch at the local Mexican place, then to the post office to mail some swaps! After all that I came home and put Davy to bed and caught up on my emails and blog surfing! Yay! After all that I got ready for Girl Scouts tonight. We'll be looking at the stars (inside since it's still pretty cold out there!)
I haven't gotten any stampin' or scrapin' done today, but I thought I'd go ahead and post a card I finished up the other day. Here's my recipe:
Stamps: French Script, Espressoly for You
Card stock: Black
Inks: Stazon Black
Accessories: Window Sheet, Pearl Ex Powders, Black Brads
This look is super easy to get! Stamp on one side of the window sheet with Stazon Ink and allow to dry. Once dried run it through the Xyron machine so the adhesive is on the opposite side as the ink! Then using a paint brush dab and fluff your PearlEx powders to cover all the adhesive. Use brads to keep your piece in place as adhesive won't stick for long!
Have tons of fun and I hope to post again tomorrow with some new projects!
Wouldn't you know it but Saturday it began to snow again. For the second week in a row church was cancled. I've been missing my time there, and have been a little frustrated that I can't follow through on my new years resolution to magnify my callings and to attend church more regularly. I guess Heavenly Father has other plans for me! So I'll have to be patient and hope the weather cooperates next week!
I was so excited that there was enough of a break in between storms to go to the Pamper Me Crop at the LSS on Friday night. Somehow I managed to wrangle my folks into watching David for me, and I was ready to roll. It just so happened that I got my January Scrapbook Kit from Treasured Scrapbooking that very afternoon so I had plenty to play with! Yay me! I only ended up spending $2 on cardstock! Amazing!
I manged to sit at a table with two of the nicest croppers I've ever happened upon! We had a lot of fun, and it was really neat to see other people's process for creating a layout. The ladies with me and I all had totally differnt styles of putting a page together, and they couldn't seem to believe that I was scrapbooking without pictures! LOL. I had planned on going home and taking some pics of myself for Tim anyway, and was going to make duplicates for the scrapbook. It ended up that I found older pics just begging to be put on the pages instead!
So I'm pretty happy with my layouts. They're very basic, but that's OK. This isn't even all of them. I still have two more to add pictures to. The two layouts without titles I need to work on. I can't think of a thing to title them. If you have any suggestions go ahead and post them here! This is driving me crazy!
Until then, happy scrapping!
Man oh man did I get a ton of emails and posts since yesterday and all of them wanting the same thing… Instructions for the card below! Wow! Glad glad glad that everyone likes it! I was sure impressed with myself when I completed it! (And even as amazing as it looks on the computer it’s 110% better in real life! So anyway, here’s my tutorial on how to make this card!
Polished Stone
Materials:
I've not done much of anything today. I went with my friend to the doctor this morning. Not because she needed me there (for anything beyond comic relief anyway) but because we went scrapbook shopping afterwards! YAY!
We hit three of the local scrapbook stores (there are more than that though!) Ending with Stamper's Studio & Stuff which is my most Fav. because Kristi has GREAT stuff that we can't get anywhere else! AND because that's where I'll be teaching classes starting in February! (Yay me!)
So I picked up some Souffle pens, some more alcohol inks, some cardstock, some new heidi swapps rub-ons that I couldn't resist and also some more chip board stuff - yeah, like I need any more! I also got my hands on a scalloped oval punch that I've been dieing for! I'm so psyched to use it - keep an eye out for projects here using it!
After all that I came home and made this card. The cardstock is all Stampin' Up! and is yummy to the max! I used Rose Red, Brushed Copper and Glossy White. I also used Stampin' Up!'s Kanji stamp set. The symbol means LOVE - which would explane why the word LOVE is written up the side of the card, right? It was really hard to get a good shot of this card, so please take my word for it that this card looks 100000 times better in real life!
Anyway, take care, keep warm, and let me know what you think of the card!!
I've not forgotten you! I have been dieing to get on line again the past couple of days and all for nothing! The power went out shortly after my last post. It was only out for about 10 hours - which is good considering some people in Springfield and other local towns are still without power! Then, nearly as soon as we got power on again we lost cable - which is how we have our internet. So I've been fretting and fuming trying to get myself on line again. 90% of my business is conducted on line, and when that's not available things get a little difficult!
Anyway, now that I'm done complaining, how about I share a layout with you? This one, titled "Cold Play," was taken of David while we were visiting family in Ohio during Christmas. It was FREEZING out, but my uncle cousin and I took David down to the little park by my uncle's house. David had the time of his life, of course, and the weather didn't bother him a bit! Later that same day we left Columbus to fly home! It was great that he got to get some of his energy out before spending hours and hours on plains and in airports!
I used Bazzil cardstock, along with some papers from Basic Grey's Prancer papers. I love Basic Grey patterned paper and absolutely adored that one of the papers had little snow flakes on it! I also used "Snow Spot" from Stampin' Up! along with Stampin' Up!'s silver detail embossing powder to make all the snow flakes!
The small tag is done using Stampin' Up!'s tag punches and the "Faux Metal" technique. I used four coats of the silver detail embossing powder and one layer of the holigram hightlight embossing powder for a holigraphic effect! I then sponged some white stayzon ink lightly around the little snow flake to make it pop. I punched a hole at the top and threaded some silver cord through it. Yay!
I cut the title from the same Basic Grey paper used on the page and also Night of Navy cardstock from Stampin' Up! I used a sponge dauber to place VersaMark ink where I wanted it on the letters, sprinkled it with the same silver detail embossing powder and heat it. I tried to get the powder in the areas of the letter where snow would fall. Turned out pretty in real life, though it's hard to see in the picture.
I got this wonderful sketch from Treasured Scrapbooking. I really like the sketch, and I plan on fipping it to make a left hand page for this layout. I've just not gotten to it yet! lol!
We survived the night - but not unscathed! Yesterday, you will remember I went out and looked around to see what was what. Then I saw that big honkin' branch bent nearly in half and right over the portion of the house where my bedroom sits. Sure enough, that silly branch came down at 5 o'clock this morning. I heard it from where I was pretending to sleep!
Our power went out about 3 AM and it woke me up because I'd fallen asleep on the couch with the TV on. I layed there trying to figure out if I'd gotten up sometime during the night and turned off the lights, or if the power was out. After laying there for a few mintues I finally decided that the power was indeed out! So I got up and closed off extra rooms to conserve heat. My bedroom, the craft and play rooms as well as all three bathrooms were closed.
I layed there forever just listening to the creak and pop of branches finally breaking their moorings. I don't know if you've ever heard it, but its pretty close to what I remember a gun shot sounding like! The first one that popped made me jump out of my skin! Yikes! I knew what it was, but it still startled me anyway! lol.
It was about 5 AM when that darn branch over my house finally let loose. No nice little pop this time. It was more like crash and crunch! I knew what it was instantly and decided that I probably wasn't going back to sleep anyway. I got up and went out with Thomas to take some pictures! (Of course, cause whatelse would a scrapbooking fanatic do?!)
The truck is fine. I think I saw a few extra scratches, but still plenty drivable once I get the branch removed! It appears that the roof is fine too, though there's no way I'm climbing up there to investigate! It seems like the only real damage to the house is my poor pretty rain gutter is bent and pulled away from the house. (Pretty because this is the first house we've lived in that had rain gutters and were a big selling point for me! lol!!) The only real damage to the truck is Tim's Army box. I don't know if you've ever seen one of these things, they're the modern day equivilant to those old green foot lockers. They are built super tough and this one has been to Iraq and back again twice! It won't be going anywhere now! That branch went RIGHT THROUGH the top! YIKES!
Anyway, our power came back on at 8 am and David and I cheered for the folks at Webster Electric Co-Op for getting us going again! I wasn't looking forward to cooking on a camp stove this morning! So we're safe, warm, and well fed. Time to make phone calls to see how my friends and family are doing!
So it took me a while to remember today that the world at large isn't frozen – just my little corner of it! We're definitely frozen here; though I have to say that David and I are faring much better than many of people around us! (I pray that we remain so!)
70,000 people were without power in Springfield due to these ice storms. I hear that they now have that number down by about 5 - 10,000 people. My sister is one of those people. Not a big deal for the most part, but Marcia recently had surgery on her leg and is not mobile yet. Due to some quick thinking on my parent's part Marcia and my nephew Kyle are safely ensconced at my parent's home. In addition to my sister and nephew my parents have also taken in two other people from Springfield who were left without power. Way to go Mom and Dad!
David and I don't watch news while Tim is overseas so I tend to forget there's a world outside this frozen little cocoon that David and I are trapped in. Yes, trapped! My truck is frozen shut. Happily though that's the biggest problem we've got. The power, water and cable are all on still and we don't have a single branch down in our yard! So I'm hoping that these bending boughs hold until the melting cause I don't want to lose my roof! (See the pic with the red oval! That branch usually stands up strait. If it falls it will land on the roof directly above my bed... I'm thinking about sleeping in the livingroom tonight! Or maybe I'll bunk on the extra bed in David's room!)
I went out this morning with my camera and got some shots. I’m surprised they turned out this well as I was shivering beyond belief! (My scarf is frozen inside the truck!) Enjoy the pics and please pray for those people without power tonight. For many people in the area no power means no water, no heat, and no food.
Enchante means "Nice to Meet You," or something there abouts, in French. I only took one semester of French in college, and that's one of the few words that stuck with me! So when I decided to do a "Book of Me" it was natural to title it Enchante. (That, and because the name of the paper I used is Enchante from Stampin’ Up!)
This book is intended to be a piece of me handed down to my children. I want them to know what kind of person I was, both growing up, and as an adult. This book is really special to me, and hope that it will be the same to them after I’m gone!
The first thing I did was to remove the wire binding from the book. (I used Stampin’ Up!’s On Board Art Journal for this project!)
For the cover I used Enchante Paper from Stampin’ Up!, Eggplant grosgrain also from Stampin’ Up!, Beaded wire – I bought it ages ago and have no idea who the manufacturer is, but I love the stuff! – and a flower from Prima. I mod-podged the paper on the cover of the journal; then wrapped the ribbon and beaded wire around and tied them off. The Prima was attached using glue dots.
For the pages with journaling I typed them up in Microsoft Word and ran the pages through my printer. I have great hand writing, but making lists and stories that long seems daunting to someone who’s more used to typing than actually writing!
The different subjects I’ve covered (or am going to cover) are as follows:
Vital Statistics
Things I’d Tell a 13 Year Old Me
My Faith
My Accomplishments
My Goals
My Husband
My Children
My Favorite Things
A Letter to My Children
If you have any questions about how the pages were formed, please drop me a line and ask away!
So I offered to show people how to take better pics of their craft work this morning on Treasured Scrapbooking. I thought there may be some others out there interested as well! Here we go:
I'm lucky that my work table butts up against a window. It lets in lots of natural light and is fantastic for taking pictures! Not only because of the light, but the sheers are a perfect backdrop to my cards! 
I actually prefer to take pictures at night, when it’s dark behind the sheers, because well... they're sheer and you can sometimes catch a glimpse of the swing set and sandbox in the backyard beyond my window. To take care of this, I pin a white piece of cotton cloth up on my sheers. This is still thin enough to allow light in, but thick enough you can't see through to my messy back yard! This cloth is long enough to cover the work surface of my table and actually drapes off the front end.
(If shooting at night I simply place a piece of white paper under my object to create the all white look that I prefer!)
I have on my work table a good old swing arm lamp. In it I have a “natural light” light bulb. It’s closer to daylight than a regular “soft white” bulb and is wonderful for crafting purposes and as it happens, for photography purposes as well! I swing the arm of the lamp over so it is directly above, but slightly behind the object. I mess around with it until there is no glare.
In front, slightly to the right of the craft item I have a Mary Kay demonstration mirror. I picked it up at a yard sale. Before I found this little gem I was using a man’s shaving mirror, and it was OK, but the Mary Kay mirror is longer so it casts a better reflection. I adjust the mirror so that it is shining directly on the face of whatever I’m photographing. It’s not to make all the shadows disappear, but to make them appear less harsh.
When I first started snapping pictures I would try to take at least 10. Yup! Ten! That way I can file through them and pick out the best one. I change my position every time I snap a frame. I’ve gotten better at it in the last few months and am able to take only 3 and end up with a perfect shot!
After I’ve got the shots I want I go back and edit and post my pictures. Easy peasy!!
Here are the steps in a more precise list:
1. Set up a neutral backdrop in a well lit area, use natural light whenever possible
2. Be aware of picture distractions and do what you can to minimize if not eliminate them
3. Use mirrors or other reflective surfaces to catch your work in the best possible light.
4. Don’t be afraid to change positions and experiment with your pictures.
5. Take more pictures than you think you will need.
6. Have fun!
Today has been an exceptionally busy day for David and I. We started with a business conference over Egg McMuffins this morning. He has instructed me that I am no longer to call him Davy, cause that's a baby's name.
Hmmmm... OK. Mental note - My baby is no longer a baby!
After this very important conference, we scooted over to Ozark to see my grandmother. Unfortunately it doesn't appear that GGB (stands for Great Grandma Bea and is what my sons and nephew and niece call my grandmother) will be with us much longer. She was diagnosed with Stage IV Renal Failure last month, and has been doing rather well despite this very scary diagnosis! That is until a few days ago when her blood tests have done a complete turn around and the numbers are not good! We stayed for a short while, and on our way out the door David - being the sincere and sometimes wise child that he is - says "I guess GGB will have her wings in no time at all!"
Hmmmm... OK. Mental note - My baby is no longer a baby!
After we visited GGB we moved on to the Scrapbook store where David followed me around very patiently with the basket because it's his job to "take care of Mama!" He followed, and followed, and followed until we must have walked a mile around that darn store. (I was shopping for my Secret Cupid on Treasured Scrapbooking and needed to find the PERFECT things for this really cool lady!) Finally I make a move to pay and David says to me: "Hold on, Mama. I'll pay for this." He proceeds to empty two dollars worth of pennies and nickles from his little pockets."
Hmmmm... OK. Mental note - My baby is no longer a baby!
While at Walmart he got to talking to the lady in line behind us - because he's that kind of kid. I have no idea how they got on the subject, but she asked him about his daddy. My heart sank even while my ears perked up. How in the world would he handle this one? David, being the little man that he is said: "My Daddy's in Iraq. He's bringing the Iraqis Freedom."
Hmmmm... OK. Mental note - My baby is no longer a baby!
How is it that celebrating his fifth birthday almost a week ago has aged my little boy into a little man? He's amazing! Apparently he's soaking up much more than I ever thought! (I have no idea where the line about Iraq came from.) Hopefully I'll be able to continue being a good teacher to my son, and he can continue being a good example to me!
Wowza! What a busy day, and I spent MOST of it in my bathrobe!
I was hard to convince David that his new birthday toys needed to be stored in his playroom. That is, after all, the reason one entire room in this house is dedicated to toys - so I don't have to step on legos and all manner of other sharp and painful toys in the dark, in the middle of the night! YIKES and OUCH!
Caught up on some stuff on line today. My "Love You" layout was chosen as Layout of the Day on Treasured Scrapbooking! Yay! I'm so tickled! It's actually been quite a while since I scrapped at all, not counting the two gift albums I helped Mom and Marcia put together for Christmas presents. I may even put another layout together tonight; but I'll have to stick to Stampin' Up! products if I'm ever going to get my contest entries together in time!
Tomorrow though, I'm back to cards again. I'll be headed back in to Stamper's Studio - cause guess who's now on a Design Team?! Yup! Me. I'm going in to play with Kristie's stamps and get some projects put together for submissions. So tonight (after scrapbooking of course) I need to get my gear packed and ready to go. Lets hope I don't get there and have my juices just jam up! Yikes!
So after working on the ‘puter some, and getting nothing done in my own little corner of the house, I got ready for girl scouts. Wouldn't you know that these girls are planning on using their cookie money for a trip to St. Louis?! They just about doubled my work load today in figuring out costs, fees and admission prices. I'm praying that we get some of that good 'ole hometown support happening for us cause my rough estimates put us at $1,230 which is roughly equivalent to 1923 boxes of cookies!
So OK, now on to the wonderdog portion of this post! Thomas was a maniac tonight! Of course he waited to get frisky until I was getting ready for our troop meeting. He was climbing all over David, jumping and nipping at my clothes, running in wild circles and barking, just generally having a grand old time and making a bother of himself. I did manage to get a few shots of him. In the first one he's sitting on David's lap! lol. Poor Davy! The second he's just about to bound around the room again, but its a nice "head shot" anyway!
Have a good evening!
I've been working very hard on a special project this last month, and I'm quickly running out of time! Stampin' Up! is offering an Artisan Award. It's open to current demos in US and Canada. Ten people will be chosen based on their entries of the following:
5 Cards
3 Scrapbook (single-paged) layouts of either 8 1/2 x 11 or 12 x 12
2 Three-dimensional projects.
The entries will be judged on creativity, style, craftsmanship, composition, color oand consistency. Now I have no idea what all that means, other than I'd better be careful with strait lines and glue adhesion and such! (I hear tell they'll even be paying attention to the way bow are tied! YIKES!)
That's scary enough, but you won't believe the prizes! From the Stampin' Up! website: "Winners will receive an Artisan Award pin, $500 cash, and a $500 Stampin' Up! shopping spree. Winners will be invited to attend an evening social hosted by Shelli and Brent Steele to meet members of the creative team on the evening of check-in day during Convention 2007, in Denver, Colorado."
Man oh man! I am working my butt off! That award money is more than my monthly mortgate and I wouldn't mind having a 12x12 printer! (Epson currently has one for near $500 - how perfect is that?!)
Now I'm not saying that I'm going to win, but darn it, I'm going to give it my best try! So far I've nearly completed one of my 3-D projects - and man is it a doozie! I have been working on it steadily (except last night I took a break from it) for a week now. It's really nice so far. I'll post pics when it's completed!
Other than this one project I have no idea what else I am going to do! Any suggestions? Thoughts?
Keep checking back, I'll be posting more about it in the near future!
Yesterday we celebrated David's 5th birthday with a ton of kid, cake and more presents than he needed! It was a great time, but left me exhausted!!
Today we hung around the house and I scrapbooked. Fun, fun, fun! Here are the two layouts I came up with.
This first one is of our outting to Linden Creek in our little town! It's the most beautiful spot, and we really enjoyed our time there. It took some time but eventually David ventured into the water. Mostly though he splashed around in the creek above the waterfall. (Below the waterfall its about 4 feet deep.)
I used "Lime Swirl" paper by Karen Foster, and blue Bazzil cardstock. The book plate is from Basic Grey, and the grosgrain ribbon is Stampin' Up! I really like how this layout went together. It's the first time I've used a photo THAT large! (It measures 12"x8") So something outside of my "normal", which is good!
The second layout is done with the same Lime Swirl paper, but with a twist. I sat down with my craft knife and cut out the swirls. I think it make a good accent, though it took forever to cut it all out without tearing the paper! I need to remember next time that I don't have to press so hard! Live and learn... Live and learn.
In addition to the lime swirl I use Bazzil cardstock (again), Prima flowers, stickles, and lace from the bargan bin at Hobby Lobby. It's hard to see in the photograph but before I did anything else to the background cardstock I sprayed whitewash spray paint on. I did it really thick so that the paint was pooled on the cardstock, then went in with crumbled tissue paper and removed the excess. It left a nice subtle texture around the edges.
This picture was taken for David's first birthday. I can't help but look at the pictures we had done that day and think of what a BEAUTIFUL baby he was! I miss the baby that he was, but am so much more in love with the boy he has become. What a wonderful child, and truely the love of my life. (But don't tell my husband I said that! LOL!!)
Yes folks, that's right. Our Thomas is two years old today! I can't believe how much he's grown - both physically and emotionally since he joined our family! I look at him, and can still see the shy and cowering boy we was a year and a half ago. He would run away and hide when anyone would approach him. These days he's more likely to yell at you if you come near (because some of that poor abused little boy will always be a part of him.)
I was not convinced at first when Tim said we had to take him in. I worried about him snapping at David, or never getting over the scared piddling thing; and I was certain that we could never be able to even pet him because he was forever running away from us. 
But I began working with him anyway. Our training started with me lying down with my arms out stretched and my eyes closed. After waiting five minutes or so he would cautiously approach me, sniff at my fingers and then scoot away. Still more weeks went by before I was allowed to tiptoe ever closer to him before he would run away. Within a few months however he had become my shadow, my closest companion, and my sweet sweet baby!
So in honor of how far my boy has come since joining our family I have made him a special little treat. (Yes, I know he has no real appreciation for the fine art of paper crafting.) This little pint sized paint can is filled with his favorite treats from the doggie bakery in Springfield.
The Chenoweth household has been gearing up for Valentine's Day in a BIG WAY! Yeah, I know we've got over a month until Love Day hits us, but really, is there ever enough time to make all the things you want to for a holiday? (Plus a good number of our craft items are being sent overseas to a certain someone whom we LOVE above anyone else!)
I started off making the Love Book. It's small, mostly because it needs to be able to fit in a cargo pocket. I used two chipboard hearts picked up at the local scrapbook store and covered them with Bazzil card stock. On a third, smaller heart, I modpodged the pretty patterned paper (Called Devotion from Basic Grey's Blush line) and sanded the edges on all three hearts. This same paper is on the front inside cover of the book. 
I made an accordion binding for this book. Remember making fans in primary school? Same theory, cut it to fit the angles of the heart and you're set to go. Attach the binding with sticky tape and then attach the heart pages - trace and cut the large hearts for pages of more Bazzil card stock.
For the closure I attached a strip of taupe Bazzil cardstock to the underside of the small heart and the other end to the inside of the back chipboard heart. I used tiny self adhesive magnets to keep the book closed. They're from Basic Grey as well; I found them at Hobby Lobby for $6. Good buy!
I used Primas and gems, ribbons and glitter (though it doesn't show up in the pics) to decorate the book. I plan on adding in some more self portraits of myself - all in black and white for more drama. That should please the man who's forever begging for recent pictures of me! lol.
I did the card this morning using stamps from Magenta. I absolutely love these stamps, and have quite a few from this company. They're unmounted and stored in CD cases so thankfully don't take up much room! I colored the images in with Prisma colors and attached it to some Stampin' Up! card stock (Regal Rose and Bravo Burgundy.) The small square in the upper left hand corner is popped up with a pop dot. The sentiment was cut using my Cricut with more Bravo Burgundy card stock.
I hope you've missed me this week as much as I've missed you. I also hope that you've had the best ever holiday season! I went to Ohio for the week, and MAN am I glad to be home with my stamping stuff again! I went to spend time with my 81 year old grandmother and was concerend taht I wasn't going to have the time/inclination to stamp while I was there. Man was I wrong! So lesson learned. Next time the stamping stuff goes with me, even if it means taking an additional bag!
Anyway, just before I left I finished up my ATC's for Vanessa's swap. I set out trying to come up with something WOW, and different. But I guess I ended up shy of wow, and not so different. I did try the ghosting technique, which was fun. And I finally used my Blue Frost Kalidescope pad, which is cool. So all is not lost. I did look at the list of participants though, and MAN am I in for a treat when this stuff comes back! There are some TALENTED ladies on that list. *sigh* I will endevor to be better for the next swap!
We did have a great time in Ohio though I worried about my ATC's the entire time. We got to see my Uncle Clyde and Aunt Sue, my Great Aunt Sissy and her children Frank and Beth. We stayed with my Uncle Willie at his cute little house in Columbus! I also got to see my cousin Lara. (She's the cutie on the right!) Along with her friend Molly, who David just adored! This pic was taken our last day there. Lara, Molly and I took Dave to the park at the end of the street. I swear those girls had as much - if not more - fun on the jungle gym and swings as David! I occupied my time taking over 60 pictures. This is my favorite one though. Arne't they cute?!
So anyway, time to get dressed and put the war paint on! I've got to get some errans run. Rest assured though that I'll post again soon. (As soon as I make something!)
- Merr
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