First Paper Crafts publication!

My first publication in Paper Crafts magazine is out! You can find my card on page 45 of the March April issue, available on newsstands, your local Barnes and Noble (but not mine since they were sold out) and anywhere else crafting magazines are sold! You can also buy it online HERE.

and here it is:

Im so excited! Of course I already have a copy - two actually (one from being published that came with my returned card, and the other from my subscription) - but I am still so excited to see it for sale in a store! So far I have been striking out with finding it, but I have it on very good authority that it's out there!

altered backpack and st. patty's day blog hop

First, mark your calendars because the new Joy's Life Design Team is having a blog hop on St. Patty's day! I will, of course, be posting, so you can't forget as long as you stop by my blog!

Now, as I promised, here are some photos of the alterations that I made on Ellie's backpack. You see, her backpack kept getting mixed up with that of another girl in her class. Apparently the initials were not enough to tell them apart, so I thought I needed to do something drastic. It needed to be more than a patch or a ribbon. So, I took Ellie to Joann and let her pick out two kinds of fabric. Since I was pretty sure there was no way I was getting my sewing machine in the pocket or through the padding on the back, I decided (generally against my better judgement) to use iron on adhesive. It took me TWO HOURS to iron the patches on and make sure that I got all the edges glued down sufficiently, but I think it turned out pretty cute. Sorry for the bad photos, but you get the idea.

I ironed a big patch on the back and a smaller one on the front. Then I used the (not so) coordinating fabric on the bottom and cut some hearts from it for decoration. I had tried to talk her into a more solid pattern for the second fabric, but she was having none of it. Oh well, it's cute and she loves it, mostly because she picked out the fabric. WIN!

Imaginisce guest designer part 2!

I am up on the Imaginisce blog again today! So excited to see my cards and altered item up there! Be sure to hop over there and check it out!

And in other news. I had a rough weekend. My husband and my in-laws were out of town, so I was home along with Ellie and she got sick! Not just any sick, she had a fever of 103, and was pretty much the sickest I have seen her. I think it was like a 24hour flu or something because she was achy and weak and slept constantly, but she was so much better on Sunday and totally fine so far today. Thank goodness we have more family in the area and my husband's aunt was nice enough to go out and buy me some chewable ibuprofen and  a few other things, because I didn't know how I was going to drag her out to the drugstore feeling like that. 

So that was my weekend. I got a tiny bit of scrapping done on Sunday afternoon, in between the mountains of laundry. Crossing my fingers now that I don't get sick because all we did was snuggle. She wanted me there, she wanted to be up against, on and in my face  while she slept. I tried getting up around midnight (having napped with her much of the day I wasn't tired) and 20 minutes later she was calling me back. So, I am taking my vitamins and hoping for the best. But, I am just soooo soo glad that she is back to normal. It was NOT fun seeing her looking so sad, tired and sick.

Took a break - and a couple of cards

I haven't posted in a while. That's because I just needed a break from all things scrappy. I ended up with 5 days in a row off and I didn't to any crafting until 3pm on the last day. I slept, cleaned, shopped and spent quality time with Ellie. We worked on a couple of school projects, which were really fun. I also altered her backpack so she doesn't keep getting it mixed up with another girl in her class who has the same one. So, I did do some crafting, but I was just burned out from rejections and drama. But, by the end of the 5 days, I was ready to give it a go again. I broke out some of my brand new Joy's Life stamps and created a few cards, which I can't share yet.
I will be sharing some photos and details about ellie's 'new' backpack in the new future. I thought I had taken some photos of it on my phone last night, but when I went to upload them, they were not there!

Anyway, in the mean time, since I can't make a post without a photo, here are a couple of cards that I haven't shared yet.

The first one is Little Yellow Bicycle stickers, Fancy Pants chipboard, and Bo Bunny cardstock.

The bottom one is Graphic 45 papers and an SRM sticker.

Ellie's Valentine

Thank you, thank you, thank you to the C.R.A.F.T challenge blog for allowing entries from children! Ellie is always asking me about the contests that I enter and wanting to enter one herself. I noticed last week that the CRAFT challenge blog has a special category for kids! LOVE IT! She created this valentine for the challenge this week.

She picked the pink paper with little dragonflies on it, then she wanted the card shaped like a dragonfly. She tried to draw it herself but it came out too small. So I helped her draw and cut the card outline. She came up with the rest all by herself. The threads are there to make it fly. :)

Stitched Crate Paper Valentines Card

I made this card for the creative inspirations love challenge, the simon says love is in the air challenge, the CRAFT valentines day challenge, the do you stack up love challenge, the paper play love letters challenge and the fussy and fancy love challenge. 

I used mostly Crate paper papers and chipboard. I also used a My Mind's Eye doily stamp and embossed the watermark stamped images. The stickers are lily bee and sassafras lass and the ribbon is may arts.

Valentine's Card

I don't make a lot of Valentine's cards because Seth and I don't celebrate and frankly, Im not much of a fan of the holiday. However, I got a call last night from a family member who wanted a really special card. So, I combined a few of my challenges that I had printed out and whipped up this beauty. I do have to say that I think it turned out just lovely!

This is for the CREATE magazine valentines card gallery challenge, the sassy valentine challenge and the do you stack up anything goes challenge.

webster's pages paper and journaling card and pin. Jenni bowlin pin. WRMK brooch, may arts ribbon, coredinations and bazzill cardstock.

Guest Designer for Imaginisce!

I am so happy to announce that I am the guest designer for Imaginisce for the month of February!

I had such fun working with their new Sole Sisters line. Hop on over there and check it out!

Machine Sewing video tutorial ACOT reveal

I bit the bullet and made another video tutorial as part of my reveal this month at A Cherry On Top. This is my second video tutorial. I kind of hate the sound of my voice so I don't really like making them. But it just seemed like the way to go here. So much easier to show than try to explain in words how to sew.

This article features some examples and tips on hand and faux sewing as well, but the focus in the video. In the video I show you some tips for machine sewing on paper.

Check it out HERE: http://www.acherryontop.com/articles/Stitching-on-your-projects---machine%2C-hand-and-faux-16492

Another fun announcement!

I was selected as one of the Ruby Rock-It guest designers for this year! I have a while to wait, because my month is December, but I'm really excited! I have been loving the products that they are putting out.

Check out the announcement here: http://rubyrockit.typepad.com/ruby-rock-it/2012/01/drum-roll-please.html

and be sure to check out their new CHA releases. I am loving this Nostalgia line. Can't wait to get my hands on that!