October Stamp of the Month Blog Hop

Well it is that time again!  The beginning of another month which brings us to Close To My Heart's stamp of the month (SOTM) blog hop!  If you are coming from Lisa's blog Stamp Happy then you are at the right place.  For the complete list of blogs you can go to Helen's blog Hooked on Stamping.   

I'm so excited about this SOTM - it is one of my favorite stamp sets!!  Allow me a quick moment to refresh your memory about this program.   This set is only available for the month of October.  You can purchase it outright for $17.95 or get it for $5 with a $50 purchase.  Contact me if you are interested in placing an order or shop on my website here.  

I made a bunch of projects with this stamp set but I'm going to show my favorite.  I made some paper "dolls" and a winter scene for my boys' Christmas stockings.  I got the idea from There She Goes Clear Stamps Blog.  Giving credit where credit is due.   

Now for the tutorial.  For the "dolls" I stamped three of each of the animals from the Bundled Buddies stamp set (one I colored and one uncolored for each of my boys).  Then I cut them out with an arched bottom.  I cut out 1 1/4 inch circles with the cricut (a circle punch would be great for this but I don't have one - yet), cut them in half and cut a small slit in the arch part.  Then I cut a small slit in the bottom of each animal to make a sort of "stand".  

The animals were colored in with CTMH's water-colored pencils.

I covered a flap of cardboard from a CTMH box with Wonderland paper.  Then I made a "snow hill" with white paper and glued it to the base.  Finally, using the October SOTM, I stamped and cut out trees and a sled. 

The sled was pasted on just the edges leaving an open space for the animals to "ride" if they got tired :)

That is it.  Here are two more cards I've made with this set and I just keep wanting to create more :)

Thanks for stopping by, comments are read and appreciated - making this stay at home Mama's day!  Now hop on over to the talented  Traci at ScrapiTraci to see what gorgeous project she made using this fabulous stamp set!! 

Want to join me for some fun creative time away?  Check out my Creative Club Information post here.

I'm honored . . .

Once again I was awarded the Liebster Blog Award

My sweet friend (who introduced me to Close To My Heart), amazing Mama of three energetic boys, creative paper crafter, and fellow Panera Bread lover ;), Nickie from Live Scrap Love has graciously nominated me for the Liebster Award.  Be sure to stop by and give her a big “hello”.  Liebster means ‘beloved’ in German, and the award is intended to bring additional traffic to blogs with less than 200 followers.

Regardless of how many followers the following blogs have, I’m delighted to link them to the chain of love by nominating them for the Liebster Blog Award.  Please visit their sites, leave some love in a comment or two.  If you like what you see as much as I do why not "follow" their blog? When you receive this award link back to the blogger who sent it to you, and nominate 5 more blogs.  Be sure to notify the bloggers you nominate.  If you don’t wish to or can’t participate, you will still receive an increase in traffic to your site – it’s all about love!

Patch O' Dirt Farm - meet Nadja - a homeschooling Mama with some very creative projects for kids

Mondocherry - meet three lovely ladies (two sisters and their sweet Mama) - I do not know these women personally but stumbled upon their blog via pinterest and immediately fell in love!  They have beautiful posts on fabric and paper crafts.  

Lisa's Creative Corner - meet Lisa - a fellow CTMH consultant who I have a great admiration for as a woman who loves God and shares her faith,  loves her children and family and is extremely creative!  Check out her blog for a ton of great paper crafting ideas!  

Boo Boo Princess - meet Nickie - my highschool friend who is now homeschooling her two girls and inspires me to be more creative with my school efforts, more patient with my children and teaches me to live "forgetting the past and strain towards what lies ahead" (Philippians 3:13)

Jeanette Lynton - meet Jeanette - founder and CEO of Close To My Heart.  She has an amazing story and heart for people and a love for crafting.  I enjoy reading her blog and seeing all the creative projects she makes using ink, paper and stamps.  

I know only five but it is so hard to do.  I have so many favorite blogs it is ridiculous.  I have to include these three even though they have way more than 200 followers.  When you check them out you will see why!   

• A Holy Experience where Ann teaches about gratitude and a heart that follows Jesus
• Passionate Homemaking where Lindsay encourages me to be a better mom and do all that I do for the glory of God
• Inspired to Action where Kat inspires me to start my morning off with Jesus in order to be the best mom, wife, sister, daughter and friend that I can be.  

Won't you check out their blogs as well - don't we all need a little encouragement, gratitude, inspiration and love in our days!

Blessings & Love, 

It's beginning to look a lot like . . .

Autumn - what you thought I was going to say Christmas right?  ;)  not just yet.  In my home we do a lot for the fall - it could very well be my favorite season.  I love the colors, the cooler air, the leaves, pumpkins, mums, apples, etc.  I love to decorate for fall.  I got married in the fall.  And I love planning fall/autumn parties!  So much fun!!

So my kids and I tried out this cool, fun project that I found on pinterest from the Crafty Crow blog.

So these leaves are made out of coffee filters.  First I had the kids color with watercolor markers all over the coffee filter.  Then I laid the filters onto wax paper and we "painted" the entire filter with a mixture of white glue and water (50/50).  Here is a photo of what the filters look like after being painted.  I let them dry, all over my house, overnight.

Then you peel the filter away from the wax paper like this.

Next, I cut out leaf shapes - you can do any type of leaf shape.

Now, most of what I read on these said to tie the leaves to the branches but I was not about to attempt that.  I'd rather burn the skin off my fingers using a hot glue gun - so that is what I did. I folded the leaves a little at the base and put some glue in the fold.

Then, quickly so to keep the burns to a minimum, I folded them over a branch.

The final project. I left some leaves on the dresser in my dinning room and a few "fell" into the bowl so they stayed as well.

I arranged the branches in this vase I made.  It is a canning jar with twine.  I just put some hot glue on the back of the jar to start the twine, then wrapped the twine around the jar until I got to the base, put some more glue and cut off the end of the twine.

Finally, the finished project on my dresser with my bowl (good will find - that I LOVE) and candles.

Enjoy your day!  Thanks so much for stopping - I love your comments!!  They make this stay-at-home Mama's day.  Check out my Creative Club Information here.

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 Linking up with Lines Across My Face, The Gunny Sack, The Southern Institute, Craftaholics,  CreationsbyKara and CSI Project.

Blessings,

A Dirty Little Secret

I have not been a part of the blogging world for very long but one thing I've noticed is that when I read blogs I tend to wish I was more like that person.  They seem to have it all together and I'm falling apart at the seams!  Then I sat back and wondered - do people who read my blog think I have it all together?  Oh my goodness I hope not!  So, I'm writing this post to set the record straight - those of you who know me don't need to read this (and it will not come as a shock to you) but I'd love it if you did anyway :)  I am not perfect!

After you pick yourself up from the floor - because I know that last statement may have blown you away (please note the sarcasm!) ;) I hope you will realize the truth behind some of my humor.

I do try to include my kids in my crafting times but there are a lot of times when I struggle - I just want to do it myself, I lose my patience - "No, you need to do it this way!", and I yell "Mommy just wants a minute of peace - leave me alone!".

The computer is attractive to me (even if my desk is not!) and calls to me all day long.  I can lose myself in doing "good", checking e-mails, just one minute on facebook, writing and reading blogs, even reading my "devotions" on-line can turn into an all day event for me.  Why is the virtual world so much more appealing than my own?

I've begged God to give me a husband and children.  He has blessed me with both and yet I struggle to find contentment in these blessings.

So I want you, my friends and readers, to know that sometimes my house is a mess.  Sometimes the dishes pile up on my counters and in my sinks (I don't have a dishwasher - but really this is not a good enough excuse).  Sometimes my crafting corner looks like my scrapbooks vomited all over the place!  And even more so now because my craft area was flooded!

Sometimes I craft, watch Hulu, or check facebook instead of doing the dishes or cleaning my home.  Sometimes I yell at my kids because they are interrupting "me" time when most of the day has been "me" time.  As I'm writing this I realize it would be more accurate to say that sometimes I am patient, sometimes I am kind, sometimes I am motivated, sometimes I am the Mama I want to be, sometimes I clean my house and sometimes I am loving.  Those times are when I realize who I am in Jesus and that God is working me for a greater purpose.  However, more often than not I fail.  I am well away that God is doing something in me for I am not who I was yesterday but I am far from who I want to be!  I am weak - He is strong.  I am sinful - He offers righteousness.  I am dirty - He washes me whiter than snow.  I am broken - He is my potter, my healer, my deliverer, my "glue".

So I hope you will keep reading my blog even though you now know that I do not excel in every area of my life.  And when you do read, keep this post in the back of your mind - lest you be tempted to think I'm perfect and wish you were more like me.

As for me, I take comfort in knowing this . . .
"Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is."  I John 3:2

Looking forward to that day,

JUGS Design Call

Just Us Girls is having a Design Call to be a part of their team.  I've looked at those who have taken the challenge and really feel like I don't have a chance.  There are some gorgeous projects out there - some really talented ladies!  I love finding inspiration on the blog and one of my favorite places to go for inspiration is Just Us Girls.  So I thought I might as well give it a try - don't know unless you try - right? :)

So in order to be considered for this opportunity I needed to make a card using this design sketch

I made a mini card.  My ribbon is made out of paper :)  I went for the Autumn theme - this is my favorite time of year!!   

Then we also needed to create a 3D item.  I love the Art Philosophy Cartridge from Close To My Heart for the Cricut Machine.  With 700 images there is no limit to what you can create with this cartridge!  I cut out the bag, leaves and acorns on the Cricut.  

Thanks Ladies for the chance to try for an opportunity to encourage and inspire others the way your blog has encouraged and inspired me!  

Blog Award

I was so excited to receive this blog award from my friend, Krista over at Kristas Crafty Corner.  It really made my Monday morning :) - well actually, Tuesday morning because although it was awarded on Monday I did not get the news until Tuesday.  Anyway, Check out Krista's blog for some great crafting ideas and inspiration.  If you like what you see I hope you'll follow her blog.     
Now it is my turn to pass this award on to five of my favorite blogs with less than 200 followers.  If you like their blogs, remember to "Follow" them.  The hope is to help out some of my fellow bloggers, and get a few more followers of my own.  If you see your name/blog listed here, please pass the award on to 5 more blogs that have less than 200 followers.  Here are 5 of my favorite blogs.


Quiver Full of Blessings  -  tons of creative ideas for the home using paper, fabric and much much more! 


Cheek 2 Cheek Designs - another great blog for crafting ideas - love her fabric flower pin cards! 


Taxi Cab Photography - this is one talented girl behind a camera!  Love her pictures :)


Card Therapy - awesome card designs for card making :) 


The Mango Boys and Me - great all around blog but I love her cards!


This was hard because I love so many craft, cooking, sewing, photography and other creative blogs!  Hope you enjoy these as much as I do!

Make it Monday (a little late)

I'm sorry for running late on this one, yes I recognize it is Tuesday - I have not lost my mind - well maybe I have but I am still aware what the day is (at least today I am).  Ok, enough here were go.  For our Make it Monday this week the kids and I went apple picking.

So we have had a lot of rain here lately.  I understand that many parts of the country are in desperate need for rain, so I'm not complaining, just stating a fact.  In dealing with all the rain I just could not stay in my house with the kids ONE more day so off we went to pick apples with rain boots.

So the next few weeks I'm going to post on Mondays what we did with our apples - YUM!  We always make applesauce (super easy and yummy) and this year I'm going to try a Apple Dinner (apples in every course!).  We are also going to make a few apple crafts so get ready!  Go do something with your kids today - even something small like this will make their day!  My oldest just asked me - Mama when are we going to pick apples in the rain again?  :)

Blessings,

October Creative Club

I'm beginning my Creative Club starting in October.  I am offering two separate classes on Monday, October 17th.  One at 2:00 in the afternoon and one at 7:00 in the evening.  We will be doing the Dreamin Workshop On The Go.

Together we will make TWO 2-page layouts and Five cards.  For this month I am giving you the chance to make the Five cards FREE so the cost to you is $20 (retail value of $30 plus the use of my inks and stamps) and if you want the Stamp Set to use in the future and the extra embellishments to take home with you then you may purchase the WOTG for $29.95 (retail value of $44 with the cards).

Since this is the first club meeting we are having I'll explain the way it works.  This is a "no commitment" Ladies Night out crafting club!  

You may join the club at any time and there is NO commitment to stay in the club for any length of time or to place an order!  There will be a fee (depending on the project) for the supplies used for the projects we make which will range from cards to small gift items, 3D items, to scrapbook pages and more.  Each person who signs up for the club will have their name added to the bottom of the hostess list.  The person whose name is on the top of the list will get the hostess rewards that month.  In order for your name to keep its "place" on the list, you must place a $25 minimum order whether you attend the class that month or not.  If you do not place a $25 + order that month, then your name goes down to the bottom of the list.  If you do place a $25 + order, then your name continues to go up the list.  Long distance members pay an additional $5 to have their project kits mailed to them.

Club members will also receive:

• A FREE current Idea Book
• Free Hostess Rewards during your hostess month
• Optional monthly classes with project kits
• Opportunity to hold a home workshop, gathering or catalog party to boost your hostess benefits
• Other surprises along the way . . . 

Please RSVP with payment to alwaysdeeper@hotmail.com (you can e-mail me with any questions you might have) by October 3rd and be sure to put Creative Club in the subject line.  I must have your payment and registration by the October 3rd so there is enough time to order the materials and have them here for you.  Looking forward to making something beautiful together!    

Pair-A-Phrase

Did you know that September is National Stamping Month?  I did not until Close To My Heart sent out a notice that to celebrate the month they were giving away a FREE double stamp set (meaning two sheets of stamps in one envelope) with every qualifying order.

All month Close To My Heart has been featuring cards made using the stamp set on their facebook page and they are so adorable!  I just love all the stamp and phrase combinations in this one set!

I thought I would share a few here

And one of my own creations with this stamp set

You can place an order on my website or contact me if you want to put together a qualifying order.