Monday in the Making-First Things First!

"You shall love the Lord your God with all you heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (intellect)."  Matthew 22:37

I just finished reading the book, "Power Thoughts", by Joyce Meyer.  What a great book!  It is packed with wisdom, and sound Biblical advice.  I found it both challenging and inspiring.  It definetly makes you think about what you are thinking and how you spend your time.  Loving God with all your heart, means one is passionate about loving God and order your life to reveal that passion.  I highly recommend the book.  

"But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be gien you besides."  Matthew 6:33

           

Warmth of Home Wednesday-Love is in the Air!

Scrapbooking has been interrupted for a while in order to make Valentine's  This is the project for Card Club this month.  Card Club is a class that I teach once a month.  There is always cool new cards to make and new techniques to try.  We talk, laugh, eat, and most importantly we make cards. 

 .  This month we are making a set of 4 little cards and a box to put the cards in.  They can be given as a set or used individually.  The cards were made using the stamp set "Valentine Defined" by Stampin Up.

The idea of the little red box came from http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/.  Check out the card gallery for Stampin Up.  The card ideas are listed by catalog and then the name of stamp set.  This stamp set is from the "Occasions Mini Catalog".

There is just something so special about receiving a handmade card!  What better way to say "I love you" to our family members, and dear friends.  It is also a great time to remember our service men, the elderly, a neighbor, etc.  There are so many people in this world who could use a little love.  This is just a great time to put some love in the air! 
      
"For God so loved the world that He sent His only Son that who so ever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.  Wow!  Now that is love! 

Warm and Cozy Blessing!
Bev     

Finished Friday-The Great Outdoors!

Its Friday!  Wow!!  The weeks just fly by!  A few projects did get finished this week which I will share with you.  The fist was to decorate the mantel.  It was definitely time to take the nativity, and stockings down.

  Have you noticed all the antlers used in decorating lately? They are just fun!   I saw some at a market before Christmas and they were quite pricey so, knowing that my daughters boyfriend is an avid hunter, I put antlers on my Christmas list!  Well, guess what??  Yes, I got antlers for Christmas and as an added bonus I got an antler picture frame.  Love it!

I tucked antlers in an around others pieces in this grouping, giving it a rustic feel.  I needed heigth on the mantel so I put some twigs in a vase, which added to the "Great Outdoors" theme.  Added  a snowman,(after all it is still winter), pine cones,  family pictures, and ya, I kinda like it!

While on the subject of "The great Outdoors", yes I did get another scrapbook layout done this week. There seems to be a hunting and fishing theme going on here today!  The dies on the page were from "Stamping Station" and I have had them for a long, long time, in fact many years ago I taught a class using these dies.  I am not sure if they are still available to buy but the techniques can be applied to any die cut.  

The fish look so real and believe me, you do not have to be an artist to do it.  All you need is a pencil, pen, chalk ,orange eyelets for the eyes, and a white eraser is helpful. 

       This looks like and old cabin in the woods, maybe a place one would stay on a fishing trip.

The little sign was made by stamping the letters on paper, cutting around them, distressing the edges and adding a  wire hanger.  What a fun page this was to do and what a great memory!

It really has been a good week and since it is too cold to be outside, why not bring a little of the outside in!

Cozy Blessing from our Home to Yours!
Bev    
  

Warmth of Home Wednesday-Love those Strawberries!

Aren't these paper strawberries just the cutest!  Yes, I am still scrapbooking!  The strawberries are to put on a food related page.  I am going to scatter them around on the page. 

As I sit in my kitchen writing this blog, I am also eating my breakfast, or I guess I should say drinking my breakfast.  I am having a strawberry protein drink!  How appropriate!  Tell me, who doesn't love strawberries!  I have this several times a week and just love it!  I do not really use a recipe for it and everyday it changes but I will share with you the basic idea. 

Strawberry Protein Breakfast  in a Glass
Yogurt, usually about a 1/3 of a cup
a few ice cubes to make it thick and icy
milk (I like to use Almond milk)
a scoop of vanilla protein powder (I prefer whey)
1 TBSP. ground flax seed (grind it right before making it because the flax will lose its potency quickly)
6-7 frozen strawberries, depending on the size and person preference

Variations
fresh spinach (a generous handful )  turns your drink a green color but is soooo healthy
o.j. juice (this morning I squeezed an orange and added the juice to my drink for some added Vit. C)
peanut butter (1 TBSP.)
banana
blueberries or any fruit you happen to have

Be creative with this and make your breakfast drink with what you have on hand or what sounds good to you.  This is my favorite breakfast, it just makes me feel good and it satisfies me so I am not wanting something else to eat.  Hope you try one and enjoy it.

Cozy blessing!
Bev 

Warmth of Home Wednesday-A Snowy Morning!

This picture made me chuckle!  It could be my husband and I, only he would have a much bigger smile, and I might not be smiling.  The snow really is pretty and I like to look out at it  but play in it, no thanks!.  My thoughts center around making a pot of soup and letting it simmer all day while I scrapbook.  My husband, on the other hand, loves adventure, so his thoughts are, to get outside and enjoy the snow.  He loves to ski so we will be headed for the Mts soon.  Balance!  We make a great team!  Ha!

I must apologize for not following through on Cricut ideas.  Plan A became Plan B.  Let me share with you what happened and what I learned, which will maybe help someone out there who finds themselves in a similar situation.  First of all the blade on my machine was not cutting good.  I could not remember when or if I had ever changed the blade.  After a trip to the store, I thought I was in business.  Wrong!  I could not get the blade back in.  Long story short the company is sending me a new part, which will take 7-10 days to get.  My husband, genius that he is, figured out what the problem was.  There was a ball of fuzz, probably from frayed paper that was down inside the piece that engages the blade.  I am a liitle behind schedule but back in business.

www.obsessedwithscrapbooking.com  is a blog which was very helpful and I learned things about my Cricut machine which I did not know.  I hope you will check it out.

Since I am playing catch up and have a lot of pictures and little time, I am trying to put more pictures on a page.  No, it does not look like the designer pages, but it is still creative and economical.  All I used to make this page was paper, adhesive, pen, ink for shading and of course lots of pictures.

Just a few accents cut from the Cricut cartridge "Winter Wonderland"  I am really trying to keep it simple.

A little journaling and the page is complete.  Realistically speaking, it was fast, fun and I am quite sure it will put a smile on faces as they remember the good times share with  family and friends.  It is good to reflect on the goodness of the Lord.  Psalm 77:12 " I will reflect on all you have done and meditate on your actions." Thank you Lord for families, friends and great memories.

Warm and Cozy Blessing (from inside my home)!!!
Bev
    

Warmth of Home-Its Wednesday!

The best part of winter is having some time just to enjoy being home.  Being in my craft room is therapeutic.  Today I worked on some pages from our family ski trip.  The trip is a highlight of the year, with the family all together in a beautiful setting, having fun!

This title and trees for this layout were made using the Cricut "Winter Wonderland" cartridge. 

The trees were edged with the tea dye ink to distress them.  The words were chalked with a light gray and just a faint edging of black.  The advantage of using chalk is that if you don't like the way it looks you can erase it and try again.

Using a glue pen and glitter I had instant snow on the tree tops.  I also added glitter to the words.

Another page is finished!  Check back tomorrow and hopefully I will have some more ideas to share with you!  Stay warm and cozy!
Bev 

A new Design-#2!

Aren't these poinsettias super cute!  They were cut using the Cricut machine and the "Winter Wonderland" cartridge. The Cricut machine, and cartridges are a popular tool among scrapbookers.  They were selling like hotcakes before Christmas.  I know this because I stood in line waiting to purchase my sale item too.
 With so many great blogs out there, and believe me I love to check them out, I have not come across many great Cricut ideas.   So guess what?  Yes, I am digging in and discovering the potential hidden in these little cartridges. I will be sharing with you what I discover so be sure to check back often.  Today let me share with you how these little poinsettias came alive.

Here are the three pieces cut by the Cricut machine.  Now the fun begins!  The transformation is pretty cool.

                                           
Here is a picture of the supplies I used.   Before gluing them together I drew veins on the leaves, circles on the yellow center and outlined the petals of the flowers.  Then using the sponges I added shadowing around the edges and in the valleys.  This just made them pop.  Huge difference!  Try it and have some fun!
God bless your day with creative and cozy blessings!
Bev

Monday in the Making - Getting down to some serious Scrapbooking!

January is the perfect time to scrapbook!  The house is quiet, its too cold to be outside, and you can reflect on all the great memories of the past year.  My goal is always to stay current with scrapbook events as they happen.  Well needless to say, it usually doesn't happen and I find myself playing catch up in January.  This year is no exception, I barely got anything done from 2010.  Now my goal is to get the family album done by February when the whole family goes skiing.  The family so much enjoy seeing the albums and I love to create them.  I wonder if it is really worth all the time I put into doing it.  I have seriously thought about going digital, but what fun would that be! There is just something so special about scraping my own creation using my own two hands.  I compare it to making a quilt.   The real treasures were the old quilts which tell a story by the fabrics, hand stitches, and all the love that went into them.  Just like these old quilts made by my husbands Grandmother.

Maybe in a 100 yrs. from now (if the Lord hasn't returned) my albums will tell a story of what our lives were like and what was important to us.  In this fast pace computer age, handmade items hold a special value. If our ancestor es had time to make quilts like this, I mean, just look at all those tiny stitches!  This quilt is a loved and cherished heirloom.   Yes I can  and will find the time time to finish another album!

This month I will hopefully share with you handmade elements to use in scrapbook layouts.  I hope they will inspire you to take the time to create a legacy.  Whether it be with fabric or paper, use your hands and follow your heart!

 The holly leaves were made with my Cricut machine and the "Winter Wonderland" cartridge.  The larger ones are more of a vintage style, using white,light gray and light bluish green paper.  I used a pen to make the veins and accentuate the berries.  Lastly I used a glue pen and glitter to add the finishing sparkle.  The smaller leaves were done the same, but I used two shades of green for  the leaves and  red for the berries. 

 Looking through all the pictures from last year, I can't help but smile!  So many great memories!  I realize how truly blessed my life is!  Yes, scrapbooking reminds me of the faithfulness of God.  How very good He is and how greatly He has blessed our family!  Thank you dear Lord for 2010 it was a wonderful year!
Cozy Blessing
Bev
    

Happy New Year!

From our home to yours!

Cozy Blessings in 2011!

Bev