A Winter Blast from the Past

When I was working on my Snowhaven pages, I pulled some winter photos from my Library of Memories drawers (thank you Stacy Julian) to help me find the perfect photos. I stumbled across some old gems and had a fabulous little trip down memory lane.

About the same time, I did a little reorganizing in my craft room. I have hundreds of old layouts from past classes/shows, etc. that are waiting for photos. I know this is backwards--photos should always come first. But when you teach classes, sometimes it doesn't always work that way. Anyway, as I was sorting through them, pulling out a few for an upcoming crop (and having another trip down memory crafting lane), I came across an old winter layout that I knew would be perfect for some pictures I had in my Library of Memories drawers.

Ten minutes later, I had matched pictures to layouts.

This is an oldie but goodie. I LOVE these snowmen (I still have them).

And I love this little boy, even if he is 21 now and no longer little.

Ahhh, this is one reason why we scrapbook, to remember. Did I ever tell you that if I had a superhero power it would be to go back and see any moment in the past again? If I could do that, I think this would be one I would go and see.

Snowhaven

As my friends in the Northeast gear up for crazy winter weather, I'm celebrating a little winter weather here at home. This month, my scrapbook group layouts were all about winter, using the Snowhaven paper packet and complements.

Layout #1.  I haven't found the right pictures for this one--I'm thinking a cabin, drinking hot chocolate around a fire place with fuzzy slippers while the snowflakes fall outside. Hmm, I think I need a weekend vacation.

Here's a little close up of some of the complements. And I really do love these red enamel hearts.

Layout #2. I did have pictures ready. Hard to believe this little snowman builder just turned 18 last week. I think he was only 6 in these photos.

This stamp set is from the Snowhaven cardmaking kit. I did a little layering.

And more red enamel hearts! (Look at that boy's face--after finishing his snowman, he knocked it down and proceeded to eat the carrot nose!)

I hope those of you in the Northeast are all safe and well through the storm and that you get to make some incredible snow creations when all is safely past. And don't forget to document the winter fun!

Happy Paper Crafting!

Inspired by Pinterest: A Valentine Tree

 I needed a fast and easy Valentine's craft for my stamp club on Friday. I admit, I procrastinated a bit--lots of excuses but no need to go into those now. So where do I go when I need inspiration at short notice? Thank heaven for Pinterest. What did we do before we had it? Anyway, I found this darling idea (check out the money tree link--brilliant!) and I made a Close to My Heart version.

Isn't this cute? And fast and easy and something you could do with paper scraps! The bottom piece is 3x6, the next 4x5 1/2, then each piece after that is either 3" or 4" tall, getting a 1/4 inch smaller (yes, I know the first one is a half inch smaller--you don't have to do that, It's just what I had done before I decided I liked a 1/4 inch smaller better). Score the 3" tall pieces at 1/2 inch and fan fold, score the 4" tall pieces at one inch and fan fold. Wire it all together (this link has instructions) and you are done!

The Heartstrings paper is perfect for Valentine's Day. I stamped the pieces with black ink and the January stamp of the month, This Moment. (Remember, the stamp of the month is only available during January.) Sponge with black ink if you like.

I topped it all off with a pink glitter heart and a cupid from the Heartstrings assortment. This would be darling with a little arrow through it, but I procrastinated so I had to improvise last minute. Pretend the heart pin is an arrow.

This now sits in my entry way and I love it. It's darling paired with my mixed media project using the same papers and colors.

Happy Valentine's (a little early) and Happy Paper Crafting!

Brr!

The house seems a little blah since I took down the Christmas decor. And on top of that, it has been cold. So, thanks to my lovely friend RaNae Fennema who originally designed these letters and gave me a set to make, I decided to bling up the cold a bit. With a little Snowhaven paper and some sparkles, it makes the cold winter a little more bearable.

Thanks goodness for friends who inspire us!

Simply Inspired Blog Hop--Year>>Noted

It's time for another blog hop, this time to celebrate National Papercrafting month and the fabulous Year>>Noted Special that Close to My Heart is offering this month. You can check out the details here.

This circle is one big loop and you should have arrived here from the lovely Lynn Como's blog. If at any point you get lost along the way, you can go here to get back on track.

I chose to use the Year>>Noted paper packet to document one of my favorite photos from 2014, one with my roommates at the Close to My Heart convention at Disneyland. Disneyland is truly my favorite place on earth, these friends are some of my besties and Close to My Heart is a fabulous company to be a part of so all the stars aligned for a memorable trip and thus a memorable photo.

I usually associate Disneyland with bright, primary colors but the colors in this packet complemented the photo well and the gold stickers made a nice accent, repeating some of the elements in the Disneyland art behind us.

The stamp set that comes with the paper made a perfect journaling spot. I masked off the s on both faves and snapshots in order to make the words work for my page. 

Such a fun kit to work with. And so fun to document a fun time with friends. 

I hope I've inspired you! And now on to the talented Katy Taylor's blog for more inspiration.

This Moment

I love the January stamp of the month--This Moment. It's has a Valentine's vibe (which is right around the corner), a bit of a New Year's vibe (Hello to the new!) and it has a stop and enjoy the moment vibe.

Here's my first stab at the stamp of the month. I was going for a Valentine's vibe but I think it might have a bit of a goal oriented/New Year's vibe too.

What can you come up with using this stamp set? I'd love to see!

Happy New Year's 2015!

Welcome to 2015!

So, how do you welcome the new year? Do you make resolutions? Do you reexamine your life? Do you just say thank you for surviving another year?

I gave up on resolutions several years ago. I'm a goal setter, don't get me wrong, I just don't like resolutions. I went through a couple of rough years where I didn't feel fully in control of my life and making resolutions just seemed like another hurdle to try to overcome. So instead, I adopted Ali Edwards' idea of coming up with one word to represent the new year, one word to capture what I wanted to accomplish or become in that new year. If you don't know about this, check it out on her blog.

My 2014 word was present, as in be present. It came about as a result of looking at my almost grown up kids and wondering where on earth the time had gone. So, was I more present? I wasn't 100%, but I did better. And, I think my efforts to be more present sparked my word for 2015, intentional. In stopping to enjoy the moment more, I also realized that I wanted more freedom to be spontaneous and present. And in order to do that, I needed to be more intentional about shaping my life and freeing up my time. I don't know where this word will take me this year. It's going to be a learning curve. But I want to see.

So, here's to 2015. Wishing all of you the very best in this New Year!