Here are a few pictures of the Accordion book that we made at the Camp Harmony crop this past Saturday. The letters on the front spell out SPRING! The pattern paper is Creative Memories from last year's Memoranza. I just love the pinks, blues and browns from this collection. It was a blast picking out the ribbons to coordinate with it. I got almost all of them in the $1 bin at Michaels, except for a few of the thinner ones that came from Wal-mart. I think about 15 of the gals at the crop participated in this class. Thanks Ladies! You were great and it was so much fun to share this project with you! Especially Del who was a real trooper! She came to crop on Saturday after having surgery to repair her broken arm just the day before! That is one dedicated scrapbooker!
The front cover above and the back side below.

Crop Report!


We had a pretty great day, if I do say so myself!! I am absolutely exhausted but wanted to post briefly about it... I will post some pics of the make and takes later this week. If anyone who reads my blog took pictures I would love to see them, I was so busy I didn't take a single one. We had 35 croppers when it was all said and done. We are almost to the point that we are outgrowing the room. Thankfully we are able to use the lobby area as well if we need it. The new tables were so nice and very easy to move around! Most of all it was so wonderful to see all my scrapbook buddies and visit a little bit and catch up with them! We don't see each other often enough! My scrapbook stuff is in a pile in the kitchen and I have to haul it to the scraproom before I head to bed so hubby doesn't trip all over it when he comes home in the morning... And I think I have some instructions in my brain that I have to print out on my internal printer... LOL!!!

Here is a sneak peek at the ribbons I am using for our make and take for the camp crop on Saturday! Thirty four croppers!!! YEAHHHH!!!!

A Sweet Journal...

I saw the idea for this journal in a Paper Crafts magaizne a while back and thought.... Wow, what a neat idea! Do I know anyone who is expecting? Nope, no one right now, file that idea away for later... Soooo as soon as I found out my dear friend Dee's daughter was expecting I got to work on this really cute pregnancy journal. It has nine tabs for each month, to journal your thoughts, expectations, plans, and all that exciting stuff that goes through your head when you are patiently awaiting the arrival of a new addition.

Products are from my stash and I couldn't tell you where they came from.

Two side notes... we have 34 registered for the Camp Harmony crop on Saturday!!! YEAHHHH!!! I am soooo happy!

Kim B. your stamps have been riding around in my car for a week now... I hope to get to a post office very soon! Thanks for being patient!

As promised... This is the nightlight that I made for Jody's scraproom. I used the same paper and stickers for it as I did on the altered clock. The glass jar came from Pat Catan's I believe. My husband drilled the hole in it, a tedious job and rather nerve wracking since it is glass and it could break. The lights are a small strand (20) of rice lights (teeny tiny Christmas lights) and they were from Pat Catan's, purchased before Christmas. You can use standard mini lights, you just need to drill a larger hole to fit them in. I used the Cheetah to adhere the paper wrap to the jar and the Crop-a-dile to punch the holes and set the eyelets all the way up the front where the ribbon laces it all together.

Ok, some bugs to work out. When I go back to post what I have saved it posts it to the day that I originally started it, not the day that I actually completed the post. Nothing is ever easy... so there are some new posts, just scroll down a bit... check the altered clock and the crop-a-dile post. I will try to remember to post to the top until I get all of the back dated posts out of the file. Thanks again for stopping by to check things out! We are busy getting things together for the camp crop!

Studio G!

Thanks Barb! I was waiting to post about these Studio G stamps from Michael's! I picked up a few sets earlier this week and went back again Thursday to get a couple more! What a bargain! I just love the clear stamps for so many of the obvious reasons! They are easier to store since they are less bulky. Way easier to position since you can see straight through them and when they are this inexpensive how can you go wrong!

The ones in the picture here are going postal this weekend to my friend Kim who left me a comment last week. Get yourself to Michaels and get some, too! Look in the bargain bins at the front of the store, they were going FAST! (Do you think I could get a commission from Michaels and Joann's?)

Altered Clock

I have been so excited about a few things that I have made recently, but couldn't post about them since I had not given them to their recipients yet. Not anymore!!! This is an altered clock that I made for my friend Jody. Her Scraproom is purple and butterflied!

The clocks are available at Wal-mart in the furniture/domestics area for the bargain price of $3.76. You can get them in black, navy blue, burgundy or white. I dry-brushed the frame of this one with pale pink paint. The clock is all plastic and just snaps apart easily with a butterknife to pry it gently. After that, sky's the limit on how you want to alter it for yourself! My butterfly stickers came from the Dollar Tree and they are sparkly! I even put them on the hands of the clock so they "fly" around as time passes. The stripe background paper is from Paper Adventures, Paper Heart line, and is called Dazzle Purple-Pink Stripe and also has some sparkle stripes through it.

Next post will be the jar nightlight!

Crop-a-diles and Cheetahs!
It's a jungle in here!


These were a Christmas gift from my chicksa Jody! I just love them both! I didn't want to post about them until after I gave her Christmas gifts to her, which I did last evening.
March is the appropriate time of year for Chicksa Christmas celebrations at the Olive Garden in Greensburg!


The Cheetah is a Xyron adhesive dispenser that gives a two inch wide run of permanent adhesive. Great for covering those large areas quickly!


My Crop-a-dile is absolutely the best hole punch and snap/eyelet setting tool ever! It has been around for a little while now and is made by We R Memory Keepers. Mine is the pink one, but it is also available in LIME green now! It absolutely silent, punches through chipboard like it was tissue paper and set all kinds of snaps and eyelets. I like that there are no "extra" parts to keep track of and the other feature that I like is that the it punches two sizes of holes and there is a depth gauge so if you are punching a bunch of holes in a row you just set it and punch away!


When Jody gave me my gifts before regular Christmas we were enjoying a soup/salad/breadsticks lunch at the Olive Garden. Our waiter was quite adorable and when we were leaving he told me to enjoy my can opener (aka the crop-a-dile!) He is studying to be a surgeon, hopefully he has a better eye for surgical implements!


Check back this week, I used my toys to make Jody's gifts and I will be posting them here!

Luck of the Irish!

This is another page that we made at my CMC's crop on Friday. We were having a green St. Patrick's Day theme for the night so I designed and taught this page in honor of that!


All of the green papers are CM, the die cut scroll corners are another Cuttlebug die. The stamp saying is an Irish Blessing and is from Eureka Stamps. It is my favorite blessing and I have it framed and hanging as you go out my front door. The four leaf clover stamp is from the $1 bargain bin at Michael's. I used it to randomly stamp and gold heat emboss the serendipity squares.


Serendipity squares are really nice page accents if you do not have a particular theme for your page. Some times what you are scrapping doesn't fit into those little categories of things that scrapbook companies like to make embellishments. With serendipity squares you just pull colors out of your photos. The hands on experience of tearing and pasting, stamping and embossing, and cutting and matting is so much fun. It kind of takes you back to elementary school art class! I love it!


The blessing goes like this...

May the road rise up to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
And the rains fall soft upon your fields,
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Are you ready for spring?

I know I am! I have started some spring scrapbook and craft projects as well as my step daughter, Melanie's school days scrapbook. It is so hard to believe that she is going to be a high school senior this fall. I am trying to work on the album a little at a time so that I am not rushing to finish it at the last minute. (Just let me have that little delusion, I am pretty sure it won't happen like that but I want to hold the dream for a little bit!)

Melanie was nine years old when I met her Dad. How time flies! Some things about her have not changed one bit, like her headstrong will and her determination. She sure has matured though. It has been a joy and privelege to be a part of her life! Those milestone birthdays came so quickly. She will turn 18 this year. This picture is from a few years ago. She now wears her hair with bangs and she likes to try different colors. Her braces are gone and in their place is a beautiful straight smile. She is studying cosmetology in school.

The page was also one that I made as a sample for my CMC's last crop on Friday evening. The background cardstock and the paper matting the photo are both from The Slab. The letter stickers are Creative Memories. Both of the papers matting the letters are CM. I accented the edges of all the mats with green ink from Close to My Heart. The larger matting on the letters was cut with a Cuttlebug die.

Sorry I haven't been posting frequently. I like to include a photo with my post and I could only do that from my Mom's computer, but I have figured out how to store some pics and start some topics that I can continue from home, so you should hear from me more often! We are up to 28 for the camp crop, if you haven't registered yet don't wait too long!

On a yummy note I made Oatmeal Scotchies tonight! Delicious!

New purchase!

I have been wanting to mess around with chipboard for so long, but haven't been able to find just what I was looking for. Yesterday I popped into our Joann's store in Johnstown which is not well known for having a great selection of scrapbooking stuff. I was not really looking for anything in particular and stumbled onto this chipboard pack which the cashier told me they just got in recently. I used my 40% off coupon on it and that brought it down to $14.99 (reg $24.99.)

This pack is awesome because you get more than one sheet of each! You get 30 sheets of paper, 10 sheets of stickers and 31 sheets of chipboard punch-outs. I learn alot by experimentation and trial and error (lots of error!) After the error part I usually have to re-do it and wind up needing another one of whatever it was that I messed up, with this kit I get several to mess up. No worries! A lot of times when you get an alphabet you only get one of each letter and I don't think that is very useful either. I also like to share with my friends, one more good reason that this is a great pack of stuff! Can you tell I am a little happy about this kit???

Back to Joann's and the selection issue. I did notice that they are getting some more scrapbook items instock, which I mentioned to the cashier and she agreed with me. It is no where near the selection they have at the Greensburg Joann's but I was still pleased to see some new things closer to home.

I also picked up on 40% off Valentine clearance 2 packs of embossed 5 1/2 inch square cards from Die Cuts With a View. One has hearts around the edge and the other has beautiful filigree look LOVE embossed on it. There were 10 cards and envelopes in each pack and the sale price was $2.99.

On another fantastic note we already have 20 people registered for the Spring Crop day at Camp Harmony on March 24!!! I am so excited! That is more than last time and we still have a month to go! I am working on some really neat stuff for our make and takes! If you are interested in more information contact me and I will get it to you.

Now back to sharing with my friends... First person to leave me a chipboard comment gets a scrapbook goodie in the mail! Have a good day!

Cookies Anyone??










How about some wonderful homemade no-bake cookies? Oh no wait a minute, those would be the ones I had to throw away since they were made with the salmonella contaminated peanutbutter. Scratch that... maybe some pineapple upside down cake?

Haven't felt much like blogging the past few days. I have been miserably sick with a head and chest cold. Spent most of the last three days on the couch under a pile of blankets consuming coffee, tea, soup and cold medicine. Hope I feel better by tomorrow!

Happy Valentine's Day!

(a day late, I know!)

This project is a little late as well, but thought I would share it anyway. I love that Rusty Pickle paper, but I have to cut it all up, can't use it as a whole sheet it is just too darn busy for my eyes! This paper has all those cute little distressed primitive hearts all over it. The front cover of this accordion book has hinged panels on it so you can hide a special picture or journaling behind it.

I will be teaching a mantle/coffee table book like this at the Camp Harmony crop on March 24th, family themed though. They are so simple to make and a little easier to display than a 12 x 12 album.

Thanks for the comments! If there are any topics you would like me to address here, let me know and I will see what I can do. I know Sharon would like some organization tips so I am gathering my thoughts on that one.

Hope that the pictures are showing up okay now. The problem seemed to be one with Blogger, as many of my blogging friends experienced the same thing for about a week there.

Have to give a shout out to my friend Sarah B. She won the page contest last month at CPS. Way to go Sarah!!

Take care, happy scrapping!

It's All About Love!

With Valentine's Day this week I thought I would share some of the things that I love. Paper tearing is one of the techniques I love best! The bear in the picture is a little Valentine bear that I taught at my CMC’s January crop.

The pattern came from the book The Tear Necessities. It has easy to follow directions, tips and patterns for every piece of tear art in the book! Plus you get several sheets of double sided card stock to practice with.

Tear bears are so easy to make and they are absolutely adorable. Best of all the are not expensive! You need no special tools, just paper, adhesive, pencil, chalk or ink if you like and your own two hands!

I will be doing a make and take at this event, sounds like it will be a great day of scrapbooking fun and the proceeds are for a great cause!

Crop for A Cure
Saturday, April 21st
9AM - 9PM
Somerset Ramada Inn - Courtyard
Cost: $25
All proceeds go to the American Cancer Society/Relay for Life in memory of Mary Ann Miller.

Includes: Goodie bag, prizes, crop space, snacks/drinks, make and takes (nominal fee and the proceeds go to the ACS/Relay for Life) and one meal.

Also available that day: Scrapbook Yard Sale. If you are cropping the cost for your table space to sell is $5; if you are not cropping then you can rent a space to sell items for $10. Someone will be there to manage the yard sale and you retain all profits of what you sell. We only keep the rental fee that will go to the American Cancer Society. Details will be sent to you if you are interested in this option.

If you are interested and would like a brochure, please email me and I will put you in contact with the organizer of this event.

Hope you can make it to support this worthy cause! We promise the day will be filled with lots of fun!
Please pass this on to anyone you might think is interested!

Just wanted to post quick tonight and let you know I am still alive! It has been a few days since I have posted and that is because this darn dish tv has turned me into a channel surfing couch potato! LOL! I promise to post some good project here in the next day or so! Stay warm!

Love the Dollar Tree!

I just love the Dollar Tree! How about this cute Christmas paper with coordinating alphabet stickers. I just couldn’t pass up the sweet little snowmen stickers either. I need more paper and stickers like a need it to snow 3 feet tonight! LOL! Can’t pass it up when it is only one dollar though!

Now what to make? Cards? Pages? Tags? Mini-book?

Just this morning I got a hot tip from my friend Jody that Michaels has rubber stamp sets on clearance for $19.99. They include several stamp pads, markers and over 50 rubberstamps.

Pure Bliss...

If I had known just exactly how happy it would make my husband we would have gotten a dish satellite TV system years ago. I have never had cable TV or dish, so I guess I didn't know what I was missing. If you recall an earlier post, we live in the sticks which is mostly great, except for the lack of technical advances like cable and high speed internet. I just thought that we didn't need it or would rather spend the money on scrapbook supplies. My husband on the other hand has been wanting one for years and years. Yesterday the Dishman cometh, and he installeth the dish. Ken is like a little kid excited about Christmas! If he wouldn't kill me for it I would take his picture and post it on here... think Al Bundy, one hand in the waistband other hand holding the remote! (Maybe he will be so busy watching the dish he won't notice any new scrapbook stuff in the house!) Truthfully I like having more than one channel now, too. Didn't take me very long to become a channel surfer!