Birthday Rolodex

Lovely isn't it?

This year for girl's Christmas we decided on only making one gift and we would do a grab bag so whatever we made would have to work for any of the 5 of us. I spent tons of time trying to think of something that would be unique and easy to make as well as suitable for a tomboy (my niece Sierra is not into girly things even though we tease her constantly that we are going to make her something pink and lacy!). I finally found over on Split Coast Stampers a birthday Rolodex. What a great gift idea! Unbeknownst to me - the hardest part of this entire project was finding the raw materials - Rolodex's are fairly pricey and hard to come by!!

I made the monthly card a tad bigger than the cards that would be used to keep track of the birthdays, rounded the corners and then punched the card using a business card punch that I found at the office supply store where I found the mini Rolodex (for under $10 -which was one of the requirements of the swap) and then inked the edges to enhance the distressed, aged look.

Once I had the idea and the Rolodex the next hardest part was figuring out what paper to use - could not be too girly - so I finally settled on a Cosmo Cricket TSV from QVC that I just HAD TO HAVE back in the day - you know, when QVC still had Scrapbooking shows??? Does your memory go back that far?

It was doubled sided and already mostly distressed, a look that I really like.

I used the dollar clear stamps that I had picked up at M's with all the months on them - Studio G's I believe - have no idea what series they were from - just know that like most of my supplies, I had to have them! I then used the oval scallop punch from SU (thanks mom!) to punch out the months, inked the edges with dark brown cat's eye chalk ink and then cut out a larger scalloped oval using my Nesties with co-ordinating paper and inked those edges as well then glued onto the cards I had made from the doubled sided CC paper.

This shows that the month card is slightly larger than the cards which will list the name and date of the birthday person - there is also plenty of room on the back of the card for an address.

I really love how simple and quick these went together and plan on making lots more for friends and family for next year. I will start on these soon as I have managed to find some Rolodexs at my local Wal-mart and have even found a supplier online that is not too expensive.

all dressed up......

I did what I could for her....she was lovingly decorated and before the deadline. Not the usual pretty tree but this was not the usual Christmas~ I had my gall bladder removed on the 23rd so I was done with my shopping and decorating and preparing for the holiday whether I wanted to be or not! Everything worked out fine - my surgery was a success and I had lots of help at home with the last minute things that needed to still get done - my niece Sierra was my in house nurse for the first 36 hours of my recovery and Chuck has been wonderful as well.

We postponed Christmas Eve with the chicks but my sweet Kaytlyn called me to wish me a Merry Christmas and to tell me that she missed me as this was the first Christmas Eve that we did not spend together. She even told me that she didnt think that she had been good enough to get everything on her list from Santa - it was so funny! I told her that honesty counted towards being good so I was sure that Santa would bring her lots of good presents.

I did manage to join both of our families for the holiday - it was good to see everyone; even my brother and nephew from out of town made it for the gathering. My niece Madison was sick so she and her parents stayed home which really worked out well - I dont think I could handle being sick with these incisions!

I am so thankful for having a wonderful caring group of family and friends. I hope everyone is as blessed as I am.

the saddest Christmas tree

yes we paid twenty five dollars for this beauty......she's short, she's fat and TOPLESS! I don't think that this will be one of the beautiful trees that we've had.........usually we go for the not perfect ones, but this is just crazy!!

and more cards

It seems that all the crafting I do anymore is card making! I really enjoy the creating process and love the final results in most cases but I have to find time to scrap!! but first I have to do my Christmas cards....ugh.

This first card is a get well card for a friend's niece that recently had brain surgery. The inside says "HOPPING YOU ARE FEELING BETTER!" This one I rejuvinated from a card that was made during a stamp camp several years ago. The hair gel that looks like water had dried up so I peeled off the layers and squeezed a dollop of hair gel into a little baggy and ta-da! usuable card. This accompanied a package of goodies I sent out to Avra from my NSSS group on the Cricut messageboard. Shh - dont tell her that I posted it here!

This was my sister Lisa's birthday card - papers are from Cosmo Cricket, scalloped oval is a SU! punch and the buttons and flowers were things that were just hanging out waiting to be used. The ribbon is PaperTreyInk - love there stuff!

This is the birthday card I made for my brother Michael. Too bad I didn't make it in time for him to get for his birthday....I was late as usual. Paper is Basic Grey, stamp is ...I dont remember!

Thank you card

My niece Sierra is the best person I know. She is such a caring sweet girl. She takes such good care of everyone around her. When my furbaby Shadow died suddenly, she rearranged her plans for her day off to come to my house and help me through what was the first in a long line of utterly miserable days. I grieve him still as he was my best friend, my constant companion for the past 15 years and the reason I came home most days. Some days have been unbearable with the sorrow I feel and others breeze by without a single tear, only a sweet memory of the cuddliest cat God ever made.

I made her this card as a thank you for being there for me when I needed a shoulder to cry on and someone to try and distract me from my loss. She is really the best!

i used glossy accents on the bubbles and cut out four layers of the piggy on the right to add dimension to the card.

It took me several hours to get everything colored (old fashioned Crayola pencils) and layered. I loved the results.

An assortment of cards

This card was made for Chuck's cousin Adam and his wife Amanda - they welcomed their second child, a girl, on October 27th.


This card was made for my co-worker Pat who had knee surgery recently.

This card was for my co-worker Vickie's birthday.

And this was my friend Rachel's birthday card.

mini altered notebook

I made this mini altered notebook for my sister Susan's birthday - dotted paper was from a stack from HL the striped paper was a scrap from a K&Co stack that my NSSS Sara gave me earlier this year. The bella is colored with various markers, SU, Bic & Sharpie.

Happy Birthday to my oldest sister Susan!

Today my sister Susan is 49....poor thing! I made her this card using a stamp set from SU! the glitter background paper is from the Fun in the Sun Glitter Stack by DCWV.

HAPPY BIRHTDAY SUSER!!

my lastest creations

Once again I signed up for the Cards For Soldiers challenge - this time the challenge was to use scraps from our stash and make birthday cards This card was made with Cosmo Cricket paper and embellishments -
I used newly purchased Martha Stewart double loop corner punch

Cosmo Cricket again

more Cosmo Cricket

This is my favorite - swiss dot Bazzill background paper and a Tilda image.

SU stamp and background paper; MS punch

Love this little hedgehog - its from a SU set that I picked up at a garage sale this summer for $5.

Used my nesties for the scalloped ovals and my SU photo corner punch.

SU stamp set; scalloped round nesties

SU stamp set; DCWV adhesive cardstock and DCWV Fun in the Sun summer stack.

SU stamp set, unknown origin of background paper; MS Doily Lace deep

edge punch - its new too and I am lovin' it!

This was a stamped image from a swap; scallop round nesties and DCWV background paper

more of the Cosmo Cricket - really not my style but it came in a pack from QVC

this is another image from the swap - really cute- unknown paper...scalloped oval nesties

Cosmo Cricket

another hedgie...scalloped oval nesties

Published!!

A dream has come true - I am finally published! Not the great American novel that I dreamt of when I was younger but actually published!
One of the insurance companies that I do business with sent out an email earlier this year asking for submissions of photos of the great state of NY -I submitted six photos of various scenery from throughout the year and they chose 2 of them for the 2010 calendar!! I was so excited! And, as a bonus I got a great Erie & Niagara canvas tote(that's the company), 5 copies of the calendar and a wonderful digital photo picture frame with the prize winning photos pre loaded! I am so excited!!

This photo was taken as I was walking back to the house from the mailbox at the end of my driveway one snowy day in March....they chose it to highlight the month of December.

This photo was taken out of the truck window as we drove down this bumpy dirt road - Chuck doesnt seem to understand the need to stop when I ask him to so that I can take a quality photo! Lucky for me this photo turned out great!!

feel better Lainey!!

One of my sisters on the Cricut MB recently had surgery on her hip - I made this card for her.
The Tilda was part of an image swap I believe -colored with plain ol' Crayola pencils, DCWV card, DCWV patterned paper was from the Fun in the sun summer stack (I think - not sure as I used scraps!) the stamp was one of those $1 I have to pick up each time I see them at M's or J's - not sure of the manufacturer or the series. close up of the popped sentiment

a card for Charlie

this card was made for Chuck's dad's birthday. I could not find a farm stamp that wasnt childish so I found this image in a SU catalog and scanned it then printed it and added a little color.
I used my cuttlebug for the orange Co-Ordinations layer; the kraft paper is something I found in a package that was mailed to me...reuse, recycle, reduce!!

OWL CARDS

Anyone that knows me well knows that I have a "thing" for owls for reasons that are unknown even to me! This post is dedicated to owl cards that I have either received or made ...
This first one was made for me by my NSSS Sara57Marie - obviously a birthday card....

and this is another one she made me - I love her cards - our likes are so similar - we usually alwayspick the same paper lines for our stash - the only difference is she uses hers!

This card I made for one of my "sisters" Daphne as a thank you for joining me in making Halloween cards for the CFS challenge in September.

and this cutie was created by me for one of my other NSSS - Tini as she joined me and Daphne in doing the CFS challenge too that month.

and yet some more cards....

I've been really busy making cards lately - havent had time to scrap in ages! Here are the last of the Christmas cards I made for the CFS challenge this past weekend. I know that they are appreciated by the soldiers so I will be making more this weekend!

I was very proud of myself for NOT buying anything new for these cards, used scraps of paper that I had left over from past projects or from a christmas mat stack I re-discovered in my stash and about 3 sheets of stickers that I just HAD to buy several years ago and then never used because I dont use stickers !!! BUT THEY WERE REALLY CUTE/LOVELY AND I NEEDED THEM!!