April club

The April scrap club was quite successful! Everyone seemed to particularly enjoy these projects. I think the So Chic paper was a hit. Too bad Creative Memories ran out of it so quickly.

This gift bag was easy peasy to make. However, the flower could be a bit stubborn and I think we all learned that it will stay stuck if you make the folds smaller!

Also with the So Chic paper, we made this "10 Reasons I love my mom." The design was simple because the paper just spoke for itself.

This last project was a favorite of mine. It was made using the Creative Memories puzzle maker and the limited edition Make a Wish paper. It's much more beautiful in person!

The May club is already in progress, so I will post those soon... And I mean sooner rather than later!

Oh, how I'm trying...

I love the idea of a blog, but golly, it sure is hard to keep up with! I have an alarm in Outlook that goes off every two weeks to remind me to blog. But, then I hit the snooze button… sometimes allowing it to snooze for days. And when I have finally been annoyed enough with the alarm, I delete the reminder! So, all of this is to say that I WANT to do this, and it’s important to me. It’s just not as important as earning a paycheck and spending time with family and friends. Ok, ok. Enough of those excuses!

I don’t think I’ve updated you on Sparky. He is turning into such a handsome boy! And we love him so. But the ENERGY he has is just CRAZY! He can go from being out cold to riled up in 3 seconds flat. I guess that is part of being a boxer.

My sweet Freddie is definitely going to head out to boarding school in the fall. I cannot believe his dream is becoming reality. I get a pit in my stomach when I think of him not living at home full time anymore. After all, he’s my first baby! And he’s so young… But as long as he grasps the amazing opportunities in front of him, he’ll do fine. The Kent School community will be blessed to have him.

Melissa seems excited at the thought of being a part-time only child. I think she might be surprised that she’ll likely miss her brother! We’ll see…

As for scrapping, the club project photos will be posted soon. And I mean soon! Promise. No more hitting that snooze button…maybe.

I’m off to grab a few hours of sleep. Good night!

The Club!

Jen Sheldon and I started a Scrap Club in February. We have 13 people signed up and they seemed to enjoy themselves at the first class. Here are the projects we did:

We started with a “Winter Fun” card. People had the option of doing it as a card or as an element for a scrapbook page. This project showcased the snowflake maker.

The page layout was created using the new Valentine Additions paper/sticker pack and the new sweetheart maker. I just love those pretty hearts it makes! People had the option of using letter stickers or letters cut with the Cricut.

The accordion album took more time, but I think people enjoyed. Everyone’s project came out so differently! One person did a nautical theme, while another did an Asian theme and many did a whimsical birthday theme. Jen and I loved seeing everyone’s individuality come out with this project! The Creative Memories tag maker was a focus here.

We have some great projects up our sleeve for March, along with some projects for our weekend retreat which is just around the corner. Planning the retreat is a lot of fun and is an event we both look forward to twice a year.

Back to my scrapping table to work on projects for this month!

Happy 40th Birthday, Julie!

Last night, I went to a surprise 40th birthday for the most amazing friend I know. Her husband had a gathering of friends and family at Sweet Basil in Fairfield, and while I’m not sure exactly how surprised she was, it was a wonderful and relaxing evening.

I made some favors for people to take home. I wanted to contribute in some way and at the last minute came up with this idea. These are the large chocolate bars and I made a wrapper to go around them. I think it was a hit!

Julie is one of those rare individuals that really knows how to be a true friend. She is warm and understanding, full of great ideas and knows when to play devil’s advocate and when to sympathize. We have laughed together, cried together and share our thoughts and hopes with each other. I am so blessed to have Julie in my life and my only regret is that we don’t get to see each other enough. Somehow, raising a couple of kids has kept us from seeing each other as often. But we both know that as our kids leave the nest and our hair becomes grayer, we’ll have lots of time to hang out together.

Here’s to good friends and good times. Cheers, Julie!

Snowy New Hampshire

Last weekend we went to New Hampshire for a little getaway. I was a bit disappointed that I couldn’t ski, but since my back has been giving me so much pain, I knew I couldn’t handle a day of skiing. Besides, somebody needed to stay home and hang out with Sparky! So, I was elected.

There was a ton of snow up there! And it was really cold so the snow was glistening and oh, so pretty. Honestly, snow just makes me giddy. I love how it blankets everything and makes it sparkle.

Sparky seems to enjoy the snow, too. My sister-in-law, Francine had given Sparky a coat for Christmas. Now, I have to say, I’m not one for dressing up animals. I actually think it’s kind of ridiculous. But, this coat is awesome! Doesn’t he look handsome? And it helped keep our sweet boxer warm.

While I was at the house dog sitting, I had planned to scrapbook. Since I have a goal of completing 365 pages this year, I needed to get cooking. So, in between walking Sparky, I scrapped 15 pages and made my January page goal. Yay! Here are some of my layouts and completed pages…

Here's the first page of our April trip to Colorado last year. Aren't those mountains just breathtaking?!

And here we are hiking at the trailhead just down the road from my parents' house. This is Melissa's favorite activity.

Aunt Nancy and Fran stopped by for an afternoon and we enjoyed visiting with them.

Here is a layout of us skiing at Breckenridge on a spectacular April day last year.

This was a layout of the day after we skied in Colorado without sunscreen and ended up with sun poisoning. Ouch!

And now it's time for me to figure out when I'll carve out some hours to meet my February goal of 28 pages. Thanks to the members of CMOS Club Achieve for keeping the enthusiasm and motivation going!

Wishing you a merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

It has been a long time since I last updated my blog. So, in the spirit of the New Year and making resolutions, I will resolve to blog at least twice a month!

Sometimes I think life has a way of getting away from us, and that is what has been going on with me since the fall. I was put on a huge project at work that takes me away from home a lot, not to mention I am now doing the work of two people. But I am thankful for my employment and will continue to plug away.

As many of you know, we got a new puppy in October. He is a boxer and his name is Sparky. What a smart dog! We adore him and cannot believe how big he has gotten in just these few short months.

Because Sparky was contained primarily in the kitchen, I was able to get my Christmas cards done this year. The rest of the house fell apart, but my Christmas cards got done… all 145 of them!
I’ve been able to get some scrapping done, and again in the spirit of the New Year, I have resolved to reach my goal of 365 pages completed in 2009. Wish me luck! I’m in a personalized swap and used a new 12” die that was a pain in the you-know-what to use… but here it is. Enjoy!

It feels great to update my blog, and please feel free to leave me a comment if you’d like.

Happy January!

Makin' Cards with Kim

With the imminent tropical storm on the horizon, Kim F. and I decided that a great way to spend the day would be to hang out and make cards ALL DAY LONG. Literally! We started around, oh, 9:30 am and reluctantly pulled ourselves away from all the masses of supplies around 6:00 pm this evening. One word to sum it up would be FUN!

We tried various techniques...

Crystal effects and coffee filter


Wax crayon resist, water colors and shaving cream

I’m so lucky to know people who want to come over for hours on end to make cards, scrapbook, and be silly. Kim and I laughed a lot, especially about the shaving cream… and are already talking about what we can do next time. On that list are ironed wax paper and rubber cement techniques.

But even before that, it’s time to think about Christmas cards and what kind of card I’ll make. So, that’s my priority. After all, I have to make about 125 of them…

Well, I've just finished cooking a nice dinner for the family… I think I may snuggle on the couch now with whoever wants to share the big blue chair with me. My bet would be on Melissa.

Getting Back into the Swing of Things

Well, it’s here. That time of the year where I feel like I can get my sometimes unmanageable life back in order. The kids are back in school and start their full days on Tuesday. Yay! And I can have that uninterrupted time to get my focus back. I know I sound like a scrooge, and I love my kids more than anything. But being a working mom is sometimes hard to balance, and the school year just feels most manageable for me.

The sports schedules are PERFECT this fall. How did I get so lucky?! Both kids have practices on Mondays and Thursdays, so we won’t have to be running around every night of the week like we did last year. Ahhhhh… relief.

So, that is the summarized scoop for fall.

As for scrapping and stamping, I had two friends over last week to make cards. We had such a great time! They were both new to card making/stamping and so I pulled out all of my supplies and we “created” for almost six hours. Fun! During that time, I was able to make my thank you cards for a swap that I’m in. Here is what it turned out to be:

I love that multi-layered look, but don’t always take the time to do it. And that double-stitched Stampin’ Up ribbon is my favorite. I think I need to get it in all colors!! (Yes, AS IF I need another thing.)

That’s my share for today. I’ll be catching up on swaps tomorrow and will surely have plenty of ideas to post after that.

Have an enjoyable, safe Labor Day, my friends. Take care!

A Special Gift-Nantucket Sailor’s Valentine

When the kids and I went to Colorado to visit with my parents, Melissa was given a unique project to work on… a Sailor’s Valentine. My mom’s friend, Susan, sells these online (www.nantucketsailorsvalentinekits.com) and they are stunning once completed.

Did I mention that Melissa is just 9 years old? And her valentine turned out to be absolutely gorgeous! Here’s a picture of Melissa and her completed valentine with Susan. Isn’t it just fantastic?! Her kit was the “Baby Girl” design.

If you are looking for a gift idea (for almost any age), look no further than Susan’s website. It’s a great gift to give to the crafty person who would enjoy putting it together. And it’s also the perfect gift for someone who lives near the ocean, vacations at the beach, or just loves the beach. You could put it together and give it as a completed item.

Here's a close-up of the valentine:

I’m hoping for the “Island Memories” or “White Star” for Christmas. (Mom: Hint, hint!) OK. It’s really pitiful that I’m starting my Christmas wish list in August.

My next post will be scrapping related, so stay tuned…

Oh, to get back into a routine…

It has been a wild few weeks! Traveling for almost two weeks, back to back sure was more difficult than it originally sounded. And to top it off, our second trip was extended by two days. So, when I got home… phew! I didn’t know where to start. I’m just now beginning to feel like perhaps I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

One of my “to do” items was to finish a page sketch swap that I was in. Pressure on! I haven’t done many sketches and found it hard to put this at the top of my list. Getting those done and in the mail to my Canadian buddy, Char, was SO relieving! Why did I wait?? I must not have been up for the challenge. Here's a photo of my winter swap. I was also in a holiday group where I did a Christmas themed swap.

Camps are winding down. Freddie is at Cornell this week for a hockey camp with his friend, Aidan. And Melissa is at Wakeman Boys & Girls club for an all day camp. At least this schedule has allowed me to keep up on work so I don’t feel like I’m driving the kids around all day and working all night. That becomes a vicious and draining cycle QUICKLY.

The countdown until school begins… just 15 days. Yay!! Yes, it’s the most wonderful time of the year… just like that old Staples commercial.

Tomorrow, Fred and I have taken the day off so we can pick up Freddie from camp. I can’t wait to hear about his adventures at Cornell. It’s a beautiful place to be and I hope he had a wonderful experience! While I’m not looking forward to 10 hours in the car, picking up my son is the perfect reward. I’ve missed him!

Catching up… or trying to!

I’ve been out of town for nearly two weeks and am desperately trying to catch up on things. It’s been quite a whirlwind!

After our delightful trip to Colorado, we came home and turned around in less than 24 hours to go out of town again. This time, we were hitting the beaches at Block Island. Fred’s sister, Judy had rented a place for 2 weeks and we were excited to join her for a few days. Our planned three day vacation turned into a five day vacation! The ferry ride from Point Judith, RI out to the island was a little nerve wracking with all the thunder and lightning. Ugh. But, we arrived safely and dried out at the house. The next 4 days were fabulous and sunny. We could hardly keep the kids out of the water, except for one day where there were jelly fish EVERYWHERE because of the warm water. Needless to say, the kids still ventured into the water and nobody got stung. Freddie, despite his usual indifference to the water, rode some waves with Judy’s friend, Ed. We bought Melissa a boogie board and she was attached to it, not to mention quite good at it, as well. Don’t worry, everyone. We wore 30 SPF sunscreen all week… still managed to get some sun, but avoided more sun poisoning!

This evening I am having a workshop at my house. I’m looking forward to digging back into my scrapping supplies and getting some pages done! I’ll be posting some swaps and layouts in the next week, so stay tuned.

Now, I must get my house in order… just a few hours left before people arrive!

Somewhere over the rainbow...

Last night, my parents took the three of us out to dinner at the Red Lion Restaurant. It is a favorite dinner spot for my kids (and husband… sorry you missed it, Fred!) and they were asking about going all week. Generously, my dad made reservations and off we went.

Colorado is not known for having much rain, so it was an unusual evening with a fair amount of rain. When we were finishing up dinner, my dad announced that we would not be eating dessert at the restaurant because he thought we’d go to the mall (aka Pearl Street) and grab an ice cream. However, as we left the restaurant and began the trip down the canyon, it was raining pretty steadily. So, there was a quick change of plans. My dad took the drive on Four Mile Canyon, which connects Boulder Canyon to Sunshine Canyon. I was thrilled! It was a wonderful drive with plenty to look at. This was old mining territory and we drove clear up to Gold Hill. I’m not sure how excited the kids were about this winding drive through the mountains, but I was in the front seat and was enjoying every moment. As we began to head down into Sunshine Canyon, the rain had just about stopped and this huge rainbow came out. At times, it even looked like a double rainbow. The views were breathtaking and we could not resist pulling out the camera and looking like a bunch of tourists. Who cared? It was an amazing evening. Even when we got down to Pearl Street, there were people everywhere taking pictures.

So see. I have found what is at the end of the rainbow. Boulder, Colorado.

Blogging from the Rocky Mountains

Since we are out of town and I couldn’t bring any of my crafting supplies, I won’t be able to share any creations with you this week. However, I will take a moment to post a couple of family photos in another day or so.

The kids and I are enjoying our visit to Colorado. The time spent with my parents is so precious because it’s so infrequent. I hope my kids grow up with some impressionable memories of their visits with the “Colorado grandparents.” I know that as a child, my parents took us to Colorado pretty much every Christmas and I still have fond memories of those trips.

On Saturday when we arrived in Colorado, we took a little outing to see the traveling Viet Nam memorial wall. What a sobering experience to see those thousands of names etched into this massive wall and to know they all died defending our country. This wall is transported by a huge tractor trailer and was only in town for 3 days.

My dad planned a surprise outing for us on Sunday. We went to the dinner theatre in Boulder and saw Will Rogers Follies, which was fantastic! Perhaps it was a bit long for Melissa, but it was a wonderful treat for all of us.


Monday and Tuesday have been filled with day to day activities such as going to the gym (the boys), going for walks (the girls), cooking (Freddie and Melissa will take turns doing this), time in the hot tub, and of course lots of playing games.

Our next surprise is not until Thursday, and I am being kept in the dark as much as the kids are! But we have been instructed to wear “nice” clothes, so I’m sure it’ll be something fun.

Check back soon for some family photos!

Where is that monogram card?!

Where, oh where is that card I promised I’d post? I had it out at my scrapbooking workshop last weekend and I must not have put it back where it belongs. I hate when I do that! I’m working on being more organized, but obviously I’m not there yet!

In lieu of the “missing card”, I am sharing with you a card that I made at a technique class a few months ago. The technique is called burnishing and I think it gives this card a calming, dreamy look. I’m not sure the photo captures that, so you’ll just have to trust me on this one! You stamp your image first and then apply the burnishing by using daubers.

I’ve got lots of packing, getting organized and running errands in store for the next couple of days, not to mention working! So, I need to get busy.

Mom and dad, we can’t wait to see you!

July 16th

As I sit here ready to type my first post on my new blog, I've got a few questions flashing through my mind. You know, things like:

• Am I crazy to start a blog?
• Will I have enough to say and share?
• Will I be able to keep it current?

The answer is, of course, I do not know. But I won't know unless I try!

So, here I sit glued to my computer when I should be cooking dinner. Melissa is eating out this evening at a friend's house and the boys are not complaining yet that there is no food in sight. But, perhaps before they start, I should refocus my energies to the kitchen!

The slideshow at the left of the page contains every page layout that I did for the infamous scrapbook for my kids' school. I put it together basically within a week and feel like the results were pretty good. So, for all of you that listened to me talk about this book, now you can see it for yourself!

And, later this evening I plan to post a picture of a monogram card I made for a monogram card swap. While it's a simple card, I thought it was beautiful and hope you agree!

Off to cook dinner for the boys. I'm outnumbered this evening so I best be on good behavior.

Until next post... Shannon