I rate right up there with "junk mail"...

Ah, the surprises keep coming!  My daughter sent me a copy of this “junk mail” that she received from CardMaker Magazine and realized “hey! that’s my Mom’s card on the front of the envelope!”  So she took a picture and emailed it to me.  I feel quite honored to see it there -- and quite surprised as well (LOL)!  Just thought I’d share.  I've included a close-up of my card.

Ciao for now!

Ciao Bella!

Calendar Queens...

Here are my Queens of Inkland (minus me as I’m the one taking the picture and minus JoAnne who had a medical emergency).  These are the ladies I gather with once a month to make projects/cards, exchange ideas, insult one another, eat great food and, generally laugh an awful lot.  Upper left is Regina, next to her is Mary (with her mouth open - sorry, Mary!), then Chris in pink and in the foreground is Nancy.  We’ve been together for over 10 years doing this and it never, NEVER gets old!  I can only wish this same closeness for all of you out there.  We’ve been through a lot in these ten years, but our friendship stays strong and solid.

So, yesterday was our monthly gathering which we had at Chris’s new condo (yummy place!) and the project was to make our yearly calendars.   I know, we’re a bit late this year, but many of us have had lots of life issues this past year.  We have all given the Queen’s wave to 2010 and no fond adieus were included.  

Our plan for the calendars was simple.  Chris Zuttered the calendar base together and each of us had picked two months  to do (we did this the PC way by throwing all the months in a bowl and picking two).  So, after many hours of work, laughs and good food, I chose one calendar page from each Queen to show you.  We love our calendars and we changed it up a bit this year by just telling everyone to bring DP, card stock, bling, ephemera, punches, etc. that would go with their month.  Then each month’s doodads were put on the table and we each interpreted the month the way we wanted it.  Some of the months were constructed ahead (March and August for example) and all the components passed out to each of us.  We then did the placement as we wished.  The other months were pretty much a free-for-all and we did our own thing.  For me this was a big leap out of the box.  I am too self-contained and non-spontaneous when it comes to cardmaking or papercrafting.  I like to know where I’m going.  But I tell you I had a blast doing this calendar.  Wasn’t it a great way to spend a cold, windy Sunday afternoon?

I hope you like the samples I’ve shown and  I’d love to hear from you.   

Have a warm day and ciao for now!

Ciao Bella!

Lattice work...

Ahh, a sunny day!  But it’s going to get really cold over the next few days, so I think I’ll hunker down and devote some time to my online classes.  In the meantime, this was a class we did last night and we really had a great time.  My students were amazed at how really easy they were to construct.  I had seen this done on a blog whose name shall forever be lost in my fog-shrouded mind.  I do remember that it began with a “V” and that’s all I can tell you.  I just loved the idea of using Nesties dies in a different way.  The “aha” moment was using ribbon in place of paper/card stock on one of the cards.  I kept it extremely simple because the card on the left was going to involve more time and effort to complete.  But each and every student did an incredible job on their projects.  I’m so proud of them and I know they loved their cards when they were done.  These are the moments I live for (LOL).  Click on “read more” below for a close up of the rose card.  Ciao for now!

Ciao Bella!

Getting really tired of snow...

Ah, yes, here we are approaching the last week in this month and we are looking at more of that white stuff.  It’s coming down pretty hard here - about 1” to 1-1/2” inches an hour.  The only saving grace is that it’s light and fluffy.  And if you think really, really hard, you can see the beauty in it.  Let’s face it folks, we’re a little tired of this “beauty”, but cheer up! -- they tell us another storm is on the way next week.  I’m pulling the covers over my head and not coming out till April. 

So, in honor of the “white stuff”, here’s a card I put together for a class next Thursday (the one on the right). This card was made using the Heartfelt Die that’s been all the rage lately.  It does do up a lovely card, don’t you think?  In this case I doubled the cardstock and made an actual card from the die, then placed some (ugh!) snowflakes in the window and in the front.  And see all that glitter? It just wouldn’t be me without it!  I just love the blue glitter by Sparkle N Sprinkle - it’s called Misty Blue - so beautiful!

On the card at the left, I cut the die using brown CS then went over it with two different colors of Liquid Pearls to give it that shimmery affect.  

Well, I’m off to shovel the walkway so the plow can come by and shovel me back in again!

Ciao for now and I hope your day is beautiful!

Ciao Bella!