Creatively Amused

Happy 2012

2012-01-01T10:07:00.000-08:00

My goal in 2012 is to get my Etsy shop up and running and filled with beautiful handmade cards and note card sets. I will also be able to accommodate most custom orders.

2011 Christmas Card Workshop

2011-11-05T08:30:00.000-07:00

I will be hosting a Christmas Card Workshop again this year. Yeah!

Details:

We will make 10 cards. Everything will be pre-cut and ready for assembly. Some stamping will be required. I am keeping the last two blue cards as a surprise for you!

$30
$28 if you pre-pay by November 29th.
$25 if you pre-pay by November 22nd.

Class dates:

Sunday December 4th at 11am

Friday December 9th at 6pm

R.S.V.P to andesjardins02@gmail.com or call (315) 788-0980

This class is good for both beginners and advanced card makers.

All you need to bring is double sided tape. I will provide everything else.

****** Card kits are available - everything will be stamped and inked and ready for assembly. $30 per kit - additional kits are $25 each. Shipping is $5. ************

Class space is limited to 10 people each. Classes will be held in my home in Glen Park.

Here are some samples of cards you will make at the workshop. Not all cards are shown and some cards may vary slightly (I will give you options for sentiments on some cards).

Elegant Friendship Card

2011-01-24T16:23:00.000-08:00

I don't know what is going on with me lately but I am so into gray! We are (ok, so mostly I since I started the demolition pretty much without warning) in the midst of renovating our upstairs bathroom - it is currently studs and floorboards but in my mind, I already see the final product. It's got warm gray walls with faux white wainscoting on the bottom and a porcelain tile in the shower that resembles Carrara marble with a bit of black/white/gray/blue glass tile in the mix and a gorgeous pedestal sink sitting atop ceramic tiles that resemble mahogany hardwood. Isn't it gorgeous? :) I can't wait to finish but first - there is one stupid thing standing in my way.....the plumbing.....I can do the rest of the work but I fear the plumbing and we have an old, nasty radiator right next to the toilet that has to be removed by a professional - now if only I could find a willing professional :)

I digress........I made this gorgeous card for a swap - as well as the Gray is the New Black Challenge in the Moxie Fab World I'm so in love with the combo of the gray and brown.....reminds me of my future bathroom.....

I definitely plan on changing out the sentiment in the future and using this as a sympathy card - wouldn't it be fabulous?

All supplies are Close To My Heart - the stamp set is the February Stamp of the Month - I can't wait for next month so everyone can get their hands on this beauty :)

Altered Kitchen Set

2010-07-17T19:02:00.000-07:00

This was my silent auction donation for CTMH's convention. I was so honored to be one of the 30ish consultants who were asked to donate an item for the Operation Smile silent auction.

I covered a rolling pin and then used one of our 3-ring albums and some flip flaps to make the recipe book. I also used our embroidery floss and some tulip buttons to hand stitch the hand towel...........the dry erase board is just a photo frame........I had a hard time parting with this set - I may have to make another one for myself! :)

2010-04-03T04:47:00.000-07:00

Veranda Accordion Album

This is one of the classes at the upcoming Miracle Crop on May 22nd. Cost is $19 and all the materials will be pre-cut so you can assemble this in an hour or less.

This album was inspired by Karen Pedersen. I loved her book but I knew it would be too costly and take too long to do at the Miracle Crop so I scaled it down, adjusted it some and viola........another gorgeous creation!

Scrap my scraps challenge.....

2010-03-24T06:57:00.001-07:00

The fabulous Erin Grotegut issued a challenge on her blog and invited 6 ladies to make whatever they wanted with some of her 'scraps'. I was quite lucky to be chosen to participate and anxiously awaited the mailman for days.........finally he came and I was hit smack dab in the face with pepto-pink papers with purses AND presents on them........Wow - that certainly is a challenge to incorporate all 6 pieces of paper into one project.......but I did it! It was SO much fun and I made my very first circle card........like first ever............I never make circle cards - but this was so simple!

I was even able to make 2 cards using some of each of the 6 pieces of scrap paper........and then 2 more cards with the scraps from the scraps........talk about being green! LOL

6x6 Accordion Album for my Mom

2010-03-10T05:22:00.000-08:00

I created this cute little album for my Mom to display her photos at work. She had them all haphazardly on her hutch but I wanted them to look pretty. This was such a simple project to create - and the best part - I made it mostly from scraps!

Want to make your own? You can purchase all of the main supplies right from my website!

Accordion Album (I used 6x6 but it also comes in 9x9 size)
Bella level 2 paper pack and Stickease
Just Blooms - these can be colored with your Exclusive Inks (I used cocoa for my edge distressing)
Twinkle Brads
Spring Blossom Mini-Medley Assortment
Miscellaneous: Cricuit Storybook Cartridge, ribbon & Martha Stewart Punch, tissue paper

CTMH stamps are CLEARLY the BEST!

2010-02-01T11:00:00.000-08:00

Close To My Heart is having a contest for the best video promoting My Acrylix stamps

We all know My Acrylix® stamps are the best, so let’s shout it out to the world!

They wanted to see some short, informative videos posted on YouTube that demonstrate why Close To My Heart stamps are “Clearly the Best.” Videos need to demonstrate the use, care, and unique features of My Acrylix® stamps, demonstrating their industry superiority and leadership.

Here is my entry - PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE share this with everyone you know and make sure to view it lots of times! There is a big prize for the video with the most views on YouTube and I'm already behind since it took me a few days to get the video finished!

Contest Prizes

Awards will be given to winners in two categories: “Clearly the Best” and “Most Views.”

Clearly the Best

Three entries will be chosen as “Clearly the Best,” based on message, creativity, and adherence to contest guidelines. The Consultants who produce these videos will be rewarded with $500 in select product credit.

Most Views

The entrant whose video garners the most YouTube views will win $500 US cash! Number of views determined by YouTube stats as of February 25 at 11:59 p.m. MT. Winning video must adhere to all contest rules and guidelines.

You Rock

2010-01-06T13:02:00.000-08:00

These fabulous projects were created using the new CTMH 'You Rock' paper pack. I just love the vibrant colors and you would think that with three boys, I would have used their pictures for the layout but you know what - it works GREAT for girls too!

Keep an eye out - these are some of the projects for my March clubs.........if you'd like to join us, let me know!

Supply list (all products are available from my website or me directly)

The You Rock basic workshop kit includes:
You Rock Level 2 Paper Packet ($12.95)
My Acrylix® Just Be You ($13.95)
Mini-Medley Accents Outdoor Denim Collection ($4.95)
Workshop Guide ($1.00)

G1006	You Rock Basic Workshop Kit	$29.95
Z1272	Top Coats™ Rockin'	$4.95
Z1263	Bitty Sparkles	$2.95
Z281	White Hemp	$2.25

E1002	My Acrylix® Rustic Alphabet	$34.95
Z2123	Goldrush Exclusive Inks® Pad	$5.25
Z2140	Outdoor Denim Exclusive Inks® Pad	$5.25
Z2150	Sunflower Exclusive Inks® Pad	$5.25
Z1297	Edge Distresser	$2.50
Z1114	Piercing Tool Kit	$5.95
Y1001	1" x 1 1/2" My Acrylix® Block	$4.50
Y1003	2" x 2" My Acrylix® Block	$6.50
Y1005	1" x 6 1/2" My Acrylix® Block	$6.50

Happy Spring

2010-01-04T19:49:00.000-08:00

I whipped up this cute little card tonight for a sketch challenge/contest, using one of my new favorite Close To My Heart sets from the fabulous new Spring Idea Book!

You can enter for a chance to win TOO if you go to Erin's Blog and check out the details!!! Basically you choose one sketch and get creative from there! I chose this cute sketch and turned it on it's side........

All supplies are CTMH - Caboodle paper pack (x7121B), Springtime (D1415), cocoa cardstock & ink.........

Stardust birthday card

2009-03-04T10:20:00.000-08:00

I made this for my dear sweet Logan. He turned 9 today

Why I don't leave the house......

2009-01-19T11:41:00.000-08:00

Most people that know me know I don't leave the house too often - especially in the winter.......and it seems like when I do leave, weird stuff happens. LOL

So - my day started out with Jason calling me from Old Navy (mind you, I had planned on going there later in the day myself.....grrrrr.....). They were having a huge sale - all the clearance stuff was an additional 50% off......AWESOME! The kids are always needing new clothes and this is the time to stock up. The stores are practically giving stuff away to get it out of the store so why not take advantage of it?! So anyways - he comes home with 3 bags of clothes - chuck full! We added it up and it was nearly $450 worth of clothes and he only paid $76!!!! Whoo hoo! Not to mention, he did pretty good - there was only one thing I didn't like but Logan loved it so that's all that matters......I still can't believe we were able to get Old Navy jeans for $5 each......crazy!

When he got home, I got ready to go to the movies with the girls.....there were 7 of us total and it's a good thing my Mom was smart and got the tickets ahead of time - the line was super loooooong........I paid my $11.25 for popcorn and soda and we were on our way..........We got decent seats..........at least I thought we did........until the big mouth behind me started talking..........and didn't stop the entire movie! She narrated the whole thing, she read any words that came up on screen - she even guessed what was going to happen next. At one point I very loudly told her to "Zip It!" but she didn't..........Erin and I joked the entire time about how it was a good thing we couldn't read........I think we were partially deaf by the end of the movie.

Now - I'm reluctantly telling this part of the story because I don't want to come across as prejudice - but all of us - not just Erin & I - Amy too - thought for sure when we turned around that she'd be a heavy set black woman. Imagine our surprise when she was a skinny white girl - man, did she have a set of pipes on her.......the WHOLE theatre could hear her! She was soooooo annoying.

Ticket to see "Bride Wars" - $7.00
Popcorn & Soda - $11.25
Listening to someone narrate the whole movie - Priceless!

After the movie was over, I headed back to my house to drop Amy & Kate off and then decided to go back to Target. I took Floral Drive as I always do as a short-cut to get to Target. I was coming around the first curve and I said to my Aunt - what's up with that car? I don't think it belongs over there.........Well, it didn't! It was on my side of the road - 3 FEET OFF THE GROUND - on TOP of the snowbank - completely off the road - in the field. He must have just done it because I was the first one to stop.......

I pulled over and he was just getting out of his car and he had this "How the heck do I get out of this one" look on his face. It was all down-hill for him from there. He was Mexican - spoke very little English and had Arizona liscense plates on his car........he was not Military so I have no clue what he was doing out there on that road. I asked him if he was ok and if he wanted me to call someone for help. He went to the car and got a post-it note with the name & number of his 'friend'.......now mind you, when I write down my friend's phone number, I don't put their full name and I don't put the area-code plus phone number on the paper. Now, since he had Arizona plates, we'll let the area code thing slide..........but I got the impression that he didn't know his friend..........

We tried to call the number but no one answered and at this point, I didn't know what else to do but call 911 - there was NO way he was getting that car down without a tow-truck and quite frankly, I didn't think to call my friend Ricky that drives a tow-truck.......I thought - accident - you must call the police. As the guy is grabbing some papers from the front seat of his car and hiding them in his trunk, I call 911..............even though he clearly didn't want me to - but No Hablo Espanol - so he was SOL.............

For some reason - unbeknownst to me - I made him get in my car to wait for the police. What the hell was I thinking? He could have had a knife or gun.........silly me! He begged me to drive him to Wal-Mart to get his friend to get him off the snow bank but since I had already called the police, I coudln't do that.......I had to sit and wait - much to his dismay! After about 10 minutes and a whole lot of sighing from the back seat, the State Trooper finally arrived. The guy did NOT want to get out to talk to the police because he had just informed me - HE HAD NO LISCENSE!!! Ugh - why didn't you tell me that earlier??? I ended up getting out and leaving my Aunt alone in the van with him - sorry Aunt Donna! - and went to talk to the trooper. I told him how the guy was Mexican, spoke very little English, had no license and was reallllllllly nervous.......The trooper told me thanks and said well, he shouldn't have been going so fast then..........lol. I completely forgot to tell him about the stuff he hid in the trunk but I wasn't pushing it.........the guy was already having a bad day - why make it worse? The trooper walked with me back up to the van and knocked on the door but the guy wouldn't get out......lol.....Unlucky for him, I have an automatic slide door and opened it for him. At this point, logic was kicking in and I decided him being in my car wasn't the best idea........I wanted to stick around to see what happened but I high tailed it out of there.....I had all I could do NOT to peel away.......lol

After that, we ended up meeting my Mom at Pier 1 - she needed opinions on something and thought she was going to score my Aunt's coupon......NOT! Now normally I avoid Pier 1 like the plague because I could go crazy in there but I was dragged in (kicking and screaming of course)........ Anyways - I got the cutests plates for $1.18 each. Anyone that knows me knows I LOVE tableware! I buy a new set of dishes almost every year - I buy the cheap ones so I don't feel bad about switching them out. I think in the last 8 years, I have had at least 6 sets of dishes - not to mention our every day fine china - aka those cheap plastic plates from Wal-Mart. I just love dishes....what can I say? The only set that's stuck around and will continue to stick around is my clear glass plates......They're pretty versatile so I think I'll keep those.

My cute new plates - just dessert size - but that's ok.......I liked them a LOT!

On a bad note, I did find a set of dishes I realllllly liked but at about $20 per place setting - there was no way I was going to make that commitment (I need to have at least 8 sets).......now, if they were to go on sale for say - 50% off, I may just have to consider taking the plunge!

This is the first set I realllllllllllly liked..................

And this is the other one that I just liked.......

Anyways - after we left there, we went to Target where I found many more great deals on clothes for the kids! Caleb made out like a bandit - 7 shirts, 5 sweat shirts and 2 pairs of sweat pants - all for $24.19!!! Ben got a bathrobe, jeans and a shirt, 3 sweat shirts, a pair of sweat pants and 3 turtlenecks for $20.90............ Logan got a hoodie and a bathrobe for $8.50. I was happy because they had a pair of my favorite black khaki's on clearance for $10 too! Yeah me! All in all at Target, I got $215 worth of clothes for $63.59! I saved about 70% overall......whoo hoo!

Total for the day - $650 in clothes for $140.......An overall savings of 75%! Check out the loot!

Our Christmas Tree

2008-12-02T14:06:00.001-08:00

I love looking at everyone's trees! It's so much fun!

Here's my tree........well, one of them. This is the first year for this tree and the decorations. Personally, I think it needs some more ornaments but I'll pick those up after c-mas when they are cheap - that's how I lucked out and got this tree last year. I fell in love with it at Target and every time I would go there, I would drool over it.......lol Sad, isn't it...........

Anyways - I need to finish making the tree skirt - can you believe that they don't sell watermelon,bubble gum, kiwi, ocean and breeze colored tree skirts............whoda thunk it?

Place Cards & Wish Lists

2008-11-27T11:53:00.000-08:00

I whipped these up for Thanksgiving dinner. We draw names at dinner for x-mas and I used the left over frames to make the wish lists from.

Ally

2008-11-27T11:17:00.000-08:00

I made this yesterday for a girl that I as babysitting. Her father works for the local radio station so on days when the kids don't have school, he doesn't really have any where for them to go besides the station and since her brother and my oldest are BFF's........I usually offer to take them.

Ally is 11 and she's starting to come into her own.........she's gotten really skinny over the past few months and now she wants to start decorating her room. I used some left over scraps I had and an old frame I could have cared less about and we created this...............Ally totally loved it and couldn't wait to get home and hang it on her bedroom wall.

Quick & easy cards

2008-11-27T10:15:00.000-08:00

I picked up these cards at Michaels. It's amazing that with a little imagination, these Wedding Invitation's can be turned into every day, all occasion cards........

I picked up a box of 12 with envelopes on clearance for $2.50 - what a great deal! Just a little stamp here and a little ribbon there and viola...........

Sentiment - Verve
Stamps - CTMH
Card - Bride's
Ribbon - CTMH

Don't Blink

2008-11-27T09:32:00.000-08:00

I made this to hang on the wall in my dining room. I know that the greasy hand prints on the floor now may be a bit annoying but in a few years, I'm really going to miss them. I printed the lyrics from Kenny Chesney's song right on the photo.

I painted the chipboard black with the MM paint and then put liquid glass over 'don't' and used glitter on the 'blink'.

Paper: Bo Bunny, CTMH Cardstock
Chipboard: Crate paper, CTMH
Other: MM Black paint, Martha Stewart Black Onyx glitter, liquid glass

So excited!

2008-11-14T09:27:00.000-08:00

I finally got my album on Snapfish finished and ordered! One more present for Jason done for x-mas.

I did a 28 page book of our Mediterranean Cruise so that he can have it on his desk at work and enjoy the trip over and over again. I hope he likes it - it only took me 2 days and 7 tries to get it........but it was worth it because I saved $30 - it only ended up being $18 thanks to Oprah! Yeah!

Get Well

2008-11-11T11:45:00.001-08:00

I made this for a swap I'm in this week.

Stamps: CTMH (Treasure Life, Say it in Style)

Inks: CTMH (Cocoa, Bamboo, Seafoam)

Ribbon: CTMH

Paper: Target Dollar Spot

Cuttlebug Embossing Folder

Christmas card workshop

2008-11-10T13:07:00.000-08:00

Station 1 - Non-traditional colors......
My FAVORITE card and the most simple.......

Station 2 - Notebook papers

Station 3 - Evensong

Station 4 - Evensong Creative Basics

My other card for this set is still at the LSS - I forgot it but basically it was with the girl with presents from the September promo set.
Station 5 - LSS papers

Happy Birthday to me......

2008-11-04T07:52:00.000-08:00

Albeit, a little late......lol

This is what I decided to treat myself to with my birthday cash.......I've been wanting one for months and I finally decided to take the plunge..... hopefully for Christmas I can get some nestabilities...... ;o)

Halloween Ornaments

2008-10-27T13:04:00.000-07:00

Ok -so I was making some adorable snowman ornaments for an upcoming class and when I went to Target to get the socks, I found the cutest little halloween mittens in the dollar spot. I thought - heck why not make Jack-o-lantern ornaments............I think they turned out cute!

I was originally inspired by Rachele who was inspired by Lynda!