First Holiday Craft Bazaar of the season down...

only 5 more to go - yikes! With that said, I just can't seem to get my crafty mojo working today, so I thought I'd take a few minutes to post some photos of Linda's and my first Holiday Bazaar of the season.

This event took place on Tuesday, October 18th at the Sunset Presbyterian Church. This was a fund raiser for Eve's Daughters, a non profit and volunteer run organization for the benefit of single mothers, a very good cause. This was the first time they had put on an event like this and I hope it was a success for them. The vendors were asked to donate a portion of their sales in turn for a spot in the show, which we were glad to do.

The evening went by very quickly as there were only 2 hours of sales, but both Linda and myself did very well in that short amount of time. It was also a nice way to ease into the Bazaar Season as we've signed up for the most shows ever this year. Hopefully we'll survive this, lol.

Here we are at our table. One of the volunteers was nice enough to take our photo.
The only thing that was kind of strange about where they put us was that big display behind us. We felt a little odd about it because it had nothing to do with us. You can't really see in this photo, but there was an easel behind where we were standing which was all about kisses and had photos of people kissing on it. But we were able to make a few jokes during the night, offering up "a kiss with purchase", etc..

Just before the doors opened I took a quick tour of the table with the camera so I could show off our crafty items. Lots of fun stuff.



Here are some of Linda's beautiful flower pins and hair clips. The photo doesn't really do them justice, they're so pretty in person. There are also some fun bookmarks she made as well.

These are a new addition this year. Linda molded these cute little flowers and turned them into rings, earrings and hair pins. I love how they turned out!

Here a some more of Linda's items; some fun little girl hair clips, tissue cozies, magnet sets and mini notebooks.

Here are some of my altered Tic-Tac "Snowman Kisses", Linda's embroidered towel sets and fun fabric wristlet key fobs also made by Linda.

Here are some of my Post-It note stands with matching pens. I made these for the first time last Spring for a show we did and they were quite popular, so I thought I'd see how they did for the holidays.

New this fall are my Cozy Sock Cupcakes. You may have seen them in my previous post. These turned out to be pretty popular and I sold about half of them, so I'm replenishing my stock.

Here are some single magnets made by Linda and some Halloween test tube treats filled with Skittles, put together by me.

More goodies...

I hope you've enjoyed seeing what Linda and I have been up to. We both have more items planned to sell at our upcoming shows, so I will try to take photos of those at future events. Our next show is this Friday, November 4th. It's a private in-home show that a group of ladies put on for their friends to come and shop and they also raise money for a good cause. Should be fun, but I've definitely got lots more to do before then. I see some late nights this week after work.

Thanks for looking!

Inedible cupcakes anyone?

What?!? Inedible cupcakes? Yes, and inedible because THEY'RE SOCKS!! Okay, these are just so stinkin' adorable and I couldn't wait to share.

I saw some on line last fall and had to try them for myself. I spent most of the day yesterday making these and am loving the way they're turning out. Each one turns out a little bit differently, which adds to the fun.






I'm displaying them on a stacked dessert tower that I borrowed from my mother-in-law. Funny thing is, there is a ceramic "Ratatouille" figurine attached to the top, so I covered him up with a display cupcake. As Tim Gunn says, "make it work". lol

Now I just need to wrap them in some cellophane and add a tag. I'm going to be selling these at some upcoming bazaars in the next month and a half with my friend Linda, but these aren't the only things I'll be selling, so I'd better get to crafting, chop chop.

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy 40th Chico!

Chico turns the big 4-0 today! Even though I'm still a year older than him, at least he can't give me a hard time anymore about me being in my 40's.

Rose had a party for Chico on Saturday at her new house and it was a pretty good turnout. He knew his mom was making dinner for him but didn't know we had invited a "few" extra people. :) This was Chico opening some of his cards. He looks a little embarrassed.


I know he enjoys being around his family & friends, so it was nice that we could have people there to celebrate with him.

The boys and I love you very much Chico and we hope you have a wonderful day today and that this is the beginning of a fantastic year for you!

The 2011 Autumn / Winter Idea Book is in the house, or rather it should be.

The New Autumn/Winter 2011 Idea Book has arrived! As always it's loaded with TONS of fabulous new products! It is larger, has more artwork, has the stamp sets shown at 100% (much easier to plan your projects).

For my local friends, let me know if you want your very own copy and I'll make it happen. ;) Anyone out of the area, I'd be happy to mail one to you, but I would ask that you pay for postage. Send me a note at kandig@comcast.net if you're interested.

If you just can't wait to get a copy in your hands you can view the Idea Book online here.

Last month I was able to attend my very first Close To My Heart Convention. It was located in Anaheim, CA (at the Disneyland Hotel) and it was a blast! I spent time with some wonderful people, actually got to go to Disneyland for the first time in 22 years (although without the hubby or kids, so felt a bit guilty) and got to see all of the new products in person. I can't wait to share all of the amazing new goodies with you.

As always, the new Idea Book includes fabulous new paper collections (with heavier weight decorative papers) and many, many new stamp sets (at lower prices - yay!), along with lots of wonderful new embellishments, but I think one of the most exciting new products has to be... wait for it... an EXCLUSIVE new Cricut Cartridge called "Art Philosophy"!! Yes you heard me correctly, we are now paired up with Cricut to add some wonderful new dimension to Cards and Scrapbook pages as well as creating some cute 3-D items.

This cartridge has boxes, bags, tags, tons of different card shapes, envelopes, banners, a font, flowers (flat and 3D), and TONS of images that coordinate with our stamp sets! Yes, you don't have to cut out those intricate shapes anymore with scissors! Just select the size of the shape that is shown on the stamp set carrier sheet and your Cricut will cut as may as you like. Then just stamp your image directly on the die cut image. Soooooo much faster, simpler, and easier!

After Convention I was able to order up a bunch of the new items and they're here in my house and I can't wait to start playing with all of it. I'm participating in a couple of artwork swaps using lots of the new products, so I'll be sharing what I come up with here soon. Currently in my free time I'm working on a project at my mother-in-law's new home, so once that's finished I'm going to get my hands inky. ;)

In the mean time, contact me or get on line so you can start your wish list!

Studio J newbie / Jaxon's first year of t-ball

This is my first attempt at digital scrapbooking. I've always wanted to scrapbook, but have had no desire to do it digitally... until now. I really like the real papers, textures and embellishments too much to not use them, but last month Close to My Heart had a special where you could get a free jpeg file when you tried out their digital scrapbooking program called Studio J.

I have to say that I could find it rather addicting. This layout is pretty simple because I did it on our laptop and I really don't have many photos on that computer, so I had to make due with what I had. When I do it next time I will go down to my craft room and use my regular computer where thousands of photos reside.

I chose to feature a few shots of Jaxon's first year of t-ball back in 2008. He looks so little. :) (click on the photos to see them larger)



Studio J is great because you can play with it for free with no obligation. It's all online, so you just log on and create layouts and it saves them for up to 90 days. If you like what you've created you can have them printed on 12x12 photo paper and sent to you and just slip them into your scrapbook or you can just purchase the jpeg file and do whatever you like with that.

For me it was much faster than traditional scrapbooking because I'm such a perfectionist and it takes me forever to decide which pictures, papers and accessories I'm going to use. Digitally I could just drag things on the page, change colors, crop photos, etc... I'm sure I'll be doing more of this in the future to supplement the "real" pages. Also, I figure I can do a kind of hybrid page and have the main part of the page printed and add my own real ribbon and buttons after my pages arrive in the mail. I like that idea as well.

If you have any questions about how Studio J works you can check out the Studio J link from my website or email me for more info at kandig@comcast.net. If you enjoy it, be sure to think about purchasing a membership to save 50% off retail, plus many other perks.

Now I'm off to get some sewing projects done that have been on my to-do list for quite some time. Enjoy your 4th and be safe!

May is National Scrapbooking Month! Check out the specials at CTMH...

OK, I'm not really a scrapbooker (although I aspire to be one someday), I still love me some cute paper and stamps. Whether you scrapbook or do other paper crafts, Close to My Heart's got a really fun Special for you during the month of May.
(Actually there are two great specials during the month of May, but I'll get to the other one in a bit.)

The first special is a fabulous Scrapbook kit called "You & Me". Check out all the fun stuff you get. You & Me Scrapbooking Kit Includes:

1 – My Acrylix® You & Me Stamp Set (D-size)
1 – 12" × 12" Colonial White Cardstock
6 – 12" × 12" B&T Duos® Papers
(New! Cardstock-weight)
1 – 6" × 9" You & Me Irresistibles™ Chipboard
Die-Cut Sheet
1 Yard – Chocolate Stripe Ribbon
1 Package – Opaques Mocha Adhesive Gems
1 – Instruction Guide
Featured Colors: Chocolate, Crème Brulee,
Olive, Smoothie

These are the two 2-page layouts you can create using the included Instruction Guide:




You'll also have scraps of that beautiful paper left over to make some fun cards or create another scrapbook layout of your own design. Plus you get to re-use that fun stamp set over and over again.

So, if the You & Me kit catches your fancy, here's how you can get one for yourself:

WHEN YOU PLACE A MINIMUM ORDER OF $50 IN CLOSE TO MY HEART PRODUCTS* IN May, you can get the exclusive You & Me scrapbooking kit for the discount price of just $15—that’s more than half off the retail value! You’ll create two fully embellished two-page layouts using the new cardstock-weight B&T Duos® papers, D-size stamp set, accessories, and instructions. You can also purchase the kit at full retail for $34.95 with no minimum purchase required. Become a Close To My Heart Consultant during May and we’ll include a You & Me kit for free* as part of your New Consultant Kit.
~~~
May Special #2:

What was that about becoming a Close to My Heart Consultant? I'm glad you asked, lol. If you know me, you know I'm not a "sales person", but I do like to pass along good deals when I run across them. That being said, if you've ever thought of becoming a Consultant, the month of May is the time to sign up.

The "New Consultant Kit" is 1/2 off this month! This deal doesn't come around very often, in fact I believe the last time they offered this deal was 4 years ago when I signed up myself.

For the month of May the New Consultant Kit is $65, what a deal! And if you sign up in May the "You & Me" Scrapbook Kit described above will also be included in your kit for FREE.

So weather you're a hobbyist and just want to get a great discount for yourself and your friends or you want turn your hobby into a lucrative business, this is a great time to do so. I'd love to have you become part of my team.

You can check out all of the details here. Contact me if you have any questions at kandig@comcast.net.

Or if you're ready to sign up, click here.

Happy Mother's Day!

To my beautiful Mother, Janet

and my wonderful Mother-in-law, Rose

Thank you both for all that you do for our family and for teaching me to be a mother that my boys are proud of. All my love to you!

Today's Workshop - A Mother's Day Theme

Hi there. Just popping on for my once per month blog post, lol. I really do have the best of intentions, but I just seem to have a hard time getting on here lately. One of these days...

Anyway, I had a couple of friends ask about the CTMH workshop I hosted today, so I wanted to share a few photos. This month's workshop was based on two projects I learned at Creative University back in February (still haven't posted about that awesome experience & I have lots of fun photos). The workshop attendees each made an altered clipboard and a matching greeting card with removable corner bookmark.

When people rsvp'd I gave them the option to choose one of 4 paper packs to be used on their projects. They could choose "Sweetheart", "Mayberry", "Miracle" or "Wings". We had a variety of each today, "Sweetheart" being the #1 choice.

Here's the clipboard I made at Creative University (and the inspiration for the workshop). This is using "Sweetheart" paper.



Look at those fun paper flowers. They're a great thing to make while watching TV.


This clipboard was designed and taught to us by a wonderful lady named Denise Anderson-Turley. I just loved it and couldn't wait to share her great idea. I didn't get photos of all 8 of the clipboards from today, but I did get a few. I like how everyone's was a little different and I like all of the different paper packs as well.

Here's Marcy's in "Mayberry":


Kathy's using "Miracle":


Karen's using "Mayberry":


Shelley's using "Miracle":


And Bridget did hers in "Sweetheart" and she even came prepared with a photo. Gold Star for Bridget, lol.


I like how everyone did their own thing with flower and sentiment placement. These are really fun to make!

We also made a matching card with a removable corner bookmark. I also learned how to make this at Creative University. The card I made was designed by Jennifer Royal. I took Jenn's exact layout for the card and just changed the paper and stamped images. Each person's card matched their clipboard in case they wanted to combine them as a gift for someone.

Here's a shot of the cards in the 4 different papers:



And here they are individually with the corner bookmark removed. I really like how they all turned out. I think my favorite is probably the "Miracle" paper.

Miracle:


Wings:


Mayberry:


Sweetheart:


If you're not sure exactly what a corner bookmark is, here's one in action.

Pretty cool huh?

Well folks, that's all for today. I must go watch the Amazing Race. Toodles!

Happy 11th Birthday Mateo!

And a very Happy Birthday today to my first born!! Happy Birthday to my wonderful Eleven year old (wow). I can't believe you're that old already, although you've always had an "old soul". Have a great day Mateo, we love you!!

Happy 8th Birthday Jaxon!

Happy happy birthday to my baby today. I can't believe you're already 8! Thank you for being such a wonderful boy and oh so funny! We love you Jax!

Plush Pachyderms

This is what I've been up to the last couple of evenings after work.





Aren't these just adorable? Every time I make a new set I think "this one is my new favorite". These two were custom orders from a friend from high school and they'll soon be on their way to New York to meet their new families.

They're incredibly soft, made with Minky fabric.



And call me crazy but I just love their little behinds.



I've been making these for a couple years now, but I've made the most I've ever made here in the last few months. They aren't too difficult, but they do take some time and that's not always readily available around here.

My facebook friends saw photos and late night ramblings when I was pulling all nighters, trying to get ready for the craft bazaars I participated in back in November & December. I don't think I posted photos here. This one makes me laugh.



I think I posted something like "I feel like I'm being watched". It was probably 2 or 3 am at that point. :)

There ended up being a whole herd of them watching me.



My goal is to make a few more sets in the next couple of months and get them into my pitiful etsy shop. I've had the shop on "vacation" mode for over a year. (Oh, how I wish I could take a year long vacation, ha) I need to get to work, so feel free to bug me if you don't see my store link updated soon. Thanks for looking!

P.S. Here's my 'ol buddy Lucy. She likes to come find me in the craft room and either lay on my feet or just behind my chair, so I can't roll back without running her over.