Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Moonlight Workshop

What a great time of year this is.  Even though I am not a big Halloween person, I love the bright colors with the black accents and all the fun bling and blitz that goes with it. I can almost feel all kids, big and small, start getting all excited and wound up.  For me, this is the big kick off to the holiday season.  I don't know about you, but I have put the finishing touches on my gift list and am ready to hibernate in my scrap room and make some gifts.

Before I do that though, I need to finish up some old business.  I need to show you all the cards we did for Club this month.  We used the MAKE IT FROM THE HEART VOL. 1 book.  All of my club members receive this book so that they have access to all the designs used in the clubs whenever they wish.  Vol. 1 contains the layouts for each workshop in the Autumn Winter 2012 Idea book plus many more AND  it contains 12 new Card designs.  It is a great resource for inspiration when sitting down to design cards or layouts. For these cards we used layout #29 and changed it up just a bit.  I love that we can do that with these basic designs.  All 6 cards are done with ONE layout.

Yes I said 6.  This is the month that I design one set of cards for Halloween, and for my customers who aren't that crazy about Halloween, I design the same set of cards for Fall.  This month, I also used the Sept. Stamp of the Month.  It is amazing to me that the SAME paper pack and SAME card layout can look so different with a turn of the card or change of the stamp.




 Some of the small details make all the difference.  On the decorative strip in the middle of this card, I stamped the words "pumpkin patch" from the Sept. Stamp of the Month.
 Here, I used the tiniest grey crystals for the spider's eyes.  It really makes them pop. 
And, last but not least, I know this one is fuzzy. Sorry about that. But I really wanted you to see that we totally changed the Striped B&T paper by stamping the tiny works randomly between the stripes.  It really is a nice detail on the card. 
 I hope you enjoy these cards.   Connie

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Workshops For the Holidays

I don't know about you, but I am starting to feel the pre Holiday anxiety that I seem to get every year.  I can feel the little perfectionist in my saying "You can make that for so and so and you could do such and such for someone else"  I make myself crazy!  To top it off, I know I am starting to think about the Holidays later this year that I usually do and that is adding to my stress.  Bad Plan!!

So, this morning with my coffee, I am sitting here writing to you and I've decided to CALM DOWN and take a deep breathe and look at what is really going on.  I don't have a list of things I want to make/buy yet.  That is making me insane.  So, by the end of the evening, I plan on making that list.  You get to hold me accountable.  I also know that as my children are getting older, the Holiday shopping etc. is less and less.  They know that the big man is on a budget and that the Christmas and Thanksgiving celebrations are more about family than gifts.  Now, as long as I keep reminding the little girl inside me that LOVES to gift people and make PERFECT celebrations, we should be OK.

I know I don't have a lot of time to be making things, but I do have some really great workshops coming up and that should get my Christmas cards made and the beautiful Advent calender done.  I know that will be a wonderful gift for someone!  There - 2 things off my list!!  I feel better already. This blogging thing can be cathartic at times.  It allows me to slow down and breathe for a minute.  I needed that this morning.  Thank you.

So, back to the upcoming workshops!  I am so excited to be offering a wonderful ADVENT CALENDER workshop on October 28 from 1 - 5 PM.  I think that using this calender will be a tradition that your family can  look forward to for years to come.  It is cut using the new ARTISTE cartridge from CTMH and this will be a great time to preview it if you don't already have it.  The kit includes everything you will need, and I will provide the space and instruction to make it happen.  The cost is only $44.95 plush shipping and tax.  I do need to get these ordered before the 20th of October, so please contact me if you would like to join us.


 The next workshop I have coming up is on November 11!  We are going to be making Christmas cards.  What a great way to make your cards, surrounded by your friends and enjoying an afternoon of productivity! I will need to have you pre-registered for this class by October 29 so I can order the kits.  These are very reasonable kits including everything you need to make 15 cards, including the stamp set!  For 29.95 plus shipping and tax you too can have your Christmas cards done or at least well under way! And the cards are so beautiful!!

Again, please contact me by October 29 to register for this workshop!  We would love to have you join us!

And now, I am off to get some much needed house cleaning done.  Maybe that will alleviate some of my anxiety about the Holidays too!  See you soon!  Connie