inspiration monday

kristina werner  makes really fabulous cards and she's very generous in sharing them with us in her weekly "make a card monday"  videos.  and along with that, she's created a holiday card series, giving us "25 days of Christmas" card ideas!!   this card from day 18 is super cute and has totally inspired me to break out my holiday papers and start playing!  i hope it brings you heaps of happy inspiration too!
(you can watch this video in larger format here at you tube)

you can see kristina's other holiday designs here 
(and make sure you sign up for her fantastic prize pack giveaway!!)
and if you'd like to see her card designs from her holiday series 2009, click here!

p.s.  lots of activities last week took me away from my computer, so it's been a while since i've visited you.....i'm so sorry!!  i'm looking forward to getting back into the bloggy swing of things and seeing what you've been up to!! xo

so thankful for you!!

"there is a calmness to 

a life lived in gratitude,

a quiet joy."

ralph blum

wishing you a beautiful Thanksgiving!

xox

inspiration monday

remember when we were kids, and Thanksgiving week rolled around and we would make those turkeys by tracing our hands in school.......and then we'd take them home and our moms would proudly attach them to the fridge using about twenty magnets?!  well, i was thinking about that, and i decided to be a kid again.....but instead of tracing my hand, i used my all-time favorite heart-in-hand and had a little gobbledy good fun......

do you think it's "fridge-worthy"?!  

 heeheehee

the other reveal

i've had a little feedback that the pictures of my artwork in yesterday's post were a little small to see......i didn't have too much success trying to photograph the pictures in the book, with the glare on the page, and on and on.  so, i'd like to share some photos that were taken before i sent the artwork off to the publishing house last year!

"keys to a happy home"

materials:  provided "swap fabrics", brads, house keys, beads, thread, 

batting, buttons, sharpie pen for lettering

"inspiration garden"

materials:  hand-carved stamps, stamp ink pads,  batik fabrics,  

letter stamp set, batting, thread, beads, buttons

"live, laugh, love"

(this is a photo of the page before it went into the round robin book)

materials:  page template, batik fabrics, batting, seed beads, buttons, 

hand-lettering, computer lettering, thread

thank you all SO much for your sweet comments......

i sincerely appreciate every e-hug that you've sent!!!

hope you have a great weekend!!

xox

secrets revealed

oh.....my......gosh......

it's here!!!!

after months and months of creating and waiting, this fabulous book that chrissie grace has authored is finally here!!!

right now i'm feeling like a giddy schoolgirl who just found out that recess has been extended by 15 minutes, and when we come in there's chocolate cupcakes for everyone!!!

and now i can finally reveal some of the projects that i was working on last year....

project #1:  this is the project where a group of seven of us each purchased a yard of fabric and sent it to chrissie.  she then cut each yard into equal pieces, and then mailed a package back to each of us that contained one piece of each participants' fabric.  then we all created our own projects with the fabrics that were provided (you can read more background here).  i created a little wall quiltie entitled "keys to a happy home".

one of the many things that i love about this book is that the photography is excellent, and each step shows a photo so that you can make one of these yourself!  there's even a little diagram to show placement of the pieces!

project #2:  this is another little quiltie that i lovingly call "inspiration garden".  for this project, i used hand carved stamps for the flowers, leaves, and vine background.  the instructions are included for this one, too!

and the third project that i was honored to participate in was the round robin book.  the theme was "she said" (see more here) and this photo shows only a small sampling of the participants (my page is the third from the left, the one with the hearts).....but let me tell you, this round robin book is an absolute masterpiece!!!  i was especially treated because my name was the last on the list to receive the book.....so i got to see what everyone else had already done!!  my little dutch sweetie chuckled at me because when i first took it out of the box,  it was just like handling a newborn baby!!  it truly is a special artpiece.....and chrissie provides a template in the book if you're interested in creating one of these structures for yourself!

i could go on and on about what a spectacular job chrissie has done in coordinating all of these artists and projects!  and i'll forever be thankful for the opportunity to participate in such a once-in-a-lifetime project......this has been such a sweet, sweet blessing!!!  

thank you, chrissie......and congrats to every artist who participated!

you can read more about this book on amazon here !

please click on images for a larger view!