This Took Some Serious Work!

My friend Tammy Higgins brought over the following photos of a project that she and Amber Downs worked on for a co-worker that was getting married. What a beautiful gift! Check it out! Who wouldn't want to receive this! These are pages out of a completed book (top middle photo) that the couple can add their own photos to. The back page is the longest, and they stack with each page just a bit shorter. You'll want to click on each one to see the detail. These aren't even all of the pages! If I remember right Tammy said it took a couple of weeks to complete. I'm so thankful that she shared with us and I had yet another night off.

This last week I've had something big going on every single night so those that are sharing are truly blessing me! We are leaving town tomorrow morning to go to Jim's cousin's wedding and I'm hoping that I'll have internet access on the nights I'm away from home. I'm taking the laptop for sure! If you don't find me posting this weekend, you'll know what happened.

I do plan on doing the suggestions given to me a few posts back. Time has been a small constraint so look for them in the future. Also, I just wanted to remind you that we're nearing the end of the month and I'll be doing the drawing for the new paper trimmer. All you have to do is post a comment at this point! You can also e-mail an art share to me and it'll count for getting your name in the drawing even if I don't post it until next month. You've all been so kind in your encouragement to me throughout the month. I couldn't have done it without knowing that you were out there checking in with me.

You are Close To My Heart,
Yvonne

Another Beautiful Layout

Tonight's layout is one done by Megan Sabo. She used the Caprice papers, hemp and a favorite alphabet set of mine called Precious. One of my favorite techniques is called distressing and she's got a great example of it on her photo mats You can click on the picture to enlarge it. Just between you and me...when I do that technique and show it to my honey (my best critic) he doesn't get it. To him it looks like I've used a ratty old piece of paper and he tries to "fix" it for me. It's perfect here on Megan's layout! Check out the gorgeous scenery of New Zealand! Megan said that it was very hard to come home. I can see why! Thanks for sharing with us and giving me another night off during this busy week!

You are Close to My Heart,

Yvonne

Simply Beautiful

Tonight was a unit meeting. It's always refreshing to get together with fellow consultants who have great ideas. It's also great for me because they brought artwork and were so willing to share with me for my blog. You'll see some of it over the next couple of days. This is going to help me out because this week might be kinda' crazy as we're getting ready to be out of town this weekend.

So, I give you first off...Amber Korn's beautiful layout where she journaled through some defining moments in her life. She printed it off on vellum paper and very quickly added clear embossing powder to it. It's a great effect. Also, that's real stitching on her layout..something I've yet to get brave enough to try. The paper pack is called Life's Delights and it's sooo pretty and just really sets off this layout. The large letters are actually in 3-d and are a great touch. So, let's hear it for Amber! Thanks girl!

You Are Close To My Heart,

Yvonne

We're Switching Gears!

My honey has a cousin getting married this weekend so I thought I'd better get busy and make them a card. This also means we'll be out of town for a couple of days which will make blogging a bit tricky, but I'm bound and determined to finish this out :0) I'm almost done with my challenge.

This is a tunnel card and it's actually pretty easy. It'll probably show up at workshop sometime so be on the lookout. I'm not totally happy with it because the perfectionist in me wants there to be no white showing when it's open and truly if you held it to look at it, it looks pretty good. I just noticed that it's not totally perfect, but oh well...

This is Cranberry and Black. I used my Coluzzle to get the two circles and there's no waste because what I cut out of the center, I used on the front. The stamp sets are "Love You" for the hearts and a stamp from "Adorable Backgrounds" for the swirly...I love that stamp! The message in the middle comes from the "My One and Only" set.

Ok, at this point I'm taking requests for cards. What type of card do you want to see? This one is for Caroline (hi friend!) who also has a wedding to go to.

You are Close To My Heart,

Yvonne

Can You Take More Bears?

I had really good intentions of sitting down and doing another card for you tonight, but as it turned out I spent much of the day in bed with a really bad cold that I've known was coming. After sleeping many hours today I'm feeling better. So I apologize now that this isn't a brand new creation--just a variation of a previous post. And no mom, I'm not pregnant! LOL

Anyway, this time I used different papers from the Lazy Days of Summer paper pack which changed me on the color scheme. The blue bow no longer worked and the yellow background had to go. There just wasn't enough of either color on the pattern paper to use them on this card. So, what to do? I liked how the brads looked on the coffee card so I pulled that element in again. Then I had a light bulb moment. There's a stamp in the Love you Beary Much stamp set that is a little bear peeking over that same message. I had decided I didn't want to do a tag in the top pocket so how cute would it be to put a bear peeking over the top! The only thing really missing is another baby bottle gift card from Target. If you missed the first card you can see it here to know what I mean.

I should be my old self again tomorrow!

You are Close to My Heart,
Yvonne

Simple Blossoms

Stacy came to workshop this morning with a very cute card that I just have to share. The stamp set is Simple Blossoms and the paper pack is Simple Pleasures. I love Cocoa and Twilight together. The cutest thing about this card is the little envelope on the front. As you can see, it opens and she has a little message tucked inside. She kept the envelope closed by using our glue pen on a tiny spot, letting it dry completely. When you do that it becomes more like a post it note type glue that you can stick and re-stick. The envelope, tag and border were all made with a Coluzzle. She also had full size envelope made with the same Coluzzle, but I didn't get a picture of it. Thanks a bunch sistah!

I think I need the day off. Last night I stayed up waaaaay too late getting stuff ready for workshop today. I don't know why the time got away from me. It just did. Do you ever get so engrossed in something that before you know it you've stayed up almost all night? Yep, I'm paying for it today so hopefully it's early to bed for me.

Ok, off topic for a second. We have watched a couple of good movies lately that I want to recommend. The first one is called "The Last Sin Eater" and is based on a book by Francine Rivers. Don't let the odd title throw you off. It's a very good movie. And then last night we watched "We are Marshall" which was also a good movie. It's one your husbands will like because it involves football.

Well, that's all for tonight...I'm soon heading to bed as soon as the kiddos are bathed and tucked in for the night.

You are Close to My Heart,

Yvonne

Coffee Time!

I'm blogging early tonight because it's the night before a workshop. Every night before a workshop my honey and I watch a movie and I cut all the paper packs for the class.

So here's tonight's entry. This is a variation of the double pocket card in the previous post. I just decided not to use the bottom pocket so I closed it up. The paper for this card is Simple Pleasures...still one of my favorites. The stamp set is called "Coffee Shop". I stamped the word "coffee" and the cup, saucer and steam in cocoa. I used a second generation color of Twilight to fill in the coffee cup. It seemed a little too light (but full strength was too dark) so I chalked some highlights with our Autumn set of chalks. I was also then able to color the coffee in the cup with chalk as well. The image is stamped on Bamboo cardstock, cut out and you guessed it...I used foam squares to pop it up. I just really like that effect. The ribbon across the middle is from the Twilight ribbon round collection. The brads were left over from a promotional that Close To My Heart did.

I think that about covers it. Oh yeah, that's a real gift card from Starbucks. I work at the High School here in town and the staff that wants to participate does a secret pal swap. I hope my pal likes this!

You are Close To My Heart,

Yvonne

Oh Baby!

It's another baby card! Tonight was the baby shower and I was inspired by another blogger named Beate Johns for this card.

The paper I used was called Lazy Days of Summer and the bear is from the "Beary Much" set that is actually a Valentine set. I thought it worked for this too. I stamped him in Bamboo and used a set of chalks to chalk him in. He actually has three shades of brown to him. Chalks are sooo easy to work with. I shaded darker where the stamp had more detail. I did take one of our My Legacy pens and make his little face. No, I'm not artistic. It was already stamped. I just had to go over the stamped image there. I used foam squares to pop him up off the card. The baby bottle is a gift card from Target...perfect! I finished it off with some Heavenly Blue ribbon and Heavenly Blue bigger brads.

I hope you like it. She did...oh, maybe because the little tag said that I have a baby scrapbook kit ordered for her that will be delivered when I get it :0) I'd better get off here. Joel needs the computer!

You are Close to My Heart,

Yvonne

Yeah Stacy!!

Yeah, my sistah friend Stacy gave me the night off by sending me a picture of something she's recently made. I hear that this mixture is VERY addicting! Of course it has to be good if it has candy corn in it!

Here's what she has to say: HAY THERE !!!! :0) I added pop dots to some of the leaves to make it look like a pile, and used the stipple brush a lot to add some texture, I didn't have any ribbon that matched so I had to ink some (my first time, MESSY) but worth it.

To color your ribbon lay it across the stamp pad color of your choice. Leave a little tail hanging out so you have something to hold on to. Close the lid and squeeze a little. Pull the ribbon through coloring the length you need. Flip it over and repeat. Voila'! You have ribbon that matches your project perfectly.

I love it Stacy! You did a great job! Thanks a ton :0)

You are Close to My Heart,

Yvonne

Check out this Awesome Video

My kids just found this tonight. I know I already posted for the night, but I couldn't help it. You have to see this.

You are Close to HIS Heart,
Yvonne

You and Me

Ok, first off, here's a picture of the tag I used for a pattern for the leaf card a post or two back. I think when I die, my kids will think I kept the strangest things!

Today's post is a coaster frame that I made for my daughter a while back. She's the one on the left and her best friend is on the right. I used one of my favorite paper packs for this project called Simple Pleasures. Most of the stamps used were from Girly Girl. I loaded them all onto one block so I had it just like I wanted it and then I stamped in Chocolate. I like the picture in sepia tone for this one. It just seems to fit the papers. The photo paper I used to print the picture on was pretty lightweight and cheap (hey, what can I say?) so it made it very easy to stamp the message directly to the paper layers.

The coasters I used were the lightweight kind that they use in restaraunts so be on the lookout for them next time you go. I used Close To My Heart hinges to put this together. I hinged them from the back first so I was able to cover up the brads with the paper on the front? Clear as mud? I might just have to do a tutorial on these frames!

On a personal note: I'm really bummed that we can't have scrapbook workshop tonight. My youngest daughter woke up in the night with a fever and the sick to her stomach. I'm actually typing up this post as she takes her nap because she's such a chatterbox that I wouldn't be able to think and you'd get some very weird sounding post. You'd not know it at this point that she was sick last night other than she's actually sleeping during her nap and she barely ate lunch. Other than that, she's all systems go. Isn't that the way it is? I'm dog tired from being up in the night and she's in there refueling her energy tank. Maybe I should go do the same!

You are Close to My Heart,
Yvonne

Baby Card

Well, I can tell that I'm not going to get any stamping time tonight so I'm posting another past workshop card from my photobucket. I'm going to a shower for our youth minister's wife this week and I need a boy baby card. I had wanted to sit down and come up with another one, but time just doesn't permit sometimes...Five kids and all...something about no school today, I don't know... By the end of the day I'm sometimes a blubbering idiot LOL. Anyway, this is from the set called Miracle. I love the simplicity of a monochromatic (one color) card.

I've hit the over half-way mark and I'm so excited that so many of you are joining me on this daily posting journey. I can't believe I've made it this far! Don't forget that the more comments you leave, the better your chances are at winning that new paper trimmer pictured in the left hand column. You can also win chances by sending me artwork to post (Yes, yours IS good enough to post!) or by referring someone to my blog. I'll need to know by way of an e-mail that you've referred someone because I don't have a list of names of subscribers. Subscribing is free and after September the number of posts will back off again :0) Just use the box at the top in the left column.

You are Close to My Heart,

Yvonne

Leaf Thanks

Rather than re-invent the wheel, and come up with something totally new I decided to use the piece I did for my tutorial and create a card with it. I just cut it to length and added it to some barn red cardstock. I made a tag using a pattern from a shirt tag I had bought a while back. I forgot to take a picure of it...maybe tomorrow. Anyway, I then stamp rolled a leaf and cut it out, adhered it to cocoa cardstock and cut it out again. It's raised at the top with a foam square and just glued at the stem. I had a scrap of goldrush ribbon so I added that. Hope you like it :0)

You are Close To My Heart,
Yvonne

Fall Leaves Tutorial

This is my first tutorial attempt. I hope it doesn't tie up your computers if you have dial up. I couldn't get blogger to cooperate with me to put the instructions beside each picture. You'll need to click on the pictures to see the directions...I'm sorry. One of these days I want to try a video. Would your computers support that or would it be too much? Let me know.

This tutorial will show you how to do the fall leaves a few posts back. My brain was too tired to come up with something new LOL.

Here's hoping this works :0)


You are Close To My Heart,
Yvonne

Apple Thanks

This little set is going to be retired at the end of the year and I'm really sad about that. I wish I hadn't taken so long to buy it. The set is called Fresh Picked and it has apples, strawberries and a pear. See another card with this set here. I used colored pencils to color in the image and then I rubbed some of our soft chalk over it too. The paper comes from a wonderful paper pack called "Heirloom". Click on the picture to see the detail of it. The green paper has a crackle look to it and the cream paper is a French Toile look. I stuck a piece of Desert Sand cardstock under the apple image. I distressed the edges of the Desert Sand cardstock with Cocoa ink and then rolled the corners a bit to age it. I popped the main apple image up with foam dots. Pretty simple, but yet, I like it.

You are Close to My Heart,
Yvonne

I Can't Help Myself--More Flowers

I have to blog and run tonight. My honey and I haven't seen each other all day and we have a movie. The linen looking paper is from the Elegant Floral paper pack. The flowers are from the Life is So Good set done in Garden Green and Buttercup. This card could really say whatever you wanted it to say. I used a message from a past stamp of the month set called For Every Occasion. I find myself pulling that one out a lot even though it's not available any more. I'm really hoping that it comes available in a future catalog.

So are you tired of me yet? I promise that as soon as September is over I'll go back to my one or two a week LOL. It has been kind of fun for me, and it's also been a huge challenge. I've found that if I create something every day it gets easier to put something together. Hmmm I wonder what I'm going to work on tomorrow? We'll just have to see :0)

You are Close To My Heart,

Yvonne

Just Scraps

I decided that before I cleaned up my layout mess I would see what I could create with just the scraps and stuff on my table. Here's a 3x3 card, a bag topper and a bookmark. Those that know me, know that I rarely throw away any paper. It has to be realllllly small before I get rid of it. For example, that little message piece on the bookmark was just 1 x 1/4 and that little "for you" strip on the little card is only 3/8 x 3. Also, I'm pretty sure that if you peel up the leaves on the card you'll see an elephant on the back from the birthday card in a previous post.

Are you a regular visitor to my blog? I'd love to have you sign up to receive updates. It's free! See the box to the left that says, "Keep it Fresh"? All you have to do is put your e-mail address in there and hit the button. You will receive an e-mail notifying you that I've updated my blog. I'm on a marathon right now so I'm posting daily in celebration of National Stamping month, but at the end of September I'll go back to just a couple times a week. You'll never miss anything if you subscribe :0)

Ok, I'd better finish picking up my mess. I still need to cut paper for tomorrow night's workshop.

You are Close To My Heart,

Yvonne

Another Photobucket Share

Well, it's been a busy day and I have a huge mess in my office from the fall layout and I just don't have the energy tonight to clean it up and create something else. So, I'm taking the night off and sharing another re-run for my workshop attendees (sorry girls LOL). This is that Lovely Daisy set again in Sweet Leaf and Indian Corn Blue with a vellum overlay. I actually got the idea for this card from a promotional set of pre-cut set of cards from Creating Keepsakes. I'm off to finish bathing the kiddos and picking up a little from the after school tornado that went through. Then, I'm puttin' my feet up or I might even try to go to bed early (doubtful, but it's a thought).

You are Close to My Heart,
Yvonne

Completed Layout

Here's the final layout. I slightly changed the left side to create overall balance. Quite a few stamp pads were used to create this layout, but I think the end result was worth it. The stamp pads used are these: Bamboo, Desert Sand, Goldrush, Autumn Terracotta, Barn Red, Vineyard Berry and Cocoa. I especially like the little pocket with two little journaling papers. To see more detail you can click on the picture to enlarge it.

This is the type of layout that gives lots of freedom to move the pieces around which is what my talented workshop ladies will do. I can't wait to see what they do with this.

Don't forget to register for daily prizes with Close To My Heart in celebration of National Stamping Month.

You are Close To My Heart,

Yvonne

Here's Half of a Layout

Well, I have half of the layout done so I thought I'd go ahead and share. I'm using the new Imagine book and this layout is called Swing Rhythm. It's a pretty easy layout to copy because the example in the book is a fall layout too. I am adding my own touches to it to better suit a workshop setting.

The stamp set I'm using is called "Autumn Splendor", however the message is from the set called "Summer's Wave". To do the leaves section I first used Bamboo and Goldrush stamp pads to do a direct to paper color wash. Then I started with the biggest leaf and the lightest color and did a random stamping. I work from lightest to darkest in the color scheme and biggest to smallest with the leaves. It gives it a layering effect. The trick will be to make the other side look the same because normally I would do them at the same time. Tomorrow I will try to remember to post all of the colors I used.

It's a busy day tomorrow so hopefully the second half goes together quickly while the kiddos are at school :0)

You are Close To My Heart,

Yvonne

Another Fall Card

Well, it's almost 8:45 and I don't have my art for today finished. "Why?" you might ask... Well, for starters, I had two little helpers all day today...one a chatterbox (nonstop to the point that you cannot hear yourself think) and the other...well, let's just say his potty habits today were a lot less than desirable. It was not a good day in that department. Plus, it rained the entire day so there was no break other than the naps they took. I know, I could have thrown something together then, but I was so wiped out I thought I'd better sleep so I could keep up with them this afternoon!

So, I reached into my photobucket and came out with this card. For those of you that regularly attend workshops, I apologize that this is not new art to look at. Trust me...today's art would be made with crayon if I posted it LOL. I know this is called a buckle card and I know that the message is from the "Summer's Wave" set and I assume the leaves are too, but other than that, my brain is too much like jello to know much more about it LOL.

I am working on a layout so I hope to be able to post that tomorrow or Monday. Don't forget the contest that I am doing. Check it out here if you're just joining us. It's so easy to participate.

You are Close To My Heart,

Yvonne

Zoo Friends

These cute little zoo animals go so well with our Expedition paper. This card is called a criss-cross card and I think we'll make one at the next card workshop. They're pretty easy. I wish I was better at free hand stuff, but I don't think a child would notice. I took the lazy way out and printed the inside message. I'm going to be brief tonight because I'm just getting in under my post a day committment and I'm ready to head to bed :0)

You are Close To My Heart,

Yvonne

When Tragedy Strikes

Often times the cards I make reflect the events going on in my life or in the lives of those around me. I made this card for a family in our church. They were in a freak car accident (tire blew out) this past week and one of the passengers (Katie) died as a result. She was a daughter and a mother to others in the car. It's an awful shock as she was only 24. Please pray for the McDaniel family and especially Deanna as she was the mother to the girl that died. She's taking it especially hard since she was driving.

I praise God because Katie had recently rededicated her life to Christ. Life is just so short. Hug your loved ones a little tighter today.

You are Close To My Heart,

Yvonne

My Soccer Girl

Last night was the first soccer practice of the season for the city league players so I thought I'd pull out this layout to share. This is Angie last year which was her first year. This year it's looking like she is already improving her soccer skills. They're actually learning things like corner kicks and working together rather than one huge mass of kid bodies chasing after the ball.

I wish I had taken a better photo of the layout for you, but tonight is a busy one and I wanted to make sure that I blogged before it got crazy :0)

A customer/friend of mine is looking to see if there's any interest in starting a scrapping group in the Joplin area. There would be no fee or class for this, just a time for us to get together to get some scrapping done. If you are interested, please e-mail me to let me know and also let me know what nights are your best for doing something like this.

Are you entering the CTMH drawing that they have daily? If you have a consultant you can go to her website and follow a link to do so. You might win something fun! You can go to the company website and click on the gray section at the bottom. Don't forget to check out what you need to do for a chance to win a paper trimmer from me :0)

You are Close to My Heart,

Yvonne

You know Me...I Love Flowers!

As promised, here is the other Stacy creation. She bought her own set of Playful Petals and came up with this cute card. I love how many different looks that can be accomplished with this set! One cool thing to note...Stacy used our corner rounder without the guard to create the scallops.

In case you're just joining us, we're in the middle of National Stamping Month and I'm attempting to post a new piece of artwork each month. It's a HUGE challenge for me since my life is so busy as it is, but I really want to try and accomplish this goal. I'd love for you to submit artwork for me to post (giving credit to you of course). You will receive your name in the drawing for the grand prize for your submission--all entries will have their name entered. Entries may be e-mailed or snail mailed. Contact me for information on getting your creation to me.

Check out this post for complete details on how to win a brand new Fiscars trimmer. If you'd like to subscribe to my blog, simply type your e-mail in the box to the left of this post (the one that says "keep it fresh". Hit, "keep it fresh" and you should be good to go. You need to e-mail me to let me know you did this so I can put your name in the drawing.

Also, when posting a comment, please at least leave your initials so I can have some way of entering you into the drawing. I don't want anonymous to win anything :0)

You are Close To My Heart,
Yvonne

Look! It's Leaves

Gotta blog and run tonight. It was a busy fun day, but I managed to squeeze in a bit of stamping time so I'd have artwork to share for tonight. I have another Stacy card to share, but I'm saving it for tomorrow because it's back to work for me and I'm not sure if I'll have any stamping time.

It was a wonderful day with Jim's parents. Did you know there's a castle in MO? We went to Springfield to tour the castle, ate a picnic lunch and then came home to watch a great movie called "The Ultimate Gift". I highly recommend that one. Also, it was a dry potty day for little man! What could be better? So, before it turns midnight and I miss my artwork a day deadline, I'd better push the "publish" button :0)

You are Close To My Heart,
Yvonne

Out with the Old and In with the New

Ok, so the story on this photo is this. Whenever we use glitter or embossing powder at a workshop I have a ratty old paintbrush to scrape the powder or glitter from the craft tray back into the bottle. Seriously, it looks like a squirrel got ahold of it. So my friend Stacy comes bringing me this pretty one to church today to replace the old ratty one. I think hers is so pretty that I'd rather hang it on the wall in my office for art! It just goes to show that you can stamp on just about anything. Thank you Stacy!

Don't forget National Stamping Month! Check here to see how I'm celebrating. Also, Close To My Heart is doing some really fun stuff. Check them out too.

Night, night....

You are Close to My Heart,

Yvonne

September 1 (barely!)

This is Lovely Daisy and Playful Flourishes...flowers still I know...but at least I am working towards fall colors! The base is chocolate. The next layer is our white textured cardstock. I rubbed the buttercup ink pad directly to the piece and sponged the brown around the edges. The flourishes and daisy are gold embossed. I love our little photo hangers to finish off a card.

That's it for tonight...

You are Close To My Heart,

Yvonne

p.s. Don't forget...you can win the big prize. Check here for details.

September is National Stamping Month

Close To My Heart has gone through all the steps to make September an official stamping month! To celebrate I will be posting a new piece of artwork every day so make sure to check back daily. In addition I will be giving away this paper trimmer at the end of the month ! Here are some ways you can get your name in the drawing to receive it.

• Refer someone to subscribe to my blog. Your referral needs to e-mail me with your name. If you have not subscribed yet, you can be your own referral.


• Send a piece of Close To My Heart artwork to me via e-mail or snail mail (E-mail me privately for my address). All artwork submitted will get the artist's name in the drawing. I will choose some to post on my blog too (with your permission of course and credit given to you). Sending in artwork will get your name in the drawing 5 times!


• Make a comment on artwork posted...especially if I post another artist's work (one comment per artwork entry please). To leave a comment, just click the word "comment" under the post.
  

Ready to play? Let the games begin!

You are Close to My Heart,

Yvonne

p.s. CTMH has their own prize contests going on so you might want to check them out!