It's been a relaxing week at my house and I was able to spend time in my studio, playing with paper and finishing pending orders. After getting the orders finished, I spent some time creating a couple of items for my Etsy shop. I found these cute ClearScraps acrylic tags in my stash and decided to make a small bi-fold frame with them. I used some alcohol inks in a mustard color, some metal embellishments and a few pearl accents to finish off the distressed look.

Hopefully I will get time to visit my scraproom again over the next few days and create some other items. During the CKC event in Louisville, I found some great stash items. I need to put together some cards to replenish what's been purchased from my items.

Crafty Days...

During these cold, yucky days it's hard to get motivated to do anything much less head to the basement scraproom to create. But, I managed to get some inspiration and was able to get a few projects started and another finished. Since getting the SCAL software, I am really having fun with my Cricut. I spent today making some "jewelry envelope/boxes" for a lady looking for a way to present her home-made jewelry designs. This is so quick and easy, and can be dressed up with pattern papers and fancy ribbon.

A Shaker Box Kit

I just love the papers and embellies that Linda puts into her kits at The Shaker Box. Honestly, they are so pretty, I hate to use them. But I've been sitting on these two pictures for awhile now and thought I could work with them. Actually, I couldn't resist. These are two of my favorite subjects, Gabriella and Hayden. Here's what I came up with yesterday afternoon.

I did spend most of the day playing with some markers and stamps. I am experimenting with blending colors and found some great tutorials on YouTube. It's amazing what you can do with markers and ink. After I get my chores done around the house today, I might go play some more!

Amazing Kit

Today was a happy, scrappy mail day! My The Shaker Box monthly kit arrived and is jam packed with beautiful papers from Webster's Pages. Linda has out-done herself this time selecting the perfect embellishments too. If you haven't visited the site and the gallery, you are missing some great work.

While you are there, check out the project kit she currently has available in her store!

It's adorable!!!

My friend Pinky did a great job putting this together.

Register and Win

I am so excited about the wonderful things happening at The Shaker Box. I've been creating with my monthly kit today and just love all the goodies in the April package. If you haven't seen their kits, you need to head on over there and sign up for access to the site. There is a new challenge posted every day too! It helps keep that mojo going strong.

To celebrate the re-opening of the message board associated with the kit club, I've decided to sponsor a contest. Each new member will be entered into a drawing in which one lucky person will win a complete monthly kit. The drawing will be held on April 20th and the winner will be able to select an available kit of their choice. Keep in mind there are some awesome paper kits, amazing digi kits, and adorable card kits.

Sign up today at theshakerbox.com then come back to my blog and leave a comment. Tell Linda, the owner, that Mindy sent you to the site. After you leave your comment, your name will be entered to win a monthly kit from The Shaker Box. It's the place where creativity and friendship meet!

Guest Designer

I will be the Guest Designer in April for The Shaker Box. If you haven't checked out this fantastic kit club, come take a peek. Signing up is easy and tell Linda that I sent you. After you make your welcome post, come back here and make a comment. One lucky person will be selected to win the same April Kit that I will be using for my creations! Don't forget, you have until April 5th to comment.

It's a Crop!

If you like to scrapbook and socialize, then join us for an on-line crop at The Shaker Box. This is a great community of gals and they are hosting some great challenges and games this coming weekend. There will be prizes, RAKS and some great conversation. It all starts Friday the 6th and runs all weekend. Hope to meet some new friends there!

Fiskars Fun Day ~ Cave City

It was a great day for scrapping in Kentucky. Over 200 people gathered at the convention center in Cave City for a "Fiskars Fun Day" hosted by Scrapbook Village and other independent scrapbook stores in this region. Each shop set up tables with items for sale and had demonstrations of different Fiskars tools. The day consisted of four classes with some great "make and takes". Rebecca and Stephenie were just two of the teachers for the day.

One of the highlights of the day was getting to meet Pinky. I have known her for over a year, in the on-line world, and ended up spending the day with her. We had a blast and spent more time socializing than we did scrapping. We did get a few things accomplished, made a few cards and put together a couple of charity layouts. I'm already looking forward to next month. We are planning on getting together with a couple other gals and having a "week-end crop".

Sketches

I thought I would try my hand at creating some scrapbook layout sketches. Now, I'm no designer or graphic artist, but I thought they turned out pretty good. I mean, everyone has to start somewhere. If you would like to take a peek at them, there is a link on the right side of this page called "Restless Sketches". Just click on that and see what you think.

Wonderful things...

...are already happening at my new scrapping home, The Shaker Box! Besides having some amazing kits, Linda is really building a great message board. There's already a class scheduled for February that Vicki will be hosting. Really cool Prima stuff, so you better get over there and get registered.

Snow Day

I was in a scrappy mood today and got 5 layouts finished. I loved this shot of Gabriella and wanted to share it. It's the first page in her newest album that I'm making. I used some Bazzill cardstock and a Hambly transparency. The flowers are Prima and for the life of me, I can't remember the brand of letters I used. I thought it turned out pretty good for a "quickie layout".

Another set of Invitations...

My niece is getting married at the end of May, and for her bridal shower I made 45 invitations. They ended up being really cute, if I do say so, and I hope she is happy with them. Now it's time to focus on the challenges that have been posted on the Making Memories for You message board. This is a great club and a great group of ladies from all over the world. If you haven't checked it out yet, click on the link and sign up. It's free to join, and there are some fun challenges out there to get your creative juices pumping!!!

Hired...

A friend wanted me to make her baby shower invitations. It's a cold and rainy day, so she came over this morning and we went to work. I got everything ready and we made an assembly line to get them finished. In total, when we were finished, we made fifty invites. She seemed very happy with them, and while they are simple, they have a nice look about them.