Thanksgiving Layouts

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I am still tired from pulling this all together, but we sure had a great time. My layouts are made using CTMH Magic Moments paper pack, Magic Moments stamp set and November Word Puzzle Stamp Set.

Gifts from my Bella Sistah Leah

I love it when the UPS man comes up my street and stops at my house. A few days ago he delivered this awesome package from my Bella Sister Leah. She is always so thoughtful. Not only does she think of me, but she always has something for Lexi. And, Lexi get's so excited.

For my gift, Leah gave me "Grillafella" and "Stella Has Something to Say", some stamped images, a dress pattern to make an adorable dress card and the paper and ribbon to make it. She also gave me flowers, embellishments, and adorable Mouse Christmas Stamp ,some Bella dots and Bella donuts, some flower soft and cards and snacks. My goodness am I remembering everything? Nope. She also gave me some Christmas hand towels.
For Lexi, she gaave her some adorable Christmas stickers and a princess sticker book, some books to read and an adorable sled ornament with Lexi's name on it. You can see it on Lexi's pink Christmas tree.

Lexi had to run upstairs immediately and put it on her tree and then she opened up a bag of trail mix from Leah and enjoyed a delicious snack. She loves having Leah as a Bella Sister and so do I :)

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving. I thought that I would share this adorable card that was sent to me from my former Bella Sissy, Sandi. Isn't she adorable?

These are trying times for people today. No matter what situation you are in, I hope that you can reflect on the blessings that you have in your life. I have had my share of difficult times, but with each one , it just made me a stronger person. Life may seem tough, but just remember~ This is just a moment in time and it will pass. So, please reflect on what you do have. I am so blessed to have a wonderful family. A Christian husband who is dedicated to providing for his family. A beautiful daughter, who not only loves the Lord, but is a wonderful mother. A handsome son, that has never given me any trouble and who also knows the Lord. And, lastly, my sweet, adorable granddaughter, Lexi. She is such a blessing to all of us. She has filled a need in our lives that we didn't know existed.

HuggABugs and Give Away

Christy Croll from Tiddly Inks has just created a new line of stamps called HuggABugs. They are so adorable and her inspiration came from seeing a picture of my adorable neice "Emma" in her lady bug costume. The lady bug with the blue spots and daisy is our little Emma. Christy is offering several free things on her blog. So click on this link to her blog. You will love her new line of stamps, plus all of her Tiddlyinks. They are sooooo cute!!!

Some Thanksgiving Cards

I have been working on some Thanksgiving cards. This one is "Riley" from Hanna Stamps. The paper is from CTMH and the sentiment is from My Favorite Things. This card uses "Autumns Gifts" by CTMH. The paper is also CTMH

This is a non-traditional Thanksgiving card. But, I decided to use it since the cute little mice from "House Mouse" stamps are enjoying their feast. The sketch used is SC203 and the paper is CTMH.

Our Lil' Tink

Last night I got together with my scrapbook friends at the local scrapbook store. I had so much fun putting this layout together of Lexi in her Tinkerbell costume and Jesse in his witch costume. The layout sketch is from "Inspired Blueprints." The patterned paper is "Creative Basics Boom-Di-Ada" from CTMH. I used my Fiskars border punch for the scallop design. The stamp set used on the scallops is "Be True" from CTMH. I added tiny CTMH sparkles to the little flowers. The "Happy Halloween" stamp set is "Creepy Cobwebs." It is also from CTMH. The sparkly flowers are "Small Iridescent Blossons & Leaves." I added rhinestones to the centers. The fun thing about working on my layout in the scrapbook store is that I can find other things to add to my layout like the flowers and the adorable Tinkerbell sticker that my friend Jennifer suggested that I add to my layout. After meeting Lexi, she thought the phrase "Up to Mischief" was quite appropriate.

A little bit trendy

I had to share these pictures of Lexi in this outfit that her dad put her in. She looks so trendy. And a bit grown up. Look at those shoes. Aren't they something? I had fun photographing her and so did she. She loves to "hamm" it up in front of the camera.

Some "Me" Time

Happy Friday Everyone. It's a happy day for me because I get off work at noon today. Yippee!!! I made this card for the Hanna challenge over at Splitcoast Stampers. The sketch is #HSC43.
This is Hanna. Isn't she so pretty? And, I love the way she looks with this SU paper. Have a great day.
Hugs,
Lori

Yummy Blog Candy

Hope you are hungry. There is some yummy Blog Candy out there. Check out Vicki's Blog. Then go to Marjorie's Blog.

Carrying The Tree

Good morning Everyone. I have been having fun making a Christmas Card a day. This way I will have all my cards ready to send out in time. And, it makes it a whole lot more enjoyable than mass producing them. This card uses the "Elzybells Girls Carrying Tree" stamp. I used sketch #SC202 over at SCS and my favorite CTMH Christmas paper "Evensong".

Tilda with her presents

This little cutie is Tilda from the Magnolia Stamp line. The sketch that I used is #SC201 over at Split Coast Stampers. The paper is from Stamping Up.

Tis the Season

If only I could look this good when I go Christmas shopping. Last year I made the mistake of getting up at 4:30 am the day after Thanksgiving to join the insanity of shopping for the best deals. Never again will I do that. I stood in a line at Walmart with about 200 people ahead of me at 5:00 am waiting for the doors to open. I had planned to buy the GPS Navigation systems for my kids. It didn't happen because they had aisles blocked off so that you had to navigate the store like being in stop and go traffic. By the time I made it to electronics, they were all gone. So, needless to say, this year I will not be joining this insanity . Besides there are sales going on all the time now. In fact, I think you can go online and do your purchases the day of Thanksgiving and get the same deal. I will have to figure that one out.
For this card I used "Tis-the-season-to-be-jolly-abella". The paper is from Stamping Up. And the sketch is number 55 over at the Bella Forum on Split Coast Stampers.

RAK from Sparkle

I received an unexpected package in the mail last week. Sparkle sent me this adorable Hanna card and these Tilda images. Can't wait to ink them up. Thank you Sparkle for your kindness.

Hugs,

Lori

Trim the Tree Sophia

The card on the left is a case from the ever so talented Jenn and the one on the right uses the same design. And, why shouldn't I case her card? After all is was her adorable card that inspired me to join the Stamp of the Month club over at Paper Pretties so that I could lay claim on this adorable little doll. I already had the paper. So, what was stopping me? LOL. Both papers are by Close to My Heart. The one on the left uses "Chillin" and the one on the right uses "Everlasting."

An Elzybell Birthday Card

Today, Lexi is going to a birthday party for her friend Riya. I needed to make a "girlie girl" card for her. Everytime I see Riya at church, she has on a pretty dress with sparkley clips in her hair. She and Lexi are so cute together. When they greet each other, they start off by saying to each other "do you like my dress?" For this card I used my new Elzybell Princess stamp. The paper is from DCWV, The Sweet Pack. I used Bella dots on the flowers and tiny CTMH sparkles on the crown.

Magic Moments Workshop

Last night was my scrapbook workshop at Jackie's house. The group of ladies that Jackie invited were so much fun. They all work with her. A real fun group and a way different group of people than what I work with. Not that I don't enjoy my group. I do. It's just that we are all accountants and are a bit reserved. These ladies are nurses and know how to have fun. I guess with a profession like that, you have to be able to have a good sense of humor. They had me laughing all night. The night started with them showing up in Pajamas, like they were going to a slumber party. Jakie served pizza, and margaritas. The recipe for a fun night. Jackie was such a gracious hostess and made everybody feel at home. I was a little worried at first that the scrapbook layouts would end up covered in pizza and alcohol. But that didn't happen and everybody was happy with their creations.

Here are the layouts that we did.

The paper pack is called "Magic Moments" from Close to My Heart. I am so glad that Jackie chose this pack of paper. Everybody loved it.

Turkey and a Blond Moment

Good afternoon everyone. Hope you are having a nice relaxing day. I sure am. I am soooo lazy today. And, the house smells so good. We are roasting a turkey for the Thanksgiving dinner tonight at church. Bill always volunteers "us" to make a turkey, stuffing and gravy. Why so much??? I keep asking that question. He does it, because he knows that it will taste good. We remember some not so good dinners the turkeys that were too dry and the gravy with grease floating on the top. Yuk. This is Bill's gaurantee that he won't be eating a bad meal. LOL.


Here is the turkey. Yum. You will have to roll me out. I am looking forward to Pumpkin Pie. My Fav.

I am also looking forward to spending some time with my BFF, Louise. She just called and said that she will be there. I am so excited. I don't get to see her that often because she moved away. Her son and his family live near by and she is baby sitting tonight. She will be there with her two adorable grandsons. Can't wait to see her and the kids.
I have to share a very funny and "embarassing" moment. This morning I got up to make the stuffing and had a very "blond" moment. Bill went to the store to get some more celery, onion and broth. After finishing a batch of stuffing, I realized that I didn't need anymore onion...my eyes had taken about enough. Well anyway, I pick up the house phone to call Bill on his cell phone. After I dial, I here a cell phone ringing and not even thinking , I hang up the house phone and pick up "Bill's" cell phone thinking to myself "oh, he's calling me". Well, no one was there. So I hang up, and dial again using the house phone. Once again Bill's phone rings, and I look to see who is calling. It says "home". Then, duh, I finally realized that Bill can't be calling me because his phone is sitting right here on the counter!!!

Close To My Heart

Close to My Heart announced yesterday that we can share our CTMH Business on our blogs. I am so excited, because now I can tell you about the promotions and share the online catalog with you. There are great promotions each month and now you can check them out on My CTMH Website http://loriscott.myctmh.com If there is something that you are interested in purchasing, my website has online shopping. For a complete view of the current catalogs, you can view them here http://www.closetomyheart.com/Ideabooks/index.aspx . I will be adding an area on my side bar where you can also view these web sites.

Window Shopping

This card was made for the Who's That Girl Challenge #9 over at SCS's. The challenge was to show love to your stash of embellishments. I rarely use brads and decided to use them as an accent. I also used Felt Pointettia's and Leaves. Since it is getting so close to Christmas I decided to pull out last years Basic Grey Figgy Pudding paper. I didn't get to use it last year, even though I spent a lot of time hunting for it. I think it was the name that sold me on it. Have you ever wondered what "Figgy Pudding" tastes like? I will have to ask my freind Jackie. She is from England and she probably knows. Just a thought. I used Sketch #202 from SCS's. I like how the paper's overlap and give a nice layered look. I added my sparkly gelly roll pen to the shoes and dress.

Blog Award

My dear SIL, Vicki nominated me for this Blog Award. If you haven't done so already, please check out her blog. She is very talented.

The rules if you are nominated are:
1) You may post the logo on your blog.
2) Put a link to the person who sent you the award.
3) Nominate 5 blogs.
4) Put links to the blogs you nominate.
5) Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs.

One of my favorite things to do each morning over a hot cup of coffee is to scroll through my favorite blogs. I love to see what everyone has made and what is going on in their lives. There are so many blogs to choose from. So, this is going to be a tuff one. I am going to start with a few of my favorite CTMH consultants Lisa ,Laurel and Jenn. When I need inspiration for my cards or workshops, I go to their blogs first. Next I am going to nominate Suzanne. She designs for many companies. But, my favorite is Magnolia. Her coloring and designs are awesome. And, next I am nominating Katie. The name of her blog is Paper Makeup. I just love it. Drop on by and pay her a visit.

A card for a dear friend

I made this darling card for a dear friend. She hasn't received it yet. So, I won't mention names. I used my Penny Black Stamp "Light the Night". The paper is from Stampin' Up. I colored her with my Copic Markers. You can't see from the picture, but I used my glitter Gelly Roll Pen to accent her jewelry and hand bag.

Trying to update my Blog

If you are having trouble viewing my blog, please bear with me. It is not your comuputer. I am having "Technical Difficulties" i.e. Non-Technical person trying to be technical. So.....hopefully I should be up and runing soon.

Getting Ready for my workshop

Good morning everyone. Hope you are planning to have a nice relaxing day. I am having my second Chrismas Card workshop today. I am hoping that this one will go smoother than the last one. The more workshops that I have, the more that I learn about what works and what doesn't. At my last workshop, I had way too many people. I had two different groups of people at this workshop. I should have scheduled different days. One group was into partying and the other group was into serious card making. Every station was full. And, that made it hard for the serious card makers to get their cards made. And, it made the ones who were slower feel pressured. Another thing that I learned, was to keep the volume of cards to a manageable amount. I thought that they could make 50 cards. A couple of people were able to do so. But, many only ended up with 20. I have a couple of people coming back today to finish their cards. Things should go smoothly, because I am only planning on 5 people plus 2 of the people who didn't finish. And, this group will only make 20 cards. Next year I will do a couple of 20 card workshops, and if people want to come to both, they can. Yesterday while I was setting up. Lexi had to set up her workshop too. The top picture is of my table and the bottom is Lexi's table. She was so sure that she was going to have a workshop with 10 people, that she had Bill worrried. I kept telling Bill that she was only pretending, but she kept insisting that she was having a workshop. Bill said to me "you have to tell her that she is not having a workshop". I tried to assure him that she would forget about it in the morning once I put all of her things away. At least I hope so. I guess I will find out when she wakes up and comes down stairs.

My Favorite Things Challenge #8

This card was made for the My Favorite Things Challenge over at Split Coast Stampers.

This weeks challenge used the set "You take the Cake". I didn't have that stamp set, so I used "What's up Cupcake". For this challenge we were to use a sentiment from a different stamp set. My sentiment came from "Time for the Bubbly". The paper is called "Sweet" from DCWV. I used my glittery gel pen for the cherries and my Fiskars border punch for the scallops. I have some new stamps coming in the mail from MFTs. For the previous challenge, I was the lucky one in the drawing and one a $5.00 gift certificate. So, I have some Christmas stamps coming in the mail any day. Can't wait.

Very First Bella's Favorite Stamper Challenge

This card was made for the very first "Bella's Favorite Stamper" Challenge over at Split Coast Stampers. The favorite stamper for this month is none other than my dear sister-in-law, Vicki. I had a hard time picking out a card to case from her wonderfully, large gallery of cards...179 cards!!!. That will probably change once I get this posted. This card uses Polly Packages from the Stampingbella Line. In this challenge, we were to pick one of Vicki's card and copy it. But, we were to change up at least two things. I changed the paper and I colored Polly Differently. I added stripes to her outfit. I, also, left off the snow.

This is Vicki's adorable card. I love the shimmery look of her card.

You have to check this out

If you have ever felt like life has given you more than you can handle, then you are going to want to view this video by a young man named Nick Vujicic. He was born with no arms or
legs and is a wonderful inspiration for all of us to see. Please check out Erin's blog for this amazing video. It's a tear jerker, so have a hanky ready. Erin also has a challenge for you to follow on her blog. Something that I plan to do and I hope you will too.
Hugs,
Me
http://inkysmiles.blogspot.com/

Happy Birthday

A co-worker had a birthday this week and I was able to break out my new Penny Black Stamp that my Bella Sister, Leah sent me. Isn't she so cute? Her name is Cinnamon. The sentiment is from a retired SU Princess stamp. The paper is Basic Grey and the ribbon is CTMH. I used Dazzling Diamonds glitter on the cake and on her jewelry.

Lexi's Birthday

Good morning Everyone. Hope you are having a nice day. I have been wanting to share these layouts of Lexi's birthday. I used CTMH "Paper Garden" paper pack. I used my Cricut to cut the letters for the title, balloons and confetti. The cute little cupcakes are from my Bella Sister Leah. We used a "Cupcake" theme for the party. Each child got to decorate their own cupcakes. We put little bowls of frosting and sprinkles on each table. It was a big hit...even with the adults.

And, now for some acknowledgements. One of my CTMH Sisters, Misty sent this adorable "Cremesicle" card to Lexi. She knows that Lexi loves getting things in the mail. Doesn't this card look yummy enough to eat? Thank you Misty :)

This rather large package filled with all kinds of crafting supplies, candy, Hello Kitty items and jewelry was from my Bella Sister, Leah. Lexi refers to Leah as "Our Bella Sister". She loves it when Leah, sends packages. And, she was so delighted to have a package from her "Bella Sister". Thank you Leah for your kindess. Lexi's mother sends a heartfelt thank-you, too.

My Sister-in-Law Diane brought this adorable Antique Buggy for Lexi. Lexi had so much fun pushing her new "Bitty Baby" in it.

Here is another picture of "Bitty Baby" in her matching birthday dress to Lexi's. The name "Bitty" is quite appropriate for this doll. There is a funny story that goes along with this name. When Lexi's mother, Jennifer, was little I used to send her to a babysitters a couple of days a week. There was another child there named Jennifer, so they nick-named my Jennifer "Bitty" as in "Itty Bitty". When my son was born, Jennifer was 2 1/2 and was quite resentful of all the attention placed on her new baby brother. My husband had to go on a business trip a week after the baby was born. My Sister-in-Law, Diane came to stay with me and help out. One day, Jennifer was acting up, and with my permission, Diane gave her a swat on the bottom. Jennifer lost her balance and fell on the brick fireplace. She was fine, but Diane was concerned and took her to the doctor. I got a frantic call from Diane at the doctors office. Diane, in tears, said to me "She told the doctor that her name is Betty!!!!" I busted up laughing and reassured her that she was just fine.

These adorable "Bitty Baby" clothes came from Lexi's aunt, Vicki. Lexi has had so much fun changing "Bitty's" clothes. Thank you, Vicki :)


"Bitty Baby", also, got an adorable diaper bag from Vicki's daughter and granddaughter, Brittany and Emma filled with all the essentials that a well cared for baby will need. Thank you Brittany and Emma :)

And, here is a very happy Birthday Girl with her presents.