One By One The Flamingos Are Stealing My Sanity

It's Been a While...

2011-06-22T20:10:00.000-04:00

and I have been busy with out-of-town company, baseball games, supervising yard work and not doing much crafting...beginning with SIL Nancy's visit for memorial Day, and ending with Emily and Chris's visit on Monday, it seems I haven't had a chance to settle. Things may be slowing down some, especially since I've take some pressure off myself to try to do it all--and do it perfectly. I have missed my blog, and all of you, though, and am happy to be getting back into things.
I have my long promised pictures of my new studio space..well, the space isn't new, but the organization of it is. I hope you enjoy it...and I'll be making use of it to make a couple of graduation cards for parties this weekend.

A ladder's eye view of my work station.

A ladder's eye view of my window and some Jet-Max cubes. Pinky over-sees all.

My work station with my lovely Flamingo Chair.

Pinky guarding my paper storage closet.

Here's where I store all my paper. The bins below are where I keep my scrap heap, organized by color. Paints, inks, glitter and such are above, and stamps are to the right.

My Cricut Station.

Stevie, who keeps getting in the way.

My project board and ironing station.

My flamingo futon, which allows the studio to moonlight as a guest room....I just finished making all the pillows. I'm hoping they will keep the cats off the futon. My ribbon wall is above it.

My ribbon wall.

More storage.

I'll be back sooner, I promise, with some crafty goodness. Until then, be blessed!

Summer Begings Blog Hop Day 2

2011-06-12T00:01:00.002-04:00

Hello! Welcome to Day Two of the Summer Begins Blog Hop! You should have arrived from Kathryn's wonderful blog, Creations With Kathryn, which is also the first stop on the hop. If you want to begin at the beginning, just head back there for her amazing project!

I decided I wanted to demonstrate how you can use the same basic idea--in this case, the toucan cut from the Life Is A Beach cartridge--to make two different projects. I showed the first yesterday, and have this one for today.

For this card, I cut a piece of orange glitter cardstock to fit an A2 card base. I then cut the leaf three times, at 4.25 inches (black), 4.0 inches (dark green) and 3.75 inches (lime green) and layered them. I adhered this to the glitter cardstock. I cut the toucan, with all his layers, at 2 inches. I added a tag from my stash, which I paper pierced, and a googly eye on the toucan. The ribbon, which shows up yellow, but is really lime green, is from my stash, as well.

I hope you've enjoyed my summery cards and have seen how just changing sizes or papers can change a project. From here, you should head to Yolanda's blog for the rest of the hop.

Have a wonderful Sunday--and be Blessed!

Summer Begings Blog Hop Day 1

2011-06-11T00:01:00.001-04:00

Hello! Welcome to Day One of the Summer Begins Blog Hop! You should have arrived from Kathryn's wonderful blog, Creations With Kathryn, which is also the first stop on the hop. If you want to begin at the beginning, just head back there for her amazing project!

I decided I wanted to demonstrate how you can use the same basic idea--in this case, the toucan cut from the Life Is A Beach cartridge--to make two different projects. Here is the first one, and I'll have another one tomorrow.

For this card, I cut the toucan at 1.5 inches, with all his layers. I cut the leaf at 3 inches, and backed them with a tag I cut at 4 inches. I added the lettering with a stamp, and didn't like it, so I went over it with orange Stickles. I added some white faux stitching and a googly eye on the bird...he also has some Stickles on his beak. The base of the card is a piece of lime green cardstock that I dry embossed with the Forest Branches Cuttlebug Folder. The lime dotted ribbon is from my stash.

Make sure you check out the June challenge on the page above. The prize this month is a set of four Mini-Monsters Cuttlebug Folders. I'd love to have you submit an entry to win.

From here, you should head over to Yolanda's blog to continue the hop. Until tomorrow, be Blessed!

Butterflies and Goodbyes

2011-06-10T00:01:00.002-04:00

I got the sad news that my friend, Celeste, has to step down from the One By One DT the other day. I know how busy she is, but I will miss her so much! She's crazy about butterflies, so I made this card in honor of her. Please be sure to stop by her blog, Touched By A Butterfly and her new Etsy store. Thanks so much, Celeste, for your friendship and your creativity. Be Blessed!

Yay for Fun Visitors!

2011-06-09T00:01:00.002-04:00

June is going to be a month of fun visitors for me! My sister-in-law, Nancy, was just here for Memorial Day...she's a scrapper and I was able to share a couple of fmaily albums with her. I'm all excited to start on others now....We had a great picnic with her and other family members, and then a fun dinner at another in-law's home before she left for Texas and home.

Next week, Carl's younger sister, Lisa, will be here to visit. We're doing dinner, and then will go to Angelica on one of the weekend days for more time with Lisa. During some of the same time frame, Kate's buddy from High School, Emily, will be here with her family. We're doing a cookout here with Em and her fam, as well as her mom and sister. I love company!

Today, I have another card that I've made from an embellishment from a swap. This one is by Edie Johnson....and I think the bear is just too cute for words! I mounted her on a piece of brown cardstock that I dry embossed with the Heart Blocks Cuttlebug folder. Since I may send this with Brian on his submarine, the inside says "Miss you!"

More fun tomorrow--be Blessed!

Has Any One Seen

2011-06-08T00:01:00.002-04:00

my mind? Regarding yesterday's post... I am now aware that Father's Day is the 19th, not the 12th. *sigh* If anyone sees my brain wandering around, please send it back to me.

I'm still making some fun things for my studio...I can't wait to show it to you all when I get finished. Soon, I hope. In the mean time, I'm still making cards from my huge stash of embellishments from swaps. One thing that is frustrating me is the lack of a way to identify who made many of them....they are all in a plastic bin, so I can't even tell what swaps they came from, and, if there is no signature (or the siggy is a Cricut Board Name), I can't let you know who made most of them. if you're in swaps, people, please sign your name IRL to the items!

So, in addition to making the cards quickly and easily from these embellies, I'm also working hard to make my cards flat. I mail most of the ones I send out (seldom do I hand one to someone...) and flat is cheaper and better for the Post Office. Also, since I'll be making a few to send along with Kate's guy, Brian, on a submarine, I need to make them take up as little space as possible. So, flat and lightweight are my key words here.

This card meets neither of the above criteria. Isn't that just like me? The tag at the base of this had a smaller lifeguard stand, but I jazzed it up by making a larger one (from the Life's a Beach cart) and added a toothpick pole to the umbrella. I put it over the one that came on the tag with foam dimensionals. I added the white faux stitching, too. I adhered the tag to a plain blue A2 card base, added a cute little sun (also from an inchie swap) and the word *Summertime* with self-adhesive letters in red. I think this will make a cute card as a thank you for a summer party or as a thinking of you card for someone who needs a boost.

I'll have another card for you tomorrow....be blessed!

Father's Day Card

2011-06-07T00:01:00.003-04:00

It dawned on me only today that this is Father's Day weekend. Even though Carl is Kate and bill's step-father, I still usually make a card for them to give him...well, Kate to give him, since she lives here and Bill doesn't.

When Kate was younger, she loved ducks. For a while she had quite the collection, and even duck sat for a weekend, which, I'm happy to say, discouraged further desire for a duckling of her own. Personally, I like ducks very much, especially with a nice sauce and a glass of good burgundy. Anyway...

In the spirit of reminiscing, I made this duck card for Kate to give Carl. The inside says, "You're Just Ducky!" The cut is from the Camp Out Cricut Cartridge and all the paper is from my scrap heap.

Be blessed!

Yolie Is My Guest Designer Today!

2011-06-06T00:01:00.002-04:00

For the last time as a Design Team Member, I'm featuring the amazing Yolie as my Guest Designer! I so appreciate all the time she put in to the Design Team, and am so proud to have had her as a member. If you'd like to see more of Yolie's work, please check out her blog, Just Yolie, Just Create.

Here's her last post, in her own words:

Hello, this is Yolie, from JustYolie, JustCreate. Can't believe how fast time flies, today is my last DT post. Thank you Karel for the opportunity to be part of your first Design Team!
In keeping with this May's theme, flowers, I've created the following card using a beautiful created by Celeste. Paper is from DCWV and TPC. The stamps are dollar stamps by Studio G and Studio 112 and the ribbon from Michael's dollar bin.

Many, many thanks to Yolie! I'm going to miss you! Be Blessed!

All Jacked Up Blog Hop Day 2

2011-06-05T00:01:00.005-04:00

Hello! Welcome to Patti's All Jacked Up In June Blog Hop! You should have arrived from Michelle's blog...and wasn't that a fun place to be? If you just bopped in, and would like to start the hop at the beginning, head on over to Patti's Blog, Short 'N Scrappy for the first hop of the line-up.

Today, I'm sharing a teeny bit of how I'm "Jacking Up" my studio. My workspace is my son's old bedroom, and it's the smallest room (besides the bathrooms!) room in the house. With all the crafty items I had in there, there was hardly room to turn around, much less craft in the kind of environment I wanted to be in. So, several weeks ago, my darling hubs spent two or three days with me, tossing, earmarking for charity, putting in basement storage and re-organizing the rest. We took out a huge computer desk that was just eating up floor space, and rearranged my JetMax cubes. Then, it was up to me to start *decorating*!

As you know, my studio is also the *flamingo* room, so I had a theme built in. The futon (which doubles as guest sleeping arrangements) is covered with a flamingo quilt I made a few years back...and I had some scraps and large pieces of fabric left from making it. I've been using these (since I don't have the dollars to buy new..and going green is much more important thee days!) to *Jack Up* my space. Yesterday, I showed you my great flamingo chair, and today, I've got these two fun flamingo ribbon boards to share.

This is the first of the ribbon boards I made for my studio space. It's actually two boards, and the ribbons are spaced differently on them, so I could fit different things into them. Using hot glue, I covered 1/3 of a standard foam display board (you know, the things your children use for school projects) with batting and black fabric embroidered with tiny flamingos and palm trees. I then wove the diagonal pink ribbons at 5 inch intervals. I glued pink buttons (all different shapes and sizes) at the intersections. I made another one just like it, except the ribbons are at 3 inch intervals.

I made this ribbon board exactly like the ones above, except the fabric cover is pink flannel with embroidered palm trees and white flamingos, and the buttons are all green. I ran the white ribbons at 4 inch intervals. The hubs then screwed them into the wall where I wanted them and I covered the screw heads with more buttons.

I'm really happy with the way these turned out--the pink one is by my work station, so I can put up plans and such, and the other is above my Cricut, and I'm using it for all the cards and things I receive that I want nearby to make me smile.

I hope you've enjoyed my sneak peak into how I'm "Jacking Up" my studio....You should now head over to Jamie's blog--I know you're going to love it! I hope you'll hop back here soon to see what else I have to show you from my "Jacked Up" Studio remake! Be blessed!

All Jacked Up Hop June 4 and 5

2011-06-04T00:01:00.012-04:00

As you know, my studio is also the *flamingo* room, so I had a theme built in. The futon (which doubles as guest sleeping arrangements) is covered with a flamingo quilt I made a few years back...and I had some scraps and large pieces of fabric left from making it. I've been using these (since I don't have the dollars to buy new..and going green is much more important thee days!) to *Jack Up* my space. I have a project for today, and another one for tomorrow....

A while back, at Office Max, I saw this floor mat with a hot pink rolly desk chair on it. I was able to get the mat (it was 10 dollars...) but the chair, which I admit to coveting, was well beyond what I could spend on something I didn't really need. After all, I had a perfectly good rolly desk chair in the studio already....and my tiny brain started twitching! Here's what I did:

This is my *new* desk chair. The chair itself is one of several of these we have floating about--I had a couple in my office at school when I was teaching, and Kate and Bill each had them in their rooms....and at college as well. The upholstery on this one, which was in the studio, was a kind of blue-grey and pretty worn. I took some aluminum foil and made a pattern of the seat and the back by pressing it all around the edges. I laid this on the center of the cute flamingo fabric and cut it out, giving myself an extra inch all around. I then centered it on the chair back and used a ton of straight pins to hold it tightly in place. With a small screwdriver, I started tuck-tuck-tucking the extra fabric under the plastic rim of the back. I did a bit in the front, then the back, then one one side, then the other, until I had all the extra fabric tucked in and the back was smooth. I then did the exact same thing on the seat. I was a bit worried about the fabric shifting as I use the chair, but it's been done for several weeks and hasn't moved a bit.

Maybe you have one of these chairs--they are very inexpensive, especially around the time college students are outfitting dorm rooms....I doubt we paid more than 15 or twenty dollars for any of ours. The pink chair at Office Max was 50 dollars (I think?) and I like mine so much better! It was so easy to do, and really adds to my flamingo theme in the studio!

You should now head over to Jamie's blog--I know you're going to love it! I hope you'll hop back here tomorrow to see what else I have to show you from my "Jacked Up" Studio remake! Be blessed!

Another Few Juvenile Cards

2011-06-03T00:01:00.002-04:00

I wanted to share a few more of the children's cards I made the other day with you. I have so many nieces and nephews that I'm always needing cards for their birthdays--and these quick and easy cards made from embellishments from various swaps I've been in are just the ticket. All of them are simply A2 card blanks that I adhered a Cuttlebug-embossed 4.25X5.5 piece of cardstock to...then slapped on the embellishment and that was it! So, drag out that box of ATGs, embellies, inchies, twinchies and trinchies and go to town. You can make a bunch of cute cards in a very little amount of time...and use up some of your stash while you're at it!

I hope you find this helpful...and fun. Be Blessed!

Nicolette's Birthday Blog Hop Day 2

2011-06-02T00:01:00.002-04:00

Happy Birthday, Nicolette! And many, many more!

I'm so excited to be a part of this hop! It really made me stretch my wings and make things I wouldn't normally do--I'm not a huge Disney person, so making these projects really was outside my box.

You should have arrived from Krista's wonderful blog--and isn't it a fun place to spend some time? If you just popped in to One By One, and want to join in the hoppy fun, you can head back to Nicolette's blog to start from the beginning.

Like I said before, I'm not too into Disney....I enjoyed the movies growing up (anyone else remember the original Mickey Mouse Club and The Wonderful World of Color?) and with my children, and have been to both Disneyland and Disney World, but that's about it. I found these cute Minnie embellishment at Ben Franklin and thought they'd make a cute card...and they did. I used the hearts Cuttlebug folder on the front of a plain A@ card, and then just slapped the embellie on. Easy...

If you'd like to have the two cards from yesterday and today, please leave a comment, along with your email address (in the safe form of ksjennings at gmail dot com) and, on Monday, I'll select a winner of these (and a few other surprises!) using Random.org. I'll contact the winner via email.

From here, you should head over to Denise's blog. I know you'll love her project! Enjoy the rest of the hop--and Be Blessed!

Nicolette's Birthday Blog Hop

2011-06-01T00:01:00.003-04:00

Happy Birthday, Nicolette! And many, many more!

As I said, I don't do a lot of Disney crafting. My brother and sister-in-law, Don and Laurie, LOVE Disney! She's a Disney travel Agent, and they even bought a second home down in Orlando so they could retire close to Disney! They have taken each of their multitude of Grand-children down there, and go many times a year. I have made them Disney cards for birthdays, but that's about it. Back when I was doing swaps, if I got Disney items, I'd send them on to Laurie....so this is a departure for me.

I made two cards--a Mickey and a Minnie--they were fun, and I'm glad I have the carts, but I don't think I'll be making them with any regularity. The Mickey card is today, the Minnie will be presented tomorrow.

This is really a pretty straight forward card. I made the Mickey at 4 inches, and added a party hat from another cart (I think it's from Celebrate...). I used my Cuttlebug to dry emboss some yellow cardstock, using the Happy Birthday folder. This was adhered to a plain A2 card base. Mickey was added using foam dimensionals.

If you'd like to have the two cards from today and tomorrow, please leave a comment, along with your email address (in the safe form of ksjennings at gmail dot com) and, on Monday, I'll select a winner of these (and a few other surprises!) using Random.org. I'll contact the winner via email.

From here, you should head over to Denise's blog. I know you'll love her project! Enjoy the rest of the hop--and Be Blessed!

Let's Welcome Patti--My Guest Designer!

2011-05-31T00:01:00.002-04:00

Hello, Friends! I hope you all had a safe and patriotic Memorial Day. We celebrated twice--once with a turkey fry at my brother's and once down in Angelica, with Carl's family. The actual Memorial Day was spent at home, doing things that were neglected the previous 3 days Carl had off.

Today, I want to give a warm and wonderful welcome to Patti, an incredibly talented part of my Design Team. She has a wonderful blog, Short 'N Scrappy, that you should really go see--and plan to spend some time there! here is Patti's May project, in her own words:

"Hi scrappy friends. Here I am again at one of my fav blogs! Don't you just love flocking here each day? My project today is a 'Teacher Appreciation' gift. My daughter bought this mug for her teacher so I decided to do a little something that would include the entire class. I made the mtc files for these cute flower frames and put each of their little faces in the centers of each flower. There are 25 kids in my daughter's class so it is a little more full than I thought but it still turned out pretty cute. Maybe I will get a bigger mug next time. I glued each flower to a pipe cleaner "stem", attached the entire bouquet to a ballon weight (with lots of adhesive) and placed it inside the mug. I hope you have enjoyed being here at One by One the Flamingos are Stealing my sanity as much as I have today! To get the free flower frame Make-the-Cut file or to get in on my 'May Comments' giveaway, visit my blog http://shortnscrappy.com"

A Huge thank you to Patti, both for the great project idea and the free cut files on her blog!

Over the next few weeks, I'll be finishing the studio re-do, and working on the second volume of my Jennings' Family Pictoral History...as well as joining in some blog hops and offering a set of four Mini-Monster Cuttlebug Folders as the prize for the june Challenge! My new design team will be starting up--things will be hopping for the 2011 summer! I hope you'll join in the fun--and Be Blessed!

A Winner, June Blog Happenings and My New DT Announcement!

2011-05-30T00:01:00.007-04:00

Hello, Friends! I’m so excited to share with you all the fun happenings on One By One The Flamingos Are Stealing My Sanity in June! Summer was a long time coming in Upstate New York, and I, for one, am ready for some kicking back and warm weather—without rain!

Before I get to all that, I'd like to ask you to take a moment to remember all those who died for our freedom. Every ma and woman who has served our country in the Military has, in effect, served you and me--whether they fought in a war or not. President Reagan said,
"It is, in a way, an odd thing to honor those who died in
defense of our country in wars far away. The imagination
plays a trick. We see these soldiers in our mind as old and
wise. We see them as something like the Founding Fathers,
grave and gray-haired. But most of them were boys when they
died, they gave up two lives -- the one they were living and
the one they would have lived. When they died, they gave up
their chance to be husbands and fathers and grandfathers.
They gave up their chance to be revered old men. They gave
up everything for their county, for us. All we can do is
remember." -- Ronald Wilson Reagan, Remarks at Veteran's Day
ceremony, Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia,
November 11, 1985

Please say a special prayer for my own Military Men: Aaron (USAF), Stephen (USA), Brian (USN) and Jonathan (USAF).

Now, on to Blog Stuff.

First, I'd like to announce the winner of the pillow cover from the Women Of Faith Proverbs 31 Blog Hop. I will be making a pillow cover for SueNY, who said, "Your generosity is amazing and, as a follower of your blog, I can attest you are a women from Proverbs 31. Thank you for your sharing your time and talents with us all. And I could use a throw pillow for my new sofa ." I'll be letting Sue know via email.

Now, I want to announce my Design Team for June, July and August. This is an amazingly talented group of women, and I am thrilled to have them as part of One By One. Some are faces you’ll recognize, as they were part of the team for the last three months. For whatever twisted reasons they had, they opted to stay aboard, and put in another three months with us! Three names and faces, however, are brand new—and I’m so excited to introduce them to you. The DT is: Audrey Roseman (continuing), Becka Maddux (new), Bonnie Cantu (continuing), Calie Romano (continuing), Celeste Lombas (continuing), Denine Vajja (new), Jamie Fitzgerald (continuing), Jane Hollon (continuing), Janice Anello (continuing), Kathryn Martinez (continuing), Leah Pagliaroli (continuing), Michelle Petrovich (continuing), Nicolette Simpson (continuing), and Patti Hurlburt (continuing). I know you'll give them a warm One By One Welcome!

In addition to all the fun projects from the DT, I’m participating in several Blog Hops in June…Nicolette’s Birthday Bash on the 1^st and 2^nd, Patti’s All Jacked Up on the 4^th and 5^th, Nicolette’s Red, White and Blue on the 23^rd and 24^th, and Gill’s Fairy Day Blog Hop on the 24^th. I’m so excited for all of them—and am creating wonderful things to share with you! (There may be a Women of Faith Hop in June, as well, but I don’t have info on that yet!) I do hope you’ll stop by, share a comment or two and see what I have up my sleeve for blog candy!

The theme for June is School’s Out—The Monsters Are Loose! The challenge is to create a project utilizing the theme. Send a photo of your project to me, along with the information requested (on the June Challenge Page at the top of One By One) on or before June 15. I’ll post the pics, along with a voting poll, and the winner will be announced on the 30^th. I do hope you’ll join in the fun and submit a project! The winner this month will receive a set of 4 Mini-Monster Companion Embossing folders that coordinate with the Mini-Monster Cricut Cartridge.

I hope you’ll enjoy all the things I have in store for the month! I’ll be posting projects made by me, as well as by my DT every day. Come join the fun! Be Blessed!

2 Blog Hops and Nicolette!

2011-05-29T00:01:00.007-04:00

If you are here for the Women of Faith Proverbs 31 Blog Hop, please click here to go to the page.
If you are here for the Operation Write Home Blog Hop, please click here for the page.

It doesn't get any better than this! Please check out the two blog hops I'm in this weekend--both are for groups that are near and dear to my heart. In addition to this, my good friend, Nicolette has graciously stepped in as my Guest Designer for today! She is an amazingly talented artist, and I'm so thrilled to have her as part of my Design Team! If you want to see more of her creativity (and you should!), check out her personal blog, Beyond Scrapin.
For her May Project, Nicolette made this fun Twisted Easel Card. I hadn't
seen one of these before, and can't wait to try one for my self! I love the colors she chose--she used all Stampin' Up products for this. I think it's just gorgeous!!

Thanks to nicolette for the wonderful post--Be Blessed!

Operation Write Home Blog Hop May 28-30

2011-05-28T00:01:00.011-04:00

If You are here for the Women Of Faith Proverbs 31 Blog Hop, please click here.

Welcome to the Operation Write Home Memorial Day Blog Hop! I am so honored to be a part of this, and hope you enjoy my take on the Missing You theme! You should have come from Gerda's , Stamp Fairy blog. If you just stumbled on the hop, and want to begin at the start, you can go to The Operation Write Home Blog, OWH, Stars and Stamps. I will warn you, however, that the hop is very long, and you can just begin here and loop around, if you'd like.
Operation Write Home is a wonderful organization. Handmade greeting cards for any occasion are created by the members, and are then sent to our Troops to use as they contact their family and friends. If you are interested in more information, or how to get started with them, please check them out at Operation Write Home.

As many of you know, I am the proud Aunt of 3 Servicemen (Aaron is Career Air Force, Stephen is Career Army and Jonathan is a fairly recent Airman). In addition, my daughter's boyfriend, Brian, is a Navy Man, currently aboard a nuclear submarine! All four are/will be soon deployed, and could certainly use your prayers!

My card was made with Brian in mind, as he will be leaving on a 7 month deployment soon. He won't be able to get mail for two months at a stretch, so we are sending a bunch of cards and things with him to open when he can;t get mail or email. The inside says, "Missing U".

Now, you should head over to Jennifer's blog, Crafty Card Gallery, to continue the hop.

Say a prayer for all our troops and Veterans...and Be Blessed!

Women of Faith Blog Hop, May 27-29

2011-05-26T21:00:00.000-04:00

"Welcome to another special Faith Blog Hop sponsored by Paper Tree House Studio! You should have arrived here from Diane's Blog if you are following the hop. If you just happen to have fallen here go to the beginning of the hop over at Paper Tree House Studio.

At the end of every month a group of bold women gather to give Glory to God with the talents He has given us in a very loud way... :) Our prayer is that through the projects we have created you Will be able to see Him in all of His Glory! May He touch you today as we look at the theme of the Proverbs 31 woman, and may you find that you are indeed everything He designed you to be.

This is how the hop works:
Below you will find a link to the blog of a beautiful and brave women that is ready to show their weaknesses in order that you may see His strength. :) Follow the line-up and please leave some love throughout the way. Allow yourself to cry, laugh, smile, along with any other emotion the Lord may bring your way. You will find that there are many prizes throughout the hop. In order to qualify to receive them you must be a follower of the blog and you must leave a comment. Know that if you are announced as the winner of a prize you are responsible for contacting us in order for us to make the prize go your way. *KJ note--see information about my particular blog candy below*

Here are our sponsors:

Paper Tree House Studio: Scrapbooking Kit (valued at $45)
Tombow: Amazing Adhesive Pack
Scrapbook News and Review: 1 year subscription to their magazine.
Punky Sprouts: Sweetie Album
Sweet Stamper: Stampin' Up Stamp Set

Now let's get the hop started! :)

The woman described in Proverbs 31 seems to be perfect! She works hard for her family, keeps up with the house, makes sure that the entire family is fed, is respected by others and her husband, and the list goes on... It can be very overwhelming to try to attain her status- which leaves many of us feeling as though we do not amount to God's standards. If you are anything like me, you too have felt as though there is always something that is just not right in your womanhood. Maybe you are not sweet enough, or neat enough, or submissive enough, or clean enough... Whatever label you do not amount to it can leave you feeling overwhelmed and discouraged.

God did not put this part of Scripture in the Bible so that we would draw away from Him filled with shame due to our incapacity to do what He expects of us. On the contrary, I have become every day more certain that He inspired these words because He wants to show us His Grace. The truth is: we all fall short of the Glory of God and there is not even one that is good amongst us. He KNEW this when He made us and when He decided to save us- and in this He loved us.

The Proverbs 31 woman is meant to be a reminder of how much we need Christ! God desires that we would be women like the one portrayed there, and He knew that these areas would be our weaknesses, so He gave us this map of virtues so that we would not conform to the world but allow Him to transform us. The Bible teaches that in our weaknesses He is strong! My prayer is that you would allow the Lord to show you those areas where you indeed fail so that in turn you would learn to be mesmerized by His great strength. You will be doing things you never imagined when you fully rely on Him. In Him you already are the Proverbs 31 Woman you so desire to be. May He show you that truth today as He heals you from all insecurities."

I have to say, I struggled a bit with this. I fall so far short of being a Proverbs 31 woman (at least in my head) that I really didn't see how I could honestly represent myself in this hop. I spent so much time praying about this that I think I forgot to be quiet and listen for the answer! Once I did, it was one of those *duh!* no-brainer things that have to smack me upside the head before I see the forest for the trees. I chose Proverbs 31:22, "She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple." as my focus.

A while ago, the hubs and I bought some rather expensive tab-top curtain panels for our sliding door to the backyard. We found them on sale at a going-out-of-business store, but they were still more than we would normally spend for something that gets so much pet abuse---the cats lay under them and the dog can't seem to go out without brushing up against them--so easy washability was a must-have. They claimed, prominently, on both the tag and the package, that they are machine wash and dry. Well, we took them down and washed them....and, when we put them back up, they were about 6 inches shorter than they were before! (Yes, we followed the directions!) Along with many in our country, we are in a monetary crunch, so something not too costly had to be done to fix this, since taking them back wasn't an option.

When we were going through my studio (more on that in another One By One Post!), we found some fabric that I'd forgotten about that we both like. While it doesn't exactly match the decor in the family room, it's not too bad, and there was enough to make the needed addition to the shrunken curtains as well as some panels for the windows and a few pillow covers. While they aren't bed coverings, nor am I clothed in fine linen (it wrinkles so!) or purple, I do try hard figure out ways to make our home attractive and pleasant for my hubs to come to after work.

These are the curtains that started it all---you'll see that I didn't just add a strip of the plaid to the bottom. I cut the curtains about a foot from the top and inserted the 8 inch plaid piece to lengthen them there. I made sure all my seams are Frenched, so there are no raw edges to ravel when they are washed again.

These are the curtain panels I made for the windows. I'm sorry the lighting isn't better---we're having a thunderstorm and, even with all the lights on in the great room, this was the best I could do. Anyway, they are just simple, straight panels, with curtain rings clipped to the to for easy sliding. Stevie the Cat needs to be able to part them easily to bird watch!

I bought two new pillow forms at JoAnn's (on sale for 40% off!) and then also simply recovered the existing throw pillows we had on the couch. (The blue blanket is so the dog can sit on the couch---we so cater to our pets! And, yes, we remove it if company comes!) I make all my pillow covers with a pillow-sham type overlap in the back, so they can be easily removed for laundering.

This is a bonus photo of some curtain panels I made for the kitchen. I love the mid-century modern barkcloth I used for this set!

God has given me some talents that I try to use as a Proverbs 31 woman. It's not always easy, but with prayer and thoughtfulness, I know I'll continue to be strive to be a woman whose price is above rubies.

I'd love to make a fun pillow cover for you! If you'll send me the colors you'd like it in, I'll make you one that will fit on a 14 inch pillow form. To win this, please leave a comment, along with your email (in the safe ksjennings at gmail dot com format) on this post before midnight on May 29. One Monday, I'll ask Randy, from random.org, to select a comment number. I'll announce the winner here, and contact them directly for their mailing information. Remember, too that you need to leave a comment here to be considered for one of the Grand Prizes.

You should now hop over to Jennifer's Blog for the rest of the hop. Enjoy all the wonderful creations--and Be Blessed!

Birthday Card

2011-05-26T00:01:00.003-04:00

The other day, I noticed I was running short on juvenile birthday cards. I didn't want to spend a ton of time making them, so I pulled out my swap embellishments---things I've gotten in swaps that I wanted to use at some point. This card has one of those embellishments on it--too cute, and easy as pie!

I took a piece of orange cardstock and made an A-2 (4.25X5.5) card base. I ran a piece of darker orange (a scrap) through my Cuttlebug, using the Happy Birthday folder. I cut it at 4X4 inches and adhered it to the base. I then just adhered the embellishment to the top. I played around with ribbon and such on it, but the trinchie is so elaborate that I just left it alone. The inside has a stamp (in blue) that says "Happy Birthday to You!"

So, drag out all those swap results and see what you can do with them! Quick and fun!

Make sure you stop by tomorrow and through the weekend for the two hops I'm in--the Women of Faith Proverbs 31 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and the Operation Write Home Hop on Saturday and Sunday. Be Blessed!

Guest Designer Michelle!

2011-05-25T00:01:00.004-04:00

My good friend, Michelle, is my Guest Designer today! I just love her work--and know you will, too! Here's a post from Michelle, in her own words...
"Okay, so today is my day to be Guest Designer @ One by One the Flamingos Are Stealing My Sanity. I want to thank my dear friend Karel for choosing as a member of her Design Team. It's such an honor.
Karel is actually the reason why I really got involved in blogging and entering challenges... cause yes I have always like most of the items I make (everyone has a few that bomb, right???)
And, she said to me to just give it a try and see what happens... well, I think that ever since I've gotten more involved I've spruced up all of the items I do... I never imagined I'd be using stamps and embossing... yeah I know now I can't believe that there ever was a time...
Okay I know your not here to read all of my ramblings... I just can't help myself sometimes.
The project that I'd like to share with you is the Mother's Day Card that I made for My Mom and my MIL this year...
This is what the outside of the card looks like.

I love the butterflies.... so pretty.
And now I'd like to show you what the inside looked like.

On the inside, I wrote:
Mom, Ma, Mom-Mom, or Nana
We may all call you by a different name.
You hold a special place in our hearts,
just the same.
All of us are here to wish you a very
Happy Mother's Day!!!

Supplies Used
Cricut Expression 2
Gypsy of Course
Birthday Bash Cricut Cartridge (Card was cut @ 4")
Paper Lace Cricut Cartridge ( Butterflies cut @ 2" and 2.5") (Lace was cut @ 4")
Holiday Cakes Cricut Cartridge ( Happy Mother's Day cut @ 1.5 ")
Martha Stewart Ink
Tim Holtz Distressing Ink (Blue)
Inkssentials Glossy Accents ( used this to go over the Happy Mother's Day to give it that glossy look... I love this stuff and I try to use it alot now..lol)
Color Blok Cardstock
Glue Glider Pro
Homemade Glue Dots (Love Em')
Martha Stewart Scor Board & Bone Folder
3 Toned Purple Ribbon (Wal-Mart?)

Hope you enjoyed my project for today.
Thanks for stopping by and showing your creative support. It's appreciated.
Please Be Sure To Check Out My Blog
http://peanutbutterandjellydesigns.blogspot.com/
Thanks So Much"

And, thanks to you, Michelle, for the gorgeous project and how-tos! Come back tomorrow...and Be Blessed!

Robbie As Guest Designer!

2011-05-24T00:01:00.009-04:00

I have to admit, I messed up. This gorgeous mug, made by my great friend Leah's son, Robbie, was supposed to be a part of the May Challenge this month...in the midst of all the problems with Blogger and getting a poll up for y'all to vote--I just simply forgot to add Robbie's entry. Robbie, I am so very sorry--and I hope spotlighting you as my Guest Designer today helps make up for it!Robbie is 6 years old--almost 7, and made this mug as a school project! I love his colors, as well as the shape of his petals! I know adults who couldn't have done as well, and your Mama is very lucky to have such a talented artist in her house!

You can find Mama Leah's work at Leah's Card Designs . Make sure you take a cup of coffee along when you visit--if you're like me, you'll be there a while!
Hugs and smoochies--and Be Blessed!

A Gorgeous Project--and A Sad Goodbye!

2011-05-23T00:01:00.005-04:00

Today, for the last time, the amazing Meliss a is stepping in as my Guest Designer. She is an incredible artist, and I will miss having her work on One By One. She's off on a marvelous adventure this summer, and can't be crafting, too, so is standing down from the Design Team. You can find more of her fantastic work on her blog, Disney Dreamer's Designs.

For her May Flowers Project, she put together this darling pin cushion with three stick-pins. What a note to go out on! Many thanks to my friend Melissa, and have a great, blessed summer, girl!

Damn Yankees

2011-05-22T00:01:00.003-04:00

So, I finally have my camera back...and I finally made something to take a photo of to put up! Yesterday, the hubs and I ran some errands and I got some cool things to play with, but this needed doing first.
Carl's boss, Cailin, had a baby on Friday--and, because they are huge Yankees Fans, he bit the bullet and bought the baby boy a Yankee's bib as a gift. Now, you have to know Carl to know how hard this must have been for him...he is a dyed-in-the-wool Yankees hater--passed down from his father before him. He and our son, Bill, who's a Yankees lover, just don't talk about it...but I know this was a real first for Carl..and I'm so proud of him!
Of course, he handed it to me and said for me to do something with it---so, I made a cute Yankees card and wrapped the bib in a piece of baseball themed scrapping paper--I also used a babseball themed paper to make the envie for the card...and tied it all up with a white-stitched red ribbon.

I cut the Yankee's logo from white cardstock using SCAL and mounted it on navy blue, accented with some baseball stickers from my stash. Inside, is a sweet baby verse in blue, along with a couple more stickers (a cap and a glove), along with some red faux stitching around the white cardstock I put there so the verse would show up, and Carl would have a place to sign.

So, tomorrow I'm going to try to finish my curtains, and then cover some pillows. The studio has undergone a make-over, and I want to take photos to show you all--and snap pics of of the curtains and drapes for the family room...I need to make some projects for hops coming uo, so I'll be a busy bee this coming week--and I'll try to hang on to my camera so I can share things with you when I get them done!! I can't wait--be blessed!!

Mama 'N Me

2011-05-21T00:01:00.005-04:00

Janice as Guest Designer!

2011-05-20T00:01:00.004-04:00

A huge, One By One Welcome to Janice, who, once more, is stepping in as a Guest Designer! She does such amazing work, and, being a former teacher, I'm thrilled to share her project for May with you! If you'd like to see more of her incredible work, just stop by her blog, Cricut Confessions, and be prepared to stay a while!

"Totally different project with the Cricut Today.....

We are lucky enough to live in a fantastic school system right now. Yes, I am still on the fence about Ohio, but I have to say that Mason Schools kick some serious booty. Anyone that knows me can tell you that I am hard to please when it comes to education. Outside the school system exists the The Mason Schools Foundation , The sole purpose of this non-profit organization is to offer grants will be awarded to worthy programs that take Mason students "Above and Beyond." It is incredible....it really is. The stuff that they do is amazing and this is IN ADDITION to what the PTA does. I am gushing, but it really should be the model for how communties and professionals support education.

The Mason Schools Foundation sponsors a week of reading as a fund raiser. The schools are decorated and there is a TON of excitement. The theme is Wii Rock We Read and the prize is a "rock concert" in the gym. Don't laugh....the Kindergarten/1st grade read over 30,000 books in a week. The 2nd/3rd Grade did over 30,000 minutes. This is some serious spirit!
Recipe:
Title: Mickey Font Cricut Cartridge
Rock&Roll: Black Letter Cricut Cartridge
JukeBox: Nifty 50's
Paper: Paper Studio from Hobby Lobby. ( It cuts like butter on the Cricut! LOVE IT!)
CDs: Real CD's with pictures added and decorated with Bics
Isn't it fun! The kids loved it!"

Thanks so much, Janice! Be blessed!

A Very Special Challenge

2011-05-19T00:01:00.003-04:00

I have a new challenge for you!!! Deadline is JULY 20th!!! This came from another organization I belong to, but, the more, the better! Our Veterans, especially those form *The Greatest Generation* deserve this!!

" I am looking for a total of 200+ thank you cards for our World War II veterans who are participants in the "Honor Flight" for those of you who have never heard of an Honor Flight they are put on all over the country.
I am from Green Bay, WI and looking for cards for Veterans for an upcoming Northeast Wisconsin Honor Flight. The mission of the Honor Flight is to offer World War II veterans a memorable, safe and rewarding tour of honor to our Nation's Capital. (Average ages 80-90)
Each Honor Flight departs Northeast Wisconsin (and many other loctions around the country!!) then returns on the same day after visiting several sites around Washington, DC. Most importantly, the veterans are able to visit those memorials dedicated in their honor including the World War II Memorial, the Iwo Jima Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, and the Vietnam War Memorial, as well as Arlington National Cemetery. The World War II Memorial was recently dedicated in 2004, and far too many of our Nation's heroes never had the chance to visit their memorial. There is NO COST to our veterans who have already given so much!
Its Never Too Late to Say Thank You - One of the highlights of a Stars and Stripes Honor Flight is the surprise Mail Call. On each flight, every WWII veteran gets a packet of mail.
And this is where your come in!! Please create a thank you card(s) to a veteran!! Just address the envelope "Dear Veteran" and thank them for their service and sacrifices. (YOU WILL BE SIGNING YOUR CARDS!!!) Cards can be patriotic, or not what ever you want!! If you wish to put your return address on the envelope for the veteran please do so.

Your cards should then be put into a larger envelope and mailed to me I will then deliver them to the Honor Flight team who will distribute your cards to our Vets!!

My address is

Kristen Oxenford
PO Box 552
Green Bay, WI 54305

Please note, all mail is due 30 days prior to flight and I am aiming to submit our cards for the flight planned for August 27th from Northeast, Wisconsin."

For additional information about the Honor Flight please grab a tissue and check out this video!!
http://www.fox11online.c...-old-glory-honor-flight
THANKS for considering this challenge!! Be blessed!

One By One Is On Hiatus For A Few Days

2011-05-18T00:01:00.002-04:00

One By One Is On Hiatus For A Few Days

2011-05-17T00:01:00.003-04:00

Challenge Submissions and Poll

2011-05-16T00:01:00.005-04:00

Due to Technical Difficulties, the posting of the poll is delayed until Google gets it's act together!! I can't get the poll app to accept more than one answer...GRRR

The challenge submissions are in the near right sidebar, the poll in the far right one. Vote for your favorite!!

Challenge Submissions and Poll

2011-05-15T00:01:00.003-04:00

Since I am still sans camera (and spent the day yesterday shopping with the hubs rather than crafting!) I'm just doing another quick reminder that all submissions for the May Challenge are due by midnight tonight. I'll be posting pictures of all of them, as well as a voting poll--so make sure all your family and friends come on over to vote for you! The prize this month is the ink pads pictured at the top of the post, and this adorable Mo Manning Stamp. All the rules are on the May Challenge Information Page at the top of the blog.
Kate will be back late tomorrow night with my camera, and I promise to spend time in the studio making things tomorrow so you can see them on Monday!! Be Blessed~!

The Best Laid Schemes...

2011-05-14T00:01:00.006-04:00

of mice and men go often askew. Robert Burns sure had this one right. I was all excited because I was going to work on the second volume of The Jennings' Pictoral History--The First Family today...and post the first pages of it for you all to see tomorrow. Two things happened that are proving Mr. Burns knew what he was talking about...first, my Brother-In -Law didn't send me some info that I need to start work on his family's pages (and no, I can't skip over him and do the next sibling. I'm anal. I know.) Second, I blithely sent my camera off with Kate, who is in Pennsylvania for a friend's graduation. I could aks Carl to get out the *big* camera and take pictures, but, since I couldn't make the pages anyway...yeah.

So, I'll just remind you that the deadline for entering submissions for the May Flowers challenge is Sunday at midnight. The prize this month is a darling Mo Manning Stamp and a stamp pad of garden colors....pictured here.

All the rules and fine print for the Challenge are at the top of the page on the Blog Page titled, oddly enough, May Challenge Information.
Be Blessed.

Jamie DT

2011-05-13T00:01:00.003-04:00

I'm so excited to share with you today as Guest Designer on On By One The Flamingos Are Stealing My Sanity! The theme for May is May Flowers. Since May 7th is National Scrapbooking Day, I was inspired to make a scrapbooking layout for my project this month. Even though I teach scrapbooking classes for a living, I don't have alot of time to work on my own books, so this was a nice change of pace for me. The greenish background cardstockand the yellow cardstock strips are Bazzill Brand. The orange paper is from Recollections. The patterned paper is from a DCWV paper pack (I forget the exact name of the pack, but it was Summer themed and I bought it last year). The pink you see curled is from the backside of the pp. I tried a technique called Paper Curling on this and I love the look of it. The flowers are from Prima (I got the pack on clearance at Michael's for $3!!) The blue and yellow jewels are from Recollections, and that super cute little girl is my 4 year old Adrianna.

My Friend, Leah is My Guest Designer

2011-05-12T00:01:00.005-04:00

My friend, Leah, makes me smile almost every single day. An incredible woman, she juggles a special needs son (and, for those who aren't aware, that's a full time job in itself!), a husband, a house with no bathtub (how can Calgon take her away?!) and being a wonderful artist, all at once! Not only that, she live close enough that someday, we're going to get together! She's a marvelous friend who sends me little surprises now and then--just today I got the most fun holographic flamingo bookmark ever--along with a funny, inflatable flamingo that I'm going to chase the cat with (the big, lardo cat, not the scardy cat) as soon as i blow it up. Then, it's going to sit on Pinky's back in my studio.
But, on to Leah, and her wonderful May design for One By One!

"Welcome! Hope everyone is having a wonderful day. I am honored to be serving another term on Karel's wonderful design team. I love to design and create things. This card is for my Mother for Mother's Day! I love how vibrant the paper is and these flower embellishments are perfect. I added a ribbon of butterflies to the card as well. I used an 8 1/2 x 11" card stock cut at 5 1/2 then folded to make an A2 card. I hope you like this card. I will have more things for you to see on my blog this month and the months to come. Thank you Karel for having me back."
You can see more of Leah on her blog, Leah's Card Designs.
I think this card is just lovely! Thanks so much, Leah, for the bookmark and flamingo--and for being my friend! Be Blessed!

American Idol and Celeste As Guest Designer

2011-05-11T00:01:00.003-04:00

Hello! And happy Wednesday! I love Wednesdays---American Idol is on! I have two favorites--mostly because I love country music. I think Scotty is in it to be the wonner--but I'm afraid poor Lauren is on her way out---she just doesn't have the strength and maturity the others have. She'll be a great recording artist someday--she just needs more time.
Don't get me wrong--I like rock 'n roll--I'm a produst of the 70s, when Steven Tyler was at his height in Aerosmith, The Stones were Gettin' No Satisfaction and Eric Clapton was showing us all what a slowhand could do. I can't say I'm all that excited about today's music (does anyone but me think JLo's 2 songs aired sound soooo much alike?) and I am not a rap fan...country music sounds more like old-time rock 'n roll--the kind of musci that moves your soul!--so I think I gravitate to it. And, while I think Lady Gaga is an incredible musician, I just don't get her. James is great, and Haley is incredible (I want to hear her sing Black Velvet!) when she's on...Well, enough. Y'all vote for Scotty, y'hear?

On to better things. If there were an Idol for Artisits, my friend Celeste would make the finals. She does incredible beadwork, make journals for charity and is just an amazing crafter all around. She has her own blog, of course, which you should check out as soon as you have some time to spend--Touched By A Butterfly. Here's a special journal she made...it gets my vote! Here's her journal, and a few words of her own....

"I made a special Cancer Patient Journal for a friend of mine’s sister. I just love making these Journal’s of Love.
The roses are svg files from www.pennyduncancreations.blogspot.com. The dress form svg file is from www.svgcuts.com. I really love the way this journal turned out. It really took me out of my comfort zone and challenged me. I hope you like my project…"
Celeste, I love it! Thanks so much for all you do. I know your friend's sister will adore the journal you made her...I know I love mine!
Have a wonderful time--vote for Scotty--and Be Blessed!

Guest Designer Calie!

2011-05-10T00:01:00.004-04:00

Happy Tuesday! I hope y'all had a wonderful weekend--I was in a rush yesterday and didn't get to write much!

I had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend. On Saturday, Carl and I ran some errands (those of you who were owed blog candy should be getting it soon!) and he spent some time doing much needed yard work while I finished up some curtains and started another set. No scrapping or cardmaking done, but I also enjoy sewing, and was up to making three panels before the pain got to me. Kind of a waste of National Scapping Day, though!

Mother's Day itself was marvelous. Bill was home--brought flowers for both his Grandma and me--and he and Kate threw a backyard cookout for me. All my favorites---steak (yummy rib-eyes, grilled just short of medium rare-pefect!!), crab legs with butter (naughty, I know!), grilled veggies, salt potatoes---and Kate made the most delicious shortcake with tons of strawberries and the thickest, most yummy whipped cream. *sigh* Not a terribly healthy meal, but it was so good! After we ate, we took Mama her flowers and cars, as well as some of the meal. I'm so sad she wasn't up to joining us--I'm not dealing with her failing very well, I'm afraid. But she was happy to see us, and was going to eat as soon as wel left.

I'll scrap some pics soon, but today, I want to highlight my wonderful friend, Calie. I have known Calie since my swap days (wow, that seems so long ago!) and, not only is she supremely organized, she's a wonderfully creative person, as well. Here is her take on May Flowers! I just love these--she's so clever!

May Flowers are popping up everywhere! My favorite flower are not only easy to make but fun to wear! To make my flowers I used felt, spellbinders and a hot glue gun. First I cut out my felt using progressively larger scalloped circles stack them up and glue them together. Then just attach it to your favorite barrette!

Don't you just love these!!? I don't have Spellbinders, but I do have a similar scalloped Sizzix die that I'm going to try! I'd love to see what you come up with!

Don't forget about the May Challenge! Make a flowery project and email it to me (all the specifics are on the page at the top!) to be entered to win a fun designer stmap by Mo Manning and a set of Gardbe Colors ink pads!

Enjoy the beautiful Spring Weather! And Be Blessed!

Winner!

2011-05-09T00:01:00.004-04:00

I want to announce the winner of the Flowery Scrappy Grab Bag from the Flowers, Flowers Everywhere Hop. Didn't Kathryn do a marvelous job with it? I had Randy, from random.org, choose a day (1 for Saturday, 2 for Sunday) and a comment number from that day. The winner, from Sunday's post, and comment # 7, is thekolbes, who said...

"Ohh I love your card, what a great idea. You have a wonderful hubby. My fav flowers are Glads. I am a new follower
Trish"

I'll let Trish know she's the winner by email.
I also wanted to show one of the things I make with the flowers I dry in the presses Carl made me. I make bookmarks, gift cards and other small things--and I love to use my Your Story to laminate them, so the flowers will last forever. I'm tucking this bookmark in with the grab bag for ***, who will be notified by email of her win. It looks a bit rumpled from laminating it, but will flatten out soon. I used cream handmade paper (my summer learning project!) with white peony petals, a piece of grass in seed, some larkspur and a piece of Queen Anne's Lace on it. I love the pale, vintagy feel of it.

have a wonderful Monday, and Be Blessed!

Flowers, Flowers Everywhere Blog Hop Day 2

2011-05-08T00:01:00.005-04:00

Hello! Welcome to Day 2 of the Flowers, Flowers Everywhere Blog Hop! I am so excited and happy that Kathryn asked me to join in the fun! You should have arrived from Kathryn's. If you just dropped in on One By One, or want to start the hop at the beginning, head back over to Kathryn's wonderful blog, Creations with Kathryn.
My husband is wonderful about bringing me flowers! He'll come in from a trip to the grocery store with one of those beautiful mixed bouquets...or steal a bud or two from the floral arrangement they sometimes have in the office at his school. In the summer, he'll sometimes go out to the overgrown rose garden and clip me some stray blooms, or just bring in a couple of mums in the fall. I love that he not only brings me flowers...but that he knows how to arrange them and water them and bring them to wherever I am in the house. Someimtes, I'll wake up from a nap and find a vase spilling over with peonies or Iris by my bedside. We don't have a lot of money, but he knows that I love flowers and finds ways for me to have them with me during th day while I'm by myself.
He knows I love them so much that, a couple of years ago, he made me two wonderful flower presses...and now I have flowers, dried and flattened, with that *vintage* feel, all the time, ready for me to do something with. Tomorrow, I'll have a bonus project with the announcement of the winner of the blog candy from the hop...but on to today's project.
Going still with the idea that I needed cards I could actually mail, with one stamp, and with my frugal bent these days, I saw a wonderful opportunity when I made the card for yesterday. (If you missed it, scroll down and take a look!) When I made the *foil* outline for the iris, I had this marvelous negative, shaped perfectly like the iris. I used my Zig pen on it, before I removed it from the mat, and placed a piece of scrap purple cardstock on top. I pressed it down well and let it dry overnight. This morning, I used my pointy spatula tool to help me peel it up---and there was the perfect iris, on a purple background!

I pulled the negative gold oval out of my recycling bin and cut it to fit a 5 X 7 inch card, with a border. I adhered the iris to a green 5 X 7 card with my ATG, and then, again using my ATG, adhered the gold oval fram around it. I dug through my stash and found some mis-matched gold filligree photo corners (I only had a pair of two different kinds!), and added them to the bottom and top corners. There! A beautiful iris card, made entirely from scraps and things from my stash! And, it's flat and will mail with one stamp!

I have a few flowery things to send to a lucky hopper. Just leave a comment on this post, letting me know what your favorite flower is, along with your email address (in the safe ksjennings at gmail dot com format). I'll ask Randy, from random.org, to choose a day (today or tomorrow, 1 and 2 respectively) and a comment number. If that hopper has followed the rules (flower and email), they'll win some lovely, flowery things in a scrappy grab-bag. If not, Randy will have to choose another winner.

You should now be headed over to Lissa's 's blog, So Many Crafts, So Little Time. It's always such a fun place to visit--I know you're going to love what's been created! Enjoy the rest of the hop, come back tomorrow, and, as always, be blessed!

Flowers, Flowers Everywhere Blog Hop Day 1

2011-05-07T00:01:00.006-04:00

Hello! Welcome to Day 1 of the Flowers, Flowers Everywhere Blog Hop! I am so excited and happy that Kathryn asked me to join in the fun! You should have arrived from Kathryn's Blog. If you just dropped in on One By One, or want to start the hop at the beginning, head back over to Kathryn's wonderful blog, Creations with Kathryn.
I love flowers. When I was able, I had gardens full of them...roses, peonies, daffodils, tulips, flowering shrubs, wisteria over the hot tub trellis...all smelling so beautifully and drawing birds and butterflies to my yard. I can't do much any more, but some of my perennials are still pushing their way through the weeds and undergrowth, showing me their sunshiney faces and wafting a lovely aroma around me as I walk slowly around the yard. I have trained myself not to see the work that needs to be done...and just take pleasure in the blossoms that are there. Even the dandelions in tha lawn can make me smile as they dot the green with the brightest yellow in the world!
Of all flowers, my favorites are the Iris. Growing up, we had a huge stand of them by the driveway, almost in a ditich (Iris like wet feet!). For a long time, we had them in the pond, but the do spread, and they had to go, along with the cattails and reeds. I still have a few, and look forward to their blooming..but, for the most part, I now create them on cards.
The cards I make aren't as elaborate as some I see...for the most part, my cards need to be mailed, so the heavy embellishments that keep cards from fitting in envelopes and add to the postage cost are something I avoid. Part of my challenge is to make cards that have depth and texture without adding bulk. I think I managed that with this Iris Card.

I used SCALand a stained glass pattern from the internet to create the pattern for the pieced Iris. I first cut the entire thing from gold paper, so I would have the *foil* beteween the pieces. I then cut the shapes from scraps from my heap, and a plain gold oval as a base. I adhered the *foil* to the base with my Zig 2-Way Pen, and then, using the same pen, dropped the shapes into place, sort of like putting together a puzzle. I then took a piece of lilac organza and covered the front of a 5 X7 inch card made from lilac cardstock. I wrapped the ends around the top and bottom, and covered the back with a piece of pale grey cardstock. I used vellum tape to adhered the edges of the organza to the card. I used my ATG to adhere the Iris to the front of the card.

Even though this card is very flat, it still has great depth, shimmer and texture. It will mail beautifully, and is light enough for a one stamp mailing!

You should now be headed over to Lissa's 's blog, So Many Crafts, So Little Time. it's always such a fun place to visit--I know you're going to love what's been created! Enjoy the rest of the hop, come back tomorrow, and, as always, be blessed!

Marsh Fire Photos

2011-05-06T00:01:00.005-04:00

A few weeks ago, on April 14, we had a marsh fire several miles from us, right along Lake Ontario. The fire seems to have started from someone carelessly tossing a cigarette out the window of their car.
"No property was reported damaged and no one reported hurt in the blaze, which burned 125 to 145 acres of cattail wetlands near Edgemere Drive that are part of the Braddock Bay Fish and Wildlife Management Area. The 2,125-acre complex of ponds and marshes is owned by New York state.
A state biologist said Wednesday that, despite its threatening appearance, the fire likely will prove a good thing.
'From our standpoint, it is not a disaster. I'm certainly glad it didn't jump any of the roads or get near any of those houses. But we sometimes intentionally set fires under very controlled circumstances in areas like that for habitat benefits,' said Art Kirsch, a senior wildlife biologist for the state Department of Environmental Conservation. 'It probably will be a very beneficial thing for that area, because it removed a lot of that dead cattail area and allows for some succulent new growth.'
Kirsch said there likely was little harm to wildlife.
While some ducks or Canada geese may have been nesting in the area, he said they probably had time to escape. 'It's so early in the nesting season they'll build a new nest somewhere else,' he said.
Cattail wetlands, which are common along the shore of Lake Ontario, 'provide relatively little for wildlife. The thick mats of them that develop probably aren't used by a lot (of species),' Kirsch said.
Kirsch said the fire burned through the dry dead growth so fast that the cattails' roots probably weren't damaged.
'My guess is a month from now it'll be a sea of green out there,' he said.
SORR@DemocratandChronicle.com
Includes reporting by staff writer Gary McLendon.
I thought this was worth documenting in my scrapbook--and here are the pages I made with the photos Carl and I took of the fire and the aftermath.

Audrey Is My Guest Designer!!

2011-05-05T00:01:00.003-04:00

A huge One By One Welcome to Audrey, who is stepping in as my Guest Designer today!! I am thrilled to say she's staying on for three more months--but, if you want to see more of her amazing craftiness right away, check out her wonderful blog, Life Is Beautiful!
Here is Audrey's incredible contibution to our May Flowers theme this month...it's so different and so lovely! Her how-to-do-its are beneath the photo.

Here in Mexico we have an abundance of beautiful flowers all year long, but you can really see the beauty in the Spring and during the rainy season of Summer. I just love the flowers of spring and all the beautiful colors.
The flowers for this card were all cut at different sizes from 2" to 4 " using Button 3, layer 3 on the Create a Critter cartridge (the rabbit). Every center of the flowers on this card has a gem from I Rock. I have used the Cuttlebug Swirl border for the outline and put green leaf ink directly to paper for the spirl frame.
Hope you like this card. Have a great day!
Hugs,
Audrey

I know that you're looking forward, as I am, to seeing more of Audrey's fun and cheerful work! Be Blessed!

Guest Designer Patti!

2011-05-04T00:01:00.003-04:00

I am thrilled to have Patti step in as Guest Designer today! She's such a wonderful friend--and an absolutley amazing crafter! The fact that she's chosen to stay on for another 3 months on my Design Team just makes me so happy! If you want more of her art (and who wouldn't?) check out her blog, Short 'N Scrappy!
.Here's her interpretation of the May Flowers Theme--so pretty! The how-to-do-its are underneath.

"Hi, all my scrappy friends. Thanks for visiting Karel's blog today and taking a peek at my Mother's Day Card. I decided to do some ribbon flowers for this card. They were super easy to create. I left the inside blank so that I can add a handwritten note to my mother who lives a few states away. Flowers and Mother's Day go hand in hand, so I thought this card was more than appropriate. I really didn't appreciate Mother's Day like I should until I had children of my own. I just love getting hand made gifts and cards from my kids and hopefully, my mom will love getting this hand made card from me, even if I am getting old..... we will keep that little detail just between us.
The recipe for this card is simple:
~ Each flower is made up of 4 (3 1/2") ribbons.
~ I hand cut the flower stems and leaves.
~ I cut the cardstock and the crinkle paper using my standard paper cutter
~ I did a print and cut on the vellum oval using Make-The-Cut.
~ I added stickles (probably too much) and that's it!
Sounds so easy, right?
Hope you all have a fabulous Mother's Day and God Bless.
To see more details, please visit my blog at www.shortnscrappy.com."

I'm going to pull out some ribbon scraps and make a bunch of those flowers! Have a wonderful day, and be blessed!

Guest Designer--Yolie!!

2011-05-03T00:01:00.003-04:00

A huge welcome to Yolie, my talented guest designer today!! This is one of the last times you'll see her on my Design Team--but you'll always be able to find more of her amazing crafting and artistry on her blog, Just Yolie, Just Create!

The theme for May is flowers--and they'll be bursting everywhere this month! Here's her pink and pretty creation, along with her hot-to-do-its!

Hi there! This Yolie from JustYolie. This month it's all about flowers so here's what I created.

Pattern paper is K & Co. and the cardstock TPC. I'm sure getting my dollar's worth out of the G Studio stamp. :) Flowers are by Celeste. I also remembered to do a little embossing.

Thanks for stopping by One By One today...stay tuned for more flowery fun tomorrow! Be Blessed!

Winners and a Project...Well, Almost

2011-05-02T00:01:00.005-04:00

Hello! I hope everyone had a lovely weekend! I did! The hubs and I went out to take some photographs Saturday---more ideas for projects coming up! Yesterday, we took Mama out for lunch for her birthday--we decided it was her 37th! The waitress heard us talking, and brought her a piece of carrot cake with a pink candle in it! So sweet!
I have a couple of winners to announce today. The first is for the set of Fruit of The Spirit cards from The Paper Tree House sponsored hop. I had such a wonderful time with this one--we really can tell when we're doing something in His Service! The winner is number 22 (chosen by randy, from random.org), Becky D. who said, "What a sweet and uplifting project you have given us today, Karel! I think each of these fruits is equally important and I pray continuously for God to help me with them... except for patience - when I pray for patience, He gives me trials to help me become patient LOL! I am kidding of course. I am a pretty patient person except with my own kids so I really pray for that one a lot! Thanks so much for sharing these lovely cards :)" I'll be letting Becky know she won via email.
The second winner is from the Mom's Day Blog Hop, hosted by nicolette...and didn't she do a fantastic job! Randy selected number 1 (Saturday, and comment number 11, Jenn, who said, "Lovely card, Karel. Your story brought tears to my eyes. But everything you've said is true. You must cherish them 'cause you never know what tomorrow brings. Three years ago, my mom enrolled in a life learning center to learn english. Her understanding of the language now is greatly improved but back then she struggled. On my birthday, she had given me a card she made during one of her classes - I have it sitting on my desk right now! I don't have any paper loving friends, so this was the first handmade card I had ever gotten. Parts of the card were actually coming off but it was the most beautiful card. Compared to those musical cards these days, I'd say this one was the best. And inside the card she had written everything in English. Sure there were a few spelling mistakes like "droud" instead of "proud" - which she laughed about when I told her. But there was so much love put into it that I just cried when I received it. What would the world be like without mothers? They are so inspiring, so loving, just...amazing.
Jenn"
I'll also be letting Jenn know she's the winner of the Bag of Scrappy Goodness.
I had planned to make a project this afternoon, using pictures from our little day jaunt (well, more like 3 hour jaunt...), but what I did was fall asleep. I guess outings too days in a row, with the subsequent meds that follow things like this, put me right out. So, no project. Tomorrow, though. I promise! Have a wonderful day! be Blessed!

Mother's Day Blog Hop Day 2

2011-05-01T00:01:00.010-04:00

Hello! If you are here for the Fruits of The Spirit Blog Hop, please scroll down one post or click here.

Welcome to the Mom's Day Blog Hop, hosted by the fun and friendly Nicolette! I am so pleased that she asked me to be a part of her hop! If you came from Ribbon Divas blog, link here, you are in the right place. If not, and you just popped in to see what was up on One By One, and want to hop from the beginning, head on over to Beyond Scrappin', Nicolette's wonderful blog and jump right on in!
I was thinking of my Mama...who has lived through ande seen so much in her life. Born just in time for the Great Depression, she was homeless and passed from relative to relative until my Grandmother remarried a man who could both love them and give them a home. She saw the man she loved go off to World War II, and return to almost die from tuberculosis. She married him, and raised two children...my Daddy died when she was 52 years old...and she has lived alone ever since. She;s blind in one eye, has had a successful triple by-pass and can still draw herself up to her full 4 feet, 10 inches, stick her finger in your face and stand her ground. She's been a rock through all kinds of life's issues faced by my brother and me...and is now, at 85 years old, starting to gracefully decline into that place the elderly so often find themselves--a kind of half-way between now and such vivid memories of the past it seems they are happening now, as well. I hope the memories are all the good ones---she'd earned it!
I made this card for my daughter to give to her Grandma. It's cute.

I used SCAL to cut the Mama and Baby Elephant at 4 inches. I also cut a shadow for them. I adgered them with my Zig 2-Way pen, and accented them with my White Imaginice gel pen and a black marker. I cut a scrap of pink dotted paper to fit a 5 X 7 inch card, and adhered it with my ATG. I then added the elephants. I cut the hearts with SCAL at different sizes from a scrap of pink, and write I Love You with a pink pen. I then used Baker's Twine from Pink By Design to add them like balloons, adhered with glue dots.
For blog candy on this blog, I have a grab bag of fun scrappy things. In order to win, just make sure you're a follower and leave me a comment about your favorite memory of you mama from whan you were small. Come back tomorrow, when I'll share mine and you'll get a second chance to win. On Monday, Randy, from random.org, will choose a winner. Make sure you leave me your email (in the safe, ksjennings at gmail dot com format) so I can contact you if you win. No email or tale about mama? Randy will have to choose another winner.
From here, you should head over to Kristel's blog, Gettin' Cricky. It's always such a fun place to visit!
Enjoy the rest of the hop--and be blessed!

Mother's Day Blog Hop Day 1

2011-04-30T00:01:00.011-04:00

Hello! If you are here for the Fruits of The Spirit Blog Hop, please scroll down one post or click here.
Welcome to the Mom's Day Blog Hop, hosted by the fun and friendly Nicolette! I am so pleased that she asked me to be a part of her hop! If you came from Ribbon Diva's blog, Creating A Crafty Life, you are in the right place. If not, and you just popped in to see what was up on One By One, and want to hop from the beginning, head on over to Beyond Scrappin', Nicolette's wonderful blog and jump right on in!
I have to say, Mother's Day is somewhat problematic for me. It didn't used to be--we'd buy my mama the flowers for her yard and spend time with her supervising while we put them in. Then, she bought a condo, and we'd buy the plants for her front porch and spend time with her while she supervised as we put them in pots. Last year, she didn't want plants, so Kate took us all out to dinner and I made Mama a card. She knows we don't have any money for any kind of gift this year (and she's getting the shaft twice, since her birthday is April 30 (today!!) and all she's getting is a card for it, too.)
Now, she won't complain...but her memory is going and she has the same conversations with us all at least three times....and she won't remember that I made her a card. As I said, she won't complain--but she'll ask what we're doing for her birthday and for Mother's Day sevaral times....I love her dearly and this is breaking my heart...so, it's a problem. And sad. Ladies (and gentlemen), no matter how you feel about your mama...take some time, this one special day and tell her you love her. One day, she'll be gone....either in body or mind, and you'll wish you had.
Okay, so on to the card I made her from Carl and me. My mama is NOT a frilly kind of person. Her home was furnished in Danish Modern beginning in the 1960s...and it's still Danish Modern today. She wears her hair cut short, doesn't particularly like ribbons and curls and is a pretty no-nonsense kind of broad. So, a frilly kind of card is not the right kind of card for her!

Mama's favorite color is green, so I started this with a piece of green hand-printed paper I purchased long ago in Providence, Rhode Island, at RISD. I have one small piece left...I hoard it! I cut the top layer of the Mother and Child Image form the A Child's Year Cricut Cartridge using my Gypsy to make it about 4 X 4 inches. I adhered this to a piece of white cardstock that I dry embossed with Birds and Swirls using my Cuttlebug. All this was adhered with my ATG, along with a pale green ribbon (because it needed something!!) bow. I know it's a simple card...but it's the kind Mama will like best.

For blog candy on this blog, I have a grab bag of fun scrappy things. In order to win, just make sure you're a follower and leave me a comment about your favorite memory of you mama from whan you were small. Come back tomorrow, when I'll share mine and you'll get a second chance to win. On Monday, Randy, from random.org, will choose a winner. Make sure you leave me your email (in the safe, ksjennings at gmail dot com format) so I can contact you if you win. No email or tale about mama? Randy will have to choose another winner.

Now, for the rest of the hop! head on over to Kristal's Blog, Gettin' Cricky, ---it's always an amazing place to visit! Enjoy the rest of the hop--and Be Blessed!

Fruit Of The Spirit Blog Hop

2011-04-29T00:01:00.010-04:00

Today, tomorrow and Sunday, I am participating in a different kind of Blog Hop. I am so honored to have been invited by Nana to join this group of Faithful women...Please read her words and meditate on how you use The Spirit's Fruit in your life.
"Welcome to another Faith Blog Hop presented to you by Paper Tree House Studio! If you have been following the hop then you should be arriving here from Kristal's blog. If you just came across this hop, or stopped by one by One, you can start over at the beginning at The Paper Tree House.

Every month, a group of bold women gathers to make the Name of the Lord famous and to share the talents we have been given by Him. We also like to share a little bit of Truth that we have learned from the Bible and/or a bit about how He has impacted our lives. This month the theme is “The Fruit of the Spirit”.
As Christians, we are expected to demonstrate the Fruit of the Spirit because the Spirit of God abides in us. In Galatians 5:22-23 we find the following definition: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” There are many misconceptions about this fruit. People look at the list of attributes and they are convinced that God has not given them one of the “fruits”, and so they live with remaining sin and a sense of defeat in certain areas of their lives.
If you look at the passage again you will notice that the word FRUIT is NOT plural. It is only ONE fruit, so if the Spirit of the Lord abides in you, then the attributes that characterize the Spirit live there as well. If you are not experiencing one of the characteristic of His Spirit in your life, pray that the Lord would cleanse you and purify you. He is into the business of completing those He saves. My prayer is that you would draw near to the Lord and that He in turn will draw near to you…
The same way that the Lord blesses those He loves, we want to bless you. We have found an amazing line-up of sponsors and we want to share with you what you could win by hopping around with us:
Paper Tree House Studio: Cricut Create
Scrapbook News & Review Magazine: One year subscription to their online magazine.
Zutter: Distrezz-it-All
Scrapbooks & Stuff: Seasonal Cartridge
Papperie: Yummy Goody Bag
Bonita Rose: One spot to her AMAZING class on color.
Shimmerz: Yummy Goody Bag
Now, in order to win one of these Grand Prizes, you will have like My Paper Tree House on Facebook, leave a comment on their post, and become a follower on the My Paper Tree House Blog. Then you have to follow the hop order and leave comments in the posts of all the amazing and talented women that are part of the lineup. All throughout the hop you will find RAK’s and special giveaways, so make sure that you complete the entire hop!
For my project, I have made a set of cards, each one highlighting one of the tenents of a Fruitful Spirit. The background paper is from Flair, and is called "Fruit Stand" I love the jumble of fruit, writing and paler colors in it. I used it, for continuity, on all the A2 sized (4.25 X 5.5 inch) cards. All of the gems on each card are from Imaginice and were adhered with my IRock.

The first fruit mentioned in Galatians is Love. First Corinthians tells us that Love is the greatest of all things that will last forever. To make this card, I used the Inspired Heart Cricut Cartridge, and cut the first layer of Love at 4 X 5 inches from cream colored cardstock from my scrap heap. I thought it needed more depth, so I used gold chalk to highlight it. The gems are melon colored.

The second fruit of the Spirit is Joy. For this card, I adapted, and used the word Joyful from the Inspired Hearts Cartridge. I cut the top layer at 4 X 5 inches. The jems here are gold, and I used Melon Dew Drops ink to accent the word. I have to admit, since I have been dealing with chronic pain, this is one fruit I need to pray for god to show me how to find again.

Peace is the next part of the Fruit of The Spirit that Paul mentions. We are all looking for Peace, whether it be to have a cherished soldier home from a far away war (and God, please bless Aaron, Jonathan, Brian and Stephen!), to have a quiet and restful vacation or, in the case of mamy mamas out there, just 5 minutes without little voices or teenaged music! Again using the Inspired Hearts cartridge, I cut the word at 4 X 5 inches, and added green gems to the base.

Paul mentions patience as the 4th fruit of The Spirit. My husband is the most patient person I know--and he learned it all from his mama. I thank God everyday for this blessing in my life, even as I struggle to find my own patience. I used the Inspired Hearts cartridge to create the lettering on this card, at 4 X 5 inches. I added red gems to the side.

Being kind, the 5th fruit, is something that, although it may be in our souls, most of us need to be taught. The best way to go about teaching small children to be kind is to live by example. I learned kindness from my daddy, who never had a bad word to say about anyone, and who was a kind and gentle man. I miss him every day. I cut the lettering using the Inspired hearts cartridge at 4 X5 inches, and used a black Copic fine-tipped pen to make faux stitching. I added three gold gems to the bottom.

Goodness is something that we need to think about more today...as paul did when he named it as the 6th fruit. Just what IS goodness? I invite you to read Roger D. Cotton's essay on Goodness as one answer to this question. I used SCAL to create the lettering here...cutting it at 4 X 5 inches and adding blue gems to the side.

I believe Faithfulness is the stongest of the 9 fruits I possess...and Paul spoke of it as the 7th fruit of The Spirit present in all of us. I have had some hard experiences in life, but none has managed to shake my Faithfulness to God. He is the reason I am--and I live to make Him my King! This card was again created using SCAL, and red gems were added to the top of it.

The 8th fruit is a surprising one, at least to me...why would God value gentleness so much he asked the Holy Spirit to instill it in every soul? As I mentioned, my father was a gentle man...one who never hurt deliberately, and seldom accidentally--I pray that God will develp this in my soul. This card was also made with the Inspired Hearts cartridge, with green gems added to it.

Once, when I was discussing this with a friend, she said that Jesus certainly didn't exhibit self-control when He drove the money-changers from the Temple. I respectfully disagree. I think this was an extremely controlled action, made necessary by the corruption and the cheaters who abounded there. In addition, it set the events in motion that would leave to His crucifiction, necessary for our salvation. This card was created with SCAL, and accented with gold gems.

The blog candy I have for a visitor here is a set of Fruit of The Spirit cards, created in the colors you choose. Please leave a comment on this post, with your thinking on this theme....leave your email (in the safe ksjennings at gmail dot com format) so I can contact you personally if you win. Comments will remain open until midnight on Sunday, and the winner will be chosen by Randy, at random.org.
Now for some more fun! Hop on over to Zeni's blog to be inspired...and Be Blessed!

May Blog Happenings

2011-04-28T00:02:00.003-04:00

Hello, Friends! Welcome to *Almost* May!! I hope the weather is warm and sunny where you happen to be—and that winter is finally over! I have to say, living in upstate New York, I never say never…the first year I lived here, it snowed 10 inches on May 8th….
The lovely flower to the left is known as the Flamingo Flower....and it's so easy to see why!
am happy and excited to let you know what will be happening on One By One The Flamingos Are Stealing My Sanity in May. If you haven’t already done so, make sure you change your bookmark to www.kareljcreations.com , as I’ve entered the world of .coms now from blogger.
Sadly, this is the last month for my fantastic Design Team as it looks now. Some have opted to *roll over* and put up with me for another 3 months, but a few have had family and other obligations come up. As we all know, family, health, jobs and other things come before playing with paper. I will miss Summer and Jennifer, Mistyrose, Yolie, Melissa and***. Please make sure you stop by One By One on the days they are Guest Designers, so you can tell bid them a fond farewell.
We have a few newbies coming on board—the new Team will be announced on May 30. There will be some changes in the way the Team participates on One By One, as well…I can’t tell you now, but look for some surprises come June!
The theme this month is May Flowers! Who doesn’t love flowers? They’ll be bursting out all over on One By One in May! In my garden, my daffodils are having a wonderful year, as are my hyacinths. The tulips are just beginning to bud, and the forsythia has about finished blooming—just in time for Mama and Papa Cardinal to return to nest there for the third time! I hope to find a way to translate God’s floral painting into my art.
The Challenge this month is, of course, for y’all to create wonderful projects with flowers on them…or any other way you interpret May Flowers! Have a photo of your creation emailed to me by midnight on May 15 to be entered in to win. I don’t have the prize yet, as the spending moratorium is still in effect…but I’ll get something cool after May 1. Please check One By One’s Challenge Page for more details after May 1.

I am participating in Kathryn’s Flowers, Flowers Everywhere Blog Hop on May 7th and 8th. I hope you’ll find time to stop by this hop, as well, to check out all the fantastic creations I know will be abounding there! I’ll have some kind of Blog Candy, but don’t know what yet.

I do hope you'll find some time to join me here...for a peaceful cup of coffee in the garden, with the God's perfume of Spring filling the air! Be Blessed!

Michelle Is Guest Designer!

2011-04-28T00:01:00.003-04:00

I am so honored to have Michelle from my Design Team as Guest designer today! She's the author and crafter on the marvelous blog, Peanut Butter and Jelly Designs By Michelle. If you haven't been there to see her incredible talent, you need to do that as soon as you finish up here! In her own words, here's the cutest little rabbit--so darling!
"I know Easter is a memory for many until next year but, I'm going to share with you a Quilled Easter Bunny card that I whipped up for my nephew.
I actually thought that I had an Easter card for him but, it turns out that I didn't so I whipped this Hoppy Bunny up real quick for him.
There's really not to much to tell with this card. but, here's what I did:
Supplies
I used my favorite Tombo Glue and 6 white strips of Quilling paper, 1 light pink Quilling paper strip cut in half, and one black Quilling Strip cut into 4ths. 1 A2 sized blue card and 1 yellow A2 envelope and 1 piece of yellow paper cut to size, two googly eyes and a green marker for grass details and my black puffy pen and an onion holder to use to make the ears.
Directions:
First I made the two ears using my onion holder. I took one of the pink quilling papers and one of the white quilling papers and I tore them both in half.
Then I glued both of them together on the squared ends.
Next, I took my onion holder and I made what is called a Wheatear Coil (2) using the White and Pink quilling papers that I just glued together . That gave me my two ears.
Next I made the bunny's head. I took another one of the White Quilling papers and I tore it in half and I made a closed loose coil.
Then to make the body of the bunny I took two of the White Quilling Papers and I glued them together and then I made an even larger closed loose coil.
I then took another one of the White Quilling Papers and Itore that in half and i used each half to make 2 closed loose coils then I shaped them into half moons and I used them for feet.
After I had all of my pieces made I arranged them and then I glued them together. Into the bunny shape.
Then I glued them onto the yellow piece of cardstock. Next I used my Glue Glider Pro and I attached the yellow cardstock to the A2 Light blue card. Next I used my Tombo glue and I attached the two googly eyes to the bunny face, and then I attached the bunny nose and the whiskers to the bunny face.
Lastly I used my Black 3D puffy pen to write Hoppy Easter and then I used the green marker and added some grass detials.
Pretty much that was it... I think the whole thing only took about 20 minutes. Since it was for a boy I opted not to use any ribbon on this card.
I hope you liked this quick and easy Easter Card in a pinch. Thanks for looking and keep on crafting,
Michelle"

Blog Hops

2011-04-27T21:04:00.001-04:00

Hello, Friends!

As some of you may be aware, I hosted a Blog Hop this past weekend. I have hosted many hops in the past, and have never had an experience like this one. Of the 28 bloggers, 6 had no posts up when the hop went live, and three of them still had no posts up at 10AM on Saturday. The hop ended with two hoppers not participating at all and one posting a project that had nothing to do with the theme of the hop at all. After the hop began, I drew many complaints--not iust from the hoppers, but from the bloggers participating. I heard about too few comments, too many glitches, too many in the hop, complaints about the posts of others and on and on. I was also criticized because my blog candy for this particular hop was *lame*. I tried to take everyone's suggestions to heart, and doubled my resolve to try to fix all the problems (even though few were things I can control) and make a hop on One By One the best hop on the block.
Fast forward to yesterday and today, when things started gearing up for my next hop, scheduled for May 21 and 22. I put up a document on FB to make sure I had all blog names and addresses down accurately. I purposely added no numbers to this list--but that didn't stop people from counting their position and complaining about their slot in the hop...some were even apparently adding thier names towards the top, rather than at the bottom, so they would have a higher place in the line-up. In addition, I began getting emails and PMs about the number of people in the hop, how I should divide it up and much more advice about how my hop whould be handled. When I announced a *contest* for button makers, I was lambasted for being unfair to those who didn't know how to make a button. When I made it clear that I intened for my annual Breats Cancer Awareness and Veteran's Day hops would be open to as many bloggers as wanted to join (with amazing blog candy, and no requirement to stop by each hop to win), I had a number of people drop out, and many more email me to let me know what they thought about this.
While I guess I should appreciate the advice, I really don't. I put a lot of thought into how I do my hops, and try to make them smooth and fun for all involved. I didn't make the decision to have these two hops be *open* lightly--it involved a lot of prayer and thought. I try to stay organized and let everyone know what is going on each step of the way--and I'm criticized for this as well. Until recently, when I've had some serious financial issues, I've tried to have great blog candy and have encouraged others to have some if they could. And, no matter if a hop is 10 or 100, someone always has to have the last spot. I can't figure out how to change that.
It has gotten to the point where hosting blog hops is no longer fun for me. Because of this, I am cancelling all future hops that I had planned, beginning with the May hop. I will be concentrating on my Design Team, my Monthly Challenge and joining in blog hops hosted by other people. I will also be working harder on my own craft, including getting back to my Faith Based Creations. I talked this over with my husband and spent quite a bit of time in prayer about this, and this is the best thing for me to do right now.
It's possible that I will be lead to host another hop in the future...I just know this isn't the time now. I have several health issues that are directly impacted by stess and anxiety--and playing with paper should be fun, not a source of stress. I need to get back to the fun and leave the rest behind!
I apologize to anyone who is angry, disappointed or otherwise critical of this decision. Just, please, don't send me an email about it.
Be Blessed.
KJ

Nicolette As Guest Designer

2011-04-27T00:01:00.003-04:00

Hello, Friends! I hope you're having a great week! I am--especially because Nicolette, from Beyond Scrappin' is my Guest Designer today!! Please head over to see her incredible blog when you're done here--you won't be sorry!!

Would you believe that these adorable frogs are hand pieced? Incredible! Here's what she did:

"Here are the punches that I used to make the frogs.

I used all Stampin' Up! Punches:
2 step owl punch

Small oval punch (Frogs Thighs)

Large Oval Punch (Witches Hat)
Modern Label Punch (Frogs Feet)
1/2" Circle Punch (eye balls and eye lids)"
Aren't these just the most creative thing? Thanks so much, Nicolette!
If you haven't already voted for your favorite submission in the April Challenge, take a peek over in the near right sidebar to see the entrants. The voting poll is in the far left sidebar when you've made up your mind.
Have a Blessed Day!

Janice As Guest Designer

2011-04-26T00:01:00.006-04:00

I am excited and honored to have Janice, a valued and talented member of my Design Team, as Guest designer today! She is an amazing crafter--if you haven't checked out her blog, Cricut Confessions, you need to take care of that as soon as you've finished reading about this fantastic project she created for today! In her own words...
"I have always loved the look of watercolors. Obviously though, I really don't have that style at all. In fact, I don't think I own one darn thing that would be appropriate for water coloring.
BUT, I didn't let a little fact like that stand in my way...."

Recipe
DCWV Card
Wiener Mobile Stamp
Hokey Pokey Stamp (Joann's)
Stampin' Up Watercolors
Bic Markers for accent
Twinery Twine

I had to laugh when I saw this card!! My first husband's last name is Weiner--pronounced just like Oscar Meyer's famous product...Both our children HATED this name, for fairly obvious reasons. Both of them switched informally to Jennings when I did--not that they don't love their dad, but Jennings doesn't have quite the tease factor Weiner does....although it's still their legal name, jennings got them through school with fewer hurt feelings, I know. Anyway, the card made me laugh--and then wonder. If the Hokey Pokey IS what it's all about, I'm in big trouble. I've always had difficutly following directions!
Be Blessed!
KJ

Mistyrose as Guest Designer and A Couple of Winners!

2011-04-25T00:01:00.007-04:00

Hello, All! I hope you had a truly Blessed and Peaceful Easter!
Today, I have the marvelously talented Mistyrose as Guest Designer. If you haven't checked out her wonderful blog, Sweet Magnolia Rose, take a few minutes when you've finished up here and stop over. I promise, you're going to be so impressed and amazed! So, here she is...the one and only Mistyrose!

"Hi Everyone,
What a wonderful time to enjoy visiting with friends. Spring has finally Bloomed. As I sit here in my cozy room….. I am watching the rain wash away the frozen memories of winter while the warming breezes delicately hugs all of God's creations. I am so happy to be a part of Karel's Design Team. She has keep things fun and interesting with her chosen themes. This month's challenge was toadally Fun!!!

For my design team spot light, I decide to go old school. I am sure you remember these books growing up? Right!!!! Or even the cartoons :0) Either way they were toadally fun for me. This card was really fun to make. Enjoy your day!!! Hope to see you at our Toadally Blog Hop.Big Hugs to all, Mistyrose"

I have a couple of winners to announce...the first is from Laura's Butterflies and Blogs Birthday Blog Hop...I have some butterfly embellishments and a Stardust Glitter Pen for Comment # 31, chosen by Randy, at random.org. Sger said, "I love little Tilda being a butterfly, your card is so pretty.
Smiles! Sher"
I'll be notifying Sher of her win via email.
The other winner is from this weekend's Toadally Frogs Blog Hop. The winner of the Magnolia Tilda Stamp and Tim Holtz stamp pad was chosen by Randy, over at random.org. First, he selected number 1, which means the comment came from Saturday. Then, he chose number 18, Lisa from Paper Butterflies! She said, " Great cards! Thanks for letting me participate in your hop. Now off to see what everyone else has created!" I'll be letting Lisa know via email that she's the winner.
This is an exciting week---wonderful Guest Designers from My Design Team, as well as two blog hops this weekend--my first with Paper Tree House, in the Fruit of The Spirit Hop...I'm so excited to be a part of this wonderful Christian Hop group. The other is Kathryn's wonderful Mom's Day Hop--just in time for me to make something wonderful for Mama. I hope you'll be able to join me in them--tons of fun, Faith and fantastic crafters! Be Blessed!

Toadally Frogs Blog Hop Day 2

2011-04-24T00:01:00.006-04:00

“Welcome, happy morning!” age to age shall say:

“Hell today is vanquished, Heav’n is won today!”
Lo! the dead is living, God forevermore!
Him, their true Creator, all His works adore!" Blessed Easter to you all!!

Welcome to Day 2 of the Toadally Frogs Blog Hop! I am your host, and I am so happy to have you here! The idea behind this was just to have fun--and what could be more fun than Projects made by incredible crafters featuring those ribbity little cuties, frogs and toads? I hope you have a marvelous time--and that you'll leave comments on all the stops along the way--you know we want to know what you think! There's some blog candy to be had, as well, so make sure you check each blog to see how to be eligible to win.

Frogs and toads played a large part in my son's life when he was a boy. He was one of those little boys who would rather run than walk, rather climb than stay on the ground and could get out of almost any restraint without breaking a sweat. He climbed out of his crib at 8 months (taking down a wall of shelves with him), required two baby gates, one on top of the other, to keep him contained, and was done with the stroller before he could walk---he could undo the fastening before he could say mama. Once, when he was about 5, and we were fishing (and he could sit still for this! Go figure!!), he saw a bunch of tadpoles under a log across the stream. He decided to take the *short*way to get at them...but neglected to notice the water in the way...we went home with no fish, but a jar full of tadpoles and one very wet little boy.

These frogs aren't worried at all about getting wet! I used SCAL and scraps from my scrap heap to make them...and then mounted them on a piece of pale blue cardstock I dry embossed with the Tiny Bubbles Folder and my Cuttlebug. I then mounted them all on a piece of yellow cardstock I folded to make an A2 card (4.25 x 5.5). I added a tiny green bow from a package by Martha Stewart. The inside of the card says, "I TOADALLY Love You".

Now, for the candy!! I have this great Magnolia Stamp and a Tim Holtz Distressed Ink Pad in Shabby Shutters (green) up for grabs this time around. Just leave a comment here, along with your email (in the safe ksjennings at gmail dot com format), letting me know how you REALLY feel about frogs and toads! On Monday, I'll ask Randy, over at random.org, to select a day and a comment number. I'll let the winner know by email, so make sure you leave it--otherwise he'll have to choose another winner! that's it--easy-peasy!

From here, you should head on over to Celeste's incredible blog, Touched By A Butterfly. I know she's got an amzingly fun project for you!
Here is the rest of the list, just in case you need to start and stop along the way. Enjoy yourself--and be blessed! He Is Risen! Alleluia!
1. Karelj at One By One The Flamingos Are Stealing My Sanity   http://karelj.blogspot.com/ ME!

2. Celeste at Touched By a Butterfly   http://www.touchedbyabutterfly.blogspot.com/
3. Michelle Petrovich at Peanut Butter and Jelly Designs   http://peanutbutterandjellydesigns.blogspot.com/
4. Belinda Kersey at Queen Bee’s Musings at   http://www.queenbeesmusings.blogspot.com/
5. Cali Romero at Calie’s Creative Corner at   http://www.caliescreativecorner.blogspot.com/
6. Nicolette Simpson at Beyond Scrapping   http://www.beyondscrapin.blogspot.com/
7. Bonnie Cantu at A Scrap Above at   http://ascrapabove.blogspot.com/
8. Lisa Gorlewski at Lisa’s Paper Butterflies at   http://lisaspaperbutterflies.blogspot.com/
9. Jamie at Glitter, Paper, Stamps, Oh My!   http://jamieisacraftymomma.blogspot.com/
10. Diane Davison at Crafting This Moment at   http://craftingthismoment.blogspot.com/
11. Krista at   http://www.scrapaleupagus.blogspot.com/
12. Gina at Gina Thornton Stamping   http://ginathorntonstamping.blogspot.com/
13. Stephenie at SS Crafter at   http://www.sscrafter.blogspot.com/
14. Rebecca Maddux at Creations With Becka at   http://www.creationswithbecka.blogspot.com/
15. Kathryn at Creations By Kathryn at   http://wamfamily.blogspot.com/
16. Summer and Jennifer at The Cricut Diaries at   http://www.cricutdiaries.blogspot.com/
17. Mistyrose at Sweet Magnolia Rose at   http://sweetmagnoliarose.blogspot.com/
18. Melissa Allore at Disney Dreamer Designs at   http://www.disneydreamerdesigns.blogspot.com/
19. Patti Hurlburt at Short ‘N Scrappy at   http://www.shortnscrappy.com/
20. Colleen McCauley at Col’s Creative Corner at   http://scrappycol.blogspot.com/
21. Janice Anello at Cricut Confessions at   http://www.cricutconfessions.com/
22. Leah Pagliaroli at Leah’s Card Designs at   http://leahscarddesigns.blogspot.com/
23. Audrey Roseman at Life Is Beautiful at   http://audreyscardsbydesign.blogspot.com/
24. Ellen Jarvis at Card Monkey at   http://www.cardmonkey-business.blogspot.com/
25. Mallika Kejriwal at Miss Not So Good With Words at http://www.missnotsogoodwithwords.blogspot.com/
26. Inga Klaus at Momma Hobbit Creations at   http://mommahobbit.blogspot.com/
27. Brynn Thornburgh at Flair and Frills Creativity http://www.flairandfrillscreativity.blogspot.com/
28. Kristal Andrews at Getting at   http://www.gettingcricky.com/
29. Monica Edwards at Scraps To Treasures at  www.http//scraps2treasure.blogspot.com

Toadally Frogs Blog Hop Day 1

2011-04-23T00:01:00.024-04:00

Welcome to Day 1 of the Toadally Frogs Blog Hop! I am your host, and I am so happy to have you here! The idea behind this was just to have fun--and what could be more fun than Projects made by incredible crafters featuring those ribbity little cuties, frogs and toads? I hope you have a marvelous time--and that you'll leave comments on all the stops along the way--you know we want to know what you think! There's some blog candy to be had, as well, so make sure you check each blog to see how to be eligible to win.
I have a sort or grudging fondness for frogs and toads, mostly due to my son and his exploits with them as a child. He was a real *boy's boy*, and spent much of his time outside, getting muddy and grimey...and, more often than not, bringing home a frog, a snake or some other critter that really would have rather been left alone. One memorable day, he stuck a frog in his pocket to bring home and forgot about it...do you know what happens when a frog goes through the washing machine with hot water and bleach? I won't go into details, other than to tell you that Clorox will get ANYTHING white.
I'll have two projects--one today, and a new one up tomorrow--but have only one blog candy for both...see the details about this after my project....

Most of us love Action Wobbles--I love them so much I figured out how to make my own! (You can check out my March 9, 2011 post to find out how.) When I found this little guy on my Live Simply Cricut Lite Cartridge, I knew he'd be perfect to use a wobble on. I cut him, with all his layers, out of scraps from my scrap heap. I love how the two patterned papers make him look more dimensional! He's mounted on a wobble, which is mounted on a piece of dark blue shimmer paper from the DCWV Shimmer Stack, whic is then mounted on a 6 X 6 square white card I got at Michael's (for 8 cents for a pack of 8!) after Christmas. The inside says, "Have a TOADALLY great birthday!" I will send this to one of my many nephews.

Now, for the candy!! I have this great Magnolia Stamp and a Tim Holtz Distressed Ink Pad in Shabby Shutters (green) up for grabs this time around. Just leave a comment here, along with your email (in the safe ksjennings at gmail dot com format), letting me know how you REALLY feel about frogs and toads! On Monday, I'll ask Randy, over at random.org, to select a day and a comment number. I'll let the winner know by email, so make sure you leave it--otherwise he'll have to choose another winner! that's it--easy-peasy!
From here, you should head on over to Celeste's incredible blog, Touched By A Butterfly. I know she's got an amzingly fun project for you!
Here is the rest of the list, just in case you need to start and stop along the way. Enjoy yourself, and keep in mind that *He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried, and the third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father; --and be ye blessed!
1. Karelj at One By One The Flamingos Are Stealing My Sanity http://karelj.blogspot.com/ ME!
2. Celeste at Touched By a Butterfly http://www.touchedbyabutterfly.blogspot.com/
3. Michelle Petrovich at Peanut Butter and Jelly Designs http://peanutbutterandjellydesigns.blogspot.com/
4. Belinda Kersey at Queen Bee’s Musings at http://www.queenbeesmusings.blogspot.com/
5. Cali Romero at Calie’s Creative Corner at http://www.caliescreativecorner.blogspot.com/
6. Nicolette Simpson at Beyond Scrapping http://www.beyondscrapin.blogspot.com/
7. Bonnie Cantu at A Scrap Above at http://ascrapabove.blogspot.com/
8. Lisa Gorlewski at Lisa’s Paper Butterflies at http://lisaspaperbutterflies.blogspot.com/
9. Jamie at Glitter, Paper, Stamps, Oh My! http://jamieisacraftymomma.blogspot.com/
10. Diane Davison at Crafting This Moment at http://craftingthismoment.blogspot.com/
11. Krista at http://www.scrapaleupagus.blogspot.com/
12. Gina at Gina Thornton Stamping http://ginathorntonstamping.blogspot.com/
13. Stephenie at SS Crafter at http://www.sscrafter.blogspot.com/
14. Rebecca Maddux at Creations With Becka at http://www.creationswithbecka.blogspot.com/
15. Kathryn at Creations By Kathryn at http://wamfamily.blogspot.com/
16. Summer and Jennifer at The Cricut Diaries at http://www.cricutdiaries.blogspot.com/
17. Mistyrose at Sweet Magnolia Rose at http://sweetmagnoliarose.blogspot.com/
18. Melissa Allore at Disney Dreamer Designs at http://www.disneydreamerdesigns.blogspot.com/
19. Patti Hurlburt at Short ‘N Scrappy at http://www.shortnscrappy.com/
20. Colleen McCauley at Col’s Creative Corner at http://scrappycol.blogspot.com/
21. Janice Anello at Cricut Confessions at http://www.cricutconfessions.com/
22. Leah Pagliaroli at Leah’s Card Designs at http://leahscarddesigns.blogspot.com/
23. Audrey Roseman at Life Is Beautiful at http://audreyscardsbydesign.blogspot.com/
24. Ellen Jarvis at Card Monkey at http://www.cardmonkey-business.blogspot.com/
25. Mallika Kejriwal at Miss Not So Good With Words at http://www.missnotsogoodwithwords.blogspot.com/
26. Inga Klaus at Momma Hobbit Creations at http://mommahobbit.blogspot.com/
27. Brynn Thornburgh at Flair and Frills Creativity http://www.flairandfrillscreativity.blogspot.com/
28. Kristal Andrews at Getting at http://www.gettingcricky.com/

Where Is Spring?

2011-04-22T00:01:00.004-04:00

Where is Spring this year? I can tell you, it's not in Hilton, NY! My daffodills are lovely--but it's hard to tell through the rain, snow and fog we've been having!
I wanted to share with you a project by Tami--she made it for the April Challenge, but, for whatever reason, I didn't get it until too late--but it's so gorgeous, it deserved an airing!

It's her Art impressions frog, with butterfly MS punch and MS twig and floral punch. Colored with copics. Paper is Basic Grey Going Green.

I also wanted to share a cute froggy project I did when I was a-bed with the flu bug---I am slowly working through my children's *professional* photos...you can tell how far being I am when you learn the baby in this photo is now 26! Ack! Anyway, he grew up loving frogs and taods, so this darling paper by Cloud 9 Designs was perfect. Part of my challenge here is that I don't want to cut the actual photographs...so I'm doing all the frames on top of them, and using temp tape to hold the pics to the back. I know they'll come off eventually, but I just can't cut the pics. So, I simply used George and Basic Shapes to cut a circle in the paper, and adhereed his cute little face right behind it. The frog was cut at 4 inches, using Boys Will Be Boys. I cut all the layers, using scraps from my scrap heap. I cut an extra of the shadow to use for the journaling. The letters were also cut using Boys Will Be Boys, at 2 inches. I adhered everything with my Zig 2 way pen and my ATG. I used my white Imaginice Gel Pen to add stitching. I used some braided, beaded trim I got at WalMart ages ago to circle the frame, as I hate raw edges. Now, where did that red hair and those blue eyes go? They're now dark brown and hazel....*sigh* Not that he's not the handsomest man in the world, but where did my baby go?
One plus to Spring being absent? The hubs may wait a week to shave the winter beard! YAY!
Be Blessed today, and remember--you and I helped put Him on that cross--*like a rose, trampled on the ground...He took the fall...and thought of me, above all.*

Jamie Is Our Guest Designer Today!!

2011-04-21T00:01:00.009-04:00

If you are here for Laura's Butterflies and Blogs Birthday Blog Hop, please scroll down one post!
Life seems to be happening to most of the members of my design team--and I'm right there in the pool with them! Weather damage and roof repairs..a stomach bug...wandering alligators...re-doing the studio....many things to take to donation sites....and it's SNOWING again today--and sticking! Isn't life grand?

Anyway, Jamie sent this in and I think it's wonderful, all things considered...
I just love the heart here...frogs are so loveable! This guy could be my Prince Charming any day! CS is from Recollections. PP is from American Crafts. Frog is from Paisley and the heart is from George and Basic shapes, I believe. Ribbon is from The Ribbon Retreat.
And let's all pray that things get better for everyone on the OBO DT! Be Blessed!

Butterflies and Blogs Birthday Hop

2011-04-21T00:01:00.007-04:00

Hello! Happy Birthday to Laura!! And welcome to the Butterflies and Blogs Birthday Hop, hosted by the wonderful Laura Cline! If you just arrived from Lezlye's you are in the right place. If you just came by to see what's up One One By One, and want to do the hop, head on over to Laura's to start at the beginning.
I have to say, butterflies don't usually enter into my design projects. While I love them and think they are beautiful, I just don't used them much, for some reason. I do have some stamps, though...and I got them all out and spread out on my desk...and I didn't like any of them for this. So, I looked through my other stamps and found my Magnolia Tilda Butterfly stamp....that I think I'd only used about twice--once for a stamped image swap and once for a card. Perfect! Except...she wasn't big enough. So, I made a careful, clean image and scanned her. Then I printed her at 4X6 inches. I know this is probably against the rules, and I promise never to do it again....but I love how she turned out.

I colored my Tilda with Copics, and added some sparkle with my Stardust Glitter Pen. Then, some lavender bling was added to her wings. The 5 X7 inch white card base was stamped with a pale blue butterfly from Pink By Design's Fly Away With Me stamp set, using Whispers ink. I made a 4.25 X 5.5 inch panel, stamping it with another butterfly from the same set, using pinkish purple Whispers ink. The Birthday wishes sentiment (I don't know who made it) is stamped and inked in the same ink. Three of the lavendar rhinestones were added to the sentiment, then everything was adhered to the card base with my ATG. Now, who to send her flying off to?

The blog candy I have for this blog are some fun butterfly embellishments and a Stardust Clear Glitter Pen. You don't need to be a follower of my blog to win, but I'd love it if you'd join me! To win, just leave a comment, with your email (please use the safe ksjennings at gmail dot com format). Randy, from random.org, will choose a winner tomorrow. I will notify you personally if you are the winner. If you don't leave and email, you can't win...

Now, you should head over to Meighen for the rest of the hop. Here's the entire list, in case you get lost. Enjoy, and Be Blessed!

Laura- http://www.makinprettythings.com/

Melanie- http://www.scrappymel.blogspot.com/

Tammy- http://www.scrappincritters.blogspot.com/

Nicole- http://www.canadiannickelscrapn.blogspot.com/

Theresa- http://www.thescrapbookingqueen.com/

Alina- http://www.neverstopscrapping.blogspot.com/

Trish- http://www.techiniquesbytrish.blogspot.com/

Libia- http://www.beachcreationsforyou.blogspot.com/

Nicolette- http://www.beyondscrappin.blogspot.com/

Sarah- http://www.liveloveandscrap.blogspot.com/

Pam- http://www.pammejo-scrapbookflair.blogspot.com/

Corri- http://www.buglvr.blogspot.com/

Paula- http://www.scrapyourworld.blogspot.com/

Jennifer- http://www.creativearmywife.blogspot.com/

Bonnie- http://www.ascrapabove.blogspot.com/

Linda- http://www.krazyquilling.com/

Jennifer N.- http://www.craftyfulgardens.blogspot.com/

Liz- http://www.lizspaperloft.com/

Anita- http://www.anitaandbugs.blogspot.com/

Denise- http://www.deesdesignsfrommyheart.blogspot.com/

Lezlye- http://www.lezlyes.blogspot.com/

Karel- http://www.karelj.blogspot.com/ Youe Are Here!

Meighen- http://www.scrappin3rdeeschik.com/ Go Here Next!

Jessica B.- http://www.thatzuneek.blogspot.com/

Lauren- http://www.laurenscreative.com/

Jess- http://www.kinderstampo.com/

Bonnie- http://www.pinkbonbons.blogspot.com/

Nancy - blog.fancywithnancy.com

Momo- http://www.madebymomo.blogspot.com/

Melissa DT Guest Spot Today!!

2011-04-20T00:01:00.004-04:00

Good Wednesday, everyone! Today, as Guest designer, we have the marvelous Melissa, from Disney Dreamer Designs! She has another toadally wonderful project to share with you! Enjoy!!

Hello everyone! It's me, Melissa from Disney Dreamer Designs coming to you with my design team project for April.

The Frog was cut from the Boys Will Be Boys Cricut cartridge. This card was one of a set of 10 that I made as a donation to our school auction that took place at the end of March. I'm happy to say that not only did the lot of cards make a nice bit of money, but a crafty friend of mine is the one who won them which was a nice little bonus! If you would like further details and more pictures of the card, I would love to have you stop over at my blog and say "hello" http://www.disneydreamerdesigns.blogspot.com/ . Have a wonderful day!

Leah DT Guest Spot Today!

2011-04-19T00:01:00.002-04:00

Hi Everyone!! Hi, it's me Leah. I'm so honored to be a part of Karel's Design Team. Thank you for having me Karel. I have a whole new outlook on cards now. I love to explore outside the box. I have done that with many of the challenges that Karel had for us. The theme this month is "Toadally Frogs". I wasn't sure what to do but then I thought of something because I have an Anniversary coming up for someone and thought I'd
send them this fun, but cute card.

I used an 8 1/2x11" piece of cardstock folded to legal size envelope size. I then took another piece then cut it a little smaller to fit just inside. I then used a piece of decorative paper over the top with some fun ribbon that I had in stock. The frogs are cut at 2.5" I then used pieces from Cricut Paper Doll Dress Up for the bride and groom pieces. My Mother in Law and hubby are celebrating their 1st Anniversary. I can't believe it!!! Congratulations!!!

Blog Hop Winner and Project

2011-04-18T00:01:00.003-04:00

Welcome! I hope you enjoyed the 39 and Glamourous and the Cricut Card Fairy Blog Hops this weekend! I had so much fun making projects for them...and hopping along to see all the other great crafters and ideas! I have one set of Blog Candy to announce the winner of--from the 39 and Glamourpus Hop. I asked randy, from Random.org, to select a day (1-3) and a comment number from that day. He selected Sunday and number 3. Congratulations to Amy who said, "I always love to see your name on a blog hop because I know there's bound to be a fun post! Love your thoughts today about glamour and you are so right! Love the card too, btw and the chance to win! Thanks for always having such a great blog."

XO ~ Amy Jo (follower) http://lv2scrapandfibrofacts.blogspot.com/
I'll be notifying Amy by email of her win.
I have one last card from the Card Fairy Hop---I made this using SCAL, so felt weird about having it in a Cricut Hop...so here she is. I made her as a birthday card for my mama, who will be 85 on the 30th! Happy Birthday, Mama!! The inside of the card says "Make a Wish!" I just thought she was perfect for my Mama, who has no illusions about what age does to a fairy! Enjoy, and Be Blessed!

Kathryn DT Guest Spot

2011-04-17T00:06:00.002-04:00

Today, we have a marvelous project by Kathryn, another fantastic DT member! She always does amazing work---and this is no exception! I just love her frogs 'n gators! You can find more of Kathryn's work at http://www.creationswithkathryn.com/

Cricut Card Fairy Blog Hop Day 3

2011-04-17T00:05:00.003-04:00

If you are looking for the 39 and Glamourous! Blog hop, please scroll down one post.
Hello! Welcome to the Cricut Card Fairy Blog Hop! This weekend, we are celebrating the Cricut Card Fairies!! We turned THREE YEARS OLD on Thursday!! YAY! You should have arrived from Gina, at Gina Thornton Stamping. If you just came by one by one, or were looking for the 39 and Glamourous Blog Hop, you can do one of two things. For the 39 and Glamourous Hop, just scroll down a post. If you want to begin the Card fairy Hop at the beginning, you can head over to Crystal at Crystal's Crafty Creations.
You may be thinking, "What are Cricut Card Fairies?" Well I am here to tell you! We are a group of crafting volunteers who make and send cards to those who need a boost. We send Birthday Cards, Sympathy Cards, Get Well Cards, Thinking of You Cards....well, you get the idea. To date we have sent over 750 missions all over the globe. That is over 750 smiles and hugs via cards. Isn't that amazing? I became a Fairy in 2009 because I am on disability, but still felt the need to give back to others. I can't do physical volunteer work, but I can make and mail cards. If you are interested in becoming a Card Fairy, please email our fearless leader, Crystal at cricutcardfairyarmy@gmail.com with your cricut messageboard name and the email at which you wish to receive missions. Crystal handles all the requests, in addition to being a wife, mommy and Army Veteran. She's truly amazing, and I'd like to thank her for all she does.

The image for this is from the internet. If you google *fairy coloring pages* under images, you'll have hundreds of fairies to choose from. I colored him with Copics, Prismas, and Glitter Pens. He's mounted on green cardstock, and on some gorgeous yellow hand stitched paper I've been hoarding. I used foam dimensionals to mount him on the yellow.

I wish I had blog candy for this hop, but I'm under a strict spending moritorium, and just couldn't do it this time. There is candy on the 39 and Glamourous Hop, however.

When you've finished here, please go back to Crystal's Blog and let her know what you think of the hop.
Here is the entire hop list, in case you need it. Be Blessed.

Crystal aka Caitlynsmommy   http://crystalscraftycreations.blogspot.com/

Larelyn   http://www.handmadefromtheheart-designsbylarelyn.blogspot.com/

Rachelle   http://www.rachelle-rachellesplace.blogspot.com/

Shawnee http://quiverofangels.blogspot.com/

RachelM http://trickut-rachelscrafts.blogspot.com/

Sheryl http://sherylscraftingcorner.blogspot.com/

Tami http://sunsetami.wordpress.com/

Jenn http://craftingwithjenn.blogspot.com/

Brenda http://www.beejaysstudio.blogspot.com/

Gina http://ginathorntonstamping.blogspot.com/

Karel http://www.kareljcreations.com/

Crystal aka Caitlynsmommy   http://crystalscraftycreations.blogspot.com/

39 and Glamourous! Blog Hop Day 3

2011-04-17T00:01:00.006-04:00

Happy Birthday to Bonnie! She's truly 39 and Glamourous!! Welcome to Day 3 of the hop to help her celebrate!! Bonnie is a friend, and a member of my One By One Design Team--I can't think of anyone else I'd rather honor with these fun projects!!
If you have just come from Nancy, at her wonderful blog, you're in the right place. If you stopped by to see what's up on One By One, and want to join in the fun, head over to Bonnie's Blog, A Scrap Above to begin at the beginning.

Not only us Bonnie a beautiful 39, she's also a creative member of my Design Team. She's always got a new and fun way to make projects, and I'm so honored to be her friend. To help her celebrate, I jumped right on this hop--and I'm having a blast! It's a super fun hop, and, to make it even more special, , Bonnie got some wonderful folks to sponsor the hop---including:
I Got Lucky Scraps
Kich N Bleus
Shelley Bean Stamps
Tickled Pink Stamps
Scrappin Hens
Paper Craft World
Scrappin Good Time (Retreat stay, MUST complete hop and challenge)
There will be a challenge at the end of the hop. To participate, you will need to hop along to ALL the blogs and "look" for challenge clues. Please note that they will not be on every blog. There are 13 clues randomly placed on 13 blogs. As you find these, write them down as they will help you with the CHALLENGE.. At the end of the hop Lisa will tell you what to do with these clues...
Then link your complete challenge project by due date and add it to the Mr. Linky on http://ascrapabove.blogspot.com/, this is the "final" step to be in the drawing for the Scrapbook retreat stay. (info on Bonnie's Blog)
In my mind, no one was more glamourous than Ginger Rogers...who danced her way to fame in the arms of Fred Astaire. As far as fashion is concerned,Ginger had it all over Fred, who seemed to be always in one of those black and white monkey suits, even after movies went to Cinemascope. But Ginger--even when she played a depression-era babe, fighting her way to the typing pool in Manhattan---had adorable and chic clothes...and shoes, a bag and gloves to match!! Men may complain about wearing a tie, but I'd love to hear one of them after a day in heels.

The sentiment on this card is one of my favorites! This is a 5 X7 inch card, with the base covered with pink glitter paper from JoAnn's. The shoe, cut using the Happily Ever After Cricut Cartridge, at 5 inches. The paper is from the DCWV's Black Currant Stack. The pink paper is from my scrap heap, punched with a Fiskar's 3 inch scalloped circle punch. I have no idea who made the stamp (sorry!), but it's stamped and inked with Dew Drop ink.

My blog candy for this hop is all three of the cards you'll be seeing for the three days, along with a surprise element I used to create each one. How to win? Just become a follower and leave a comment here. If you left additional comments on Friday and yesterday, you'll have three chances to win! Please make sure you leave me your email (in the safe, ksjennings at gmail dot com format, please) so I can notify you personally if you've won. Randy, from random.org will choose the winner on Monday, April 18.
Now, you should head over to Jenny's Blog, Crazy About Cricut. She always has something that's the bee's knees going on! If you get lost, here's the whole line-up to help out. Enjoy the rest of the hop--and Be Blessed!

Bonnie   http://ascrapabove.blogspot.com/

Laura   http://makinprettythings.com/

Vickie   http://www.vickiesscrapbookingandtidbits.blogspot.com/

Shelley   http://heartstring-designs.blogspot.com/

Janie   http://typicalscrapbooker.com/

Jess   http://kinderstampo.com/

Jennifer   http://creativearmywife.blogspot.com/

Jessica   http://thatzuneek.blogspot.com/

Alina   http://neverstopscrapping.blogspot.com/

Shannon http://purplelionpaper.com/blog

Paula   http://morethanfavors.blogspot.com/

Christel   http://onescrappinsista.blogspot.com/

Norma   http://pinkblingcrafter.blogspot.com/

Nancy   http://fancywithnancy.blogspot.com/

Karel   http://karelj.blogspot.com/ You Are Here!

Jenny   http://crazyaboutcricut.blogspot.com/

Olga   http://www.threebutterflykisses.com/

Melin   http://cookingwithcricut.com/

Yolie   http://www.justyolie.com/

Ellen   http:///lifeatwalnuthill.blogspot.com/

Margie   http://tatersplace-mjstitch.blogspot.com/

Kristi   http://devosmommy.blogspot.com/

Holly   http://kricutkween.blogspot.com/

Abby   http://scrapbookaholicbyabby.com/

Nicole   http://www.creationsbymommy.com/

Linda   http://krazyquilling.com/

Jenny   http://jennyplace26.blogspot.com/

Becky   http://beckscricards.blogspot.com/

Kris   http://ooohlalascraps.com/

Stampin Dymonz   http://www.stampindymonz.com/

Meighen   http://scrappin3rdeeschik.blogspot.com/

Corri   http://buglvr.blogspot.com/

Pam   http://pammejo-scrapbookflair.blogspot.com/

Faith   http://faithfulecreations.wordpress.com/

Angie   http://angiespaperpassion.blogspot.com/

Lisa http://bitbythecricutbug.blogspot.com/

Cricut Card Fairy Blog Hop Day 2

2011-04-16T00:05:00.003-04:00

If you are looking for the 39 and Glamourous! Blog Hop, please scroll down a post.
Hello! Welcome to the Cricut Card Fairy Blog Hop! This weekend, we are celebrating the Cricut Card Fairies!! We turned THREE YEARS OLD on Thursday!! YAY! You should have arrived from Gina, at Gina Thornton Stamping. If you just came by one by one, or were looking for the 39 and Glamourous Blog Hop, you can do one of two things. For the 39 and Glamourous Hop, just scroll down a post. If you want to begin the Card fairy Hop at the beginning, you can head over to Crystal at Crystal's Crafty Creations.

You may be thinking, "What are Cricut Card Fairies?" Well I am here to tell you! We are a group of crafting volunteers who make and send cards to those who need a boost. We send Birthday Cards, Sympathy Cards, Get Well Cards, Thinking of You Cards....well, you get the idea. To date we have sent over 750 missions all over the globe. That is over 750 smiles and hugs via cards. Isn't that amazing? I became a Fairy in 2009 because I am on disability, but still felt the need to give back to others. I can't do physical volunteer work, but I can make and mail cards. If you are interested in becoming a Card Fairy, please email our fearless leader, Crystal at cricutcardfairyarmy@gmail.com with your cricut messageboard name and the email at which you wish to receive missions. Crystal handles all the requests, in addition to being a wife, mommy and Army Veteran. She's truly amazing, and I'd like to thank her for all she does

This little cutie is a stamp I got when I was on the Design Team for My Grafico. I just love her. I colored her with Copics, Prismas and my Stardust Glitter Pen and mounted her on several different shimmer and glitter scraps from DCWV. I added a big, poufy blue organza bow.

I wish I had blog candy for this hop, but I'm under a strict spending moritorium, and just couldn't do it this time. There is candy on the 39 and Glamourous Hop, however.

When you've finished here, please go back to Crystal's Blog and let her know what you think of the hop.
Here is the entire hop list, in case you need it. Be Blessed.

Crystal aka Caitlynsmommy http://crystalscraftycreations.blogspot.com/

Larelyn http://www.handmadefromtheheart-designsbylarelyn.blogspot.com/

Rachelle http://www.rachelle-rachellesplace.blogspot.com/

Shawnee http://quiverofangels.blogspot.com/

RachelM http://trickut-rachelscrafts.blogspot.com/

Sheryl http://sherylscraftingcorner.blogspot.com/

Tami http://sunsetami.wordpress.com/

Jenn http://craftingwithjenn.blogspot.com/

Brenda http://www.beejaysstudio.blogspot.com/

Gina http://ginathorntonstamping.blogspot.com/

Karel http://www.kareljcreations.com/

Crystal aka Caitlynsmommy http://crystalscraftycreations.blogspot.com/

39 and Glamourous! Blog Hop Day 2

2011-04-16T00:01:00.009-04:00

Happy 39th Birthday to Bonnie! And welcome to Day 2 of the 39 and Glamourous Blog Hop in honor of her! If you arrived from Nancy, you are in the right place. If you just came by One By One, and want to start the hop at the beginning, head over to A Scrap Above to start at the start!
Not only us Bonnie a beautiful 39, she's also a creative member of my Design Team. She's always got a new and fun way to make projects, and I'm so honored to be her friend. To help her celebrate, I jumped right on this hop--and I'm having a blast! It's a super fun hop, and, to make it even more special, , Bonnie got some wonderful folks to sponsor the hop---including:
I Got Lucky Scraps

Kich N Bleus
Shelley Bean Stamps
Tickled Pink Stamps
Scrappin Hens
Paper Craft World
Scrappin Good Time (Retreat stay, MUST complete hop and challenge)
There will be a challenge at the end of the hop. To participate, you will need to hop along to ALL the blogs and "look" for challenge clues. Please note that they will not be on every blog. There are 13 clues randomly placed on 13 blogs. As you find these, write them down as they will help you with the CHALLENGE.. At the end of the hop Lisa will tell you what to do with these clues...
Then link your complete challenge project by due date and add it to the Mr. Linky on http://ascrapabove.blogspot.com/, this is the "final" step to be in the drawing for the Scrapbook retreat stay. (info on Bonnie's Blog)
One of my favorite books to teach, back when I was bale to do that, was The Great Gatsby. I also taught U.S History, and would combine the two into a Roaringly Fun 1920s unit---those Flappers were among the most glamourous chick around! They'd rouge their knees, rool their stockings down and drive off in a fliver to a gin joint to do the Charlston! They were the cat's meow, kiddo! Here's my take on a fun Jazz Baby!

The shiny black background is from a DCWV stack, but I used the cover when I needed some lightweight chipboard, so I can't tell you which one. I made the card 5 X 7 inches, so the details on my SCAL cut would be large enough to see! The shiny black paper is adhered with my ATG to the base. All the papers are from my scrap heap, but I know the purple is from the DCWV Shimmer stack. I made her bows from narrow satin ribbon form JoAnn's.. They were stuck on with Glue Dots. I used bling from the dollar bin at ACMoore's for her choker and bracelets. I accented her skirt with a purple glitter pen. She was adhered to the card base with Vario Tabs.
My blog candy for this hop is all three of the cards you'll be seeing for the three days, along with a surprise element I used to create each one. How to win? Just become a follower and leave a comment here. If you come back and leave additional comments tomorrow and Sunday, you'll have three chances to win! Please make sure you leave me your email (in the safe, ksjennings at gmail dot com format, please) so I can notify you personally if you've won. Randy, from random.org will choose the winner on Monday, April 18.
Now, you should head over to Jenny's Blog, Crazy About Cricut. She always has something that's the bee's knees going on! If you get lost, here's the whole line-up to help out. Enjoy the rest of the hop--and Be Blessed!
Bonnie   http://ascrapabove.blogspot.com/

Laura   http://makinprettythings.com/

Vickie   http://www.vickiesscrapbookingandtidbits.blogspot.com/

Shelley   http://heartstring-designs.blogspot.com/

Janie   http://typicalscrapbooker.com/

Jess   http://kinderstampo.com/

Jennifer   http://creativearmywife.blogspot.com/

Jessica   http://thatzuneek.blogspot.com/

Alina   http://neverstopscrapping.blogspot.com/

Shannon   http://purplelionpaper.com/blog

Paula   http://morethanfavors.blogspot.com/

Christel   http://onescrappinsista.blogspot.com/

Norma   http://pinkblingcrafter.blogspot.com/

Nancy   http://fancywithnancy.blogspot.com/

Karel   http://karelj.blogspot.com/ You Are Here!

Jenny   http://crazyaboutcricut.blogspot.com/

Olga   http://www.threebutterflykisses.com/

Melin   http://cookingwithcricut.com/

Yolie   http://www.justyolie.com/

Ellen   http:///lifeatwalnuthill.blogspot.com/

Margie   http://tatersplace-mjstitch.blogspot.com/

Kristi   http://devosmommy.blogspot.com/

Holly   http://kricutkween.blogspot.com/

Abby   http://scrapbookaholicbyabby.com/

Nicole   http://www.creationsbymommy.com/

Linda   http://krazyquilling.com/

Jenny   http://jennyplace26.blogspot.com/

Becky   http://beckscricards.blogspot.com/

Kris   http://ooohlalascraps.com/

Stampin Dymonz   http://www.stampindymonz.com/

Meighen   http://scrappin3rdeeschik.blogspot.com/

Corri   http://buglvr.blogspot.com/

Pam   http://pammejo-scrapbookflair.blogspot.com/

Faith   http://faithfulecreations.wordpress.com/

Angie   http://angiespaperpassion.blogspot.com/

Lisa   http://bitbythecricutbug.blogspot.com/

Cricut Card Fairy Blog Hop Day 1

2011-04-15T00:05:00.009-04:00

If you are looking for the 39 and Glamourous! Blog Hop, please click here, or just scroll down one post.
Hello! Welcome to the Cricut Card Fairy Blog Hop! This weekend, we are celebrating the Cricut Card Fairies!! We turned THREE YEARS OLD on Thursday!! YAY! You should have arrived from Gina, at Gina Thornton Stamping. If you just came by one by one, or were looking for the 39 and Glamourous Blog Hop, you can do one of two things. For the 39 and Glamourous Hop, just scroll down a post. If you want to begin the Card fairy Hop at the beginning, you can head over to Crystal at Crystal's Crafty Creations.
You may be thinking, "What are Cricut Card Fairies?" Well I am here to tell you! We are a group of crafting volunteers who make and send cards to those who need a boost. We send Birthday Cards, Sympathy Cards, Get Well Cards, Thinking of You Cards....well, you get the idea. To date we have sent over 750 missions all over the globe. That is over 750 smiles and hugs via cards. Isn't that amazing? I became a Fairy in 2009 because I am on disability, but still felt the need to give back to others. I can't do physical volunteer work, but I can make and mail cards. If you are interested in becoming a Card Fairy, please email our fearless leader, Crystal at cricutcardfairyarmy@gmail.com with your cricut messageboard name and the email at which you wish to receive missions. Crystal handles all the requests, in addition to being a wife, mommy and Army Veteran. She's truly amazing, and I'd like to thank her for all she does.

For my first project, i made this charming Fairy Card. The stamp is from the internet (just google fairy coloring pages in images and you'll find TONS of fairies to choose from!) I colored her with Copics, Prismas and my Stardust Glitter Pen, then mounted her on scraps of purple paper from my scrap heap with foam dimensionals. I think I'd have added some trailing lavendar organza ribbons, if I'd had them, but I didn't.
I wish I had blog candy for this hop, but I'm under a strict spending moritorium, and just couldn't do it this time. There is candy on the 39 and Glamourous Hop, however.
When you've finished here, please go back to Crystal's Blog and let her know what you think of the hop.
Here is the entire hop list, in case you need it.

Crystal aka Caitlynsmommy http://crystalscraftycreations.blogspot.com/

Larelyn http://www.handmadefromtheheart-designsbylarelyn.blogspot.com/

Rachelle http://www.rachelle-rachellesplace.blogspot.com/

Shawnee http://quiverofangels.blogspot.com/

RachelM http://trickut-rachelscrafts.blogspot.com/

Sheryl http://sherylscraftingcorner.blogspot.com/

Tami http://sunsetami.wordpress.com/

Jenn http://craftingwithjenn.blogspot.com/

Brenda http://www.beejaysstudio.blogspot.com/

Gina http://ginathorntonstamping.blogspot.com/

Karel http://www.kareljcreations.com/

Crystal aka Caitlynsmommy http://crystalscraftycreations.blogspot.com/

39 and Glamourous! Blog Hop Day 1

2011-04-15T00:01:00.016-04:00

Happy Birthday to my good friend, Bonnie!! You look amazing--no one could ever take you for 39! Welcome to the 39 and Glamourous Blog Hop, celebrating Bonnie's Birthday! You should have arrived from Nancy and her incredible blog. If you just came to visit One By One, and want to do the entire hop, you can head over to A Scrap Above and begin at the begining.
To me, no one had more galmour than the women in the 20s, 30s and 40s. They dressed up to go anywhere--grocery shopping required a hat and stockings (with those sexy seams down the back!), dinner out meant a gown and a fur wrap and they danced in high heels! One of the most glamourous of all stars was the iconic Betty Boop, who, as one of the first *talkies* had a sexy little whisper to go with her legs, and her *Boop-Boop-A-Doop* was a come-hither line long before Bacall told Bogie to whistle.

Not only us Bonnie a beautiful 39, she's also a creative member of my Design Team. She's always got a new and fun way to make projects, and I'm so honored to be her friend. To help her celebrate, I jumped right on this hop--and I'm having a blast! It's a super fun hop, and, to make it even more special, , Bonnie got some wonderful folks to sponsor the hop---including:
I Got Lucky Scraps
Kich N Bleus
Shelley Bean Stamps
Tickled Pink Stamps
Scrappin Hens
Paper Craft World
Scrappin Good Time (Retreat stay, MUST complete hop and challenge)
There will be a challenge at the end of the hop. To participate, you will need to hop along to ALL the blogs and "look" for challenge clues. Please note that they will not be on every blog. There are 13 clues randomly placed on 13 blogs. As you find these, write them down as they will help you with the CHALLENGE.. At the end of the hop Lisa will tell you what to do with these clues...
Then link your complete challenge project by due date and add it to the Mr. Linky on http://ascrapabove.blogspot.com/, this is the "final" step to be in the drawing for the Scrapbook retreat stay. (info on Bonnie's Blog)

I made this a 5 X 7 inch card, since Betty needed to be cut larger than an A2 card could handle. The background is DCWV glitter paper in black, and the shiny gold letters are leftovers from another project. I used SCAL to create Betty, and cut her at 6 inches. I used scraps to cut her top layers, and put them on a shadow of black cardstock. Her garter and hatband are red rhinestones, set with my IRock. I adhered her to the glitter base with my ATG and my Zig 2-Way pen. Her mouth is just a tiny up-side-down heart of Christmas Red Stickles.

My blog candy for this hop is all three of the cards you'll be seeing for the three days, along with a surprise element I used to create each one. How to win? Just become a follower and leave a comment here. If you go back and leave a comment on yesterday's post, and leave an additional comment tomorrow, you'll have three chances to win! Please make sure you leave me your email (in the safe, ksjennings at gmail dot com format, please) so I can notify you personally if you've won. Randy, from random.org will choose the winner on Monday, April 18.
Now, you should head over to Jenny's Blog, Crazy About Cricut. She always has something that's the bee's knees going on! If you get lost, here's the whole line-up to help out. Enjoy the rest of the hop--and Be Blessed!
Bonnie   http://ascrapabove.blogspot.com/

Laura   http://makinprettythings.com/

Vickie   http://www.vickiesscrapbookingandtidbits.blogspot.com/

Shelley   http://heartstring-designs.blogspot.com/

Janie   http://typicalscrapbooker.com/

Jess   http://kinderstampo.com/

Jennifer   http://creativearmywife.blogspot.com/

Jessica   http://thatzuneek.blogspot.com/

Alina   http://neverstopscrapping.blogspot.com/

Shannon   http://purplelionpaper.com/blog

Paula   http://morethanfavors.blogspot.com/

Christel   http://onescrappinsista.blogspot.com/

Norma   http://pinkblingcrafter.blogspot.com/

Nancy   http://fancywithnancy.blogspot.com/

Karel   http://karelj.blogspot.com/ You Are Here

Jenny   http://crazyaboutcricut.blogspot.com/

Olga   http://www.threebutterflykisses.com/

Melin   http://cookingwithcricut.com/

Yolie   http://www.justyolie.com/

Ellen   http:///lifeatwalnuthill.blogspot.com/

Margie   http://tatersplace-mjstitch.blogspot.com/

Kristi   http://devosmommy.blogspot.com/

Holly   http://kricutkween.blogspot.com/

Abby   http://scrapbookaholicbyabby.com/

Nicole   http://www.creationsbymommy.com/

Linda   http://krazyquilling.com/

Jenny   http://jennyplace26.blogspot.com/

Becky   http://beckscricards.blogspot.com/

Kris   http://ooohlalascraps.com/

Stampin Dymonz   http://www.stampindymonz.com/

Meighen   http://scrappin3rdeeschik.blogspot.com/

Corri   http://buglvr.blogspot.com/

Pam   http://pammejo-scrapbookflair.blogspot.com/

Faith   http://faithfulecreations.wordpress.com/

Angie   http://angiespaperpassion.blogspot.com/

Lisa   http://bitbythecricutbug.blogspot.com/

Cards of Faith

2011-04-14T00:01:00.004-04:00

I have been so busy lately that it seems I haven't had time to work on my Faith Scrapping. I was reminded of this by being included in two groups, both of which have reminded me I need to slow down and not fill my days with things unless they are being done in His name.
So, I sat down, and made some Faith Based Cards. I used my Faith stamps by Pink By Design on the inside of them. They were all made with paper scraps and the Inspired Hearts Cricut Cartridge. I hope you like them. Be Blessed!!

Life and Two Winners!!

2011-04-13T00:01:00.003-04:00

Life sometimes gets in the way, which is what happened with today's Guest Design Team Member's Post. It seems like many people are being sidelined by a variety of things--so, I'll just say we're all hoping to get things together soon--and please pray for us all!
While I'm up and typing, I want to announce the winners from the Blog Hops over the weekend. For the My heart belongs to Daddy Hop, Randy from random.org chose number 11 on Sunday. Unfortuneately, this person didn't leave an email, so Randy chose number 7, Tamara, who said...

"Love your card! TFS!"
I'll be notifying Tamara of her prize by email.
And, the winner of the blog candy from the No Housework Blog , again chosen by Randy, is number 17 on Friday, Marcy S, who said, "I loved your project. Thanks for a chance to win. I have been a follower." I'll be notifying Marcy via email.
Congrats to both of the winners! Make sure you come back for the weekend's hops--one for the Cricut Card Fairies and one to help my friend Bonnie celebrate her 39th birthday!! Be Blessed!

Making Your Own Glue Dots and Other Money Savers

2011-04-12T00:01:00.003-04:00

Along with the rest of the nation, I am in a budget crunch. I don't care what the Government says, we don't have the money we used to, and we probably never will again. So, I've been looking for ways to save money in the biggest expense I generate--crafting supplies. Here are some of the ways I'm saving money---I'd love it if you'd leave a comment with one or two of the ways you're saving money in your crafting budget.
~ I learned how to make my own Glimmer Spray. See March 3, 2011 post
~I learned how to make my own Action Wobbles. See March 9, 2011 post.
~I am using my scrap heap more often. If the paper I need is small, I look before I cut!
~I am using less expensive adhesives, including making my own glue dots (more on this in a miunte!)
~ I am making more of my own embellishments, including things like paper flowers and beaded embellies. I'll have more on these in upcoming posts.
~ I purchased SCAL. I know all the pros and cons of this and sypathize with ProvoCraft--but cartridges are just plain too expensive, and I've purchased my last one, unless I find an amazing (under ten dollars) sale. Then, I'll stock up for prizes. If I can ever afford it, I'll purchase a different cutting machine.
~I refuse to pay full price for anything in the craft department. This means I either have a great coupon, or there's a 40% or more off sale or it's something in clearance for more than 50% off.
~I'm staying out of the craft stores unless I have a reason to be there. And, I'm not getting suckered by the dollar bins, where you can spend a fortune really fast.
~I am trying to remember to use all those inchies, twinchies, trinchies and other embellies I got in swaps. if it's not what I want, I try to re-work it.
~Ditto for cards....I have a whole drawer of cards from swaps that I just don't think I can send the way they are...so I'm challenging myself to re-make them.
~I'm looking for sales in photo processing. Snapfish recently had 111 photos for 1.11, which is cheaper than I could print them on my own.
~I look for sponsors for blog activities. They donate product in exchance for lots of free publicity and traffic seeing their stuff.
Above, I mentioned making my own glue dots. I tried a bunch of different adhesives for this, and discovered the very best is Aleen's Tack It Over and Over. Here's a little visual turoials for you.

I got this from Custom Crafts on sale for $2.00.

I used my small splat mat for these, but I really prefer to use empty sticker, postage stamp or lable sheets. That's what you'll see at the end.

You can make your dots any size or shape you want them to be. I prefer smallish dots.

I made some lines and some bigger dots. The lines work well for ribbon and borders.

I made the ones around the edge bigger, but flattened them out so they are more like the thinner dots.

This is a sheet of dry glue dots (I made it on an empty postage stamp sheet). The dots are VERY tacky, and work really, really well. I imagine I can get thousands of dots out of a bottle of glue...much less expensive than purchasing glue dots.

God expects us to be good stewards of what He gives us. Be Blessed.

Blog Hop Winners

2011-04-11T00:01:00.004-04:00

Stay tuned for winners from this weekend's hops!

My Heart Belongs To Daddy Blog Hop Day 2

2011-04-10T00:03:00.007-04:00

Hello! Welcome to Day One of the My Heart Belongs To Daddy Blog Hop! If you are looking for Day 4 of the No More Housework Blog Hop, please scroll down a post. You should have arrived from Jessica's wonderful blog, The Creative Stamper. If you want to begin at the beginning of the Hop, please head over to Jenn, our lovely hostess's, blog, Scrappin' Lil' Turtle. If you are lost, the entire list is at the bottom of the post.
As I was saying yesterday, this turned out to be a harder hop for me than I thought it would...but then, I started thinking of the new daddies in my life this year....my niece and nephew, Jonathan and Charity, are expecting Emmalyn soon...another niece and nephew, Karen and Chris, had Jadon in March. Both Leanne and Michael (Abby) and Aaron and Julie (Ryan) had babies babies recently....so I have three new great-nieces and nephews and one great-great niece coming soon....so, I decided to make Father's Day Cards for my *new* daddies.

I made the cards all alike, excpet the ones for the two girls are pink. They are 5 X 7 inches. I dry embossed the background (all paper is from my scrap heap) with the Spots and Dots Cuttlebug Folder. The circle and silouette were cut using SCAL...there is a shadow under the top layer...the top is adhered to the shadow with foam dimensionals. The shadow was adhered with my ATG. I used twine from Pink By Design. The wooden button is from a package from WalMart. The inside says, "Happy First Father's Day" (except for Jonathan and Aaron's--they aren't first time daddies---)

The blog candy I have for this hop is a grab-bag...Orange Stickles, green dotted cards, chipboard, acrylic stamps and letters, a manly package of mats, some baby stamps...to win, just leave a comment here (and/or on tomorrow's post, for a double chance to win!) with your email (please use the safe format of ksjennings at gmail dot com). On Monday, I'll ask Randy, from Random.org, to choose a day (one or two) and a comment number. Then, I'll let you know personally if you've won. If you don't leave a contact, Randy will have to choose another winner.

Now, you should head over to Liz. I know you'll find something amazing there! If you happen to get lost, here's the list of all the bloggers....I hope you'll be back tomorrow for more fun! Until then, Be Blessed!

Jen ~ http://creativearmywife.blogspot.com/

Paula ~   http://www.owlbescrappin.com/

Haidee ~ http://created2bunique.blogspot.com/

Tanya ~ http://www.scrappyscavenger.blogspot.com/

Erin ~ http://www.spantastikreations.blogspot.com/

Pam ~  http://pammejo-scrapbookflair.blogspot.com/

Jessica ~ http://thecreativestamperspot.blogspot.com/

Karel ~ http://www.kareljcreations.com/

Liz ~ http://www.tryin2craft.blogspot.com/

Shannon ~ www.purplellionpaper.com/blog

Leslie ~ http://leslierahye.blogspot.com/

alina ~  http://neverstopscrapping.blogspot.com/

faith ~ http://faithfulecreations.wordpress.com/

jessica ~ http://thatzuneek.blogspot.com/

jill ~ http://thescrapoholic.blogspot.com/

martha ~ http://pattisscrapingtime.blogspot.com/

debbie ~ http://scrapbydebbie.blogspot.com/

becky ~ https://beckscricards.blogspot.com/

No More Housework Blog Hop Day 4

2011-04-10T00:01:00.006-04:00

Hello! Welcome to Day 4 of the Four Day No More Housework Blog Hop! We're being hosted by the wonderful and create Deb Sweeney. You should have arrived here from Mary, at MareBare Scraps. If you were just popping in to One By One, and want to join in the hoppy fun, head on over to Deb's Blog, If It's Groovy to start from the beginning. The entire line-up is at the bottom of this post, in case you get lost.

When I was a pre-teen and teenager, aside from the normal girly things like make-up and boyfriends, I had a secret hobby that I would have denied had anyone questioned me about it: I was a closet Household Hints Collector. My mother had some books by the wonderful Peg Bracken--*The I Hate To Cook Book*, *The I Hate To Cook Book Sequel*, *The I Hate To Housekeep Book*...and several by that redoubtable Household Hints Helper, Heloise (whose daughter now carries the same torch as her mother!). She also had a number of Betty Crocker Cookbooks with had tons of hints and guidelines for thowing the best party the 60s had ever seen. At some point or another, these all disappeared into my bedroom...and, eventually, onto my bookshelf today, where I sometimes still dip into them. One I purchased myself, the I Hate To Cook Almanack (sic) by Peg Bracken, even proved that the great icon of 30 Minute Meals, Rachel Ray, didn't come up with all her cute sayings herself. The word stoup? It was Peg's first....the Rachel Ray people weemed interested in this when I emailed them about it, and said they'd possibly use this little-known fact in her magazine, but they never did...I know, because I buy them.
Anyway, back to hints...Here are a few of my favorites, with a few more to come tomorrow, when I announce the winner of the blog candy...more on THAT later!
~If you're cleaning your ceiling fan with one of those feathery ceiling fan cleaners, dampen it with dusting spray first and you won't get so many of those dust *snowflakes* coming down on your head.
~Make sure your carpet is really dry before putting your furniture back on it. Aside from possible rust marks from those little metal caps the furniture makers sometimes put on the bottom of the feet, the legs will absorb water from the carpet, and this will make them lose their integrity...which will be funny when 300 pound Uncle Joe sits down at Christmas, but will be expensive when you have to replace them. If you HAVE to put the furniture back (maybe MIL is coming?), wrap the legs and feet in clear plastic wrap. Then, move everything back off the carpet for a couple more days after she leaves.
~When you paint a room, write the name, brand and color code of the paint on the back of a switch plate. Then, if you need to match it for some reason, you can get a perfect color match. Also, save leftover paint in a jar or something else smaller than the can...and fill it up as full as you can without making a mess. The paint will still be paintable, as the air won't have hardened it, when you need to fill a nail hole or something.
~Furniture movers (those things with the slipppery bottom) work great on carpet, but can gouge the heck out of laminate floors. Trust me on this.
~Need another philosophy of Cleaning? Feel free to borrow one mine, which is...

This is the first altered canvas I have ever attempted...and I'm pretty happy with it. I painted the canvas with Coffee Bean acrylic paint, then glazed it with cream glaze. I glued on some blue and brown patterened paper from my stash, and some old book pages. I cut the letters out of blue shimmer cardstock by DCWV, and then cut them again 1/4 inch bigger from brown cardstock. The Cartridge is Ashlyn's Alphabet (I think...) I backed them with chipboard letters I cut at the larger size with my deep cut blade and multi-cut. I glued them down with The Best Glue Ever, not worrying too much about getting them all straight and neat, as I wanted sort of a hap-hazard look. I then gave the whole thing two good coats of matte polyurathane spray. When that was dry, I used an antique varnish, and gave it two coats. When everything was dry, I used gorgeous Prima flowers, buttons, rusted metal hearts, a brass frame and key and tons of gold pearls to decorate it. I'm pretty happy with it, and hope you like to, too.

My blog candy for this blog is all four of the projects you will see during the hop. I showed a new one each of the 4 days...and here they are, all together.  I'm also sending a bottle of Pewter grey Homemade Glimmer Spray and some Stardust Glitter Pens.   Leave a comment, with your email (displayed the safe way of ksjennings at gmail dot com). Be sure to comment every day for a better chance to win!! On Monday, I'll have Randy (random.org) to choose a day (Number 1-4) and a comment number for that day to determine the winner. I will email you directly if you've won, so make sure you leave that email--otherwise, I'll have to have Randy choose another winner from that day.

Here is the total line-up for the hop, in case you get lost. I'm the caboose, so make sure you read the directions after the list.
1. If It's Groovy (Groovy Deb)   http://ifitsgroovy.blogspot.com/
2. Life With...(Julie)   http://thetuckerwolekclan.blogspot.com/
3. Leading a Craftastic Life (Kristin)   http://craftasticlife.blogspot.com/
4. Scrappy Side of Me (Jen T)   http://jentscrappysideofme.blogspot.com/
5. Peg's Crafting Corner (Peg)   http://www.pegscraftingcorner.blogspot.com/
6. All Things Crafty (Erica)   http://www.allthingscrafty-erica.blogspot.com/
7. Scrapping the Guys (Heather)   http://www.scrappingtheguys.blogspot.com/
8. Let's Get Peachy (Laura)   http://getpeachy.blogspot.com/
9. Creating Sensations (Vanessa)   http://www.creatingsensations.blogspot.com/
10. Everyday Me (Michelle)   http://www.everydayscrapbook.blogspot.com/
11. Basement Chronicles (Maya)   http://mayadahan.blogspot.com/
12. Love to Create (Misty)   http://mistybrune.blogspot.com/
13. Scrappy Go Lucky (Darlene)   http://scrappygolucky.blogspot.com/
14. Dragonfly Destiny (Jean-Marie)   http://dragonflydestiny.blogspot.com/
15. Andrea's Metta (Andrea)   http://andreasmetta.blogspot.com/
16. Red Car Productions (Krista)   http://redcarproductions.blogspot.com/
17. Greets N Treats (Becky)   http://greetsntreats.blogspot.com/
18. Paper Universe (Silvana)   http://ununiversodepapel.blogspot.com/
19. The Limitations of Thought (Irini)   http://thelimitationsofthought.blogspot.com/
20. Step Into My World (Becky)   http://www.beckythackston.blogspot.com/
21. From the Owls Nest (Sharon)   http://fromtheowlsnest.wordpress.com/
22. Creations with Becka (Becka)   http://www.creationswithbecka.blogspot.com/
23. Crafty Go Lucky (Valerie)   http://www.craftygolucky.blogspot.com/
24. Crafty Diva Lounge (Jen)   http://craftydivalounge.blogspot.com/
25.Just a Glimpse...(Jenneke)   http://jenneke-justwhoiam.blogspot.com/
26. Scrap it Girl (Kimberly)   http://scrap-it-girl.blogspot.com/
27. These are a Few...(Julie)   http://whatisyourfavething.blogspot.com/
28. Really? That Just Happened (Doreen)   http://thefourvs.blogspot.com/
29. Nikki Sivils (Julie c/o Nikki)   http://nikkisdoghouse.blogspot.com/
30. Marci's Scrapping Spot (Marci)   http://marcisscrappingspot.blogspot.com/
31. Scrapbookers Anonymous (Theresa)   http://scrapbookers-anonymous.blogspot.com/
32.Intrepid Thread (Julie)   http://www.intrepidthread.blogspot.com/
33. Scrapbooking SOS (Michelle)   http://scrapbookingsos.blogspot.com/
34. Flamingo Scraps (Amanda)   http://flamingoscraps.blogspot.com/
35. Scrapbook Abundance (Jana)   http://preprostobogastvo.blogspot.com/
36. Artful Delight(Leeanne)   http://artfuldelight.blogspot.com/
37. Mommy of 5 Kidz (Misty)   http://mommyof5kidz.blogspot.com/
38. Designs by Diana(Diana)   http://designbydiana.blogspot.com/
39. Polka Cabana(Jeannie)   http://polkacabana.wordpress.com/
40. A Day in the Life...(Kelly)   http://kellyisascrapdiva.blogspot.com/
41. MareBare Scraps (Mary)   http://www.marebearscraps.blogspot.com/
42. One by One The Flamingos Are Stealing My Sanity...(Karel)   http://www.kareljcreations.com/

I'm the caboose...please stop back by Deb's Blog and leave her some feedback (and love!) about the hop!
I hope you'll come back tomorrow for another one of my No More Housework projects--and another chance to win my blog candy!
Until then, Be Blessed!

Celeste DT

2011-04-09T00:06:00.002-04:00

If you are looking for the My Heart Belongs To Daddy Blog Hop, please scroll down one post.
If you are looking for the No Housework Blog Hop, Day 3, please scroll down two posts.

Hello everyone..... It is me, Celeste from, www.touchedbyabutterfly.blogspot.com... I am sooo thrilled to be a part of Karel's Design Team. I have made this cute Froggie card for our Toadally Frogs theme this month.... The frog is an svg from www.svgcuts.com and the gate fold car is from them as well...

The Toadally Cool stamp is a stamp I made using my Teresa Stamp Maker.......

Thank you for taking the time to see my project....Huggggggs to you......

My Heart Belongs To Daddy Blog Hop

2011-04-09T00:05:00.005-04:00

Hello! Welcome to Day One of the My Heart Belongs To Daddy Blog Hop! If you are looking for Day 3 of the No More Housework Blog Hop, please scroll down a post. You should have arrived from Jessica's wonderful blog, The Creative Stamper. If you want to begin at the beginning of the Hop, please head over to Jenn, our lovely hostess's, blog, Scrappin' Lil' Turtle. If you are lost, the entire list is at the bottom of the post.
I have to say, I had a decent amout of difficulty with this hop. I didn't really think about it when I signed up for it, but I should have. My father dies when I was twenty. That seems so strange to me...that I have been without him more than half my life. I was a true Dadddy's Girl, and I thought when Jenn asked me to join in, "That'll Be Great!" since my heart did, and always will, belong to my Daddy. When it came down to making a project that would translate well into the hop, I had so much trouble. I have, in the back of my mind, the idea of making a Memory Album about him...but I keep thinking that my mama (who doesn't deal well with his death, even after 30 years...) is 85 and not very well...and how hard it will be when she goes to be with him...and that I'll do the album then, because I know it will help me get through it...yep. I tend to over think things.
So, I decided I'd just do a couple of Father's Day or New Father type cards. I had out my Block Party Cartridge, and decided to make this one, to match another card for the Housework Hop.

Like I said, the cart is the Block Party Lite, and I cut the cute little guy, with all his layers, at 5 inches. The lettering is Plantin Schoolbook, with the top layer and shadow, cut at 1 inch. I inked the papers from my stash with Harbor Blue Memetoes Ink, and colored the top of the spatula with a silver Sharpie. The man was attached with foam dimensionals; everything else was adhered with either my ATG or my Zig 2-Way pen. The card size is 5 inch by 7 inch.

I do have some blog candy for this hop...although the budget doesn't allow me to do a cartridge this time. I have a sort of a grab-bag of things...a package of chipboard, Orange Stickles, some Crystal Stamps, some acrylic letters, a package of manly mats, some green dotted cards, some baby stamps....to win, just leave a comment here (and/or on tomorrow's post, for a double chance to win!) with your email (please use the safe format of ksjennings at gmail dot com). On Monday, I'll ask Randy, from Random.org, to choose a day (one or two) and a comment number. Then, I'll let you know personally if you've won. If you don't leave a contact, Randy will have to choose another winner.

Now, you should head over to Liz. I know you'll find something amazing there! If you happen to get lost, here's the list of all the bloggers....I hope you'll be back tomorrow for more fun! Until then, Be Blessed!

Jen ~   http://creativearmywife.blogspot.com/

Paula ~   http://www.owlbescrappin.com/

Haidee ~   http://created2bunique.blogspot.com/

Tanya ~   http://www.scrappyscavenger.blogspot.com/

Erin ~   http://www.spantastikreations.blogspot.com/

Pam ~     http://pammejo-scrapbookflair.blogspot.com/

Jessica ~ http://thecreativestamperspot.blogspot.com/

Karel ~   http://www.kareljcre

ations.com/

Liz ~   http://www.tryin2craft.blogspot.com/

Shannon ~   www.purplellionpaper.com/blog

Leslie ~   http://leslierahye.blogspot.com/

alina ~  http://neverstopscrapping.blogspot.com/

faith ~     http://faithfulecreations.wordpress.com/

jessica ~   http://thatzuneek.blogspot.com/

jill ~     http://thescrapoholic.blogspot.com/

martha ~ http://pattisscrapingtime.blogspot.com/

debbie ~   http://scrapbydebbie.blogspot.com/

becky ~   https://beckscricards.blogspot.com/