Word!

At the beginning of the year, I was inspired by a few friends to pick a word of the year. That word - would be something that I would strive to work for all year long. The word that I picked at the beginning of 2009 was "Serenity."

I can honestly say, that unlike New-Years' resolutions and promises to myself, my "word of the year" was something that I was thoughtful about all year long. My word "Serenity" was something that I worked very hard to achieve and found great comfort in when I was able to have success. "Serenity" brought me comfort on long trips to visit ailing grandparents and when I had other times of stress at work and at home. I found creative ways to bring calm quietness into my life this year. I dabbled in progressive relaxation and meditation. I used my crafting time as a way to unwind and destress. I looked for new music and things like yoga and stretching to bring myself moments of peace and calm. In my sometimes hectic life as a mom, nurse, caregiver and wanna-be artist, I needed those moments, and they honestly helped me when times were at their worst this year. Thank you, friends, for inspiring me to chose a word! I had such a positive experience from this, that I have chosen to do it again for 2010. Picking my new word has been challenging. I have given it several weeks' thought. I didn't want to pick a word that would be too simple. I thought about the word "inspiration" - but I don't really have much trouble being inspired. I thought about words like "relaxation" but that was to similar to "Serenity" and somehow, the word "Margaritas!" just doesn't seem appropriate either. :)

After much thought - I have chosen my word for 2010 and my word is "Organization."



I have chosen "Organization" because it is something that I would like to practice in all aspects of my life. Trying to be more organized at home, at work, in my car, in all areas - can only benefit me and my family (and friends and co-workers) too.
And so with that in mind, I set off to have a Happy, safe, fun, and Organized New Year! I have a lot to do and will try to share some of my ideas too - I have a few fun ones in mind for scrapbooking / cardmaking things.

Will you be picking a word for 2010? I would love to hear about your word. There are no rules. . . it can be a verb, a noun, a feeling, a goal - anything that you want to think about all year long. One word is a lot easier to remember than a bunch of resolutions anyway, don't you think? :)

Happy and safe New Year to all - and see you soon!
-Nancy

December Expressions - Video

Yaay. . . here's a little video with more about maximizing that awesome paper in the December ETM kit. . . What is your favorite part about the kit? I am still in love with that big fat green ric-rac. :)

December Expressions!

I'm working nights this weekend - with a fresh layer of snow on the ground and sub-zero temperatures, it's always a fun time in Orthopedics! Add to the masses, all of the people who suddenly have to have their surgery done NOOOWWW NOW NOW NOW NOWNOWNONONOW because their deductable is met for the year, and things get pretty hairy!!! Oi!

The Expressions kits from ETM are out and wow are they fabulous this year! The paper is so cute and textured - I love anything that is textured. The paper in this months' kit feels like WALL PAPER! Srsly. . . you just gotta feel it. Pet it. It's good huh? Daisy Bucket papers are new to me. But I will definitely be watching for them in the future!

Kim had the awesome idea of focusing this month on MAXIMIZING your paper, and boy do I have some fun ideas for this. Check them out. . . Here are the cards that I made with this months' kit. I have also vowed to try to do a video tutorial each month to go with the cards. . .and I'm gonna do it. . . as soon as I am on my days off again. So check it out. . . here are the cards for now and I will be seeing you all soon on the YouTubes. :)

This first card was done following one of the card maps from Page Maps. . . I do love to follow those cute little designs! Note here how I maximized my use of paper by adding a coordinating paper to make an envelope liner. . . I also used a strip of the patterned paper instead of ribbons, and used a hole punch to make dots instead of using brads or eyelets. You can always use these tricks in a pinch! And since they are from the paper provided, they are a perfect match!

Kim threw in the cutest, fattest piece of green ric-rac I have ever seen to this months' kit! I stitched it down to the paper and made a coordinating tag out of one of the rub-ons. I do love the letter stickers that we got this month. You can make your cards say whatever you want!

Ahh, maximizing the paper. . .I used a strip of the red paper to make a ribbon and bow for this present card. You can do this easily any time you need a ribbon but don't have one to match. Just loop pieces of the paper and fasten them with tape, or a brad, as shown. I added a tag, and made a matching address label for the envelope. Cute, cute, cute! I love these patterns!!!

This is one of my favorite cards from the kit - I used the chocolate brown patterns with the red. I was all sorts of proud of my "Chocolate Covered Cherry Card" Until my son came along and noted that it looks like a Hostess Cupcake. Well, I'll be darned, it does! Somebody is going to get a box of cupcakes this year, with this card. I bet my son wishes it was him. :) I used some of the left over brown paper to line the envelope, and covered ALL surfaces of this card - both sides of the fold - out flaps, and even the back of the card with the brown, Hostess Cupcake Paper. Fun!

Here is that cute fat ric-rac again - I stitched it to the card with a strip of the candy stripe ribbon too. That was Kim's idea. . . she is so wise. :) I also love these big circle patterns - they are great for making big tags - ornaments - and I think that I will even stamp some and use them as gift tags for Christmas Presents! Did I mention that this months' kit includes an acrylic "To: and From:" stamp that is going to be so very useful all year long? It's the best thing since. . . Christmas.

I think that one of the things that I love best about this months' kit is the diversity of colors that Kim has picked with the papers. Reds, greens, blues, browns, and even these cute pink and turquoise colors - Here I go using strips of the patterned paper again in place of ribbon. This card just makes me happy! Pink and blue for Christmas! Who knew? I love it!

Stay tuned for this months' tutorial on how to make THIS card - It's too hard to show in a photo how amazingly fun this card is. It opens, and opens, an opens again and again, like a game! You can easily use up all of the rest of your paper this month making this really cool never-ending card. I will show you how - it's easy!

Thanks for stopping by - I am off to catch a few winks before my night shift starts again. . . hooray!

CDC - Christmas!

At long last - the day was here! And a happy one year anniversiary to the Card Day Club. We started meeting a year ago and wow, what a lot of fun we have had together! It was time once again for Christmas cards and so we met at Stephanie's house today. We made a lot of really fun things - but I have decided to showcase this unbelieveable card by Hanna - so much time and effort went into this one - you simply won't believe it!



Hanna wanted to make a card that looked like a sweater - and she was looking all over for patterned paper that looked like a knit pattern, and was unable to find any. She ended up enlisting the help of her mom, who ACTUALLY KNIT a piece of red . . . sweater. . . and then they photo copied it, and Hanna ran all of the patterned paper through a SEWING MACHINE to stitch the edges of the sleeves and everything! Holy over-achiever Hanna. . . :) It's amazing. We popped the edges of the sleeves up for a little dimension and we finished it off with real buttons and a tag. The inside has the cutest quote that says, "It's cold outside, but thoughts of you warm my heart." Awwwwwww!

Tiffani's holly card seen at the end of the video is also amazing - it features hand made stained glass paper behind a holly cut out - I had the thought of putting a candle behind it and using it as a decoration - it's so pretty and fun!

Everyone brought something amazing to the card-making table today. We came home with several cards, cute tags, and neat ideas for next month too. Are you ready to see the loot? Here you go. I'm sorry I forgot to bring my video camera to Stephanie's house. . . (lol, you should have seen the evil looks I got when I suggested it!) This months' video is dedicated to my sweet little Grandma Bettie who I am missing so much this holiday season. Christmas time was absolutely her favorite. She loved decorations and music - what fun she must be having enjoying them from a better place this year? :)