Four Legged Friends Layout

This is a dilemma that most scrapbooking mamas probably wrestle with - scrapping photos that don't have their kids in them. This year, I'm trying to make an effort to scrap more photos with my husband and me (and extended family members & friends) in them.

My wonderful friend, Kristi, usually hosts a craft night at her house once a month. This time I took the opportunity to scrap some...ahem..."older" photos from my senior year photo session with my beloved dog, Sarah.

Details:
Cricut lite cartridge - Four Legged Friends
Patterned paper - DCWV - Rustic Stack
Cardstock - Core'dinations
Accessories - seam tape ribbon - Rebecca Sower Designs; fine tip marker - Sharpie; pastels - Stampin' Up!

Hope you have a relaxing Saturday in store!

Hugs,
Marcy

Art Blooms Handmade Journal

Our ladies' Bible study group had a Valentine brunch yesterday, and everyone brought a small gift to exchange. I made a small journal/blank book to give.

I just love this new Art Blooms set from Crafty Secrets. The whimsical designs remind me of folk art and are open to a lot of different color schemes. I paired the stamped image with some Amy Butler paper from K&Company, coloring the image with Copic markers to match the paper. The inside pages are made from Gina K. Designs' Pure Luxury ivory cardstock, and the outside covers are made from Core'dinations Chocolate Box cardstock.

Each inside page is stamped with a small accent on the bottom right-hand corner, but other than that I left the book blank. It can be used as a sketch book, journal, note book, or mini-scrapbook.


Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you are experiencing some of the wonderful sunshine and warmer temps that we've been having here in Western PA the past couple of days - a rare mid-winter treat for sure!

Hugs,
Marcy

Classroom Valentine Treats

This morning the kiddos went off to school with smiles and Valentine goodies for their teachers and classmates. Here is what we made this year:

Ronan's Kindergarten Class Valentines

Ronan helped decide what to make for his Valentines, and I did the crafting of them. With his dad's help, Ronan wrote his to - from messages on the back.

Shannon's Second-Grade Class Valentines


Shannon did the coloring on her Valentines. (Yes, I let her use my Copics, and she was very careful with them and did a wonderful job.) She colored each fish to match the classmate's favorite colors.

We used the Create A Critter Cricut cartridge to create the fishbowl, and the fish stamp is from the retired Stampin' Up! Toucan of My Love set.

Then I whipped up these cute and quick Hershey bar covers for the kids' teachers:


The monkeys are K&Company layered accents, and the glittered paper is from My Mind's Eye's Organic stack. The sentiment is from Toucan of My Love too.

Hope you get to spend some time with the ones you love today!

Hugs,
Marcy

A Birthday Declaration

Last night my daughter and I made a new rule that all birthdays in our household will now be celebrated in no less than three days. :) This declaration was made because yesterday was my birthday, and my hubby had to be gone the vast majority of the day and evening due to school obligations. When I mentioned last night that I was sad that my birthday was almost over, Shannon came up with the idea of extending my birthday for the rest of the weekend. I like the way that girl thinks!

Here is a birthday card that I made for my hubby's cousin, another February birthday. Julie loves anything vintage and girlie, so I thought this image would be perfect for her.



Details:
Main Image - Crafty Secrets - Childhood Images and Journal Notes booklet
Patterned Paper - K&Company
cardstock - Bazzill
Ink - Ranger Distress Ink - Tea Dye & Wild Honey
Accessories - die cuts - K&Company; marker - Sharpie; seam tape ribbon - Rebecca Sower Designs; Pop Dots; sponge - Darice

Let the celebration continue!

Hugs,
Marcy

Be Still

Simply being still in God's presence is something that we've been talking about and encouraging each other to do in the ladies' Bible study that I attend.

In a culture that is constantly moving, frantically communicating, and consistently overloading on media input, being still seems counterintuitive and certainly unproductive. Yet, being still in His presence puts all of that other stuff - that frenetic pace we feel we must maintain - into perspective. It's where that peace resides that we think we can obtain by our own means and methods - if only, if only we had more money, more time, more stuff, more influence, more...fill in the blank. Being still in His presence - that is the true longing of our hearts...and His.

Hugs,
Marcy

Live Your Bliss

Lately I've been thinking about my gifts and talents and how God might want me to use those to bless others. The other day a friend said to me, "God is so creative!" I truly believe that He's blessed us with abilities to help others in ways that also help us feel fulfilled. We just have to be open to His leading.

I love how happy this little skunk is! I think once his woodland friends realize he means no harm they'll relax a bit too. In the meantime, he is certainly living his bliss, huh?



Details:
Stamps - High Hopes - Roasting Marshmallows; Papertrey Ink - Mixed Messages
Patterned Paper - DCWV - The Green Stack
Cardstock - Gina K. Designs - Pure Luxury Cardstock; Bazzill
Accessories - markers - Copic Sketch; ribbon - Pebbles Inc.; leaf brads - unknown

Wishing you a blissful day!

Hugs,
Marcy