~US~

Make sure you check the Maya Road Company Blog.  Caroline is continuing to post sneak peeks of the new products.  What do you think of the new owl and bird sheers?  How about the bingo stamp or the mini flowers and vintage pins?  Those are all some of my favorites.  Speaking of cute…

is that not the cutest monkey EVER?  I love their new sticker for CHA.  It’s adorable.  For today I thought I would post my “Us” album.  The paper is Basic Grey.  I added machine sewing to every page.  Also lots of different texture on this one.  Some glitter, crackle paint from Ranger and inked chipboard covered with Glossy Accents-also by Ranger.  The scallop edge of the binder book is inked in variegated colors and covered with Glossy Accents for some shine and added protection.  Love the spring colors in this one.

 

Schoolhouse- Maya Road CHA-W 09

Time to post another booth project. I love this little schoolhouse. It’s perfect to showcase those favorite school pictures. I sprayed the house and mini book with Maya Mist, then sewed patterned paper to cover the sides, front and back. The roof is covered in all Maya Road ribbon. I also used stamps, chipboard brackets, chipboard keychain, flower jewels, ribbon, rub-ons, velvet flowers, ribbon slides, sheer tickets, bracket chipboard, Trinkets flowers, and trim.

Maya Road has begun their CHA-W sneak peeks on the company blog.  Stop by and take a look for some yummy eye candy.  Caroline will be updating it daily.  Happy Tuesday.

 

Maya Road Valentine Release

Happy New Year everyone! I hope it is a happy one. I thought I would mention that for the 1st time, Maya Road is having a small Valentine release. You can read about it on the Maya Road Blog.  Caroline and Deb are also having a giveaway, so stop by and leave a comment before January 5th for a chance to win.

 

Tradition and Goals

Every year at Thanksgiving we take our annual family photo. We started doing this for James’ 1st Christmas in 2001. It’s become tradition to take the pictures at Thanksgiving so we can send them out on our Christmas cards. It’s been really fun to see the changes through the years. I think I might do a mini album of them, actually. Above is this years picture.

About goals…for the 1st time in years my New Year’s Resolution won’t be to lose weight. I have been very quiet about this goal, but on April 26th I joined WW. I had lost weight from having both kids, but I still had weight on that I had gained after back surgery in 1997. The biggest motivator for me was chronic pain. I have back pain every day. I guess it was like a lightbulb finally went off in the spring and I knew that even if I didn’t stay for the meetings, the motivator for me would be the weigh in. That would keep me accountable. Once I started seeing the weight loss and my clothes were falling off- that was great motivation for me. It wasn’t easy. It has been a struggle every day, but I got into a routine and tried hard to not let myself feel deprived. There were days when I was cranky, but it was all worth it. On December 13th, I hit my goal and lost a total of 33 lbs. Absolutely none of my clothes fit- even bras. So my super sweet DH spoiled me with some g.c. to Old Navy, Gap, Target and Kohl’s and I bought myself some new clothes. It still feels weird as I am passing a mirror and I catch my new reflection, but I am getting used to it. Not everything is as firm as it used to be, but I do feel better inside and out.

 

Happy Scrappin Scrapbooking

This month has gotten away from me. I guess it’s because there have been some unexpected health issues with my dad and James. I have been helping my dad out with many things and that has been so time consuming. Also, out of the blue, James had a food allergy reaction. It was very scary. He broke out in welts from head to toe and his face and lips swelled up. A trip to the doc and the ER all in a 12 hr span. The welts lasted about 48 hrs. He goes for allergy testing on the 5th to find out what he is allergic to. I think it may be Motrin, but we will see.

Things are still hectic and I can’t believe Christmas is almost here. I have been working like a mad woman on getting ready for Christmas. I have also been taking bits of time here and there for my CHA projects. I will begin showing those books mid January. I have 3 left to complete and I will be finished for this CHA. Maya Road has some yummy goodies coming out. Keep checking back in and I will keep you posted on those.

I couldn’t let this month go by without mentioning that I have been a guest designer over at Happy Scrappin Scrapbooking.   You should check out their gallery and forums.  The women are all so friendly and supportive.  It has been a great experience.  I hope everyone has a safe and Merry Christmas.

 

Under the Stars

Ready for a new project? As soon as my SIL emailed me photos of her family camping, I knew I wanted to scrap them. I was itching to use the new Mr. Campy line by Cosmo Cricket. The book is Maya Road Artistic Scroll Frame Chipboard Book. I covered each page in Maya Mist. The colors I used are gold, red, green and brown. The title chipboard alpha is inked in black and painted with Ranger Distress Crackle paint and then sanded. I also used Maya Road Trinkets jewel flowers in “Winter”, chipboard sets-” Birds of a Feather”, “Trees”, “Supernova”, “Motifs” and “Brackets”. Also, MR “Office Sheers”, “Tickets” and “A Year to Remember” sheers. I added extra sheers for my SIL to add her own journaling about camping. There are various MR ribbons and metal flowers as well. To add more room for pictures I added a sheer “page” from the Year to Remember set. It fits perfectly in this size book.

It’s been in the mid 80’s here, so we are enjoying some very warm weather and I am hanging out in jean shorts and a t-shirt. It’s nice, but hard to get into the holiday spirit. I hope you enjoy your Sunday.

 

Thank You

I have had an outpouring of praise from all of you for this chipboard book.  I just wanted to thank you all so much.  It has been in the top 10 at 2 Peas since Monday and I was so excited to see that they included it in their email ad yesterday.  I think that accounts for much of the exposure.  You have all been very generous and supportive of my work and I really appreciate it! 

I had a question from Julie that I thought I would respond to here in case others were wondering as well.  This is what the Maya Road 2-ring scallop layer chipboard book looks like before it is altered.  It comes with all of the scalloped edges as part of the book.  I just love all of the possibilities with this one.  If you aren’t sure where to purchase it, you can buy it directly from mayaroad.com.

 

I’m Here

Well it’s been a while since my last post- forgive me.  I have been working on projects behind the scenes for CHA that I can’t show until January.  However, I can show you this one that I have been working on for a while.  Things have been a little hectic here.  I haven’t done as much crafting as I have wanted to over the last couple of weeks.  Lauren was sick for a week as well.  You know how it is this time of year.  

This scallop layer book is one of my favorite Maya Road books.  I just did one not too long ago, but I really wanted to do one for Christmas too.  There is so much you can do with them.  This book got so fat that I upsized the book rings.  The paper line is Be Merry by My Mind’s Eye. I painted each chipboard page to coordinate. I did machine sewing on every page. The ribbon is MR and some from Michael’s. The MR chipboard snowflakes are covered in glitter, fun flock and faux snow. Also from MR: Trinkets flowers, scallop chipboard frame, buttons, clear jewels, rub-ons, sheers, ticket sheers, chipboard keychain, chipboard alpha and ric rac. Also, Prima flowers and Daisy D’s cardstock stickers. 

I also wanted to mention that today is the deadline for the Maya Road Home for the Holidays contest, so get your altered house pictures submitted!  I can’t wait to see what everyone did!  Have a Happy Monday!

 

Let’s Spook it Up!

 

When Lauren notices a house that is decorated for Halloween she says, “They are really spookin it up!”  Kids crack me up.  Anyway, I got a chance to decorate one of the new Maya Road Acrylic albums last week.  I’ve named it “Little Spooks”.   I love the new We R Memory Keepers Black Out line.  The MR acrylic albums are nice and thick and they stand on their own, which I love. I wanted to showcase some fun pictures from Halloweens past. I’ve got Maya Road chipboard trees, stars, and alpha. Also, Maya Road ribbons and owl stamp, The glitter is Martha Stewart. The tiny alpha stickers are Making Memories.  I also used Ranger crackle paint on the 2nd tree. 

On another note, Caroline from Maya Road will be teaching a workshop at Scrapbook Island in San Jose tomorrow night.  Yeah!  I will be there to help and to meet her in person for the 1st time.  I’m very excited.

 

Maya Road Home for the Holidays Contest

Check out the details for this fabulous contest at the Maya Road Company Blog.  They have some amazing prizes to give away!  I’ve decorated 2 of the houses and they are really a lot of fun.  You can let your creativity take off!

Hop on over to the 2Peas Gallery today if you get a chance.  I’m excited to have my “These are the Moments” project as the most viewed item in the gallery as well as being #3 for votes.  That’s a 1st for me and very exciting.  Thanks for all of the praise out there.  One of the newest Maya Road DT memebers, Lia Abdullah also has the #1 project for votes today.  Check out her awesome Maya Road Wings Chipboard album there or on her blog.  Happy Friday!  I hope everyone enjoys their weekend.