Hi all! I've relocated where my RSS and Atom feeds are published. That means if you're seeing this message (like in Google Reader, etc), you need to update your feed reader with the new address. You can do so by clicking here. Thanks!

So, my next class at TwoPeas is live! This month's class is on making thank you cards with paper flower embellishments. :)

Head on over to TwoPeas to see the class page (including the downloadable PDF with step-by-step instructions, supplies used, and more detailed photos of the cards). The video from the class is below...

Good morning, everyone!

This week's card is one more push to create a Valentine's Day card... just one more day! Anyhow, in the video I cover how to make the card and also how to create a custom envelope lining out of patterned paper. I hope you enjoy and I'll catch up with you later this holiday weekend!

Be sure to check out the supplies used on the project page in the Designer Garden, and as usual, you can see the video in higher quality over at YouTube by clicking here (just click on "watch in high quality" below the video). :)

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

This week's photo was taken while I was out shopping with Venessa not too long ago. We found this really cute boutique selling dresses for little girls and these dresses were right inside the window. So cute! :)

And perfect for a Valentine's Day card, too!

Anyhow, enjoy! Even though there is not a round-up anymore, the same rules for linking apply. :)

Join us: Make a card/scrapbook page/whatever in the colors above. Color Inspiration virgins, please read the Color Inspiration FAQ first. Deadline: Saturday, February 14 at 7:00 pm MT. This is the deadline you have to submit your link. After the deadline, I will make sure all the links are valid. You will know when the deadline has past because you will not able to submit a new link through the Mister Linky box. Grab this week's swatch-only image.

Reader submissions for Color Inspiration #41:

1. Kay McNeill 2. Odette 3. Tara D- It\'s All Good 4. Tanya Blewitt - Tin Can Stamps 5. Scrappin Sue 6. Stephanie Buriel 7. Tova 8. Julie Davison 9. Dana Grothaus (danacott96) 10. Abi Bundy UK 11. Kadee 12. Erin R. 13. Wendy Elliot 14. Sarah from the UK 15. Shannon Ketchum 16. Bentov Anat 17. Kirsten Brown 18. Cathy Lewis 19. SaraStamper (UK) 20. Elizabeth Goliber 21. Becky B 22. Cristina Tronco 23. Brenda Weaver 24. Butternutsage 25. Adelia Davis 26. ~dawne 27. Amy, Ottawa, Canada 28. Hannah-Cherie 29. Winter Sims 30. Christina 31. Rieca 32. Helen 33. Jennie 34. Dana G 35. Brittany 36. Yapha 37. Kathryn Mangelsdorf (Australia) 38. Selene 39. Melissa K. 40. Cath Thompson -Canada 41. Stacey Schafer 42. Jennifer 43. Brittany(right one)

44. Kelly Slattery (NZ) 45. Jaded 46. Ilse Vargas 47. Paula Kay 48. Amy Fleming NZL 49. Leah Weir 50. Shannon Holbird- Australia right one 51. Becs Attwood 52. Anthonette 53. Ange Kelly 54. Karen Motz 55. Dori S. 56. Jennifer Kirk 57. Kathy V 58. Sheila (Spain) 59. Jackie 60. Heather (UK) 61. Claire Daly 62. Martina G. 63. Ms. Aaron B 64. Nanefy (Card 1) Scotland 65. Nanefy (Card 2) Scotland 66. melita 67. Jessica 68. Rakefet 69. Michelle N 70. Dawn Simpson 71. Daniela Hendea 72. Michelle Last UK 73. Jo-Ann Pullen (Canada) 74. Nellie M. 75. Jenny NZ 76. Betty aka ZacksNana 77. Leonie Hegarty 78. Debbie Pamment (Australia) 79. Trish Hughes 80. Amanda Reddicliffe (Australia) 81. KimB AUS 82. Morgaine (x2) 83. Tracey Old NZL 84. Mei Ann G. (Canada) 85. Claire, WA Australia 86. Claire from Taz

87. Jenae 88. Debbie M 89. Nikki Stalker 90. Carol Richard 91. Diane Bell-Robertson NZ 92. Madonna 93. Sylvia Nelson 94. E.T 95. Mª Engracia (Spain) 96. Anni 97. Totally Crafty Alison 98. Sue (Australia) 99. Ruby 2 Shoes 100. stampersuzz 101. Cannie Hunter 102. Nadia 103. Karen T 104. Beverly aka beestamper 105. Nancy Danyo 106. Cindy Major 107. Vera 108. Courtney McAulay 109. Rosemarie Diehl 110. Sarah A 111. Elizabeth Fortuna 112. Amber Korn 113. Helen Berry UK 114. Kirsten Brown 115. Donna MacDonald 116. Karen Sullivan 117. Sylvia Nelson 2nd card 118. Mamaluke 119. Courtney Baker 120. Krystal/skdeleeuw 121. Tiffany Heilman 122. Katherine Allen 123. Gina 124. Savitri 125. Rose D 126. Alberta 127. Kari V. 128. Anna Sutherland NZL 129. Susan Joyce

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Happy Monday, everyone! It's nearly Tuesday, or at least it feels that way... I stayed up way too late last night so I'm paying for it today. :) Just tired, but it's my own dang fault.

Can I just tell you it was so wonderful to just sit at my craft table tonight and just create some cards. I made all four in about 35 minutes. The time just flew right by.

I think a lot of you who commented on my novel-length post from last week hit the nail on the head. We have love-hate relationships with our blogs. Having a blog is a wonderful and creatively fulfilling thing. It allows us to share with others and we get to have some feedback on what we're creating. However, sometimes we bury ourselves too deep in the "I need to update my blog today" mentality.

I know this extremely well because I locked myself into weekly things and soon it became more about just getting things done than enjoying the journey of creating something. I also collected a huge stack of cards that I never sent out. I'd forgotten that part of the process, too. I used to love sending out cards. :)

So what have I done about it? About this loss of creative motivation?

First, I stepped back and decided when I could part with to make myself feel a bit more in control of what and when I created projects. You all read that part last week. Then, I made a list of all the people I wanted to send cards to. I listed out my wonderful, caring family and friends. Everyone I've always meant to send cards to, but never got around to.

And the difference between last week and tonight? About a million times more enjoyable to just sit at my craft table and play with paper. It was a delicious feeling to not have a camcorder dangling above my head. As much as I love creating videos, sometimes I feel like I can't make mistakes and just let the creativity come. I think that's mostly because I'm thinking about how the card is made and how I'll describe it.

Such a joy to sit back and create. No pressure. No demands. Just making some cards for my friends. :)

Question: For those of you who are bloggers, how to do you retain the balance between creating for creative fulfillment and creating for blogging sake? Let's discuss. How do you create balance in your life, papercrafting related or not?

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Butterfly Cards - Pool and Cream notecards & envelopes, Thoughtful Messages stamp set (Hero Arts), Amy Butler Lotus Tea Box Butterflies die-cut paper (K & Company), Charcoal chalk ink (Colorbox); corner rounder punch (Stampin' Up!).

Hello Dear Friend card - Three Birds stamp, A Little Note stamp set, and Cream notecards & envelopes (Hero Arts); blender pen (Dove); corner rounder punch, Tempting Turquoise and Kiwi Kiss inks (Stampin' Up!); Charcoal chalk ink (Colorbox).

Life is Brighter card - Sky's the Limit stamp set and Pool Notecards & Envelopes (Hero Arts); Threading Water edge punch (Fiskars); pale yellow paper from Daydream paper pack (Ki Memories); Basic Gray card stock and paper piercer (Stampin' Up!); Uni-ball white gel pen; Charcoal chalk ink (Colorbox); Coluzzle circle cutter.

Amazon announced the Kindle 2 this morning. I'm a bit of a tech-geek and want to get the new one even though there's not much difference between the Kindle 1 and this new version. But it sure looks pretty. :)

And ya'll remember how much I love my Kindle, right?

Anyway, I'm selling my old Kindle in order to fund the purchase of a new one. Contact me if you're interested.

You get:
Kindle
Adapter for charging
Cover (it's a bit worn--I cut my asking price so that you can buy a new cover if you want)
USB cord for connecting to your computer
Original packaging. :)

Price: $225 + shipping
Payment: I'm only accepting PayPal payments.
I am only selling to someone in the US, as the Kindle doesn't work outside the US.

SOLD to a new friend in Wisconsin! :)

Good morning, everyone!

This week's Make a Card Monday actually doesn't include a card. ;) I'm in the middle of switching over to Wordpress from Movable Type and all my spare moments are being diminished by the reality of customizing a template I know nothing about. But it's coming along and I should be ready to launch the new site next Monday. So, watch for that.

Anyway, this video shows you how to create a heart-shaped paper clip just like How About Orange showed last week. I followed the visuals over there and it still look me a while to figure it out, so I thought a video would make it that much easier to teach you all how to create one. So enjoy!

I'll catch up with you all a bit later this week. :)

Hi all! Just a quick post to update you all with my Finally Friday for this week. :) Be sure to head over to TwoPeas to see the supplies and such. And the YouTube video is here.

I've been thinking a lot recently. About my blog. About all of you (love you!), and about how much time I spend on all my blogging things instead of on creative projects and cards and such. I really miss it.

Over the last 6 months or so, I have had to slowly let things drop by the wayside (including proof reading my posts... typos anyone? I've had a plethora recently). I'm sure you've noticed that I no longer post any cards or pages that are not related to either MACM or TwoPeas (Finally Friday videos included in that). I miss just making something for the joy of it. I miss just sitting down at my craft table and creating something for the sake of creating it. And then being so excited about it that I just have to share it with all of you.

I guess what I'm saying is that I've slowly forgotten where all the fun is. And it makes me really sad.

I simply don't have the time because I'm editing film, or editing photos for the Color Inspiration Round-ups, or I'm just exhausted from staying up late to get everything done. And it's hard to sit at a computer all day at work and then come home and sit at a computer all night.

I'm sorry. I don't mean to complain. What I'm trying to get at is that there are going to be some changes around here... Just two, but I still felt like it needed an individual blog post.

First of all, I'm making changes to the Color Inspiration Challenge. Not huge changes, just one really. There will no longer be a round-up. I love seeing all of your creations, but having to edit all the photos has sucked out all of the fun of seeing what you've all created. I just want to look through them and enjoy them for what they are. I hope you all understand. And please don't leave comments saying you wish it would come back. Believe me, I wish it could, too. It's just not possible anymore.

The second change is that I'll be switching blogging software. I'm already in the process of switching over to Wordpress. Hopefully that will make it easier to comment and such. Over the past few weeks when I had some giveaways, I hated that some of you weren't able to comment. And hopefully moving to WP will solve that.

But there's a learning curve there that I have to deal with. I've used Movable Type for YEARS (we're talking 9 years), so I have to learn how Wordpress works in order to customize it for what I need.

I'm planning to completely switch to WP over President's Day weekend. If all goes well, you won't even notice a difference besides comments posting quicker and faster page load times.

Anyway, I hope you all understand. I think this is a good thing, and I hope you think so, too. :)

Hi all!

Forgive me for posting the next challenge before I posted the round-up for #39. Isn't getting back from a traveling just awful? I can't seem to catch up! Anyway, I didn't want to keep you all waiting for the next Color Inspiration Challenge, so here is #40.

I saw these ribbons in a store while I was out shopping a few weeks ago. Aren't they pretty?Should be an interesting and citrus-y color combo.

Enjoy the colors and I'll catch up with you soon with the last color round-up. :)

Join us: Make a card/scrapbook page/whatever in the colors above. Color Inspiration virgins, please read the Color Inspiration FAQ first. Deadline: Saturday, February 7 at 7:00 pm MT. You will know when the deadline has past because you will not able to submit a new link through the Mister Linky box. Grab this week's swatch-only image.

Reader submissions for Color Inspiration #40:

1. Stephanie Buriel 2. Andrea R. 3. Kay McNeill 4. CriA 5. Paula Kay 6. Angela Lemmons 7. Amy Fleming NZL 8. Tracey Old NZL 9. Patricia Weitzel 10. Travelingmama 11. SaraStamper (UK) 12. Kara 13. Regan 14. Amy Gwinn 15. Selene 16. Dawn 17. Carissa 18. Anne Jagger 19. Anne Jagger 20. Agustina Yornet (Argentina) 21. Leigh Ann Baird 22. Elizabeth Goliber 23. Amy, Ottawa, Canada 24. Mary 25. Karen Sullivan 26. Yaneri Rodriguez 27. Donna C. 28. Molly Stadin 29. Helen Berry 30. Denise Ibbett (NZ) 31. Polina (Russia) 32. Heather P. 33. Odette 34. Sarah Allan 35. Christine (Creative Journey) 36. Elizabeth Fortuna 37. Leah Weir 38. Shelley G in Iowa 39. Ilse Vargas 40. Katie Brooks 41. Shawntel 42. Ange Kelly 43. Heather M 44. Chrissy Lux

45. Jenyfur 46. Wendy Elliot 47. Clouds 48. Haviva Avni 49. Eve (age 5) 50. Yapha 51. Karla 52. Louisa Ting Chong (NZ) 53. Anne Beale Yancey 54. Selene (2nd post) 55. Arielle ~ SnappyStamper 56. Fiona Fab AUS 57. Nicole D 58. Jacquelyn Stamp Happy NZL 59. stampwithjules 60. Totally Crafty Alison 61. Tiffany Heilman 62. Robin 63. Kirsten Brown 64. Debbie Pamment 65. Jaded 66. Tanya Blewitt 67. brittany 68. Anne-Marie NZL 69. Savitri 70. Anna Sutherlnd NZL 71. Fiona (UK) 72. Dani 73. Rachael NZ 74. Morgaine (x2) 75. Michelle Habib NZL 76. Michelle Last UK 77. Tara Kieninger 78. Abi Bundy Uk 79. Ruth N 80. Susan Daly 81. Abi Bundy #2 82. Carolynne H (UK) 83. SaraStamper (UK) 2nd post 84. Deanna W 85. Ms. Aaron B 86. hayley gillie 87. Rieca 88. Sharlene M NZL

89. Mandy in IL 90. Debi Hadley 91. Lisa B NZL 92. Brenda Weaver 93. Gabby 94. Sue 95. Fiona Brown 96. Winter Sims 97. SmilynStef 98. Susan Joyce 99. Dawn McVey (dawnsing) 100. Claire from Taz 101. Jennie 102. Natasha from Australia 103. Alice Strong 104. Claire 105. LinaK 106. Hannah Ryan NZ 107. Esther Sim (SG) 108. Berit (norway) 109. Nola 110. Rosemarie Diehl 111. Helen Berry (2nd Card!) 112. Kathy V 113. Lisa Brown 114. ~dawne 115. Maryvel Friesen 116. Trish Y. 117. Cindy Malone 118. Kristine Macabare 119. MaryR 120. Sara Hayes 121. Kirsty Walley NZL 122. Kim Jackson 123. Ria Kaire (NZ) 124. Jolee 125. Sylvia Nelson 126. Iowa Jen 127. Anthonette 128. Katherine Allen 129. Julie Batta 130. Krista Driessen 131. Julie Davison 132. Kellie Winnell - Australia

Links are disabled. Join us next time! :)
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Has your link been deleted? There's probably a reason why. Check the FAQ.

Okay.... super quick here. Heading out the door for work...

Here's the MACM video. Enjoy! :)



Supplies - Kraft card stock, Sweet Slumber patterned paper, Heart to Heart punch (Stampin' Up!); Threading Water edge punch (Fiskars).

Hi all!

I'm back from California and it a super fun trip! Not only was CHA amazing and inspiring, but Disneyland was a blast, too. The lines were super short. We even rode on Pirates of the Caribbean, walked off, and then walked right back on! It was awesome!

We were thoroughly drenched on Splash Mountain. I have never gotten SO wet on that ride. I have a little video after we got off the ride that I'll post hopefully tomorrow night.

I was at CHA for work, so I don't have any photos from that (except for my Paris Hilton sighting!), but hopefully Jen will have some photos up soon that I can point you to. :)

Anyway, a new Designer Garden went up at TwoPeas today, so I wanted to share my two digital scrap pages with you. :) Here they are...

(BTW, Marisa... forgive me for using the photo of you. I just love it (and you!) so much).

NOTE: Yes, there was a typo earlier in the first page. That's the joy of digital scrapbooking--you can fix a typo! :)

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(c) Two Peas in a Bucket


(c) Two Peas in a Bucket