HAVE YOU EVER...?

Happy Tuesday, everyone!  I'm hoping this post will find you all well!  Those of you in the areas of the pending storms, I am praying for your safety and well-being.  Hopefully, the expected bad weather will take a turn to barren lands and/or just dissapate before hitting the ground.

Well..., have you ever planned an entire weekend to have it all go in another direction?!!!  That happened to me this weekend!  Not to say it was a bad weekend but disappointing in that I didn't get to do anything I anticipated.  I love-love my family and I hate to admit it but don't we all have those times when we wish we could get around our families and family-matters, wishing they'd all just disappear?!!!  Sometimes I really wish I could turn my back; but, of course, my heart, soul, and concern for them wouldn't allow that.   I only wish my shoulders were wider...

Fortunately, a friend happened to phone me yesterday and did an amazing job of lifting my spirits(just when I really needed it)!!!  Isn't having friends a blessing?!!!  Thanking her wasn't quite enough for how much better she made me feel so, finally having some time to myself and wanting to pay-it-forward, I sat down and made her this card before doing anything else:

I wanted the insidepanel to pop out and be a bit different so I added a deeper contrasting color:

I wanted to share my card with you today but haven't yet added the words; I want that to be very personal and private -- direct from my heart.

Thanks for taking the time to stop by and for lending an "ear";  coming here and being so well recieved is a reward I try not to ever take advantage of.  So every now and then expect to hear a heartfelt "thank you" from me.

Love you all, and...

I'll be seeing you!

APRON COOKIE BOX

Happy Saturday, everyone!!!  Ready for the weekend?  LOL!!!

Today when I went to visit with Sheila she'd made the most adorable little box and challenged any of us to make a liitle box and link to our project.  Of course, any of you who have been with me for any length of time knows I LOVE boxes and making them!!!  So, this was one challenge Sheila wouldn't have even had to twist my arm to do... lol!!!  I hurried to my Design Studio and came up with this little apron cookie box:

Unfortunately, I don't have any cookies to put in it at the moment, but what a cute gift it'll make for someone when I do!!!

I do have a cut.file I'll add to my list as soon as I've cleaned it up a bit... did it in such a hurry!!!  LOL!  If you care not to wait, you can always email me at audreyfrel@sbcglobal.net and I'll email it out to you as is.  The adjustment is only some slight cutting to the armhole and it's decorative cover.  Anyway, you can have it but it's up to you whether you want to wait or not.

Well, I'm off again to have as much fun as I can before I have work to do...

I'll be seeing you!

Hello, everyone!  Always I wish you wellness and happiness!

Yesterday I had such a busy day and I've errands to run today, so I'll be a bit behind in visiting.  Although things are considerably better, I still have an obligation to my aunt and family, and we do what we must.  But the up-side for me is I'll probably be able take some time to check in on what you've been up to later tonight!

My quick share today are the front and back pages I made for Rhonda's halloween min-book page swap.  I made two (2) pages -- one for a swap recipient and one for Rhonda -- so the opposites sides of the front and back pages below are identical to the other (to see some of the detail I added you can click on the picture to enlarge it):

 

These pages were really fast and easy to put together, from just some simple cricut cuts, and I had fun doing them. I hope whomever recieves my page in their mini likes it, and I hope Rhonda likes hers.

 

Sorry, I've got to run now but I'll be back...

 

I'll be seeing you!

 

 

CHALLENGE #2 CARD

Hello, blog family!  Happy Tuesday -- at least I hope it is for you... lol!!!

Today I'm back with challenge card # 2.  I made this card for the August 15 card challenge over at Stuck on You Sketches  and I'm so happy with how it came out!!!  Here's the card:

You can click to enlarge it, or maybe you can it a little better without the frame:

 

 Here's a peek at the inside:

There's some great talent over there so I really hope they like my card, and I hope you do too!

Well, got some things to take care of today and a few quick errands to run, but I'll be back soon to see you and share with more stuff!!!  So...,

Thanks for stopping by and I'll be seeing you!

CHALLENGE CARD #1

It's me again, everyone!

I don't normally do two (2) posts in a day, however, I'm entering several challenges and wanted to make certain I had time to get them all posted before the deadline dates.

This card is for Sheila's circle window card challenge:

I'm hoping it's acceptable because most of the window was taken up by the shadow for the words "With Love".

If you're interested in the circle window card challenge, click on Sheila's name at the top of the page where you'll be directed to her blog to find all the details.

I'll be back with challenge card #2 tomorrow!  And, as always, thanks for stopping by!

I'll be seeing you!

Hello, and a very happy start to a new week!!!  I hope everyone in blogland is happy and well.

Last week I mentioned attempting to post a picture of a card I'd made but couldn't upload because my Picasa Album account was full.  By the time I'd purchased more space, it was time to post my DT project for Pam -- which I'm so glad you enjoyed -- but which delayed my posting the card.  So today the card is my share with you.

As I mentioned, it's not such a great card; I messed up applying the pearls but I didn't think it so bad it couldn't be posted.  Here's the front of the card:

This is the inside of the card:

I really should have used scraps instead of using my card to practice drawing the pearl swirls, I should have just left well enough alone... but that's not me, lol!!!  Oh well, I'm working on a couple of challenge cards, so I'll be back real soon!

I'll be seeing you!

YOU'VE GOT TO SEE THIS EASY PAGE BINDING!!!

Hello, friends!  Hope everyone is happy and ready for the weekend!

Well, I'm back at  Pam's today with another DT project!  So just in case you didn't catch me there, you know I'll always share with you right here at home!


Let me ask you this, have you ever went to toss something into the trash but stopped because something about what you were going to trash caught your attention?  Well, that's exactly what happened to me and what lead to this project.  It's so funny that I sometimes get the most odd ideas about  a thing that just seems to come out of nowhere!  Who would have thought this idea?!!!

The project is this little mini-book, and you won't want to believe how the pages are bound and with what!!!  LOL!  Well, I'm going to show you, but first let's take a look at and tour my book -- starting with the front and then a few of the inside pages:

Okay, get ready to find out how I bound these pages!!!  Well..., you know those paperstack packs where you have to tear off the cardstock from the perforated tabs at the top of the pack?  Oh you know, the packs that look like this on the inside:

Yes those!  Well, don't ever toss them again!  Those tabs are perfect for binding pages together!!!  And it's just too easy!

After I used all the paper, I removed the front and back covers to where all I had were just the tags (Figure 1).  Next, I cut the number of pages I wanted for my little mini (the page sizes can be any size according to the number of inches in lenght of your paper pack tabs which is 12").  For my mini, I cut 6 cardstock sheets (4.50" x 6"); this gave me a front and back cover page, and 4 inside pages.  After I'd cut my pages, I counted out 2 tabs each for each of the 6 pages (which would be 12 tabs), then I cut the tabs to-size at 6" to fit my pages (Figure 2):

Figure 1

Figure 2

I have a pair of  heavy duty scissors so it wasn't too hard to cut through the 12 sheets.  If you do this, you may need to cut through a few sheets at a time.  Note:  I did not worry about the holes in the tabs because I knew I'd be covering the pages so theyd be covered too and wouldn't show.

Okay, now starting with the first 2 back tabs, I evenly aligned my first page between the 2 tabs and glued the first page between the tabs, like this:

Repeating the same step as above, I took the next 2 tabs (Figure 3) and aligned the second page between those tabs making sure they were also evenly aligned with the first page and glued the second page between the tabs:

Figure 3

I continued this procedure until each page was glued between the tabs and when all the pages were glued between all the tabs my book looked like this:

As you can see on the picture, I didn't do it, but you might want to trim off the perforated edges at the top of the paper when you cut your pages.  But, at this point, my my book was basically done!!!  All I had left to do was add paper for a front and back cover, and cover my pages!!!  How easy is that?!!!  And the design possibilities are endless!!!  You can design it any way you want and add as many pages as you'd like!!!  Now I'm sooooo happy I didn't toss those tabs!!!

Should you try this easy binding method, please let me see.  I'd love to see what ideas you come up with using these tabs!!!

Thanks for stopping by!!!  And, as always...

I'll be seeing you!

PHOTO UPLOAD UPDATE AND GREAT NEWS!

Here I again!  Thank you to those who responded to my earlier post.  Unfortunately, I can't post photos yet until my Picassa upgrade goes through, hopefully by tomorrow I'll be able to post my card.  It seems the problem was my Picasa album/account was at 99%; I had no more free space left to upload any more photos.  Well I took care of that!!!  LOL!  Not that I'm excited about uploading this card as I did mess it up but so not badly it can't be shared.


However, I do have some GREAT news to share while I'm here!!!  After months and months, my cut files are again available to download without hassle!!!  You can download them without needing a registration log-in and/or password.  Please feel free to browse and download any of my files available.  AND, you know what else this also means?  Yes, once again I can begin creating  more files to share with you!!!

In case any of you don't know, my cut files are located on my right-hand sidebar almost halfway down the page... just scroll down to the drop-down boxes and feel free to use whatever like!

As a note, please remember, my files are for your personal use only. 

I'll be seeing you...

IS ANYONE ELSE HAVING A PROBLEM POSTING PICTURES?

Hello, everyone!  Hope all is well in blogland!

And hello to a couple of new followers!!!  I hope to see you all often, and I can't wait to get acquainted with you -- you're family now!

I've been trying to post a picture of a card I made, however, I keep getting a message that says
" Will not load!  Server returned an invalid response".  I don't know what it means specifically but I do know it means you won't get to see my card right now... lol!

Is anyone else having this problem?  Oh well..., guess I'll try again later!  Don't you just get ignored with Blogger sometime when you don't know what's going on?!!!

As always, I'll be back, so...

I'll be seeing you!

SAY "CHEESE"...!!!

Happy Saturday, family-friends!  I hope everyone is doing well in blogland!!!

I took some time to do some Google and internet browsing for inspiration, and ran across the cutest little camera boxes.  Taking inspiration from several of them, this is my take:

The box that most inspired mine opened from the side and was just one unit; however, I decided on the 2-piece box with lid:

The lens was made from a piece cardboard gift-wrap tubing, the round mechanism on top is a covered cap/top from a water bottle (lol!), and the covered square piece was cut from a piece of styrofoam.

This was such fun to make!!!  Hope you like it too!!!  Now..., say "CHEESE"!!!

Thanks for stopping by and hugs to you all!!!

I'll be seeing you1

WASTE NOT...!!!

Happy Wednesday, or should I say "hump day?...  Lol!  Whatever kind of day it is, I'm certainly hoping it's a great one!!!

On my last visit I mentioned I'd be back with a card made from the negative and leftovers from my previous card; well, here it is:

Front

Inside

Well, off to see what else I can get into!!!  Must say, I'm having loads of fun!!!  Hope you are too!!!

I'll be seeing you...

Hugs!

Hi friends!  Hope everyone had a great-great weekend!  I know I did!  I had such a wonderful time with family and it was much needed.

Hi, Trina!!!  Thanks for following me!!!
Just in case anyone else was wondering...  I guess I should have explained but really didn't even think about it, however, someone emailed me after reading my nephew's bio and mentioned I referred to him as Greg.  Yes, his name is Bryant, but when he was born he looked so much like his Dad (who's name is Gregory) that he was called Lil Greg -- the nickname stuck but as he grew older the "Lil" title got dropped and everyone now just calls him Greg.  I really should have thought to either use his real name or explain his nickname as I can see how that was confusing; but now it's a habit -- I don't think any of us even gives it a thought.  So there you go!

Now on to my project for today!  As I always tell you, I'm not a really good cardmaker but they are such fun to do.  I never have a plan or anything specific in mind when I make cards, and every now and then I make one I'm quite pleased with.  I like this monogram notecard and it has 2 inside pages -- one decorative and the other is the greeting/signature page:

I hope you like my card!

Well, I think I'm going to take the scraps and make another card.  I'll be back when I finish it because the next one will be made from the leftovers and negative piece from this card.  Don't know yet how it'll turn out but I'm having fun and I'm going to show it off whether you like it or not... LOL!!!

I'll be seeing you!

IT'S A FAMILY AFFAIR!!!

Hello, everyone!  No, I haven't disappeard again; I'm still here.  I know you haven't seen or heard from me this weekend but that's because I was very busy helping my cousin prepare a family reunion (of sorts) for one of her 5 sons.  And we're pretty much still celebrating!

My nephew, Greg, and his family came home for a brief vist from Japan where's he's been stationed for over a year.   Greg was previously stationed in Hawaii for several years prior to that, and had spent some time on his ship, so all the family got together to celebrate his brief visit home.  This was the first time he'd been together with his other 4 brothers in several years (one of whom came here from California to join the celebration).  The entire family is so proud of Greg as, at age 37, he's a Command Master Chief in the Navy, and is assigned as the Command Master Chief  to the USS Tortuga LSD 46 naval ship which participated in the Tsunami disaster relief in 2011.

If you're interested, here is a link to my nephew's bio web page where you can read some of his accomplishments:  http://www.public.navy.mil/surfor/lsd46/Pages/bio3.aspx

In the meantime, I'm sharing some pictures I took at his mom's this weekend.  Sorry my picture-taking skills aren't the greatest, some of them are blurred, and please accuse how I look.  I really worked hard in preparation -- it was very hot and humid, and I'm pretty sweaty and just tired.

Here I am with Greg and his sweet family:

This is Greg with the newest member of our family, his nephew (his brother's son); it was his first time seeing CJ in person:

This is Greg's wife with CJ:

This is me with my nephew(Greg's brother) Lawrence, and his wife, who came in from California:

And me with the happy and proud mom:

LOL!  Five guys and no daughters!!!  But..., all 5 are great and successful young men!!!

Well, I'll be back tomorrow with a little card project I'll be finishing up some time tonight, and I'll be back on my rounds seeing what you've all been up to!!!

Hugs!

WHAT THE HECK...? A CARD?!!! A BOX?!!! (PICTURE HEAVY)

PLEASE NOTE THE CORRECTION BELOW TO THE SCORE LINES FOR THE 12" X 7" CARDSTOCK SHEET USED FOR THE BOX FRONT OF THIS PROJECT.  THE INCORRECT SCORE MEASUREMENT HAS BEEN STRUCK OUT IN RED AND REPLACED WITH THE CORRECT SCORING OF 5.75" -- NOT 7".   I APOLOGIZE FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE YOU MIGHT HAVE EXPERIENCED!!! 

Hello, everyone!!!  Hope everyone is well and happy!

Today, I have a DT project over at Sheila's.  It's simple but, I thinks, it's adorable.  I'd like to share it here too with you in case you miss it over at She's A Sassy Lady.  It's kind of a card:

I haven't completed wording on the inside yet because I'm not absolutely certain who will recieve it, although I have somewhat of an idea:

But wait..., what the heck!!!  Is that a box inside my card?  With 2 pockets?!!!  YES!  This card/box will hold 2 fittable items (hey, my last project had 2 pockets, guess I'm on a roll, huh!...LOL!!!):

Now, my idea of who might be getting this is my DH's niece for her upcoming birthday, so I made a little matching pocket  --to go inside one of the pockets -- to hold some cash, and I made a little matching notebook to go inside the second pocket:

Are you liking this so far?!!!

This was quick and fun to do, and you can do one too!  Here's how to put it together.  Begin with pre-cut  sized cardstock sheets for the base card and box:

• Card - measures 12"x 4.25" (Score and fold in half to measure 6" x 4.25") - Put aside for later

One 12"x 12" sheet of cardstock makes the following:

• Box Front  - measures 12" x 7"
• Box Back - measures 5"x7" (This cut is from the leftover 12"x12" cardstock used for the box front)

Starting with the 12" x 7" cardstock, lay 12" side across top of scoreboard and score at 4" and 8"; turn paper one quarter turn with 7" across top of scoreboard and score at 7" 5.75".

Next the the 5" x 7" cardstock, with 5" side across top of scoreboard, score at 1/2" and 4.25"; turn a quarter turn (now 7" is across of scoreboard), score at 5.75".  You're scores should look like this:

To make neater and easier folding, cut out areas on each sheet of cardstock as shown below:

Next you want to do a mountain fold down the middle of the first and last outer sections on the 12"x 7" panel -- do not fold down the middle of the middle section.  You will know why I'm telling you to do this later.  (If it makes it easier, you can score these folds in at 2" and 6" when you're scoring the 12" x 7" cardstock sheet with the 12" across the top of the scoreboard; I just choose to do it this way).  This panel is the front of the box:

Now take the 5" x 7" sheet of cardstock (the back of the box) and glue/adhere the outside tabs to the inside edges of the front of the box to look like this (do not glue the bottom tabs in place yet!):

Now here's where the importance of that mountain fold comes in on the front of the card!  Using your thumb and any finger, gently squeese your box together bringing in the bottom tabs until the overlap and align with each other  -- now glue them together:

When you do this project you'll notice that the tabs will appear too short to reach each the other and overlap the box opening -- until you squeeze the box together at the folds!!!  Then you'll really see why the mountain folds are absolutely necessary!

The picture below shows how the top of the box should look now; can you see how the 2 pockets are formed?

Okay, now let's make the pockets more prominent by separating them even more.  Take a scrap piece of cardstock (about 1.50" x 5"), fold it in half lenthwise and glue it across the middle of the folds where the 2 pockets will meet:

This step is optional as you may want to use another closure, however, I added a ribbon to the back of my box for the closure on my card/box:

Okay, now time to grab that 12"x 4.25" card I indicated you make at the top of this tutoral.  Take your box; carefully center and align the bottom of the box to the inside bottom panel of the card and glue/adhere them together!  Yippee, you have your card-box!!!

Now the final step is to decorate it anyway you like and add anything you like!!!  To embellish mine, I added cuts printed from the Imagaine Word of Mouth cartridge, tossed in a couple of roses, and added some stickles around the edges.

Hope you like my project!!!  I'll be looking forward to seeing some of your creations!!!

Any questions?  Leave me a comment and I'll be glad to help!!!

Hugs, and I'll be seeing you!!!