Happy 2011...better late than never, right?

It’s been a while hasn’t it? Sorry about that. I am hoping 2011 brings more dedication to my blog, more focus to my life and good things for all of you.

I didn’t set out to stop blogging…it just kind of happened. I decided to re-do the scrapbooks that I had made before for my 2 boys. I was looking through the scrapbooks one day and thought they were just horrible. Oh MY goodness! The stickers, the cheap, inferior card stock, the lack of focus and my overall lack of experience scrapbooking all made for two pretty sad books. Never did I think about the huge project I was undertaking (and still am).

Because Andrew was born in the 80’s many of his photos (read MOST) had not been saved and I had no clue where the negatives where. Thus began the daunting task of removing photos without destroying them. OY!

And what was I thinking with the glue and adhesive I used? At the time, I did not know that there was no need to use a bottle of glue per photo.

What was I thinking?

I threw myself into this labor of love and basically stopped making cards. Then the frustration of the scrapbooks kicked in and I even avoided the craft room for days on end.Somewhere days turned into weeks. But, I would work on the scrapbooks here and there.

What I learned was something I have always known. I am an instant gratification kind of girl…and let me tell you, there is no instant gratification in redoing a scrapbook.

Then a couple of weeks ago the daughter of one of my friends had surgery and I needed to make sure she knew I was thinking of her. So, of course, I needed to make a card. Ahhhhh…instant gratification! Oh the joy! In that instant I realized that maybe I can’t have it all in my life, but I CAN have it all in my craft room.

Slowly I have returned to my craft room. But before I could create another thing, I undertook a purge. An honest to goodness, be honest with myself purge!

So, what did I learn from this huge purge.
I learned that I don’t like those goofy prima flower. They look gorgeous on YOUR cards. On my cards, the look horrible. I am prima flower challenged. I admit it!
I learned that I am a huge fan of CAS cards. Clean. Simple. Lots of white space. Love ‘em!

And this lead to the next revelation. I really like one layer cards. They make me happy and lead to instant gratification!

I learned that my crafting in the one thing I do just for me and I need that down time. Even if my son is in the next room watching the Dukes of Hazzard, or playing video games or whatever, I am not a bad mom if I am in the next room working on something I enjoy.

I also learned that I am not a fan of all the DP I owned! Some, yes. But packs of paper with sheets and sheets of paper I could not even imagine using.

So, I boxed up all the stuff I don’t use. I filled one box and am working on my second. Every time I come across something, I ask myself if I really use whatever it may be and if I truly love it or bought it because one of you made it look beautiful.

So after this long hiatus and babbling post, I played in some SCS challenges this week.

Monday I played with the CAS challenge and the techniques challenge.

Tuesday I took on the color challenge.

Whoa! Stop the presses. From 0 to three challenges in two days! Mark the calendar and let’s see if the trend continues.

Without further ado….here is my first card of 2011!

This card is for SCS CAS101 challenge

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful day!



Stamps: House Mouse Bunny Kisses
Inks and coloring goodies: Palette Noir Black, Koh-i-noor, glimmer paint
other goodies: doodle bugs crushed velvet flock, spray adhesive, SU dazzling Diamonds