2016 Expo Project ~ SHINE

Over the next weeks, I'll be sharing several of the projects and pages from my adventures at the 2016 Scrapbook Expo in Duluth GA (just outside Atlanta). 

This year's group of TEN scrappers and close friends marked EIGHTH year of attending, each year gets better and better!  Here's our group this year in our "I Love My Scrapbook Sisters" shirts. 

One of the newer events offered is the Thursday night Make N Take.  The evening is filled with one vendor after another, giving you prepackaged projects and walking you through the techniques using their products.   After each presenter, they set up their table of special sales for about 20 minutes. Talk about a mad rush of women!!!  All 400 + trying to get around two 10 foot tables to grab the newest products at a great price!

Craft Fantastic was one of the presenters Thursday night.  Their project was Fantastic Memory Jewelry and included a bird cage pendant and a circle pendant for us to add images to and cover with their clear domes.  The package also included a necklace chain and a cute pair of charm like scissors embellishments.

I elected to use my birdcage pendant as an embellishment on a card.  I clipped the pendant through the sticky back netting and added the wooden SHINE from my stash.  This will make the perfect card for a special friend who's love of the Lord SHINES brightly every day!

Thank you for stopping by - May God's love SHINE through your actions today and may you be a blessing to others. 

Tiny fingers, Tiny toes...

Today's card was Pinterest inspired and on Karle's Passion's Card of the Day posting on Facebook.

With my online friend Ginny recently becoming a new Grandma

for the first time. this wall card using the Unity Little Girl stamp, is on the way to add to Molly's and Steve's celebration of the birth of Eden Rose.

Sending many blessings and best wishes Ginny!

What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday #371 - Make Me Smile Challenge

It's been quite a while since I've posted on the Stamping Grounds, WOYWW blog.  (So long that it appears Mr. Linky isn't even over there?  Oh well...  )  

For my friends that follow me from the Stamping Grounds blog, the last couple of months have included... completely selling my inventory of crafting supplies, selling my home and relocating to a cozy home on the lake waters of South Carolina.  It's been a busy first half of the year and I am very ready to enjoy a slower and relaxed second half of 2016!

From my desk this morning, I'd like to share a 'Make Me Smile' Challenge card that I just completed for one of my card groups, Addicted to Card Making.  This one was posted by our admin, Kathy, as a quick 3 day challenge - "make a card that will make me smile!"  

This was created using  a recycled flip calendar, several layers of matting, multi colors of flowers, 5 mm flat back pearls and mounted on a black card base.  

I hope little Piglet made YOU smile my friend! 

Thank you for stopping by ~ Pam 

  

July Envelope Challenge ~ Addicted to Card Making

Have YOU ever done an 'envelope' challenge?  I have to admit the first time I saw the posting to sign up for this type challenge I was at a total loss!  What can you do with a decorated envelope? 

I can only imagine the laughs that Jennifer, the admin at the time on Addicted to Card Making, had when I messaged her with just that question.  I certainly was relieved to find out an envelope challenge has a totally different meaning on a card making site.  

The July Envelope Challenge was hosted by Kari Brown and as you can see, everyone who participates gets an envelope of the same supplies.  Then your creativity begins to churn as you must use some of each piece included to make your card.  (Other items can be added, but it is usually a limited number.)

The two patterned papers had a black and white design on the reverse side - I could have elected to use either side of the papers. 

Being a photographer, I wanted to use the red camera as my focal point on my card.  The light blue netted ribbon was quite bulky which presented a little bit of a challenge.  

I landed on adding a camera stamp for my background and using the larger paper for the center lens in each camera.

  

The 'in the news' and camera pieces are popped up and the Happy Birthday is stamped on the pink lined tag paper.  I punched a small hole in the circle to put the wide ribbon in and tucked in under the back, then completed the card with lightly running Stampin Up Really Red ink around the edges.

Thanks Kari for the cute supplies for this card.  

Blueprint 29 Class at The Stamping Place & Scrapbook Station

The Stamping Place & Scrapbook Station in West Columbia, SC, continues to be the best little scrapbooking store around with great hidden treasures!

Today they hosted a very nice card making class today called  
~ Blueprint 29 Card Class ~

Guest Host, Katy, (the pop dot queen) led us through using the Blueprint 29 die set to make four lovely cards.  While each person's turned out a little different, the die set is definitely a great addition to your collection along with several of the My Favorite Things stamps.  

Here's my creations from today ~ 

If you are local to the area or traveling through the Columbia area, be sure to search out to find this locally owned, charming scrapbooking store.  In addition to a great inventory, they offer monthly crops, and great classes, and the ladies are always willing to help you learn how to use the products.

Christian Card Makers Challenge ~ July ~ Aperture (Window) Card

The new card challenge for July on Christian Card Maker posted by our admin,  Marilyn, is for us to make a Aperture or Window card.   

For mine, I elected to use the Quickutz Nesting Circles and one of my favorite Stampin Up Stamps, Garden Collage.  To make the aperture, I selected the nesting circle slightly larger than the stamped design.  Then I skipped up two circle sizes to cut the orange border piece to go around the top of the card.  The stamped design is adhered to the inside back of the card.  This one is colored with standard colored pencils and a little bit of  yarn attached to make the loopy bow. 

The nice thing about making this type card design is the recipient gets to enjoy the design from the outside and again when they open the card.  

Hope you will try out this technique soon. 

May the God of Love ~ Wedding Card

All the careful pre-planing of moving my crafts is really paying off!  I had promised myself that by the first of July, I would be fairly close to being unpacked and ready to pick back up on my crafting.  With just a half dozen boxes left of 'where the heck is this going to go?' and still a good bit of organizing to do in the craft room, July is here and I'm ready and IN NEED of crafting time!

Today is the Wedding Day for a young lady in my church that I have only known about 5 years.  Though tiny in statue, she has the biggest goals, and doesn't stop until she gets them accomplished.  After recently graduating from Clemson University, studying Animal and Veterinary Sciences she is now at Mississippi State College of Veterinary Medicine. Yep, one smart cookie for sure! And through all the many days and all night studies, she and her fiancee continue keep their focus on their Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.  

With that in mind, I knew I wanted a cross to be the center focus for their wedding card, and here's what I came up with. 

(Sorry for the poor quality photo...light box hasn't surfaced yet either.)

The cross and the frame are Spellbinder dies, the chalking ink shading is Quick Quotes Blue Lagoon and the dots on the brown LOVE definition piece are Glossy Accents.

Inside is stamped:

May the God of love

be the heart

of your marriage,

the light of your home, and

the ever-present partner

in your new life

together.

Wishing you the very best Shelly & Dalton!

Move Day ~ June 18, 2016

With the house closing still several weeks away, 

and my wonderful family help lined up for the only open Saturday

during the month of June, 

it's time to pack it up and move it out. 

So many things have lined up to make this day a special memory

and a successful start toward my new adventures.

First additional blessing - my BFF, Cindy decides to drive five

hours one way to be with me through this weekend.  

What a blessing her endless help and support has always been.

Next, you know you always worry about the weather when 

you are doing a 'self move'.  With three trucks and trailers and two 

SUV's scheduled, I still was checking the weather and praying for 

no rain that morning.  

However, God had a plan for that need, as a friend of my son's called and offered the use of a moving van for the day!  

"What?", I exclaimed when my son called.  

"Yep, we just have to put the gas back in." 

WOW!

 Kevin and Jason quickly became our Two Men and a Truck!

 With each room packed and ready...

in just under 2 hours the entire house, full attic and the yard furniture was packed up and our

caravan was pulling out, covered in our prayers for safe travels.

And the huge sigh of relief as the truck is opened at the new house 

with everything still in tack~my happy crew still has energy left.

Of course KFC on the way probably did help slightly with getting things unloaded quickly plus the cloud cover and cool breeze of the morning had disappeared by this time.

It didn't take Dad long to find his position of supervision, 

what a well trained duPont retiree he is!

I asked for their TIRED look right after lunch...I think I got more

sleepy looks and Dad's humor shining brightly.  

So within 8 hours of starting, the crew was back on the road 

toward home.... I love you guys!  My life is so blessed by each of you, every day! 

Wish I'd gotten a photo with each one, but did get this shot with 

my son Kevin (i.e. the next Duck Dynasty actor).

And afterwards, Cindy really had to twist my arm to

a small celebration with just the two of us!

What an awesome day!

Thank you for stopping by ~ Pam

Summer Begins

With JUNE 1st rolling in,  my full time online selling came to a close, at least for the summer.  Wow! Almost four years to the date since I began as a new 'destasher'.  First listing on Scrapbook Bargain Basement Resale, eventually listing on several crafting sites, and then creating my on personal site, Not Just Scraps I was so very blessed in moving tons and tons of crafting inventory from my 10 year home based business at some great prices!

Now June is filled with packing MY crafts (and the rest of my house) while preparing to downsize from around 2300 square feet to under 1000 square feet.  Ouch! 

Yes, CRAFTS get packed first as the priority, right?

With my new home being an hour away, I elected to pack in tubs and clear containers that weren't too heavy for me to move myself a car load at a time, put away, and not have the huge mounds of card board boxes to deal with after the 'big move'.

I boxed by room section (desk/bookcase/stamping station etc) 

then got help moving the larger pieces to their new home...

 One surprise I'd forgotten about - when we moved the bookcase....
It was purchased from a outlet store that was going out of business.  I just happen to walk in as they were closing the doors within minutes and this piece was left because of the price.  Made a ridiculous offer of $150 and the rest is history.

More to come....

Thanks for stopping by ~ Pam 

Wedding Wishes for a Special Bride

While traveling last fall, I got a sneak peak of my

friends daughter's wedding gown. While sworn to 

complete secrecy, I knew I wanted to use the 

quickly snapped photo for a special wedding card.

Being new also at using Julie Nutting Paper dolls 

added an additional challenge .... but I was 

determined to merge a photo into the dress on

the paper doll. 

And here is the result - 

The Prima Mixed Media Julie Nutting Doll RITA 

with the actual photo 

of part of the wedding dress,

layered on an 5 x 7 embossed background

with raised black swirls, hearts and the

perfect sentiment for this

special bride...

Be - YOU - tiful.

Best wishes to Mr. and Mrs. Byars!