Scrap Camp Recovery Day Two

These are my new friends called the Cuttin Up Crew! Tammy had T-shirts made this time which was fun to have! The other scrapbook group there was jealous of our matching shirts! We had 29 ladies attend and they are such a fun group of ladies! This was the spring gathering and they have one in the fall as well. Here is the scrapbook page that I created in my head at 4am while trying to get to sleep the last night. I even had to get up to sketch it down by the light of my cell phone. I made it once I got back down to the room at 9am. Everyone loved it, so many cased the page for their own group picture. That was so special and I was honored! I used Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose and Chocolate Chip. The pink layout is 8 x 8 and eyelet edge punched on the bottom. The white is 5 x 7 so the picture had to be cut to 4.5 x 6.5. I used brown dotted ribbon from Betsy's bag of ribbon! :) The butterflies are from the Sizzix Big Shot die cut and word window punch for the center body part. The scissors are made from small and large oval punches with the word window punch for the blades. They are attached with a brad and popped off the page with a dimensional dot. The letters and numbers are done with my new favorite tool that I HAVE to get! The Cricut! I used the Tear Drop font and sized them to 1.25". Then I attached them with my next new favorite tool the Xyron! It makes any things 1.5" or less a sticker! Thank you Taylor for teaching me how to use them! I bought one at Walmart while I was there on Saturday. Love it! Now I need to have that yard sale so I can get the Cricut and the Disney Mickey Font to finish my Disney scrapbooks! Have a magical day! Cindy

Scrap Camp Recovery Day One

I got back from my great weekend at Scrap Camp Spring 2009 on Sunday! What an amazing time I had! I got three and a half scrapbooks finished(which I will show this week), learned about some new stuff like the Cricut and Xyron, and made alot of new friends! I did not get much sleep and usually was one of the last ones up past 3am. OY! So I am paying for it today while I finish my month end for work. I will try to post later a group shot and the scrapbook page I designed for it. Have a magical day! Cindy

Festive Friday

Festive Birthday that is! Here is the card I made for my Dad's birthday. He loves gray/silver and black and I added the red to contrast it. Reminds me of the time when he asked me what to paint the strip on our race car and I said RED! So he did to please me and then a few months later, he painted it silver! Humbug! (love ya Dad!)

Colors - Black, Basic Gray and Riding Hood Red, Whisper White, Craft ink white

Stamps - Upsy Daisy, Pocket Silhouettes, Itty Bitty Backgrounds

Paper - retired Ghostly Gatherings striped

Punch - 1 3/4" circle

Ribbon - Riding Hood Red 5/8"Striped Grosgrain

Have a magical day!

Cindy

Disney Tip Thursday

why DVC? continued....

Another link http://allears.net/acc/dvc.htm is to another explanation of the DVC program. It covers the same basics as the other link but not as funny. Love the "need the Excedrin yet?" at the end of each topic in the article!

Since we have owned DVC since 2004, our vacations that we have taken have more than covered our contract amount. Example: Our DVC contract 17,000

Hotel cost for 2004 trip $ 1580

Hotel cost for 2005 trip $ 3950

Hotel cost for 2005 Christmas trip $ 9450

Hotel cost for 2006 trips $ 3150

Hotel cost for 2007 trip $ 2540

Hotel cost for 2008 trip $ 2725

Grand total in just hotel bills would have been $ 23,395.00! More than $6,000 over our contract amount to date!

We know that we still 33 years left on our contract! And yes, this can be willed to our girls to have and enjoy with their own families one day.

I am going to cover the reason why we bought into DVC ownership:

#1 Disney luxury resorts! You get larger accomadations then just your regular hotel room. Friendly Disney high quality service too! You can basically just stay at the resort all week and never go to DisneyWorld and you still have that Disney feeling of being there!

#2 They also have other resorts that are not on Disney property. Examples Hilton Head, Vero Beach and soon expanding out to California and Hawaii! Rumor are that they are looking at Myrtle Beach next.

#3 We can book 7 to 11 months in advance! Yes it is great when you love to plan out every detail for your vacation. I have gotten better about this and have become more flexible in this area.

#4 We can sort of prepay for our vacations! We would have to budget each month to save up for one vacation anyways so why not do it this way.

#5 Guaranteed vacation each year whether to Disney or the beach! Some times we can even manage to do two trips during off peak times and in a studio room for less point usage. This is the first year, we have banked our points in to the next year. Going to save up points to hit Hawaii once it opens!

One of the things I love the best is when we arrive to the resort and they check our ids at the gate for check in....they say "Welcome Home Schuster Family!" I sometimes response with a "Thank you! It's good to be home!" Heehee!

If you have any further questions about DVC, please email me at nutmeg1197@aol.com and I can try to answer them from my experience with DVC.

Have a magical day!

Cindy

Wacky Wednesday

Today is a project that I did on UStamp - an online class where you get to do several projects at your own pace and keep the project pdf's for future use. See the UStamp Blinkie spot at the top right if you are interested. I wanted to make it a spa theme so I went with a calming color combo. This was a simple 4 square boxes put together. They were taped together with a 5 3/4 x 5 3/4 square and hole punched with large oval to make the handle. The color combo is Certainly Celery and retired Blue Bayou. (I still have some of that left and need to use it!) The paper is from Urban Garden which matches perfectly. The flower is from my friend Monika. She had a class that I attended where she taught us how to make this sweet thing! You take a 1 x 12 sheet of DSP and scallop edge punch one side. Then score it every half inch, make folds and tape ends together. Squeeze together and place on glue dot to secure it. Add a button to finish the center off. The first one can be tricky so that your time if you try it. I remembered that I had some Mary Kay spa products left and decided to add them to this. Unbelievable that they match the color theme! What a great gift this would make for Mother's Day! Have a magical day! Cindy I leave tomorrow morning for my scrap camp weekend but have scheduled posts for the rest of the week. Be sure to check in! I will be showing some of my COMPLETED scrapbooks next week!

Disney Tip Tuesday

Some people have asked me about DVC or Disney Vacation Club, so this week's tips I will cover some of the basics about DVC. Howard is such a saleman of DVC when he talked to people about it. It was meant so much to us to have this timeshare ownership! Our history with DVC started back in May 2003. We were on a Disney vacation with my parents,brother/his wife and us. We were staying at the Beach Club in a two bedroom suite with a large kitchen and living room area. It was luxury at the best! Howard had stopped at the DVC area at the front of the resort and asked to come on a tour at the Boardwalk Resort Preview Center. I was NO where interested in going with him. He went and thought it was a great idea but not the right time for us financially. Then forward one year, Howard's dear grandfather had passed away and left an inheritance for his family members. After much thought and budgeting, we took some of the money for a good deposit on the DVC loan. Howard remembers the trips to Disney that his Grandparents took them on over the years and thought this was a way to honor those special memories with Grandpa and Grandma Schuster by spending Disney vacations with our girls. Sort of like a gift of Disney from them each year. We know that he would approve. So we bought in February 2004 with a start date of April 2004 as owners at the new Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa. We have a 250 points per year contract that expires in 2054. We bought back then $93 per point and they had a mear 60,000 owners at that time. It has grown so much in the past 5 years! Big increase in price too! I found this website below and click on it to read about the details of DVC. You will have to scroll down to see this excellent article. I thought it gave the pros and cons of having a DVC ownership and explained the details as well. DVC is not for everyone but to some of us that have ownership, we LOVE it! http://www.mouseplanet.com/8739/A_Disney_Vacation_Club_Primer I will cover more DVC details on Thursday! Have a magical day! Cindy

Made for Monday

I always struggle with masculine cards. You have to keep them SIMPLE! NO girly frills ya know! I found a card on Splitcoaststampers.com (I am sorry that I can not find it now to give that person proper credit) and had to cased it! I made this card for my Brother's birthday. I used retired River Rock (should be a neutral color), chocolate chip and whisper white cardstock. I took the classic ink pad and swipped it across for a grainy look on the background. I love this tree from the Lovely as a Tree stamp set. The sentiment is from Upsy Daisy stamp set.

Here is the photo frame that I made for him to hold pictures of his sweet baby girl. I used chipboard coasters (thanks Taco Mac) and covered them with chocolate chip paper. Add jumbo eyelets and ribbon to hold together. I used a clear envelope to make the photo sleeve to change out the picture as she grows.

Have a magical day!

Cindy

My Studio - All creative space

Today is covering the rest of the entire studio space. Here is the new table I got from Ikea. You can buy whatever top you like for $19.99 and then each leg for $5.00. It holds my 12x12 paper bins (4 of them) and offers another place to stamp or work. I got this card holder back at Christmas time on clearance for $5.00! I put up all my latest swap cards and cards from classes for inspiration.

This is my desk side of the room. I do work from home 3 days a week. My desk was a major mess so it gave me a good reason to clean it up to take the picture. Guess what? It is back to a minor mess!

This is the view of my studio as you look in the door. Very busy looking but a creative and happy space for me!

I hope that you enjoyed seeing my craft studio/office this week! Now you know where I am most days creating all these things I post each week!

Let me know what you think was the best part thru comment below or email nutmeg1197@aol.com and I will select a random winner to get a FREE package of 12 of my cards!

Have a magical day!

Cindy

My Studio - All accessories and inks

Here are how I store my MANY other accessories and ink pads. I have the Cuttlebug right now. The SU! Big Shot is on the way. This is all new to me so I have very little of this collection as you can see. I plan to store my die cuts in the basket to the left. I did just get two more die cuts - Top Note and Butterflies! I have two of those Aqua tins from Stampin Up! products in the past and decided to use them to hold my brads, beads, eyelets, buttons, etc. They are stored on a shelf right next to my craft table for easy access.

The bottom shelf bin holds all my chipboard items. I have letters, shapes, numbers and more. These bins were two pack at Walmart for a low price!

This bin goes on the next shelf up which is empty in the pic above. I used Creative Memories photo system files to hold and separate the items. It holds sticky tape, dimensionals, sponges, adhesives, embossing powders, Stamp-a-ma-jig, glue dots and extras. All this has to be within reach to my craft table.

Here are my Stampin Up! classic inks. I have them in SU! family color order. I have a dilema in making a ink pad holder or getting the SU! Color Caddy for them. Basically it has to fit on this shelf. So this is still a problem for me. The markers that I have very little of did get a home. I found a square pencil container on clearance at Target that I place on its side to hold my markers sideways.

Check out more tomorrow!

Have a magical day!

Cindy

My Studio - All punches and stamp sets

I LOVE PUNCHES!

I use to have my punches on the edge of my hutch/shelves and then I had too many to fit there. I have seen those great Ikea towel holders that everyone is using to hold their punches. Love the idea however I do not have the wall space to put them up. So I had to think of something else. Some people have done this same idea but with a clear shoe holder so that they could see the punches or items thru it. Then one Target trip, I saw this shoe holder and loved the colors! And I could hang it over one of my closet doors on the outside. YEAH! I love it!

Here is a close up of how I "labeled" them. You can not see the punches so I punched out the shape in Baha Breeze, Pacific Point, Kiwi Kiss and Tangerine Tango. I just use sticky tape to get them to stick on the fabric. Each pocket holds two large punches or four small punches. So I have plenty of room to expand my punch collection! LOL

Here is this corner of the room. The plastic bins hold items for Disney trips to be scrapbooked SOON! Then the brown baskets hold extra large ribbons, things to alter or make gifts, misc scrapbook items, SU! wheels and inks, heat tool, crimper, etc. The furniture is from Office Depot's Christopher Lowell's collection. http://www.officedepot.com/a/browse/Christopher-Lowell-Shore-Home-Collection-Antiqued/N=5+1330/ You can see some of my 3D projects above, Lighthouse collection and some Disney items as well.

Here are all of my stamp sets that I own. I have the retired stamps towards the back and newer to the front. Then separate them by season/theme. Bottom shelf is most holidays like Christmas, Halloween, etc. I am running out of room so the shelves to the left of it will soon be emptied to make more room for stamp sets. Another new thing I plan to do is put a piece of white paper behind the clear name label on each box so that I can see the stamp set name easier. Found this on another blog and thought it was a great idea.

Check back tomorrow for more!

Have a magical day!

Cindy

My Studio - All ribbon

Top o' the Morning to ya! I wanted to show you how I store my collection of ribbons. Stampin Up! created these great ribbon holders a few years back and they are a good deal to buy but they do have a couple of faults. The SU! ribbons does not move easily in them. The ribbon just hangs out of them and get mixed up with each other. After some trial and error by others, this is what i came up with for me. I used jumbo (must use the biggest ones) brads and my Crop -a-dile to make holes for the ribbon to come out and hold in place. And I would not buy the smallest ribbon holder again. I would get the medium and large only. I bought these with a friend and we split them because they come two to a package thru SU!. This is how I store all my other none SU! ribbon. I found these semi clear boxes in my gift wrapping supplies and thought I could use them! I have 4 large square and 2 rectangle. Then I placed them in colors theme. I got that Martha Stewart butterfly punch and had to create colored butterflies to sort of "label" the boxes. I think it works and looks pretty too! Here are the other two behind the browns and greens. If you think I have a lot of ribbon, I have seen worse! Talking mega ribbon piles! Where do I buy my ribbon? Hobby Lobby has great ribbon and it is usually 50% off back in the fabric department. Walmart has low price ribbon. Micheal's is another good one but little pricy. JoAnn's is the same. I love Stampin Up! ribbons and they are a good price too! Just takes forever to get them shipped these days. I placed an order March 5th and I just got my order yesterday. That is 7 business days or total of 11 days of waiting for my order. I was a little bummed and I let them know it, but I am having fun now that I got it and will show you new stuff next week! Check back tomorrow for more of my craft studio! Have a magical lucky day! Cindy Happy St. Patrick's Day! to all you that have a little Irish in you today!

My Studio - All paper

All this week I will be showing you my craft studio/office and the storage for all of my wonderful paper, accessories and more. I did a hefty cleaning of my room a couple of weekends ago. I did some reorganzing of it and thought I would share with you what I did. Here is a pic of my crafting side of the room. This is where I sit and create! I use those desktop calendars from Target $1.00 spot to stamp on. Gets really dirty with ink, I just tear off a month. See the closet door with all the art of it. Instant inspiration! (click on any picture to enlarge) On to the "paper" side of things today: Here are how I store my "scraps" or cut down paper that you feel you can not throw away! I started with one and had to add another. I used those photo file system from Creative Memories. Allison helped me put them in color order. Now I just need to USE them! (which since re-doing these, I am cause they are right in my face!) Here is how I store my 8.5x11 cardstock. I bought these cardboard magazine holders from Ikea. You get 5 in a package. I was going to do Stampin Up color family order but the artist in me had to do rainbow order. The SU! In Colors I leave out of the mix. I have 3 more of these on the table that holds white cardstock, current and past catalogs and then the current In Colors. My thoughts are to take file folders and label them with color names to divide the individual colors so that I can reorder easier what I need. Hmmm? Here are some magazine mini holders that I made during UStamp. They hold cards and envelopes that I have ready to use. I put these above my desk/computer area so that when I need to send a card they are right at my finger tips. It is a great and easy project to do these mini holders. This is how I store my finished cards. I found these containers at BJ's Wholesale Store. They were packed two to a package for $24.99. I love all 4 of mine and they are all full of cards. I can take my cards with me to craft shows safely in these. That is it for today! Check back tomorrow for more! Have a magical day! Cindy

Festive Friday

This was from UStamp online class last month. It is an accordian card. I wanted to do a butterfly scene since Dawn sampled hers with butterflies. I do not have the butterfly die cut YET! (on its way now) So I had to stamp one and then cut it out. Then it looked awful so I turned it around and just watercolored it with ink. Now I love the look of this card when you open it up and just show it off sitting there. It is a little bulky to send in the mail so it would require extra postage to send. It was a challenge for me and I enjoyed that. You never know until you try! Colors are Baha Breeze, Not Quite Navy and Whisper White, Urban Garden Paper series, Stamps - Upsy Daisy, Live your Dream and Best Yet.

Have a magical day!

Cindy

Disney Tip Thursday

Today is our last Disney Top 5 List! It was so much fun making these lists with my family. It all made us want to leave for Disney the next day! But we will have to wait for that til September and just reread them at that time. Especially #3 and #1!!! Today we will list our Disney Top 5 Special Events! These are the extra seasonal events that Disney offers annually. #5 - Epcot's Flower and Garden Festival - If you love gardening and flowers, then this would be the time to head to Epcot in Disneyworld. More than 70 topiaries will decorate the park landscape and showcase the extraordinary craftsmanship of Disney gardeners. Sweeping floral beds and exhibits will feature 30 million blooms. More info here: http://allears.net/tp/ep/flogar.htm #4 - Whatever Disney's yearly promo is - Example: "What will you do to celebrate?" is this year's theme. So they are celebrating your birthday by giving you a FREE one day park pass on your actual birthday! Check out all the details here: http://allears.net/tp/celebrate.htm #3 - Epcot's Food and Wine Festival - I am so excited to say that our last day for September trip will be the first day of the Food & Wine Festival at Epcot!!! We are so there, right MOE?! Howard and I really enjoyed the last visit to this festival so much that we have been aching to go but it is never doable because of the dates of this festival. You can buy a sample of the countries' food and a 2 oz sample of wine, beer, whatever. My greatest memory was in 2000. Megan almost 3 was snoozing in her stroller, Howard and I had just got a salmon and filet sampler with wine. Then we watched the Illuminations firework show for the first time ever. MAGICAL! (priceless moment) More info here: http://allears.net/tp/ep/foodwine.htm #2 - Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party - This is a great way to be in the Magic Kingdom for the holidays! I did a post back in December on this so check it out here: http://nutmegcreations.blogspot.com/2008/12/disney-tip-tuesday.html More info here: http://allears.net/tp/hol_mk.htm FYI -Tickets go on sale in May! #1 - Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party - Our first MNSHP was just our last Disney Trip in Sept 2008. See Disney trip posting here: http://nutmegcreations.blogspot.com/2008/10/disney-trip-thursday-day-2.html Once again, we are planning on going this September because it was such a blast of fun fun fun! Yes, we will ALL wear costumes! Right, MOE and Jason? More info here: http://allears.net/tp/mk/mnssh.htm FYI - I think I got our tickets in May. Thanks for checking out our Disney Top 5 today! I hope that you can use these top 5 lists to help make your Disney vacation a magical one for you! Have a magical day! Cindy

Wacky Wednesday

So last month, I made this very sweet origami box after a challenge on Splitcoaststampers.com and then we made the same box on my online class called UStamp. I love this color combination of Certainly Celery, Baha Breeze and Old Olive with the Green Tea paper. I used Eastern Blooms stamp set. I got this tutorial from the TLC203 Challenge and you can link to the post below to download the pdf file to make the origami square box. Here are the supply list and instructions: 12 X 12 piece of patterned paper (double or single sided pattern) for the no-glue Origami Box 2 sheets of double sided paper - 5 1/4" x 12" (for the cover, if you are making on of these) One sheet of lightweight chipboard - 5 1/4" X 12" (again, for the cover only) (I used the backing from the designer paper package or a backing to a legal pad) Craft glue or glue stick (for cover only) Ribbon (for cover closure, or you may use another type of closure) Using your 12 X 12 piece of patterned paper, follow the instructions for the fold that is in the PDF file (attached) Decorate and set aside. Using your 2) 5-1/4" X 12" pieces of designer paper and your lightweight chipboard, score at 4 7/8" and 7 1/8". Check the folds against your box for any minor adjustments in folds. Glue your patterned paper to each side of the chipboard, maintaining your folds. Let the glue dry completely. Place ribbon under the box, wrap the cover around the box and adhere with sticky strip. http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=410418 Thanks Lynn! Now I thought this would be very hard to master. NOPE! It is fairly easy! I would love to do a class for these. Would you like to learn to make one? Let me know. You can put chocolate sweets or several 4 x 4 matching notecards in the box as a gift. LOVE IT! Have a magical day! Cindy

Disney Tip Tuesday

**This week I will finish off our last two Disney top 5 lists!

The TOP 5 SNACKS in DisneyWorld!

Yes, that is right!!! SNACKS- TREATS- GOODIES!!! Yummiest treats that you just HAVE to HAVE when you are in Disneyworld!!!

#5 Churros at Epcot's Mexico - Cinnamon, warm toasted bread...what more can I say! YUMMO! You can find these tasty treats at the Cantina de San Angel just outside the Mexican Mayan temple. Oh yeah, you can get yummo margaritas there too! :o)

#4 Turkey Legs! - These things are HUGE! They take FOREVER to finish on your own so Howard and I split it. They can be found in Liberty Square Market at the Magic Kingdom and at the Fife & Drum in Epcot's American Adventure (USA country) This actually could count as a meal for some people!

#3 Pineapple Whip - This sweet delicious treat can be found in Aloha Isle in Adventureland at the Magic Kingdom. There are two kinds to buy but make sure you get the ice cream style. Oh if it is hot outside, then plan to eat it super fast cause they start melting as soon as you get it at the window. Learned lesson on our part.

#2 McDonald's French Fries - You are probably wondering why? - when you can get them anywhere! Well, when you are tired and in need of a quick snack for either you or your kids, then the best fries in the USA are it! You can find them in Frontierland at Magic Kingdom, Sunset Boulevard's Fairfax Fries at Hollywood Studios and Dinoland's Petrifries at the Animal Kingdom.

#1 Any and all French pastries in Boulangerie Patisserie at the France pavilion in Epcot - Our favorites are the chocolate mousse, LARGE slice of cheesecake and Eclairs! The cheese plate and French Baguette Bread are a tasty treat as well. The lines can be long and the staff are typically rude. But we love nothing more than to grab our desserts and sit out to watch the firework show "Illuminations". That is a "happy" place for us! http://allears.net/menu/men_bps.htm

Thanks for checking out our Disney Top 5 today!

Next up is Top 5 Events in Disneyworld!

Have a magical day!

Cindy

"A Good Egg" Easter Class!

Announcing... My "A Good Egg" Easter Class! PICK A DATE: Friday March 20th at 7:00 pm or Saturday March 21st at 1:00 pm Price: $15.00 If you are local in Woodstock GA area then reserve your spot by Thursday March 19th! Email me at nutmeg1197@aol.com ** Invite a friend or two to come with you! All are welcomed! ** For this class, you will make a gift bag, 3 cards and a little basket and learn watercolor technique! See picture above! Everything will be precut already for you to just stamp, watercolor and assemble. Please bring your own adhesive and scissors for this class. I will have more great classes in April/May/June so look out for more class announcements to come! Have a magical day! Cindy

What a week!

I am so glad that this week is over! Molly is back to normal good old lady that she was before. I have caught up on my sleep. I even managed to clean my craft/office and take pictures to share of my space and some new storage solutions. I am working on getting together my classes which I am excited about! So I will be back on Monday fresh and renewed!

Better today :o)

Thanks for the comments, emails and calls about our Molly Sue! She is doing so much better. Monday was awful, Tuesday was slow and Wednesday was better. As of this morning, she is able to walk in and out on her own, she can eat and keep it down, she does not have the rapid eye side to side movement, and she was begging at the dinner table last night so I guess she is back to her old self. She does still have the head tilt and "drunken" walking as we call it. So we will continue to watch her thru the weekend. Vet said that this disease does not reoccur and by two weeks she will fully be back to normal. The cause of it is unknown but I am just glad that it is NOT a brain tumor. She has been spoiled rotten these past few days with extra love and attention. I have been working on some new things to show here and some classes to hold later this month, 2 in April and 2 in May. I hope to post the March class tomorrow. It is sooooo cute! Thanks for checking in! Cindy

Sad Monday

Sorry, no posts for a couple of days. Our beloved old dog Molly is very sick. We took her to the emergency vet at about 3am and she was diagnosed with Idiopathic Vestibular Disease. It is a neurological disease that effects old dogs 12-13 years old. She is basically spinning on a tea cup ride and can not hold anything down and can not walk. Now the good news is that should be over in 72 hours and she should be back to normal. If not, then we are looking at a brain tumor which the vet said was not likely. So for the next 3 days, we can not leave her unattended and need to watch her closely. I am wiped out with hardly any sleep. My nerves are making me very sick too. Howard is at home with me today and helping with carrying her out to go. I will post later this week with hopefully some good news. Cindy