Heart Wreath Class!!

Okay ... because I am totally and certifiably crazy ... I am offering a class to make the heart wreath I posted for the Control Freaks Blog Tour (I am going to be cutting out scalloped circles forEVER!!)!

If you'd like to join me (and live close enough to come!), please RSVP ASAP!! (There are only 10 slots available, so act FAST!!)
Saturday, February 4, 2012
10:00 a.m.
$25 (includes all supplies, precut and ready to assemble)

FUNFUNFUN!

Don't Go Freakin' My Heart ...

... you couldn't if you tried!! Welcome to this month's Control Freak's Blog Tour!! If you have been traveling around the tour already, then you should've just arrived from the blog of my BFF, JanTink! She is really making me want that Sweet Cake stamp set!! (and I swore I wasn't gonna get it!!) Our theme this month is "Love Is In the Air" ... and it most certainly is with the Freaks!!

I am SOOOO in love with this wreath (is it bad to love something you make??)!! I used the Scallop Circle #2 die and cut about a GAZILLION of them out of red felt. Then I folded each circle into quarters and put a straight pin through the bottom of the folded piece and stuck it into the wreath form. It was really easy and didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would!!

Stamps: NONE!!
Paper: NONE!!
Ink: NONE!!
Accessories: Styrofoam Wreath Form, 1 yd. Red Felt, Scallop Circles #2 Bigz Die, Real Red Striped Grosgrain Ribbon, Straight Pins

I used the Designer Cuts Card Set to make this clean and simple kinda card (which, I have to say, is NOT easy for me!). I cut the front of the card off of itself and trimmed it down to fit on the front of the Basic Black cardstock here. There's really not a lot going on with this, but I like it all the same (the little bit of glittery red coming through the laser cut heart looks really pretty in real life, I must say!).

Stamps: Fabulous Phrases
Paper: Designer Cuts Card Set, Basic Black, Real Red Glitter Paper,
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: Small Oval Punch, Heart to Heart Punch, 5/8" Very Vanilla Satin Ribbon, Adorning Accents Textured Impressions Embossing Folder

And here is a bit of a non-traditional color combo for a Valentine (trying to step outta the box a bit!). This is one of those cards that starts off looking MUCH MO' DIFFERENT in your head! Too bad we can't just send the image in our heads to our wireless printers, eh?

Stamps: Tiny Tags
Paper: Calypso Coral, Basic Black, Whisper White, Sweet Shop Designer Series Paper, Domestic Goddess Designer Series Paper
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: Heart to Heart Punch, Fashionable Hearts Embosslits Die, Rhinestone Basics, Everyday Enchantment Calypso Coral Ribbon (from the upcoming SAB catalog), Dimensionals

Now go check out what Yvette Ashe has to show you (and let me tell ya, the heart-shaped potholders she created are suh-WEET!!)

Dinkin' Around With MDS ...

There are SOOO many downloads available from SU for My Digital Studio. The catalog just keeps gettin' biggah and biggah!!! I have been printing out the pages so that I can have my own hard copy to peruse. I FINALLY put all the pages in a binder. And I FINALLY made this fun page to slide into the outside front cover ... I've been having waaayyyy too much fun with MDS lately!

AND DON'T FORGET!!! If you haven't signed up to be a part of Tink & Bell's Digital Scrapbooking Club, it's never too late!! Click on the graphic below for details ...



And stay tuned for later this week (the evening of the 19th) ... Control Freaks are busy making some AWESOME things to inspire you for Valentine's Day. You won't wanna miss it!!

Love you ...

Made this card for my teenage daughter ... with all the nagging that goes on when you have a teenager in the house, it is nice to remind them once in a while that you love them. Just sayin' ...

Stamps: Tiny Tags
Paper: Crumb Cake, Concord Crush, Whisper White, Sweet Shop DSP (LOVE this stuff!)
Ink: Concord Crush
Accessories: Scallop Border Punch, Tiny Tag Punch, Wisteria Wonder Ruffled Ribbon, Zva Creative Pearl Flourish, MFT Rolled Roses Die, Pearl Basics, Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Folder, White Felt

AND DON'T FORGET!!! If you haven't signed up to be a part of Tink & Bell's Digital Scrapbooking Club, it's never too late!! We launch TOMORROW!! Click on the graphic below for details ...

Punch Art Giraffe for Jacob

A while back I saw the ca-YOOT-est punch art giraffe on Pinterest (my new favorite addiction/guilty pleasure). Sadly, I never followed the link to who made it, so I can't give credit where credit is due (if it was YOU, let me know and I'll give you proper kudos!) ...

But I hafta say that I LOVE THIS LITTLE GUY!! (I added knobbly knees to mine!). Love it when you can make something kinda stinkin' adorable out of PUNCHES!! This is for my little cousin, Jacob ... he turned 3 this week ... I miss my babies being little!! I honestly have NO IDEA where the time went!! Sigh ...

Stamps: Up, Up & Away
Paper: Early Espresso, Cajun Craze, Whisper White, Basic Black, Crumb Cake, So Saffron, Domestic Goddess DSP
Ink: Early Espresso, Crumb Cake
Accessories: Tasteful Trim Bigz Die, Large Oval Punch, Small Oval Punch (retired), 1 3/8" Circle Punch, 1 1/4" Circle Punch, 1" Circle Punch, 1/2" Circle Punch, 1/4" Circle Punch (Retired), Itty Bitty Circle Punch, Double Circle Punch (Retired), Word Window Punch, Sponge, Perfect Polka Dots Textured Impressions Folder, Soft Suede 1 1/4" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon

Don't forget to take a peek at Tink & Bell's Digital Scrapbooking Club!!!! We launch next Monday ... soooo excited!!

Tink & Bell's Digital Scrapbooking Club!!!

Without further adieu (and a day later than I had promised), I am sooooo excited to FINALLY announce:



YAY!! HOORAY!! APPLAUSE!! JOY!! HAPPINESS!!

Jan (the infamous JanTink for those of you who are wondering!) and I have been working on this FOREVER and are happy to announce our collaborative effort ... an AWESOME digital scrapbooking club!! We will officially be launching the Club on Monday, January 16, 2012 (that's next Monday, friends!). We have soooo many fantasmical and wonderful things and ideas we can't WAIT to share with all y'all ...

Memberships are available in two different terms: 1-year membership and 6-month. The cost is only $45 for 1-year membership and $25 for 6-month membership.



CLICK HERE TO CHECK IT OUT!!



And just in case y'all think I FORGOT how to make a CARD ... here is my first birthday card of the year. I STILL struggle with the whole "Dude Card" thing ... but my uncle was really excited to receive this, so it pretty much made my day!

Stamps: Countryside, Vintage Labels
Paper: Sahara Sand, Riding Hood Red, Early Espresso, Watercolor, Not Quite Navy Patterned DSP
Ink: Not Quite Navy, Riding Hood Red, Baja Breeze, Marina Mist, Always Artichoke, Daffodil Delight, Crumb Cake, Basic Gray, Black Stazon
Accessories: Square Lattice Textured Impressions Folder, Circle Scissor, 1 3/8" and 1 1/4" Circle Punch, Photo Corners Punch, Paper Piercing Tool/Mat, Linen Thread, Neutrals Button

2012 MDS Family Calendar - Part 3

As promised, here are the last four pages of my 2012 Family Calendar. I love it when you get that sense of accomplishment after you've made something that you feel has turned out close to what you had envisioned!! Technology has made this project so easy and fun ... we've come a long way, baby!!

SEPTEMBER - This month contains several more pictures taken during our family's "apple-pressing day" in Alpine (with another Heather-Summers-inspired layout). We had a hard time finding a day that would work this year in October, so we were pushed to November ... it was c-c-c-COLD!! Doesn't matter, though ... we enjoyed ourselves, anyway!


OCTOBER - These were pictures I took at our Thanksgiving Day feast!! (Notice my nephews' "Novembeards"??) My cute niece, Melissa, looks soooo adorably pregnant ... hard to believe she still had FOUR weeks to go by the looks of that baby bump!! (Not sure what I woulda done with the inspiration I grabbed from Heather Summers' creations ... I was feeling stale and she breathed some new life into me!!)

NOVEMBER - The Weixlers are an extremely musical bunch. Every year on the second Sunday in December we have a family music program. It is such a wonderful event ... and everyone brings LOTS of delicious goodies (I traditionally bring caramel popcorn ... which my husband reminds me makes a MESS to clean up afterwords, but I don't care as everyone gobbles it up!)





DECEMBER - More singing, a Christmas Nativity, family and FOOD on Christmas Eve ... I am so blessed to have such an amazing family ...






In answer to another question I received about my calendars ... I DO bind my own. I decided several years back that it would be cheaper to just bite the bullet and buy a binding machine, as the cost of binding these babies at Kinko's was getting a little ridiculous ... my binding machine paid for itself by the second time I used it!! I purchased it online from Digital Finishing Group. Here is a link to the machine I have:

*** Link removed due to malware warning ... sorry! ***

Sadly, they don't have pricing listed, so you have to call for a quote. I seem to recall paying something like $120 (it was for sure less than $150!). Not sure what their prices are like now, but this has been a very trusty little machine ... haven't had a moment's trouble with it. It is very reliable.

EXCITING NEWS!!! I have a REALLY AWESOME announcement to share with y'all tomorrow, so be sure to come back ... the only hint I can give you is that my BFF JanTink and I have put our heads together (which could be dangerous, RIGHT??)

2012 MDS Family Calendar - Part 2

Here are the next four months for my 2012 Family Calendar. I am always surprised at how quickly I can put things together in MDS ... which, I have to say, is kinda embarrassing since I just wanted to NOT LIKE MDS when I first heard in announced at Convention a couple of years ago. I have enjoyed playing with it soooo much!! I am still really into "tactile" scrapbooking, but for creating calendars and cookbooks it is a DREAM!!

MAY - An Ode to Amelia ... LOVE the picture of my daughter standing on the rocks on the shores of Bear Lake!! The picture of she and I was taken at arms' length while we were doing the 52-mile ride around the lake on our bikes!! Sooo long and tiring, but so much satisfaction when we FINISHED!! And the picture of Amelia and her dad in the airplane is actually her favorite ...



JUNE - Can you say ORANGE??? This is more fun at Bear Lake ... can't even COUNT the HOURS and HOURS we have spent on the large expanse of lawn behind our family condo there playing croquet ... it wouldn't be a Weixler Summer without it!!





JULY - Disneyland Memories ... we soooo enjoyed our trip to Disneyland this past fall. I couldn't have done a calendar WITHOUT it!! (and who DOESN'T love Mickey Mouse?? If you DON'T, don't tell me ... I don't wanna know!!)





AUGUST - Another page inspired by Heather Summers ... one of our MOST FUNNEST family traditions is pressing apples into juice in the fall. It's a TON of work, but as my grandmother used to say "many hands make light work" ... and tons of happy, smiling memories, too!



I was asked to share one of the actual "calendar" pages with you, so here it is ... I actually create these in WordPerfect (I am a diehard-never-change-to-Word Girl!). I do it this way mostly because it is always the way I have done it and it works for me ... so why change, right??

And ALSO because I have been asked (which I KNEW I would be, but was too lazy to get off my backside when I was typing up my post yesterday to check!) ... the printer I ended up with was an HP Photosmart 7510. I actually bought a Brother printer first (can't really remember which one, but it was AWFUL!). I ended up taking it back (my regular sales guy was not there the day I brought the Brother ... the guy who helped me seemed kinda clueless, so I'm not sure why I took his advice!). My regular Staples Dude (whom I have known for years ... thanks, Jimmy!) was there when I returned the Brother and was VERY helpful and knowledgeable. I really liked this printer because I saw absolutely NO banding when I printed (the little "lines" you get with every printer head pass), and I made it through all the calendars on the starter cartridges and one set of XL cartridges, which is pretty much incredible! The colors are rich and vibrant ... they look very clean and professional!

2012 MDS Family Calendar - Part 1

Years and years and YEARS ago I started buying calendars for my husband's family and writing all of the family birthdays and anniversaries on them. I started buying calendars from Current (remember them??), but I found more economically-priced calendars and started doing that ... and as the family grew it took me more and more time to write in all those events on every single calendar.

So, what's a girl to do?? Make her own calendars, of course!! I have made more of these than I can count over the years (one of the most fun of which included pictures from my husband's and his siblings' childhood). I have really enjoyed making them over the years. And the calendars for the past few years have been made using MDS. I think this year's has been my favorite so far! I FINALLY found a printer I like (and let me tell ya, that was NO easy task!), and I am SUPER pleased with how well they printed out!! (I am up to making 14 calendars with over 100 events on them).

So, I'm going to share the pages I made with you ... The picture above is for January ... don'tha just LOVE the picture of my daughter toasting me and the camera??





FEBRUARY - This is probably one of my favorite pages ... I just love all that yellow (this layout was inspired by the ever-talented Heather Summers).









MARCH - We took these pictures when we were up at a church youth conference over the summer. I realized I had NO pictures of my husband with his sister ... ever ... so I TOOK one!!






APRIL - Here are some more pictures from our big family New Year's Eve party. We eat a LOT of food and play a LOT of games!! Good times!!

I have a bunch more to show ya, so stay tuned over the next few days to see!! :)

More Fun With Connie and Mary!

I'm so excited to announce that I will once again be a guest designer for Create with Connie and Mary for their Occasions Edition 2012! We will be featuring the fabulous products not only in the Occasions Mini but also the incredible SAB brochure. One of my FAVE things in the Occasions Mini is the Tea Shoppe stamp set ... and this is a sneak peek for my project to come!

I am the first guest designer being announced on the Create with Connie and Mary site, and from now through January 14th you can subscribe to the Occasions Edition 2012 for only $29.95...that's $5 off their regular 6 week subscription price of $34.95. All of the projects designed for the Create with Connie and Mary Occasions Edition 2012 are exclusive and will not be seen anywhere else. So...if you want to see that SUPER COOL project I have planned, join today!

Also...check back on the Create with Connie and Mary website each day from now through January 14th for exciting announcements! You won't want to miss it!!

Stamps: Tea Shoppe
Paper: Concord Crush, Whisper White, Sweet Shop DSP
Ink: Concord Crush, Wisteria Wonder
Accessories: Scallop Circles #2 Bigz Die, Circle Scissor, 1" Circle Punch, Word Window Punch, Elegant Lines Textured Impressions Folder, Fleurettes, Pearl Basics and Large Pearl Basics