Love Preserves

Little girls' Jewelry Boxes

2011-03-31T14:37:00.000-07:00

So my daughters have these tiny little jewelry boxes, which were in sad shape. I didn't really do anything but embellish them a little bit. I used Cosmo Cricket "Little Girl's Biography paper, Stampin' Up! ribbon and atd Pure Alphabet stickers. Super Cute. I was really happy with how they turned out.

This is what Twenty years ago looked like. . .

2011-03-03T10:41:00.000-08:00

Key to my heart

2011-02-24T08:01:00.000-08:00

I've been in a black and red mode lately, and I'm loving it. The Stampin' Up! stamp set I used for the heart and key has co-ordinating paper. . . So easy and fun. The striped paper is from the Bella Boutique Stack from DCWV.

Have a great day!

OH I just LOVE this image!

2011-01-21T19:39:00.000-08:00

. . . and I just could NOT wait to use it for a friend's birthday card!!!

I sent a smile.

2010-05-31T21:47:00.000-07:00

And I thought it was the easiest, cutest thing ever!

Whew! It's done!

2009-06-08T21:16:00.000-07:00

I'll try to get some photos - I should have done some "before" shots for reference. I'm happy with what I accomplished. Part of that being to get my most important things up from the floor or into plastic (waterproof) bins. My parents recently had a basement flood. Everything on the floor and up one foot was soaked. It was a sprinkler system problem. It could happen to anyone. I realized that some of my scrapbooks were less than one foot above the floor - and it was important to me to have them better protected. Some of my papers are still down that low, I just realized. I might need to do more moving. Stamps would do better than paper in a flood. Anyway! It took the better part of three days, but I had them to spend, and am gloriously happy to have spent the time, and to have a workable space again. I moved a ton of things around and consolidated a great deal. I got rid of things which are no longer pertinent to my current life. You don't need business items when you aren't running a business. That gave me some extra room, and made more shifting possible. I also recognized that I could put some things in closer proximity, and that they would make much more sense that way. It's funny how some time away from things can make things clear, and almost OBVIOUS in terms of what needs to be done.

Clarity is something I hope to gain more and more of as the months go by.

Hibernation Nearly Complete!

2009-06-04T05:45:00.000-07:00

Some of you may know that I've been trudging through a divorce, and that is finally complete. I am back to the business of living again, and starting to feel much more like myself. The old creative bug is beginning to bite and I'm listening, rather than swatting it away - as I have been for a while now. . . like maybe a year? (Oh, it's painful to even think about that.) ANYWAY. . .

My goal this week/weekend is to get my craft and sewing area back into a state where I'd be ABLE to sit down and work on things. I have decluttered and weeded through my fabric stash. That alone was a HUGE task. No matter how hard I try I am sure I WON'T be able to do the same thing with my paper stash, but no matter. I will find better ways to organize everything and it will turn out wonderfully well. I think I will (gasp) let go of some back issues of magazines. I am also going to give to goodwill any tool that doesn't work EXACTLY as I had hoped, like the paper cutter I got for free which doesn't make a perfectly clean cut. Gone. And. . . in this way, I hope to be able to get things into MUCH better shape, ready for some creative Heydays! Hallelujah! I've already got quite a few sewing projects lined up, and I'm excited for those. I need to start 'organizing' some future scrapbook projects the way I organize sewing projects, getting together the photos, papers and embellishments that I plan to use. It helps me to organize my brain with sewing, so why not scrapbooking?

And she's Off. . . .

We love Debbie O!

2008-12-11T07:43:00.000-08:00

I have recognized that most of you dropping by my blog are coming from Thinking Inking. Don't we all just LOVE Debbie? I don't want to disappoint anyone, and I figured I better get moving and posting more of my projects. Right now I've been working on pillows and home decor, so I may post some of those. I should have some Christmas cards soon, too. I will be taking them to work to play with on my lunch hour.

Have a great day!

Come back again soon.

Abby

Application Projects

2008-10-01T08:47:00.000-07:00

I turned these projects in as an application for employment with a company in the paper crafting industry. The best part of doing things like this is that I actually do something with my creative bug - which has been somewhat dormant since - um, June. I hate to even say that. Life is like that sometimes you know?

This is the one I had previously done.
The third 3D project, the one I forgot at first, I also forgot to photograph. Sorry.

My Ten Projects

2008-04-08T16:26:00.000-07:00

I recently submitted an entry to a contest. They required 10 items: Five cards, Three scrapbook pages and 2 three dimensional items. I struggled to the very last minute to get everything done and finished in time to mail it from an all night post office at 10:00 p.m. It took me about 2 week to complete the work. I am very glad to have taken on the challenge and even happier to be able to say that I finished it, and sent it in.
Some challenges in life are worth just being able to say - I gave it my best, and I completed the work.

Five Cards

2008-04-08T16:17:00.000-07:00

Three Scrapbook Pages

2008-04-08T16:11:00.000-07:00

Two Three Dimensional Items

2008-04-08T16:05:00.000-07:00

To the 5th degree

2008-02-27T08:01:00.001-08:00

I found this add in Martha Stewart. It's for an Epson printer - an amazing epson printer.

The Epson Stylus Photo R1900. Vibrant 12"x12" BorderFree prints. 8-color pigment inks that can last a couple of lifetimes. Heck, it even prints on vellum (or pretty much anything else you got). If you're a fifth-degree creative black belt, think ink jet was built for your Epsonality.

I literally laughed out loud when I read that. Then I laughed again, right out loud. I guess when you see yourself in someone's advertising shpeel, it's pretty funny. I thought so, anyway. Fifth-degree creative black belt. I love it. I'll take it. (I'll have to wait on the printer, but the title is Sa-weet!)

Spring is Around the Corner

2008-02-22T13:55:00.001-08:00

Framed item and card that I put together for the Granite Class on Thursday.

February's Fruit

2008-02-22T13:23:00.001-08:00

Valentines and framed home decor item from my Stamp Club on February 2nd.

The Grand Ball - May 1987

2008-01-30T11:59:00.001-08:00

Scrapbooks are therapeutic to me, especially when I am finally able to preserve something like this, the equivalent of a "Debutante Ball" when I was a mere 17 years old. (Okay, I WAS going on 18 by this time.) Still, my oldest is now less than 6 years from 18. It's great to look back at that reality, so different from my life now. It's even more amazing to know that the life I'm living now was already present (at least parts of it) in her mind. I thought I had a lot to offer then, now I know that it's true.

January Cards

2008-01-30T11:14:00.001-08:00

Boy, 12 years old, revels in Mother's Craftinness!

2008-01-30T08:19:00.001-08:00

Well, it ought to be a headline somewhere, shouldn't it? How was this miracle worked, you ask? It is, in truth, fairly simple. Like most miracles - a need was at its heart. The Boy needed dividers for his binder. He's learning to organize his school things, and not a moment too soon since Jr. High will be upon us in 8 months. At the store, Mother was unable to find the dividers - they were sold out. At first Mother was a bit frustrated, but only until she remembered that:
a) There was, at home, every item needed to create an incredible assortment of dividers.
b) Among the needed items, there happened to be an assortment of papers designed by herself and the Boy's father.
c) Said papers had been designed with THE BOY in mind - making them just hip enough and cool enough to be seen in the binder by his friends.
When all of the pieces came together, the Boy was so excited his mood was elevated for an entire morning. (Note that this IS the miracle in all of this.) He skipped off to school much happier than he had been in weeks, literally. And of course, Mother was happy, too.
Below is an image of the complete set of papers we designed - obviously, it was the "boy stuff" he liked.

Baby Boy Card

2008-01-23T13:44:00.000-08:00

This is a card that I made for my cousin - and her soon to be twin boys. I drew my inspiration from Debbie Olson's card which you can find here.

Mini album for my Dad - April 2007

2008-01-23T13:35:00.000-08:00

This project won a contest at Stampin' Up! and was published in 2007

Wonderful

2008-01-23T13:33:00.000-08:00

From September 2007

Beach Beauty

2008-01-23T13:32:00.000-08:00

From September 2007

As Rose is a Rose

2008-01-23T13:30:00.001-08:00

From September 2007

Happy Paisley

2008-01-23T13:28:00.000-08:00

From Spring 2007

T & his Witchy Friend

2008-01-23T13:27:00.000-08:00

From September 2007

Family

2008-01-23T13:20:00.000-08:00

An altered Steno Pad: September 2007
Paper by My Mind's Eye, Stamps, Inks & Ribbon by Stampin' Up!
Wire turned by MOI

C's Birthday Invitations

2008-01-23T13:09:00.000-08:00

From August of 2007 - I used a 1 1/4" circle punch to create the giant ticket corners.