Check this out!

What an amazing prize! Brave Girls Camp is on my bucket list... I'm secretly stashing away funds so I can go!

Tomorrow I'm off to CHA... can't wait to experience it and my first trip to California all in one fell swoop! I'll be gone for about a week & when I return I'll share some of the CHA projects that I've been working on for GCD Studios, Glue Dots® and Zva Creative.

If you'll be at CHA, I'd love to meet you! Stop by the GCD Studios booth or shoot me an email (windyrobinson@gmail.com) and maybe we can hook up:)

Have a great week & take care!

January Zva Blog Hop Winners announced

We'd like to congratulate the FIVE January Zva Blog Hop winners! Their names will be found on the following blogs:

Tara Orr  

Guiseppa Gubler 

Nancy Doren 

Tomoko Takahashi  

Kim Hughes 

One winner from each of the 5 blogs will receive a Zva prize package worth $30.00. Congrats winners!

For today's share, how about a quick and classy Valentine's tag using Zva's pearls... I think I could put pearls on just about anything. What's you bling of choice?

Have a fab Wednesday!

Products: stamps (Samantha Walker/Unity Co-Brand), paper (Webster's Pages), pearls (Zva Creative), ribbon (American Crafts).

Zva Creative January DT Blog Hop!

Zva Creative and the Design Team welcomes you to join us this month for a blog hop that we feel is always extra special!

There is now an added twist to our blog hops, YAY!  As you know, Zva offers so many beautiful color groupings for pearls, flowers and crystals.  We want to make sure that they shine bright for you, so each designer was asked to share a creation using a specific color or color combination on their blog hop project.  

The Blog Hop begins at Kim Hughes' blog Paper Hugs. She will have the complete list of all blogs that are participating in case there is a glitch along the way. If you would like to play along, just follow along the blog path.  I am linking to one of the Zva designers and that designer is linking to the next and so on. Be prepared to be inspired along the way. Hidden on FIVE of the blogs is a Zva Creative prize package ...YAY! Winners will be randomly chosen after the hop is over, so it's important to leave a comment on as many blogs as you can along the way.

The Blog Hop starts today, January 24th and runs through midnight US Eastern Standard Time on Tuesday, January 25th and the 5 winners will be announced on Wednesday, January 26th on each of the five winning blogs. The full list will be found on Kim Hughes‘s blog as well (linked above). We will do our best to notify each winner, but it's best if you can pop in to all of the blogs once again on Wednesday...plus, you never know what kind of inspirational creation that you may find there. All you need to do is leave a comment on this Zva Blog Hop post...you do not need to leave a comment on each and every designer's blog post to qualify. The more times you leave a comment along the blog hop path though, the more chances you will have to be one of the lucky winners.


This month I got to play with Zva's beautiful lime pearls (CRS-04CA-121) and lime and white paper flowers. I matched them up with patterned paper from Melody Ross' new Soul Food collection by gcd Studios, Papertrey Ink's vintage cream cardstock and satin ribbon from Michaels to create an easy peasy elegant card.

The blog hop begins here at the blog of Kim Hughes.  And your next stop is Gail Lindner. 


Have fun & thank you SO MUCH for joining us today!

I'm a Cover Girl

I don't really like to toot my own horn, but I have to share this one because it makes me really excited!!!

Here it is...

...my first cover appearance on a Paper Crafts magazine... and a stamping issue to boot!!! Mine is the little beauty in green & white (but you probably could tell by the ribbon:). I almost didn't submit it because I was worried that it was too much green... lol. It just goes to show that you never know.

It is also ironic because over a year ago I wouldn't have considered myself a stamper.  But I made it a goal of mine to become "a stamper" and with a few classes at CKC, online tutorials and being inspired by seeing Tim Holtz at Stampaway USA, I think I can officially claim that title. Now don't get me wrong, I still only own about 7 colors of ink... and my patterned paper stash will always outweigh my stamps, but you can really do a lot with a few stamps and ink.

So if you are interested in giving your hand a try at stamping, Stamp It! Techniques is an issue not to miss... its like a little class in a book with beautiful examples and tutorials that all of us stampers AND non-stampers can try out from the comfort of our own home.

Take care & happy Thursday!

Obsessed with...

So in case you haven't noticed... I have a new paper crafting obsession... TAGS!

I'm not sure what it is that I love about them yet... perhaps its the smaller canvas (I've always been attracted to little things like doll houses and miniatures)?

Perhaps I just love handing someone a gift that is wrapped up with simple paper, a satin ribbon and a stunning hand crafted tag that can be viewed in all of its glory... with no envelopes hiding it or tucking it away?

Whatever it is... I love them!  And... I just stocked up on manilla craft tags, so you'll be seeing a lot of them around here:) Enjoy!

For this gal I used some of my new goodies that I picked up last month (mostly Webster's Pages... Archivers just started carrying their stuff so I stocked up). The stamps are also Webster's... the Unity Webster's Co-Branded ones... a match made in heaven in my mind... you can check them out HERE.

Well... thats all I have to share today. I'm signing off for the weekend or so... this is my first time making projects for CHA and I have a few deadlines toward the end of the week... I'm a bit nervous, so wish me some speedy and gorgeous crafting...

Supplies: patterned paper (Webster's Pages), stamp (Unity Stamp Co.), button (Tim Holtz Idea-Ology), charm (Making Memories), tiny types (Cosmo Cricket), other (twine, satin ribbon peacock feather, bling).

Thank You

Just dropping in quickly to say thank you for being such wonderful supporters of my blog! Every time I get one of your messages during my day it just lightens it and puts a smile on my face:) Take care and have a good weekend!

Products: cardstock (Bazzill Basics), patterned paper & trim (Webster's Pages), ribbon (Michaels), button (gcd Studios), stamp (Papertrey Ink) 

Little Wishes

Hello... I'm up today over at Perfectly Precocious blog... Tessa sent me these Neapolitan Sweet Spots...

... and I immediately knew what I was going to do with them...

... you see every year on Valentine's Day I leave my girls several little Valentine's throughout the day.

I like to hide them in spots that I know they go to... sometimes little treats and gifts are tucked away with my notes.

It has become a fun tradition for us... every year as they get older my Valentine's Day hunt for these little wishes gets more and more sophisticated... eventually I foresee it maybe as a full fledge scavenger hunt?

What ever it is, or whatever it becomes... it is our tradition and I hope my girls will look forward to it every year as much as I do.

Just a way that a mama shares a little love with her girls on Valentine's Day. (ps... I also leave a few for hubby too:)

For a tutorial on how to make the folded medallion, click HERE.

Funky & Fresh Valentine's Day Garland...

... so I'm digging out all of my Valentine's and love projects to share with you (watch out it could be very pink around here in the next few weeks:)

... this one is a real cute, girly one since girls rule around my house... but you could adapt it to your home by simply changing the patterned paper and colors.

To Create Flower:

1) cut 4 strips of double sided patterned paper (1/2" x 8" each)

2) connect ends of each strip with Mini Glue Dot ® to form a ring

3) pinch each ring flat in center and punch hole in center of loop

4) attach loops together with a decorative brad

5) fan loops out to form flower

To Create Banner:

1) punch scalloped circles

2) punch circles and adhere letters to middle of circle

3) adhere circles to scalloped circles with Craft Glue Dots ®

4) punch holes on either side of letters

5) string together flowers and letters with twine

I'll be back with more soon! Happy Wednesday:)


Products: Patterned paper, brads (GCD Studios Homespun Chic collection by Melody Ross); Twine (California Craft on Etsy), adhesive (Craft & Mini Glue Dots ®)
This post was written while serving on Glue Dots ® and GCD Studios Design Teams.

Color...

Hi all!  I hope you are having a nice weekend! Check out this beautiful new special issue from Paper Crafts Magazine...

... awesome right? I got my copy last week and it is chock full of great card layouts inspired by over 280 different color combos... what a fabulous concept! There truly is something to inspire everyone's taste in this one.  Here's one that I created for this issue... super simple to make, just white embossing on layered cardstock with ribbon, twine & a button.

If you want to learn more about the issue... next week is Color Inspiration for Card Makers week over at Paper Crafts Connection and Moxie Fab World... don't miss it:)

The whole world, as we experience it visually, comes to us through the mystic realm of color.  -Hans Hofman

My Word of the Year for 2011... Choice

noun

• an act of selecting or making a decision when faced with two or more possibilities
• the right or ability to make, or possibility of making, such a selection
• a range of possibilities from which one or more may be selected 
• a course of action, thing, or person that is selected or decided upon

Why choice for this year?

I value having the freedom to make choices... everyday... on so many levels. To me life is a series of choices.  I believe that each one I make has the potential to cast a positive impact not only in my life but also in the life of each person I encounter this year. 

Love these quotes about choice...

You've got a lot of choices.  If getting out of bed in the morning is a chore and you're not smiling on a regular basis, try another choice.  ~Steven D. Woodhull

When you have to make a choice and don't make it, that is in itself a choice.  ~William James

Life is the sum of all your choices.  ~Albert Camus

The hardest thing to learn in life is which bridge to cross and which to burn.  ~David Russell

To decide is to walk facing forward with nary a crick in your neck from looking back at the crossroads.  ~Betsy Cañas Garmon

Everything is something you decide to do, and there is nothing you have to do.  ~Denis Waitley

I discovered I always have choices and sometimes it's only a choice of attitude. ~Anonymous

Its our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities. ~Joanne Kathleen Rowling

There are always two choices. Two paths to take. One is easy. And its only reward is that it's easy. ~unknown

Did you pick a word for the year? 

So here's my first project for 2011... a journal to keep my random thoughts in... loved getting painted and artsy with my Chip Art tools. I don't break them out nearly enough. Here's to a messy (super fun), therapeutic, crafty  2011!

Products:  Journal, patterned paper, ChipArt tools and ChipArt shapes (gcd Studios); flower (Prima); paint (Making Memories); trim (Webster's Pages), bling (Michael's Stores, Inc); other (Modge Podge)

My idea to do a word of the year came from here: http://aliedwards.com/2010/12/one-little-word-2011.htm