Roses ala Rosanne

After several attempts, I finally was able to make the tea rose that Rosanne at A Moms Impressions made. (She can also be found at RoxyCar11 on Youtube.) I tried putting a button on a lop-sided one (at top). I tried to cover up a lack of petals by adding gold stickles (at right). I made another one that I obviously didn't roll up enough because instead of looking like a rose, it looks rather like a camellia (at left). Nice flower, but not what I was going for. Using darker cardstock than the first three attempts, I succeeded (bottom). I don't think it was the cardstock - but the change allowed me to let go of the failures and go forward. It's strange how just a little change in thinking can alter a person's perspective. However, I think my circle base is still too small to get the best result. Anyway, thanks so much Rosanne! Your tutorials are priceless. I can't afford to buy the pre-made Prima flowers I see on other people's blogs and tutorials. But I don't have to go without flowers, as Rosanne has shown me.

A Cheery Card

It's been very foggy lately. We haven't seen the sun for almost two weeks. So, I decided to make a cheery card for my mom to lift our spirits.

The card itself is made with white cardstock which, when folded, is 5.5in by 4.25in. I added some pink polka-dot paper that I got from my son's origami kit (he didn't want pink with polka-dots). On top of that is another piece of paper from the Best of Paper Collections from K and Company which I got on sale for $17 at Joann. The rub-on sentiment is by colorbok, and the two sparkly dragonflies are by Darice, and called self-stick gems. I purchased both the rub-on and the gems from Tuesday Morning. Finally, I made stitch marks all around the outside of the pink polka-dot with my pink .05 Zig pen.

Since the sun just started peeking through the clouds, I'd say that my card has already brought sunshine to my life.

Marlene's Blog Candy Giveaway

Marlene is having a giveaway and I would love to win her Blog Candy. It's tons of super cute vintage items. I like the lace a lot. Please visit her blog at UniquelyElla.blogspot.com for your chance to win!

Christmas Gone By

Even though I didn't get a video camera for Christmas, I didn't want for it, (Christmas), to be over. My kids had a wonderful Christmas, and didn't complain at all about the fewer number of presents under the tree this year. My husband's pay-cut dug deep into our Christmas budget. I was thankful that at least he still has a job. So many don't. I bought candy canes and we already had lights and a few ornaments for our little "Charlie Brown" Christmas tree. Although I have taken everything off the tree, we still haven't moved it out of the house. The needles haven't started falling yet, so we are still enjoying it's lovely scent. And, as corny as this sounds, thank Wal-mart for our Christmas. I was able to get new winter jackets for everyone for $7 each. My husband gave me some money for myself (he's so sweet -- he didn't give himself any money), knowing that I really enjoy scrapbooking. I bought the Rustic paper pack by DCWV from Jo-ann for $9.99 and spent the rest on a really sharp pair of scissors which I'm dedicating to ribbon cutting only, and some clearance Christmas stickers and bling from Michaels. It's amazing how far $20 can go if you really budget.