Happy 18th Birthday, Ashley!

My daughter, Ashley, turned 18 on May 20th.  She wanted to have a party because she hadn't really had one since she was 13.  She wanted the theme to be black and white.  She is also a big fan of damask print.  We made her invites postcard style.  I also made a sign for the front yard and the front door.  She wanted lots of feathers, crystals and candles so we got flameless candles because of all the feathers.  She also displayed photos of herself through the years because this was a milestone birthday for her.  We had a custom cake designed by a local cake baker named Crystal Pava.  Her website is crystalscakesaz.com.  She also set up her yearbook on a table for her friends that she doesn't see every day.That way, they had an opportunity to sign her book.  It was a small crowd but they had a great time.  I probably won't be throwing Ashley a party again until she gets engaged or married, so, enjoy!  If you have any questions on any of the crafts in the photos, contact me and I'll be happy to share.  Thanks for looking!

Hello Campers!

Yes, I know you aren't campers but it just sounded like a fun thing to say seeing as how it is summertime and camp is in session.  So much happening, so little time.  The store that I work with has been in a state of flux as the old owners sold it.  It was going to close but our wonderful manager, Melissa has now become part owner with Melody.  This is an exciting new venture for her and an exhausting one.  I think they will make the store even better than it is now.  They have lots of ideas and they have my full support.  Love you, Gals!

Melissa and I at the Christmas in July Crop 2010

Other stuff going on since I last posted mostly involved my daughter Ashley.  Ashley is/was a senior this year.  There was prom, glee group performances, West Side Story and Graduation and her 18th birthday.  Very busy girl which makes me a very busy mom because I have to be there to catalog all these moments.  I'm back to crafting and am working on a scrapbook for Ashley to take to college with her.  Of course, I have to do it twice because I want a copy too!  It will be just of her senior year will probably be 50 plus pages, I'm sure, by the time I'm done.  She had so much going on and being the photo bug that I am, well.....you know. 

First page of Ashley's senior album

My son William was busy too with scouts and school but not the extent Ashley was.  Right now he is planning a birthday celebration for our dog Scottie who turns 10 this Friday.  William thinks it's funny because he is also 10, so they'll be 10 together for a time.  I'm making the dog a dog birthday cake and Will wants to get him presents.  Big deal, sincerely.  But he's so darn cute, how can you resist?







I will add more once I get some more pages done, I will share with you.  Anyone with a high school Senior knows the deal and I would love to share my ideas with you.  In a separate post, I will put all the pictures of Ashley's 18th birthday party.  It was great fun putting it together!

Look at that smile!

My customer Carol sent me a few photos of her daughter opening the album she had made for her by me. Look at that smile! Carol said that Stacey was very surprised and touched by all the memories "that I so elegantly put together". I'm blushing! It was really fun. As you can see from my previous post, Carol had some of Stacey's old school work to incorporate in the pages. It was so fun putting it together. Thanks for allowing me to help you, Carol!

Holy Snot! It's February!

I totally missed January. Wow! Well, it's not that I haven't been busy. Lot's of crafting going on and little time to talk about it. Here's what I need to catch you up on:

At the beginning of November, I finished the tribute book for my customer Kim. She's the wonderful woman who lost her husband this past August, wasn't a scrapbooker and was looking for someone to preserve the fondest memories of her and her husband. As she looked through the book, of course, she started crying and saying how wonderful it was. It made me happy I could do this for her. I was excited for her to share it with her sons because the holidays were coming up. Two of her sons live in other states. I finally heard from her in email. This is what she said:

"I want to thank you again for the wonderful tribute book you made for my husband. My sons also had tears when they looked through it. Thank you especially for taking the time to capture my husband's personality and his love of his family. We love each page and how it was dedicated to who he was. It will be treasure forever. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving."

Awww, it made me tear up. I loved that her grown sons loved the book as well. It made it all worth while.
I did share with Kim the dragonfly story about my son. She said one of her sons has a tattoo and she isn't happy about it but she would never share with him how she thought it looked cool. She also was thinking of getting a tattoo herself even though she would never go through with it because she's not the type. But, she did share that if she ever did entertain the idea, a dragonfly is what she would get. Isn't that a scream!? How the dragonfly brought that all together!? I LOVE it!

So, you can see here a couple of my favorite pages from that album.

In January, I got another scrapbook job. This one was for a woman named Carol, whose daughter, who lives in Seattle, was about to give birth to her first grandbaby. She wanted to do an album of some of the highlights from when her daughter was a baby through college graduation. Her daughter is a writer and she wanted to incorporate some of the things her daughter made for her while she was little. It was very inspiring to work art projects and journal writings into the pages. The album was to be surprise for her daughter's birthday. She said she would need it in a months time. I thought, ok, this is doable. When I met with her though, her daughter had just given birth that morning and she was going to go see her in TWO weeks and wanted to take the book with her. TWO WEEKS! Yikes! Well, it has been said, that most of us do our best work under the gun, that is no joke! With the extra off days I already had planned, I was able to make it happen. She loved the book and couldn't wait for her daughter to see it! I asked her if she would send me an email when she got back so I could hear how her daughter liked it. She said she would take a picture of her daughter looking through the book and send it to me. I think she's due back in a month or so. She's gotta spoil that grandbaby, ya know! I'll keep you posted when I get it. Below are some of my favorites from that album.


This last picture of Carol when she was little and picture of her daughter. The mother's quote is makes it even more special being that her daughter just became a mother herself.

But below is my absolute favorite page. I'm upset though because I didn't realize that the actual picture turned out blurred. What I enjoyed about putting this one together was popping up the books with chipboard and foam squares to make the books stand out. I had fun!



Thanks for looking and taking the time to read this long post. Next week, I get to go to scrapbook with my girlfirends for twelve hours! And even more shocking? I get to work on my own family's pages! Haha!

Heeelllloooo! Happy (almost) 2011!

Wow! This was a busy holiday season. Made alot of homemade gifts for everyone from family to friends to teachers. It was a wonderful Christmas. Now, just waiting on the new year but no need to rush. Things are calming down and that's always a nice change.

Well, now to share some of the items I made for Christmas.

First, I'll show you the SLEDDING book I made my dad. He took us sledding when we visited Wisconsin last year. He enjoyed it very much and said I made him cry! Awwww!

I also made him and his wife a 25th anniversary frame. I incorporated the colors from their wedding and put pictures of them from then and now.

I also made ornaments this year for my brother and his wife and daughter. I started this tradition last year. I also gave them a small white tree for them to hang their new ornaments on.



For my son's teacher, I made her a little house that is Christmas themed. I covered it with scrapbook paper, paint and glitter. I used cotton batting to make the smoke come out of the chimney. Then, I took little stocking buttons and wrote each family members name on it. Add a flameless tea light and you have yourself a little decor house to add to your collection.

Then, for my daughter's Glee group, she was making each of them a cookie package. She wanted to add a token gift for each of them. I suggested ornaments. Heck, why not, right? Well, she designed the logo, then we made the girls glittery ones and the boys were more manly without glitter. They all loved them! But I think we enjoyed making them more! Heehee!

Opened on Etsy!

Yes, finally, I've opened an Etsy shop so now I can share even more with you. I've made some great frames that can go in your kitchen. I've also created a 25th anniversary frame for my father and his wife. I can do one for you too and even include the colors of your wedding in the design. I've made a shadowbox with Tim Holtz's Configurations. This one is fall themed and I'm working on a bigger one for Christmas. I will soon have cards on there for sale as well as some other things. So go check it out. It's at www.etsy.com/shop/CherishedEffects. Enjoy!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, EVERYONE!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and are not going out on Black Friday. If you do, stop by the Scrapbook Barn. We'll be having some awesome deals! Stay safe and I'll be back to blog soon.