A Little More Magic

The second of two Christmas card workshops I am hosting will be on November 18th @ 6:00p.m.. Here is a few of the designs we will be working on. The last workshop was more traditional where this one will be a little fun and wintry. Once again we will be embossing, inking, stamping, distressing, and adding fun little pearl and sparkle embellishments.


Take a look at our fun snowman (on CTMH's "Share The Magic" stamp set)...his button are licorice, adhesive pearls:


and for those of you who have always wanted to try embossing or who already do and love what it adds to your papercrafts, here is an embossed "snow flurry" (CTMH's "Snow Flurries" stamp set):



If you would like to join us, feel free to contact me by November 13th valentino.danielle@yahoo.com The cost is $23 per person. you will complete a total of 16 cards-2 each of 8 designs. Come "share the magic".............

Being "Thankful" Daily

Each day in November leading up to Thanksgiving I like to reflect on something I am thankful for. Of course, I am forever grateful for my family, my health, my home, and great friends, but what about the little things? I find that this time of year, I am more diligent about taking in the precious "little" moments...those small things that make me smile. With that, I decided to journal my days in November. Each day up until Thanksgiving I will preserve that special something that brings me comfort or happiness. Here is a picture of such a sweet moment (at least I think so). Something so simple yet warm and comforting. It was a cool, fall day at the barn in Waterford, VA where one of my girls rides this great paint horse, Brick. While waiting for her to tack, I turned and noticed this precious moment pictured above......

Let the games begin!

So tonight is the first night of two (2) holiday card workshops I'll be hosting. We will be making sixteen (2 each of 8 designs) cards using CTMH "Mistletoe". I am so excited to share these fun designs. We will be doing some distressing, stamping, inking, and embossing. We will also add some fun embellishments like gold, satin ribbon, pearl adhesive gems, biti bling (AKA CTMH Sparkles) in red, pink, and purple, mistletoe brads, and snowflake dimensional elements......Take a look below for the finished product.

Live The Moment To The Fullest

It is this time of year that I find it so difficult to savor the moment we are in and not "rush" through this precious time we have with our loved ones. I love the holiday season and I am trying so hard not to fly through it. I am really enjoying taking this time to take in all the signs of this fabulous season. The colors of the leaves, the cooler air, the cozy nights. I love it all.

What does any of this have to do with my love of scrapbooking and teaching others to preserve their memories? EVERYTHING! It makes me remember how important it is to make time for my family. Make memories that are worth preserving. Make time for myself to do the one thing I love to do. It gives me the chance to regroup, decompress, and really think about the moments shared. Fall is one of my favorite seasons and the main reasons are the crisp, cool air, and the amazing colors. Close To My Heart offers this beautiful paper, Olivia, that has the awesome fall colors, and amazing textures and prints . Pictured here is the fanned out deck or tags I added to my recent layout to add more space for pictures and journaling. It is a super fun technique and it is shown in our new "how to" book "Magic".

It has been awhile.....

since I have posted on my blog (I am so sorry about that). As many of you know, I wear many hats. I am a wife, mom of 3, a teacher, and a crafter. Since the beginning of school, my schedule has been something fierce BUT I love every minute of it. Though I have taken a break from my blog, I have NOT taken a break from creating. Matter-of-fact I have been whipping up some pretty cool creations and I cannot wait to get the ball rolling again with sharing them all with you. So let's get started with catching up.

We just finished up one of the first holidays of the most exciting time of year for me and my family. Halloween was so fun this year. My younger two girls decided to "create" their own costume this year (I wonder where they got that from). They were hobos. As for my oldest, well she was a fortune teller. I spent some time thinking about whether or not this will be the last year trick-or-treating for her. She still seems to have so much fun with the neighborhood gang.

The girls and I also had fun making some fun treats this year to share with our teachers and others that are a part of our daily schedule. We decided to try making chocolate dipped pretzels. We used some fun molds like, pumpkins, skeletons, and rats. Of course, I had to make some fun tags to put on them using CTMH's Hooligans paper. What a fun paper! I am having a blast using this cute pack. Just add some assorted, felt "Hooligans" and some opaques and you are all done.


I have been having a great time hosting the "Do you believe in magic?" club. I am helping my girls put together some really cool layouts and making the most of the page "space" by making them more interactive. We meet once a month and get down to work.....pictured here is the most recent layout we did using CTMH's "Olivia". The layout was in the newest How-to book "Magic" and we altered it using a gift tag style "deck" that you can add pictures and journaling to. What is really neat is how the deck fans out (like a deck of playing cards). A ribbon attached to the base cardstock holds your tags in place when pages are closed.