Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Happy New Year!


Here's a fun little project I discovered on the Ki Memories blog, a CD calendar. If click on http://www.kimemories.typepad.com/ and scroll down a little ways, you can download the calender pages and then decorate them with your favorite scrapbook papers or photos. Cheers to a happy, healthy and successful new year!

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Love is in the Air


I've been working on stocking my Etsy shop with lots of fun Valentine goodies like this little mail box and matching greeting card. All the Christmas papers and accents have been stowed away and my desk is now overflowing with pink card stock, patterned papers covered in hearts, and lovely embellishments. Makes me yearn for box of chocolates! If you're also feeling love in the air and want to make some fun Valentine cards and crafts, come visit my Etsy shop at http://www.cardblanc.etsy.com/ for a fun array of Valentine embellishments, ribbons and ready made gifts. Enjoy!

Monday, December 29, 2008

What a Clown!


One of my darling son's favorite things to do these days is clown around in the tub and ask for his dad to take pictures. This started about a month ago and we have some pretty silly photos like this one. Oh boy! I get to spend this last week of the year with this little clown and it's only Monday and I'm kinda wondering what we'll do for the entire week. We never got around to making pine cone bird treats last week so we could do that. Oh, and the child needs a hair cut badly! So, tell me, what are the rest of you doing this week with your little or not so little ones?

Saturday, December 27, 2008

The Best Christmas Ever


I've been missing from my blog for days now because we are having such a wonderful holiday! I think Christopher summed it up best when he said, "This is the best Christmas ever!" He loves Wall-E, star of the the Disney/Pixar movie Wall-E and he got a few Wall-E things for Christmas he didn't expect so he is just as thrilled as can be! We are all feeling great, no colds or flu bugs have come to put a damper on our holiday. I have been a very lucky girl this Christmas and got a Canon Rebel camera so I've been busy reading the manual and taking a bunch of practice photos. I have been ready to take our photos to the next level as I have been increasingly aware that they could be so much better. So, I leave you with a photo of me opening my new camera and hope you are having a fabulous holiday too.

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

All I Want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth


Just in time for Christmas, Christopher can now sing the infamous song 'All I Want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth!' His tooth was loose for so long that it started growing outward until last Sunday evening when he bumped it pretty good with one of his toys and nearly knocked it out. I wished it would have come out completely because if you know Christopher, he will not wiggle a loose tooth. Luckily, he woke up in the middle of the night and reached up to feel it when it just came out! If that little tooth waited one more day, we would have had two visitors during the night, Santa and the Tooth Fairy!

Monday, December 22, 2008

Valentine Shoppe Open


I know, Christmas is just a couple days away, but if you like to craft you have to think ahead and give yourself plenty of time to make your cards and Valentine projects. With that said, I'd like to invite you to my Etsy shop that has a section full all things hearts, love, pink, red and ready made, like the photographed card, for your crafts and Valentine gift giving. You can find all this in store at http://www.cardblanc.etsy.com/. Enjoy and Merry Christmas!

Sunday, December 21, 2008

'Tis the Season Collage



Just when all the cards were mailed, the ornaments made and teachers' gifts delivered, I would have thought I'd be a little tired of Christmas crafts. Then it hits me on Friday night after visiting Elsie Blaha's blog (addy to the right) that I should make a similar holiday collage. I wanted mine to be unique so instead of the usual square pieces of holiday themed scrapbook paper on a solid background, I used these triangles on glass. This frame was sitting in a closet for the past four years collecting dust waiting for my creativity to strike and give it a second life. I added a bow to the upper left hand corner which I don't think I've seen anyone do and I glued a couple jingle bells directly on the front of the glass. Another thing I was jazzed about is that I only had to use one sheet of scrapbook paper instead of half a dozen since Basic Grey designed this lovely paper called 'Tree Lot' from their Wassail collection that already has these triangles shapes in an assortment of designs. So there you have it, another fun way to deck your halls or make a fun gift.

Friday, December 19, 2008

The Cutest Little Graham Cracker House


I just love this little graham cracker house my son came home from school with yesterday! All the students in his class made one so they had an entire village set up. Too cute! Instead of doing our traditional gingerbread house from the Wilton kit next year, I want to make these! By-the-way, under that little house is a milk carton that holds those graham crackers in place! Clever, huh?

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Teacher Gifts


I got this great gift idea from my favorite on-line scrapbook site, Two Peas in a Bucket. I decorated these to-go coffee cups and filled them with a couple chocolates and gift certificates for Starbucks and Target. Cool, huh? I love the idea of giving gift certificates so that people can get exactly what they want or need, but I've always thought it a little impersonal and dull. Well this idea solves both issues. How fun would it be to receive something like this? If you don't have the time to put a couple of these together before the holidays, you can do the same for just about any holiday.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Jingle All the Way Ornament



I've got a little extra bounce in my step this morning! While going through my e-mail I got a newsletter from Two Peas in A Bucket, my favorite web site for sharing scrapbook pages, craft projects and a great place to purchase paper craft supplies. Anyway, I was scrolling through their newsletter when to my surprise, one of my projects, this Christmas ornament, was featured! It feels great to have others enjoy my work!

To make one, the base of the ornament is made of chipboard from Bazzill Chips of Bazzill Basics Paper. The 'Jingle all the Way' sentiment is a K & Company Grand Adhesion three dimensional sticker. I used a Heidi Swapp Ghost snowflake and topped it with a Dress-it-Up glittered snowflake accent. The jingle bells are fastened on with bakers twine. The hanger is made with pink grosgrain ribbon. Fun to make! Enjoy!

Monday, December 15, 2008

Gingerbread House


Here it is, our 2008 gingerbread abode. Not quite what I envisioned. Each year I have high hopes that we'll make it look a little more like the house on the kit box! I suppose only making one a year does not allow for enough practice. Anyway, it's our gingerbread house, made with our hands and for that reason, I love it. Hope you are enjoying the holidays as we are. Cheers!

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Visit with Santa


Look at that smile! Christopher was pleased to see Santa today and ask him for a Lego train and 'Lady' the wooden train engine for his Thomas the Tank Engine set.


It was a enjoyable trip to the mall. We got there before it opened so we didn't have to drive in circles looking for a parking space and we didn't have to wait in line long to see Jolly old St. Nick. We got Christopher a new pair of sneakers too; he's now wearing a size 13. We participated in the Rolesville Elementary School fund raiser at Barnes & Noble. All we had to do is let them know that Christopher attends Rolesville and they donate a percentage of our sale. I needed a couple new books since I'm reading the final book in the Twilight series and Christopher is reading the Magic Tree House series.


While Christopher and dad spent time in the toy store, I got to go to my toy store...Archivers! Boy did they have some fun holiday papers and I picked up Ali Edwards' new book 'Sharing Your Story'. Oh, and while I was on my own, I got lucky and found the gift I have been searching for all month. I can't tell you what it is because it's for my darling hubby who just might check out my blog! This was the fourth place I tried to find his present and I was beginning to wonder if I'd have to buy it after Christmas or pick something else. Score! That was totally cool!


So, that was our day. Hope you too are enjoying the season.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Christopher's Gingerbread Man


A couple weeks ago I posted a turkey Christopher and I colored and decorated together for his 2nd grade class. The teacher hung all the kids' turkeys on the wall outside their classroom and it was quite a display. I wish I had a photo for you. Since it was such a success, we were asked to do another family project and decorate a gingerbread man this time. I love children's artwork, especially Christopher's and the things we get to do together so I thought I'd share with everyone. Enjoy! Happy Holidays!

Monday, December 8, 2008

Chew on This - Give-a-way




A gum with no artificial flavors or preservatives and lots of vitamin B12, B6, and C, as well as green tea? Too good to be true, you say? How about environmentally conscience packaging too, made with 40 percent recyclable material and soy inks! And that's not all, it's made in the U.S. to cut exporting waste and support domestic production. If that weren't enough, Project 7 donates half of its profits to organizations designated to each flavor: Fresh mint supports earth-friendly initiatives, peppermint vanilla backs hunger-busting groups, and mango mint helps house the homeless. Well, I'm logging onto http://www.project7.com/ to get some! I'm buying the fresh mint and I'll randomly draw a name from all comments left to give a pack away. Comments must be made by this Friday, December 12th by 12:00 midnight EST.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Make Lemonade from Lemons


A lot of my holiday crafts are either given away or sold on my Etsy site, so I wanted to document the things I've made this season with a scrapbook page. I really like the way this page turned out. I think it's simple, but pretty. With some of my pages, it takes more time to figure out a design, color scheme and embellishments, but this page just came together. And as I was standing back admiring my work, I gasped to realize that I left the 'r' out of my title!


Like many other things in life, my scrapbook pages do not always turn out the way I envisioned and I have to find a way to fix my mistakes. In this case I didn't have an extra capital 'c' sticker that would allow me to cover up my misspelled word and then spell over it again. In this case, my only option was to squeeze the 'r' in and make it look as good as possible. In doing so I had to do some creative cutting with my craft knife. Well, there you have it...it's not perfect, but I salvaged my page.


Saturday, December 6, 2008

Looking a lot Like Christmas


It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas here at our home. The tree is up, there's glitter strewn around from making our annual Christmas ornaments and Christmas cards and packages are arriving each day.


Here's a scrapbook page from our tree trimming last weekend. Christopher put up his Lightning McQueen and Tow Mater ornaments and then went to play so we don't have a photo of him. I am the one who can spend hours decorating the tree. Then, when all the ornaments have been hung, Dan places the star on top.


It sounds a lot like Christmas in our house too with the carols playing much of the time. And before too long, it'll smell a lot like Christmas when I start baking goodies. I'll pick out one of my favorite recipes next week and post one for you to try. Well, here's to enjoying the activities of the season! Cheers!

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Thoughtful Giving


It's the season to give, but how do you remain environmentally aware and give gifts that help others? I've compiled a list of some great gift ideas that lend people a helping hand and/or are healthy for us and our planet.

Berry Towne Crafts is an online retailer that sells handmade soaps, organic wildflower honey, hand thrown stoneware pottery, NABS approved blue bird nesting boxes and handmade wood crafts. All these products are made in Goldsboro, North Carolina by artisans with developmental disabilities such as autism. I love their Oatmeal Milk and Honey soap and their shipping costs are amazingly low. Check these folks out at http://www.berrytownecrafts.com/.
J.R. Watkins sells a line of natural apothecary skin care products made from environmentally friendly, sustainable and renewable sources. Their products are at least 95% natural and certified by the Natural Products Association. Watkins also sells a line of natural plant based cleaners that are safe for us as well as the environment, a line of natural and organic spices and extracts and an assortment of home remedies that relieve aches and pains. I love the lavender body lotion and my husband and I recently switched all our household cleaners to Watkins. These products are available on-line at http://www.watkinsonline.com/.

Want a natural deodorant that doesn't contain aluminum, alcohol and bactericides? Spa Therapy Works at http://www.spatherapy.etsy.com/ sells vegan deodorants that do not interfere with sweating which is our natural cooling process, but combats and kills odor-causing bacteria. This Etsy shop not only sells deodorant for men and women, but also sells lotions, vegan lip balms and shampoo.

Ten Thousand Villages is an on-line store selling fair trade products, some made of recycled materials. Here you can buy tapestries, ornaments, jewelry, and home decor items. To view the many crafts go to http://www.tenthousandvillages.com/. My favorite product I bought a couple years back is their large trivet made of recycled news papers.

What about the person who has everything? They've asked that no one buy them anymore stuff! How about planting some trees on their behalf? Every dollar donated to American Forests plants a tree. To plant a small forest for someone, log onto http://www.americanforests.org/. Or, how about offering a free loan to an entrepreneur in a third world country to help alleviate poverty? At http://www.kiva.org/, you can select real person and the amount of money you wish to loan. Throughout the course of a loan, about 6-12 months, you can receive e-mail journal updates and when the loan is paid off, you can lend it to another individual. This site sells gift certificates so that your gift recipient can choose the person they want to make a loan to. My husband and I have been making loans for a year now and no one has defaulted on their payments.
If you know of a great gift giving idea that's environmentally friendly and/or helps a particular cause, please leave a comment. Happy holidays!

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Most Wonderful Time of the Year!


I love Christmas, it's my favorite holiday! There's so much to enjoy during the season, like listening to Christmas music, sipping hot chocolate and decorating the tree! Our son loves his Advent calendar and decorating the gingerbread house. I take pleasure in baking, making Christmas cards and ornaments for our friends and family. It's great fun to receive holiday cards with photos and letters from those who live far!
If you're a craft bug like me, this is the season to make lots of gifts, like this Jolly ornament. I make lots of things, not only for our family, friends and Christopher's teachers but for my Etsy customers as well.

Monday, December 1, 2008

Slice of Life


Here's a slice of my life page...darling son enjoying an after dinner treat. He picked a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup and this is how he went about eating it! I don't know how he made such a nice little hole without breaking it. Talent!

Friday, November 28, 2008

Cat Nap in Progress


This photo was taken the day before Thanksgiving, me and my boys basking away in the glory of a cat nap. Yes, I'm in there, you can see the top of my head. My little fur balls are such an inspiration, aren't they? I plan to indulge in another feline siesta again this holiday weekend and hope that you enjoy yours.

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving!


Happy Thanksgiving! I've taken a break from the kitchen to check e-mail and my Etsy shop. I've already prepared the cranberries along with the pumpkin pie. The green bean casserole, the one with the French fried onions, is in the refrigerator ready to bake later this afternoon. I make mine with fresh green beans. Yum!
Anyway, I thought I'd make a Thanksgiving post just in case you decided to take a break from the cooking too. Or perhaps you're hiding out from that annoying relative for just a little while? Every family has at least one! I have several! Just my luck! Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving!

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Sew Much Fun!




Recently, while shopping at my favorite place, my home away from home...can you guess where that would be? Archivers, the Photo Memories Store! I found these cool stitching cards from Bazzill Basics. They're called 'In Stitch'z and they come in a variety of sizes and a large assortment of patterns from flowers and winter snowflakes to borders for your scrapbook pages.
While I was stitching away last night, making the above friendship card I was hit with a memory of doing an almost identical craft as a child. Remember those lace cards with holes punched in the chipboard that came with shoe laces? These are just as fun to do now as when you were a kid! The difference in these stitching cards is you use them as a template to pierce holes in your greeting card or scrapbook page and then stitch the design directly on your project. It's 'sew' simple!
If you would like to give these a try, I'm selling the four templates picture above in my Etsy shop at http://www.cardblanc.etsy.com/ in the supplies section. Additionally, I'm giving the photographed card away in a drawing. To enter, add a comment to this blog entry now through November 28th and I will randomly select one of those entries. Please check back to see if your entry was selected.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Beautiful Antiques on Etsy





Lately I've been collecting hammered aluminum pieces, hand crochet lace doilies and delicate handkerchiefs from Serendipity Treasures, a sweet little antique shop on Etsy. The hankie in the second photo is so beautiful and has lovely detailed stitching. Best of all, 100% of the proceeds went to Breast Cancer Research! The shopkeeper at Serendipity Treasures is passionate about breast cancer awareness and often lists items to help fund research.

Serendipity Treasures also sells a variety of hammered aluminum pieces also known as poor man's silver. The third photo is a darling little vanity powder box from the 1940's. You should see some of the service pieces she has in stock, so pretty! With all the doilies I've purchased, like the one in the first photo, I plan to have a few framed for a collage on the dinning room wall.
If you're interested in lovely pieces like these, see Ali at http://www.serendipitytreasures.etsy.com/ and tell her Kathy sent you. She'll be surprised since she doesn't know I'm giving her a plug here! She deserves it, she's a giving soul, offers great service and sells her items at reasonable prices.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Just Whipped this Up


It's amazing what a little Christmas music can do to the creative spirit! I came up to my office this morning to check e-mail and perhaps continue to work on a mini album I started yesterday for great grandma's 90th birthday. I put on a Christmas Brass CD and before I knew it, I was decorating this little holiday mailbox. It turned out rather cute, don't you think? I'm putting it up for sale in my Etsy shop in the Christmas section at http://www.cardblanc.etsy.com/ if anyone is interested or would like to see photos of the back and side that has additional accents you can't see from this photo angle.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Right Side Down


No, I didn't post my photo upside down, these plants have been potted in Boskke Sky Planters. The advantage, other than a fabulous conversation piece is that the plant needs less water than the standard upright. And you don't have to worry about soil spilling over your antique area rug from grandmother, that's part of the wonder. To learn more or to acquire one of these unique plants log onto http://imaginativegrowth.com/planter.html#planter.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Macaroni & Cheese



We woke up to a dusting of snow on the ground here in the Raleigh, North Carolina area. Brrrrr! It's been unseasonably cold. It seems that Mother Nature decided to skip the last part of autumn and head straight into winter.

Cold weather means it's time for comfort food, something that's warm and filling of body and soul. In our house, it's time to make home baked Macaroni and Cheese!

From the Pasta book of Food & Wine comes this fabulous recipe that my in laws ask me to cook when they come to visit. It's the recipe my husband asks me to make for his birthday. It's that good!

Serves 4 (More like 6)

5 tbls. Butter
3 tbls. flour
2 cups milk
3/4 Pound Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Grated (about 3 1/2 cups)
1 1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/8 tsp. cayenne
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. fresh-ground black pepper
3/4 pound elbow macaroni
2 tbls. chopped fresh parsley

1. In a medium saucepan, melt 3 tablespoons of the butter over moderate heat. Add the flour and cook, whisking for 1 minute. Whisk in the milk. Still over moderate heat, bring to a boil, whisking. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat. Add the cheese, mustard, cayenne, 3/4 teaspoon of the salt and the pepper and whisk until the cheese melts.

2. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the macaroni until almost tender but still slightly underdone, about 7 minutes. Drain.

3. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 1 1/2 quart baking dish. Combine the macaroni and cheese sauce. Transfer to baking dish.

4. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and combine with the bread crumbs, chopped fresh parsley and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Sprinkle the bread crumbs over the macaroni. Bake until the top is beginning to brown and the sauce is bubbling, approximately 30 minutes.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Handmade Cards



I can remember making Christmas cards when I was just a girl. I used construction paper and made little paper pieced scenes of a chair next to the fire place and a Christmas tree on the other side. I'd gather some pine needles from outside to add to my cards so it looked like there were real logs in the fireplace.


Now that I'm grown up, I still enjoy making cards, but now I do it for a living through my business Card-Blanc. The photo above is one from my line. One of the questions I get asked a lot as a card designer is what are my favorite card manufacturers? Here's just a few of my favorites with their websites so you can take a peek at some of the top handmade greeting card manufacturers. They are so inspiring!


Some of Me - http://twigandthorn.com/notes.htm
Meri Meri - http://www.merimeri.com/
Koko New York - http://www.madisonparkgreetings.com/
Letterspace - http://www.letterspacepaper.com/

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Let's Talk Turkey


It's turkey time and in honor of Thanksgiving, Christopher's second grade class was given an assignment to dress up a turkey. All the kids brought home a simple turkey drawing to decorate with their family. Christopher and I decided that we would first color our turkey's tail in a rainbow of colors and then fill in his body with tissue paper. I remember doing projects like this as a child. It's so simple...just cut up tissue paper in small 1.5" squares, wrap them around the eraser end of a pencil, dip in glue (a little goes a long way), and place onto your project. Lift pencil quickly and there you have a fluffy piece of tissue. So, here you have it, Christopher's perky turkey! By-the-way, he named it Wally!

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

The Bart Jedi


Oh happy day! A friend of mine who has a telent for writing and an amazing sense of humor, especially when it comes to parenting, has finally created a blog! He calls himself 'The Bart (Bay Area Rapid Transit) Jedi' since he spends a good deal of time riding the system with his son who is autistic.
My husband and I also have an autistic son so we understand just how crazy life can be trying to raise and relate to a child who is hard wired differently than ourselves. Looking at the humorous side of parenting is what The Bart Jedi is all about. And if you think you have to have an autistic child to appreciate his sense of humor, think again. The Bart Jedi also has a neuro-typical daughter who is 2 1/2 years and lends a lot of material to write about as well. You can find The Bart Jedi at http://www.thebartjedi.blogspot.com/. Enjoy!

Monday, November 17, 2008

Unique Embellishments on Etsy


How about this beautiful crocheted daisy to embellish your next scrapbook page or handmade greeting card? You can find a lot of cool and unique embellishments at awesome prices on Etsy. The shopkeeper who makes these lovely flowers in just about any color of the rainbow can be found at http://www.mirandagirldesigns.etsy.com/. Happy shopping!

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Crafty Weekend

I've been bitten by a craft bug this weekend! I've been making cards and ornaments and just plain having fun trying out some new techniques and embellishments. This ornament was made in part with my Silhouette digital craft cutter. It's a breeze to make scalloped ovals in any size you desire. I'm addicted to throwing a pinch and dash of glitter on just about every project these days. I love the way it sparkles along with the silver tinsel stem I added as a frame for the Victorian image. This little ornament is currently up for sale in my Etsy shop at www.cardblanc.etsy.com.

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Christmas Ornaments


It's that time again, time to start making my annual Christmas ornaments for friends and family. Making ornaments is one of my favorite holiday activities that I started doing years ago, a tradition I adopted from a friend.


One year I made mini wrapped Christmas present ornaments and made the mistake of not telling everyone not to open them! I had to make a lot of those over again! Another year I made ornaments from cookie cutters and scrapbook paper, a fun idea I found in a Martha Stewart magazine. I believe the first year I started making ornaments, I made miniature wreaths all decorated just like the larger versions. Last year's ornament was a wire and beaded icicle. One of my all time favorites was a miniature wreath made with the smallest 4mm jingle bells.


So, what will it be this year? I started playing around with a paper type ornament made with old sheet music and stitched holly leaves. I like how it turned out, but to make a lot of these might be a little time consuming. And besides, I can't post a photo of the ornament I go with this year since it would ruin the surprise! So, maybe this ornament will be something you want to make for your friends and family, or just for your tree. If you have any questions on how to make one like this, just send me a comment. Thanks for visiting.

Friday, November 14, 2008

Busy Week


Wow, it's been a busy week. Nothing special going on just busy with the everyday stuff. I did manage to get a couple scrapbook pages done. This is one of Christopher and I planting flowers that will survive frost. I finally remembered that I wanted to do a page where my pictures are either black and white or faded and then you print the pictures again in color and layer some of the color photo over the top. Kind of a neat look, don't you think?


Monday, November 10, 2008

Clearly a Cool Kind of Card


I've seen a lot of great projects on Two Peas in a Bucket where transparencies are used. They make cool windows in scrapbook pages and awesome looking cards.
Finally, I got myself a pack of transparencies and gave it a shot. Tada! My first project! I'm already addicted! I love the way this card turned out! I owe much of my success to Two Peas in a Bucket for their Finally Friday video series by Kristina Werner. A couple weeks ago she made a cute transparency card that gave me the basics and tricks to working with see through materials, after all, you don't want your adhesives showing on the backside!
If you would like to see Kristina's video yourself, log onto http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/userblogpost.asp?id=39817 and get ready to learn something fun and new!

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Proud Tree Hugger


I love trees! Not only are they incredibly beautiful, but they provide homes to animals, shade on hot summer days and the oxygen we breath.


Four years ago my husband and I searched for a new place to call home. We could live just about anywhere since we both work at home so it was a matter of education for our son and what kind of environment we wanted to live. We chose North Carolina for a multitude of reasons, one being the trees!


Unfortunately, our earth and its trees are in jeopardy. Too many trees are cleared for infrastructure and products such as furniture and paper. But this is an issue we can easily do something about. Fall is the perfect season to plant a tree, but if you don't have room for a tree, you can make a donation to American Forests at http://www.americanforests.org/ and they'll plant some trees for you. You can also buy paper products such as facial tissue, toilet paper and paper towels made from recycled materials made by Seventh Generation. These products are not hard to find, you can purchase them at your local Target store. If you are lucky enough to live near a Whole Foods Market, their brand of recycled household paper, 365, is higher in post consumer recycled materials.
So get out there and plant a tree and hug another while you're at it!

Saturday, November 8, 2008

What's In Store?


If you love to craft or enjoy handmade items, my on-line Etsy store is a fun place to visit. With nearly 90 types of ribbon, over 100 embellishments, and handmade cards and gifts, it's a great place to spend a little time browsing.

I started my Etsy shop in August 2007 to sell the handmade goodies I enjoy making and eventually decided to sell supplies too. I now have over 5,100 sales and more than 2,500 Etsy users who have marked Card-Blanc as a favorite place to shop.


Here's a funky and fun picture frame that I used to frame an array of buttons which can be found in the handmade gifts section of my Etsy shop. Come take a peek at http://www.cardblanc.etsy.com/.

Friday, November 7, 2008

Twilight


It's finally Friday night and I'm looking forward to crawling into bed a bit early to read the last couple chapters of Twilight. I heard about the book on Two Peas in a Bucket of all places. Such a popular series that I've run across several scrapbook pages about it.
So, will Bella pull it off? Last night I left off where she is given 15 minutes to pack her bags and convince her father, Charlie, that she has to move back to Arizona. Now. Tonight.
The movie comes out this month, the twenty-first.
I'm looking forward to seeing if the movie follows the book exactly or what changes are made.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Can an Old Dog Learn New Tricks?


Can you teach an old dog new tricks? Well, we're about to see. I'm 42 and embarking on a new thing called blogging. Well, blogging isn't new, I'm new to blogging. I hear it's a good way to keep in touch with family and friends and a great business networking tool. So here goes...


Today was a lovely day in North Carolina with all the fall leaves coloring the landscape in rich warm hues. The temperature was a warm 70+ degrees and I tried to enjoy autumns splendor and drive safely to Archivers, my favorite shop and home away from home.


I scored big at Archivers since they had their Christmas displays out and ready for an open house starting tomorrow. I found so many fun lines of papers and embellishments, mostly Christmas, and can't wait to get started on some holiday cards and projects.


I love when you check out your purchases at Archivers and the cashier asks, "Have you shopped with us before?" I have to hold back from laughing hysterically! Then they ask,"Are you working on a particular projects?" If they only knew! I get to craft everyday! It's what I do!


Today's project, after the hunting and gathering of supplies? I made this birthday card for my sister-in-law. For those of you who absolutely have to know what beautiful card stock I used, it's October Afternoon Detours and Daydreaming lines.
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