Vacation...aahhhhhhh!

Give me a place by the shore, where I can put my toes in the sand, and I'm a happy camper!

If you have never been to Silver Lake in Michigan, I recommend you going there. The views, especially those over the lake at sunset, are amazing. There are several lighthouses nearby and there are all kinds of things to do...boating, mini golf, dune rides, go carts, bumper cars, etc.

On the 4th, we watched fireworks over the lake. Nothing beats fireworks reflecting in the water! And my husband didn't get all freaked out because of the crowds, so that was a good thing too.

I think we've seen about 7 lighthouses. Next time, I guess we'll have to move to the western side of Lake Michigan because we've seen almost all of the ones on the eastern side. Or maybe I should suggest that we now go for all the ones on the East Coast!!! I don't care as long as there is sand I can play in and water I can look at (okay, more water than just a puddle or something gross!).

Stationary Tote

Here's my latest creation. I used CTMH Laid Back Level 2 Paper Pack. I love the beachy feel of this paper. Stamps used are Extreme Happiness and Beach Party.

There is a pocket on each of the outside which can hold cards and one on the inside holds envelopes. I put velcro dots on the notebook so it can be easily removed from the tote. The pen has coordinating paper and is attached with Twill ribbon from CTMH.

The original idea and instructions for this project can be found at http://inkingidaho.blogspot.com/2009/04/here-is-how-i-made-it.html

I won an award!

Thanks Liz!

Wow! I've seen these on other people's blogs and thought, "wouldn't that be nice?" and now someone nominated me. Cool! Anyway, it's greatly appreciated.

According to Liz, in accepting this award, I am supposed to 1)post it on my blog with the person who awarded it and their blog address (see above for Liz's) and 2)pass it on to other bloggers. (She says 15, but since I'm new at this, I don't know if I've even visited 15 other blogs.)

So, here are my nominations. These are women whose work I really admire. In no particular order...

Vicki Wiznuik
Bren Yule
Lisa Stenz
Karen Pederson
Tina Sutton
Kelly Triggs
Tresa Black
Scrap Jaci
Aaron Brown
Nona Davenport
Helen Onulak

Father's Day

How lucky am I? I have a wonderful father who has always loved me? What more could a girl want?!?

My Dad and I have shared a special bond. I am the one who understands most of his jokes and translate them for my Mom and my sister. Daddy loves the corny jokes!

When I was a senior in high school (MANY years ago), my Dad was my best friend. That may sound strange to you, but we had moved across the state the summer right before I started my senior year and I didn't know anyone at school. I was really bummed because I had left a boyfriend behind and that relationship soon went sour. But my Dad was there for me.

While my sister was always learning how to cook and clean from my Mom (yes, I probably should have paid more attention there) I was learning how to assemble things from my Dad.

If you ever meet my Dad, never say anything negative about my Mom, my sister, me, or our kids unless you want him to unleash on you. Normally my Dad is a gentle man, but let someone say anything bad about one of his and he will let you know that kind of talk will not be tolerated in his presence. You won't hear him use swear words or foul language, but you will definitely know never to say anything bad about any of us.

One of the best things about my Dad is how much he loves my Mom. Sure, he makes her crazy sometimes, but he still thinks he married the prettiest girl in the world. And I guess after more than 50 years together, that is one of the things that makes their marriage work!!!

Happy Father's Day Dad! I hope we can celebrate many more! I love you!

Never 2 Young 2 Scrap!!

Yes, Summer vacation is here. I stayed up last night until the wee hours of the morning, then I slept in today, and spent the day doing just the things I wanted to do!!! Gotta love summer vacation!

I told you that I needed to catch up on my albums, and thought I'd share the layout I finished today. My 3 1/2 year old granddaughter was visiting a few weeks ago and I asked her if she wanted to make a card for her Mommy, who was at work. I thought it would occupy her while I worked on some scrapbooking projects, but of course there's really no working when you're trying to supervise a preschooler! Anyway, I got caught up in watching her make her card and then I thought, "Hey, I need to scrap these everyday moments too!"

I used the Level 2 That's Amore paper pack, Chocolate & Tulip inks, as well as some Dazzling Die Cuts and White Daisy Paper Flowers. The title is made with the Large Chocolate and Large Friendship My Acrylix stamp sets and the Bold Color-Ready Alphabets. If you are interested in purchasing these products to make your own masterpieces, click on the link to my Close To My Heart website.

Hope you enjoy looking at my creation as much as I did making it!

School's Out!!!

Yahooo! School is finally out. I really need a break to get caught up on all my unfinished albums. I also want to paint my craft room and make it a beachy theme. Maybe now I'll have time to do this.

If you want to work on some projects too, contact me or check out my Close to My Heart website, at http://terricarter.myctmh.com/ for workshop and crop dates.
This cool Workshop on the Go (WOTG) is the one we'll be doing in June. Contact me today to reserve your spot!

Mother's Day Blessings

Wow! Being a Mom is so awesome when you have wonderful children like mine!!!

My oldest son and daughter-in-law came home this weekend. On Saturday, my fantastic daughter-in-law made a wonderful dinner, complete with BBQ pork tips, salad, veggies, and a sampling of desserts from the Italian market. Then they gave me a couple of beach themed picture holders and a gift certificate to Hobby Lobby. They sure know the way to my heart!!

On Sunday, my middle and youngest sons went to church with me and then after church, they, along with my husband, made dinner with steack, rice, salad, veggies, and garlic bread. The food was delicious and they were so sweet when they led me to the living room and said, "Sit down Mom". Then after dinner they all helped to burn the brush pile that was hindering the planting of our garden.

I have the best kids and I am so blessed to be their Mom.

"Dream"

I just finished this layout of my beautiful granddaughter. I used the Emporium level 2 paper pack, paper from the Emporium Creative Basics, and Twilight ink. I stamped the flowers with a couple cool flower stamp sets and used the Be True stamp set for the journaling. (The layout idea came from a leaflet from KaiserCrafts.)

If you are interested in ordering products to make layouts such as this, check out my Close to My Heart website. You can order directly online and have your purchases shipped directly to you!

More Cards Imitating My Surroundings

I've been working on another attempt at trying to turn a nature view into a greeting card. While we were in California we went to a park with redwood trees and a peaceful setting. I'm not sure what kind of plant this is but I saw it and again thought, "I have ink pads with those colors!"

Here's the inspiration photo and the card...


My friend have been working overtime to convince me that I need to conserve resources. So in my attempt to listen to them and to do my part, I purchased this cool bag at CVS so I don't have to use the plastic bags when I buy my groceries. I love the colors and the pattern and thought I'd try to duplicate it on a card. What do you think?



*Cards made using Exclusive Inks, Acrylix stamp sets and papers from Close to My Heart.

Experiments with Nature Inspired Cards

As promised, I created a card inspired by nature...

Here is a shell I found on the beach in Santa Barbara...


And here is my card creation...


Hope you enjoy!

Back to Reality

Well, I've returned from my Spring Break vacation. We spent the week in Santa Barbara California. I took TONS of pictures and this vacation I was fascinated with textures that I could photograph. I also found myself thinking, "Wow, that matches..." and seeing a certain color in our 60 color Close to My Heart Exclusive Palette. I knew that I had to try to capture the pictures so I could come home and try to match what I saw in nature with my areas of inks and papers from my scrapbooking collection. I will be posting pictures of my creations.

From someone from Indiana, being able to experience weather in the 60 degrees range was like being in heaven. (I had left Indiana with temperatures in the 30's and 40's.) But to the native Califorians it was still cold. I had to laugh because we were wearing shorts and tank tops and they were still wearing jeans, long sleeve shirts, jackets, and yes, even gloves!!

The high points of the trip were seeing the poppies in full bloom on the mountainside. Mixed in with the purple lupin (I think that's how you spell it), it looked like a beautiful patchwork quilt. Exquisite and breathtaking!

The other highlight of the trip was seeing the stage production of Mamma Mia! (Thanks Nick & Sibyl for the tickets!!) The cast was awesome, the stage sets great, and the evening enchanting! I came home and bought the CD and the DVD. I can't get that music out of my head.

Now, I'm back home and the weather is still chilly, there are no poppies, and I can't hear the ocean crashing on the beach. But, the memories remain in my head...and on my camera's disk!

Welcome to my Blog!

I finally decided to join the world of bloggers!

Today it is snowing here...I am SO ready for warm weather. Unfortunately, that probably won't happen here for a few more months. At least the snow LOOKS pretty, even it it's cold.

I am an independent consultant for Close to My Heart. I would love to share my passion of scrapbooking and stamping with you. Visit my website to purchase products, view artwork, and sign up for workshops. We have lots of fun at my workshops and there's always room for 1 more! I just finished a workshop using our super cool Emporium paper. I just love those colors.