Back in Feb. 2011 I joined Joan Robertson's card club.  Each month she sends us a kit with supplies needed to make 2 cards and she shares a video of how to assemble the cards.  I've learned so much during her first club that I signed up for her second one.  : )  One of the things I love about it is that I can try new techniques, but I can aslo make each card my own.  Here are some of the cards I made in the first club.

Cool Ribbin Technique

Love the Sparkles

Springtime Squares

(I'm still kicking myself for not picking up this stamp set.)

Artistic Etchings

(One of my favorites.  I've used her 2 designs as a launching pad to create many cards

The card on the left shows how I stepped it up a notch, adding brads to the 4 corners of the newsprint paper and matting it with some early espresso card stock.

Loved learning how to make this flower.  I don't have that punch, so I use my scallop circle punch to make a similar flower.

Avery turned 3

My sweet neighbor friend turned 3 in August.  She is into dress up so I got her a frilly princess outfit and stuffed it into this adorable bag I made for her.  I got the idea from Angie Kennedy Juda, but altered the dimensions to fit my needs.  I put Avery's dress in the bag upside down, so the tulle of the skirt would add decoration.  The glittery princess hat and heart stickers were from JoAnns.

The best part of this project was I used paper from my stash that I had bought about 4 or 5 years ago for another dear friend's baby, Julisa.  I thought of her and the album I made for her mom while I was putting this together and thinking about Avery and her mom.  I love that my friends share their little girls with me. 

SSWA

SSWA VII- ScrapShare Washington 7!!!  What a fun day.  I was sitting next to Sue (FoleysFriend) and across from Charlyn (Busyizzi).  Sue was working on her trip to CA coast.  I was able to savor her pictures of San Fransisco and Monterey while working on our family pictures of our first trip to Seattle.  Does it get any better than that without actually traveling and taking those pictures?  I don't think so.

This sign guides us to the room each time we get together.

View of the front of the church as night was falling.

Use Your Stash

When we moved to WA I knew nobody here, but thanks to an online scrapbooking forum I was able to quickly connect to some ladies up here with a passion for scrapbooking.  Each January and July they meet for a retreat.  The January one is a day crop, usually at a church in Renton.  My first trip was in 2008, and this year was my 4th time going.  I've also managed to go to one of the retreats in July.  Perhaps this year  I will be able to go again! 

Part of the fun of the crop is the goodie bag.  We each contribute an item to the goodie bag.  This year I made these adorable (if I do say so myself) sketch holders.  With some paperclips, paper ribbon, sparkly stickers and tiny sketches I made a gift I was proud to give.

Lovely View

It may be a view only a scrapbooker or paper crafter could love, but oh do I love the view from my scrapping space.  Scott built these shelves for me so that I could have easy access to some of my favorite things. Currently I am loving my stickles.  They add sparkles to cards, scrapbook pages, and so many altered items.  I've even added them to my bookmarks, and special books I have given friends. 
This shelf spans the wall of my scrapbook side of the room, and has glue, stamps, inks, glitter, treasures and so much more.  It's a work of art that helps me work on my art. 

Calendar Changeover

Each year, when I get a new calendar, I take down the old one and go month by month filling in important dates.  If I have a datebook, I'll add them to that too.  This year it was difficult for me to do.  I didn't want to look at January, but it is already a week into January and I have things I need to be filling in.   Instead of starting in January I started in December and worked my way back.  When I got to January I accepted that my friend Tracy really has been gone for almost a year, and that it's been 2 years since Danielle was killed in that tragic car accident.  Aunt Carol and Grandpa Roy have been gone 3 years now.  January is not a bad month... I used to look forward to it... but now I wonder who it will be this year. 

Secret Sister Reveal

Tonight was our Secret Sister Reveal at church during Ladies Night Out.  Unfortunately I still wasn't feeling well, so I missed it, but I sent along this gift for my secret sister.  Movie night with a mani-pedi.  I included popcorn, snacks, water bottle, and stuff for mani/pedi at home.  I'm curious to find out who had me this time.  She was a good SS, and I'm looking forward to thanking her.

Living Beyond Yourself

Starting a new Bible study just thrills me, especially if it is a Beth Moore study.  Anticipation of what I may learn and how I will grow is exciting. For the next 10 weeks I will be meeting with a wonderful group of godly women at Church of Living Water in Olympia, WA each week to study God's Word and Beth's teaching on the Fruits of the Spirit. 

Writing in the book can be difficult, especially when I have it in my lap during the video session.  An easy solution is to take it to a Copy/Office store and have them spiral bind my study guide book.  It cost me less than $5 and will make doing the homework and taking notes so much easier!