Dawn's Creation Station

 

I have had Jetmax storage cubes for my stamping and scrapbooking storage even before I had my Creation Station. I do not work well when I have everything visible...it's just overwhelming for me!  But I do need to remember everything I have!  And yes, I have a LOT of supplies and product on hand!  The fairly recent addition of my chalkboard labels helps me keep everything in it's place.  I purchased adhesive chalkboard labels from Michaels and trimmed them down a bit to fit inside the bookplates that are part of the drawer handles.  I use a fine-tip chalk marker to write on the label.  This works great, looks neat, and I can easily change around my products and just erase and change the label. (*I use a baby wipe to get the chalk marker off when I want to re-label.)

After I completed the Baby Boy album I was still into "baby-mode" so I recreated the same layouts with papers and accents for a Baby Girl album!

Once again, I used Whimsy Fundamentals papers...these 2-sided papers are so versatile!

The Baby Girl Complements pack has gold glitter accents, but I used the same idea as the Baby Boy album to create the month accents.

I also used papers from the following paper packs: 

Hello Lovely

Sugar Rush

Kaleidoscope (retired)

Calypso (retired)

Picture My Life cards were added for journaling boxes and the title box.

Hopefully someday I will get a little granddaughter whose photos will grace these pages!

If not, I have a gift, made with love, for a special baby girl:)

I am SO EXCITED to be a grandma!!  Our first grandchild is due in May and it's a BOY!!!

So I created an album for his first year of life!

(This is what I hinted at in a recent post!)

Here is the title page:

For this album I used current papers from Whimsy Fundamentals & Hello Lovely and the cute page accents from the Baby Boy Complements.  I also used a variety of papers from retired packs:

Georgie

Caboodle

Happy Times

I love how papers from several packs can be combined to create beautiful layouts!

The glittery numbers and 'month' vellum strips are part of the Baby Boy Complements.  I cut and layered patterned paper and cardstock to create these accents for each layout.

I love the little critter stickers from the Complements pack!  The journal block with the elephant is a Picture My Life card cut down a bit and matted on cardstock.

Close To My Heart has fantastic How-To Patterns in several publications to guide me in creating beautiful lay-outs...work smarter, not harder!!

Once the basic lay-outs are complete I love to add fun accents to the pages to make them extra-special!

**Coming soon I'll share similar lay-outs for a Baby Girl!

Some of my amazing CTMH sisters!

I also had to travel a bit, to visit and help out my folks, and to celebrate our 'baby' turning 21! (sigh)

I hosted a card class, had a creative 'play day' with a fellow papercrafter and worked on layouts for 2 baby albums! (I'll post that cuteness soon!)

And so the result is that my workspace in my station looks like this:

There is absolutely no room to work on anything! Ugh!  So today was spent tidying up and by day's end my workspace looks like this:

Whew!! Now I feel like I can breathe!  I've already got my next invitation design in the works, so I will be able to get busy in a neat and tidy space:)

This card features CTMH's Hello Lovely papers along with the Hello Lovely Cardmaking Thin Cuts bundle.

I designed the baby girl card using retired CTMH papers from the Topstitch kit as well as a little circle from the Bliss paper kit. 

Our Valentine card used some older papers with a new stamp set...Adore You.

It was fun to use watercolor pencils and the waterbrush on the stamped heart.

As a special offer this month, you can choose a no-kit sign-up option that will let you become a consultant again without paying for another New Consultant Kit! 

Sign up for just $50 and you'll still receive the $50 in Select Product Credit PLUS the three Stamp Of The Month sets - it's an unbelievable opportunity to come back and get a fresh start with Close To My Heart!

I was drawn to become a Close To My Heart consultant back in 2004 because I was just beginning scrapbooking.  I had been a stamper for many years before that and loved making hand-made cards.  I had toyed with the idea of becoming a consultant with a company for years, but never took the plunge until I started scrapbooking.  I thought, "Ok, if I am going to really do this new hobby I may as well become a consultant to get a discount on my supplies!"  Well, I did a bit of research and that's when I first heard of Close To My Heart (CTMH).  Not only were they a stamping company, but they also had a great line of scrapbooking papers and kits.  I met a gal on the online consultant locator and immediately fell in love with the products and wanted to join!  This was in early summer and the gal actually suggested I wait until after the annual CTMH convention, so that I could get the newest kit and products.  It was very hard for me to be patient, but I'm so glad I was!  That was the year they introduced the My Acrylix clear stamps and blocks and I was truly in love!!  I thought that was genius, to have clear stamps you could see through and align perfectly!

I continue to love the stamps and gorgeous papers that CTMH offers.

If you'd like to get your hands on these beautiful double-sided papers, or any of the fantastic products CTMH has to offer, you can check them out on my website anytime and have them shipped right to you.  Close To My Heart's theme is Faster, Simpler, Easier ... and they truly make memory-keeping and card-making just that!

Please comment here or PM me on Facebook if you'd like to come.

Here in Minnesota we've had a bit of an unusual winter! We typically have snow and cold from mid-November through March or April.  We did have a blizzard in November, but then the snow melted and the temps increased for our daughter to have a lovely wedding on December 3rd!  But then we had more snow and bitter cold in mid-December, followed by thunder and RAIN on Christmas Day!  And now we seem to be having a January thaw with melting snow and foggy mornings.  

I guess this strange weather report is to explain why I am so happy we did some updates on my 'Creation Station' this past summer.  I really needed a new door, as wind, rain and snow could get under the gap at the bottom!  Well a new door escalated to new windows and siding, too! 

Here is the 'before' picture!

I LOVE the new look, which is fresh but also a bit more retro like the original station!

You'll have to check back this summer to see if my hubby adds any of his collectibles out front!

Even if he does...the inside is ALL MINE!!!!!

If you LOVE card-making too, or would LOVE to learn...this is the class for you!

You will make 6 cards for different occasions including:

Baby LOVE!

Wedding LOVE!

Valentine LOVE!

Cost is $15 for 6 cards and includes refreshments.

This class is offered on Thursday, February 2nd, 2017 at 6:30 p.m.

Please RSVP by Tuesday, January 31st.

I'd LOVE to have you join me in my home for this fun evening!

Today I am especially happy because it's my birthday!!  I get a little sad sometimes when I think about getting older, but that feeling really only lasts a short time when I consider how blessed I am!

I was able to see (thanks Facetime!) and talk to all my kids today!  I also had a nice chat with my parents!  Two of the kids made me a fantastic birthday dinner!  My father-in-law was also able to join us and he gave me a nice bottle of wine!  How sweet is that?!

The photo above shows my handmade pillow in the chair in my Creation Station.  I really do get happy just walking in the door!  And when I get time to create in there it's my favorite time of all!  But today I am packing up to create at another favorite place...the North Shore of Lake Superior!  This will be my 11th year of attending a wonderful scrapbooking get-away with several other women and fellow paper-crafters, who I am happy to call friends!

I know I will come back with ideas galore to share in upcoming posts!

Choose HAPPY!!

The entire box was cut from the Cricut Artiste cartridge. It even cuts the insert you see under the clear lid, which holds the cupcake in place!  Another tip I shared (which may be hard to see in the photo) is that I ran the clear acetate sheet through my Cuttlebug with the heart embossing folder. I think it adds a fun unexpected detail!

Inside I made it a pop-up card for the happy couple!

It uses cardstock and just one of the patterned papers from the Yuletide Carol Paper Packet.

Thanks for looking!

This next card is a pop-up card with the 'Love Bug' inside!

Check back for a couple more great pop-up designs later this week!

Now I need to take my daughter's advice and scrapbook and stamp as much as I organize!

A huge thank you to Christine Adams & Amy Amundson for the inspiration behind 2 of the cards!