More Tim Holtz photos

Here are some more photos of the Tim Holtz stuff that I got. BTW, the flower with the Q in the middle and the bee charm was a free make and take at the Ranger booth with Tim Holtz.
Cool, huh?
The other goodies are products that I purchased at the Super Show, which was before CHA. Yummy!
XO, Mimi

More on CHA

While I
was at CHA, I had the honor of taking a Tim Holtz class.
It was pure luck.

All of the classes were full and I was watching the monitor in hopes that something would open up.

All of a sudden, from behind me, I hear someone asking if anyone would like to buy a ticket to the Tim Holtz class. Wow! Really? I never expected there to be "ticket scalpers" at CHA. LOL! So, of course, I snatched it up, as the class was starting in under 30 min., and darted off to await my place in the class.
Now, I must be honest, I have always admired Tim's artwork but have never been, what you might call, a groopie.
But, after taking his class, I am hooked.
It was one of the most organized and informative classes I have ever taken.
I was very impressed with the way he teaches and handles even the most difficult of attendees. He is very easy to relate to and he is so nice.

Take a look at the beautiful framed art that we made with his products.
I love it.
And, not only did we make this beautiful piece of art but we also walked away with an amazing amount of products.
The "piece de resistance" was the signed copy of his new book.
WOW!
Love, love, love it!
Thank you, so much, for stopping by.
More on Monday.
XO, Mimi

Where have I been?

Well, let me tell you. I have been a busy bee.
I just got back from California and the huge CHA show.
It was amazing!
I could never have dreamed of so many crafty and beautiful things under one roof.
I got to make so many pretty crafts and meet so many beautiful people.
One of the wonderful people that I got to meet was Vicki Chrisman.
I have been following her blog for over 2 years now and I love all of her beautiful works of art as well as her stories of her travels.
She is such a sweet person and blew me away when she asked ME to have her picture taken together. Oh my!
I LOVE her new die cut that she designed. She even gave me a couple of the cut outs and some of the Crafty Secrets Creative Scraps.
Look what I made with the little pug that was on there.
Cute, but it's not black like my Zoe.
Kinda looks like my friend's pug.
I promise to show you more in the next few days.
Thanks for stopping by. XO, Mimi

What did you do today?

Ya wanna know what I did today? On January 6th?
I made Christmas Gift tags.
Yes, you heard me right.

Every year, around the middle of December, I start scurrying around. Digging wildly through all of the beautiful Christmas papers and embellishments that I have horded over the years. I start frantically looking at ideas that I have saved throughout the year. I start trying to come up with something pretty to adorn the presents that I have put so much thought into making and purchasing. At no avail, I give up, I throw my arms in the air in defeat because I do not have enough time to make what I want to make.

Well, not this year! This year, I decided I am going to make some pretty gift tags before putting away all of the Christmas stuff. So, this is what I made today when I was trying to find something productive to do.

First, I cut a bunch of pretty papers with my Stampin' Up! Top Note die for the Big Shot.
Then I cut those pieces and layered them and added rub-ons, stickers, ribbons, eyelets and brads.

Sure, I have lots more to make and hopefully, I won't wait till the last minute. But, if I do, I will still have all of these pretty tags that were NOT made in a frenzy but rather made with lots of love and care in my stress free mode. All I really have to do with them now is tie them on with a pretty bow.

I am so proud of myself.

Geeze, I sure hope I don't lose them before next Christmas. Argh!

Half way there

Well this is a good start at cleaning up The Studio.
Actually, there is much more clean than these 2 pictures show but I ran out of time to post more.
I even cleaned up my computer desktop and hard drive.
Wow! This is a great way to start the year!
Someday, I will give you a walk-through with some details
as to what all is in here.
I LOVE my place. It is a dream come true!
Well, gotta take my daughter to the doctor today so, TTYS! XO, Mimi

Annual Santa Shots

Every year I take the girls down to the local mall for photos with Santa. They try to dress similar and Katie helps Maggie do her hair and treats her to a little mascara and lipstick.
I love this tradition.
I have a little book that I keep all of the Santa shots in so that I can look back and see how much they have changed from year to year.
This year, we waited a little long. Since Katie doesn't live at home anymore, it is harder to get together at a good time.
We tried to get her boyfriend's little boy to sit with Santa but he would have no part of that!
Hope you had a wonderful and safe holiday season.
XO, Mimi

Is it time to clean yet?

Oh my goodness! This place is such a mess!
When I had my old office, which was our dining room converted, there was just one desk and counter top to clean up.
Now that I have my dream studio, I have 4 six foot round tables, a desk, and 2 long counter tops. Most normal people look at this as a dream come true. And yes, I LOVE my studio and am NOT complaining. But, when you have all this space, as each available space gets filled up with stuff, I move on to the next empty table. Until it ends up looking like this! LOL!
Now that the holidays are over and the crafting, wrapping, sewing and rushing are over too, I NEED an entire day to clean.
I have many projects to show you and I promise to do so in the very near future. As soon as I get a clean space to take photos.
I hope you all have a SAFE and Happy New Year!
XO, Mimi

It's that time of year again!

Yummy! I love this time of year when there's all kinds of yummy stuff for tasting.
I always make my own version of a peppermint mocha.
This luscious beverage is made with the Donut Shop coffee from the Keurig , a teaspoon of peppermint syrup (Starbucks, of course), 2 teaspoons of hot cocoa mix, topped off with cool whip, green colored sprinkles, peppermint candy and the candy cane is just for the picture. I don't usually put a candy cane in every cup I drink.
Normally, I squirt on the whipped topping because it is so much prettier. However, when I tried to use the can I had in my fridge, it went everywhere. Zoe, my chubby pug, loved it. She even got the little bit that was between my toes. LOL! So, even though this is not as pretty, I must admit that I really do preffer the taste of cool whip over the can stuff!
I think I need to make a trip to William Sanoma or something and get one of those fancy whipped cream makers that we used when I worked at Starbucks. Although, I would also need a bigger wardrobe if that was in my fridge. That would not be pretty!
Well, I think I am going to try my hand at Biscotti making today. My dear friend, Bernice, makes the most wonderful Biscotti and whenever she brings some to share at the studio, I abscond it immediately and hide it for myself. Selfish? Maybe. But it is sooo good.
Anyway, she shared the recipe with me and I will be trying it for the first time today. I am sure it will not be quite as good as her as it will be missing the Bernice love that she adds, but, I will suffer through.
Thank you Bernice!
Thanks for stopping by, XO, Mimi

One more House for the Holidays

This is the last one that I have made. Not sure who is going to get this one yet but I do like how it turned out.
The colors are non-traditional Christmas.
They are fun and playful colors and images.

I hate wrapping paper

Really, for the past several years I have dreaded the whole wrapping paper thing.
Sure, I love a pretty present as much as the next person.
I just dislike the whole, buy the paper, take lots of time wrapping the present, watch the paper get destroyed and tossed in the trash thing.
So, I have decided this year to take a different route.
I went to the store and got a bunch of different pretty holiday fabrics and Maggie and I are going to make pouches with it. This way, instead of it going in the trash and landfills, it becomes part of the gift and can be used or passed on or just give it back to me.
Hey, don't judge me. We all need to try to do what we can, when we can. Besides, it's cool to be green!
XO, Mimi

More Little Houses for the Holidays

This little house is for my 18yo. Daughter.
This will be her first Christmas in her own apartment with her boyfriend.
I want her to have something to look back at and to fill it with pictures of her and her honey and his little boy.
I have been making her little scrapbooks for a very long time and she saves them all with all of the cards that I make her. So, I am sure she will treasure this for a long time too.
Thanks for stopping by. XO, Mimi

Home for the Holidays.

As soon as I saw these adorable little chipboard houses from Maya Road, I knew that I had to make some.
The first one I made is for my Step-Mother. She just moved to Texas to be closer to my Brother and Sister and their brand new babies.
This is exactly what I imagined as soon as I decided to make one.
I stamped around the house with a little Stampin' Up! set, "Over the river and through the woods... to Grandmother's house we go." I envision her filling the little pages with pictures of the family on their first Christmas. I think she will love it.
The roof is covered in green velvet ric rac and the red trim is a crocheted trim. I LOVE it!

The BEST Vacation!

We got home from Alabama on Sunday night and we were so pooped!
I have to say that it was the best vacation I have had in soooo long.
It even topped Key West!

The weather was so nice and cold. It even got down to 32 one morning.
We went 4-wheeling in the woods, shoppin' at the mall and had an awesome Thanksgiving Dinner in the camper.

Milissa cooked everything! And let me tell you, it was fabulous. It was her first time cooking a turkey. They usually fry their turkey but the fryer we got was missing some crucial parts so, at the last minute, we had to put the bird in the oven.

Here are some of the highlights of the trip. I won't bore you with ALL of the photos I took. And I took alot!

What did you do yesterday?

I had a wonderful day yesterday with my friend Mare.
She did hi-lights in my hair. I wanted to get it done before the holidays!
Then, I helped her make a cake for her son. He wanted a skateboard cake.
When I Google searched for pics, this is one I found. He loved it!
So, we did our best to recreate the design for him. I think it turned out awesome!
The wheels are made from fruit roll-ups and the trucks are Pirouettes wrapped in fruit roll-ups.
They will be put on the cake before serving it.
Have a great day! XO, Mimi

Thanksgiving in LA!

Lower Alabama, that is.
We are packing the camper and taking the 4-wheelers and hittin' the road for this holiday. I am so excited to be in the cold weather. Away from home. No amusement parks. No internet. No day to day stuff to worry about.
My dear friend, Milissa, and her family, were going up there and asked if we would like to join them. DUH! Any chance to use the camper and get away with good friends is a good time for me.
One of the things I am most excited about is having our Thanksgiving feast among the forest critters. Doesn't that sound great?!
So, while blurfing, I saw these and immediately started to think of what I could make with what I have. Well, here's my version. I love them!!
I didn't have chalkboard paint so I spray painted (my new favorite thing to do) the large tags with black and then brushed on some acrylic flat black. Worked great!
Didn't have the color flowers I wanted so, I took some Primas I had and sprayed them with some Maya Mists. Voila! You would not believe what these flowers looked like before I sprayed them. I didn't know Prima could make ugly flowers. LOL! Well, ugly no more!
Well, that's all I got for ya today.
If I get all my chores done, maybe I will post some more stuff I have made.
Thanks for stoppin' by! XO, Mimi