Morton Update | Mother's Day Card

First, thanks for staying with me the past few years, and following my blog! We've been mighty hectic around here (really, since Colt was born) and I've had a hard time setting things down and crafting, let alone sharing any of it.

Here's what you'll find, today:
1. Mother's Day
2. Morton Update
3. Mom's Card - tutorial

1. Mother's Day
I'm kind of proud of myself. I'll tell you why in a sec. For Mother's Day, my family really gave me the royal treatment! I got to prop my feet up while they cleaned the whole house top to bottom (waxed floors and polished the wood railings, even!) I received chocolate, handmade gifts, and a wonderful home-cooked meal and I didn't have to do the dishes! While they worked like slaves, I used my time wisely. This is the proud part. I got a rare opportunity to craft for several hours while they cleaned and cooked. I was able to accomplish quite a bit during that short time and crafted some last minute gifts for others. I'll share one with you today, and yippee! I have a few more to share this month, too. I hope you had an amazing Mother's Day with your friends and family as well!

2. Morton Update
Before I go on about my cute little family, I want to remind you that during May, with your $35 purchase, you can still pick up a Dream Pop paper packet for National Scrapbooking Month for only $10. It's super cute and fun and just right to perk up your day! Pick it up here. Okay, now on to the fun stuff! We just returned home from four-wheeling in Delta, UT. Delta, you say? Yes, I was a bit skeptical as well, but, turns out, Delta has some really interesting sites and we had a great time. If you're from Delta, I commend you on your beautiful town and hospitality! Some of the places we saw:

Topaz Japanese Relocation Camp

Notch Peak

Painter Springs

Hermit's cabin

Lehman Caves

Brandon and I have been just plugging along and the vacation was much overdue. It was great to get out of the valley and roast s'mores with family and friends! The kids are all doing well, looking forward to summer. We got a tramp recently, so they've been enjoying their status as VIPs in the neighborhood :)

3. Mom's Card (one of them - Moms, that is)

This was a bit unconventional for a Mother's Day card. I had been cutting earlier for a project later this week for Moms and daughters at my church and became fascinated by the negative space created from the items cut out on my Cricut. I kept thinking, this would make a fabulous card in Slate and Honey! So this is what developed. I loved spending time just puttering around on the Cricut. Just seeing what inspiration came and following through; putting several projects together. Priceless. Thank you family.

This 6x6" card features a Slate base and 3 layers of Honey cardstock over the top, black 1" grosgrain ribbon and 2 Ruby cardstock roses, inked with Slate. Below is a quick tutorial on how I got the pattern.

1. I had 3 sheets of negatives left from cutting pinwheels out of Honey cardstock. The pinwheels were cut using the Close To My Heart Artiste cartridge (pg. 50, "p" key using Accent 1) sized at 3 1/4" and the Auto Fill feature, which produced 9 per sheet.

2. Flip the bottom diagonally, from the top right corner to the bottom left corner, keeping the top left corner where the pattern is closest to both edges.

 3. Ok, set the top sheet off to the side, keeping track of how you set it. Take the middle sheet and rotate a quarter turn to the right.

4. Now, hold up that third top sheet which you set aside and rotate that one a half turn to the right. And there's your pattern.

 5. Ok, now to tack them together quick-and-easy-like, grab your favorite spray adhesive. This is from Wally's. And something to use as a drop cloth. The lid of a paper box works great in keeping overspray to a minimum while fitting a full 12x12" sheet.

6. Now, separate the layers, keeping the positioning, and spray the backs of the cardstock sheets (so your adhesive doesn't show through if you miss), one at a time and carefully re-stack the sheets and press together to secure. Now you have your overlay for your card. It's still tacky on the bottom due to the previous spray adhesive, so just center over your card base where you like and press down, then trim.

7. Attach ribbon and then roses, which were also cut from the Artiste cartridge (pg. 54, "f" key using Accent 1, at 5" and 3"). Tip, use this handy tool to form your roses and zip these out in record time.

Warm wishes for a great spring day!

Summer Means Disneyland Right?

Ok, not for us this year, but for many families, summer vacation means a trip to the great unknown ..or a more beloved tradition like Disneyland. While we are not going again this year (need to wait until Colt gets a few years on him!) we can easily reminisce about the wonderful trip we had as we finish creating our Disneyland album from December 2010 in Studio J. We took the family to California for our Christmas present to each other and it was one of the best things we have ever done for our loved ones! I highly recommend it if you get the chance (though the traditionalist in me had a hard time with 70s and no snow in December!)

Before we get to the next layout though, let me quickly tell you the best thing ever: It's Stampaganza time at Close To My Heart! I know! Isn't it just fabulous?! For every 2 A, B, C, D, or E-sized stamp sets you buy during the month of June, you can get a third of equal or lesser value FREE! You heard it, sistah! Stop on over to my website to shop 24/7 or contact me (801.910.8698, slvrlinin@live.com) to put you down! LOVE IT! Okay, now back to the creatin'!

I just have to say, one of the very best attributes of Studio J (aside from it's ease of use for beginners to scrap-masters) is that you can use any kit from the past few years, even if they're retired. Route 66 couldn't have been more perfect for a trip to Radiator Springs!

All of these layouts were created very quickly using the preexisting template provided for in the kit pattern. If you want to customize, you simple click on the Embellishments tab and toggle off the embellishments on the page. This will "hide" those ready made-ready placed buttons, metals and ribbons that come ready to color on each and every kit. I love the freedom you have to do it your way - fast, easy or fussy!

Have a great summer vacation somewhere (even on your own back porch) and photograph it!

Warm wishes,

Morton Family Update

It's been kind of hectic the past two weeks and we're only just starting August! I've been out of the office for a week, so thanks for staying patient and let me catch you up on our comings and goings.

I started the Week In The Life project July 25th and spent a week chronicling my daily life with photos and words. I was able to finish 5 out of the 8 layouts (7 days plus an intro and footer page) in Studio J, then had to set it aside to catch up on housework (booooring!) I hope to finish these this week and get them ordered for the album. I've still got supplies waiting to arrive, but I'm very excited to see this completed! Stay tuned.

The housework I mentioned above involved packing the two older children for a week-long camping vacation with Grandma and Grandpa Garrett in Fish Lake. A whole lotta laundry got done so we had stuff to take and stuff to wear when we got home (and spent more time catching up more laundry..) The kids left a few days before Brandon, Garrett and I headed up and we had a great time 4-wheeling on our favorite trails and seeing tons of deer. Brook decided she liked s'mores (finally, ONE kid likes them) and Brandon got to take his truck on a pretty tough trail out to Crater Lake. We had fun chronicling that for his trailblazer blog.

After such a nice vacation it was tough to come back to reality and I started a new shift this week as a result of our recent shift-bid change. We're working 12 hour days right now (3 plus a 4hr) and I can tell you it wasn't a popular topic at the dinner table a few months ago when we found out we would be changing from 5 eights. The plus side? Pretty much 4 days off that will ROCK! The bad? Three full days lost every week where I see very little of my family each night before we all go to bed. Think breakfast, lunch and dinner at work and in the winter you go to work in the dark and go home in the dark. I'm just about to end my first week and the adjustment is slow, but we'll make the best of it for the next few months.

Baby [insert name here... No REALLY.] is doing well. We are 25 1/2 weeks pregnant and things are going really well. Our little guy is very healthy so far and we're grateful for the blessings we have received with this very unexpected pregnancy. We have yet to pick a name (PLEASE send me your suggestions- we have a running list that has yet to narrow significantly) and this bothers me that we haven't named him yet. I like to connect through the name during pregnancy so it's frustrating to just call him Baby all the time. However, it does provide some comic relief as some people insist on calling him a different name every time they see us! "How is baby Stryker? When will we meet baby Conner?" (The funniest, most far-fetched so far is baby Jalepeno.)

We hope your past few weeks have been going well!

Warm wishes,

and the Mortons