Happy New Year

Wishing everyone

The last Full Moon of 2009

Merry Christmas

Rustic Twig Frames

Three Rustic Frames, put together to go along with the rustic theme, I have worked into my holiday decorating this year.

Finding these sweet little vintage Christmas Flower Fairy images at the Graphics Fairy.

Assembling the frames following the same basic procedures as the Rustic Stars.

Printing my images as 5x7 ,using clear Glimmer paint to highlight the berries.
Distressing Ink & a touch of Glimmer Mist lending the aged look.


Backing to 5.5 X 7.5 cardboard salvaged from the cardboard backing that came in a Paper pack and same size cut of Card stock.

All adhered together with Mod Podge to give a sturdy hold.

Hot gluing the images to the back of the wooden frames.
Adding wire wrapped around the back of frame and pulling tight for the hanger.

That's it ! Thanks for stopping by :)

Winner of Create It-Green blog Prize

The winner of the Two Sets of Autumn Leaves Clear Stamps and Martha Stewart "Doily Border Punch" is Lorretta ! Congratulations !

Thank you all for joining us in Create It- GREENS's very first Blog Hop.
You made it truly the success it was. Thank you!

I hope you had fun and will stop by time from time and check out the wonderful ideas that Create It- GREEN has to offer.

Keep your eyes open for the next Blog Hop !

Lorretta , please contact me at jpen56 at yahoo com (sorry to write it this way, must keep an eye out for spam ) with your mail information.

Thanks to you all for the kind comments and the fun you brought to this Blog Hop.

To all the wonderful contributors to this hop..loved playing along with you all and JOB WELL DONE!!
All your creations were inspiring!

Thanks for stopping by :)

Rustic Christmas Wreath

Hello again Blog Hoppers :) are you still with me...LOL.. wake up!

If you find yourself here, you have made it to the end of Create It- Green's first Holiday Blog Hop!

I hope you have had fun and have found some ideas, that you might find useful in creating your own green projects.

My tutorial this evening will be on the Rustic Stars that you see here in the wreath I have created.

Everything you see in this wreath is either Eco-friendly or is a recycled item.

Even down to the snowman, they are created from Styrofoam fake pumpkins cut to size with an electric carving knife , taking from an old fall garland.
Then covered with Puffy Paint.

Here are the tools you will need to create this Rustic Twig Star.

Once you have determined the size of star desired for your project, cut 5 equal lengths from your branches with your nippers.

Laying out your star for the best fit, proceed to hot glue your twigs in the order indicated in the photo below.

Finishing off with wrapped twine around the joined 5 points as indicated in the next photo.

A little hard to see here...I covered my Rustic Stars with a coat of clear silver glitter paint for a touch of sparkle.

The possibilities are endless in the ways you can incorporate this Eco- friendly, easy to do project into your holiday decorations.

As a thank you for stopping by and visiting I have a draw for a little blog candy .

2 sets of clear stamps from Autumn Leaves and Martha Stewart's Doily Scalloped Edge punch.

Only requirement to have your name in the draw.

Leave a comment, in any of the 3 Create It-Green posts I have shared with you today,

and if you would like, share your favorite recycling tip with everyone.

I will be drawing the winning name on Monday.

Thank you , Create It GREEN and to all the contributors for making this hop a pleasure and wonderful learning experience.

A special thanks go out to Susan for all her hard work organizing this hop! Great job!

And to all of my visitors as always thanks for stopping by My Craft World !

Have a wonderful GREEN Holiday!

Rustic Wrapping

Have you been checking out all the creations that have been posted through out the day?
Some wonderful projects and ideas to try!

If you just happened to stop by, head back here to start from the beginning of Create It-Green's very first Blog Hop.
Don't miss out on some wonderful Green tips and Ideas for making this Holiday Season a little more Earth friendly.
Also, lets not forget all the wonderful prizes to be had.

My next project to show you, is just a fast and easy wrapping, for those last minute gifts when you are running out of traditional wrapping paper.

I also like to wrap empty boxes this way to place around the house.
Fits right in to my style of holiday decorating.

Using a empty cigar box as my base, brown paper grocery bag and natural jute twine for my Ribbon and wrappings.
Creating a Rustic Snowflake out of thin sticks cut to size, hot glued together and puffy paint for a touch of snow.
Embellishing with a Crystal brad for some bling and a chipboard greeting from my supplies.


And you are done..Eco-friendly, and festive for the season.

See you again later on...don't forget to be eligible for my prize draw...just drop a comment on any of the projects I post today and your name will go in the draw :)
Have fun!

Hoppy Holidays !

Come on in, Welcome to My Craft World !

Hope you have been enjoying Create It- Green's first Holiday Blog Hop.

Through out the day you will find Eco -friendly projects and tutorials, that we hope will inspire you to Create It- Green.

My first contribution to today's Holiday Blog Hop.

A Christmas Package Decoration.

Reusing Styrofoam that came in a delivery box to our home is the base for this decoration.

Cut down to size using an electric carving knife, made easy work of this project.
Spanish Moss adhered to the Styrofoam was used for the wrapping.

Ribbon salvaged from a past Christmas gift and berries cut from a bouquet of plastic flowers, that was destined for my Mother's trash bin to top it off.

They can be used as a decoration for your tree, or grouped together in a basket for a pretty Holiday display for the home.

Another option for this cute Eco - friendly project, may be viewed, on your next hop back here at 10:00 pm EST this evening.

I will have another project and a tutorial to share with you all.

Hope you are still awake by then...LOL!

I will also have an RAK to offer one of you lovely folks, as an appreciation for taking the time to stop by and check out all the wonderful crafters and creations you will find along today's Holiday Blog Hop.

Okay, soooo...on to the next stop of Create It- Greens first Holiday Blog Hop.

The very talented Green Crafter Jan Hennings of "Paper Craft Pleasures".

Watch for Jan at Scrapbooking.Com Magazine where her blog will be showcased DEC 14- 20TH !!

Also Jan, is celebrating her Birthday Blogoversary and is offering you all a chance to receive a " Bind it All" as part of her Celebration ! Stop on by and give her a shout out!

Thanks for stopping by my Craft World and hope you are enjoying your hop!

Create It - Green Blog Hop

Create It-Green is hosting it's first Blog Hop on December 5Th.

An exciting Day of Blog hopping , tutorials and prizes on December 5Th, starting at Noon EST.

Hope to see you there !

Happy Thanksgiving

Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving and Blessings to you and yours.

CD Holder & Tutorial Link

Playing along with this weeks Saturday Soup Challenge on the Sisterhood of Scrap.

I came upon this easy to make CD Holder tutorial while surfing through some Crafty Blogs.

This little Holder will hold 2 Cd's along with their cases.
You may find the tutorial and templates here if you would like to give it a try.

Inside view of CD Holder.
Layout created for the Sisterhood of Scrap One Hour Sketch Challenge.

Sketch was provided by Deanne Burton.

Good time was had by all !

Hope all the American Crafters and Scrapbookers have a Wonderful Thanksgiving!

A big Thanks to all of you generous folks from across the lands, who take the time to share your ideas, tutorials, projects and Scrapbook pages. You help make the community a better and fun place to create in.

Anyone for Green Eggs ?

Shells that is !
Not only are they great fertilizer for the garden, they also are fun to use as an embellishment for those Scrapbook layouts.

Looking through an old box of crafting cards my Grand mother had subscribed to in the seventies, and passed along to me in the eighties. I came across this old technique of using Eggshells for a Mosaic.
It has been years since I tried this old technique and thought ...why not.

With the times changing and so many wonderful new products available to a crafter today. I gave it ago.

Here is how I came about using Egg shells with water based Ink.

First soak your eggs to loosen the fine skin that is adhered to the inside of the shell.
Carefully pulling it away from the shell. Helps with the transparency.

Using Card stock or chipboard or any stamped Image.
Apply a thin layer of Mod Podge, laying down your pieces of broken shell give it a slight push down with your finger to give the shell its crackled look.

Using water based Ink and a blender pen.
Color your shells to desired color.
After shells have dried dab your embellishment with your Ink pad to help really fill in the cracks and add additional depth.
Finish of with a spritz of Glimmer Mist.

That's it ! Let it dry and add to your layout or craft project.

Here is the craft card I used as my guideline.



And the finished result using chipboard , stamped leaves and a pumpkin I drew and cut out from card stock backed with plain chipboard.

A layout created for the Monday Challenge on the Sisterhood of Scrap.

Don't forget tonight , starting at 9:00 pm EST the One Hour Sketch Challenge will be starting on the Sisterhood of Scrap Forum.You can find all the details in the post below.

Have a great weekend and as always thanks for stopping by ! : )

One Hour Sketch Challenge

Do you plan on spending a quiet evening home this coming Saturday?

Would you like to spend some time Scrapping one of those layouts you have been planning on ?

How about a chance at some wonderful Scrapbook goodies?

Well, if so then Saturday November 21st at 9pm EST on the Sisterhood of Scrap Forum is where you want to be.
The Sisters will be hosting a One hour sketch Challenge beginning at 9:00pm until 10:00pm EST
you will have to complete your layout .There is also time allotted for getting your layout uploaded.

The talented Scrapper Deanne Burton will be contributing the sketch for the challenge.

If you have never been to the Sisterhood site, now would be the perfect time to join in all the fun, meet some new scrappers and have a chance at the wonderful prizes below and Rak being generously offered .

You can read more about this challenge here.
Hope to see you there : )

Here is a layout I completed for this past weekends Saturday Soup Challenge.Mmmmmm...Cream of Broccoli Soup was the Saturday Soup ..yum, yum.

The Sisters also host a Challenge Blog were you can find daily challenges and inspiration.

My Great Grandmother and Grandfather Jones.

It always surprises me, how I see so many similar features in 2 of my sons that they share with there GG Grandfather.

Hope you are having a great week so far and hope to see you Saturday at the Sisterhood of Scrap.

Thanks for stopping by my Crafty World :)

Thanksgiving Tree,Recipe Layouts & Scrapbook Layouts

Has been awhile since I posted any projects I have been working on.
Thought I would share with you my most recent.

First up is a Thanksgiving decoration created for the upcoming Holiday.

I also created this tree for a call on a new Green Blog, called CREATE IT-GREEN.
All submissions must be in by the 20Th of November if you are interested in being part of the DT.

Using an empty cookie tin, some jute and dried fern for my base.
Leaves from an old Fall garland that had seen better days, glued to a Styrofoam tree and a piece of dowel painted left over from an early project.
Styrofoam that came in a package to stuff my tin and hold tree in place.

Next up Some Recipe Cards for Recipe Card Challenge Blog.
thought I gave up on this one didn't you? LOL ...just sort of got sidetracked for awhile...but no, ready to get down to business and get that recipe box filled up.

This cake is so yummy!!!! has been around for years. Thought maybe you new mothers and wives out there might not have heard of it and would like to give it a try...makes for a fast and tasty treat when company comes calling.

A favorite morning breakfast for a cold and snowy day...will stay with you all morning.

Next 2 layouts were created for Challenges posted on the Sisterhood of Scrap Blog / Forum.

My sweet little Grand daughter Sophia as Snow White this Halloween.

Monday's Challenge on the SOS was an Inspiration Challenge.

This layout was created for the Saturday Soup Challenge on the Sisterhood of Scrap.

Took a trip up North to visit family.

My cousin and I took a road trip in search of our Colonial ancestors. Searching for the churches they had attended and cemeteries theywere buried in.

What an adventure and a privilege to be able to share with her.

We were also lucky enough to find the road they had first settled on after coming to America.

You may see some of these places in this post with a video I created.

Well, that's it for now.

Thanks for stopping by My Crafty World.

Wishing you all a great weekend :)

New Green Blog

There is a new blog for all you crafty greenies out there!

Called CREATE IT-GREEN hosted by Deanne Burton.
Deanne is looking for 9 Design Team Members to contribute projects, layouts and cards.
All geared toward going green with your Scrapbook & craft creations.
You will find all the details here.

There is still plenty of time to get your submissions in if you would like to be a part of this new adventure.
Hope to see you there!

Thanks for stopping by my world : )

Happy Halloween

A Happy and Safe Halloween to you all

A Valley Haunting

A trip to my ancestral and childhood home this past weekend, led to a road trip with my cousin in search of our Duesler ancestors.

Armed with the family history records , a GPS and my lovely cousin to share my adventure with , this was one trip I had been looking forward to making.

A visit to the early churches and burial grounds of my ancestors, whose roots run deep in the history and heart of the Mohawk Valley Region of NY .

A video, I put together of the churches and grounds that they married in , baptized their children, built their frontier homes and came to their final rest.

Now in this area that is rich in Indian and early American history there are bound to be many tales of ghosts and haunted grounds.

One such place is Beardslee Castle, now converted into a restaurant.

Stopping by Beardslee in search of a bite to eat and to talk over the days events.

We found the Castle to be at full capacity with two weddings being hosted and a full house of diners the waiting would be 1 - 2 hours even in the dungeon are of the castle.

Leaving Beardslee Castle I did manage to click off a couple of pics.

Clarity is pretty bad in these photos, it was an after thought to snap these pics as we were leaving in search of a quicker meal.

Hey, you never know...you just may find you have captured something unusual.

As you can see...nothing of an unusual nature here :)

In this first video , you will find a brief history of the Castle .


The next two videos will tell the story of Beardslee Castle haunting.



Here you will find a link to a list of live web cams were you may catch a glimpse of ghostly haunting's .

Hope you all have a fun filled week as we approach this years Halloween Celebration.

Buyer Beware

I am using my blog today as a means of communicating an explanation.

Some of you I have been involved with in challenges, online crops, Message Boards and some of you are new faces and names to me.

A few of the old teachings I have been raised to believe is that your word is your bond, if you can't say something nice, it's better to say nothing at all and to pick and choose your battles.

This is a battle that I choose to pick.
First let me say, I have always believed in supporting small businesses and have worked in this type of field all of my working days.

So I do understand the hardships of starting a new business or venture.
But, I also know that customer relations makes up a very large part of whether you will make it or go under. Building a clientele is a very tricky process and most be handled as if holding a newborn infant.

Ignoring a customers requests for information on goods not received is not a very good way to start out.
I would much rather have a TRUE explanation than none at all.
Excuses for this type of dealings are just that excuses.

When a business can manage to find the time to submit payment for said goods not yet received,
I feel it is the obligation of the seller to the consumer to find the time to notify there may be a problem with their order.

With the Scrapbook industry going through some hard times and Independent stores closing everyday one would think it is in the best interest of a new store to keep all dealings on the up & up.
A simple explanation would have been sufficient to keep this customer happy.

If anything has come out of this...you all now have an open letter of apology from this company for its handling of this matter and I hope this will help in the process of you all receiving the goods you have paid for.

Now one last thing ...I really think it was in bad taste to add the extra comments to the apology on the message board. This most certainly was not on the one I received in private and makes me wonder about the sincerity of your stores apology.

I am insulted as a consumer that a company would consider this matter to be BS or Drama as so put especially when no mention of this problem had been posted to the forum. It is our right as paying customers to question any bad service especially when it is being paid for.

With that said I have pulled any advertisement of support of this business from my blog and ASKED to be removed from the Message Board.
I am not out for the Drama I only want to Craft and Scrap and enjoy all the wonderful works that others create.

So that's it..I usually try to stay away from this type of post... but this type of behavior has to stop, especially when it becomes personal.
For those of you who have no idea what I am writing about I apologize...for those of you who feel I am on the attack... sorry that you feel that way, but I am sure you would understand if the shoe was on your foot.

For those of you who understand what it feels like to be in this situation,
hang tough and know that you are on the side of what is right.
BUYER BEWARE !

Batty Napkin Ring Holders

Fast and easy little project to help add that extra touch to your Halloween table.
Batty Napkin Ring Holders!


Using Eco friendly adhesive backed felt.

Using the template provided, cut four bats from black card stock

Using template again cut four bats from adhesive backed felt.

With right sides down slowly peel back paper backing from adhesive bat and apply down card stock.

Wrap around napkin attaching through with the notches.

Thanks for stopping by, hope you have a ghoulishly fun week. : )

Boogie with the Boogey Man

How about some free Halloween Tunes and Spooky sounds to go along with your Halloween Celebration ?

Here are some links that I came across in my search of some scary sounds.

Have fun creating your own personal Haunted music !

All About Halloween

Halloween Carols

I thought the Carols would work with my Free Halloween Digital Border, to print off for a Halloween Sing Along with little tricksters.

Halloween Sounds

Some creepy sounds here to mix

Scary Music

you will find some old favorites here.

And last but not least, a little something to help set the mood : )

RIP Pumpkin King

A Creatively Green Project Challenge.
Using a box create a Halloween themed project for under $5.oo.

Here are the bones for my project.
Styrofoam ball .50 from my personal supplies
Free Newspaper
salt flour & water from my kitchen
Paint ,Mod Podge ,hot glue and Ink from my supplies.
I will estimate between $1.25 - $1.75 worth of supplies to complete this project.

The end result... a Paper Mache Pumpkin King Tombstone.

I used the hot glue to create my inscription and added dimensions

While I am on the subject of tombstones.....it is the Halloween Season after all !

What better than a Graveyard for a Halloween delight or fright !

My Great Grandfather was a Stone Mason.

Entering into business with his brother they carved a living, out of Memorials for the deceased.The above monument photograph was sent to me, by one of his Grand daughters while researching this branch of my family tree. What a treasure to come across.
The story goes that he carved and was particularly fond of this piece, so the photo continues on today.

It's resting place, the rolling hills of Forest Hill Cemetery Utica, New York.

A beautiful landscape of hills and valleys surrounded by trees .On this video at time marker 1:32...not positive but I believe you may see this Stone Angel .

Next trip up North I think I will have to check this out.

One can not discuss Cemeteries with out mention of the "City of the Dead"to be found in the City of New Orleans.very interesting history behind these Crypts.

Another unusual cemetery is located in London, England.

The grounds and the carvings are stunning.

You may read a little of High Gate Cemetery's history here , you will also find some additional hauntingly beautiful images.

Here you will find some tombstone Epitaphs of some famous people.

For a little Halloween fun stop by here and create your own Epitaph.

Thanks for stopping by :).

All Hallows Eve Menu & Digital Freebie

In my hunt for the perfect seasonal dishes for this years "All Hallows Eve" Dinner.
I put together a menu that reflects the bounty and spirit of the season for me .

You may download this Free Digital Halloween Menu Border I created if you would like.

In a png format with no background.

bat credit - Halloween Border Font

Doesn't this salad look tasty !

By clicking on the links you will be directed to the recipe.

"Spinach & Pumpkin Salad" image credit from Sunset /my recipes.com

Spiderweb Brie En Croute image credit and Recipe by Britta "Web Mistress of the Dark".

"Boil & Bubble Soup" image from Sunset/ my recipes.com

"Butter Beer" a traditional Hogsmeade -Style recipe image & recipe credit /Britta "Web Mistress of the Dark". WITH alcohol WITHOUT alcohol .

"Stuffed Pumpkin" image credit Southern Living /my recipes.com

"Eerie Eyeballs" credit & recipe Bretta "Web Mistress of the Dark"

The eyeballs add the perfect touch of Ghoulish atmosphere to the celebration !
Britta has posted a video in 2 parts to help guide us along in the making of these Eerie Eyeballs.
video 1
video 2
You will find some Spooktacular Halloween recipes by Britta that will add the perfect touch to any Halloween Gathering.
Britta is also the Author of "Eerie Elegance" a reference book and guide for planning the perfect Halloween Party !
Thank you Britta for permission in posting your images and recipes !
Hope you are all enjoying this changing of the Season.
Thanks for stopping by my world : )

Are you Ready ?

For Halloween that is !

Thought I would share some creative ideas and links I have come across, in the spirit of this coming Halloween.
Look for more creative links now throughout the coming celebration.

If your hosting a party this year,
how about some lovely free Vintage Halloween Party Invitations !

Courtesy of "Living Locurto"



Love the idea that she started with a free Vintage Music Sheet Graphic found on the Graphics Fairy Blog to create these Spooky yet elegant invitations.

I recommend you check out the wonderful free vintage Graphics that are hosted on the Graphics Fairy!
A host of treasures for those Heritage Scrapbook Layouts you may have in mind to create.


EHAG , an amazing collection of Professional Eclectic Halloween Artists who's creations reflect the spirit of Halloween.

Have fun and happy haunted Crafting ; )

Recipe and Crop Challenges

Ever have one of those weeks where it blends right into the next?
That's how it has been going for me.
Chasing myself all over the place : )

A little late posting last weeks "Recipe Card Challenge" ....but, better late than never!
The recipe challenge,
a recipe for a Sack lunch.
My take on this challenge is Snack Mix. Yum ...Yum ...don't leave home without it !
This weeks Challenge has been posted, if you would like to give it a go.




Okay, so you know that the Sisterhood of Scrap hosted a weekend Crop , the theme "Back to School".
You still have plenty of time to get some of those photos Scrapped and posted .
Here are a couple that I have finished so far.
Need to get in gear and see if I can get started on another today!

Without giving to many details on the challenges ( You'll just have to stop by and see for yourself all the Great Challenges posted).

This first layout is a Reduce Challenge ....My Great Grandmother.


This one is a Title Challenge.
My 2 Grand Daughters...singing the Lolly pop song.



Back to the drawing board for me....working on a Halloween project next...for Creatively- Green.

Thanks for stopping by : ) .