Good News!

Hi friends!

It's been an exciting couple of weeks at my house, which is why I've been MIA.  It started last Monday when I took my RN licensing exam (talk about nerve-wracking!).  I found out Tuesday morning that I passed (YAY!) and officially became a licensed registered nurse in the state of Florida...woo-hoo!!!  Next step: get a job.  As it turns out, the day I took my exam a position came open on the exact floor I wanted to work on at the hospital where I did my internship.  I applied for the position on Tuesday and got a call to schedule an interview on Thursday.  I interviewed Monday (that's right, one week after taking my exam I was interviewing for a job!) and was "unofficially" offered the position.  I was called yesterday with the "official" offer!!  I have a job!!!!! :o)

I am so excited, lucky, and totally BLESSED to be able to start my nursing career exactly where I wanted to start it.  My dream is to one day work in Open Heart Recovery, caring for patients immediately after they have had open-heart surgery.  This job is working with open-heart surgery patients after they are stable enough to leave the ICU recovery area.  It's the best place for me to be to get the experience required to move into the Recovery Unit.  It's totally a God thing that I'm able to start here and I'm so thankful to Him for blessing me!!

If you've made it this far, thanks for sticking around!  I've also been a little crafty.  I'm hoping to open an Etsy shop to sell my papercrafts and crochet goodies, so I've been working on some samples to list.  Here's a peek...

Thanks for stopping by and letting me share my good news with you! :o)

Hi friends!

So apparently it's football season, or something.  I don't like football, so I wouldn't know, but it seems that every time I log on to Facebook on Saturday or Sunday my news feed is comprised almost entirely of football posts.  Now I may not like football but I do LOVE a cute hat on a baby, so when I came across a crochet pattern for a baby football hat I knew I had to make it!  Isn't it cute?!?

Of course I had a certain baby boy in mind...

His family loves football and one of his big brothers plays for the local Pop Warner league.  Now he's ready to cheer on his favorite team in style! :o)

Thanks for stopping by!

Bad Dog

Hi friends!

I'm back with a layout to share with you...and since it's October, I thought a Halloween layout would be perfect.

Since my little family currently consists of hubby and our fur-babies, Halloween is not typically a holiday we get into.  Oh we pass out candy and of course I decorate but, since we don't have children to dress up in cute costumes and take trick-or-treating, our night usually consists of curling up on the couch and watching scary movies.  Last year, however, I found this doggy costume and it was so perfect that I had to buy it for our crazy dog (I don't normally dress my dog up, but I couldn't resist!).

See, Sadie's normally an outside dog, however, when it gets too cold or too hot we let her come inside.  She's usually pretty good for about a week, but then she starts to get bored...and when she gets bored she gets herself into trouble...usually by getting in the trash or pulling gum or chapstick out of purses and chewing it on the couch.  And of course she does this when she's home alone.  We love her to death, but sometimes she can be a really "bad dog"!!    

                        (Click photo to view larger)

   

The layout pattern is adapted from one in the new Make it From Your Heart book.  If you haven't considered purchasing this little book, I highly recommend that you do!  It is chock full of fabulous new layout patterns for both scrapbook layouts and cards.  At only $7.95 it's most definitely a steal!!!

Thanks for taking time to stop by! :o)

Supplies Used (all CTMH unless otherwise noted):
Paper: Sunset CS; Mischief B&T (retired)
Ink: Black; Black re-inker 

Stamps: Trinity Alphabet (E1021)
Other: Spray Pen (Z1380); chipboard alpha, glitter ribbon, Stickles (all from stash)

Hello

Hi friends!

Today I want to share with you a card made for a couple different challenges going on this week.  This is the sketch this week over at Mojo Monday:

Over at Heart 2 Heart Challenges, the challenge this week is to use the rock-and-roll technique (if you're not familiar with the technique, head over to H2H...they have a link to a tutorial to help you out).  I combined both challenges to come up with this card:

I used the rock-and-roll technique on the "hello" stamp.  I love this set, it is exclusive to the Cricut Artiste collection and contains 5 different speech bubbles that also have coordinating shapes on the Artiste cartridge.  The seam binding is CTMH's color-ready seam binding that I colored with our new Autumn Terracotta alcohol marker.  I also added some color to clear sparkles with the marker so they would match.  

I hope you've enjoyed my card and thanks for stopping by! :o)

Supplies Used (all CTMH unless otherwise noted):

Paper: Slate, White Daisy CS; Moonlight B&T (X7161B)

Ink: Pansy Purple, Petal (retired)

Stamps: Cricut Artiste Collection Word Balloons (exlcusive to Cricut Artiste Collection (Z1790)

Other: Autumn Terracotta alcohol marker (Z2427), Clear Sparkles (Z1752), Color-Ready Seam Binding Ribbon (Z1732), Cricut Artiste cartridge (Z1790)

iPhone Case CTMH Style...the Sequel

 *This is the second post for today...scroll down to see the original iPhone Case post *

Hi friends!

So if you read my previous post, you know all about my iPhone and these super cute inserts (if not, check it out...I'll wait).  Well, I'm addicted...I made another one today.  This time I decided to go with a personalized style instead of a holiday theme.  I think it's pretty cute! :o)

Supplies Used (all CTMH unless otherwise noted):

Paper: White Daisy CS

Ink: Cotton Candy, Grey Wool (retired)

Stamps: Diverse Backgrounds (D1508), Token Alphabet (E1020)

iPhone Case CTMH Style

Hi friends!

A couple weeks ago I was catching up on reading my favorite blogs and I came across this post on Amber's blog, Damask Love.  I admit, I'm an iPhone junkie.  My phone is practically glued to my hand.  Because I love it so, I'm always on the lookout for cute cases to keep it nice and safe.  But cases can be pricey so when I saw these I knew I had hit the jackpot...a never ending supply of cuteness for my iPhone! 

(click photo to view larger)

  

They are so simple...all you need is the template that can be downloaded here (scroll down towards the bottom of the page), your favorite stamps and inks, and a clear case (I found mine on Ebay for super cheap).  If you're not an iPhone user, they would make a cute, simple gift for a friend who is!

Thanks for stopping by and if you decide to make your iPhone some new clothes, let me know...I'd love to see them! :o)

Supplies Used (all CTMH unless otherwise noted):

Paper: White Daisy CS

Ink: Black, Orange (retired) 

Stamps: It's Your Day, Jubilation (retired), Argyle Backgrounds (retired), Spot On Backgrounds (retired)

Other: black embossing powder (Z670), clear iPhone case (Ebay)

Thanks...You're the Best!

Hi friends!

Last night I got together with a few of the girls for some quality scrappin' time.  Ok, so we did alot more chatting than scrapping, but we had a blast (it's been a LONG time since we last got together)!  I went with one goal: make a 'thank you' card for my amazing preceptor.  I didn't get anything else done, but I did accomplish my goal so I think the night was successful :)

Here is the card I made using the It's Your Day stamp set.  The speech bubble was cut on the Cricut using the new Artiste cartridge.  If you haven't checked out Close to My Heart's two A-MA-ZING Cricut cartridges, you must stop reading now and go to my website (there's a link right over there on the left)!  These cartridges are fabulous!!  Ok, now that you're back, here's the card: (Sorry it's not the best quality...had to use my iPhone)

I have to mail the card, so I went very minimal on embellishments so it wouldn't get messed up in the mail.  I had to really resist the urge to add more!

Thanks for stopping by!  Come back tomorrow for a cute project I am so in love with! :o)

Supplies Used (All CTMH unless otherwise noted):
Paper: White Daisy CS
Ink: Lagoon, Pear, Smoothie, Sunkiss Yellow
Stamps: It's Your Day, Thank You (retired)
Other: Artiste Cricut Cartridge (Z1790), Baker's Twine-Paradise Assortment (Z1702)

Sweet Little Monkey

Hi friends!

Taking a break from studying for boards (ok ok, so I haven't really started studying yet...but I do intend to start right after I finish this post...I promise...) and thought I'd share with you my new addiction craft.

One of my sweet nursing school buddies taught me how to crochet over Christmas break...and I LOVE it!!! While stamping and papercrafting will always be my first love, there's room in this crafty heart (and on this crafty blog) for other fun things as well.  One of the things I love about crocheting is that I can work on projects anywhere, not just in my craft room.  That became super important to me during school because I could work on a project in the living room and hang out with my sweet hubby at the same time.  We didn't always get to spend alot of time together, so I just couldn't bring myself to hole up in my craft room to scrapbook...ya know?!?

Anywho, back to the reason for posting...my best friend just had a sweet little boy a couple weeks ago and I decided to crochet him a sweet little monkey hat!  Here it is:

Isn't it cute?!?  I've made other beanie hats for babies, but this was the first "character" hat I tried.  I'm pretty proud of myself!

And here's a picture of my Little Bean (that's what I've called him since his first ultrasound photo when he looked like a bean...and it stuck...poor kid...) sporting his monkey hat at less than 12 hours old:

Isn't he just the cutest thing ever?!? :o)

  

I'm Back (and Happy Fall)!!

Hello, friends!  It's been a long time (15 months, YIKES!) since I've posted here, but I promise I have a good excuse.  See, I've spent the last 16 months in nursing school working on my Bachelor's of Science in Nursing.  Only 16 months to get a nursing degree?  Yup, I was in an accelerated program for students who already have a Bachelor's degree in another field (I also have a BA in Elementary Ed.).  Nursing school is hard enough, but doing it in an accelerated program was really tough, and unfortunately, it meant I had to give up scrappin' and my blog to make time for studying and homework...Boo!  BUT, I'm happy to announce that I graduated September 14th with my BSN degree...Yay!!  Now I'm waiting on the state to process my application for licensure so I that I can take boards and officially become Heather Martin, RN, BSN!

And, I CAN GET BACK TO SCRAPPIN'!!!  I'm so excited!

When I sat down at my craft table, I felt a little overwhelmed.  It's been so long, I didn't know where to start.  I decided to start slow and ease myself back into crafting, so I pulled out a layout I worked on a while ago (but never finished) and put the finishing touches on it.  I also thought it was appropriate since yesterday was the first day of Fall.  It's so nice to be back!  :o)

(Click image to view larger)

Supplies Used (all CTMH unless otherwise noted):

Paper: Chocolate, Colonial White CS; Dreamin' B&T (retired)

Ink: Chocolate, Barn Red, Honey, Goldrush

Stamps: Art Philosophy Exclusive Stamp Set (leaf image)

Other: Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge (Z1686)