Think Pink Crop for a Cure Post-Crop

Hey there Crafty Neighbors!  I think I'm finally recovered from our Think Pink crop this weekend.  We had such a great time and we raised a lot of money to help in the fight against breast cancer.  You can see more pictures from the event on our Facebook page.  Now we're busy getting ready to head down to Houston for the Creating Keepsakes Convention there.  I'm really looking forward to networking with a new bunch of crafters from that area and making some cute projects at the crops.  It's going to be so much fun -- if the hurricane doesn't drown us! Looks like Harvey is set to make landfall in Corpus Christi, but we'll still be getting lots of rain in The Woodlands.  So say a little prayer that we stay high and dry!

One of the reasons we are heading to Houston is to promote our Crafty Neighbor cruises.  Sadly, we've had to cancel the September cruise for lack of interest, but we are still working on our February Brush Strokes in the Bahamas painting cruise (think "paint and wine parties"!) and our May Scrapbooking cruise to Jamaica and Grand Cayman.  Both of these are 7-night cruises and they are going to be so much fun!  We'd love to have you join us!  Just send us an email.

So now that I've gotten all that out of the way, how about some cut projects?  I have two for you today, to make up for my absenteeism of the last few months (did I mention I had a few surgeries?).

This first one is a card we made in our 3rd Wednesday Stamp Club meeting.  Denise is our Stampin' Up! demonstrator and she always has the cutest projects!  This one uses the new In Colors and the Eastern Beauty stamp set.  I just love the Lemon-Lime Twist, and I'm so happy they finally have my favorite color!

This second project is a page I did in my Bible after watching the video from Tracey Pounds of The Little Blue House.  You can watch the video here.  After she made the video, Tracey hosted a napkin swap, and this was one of the napkin I received.  In case you wonder about the verse or the prayer on the left page, my sister has been very ill since late June after she had open-heart surgery to repair her mitral heart valve, which was damaged by Rheumatic Fever when she was a child.  

That's it for today.  I'm working on some fun videos to show you very soon!  Until then, keep crafting!

Bible Journal Like a Pro

Yep, I'm still playing with videos.  This time I actually have a project to share!  Sunday I was doing some journalling in my Bible, and I thought, "Hey, my blog readers might like to know how I did that!"  So here it is:

I think for my next video, I might demonstrate the techniques I was talking about.  I'm just having too much fun!

Goodies in the Mail!

Okay, I'm having too much fun making videos!  I had to do another one!  While I was away at Scrapbook Expo, I got some goodies in the mail.  Here is the Illustrated Faith "A Heart that Receives" devotional kit I ordered last week.  I can't wait to play with it!

Fun Finds at Scrapbook Expo

Hi there!  I know it's been a while since I posted, but I just got back from Scrapbook Expo and I couldn't wait to share some of the fun stuff I found there!  So rather than spend a lot of time taking pictures and typing up paragraphs of descriptions, I thought I'd make a quick video!

Please bear with me.  This is the first video blog I've ever done, and it has a few issues! But if you don't mind my hemming and hawing, or the camera falling over, then please enjoy!

Hidely-Ho...Back from Hiatus

Hidely-Ho, Neighbors!  I’m coming back to the blog after a very long (and not entirely intentional) hiatus and the first thing I want to do is share with you what’s been going on here at Crafty Neighbor the last few months.  I feel really bad that I haven’t posted anything in a while, but when I give you the rundown of what I’ve been up to, I think you’ll agree I’ve had my hands full.  So I hope you’ll forgive me, and I promise to get some fun projects posted here on the blog as soon as possible!

As you may know, in addition to running Crafty Neighbor, I am also a travel agent, working from home at my own little Crafty Neighbor Travel.  One of my favorite things to do is organize group cruises (especially my scrapbooking cruises!) and this year I’ve had the good fortune to be able to cruise with three of them.  We have also hosted our semi-annual scrapbook garage sale (July) and our “Think Pink” Crop for the Cure fundraiser (September) for the Susan G. Komen 3-Day walk (November). 

Fundraising for the 3-Day took up a great deal of my time this year, but I was determined to walk this year, so fundraise I must.  I also needed to spend a lot of time training, but unfortunately, my father became really ill in July, and he is now at home with hospice care, which has required me to travel back and forth to my hometown over 350 miles away as often as I can to help care for him.  But before I start sounding all sad, I do feel very blessed that Dad is doing a little better at the moment, I did raise enough money to participate in my 3-Day walk, and just a few short weeks ago I returned from our 8^th Annual Scrapbooking Cruise where we had a fabulously amazing time!

So that’s what I’ve been up to these last few months, and I’m sorry if I’ve left you in the lurch!  But just because I wasn't’ posting on the blog doesn’t mean I haven’t been busy creating lots of goodies to share with you, so I’m really excited to show you some of them over the coming weeks, and I hope you’ll be excited to see them, too! 

One of the projects I’ve been involved in has been a great source of comfort to me throughout my Dad’s illness.  In July, right before Dad was sent home from the hospital, I took a class at Personal Scrapbook in Allen, Texas on Bible Journaling taught by Tracy Pounds, the owner of the Little Blue House in Keller.  I had seen some blog posts and pictures on Pinterest, and I was intrigued, so of course I had to give it a try. I love my regular art journal, but I especially love the time I can spend with my Bible studying the Word and illustrating the lessons I have learned.

My very first Bible Journaling page was meant to
convey my reasons for starting this new hobby.

If you are interested in Bible Journaling, you can find lots of examples on Pinterest and by Google search. There are also several Facebook groups for Bible Journaling, which makes it very easy to learn and share.  I won’t share too many of my pages, because that’s not what this blog is about, but I wanted to show my beginnings, and I may share other pages from time to time.

The last thing I wanted to share with you is the dates for our next cruise!  Mark your calendars and get ready to join us on TWO new scrapbooking cruises including the 9^th Annual Crafty Neighbor Scrapbooking Cruise departing January 8, 2017 and our all new Crafty Neighbor Scrap Cruise Lite departing October 3, 2016.  You can find out more about each of the cruises by clicking on the links, or send me an email at cruise@craftyneighbor.com.

That’s it for today!  Tomorrow, we’ll take a look at some of the projects from our annual cruise.  I have some fun layouts, craft projects and mini albums to share with you plus a give-away later this week!  Until then, go do something crafty!