Are YOU thinking Christmas yet?

Though I don't want to rush the holidays, (my goodness, we still have Halloween and Thanksgiving to celebrate, and Christmas has already taken over retail land.  Drives me nuts!)  there is something to be said for planning ahead -- especially when it comes to Christmas cards!  I would like to entice you with a gorgeous little stamp set, exclusive to Close to My Heart and available, starting today, and only through the end of November. 

 

"Holiday Wishes" Stamp Set Special

 

This set is available for only $5.00 when you place a minimum order of $25 in My Acrylix^® stamp sets in November (actually, beginning today!). That’s a significant savings off the full retail value of $17.95. And even better: many of the images in the set coordinate with our Cricut^® Art Philosophy cartridge for added cutting and stamping fun!

Better yet, you can purchase one of the Holiday Wishes sets for each qualifying $25 in My Acrylix^® stamp sets you purchase.  So, lets say you purchase $50 in qualifying stamp sets.  You can then add TWO of the Holiday Wishes sets to your order (share with a friend!) AND you can add the Stamp of the Month for only $5.00 as well!  

 

Bottom line -- for an additional $15.00, you're getting $53.85 worth of product!  That's a savings of  $38.85, and you'll have plenty of yummy Christmas stamps to craft your Christmas cards, gift tags, or December Daily mini albums!  SO, what are you waiting for?  To place your order, just head to my website, click on Shop Online, and go to town!

Until next time,

The Pumpkin Patch!

So, the hubbs and I decided to go all out this year and visit an actual pumpkin patch, rather than hitting our local grocery store.  (Ok, I decided, and he went along for the ride!)  I've printed off lots of fun stencils from various sites to try our hand at carving something a little different this year.  The hubbs is determined to use power tools, so it could be interesting -- you'll have to check back when I post our pumpkin "carving" photos!  LOL!

Anyways, I thought I would share with you today a few of the photos from our visit.  Enjoy!

This little guy was so cute!  Dad was trying to take a picture, and he wanted none of it!  Walked over to the wheelbarrow and started trying to push it, moving on to the next pumpkin!  Mom finally jumped in to help, and they got a priceless photo anyways! 

They had a small corn maze, too, but as we went after work, we didn't have time to go through before they closed.

The perfect little pumpkin!

I loved this!  There were rotting pumpkins all over, but I thought this one looked like a vampire!

Until next time,

30 Days of Lists -- Days 1 through 10

OK!  Finally, I've photographed my little mini album and am ready to share.  If you remember, I participated in this little online workshop back in September, called "30 Days of Lists."  I chose to just view the list each day, rather than printing off the entire 30 days -- I felt that way it was a little more spontaneous on my part!  And, I'm happy to say, I managed to keep up with each day (big accomplishment for this procrastinator!) -- just didn't get them photographed until now!  So, rather than bombard you with 30 photographs in one post, I'm splitting this into three posts over the next week.  So if you'd like to see the whole book, be sure to check back!!

First, I have to share that my little mini book came from my friend, Monika Wright's Etsy shop (I think she still has a few available!) -- she used the same one for her 30 Days of Lists, and it's fun to see how we took the same book and made them our own.  Here's my front cover:

Now, the fun thing is, this first "page" is a paper sack folded in half, so you have a little pocket.  Monika originally had a little file tag in there, which I ended up using on another page; I put a little September 2011 calendar in my pocket, which is a free download from (can you guess?)  Monika!  (Just click on her name to go to the download.)

Now, to get into the "meat" the the album:  Keep in mind, I was good, and used items from my stash -- I had all the alphabets I used for titles, as well as all the embellishments.  Scary, I know.  

Page 1:

You'll notice that on just a few of my pages, I included little contact photo sheets to emphasize my lists.  

Day 2:

Day 3:

Day 4:

This day included a little glassine envelope that came with the kit, and I printed off another freebie tag that I used for my list, then placed in the envie.  Easy peasy!  (edited to add that this tag freebie, as well as the one used on day two, are available on Facebook.  Follow this link, like "Designs by Lili," then look under her freebies tag on the left for the download.)

Day 5:

Day 6:

This day's list was "Favorite Color Combos" and I had a tag to scrapbook on -- so, I put the title on the front, and my colors on the back.  (Colors are cut from an old CTMH catalog color palette.)

Day 7:

Day 8:

One of my favorite lists.  Was especially fun to search Google images for some of my childhood memories!

Day 9:

The little yellow paper with the tag was what originally came in the pocket at the front of the book.

Day 10:

This day is a little hard to get -- it's on a transparency, so all the color you're seeing behind is actually the next day.  I have to admit  I was stumped on how to make a list on a transparency, so had to email Monika for ideas!  Avery labels!!  Who knew? 

Well, there you have days 1 through 10 of my "30 Days of Lists" album.  You should be able to click on the photos for a more detailed look at the list, but if you have any questions, feel free to ask!  Comments are always appreciated -- and so is all the help I received from my bloggy friend, Monika.  Be sure to click over and visit her blog and send her some love!  Until next time,

Thinking of You

Ok, so I've been thinking a lot lately about my nieces and nephews (something I do a lot as we couldn't have children of our own.)  My oldest nephew, Christopher, just recently celebrated his 3rd anniversary with his beautiful wife (my niece-in-love, Summer, who is adorable!) and their little girl, Penny, will be turning one in just a few short weeks.  I remember when HE was born, not so very long ago, it seems, and he and I were best buds.  (My sister took full advantage of having a tween sister that wanted to babysit!)

Christopher, many moons ago, with his "Kit Car" 

Chris and Summer on their wedding day

My next oldest nephew is Cody, and he's actually the one that inspired this whole post.  Cody is fresh into college this semester, and seems to be loving every minute of it, though he's not sure about his major (typical freshman!!)  As his family has traveled quite a bit during his lifetime with his dad's job, including to England and Canada, he is thrilled to be back in the US.  This kid, seriously, CRACKS ME UP.  He is so stinkin' handsome, and has such a great sense of humor.  (Along with his sensitive side, he'll make a wonderful hubby for some lucky girl some day! -- No rush, Cody!) 

Cody with my FIL on his graduation day

Okay -- so the long way around.  This photo coming up is what inspired this post.   Well, actually it's a quote.  And a quite funny one, if I so say so myself!  (Not that I aGREE, mind you, but it is funny!)  We were sitting together as a family, talking, I don't honestly remember when or even what about, and Cody comes out with this:

The guys, of course, were all laughing hysterically, including his dad and my dear hubbs, and his mom and I were sitting there with our mouths open.  Probably catching flies.  But I was browsing pinterest earlier today, and looking at all of the quotes on there (some of them so dippy) and I thought "I need to do a post about what Cody said, and pin it."  So, here it is!  Feel free to redistribute, and quote my much loved, 17 y/o at the time, nephew!  :) 

Next in line, another nephew!  My lovely sister Kelly (RIP, miss you sis!) gave birth to this absolutely adorable little man with her handsome husband on a sunny June day in Texas.  He has had a special place in my heart for nearly 18 years now -- he'll graduate next spring.  Time flies so fast, it seems.  And, while my sister has been gone for nearly 2 1/2 years now, he and his dad are doing well.  He is growing into such a handsome and caring young man -- my sis would be proud.  I know I am.  I just wish he lived closer!! 

David and his dad on a recent camping trip

 

 

And, of course, we have . . . another nephew!!  (I was beginning to despair of ever having a girl to spoil, but stay with me!)  Nicholas is our "almost Christmas" baby.  He is the brother of the first nephew I listed, Christopher.  There are 14 years between the two.  (It's a family thing.  I am 14 years younger than my oldest sister, their mom, and 12 years younger than David's mom, my other sister.  I am 12 years older than Christopher, and Christopher is 12 years older than David, and 14 years older than Nicholas.  Weird, huh?  But I digress.)  Nick is just the cutest thing.  Of the three boys on my side of the family, he probably had the closest relationship with my mom, his "Granna."  They loved to work and play in the yard together.  Now that he's a teenager, he's into longboarding, which is pretty cool (and scary, if you ask me.)  Here's a recent photo I took of him on his board:

I know, it's a little blurry, but I was practicing my photography.  Loved that you could see his face & board.

And, finally, the youngest of the older nieces & nephews, a GIRL!!  Sweet, adorable, not so little anymore Kimmy!  As she's approaching tween-hood, her mom and dad have been calling her Kim, but to me she'll always be Kimmy.  I asked her last summer if that bothered her, and she said, no, she actually liked it!  Phew!  Kimmy is a girly girl -- but she's also played ice hockey, so she can kick butt, too!  She is turning into such a beautiful young girl -- so fun to be with, and has a great sense of humor, just like her brother, Cody.  Plus, she's into crafting, probably due to both her mom's (my SIL) and my influence.  We trained that girl RIGHT!

On her birthday, in March.  Isn't she pretty??

Now, for the younger ones.  My husband had a younger brother, Jeremy, who has 4 children.  Tragically (you may remember me posting about Jeremy back in late May/early June), Jeremy was killed in a motorcycle crash earlier this year.  These babies are now fatherless, and it just breaks my heart.  Their moms are doing a good job raising them, and they are all good kids.  VERY busy, but we are so blessed that their moms are willing to let all of us continue to be a part of their lives.  

All together for the first time, playing at the park after their dad's funeral

Phew!  I hope you're still with me!!  I really just meant to share my one nephews somewhat snarky comment, that cracked me up, and instead, you got the blow-by-blow on all my nieces and nephews!!  : )  They are all funny, bright, and beautiful, and I so hope you've enjoyed meeting them!!  Do YOU have family that is super special to you?  If you do, I would love to meet them in the comments!  Until next time,

Fall

So, here we are, just past the middle of October, and fall is finally settling into the valley (not just up the canyons!)  The trees are beginning to change on the valley floor, and the mornings are getting just a bit nippy!  DH and I are headed to the pumpkin patch tomorrow afternoon to pick out our perfect carving pumpkins -- but I thought I would share some photos of the beautiful colors here for now.  These were taken a couple of weeks ago, on a weekend drive up a couple of the canyons here -- Provo and Emigration. 

The reds are SO vibrant here this year!!  We've decided it must be because of all the spring/early summer rain we had.  Whatever has caused them, they are gorgeous.  I hope you enjoy!! 

WELCOME!

Hi! Welcome to "Transformed Creativity!" You should have been redirected automatically here from www.katescreativecollections.blogspot.com. 

I've been working on revamping my blog a little, and sort of reappraising why I'm blogging and where I want to be both in my life and in my crafting. And I've come to the somewhat overwhelming conclusion that I'm not where I want to be in either of them.  I've done a lot of praying, and a lot of ruminating, and I feel that God led me to this Scripture from Romans 12:2 (this is from the Amplified version of the Bible):

2 Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you].

And one more, from Psalm 51:10 (AMP):

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right, persevering, and steadfast spirit within me.

These two Scriptures are the basis of my new blog title, "Transformed Creativity."  The "transformed," from Romans, means "changed."  And the "create," from the Psalm, is the same Hebrew word used for "creation" in Genesis, meaning to build something from nothing.  So, essentially, I'm hoping to change and rebuild both my life and my blog, in hopes of making them both more pleasing to God.  

You'll be seeing all sorts of posts, so I hope you'll stick with me.  This will be a post about my life -- the ups, downs, ins, outs, everything!  You'll see posts on things we all deal with.  You'll see posts on crafting.  You'll hopefully see posts on art journaling, starting soon!  There may be recipes, as both Mike and I struggle with our weight loss, on depression and anxiety, as I pursue this road that I'm being led down, and definitely on crafting, of all sorts, as that, and reading, and probably my first loves!  Well, behind God and my family!  

So, I hope you'll stick with me, and I hope to maybe gain new friends on the way.  Grab a cuppa something (warm or cold, depends on the season!) and sit with me for awhile.  Comment and encouragement are always welcome!