CropChocolate's New Year, New Design Team Blog Hop

Hi!  Welcome to CropChocolate's "New Year, New Design Team Blog Hop".  You should have arrived here from Jenni's blog.  If you stumbled across this blog hop, please feel free to go back to the beginning to Amber's blog to join us.  The blog hop will run from 8am MST January 11 to 8am MST January 14, so you  have plenty of time to follow along and meet our new Design Team members.

So "What is the 'New Year, New Design Team" blog hop all about?  Well, for this DT's term instead of Amber introducing each member on CropChocolate, she thought having a blog hop to introduce us would be fun.  

Many of you already know me from the last Design Team's term . . . but I think I have come up with a few things (7 instead of the 5 Amber requested) that you probably didn't know and I would like to share with you what I submitted.

But before I get to those, I want to say how honored I am to have been picked again to be a part of CropChocolate's Design Team.  Once again, I am both excited and nervous.  There is a lot of talent on this term's DT . . . I am in awe at how great they are and I think once you see their work, you will be, too.

As I said earlier, many of you already know me from the last Design Team's term, but I did manage to come up with a few fun things that you may not already know about me.  :)

(1)  I am the oldest of 4 children in my family and I was born on Ellsworth Air Force Base.  Yes, I was an Air Force brat for the first five (5) years of my life.  The picture below is of me with my other 3 siblings at Thanksgiving this year. . . I am the 2nd in from the right (I think I got that correct. . . I am the one next to my brother on the inside.)

(2)  I used to ride a Honda Hurricane 1000 . . . I was told it was quite a site since I am only about 5'2" and around 100 pounds.  But I didn't let that stop me.

(3)  I met my husband during the Drake Relays in 1992, but we can't agree as to where we met.  He says it was at Peggy's and I say it was Wellman's.  The only thing I can think of was that maybe we were introduced at Peggy's while I was distracted because someone had spilled a drink on my dress.  I do remember meeting him at Wellman's because I heard that little voice say "This is the many you are going to marry.", but I didn't believe it at the time since he has walked in with another girl.  But whichever place it was, we never went out with anyone else after meeting each other. :)

(4)  My husband proposed to me in Winter Park, Colorado, 40 feet in the air on a ski lift.  And the brat had the nerve to drop the ring right after he proposed and before I could say "Yes" . . . all the while saying, "That's okay, I like this ring better" and pulls out another ring.  Come to find out, he had planned to do that and the ring he dropped was a bubble gum machine ring.  Like I said, "Brat". :P

(5)  My husband says I should get stock in a sock company because I wear holes in the heals of my socks within days of buying them . . . okay, not quite days, but very quick-like.

(6)  My favorite movie is "Ice Castles."  Yes, it is an oldie, but a goodie. :)

and (7)  You can tell the mood I am in by the color of my eyes . . . they change color from blue to green to gray.

Now  I would like to share my project submissions.  We were to do one project that was "reflects me as a crafter and explain how it does" and an "out-of-my-box" project and tell why it was "out-of-my-box".  

Originally, I was going to use a layout I did titled "I Do" because it showed how I had progressed as a crafter and how I was willing to try new things on my projects and layouts.

But a few years ago at a family gathering, one of my aunts did a cross-stitch picture and framed it with an old barn window, so I filed it away as "try someday".  So when the DT Announcement came, I thought it would be the perfect time to try it since I had yet to do so, but wasn't sure how to go about it.   Plus, I was going to be able to  use it for my Nov DT project.  Our Nov. theme is "what am I thankful for".   This few months, I've been learning "new" sounds after being deaf for 5 years . . . and I started thinking how thankful I was that I had  had my sight and other senses during that time.   So I decided to do a project that not only has color, but had texture by using chicken wire, burlap, embossing folders and other scrappy supplies. :)

Well, since I ended up with 2 frames while working on a crackle technique, I decided to do another project that showed how I had progressed as a crafter while at the same time working on something that was "out-of-my-box". 

My "reflective of me" project was titled "Pumpkin Patch" because of the 9-patch of pumpkins.  I felt it was "reflective of me" because it did show how I had progressed as a papercrafter in just the last 4-6 months, and how I took a chance using distress ink, crackle medium and Making Memories paint to give my "frame" an antique crackled look.  Here's a link if you would like instructions. 

Since I used the "Pumpkin Patch" wallhanging as my "reflective of me" project, I used the other for my "out-of-the-box" project.  I decided to call this one "Memories". 

Once again, this project is reflective of how I have progressed as a crafter by incorporating several different mediums into one wallhanging (wood,  wire, burlap, paper, paint, stain, etc.).    BUT it was also my "out-of-my-box" not only because I had only worked with wood one other time, but because I had also worked with so many different mediums at once which I had never done before due to being unsure how to go about it.   I had wanted it to be like a layout, but using burlap & wire as the background instead of paper.  

With this project, I used Walnut Stain distress ink and Black Soot distress stain on the wood to get it that dark espresso color, not brown, but not black. Then I took an emery board from a distressing kit from CC and distressed the edges of the frame.  I painted the chicken wire silver because every place was out of the galvanized, only had the green coated.  Then I basted the burlap onto the wire.  I basted the burlap instead of using hot glue because this way if I get tired of the picture, I can take it off (put it in a scrapbook) and do another one . . . or next year's Christmas picture of the Clayton grandkids. :)   Here's what it turned out to look like:

Well, I hope you have learned a few new things about me and enjoyed my two projects.  As much as I didn't want to, I did give the last project "Memories" to my mother-in-law . . . I had liked it so much that I wanted to keep it even though I made it with her in mind.  She loved it and is trying to decide which wall to display it.

Oh, one more thing . . . BLOG CANDY.  I will be giving away some blog candy. In order to be eligible, please become a follower (if you aren't already) and leave a comment that you have done so.  I will draw a name from the comments and, if I get over 80 followers, I will give another blog candy for every 5 after that.  Meaning, at 80 I will draw one more name, at 85 another name, at 90 another name, etc., etc., etc.

Thanks for stopping by.  Next on the blog hop, you will go onto the A-M-A-Z-I-N-G Jasmine.  If you get lost or lose your place, below is a list of the blog hop order. :)

Blog Hop order:

Amber - http://ambaju.blogspot.com/

Jenni - http://wishiwasscrappin.blogspot.com/

Kathy - http://upinthenightwithkat.blogspot.com/  --You are HERE

Jasmine - http://wildflowerford.blogspot.com/  --  Go HERE next

Mary - http://mkbugs.blogspot.com/

Nina - http://ninastimeout.blogspot.ca/

Polly - http://pazasproductions.blogspot.com/

DeeDee - www.umwowstudio.com

Miwa - http://miwannascrap.blogspot.com/

Chris - http://thriftysisters-chris.blogspot.com/

Corrie - http://corriescrafts.blogspot.com/

Karen - http://karey2005.blogspot.com/

Julie - http://muddypawsinkyfingers.blogspot.com/

Becky - http://onceuponadelight.blogspot.com/

Laura - http://lauraannsbreakfastpizza.blogspot.com/

Michele - http://stuffbybelle.blogspot.com/