Reflections on 2015

2015 marked our first full calendar year living in Texas and what a year it has been! Once again I am blessed and ever-so thankful for my family and friends, and just being here. :)

Some highlights of the year:

• Ashlyn's Crohn's was declared in remission! She was well enough to able to enjoy being a somewhat normal teenager/kid for the first time in over 8 years.
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• She was able to attend Camp Oasis this summer, a camp for kids with IBD for the first time and had a blast! Being healthy enough for her to be able to do so warmed our hearts. She made some wonderful friends and was able to personally connect with others who share her disease and fears.

• She has recently been able to successfully wean from 21 months of EEN (exclusive enteral nutrition) and even better; after five years she hasn't had to use formula for several months to maintain her weight. 
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• Kara delivered Aubree in early January- what a joy she is! Being in the delivery room and watching this beautiful angel being brought into the world is an experience I will never forgot. Ashlyn was honored to be the one to cut the cord- that was also an experience that was full of joy and tears and awe. Caring for her and watching her grow while her mama is finishing school has been delightful (although tiring at times!)!

• Skylar graduating from Navy Boot Camp. Seeing her after her graduation ceremony was amazing. She had grown and blossomed so much in such a short time. 

• Going to Matagorda Beach to collect shells with my hubby. We feel fortunate to live close to the beach and ocean. 

(Ken and I having fun with some of the shells. lol!)

• My step-daughter Emily having a baby girl, Hally. in late January. We have been unable to meet our "newest" granddaughter as of yet, but hope to do so in the new year. 
• Stepping out of my comfort zone and trying new crafty things, especially sewing. I plan to work more on that in 2016. 

There were a few lows, but not too many:

• Skylar moved to Bahrain. 
• Ashlyn was diagnosed with Psoriasis. She started breaking out on her face in late July and by the beginning of December her entire body was covered. :( This photo was taken in November, when it still looked "good". Thankfully most of this is gone now as she received a proper diagnosis a few weeks ago and four prescription topical creams.

• Ashlyn's spinal fusion surgery she was supposed to have December 4th was cancelled due to the rash that was misdiagnosed which led to the diagnosis of Psoriasis. We will plan for it again sometime in late summer as it causes her a lot of pain and discomfort. 

I wish each and every one of you much joy, success, good health, creativity and whatever else you are hoping for in 2016!!! 

thanks so much {card}

Hello! Today I am sharing my final project as a 3 Girl JAM designer. 

I wanted to make something bold and colorful so I pulled out the Cherry Lipstick crinkle ribbon from the Pink and White bundle and some Aqua Splash from the Caribbean Splash bundle. I topped the ribbon off with a black button from the Vintage Buttons pack. 

supplies:

crinkle ribbon and button: 3 Girl JAM

pp and wooden piece: Dear Lizzy

enamel dots

stickers: EAD Designs

doily die cut: Jillibean Soup

Wishing you all a Happy and Blessed 2016!!!

sugar scrub {gift jars}

I had the best of intentions this Christmas Season to make several gifts for family and friends, but December was so crazy that my best intended plans quickly got away from me. I did, however, manage to throw these two Sugar Scrub gift jars together in minutes to mail off to two of our daughters. 

I almost decided not to share these because they are far from the beautiful presentation that I had envisioned, but I decided that even the not-so-great, literally thrown together projects are still share worthy. 

I wrapped some 3 Girl JAM Cocoa crinkle ribbon from the Victorian Dream bundle around the neck of the jar, tied a bow and added a flower. The top label was created using the large scallop from the Stitched In Circles die, then quickly labeled (this part is what bothers me the most- I should have taken an extra few minutes to make this look nicer- lol).

Here is a link to the recipe I used (I haven't personally tested nor heard from my daughters that they have tried it yet- and I didn't make it for those of us at home): http://www.thankyourbody.com/sweet-vanilla-sugar-scrub/

supplies:

jars- Hobby Lobby, ribbon- 3 Girl JAM, pp- DCWV, die: Craftin Desert Divas, flower- Iron Orchid Designs

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to you all! I hope you have had a blessed day. 

Today I am sharing another project featuring the adorable Cute Little Ginger Couple Digi Stamp from Craftin Desert Divas. I sent these to my two "away" daughters who are in the Navy. 

I used some of the Craftin Desert Divas Stitched In Circles dies to cut the felt pieces and then I quickly stitched them together and added the Digi Stamps and other embellishments. Aside from the coloring and details of the digi stamps, these were quick 30 minute projects. 

Christmas treat buckets

Merry Christmas Eve! I am up on the Epiphany Crafts blog today with a cute trio of Christmas Treat Buckets. 

Supply list: Epiphany Crafts: Round 14 tool, Bubble Caps Round 14 and Brads 14

buckets: Target

pp, tags, and stickers: Echo Park Paper Co.

felt flowers, ribbon and twine

santa sock monkey treat bag

Hi! Just a quick post today sharing this adorable Sock Monkey In Santa Hat Digi Stamp from Craftin Desert Divas. 

I printed him on both grey and white cardstock and then colored and fussy cut to piece him together. I always like the dimension that fussy cutting and layers provide. :) I used the largest scallop circle die from the CDD Stitched In Circles Dies and added it as a background to the glassine bag which I filled with some mini candy canes and a gift card. It's a fun and festive way to present a gift card. 

peace, love & joy {card}

I am sharing another project featuring digi stamps from Craftin Desert Divas. I used Cute Little Ginger Couple and Gingerbread House. 

I used some cream puff paint, sequins and glossy accents to add details to the gingerbread people. 

I fussy cut and added white glittery dimensional paint to the snow covered areas of the gingerbread house. 

As a reminder, I do have a new "fan" page on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RaechelleBellusCreations/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel

Christmas {box}

Today I am sharing a box that I am going to fill with a gift card and some treats to pass along to someone special. I used plenty of beautiful ribbon and trim from 3 Girl JAM.

The Red and Green Stripe ribbon from the Holiday Trim pack is threaded through the front and inside top flap of the box to secure it in place. 

here is the top:

 side two features Clover ribbon from the Sunny Meadows bundle and Charcoal from the Rustic Country bundle, finished off with some gold cording from the Holiday Trim pack and a Vintage Button. 

side three features more from the Holiday Trim pack, a Vintage Button and Barn Door from the Rustic Country bundle. 

side four is topped off with some gold cord. 

supplies:

4x4 craft box

pp, die cuts and stickers: Echo Park

ribbon, buttons, and trim: 3 Girl JAM

rhinestones

Glossy Accents

It's not too late to fill your stocking with 3 Girl JAM goodies from the 3GJ store. Just use the coupon code RB10 to receive 10% off your entire purchase. 

merry and bright {card}

Hello! :) I am showcasing some more great ribbon and trim from 3 Girl JAM today. 

I used some Clover crinkle ribbon from the Sunny Meadows bundle which is a perfect match for the red and green striped ribbon in the Holiday Trim pack, which is also where I got the gold cord. 

supplies:

ribbon and cord: 3 Girl JAM

pp, stickers and die cut: Echo Park

rhinestones

Head on over to the 3GJ store today and enter coupon code RB10 at checkout to save 10% off your entire order! 

Christmas JOY {gift box}

Today I am sharing this pretty Christmas JOY box I created for Perfect Paper Crafting. 

Supplies: Perfect Paper Crafting: cutting mat, Perfect Layers Mini, and Perfect Tears Deckle  edge Tool (Fine Deckle Edge), Patterned paper and file cards: Webster’s Pages
Twine: Maya Road, Rubons: BoBunny, scallop punch, Craft box, sequins, seed beads, pop dots, and white cardstock.

For detailed instructions and more images you can get them here. 

The PPC tools would make excellent gifts- you can check out all the wonderful tools here. 

Merry Christmas bear {card} and a fun announcement

Hi! I have some fun news to share- I have been invited to be on the Craftin Desert Divas Digi Design Team! :) This will be a fun new adventure for me and I am looking forward to stretching my creativity.

Here is my first project as a DT member. I used the Winter Bear Digi Stamp.

I tried to make his fur appear a bit matted to make him look softer. I am delighted with how to the sheen on his hat turned out, too! 

I added some Glossy Accents to the poinsettia, the white in his eyes, and the red on the candy cane to add a bit of texture. 

I have also created a new facebook page just to share my crafty creations. I would love to have you "like" it. I tried to use the play on my name as I have here on the blog, but fb wouldn't allow it. Go figure. 

All things Craetive

polar bear felt gift card holder

Don't you love it when you get an idea and it not only works well, but comes together easily? This is one of those projects.

Most of my children are away, so I am always looking for fun ways to send them gifts for special occasions. When I was using the Stitched In Circles die set for several of my latest projects, I had an idea to incorporate felt and see what would transpire. I am going to make several more of these in the near future.

supplies:

felt

dies: Craftin Desert Divas Stitched In Circles

ribbon: 3 Girl JAM

button

sequins

sticker: Echo Park

I am also entering this project into the Make It Sparkle Craftin Desert Divas linky party- week 2. 

grateful for you {card}

Hello! :) I am sharing a card featuring several wonderful products from 3 Girl JAM store. 

The background of this card was created by gluing three of the colored Jute Ribbons from the Jute Ribbon & String pack onto white cardstock. I did overlap on the cream jute ribbon as it is a bit wider than the merlot and sunflower colors. 

I then added the sentiment and finished off with some Green Jeans crinkle ribbon from the Saturday Morning bundle and the Charcoal crinkle ribbon from the Rustic Country Bundle. 

The button on the flower on the ribbon is from the Vintage Buttons pack. 

supplies:

Jute, crinkle ribbon and button: 3 Girl JAM

cardstock

pp and stickers: Echo Park

flowers: Wild Orchid

stick on brads: JoAnn

To receive 10% off your entire purchase in the 3 Girl JAM store, enter code RB10 at checkout. Happy shopping! 

reindeer card trio

Earlier in the week these cards were featured on the Perfect Paper Crafting blog. I absolutely love how these came out, thanks to the awesome PPC tools I used! 

For detailed instructions and more images, please head over to the Perfect Paper Crafting Blog. 

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I am sharing a layout I created using the Make it Monday No. 49 sketch from The Memory Nest. It's been awhile since I have created a layout as my focus seems to have switched to cards and projects as well as trying new things. Maybe it's the time of year, but either way it was nice to create a layout for a change. 

It definitely went in a direction of its own, but the bones of the sketch are there. ;) 

I added some stitching to the hearts as a dimensional detail. 

supplies:

pp: Pebbles

wooden arrow

twine

dies: Craftin Desert Divas