One day at a time.....

I am.....

2012-01-31T19:43:00.004-05:00

still happy sewing things - swaps on swap-bot, projects for friends, and projects for me

enjoying baking - lots of lunchbox-able snacks, ALL of our bread (including this and this recipe) - yes haven't bought bread in nearly a month!!! Trying out lots of new recipes found via Pintrest and expanding my recipe box.

Realizing that cooking more takes planning and trying to get better at that
realizing how addicted I can get to the computer - checking emails, facebook, google reader, playing games.....trying to limit that
still working on my OLW and trying to consciously live it every day
trying to be content with the baby steps I am making rather than disappointed at not reaching the goals.
saddened by the trials that friends are being but through and trying to be, in turn, grateful for the small blessings we receive every day
all in all thinking that 2012 if starting off to be a good year!

Quilt for a friend

2012-01-22T20:28:00.001-05:00

Quilt for a friend, a photo by craftyozgirl on Flickr.

Quilt for a friend

Wreath

2012-01-19T15:25:00.001-05:00

Wreath, a photo by craftyozgirl on Flickr.

Wreath

Moving forward in the new year

2012-01-16T12:42:00.002-05:00

NYC was non stop action but great fun

Now that I've finally caught up on the laundry, housekeeping, grocery...etc etc I am trying to purposely move forward with my OLW Trying to DO something every day that moves me towards my goals. But also trying to accept that it's ok NOT to DO something all the time - and that's hard for me!
If you haven't already found Pinterest (where have you been???) it's a great source of inspiration for everything - recipes, decorating, fashion, crafts, teachers gifts - EVERYTHING! But beware - it will eat up hours of your day! I need to set a timer to limit my time on there..... (if you need an invite let me know)
Trying to feed my family better things this year - adding more whole grains, fruit & veggies into our diet - both hidden and obvious. (You can add shredded zucchini to just about anything without anyone noticing :) ) White wheat flour is great to add into all baking. Using my bread machine on an almost daily basis - it's so easy to have homemade bread every day!
Loving our stash of frozen home grown vegetable I'm pulling out of the freezer and actually ordered seed catalogs to plan our garden this year - knowing what worked from last year and what didn't - tomatoes, zucchini, crocked neck squash, spinach, lettuce, broccoli, beans and peas yes - corn, eggplant, peppers potatoes and carrots haven't had much luck with....
Have BIG plans for sewing this year.......I hope I can keep up with them...maybe some short terms goals to help?
excited about the Pay It Forward 2012 I am doing this year - did it 2 years ago and love it!

Hope you're 2012 is off to a great start too!

New Year, New Intentions, New Resolutions

2012-01-01T22:29:00.003-05:00

Every year Ali Edwards does her "One Little Word" project. Every year I look at it and think - yeah, great idea, but not for me. These year when I started seeing it pop up on the blogs "my" word popped into my head and it won't go away...... so I guess it's here to stay. And the more I ponder on it, the more it fits....

So this is the year I will - DO

DO - be deliberate in my actions and decisions

DO - more crafting

DO - take time to enjoy the now

DO - take action rather than sitting and worrying about possible outcomes

DO - exercise

DO - take care of myself - not just everyone else

DO - take risks

Part of this will be an effort to blog more - which helps me hold accountable (even if no one else is really reading) Of course having said that - this week is a crazy one - TCDE heads to NYC this weekend for 5 days and I am going as chaperon so I won't be around much. But I will be practicing my word - I am taking the opportunity to go with my daughter - while she still wants me around - to make memories that will last a lifetime :) So though you may not hear from me again till we get back, I will be back again soon. Till then here is a collection of what I did "DO" last year.

Welcome 2012! I look forward to the possibilities the new year brings.

Taking a time out....

2011-10-11T06:42:00.003-05:00

I have a teenage daughter...........

She is exhibiting textbook teenage behaviors......

Sometimes I need a time out.......

So the other day - rather than attack the piles of laundry, or clean something that desperately needed cleaning, or curl into the fetal position and never come out...... I made something - because making things is what reduces my stress levels - plus I can close the door to the craft room and pretend that I don't hear the activity from upstairs as my darling husband takes a turn of coping with a teenage daughter - being an only child this is ALL new ground for him!

I decided that the girls bathroom needed new bath mats - and so that's what I made

It's just fabric squares (300 or so) backed with some old towels. It's not the neatest quilt project I've made (terry toweling is not the best fabric to work with...) but it gave me the time out I needed to be able to venture back into the battleground. Plus it makes me smile every time I walk past their bathroom :)

Finding a rhythm

2011-09-26T21:30:00.002-05:00

I don't know why it's taking me so long to find a rhythm to my days....... Some days I feel energized and merrily check of my list of things to do for the day. Other days I fiddle around with this or that and never really accomplish anything before my 2nd job of chief taxi driver and homework helper starts promptly at 2:45pm. I get frustrated a lot but then try to remember that really in the grand scheme of things this is really such a short period of time in life. Next year the girls will be in middle and high school (ugh!) which adds an extra hour to "my" part of the day, and before I know it they won't be needing me for driving OR homework. SO I try to be content in the "now".

One of my goals had been to fill my etsy store by the end of this month....it's not going to happen. Don't get me wrong - I'm still making stuff all the time but a lot of it are things people have ordered from me already so the extra's are not getting made. So if you have seen something on my blog or on my flickr account that you would like me to make - please just ask me. I LOVE to make stuff :0 ) and would love to make you something. Meanwhile I will keep working away on my store stuff and hope to have it stocked soon - and hopefully soon find a rhythm to my days.

Last weekend I....

2011-09-13T09:55:00.002-05:00

Finally got around to making myself a new bag

and as is usually the case I am already thinking about the next one......

Last month I joined

but hadn't yet started it because I hadn't decided on the book I wanted to use for it. Well it suddenly hit me that this flip book that I've had sitting around forever not knowing what to use it for would be perfect so I made this

and finally caught up with my lists of the past week.

Made a few more things like this

in between running kids back and forth to various activities, dinner, and trying to get a chance to talk to my husband when the football is not on and I know he'll actually hear what I'm saying :P

How about you?

I've been spotted!!!!

2011-09-12T08:18:00.002-05:00

Reading through my blog roll this morning I was momentarily confused when one of my photos of a bag I made

showed up on someone else's blog

Then it hit me................

I'd been spotted!!!!!

Woohoo!!!!!

It may take me a while to wipe this silly grin off my face....... :)

A fun - but essential - project

2011-09-06T16:43:00.004-05:00

On the way to school this morning my oldest daughter discovered that the pencil pouch I had made her 2 yrs ago finally died :( With pleads that the replacement NEEDED to be out of the exact same fabric.....she got lucky, and I got to play :)

The result.....

Since she said nothing about the design being the same I got to try something new.... I'm afraid I sew about the same way I cook...... I stick fairly close to the directions the first go around but from then I I try a bit of this and a bit of that. The size of this pouch? Well it was the size of the fabric scrap I had left minus about 2 inches to fit the zipper that I happened to have on hand.....The pattern? Well I kind of went by that I remembered doing something similar to the other day. The result? She's happy and I've got a few new ideas that I want to try... anyone need a pencil pouch made?

Scrapping along..... of the fabric kind

2011-09-03T08:42:00.005-05:00

If you didn't already know I have several (*cough*) hobbies ;) and I tend to get absorbed by one for a while until I burn out, and then move on to the next one, and the next, until I've made the full circle. Some last longer than others, some are more seasonal (knitting seems to mainly come around Christmas). Right now I am consumed with sewing and if you came to my house right now you would see fabric covering my craft room. I REALLY love sewing (of course I will say that about all my hobbies) and I have a generous (*cough*) stash of fabric. So this time as I was happily sewing along making some of these

I decided that I should use up every last scrap before moving on to the next project. Those scraps became these

Now it seems I am addicted to finding out what I can do with scraps... like this

and I have some other ideas floating around too. I've been having so much fun and have been able to do a little here and a little there in between being chief taxi driver, chef, housekeeper, homework assistant and school library volunteer.....

On a side note - if you like hunting through thrift stores like me, you really should go check out the new Public Markets in Turkey Creek. I have been a few times already and have already marked my favorites thrifting stalls. My biggest find has been yards upon yards of vintage lace which I used on the fabric atc above and this basket

There have been quite a few other finds too and I have gotten to know some of the lovely vendors working there.

My goal had been not to buy any new fabric until I had made a sizable dent in my current stash.....but surely vintage lace isn't included in that....right????

Oh and these and more projects are planned for my etsy store which I am hoping to fill over the next few months - so if you need unique local handmade Christmas gifts for your friends/relatives/teachers think of me :)

Have a great long weekend!

Saying goodbye...

2011-08-18T20:02:00.003-05:00

So I had to say goodbye to my mum last weekend :( It always makes me more than a little homesick when I wave her off on a jet plane - I really miss seeing my family and particularly my sisters. But it's a good chance to send a bunch of stuff home since I can't go myself. So gave her an extra suitcase and we loaded them up as close to the weight limit as we could!

For #2 (my husband likes to number my sisters rather than use a name..) with my almost 3 yr old niece and another niece on the way, we send home lots of fun new clothes and books for the girls - some new, some made with love. Some particularly requested items were a twirly skirt which my DD made, and a scarf to match the one I had made my sister for Christmas (it's winter there at the moment).

#4 received an antique cocktail shaker that I stumbled upon while browsing Nostalgia one day :)

and #3 owns a restaurant so I thought a handmade apron would be something she would like

It has a pocket to hold a order pad and pen, some vintage buttons and trims, and some paris newsprint fabric to remind her of our trip :)

Doesn't even come close to getting on a plane and seeing them in person but at least they'll know I'm thinking of them!

This week I....

2011-08-08T20:51:00.003-05:00

Did a little sewing

played with some more ATC's

spent some time exploring new (to me) places in our area

and celebrated my mum's birthday- this year in the same country as she was!

All in all it was a lovely week. :)

A happy kind of weekend

2011-08-01T20:51:00.003-05:00

My favorite kind of weekend - a little crafting, a little family time, and no time pressures! I did some sewing this weekend and oh how I've missed it!

First up was a gift for a birthday party next Saturday. My DD wanted an art tote to go with the watercolor paints and pad she had picked out for the gift so this is what I came up with

The friend is a frog lover so inside we used some fun frog fabric

An art tote ready to grab and go anywhere to create some art :)

Earlier we had stumbled on some 1 penny watercolor pencils to add to our collection. My older DD wanted something to keep her pencils in that she could easily see the colors at a glance. I thought a pencil roll would be too long for the 50 odd pencils she now has so I came up with this

the outer 2 flaps fold in, and then it folds in half to look like this

ready to take with her where ever she decides to go and make art :)

If you happen to have a child who is friends to one of my DD's - don't be surprised if a variation of one of these shows up at your next birthday gathering.......

What I've been doing.....

2011-06-29T19:50:00.003-05:00

So it's been a while I know..... I have been doing little things here and there but mainly just trying to keep up with every day life. After feeling like I was in a bit of a slump, I started doing some swaps to help push me to be creative again. It's a little addicting...... I did some prayer flags

and then got hooked on atc's

also made a stack of crayon holders like the one I made for my niece

so that's what I've been doing lately.......

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 4

2011-04-04T20:00:00.002-05:00

Today I am grateful for.......

A windy day allowing me to dry clothes the old fashion way
My mother-in-law cooking us dinner so I have one less thing to do
A quiet day of housework making me grateful for all that we have.

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 2 & 3

2011-04-04T19:46:00.003-05:00

Day 2: Grateful for the way that a simple conversation can lead to the answering of a prayer even before the words of the prayer had been spoken.

Day 3: Grateful for being able to sit outside and have dinner together - one of my favorite places to be.

30 Days of Gratitude: Day 1

2011-04-01T14:26:00.004-05:00

Really honestly after the first few hours this morning I thought this was going to be a rough day to find anything to be grateful about.....but I did :o) So here is my day 1

"Grateful for the sunshine this morning which brightens my perspective. For the new Adele CD (bought on sale) that lifts my spirits. For the Starbucks Cinnamon Dolce Latte I treated myself to in a stolen moment to warm my body."

The sun is a 2 part stamp from Green Grass stamps "You are my Sunshine" stamp set, and the stickers are from the Stella & Rose "Hattie" line.

So what are you grateful for today? Post your link if you've got it on your blog.

A change of attitude

2011-03-30T20:54:00.003-05:00

So lately I've been having a rough time with life in general......

Nothing major

Nothing horrible

Just life.

Most of it is out of my control and I just am going to have to suck it up and deal with it. Some of it I could change but due to the subsequent consequences I'm not ready/willing to right now.

So I decided what was needed was a change of attitude.......

So come April 1st I am going to try

It's a 5x7 album with rings so that I can add stuff along the way if I want to. I used different papers from different companies out of my stash. I did kind of decide on a color scheme but that's as much planning as I did. The pages are already numbered to keep me honest :o)

I'm going to add a few more embellishments before I start but most of it I'm going to do as I go. The pages are not all the same size.

Some pages I'll just journal on, some I will add some photos or mementos too. By the 30th of April I will have a book to look back on and remember all the things that make my life wonderful.

Won't you join me? I'd love to share your joys :o)

Gift for my niece

2010-10-27T21:00:00.003-05:00

My niece turned 2 last month and having "been there and done that" with my girls, I thought a good gift would be one that could be appreciated by both mother and daughter. After some pondering I came up with this

A crayon and notebook purse that can be taken in the car, in the stroller, to dr's appointments and restaurants for instant entertainment during those long boring wait times.

My mother said it was an instant prized possession and hooked on the dolls stroller for a walk and then taken off for some quick doodling :o) It was quick and fun to make and I have the crayons and notepads to make some more.....anyone want one?

Back to school

2010-08-18T19:56:00.003-05:00

Kids set off for school in new outfits (and new contact lenses)

With my few hours of quiet (first day was a half day) I made this

and this

and this

So although I hate the early morning rises and the "hurry up we've got to go" ...... it was nice to have a few hours to myself and make some fun stuff for my girls :o)

Another Christmas in July project

2010-07-21T18:27:00.003-05:00

We're in the middle of Christmas in July at the store and here is another project that I made for it

I got the idea from Splitocaststampers but didn't really follow the directions in the tutorial.

Hopefully this year I'll actually remember to do it! I saw a few years back someone that had put notes and coupons and little special things in the tins rather than just candy and I think that's what I'd like to do this time. If I start now I should have a good collection by December :o)

4th July and other happenings.....

2010-07-09T14:37:00.002-05:00

We had a pretty low key 4th this year. People up and down our street usually set of fireworks so we just sit outside with sparklers and watch. The girls didn't really want much of any ourselves except the colored smoke balls

It was funny watching them - this year for the first time they played with fire - trying to relight burnt out sparklers with the embers of another. Interesting to watch their thought processes.

I made a few cards over the weekend using my growing Unity Stamp collection. This one as an invitation to our design team dinner

And this one as a thank you to those who helped out with inventory at the store

I really like how this one turned out! I think I need to make a few more just like it.

Christmas in July

2010-06-23T18:10:00.004-05:00

At the store we have decided to do two weeks of Christmas in July. The last two years I felt like Christmas came and left leaving me with a long undone "to do" list. So hopefully this year I'll be able to do some of the projects I wanted to do. This one is inspired by Ali Edwards "December Daily" and I am so excited that I finally got to make it!!!

It has a page for each day ready for me to stick in my favorite photo or memento of all the holiday activities. Here are some of my favorite pages

Kids with clogs!!!! What's not to love???? If you know me you know how I love all things Dutch :o)

We love to read Christmas stories - I have a HUGE basket of them and I try to add a few new ones to my collection every year

This is a big pocket to store cards or recipes or such in.

I won't show you all of them but you can see them on flickr if you want to. So now at the end of December I hope to be able to show you the completed version! I can't wait :o)

Family Frame

2010-06-12T20:27:00.001-05:00

family frame
Originally uploaded by craftyozgirl

Made this quick and easy frame 8x8 yesterday (sorry for the glare on the frame....couldn't find an angle to get rid of it...) Love the colors and how quick and easy it was! Now just need to find a photo to put in it........

Stamping again!

2010-06-10T20:48:00.001-05:00

stamp-a-stack cards
Originally uploaded by craftyozgirl

Feels like forever since I have stamped but I have had several requests from customers for another stamp-a-stack so that's what I made today. I always secretly hope the class has a spot or two empty so that I can make a set for myself......

Tonight.......

2010-06-08T20:28:00.002-05:00

Time: 8pm
She says: mum I need pj's for pajama day at camp tomorrow
Me: (bewildered) don't you have pj's????
She says: we are not allowed to wear short ones or nighties so I only have winter ones and they're too hot
Me: (wondering what this was leading to...) okay... can you borrow some of your sister's?
She says: uh - NO! they're all too big plus I don't like them
Me: okay...so what are you going to do?
She says: It's okay mum - you can make me some - I'll help you find the fabric
(Translation: I want to look cool in front of my new camp friends tomorrow and I know exactly what I want to be wearing and you are here to fix that for me)

Time: 9:15pm
Me: Is this what you wanted

She says: oh thank you mum! I love you.
Me: (I think somewhere I missed the lesson where they explained to you how to avoid being wrapped around your child's ever so cute little finger...)

At the beach.......

2010-06-01T18:28:00.005-05:00

We try every year - or at least every other year - to get to the beach.

The beach is one of the things I really do miss about living in Australia. We lived just an hour from the beaches in Sydney. My grandparents lived for many many years just 5 minutes from the beach. Our youth group went on many beach trips - both day trips and camping ones. The Australian beaches are clean bright yellow sand and blue, blue water. When I moved to Washington State we had to drive to San Francisco to see the kind of beaches I was used to. Then we moved to Knoxville........ thankfully a friend at work told us if we wanted beaches we had to go to Grayton Beach outside of Destin. We did - and have gone there (or one of the beaches close by) ever since.
I LOVE the beach!

7 month's later......

2010-05-26T19:36:00.005-05:00

What can I say? Sometimes life takes over living and you just try and get through from one day to the next. So here I am again 7 months later and without even much to show for it! But if there is still anyone out there reading, I thought I'd give it another shot. And I even made something today to show you! The girls were up in their respective rooms engrossed in their respective books so I took the opportunity to sneak downstairs and finish a mini book I started on Saturday....

This will soon be posted as a class at the store. I played around with ideas for this little Maya Road album forever, changing paper lines and ideas for the album theme before I stumbled on this one but now I love the way it turned out. I won't bore you with all the pages (you can see them on my flickr account if you really want too...) but here is one

And see that Starbucks? That photo happens to have been taken by me in Paris - that's Paris France people!!! Love it!!! I can't wait till I can go back there. It was truly an awesome trip (so my sisters...when can we go again???) And I used my too cute typewriter for all the journaling. I am proud to say we are now a 3 typewriter family! We were shopping our favorite vintique store and came across a cute gray one in near pristine condition at a very reasonable price and so our youngest typist now has one of her very own. And I was one happy mum when I woke up several mornings this week (first week of summer vacation) to the sound of the clack clack clack of typewriter keys :o) So anyway....that's a quick peek at what I'm doing at the moment. I can't promise I'll be back every day but I will definitely try and do at least a few a week...... so if you're still out there, that's for hanfging in there with me!

OMG!!!!!!

2009-10-21T13:06:00.003-05:00

I WON, I WON!!!! I can't believe I actually won something! I entered a giveaway at reprodepot for their fabulous new books and stationary and I actually won!!! I can't wait to get the disks and start printing some fun new projects. To see the fabulousness that will soon be headed my way look here. Thank you ReproDepot!!!

I will be back very soon with this months diva posts :o)

Still here.....

2009-09-23T20:51:00.004-05:00

Yes I'm still here and still trying to catch up with my life! School is back in full swing as are all the extra curricular activities and birthdays and store events..... it's just crazy! I have been doing some creating - you can see the monthly challenge group stuff over at the diva blog and some cards I've made over at the Store.
Speaking of birthday's we have had 2 in the family this month (3 if you count my dad's - miss you dad!) My older DD requested an iceskating party for her birthday so here was the invite

And here is the party in full swing.

She is also the one with the pig addiction so while in Seattle this summer I made sure to take lots of photos of Rachel - the Pike St Market mascot. So for her birthday I made her a mini book to remember our trip

It sits on her bedside table for a nightly viewing before bed :o)
My niece turned 1 this week and for her birthday I made her a rag doll which was SO much fun and I already have requests for several more. It hasn't made it through the mail across the ocean to her yet so I am crossing my fingers hoping when she gets it she loves it as much as I do

You can see behind her a matching quilt still in progress. I hope to have that completed before Christmas - or sooner even!
My older DD auditioned for and was accepted into the Tennessee Children's Dance Ensemble so that now takes up a lot of our free time but it is a dream come true for her. It's still an adjustment for me.....

My younger DD's birthday is coming up next month so I need to begin planning for that.... and then before you know it, it will be Christmas! Ugh! Hopefully I'll be back here before then :o) Thanks for checking in on me!

What happened to summer?

2009-06-23T21:30:00.004-05:00

I know, I know - it's been much longer than a week since I updated. Summer used to be endless hours at the pool or at home just hanging out and relaxing - this summer though it seems I'm never home! Feels like I spend all day dropping off and picking up the kids from one activity or another. I guess it's just the age they are at - they seem to be enjoying it though. My mum is here for a visit and I don't think she's enjoying it quite so much. It's been a few years since she's had this much activity in her house.
I have managed to get a few things done. Made some more present pillows for a birthday party for twins (with my DH as the reluctant prop guy)

and also another bag made to order

I never would have chosen these fabrics to go together but it came together surprisingly well - a little brighter than I would have picked, but she loved it and that's what counts.

For Father's Day we went up the mountains to our favorite picnic spot. I love how every time we go there is something new to discover and this time was no different.

In all the years we have been going there I can't ever remember seeing so many mushrooms!!

They were in every color and shape and size and the more you look the more you found

So my oldest DD and I went on a mushroom hunt - hoping to catch a glimpse of a fairy or two along the way. We never did see a fairy but I'm sure they were just to fast for us :o)

Away

2009-05-30T20:53:00.003-05:00

My older DD is right this minute in DC with 1200 other East TN 5th graders on the Safety Patrol trip. She's having a blast! Me? My heart hurts.... but I'm glad she's having a great time and I am EXTREMELY grateful to Don Lindsey of AAA who has been twittering the whole trip which makes me worry a little less - just a little.....
On the flip side with older DD in DC and younger at a sleepover DH and I actually had a night alone together!!!! First night in literally years! And I am proud to say we actually took advantage of it and went to dinner and then went and saw Star Trek. If you are a trekkie in the least way you will LOVE this movie. All the old lines you know and love come up and it's so fun to see the younger versions of all the old characters. Highly recommended!
The girls got new shoes this week

and they pretty much haven't taken them off since - but really who would blame them! They are just too cute!!
Me? I whipped up another of these bags per request - she picked the fabrics - I just put it together.

I think turned out pretty cute. (Carla - it's at the store waiting for you.......)
And tonight? Another bag in progress - same story - she picked the fabrics, I just sew it together.

Phew!

2009-05-23T20:14:00.006-05:00

Wow that last week or two of school really wiped me out! It was crazy busy with work thrown in there too but the good news is I made a lot of gifts this week so I have lots to show you.
Firstly the pencil roll I was telling you about returned from the abyss (at least momentarily) so here's a photo of it

And you know it really works! Seems it's much more fun to put your pencils away when they have a special color co-ordinated home to go to.

Then I made a bunch of cards and such for the teachers - this one for our only male teacher and it included a resturant gift card

then 6 of each of these as gifts

and then another thank you with a gift card

and finally a clipboard (for the teacher who complained her's always went missing) with matching card

Then my oldest DD had not one but TWO birthday parties this week as well!!!! She is at the age where gift cards are the most wanted gifts but I hate to just give a gift card - luckily I stumbled upon Leslie's package pillows and I am in love with them!

So you know what all her friends will be getting from now on....

Then there were belated thank you gifts for the girl scout leaders. A tote bag (that had been requested)

(LOVE that fabric - and there is still enough left for some more projects.....)
and a note card wrap (can you tell she's an owl lover??)

I got the idea from soulemama's Gratitude Wrap but I didn't like the way she did the pockets and it seemed more complicated than it needed to be so I made my own version which is much simpler and works just fine. These would be great to have on hand for last minute gifts.... but then again last minute is all I ever do!

Then last but not least was out diva group challenge for the month. We met at the store this month so we could do a little shopping too :o) I have to say that I think out of all the pieces that I have made for the challenges, this is the one I am most pleased with

I have it proudly hanging above my piano now which is by the door to the garage so every time I walk into the house I see it and smile :o) You can see all the other pieces and what we had to use over on the blog.
Now school's out for the summer so we'll see how much gets done with the kids around. Hope you are enjoying your Memorial weekend!

Stamping - believe it or not!

2009-05-08T20:17:00.006-05:00

Believe it or not this used to be mainly a blog to show off my latest hand stamped cards - haven't seen those in a while have you??? I have been busy doing so many of my sewing projects lately that my stamping has been left behind and my basket that was once FULL of cards ready to be signed and mailed is now down to the last sorry few. May seems to have a lot of birthday's in it for us as well as Mother's Day so I finally had no choice this weekend but to do some stamping. Here are a few that I came up with

The two butterfly ones I was playing with the chalks on versamark - haven't played with chalks in a while.

What's even better is that I took these in to work and copied them using the store's papers to make up a stamp a stack class for June. So if your stash is running low like mine was you can come in and in no time have 36 of these cards made with all the cutting done for you! Gotta love that!
This weekend my oldest DD has her yearly dance performance at the theater - 3 nights, 5 shows! All the driving back and forth to practices and rehearsals kills me every year but she loves it. I watch 3 out of the 5 shows and hold my breath every time through her dance till she makes it through. It amazes me how well it all comes together in such a short amount of time. I'm so proud of her - I don't think it's something I could ever do!

Don't forget Mother's Day this weekend - have you told your mum how great she is? After all you wouldn't be here if it wasn't for her!

From one mum to another - have a wonderful Mother's Day!

The end of another month

2009-04-30T21:13:00.003-05:00

I just can't believe how fast time is flying by!!! Seems like I don't have much time for anything anymore and before you know it the kids will be out of school for the summer. I have been making things just haven't had the time to write about it as often and if there is anyone out there still checking in on me and my little blog I apologize for the huge time lapses between posts. I did make a second pillow for the charity art auction which is this Saturday

Sadly the fabric was still sitting on my table from the last one....I won't tell you how long it had been sitting there!
We had our next diva meeting too.
My piece was made for my youngest DD who is mad about mice and can't understand why I don't want her to have a pet mouse in a 2 cat household....... but that's another story! I made 50 thank you cards for the PTA president to give out to all the lovely ladies that dedicate so much time and effort to the school - of course no photo of them. I also made my DD the cutest pencil roll to store her watercolor pencils in. If it ever resurfaces from the black hole that is her room I will be sure to take a shot of it and share. I should have taken one straight away but I wasn't expecting to disappear so fast!
Next project? Hmmmm....... I uncovered the girls school scrapbooks and found them to be YEARS behind so I swore I would catch them up before this year of school got out. I have been dreaming of a new bag for me. End of year gifts for the teachers and girl scout leaders (one of the teachers has asked for clipboards so I might decorate some for her) Still have plans for a quilt for my niece. New placemats for the summer. Some skirts for me. Some new pillows.......... the problem is never what to do but what to do FIRST! For now however it's bedtime. I promise to try and post once a week from now on and hope that you will come back and say hi. Happy May!

New (old) Toys

2009-04-08T17:32:00.006-05:00

I have looked at typewriters and secretly coveted one for a long time - though I really had no specific use for one - I just wanted it. Then the other day while wandering through my favorite vintage store "Nostalgia" I came across this one and knew it had to come home with me!

I think it was the color that got to me. I thought that we girls could all use it but my oldest DD immediately decided that this was NOT something to be shared - she HAD to have one of her own. Luckily I had happened to notice another one at the store (only $25!!!) and so we quickly returned to get her one of her very own.I have since received many sweet notes painstakingly typed and you can hear the "tap tap" of the keys at all hours of the morning and night. Who knew such a simple object could bring such happiness?? She has even started typing her homework! Got to love it.

Last weekend I took some down time and made another bag - this time specifically ordered by a friend.

She picked out the fabrics so all I had to do was put it together and it came together quite nicely :o) You can't really see in this photo but the top side of the straps are the black fabric. Good job Sherrie!
At the moment I am trying to whip together some little things for my DD's for Easter. I'll show you if they get done!
Happy Easter!

Quilt for Gracie

2009-03-29T20:44:00.004-05:00

The baby shower for Sara was this afternoon so now it's safe to show you the quilt I made for baby Gracie

It all started with that bird fabric (surprised aren't' you.......). I just loved it and knew I had to make the quilt with it. The brown polka dot fabric I bought, but the rest of the fabrics came out of my stash (and the other fabrics I had bought to use......well they are now IN my stash!) This quilt had a few "firsts" for me - it was the first time I used different fabrics in the binding. Silly little thing I know, but I like the way it turned out. They landed a little more symmetrically than I had planned but still good.
It was also the first time I pieced a quilt on the back

This was mainly because I REALLY wanted to use the polka dot fabric on the back and there just wasn't enough so I had to add a strip of something else to make it long enough. And yes you might recognize the brown fabric on the binding in the pillow from the precious post - it was lying on my table still and worked it's way into a second project. Funny how that happens.
If you are interested in the Pay it Forward still let me know - i would love to send you something :o)

Lots to tell

2009-03-26T08:06:00.004-05:00

We are back from our whirlwind trip to DC and NY and we had a blast! Now we are down to only 9 weeks left of school - I can't believe it's gone this fast. And I know it will be a downhill run - it always is at the end.
Our diva challenge meeting was yesterday. We had to use and Altoids tin and a mirror and here is what I came up with

It's perfect for next to my chair to hold some lip balm or sewing supplies. You can see the rest of the diva's creations on the blog

Speaking of sewing I made this pillow for an art benefit for the Wellness center yesterday.

I wasn't sure if it would qualify as art or not but they loved it so I will make another one this weekend..... and then a few for myself :o)

Apryl had another pay-it-forward on her blog and I signed up - because who doesn't like to receive treats in the mail? So if you would like to receive something from me leave me a comment and I will pick 3 people on Sunday. The only obligation is that you pay-it-forward to 3 more people in the next year. So share some happy mail and sign up!

Happy Spring!

2009-03-07T07:47:00.005-05:00

I love this time of year when it's still cold enough to be warm and cozy in bed at night but during the day the signs of spring are showing - sunny, warmer days, flowers peeking out from the ground, fresh bursts of growth on the trees. Just in time to watch the new season unfurl I thrifted this lovely chair and it has given me a new happy corner in my house.

Now all it's needs is a comfy pillow - I think I have some fabric somewhere that I could use.....

I got some more of the FQ swaps in the mail this week. It's so much more fun to go to the mailbox when you know there are packages headed your way. Thanks Maggie, Melissa, Laura and Donna!

And on a crafty note I made this art journal the other day - it's still a work in progress but I like it so far.

It's just random papers sewn together and bits and pieces of fabric, buttons and ribbons added here or there. I have decided to make it a book about my dad - it's been 5 years this week since he passed away and I think I am ready now to be able to make a reminder of him. I will show you when I have finished it.

We leave next week for a spring break trip to Washington D.C. and New York with the highlight of the trip (from the girls point of view) being a trip to, and lunch at the American Girl store.

Enjoy your spring days!

Happy Mail

2009-02-24T23:13:00.003-05:00

I received lots of happy mail this week. My birds arrived and what pretty birds they are!

I LOVE the pottery bird - probably because that's something I can't do. The white dove on the red fabric I am going to save for my Christmas tree. I was so excited to receive the brown one in the lower right hand corner - it's from Patchwork Pottery whose blog and flickr account I have stalked for some time so I felt like I got a celebrity bird :o) They are all wonderful though!
Then I told you I was in another swap - it's a fat quarter swap through one of my favorite online stores Sew Mama Sew and the first of those came in

It's so fun to see what different people have chosen - and look at the bonus goodies too! I still have another 5 FQ's on their way.
And for all my crafty friends out there (and those of you who think you aren't) I found this wonderful video that I just have to share - I've watched it 5 or 6 times now and had my kids watch it too - it's great! I hope it inspires you all.

Owl swap

2009-02-20T14:15:00.004-05:00

I participated in an owl swap recently which was just a one on one swap and so much less stressful than all those birds (which still haven't arrived back to me). I got a lovely partner Ali and this is the owl she got in the mail

I was VERY fond of him (I named him Edwin who happened to be a high school crush and turned out to be her son's middle name) and I have to make one for me now because he is happily adjusted to his new home.

Then I received her bundle of goodies in the mail this week

Too too cute!!!! Her owl is a little needlebook, love the fabric, trim and buttons. Check out those little owl stickers!! And then of course my favorite chocolate - Green and Blacks - except I have not seen butterscotch in the stores here so that was fun to have a new flavor to try (you can't tell from the photo that I had already opened it and eaten some can you......???)
My kids are participating in a kids atc swap which has been a lot of fun for them - they have each received their first one in the mail. I think half the fun is just receiving mail from around the country and world. And I won't tell you that I just signed up for yet another swap - you'll just think I'm crazy!

Happy Valentines Day!

2009-02-13T21:46:00.004-05:00

Hope everyone shares some love tomorrow on Valentines Day! (preferably in the form of chocolate and preferably in my direction......) Here are our creations for the big day. My youngest DD always has very specific ideas leaving me very little creative space - a mouse stamp on a red folded card with a heart lollipop..... well okay - so this is what I made

Thankfully it passed inspection. My older DD wasn't really sure that she wanted to participate this year until I found this idea

The icandy ipods were a hit! She personalized some of the playlists for her friends that have a favorite thing that they are into.

For the girls teachers I had each child in the class make a valentine on a precut heart and turned them into a book for them.

Something they can look back on in years to come hopefully with fond memories. I was pleasantly surprised on the nice comments the kids made mostly unprompted.

The other thing I squeezed in this week was a birthday gift for Jenn at the store

I was kind of hoping that maybe she wouldn't love it because I was feeling like maybe I needed a new bag - but she did and it has been attached to her shoulder every since. Maybe I should just start making 2 of everything I make just in case I have a had time parting with it.....

Love to you all! Happy Valentines Day!!

And the winner is.......

2009-01-23T19:48:00.005-05:00

Thank you all for stopping by and for the compliments on my little bird :o) It looks like there were lots of great handmade gifts given and received this Christmas. I put everyone's name in my "little brown bag" and had my oldest DD draw a name....

and the winner was

feisty

(please ignore the spelling error ......)

Congratulations! This little bird will be flying off to it's new home very soon. Thanks again to everyone who stopped by. You can see the rest of my birds and lots of other from the bird exchange on flickr

Bird giveaway

2009-01-20T06:00:00.003-05:00

It's giveaway day!!! Today I will be giving away this little bird - one from the collection I am making for the bird exchange

The top is linen and his little tummy is made from a beautiful asian print decorator fabric.

All you need to do to be entered is to leave a comment telling us what your favorite handmade gift was that you gave or received this Christmas. I will draw a name tomorrow morning from all the people that enter today. Don't forget to check out the list of other birds being given away. Happy bird hunting!

Snow!

2009-01-19T22:38:00.003-05:00

Today the girls were out of school today for MLK day and we got to do this

There was enough for snowballs now and then but not enough for a snowman. It was still pretty to watch though and it was enough for schools to be closed again tomorrow - yippee!

We bought the Wii Fit this weekend and I am ever so slightly addicted.... How can I tell I'm addicted you ask? Maybe by the pain in my thighs....... I am competing against my 10yr old and only just beating her - it won't take long and I am sure she will surpass me at all the games but for now she is ever so slightly behind me - well on most of them anyway.

Don't forget to come back tomorrow for the bird giveaway!

Birds and more birds....

2009-01-14T19:36:00.003-05:00

So apparently I am not the only one on this bird kick at the moment - either that or SU designed 2 stamp sets and some pretty designer paper and chipboard just for me in the new Spring/Summer IB&C :o)
But have to say I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! I got the new catalogs last night and have worn out the pages already! (well just my copy - not all of them...)

I am continuing on my crafty kick and have made 11 more birds (most for the bird exchange) like this one but in several different colors

I was fortunate to recieve some decorator sample books from my fellow diva Cheri which I have been using to make the bird's "tummys".
I also made two of these "kidlets"

for the girls to hang on the back of their doors and store their hairbrushes, lip balms, deodorants and other morning necessities to hopefully reduce the number of "I can't find my...." that we seem to get every morning when we are trying to get ready for school. So far it's worked wonderfully! They are actually bigger than they need to be for this purpose but I quite like the size and am thinking of making a few for me :o) They would be good to stash your car keys, cell phone and sunglasses too. I got the pattern here if you want to make your own (or if you ask me nice I might make one for you.......)
Unfortunately the next few days I have work, classes and various other activities so my sewing time will be limited but it has been fun - especially with this cold weather! Stay warm everyone!

A new year

2009-01-09T13:27:00.004-05:00

Yes I know it's been a while - I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays! I spent much of December busy in the craft room sewing and scrapping gifts for all my favorite people. You can see some of my sewing projects on my flickr account. Over the holidays I took a break from just about everything (the computer, crafting, cleaning....)and it was nice. Now that school is back in session I am easing back into life again. I made some decisions over the holidays of things I want to do and want NOT to do for the new year
To do:
1. craft more - it makes me happy :o)
2. reduce, reuse, recycle more - I already do it some but I should do a better job of it.
3. use what I have first (see #2)
4. take time to stop and enjoy the little things - time passes oh so quickly!
5. say "no" more - I am very quick to say yes to anything and everything people ask me to do and then end up wishing I had not committed to so many things.
6. let other people do things too
NOT to do:
1. over commit myself trying to make everyone happy
2. wait until December to start on Christmas projects!!!!
3. obsess over things that I have no control over.
4. expect other people to change
5. try to do EVERYTHING!

So far this week I have spent 2 days at home just crafting and I am a much better person for it! One of the things I got hooked on over the holidays was making little bird ornaments - this one is my favorite so far

Most of them ended up finding new homes so I wanted to make some more for me. Well today I stumbled upon a bird exchange - perfect timing to get me motivated! Details are here if you are interested but more importantly part of the exchange is to give away a bird on January 20th - so make sure you check back here then to register for your chance to win one of these birds :o)

Another challenge piece

2008-11-19T19:08:00.004-05:00

I think this has to be one of my favorite challenge pieces from the group yet. I thought it would be hard since we were just given the one piece to use but I love the way it turned out!

It was my older DD that insisted the piece needed a mushroom and I found one just the right size :o) It has the colors of my bedroom so I think I am going to hang it next to my bed. Coincidentally today was also the day that our little group was featured in the local newspaper! How fun is that?!? You can read it here if you are interested.

The weather here has turned cold and as I usually do when it is cold, I have turned back to my sewing projects. One of my favorite websites Sew Mama Sew has a daily count down to Christmas gift guide on thier blog and there has been lots of fun projects to try - of course it's not like I am really in need of new projects - I still have about 5 or 6 sitting here with all the fabric waiting to be started..... some supposedly are to be finished in time for Christmas......... better get back to my sewing machine!

A day at home....

2008-11-12T11:42:00.003-05:00

It's been so long since I have had a day at home alone with nothing that "HAS" to be done - well you know there is always housework.... but that's definitely not on my list of have to's today! I need these days of quiet to re-energize now and then. It's the perfect day for it too - cold and wet outside, the leaves falling off the trees with astounding color. Inside I have butternut squash roasting in the oven in preparation for making my favorite soup - no one else in my house will make it but I decided I didn't care - I'm making it anyway! The cats are curled up asleep on the chairs, the coffee is brewing, music is playing and I'm crafting - I'll show you what when it's done. Love these days and the are so rare lately I treasure them even more.

One thing I have been meaning to tell you all is that my baby sister has an etsy store now too so go check her out and show her some love. I am the proud owner of several of her creations :o)

Wishing you all a day of peace and happiness!

More baby goodness

2008-11-04T17:05:00.003-05:00

The challange pieces we recived last month for the group just looked like a scrapbook page to me and luckily I had the perfect little photo for it

LOVE it!!!! And wouldn't you know that this month was the month that a reporter for the local paper came to interview us so this little face will be featured in our local paper. We will have to collect and save many copies :o)

Hope you all had a great Halloween - here are my 2 DD

The oldest was NOT a witch - she was "Countess Vanessa" (don't ask me where that came from....) and the younger was "Holly the Ice Dragon Princess" (again - no idea where that came from - she is reading the fairy series of books by Daisy Meadows and I'm guessing that's where the idea came from)

Happy Birthday baby girl!

2008-10-30T06:46:00.006-05:00

My youngest turns 8 today!! I know it's said over and over again "enjoy them while they are young because the time passes so quickly" but it is SO true! These 8 years have just flown by and with every minute of anger and frustration she has caused us have also come hours of joy. Happy birthday my little girl!

In our house once 2 birthday's have passed that means Christmas is just around the corner. I swore I would be ready for it this year and I really am going to try! I have a Christmas card stamp-a-stack this weekend at the store and these are the cards I made for it.

Of course I haven't made any for me..... But it has helped me start thinking about it anyway. I am also really trying to cut back this year and make more handmade gifts again. We really all have more than we need and I think it's much nicer to get something that you know someone has made just for you.

Getting back.....

2008-10-23T20:46:00.004-05:00

It's taken me a while but I am finally starting to feel like I am getting back on top of things. Going home was one of those bitter sweet things - LOVED being there but missed my kids and DH and now I am glad to be home but of course miss terribly being with my sisters. Everyone has been asking for photos of my new niece but truthfully I spent so much time doing this

that I hardly took any at all! I just don't think anything beats the feeling of that new tiny baby sleeping in your arms and since the next time I see her she'll probably be walking and have no idea who I am I wanted to make the most of it. Here is one good one that I got though

How I miss that sweet little face!

I did manage to sew a diaper bag with changing pad while I was there

and took advantage of the plummet of the AU$ against the US$ to do a little shopping. :o)

When I got back home fall was in the air - I love this time of year! We went to a local farm for the yearly hay ride, corn maze (we even made it through this year!) and of course picking of the pumpkins

We haven't carved them yet but I kind of like them sitting there all round and plump on the front porch. This weekend is the b'day party for my younger DD who has opted for a Build-a-bear party with everyone coming in their Halloween costumes. At least this one doesn't involve a lot of work from me. In contrast to my older DD she has decided to be a snow princess for Halloween so we'll have one dressed in black and one in white. This week was fall break for us and I was glad for the opportunity to sleep in to get my body readjusted to which side of the world it was on! Next week it's back to the madness again.

Updates....

2008-09-24T15:50:00.005-05:00

Lots of updates for you - first the party was a smashing success. Here is my witch in all her finery including the spider tattoo on her neck (minus her black hat which kept blowing off in the wind)

The book of spells was a big hit

as were the black velvet goodie bags

I bought the velvet and made the bags just tying them closed with black ribbon. The printed chocolates were from Target and I bought the lotions and soaps on etsy (of course!) And she is in the process as we speak of writing out her thank-you's

The next big update is that my DS had her baby on Monday - woohoo!! I am an auntie for the first time to little Charlotte Marjorie. I fly out to see them on Sunday and although the thought of leaving my kids for 2 weeks is about to make me sick I know once I get there I will thoroughly enjoy myself....... at least that's what I keep saying..... they will all be fine while I'm gone right..??? A HUGE thank you has to go out to all those people that are willing to take my kids after school for 2 weeks until my DH gets home every night! I am going to owe them big time!!!

Finally the diva blog has been updated again with this month's fab creations. Go check them out!

I will be posting pics of my beautiful little niece when I get there so check back next week. But for now I'm off to start packing!

A spooky birthday

2008-09-12T19:38:00.003-05:00

My oldest DD decided that she wanted to have a costume party this year - Halloween-ish style but mostly witches and black cats and such. I have alternated between being excited by the possibilities and depressed by the choices. We don't really want any heavy magic, death and doom and such but it's hard to find "nice" versions of all that's creepy. The invitations I was pleased with

I used some of the Rusty Pickle Addams Family Halloween paper from last year and some little acrylic stamps I got at Jo-ann's in the $1 section. I found this fun spell book - my DD was doing every one of them this afternoon and I am sure it will get lots of giggles from the whole group. I think I am going to print them all a copy to take home. The potion book on there was fun too but everything involved "boil for 20 min" but I am still trying to think of a way we could do it - substituting some of the ingredients of course :o) I will have to go and check out Martha for some more ideas.
Enjoy the weekend!

Another quilt

2008-09-09T19:52:00.006-05:00

True to form - me who can never say "no" to anyone - agreed to make a quilt for my friend to give to her daughter as a going away to college gift. It seemed like a great idea at the time and I had months to work on it........ needless to say a million things came up during those months (namely life!) and I was pushing it to the very last minute to get it done. You think one day I would learn! Anyway I finished it today (she leaves for college Thursday) and I am pretty pleased with the end result. I hope she and her mom like it too.

Her mom embroidered her name and various words in the framed rectangle

and in that framed piece you can see the pink lace and the blue lace fabrics which are actually pieces from her baby dresses that I cut up to use

So she has a little piece of home to take with her on the next phase of her life.

A day at home

2008-08-20T15:28:00.003-05:00

Man it has been a looooong time (or so it feels like) since I have had a day at home! The last 2 weeks have been spent taking inventory and moving the store but now that is done and the store has reopened in it's new bigger and better spot (just 2 doors down from the old place) and it's GORGEOUS! You can see updates on their blog and more photos here. There is too much cool paper and stamps and ribbon - oh the ribbon! If you live locally you'll just have to come see for yourself. I will be teaching a stamp-a-stack class on Sept 13th if anyone is interested. You can find details of that on their website too and just call the store if you are interested in taking it.

So anyway, the move is finished and the kids are back in school - so maybe, just maybe, I can start to have a "normal" life again? Maybe? Well anyway, today rather than do something like - oh, I don't know... clean this pit of a house.... I decided my time would be much better spent stamping :o) After all I have a brand new catty and brand new cardstock colors and brand new punches and stamps just sitting there SCREAMING my name. So without further ado - I present to you my very first Fall/Winter IB&C card

What do you think? Nothing fancy I know but I'm a simple kind of girl. The colours are Kiwi Kiss, Baja Breeze and Tangerine Tango with the new scalloped edge punch and the Fall Flair hostess set. Can I just tell you that I am in love with that little dandelion puff stamp! I used inside the card too and on the back for my signature. I have always liked these botanical type sets.

I hope you are all finding your school routines again and hopefully I'll be back here again soon!

A new bag

2008-08-03T16:07:00.004-05:00

It seems I am forever in search of the perfect bag. I'll find/make one I love.....for a few weeks/months and then sooner or later I get tired of it because it is too big/small, shoulder straps are too long/short, not enough pockets, wrong color....... you get the picture. Well it's happened again so I decided to make a new one this time using a Melly and me pattern I recently bought along with some fabric Monique and I bought on etsy which is where I have a lot of happy fabric purchases. Here is the end result

The funny thing is that I bought 2 patterns and I was originally planning on making this one but after spending a few hours with fabric strewn everywhere I just couldn't come up with a color combo I liked. I decided to give up and go feed the family dinner and while eating it hit me which fabric and pattern I should use. I still want to try the other one but I will have to play with my fabric some more. Little things I love about this bag are the pockets

they were taken off some pants that I was done with and the button is the new red riding hood button from SU :o) I also love the little tabs that gather in the sides

it gives the bag just that extra little bit of character. I think I want to try it in black next ........

Baby Talk

2008-07-29T14:15:00.004-05:00

My DS is pregnant with her first baby (due in Sept) so a lot of the talk amongst my mother and sisters is of the baby, preparations for the baby, things we have bought or made the baby. My sister has not yet (and may not until the big day) found out the sex of the baby which is driving the rest of us batty! There is SO MUCH cute boy and girl stuff - I just want to know which one I can buy!!! (Tash are you reading this...???) Anyway...... I did make the baby shower invitations - since I don't get to be at the shower at least I can participate in little ways. I made these 2 for her to choose from

and wouldn't you know it she liked them both! So my BIL got the final vote and the giraffe is the invitation and the elephant the thank-you's. I will be going to see the baby (my first niece or nephew) in Oct and am really looking forward to finally being able to enjoy a baby and then give it back to it's mom :o) For the last 10 yrs it's been the other way around.

Redecorating

2008-07-24T14:55:00.004-05:00

That's what we've been doing the past weeks. Sadly both my girls have the same rooms they had when we moved in 8 yrs ago - and one of them wasn't even born yet!!! So they choose new color schemes and my DS and I have been working on it ever since. It took a little longer than normal because we decided to scrape that stupid popcorn stuff of the ceilings while we were at it - I HATE that stuff! And I also steam cleaned the carpets while I was at it - must say it was about time that was done too though I would love just to replace all the carpets with hardwood floors.

I have to say the I am totally in love with how my younger DD's room turned out

It is sooooo pretty in pale pink and light green in the closet. We don't have doors on their closets so they have curtains which they love. See the cute little bird picture??? That's the one I made for the Diva challenge a few months back

and the parasol hanging up is from my sister's wedding last year. I hope she likes it for a few years still.
My older DD wants a more grown up room. We painted hers light green and the inside of her closet blue.

We found fabric to make the curtains but are still working on other decorations and a new quilt. It might be a while still........
Since we were in the curtain making mood my DS made some new ones for my kitchen too with fabrics I had in my stash :o)

They match all my little Dutch things I have scattered around my kitchen perfectly.

And at Target yesterday I just couldn't resist this cute guy for my deck.

It's amazing how just a few little things can really brighten up the place :o)

Goodbye old friend

2008-07-11T21:12:00.004-05:00

Yesterday we came home after a rain storm to find this

Yes I know it's a Bradford Pear tree and that's what Bradford pear's do - but not MY Bradford pear!!! We were all in shock and then close to tears. Thankfully it didn't land on our house or the neighbors!

We are all going to miss this tree. To my girls it was their favorite climbing tree. The branches were low enough and sturdy enough to let them climb quite high. The cat liked climbing in it too. I loved this tree too for some many reasons - it was a great shade tree, it had 2 bird feeders that were always in use by all kinds of furred and feathered friends (perhaps why the cat liked climbing in it so often...), it was the tree that held on to the last the shades of fall and was first to tell us that spring was on the way. Just looking out the window and seeing it's branches gave me a peaceful feeling. Now every time I catch a glimpse of the gaping wound out the window I am still shocked. The light in the room already seems harsher and brighter. I know no tree is going to be able to replace this one. Goodbye old friend - we'll miss you!

Fireworks and other happenings

2008-07-08T18:21:00.005-05:00

4th July is one of our favorite holidays around here - it's the one time of the year when we get together with our neighbors and just sit back and have fun. The kids are all running around together being kids, there are tasty summer dessert treats, neighbors getting to have whole conversations instead of the quick "hi" over the fence, and generally it embodies for me the tastes and sights of summer.

Hope yours was great too!

I received my place mat swap from Erika

aren't they bright happy colors? Perfect for my lovely new deck set!

One of the other swappers showed me that she had used the same fabric I did - and she even used ric rac on the edges too! It's funny how great minds think alike :o) I have had so much fun with these swaps. Through her blog I found a pretty jewelry giveaway - so hop over and you could win some new earrings!
I have been doing lots of sewing - working on yet another quilt. I don't have photos yet but I will post them when I do. Enjoy these summer days!

Summer days

2008-06-30T22:11:00.006-05:00

I love these days of summer with spontaneous adventures to the farmers markets or the ice cream store or whatever takes our fancy at the moment. A trip to the mountains is always spent scouring the streams for any kinds of creatures we can find.

My youngest sister has gone home but my other sister is staying with me until the end of July and we have had lots of fun buying fabrics and sewing together. I made this set of placemats, napkins and coasters for the BTRS swap I am in - I hope my swap partner likes them - I think they are cute and I need a set for myself!

I also made this set of coasters and am addicted to how cute they are too so will have to make some more I think.

My sweet sister made me the cutest new curtain for my sewing area.

It matches the new chair we got on our trip to IKEA (amongst other things...) perfectly :o) How could you not be happy to sit and sew here?

Hope you are all enjoying those summer days.

Back from the beach

2008-06-19T07:27:00.004-05:00

We had a WONDERFUL time at the beach with all of us. The weather was perfect and apart from the jellyfish on the last day (thank goodness for the pool) the swimming was great too. Here is a photo of all the girls :o)

This week has been a whirlwind of fitting in every last minute thing that Janine and Phil wanted to see and do before they leave tomorrow. Monique is staying through the end of July - yippee!!

I did manage to make one card for my swapping sister Sherri

The challenge was to make a card using designer paper. I love this Cutie Pie paper so that pretty much guarentees it will retire!

While at the beach I found out I had won some awesome blog candy from June which arrived On Tuesday - thank you June!!!
This weekend Monique and I are taking a trip to IKEA (and other fun spots in Atlanta) and then hopefully next week I'll be able to get back to a bit of normal routine and get some crafting done. Have a great weekend!

Family time

2008-06-07T06:16:00.004-05:00

My sister's and Phil (poor Phil gets left out a lot of those generalities) are here - YEAH!!! We've been having a blast showing them the sights and just hanging out together. My girls love all the extra attention

This is my youngest DD with my sister Monique at the girls scout day camp yesterday. Too fun!

I did a little more cleaning up of my desk and made some more cards from scraps from the lunch tin I decorated here

and I gave these cards (there were 4 of them) along with a Starbucks gift card as a thank you to the camp counselors (am I allowed multiple entries June ?)

Tomorrow we are off bright and early to the beach for a week so I am pretty sure you won't hear from me until we get back. Have a great week everyone!

Can you tell..

2008-06-04T10:30:00.004-05:00

Can you tell that I have worked 4 out of the last 5 days? I certainly can - I was on "survival mode" and just did what was necessary to get through the day - no crafting what so ever (and yes I do work at a scrapbook store and no I STILL didn't get any crafting done!).

My sisters arrive tomorrow - WOOHOO! So now I have to quickly clean up the house to make space for them. I did get some cards made with the new Fresh Cut's sneak peak set though

I don't think the scan was very good because it's a very white card. It reminds me a bit of the Botanicals set - long retired - that I miss.

My girls are in camps this week and so now I need to make a few cards to give as gifts to the counselors. Never a dull moment around here!

Hope you are all enjoying your summer.

When life hands you scraps......

2008-05-29T20:15:00.004-05:00

.....make cards! I was cleaning up my scrap room after the chaos that was left behind after all the frantic end of year gift making and had collected the paper scraps left from the clipboards and cards I made for the teachers. Usually when I have smaller left over pieces of patterned paper that is not SU I never quite know what to do with it and usually end up putting it in my DD's stash for their creative use (what do you do with yours?). But I really liked this paper and decided that I would make some cards with the scraps - not cutting any new pieces - just using up what was there. I ended up making about 9 cards! Here are 4 of them

They are very simple - just DP, ribbon and rub-ons - not even any stamping! I had some cranberry crisp and vintage violet cardstock and ribbon left still and they matched the colors in the paper perfectly (I think it's Chatterbox DP). I can even bundle these up and have on hand for the next gift giving occasion. Maybe then I won't be in such a frenzy..... maybe.......

Oh and just coincidentally June has a blog candy challenge on her blog for just this occasion! Feel free to go ahead and look over on her blog but I am sure I will win :o)

Welcome Summer!

2008-05-27T08:30:00.005-05:00

WOOHOO! Summer is here and we had a great start. I escaped for a few blissful hours on Saturday with my friend Dana to wander the garage sales and Farmers Market and we had a blast. You can see more of our adventure on her blog - thanks for a great time Dana! After we got back home I headed back out with the family and we bought a new set for our deck at World Market (love that store!) and it has become my favorite little corner of the world

We have eaten every meal out there since. Next to it on the deck is my insta-pasta pot which is thriving beautifully

no doubt it is the love and tender care of my little garden gnome you can just see in the bottom left corner. The basil looks ready to make the first batch of fresh pesto - yum! And soon we will be eating tomatoes straight from the vine.

I love summer!

Last.......

2008-05-22T06:45:00.005-05:00

.........day of school

.........minute gifts

What I love about having a bit of a stash (okay maybe a big stash) of crafting supplies is that when I need to make some gifts at 11pm at night the day before I need them, I have everything I need :o) So that obviously justifies my shopping.... right??? Well anyway it's been crazy busy and so I haven't had time up until now (last minute) to make some final little gifts for the teachers so that's what I did last night. I made matching clipboard and card sets for the girls teacher's

and a card tin with just a few cards for the librarian (who already has quite a few of my cards in her stash..) so she can remember where she put the last pile of cards I gave her :o)

And everything came out of my stash! Of course that just means I need to go and replenish my supplies now.....

My older DD also had a birthday party to go to for a friend that is as much of a cat fanatic as my DD is a pig fanatic. So we went and got a few cat supplies (something I don't have in my stash) to give her a stash of her own.

So now is the final hours before summer break officially begins. My sisters land in LA this weekend and begin their trip across the country and will be here in 2 weeks (I hope)

Enjoy your long weekend!

Are we there yet??

2008-05-19T20:23:00.007-05:00

Just a few more days and the school year is officially over - I can't wait!!! I dream of just one day that we don't have to stick to a time table. Of course by the end of summer you know I won't be able to wait till the kids go back to school but right now I am looking forward to the break. I worked last Thurs - Sat and was at school all day today so haven't gotten much crafting done but I did make 2 of these cards to put the soccer coaches gift certificates in

Red and black is our favorite of the 2 uniforms the girls wear (the other is the yellow) so I just made it match the uniform and used a retired SU set.

I also received yet another RAK

This one is from Nancy and I had to keep it from my youngest DD at least long enough to scan it. Now she has it in her possession and she is busy thinking of creative ways to recycle the cat image. I was checking out Nancy's blog and she has a lot of good ideas for using patterned paper - great ideas! I plan on CASEing them for a card class I am teaching later this summer at the store - so thanks Nancy!
Lastly our diva group met last week and we received our plates back that we painted last month. I was so happy with how my plate turned out - the colors came out so bright and happy.

Right now it is sitting by my front door collecting my keys, sunglasses and spare change and it makes me smile every morning as I walk out the door :o)
And lastly my challenge piece

I knew even before I had left Cheri's house that it was going to be some sort of book - I wasn't quite sure how it was going to come together.... but I ended up modgepodging the napkin onto some chipboard and spraying some Glimmer Mist on it and then spraying some antiquing ink on just about everything else to give it that aged look. It was fun! I am enjoying making these pieces for no other reason other than just making it. You can see all the other pieces over on the blog

Okay that's it for now. I'll try to write again soon!

A bit of babbling.....

2008-05-12T20:36:00.005-05:00

We are done with the dance performances - hooray! They went really well but we are all glad it's over for another year. Here a a photo of my DD (in the blue dress) with one of her friends and their dance instructor after the final performance.

Once thing I LOVE about our dance school is that their costumes are never more than $20 - those dresses were their costumes and were $14. It makes it so much more about the dance than about the costumes and makeup and such. She was presented with her leotard this year - 36 consecutive months of dance - it's a big deal in their school. Her next goal is the 7 year silver dancer award pin.

Mother's Day was a lovely rest - not having to be anywhere at any certain time. We had some of the big storms pass through that were the edges of the tornadoes other people got but thankfully we didn't get any damage. Quite a few trees down around town though. Poked around our favorite 2nd hand book store and found some new treasures including a rare out of print book! Too fun!

My BTRS sewing swap partner received her bag and loved it - I'm so glad! I don't know if they partnered us together on purpose or not but she is from Australia so it was fun to catch up on a little of "home" while reading her blog.

And speaking of blogs a fellow Designing Diva started one of her own so go check her out - her paintings always blow me away!

Busy, busy, busy

2008-05-09T09:14:00.004-05:00

Phew - I feel like a gerbil in a running wheel desperately trying just not to fall flat on my face! This week we are consumed by my older DD dance performances - 2 nights of dress rehearsals and then 3 nights of performances. It's keeping me on my toes that's for sure. She loves it though and I tear up every time I see her on stage - I'm just so proud! Once we get through that she's done (until summer classes....) and we can breathe a little easier. Of course there's only 9 more days left of school - how crazy is that???? Where on earth has this year gone? I will be looking forward to our week on the beach - sitting, relaxing, not going anywhere if I don't want to........ of course the thought of wearing a swim suit makes me want to throw up but we won't dwell on that will we :o)

I was happily surprised by another RAK in my mailbox yesterday.

This one from Leanne who is another SCS blogger. Go check out her pretty Mother's Day cards. She has lots of really nice cards on her blog.

RAK'd

2008-05-04T20:27:00.003-05:00

I got a lovely surprise in my mailbox yesterday.

It's always so nice to get a card in the mail smiling at you out from the midst of bills and junk mail. This pretty card was from Lynn who (like me) is in the SCS Blogger's RAK club. I joined the club last year and for a while I was sending out RAKS right and left but unfortunately I haven't done a very good job lately. Anyway go check out Lynn's beautiful blog. She has lots of pretty cards on there. And thanks Lynn for reminding me that I need to go RAK someone :o)

Sewing Swap

2008-04-30T18:36:00.003-05:00

I participated in my very first sewing swap and I definitely think that unfortunately I got the better end of this deal. Here is the bag I received from Kristine.

Let me tell you it is AWESOME!!! I love her fabric choices and there are so many cool little details in this bag -tons of pockets inside so your stuff doesn't get lost, she put something in the bottom to keep it flat and did you notice she stitched the shape of the Opera House on the front???? How cool is that! Thanks so much Kristine!

This is the bag that is going out to my swap partner.

I was happy with it when I made it. I liked the contrast of the black stamped linen with the green cotton and the straps are a little longer which made it a good tote length. But it doesn't have half the extra details as the one I received. Oh well - I hope my swap partner likes it!

One down....

2008-04-27T19:16:00.005-05:00

Finished the first teacher appreciation book. Thankfully the second one is much less work.

This was a Rusty Pickle envelope album which has envelopes for the pages and then tags in each envelope. I had to "modify" the cover (ie chop part of it off) because it got a bit to fat to close the way it was designed to. I am going to get each child to write a thank you to their teacher on a tag.

I filled it with photos of the class and teacher quotes I had found.

I won't show you all the pages but hopefully you get the idea. I am quite pleased with the way it turned out.

I hope she likes it!

Obviously....

2008-04-24T12:52:00.004-05:00

I haven't been on the computer much because life has overtaken my...well...life! I can't even tell you I've been busy creating stuff because I haven't had the chance to do that either. I am currently working on 2 scrapbooks that need to be done for next Wednesday's teacher apprecation day so when they get done I'll show you that. I did have stamp a stack last week but didn't get the chance yet to scan in any of those cards to show you. One thing I CAN show you is our Designing diva challenge results. Here is what I made

to see what all the other ladies came up with click on the link

Hopefully once school gets out I'll be able to have some "me" time again because right now it's just plain crazy!!

Birthday goodness

2008-04-14T19:35:00.004-05:00

Last week was another busy week (as evidenced by my lack of any sort of attempt at blogging...) and it ended with my birthday for which I took the weekend off and did very little of anything (besides eating lots of yummy food with friends and family) and enjoyed it immensely! I got to talk to all 3 of my sisters in one day which is such a rare treat. My 2 younger sisters are coming to visit in just 6 weeks time and I absolutely can't wait!!! It's been too too long since they've been here.

Today at work I was treated again to this lovely selection of birthday goodies.

The Amy Butler bag is just the coolest thing on earth full of all kinds of nifty pockets to hold all the essential scrapping tools. I LOVE working at the store especially when it means I get birthday gifts like this :o) Thanks Jenn and Sara!! My friend Melissa also contributed to this lovely selection - she gave me a gift card to the store which I promptly spent on all that lovely SEI, Pink Paislee and Crate paper that I have been drooling over every day at work. LOVE IT!! So thanks ladies and thanks also to all my other friends who have sent me well wishes.

My bloggin buddy and fello Diva Jana's birthday is tomorrow so pop over there and give her some birthday love. Happy birthday Jana! Unfortunately your card is still sitting here on my desk and will be a little late.......

Check!

2008-04-06T21:09:00.004-05:00

Check, check, check went the items off my "to do" list this weekend. teehee - I am sitting here grinning right now looking at all the things I got crossed off. Yes there is still a lot left on the list and yes I did all the little things first but it just looks so good to have accomplished what I did :o)

And most importantly.... the taxes are DONE! filed, sent, over! And that will be another "check" that I will be looking forward to.

Also worked on a swap and got it ready to mail. Here is my reject card.....

I HAD to get this "Pick a Petal" set when it came out and sadly it has rested in it's box ever since. I just can't seem to work out what to do with it. I certainly don't love this card either.... if any of you have used this set with better results than me I'd love to see what you did - please post a link in the comments - otherwise I am afraid that I will have to part with this set as it does nothing but anchor the pile of sets stacked upon it......

Here is a card that I did like but didn't end up using

Sorry it's blurry - the scanner doesn't like the clear button I used. I really like the oval punch with the little flower on it - will have to try that again. You might not be able to see it but the flower is 3D - it's actually 2 diecut flowers with 2 of the petals folded back on each one to form the center petals in the flower and then the 2 flowers butted up against each other. Cool huh? I got the idea from Judy's blog who just happens to live in my neck of the woods :o)

Work tomorrow and then (I hate to say it and jinx myself) but I actually have the rest of the week somewhat to myself..... I won't get excited yet....... but keep your fingers crossed that I do!

Another sympathy card

2008-04-03T19:42:00.004-05:00

Thankfully this is not a sympathy card I am sending any time soon (I hope...) I thought I would pre-make some sympathy cards to have on hand for next time and just hope that I don't have to use them for a long long time. I CASED yet another card from an Easter swap I received from my fellow stamping Diva Sherri

I just love the way this card folds. You slide the ribbon to the left and then open the 2 flaps to reveal the message inside. The paper is lovely and muted - it's the one from the mini catalog (Tea Party I think it's called...)

Has anyone else procrastinated on their taxes like I have this year? I don't know what the deal is - the last time I had them done this late was the year we OWED money - you'd think the fact that we were getting money back would prompt me a little more?!?!? So I'll let you guess what I'll be doing this weekend :o(

April Fools

2008-04-01T20:34:00.004-05:00

Were you fooled today? My younger DD just about got my husband. She gave him a long and very detailed (and very believable) story about how the back door was accidentally left open and then dogs came in the house and went upstairs to the bedroom and started chewing on things and if I hadn't been there shaking my head and smiling I think he would have bought into it and started interrogations on to who it was that left the door open. As it was he looked unsure as to whether to believe her or me. Need to tell her to pick a story less likely to get her in to trouble next time.

I made this card for a swap earlier in the month and I think I will use it for stamp camp too - we don't make many men's cards and this turned out rather well I think.

I used the watercolor crayons to color the image and dragged the inkpads over the cardstock for the card base. It's very hard for me to make a card without using ribbon but the twill with a buckle and without a knot or bow makes it okay for a man's card I think...... that's my woman's opinion anyway :o)

Welcome to April!

Stamping again

2008-03-29T10:55:00.007-05:00

(Look look - 2 days in a row of blogging!)

On Wednesday one of my school library volunteer ladies tragically lost her husband during an operation on his heart. I was absolutely speechless when I found out! So I made a card to send along with the flowers we are sending on behalf of the library staff.

Sympathy cards are the ones you just hate to have to make and so I never seem to have them on hand. I guess I should make a few more so I have them when I need them.

On a brighter note my bogging friend and fellow Stamping Diva Sherri tagged me with this award

Sherri always makes beautiful cards and I am so happy to be the proud recipient of some of them. So go check out her work.

And now I get to nominate some people.

1. Melissa (I know - big surprise there...) but you know she is always just there for me and her scrapping work is awesome. You can check out a lot of her work on her blog and also on tallyscrapper
2. Cathy - she doesn't know I exist but I stalk her blog regularly because she is just SO funny! Oh and she does great scrapping work too.
3. Jana - another Stampin Diva whom I am sure you all already know and love for her stamping work
4. Kathy - who not only makes great cards but regularly features eye candy that is always yummy!
5. And last but not least Amy is another person that has no knowledge of my existence but she is a daily read of mine. Her blog features a little bit of everything - sewing, crafting, cooking and life with kids in general. I joined a swap based on her book which I am really looking forward to!

Okay so here's the tag rules

If you already have this award don’t worry about passing it on, just display it proudly:)
1) Write a post with links to 5 blogs you find of interest and that inspire you.
2) Acknowledge the post of the award giver.
3) Display the logo “You Make My Day”
4) Tell the award winners that they have won by commenting on their blogs with the news.

SERIOUSLY!!!

2008-03-28T07:52:00.004-05:00

I mean - what happened here? A few days ago it was the beginning of March and now look - here we are at the end..... what happened???? So sorry to anyone who is still dutifully checking my blog to see if I'm still alive - I am! And I'm sorry! Apparently with sick kids, being sick myself, working and spring break it was all I could do to live it and I was unable to write about it. But I'm back now and will try and do a better job of blogging.
Last month a group of us got together and formed a creative challenge group which has been a lot of fun. You can see the results of our first challenge here. We all have very different artistic talents and it was fun to see how they all came through in the challenge. I am really looking forward to seeing what everyone comes up with next month - you wouldn't even believe the challenge items if I told you!

Yesterday was the first day I had at home in a very long time and I was SO excited just to be home I decided it was a sewing day and I was very pleased with the outcome - 2 pairs of kids pj's and 3 American Girl doll outfits. Today I think I am switching to paper crafts - I have a swap that I am almost late for and of course another stamp camp coming up. I will hopefully have things to show you tomorrow. Here is an Easter swap that I made

Boy was it fun to get a box full of chocolates back :o)

Happy Spring!

Another stamp camp card

2008-03-07T14:15:00.004-05:00

The morning shift of stamp campers has come and gone and (I hope) enjoyed the projects. I always enjoy the fellowship time we have during stamp camps - a quick time to reconnect before we are all off once again to our busy lives!
Here is another simple card we made (simple is about all I can do at the moment....)

I used the Crystal Effects on the flower petals to add some dimension - you can see it better here

Now I am trying to get organized so I can be prepared for the next weeks worth of activities. Tomorrow night we are going to the circus which I heard is not all that impressive - but then again we are going because the kids enjoy it not because it's the best source of entertainment in town. They are really looking forward to it and excitedly remembering all their favorite acts from last year. On Sunday my older DD is trying out for the dance ensemble which would be a REALLY big deal if she got in. Not sure that she is going to but I think that just the process of auditioning for it will be a good experience for her. Next weekend the Women's Expo is in town and the store has a booth there so I will be busy helping out for that. Come see us if you are in the area!

Back again....

2008-03-06T15:43:00.003-05:00

Phew! Nothing like a week of being sick to really put you behind on everything! Now begins the great game of catch-up. First though was to quickly come up with some projects for tomorrow's stamp camp. Here is one of the cards we are making

I knew as soon as I saw this stamp set I HAD to have it - if only for this stamp. I also tried out the new scallop notes - cutting one in half for this card. I am a bit out of the stamping groove so this is probably more simple than most of you would make but it's a start. Now I have to go back to the preparations but I will post more again tomorrow.

Ugh!

2008-02-29T09:02:00.005-05:00

After battling against the crud since Sunday I finally had to admit defeat yesterday and spend the day mostly in bed in misery. The dr calls it "just" a virus which is the worse kind - basically "there's nothing we can do for you so suck it up and deal with it!" Around here people are out for a week with it - my younger DD had it last week and I am afraid my older DD is showing the early signs. Really takes the fun out of life! I guess it's part of that "be careful what you wish for" because I was whining about being so busy and not having any time at home - but really this is NOT what I meant!!

My one bright spot? The quilt was finished

I handed it off and was glad to have that project no longer looming over my head but the very best part? She LOVED it! Not just "oh wow I love it" but "OMG, OMG OMG it's the best thing ever and I will never sleep in a bed without it and I love the colors and the pattern and it's the best thing EVER!!!" - that kind of love it :o) Which makes every hour I spent on it worth it! And if you ask me why I make these quilts for people without ever getting even close to being adequately compensated for them - that's why!

2 seconds of fame

2008-02-26T19:48:00.003-05:00

Yes that's right - that was me you saw for 2 seconds in that commercial last night. I really didn't think I was that recognizable but even the secretary at school today said she saw me on TV :o) My kids were pretty excited anyway. If you don't yet know what I'm talking about you can go and see the commercial here - click on the "Scrappin In the City" link on the right and scroll down to see the video. They are showing it all this week on TV. Oh and by the way it's a really great deal they're offering - $50 gift cards to the store for just $25. So if you live in the local area and are (or know) a scrapbooker you'll want one of these - they go on sale this Thursday. Stock up for birthday's or even buy ahead for Christmas (if you can resist spending it for that long.....)

In the craft room.....

2008-02-22T15:33:00.008-05:00

Quilts are being tied

Pigs are being sewn

and books are being written and illustrated

I LOVE this book! Just incase you can't read it here it is

The Stamp Book

There's Princess stamps

There's sea stamps

There's shape stamps

There's a face stamp

This is not a stamp. But is very fuzzy. You'll like it!

The end.

I do like it!

More rub-ons

2008-02-21T15:28:00.007-05:00

School has been cancelled for the next 2 days due to teacher sickness. I am glad - they should have done this sooner. This has been a terrible month for illness around our area. I hope this gives everyone the chance to get well. Fortunately only one of my DD's has gotten the bug and after being out of school all this week already I am glad she has the extra days off to recouperate. So today was declared a crafty day and we have all been downstairs in the craft room working on various projects

After first being wary of rub-ons from previous bad experiences I am getting quite addicted to them. This was one of my projects for the day.

It is completely made from the SAB rub-ons - no stamping at all. Fun and quick. Okay I'm off to create some more...... I have some American Girl doll clothes to sew, a quilt to finish and some stamping to do...... wish me luck!

I give up!

2008-02-19T08:59:00.003-05:00

Okay - I'll admit it..... I can't do it all!! Yes I thought if I could just try a little harder, stay up a little later, be a little more productive then I could keep up with everything but unfortunately the forces are against me and I am admitting defeat! Funnily enough it feels like a release to say that! So I surrender - the house is a mess, the dishes in the sink, the kids are sick, there are cards unmade and unsent, projects uncompleted and that's just the way it is and I'll just tackle what I can or what HAS to be done and the rest will have to wait.

I did manage to get this made by the date it was requested ....

a card and matching envelope and I used lots of the new rub-ons which were fun. As for the rest...... eventually it will get done.

Hope your days are happy ones!

Post Valentine daze

2008-02-15T21:46:00.007-05:00

Wow the days are really getting away from me lately! I am sorry for not being a better blogger. I will try and keep up more regularly in the future. The sad thing is I am not getting much crafting done either. My sister has though and you need to go and check out her etsy store right now! I am proud to say that we own quite a few of her creations and they are well loved! My younger DD got glasses this week and so we have been adjusting to those - she was dealing with them much better today than yesterday so hopefully it won't be long and she won't even notice she's wearing them.

We are definitely on chocolate overload here after yesterday - hope you had a wonderful V day full of sweet things. My older DD - the one with the pig fetish - wanted.... yes you guessed it.... pig valentines for her class and so this is what I came up with

I got the pattern from a link off a link off a link so I am afraid I'm not sure where that was anymore but it was very easy - the cardstock is 4x8, scored in half and then along the 4" edges score from the middle out to the center score line edge....... clear as mud right???? Then I filled cello bags with M&M's and tied the top closed. The pig stamp is from the "Walk this Way" set which was from a mini catty a few years ago.
Have a great day!

Down Time

2008-02-06T13:11:00.000-05:00

It's raining, the dog is asleep, and the kids are in school..... all is calm, all is quiet.....peace at last! It seems like I have not had any down time in quite a while and boy do I need it! I don't need much - just a few hours to myself and after baking some muffins this morning (fresh from the oven Morning Glory muffins with a cup of coffee - mmmmmm!), catching up on all my favorite blogs, and doing some stamping for a workshop tonight I feel SO much better! I told my DH - just a few hours of this a week makes this mama such a better and nicer person - he should make it his priority to give it to me!
Since my "me" time is limited though I CASED some cards rather than reinventing the wheel. This one caught my eye while scrolling through SCS this morning and all I really changed was the stamp set

I LOVE how it turned out! So simple yet so eyecatching. The colors are river rock, wasabi and bayou blue. I used the Boho Backgound set and the Lots of Thoughts SAB set.

Okay only an hour before my time is up so I am going to try and finish up here. Wishing you all some quiet time today!

Valentine Chocolate

2008-02-04T17:33:00.000-05:00

Of course Valentine's Day is all about the chocolate :o) So here is a cute gift for your sweetie (or yourself......)

I found the directions here on Sonja's blog. You can also fit Kit Kat's in the box which is what I plan on doing for the girl scout troops and perhaps the girls class mates.

Fast Forward....

2008-02-03T09:18:00.000-05:00

WOW! It's been busy around here and I feel like I'm always one step behind where I am supposed to be..... will I ever catch up?? I know I say this every year - "when school gets out THEN things will slow down" and then during the summer I say "When school goes back THEN things will slow down" so I now realize that there IS no slowing down and this is just life as we know it!

I did manage to pull together some projects for stamp camp though. I found these gift cards at Walmart

and used the scalloped edge note cards to make little love notes

one for the husbands and one for the kids. I'll show you the other projects tomorrow. And just to update you on Finn - he still likes to do this alot

but when DD gets tired of having a dog on her lap she puts him here

My DH says I shouldn't publish that photo because it will just embarrass him in front of all his friends :o)

A dog's life....

2008-01-24T08:08:00.001-05:00

It's been 13 yrs since I last had a puppy and OMG I had forgotten how they TOTALLY take over your life! It's like having a 9 month old baby in your house - you know when they start crawling and get into everything and you can't leave them alone for a second because you don't know what they'll get into next??? Yup! That's my life at the moment. Baby gates and all. And so needless to say I have gotten NOTHING done in the past week - barely check my emails, can't sweep the floors without him attacking the broom and thanks goodness for crock-pots or my family would be fending meals for themselves. He has 3 modes of existence - either he's napping, in what I like to call lunatic mode (can't sit still for a second and has to bite or chew or chase or dig) or wants to snuggle.

Now granted I love a snuggling puppy but I just can not sit with a dog on my lap all day long!

But I do love him and he is very cute!

But I need some time off!!!!

So yesterday when my husband got home I left him in charge and locked myself downstairs to make a card for a swap that I am late for. This is one of the Sale-a-bration sets that you can get for free in February.

It's very simple but that's about all I can manage at the moment. I used the new SU felt flowers in the center of the large flower. Love them! Wish they came in more colors.

Well it's nap time at the moment for Finnegan so I need to quickly try and get something done around here....

Our new baby

2008-01-20T08:48:00.000-05:00

So on Friday I went on a quick (ha!) road trip to Alabama and back to pick up the newest member of our family - Finnegan

He is only 7 weeks old and is just the sweetest little puppy. We have spent hours doing nothing but snuggling but those nights....... brings back all the memories of the sleepless nights I've had in the past. Thankfully puppy days (nights) pass much sooner than baby ones - I really don't think I'm cut out for too many of these nights...... So far the cat is tolerating him surprisingly well (though she is still rather disgusted by the fact he is in her house all the time) and he has had 2 brief meetings with our other dog Noah and they were very happy to meet.

Faux Silk

2008-01-17T09:00:00.000-05:00

This is the second technique we did on Tuesday. I copied Beate's tutorial on SCS and it's another one that is very easy.

The scanner didn't like all the thicknesses of paper and ribbon and hardware but you can see at the top the crinkle of the "silk". It is more impressive in real life.
I want to play with this a little more - I am thinking of ways to add a little shimmer to the "silk" and also I wonder what it would look like if you used different colored tissue paper on different colored cardstock .... hmmm? Has anyone else tried that? I was thinking something like gold ink on purple or dark blue tissue paper.... If I come up with something that looks any good I'll let you know :o)

Reflections

2008-01-16T12:19:00.000-05:00

Can you believe this is the first time I have tried the reflection technique??? I saw my friend Melissa try it so I thought I'd give it a whirl. It is SOOOOO easy and it looks so cool!! Oh my gosh why haven't I done this before??? So here is the card we made at Technique Tuesday

and you can find directions to make your very own reflection card here on the SCS tutorials. My only tips are be really careful when you are stamping on the acetate because it is really easy for the stamp to slide and then you get a blurred image - which a slight blurred image is not too bad since it is a reflection anyway - that is unless you slide half way across the page - then you end up with more of a "I got really drunk last night and now I have blurred vision" card rather than a "reflection" card :o) The other tip is that I colored the truck with watercolor crayons and put all the color on the "real" image and as I blended a portion of the truck color with my blender pen, I then used what was left on the blender pen to color the reflection - that way you get a lighter shade.

Have a great day!

Final project

2008-01-13T21:51:00.000-05:00

This was the last project for stamp camp (sorry it's a bit lopsided...)

The colors are basic gray (which I am ashamed to say has been sitting here unused for 6 months) and almost amethyst. I had one of those "well duh!" moments and used the versa-marker to color in the overlapping sections of the flower petals and the leaves on the card and also to "sew" around the edge of the amethyst cardstock. I loved the color combo and so did one of my stampers who came to stamp camp wearing these very colors :o) (Hi Sherry!)

Next up - Technique Tuesday. Have a great week!

Project #3

2008-01-10T19:21:00.000-05:00

Okay I was so excited to come up with this project - I know it's far from an original idea but I made it myself from start to finish :o) It's a birthday flip calendar!

This one I made for stamp camp tomorrow using all SU products (of course). I used the Cutie Pie DP (love it!) and the spunky alphabet. I used some free chipboard for the front and back covers (you know the kind that comes in your packs of 12x12 paper) and just did a word doc to print out all the months and used my crop-a-dile to punch the holes in the top to put the rings through.

I made one for a class I'm teaching at the store in February as well but for that one I used the Sassafras Lass Owl Pals paper which I also just LOVE :o) I don't think the photos are on the website yet but they should be by next week.

So this is half of the battle in my resolution to send out more birthday cards this year. To win the battle I will need to find a prominent place to hang this so that I see the January birthday's some time before March......

card #2

2008-01-09T15:50:00.000-05:00

So as I was looking through my collection of stamps I was having a hard time figuring out which ones were current and which were retired. So after some organization I found that I had only a very limited amount of current stamps!! I will have to rectify that asap but in the meantime this stamp camp has become a limited supply challenge of sorts. I have wanted to try one of those topper cards for a while and so with my limited number of sets this is the card that emerged.

I think it's cute and pretty easy. Good for a kids card but I would give it to a friend too. The bottom piece is 4 1/4 x 8 1/2 folded in half.

I have been "working" quite a bit at my new job at the scrapbook store lately - really it's much more like playing than working. I am teaching classes there too and so have managed to come up with classes that I can do both with my SU stuff as well as there. I will show you one of those projects tomorrow - I am very happy with it! Meanwhile I am off to cut my projects ready for Friday. Have a great day!