more alterations...

Here is my favorite new project. It is a papier mache set of 3 -- but I've only gotten one altered so far {hey - at least it is the largest one, surely the other will go quickly ... right?}



Before:

After:

I used Mod Podge and a Basic Grey paper pack. Love the designs and distressed prints. The windows get lost in this photo, but in reality they show up just fine. One window curtain is even open just a bit, but you have to look closely to see. As usual, I still plan to add more before I'm finished w/ the house, but I have to look at it a while before I decide exactly what it needs. I covered the windows with paper because I plan to use the houses for storage. That way they can sit out and look pretty, yet be functional. Cool, huh?

I found them at Hobby Lobby ... and at half price too! I couldn't leave them sitting there looking so lonely. I'll post the others when I finish. Not quite sure when I'll have time to work on them again -- next week is looking busy.

Check in w/ me again later this week. The weatherman is calling for a wintry mix in the morning, so maybe I can get a good photo of that!

altering things

I'm have so much fun altering things! I was going to get rid of this shelf ...

... but something inside me kept saying, keep it and alter it. I decided to play with it and see what I could come up with. Then, if I didn't like it, I could still give it away. Well, here is the finished result ...

I think I like it enough to keep it for now. I'd like to add some embellishements to the shelves, maybe something dangly ... or word art ... but I don't know what. So, it's just hanging on the wall for now and I'm looking it over. What do you think?

I have another project that I'm working on that I'll post next. Stay tuned.

I must confess ...

This is a free online class offered by Shimelle here.

It's a confession booklet & it looks like fun. Shimelle suggests making the booklet about your quirks, or silly things that you do that you've never scrapbooked before. You'll see some examples on her site and also on 2peas. There is a supply list on her site, but if you're like me and want to use up your stash here are the things you'll need:

• 5 sheets of 12 x 12 cardstock
• 1 transparency
• 1 set of letter stickers or alphabet stamps
• 1 set of accent stickers/rub-ons or rubber stamps
• dimensional accents like flowers, buttons, gems, etc
• 1 yard of ribbon
• 2 binder rings

If you make one send me a picture and I'll post it here. If I get one made in a timely manner {not normally my habit!!} I'll post it here too.

I've been altering a shelf this weekend. When it's done I'll share it with you. It was destined for Goodwill, but I couldn't let it go and just had to try altering it. I have no idea what I'll do w/ it when it's finished ... but that's getting ahead of myself since it's only about halfway done at this point. I'm using some really cool Basic Grey paper to alter it. That's probably the best part!

Tomorrow {Monday} is an official holiday ... designated by me! It's Scrapbook & Stamp with your Friends Day! Take the day off and play with your friends. I am sooo looking forward to it {even if my house isn't clean ... note to my friends: please ignore the mess!}

TTFN!

Tin totes!!

I have too many of these rectangle tin totes! If you want any, email me {or comment me w/ your contact info }. I am selling the extras for $4 each. They make really cute altered tins for cards, recipes, memory albums, etc.


Here is an embarrassing update on our room re-dos. Lane's new suite is looking good. He has moved the majority of his things in there, and only left the trash in his old room ... insert grimace here ...


Now, my stuff is nicely stashed in my new scrap nook - at the back of my bedroom. However, there is a lot of stuff {crap, if you will allow} that I still have to go through and still need to sort and decide if it's staying or going ... and if it's Goodwill material or trash. Uggghh. Here's a picture and I'm going to post more on 2peas of my new scrap nook. {it's not really a nook, I'm just trying to convince myself it's cozy, and not just unpleasantly small!}

picture of remaining crap ... actually, there's more, but I couldn't get it in the photo ...

my new scrap nook shelves ... a work in process

my project table in my new area ... it is really a dinning table I don't want to get rid of, so it's been repurposed as my craft table. Pretty messy now, I hope to get it cleaned up and organized so I can actually begin crafting again ...

Monday I have some friends coming over to scrap/craft with me. I bought something really cute at Hobby Lobby this afternoon that is going to be my project. If all goes well I'll post the finished project here Monday night or Tuesday. TTFN!

Knitters

Finally! I've been trying to upload this photo for 2 days! These ladies started a group called Hooks and Needles with Love -- they are knitting red scarves to donate for Valentine's Day. If you're a knitter and want to participate, comment me with your contact info. {my friend Joan is on the far right in the photo}

On another note, I just got a sneak peek at the new Spring Mini catalog by Stampin' Up! Wow-zer! It's amazing. Lots of doodle line stamps, a paisley set, a new line of Office themed stamps and punches -- totally cool, lots of flowers too {I'm guessing because it's a spring catty} ... any hoo ... really nice stamps and new designer papers. I'm really excited to get this in my hands and drool over it.

I've got the bug

I've got the die cut bug! I bought a Big Shot around Thanksgiving when Costco.com was offering free shipping and I've gotten the bug for cutting with dies. These are my newest {and most exciting} dies to add to my collection. Although these dies are for the Cuttlebug machine, my Big Shot will cut them too. I really liked the concentric circles and thought the hearts might come in handy with Valentines Day just around the corner.


Cuttlebug also makes some really cool embossing folders. I happen to have a couple of them as well -- no surprise, huh? Once I get my new craft "area" in order, I'll make something with the dies and post it here. If you have a project using die cuts you'd like to share, leave your email in the comments and I'll get in touch with you. I would love to post a couple of projects here while I'm still in the midst of my re-organization.

In other news, I just signed up for a Big Picture Scrapbooking class online. It is 28 projects in 28 days for February. Oy! I think I can do it ... I really want to be able to do it, so if I'm successful I'll post my project results here. Of course, I'll only post the good ones. If they look real bad no one will ever see them ... go check out the classroom over at Big Picture and sign up w/ me. We'll moan, groan and enjoy the projects together!! Oh -- and the classes give me more of an excuse to buy a cropadile too -- it's listed in the supplies. Goodie!

Finally, I added my favorite singer to the right side bar. John Mayer. Awesome.

Where in the world ...

have I been? It's been overwhelming at my house since Thursday. We've been rearranging 3 bedrooms. Not an easy task for a pack rat like me. Here's the short version:



My youngest son needs his own room. The only room available is my craft/computer/book room. So, Thursday morning I started moving anything that I could do alone ... lots of things. First, I had to move a lot of stuff {otherwise referred to as crap} out of my bedroom to clear space for the more important stuff {also know as crap} that would need to find a new home since we're kicked out of the computer room.

After I got our bedroom cleared -- notice the wording here: cleared ... not cleaned ... there is a huge difference! I begin moving items from the craft/computer/book room into other spaces, not necessarily permanent ones. Friday, hubby was off work so he helped w/ the heavier lifting. We got the room swept, mopped and dusted and moved in the kids bed. I can't move my computer stuff until after the telephone man does his job on Monday.

My craft stuff is now living in my bedroom. I'm still organizing and sorting all kinds of items. Some things I had even forgotten that I owned. I would guess I still have 2 more full days of work ahead of me ... but it's coming along.

Would you like to see a photo of my new craft room? Ok ... just one sneak peak, it's still such a mess, but here it is:

bwhahahaha ... like it? Of course, it's not mine!!! I saw this photo on 2peas and thought, "Wow! Wish that was my room ... so hey... here is cyberspace I can pretend that it really is mine! Here is the link to see other pictures of this awesome room:

http://twopeasinabucket.kaboose.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=1062845

I'll share a photo of my very unimpressive room when it's finished. I promise, you won't be amazed!

last night

Had a totally great time last night w/ my buddies in Spartanburg -- HEY EVERYBODY!!
They are such a great bunch, funny, sweet ... the whole nine yards. It's been forever since I got together w/ them -- forever as in August, before my mother's fractured back, 3 surgeries, rehab stay, etc ... you get the picture. Anyway, it was very therapeutic for me!

I have another Carte Postale card to share today, plus a quick Valentine idea. The card is done in Bravo Burgandy using the coordinating wheel w/ Carte Postale -- a very elegant card. Love it!




This lollipop is covered using the new Pocket Note cards in the Winter mini catalog. Just stamp and pop over the sucker -- very quick and easy, especially if you're making a lot. And it looks like you put some thought into it, not just handing over a sucker. I really like this idea. Of course, you could cut cardstock and make it into a matchbook cover as well, or sure a slot punch for a tab closure -- whatever you have on hand!



I also have to give a quick shout to the people at Advantus who handle Heidi Swapp products. I ordered a huge package of chipboard letters, self-adhesive no less ... but they weren't sticky. I was having to glue each little letter down, really big pain. So I finally emailed them and they are sending me replacements for all the chipboard. Yea! No one tried to make excuses or tell me I wasn't using the product correctly, nope, it was just a quick note apologizing and saying my package was already on the way. That's great customer service, and I appreciate it mucho!!

Have a great day today!!

Bonjour!

Bonjour mon amie! Carte Postale is the current set du jour. I LOVE this set. It is just amazing what you can do with these stamps. Here are a few samples made by SU demos and links to more gorgeous cards online below:

Images © SU! 1990-2006 sample by Karen Harper

Images © SU! 1990-2006 sample by Janet Creech

{I'm not positive, but this looks like it could be a mini album made with 4" chipboard coasters}

Images © SU! 1990-2006 sample by Cindy Kugell

Check out these samples online:

Wow! What a card by twoboysandagirl: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=444035&cat=8181

Nice colors by escaladymom: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=440252&cat=8181

Lovely! by duckwaddlequack: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=439247&cat=8181

Green! by leslierich: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=439384&cat=8181

my favorites

I thought I'd share a short list of my new favorites this week {yes, it can change weekly!} Post a comment and share your favorites w/ me!

The Scrapbook Lounge on Crafttvweekly.com is a site of video lessons for scrapbooking, papercrafting, etc. Each week they post a new lesson. Really cool. Trisha Morris of Club Scrap has some excellent lessons, as do the other instructors. I've learned a lot from this site, and I hear they are considering adding other crafts to the video lessons on site. Way cool.

Kraft Food & Family magazine. Great! Free recipes - and delivered right to my mailbox. This issue is the 50 best recipes. Yum-o! On their website you can search for recipes by ingredient, by meal occasion or by recipe type. They also offer variations of recipes in the magazine. So if you like your food spicier, you can use a variation to change the basic recipe. Nice.

This makes me happy: January & February Sell-a-Bration event with Stampin' Up! Once a year SU! offers free stamp sets with a minimum purchase - it doesn't get much better than that, am I right?

Blank Coasters are my newest fav item. You can do so much with them. I don't have permission to post a picture so I'll have to give links instead -- but watch out I'll have a picture of my project coming soon. I just placed a huge order for coasters. We'll definitely be using them in stamp club. You can die cut them too!! Awesomeness.

Look at these altered coasters:

Hanging Coaster Frame -- http://twopeasinabucket.kaboose.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=991711

Coaster Mini Album -- http://twopeasinabucket.kaboose.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=906000

Another Fun Coaster -- http://twopeasinabucket.kaboose.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=802657

Baby coasters -- http://twopeasinabucket.kaboose.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=1019808

Coffee and random thoughts ...

Coffee in any form makes it all better.

Random thought:

This is what I want ... a big box full and overflowing with rubber stamps!

round two, day one

Today is the first day of classes, second semester ... round two, day one. I get so excited seeing my oldest off to college classes. And I'm so glad he is home, commuting to school. I realize normal parents get excited to move their kids into dorms ... and I was excited at that age about moving out too ... but I'm really glad they chose so stay closer to home, so I guess that means I'm not quite normal! This semester he can carpool w/ a very good friend; even better. Here they are this morning {eagerly posing for pictures, I might add ... not}

I also wanted to share a few pictures from Christmas. Yes, Christmas. Late, but better than never sharing right?? This is my fireplace. The JOY letters came unfinished from Hobby Lobby and I used mod podge to alter them with printed paper {I can't remember the name of the papers, however} and tied on red grosgrain from Michaels. Sorry the photo is a bit blurry -- it's either me or the camera {lol}.

And, finally, these are tins I made for my 4 nieces. They are sisters, so I had to stay pretty close in design of each tin. Inside I put fun stuff like crayons, notebooks, erasers with little princess crowns on them, glue sticks and lots and lots of stickers. I stamped the initial of each girl on their tin, just in case they got confused w/ which tin was theirs {ok - honesty here - the initials are actually so they can't steal a tin from their sister and claim it as their own}. The flowers are from Wal-mart. I bought gerber daisies back in the summer to use later on something ... and this worked. It only took 1 1/2 flower because I took them apart and just used one layer on each tin. That way they could all have the same color flower. Plus the off-white was really the only color I had that would go with the papers.

That's it for today. I may have some scrapbook photos to share later. Friday is my first Stamp Club for the new year, so I have samples to work on!!

skipping rocks

Nothing fancy here. This is another layout made before I chose the photos. These pictures seemed to work well. My youngest son skipping rocks. I did add a tiny bit of journalling on the bottom which doesn't show up in this photo. It reads: Lane on the Chesapeake Bay -- July 2004.

Cardstock and ribbon by Club Scrap - Interior Design kit, Nov. 2006. Chipboard letters by Heidi Swapp and wooden disk by Basic Grey.

too many circles!

all materials Club Scrap

Oh my! Looks like my dd is overwhelmed by the circles. I'm trying to scrap some pages - this was a layout I made ahead of time and photos were added later. It's different to premake your layouts at first, but once I get into the swing of it ... time goes quickly. I've made 13 layouts w/out photos over the last 2 evenings while watching tv. Then I completed this one and one other w/ photos -- I'll post the next one tomorrow {hopefully}.

I don't quite know where to journal ... or if I should add anything else to this layout ... so I'll wait until I figure it out or someone gives me an idea. Journaling is always the hardest part for me.

added: Several people asked me about the photos. My dd was just goofing around with her camera and took them herself. She's funny. Both of my teenagers take self-portraits all the time. They *need* photos for MySpace -- lol!!

doing it digi {again}

{click to enlarge photo}

I'm going to continue trying to make digital scrapbook pages -- why? Well, it seems like it would be simpler than reprinting photos for pages. I also like the idea that I can resize the photos to fit the page. Ahem, that is when I learn a little more about this whole digital thing. Here is a page I made yesterday. It should have probably taken me 15 minutes -- it took more like 1 hour because I don't know so much about the program I'm using {paint shop pro}. Anyway, just a share for today. Digital papers and embellies from Club Scrap.

And, in case you were curious, I made 8 pages last night by scrapping w/out photos. I'm planning to do a few more tonight -- then maybe I'll get out some photos to plop in place.

Challenges!!

There are two really good challenges online that I wanted to share. Maybe it will spark your creativity if not mine!! I've seriously got to clean my scrap/stamp space and get back to work. I'm really in a slump. I feel that any time I have needs to be directed elsewhere, but I think, dream, and breathe papercrafting ... so it's always on my mind.

Here is the first challenge on SplitCoastStampers for new color combinations:

Cool Carribbean

Whisper White

Basic Black

If you make a card, scrapbook page, or other project email it to me and I will post it here. :)

The second challenge is for scrapbookers on Susan's blog: http://elephantfreak.blogspot.com/ is from Elise's book, 52 Challenges. This week is ...

Work Your Words:
Journal on strips of cardstock, whether an
actual journaling or a favorite quote.

If you participate in this challenge, email elephantfreak so she can post on her blog. Let me know so I can go take a lookie too! I emailed a page to elephantfreak today, but it is a bit blurry so it may not be clear enough to post. But - hey - it's one page done, right??

I'm thinking about doing some advance scrapping tonight. Where I scrap w/out any photos. It works - feels a bit strange - but by premaking pages my stash gets used and it's easier to plop those photos down when I get them {or more appropirately, when I get around to them!}. It's also different from Power Scrapping where you make 20 layouts w/ photos at once. Power Scrapping is pretty cool, but you have to organize a bit before you start. With advance scrapping there's not much organization, just find some sketches you like and get to work. It's a concept recently made popular by Club Scrap. You can see some ideas on their site clubscrap.com.

Sell-a-Brate the New Year!!

all images SU! © 1990-2006

It's that time of year again -- yeaa! I love Sell-a-Bration time. It doesn't get much better than free stamps! Call me if you'd like to order outside of stamp club meetings. And, if you'd like to know more about stamp club, drop me an email too. We still have room in our clubs.

What are your New Year resolutions? For a while I quit making resolutions because it seemed that I was always failing. There's nothing so discouraging as setting yourself up for failure, right? I would always go for the more traditional {and superficial} type of resolutions like, lose 25 pounds, exercise more, save money, eat healthy ... etc ... never a good idea for me because I never was able to live up to the lofty goals I set. By March I was so disgusted with myself that I just gave up making resolutions at all.

Then a year or so ago I realized that my goals could be more personal and uplifting. Be more creative, be kinder, volunteer, and so on. So this year I am going to set a goal for myself. And really, it will be a difficult one in many ways. It is so ingrained in my personality to say "yes". Yes, sure I'll help you. Yes, I'd be glad to come over. Yes, sure I can. You get the idea. So, for 2007, my goal is to re prioritize my priorities! Here is the entry from dictionary.com, American Heritage edition:

To put things in order of importance:

"Everyone should take time to be alone,

to prioritize and meditate" (Art Linkletter).

I need to learn to always keep the most important things first and foremost in my plans. This sounds so simple -- common sense even. But I must confess, it is my real weakness. I tend to do for others outside of my family before I do for the ones that I am really supposed to be nurturing, helping, and supporting.

My mind thinks there is more time available than is actually there. I find myself always thinking I can do that later, or they will understand, or even the most dreadful one of all: I made a promise! In 2007, I am making a promise only to myself and my family:

I will be here.

I will be what I should be in your lives.

And anything else that I have time for will be a wonderful, lovely, enjoyable bonus! And, I'm not saying that I won't have time for creativity ... because that is who I am, it is an integral part of me. If I'm not creative, I'm not being true to myself, or my family.

I really want to say thanks again for everyone who has had my mom on your heart. She is really doing well with this last surgery. The next few months will still be difficult for her, fatigue, tests, treatments, etc. But I am so encouraged with the strength she is displaying the last several days.

Send me your New Year resolutions. I want to hear them ... maybe I will find another one to add to my list. Or, hopefully, we can encourage each other to be what we need to be and keep our best resolutions alive!

Happy Stampin'