Friday, January 31, 2014

Flashback Friday- A Souper Day!

Happy Friday!! I'm so glad you're here! It's another flashback day on my blog and I love that just about everything on these two pages are from my older stash! I pulled out some yellow paper from my nonSU stack and paired it with some retired DSP and some really old letter stickers.  The lucky limeade ribbon on the second page was just a little too sheer for this page so I braided three strands together and added a matching brad.



I am happy to say that I am seeing a small improvement in my stacks of older photos.  Little by little, they are coming out of the organizer and going into the albums.  Makes my heart feel all fuzzy inside!!  It was a little bittersweet scrapbooking these pages.  The pictures are from a soup cookout that we had the fall before my Dad had his stroke.  He no longer has the mobility to walk unassisted and it made me a little sad to see him standing and stirring the soup kettle.  However, we are blessed that he is still with us and still just as stubborn as ever (glad I'm not like that...). I am thankful that we are able to make more memories for me to record.

Well, we are preparing for a busy weekend here.  DD#1 is participating in the District Solo and Ensemble competition and I'm volunteering, so we will be doing a lot of running and waiting.  I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Page Recipe: Paper-yellow from stash, Orchard Harvest DSP (ret), early espresso, Accessories-summer smooches brads (ret), letter stickers from stash, jumbo sticky round, lucky limeade ribbon (ret), twill ribbon (ret)



Sunday, January 26, 2014

Feeling Blue

Welcome! I'm so glad you're here! I have two scrapbook pages to share with you and I used my favorite color!  Blue paper, blue stickers, blue brads, I even made the flowers blue!!

I took an inventory of my paper a while back to see what I needed to order and I am amazed at all of the blue supplies that I have! So I thought I better use some of them!



The photos are from a field trip my DD#1 took to a local convent.  It is well known in this area for the architectural design of the dome and it's castle like appearance.  It is such a beautiful place and the visit was so educational.  We learned a lot about the history of the grounds and the women who live there.  I kept my pages pretty simple and used the daisies as my only embellishments.  Some old vellum stickers worked really well for the title.

It is so hard to believe that January is almost over!  Time seems to pass faster every day...  I hope you have a wonderful week and find some time to be creative!

Page Recipe: Paper-marina mist, Sunshine and Sprinkles DSP (ret), Ink-marina mist, Accessories-paper daisies (ret), subtles brads(ret), blue vellum stickers from stash, Martha Stewart leaf punch 

Friday, January 24, 2014

Helping a friend...

I don't normally do posts like this, but I thought I would try to help out a fellow blogging friend.  Her blog   was recently hacked and hijacked so she is starting over from scratch with a new blog.  I thought I would share her new blog address with you to get some love going her way!!

Creating With Cindy  makes some absolutely wonderful cards and she has the sweetest pet birds too! I hope you find some time to visit!

Flashback Friday- Doing a Little Digging

Hi! Welcome to another wonderful Friday at my little spot in Blogland!  I have another Flashback project this week and I really did some digging for this one!  I unearthed some very retired DSP and pulled out some very neglected embellishments as well.  Isn't it funny how I can keep using my older things week after week and the pile doesn't seem to get any smaller?  I'm hoping one morning I will look at my paper stacks and see that I really NEED to buy some more paper!!

But enough of my wishful thinking, you came here to see something crafty!  I pulled out some older pictures again for today's page.  I'm hoping I will be able to say I'm finished with 2008 soon!


I used the DSP Play Date that has been in my stash for ages.  I'm not even sure when that was current.  I also snagged a doily from the leftovers of the Artisan kit, and inked up some paper daisies as well.  Ironically, the only new feature on this page is not from SU.  It's the Martha Stewart leafy punch that I recently purchased with a coupon! I think it's supposed to be an evergreen, but it reminds me of the delicate leaves of the daisies that pop up at the edges of the fields each year.  

I hope this weekend allows you some time to dig through your older goodies and have a play date! Ha! Get it?  Play Date DSP, play date...  Sorry! I really need to get out more...  Have a great weekend and thanks so much for visiting!

Page Recipe: Paper-Play Date DSP, whisper white, old olive, Stamp-Just Journaling, Ink-crumb cake, basic black, real red, Accessories-doily from Artisan kit, paper daisies, brights brads, stickers from stash, MS punch

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Balance: As Shared by Shadow

Hello!  I'm back with another MDS digital scrapbook page!  While the girls and I were doing our Balance photo shoot, I took a few pics of Shadow and the kitties.  Looking at the pictures led me to think about the way a dog might view balance, although I'm sure he's much too busy being happy to worry about things like this...


As much as my serious journaling on my balance page helped me, I have to admit that the light hearted dogs-eye-view was equally as enlightening.  Here are some tips on balancing life like a dog...

-When people are grumpy, mad, or sad, you don't really need to do much. Just be there for them to make them feel better.
-When someone is annoying you (like pesky kittens), just get away from them.  If they follow you, find your Mom.  She'll know what to do...
-Show your loved ones, and everyone else, you are happy to see them-all the time!  You never know when your attitude will be rewarded with a special treat or even better, some love!
-When all else fails, take a nap!!!

I hope this has inspired you take a good look at yourself through the eyes of your favorite non-human.  I would love to hear about the words of wisdom your pet has shared with you!  Have a great day and happy crafting!



Sunday, January 19, 2014

ABAC Challenge- Balance

Hello! So glad you stopped by to visit!  It's my turn to share a project at Anything But a Card Challenges.  Our current theme is 'BALANCE' and you can share any type of project as long as it's not a card.  I love challenges like this because they are so open to personal interpretation.  What do you think of when you hear the word balance?

I realize that 'balance' can be perceived many different ways: equality, the balance of composition in art,  or having/creating physical balance, for example.  But today, I am thinking in terms of 'finding balance'.  Probably because this is something that I am forever working to maintain in my life.  As soon as I saw this theme, I knew what I wanted to do.  So I set off to have a little photo shoot to capture the thoughts that were swirling in my head, and then I put them together on a digital scrapbook page using MDS.  I hadn't made one of these in a while and thought it would be good to use my computer for something other than blog surfing and pinterest...  I had a bit of a creative epiphany as I was trying to coach my daughter through framing the shot and deciding which pose looked best.  I had both girls do their own balancing act as I snapped pictures, and I absolutely love that none of us did it the same way!


Page Recipe: Background and white alphabet from Kellybell, Stampin' UP kits used were Get It Done and Keep in Touch, and the splatter stamp is A Split Second. 

I know that people love to talk about finding the balance between work and home, or other areas that require balance, but I also believe that there is so much more to this than budgeting your time.  I also think that this can be more difficult depending on who you are.

When my oldest was diagnosed with ADD, I read everything I could get my hands on in an effort to 'help' her.  What I found was that she didn't need my help.  She wasn't broken, she just had a different way of seeing and doing things.  I also realized that while I didn't have a professional diagnosis, I too had ADD.  This explains why I can completely throw myself into a project, totally lose track of time, and 'check out' from everything else that is going on around me.  It also explains a lot of my procrastination issues.  Somehow, in my case, my personality and strengths led me to focus on and enjoy academics (which is why this was never perceived as a school problem for me).

So what does this have to do with balance and my page?  While you can't see my journaling (on a separate paper to be attached to the back), I wrote about the way my balance (and my daughters' as well) is perceived and viewed by others.  I tend to commit on an extreme level when I do things.  If I'm on a committee or volunteering, that will be my primary focus and other things can just wait.  I know I'm like this, so I try to only sign up for things that I am passionate about.  After all, if it's taking away from family time or me time, shouldn't it be very important?! I've worked very hard on making the word 'no' a part of my vocabulary, even when others are telling me that I surely have a little time to help with (insert  latest event here).  "No" has become a necessity to my balance.

I also explored the idea that my balance isn't always about making things 'even' as much as it is prioritizing.  My daily balance is NEVER equal.  Some days I won't touch a thing in the house because I'm busy reading, creating, or doing something with family.  Other times, I might commit several days to cleaning and organizing. I need to embrace the fact that my definition of balance is taking care of the priority for that day and not feeling guilty about the things that didn't get accomplished.

I think the hardest part of understanding balance is that it doesn't look the same for everyone.  I have a friend who travels a lot through her job, volunteers often, and is constantly on the go with her kids activities.  My initial reaction is to shake my head at how she chooses to balance her life.  But she is not me.  She is incredibly organized to a fault, has an immaculate home, and lives to have everything on a schedule.  This makes her happy and her family is very happy as well.  On the other hand, she could view me as being very untidy, unorganized, and (gasp) lazy as I read and create instead of 'doing things'.  Perhaps she does, but she also knows that I can drop everything to be where I'm needed, a luxury she doesn't always have.  Our senses of balance are very different, but we are both happy.

This page really helped me think about the way my brain works and using that to my advantage instead of trying to make myself into someone I'm not.  I also realized that I need to sandwich those nasty priorities (like cleaning) in between the things I love to do.  Make a card, do a load of laundry, make a scrapbook page, sweep a floor, do a journal page, wash dishes (hmmm... maybe do 2 journal pages before this one...)  But even if I don't get all of the cleaning done, I will still be me and that's not such a bad thing after all...

Well, I didn't intend for this to be quite this long, and I hope that it wasn't too 'bunny trailed' for you to follow my train of thought.  I also hope that perhaps it will help someone who is at this moment being too critical of their own sense of balance.  Life is too short to spend it comparing yourself to someone who is nothing like you...    I will be back soon with a Shadow scrapbook page that was also inspired by balance.  Have a fabulous week and happy crafting!!


Friday, January 17, 2014

Flashback Friday-On a Roll

Hello! I am so glad you stopped by today!  I have really been trying to get some scrapbook pages completed lately and am happy to say I have two more to share with you today!  If you read the post title, you will know that this uses my retired and older stash of supplies, hence the flashback...

The pictures are a bit of a flashback too.  These were from several years ago and it amazes me how much the girls have changed!  Now neither one of them ride the kiddy rides and would rather spend most of their visits at the water park instead of visiting Santa!



I used some older Page Maps sketches for my two page layout.  I 'm trying to use a lot more of my older DSP since I have so much, and I dug out the retired brights DSP pack for these pages.  There's still a lot left, but it's a little less than before :)

I hope you are inspired to take a look at your older neglected supplies (and photos), pull them out, and use them!  Have a wonderful weekend and may all your days be crafty!

Page Recipe: Paper-daffodil delight, real red, whisper white, Brights DSP (ret), Gingham Garden DSP, Stamp-Just Journaling, Ink-crumb cake, basic black, Punches-full heart, butterfly, scallop border, bitty butterfly, spiral border, Accessories-circle framelits, candy dots, paper piercing kit, real red stitched grosgrain ribbon


Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Scrapbook Wednesday- New Toys

Welcome! I hope your new year is off to a wonderful start!  My January has been a little sluggish as far as creativity goes.  There were so many things I needed to do and craft time was put on the back burner.  As a result, my first attempt of scrapbooking this year was not exactly what I had pictured in my mind.  I was excited however to have the chance to play with some new toys.  




The cork flowers and twine are a sneak peek at some Sale-a-bration goodies, and the tag punch is a new item from the Celebrate the Everyday occasions catalog.  If you would like to check out the catalog, I have a link on the side of my blog.

I really like my new goodies, but should have planned out my flower placement a little better before sticking them on my page...  But, I now have another page completed and I'm sure my daughter isn't going to be too upset that it's not perfect.  I'm really trying to focus on the simple aspects of things this year and a finished imperfect page is better than photos in a box!

I hope you have a great day and thanks so much for stopping by!

Page Recipe: paper-Epic Day DSP, crisp cantalope, summer starfruit, Ink-crisp cantalope, pistachio pudding, Accessories-sweet sorbet accessory pack (twine & cork), angled tag punch topper

Sunday, January 12, 2014

You Are My Sunshine...

Hello! I'm so glad you dropped in!  A special welcome to my new followers! I am so glad you're here!! After a cold, snowy, and rainy week, I was in desperate need of something bright and cheerful.  Since Mother Nature didn't seem to want to help me out, I decided to make my own!



How this for warm and sunny?!  I don't usually do a lot of yellow, but the image from the new Sale-a-bration set, See Ya Later, just called for some paper sunshine!  The images in this set are so fun and I know I will be using them a lot for cards.  Sale-a-bration begins on January 28th and I will have a link to the online catalog available soon.

Just a reminder that our Balance challenge is still going on at Anything But a Card and the week two ladies have shared some wonderful inspiration!  We would love it if you would join us and link up with your creation!

Well, that's it for me.  I'm off to get some laundry done so the kids have something clean to wear tomorrow!  Have a great week and happy crafting!

Card Recipe: Paper-whisper white, daffodil delight, Gingham Garden DSP, Stamp Set-See Ya Later, Ink-smoky slate, daffodil delight, Accessories-daffodil delight stitched grosgrain ribbon, 2 1/2" circle punch, brights candy dots, yellow glitter glue

Friday, January 10, 2014

One Manly Birthday Card!

Hello! I am so glad you stopped by to visit today!  I think I am finally ready to move on from all of the Christmas and winter inspiration.  Nothing like a few days stuck inside as the wind howls, and negative double digits try to nip at your nose and toes to change your inspirations!  On the positive side, two extra days added to my weekend not only gave me time to pack up all of my Christmas decorations, it also provided time to create.  

I was in a minor state of panic a few days ago when I went to my card binder to prepare my nephew's birthday card for mailing and realized I had no card!  Fortunately, there was a gender neutral card in my birthday stash that worked out ok, but I quickly moved making masculine cards to the top of my list.

The inspiration for today's card came from France Martin.  I had saved a copy of one of her cards on my computer (pre-Pinterest) and when I went back to her blog to link to it, I couldn't find it...  Her card was quite similar but with a different embossing, sentiment, and she added some brads.



Now, doesn't the testosterone just ooze off of this one?  I don't think there is one girly thing on this card!!  I used the retired Packed for Dad stamp and colored a few items to add interest without being too colorful.  My favorite part is the silver foil paper embossing. Nothing says man card like a little diamond plating! 

I enjoyed this design so much I even made a few extra to stick back for Father's day!  Well, I hope you enjoyed your visit and things aren't too frosty where you live.  I know my friends in southern Florida and Australia are nice and warm...  Have a great weekend and happy crafting!

Card Recipe: Paper-crumb cake, always artichoke, whisper white, silver foil paper, Stamp Sets-Teeny Tiny Wishes, Packed for Dad (ret), Ink-black stazon, crumb cake, always artichoke, bashful blue (ret), silver pen, Accessories-word window and modern label punches, non SU diamond plate embossing folder

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

The last of the accomplishments, aka Day 13...

Hello! I'm so glad you've joined me in celebrating the grand finale of accomplishing something from my holiday to do list!  Today, I'm sharing a very simple little gift that I put together for the members of our youth choir at church.

This is a small group, but they are so enthusiastic and fun!  They even requested to have a practice on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving even though we were planning to take the week off.  They also came up with the idea of going caroling to some of the older members of our church.  Can you tell I'm completely in love with this group?! I wanted to make them a little something.  Not a big gift, but something to show our appreciation.  I decided on the 'snowman soup' packet-hot chocolate w/ marshmallows and a candy cane.



I also wanted to add something related to singing and found a great Bible verse.
As I was typing this, it reminded me of Buddy the Elf and I thought this group
would appreciate the connection between the biblical verse and a quote from Elf.



I was determined to use up my stash on these and I'm proud to say that everything (with the exception of the ink, punch, and some vanilla & cherry cobbler cardstock) is from that ever present stack of retired papers and ribbon that seems to grow the more I use it.  Do craft supplies reproduce??  Maybe I need to separate my masculine and feminine papers... (heh!)  The general design of the pouches came from something I saw on Pinterest and found here.  I felt that I needed to give credit where it was due.

Well, that's it for me! Hope you have a marvelous day and thanks so much for stopping by!

Monday, January 6, 2014

Happy Mail at Christmas time!

I almost forgot to post photos of some of the happy mail I received over the holidays!  I was blessed to get some very special handmade creations and wanted to share them with all of you.  All of these wonderful ladies became friends through blogging and they have such amazing talent.  I'm sure they would love it if you popped by their blogs and paid them a visit!


Heather sent this fantastic spinner card! The 
textured paper and rich gold is so pretty in person!




Cindy made this wonderfully glittery card!




Lisa had so many fabulous layers on her beautiful card!




Mary made this amazing card using both positive and
negative cut images! So pretty!





AnnMarie crafted this lovely glittery layered card!

Well, we are in the middle of a very cold snap and I have decided to use the day off of school as a good excuse to get some much needed cardmaking done!  I will be back tomorrow with one final Christmas creation and then I'm moving on to warmer creations!! Have a great day and happy crafting!

Sunday, January 5, 2014

Anything But a Card Challenge 31- Balance anyone?

Hello!  I am trying really hard to stay on top of things I am committed to in 2014.  This includes making sure everyone knows about our latest challenge at ABAC.  Our challenge this month is a photo inspiration and a word...


and the word is... BALANCE!

As always, our challenges are very open ended.  You can create something based on an inspiration from the photo, the word balance, or a combination of the two.  Having seen some of the team creations, there are many ways to interpret the word balance.  We would love to see your creation linked up at the challenge site!!

I was so inspired by this challenge that I had my project completed quite some time ago and it's all ready to go for week number three of our challenge!

I hope you have a wonderful week and find time to play along! For my fellow midwest crafters and others dealing with this nasty arctic blast, stay warm and be safe.  It's the perfect weather for staying inside and getting creative!

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

A word for the new year

Over the years, I've found resolutions to be less than effective for me.  I have tried to be more reflective as a new year starts and look back at mistakes and pitfalls.  I also manage to find some things that I've done very well and want to continue into the new year.

Since I've been blogging, I've noticed that some people choose a word to be their focus instead of a list of resolutions.  I liked this idea but have always been too much of a 'big picture' personality to find one word to fit my needs.  The past couple of days were very low key compared to the pace of preparing for three Christmas celebrations and a wedding.  I found myself thinking and wanting to find my one word (I think this also was a result of reading Eat, Pray, Love earlier this fall).  But which word would encompass all that I want to accomplish, how I want to feel, and how I interact with others?  Oh, the pressure of finding that one perfect word...

Enough was one of my first thoughts.  Not as in "I've had enough!", but "Be happy with enough."  This applies to my financial goals.  It's not as hard to stick with a budget when you focus on what you 'need' and manage to make do with what you have.  We've actually paid off several bills this year using this word.  But the word 'enough' only seemed to cover part of what I want to achieve.

Balance was another great word that came to mind.  This was actually something I thought about several months ago when it was thrown out as a challenge for ABAC.  I think finding our personal balance is very important to being happy and I am constantly trying to adjust my 'scale' to keep things relatively balanced.  This means prioritizing the things that occupy my time and saying no to the things that don't fit on the scale.  But again, this wonderful word didn't quite fit everything either.

I finally gave up and decided that when the time was right, my word would come to me.  Hours later I took a break from the laundry to peek at my Pintrest feed.  I saw all kinds of inspirational words that others were pinning for new years and while they were all either poignant, endearing, or motivating, they were not what I was looking for.   I decided to pin a few of them for future use and while I was there, I checked my own board.  This seemed to jump at me...

A good life...

Easy, right?! hehe!  Then my wandering eyes settled on this beauty...

Dr. Seuss wisdom…

Suddenly my word was right there... SIMPLE.  One little word that encompasses so much.  Keep things simple can mean anything from my shopping list, my 'to do' list, plans, parties, or solving problems.  It's also something that I've already introduced in 2013.  Our new budget has helped us simplify our purchases.  My recent need to declutter the house has made me realize that I don't need nearly as many things as I once believed; and by keeping my plans and schedule simple, I will have more free time to do impulsive and meaningful things for others instead of telling them I can't right now.  So now I can rest my brain knowing that my word for 2014 is simple and I should be too!!

I wish everyone a very happy and meaningful new year!  May your days be filled with importance and love for others.  May you find peace and contentment in what you have, and may you always find time to create something you love!!  Thanks so much for visiting my blog!