Tuesday, July 29, 2008

New Stuff!!

This week is one of anticipation and fun as I look forward to and play with a few new toys!! First off, my printer ran out of ink a while back and I have been dragging my feet buying new cartridges because it costs me $100 to do so. And I just hate to spend that on ink. But Leif just saw this:

on Woot, so we ordered it! For about $50 more than I was going to spend on just ink I get a much better machine, with much higher quality printing, and the cartridges cost much less ($25-$30)! Plus I can replace the individual colors instead of getting a whole 3-color cartridge when one color goes dead. Hooray!!

And speaking of new tools for my craft room, I finally decided to get this beauty:


with the money I got for blogging at the store. I'm using it to make some new items for my etsy store, and I still hold to my earlier opinion... I love it! It even has a home on my shelf already, which is a plus! Now... any suggestions on where to get the binding coils for cheap in a variety of sizes and colors?

The item I may be anticipating most is something that I have wanted ever since I saw Dana first mention it. It is the cutest apron in the world:


Unfortunately, my guidelines for sewing sort of keep me from making one for myself. Oh, I could maybe do it, but I just don't have the patience for it. Amazingly, though, I won Dana's apron giveaway, so I'll be getting this in the mail!!

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It's not quite finished yet, but you get the idea. I am SO looking forward to it and SO excited about it! The colors are perfect and come Thanksgiving I am going to be the CUTEST cook ever. =D

So there you have it. Things I'm looking forward to and enjoying playing with.

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Okay, okay, okay....

I promise there will be "real" scrapping pictures soon. But right now I'm working on some new projects for my etsy shop (hoping to have a "grand reopening" of sorts come the first of August!) and this scrapblog thing is JUST SO EASY! So here's another one to share... (hit the play button to see all 5 pages in this album)



(btw, I didn't take the time to set transitions or pick the music, so you just sort of get the preset for the template. Sorry about that!)

Friday, July 25, 2008

A new look!!

I'm in the mood for a haircut. Do you ever get that way?? You just want to chop of all your hair and go for a completely new look?? Well, that's the mood I'm in. Unfortunately my husband is big on my hair being longer and not shorter. So anything more than a trim is more or less out right now.

BUT... no one said I couldn't give my blog a new look, right? =D Again with the scrapblog obsession - it's SO easy and fun!! New template, new header... Those of you with readers won't notice there, but pop on over and take a peek to see what I've done with the place!

In other news, I'm working on some new stuff to put into the (empty for way too long) etsy shop. It will be getting a facelift soon, too.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

And another!

I'm loving this Scrapblog thing! Now... how to print these adorable pages?


Scrapblog

Ever used Scrapblog? It's pretty cool. Very easy to use. And there are cute templates and themes to get you started!! I found out about it this morning and did a little playing and here's what I came up with....



I might do more digital scrapbooking if it were this easy! Love that it's all about dragging and dropping. And FREE! =D I like my Gimp, but this is so much easier! If you've ever been AT ALL interested in digital scrapbooking, especially if you've ever been scared to try it, you should give this website a try. It's completely web-based and it's really cool!

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Guess who got to craft yesterday??!!

Yep! And I'll be back with pictures at some point, but a made a mini album of Eliana's 2 year pictures and I put together a mini album of her 1 year cake pictures, too! TWO projects done on Ellie's 2 year birthday! You have NO IDEA how excited I am to get crafting time. It's grand.

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Hey there, Cupcake!



Well, the party is over and I'll call it successful! Cupcakes and an outside party are DEFINITELY the way to go. No plates or forks, no real clean up. That's what I like!!! As for the cupcakes...



This is what started my thinking on these cupcakes. I saw this little beverage dispenser at Target on clearance for $6. Since we were having an outdoor splash party anyway, I decided it was PERFECT! Of course, then I had to make everything else sort of beach themed, too. And I kicked myself for not finding this before I sent the invitations out, because the invitations did NOT match this theme at all. Oh well.

When I decided to go with the beach theme, I started thinking about the cake and what I wanted to do, and I remembered this cake by Claudene:

I loved the colors and the beach theme!! So that got me started on my cupcakes... First, the shells. I decided to "paint" mine using the Wilton melts (peanut butter and white chocolate - mmm!) so they'd look more like real seashells. It was my mom's idea. And, if I may say so, a great one!! Instead of using graham cracker like Claudene used, I chose to use up some of the Sugar in the Raw we had in the pantry. Again, loved it!! I made french vanilla cupcakes and filled them with french vanilla pudding, then topped them with whipped frosting, Sugar in the Raw, and candy seashells. I could have only hoped they would turn out this good, but they did!!





While I was getting the cupcakes set up and ready this morning a very groggy brand new 2 year old wandered out into the dining room, looked at the cupcakes, and said, "Oooh! Birthday cake!" It was so very cute!!



Happy Birthday, Cupcake! I love you!!

Friday, July 18, 2008

I'm not one to go gaga over CHA releases....

... and really, they get on my nerves sometimes because I see SO MANY of the new releases and not much in the way of fun projects while I'm blog reading. Especially this year. My mojo seems to be on vacation, so I really am not that jazzed about the new products. In fact, at our DT meeting a few days ago, everyone was talking about the new lines they wanted to design with and all the great things coming out and I just sort of sat there because I just didn't care. Paper is paper, right? Sure, the new stuff is cute. But there are some old lines I'm just as happy with. Don't get me wrong - I love that new stuff is coming out. I just haven't been interested in browsing the web, searching for sneak peeks, and getting excited about new lines. Really, I'd just like some uninterrupted time to craft so that I CAN get interested in scrapbooking again. Like I said, the mojo is missing.

But tonight I was going through my reader and I came across this sneak peek of the new Crate Paper lines... And I started to drool. Seriously. I want everything from every one of these lines. It's the first thing I've seen that I HAVE to have, and I doubt our LSS will carry it. I like it enough that I might even become an internet scrapbook shopper. Until now I've restrained (except for Hambly, but that's an addiction all its own.) but this might send me over the edge. I. Love. It.

Now... if I could only find me some toddler-free time to spend dreaming of all the cool things I could do with such beautiful paper...

Party Prep!

Today is party prep day!!!

Tomorrow is Eliana's 2 year birthday party, so this morning I baked cupcakes. Mmm! They smell SO good. This afternoon I'll make frosting and frost them. In addition to the cupcakes today I need to:
  • move and fill the swimming pool for the kiddos.
  • hook up and place the giant sprinkler ball.
  • form the rest of the ice cream balls and cover them in sprinkles.
  • put up the gazebo.
  • sweep the deck.
  • wash sippy cups to fill for the kiddos.
  • make bubble solution for the giant bubble wands.
  • put together party favors.
  • make the birthday banner.
I'm sure there are other things I need to do. But this will keep me busy for a bit at least! Especially since I think today is the day we do away with Ellie's naps altogether. She's been fighting us on naps and bedtime and I think maybe it's just time to forego the nap. I don't know if I'm ready for it or not, but we'll see if I can get everything ready while she's up and about! =D

Hope to get some good pictures this year. Last year's were so disappointing I'm hoping we'll make up for it! Especially since Leif just got a new lens for the camera and I know he's itching to try it out!

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Purple Onion Anniversary Sale!!


Purple Onion is one of my favorite stamp companies, and they're having a SALE! They have awesome prices to begin with, so getting it 25% off just makes it that much better! Seriously... go check it out.

Now I remember why I didn't print these last year...

Now that my daughter will be 2 on Saturday I'm finally getting around to printing her 1st birthday pictures. Some mom I am, huh? And as I look back through the pictures, selecting which ones to print, I remember why we didn't print them the first time around... These are the pictures that made us go out and buy our D80. The Finepix was dying and we were SO disappointed by her birthday pictures that 2 days later we had a new camera. Unfortunately, we can't retake birthday pictures. *sigh* So I'll have to scrap the bad ones. BUT... at least I'm getting them printed before she turns 2. Just barely.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

DT Meeting Today...

We had a DT meeting today at Keepsakes to plan our schedule for the fall. As I've mentioned before, I'm trying to pare down my responsibilities right now. Eliana is getting busier and busier and doing less sleeping and playing by herself, which means she gets more of my attention and I get less time to myself. So.... I will be teaching fewer classes in the fall, and I passed the buck to Susan Beth as far as the Keepsakes blog goes. She will do a marvelous job with it, I am sure, and she has more enthusiasm for it than I have right now. It was nice to get paid for blogging, sure, but right now I'm choosing sanity, especially since I barely have time to craft as is, much less craft for myself, create classes, blog for myself, and blog for the store. Something had to give, and that was it. *sigh* A weight lifted, yes, but I will miss it. On the plus side, though... it should mean I'll have a few extra minutes to blog here! =D =D

Most of my craftiness in the last couple weeks has revolved around my daughter's 2nd birthday party this Saturday. We're having a splash party (read: toddlers in swimsuits playing with bubbles, a kiddie pool, and a giant sprinkler ball!) with a sort of beach theme to it. I'll have to post pictures when everything is done, but for right now there are just ideas brewing in my head and yummy treats in the making.

So... that's what I've been up to. Trying to figure out what things to keep doing, what to let go of, and what to do with the time I do have... I haven't figured it all out just yet, but it's getting there.

Monday, July 07, 2008

And now for something completely different...



I love the two sided cardstock I get from R0ShamBo. I had this little scrap of blue/brown already folded to make a card, and I decided to play. I came up with something completely different than I normally do, but I think it's fun!

Sunday, July 06, 2008

Using up the stash...

I've had a few partially made cards sitting in my stash for a while, just waiting to be embellished. I had 5 of these gold/navy squares made up, so I took a few minutes the other day and made a set of these little thank you notes. They're incredibly simple, but I think they turned out kind of cute!

Saturday, July 05, 2008

More Scrapliftery



The February Sweet Pea Scraps gallery was awesome, and I ended up lifting quite a few layouts to work through my own pictures! Here are another couple lifts I did!

Friday, July 04, 2008

Happy 4th of July!

A little peek at our 4th of July party...













I made up some infused simple syrups (cherry, cinnamon, and vanilla) to sweeten the sparkling lemonade, dressed up some pixy stix for some cheer, and cut some flowers from my garden for a little red, white, and blue. And I topped it all off with a little star banner decorated by Eliana, who will turn 2 in just a couple weeks! We had just a small gathering, but there were burgers, there was fun, and it was a refreshing way to spend a hot holiday! Hope your 4th was wonderful, too!

Thursday, July 03, 2008

What I did with my winnings....



So a little while back I won a Scrapdragons challenge and got this spiffy prize package. Woohoo! So... I just figured I'd share some of what I did with it. I obviously didn't use all of the paper or journaling spots, and I added a few of my own things, but this is the gist of it. It's not completely done (as you'll notice by the lack of journaling) but I wanted to share it anyway. I'm LOVING acrylic albums these days!

















One of the things I love about acrylic albums is that you can create layering that peeks through from other pages. It makes the project that much more complex and fun to complete!



Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Something original!

I know I have been doing a lot of scraplifting with the February SPS kit, so I figured I'd show you something original! I have really had a lot of fun with this kit, even if it is from months ago and I just got around to it! I can't believe this picture was taken a year and a half ago already... it just doesn't seem like it was that long ago! And now my baby is going to be 2 this month... Wow. Time flies.

Tuesday, July 01, 2008

A Winner!!

Happy Tuesday!! As promised, I compiled the people who entered the previous MIM challenges and, with a little help from random.org, drew a winner this morning...

Here is a list of all the people who left me links to entries for previous MIM challenges:

  1. Janet / Moosisk - http://moosisk.blogspot.com/2008/06/my-inner-martha-challenge-june-2008.html
  2. Tam - email circular sketch
  3. sueb - http://sueblondin.blogspot.com/2008/05/happy-memorial-day.html
  4. Tam - http://www.tamstreasurebox.com/blog/what_once_was_broken
  5. Janet (moosisk) - http://moosisk.blogspot.com
  6. smilynstef - http://ingeniousinkling.typepad.com/ingenious_inkling/2008/03/saturday-get-we.html
  7. Anita - http://stampinwithanita.com/?p=143
  8. smilynstef - http://ingeniousinkling.typepad.com/ingenious_inkling/2008/03/cutting-board-i.html
  9. anita - http://www.wowprincess.com/anita/?p=168
  10. lauren - http://llaurenb.blogspot.com/2008/02/sympathetically-purple.html
  11. smilynstef - http://ingeniousinkling.typepad.com/ingenious_inkling/2008/02/mixed-up-life.html
  12. lauren - http://llaurenb.blogspot.com/2008/01/my-inner-martha-challenge.html
  13. tam - http://tamstreasurebox.com/blog/mini_love
  14. anita - http://www.wowprincess.com/anita/
  15. maisymary's findings - http://twopeasinabucket.kaboose.com/pg.asp?set=recent&gallery=1&cmd=display&layout_id=1294945
  16. kate - http://momma-bot.blogspot.com/2008/02/mim-challenge.html
  17. kate - http://momma-bot.blogspot.com/2008/02/mim-challenge-2.html
  18. kate - http://momma-bot.blogspot.com/2008/02/mim-challenge-3.html
  19. sandra - http://miartecreativa.blogspot.com/
  20. sandra - http://miartecreativa.blogspot.com/
  21. sandra - http://miartecreativa.blogspot.com/

Here are the results from random.org...

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

10

Timestamp: 2008-07-01 17:01:11 UTC


and that means our congratulations go to... LAUREN!!

I'll get this lovely prize package in the mail to you right away!!



The Craft Room... (Part 2)

The craft room has been clean for some time, but I realized I hadn't put any more pictures of it up. So here's part two of my little craft room tour. This used to be my primary scrapping desk, but now that my computer is on the other table, that has become my primary scrapping space. Funny how that works. So here is the second table:



And some of my storage solutions... for flowers...



I keep smaller flowers that I have a lot of in these little buckets on my pegboard. The fasteners I used were originally intended as cord ties to keep electrical cords flat against the pegboard. But I used them for just about everything else. =D



Larger flowers or smaller ones that I only have a few of are kept in jewel cases and stored by color on a CD rack I have hanging on the pegboard. It seems to be a good solution and has worked well for me.



... for mini albums...



I have a few of these baskets lashed to the pegboard and one of them houses my mini albums that don't have a display home in my house yet. They're easily accessible here, and I like using them for inspiration from time to time. I'm sure I will find a different home for the mini albums at some point, but for now they're here.

... for punches...



another basket I use to store my smaller punches. With the exception of my corner rounder, these are the punches I use less often, so it's not a problem keeping them together like this and digging out the one I need when it's time to use it. For my more often used larger punches, I keep them on the bottom of this shelf:



I also keep my tape dispensers on this shelf (who knew I would use so many decorative tapes?? I love them! The IOD tapes come with 3 rolls and one dispenser, so I bought additional dispensers at the dollar store so I could have them handy any time!) as well as my staplers. Along the top of the shelf I have screwed baby food jars to hold my ribbon scraps by color. These are too small to go in my other ribbon storage, but are great for little ribbon tabs and accents. The jars are easy, too... you just unscrew the jar and the lid stays in place while you get what you need from the jar. I think I learned that trick from Martha a few years ago and have just been waiting to try it out! I have to say that I like it...

That's pretty much it for this table. I try to keep as many tools as possible hanging up on the pegboard so that they have a home and aren't sitting on my workspace all the time. Other tools I have hanging above this table include my hole punches, crop-a-dile, circle cutter, paddle punches, brayer, and piercing wheels. I keep a large and small pair of scissors and gluestick at every craft table because those I need to reach all the time for large and small projects. It's just easiest if they're right there.

I've got more pictures of my craft room coming, but I figure this is good for now. Perhaps when I'm done with the whole tour (after part 6 or 7, ha ha!) I'll make up a slide show that will give you the complete look in one post. But for now we'll take it one table at a time!