Craftarrific

I {Heart} Scrapping Challenge: Day 13

2012-02-13T07:00:00.000-08:00

"Lucky Number 13" is the inspiration for today's challenge! I instantly thought of a few different ways to play this one:

Cards
Queen of Hearts
Dice
King of the Castle
Call a spade a spade (gardening, perhaps???)

Have fun with it! Play around with the words. Let the concept of "Lucky Number 13" roll around in your head and your heart...then get scrapping! Link up below and tweet your work with #love2scrap so others can be inspired by your ideas.

I {Heart} Scrapping Challenge: Day 12

2012-02-11T07:00:00.001-08:00

"A Month of Sundays" is today's scrapping prompt! This could be a calendar page, with special days of the month highlighted. Or, it could be about a special Sunday. It's YOUR scrapbook, I'm just the easily amused muse! I can't wait to see what you've done in the linky tool below! I'll be watching for your tweets with #love2scrap too!

I {Heart} Scrapping Challenge: Day 11

2012-02-11T07:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Sketch Saturday! My hands are very cold today and not cooperating. Rather than try to get my mouse to talk to Paint to create my own sketch for you, I found this cute sketch at ScrapBooks Etc.:

You know me, no hard and fast rules around here! If you see a sketch you like better, go for it! It's all about getting some scrapping done! Go on now, go do it! Then come back and link up and tweet #love2scrap!

I {Heart} Scrapping Challenge: Day 10

2012-02-10T07:00:00.000-08:00

Woohoo! It's another Freebie Friday! Simply click on the quick page image below and download your freebie. You don't even have to have fancy (or not so fancy) digital scrap-booking or photo editing software! Simply plug in your pics and you're DONE! Feel free to rotate the layouts and/or add embellishments. Enjoy!

I {Heart} Scrapping Challenge: Day 9

2012-02-09T07:00:00.000-08:00

I have always loved the water! Well, ok maybe not always. My dad tells me that when I had chicken pox they put me in a cool bath and I screamed bloody murder. It wasn't until I got a little older, and we had a swimming pool, that I came to appreciate the water. Now, I can't get enough of it!

That is where today's inspiration comes from! I call it Thirsty Thursday! There are sooo many ways you can work with this:

Incorporate your favorite beverage into the layout.
Include water drop elements.
Use a water type background paper.
Make a layout about a day at a water park, the beach, or just running through the sprinklers in your yard!
What else can you think of? Feel free to brain storm in the comments, then go do your thing!

Share your ideas with others by linking up below and tweeting #love2scrap.
Come back tomorrow for Freebie Friday!

I {Heart} Scrapping Challenge: Day 8

2012-02-08T08:00:00.000-08:00

Here we are again! Are you ready for the next piece of inspiration for completing one or more scrapbook (digi or old school) pages today? Me too! let's get started!

Today's inspiration is Wild Wednesday! Create a layout with an animal print, or a spread about a trip to the zoo, or feature your favorite pet. These are just some ideas to ignite your brain things.

Other scrappers might get stuck, so remember to post your work somewhere and link up directly to your blog, flickr, picasa, wherever you decide to post your pages! This way we can all share ideas and meet our scrapping goals! Please tweet your work too with the #love2scrap hash tag. Thanks for playing along!

I {Heart} Scrapping Challenge: Day 7

2012-02-07T08:00:00.000-08:00

I hope you are blasting through your scrapbook pages like there's no tomorrow! Thankfully, there most likely IS going to be a tomorrow, which is why we all create our scrapbooks in the first place, right?

Today's challenge is: Two-fer Tuesday! Create a 2-page spread, depicting the same event. When you're done, link up below so others can see what you've created. Help spread the buzz by tweeting your post with #love2scrap.

I {Heart} Scrapping Challenge Day 5: My Turn (STILL catching up!)

2012-02-06T14:27:00.000-08:00

Oh it feels SO good to get caught up, and hopefully stay there! I may just have to keep scrapping every day! They say it takes 21 days to create a habit right? And we'll be at this for 29 days, so I guess I'm making it a habit, too! I was supposed to do this layout yesterday, Superbowl Sunday. Instead, I was having Craftybowl 2012 with my friend, Christy. She has a new embroidery sewing machine. She brought it over so we could figure out how to get her machine to talk to her computer. It was a success!

While she experimented with her machine and downloaded images to embroider, I got my netbook connected to my Cricut. I recently discovered Cricut Craftroom and I'm SO excited! That's all up and running now, so watch for Cricut projects coming to a blog near you!

On with today's layout! For Day 4, I scrapped a page about my trip to the UK. It was a pic of my sister and me. Today I thought it made sense to do a page about my precious, adorable, sweet nephew! Notice the soccer ball! They're big on soccer in the UK (only they call it football). Since I wasn't really into the Superbowl this year, I thought it fitting to include a soccer ball on my nephew's page!

I {Heart} Scrapping Challenge Day 4: My Turn (Catching Up)

2012-02-06T13:43:00.000-08:00

The inspiration on Day 4 was: "One image with journaling. I added this one because both issues are a challenge for me personally." The funny thing is, once I started journaling this page, I nearly ran out of room! I had a LOT to say about my trip across the pond.

Papers are from Shabby Princess (free).

I {Heart} Scrapping Challenge Day 3: My turn (Catching up!)

2012-02-06T12:55:00.000-08:00

I used a different Quick Page than the one I offered up on Day 3 of this challenge. That's just because of the way I'm attempting to stay current on my scrapping, while also catching up, working backwards. Here is a layout I made in about 2 minutes, using a Quick Page from Free Digital Scrapbooking:

My personal digi-scrapping machine is in serious need of medical attention. In the mean time, I am able to use a back up machine and create pages with Microsoft Publisher. I am working on a tutorial for you on how to do just that! Stay tuned!

I {Heart} Scrapping Challenge: Day 6

2012-02-06T08:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome back! Having fun? Doesn't it feel GOOD to get some pages cranked out!?

Today's inspiration is to create a black and white or sepia toned layout. I have seen some fabulous black and white layouts with color elements in them. That counts too!

Link up below. If you're struggling, come back to this one in a couple of days and see what others have done. That's the great thing about this challenge, it's one size fits all and the rules are loose!

I {Heart} Scrapping Challenge: Day 5

2012-02-05T08:00:00.000-08:00

Happy Superbowl Sunday!

I hope between tending the B-B-Q and cheering for your favorite team, you find time to complete at least one scrapbook page today!

Today's inspiration is Superbowl Sunday! You could have fun with this in SO many ways:

Use your team's colors in your layout, whether they're playing today or not. Heck, it doesn't even have to be a football team!
Create a layout for your child's sports team.
You could even use a "Get Your Head in the Game" title and work from there

The "goal" is to have FUN and get those pages DONE! Then, link up and tweet with the #love2scrap hashtag!

I {Heart} Scrapping Challenge: Day 4

2012-02-04T08:00:00.000-08:00

I hope you are finding this scrap booking challenge helpful! I know I gave myself a pretty firm goal of keeping with my scrapbooking this year. With so many fun ways to do it digitally, there's no excuse NOT to really! Whether you are scrapping with us digitally, or joining us old school, I'm glad you're here!

There is no prize for this challenge, other than at least 29 completed scrapbook pages. There are no hard and fast rules, either! Just have fun with it and get some pages done. I only offer guidance and inspiration along the way!

Today's inspiration is: One image with journaling. I added this one because both issues are a challenge for me personally! I like to cram way as many pictures as I can fit onto a layout. I am also not very diligent about journaling. When scrapping digitally, there is no need to be stingy and get as many pictures as you can on a page. Journaling is so important, too, no matter what your reason is for scrapping in the first place.

There you have it! Please link up your example below and tweet your post using #love2scrap!

I {Heart} Scrapping Challenge: Day 3

2012-02-03T08:00:00.000-08:00

Today's inspiration for I {Heart} Scrapping Challenge happens to fall on Freebie Friday! Feel free to use these FREE Quick Pages from MyMemories. You don't even have to have the MyMemories Suite (MMS) software to use these because they are in standard .jpg format. However, if you do decide to give MMS a try, be sure and use my code: STMMMS46094 for $10 off AND $10 in free digital downloads. That would go a long way toward completing this challenge!

Here are the samples. Click on the images to download the freebie. You can get more mileage out of Quick pages by flipping them, and by adding embellishments.

I {Heart} Scrapping Challenge Day 2: My Turn!

2012-02-02T17:30:00.000-08:00

Here is what I created with the "circles and dots" prompt from today's challenge. I used MyMemories Suite.

I {Heart} Scrapping Challenge: Day 2

2012-02-02T08:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome back to the I {Heart} Scrapping Challenge! I'm so glad you came along for the ride! Today's inspiration is to create a layout with circles and/or dots! Ohhh there are so many FUN FUN FUN digital kits out there with circles and dots!

If I were do an "old school" layout today I would use my Cricut for different sizes of circles.

Remember to link up and tweet with #love2scrap! The linky will stay open for one week. Feel free to come back for inspiration!

I {Heart} Scrapping Challenge Day 1: My Turn!

2012-02-01T08:20:00.000-08:00

Despite the fact my digi-scrapping machine is dying a long, slow death, I managed to be able to play along today. Let's hope I can keep up with the challenge posts AND scrapping along!

My daughter turned 3 in January. We had a Dora the Explorer themed party, which she had been inviting her friends and teachers to for MONTHS. My goal this year is to stay caught up on my scrapping. To me that means, scrapping an event within the month it occurs. I'm behind on scrapping my trip to the UK, but there aren't many pics of that so it won't take me very long.

Without further ado...here's my page for today's I {Heart} Scrapping Challenge:

All papers & elements, except for the cake and candles, were found at Free Digital Scrapbook.

I {Heart} Scrapping Challenge: Day 1

2012-02-01T08:00:00.000-08:00

Inspiration for Day 1: Choose a family member to create a birthday party layout for. If you're feeling super duper ambitious, you can create one for each member of your household! I've created this sketch to get you started:

This is my first attempt at a scrapbook sketch in Paint! Hopefully as this challenge goes on, my sketches will get better! Remember to post your page and link up! Tweet your post with the #love2scrap!

Also it is not even required that you use this inspiration today, or ever. Just scrap something and share!

Oh! And would you please head over to Mom Rocks Mealtime? Give Jen some bloggy love (or Tweet her)...she's one who suggested I host this challenge. Not only that, but she will help you figure out what to have for dinner so you can spend more time scrapping! Jah-Just Jennifer gave some critical editing to the project!

Valentine's Card Freebies!

2012-01-31T15:43:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you just want to create! Sometimes you want to give a homemade gift from the heart! Sometimes, your intentions are bigger than your busy schedule allows! Am I right? MyMemories is here for you! Enjoy this free tutorial and these free Valentine's card freebies to go with it! Click on the images below to go to the download page.

Happy Valentine's Day from me and the folks at MyMemories! If you are ready to jump head first into the world of digital scrapbooking, use my code, STMMMS46094, when your order MyMemories Suite. You'll get $10 off AND $10 in digital downloads to get you off to a strong start!

I {Heart} Scrapping Challenge!

2012-01-31T07:00:00.000-08:00

Attention, fellow scrappers! Whether you've gone digital, or doing your scrap booking the old fashioned way, I have a challenge for you! One my goals for 2012 is to keep my scrapbook up to date for this year. As is typical for me, life has gotten in the way. I was out of the country for the first 2 weeks of the year. I came back and my desktop computer, where I do my digital scrap-booking was so "full," it can't take any more. Now that I'm home and have a bigger, better, faster, MORE computer, I am ready to hit the ground running.

Here are the details for the challenge:

From Feb. 1-Feb. 29, complete at least 1 scrapbook page per day.
2 Page spreads count as 2 pages, so if you miss a day, you're all good!
Post your work for all to glean inspiration, using the linky tools at the bottom of each post.
Tweet your updates using the hash-tag: #love2scrap!
Have FUN FUN FUN and get those pages DONE!

To help you with inspiration, I will post some form of inspiration for you each day. It might be a color scheme, a layout sketch, a phrase you can incorporate into your layouts, whatever! Please share your work! We will also glean inspiration from each others pages.

Remember to tweet your updates using the hashtag #love2scrap!

Ready? Set? GO! Let the scrapping begin!

14 Days of Valentines

2012-01-23T16:29:00.000-08:00

You've heard of the 12 Days of Christmas, right? Well, what about 14 days of Valentines for your beloved from February 1-14? It doesn't have to be anything grandios or expensive, just small tokens of your love and affection. I have encountered a few variations of this idea around the web. This is my take on it. Here are some ideas to get you started:

Day 1: Let Me Count the Ways
Start out your 14 day love-venture by letting your honey know what you're up to! Write some things you love about him/her on pink, red, and white slips of paper. Roll them up and put them in a cute little jar. Tie a ribbon around it and present it to your sweetie on the first day of February.

Day 2: You Spice Up My Life
Make a jar of homemade salsa, or just make a creative label for a store bought jar and tell your Valentine how he/she spices up your life.

Day 3: Coffee, Tea, or Me?
For the tea drinker in your life, a cute, inexpensive tea cup, with a unique teabag and a cute card would go a long way! If your heart-throb is a coffee drinker, how about a gift card for their favorite coffee house, tucked into a coffee themed love note?

Day 4: For My Sweetie
Make some Valentine's goodies such as heart shaped cookies or candies and present it to your sweetie.

Day 5: You light up my life
Wrap a tea-light or votive in a candle holder in a piece of tissue paper and tie a ribbon around it with this sentiment.

Day 6: You Are One Hot Tamale (on a box of Hot Tamales, of course!)

Day 7: I'm Nuts About You (on a can of his/her favorite nuts!)

Day 8: You're the Icing on the Cake!
Make their favorite cake/cupcake and include this little note with it! If you're feeling super crafty, you can decorate a box to put the cupcake in!

Day 9: Love Potion #9
Get a bottle of your loved one's favorite beverage. Make a cute label on your computer or with scrap-booking supplies that says "Love Potion #9." Serve it with breakfast or lunch, as appropriate.

Day 10: Just the Two Of Us
Slip tickets to a movie, concert, sporting event or other event under the morning paper, or on the bathroom mirror for your Valentine to find. You could up the anticipation factor by making a scavenger hunt out of it, leaving clues as to where to look next!

Day 11: I'm Bananas Over You
Use some monkey and heart clip art to create a card on your computer. It doesn't have to be fancy. Attach it to a small bunch of bananas and set it somewhere your love with find it.

Day 12: I Think You're RED HOT!
Attach a label and some ribbon to a baggie with red hots!

Day 13: You Make Me All Bubbly Inside
Attach this love note to a bottle of bubble bath (to be enjoyed together, perhaps?), or a bottle of bubbly!

Day 14: You Knock My Socks Off
Give your sweetie a pair of wild, wacky socks with this cute sentiment! It doesn't hurt if it accompanies a larger gift, and/or a box of chocolates, and/or a dozen roses!

Do you plan to shower your loved one with 14 days of Valentines? If so, please comment with your ideas!

Freebie Friday: With a Link Up!

2012-01-20T16:24:00.000-08:00

Hello & Happy Friday, digi-scrappers and future digi-scrappers!

I've had some family drama today, so I will keep this brief. Click on the image below to download the Free Quick Pages from MyMemories. You can use the MyMemories Suite, or any digi-scrap application. Remember, if you want to purchase MyMemories Suite, use my code: STMMMS46094 for $10 off AND $10 in digital downloads!

Scrap them, blog 'em, and link'em up below!

The last time I laughed so hard, I cried.

2012-01-19T14:06:00.000-08:00

Today's Post is brought to you by Bloggy Moms Blog Dare! Today's topic is: The Last Time I Laughed So Hard, I Cried. Well, I already posted about the last time, which was when J.Ho & I figured out we had created the same Hanukkah/Christmas gift for each other. So, rather than rehash that story, I shall share another time!

I am actually quite famous within my family for my laughter, my ability to laugh until I cry, or on one occasion, laugh until I puked. It was our family's Christmas dinner at my aunt's house. I was probably between 7-10 years old. My brothers, cousin, and I had our very own "kids table" in a separate room from the grown ups.

I have no idea what set me off, but my brothers got me to laughing. I couldn't stop. I have a feeling it was a joke that was over my head, that I laughed at anyway, then thought it was funny I was laughing and laughed at the fact I was laughing at a joke I didn't understand. Understand? Ha! Anyway, I kept telling them to stop. Any chance I got to take a breath, I warned my youngest older brother to stop making me laugh.

By warned, I mean I forgot to mention to him that I was about to barf my dinner all over HIS dinner plate! That's because I didn't see it coming. I knew I needed to stop laughing or I'd get in trouble. I just didn't know trouble was coming in that form!

I am pretty sure my family is counting on my darling daughter, who's THREE today, to re-enact that scenario some day...just by virtue of being MINE!

That wasn't the last time I laughed so hard I cried, just the first and last time I laughed so hard I puked!

I'll Show You Mine...

2012-01-18T12:18:00.000-08:00

Well, here it is...my cave. I share my blog-spot with my work-at-home (W@H) office, my craft room, and my guest room. Needless to say, it gets a bit crowded and CLUTTERED. Hopefully this is a "before" picture and I can tidy up a bit and post an updated "After" shot!

I simply could not work without dual monitors. Blogging, surfing, social networking, yes. Working without dual monitors would be like asking me to sit on my hands and compose training materials by typing with my NOSE! When my system gets slow and needs to clunk through publishing a web based course or something, I can transition to Twitter or Blogger with the click of a couple of buttons. I don't really leave my desk all day except to fetch my coffee and lunch, then I'm back at it.

Since I spend most of my waking hours here, I really do want to make it a more pleasant place to hang out. I have already removed the outdated calendar. I have my boss's name written on my white board because she's a relatively new boss and I kept calling her Trish instead of Tricia. Everything else on my white board is quite outdated. My bulletin board could use a little updating too.

I really need to work on drinking water from my posh new, BPA-free blue cup! When I received it as a gift, I was really optimistic that it would help me get my 64+ ounces a day. So far, that hasn't panned out like I had planned.

Well, there you have it! I've shown you mine...now show me yours! ;)

The first time I saw...my daughter

2012-01-17T16:09:00.000-08:00

Now that I have recovered (almost) from my trip to the UK, I will try to catch up on my Blog Dare posts! I was with my sister when she had her baby. It reminded me of the first time I saw Miss M (my daughter, who's about to turn THREE!)! My sister's labor & delivery story was very similar to mine, which brought it all flooding back to me, not like I'll ever forget!

I remember being overdue. I remember going to church the Sunday after she was due and of course, in case it wasn't obvious, everyone asked where the baby was! I remember how I couldn't wait to meet her. I remember that I wasn't as terribly uncomfortable as most mommies-to-be, but I just couldn't stand the agony of not knowing WHEN she would arrive! That about drove me nuts, until...

January 18, 2009, around 4:00 p.m. I was on Facebook, chatting with my bestie, Michelle. She had recently moved a couple of hours away and it was killing us both! We were having a lovely chat, when...OUCH! What was that?! Chat, chat, chat! WHOA that HURT! Chat, chat, chat...uhh, I think we better keep track of how often this is happening...more chat, finally I had to go tell hubby it was time to get ready. I knew our little one would be here before long.

I spent some time in the tub to relax. I love the water and had read great things about laboring in the water. All through the night, I tapped on hubby's shoulder so he could document the start of my contractions. Great way to make sure neither one of us got any sleep! by 10:00 the morning of January 19, I was in so much pain I was throwing up. I had a pretty good feeling that things were going to get a lot worse, rather than better. I told hubby to get ready to take me to the hospital NOW.

Away we went. It turned out I wasn't quite "ready" for them to keep me, but since I was to be induced the next day anyway, they let me stay. Probably cuz I was such a cry baby. Contractions HURT, man! I had been coached by my mental midwife to speak the word "epidural" every other word until they hooked me up. I did as instructed and got my epidural going lickety split. Once I knew I wasn't leaving that hospital w/out a baby, I relaxed a bit and could actually smile again!

Once they got the drugs going, I tried to rest between contractions as much as possible (yeah right). Fast forward a bit: Mom & Dad arrived. A little while later, my sister arrived too. They were just hanging out with me while I writhed in agony. Finally, it was time for the big show! I mean, really time! We went from "hopefully she'll be here before 10:00, I have an early morning appointment," (spoken by my OB) to mom telling the nurse, "I..I think I see her HEAD! (Miss M's, not mine!)" All of a sudden, the room was FULL of people. Doc was in the room next door, finishing up with another mommy and baby (the NERVE!). He arrived just in the nick of time to get me through the last few pushes.

They handed her to me...she was so warm and gooey and purpley...crying like WTF just happened!? I just held her and told her "It's OK, honey, we've both had a VERY big day!" Oddly enough, I think my sister, who is not the one with the front row seat to her nieces delivery, uttered pretty much the same thing to her son on January 5, 2012!

It was so surreal to finally hold her in my arms. I was in the deepest love imaginable and could not take my eyes off of her. That was the first time I saw...my daughter.

Cards from the Tooth Fairy

2012-01-17T13:25:00.000-08:00

We are halfway through the new year and I am SO far behind already. Well, it's worth it! I just returned from a trip to the UK where I spent some time with my sister before she went into labor, and had a few days left over to help out, post-baby! Now I am catching up on blogging, reading, stamping, and digi-scrapping. OK, well maybe not digi-scrapping. My computer is full to the gills with who knows what. I am afraid the large files generated from digi-scrapping will crash the whole thing, so that is on hold.

I did, however get the opportunity to make a couple of cards! My BFF, J.Ho has an awesome daughter, whom I happen to ADORE. This precious gem was my flower girl, and also the person to change my heart about having a daughter of my own. Before I met Jocalynn, painted her toenails, played the "match" game with adult and baby animals with her, and laughed out loud (literally) when her mom told me she requested "chicken ears" (better known as chicken wings to adults), I had NO desire to have a girl. The thought scared the bajeebies out of me. Anway...enough about the sappy stuff. I just can't help it. I love that girl!

Well, my lil' buddy is in her teeth losing years! I have the honor and privilege of participating in the Tooth Fairy Charade by creating cards from the tooth fairy. I love the technique I used with the pink ribbon. I need some practice with the folding on the right side of the circle, but I think it came out OK.

Gettin' Digi With It: Christmas Tree Ornaments

2012-01-03T12:01:00.000-08:00

Now that these ornaments have been gifted, I can finally post about them!
I used MyMemories Suite. I joined 4 circular punches, with a square in the middle (it's important to line them up correctly, or they won't match up come glue time.

I then filled the circles with one background paper and the square with another. I then copied the page 5 times for a total of 6 images. I then imported pics from throughout the year off of my friend's Facebook page to commemorate the year.

I printed the pages out on card stock and cut out the shapes. I then used a bone folder to fold at the edges of the squares. I glued the half circles together with glue stick and used a ribbon as the ornament hanger. I played around with the arrangement first by paper-clipping the half circles together before gluing.

One of my goals this year is to do one YouTube video per month, so I will make a tutorial when I get home from the U.K., where I am currently awaiting the birth of my nephew.

Bloggy Moms Blog Dare 2012: Day 1 - My Social Media Goals for 2012

2012-01-03T10:40:00.000-08:00

I only recently increased my blogging and tweeting. I discovered Bloggy Moms and joined the Blog Dare for 2012. Today's prompt is My Social Media Goals for 2012. Without further ado, here they are!

Blog at least 5 days a week, even if it's only brief.
Get into YouTube with at least 1 video demo/tutorial per month.
Pimp out my blog with tools to help my readers follow me and share my content.

I don't know what would be reasonable goals as far as Twitter followers, GFC, page views, etc. would be at this point, so I'm just going to make a concerted effort to post more often, and be an authentic member of the blogosphere and let everything grow organically. Maybe next year I will have a firmer grasp on this stuff and set concrete goals.

Buh-Bye, 2011 (Don't let the door hit ya...)

2011-12-30T17:03:00.001-08:00

This post syarted out as a recap of all the $hitty things that happened this year. It was going to be a LONG post! Instead, I'd rather focus on the upsides of it all, wherever possible.

Downside #1: My Mother in law (MIL) came to live with us while she underwent radiation therapy for a rare form of cancer in her pallatte. It wasn't her living there, or even tge radiation tgat was such a drag. It was going through the side effects with her, being scared out of my mind. Many stressful visits to the ER & a side of family drama.

Upside #1: The "home health angel" was really more of a support for me as a care taker. I would've lost my marbles for sure if it hadn't been.for her. I also became close friends with my MIL, in a way that never would have happened otherwise.

Downside #2: My Uncle Bruce passed away in July. It took a while to sink in...and then I saw firetrucks at a 4th of July festival. I realized then that I'd always thought of my uncle, the fire captain, whenever I saw a fire truck or there was some huge fire in Cslifornia. I beat myself up a bit over not kerping in better touch, especially when he went through his own battle with throat cancer.

Upside #2: I grew a lot through the grieving process. His funeral became a sort of family reunion as well. That in and of itself was quite an adventure!

Downside #3: The death of my (step-) brothers' dad. My heart breaks for my brothers.

Upside #3: I am realizing that funerals will become more frequent in my life. More personal growth! Another mini-family reunion. This time I saw my "step-and-a-half" sisters for the first time in probably 25 years!

Downside #4: #%%*/*-&%@@&&* Jury Duty. NOW I see why everyone wants to get out of it! This was a murder case with no frickin evidence & sketchy witnesses! It was so intense & stressful.

Upside #4: More growing up for Sara. I got to see some ugly parts of the real world we live in, up close & personal. I got to experience how the judicial system works. I plan to write a book about it, so maybe I'll make a few bucks! If nothing else, I'll be able to scratch "write a book" off my bucket list.

There were many more highs (like learning of my sister's pregnancy & spending New Years Eve with her & her husband)& lows in 2011 (like getting rear ended at Christmas), but these were the biggies for me. I feel like I've aged 7 years, but I'm trying to look at hown much I've GROWN on the inside.

No doubt about it, 2011 sucked big time and I'm not at all sad to see it go. The good news is, "His mercies are new every morning." It's a New Year with it's own challenges & opportunities.

Wordless Wednesday (bending the rules a bit)

2011-12-21T12:04:00.000-08:00

My BFF, Jen, a.k.a. J.Ho, a.k.a. Mom Rocks Mealtime, a.k.a. Eve Dubois, pet masseusse, ALWAYs makes the most wonderful, sentimental gifts! She REALLY likes to make me cry. This year she cracked me UP! OK, we cracked each other up. We tend to joke that we share the same brain. Well, come to find out it's totally TRUE!

I started out trying to make her some lovely ornaments for her tree. They did turn out as nice as I'd planned, so I decided I needed a Plan B. I will post about the ornaments at another time.

Plan B came about when I stumbled upon a blog about putting ruffles on an apron. EUREKA! I'll make her an apron! I'll cut out the letters for "Mom Rocks Meals" with my Cricut and iron them on! SCORE! Double score when I discovered I had an unused, un-embellished black apron in my inventory! That cut out some steps and saved some time. It turned out another friend of mine got an early Christmas pressie: an embroidery sewing machine! So, of course I invited her over for a "Girls night IN" for some crafty craftiness and VOILA!

Now here's the same brain part...Jen and her sweet family came over for dinner and gift exchange last night. It was the first night of Hanukkah, so we decided to all wear blue shirts. We are not Jewish, but Jesus was, so it worked for us! I started to chuckle when my little one opened her pressie from Auntie Jen: an adorable apron with the words "Hot Spill" on it! I said "OH! Let's take a PICTURE!" to which Mr. Jen replied, "No, why don't you wait til you open YOUR present!" I knew right then...we had made the same gift for each other and each others daughters!

You can't tell in this pic, but Josie's apron is reversible. The back side matches one of the ruffles on her mom's apron. I love love LOVE the way the embroidery turned out! I thought the ruffles were cute. As for our aprons, they are PRICELESS! Jen, once again, OUTDID herself! The coordinating fabrics are SO cute, and of course in true brain sharing form, the aprons from her have a little ruffle too! Do you see how she attached the straps on ours? It's SO cool! There are button holes on the apron and the straps have a knot at the end and work like a button. Miss M's has lil' retro buttons that coordinate oh-so-cute with the fabric!

Happy Crafting!

Freebie Friday: Digi Scrapping Papers & Elements!

2011-12-16T08:00:00.000-08:00

I am slowly but surely getting rid of my old school scrap-booking stuff. I just know I will never use it. I give some of it to my soon-to-be-three year old for her art box, a little at a time, and give some of it away. I am a full fledged digital-scrapbooking convert and I'm here to spread the word!

Benefits of digital scrapbooking:

Cheaper: Supplies are much cheaper and can be reused infinite number of times. You don't have to pay to have your digital images printed before you can scrapbook.
Flexible: If you make a mistake or don't like the way something looks, it's easy to change it.
Convenient: Your pics are already in digital format anyway! Plus, with Quick Pages, scrapbooking a two page layout goes from taking HOURS to MINUTES!
Duplicatable: Design the book once, and print multiple copies for friends and family members.

I could go on and on but I think you get the point: Digital Scrapbooking is AWESOME! To get you started, here is a little FREEBIE from MyMemories. You don't have to have the MyMemories Suite to use it. Although, if you want to score yourself a copy and make your scrapbooking life MUCH simpler, you can purchase a copy and save $10 when you use my code: STMMMS46094. You will also get $10 worth of digital downloads from the MyMemories store!

Click the image below to download the freebies. Please comment with a link to your work! I want to see what you've done with it.

Happy Scrapping!

When Do You Begin Decorating for the Holidays?

2011-12-15T13:06:00.000-08:00

I try to get my holiday decorating done Thanksgiving weekend. We managed to pull it off this year, too. We have a small, artificial tree that we set up on a small table at the end of the couch. This helps keep the cats out of it. The toddler can still gawk at and touch the ornaments on the lower branches, but overall, the tree is safe from potential danger.

So far we have not been able to afford outdoor lights. I am really hopping, and somewhat planning to save for that for next year. I think the little one would really enjoy that. She loves looking at all the lights when we drive home from pre-school.

This year I kept the decorating really simple. It's pretty much just the tree and a couple of other items in the living room. I put one decoration in the bathroom. I'm going to be gone for two weeks after Christmas, so I didn't want to go overboard.

When do you usually begin decorating? How far do you go? Griswold-over-the-top? or keep it simple? When do you plan to decorations down? I'd love to hear from you!

Please comment below. If you have trouble commenting, please contact me on Twitter @craftarrific and let me know what's happening. I've had reports that people can't comment, but it works when I try to do it. Thanks!

Freebie Friday: Digi Scrap Fodder

2011-12-09T11:37:00.000-08:00

I was converted to digital scrapbooking by my dear friend, Jen, also known as J.Ho. We fell in love with the flexibility of it all. We started out creating pages in Microsoft Publisher because neither of us have PhotoShop. We learned the joys of digital freebies and QUICK PAGES! OMG! Quick Pages are a blessing from heaven!

Quick Pages are pre-made layouts, ready for you to plop your pictures right into and VOILA, you have a beautiful scrapbook page in minutes. It takes longer to select your pics than it does to actually make the page! I love it!

Jen is way more creative than I am, so I rely HEAVILY on quick pages and digi-scrap kits of all kinds.

I have a long distance friend via Jen, named Jenni. I am blessed with many Jennifers in my life! Jenni's blog, Jah-Just Jennifer gaveaway MyMemories Suite and I was the winner! Now I truly believe I can accomplish my scrapbooking goals in 2012:

Scrap as I go through the year, practically real time, as things happen so I will have a beautiful year in review by the end of the year.
Catch up on the Lovely Miss M's scrapbook! I can't BELIEVE how many pics we have of this child! She's nearly three, so I'm way behind. I have some pages done, most of which I'd like to redo.
Create a digital scrapbook of my WEDDING. We celebrated five years of marriage in November, but what's the rush, right?

That sounds like a lot to take on and even as I read that list now I get a little overwhelmed. If I keep on top of #1, and chip away at #2 & 3 at least I will be happy.

Well, what about this freebie I speak of in the title of this post??? Well, MyMemories has graciously provided me with some freebies to spread the love and hopefully create some more digi-scrapping converts! It doesn't matter if you use MyMemories, My Digital Studio, PhotoShop, Publisher, GIMP, or another application. These files are in .png and .jpg format. You will receive:

2 Quick Pages
2 Coordinating papers used to make the quick pages
7 elements coordinating with the quick pages and papers

Remember, if you want to purchase the MyMemoriesSuite, use my code: STMMMS46094 for $10 off the price of the software, PLUS $10 in free digital downloads from the MyMemories store! Please post a link to your project in the comments.

Here is what I created with this freebie:

Click on either example above to get your freebies!

Sewing again!

2011-12-05T10:57:00.000-08:00

I recently inherited a Singer Ultralock sewing machine (serger). My husband suggested I put it on Craigslist (GASP!). He added "Since you sew SO much (sarcastically)." I realized I haven't been sewing much the past three years because I've been working and raising a child! Well, now that she's more independent, I decided I can whip out the ole' Singer and put it to work!

Last night I got to work on a Christmas pressie for someone near and dear to me. They may or may not know this blog exists, so I will hold off on posting until after the gift has been given. It's a gift to me, too, because sewing is so therapeutic for me!

I also have TWO quilts in various stages that I need to complete before Christmas too. EEK! All this, AND work AND run an Avon business (know anyone who wants to make some extra cash on the site? Comment me!). Oy vey! Oh yeah, and lots of Christmas goodies to be made, too!

Oh well, it's still the "Most Wonderful Time of the Year."

2011 Christmas Card Drafts

2011-12-03T13:55:00.000-08:00

Now that my family has attended the annual cookie parted hosted by none other than the lovely J.Ho (of Mom Rocks Mealtime fame) and her sweet family, I am now able to play around and create my family's annual Christmas card. The two traditions go hand in hand. Jen sets up a photo booth and takes a picture of each family as they come in. I have been using this family photo as the photo basis for my Christmas cards.

This year, I used MyMemories Suite to create the options I will present to my husband. Remember, you can use my code: STMMMS46094 at checkout for $10 off the software, plus $10 in free digital downloads on the site. I used a set of 5x7 Quick Pages to create my cards. I added the borders to the first two.

I prefer the sentiment "Merry Christmas" to "Happy Holidays," so I tried to tweak the landscape option:

From the looks of things now that I've actually uploaded these, I need to shift the QuickPage a little bit so the right side doesn't get cut off. Please comment with your favorite! If you have the MyMemories Suite already and make your Christmas cards with it, post a link and I'll check it out! Even if you use other software, such as PhotoShop, or MyDigital Studio, please share your digital handiwork!

Happy Crafting!

Christmas Pressie Sneak Peek!

2011-12-02T12:42:00.000-08:00

You may recall that a while back, I won MyMemories Suite digital scrap-booking software from Jah-JustJennifer. I've posted some of the pages before. I am happy to report that I can now offer my readers a code for $10 off the software AND $10 in free digital downloads from the MyMemories site: STMMMS46094.

One thing I LOVE about MyMemories Suite is it is SO easy to use! I recently upgraded to the latest version and received $10 in free digital downloads. I used my credit to purchase a 2012 calendar template and was able to whip out Christmas gifts for hubby and grandparents in just a few hours. It would have gone MUCH faster if my computer was up to the task, but I'm working on that!

Here is a sneak peak at some of the pages:

I needed more pics in July than the layout allowed, so Just added them in! No problem!

A friend of mine, who also makes calendars for Christmas, suggested putting a picture of the face of the person whose birthday it is on their actual birthday! Great idea, but I wasn't willing to take the time this year. Maybe next year I'll add that little upgrade.

Happy Crafting!

Pulled Another Rabbit Out of My Hat

2011-11-06T19:20:00.001-08:00

...or rather, a decent meal out of my nearly bare fridge & pantry. I call it Cheater's Chinese Fried Rice:

- a few strips of bacon
- leftover onion
- brown rice
- frozen veggies
- low sodium soy sauce (sounds like an oxymoron, doesn't it?)
- a few eggs or egg substitute

Get the rice cooking first (may substitute your fave kind of rice, whatever's on hand).

Meanwhile, cut the bacon into 1/2" or so pieces & cook it in another pan. Add the onions a few minutes before the bacon is done. When the onions get nice & soft, take it off the heat until the rice is done. Feel free to drain the bacon grease. I didn't because the bacon was somewhat lean, so it didn't produce a whole lot if grease. I thought it added to the flavor.

When the rice is cooked, turn the heat back on the bacon & onions. Dump the rice in & stir it all together. Add the frozen veg (about 1 1/2 cups or so).

I didn't prepare the frozen veggies. i just let the heat of the rice defrost & heat them up.

Clear a space in the center of the rice to cook & scramble the eggs. When the eggs start to cook, incorporate them with the rest of the ingredients.

Add soy sauce to you liking & serve! Presto! A cheap, healthy dinner and only two dirty pans!

Sara's SortaLike Chicken Florentine

2011-11-05T14:18:00.000-07:00

Last week I came up with this yummy concoction, using ingredients we had on hand. This was a rare occasion because we (hubby) usually plan our meals for the week, and buy just what we need. My bff, Jen, over at Mom Rocks Mealtime is a pro at menu planning!
Anyway, this is what I had to work with:

1 very large chicken breast
Yellow onion
Garlic
Olive oil
Canned spinach
Canned, diced tomatoes
Chopped olives
Arborio rice

Saute garlic & onion in a pan with olive oil. Meanwhile, in a separate pan, start cooking the Arborio rice according to package instructions. It takes a while.

Season the chicken breast as desired. I think I used seasoned salt, powdered garlic & onion powder. Place the chicken in the pan with garlic & onions. Cook for a few minutes on each side over medium heat. Time will depend on how thick the chicken is.
When chicken is nearly done, add the spinach & tomatoes (drained, or it will get too soupy). Add chopped olives. Let it all co-mingle for a while.

Once it all looks done to you, spoon some of the arborio on each plate. Put a piece of chicken on the rice and spoon the yummy spinach and tomato goodness over the top. If you happen to have some feta cheese on hand, sprinkle some on top. I tried this with a later rendition and it was DIVINE! Sorry, I forgot to take a pic both times I made this dish. I am probably making it for my folks next weekend, so I'll snap a pic for you then.

Instead of arborio, you could also serve up some brown rice, pasta, or whatever Roni box you have in your pantry.

Enjoy!

Trick Or Treating!

2011-11-02T17:24:00.000-07:00

Thanks for Mom Rocks Mealtime (our kiddos are bestest buds!), Free Digital Scrapbooking, Jah-JustJennifer (she turned me on to MyMemories...I won it on her blog), and MyMemories Suite, I was able to whip up this layout in the thirty minutes from when I gave up on my work project (it had already long since given up on ME!) and picking up my munchkin from pre-school.

My Memories: No Faces Challenge

2011-10-26T16:32:00.000-07:00

I recently won a copy of the MyMemories Suite digital scrap booking software from a contest at Jah-JustJennifer.

I became a fan of the MyMemories Facebook page and have been having LOTS of fun learning new techniques. The one I'll share today is from the blog. It's a No Faces Allowed Challenge! Let me know what you think! I am thinking I might go back and put a frame on the black and white image. There's just so much WHITE from my wedding gown, I think it's a little distracting. Feel free to give me feedback! I'm learning.

My Top 10 Stress Busters

2011-09-06T12:07:00.000-07:00

I recently read Top 10: Ways to De-Stress. It made me think about the stress in my own life right now and how I'm dealing with it. Here's my top 5 ways to de-stress (in no particular order):

Read: I used to love love LOOOOOVE to read! I would read anything I could get my hands on. Sometimes that was the back of a cereal box during breakfast. Now that I read all day at work, I have sort of lost interest. I recently started picking up free and cheap novels for my Kindle app on my phone. I have fallen in love with reading again. Having books on my phone makes it really handy to sneak in a chapter here and there!
Exercise: It's amazing what a quick workout on my Wii, or a walk around the neighborhood can do. There was a day recently where I was really down and beating myself up mentally pretty badly. I finally stepped away from my computer, got up and did my Just Dance II workout for about 20 minutes. It was TRANSFORMING!
Get Creative: Whether it's making cards, scrap-booking (digitally or old school), quilting, or knitting (which I pretty much gave up when my daughter came along, but hope to pick it up again someday), getting creative is a great for me to de-stress. It takes my head out of whatever is stressing me out and time just seems to FLY by. I have a couple of upcoming PTO days specifically for this purpose. I'm going to visit my BFF and we're going to spend the day making cards together. I can't wait!
Snuggle: Whether it's snuggling my hubby, my daughter, or both, I believe stress busting endorphins are released when snuggling! Especially when I sniff the top of my daughter's head!
Date night: Our daughter's daycare offers monthly "Kids Night Out." One Friday a month, we drop her off with her pajamas and don't pick her up until 9:00 or 10:00 at night. They entertain the kiddos with movies, crafts, and dinner. When we pick her up, she's in her jammies and ready for bed. She usually requires a little snuggle time after such a long day apart, but that has stress busting qualities in and of itself!

My Digital Studio (MDS) Monday (a day late!)

2011-03-29T17:03:00.000-07:00

I have been studying the My Digital Studio community website and user guide. I also FINALLY found my Sale-A-Bration content CD that I had stashed somewhere! Naturally that was AFTER I started this spring time card for the MDS Monday challenge over at Utah Divas International.

This card came together so quickly! I picked out my paper, grabbed a couple punches, couple stamps, added the ribbon and voila! The hardest part was getting Miss M's cute little face into a circle! I finally figured it out though! The stamp set is Easter Blossoms and the Designer Series Paper (DSP) is from the Springtime Vintage Collection. It's in the Occasions catalog that ends April 31, but I think it will still be available for MDS after that. I'm still learning the ropes about how retired sets work when it comes to MDS!

If you have your own program for digital scrapping and stamping, you can still use Stampin' Up Images. There is an option to download them as a JPG file instead of an MDS file!

March Swaps!

2011-03-24T15:12:00.000-07:00

My swaps this month were inspired by Martha Stewart, over at Seasons of Stamping!

Supplies:
Base- Old Olive Card Stock
Layer 1- Daffodil Delight Patterns DSP
Layer 2- Whisper White Card stock stamped with:

Embossed using the Big Shot & Square Lattice embossing folder.

Embellished the centers of the flowers with Basic Rhinestones.
Sentiment punched with Decorative Label Punch.

Some Things Have to be Believed to be Seen

2011-02-23T10:58:00.000-08:00

I am building up a stash of positive and encouraging cards to give my mother in law over the next 6 weeks or more. She lives in Costa Rica, but she is staying with us while she undergoes radiation treatment. I thought it would be nice to have at least one card for week, plus more for days I think she might need an extra boost.

I made extras for a swap I am in. Actually I have two swaps to finish but I haven't decided which one this is for yet: my monthly swap with a group of other stampers or a masculine swap.

Here are the Stampin' Up supplies that were used to make this card front:

Just Believe stamp set
Big Shot & Top note die
Old Olive card stock & DSP (Designer Series Paper)
Decorative Label Punch
Basic Rhinestones Jewel Accents (I think that means I need to use this for my stamper swap, not my masculine swap! Mind officially made up!)

There are other factors in my life right now causing stress. Nothing major, but the combined total of it all is taking it's toll on me. I have found stamping to be very therapeutic. It gets me into the creative side of my brain, where everything else just disappears. It also feels good to do something nice for someone else.

I also received some swaps in the mail this week. Just looking at them, gave me a lot of peace and happiness. I'll share pics of those in another post.

Gift Bag & birthday card

2011-01-29T15:14:00.001-08:00

I love this technique for making gift bags! I will do a tutorial soon. It involves decoratingvdirt cheap manila envelopes. When folded just right, they make a fabulous gift bag!

I made the card for a kids birthday swap I'm in. I had an extra. Since it's the same colors as the bag, PRESTO! Instant matching set!

The recipient is in Daisies, the youngest girl scout group. I thought this punch kindda resembled a daisy. I used sticky strip & grosgrain ribbon for the flower stems.

Funny Birthday Card story!

2011-01-18T14:01:00.000-08:00

January is chock full o' birthdays in my family! Mine is on the 13th, my daugther's is on the 19th (she was due on my birthday, and what a gift that would have been, but she showed up a week late!), my mom's is a week later on the 26th, and my aunt's is the 18th..I mean 16th! That's the funny part! To me, anyway!

My parents and my brother came for an overnighter on Saturday, the 15th. Mom figured we would just have on grand celebration, which was awesome. My little one is turning two and we're having a big Wiggles party, but Mom figured she wouldn't know if they were here or not and this way they could spend more quality time together. It was great!

Fast forward to Sunday night, the 16th...I get a voice mail from my aunt, saying my dad had called to wish her a happy birthday and said they'd been having a belated celebration with me, etc., etc. She went on to apologe for not calling me on my birthday...which is funny to ME because on my calendar her birthday is on the 18th! So, I made her this card using My Digital Studio today and will email to her with a funny message about how we both got our dates mixed up. Knowing my aunt, she will see the humor in it.

I CASEd (copy and steal everything) it from the Stampin' Bug.

My Digital Studio (MDS) is a great way to play around with many of the Stampin' Up products without taking up a lot of room! I also like to use it to design cards before I sit down to make them. In this case, it's also a great way to make a card for someone and send it electronically. If you are already a digital stamper or scrapper, you can still purchase and use MDS downloads with any program that uses JPG files.

I hope you enjoy this birthday card!

Warm Winter Wishes

2010-12-15T15:08:00.000-08:00

I have no idea yet who will receive this card. I created this card which I believe fits into two challenges:

Clearly Inspired Challenge #20 : Use three shades of blue, and use one of their stamps. The gals at Clearly iStamp even tossed in a freebie, which I used in the challenge.

Stampin' Sisters Challenge #39: Based on Ephesians 4:29, we were instructed to make a card that would encourage someone. Ah! Now I know who will receive this card!

Besides the Clearly iStamp snowman stamp, I used paper I had on hand. The following supplies came from Stampin' Up:

Ribbon
Flower brad
Crystal Effects (snowman's hat band)
I printed the sentiment on my computer and punched it out with the Scallop Oval Punch.

I had a lot of fun creating this.

Love Birds

2010-12-14T16:39:00.001-08:00

A worship leader we know is celebrating his 27th wedding anniversary with his wife in a few days. I saw his post on face book and decided to whip up a card. I searched for inspiration and found it at She Stamps (thanks, Cheryl!). I gave myself 15 minutes...then set the timer for 15 more minutes...then went a bit past that. So much for 15 minutes. I think if my office were more organized I could've done it in about half the time! I'm working on it. Progress, not perfection.

I used paper I had on hand, the Owl Punch and Scalloped Oval punches from Stampin' Up, the Journey and Ashlyn's alphabet Cricut Cartidges. I made a little "oopsie" at the bottom. I wrote in my nicest handwriting, "A Chord of thee strands is not easily broken." Notice I wrote "thee" instead of "three." There was no way to squeeze the R in there. Then I remembered I had this gorgeous chantilly crocheted trim in my stash! I used sticky strip to lay down the satin ribbon to cover up my oopsie. I would have preferred to use Chocolate Chip, but I was out. I think the black works ok with the crocheted trim over the top. Another layer of sticky strip (where would I be without this indispensable tool!?) went on over that, followed by the lace. My friend Michelle taught me this fold over technique & I use it every chance I get. It's a fun, easy way to add some flair. I'm all about fun and easy!

Thank you Card: Emma the Caroler

2010-12-10T17:27:00.001-08:00

Hubby asked me to make a thank you card for a client who gave us a huge ham. She's a pianist who loves angels. It took me quite a while to find just the right stamp. I will edit this post later with a link to the site I bought it from. Yes I said bought. I'll explain more about that later.
I used paper I had on hand for the wedding album I have yet to make, despite recently celebrating our fourth wedding anniversary!

Update: I bought the Emma the Caroler/ Caroling Angel Pre-Colored digital stamp set from Fred She Said. I searched all day for just the right freebie, to no avail. I found one I liked used on a card but I couldn't find the source stamp. In my search, I came across this little cutie. As much as I of course prefer freebies, I just had to have this one! $4 for a stamp I can use forever is not a bad deal!

Christmas Card ala My Digital Studio!

2010-12-06T15:06:00.000-08:00

This was my first crack at my Christmas Card. This isn't the one I'm going with but a couple of my followers will be receiving the real thing in the mail, so I didn't want to give it away. I'll be doing a 12x12 page from the Cookie part we went to Friday night and a Gymnastics birthday party we went to on Saturday. Stay tuned!

Happy crafting!

Peachy Keen Stamps Challenge #40

2010-11-10T19:42:00.000-08:00

I'm on vacation with hubby this week. We are up in Tahoe. It's kind of a working vacay for him, but it gives me some much needed down time. I've been working on a quilt (stay tuned for pics!) and have been doing some digital scrapbooking. Along the way, I've meandered into the world of digital stamping.

In my meanderings, I encountered Peachy Keen Stamps. They have some super cute stuff. Right now they have a challenge going on. I hope to have time to make something with real tangible paper when I get home, but realistically I have way too much on my plate when I get home as it is. So, for now, I made this digital scrapbook layout.

I'm new to PhotoShop Elements. This is only my second project using it and I just started today! If you want to participate in the challenge, check it out here!

The papers are from a collection called Christmas Confection. I found these delectible freebies over at ComputerScrapbook.com.

More Easy,Peasy Digital Scrapbooking

2010-10-01T17:26:00.000-07:00

At first I was just going to use some recent freebie kits I'd downloaded to create some pages to fill in with photos later. Then I realized I have so many photos and unfinished pages, I might as well take a couple of extra minutes to plunk some pics in there! Voila! May 2010 spread is finito!

If you would like to play around with this kit yourself, you can find it one of my new favorite freebie sites, No Reimer Reason. Even if I weren't head over heals nutso for the awesome scrapping products she has, I love the blog name. I'm sure it's based on her last name or something. But, the reason I like it is it reminds of my favorite teacher of all time, Mrs. Squires! There is so much I could say right now, but I'll try to stay on topic! One day I was absent, but when I came back the next day she had this on the chalkboard, "The poetry and logic contest has been canceled for no rhyme or reason." I cracks up so hard when I read that, I was shaking! Everyone else thought I'd lost my marbles, but not Mrs. Squires. She knew exactly what I was laughing at. While everyone else had seen the note the day I was absent and shrugged it off, thinking "Huh? What poetry and logic contest? Well, I didn't enter so I don't really care." But I caught the joke in it and laughed uncontrollably. OK, enough about Mrs. Squires! Here are my scrapbook pages for today:

I am going to make a coordinating facing page that has all of the various nicknames we have for Miss M. This is all I got done today, headache and all!

Recent Digital Scapbook Pages

2010-09-30T12:42:00.000-07:00

I don't have Photoshop. I wouldn't know how to use it if I did. I downloaded a free "knockoff" of it called GIMP once but couldn't figure out how to use that either. My friend showed me some awesome pages she has created using digital scrapbook freebies she has found on the internet, and layering them in Microsoft Publisher. Sooo...here are some pages I made today. I will be adding some others in the next few days as time allows! I don't know why Blogger won't let me display them side by side! grrrr. Anyway, if you are interested in the free kit, you can get it over at Free Digital Scrapbooking.com

Cricut cards with Stampin Up features

2010-09-09T13:42:00.001-07:00

I should check in with my own blog mire often! I totally thought I had
already posted these. I made these with my new fave Cricut cartridge,
Opposites Attract, some paper I had on hand, a Stampin Up stamp &
stampin up ink.

Cards fit for 2 Princesses

2010-07-16T15:57:00.001-07:00

I whipped these out for my neices' upcoming birthdays. They are both
later this month. I am loving my Stampin Up stuff! The stamps are
called Princess Time. I used Regal Rose paper. I had the ribbon on
hand. The bling is "jewels basic rhinestone" from the latest Stampin
Up Idea Book & Catalog. Easy peasy!

You're My Cup of Tea!

2010-06-28T16:35:00.000-07:00

This corny little play on words is so perfect for my hubby. I think
he'll appreciate that part. I'm wishing I'd decorated the tea pot a
little bit. I'm open to suggestions! Gotta get it done "under the
radar" by tomorrow night!

Thank you cards 1&2

2010-06-23T15:06:00.000-07:00

I recently joined Stampin Up as a demonstrator to get my quality
stampin & scrappin' products at a discount. Theirs stamps, inks,
papers, & other consumables compliment my Cricut very well! These are
my 1st two SU cards. Sorry the 2nd one is sideways. I don't know how
to fix that on my phone yet.

I am so excited! Hubby tajes his next trip 4th of July weekend. It's a
tradition that when he's gone 3 days or mire, he gets a personal note
from me for each day he's gone. He really enjoys the handmade cards.

Not Your Grandma's Cloth Diapers!

2010-02-04T09:52:00.000-08:00

When I was pregnant with Lil Miss, I decided I wanted to give cloth diapering a try. I knew it would save us a LOT of money, not to mention would be better for her skin, AND keep a ton of waste out of landfills! Something about mommyhood just makes me want to do whatever I can to make the world a better place for her to grow up in!

I had a very old fashioned book from the used book store day to day baby care. It showed how to fold diapers and pin them. However, the diapers in the book were large and square. Mine, which were given to me, were rectangular. I had no idea how to put them on, which led me to the story that unfolds in a previous post. In that post, I told you I would share my adventures of the newer kinds of diapers...so as promised, here it is!

After giving up on good ol' Gerber plastic pants, I ventured into the local baby boutique one day in search of ONE new diaper to try. The plastic pants had become hard to find. The prefolds are available at Wal-Mart but I guess most people buy them for burp clothes and don't need the covers.

Here are the THREE diapers I left the boutique with that day:

This is a fleece cover. It works like magic! It goes great over the pre-folds or the flannel pocket diapers I made for her. I stuff a pre-fold into the pocket and then wrap it up with this fleece cover and everyone stays dry! It's a little on the bulky side by the time you get all of that on her, but it's worth it in the end. She looks super cute, toddling around with her fluffy butt!

I'm in the process of making one out of a pink camo looking fleece I bought at Joann's. One will be a pull on and I'm going to try a wrap style like this one too.

I also have aspirations of repurposing a fleece blanket that wasn't made quite right into a skirty. It's basically a skort. Stay tuned!

This is a Happy Heiney One Size Pocket diaper. I had told the boutique owner I was looking for an All In One (AIO), for their daddy and daycare friendliness. She pointed out that pockets can be just as daddy/daycare friendly if you just pre-stuff the dipes for them. The one size feature also means they will last longer because we won't need to keep buying new sizes. See the snaps in the front? It's kind of hard to tell but there are three columns of them. The right and left column are hidden by the fullness of the diaper. You can snap those up to make the diaper smaller. The waist is also very adjustable. Pocket diapers give the flexiility to add more inserts for more absorption such as nap and night time. This diaper is a great investment, but I still look for similar, less expensive types on eBay!

This is my absolute favorite diaper so far! It's called a JamTots Berry Plush. The outer part of the cover is made of minkee, the softest, cuddliest fabric in the WORLD! The inside of the cover is PUL, which has become the gold standard of waterproof liners in cloth diapers. It's flexible/soft and breathable. The soaker has a layer of minkee that goes against baby's skin, and seven layers of organic hemp fleece. The soaker is incredibly absorbent. Plus, it snaps in and out. You just change the soaker and reuse the cuddly-soft cover unless it gets soiled.

This diaper has been great for night time. We haven't had any leaks or blow outs. Plus, I love snuggling with her (well I love snuggling with her anyway) when she wakes up in the wee hours to nurse.

You can find great cloth diapers and more online at Kelly's Closet. Right now you can get free shipping (those words are music to my ears!) on orders over $49!

My Unintended New Year's Resolution!

2010-01-20T12:42:00.000-08:00

When I was little, I used to suck my thumb. To hear my mom tell it, it was a hard habit for me to break. They tried all kinds of things, including bribery. I agreed to stop and mom was going to take me to get my ears pierced. Well, evidently the trauma of getting my ears pierced led me back into the comfort of thumb sucking!

I eventually got over it I guess. But not long after, picked up the nasty habit of biting my nails. I can even remember sitting in my bath tub at the house I mostly grew up in. I was biting them and Mom told me to stop. I then put my hands under the water and proceeded to pick at my nails. Ha! Like she couldn't see my hands under the water! Anyway, she said, "Don't pick at them, either!" or something like that.

I just turned 34 years old this month. This has been a very long habit. I've tried to quit, but it's SO hard because your hands are always with you! Mostly I do it and don't even realize I'm doing it. I don't even know WHY. I've tried getting acrylic nails, but managed to get to those too. Mostly if I found an edge that was lifting, I just had to get in there and "help it along."

A few years ago, one of my lower, front teeth chipped. I don't remember now if it was from biting my nails or something else. I got it fixed, but it soon chipped again and took even MORE of the tooth with it. I was devastated and hated my smile. Not long after that, I bit on something that shouldn't have had anything hard in it, but it did and it chipped a TOP, front tooth! Now I REALLY hated my smile!

The crappy dentist I was going to (not the same one who "fixed" the 1st chip) wouldn't even attempt to fix the chips due to their location. Being the front teeth where we bite down and pull on food, he was sure they wouldn't hold. The last time I went to him, some of his equipment started to fail and he opened up something in the floor and tried to fix it with me in the chair! It was so dusty and awful, and a spaghetti factory of wires and hoses, I just couldn't bring myself to go back.

My husband recommended his dentist to me. He's on our dental plan, so I decided to give him a try. I was ecstatic to learn he was willing and able to fix my teeth AND it would be covered (in part) on my dental plan because it was restoration, not cosmetic! Wahooo!

While I wish they were whiter (but am not yet ready or willing to give up coffee), they are WHOLE again and I can smile more confidently.

The unintended consequence, and New Year's Resolution that came out of all of this is that I can't "feel" my nails when I bite them because of the composite in the places where I normally bite! So, whenever I go to bite them, I stop myself because I realize I can't feel it. I'm sure if I persisted, I'd figure it out. But for now, the composite stops me long enough to realize what I'm doing and STOP.

My Diaper Stash Part II

2010-01-17T13:12:00.000-08:00

Here are some pics of the first set of 5 or 6 diapers I made for Miss M before her arrival. I got the awesome, easy, FREE (one of my FAVORITE words!) pattern, called Rita's Rump Pocket. I will be using this pattern to make some waterproof dipes soon. I got some nylon (like windbreaker jacket material) that I'm going to sandwich between the flannel layers so I don't need a cover, thereby reducing the bulkiness! Stay tuned for more on THAT adventure.

For now, here's some pics. Remember, she wasn't here yet so I used my Army Teddy Bear to model some of them!

Oopsie! I guess I only have one pic! Sorry about that! I'll take some more and add them later. Til then, Happy Crafting!

Tiny Tush Elite Diape Giveaway!

2010-01-13T14:04:00.000-08:00

I have been getting back to cloth diapering Miss M...mainly when we are home. I have not gotten brave enough to push it on her day care provider yet, though I'm sure she wouldn't mind, or to use them when we are out. I guess I'm still looking for "the one" what I feel confident enough to do that with!

I love trying different types of cloth dipes. I have gotten some good ones on eBay. There is a cover I especially like. It has a purple print on the outside and PUL on the inside so it just wipes clean if needed. It fits over the dipes I made her OK. I love seeing her bubble butt when she is wearing cloth! Her walk is also especially adorable in cloth!

Well, in my quest to find THE perfect cloth diaper, I found that Tiny Tush is giving away a Tiny Tush Elite diaper to each of THREE winners! I love the fact that it is an "AIO" (all in one). To me, that makes it more like a 'sposie, which would make converting day care and daddy a little bit easier! It's also a one size, which means it will fit Miss M and her brother or sister (should she have one someday) for most of her diapering days!

If you have considered cloth diapering, why not head over to Tiny Tush and enter the giveway! What a great way to give them a test drive!

Birthday Card ala Cricut

2010-01-11T12:01:00.001-08:00

My aunt's birthday is coming up so I thought I would make her a card.
I was low on inspiration but my trusty bff helped me. She designed the
coffee background paper when I told her my aunt likes starbucks. I had
the cream colored cardstock on hand so it worked out great!

The bottom line kinda resembles a ransom note but I'm hoping she won't
notice!

Made with the Cricut Journey cartridge

2010-01-04T20:07:00.001-08:00

My 1st Cricut project

2009-12-30T15:03:00.000-08:00

Miss M's Christmas Dress

2009-12-30T14:29:00.000-08:00

I decided to make Miss M a Christmas dress similar to the one I made her for Thanksgiving. I didn't quite get it hemmed before we left for my mom & dad's, so Mom finished it up for me. She also added the "bling" to the front pocket. I think it makes it even cuter and will work great for Valentine's Day! Of course, it will be more of a blouse on her by then, she's growing so fast!

It's made of a red cordouroy with sparkles that my friend had in her "stash." I also made the shoes to match out of a pattern I found on Etsy. Of course they didn't stay on her feet, but it was fun making them anyway. It helped that I had low expecations of her keeping them on her feet!

You can kindda sortta see the shoes in this shot:

Her Grandma (my mom) made her this adorable Sunbonnet Kids quilt. She worked on it a long time. Each of the blocks had an embroidered Sunbonnet kid.

We made a Mai Tei Wrap!

2009-12-15T17:00:00.000-08:00

Miss M is getting to be quite a handfull! She's a little over 20 pounds now. Due to this fact, I was needing to do something to save my back and neck! I wasn't sure what type of carrier would work well for her (we were given a Snugli and it didn't go well when she was itty bitty), so I didn't want to invest a bunch of money into something I didn't know if we'd like.

We had tried a Mai Tei on in a store one time and she did OK in it. I decided to research and see if I could find a pattern online. Low and behold, there are quite a few! I found some of the directions to be a little confusing for me, so I ended up using bits and pieces of two or three different patterns.

I will probably use my infomapping/instructional design skills to create my own pattern/directions someday! Not with the holidays looming, though!

Anyway, the same home ec major helped me sort it all out and guided me through the parts that were confusing me.

Here is the end result!

By the way: The fabric was basically free too! I had the black stretch denim on hand, and my friend had the black floral from the stash she inherited from her grandmother!

Baby Needs a New Pair of Shoes!

2009-12-14T15:36:00.000-08:00

I cannot BELIEVE how fast Miss M's little feeties are growing! It hasn't been such an issue so far. All of that changed on Saturday! We were at a party and we got her walking back and forth between a young girl from our church and me.

Now that she's becoming more "upwardly mobile," Miss M needs some shoes! I've been perusing the 'net for some free patterns, of course, because FREE patterns are my latest addiction! I've found some but they all seem to need modification for her size. Plus, since she's starting to walk, she'll need a little "gription," which means leather bottoms. I've never sewn leather, so that makes me a little nervous.

In my quest to find the perfect pattern, I also found some pretty stinkin' adorable shoes all over Etsy for a fraction of the cost in stores. THEN! THEN! Are you sitting down? This next part is SO exciting! I found a site that is giving away these adorable shoes called Squeak-a-boo! They squeek when kiddo walks, so I'll always be able to hear where she is! I love it! There are SO many cute Squeek-a-doo shoes!

Plus, they are very affordable. AND if we win the giveaway, even better! So, cruise on over to the Squeak-a-boo giveaway and see for yourself!

Thanksgiving Dress

2009-12-12T11:10:00.000-08:00

I didn't even realize I'd bid on this pattern on eBay until I got a notice that I'd won! So, the week OF Thanksgiving I decided to make Miss M a Thanksgiving dress! On of my BFFs (also my MOH in my wedding) happened to have leftover fabric from the fabric we used to make my bridesmaids' skirts for my wedding! I LOVE the color and it's perfect for Fall.

One of the gals who helps us out and watches Miss M while we work has a degree in home ec and vast sewing experience. She cut out the fabric for me while Miss M slept, which made putting it together go even faster!

I didn't have the right color bias tape, so I improvised. I don't think it's very noticeable.

I was up pretty late the night before we left for hubby's Grandma's house on the cost (a 6+ hour drive) when I finished it. Miss M was sleeping, so I tiptoed into her room and took a couple dresses out of her closet to determine the length. As a result, I nearly left the dress on the kitchen table (a.k.a. my sewing table these days!)!!! Thankfully I noticed it at the very last minute!

Here are some pics!
In this first one, she's sitting in a rocking chair that her Great-Grandma Mary gave her. Mary was quite the crafter in her day. She used to sell these chairs with dolls she made. Due to its age and duration of its life in her garage, we needed to apply wood glue to all of the points where it comes together. She didn't stay in it long, just long enough to pose for this pic! I was so afraid it was going to collapse under her!

My Intro to Cloth Dipes!

2009-12-04T21:43:00.000-08:00

I find this story quite amusing so I thought I'd share.

I knew when I got pregnant that I wanted to at least give cloth diapers a try. I knew it would save a lot of money. Plus, the environmental impact of the estimated number of diapers one kid goes through makes me cringe. I knew I probably wouldn't be a full time cloth diaperin' mama, but I wanted to at least use cloth the majority of the time at home.

I soon became dizzy with all of the options available. A few people gave us some good old fashioned Gerber Birdseye pre-folds. I figured I could figure this out! So, being well versed in the ways of the web, I proceeded to search out videos on how to put a cloth diaper on a baby. I figured I could practice on my Cabbage Patch Kids til the real thing got here.

I found a video on YouTube. The gal had a pre-school teacher look about her. I opened her website in a separate tab. I then got interrupted or side tracked and left it for the night. The next morning, I sat down at my computer, anxious to learn all I needed to know about putting on old fashioned (and wayyy cheaper) cloth diapers. I was surpised that the preschool teacher's website had an "Adult Content" warning! Upon closer inspection, this fact was due to the content related to...are you ready for this? Adult Diaper Fettish!

I had no idea such a thing really existed. I mean I think I saw it on CSI once...

I had to laugh! I ended up seeing what the gal's video was all about and it turned out to be quite informative and beneficial. The benefit to her demo of ADULT diapers is that they were large so they showed up good on the video and I could see what she was doing. No, there wasn't an actual "adult baby" in the video. She just showed varios ways of folding and pinning the dipes.

Anyway, it was a real eye opener!

As it has turned out, we have had pretty good luck with the basic, dozen dipes for like $10 at Wal-Mart Gerbers and plastic covers. I am venturing into some other options and will share those in upcoming posts.

I had alluded to this experience to someone on Twitter and wanted to get the full story down.

My "Bucket List"

2009-11-11T10:14:00.000-08:00

Here's my bucket list, a.k.a. "Things I Really Want to Do Before I Leave the Planet:"

See the Lion King on Broadway (check! circa January ______ I'll get back to you on the year)
Get Married (check! Accomplished 11/4/06)
Have a baby (check!) (Accomplished 1/19/09)
Go back to London as an adult (I went as a kid, somewhat against my will, and didn't appreciate it)
Own a home (we are SO close, yet so far!)
Go to a Billy Joel & Elton John concert (I was so close...there's a show this weekend in Oakland but I'll be at my Grandpa's memorial service - finally- in Brentwood that day). I'm not giving up! Maybe they'll tour ONE more time!
Get awesome seats at a George Strait concert with my mom and daughter! Three generations of Strait fans! Yeah!
Finish my wedding scrapbook
Make a log cabin quilt
Go to New York City in December for about a week: Take a carriage ride through central park, ice skate outside, see a show at Radio City Music Hall, eat yummy street vendor food!

More to come! Please share your bucket list with me!

Bringing You Up to Date!!

2009-11-05T21:15:00.000-08:00

I am so excited because I finally finished a quilt top I started this summer (pic to follow soon). Well, actually my mom finished it. Anyway, it's DONE! I don't think I'll jump right back into this pattern (Disappearing 9 Patch) any time soon. I just think it is just a little too advanced for me.

Did I tell you I FOUND my missing binder FULL of patterns! YEP! I got my Yellow Brick Road, Rusty block, and many more back! I'm SO excited!

I remembered that our Mennonite friends had their baby a couple months ago now. Only I don't remember if it's a boy or a girl! If it's a boy, YAYY! I already have a Crazy 8s baby quilt in BLUE all cut out and ready to be put back together again!

Hugs!

Update!

2009-10-02T15:09:00.000-07:00

So one of the quilts I'm working on is one of Joann's Block of the Month quilts from a few years back. I'm making it for my bff from Kindergarten through graduation and beyond. Though we will never be as close as we once were, we will always have that special bond. We have kept in touch over the years.

I found out a few months ago that she was engaged. The date hadn't been set yet though because he is Canadian and had to get a Visa and all that entails. Well that was my perfect excuse to procrastinate. Well, guess WHAT?! She up and tied the knot this week!

I gotta get crackin'! I'll try to get some pics of the blocks I have done so far so my two faithful followers can cheer me on! :)

Have a GREAT weekend! I have a date with my husband tonight (the first without the baby since Valentine's Day) so I'm ecstatic!

Quilting is Theraputic

2009-08-27T22:06:00.000-07:00

I used to have an adorable, spunky, long haired, Calico cat named Jazzy. My brother had her but she was getting beat up on by his other cats. My cat was depressed and lonely and needed a friend, so I brought her home with me.

A few years ago when I lived with Michelle and Julie (so 4-5 years ago), Julie mentioned she hadn't seen Jazzy all day (Julie was student and had been home that day). I went looking for Jazzy and found her under the bed. She didn't stir at all when I lifted up the bed skirt. I was horrified. I didn't want to poke at her for fear of what I would discover.

Thankfully I have some amazing friends. Michelle confirmed the worst. I was devastated for one thing and didn't know what to do with her. So, I think we called my guy friend, Gus and he helped with that part.

Michelle called our pastor, who came over to comfort me. I thought that was really sweet.

What I would learn years later is that my then future husband was having his studio painted that night. Our pastor was going to help. That's just the kind of guy he is. Note: he also doesn't even LIKE cats! Anyway, my husband tells the story "Pastor is such a nice guy. Did you know that before he came over to help me paint my studio, he was consoling some little old lady whose cat had just died?"

I blinked a few times and then laughed HYSTERICALLY. Those of you who know me, know it doesn't take much to get me going. I was LOSING it. I knew who the "little old lady" was and I just busted a gut!

Anyway, this blog entry is really about the therapuetic part of quilting. I had to share that funny part with you too though!

I was too upset to go to work the next day. I had to take Jazzy to a friend's house for proper burial. Since they own their home, it was the best option for me. After dropping her remains off at my friends' house, I had another errand to run. Well, I had to wait for some reason and it just so happened that one of our local quilt shops was right across the street.

I stepped inside and found the PERFECT fabric for a Jazzy Memorial quilt! One print had balls of yarn on it. It was very bright and colorful, like my spunky calico! I started picking out coordinating fabrics and was starting to feel better already! I even already had a pattern picked out in my mind (the missing Rusty's block pattern! I'll have to make a copy when I go back to Mom & Dad's next week!).

I spent the rest of the day, rotary cutting, and stitching these bright fabrics together. I think I got the whole top done in a DAY. One of Mom's long-arm quilting buddies (referring to the skill of long arm quilting, not the length of her appendages!) quilted it perfectly for me.

It's still a reminder of my snuggly, playful kitty, Jazzy to this day!

Quilting Goals

2009-08-26T22:02:00.000-07:00

My quilting goals:

Set up quilting area in my room (includes sorting my dresser and emptying out some drawers). Goal date: 9/18/09.
Finish current quilt in progress. Goal date: 10/1/09 (should be able to finish it before then since I'll be spending 5 days or so at Mom & Dad's and Mom has already said she has room for me to work on it!)
Join local quilt guild: Goal date: 11/1/09

That's enough goals for now. I'll keep you updated on my progress.

The Conclusion of : The Case of the Missing Foot Pedal

2009-08-23T13:45:00.000-07:00

Have you ever embarrassed yourself to yourself? For example, one time I couldn't figure out why I couldn't get into my white mini-van, parked outside of Trader Joe's. I happened to glance inside the vehicle and noticed that the seats were not torn as mine are. Hmm...that's odd...and a particular hand out I had placed on the passenger seat to look at later was missing...OMG! It hit me! I look around to make sure the actual owner of the car didn't see me trying to get in! It turns out my key won't let me into just any ol' Chrysler mini-van! Hmph!

I was so embarassed to myself, that I just HAD to call SOMEONE to let them know. Yes, I'd rather be embarassed with someone else knowing about it. It somehow takes a little sting out for me. So, I called my sister and shared my humiliation with her.

Well, today, faithful reader, I come to you to share another embarassing story so I don't just keep it inside where it will torment me for hours...

Remember The Case of the Missing Foot Pedal? Well, while I'm about a week behind in posting both stories, here's what happened:

Last weekend, I was all fired up to go back to the sewing machine store who was holding my foot pedal hostage. I wanted to get Jen's machine back to her and needed to resolve this before any more time passed, anyway. Plus, I think my husband was actually in town, in case I needed any "muscle." Yes, I was going to sick him on them if they tried to charge me for a replacement foot pedal.

Something was nagging at me though. Keep in mind that since I got pregnant and subsequently became a mother, my memory and overall brain power just aren't what they used to be. But I had a funny faint memory like the sewing machine store employee who I used to work with had told me way back when I was getting it repaird that the pedal wasn't in there to begin with, but the repair guy didn't need it to do what he needed to do. But the memory of this situation was so faint, it felt more like my brain was just making things up, trying to fit the pieces together. ((("Pieces" pun totally unintentional, I SWEAR)))).

So, with this faint, nagging feeling, I decided to give one more look around for my pedal. OMG. Would you believe...could it possibly be....it was UNDER MY SEWING TABLE!!! OK, now while that SOUNDS like the most obvious place to look first. It really isn't. I don't have the best sewing room set up yet, so I always wind up sewing on my huge, family heirloom, kitchen table, where I can spread all my stuff out. So, looking under the sewing table is actually the LAST place I would ever look. As it turns out it WAS the last place! I mean, aren't things you lose ALWAYS in the "last place you look"? hahah I love that saying! Cuz yeahhhh, why keep looking?!?!? But seriously, that really was the last place to look and THERE it was!

So I guess the sewing machine repair people only pretended to lose it! Hmph!

The Case of the Missing Foot Pedal, Part I

2009-08-20T14:46:00.000-07:00

O.K., so you know I've been ransacking my home, looking for any one of three patterns: Yellow Brick Road, Rusty's block, or Crazy Eights. Having had no luck, I finally broke down and loaded up the little one and headed to our local quilt shop. This was back on August 8. That's where the store owner basically designed my whole quilt for me and sent me on my merry way.

All was well. Baby was sleeping...I started dragging out all of my quilting gear. I threw what little bit of fabric I needed to buy into the wash and got to ironing the stash that already had on hand and had previously pre-washed.

THEN it happened. My quilting aspirations crumbled to the floor like a glass shattering on my tile floor...a million itty bitty pieces....the power cord to my sewing machine was GONE GONE GONE! Like a flash back in a movie where someone's life flashes before their eyes, I was taken back to pre-baby days when I was making her some diapers and I messed something up and had to take my machine for repairs. I tried to recall sewing since getting my machine back.

Nope. I'm pretty sure I haven't sewn since then. I've been kindda busy! grrrrrr! Text my frustrations to all my sewing bffs...one of which offers up her machine to the cause! yayyy, Jen! The next glitch came when I got into a groove sewing and the bobbin ran out. Jen's machine purrs like a kitten, but I had to kind of fumble my way through winding the bobbin. Got it wound and put back in as best as I could figure.

Well, suffice it to say that I'm thankful for another one of my BFFs, Diane, who came to my rescue (see exhibit "A"& "B"). Her machine has a similar style bobbin, so she helped me get it all worked out. After much frustration and still not being able to get it right, we finally discovered we'd missed threading the machine through the tension knob! Eureka! Back in business! Yayyy!

I managed to get quite a bit of sewing started on my quilt. I'd say I'm about 25% done.

Stay tuned for the conclusion of : The Case of the Missing Foot Pedal!

Exhibit A: Exhibit B:

Disappearing Nine Patch it Is!

2009-08-09T00:35:00.000-07:00

I wasn't able to find quite what I was looking for in the way of a free pattern online. Most of them were just single block patterns and what I had in mind really combines a few blocks to form one new, bigger block.

I made a visit to my local quilt shop. I looked around a while and narrowed it down to three patterns:

Turning Twenty Again
it's late and my mind is now drawing a blank on the other two!

I explained my plight: I knew what I had in mind...it was one of the patterns I already own and didn't want to buy again because I knew that was the fastest way to find my patterns! Sigh! So, upon establishing my intermediate skill level, she volunteered to share a new technique/pattern she'd learned. Basically you make three sets of nine-patch blocks. One set will have all the same centers. You then cut the blocks into quarters, flip 'em around, and sew them back together into new & improved blocks! What ends up happening is the centers get smaller, if you will.

Well, after some research online, I determined that what I'm working on is called a Disappearing Nine Patch! I tried searching "nine patch variation," which ended up looking really cool, but it's not what I'm doing this time. Maybe some other time.

It's almost 1:00 a.m. I have so much more to write about my plight today. Suffice it to say for now that I have all of my 3" strips cut out and ready to sew back together and cut up again tomorrow! Hopefully Lil' Miss will take a good nap or be willing to play independently for a while at least! I'm on a roll now (well, kindda, but more on that later!)

TTFN!
~*~ Sara ~*~

I've Been Bitten...Again!

2009-08-07T23:23:00.000-07:00

Well, it happened again! I stayed at Mom & Dad's for a week and got bitten by the quilt bug! I was first infected over 10 years ago, when I lived at home for the 2nd time. Mom & took a class together. We made a baby quilt. It was a 9 patch/single patch combo or something like that. We both still have those first quilts.

I've made a few more quilts over the years. I made a "Crazy Eights" baby quilt for my godson for his baptism two years ago. Before that, I made a "Rusty's block" a few years ago when my long haired Calico kitty, Jazzy died. It was my therapy. Other than that, I haven't done too much quilting. I've started a few, though!

Well, after perusing my mom's quilting magazines, I really got hungry to get back into it. The fact that my friend, Kimie is having a baby in October is the PERFECT excuse!

I was really wanting to make another Crazy Eights, Rusty's block, or try a Yellow Brick Road. The problem is, I can't seem to find any of the patterns! We moved into this place almost a year and a half ago and I really haven't done any quilting to speak of since then, so I have no idea where all of my quilting stuff is! Grrrrrr.

So tonight I set out looking for free patterns online. There are lots of great ones, but I have a certain "look" in my head. Maybe I'll find one of the ones I mentioned tomorrow.

Stay tuned for more quilt adventures! I'll try to post often. Since quilters also cook, I'll post the occasional recipe here and there too! Oh, and my little girl is my most favorite topic, too, so no doubt you'll be hearing about her milestones along the way too!