My All

Honeymoon in Greece album

2012-01-20T21:28:00.001-08:00

Click on any photo to enlarge it. I add a lot of inking and dimensional items to my pages.

Greece (title Page) Using what I have. The G in Greece is a blend of two Thicker letters, hence the ribbon bow to cover the joint

On the Way Over... Torn and inked frames on each page and layered and inked leftover silk flowers from her wedding hair barrettes that she made herself. Old dictionary word tear-outs with words Greece, Travel, Vacation are inked and used as accents.

Athens: the big door opens to a journaling box and the little window at bottom opens to a quote. Upper right window has a photo behind the shutters out to the marvelous view.

Acropolis: featuring their Acropolis tickets as memorabilia and stickle dimension on the title letters.

The Agora: ahhh, Grungeboard. And lots of leftover paper scraps as my mats in this whole album.

Island of Santorini: Using a premade GREECE paper here and some mats. This was probably my fastest and flattest page with only the 3-D boat for a dimensional accent.

At the Beach: back to lumpy bumpy, torn and inked. I purposely used some old lettering and rub ons. When it fits the page and I can throw away the package because I used it up, I am happy!

Wine Tastings: do you recognize this little bird? They are leftover from the wedding invitations, thank yous, and so on! More grungeboard. Lots of little fun rustic pieces.

Great Foods: I don't use stickers much but I do like Jolees Boutique because it is usually 3-D. Could not resist using these food and wine accents in the lower right. Wedding ribbon at top of page for a bow border.

From my daughter's photos into an album of her honeymoon.
Now in the interest of honesty there are also about 5 slip in sleeve type pages interspersed along with these more elaborate pages. The slip in sleeves are from We R Memory Keepers and hold 6 photos to a side (or 12 total) and those are inserted chronologically along with these fancier ones. LOVE IT. I am not done with this album. I am about 2/3 of the way done. Still have to do some boat cruise and Mykkonos Island, ruins, and more Athens. :)

Creating in 2012!

2012-01-14T07:55:00.001-08:00

Generally I try to take my own advice. Yep. Good policy right? :D Probably a good idea not to be a hypocrite if you can possibly help it. LOL

So here's a look at what I have been creating (besides jewelry) since January 1st. I am trying to get ahead of my greeting card swaps and trades, my ATCs (primarily I use these for holiday displays and tree ornaments), and charitable cards. I have an upcoming large commissioned album order later this month so I want to leave lots of time for that project.

Doing these smaller card projects ahead of time is keeping me on track and using up stash in a beautiful way. Win, Win. And I end up with lovely usable cards from friends in the process. WIN!

Here is a peek (and how many of each).

Now these blue items above were on my desk from the last ATC holiday/winter card swap in 2011 --so I used them up for more Get Well/Be Well cards. You know me, no wasting! And they were beautiful elements so I put them to use for cards for later in the year. Be Well x 12 cards. I will just set those aside until I need them.

Dream Little Princess card x 12. Made for the January Baby Congrats swap--my entry.

Congratulations x 12
And this one is Mary's (my mom's) entry for Jan swap. I make them for her and put them in the swap for her. She gets the completed cards all at once in December as my gift to her. She loves handmade things but is getting older now and she doesn't craft much anymore. Love you, Mom!

January ATC swap TIME theme. x 20 because I made some to gift next holiday as ornaments. I used Kraft resist paper, distress inks, and crackled the clock face. Heat embossing silver on the edges gave it a true vintage feel. Thanks Jenny, for the Pottery Barn ribbon which I stamped and spritzed! :D

Valentines x 18 LOVE with a real vintage redwork pattern paper, toile paper, ribbon, twine, a grunge and crackle heart, and glittered grunge board key. I saw a similar idea online and said "You know, I HAVE all that stuff!" (Or something very like) -- So I made these with a few changes.

Operation Write Home pop up vintage Valentines x 16 for the soldiers to use. The vintage clip art child is highlighted with a mini heart brad. I had to remember--No glitter on cards for the soldiers!

My entry for the Feb Birthday card swap x 12 hand colored with Copics and glitter wording.

Mary's (my mom's) entry x 12 February Happy Birthday card silver embossed swap with mini brads and a luscious band of silver heat embossing.

ATC swap for February with a 1920s winter theme colored with Copics and Stickles I made this one x 15 also to have extras. These are packed in blue organza bags I had left over from the wedding.

My tri-fold March card x 12 for Sympathy/Condolences Swap entry. Nice tuck in Condolences card in a vellum pocket and the interior also has a saying.

Entry for my mom in same March swap. x 12. Very elegant with tassel and flocked papers. inside has a nice condolences saying.

Operation Write Home St Patrick cards for the soldiers x 20. Vintage clip art and green gems on their hats! Again no glitter! :D

St Pats card Just For You x 16 for Operation Write Home cards for the soldiers to send out. Hand colored with Copic markers.

That's at least 150 projects since January 1st. Averaging ten items a day! I hope I keep this average up. It's a wonderful way to use my stash. I hope it has inspired you to make something this week!

Blessings!

More jewelry!

2012-01-03T06:36:00.000-08:00

While I had my tools out ---and my beads and chains and baubles--I decided t make some gift items. This bracelet is for my mom whose birthday is in Feb. It has hints of gold and amethyst in the glass beads.I wire looped every bead charm myself.

The Christmas tassle necklace below it is for me for the next holiday season. I loaded both projects up with beads because I am using up my beading stash too! This is one of my goals in 2012. I want to process through most of my outstanding crafting projects of ALL kinds and get 'er done! So far so good....Enjoy!

Jewelry for Elaine

2012-01-03T06:22:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine asked me to make some chic up-cycled jewelry from a big bag of her grandmother's old loose jewelry items. These mementos are going to be for herself, sisters, and nieces in honor of their grandmother's memory. Here are most of the pieces I reconfigured for her. This was a fun project and so meaningful! Honor those you love.

Goals: 2012 Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T08:28:00.000-08:00

2012! Happy New Year!

Let's Get this Party Started in Here!

Oh there is a LOT of talk today (and will be for a month or so) about goals, resolutions, hopes, refocusing ourselves and so on in 2012. I am going to add my 25 cents into the pot today too. Why? Because I love all my Scrappers Challengers! And because I had a darned good year in 2011. Productive-wise I mean. Not only did we pull off a fantastic wedding full of paper crafted goodness from A to Z. We also made donation greeting cards by the hundreds, cards to gift out by the hundreds, page layouts in the hundreds, and three JUMBO 55 page 12x12 wedding albums and a 40 page 12x12 Greece Honeymoon album! Not to mention some genealogy gifts for my family, a dozen pieces of jewelry, candy making for gifts, and a few new hobbies too like Paper Putz Glitter Houses and Needle Felting. Pretty much all from stash (except the needle felted stockings for which the wools were bought at secondhand stores.) I am very thankful for all that was accomplished in 2011. Yeh!

What??! I am a freak of nature, you say? No. Just determined to use what I have to bless others--and organized.

I want you all to have the same sort of successes for whatever your goals might be. Work or home, crafts or academia....Truth is, I use certain tricks of the trade to get my productivity up, my motivations steady, and my goals met.

1. Whatcha Got?

What are you working with here? Most of us honestly have too much. Example: How many pillowcases are in the linen closet? How many pots in the kitchen? How many staplers on the desk? How many shoes in the closet? It's great stuff but it's a LOT of stuff to keep in our homes.Get rid of one thing in 5 --which means a 20% streamlined reduction right there. Yeh! Try to do this in a new room or two every 5 or 6 months. If you don't love it, it doesn't belong in your home. Even when you do love it, rethink how MUCH do you need of it?

Let your surpluses show you what needs doing. More to the point, lots of our craft supplies get stockpiled up. We think they have potential in the future to be something great in the future. So we just keep setting them aside for that perfect project---in the future. Well I got news for ya. The future has arrived and it is called 2012!! Take a quick mental listing. Using a pen and paper is even better. Make a checklist of the general categories of items you have OODLES of....We will call them your "Items of Plenty." Think about your stash and then make notes. How much of this? How many of that? After you make those notes, make those Items of Plenty notes into an actual use-it-up 2012 PLAN. After you make a plan, break it down and start implementing it project by project by project. You will find you actually DO have enough in the stash to make 2012 birthday gifts, holiday gifts, cards and so on!

Example: Right now for me my "Items of Plenty" are 12x12 scrapbook paper, chipboard, grunge board, paints, and rubber stamps, metal embellishments, yardsticks, red satin ornament balls (for a specific Santa project), buttons, beads and toggles for bracelets, and many quilt cotton fabrics. I also have a big stack of canvases. After you make your list, think about how these items can be used to SAVE YOU MONEY! Make a plan to make gifts out of them. In my case, the canvases are going to become a wall art family tree utilizing also some of the papers and paints. Also I want to make more quilts and tote bags for gifts too in 2012. I have the patterns free off the internet, so why not?

I am fessing up that I already have everything I need to make my Christmas gifts 2012 RIGHT HERE and RIGHT NOW in my home. I bet you do too. And if you need ideas, I can send you an invite to PINTEREST.com so you can find great new ideas for those 2000 Popsicle sticks. Your stash plus the internet ideas plus planning/work will equal great things in 2012!

2. All together now... GATHER.

This tip is about clustering things. Where are your Items of Plenty? If you have the 2012 goal of reading more of the books you already own this coming year, are all the books you WANT to read in one place? Are all your stash of fabrics in the sewing area? Is all your paper filing in or near the filing cabinet? Are all your scrapbook supplies in one room?

Gather it up. If you can't FIND it, you cant work with it. Which means you can't get it processed and done. It takes too long to locate it, it's not fun anymore and we tend to give up. So cluster your similar supplies or your items you want to work on this year together. Example: I just helped my "November 2012 self" out by clustering all remaining blank Christmas cards and stationary into ONE box so I can locate them all easily next November. I will be thanking myself on this 'gather' later for sure when things start to get hectic next November.

3. COMMIT. Break it down, baby. You have to do some work.

Once you know what your Items of Plenty are, it's time to go through your idea books and pattern stash and the internet for SOLID IDEAS. Not just maybes. Making fabric tote shopping bags from your fabric stash? Pick one pattern and go with it. Don't fret over it and dilly dally over it. Print out the pattern and tuck it into the basket of chosen fabrics and commit to it.

Try to use what you have! One of my girlfriends found she had 89 sewing projects in her stash waiting for her to get to work. But guess what? She has done 4 of them so far! Another friend who crochets had literally a CLOSET full of yarn. Three years ago she made a commitment to make it into items that bless others. She has since made 4 wedding afghan blankets, 50-some prayer shawls for the needy and 5 baby blankets using her stash. Shop your stash. Plan to USE your stash. Design your 2012 projects around the stash and not the other way around.If you can, make project bags or project baskets or page kits or card kits. Plan ahead so it is EASY to grab a project and work on it.

4. Make every moment count.

I don't mean work every moment on it, but do make a time investment on your goals. Make your time count toward the goals you have. If I want to read all of the 49 books on my dresser that are waiting for me...I can't say I am going to read them nonstop. I would burn out on reading doing them all in a row nonstop. Not fun. I can only say I will make time to read each week. For that many books, my goal will likely have to be about one a week I think in 2012. That is pretty doable for me. I will choose to read instead of some of the useless tv shows I sometimes find myself sucked into. To offset that I will keep my weekly book on my table right by my tv-watching-chair. Help yourself succeed by planning ahead. Turn off the TV. It's amazing what you can get done during that time. Or if you love tv, bring a part of your crafting with you into the tv time. Make it work. Make your moments count.

Make 2012 count! :D

Needle Felting with Sizzix Dies fromTim Holtz!

2011-12-27T19:37:00.000-08:00

Simply Scrumptious! Don't you think?

Last week or so I have been using Tim Holtz and Sizzix dies for a whole new world of crafting joy. It's needle felting. You cut the wool with BigZ and other thicker dies. The Tim Holtz Alterations line is terrific for this. We all know they cut paper, light acrylic, vinyl, chip board, grunge board, and so on. And yes we may have heard they also cut fabric. But have you cut wool felt? And have you used the pieces to make a dimensional sewing project?

Gifties! My two grown children --and their spouses-- needed some holiday decorations. As newly married pairs, neither couple had much for personalized Christmas decorations yet in their homes. How about some nice big Christmas stockings?

What is needle felting? Needle felting is the craft of layering wool felt accents over wool felt base fabric and needle poking them with a special tool in order to integrate the fibers. Wool has this wonderful attribute of being able to bond with herself and make firm bonds without glue. Needle felting combines several of my favorite parts of creativity. It combines my love of fabric, fresh creativity and project design using supplies tools I own. I am able to use recycled wool scarves, skirts, sweaters and pants in these projects too which is a real bonus.

Needle felting gives me a quick sense of accomplishment with amazingly simple techniques. The finished pieces have an old world look and a wonderful tactile feel. They are created with an old world skill and simpler tools. I like that a lot.

Here is how I made these heirloom stockings in much less time than you might think! I worked on these off and on for less than 4 days total. Maybe 2-4 hours each?

First I drew a paper stocking pattern in a shape I liked that was large enough to fit an ample sized batch of goodies. I pinned the pattern to some 100% cream colored wool fabric and then cutting two identical pieces for each stocking. I used one of my spiral swirly Tim Holtz stamps and some ink spray to give the base fabric some interest.

I then cut lots of trees and stars and leaves and holly pieces with my Sizzix and Tim Holtz Alterations Big Z Dies. They cut our recycled and store bought wools with no problem! The names are made with an older Sizzix set of alphabet dies called "Fun Serif Alphabet" but you could use any other that will fit in the space. The stars are also an older star die from Sizzix.

His unique shapes are perfect for an old world project like this. Don't you just love the trees?

Even the words and smaller pieces cut beautifully.

Now comes the design fun! I laid the pieces out on the stocking base to decide where they looked good. Pin them in place. For my more traditional son and his wife I planned out a classic holly theme. For my daughter and her husband, I planned an outdoor tree theme. He is a astronautical engineer and physicist and loves winter so I put more stars and more glitter on his. She is a bio-systems and bio-products engineer in paper processing so I have lots more trees on hers. Each set of stockings reflected that couple. I wish I had found the larger deer die in our stores here, but everyplace was out! Dang! But I can felt that additional piece "into the woods" later I think. :D

When designing, allow space at the top for your choice of cuff. John and Steph's set of stockings used a sweater waistline for the ribbed top cuff in green. The other set of stockings had a red wool fabric top cuff. Plan ahead!

Felt, Felt, Felt, Felt. It takes about 20-40 pounces with the felting tool to secure an accent piece to it's base fabric.

Felt the accents on BEFORE you sew the stocking front and back together.

Sew together, add cuff, add dimensional accents like buttons and add a loop to hang.

John and Steph's stockings all filled up! Love that TH holly die above! And that tree die shape is amazing on the project below.

You can see I added Stickles to simulate snow on my scenes. My choice of glimmer color for my snow and stars was the Stardust Stickle. I exhausted my supply stash of three bottles but it was SO worth it. Trees and holly need snow!

Stickles make a big difference! Glitter it up! Featuring the Tim Holtz NOEL die, holly, street lamp, branches and more!

I just knew I had to work in my liberal dose of metals! Here is my assortment for this project. Some pieces are Maya Road and some are Tim Holtz. I used word charms that described each child. I also used circle charms with symbols meaningful to that person. Stars and moon for our astronautical fellow. Birds for the nature lover. Rx like symbol for the doctor and a big heart for the smart, sweet gal he married. Each set went onto a dog chain on the loop of the stocking.

Charms: before above and after below.

When my son saw my cart full of wools at the secondhand store, he asked me (with a semi-critical tilt of his head) if I REALLY needed ALL those wools? Yes, son, I do!!! Now that the stocking are all done, he knows WHY! These were a big hit with all four grown children on Christmas day. I almost hate to give them away to the kids....Ahhh, the sacrifices we parents make...all for love. ;D

What's Your Scrappin Style??

2011-12-16T07:27:00.000-08:00

Do you feel behind in your scrapping? Do you wonder if you will ever finish that album? Do you wonder how some scrappers get caught up and stay caught up? If so, sit a spell and take this little eight question scrapbook quiz. It will help you see what your goals and your style are within the hobby. No two scrapbookers are identical --as we all know. But we do sometimes put a lot of pressure on ourselves to either get a lot done or to be super artistic on every page. And there are some of us who have never looked realistically at our hobby or our style. If you are just beginning to scrapbook and hope one day it will all get done or just plain feel overwhelmed by the number of photos stacking up...read on!

I love good photographs and I love this hobby. Scrapbooking is not only a hobby for me but also a part time job. So, I spend a good portion of my week thinking about it, doing it, reading about it , and chatting about it! A few months ago, when a friend was complaining about how many rolls of film she was backlogged, I was curious just what kind of numbers she meant. She stunned me by saying she had taken over 15 rolls of film for one two-hour event! I have since talked to several other gals who shoot photos at this amazing rate!

I am sure she got lots of fabulous photos in that group of 540 photos from that one event. But was it really worth it? She also had many rolls of film that had never been developed from the last year. Her guilt over not having the money to develop all those rolls of film or the time to scrapbook them into pages the way she hoped was overwhelming her. I want this hobby to stay fun. I also want my dear scrapping friends to be realistic and NOT get discouraged about this hobby!! This is supposed to be fun!

I felt bad for these gals because they often feel so guilty about not being "current" in their albums. Often, their goal had been to include every picture into their albums. All this stress leads to scrapping block (like writer's block!) because they feel overwhelmed! Honestly, that above incident compelled me to do the math so that we can all have a little perspective on our hobby. Even if you do not do 15 rolls per event -- do you do six rolls per big event or per month?

Let's take a look at the statistics involved here. It may just impact our personal scrapbooking goals and style!! It should affect how choosy we get about our photo opportunities, how fast we scrap, or at least what photos we choose to include in our albums. Keep in mind not only the money involved but the time as well. I know some gals say money is no object when preserving a history of a childhood or marriage. I agree. But I also know that none of us has unlimited resources financially. Even if we had buckets of money, what about in terms of time? Something has to give.

Do you Take Six Rolls a Month?
If you take only 6 rolls of film at every big event and each roll has 36 photos on it then that makes 216 pictures for that event. If you have a significant 'event' in your life every month (and some of us have more but let's just say one per month) then you have 216x12 which equals 2592 photos a year to scrap up into albums. If you are doing six rolls of film per month for any reason these numbers will apply to you. Keep in mind this is just for keeping current.

Just the Facts, Ma'am
We can get about 6 photos average on a page so 2592 divided by 6 is 432 pages created a year (If we could keep up!) If you have to do approximately 432 pages a year and there are 365 days in each year then that means you need to do one to two pages a day or 7-10 pages a week to keep current when shooting 6 rolls a month! Ask yourself, "Is a page a day my current goal and rate? "

One photo album can hold an average of 50 pages. 432 (pages to do ) divided by 50 (pages that will fit in each album) is 8.64 or lets round down to 8 albums a year. After all, not all photos turn out and we do give some to grandma, right? If we multiply that by the approximately 20 years your kids are home it will equal 160 albums for you to do during their childhood.

And if you give half the the albums (80 albums!) to them when they go away to an apartment or college or their own new homes with their new spouses (who are also lugging 80 albums ). Do you really want them to have to tote all that around for the rest of their lives? So, bottom line is we need to do 8 albums a year JUST to keep current at the rate of six rolls a month. This does not include any special occasion albums such as wedding, vacations, gift albums, or graduation. Not to mention swap pages for SB Buddies!

So What is Your Scrapbooking Style?
Ask yourself this question while photographing and scrapping...will they really need all that??? Are all those photos really necessary? Couldn't we have done the job with one tenth of the pictures? Do you really need to scrapbook every second of an event? Maybe we should take only a few rolls per event and scrap up only a few pages per event...I don't think my kids will have room for 80 albums --let alone 160-- when they leave home!!

Ask yourself, can I be more choosy about the photos we scrapbook and even before that, about the events we decide to photograph? Should we be taking five photos instead of fifty? Or do I really like to have it all on film? Perhaps I do. Will it really be ok if I only scrap up the best 5 out of the fifty and put the rest in acid free photo sleeves or boxes? Is it your style to journal the story more and take fewer photos? How guilty do you feel about that stack or box or un-scrapped pictures?

Take the pressure off yourself with this little quiz!

Does that seem contradictory? Well there is a lot of scrapbooking GUILT out there and I hope to help you come to terms with your personal style so you won't feel overwhelmed. You will enjoy scrapbooking more when you understand your personal style, make adjustments in your goals or style, and let go of the guilt! Sit a spell and you will get a realistic look at both your goals and what your scrapbooking style means for your album-making!

Here is the Quiz
Jot down your answers on a piece of paper:

1) The Task: How many photos do you take?
Do you take:
a) 0-36 photos a month (1 roll)
b) 36-108 photos a month (2 to 3 rolls)
c) 110-216 photos per month (up to 6 rolls)
d) 250 photos per month or more (aprox. 7 rolls or more)

2) Other Obligations: Do you work outside the home ( either paid positions or volunteer work):
a) not really -less than 2 hours a week
b) part time -up to 20 hours a week
c) full time -40 hours a week
d) full time plus overtime -more than 42 hours a week

3) Other Obligations: Do you have family members (any age) besides your spouse still at home to care for?
a) no -just me alone or just me and my spouse
b) yes -one other person besides my spouse
c) yes -two to five other members besides spouse
d) yes-five or more other members besides my spouse

4) Time and Commitment: Do you scrapbook on a regular basis:
a) daily- an hour a day or a page a day
b) weekly- an hour a week or a page a week
c) monthly- a 3 hour workshop once a month with one to two pages done completely during that time
d) I haven't actually done a page in months! I keep putting it off or other things come up!

5) Commitment: Do you feel you honestly spend more time:
a) Scrapping than shopping or chatting about it--I like to design my own pages and get them done using what I have.
b) I'd rather go SB shopping than actually do my scrapping or even chatting-I gotta have the newest stuff!
c) I spend more time chatting than either shopping or scrapping if I was really honest!
d) I don't have time for any of this! HELP!

6) Goals: I hope to one day (before I die):
a) I hope to do a couple of 40 page family albums, and a baby book for each child and perhaps some other albums. The rest may go into acid free boxes or acid free photo sleeves.
b) have the best 30% of the photos in my entire collection into albums on nice pages with journaling done (and weeding out or setting aside up to 70%) .
c) have about half (and not ever scrapping about half ) of the photos from our lives done into a few albums they can look at after I am gone....
d) eventually have about 80% of my photos that I have taken during my lifetime into creative albums with all journaling done (tossing out only about 10-20%) .

7) Style and Expectations: My album pages are:
a) simple and basic and/or I do use some pre-made scrapbook page papers with decorations already added to/printed on them. I try to work fast. It usually takes me about 15 minutes to 30 minutes to create one page including the journaling.
b) Simple and classic in style and take about an 30 minutes to one hour to complete each page. Some pages take longer than an hour but not too often.
c) I like creative pages and try to include them often in my albums. Each page takes me one to two hours.
d) I love the complicated and "WOW!" pages I see in magazines and I do try lots of new techniques. Each of my pages take me about 3 hours or more to do. I admit it --I get carried away and am a perfectionist.

8) Flexibility and Motivation: I am motivated to:
a) make a change in how I view my scrapbooking and perhaps change my style a bit to match my own goals. After all the kids will enjoy finished books more than tubs of unfinished odds and ends!
b) I want to get on the right track but I hate to change anything about how I scrapbook. Please give me a reality check.
c) I'm just curious about this goal thing but doubt I will change anything. Convince me!
d) Forget it, I am resigned to leaving my children many boxes of un- scrapped photos and good intentions. So what if I don't finish? The few pages I do get done will be masterpieces.

All right, Lets check your scrapbooking style! --Get ready for the Reality Check!

Your Personal Results
Go with the letter you chose most often when replying. If two letters occurred the same amount, then your style goals should fall into the second letter. For example if "A' and "B" were both chosen 4 times--go with the response for choice "B". I say this because most of our lives tend to get busier than we want them to and not less so!

6 or more A's --Realistic goals and hard work will get you there! You are on the right track! You may even be one of the few who is already caught up! We admire you! You take representative photos at events and do not get carried away by overshooting the event. You make time for the hobby on a regular basis without being bogged down or sidetracked. Scrapbooking several pages is a daily or weekly event for you. You have matched the time you have to the task you want done. You are an inspiration!

6 or more B's -- You will probably get your albums caught up if you work a bit faster and make a few albums in the simple and classic style! Don't get too bogged down! You may need to re-adjust your thinking on either question 6 or 7. Now and then you can add a WOW! page or technique but try to keep it all in perspective.

6 or more C's --Your scrapping pace is probably not keeping up with the goals you had set for yourself. You may want to take fewer photos, scrap a page or two a day, or take some speed scrapping techniques to heart. This is especially true if you have long hours at work or intense family commitments and little leisure time. Take a look at your expectations and tone it down a bit. Something has to flex to get your albums done.

6 or more D's --You have several features here that are working against you finishing all your albums. Take time to check out whether you should either take fewer photos, pare down your goals, or figure out how you can work more often, faster, and simpler. Perhaps get someone to help you with all those photos! Husbands and grandparents might enjoy the project! Consider only scrapbooking the top 20% of your photos and put the rest in acid free photo sleeves or storage. Don't give up quality but find a way to make pages with less time investment. Use some speed scrapping techniques until you get caught up. Make it your goal for the new year to set aside the urge to do pages that will take a week to complete! You may not have the time for that right now. Prioritize your goals. If you answered D on both question 6 and on question 7, reevaluate which is more important to you...fancy or finished? It's up to you.

Your Personal Way is the RIGHT Way!

My main point is to make sure your photo-taking and scrapbooking style matches your budget and your scrapping hobby time. Don't load yourself up for a feeling of failure! Have fun and enjoy the process with an eye on the ultimate goal of getting it done the way YOU want! There will always be someone else with a prettier page or more albums completed. Acknowledge that, tell yourself not to feel guilty, and keep at it!

It really is ok to do less than a page a day if you realize you are NOT going to get every photo you take into albums! If you are a slower scrapper for whatever reason, go for a few representative family albums with just the best pictures or a sampling of events through the years if you are not up to doing a page per day. Artistic styles and speeds vary from person to person. That is ok! Invest in some acid free boxes and labels and let the photos you won't ever scrap up rest in acid free storage. Label them of course! But keep in mind that acid free storage is not a dirty word!! Make sure the photos you do take and scrap up are superb and worth your scrapping time!

Move Along!
Realistically, the goal is to get albums done the way you like them. But remember to move along too. Are you one of the folks who want to do ALL the pics from all the years? Statistically, you will just need to step up the pace to one -three pages a day! You might even get time to do those heritage photos before you die! Keep at it steady! If you cannot --for whatever reason --scrap at that pace, adjust your expectations of yourself.

If you have actually scrap booked fast enough to be happily caught up, then SUPER! I applaud you! Now that we know our own scrapbooking goals and styles, I hope the rest of us can make some scrapbooking changes and adjustments and one day do the same!

Written originally by Kathleen Aho aka Rockester on May 21, 1999 - 22:00

Believe Ornament

2011-11-26T18:25:00.001-08:00

Just wanted to share a cute ornament I made last week --as well as a simple technique for making your standard white string into any color quickly and easily. First the ornament.

I made 10 of these to trade in my paper ornament swap on ScrappersChallenge.
I made 8 more as ATCs for my ATC December winter swap at our scrapbook store
I made 12 more just a bit larger-sized into greeting cards with a different sentiment for the greeting card swap also at our local store. 30 total and now done! Done is good!

Shown is the ATC sized Christmas ornament and the hang-string is coming out center top held in place at the top with the blue brad.

First the ornament front:

Techniques used on the front:
Distress stain some white index weight cardstock in a couple blue stains.
Emboss with a texture folder to add dimension.
Crackle the whole ATC card with Tim Hotz crackle medium.
Stamp text on with navy blue ink.
Add decorative sturdy brad at top center with string under it on the backside.
Stamp wording on banner. Ink banner sides, Fold and pop dot up banner (Tim Holtz Sizzix)
Add 1 inch square mirrors that have also been crackled with Tim Holtz crackle medium and they have also been inked over the crackle mirror piece with some walnut stain to show off those cracks. I love this effect!
Add gems, silver sticker stars as you like.

and the reverse side:

We just can't leave the back undecorated for an ornament designed to hang on the tree. :D
Stamp ATC sized blue cardstock with Tim Holtz ATC Stampers Anonymous stamp in navy ink
Stamp over this with olive green ink and Tim Holtz swirl stamp.
Match up this back and glue it to the decorated front ornament ATC piece made above.
Add silver glitter glue to round ornament piece and let dry
When dry, add same pre-ribboned star ornament piece on a pop dot to the center of the back of your ornament card
Add silver sticker star lower left and upper right with mini gems as you prefer
Add a mini gem to ornament ball.

Coloring String:
I needed blue and white string for these, but didn't want to run out to the store when I have so much white string already here at home. Use what you have, right? I have about 9 rolls of string in varied widths and ages from vintage to modern. Time to use up some of the white-with-sparkle string.

I decided to color it fast and easy with

DISTRESS STAIN!!

From white to blue in about 60 seconds. Literally. Just soak the string while it is still on the roll with stain and let air dry an hour or two.

A Very Mary --and inspiring--Weekend!

2011-11-21T17:04:00.000-08:00

Yes it was a very Mary Engelbreit weekend! So much fun!

St Louis was tons of FUN!
Let's start at the top.

Friday: our first day

My daughter and I were off on an adventure down to St Louis to attend a Mary Engelbreit Studios Home Companion Creative workshop!

I won the the two tickets for the November Workshop via a contest that Mary held on her site and blogs. If you haven't seen the new online website for Mary E and her art, check it out! Her son, Will, who looks to be about my own son's age, runs it and they intend to eventually have all her current products available there. Seriously cool.

I flew from Minneapolis in the wee hours of the morning on Friday and Jenny flew from Pennsylvania. We got in at exactly the same time on different airlines and met at the airport. Yeh! Hug, hug, hug.

Thanks to the kindness of our online friend, Vickie S, we were swept up and off to a delicious brunch at Miss Aimie B's Tea House in historic St Charles, Missouri. Isn't this building that Aimie B's is in a great Victorian? I want that ornate railing! Great conversation and food. I was so glad to meet another longtime ScrappersChallenger. Thanks Vickie!

Jenny and I spent the rest of Friday afternoon catching up, walking around the Central West End, and getting to know this intriguing hipster area of St Louis. But seriously, the best part of Friday was just seeing and talking to my daughter. I would have been happy to do so on a rock in the rain. :)

A wonderful conversation, a yummy dinner and TWO cocktails each at Bar Louie's and then a caramel apple cake dessert to share as well! Send hubby the bill! LOL

That caramel cake was huge! We shared of course. Good thing the walk back to our hotel was only a block. Haha.

Saturday: our second day

Bright and early Saturday morning, we headed over to the ME Home Companion Workshop at the Mary Engelbreit Studios area of the West End neighborhood. That part of town has some truly wonderful old architecture. Unsure of exactly which building the Studio was in, we paused by the newspaper stand on the corner to get our bearings. Coming up immediately behind us, someone pokes her head between us and asks if we are looking for the Workshop. Her big sunglasses did NOT disguise her. Turning to see Mary Engelbreit herself right beside you speaking to you over her coffee cup, offering to give direction, is such an unexpected treat. Well, hello Mary E! And off we then went into the right building!

The everyday-ness of that kind encounter really set the pace for the aura of genuine character during the whole weekend. All 20 or so of us Workshop crafters knew we probably should probably be shell-shocked in awe to be in the Studio with one of America's most renowned and well-loved artists of our lifetime.....but we were not in "awe". I mean that in a very good way. We were comfortable and happy and creative! I give credit to Mary for that. Her happy calm --almost a modest shyness--put us all at ease. She is smart and clever and witty yet all somewhat quietly. Not a show off. Not trying to be the center of attention. They say that the observers make the best artists. I can see this in her. So nice.

We wandered about the Studio admiring Mary's original artworks and anticipating new product lines.

I love her sense of humor....Mary's workroom.....witch? I don't THINK so! :D

above photo from ME Studios

Adorable figurines. I was happy to see they are just the right size for my little village on my buffet during the holidays.

Around every corner was a darling vignette combining vintage and ME goodness.

Amazing felt art kits from Herrschners and Bucilla.

Anne Estelle's winter dress is embroidered wonderfully.

One of Mary's original art works in the front lobby.

New fabrics and calenders in production now for Spring.

The above fabrics are available NOW in their online store. So cute! Perfect for a kitchen or porch.

Re-submit your work. Ignore the nay-sayers. Never give up!

The Nutcrackers.

Some of these vintage and hand painted birdhouses look very familiar! I am crazy for a swoopy roof line!

My favorite item was Mary's printer box shadow box of memorabilia. Her art comes from her family, her experiences and her past.

An adorable 20 inch tall retired Santa kit from Bucilla and Herrschners.

Here is a pic of my daughter and I. Getting ready to CREATE!!

photo taken by staff at the ME Workshop

Mary's team was awesome. We got to meet John M her COO, Barbara Martin from The Home Companion who was our hostess, and Will, Mary's son, who runs the online store. Teaching us were Charlotte Lyons, Kathy Curotto and Nancy Wethington who are all terrific artists themselves and very talented instructors. We even got to meet Mikayla, Mary's daughter. She just popped in to give hugs to her brother and her mom and spend a little time with all of us simply because she missed them...I love that.

Soon creativity was blossoming all around us in class! Small class sizes allowed us get to know each other. We shared trinkets, ideas, and conversation. This was truly a blessing of the workshop. Having fun learning a new skill with my daughter in this amazingly happy and unique studio was awesome! Our first class was wearable art with Charlotte Lyons and most people did decorated sweaters. You start with felts and wools and baubles!

This one was designed by our table companion for her daughter Anabelle who is four years old. Lovely design. Lucky little Anabelle!
Jenny did a hat complete with amazing wool acorns. And then she did a rhinestone-embellished black sweater for New Years Eve. Pics below.

This one was Charlotte Lyon's photo of her own sweater. So inspiring!

Jen in her embellished hat - photo by Charlotte Lyons

Jen's rhinestone sweater--stunning! I loved it. So very her.

My creation took two classes to make. I worked on it in both the wearable art class with Charlotte and the following wool needle felting class with Kathy Curotto. It is a 9x12 wool felted clutch bag/tote from Hancock fabrics. I think this size bag is for Ipads but I am using it for all my needle felting tools and supplies. I added a lot of fun embellishments and wool felted accents.

Below we are getting ready for scarf/needle felting class in the afternoon. Like I said, my bag took both class times. Our talented needle felting teacher for this class was Kathy Curotto, previous style editor of the Home Companion magazine. I discovered that I just LOVE wool needle felting. It is so fast and so texturally beautiful. Plus, it's a great way to upcycle some secondhand wool!

Our wonderful classmates

close up of my wool strawberry with seed beeds embellishment. Photo by Charlotte Lyons.

and a pic of my 9x12 inch wool bag, unfolded, so you can see the backside too.

Jenny's original needle felted scarf--lovely!!!!

An Unexpected Treat--or Two!

Back in 2001, a group of us ME fans on Yahoogroups called the MaryEngelbreitScrappers got together in Houston, Texas at the Great American Scrapbook Convention. Mary Engelbreit just happened to be signing autographs there. We made her ahead of time a 8.5x11 photo album with layouts from each of us fans. We then presented the album to Mary in person at the convention. Guess what! During our creative weekend workshop, I asked Mary if she remembered the Houston event. She not only knew immediately what I was talking about, but she still had the actual MEScrappers album on display at the Studio! Here I am with it 10 years later! What are the odds of that?

And here is my layout page set inside the album. Even my daughter Jen was in the set of photos from another autograph signing at the Mall of America in MN on these pages. So we got to embarrass Jenny a bit and show her photo to Mary when Jenny was 11 and had BANGS! :D

Our next surprise was a gift from Mary herself. She gave each of us an autographed copy of her newest beautifully illustrated children's book THE NUTCRACKER. What a wonderful treat!

above photo by Charlotte Lyons

Truly a classic and yes I will, someday a few years into the future, read this to my grandkids!

What a day! Off to dinner at the end of the day. We were famished! Several people recommended Sub Zero so away we went!

Burger for me.

Jenny loves sushi. :D

I sent this pic to hubby just to make him jealous. LOL Definitely a yummy meal.

Sunday: day three of a wonderful weekend

Vintage Ornaments with Charlotte Lyons

Previous web photo of Charlotte teaching her vintage holiday ornaments---I was too busy crafting to take pics. LOL I still only got two ornaments done out of three. Jen got all 3 done!

Jenny's shadow box paper basket: (photo by Charlotte Lyons)

Here is my Putz glitter house decoration. Note the personalized K wreath above the door. :)

...and my mitten ornaments. Have I mentioned I love blue?

Such a treat to be creative in such a wonderful setting.

I didn't take the above photo. No, it's from the internet. But Mary did pose for us at her drawing table just like this if we wanted her to do so. I figured after 20 other people asking her to do that, I would give her a break. Mary was so patient.

However I did go for the Workshop photo shot with Jenny and I and Mary at the same drawing table. Jenny is actually sitting in Mary's drawing table chair. Too bad they cropped out the drawing table AND added that huge elf! Oh well!

But we got a better photo later.

Soon it was time for us to say goodbye to Mary and the Workshop team. Jen and I hit up the Central West End shops for a bit shopping. We stopped for a refreshing lunch at Duffs and on to a few eclectic antique shops like Rothschild's before we headed off in the nice yellow taxi for the airport. It was only my second taxi ride--ever!

Living large in St Louis I tell ya. :D

Thank you, daughter Jen for joining me. And a special thank you to Mary Engelbreit and all responsible for allowing me to win such a wonderful prize weekend! It was a dream come true for me and I won't ever forget it.
So much fun.
So much inspiration.

Cross this one off the bucket list. :D

Scrapbook and Card Swap Ettiquete

2011-11-21T08:05:00.000-08:00

I wrote this article in March 2000 and it is still very useful today, over ten years later. Swappers and hostesses, please take a look. Hopefully this will help keep swapping your scrapbook items, ATCs and greeting card creations FUN!

SWAP Etiquette for Happy Trading

Have some extra supplies in your scrapping bins? Do you want to enjoy the benefits of speed scrapping with more creativity than you can think up all on your own? Are you curious about supply and page swaps? Have you heard good and bad sides to swapping? Want to share your supplies and talent but not get burned? No one likes to have a bad experience.

Some swappers swap supplies. This can be done in Round Robin style. That means the hostess fills a large box or envelope full of something and sends it on to the next gal on a predetermined address list of swappers. Each person on the list then takes some things out and puts an equal amount of new things into the box or envelope. The Round Robin is sent on as quickly as possible...usually within three days. The goodies eventually get back to the hostess. She then keeps whatever is in the box or envelope at that point.

Another Supply Swap is for a specific item or category of items. Sticker or embellishment supply swaps and punch art swaps are common. Finished ATC cards, paper dolls and paper piecings are also commonly traded. Even pens, papers, and other supplies can be swapped. A set number of objects is expected to be sent to the hostess from each swapper. The hostess then makes sure each participant gets an equal amount or value of DIFFERENT supplies back. Many scrapbook site bulletin boards can inform you of new swaps starting up.

Completed pages can even be swapped! I have swapped 8x8 pages , recipe pages, and finished 12 x12 pages too. Makeover swaps are fun! This is where a hostess matches up two people and you send duplicate photos in to be creatively scrap-booked from start to finish by the other gal. Usually page size and journaling are pre-determined ahead of time and sent in with the photos. The fun of this swap is that you can get wonderful new ideas on photos which might have had you 'stuck' for ideas.

Also common are Page Kit Swaps. These can be joined by scrappers who use ANY size album because the embellishment accent elements are NOT glued down to any background paper. There is usually a set theme. Decide on a design, then you create your kit elements in assembly line style. You send in a set number of identical page kits and a design drawing or scan to the hostess. You receive back that same number of DIFFERENT page kits on that theme. Just like power scrapping with more creative input from other talented scrappers!!

As a long time hostess of several very successful swaps, let me help you all out with some of the swapping etiquette do's --and don'ts-- that I have come across. I have participated in hundreds of swaps of all shapes and sizes! I hope my experiences will help you with any swaps you are involved in.

BE HONEST!

This is the first rule for swappers and for hostesses both. It is a cardinal rule and should be set in stone. Take it seriously. Your reputation in the scrapping community is at risk if you don't participate as expected. Word gets around who is honest and who is not. Give up the notion that you will get something for nothing. The rewards of swapping with other talented gals are great enough...there no need to cheat or be dishonest.

Don't Be Shy, Just Try!

This second piece of advice is for those who are new to swaps. Don't worry that your supplies or work won't "measure up". 95% of the time new swappers do TERRIFIC work and just need to get started. onestly. when I started swapping, I was a little unsure myself. Some hostesses screen their participants or need referrals before new people can join. Don't be offended by this, it just means they are being careful.

Don't let that stop you from being a hostess or a participant. Even I probably did not understand completely what was expected of me in those first few swaps. But understanding pals and hostesses make the learning experience more fun. If you are unsure what is expected, ask. Ask to see similar samples online or scans of other past swaps if it is a page kit swap. You should probably be in at least 5 swaps as a participant before you decide to hostess one.

Be Early not Late!

This applies to everyone involved! Nothing is worse than having to wait for your swaps! Don't make others wait!

Be Polite, Be Patient.

Sometimes online communication appears more abrupt than it is meant to be. Sometimes swappers are a day later than they should be. Sometimes the postal service is slow. This is especially true when you are swapping across country borders. Try to give your swappers and your hostesses the benefit of the doubt up to a reasonable point. Communicate politely in the meantime.

Here are some more specific guidelines for both participants and hostesses. Following these will alleviate 99% of the problems that would ever possibly happen.

As a Participant:

Please read and reread your rules. Don't sign up in the first place if you are going to bail out. Understand what is expected in that particular swap.
Save the rules email and PRINT it off. We all know computers crash and emails get deleted by accident. Avoid the problem by having a hard copy handy.
Highlight the due date! Put it also in your day planner or calendar! It is a firm commitment. Honor it!
Start early! If it is an intricate layout or piece you are making many of, start very early!
Do not over commit. Do not participate in more than 4 or 5 big swaps a month. It is too much! And you had better be very organized and dedicated to do even that. Be realistic. . You being a nervous wreck is not the goal here, no matter how nice the swapping loot!
Send nice things. A swap is not just for dumping trashy supplies or doing a poor job creatively. One scrapper's extras may be another scrapper's treasures but don't send things you know are poor quality. No bent die cuts, torn stickers, watermarked papers, items with big glue blobs or ink splotches.
Have a tote or Bin just for each swap in progress. All your stuff will be together and no useless searching for bits or having to redo lost ones. I put a note on the front of the bin with the name of the swap and the due date.
Send things on time or earlier. No one likes to wait. You do not want to be the person to hold up a swap for many others. The only good excuse for bailing on a swap is a family DIRE emergency or severe illness.
Communicate! Email if you will be late. Thank the hostess. If a hostess gift was specifically requested, send one! I do not require them for my own swaps but they sure are nice! Just a nice thank you online, a sticker module or two in the envelope, or card tucked in with your swap kits is wonderful! Hostessing is harder than you think!
Send the right amount of postage. Self address your own envelopes. Allow up to two weeks after the hostess has sent swaps out for you to get them. In Canada allow 3 weeks
Have fun!

As a Hostess:

Never hostess a page kit swap if you are not going to have at least 3 free hours to supervise that specific swap. Smaller sticker or supply swaps take a little less time. Hostessing a supply swap can take anywhere from one hour to three hours time to supervise. Even a ten-person swap of either kind entails reading emails, replying, answering questions, sending idea sites, going to the post office, making your own packets, and swapping out the kits or "envies" .
Communicate! The minute any problems develop that keep you from fulfilling your duty, it is your responsibility to notify each swap participant immediately! Do not volunteer to hostess if you are having any time crunch or personal stresses.
Decide how big is too big before you start. If you are new to hostessing, just start with a 6 or ten person swap. Sure it is flattering and tempting to just on keep letting gals sign up....but it can be too much work if you allow too many in your first swap. Decide if your swap is a round-robin, for supplies, fro page kits or for completed pages. Will you have a theme?
Create a Rules Email that contains all the specifics the swappers will need to know:
What is being swapped? Be specific.
How many?
What sizes?
Is there any sort of supply NOT welcome? (i.e.. bent die cuts, mylar stickers, baby items?)
What kind of envelope should be used?
What kind of postage do you prefer? All USA?
Should they send you Stamps or money to buy stamps?
Should supplies be bagged for waterproofing?
Include your email and postal address in the confirmation emails.
Note your Thank-you gift policy if you have one.
Set a due date and make it clear what you will do with late entries.
As you get gals signing on, print out each gals email when they commit. You will then have a hard copy with their email and the date right on it. Place these in a file folder just for this swap!! Even if you have a computer crash or other emergency, you will have the paper record.
Keep a list of who is in your swap and their email addy for easy reference. I hand write mine on the file folder of the swap where I keep the emails from #3. I also keep an address book for swapping pals. I place their postal addresses in it as I get their envelopes.
As swaps come in, email the sender to confirm the arrival.
Use the bin system. Each swap I hostess has it's own bin. Label the bin. As the swaps come in to you , check them off the list (# 4) and put them in the bin.
Keep everyone informed at intervals through the swap. Remind them of the due date. Do this each week in a month-long swap.
Swap them all out in a timely manner. If you are waiting on "one more gal", let the WHOLE list of participants know so they do not worry. Do not wait more than 7 days past the due date to send all swaps out.
Send out the swaps yourself. Then you know it got done. This is your responsibility. Don't let your husband mail them, or your sister....Do it yourself.
The minute any problems develop that keep you from fulfilling your duty, it is your responsibility to notify each swap participant immediately! Because you have done #4 above, this is made easier. The only good excuse for bailing as hostess on a swap is a family DIRE emergency or severe illness. Even then, you should send ALL kits back within a month or get a trusted scrapping friend to take it over for you and apologize publicly.
If you have a problem with someone for some reason, email them directly first. Then look them up and CALL them by phone if you need to. If both of those do not work, then ask generically and NICELY on the lists where that person is at...someone else may know.
Thank everyone for participating. You can send a little note or goodie (like a sticker module) if you want to... At the least, send an email thank you or a written note with the envy itself.
Have fun!

I hope this helps all who are involved in swaps to make them a happy experience! Swapping supplies and page kits can be a fun experience and a creative one! Opening a swap package is like opening a gift--a gift of the heart!

-Rockester

Halloween Cuteness

2011-11-17T15:23:00.000-08:00

Just sharing a little spookyness before I put it all away....
click on any photo for a larger view.

The little characters are a Lang and Wise line called Special Friends by Sherry Buck Baldwin. I have a few for each season. Did you notice the giant spiders (Dollar store rings) in the trees and on the woodpile? Creepy.... lol

Just sharing because I thought it turned out so cute. Now I am now taking it all down to put up other cuteness...

Take a look too at how I diplayed my Halloween ATC cards here in the "tree". I had the metal bucket and went outside to locate a big twiggy branch that had blown off the trees. I had some spare clips from my Clip It Up. To keep the branch stable, I poured some bulk unpopped popcorn into the bucket and whalaa! I was kind of patting myself on the back about this because otherwise no one sees these handmade and traded ATCS done for Fall and Halloween because I keep them in ATC albums.

I am keeping the small pumpkins and transitioning now into Thanksgiving....time to get out the next season of little figurines!

Mummy loves you!

2011-10-20T15:12:00.001-07:00

Corny I know. But I had to make them.

I was inspired by this link I found through PINTEREST with instructions
http://cfabbridesigns.com/blog/halloween/mini-mummies/

I made one for my son and one for my daughter. SHhhhhh! Don't tell. It's a secret. My kiddos are both married and live in different states....I just had to send them each goodie boxes. They are getting these adorable mummies in the mail this weekend. I used wire for the inner armature that my hubby had in the garage. That and a white cotton muslin rag that I tore in continuous strips. These mummy buddies literally take about 20 minutes each. Done is good. Nice thing is they BEND so you can pose them. Print out your choice of wording by computer in Fall colors for the sign and mat a couple times with Fall papers. Your mummy really will gain a personality of its own when you start to shape them. Very cute.
Have fun with it!

Boo! It's a Happy Halloween Banner!

2011-10-16T17:39:00.000-07:00

Time for a brand new post about a brand new project! Time for a little SPoOkY fun!

Look what I started with. I just brought ALL my remaining Halloween items in to play.

I started with several papers in brown tones, oranges and a bit of Tim Holtz thrown in along with a bit of graph paper. No skeletons, No zombies. I had about 2 1/2 feet of flocked white spider web ribbon, orange acrylic paint, chalk inks, brads, ribbons, fancy buttons, a couple plastic spider rings, some Funk and Wagnalls dictionary word pages and an extra Happy Halloween ATC card I made this month for a swap. I am not a big fan of Halloween which is why this banner is only 3 pennants wide (Boo) instead of 6 (Spooky) or 14 (Happy Halloween). I wanted to make a happy party banner with a positive twist. I did not buy a single thing. You know me, I say let's use what we have! :D My Fall and Halloween stash is now officially super LOW. And that's a fabulous thing!

Now, look what I created! A sweet shabby-chic grungy-lumpy decor delight for Halloween! Click on any photo to enlarge it to see details.

Let's take a peek at the pennants one by one. Here is the B

You can see the Tim Holtz photo strip and clock papers. Crumpled for texture and fun. Vintage shell buttons and an old gold leaf shank button too. Several layers of paper as well as two seasonally appropriate dictionary words. Spider ring in the web ribbon, walnut stain and glimmer mist and chalk ink. Fancy large orange brad says You and Me.

Now the middle pennant O comes next:

This one features the ATC card I mentioned earlier complete with rubber stamping, silver heat embossing, twine, another fancy orange brad that says Best Friends. Spritz on more Glimmer Mist spray and inking. I just had to include that jumbo vintage 1930s lightening look coat button. I secured it with a double dose of ribbon to keep it in place. More spooky dictionary wording, inking, and a little hang tag that reads Remember This!

And last but not least the other O pennant:

Layer, layer, layer those base papers. More spiderweb. Another spider. I pleated the word Metropolitain under a small bottlecap paper and accented the vertical areas with tiny photo strips --all from Tim Holtz. And again some more creepy dictionary wording (but not too frightening.) Oh yeah, I used up half a bottle of silver sparkle clear nail polish around my BOO lettering to add a little sheen and micro glitter. Yes, I have other paper crafting products that do the same thing but honestly, I just wanted to use that darn polish UP and toss it. So I did!

I wanted a decoration that focused on friendships, the good times, colors and festive aspects of the Halloween event with just a hint of spooky. Nothing too frightening or creepy. I would say I got a rustic seasonal banner that does just that!!

Gift Wrap for Pennies.

2011-09-28T21:20:00.000-07:00

It's going to be a handmade shabby chic Christmas!

I have been working today on our Christmas wrap and getting my gifts in order. Oh hush, it's NOT too early! LOL I shop and create all year long so I end up with baskets full of gifts at this time of year just waiting to be wrapped and tagged and tucked away until December. I need to clear the tables and get these off my docket so I can move on and get the next batch ready for Dec 2011.

That means it's also time for GIFT WRAP! I saw some great concepts on Pinterest lately and I was inspired! My workplace tosses out literally garbage bags full of plain brown rumpled craft paper every week. We get it in packed product shipments but the store has no use for it---until I came along! I am adopting the brown paper to make my gift wrap for 2011! I challenged myself--like I do so often-- to make it COMPLETELY from stash if possible. It was important to me to stay "green" with this project and use up some of my already existing white accents, paints, trims, and so on with this donated 'trashed' craft paper. Craft paper brown and white look terrific together. Shabby chic all the way!

Now that I had the wrap concept, I had to plan my tags and ribbons to somehow coordinate. What did I have a LOT of that I could make tags from? In my studio I found a 1/2 inch stack of white 12x12 chipboard and several sheets of leftover 12x12 brown and cream font handwriting paper. The chipboard was the kind you get on the backs of paper stacks. DING! DING! DING! And away we go!

I grabbed my white and brown inks and paints and a few snowflake rubber stamps. My arms were full but I tucked my Tattered Angels mist bottle on top! On the way out of the room I snagged a yard and a half of prewrinkled rippled white cotton fabric to tear up for my "ribbon". Whew!
TIP: Garage sales are the best sources for unique fabrics!

As you can see, I work in assembly line style. I cut LOTS of 3x5 tags! Tag steps from left to right: Cut the tags. Mist the tags. Chalk ink the edges. Add the pattern paper at the bottom. Stamp the snowflakes. Add TO and FROM with brown Zig marker. Stamp the back with a complementing stamp. Lastly I added a little sparkle with glitter glaze and gems on the snowflakes.

I tied up my gift with a 1 x 45 inch strip of my torn white fabric and here is the finished item! I might add some more lace or bling to the bow areas too. I have a whole little tin of rhinestone bits that might look good on the bows of the ladies gifts.

I think a holiday tree with oodles of these underneath it will look so sweet. :D

The benefits of doing Genealogy

2011-09-18T17:08:00.000-07:00

Two family oriented gifts: art calenders!

Seen above--Besler Botanical prints --my new geneo-horticultural passion!

One of the great benefits of doing our family genealogy work over the last 35 years is that we have some truly interesting connections to the past. I discovered one that lends itself to a few fun twists to our family gifting this season. My husband's family is related to the German Killians of colonial Lancaster county PA who are in turn descended from the Kilian engraving family of Augsburg, Germany. To make a long story short, my hubby's Kilian ancestor Wolfgang Kilian did the master engraving for one of the first botanical reference books ever done-published in 1613. The work was commissioned by Prince Bishop Johann Gemmingen who loved to garden and was wealthy enough to have rare types of things in his garden (for the 1600's anyway). The Bishop had a botanist and artist named Basil Besler draw them over 16 years, all 667 of them. Then he had Wolfgang and his metal engraving family engrave them all so that the huge book could be printed and reprinted. In those days there were no Kinkos. Metal engraving was how you reprinted any pictorial work. What a botanical treasure. Fast forward to 2011 and those Besler/Kilian prints are still being sold around the world 400 years later. Cool huh? If you are super interested, you can see a small sampling of the book here as a PDF.

So, I have been making home print outs of some of these botanical specimens into gifts for our family. I converted them back to sepia to show off the engraving aspect of them. The Art calender and the Family calender above each hold 12 different prints of this family artwork. Plus, I am telling the story of the past Kilians to them too--as you would expect. Don't you love it?

Now for the next gift --made from advertising prints!

This one is a fun gift.
All four salt kitchen ads are downloaded off the internet (at EBAY of all places!) I saved off the pics and printed them for pennies here at home. This black and white mat frame was from a garage sale for $2 and it was terrific frame quality. Plus it was all ready to go! I just inserted the sepia computer print outs of four charming 1906-1910 ads from a food company relevant to their family history during that era. Great conversation piece too!

If I tell them the stories often enough, they might remember, right??!
:D

Treasure the Moment!

2011-09-18T16:40:00.000-07:00

I have been crafting away in August and in Sept so far. Yep, working on Christmas gifts from our Scrapper's Challenge "Christmas in July" and "Christmas in August" postings. What fun ideas bounced around our SC Facebook site too! Join if you haven't yet!

I have also been inspired by some great ideas from PINTEREST, my new go-to spot for tutorials and new concepts. Well perhaps a 25 year old crochet pattern might not be considered truly a NEW concept but if it's new to me, I love it!

The Treasure the Moments 4x6 accordion album cost me all of about $1. I found the base album brand new at Goodwill for $1 tucked under some notebooks. Bam! It's mine. Boring black but I can decorate it in about 20 minutes. And I did --with the addition of one of my own extra ATC cards, the cardboard from the Cosmo Cricket packaging which held the lock charm. Ah yes upcycle when you can.... and I added some creamy delicious vintage cotton string off a crochet roll from a garage sale. Those older rolls of string and lace just have a great patina to them.

What else have I been making? More to come in another post...soon!
Don't forget to treasure the moment!
Rockester

Have you discovered PINTEREST yet?

2011-09-10T18:58:00.000-07:00

I have! And boy do I LOVE Pinterest now!

It's all about organizing those randomly found wonder ideas out on the internet and bringing them home to a VISUAL bookmarking organizational method. It really is simple and it really does WORK!

You do a simple download and add their toolbar to your top of your browsers regular basic toolbar. Once you have it there, you can travel the internet and whenever you find a wonderful idea, sketch, artwork, or whatever--you can then pin it and it will go to your own boards. The PIN IT button will make a bookmark style notation electronically so you can at any time after that go straight to your boards and find that idea BY PICTURE! No more trying to remember whose blog something was at. Its all visual. Sort ALL your crafts, sketches, scrapping or other tutorials, ideas, even your own work into boards on your Pinterest page.

Anything you need to keep track of online, Pinterest will help you keep track of where it's at. After you have pinned a photo, it's on your board for you to come back to at any time. From your board, you just click on that photo of the item you want to go see. The photo gets larger and then you simply click again at the upper right where you see their URL link. Poof away you go back to that page that you want. Browsing the internet is so much more fun when I know I can actually keep track of those cool ideas and online tutorials!

Just be sure that when you are looking at a bookmark PIN for the first time that you are actually pinning to the base link for that idea and not just a picture of a picture. Follow up to find the actual web page the idea came from originally. Not just someone's compilation of links. For those of us who have original ideas and tutorials out there, it is the only way to make sure we still get credit as a creator. Keep the original author's link as the PINNED link.

Pinterest is the ultimate "What You See is What You Get" bookmarking application for those us who are in a hurry. I am very visual --and frankly I forget to bookmark websites the old fashioned way. You can check out what other members-- who have the same interests --have pinned to their boards with the Pinterest keyword search feature. Do you love decorating with blue Ball jars? Type it in at Pinterest's home page search engine and see what others have pinned. RePin the ones you like from other people's boards over to your own boards. Love making chocolates? Make a whole board of delicious photo links to those scrumptious treats! You'll never loose a online recipe again! You could theoretically make a whole online virtual cookbook via Pinterest! You can have as many boards as you like!

Give Pinterest visual bookmarking a try. You can start with my own personal boards here at PINTEREST. I suggest the board called "Inspiring Crafty Stuff". Have fun!

Rockester

September is Finish It Month!

2011-08-31T13:39:00.000-07:00

Summer is winding down. School starts soon--or already has for some. It's time to start focusing on our "indoor" goals again. It's a natural time to switch gears and refocus. In Sept. let's get all those loose pages DONE, journaled and into albums!

Do you have almost-done pages sitting around in your totes, on your desk and so forth? Do you just need to add one more little thingy? Add a title?? Journal a bit? Slide them into protective sleeves? Get them into their desired order and add them to an actual ALBUM??

You are not alone. I bet we all have a few more of these than we care to admit. 90% done. But just not there....

September is the month to get that tiger by the tail and conquer the clutter! YES I said clutter. How can your lovely scrapbook pages EVER be clutter????

Because no matter how hard you worked, no matter what product you used, no matter how cute it is--if it is not DONE and it is not in it's right place (either gifted to the person you made it for or in it's final album--it is not out of your way. It is sitting someplace in limbo. Just like the dishes you intend to finish washing. Just like the clothes that didn't get hung up.

Let's treat our lovely pages with more respect. Let's get them DONE and into their books~

Just in time for the winter holidays when we can just plain share them with family! And since I was a little lax in August with the journaling prompts that I meant to focus on, I will send those across the wires too when I see some good ones. That will help us journal more and complete those pages too.

Let's get busy! If it needs a flower, add it. If it needs glue-ing down, glue it! If it needs changing, then change it! What are we waiting for? Just get it done. Please share your journaling tips at ScrappersChallenge as well and if you are getting pages INTO BOOKS! Yeah!
Rockester

Fun Finds at Goldrush!

2011-08-20T13:23:00.000-07:00

Our area in Minnesota sure comes alive in August with the onset of GOLDRUSH!

It's an antiques and junking weekend like no other. People come from all around the nation to see it and shop it and sell at it. It is held in two spots at the SAME TIME--Oronoco, Minnesota and in Rochester, Minnesota about 20 miles away. It is all comparable to Round Top, JunkFest, and to some of the big shows on the East coast from what I hear these vendors saying. And if there is old stuff to be had--I am there! I have been going to Goldrush now for 26 years and have never been disappointed. I get to wear my big hat and sunglasses and paw through cool junk all weekend! I am posing here with a 1900's early rocker JUST like the one we have photos of my mother sitting in back in 1940.

My pal Sue came back to Minnesota for the Goldrush (and a round of visiting with her family) all the way from Texas. I think she loves junk (oops! I mean cool stuff!) as much as I do! See her blog here:
ZUEEUZ

Having Sue visiting us in Minnesota again has been soooo much fun. We have hit all the second hand stores earlier in the week as well as Goldrush in both locations. We even met the ladies of Junk Bonanza (see below) at the Goldrush! Now that is a treat. Those gals know how to decorate a booth and have lots of yummy vintage items.

Trying to see all the items from 1500 vendors is a BIG deal and boy did our feet get sore. Luckily the local fire station has inexpensive food and drinks --and a shady spot to sit a spell. We saw some unique items like this giant garden flower made from aluminum kitchenware and mounted on a pipe. Just think, no rust!

Here are some of my vintage "finds" and how I have used them. I have a thing for boxes, bins, baskets, and containers. Let's start off with a few I got this week.

A 50 cent steel 8mm movie storage case now turns into the perfect card caddy for my A2 greeting cards. The center panel in the front folds down too. Nice they had little dividers build into it along the back and bottom just the right size!

Three $1 coffee cans will evenually be used as a three tiered caddy with rods and spools between them. I am storing my Cricut blades, markers and tools in them.

A tisket, a tasket, a blue Martha box FULL of silk ribbon for $4.00 and a $1 vintage lidded basket!

Now this navy blue caddy box is a doozie! I took it to the car as fast as I could so I wouldn't have to lug it! LOL It is 3 feet long and 1 foot wide made of wood and has 18 compartments! Nine on each side make it wonderful for all my misc as you can see. $30 Yeah me! Comparable sizes were going for triple that price.

A desk stand for my recent cards with 7 loops and a great jumbo glass bead. Not vintage but very needed! $1

A 1960's turquoise vinyl eyeglass case with a magnetic snap top mirror lid! Canning lids because I needed some and the price is right, two clear glass bowls, 4 Precious Moments cookie cutters for my extensive cutter collection, 7 colors of thick thread meant for candlewicking in the 80's but now destined for cardmaking. All combined only $4

Less than $10 for this whole lot! Silver cake servers that will be re-purposed to garden plant markers after some metal stamping, green earrings for me, a necklace for myself or my daughter, and some misc jewelry baubles that will be made into a rhinestone, pearl and carved rose necklace later this week. Look for it here in a later posting.

Well we all know what these are! $1 for the whole Scrabble-icious box.

Scrabble letters used to showcase some ultra-terrific kids! And in the background, don't you just love old books too?

I wanted a rotary phone for my desk--Hubby tested it and it WORKS with our phone lines! Yeah! $5.00 only. Also got 5 old mini New Testaments for a book art project. Don't worry, it will be very reverent. Will showcase that later in the fall on the blog here too.

Love skeleton keys but they have to be the right price! Less than $1 each and shown here with a 3 inch wide vintage stone mortar bowl. LOVE the patina on it and it even has a little pour spout. I think this will be my new paperclip bowl.

As a writer and bona-fide English major, of course I love books. As a genealogist, of course I love HISTORY! Here we picked up old text books for $2 a piece: Published in 1895 Stories of Great Americans, The St Croix River from 1965, and Harper's International Geography from 1877!!!! And for my paper crafting delight, a 375 page trumpet music book that I can tear apart and craft with for 50 cents! No lyrics--ONLY music notes on every page!

Now after all that shopping out of doors, we needed to cool off! What better way than with a vintage ZERO fan in just the right shade of green metal? This $15 beauty is going in my workroom.

It sure was a fun weekend. Thanks so much to Sue and also to my hubby Mike for junking along with me. I held out for good prices and Goldrush treasures were definitely found!

Christmas in July and August catch uip Link index.

2011-08-16T20:49:00.000-07:00

Catching up on some Christmas in July and August Posts!

Just want to make sure no one misses any good links! Enjoy! Rockester

Teacher gift idea Use your scrapbook supplies to personalize clips, pencils, post it notes and more http://www.etsy.com/listing/60146889/10-piece-teacher-gift-desk-set-2010-188?ref=sr_gallery_9&ga_search_type=all&ga_includes%5B0%5D=tags&ga_search_query=teacher_gift&ga_facet

End of the School Year will be here soon and this desk set will be the perfect gift for your child to give his or her teacher. 10 Piece set

Teacher needs a cute eco cup! Use rub ons to personalize! http://www.etsy.com/listing/72906099/teacher-gift-coach-gift-double-insulated?ref=sr_gallery_5&ga_search_type=all&ga_includes%5B0%5D=tags&ga_search_query=teacher_gift&ga_facet

Teacher Gift - Coach Gift - Double Insulated Plastic Cup with Lid and Straw - Acrylic Tumbler BPA FR

NICE TAGS printable freebie http://jonesdesigncompany.com/stationery/gift-tags/

CHRISTMAS IN AUGUST http://www.steppingthrucrazy.com/2010/07/domino-necklace-tutorial-and-my-first.html

Stepping Thru Crazy: Domino Necklace Tutorial..

Make your own chalkboard paint! Paint anything! http://www.theidearoom.net/2010/09/make-chalk-rocks-and-homemade-chalk.html

Make Chalk Rocks and Homemade Chalk Board Paint -

CHRISTMAS IN AUGUST http://urbancomfort.typepad.com/urban_nest/2011/04/plaster-flowers.html

Plaster Dipped Flowers -

What a great organizer for a vintage feel. Tiered old tins threaded on a rod. http://www.bhg.com/crafts/easy/1-hour-projects/tin-crafts-supplies-organizer/

Vintage tins can be found at flea markets and online auction sites for as little as $1 each.

Here is my own weekend project! What do you think? http://myall2.blogspot.com/2011/07/i-think-i-am-little-bit-nutzzo.html

My All: I think I am a little bit nutzzo...

TEACHER GIFT this site is a bonanza if you need ideas for teacher gifts and back to school treats http://thecraftingchicks.com/2010/08/teacher-gift-ideas-back-to-school-brainstorm-2.html

Back to School Brainstorm

CHRISTMAS IN AUGUST something the kids can actually create and give with a little supervision. -cupcake in a cup- http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/cup-cakes-661762/

This cupcake-in-a-cup, another fun craft from FamilyFun.com, makes a great gift

TIP: Shop secondhand for cups that were made in the USA --that meet no lead requirements for heated foods. Cups usually say on the bottom where they were manufactured.

How to understand paper weights! Read this! http://www.owhstarsandstamps.org/2011/08/tutorial-understanding-paper-weights.html

organize! http://www.simpleorganizedliving.com/2011/02/07/10-things-that-shouldnt-be-in-your-closet/

10 Things that Should NOT Be in Your Closet

CHRISTMAS IN AUGUST (or a summer activity for the teens) Canvas shoes and Copic markers! http://www.copiccolor.com/JSantiago/gallery/1548

CHRISTMAS IN AUGUST Quilts--Fast and Furious lap quilt from fitted sheets. Shop the secondhand for these! Great for picnic blankets, pet bed gifts, extra crib quilts, car quilts, or lap quilts for the elderly. http://daisyjanie.typepad.com/daisyjanie/2011/01/how-to-quick-quilt-from-repurposed-fitted-sheets.html

No marking, no piecing, no binding and minimal measuring - so minimal that I'm not even sure it counts. Not a great deal of thinking either.

Such a cute idea! Ask the kids how granny makes her best recipe and write it down on a white cotton towel for a gift! Hilarious! http://crafts.kaboose.com/recipe-dish-towel.html

See this transformation from closet to office I found online

http://prettyinspiredliving.blogspot.com/2010/07/turn-your-closet-into-your-home-office.html

Enjoy!

Here is what I have been up to the last couple days http://myall2.blogspot.com/2011/08/greeting-card-frenzy-love-it.html

My All: Greeting card frenzy! Love it!

CHRISTMAS IN JULY slideshow of ideas http://www.bhg.com/christmas/cards/easy-handmade-christmas-gift-tags/

Easy Christmas Gift Tags Made from Scrapbooking Supplies

Make Your Christmas presents too pretty to open by adorning them with unique handmade gift tags.

INSPIRATION! Tim Holtz fragments, facets and acrylic charms--you have them but HOW to use them in new ways? Check this out http://timholtz.typepad.com/my_weblog/2011/08/transparent-illusions.html

transparent illusions... - Tim Holtz

TEACHER GIFT Pencil box about half way down the page http://flowersandink.blogspot.com/2010/10/november-mfteasers-day-1.html

TEACHER GIFT becky higgins card in 30 min idea http://www.beckyhiggins.com/blog/uploaded_images/3-sets-of-cards-in-30-mintues-785227.jpg

http://www.beckyhiggins.com/blog/uploaded_images/3-sets-of-cards-in-30-mintues-785227.jpg

CARD IDEA Use versamark in a new way with your embossing powders http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/embeddedimage/

Reduce, reuse, and repaint! A dresser re-vamped. http://myall2.blogspot.com/2011/08/dresser-re-invented-d.html

My All: A Dresser Re-invented :D

‎...and now the renovated room is all done! Take a look and let me know what you think. http://myall2.blogspot.com/2011/08/guest-roomoffice-completed.html

CHRISTMAS IN JULY http://shabbychiccrafts.blogspot.com/2009/12/christmas-project-12-paper-ball.html

Shabby Chic Crafts- delightful paper tags & more!: Christmas Project #12- Paper Ball Ornaments

CHRISTMAS IN JULY - and another style of planner in 12x12 http://christmasplanner.com/judys-crafty-precious-christmas-organiser

Get ready for the holiday season with a Christmas planner. Make your own with articles, checklists, free printables and planner tours.

Greeting card frenzy! Love it!

2011-08-07T13:57:00.001-07:00

It's a card fest at my house!

LOL

6 ornate red general purpose cards.

8 regular sympathy cards

8 pet sympathy cards in green

6 cute owl birthday cards

12 blue asstorted background Just for You girls with Copic coloring.

6 Orange hello girl with pleated paper ribbon and 6 Smile cards hand colored with Copic markers. 4 Thinking of You flowerpot cards with texture folders and Copic marker coloring.

WHEW! But sooo much fun over the last 4 days.

Being creative-- and knowing that you are making something worthwhile for others-- with your time and supplies is what it is all about. Here is what I have been up to the later part of this week. Using stuff up and making cards for gifts, trading, and for sale. Love it!

And, yes, I do make them to sell! If you like some, let me know...

Guest room/Office completed!

2011-08-02T15:57:00.000-07:00

Well I did it! And I did it buying only three things! Whoohoo!

Remember this view? Much better now, right? If you didn't see the BEFORE pics, see them in the previous posts HERE. Click on any photo to enlarge it.

When you enter the room, we have a short re-purposed wooden nightstand table topped with a well-loved antique yellow chipped paint bottling crate from my husband's family.

It now holds my current project of the week. In this case, a baby gift album and a wedding album. Below it is an old wire locker basket with oodles of inspiration for my scrapping projects.

BUY NUMBER ONE (below): A set of three floral prints for this wall purchased last weekend from a garage sale for 25 cents each! Yes! I love a bargain.

The bedside needed a narrow scale stand of some sort. I put my thinking cap on and realized that this barstool that my husband made in high school 35 years ago might be the right silhouette. It was really rough from the garage and outdoors, but still sturdy and solid wood. I Cloroxed it (is that a verb?) all over and then gave the top a whitewash.

Now it can pop right into that small space and hold a few collectables, a lamp, and mementos.

You have seen this view before. The bed all made up.

And to the right of the bed is our refurbished dresser. It says May You Smile, Laugh, and Love. See how I did it HERE

I enjoyed tinkering with the tablescape here. Fred Astaire (autographed!) looks right at home with old family prayer books, apothecary bottles, candles, and our daughters dried wedding flowers. Our little Willow Tree girl has a to-scale tin home.

Coming around to the next wall we see the photo board I recovered. See how I changed it up HERE using doilies and vintage brooches.

BUY NUMBER TWO: Poster of the Acropolis $2.00 at Savers!

In a moment you will see I added a poster of the Greek Acropolis in a very similar vista to the one my daughter and her hubbie had on their honeymoon. But how to frame it? Such an odd long shape. I went out to the garage and looked around. No stray molding, darn it. No good thin wood scraps either. Needs a vintage look....how about yardsticks!?? Not in brown or natural though.... so let's make it white! Boy that acrylic white paint is coming in handy! I drilled holes in the yardstick ends so that I could thread twine in on the corners to join and to hang it. I also hot-glued the yardstick sides to the poster casing.

Here is how it looks completed.

On the same wall are all those shoe cubbies I mentioned in an earlier post. I tucked lots of storage and smalls in there. I used old and new containers --mostly handmade pottery bowls and embossed metal vintage bread loaf pans, and french bread baskets to hold my scrapping items and a few magazines, fabrics, and some collectables.

Again the tablescape on top of the cubbies was so much fun to create. I just shopped all around my own house for goodies that looked right. Some of my daughter's items made it back in--as it should be since she will also stay here. I love the two mini love birds in little white berry nests.
The quilted teddy bear is 30 years old now and sewn by me from one of my great-grandmother's quilts three decades ago....

Those of you with sharp eyes will recognize the combined name album from Clear Scraps that I made for the young couple about a year and a half ago about their courtship.

BUY NUMBER THREE: The $14 work table. I got it at SAVERS and it is all one piece like a butcher block. Very solid.

On the table, upper left, an old creamery pitcher serves as my paper towel holder. Re-purposed tins, mug, and clock. My wicker desk organizer is reused from daughter as are the bookends. Vintage dragonfly paperweight from my son's room looks better in here. Hubby generously brought up this wooden oak office chair for me. He had bought it for himself 3 weeks ago at a garage sale but he said he can use my leather one. Those big modern leather ones are so huge, the arms won't fit under the table --or in this space. This wood rolling chair is perfect! In order to make sure the wooden floor doesn't get marred up, I snagged the extra area rug from my son's room and flipped it over so the black side is down and the tan side is up. It works!

This little scene on my desk shows how you can tuck a doily into a Kleenex box cover and 'hide' the pattern on it. I have also decoupaged with pattern papers and Mod Podge over these kinds of boxes to make them match my decor. I want to find my grandfather's skeleton keys (downstairs someplace) and add them to the twine ties on the milk glass lamp from my porch. (I think I am going to change out that squarish shade on the lamp for a round one and then decoupage music or dictionary words on it.

The sweet little clown in the rocker was a birthday gift to me from 1963! He has traveled with me a long, long way! :) I am using the vintage blue crocheted trivet as a coaster on my desk. My mom collects these crocheted string trivets and shared this one with me when she sent the doily box--because it is my favorite color. Thanks Mom!

Above the desk/table I have placed two rummage sale 8x10 brushed bronze oval metal frames from my stash with dear daughter's wedding pics. The black 8x14 frame is one that I also had in my stash which used to have a pic of a cute toddler couple with a nice saying about love. I knew months ago that I was eventually going to change out that impersonal photo for one of my daughter and her husband on their engagement day. I printed all three of these photos onto my own photo paper for pennies here on my printer. These definitely help keep this room earmarked for my daughter and her husband when they come to visit --and happily remind me of them when they are gone.

Well that is it for this room redo! Hope you enjoyed it. I do love how it turned out. Even better it only took me one garage sale and one trip to Savers Secondhand to find the three items that I bought. (Yep, a whopping $16.75 FOR THIS ROOM!)

What can you do with what you already own? If I can do it, so can you! :)

May you always smile, laugh and love!

A Dresser Re-invented :D

2011-08-02T14:34:00.000-07:00

This 5 drawer dresser in the corner needed a facelift. After ten years of service, it was looking a little torn and tattered. Now I like tattered--but not sad and worn. The good points are that it has 5 ample drawers that still glide reasonably smoothly, is all real wood, has it's wonderful original knobs , an adorable skirt detailing--and I already own it. LOL

Click on any photo to enlarge it.

before

But the birds and vines painted on the front have to go. Like the memo board in that last post, it was just a little too 'themey' for me.

before

(Don't worry I painted them on many years ago, so it's ok if I repaint, right?)

So here I go....I repainted the fronts all white. And then I added a dry brushing of a teal blue. I decided when the blue was dry it was a tish too bright. So I whitewashed the blue again.

Five drawers means I have room for five words, right? I went back to my foam stamp stash and found several that would work. I decided not to do individual lettering with individual font stamps because I had several complete words that would work great and be a heck of a lot less trouble lining them up. Lazy sometimes works in my favor LOL...

I chose these:
MAY YOU SMILE LAUGH AND LOVE and stamped with teal acrylic paint.

Close up of one drawer:

And now for the big reveal!!! drumroll....

after

A little tamer than the birds and vines...Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and REPAINT!

And may you always smile, laugh and love!
Enjoy!

Remaking a French Photo Memo Board

2011-08-02T13:43:00.000-07:00

This is a smaller project that came up while changing out my daughter's room this week into a guest room and mini workspace for me.

This is how I restyled a french photo board...using doilies and brooches!

Her existing french memo/photo board was a little "too purple" for my taste. Now that this room is changing focus, I wanted to change the board's color scheme. But how to tone it down using only what I have on hand in my home? Something white or cream would be optimal, something older, something plentiful... ahhh yes, doilies. My mom just sent me a box 2 weeks ago from her stash of my great-grandmothers linens. Perfect! Let's put our special lovelies to work!

I layered two large doily circles and 3 smaller odd shapes on top just to see how it looked. I liked it. Proceed to the attaching... hmmm not thumbtacks (too officey), not sewing (too tedious), Not all straight pins (looks tacky) .....thinking ...thinking....

AH HA! Vintage brooches from my old brooch tin.

Yep. That works and looks vintage too. Rather proud of myself that I thought this up as a solution. LOL Starting in the center the brooches anchored here and there --through the doilies --to the back padding. I did not close the brooches, I just pushed them in place like straight pins.

I pinned the excess doily circle edges that hung over the sides on to the back of the memo board with normal straight pins. Then I changed out the purple ribbon for a green satin one to hang it. Add photos of our family members by tucking the photos in under the brooches and adding some straight pins to secure. Vintage hat pins would also work. Poof I am done. Took about an hour total. Again, using only items that I had on hand too.

Love it! :)

TIP: If you determine that the photo board is heavier on one side than another, just rearrange the larger brooches (some are heavier than others) or 'weight' one side like I did with the vintage scissors (also from great-grandma) on a twine loop. Adding small vintage items to even out the balance is a simple fix and it looks adorable too.

Enjoy!

TEACHER GIFTS - desk caddy

2011-08-01T19:59:00.000-07:00

It was a terrific suggestion by one of our members that we specifically add teacher gifts for August's postings of gifts to make. Love it! Here is the first one.

TEACHER GIFT: desk caddy
http://scrapbooking.com/cgi-bin/Phase_2/layout.pl?serial=74789

Get something nice ready for your kid's teachers this fall.
(Or for christmas! :))

CHRISTMAS IN JULY- motivation, sachets, paper balls, book belts, and party ideas

2011-08-01T19:57:00.000-07:00

CHRISTMAS IN JULY what to do with all those odd envelopes--especially the colored ones in varied sizes
http://www.marthastewart.com/265707/envelope-sachets?czone=crafts%2Fcrafting-tools-center%2Fcrafting-tools-projects
Envelope Sachets - Martha Stewart Crafts

CHRISTMAS IN JULY
http://shabbychiccrafts.blogspot.com/2009/12/christmas-project-12-paper-ball.html
Shabby Chic Crafts- delightful paper tags & more!: Christmas Project #12- Paper Ball Ornaments
shabbychiccrafts.blogspot.com

CHRISTMAS IN JULY- Journaling belts for your book stacks! Great idea! I am thinking two inches by 16 inches?
http://www.etsy.com/listing/69859546/adjustable-velcro-bandolier-birds-and?ref=v1_other_2
Adjustable Velcro Bandolier

CHRISTMAS IN JULY -Party ideas--so cute do it yourself ideas
http://shabbychiccrafts.blogspot.com/search/label/party%20ideas

Motivation:
To help keep you focused and productive
http://aliedwards.com/2011/07/guest-post-6-principles-for-effortless-memory-keeping-jennifer-wilson.html#more-13338
“How does she make it look so easy?”

I think I am a little bit nutzzo...

2011-07-28T16:05:00.001-07:00

about 6:35pm Thursday

I may be a little boinkers after midnight because at about 12:16pm last night (Wed) I came up with an idea. Not a simple idea or just a little task or anything doable in an hour. No. but a rather larger task...really I should not be allowed to THINK after midnight. I get these ideas...and this one really means work for myself. In the next two weeks. Hmmm. Nutzzo... yes.

Our youngest is now newly-married and moved to Pennsylvania--and we hope blissfully happy. This is how she left her room in the post-wedding -pre-moving turmoil of that last month at home. Simply put, it is chaos. LOL

Now for my great idea...
I call it the 1, 2, 3 Challenge for myself

Can I take this:
(Click on any photo to enlarge it.)

ONE room

and make this room work for TWO purposes over the course of TWO weeks

buying only THREE things --yes I said buying ONLY 3 things --total!!??!!

My goal is to create a new shabby chic guest room and office space using furniture and knick knacks (and so on) from my own home and pretty much reinvent this room? (And yes, she really did have a pair of shoes in each and every one of those shoe cubbies!)

Can I do it? I think I can, I think I can.
Why the two week deadline? I am having guests visit in August and I would love for this room to be DONE by then. And I do work very, very well on a deadline.

What am I sitting around here for? I have stuff to DO!
1. 2. 3. go!
:D
Rockester

----------------

UPDATE: 9:33pm Thursday
One of my inspirations last night when I was blog-hopping was this wonderful blog.
http://bucketsofburlap.blogspot.com/

I guess you would call it Shabby Chic but it is even better than that. I love all the items and textiles and old curiosities and furnishings. She does such a lovely job of it that I was inspired.

This is what I got done tonight in a few hours. I cleared the room. Whew!

Then I changed out the deep purple balloon valances and the silk flowers-on-sheers for this lacey set that I had in the linen closet. I didn't realize it but one of them was chopped off at the hem. So I just hid that one behind the tower of stacked cubbies. (I will share that after I fill it up with fabrics and supplies and antiques) I then topped the curtains with two cream valances. I had bought the valances with my daughter's apartment in mind (a month ago at the SAVERS secondhand store) but once we got them out to Pennsylvania, we didn't like them for her place. So I brought them back to MN. Yeah!

I decided to move the bed and make it up since it was a big eyesore unmade. I had to decide on one of six bedspread/coverlet choices. See below.

Immediately, the red one (far right) had to go as I was not into that color for this room. I am not repainting the room, so I want to keep to the pale yellow, lavender and teal greens. (Similar colors to what you see here on my blog art)

The down comforter duvet was way to bland (front left-creamy tan) and way too warm for summer anyway. Into the closet it went for winter. Chocolate brown (middle left) didn't really pull anything from the existing room wall colors. So that left the white chenille vintage spread (lower right) or the two blues (top). I chose the white chenille just cause it is homey and it reminds me of my grandmother's farmhouse beds in the 1960's.

The chenille bedspread also made a great backdrop for the accent pillows. I have about 13 accent pillows all around the house. With three beds and 4 sofas, it is easy to find lots of pillows at my house. My daughter also left two bolder ones behind. Everybody auditioned for a bedtop spot--but I had to toss out the lime green pillow and a deep purple pillow. They were just too bold for the look I wanted. For now I selected these below. I might tweek that more later.

And look what I found UNDER the bed when I moved it? The green afghan. I thought she took that to PA with her. Well, I can certainly use that piece here. We are making progress! Stay tuned!

CHRISTMAS IN JULY - Biscotti, birthday lists, scrappy family cookbooks, easel calenders, and Martha's totebags!

2011-07-27T14:46:00.001-07:00

Just made 16 of these for a care package --and they are super delish.
http://www.food.com/recipe/fantastic-double-chocolate-pecan-biscotti-141395
also made 16 of these vanilla chai biscotti
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/chai-spice-biscotti-10000001156062/
Biscottis are terrific for mailing! I know it is too soon for Christmas unless you freeze them, but keep it in mind around November! :) Very yummy with hot tea or coffee or cocoa!

CHRISTMAS IN JULY Make a cookbook scrapbook in multiples for family gifts!
http://www.ehow.com/how_5068742_make-cookbook-scrapbook.html
How to Make a Cookbook Scrapbook

CHRISTMAS IN JULY Or even simpler, this style easel calender with your scrapbooking supplies and a mini cal from the dollar store!
http://gottheartart.blogspot.com/2009/11/2010-easel-calendar.html
Gott Heart Art: 2010 Easel Calendar --was posted NOV 29, 2009 if you can't find the permalink from this url above.
gottheartart.blogspot.com

CHRISTMAS IN JULY easel chipboard calender -Make your own from chipboard and tissue tape at the bends? Reversible for the 6 board pieces?! http://www.scrapjazz.com/gallery/?m=image&id=498394&type=other&c=222&page=1&vote=0
If you can't see it that way then go to the scrapjazz gallery and look for calendars in the PROJECT catagory and you will see many with easel style.

CHRISTMAS IN JULY- birthday lists! Great tips from Nicole
http://go.tipjunkie.com/pr/6277/nicholeheady.typepad.com/capture_the_moment/2009/01/birthday-organi.htmlPrintable Birthday and Date Organizer
http://go.tipjunkie.com/pr/627%E2%80%8B7/nicholeheady.typepad.com/cap%E2%80%8Bture_the_moment/2009/01/birthd%E2%80%8Bay-organi.html

CHRISTMAS IN JULY Iron On Tote Bags from Martha
http://www.marthastewart.com/264378/tote-bags-with-iron-on-silhouettes?backto=true&backtourl=%2Fphotogallery%2Fgifts-for-her#slide_1
Tote Bags with Iron-On Silhouettes - Martha Stewart Crafts

2011-07-25T10:58:00.000-07:00

Make your own adorable holiday paper chains! http://foldingtrees.com/2009/12/printable-paperchain-patterns/

CHRISTMAS IN JULY -Rag Pillow! Square fabric scraps and mixed threads and a simple straight stitch! http://jubileehomespun.com/Project_Ideas/Homespun_Patchwork_Fabric_Pillow.html

Homespun rag quilt instructions and pattern for homespun patchwork pillow.
jubileehomespun.com
This pillow was Emily's first project with a sewing machine. Emily is 11 years old and she actually whipped this pillow out in less than two hours from start to finish! Emily is a personal friend of mine and I have a feeling she is going to be back for more projects.
Cute packaging! Adorable for teacher gifts.... http://www.cardalacarte.com/2011/03/owls.html
Card à la Carte: OWLS
www.cardalacarte.com
Billie Lewis Sanders FacebookHow cute are those!! You are thinking teacher but I am thinking students.. what a cute way for the teacher of preschoolers or kindergarteners to get acquainted. Sort of a Whoo are you gift or even on a desk tag with the child’s name on it..
Kathy Aho
CHRISTMAS IN JULY Cards for a Year! http://www.scrapjazz.com/topics/Techniques/Cardmaking/2050.php
Cards for a Year
www.scrapjazz.com
Do you ever find yourself needing a special card and not having the time to make it? If you have found yourself in this situation, consider working ahead to create a stash of cards for the whole year.

CHRISTMAS IN JULY Wine Caddy

2011-07-21T22:37:00.000-07:00

What a nice simple gift for someone. A bottle of local wine and a nice paper folded caddy to go with it. Make it with your stash! Use your Crop a dile --I know you have those huge grommets around your house!

http://daisyjanie.typepad.com/daisyjanie/2009/09/how-to-make-a-paper-winebag.html

CHRISTMAS IN JULY Envelope books

2011-07-20T07:22:00.000-07:00

I just love this idea--mainly because it is a project I have ALL the supplies for in my home right this minute. I have about 100 large white 6x9 envelopes from a garage sale sitting in my studio. I also have lots of chipboard and a guillotine cutter that can trim those down to any size. This project uses just a couple of different sheets of paper so I can use up my oddball papers--and this little album can serve a function. I plan to tuck a greeting card in each pocket and label the four pockets:
Birthday
Get Well
Congrats/Thank You (People probably send more thank yous than congrats?)
Thinking of You
and thus making it a card organizer if they want it to be. Maybe I will make it a 6 pocket if the folded spine can accommodate that many pages.

I plan to make about 20 of these adorable envelope albums by assembly line method. Cost??-negligible! Just my time and I really figure I can do all 20 in one day if I start organized.

Use that stash!

http://www.making-mini-scrapbooks.com/envelopebook.html

I just love projects that are a Win, Win situation and I am excited about this one. Since I make greeting cards all year long, I already have a stash of about 200 cards ready to fill them up too!