Claiming Mine in 2009 I am thinking to get a pre-2009 start on my goals for 2009. I usually move kind of slowly into the New Year. And that may be part of the problem. LOL I dilly dally a bit more than I need to and then I wonder where the time went! Or I focus on only one part of my life and let the rest kind of dwindle as far as goals go...do you do that too? This year I hope to make a bit more headway on my personal goals, hobbies, and LIFE in general. I do have several goals for the year and while I don't believe in making huge resolutions, I do believe in having GOALS and breaking them down into more managable bits and then making them come true by implimenting some sort of step by step progress daily. I will start off this week with an urgent--but small-- list of what needs to be done before the New year even hits. 1. Take the garbage OUT This includes not only the literal holiday trash like used wrapping paper and old foods, but other items too. I noticed some dishware an...

Your Supplies: Organizing Page Additions Originally written July 20th, 2001 by Rockester Are your page embellishments a big mess? Need Help? How do you store your supplies? Don't you hate that feeling when you know you have a pattern or sticker SOMEWHERE-- if only you could lay your hands on it to USE it today! Do you have trouble finding things or keeping them handy? You know that you bought a paper piecing pattern or a magazine, but you can't find it when you want to show a friend or pack for a crop? What do you do with your swaps and purchases? Have you bought duplicate supplies and not known it until you dig out an old shopping bag a month later? What is the remedy for this organizational nightmare?? Need help? Well, let's alk about solutions! (Not that my way is 'right' but if you have no organization system or you have one that is NOT working well for you, then these are just some starter tips that may help you.) Here is what I do. See if you can adapt any ...

Got Photos? Packing Page Kits from Photos to Finished Originally written April 20th, 2006 by Rockester I admit it, I am a VERY productive scrapper. I get pages done. And cute ones too. I journal, I embellish, I add handmade doodads as well as store-bought. I honestly can say that after 13 years of scrapping, I make great scrapbooks. And I do them fast. Need a two-page layout design in 45 minutes or an album in a week? No problem. I get asked all the time HOW I do it? I will share with you my straightforward and simple process. If you can master this, you can get a LOT more done in your limited scrapbooking time. I can get up to 160 kits packed in a weekend and later get up to a hundred pages assembled in a week. And I do it consistently, incorporating the cutest and newest materials and accents. But you don't want to hear me brag. You want to know HOW to do this for yourself. Planning is the key. You probably have heard that many times at many websites and forums. What ...

Quiz: What's Your Scrapping Style? Written originally May 21st, 1999 by Rockester 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 , a...

Bake up a Storm!! Or maybe just make a classic of two for your family. Pick a few favorites and bake ahead! Freese unforsted cookies and just add the crowning touches the day you serve them! No one will know the difference. If you can make your yummiest breakfast dish ahead and freeze that ahead, do it! Prepare some favorite meals and other baked goods for the hectic days ahead. Save yourself trouble and work ahead whenever possible. However, don't be so super efficient that you leave the family out of the loop. Involve children in memory making! They are worth the extra flour and sugar on the floor. :) I love the classic sugar cookie for baking with my kids even now that they are in their college years! They do too. I think it is a great flashback moment for them at the holidays! http://www.recipezaar.com/Roll-out-Classic-Butter-Sugar-Cookies-Christmas-or-Holidays-223477 Party Time! Complete last minute details and enjoy holiday parties, concerts, and family ac...

Here are some great ideas! http://images.google.com/images?rlz=1B3GGGL_enUS281US284&hl=en&q=scrapbooking%20clipboard%20teacher&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi My own previous blog post is here http://myall2.blogspot.com/2006/09/sept-challenge-altered-clipboards.html And some great clipboards at TwoPeas http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/search.asp?query=clipboard%20teacher&index=LAY Here is how to make them step by step: http://scrapbooking-paper-crafts.suite101.com/article.cfm/creating_an_altered_clipboard Good luck and have fun with it! Rockester

Holiday countdown continues to keep me in line and this week Holiday Countdown: Here we are at Week 5 : DECORATION, SHOPPING, AND MAIL are the focal areas this week. Shipping: I made sure I got all my holiday cards out the door, decorated the living room and tree, as well as checked my gift inventory and started wrapping! I need to start mailing packages soon as I have a lot of family in other states. Did you know the US postal service will pick up packages at your door for you? Details here http://www.usps.com/ Quick Fix holiday decorating from the Pros : http://www.styleathome.com/homes/interiors/colin-and-justin-s-12-quick-fix-solutions-for-holiday-decorating/a/1137 an Eco-Friendly Winter/Christmas holiday: http://www.styleathome.com/decorating-and-design/green-living/an-eco-friendly-christmas/a/17377 If you are feeling overwhelmed already: Breathe, Relax. :) http://zines.webvalence.com/sites/Clutter_Challenge/current.html Happy Holidays! Keep going!!! :) :)

Here we are at week 4 in our Holiday Countdown! This week we are: 1. Making gifts like crazy! Inspiration is everywhere. Try idea sites like http://www.scrapbook.com/gallery/other/0/-1.html Wrap and label packages as you go. Set aside needed shipping boxes and bubble wrap. 2. Write your Christmas letters! Complete package wrapping for gifts to be shipped out. Take advantage of in-home printing of postage and stamps at sites like Stamps.com and the USPS http://www.usps.com/onlinepostage/welcome.htm 3. Take that family photo and get it reproduced for your cards. Good deals online now at sites like Snapfish and Walmart.com are as low as 9 cents each for 4x6 if you have them delivered to your home by mail. 4. Put away Thanksgiving items and begin to decorate your home. 5. Complete as much shopping as possible. Shop online (even locally!) for bargains and to save time and travel. Keep on track. Shop with a list and a budget. Go home when done. Don't li...

Holiday Countdown Week 3 November 16-23 Sorry for the late posting this week. Shhh, I was super busy getting an 8x8 gift album done for my daughter and time slipped by as I submerged myself in that project. I can't share pics cause she might read this but suffice it to say it turned out super and I will share pics of it and other holiday gifts later on this week if I can. Week 3 is BAKING WEEK!! I inadvertently fulfilled that part of my holiday list today. My friend Deb asked me to come and bake cookies with her to freeze for the holiday. We made about 6 dozen assorted cookies for each of us in about 4 and a half hours. Her house smelled fabulous with the aromas of coconut-chocolate drizzle macaroons, molasses-gingerbread men, pecan turtles, classic sugar cookies, and adorable oreo snowmen. We sure had fun and talked and talked while we worked. :) Here are our recipes from today's baking adventure. Coconut Chocolate Macaroons: You can dip them half way as shown here or you can...

Week #2 "Gather your Supplies and start Making Gifts Week" Nov 8-15th After inventorying supplies on hand, purchase canned goods for holiday baking. Get any supplies needed for gift making. Don't forget the film, batteries, gift wrapping, and Christmas cards. After gathering all your Christmas gift wrap into one place, do you really need more? A friend of mine did this recently and found she didn't need to buy cards again for over ten years if she stuck to using her stash!! Wow. Gift wrap organizer ideas http://blog.kimvallee.com/archive/2007/09/13/magazines-take-on-how-to-set-up-a-gift-wrapping.aspx Focus your energies on completing simple, useful gifts to be made, setting aside gifts that aren't coming together, and writing your holiday letter. Find family photos suitable for inclusion with holiday cards.Walmart.com has 9 cent prints right onw if you have them sent to your home by mail. Make sure you allow enough time for duplication of photos d...

It is time for another giveaway! Comment on any post in the last ten blog posts and you are automatically entered! :) One winner picked at random on Nov 15th. I will ship the book by postal mail to the winner after Nov 15th. Here is the prize: Scrapbooking with Memory Makers (book not magazine) Good luck! Comment away! I love to hear what is on your mind. Plus I love to give out freebies! :) Rockester

Look at these awesome patterns! Ohhh no. The sewing bug is bittin' me and I am trying to IGNORE it. I love sewing as much as scrapbooking and usually I quilt. But my other love within sewing is sewing for vintage Barbie. ohh yes, Barbie doll vogue chic. And last night I found out that I had missed out on a 2001 Vogue treasure trove!! How can this be? How could I have not known these were in existance until too late? This is what I'm talkin' about. Barbie clothing like I used to love as a girl. 11 patterns (Not all shown here) ranging from 1920-1960 eras (click on any pic for closeup) Four of the patterns I couldn't even find pictures for --but I do know they exist. Dang. And of course I could splurge and buy them all on Ebay for up to $35 a pattern but I won't. I might buy them over time one at a time. But really I am going to just oogle for a while and put my vintage Barbie 'sewing bug' on hold until after the holidays. Reality is that I have several ...

I love when someone prominent in any field (especially scrapbooking) is a proponent of the same ideals that I hold. It's like saying, "YES! Someone else gets it!" This week I love Heidi Swapp's blog posts on gratitude and on reusing material items that are already around us. Here is Heidi's blog http://www.heidiswapp.typepad.com/ and here is the post I love today. http://heidiswapp.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/10/fix-it-up-wear.html It highlights an old saying from the great depression era: "Fix it Up Wear it Out Make Do or Do Without" My great-grandmother Francis Meyer Gramlich was often known to say these four lines. I am so glad to hear they are resonating with a new generation in a new era. Americans do take up a very large footprint on the world of material goods. Perhaps we can minimize that impact --one home at a time. Let's use those Seven R's: Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. Refurbish. Redo. Repurpose and Renovate. I love it. If you need a...

Brownies In A Jar from http://www.hersheys.com/recipes/recipes/detail.asp?id=8111&page=1&per=957 Ingredients: 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1-1/2 cups sugar 1/3 cup HERSHEY'S SPECIAL DARK Cocoa 1 cup REESE'S Peanut Butter Chips or HERSHEY'S Premier White Chips 1/2 cup HERSHEY'S Mini Chips Semi-Sweet Chocolate Directions: 1. Stir together flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. 2. Layer the ingredients in a clean 1-quart glass canister or jar in the following order (from bottom to top): sugar, cocoa, flour mixture, peanut butter chips and small chocolate chips. Tap jar gently on the counter to settle each layer before adding the next one. 3. Cover jar and attach baking directions (see below). Makes 1 gift jar. Baking Directions: Heat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour an 8x8x2-inch baking pan. Combine 1/2 cup (1 stick) melted and cooled butter and 2 slightly beaten eggs ...

YEH!! We have a winner! In October we ran a challenge for all of us with messy, messy closets called the CLOSET MONSTER UNLEASHED. (See below post) As promised I picked a winner on HALLOWEEN. ('Cause it was a MONSTER contest -get it? ) :) We had a couple of great entries over the course of the month. There were a few funny stories too. But I can only pick ONE winner to win the book "The Ultimate Guide to Organizing Your Closet with Style" It's a great book and should be so helpful to our winner. Great prize! And the winner of our CLUTTER MONSTER UNLEASEHED contest is......... (drumroll please!) Jean Bullard at jeanrachel@sbcglobal.net Jean mentioned that she has TWO children happily playing and buried under her closet clothing here in this pic. Can you find the one that is showing? Well, Jean, it is time to dig out those kids and sit down with a great book together (and then enlist them in hanging and sorting that closet!) You are the winner! Enjoy! And c...

Week #1 "List and Browse Week" Nov 1-8th Quick get some Thanksgiving into it! Decorate your home for Thanksgiving asap because November flies by doesn't it? . Quick grab a sheet of paper. Make your lists of gift recipients, Christmas cards, menus for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's, goodies to share or to give, favorite meals to prepare ahead, decorations needed, and gifts to make. I reuse my main gift giving list from last year and consult it to make sure I am giving something different to each person than what I did the last two years. Develop and record ideas for gifts and decorations. PLAN and ask yourself the following questions: * Do we put any emphasis on the spiritual side of holiday/Christmas? Can we improve that? * What would our ideal holiday/Christmas be like? How can we make it so? * What ongoing events or activities are particularly important to our family at this holiday? Do we go to The Nutcracker every year? See Santa? Go on a ski trip?...