13 Days of October Madness

There are those who eat, breathe & sleep Christmas - red & green all year round. I'm one of the growing number whose favorite holiday & time of year is Halloween & fall. To celebrate my favorite season, I'm throwing a party...13 days of craft & decor fun & I hope you'll join me!

Today also happens to be World Card Making Day, & even though I'm not much of a card maker, I couldn't pass up the chance to make a Halloween card. Here's the final product:

I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. Here's how I did it:

Materials Needed:

Premade card (5x7, black from Hobby Lobby)

Lace & Ribbon trim

Strip of patterned paper

2 pages from a hard back book, cut into 4 squares, 2 3/4" each

Hat pin

2" Circle punch & black cardstock

Halloween sentiment stickers
Black ink pad

Tattered Angels Black Magic mist

Double sided tape, ribbon glue, pop dots

I knew I wanted a rosette made from book pages, (an old Edgar Allen Poe book I bought cheap from a used bookstore - Perfect!) so I cut my 4 squares & assembled the rosette. I inked the edges & creases with black Staz-On ink. Then I determined the background, settling on a fairly monochromatic scheme with one pop of color. Going with the Poe scheme, I went with blacks, grays, and faded white. I adhered the harlequin strip of ribbon horizontally across the card, & added the lace for texture. The lace was white, but I sprayed it w/ the Tattered Angels mistingspray to turn it grayish black. (An easy fix btw!) After gluing on the lace beneath the harlequin ribbon, I used pop dots to glue down the rosette on the right edge of the card. The large orange flower is a Bazzill product, which I understand they've discont'd to my dismay. I love the size! All I did to add the bling was use Tim Holtz' Crystal Stickles along the embossed parts - and instant bling! More pop dots to hold the flower down. Punch the black cardstock circle, adhere the Happy Halloween sticker (from Michaels!) & use pop dots & glue to center of flower.

The hat pin is an embellishment I'm still learning to make, but it's perfect for a Gothic/Victorian Halloween look. Spear the hat pin between the flower & paper rosette, and that's it! What do yoy think? I'd love to see what Halloween cards you come up with! Leave a comment with a link to your blog & I'll stop by!

Happy Crafting ~

Stephanie

Dog Days of Summer Blog Hop

A new month calls for a new blog hop with the Creative Scrapbooking Divas! Did you know the CS Divas have a blog hop the first Saturday of the month? They are so much fun and there are usually several fun prizes to be won! This month's blog hop is inspired by summer, and so are our projects!

If you're just joining us now, you can start at the beginning by going to Luisa's blog & visiting each site on the hop so you'll be eligible to win the CS Divas Grand Prize!

Here's how you earn your chance to win:

a. leave a comment on each site of the hop

b. leave a comment on the CS Divas web site when you're done!

You can earn extra tickets to win by also -

a. becoming a follower on our blog

b. become a fan on our Facebook page

c. add your own summer project on our website using Mr. Linky.

One more thing before we see my project - our blog tour list -

Luisa's Blog: Creative Designs by Luisa: http://creativedesignsbyluisa.com/

Sandy's Scrapbook Blessings

Stephanie: You are here!

Pam: Dreams and Memories at http://dreamersklub.blogspot.com/

Jessica's Craft Shaque: http://jessicascraftshaque@blogspot.com

Alecia's blog: http://freakalecias.blogspot.com/

For me, summer brings to mind the carefree and innocent images of the past as well as some of my favorite summer activities. I combined both of these in a quick and simple banner. Here's the project as a whole -

The images I saved from the internet at Plan 59, and the flash cards are from a downloaded set of 12 flashcards I purchased from an Etsy Store called Hudson's Holidays. (if you've never heard of etsy, you're missing out! Etsy is an on line market place for individuals to open their own cyber store fronts & sell handmade goods) The kids and I went through the flashcards and they picked out their favorites. Then I simply punched holes in each card/pic, strung them together and raided my ribbon stash for colorful bits that I tied between everything. My kids and I have had the best time this summer enjoying everything from our banner: sunshine, popsicles, swimming, & summertime! What do you love about summertime? Create your own project and and link it up by August 9th 7pm Eastern time on our Creative Scrapbooking Divas Blog to get two tickets and be entered to win our blog hop prize!

Thanks for visiting, now let's go see what Pam created!

And the Winner IS.....

Thanks for all the lovely comments left by all you beautiful people on the Divas blog hop! I promised some blog candy for new followers and comments and the winner is...Nannette! Special thanks to my 5 year old son Cade for helping me write down names & then picking your name out of a hat! (He had a lot of fun playing this game!) Nannette - please send me your address so you can get your goodies!

Please come back and visit again and don't forget to check out the Creative Scrapbooking Divas on our new blog!

Happy Crafting~
Stephanie

Twilight Time!

Reminder: I am offering a chance to win blog candy (free stuff!) for new followers and comments through tomorrow!

Many of you share my love for all things Twilight (and if you don't, you're missing out!) and even though I prefer the books to the movie, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to join a Twilight Tag Swap over at MAS (Mini Album Scraps). This swap takes place over the course of several months and focuses on only one movie at a time. The first swap took place in June and of course focused on Twilight, my favorite book, but least favorite movie of the series. Although we were only asked to make one tag design, but six actual tags, you'd think it would be easy. Alas, I have to make everything harder on myself. There were so many scenes from Twilight that I had to make six different tags!

Here is what I came up with:

The papers are a variety of combinations for the front, pics are all from the internet. The backs had to be decorated too, so I actually took my beat up, well read paperback copy of Twilight, scanned the pages from which the pics on each tag were taken, spritzed them with Candy Apple Red glimmer mist, added a rub on and the Twilight obsessed tag.

This was my first tag swap at MAS, and I'm so proud of how they turned out! I am working on my New Moon tags now, due August 23rd, so come back and visit to see how they turned out!

Happy Crafting!

~ Stephanie

Divalicious Christmas in July Blog Hop

Welcome to the Creative Scrapbooking Divas Christmas in July blog hop!
It may not feel like snow outside in the Northern hemisphere, but if we start our holiday projects now, we just might be ready by December! We would love for you to plan and play along! Please join us as we share with you the wonderful holiday projects of CS Divas.

If you are just now joining us, you can go to Luisa's blog to start at the beginning so you won't miss a hop stop and be eligible for the blog hop prize.
Our blog hop list:
Luisa: Creative Designs by Luisa
Sandy: Scrapbook Blessings
Stephanie: The Magic of Ordinary Days (you are here!)
Jessica: Jessica's Craft Shaque
Yolie: Just Yolie, Just Create
Vanessa: Creating Sensations
Pam: Dreamer's Klub
Alecia: Welcome to Alecia's

Don't forget to comment on the main Diva blog here when you are done for a ticket to be entered for the blog hop prize!!! I am also offering blog candy for new followers & comments!

One of my favorite Christmas traditions growing up was the advent calendar my mom bought every year with little pieces of chocolate behind those magic paper doors that every day my sisters and I couldn't wait to open! Advent calendars have come a long way since then, & for quite awhile I've wanted to make a muffin pan countdown calendar like the ones I've seen on line.
So, let's get started!

Supplies:
1 - 24 count mini muffin pan (got mine from Wal-Mart!)
Scraps of paper (however you choose to make yours; I used 24 different patterns, but you could do a repeating pattern of the same papers)
Magnets (from your fridge or craft store)
Alpha stickers/rub-ons
Pencil/pen
Scissors
Glue (Elmer's Craft Bond Rubber Cement
Punches, embellishments
Let's Get to Work:
1. First I measured the opening of the muffin wells (2") & made my circles a little bigger (2 1/4") so they would clearly fit over the opening instead of falling in.
2. I picked my papers & cut each circle by hand instead of using my Cricut so I could place the patterns exactly where I wanted them.
3. I decided to make my calendar vertical instead of horizontal, choice is yours!
4. Next I figured out the layout of my circles & numbered them on the backs so I wouldn't forget or lose my place.
5. Once all my circles were cut, I set them aside & grabbed my magnets. Using the same 2 1/4" circle pattern, I traced 24 circles from the magnets. Cut around the circle two times, making the circumference just a bit smaller so the edges don't show once glued to the patterned paper.
6. In order to protect your work surface, place a mat (I use a large sheet of foam from Hobby Lobby) on your table before you start gluing.
7. Use the rubber cement to glue the magnet to the patterned paper. Important: always make sure you're placing the glue on the non-magnetized side! (when you're gluing 24 circles it's easy to just glue without thinking!)
8. Lay your glued/magnetized circles on your muffin pan & choose your alphas for each circle.
9. Embellish
10. Display: You can either place your advent calendar on a stand or drill a hole/holes in the top to draw ribbon through and hang wherever you choose.
What I'll be putting in my calendar:
1. Candy placed in one well per row. (hey - it's for the kids!) 2. Write your wish list to Santa & mail it. 3. Hop on one foot & sing Jingle Bells. 4. Send Christmas cards to troops overseas. 5. Read the Angel visits Mary (Mark 1:1-8). 6. Drink Hot Chocolate. 7. Watch Polar Express. 8. Create a mural of the nativity scene. 9. Buy a new Christmas book to add to our collection. 10. Bake Christmas cookies! 11. Wear Christmas pajamas & take pictures by the tree. 12. Memorize Bible verses from Luke chapter 2. 13. Visit a local Christmas tree farm & buy fresh boughs to make the house smell good. 14. Drive around neighborhoods & look at Christmas lights. 15. Make family Christmas ornaments for 2011. 16. Build a gingerbread house. 17. Make food for Santa's reindeer. 18. Attend Christmas Eve services at church.

I would love to see what you come up with! For two tickets to win the CS Divas blog hop prize, please post your entries using Mr. Linky by July 12th, 7pm eastern, to be entered to win the hop prize.
Thanks for hopping and have a Divalicious Christmas!
(Remember - post a comment at the Divas blog letting us know that you've left comments on all the Diva blogs for a ticket to win! Thanks for stopping by, leaving a comment or becoming a follower! Winner of the blog candy will be announced in one week! (going out of town next week!) Let's head over to Jessica's blog now!
Happy Crafting!
~ Stephanie

Blog Happy

Hello Friends and Family!

Just wanted to take a moment and let you know about an exciting event in my scrappy life - the new blog for the Creative Scrapbooking Divas! I'm in my second term on the design team with these ladies and I have to tell you, it's so much fun and they are all so friendly! I hope you'll follow us on our new blog http://creativescrapbookingdivas.blogspot.com/! We will continue to have awesome challenges, prizes, tutorials, tips and inspiration here and we hope you'll come play along with us!

I will still be working with the Fun Techniques and Products group, and my bio. goes up July 13th. The fun has already begun and gets even better with a Divalicous Christmas in July blog hop set for July 9th. Please visit our blog for all the details. I know there will be prizes and blog candy involved. :) Leave us some love on our new blog and come get creative with us!

Happy Crafting ~

Stephanie

Homecoming

Well, it's been almost one week since my husband returned from his 23 days of Army Reserve training, and the kids and I are so glad to have him back! Although we made it work with him gone, I am happy he didn't have to be gone longer. I know compared to deployments these past few weeks may not seem like a long time, but it is the longest length of time since Cade was born that we have been apart. Here are a few images of his return:

I am so proud of him, and the example of honor, duty, country that he is setting for our children. This Fourth of July weekend I am so thankful for the men and women who volunteer to serve and protect our country, and for their families who sacrifice their loved ones so we may continue to live freely.

Hooah!

~ Stephanie

50 Days of Summer Fun Project!

Say the word "summer" & it usually conjures up images of fun in the sun & lazy carefree days. Most summers that's just fine with me. This summer is a little different for our family in that my DH, Cass, will miss the first month due to 23 days of Army Reserve Annual Training at Ft. Carson, CO. Our 3 yr. old tends to handle daddy's absences better than our 5 yr. old son, who is a bit more sensitive & very attached to his daddy. I was wracking my brain trying to come up with ideas of how to overcome Cass's long trip, when I came upon the perfect idea over at The Crafting Chicks blog. I love this website & visit it regularly. They have some great ideas of things to do this summer with your kids including science camp & making summer achievement badges (much like Boy Scout achievement badges) which I would love to make, but think I'll tackle that project next summer! But I digress - 50 Days of Summer Fun is the perfect solution to summer's inevitable "I'm bored". I love that you can make up your own activities and create your own chart, or download a free, (but blank) copy of the vertical chart above. Being the scrapbooker that I am, of course I had to make my own! Here's what I came up with and how:
I started by opening both a blank Word document & Jamie's chart on the Crafting Chicks website. I copied the 50 items onto my Word doc. & began to edit.
First I changed the page layout to landscape (horizontal) & then formatted the text into three columns. I added the title 50 Days of Summer Fun using the font Marcelle. (download for free here.) The hardest part was actually reading through the list & deciding what I wanted to add & delete.

When I was finished with the list, I printed it out on a piece of pink Basic Grey cardstock from Michaels. (original size was 12x12 so I cut it down to 8 1/2 x11) The background papers & stickers all came from the Echo Park 'Summertime' paper kit available from Hobby Lobby in the paper kit aisle. The blue paper is 12x12, but the argyle is cut down to 4 four inches. I placed them side by side, flipped them over & ran a strip of double sided tape down the sides & across the top. Then I adhered them to a heavy piece of cardstock for added thickness and stability. I glued the list to the blue/argyle, added the stickers, and used a 2" square punch to add Cade & Macy's pics to the right corner. I printed & punched the Marshall Summer 2011, added four banner stickers (Echo Park "A Walk in the Park" kit from Hobby Lobby), topped it with white embroidery thread, buttons, and voila!

The plan is to do as many of things as possible throughout the entire summer, check them off as we go, take lots of pictures, and have a fun-tastic summer! Check back regularly to see how many we've done! Better yet, make your own & leave me a link in the comments section so I can see!

Here's my list:

1. backyard campout 2. finish a chapter book 3. family movie night 4. go to the bookstore 5. go to the movies 6. backyard swim party 7. go to Bouncin' Bears 8. go to a baseball game 9. Pop Pops & Gma Linda's house 10. Read/tell scary stories 11. go to the Farmer's Market 12. make a craft 13. run through the sprinklers 14. have a sleep over 15. go on a nature walk 16. go to a parade 17. fireworks show 18. blow bubbles 19. walk to Mike & Sam's 20. Decorate/rearrange your room 21. water gun fight 22. play flashlight tag 23. celebrate an unbirthday 24. family picnic 25. sidewalk chalk art 26. go bowling 27. make s'mores 28. eat snowcones 29. play at a friend's house 30. make homemade ice cream 31. go on a road trip 32. night stargazine 33. make a summer collage 34. Children's Museum 35. Build a fort 36. Family Game night 37. go on a treasure hunt 38. build a sandcastle 39. Pizza Party 40. Ice cream sundae buffet 41. Grammy & Grampa's 42. plant flowers 43. play at the beach 44. airplane museum 45. kids take pictures 46. chart animals/birds in yard 47. visit a historic landmark 48. play at the park 49. perform a random act of kindness/volunteer 50. visit daddy at work
What's on your list???

Happy Crafting!

~ Stephanie

This project has been linked to:

A Crafty Soiree & Yesterday on Tuesday

Memorial Day Fun

The summer always kicks off with Memorial Day weekend, and while last year we went to the beach, this year was much more low key. Cass had to work the day shift, so at least he was home in the evening. The kids and I played in the backyard sprinkler and had a Silly String fight before dinner. It was a pajama/bathing suit/pajama day and that was just fine with me!!! Here are some images from our day...

Hope you had a wonderful Memorial Day as well! Before we did anything, the kids and I watched several M. Day youtube videos. We talked about Daddy being in the Army and what it means to serve in the military. In two days Cass will be gone until the end of the month on an Army Reserve training op, so today had special significance for our family. Special thanks to all the members of our military who have served, and special remembrance to the soldiers and families who died in service to our country. We owe our freedom to you.

Feeling Crafty

If you haven't checked out my scrapbooking home online, The Creative Scrapbooking Divas, I urge you to go to their site (after reading my post first!) One of the things I've enjoyed most about their site is the Create and Swap group. Each month there is a different challenge of something to make and then swap with another member. In April, the challenge was to make inchies and twinchies - which I'd never head of before. They're basically objects (tags and such) an inch or two inches in diameter. May's challenge was to make ATCs - Artist Trading Cards, which I'd always wanted to make so I was really excited! I loved both challenges and what I created. Here's how my everything turned out - The ATCs were inspired by my love for the holidays, and the twinchies were inspired by a 40s beach party scene in my scrapbook room.

They were so much fun to make - don't you want to make some too??? Have fun and happy crafting!
~ Stephanie

Beginnings & Endings

Well I seem to be in a comparison mood judging by the titles of my last two posts huh? But they seem to perfectly fit my life right now. While we're still wading through the mess of insurance due to the leak in our plumbing, life goes on.

Our last day of school was Tuesday, and that means Summer has officially begun. YAY! As a kid, of course summer was my favorite time of the year - barefoot freedom, late nights every night, and vacation from almost all responsibility. I love May & early June kind of like I love Friday afternoons - because the promise of the summer still lies before me, unspoiled and unhurried. Time is still on my side. I find in late July I start desperately trying to grasp at the last seconds of precious summer fun even as reality arrives on the shelves of Wal-Mart in the form of massive pallets of school supplies. But right now, I'm just chasing the kids with the water hose and eating popsicles on the front porch. Not a care in the world.

So as summer begins, the corollation is that school, (yes it's just preschool) has ended. This wouldn't be a big deal if it weren't for the fact that Cade's school held a "preschool graduation" complete with caps (no gown), ceremony and even a little diploma. Originally I wasn't going to make Cade go through with this since we are going to hold him back another year in their preschool's Kindergarten Transition class. (Run by the preschool on a 5 day week just like public school kindergarten) Next year we'll go through the same ceremony only this time he'll wear the cap & gown. It just didn't make sense to me to go through with it when we're not really moving on. But while the other moms were emotional and crying, I wasn't. (which is huge for me - I cry over everything!) Tonight, just one day later though, I'm seeing it with new, and slightly teary eyes.

It has hit me tonight that while Cade may not be heading out into the big, bad world of public school next year, he is going to be gone from me 5 days a week. No longer will we have our lazy Monday mornings. No more pajama days or easing into the day while watching cartoons. No, now we have somewhere we HAVE to be. Now I have to face the fact that he's growing up, just as fast as everyone said he would, and that's incredibly bittersweet.

There is an upside though! With Cade in school all 5 days and Macy gone 3 days, I look forward to spending some time developing my hobbies a little bit more. Maybe I'll teach some scrapbook classes. Maybe I'll start doing more photography. The important things is not to hold onto the past & how hard it will be with everything changing, but to focus on the positive and the opportunities the changes have created.

But that's in August. Far away from now. Summer has barely begun and the important things in life right now are working on a tan, planning summer day trips, play dates and activities for the kids, (including plans to do nothing) and celebrating the 10th anniversary of my wedding anniversary. Big summer plans indeed. So I am going to go now and make the most of this beginning...Summer 2011. Happy Friday to all....

Highs & Lows

What a rollercoaster couple of weeks it's been for me! Busy beyond busy - out of town and not home for almost every night the last two weeks - I am ready to crash! This explains why I haven't been blogging for a long time - I'm going to try really hard to blog regularly!

The LOWS - Sunday morning I discovered the carpet in the corner of our living room was soaking wet. Turns out we have a pin hole leak in the main water pipe coming into our house. Several thousand dollars and 4 days without water later we have a new pipe line. Our entire tax return got spent on this instead of our summer vacation, paying down debt, and buying a new playscape for the kids.

The HIGHS - got booked for two photography sessions! A father/son & an engagement session both in June. I'm really excited and nervous at the same time! Also - went out on a limb and bought the newest Photoshop Essentials software program! It's a lot to take in, but I'm looking forward to playing around with it and getting some professional pictures.

A lot of my commitments are finally wrapped up and the kids' last day of preschool was today. Cade has his preschool graduation tomorrow and it's very bittersweet. It's the end of an era - one that passed while I wasn't even looking. My son is 5 and even though he's not going to kindergarten next year, he'll still be in a kindergarten type class 5 days a week. So before I knew it, my time with him all to myself is almost over. You better believe I'm going to get lots of hugs and special time with him this summer!

So I haven't had much time to scrapbook anything, what with everything else going on. The creative juices are flowing, so now I just have to find the time! Hope you're all happy and healthy! Drop me a line and let me know what you're doing!

~ Stephanie

Diva Mansion Tour RAK Drawing

And the Winner is.....Angela R.! Thanks to everyone for visiting my blog and playing along with the Creative Scrapbooking Divas Mansion Tour on National Scrapbooking Day weekend. Angela - I'll be sending you a lovely RAK!
Thanks!
Stephanie

Back In Town

Whew! It's been a busy two weeks - out of town the past two weekends with limited or no time to do anything online. The next two days I'll be working on my layout for the Creative Scrapbooking Divas challenge I posted as well as some other projects for them. Thanks for all the wonderful comments from this weekend. I'll be replying to you all today and drawing a name for my RAK! Hope you had a great weekend, National Scrapbooking Day & Mother's Day!
Happy Crafting~
Stephanie

Welcome Creative Scrapbooking Divas!

Welcome to my little blog home Divas! Hope you're having a great weekend and getting to do some scrapbooking on this National Scrapbooking Day weekend! I'm working on projects for my online scrapping home, The Creative Scrapbooking Divas. At CS Divas we encourage members to create, try different things, challenge themselves and enjoy the process! We don't sell anything, so there's none of that added pressure, but we do offer monthly challenges, often times with RAKs offered (random acts of kindness - goodies!) a sponsored Grand Prize, great camaraderie, and we like to spotlight our members and their fabulous creations. Most of all we want our members to have fun!!!

We have eight Design Team Members (a.k.a. Tour Guides) to give you a taste of what is offered at the Diva Mansion. If you are just joining us now, you can go to Ann's blog to start at the beginning.
Our Tour List:

Ann - Gadgets/All Mixed Up - Ann's Scraps of Time

Yolie - Traditional Scrapbooking - JustYolie, JustCreate

Sandy - Cards/Cricut - ScrapBook Blessings

Vanessa - Faithbooking - Creating Sensations

Alecia - Cookbooking - Welcome to Alecia's

Stephanie - Fun Techniques/Products - The Magic of Ordinary Days

Pam - Mini Album/Book of Me - Dreamer's Klub

Luisa - Creative Designs by Luisa

Please visit each diva's blog and of course, the Creative Scrapbooking Divas home page! Show some love and leave a comment! Some Design Team members are offering RAKs and get entered to win the Grand Prize at CS Divas by:
1. becoming a new member, completing your profile, upload your picture & post your introduction OR
2. Current members post a NEW project to any of the groups by midnight May 7th.

In both cases please post a comment and/or upload a project here: Divas Mansion Tour Blog Hop so we can keep track of players who earn a ticket for a Grand Prize!

I am currently working with the Divas as a Design Team Member in the Fun Techniques/Products group. This group focuses on how to use different techniques and trends in paper crafts to really make your pages and cards pop! Everything goes in this group - glimmer mists, stamping, sewing, distressing, inking, and more! On Mondays I try to feature one "design house" (scrapbooking company) to introduce you to lines of products you may not know about. The rest of the week is dedicated to tutorials, tips and discussion. My first challenge was devoted to the beautiful flowers of spring, entitled "In Bloom" and focused on pages & cards with handmade paper flowers. Here's a look at how some of them turned out:

My Entry:

Terri's Entry:

This month's challenge is inspired by the royal wedding and is called the "Something old, new, borrowed, and blue" challenge. On your next layout, use...something OLD from your stash. Use a NEW technique you've never tried before. BORROW a layout (scraplift) from a friend or use a sketch from a website, and finally, use the color BLUE somewhere in your project.

Here on my personal blog you'll find more of my own creations, stories of my family and my journey as a Stay at Home Mom. I hope you'll come back and visit me again! Today I'm offering an RAK at random from all the comments left throughout the weekend. Drawing will be done on Monday so come back to see who won!

Thanks for stopping by - let's head to Pam's blog next!

Happy Crafting!

Stephanie

Long Time Coming

Seems like it's been forever since I had a chance to blog! Two birthdays have passed, Easter, and a trip to my parents in Austin means I've been a busy bee! This weekend I got a chance to do some scrapbooking with my friends at Creative Scrapbooking Divas' online crop. (http://divascreativas.ning.com/) If you haven't been to their site, go check it out! Here's what I made from one of their challenges. A sketch from the site Sassy Lil Sketches (http://sassylilsketches.blogspot.com/) gave me an opportunity to scrap some of my favorite pics of my son from last year! Here's the sketch, and how I interpreted it.

I used new western papers by Adorn It, blue plaid strip by Hobby Lobby, silver charms from HL as well, tags are really old from K&Co. Loved this sketch & had a lot of fun using it! Thanks for looking!

Someday Fridays

I love being a part of my church's MOPS group. Mothers Of PreschoolerS. This is my season of life and it's where I go to make friends, get some time to myself and some adult conversation. Some meetings are craft meetings, some are speaker meetings. At one of the latest meetings, I ran across an idea that one of my friends got from another mom's blogs. It's called "Someday Fridays" and the idea is that whenever your kids want to do something that you don't have the time or money to do, you write down the activity (go to a friend's house, play at the park, etc.) on a piece of paper and put it in a jar - your "Someday Jar". Well of course I had to go out and make my own someday jar!

Here is what I came up with: I bought a clear plastic paint can from Michaels. I loved this glazed strawberry paper from one of K&Co's newest paper pads at Michaels, cut a strip of white cardstock into a scalloped banner and finished it off with Hobby Lobby's red gingham. I put together a collage of assorted vintage images for each of my kids; one side for Cade and one for Macy and covered the handles with loads of colorful ribbon. They love it and so do I!

The plan is that every Friday we'll set aside time to pull one activity out of the jar and do it. Should be fun!

I hope this will help me stay accountable to getting more active with my kids, and help us make some really fun memories that they'll carry over into their own lives as parents!

Birthday Girl

Three years ago God proved to me once again that He knows best what we need. He blessed my husband and I with a daughter, Macy. I had wanted another boy, that's just how much I loved my son. I'll admit to being a little disappointed in that sonogram room when they told me it was a girl. Even though I was happy to have a healthy baby, I was unsure if I could love a daughter the way I loved my son. Not to mention the curious nature of wondering if you could love your second child as much as you love your first. All this to say, it didn't take long for me to fall hopelessly in love with my little girl, and I couldn't imagine my world without her. Thank you Lord for entrusting your child to me. Macy at 3:

Sweet & Sassy

Loves french fries

Looks like her Daddy

Proactive and Type A

Pink and girly

Takes her blankets everywhere

Sucks her thumb (not for much longer I hope!)

Loves books and her pajamas
Coming out of her shell

Happy Birthday Sweet Macy! Love you so much!!!

Worldless Wednesday

Just a few words today:

Glamorous

Iconic

Beautiful

Classic

Scandalous

Tortured

Alone

R.I.P. Elizabeth Taylor. Another Hollywood Icon lost to a generation. May you finally find the love and peace you chased after so much here on Earth.

Tutorial Tuesday: Easy-Peasy Pinwheels

Here's an easy activity you can do with the kids - and it's perfect for the upcoming Easter holiday! The image of pinwheels spinning happily in the wind just speaks to me of my childhood - carefree and fun. I'm making a bunch with my own kids, and then I'll let them stick them in the yard. These would also make really fun party favors or dress up the table with a bit of whimsy for your next party! Let's get started!

Supplies:

1 - 12x12 Double Sided patterned paper -

paper trimmer

ruler

scissors

hole setter

coordinating brad

glue gun

bamboo skewer

First trim your patterned paper down to 6x6 size. You could get bigger or smaller, depending on how big you want them to be, as long as you trim it to an exact square.

Next - draw a large "x" on the back side from corner to corner.

Cut on each line almost up to the center point. Leave approximately 1/2" in the center from cut to center point. (the first time I tried to make a pinwheel, I cut to close to the point and it tore when I had it folded and was trying to set the brad.)

Using your hole setter, punch a small hole in every other corner. Don't use a regular hole punch from the office supplies. Your hole will be too big.

Now pick one corner that has a hole in it and fold it to the center. Take every other corner and fold all four corners in to the center so the holes all line up together.

Push your brad through the holes and fasten. If you want to dress your brad up a little, add a button or sticker.

Take your bamboo skewer and drop a touch of hot glue on the end. Slide it into the center of the pinwheel and press to dry.

All done! Enjoy your cute creation!

Monday, Monday

Well it's a new week and Spring Break is officially over. The kids go back to school tomorrow (insert sight of relief and cheers here) and I'll get some time to myself before the kids go to bed! I've got a lot to do this week too, as daughter's Strawberry Shortcake 3rd bday party is this weekend. Stay tuned for all the fun projects I'll be working on for the party!

Today I wanted to share my most recent scrapbook infatuation - one of the new collections from Crate Paper called "Emma's Dress Shoppe". I absolutely adore it and bought almost the entire line! Everything from the colors, the patterns, and the vintage theme just resound with me and on the one hand, I don't want to cut anything up or cover it up, on the other hand, I can't wait to dig in and make some pretty somethings with these new goodies. Check it out -

I love the cutouts and stickers and the paper designs are just darling! The flowers are from Michaels, buttons are my own, and I bought lace & eyelet trim from Hobby Lobby. These will be very girly projects!

Check back here tomorrow for a Spring inspired Tutorial Tuesday!

The Perfect Picnic

The weather this past week has been gorgeous - and definitely has me seeing spring colors everywhere I go! Of course I had to translate these feelings to paper! This layout is actually a combination of inspirations - a color combo challenge from the Creative Scrapbooking Divas (http://divascreativas.ning.com/) and a sketch from Sketchy Thursdays (http://sketchythursdays.blogspot.com/). It's a LO of the kids in one of our simple pleasures - a backyard picnic complete with Happy Meals and sunshine. Here's what I came up with:

I used new American Crafts paper for the background, polka dot & tree paper. Flowers are all cut from last spring's Cosmo Cricket De-lovely collection. Yellow thickers, rub on alphas, Jilly Bean sprout journaling circle, buttons & white acrylic paint. TFL!

He Said...

Here is a layout I designed using a page map for the Creative Scrapbooking Divas design team call. I've been wanting to do a layout based around this idea for a while now. First, a little context:

My husband works a lot of nights at the airport (he's an agricultural specialist with Customs & Border Protection) so I do most of the bed times with the kids. Last year in March of 2010, one of Cade's favorite books was called "Mommy's Little Boy" and the idea of course is that no matter how old or how big Cade gets, he will always be my little boy. I started telling him that I wished he would stay little and not grow up and he would always giggle. Then one day from out of the blue, we're driving to preschool and this little voice from the backseat says, "I'm sorry mommy, but I can't stay little. I have to grow up and get big like daddy." Well, you can imagine how this affected me. I got so choked up I didn't know what to say. When I walked him in to his teachers, I cried telling them the story - and they cried too! We're just softies I guess. But that one incident has stuck with me and I will always remember it. Here's what I did with it...

What to Do

I'll be joining the other Creative Scrapbooking Divas this weekend for an on-line crop! What are you doing this weekend??? Whatever you do, find time to be creative and check back here later. I'll be posting some new layouts and projects!