night owl

dec 15th? really?

2011-12-15T15:34:00.000-06:00

is this time of year FLYING by or what? We are doing our best to try and slow down, soak it all in, but it hasn't been easy. Feeling thankful that school break has started and with it a chance to catch up on a few things..like...
October Afternoon's LAST Santa Sack sale.

If I were ordering one, this would be the one to get. Pretty certain I spy some brand spanking new Sasparilla and Holiday Style, along with a Sprinkler and lots of other goodies. Find out how to order yours on the OA blog. And while you are there, check out the Monday Challenge from this week. It's an "add a bag" challenge and I would love some crafty people to play along...maybe add one to a card

or a layout

Over on the Crate Paper blog we are sharing lots of holiday inspired ideas. Yesterday I had a little paint/doily/snow technique if you'd like to give it a try. Super easy.

The new Paper Heart collection just arrived--some of my FAVORITE Crate Paper papers (hee hee!) EVER. Excited to play over the break and hopefully this will mean more blogging time. It also means more Silhouette Cameo playing and wrapping. We shall see ;)

Enjoy the rest of your week!

& she blogged

2011-11-25T22:36:00.000-06:00

quite the blogging break ;)
Is everyone bustling and hustling now that the holiday season is in full force? I know we are around here. In fact, it hardly seems possible that "Elfie" is due to appear at any time. Elfie, of course, is our Elf on the Shelf. My 6 year old asked tonight why we didn't just name him "Elf". We ARE pretty creative, no? Of course he also asked if tomorrow I could show him how babies come out. NOPE. Not ready for THAT conversation! I quickly changed the subject to watching Olive the other Reindeer ;)

I had a sketch challenge up on the October Afternoon blog, brought to you by this INSANELY awesome ad:

I busted out the new Holiday Style line (LOVE!) and created my own version.

The whole post, including a beautiful card by fellow DT member Roree, can be found here.
I had a scrap weekend with some friends recently & during that crafty weekend I played around with some non-assignment layouts, like this

Lots of &&&&& ;) My boys are a different super hero, or cowboy, on almost a daily basis & I wouldn't have it any other way.

The stamp is an older Purple Onion one I believe. The ink is JBS stick candy, malted milk and seed packet.

I actually hand wrote some journaling, instead of using my trusty typewriter, and it felt good. I'm not really a fan of my handwriting, but I am certain my boys will not care and might actually like looking back at momma's handwriting.
Enjoy your day! I am planning to hook up my Silhouette Cameo and decorate for Christmas...and avoid any more "where do babies come from" inquires ;)

Handmade holiday winners!!

2011-10-18T08:56:00.000-05:00

Renee & Stephanie, you have won a spot in Handmade Holidays!! I am taking a blogging break this week, but email me (ljbridges33 AT hotmail DOT com) and I will pass your info onto Latrice!
Hope everyone is having a great week. Ours has been "magical"..... ;)

giveaway day

2011-10-12T11:33:00.000-05:00

So are you getting into the holiday spirit yet? I know, I know..it's only October, but I am already so excited! LOVE this time of year. I mean, halloween candy..what's not to love?

(This was up on the October Afternoon blog for a color challenge last week.)
Yep, a fun time of year indeed. Pretty sure I have had our fall decorations up since just after school started....and today did a little Christmas shopping. It's only 73 days away you know ;)
Speaking of holidays...

I was asked by a sweet online friend, Latrice, if I would be interested in making a project for her online Handmade Holidays class. The class is reasonably priced: $10 for 10 projects--can't beat that! There will be a variety of fall & Christmas projects, as well as a supply list to get you started. You can find out all the info here on the handmade holiday's blog!
Here's a peek at my contribution:

And guess what? I get to giveaway 2 spots! Would you like a virtual seat? If so, leave me a comment, with a way to email you if you win, and I will draw a winner in a few days :)

And more holiday fun in the form of Holiday Style! Do you see this christmas release from October Afternoon?! Some of my favorite pieces:

It can all be seen HERE, along with a chance to win some of the goodies! Can't wait for this to arrive on my doorstep!
Did I mention I LOVE this time of year? ;) Happy Wednesday!

Sprinkler tags

2011-09-25T08:00:00.000-05:00

Making a color comparison for my October Afternoon sprinklers was long overdue. I kept finding myself spraying on scraps of paper each time I wanted to see how a color would look--how wasteful! I found some lonely white shipping tags and decided that combined with some labels, stitching and a jumpring they would make a perfect comparison chart to keep handy.

I just love seeing all those pretty colors laid out :)
I took some individual shots so you could see the way the colors differed too.

Here is the red/pink group. Hopscotch is a new color releasing with the Sidewalks collection. Strawberry Cream is more peachy pink, as you can see.
I will admit, I don't use these colors AS much, for a few reasons...

1. When I see red mist on a layout I automatically think blood. Even if it totally fits the theme of the layout, even if it's for Christmas or Valentine's..I see blood! I do like the color of Red Wagon, especially because it isn't so bright and is not a deep red. I use it mostly for covering chipboard shapes.

2. I have 2 sons. I don't use pink a whole lot in general, regardless if it is paper or embellishments or whatever.. NOW I do LIKE pink, and have used it on "boy" projects, but I definitely do not use them as much as the blue/green colors.

These colors, I use LOTS! I think Lemon Drop is a soft, creamy yellow..if that makes sense. Brown Bag is pretty much a kraft color. It may seem silly to spray Paper Doily white ink on a white tag, but I had to do it! Looking at the bottle it is hard to see what Buttermilk will look like, but compared to the white here it gives you a great clue...almost like an antique white. Love it. If I were new to misting and wanted to start with some basic colors, I would start here. You pretty much can't go wrong using these colors on any project. (If you purchase the Art Box set you get the 3 colors on the right, and Tin Type below. I know I broke them up, but needed the grey below for comparison to the blues :))

A VERY much used section of my misting colors! Tin Type is the perfect grey. I might have used this color more than any other. By the looks of my bottle that is a good assumption. Looking at the labels on the bottles it seemed like Frequent Flyer and Robot Blue were almost the same, but when you have them side by side you can see, not so much. Frequent Flyer is more of a greyish-blue. Miss Mary Mack (don't you love these names?) on the far right side is my newest fav. It is a pretty aqua color from the newly released Sidewalks collection.

When I looked at Night Sky and Set Sail in the bottle I honestly thought they were pretty much the same. But again, you can tell they are very much NOT the same at all. (SO glad I went ahead spraying these tags for reference!) Set Sail is more royal blue and Night Sky more denim. Comet Tail, oh my love for the color orange. This is one of my most used too, then again I love orange :) I find that people seem to love that color or hate it, much like purple. (For the record, not a purple fan.)

Finally a few greens. Treehouse is a new color from Sidewalks. It's an olive green, which I love. I think it will look pretty on some fall layouts. All Aboard is a green that can work for Christmas and spring and everything in between. A good, basic green to have on hand.

So there you have it! All 16 Sprinkler colors with a bit of explanation. Why have I not done this sooner? I love having the bigger swatches of color as a reference and all together so I could just throw them in my bag for a weekend crop or whatever. For now I have them hanging by my sewing thread since misting and sewing seem to go hand in hand when I scrap :)

I already have the labels typed up for the new Farmhouse collection (I played with the colors at CHA--SO pretty!) and tags waiting. Sasparilla has colors to be released as well. Fun Stuff! If you have any questions about the sprinklers or colors, just ask!

Enjoy your Sunday! We are planning on worshiping & serving (church & special needs sunday school), eating (smoked ribs---my husband makes THE BEST) and watching (the Packers beat the Bears)-hee hee!

brought to you by the letter "o"

2011-09-23T08:01:00.000-05:00

1. October Afternoon has fabric now. Say what?! Yes, it's true. Some of the design team girls whipped up projects to showcase it on the blog this past wednesday. I made a fun little pincushion.

The fabric line is currently from the Farm Fresh collection, with Fly a Kite line coming. I am a sewing wannabe. Think I just need to stick with using that machine only on paper. But still, it's fun pretending I know what I'm doing ;)

2. Ombre. Combined some new sprinkler colors (miss mary mack & treehouse) from October Afternoon's Sidewalks line & this super awesome stencil by Balzer Designs for The Crafter's Workshop

to try and create an ombre effect. I am not really an ombre fan when it comes to fashion, but digging the look on paper.

2. Ormolu. Got some goodies from here today. Super fun stuff. Thinking of combining these into a december daily

and these into a project life album...

..if ever I start :)

Thank you letter "o" for the sponsor of today's post. EnjOy yOur Friday!

For real

2011-09-19T11:57:00.000-05:00

Trying to keep it real around here...which is that I *think* we are finally in a school/preschool/errand-running/busy routine. Took a few weeks, but I think we have arrived. Something else that has arrived.....FALL!

And we really couldn't be more excited. We have already busted out some homemade caramel apples. My favorite time of year for sure.
I have a few scrapbooking items to share...on the Crate Paper blog last week I had a fun little ode to candy cane joe-joe's layout:

The candies we made using the Silhouette. The design was actually 3 lollipops so I just deleted the sticks and bows that were on them and used them as peppermints. The swirl part was pop dotted over the negative circle image. Makes me excited for when those are available again. Only 96 days until Christmas people. It's never too early ;)
On the May Arts blog I shared some ribbon rockets, inspiration coming from pinterest.

My space loving son was excited to see a rocket paired with his astronaut pictures. I was happy to use some of the cardboard paper tubes I seem to accumulate. You can check that tutorial out HERE.
And today on the October Afternoon blog, an envelope challenge. Do you use envelopes on layouts often? How about on cards?

Ever used the security lining of an envelope before? Some have great patterns to punch out :)

The full post can be found on the OA blog today.
Enjoy your Monday! It is a laundry folding, dishes putting away kind of day around here...but I have a sewing project (gasp! using actual fabric!) to work on tonight. Will show that soon :)

So there I was...

2011-08-25T14:23:00.000-05:00

..stopped at a red light on the highway when BAM! Rear ended. And the speed limit is 60 MPH. The guy gets out and says, "Sorry, I just wasn't paying attention." Ya think?!
That was Monday on my way to pick up the oldest from Kindergarten. THANK THE LORD my littlest wasn't with me, when usually he is. So it has been a nice concoction of muscle relaxers and pain pills for my aching back. Getting better though and so thankful because it could have been SO MUCH worse!

On a MUCH brighter note...all the newest Crate Paper goodies are now available at TWO PEAS! My favorites would be ALL the buttons and brads, and although it's hard to pick favorite paper a few sheets would be:

love the green chevron here

will use this not just for Christmas

LOVE this one

more chevron--the b/w side would be great for Halloween layouts

the side/film look to this one makes me need it in multiples

and a few for autumn

Speaking of Crate Paper, they are having a designer showcase on the blog today! I have a layout using classic Halloween colors.

I mixed some of the previous lines with some new ones. Go take a peek HERE.

And if you are wanting another peek of something fun..did you see this?

October Afternoon is going to be releasing a Christmas line! I am already all over the red/white chevron..but you probably guessed that ;) Can't wait to see what the rest looks like. And on the October Afternoon blog today, I took a turn at Danni's awesome sketch.

You can see it all HERE!

Happy Thursday to you!

the first day--

2011-08-16T12:08:00.000-05:00

So the first day of sending my oldest off to kindergarten turned out to be less traumatic than I thought. If you follow me on twitter or facebook, you already know I was the only Kindergarten momma not crying.
I kinda felt bad about that one.
I think it is because I knew he was SO ready to go combined with the fact we are doing 2 day private school and 3 days of homeschooling-- I knew I would be here with him all day today :)
Now if he had turned around with tears in his eyes as I was leaving THAT would have been a different story all together!
Yesterday, he woke up to the CHEESIEST set up--

HA hA hA ha ha! You would have thought I would have been more crafty! But no. I knew it was all kinds of crazy, but I also know in the universe that is kids, it would seem cool. So cool in fact he asked if I could just add the word "home" for today being the first day of homeschooling...it's still up ;) Someday SOON I hope to have a big chalkboard here, but for now it was cardstock and streamers. And one lonely balloon.
Sprinkle rimmed milk glasses were a HIT! Might have to do that weekly now

and off he went!

Brother had to get in on the action too :)

At school--sigh...he looks so sweet...

He also looks like his shorts are pulled up to his arm pits! Note to self--don't be THAT kid.
He marched right in and wheeled that Boba Fett backpack so proud! Little brother wanted to walk beside him the whole way

And when I picked him up from school and asked how his day was.."It was Awesome!" Couldn't ask for a better reaction than that!
Today was our first day of homeschooling. Had to make a little math motivation

He LOVES math, but isn't used to 2 lessons a day. He agrees, the "smarty pants" help make math better :D Plus, you can use them to count and sort for the 3 year old! I just took an empty cocoa container (we have been saving ALL KINDS of empty bottles and boxes for crafts so it was nice to actually use one!) some Pebbles paper and October Afternoon stickers. Easy peasy. They thought it was genius--SO EASY to please a 5 and 3 year old :)
And to top off our day--happy May Arts mail, including these lovelies...

Why am I already thinking of Christmas?! But seriously, how pretty do those look with Crate Paper's Peppermint line in the back? I am loving the snowy pom pom looking one. Makes me want to start on a December Daily right now! A little early though, yes?
Happy Tuesday to you!

This weekend...

2011-08-14T14:30:00.000-05:00

I made quick, and I mean QUICK!, cards for birthday parties

finished a May Arts tutorial

spied the cutest mailman

and prepped myself for sending the oldest off to Kindergarten tomorrow...

BIG SIGH. It helps that he is going to be homeschooled 3 days out of the week, but still.....I simply can not believe 5 years has gone by so fast.
And he is ready. MORE than ready. And has asked almost DAILY since his preschool ended in May if we could start school NOW. I hope he always keeps this enthusiasm! So the Boba Fett backpack is filled, the uniform is ironed and the camera is charged. Ohmyohmyohmyohmy...

And this weekend I had to pick another winner for the SC $10 gift certificate. The winner is---
RACHEL, who posted @414p.m. on August 3. If that is you, EMAIL ME: ljbridges33AThotmailDOTcom. From the sneaks at Studio Calico of the upcoming kit, this could *definitely* come in handy!
Happy Sunday everyone :)

Pebbles Guesting!

2011-08-12T10:53:00.000-05:00

How excited was I to be contacted to guest for Pebbles?
VERY!

They seem to create more fun designs and product with each release so I was MORE than thrilled to get to guest for them this week. They are an incredibly generous company and I was thrilled when my box of goodies arrived to play!

I worked mainly with the Floral Lane and Happy Go Lucky lines, and dare I say, even used a bright green cardstock for a background? AND made what I would consider a "simple" layout? Two things totally out of my norm, but I loved how they turned out :)

You can check out my projects HERE on the Pebbles blog...AND be sure to leave a comment because they are giving away a box of Pebble goodness to a lucky person. Might as well be you, right? ;)

Speaking of giveaways, did you see this on the October Afternoon blog?

Teal Mini Market stickers?! Yes, please...

A prize pack from the newly released Sidewalks collection is being given away on the October Afternoon blog! I have this collection on my desk right now and I know it looks cute online, but it is even BETTER in person.

This paper, Marbles, is my FAVORITE!, although it is hard to choose... You can see the entire collection HERE. Be sure and enter that giveaway as well! Lots of fun prizes to be won :)

Speaking of wining, I have yet to hear back from Brenda (see post below) on her $10 Studio Calico win. If I don't hear from her in a few days, I will have to draw another name!

HAPPY FRIDAY! Lots on the agenda for this weekend, including preparing for the FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN for my oldest son. Seriously?! Where on earth does the time go? :(

and the winner is...

2011-08-08T00:08:00.000-05:00

BRENDA ROGGEVEEN!
yay!
email me ASAP: ljbridges33AThotmailDOTcom and I will get your info passed on to Studio Calico!
Thanks SO MUCH to all of you for entering--wowza. Who knew I had 109 online friends ;) And thanks Studio Calico for allowing me to host such a fun giveaway :)
Have a great Monday!

Crate Paper & Studio Calico & a Giveaway!

2011-08-03T11:05:00.000-05:00

So the two big names in scrapbooking goodness teamed up for some exclusive paper in the freshly debuted August kit, Boardwalk...and it is all kinds of pretty--

Walk down the Boardwalk and head out to the beach - August's main kit has a calming palette of blues and greens, reminiscent of the ocean. In addition to just released products from American Crafts and Pink Paislee, we've packed Boardwalk with exclusives - there are two patterned papers designed by Crate Paper, a Sassafras alphabet in a just for us color, and two papers and an alphabet by Studio Calico that you won't find anywhere else. Dig your toes into the sand and get ready to be inspired!

The alphabet exclusives are awesome! I have already reached for them on other projects and will continue to do so until they are gone. The colors and patterns in the kit are versatile for any occasion you might be wanting to document and of course, we can't forget about the stamp. But really, would you expect anything less than perfection from Studio Calico?
Yea, I didn't think so ;)

Being on the Crate Paper team I was asked to contribute a few layouts created with the kit--you can see those on the Studio Calico blog today.

And now for the fun part--GIVEAWAY TIME! Studio Calico has generously offered to giveaway a $10 gift certificate...all you have to do is comment on my blog. Easy peasey. Maybe tell me what you love about Boardwalk or what you would use your gift certificate on. (The SC store has lots of fun goodies in it!) Or just say HI :) Either way comment and I will draw a random winner on Sunday. Comment away!

Playing catch up with a fun sneak!

2011-07-26T01:18:00.000-05:00

So I know I kinda left you hanging--sorry. CHA is always a whirlwind, this year being no exception, and once I returned home we have been crazy busy! Only 3 weeks left before school starts and manic momma mode has set in ;)
I DO have the Crate Paper booth video for you, but had to sneak this in first.

Can you tell what it's for? Studio Calico has once again teamed up with Crate Paper to produce some AMAZING exclusive papers for their August kit, Boardwalk! Being on the Crate Paper design team I was fortunate enough to be asked to contribute a few layouts. You can check out the sneaks on the Studio Calico site as well as the full reveal on the 28th.

And with that I am off to finish up the second mini album of the evening, oh wait, it's morning..... ;)

October Afternoon booth!

2011-07-20T16:21:00.000-05:00

I always forget how busy CHA is...and that it is SO HARD to take pics of everything you like! I tried to do this last night, but had to pay for internet, then couldn't get it to work and then yada yada yada!!

SO here you are--you can pretend you are at CHA taking a tour of the October Afternoon booth! You'll see some new items, and as a disclaimer:
1. the guy at the beginning--tried to edit him. didn't work. kinda funny anyway.
2. my voice is annoying
3. I am pretty sure at one point I call myself a dork.
4. I tried not to use the word "great" too many times ;)
Hope you like it!

I have also never loaded a video onto my blog, so if for some reason it doesn't work...sorry! The video is also on youtube and should be on the October Afternoon blog sometime this week :)

And I have a video tour of the Crate Paper booth too! Will try and load that tonight. My layout from Farmhouse was up on their blog yesterday...along with a chance to win the line. Go enter!

Checking in...

2011-07-18T01:04:00.000-05:00

It's quite possible you might have thought I had fallen off the planet! Nope, still here. Just B U S Y. Rory and I were talking that this past month has been our most crazy, busy ever.
So I dusted off the blog password adn wanted to pop in :)
I leave for CHA tomorrow, Whoop!, and I am REALLY going to try hard to take pics, maybe even a video, and update the blog while I am away. I SO know how it feels to wish you were there so I will do my best!!
Have a great week and do check back to see what new goodies will be released!

There's a snake in my boot

2011-06-22T13:04:00.000-05:00

ok. Not really in my boot. We are just Toy Story fans around here.
BUT, we did have one in our yard. Two actually. And it wasn't a big deal at all. Why you ask?
Because I had my very own personal snake wrangling cowboy ;)

And also because these aren't the poisonous kind.

He was actually excited to get to get to do this (all boy I tell you) and it cracks me up how he threw up his cowboy hat as if in victory! These Crate Paper elements were *perfect* for scrapping this memory. How appropriate for the little book strip of patterned paper to have an "all about snakes" title?

The chipboard ampersand is from October Afternoon's 5 & Dime miscellany pack. I took some woodgrain Hambly tape and wrapped it.
It's nice to have a super hero cowboy living under your roof, isn't it? ;) Enjoy your wednesday!

If your name is Michelle...

2011-06-17T16:26:00.000-05:00

..you are a winner! Email me: ljbridges33AThotmailDOTcom and I will send out your box of scrap goodies early next week!
And if this upcoming weekend you have a chance to scrap, check out Emily's sketch on the Crate Paper blog here. I came up with my own version...

Love that sketch. The flowers are made using ribbon and trim from the Neighborhood collection. It's a great way to incorporate ribbon in to a project.
And with that I am off to sit in the 90 degree heat and watch my oldest play baseball :)
Enjoy your weekend!

Need some Father's Day card inspiration?

2011-06-15T17:20:00.000-05:00

Check out the October Afternoon blog! Some of the design team members posted cards. Mine was of the kiddy looking variety ;) Was able to cut out the quote bubble and sentiment with my Silhouette.

This past weekend I was able to get away to scrap with some friends. Once I finished all my assignments I scrapped with the March kit from Studio Calico, just for the fun of it :)

He LOVES flarp. What little boy doesn't? ;)
Hope you are having a great week! If you haven't yet, be sure and enter the previous post for a chance at a box filled with scrap goodies. I will draw a name and post it tomorrow!

Wedding Week, Texture and a Giveaway

2011-06-09T08:42:00.000-05:00

Have you been checking out the Crate Paper blog this week? The design team members are blowing my mind with their creative wedding ideas! Be sure and stop by and find out the details on how you can enter to win one of 3, $50 gift cards to everyone's favorite wedding registry place, Crate and Barrel. And today on the Crate blog all you have to do is comment to try and win one of two Portrait collection giveaways. Easy enough, right? My project for wedding week is up today and it started off with a $3 aqua vintage suitcase and the idea for a banner with a big ampersand...and grew from there! Here is a peek...

Check out the Crate Paper blog for all the pictures of my vintage tablescape, as well as LOTS of beautiful projects from the design team!

And on the October Afternoon blog...Monday was all about adding texture to your layouts. I was happy to participate :)

So do you like adding texture to your layouts? Or do you prefer them flat? Even sewing can be texture. You can participate with your idea of combining texture with OA and add it to the Flickr group! Check out the post here for the whole write up.

And I promised a giveaway, right? I have a box full of paper and embellishments to send to someone. I just will never live long enough to scrap it all ;) Leave a comment on what is inspiring YOU lately and I will draw a winner in one week :) Pinterest seems to be my favorite place for inspiration now. Coincidentally it is also a time sucker ;)

It's going to be a nice and toasty day here today. With ball games tonight we might just have to indulge in some swimming pool/popsicle action. Yep, that sounds about right ;) Happy Thursday!

Are you ready for tomorrow?

2011-06-05T16:32:00.000-05:00

Because tomorrow kicks off Wedding Week at Crate Paper!

The entire week the design team will be bringing you lots of wedding themed ideas from before the wedding begins (think invites, showers) all the way to the big day as well as after (reception, thank-you notes). I have a vague idea of the projects the ladies are working on and seriously, I think they will knock your socks off! My own project might just be my favorite to date and something I wish I would have thought of for my own wedding almost 12 years ago!

Be sure to visit the Crate Paper blog beginning tomorrow and every day next week for some inspiring, beautiful projects. And you know the folks at crate--they are a generous bunch and LOVE giveaways so there are certainly several reasons to swing by!

Hope you have enjoyed your weekend as much as we have! Sun, pool, homemade ice cream, more pool ;) I will be back tomorrow (gasp! 2 days in a row?!) and because I am at 50 followers (really? thanks!) and might just have to do a giveaway of my own ;)
Happy Sunday!

Ribbon Ruffle Camera Strap Cover

2011-05-27T07:00:00.001-05:00

Now that summer is fast approaching I know my camera will be out in full force snapping photos. My original camera strap was looking like it needed an update. Now I have noticed several different camera strap covers that look super cute online, but discovered that with minimal time, some fabric, and of course, some pretty May Arts ribbon you can custom make one yourself!

I choose to make this cover a slip on version, instead of actually sewing it to the strap. This way I can make several and change them out whenever I wish! First off, find the material you want that suits your fancy. I am mad, MAD I tell you!, about chevron so this yellow and white print was the obvious choice. Now if you have read my tutorials before you will know that I am not big on measuring. Ha! So just lay down your strap and use it as a guide to determine the length and width of material you will need...and of course make certain your material is doubled.

I have always heard when using ribbon or material that will be ruffled you will need at least double the length of your project. I actually did 1.5 times the length of my strap, just incase I got too crazy with my ruffling ;) I used the prettiest robin egg blue faux linen, one of my favorites!

You will need to sew across the top of your ribbon to attach to your material and here I will point out my mistake. (You mean the girl that can't really sew and doesn't measure anything made a MISTAKE? Umm, yes. Always.) I should have made a hem here at the end of what will turn out to be the ends of the camera strap, but I didn't. And now my ends are loose threads. Boo. Make sure yours aren't!

To make the ruffles I start sewing, lift of the foot and push some material in, close the foot and sew a bit more..and then repeat the process several times. NO rocket science. NO measuring. Just push and sew. I think there is actually a certain foot that will “ruffle” (not the proper term I am sure) for you, but alas this sewing novice does not have one.

Sew how it is gathering? Pretty little ribbon ruffles!

Once you are all done, a row of ruffled ribbon goodness. I really like that color combo. So bright and happy!

So now fold over your material so the right sides are facing together (and wrong sides are facing you) and sew the length of the strap, making sure to not sew down any ruffles..not that I know from experience or anything ;)

Here's what it will look like when it is all done:

Not too awesome yet, huh? But wait! Now is the fun part, or as I like to say, the most time consuming part. You gotta turn that dude inside out, which is not an easy task. Seriously, the majority of my time was spent doing this. I pushed a little dowel rod in it, and maybe I ended up breaking said dowel rod, but eventually it worked.

Now you can slip your camera strap inside....

..sit back and enjoy your new pretty ribbon ruffled camera strap.

And when anyone asks where you purchased it you can smile the smile of satisfaction that comes when you have made something yourself...and remembered to hem it ;)

I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial! Please let me know if you have any questions and certainly link me up if you decide to make one. I am thinking of color combos and maybe making a few just to change out when I want.

Have a beautiful day!

On the October Afternoon blog today...

2011-05-26T21:34:00.000-05:00

..you can actually find me blogging! Yea! Head on over to take a peek ;)
And tomorrow I will be back to share a SUPER fun and easy and CUTE tutorial! Double YEa!
Have a great night :)

I owe you a winner

2011-05-17T07:00:00.001-05:00

and it is TERESA!

I absolutely love the rocket age charms and how you used them! I too am a mother of boys and I am always looking for cute boy themes. Oh and I love those Star Wars cookie cutters! Where did whoever gave them to your boys get them? My boys would love them!
Posted by Teresa to night owl at May 12, 2011 1:42 PM

If that is you email me (ljbridges33AThotmailDOTcom) and I will get your info to October Afternoon so you can then start stalking your mail person for your rubber charm prize pack :)
And the cookie cutters are from Williams-Sonoma :) my boys LOVE them and someone suggested using them to cut out sandwiches too--brilliant!
THANK YOU every single person for commenting. It really means so much to have all of you hopping around and enjoying what we put together! All comments go to my email and I read EVERY SINGLE ONE with a big ole smile.
More hops and fun giveaways are planned so if you missed out don't fret! If you are on Twitter follow OA. There are some SprINKlers to be given away once they reach 200 followers ;)
Have a great Tuesday--we are off to enjoy the park on this sunny day...and some Starbucks, for momma :)

you still have time--

2011-05-16T10:18:00.000-05:00

First off..because blogger went all crazy pants this past weekend October Afternoon is delaying the announcement of the rubber charm hop winners until tomorrow! SO you have until tonight to enter...where I will be sifting through the comments that came through my email and comparing them with the ones that blogger delated. Awesome. But I just don't want anyone to miss out and want it to be fair :)

Today I get to be a Sassafras Pal! Yea!

You can check out the projects and questionnaire here on the Sassafras blog. Thanks for featuring me :)
And last week May Arts teamed up with Die Cuts With a View. My projects can post can be seen here .

LOTS of fun projects and giveways-be sure to enter.

Around here...we finished our family interview and have officially enrolled in part time 2 day private Christian/ 3 day homeschool for Aven next year. His books for school have started arriving and I bought a few fun things for our school room this past weekend. We are both getting pretty excited. SO thankful to be at this point, with a decision made, when really just a few months ago I would have NEVER thought I would be a homeschooling momma type! So today I begin to try and tackle Aven's closet/room so that Paxton can officially move in and we can turn Paxton's room into a play/school room. Lots of fun ideas in my head. I hope those ideas include boys happily sharing a space ;D
If you have any homeschool room links, activities, books, ideas of any kind I would love to hear them! Any links are appreciated ;)

Happy Monday!

October Afternoon blog hop!

2011-05-11T06:00:00.008-05:00

You have arrived! Have you had fun blog hopping today? If you are lost or have NO idea what I am talking about try starting HERE at the October Afternoon blog :)
Today we hop around celebrating the coolness that is October Afternoon Rubber Charms!

So many fun shapes and designs to choose from!

Here I took a couple from 5 & Dime to use on a "sweet" card--

I sprayed the background with the Red Wagon SprINKler and used lots of miscellany from 5 & Dime. The little ice cream sundae charm fits perfectly over the image from the sticker sheet!
And having boys (and boys that LOVE space!) you KNOW I am all over the ones from Rocket Age--

Tin Type SprINKler sprayed on the shipping tag, combined with lots of Rocket Age give it a "spacey" look ;)
And this card with the rubber charm rocket ship was from my video on the SprINKlers and making the ink circles featured on the OA blog last week.

Lots of uses adding just the right amount of "charm" ;)
Be sure and leave a comment....do you love the rubber charms? Which ones are your fav? What project would you use them on? Each design team member is giving away a rubber charm prize pack so be sure to visit all the blogs and comment! Winners will be announced Monday.
Next up is the super fabulous and talented Roree!

May the Forth Be with You

2011-05-04T15:46:00.000-05:00

ok. I just had to do it ;)
When I told Aven that today was "Star Wars day" he got all excited. Wednesdays are typically our busiest day of the week, but tonight we are planning to celebrate with finally making cookies with these

The boys got them for Christmas...I suppose it's time we open them. Might even have to play some John Williams to build up the excitement of watching them bake ;)
Secretly I celebrated the day by ordering the boy some surprises down the road... new sheets

and a Kindergarten backpack. (KINDERGARTEN?! Eek!)

Are you celebrating Star Wars day?

*Notice the new blog look? Thanks to my pal Marcy we have it looking SO much better. Check out her blog and prepare to be inspired. She is amazing! Thanks again friend :)
Happy Wednesday! And yes...giveaway coming up ;)

Guesting at American Crafts!

2011-04-27T13:40:00.000-05:00

One of the reason's I have been happily creating away is because I was asked to guest on the American Crafts blog! yea :)

3 layouts, 2 cards, a weather chart and a camping mini can all be seen on their blog today. This week's focus was on the Remarks stickers..pretty sure there is a massive prize involved ;) (Check on the post previous to mine on their blog for that!) Such a trend forward, generous company. Thanks for having me!
Be sure to check it all out HERE.

In other news Aven had his Kindergarten screening today. Big sigh...where does the time go?! He is so ready. Beyond ready. I better catch up ;)
Enjoy your wednesday! Ours is soggy here, but there is hope for the sun to shine tomorrow!
And I am thinking I haven't done a giveaway in awhile. Is it time? ;)

By the time this month is over...

2011-04-26T12:37:00.000-05:00

..I will have cranked out 20 projects. Oh. My. Goodness! Not trying to be braggadocios, just saying' in case you have wondered where on earth I have been. It's all a very good thing. A few I can share, including this one. I recently finished this layout using some of Studio Calico's newest goodies from the Countryside line--

This paper begged for this layout. That little guy in the country bath should still be that little :( Do you spy those wood buttons? Yea..I need a jar FULL. My newest favorite technique (is that a technique? Or maybe just a look?) is adding bits to string. Here I use the SM10 from May Arts. I thought it added the perfect little "country" look.
Speaking of May Arts, today you will find me over on the May Arts blog! We teamed up with Little Yellow Bicycle and I created a fun birthday banner package.

You can see the tutorial HERE.
And on the October Afternoon blog today...SprINKlers!!

I have my first ever video tutorial up! I give an intro to the new Art Box SprINKlers, as well as a little tutorial on making ink circles.

You can see all that HERE. And you really should watch it as I make fun of myself saying "great" WAAAAY too many times ;) Those video tutorials are not an easy thing to do! I bow to all of you able to make it look so effortless!!!

Whoosh! That's a lot of info! Found out today that after 3 cases of strep in less than 2 months Paxton is finally over it. So for now it looks like those tonsils are sticking around.
I hope you all are dry and the sun is shining in your neck of the woods. It has been raining so much here there is flooding all around. My next project might have to be making a boat ;)
Happy Tuesday to you!!

Sketch anyone?

2011-04-15T15:48:00.000-05:00

Getting sketchy over on the Crate blog today. Here is my take:

I traded the scallops for stars...what can I say? Having 2 boys I use lots of stars! And I love them. Stars to me are probably what butterflies are to scrappers with little girls ;) I probably use them on at least half the layouts I do, and I am perfectly okay with that :)

I realized after I was finished, which is what usually happens, that I didn't have a spot for the journaling. I had used it up with embellies--go figure ;) Those buttons and brads in all of Crate's newest collections are just too yummy! No sweat-- I took a tag from Studio Calico's Countryside line and typed it up, used a brad to secure it behind the photo so it wouldn't slip.

A bit of State Fair, also by Studio Calico--that "Ride" tag was just too perfect. And those October Afternoon Mini Markets just might make an appearance in my layouts from now on! See the rest of the fabulous sketch interpretations HERE and don't forget to play along!

Speaking of October Afternoon, did you see the newest line Boarding Pass?

Uh huh. My mitts can hardly wait for it. See it all HERE.
And with that I am off to do 100 million things before trying to finish up some guesting projects tonight. I'll spill the beans when I can ;)

Hello Spring!!

2011-04-05T09:31:00.000-05:00

SO NICE to finally see the sun shine! At least we did Sunday when it was 86 degrees! And then cloudy and yuck yesterday at 50. But there is no doubt with the trees budding and flowers blooming that Spring is FINALLY on it's way! And what better way to celebrate than with giveaways :)
It's Spring Fever time over at the Crate Paper blog!

For the last few days all the design team member shave been showing off projects with all things SPRING!

How cute is that little bee?! My project was featured last friday :)
Each day there are chances to win great prizes. Be sure to head over and enter. And check out the prize on today's post--would LOVE to win that!
And in more scrapping news May Arts has teamed up with Bella Blvd and, you guessed it, along with lots of inspiration there is a great prize!

Be sure and check out both blogs for more chances to win :) Here's a peek at my project coming later this week...

I actually had a little DIY tutorial on the May Arts blog last week I forgot to post about...

My littlest rocking his ribbon tie t-shirt. Doesn't he look thrilled? ;) More on that here.
Have a happy Tuesday! Our day is shaping out to include cleaning out the boys' closets...I know..you are jealous ;)

Here, There & Everywhere

2011-03-28T09:26:00.001-05:00

Somehow in the world of scrapping and blogging I managed to be in two places at once today! But really if you are a busy momma you do that everyday anyway ;)
Over on the Crate Paper blog I have a fun tutorial on using patterned paper to make yo-yos! Really easy with lots of dimension...
I love how this layout turned out about my two different, but precious boys.

You can find the full tutorial HERE.

And on the October Afternoon blog I have the first post of the new design team..and it's a challenge! A "throw a little vintage on it" challenge....you knew I would go there, right? ;)
I had this mini in my head for awhile...just a little documentation of "the little things" that make our house a home...and that someday I will miss. Like legos and toys everywhere ;) And little bitty toothbrushes...

Be sure and check out the post HERE. A prize is up for grabs :)
Happy Monday!

Get OUT of TOWN

2011-03-21T07:53:00.000-05:00

Did you see THIS ? Say what?!
Seriously thrilled about the opportunity, the products and the sweet girls on the design team. I guest designed for OA last July and have since had projects and layouts in their booths at CHA, so to be asked to join the design team is very exciting.
With the new team comes a fresh look to the blog as well as new posts scheduled Monday-Friday full of challenges, sketches, guest designers...lots to keep you inspired! In fact I am already scheduled for the first post of the new team one week from today. Here is sneak peek of what I am working on:

Intrigued? Hee Hee!
Thanks for sharing in the excitement! Looks like Monday is off to a fabulous start ;)

Sunny Sunday

2011-03-20T21:14:00.000-05:00

It may not be a sunny sunday where you are, but it is here and we are loving it! The boys played on the screened in porch with Legos. The birds are sang and you can tell Spring isn't too far away...which is good because the boys keep asking me when the pool is going to be open! They are a tad excited to swim I think ;)
(And speaking of excited..I might have a little happy news to share tomorrow ;))

And totally unrelated to any of the above...my scrap room is clean, purged and pretty organized. YEA! There is still more work to do until it is exactly like I would want it, but the fact that I can safely walk without causing bodily injury is a huge PLUS ;) My friend Suz came over to scrap one night last week and I thought she might faint over the transformation :)
Although I don't have the whole enchilada ready to view *quite yet* I do have a few pics of the desk where I actually scrap. (I know to some people this is totally boring, but I have always loved seeing where people create!)

My desk is old. In fact, it isn't even a desk, but an old table that I bought several years ago at an auction. I was planning to sell it, but decided I could use it in the middle of my scrap room and love it there.
Notice how the boards are uneven. One has a crack that allows little brads and paper slivers to fall through to the drawer below. I don't mind.

It has one drawer, with a cool old white glass knob.
Inside I have various metal baskets--a few old, a few new--that house extra adhesive, scissors, sew easy tools and mat, epiphany button maker tool, cropodile and a jar of various brads.

On top of the desk sits an old basket. Here is where I keep my newest favorite ink by Jenni Bowlin (now if she would come out with an aqua/teal color and a gray I would be set!), Studio Calico stamps, and clear stamp blocks. I also have a milk glass container that holds a few pens, a pair of scissors, adhesive and tiny attacher...those things which I reach for over and over with each project and need within reach.

I picked up this old colander at a junk place for $2. It is the perfect place for any embellies I might be working with on a layout. I also put any new little goodie I have came across that I am excited to play with.

It's just a happy little spot and my boys have loved coming down to craft too :)
I hope you had a wonderful sunday!

accidental reversed applique

2011-03-09T08:30:00.000-06:00

So if we are friends on Facebook, (and if not friend me!), you saw a little over a week ago that while working on a birthday shirt for my littlest I reversed applique. On accident. My head was saying "do what you did last year...cut the number out of cute fabric and stitch it on."
But my hands were in la la land and started cutting the number 3 out of the shirt. Out of the jersey knit shirt which I had not backed with anything to make is stiff and therefore more easy to sew.
ugh.
And of course I was doing this about 30 minutes before I needed it done. That always helps ;)
Here's what went down:
I cut a number 3 out with my Slice just as a guide to go by...I wanted the number on the shirt bigger.

It really wasn't until I was done cutting the number out that I realized what I had done! Seriously, it took that long. But in the style of Tim Gunn.."Make it work."

So I did.

Crazy pin placement. Can you tell I am no professional? ;)

A little sewing around the edges combined with some hand stitching.

The best photo of the birthday boy I could get in the dimly lit fire station. Once the weather turns nice I plan to get a few better ones.

He really loves his tongue.

It actually turned out cuter than I thought it would. And would you believe I have washed this shirt a few times and it is still together?! I am shocked ;D

It is dreary and the boys strep seems to have turned into a viral thing for me :( But spring is just around the corner so I am hopeful! Happy Wednesday friends!

DIY eclectic bib necklace

2011-03-02T13:20:00.001-06:00

So I have a thing with necklaces. I like 2 types:
simple
OR
funky.

Today we go with option #2 ;)

I had SO MUCH fun making this necklace and honestly it didn't take very long. Eclectic/Anrtho-esque in my opinion...just the way I like it. I have a little pile of vintage yummies...old earrings, cool buttons, a clip from a shoe (for real) that I have been hoarding for just the right project. This time I was able to put them on a necklace, along with beautiful May Arts ribbon, and create something I have already worn several times. It's quite the conversation starter ;D

Check out the May Arts blog today for a full tutorial on how I made it and how to make your own. And don't forget..May Arts is having a Design Team Call. Info can be found on their blog.

Happy Wednesday!

one organized shelf

2011-02-28T09:54:00.002-06:00

Slowly, ever so slowly, with small bits of time here and there, I am purging and organizing my craft space. At this rate it should all be accomplished by the time the boys go to high school! At least I have a goal, right? ;)
I have a ridiculous amount of scrapping stuff to sell. The more I scrap and craft the more I know my style--what I will use, what I have TIME to use!, so the rest has to go. I plan to sell it this spring at a scrap/antique sale if you are in the area.
Anyway, I do have one little shelf organized to show for it all! Here is a little shelf that I picked up for $4 at a local thrift place. It holds my stamps and ZING collection...gotta bust that stuff out more often!

Below it is an old, as in square nail old, bucket bench. I like having vintage/antique furniture in my scrap space. Serves a purpose and looks interesting.

The space on the bottom holds a fabric bin from Target with all my Thickers and other alphas. Beside it is Studio Calico kits.
The second shelf might be my favorite. It holds embellishments, which are like sprinkles on a cupcake to me :)

This is the Sassafras box. I don't organize everything by manufacturer, but if I have enough of somethings it helps me to keep it all grouped together. A keep a small bowl inside it for any loose brads or stickers.

Beside it is a bling/sparkle button box.

And then a brad box. I really love brads...I think it shows ;D

The top shelf has two more bins where I keep most of my punches.

I tend to use things more when I see them so having them ready to just grab works for me. They may not necessarily be organized in the box, but they are contained ;) The rest of the punches are in an over the door shoe organizer.

I had just a few inches of space beside the punch boxes and didn't want to waste it so I used 3 cropper hopper organizers: one for printed pics ready to scrap, one for sticker alphas and one for 12x12 sticker sheets.

I have a few pics of the desk where I scrap, think old ;) , that I will try and show later this week. I really do love having a more organized area, even if it does look disastrous after I am done playing with paper and even if it will take me a lot longer to get it all organized! Still makes me happy :) Something else that makes me happy---
Last week over on the May Arts blog we had a blog swap week with Graphic 45. I created a little inspiration jar--

More details and pics can be found HERE :)
I love looking at other's creative spaces--do you? If you have some pics link me up! I would LOVE to see! HAPPY monday to you!! We are recovering from a birthday party weekend and a new 3 yr old with a cold :(

Pencil Lines

2011-02-21T16:07:00.000-06:00

(a drive by post today!)
I was happy to be asked to be a guest designer for Pencil Lines! It is a great sketch blog and I actually created the sketch for this one.

You can check out the sketch here and see what the design team members created. Play along for a chance to win a prize! They are also having a design team call--info can be found on their site :)
Thanks Anna for having me guest!

A good day

2011-02-19T11:19:00.000-06:00

Every day is a good day. Truly. Even the bad ones. Because I have a wonderful family. A warm house. Food to eat. We are healthy. And happy and safe.
Yes every day is a good day indeed.
Some days just come with an extra dose of happy.
Like thursday when I received my first pub request from Creating Keepsakes! Can I get an EEEKK?!? I just returned from mailing it out--big smile.
And then the featured project of the day was mine at Two Peas in a Bucket. That has never happened! What..you missed seeing it? Fear not--I took a screenshot just for you ;)

Well for me really, but you get the idea.
A layout up on the Crate Paper blog using the sketch from the talented Emily Pitts:

Be sure and take a try at the sketch. There is a new Crate Paper collection up for grabs!
And then there is this sweet boy who is weeks away from being registered for Kindergarden.
KINDERGARDEN!! When did that happen. Big momma sigh.

And then this bottle of cute turns 3 a week from today.

My BABY is 3?! Crib and diapers long gone. He almost doesn't need a stool for the bathroom sink. He has traded in Little People toys for cowboy guns and super hero capes. I just registered him for preschool yesterday.
Big momma sigh number two.
Life is flying by at light speed. Every day IS GOOD. I want to enjoy the fast/crazy/beautiful/messy/blessed life I get to live and hold tight.
Have you had a good day lately?

Don't stand...

2011-02-18T22:30:00.000-06:00

..in your own sunshine.

Another round of catching up...

2011-02-17T08:00:00.003-06:00

Why is it 3 days past Valentine's and I am still making these?

Seriously someone stop me!
So Monday was enjoyed with with a green lego box, homemade valentines and spending time together as a family. I think the boys favorite part was getting sparkling cider in their super hero cups..that or the heart suckers daddy surprised them with.

A few shares for you today...lots of tutorials & lovelies on the Crate Paper blog from the design team lately! HERE I share how to dress up die cuts with lots of dimension and texture using burlap flowers.

I have always had a thing for burlap. I think it comes from my rug hooking days...which I hope to someday get back into. If only there were more time! These sweet boys were featured on the blog yesterday-

I love this herringbone stamp from Studio Calico--reminded me of some of the decorations you see on military uniforms...I am sure "decorations" is not the proper title! But you know what I mean ;) Anyway I combined it with some Jenni Bowlin Spice Tin ink, paper and star ribbon for embellishment clusters of the Army variety. These pictures were meant for that line, don't you think?! What's great is there are just enough elements of the Toy Box line with a "military" type theme, but really the line could go several directions. Of course with a little guy who packs toy gun heat everyday of the week it works perfect here. ;) Case in point...this was Paxton this morning:

2 cowboy vests, 2 pair of handcuffs and 3 guns. Bad guys BEWARE! :D That hat is his daddy's from when he was this age. Melts my heart to think of Rory wearing it!
On the May Arts blog we had a week with Glue Arts and I created this layout.

A little softer than the one above ;) Had fun with the Sew Easy tool using burlap string in place of embroidery floss. More photos here. May Arts ALWAYS seems to have a great contest going on! Be sure and check their blog and facebook page for details.
We are looking forward to sunshine and temps ABOVE freezing..like 60+ degrees! Am I dreaming? I hope not!

CHA and playing catch up

2011-02-03T10:21:00.001-06:00

CHA is officially over---and all the photos of new goodies waiting to be released has my head spinning--in a good way! :D
I was fortunate to be able to design some projects for October Afternoon's booth at CHA. I don't think it would come as any surprise how much I adore their lines, and from what I gather they have released a few new products as well such as ...
Sprinklers, a spray ink (non-shimmery) mist in 4 basic colors as well as 3 colors that match each of the new lines. If you know me you know I rarely scrap without a bottle of mist, or 10!, ready to splatter on so I am super excited to see how these compare to the mists I already own.
Miscellany, like a packet of ephemera (buttons, ribbon, wild cards, chipboard shapes, etc.). I always like the variety of embellies
Four colors of Sticky Keys were released, which sound similar to the Mini Market stickers, but round in shape. I am a sucker for those mini stickers anyway.
And the rubber charms are back! I still have a package hoarded from one of OA's very first releases so I am glad to see these back in action :)

5 & Dime looks to me like a mash up of Thrift Shop and Modern Homemaker. Great for spring layouts, all things vintage-y and pics of Ethel:

Who is Ethel you ask? I have no clue! Ha!! I found some great vintage photos at a flea market and brought them home, knowing someday they would make their way onto a project..and so she did! Rory thought it was so funny that I just randomly scrapped a pic of a person I didn't know (much less that I had named her) and asked what would I do if someone saw it at CHA in California said, "hey--that's my great grandma!" I said, "Well then they should be disappointed that some cruel person in their family in Missouri sold her photo for 50 cents!" :D And I think she looks pretty there and really, she does love her flowers ;)

Another vintage pic I scrapped for the show using Modern Homemaker:

Don't those guys look like they are having fun? I think the honeycomb look will be a new trend (or at least a revisited one) in the scrapping world. These patterned paper hexagons were created using my Slice, rest in peace you crazy machine!!

And then my fav release, Rocket Age:

My boys, Aven in particular, are OBSESSED with space. We talk about it a lot during the day. As a matter of fact at dinner last night we were discussing random factoids about the planets, comets, black holes and dwarf planets. (are we nerds?) Anyway, I had mentioned to some friends I wish that a company would design a space themed line with a vintage spin.

This is totally what I had in my head! I do not say it lightly when I say I think this is my FAVORITE OA line to date. It just really fits my "momma to 2 boys" life right now and I know there will be lots that say it doesn't work for them, but I also just see it having great colors/patterns for summer, particularly 4th of July. I just love how this layout turned out--can't wait to recreate it for my own scrap album :)

I was also able to create a layout for the Crate Paper booth, who hit home runs with FOUR fantastic lines this time, as well as new embellies like ribbon, journaling tags and THE COOLEST BUTTONS EVER, but that project will show up on their blog at some point so I will wait to share until then ;D I will say I was able to scrap some photos I had been saving for sometime and the Toy Box line was the perfect opportunity!! There are still 2 lines of theirs I have yet to play with so I am excited to get those as well :)
And on the May Arts blog the other day I did a little gift bag re-do tutorial using FAB May Arts ribbon and Crate Paper scraps--

you can catch the full tutorial and more pics HERE. Do be sure and check out their blog and facebook page--I believe there is a giveaway going on right now with some fresh off the press ribbon!

Whoosh--busy post! Thanks for sticking with me :)
What a fun crafty time of the year---perfect for when you are snowed in because of a blizzard.
In Missouri.
For real.
Stay warm friends!!

The desk...

2011-01-28T10:29:00.000-06:00

..is a mess.

A creative mess I like to think ;)
And I...am heading out the door for a weekend of scrapping with friends, which always involves lots of socializing, eating too much and staying up too late. And coffee.
Definitely coffee. It's nice to have a little "mommy" time :)
Enjoy your weekend, whatever it holds!

Are you ready?

2011-01-19T21:35:00.000-06:00

Up until now you have only spied peeks...

But tomorrow Crate Paper begins the full reveal of their newest collections! Yippee!
I have two of the four newest lines in my hot little hands and they have a serious WOW factor! If you dig a vintage, retro vibe to your scrapping products you will NOT be disappointed. Be sure to check out their blog tomorrow!

We are also gearing up for some much anticipated snow tomorrow. I love the feeling the night before a potential snow day, almost like a mini version of Christmas Eve to me :) There will be plenty of disappointment if we do not awake to a winter wonderland!! In any case, I have the infamous Pioneer Woman Cinnamon Rolls ready and rising--which I think will taste quite lovely with a big glass of milk following a few runs with the sled ;D

A few cards..

2011-01-11T22:15:00.002-06:00

..to throw up on the ole blog while I am absent being little miss scrappity scrapper. I really am still here....Just busy creating CHA stuff that I can't show yet and taking care of my littlest guy who can't seem to shake a cough and wheeze :(
Both of these were created with Crate Paper goodies...

I think this would be a sweet valentine or even a wedding card.

My boys flipped over this robot card. I think they will each need one to remind them how much their momma loves them because I really do have 2 of the coolest kids. Evidence...

Uh huh. He was most definitely up to something.
And really likes to take his shirt off. He has came in my bed more than once in the wee hours without a shirt on! What in the world?!;)
Back to paper...did you see the Crate blog today? I was asked to join for the spring design team term! HOORAY!! 10 fun facts are up about me. Did you know the end cheese weirds me out? No? Or that I was a "hooker"? Hee hee--go to their blog for clarification on that one!! ;D
May Arts is still cranking out the most awesome ribbons and trims. I recently got ahold of this aqua faux linen.

It's even prettier in real life! So pretty in fact a few more colors are headed my way ;) They have some organic ribbons coming soon that I am excited to play with too. I created this fun leaf headband after one I saw at Urban Outfitters, for not even 1/4 the price!

Is it even necessary to point out that that taking pics of my head is NOT my strong suit? ;)
Head here for a tutorial.
HOw is the weather where you live? I went out tonight and it was 10 degrees! BRRR!!! Off to drink some hot chocolate :) Stay warm!

Where oh where...

2010-12-30T21:48:00.000-06:00

..have I been?
Beside recouping from Christmas and prepping to ring in the new year, (which when you are a momma to 2 little guys means hanging out at home and trying not to fall asleep before midnight!), I have been getting crafty!
This easy peasy tree was up a few weeks ago on the May Arts blog.

The complete tutorial with additional pics can be found HERE.
And currently a lovely little pile of October Afternoon is sitting on my desk...

and I have a layout to show for it...and a part mini and second layout, but that will have to wait ;)

More pics HERE on the October Afternoon blog.
Getting anxious to start the new year, not so much setting resolutions, but goals to try and obtain.
Thinking about how this will be the year Aven starts school and still in disbelief that is even possible. Wondering what my days will look like as that happens and I am home with Paxton.
Enjoying this time and year to slow down,
reflect,
and look forward.
Speaking of looking foward...a new year means new products revealed at CHA winter 2011! It's in L.A. this time around. Can't wait to see start seeing all the sneak peeks emerge.
Off to finish that mini ;) Enjoy your last day of 2010!!

YO Leah---

2010-12-26T21:09:00.000-06:00

You have won yourself some TOMBOW girl!
And a box of scrappiness from me ;)
Shoot me an email: ljbridges33AThotmailDOTcom with your address and I will hook you up :)
...and I hope Santa brought your wish ;)

It was so nice to read everyone's wishes...most involved quality time and creating memories with family. What a great thing to hope for this time of year....any time of year!
Hope everyone had the Merriest Christmas!

In the spirit of the season...

2010-12-22T16:52:00.000-06:00

...a giveaway!
A Tombow giveaway to be exact!
The sweet people at Tombow have offered to host a giveaway on my blog of my top 4 favorite Tombow MUST HAVES. Here's what you can win:

1. Mono Permanent Adhesive--classic, paper crafting goodness adhesive
2. Mono Glue Pen--my new side kick. Love this thing.
3. Mono Multi Liquid Glue--love the dual tip and that it dries clear
4. Mono Vellum Adhesive--*perfect* for vellum and transparencies
And perhaps I will throw in a box of scrapping goodies from my stash. Sound good?

To enter is simple--just leave a comment finishing the sentence "This year my Christmas wish is..."

And make sure you are being good. Elfie is watching ;)
I will draw a winner and announce on Sunday!

12 Days of Dec

2010-12-17T13:04:00.000-06:00

Two days of blogging in a row? wow! Am I on a roll or what? ;)
On the Tombow blog today you will find the guts, so to speak, of my 12 days of Dec mini album.

There are pictures of each page as well as my explanation of what why I chose to do it in this way and what I plan to do with it. There is a variety of different elements to it so if you have a question as to a particular product or technique I used just leave me a comment on the Tombow blog or here and I will do my best to answer it!
*And as soon as the giveaway info is passed on to me I will post it here ;)

8 more days until Christmas! I think the craziness of this time of year has caught up to me...I was awaken last night at 2 a.m. by a certain 2 year old that was completely soaked....as well as his bed because momma forgot to put a diaper on him before putting him to sleep! What?! I think he definitely deserves a flashlight, or two, for that one. *see previous post for the flashlight reference ;)

Hustling and Bustling

2010-12-16T16:45:00.000-06:00

I know.
I hang my head in shame and refer to myself as "blog slacker of epic proportions."
It is this time of year, the holidays, a birthday, a few trips and a few sicknesses....
..and now here we are. 9 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS! ACK!
Are you ready?
Today I finished up some shopping, which has not been easy to do because all my 2 year old wants is a flashlight! Ok, so maybe that should seem easy, but I would just hate for him to wake up Christmas morning with just a flashlight under the tree! His big brother has a very detailed, specific list, but Paxton...a flashlight. ;)

So in my absence, least you think I do not scrapbook anymore, I have a few projects to show you!
This was featured on the Crate Paper blog in November:

and this one was featured yesterday for their Happy Holidays event:

You can see the inspiration behind it , as well as close ups on their blog..speaking of which..have you checked out the Crate Paper blog lately? Because the inspiration from the design team and those of you sending in projects is AMAZING! And the prizes..? Gift cards from Crate and Barrel, Bath and Body and $100 Crate Paper gift baskets!... Be sure and send in your Crate Paper projects--there is still time! And if yours is one of the lucky projects that gets posted you will be put into a drawing for a big box of Crate Paper goodness! Wouldn't that be a great gift under the tree?!

I did a little Gratitude mini album for May Arts during our week partnering with Jenni Bowlin

More pictures, including instructions on how to use ribbon for binding on repurposed books, can be found here. Do be sure and check out the May Arts blog, always filled with unique ribbon ideas and they ALWAYS a giveaway or contest happening on their blog (so be sure and bookmark it!) and facebook (become a fan!).

And finally, (this is what I get for not updating in so long! Ha!) I have the privilege of guest designing for Tombow! If you are a scrapper, you know their adhesives are amazing so I was THRILLED when asked if I would like to be the December guest designer. I have a couple projects featured on their blog today and a few more tomorrow. I would love for you to check them out, because the word on the street is there is a giveaway (or 2!) up for grabs tomorrow ;)

Whew!! Thanks for sticking this one out with me!! Be sure and check back tomorrow... ;)

random on a thursday

2010-11-11T16:29:00.000-06:00

So we had Aven's preschool teacher conference this week and I just have to share the sweetest thing. His teacher was pulling out some papers and art work we hadn't seen before and she said each kid was asked to draw a picture and write what they wanted to be when they grew up.
His paper said "a dad". Oh my! My heart swelled and Rory's about burst. How sweet is that?!

Have you checked out the May Arts blog this week? They are always giving something away and showing great ribbon projects! This week we partnered with Glue Arts adhesive. Be sure to check them out on their blog and facebook as well.

So no new scrapbooking projects to show....but I do have a date with 2 boxes full of October Afternoon and Crate Paper planned for this weekend ;)

Speaking of October Afternoon, someone you know might have some layouts on their blog today! Check it out here.

And don't forget to thank a veteran today. How easily we forget what they gave up and risked so that we might live free.

Crate Paper's Autumn Blog Hop

2010-11-08T06:30:00.003-06:00

Welcome to the Autumn Blog Hop with Crate Paper!

It's my first time participating in a blog hop so I am very excited, and speaking of excited...did you see the prize you could win? WOWZA!! That could DEFINITELY come in handy! So be sure and visit all the participating Crate Paper design team member's blogs so you get all the letters you need, and gain some inspiration along the way :)
Now to my tag--

There are SO MANY things I could have listed to be thankful for, but one day driving home I was noticing how beautiful the leaves looked in the trees on the road to our house and I thought "I am so thankful for this road home." Thankful that just around the corner I turn into our driveway that leads to our home, where I get to laugh and love with my sweet family.

Most everything I create has at least a touch of vintage.
Here I used my old typewriter to repeat the thankful theme, as well as vintage woodgrain Dymo tape--man oh man will I be bummed when my stash of that is down to nothing!

Burlap makes me think of fall for some reason so I cut out and sewed some leaves to add alongside beautiful papers and embellishments from Crate Paper's Restoration, School Spirit and Season lines.

I snapped a quick instant picture of our home and added it to the back of the tag. It will be interesting to see how it might change over the years. I love that the size of this tag will fit nicely into a gratitude journal I am creating.

Thanks so much for hopping over and if you have any questions about my tag just leave it in the comment section!
Now skip back to the Crate Paper blog to find your next designer blog stop! *and don't forget to grab that letter in the sidebar ;)
Have fun and enjoy your day!

oh no he didn't

2010-11-03T09:55:00.000-05:00

Oh yes he did.
yes, a completely germ infested, gross me out potty ring.
yes, stuck.
yes, this is what happens when I jump in the shower and leave him unattended FOR 5 MINUTES.
yes, I missed Bible study trying to pry it off.
yes, vaseline comes in handy in a situation like this.
and so does a good scrub down bath.
yes, he is a complete goof.
yes, I love this sweet kiddo.

never a dull moment in the land of motherhood!

CP and Me

2010-11-02T12:14:00.000-05:00

A little drive-by post today......Still completely shocked that I was asked to join the design team for Crate Paper! You could have knocked me off my chair when I got that email ;D The girls over there are nothing short of the sweetest and I am honored to be listed as a designer with them.
And my newest pal Kinsey was asked to join as well! It is always nice to have someone else be with you as the new kid on the block ;) And her work--CRAZY GOOD!
THANK YOU for your sweet comments friends. It means so much to have you share in my excitement! You can see the full announcement here.
Wishing you a day just as exciting!!

Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T15:50:00.000-05:00

Hope yours is fun and safe :)

Busy bee...

2010-10-25T22:34:00.000-05:00

..or busy pumpkin spice drinking momma as the case may be ;)

So far this month we have celebrated one special little guy's 5th birthday, as well as Rory and I's 11 year anniversary, a fun trip to the local pumpkin patch and lots of LIFE!!
But back to the anniversary talk for a minute...we bought a cake for my in-laws wedding anniversary to surprise them. The cake was beautiful, but whoever wrote on it misspelled anniversary! It read "Happy 40th Annverisary!" hee hee! It made for a good laugh and when I told them about it they refunded my money.

Back to the pumpkin patch...

Paxton declared this one his favorite.

A plan to get lost in the maze...

It was this or a scary dragon. We went mummy. Aven had never had his face painted and thought it was awesome!

Doing my best to soak up these beautiful fall days and these fast growing boys.

And maybe this week I will have some exciting news to share.
Maybe ;)

{And NO I am not pregnant}

Crate goodness!

2010-10-11T16:20:00.000-05:00

Wow-where have I been? This time of year just seems to fly by!

I was contacted by the sweet Christine Middlecamp, DT coordinator of the awesome Crate Paper, asking if I would be interesting in guest designing for October.

My one sentence reply was "Are you serious?"
Ha!! OF COURSE! So I was able to play with some of the awesome new collections:

If you want to see the full reveal, as well as my silly answers to their questionnaire ( I am really not good at those things!), please visit the Crate Paper blog!
Leave me a comment there and let me know what you think !

I'm also in the process of planning a Star Wars/Lego birthday party for one special soon-to-be 5 year old boy! Because when the Lego box says this 205 piece set is for ages 7-14....it's not true at this house!! ;)

Feeling Fallish

2010-09-23T07:50:00.003-05:00

Happy first official full day of Fall!
Pumpkins are currently gracing our front steps...

15 pumpkins to be exact.
I even made apple cinnamon muffins last night in anticipation of this morning :)
And as far as decorating goes,

I've started that as well.
Including some halloween treat cones.

You can see more pictures and instructions on the May Arts blog. And don't forget--there is always a great contest going on at the May Arts blog and their facebook page as well.

So what fall craftiness have you been up to? I just love this time of year!

on this rainy day

2010-09-14T08:34:00.000-05:00

I vote we:
make these:

{source}

have impromptu dance parties (we already have that one covered)

scrapbook-

and watch this:

what do you say?

Falling into the creative season

2010-09-08T09:11:00.004-05:00

Did you have a lovely labor day? I certainly hope so. Now that it seems summer is ending I am definitely getting into autumn mode...

Fall wreath on door?

Check.

Caramel apple cider making on a ridiculous basis?

Check.

Dreaming up orange and leaf inspired crafts?

Check.

Something about the cooler weather makes me leap into creativity overdrive. Does it do this to anyone else?

How about using some of that creativity with a little contest...with a super great prize?

There are a couple contests going on at the May Arts blog:

Here all you have to do is comment and/or send in a picture of a recent sewing project with ribbon. Easy Peasy.

Here May Arts GIVES YOU the ribbon you need to create with. Crazy right? So you get to play with their new Halloween Fun Pack, create a project, email a picture and you could win 3 full spools of ribbon --your choice. Or 10 people with get to pick 1 spool...and we are talking about the big spools--like the stores get to sell by the yard!

You could choose this must have-

This is a favorite-

Classic crochet-

Reminds me of a J. Crew belt-

Oh the possibilities! So be sure and check out the May Arts blog. Would love to see some friendly faces enter! And speaking of friendly faces, you might just spy someone you know here ;)

S is for Sun, Star Wars and Satan

2010-08-30T19:54:00.004-05:00

Yes this post has a theme: the letter S.

Sun: Every child in Aven's preschool class has been given a letter. They are making the classroom alphabet chart. He came home with a black sheet of construction paper and the assignment "S". After naming several "s" words he settled on SUN, mainly I think because he is so into the solar system lately.

We painted-

Cut-

Glitter glued-

-Pax worked on the Earth ;)-

And Ta Da--SUN!!

He was super proud to take it today.

Paxton was proud too.

And then they had to smell it. I have no idea why!

Star Wars: So all this solar system talk leads me to Star Wars. I just finished watching Episodes 1-3 (I know..where have I been?!) and I am really intrigued! Oh Anakin--so misunderstood ;) Although I knew he would turn out to be Darth Vadar (just ruined it for you if you have been living under a rock), but I was still rooting for him to turn away from the enticement of the dark side. Really made me think of our world and the struggle against selfish desires...(hold on I'm going deep)...the love of power and greed...the pursuit of evil against our souls. Which leads me to the next "S"...

Satan: Our pastor often speaks profound thoughts that have my mind turning for several days after a sermon, but this week I can not get this idea out of my head:

"If satan gets to your children, make sure he has to walk over your knees to get them."

Wow.

Am I praying, FERVENTLY, for the souls and lives of my boys? Is my desire for them to grow into Godly men stronger than the evil one's constant assault on their souls? That's a harrowing thought as a parent. We have SUCH a responsibility!

Anyway, that's our letter of the day friends. What would your letter of the day be?

Pink & Butterflies?

2010-08-27T15:42:00.004-05:00

For boys?

When the theme is ICE CREAM I say YES!

My little take on the Crate Paper sketch challenge. I turned the sketch 90 degrees clockwise to fit the look I was going for.

Picking up Aven today from preschool I asked if the boy that had pushed and thrown rocks earlier in the week was being nice today. He said, "Mom , I told him...'Let's be more like Jesus'!"

Amen brother.

Enjoy your weekend :)

Feeling Frisky?

2010-08-26T15:20:00.004-05:00

Aven names every frog he finds "Frisky".

And we have no idea why!

You name your amphibians too, right? ;)

A New Adventure

2010-08-25T13:00:00.002-05:00

Before preschool today the misters and I had a date.

A library date. A perfect 75 degree, sun shiney library date--yippee!

I think this was their first official time scanning all the books and wonders that the library has to offer.

And success! Aven found the book he was after...actually any book on space would do.

And Pax picked up the free magazine -- hee hee!! Not much of a book reader I guess ;)

We had some lunch and then headed to preschool. As I was driving Aven looked through his book several times, asking so many questions I didn't know, but am excited to discover the answers with him...and then:

A--"Momma, When I get to be an adult will I get to go to space?"

Me--"Only if you are an astronaut."

A--"Do they have houses in space?"

Me--"Not really. Only the International Space Station. It's kinda like a house I suppose."

A--"Well, when I get bigger first I'm going to have a son and then I'm going to be an astronaut. Ok?"

Melt my heart. That sounds like a fine plan to me.

But for now, I'm just going to hold on to that last few months of him being 4.

To infinity and beyond my friends!

The Find

2010-08-20T20:30:00.005-05:00

Remember a few posts back when I shared the score of the summer...$5 Royal yellow typewriter?

In June I scrapped a layout about it.

A layout about your typewriter you ask..?

yep ;) I'm crazy like that.

Anyway, it was for my July guest designer spot at October Afternoon and I can't remember if they featured it so I thought I would.

And a little tid bit (do people say "tid bit" anymore?) of info about it...the design of the layout came from a McDonald's ad found in a parenting magazine.

Could you tell that from the layout? ;D

If your anything like me you probably have your share of magazines. Once I've had them awhile and before tossing them I search the advertisements and articles for designs, layouts, or color combos that catch my eye and jot them down in one of these. It makes me feel like the magazine has done double duty and then I have a little journal of inspiration for crafty times!

In other news, I found out this week that I am among a few other ladies (including my talented friend Sam) joining the team at May Arts as a blog contributor. This means I get to play around with beautiful ribbons and trim and then show you the outcome! Very honored to say the least.

Anyone have fun weekend plans? We are finishing changing up the boys' rooms a bit...a bunk bed for Aven and a (GASP!) twin bed for Paxton. That means our home will no longer have a crib in it.

It's been 5 years since we have been without a crib in the house.

I don't know how to feel about that.

Wishing you a lovely weekend!

Congratulations Lexi!!

2010-08-12T15:54:00.003-05:00

Is it wrong that this little email yesterday from Starbucks made me smile?

I think they must know everybody likes a little gold in their pocket ;)

Here's wishing you a pocketful.

what do you do with your ribbon?

2010-08-09T21:48:00.005-05:00

Do you have a heaping stash of ribbon?

Yeah, me too.

You may remember a few weeks back I shared a skirt I made out of May Arts ribbon and a vintage pillowcase.

Here it is:

It was part of a challenge May Arts is hosting on their blog to choose some new blog contributers. It has since been featured on oneprettything.com and vintagesheets.blogspot.com. Several people have been getting crafty with May Arts ribbon and now they are asking YOU to help choose the tutorials you like best! And the fun part? They will pick a name from the comments to win a free spool of ribbon. (And believe me, they have some mighty fine choices!)

So go check out the tutorials! They can be found here. You'll see mine is #4...my favorite number I might add ;) My friend Sam is #15 :) Leave a comment on the May arts blog and who knows...you might be the lucky winner!!

Homemade

2010-08-02T07:59:00.004-05:00

We visited with a dear friend last night that just gave birth to a precious little baby boy. Made me marvel at how tiny they are at first! My boys seemed like giants! Reminded me of the last picture I have of myself pregnant:

Here I am, the day before giving birth to Paxton.

All supplies are American Crafts. I don't think that when they put "homemade" in the thicker accent sheet it was referring to sweet babies, but then I thought...my sweet little bun in the oven. Homemade ;)

Looking forward to a week of preparing for preschool which requires the ordering of the perfect backpack. Aven has his eyes on this:

I'm sure little girls are awesome, but I just LOVE having boys!! :)

Did you see...

2010-07-30T13:28:00.001-05:00

this? Thank you October Afternoon :)

The last of Chicago

2010-07-30T13:01:00.009-05:00

The last of the CHA pics.

A giant chicken. I am a little confused as to why:

Dear Lizzy decor, beautiful as always:

Some new Maya Mist:

Sheer doilies, so cute:

New THICKERS!!!!:

Of course I am digging the new October Afternoon tin pins and buttons to match:

Sassafras flowers:

The metal ones are my fav. Looks so much like vintage enamel pins:

There were FAB items at Jillibean Soup, Crate Paper and Studio Calico, along with a host of others, that I thought I took pics of but obviously forgot! :(

A few touristy pics too :)

Gotta have some Chicago pizza:

The L:

corn cob:

Navy Pier:

What are the new goodies you are most excited to play with from CHA?

I'm back home and waiting for my sweet boys. Excited to see them!

Have a wonderful weekend!

More Chicago

2010-07-30T02:14:00.009-05:00

Lots of pics here.

It's late.

Or early depending on how you look at it ;)

7 Gypsies...

American Crafts...

looks like that fun japanese tape.

Love these flower brads.

Basic Grey...

I have more, but the connection isn't letting me load them and I'm tired ;D

Heading home in a few hours. Always nice to getaway with friends, but even better to see my boys. Can't wait!

And on a side note: Inception. GO.

Charlie St. Cloud. NO.

Chicago Day 1

2010-07-28T00:16:00.013-05:00

Today was more about scoping it all out, and "oohhing & aahhing". Not too many photos from the show, but I am armed and ready for tomorrow!

A quick run down...

For Samantha:

Your pages looked great in the Epiphany booth!

Had a few projects in the October Afternoon booth.

A few new (quick!) 8x8's with the new lines:

And remember this wreath? I redid it with the new Modern Homemaker line:

You know I love my Slice. Some new Slice cartridges and carrying cases, 6x6hands-free mat:

And get this..a new ELITE Slice machine! Cuts deeper, is quieter and more accurate.

After the show a quick bite to eat at Sweet Mandy B's:

Holly, Heidi and I.

You can't go wrong with a creamsicle and snickerdoodle cupcake.

Really you can't ;D

And a drive downtown to see the sites:

More show pictures tomorrow!!

Pillowcase skirt

2010-07-26T16:28:00.006-05:00

This sneak?

Well it is a skirt made out of a 10 cent vintage pillowcase! I used some awesome May Arts ribbon on it and have a tutorial complete with step by step photos on their blog. You can find it here. Leave me a comment on their blog and let me know what you think! They are having a blogger contest so there are several projects with tutorials posted :)

I loved that it was a super simple,unique project and very cheap. It took about an hour to create and cost only a few dollars. Now that's thrifty ;)

Just arrived in Chicago and am so excited to create with some new October Afternoon goodies tonight. Have you seen their peeks? Pure awesomeness! I'll be back tomorrow with pictures from CHA!

CHA Bound

2010-07-25T12:03:00.005-05:00

It's that time of year again when all the manufacturers in the crafty realm prepare to show off their newest goodies at the Craft and Hobby Association in Chicago. I fly out tomorrow and couldn't be more excited! What are you most interested in? I plan to blog while I'm there so let me know and I'll try and take pics of the "must haves"!

Been soaking up time with my two sweet boys before I leave. Last night we visited OrangeLeaf for the second time this week:

and watched UP for the first time. Poor Aven, my sweet sensitive kid cried a few times and asked me why I got that movie!

Had a few thrifting adventures recently:

Another project..this time a fun, summery wreath featured on the October Afternoon blog. Leave me a comment over there and let me know what you think! I'll have a few projects displayed in their booth as well if you happen to be at CHA.

And a little peek at something I've whipped up. Super inexpensive and it involves sewing...and not on paper! ha! So you know if I can do it "sew" can you. I'm making a tutorial to share.

That's all I have! Hope you are enjoying a BEAUTIFUL sunny Sunday :)

Did you know?

2010-07-19T18:15:00.007-05:00

Did you know that yesterday was National Ice Cream Day? Who were we not to celebrate?

Did you that American Crafts makes awesome adhesives? And did you know they have weekly challenges on their blog?

Well they do.

I am quite the fan of their dot glue runner and foam tabs & dots. I combined some of the Heat Wave collection and sparkling buttons to create this layout reminding me of my oldest, the jumping fish :) Oh how he loves the water! I used dimension to pop up the beach ball and some strips of the subtitle.

Did you know you all are super sweet to leave comments about the paper pinwheel tutorial? And did you know I have a new layout posted over here?

That concludes this edition of "did you know".

;)

Paper Pinwheel Tutorial

2010-07-17T11:38:00.009-05:00

I will start by saying I am by no means a paper pinwheel expert! I know there are various ways to make them, but I'm going to show you the funky ones I made here:

Cut your patterned paper into 2 squares. The smaller of which should be half an inch smaller than the big one. Here they are cut 2.5 and 2 inches.

Cut from the outside corner to the middle of the square, stopping just short of the center. Do this on all four corners.

You should be able to fold it up like this:

Fold each section of each side into a triangle. Make sure all your triangles are going the same direction. This is what it will look like from the front:

Backside:

I use some mini glue dots to fold the triangles together. Layer them and you have your pinwheel!!

You could leave them as is or put any number of things in the center. Here I chose some pretty brads.

If you have any questions PLEASE leave me a comment and a way to contact you and I will do my best to help! And if you do create some, link me up. I would love to see :)

And remember in my last post I mentioned Paxton took a nose dive...

Wipe out.

tomorrow...

2010-07-16T21:05:00.002-05:00

..I will post the paper pinwheel tutorial.

My plans of posting it today were interrupted by a doctor's visit for the littlest. No strep, but a wicked looking viral infection on his tonsils.

And then this evening he took a nose/forehead dive onto the front brick steps.

Poor little dudey.

It was just NOT his day.

Check back tomorrow though and I'll have it up!!

Lookie here!

2010-07-15T16:32:00.005-05:00

Sometime between last night and today this layout I uploaded to my gallery at Two Peas in a Bucket became the most viewed, most liked and most bookmarked!

I had to take a screenshot ;)

And do you see that cute mini album beside my layout? It is by Ali Edwards! Holy Smokes!

Anyway, several people commented on the October Afternoon blog that they would be interested in a tutorial for the paper pinwheels so I am putting one together and should have it up sometime tomorrow. Be sure and check back :)

My guy...

2010-07-14T21:08:00.004-05:00

...had a birthday yesterday.

And I just felt the need to post a few pictures of him in his element.

With our boys.

Enjoying God's creation.

And you will notice these next 2 photos are not of our children.

In fact, I can't remember their name.

But I bet they remember his.

One of the stops during our week of camping was to a great place called Dry Run Creek.

They stock it full of trout and it is only for children under 16 and handicapped individuals. The fish there are beautiful and can be monstrous.

He helped our boys fish and after awhile a small little crowd gathered because they kept reeling them in.

And soon a boy came and asked some questions and Rory offered to help him fish, and fish with his fly rod, which was a new thing to this Mississippi boy on his way home from visiting family.

And then this little girl wandered over to have her turn.

And before it was said and done he helped another kiddo and offered to help a girl in a wheelchair.

And Rory loved every minute of it.

He's just that kind of precious.

Happy Birthday indeed.

And because who can resist...a poodle (I think) on a bike.

Yes, the dog just sits there and rides into the sunset.

Only in Arkansas.

Time for a mini

2010-07-11T19:51:00.008-05:00

Happy belated 4th to you! We just returned from a L-O-N-G camping trip. Very adventuresome! Once my pics are downloaded I will recap all our fun. Until then......

have you checked out the October Afternoon blog this weekend? I have a cute little mini album up! Here are a couple of pages not posted on their site:

Lots of random fun in it and the base pages are made using a thrifted grocery stamp book ;)

Would love for you to hop over to their blog and leave a comment there letting me know what you think!

Wanna Hula Hoop? and some fun news!

2010-07-01T14:41:00.007-05:00

"Hula Hoop", Freehand Scraps July kit, went up for sale this morning and it is FAB! I believe all the design team girls are together on the fact it is a favorite. Definitely no "theme" to the kit, other than awesomeness (is that a word?) and new CHA goodies.

Aven heard the Blizzardmobile was going to be close so of course we had to swing by for a free oreo blizzard. I really wanted to cut ice cream cone shapes from my Slice, but didn't have that design card. I thought about purchasing an ice cream punch for 40% off....but then I saw these banner stickers and thought they made the perfect "cone".

Our church had a soldier salute in May, hence the "5.10" title, and the boys were beyond excited to see this helicopter there. I really liked using the more muted papers for this and the Girls' Paperie die cuts went along swell.

He only wants to be poolside. Just content as can be to sit along the side and observe. I wonder how long that will last..?! Used just the yellow tones of the Cosmo Cricket paper for the "suns" and the blue tones for the "waves". And might we all just be in shock here that I actually did some HAND WRITTEN journaling? yes, I gave the old typewriter a break ;)

Simple little card using Martha Stewart hydrangea punch over and over and over...

And this little job is quite random. But I like random ;) I had this piece of kraft paper leftover from cutting some Christmas tags and then used it as a scrap piece of paper to show a friend how to get the inked circles. Planned to just throw it away but then I saw some scraps from the kit and thought they could use a little home in those "negative" spaces that were left. A bit of sewing and SHOCK more hand written journaling and I called it good! Use those scraps!

As always be sure to check out the full gallery here and then click here to purchase your own!

In other news...I am THRILLED to be guesting on the October Afternoon blog for the month of July! Along with most every scrapper out there, they are a favorite company of mine and continue to release MUST HAVE lines. Be sure and stop by their blog throughout the month and check it today for a giveaway! :)

A post of sneaky proportions

2010-06-29T19:15:00.006-05:00

July Freehand Scraps kit.

2 words.

GET IT.

On sale July 1st here.

Speaking of vacations...

2010-06-21T20:49:00.005-05:00

...how about a staycation?

With a 2 year old and a 4 year old we are all about the staycations. Here is Aven last year at our subdivision pool. Lots more trips there planned this summer.

I didn't even have to pose him for that picture. Pure relaxation indeed.

Love those wrinkly toes :)

What do you do for a staycation?

Silly me...

2010-06-15T09:11:00.004-05:00

..how is it the middle of June and I am just now showing my "Parasol" projects?

In any case, this kit was lovely...subtle shades mixed with brights and the cutest little embellishments!

A simple little layout featuring a pic Aven took. Loved this transparency with the grey flocking. The middle papers are kinda patchworked together.

For Aven's preschool teachers end of the year gift we got them beach bags filled with a water bottle, sunscreen and beach towel. I made these little tags to hang on the bags and wrote a thank you on the reverse side.

And finally, a card. "Sew" fun putting this one together ;)

And there you have it! Check out this month's kit and the other beautiful gallery projects here.

Planning on a few mini getaways this summer...wouldn't a kit be the perfect thing to grab to take? No planning or matching products--it's already done for you! Grab some pics, scissors and glue and off you go. Sounds like a plan to me :)

Found

2010-06-09T11:06:00.004-05:00

I have deemed this the find of the summer.

Lovely, little $5 beauty.

With original case and manual. I don't know what is is about vintage manual typewriters...maybe it's the design, the funky colors, the stories they could tell...or told. In any case, I am a huge fan.

You?

Happy Memorial Day to you!

2010-05-31T17:41:00.003-05:00

Today we honor those who have fought,

those still fighting

and those who gave the ultimate sacrifice so that we might live in the beautiful United States of America.

Land of the Free,

because of the Brave.

The mini

2010-05-26T07:43:00.008-05:00

Remember the mini album I sneaked a few posts ago? Here she is:

I love looking thru old treasures. I attribute that to my mom and mema, the queens of junking. I can remember my friend Katie and I dumpster diving for treasures when a thrift store on the square, St. Claire's Closet, went out of business and they threw what was left in a back alley dumpster. That was in middle school.

And the thrill of the hunt continues to this day.

I use to really be into more primitive-style antiques. But my taste is slowly becoming more modern, by about 100 years. ;) Mid century modern seems to be super popular and I must be jumping on that bandwagon because the style seems to really suit me at this point in my life.

I just thought how interesting it would be to take pictures around the house of the vintage look I am liking, because who knows...in 10, 20 years I might be into a whole different style.

This Maya Road canvas album is great--I tea stained all the pages and misted a few as well. The size was perfect for some instax pictures I took of my finds.

The paper and embellishments throughout are from The Girls' Paperie, mainly Paper Girl with some On Holiday thrown in for good measure. Both lines of alphas, buttons, brads, die cuts...just perfect.

If you have had a chance to play with these lines you know the vintage feel to them...totally went along with this album and treat to play with.

Looking forward to CHA Chicago this summer to see the new lines Margie will be debuting...and how the booth will be decorated. I kid you not, I could have lived in the booth from this past winter's show! SO CUTE!

So there you have it. A little tribute to my vintage style and findings! If you have any questions I will be happy to answer them :)

Have a beautiful day...I think we might be heading to the doctor. Paxton is sounding a bit croupy ;(

*Back from the doctor, and yep croup. And ANOTHER ear infection! Poor little dudey. Can't wait until June 7th for his ear tube surgery. Praying that will help do the trick.

Look what she found!!

2010-05-23T22:01:00.003-05:00

My mom and mema hit up some yard sales this past weekend. Look at what was found for me:

Eek! And the grand total? $15 for both. CRAZY. There is also another free one coming along with these two. I will add these to the one I already pound away on.

Because every house should have at least 4 vintage typewriters, no?

;)

Today:

2010-05-20T22:53:00.004-05:00

-he played in the mud

-I finished putting the finishing touches on a new mini

...and polished off the last of the previously blogged about jar of Nutella.

with a spatula mind you.

I think jar number 2 will be making it's appearance VERY soon.

What did you do today?

What would you do?

2010-05-19T21:47:00.004-05:00

How pretty is this vintage necklace?

The brown swirls in the beads are actually metallic gold color. It is in perfect condition...which is why I can't decide to deconstruct it into a longer necklace or keep it choker size. Or maybe turn it into a bracelet and then have some beads leftover to add to a funky necklace.

Decisions, decisions.

What would you do?

How could something so good...

2010-05-17T14:20:00.006-05:00

...be so wrong? I have passed by this unassuming jar in the store on several occasions and just last week decided I needed to give it a try.

I should have just walked on by.

It is sin in a jar I tell you.

Wonderful, hazelnutty, chocolate loving sin.

Does anyone have any recipes using this stuff, because as you can see the recipe of the moment is sticking a spoon in the jar and lapping it up.

*NOTE: I didn't even take the time to put away the groceries in the background before digging in.

Sinful.

And in unrelated news a sneak of a layout you can see in full here:

This warmer weather is bringing out some great thrifting finds! I will share later this week :)

Cherry Blossom

2010-05-10T18:50:00.004-05:00

Freehand Scraps May kit is truly delicious.

The papers yummy.

The alphas perfect.

The embellies sweet.

Yep, you're gonna want this kit for sure. How about a chance to win it? Ah.. I have your attention now ;) Head on over here and grab the Freehand Scraps blinkie, put it on your blog and then hop back over and tell Heidi where she can come look! One lucky person will have Cherry Blossom delivered right to your door! Promise if you win you'll share your creations, ok?

Just for Fun!

2010-05-05T08:08:00.004-05:00

Aren't road trips the best?

Based on a sketch over at the Cosmo Cricket blog, using the JOYRIDE stash that I've been hoarding...along with those woodgrain alphas! And have you seen their new release "DeLovely"? YUM!

Like the stitched "exhaust"? ;)

Thinking it's time for another scrapping weekend road trip. Whaddaya say Paula and Suz?

Sneaks and a winner

2010-04-28T09:58:00.004-05:00

I wish I had 13 prizes. Really I do. I *hate* disappointing the rest of you. sigh. But there can only be one winner and the lucky name drawn from the cereal bowl is:

Kirsty! Congrats girl! Email me: ljbridges33@hotmail.com and I will get your prize to you.

Thanks for all the comments. I really thought I would only get a couple :)

Since you are here how about some sneaks from the Freehand Scraps May kit?

How appropriate...this yummy kit goes up for sale this Saturday, May 1, which also happens to be National Scrapbooking Day! Treat yourself to this kit. You won't be disappointed.

Have a beautiful, snake free day. I am off to construct 22 lion masks out of paper plates and crepe paper for Cubbies tonight. "Wild for Jesus". Not too cheesy for 4 year olds, right?

The downside of teaching your kiddo to read...

2010-04-27T13:35:00.004-05:00

Aven has been doing great reading and spelling words and trying to read books. We are super proud of him. But I am beginning to realize there is a downside. For instance, we can't spell words in front of him, unless they are long words, to keep him from understanding our conversation. Surely you moms know what I mean, right?

And then a few days ago while picking up his room he came across the instructions to put his track together on his train table. He looks at me and asks, "Mom didn't you say this train table was from santa."

uh oh.

"yes it was. why?"

"Then why do these instructions say Toys R Us on them?"

Busted.

In other news, the Buzz and Bloom design team has been posting their favorite techniques over on the blog.

Be sure and check them out. Lots of ideas.

And about that snake..you all are too funny. Rory actually came across it slithering over our driveway. So what does he do? Puts it in a trash can to show the boys and I. Of course they thought it was super awesome and I ran to grab the camera. It could have been a black mamba for all I care--I hate snakes. I know this one is suppose to be "good" though. The kicker of the whole thing? We were going out after dinner to see it one last time.

I voted we kill it. I was outvoted.

But before we went out Aven came running in to tell us the snake was gone.

G O N E

He said he had left the lid off to the trashcan...the trashcan sitting almost inside our garage.

Yet another reason to avoid cleaning out our garage ;)

There's still time to enter the 100th post giveaway below. I plan to draw the lucky name tomorrow. Have a great day!

Feel Lucky?

2010-04-25T17:05:00.004-05:00

I have never really believed in luck.

But finding my first four leaved clover in our yard can't hurt, right?

But does the luck backfire when you also come across THIS in your yard?

Uh huh. That's what I thought.

In any case, one year ago today I started this tiny blog and it also happens to be my 100th post. I think a little giveaway is in order don't you? No rules--just leave a comment and in a few days I will randomly draw a name to send some scrapping goodies.

Good luck ;)

Up on Buzz and Bloom..

2010-04-14T08:05:00.005-05:00

One of my favorite banners I have made ever. Lots of vintage goodies combined with some new product for Buzz and Bloom.

You can check out the full banner here. Let me know what you think :)

And in other news we have a new resident at our house...

for the time being anyway. It's funny to have a pink Barbie laying around amid cowboy hats and trucks. Aven has a birthday party for a preschool buddy this friday and then she will reside elsewhere, but I have to tell you he was all about getting her the right gift. In fact, he asked her at preschool last week what she wanted. She said a Barbie. He said what kind. She said a mermaid princess kind. He told me all this on our way home from church and then said, "Momma, I don't know what that is. I think it's a girl thing."

HA!

So we got to the store to try and find a mermaid princess Barbie. I had doubts she existed, but lo and behold there she was. I tried to sway him towards the purple or blue one, but they didn't have crowns and he said , "She has to have the one with the a crown mom! That's the way you tell she's a princess and that is what she wants."

Well then there you go ;) Gotta love a 4 year old girl that knows what she wants and her 4 year old friend going the distance to get it for her. So sweet.

Enjoy your day!

Here at our house

2010-04-12T23:36:00.005-05:00

Aven: "I wish my underwear could sing."

Paxton:

I am guessing he must think it looks better this way.

And one more thing...

2010-04-09T22:05:00.004-05:00

Have a layout over at the Buzz and Bloom blog today. Here's a sneak peek:

By the way, I am approaching 100 posts. Are we thinking a giveaway might be necessary? ;)

Wish you were here

2010-04-09T21:38:00.004-05:00

I'm here at church enjoying serving at our biannual Camp Scrap.

Lots of fun with 250 women crafting and scrapping. Susan's card--

Julie and Paula primping prior to a photo. Because in every girl's scrap bag should be some lip gloss, right?

Scrapping friends--

Wish you were here :)

edited to add... I just won a Cricut in a drawing! How cool is that?