A little bit of this and that

May is probably the most chaotic month for me.  I thought when my children were smaller that it was just because of all the elementary end of year activities.  However, now that I have children in elementary, middle, and high school I can step back and say "nope"!  Life is equally busy for all ages!  There are so many milestones that happen this month and it has made for an extremely chaotic time in my house.  More than usual I might add.

So, I just thought I would hit some of this and that today.  I recently taught my May class at Scrapp n' Savvy.  It was the Country Garden Deskflip mini album.

This little beauty is about 10 inches tall.  The mini hangs from the top on a garden trellis.  (I made the original but my wonderful Dad helped me build the multitudes for the class!)  It is really cute; the picture does not do it justice.  I incorporated some mixed media techniques on the cover and took some ladies right out of their comfort zone!  I was great fun and I think everyone enjoyed their end result.  Check the gallery to see pics of the whole thing.

Next up is a picture of my senior.  He graduates this Sunday.  (pause,  I had to sniffle!)  I just can't believe he is graduating!  It just seems like yesterday that he was born.  I can say quite honestly that I am blessed. I have 5 wonderful children.  As he heads to college this fall I know there will be a hole, a void where he has filled my life for 18 years.  I will be a mom and continue on.  There are 4 more right behind him!  But, this past weekend was prom.  A senior's time for fun.  My son is part of a group of boys (7 of them) and they all partied together.  The prom weekend ended with a trip to our beachhouse (parents included!) and I was fortunate to snap this cool pic of my boy:

The bright color of the house really enhances the bright blue of his eyes.   This will be one of my fav pics for a while!  (And will bring back the memory that these boys and their dates used 600 water balloons in 4 hours!  What a war that was!)

I want to end with pics of a mini, mini album.  I made this tiny superstar using the Bo Bunny Gabrielle paper collection.  The album is only 3 x 3 but holds so much.  Take a look:

I love the colors.   I love the lace.  I love the butterflies.  I guess I just love the whole little package!  I truly used scraps to make this little lovely.  That makes it even better!

Ok, off to the next event.  It is May afterall.  And its Friday.  That is a deadly combination here of late.  Hopefully I inspired you today.  Go.  Create.   Enjoy.

Mini madness

I love making mini albums.  For some strange reason I struggle more with making a 12 x 12 LO than when making smaller ones.  I think I have always had this aversion.  I remember as a child taking art lessons and the teacher wanted me to paint 16 x 20 or 24 x 20 and I wanted to paint 5 x 7 or 8 x 10.  Ironically, when I do paint big it turns out just fine (so do my 12 x 12 LO's).  I guess I just prefer small.

I especially like minis though.   I have so many.  There are those that are really just too pretty, those for specific occasions, and those that just hold a ton of pics, even though they are tiny.  So, I thought I would share some pics with you of some of my minis.

 This pretty little thing is about 4 x 6.  I used a variety of paper on it and a TH binding (love those things!)  The tabbed pages are really cute.

 Inside pages of the album.  Some pages hold tags, some have flip pages.  Every other page has an opening on the side for tags.  And of course, distress inked.

 These are the simplest of the simple minis.  I make, and sell, tons of these.  The albums fit in the palm of your hand and are great to drop in your handbag, sit on your desk, or for a guy to keep in his computer bag.  The inside has little decoration but can hold up to 22 pics!

 I love using all my little paper pieces from other projects on these minis.  I feel that I am getting the most from my paper pack purchase!  And it is amazing what little leftover embellishments you have laying around that are perfect for these!

 These went fast!  The neutral palate appealed to a lot of people.

Mommy, or Grandma, brag book.  Perfect for the purse or desk.  Again, embellished only on the outside.  I always tie them closed or have some type of closure so they stay nice when bumping around in a purse!

I made my first one years ago and got hooked!  I think it was the mini you can make that uses one 12 x 12 page for all the pages.  About 2 years ago I made a tiny one (pics are about 1.5 x 2) that has all my favorite pics of my family in it.  It used all my scraps from an album I had made and loaded the front with flowers and ribbons and such.  It has bumped around in my purse, has been used to show people how to add the photos, and has been passed around to show off my kids.  It does show some wear:  a few flowers are no longer with us and the pretty little ribbons have fallen off (need to tie them better!).  Finally, the button closure gave up its fight and the button fell off (I have more!).  I just love that something I made has lasted this long with so much abuse and love.  I hate the thought of making a new one because I really like the paper I have on this one!  Oh, well.  I know I will have to.  Maybe this one can retire to my bedside table for an easier life.

Keep checking back this week.  I have several more pics to add of minis.  For you local gals, I have a class this Saturday teaching my Country Garden mini deskflip album.  Check the Scrap n' Savvy website to come and play with us!

Have a great day!

I love this!!!

I don't know about you, but I am seriously addicted to Pinterest!  I have to limit my time looking at pinterest or I will absolutely get lost in my own little world and forget my responsibilities!  I love, just love, looking at the home decor, the recipes, and of course the craft/diy pages.  I have tried numerous things that have appeared on pinterest and have been exceedingly happy with the outcome.  I have even posted a few (like the necklaces I made some time ago).  Well, welcome to today.....I needed to make a teacher appreciation gift for 2 of my kids teachers.  And, well, I saw this really cool thing on pinterest.  And, well, I can do that I thought.  So here they are:

 This was made for our religion teacher.  The picture is Our Lady of Perpetual Help.  The whole piece has gilded edges and stands about 18 " tall.  I LOVE how this turned out.

And this one is for my second grader's teacher.  It is a pin board (for photos, notes, etc...)  I took the photo before I made 2 butterflies that are on pins to add to the board.  Majorly cute.

So, to give proper thanks.......I pinned this idea from allthingzrelated.blogspot.com.  She had made it in blue with a bird's nest....really cute.  My mind just went a different way.  I love that it did not take me long to make, maybe an hour.  Also, I am really impressed with how they look.  It is really hard to tell that I made them.  I hope the teachers are as impressed as I am.

What do you think?  What would you make yours look like?  Oh, I have to go.....it's my pinterest time!

More cards

Cards, cards, cards.  I made so many of them.  I sold quite a few but have a good base for the next show.  Earlier in the week I promised more pics of some of the cards I made.  So here they are:

 A lace remnant.  Pretty colors.  Feels so romantic and girly.   I really love this card.  Simple but lovely.

 Stamped and colored with Copic markers.  Added a bit of blitz at the end.  I think I have these in every color, shape, and size.  They are a great basic card.

 This is one of my favorite color combos.  Green with lavender or pink is so eye appealing to me.  Again stamped image colored with Copics. 

 Colored with Copic markers.  She has tons of detail like the weave detailing on her hat and the shadowing on her tummy.

 This is an Elizabeth Kraft sticker that uses the highlight glitter ritz.  Again colored with Copic markers. Thank you Debra Hensley for teaching this technique to me.  It is one of my favorites.  These water lilly stickers are wonderful for cards.

Layers, stamps colored with Copics, and a great color combo.  This reminds me of my mom since she likes yellow roses.  The dimension on this card is great.  The rose is from a Fiskars stamp set.

And there are still more.  I can't believe how many cards I made.  I will have to post another set on another day for you to get inspired by.

As you may know one of my favorite things to make is mini albums.  I made quite a few of these little gems for the show as well.  Next week will have those pics.  

I hope you have a great weekend.  I will.  I am off to watch my high school senior compete in his final state track meet.  He will compete in 4 events.  I pray he does well but most of all I hope he soaks in all the glory of high school sports.  This is probably a weekend he will remember forever.  I know I will and here's hoping I can capture some of the moments on film.  I then get to come home to watch my daughter in her soccer game.   Yeah!!  A great weekend all around.

Go.....Be inspired.  Check back soon for more pics and inspiration.

What a great weekend!

Wow.  This has been a great weekend.  Saturday my youngest received his First Holy Communion.  What a wonderful day.  He has been so excited for the last month.  I think the whole day lived up to his expectations.  And did I mention that my parents arrived Friday?  Well, that was the best way to start a weekend if you ask me!  I just love having them here.  Thankfully they will be here for a whole month!

I thought I would share a little secret today.  Some of you may already know this and some of you may have this little secret too.  I cannot throw away my "small" scraps of paper when I make an album.  I have this amazing file for all my little pieces.  I save paper, ribbons, beads,....all sorts of stuff.  But, I do make things with them.  Really.  For the last 2 weeks I made cards.  Lots and lots of cards.  I participated in a market show all day Thursday and decided to make my primary product cards.  The show went well but I still have some cards left.  (I'm actually ok with having leftover cards because now I have cards for when I need them!)  I think it's a wonderful thing to reuse something on a card.  Below are 2 of my favorite ones from the show.

The top one was made with scraps from the "HOME" banner project.  I had leftover paper, ribbon, and the perfect stamp set for it.  It was so elegant looking.   The card was just too pretty to sell!  It ended up becoming a birthday card for one of my best friends.  She loved it.  Yeah!  The second card is leftovers from a mini album I made with Prima papers.  I added scraps of ribbon, lace, and burlap for dimension. A bit of distress ink and pearls and viola!  a pretty card.  I think I love the color combo and the difference between the lace and the burlap.

I hope this inspires you.  It amazes me that you can create something from scraps that would normally end up in the wastebin.  I did not cut a single piece of paper larger than 6 x 6 for this.  All the pieces were tiny bits as was the ribbons and lace.  Think out of the box ladies.

Have a great day and check back this week.  I took lots of pics at the market show so I have some great cards to post this week.

Where does the time go?

I logged in this morning and realized that my last post was well over a week ago.  Not good.  Where o' where did all my time go?  I try to post once a week or more.  Apologies to those who check in regularly.  I guess I will have to stop sitting on the couch eating bon bons!  (like that happens!!)

I have been crazy busy these last few weeks.  Just regular kid stuff (end of season track meets, special projects, soccer games) and a few projects now and again (new class projects and some other classes).  But this week will be by far the worst!  We have 2 BIG milestones in our house this week:  my daughter is being confirmed and my youngest receives his first Communion.  That means rehearsals, extra people here, and some serious organization for me!  Oh, and did I mention that my parents are coming?  They are!  For a whole month!  We are elated.  Can hardly wait to see them.  There was a point at the end of last week and over the weekend that I did not think they would come.  My dad had a significant health problem and it looked like I would be flying there to help.  But thankfully he is recovering very well and they will make their way to us this week.  Whew.  Thank you Lord!

A little about me (or really about mom and dad).....I am an only child.  My parents were those who should have been parents to dozens of children because I think they were fabulous as parents go.  But that was not to be.  They instead got to be a part of all my friends lives and make their mark as mentors and strong foundations for me and my friends.  My mom is from a large family and I knew I wanted lots of babies when I got married.  So having five beauties is wonderful for my parents.  All the play they want and then send 'em home!  Actually, I have to admit that there are some of the times with my children that if my parents had not been there I am not sure what I would have done.  Fast forward....they retired, they moved to their dreamland, and we get to see them a couple times a year.  We talk each and every day (thank you for unlimited long distance plans) and I still feel that they are a part of my life and my childrens.

Back to today.  I have a list for the day.  I am supposed to be in a show this week.  I had planned on basically selling my cards and the stash of minis I have on hand.  So, I have about 50 more cards to complete.  I think I can do it.  I have a mental game plan.  All depends on how things go today and if I can stay up til midnight!

I want to leave you with this pic:

This was the teaser from the sampler at Scrapp n' Savvy.  It is actually part of the desktop mini flip album for my May class.  It is done and I have to say I LOVE IT!  I played with some mixed media on the cover and added some fun elements inside.  I know that once it comes home I will add some cool flowers that I have here on the frame to make it a little more showy.  I will post full pics of it the second week in May.  For now, think butterflies, lots and lots of butterflies.

I'm off.....time to eject my little lovelies from their peaceful slumber.  Check back this week.  I have to take some photos of my cards and will post a few.

Spring into flowers

Good morning ladies!  I hope you had a wonderful and refreshing Easter weekend.  I know I did.  We spent the long weekend at the bayhouse and the weather was outstanding!  I only wish that the weather was like that all the time.  I can't recall spending that much time outside in a very long time.  And Easter.  Who doesn't like Easter?  I tried some pinterest inspired projects this time......I cooked my eggs in the oven instead of boiling them (I hate, hate the smell of boiling eggs) and then the little man and I dyed them using Kool-aide.  And the results?  Well, the kool aide was brilliant!  Definitely cheaper, smelled delicious, and the colors were wonderful.  Great fun.  The oven cooking....well, not so perfect.  I followed the instructions but when we cracked them they were soft.  Hubby loved them because they resembled poached eggs, which he loves.  I think next time I will tweak the time a bit.  I definitely will bake them again because there was zero smell!  Yeah!

And the best part of Easter for the kiddos?  The Egg Hunt!  They all love hunting for eggs and taking turns hiding them for each other.  With 4 teens in the house the egg hunt is a bit more involved.  Even the little man gets into really hiding the eggs so that the older ones cannot find them (like in the teapot which had boiling water or in the dog food bag).  The older ones go for a bit of drama and a huge "O" factor (like screwing a plastic egg to the beam under the house.  Really.  Don't know how he did it.  Or how the youngest daughter got it down!  And don't let me forget about the one in the crab trap...)  Let's just say I have some seriously creative egg hiders in my family.  Something to be very proud of I think!

As you know, when we go to the bayhouse I always have a difficult time deciding what to take.  This time I took nothing.  Zero.  Zip.  Nada.  Wow was that a long weekend.  I have lots of doodles though!  So my brain went into hyper drive with project ideas.  Maybe it was a good thing.  I actually wrote them down so I could remember them this time.  Have you ever had the best idea and then poof, gone...you forgot it?

So, back to the day.  My class project this month is called Spring into Flowers.  I made a snowflake box that contained gift cards for the Christmas party.  Everyone who sees it loves the window in the front so I made this little beauty as a look alike.

 Made with Miss Caroline papers, the box sits atop large pearls for feet.  It has a magnetic closure and a peek a boo window to let you see the treat inside.  The top is covered in handmade flowers.

 There is a tag book inside that has some interactive tags as well.

The front of the tag book.

The class is next Tuesday.  Call Scrapp n' Savvy for your spot today.

I wish you all scrap happiness today.  Blessings......