Friday, February 29, 2008

Scrappy News!

First, check out the March Newsletter at Scrap Supply. It rocks! There are so many inspiring ideas, you will NOT be disappointed.

Also, found out today I had two pages picked up for the Memory Makers Idea Gallery '08. It's been so long since I've submitted anything, and I found out about the call on Tuesday. Since Jenna was home sick I had a chance to send in some layouts. It's fun to get back in the game! One layout is of Jenna, one of Emily. How cool is that?

My goal for the weekend is to get a few scrappy projects done. It's been a while. Wish me luck!

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Music Anyone?

My request got buried on one of the other posts, but I'm on the lookout for some new music. Someone pointed out this on 2P's. Some old school Phil Collins with a twist. Love it!

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

My Scrap Space

Here it is. I decided to work with a template and use photos of the formal living room which I have been making over into a more usable room. It is attached to the formal dining room (which we don't use AT ALL) so that picture is included as well.

What I love? The word art I made using the Cricut Expression and the vinyl. My IKEA bookshelves (3). My funky chair and my RED COUCH! I also love the personal touches in the room. My sister made me the Sudoku quilt, my brother made me a tiered shelf, and my brother-in-law stained that shelf.

It has come such a long way from where I started (see the little pictures for an idea of where I started.) Notice the hideous light fixture in the dining room? Just replaced it and it's ugly counterparts throughout the house. Put them out to the road and no takers. Go figure!

Next steps are to:

Add crown moulding (is that the correct spelling?)
New lamps (seriously, they are ugly)
Window treatment
Finish photo wall
Add something to the tiered shelf (which is empty right now.)

So much to be done, so little time. (Or is it energy?)

Pictures

So my goal about a year ago (OK, maybe it was last summer), was to display some of the photos I have been taking in my house. Finally, I have bitten the bullet and put them up, even given my phobia of nails in walls. I'm serious, I have a real problem with hanging things on walls. It's too much of a commitment for me, I guess. The result is I have a bunch of rooms that look unfinished. Good times.

So in my family room I propped up photos of my girls and their cousins. (No, I did not mount them to the wall. Shocker, no?) I also added a random photo arrangement behind the couch in the family room. I'm not sure I love the effect, and actually had to leave the house for Bill to hang them. (Is there a self-help book you could recommend?)

In my used-to-be-a-formal-living-room which is now my scrap area, I hung an arrangement behind my cool red couch. I LOVE my cool red couch. I got the idea to hang the photos with s-hooks from a cutain rod from IKEA. And you know what that meant? Only TWO nail holes. Seriously, that's cool in my book. My sister Beth made me the quilt on the back of the couch. The pattern is called "Sudoku" which are puzzles that I adore. It matches the funky chair also in this room. Next up I'm going to extend the wall adding more pictures on either side. A trip to IKEA to pick up more frames is in the works. I'm liking how this room is turning out, but there is more work to do to finish it off. I'll share pics when I get there. In 5 years.

Big news for me in the works. Will share when it becomes official. Needless to say I'm thrilled.

I'm on the lookout for new music. I am so sick of my ITunes library and need to find some new tunes. Any suggestions?

Have a great week!

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Layout Love and ice

First, here are some layouts from Making Memories. I am in love with the Noteworthy line, and am so excited about the new lines that were out at CHA. I'm saving my pennies as we speak! They are looking for some guest designers on their blog, so I'm throwing my hat in the ring so to speak. Wish me luck!

In other news, well, there's not much news. We had our hallway entry painted, picked out new lights for the entryway, and put the house back in order. I finally bit the bullet and made a photo wall in my family room. It's my goal to use the pictures that I take as decor in my home, rather than have them sit on my computer. So far it's been fun. But it's sort of like a layout . . . once it's done I don't really like it as much as I did in the creation process. Oh well, it's easy enough to take another picture, or make another layout.

We had a full week of school last week, plus I had grad class on Valentine's Day. How ROMANTIC, no? But all is well on the school front. I'm a bit bored because the student teacher is teaching all but one of my classes now. I sit in the back of the room, and wonder what the heck I'm doing there. I've been rendered obsolete! LOL! But she's doing a great job so all is well. The kids accuse me of playing video games in class. They can see I'm bored.

Today, we have ice. At one point it was forecast that we could get 9-12 inches of snow (insert retching noise here), but instead it's ice. And rain. Good times. It's hard to describe the perpetually gray days that exist in Michigan in the winter. It's really painful. I'm bummed because my sister's and I were going to visit Emily and take her out for lunch.

Think spring. I know I am!!!

Thursday, February 07, 2008

Week 3 - Snow Day Heaven

That's right, three weeks in a row with a snow day. It's a dream come true! Went out and played in the snow all morning. It was NASTY yesterday, and we got so much snow we were let out 10 minutes early from school. (Insert furious face here.) But seriously, it was so bad they called it off LAST NIGHT. So I slept in until 7:30. Heaven, I tell you! Especially since I'm prepping for painting tomorrow. I can't wait to get the paining done. This project has been going on since early fall, and we're just getting around to it. Yikes!

Have you seen the February newsletter at Scrap Supply? You need to check it out. It is jam-packed with amazing ideas.

Got a big ol' box of goodies from ProvoCraft at my door yesterday. More Cricut cartridges, and a new product called Cuttlekids. I think Jenna and I will have fun with it! Now, however, I need to rearrange the scrap space to accommodate said goodies. Wish me luck.

Also last week I can home to an unexpected box at the door. It was from KI Memories, and it was the new Idea Planner for 2008 with MY PAGE IN IT! While it wasn't my favorite page from my album, it does showcase my love of coffee. I'm just thrilled to be in it.

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

More Fancy Pants Goodness

Here are some more of the projects I did for CHA for Fancy Pants Designs. Hope you like them!

Friday, February 01, 2008

Sharing Some Layouts

Jodi from Fancy Pants Designs contacted me a few weeks ago to do some freelance work for CHA winter, and how could I say no? I've been a FP fan from way back. So here are a few.

The first layout is called "Smile" and features the "About a Boy" line. Of course I had to use it on a girl. REBEL!













The second layout is called "Be You" using the new line called "Simplicity." Gorgeous colors and textures on this line.

















And the third layout is from the "Sweet Spring" line. It's called "Happy." When my girl smiles her whole face lights up, I tell ya!

Hope you enjoyed the preview. More to come!