Scrapping the Sad Stuff

March 5, 2013 By 6 Comments

I didn’t think about the sad stuff when I started Project Life. I knew I’d be keeping track of our family memories on a weekly basis, but thought it would just be the happy stuff, the cute things the kids say, my adventures in hair, you know the really important stuff.

But then I had the miscarriage. And I haven’t scrapped for the last three weeks. Even though I have the pictures for those weeks and really good stuff happened. But I can’t *not* mention the sadness because it was such a big part of what was happening. The thing about doing traditional scrapbooking is that you can skip over the sad pretty easily. Something about Project Life makes me share more, whether I want to or not.

I will though, probably this weekend. I will catch up with those few weeks, and I will talk about the loss of the pregnancy because that was what was happening. But I will also talk about the fun stuff that happened at school, or the silly things the kids said, or what I cooked that week. Because that’s what makes up our lives.

Filed Under: Crafter, Mom & Family

Scrapbooking: Valentine’s Day Layout

February 14, 2013 By 2 Comments

As a mom of two boys, I really like scrabooking Valentine’s Day or love-inspired layouts because I can use all of the pink and heart-covered paper that I don’t normally use.

Right now, I am working on my almost-three-year-old’s book from birth through his first birthday. I didn’t have any specific Valentine’s day photos, but I liked the thought of using the phrase, “I Heart You,” so worked with that. It happened that the photos I had lined up to use on his February layout focused on the funny faces he made. Since the funny faces are one of my favorite things that T does, it wasn’t a stretch to combine them. Add the fact that it’s February, and it was a natural fit for using some of my love-themed paper and my heart Washi tape.

I kept the layout simple, trimming and rounding the corners of the photos, rounding the corners of the paper, and trimming the Washi tape into pretty corners. I liked the thought of making the journal space look like a Valentine, so I cut out a big red heart and used Thickers for the title.

Supplies & Tools:

I would love to see the creative ways you scrapbook love or Valentine’s Day!

Here is the super easy, and very heart-filled, layout!

We Heart You LeftWe Heart You Journal We Heart You Right We Heart You Washi Detail

Filed Under: Crafter, Mom & Family

Fitness Friday: Redux

January 4, 2013 By 6 Comments

I’m back! In the whole healthy-eating, getting fit thing, I mean. Like so many other times, I stopped for a bit, and now I’m picking it back up. I’m okay with that.

The good news is that I’ve only gained back about 4 pounds of the 15 or so I lost starting last March. That’s pretty huge progress for me since I’m really good at re-gaining lost weight. I’ve also gained back about five inches total, but they are fairly spread out, so I’m good with that too.

I’m still working on getting the family to a mostly-meat free, plant-based, whole-foods menu. It’s slow going, but worth it. You can read about my other goals for 2013 in my last post, The Year of Taking Care. That is what I’ve dubbed 2013, The Year of Taking Care.

One big way I’m working on the healthier living thing is by taking Cathy Zielske’s Move More, Eat Well class through Big Picture Classes. It’s low-pressure, but still an accountability system. And it’s scrapbooking!

For the class, we needed to take a “before” picture. So I did (with a photo bomb from Lemmon). And then Tobin and Nicholas had to take one too. So here we are at the beginning of 2013, hoping to see much less of me this time next year!

 

Do you have fitness or health goals for 2013? I would love to hear what you’re doing!

 

Filed Under: Crafter, Healthy Life, Mom & Family

Scrapbook Saturday: Fun With Stamps

October 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment

I recently used some stamps to add a little somethin’ somethin’ to a couple of layouts, so I thought I’d share.

This Easter layout was a little plain, so I dug through my stamp stash and found this sweet little egg stamp. It’s a Studio g clear stamp and was the perfect size for tucking onto the scaplloped papers. After I stamped with black ink, I used Crayola crayons to color the polka dots. The title is made from Reminisce’s transfers in Chicken Basket font. I can’t tell you what the papers are as I’ve had them so long (and the names aren’t on them any more).

Easter 2010

 

Firecrackers

This was another simple layout, and I wanted some red letters for the title, so I found my trusty block letter stamps. I stamped the letters with white craft paint, and once it dried, I cut around the paint and stuck them on with some Glue Dots. Easy peasy. I believe the patterned paper is from Die Cut With A View…but don’t hold me to that.

 

How do you like to use stamps?

 

Filed Under: Crafter

Scrapbook Saturday: Got Milk?

September 15, 2012 By 2 Comments

I love these two pictures of Tobin nursing. Especially the little dimply grin in the second one. Tobin and I had more nursing issues than Nicholas and I did, and I wanted to talk about the whole experience a little bit. The journalling is short, but to the point. This layout is another inspired by Lisa Dickinson that I saw in the February 2012 issue of Scrapbooks, Etc. You can see her original layout here. I also like this layout because I used a lot of scraps and older supplies! In fact, the supplies are so old, I can’t even tell you brands for the brads or the font for the stamps. The only thing I know for sure is that the marker around the edges is Sharpie and the black ink is studio g.

Got Milk?

Have you scrapped nursing photos or told a story about nursing?

Filed Under: Crafter

Scrapbook Saturday: Picking Baby’s Name

September 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment

This layout may end up being one of my favorites in Tobin’s first year book. And it doesn’t even have a picture of him on it! It chronicles, briefly, the road to choosing Tobin’s name (the story makes me smile every time I think of it). It also features photos of my paternal grandfather and William’s paternal grandfather, both of whom were awesome men.

The idea for this layout is a total scraplift from a layout published in Scrapbooks, Etc. (R.I.P. my favorite scrapping magazine). The design is by Lisa Truesdell and was published in August 2011. If you aren’t familiar with Lisa’s scrapbooking, you should check her out.

Original Layout

My Layout

Supply List:

  • Die Cut With A View glitter dots patterned cardstock
  • Solid green and cream colored cardstock from my scrap stash
  • Studio G ink around the edges of the journalling areas
  • Rub-on letters by Reminisce in “Swinger”
  • Washi tape from Freckled Fawn
  • Sharpie fine-point marker

Have you scrapped a layout about your child’s name?

Filed Under: Crafter

Resolutions 2012: Organized Scrapping Area

February 7, 2012 By 2 Comments

One of my Resolutions for 2012 was to organize my scrapbooking area. My scrapbook area (also known as our apartment’s dining room) wasn’t that bad initially. A little untidy, but not horrible. The thing that really got me to organize it was that I couldn’t remember half the stuff I had. This happens to a lot of crafters, I think, but it bothered me that so many of these great supplies I had weren’t getting used (and, when I was honest with myself, weren’t going to be used by me).

Here is the “before” picture:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Here is what I changed:

  • I retired the Sterilite drawers. They took up too much space on the table. I am trying very hard to keep my stuff off of the dining room table, so I need a space to put working projects, and the table is the only option. So, the drawers went for that reason. The other reason is that I ended up giving away at least half of my paper stash and that many drawers just weren’t necessary. I moved to paper holders from Studio Papers. We’ll see if that works as well as the drawers have for this long.
  • For years I’ve had some of my ribbon on a wall-mounted paper towel holder. I don’t use much ribbon, so I gave away a ton of it, so I just added one tall jar to ones I already had and color coordinated my remaining ribbon by jar.
  • I’ve stored my non-type stamps on/in a wall-mounted drawer organizer for a while. I didn’t mind it, it did its job, but I didn’t love how it looked. Also, every time Nicholas hit the wall (it shares a wall with N’s room), stamps fell off. I got a small basket that coordinates with ones I already had and am now using that for my stamps.
  • I was able to get rid of one of the big baskets on the very top shelf simply by giving away more than a basket-worth of stuff.
  • I swapped the little brown baskets for some prettier ones. Hey, I got them when baskets were half off at Hobby Lobby!
  • I was able to condense my little embellishments so I only needed one of the containers. Which means that I was able to give away two containers. I don’t use many little embellishments (mostly eyelets and themed brads), and most of them came into my stash when I first started scrapping and couldn’t say no to anything I saw in catalogs or in the store. It was a problem.
  • I gave away my Xyron Personal Cutting System I just wasn’t using it, and hadn’t in more than a year (not coincidentally, this is the main reason I’ve never gotten a Cricut. I was afraid it would just gather dust).  The cutter was just taking up shelf space and I found someone who would use it. So it went to a better home.

Here are some “after” pictures:

The whole picture! I still need to finish the two magazine holders on the end of the lower shelf on the left side. I have some bright yellow spray paint I plan to work with for those. I love how much brighter everything looks and I can take photos of finished projects inside now because I get some light from the window!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I feel like I’ll use my ribbon more now that I can see it. And it’s pretty!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The few little embellishments I kept fit nicely in these small jars. These are spice racks that I’ve used for paint forever.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I got these Paper Studio paper holders at Hobby Lobby. They are pretty sturdy, are easy to pull off the shelf and came with the label holders. I organized into solid cardstock, shaped paper,    patterned paper/solid paper and T’s first book. After T’s first book is done, I’ll put my Project Life paper and accessories in that container.

 

 

When all was said and done, I took about half of my stash away and shared with friends. The great part about it, besides it looking so much neater, is that I’m energized to scrap again. I’ve got T’s first year book all organized and ready to go, including paper picked out for most layouts, and that wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t gone through every single piece of paper and every embellishment. I did have the presence of mind to keep some of my stash for crafting with the kids (or for unexpected school projects).

I’m so excited to be done with one of my New Year’s Resolutions! And I did it before January was done! How are you doing on your resolutions?

 

 

Filed Under: Crafter

Let the Resolutions Begin!

January 3, 2012 By 7 Comments

I’m feeling crazy this week, so I’m making all kinds of New Year’s Resolutions for 2012. Most of them revolve around organization or being organized. I haven’t fleshed them all out, but here are the basics:

Organize:

  1. Nicholas’ closet,
  2. Our closet,
  3. My scrapbooking area,
  4. Kitchen pantry,
  5. Laundry area,
  6. Hall closet,
  7. Storage unit,
  8. Linen closet,
  9. Email (I have more than 700 unopened emails sitting in my inbox),
  10. Finances,
  11. Calendars (editorial and exercise),
  12. Chore chart, and
  13. Photos

Here’s what I want to accomplish: donating clothing items to my local hospital, donating phones to my local shelter, knowing the medicine we have in our cabinet (and getting rid of old stuff), committing to exercising, not having any overdraft charges, be move-out ready or downsize to a smaller storage unit, back-up photos for 2011, back-up photos monthly, set up kids’ doctors appointments for the year, quickly scrapbook T’s first year, and feel more relaxed.

Are you making resolutions for 2012? Feel like sharing?

Filed Under: Crafter, Healthy Life, Mom & Family

Hopes for 2011 January Update

February 1, 2011 By 1 Comment

Back at the beginning of January, I told you all the 10 things I hoped to do more of in 2011. I thought, in an effort to be accountable to myself, I’d update how I’m doing each month. So, here is how I did in January.

Feel 16 again. The only thing I’ve done for this one (which is really my fitness hope for the year) is to make some doctor’s appointments that will make exercising and getting healthy easier. That’s progress, right?

Don’t over-commit. This one is a goal I have to remind myself of pretty often. I have said no a couple of times though!

Drink more! I’m doing better on getting water into my daily routine. And I’m doing a lot better about avoiding diet soda (which is a lot harder for me than drinking water). I have a long way to go on this one though.

Budget. We’ve done a few things to work on our budget including going back through old check registers to really see where our money goes. What an eye-opener that one was! We’ve already gotten our taxes done and we get to pay off some debt. I’m so stinkin’ excited!

Give. Thanks to my friend, Rachel, we have already given to the Corpus Christi Food Bank this year. I’ve also done some research to see just what we want to focus our giving on.

Get Green. The main way we’ve done this is to stop drinking soda. I know it doesn’t sound like a huge step, but we were drinking tons of cans and not always recycling them, so by avoiding them altogether I feel like we aren’t dumping so much. The other thing we stopped doing was buying bottled water because we weren’t doing a great job about recycling the bottles. Instead we bought some metal bottles for the fridge. Little steps.

Follow directions. This goal mainly goes toward being compliant with my medications. I’m doing soooo much better with this! I haven’t been checked out to see how big an impact it’s made, but I’m proud of remembering to pop those pills!

Scrap. I still haven’t caught up with N’s book or started Tobin’s book; but, I have scrapped in January! I finished N’s 4th book (which makes me only one year behind for him). I’ve organized the digital photos for T’s book, and gotten some papers to start his soon.

Write. I’ve sucked at this one. That is all.

Remove distractions. I’m super happy with this update. So far I’ve cleaned out Nicholas’ closet, organized our closet, cleaned out our books (and sold what we didn’t want to keep), canceled a subscription to a magazine that I wasn’t reading but was driving me crazy because I wasn’t reading it, and William and I spent a full day opening every box in our storage unit to see what we have. We aren’t quite done with the storage unit but the progress is awesome and we’ll be able to go down to a smaller unit (saving us money for our budget). I love this hope!

How are you guys doing? If you made resolutions are you sticking to them? If not, have you started doing anything this year to make your world better?

Filed Under: Crafter, Distractions, Healthy Life, Mom & Family, Widow

Using My Stash!

September 28, 2010 By Leave a Comment

It’s a personal challenge, not one from anyone’s site, but one that I will complete this week! I have done all of Nicholas’ scrapbooks chronologically, by birth year. I’m almost done with his fourth year, which was the year from June 2008 (just after turning 3) to June 2009 (ending with his 4th birthday). I have about five more layouts to do, and I’ll be done! I will finish those during the coming week, and I won’t buy anything to do it! That’s right, I’m working on my stash. Because you know it’s bad when you’re going through your paper and you find unopened packages that have new paper and embellishments inside!

To recap, this week I will:

1. Finish the remaining layouts for N’s fourth year,
2. Use only my current supplies to complete those layouts.

After that? I’ll start the photos from N’s 4th birthday to his 5th birthday…and then I’ll start Tobin’s book! Stay tuned!

Filed Under: Crafter, Mom & Family

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