Almost the end!

2011 is almost over! It's gone so quickly! Wow!

Today, there's an extra little voice running around upstairs; Hannah bear is staying with us for a few days, and the boys are tickled! Marley & Me is THE movie of the moment, so of course, the kids are upstairs playing, and the movie is running downstairs, keeping me company.

Have been getting crafty lately, such good soul therapy! Made most of my gifts to give out this year, and I think I did pretty good! Let me know what you think. I'm especially proud of the monkey LOL!!

Wishing everyone a fun New Year's Eve Eve! Eat cake now, for soon, we..... don't....

Christmas portfolio, for our family's Christmas photos:






Sweet easy little mini book for my friend Janie:




Present for my friend Jessica, for her scrappy room:


(Private joke between us :) She loves pink & green, her room is decorated with it.

Another set of matching photo ornaments for my friend Evelyn (I give her a set each year)

Sweet little mini album for my friends Enny & Philip of our shared 2010 Christmas

Family photo tray, of our shared Christmas 2010

Photo tray for our friends:

Made tie blankets for my sons, our neighbor's son, my husband, and finally for me:

Jingle Bells! Jingle Bells! Kindle all the way!

My very first post from my favorite Christmas present - my new Kindle Fire! It's smaller than the laptop but bigger than my phone, and I can do everything I want on it, except take photos. Kicking gift, my hubby spoiled me big this year! Maybe I'll even read a book on it soon :)

Partaking in the lovely Kraftin Kimmie bloghop

You have got to check out this blog hop - the new stamp releases for December are adorable! Just look at this one that I had to post! I mean really, does that scream me in any other way? LOL!!!


http://kraftinkimmiestamps.blogspot.com/2011/12/december-release-day-and-krafty-hop.html

Scrap Queen layout

I finally finished my layout! I submitted this to DCWV for their October Stackaholic Template challenge; prize is a couple stacks of their awesome paper collections. For this layout, I used the Black Currant stack, cracked into it for the first time. There are some great papers in there! I've never used the banner idea for a layout before, although it has been on my to-do list. I like how this turned out, and scrap queen is definitely a good description for Jess :) Even my journaling happened to come out straight, woohoo!

Altered items - A Few of My Favorite Things

I've had this idea in mind for quite some time, and finally bit the bullet (so to speak) and jumped right in. I have been collecting some of the kids' small toys, things that they used to love to play with (and some that they still love) and I've been hoarding them - waiting for the right moment to create a memorabilia display for each of them. I was at Hobby Lobby one day with a friend, and we found these beautiful (and cheap!) wooden boxes with the clear fronts, and I knew they'd be perfect. With some paint, patterned paper, rub ons, washi tape and some hot glue, the boys each have a cool display to hang on their walls. They really do like them, although our youngest wants to open it and play with the toys, asking me, "Mommy, why did you glue my toys in there?" and my favorite, "Mommy, did you cut the head off my dog?" Yes, son, I did, for the sake of crafting, I did. One day you'll understand LOL!

Benjamin's:


Nicholas': (not quite finished)

For the Love of Kittens

Hubby has been away working in the northern States, so it's been me and the boys. We've been able to spend some time with our friends who have had two batches of kittens this summer/fall. While they are adorable little fluff balls, we know that the pets we have now would not appreciate us adding to our brood, we know we have enough. Doesn't stop us from enjoying the kitties though, until they all find new homes. They are just so cute!!

This photo I took and posted on our neighborhood facebook page, saying kitties were ready to go to their new home. Had some great comments on the photo, but no takers on the kitties. (Since that photo, all but 3 kitties from both litters have found homes. So sad to see them go.)

Yet another cute, easy fun idea!

I am finding all of these amazing ideas, and one of my new favorite blogs belongs to the PaperVine. This is a post of hers, and it is fabulous, quick and easy, not to mention, it will help you use up a bit of your paper stash!



1 Cut 8 pieces of paper 4” x 8”
2 Fold all the pieces into half , with the side of paper you want showing on the inside
3 Glue pieces together back to back to create pages
4 Ensure that the folds are always aligned
5 When all piece are glued – round corners if desired
6 Cut piece of paper 8.5” x 4” for cover – round corners on one side
7 Score cover at 4” and 4¼ ” to create "spine" for book
8 Glue cover to front of book – do not glue spine
9 Glue cover to back of book
10 Trim excess paper and round corners for back of book

I hope this has given you some inspiration to create your own books. It's a project that comes together in an hour or so and the book pages feel really "solid" in terms of weight - and much easier to stuff in a purse (thinking Grandma brag book!!) than a chipboard or wooden album.

Check out my inspiration for these latest posts - this blog is amazing, and just full of the best ideas!

www.papervinenz.blogspot.com

Sunday, sweet Sunday!

It's been a relaxing, rejuvenating, reviving kind of morning. I love Sunday's like this! With a little help from SpongeBob Squarepants (gotta love weekend morning cartoons!)


My boys have been behaving and playing together well, which is music to my ears. Also, it gave me to opportunity to mix a delicious cup of coffee, crawl back under the covers, Valentino to my right, Cinnamon to my left, and just enjoy the chance to finish my book. Don't you love it when you get a novel that you have a hard time putting down, but at the same time, force yourself to so it isn't over too quickly?

I gave in this morning, and finished it up, and as per usual, it didn't disappoint. I love Barbara Delinsky books!

So now, I have other lazy options: do I play with the tutorial I just bought from Paper Phenomenon, that I just had to have? Or do I search around online for other scrappy inspiration? Either would be wonderful, as I fully intend to take advantage of the boys getting along, it is truly a weekend blessing!

Have to post this pic though, before I go - this is a lovely chest of drawers, an item from KaiserCraft (I'm really starting to love their stuff!)


(Pic borrowed from the PaperVine blog, thank you!)
Little note: paint with white acrylic first, then attach patterned paper before assembling drawers. LOVE this! Such a pretty little project! Added to my wish list :)

from Cutters Creek Design Team, a card too cute to keep to myself!

Echo Park Joy Fold Card Tutorial

Hi, it’s Mindy and it’s my turn to host Tutorial Tuesday. As you know we are featuring Echo Park products this month. I have made a Joy Fold Card using the Echo Park Country Drive Collection.

It’s hard to tell from the picture, but this card has a very unique fold . Here is a picture of what the card looks like when it is open.

The little car on the front opens up to give you lots of room to write a message to your recipient.

To make this card, you will need to gather your supplies. You will need a piece of cardstock 4 1/4 x 8 1/2, a piece of cardstock 3 x 8, 3 pieces of patterned paper 2 3/4 x 4, a piece of patterned paper 4 x 5 1/4, a scor pal and adhesive.


You need to score your larger piece of cardstock at 5 1/2 inches and your smaller piece at 4 inches. Then you can cover the cardstock in the paper of your choice. I matted my paper to give it an extra layer. You only decorate the outside of your smaller card and leave the inside blank for a message.

These are my cardstock pieces after I had them decorated. Then you put adhesive on the back side of the smaller card and stick it in the middle of the larger card.

If you are confused by any of my steps, there is an excellent tutorial on split coast stampers with a video. The main thing I changed from this tutorial is the way I kept the card closed. I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to use the new craft velcro I got.


I love this stuff! I cut one of the ovals in half since I only needed a small amount. I stuck it to the inside of the flap while it was still attached. I pulled off the backing and pushed the card together. This is much easier than trying to make sure you have the pieces lined up perfectly.

That’s it a really simple way to make an interesting card. Here is a picture of the finished card again.

I have a couple of friends who have been sick and when I saw this yellow VW bug the sticker on the sticker elements that came with this pack, I knew it would be perfect. I've had the sentiment "caught a bug..." for a while and I knew they would go great together. I added a strip of ribbon and this was it. I really just wanted this card to be clean and simple.


For a link to where I found this card, please go to http://cutterscreekdesignteam.blogspot.com/

Blink!

I was meaning to do a Blink layout, inspired by Cathy Zielske's take on it. I have more reason to do this now than ever. This week we sadly discovered that our youngest, our baby who is 4, has Juvenile Type 1 Diabetes.

In just a blink, our lives have changed forever.



We are faced with a lifetime of glucose testing, insulin injections, and diet tracking. He is such an amazing little boy, and not even a week after this all happened, he is adjusting just fine, with a lot of help from some very amazing friends who were there for us. We are a little slower on it, but you do what you need to do. It is our job as good parents to take the best care of him that we can, and to teach him to do so as well. We will make it through, even though we of course had our moments of pure shock, weakness and rage. We are home, tired, but okay.



I still wish we could understand the 'why him' part, but there is no cause known yet. When the cause is known, the cure will be ready. And we will wait until then, taking the best care of our baby as we can.

One little blink.

May Arts Blog borrow - so stinking cute & easy!

You will need:

empty paper rolls (toilet paper or napkin)

adhesive of choice

May Arts ribbon of choice (I used SM03, 385-58-14, 385-58-44, 391-58-31)

paper and embellishments

scissors

For the rocket's pointy tip, cut a circle and then make a slit to the middle. I used my tape roll as a template. You can always trim it down if it looks to big and you won't be able to tell if it's not an “even” circle anyway!

Because of the slit in your circle you can make the paper cone shape, or a little hat as I like to call it. Staple it together, or use some more double sided tape like I did.

Using the SM03 string, I doubled it over and pulled it through the slit so it comes out the top with the loop and the bottom with the knot. Attach your “hat”. I used a combination of wet glue and glue dots to make it secure.

I cut varying lengths of 385-58-14, 385-58-44 and 391-58-31 and used double sided tape to stick them to the inside bottom of the roll. I embellished the front of the rocket with more “space” stickers and chipboard and hung it in his room.

Woven background

Such a beautiful finished product, and it made me remember how much I enjoyed paper weaving when I was in elementary school. Give this a try, it's so simple!

Borrowed from Rhonda Henderson of Let's scrap:

We are going to do a paper weaving layout. and you will need 5 sheets of Cardstock,. I have used Bazzill and I have chosen 1 White, 2 Light Blue, 1 Dark Blue and 1 Black. You will then need your photos and your embellishments to complete your layout.

1. Take 2 sheets of Bazzill (I used 1 white and 1 light blue) and cut into 1/2inch strips keeping them as straight as possible!!

2. Weave these 2 sheets together, being careful not to pull tension too tight or it will buckle. I found it easier to let the strips hang over the side of the table and lift up each alternative vertical strip and then weave horizontally.

3. Take another sheet (I used dark blue) and cut it down to 11½ x 11½ inches. Make a border of ¾inch (or 2cms) on each side and cut out middle (This can then be used to matt and layer your photos)
4. Take another sheet, ( I used pale blue) and cut it down to 11½ x 11½ inches and this time make a border of 1inch (or 2.5 cms) all round. Cut out your middle section once more. You should now have 2 frames which look like this

5. Layer these 2 frames together and glue. Place this frame over the weaving area and attach. You can then trim off the excess weaving.

6. Take your last sheet of cardstock (Black in my case) and mount your weaving on top of this sheet. If you wish, you can cut a gutter out of this sheet just as before, to save more card!!

7. Now all you have to do is attach your photos and your embellishments.

I have to share these beautiful flowers! I know a lot of people have been making them for a while, but I'm a little behind :P

From the Paper Candie blog:
Paper flowers have taken over my house! Literally. I just finished making 239 paper flowers to be put into goodie bags for the BC Crop for Kids, and I'm loving how they turned out!

I have no idea if they have a name, but I am calling them "punch and scrunch" flowers . . .cuz you punch em' and scrunch em'. . . pretty original of me, hey?!
Seriously though, I used a 2" Scallop Punch and did the following:
1) punch out 6 scallops for each flower - can be same pattern or mix of patterns, and a pattern on both sides of the papaer looks even better!
2) lightly mist the scallops with some water - LIGHTLY, you do not want them to get too wet and end up ripping, but you want the paper to be more pliable. Also, when your finished product dries it will harden and hold it's shape.
3) crumple each individual scallop into a ball.
4) flatten the crumpled scallop out.
5) stack the scallops - do not worry about them being perfectly straight, and if you are working with more than one pattern paper, or double sided, alter the pattern as you stack.
6) Pierce a brad thru the center - good way to use up some old ones you may have hangin' around, as you will not see the brad thru the finished flower.
7) Now, starting with the top scallop, crumple/pinch into the center. Do each layer one by one, and when your done you should have what resembles a rose bud.
8) Finally, slowly "unfold" this rose bud untill you are happy with your flower :-)

Moving right along!

School has started, we are into September, and life rolls right along! Dealing with kids arguing, homework, return to routine, all in a day's norm. Hopefully finding some more time to scrapbook too!



Found the above sketch on pininterest - think this is one that I'll have to work on. Maybe do one version girly and pretty, and one version grungy and boy-ish. Maybe even using my new Welcome Home paper from Bo Bunny that I splurged on.

Happy Labor Day long weekend! We are on our way out to a friend's today for a barbeque and some pool time, then tomorrow I get to take 50th anniversary photos of a family. I'm looking forward to both!

DIY Flowers (borrowed from Scrapbooks etc. magazine online)

Brighten up your pages and projects with these handmade flowers found on the opener of our “DIY Flowers” story in the April issue.

SCALLOPED PUFFS

Punch five scalloped circles from cardstock.
Soak the circles in water for a few minutes.
Remove the scalloped circles from the bowl and blot the excess water with a paper towel.
Stack the five scalloped circles and stick a brad through the center.
Beginning with the top layer, scrunch all the sides up together. Repeat with each layer until the flower is formed. Let it dry completely.

FRINGED FLOWERS

Cut a long strip of cardstock, and fringe-cut 2/3 of one side.
Gently fold down the first few fringed pieces on one end and begin rolling strip with these folds inside.
Once rolled, gently fold back all remaining fringes outward and add an adhesive dot at the end of the strip to secure.

SPIRAL FLOWERS

With a pencil, lightly draw a 4″ circle and a spiral from the outside to the center of the circle. (Increase or decrease the size of the circle to change the size of the resulting flower.)
Cut out the spiral using decorative-edge scissors. Be sure the decorative edge faces the outside of the circle.
Bend the tips of the decorative-edge down and roll into a spiral, beginning at the outer end of the spiral. Be sure to bend the tips toward the side with pencil marks (so they will be hidden on the back of the flower). Let the flower relax and adhere at the center/end of the spiral to secure.

Today is here!

Thank you to my hubby for giving me the much needed encouragement and symbolic kick in the butt; back on the treadmill and finished my grazing in the high calorie lane. I feel better, and am eating better, and thankful for his support.

Today is the day! Rio is here! Once the kiddos & I finish lunch, we are off to Wal-mart to get our bonus disc set. Woohoo! I think I see a 100-calorie popcorn in my future!

Tuesday, July 26, 2011 - from nifty thrifty things blog

S'more Rice Krispies



I am about to blow your ever-loving mind.
S'mores + Rice Krispie Treats.
SEE? Don't say I didn't warn you. When I saw them on Pinterest I freaked out! Then I followed the link and they were FOR SALE. $3.75 for one. So I googled s'more rice krispies and it turns out quite a few of you have made these. Here is my version for you to enjoy!
You will need to make 2 batches of treats, so I will include my super secret Rice Krispie Treat Recipe. This is only known by a few chosen people. In a largish bowl zap 40 large marshmallows and 2 tablespoons of butter for 2 minutes on high in the microwave. Stir and add 6 cups of Rice Krispies. Stir to combine, then press into a 13 x 9 pan. Repeat as necessary.

Now let's get back to the post... Here is what you need to make the yummy goodness:
4 T Butter, 80 big marshmallows and 12 cups rice cereal for the treats. 7 Graham crackers, 1 jar of marshmallow cream, couple shakes of sea salt and 6 chocolate bars for the filling.
Two batches made.
Break apart the chocolate and melt in microwave for about 2 minutes.
Pour melted chocolate on one batch. You don't have to go all the way to the edge. Leave about half an inch.
Sprinkle with just a bit of sea salt. (I went through a few different recipes and a couple added the salt. I think it is a good idea, it just sounded nice to me.) Press the graham crackers into the chocolate. I broke them apart, but you don't have to.
At this point you will want the chocolate to firm up to really grab on to those crackers. (Soon you will need to flip them on to the other treats and you don't want the graham crackers falling off. Listen closely to the voice of experience.)



Side note: I make my treats in a pan lined with wax paper. So much easier to get out. I put this one on a cookie sheet.
When the chocolate is hardened, (about 5 minutes depending on how hot your house is) spread the marshmallow cream.
The last step is kinda sketchy. You will need to flip the graham cracker side to the marshmallow side, making a nice little s'more sandwich. You may mess up, it's OK just reposition and do your best. You're just making s'mores and they will forgive you. {Your thighs, not so much.}
You will need to let them sit for a while before you slice 'em up.



There you have it! S'more Rice Krispie Treats. I know you are gonna love 'em! At this point I need to tell you that 90% of the time I am extremely careful about what I eat. And 10% of the time I bake. So 10% of the time I give myself free reign to indulge. Life is hard enough, why make it harder by resisting yummy goodness?
These will be a hit at your next party, I just feel it!

XOXO Jules