I Love You Because...

my ditto/SMASH book 2012

Wow, I had no idea it's been over a year since I posted anything about scrapbooking, obviously I haven't been quite as productive in that department since I left Tombow. There are a few reasons for that. One, after last March I took an intentional break and focused on getting ready for the move. Packing, cleaning and house shopping took up all my time. Once we moved in here I thought I'd have a cute little office/SB room but the longer we lived here the more we realized that it just wasn't going to happen.... yet. Don't get me wrong, someday I will have my dream space again but for now I'm focusing on the rest of the house and getting those spaces settled. So currently all my Scrapbook stuff is packed up in boxes and piled high in the basement btu see there's a problem.... you can take the supplies away from the girl but you can't get the bug out of her. Especially when there is a 'To-Do-Before-Baby list", and on said all important list is to get not only a baby book done but also to start a 2012 album for the family. In 2010 and 2011 I did Becky Higgin's Project Life .

and have really loved it, it's fun to keep things or document things about my daily life and I'm sure another year I'll go back to this but this year with zero supplies handy, no space to keep it handi and update it regularly I knew I couldn't commit. 

In January I walked into the Scapbook store for the first time in 9 months.... it was like finally reaching air after almost drowning. :) Seriously, I was overwhelmed and more then slightly sad I had lost my Scrapbook Room to the move. After a few minute in mourning, I was determined to find something that would give me my creative scrapbook 'fix' for the year and still allow me to keep my space/supplies packed up. I found it.. a fun, simple alternative that was perfect for what I was looking for. Actually, it was a combination of ideas- SMASHED INTO ONE... Dittto from Hampton Art and  K&Company's SMASH book. I'm not doing it exactly like they both do but, the concept and the freedom are there to allow for any commitment I can give to the project, even if it's 5 mins here or there. I started out with a calendar and color combo for each month so that all the work from then on was filling in info rather then design. It also fits into one small drawer in the Music room and is 100% self-contained in that space, the markers needed for the entire year, the scissors, glue and binder. Simple and easy to track and update. 

Then it was as simple as printing a couple pictures, adding a little journaling, copying a few blog posts and putting it all together... It's totally out of the box for me and my traditional style, I know. It's 1/2 planner, 1/2 memorabilia/journal and 1/2 scrapbook... and I still love it! 

I'm able to document everything currently, stick it in without guilt for design and order and still focus on the everyday moments with my family. I'm keeping things that I usually throw out and then later wish I had, I'm putting in more of the everyday shots that don't always justify their own layout but are still some of my favorite pictures and I am able to record our lives that are happening.

This week I finally finished up the calenders throughout the entire year, and I spent a few minutes finishing up February and starting March... now my 2012 Smash book is just ready and waiting to be filled with pictures of our new baby enjoying his new family! One more thing, checked off THE  list!

Less than 19 days to get everything else done! Wish me luck... or better yet, energy! 

J

 

***I got all the supplies at Archivers, but they also sell the product lines at Michaels. :)*** 

Homemade Gifts 2011

Speaking of traditions, this one is another one of my all time favorite traditions... HOMEMADE GIFTS! Every year My siblings and I homemake our gifts to eachother. Every year it's different and fun and always heartfelt. It just brings such a personal touch to the gifts and puts their personalities in our lives and in our homes. We went to Florida a few weeks ago for my nieces baptism and it was so fun to see the same decorations and family themes decorating their house too. As I was getting ready for this post I realized that in EVERY room in my house you can see evidence of homemade gifts over the years.... 

A tableloth pieced by Teri in Owen's room.

In our living room, Sean's Photography... (I wish I had more!) 

In my kitchen, Emily's recipe boxes (she took all my Grandmother's and Mother's recipes, typed them up, printed them and laminated them for us one year... This is probably the MOST USED GIFT EVER!!) 

In our entryway, from April and Gentry the ledges (he made those!) and from Spring and Sean the Santa cross-stitch (yeah, crazy, I know but, I love it!) and that picture of Christ? It's cross-stitched as well, My Mom made it for me 15+ years ago. (now are your starting to see where we get the craziness from?) 

and in every bedroom, This year Teri and Chad gave us Christmas Pillowcases... (the kids are so mad at me because I took them off today to wash them.)

This year my Mom also made me a Santa Quilt, it's in Lorali's room and it's so beautiful. Santa's from around the world, all appliqued on, I LOVE IT! ...

This year Sean and Spring gave us a super thoughtful gift, it's a little candy cane countdown to Christmas, exactly like the one I grew up with (makes me smile every time I see it.)...

Then Emily really out-did herself this year, I have no idea how the heck she found the time to make this with her busy schedule but, I'm not complaining it's perfect and I have the perfect spot for it this fall in my entryway...

and what did I make this year? All November my dining room was turned into a leather workshop, Yep, more leather projects just like last year. I now realize how my Grandpa had it as his lifelong hobby. It's addictive! I already have ideas for projects to keep me busy all year. This time it was just for adults... Blank Leather Books. Fishing Logs, Hiking Logs or Journals, whatever they're used for they're all personalized. 

I've already made some for most of the grandkids but decided not to give them at Christmas but to give them to the kids one at a time for thier birthday's this year...

and for Dad's birthday I made him a few more Fly Fishing Reel Pouches... 

Now, I'm off to start planning for next year! 

 

 

 

 

 

Fall Fun

Last night Phil and Alicia and the kids came over for some Chili, Caramel Apples and Pumpkin decorating. Soo much fun. We are loving living closer to them and being able to see them more. I mean seriously, do you see those cute faces? 

Instead of carving pumpkins this year we opted to pull out a few craft supplies and paint them instead, the idea was that it would be less messy, less time consuming and the kids could do it on thier own..... WRONG! Paint took forever to dry, they still needed help poking holes for pipe cleaners or adding more glue, and the paint? yeah, it's all over the garage floor (thank you Ethan!) BUT.... that being said. The kids were adorable and it was totally worth the time and effort. Everyone had a blast. 

My favorite pumpkin of the night? Owen's cute little bear. Really, he is cuter then his bear but he loves it so much there's nothing to do but smile at them both. 

 

Energy Levels

With the first week of summer officially behind me I'm realizing I'm going to need a lot more energy to keep up with all three kids if we're going to get through the next 2 months! Not only is stamina a problem but I'm going to have to find a way to find time for myself, to do the things I want to do and still do the things I need to get done and not have that take away from the kids time and summer excitement. So in an effort to maintain our individual personalities and energy while still spending all of our time together we have a few summer lists...

1. Reading- gI've started reading again- it's something I can do while the kids jump on the trampoline or watch movies cuddled on the couch and it's healthy for the kids to see my love for reading as well. Today's reading list includes Water for Elephants for me, Samantha book 1 for Lorali, and Ethan is reading My First Book of Mormon. 

2. Sleep- The kids have been taking daily quiet/nap time and I really, really need to get to bed earlier so I'm ready for their bright eyes, bright and early (unfortunately they aren't the sleep-in type.)  The quiet time helps Ethan to have his own down time and if Ethan's happy the rest of us are more relaxed!

3. Chores- Every day I have the kids help me with housework or packing or a project. Nothing huge or extensive just enough that they feel like they're contributing to the upkeep of the house and I'm not overwhelmed.

4. Projects- so many fun projects and crafts in store that I'm positive the kids will love! Yesterday was homemade play dough projects. Tomorrow I think we'll be getting creative with communication. 

5. Eating- this one has been the hardest on me. Husbandface has been on a diet for the last 2 months so hasn't been eating with us as a family which means I'm cooking just for me and the kids... which means a lot more mac and cheese and a lot less of my gourmet recipes. I'm trying to still have us all eat healthy and stay on a regular eating schedule but snack time creeps up on me and we end up filling up on chips or making brownies. This is definitely something I need to fix because I'm sure it will help my energy levels! 

 

So what are your tips on entertaining the kids for the summer and keeping the energy levels as high as the temperatures? 

Third Child Syndrome aka Owen's Party

Yeah I'm one of those Mom's I swore I'd never be. I posted about Ethan's birthday (complete with video!) just a few days after his party. He's the oldest and I was excited for him. Owen on the other hand not only has to be third in the pecking order but his birthday happens to be just 3 weeks after his big brothers and that usually means Mommy hasn't recovered from the first celebration of the year (let alone be ready to put on another one!).  I did throw him a party and I did write the traditional letter to him so props there, right? I just haven't gotten around to posting his party though-- to much to do and too little time. That doesn't mean it wasn't a standard Joanna-thrown party though. It was a perfect party for my three year old which, it my mind that deems it a success! 

Owen is my Mickey Mouse boy so it was a no brainer thinking of a 'theme' or color scheme. I wanted it simple and not over the top cartoon-y (not easy with Disney in my opinion!). So I chose yellow, red and black as the colors. Since we only invited 3 of his closest friends (and their families) it wasn't a big group and it was really intimate and low key. I'm a big believer that the age they are is the number of kids that the birthday child will be happy with and that you as a parent can manage. Trust me when I say that I LEARNED THIS THE HARD WAY! (just sayin'). As soon as the kids came Owen gave them all their own Mouse ears that we had made and while some weren't used to the weight on the top of their heads, these were still a big hit. I printed off a pattern online, bought black headbands and stiff felt from the craft store and in less than 15 minutes had all 4 of them drying. (Owen's had a birthday hat added to his ears and the girls had little red polka dot bows). Super simple craft project that cost about $1 a piece.

We had Mickey Mouse Clubhouse pictures for the kids to watercolor as they were arriving and then they still had a chance to dry before we sent them home later. Once everyone was there I gave everyone little candy bracelets to make, they had little mickey charms (found them at Walmart) and while Owen was okay making this it was probably too hard of a project for the two year old guests- this is something for kids over 4 but, the siblings LOVED them (oh well, live and learn!)

After that is was time for the food... this was 100% based on Owen's favorite foods. Know your audience, right? Besides it was SIMPLE and that was my goal! Taco Salad bar for the grown-ups (with homemade chipotle dressing. YUM!)

and for the kids we had Hot Diggity Dogs (mini corn dogs), Mickey mouse shaped chicken nuggets, chips, and juice boxes.  I made up and printed a bunch of these blank labels and used them throughout the party to label food, drop a thank you note in the gift bags, etc.) Super handy! 

oh and the kids favorites were 'toodles' and Mickey and Minnie's that I made up. Owen wanted his own Lego cake pops like I did for Ethan's party but that didn't exactly go with my 'theme'. I searched and searched the internet for Mickey ideas but didn't find anything I was excited about so I kinda made up my own combining every technique in Bakerella's cook book but, the end result was something that everyone loved. I used devil's food cake/icing this time, mickey shaped candy confetti (found only at Walmart- ugh) and red/yellow sprinkles, red, and white candy coating and black candy coloring. Not sticks this time, just served bon-bon style. 

Since this was a total crap shoot and I had NO IDEA if they'd turn out I made a bunch of different designs.. the ears were piped out of the candy coating on wax paper, left to dry then pushed into the balls before the coating had time to dry. If I were to do it again I'd dip only in red and make the mickey with his cute buttons and the minnie with the polka dots but the mickey head confetti tastes like Sweet Tarts so the kids fought over those ones. 

Since I was making the cake balls I knew we wouldn't need much of a cake... more for ceremony then anything else. So it was tiny and practically personal sized but Owen LOOOVED it. (The candles were pretty cute too- found them al Walmart too- ugh)

After cake it was time for presents and gift bags and everyone was on their way. The gift bags we made ourselves and were just simple red bags found for .25 a piece at the craft store. I bought another .50 worth of white buttons and had yellow felt at home. We stuck the ears in the tops and filled them with a giant mickey lollipop, mickey fruit snacks, stickers, m&m's and a bouncy ball. They might have been my favorite craft project of the party.

It was adorable, the kids were happy, my house wasn't turned upside down in planning, preparing and executing it and best of all Owen knew it was just for him. SUCCESS! Needless to say though, I'm glad that we decided not to throw our kids a birthday party every year because I'm ready for a break! 

 

Snowmen at Night Quilt

Ever since 2007 when I made everyone red-work throw quilts I had wanted one of my own.  I never got around to it simply because I had made 5 of the same pattern already... I was sick of it.  In March of 2009 my sister in law, Spring and I went to a regional sewing expo here in Atlanta. We had a blast and while we were there I saw this Walking in a Winter Wonderland quilt (from Crab Apple Hill) that I absolutely fell in love with. It was a red-work Snowman quilt. Spring and I made a deal, I would do all the embroidery work on two quilts because she doesn't enjoy handwork and she would do all the quilting because well... I barely know how to turn on my sewing machine let alone actually sewing two pieces of fabric together. At the same time Mom actually got the same pattern and was working on the same project in Utah as we were in Georgia and Florida. It was so fun to work on it at the same time. After hours and hours and hours of work from Spring, Mom, Me and even Doug,  they're all done and can I just say? LOVE! The original pattern is only a throw quilt size and because I wanted it for my specific red bed frame I needed it to be full size. After a few calculations from the quilt queen (aka Mom) and a little inspiration from Snowmen at Night, (one of our favorite Children's books) Doug sketched out four personalized snowmen corners to match the rest of the quilt. A little Cowboy flair for Grandpa, a viking hat for the Grandkids (Mom has one in her dress up toys and it's always been the favorite) and a little Snow-dolly for Lorali. I love, Love, LOVE the end result. Thank you Spring, Doug and esp. Mom for pushing me to actually get it done in time for the holidays this year! I have loved this project so much I think it's been the one to push me over the edge... I have to learn how to quilt. I have too many ideas that I doubt I could bribe my relatives into finishing for me. :)  

Now to show off Doug's one of a kind corners..... 

 


 

 

 

Favorite Room in the House

Last week I gave a mini tour of my scrapbook room on The Tombow Blog HERE .  I thought I'd show a few more picts and bring in the rest of the family here. Besides, I'm working on a dozen new amazing projects right now and well.... it doesn't exactly look like this anymore so I'm living vicariously through my blog and reminding myself how pretty this room actually is. Since I work from home this is definitely the most used room in the house. 

Starting in the corner.... 

My Creative Desk. 

This is where I actually create things, where I cut, glue and most importantly, make a mess. My current project is usually on it in some form.  Underneath there is a lot of open space so it holds a box with all my Christmas/Holiday supplies and since I've been learning to quilt/sew this past year I keep my sewing machine under there as well, so I can just pull it out and use my desk as a sewing table. The drawers on the left hold my 8 1/2 x 11 papers. 

and the drawers on the right hold essentials that I always need within arms reach. Mats, cutters, corner rounder, black and brown ink pads, rulers, staples, keys, razor blade and embossing powder... kept there. Because the kids randomly get into my other supplies these are the drawers they are forbidden to touch or even look at for fear of extreme punishment. In the bottom drawer I keep misc. mini albums ready and waiting for me to work on and... a box of candy. (if the kids knew there was soo much candy so close to their level I'd be in big trouble! Hence the punishment.) 

Above my desk is that great cabinet that I begged Doug to put up when I told him I didn't have enough space... he argued I had too many supplies... I won. ;)  Inside it are my ribbons... a mess I know, a few albums and projects I'm in the process of working on, my Project Life supplies, My Tombow Dual Brush Pens and all the adhesives.... they are stored in a mini basket and come out on my desk every time I work. I love this system! 

To the right of my desk I keep all my scraps, sorted by color. The kids are constantly in these drawers, they love finding new papers and coming up with even more things to do with them and since they are always so close and handy I tend to go there first and use them more. I keep only papers that are 4x6 or bigger and since I'm getting more into fabric I've added that into the drawers as well. It's a win-win.

Moving to the right... My mega cabinet. It's actually a wardrobe that was bought at Home Depot for $150 and it has earned every single penny of it in the 4-5 years we've had it. I love it. The reason we bought this over other cabinets it because of it's depth. I'm able to put 12x12 paper in easily, the albums that hold them and still have space at the back to hold other/less used items. The top shelf has reference books and a few coloring books, then all my extra adhesives/markers from Tombow, one of the red boxes is full of items/gifts waiting to be altered and the other has everything electronic in it. All my apple cord, extra speakers and webcam stuff. Below that I hold my 12x12 papers. on the left is the cardstocks, organized by color. I'm growing out of this so someday soon I'm betting this system is either changed or added to (hint; hint; husbandface? can we say Christmas gifts?!) On the right is my patterned paper in the stacking shelves they are organized into color but in the box next to it are the page kits and complete collections> Since getting more and more packages for work I've outgrown this system as well... although instead of expanding it I think I'll just be purging and giving a lot of it away. (any takers?) Below all that cardstock are drawers and drawers of supplies. Sewing supplies, Brushes, stamps, stamp pads, Extra markers, Paint, Punches, cutters and scissors, Metal, Flowers, Buttons, Embossing guns, Patterns... you name it and I'm betting this is where it is. I've also added a few kids items like finger paints, stickers and glitter.

Next to the mega closet is my writing desk. Where I work, where I write and where I use the logical side of my brain. This picture isn't quite accurate, the top one is more recent. Just a few weeks ago we got Doug a computer for here at home, for him and the kids, so we all currently share a desk. At first, I thought I'd hate it and be annoyed sacrificing the space but, I absolutely love it. Owen will sit next to me and play online, Ethan and Lorali take turns sitting by me to do their homework while I'm crossing off a few extra things on my work to-do list and in the evening's Doug and I even sit and surf or shop or work next to each other. I love it! Below sits the printer and it's extra paper and supplies a mini filing cabinet holds bills and above the desk I keep all my work files.

Going around the room..... this side is Ethan's favorite. It houses the xbox, playstation and the wii (this coming from the girl who swore she'd never own a game console... ever!) We keep all our DVD in the drawers and the controllers, extra batteries and games are in the baskets... one for each system. While I hate them, it does bring the kids into the room with me and I love their company. On the bookshelf are all my albums, sheet music, church books and all of Ethan's therapy books and notes.

moving around the room to the right there is the door to the backyard and one my favorite decorations, a standing carousel full of mini albums... I love it... A LOT! 

The sad part is how much I love this entire room. While most of it I can take with me when the house finally sell, there will be a few key elements that I will miss forever. Like the view. 

Character Assignments 2010

Halloween is coming which means I have less than 2 weeks to get everything ready for my yearly Murder Mystery Party. Trust me when I say, I am feeling the stress! Lucky for me the stress always pushes me and I tend to come up with my best work under pressure, this year is no exception. These gravestones were given out to our guests after the invite/save the date to assign them their characters for the party. A symbolism of sorts, your identity is dead and your character arises in your place. It's perfect for this years theme. 

For my free downloadable step-by-step tutorial on this great Halloween project click on the link HERE.

I'm also entering this project into Crafting with the Stars so be sure to check it out. Who knows, the more times it's viewed the better chance I might have!! :) 

 

 

Creative. Kinda. Maybe. Please?

I haven't felt very creative lately. I haven't been on creative roll for a few weeks now and let me tell you that when you have a job that demands that? well, it puts the pressure on when you aren't up to snuff. I'm still creating but, I used to have 10-20 projects at any given time ready to post and share. Now I'm down to my last reserves. So I've decided to take a few little inspirational injections this year and pump up my reserves. I want to go to a few retreats this year but haven't found the right ones yet. I just looked into Creative Escape w/ Heidi Swapp but, registration is already closed. (grr...) and if I felt like I could ever talk Doug into spending that much money, GREECE w/ Ali Edwardswould be my dream retreat, maybe next year? :) Maybe if someone else wanted to go with me, I could swing it. What do you say? You wanna go to Greece this Fall with me? (Come on, you know you want to!) Okay, so Greece isn't your cup of tea? how about Paris, France w/ Donna Downey?!  A few years ago I went to the Scrap Etc. Event in Alabama and it was inspiring and creative and fun. Unfortunately it doesn't look like they are doing it anymore. The one I'm leaning towards to most is Inspired. Artist Workshop. It's in Mid-May in North Carolina and looks like the most plausible option as of now.... so the question remains, are you in? :)

Paper Happiness

Did you know that happiness can come in the form of paper? Seriously, it can. Trust me, if you got this in the mail you'd be pretty darn happy too. Look at all that scrapbook goodness! All the possibilities just waiting for me to touch it and create with it! If you need me I'll be in my scrapbook room... Making love with the beautiful work of October Afternoon! (Did I meantion that I LOVE my job?)