January Layout

Lily's January Layout :: 

I really liked a layout KP created ... She does amazing work that I just love her use of pictures and the smashbook style work she does at times. 

Lily and her little cousin Aubrea. The just adore eachother,  its
the sweetest thing to see. 

Baby Shower Thank You's

What am I doing the day after the baby shower? Cleaning, organizing, and creating some custom thank you's of course. I like picking up really plain thank you cards for this kind of occasion where I have 20+ cards to send. Then, instead of sending everyone the same card, I spend a bit of time dressing them up. 

Here's the original card (I sprayed perfect pearls on it before photographing, oops)

Original Card: Came in a few different colors.

Nautical Themed Girls Dress

Yesterday I made my first attempt at an altered mens dress shirt. I've seen a few of these tutorials on my favorite sewing blogs such as Dana Made It. 

I like the look of the cuffed arm rather than a short sleeve (plus its winter)... BUT I wouldn't suggest you try this on your first dress as I did. I'm also not a seasoned sewing expert either, you may want to take that into account! 

Creating Preschool Curriculum that's FUN!

My husband and I had discussed keeping my daughter home for her second year of preschool. Though I enjoy her being at school with friends and have noticed the great strides she's made in terms of letter recognition and sounding out letters, I have also noticed LOTS of other things she's began to pick up. 

For example:

YOU'RE not my friend anymore. 

This or that person is my boyfriend/girlfriend.

(insert name here) says/does that. 

Baby Girl Mini Album

This is by far my best album made from scratch: by scratch I mean creating the cover, binding, and pages rather than buying pre-made elements and adding only the paper/embellishments. 

Here is the front of the book with only paper.

Watercolors

I've been playing around with Watercolors for this Valentines Day. Mostly because I am always curious about how to expand my skills and to think outside the box in terms of scrapping. LOVE to incorporate lots of different styles into my work!

Here's what I've been up to:

This is a quick sketch I did to try and see how it would work to use a white pencil to resist
the watercolor crayons I have. 

Something Wicked This Way Comes By Ray Bradbury

Something Wicked This Way Comes 

By: Ray Bradbury

The selection of books I read come directly from my personal librarian. Although this sounds quite fancy, it really isn't. I just happen to have a great best friend who is the biggest book-reader out there. Yeah, and he's my age. People who enjoy a good book still exist, though few and far between in my experience. I just don't come across a lot of twenty-somethings that say :hey did you read that new book that came out?: or :Can you believe _________ won the Pulitzer?: Not saying I'm a super smarty by any means. I like reading,& love going to school (can't wait to go back), but information doesn't just stick to this brain. It's extremely difficult for me to retain information and I have to continuously work at it.... no seriously, it CONTINUOUS. I would have to brush up on simple multiplication if I knew you were about to ask me too many math questions. 

Anyways, I really enjoyed this book about two boys who get entangled in an ordeal with a traveling carnival. Did I mention that it was an EVIL traveling carnival? It was an easy read that kept me entertained. Only toward the end when Will's dad goes into a long speech about evil and what it is in the world etc etc did I go, seriously? 2 more pages before he stops? Otherwise it was fun. Definitely off the beaten path of what I would normally read. Like I said though, if my librarian recommends it I know it can't flop. 

Busy Day// Baby Shower Invite

Breakfast usually includes making a to do list
and today we worked on the Alphabet 

January Library Fundraiser

In November I was asked by a good family friend to donate items to the silent auction for a local library fundraiser to aid the after school programs they hold. I was really happy to sew a couple of hats for them :) 

This one Lily calls the "rock hat." I used fleece, super cozy soft, with cotton trim, and felt embellishment that I put together. Added some decorative stitching to the top for fun. 

G45 Once Upon a Springtime Layout

Ah finished my layout! 

This particular layout was made using G45 Once Upon a Springtime Paper. I was able to check another To Do off my January list because this particular LO is for my HS Scrapbook. 

This is the template I used from CCL. 

There are SO many crafting materials I haven't had a chance to work with. Grungeboard was one of them until this project. Used his pre-cut set to add some pretty embellishment. 

I really liked the lines in this template. I fussy cut this cute little fairy instead of going with the butterflies. 

Also, chose to use fussy cut flowers instead of butterflies. Although, butterflies would have also worked quite well. I inked all of the edges of my paper with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. It is by far my favorite for edging, though I also like to use Tim Holtz black Distress ink at times too. Next purchase? Walnut Distress Ink. Its a bit darker than the Vintage Photo and I think it would work nice. 

I used Stickles in Diamond to highlight my splatter paint, it added a bit more bling. Also used it inside all of the flowers, on the wings of the tiny fairy, and on the '05. 

I like discussing lessons learned when doing this. Todays? Test the color of my paint against the papers I'm using. I would have like my splatter paint to be less pink and more peach. 

Paper Mache Photo Frame//Priest & Boys

Note: This piece may offend some!

Recently inherited an old Catholic school book and found, what I thought to be, the most hilarious page  ever. It had a priest on the phone with two young boys and included the caption "A pleasant voice makes friends." 

I used a wooden frame given to me quite some time ago and made a housewarming gift for my ruckus loving girlfriends. They have such a silly sense of humor, just like I do. Took the pages from the book and modge podge in order to cover the frame, then placed the images on top at the end. 

Finished the frame with roses from "Iamroses" and adhered a vintage button from my great grandmother. Really enjoyed how this came out. With a photo of the girls, it will surely be stunning in their new apartment. 

Daily Challenge For January!

HELLO! This is a challenge i'm in at CCL (creating the crafty life)... The goal is to make a list of 31 things I'd like to do in January and try and do AT LEAST one each day.