Happy Thanksgiving Everyone

This is what I'm cooking up today:

Butternut Bisque

Roast Turkey with Sage and Gravy

Cranberry Ginger Relish

 Stuffing with Cranberries and Hazelnuts

Green Beans with Shallots

Balsamic Glazed Pearl Onions

and for dessert

Chocolate Ganache Tart

Apple Oatmeal Crisp with Vanilla Ice Cream

Pink Christmas Mini

I found a great set of chipboard Christmas stickers in pinks and turquoise (my favorite color) and lime greens and I knew I just had to make another holiday mini.  This time I made a 6x6 square chipboard book with corrugated cardboard covers.  I painted them white and then added sparkly glitter, kind of reminds me of icicles, cool! you can see more photos here.

I also played with Photoshop brushes to create a frame for the photos (with swirls, snowflakes and icicles!) 

Another Shaped Mini

I had so much fun making the little mitten book that I decided to make another shaped mini, this time in the shape of a Christmas Tree.  This one has sparkle and tag pockets and lovely chipboard stickers with tiny gems. Now Available on eBay

Cool Weather and Mittens

We've been having lovely cool weather here in SoFla, the kinds of cool sunny days that make living through the heat of summer bearable.  Not quite cool enough for mittens but I just couldn't help making this adorable mini "Snow Kids" Mitten book! Wanna see the other mit? Check out Veronica's "Christmas" Mitten book. Just the thing for winter memories!

Another Mini

Love making those pocket minis from recycled envelopes!

Visual

Yes I've been fooling around with my blog LO because I'm a very visual person who also gets bored of the same thing over and over. That's why I like to rearrange the furniture or repaint the living room every so often.

We're coming up on a very busy time of year but I hope to have some more fun stuff here.

In the mean time here's a little more from Fun Theory....

Fun Theory

How about a little fun?

wouldn't it be great if a little fun was injected into everything?

3R Scrapping : Toilet Tissue Rolls

Even though I live with 3 boys there never seems to be a shortage of empty toilet paper rolls around here so I thought wouldn't it be great to find a use for them. Boy was I excited when I came across the toilet paper tube mini album idea.

All you need are a few tubes, flatten them out and cover them with designer paper. Each tube makes a nice sturdy chipboard page with a pocket. Bind them together with binder rings, ribbon or the Bind-it-all

Here's what I did: Flatten the tubes and ink the edges. I used peeling paint distress ink. Cover the tubes with designer paper on both sides. Punch holes for binder rings. Cut tags to fit into the tubes. Use tab punch to cut out tabs, stamp words on tabs. glue tabs to tags and insert into pockets.

You find a more tutorials here and here and here

To Do List, To Do Drawers

Ever have one of those days where you wake up feeling blah and not wanting to do much of anything and just knowing that you wont accomplish much with a mood like that?

Well that's when a little to do list can come in handy. And I do mean little. Just two or three things on the list, because a long to do list is just begging to be put off. That feeling of accomplishment you'll have when you can cross something off the list just may be enough to turn your whole day around, inspiring you to do a little here a little there and before you know it you've actually accomplished something.

What does all this have to do with scrapbooking? Well I'm very bad when it comes to having several project going without having any finished and after a while that wonderful sense of accomplishment becomes very elusive. My personal fix for this is to have a stack of "to do" drawers. I bought a couple of these drawer units and put one unfinished project in each drawer along with all the photos, papers and embellishments to complete the project, kind of like a kit. Every once in a while I will put one of these projects on my to do list. I love the drawer idea because I just pull out the whole drawer and everything I need is right there. Makes things easy.

Today was one of those days. One drawer on my little to do list.

I chose the one that had the "Delight In Life" book I had made for a class I taught.

The drawer contained the book (which was mostly decorated but no photos), the photos I wanted to put in the book and extra paper and embellishments.

Boy I have to say it was really nice to finish it up, cross it off my list and move on!

Autumn Book

So I started this paper bag book a little while ago and it's almost finished. I was very inspired by the canvas cover idea from Laura's video. I changed it up a bit, using the canvas for the spine of the book and leaving the rest of the cover in paper. I did this for two reasons. First, I cut the canvas just a bit too narrow and not altogether straight so it wouldn't fit nicely on the back cover and secondly I really wanted to use the Jolee's autumn sticker for the cover and I wasn't sure it would stick well to the canvas. So I cut down the canvas, used designer paper for the cover and problem solved!

3R Scrapping : Envelope Mini Album

Remember this envelope post from last spring? Well I have recently discovered another way to use all those envelopes that come in the mail. The envelope pocket mini album. There are a couple of videos about making these mini books on YouTube here and here and here. It looked like fun and since I love the idea of recycling as much as I can, I gave it a try. Basically you turn the envelopes into pocket pages for a mini album by covering them with scrapbook paper, make tags out of card stock and insert them into the pockets. These make great places for more photos and journalling. The total size of the book is about 5x6.

I'm Baaaack and it's Fall

No I did not fall off the face of the earth. I just had a very busy summer, involving a home improvement project that we tackled ourselves. It involved demolishing a bathroom down to the studs. Installing drywall, tile, a vanity, a toilet, baseboards, and painting. And as always when you start one project it inevitably leads to another... so I decided to repaint the lining room as well. All this while shuttling the kids between swim class and art camp. Needless to say I got no crafty stuff done all summer.

Now that the dust has settled and the kiddos are back at school, I've been looking around for some inspiration and I stumbled on some great stuff!

This Butterfly Album is one of the coolest books I have seen

This Plastic Bag Album is a great way to recycle those ubiquitous plastic bags, see the completed one here

There was also a tutorial on making canvas covers for paper bag albums. Loved the idea of painting canvas for the cover so I started working on a fall themed album and painted some canvas. Planning on embellishing the cover with some flowers and these great copper leaves.

Today I

thought I'd play along with Ali via The Simple Woman's Day Book viaapple likes orange:

Outside my window... it's dark and pouring rain

I am thinking.... it's summertime, a less hectic schedule, remember to breathe and enjoy the slower pace

I am thankful for... Bryan registered at Justin's middle school, and in honors math

From the kitchen... protein smoothies with frozen bananas, poached chicken in vindaloo sauce

I am wearing... my favorite denim skirt and a charcoal t shirt with buttons and lace trim

I am creating...12x12 scrapbook Layouts, 3 done so far today, next up a page about the beach

I am going... to drop off Bryan at karate and then do some grocery shopping

I am reading... starting a new book today, the Duchess

I am hoping... to have enough energy tomorrow to get through my workout

I am hearing... the rolling thunder, sirens in the distance, Justin building with his legos

Around the house... we started pulling up the old tile from the bathroom floor, the first steps in a major renovation project that is long over due.

One of my favorite things... when the cats come over and snuggle beside me

A few plans for the rest of the week: Focus on my workout schedule and meal planning

Here is picture thought I am sharing...

Signs Of Summer

School's out for summer, it's a slower sweeter pace, time to relax, play and just do a little nothing for a while.

I have one more class coming up this weekend at Cherry Blossom Studio,

A little 6x6 mini book celebrating Dads, just in time for Father's Day.

Inspiration Friday: Memorial Day Edition: Cards for Heroes

For all you card makers out there who have a little spare time and tons of paper (you know who you are!) here's a great reason to crank out a few cards this memorial day weekend:
Card For Heroes they are hosting a Memorial Day Blog Hop  to spread the word and the creative inspiration, so go check it out, go make some cards and have a great weekend!

Also there are still seats available for my Delight Mini Book class at Cherry Blossom Studios 

The class is on Thursday may 28th at 7 PM

3R Scrapping: Bubble wrap and Carboard

Good morning! Today's reuse item bubble wrap and cardboard (yes again! there's just so much of it and it is so versatile!)  Only today I am using there items as tools.  Use bubble wrap and currogated cardboard as a stamp with acrylic paint.  It makes fab custom backgrounds really quick and even though you've probably seen this technique before, it's work repeating.  I know I need to do this one more often.

I'll be using this technique in my June class at Cherry Blossom Studio, here's a little peek.  It's a 6x6 mini book using the new Grease Monkey papers from Bo Bunny, just in time for Father's Day.

Why Scrapbooking is not just a trend

With the recent economic down turn, many people may feel that scrapbooking is a luxury, something we should do only in good times, not a necessary part of life.

But for those of us who do it, who get it, this is not a mere luxury, it's way more than just a hobby to pass the time when times are good.

We know how wonderful it is to relive moments we have all but forgotten,

to sit with you child and look at their baby pictures,

to bond over photos of loved ones who are no longer with us but remain in our hearts.

It's a way to find meaning in the lives we touch and in the people who have touched our lives.

It's a way to help us see the important things in our lives, to slow down and examine both the good and the bad and really see that we all have things to be grateful for.

For all the reasons we do it, now is the perfect time to keep doing it.

For a visual check out Ali Edward's post about why scrapbooking is such an amazing thing.

Delightful

So excited about teaching this book at Cherry Blossom Studio next month.

Such fun papers form Fancy Pants Delight Line

The Bean

Last week I  spent a fabulous weekend in Chicago.  My first visit.  And of course now I want to go back to see all the stuff I missed beacause you can only do so much in 3 days. The architecture, the museums, the restaurants, the shopping! So much to do, I have to bring the kids next time.  My favorite was of course, Cloud Gate, otherwise know as "the bean"

One of the most brilliant public sculptures I have ever seem because it is so engaging.  

A close second though, was the nightime view from the 96th floor of the John Hancock tower.

the pictures definitely don't do it justice (and my night time photogaphy skills suck)