My first crochet project!

For Christmas I asked my hubs to buy me a beginner's book to learn how crochet.  He bought me this one from Joann's and it was really easy to understand! I did have a slight advantage because a friend of mine taught me a few things when we had a girl's night (woohoo margaritas!) but the descriptions are easy to understand and it's a great deal because you get 6 hooks to start out with.

I decided a scarf would be the best option to start out with and after grabbing some worsted yarn at Hobby Lobby I sat down and finished this in just one day.  I think it turned out pretty good for being my first project!  My neice's birthday is in February and I'm hoping she'll like it too. :)

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!  We were lucky enough to have a white Christmas and my son loved playing in the snow on Christmas Eve. :)  A few of our family members were able to make it down to see us as well and it was so good to be able to spend the holiday with family and friends.  

I wanted our son to give his grandparents something cute and while reading My Pink Stamper I saw a video of her using Glitter It to make sparkly ornaments and thought it would be perfect for P to do!  Just click her name and it will take you to her tutorial.  It really is super easy!!

I wasn't able to find Glitter It at Hobby Lobby so I called them to order it over the phone.  Their customer service was very helpful (and patient...hey, there were lots of colors of glitter to choose from!) and within a few days I had a UPS box in my hand.

I ordered Kelly Green and Silver Hologram from Signature Crafts along with the Glitter It and honestly, the pictures do not do it justice. They're very bright and so pretty! I also used Pixie Stix Strawberry glitter.  

I kept these simple but next year I plan on being more elaborate. 

Peachy Keen Stamp Challenge

Over at the Peachy Keen Stamp  blog they're having an embossing challenge.  Sadly, I do not have any Peachy Keen stamps (they're on my list!) but I am busy making my final Christmas cards.  I saw a card similar to this in CTMH's Winter Idea book last year and I thought it was very cute to try!

I didn't have a matching green to heat emboss the trees with so I used clear embossing powder.

Products used:  

Patterned paper, ink and stamp -  CTMH

Bling - Queen & Co.
Cardstock - DCWV
Twine

Gift card holder that I was making in my Jeep yesterday. :)  Sadly, I forgot to take a picture when I wrapped a ribbon around the top but I assure you, it was very cute! (yes, you read correctly, I was working in my Jeep! It totally slipped my mind to make the holder a head of time and yesterday was the last day to give my son's teachers their gifts.)

These are so simple to make and really will only take you about 5 minutes!  

To make:  cut a piece of cardstock to 4"x7".  Score at 1 1/4" and 4 1/4".  cut paper choice at 3 3/4" x 2 1/2" and 3 3/4" x 1".  Adhere paper and any embellishments you'd like and then tie a ribbon around the top portion to keep the flap closed!  Really, it's that easy! :)  I used a glue dot to keep the gift card in place. 

Patterned paper and cardstock from close to my heart. 

Season's Greetings!  It's one week away from Christmas and I am STILL making my cards! I've sent out many of them and I'm down to the last of my list but I'm feeling the pressure to get them finished and in the mail.  (As I should be, hmm? haha)

Here's one that I did this morning.  I love snowmen! :)

The important stuff:
Gypsy Wanderings - Snowman
Queen and co. - Bling
PP - My Mind's Eye
cardstock - Hobby Lobby & D
Ink - Doodlebug Design
Punch - Fiskers
Twine - purchased on Etsy  (super cheap and received a ton!  Leave a comment with information if you'd like her store!)
Sizzix dots embossing folder

Handmade Christmas gifts/cards

The weather has finally (finally!) cooled down here and I'm itching to make some Christmas gifts and put up our decorations!  I usually wait until the day after Thanksgiving to put everything up but this year I'm really feeling the spirit early. :)

I haven't been scrapping much lately, but I have been able to make a few Christmas cards and two sets of DIY coasters.  Making your own coasters is so easy!  I used scrapping booking paper for these, but I plan on making a few with a cute stamp as well. (seriously, just do a Google search and you'll find tons of tutorials that show how easy!)

I took this picture last night so it's not the greatest but you can get the gist of it. :)

All you need to do this is:

4x4 tiles from any home improvement store --I bought these for 16 cents a piece!
scrapbooking paper --1sheet will finish 9 tiles
Mod Podge -- can be found at Wal-Mart, Hobby Lobby, etc.  Use a coupon!
Acrylic Sealer
Foam brush
Felt pads or cork board for backing

I'm trying to finish enough cards that I won't have to buy any this year, and I'm on a pretty good role so far. Here's a few I've done!

And so begins our journey...

Last week I started following 2 Teaching Mommies in hopes of finding great ideas for homeschooling our lil' man.  He turned 3 in July (wow, where does the time go!?) and I've been searching for lesson plans that incorporate God and not just the regular "abc" material.  I am so happy I found their blog!!

Madonna and Amber make it so easy to teach.  Other than working with the Korean children while we were stationed in Korea (their material was already determined), I haven't had any experience.  I was so excited to find their weekly lessons FREE for download which also includes extra optional ideas as well as all the links you'll need.  How handy is that!?   Plus, they have a free giveaway that goes perfect with their first weekly lesson.  Head on over and check them out!

A few pictures of P in action:

We colored the letter B and he was gluing pictures of different body parts onto the B. He also glued pom-poms onto the number "2" but for some reason, I don't have pictures of that.  Hmm...sneaky pictures.

Today we'll be finishing up the 3 day lesson plan and will begin week 2 - my family, my home.  I can't wait and neither can he! :)

Thinking of Ewe

I've been wanting to play with the Songbird and Just Because cartridges and I finally got a chance today.  I love the font on Songbird and Just Because has some fun options!  

Materials & Techniques:
Sheep and "Ewe" - Just Because cut at 5.5"
"Thinking of" - Songbird cut at 1.25"
Patterned papers - My Mind's Eye-Summer Song 
Pen - Creative Memories
3 dots embossing folder - Sizzix
Ink - Studio G
Dimensionals - Paper Studio
Gypsy

You Wind Me Up!

How cute is this card from Recollections?  It's perfect for a fun boyish LO or card...and those are sometimes hard to find!  


For this card I used Fancy Pants Star paper.  I stamped the robot twice and then cut the body out to add a little extra to the card.  I used dimensionals to raise the card stock as well as the body of the robot.  

Wow! That's all I can say!

I'm a huge fan of Gina's Weight Watcher's Recipes over at www.skinnytaste.com as some of you may know.  (I'm not going to lie, I talk about it a lot. haha)  Tonight I tried her recipe for Grilled Peaches and wow!  It was so delicious!!  I had to restrain myself from licking my plate. :)

This was the first time I tried greek yogurt and I wasn't sure what to expect.  It was pretty good!  Click "grilled peaches" above for the link to the recipe.  You won't be sorry!

Boy Birthday Card

The Mr. Campy line is so darn cute!  Here's a card my hubs actually helped me design.  I asked him the usual, "what do you think?" and he had the idea of making the car/star movable.  How awesome is he?! His mechanical ability comes in pretty handy. :)  

Father's Day Card

I made this card over the weekend for Father's Day.  I haven't started working on one yet for my father, but this card will be perfect for my son to give Willie along with his gift.  It's simple but that's just the way my husband would like it. :)

Fancy Pants!

One of my huge, and I mean HUGE favorites is Fancy Pants for their paper, embellies, tags, rub-ons, etc...well you get the point. :)   

I did this LO last night with the Holly Jolly line from 2007.  I found a great deal I believe on peachycheap.com a few months back and it came with this fun paper, some rub ons, ribbon and a sheets of tags.  I used Thickers pink glittery chipboard letters (how often do you get to do that on a boy layout!?) and the cute little tree, star and the little circle are also Fancy Pants, but is from their Happy Holidays line.  I used bling leftover from a mini album from Michael's for the tree.

More to come....

A few LOs I finished last night.  If you're on BBC and love to scrap or are just interested to know more, swing by the Crop board and join us! :)


In February of 2009 we took a trip to Thailand and Malaysia, and I have yet to scrap these photos.  I know, I know!  You're not the only one telling me to get on the ball!  (love you babe. :D) Wait, I had yet to scrap a page until last night that is.


We had a white space challenge and I found a really cute LO at another blog that I wanted to lift.   I used DCWV cardstock, Queen & Co. felt, Thickers (umbrella), Fiskars punch, Prima flower, Basic Grey brad, and a Fancy Pants stamp.

Here I used Cosmo Cricuts Mr. Campy line, a Fiskars punch for the brown border, Making Memories flowers, and brown ricrac from CTMH . For the letters I used Designer's Calendar and the paper I used was actually a patterned paper from K&C Company.  Lots of collaboration going on here! haha

Strider Running Bike giveaway!

Over at Granola Mom 4 God's blog, she's had the awesome chance to write a review for the Strider Running Bikes and as a bonus gets to choose one to giveaway!  If you haven't heard of these yet, they are really amazing!  They teach children how to balance without the use of training wheels.

Head on over to Granola Mom 4 God's blog and enter her giveaway!  Make sure to tell her I sent you! :)

WW weigh in day...

and I'm down another 1.2 lbs!  Yay!  (Monday was weigh-in day)

While I wouldn't complain if I lost more than that, I'm completely fine with loosing a pound a time.  I know the weight will stay off easier if I lose it more slowly and honestly, I can see a huge difference in my body compared to the beginning of this year!

I've lost 11.4 lbs since beginning Weight Watchers in Feb.  yay for getting healthy!

I'm 13.8 lbs away from my goal weight.  It feels so awesome knowing I'm getting close!

For those of you addicted.....

to scrapbooking!  Over at "Obsessed with Scrapbooking" they're having a giveaway!  Definitely go check this out!  There's a GYPSY to be won (wooot!!), Summer Vacation cartridge, Summer in Paris cartridge, a 12x12 paper pack from SEI, and a package of Tim Holtz grungeboard.

Don't forget to leave her a comment saying I sent you! :)

Finally got some scrap time in!

After not scrapping for pretty much a month, I finally did a LO! *applause*

These papers were part of a page swap from BBC.  I'm not sure who sent this kit but it's really cute!  Most of the papers are by Imaginisce and I scraplifted a LO I saw using this line from the Imaginisce blog.  I don't remember the name brand of the orange paper in the background, but I'm trying to find out.  The blue cardstock is Core'dinations and the star paper is Boom! by American Crafts.  Yellow Thickers at the bottom.

Weight Watchers

I started doing Weight Watchers online on February 22 because I was feeling frustrated with my weight loss.  I thought I was eating better but when it came down to it, I really hadn't changed much at all!  Subscribing to WW has taught me a few things about portion control and foods that are filling, yet do not go straight to my hips. :)  Yes, I still have the occasional cheeseburger and french fries, but now I know that getting those...say in a kid's meal is actually enough to fill me up!


I know many of my online friends have been doing WW as well and we've been sharing our great recipe finds.  One of the best blogs I've found is Gina's blog at: www.skinnytaste.com.  I love that many of the recipes are comfort food yet "skinny!"

If you have any favorite recipes or blogs, post a comment! :)


My weigh in stats: 

Feb 22: 175.2
April 27: 166.2 <-- I've won my 5# star and my 5% star! C'mon bikini body! :D

Man, I'm really slacking on posting this month.  So sorry!


Here are a few layouts that I've done within the last week.  I love love LOVE this line from Little Yellow Bicycle- Lucky Me.  So cute but yet boyish at the same time!

I saw a fun layout in Scrapbooks Etc's magazine this month and I really loved all of the flower ideas!  The cloud has stickles on it (needs one more coat) and I'm planning on outlining it with white paint, but I need to buy some.  It has a hole punched in it so it can slide back and forth on the wire.  

It's that time again!

We're doing another page kit swap on BBC and I've done one LO with it so far.  (one of my kits)  I really like how it turned out.  I don't get the option to use lace much since we have a little boy! :)

I've had this paper for over a year but I've been afraid to use it.  It's so pretty but very busy!  I really like how it turned out.  The snowflakes were stamped onto tissue paper.

I used my Gypsy on this LO too!! I love it!  The Gypsy font is so pretty too. :D

Recent cards

Here's a few recent cards I've done. (Another BBC swap. :))

Thinking of you:  (The white paper is embossed with circles but it's not showing up in the picture.)

Get well soon:

Just a note:  (These were made with the Wild Card cartridge.)  

Thank you:  (CTMH paper)

Monochromatic LO!

This was one of our challenges for the crop this past weekend and I'll be honest and say at first I had a hard time with it!  I started out using a picture of P sliding and using orange paper, but I just wasn't feeling it so I ripped it apart.  :)  I tried it again using white and I really love how it turned out!  For the challenge, we were allowed to use metal and white/black along with the color we chose.

The two large flowers as well as the argyle pattern were embossed using my Sizzix.  I "painted" the leaves and smaller flowers with my white ink refill for my StazOn ink pad.  I used icicle Stickles on the leaves and tossed on some ric rac, white sparkly sprigs and one puffy Thicker flower. :) Title was made using metal letters.

Candle Stamping

I tried my first stamped candle yesterday and I love how it turned out!!   You wouldn't believe how easy it was too.  All you need is a heat embossing gun, stamp, ink, wax paper, tissue paper and a clear glue stick.

New Layouts

This weekend at BBC we're having an online crop complete with fast scraps, classes and door prizes! I made a few layouts that I am in LOVE with and I can't wait to share them. :)

Pleated ribbon challenge: (This is using Bo Bunny Flutter Butter line.  It's gorgeous!)

Challenge using red pp, a heart and chipboard:

Sketch challenge: (using U Bug Me line from Bo Bunny)