It's been almost 5 months....

...but I finally sat down and scrapped today.

First, yes we survived the hurricane, didn't even lose power. But as the sun started to come out this afternoon the winds really began to kick up. Next thing I knew I heard a crack and looked out the window...we lost a tree!

There it is snapped off about 12ft in the air, over the neighbors fence and blocking their driveway. Ironically they are one of the few people on my street that did evacuate for the storm and had just returned home. The tree just missed their car, they hadn't parked in their garage yet. So Dan helped trim off some branches so they can drive under and has called someone for an estimate on having it removed.

So now on to the scrappyness...

I think I forgot to show you my February PCC page...

It's a combo of papers from the Simple Stories "Life Documented" line & Bo Bunny "Olivia. Just a bunch of little pictures and a page of journaling.

Today I made my March PCC page...

Simple Stories "Life Documented" papers, some BasicGrey "olivia" letter stickers & labelsm and I also pulled out some rubons from CI Creative Cafe line. (Trying to use some stash up)

Then I made this layout...


I love my "Retro Camera" app on my phone and I wanted to print out some of the pictures I took with it. Used some more old stuff on this one. Pattern papers from Basic Grey (ledger & scraps of solid distressed blues) The houndstooth paper is from Pink Paislee "Bayberry Cove" and the blue sticker border is from PP "fetching". Raw chipboard Thickers that I misted with "denim" Glimmer Mist" Played around with the journaling position for over an hour I think...not sure I'm pleased with it, but it's done.

It felt good today, I wrote out ideas for all my other PCC pages up to an including August. Just need to start gathering/printing all the pictures.

Now I got to get dinner on the grill...

First an earthquake & now a hurricane....

What a crazy week! Having never experienced much more than a minor tremor Tuesday's quake was something else. Working on the 3rd floor of a very old building we were really moving! Just about everyone in the building thought it was coming down around us!

Now tomorrow we expect Irene to hit. After much debate we decided that the kids and I will stay put here at home. Got lots of non-perishable food items, batteries, camp lanterns and candles. I have moved my car to a "tree free" zone. We have had one car totaled in our driveway and on another occasion one damaged by a falling tree branch. Over the years we have thinned our trees on our property, but not taking any chances, especially since I just purchased it in April. Dan is being recalled to work, so his vehicle will be where ever he's getting picked up to be hauled onto the island.

So other than that we've been busy the last several weekends. A weekend in Philadelphia, got to meet up with Beth at a Phillies game, a soccer tournament and got to visit with my brother who was back east visiting from Montana.

No scrapping has been done yet but I am ready.

It's mostly clean and ready to go...

First a disclaimer: I by no means make fabulous videos...especially since I'm using my point and shoot camera for this one (and the lighting in this one is kinda bad)! Now I can't figure out how to turn the video, so you have to look at it sideways. This will probably be my first and last video.

So here it is, hope you don't get a neck cramp...




So now it's clean and ready to go.
May start printing out some pictures tonight.....

Hello blogging world...remember me???

I've been feeling the itch to get creative again. I think I needed to step back and regroup after the sudden closing of CC. It was such a big part of my life for SO long I think I actually had to do a type of mourning.

So here I am actually sitting in my dusty scraproom organizing and cleaning. I actually still had a bag of samples from winter CHA still in need of putting away and I have the remnants from my last kit and then an extra box of stuff I ordered from CC out on my desk.

I've relaxed and enjoyed the summer so far...still working out and trying to be healthier. I found myself actually reading a scrap magazine the other day and enjoying myself and then this week I was actually jotting ideas for LO's down on a sticky note at work. These I am taking as signs that I am now healed and ready to create.

Can't wait to create, but first I must get this room cleaned. I've already rearranged some of the furniture.

Stay tuned....

The 3 S's...

Sick, sad,soccer...not necessarily in that order. I guess you could just reverse it. Soccer...yes 2x's a week and then a game every weekend and MLS started last weekend with the home opener at PPL Park. (So happy we renewed our season tickets!)

Sad...due to family issues Jamie is closing Coordinates Collections. This has been such a big part of my life for over 5 years. I started out lurking almost from the beginning, then became a member/subscriber and then since 2006 I have been on the Design Team. Yes it has been a great site allowing me to share my creativity, but it has also been a great source of friendships. Even though many of us have never met...everyone is SO supportive and friendly. I will truly miss CC. Believe me the thought even slipped into my mind that maybe I could buy it from Jamie and continue on with CC...I don't have the time (to keep running CC at the same high rate of service) or probably the money either. On this note my blog will probably get busier...I will have to share projects...(can't leave you hanging with PCC...luv'n this project!)

Sick...came down with the ghastly stomach flu last weekend right after we got home from the Union game Saturday night! Thoroughly disgusting...I will not go in to details. Didn't surface until Monday when I immediately started disinfecting everything. Knock wood...nobody else in the house has come down with it. Hopefully it will stay that way.

Working on projects with the last CC kit this week :(

So that's where I've been and where I'm heading...

Rainy Sunday here

Well today was suppose to be the first game of the spring soccer season (yesterday the girls started, but B has decided to quit...new commitments with dance(it was a long hard decision for her)) but right as we got to church we got the message that the league had postponed all games due to the weather. We will now play a week longer in May...by then the weather should be nicer.

This gave me an extra day to catch my breath even though we have Dan's mom visiting. Got to watch a little bit of pre-season baseball...it looked nice and sunny in Florida. Then I did watch a little bit of the Nascar race before we headed out to dinner.

Finally got around to uploading my March projects over at Coordinates Collections today. Loved the mix of Fancy Pants "It's your Day" papers with Jillibean Soup "Pasta Fagioli" in the "Party Time" kit. Great colors!

My favorite layout this month....


No alpha in this kit so I used some Jillibean corrugated alphas from my stash. I didn't have enough of the same color to complete my title, so I used the Jenni Bowlin paint dabber included in the kit to make them all match. From the CC store I bought some of the Pasta Fagioli sprouts and used a few here layering with foam squares. The red cardstock, pattern paper and Jenni Bowlin diecut journaling spot were included in the kit. I added kraft cardstock and some Jillibean corrugated stars from my stash. I used a brown pen for outlining my pattern papers/cardstock and drawing that frame around the edge of the background pattern paper. I am really finding that I like the look of a few hand drawn elements on my layouts lately.

You can check out the rest of my projects and my fellow DT members projects here in the gallery. As usual some pretty inspiring stuff. I will be posting full details and pictures of my projects on the CC blog on Tuesday. Would you like to win this kit? Check out the details in this blog post at Jillibean Soup.

March!Really???

Yikes...it's MARCH!
Boy that month went fast and I am so ready for spring, but seriously I need a few more days in February....I need to get my little mini album done. Hoping to get it finished tonight/tomorrow and then get pictures taken. Have to email everything to J by the 3rd then we post in the gallery on the 5th.

Stay tuned...busy creating here.

It's been a sad week

I have neglected most all my projects this week. I just didn't have the heart. A dear scrappy friend and fellow DT member, Kimberly Madrid, lost her son Monday night after a long battle with cancer...he was just 7...way to soon. Today was his funeral and Texas is too far, but I was there in spirit. Red was Ryan's favorite color and she asked that those attending would wear red. Many of us at CC honored her wishes and wore red today and posted in our galleries.

Rest in Peace Ryan.

{Party Time Peek}

I planned on getting more creating done this weekend, but really only got one layout done with the kit. Later tonight I'm going to work on that mini-album a bit more, but before I run off to the trainer I thought I'd share a peek of what I created this afternoon...

Love the dimension on this one! I used that Jenni Bowlin paint dabber from the kit to paint some Jillibean corrugated alphas from my stash(no alphas in this kit) and then I layered some Pasta Fagioli journaling sprouts (an addon for this months kit) with foam dots. Oh and last month I picked up some of those corrugated shapes from the store...here I just inked a bit. Pattern papers and Jenni Bowlin journaling die cut were included in the "Party Time" kit.

Speaking of parties...tomorrow I officially become the mother of a teenager. Baked a nice chocolate cake today for him (another reason why I should head out the door now to the gym!)

So 2 posts in one week...shocking huh?
Don't forget Friday I will have a PCC post on the CC blog.

Finally getting creative...

Well really it's my own fault...I went to the bookstore again!
I've read two books this month..."The House at Riverton" by Kate Morton (this I started on the plane ride to/from CHA) and then this week I read "the Year of the Fog" by Michelle Richmond. Both very different from each other, but also very good. So since I finished up the latter last night I began playing around today.

First I did a little watercolor to go with a poem a friends father wrote. He's very creative (with words) and was thinking he wanted to submit it for a card and asked me to do an illustration. So I painted the first thing that came to mind after reading the poem. I've had the poem for a few weeks...so I needed to get it done.

Another friend also asked me to do an album and that is sitting in the corner staring at me, but I needed to break in to my "Party Time" kit from Coordinates Collections! I've printed a few pictures and started messing around with the little Maya Road chipboard album included in the kit. So far I've primed the front & back covers and a few of the inner pages with some white acrylic paint, then I played a bit with the Jenni Bowlin "Paint Dabber" that comes in the kit on two of the pages. In my kit I got the light blue paint.."soap powder"...isn't that a pretty name?
This is what I came up with...I simply "dabbed" the acrylic paint on the white pages making little rows of imperfect circles. After the paint dried I lightly sanded, to smooth down any uneven paint ridges, and then I outlined the circles with a fine-point black Sharpie. How fun and easy! I also picked up another dabber in the CC store in orange, it's called "chicken feed". The colors are absolutely perfect with this kit.

I also finally got pictures of my January PCC page and uploaded it to my gallery. On Friday I will be posting on the CC blog about it.

Maybe on Monday I'll have a few more peeks to share.

Super Bowl Sunday

No big party plans here...just hanging out with the family. I have a good book I'm reading so I will probably read/watch the game. Don't really have a fave to win, but I guess I'd like to see the Packers win since the Steelers have won a few bowls lately (shhh...don't tell my Pittsburgh friends).

Anyway...nothing too exciting here today. Doing laundry, grocery shopping, and working on my January PCC page today. I really love the colors in the Simple Stories "Life Documented" kit and I have so many things in my stash that compliment these papers. Today I decided to use papers from the "Life Documented" kit & BoBunny "Olivia" (available in the PCC addon section of the CC store). Then I was trying to decide how I wanted to embellish and with what? Then I thought of some chipboard I had in my stash...Crate Paper "Seasons" (I think this was an addon available with a kit a few years ago)

Yes I am using that cute little bird and a few of the hearts from this chipboard set. I have my pages (remember I'm doing the 6x12" size) all finished and just need to get them photographed. Phew...one thing checked off my to do list for this upcoming week.

Yesterday was reveal day over at CC. The DT uploaded their projects using the February "Song Birds" & "Blue Skies" kits. As usual some really fun inspiring stuff...you can check it out here.

My favorite project this month...

The kraft cardstock, Bazzill Just the Edge, and Jillibean sprout were added to the kit from my stash. I made a mask to spray the stars on my page with the Glimmer Mist included in the kit. There will be more on that when I do my blog post on Wednesday on the Coordinates Collections blog.

So that's all I have for now.
Hope you enjoyed your weekend.

I'm home.

What a super busy fun 3 days, but I do hate that commute across the country. The 3 hour time difference is a real pain. Anyway arrived to sunny warm California on Friday...it turned cool and rainy and then I came home late last night to a light snow.

CHA was awesome as usual. I did a really big post with pictures on the CC blog today and I know Sarah will be finishing up with a second post and more pictures either tonight or sometime in the near future. All in all we got 10 complete kits done (that's 5 months) and the bones for an 11th started. Plus we picked out some fun stuff just to stock in the CC store.

It was great seeing Jamie & Lisa again...I wish we all lived closer. It was fun meeting Sarah and Robyn. Robyn even came back to our room after dinner Saturday night to help select papers for the kits...made it much easier having 4 designers there hanging papers and voicing their opinions. We spent Sunday on the show floor selecting the embellishments for these kits and doing a few more make-n-takes.

Speaking of the show floor it was fun seeing familiar faces in some of our favorite booths. Sometimes you even have a chance to chat and share some candy. (Maybe they will even let you have some of their secret stash of candy...we were in the right booth at the right time for the stash of Twix bars to be brought out) We also got to meet the people from Simple Stories who make the "Life Documented " kit that we are using as a base for {PCC}. They loved our idea and just like us loved Lisa's videos.

I'm not sharing more CHA pictures of scrap supplies (you can see these like I mentioned on the CC blog) but I will share a picture of B wearing some of the stuff I brought home from CHA.

A super cute apron from Fancy Pants, a necklace from Bella Blvd, a Make-n-Take necklace that I made at October Afternoon, and she has a few pins in her pocket from Pebbles (they are pink of course).

Making a list & checking it twice

I know Christmas is over, but I'm making a packing list and a list of things that need to get done by Thursday. I spent this weekend finishing up my projects with the February "Blue Skies" kit. They have to be emailed to Jamie by the 3rd and I certainly don't want the idea of having to finish up projects looming while in California. Got to get stuff for my peeps squared away so they can survive on their own while I'm gone and then I need to decide what I want to pack. I will be happy to leave the heavy coat, scarves, and gloves in New Jersey!

Besides seeing all the great crafting stuff at CHA I'm excited to spend time with Jamie, Lisa and I finally get to meet Sarah...yay! She is filling in for Susie this year who is off on her own adventure in India. Also I get to meet another CC DT member, Robyn! She will be there with Imaginesce, but is going to hang with us a bit.

Well not sure if I will blog again before CHA, but I will probably post something while we are there. Don't forget if you are looking for something to do this weekend Coordinates Collections is having their Winter Cyber Crop. Some fun challenges, games, and of course there will be prizes.

{3 day weekend}

I went back to work last Friday...one day, just to check to see what had piled up on my desk. A co-worker gave me a book she just finished and I dove into it Friday afternoon when I got home. I read all night (barely coming up for air) and then it took me another 2 hours early Satrurday morning.

It was a good easy read. About two little girls meeting one summer...their adventures and underlying family issues. I love a book that keeps me sucked in for the entire time. This is also a good reason why I either get books out of the library or share with friends...once I get sucked in there is no stopping me until I've finished it. The rest of the day Saturday was spent doing those errands I wanted to get done last Saturday & I also had to take B to get her eyes examined...she was complaining about not being able to see at school. Big prescription change !!

Sunday afternoon I finished up the layout I started on Thursday and then began thinking about my next layout. This morning I put my ideas to paper and finished up a 2nd layout with the "Blue Skies" kit. Do you ever get sucked into a style/technique when you are creating? Last month 2 of my projects had hand drawn frames on the background cardstock...this month it's outlining. Here's some pieces for today's layout...

See how the paper pieces are outlined in brown pen! Did the same thing with some of the pieces on that first layout. Hmmm....will have to ponder this.

I've also had a little idea brewing for quite sometime now and have been saving up wine corks for it. This morning I decided to see how close I was to my plan and to see if I still liked the idea...

I have a plan to make these framed decor items to hang in the kitchen. I just loosely laid out what I have saved up in a frame I had picked up a while ago on sale (not necessarily the frame I'm going to use). I think I'm going to proceed with this idea, but I do have a complaint. I do not like the "plastic" wine corks...they do not look right in this project...so I couldn't use any of them. It seems though that a lot of vineyards are switching to these "corks"...at least a lot of the wines I've had lately. I guess I will have to change up and try some new wines to see if I can find more "real" corks.

I survived

I will not deny that there was pain involved. Tears were shed on Monday between the time that anesthesia was wearing off and the time I got home and took one of the prescription pain killers that we had to stop and get at the pharmacy. Ummm...why couldn't they drug me before I left? I think I spent the rest of Monday and into Tuesday morning drugged, iced, and a sleep.

Lots of soft foods this week...applesauce, greek yogurt, pureed sweet potatoes, pudding. At thos point I think I'm fantasizing about eating something crunchy. (Why would someone sit next to me on the sofa yesterday eating nacho chips?...yes it did happen and I finally asked them to stop or leave the room)

Today I haven't taken any pain meds, my bottom jaw just feels bruised. I actually ventured into the scrap room this morning and started on a layout with the Blue Skies kit (must be feeling like myself). On Sunday I printed out the pictures, but never sat down to work with it.

Here's a little peek...
I still have to glue it all down and add the journaling, but it's a start. Taking a break now for lunch I have some yummy sweet potatoes warming in the microwave.

I got it all cleaned and somewhat organized

I guess it was a good thing it snowed and ruined my plans because I did manage to get it all cleaned up and even had time to waste on the computer too. I don't think I ever gave you a tour, so since it's all clean I'll let you have a little peek...

This is an antique bench table (it actually came from the farm kitchen where my mother was raised and it was used in various places in my childhood home...now it's mine) The back piece folds down making a 32x48" work surface. It nearly takes up all the floor space, but if I need to spread out it's good. Most of the time I keep it in "bench mode". The seat lid lifts up and I store some xyron refills and a few other oddities that I don't need to get at on a regular basis. Yes, the whole thing is sitting on a towel, but it makes it easier(and I won't scratch the floor) to move out to open. On top I have my xyron, paper trimmer, and my PCC album and papers. While organizing I placed my papers and embellies I picked up specifically for this project into a Cropper Hopper paper folder. I figured it would keep the basics handy when doing my monthly pages. Next to and underneath I have albums and a few photo storage boxes (my pre-digi days)

This shelving unit is tucked into the corner. Here is where I store my papers and stickers. I've sorted most papers my manufacturer as well as stickers too. They are all placed in Cropper Hopper folders & paper holders. The bottom shelf has some old albums and a basket full of idea books. There is also a small basket containing empty mini albums (you never know when you may need one) and another basket holds some sheets of canvas, cork, and a few small album kits.

The clean desk/work area. I know I've shown you how the drawers are organized so I won't go into that again. Underneath I have my printer on a rolling cart with drawers. In the drawers I store ink, photo paper, regular paper, and page protectors. There is also a small bin under there where I store cardstock scraps.

On one side of the closet I have added storage cubes with drawers, a small plastic "tool" container and a few bins. In the storage cube I have drawers for stamps (acrylic & wooden) Another small drawer has a bunch of Heidi Swapp stuff (I went on a craze with her stuff a few years ago, but I still use some here and there). Then in the big drawers...one dedicated just to Thickers ( it's over flowing right now), one for chipboard shapes, another for other chipboard alphas, then the bottom drawer holds cards of trims, felt shapes and other "fabric" type embellishments.

That's it a quick tour of my space.

Now it's a good thing I got it all cleaned up because look what came yesterday while I was cleaning....

A nice big box of scrappy goodness. I got my February "Blue Skies" kit and some addons for the kit as well as my PCC project. I think I might just try to find some great pictures to go with this kit this afternoon, then I can get my scrappy mojo going.

Such great plans for today...

...drop Fritz off at a local hunting lodge with scouts(spending the weekend), drive to Ocean City for a kettle bell/TRX class, home change, go to get new dance tights for Becca(somehow she's gone through 3 pairs this year, that never happens. defective tights???), swing out to DSW to pick up a pair of shoes I want, stop on way home and get groceries. Sounds like a productive day right?

No..it started snowing about 7:30 am! Driving out to drop off for scouts was a nightmare. Roads haven't been plowed yet, had to detour because of a "head on accident". What should have been a 30 minute round trip was a 1hr 15min. So I'm not attempting to go anywhere else. Maybe tomorrow.

This is the view out my scraproom window right now...

You can barely tell I drove in the driveway about an hour ago. They are calling for approx. 6", so nothing like the Christmas storm. I should be able to get some errands done tomorrow.

Since I'm cooped up indoors today, maybe it will prompt me to tackle this...

It's a disaster! I think the last two months of kit scraps are laying there and what I pulled out to start on my PCC project. Behind this on the chair are some left over stuffs from Christmas wrapping/packing. Ugh, but it's got to be done and no time like the present right?

Speaking of kits, here's my favorite layout from the January "Sleigh Ride" kit.


Back to my productive day theory...it all needs to get done because I will be out of commission for the beginning of next week. Monday morning I'm having all 4 of my wisdom teeth extracted. Three of them are in and one is impacted. The reason I'm finally having this done is that one of the teeth now has a cavity in it. According to the oral surgeon both that tooth and the impacted one should be causing me lots of pain, but knock wood I'm not in any. However, I think this may change next week. Since I'm "older" and according to the surgeon these teeth should have been removed 20 years ago; the roots are quite developed and it may be a bit more painful than normal for my recovery. So I'm thinking pain meds, soft pureed foods, and no working out next week for me.

Okay I've wasted enough time on here for now. I'm sure I'll take a break from cleaning up this mess and waste more time here later.

Happy New Year & a little PCC update...

A new year, a fresh start... resolutions to be made and broken? I'm not making any myself but I have a goal to continue what I started this fall...taking care of ME. This doesn't mean neglecting my family, but if I take time for me...it seems to benefit everyone. I feel better, I'm happier...I notice a change (and just not the 2 pants sizes either) I wonder if they do too(mentally that is)? I will admit this is easier for me to do now, because the kids can be left by themselves for an hour or two while I attend a workout, get a haircut, etc. Also looking forward to travels (California & Florida and whatever else may pop up this year)

So today I was going through the papers in the Project Calendar Collections starter kit and found this quote... "Warning: Dates on calendar are closer than they appear". This quote was made for me. At work I'm always scheduling things out several weeks in advance; which leads me to think everything in my life is weeks in advance. Next thing I know its an anniversary or birthday and I haven't prepared. Now if you tell me "tomorrow is..." or "next Saturday is..." I can totally get it and can have all my ducks in a row. I think that quote ought to be my "quote" for the year...a little personal mantra.



On that note I have some PCC updates to share that didn't make it into today's post on the Coordinates Collections blog. First is the cover of my album...

I started with the Pink Paislee 6x12 Artisan album that I picked up in the CC store. I began by misting the cover with "Denim" glimmer mist by Tattered Angels. I then cut,frayed and stitched a piece of printed canvas to use as a base for my title collage. The collage consist of some stuff from my stash (Donna Downey canvas tree(inked/misted); tag,diecut,&chipboard frame by Creative Cafe; & a button) and then I added a sticker from the main kit.

Now my title page...

The page is made up of papers from the main kit(the Live Life block was mounted with foam tape to make it "pop"). To it I added a Pink Paislee pleated ribbon along the bottom, some Pink Paislee whimsy letter stickers and then some fabric Thickers. I adhered this page directly to one of the chipboard sheets included with the album. (I will not put this in a page protector)

That's where I stand with the project right now. Are you playing along too? There is now a special gallery over at Coordinates Collections just for PCC projects. Off to upload these now.