Margaret the Maple: Layout

Buying your second/third house is kinda like getting preggers the second time. You know how it works, you know it has its extremely painful moments, a huge reward in the end, followed by lots and lots of more work.

So if another person asks me if I am excited to move, I am going to scream and scream. I am still not over unpacking the last time. I blame yesterday's drama a bit......;-)

Our lawyer called THE MAN yesterday at work and without any introduction announced that our water flow test had failed and did we still want to buy the house.

Thankfully THE MAN did not know it was our lawyer, so he called the number he was given to THE WATER WIZARD and started asking questions. Turns out the flow test is just fine...see laywers are better at lawyering and not water, right? And a wizard is just better at everything.

Anyhow, the person MOST excited about the new house is Lexi. This page is all for her!

As we rolled up the driveway to our soon to be new house she bellowed: It's Margaret the Maple! Just like I wanted, a purple maple!

Since we all had butterflies and were preparing to be nervous, it just made us laugh instead!

It's really called a Crimson King and is a tree that started being very popular when I was a kid. I recall my Dad talking about it as it's somewhat of a genetically engineered tree that is purple year round. The funny part was that Lexi  was talking about wanting a purple tree as we drove down!

I myself am most pleased with my pink dogwood, which you can see really far back behind the big pine...

So glad it's safe again to post this page...I was planning on it yesterday until the water fiasco!

Have a great Friday & upcoming weekend!

I'll be back Sunday with the latest from Another Freaking Scrappy!

You Are Lovely Affirmation Art: Technicolor Trio of Tempting Treats Week 5

I am really big on loving yourself & the skin you are in.

I myself suffer from overconfidence due to a boss once who gave me a review and said I did not need to improve anything. I took that to heart and in general try not to beat myself up too badly. THE MAN tries to give me feedback but again, I am perfect! No point in trying to tell me otherwise!

Actually I am kidding a whole lot. Mostly I get mad at my hair and sometimes I like to switch that up and get grumpy about dark circles under my eyes and then I can hate on my eyebrows...and when that gets old, I can always loathe my tummy stretch marks on skin that gave up being happy by the second kid. Don't get me started on potential personality flaws....

That is why we all need something to tell US how lovely we are! Here is a shout out from ME on Hump Day saying YOU ARE LOVELY!

Need me to say that again? I can.....

Zoomed in photo!  So you can READ IT! YOU ARE LOVELY!

























One more time, sideways so you can also see the little nesting bird hanging out in my locket...

And do you know who is lovely in particular? Three girls.

The first two are:

Lisa (QUIRKS) & Sue (ONION) who are my partners in crime for these treats! We have only one more challenge for our Technicolor Trio of Temping Treats left to make! They are super duper lovely chickies!

Here are our requirements this week that I ran with in a very loosey goosie kind of way.

• Triptych
• Drips and drops to make a design.
• Inchies
• Configuration of Frames-assortment in any design or layout.

To be honest, I read the first requirement, ripped this scrabble board in half, covered it in with paper and started gluing...

Framed things out and glued some more. Added lots and lots of runny mists and what not, which did not really give me a pattern but made me really happy in a grungy misty kind of way. See the layers upon layers?

I then went back and reread our requirements and realized I had to dig up some inchies. Used some queenly images that I slid behind a clear faceted tile I have had in my stash for years. Tied ribbon on the edges. 

The other person who is especially lovely is the lady who has the awesomest store on the block! Linda over at THE FUNKIE JUNKIE BOTIQUE just reopened and I got those awesome flowers there! She is my personal shopper since I pretty much like EVERYTHING in her store and really just go through and say one of these and one of these with no plan. Everything comes wrapped so nicely with pretty little ribbons and clear envelopes.

So, three awesome links to check out on this very lovely of Wednesdays!

YOU ARE LOVELY! And so is the birthday girl who will be receiving this in the mail soon along with some chocolates!

Hugs Card for Jean

This card & a hug is ready to mail across THE POND to a friend who had recent surgery. I am hoping this card finds her healing and in good spirits! (I am a bit belated but I'm sending scrapping goodies, so hopefully she will forgive me!)

She told the funniest (so it was funny to the rest of us) story on Facebook a bit ago about having to be rescued in the early am by EMTs who were not hot sadly and I'm still chuckling a bit...which is why I had to add a propeller to the front. You never know when you might need a lift!

Used up some scraps on this card (a Valentine's Day Kit) and I'm betting that Jean will reuse the flower at some point on a page!

Not to be too punny, but more power to you!

Happy Tuesday!

The Waiting Game & Angle Grinding

Since we are in a waiting game now for the next month on everything while various closings occur, THE MAN and I decided to spend some time wrapping up a few projects over this long weekend. He worked on a fuel pump (don't ask, I tried not to!) and I wrenched on a desk.

It's a metal OMG heavy thing we had in the basement because it is too awesome to throw away and wasn't needed at our last two houses. After seeing the sunny glassed in porch I'll be using as my new office at the new house, I decided it's time for my old desk to be replaced. Previously I believe it was a lab table as THE MAN bought it second hand from his company as it was surplus. When I say it's heavy, it really is! Three of us dragged it out of the basement and I have the sore shoulders to prove it! Having two computers and one monitor taxes the desk space these days and I'd love to have a little more real estate.

Took me a couple of hours to get it ready for angle grinding. There was an old top that needed to be removed and also a shelf. Plus, various bolts & nuts were missing, so I got to add them and tighten everything down. THE MAN seemed determined only to coach the girl invading his garage so it was all me! He did point out at one point that I might want to switch over from metric wrenches....

It's ready for paint now and then I'll be scouting around for a top. It's randomly 4 inches wider than a standard kitchen counter top so I'll have to special order one. I am hoping to get one locally since I have no confidence the big box store who said they'd call me with a quote really will.....

Happy Memorial Day to the peeps in States! And elsewhere, I do hope your Monday is fantastic!

The Old Girl, Beagle Breath, and a new Garden

We took a trip down Friday to meet the people who are moving out of our new house. They are the nicest couple ever and so happy that their "old girl" will hold a family. The house is brick with black shutters and a more formal house than I've ever lived in. It's also older than me, which is another first! (I'll post photos when it's actually mine. I felt weird taking any!)

Currently it's just the two of them and a very spoiled Beagle named Max who got a whole lot of petting since he was involved in showing us around. He shows his appreciation by breathing on you with Beagle Breath, but since he's so cute you keep petting.

It was the first time I'd seen the house, which seems like such an oddity when you are less than a month away from closing on it. When it came on the market, I sent THE MAN down to check it out. My work schedule was terrible, the kids had school and we trusted him to find someplace that would make us happy.

And he did! He face timed me into the place which is of course not like going there, but better than nothing. There is something about someone who knows you so well he can pick out someplace you will live for the next ten years....

I'm very excited about our new house. My brain is wrapping itself around new gardens, what I'll use where, and having a fire place for the first time. I was quite annoyed to find out that I will own a pink dogwood tree and I am just now finding out. See, you can't trust him to really check out the plants! He knows all the systems inside and out, but is not into the gardens! The oldest is also excited about a tree, but I'm working on a page for that, so that story is coming.

Since it's five hours to get from nearly the top of New York State to the bottom, our return trip involved stopping somewhat in the middle to see my parents. They have been hard at work at building this new rock patio and are finally to the fun part. Adding the plants!

Here is a before photo with my Dad modeling the new chairs I got for them for Mother & Father's Day.

If by the way you are ever in the market for chairs for your patio, you might want to give these a whirl. Since they are easily fold-able, I have given up patio furniture at my house and instead own four of these chairs which also can go in the camper with us. They are Caravan Canopy Zero Gravity Chairs and one of the best purchases I have made. No Amazon did not pay me to say that. They only love me because I have a prime account and I know how to use it. ;-)

Some of the rocks are from our North Country House, including several nice pieces of Potsdam Sandstone. In fact, there is a piece of this garden that needs to be finished and I believe they will be making a trip back up for a few more rocks before we move.

Well, I am off to do some work myself. Have a hot date with a weed eater and then an angle grinder. The lawn is growing like crazy and then I have some paint to remove from a really old lab desk that will be my new desk in the new house. 

Have a great Sunday!

Super Wacko Crazy French Violet Syrup Bottle: Technicolor Trio of Tempting Treats Week 4

Early Sunday am found me rummaging around in my fridge. I woke myself up trying to think of bottle projects and the brain was not going to rest until I got started with something. 

I found this slightly fancy syrup jar that had just enough syrup to warrant maybe putting the whole thing back in the fridge if you were too lazy to wash it out for the recycling. 

After hot water and scrubbing off the label, I took the bottle out for some spray. I have this new spray paint I found that frosts glass. Normally I'd haul out the sand blaster, but sometimes I actually break the bottle in my sand blasting zest! 

After it dried, I came up with the fancy part that THE MAN turned his nose up at. 

I admit, it's a bit over the top but I had a lot of requirements I had to meet!

Lisa (QUIRKS), Sue (ONION) & I are stretching ourselves with difficult goals! We have two more challenges for our Technicolor Trio of Temping Treats to make!

Here is a close up of all the over the top bling...more is better in this case when you are trying to fit in all the things you are supposed to do & use!

Here are the requirements!

• Mixed Media
• Collage
• Glass Jar creation
• Material

The material part is what threw me off. I wanted to hand make a material flower, but was running out of time so I used one I had. I think it's a wee bit too big and black, but live and learn!

As far as mixed media goes, there are several items on here that might be hard to see, which is why I brought the bottle in the house for a photo. 

I added some gold paint & purple dye over top of modge podge on the entire bottle giving it a frosted, tinted purple look. Yes, why stick with one paint type item when you can use three. 

See, over the top!

Anyhow, I have had a blast playing along with these ladies and our challenge! Hop on over to their blogs & check out what amazingness they have created today! 

Happy Hump Day!

Pirate Chest with Legs: ARGH MATEY!

HEY MOM! If you leave it open, the cat might sleep in this! This was said as she tried to stuff our cat into the box to show him how wonderful sleeping in a pirate's chest might be.

Eragon voted no to the arrangement by flailing wildly with claws extended. He might have let out a piratey-y yowl!

A book or two and maybe a small cuddly blanket will work much better than a grouchy cat I think!

Last week I posted our before photos! The chest was white back then and sans hardware.

Now we have it all up and running, ready for stuff!

Check out the huge pirate lock I got! Isn't that fun? I love hardware!

18 people tried to buy this over the weekend at our garage sale. It was out in the garage as I was working on modge podging the map pages inside it. I found an atlas at the second hand store the other day and I carefully picked the pages that made the most happy! Got plenty of maps left over, which also makes me happy!

Hope your Tuesday (or Wednesday) was terrific! Winding down to the end of ours here!

Bird Salt & Pepper Shaker Artist Trading Blocks for THE CUTTING CAFE

The birds have been CRAZY here this spring! They are making nests everywhere, fighting over whatever birds fight over, flying into our garage, and basically being BIRD BRAINS!

I have birds on my brain myself. I just wanted a couple of small birds to use on this project. Since we don't have lots of places to buy craft supplies, I asked at our thrift store and this really cool volunteer did a deep dive in their back room for me.

She turned up these very ugly silver plastic birds. They were originally salt and pepper shakers believe it or not!

I did not really want them, but I wanted to give them a new pretty home so took them home with me!

They had really thick bottoms, so cut off the plastic bottom with a little saw! So much fun!

No, you cannot see the base they were on. That is FUGLY beyond all belief. I have it hidden away in my to alter pile and I think it's turning everything else ugly that is in with it. Might just have to go right in the bin with it....

The salt & pepper shaker holes & the bottom hole was carefully hidden with spanish moss and some plaster with silver paint. I like how they match the silver embossed metal tape I used on Regina's latest creation over at THE CUTTING CAFE, Artist Trading Blocks or ATBs. 

Have you heard of ATB's yet? I love the idea!

I chose to create a single box with a top (the smaller one) and a larger rectangle by joining two boxes. Adding a silver base to the larger one with a glass candle stick to the other was just an added bonus to fancy them up!

I think I will drop them off at the second hand store for my friend who found me these birds! If she likes them, she can take them. If not, they can hang out on the shelves and maybe make them a few dollars for the shelter pups and kitties!

Pop over on Wednesday to THE CUTTING CAFE to see all the ATB's. I can't WAIT to see them all in one place!

And one last photo of my Bird Blocks in the wee morning light. It looks like they are flying! ;-)

Hope you had a great Monday! Mine is just coming to a close and it was sunny, bright, beautiful and lovely! Just the kind of day you want to spend at your desk working! JK! ;-)

WORDS: Layout for Another Freakin Scrappy

Oh words, how I love you!

Just recently I was looking through a huge tote of random letters when I found a writing award I had won in sixth grade. No doubt there are others in there somewhere, as I recall getting one of those awards often. In fact, THE MAN who also was in my elementary school also got them often. We are freaks at dinner when we google the meaning of a word or make fun of the poor designer I work with who consistently writes rape it up instead of wrap it up. We are nerds about words. ;-)

I thought it would be fun to take Anne's latest sketch over at Another Freaking Scrappy and use my award on a page about reading, writing and dreaming. 

As kids, we don't realise what  luxury it is to be able to sit and read. I used to read for HOURS and HOURS, just ask my Dad who was always complaining that my head was in a book. 

These days I don't get much time to read. I try to behave and not escape or no one will have clean laundry or dinner!

I am able to read really quickly though and can write an entertaining email now and again so all that practising when I was little is not in vain!

Oh that ribbon makes me happy! As does that gesso & ink on the side. Just a smidge of multi-media on a simple page!

Hope you get a chance to play along with us!

HUGS!

GROW....to become greater: Technicolor Trio of Tempting Treats Week 3 Trowel Art

THE MAN was visably upset when I handed him this rustry trowel and asked him to bend it a smidge. It had been overextended in the soil and I knew his hands were strong enough to tweak it back into shape.

He put on his best possible my wife is nuts face and said, did you pay actual money for this?

I offered to run and get him more wine and opted to not answer that question. Explaining an altered trowel or spade if you will would just hurt his head. (It was only a dollar! ;-)

Add in the idea of using scrabble tiles to spell out a letter & 6 of spades playing card....and that I am using them for symbolism would be worse to explain. And since it IS a Spade that I am altering, it was kind of punny in a funny kind of way...

See, the moving thing will cause us to Grow. It's painful but four years here has stretched us in ways as a family & couple that I never thought possible. I can't imagine what we'll be in another four years in a new place!

Growing to become greater. Not greater in size as moving this time invovles less stuff. We are also moving less of us having lost a dear dog lately. ;-( More on that later when I can stand to write about it.

Two Adults, Two Kids, two pets, which is why I used a playing card with a 6!

Lisa (QUIRKS), Sue (ONION) & I are stretching ourselves with difficult goals! We have three more challenges for our Technicolor Trio of Temping Treats to make!

This one was HARD I thought even though a couple of the ideas were mine!

• Layers and textures using circles
• Odd marriage of two items-eg;Rusty nail Pink Rose
• Stars
• Dictionary depictions

I went with flowers for circles, really cheating a bit since a trowel SHOULD have flowers, the little stars are SNUCK in here and there. See the little itty bitty one by my definition of the word GROW at the bottom written in white ink? This piece is certainly an odd marriage! 

Well, hope you enjoyed Week 3 and get a chance to hop over to visit my two crafting buddies Lisa (QUIRKS), Sue (ONION) and check out their creations!

Happy Hump Day!

Toy Chest with Feet

When my sister-in-law texted me on Mother's Day and asked what I was up to, she was likely not surprised to hear I was in the shop.

There is something about power tools, a sunny day, and a weekend to just make you happy.

Add in Thai for lunch and it's a perfect day!

She did not however understand what we were making.

I tried to explain that if you have legs you should put them on something...

The legs were left over from my jewelry box redo.

The chest most recently housed the toy train until we found a better box for it. We are all about getting things straightened up for the movers. However, the chest was way too nice to toss or put into the garage sale pile.

Years ago it played a very important part in a huge Pirate Birthday Party we threw for the kids.

Here, hold on. I'll get you the pages to look at...

Back in the days when I really liked stickers....

You can see Luke down in the right hand corner with the chest. He happened to be the one kid who was delayed in running off hence not running PAST the chest where it was close to the driveway. The rest of the kids had to be stopped as they had kept running and were nearly to the neighbor's house. One kid tripped on a tree branch and was bawling...oh the memories.

Here she is all painted up with a basecoat of white. Last night we distressed the coat of black we added.

We have a pile of hardware to add and this huge crazy pirate chest lock that is making me happy!

I am thinking about modge podging a map on the inside too! Fun times!

I'll be back later with the finished version!

Clarkson Basketball Camp Layout

Oh those three boys cracked me right up!

Tommy's Dad and I split transportation to the Clarkson Basketball Camp during break week. He picked Luke up in the morning and took him to camp and I picked Tommy, Luke and Scott up at lunch time and dropped them off to Tommy's Mom's house.

I came WITH lunch so I was a cool Mom. Plus, I was hungry and I knew that whatever those sweaty boys had to say would be entertaining. It was like dinner and a movie.

Scott left this really great pin in my jeep that cracked me up totally. Can you see it there below? Luke wanted to give it back, but it fell into the Mommy Tax area.

The pin says:  I like poetry, long walks on the beach and poking dead things with a stick

You know about Mommy Tax, right? It's when your kid has a whole candy bar and you take a small piece of it...like tax, right?

Really enjoyed getting this scrapped. Not sure if my boy will play basketball next year so it's fun to have put it all down on paper,

Happy Monday!

A Random Act of Kindness on Mum's Day

The kids were little, it was cold, the chicken wasn't all that and the drive was long, but yet, it was a very memorable Mother's Day.

Lexi found $20 on the beach, Lukey leaned to skip stones, and I was given a cool sea glass necklace from a perfect stranger.

And years later we still remember seeing Tow Mater in the wild, Chimney Bluff, and our day trip.

Funny thing, it took me quite a while to get my hands on these pages. I have a huge cabinet of scrapbooks so kept coming across pages that I had to take a minute to look at. Had quite a stroll back memory lane last night with a nice mixed drink of malibu and juice. THE MAN hooked me up with my drink and kept wandering back upstairs to check on progress and take a look at times past.

Finally found them this morning. The necklace was easier to place. ;-) See it there next to the photo?

And the story...

Hope your day is fantastic! I have a date myself with some power tools and a small furniture alteration! Wish me luck!

Kitchen Timer Alteration for LESSology's Window Display Challenge

This little alarm clock alteration required power tools! It started off life as a kitchen timer at the second hand store and was so cute and adorable, I had to bring it home!

Once I started taking it apart, I realized I was going to need HELP to get it opened up so I could alter the inside. You can see here, it's all one piece of metal.

THE MAN took an angle grinder and carefully cut open the front. He then used a dremel and a sanding tool to sand down the rough edges.

I then spray painted the bell & handle gold and used a green patina on the rest of it. More gold followed over the patina to give is a slight spatter effect.

Here you can also see that the front will open like a window! I carefully wired it on under the flowers so you could peek inside!

The little window itself is a Prima resin and had many coats of purple inks & glitter. I wanted a strong contrast and also something that was a dreamy color!

Inside I used embossed copper and a little compass as a symbol for guiding someone to find their courage!

Won't you play along with us over at LESSology for our Window Display challenge!

There is a great prize pack of Basic Gray paper up for grabs!

Happy Thursday!

Breathe Button Art: Technicolor Trio of Tempting Treats Week 2

Lately I have been finding myself taking huge calming breaths. Ones that I am hoping the person on the other end of the phone cannot hear.

I have it lucky though.

Yes we are moving, but our house is under contract. That basically means the dude buying it either buys it or gives us money. Also, if the deal was to fall though, we have a move package meaning someone else will buy it. It also means I can stop hiding my toothpaste in the bathroom drawer and leave the TV remotes out. I really only have energy enough to get the house prepped to show it a couple of times. Lucky for me, the second time was the charm and after hanging with the potential buyer for a couple of hours on Easter Sunday, we could go back to life as usual.

Yes we showed our own house and had subs for Easter Dinner, but it was totally cool. I am looking forward to passing off a super nice place to someone who will enjoy my creek, field and woods!

It also looks like we have found a place we like down south and can probably settle with the sellers on a purchase offer so we'll have some place to hang our hat in a couple of months. Plus, a crew of moving guys will show up at some point with huge trucks and make our stuff go from here to there. It will be like POOF! Here are all your boxes and have fun unpacking. NO they are not hot moving guys. I can tell you that from the last time.

The last month getting to this spot has been a roller coaster and I can't say I'd want to move on my own ever. WAY too much work.

Hence the BREATHE sign. Don't forget to breathe & take it one thing at a time!

With all that drama in mind, it seems quite dumb I'd voluntarily commit to another challenge! However, being well acquainted with myself, I knew some paint, hot glue, and serious thinking about things other than moving would be JUST what I needed. My day job involves conversations on siltation impaired watersheds, infiltration rates, and storm water. You need flowers, paint, and glitter to scrub all that from the brain. Add in something crazy like moving and it's a recipe for disaster. You'd find me licking the wall paper staring off into space before long!

Lisa (QUIRKS), Sue (ONION) & I are stretching ourselves with difficult goals! We have four more challenges for our Technicolor Trio of Temping Treats to make and I can't wait! Our second challenge involves a LOT of my favorite things!

• Cheesecloth
• Monochromatic-mostly but ignore the gold, I HAD to add it!
• Dominos
• Sculptey clay

Dominos you say! WHERE?

I deliberately (ok by accident!) put one domino on backwards....

You might also spy my baby dinosaur hanging out on the top in a nest! No, it's supposed to be a baby bird. I convinced my oldest to make me a bird out of sculpty clay and I think she forgot the beak....but lets not break her heart, it's still cute!

See! He's looking at you! Smile! It's Happy Hump Day!

Now, I'm off to check out what Lisa and Sue have been up to! I can't wait!