Family Posies Scrapbook Page with Sketchabilities

Dear me, I haven't played around with a sketch in like forever! Believe it or not, I was having a tidy in the office and thought, well if I use this paper it will be easier than putting it away....Anyone else have thoughts like that???

So I pulled out the sketch from Sketchabilities that I had saved to my desktop and had a little play. I pretty much stuck with the layout with the exception that the altered title got moved down to it's own area.

The premade title actually said Family Portraits and since the photo really wasn't that, I altered it to work! The flowers I used too I had cut out for a previous project with THE CUTTING CAFE and were extra. I was happy to see they worked well for a nice flatter type flower.

I really liked the layering on the sketch and it made me happy tucking all those bits on. Pro tip is to cut them in half so the little frame & banner you see is only one piece and the other is on the opposite side of the photo group!

The sketch called for two photos so I printed out two of the same one. I really only took one because she jumped down and the moment was lost. I like the double look though, kinda has a big impact! Check out those dark purple irises! Aren't they awesome! Kinda like the kid in the photo! ;-)

Have a great Tuesday!

Glitter Modge Podge Karma: Me on a Monday

I'll admit it. I spent most of Saturday either reading or watching the back of my eye lids. I have learned after 44 years on this planet that one doesn't ignore the signs of fatigue. If I thought I was tired, it was time to chill or else some nasty bug would take me down and then I'd be on the couch for sure. It was a very rewarding, moving, yet exhausting week over at Habitat.

See, back a couple of months ago THE BOSS said quite clearly that it would be a miracle if we could pull off a group of 35 kids on a three and a half day build. To me, it sounded like she was throwing down a challenge. Little did she know I had a couple of ACES up my sleeve. I invited my good friends from BOCES (Board of Cooperative Education Services) Kirk and Roger who have doctorates in kid wrangling. They teach Building Trades and manage to build an entire house with 20 kids over the school year. I actually had to call the principal and spring them outta work. The last week for them involves lots of paperwork and they were on board to work on the house they built for us vs. staying back at the shop with the computer. Thankfully the kids coming were from Pennsylvania, so they had already been out of school a week or two.

The kids came with their own set of wranglers, but it was nice to have Kirk and Roger as they knew the house inside & out. These kids completely insulated & framed out the basement of the house which involved two bedrooms, a bathroom, and storage room. They also built a huge 12 by 16 deck, and sided one side of the house. The younger ones demolished a deck at our rehab and cleared lots and lots of brush. They didn't work the whole week. Towards the end they had a visit to CMOG and then were off to Olive Garden for a fancy meal. I ran into four or five kids on Friday when I stopped to have a slice of pizza and heard that they were enjoying the hot glass shows.

It really made me happy to have them hanging in our little glass town. As I ate my slice, I gave them some advice for the hot glass shows. See, they usually give things away each show and although it appears random, Lexi tells me they pick the most animated people. I sent them back over with that advice. Later, I wished I had told them to look out for rocks. See, the peeps around these parts like to hide happy rocks. So, Sunday still having nice thoughts about last week, I made up a batch of galaxy rocks to hide. They weren't too complicated as most of it involved splattering. I then used up a little stash of bling adding some additional planets. I even had some bling that was red & star shaped! Super fun! I like to add a lot of modge podge in case they don't get found all that quickly and it's rainy. So these have a coat before paint, and two coats after paint. I even used glitter!

So, a huge thanks to the universe for such an awesome week! Happy Monday!

Cheers Jar for THE CUTTING CAFE & Cutting File Give Away

As with most of my projects, before starting, I audition a little collection of recycling in my office to see what I might want to work with. This peach jar volunteered! Doesn't she have pretty curves! I'm sending her off to my North Country friend Shirley, so the foam sticker that said Cheers just made me smile! It's like my happy mail is talking! And, it gets better! Today we are using one of our favorite sets at THE CUTTING CAFE and giving that set away to one of our readers....all you have to do is leave a comment to win the set!!!

I cut a few flowers out for my project and assembled them. I never get tired of using this file from THE CUTTING CAFE called the paper flower template because you pretty much can make flowers to match your project exactly. In this case, I cut them out of the same paper that I used to make that little scallop over the top.

I added a few fun things to go with my flowers. Check out that little gem & the purple thread. Those green berries make me happy too! Now, I've got a big ole pile of flowers I can make up to put IN the jar or I can add a treat....Lexi says I should add chocolate....what do you think??

Want to have a chance to win more cutting files? Hop along here & see everyone's favorite files!

Here are all the links:

Regina Easter 

 

Martha Lucia Gomez -

 

Maria Pilar -

 

Gail Scott -

 

Chauntelle Lee

 

Keri Parish

 

Robyn Weatherspoon

 

Lisa Bzibziak 

 

Mitra Pratt -you are here!

 

Audrey Long

 

Sheryl Wilder

 

Lisa Snowdy

 

Debbie Fisher

 

Maria Luisa

 

Shanta Newby

Krista Norman

Tina Goodwin

Christi Steinbeck

Enjoy the hop! Hope you win!

Live Laugh Love Decoration

This really cool wooden box was hanging around the office and came out to play when I got a can of spray paint out over the weekend. Might as well make good use of the sun & some good drying! Then later, I brought it into my office and got it all fancied up!

Can you tell I used clear vellum letters which let that pretty paper show through under it. Really pleased with how that worked out. Even better was spelling out LOVE in big letters with that little tiny Live & Laugh above it. Kinda sneaky!

The top has a little gold hanger so this piece can be hung. I'm intending to pass it along to a friend for her wedding anniversary! Hope she loves it!

Back tomorrow with my project for THE CUTTING CAFE! Had so much fun making another present!

Happy Tuesday!

A Little Spring Clean Up: Me on a Monday

Ah yes, spring maintenance where you do work because something looks icky....and then when you are done it looks exactly like it should...but then it seems like you didn't do any work at all!

THE MAN and I have been up to our eye balls on DIY projects around the house. The winter was pretty rough on the exterior and I had a weekend paint project ahead of me on our little covered front porch that had been on the list of things to do for a while. Since it was super sunny and great paint drying weather this weekend, I tackled that. It was much worse after I cleaned it all off. Was very thankful all the wood dried quickly so I could get it repainted.

I was inspired as I found a new light to replace the really terrible fixture that is there now. I considered trying my hand at wiring, but THE MAN suggested that I let him help when he has time. Evidently the wiring in this house is a little tricky....I did however give the eagle a good wash before I put him back up. I am pretty sure that is circa 1970, but it was metal and kinda cool....

THE MAN was working on the carport this past weekend which needed some boards replaced and a good pressure wash cleaning so the underside can be painted. It's a lot of work, but rehabbing it easier than building it all new. More on that to follow!

I did have a little early morning play that resulted in some beads emerging from the stash so I could make this luna moth decoration for Lexi's orchid. For some reason we've had a batch of luna moths get eaten out in front of the garage leaving behind these lovely wings. She gathered them up and suggested that I create with them.

It turned out really pretty once I added a crystal. I had a little pile of those in the office that I'm still playing around with. Turns out it was also good spray paint weather, so I got a couple of things all painted up!

Back tomorrow with one of those projects!

Fussy Cut Geode Layout

Had a little play this past Sunday morning with some purple paper and my printer. I printed out the large geodes and then fussy cut them out as the plate they were on didn't really match. Then I printed out the photo of Luke and Lexi playing with the tile saw. Megan was watching from the side and she didn't quite fit into the frame....so then I printed her out separately and bigger so she could stand on her geodes!

I really like the ripped purple paper! My other favorite thing are those note book scalloped pieces that my friend Shirley happy mailed to me! So much fun!


She also mailed me that zipper flower that I had to immediately put to good use! Which is part of the reason I used gray paper in the first place!

I had forgotten I wanted to scrap book this until I came across the two photos on my phone! Anyone else do that? Use your phone as a temporary photo storage place until inspiration strikes?

Happy Tuesday! I'm back soon with some cool cards the kids made for an end of the year present!

Fun Finds at the ReStore & Dumpster Diving

Don't ask me what I'm going to do with a little orange plate with a folded over side. In fact, we've tried to figure out what it was for at work the other day and finally I decided it's role was to hold a cool air plant and just look pretty. That box is cool too. It used to hold a troll bead. I love Klimt & saw this painting The Kiss in real life in Vienna, Austria so it has a bit of a special meaning too!

The little flowers are painted and have a little dimension to them so it's extra pretty. This air plant traveled back with me from Hawaii. So much fun! Makes me wonder where that plate came from....

The pewter candle stick base also came from the ReStore, although the rusty top came from the metal dumpster out back. You can't tell, but once I get it sanded & painted, you'll see that there is a cool raised flower pattern. Can't wait to get some spray paint going with this!

I am hoping that the handful of crystals I also found might dangle from the bottom in a very shabby way. Not like I need a little stand like this, but I can envision perhaps a plant hanging out on top or something else pretty!

Just a little glitter on top of a busy week! Happy Monday!

Two Fish and a Mermaid: Card for THE CUTTING CAFE

I am loving this fish card from THE CUTTING CAFE. I used the Fish Shaped Card template as a background behind my mermaid. See, I had this awesome glittery paper that had been hanging out on my craft table for the longest time. I decided to get it all cut up and made into a very special card.

Here's another view of my mermaid that is hanging out with the present that accompanies this card. It's a melamine fish platter! What fun! Very summery! Love the fact that Regina over at THE CUTTING CAFE pretty much has a card that can match any present!

The edges of my fish and the card are all glittered up. I'm pretty fond of tattered, so everything gets a little gold and some spritz. The mermaid is all popped up for extra layering.

One of my favorite parts of this card is the upcycled fish eyeball! It was an earring before! It's sparkly! Anyhow, swim on over to THE CUTTING CAFE to check out the rest of the fishes!

Happy Hump Day!

Hearing Voices in my Head

For some reason now that I've hit 44 I am up at butt crack dawn early, whether I'm working or not. This is both good and bad. The bad part is that I'm a hot mess at 9 pm on the couch and fighting to stay awake. The very good part is that nobody is up and I'm alone with some thoughts and if I'm lucky, even some paper quite early.

The part nobody tells you about having teens is that they have the attention span of gnats. When they want to ask you a question, they dart into your air space, yap a little bit and if you aren't giving them your attention, they huff off to pout. Since you don't know if they want you to explain how possibly our government lost 1,500 immigrant kids or are complaining about the peanut butter you bought, once has to listen to everything. They only emerge from their rooms on special occasions, but it really doesn't matter if you are on the step stool with your neck cranked sideways and painting a ceiling.

The one thing both of mine agree on is that it's way cool Mom can hear voices in her head. After I spent five days in Hawaii in early spring for my 20th anniversary, THE MAN declared that either I was choosing to ignore him or I had hearing loss. Thankfully it was something I could easily change. Doc said that my hearing loss wasn't from listening to Def Leppard and Pour Some Sugar on Me real loud on the bus with my Walkman when I was 17 but was hereditary. Sorry Mom. We're blaming the genes here.

To be honest, I didn't take it well the first five minutes. In fact, when I walked out to the parking lot I had a big moment of panic and thought, well that's that. I'm broken. As I drove over to the office, I remembered I work with a lot of bunch of guys who have hearing aids. One of our families that we are building a Habitat house for also both wear hearing aids and we work with them using an interpreter to make sure we're all communicating. Comparatively? I needed to quit the pity party and get over it.

Then I discovered I could crank the tunes on my phone and nobody else could hear them. So freaking cool. It's not like I normally have the good stuff. I mean, my mouse even has a cord and is one someone gave up for a fancy cordless gaming one. It's not all roses though. Luke did not enjoy me singing & using the paint roller as a mic the other day. He said he could hear the music coming out of my ears and made me turn it down. So. Rude. He's just lucky he missed me playing air guitar with the paint brush.

A Very Flat Layout: the Log

I had a little play early Saturday am with this big photo from Hawaii and Kualoa Ranch. The photo of THE MAN and I were taken with the backdrop of their iconic hills and from the Gyrosphere platform from Jurassic World. This was a stop on our 4-wheeling tour. You can just see a little of the roof peeking into our photo.

We only saw one dinosaur on the whole tour. Don't let them fool you, it's nothing like the movies.  ;-)
Our tour guide had this cool little puppet....he was a trip to be honest. Made the tour extra fun.

We saw all kinds of movie sets. The "log scene" was also on our tour. Remember the first Jurassic Park movie? Yeah, I kinda did, so I googled it. That is the log we are hiding in front of...and the plastic dino is trying to eat us....tour guide dude didn't get it quite right. We should have been behind the log and at a different angle...





































Due to using so many photos AND a stub from our rental car, I couldn't fit any bulk on my page like flowers. This is totally OK since my scrapbook will thank me! I've got one more page from our trip to finish up....it was a visit to Skull Island movie set....I wonder if I should dig out some Halloween paper....

Happy Monday!