A Musing to Create

Jenni Bowlin goes digi

2012-01-30T23:55:00.001-05:00

Jenni Bowlin has teamed up with Jessica Sprague {where I originally learned about digital scrapbooking - and still believe it's one of the best spots on the web for learning!}to offer her fabulous goods for digital scrapbookers!

{Credits: Jenni Bowlin, Red & Black Extension Kit, Date Labels. Ink splatters, staples, buttons, ribbon, shapes by me. Fonts: Bebas, AmerType, DigsMyHeart. Lace and Stitching: ScrapbookGraphics.}

Happy digi scrapping!!

while they're away at CHA...

2012-01-29T13:17:00.001-05:00

JBS Mercantile has added a customer gallery on their ning site! And they want you to upload your layouts made with JBS kits, or Jenni Bowlin products. If you stop by and add your favorites, you can be entered to win a $25 prize from the Jenni Bowlin Studio! Yay!

home made mac n' cheese with peas

2012-01-27T14:50:00.001-05:00

I posted this photo of a yummy family favorite the other night, and had several requests of the recipe, so I thought I'd go ahead and post!

Creamy Mac n' Cheese with Peas

1 pound of your favorite noodles
1/2 pound frozen petite peas

Cook the noodles according to the package instructions, and when they're almost done, add the peas in to cook as well. The water will stop boiling, but just wait! It'll come back to a boil, and cook beautifully. When the noodles are cooked al dente, drain everything in a strainer and toss into your favorite baking dish, 9x13 or larger. Preheat your oven to 400.

While my noodles are cooking, I usually start on my cheese sauce.

2-3/4 c. organic, 2% milk
6 oz. medium cheddar cheese, shredded at home
3 T. butter
1/3 c. flour
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
ritz crackers

Before I get started, just wanted to mention a note on the cheese. I use medium cheddar because it gives more flavor for what you use. Bottom line. Flavor is good. :) Why the shred at home? The pre-shredded stuff is packaged with a powder to keep the pieces from sticking together. When you add that powder to the sauce, it changes how it tastes and how creamy the sauce is. Basically - yuck. Once you get used to shredding, it only takes a minute or two anyway. :) Details, people!

Pour the milk into a medium saucepan, and heat over medium level heat on the stovetop, stirring occasionally to make sure it doesn't stick on the bottom. This is when I shred my cheese. When the milk begins to steam, sprinkle the shredded cheese into the heated milk (keeping a small handful back to sprinkle on top before baking), and whisk until it's melted. Pull the milk/cheese mixture off of the burner for a second, and melt the butter in the microwave. Sprinkle the flour into the melted butter, and whisk together to make a roux to thicken the sauce.

Pull the milk/cheese mixture back onto the heat at a low temp, and make sure the mixture is warm. Whisk the butter/flour mixture into the warm milk/cheese mixture a little bit at a time. Season with salt and pepper. Sir until the mixture is at a low simmer, just a couple of moments. Pour over the noodles and peas in your baking dish, sprinkle with the reserved cheese, and top with a handful of crusted ritz crackers.

Pop into your preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, just until things bubble a bit and the cheese on top is melted. Remove from the oven and enjoy!

Believe me, make this a few times, and it's 45 minutes to prep AND bake. Hope you and your family love it!

Oh, as a side note - we don't eat much meat around here, but I do a lot of times add bits of ham into this dish! You just have to be sure to adjust your salt, so that the end dish isn't too salty!

Post if you have any questions! I'm happy to help!

hello photo

2012-01-25T12:50:00.001-05:00

I'm up for a mini album this month on the Punky Sprouts blog, and this is what I put together! Sometimes, I really enjoy just spending the creative time to play and put supplies together in a way that I love, and then add my photos in when I'm finished. You can see my post on their blog here.

This is put together with the Sprout Sprocket album that you can see here. And I'm so excited that Shelly will have a new website coming very soon where you'll be able to view the products individually, and purchase them if you'd like! Punky Sprouts albums are great to work with since they're already a mixture of the corrugated cardboard, chipboard, canvas, and acrylic pages. It gives you so many options for different looks throughout your album with paints, inks, stamps...

The theme this month is "kraft", so I chose to use a few pieces of the MME line left over from my December JBS kit, and mixed it up with a bunch of my favorites from the American Crafts Chap and Amy Tangerine lines, with a bit of Jenni Bowlin, Hambly and Fancy Pants thrown in for good measure.

Here's a peek at the rest of the pages:

{for this page, I dabbed on the fountain pen paint from Jenni Bowlin, then spritzed with the silver sprinkler ink from October Afternoon, and wiped it with a paper towel. I love the opaqueness of the ink, and how it softened the black.}

Thanks for looking and have a wonderful Wednesday! Hey, we're halfway to the weekend! Woot!!

Hambly CHA Peeks

2012-01-24T10:37:00.002-05:00

Allison put up a couple of my layouts on the Hambly blog last evening featuring new product that they're launching for this Winter 2012 CHA! You can stop over here to check out the Up Up and Away and Clouds patterns that are featured here:

And this fabulous Streets of Paris pattern is featured here:

Hope you're enjoying a wonderful week so far! It's been a busy one here of course! :)

latest listings in the etsy shop

2012-01-21T13:10:00.001-05:00

New shop listings! I haven't posted these here in a while, but until I get my new site up and running, they'll continue to be here every once in a while!

I've had several requests for backings other than denim, so I started searching around a bit and came up with a couple that I love! That'll be expanding as I go forward - more coordinated fabrics for backing. I found some decorator weight canvas that's really soft and lovely, but I think will be really durable, so I'm happy to share those for the first time!

{golden flowers, woodgrain buttons, gray backing}

{soft yellow, gray backing}

{black and cream damask with black backing}

This one is a single, with some beautiful red fabric that I happened to have on hand, so first come, first serve!

{deep red with houndstooth}

And a couple of new offerings in the denim backing. I really, really love that navy blue is making a comeback. It's always been a favorite of my mom's, and I've followed her in that at least! And shhhh... don't tell, but I've got plans for some golden yellow and navy blue combos as well...

{orange floral with navy blue herringbone buttons}

I adore this soft combination of aqua, olive greens and navy. It's really subtle and beautiful. But then, I hand pick all of the fabrics that I work with, so it's hard not to really love them all!

{blue/navy floral}

I've also added a spot in the shop for designs that are discontinued. These are price reduced and sold as is, so no custom sizing. I do stress that they're not used or worn, I'm just moving them out of inventory to make room for the new designs and products that I'm carrying in the new year! So if you've been looking at one of these, and haven't gotten it yet, now's the time! ^_^ This one's made with a pretty liberty of london print, and would be perfect for spring!

{ruched camera strap cover - tiny floral}

To say that my week has been busy would feel like a gross understatement. :) I really, really don't mind the busy part - it's the foggy jetlag that hung around for several days so that I felt like I really couldn't get the things done that I needed to that bothered me, you know? It was my first encounter with the whole jetlag thing, and I'll have to put it in the weird category. Maybe you could compare it to a drunken stupor? {Though I've never experienced one of those, either!} It's just a sort of sit and stare into space feeling. For me at least! Like I couldn't get my brain to engage as much as I tried... So I went through the motions of all of the typical mommy stuff that we do - laundry, cleaning, cooking, running kids to activities, homeschooling, sewing and planning for the shop, answering emails and etsy convos, but it was more like treading water.

Then again, never in my life have I been on five different flights, taken a train through an airport I was never supposed to see, and driven a total of 20 hours through a snowstorm in the span of 4 days. Between that and dealing with all of the emotion of losing a family member - I was a bit shell-shocked, I think.

That being said, yesterday was my first really productive day. I mean, I got stuff done the other days, but Friday was the first day that I really got stuff done, if you know what I mean. It felt so go to make it through most of my to-do list for the day!

Happy Saturday! I received a happy box of the new, new goodies from Hambly Screenprints today that I'll be having fun later this weekend creating with for their CHA booth this upcoming week! SO exciting to see their new designs! You can see peeks that Allison has posted here on their blog!

I wished on a star

2012-01-20T08:47:00.001-05:00

and God gave me you... I put together this little banner to celebrate valentine's - or any day for that matter! ^_^ I thought it was fun to use the star shapes when you wouldn't normally expect that in a Valentine's project.

Here are a few close up shots:

For the complete supply list you can check out my post on the JBS Mercantile blog! :)

Happy Friday!!

just dandy wreath

2012-01-19T01:02:00.000-05:00

trying out the new flutterbys to make this little wreath for American Crafts. Stop over to check out a supply list on their blog!

And while I'm on the topic of American Crafts... I just have to say their new releases so far are unbelievable. Just fun. Amy Tangerine. Dear Lizzy Neapolitan. Gardenia. Be sure to take a peek if you haven't already!

I'm trying so hard to catch up with things around here! I've had so much happen just today that I need to start making serious lists. And consider hiring a nanny for a few hours a week. Seriously. It's awesome. And I'm loving every minute. I can't wait to share more!

jbs january kit goods and a peek at the upcoming 2012 winter cha goodness

2012-01-17T20:06:00.000-05:00

This super fun, bright kit was perfect to scrapbook the family photos that we took in the beginning of December!

And I can't leave without sharing peeks at the brand new goods coming out from Jenni!!

Quilted Stickers:

Hodgepodge stickers:

See more styles here. Drool. :)

The Magpie paper collection. I love. The bright modern patterns mixed in with the vintage goodies... I love it. Can't wait. :) This is just one piece, so you'll have to follow the link to see the full line!

Printed tags and pockets and so many other goodies:

So much to see! I'm loving a lot of the lines that are coming for the spring!!

bluebirdchic giveaway with reminiscing moments

2012-01-16T13:52:00.000-05:00

stop by her blog post for the opportunity to win one of my camera strap covers!! The giveaway is still open for a couple more days, so skip over there for a chance. There's also a coupon code that's good for 15% off your purchase!

life is an unscripted adventure sometimes

2012-01-16T12:52:00.000-05:00

I spent my Thursday traveling. I had notice Monday evening that my grandmother had passed away suddenly. When we found out we started making travel arrangements and almost drove as a family. I kept having this uneasy feeling about driving during the winter, especially since we go through a section of mountains... So I booked a flight and went alone.

It turned out to be the best decision. Wouldn't you know it? After making plans, the midwest got hit with it's FIRST winter storm of the season - AS I TRAVELED. I had cancellations, reroutes, and then a drive through snow covered roads with my youngest sister. It was so bad at one point that we pulled off at a rest stop and waited for plows to go through to clear the road, and then started back on our journey. This was AFTER the plows went:

It was definitely an adventure. But I could tell that it meant a lot to my parents and my family in general that I had made the effort to get there. It was a lot - but it was worth it! When my sister and I finally arrived at our parent's house - the wind chill was -2 degrees. That was quite the temperature change for this girl coming from the south FL metro area! The high was supposed to be 82 the day I left...

It was good to be able to be there and help take care of my parents. That's really what it's about. Being there for the people that are dealing with the grief and the loss. Things had been so crazy for our parents that they still had all of their Christmas decorations up - it had been my mother's intention to pull everything down the day that they got the news. Instead they jumped in the car and made the trip to start taking care of things. After all was settled and the funeral was done, my brother and I were able to take care of packing away all of the decorations, hauling out the fresh tree, pulling down indoor and outdoor lights, cleaning out the fridge for them - everything.

I was at least able to enjoy the view on the way back to Chicago on Sunday:

I have SO much catching up to do that I could sit all day to write blog posts! I'll be posting every day this week and most likely twice today. There's lots going on for my little business and the scrapbooking industry right now! I can't wait to share some of the sneak peeks I've seen of new product releases for scrapbooking and exciting new adventures for my business! New blog/site plans have been put on the backburner just until I can catch up on everything from my absence! I'm so happy that I've heard from some of you already as far as guesting - it's going to be such an AMAZING adventure. The few people that I've shared my full vision with are just as excited as I am - so I know I'm on to something!

Happy Monday!!!

new year, new journey

2012-01-06T14:29:00.000-05:00

There's something about a fresh start to the year that makes me utterly and completely optimistic.

I have some really, really amazing things in the works that I am super excited to share soon! Part of my business plan for the year is to expand my blogging to more than just my scrapbook pages! I have so many interests, projects, passions in life and I wanted to be able to share more of those things. I want my blog to be a place to encourage women {and mommies!} in their entrepreneurial dreams and goals - and a spot to stop for daily inspiration to make your every day life a place where you live with intention, creativity and beauty.

For now, this blog will remain the same, posting all of my scrapbook projects - I'll just be giving it a pretty makeover to match the new site that's coming!

I've posted an open call for submissions to guest blog on my facebook page, and if you're interested, please shoot me an email!!

{ I will be building a business blog in the new year!! I'd love to have you as a guest!! Featured topics will include: handmade/DIY, photography tips and prompts, organizing/busy mom advice, building your business, vegetarian cooking, gardening and scrapbooking! If you enjoy any of these and can contribute I'd love to hear your proposal! You can email me at bluebirdchic at gmail dot com! It's gonna be an epic year! ^_^}

I will be expecting high quality projects and photos to create eye catching and inspiring content! I look forward to seeing what you have to offer! ^_^

Peek at the January JBS Mercantile kit

2012-01-04T13:44:00.002-05:00

I wanted to post this peek at the JBS Mercantile kit for January!! It's such a fun, happy kit. The title for my layout was inspired by my friend, Jen's blog title! I think it's such an apt description for what we do as scrapbookers...

Now. I'm crawling off to bed. It's been so long since I was sick, I can't remember... but I feel awful today! Hopefully a bit of rest will help!

lessons learned

2012-01-02T14:32:00.001-05:00

I feel like 2011 was a huge year of growth for me. Yeah, yeah... I know. I'm not so young anymore. But I think if you're continually pushing yourself to see what you're capable of, you should be facing challenges and growing!

I decided to put together this mini with a few thoughts on things that I learned...

{gallery link with most of the supplies}

I'm looking forward to 2012 being just as exciting and challenging as 2011 was!! I'm hoping to get a chance to sit down and write out a few goals some time this week. It's something I've been doing for several years, and it really seems like it helps to keep me focussed throughout the year! This year, I'll have two journal entries, I think. One specifically for my business, and the other for more personal things. :)

December guest - 4x6 photo love

2011-12-30T13:32:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday, everyone!! I really can't believe that the year is winding down. Really?! Yes. Really. I can't believe all the things that this year has brought - some really, really good. Others - not so much. But that's what life's about, right? :) We live and we learn. And hopefully the good outweighs the bad most of the time.

Today I wanted to share a fun idea from Shimelle! She invited me to guest for her for her 4x6 Photo Love Class that she hosts at twopeasinabucket.comhttp://www.twopeasinabucket.com

Here prompt was to create a stack of mats to add 12 photos to your layout, and this is what I came up with!

{gallery posting with supply list}

Here are some detail shots of the mini album. I included journaling spots to tell just a bit about the photos that I included! ^_^ Please see the end of the post for additional supplies that aren't carried at 2ps!

Additional supplies that couldn't be linked from 2ps:

Jenni Bowlin -

Apothecary stickers in red

Butterfly Alpha Stickers, Red

Cardstock Alpha Stickers, Red Trim

Flag Banner Stickers - Calendar

Mercantile Exclusive Tab Sticker - Black

Mercantile Exclusive Tab Sticker - Red

Label Strip Stickers in Red, Vintage, Black

Cord'inations Cardstock, Poinsettia Posies

American Crafts - Knock-out Border Punches Value Kit

Hope you're inspired to join in the class challenge!

One Little Word class winner and some Nikki Sivils gingerbread land

2011-12-27T11:21:00.000-05:00

Wanted to share my last projects for Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker today! I'm so thankful for my spot on that team - Nikki was one of the first companies to take a chance on me as a creative designer just over 1-1/2 years ago! SO much has happened since that time, but getting those first spots as a designer gave me the foundation I needed to accomplish many of the things that I have! ^_^ Nikki and her team have been fabulous to work with!

All of these projects use the super fun Gingerbread Land collection:

And I popped in to random.org to grab a winner for the Ali Edwards One Little Word 2012 class giveaway! It gave me this one:

Anne said...

Oh how cool. Thanks for the opportunity.

Congrats!! Shoot me an email at chicscrapper at gmail dot com and I'll send you the coupon code to give you a free checkout to activate the class! It starts next week! I've chosen a word for myself for several years now, and it's a great opportunity for growth throughout the year!

christmas snow - pencil lines sketch 265

2011-12-26T09:00:00.000-05:00

My sis and mom and brother were together last week doing some baking for the holidays and it started to snow! They know how excited the boys get just to even see pictures, so they sent a few over! ^_^

{And I so rarely have this kind of photo to scrapbook that I had to grab it right away! lol}

Stop over at the pencil lines site and see what the rest of the ladies did with this week's sketch as well!!

2011-12-25T09:00:00.000-05:00

merry christmas

{we hope you enjoy a wonderful holiday with your loved ones this season!}

home for christmas

2011-12-24T09:00:00.000-05:00

Have a wonderful holiday!

naughty or nice

2011-12-23T10:41:00.003-05:00

As a mom, I swear - this time of year, I need my own naughty or nice list... Pfft. Wouldn't you love it?

{supplies are from the JBS Mercantile shop, and the yummy October Afternoon paper I got from Cassie at Paper Issues. The base is the Alfalfa Sprout album from Punky Sprouts.}

Have a wonderful Friday!

merry and bright

2011-12-22T09:00:00.000-05:00

{gallery posting with supply list}

A photo snapped of our boys in their santa hats the day after we decorated the tree!

And yet another card that I put together for the American Crafts blog. I took on two assignments for the month...

{gallery posting with supply list}
Apparently, this card was front and center in the two peas in a bucket newsletter this week! How fun is that?!

Christmas tags with Fancy Pants Designs

2011-12-21T21:02:00.000-05:00

Have a few quick moments to be creative this Christmas holiday? I put these together pretty quickly featuring the rubons from the Fancy Pants St. Nick collection! Stop over to their blog to see the full project! ^_^

And this was the scene on my craft room floor last night. Hello? I completely forgot about something {or maybe more than one something?!} that I was supposed to put together and send. *headdesk*

'Tis the season to load up your to-do list to the point where you can't function anymore! lol

Christmas card inspiration - American Crafts

2011-12-20T09:00:00.000-05:00

Yay! I was up on the American Crafts blog last week to share a few Christmas card ideas using their HollyDays collection.

{gallery post with supply list}

And each year I try to add to my Christmas music collection - this year's pick? A Very She & Him Christmas. SO loving.

letters to mom

2011-12-19T12:55:00.001-05:00

Our youngest has this thing about writing me letters - I wanted a way to keep a few, so I put this layout together! He can be really goofy {note the photo! lol}, but the little guy has a great heart.

{gallery posting with supply list}

Hambly Screen Prints Blog Hop

2011-12-17T03:01:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the Hambly Design Team Blog Hop!

We'd like to introduce you to the new design team members through a blog hop (and giveaway). Visit all 16 designer's blogs, where you can read a little bit about each member and see a project and/or tip about Hambly products. Leave a comment on each of their blog hop posts, then go to the Hambly blog and leave a comment.

Angela Gutshall  PA
Corrie Jones  GA
Felicitas Klink Germany
Iris Babao Uy    Philippines
Janna Werner Germany
Jaz Lee Soo Hui  Singapore
Jennifer Rzasa  MA
Karine Cazenave  France
Kirsty Neale   UK
Leeann Pearce   Australia
Leah Farquharson  FL
Maisa Mendonça   Brazil
Marie Ramirez  CA
Mou Saha  FL
Paige Evans CA
Pearl Lui  NY

On Dec. 19th 2011 at 12 noon PST we will randomly pick and announce the winners on the Hambly Blog.

Here are a few random facts about me:

-I was homeschooled. Now I homeschool our boys.

-I'm a vegetarian. After some health issues around this time last year, I made the switch. And I'm so happy!

-I almost went to art school. Unfortunately, I listened to all of the people telling me it was worthless {at the time}.

-I've worked as a kitchen manager - and got to learn and do some pretty awesome stuff. Event coordinate, staff management, menu planning.

-I'm a super driven person.

-I'm in the process of growing my own business.

-I read voraciously. Science and fantasy fiction. It's my escape.

-If you haven't figured it out yet - I'm a geek. My hubby and I sit around discussing Einstein's theories, philosophy, theology, design theory, politics...

- I'm a woman of faith.

- I truly believe I've found my soulmate. We're both passionate people, but in almost 10 years of marriage, we've never had a fight.

I also wanted to share one of my all time favorite projects that I've put together! It's been SO hard to keep this one under wraps and not posted, since I created it for their design team call back in October. It hangs on the wall in our master bedroom - and blends with the decor perfectly. And the "f" in this case is our family monogram. ;-)

Enjoy this final weekend before Christmas!! Of course I'm running like crazy to get things done! ^_^ And good luck for the Hambly prize!

Ali Edwards One Little Word Class Giveaway

2011-12-16T18:40:00.001-05:00

I'm very happy to have the opportunity to give one spot in Ali's upcoming One Little Word 2012 class away! Just post a comment here {with contact info} on this post for a chance to win! Comments will be open through Christmas, when I'll pick a winner through random number generator on Monday, December 26th and post their name here! Check out the information below to learn more about the class, and the inspiration behind it!

“In 2006, I began a tradition of choosing one word for myself each January - a word that I can focus on, meditate on, and reflect upon as I go about my daily life. My words have included play, peace, vitality, nurture, light, and story. These words have each become a part of my life in one way or another. They've been imbedded into who I am, and into who I'm becoming. They've been what I've needed (and didn't know I needed). They've helped me to breathe deeper, to see clearer, and to grow.”

Each month you'll receive an email and an invitation to visit the One Little Wordclassroom. Inside the classroom, you'll find a gentle reminder message, encouragement to refocus, and a simple creative or writing project to complete, related to your word. At the end of the year you'll have an album that celebrates and honors your word - making it that much more concrete and visible in your life.

Take a minute to read the rest of the description and listen to Ali’s audio file explaining the process of the class.

jbs December kit projects

2011-12-15T13:18:00.001-05:00

I can't tell you how much I loved working with my first JBS Mercantile kit!! All of the pieces fit together so beautifully that it made the process just effortless and, well... FUN! ^_^

Writing a bucket list has been on my mind recently. It was already floating around {maybe because I'm starting to get a bit older, and our children are getting older as well. I'm thinking a bit about life, and what I really want to get done before it's over.}Anyway, we ended up watching the movie recently that famously features the idea, and it really reinforced what I had been thinking... It's definitely on my to-do list in the upcoming year.

Thankful that we can give to others:

photo of our little guy doing a thankful tree - and a little chat we had when he mentioned that he was thankful that we could give to others so that they could have a good Christmas, too. {insert mommy heart melt/slash daddy is SO proud}

*Technique note: I spritzed a paper doily with an opaque spray ink from October Afternoon until it was really soaked with ink, then I laid it over my cardstock to make a stamp-like impression. I reinked a bit, and repeated. Once it was dry, I took the stencil included in the kit, and inked over it with the mustard yellow pigment ink, then finished with a few splatters a brighter aqua. Once everything had dried, I layered my papers and embellishments over and included my photo and journaling.**

Brown paper packages:

Our Christmas packaging from last year! STILL one of my faves! {And that's the actual doily that I used the impression of in the above layout. I tossed it aside while working on the other one - and when I came back the next day found that it was dry, and pretty awesome for another layout.}

All of the projects were put together using this month's papercrafting, project and artisan add-on kits - which you can check out here. Happy Friday!!

burlap banners for christmas

2011-12-13T09:00:00.000-05:00

I'll admit it. I love the look of banners. And this year I decided to bring that to our tree... I have two different types that I did and today I wanted to share the one that's on our main tree in our living room!

I love, love the rustic look and texture that this brought to our tree!

I'm still adding some more of the hand stamped, clay ornaments, but this gives you a great idea of how the banners look on the tree!

Here's a little diy on how to put them together yourself:

You'll need burlap. Not much, because it goes pretty far - I think I bought a half yard of each, but didn't even use that. I chose to use two different colors, but stick to a monochromatic color scheme.

Cut long strips of the burlap. Notice that I followed the threads in the burlap when I cut. This keeps it from fraying excessively. Then clip to banner size and finish the bottom either with a ribbon cut, or the pointy banner that's shaped like and upside-down triangle.

After you've cut your banner pieces, cut and piece of cotton crochet thread that's roughly 6 feet long, and tie a loop in the end {as you see on the left}. This gives you a great way to hang the end of the banner garland on the tree. Then thread the opposite end of the crochet thread through a big, fat needle {yes, it's a technical term. And try not to stab yourself with the wicked sharp thing...}

Choose a pattern to thread your banner pieces on, and get started. I threaded up through the bottom, making sure not to get too close the edge - since the burlap ravels.

Thread the banners on until your piece of thread is full, and then tie a loop at the end that matches the one at the beginning - that we can use to hang it on the tree.

Continue making banner garland until you have enough to fill your tree! It took me three sets. I stored mine on a piece of carding I had left over from some JBS embellishments until I was ready to drape it on the tree.

Happy crafting!

pencil lines sketch 263

2011-12-12T09:00:00.000-05:00

Here's my take on this week's sketch! Stop by the blog to see what the other girls made and play along! {mine's made with this month's Jenni Bowlin kit}

And as you can tell, I'm desperately trying to play catch-up after missing a week of blog posts! lol I'll have plenty to share this week. Life just sort of caught up with me last week, and I was running double time to try to stay upright. Then, the boys decided to have troubles with sleeping, so I had several night where I was up every few hours. Geez. It's like having an infant in the house again...

prop insanity feature

2011-12-11T17:09:00.001-05:00

A HUGE thank you to Prop Insanity for featuring my Bluebird Chic Etsy shop this weekend! They gave my camera strap covers such a glowing review, I almost blushed as I read it. Check out the post here and enter in the giveaway for a chance to win one!

There's also a coupon code for 15% off your purchase now through December 17! I've been working on a few more styles to list in the next day or so. There's still time to order before Christmas!

hambly christmas tree banners

2011-12-11T16:54:00.001-05:00

I've sort of got a thing for banners this year... so I decided to put them on our trees... I came up with two different styles, both in a monochromatic color scheme. Lots of stitching, lots of buttons. You can see this one up on the Hambly Screenprints blog along with a little diy on how to put it together!

Hope you're enjoying a lovely weekend!

featured designer - pencil lines

2011-12-05T10:32:00.001-05:00

{gallery posting with supply list}

If you'd like to get to know a little more about me, I'm the featured design team member over at Pencil Lines this week! I came up with the sketch, and I must say - the girls ROCKED it!

Have a wonderful Monday!

a wish and a goal

2011-12-02T12:38:00.001-05:00

{burlap banner for our Christmas tree, wound on to some pretty packaging from JBS}

Well, December has arrived. No matter how much I plan for it, it always seems to sneak up on me. I have one word to describe it: intense. This month has a way of reminding me that I tend to take on too much. But I've decided not to sweat it this year. My supplies for my December Daily journal didn't ship in time to make the book ahead, so, no problem. Taking daily photos and will create the journal later.

Handmade gifts are quickly taking shape. This was yesterday's project.

And today's:

I'm just trying to relax and be content with what I get done. Happy Holidays!

christmas card inspiration with american crafts

2011-11-29T12:40:00.000-05:00

I had so much fun putting these cards together! The monochromatic look that's emerging is really, really growing on me.

And some fun with the classic red and green color combo:

Check out the supply list and Leslie's sweet cards along with a chance to win the AC Holly Jolly line on the American Crafts blog!

JBS Cyber Monday blog hop winner!

2011-11-28T21:20:00.001-05:00

KristN said...

So very thankful for tender mercies. I am also very grateful for my growing family, our health and the love we share.

Please contact me as soon as possible with your name and email address you that I can get your info to Doris! ^_^ You can email me at chicscrapper @ gmail . com. Congrats!!!

pencil lines sketch 261

2011-11-28T09:11:00.001-05:00

Here's my take on this week's sketch! Stop by the blog and check out the other girls' layouts and play along! ^_^

Happy Monday!

JBS Mercantile blog hop

2011-11-27T13:00:00.000-05:00

Jenni Bowlin Studios has sooo much going on for Cyber Monday this year - you must stop by to check things out! ^_^ We're starting off the excitement of the holiday season with a fun blog hop to celebrate! Be sure to stop by all of the ladies blogs who are participating - since they all have a prize up for grabs!

jbs inspiration blog http://jennibowlinstudioinspiration.blogspot.com/

doris sander http://sanderdk.typepad.com/meanderings_/

mindy miller http://mysecretheart.typepad.com/my_secret_heart/

briana johnson http://mypaperlust.blogspot.com/

megan klauer http://meganklauerdesign.blogspot.com/

jenni bowlin http://jennibowlin.blogspot.com/

lisa dickinson http://lisadickinson.typepad.com/gettin_by/

betsy sammarco http://justapharmgirl.blogspot.com/

jill sprott http://wordplaywordwork.blogspot.com/

waleska neris http://myorganizedmess.typepad.com/talking_to_myself/

becky novacek www.beckynovacekphotography.com

shimelle laine http://www.shimelle.com/

Jenni will be offering her first ever class at JBS Mercantile, "Home for the Holidays" and I've got the downloadable pdf class materials + video to create this beautiful book ($7.99 value) along with a $10 gift certificate to the JBS Mercantile store to give away to one lucky blog reader! Just leave a comment mentioning what you're thankful for this year, and I'll pick a winner using the random number generator! Comments will be open until Monday, November 28, 8PM CST, when I'll post the winner here!

Now for the peeks - I am so excited to be working with the upcoming December kit! There's the most fabulous combination of goodies included - here's a peek at what I've put together so far! The kit goes on sale December 1, so be sure to stay posted to get yours.

I've also got a peek from Jenni's new One-of-a-Kind shop, which will feature hand picked items just from Jenni!

Don't for get the leave a comment listing what you're thankful for this year to be entered for the prize! Have a wonderful Sunday!

etsy shop sale

2011-11-26T08:57:00.001-05:00

In celebration of small business Saturday, I'm running a sale in my etsy shop!

Use coupon code SHOPEARLY at checkout to get 20% off your purchase today through 11:59pm EST Cyber Monday!!

Also excited to announce that I'll be offering gift certificates/shop credit starting Tuesday {sorry, I couldn't discount these!} When you place your order, you'll receive a card with a specific discount code good for the amount of your purchase, so that you'll have something to slip in the stocking of your friend or loved one!

And every purchase made between today and December 24th will come with this fun, handmade, handstamped clay "star of wonder" ornament:

I've seen so many fun ideas for these floating on the web - and this is my take! We'll be decorating our tree with them this year in a variety of shapes with different words stamped in! Add some white lights, and red berries, and I am super excited about our little tree!!

Enjoy the sale!!

measure success

2011-11-25T09:00:00.000-05:00

Journaled some thoughts on how everyone is constantly sizing you up. Whether you drive the right car, wear the right clothes... it can especially be hard when you're a stay at home mom who's building their own business. I don't really have measurable things like awards and a great salary and benefits because I do what I do. But I love it. And I know it's where I belong!

Here's a peek at the journaling:

{view gallery post for supply list}

And, um yeah. That's the first photo that I've taken since I've really been working at getting in shape and I've dropped about 20 pounds. I couldn't believe my own face? That's exciting for sure...

Loved using these Authentique papers. I was pleasantly surprised by how well they fit together. I was also given a few products from Copics to try out, and I liked how they worked on canvas! I outlined my canvas punky sprouts banners and I liked how they didn't bleed...

And I used their glitter marker on the wings to add some details, which are just really tough to see. LOL

I loved adding a leftover page from my teeny beanie halloween book that I had painted with chalkboard paint, too. I like the lift it gave the upper part of the layout. Anyway! Enough about that!

Have a wonderful Friday!!

a thankful heart

2011-11-23T21:42:00.001-05:00

I kind of have a thing. I may listen to a few Christmas tunes, and start planning the gift lists early, but you won't see a tree here before Thanksgiving - no offense to those of you who start celebrating early! It's a wonderful time of year, and we have TONS of family traditions.

So, here's my thing. Thanksgiving is a time where I stop and really think, reflect and search a bit deeper than the typical "top two" that everyone rattles off - my faith and my family. See, we had this tradition as a kid. After we had our Thanksgiving meal, we'd dim the lights. And to the flicker of candlelight, we'd pass a basket of Indian corn kernels. My mom had made these little paper baskets that had our names on them, and as the basket of kernels was passed, we took one, named something that we were thankful for and why, then dropped it into our little basket. This continued until the kernels were gone. Sometimes that was a lot of rounds. But it made you think. About what you were truly grateful for and what really mattered.

As I've gotten older, I've realized that this tradition really does something deep and meaningful for me. It makes my heart overflow with gratitude. We didn't have everything when I was growing up. In fact, a lot of times, things were tight. But we appreciated the people we had and our faith. And today was the day to bask in that. So watch your football, eat your traditional meal with whatever favorites that you always include, and take some time to be truly thankful.

And after your heart is overflowing with that gratitude, let it overflow into a spirit of giving for the upcoming holiday.

Happy Thanksgiving, from our home to yours.

time got away from me

2011-11-23T21:27:00.001-05:00

this week! In between two boys that are crazy excited about the upcoming holidays and a bit of tummy troubles on my part {thank you, zantac!} I haven't had the chance to gather everything together for my upcoming promo that I mentioned I would be announcing today. I promise I have everything coming. And I'll be running a 20% off sale starting on Saturday {or, small biz Saturday} all the way through Cyber Monday, so if you've been eyeing something in my shop, now's the time to check things out! I'll post the coupon code here early on Saturday!

For now, be sure to check out Hambly Screenprints awesome, awesome Black Friday sale!! Now that's a sale.

I'll be back later this week to post details on my gift with purchase for the upcoming month! I'm so excited about these!!

silly boys and a couple of thanksgiving cards

2011-11-22T09:00:00.000-05:00

I so have to laugh every time I look at this photo! I pulled the boys together for a little photoshoot of them over the summer {to send a framed photo of them to their grandma for her birthday}, and when I asked them to "high-five" thinking it would make an awesome photo - this is what I got! Them holding hand almost like dance partners! Pretty soon we were all trying not to roll on the ground with the laughter that the situation produced...

I put this layout together with goodies from the Nikki Sivils You're a Hoot paper line, and a few random things from the Lil' Monster line.

And a couple of cards to celebrate the holiday this week:

{I used the paper dolls cricut cart to make the tree and leaves, and the brackets are all cut from the storybook cart.}

shop update: new fabric - houndstooth, upcoming sales, gift certificates and a gift with purchase for the holidays!

2011-11-21T09:00:00.000-05:00

I tried out the houndstooth fabric when I made a custom order a couple of weeks ago - and I like it so much that I decided to offer several more in my shop! ^_^ I've always been a fan of the patterns in classic suiting - and houndstooth is right up there on the top of the list!

So I've combined it with some fun fabrics for the latest offerings in my shop! I'll have a few more in the upcoming weeks as well. I have a yummy black and cream damask coming this very week! The houndstooth for the backing and accent buttons are a soft cream with black. It's a canvas weight fabric, so it's just a bit different from others offered in the shop!

{orange damask/houndstooth}

{mustard yellow/houndstooth}

{purple damask with houndstooth}

In other news - with the holidays approaching, I've got fun offerings coming up in the shop!

Stay posted for a post Thanksgiving Day Christmas sale. I'll most likely announce the details on Wednesday. And if you're really interested in staying on top of that info, I'd stop by the facebook page, since I usually post there a lot about fun shop related stuff! I also post links to other shops and small businesses that catch my eye, so you might like it for that as well!

On Wednesday, I'll also announce and post about a very special handmade gift with purchase that will go out with each item ordered from the shop between November 25-December 24, as well as info on how to purchase a gift certificate/shop credit for a friend or loved one you'd love to give to, but aren't sure exactly what they'd like! The holidays are coming! Yay!!

Hope you're enjoying a lovely Monday as you prepare for this holiday of thanks giving here in the States. I'll be writing up a few of my thoughts on how special it is to me and why, to share on Thursday. It's so much more than just turkey and football...

1 product, 2 ways - st nick ribbon from fancypants

2011-11-18T10:18:00.001-05:00

jump start your holiday creativity using ribbon! I've got a couple of fun ideas up on the Fancy Pants Designs blog today using this stash staple!

Happy Friday!

it's official

2011-11-17T09:00:00.000-05:00

I had to work really hard to avoid the freak out yesterday when I received an email from Doris Sander asking if I was interested in joining the team over at JBS Mercantile! I'm sure our sons' PE couches thought I was nuts as I narrowly avoided hyperventilating. Jenni is the sweetest, and their team is filled with some of the most talented ladies in the industry. It's a real honor to be asked to join them.

I could tell you I was all calm, cool and collected. But that would be a lie. Ha! Here's a link to the announcement on their blog!

And just a tiny peek at what I was working on last night! Will share soon!

I've been thinking

2011-11-16T09:00:00.000-05:00

Since I've started using all of these other fabulous online sites like pinterest, instagram, facebook and twitter, which are essentially ways of micro-blogging, I've posted a lot less personal content here on my blog. Why is that, I wonder? I think part of me thinks, kinda, if you follow me in any of those media avenues, I already share so many things, and posting here is becoming redundant. But I also fee like my blog is now feeling just a bit less personal, which isn't really my intention, you know? Of course you do!

{pumpkins for our table}

So I'm setting out to change that, hopefully for the better! I'm hoping to figure out ways of bringing that content here, without making it feel like rehashing.

I've also been thinking about the fact that since I use my iphone so much and carry it everywhere, I haven't been picking up my nicer, bigger camera nearly as much. Ooops. Photography is one of those use it or lose it things, so that's another one I'm looking to really get back to. If only there were more hours in the day, right?

Totally random facts at the moment for today:
trying to not go through to terribly awful withdrawals from Dr. Who. Series 6 will be released to dvd on the 21st. I got hooked on it when I started watching series 5. I've always been a science fiction junkie. Five more days... lol

I've recently taken up the task of finding a white wine that I love. And I'm happy to report - I'm a fan of muscato. Sweet and smooth. This particular one is yummy! Let's be honest. After a day of listening to your kids fighting, you need to relax a bit.

Currently on the bookshelf:

It's the final book in the series, and I'm taking it slowly. I always like to savor a finale.

And this one, I grabbed the other day, and it has pretty much more than paid for itself already - and I haven't made a single recipe. It's sparked ideas and creativity. And I've got a list of at least 6 new recipes that will be making their way into our family menu rotation. I'll have to blog about that one day. How I keep homecooked dinners on the table at least 4-5 nights per week... Not to mention the fact that the author is funny as heck.

Well, enough randomness for a Wednesday! Please post in the comments if you have anything specific that you'd like to see me blogging about! I'd love to hear!

meatless meals - black bean enchiladas

2011-11-15T09:00:00.000-05:00

This is one of our family's current favorite meals - if you're new here, you might not know that we eat mostly a plant-based diet, with very little meat, and some dairy. I switched over after facing some yucky health issues, and now that I'm feeling better, there's no going back for me! My family watched how positive and beneficial the whole process was for me, and asked that I start using more meatless meals for our family dinners as well! I try to share recipes here whenever I get the chance! I've tweeted photos of this meal several times, and each time I have someone asking for the recipe. {Yay!} So I thought I'd share today!

Black Bean Enchiladas

1 package of fajita size flour tortillas
1 19 ox can of your favorite enchilada sauce
3 c. of cooked black beans
1 medium onion
1 medium bell pepper
1 Tbsp. olive oil
3-4 Tblsp. chili powder
1 Tblsp. brown sugar
dash of oregano flakes
salt to taste {this will depend on whether you've used canned or dried beans that you've cooked at home}
1 cup of cheddar cheese

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Dice up the onion and bell pepper {red or green}, and toss into a good size pan with the olive oil that you've warmed over medium heat. We'll be adding the beans to this pan eventually, so it does need to be fairly big.

Cook the onion and pepper until they're soft. Then add the beans. If you're using canned {not my fave}, I'd be sure to rinse them before adding. As a side note, since we eat so many different kinds of beans on a regular basis, I have a bunch of "safe" plastic container that I've purchased so that can cook a double batch of beans, and then freeze enough for a second meal - that way it's as easy as opening a can, without all of the bad stuff. Plus, canned goods just generally taste like, well, can.

Add the chili powder, oregano flakes, brown sugar {this is optional, but it's nice to cut a tiny bit of the heat from the chili}, and salt to taste. All the while keeping it over the heat at a low simmer. If you need a bit of liquid, add some of your cooking liquid from the beans, or a bit of water. Not a lot - just so that it doesn't cook dry, into a paste.

Time to roll! Prepare a generous 9"x13" baking dish with a bit of enchilada sauce - just enough to cover the bottom, since we don't want soggy tortillas}, and set up a rolling station. I always lay a bit of parchment, since this part is a bit messy - that way, I can roll my enchiladas and toss the mess in the trash when I'm done. Don't mind my broken wooden spoon. It's one of those things I never remember to replace! LOL

If you're an enchilada rolling pro, you can ignore the next bit, but if not, read on. I learned from a pro, so I'll do my best to explain!

Add the bean filling, and just a bit of cheese. You really only need roughly a tablespoon of cheese. I'd say, I have between a third and half cup of the bean mixture.

Fold your tortilla shell in half. You can just see the edge of my tortilla in the blur of my photo. Enchilada rolling is more of a fold and pinch than anything else. Definitely not rolling from the edge.

After folding in half, then you roll. This may be completely obvious to most people, but it wasn't to me when I first learned. ;)

Stack them side by side in your prepared pan, with the open edge facing down. When you fold them the way I've tried to explain, they don't unwrap.

Stack side by side until the pan is full.

Drizzle enchilada sauce over the top.

Sprinkle with cheese:

Pop into the oven for 20 minutes. Pull out when the cheese is all melty and the sauce is bubbling.

Serve it up and enjoy! These are so yummy I could eat them at least once a week!

Post a comment if you have any questions, or even if you enjoyed them! I love hearing feedback on my recipes! This is an awesome recipe to use even if your family eats meat - and you're subbing one meatless meal a week.

Have a wonderful Tuesday!

oh. wow.

2011-11-15T08:00:00.000-05:00

I woke up to a bit of a shock. I had a long day yesterday, and fell asleep a bit early this past evening... I woke up later and found a text from a friend linking me up. She was very subtle, and didn't mention that I made it myself!! LOL

Congrats to all of the ladies who made the team!
Angela Gutshall PA
Corrie Jones GA

Felicitas Klink Germany

Iris Babao Uy Philippines

Janna Werner Germany

Jaz Lee Soo Hui Singapore

Jennifer Rzasa MA

Karine Cazenave France

Kirsty Neale UK

Leeann Pearce Australia

Leah Farquharson FL

Maisa Mendonça Brazil

Marie Ramirez CA

Mou Saha FL

Paige Evans CA

Pearl Lui NY

pencil lines sketch 259 - grateful heart

2011-11-14T09:00:00.000-05:00

This week's sketch for pencil lines is up! Be sure to check it out and play along!! This is my take:

Also wanted to take a minute to welcome the girls who are joining the team! You can get to know Camilla, Carole, Kerryn, Sam, and Solange a bit more by checking out this announcement post! ^_^

Christmas crafting card tutorial/challenge

2011-11-13T10:22:00.001-05:00

Stop by Shimelle's blog to see a whole bunch of fun ideas for Christmas!! I've created a tutorial for a Christmas card using the ever popular "banner" piece in a fun new way that you can see posted today. Shimelle has a $10 giftcard to take shopping for scrapbook supplies for one of the participants of the challenge!

Happy Sunday!

one final halloween layout - the hat

2011-11-12T10:21:00.001-05:00

I did an oops! I've somehow been so busy the last week or so that my blogging has fallen behind a bit! This is "the hat" that I wear every year for halloween activities! I figured I had better get this posted before Thanksgiving! LOL

Have a lovely weekend!

etsy shop update

2011-11-10T11:53:00.002-05:00

Just a quick post to mention that I updated my etsy shop this week! A bunch of camera strap covers in new prints are available in the shop!

I think the woodgrain buttons are my favorite part on this one!

{see the shop listing}

{shop listing}

This fun one with Amy Butler fabric...

{shop listing}

Fun fabric from Heather Bailey - love her stuff as well!

{shop listing}

This olive green is a one of a kind. I won't have any more.

{shop listing}

And I'll be listing more of these soon! This was my first attempt at a ruched flannel. It's a teeny bit bulky, but I still like how it came out!

{shop listing}

Stay posted for a really pretty gift with purchase that I'm working on for the month of December! I'll also be working up gift certificates if you're interested in giving a shop credit to a friend for the holidays!

Hope you're enjoying a lovely week! I'm off to work on a whole bunch of projects that I need to turn in today! ^_^ Keep life creative!

weekend recap

2011-11-07T11:12:00.001-05:00

This weekend was a lot about gathering supplies, crafting and making plans for the holidays. I love it.

And working on a lot of goodies to update my etsy shop this week:

Overall, it was relaxing and awesome. Hubby was home for the entire weekend for the first time in a quite a while {October was a bit of a struggle to get through, honestly - somehow we just ended up with TONS going on, both with work and activities.}

I don't always have a perfect life, and just like everyone else I have my struggles. I'll admit, I've been struggling a bit lately. This one hit a cord when I was out on Saturday:

I smiled. I don't want it to be that way, but sometimes it is. I think I'm over what I've been struggling with for now. This past week, I just determined - it's time to stop asking why, and start believing that there's a reason. I'm gonna believe that's it's a good one, too. And you know what? As soon as I stopped asking why, the reason started to become apparent. Funny how that works, huh?

It's also led me to thoughts on what my focus word for 2012 will be. I already know. And it's going to be an awesome journey.

sewing love

2011-11-04T11:07:00.002-04:00

I spent my "free" time {what mommy ever truly has free time? lol} yesterday tackling some projects that have been on my mind for a while - and I have to say that I'm SUPER happy with the way that they're turning out! {I'm in the experimenting stage of pulling ideas for my Etsy shop.}

Sewing is one of those things that just makes me happy. You know for me - it's one of those activities that you can take refuge in when you're feeling sad, or just sit down to do and forget the world around you. There's always a magical point when you can't set the project down as you see it come together...

I've put together just enough of this last night to remember how much I love quilting - and to want something like this to cover our entire bed. The idea was inspired by a chevron bed scarf tutorial posted on the sew, mama, sew blog.

And I definitely have chevron on the brain. This was Wednesday's project:

Crochet is the perfect project/activity to work on when I'm stuck sitting and waiting for the boys at one of their activities.

And of course I whipped up this quick camera strap cover for a friend who had a custom request! So much fun - love how this turned out! You might just be seeing more of that houndstooth making an appearance soon!

Happy Friday! Hope you have plans for something creative this weekend - it makes me feel so happy and recharged when I can make something with my hands!

Thanks Giving

2011-11-02T09:50:00.002-04:00

{click for product list}

I did a lot of cooking last year for Thanksgiving - and I loved it! {and somehow, when I photographed this layout, I failed to notice the bit of twine that's stuck in the lace! Can you see it? LOL} My husband took this photo of me in the kitchen last year - and you know his first comment when he saw the layout? "You've lost a quite a bit of weight since then, haven't you?" He's a keeper... ;)

Besides all of the fun and lovely American Crafts goodies I used here, the crochet flower is from a little etsy shop called LaceyBug Creations!! She has fabulous knit and crochet goods in her shop - some featuring these great flowers! I originally met Lacey through scrapbooking and we share a love of lots of things like fitness and graphic design. Thanks for sending me those cute, cute flowers, girl!

autumn sunset

2011-11-01T08:51:00.002-04:00

title detail:

I grabbed this photo along with a bunch of other while we were out for an evening walk in September... a lot of times I scrapbook photos that I really love right away, but I just didn't want to do my typical thing with this one, so I waited. And as I waited, I sort of noticed this monochromatic trend growing, and it's started to grow on me - the ever loving color girl. There's something really beautiful about the tranquility it inspires. And that's what I wanted for this photo...

Anyway! Happy November! I'm so thankful I made it here. October was a crazy month. Onward and upward to the holiday! Love it!

Pencil lines sketch 257 - the hat

2011-10-31T10:51:00.001-04:00

I have this hat. That I lovingly pull out every Halloween for the last 3 years - this'll be the fourth. No really. I love it. It's fun, and the color reminds of just a little creepy - but more pretty than anything else!

I have it out for our halloween activities in October, and then lovingly store it in my closet the rest of the year. Really. It does NOT go into storage. Giggle. Check out the sketch for this week and see what the other girls put together! Don't forget to play along!

And can I just say that October was maybe the craziest month of my life for a very long while?! I don't know why. It just was. I'm a little thankful to be closing the door on it, though it's been very, very good. Lots of thinking about things in life, and where we're going. What's in store. What I'd like for my family, and life in general. I'm letting the thinking part go now, and doing the moving. Though I've been doing a lot of moving this month as well! Ha!

These two things made me jump out of bed this morning:
This blog: http://marleyandlockyer.blogspot.com/
{I will be back to explore more!}
This eulogy by Steve Jobs' sister: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/30/opinion/mona-simpsons-eulogy-for-steve-jobs.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all?src=tp
I want people to be able to say all of those things about me when I die.

Taking today off of school to do a bit of catchup around the house. It's much needed - and I always tell myself, we work hard and as long as we're not behind on our schoolwork, it's ok to take a break sometimes when it's needed. My day will be spent sewing and scrubbing. Yay! Happy Monday!

Halloween - carving jack

2011-10-28T12:39:00.002-04:00

A few photos of us carving pumpkins last year! I'm hoping we make it to the pumpkin patch this weekend, even though the forecast is gloomy and stormy so that I'll have some new photos {and memories, too of course!}Happy Friday!

Etsy Shoppe Sale!

2011-10-27T14:14:00.000-04:00

Stop by my Bluebird Chic Etsy Shoppe, and use coupon code SHOPEARLY to take 20% off your order through the end of the month!!

Start that Christmas shopping early! I have! I'm taking advantage of little sales here and there to start picking up good quality items at good prices!

sweet treats, a halloween treat bag diy and a little feature.

2011-10-27T09:00:00.000-04:00

I really love this time of year! I'll admit - all of the extra activities and fun with the kids can really add some craziness to your life - but at least it's a fun crazy! We've been going over halloween costume plans and activity schedules for the upcoming weekend this week, along with taking treats to the boys' PE class:

Yum. Plain and simple. Crazy? Yes. Fun? Yeah, I'd say a little bit!

I wanted to post my project that I did for American Crafts this month! I took one look at those stamps that came with the Halloween/Autumn line that they put together this year and said, "Ohhhhh." And next it was, "I know exactly what I'm going to do with these!" I literally emailed our design team coordinator, Paige Evans, and requested the month's tutorial project before I had even put one together...

This is the final - and I have to admit, they came out even better than I had hoped! And I am now hopelessly addicted to the American Crafts Pigment Inks. I used them on my previous post when I created the "Haunted" album, and they stamp beautifully on the chalkboard surface. {You just need to be sure to dry them a bit with your heat gun, to make sure they don't smudge.}

You can check out a step by step tutorial on how to stitch up these fun treat bags over on the American Crafts Blog. Along with my little "Keep Calm" inspired sign:

I've seen a few signs floating around the internet with the phrase, and thought it was cute! I decided to create one with my supplies...

And this post, over on the Molly Makes {a British crafter's magazine's}blog was pointed out to me - they featured my project and post over on their blog! I was pretty darn excited when I saw, since they had some nice things to say! It was a fun thing to have happen on a rough, rough week! We can all use a pick-me-up sometimes, right? ^_^

Happy Thursday!

haunted mini with punky sprouts and pink paislee

2011-10-26T10:01:00.000-04:00

Sharing my punky sprouts project today! I've never been a HUGE mini album person, until honestly, I gave the idea of creating the mini ahead of time a shot. I LOVE putting together the creative side, and then just printing and adding photos later.

I put this one together to share our pumpkin carving/pumpkin patch photos this year and I can't wait! We have so much fun with the whole thing, from hitting the pumpkin patch together, scooping them out, and carving fun facing! Did I mention that I also have an olive green satin witch's hat with black feathers that I always wear?

I used the teeny beanie punky sprouts album, and the phantom line from pink paislee, along with a few extra things from Jenni Bowlin, Maya Road {I used one of the envelopes to create an extra page with a pocket to add a journaling card}, Prima, and inks from American Crafts! The sheet music is vintage. I loved the idea of painting the pages with chalkboard paint, and stamping with the pigment inks!

The photo mats are cut to fit 2"x3" photos!

This is the front and back of the envelope page - created by stitching a strip of patterned paper to the envelope so that I had a good place to punch the holes!

Have a lovely Wednesday!! I'm so looking forward to our Halloween activities this weekend so that I can add those photos!

lil monster

2011-10-24T16:33:00.001-04:00

A couple of fun layouts featuring the Lil' Monster collection from Nikki Sivils!

First up, a night was spent bowling together as a family recently!

And we've been spending so much time on school lately, that I had to snap a few photos of the little man doing his reading. He really is amazing! I truly can't believe how quickly he's progressed...

Hope you're having a lovely Monday!!

Shimelle Paper Party Class winner!

2011-10-22T17:16:00.002-04:00

chosen by random number generator: 7

Which is Connie!! {There are 12 entries included because she linked up on facebook and tagged me! ^_^)

Connie said...

I have done several of Shimelle's classes and they all "rock" ~ she has an eye for detail!!!! Would love to win the class!!! TY!!!

Enjoy your class, Connie!!

And can you believe it?! I have officially started Christmas shopping. No. Really. No more dashing around on the final week before Christmas to get everything taken care of. I'm actually hoping to be done by Thanksgiving! I know, I know. Lofty goals.

And, yes, you have seen me sporting a mohawk this week as I dash from place to place!! I took this photo, and it made me realize that I really am getting down to my weight goals! WooHoo! Yes!

I've been doing lots for my etsy shop as well this week - I need to write up a sparate post for that, though! Hoping I have time to post tomorrow! Exciting things coming, though!

the witch is in

2011-10-19T10:05:00.002-04:00

I have a tutorial/diy on this canvas up on the Fancy Pants Blog this week! Stop by for instructions to make this fun piece of Halloween decor!

You're invited to: {giveaway}

2011-10-18T10:44:00.000-04:00

There are online classes for everything these days, and Shimelle has been teaching online scrapbooking classes for years - but she's decided it's time to kick it up a bit and go from online class to a four-week online party, and you're invited.

Pretty Paper Party (http://www.shimelle.com/paper/1258/pretty-paper-party-a-new-online-scrapbooking-class/) is the party to attend if you have a collection of paper stacked up for a rainy day, if you have more scraps of paper than you know what to do with (but you know you don't want to throw them away!) and if you've ever put a piece of paper back in your stash because it was just too special for the photos at hand. Through printable prompts and tutorial videos, Shimelle and dozens of special party guests will share beautiful and innovative techniques you can achieve with the paper you have already collected.

Shimelle invited me to be a special party guest and help create a project for the class! Here's a peek at what I put together:

She's also offered a free class pass for me to give away here on my blog!

To be entered for a chance to win a spot in the class, just post a comment here, in the comment section of this post! You can also get an extra entry for either tweeting a link to the post, or posting a link to this post on your facebook! Don't forget to tag me if you do, so that I can see your extra entry!!

Class began on Monday, but as with any party, it's ok to be fashionably late - especially since this class has no deadlines, and everyone has permanent access to all of the class materials, so anyone can RSVP to the party at any time!

Comments will be open until Friday!

pencil lines sketch 255 - together

2011-10-17T09:00:00.000-04:00

Hubby had a couple of days off this past week, and we chose to keep to home, just take care of a few things, relax and plan a few fun activities like fishing. Hubby ended up reading the book The Captain and really enjoying it. I loved that it promoted reading to our boys by his awesome example. Here they all are curled up with a book on one of the afternoons...

Don't forget to stop by the pencil lines blog to see the sketch, the other dt girls' takes, and of course, PLAY ALONG! ^_^

pumpkins

2011-10-15T14:31:00.001-04:00

I just wanted to take a minute today to post a layout that I made this summer around CHA time. It's been popping up as a top searched post here on my blog, so I thought I'd pass it along for the idea for this month's fast approaching Halloween holiday!

Layering patterned paper over and over in your layout is a great way to incorporate tons of fun - there are 6 patterend papers layered on top of each other in this one - and I've still maintained some of the "whitespace" that I love so much. I also kept things from getting cluttered by setting up a grid, and breaking the elements or photos into groups. Anyway, a little tip for your weekend scrapbooking!

We had so much fun carving pumpkins last year! It was loads of fun to use this Halloween line, Oct 31 from Fancy Pants to create this layout! It's definitely a fave!

Have a wonderful weekend!

chop, chop

2011-10-14T11:09:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was filled with TONS of errands and lots got done! One of the things on my checklist was to stop in with my stylist for a cut. On impulse, I decided to chop, chop!

I. LOVE. IT.

I've worn my hair this way in the past and it's always so effortless and easy - I can hop out of bed in the morning and not even touch it. For reals. I've gone a few years since having it this short, so it's a fun change! I think it'll save me a bunch of time in the upcoming holiday season! That combined with the weight I've been able to take off recently has me feeling light as a feather! ^_^

Thankfully, my husband isn't the type to really care how I wear my hair. He once told me it has more to do with how I feel about it, and how it makes me feel about myself. "If you feel confident, and it makes you feel good - go for it." And he's told me over and over across the years that he loves how I look with short hair - so I'm a lucky, girl!

Happy Friday!

Whew!

2011-10-12T21:39:00.001-04:00

The last few weeks have just seems like the kind where you hit the floor running when you get out of bed, and run until you drop at the end of the day!

Working lots, learning lots and playing lots. School, sewing, cooking, cleaning, scrapbooking, crochet... helping the little guy adjust to his drop off activity, and helping the big guy with memory verses for AWANA. Invitations to guest {excited!!}, layouts picked up for publication, projects due, and trying to get an update in for my Etsy shoppe! Whew! See what I mean?!

Here's a peek at one of the layouts I recently put together!

Lacey from LaceyBug Creations sent me these cute, cute crochet flowers to play with, and I finally had a chance to make something fun!! We first met YEARS ago when we were both involved with MemoryWorks! ^_^ Can't wait to share the full layout!!

Hope your week is lovely!

weekend adventures - carmel apple cinnamon rolls

2011-10-10T20:09:00.001-04:00

in baking. I tried out a recipe for carmel apple cinnamon rolls. They turned out SO yummy! This is a photo as they were proofing in the pan! So. Seriously. Yummy.

And I did switch things up a bit - I didn't top them with the carmel icing, since I thought that they were plenty sweet to begin with. I think it would have been sugar overload. And that, people, is a novel concept for someone who grew up mainlining sugar. A testament to how I've changed. Or just how sweet these are...

Anyway, if you're interested in the recipe, you can find it here! And if you're interested in seeing what other goodies I check out around the internet to try out, you can check out my pinterest boards. Tonight I made the veggie lasagna from the Pioneer Woman! {With a few tweaks to make it mine - I'll be sure to share what I did another day!}

It's been such an up and down weekend. I received news on Friday that my grandmother's health is failing. So I keep getting reports back and forth. Bad. Good. Bad, bad. Better. It can't go on forever. So I'm trying to spend extra time getting ahead on a lot of things - just in case I need to drop everything for a trip home to the midwest... Happy Monday.

He had the courage. To think differently. And change the world.

2011-10-07T09:00:00.000-04:00

Regardless of how you may feel about his products, they've changed the face of our modern world. Rest in peace, Steve Jobs. You have inspired us all.

October '10

2011-10-06T13:08:00.002-04:00

{click here for my gallery post and supply list}

pencil lines sketch 253 and a design team call

2011-10-04T17:08:00.000-04:00

{click here for my gallery posting, and supply list}

Here's my take for the Pencil Lines sketch for this week! With the boys + me being sick all last week, I didn't get my take in on time to make the blog post, but I still wanted to post here!

Be sure to check out the post - they're having a design team call, since they've lost a couple of team members! There's lots of fun stuff on the horizon for this little sketch blog! And the requirements aren't tough. Just 2 layouts per month based on the sketched provided...

Have a wonderful Tuesday!

tiny etsy update and a peek

2011-10-03T17:28:00.000-04:00

{ruched camera/ipod case - gold/gray}

{ruched epipen case - gold/gray}

And here's just a little peek at the coming e reader cases! I love, love how they're turning out - I'm just testing the case to see what different readers they fit! This one {on the left}fits the kindle - like a glove. And I'm pretty sure that the nook color will fit it in it fabulously as well! Once I know for sure, I'll be able to start listing them!

I also can't wait to get the ipad and notebook computer cases going! ^_^ Hope you're having a lovely Monday! We're finally getting back to normal after a week sick. Yay!

daddy's boy

2011-09-29T09:00:00.002-04:00

I love, love how our youngest has grown so close to his daddy as he's gotten older. I caught the shot a couple of weekend's ago at a pool birthday party - our youngest really struggles with being out and about amongst other kiddos {natural born introvert that experiences TONS of anxiety over it}My husband was doing his very best to reassure him...

{If you're curious about the background, I layered a flocked transparency over a piece of distressed paper.}

treats

2011-09-27T10:52:00.001-04:00

I think everyone knows by now that I love cooking or baking in just about any form... last weekend I threw together a batch of these quick chocolate cupcakes, and we so enjoyed them!

And yes, I still love, love me some chevron! ^_^

Just a little update on our house - boys, still yucky, yucky sick! Their colds are turning to coughs. Booooooo... Hubby and I are still holding out. {fingers crossed}

Happy Tuesday!

growing big and strong

2011-09-26T15:53:00.000-04:00

Just sharing a quick page that I did for Nikki Sivils this month! And... both of our boys have pretty yucky colds today, so I've been back and forth just trying to keep them feeling better.

Hope your Monday's better than mine! lol

punky sprouts and paper trunk

2011-09-24T09:00:00.000-04:00

Punky Sprouts has teamed up with Paper Trunk for a fun product swap! Girls from both teams got to exchange some products and made some really lovely projects! They're sharing them all throughout this week in daily posts on their blogs. Each day they share a word to create a phrase for you to unscramble for a chance to win!

Today's my day to share! And be sure to stop by the Punky Sprouts blog to grab the word of the day!

I happened to snap these photos of my husband and our youngest son one Sunday. I love that my husband shares this part of himself with our boys. The rockabilly line from Paper Trunk was a fun way to showcase these sweet photos! I decided to stamp a vine across a strip of the lil' stems as a nice way to divide the page where my two patterned papers meet. I also created the flower by stitching along on edge of a strip of lil' stems, pulling the thread to gather, and rolling it into a flower...

Paper Trunk Supplies:

Rockabilly Paper: Creepers

Rockabilly Paper: Cherry

Rockabilly Paper: Daddy-O

Rockabilly Paper: Rockin'

Rockabilly Flair

Rockabilly Chipboard Shapes

Carson White Alphabet Stickers

Punky Supplies:

Teeny Beanie Sprout Album

Lil' Stems

Good luck and hope you enjoy a great weekend!

just the daily

2011-09-23T09:00:00.001-04:00

Wishing: for cooler weather. It's still been hot here. I'm ready for a little break. :) I'd LOVE to be able to make soup and biscuits for dinner! That's not happening when the heat index is over 100. Sigh.

Loving: that the boys are settling into a regular school schedule. They're all about working hard to get their studies done early so that they have their afternoons free to play. Which works out AWESOME for me. While they play together in the afternoon, I'm able to work around the house, or get other things done.

Praying: for lots of things right now. Like most people. One of them is that our little guy will continue to adjust to his weekly drop-off activity. He's such a sweetie, but he's a true-born introvert, who really struggles with being around groups of people, even when mom and dad are with him. He'd just rather stay home on his own. And we're just trying to teach him that he needs a little balance.

Working: so very hard on things for my little business. And experiencing so much joy in the midst of that busy-ness.

Sorting: so many things out of the house. I purged my craft area, and am slowly working my way through each of the rooms and closets. I try to do this once a year, since things tend to pile up and I don't function well with clutter!

Have a lovely Friday! Hope it's cooler where you are, and you're experiencing some of the lovely Autumn weather that I'm so looking forward to!

American Crafts Blog Hop Winner and some Garden Cafe

2011-09-22T14:02:00.000-04:00

I hopped over the Random.org to generate a number from all of the lovely comments that you all left me on my my project post for the hop! This is what I got:

Which is this comment from

glowegal said...

Aww so cute! I love the colors with the kraft background! Love your cutie pie cut out and your adorable cutie above! <3

September 18, 2011 1:43 AM

Congrats!!!

And I'm so happy that this term for American Crafts, they're allowing us to share our complete projects on our personal blog just a day after it posts on theirs! When I had to wait a bit to post it, I never remembered... lol So, since it was my turn to share this project yesterday on their blog, I thought I share it here today!

I know this is a bit of a messy layout for me, but I still love it! This is another of my hubby and my nieces...

And this sweet card. The theme for the week is projects made from The Garden Cafe line! One of my all time faves!

Hope you're enjoying a lovely week! I'm super busy working on some lovely things on the horizon for my little Etsy shop! Hope your day is beautiful!

Etsy update - warm and cozy

2011-09-20T09:00:00.002-04:00

{If you're here for the American Crafts blog hop, click here for the post!}

Since I love plaid - and flannel for the Autumn/Winter season, I had to put together a line of goods featuring this favorite!

I'm also introducing a new case - made just for carrying epipen auto injectors. AS I state in my listings, it's inspired by our son's need - and not wanting him to feel self-conscious over it. It's important, especially as he gets older that he's learned that it's necessary to have it at all times and doesn't slack off at all...

{epipen carry case - green plaid flannel}

{epipen carry case - red plaid flannel}

{epipen carry case - tan plaid flannel}

I have them listed in three colors so far, but I'll be adding more girlie patterns in the same style as the ruched camera case!

Cute, cute camera/ipod cases in the plaid flannel. Yum. I'll be listing one in green today as well! My camera battery died just as I was trying to take photos! Ooops!

{camera/ipod case - tan plaid flannel}

{camera/ipod case - red plaid flannel}

Camera strap covers

{camera strap cover -tan plaid flannel}

{camera strap cover - red plaid flannel}

I also wanted to share a quote from another fellow shop owner that I just LOVE.

"When you buy from a small business you are helping a Mum {or Dad} put food on the table, buy school uniforms, pay towards football, petrol & food shopping or even better helping a student pay their way through university. You are NOT helping a CEO buy a vacation home, a Bentley car or a yacht. Our customers are our shareholders and they are the ones we strive to make happy. Thank you for supporting us and in turn we'll happily support you! :) xx"

Also - last thought - Kayla Aimee has a little feature and giveaway up on her blog right now! Stop by and check it out! Happy Tuesday!!

American Crafts Blog Hop

2011-09-17T10:00:00.005-04:00

Welcome to the American Crafts Blog Hop!! If you're interested in participating to receive the prize {two FULL lines of your choice!}, be sure to stop by the American Crafts blog to take a peek at the rules!

The design team girls were given a challenge to create a layout using all of the current lines released by American Crafts this summer!

It was a little bit of a challenge, but in the end, I really like the layout I came up with! This is a quick photo that I snapped of our niece when we were celebrating my hubby's grandmother's birthday in August! I thought her smile was just so infectious - and her eyes are just beautiful.

{Supplies: 12x12 Cardstock Kraft (71464) - AC Cardstock, Lavendar Grill Paper (35535) - Garden Cafe, Petunia's Pastries Paper (35532) - Garden Cafe, Clover Cantina Paper (35537) - Garden Cafe, Daisy's Diner Paper (35539) - Garden Cafe, Cafe Iris Paper (35541) - Garden Cafe, Babbo Natale Paper (35493) - Holly Jolly, Variety Buttons (85559) - Holly Jolly Elements, Basic (42208) - Nightfall Remarks, Halloween (42204) - Nightfall Remarks Books, Good Times (42213) - Amy Tangerine Remarks Books, Love Struck (59151) - Amy Tangerine Stamps, Slate Goodness (53249) - Thickers, Plastic Buttons (85573) - Daydreams Elements, Smile (42227) - Daydreams Remarks Books, Medium Jewel Brads (85565) - Garden Cafe Elements, Mousse (78057) - Garden Cafe Details, Trifle (78056) - Garden Cafe Details, Meringue (42211) - Garden Cafe Remarks, Delish - 1" (70073) - Garden Cafe Flair, Peachy Keen Plastic Rose Brads (85539) - Elements, Cherry (59520) - Pigment Ink, Clear (27170) - Zing! Embossing Powder}

I'm also offering up a small giveaway here on my blog:

A set of the Love Struck stamps from the Amy Tangerine line! I used the frame to layer underneath my little cluster of goodies beside my title... Comments for my giveaway will stay open until Tuesday evening - and I'll draw and post a winner on Wednesday!

Next stop, my sweet friend Leslie Ashe! Enjoy the Hop and have a wonderful weekend!

all things pumpkin

2011-09-15T21:53:00.000-04:00

I will shamelessly admit it. Once Labor Day hits here in the States, signifying the traditional end to summer, I'm all about the pumpkin. We always were growing up, so I have an excuse - I blame my mother. Gladly.

First up comes the Spiced Pumpkin candle from Yankee. They usually send me a coupon right about now, so I grab my fave for the Christmas season as well...

And as I mentioned before - I love me a good pumpkin spice frappe. Which brings me to this:

A recipe for homemade pumpkin spice syrup. To make your own latte/iced coffee. No Way. So trying this!!

And you'll find a whole series of posts {one for at least every year I've been blogging} devoted to our beloved pumpkin swirl cheesecake that makes an appearance each year at Thanksgiving.

Last year I added pumpkin pancakes to the repertoire..

This year I've pinned a few new ones to try.

Pumpkin Butter:

Or this Pumpkin Butter. Apparently the idea really appeals to me?:

The Great Pumpkin Dessert:

Teeny picture which I shall have to remedy when I make it myself!

Anyway - happy to know that I'm already passing this Autumn tradition on - as we were strolling the aisles at Whole Food last week - E got all excited when he spied a can on the shelf! And I had to promise to start making our pumpkin favorites... so it begins!

meatless meals - pasta with spinach, beans and ricotta

2011-09-13T14:09:00.002-04:00

Since I seem incapable of keeping a defined schedule on my blog {hello - homeschool mom!}I've decided to rename my "Meatless Monday" posts to "Meatless Meals". Much less restricting. More or less.

I posted a photo of my dinner last night, and had a few people ask how I made it and comment that it looked good, so I thought I'd share this simple, but yummy meal. It's really easy to toss together on a busy evening - which means you can still eat healthy on a schedule that's sometimes crazy. One other thing I like about it is the versatility. Since our family is transitioning into more and more meatless meals {I've been a vegetarian for 9 months now, but my husband recently decided that he'd like to join me after seeing the many health benefits I've experienced.} That means I can add a bit of Italian sausage to part of the pasta dish for the meat-eaters, and keep it simple for the plant-eaters. That's super important for me right now!

Pasta with Spinach, Beans and Ricotta

Ingredients:
1 pound of whole wheat penne pasta {or your personal favorite}
1-1/2 jars of Newman's Own Tomato Basil Sauce
1-1/2 c. cooked kidney beans
{I cook mine from dry because they taste SO much better. Plus, I love to add allspice berries while they cook to give them a hint of spice. You can, of course, use a can that you purchase at the store, and drain and rinse them.}
1 c. frozen spinach
1- 16 oz. container of ricotta cheese

Preheat your oven to 350*. Cook the pasta to al dente {soft, but not mushy} in boiling salted water. The package should have times listed if you need the info. Drain and pour the cooked pasta into a glass 9" x 13" baking dish. Pour over the marinara. Crumble the frozen spinach leaves into the pasta, and add the kidney beans. Stir to get everything evenly combined. Scoop half of the container of ricotta cheese by spoonfuls into the pasta dish and gently stir, trying not to break up the cheese too much. Dot the remaining cheese randomly over the top. Place in the preheated oven, uncovered for about 30 minutes, until the sauce is bubbly and the ricotta cheese fluffs up. Remove and let cool for just a few minutes before serving.

I love how the sweetness of the ricotta balances the bit of bitterness that the spinach tends to have! And spinach is healthier for you cooked, so it's a win/win!

Enjoy!

pencil lines sketch 251 - assistant

2011-09-12T09:06:00.001-04:00

Here's my take for pencil lines 251! The title was inspired by Amy Tan's too cute "assistant" t-shirt!

Have a wonderful Monday!

school is in, extreme weather, first time drop offs, and disasters

2011-09-08T15:16:00.000-04:00

perhaps my title can clue you in a bit as to where I've been this week? Ha! We started school on Tuesday, and it's been quite the adventure!

First up - had to grab two of these on Tuesday. That's right! Pumpkin Spice is back! Yum... I'm such a sucker for the pumpkin this time of year.I grew up eating pumpkin muffins, cookies, cake, bread... I'm not sure if their overall business jumps, but, um, my stops increase! {I've even got my hubby hooked. ;)}

We had our first day of school. Things are going great. The youngest is what I would call WAY enthusiastic. Aaaaannnnddd... that solidified my decision to bump him to the first grade. I just won't have enough to keep him busy otherwise.

For some weird reason, I decided to pull apart my entire creative space. Ugh. I can't handle clutter, so I shove it away. Then I either can't find stuff and end up not using it anyway or forget I even had it to begin with. The disaster that has been my space since the weekend has been so yuck. The clutter stresses me out, BUT today things are coming back together, and it feels AWESOME.

This was my night when I put my layouts into albums. I managed to fill 4 {with a set of refills for a total of 40 layouts per album}, and still have enough to fill at least another. These are my layouts from the last 9 months or so.

I sorted out an entire couch full of stuff to either chuck or donate. Yeah. Cool. But not. Right?

The little guy had his first drop-off activity for school on Wednesday. This is huge for us and him, since he has a severe peanut allergy. They take along packed snacks. Which means a lot of kids will bring peanut butter. And I work really hard at not being anxious. And in the years since he's been diagnosed, I've gotten pretty good at doing my best to prepare and commit his safety into the Lord's hands. Who's ultimately in control.

This is a prep sheet that I've put together with info for any caregivers. The cool thing is, I've had a really positive response to it. I just hand it to them and ask them to give it a read - and if they have questions to feel free to ask! It includes info on how to recognize a reaction, an appropriate response, plus a release for treatment and all required insurance info. That's his set of epi-pens in the ziploc. For which I'm working up a case design. Yep! You heard me! Epipen cases are in design and heading to production soon, so if you have a kiddo that needs to carry them {or you do, yourself}, stay posted!

He did awesome. And then we got caught in a huge, nasty storm on the way home. Yeah. Hail. Whiteout downpours, lightning and thunder like bombs going off. It was an eventful day.

Plus, I've got tons coming for the shoppe! I received a BIG fabric order yesterday while I was out - and not to mention I grabbed some lovely plaid flannels for autumn - or for the guy in your life! I'm seriously excited. No. Really! And I'm hoping to rock out a bunch of cases and camera strap covers tomorrow and this weekend!

Hope you're having a lovely week!

autumn wreath diy

2011-09-05T12:48:00.000-04:00

is up on the fancy pants designs blog. Go check it out and make something pretty for your home to celebrate the season!

thoughts for a weekend.

2011-09-03T13:20:00.000-04:00

A few months ago, I put together a post on "unslumping the creative slump" where I talked a bit about getting through creative block. One of the big things I mentioned was not overloading on "inspiration". Again, I love, love all of the inspiration waiting to be found right at our fingertips here on the internet. But. Sometimes you need to put down the mouse and live.

I find that the more engaged I am with living my life - building and nourishing our family, building and nourishing a meaningful relationship with my husband, and building a nourishing my creativity using real life activities, the more creative I become. And the more creative and innovative my own my work is. I don't have to copy anyone. My own creative ideas are flowing out of who I am, because I'm nourishing and taking care of her. And I am always uniquely me.

{source}

I think the same could be applied to social media in our lives. Melody Ross recently started sharing her experience of a 90 day facebook detox. I love that these media outlets give us such an opportunity to connect with others globally that have the same interests and loves that we do, but it's so easy to overload. It's such a delicate, delicate thing to balance. Inspiration, exposure, community. But when we start to sit in front of a computer too long, it can really suck the life out of us. Nothing compares to real life experiences and interactions with people face to face. And making something for yourself, rather than just looking at what others are making and saying, "What if?"

{source}

I definitely have times in my life when I cut off the media. I remember that not too long ago, we logged on the check email once a day - or maybe once a week! And we definitely didn't feel the need to constantly be connected to something like facebook! I usually catch up for an hour or so in the morning - while I do my blog posts, etsy shop listings, catch up on group contacts, etc. And then, just peek in a few times throughout the day. Mostly checking for messages, etc. It's so much easier to stay on top of other tasks for business, hobby, and home that way. I try so hard to stay mindful of just how much time I'm spending on each of them! And I've never played online games. That helps lots. I suppose they could be fun, but they can also be serious time suckers...

So go out this weekend and live your life. Be with family. Be with friends. Nurture the things you value the most, and guess what? You might be surprised to find the creativity fills you up and overflows.

All images were collected from my pinterest boards. Feel free to check it out and follow for more inspiration!

fresh listings

2011-09-02T13:51:00.000-04:00

for those of you that don't carry an slr camera, but want to get in on the goodness, I'm launching a new product today! A chic way to tuck that camera {or ipod} safely into your bag to keep it from getting damaged or scratched.

To be honest, I was chatting with my mom, and she said something to the effect of, "Well, that's all well and good about the camera strap covers, but what about the rest of us, that don't have a clue how to use one of those? I want in on the goods, too!" This idea had already been rolling around in my mind, and that was just the little push that I needed to get me out the door. I've got other plans for other cases as well, so please stay tuned!!

{ruched camera/ipod case - plum/green}

Here are the detail shots, since it's something new!

I also have this one in an orange, aqua, and yellow pattern. Love.

{ruched camera case in orange/aqua/yellow}

And the fabulous Sasha Holloway has done a great review of one of my camera strap covers along with a photo shoot so that you can see them in action. You can check it out here and also grab a coupon code for a little shopping discount this holiday weekend!

Hope you're enjoying a lovely Friday!

good busy

2011-09-01T10:47:00.000-04:00

This week has been busy. Good busy.

Getting ready to launch a new product! Hopefully tomorrow. Working on plans for a new website. Ordering new fabrics. Pushing new ideas out. Love.

Gave all of our doors a fresh coat of paint. Or two. Trip to ikea:

Now that I've seen this, I'm wracking my brains for a place to put it. Not happening so far! lol I love that it's got a touch of modern to it with the steel frame. 'Cause I'm not really a girly girl...

It's been a good week so far! Hope your's has too!

Tuesday Inspiration

2011-08-30T12:06:00.000-04:00

I have always, always been obsessed with the woven patterns used in classic woman's suiting materials. Houndstooth, herringbone, beautiful woven diagonal stripes... and chevron, though technically NOT suiting - I've loved it forever. When I was designing digital scrapbook kits over a year ago, I had a hard time NOT including at least one of those in every kit that I made!

So when I was at the fabric store last week, I just had to grab some of this to play with. I have a feeling you'll be seeing some items in my shop featuring this fun fabric soon...

On a side note. I forgot coffee filters when out doing errands yesterday. I woke up so bleary eyed this morning I knew I needed some form of coffee... so thank God for facebook. I posted that I forgot my filters, and a friend told me to throw a paper towel in there - I figured I had NOTHING to lose at that point, so I tried it! And wha-la! Perfect cup of coffee. Great tip when you're in a pinch.

Have a lovely Tuesday!

out with the old...

2011-08-29T12:36:00.000-04:00

Putting on my homeschool mommy hat this week and finally getting around to sorting out the books and excess paperwork that I don't need to hang on to from last year... getting our book orders finalized and getting last minute registrations in for PE and other activities!

We'll officially have two this year, since the little guy is starting his kindergarten routine! I've been so back and forth on what to really tackle with him, since he's already reading, and really good at math. So, basically, I'm easing him in with workbooks, starting him on 1st grade math, and feeling my way to see if he's really ready for a 1st grade program, or if I should just work him through the kindergarten program at an accelerated pace... And good grief. I can't believe D is in 4th grade. Anyway. Yay! They're both excited {Well, sort of. Like, as excited as you get about school...}And I have to admit, I'll be happy to get back to a routine as well. I think.

Working on a new product release for my shop! For those of you that don't own a dslr, and want a pretty way to protect your point and shoot camera when you slip it into your bag... My mom said she was missing out on the lovely. Ha!

And this is my final week guesting at Scrapbook Challenges! Check out this week's sketch and play along!

Here's my take:

Have I mentioned how much I love the new Amy Tan goodies? Um. Yeah.

Happy Monday!

Etsy Update and a sweet review

2011-08-26T13:59:00.000-04:00

New camera strap covers up in the shop!

{ruched camera strap cover - aqua/ red orange}

{this is what it looks like on your camera - just in case you were wondering!}

{ruched camera strap cover - red floral}

{ruched camera strap cover - peacock floral}

{ruched camera strap cover - green floral}

{ruched camera strap cover - soft yellow}

{ruched camera strap cover - orange/soft aqua}

Stop by the very sweet, Leslie Ashe's blog today to see her review and snag a coupon code for your purchase!

And I have a little mini album and layout featuring some of my favorite things up on the American Crafts blog today!! Stop by to check out the full projects and say hi! ^_^

Have a wonderful Friday! It's the weekend! Yay!

growing my dream

2011-08-25T10:23:00.000-04:00

I had fun playing with some new Amy Tan goodies from American Crafts this weekend!

Love the mix of colors and patterns that they worked together to come up with!

And I'm working away at my sewing machine! Look for an Etsy shop update later today!

fresh supplies

2011-08-24T09:00:00.003-04:00

I always love this part of getting ready for school. Stacks of notebooks, pencils and fresh crayons!

This was our first day of school last year - 3rd grade. Wow.

We'll be starting this year soon as well!! The summer just flew by, didn't it?

a little review and a coupon code

2011-08-23T12:08:00.000-04:00

Stop by my friend Jen's blog today to hear what she has to say about one of my camera strap covers! She also has a nice little coupon code up!

I'll have new stuff going up all this week! I've added several this morning and have a TON more to work on this week!

sketch 263 for scrapbook challenges

2011-08-22T11:26:00.000-04:00

My 3rd week of guesting for scrapbook challenges, and this was my take on the sketch! You can stop over at their forums to check out the sketch.

Have a lovely Monday! I did a TON of scrapbooking over the weekend, and can't wait to post all of my projects! ^_^

run like you mean it

2011-08-21T11:28:00.000-04:00

Yeah. I'm one of those people. When I decide to do something. I really do it. There are VERY few things I've ever committed to in my adult life that I just let go. You know, one of those 110% kind of people...

This summer I've started back running. Years ago, I was a regular. But I let it fall by the wayside when schedule conflicts with having the kids came up. Then, at the beginning of this year, I told myself - you have to take time to take care of you. In order to be the best mommy to our boys, the best wife, the best you - you need to take care of yourself.

Sometimes, as givers we forget that it's not selfish to take care of ourselves.

When we are our best selves, we are able to give our best to others.

Anyway, back to the running! I mentioned in this post that I was going to be starting the couch to 5k program. I. Am. Loving. It. I feel so good. Between switching to a vegetarian lifestyle and running, I have so much energy. And I feel happy. And healthy.

biz journey

2011-08-19T11:21:00.001-04:00

This summer I'm finally realizing a dream of using my skills for handmade to create a business! I'm so excited for this journey. I've been planning, and preparing for it for about 1.5 years {in the midst of all of my other mommy related responsibilities, and a bought a bad health}. Finally it was on my goal list for this year. I've done so much planning and research. And bookwork. It feels seriously good to get down to the fun stuff of making things. I have so many plans for this!

American Crafts and Pebbles sent me some samples {related to business}, and I just couldn't resist putting this together.

Have a wonderful Friday!

an etsy update, a quirky fact, and a little feature on sassafras

2011-08-18T13:38:00.000-04:00

I've updated my etsy shoppe with a few more camera strap covers:

ruched camera strap cover - aqua floral

ruched camera strap cover - modern polka dot

ruched camera strap cover - mustard yellow

quirky fact: I sew barefoot. I feel like I have better control of the presser foot. I've been sewing for decades {I started really young, but still that's a bit freaky to say!}and my mom could tell you that I've always been this way!

This often results in a pile of shoes that accumulate under the table:

And I had a little surprise the other day! My layout from this post was featured on the Sassafras Lass blog this week! You can check it out here if you'd like!

Have a wonderful Thursday! I see white chocolate oatmeal cookies in my future!