First "Pub" Credit!

I am very excited and happy to announce that I have received my first published layout credit!  Yahoo!  My layout, titled 35, was published in the first online issue of Life.Paper.Scrapbook.  It is a dream of mine to be published in print, one day, but for now I am happy to have received this recognition!  Thank you Life.Paper.Scrapbook!!  Here is a link to their wonderful online magazine  Life.Paper.Scrapbook.  My layout is featured on page 67.  Here is a look at the layout I had published.

 

Studio Calico's Bright Ideas Gallery Highlights Video!!

Just a quick post today to share that one of my layouts was featured on the Studio Calico Bright Ideas Gallery Highlights video!!  I was so excited to see it pop up!  My layout, meeting Santa, was created for the washi tape challenge.  Here is a link to the video - Video Link Here is a closer look at the layout!

DIY Baby Gift!

One of my best friends recently gave birth to twins - a beautiful boy and girl!  How perfect!  I brought them a gift when I first went to meet them but I also wanted to make them something special.  I had seen a few pictures of subway baby art on Pinterest and thought it would make a nice, personal gift.

I played around with the words and fonts in my Silhouette software until I found a combination that I liked.  Then I cut it out on white, textured cardstock and backed the cuts with patterned paper.  I thought it looked so cute to have them displayed in a double frame.  I'm sure it will look great in the nursery! : )

Baby Book Countdown

Well my maternity leave is coming to a close.  I have two months left to go and am now frantically trying to finish my eldest son's baby book.  He's now 4 by the way.  ; )  I would guess the book is about 60-70% complete, but I would LOVE to get it finished before I go back to work.  Plus, when I started my mat leave I told my husband I was definitely going to finish the baby book!!  Haha!

Anyway, I've been busy scrapping lately and thought I would share some of the recent layouts I've done for my son's baby book!  Here we go:

This first one is highlighting one of my favourite pictures of my son.  I used papers from the Studio Calico Roller Rink kit, Fiskars cloud punch, twine, Studio Calico wood veneer stars and the title...I believe...is from Recollections.  Oh!..I also sprayed some Mister Huey's in powder blue on the cardstock.

The next one has some of my favourite photos from when my dog, Sally, used to sleep beside my son.  She was such a little Mommy to him.  This layout was made primarily with Crate Paper's "Little Boy Blue" collection.  The circles on the side were fussy cut from a piece of patterned paper from October Afternoon's "Five and Dime" collection.  

Next up is one of my favourites, also made with Crate Paper's "Little Boy Blue" collection.  I used Mister Huey's Letter Jacket and Powder Blue.  The alpha's are from Basic Grey, Jenny Bowlin and Thickers.

This next one is one I just finished today.  It's the first time I have used the POW glitter paper and I am hooked!  Love it!  I should note...I thought the POW paper was sticker backed, but it's not.  When I tried to pull the back off, it just started to rip.  It has a glossy back to it, which might make it hard to adhere.  I used Tombow's Mono Multi liquid glue and it seemed to bond really well.  I'm a big fan of the hexagon trend and this is the first time I have created a layout with it.  I used Simple Stories "Take a Hike" for the background paper.  I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut out the hexagon pattern as well as the title.   The patterned paper is from Studio Calico's Roller Rink kit.  I threw on some MME enamel dots and button, Pebbles wooden clips and Marcy Penner flair.  I stamped the fork and knife using Amy Tangerine's Ready Set Go stamp set.  I used a white glaze pen for the journaling.  I love how this one turned out!! : )

Lastly, I thought I would share a layout I have done of my youngest son.  This one, once again, is almost entirely Crate Paper "Little Boy Blue"...sure love that one eh?! ; )  The title was cut using my Silhouette Cameo.  The "heart this" phrase is from Ali Edwards and the "look" tag is one I made by altering a Studio Calico class cut file.  I love the ledger washi tape I used on this one.  I'm pretty sure it came in Studio Calico's Roller Rink kit...not positive though.

Organized?

Just a quick post to share today. I was recently inspired to get a yearly planner. In the past, my "planning" was mainly done on my iPhone calendar. I enjoy having this feature on my phone but find that when life gets really busy, all I see are tiny black dots all over the calendar. I find it's nice to be able to look at a calendar and actually see what's scheduled for a certain day without having to "click" on each day. Plus, it just feels good to put pen to paper right? ; )

So I went to Staples and picked up this 2013 planner as a way to try to stay a little more organized this year. We'll see how it goes!

I thought it was a little ugly as is so I dressed it up with some washi tape, brads and label stickers. What do you think?

Christmas Craziness!

Hello people!  I just wanted to do a quick post today since I haven't blogged in FOREVER!!  I've been so busy with the holiday season that I've had little to no time to scrap.  : (  I have, however, been busy making some homemade Christmas gifts!  I found three great ideas on Pinterest, of course, and have had fun making them!  I'm still fairly new to the whole blogging thing and am hoping it's ok for me to link to the sites where I found the ideas.

The first thing I've made is personalized clipboards.  They're so easy and so cute!  I followed the directions found on "The Frugal Girls" website.  Here is a link to this project Clipboard Project.  I followed the directions on that site pretty much to a T.  I did, however, decide to use my new Silhouette Cameo to cut out the names instead of using paper or ink.  I think the result is pretty nice! The one pictured here is for my Mom.  She's not on the internet very often so I think I'm safe in posting a pic before Christmas!: )

The second thing I've made is Cranberry-Lime Vodka!  I found this little goodie from Erinn Trebaczkiewicz's blog, "Fancy Napkin."  Here is a link to this project Vodka Project.  I was able to find some locally grown, fresh cranberries, which is a pretty good score considering it's December.  I used some great ice wine bottles that I found at a local u-brew shop for a dollar each!  I basically followed the directions outlined in the above link, with the exception of using fewer cranberries....so that I could add more vodka! ; )  I think the bottles look so pretty and make a great gift!

Lastly, I made some glass magnets! This idea was also found on "The Frugal Girls" website. There's some great ideas over there for sure. You should check it out!  Here is a link to this particular project Magnet Project.  I followed the instructions with the exception of not using a hot glue gun. I would've used one if I had one. I decided to use 3-in-1 craft glue and it seemed to make a really good bond.

My hubby is a really big squash fan (the sport...not the root veggie) ; ) so I decided to make some squash ball magnets for him and his squash buddies. I just used black and yellow cardstock and punched two holes in the black cardstock.  Then I glued the yellow cardstock behind the black cardstock.  I applied the mod podge and topped with the glass marble.  Once the mod podge was dry...about 30 minutes...I glued the magnet to the back.  I think they turned out pretty good!

So that's some of the things that have been keeping me busy since my last post. I'm hoping to make more scrappy time for myself in the new year! Merry Christmas and happy new year!! : )

Epicure's Slow Cooker Country Chicken

I recently had an Epicure party and got a bunch of new stuff to try out.  The Slow Cooker Country Chicken is from their "What's For Dinner?" line.  It's basically a seasoning pouch that you add to your slow cooker to make chicken stew.  This isn't really a recipe because it's just a seasoning package but I thought I'd tell you how it was.  I found it to be a really good, easy, quick, healthy family meal.

When I opened the package it smelled like Thanksgiving dinner!  Mmm...so yummy!  I mixed it up pretty much according to the package instructions...minus the peas.  The instructions called for chicken thighs but I used cut up chicken breasts instead.

I used some fresh baby potatoes, celery, and carrots.  The seasoning gets mixed with water and then poured over the chicken and veggies in the crokpot.  Easy peasy!  I cooked it on high for 4 hours.  I added a little extra water after about 3 hours and the sauce was still nice and thick at the end.

My little kitchen helper, Sally, is always around when I'm chopping up veggies.  She just loves them!

The meal was really quite good.  My four year old son loved it!  He was making mmm mmm sounds and fist pumping into the air.  I think that means it's good!  ha ha!

I'd like to add that I don't sell Epicure, I just enjoy their products and thought I would share a good thing!