evolution

Daily Conversations

2012-01-26T11:11:00.000-08:00

I asked: What do you guys want for lunch today?
She replied: Eggs!
I said: We don't have enough eggs to have eggs.
She countered: Omelets! Eggs in a nest!
I replied: We don't have enough eggs to make those.
She exclaimed: French toast!

Sheesh! I feel like I'm talking to a three year old! ;)

She Fell In a Hole

2012-01-18T13:43:00.000-08:00

The Man took the three oldest ice fishing and they had a ball. The ice on Panguitch Lake is nice and thick and the day was beautiful. As indicated by the brilliant blue sky. The nice thing about heading north for fishing is that Grandpa can be lured into joining the party. This eases my mind a little because it's nice to know there is another adult present in case of emergency.

It just so happens that the girl falls into the category of three oldest, and she has been hounding her daddy for weeks to go ice fishing [I think it started with the arrival of her pink boots with furry trim... didn't see that coming a mile away]. This past weekend the plan fell into place. Finally. As the girl is a bit of a goer and she doesn't pay much attention to her surroundings, it really comes as no surprise that she stepped right into a hole. And she spent the rest of the day inside the tent wrapped up in blankets since she now only had one pink boot with furry trim. The other was filled with water.

ps. This photo might just turn out to be the only decent photo I get of this boy. He seems have developed an aversion to my photo taking habit. I am not okay with this.

Hello 2012

2012-01-08T12:12:00.000-08:00

This was my first official act of 2012. Donating my hair to Locks of Love. This year will be all about heart.

Project Round-Up [December Edition]

2011-12-22T21:05:00.000-08:00

Products Used: 12 Days of Christmas Collection by Heidi Swapp + Jessica Sprague

I think it's been about 6 years since I last made one of these treat pouches. I think the only reason is because I didn't have a paper crimper and I think the crimped ends are the icing on the cake - so to speak. No sense doing it if you can't do it right... and it just so happens that, sadly, our local craft store is going out of business and things are getting cleared out. 10% at a time. Goes down a little more every week. Paper crimper, welcome to the family. Robert's, I'm really going to miss you.

Products Used: Kitschy Digitals Calico Dream Kit

Hello little house. You're just what I didn't know I was looking for. Since I haven't posted for a while, I probably haven't mentioned the fact that the universe is trying to tell me something. It has a bit to do with heart. It started with the Tin Man at Halloween and has been gaining steam ever since. I'm sure I'll get it figured out soon. I've got a whole year to work on it...

On another note, this little house ornament has been one of my favorite projects of the year. I found it at Michele Made Me via Pinterest. I've been spending my crafting time trying to get past the learning curve of the handy dandy cutter. I think I'm starting to get it and thankfully so. It is making projects like this one a breeze. So nice.

Products Used: Kitschy Digitals Chalkboard Paper

This beauty is my new desktop wallpaper. I'm always grabbing images because they're pretty + I like looking at them + I think I might like to try it someday + etc. = my desktop is a mess. I am determined to keep it cleaned up. I think this might be the answer. I love it.

Products Used: Kitschy Digitals Woodland Diecuts Kit

The boys around here are obsessed with snow globes. I am obsessed with trying out new things on the handy dandy cutter. This project involved printing images onto label paper at staples and cutting them on the silhouette. I did a happy dance as I told *B* how cool I am... I made stickers! And then we decorated circles and stitched plastic page protector pieces over the circles [leaving an opening]. And then we added glitter and stitched the opening up. I drew a little base and put it all together. So incredibly cool. The boys turned out so much more whimsically than mine. I'll have to see if I can't round them up for a photo. I'll even try to keep in mind a true tutorial. It could happen.

2.for.Tuesday

2011-11-29T18:43:00.001-08:00

one: I am here today. Template Tuesday is winding down. Next year will be full of new + exciting adventures. Get your templates while you can.

two: free class. Yep, that's right. F.R.E.E. Here's what Jessica has to say about it:

Every year, I take the opportunity to give back to the community by offering a free class. Not only does it give you a chance to make a cute project and record some special holiday memories, but it will also give you a chance to take a look inside the online class environment available in ALL of the classes here at JessicaSprague.com.

In our class, we'll be using cardstock and digital patterned paper to create a stunning, but EASY and REPEATABLE garland you can hang from your ceiling, drape around your tree, or hang on the wall. Each year as you create December memories, you can create a new garland. Even the storage box is a keepsake!

In addition to our amazing project, our week-long class will be filled with ideas to make your holiday memory making, and memory-keeping a little brighter and a little more fun!

I can't wait for class! Please join me!

I've signed up! Now it's your turn. Here is the info + free code.

ps. Right now there is a really great sale going on at Jessica Sprague... All of the digi kits (excluding Becky Higgins) are 35% off. All of the classes currently open for registration are 20% off. That even includes our new Digital Art Journaling Class and The Art of Poster Design Classes.

pps. Check back tomorrow for my monthly round-up of projects.

Super Saturday

2011-10-29T01:47:00.000-07:00

Project 1: Old Boris + a box of Vlad's native soil = a certain nine year old boy's dream project. I think he just wanted the Dracula Pez dispenser inside. In addition to Queen of Quirk's Old Boris kit I also used her Jeepers Accent Pack [I thought I had taken a photo of the inside of Vlad's coffin, but alas! There is not one. It's the very cute 70's yellow/brown diagonally striped paper- It's my favorite part]. The coffin treat box template is from Martha Stewart.

Project 2: costume record + fabulously cute homemade envelope using Carina Gardner's Haunted + Raven collections. The girl is going to be Dorothy. The baby will be the lion. I'll be either the Tin Man or the Scarecrow and ::B:: will be the other. The two oldest boys wanted to be The Grim Reaper and Dracula.

Project 3: Haunted Bingo + Party Bags [again using Carina Gardner's Haunted + Raven collections].

Project 4: "dem bones dem bones gonna dance around". Have you ever seen a skeleton doing a heel click? I thought it would be fun. The skeleton and spooky cutouts are from Samantha Walker's Harvest Moon Halloween Accents. I sprayed the spooky with adhesive and glittered it. I wanted it to stand out but not be distracting. I kind of like it.

And I think that's enough for one day. See you next time for the end of month round-up ;).

ps. I'm open to project suggestions. Want to see me make something?
pps. After cutting out everything involved in these various projects I decided to use my saved up [for the past 4+ years] birthday money and buy a Silhouette Cameo. It's in the mail. Yipee!

Absenteeism

2011-10-28T01:44:00.001-07:00

A few days ago I wrote a fascinating post that started something like this: Here I sit, fingers poised over the keys waiting for an incredibly clever and catchy title to pop into head, but all I've got is this, "Fill in the blank. Fill in the blank." rolling through my head. My fingers tap out the word absenteeism.

I remember that my internet was having issues that day and the post was lost. All except the title. A tragedy to be sure.

I remember that it was very clever.

I remember that I googled "absenteeism" to check my spelling, and found myself amused by the various reasons for absenteeism. Most of which seemed applicable.

I remember that the only reason I got on to blog in the first place was that I was giddy with excitement over a most wonderful [small scale] project idea I've decided to embark on.

I remember that I was not willing to give any specific details about said project.

I'm still not.

Girl Friday

2011-10-14T08:29:00.001-07:00

This girl knows what she wants. And she's got the fashion thing down. Three things to remember: Pink is pretty. Princess = perfect. A tutu makes everything better. Even pajamas.

This momma is going shopping today. Normally this doesn't go so well [possibly the problem is that these jeans look like they fit my nine year old son]. I'm thinking that if I go in with a plan it will be more enjoyable. But I could be wrong. Here's to hoping.

Source: polyvore.com via Lisa on Pinterest

Source: polyvore.com via Heather on Pinterest

I always feel self-conscious when I dress up. I guess accessorizing the jeans + t-shirts is a nice place to start. And I do wish those boots had a bit of a heel.

Seriously Behind

2011-09-30T14:57:00.001-07:00

This is going to be one huge round up of projects. Huge [~~I didn't realize I was so far behind.~~ Not as far behind as I originally thought. Thank heavens]! If it's not your thing, that's too bad. I sure had fun making them!

This is a party in a box. A birthday party to be exact. I revisited the party popper idea from a few months ago. I always wonder if they actually pop like they're supposed to. *B* was getting really irritated with me because I kept popping them off and he kept having to reset them. Not to mention the confetti I was getting everywhere. I don't know what his deal was. He understands prototypes ;). After all, I had changed the confetti I used and needed to make sure it wasn't too heavy. A few different times. I seriously get the biggest kick out of them. They make me happy.

This is the label for said party in a box. It's always really exciting to get a sneak preview of fun contents with a pretty package label. I have happy mail aspirations.

Because of my happy mail aspirations I started working on a postcard pack with quotes and words of encouragement instead of photos. I have been really inspired lately by words and the different and wonderful ways people are putting them together. I love postcards. I love that every person who touches it from here to there gets the message. Which is why I thought word art was perfect for this sort of thing [and just in case you were wondering it was the purple card letter cutting that led to the previously mentioned hair cutting]. As I was formatting the postcards for printing I realized that if I just dropped in a photo and some journaling I would have some pretty cute layouts. Sweet! Bonus pages.

And just a little peek at the postcards. All cut out and tied up with a ribbon. Way to much fun. Now... who to send them to?

The end. For now.

Girl Friday

2011-09-30T14:28:00.001-07:00

This girl gave herself her very first haircut on Monday. I was really hoping that by never mentioning hair and cut in the same sentence that we would just tip-toe past this phase that kids seem to go through. I was really, really hoping. We were cutting out letters from paper and it must have been when I turned to scan them into the computer she worked her magic on her hair. I didn't even notice until quite a bit later -- she had walked away from the project while I was busy with the scanner. When I saw her pretty little blonde curls on the table my heart fell. I immediately went to inspect the damages. Thankfully it wasn't too bad. Especially with the rest of her hair down around her face. I pulled it back for the photo. She seemed to only cut the parts that tend to hang in her face. On Tuesday I took the girl to get her hair fixed. After it was washed and combed the stylist informed me that she had cut quite a lot in the back as well so a pretty big trim was necessary. Hmm. I wondered where all that hair went? On Tuesday night *B* found quite a large pile of cute little blonde curls under his fishing bag. The Girl hid the evidence. Sheesh.

This mom gets her hair cut approximately once every three years. I just don't have the patience for it. The benefit to doing it this way is that, by the time I get around to cutting it, my hair is long enough to donate to locks of love. It really does grow insanely fast. So here I am. Shopping around for a cute haircut. Suggestions welcomed.

ps. That's blueberries on her face.

More Than That

2011-09-26T09:02:00.002-07:00

On Saturday night I attended the annual Relief Society meeting of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. As always it was amazing and inspiring. Sister Beck opened the meeting. In her talk she paraphrased Christ teaching Martha she said something to the effect of, "you could be doing more than that." That really hit me. I thought, how could I possibly be doing more? And after thinking about it [and putting it into it's correct context - because, well, that's always a good idea] it wrapped back around nicely to be tied up in a pretty bow of less is more. And then Elder Uchtdorf talked about good sacrifices. "Am I committing my time and energies to the things that matter most?" Probably the thing I most needed to hear right now. Funny how that works.I chuckled when they announce that Elder Uchtdorf would be speaking. I leaned over to my friend and commented that he is such a fabulous champion for women that they seem to be pigeon holing him to the cause. And then it occurred to me that he is probably the priesthood leader specifically assigned to watch over the organization. I always enjoy hearing him speak to us. His genuine love and caring for women is apparent.

I loved when he mentioned spending many hours stitching the title of the lesson onto potholders for every member of the class. This is where the whole "less is more" thing really came together for me and I had an epiphany... Martha = Martha. Don't get me wrong. I love Martha Stewart. I think she's brilliant and these types of things make life fun. However, if I'm feeling overly stressed about something I now have a guide to step back and ask myself, "is this something Martha would do?" If it is perhaps I need to sacrifice it for something better.

Girl Friday

2011-09-23T12:54:00.000-07:00

This girl was thrilled when one of the neighbor grandmas let her borrow a huge box of Barbie dolls. Thrilled. I love that she hates it when they're naked. She likes to change their clothes, but is quick to let me know that running around naked isn't okay. They need to get dressed. Did you know Barbie is evolving? There's quite a variety here. Some with the typical big chest/ skinny waist/ big hips, some with not so big chests, some with not so defined waist/hips. It's kinda nice to see that they're making new molds. Her favorite is Erika from Barbie in The Princess and the Pauper movie. She sings. And The Girl sings along. I love that.

This momma was inspired by an intriguing question [asked by the fabulous, and always inspiring, Kal Barteski] that was right up my alley. How are you evolving? Life is constantly changing. I am regularly trying on new hats, wearing them around for a while, taking note of what I like and what I don't, so that hopefully the next hat will be a better fit. Right now I'm making more of an effort to take our food back to basics. I've started making my own yogurt. We're implementing the use of more whole grains like amaranth and millet. We've bottled up loads of vegetable soup/salsa from our garden. Oh, and we got chickens. I think I might be evolving into an urban farmer. It makes me happy.

ps. We survived our trip. More on that later. I'm working on a video...

pps. If any of my favorite thrifty yard sale ladies ever stumble across a batch of Barbies that are in good condition for what you consider a good price [I haven't the foggiest] I would love you forever if you'd snag it for me. The girl will love you forever as well. Promise.

2.for.Tuesday

2011-09-13T09:24:00.002-07:00

Today I am...

one: here.

two: and here.

Girl Friday

2011-09-09T13:43:00.000-07:00

This silly girl will occasionally have breathing issues. It started when she was 5 months old and hospitalized for three days with pneumonia/dehydration. Since then we've run the gamut of nebulizer treatments and doctor visits with the occasional trip to the ER. This weekend we rushed down off the mountain after we ran out of medicine and she was not breathing any easier. After getting her blood oxygen level checked we were advised to go home, give her a breathing treatment and take her to the ER if she didn't improve. A few hours later we found ourselves in the ER. Girlie has pneumonia. She also loves blueberries.

This silly momma will occasionally have issues that involve awareness/backbone. After putting The Girl on oxygen, giving her the appropriate medications and waiting for what I am assuming to be an appropriate amount of time, the doctor came in and said he was taker her off the oxygen for 10 minutes to see what her blood oxygen level was holding at. After about 6 minutes her saturation level was 92 or 93%. He put her back on the oxygen, stating that her level was dropping too fast, and said he was admitting her to the hospital. Now here's where the awareness/backbone part would be helpful. Good questions to ask: At what point does her blood oxygen saturation level become unacceptable? Is admitting her to the hospital really necessary? Could we wait a bit longer and check it again before proceeding? All excellent questions I thought of after being with her in the hospital overnight and into the afternoon [while we waited for our pediatrician to make his way over and discharge her]. On the children's floor her blood/oxygen saturation level hovered around 89-90%. They monitored her levels but never once put her on oxygen - when I asked if she needed it [I believe my exact words were - in reference to the tiny oxygen mask the ambulance transport people left, "So, does she not need this?"] they said her levels were fine. And here I though the only reason she was admitted was because she had to be on oxygen. Silly me.

ps. I like blueberries too.

pps. In case you were wondering, the girl is fine. Wild and crazy, as per usual.

A Day Late

2011-08-31T15:31:00.000-07:00

one: "Fortunes forecast! Lucky charms!" I think that's my favorite line from Disney's Robin Hood. I love how Little John delivers it. Today for your viewing pleasure [and quite possibly your creative inspiration] I give you fortune tellers. Remember? I tried to amp it up a little. These ones require a bit of thought. I wanted there to be a bit of a challenge so as to encourage multiple visits. Here's how to work it:

Ask, "Which do you prefer, multiplication, addition, division or subtraction [then proceed to spell out product, sum, quotient, difference - don't worry, they're marked]?"
On the inside one will encounter the standard set of numbers. Instead of just picking a number however, the suplicant will proceed to work the math and attempt to create an equation that results in said suplicants age by using the prefered method, i.e. I am still 34 [for a couple more months] and a little forethought revealed that I cannot create an equation using the numbers 1-8 to equal my age if I choose anything other than addition. Therefore, I am required to work my way slowly to 34 by adding various small numbers--Though I am not opposed to switching up the method mid-process for a fun mixed equation.
Lastly [and somewhat anti-climactic if the truth be known] one needs only to choose a random number. I'm trying to figure out a more fun was to do this... maybe grade your performance on a scale from 1-8? Maybe I'll add smiley face stickers or colors or something...no wonder those foil stars were calling to me at Staples last night! Dang.
Reveal said number by opening up the flap and, voila! Fortune forecast.

I'm working on a template/how to for the box. I'll let you know when it's up.

two: In a few weeks we'll be setting out with my family for beautiful Oceanside, CA. We have a few activities planned - the San Diego Zoo, Sea World, LA Dodgers game. The kids are going to want money. I'm going to want to give it to them. I'm going to wish they had earned it. I came up with a plan. They can each earn a potential $30 and rather than give it to them in small increments and listen to them cry about how they want this Lego set or that Pokemon card I devised a progress tracker. It works with a magnet. Pretty slick. Again, working on a how-to. I'll let you know.

ps. All projects created using Echo Park Paper Co. products available at JS. Click the photos for direct links to products.

Fun With Foods

2011-08-25T14:13:00.002-07:00

is a regularly scheduled Relief Society meeting our ward puts on once a month. Last month they did a whole class about crock pot cooking that got my wheels turning, but I've yet to put it into practice. Two months ago they did a whole class about everything one can make using a basic bread recipe [dinner rolls, cinnamon/orange rolls, pizza crust, etc]. Last night was all about grains. I am fascinated. I am intrigued. I am going to tell you the single, most doable, thing that had the biggest impact on me and leave the rest for another day:

Soak grains before cooking.

Apparently this makes the grains more digestible and activates the grain enzymes which increases their nutritional value and flavor. Who knew? So, going to make wheat pancakes for breakfast? Put the wheat to soak the night before. Rice with dinner? Put it to soak in the morning.

Easy peasy.

ps. I don't think you've heard the last from me on this subject... I just requested three books from the library about grains. Consider yourself warned. :)

2.for.Tuesday

2011-08-23T06:38:00.001-07:00

one: This man and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary last month. I figured it's about time he get his photo featured. Though looking over my shoulder he did mention the fact that he didn't give me permission to plaster his face over the world wide web. So there you go.

two: This quote. I love it. This project is going in the boys room. Hoping the words will inspire. Thought leads to action and all that.

ps. the template I used for the anniversary is the free template over at JS for Template Tuesday today [Template Tuesday #30].

pps. click images for product links.

Girl Friday

2011-08-19T14:28:00.001-07:00

Me, I have a love for hats. I used to buy hats all the time. I realized that I never wear the hats I buy. I quit buying hats. Recently I went shopping with my dear sister. I always buy stuff I never wear when I shop with my sister. I bought a hat. I love the hat. The Girl loves the hat. I love the hat on The Girl.

The Girl has started saying, "Oh dear!" Randomly, she will come to me and say, "Momma, lets laugh and sing!" So I start singing and three or four words in she busts up laughing. Which makes me laugh. When she feels somehow slighted by something I've done or said she sings this little song, "Mommy's stupid yes sir-ree" to the tune of A Happy Family. She single handedly ate four klondike bars yesterday while I was curled up in fetal position on the couch [we've had the flu this week... hopefully I'm the last] and her dad was running errands. The evidence was all over her princess dress.

ps. Lace frame how-to.

Make It Do

2011-08-11T07:45:00.008-07:00

Have you ever paused to wonder where exactly the forks go? Or the spoons for that matter? I do this quite often. I can never remember. I suppose if I were more diligent at setting a nice table on a regular basis I wouldn't have this problem, but I don't... So I do. Plus, I believe I've mentioned that it's The Girl's job to set the table, so throw being three into that mix and it becomes quite the puzzle. How to help her set the table without leading her around the table indicating each item for her? Enter the interactive placemats I shared a couple of weeks ago for JS.

This project was really simple to make and has yeilded huge results. I created an 11 x 17 template [obviously the most time consuming part of the project] that included the makings of an informal place setting in proper placement + spacing, dropped in some cute papers, and printed + laminated at Staples. Done and done.

A few things to consider:

I originally intended to use this template as an embroidery pattern to put on linen placemats. I still think that would be really cool.
Don't have Photoshop? Cut out the individual elements and trace around them onto the paper of your choice. Adhere to the background of your choice + voila.
Cut the shapes out of fabric instead and applique/ use a fabric glue like Fabri-tac, Aleene's Fabric Fusion or Heat 'n Bond to stick them on [side note: it's been a while since I used Heat 'n Bond and I've never tried Aleene's Fabric Fusion or Fabri-Tac - they just seemed like what I would look for if I were to do this project. All products got overall good reviews with a few terrible ones. I am not necessarily endorsing the products, just brainstorming].
Print the page, as is, and let your kids color it.
Template = Pattern. So many options.

Finally, the true test - can The Girl set the table properly? Well, see for yourself:

ps. I wanted to fit everything on the placemat [including the cup] so I went with a salad sized plate vs. a larger dinner plate. In my trial you may notice that things are a bit tight. I've made the necessary adjustments to the template.

pps. The song in the video is All The Ways by Frances England from her Mind of My Own album.

ppps. The template is in the box. Please leave a comment if you grab it. I've been getting a bunch of people downloading my templates and I think that's awesome. I'd love to know who's using them.

2.for.Tuesday

2011-08-09T15:12:00.000-07:00

one: winner winner chicken dinner. A few weeks ago I offered a prize to anyone + everyone who knew the answer to a question. Today I finally made good on one of those prizes. I can't decide which I like better [the frame isn't part of it, I just needed to distinguish the borders]...

two: beach hat. for a beach bum. We're heading to Oceanside next month and I've had this cute little hat on the favorites bar for a bit too long now. Time to make it happen [it's rated as easy - we'll see]. I'm wondering how it would be with raffia? Definitely more beachy + hopefully more flopsy. I'm looking for a bit of flopsy.

Aha!

2011-08-05T14:03:00.000-07:00

Since joining the Jessica Sprague Creative Team I've developed a love/hate relationship with hybrid [meaning that digital products are printed out and assembled hands on vs. organized and assembled entirely on the computer] projects. Love the hands on process/ hate the bleeding print. A complete tragedy when that happens.

Did you know that paper matters?

Fairly recently I learned something new. Maybe something so completely obvious it's laughable to be sure, but new all the same. The type of paper used in printing projects matters. Alot.

One of the perks of being on the JS team is that companies will occasionally offer free or deeply discounted products for us to play with. When the Red River Paper Company offered sample papers I briefly wondered if it would be worth it because my printer just bleeds anyway. Again, not so. I was so excited when the package arrived I dusted off my JS products and kicked out a few paper postcards. I thought, "what better way to get a true test than with multiple patterns + colors in the same project?" I loved it. When the first page came out [printed on 53 lb Red River Premium Gloss] I picked it up, licked my finger and tried to smear the ink. No joke. Guess what? It didn't smear. So I licked it. Still no smear. By now I'm doing a little happy dance in my seat and wondering just what it would take for the ink on this paper to smear. I took it over to the sink and ran a small stream of water over it for a couple of seconds and then dabbed it dry. NO SMEAR! Obviously it's not ideal to put your paper project under a stream of water. The paper will warp if left to it's own devices, but I am not kidding... The ink stayed put.

I tried some other papers in the pack they were wonderful and heavy papers. The print was sharp and clear [though if it wasn't a coated paper the ink didn't seal and would bleed]. There was this one paper that, after I realized the ink wouldn't bleed, I sat it aside for a special project - It was thick and heavy and beautiful and thick. Too thick for my junk printer. And then there was this one project [done on a satin finish paper] that I thought would come off without a hitch but the inks wouldn't dry. Forever. It's still not dry and the lines are fuzzy. I realized much later that there is a right + a wrong side to special papers. I gave that paper a second chance and have come to the conclusion that Arctic Polar Satin 66 lb Red River Paper might be my favorite paper for printing projects at home. Not too glossy, true colors, clean lines. Beautiful prints.

Thank you Red River Paper Company! Not just for making fabulous papers, but for providing me the testing grounds for getting optimal results from of my less than stellar printer. I will stop complaining about it now.

My Very Most Favorite

2011-08-03T17:02:00.002-07:00

time of day is the quiet early morning hours when the world is just starting to open her eyes.

She reaches her arms high in a great big stretch and with a wide yawn she breathes in all the possibility of a new day. It was my pleasure to witness this very chain of events this morning. And as the sun peeked his head over the mountain I took this photo of my babies all cuddled up in bed with their daddy. Life is good in the morning.

2.for.Tuesday

2011-08-02T07:10:00.003-07:00

one: Survey Says: Salsa. Soup + Salsa. I am exhausted. We were up until 3:30a.m. this morning bottling tomato soup + salsa. I love the soup, but am really wondering if it's worth all this trouble. This is the third week in a row we've done this. I don't think the salsa is worth it. I've still not found a bottled salsa recipe I love. Tonight we used recipe #2 for this year. I think we're going to have a salsa party when we're done with the tomato season. Everyone will have to fill out a survey about the each of the different salsas and hopefully we'll be able to pin down a recipe we like. Hopefully. I'm thinking a questionaire like this might just do the trick. This just might be the labels on a few jars that get delivered as invites. That would help me get rid of some... hmm.

two: Flashback. Remember when I first started posting 2.for.Tuesday clear back in November 2008 [wow]? It was entirely about great ideas I had seen and wanted to try. Some I even tried. I kind of miss that. I kind of miss letting the ebb + flow of the internet waves pull me where they would. It isn't very often anymore that I surf without a specific purpose in mind. Today I was reminded of how much I enjoyed creating a post with the sole purpose of sharing fun ideas with you. Elsie Marley recently shared a post called things on the internet: tutorial edition. Things like the homemade retro play stamps tutorial/photo by Teri at Giddy Giddy. It's all fun. Go see.

ps. It seems a few crazy Christmas cards are extremely past due... I'll get right on that.

pps. The label was made with Echo Park's Country Drive Elements 2

Super Saturday

2011-07-30T09:36:00.002-07:00

Sorry about the absentee-ism lately. I was cut off from the internet for about a week and then I got to play catch-up. Here's the final step in that catch-up process... My last two JS projects for the month:

First up we have interactive place mats. It's The Girl's job to set the table for dinner and I've been thinking a lot about how to help her do a nice job correctly. I came to the conclusion that an interactive place mat was the way to go and started looking for linen place mats that I could embroider the elements of an informal place setting onto. I made a template/pattern for the embroidery and got to thinking, "why worry about embroidery when I have access to so many fabulous + fun patterned papers?" So for fun I started dropping papers onto the template. Loved these ones from the Early Bird Paper Pack by Cosmo Cricket. Perfect. I printed them 11 x 17 and had them laminated at Staples [have I told you about Staples? I'm going to have to do that. Remind me. Heidi Swapp is brilliant]. I love them. I love that they are wipe-able. I love that they want to set the table now because it's like a game. And I love that they are now learning how to do it correctly.

Isn't that the cutest card ever? I seriously keep looking at it and thinking, "Who can I send this too? What kind of party can we have so I can send this card to someone?" Around here we talk quite a lot about inviting various families from the area over for dinner so we can get to know them better. Lately the boys have been wishing for a party for no reason. A few years ago Sarah Neuberger from The Small Object made printable fill-in-the-blank invites that I flagged for my to-do list. When I saw Cosmo Cricket's The Boyfriend Elements tags I knew exactly what I wanted to do with them. Love it when random things line up just so. I made a template and dropped them in. Easy Peasy.

I'm sure you'll see these projects again.

2.for.Tuesday

2011-07-19T12:20:00.007-07:00

one: Evidence. I am getting the biggest kick out of Nisa Fiin's [of Splendid Fiins] new Evidence line. When I saw the first group I immediately thought I'd make a field journal for the boys to document their summer adventures. Lucky for me, I am a procrastinator, and while this project floated around in my head Nisa was busy making even more great stuff for the line. And I saw this tutorial for making little books. It's perfect. So here you go. A very cool book of field notes. I'm over at Mouse, Paper, Lovely with a photo filled how-to today. Come visit!

1. watermelon hands, 2. outside of the dugout tonight...., 3. red.3, 4. red.4, 5. red.5, 6. Untitled, 7. spinning summer records, 8. day 5 red boats santa cruz, 9. day 5 taffy, 10. Untitled, 11. red seasonal goodness, 12. poppytalk red: summer shoes, 13. cherries, 14. red1, 15. IMG_1986, 16. GreyLemon SummerColor Rainbow4, 17. rainbow.1, 18. friendships over the rainbow, 19. summer rainbow, 20. rainbow.4, 21. day 4 rainbow (ceiling lights), 22. beads, 23. Ferris wheel2, 24. rainbow, 25. hot air balloon, 26. Carnival, 27. balloons, 28. Summer Rainbow 2, 29. Making our own pot of gold, 30. 100 Colours, 31. IMG_9576, 32. hot air balloon - it's summer!, 33. rainbow weekend., 34. IMGP8931, 35. play-doh, 36. poppytalk rainbow: beaded

two: Color Week. How come I always miss it? It's on the someday list. I love looking at all the beautiful photos!

ps. The Splendid Fiins Evidence Paper Pack will be available next Monday at Jessica Sprague!

Make It Do

2011-07-14T07:45:00.037-07:00

So the other day my kids had a lesson on the food guide pyramid complete with art project. Really. I had nothing to do with it. They sat down at the table - the two younglings on one side and the older "teacher" on the other - and they had a lesson. I was here, working on the computer, and listening [occasionally throwing a comment or two in]. It was decided by the teacher that they would do one food group every day this week. Today they did grains. What does this have to do with my established Make It Do series you might be asking...

In my mind, talk of grains led to thinking of sprouts. In fact, it keeps popping up. See, the other day I was at the neighbor's house getting a can of tomato sauce. While we talked she took out a jar of sprouts and proceeded to rinse them. Of course we started talking about sprouts... And for the past few days I've been reading Whole Living Magazine and there's a recipe with sprouted quinoa so they were already on my mind a bit. And then I remembered that Mom gave us a sprouter for Christmas last year. Awesome. So here I am. A sprouter [as of three days ago]!

Did you know there are pages and pages of information/research touting the benefits of sprouts? For example, did you know that there are 10 to 100 times more enzymes in germinated grains and beans than in raw fruits and vegetables? Sprouts abound with antioxidants, they are full of protein, chlorophyll, vitamins, minerals and amino acids. When a seed sprouts, stored food & enzymes needed for growth of the mature plant are mobilized. Protein, carbohydrate & fat is broken down (pre-digested) to free amino acids, simple sugars & soluble compounds. Vitamins, including A, B-complex (B-12), C, E & K, increase to meet the growth needs of a young plant. For example, B-complex in wheat increases 600 percent, vitamin E triples & vitamin C increases six-fold. Vitamin C in a 100 gram serving of peas goes from 0 to 69 mg. in 48 hours! Essential minerals - calcium, magnesium, iron & zinc are supplied in organic form, "chelated" for better assimilation.

So now I'm asking myself, "why haven't I been eating/feeding my kids sprouts all along?" I think I thought it was complicated. Apparently it isn't.

This is the sprouter I have. Three days ago I put in 1/4 c quinoa [that's quinoa - pronounced keen'wah - in the first photo] and filled it up with very warm water to soak for 3 hours [I set a timer because I knew I would forget]. When the beeper beeped, I emptied the water, put on the lid and sat it on the counter. It's called the EasySprout and it's supposed to speed up the process. 24 hours later this is what they looked like [I put some in a jar so you could see them better + I love the photos you'll see in the link below. I wanted some of my own]. My kids love them. I want to try beans next. I love bean sprouts in stirfry.

Don't have a sprouter? Here's a great link to a very simple + kid friendly sprout project. All you need is a mason jar, breatheable fabric [like cheesecloth or a piece of a pair of old nylons], a mason jar ring and, of course, seeds. But not the kind you buy for the garden. Those typically have stuff on them.

In comparison the only real difference is time. With the jar you have to rinse the sprouts 1-2 times per day while the sprouter claims the airflow is such that it's not necessary to rinse at all. It also claims that my quinoa sprouts will be ready in 12-24 hrs, but Whole Living says quinoa takes 2 days in a jar. I suppose there is one more difference: You probably have everything you need to start sprouting in your house right now [wheat berries/lentils/black eyed peas/pinto beans, etc], but you would have to order a sprouter if you wanted one - there are endless options available.

What does one do with sprouts anyway?
•Add to tossed salads
•Use in coleslaw
•Try in wraps and roll-ups
•Stir-fry with other vegetables
•Blend with vegetable juices
•Stir into soups or stews when serving
•Top omelet or scrambled eggs
•Add to sushi [because, you know, we eat that all the time :)]

Enjoy!

ps. Want to know more? Here's a great link with tons of info about sprouting at home.

pss. the photo above shows the stage we ate them in. I read somewhere that the most nutritional stage is 1/4 roots. I'm not convinced that what I'm seeing is roots. I'm working on doing more research to see how to go about getting them into the bigger great on a sandwich stage. The sprouting at home link in the postscript is the place to learn it I think. Just a matter of time.

2.for.Tuesday

2011-07-12T06:26:00.003-07:00

one: Nine Already? Cosmo Cricket has a new line out called Salt Air. It's pretty fun! Since *I* got a fish for his birthday I decided to use it to do a page about his birthday. Not that you can really tell it's about his birthday, but that's how I do things. That little ticket on the right is his party invite [we took a bunch of kids to see Rio at the dollar flick so it's a movie ticket - the template is in the box. You're welcome!] and of course, the fish. I made the line and the clips were extracted from a photo. And, yes, I'm obviously still the white paint lady. Maybe I will always be. I like it alot.

two: glitter. Thanks to my friend Cannwin.

ps. The Man doesn't think it really looks like glitter. :(

pps. know where "cue the sparkle" comes from? I'll make you a customized sparkle element of your choice if you can guess right! After I wrote that *I* said I had to change the color of the glitter. He thought the green glitter was for him since it's his favorite color.

ppps. If necessary, I may limit the number of elements and do a random drawing to choose a few winners. I don't forsee that happening, but you never know.

Girl Friday

2011-07-08T07:06:00.005-07:00

Yesterday my friend Cannwin posted a list. And you all know how much I love lists. Then I got an e-mail from BPC [Big Picture Classes] with a great "I" list. And the boys are currently working a list. Hmm. I think the universe is telling me it's time for another list :). Like I need an excuse. Here goes:

I was not going to post today.

I am going to the dentist.

I think I should take better care of my teeth so I don't have to make special trips to fix problems.

I wonder if that protective mouthwash really works...

I wish I could snap my fingers and have everything fly to it's place [like Mary Poppins].

I save everything. It's annoying. And counterproductive to my organizing wishes.

I always sit things down on the nearest surface and forget about them.

I can't imagine living in a clutter free home.

I believe it's possible

I promise to make more of an effort.

photos credits: Better Homes & Gardens and Martha Stewart Living

I love the look of a clutter free home.

I do.

Make It Do

2011-07-07T05:21:00.006-07:00

So... Apricots. Did you know the apricot is a native of China and has been cultivated for over 4,000 years? Today, the United States produces close to 90% of the world’s apricots, most being grown in California. Apricots are an excellent source of betacarotene (vitamin A) and also provide vitamin C, iron, potassium, and fiber.

I am of the opinion that the best thing to do with apricots is to make jam. And as far as jams go, apricot is one of the easiest. Right up there with strawberry. A couple of weeks ago my grandpa called and said he had some apricots if I wanted them. Um, yes please. Fast forward 38 half-pints later and I've got a few things to say about jam making.

The instructions that come in the pectin box are ~~lame~~ divided into two sections, laid out so as to accomodate many types of fruit and include both jam and jelly instructions. Translation: I messed it up. Every time. If you tend to get overwhelmed with too much information and resort to skimming instructions until you feel like you have the gist of it [like someone else I know] I suggest translating the recipe portion into a simplified form like this:

In a large sauce pan mix X cups pitted + chopped apricots with 1/X c lemon juice. Gradually stir in pectin*. Add up to 1/2 tsp butter to reduce foaming if desired. Over high heat bring mixture to full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down. Stir constantly.
After the fruit/lemon juice/pectin have reached full rolling boil stir in entire measure of sugar, stirring to dissolve. Return mixture to full, rolling boil. Boil hard X minute(s). Stirring constantly.
Remove from heat. Skim foam if necessary. Proceed with preserving instructions.

I'm not going to get into the preserving instruction. Basically it's hot jam into hot jars topped with hot lids + process for however long it tells you to depending on what you're preserving. If you would like more information + a video to get you started go here.

*A word about pectin. There are way too many different kinds. For this project I compared two: Ball Original and MCP Premium. They are both 100% natural fruit pectin, both are in powder form, they call for the same amounts of fruit per batch, and they both make jam.

As far as differences go, one word pretty much sums it up. More. and not necessarily in a good way. The first thing I noticed was that although they call for the same amounts of fruit the MCP recipe calls for twice as much lemon juice and 1 c more sugar per recipe. Also, after adding the sugar the MCP boil time is 4 minutes vs. 1 minute for Ball. I always add the butter to reduce foam [+ I think it gives a little bit of flavor - though that might just be wishful thinking] the Ball recipe hardly foamed at all and I didn't feel the need to skim anything. The MCP recipe had loads of foam. I could have had an additional jar processed with what I skimmed in foam [ps. don't toss the foam! Even though there's too much air for it to preserve well, it tastes good spread on toast etc. so put it into a bowl or jar to put in the fridge]. The batches I made with MCP also set up way more than I like. Probably because of the longer cook time.

Recap:
MCP = more lemon juice, more sugar, more time, more foam, and more set. Ball won this contest. Anybody compared Ball to another brand? I'm curious.

My intent for this post is to show that anyone can make jam. And I don't think you really have to be uptight about it. I've made huge amounts [multiple batches all in the same night] and small amounts when I barely squeaked by with enough fruit and got 6 or 7 half pints out of it. I'm a winging it kind of girl and I fairly stink at following instructions. I've messed up more batches of jam than you can imagine. We always eat it and it always tastes good. If it seals properly it even keeps for a year or two. This time I insisted on mixing everything together before cooking. Every single batch. Even though I realized on the first batch that I wasn't supposed to. Hmm. They're fine. They're more than fine, they're yummy. A little too set up for my taste - I like my jam slightly runny - but they sure taste good.

So there you go. Make some jam. Do. It's incredibly empowering + satisfying to store up foods that you've prepared yourself. I love looking at my jars of jam. I smile every time.

ps. There are so many things to be made + preserved using apricots. Bottle them, dry them, make fruit leather. My mother-in-law bottles the blended up apricots and calls it nectar. She mixes it with orange juice for breakfast. It's yummy!

No Roman Candles

2011-07-01T14:51:00.003-07:00

Joe Dirt: So you're gonna tell me that you don't have no Black Cats, no Roman Candles, no Screaming Meemies?

Kickin' Wing: No.

Joe Dirt: Oh come on man, you don't got no Ladyfingers, Buzz Bottles, Snicker Bombs, Church Burners, Finger Blasters, Gut Busters, Zippedy-doo-das, Crap Flappers?

Kickin' Wing: No, I don't.

Joe Dirt: You're gonna stand there, owning a fireworks stand and tell me you dont have any Whistling Bungholes, no Spleen Splitters, Whisker Biscuits, Honkey Lighters, Hüsker Düs, Hüsker Don'ts, Cherry Bombs, Nipsy Dazers, with or without the Scooter Stick, or one single Whistling Kitty-chaser?

Kickin' Wing: No.

Joe Dirt: Why?

Kickin' Wing: Because Snakes and Sparklers are the only ones I like.

Joe Dirt - 2001

I have never seen this movie. I searched firecracker quotes and found this. I think it's hilarious. Totally made my night. Long night that it has been. I am finalizing one of the most fun projects I've done in a while. I am testing firecrackers. Well... not firecrackers exactly. These ones you explode inside the house. So. Much. Fun! Right before Christmas I found a pack of party poppers in the clearance section at JoAnn's. 75% off. Score! I have always been secretly curious about party poppers. In my closet they sat. Then sometime around March I flagged this Oh Happy Day tutorial about how to make confetti invitations with party poppers. Serendipitous don't you think? This year my boys are obsessed with 4th of July decor. They have cut + colored bunting and flags. Stars and firecrackers. I realized that it's time to make firecrackers.

I give the tutorial **** stars out of five. The instructions are clear and easy to follow. The photography is wonderful. The idea is brilliant. I just couldn't get the thing to explode using the closure method she chose. Though, admittedly, I didn't have label paper so the failure could be entirely operator error. The method that worked best for me is the one the inventors intended. A tiny piece of paper tape. Really tiny. Like 1/8" or even 1/16". It's the only thing that worked in my trials [in a moment when you are unwrapping the label from the tube you may find a very long piece of tiny masking tape that can be re-used as your closure]. I used Jordan's guides to make a template with masks so you can pretty it up any way you like [I used Elle's Studio USA Vintage Journaling Tags]. The template is in the box.

Here are my suggestions:

Follow Jordan's instructions through step 3 [though instead of cutting a new circle piece/ topper I just peeled the label off. It doesn't look very pretty, but it's covered for the most part anyway. Also, before removing the wrapper make a mark or something to indicate which side goes up. I thought it would be easy to remember, but I kept having to check].

*If you're using Jordan's printable labels I would cut the top 1/2 inch off. If you're using my template/masks the cut lines are marked for this.

Step 4: Start with the circle top. Use a piece of clear tape approx. 1/2 inch wide to make a strong hinge approx. This way only one side of your top will pop and you won't lose your lid. You don't need to stick it to the tube yet, just let it hang out there. It is easier to decorate the top if it's not attached.

I really liked the look of the wrapper folded on itself. I thought it had the look of a firecracker. I mimicked this by using the 1/2 inch remnant. I smeared the top with glue and proceeded to make pleats around the top. Fold and stick your way around the top, following the shape of the circle as closely as you can. If you want a fuse just poke a hole in the top and feed your yarn or whatever through and tape it down on the underside. ~~I think it would be fun to find some more realistic looking fuse. Mine's not looking so pretty~~. Hooray! I have this super fun paper cording from the girls birthday packaging. Vintage Fisher Price record player = Love.

Step 5: Stick your label/wrapper around the tube. I used a glue stick and sealed the full seam with clear tape. Stuff it with confetti. Jordan has some great photos of the mechanics and how to reassemble those.One thing I think she missed pointing out is the notch. You'll need to be aware of it when you lock the spring down. This photo is of the locked in mechanism and a decent view of the notch mentioned. To put set mechanism into the tube you will just have to use your muscles and press it in. I thought it would screw in but it doesn't. It's a snap. Other than that... Yay! Happy 4th of July from my ragamuffin children!

One more thing. You'll need to tape the top closed after stuffing. This is where the tiny piece of paper tape/ painters tape comes in. Did I mention tiny [see photo above]? If it's too thick [or too sticky] it won't release. Notice we had this problem on one of them in the video. It was a brand new unhandled piece of tape. As a precaution I would stick + unstick it a couple of times in the future. Enjoy!

Make It Do

2011-06-30T13:19:00.001-07:00

I know, I know. I promised apricots. I will get to those, but first I want to talk about cake. Because we’ve been having a lot of cake around here lately. Birthday cake to be more specific. My mom was the queen of special cakes. I remember very distinctly some of the cakes she made + decorated: Beehives, Carebears + Barbies [the 3D kind], flashlight, spaceship, guitar, Mickey Mouse… etc. For the past 9 years I’ve been trying to be a cake queen as well. I just don’t have the patience for it. Admittedly my technique has greatly improved over the years and I feel like I could accomplish the task if I could only 1. Stop procrastinating and 2. Enjoy the process for longer than 5 minutes. This year I’ve come to terms with the fact that it’s just not me. Hallelujah!

Last week for the girls birthday I attempted multi-tasking the birthday cake. The end of the month came very quickly [again] and I needed projects to turn in + it was a last minute/throw together sort of party. Hence the birthday banner. Hence the store bought cake. It was the obvious solution. Surprisingly, I found myself actually enjoying the party. I haven’t really enjoyed a birthday party for… oh, I’d say nine years or so. Hmm.

[This number painting I did was 100% inspired by Katie Daisy]

This week we had another birthday. He’s nine. He’s indecisive. He’s 100% my child. Yesterday he said he wanted a Star Wars cake and I said, “Little late for that. How about I pick up a cake at the store and paint a fancy paper “9” to put on top of it?” Project approved. Nice.

Make it do. That’s what this is all about. I have these dreams of pretty. I have this need to put my hands in things. I was failing miserably. I was not enjoying. Today I have officially adopted two new habits/traditions:

1. Buy a cake at the store. My time is worth $15. My sanity is worth $15. Enjoying my child’s birthday? I can’t put a price on that. I wish I had realized this sooner. If you are a maker and feel like you have to put your hands in things, make something to put on it.

2. Have a pre-party photo shoot. I never would have thought of this on my own. It happened quite by accident. Last week I did it to get photos for the gallery. This week I did it for good light. This week I realized that it’s brilliance. I sat him down + forced him to sit through a photoshoot. He was goofy and sometimes infuriating, but we took lots of photos and got some really cute and fun ones. I was able to move things around. I was able to say, “how about you look at me instead of the floor?” We lit his candles + he blew them out just for me. I was able to get up in his face. I loved it. I took more photos at the party. They are fun, but my favorites are when I was teasing him about looking at the camera and he was making obnoxious faces at me. The cake looks pretty. The lighting is perfect. I wasn’t worried about the flow of the party. And I was able to do this because I wasn’t near tears in the kitchen trying to throw together a Star Wars cake. Happy Birthday indeed.

2.for.Tuesday

2011-06-28T08:44:00.001-07:00

one: Template Tuesday made by my friend Mindy over at the Jessica Sprague blog. It's free and here's the downlow on Template Tuesday: Every Tuesday there will be a free template [you'll find it under news + announcements on the homepage]. You make a page using the template + upload it to the Template Tuesday gallery at JS and after you've uploaded 10 pages [using 10 different templates] you get a coupon for $5 off a minimum $10 purchase at JS. Everybody's a winner! Yay Mindy! Awesome template.

two: pretty paper postcards. That's what I'm calling them. I've got way too much digi goodness floating around on my computer. I can't find anything. I find myself going to the same stuff all the time because I have no idea what's really on the thing. I'm working on an organized digi project. This is phase one. I'm making postcards out of all my paper packs. I'll just keep them in a little flip album or on a binder ring so I can easily see what I have. Along with this process I'm attempting to organize the files on the computer so everything will be in one place. We'll see how that goes. I love the postcards though. This is my first batch. I'm thinking I'll make duplicates of my favorites and actually send them as postcards. Who wouldn't love to receive a pretty paper postcard? I want to hang them on my walls. Really. Oh, and of course I haven't forgotten you... if you'd like to make your own you can grab the first 5 templates in the box. Enjoy!

Make It Do

2011-06-27T12:33:00.008-07:00

I've decided to start a new regular [or semi-regular at least :)] installment here. We have loads of self reliance projects on the back burner and I feel like they've consumed my brain. That, coupled with the fact that this blog is somewhat neglected [for lack of illiteration on my part - I honestly feel like my brain is melting] I thought a new series/weekly installment on what we are doing to become more self reliant might just liven up the little space. Make like we're actually still present and accounted for. Ideally you will find it both useful and interesting. Here's to hoping!

Up first: A large box of apricots. Check back...Thursday? Yes. Thursday sounds just fine I think.

ps. If you have anything you would like to see here or would like to share a something you do/ have done to be more self reliant [guest blogger anyone?] let me know. I'm very open :).

pps. Bonus points to anyone who knows where the title came from!

Woot! Woot!

2011-06-24T20:00:00.004-07:00

Last stop! Everybody off! Thank you for riding the Spraground Express! ~~Don't forget to grab your complimentary quickpage on your way out~~ The bloghop is now over. It's been a pleasure. Really. Come again soon!

Shout Hooray!

2011-06-22T21:00:00.006-07:00

Girlie had a birthday! She has graduated from a very sassy two to a very sassy three. No big surprise there. I've had a few things I've been meaning to get down about her at two. I'm having a really hard time getting things down lately. Hopefully I can remember... Girlie, I love how you giggle behind your hand when you know you're being silly. I think it's hilarious that you can't seem to remember that you just saw what's in the cupboard only five minutes previous. I love how you swim like a mermaid. So glad you enjoy the water. I love the faces you make at the camera. I have to hide my smiles when you lecture the boys. I get a kick out of your hand on your hip when you give instructions. I love how you are always wanting to put the eggs back on the nest so they can hatch. I love how you sing 'Good Night Ladies' to the chickens. I love that your nightlight is really a lightnight, that your favorite movie is, 'Howl's Movie Castle,' and that you love prunes. But I'm sad that your yellow boots are getting too small. Most of all, I love being your best best friend. *cake banner + flags created using Crystal Wilkerson's Sweet Summertime Paper Packs 1 + 2, and Crystal Wilkerson's Doodley Doo Birthday Brushes. Click the photo for product links.

2.for.Tuesday

2011-06-14T08:21:00.004-07:00

one: I'm over here today! Yay! I designed the template for Template Tuesday over at the Digi Lovely blog.

two: A huge birthhday bash. That's right. JessicaSprague.com is FOUR! To celebrate, they're (we're) throwing a HUGE Birthday Bash & Summer Sale. From June 14-26, you can save 20% off of every self-paced class, and 35% off of ALL digital products. In addition, grab all 27 episodes of Jessica's amazing Photoshop Friday tutorials for just $1 each before they're retired on June 26! As part of the celebration, starting on June 24, you can participate in an incredible 49-person blog hop, picking up a sweet digital freebie at each stop! Best of all, on June 26 Jessica will be making a special announcement of a brand new class coming up in July. We only put our site on sale two times a year, so don't miss out on this GREAT savings opportunity! For all the info on the Summer Sale, Photoshop Fridays, blog hop, and the new class, just click here!

2.for.Tuesday

2011-05-31T10:35:00.009-07:00

I am a last minute kinda gal apparently [as if you didn't already know that ;)]. Do you think they would ever kick me off the team? I've really got to get a grip on this loading + blogging problem I have. I will give you the whole, real story...

one: This layout was finished on May 11th + loaded to the JS site on the same day. Yes, really. I did not blog about it. I did not load it to other sites. Here are the details: This girl is very social. She says hi to everyone. When she said hi to Daddy's boss he responded with a, "hi sweetheart." She promptly let him know that she is NOT sweetheart. She's Millie [name has been changed to protect the innocent]. She cracks me up on a regular basis. Products used [click here for links]: Splendid Fiins Very Crafty Ledgers Paper Pack [coming soon!] Splendid Fiins Feed Sack Paper Pack Splendid Fiins Little Letters Splendid Fiins Say What Stickers Splendid Fiins Mixed Bag Tape Strips Splendid Fiins Border Punches Set 2 Splendid Fiins Sew Crafty Messy Stitches Vol. 1

two: Chore Cards. I am determined to have help in keeping the house ordered this summer + beyond. My boys seem to have difficulties looking around a room and seeing what needs to be done. I’ve made up these Chore Cards using slightly modified See Below Journalers from Splendid Fiins and photos cut from magazines to give inspired looks at clean and organized rooms. I have a card for each room/area of the house for daily work + another for weekly deeper cleaning.

The idea is that the cards for all jobs available will be put out and they can choose which they want. "You Snooze You Lose" fully applies here as the jobs are first come first served [much like the MTC]. The cards will be laminated so they can cross off what they have finished as they do it + will be able to follow their own progress. Also, we do daily cleaning for each room/area of the house and then focus on one deep cleaning room/area per week. These two samples happen to be weekly cards. Each of us will be in charge one day a week + will oversee the job. This also includes getting it done. Even if that means doing it yourself. We have discussed the consequences of leaving someone to do their job alone [it very likely means that you will be doing your job alone tomorrow]. I hope it works.

I was hoping to have a photo of all of my finished cards but Costco cropped them when it didn't indicate cropping. I've ordered new ones. Hopefully the problem is resolved. I really don't want to resize them.

There you go. Not so bad I guess.

Saying Thank You

2011-05-24T12:44:00.006-07:00

A while back Brooke Hellewell of Inchmark Journal showed a simple + fun little birthday card she made for her nephew. I loved it. This idea for a teacher appreciation card grew from that one. It's quite a long accordian fold card and I love how it turned out. Here's a little tutorial: 1. Modify the five PSD files to suit your needs and print. I simplified the word layers then used the words as masks so I could cover them with lined school paper from Splendid Fiins Too Cool For School Paper Pack 1. I defined the edges more by using the stroke/outline feature under Edit in the task bar.

2. cut using solid lines as guides.

3. Fold each sheet in half to dotted line and then fold along dotted line as seen here.

4. I used paper scraps to keep everything clean while applying glue. It worked very nicely. 5. glue as shown so that the glued tab is on the underside of the previous page. 6. This is what it will look like unfolded with two pages glued together.

7. repeat the gluing process until all of the pages are glued together to look like this. Clear as mud? Feel Free to ask any questions! Now on to the fun part!

8. Decorate the front and back of your card as you see fit. I used the elements included in the Mouse Paper Scissors + Mouse Paper Scissors - Mom classes for my embellishments. I also used the file folder cut template from MPS-Mom class to make a mask. Just drop in your chosen paper [I used papers from Splendid Fiins Too Cool For School Paper Pack 1] and print or print as is and use as a cut template. I wanted mine extra sturdy so I printed a mirror image and sandwiched them together.

9. Repeat step 8 for back cover. I included a library card pocket to house a gift card. This was sandwiched between the two layers of the back cover. I failed to get photos of this process. I apologize. Have your child write on the card before adding the inside contents. It would be much easier that way :). To attach the guts to the cover you will want to mark where there is overlap [you can see this well in photo 8] then cover the back side of page 1/page 8 with glue avoiding the overlap areas then stick them together + use a brayer or something to really stick it down with minimal bubbles.

10. This is what it looks like all stuffed.

Here's what I included:

pencil
googly eyes
chocolates
heart stickers
paperclips
candy buttons
sixlets [though they typically come with 8 per pkg... lucky me!]
dollar coins [our teachers like to go to Cafe Rio and this just about covered lunch.]

Truthfully, this was a bit of work, but so worth it. Really. So cute! In the box you will find a zipped file that includes PSD files for the inside pages, the file folder mask + mirror image, and the library card mask. Help yourself! Please let me know if you use it. I'd love some feedback.

ps. It says:

one - two - three - four - who's the teacher we adore

five - six - seven - eight - ~~Mrs. Layton's~~ our teacher is really great!

Floating Lanterns

2011-05-18T13:21:00.003-07:00

In my dreams our back yard is finished and we have floating lanterns nestled in the pecan tree. We have dinner parties and after dinner parties. We kick back in a hammock and enjoy twinkle lights. Of course, it's been so beautiful here lately that one can't help but dream of such things. Today I tried out tiny paper lanterns. There's a template in the box if you want one. Not that making paper lanterns is hard or anything, but I was using digi-paper [Splendid Fiins Very Krafty Mixed Bag + Too Cool For School Paper packs] the template made it easy to mix and match. The template includes three different styles [two of each]: Basic + basic with scalloped edges + top heavy with one end scalloped. If you're using digi paper you can use the full background sheet layer or you can disappear that layer and use the six small layers to mix and match. Hopefully that makes sense. Also, all of the layers are white so if you're printing the cut/fold lines onto your own patterned paper you don't need to do anything. Just print. The template is 8.5 x 11. Enjoy!

Heads Up!

2011-05-16T08:53:00.003-07:00

Next week at JS we're having a week long challenge party. It's the 3rd annual 7 Days in May. Join us in the general forum May 23-29 for a week full of challenges. Test your scrapping skills. Bring a friend to join in on the fun. Feel free to snag this flyer and let your friends know where you will be hanging out May 23-29th. (Right click on the image and choose Save As). You won't want to miss it! And on another [really exciting] note: Announcing a special promotion where you can purchase a Silhouette SD, a package of white flocked heat transfer material, a package of teal heat transfer material, and a package of dark pink heat transfer material all for $219! That's a savings of $125, just for you, my friends! This special promotion will run from May 17-25th. I keep dreaming of a Silhouette. Get more info here.

Mondays In May

2011-05-02T10:23:00.003-07:00

At Jessica Sprague. Every Monday in May you will have the opportunity to purchase an item from a designer and receive an item of equal or lesser value from that same designer for FREE! No coupon codes needed. Just fill your cart up with goodies and watch the magic happen! Keep in mind that you will not be able to use coupons or gift certificates during this special, so hold on to them until Tuesday. You can, however, use a coupon or gift certificate if you are just purchasing a class as classes are not included in this special. You can also use a coupon or gift certificate if you are purchasing only one item per designer. This special will end at midnight eastern time. So, for example, if you want to purchase the new "Tabbed Alpha Set" from In the Making Designs (which I know you're gonna want to), you can choose another one of the In the Making Designs products that is $3.99 or less, add it to your cart, and that price will be deducted from your total! Woo hoo! **I took this wording directly from the site because they said it much better than I would have :).

Super Saturday

2011-04-30T15:40:00.006-07:00

First up is this really cool poster. After admiring and searching for the perfect color a few years ago I finally decided to just make my own. Exactly like I wanted it. Today I decided that this paper would made an awesome backgroujnd. I love how it turned out. The paper is In The Making Designs Retro Mango Paper Pack. If you'd like to customize your own poster [8.5 x 11] you can download my template here in the box. This page was made using a template from In The Making Designs It's A Start Template Pack 5. I still laugh everytime I remember *I* with his sunchair parked underneath that tree. He was right. It was a great spot to have a good day. He totally made mine. Get more details and product links here.

Embracing my inner pink and loving the simplicity of this page. Made with In The Making Design Indulgence Elements + Paper Packs. I just can't get enough of those glasses.

I love how this one turned out. Every once in a while that will happen for me. I used the In The Making Design Retro Mango Paper Pack + Tabbed Alpha [coming Monday!] the template and paint smears I did myself.

So that's my lineup of this months JS projects. I hope this doesn't become a trend. I'm feeling like a complete flake...

Playing Ketsup

2011-03-28T10:56:00.004-07:00

a small attempt at being clever and a big reminder that ketsup is really a goofy word. I'm just saying. So, this month really ran away with me. It's been nice in some ways, but now comes the day of accountability. I've not shared my projects. Here you go in a big whirlwind of JS products: one: I can't! I don't have any two feet! Girlie cracks me up. two: Polka Party! I wish I really did have one. Really. I'll share a little joke instead: The other day I left my accordian in the backseat of my car while I ran into the store. When I came back I realized that I forgot to lock the doors because now there were three accordians in the backseat :). I've always wanted to have a polka party... three: A while back Liv made these really great brushes for labeling photos. Today, while looking for a project to do and at the same time lamenting the fact that I can't get my kids to do anything [is there a way to underline + italicize + superhighlight that word?] I thought maybe a bit of personal responsibility might be in order. Voila... A kids weekly calendar. We'll have a family planning session later on tonight.

2.for.Tuesday

2011-03-01T09:41:00.007-08:00

one: A feelings/ASL book template made by Nisa Fiin [Splendid Fiins at JS]. I really have no words for how awesome this project is. I knew immediately that my kids would love it. The girl was such a ham while taking the photos too. I wasn't sure if we'd get photos of her or if we'd need to use the incredibly cute ones included in the template. I'm so glad we got her to play it up. It's so much fun to watch her watching herself.

To make the book I printed the photos and mod podged them to a board book the kids got at Wendy's. I put mod podge over the photos to seal them from dirty fingers as well. I did use an exacto knife and sanding block to get the edges lined up nicely and I inked them to make it pretty where it was sanded. That's pretty much it. Oh, the little camera thingy on the back cover is from Cosmo Cricket Boyfriend Elements. I think it's awesome!

Please note: I resized the template to 5x5 in order to fit the book I had. The template comes print ready for a bookmaker like PaperKiwi or Blurb or whatever. Also, it comes with another page template with space to put lots more photos of each feeling. This preview is of the ones I did because of the space I had in the boardbook. two: Click Cards. I made these using Liv.E Click Elements available Monday at JS. I've been working on my own cards etc. for a Project Life [365] album we've been working on. It's still in it's very basic stages but I think I'm getting close to being on top of it the way I'd like it. See, my problem is that I like 8.5 x 11 albums so I didn't want to buy the kit. I make things way too hard on myself!

Is It Possible

2011-02-27T09:58:00.003-08:00

to be in love with a vacuum? Because I am. Here's the story... Grandpa + Grandma Miles were earning a vacuum. Yes, earning. That means they needed to have 10 friends see a presentation and then after 10 friends saw the presentation they had to find one person to buy one. Only one. Not one of the ten. Easy enough right? Well, we have no money. We were happy to be one of the ten [well, not exactly happy, I mean... who really wants to sit through a vacuum presentation. Really]. Funny thing though. I'm usually really, really irritated with the whole presentation system. This time though I wanted to vacuum my entire house. And clean all of my carpets. Sweep my floors. Dust my baseboards. Leave the vacuum running for days to clean all the air. The lady said, "here, try out this attachment." And I said, "okay, I'll be back in half an hour." Next attachment, same thing. It's magic. I want it. I really, really want it.

The Toothfairy

2011-02-22T22:40:00.004-08:00

is notoriously flakey at our house. You can read about it here. And here. So this week, when I realized I am quickly running out of month, I decided it's time to do a page about it. Plus, I've had these photos in my holding file and they're some of the first I see. That always makes a difference. I fall into the category of, "out of sight out of mind," thinker. Anyway. This is *A*. He lost his two front teeth on consecutive days. The toothfairy missed them both. After a bit of fumbling she made a nice recovery. All is well. All dollars accounted for. The first was found after a quick "check" in the jumble of covers/under the bed. The second? Well, wouldn't you know that sneaky toothfairy had tucked it under a piece of yarn that is tied around the bar on his bed. I just happened to see it when I was looking for something in his room... three days later.

This template is a modified version of the very first one I ever made. I can't believe I'm up to 39 now. Crazy.

For this layout I used the Kitschy Digitals Vintage Frames again. Love them! I also used Cosmo Cricket Boyfriend Elements, and Queen of Quirk/Paislee Press You Are Here Paper all from JS. The paint is Spencer Nugent Garage Grunge Brushes 4 from DHD.

I Just Might Be

2011-02-19T05:46:00.000-08:00

a repressed greeting card designer. All the paintings in my head are leaning more towards being greeting cards than actual fine art. I guess that's okay by me. I get a kick out of them and it makes them fun to paint. This one is called, "I Give a Flying Shoe."

I decided to quit while I was ahead. The more I fussed with it the more I kept messing it up. After I repainted a face three times I called it good. Can you tell those are wings or am I going to have to fuss a bit more?

Girl Friday

2011-02-18T11:24:00.008-08:00

Today the girl insisted on popcorn for lunch. Really? We don't even have any of the healthy popcorn. So I compromised. She could have popcorn + cheese + banana. When I got it all laid out I realized that she must be white today [well, with the exception of the nasty fake butter stuff]. She also had a glass of milk. I think I'll give her a few mini-marshmallows when she's done.

I've been hyperfocused painting the past little bit and the blog seems to be suffering some withdrawls. I'm hoping to make up for that with a new template in the box. It's for the page I did last week. The one with the goofy glasses [aka: smartie face]. The zipped file contains the template ~~complete with a sample page layer and a list of products used in the sample layer - you'll just want to disappear those [I'm not sure what the correct term there is].~~ The file was too big so I had delete the preview, but you can see it here. Also, I've added a terms of use page that has a quote from Mondo Beyondo that I really liked. It's a PSD file also so you can disappear the terms and print the quote [that's it down there at the bottom of the post]. Hope you like it. I'm wondering how these work out. I'm planning on sharing a template at JS in a few months and would like some feedback on ease of use/kinks/likes/dislikes, etc. so if you download this please let me know and if you use it I'd love to see your page and get your thoughts on the files. Thanks!

ps. That speech block was totally inspired by Queen of Quirk. I loved using hers on the page I made and decided to make one for the template [though admittedly, mine is a bit wonky. If you prefer not wonky pick up hers. It's very straight and pretty :)]. It totally made the difference in the template [in my opinion]. It may be too close and against the rules. If someone knows please let me know and I'll take it off.

Valentines Day

2011-02-14T21:59:00.002-08:00

should be renamed Dia de los Dulces. Or Candy Day. I cannot believe how much candy the kids ate today. I had actually made them cute valentines, but decided to have a separate day to show the love since they came home with loads from school. *B* surprised me with a day off of work and he made us all breakfast. That was nice. He also gave me the traditional box of chocolates and the whole family went out for heart shaped pizza to celebrate his birthday. Getting older :). Anyway, back to Dia de los Dulces. Today, after a box of chocolates, I realized that it's time. Little man *E* is coming up on seven months. I am getting fatter everyday. Being the all or nothing girl that I am it's got to be drastic. Time to bust out the Body for Life book again [though I may need to throw in some South Beach phase one-type work in the begining to get past this sugar addiction]. So there you go. Sorry that you're going to have to listen to me talking about this again. I will spare you the before and after photos this time. I'll even spare you the measurement updates. That's all I can promise. Thanks for listening.

After Much Fussing

2011-02-13T12:04:00.001-08:00

here is my 2nd painting for Get Your Paint On. It's actually the one I started last week and abandoned. I'm still wondering if I should have left it on the shelf and worked the idea on it's own canvas, but whatever. This painting is the result of two ideas. The first being a line from this song. "Find a lock to open up a key." The second being a quote from Rumi, "You suppose that you are the lock on the door but you are the key that opens it." Obviously, I'm hyperfocused on my word: OPEN. It's all good. And can I just pat myself on the back because I totally nailed that key. I'm so proud of it. The rest, not so much [though I do kind of like the background], but the key... whoohoo!

I'm tossing around the idea of adding words to it. What say you?

I used to have a craft room

2011-02-10T14:36:00.003-08:00

that looked like this: Girlie brought me a disk that she wanted to watch and I knew it just had photos on it so I tried to talk her out of it, but she's not really one to be swayed. So we "watched" it. This particular photo was taken in 2007 and it was titled, "Who made this big mess?" That was back when I used to tag and title my photos after I took them. And then true to form I would promptly lose them in a pile of disks that I always know are there but have no idea what's really on them. Anyway, just wanted to say that I used to have a craft room. These days I'm not even sure if I'm going to have a bedroom for much longer. Hmm. I'm thinking it was right after this that I sold all of my paper scrapbooking stuff. I miss having a craftroom. Even if it was a big mess. Seriously.

Mandi Makes

2011-02-08T15:51:00.004-08:00

scrapbook pages and templates. And it takes her far too long. It's ridiculous. But whatever. Here's the latest using Kitschy Digitals Vintage Photo Frames: I also used: Queen of Quirk: In Bloom Paper + Elements Packs [available monday!] from JS. Queen of Quirk + Paislee Press: You Are Here Kit from JS. Spencer Nugent: Garage Grunge Brushes 4 from DHD.

Get Your Paint On

2011-02-06T21:50:00.003-08:00

is awesome! I am painting! I am so excited about that fact. This is my third attempt at my first painting. I started one. It was an inspired one. The idea for it popped into my head at 3 a.m. I had to grab a pencil and jot it all down before going back to bed. The next morning I was practically giddy to paint. I even worked some collage in there. The bacground was beautiful. Exactly what I was looking for. The terrible thing is that I really have no idea how to paint. Not really. Not with acrylics. WhenI started the more detailed part of the painting I ruined it. When I tried to fix it I ruined it even more. Ready to cry, I e-mailed the teachers [Mati + Lisa] and got some encouragement back. Some much needed encouragement. And a gentle reminder that this assignment was all about shapes and color. I needed to go more basic. That first attempt? On the shelf. I may go back to it and see if it's salvageable. The second? I really, really hated the colors. The third attempt? Here you go: As I was working on the second the idea that the center block on a log cabin quilt is symbolic of the heart of the home was working it's way around my mind along with the thought to keep it simple. I thought it would be fun to start out timidly with barely there color and work outwardly until the colors were bold and full. Completely saturated. Coming out of my shell. That's another Mondo Beyondo dream.

Mandi Makes

2011-02-02T09:23:00.002-08:00

Inspirational lunch sacks. Made with Kitschy Digitals Monotone Fresh Feathers Kit. As I was pulling this project together I thought of what I could tell you about it. My immediate thought was, "don't try this at home!" But that sounds so discouraging. Truth told, this project was frustrating and discouraging, but not to be undone, I forged ahead and have figured it out. Printing on three bags with success? I call it smashing hit. You may now proceed with confidence. Just make sure you follow these three simple rules for printing:

Print a trial run on a plain sheet of letter paper [with marks indicating the way the paper will feed into the printer] including crop marks.
This part might be confusing as explained. Ask if you need to... You'll want to change the direction of the fold on the bottom of the bag so that it's on the side with the seam. You don't want to print on the seam side so you're making your printing surface one solid, flat sheet, so to speak.
Use your trial run as a stabilizer for your bag by taping the bag directly to the paper. You'll want to tape the entire length of the bag end that will feed first as well as up the sides a bit. Then add pieces to the thickest parts so they will lay as close to the paper as possible.

Good Luck. "May the force be with you." Or if you prefer, "May the odds be ever in your favor."

[insert mischievous smile here]

Mandi Makes

2011-01-31T06:01:00.000-08:00

My most recent digital layout. So many fun new things. Journaling tags. Numbered labes [that are part of a mini album kit]. Doodle swirls + hearts. Awesome papers. It really is too bad that it's virtually impossible for me to make a "quick" page because I really do enjoy it. If I had all day everyday. Sheesh! I'm trying to decide if I should add the template to the box or save it for Template Tuesday. I'm leaning towards the box. I'm thinking that it's only fun because of the products I used. What's your vote?

Girl Friday

2011-01-28T13:30:00.003-08:00

Just wanted to jot down a few things the girl has said recently. Things I really don't want to forget. 1. I was changing baby *E* and he was fussing and I'm chit chatting and cooing to him and I called him sweetheart. And this is how it went after that: The Girl: He's not a heart! Me: Sure he is. He's a sweet heart. The girl: No he's not. I'm a heart. Typing this now I know that there was more to the conversation, but alas, I can't remember. I should've done it two days ago while the memory was still fresh... 2. The Girl was talking to her Daddy on the phone when the boys came in from school. The conversation turned to something like this: The Girl: Do you want to talk to *A*? Daddy: No, I want to talk to Mom. The Girl: *A*? Daddy: Mom. The Girl: *A*? Daddy: Mom. The Girl: *A*? Daddy: Mom. The Girl: *A*? Daddy: Mom. Until I finally took the phone from her. Really. And maybe you just had to be there, but I was and I want to remember it. So there you go.

2.for.Tuesday

2011-01-25T05:12:00.000-08:00

I've picked up some paints and two types of canvases but I'm not yet brave enough to bust it all out. I'm not sure if it's from lack of confidence/perfectionism or from the deep seeded feeling that if I take it out I will get started and one interruption will lead to another and eventually the kids will be painting and not me. Painting the table. Painting the walls. Painting each other. I'm leaning more towards it being the latter... I've been playing instead with digital painting products [swaths of paint, splatters, scribbles]. I feel like I've got a bit more learning to do for them to feel right to me, but whatever. So. Much. Fun. one: This one is about noticing the doors that are already open and being brave enough to go through them.

How long will you keep pounding on an open door Begging for someone to open it?" -Rabi'a al-Adawiyya

two: This one I was focusing more on unlocking the door.

You suppose you are the trouble But you are the cure You suppose that you are the lock on the door But you are the key that opens it -Rumi

Will You Be My Valentine?

2011-01-24T09:22:00.005-08:00

I used XOXO Valentine Cards from Elle's Studio [available at JS] to make these fun bag toppers.They come journal card sized so I just mirrored two of the same images with tops together and then covered the valentine message on one side with a photo of my girl. She couldn't get enough of them. She LOVED them. I loved watching her love them. ps. pretzel sized bags fit the card size best for this project.

A Little Bird in My Mailbox

2011-01-22T09:22:00.003-08:00

Last night *B* took the kids [all but the smallest] for a sleepover at Grandpa + Grandma's before setting out for a day on the ice. Fishing. Heaven is a quiet house. I'm sure if my house were quiet all of the time I would feel differently, but right now. Right now it is my truth. Last night I ate chocolate. The chocolates were speaking to me. Telling me things. Things like, "take a deep breath." and "get a good night's sleep." and "close your eyes and relax." And I am not kidding when I say I need such things.

Last night I didn't listen. I continued eating chocolates while reading the archives from something called Daily Truth. How did I not know about this before? Did you know about this and didn't tell me? Found through a fellow CT member I couldn't stop reading:

"A note to our Brave Friends about these emails -We have been talking a lot this year about the lies the world forces upon us every day...lies about what is most important, who we are, who we can become, what we can accomplish, our value, our potential, our worth, what makes our lives meaningful, how & where we can find true happiness, and on and on. So we've decided to wage our own little war against those lies by sending our brave friends a daily truth. Think of it as a little bird delivering your truth-- and imagine that this truth-teller is someone who loves you and understands you completely. Your daily emails will be sent Monday thru Friday. We wish you everything joyful and brave and true.-- Much love, Melody and Kathy"

I needed this. I really, really did. And we'll just ignore the fact that I ate all of the chocolates.

Girl Friday

2011-01-21T07:35:00.002-08:00

Re:5 Random Things 3 Months, 2 Weeks ago 1. Hello from the great state of Utah. 2. _________________ to be exact. 3. I'm mommy to four littles. Ages: 8, 6, 2, and 2.5 months. 4. I'm so excited to be a part of the team. I've never done anything like this before and have no idea what to expect. 5. I'm hoping I haven't bitten off more than I can chew . 6. I tend to do that. 7. I scrap digitally because I'm completely indecisive and change things at least 15 times before I'm done. 8. I am a paper junkie. 9. I rarely make a layout that I don't take the time to design a template to go with it. 10. Even though I know I'll probably never use it again. 11. My logic baffles me sometimes. 12. The weather here is currently cool + rainy and I love it. 13. I call it "permission to do nothing" weather. 14. It's when I curl up with a good book. 15. Mockingjay is currently waiting for me at the library. 16. I can't wait to read it. So...five things? 17. Sometimes I just don't know when to stop. *This was my list I posted for the JS Designer/Creative Team Forum getting to know you party. I've been meaning to share it for a while. I thought you might like it. And as you know... I like lists.

Clear!

2011-01-19T10:42:00.002-08:00

Thinking of what makes my juices flow. What jumpstarts my heart. What brings me to life. I'm feeling flat [all nighters with sick baby will do that to you sometimes... heck, the baby doesn't even have to be sick and it can and will sometimes last for months at a time]. It's been hard to make a list. But I started with what I knew.

I am brilliant at 4 am. I am not kidding. I've said it before and I will say it until I die. It sounds nuts and really, it is nuts. Who in their right mind would get up at 4 am? Well... not this girl. Not on purpose. But maybe I should. Because there is just something about 4 am. About moving gently and purposefully so as not to disturb sleeping littles who would, in turn, disturb my peace. Especially when the house is in order. That is when the peace is complete. There is no need other than to be still.
Sometimes the early mornings take me outside. Outside where I count my footsteps and breathe in a deeply rhythmic way. I am not a runner, but sometimes I need to run. I run as far and as hard as I can. Then I turn around and go home again where a hot shower washes away all that stuff.
I thrive on feeling inspired.Occasionally I will have something pop into my head. Something so vivid and exciting that I can't ignore it. It wants life. I want to give it life. I love working out minor details [though I really kind of stink at the major ones... we'll leave that for another day]. Working out a plan is like breathing new life into my everyday routine.
When I feel beautiful life is beautiful. Really. When I get up and get dressed in something worthy of running into someone I know but haven't seen in a while...I feel different. When I do my hair I feel different. I feel different with my face done [though I don't feel this one as strongly as the others. I'm more of a make-up for special occasions kind of gal].
I need to feel understood. I love making connections. I love a conversation that I hate to end [even though it's 1:30am] because it's so nice to have someone who cares about what I'm doing. So nice to care about someone else. To be a cheerleader. To be cheered. To discover new facets of a person. To feel like I matter. To know that even if the person isn't necessarily interested in what I am doing they are excited about it because I am doing it.

I'm going to choose to ignore the track of reasons + excuses that seems to be playing on repeat in my head these days. I'm going to keep thinking of things that will jump start my day.

What about you? Do you have any surefire ways to get out of a funk [or just lighten the load for a bit]?

Sunday Stories

2011-01-16T21:53:00.001-08:00

I spent a bit of time today remembering. Remembering all of the dreams I had when I was small. What I wanted to do. What I wanted to be. Sometimes I chuckled. Sometimes I wondered. Sometimes I was confounded at the completely different person I've grown up to be. Case in point: I wanted to be Miss America when I grew up. Really. Today I cry at the thought of getting up in front of people. Literally. Last year I left what I thought would be a simple choir practice in a panic of tears when the lady in charge told me I would be, "strolling to stage left and then back again while discussing such and such with sister so and so." I had not come prepared to play such a role. I completely fell apart and ended up not participating at all. Not my finest hour. My childhood all blurs together, but I can recall dreaming of being the Karate Kid. An olympic gymnast. An actress. A rock star. The first female NBA player [see, back then there was no WNBA so the dream was really far fetched]. An artist. An explorer. A writer. A poet. I remember making a few modifications to a tumbling leotard so that I would have the most unique + fashion forward swim suit at class swim day. I wanted to travel the world. I still do.

W.O.W

2011-01-14T05:35:00.000-08:00

I know that a lot of us [probably most of us] have some sort of resolve to be more healthy this year. I haven't put anything into specifics yet, but we did discuss the possibility/feasibility of not eating fast food anymore. We discussed reality and decided to allow for Subway, pizza, Arby's french dip + swiss [because I really love them], and salads from anyplace. Cafe Rio is not fast food. These are the parameters we set. Yesterday while browsing my usual haunts I came across a new blog connected to Brooke Hellewell of Inchmark Journal. It's called Word of Wisdom Living. It is thought provoking and inspiring, providing information and a healthy change tip weekly. But don't think it will be easy... Last week was to cut your soda/sugary drinks to 20 oz. per week. This week is no fried fast foods. I love that it's Word of Wisdom based. I love that it's one a week for a year. Precept upon precept. Check it out.

It Has Begun

2011-01-13T09:24:00.000-08:00

[the universal conspiracy I mean]. Just yesterday I wrote that I wanted to paint. Honestly, I don't know the first thing about painting. Not really. And that fact has kept me from doing what I knew I wanted to do. But then. Right after I finished my post I ran smack into the middle of an announcement about a class. I know. I've got a bit on my plate right now. Notice my sidebar? I've decided I'm not in a hurry. I'll just sit back and let the universe continue to conspire for me. Have you had the universe conspiring for you recently? I'm going to paint!

As You May Know

2011-01-12T10:34:00.007-08:00

I've had a super secret project in the works for a few months now. What you may not know is that I actually abandoned it a while back. I had told a friend what I was doing and in an effort to help me out [since I wasn't getting much more than 2 hours of sleep on any given night] she called in for back up. It was well intended. I know that. I wasn't ready for it though. I was still too insecure in my ideas. They were too fresh and tender. What ended up happening was unfortunate. They begain asking what else I had in mind. The gave me suggestions for what else I could do. I was overwhelmed and I completely misread their reactions. When they left I felt like I was wasting my time on an idea that wasn't worthwhile. An idea that people wouldn't be excited about. My flame was doused. I didn't even look at the progress I had made for at least a month after. Then my well meaning friend came back and asked if I was sure there wasn't anything the reinforcements could do to help me. I told her I had abandoned the project. It was really hard for me but I knew I had to tell her how I felt. I'm not generally really great at sharing how I feel. Especially not face to face. She proceeded to explain what had really happened. The women loved my idea. They thought I wasn't dreaming big enough. They thought I could do so much more. It took another month or so, but I've slowly started working on the project again. I bought an e-book called Flying Lessons. I'm taking a class called Mondo Beyondo. I'm trying to learn how to dream big dreams. I'm trying to learn to let the universe conspire in my behalf. Today I realized something... I was going about it all wrong. I didn't love the way the project was going. I didn't love the way the pieces were coming out. They were too processed [for lack of a better word]. And the truth is, I didn't love that process anyway. What I really want to do is paint. What I realized is that I would love the project more if I painted it. So today I'm telling you that I'm starting over. I'm going to start the project again in a medium that I can be excited about. What would you do if you knew you couldn't fail?

Monday Monday

2011-01-10T00:01:00.001-08:00

Here's my newest JS project. I simply recovered a 3 x 5 notebook with these fun notecards from Elle's Studio. Easy Peasy. Click the photo to be taken to a more detailed how-to.

Our Door is Always Open

2011-01-07T14:55:00.006-08:00

"Open. I asked the doors. Please. Swing wide. Swing free. Swing open. So I can see opportunity as she smiles at me. Open." -Kal Barteski

1. Su Casa Door, 2. Bishop Hill Door 2, 3. (1238) Arnis / door / Germany, 4. (1239) Arnis / door / Germany, 5. Old Sturbridge Village, Massachusetts, 6. tuer, 7. Entrance to the Hotel Blume, Baden, 8. Perpignan, France, 9. Ribe Portal 014, 10. green door, 11. In Zwinger, 12. Old painted door, 13. Vermelho e amarelo, 14. 497, 15. 61, 16. Doors 1968, 17. Degraus, 18. Albany Old Convict Goal, 19. One is Open, 20. Ribe Portal 024, 21. West End, 22. Door with blue panels, 23. Faded Green, 24. Cornwall, 25. Delvinaki, Greece - December 2010, 26. puerta, 27. (1287) Arnis / door / Germany, 28. (1286) Arnis / door / Germany, 29. 210 East 10th Street, New York, NY, 30. Yellow, 31. DSC_6380.JPG, 32. doors of balat, 33. Sintra, 34. doolin, 35. doors and beyond

Today I have been very inspired by this project by Kal Barteski. So inspired in fact that I spent the morning in search of doors. Doors to draw. Doors to open.

2.for.Tuesday

2011-01-04T14:52:00.002-08:00

Hello there 2011. Welcome. People, there are so many great projects out there. So many great communities. If I had the stamina and the time and the follow-through-itiveness I would join them all. Today I'll just share a few. A few that I think are absolutely do-able. Because that's what I'm all about these days. one: One Little Word. Such an amazing concept. So simple. Pick a word. A word that encompasses what you'd like this year to be. A word that is speaking to you for unknown reasons. " "Can you identify a single word that sums up what you want for yourself in 2007? It can be something tangible or intangible. It could be a thought or a feeling or an emotion. It can be singular or plural. The key is to find something that has personal meaning for you. This is not your mother's word or your spouse's word or your child's word - this is YOUR word. One little word can have big meaning in your life if you allow yourself to be open to the possibilities. And here's one thing that is totally interesting: sometimes a word will pop into your brain and it will not make any sense to you right now. Give it some time. Let it percolate a bit. I have often found that our hearts speak to us in very unique ways. Maybe this is a word you need to hear but just aren't ready for it yet. Again, be open to the possibilities. " [aezine Ali Edwards] The best thing about this project... The only thing you have to do is pick a word and see where it takes you. My word is OPEN. What's yours? two: Move More Eat Less. Tonight for dinner instead of having two tamales and a small salad I'll be having one tamal and a large salad. Mission accomplished. Oh, and I'm going to twirl with the girl. Off to do that now. And the bonus for the new year: three: Six People 12 times. A family photo a month. I love this idea! And though it might sound overwhelming, just looking through her photos and reading the circumstances in which she is taking her photos has helped me realize that it's only as daunting as I make it. four: Ali's approach to Project Life. She talked about leaving the book on an empty counter [got to find one of those] and having the stuff there in a basket for anyone who felt so inspired to just add a little something. "A family journal, compiled by our family. It makes my heart beat just a bit faster thinking about it." It makes my heart beat a little faster too.

I've Been Infatuated

2010-12-30T10:13:00.005-08:00

with Mini Moo Cards for a while now. In my mind they are super fun. I have a few little designs ready to order but wasn't sure I wanted to order 100 just to prototype them. This Create a Calendar 2011 from iKari Designs at JS gave me the perfect reason. Seriously, aren't these awesome? Who wouldn't want to have such a sweet at a glance in their wallet? It comes with 12 different masks for photo options + separate files for each month. I choose to keep it simple because they were going to be so small [mini moo cards are the length of a business card and about half the width]. The kit is on sale until tomorrow night for $3.99 actually the entire site is 20% off right now, but it ends with 2010. And just so you know, the calendar doesn't come in such a small size. It's intended to be 4 x 10. I think that's a pretty fun size too... too bad nothing can compete with a Mini Moo.

ps. Do I have Mini Moo Cards on The List? If I don't I should. I didn't actually order these yet. I printed them at Costco and stuck them back to back to see if I liked the tiny size. Like it? I LOVE IT!

pss. Speaking of the back. It's a page from Erin Zam's DIY Droplet Planner and Calendar Digital File. I'm not sure if she's still selling them or not [though I can't imagine why she wouldn't. They're DIY, meaning you fill in the blanks]. Her shop is on vacation and will open up again Jan 3, 2011. Anyway. I bought it a couple of years ago and I've had lots of fun using the different pages for various projects. Though I've never actually printed the whole thing and made a planner... Hmm. Anyway, it's a small corner of one of the many pages.

Christmas is Coming...

2010-12-23T11:37:00.005-08:00

First off, this is my newest project for JS. Valentine Goodie Bags by Elle's Studio. Cute, fun, simple. They come out Monday.

I was a good girl this year. I completed the assignment as instructed...in the begining. In the end I just couldn't leave well enough alone [plus, it's Christmas and I wanted some Christmas fun] so I hijacked the file and made a few alterations. Now it's a candy-gram. So many options...

I used Elle's Studio Birdnotes Sheets for the letter portion. I just deleted out the backgrounds of the Birdnote and layered it right over the valentine message on the bag. Nice and simple. I wrote little love notes to the kiddos. Good idea to do that every once in a while I think.

I hope things are going exactly as you plan and I hope there are some happy surprises too. Merry Christmas.

I'm Making

2010-12-16T21:48:00.005-08:00

a nominal effort at pulling through on the December Daily project. Had a bit of a setback when I lost my camera bag + battery charger for a few days. Here's my latest project for JS. It's a bit crazy busy, but that's what we're doing these days. I thought fit the mood quite nicely.

iKari Create A Calendar 2011_5x7 set. Since my December Daily is 5x7 and iKari has these great 5x7 templates for making a 2011 calendar I decided to just go ahead and use those. I did have to scrounge up a 2010 calendar though.

Katie Pertiet Roughed Up Krafty Paper. Though I did change the color a bit and added some texture.

Queen of Quirk + Paislee Press Collaboration You Are Here. I used the paper preview. The one with all of the papers lined up. I'm always so much more infatuated with those than I am with the actual papers. I think I just really like stripes.

Free People December Calendar. I love these free calendars by Free People. I've been using them all over my layouts. For this one I just deleted out the white background and then did the soft light blending mode on the layer. I also copied the dates and pasted them to a new location seeing as how the photo block was covering them in the original.

*

2010-12-16T21:10:00.001-08:00

How to create a banner in 10 steps or less [not including duplicates]. This little project I had a bit of fun with. It was soothing for me to cut out these letters. Soothing for me to hang them. Soothing for me to see them. That was the point. Entirely.

I made this using Crystal Wilkerson's Merry & Bright Pack #2. Want one?

Just open up the Alpha of your choice [it comes in three colors + if you opt to recolor your options are really endless].
One by one copy and paste the letters you want into a new document [I used 8.5 x 12]. Each letter should have it's own layer. Now keep in mind that to make "All Is Calm" I had three different "L" layers, etc.
What you are going to do is select a layer + resize the letter by clicking on a corner of the bounding box. This will open up some options on your task bar. You're going to want to type in a number to increase or decrease the size depending on the size you want. For example: I wanted mine to be approximately 3 inches tall so I increased to 250% by typing 250% in the W: ___ box and clicked the chain icon to constrain the proportions [don't forget this step... your stuff will be wonky if you do *ctrl + z will undo it if you forget*].
duplicate the layer [ctrl + j]
flip the duplicated layer vertical [image + rotate + flip layer vertical]
move layer so that the tops of the letters touch [this is where you will fold + glue them back to back over the string or whatever, so try not to move side to side. Just up and down].

You should have something that looks like the "M" above. Merge those two layers [ctrl + e]. Only those two layers.
Repeat with remaining letters.
Cut out + fold over string of choice. Glue wrong sides together.
Hang + enjoy. I envision a whole slew of happy Christmas sayings...

Sound a bit confusing? Sorry. It's really not. And, suprisingly, it didn't take that long to accomplish. If you have any questions just ask. If needed I could include screen shots or whatever to clear up confusion.

Every Little Thing

2010-12-06T21:04:00.004-08:00

Today she opened the sequins. She wanted to play. So play we did. She played with paint and glue and sequins.

I played with paper and scissors and glue. Oh, and a bit of fabric and sewing thrown in for good measure. I love the homemade entry peeking out there. Thus the reason I shot it upside down.

The View From Here

2010-12-05T21:02:00.000-08:00

You Hold the Key

2010-12-04T18:09:00.005-08:00

I keep trying to remember what it's all about. I keep trying to remember what it's like to be a child at Christmas time. I keep trying to remember to breathe. Can I just say again that I've got to get out of this funk? Argh. It's about them. I want them to enjoy it. Why do I have to keep telling myself not to slaughter them? When I just can't take it anymore we put our heads together. Foreheads touching. And I imagine that all the tension is leaving. I just let him have it. Crazy I know. I don't hold the key. He does.

All You Need is Love

2010-12-03T09:22:00.003-08:00

"Today, focus on love. Feel it. Be it. Capture it. Share it." -- Tracy Clark Today I love the feel of yarn slipping past my fingers. The sound of the needles click, click, clicking. Watching the loops become stitches and the stitches become rows. The rows become... What? Who knows. Sometimes I just unravel it so I can start all over again. Crazy. I know. Today I bought a skein of red wool yarn. Yarn so I can knit. Wool so I can felt. Red so I can cut it into hearts. It's a lot of work I know. None of that flimsy poly-blend felt for me in that too bright too primary red. I want these to be real. These hearts will be substantial. They will be thick and sturdy. They will not mince words. They will mean exactly what they say. Today I didn't take a single photo. Today my list includes Pajamas. Hearts. Dollhouses. Fingerless gloves. Dolls. I make things. It overwhelms me a bit. I wonder why I do this to myself. It's so much easier to run out to the store and just pick up something I can check off their wish list. And most years I will end up doing just that in a mad dash on Christmas eve morning. But still I make things. Every stitch, every cut, every late late night. I put my heart into it. Then I wrap up my love and I give it away. Today I thought about myself as a giver of gifts.

Reframing the Season

2010-12-01T22:49:00.007-08:00

This is supposed to be all about my point of view... if I could honestly frame something it would be to preserve the order amidst the chaos. Freeze frame that is. I had a plan I was going to take a photo of all my empty laundry baskets. I was going to take a photo of all of the clean clothes folded neatly + stacked to be put away. I was going to take a photo of the empty sink. I thought about setting up a frame around each one. Then life happened. I took a photo of The Girl helping me empty the dishwasher. She's putting away the silverware. And I realized that it's not about framing the perfection. It's about changing my frame of mind. The budding artists. The bursting energy of youth. Curiosity at it's finest. We won't talk about the photos I could have taken to illustrate this. I'm trying to change my frame of mind. Breathe. Now. See those little fingers popping through the grid? That's what I'm talking about.

I remember Christmas.

Christmas was magical. Christmas was alive with anticipation and wonder. Christmas putting an ornament on Grandma's advent tree. Christmas was Secret Santa. Christmas was knocking and running as fast as my legs could carry me praying I wouldn't break a leg. Christmas was wassail. Christmas was sneaking peeks. Christmas was early mornings and bleary eyed twinkle lights. Christmas was drives in the car with my face pressed against the cold glass. Christmas was mix tapes full of deep voices singing noel. Christmas was tinsel. Christmas was jingle bells on Grandma's door.

Where are you Christmas? I want my kids to know you too.

Holding on to Gratitude

2010-12-01T16:43:00.006-08:00

This was the assignment. Of course I've been wallowing for the past few weeks. I'm having a hard time digging myself out of this pit I fell into. I keep telling myself to just get over it. Everyday I tell myself this. And then I feel the guilt. I pile on the guilt. I tell myself to get over it again. I can't seem to do it. I had a hard time with the assignment. Oh, I know I can rattle off a list of things I'm grateful for on any given day. And I really am grateful for them. I love my kids. Today I took photos of them. Each one of them. *E* has got his smile on. He even busts out with a belly laugh on occasion. The girl found her princess. She does not know how to hold still. *A* ran into a wall yesterday and got 3 stitches. He also does not know how to hold still. He draws pictures of sea creatures and submarines on his homework. *I* created the arctic in a quarter-machine bubble. There is no end to his imagination. I enjoy them. I enjoy watching them play. I love *B*. I wish there was good light so I could take a decent photo of him when he gets home. If I could only capture it, *E* lights up when his daddy walks into the room. That would be light enough. We are healthy. We are warm + dry + we have food to eat. We are forever. We have incredible parents. We have awesome brothers + sisters. Especially sisters. We have good neighbors. We have good friends. My grandma taught me how to crochet. It's a bit like riding a bike. I have a sewing machine and I'm not afraid to use it. I have big plans in the works. Somebody put the old Disney cartoons on YouTube. The girl loves watching "Christmas Tree." Christmas is coming.

2.for.Tuesday

2010-11-30T13:03:00.008-08:00

For the past few years I've fluctuated between yes December Daily and no December Daily. I've even made small bits of progress towards actually doing it each of those years. This year has been no different. I've picked up a few more sheets of paper to add to the small stash I've collected with this project in mind. I also picked up a few bundles of ribbon and some elements. Then last night I bought some digital elements from House of 3 [even though I'm not doing this project digitally]. My intentions were that I would actually accomplish the task this year. Based on the fact that it starts tomorrow and I am still dreaming + playing with ideas for the album it's looking like this year will be another great advancement towards next years album [it's a real bummer sometimes that I am so incredibly slow at this. I'm not making any promises, but I have been working on a few things today...

one: the embellished paper doily project. I followed this project with interest when Christine did it back in May. It's been stuck in my mind. I've been scrapbooking digitally for so long now that I miss holding things in my hand. I miss playing. I can't even remember how to go about doing it. I love the step by step she offered. I decided that I'll be doing some embellished paper snowflakes to add to some of my december daily pages.

two: a fun little project for you. Inspired by the Christmas Cheer Elements Kit I bought at House of 3. I bought the kit so I could make some cute little dimensional things to put on my snowflakes. One of my favorite things in the kit was a little vintage sticker/ribbon thingy. Today I printed 3 copies of them and cut them out and layered them. I loved it. I wanted more! I made a template for you. You're so lucky [assuming that it's as easy to use as I think it will be]. It's basically just the shapes you need to make the badge and a vintage picture I turned into a sticker looking element. Just add your papers digitally [I used Elle's studio + Echo Park papers from JS] using the shapes as masks and then print [or print them out as they are and use them as a template to trace around] and cut out. Stack them up and enjoy your handywork.

Easy peasy lemon squeezy [especially if you just happen to have a punch that will make that pinking circle. Then it would be really easy.

And speaking of lemon squeezy... today I made lemon simple syrup to try out a new italian soda flavor and all I can say is lemon drops anyone?

ps. as tomorrow is December 1st I've been searching for some type of Christmas countdown to add to my advent boxes. I finally found one. Here's the link if you're looking too.

2.for.Tuesday

2010-11-23T19:19:00.004-08:00

one: the 3rd grade man came home from school with Father + Mother Pilgrim yesterday. They were so cute I wanted to share. I even made a pattern for you all because I think they would make awesome name cards/place settings. The boy has gone to bed, but I'll have him pose with them tomorrow + get a photo up ASAP. The template is in the box. Please let me know if you use it!

two: I've got packaging on the brain these days. I love this. What a great gift tag.

Photoshop Friday

2010-11-19T12:00:00.005-08:00

It's digi-friday again. I'm still up in the air about making this a permanent feature. Maybe [if I keep doing every episode of Photoshop Friday at JS it would be a simple enough thing to do]. This is the layout I did using Photoshop Friday Episode 26: Soft Glow Photos. $1.00 until Sunday night. I can't get enough of Photoshop Friday! This layout was done using the template that came with the episode [though I did switch out the papers to make for more boyish ones and I dropped the brads and added more of the journal lines]. The photo was altered using the tutorial. Can I just say that I loved it! I use PSE 4.0 [yes, you read that right... 4.0] and therefore miss out on all of the cool photo actions out there. Thanks to Jessica it doesn't matter! This is such a great effect. I love it! I also used papers from the My Awesome Life: Teen Album Class and other textures from a site Jessica recommends/uses in the tutorial. I fell in love. I covered the paint swatches and the background paper with them. You'll have to pick up the episode to find out what I'm talking about ;). Seriously, it's only a buck. Go get it! Also, don't forget about the free class. Registration is open now. Sign up if you haven't yet. And one more thing: Don't miss the Jessica Sprague Holiday sale for 20% off that will start on Black Friday and will go through December 31st. And here's a little extra incentive. Spend $20 and get a free kit put together by the designers. Lots of paper [over 35 sheets], lots of elements [over 50], lots of fun. Here's a sneak peek at some of the papers... I think I might love that star one.

It's About That Time Again

2010-11-10T09:47:00.000-08:00

I've been looking over my list. Seeing what I can cross off. Making exceptions. Giving myself a little slack. It's all good you know. No pressure when it comes to the list. That's what I tell myself. So, here it is. The official List of 33. I'm calling it good enough. I also added a few things I accomplished that weren't on the list. They more than make up for the things I never got around to.

~~expand my bookshelf~~
write a sentence a day
~~make a mix tape~~
~~paint tiny art~~
capture me
~~save 33 x $10 in an envelope~~
~~do something for someone they can't do themselves~~
~~try new recipes~~
~~feed people not living in my home~~
~~do a photo transfer with acetone~~ I'm counting this as done. I followed the instructions but wasn't successful. Trying it was the point I think.
~~shoot ttv~~
~~get garden boots~~
~~take a dance class~~ Zumba anyone?
~~embroider something~~ Initials on a scripture bag weren't necessarily what I had in mind, but whatever.
~~take back the bookcase~~ does covering it up count?
get photos taken in a photobooth [anybody know where I can find a photobooth?]
make + send postcards
learn to play lucky penny
get a photo gallery wrapped
~~spend a weekend w/B [and only B]~~ I'm counting this too. Even though we had the baby with us. Should've done it before the baby was born...
~~make a baby book~~ the book is made. It's just lacking the little details... like photos + words.
~~do random acts of kindness~~
~~explore the antique shop on the outskirts of Cedar.~~
make an artsy family video [anybody know how to do this?]
~~plant flowers~~
~~print photos~~
~~dress up. be brave~~
re-cover throw pillows
make a quilt
~~alter a shirt~~ Percy Jackson's camp halfblood shirt will have to do.
~~go on a photo walk~~
~~save 33 lists~~ Igot really close.
~~revisit "Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life"~~

Things I did that were not on the list: Added another little person to our family Made new friends Reconnected with old friends Made scripture bags Made a doll bottled lots of soup bottled some salsa Made apple pie Learned to make bread Made lots of pizza Made calzones too. Made [and enjoying very much] homemade yogurt Practiced saying no. Became a teacher Finished the happy banner + hung it up Enjoyed the happy baner every day since. Wondered if *B* would like me to take down the happy banner Made juice - lots and lots of juice Made pumpkin muffins Converted entirely to whole wheat pancakes Reminded myself how to crochet Crocheted a few baby bear hats + one large bear hat Crocheted a hair bow Planted a garden Pulled lots of weeds with a very large belly in the way Made the JS Creative Team Sold a few pieces of art Made a few sets of baby legs Played volleyball anyone else have something to add to my list?

2.for.Tuesday

2010-11-09T08:00:00.005-08:00

Seems like 2.for.Tuesday has turned into digi-Tuesday. Today is no exception. I will, however, commit now to incorporating more other stuff as well. one: free class! Inspiration everywhere is a 10-day class covering five different paths to inspiration: •Words •Music •Art •Tools •Play For each of the themes there will be a project to make, and different techniques to call your creative muse, no matter WHAT kind of art you make! Class runs from November 29 - December 8. Now, I know what your thinking... "that's a really busy time of year. I can't do a class then." Well, you never know. Maybe you'll have a really quiet week! I say sign up. Make an effort to read and be inspired by the daily prompts. Do the assignment or don't do the assignment. Whatever. Just let it inspire you. I'll admit to doing this on more than one occasion [like maybe every class I've ever taken] and I've decided that it's okay. I'm being inspired. And the great thing about Jessica Sprague's classes is that they're always yours. You can always come back and revisit lessons. The classroom doesn't close. So, like I said. Sign up! There is no reason not to... It's free! two: template 1.09 from Jessica Sprague. It's up for one buck Wednesday tomorrow. In its original state it's set on an angle across the page. I guess I was having one of those days because I just couldn't make it work for me. My brain didn't function that way. I ended up rotating everything except the backgrounds so they were straight. A little OCD? Yes. But we already knew that. So. That's my most recent. Click the layout to get more info about it. Like what other products I used + how I did something.

Happy Digi Day!

2010-11-05T10:21:00.006-07:00

There's a free [yes, you read that right F.R.E.E.] Photoshop Friday up at Jessica Sprague. It's free all weekend. I made this page using the template that comes with the "justified titles" tutorial. I did, however, change out the papers + some elements to coordinate better with my photo/theme, but as a whole I left the template as-is. It's a pretty cool one]. So, not only do you get a free template, but this is your opportunity to see what Photoshop Friday is all about and to finally find out for yourselves how amazing Jessica is. She is a master teacher. You can't get it wrong with her. Really. So seriously. It's free. What are you waiting for?

What was that? Did I hear you say you don't have Photoshop? Sheesh! It must be your lucky day! ...Photoshop! GET YOUR PHOTOSHOP HERE! [It's a free 30 day trial + I recommend going with Elements].

Products used: Photoshop Friday Episode 25 Sweet Summertime Paper Pack 1 Teen Album Add-On Kit

2.for.Tuesday

2010-11-02T14:37:00.002-07:00

one: This really great template. It's Jessica Sprague Template 1.02 and it's $1.00 tomorrow only. One Buck Wednesday people. Gotta love it! So many great things to play with. Go see!

two: Number 33. I'm calling it done [nice that I'm crossing it off just for watching this video and participating in the interactive part of it. That's revisiting, right?]. Thanks to Amy for the help.

If you haven't read "Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life" I highly recommend it. Highly.

ps. her children's books are really great too...

What Do You Think?

2010-10-29T10:45:00.001-07:00

A few months ago while reading Tollipop I saw this shirt. At first I thought, that's really random. Cool though. Actually I really like that. Then I commented on her blog that I was curious about the shirt. Then she wrote back that she thought they got it at American Eagle. I wrote back, "When I saw it I thought, 'wow, what if I had a gocco [or could cut out butcher paper with mad skills] and made a shirt for each item on my list of dreams/wishes?' What would you do with your dreams always before your eyes? Do they really have more of a chance if you put them out there? Would putting them on a t-shirt make them come true?" And the more I dwelt on that thought the more it reminded me of something I did a while back. So I went looking...I found it in May 2007 kind of a while back. So now I am prone to think that I am the unknowing designer of an American Eagle shirt. What do you think?

Thoughts on Consistency

2010-10-27T10:28:00.002-07:00

I visit teach a few sisters that I can't seem to touch base with for one reason or another and so have started delivering a copy of the message with a letter of my thoughts I would share if I were there. I decided that since the task is done I might as well share it with the world. So, believe it or not, I have taken it upon myself to visit teach anyone who cares to listen. Enjoy! This month's Ensign is a special issue all about temples. It has some really great articles in it. I chose to share this one, and specifically focused on this part: "If we can pattern our life after the Master, and take His teaching and example as the supreme pattern for our own, we will not find it difficult to be temple worthy, to be consistent and loyal in every walk of life, for we will be committed to a single, sacred standard of conduct and belief. Whether at home or in the marketplace, whether at school or long after school is behind us, whether we are acting totally alone or in concert with a host of other people, our course will be clear and our standards will be obvious. The ability to stand by one’s principles, to live with integrity and faith according to one’s belief—that is what matters. That devotion to true principle—in our individual lives, in our homes and families, and in all places that we meet and influence other people—that devotion is what God is ultimately requesting of us. It requires commitment—whole-souled, deeply held, eternally cherished commitment to the principles we know to be true in the commandments God has given. " As I read through this article I was especially touched by the thought that if we make the Savior’s life a pattern for our own it will not be difficult for us to be consistent. I think one of the greatest things I struggle with is being consistent. Sometimes I feel like I’m wandering through life with a blinders on. Seeing only what is directly in front of me. Letting myself be distracted or lead off course by the words or actions of another. On more than one occasion I’ve had older people in church turn and, not so gently, ask why I can’t manage to keep my kids quiet. It hurts every time. And every time I wonder why I even try. What the article says, “It requires commitment --- whole-souled, deeply held, eternally cherished commitment to the principles we know to be true in the commandments God has given.” That’s not a new concept. As I look around at people who seem to have it all together I feel like I often fall short. I’ve got to stop doing that. I know that no one is perfect and we’re all just trying to do our best. I for one can do better at taking off my blinders and recognizing the good. Seeing not just the grouchy old person who can’t hear the speaker, but also the beautiful loving face of the grandma in the row behind who understands exactly what I’m going through. I know it’s been random, but this has been good for me. Thank you for letting me share my thoughts. I hope you’ve been able to get something of worth from them too.

Welcome Back Autumn

2010-10-22T12:04:00.003-07:00

So glad to see you again. Seriously. I just can't get enough of Autumn. Last night we took a drive up Kolob Mountain to gather leaves and just enjoy the Autumn light. Everything looks prettier in Autumn. On the way home we stopped at the Farmers Market and picked up pumpkins. The 10 cents per pound price tag meant that everyone got to choose their own. The girl has been giving her pumpkin some love today. I've been working on some projects. This here is my latest for Jessica Sprague.It's Photoshop Friday Episode 23: handmade photo collage. Some of you out there have asked me how to do this in the past. Here is a quick and easy to follow how-to. And because it just happens to be Friday, it's on sale! That's right! $1.00 until Sunday midnight EST [f.y.i: There is a great how-to up for a buck every Friday. This is a great + need I say cheap way to expand your Photoshop skills]. I can't even explain it for a buck! Plus with every episode you get all you need to complete the sample page as you walk through the how to with Jessica guiding you the entire way. It's awesome!

2.for.Tuesday

2010-10-19T11:37:00.006-07:00

one: a heads up: Calling all superheroes, ghosts, witches, ninjas, grandma pumpkins, and fairies [naughty and nice]... Jessica Spragues template 1.07, is wicked cool and the JS Aroo! paper + elements pack... yeah. Nice. I worked a bit of an engorgement charm on the journal card and some shrinky dink magic on some paper for the ribbon. And now that that's taken care of... Butter beer anyone? Here's to my first time posting a layout as a CTM at Jessica Sprague. I still think it's crazy. Fun + exciting + overwhelming [though I'm sure that particular feeling will dissipate eventually] + crazy. Did I mention crazy? Here it is: This page is entirely made with products from Jessica herself. So not only is she the mastermind behind the "Spraground," but she makes awesome products as well [not to mention her brilliant ability to teach complicated things in an understandable way]. Seriously. I'll bet you didn't know that my first encounter with digital scrapbooking came from Jessica. It was a walkthrough template freebie like this one. And it was so simple. I was hooked. I've learned a lot from Jessica and I'm proud to be able to show off her products! FYI: The template is $1.00 tomorrow. That's right. It's One Buck Wednesday! And just so you know... that means there are lots of other great products for a buck too. So go check it out! two: a little sneak peek... this is a sampling of my super secret project. I am flip-flopping between excited and exhausted with the whole thing. I'm trying not to give up on my optimism. one more thing... go read this. It's awesome and hilarious and I promise you'll read it a couple of times and laugh every time. Really.

Notice the New Banner?

2010-10-13T10:15:00.002-07:00

Little Man has a chair. I guess he's officially part of the family now. I'm only, what 2.75 months behind.

Needed:

2010-10-12T11:49:00.005-07:00

vacation home for one very very rambunctious little girl. I promise that she will not leave a single surface free of one thing or another... including but not limited to paint, syrup, honey, pencil, pen, marker, poop, Vaseline, lipstick, etc. You get the point. It will only be for a couple of weeks... Anybody? I knew when I was refilling the honey bear that it was a bad idea to let her watch me. Bad idea. I'm sure you've guessed what happened next time I was confined to a space. Sadly, this story involves not the honey bear, but the refill bottle and unfortunately the couch was targeted again. And the toilet and bathroom counters [because she did try to clean her hands at one point] and random drops and drips on the carpet and floor in between. I think I'm far too distracted right now... Am I being overly ambitious with my super secret project? Argh.

Monday Monday

2010-10-11T10:32:00.003-07:00

So, yesterday was 10.10.10 and I tried and tried to think of something fun to do to commemorate the occasion. The boys even wanted to play along. That's as far as that went. Today I decided to celebrate late with three lists of 10. Here you go: 10 things I did on 10.10.10

washed my hair
wore mascara
arrived late to church
looked up to see Elder Holland sitting on the stand
decided our family should just have a bench in the hallway so as not to be so disruptive in our comings and goings [late + girl to the potty + diaper changes + feeding + crying, etc]
gave assurance to a new mom
taught a lesson on repentance
cut out bats
supervised a bat painting session
took a picture of the little man so I can finally get thank you cards printed

10 surfaces with paint on them:

her hands
her feet
her legs
her hair
my hair
the wood floor
the carpet
the couch
the toilet
the bathroom counter + faucet + hand towel

10 things I'm thankful for:

little people
who want to do crafts
happy singing
good nights sleep
understanding husbands
PBS Kids
"gum bears"
clean panties
breezy windows
baby swings

I had considered doing a photo walk of 10 things I'm grateful for, but I'm to ~~lazy~~ busy to even put much thought into that [honestly, the only reason I even posted this is because I started it while nursing and now I'm typing without looking at the screen because the girl is sitting on the table right in front of me. I guess she needs some love]. Today I am way behind on my super secret project. Way behind

Off to make lunch.

Today I...

2010-10-06T12:30:00.005-07:00

taste tested my first attempt at homemade yogurt. The girl declared it yummy. The mommy thinks it needs some work. I'll share more on that when I've got it figured out. Until then I've used this and this for guidance.
Have permission to drop the guilt over the messy house.
*B* and I came to an understanding that I've got a lot to do in the next nine days.
Am trying to work but it's not really working.
Have a lesson on repentance floating around in the back of my mind.
The littlest man is crying.
The girl is into everything you can imagine and more.
Today I was announced a member of the Creative Team at Jessica Sprague!
Am feeling a bit overwhelmed.
But excited all the same.

Mandi Makes

2010-10-04T12:07:00.004-07:00

It's October nd that means Halloween parties for room moms. I had a request to re-share my Halloween Ghoulies game [aka cooties] to the box. You can get it here. Having played this game with kindergarten aged children I would either explain before starting play that there are only these features available and that it's okay if their pumpkin is a mix-and -match kind of pumpkin. In fact, it might be a good idea for you put together a very random sampler pumpkin. So they know it's okay. Because, honestly, it's either that or have enough of each feature that they could all make pirate pumpkins if they wanted to [the eye patch was very popular last year]. That was the only trouble we had with the game itself. If you're a little rusty on your cooties skills you can get the instructions from my original post here. There is also a link to a coffin from Martha if you're interested in that. Tomorrow I will try to share a post of what you can do with that if you want to make your life a little bit more complicated but at the same time save yourself some money. If you're in the room mom Halloween game business that is.

He Said

2010-10-01T09:52:00.004-07:00

The funniest thing this morning. And wouldn't you know, I forgot what it was. When he said it I thought, "I've got to write that down. He doesn't really say funny things on accident anymore." But then I thought, "Oh, I'll get to it in a minute. It was so funny that I'm not going to forget..."

Ladies, it's a big conspiracy. See, the older kids start to think that we're not so interested in them because we don't talk about the funny things they say. We don't take as many photos of them. etc. I don't remember the last time I did a scrapbook page about just *I*. I've noticed that the girl has top billing on this blog with a whopping 24 posts to her credit with Little Man #1 in second at 18 and sadly, Little Man #2 with a mere 12. I know it's not about keeping it even and the cute factor has some play [as does time spent at home], but... I know that Little Man #2 says and does and is as cute/funny as they come. And they all love to see themselves and read about themselves. Honestly, my kids can't get enough of the yearbooks we've done. They love them. I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's important to jot down the stories. Because we'll forget. It's a given. And for my kids at least, it's the stories that really make them feel important. They are the stars of their own book. And I love that they love it.

Hello Today

2010-09-29T18:29:00.002-07:00

I decided to audition for the design team at Jessica Sprague. I just might regret this. I don't know what kind of time committment is involved [these are the pages I decided to enter].
I really feel like I need to do more of this. It makes me happy to feel productive in a creative way and this is the least messy way I can think of. Plus, the kids love to see the pages I've made for them.
I need to make a conscious effort to do more about #1. Mr *I*.

2.for.Tuesday

2010-09-21T13:31:00.006-07:00

one: this amazing blog. really. amazing. If you like food or, more appropriately, if you like to look at pretty pictures of food you will love this. As an added bonus, she types recipes to her pretty pictures of food so you feel like you're looking at a funky fun recipe book. You'll have to see it to understand. I just didn't do it justice in my sad description.

two: colors. I cleared my obligations plate recently and am really excited about a project I'm working on. but all I can tell you now is that these are the colors that will print true on a self designed fabric from spoonflower. That's all I'm going to say. Except that I'm very excite and far too hyperfocused on this for my own good. Oh, and also that inspiration is hard to contain. I keep having to jot down new ideas that pop into my head as I've been working/dreaming about this one project. It's multiplying. It's fun. It's exciting. I can't wait to share. ps. I think it might be a couple of months before my project is ready. Just so you know. I'm shooting for the 2nd week in November. I probably should have waited to say anything, but I can't help it. It's all I think about.

pss. I was all finished and had even published this post, but I ran across this beautiful and fun card and had to share. Because it shows the color palet in a much more creative and useful way than I did. Head over to the Ginger & George blog and download this beautiful card for free. Yes, that's f.r.e.e.

Finally

2010-09-17T12:27:00.000-07:00

clothes I can be excited about again. I haven't had a new skirt in... well, it was just a bit after *A* was born so it's been at least 5 years. It's hard enough for me to find clothes that fit and that I like and that I can afford without having to worry about the styles and that they're intended to hit just above the knee and therefore hit around mid thigh. Shirts are another big problem for me, but that's another story for another day I guess. As you can imagine I was very excited to open my inbox and see this declaration. Yes, very excited indeed.

List #8: ING

2010-09-16T09:56:00.002-07:00

WAKING : up three times last night. and that after going to bed a bit past midnight. finally deciding that it just wasn't worth it to try and sleep anymore. getting up at 6:30 and going for a walk. all by myself. READING : as is typical of me, currently have multiple books I'm sampling [at the moment that number happens to be six]. Some actual delving going on in a few. The Hunger Games I am slowly reading to *B*, Toss the Guilt and Catch the Joy I am enjoying small tastes of here and there. How to Win Friends and Influence People was recommended by a member of our bishopric as a possible help to get through raising my kids. It's the one that gets picked up when I'm feeding the little man. Gospel Principles. There is actual delving going on here as I'm a newly called RS teacher and it's killing me. really. The Parenting Breakthrough. I guess this one shouldn't be on the list yet because I've only skimmed the begining. Then decided that I need to finish with these others first so as to give it it's proper respect and attention. Next up: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society for bookclub. It's been on my list for quite a while. WEARING : Black t-shirt and Gray sweat shorts. a bun in my hair. I'm very dressed up today. DRINKING: water. lots of water. and occasionally a rootbeer flavored italian soda [I cooked me up some rootbeer flavored syrup for just this purpose]. they're yummy. CAPTURING : sweet little faces and happy moments. WATCHING : This awesome video: The Day Money Actually Grew On A Tree. I love it! WORKING: on getting the little man to sleep so I can get started on a baby name order due saturday. I'm also hyperfocused on fine tuning/developing a couple of brilliant ideas I had recently. More on that later. CALLING : to make VT appointments. If I remember that is. I always remember while they're at work. Never once they get home. REMEMBERING : to make VT appointments. hopefully. ENJOYING: the coolness that is slowly sneeking into the air.

2.for.Tuesday

2010-09-14T10:45:00.001-07:00

one: Home Ec. I never took home ec. in school. It always confilicted with something like band or spanish or show choir or something that could eventually wrap back around to the fact that I was in band. So. I really don't feel like I know what the heck I'm doing when it comes to sewing. I just pretend like I do and jump in with both feet. Usually kicking myself halfway through the process. Wondering where my brain is. I was thoroughly interested in this class. I think it would be a good thing for me to do to broaden my base as far as sewing goes. Then I think... yeah, but I could find tutorials to teach me how to do every one of those things on my own and save the $60 that I don't have in the first place. Yes I could. But there isn't anyone I like better [at least not off the top of my head] for throwing together a cute and fun class full of great projects than Rachel Denbow. I think she just might be the queen of craft. I would pay for the class just for her. I really would.

two: a multi-generational bassinet that is currently in my possession. If I remember the story right it was made by by my Mom's great-great grandma. My grandma Verde had 12 kids. When her first was born she was given this bassinet. It was used for all 12 of her kids and who knows how many of her grandkids. I know for sure that my mom was in it and I was in it. Now this new little person is in it. And the girl spends way too much time in it too. I'm thinking I'm going to have to get it out of this house soon if it's going to survive another generation.