2.for.Tuesday

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.

2.for.Tuesday

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.

2.for.Tuesday

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

2.for.Tuesday

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!

2.for.Tuesday

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.

2.for.Tuesday

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

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!

2.for.Tuesday

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.

2.for.Tuesday

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

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.

2.for.Tuesday

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.

2.for.Tuesday

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...

2.for.Tuesday

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.

2.for.Tuesday

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.

2.for.Tuesday

It's been one of those days. One of those days when everything she does drives me nuts. Everything. Oh, but it looks so sweet in photos. So that's what you get. The photos. Because all little girls should be sweet. Wouldn't you agree?

one: she kept telling me, "Baby stinky." I had no reason to believe that she would try to remedy the situation. No reason to believe that it would take near a whole box of wipes. No reason to do anything other than grab the camera and take a photo.

two: he was so happy there on the floor. I think he may have actually fallen asleep. I always wonder why she can't leave him alone when he's giving me a few minutes respite. But she just can't seem to stay away. He must call out to her in some sweet little baby voice... "hey you. Girl. come over here and see how close you can get without actually smooshing me. See how many times you can pat my head without actually making me cry. See if you can wrap your arm around me with out choking me." Really. I think he might actually be saying that. Because that's what she does. And she looks so sweet doing it. If only she would have fallen asleep there next to him. That would have made my day.

2.for.Tuesday

one: I've been running into lots of great digital scrapping templates lately. This one I love for its simplicity and empty space [though admittedly the empty space isn't justified in the layout of my blog. There needs to be some type of end to the white space here for you to really get the feel of it]. Mostly I love the hand drawn quote bubble. So, it's free from Paisley Press. Get it here [among other great free things].

two: The doll. For the most part it's finished. Still missing hair and extra clothing. Whether or not it will have a face is still undecided. Eyes and cheeks I'm thinking, but probably nothing else. But I'm calling it done because I've fizzled on it. As indicated above on the scrap page, she will never give up her, "baby." That's what she calls the bear. She has very little interest in the doll. *A* seems to enjoy tossing the doll around. Maybe once it has hair? I'm not going to hold my breath. I don't know why I thought a mere doll could replace her baby. Even if it was made by mom.

2.for.Tuesday

We have this amazing couple in our ward. She is from the Ukraine and he is from somewhere in South America. We love them. *B* loves to share fresh garden stuff with them. The other day they came by with a box of apricots for us. Someone let them come and pick apricots so they decided to share some with us. I've been wanting apricots and I even volunteered my swollen feet to work in the cannery last week hoping that they would have some overripe ones so I could make jam. No luck. But hey, there are always good neighbors and today my mom brought a 5 gallon bucket full from her good neighbors. Now I'm thinking not just jam, but fruit leather also. one: apricot fruit leather [or any fruit for that matter]. It looks yummy. It sounds easy enough. And I do have a convection oven to speed up the process. two: Molly's summer book. I love the idea. The boys have been doing their index card journaling and I'm trying to take photos. I wanted to make a book anyway. This photo is from a postcard swap that Hula Seventy did. I've had it flagged for quite a while now, but haven't really had a reason to use it. Today I like it as dividers in a summer book. After I saw Molly's book I was thinking, "why not do the colors of summer?" Throw in all of the colors of the rainbow or go and grab paint swatches of summer to me colors + add white [for *I*s baptism and Baby's blessing among possible other things]. Plus all of the great colors of things that come out of the garden. Anyway, I think it's brilliant. Go and check it out. She's got some really great ideas for working it on the go and not making it difficult. I love the fill in the blank journaling pages that she gives. It's downloadable so grab it. Use it. I really think you should. on the same train, but a slightly different track... when I went to grab the link to Hula's blog I noticed that she's participating in a summer color week this week. I thought that was quite appropriate. Maybe I should join in. Maybe you should too!

2.for.Tuesday

It is celebration month around here. The girl turned two and *I* will be eight. Plus Father's Day. Plus a visit from my sister. Plus the seemingly endless countdown [only 4.5 weeks] until little #4 arrives. We've been a little busy. Today I'm going to finally share two projects that were first mentioned in a post from October 2009 I called round three. I had bought fabric for project #1 and ended up starting two others with the scraps. I think they're pretty fun.

one: Happy Banner. This little project keeps popping up in the 2.for.tuesday archives. It was first mentioned in February 2009 as something I wanted to do. It made it's second appearance in October 2009, when I finally got around to starting it. And now, here we go again. It's finally completely finished. And it's currently hung. And I'm intending to use it. A lot. You just might see it hung outside with some blue or pink tissue balls when the little finally comes. Yes, you just might.

two: I Love You Jar. This one has been finished for quite some time. I'm sure I've mentioned it more than once. I keep promising a post about it. Today you're in luck. This all started when I decided that my kids needed to do more service around the house. Not just for me, but for each other. I wanted them to notice things that needed to be done and do it. So I stacked my fabric scraps right side together and started cutting/sewing hearts. I stuffed them and sewed up the opening, though not in any professional way. This was about doing it. Not having it be perfect. When they were done I put them in a tin pail and we had a FHE about service.

Do a service leave a heart. That's really it in a nutshell. For example: *I* would often leave his bed unmade. *A* got home from school earlier than *I* so he would notice the unmade bed and make it. Then he'd leave a heart hidden under *I*s pillow. He loved doing it. *I*s favorite service was putting *A*s dinner dishes in the sink [as that's something he can't seem to remember to do]. He'd leave a heart where the plate was and then call to *A* that he forgot to take care of his plate/cup/etc. *A* would come to do it and find the heart. Seriously, they loved it. We finished getting all the hearts in the jar and got to do a fun family outing of their choice. Right now the jar is full and waiting for me to decide it's time to bring it out again.

2.for.Tuesday

the absolute truth of it all is that I am really just trying to stay sane and keep putting one foot in front of another [and catch a quick nap if the stars all align]. one: this great quote... two: tickets. I know I promised a scripture bag tutorial. It's still in the works. I'm mostly focusing on the big summer plans I had. They're working. They're making me work. It's exhausting. I keep thinking it will get easier. That I won't have to nag and push and yell to get the boys to complete their jobs. *I* has been very motivated. He gets up at 7:00'ish and immediately makes his bed and starts on his extra job. I added one more item on the summer list just for him. I stole the "caught being good" idea from his school and made up these tickets to hand out for random things. Like the night *I* was the only person who took care of his dinner dishes. Really, the only one. That was the night I decided he needed to be rewarded for his efforts. It's nothing really spectacular, but if you're interested the tickets link will take you to the box for a download. There are eight per sheet.

2.for.Tuesday

Last night for FHE we went to the "rock climbing park" to observe the growth of recently discovered pollywogs. We were there on a play date with various kindergarten boys last week and they were enthralled. We decided to go back tonight to check their progress. Last week we saw eggs/spawn + various sizes of "tadapoles" as *A* calls them. Tonight there was no spawn to be found, but we did see a couple of XL guys with little leg sprouts. We're hoping to get back there to see even more with legs next week.

one: The Magnifying Glass. A really great blog about things like frog spawn, butterflies, and animal skulls. Among other things.

two: An Index Card Summer. I have had this one in my files for a long time. I may have even shared it last year with all of my good intentions. But I mean it. We will do this. I'm going to be realistic and say that we will do one card a week. One of our days will be journal day. That should be doable. Right? So far we have art day [where we'll paint/put together horses] and now journal day [where we'll do our index card journal pages]. I'm thinking 4x6 because they're more manageable for small hands and they will go nicely into a 2 up album or something similar.

If I tell you that up next week is the scripture bag tutorial do you think I'll have it ready in time?