Paper Hoarders DT: Lazy Day...

Exactly! That's what I'm talking about. And today, our "challenge" (if you really wanna call it that... lol!) was Lazy Day... something that had to be made in under an hour!

Easy Peasy!

I picked up these cute little mini composition books at Walgreens 6/$1, then cashed in my bucks, and they came out FREEEEEE!

Then I simply used scrap and extra paper I already had, trimmed around the edge (leaving a little to overlap the cover, atg-ed it, and VOILA! (I actually did 4 in 20 minutes!) I made a couple of Christmas ones, too... to carry my gift journal wherever I go...

Join in and visit our other gals at Tanya's blog! Have a great time, and make it a lazy day! (I did!!!)

Paper Hoarders DT: Sunglasses/Bright Challenge

Gosh... summer is flying by. Ouch. And I haven't done much, if anything of what I'd goaled to do. Huh. Go figure.

Anywho... the challenge today over at the Paper Hoarders was to make something sunglass-y and/or bright. I chose... the sun! He's a bright ball of fun. Put on your sunglasses, ma peeps, as it's gonna be a bright one today!

Spellbinders dies in 2 sizes, off set, then backing of a larger dotted circle and front of a circle, too (Cricut cuts, ya know!). Thought I'd make him into a tag, so I could utilize this bright orange ribbon that I've been hoarding (Ribbon Hoarders... come and find me!)

Then I layered them all, stamped his cutesy-pie face with a Peach Keen Stamp, highlighted with chalk (the cheeks) and Stickles and called it a day then stamped the back with a bunch of journaling lines to make the tag a little more purposeful. Gotta love it!

You, too, can join the challenge. Please visit Miss Tanya's blog, and there will be ALL the links for everyone else, too! Schmooz through and enjoy a cool drink while you experience the bright talent of all these wonderful crafters!

Sewing Machine Day (Paper Hoarders DT Post)

I know that YOU know today is Friday - the 13th, but in my world, there is no such thing as a bad-luck-day, so... now that you've got that into your head... moving on!

Over at Paper Hoarders, we're celebrating the invention of the sewing machine, because it was "invented" sometime around this time (maybe in France, after the first "working" model in England?) somewhere in the 1830's. (Wikipedia and other sources seem to lack in the fine details, so again... moving on...) So, we were to utilize stitching in our project.

But guess what? This time, I didn't make a layout. I didn't make a card. "Gasp!" you say? I know, huh!

I made a 6x6" mini album for my daughter. We were going to Disneyland, and she wanted an autograph album... little did I know that she actually wanted to stand in ALL OF THE CHARACTER LINES for hours... EEK!

I did some other "firsts", too. I actually used my BIA (Bind-It-All) machine, by Zutter. Um... I've had it for quite some time, and was kind of afraid of it. So, I just let it sit in my collection. But hey... I pulled it out and read through... and tried it. The pages are a little uneven, so I'll have to figure that out at a later date, but it was good for now.

The inside cover(s) were "finished". A larger piece of cardstock (red) was cut at the corners and folded over chipboard (AKA: cereal box - I am a frugal and recycling mama afterall...), then a smaller piece of cardstock (light gray) was adhered to cover the tabs. Woohoo!

As for the design, whelpers, we were going to Disneyland. and so. a little bit of Disney needed to be added. The Mickey Ears and Disney AND 2012 were cut from Mickey & Friends Font with the Cricut, then stitched (from the underside so that I could semi-follow a line I drew without screwing up the front...), then adhered to the front cover. I had to make sure I glue down the little pieces that fit in the letters and numbers, too, as then it didn't quite look so authentic.

Many, many pages were put in, some light pink (for the girls) and some light green (for the boys) and some yellow (for ?). (Side note: Marissa helped a little... did ya catch that?) She seemed to think we had to get all the pages signed, but... Mom (me) had an ultimate goal... to make this her Disneyland trip album. (hahaha! Multi-purpose!!! Woohoo!)

And so... now we just have to print photos, and deco the pages (I didn't want them deco'd or glittered just in case we lost it or it got icked-up during the day). But all in all, she had a wonderful day, and she was a happy camper!

She even got to meet wait in line for over an hour for her favorite princess, Rapunzel (from Tangled).

So now... if you'd like to see more stitches and our wonderful DT's other projects, please visit Miss Tanya at  her wonderful blog, where we're ALL shown. Woohoo! Have yourself a wonderful day, while I rest my poor feet.

Wordless/full Wednesday; What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday, etc.

It's been a LOOONNNGGG time since I participated in these, but... here I am, and here you are, too. Woohoo!

Wordless/Wordfull... it's all what you make of it. As my camera is downloading 517 pics (see, I haven't been just neglecting you or my blog... I've not been doing other things I should have either...), I'm sure there's something to be said for all of them.

Uh... my middle child graduated, my oldest finally got a job after an almost full year hiatus of not doing anything. I had issues with lots of things... school district employment (mine... don't get me started...), crafting machines dying on me (who's got money to replace them?!!! that's right... I do... I'ts called Amazon CREDIT.). Now the printer's down AGAIN. (I've had 4 replacement printers from HP... and the latest one just went out yesterday... ugh!)

Still waiting for those pics to download... thought this was going to be a quickie post. Geez! I've got things to do! We're going to Yucaipa Regional Park today to meet up with an old friend and her family, who are camping there. Who'd'a thunk it would cost $20 to go swimming? ($7 for the car to get in, and $4 each person to swim... EEK!) And I'm leaving in 40 minutes!!!! (sure i am...)

OK. Pics are done downloading... Here's something you can add words to... or not...

 

In case you can't tell... our house got tee-peed. I remember when we used to do this for pop-warner or band, or just friends. Back then in the day, it was ok to do it. We all had permission from the parents and knew what it meant. I was leaving for work (yes... I work...) on a beautiful Saturday morning, and this greeted me, backing up out of the garage. I believe it was sometime in May. My daughter assures me she hasn't done anything to anyone.


Fun memories, and I made her take pics, because I had to get going I was already running late.

And in case you're wondering where that beautiful morning sky is in the background, we're in Southern California. Inland Empire. And it was a beautiful day. Luckily, the job I was going to allows me to walk around in the sunshine all day... on a pool deck. And I L-O-V-E it!


On my Workdesk Wednesday... Here ya go! The question is NOT "What's on Your Workdesk?" It should be "What's NOT on Your Workdesk?" (I'm so far behind and the craftroom is SUCH a freakin' disaster, that I'm hoping this post gets my boo-tay going and it'll be done before the weekend? uh. huh... Don't hold your breath...)

Lots of cleanup, lots of projects, lots of inspiration? Check back with me later... I'm linking up to lots of people (later), as I've got to run, so... I'll do what I can for now. See ya!

Paper Hoarders: Birthday Challenge (and other things)

So... this summer is going by oh-so-quickly already. We just ended school June 5/6 (two different days for two different grade levels... ugh!) and am already looking at the omgosh-we-only-have-a-month-and-a-half-almost panic attack. I had "planned" on getting so much done this summer. YIKES!!!!

On Friday, we (at Paper Hoarders) did a challenge. It was an "optional" challenge, as it was extremely emotional for our head Paper Hoarder, as you can see HERE.  She has a couple of posts, on from Friday (June 22) and one from Sunday (June 24), so you can follow her emotional journey and leave her some love. (There might be more later, so keep checking the initial "HERE" link.) We love you, Tanya!

I wasn't able to post on Friday, or Saturday... was too pooped on Sunday and Monday, so here I am on Monday Tuesday, finally doing this post. Well... I forgot to take pics as I went along... and even forgot to take pics when I was done, so... I had the recipient's mom (Lebanie's mom, Menissa... lol!) text me a pic. Please be forgiving.

Here we go... Birthday Challenge! It was Lebanie's 9th birthday party... the at a skating rink! (How fun is that!) The theme - 80's. ok, so... I didn't have an 80's outfit, and neither did my daughter, because the universe knows that stuff wouldn't FIT me now I threw it all out a long time ago... But, I did make a quick card - I was lucky I found a Boom Box (Radio) on Cricut Alphabet on the NEW Cricut Expression 2! (and if any of ya'll know how to link the carts pre-loaded on the machines to the Gypsy, please let me know!)  With touches of silver and black glitter glues and some retro-styling puffy purple embossing, I hope she had a Boomin' time!

We had a blast, and NO! I'm not sore. Hahaha! And yes... I did skate. I think I just forgot how to stop and used the padded walls for that purpose.

Onward and upward... I also had a grad party to go to. Unfortunately, I had created a post for another grad party (the card I'd made anyway) and can't seem to find it here (must've been so tired that I deleted instead of published. Ugh!). So... I'll post both cards.

Yesenia (Yessie) was good enough to graduate from University with her teaching credentials (WTG, Yesenia!!!). And so... I made this little card for her. She's got naturally curly hair, a light olive complexion, and eyes that sparkle. (I try really hard to match the grad gown, cap, school colors and person's look, ya know?) So... I embossed the Peachy Keen-stamped face in clear (to add the sparkle), dry embossed her long locks, and gold-embossed the year on the tassel. Woohoo! And we partied, too!

Earlier in the month, I went to Danielle's grad party. this was her card:

Her hair's a little shorter, than Yessie's, so I didn't need to elongate the coif. And of course, the gowns/caps were different colors (representing the schools), so yeah... you've got it.

Both cards were made using Everyday Paper Dolls. The tassels? uh... ordinary curling ribbon.

Both ladies had personalized gifts, as well... Yessie (Jessie, as her friends/family call her...) even took pics and posted some of them on Facebook! lol! Ok, so the cookie-decorating kinda sucked, as I was being completely lazy and piped outta Ziplocs instead of real piping bags and tips. EEK! But, I love that I now have this fabby cookie stamp from Williams-Sonoma to do ALL KINDS OF THINGS WITH for now on. (Lebanie also got Message-in-a-Cookie(s) only hers said things to the way of "happy birthday".)

I always prefer personalization, because it's... just so much more personal. Love you all! Congrats and Happy Birthdays all around. Glad you're here and thanks for stopping by. Don't forget to leave a comment and tell me what YOU'VE done to make that gift/card more special.

Mama's Losin' It (Writing Prompt): 5.) Share something you learned embarrassingly late in life.

Wow. I know I haven't done much as of late... My mo and my jo just haven't been with me. Like everyone else in this world, I've been feeling overwhelmed and just not with it. But last night... I was on a Ustream of Erica's Craft Room, learning about refreshing my mind with Blogger deets. I met a wonderful person (Hi, Teresa!) of Create Joy Share that encouraged me to get back on the bloggin' horse. So... here I am. AND! Since it's Thursday, and I "used" to do the writing prompts via Mama Kat, well... I thought I'd start there.

This week's writing prompt that I've chosen? Um... a rather embarrassing one: 5.)   Share something you learned embarrassingly late in life.

Many years ago, I was talking. (Yes, I talk. I talk a lot, so suffice it to say that I was talking...) We (my family) were talking about something... I don't remember what.  But apparently, the subject of "wolf" came up. I listened, and then had to put my two cents in the ring, as well. Only, I didn't pronounce it "woolf" (with an emphasis on the "l"), I pronounced it "wuf" (with a short vowel sound).

And everybody. Laughed. and Laughed. And Laughed...

My whole life I've been saying it this way. And no one said a thing. But somewhere in my 30's, people (my family especially) finally noticed and decided that it was wrong. and f-u-n-n-y. Why no one ever tried correcting this before, I'll never know, but... all of a sudden, something I've been saying forever is incorrect.

Now, I'm not perfect (but don't tell that to my kids...), and I know it. But... as many classes as I've taken, and conversations I've had, you'd a thunk it might should have been caught long before now. And so...

I occasionally catch myself doing it sometimes; you know it's really hard to emphasize that "l", and I must have a lazy mouth! Almost every time I see my family, it has to come up again somehow. They enjoy poking fun at me. What. Ev. Er...

You too, can join in the fun and link yourself up. There's a writing prompt every single week. Sign up to have them sent to you, and post (at least once in a while...). Mama Kat is AWESOME! She visits and gives us love... Just go to http://www.mamakatslosinit.com/ and see what other aspiring writers have written about. Don't forget to comment. Everyone needs to feel a little lovin'...

Paper Hoarders Memorial Day Challenge

Good Morning!!!! Yes! It's been a while. And I'm back to show you the layout I made commemorating Memorial Day...

First, a bit of history. What? No... you didn't get enough of that in high school. History continues on... Memorial Day is for ALL of our fallen soldiers, who have fought for our country and died while doing it. There is not enough we could offer them, but we try... we give them our thanks and honor them on this day.

Our country is based on history, and we were asked to do a project for Memorial Day. Um... that's really hard for me. Difficult, I say. Well, because I don't (personally) know of anyone who sacrificed their lives for our country. I haven't known the men and women who have died for us.

So... at first... I thought I'd make a tote. Tote made... I was going to sponge-paint a flag on it and use it forever (like the stamps!) for groceries and such... then I remembered... OMGOSH! This is for Paper Hoarders... What the heck does a pillowcase tote have to do with paper. Ok... scrap that.

Then... I got the inclination to do dog tags. I had these really cool vellum tags that have been just sitting here... and with some vellum labels, I could print something? Awesome. So... Recollections (from Michaels) has this really cool shimmery navy blue cardstock that I used for my background.

And then I began searching the internet for awesome photos of soldiers in the field, or even commemorative photos of soldiers. I intended to put a pic in each star on my blue background, but... I came across this photo. And I love it. It basically says it all.

I'm not overly religious, but... I do honor our Pledge (of Allegiance). I believe that no matter what other people believe, our Founding Fathers began this nation under these beliefs. This part of history is part of US, as a Nation. And whether you believe in God or another higher power, or nothing at all, just by stating it... we are together as a Nation, identifying with our history. And these people, the men and women who have died defending our country and/or those who we were trying to protect, as well... Deserve to be honored in our country's history.

And so... the dog tags state:  (White) - "In God We Trust... We also trust those, who have given their everything, their lives. To our soldiers who offered us so much..." and (Red) "In Memoriam... to honor every soldier who has fallen... for our Nation... One Nation Under God".

I just love blues, reds, and whites. They are awesome together. And I just HAD to use the Recollections white cardstock, that's flecked with red and blue. How fitting for this. I distressed the photo, to show the wear each soldier has taken on... ultimately... (and yes... I finally got my Distrezz-It-All...)

I hope you like it, and remember it. If you'd like to see the other DT members' projects (they're AWESOME!), just go visit Tanya's blog and give everyone a little love. They work hard for it. Oh! and don't forget to leave a comment here... Have a wonderful Memorial Weekend, no matter how you choose to celebrate (I'll be walking a pool deck... working! lol!)