Hello Summer

When I saw this week's sketch on the Elle's Studio blog, I immediately knew what I wanted to do. I love when that happens!

I love the title work in the sketch and brought that over to my page. I enjoyed using 2x4 photos. I don't recall using that size before, but I really like how it turned out. I was able to get a bunch of photos on one page, which is good because there were a lot from this day that I wanted to use.

After printing the photos and choosing the tags, the rest came together quickly. I used tags from the Summer Lovin' collection at Elle's Studio. I love their tags and I hear they are going to be at Summer CHA in a few weeks. I can't wait to see what's new!

Happy 4th of July! I hope it's a fun and safe holiday.

I've Been...

>> Exploring nearby cities I've never been to before.
>> Celebrating my awesome Dad.
>> Watching my nieces play soccer.
>> Visiting my happy place.
>> Watching the Twins take on the White Sox. Clear skies and cooler temps made for a perfect evening to watch outdoor ball.
>> Spending the afternoon at the beach, soaking up the beauty of summer.
>> Bringing home a haul from the farmer's market. Eating baby cucumbers by the handful.
>> Enjoying a neighborhood jazz concert and eating the most delicious beet salad wrap.
>> Playing Wii Music with my nieces and rolling on the floor in laughter at our conductor skills.
>> Eating fresh blueberries off my sister's plant.
>> Scrapping while watching You've Got Mail (ode to Nora Ephron)
>> Making menus, buying super soakers, and writing must do lists for our family's week together.

Summer always flies by. I hate that about summer. There's a lot on tap for July, but I need to squeeze in a few more things! Ready, set, go!

Greetings

Today is all about cards. I make a lot of cards. In fact, I never buy cards anymore. I get compliments from family and friends on my designs and even sold some too, which was unexpected and fun. So, I thought I would try my hand at an Etsy store last year, but it was a lot of work and unfortunately, the return on investment wasn't higher than what I was putting in. So, I put that on hold. But I'm still making them for friends and family and enjoying giving them away.

Here are a couple I've made recently.

What about you? Do you like making cards?

Ten on Tuesday

1| I love pizza and beer. That is all.

2| This weekend was steamy. I had to turn on the air conditioner, which I hate doing. But it was that or melting into a puddle.

3| I watched the men's final of the French Open. It was rain delayed at a critical junction and was finished early, early Monday morning. I was so bummed that I couldn't see how it ended.

4| I went searching for a dress to wear to a wedding. No luck. Everything was strapless. Super cute on the hanger. Not so much on. The hunt continues....

5| One of my favorite things to do in summer is sit out on a patio with a cold drink, good food and great company. If the view includes water, all the better. I love to just sit back and relax and soak all that is summer in. Tonight, I'm getting together with a couple of friends to do just that.

6| I finished the third book in the Steig Larsson series. Wow, what a disappointment! I found it very boring, which is surprising considering how "on the edge of my seat" I was with the first two books.

7| Cupcake, a favorite restaurant of mine, won Cupcake Wars on the Food Network. How awesome is that?! They're going to use their winnings to open another location. Woohoo!

8| I'm starting to make lists for our time together as a family this summer. Recipe lists. Activity lists. We celebrate 3 birthdays, including my niece who turns 5. If I had a Pinterest account, I'd pin this for her celebration. So cute.

9| Speaking of recipes. I want this salad.

10| This is Minnesota for you. I gotta go and get a cardigan. There's a chill in the air.

Glimpse

On the grocery list| Avocado. The last one I bought was rotten. Boo 
On the TV| Re-watching Downton Abbey. It's so good!
On iTunes| "Some Nights" by Fun. I have to move when I hear this song. 
On the scrap table| Layouts for the Elle's Studio Design Team. 
On the movie list| Snow White
On the bedside table| Oprah magazine. Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann


We're in for 90 degree weather this weekend. Bring it, I say!


Have a lovely weekend!

Say Cheese (Again)

This was one of the six layouts I scrapped in record time for the challenges at Elle's Studio, as part of their new website launch. I'm not sure what happened, but everything was aligned, and I went with it.

The challenge was to layer. I don't think layering is one of my strongest scrapping skills, but it is something I really love to do. People like Marcy Penner and Allison Waken make layering look so effortless. I try to channel them when I'm tackling the layer.

I realized I don't have any Es left in any of my Thickers! Now, that's a predicament. I guess I'll be choosing titles based on the vowel needed. This time though, I really wanted to use "Say Cheese," so I used stamps. Oh, right, stamps. I always forget about those. I like how it turned out, so maybe I'll stick with this option in the future.

I was with my entire family only a few months ago, but I'm missing them terribly already. We won't be all together again until August and that seems like an eternity. And I don't want to wish for it to come faster because the summer will be almost over then and I don't want the summer to be over either. Yes, this is how my brain works. But this picture tides me over. I smile when I look at it. I never know what face I'll get from these four. It's always a surprise. For the most part, they give me smiles and I'm thankful for that.

I'm looking forward to taking a walk with a friend today. The weather has been just beautiful. What are you looking forward to today?

Thanks for stopping by!

Ten on Tuesday

1| I've been stalking this bedspread for a month or so, waiting for a queen size to be restocked. Finally, one appeared the other day and I snatched it up. I love it!

2| I can't believe we're into June already. June always sneaks up on me. I have a lot of fun things planned, including a Twins game and a Lynx game. I'm not even a huge sports fan. Go figure.

3| I've been writing letters and emails and texts and sending "just because" cards. I've been trying to be more intentional in staying in touch with family and friends. It's been fun having all of these conversations going on with different people and using different media.

4| Elle's Studio has a new website, which includes a member gallery. They had a bunch of challenges to celebrate the launch. I participated and made six layouts in one night, which I'm pretty sure is a record. You can check out my gallery here and I've added a link on the sidebar too. I also won a $20 gift card, which I eagerly and quickly spent. Thanks Elle's Studio!

5| I've been eating Farmer's Market lettuce, snap peas, and radishes by the handful. It's only Tuesday and it's almost all gone.

6| I crossed a bunch of stuff off my to-do list yesterday. "Uck stuff" that has been on there for a long time, like applying for dental insurance and figuring out my retirement, etc. It feels so good to have it done though. Lesson learned to not let that stuff fester. Just get yer' done.

7| My dining room table is the last hold out of furniture from my college days. I think it's about time to replace it, no?....it's only been over 10 years. Eee gads. I saw one at Target that I liked, but can't find it online to link up.

8| My niece has started watching The West Wing with her parents. I am a huge fan of The West Wing, so was thrilled when my sister asked for the first season. This past weekend, I was able to watch an episode with her. Totally fun.

9| I want to see Snow White and the Huntsman. Maybe this weekend. I hate to go into a movie when it's so beautiful outside. And I don't want to wish for rain. Dilemmas. Dilemmas. Have you seen it?

10| I'm on the hunt for a clutch. I haul around a giant bag for work, so I'd love to have a much smaller purse for all other outings. I'm eyeing this one. Cheap. Simple. Perfect.

Easter Trivia

I'm still catching up in sharing layouts I created for challenges during National Scrapbook Day. I participated in a few on Two Peas in a Bucket. They had a morph project hop with their design team. One member creates the first layout and then the next member creates a layout based on the first member and so on. It was really fun to see how all the members interpreted each design in their own way. You can check it out here.

The challenge was to continue the morph, so I used Amy Tan's page as inspiration.

I loved all of the layering and bits that she had on her page, so I chose to mirror that on my page. I cut up a bunch of papers from her Sketchbook collection into different shapes and sizes and layered them on top of each other. Her collection makes it so easy to scrap! Love it.

At Easter this year, we decided to have a trivia contest for the three youngest kids. We made up a series of questions for each person, and for each question there was a prize. My oldest niece helped to pick out the prizes and they were a big hit. My middle niece told me after that she wished there had been more questions. Note to self for next year. I'm so glad they enjoyed it. Definitely a highlight of the weekend.

I'm so glad it's Friday tomorrow. Here I come long weekend! What are your plans?

Ten on Tuesday

1| I took the day off on Friday. I had to remind myself how to relax. To forget all the stuff and stress. I went out to lunch by myself. I only remember doing that once before. I wandered the aisles of Target. I bought a few things I didn't need. I exercised. I read. I napped. It was nice. I need to do that more often.

2| I am smitten with Downton Abbey. I whipped through season one and two and I can't believe I have to wait until January 2013 to see season three. Is anyone else watching?

3| I've been enjoying the Farmer's Market. I'm eating a lot of green onion and radishes.

4| I'm participating in Ali Edwards' 31 Things class at Big Picture Classes. I'm thoroughly enjoying all the writing. I'm unearthing a lot of fun and interesting stories.

5| I'm reading the third book in Steig Larsson's series. I read the first two a long time ago, but somehow didn't read the third. It doesn't disappoint. I didn't see the movie. I didn't want to see all that violence.

6| I've been emailing with my niece. She's using her Mom's account. I always love seeing an email from her in the morning. She loves sharing all the emoticons she has. I've been sharing riddles.

7| I bought a few rolls of washi tape from Freckled Fawn. Good stuff. You'll be seeing a lot of it on future projects.

8| My allergies have been awful. The cottonwood is everywhere. I struggle the most with my eyes. I've read that I should keep my windows closed, but I need the fresh air.

9| The weather has been fantastic the last few days. We had a lot of rain before that, which we desperately needed. Now, I need to get into the practice of spending more time outside. I'm not yet taking full advantage. Even if it's just taking a quick walk at lunch or after dinner.

10| I read this quote on Pinterest and it made me smile. "Be the kind of woman who, when your feet hit the floor in the morning, the devil says, oh no, she's up."

My Favorites

Wow, I've been away for much longer than I thought possible. This is the longest since I started blogging a little over two years ago. I'm struggling with whether to keep coming back to this space or not. I'm definitely not as eager as I was when I first started. I want this space to be fun and inspirational and a place to document my life. I've lost some of that focus. I really hope I find it again! But I'm here today, and I'll take that for now.

During National Scrapbook Day (Weekend), Studio Calico had a bunch of different challenges. One was to use circles or triangles or stars, something graphic. I chose to use circles.

I've used this design in the past and it is one of my favorites. It's super simple, but effective too. I just grab my scalloped circle punch and a few sheets of pretty paper. I'm using Amy Tan's Sketchbook collection on everything lately. The colors and designs are really inspiring me right now. I added embellishments to several of the circles; a brad, a label sticker, banners, a chipboard butterfly, and a "S" Thicker. I love how bright and fun this page is.

When I got to the list, I just sat down and wrote down the first 10 things that came to mind. I didn't over think it. If I did it again now, it would probably be a different list. This is just a snapshot. I then used my typewriter to put it on white cardstock. I made them pennants by just cutting the ends.

My Favorites--May 2012
Dark chocolate
West Wing episodes
Create everyday
Stripes
Brussels sprouts
Warm sunshine
Hot green tea

A couple close-ups

Thanks so much for stopping by. I'm thankful for all my readers!

Creative Crop

This past Saturday was National Scrapbooking Day and I celebrated by scrapping a bunch. I played along with challenges at Big Picture Classes' Creative Crop, Two Peas in a Bucket and Studio Calico.

Today, I'll be sharing the layouts from the Creative Crop.

First up, Ali Edwards had a challenge to tell a then and now story. I love these type of stories. They are fun to make and even more fun to look at later on. Tammy at Your Memory Connection made a layout a few weeks back that compared three different decades of her life. I love that idea and put it on my to-do list and when I saw this challenge, I knew it would be perfect.

I'm turning 35 this year, so I took a photo from years 14, 24 and 34. Finding a photo for 14 and 24 was not easy. It wasn't until 2006 when I got my first digital camera that photos of me are more prevalent. My journaling is tucked behind the photo and just talks about what was happening during each of these years, and what I hope will happen in year 35.

The next layout combines two different challenges; use iPhone photos and use a cast-off object.

I just purchased an iPhone, so I was totally in for this challenge. The first two layers underneath the photos are packaging from product from Studio Calico and American Crafts.

I'm a big fan of taking photos of my food, and the iPhone makes this so much easier. When in a restaurant, it's not as obvious as a larger camera. I kept this page pretty simple, and looking at it now, I'm thinking it needs more. But I'm about moving forward, so in the album it goes.

The Creative Crop challenges are now closed, but the Two Peas and Studio Calico ones are open for a week, so stop by those sites if you're looking for a creative boost.

I'll be back later this week with my layouts from the other challenges. You'll be seeing a lot of American Crafts/Amy Tangerine Sketchbook. I'm a bit obsessed with that collection!

I hope your week is off to a good start. Thanks for stopping by!

Crafty Weekend Part 2

I'm back today to share more from my crafty weekend. See the other layouts from my successful scrapping weekend here.

My Peeps

I sat with this sketch for awhile before this page emerged. I had fun using the Classic Calico collection from Studio Calico. Tons of versatile patterns. I added pops of pink to add some contrast.

Easter Finery

This page came together very quickly. I took out Amy Tangerine's new Sketchbook collection and went to town. Isn't that background paper fun?! I added a few of the die cuts and embellishments and called it done.

I still have a handful of sketches to work on. I'm busy with family on Saturday, but maybe Sunday afternoon I can sneak in a few hours to scrap.

I hope you have a great weekend! Thanks for stopping by.

The 34 List

When I turned 34 last October, I didn't really feel like making a list of things I'd like to accomplish during that year, like I have in years past. I was still looking for a job, and quite frankly was in a sad place. Making a list was too hopeful when I feeling lost of hope. But then a couple of weeks ago, I changed my mind. These last few months have flown by, and I haven't been in the moment nearly enough. I haven't been happy with how I've spent my time. I've learned that I need to plan, and be deliberate about how I spend my time, or stuff won't happen. In comes the list.

I have a lot to cram into these few months, but I'm up for it. I cheated a little too and added a few things I've already done.

Let's roll.

1| Visit James J. Hill house
2| See plays at four new theaters (One down, 3 to go)
3| See five movies in the theater (One down, 4 to go)
4| Go on a girls weekend for my 35th birthday
5| Take a class (writing, fitness, Archiver's)
6| Have my nieces over for the weekend
7| Buy a queen mattress (Check)
8| Hire a professional photographer to take photos during Rick Fest
9| Dance all night (Check)
10| Try three new restaurants
11| Go to a Lynx game
12| Make three new dishes (One down, 2 to go)
13| Major blog overhaul
14| Write lots of letters
15| Hang B&W photos
16| Grow out my hair (Check)
17| Play lots of tennis
18| Volunteer somewhere new
19| Go to a Josh Ritter concert
20| Get a mani and a pedi
21| Buy new plants
22| Finish organizing/scanning old photos
23| Take day trips to St. Peter and Northfield
24| Read my growing pile of books
25| Be fierce (ala Kal Barteski)
26| Take a trip to the North Shore
27| Get healthy
28| Join a nonprofit board or committee
29| Get a new comforter
30| Make new connections. Nurture the old ones.
31| Advocate on Capitol Hill (Check)
32| Do more for others. Look outside myself.
33| Start a Twitter account
34| Document it all!

Ten on Tuesday

1| I made my favorite rice salad for the first time this year. It's a great spring/summer salad. Super easy too. Rice, chickpeas, feta, roasted red peppers, green onion, parsley and dill. With a lemon juice, garlic, olive oil dressing. Hmmm....good.

2| I finally bought a new mattress and boy, what a difference! I'm sleeping so well now.

3| My wish list is growing. I want to take Ali Edwards' new class. I want to buy Elise Blaha's new stamps. I want to buy all the washi tape at Freckled Fawn. I want the new Here and Now kit from Elle's Studio.

4| I had a big spring cleaning weekend. I purged old magazines, stuffed a couple of bags of clothes to donate, caught up on laundry, and even cleaned my car. Feels good to start the week off fresh. Now, only if it would all stay clean!

5| I talked with my niece on the phone for awhile the other day. She went on and on about how much fun she had at a swimming birthday party. It warmed my heart to hear her happiness radiating through the phone.

6| I bought these earrings. I'm wearing them all the time. Love.

7| May is almost here. How is this possible? Mother's Day is upon us and I'm contemplating gift ideas. What are you giving your Mom?

8| I ran out of tea this morning. Blerg. I was just at the store. I hate when that happens.

9| I changed my mind. I've decided to make a 34 list. Yeah, I'm 6 months behind, but that's ok. I'll make it work. I'll be sharing my list later this week.

10| I'll leave you with a quote, "I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it will be." -- Groucho Marx

Crafty Weekend

Hello Monday. You came too fast, but I was able to get a lot of scrapping in this weekend, so I'm happy about that. I almost got caught up in the Sketchbook 4 class with Kelly Purkey. She's had a bunch of great sketches that have really stretched my creativity.

Today Much Joy

Archiver's was having a sale on mists and masks, so I picked up the plano mask from Studio Calico and a couple new Mr. Huey colors. I used the plano mask on this page, and love how it turned out.

These pictures make me smile. I especially love the last one, where A is sneaking a look at her brother.

Hello Nine

I had fun using a bunch of scraps and stamping and mist splatters on this page, including some festive confetti. I'm liking all the white space too. It's definitely a sketch I'd like to come back to again.

My nephew plays the violin, so we made him a violin cake. Well, more accurately, my sister made him a violin cake. It turned out so cool. We used a guitar shaped cake pan, and altered it to make it look like a violin. We used black licorice as the strings and black frosting for the S holes and chin rest. We used a little piece of cake for the bridge.

I'll be sharing more pages from the class this week. This weekend was a good reminder that scrapbooking isn't just a hobby for me....it's good for my soul. I feel lighter. I feel better. I need to make more room for it.

Thanks for stopping by!

Bubbles

Today, I'm sharing another layout using a sketch from Kelly Purkey's Sketchbook 4 class. It's all about circles. I don't often use circles on layouts, which is strange, because I really love circles. It's often only when I'm challenged with a sketch that circles make an appearance. Crazy, I know.

When I saw the sketch, I knew I wanted to scrap these pictures of my niece playing with bubbles. St. Patty's day was beautiful, so she hauled out this huge container of bubbles and we played for a long time; chasing and blowing and popping. Good times.

It was fun to imitate the bubbles using a circle punch. I also enjoyed placing the title moving up the page, like a bubble. I used the Dots and Stripes collection from Echo Park. One of my favorite collections from them. I also used some Amy Tangerine and Elle's Studio.

The weather report for this weekend calls for rain. I don't mind. I really want to stay in and scrap!

What are you up to this weekend?

3rd Annual Day of Fun

I signed up for Kelly Purkey's Sketchbook 4 class through Studio Calico. I love her sketchbook classes! I finally found time to work with the first sketch.

I am not a big fan of buying more stuff for birthday gifts. I'd much rather buy an experience. Something that we'll both remember and cherish. The last several years, I've given my nieces a Day of Fun. They get to choose an activity, a book at Barnes and we share a meal, their choice of the restaurant.

This year, my niece chose to go The Hunger Games movie and we had dinner at Punch pizza. We had a really fun day. She turned 13 this year. I told her when she turned 13 that she could start to ride in the front seat with me. This outing was the first time. Very strange to have her sitting next to me. I'm not ready for her to be growing up so fast, but I'm so glad that she still wants to spend time with me!

Looking at it, I wish I had moved the journaling and title up a bit to line up with the paper. Ah, well. I used a few things from Amy Tan's new Sketchbook collection; the chevron brad and the Admit Two ticket. I can't wait to play with more of that collection. Fun stuff.

I'm back tomorrow sharing another layout from the class. See you then!

Ten on Tuesday

*A special Ten on Tuesday today. Ten things I want to remember about our Easter weekend celebration. A few weeks ago, we found out my brother and his family were able to come. Hooray! Unfortunately, I wasn't feeling all that well, but good times were still had. 

1| I want to remember taking these photos. The last few times we've gotten together, the kids have all gone off and played together, and we don't see them as much as I'd like. I loved these few moments being silly together.

2| I want to remember celebrating my nephew's birthday. We got a violin cake mold and made the strings with black licorice, and the chin rest with black frosting, and the bridge with an extra piece of cake. It turned out awesome. My nephew took time to read my card, and thanked me for it and the gift. He's so polite!

3| I want to remember the trip to the zoo. I wasn't feeling the best, but I enjoyed watching the groundhogs. They were hilarious little creatures, speaking to each other by "barking." The kids enjoyed the farm babies. They were pretty cute.

4| I want to remember the Easter trivia game we played. We made up questions tailored for each child, and with each answer, they got a prize. My Mom was the MC, my oldest niece passed out the prizes and I was the host. I think they had a lot of fun. I certainly did. D told me afterwards that she wished there were more questions and harder ones. Mental note for next year.

5| I want to remember S getting me past the level of Angry Birds that I've been stuck on. Now, I'm stuck on the next level!

6| I want to remember playing 500 and Be Mean to Your Neighbor. I love playing games. There was a lot of laughter and oohs and ughs when the certain cards made an appearance.

7| I want to remember the wonderful Easter feast; a roast beef dinner. It allowed for great leftovers the last few days too. Yum, yum.

8| I want to remember playing Battle Ships with D on Easter morning. She got it from the Easter bunny. She sunk all my ships! We put our largest ship in the same spot. Great minds....

9| I want to remember A playing the piano. She gave us several concerts with songs she made up. They were really fun. She sat on the bench and moved her entire body with the movement of her fingers. It was so cute. She gave us a great bow at the end too.

10| I want to remember how well the cousins played together. They were attached at the hip the entire weekend; playing a lot of school. I loved playing school at their age too. A especially loved being with D. They were so cute when they held hands at the zoo. They also all went to the park on their own. That's definitely a first. I love that they get along so well.

Here, It's Good

I used one of the sketches from Kelly Purkey's Sketchpad to create this layout. Since I use white card stock as my base the majority of the time, I decided to change it up. I found this great green color that compliments the green in my niece's shirt. I don't often put my title right on the photo either, so that was fun to try, and I love how it turned out.

There was a lot of journaling from this day spent with my niece, so I added it to the back. I used the journaling prompt, "I want to remember," an idea I got from Ali Edwards many years ago. It's a great prompt that I use often because it elicits tons of great memories.

What are you up to this weekend? I'm going to live it up and go shopping for a mattress. Exciting, exciting!

Thanks, as always, for stopping by. I appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment. I love reading them!

Spring? | Elle's Studio Sketch

I'm back today with more Elle's Studio. I told you I was a big fan! I used their sketch from this week to create a layout about how amazing the weather has been the last few weeks.

I liked how everything was left justified in the sketch. I don't usually create in that area, so it was fun to try, although you'll see that I crept to the right. I couldn't help it! I'm happy with how it turned out though.

In addition to the Elle's Studio tags, I used paper from Echo Park, and embellishments from the Dear Lizzy Neapolitan collection. Good stuff.

Thanks for stopping by!

Ten on Tuesday

1| I had a fabulous St. Patty's day. My niece was nice enough to lend me her green nail polish. I went out with some friends and danced the night away. I haven't done that in years. I love to dance and never get to do it, so I went to sleep with a big smile on my face.

2| The weather here has been amazing. We've been in the 80s the past few days. If this keeps up, we'll have just skipped over spring. We grilled for the first time this weekend. I don't remember ever grilling in March! It's been fun to get out all my summer clothes too. I inevitably find something I forgot I had. It's shopping for free!

3| The one downside of this warmer weather: my allergies are awful! I want to tear my eyes out because they are so itchy. No fun. I think I have to find an allergist and start getting shots. Ugh.

4| My niece and I are seeing The Hunger Games this weekend. I'm a little hesitant...hoping it's not too violent, and we have to leave the theatre!

5| I love, love this Blurb book that Elise Blaha put together. I also love that she journaled right on on the photos. So cool.

6| I'm so looking forward to the farmer's market opening up for spring. I'm tired of the so-so produce at the grocery store. Just have a few more weeks to wait.

7| Two Peas in a Bucket started a blog. Their main site is awesome, but I sometimes get overwhelmed with all that's going on and this is organizing a lot of that information. Check it out!

8| I've been seeing colored denim everywhere! I'm not sure if this is a trend I can join or not? Who has tried it and liked it?

9| My cousin is getting married this summer and I'm on the hunt for a dress. I love this one. And this one. And this one.

10| New CHA releases from Studio Calico are now available. One of everything, please!