Friday, February 25, 2011

Celebrating Turning 12















My oldest niece turned 12 recently (which I simply can't believe) and beginning last year, I started giving my nieces and nephew a "Day of Fun" for their birthday. They get to choose a place to have lunch, an activity and a book. I started this tradition because I wanted to have an experience with them that hopefully they'll remember for a long time versus just buying more stuff. M and I spent our day together recently and we had a very fun time. The layout is made with product from the Napa Valley kit from Studio Calico. 


A few close-ups. 




















JOURNALING
I want to remember you were home alone when I picked you up. A first for me. You're growing up so fast. 
I want to remember trying to track down a book at Barnes and they didn't have anything you wanted. But you settled on a Manga book. 
I want to remember sitting in Arby's and talking about learning Japanese. You're teaching yourself.
I want to remember that we laughed a lot; usually misunderstandings. 
I want to remember you said thank you for your book and for going to Starbucks.
I want to remember your iPod Touch wasn't far away. Always clicking away. 
I want to remember you cheered when I didn't get a hole in one. (You're very competitive.)
I want to remember it was a bright, sunny day.
I want to remember celebrating you turning 12!
February 22, 2011

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Finally, A Home Mini























I purchased this home mini album from Elise awhile ago, but I finally got my act together and finished it up a few days ago. I see that Elise doesn't have anymore of these specific home ones in her shop, but if you like mini albums or are thinking of making one, you should definitely purchase one from her. They are always high quality and fun, unique product is always included.

(My hole punch is broken, so still need to punch two holes and put binding rings on.)

To me, the idea of a home mini is to capture what you love most about your home, what your home looks like at this particular moment in time. To essentially document where you're living now and how you live. In addition to the book I got from Elise, I used American Crafts product from their Adobe line. Perfect for a home mini album.













On the right-hand side, I talk about that I've lived in this spot the longest, except for where I grew up. I lived in the same house from one year old to 18. I figure I got lucky in finding this place.













On the right-hand side, I list some random facts in those cute stamped labels. This page came with the album and I think it's my favorite one. I love having fresh flowers. I love the farmer's market. I shop at Target and Kowalski's. I decorate with photos and scrap pages and projects. This will be interesting to look back on in five years or so to see if I'm still shopping at the same places.













On the left-hand side, I talk about how much I love to create and when I do I make a huge mess. I spread out everything on the floor.

On the right-hand side, I have a picture of my favorite overstuffed chair. I love overstuffed, comfortable furniture. Great for cuddling under a blanket and reading or watching a movie.












On the left-hand side, I talk about my new set of dishes I purchased last year. This is my first official set of dishes; a classic white. I also have a shot of the inside of my refridge, which may seem strange, but really tells a lot about me. This would be another neat shot to take again in a couple years and compare the items.

On the right-hand side, I talk about what I love and hate about where I'm living. I got this idea from Elise's home book. Take some time and check hers out. Very cool book.










The left-hand side shows a couple shots; one of my bookcase because I love to read and the other is of my growing collection of handmade pillows on my bed.

The right-hand side shows a shot of a typical day for me these days. In front of my computer, drinking tea and always an afternoon snack.













On the left-hand side is a shot of my dining room table/desk. My space is rather small, so this table plays most often as a desk and I will eat dinner in front of the TV.

On the right-hand side is a small label showing the prices I spend on rent, utilities, etc. Again, this would be neat to look back on in five or 10 years.

I like that my book has a combination of both what my place looks like and also how I live in the space. You could totally do one or the other too though. You could also just take a bunch of photos and print them out and put them in a photo album with sleeves with the date and a little bit of journaling. There are no rules. It's just neat to capture the spaces we spend a lot of time in. Whenever I look back on photos from my childhood, I always look in the background to see the wall coverings or at what I'm sitting on. It's cool to see the progression of the space both in decoration and how it's used.

So, there's my home mini. A super simple way to document where and how you're living now.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Ten on Tuesday

1) Another 15 inches of fresh snow. I was snowed in for 2 days. Deep sigh. 

2) My sister and I had an excellent time at the Josh Ritter concert. Josh is an amazing performer. He has an infectious smile, incredible energy and a great sense of humor. Not a huge fan of the venue though. Hopefully, when he returns he performs somewhere with chairs.

3) I saw The King's Speech. I think Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush should win every award they've been nominated for. This is the best film I've seen in a long time. Convincing, powerful performances by both actors. A must see.

4) I finally finished a home mini-album that I've had on my list for over a year. I'll be sharing tomorrow.

5) I'm looking forward to my Day of Fun with M and a couple happy hours with friends this week. 

6) I've been in a funk lately. The weather certainly doesn't help. I so wish I could travel somewhere. I want to be somewhere else for awhile. Get some perspective. Rejuvenate.  

7) I found a simple hummus recipe in Real Simple and have been making it at least once a week. I love it with cauliflower and carrots. 

Here's the recipe. 
1 can of chickpeas | 2 tablespoons of lemon juice | 1 clove of garlic | 1/4 cup of olive oil | 1 teaspoon of cumin | 1/4 teaspoon of paprika | 2 tablespoons sesame seed paste (optional) | Put everything in a food processor or blender and enjoy!

8) I'm missing my brother and his family. I haven't seen them since Thanksgiving. Since my schedule is flexible these days, I hope to visit them next month. 

9) I think this bag is so cute. The woman who makes the bag is from Minneapolis too. So cool. Once I have disposable income again, I will definitely purchase one. 

10) I keep reminding myself of this quote by Eleanor Roosevelt (one of my all time favorites), "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."

Have a great Tuesday. 

Friday, February 18, 2011

Glimpse













Wanting: To go shopping (this no consuming goal is tough and it's only February)
Eating: Tacos
Drinking: Green tea
Feeling: Healthy...finally
Weather: Warm!
Enjoying: Sleeping in
Wondering: What life has in store for me
Thinking: Way too much
Needing: To have some fun
Looking forward to: Josh Ritter concert with my sister


Have a wonderful weekend!

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Getting Scrappy

Two Peas in a Bucket held an online social for the Winter CHA release. I love their online socials. They have great videos showing off all the new product. They have chats with fellow scrappers. They have interviews with the manufacturers. And they have a bunch of challenges.  I love these challenges because they always inspire me to get scrapping and I get a bunch of pages finished. They had a fashion theme throughout the weekend, so all of the challenges followed this theme.

Challenge #1: Use the color red:



















To make the red in our life jackets pop, I chose to use gray cardstock as the background. Then I used bits of patterned paper with red in it and big red buttons to add some dimension.

Challenge #2: Favorite color/color combo:




















My favorite color combo lately has been orange and gray. I went through my stash and found a few of my favorite orange products; the flowered patterned paper and the decorative tape. While I'm not particularly fond of how this one turned out, I'm happy to finally be caught up with my monthly layouts from 2010. Phew.

Challenge #3: Scrap about a dream you have:




















When I saw this challenge, I immediately knew what I wanted to do. I've always wanted to go to all four tennis grand slams. I've had this dream for a long time, but have yet to make a page about it, so I'm glad to have this one done. I hope I can start fulfilling this dream soon!

Challenge #4: All about layers:


















A bunch of layering going on in this layout; the patterned papers, the journaling, the butterflies and the ribbon and a bit of the photos. I'm really loving this layout, both for the design and for the story it captures. My niece has been waiting for the day when she is taller than her Mom and her Grandma. She's almost there.

If you're looking for ways to get inspired, I would strongly recommend using challenges. It definitely helps spark ideas for me.

Happy scrapping!

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Ten on Tuesday

1) I learned how to play Cribbage. What a fun game! My sister creamed me every time though. So I'm determined to get better at it.

2) I gained about 10 pounds at a Super Bowl party. There was cheese, (I was in Wisconsin), chips and french onion dip, sub sandwiches, pizza, cake and cookies. So very good though. I'll have to add a few more workouts this week.

3) I love cooking shows, but since I don't have cable, what I can see is limited. I wish I had the Food Network! My favorites on PBS are America's Test Kitchen and Everyday Food.

4) One of my goals for the year is to continue to reduce my impact. I'm doing really well when it comes to buying material things, but I'm having difficulty still in reducing the amount of food waste/packaging. More on this in a separate post.

5) I said in a previous Ten on Tuesday that I was hooked on a new show, V. That didn't last very long. A couple more episodes and I was done. Too ridiculous for me. But I have been enjoying The Closer with Kyra Sedgwick.

6) Girl Scout cookies are here! I snatched up a box of Samoas. They won't last the week. See #2 above. I'm basically working out all the time now.

7) I'm looking forward to celebrating my niece's birthday this weekend. She's almost an official teenager. Thankfully, she still thinks I'm cool. I think.

8) We got our week together as a family on our calendars. Yay! Can't wait. It's the best week of the year.

9) I know yellow isn't my best color, but I love this shirt. It reminds me of Spring!

10) Last week was a bit rough. I'm hoping this week is better and brighter.

Monday, February 7, 2011

A Glimpse From Last Week

Hello everyone! Happy Monday. I hope you all had a great week last week. I missed being in this space, so I'm happy to be back. Today, I'm sharing a glimpse of last week. Ten on Tuesday will be back tomorrow and then I'll be sharing some projects later on in the week.













































































Looking back over these, I actually did more than play games and eat. Ha! I guess I didn't take any pictures of all the boring stuff.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Taking A Break

I'm taking a break from blogging this week. I need some time to focus on a few other things.

But I'll be back next week.

As always, thanks so much for reading.

Have a wonderful week.