Judean's Blog: Sukeydookiedoo

Sunday

2012-01-22T11:31:00.003-05:00

Yep, still using up that SC kit from October--it's like the gift that keeps on giving! Love that woodgrain paper from Pebbles--it's kraft and the perfect background paper, IMO!

This one is a bit of an experiment gone wrong--it didn't turn out at all like I pictured in my head. Oh well, I think it goes with the blurry pictures that are definitely less than perfect as well!

Finally, one about all of Sadie's nicknames--my favorite of which is her own name for herself--Sissy. "Sissy do it," is a refrain I hear many, many times in a day. Too cute! This is using Studio Calico's Handmade kit, and in response to a challenge to journal in the "dead space" of a photo.

Have a great week!

Everyone with little kids is a little crazy,

2012-01-13T19:48:00.001-05:00

am I right? I mean, just the experience of spending your day with little people changes your outlook on life. Oh, what's that I am sitting on, a can of ravioli in the seat cushions of the couch?--totally normal. Peter throwing a fit because I won't let him carry the plunger around the house--no biggie. Being so fried at the end of dinner that I make a "nobody talk to anybody" rule--this doesn't happen in your house? Leaving the house in my slippers, shrugging as the shopping cart goes careening across the parking lot unattended, because I can't do a damn thing about it with 2 two-year olds to keep safe--ah, f#%k it. I don't even know who I am anymore, I am so immersed in toddler-dom and preschooler-hood. What graduate degree, what salary, what clothes that don't have the word "yoga" in their name, what adult conversation?

Anyways, I don't want to sound like I am complaining, because I am doing exactly what I want to be right now--but this job is really flipping hard! So, here are some scrapbook pages to look at--they make my life look much more fun than it actually is on a day to day basis, but that's why this hobby is so great--you get to focus on the happy moments. And who doesn't benefit from that?

Instead of taking pictures like I normally do, I scanned each half these pages and then used Photoshop to stitch them together. So they look a little crazy--but it has been overcast and raining here the last 2 days, so...

I'm still using up the Studio Calico Field Guide kit from October (which I also combined with the Add-on paper), plus I used a sketch from the SC blog on that top one--love how it came out, and I would never think of those diagonals on my own!

Scrapbooking helps keep me sane...

2012-01-11T20:06:00.000-05:00

Seriously, with 2 two-year-olds and four-year old, I need all the help I can get. Even if it's just 15 minutes to think about something other than diapers, crackers, and Polly-pockets, it makes a huge difference in my outlook!

Especially when it means looking at fabulous summertime pics--it's so nice to be transported to warmer times outdoors while we're stuck in the doldrums of winter!

The layout above and the next 3 are all made using Studio Calico's October (I think?) kit. I am glad I got these pictures scrapped--some good memories here :)

I had to open my Halloween box to dig out all those pumpkins--haven't looked in there in while!

I used the latest Scrapjack for this one--Kelly Purkey is great inspo--I had such fun lifting her layout! I love the stack of rainbow-colored patterned paper along the right of the pictures--the colors in the SC kit were a perfect match for these fall photos...

And another using Echo Park's Happy Days--I'm going to use up every last piece of that collection!

Well now...

2012-01-04T10:56:00.000-05:00

It has been a little while, hasn't it! Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas and a fun-filled New Year to you...that just about sums up all I've missed!

I guess I'm finally ready to come out of hibernation and post here--not that it hasn't been a productive past few weeks, just that I haven't made time for sad lil' neglected blog. I have a few projects to share, and I'll be back in a couple days with a few more--it's kind of nice to have a bunch to get caught up on!

Here are some pages I made last year:

Let's see, that's a whole lot of Echo Park's Happy Days line, and one from EP's boy line from last year, some older AC Dear Lizzy, and Snow Day by Pink Paislee. All good stuff I got from Paper Issues!

Finally, here's a project I made for my Grammie for Christmas--cuz you never can have enough pics of the grand/great-grandchildren!

I altered a Maya Road Trinket box (also from Paper Issues). Let me point out that this little box is only 6 bucks, and it's infinitely customizable--love that! I also used some trim, tiny clothespins and JB doily flowers from the shop, along with some vintage buttons and other bits from my stash. I'm linking this up to the Paper Issues linky party too--the theme is "We've got your number"--anything that uses paper goes!

I'll be back soon, I hope!

Gettin' Sketchy

2011-11-23T21:13:00.000-05:00

I have managed to squeeze in some crafty time...today it dawned on me that I should be making Christmas presents by now, so these might be the last few layouts I do for a while!

I used Scrapjacked's latest lift to make this layout:

That's Peter in his Halloween costume. Those little resin mushrooms were made by my talented friend Jamie, I swear there's not a single creative thing she can't do!

And I used Pencil Line's sketch #259 for this next one:

Still loving that Pink Paislee Snow Day--and Cassie still has some left in the Paper Issues Shop!

Happy Thanksgiving--hope your day is filled with family and good food!

Thankful

2011-11-22T18:15:00.000-05:00

Here it is already Thanksgiving, and I haven't even done a Halloween post! Blogging just might not be my thing...

Anyways, I want to share a layout I made for Paper Issue's Thankful for Fall theme...you still have a couple more days to link up!

I used American Crafts, and some other random bits and pieces.

Thanks for stopping by!

Snow Day!

2011-11-08T10:10:00.000-05:00

Hard to believe we've already had snow here in Boston (especially considering it's almost 70 here today)...but it's true: Winter Will Soon Be Here. I am happy to enjoy fall for a bit more, thankyouverymuch!

Paper Issues is having a Snow Day theme, with an awesome prize of Pink Paislee goodies. Link up, check out some awesome paper-crafting inspiration, and maybe even win the products I used to make the layout below :)

For another chance to win--try out this sketch at Sketchy Thursdays! I used it to make this layout:

Thanks for stopping by...

Shutterfly Holiday Cards

2011-10-26T09:00:00.001-04:00

I'm getting my holiday cards through Shutterfly again this year, I was so thrilled with the ones I got last year. I picked not one, but two different designs, it was so hard to choose!

There are some great new designs this year, I'm looking forward to seeing how our snapshots from this year look in these layouts:

I love that you can add text AND pictures to the backs of these!

Notice a theme emerging? Looks like I'm a fan of B&W photos with the light blue and red color scheme!

I'm excited to give away 25 cards of your choice to THREE different people (not just for bloggers)! Just comment below letting me know you'd like them, and I'll email you the code!

Disclosure: I was compensated for this post, all opinions are my own. Do you blog? Want a chance at 25 free cards this holiday season? Register here.

Boo to You!

2011-10-25T10:08:00.002-04:00

I have a huge button stash. Seriously, HUUUUUGE! My Grammie is a collector at heart, and she somehow amassed a ton of buttons, which she has given to me. I was totally overwhelmed when I first received (over a year ago) the TWO boxes full, packaged in various jars and cigar boxes, envelopes and baggies. I think a lot of them were picked up at garage sales or flea markets, because it's as if I have not just one grandmother's collection stored in a dusty attic, but literally dozens of individual collections. Slowly I have been sorting through the button pile, arranging some by color, some to give away, and some for (yet to be determined) projects. There are some really old, interesting ones that I may someday try to figure out the origins to.

But in the meantime, I have completed my first button project, just in time for Halloween! It's just a piece of cardboard covered in patterned paper onto which I very lightly printed the outline of the word BOO! Then I glued my buttons on using glossy accents, added a paper ruffle, Pink Paislee satin pleated trim, and some cool orange tinsel (thanks Cass:). Finishing touches included a couple of glittered skulls with orange crepe-paper ruffles and some hemp twine to hang it all by--tada!

What Halloween decorations have you made this year? Check out Paper Issues link party for loads of inspo!!

I got a scrapbooking kit...

2011-10-24T22:02:00.001-04:00

...for the first time in SO long, and it gave me just the creative burst I've been needing. I made six layouts and 1 card--I don't think I have ever used a kit quite so thoroughly. It was nice not to have to think about what to use, I think it enabled me to get a little more creative than usual...

The AC chalkboard stickers are so fun!

The pics are instagrams from our 5th anniversary back in September--they're the first I've ordered from Postal Pics, love them!

Here are a couple layouts from our apple picking adventure at the beginning of October--I got a lotta mileage out of the pictures I took that day!

And a page with pics from Easter:

Let's just take a moment of silence for Sassafrass' beautiful patterned paper designs...

You will be missed, Sassafrass, you will be missed.

Okay, moving along. This last one is my fave, more instagram pics of my twinnies: She's the Peanutbutter, He's the Jelly.

I'm loving the Pink Paislee mistable scallop trim, yummo!

And because I couldn't throw away the pretty scraps--the card:

Phew, I think I got my money's worth outta that kit! Thanks for stopping by :)

Paper Pumpkins

2011-10-12T09:00:00.012-04:00

The following post is a re-do of my previous Paper Pumpkins post, that I created for a guest post at Everyday is a Celebration, a blog check in at regularly for ideas and inspiration! All October she is posting awesome Halloween inspiration, make sure you check out the other posts!

These super cute paper pumpkins are a cinch to whip up:

1. Punch or hand cut about 10-12 circles from your patterned paper. I used a 3" punch for my smaller pumpkins, and traced a lid for the larger round one.

2. Fold your circles in half, making sure that the side that you ultimately want to show is folded in.

3. Coat one side of your folded circle with glue (use a strong, quick drying liquid adhesive like Glossy Accents), then put another folded circle on top.

4. Repeat with remaining circles, until you have a stack of semi circles. Glue the last half circle to the first half circle so that you have your pumpkin shape.

5. Cut off about 1/4 of an inch from the bottom of your semi-circle if you want your pumpkin to stand. You can do this before gluing, as in the step-by-step photos above, or all at once at the end, as seen here.

5. I used Stickles (glitter glue) along the edges of one of the pumpkins for a finishing touch.

6. For the taller pumpkin, I drew the shape on a 6x6 piece of patterned paper. Then, I folded it in half, cut it out out, and used that shape to trace 11 more just like it.

7. Finally, it's fun to get creative using brads, pipe cleaners, ribbon, and leaves to embellish your pumpkins. I like the way each of mine came out differently!

Thanks for reading! You can see more of my ideas for Halloween here--and I'll be posting more through the month. If you make some paper pumpkins, leave me a link in the comments--I'd love to see them!

Also, check out Paper Issue's October Linky Party--tons of great Halloween Inspiration to be found there--AND there are prizes!!

I took new pics...

2011-10-05T14:23:00.001-04:00

Of those 2 layouts in the previous post, man what a difference!

and a close up:

I have a couple more layouts to share, now that I have finally gotten around to taking pictures of them!

D. grew this beard the first few months after the babies came home. It got crazy looking, and I love that pic of Peter's tiny fist clenching it!

Chloe on her last day of pre-school last year. She was so cute playing with her little classmates, I love that she made such good friends!

My parents gave us a little picnic table this summer, and it was the best for eating outside (and made for MUCH less cleaning up afterward)! Chloe learned the term 'al fresco' from a Fancy Nancy book, and it was cute to hear her say it.

This is my favorite of the bunch--I just love the pic of Sadie, and had fun just playing around with various bits and pieces...I lifted the title from a page I saw in Scrapbook Trends.

I took a couple of quick iphone pics...

2011-09-30T15:43:00.000-04:00

...because the pages for the last Stretch you Sketches challenge are due today, and things are too chaotic around here to bring out the camera and upload/edit photos!

Here's my page for Sketch #11:

I rotated the sketch, and added a couple of layers...this picture really doesn't do it any justice--I really need to take a better photo!

And here's my page for Sketch #12:

I expanded the grid, and reversed the title and the journaling. Used EP Happy Days--totally fun line with such bright, happy colors!

Thanks for looking!

Tree Hugger

2011-09-16T09:00:00.042-04:00

That's the newest theme at Paper Issues, although I keep thinking it's "Got Wood?" Here's a wood-veneer mini-album I made, using BG and pictures from my failed Project 52 Weeks effort.

I just love the wood grain! It's an album from Chatterbox I got a few years ago...do they even exist anymore? The BG line is Junebug. I have been hoarding it until just the right moment...

Imagine how huge this would have been if I had completed all 52 weeks! See, there's always an upside to leaving things undone ;)

Thanks for stopping by!

Sketch Inspirations

2011-09-12T09:00:00.003-04:00

Paper Issues is the sponsor for the latest sketch at Sketch Inspirations! Here's my take on the fabulous sketch:

Have a great day!

You Are Beautiful...

2011-08-31T08:54:00.000-04:00

I did this layout using a sketch from the Elle's Studio blog. It was quite a challenge for me, all those little layers and white space. I didn't use a single piece of patterned paper, which is basically unheard of! There are lots of Elle's tags (I just love the title one!) and Sassafrass stickers, plus a little mist and bazzil swiss-dot. It looks like it shoulda taken me about 5 minutes to slap down, but it was actually a couple hours. Phew!

Thanks for stopping by...

Really Big Wheel

2011-08-22T13:41:00.001-04:00

Another layout for the "Let's Ride" theme at Paper Issues, again using Toy Box from Crate Paper. I scrapped an Instagram pic of Peter checking out a huge tractor wheel at the farm. I love that little chipboard tractor--it sparkles! I did some watercolor paint splatters, that's new for me. My husband said it looks like I bled on the paper. Nice, huh.

This next layout is also Crate Paper, but from the Emma's Shoppe line.

I had fun stitching all over the place on this one. I figure if I am going to haul my sewing machine out of the closet to sew on a layout I might as well go to town. This song has been stuck in my head since I made the page, like a week ago. Now it's probably stuck in yours. Talking 'bout....my girl, my girl.

Let's Ride

2011-08-22T13:30:00.001-04:00

New theme "Let's Ride" is up at Paper Issues...I made this page using Crate Paper's Toy Box. I love all the boyish goodies. It's fun having a boy...it cracks me up that he's obsessed with cars already at 21 months! So typical...

I used Stretch you Sketches sketch #10.

Makin a Splash

2011-08-03T09:57:00.000-04:00

That's the theme this go-round at Paper Issues, come link up and you might be featured!

I made a layout using Basic Grey's Lime Rickey (and a bit o' Sass), and pictures of my youngest daughter playing in the sprinkler. Both of my girls are part fish...they seriously LOVE the water!

And it's a double-pager!

Thanks for stopping by, have a great Wednesday :)

More Scrapbook Pages!

2011-07-30T10:10:00.000-04:00

Check it out, I have 7 more pages to share! I told you I was on a roll...Most of these I did while up at the lake--having a limited amount of supplies at my fingertips def. made these go much quicker. I used primarily collection kits so the matching was already taken care of, a total timesaver!

These two are Crate Paper's Toy Box collection. I also lifted the designs from a couple of layouts in April's Scrapbook Trends.

And here we have Echo Park's For the Record--what a fabulously versatile line! The pictures were from a photo gift I made for my DH and FIL for Father's Day--I made that giant alphabet block by scanning an itty-bitty wooden one, then printing out the sides and gluing them onto a cardboard box..

Another EP...I'm going to use up every last scrap of those goodies, I tell ya!

I almost forgot about this one...Cosmo Cricket Jack's World...an oldie but a goodie! And I used it to scrap this cutie-patootie pic of Sadie...doncha' just love that grin?!

And finally, one I made for Studio Calico's Sunday Sketch--awesome inspo from that site, as always :)

Some SC bits, and more CC.

Thanks for looking!

I'm on a roll...

2011-07-27T21:16:00.002-04:00

I got back into the scrappin-swing after ten days up at the lake. And I've managed to carry it through even after being home 3 days! It's been a long dry spell, so it felt good to be creative, and to dream in patterned papers again.

I used a few sketches to keep the mojo flowing, the first 2 came from Ella's Publishing Co, a great source of inspiration!

Here's the first one:

I combined two Crate Paper lines: Emma's Shoppe and Paper Dolls--perfect for my two little Sweeties :)

And the second one:

More Emma's Shoppe from Crate...I love it so much I'm ordering more!

I found more inspo on the Elle's Studio blog, with their Take Out Tuesday challenge:

Some older Cosmo Cricket, and pics from last fall.

I'm linking up at Paper Issues--we're having a Life is Sweet linky party!

Play Canopy Tent from Repurposed Curtains

2011-07-13T09:00:00.004-04:00

Chloe saw this fairy play tent in a catalog ($198!!) and asked for it for her bday...I thought it looked like something I could make. When I found this tutorial on 2 Little Hooligans, I knew I'd be able to give it a shot.

I cut up two old curtain "scarves" that I had on hand, as well as a couple of valances I wasn't using any more, and added some ribbon, flowers and a hula-hoop.

Not bad for $10, right?!?

We had a Fishie Birthday Party!

2011-07-12T09:43:00.001-04:00

Chloe is Four!!

I can't believe it's been four years since my life changed so completely--Chloe made her appearance at 8:29 on June 21, 2007, and suddenly, I was a Mama. She requested a "Fishie" party this year, and I was happy to collaborate with MIL and D. on activities for the party...Planning for just a few of her friends from pre-school and family, we all took the theme in a slightly different direction.

Food was simple--goldfish crackers in a glass fishbowl, candy sushi--which was a huge hit w/the adults--(idea from here), and a watermelon shark (another great idea I found here)!

I was too frantic to take and good pics before or during the party, but I used Pink Paislee's Soiree Flags and Baker's Twine for the table labels,

...as well as for these homegrown wildflower vases (woohoo for finding another use for the babyfood jars!)!

The cute sea-life theme images were a free digital download from here--I recolored them to fit my scheme.

I re-did the front door wreath I made for Leah's shower for the party, using more PP Soiree:

Check out the awesome ship D. constructed from cardboard and an old sheet--the kiddos loved it, and it was so cool that the playset served as the end of the boat.

We also had a photo-booth type set up, using this awesome background my MIL painted. The sharp-toothed fish came off, and the kids could choose him or the octopus to pose as. All the other creatures were held on with velcro, so they could be rearranged.

We took pictures of everyone, then had them decorate a frame with sea-life themed stickers which they took home. We included the photos in the thank you notes.

We had a little fishing pool as well, with paper-clipped paper fish and a magnet fishing pole, and all of the sea-life stuffed animals I could round up from the toy bins. I made some felt fishie bean bags for a beanbag toss that never really happened.

D. and I planned a treasure hunt that had the kids figuring out clues that led them all over the yard, and finally to their party-favor treasure: a tiny sand pail containing swedish fish, a squirt gun and those plastic sea creatures you get in the tubes.

Hiding out in the treasure chest after the loot was found.

Finally...the cake! I always end up trying to frost w/buttercream in the summer, and I think I finally learned my lesson that it just doesn't work in the heat/humidity! I think it turned out cute nonetheless, and Chloe couldn't have been more pleased :)

So...that's about it. A great time celebrating my fabulous four-year-old, who I hope will stay little just a little while longer!

P.S. Paper Issues is having a Life is Sweet linky party, where I've linked up my table labels--you should check it out!

Emma's Shoppe

2011-04-25T12:00:00.001-04:00

I used a sketch from the Crate Paper blog to make this first layout. It's hard to see, but Sadie's 2 little bottom teeth are just poking through in these pictures. She got her teeth so early compared to the other two kiddos!

Chloe on her first day of pre-school this past year. Love those polka-dots pattern papers--crate has the best designs!

Stash Bustin'

2011-04-13T10:30:00.000-04:00

Sassafrass Bungle in the Jungle

I'm using up some older supplies--gotta make room for the new! This is Sadie on her 1st birthday. Can't believe it has been almost 6 months since then!

Sassafrass Bungle in the Jungle

And, of course, Peter on the same day :)

October Afternoon Seaside

Another beach layout using OA. Love that plaid and polka dots!

It's Raining Babies!

2011-04-11T11:00:00.000-04:00

Yay for Baby Showers! The big event was this past weekend (ok, 2 weekends ago...I'm a slow blogger!), and was a total blast...About 35 people gathering to celebrate a new little one arriving sometime in May. I was excited to finally hang my pennant bunting (I showed a few peeks of it back in early February), and then give it to the Mama-to-be to hang in the baby's nursery.

The shower's theme was "turquoise and yellow polka dots with elephants"--kinda random, but I got the idea from talking to Leah about her ideas for the nursery early on, and just ran with it. Once the invites were finalized, I had so much fun pulling together all the other little elements for the party.

The cardstock and envelopes were purchased from Paper Source (color: Pool), along with the handmade paper and template I used to line the envelopes. Digital elements for the invite came from Jessica Sprague, and I designed the invite using Photoshop Elements.

This wreath greeted guests at the front door. After I hung it, I added a couple canvas flowers dyed to match the clothing, but I didn't remember to take a picture.

I used stickers to mask off the polka dots and the letter before I sprayed the pieces with glimmer mist. Then I added the bits of (adorable Maya Road) trim and ribbon using Beacon's fabri-tac.

Doncha love that 'A' for Annabelle!?!

Mantel decorations...I made a giant paper-accordian flower out of wrapping paper, but it was too floppy when I put the halves together, so I used half here and half in the window. The ruffled swag and polka-dotted tables clothes were all sewn from a twin set of sheets. I couldn't find anything at the fabric store I liked, so when I spotted this at Target, I grabbed it hoping I'd have enough fabric for everything.

I made a kajillion of these little accordion flowers, they came out so cute, I couldn't stop! Here's a trick I discovered. Scoring the cheap-o cardstock often left me with rips in the flowers at the folds, so before I folded them, I backed them with masking tape. That way they were nice and sturdy, and you couldn't even tell from the front!

The buckets were from the dollar spot at Target, and I added the polka dots using a white paint pen. The little felt elephant guys were from a package of MS stickers I found on clearance at Michael's, there were birds and whales in the package too. I used white vintage (oo-lala) buttons in the buckets to hold the flowers up.

This was one of my favorite parts of the shower--for a guest book, I used this book of advice written from a mother to her baby daughter (the author's blog, Prudent Baby, is one of my favorite stops on the interweb).

The instructions ask guests to choose a piece of advice from the book to highlight for Leah and her baby. I think everyone really enjoyed leafing through the pages, finding something that resonated with them, and leaving a little note for Leah and later Annabelle to discover.

These were the favors. Leah and I made a brown sugar scrub (recipe found here), and packaged it up in baby food jars topped with fabric scraps from the bunting. The tags read "From Leah's Shower to Yours" I know I'm the biggest dork for getting such a kick out of this, but I am secure in my dorkitude, really. The adorable mini-clothespins (also on the wreath) I found at iparty.

This was an activity I found here, and had to copy! It couldn't be more perfect for the Mama-to-be, who is an artist and all-around creative soul, to have this momento of drawings for her babe. I wasn't sure what people's responses would be, but it was a hit!

I didn't take pictures of the finished product, but everyone's page looked super cute, and I found the perfect 8x8 mini-scrapbook to slip all the pages into.

This is my last thing to share (congrats for making it this far, if you're still here)! I used my scallop pinch on these to make really simple napkin rings--it was the easiest thing to do, and I got so many compliments for it! So if you're having an elephant-themed baby shower, and want to print these out, they're all yours! Just click on the image to make it bigger before you save it to your desktop and print it out!

Don't forget to check out my bff's blog for more pics of the shower, and check out her awesome challenges!

I'm working furiously

2011-04-05T15:05:00.000-04:00

...on a post about the yellow-and-turquoise-polka-dot-elephant themed baby shower I hosted this past weekend, but it's not quite ready yet! In the meantime, the mama-to-be shared her favorite bits over at her blog, Creative Every Day.

Blog Hop winner!

2011-04-04T21:07:00.001-04:00

Yeah, sorry that I am a little late. My laptop power supply quit on me (for the 3rd time!) and I had a super busy (baby shower! birthday party!) weekend, so I have a pretty good excuse, no?

So, without further ado, Tami (Pixeltrash), you are my winner! I can't find your email address attached to your profile, so please get in touch (sukeydookiedoo (at) yahoo (dot) com)!


52 Week Project--Week 14, I think (I have been pretty sporadic with these, but I'm TRYING, dangnabbit.)

By the Sea Shore mini-album

2011-03-28T10:38:00.001-04:00

Happy Monday! I just wanted to say a quick welcome to my new followers: thank you for all your kind comments--they really mean a lot to me!! Over the next week or so I will be trying to stop by and say hello--one of my favorite parts of blogging is finding new blogs to follow and meeting new creative people myself. If you haven't already, be sure to comment on the post below for a chance to win in the blog hop--and visit the other blogs on the hop for more prizes :)

I want to share a mini-album and layout I made using October Afternoon's Seaside line--one of my new favorites. I know it isn't a brand-new line, but I only recently bought it, after coveting it for months and months, and I love it in person just as much as in pictures! The papers and stickers are perfect for these photos I have from last summer at the beach. (You can click on any of the following pictures to make them bigger)

I'm sending this album to my amazing Grammie (in the pictures) while she's in Florida for the winter--she's as sweet and loving to her 10 great-grandchildren as she was to her 6 grandchildren, and we can't wait for her to come home later this spring!

I made a layout with the same line--kept it simple as well:

Thanks for stopping by! I'm linking this up to Paper Issues favorites linky party--have you posted your fave yet?

Paper Issues Blog Hop!

2011-03-19T09:00:00.003-04:00

Welcometo Paper Issues' first-ever blog hop! You should have arrived here from Jackie Weeks' fabulous blog--if not, head on over to Michelle Hernandez's happenin' bit of blogland to start from the beginning! Our theme is Favorite Things, and we're having a linky-party, so get ready to play favorites :)

A few details on the hop:

All the participants will be from the Paper Issues Creative Team (some of them are on Design Teams for some really great manufacturers)
You can win a RAK on my blog (2 8x8 SEI paper pads!) simply by leaving a comment
Many of the blogs participating have *giveaways*
Blog Hop starts at March 19th 9:00am EST and the cutoff for comments is April 2nd
You can win a fantastic Crate Paper Paper Issues Kit by leaving a comment on the Paper Issues blog after the hop starts

Alrighty then! Here's my layout using a few of my current "favorites":

OK, who am I kidding, this is almost ALL from Echo Park's For the Record collection...I am loving every last bit and piece of that line! Plus a couple other faves: cute & funky buttons, baker's twine, notebook punch, and iphone instagram pics! What are your current favorite collections? Do you have favorite products that you return to again and again? Share in the comments below, and I could pick you to receive 2 brand new 8x8 S.E.I. paper pads! Here's another layout I made using For the Record (told you I can't get enough!):

This is the end of the road for Team Papers' hop, but if you want to go on another adventure, head on over to the multi-talented and super sweet Chris Aiton's awesome blog for even more eye candy! And don't forget to link-up/leave a comment at Paper Issues--there's an awesome prize up for grabs! so get moving!

October Afternoon Altered Memo Board

2011-03-18T10:30:00.001-04:00

I'm sharing one of my October Afternoon projects I made a while back, made using this picture frame/memo board I found on clearance at Michael's:
I simply painted and distressed the fame, then covered the left half (the memo board part) using Farm Fresh patterned papers and Mod Podge.
To make the magnets, I covered the Farm Fresh cardstock stickers in Glossy Accents, then adhered a magnet to the back. They curled and subsequently cracked quite a bit--if I was doing this again, I would use chipboard instead of coardstock.
I made the fence and frame around the word 'messages' out of distressed and crackled Popsicle sticks, and used craft glue to hold them together.
Inside the frames, I layered the Farmfresh journaling cards and patterned paper under my pictures. It's easy to change out the pictures--guess a photo-op trip to the farm is in order!

And there you have it, a cute piece to display pictures and use as a memo board!

I'm Baaaaaaack (Weeks 9 and 10)

2011-03-16T10:06:00.000-04:00

It was a whirlwind of a trip, but SO nice to get away! And scrap! And hang with awesome peeps! I even got to sleep in...sigh...so nice! I am constantly amazed by the genuine people I have met through scrapbooking online. I know when it comes to the interweb, you have to take everything with a grain of salt (what that means exactly, I dunno)--I mean it's so easy to present aspects of self that aren't necessarily 100% accurate, but I swear I lucked out--won the lottery--when it comes to this crew (and including others who weren't there in person, but defintely in spirit!). My heartfelt thanks to these four lovely ladies for a fantastic and much needed mini-adventure!

Hopefully some of their pics came out good, because I am pathetic at taking photos and only took 4. With my phone. And one was of my thumb (you'll see what I mean in a bit).

So, I have hit a wall with 52 Week Project, and have been having a tough time with these self-portraits. I hate myself in photos, and I'm not a very good photographer, so I'm a little bit at my wits end...should I continue? What are my goals for this anyways? How can I make it a meaningful project for me, and forget about meeting unrealistic expectations for what my photos look like? I'm still pondering...but in the meantime, here's Week's 9 and 10:

Yeah...meh, I know. I wanted to do a cool eye-shot. This is okay...I guess I need to be okay with okay, but it's hard for me. I like to be good at stuff, or I don't like doing it. Which has actually kept me from doing a lot of things I like to do. But that's a conversation for the couch, I guess!

And...there's the thumb, lol. This was waiting for my flight out of Baltimore. I wanted to document my solo trip, since it's a big deal in my world! I walked around the gate, trying to find something reflective, but no such luck. Which brings me to picture #4 from my trip:

Like I said, I hope someone's pictures came out!

Finally, I have a couple layouts to share:

Thanks for stopping by! Come back Saturday--Paper Issues is doing a Blog Hop, and oh yes, there will be prizes :)

Slacker...

2011-03-11T15:00:00.000-05:00

Pictures for Weeks 9 and 10 are still on my camera, and I haven't been in a mood to do much output here on the blog...But I am super excited that for the first time since I was preggo with the twins, I am getting away for a little me-time. With some awesome crafty chicas, I might add! Like this one, and this one, and this one, and this one! Can't wait to get in that cab tomorrow morning at the a$$crack of dawn and be on my way!

Here's some baby-love while I'm gone...although I guess we're officially at toddler-dom at this point (when does that happen, exactly? 15 months? 18 months?).

Week 8

2011-02-24T16:21:00.000-05:00

We had a fab long weekend here at Casa Loca--even managed to sneak in a one-night getaway for me and D.--courtesy of BOTH sets of g-parents babysitting the littles! This was a BIG deal because it's the first night we've had away since well before I had the twins--and so it was also the first night away the babies had from both of us. We all survived, even better, we THRIVED with being able to have some time off from being parents, and the chance to sleep in, and have (multiple) conversations that weren't cut short/interrupted/sidetracked by needy kids.

This weeks self-portrait is D and I on the beach where we stayed overnight. We're dressed crazy because it was FREEZING, so I played with the colors in the photo a bit to give it a 70's feel since our clashing plaids just look insane.

A few more shots from the same 'shoot:'

I had more fun with Instagram on my iphone on the same trip...

Thanks for stopping by!

Technical Difficulties...

2011-02-19T16:48:00.000-05:00

Here are the rest of the layouts I meant to put in my last post. If blogger wasn't being such a &^%$#!

Equal opportunity for each twin, you know...2 for Peter and 2 for Sadie!

Scrappy

2011-02-19T15:14:00.003-05:00

I have gotten a few more pages completed. I am also chugging through some older kits that I have been hanging onto. I feel so overwhelmed by all the supplies sometimes, and now with all the new goodies being released, I am super-feeling the urge to use stuff up! I am not a hoarder, but I'm a little disorganized and so I don't always know what I have. Plus it's not stored in an easily accessible way (my crafty room is currently also a baby-napping room twice a day), so if I want to work during nap time I gotta grab stuff and bring it to another part of the house. Not always easy when there are 3 little ones underfoot. And a hubby who likes to be able to see the top of our dining room table...

These two I made using a kit full of boyish papers I bought before Peter was even born. I was excited to have a reason to buy something other than girlie-pink and flowers!

I used the most recent sketch from the Sketchabilities blog to do this layout--I love using sketches to jumpstart my creativity when I haven't done much scrapping in a while!

The 'Happy Guy' page above I created using sketch #65 from Inspired Blueprints--a great, new-to-me site that has fabulous sketches and examples (and awesome guest designers...)!

Week 7--Happy V-day

2011-02-14T14:52:00.000-05:00

Happy Valentines Day!

I saw this idea for using a paper towel tube to shoot through this morning, and thought I'd give it a try! Love how the heart shape frames the pic, here's a few more:

And I couldn't resist sharing these:

Hope your day is all kinds of sweet!

Week 6

2011-02-11T09:40:00.001-05:00

I was feeling a bit guilty, because I had pics with my girls already, but none with Peter. So although this isn't a favorite, (and I'm finding they rarely are) it will do for week 6. Another iphone hipstamatic. Love how the gritty filter looks with the chain-link fence behind us.

He's such a funny kid...it's hard to tell which of his characteristics are actual personality traits and which are gender-specific. You can't see it in this pic, but he had at least 3 bruises on his face from crawling/falling into things. He is pretty fearless physically; more than once I have found him perched on something or trying to climb up something not the least bit stable. But when it comes to interpersonal stuff, he's a little softy. Loves hugs and will snuggle right in with me or D. or any of his grandparents. However, when it comes to strangers, he is totally leery. Typical for this age (almost 15 months!), I know, but his twin is the exact opposite. Really timid in her motor stuff, but super confident when it comes to people...it will be interesting to see how they evolve!

I have a few more iphone pics...almost none of which have me in them, because really, that's what I prefer. And why the challenge at 52 week Project is just that for me: A Challenge.

LOVE these of Chloe and her cupcake :)

D. at the bar...this cracks me up!

A few more shots from the indoor playspace. I brought the twins there ALL BY MYSELF on Monday. It was a challenge. Especially when I had to go to the ladies' room. But we survived, and had fun!

Yay me. Thanks for stopping by, and have a great weekend!

P.S. A friend introduced me to Instagram. So fun! I'm there under my first name...and looking for friends to follow!

Will wonders never cease...

2011-02-06T16:06:00.000-05:00

I made 2 scrapbook pages! So excited, it's been a little while and I was starting to feel overwhelmed with all the pics and supplies. So I just dove in, brought a few (select) materials out to the dining room table, and started sticking stuff down. I recently organized all the pics I have printed, sorting them by season and pulling out the ones that I want to scrap, so this makes it a little easier to find what I'm looking for or just to pull out a photo and go. I put the "scrap-worthy" pics into an accordion file sorted by person/event. I think it's going to be so much better than rifling through a mountain of prints, or hundreds of shots on my computer. Yay!

Kinda wish I hadn't used black thread on this one, but oh well. I had some scraps of this SEI Dill Blossom paper that I love (I'm pretty sure it's the big flowered pattern started my very first love affair with paper), and thought the colors went pretty well with this pic of Chloe from last fall.

More pics of Chloe from last fall (can you tell which section of the accordion file I opened to?), and Jenni Bowlin papers and embellishments.

And I finished the baby shower invites, LOVE how these turned out! (Names/addresses have been blurred to protect the innocent:)

Next I'll start making tags and paper decorations for the party--weeeee!

Valentiney Paint Can

2011-02-02T12:43:00.000-05:00

I had this empty paint can sitting around, and all this BG valentiney paper, so I decided to make a place for love notes. A little cheesy, I know, but I thought it could be a fun tradition to start with Chloe, Peter, and Sadie to make the holiday a little more meaningful.

I figured we'd collect nice things over the month, then read the out loud on Valentine's Day. Share the love... Do you have any V-day traditions with your families?

And if you guessed bunting on my last post, you were right! It's for a friend, but I love it so much I just may have to make myself one as well!

I used the directions on Make It Do, and it came out great, don't you think?!?

Week 5

2011-02-01T11:00:00.000-05:00

Another timer shot with my point and shoot...I tried a couple full-length shots, but just wasn't feeling them!

I have been sewing up a storm--here's a sneak peek:

Can you guess what I am making?

Door Heart

2011-01-31T10:51:00.000-05:00

It feels like we're basically encased in this:

Everyone is getting a little stir crazy, even Mooshi the cat:

So, happily, I have gotten crafty! I'm not normally a big Valentine's fan, but after seeing Chloe get so excited about the Christmas decorations, I figured a little V-day cheer couldn't hurt...

I made this out of cardboard, felt, glitter, lace and more SEI paper. And the glue gun, of course.

I think it will look great hanging on our front door--maybe even warm things up a bit!

Thanks for stopping by!

Week 4

2011-01-26T19:08:00.001-05:00

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As weeks go, this one has kicked my ass. Full blown stomach bug for me and D. and all 3 kiddos. Thankfully we had lots of help, and the illnesses were spread out enough so that it was never all 5 of us at the same time. D and I still haven't fully recovered--I don't know if it's from the shock of it all (Little kids and throwing up. It is. That. Bad.), or if it's from some lingering germ waiting to hook it's vicious little claws deeper into our rocked immune systems. Blech.

So, needless to say, nothing crafty, although I have been having fun figuring our some more ins-and-outs of PSE while I work on a Baby Shower Invitation for my nearest-and-dearest. And plotting and planning for that soiree has taken up a bit of my head space (what little there is) as well.

This week's self portrait: Hipstamatic iphone app again, me and Sadie looking woefully bedraggled and wan.

She's just darling, isn't she? And because I can't just post one, here's my second fave from our 'photo-shoot' (ha):

Fuzzier than the first, I know....It's hard holding a baby and your phone while pointing it your own faces and groping for the picture button on the screen. You try it.

I got inspired...

2011-01-18T10:23:00.003-05:00

...by some paper a friend sent to me, and made this for my niece:

A banner for her room, using chipboard butterflies and the seemingly-everywhere accordion flowers.

Even if they are everywhere, I love them anyways, especially when doily-lace-edged (yay for new punches) and layered with ruffled crepe paper!

Isn't the patterned paper pretty? I'm not usually a big V-day product fan, but this line from SEI, called "With All My Heart" is really pretty, with a great color combo (pink+orange=love)

Anyways, my niece just turned five, she's totally into princesses and faeries, I tried to go all girlie and flowery for her (not my usual style) I hope she likes it!!

I'm linking this up at Paper Issues--check out all the awesome inspo over there, good stuff! Thanks for stopping by!

Week 3

2011-01-18T08:00:00.000-05:00

Yeah, my hand looks weird hanging out there holding my camera...Looks like I have a ways to go perfecting the art of the mirror shot! Chloe and I are on our way outside...the day after the blizzard, and out house looks like this:

Luckily for me, I have a little snow bunny on my hands, and Chloe can't get enough time outside!

Week 2

2011-01-11T22:14:00.001-05:00

A couple things... I realized if I just use my cell phone, I can't use my timer. And I don't comb my hair / put on makeup enough in a given week to be taking face shots, lol! So this week's pic is me, in my pretty much daily uniform of jeans, hoodie, and fuzzy socks. What you can't see, obviously, is my uncombed hair and baggy eyes, you're welcome. I used a couple of actions in PSE to spice things up, I wish I knew more about adding textures, because i think that's be cool here. Here's the shot before I picked up all the toys--a bit more true to life, but I like the above one better for some reason.

Thanks for stopping by!

52 Weeks Project

2011-01-06T10:14:00.000-05:00

In 2009 I tried making a weekly scrapbook page, and that did alright, but I fizzled out around October. This past year I knew I'd be lucky to have any monthly crafting time, much less weekly, so I didn't even try. So for 2011, when I saw 52 Week Project, I thought I'd give it a go. Then, when I read about Chez-burger's idea of taking the weekly pics using her cell phone, I realized I had a way to make it even easier on myself!

So, without further ado, my first self-pic for 2011:

I used the Hipstamtic app on my i-phone. Thought I'd do a fresh-clean-pic right outta the shower, for a fresh clean start to the new year :)

And here's a bonus pic, because I though it was fun with the mirrors:

One week down, 51 to go!

Hearts A-Plenty

2011-01-03T15:00:00.000-05:00

I made this cute garland to decorate for Valentine's day using patterned papers from Theresa Collins, my heart punch, and sewing machine. This tutorial at maya*made explains how to sew paper snowflakes together, it was simple to adapt for the hearts.

Altered T-shirt

2010-12-17T08:00:00.000-05:00

Here are directions for turning a boring t-shirt into something more feminine and trendy, originally posted on the Galblog last April. I've seen tons of similar styles in stores lately, and noticed lots of tutorial cropping up all over the interweb.
Your materials: long-sleeved t-shirt, shears, disappearing pen, needle and matching thread, differently sized circles for tracing.
Step 1: Cut off the sleeves to your shirt. I like a cute cap sleeve; you might want to use a shirt that has sleeves you like to help you decide where to cut. I just eyeballed it, then lined up the first cut sleeve on top of the second to make sure they'd match.
Step 2: Trace your circles using disappearing ink onto your cut-off sleeves. I traced each size twice, then stacked the sleeves and cut through all 4 layers at one, ending with 8 circles of each of the 3 sizes.

Step 3: Layer your circles from smallest to biggest. Notice how messy my cuts are? It doesn't matter one bit!
Step 4 (optional): Make a hat for a cute baby from the remainder of the cut off sleeve. Get totally distracted from project and admire cute baby in cute hat...
Step 5: Find a shirt with a neckline that you like--square, boat, and v-neck all work well. Line up the shoulder seams and trace the neckline onto your t-shirt, then cut it off.
Step 6: Realize other baby needs his hat.
Step 7: Pick up a stack of circles and pinch through all 3 layers, then secure with a few tight stitches, and tie a knot.
Here's the back...
...and the front:
Repeat with remaining stacks:Step 8: Arrange on your t-shirt until you like the design. I ended up sewing the flowers on straight across instead. You can see that I sewed the cut edges of the sleeves and neckline with a zig-zag stitch. Not necessary, but cute nonetheless.
Here's the completed shirt--
And another I made the same way:
Here is the tutorial that inspired me, and here's a recent tutorial at HeyJenRenee.

Let me know if you have questions!

Gingerbread Houses!

2010-12-16T08:00:00.007-05:00

Ok, so they're not really gingerbread, but "graham-cracker-house" just doesn't have the same ring to it! I found this idea on Martha Stewart, and thought it would be simpler than rolling and cutting and baking actual gingerbread, especially given that the attention span we're working with is only that of a 3.5 year old. So I melted chocolate chips in the microwave (I did this instead of royal icing so that I could snack on chocolate-dipped graham crackers while constructing the houses--YUM), then cemented the cracker pieces together in house-estimations.

Then Chloe, my lovely MIL (hi Kitty!!) and I went to town decorating. For this we used royal icing, but I think the icing wasn't quite thick enough, as there was lots of sliding around when it came to sticking the candy on. Most importantly, however, was that lots of taste-testing went on:

(yup, a little bite of tomato, a mouthful of m&m's--Chloe likes it all)

I think they came out cute for a first try--and we have plenty of time to get more elaborate as the architect matures!

Let's Count Mini Book

2010-12-15T08:00:00.000-05:00

Here's another project moved over from the Galblog...I thought it might make a quick and easy handmade present!

I wanted to make a book about numbers for my 3-year-old daughter, and when I looked at all the cute felt animals in my stash, I knew I had just the thing!
The canvas pages meant I could attach the letters and numbers by stitching through them on my sewing machine--this way I know curious fingers won't be able to pull them off! I also used Fabri-Tac to glue down the felties more securely, after taking off the foam adhesive circles first.
I sewed front and back of one page at the same time, and then glued on the felties afterward. I was thrilled to be (finally) using up the numbers from my thicker packages!
I think she likes it, don't you?

Paper cone trees

2010-12-14T08:00:00.011-05:00

I needed something festive go up on the mantel. I have seen some awesome paper/glitter/yarn trees on the internets this season, but I am too lazy and cheap to make any of those involving lots of cutting/curling/buying cones for the base.

So I rolled up some K&Company Yuletide designer Christmas paper, stapled and embellished. I was going to top them off with glimmer mist, but that seemed like too much effort.

Wa-la! Instant Christmas-cone-tree-mantel-decor.

Never mind that both my husband and my mother thought they were supposed to be party hats...some people just don't get it! I'm linking this up at Paper Issues Holiday Hook Up linky party, cuz it rocks.

Felted sweater leftovers

2010-12-13T11:10:00.000-05:00

After making the felted stockings, I had a whole mess of scraps leftover that I couldn't bear to throw away. I decided to make a couple different things, but I have only completed one so far! I started by trimming my scraps into circles, seen above. Just eyeball it, they don't have to be perfect. Make sure you have comfy scissors, because although it's easy, it can be hard on your hands (especially if you're a lefty using made-for-righty scissors).

The next part was Chloe's job, stringing the circles onto light-weight wire. She and I chatted while I cut and she threaded...some good Mama/daughter crafty time there. This is what I did to the wire to make it safer and sturdier for her three-year-old hands:

Can you see how I bent the wire back on itself and tightly twisted it together? Now the end is more rounded than pokey, but still small enough to go through the felt with ease. I had to straighten it out a few times, but other than that Chloe managed on her own....she even chose to add a few jingle bells along the wire interspersed with the felt circles, really cute!

But then, I did a very bad crafty-mama move: I took the entire thing apart and re-did it! I know, I know, but once Chloe had finished stringing all the circles I realized it made too dense and heavy a garland for our little tree. The garland above is the re-done one. I folded each circle in quarters, then poked the wire through the doubled-up corner. And since Chloe had no interest in helping with version number two (can't say I blame her) I used a needle and it came together super fast!

She did help me add some jingle bells, though, so I can still say we made it together, right?!?

Felted Sweater Stockings

2010-12-10T14:08:00.000-05:00

I have been busy making recycled stockings from old sweaters, it takes a long time when you have FIVE family members! I love the way they turned out, and the way they look hanging on our mantle. It's hard to see, but D. created a very clever way to hang the stockings without putting any holes or adhesive on our solid cedar mantle! I love having a crafty husband :) So here they are, in no particular order:

the tree

stars

snowman

snowflakes--up close

and from afar

...and finally, this little birdie

Here they are all lined up along the mantle, with our sweet Christmas tree!

Oh, and one more, I made for a gift exchange--I hope she likes it!

Quick Gift Idea

2010-12-08T12:00:00.000-05:00

Everyone knows Hambly Screen Prints makes great rub-ons, but have you tried their clear stickers? I used the multi-colored doilies to jazz up this floating frame with black and white pics:

The stickers are a breeze to apply, and I was even able to reposition them a few times. I love the bright colors, and the way they float right overs the pictures!

Paper Star Tutorial

2010-12-07T19:15:00.000-05:00

When I saw Basic Grey's adorable Eskimo Kisses line, I couldn't resist making a holiday decoration that I could enjoy all season! Using just a few simple supplies, these stars are a cinch to whip up, and look really cute whether hanging from a window or resting on the mantle!
Materials: Patterned paper (I used 6x6 sheets), wet adhesive (like Zip-dry), ruler or straight edge, bone folder, your computer and printer, an embellishment for the center (I used the BG brads, but these would look cute too), and thread (optional).Step 1: Copy the above image and print it onto the back of your patterned paper. I resized it to fit the 6x6 paper, but you can experiment to make your stars either bigger or smaller. Mine came out about 10 inches across. For each star you'll need 6 of these templates printed out.

Step 2: Cut out the template--using my guillotine trimmer, I was able to cut 3 at a time.
Step 3: Score the template using a ruler and your bone folder. I did two at a time, making sure all the edges stayed aligned. Note that I made the little cut between the two angled flaps, as shown in the picture above, using my scissors and not the trimmer.
Then fold along the score lines, again using the bone folder for crisp folds.
Step 4: Apply the wet adhesive to the patterned side of the longer flap, and glue it to the opposite edge, holding in place with your fingers for a few seconds to assure everything stays lined up. Let this point dry while you score, fold and glue your next point.

Step 5: The above picture shows the two smaller flaps, which you'll use to glue one point to the next. I assembled all of my points first before gluing them together, or you may want to build the star as you go.
Here are all of the points ready to be glued together...
Apply your glue to both of the smaller flaps, then tuck these under the edges of the next point and hold in place for a few seconds
Here you can see where the two points are glued together...
Another view.
Step 6: Apply the glue to add the third point.
Before adding the third point, I added a loop of thread to hang the star from, making sure that when I adhered this point to the others, the thread remained on the outside (see below).

Step 7: Before gluing your star together completely, add the brad to the center.
Note: Other directions call for just five points, but this is what I got when only using five--I couldn't close the gap! So I highly recommend going with six, unless you want this wide opening to add a light inside.

Thanks for stopping by--if you decide to give them a shot, be sure to link up your pics so I can see! Let me know if you've got any questions!

Merrily we roll along...

2010-12-05T15:02:00.000-05:00

December is in full swing, and it's beginning to look a bit like Christmas 'round here :) I gotta say, I loved the magic of Christmas as a child, and after a bit of a 'break-up' with C-mas-time during college/twenties (I left her for an anti-consumerism stance) I am loving watching Chloe enjoy the magic. We set up our tree last night, she was so excited by the lights and hanging our first 4 ornaments from the advent calendar, it was so fun!!

A bit about the tree: I love Christmas trees, I love the idea of bringing some of the great outdoors inside, dressing it up, and mixing the magic of nature with tradition. I don't love tree-farming, and the waste of resources involved with cutting down trees. I also don't love the idea of a manufactured plastic tree (not that I am knocking them--they're beautiful in their own right, and sometimes the greenest/most practical choice)...We kicked around the idea of buying a live tree with a root-ball to plant after the holidays, but our yard isn't quite right for that type of tree. So last year we got this little potted fir tree, and it spent the spring/summer/fall outside. David repotted it several times, watered it, and dragged it around the yard to various locations, trying to find just the right balance of sunshine to keep it happy. And here we are, it's our second Christmas with the little guy :)

And this is what I get when I ask D to smile with the tree...mmm, tasty! I don't know how we'll move it in and out once it gets a bit bigger, but for now, it's our answer to the tree-dilemma.

In other festive news, Chloe and I made salt-dough ornaments earlier this week. SO easy and fun! Mix 3 parts flour, 1 part salt, 1.5 parts hot water and knead, roll and cut!

Chloe loves this kind of activity, and I'm looking forward to the day all three of my littles can for participate. For now, we use morning nap time to sneak in a little Mommy-Chloe crafting fun.

We had a lot of dough; after filling to cookie-sheets with cutouts, we experimented with other types of creations--here she is adding beans and lentils to her own design.

They take a long time to bake--about 2 hours on 250...but once they cooled, the painting (and glitter) fun begins! Chloe could paint all day. Only problem is she goes from painting her project to her hands, the table, basically whatever is in reach. I do love her artistic side, though!

They look almost edible, no? Sugar cookies are on the agenda as well!

Thanks for stopping by! Hope your holiday preparations are cheerful!

Christmas Cards

2010-12-04T14:26:00.000-05:00

Shutterfly is giving away 50 free Christmas cards to bloggers!

I have used Shutterfly in the past for everything from Calanders to Thank You Notes to Christmas Cards--it's such an easy way to personalize, and who doesn't love cute pictures of your kids?!? Ok, so I'm a little biased, but with so many design options to choose from, there's something for everyone...

Check out the fab selection of Christmas Cards--here are some I am considering:

I love the ones with places for multiple photos--a must if you have more than one kid and a hard time getting them all to smile (or keep their eyes open)) in the same picture! It's a little overwhelming at first, there are SO many different card styles available. But there's a handy-dandy little search feature that helps you narrow down your choices to exactly what you're looking for. Number of pictures, color, even by designer, you can filter the choices however you want to make finding the perfect card for your family a snap.

Even 'generic' holiday cards are nice--I have a few friends who don't celebrate Christmas who I still want to spread the holiday cheer to!

And how perfect are these desk calendars as gifts for grandparents/aunts/uncles?!

Check it out--and don't forget--if you blog, you can get 50 free cards too, find out how here!

2010-11-24T15:03:00.000-05:00

I bought two pre-designed albums from Making Memories for my twins--great time savers when you don't have a minute to sleep, much less scrap--but I thought the covers needed a little more personalization!
So I thought I would hand sew a few little embellishments for the covers, easy-peasy!
I started with my fabric, embroidery hoop, chipboard letters, and disappearing ink pen (you can find one of these with the sewing notions). Lay out the letters, making sure they all fit, then trace around them. I do one at a time, then sew, because I am a slow sewer, and they'll disappear before I get to them otherwise!
Then just do a simple backstitch over the letters that you trace.
Or, you can do a running stitch all around the letter, then go back and fill in the spots that you missed...sometimes I find this easier!
Then I cut out my completed piece using pinking shears, secured it to a slightly larger piece of felt using a running stitch, embellished with a flower and buttons, and finally glued the whole thing to the front of my album using fabri-tac.
For Peter's, instead of using the chipboard letters, I decided to try a different "font" for his
This went much more quickly, so I was able to write out the entire name at once.
I was having so much fun, I made a heart and star using the same technique!

Much better, don't you think!?! What do you do to make the front of your albums unique?

2010-11-23T14:56:00.003-05:00

I'm moving over posts from the now-defunct Galblog, so that I'll have them all in one place. Here's a mini album I made using some favorite pictures of Chloe last summer.
The Fly a Kite line from October Afternoon is so cheerful and bright--perfect for all those Sweet Summer pics you took the last few summers!

I used a little 6x6 photo album from American Crafts--at $1.50 it was a total steal--you could find something similar at the dollar store! Plus it's so easy to cut your paper to 6x6, stick on your photo and a few flat embellishments, and pop it right into the page protectors. I then placed thicker embellishments on top, so as not make the plastic pages get too bumpy.

Thanks for looking!

Yarn Ball Wreath

2010-11-19T09:49:00.000-05:00

I remember seeing these at Starbucks last year, and thinking I am so all over that....but alas, having newborn twins seriously put a cramp on my Christmas crafting! Fast-forward one year, and I run across this amazing version at life through the lens, and again I think, I am so all over that. And guess what!?!
I did it! It was a super quick project to put together--I could do it even in my sleep-deprived mother-of 1 year-old twins and an energetic 3 year-old sorry state. I mean, it's winding yarn around styrofoam balls! Nothing sharp involved, I even used glittered foam balls in place of the glass ornaments (safety first, folks). Chloe made friends with one of the yarn balls, chatting and cuddling with it. Yep, that's my child, bff with a ball of yarn.
I used yarn from my stash, and cut out a cardboard circle to hot-glue the balls to. So all-in-all, a very thrifty project.
Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Birthday, Sadie & Peter!

2010-11-15T09:57:00.006-05:00

I wanted to do a Raggedy Anne and Andy theme for Peter and Sadie's birthday, but that pretty much got vetoed by David. The compromise, I guess, was their Halloween costumes, and I used red and turquoise for the party colors. Plus A&A manged to sneak in for the picture ;)
I did their hand prints using poster paints (fun, but MESSY!) for the invitations, then scanned them in along with David's lettering, and threw together an invite in PSE. On the back were the party details, printed on colored cardstock.
I made the name banner using scrapbooking papers (from Jenni Bowlin, 7 gypsies, Sassafrass and Bella Blvd) and letters (Pink Paislee), and stapled each circle to the ribbon using my tiny attacher. Love those itty-bitty staples!

The rosettes for the hats I made the same way, and just applied them to store-bought party hats. You can see the ribbon banner I made a while back in the background (tutorial here), another super quick and simple project.

The kids made toilet-paper tube turkeys, I pre-cut the feathers out of sheets of colored foam, and they went to town. I love the one-eyed guy on the right my nephew Jack made.

Here are Peter and Sadie in all their glory, you can see that the hats were not such a big hit :)
Well, I survived my first year as mother-to-twins! I am so glad to be where we are at, Peter and Sadie are on the cusp of so many exciting things--I love them more every day!

The last weekend in October...

2010-11-10T09:14:00.004-05:00

Yes, know it's almost half-way through November, but I wanted to share some pics of a really nice family outing we had to this little spot up the road from where we live:
Yup, it's a farm. In the city. Within walking distance from our house. How lucky are we? It's actually the oldest operating farm in Boston, and we went for a hay ride around the property one sunny Saturday! Here I am holding everyone on the wagon:
Where's Peter, you're wondering...
In the backpack! And Daddy doing double duty, holding both girls:

Check out this lil pumpkin--at 69 cents a pound, she's a total steal!
In our quest for a pic of all three, there were lots like this, always with someone blinking or looking the wrong way, or looking generally perturbed. That Christmas card picture may not happen after all...
This guy got pretty sleepy on my back...
Time to go home for a nap! Thanks for stopping by :)

SEI Necklace

2010-11-10T09:00:00.005-05:00

I was lucky to receive some of SEI's Metal Filigree Accents from the Moonrise collection, and had the idea to make a necklace using a few of the pieces. They are so pretty and delicate, I thought they'd look great on!
I took 3 necklaces (2 chains and 1 beaded) and attached the three ends together on each side.
Then I used a 7-gypsies clip-thingy to attach that to the metal accents, and another one to attach the metal accents to some glittery Prima ribbon. A little hot glue to make sure everything stayed secure, and I was done!
What scrapbooking embellishments are you thinking of wearing?

Catching up...

2010-11-07T09:14:00.003-05:00

Here are few recent layouts--the first one is an iphone picture of me & D that I {heart}
See all those yummy scallops? I used the edges of the Sassafrass papers, and some CI wood veneer paper I used an edge border punch on--the threading water one--which is totally to blame for my current addiction to border punches--it's the gateway punch, lol!

Next up...
Peter and Sadie are my Grammie's 9th and 10th great-grandchildren. We are so blessed to have her in our lives!
Crazy pictures of Chloe at her birthday party--having a blast in the sprinkler. Wearing, of course, her birthday suit!
Birthday card for my awesome mom...
And the mini-album I made for her. Happy Birthday, Mom!

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T20:56:00.005-04:00

Raggedy Andy

Raggedy Anne

Peter and Sadie enjoyed their first Halloween. I don't think they even noticed their costumes all that much. Except for the wigs that I made them wear, but a tasty apple provided just enough distraction that I could snap their pictures before they pulled em off!
I love how a simple thing like an apple makes them so happy. It's baby candy.
Getting good pictures together are much harder...this is the only one where they are both at least looking in the direction of the camera, and not falling off the couch. Not that I'd let them fall off the couch. For a picture.
Chloe was definitely on the fence about the whole Trick or Treating ritual. She went back and forth throughout the past week on whether or not she wanted to go to neighbors houses and ask for candy...but in the end, candy won out!
Our first stop was Pop and Yaya's, and once she got a taste of that first Hershey's bar, she couldn't get to the houses soon enough.
I was thinking we'd exchange her bag o candy at a local toy store that collect Halloween candy for troops overseas, but now I am thinking she won't want to part with any of it.
Hope your Halloween was fun!

SEL Monster Puppets

2010-10-28T12:30:00.004-04:00

I had the chance to play around with SEI's adorable My-Own-Monster die-cuts, and of course Chloe wanted to get in on the action!
Using a recycled cereal box, glue stick, disposable chopsticks (knew I'd been saving those from our countless Sushi take-out orders for something!!) and packing tape, we made little puppets.
So easy, even a 3 year-old can do it!
She had a blast designing her own monsters, picking out facial features and accessories. I used the packing tape over the whole thing to make it a little more sturdy, since Chloe's got a pretty lively imagination and these guys would probably be seeing some action!
Pretty cute, right?!?
Thanks for stopping by :)

More Pumpkins...

2010-10-28T00:01:00.000-04:00

I had the idea to heat emboss on pumpkins, but it turned out terrible--think dripping embossing powder and weird swellings on the pumpkins--not pretty (But I did get a smell reminiscent of pumpkin pie, which was kinda nice)!
So I opted to try a little bling and some rub-ons--much more successful! It was admittedly a little challenging getting the rub-ons to adhere to the pumpkin, and I have heard that cleaning the pumpkin to remove any residue or wax helps the process (of course after I did mine, but good to remember for this year).

Spooky Candelabra

2010-10-27T10:01:00.004-04:00

I rescued this old candlestick holder from the trash, figuring I could breathe new life into it using some scrappy supplies. A few tulle tutus, some Halloweeny Primas, and Maya Road trinket gems, and we have this:

Thanks for stopping by!

11 & a half months!

2010-10-26T00:01:00.001-04:00

Yup, I can't believe it either...Only 2 more weeks until their FIRST birthday!! I gotta get cracking on those party invites :)
These 2 are keeping me busy, now that they're both on the move constantly! Luckily, they love going for walks, so even though it's colder out now, we still can bundle up and get out. Other favorites: taking baths, finger food, Daddy, exploring new places, Mooshi the cat, and the all-time-fave: their big sis. We can hear them talking to one another from their cribs in the morning, it's great that they keep each other entertained! They both say "uh-oh" and love to watch things drop from their cribs or high chairs.
Sadie has gone from staying on her bottom and playing contentedly to moving from sitting to crawling and back again, and up to standing and down again. Those transitions all took awhile, but she is more confident everyday! She is exuberant in the bath, splashing water almost non-stop, and is very interested in trying out new foods, especially whatever Mommy is eating. She is also remarkably laid-back; Peter will take toys from her almost every time, and she is not phased in the least...I wonder how long that will last?

This guy is still a snuggle bug--I have never met a baby quite as affectionate! Peter will burrow in for a hug and pat me on the shoulder repeatedly. Two over-sized stuffed bears are also favorites for snuggling with. He loves looking at books and studying new toys, and is always very interested in whatever either of his sisters is currently playing with. He knows the baby-sign for "more" and uses it frequently during meal time. Still a little shy around new people, he will smile and talk up a storm when comfortable.
"Check out my cool kicks..."

Sneak Peek

2010-10-25T10:17:00.005-04:00

...of Chloe's Halloween costume!
Yeah, she wouldn't stop long enough for me to take a pic, so this is the best I could do.
I think she's a pretty darn cute ladybug.
Think she's excited?!?

Fall Wreath

2010-10-21T15:35:00.006-04:00

I wanted something autumn-y for the front door, and had a plain twig wreath stashed away for a rainy day.
I added a few fall-colored primas, some dried flowers and seed pods, and a gold-beaded spray.
Oh, and ribbon to hang it all from.
Glue guns make life so much easier.

Ghosts of Halloween Past

2010-10-14T21:47:00.001-04:00

Last year, I made a mini of my favorite Halloween costumes from years past. It was super fun to look back at those old pics, and I am so glad to have them all together in one place!
David and I went as "Snow Birds" a few years back.
Here we are as Red Riding Hood, and the woodsman. Sukey was the Wolf in Grandma's clothing.
3. Raggedy Anne, and 4. Black cat (with my devilish BFF)
5. Bride of Death (that's me on the left--with a character from Mortal Kombat and Strawberry Shortcake). 6. is reserved for a future favorite costume--I love dressing up!

fin.

In-between moments

2010-10-12T15:19:00.002-04:00

Those are the moments I have to get crafty...It's a little frustrating, but I'm doing the best I can! So I have everything I'm using at the moment piled on the sideboard in our dining-room, and I stick things down as I walk by...Here's what I have been working on recently:
Pics from this past summer in NH--they capture Peter's spirit so perfectly, he such a happy guy!
And these are a couple I snapped with my phone, after a Sadie/Mommy grocery store run. Can I just say, I loved pretending like I had only one baby...it was liberating! And Sadie got so much attention--when I'm out with 2 or all 3, people are so focused on the fact that there are twins that they don't really get noticed as individuals. We ate up the attention, Sadie totally relished it! And one of those pumpkins has already given up it's ghost as pumpkin-chocolate chip muffins and pumpkin pancakes--I can't wait to make more!!

Paper Pumpkins

2010-10-07T21:40:00.001-04:00

These super cute paper pumpkins are a cinch to whip up:
1. Punch about 12 circles from your patterned paper.
2. Fold your circles in half, making sure that the side that you ultimately want to show is folded in.
3. Coat one side of your folded circle with glue, then put another folded circle on top.
4. Repeat with remaining circles, until you have a stack of semi circles. Glue the last half circle to the first half circle so that you have your pumpkin shape. Tip: cut off about 1/4 of an inch from the bottom of your semi-circle if you want your pumpkin to stand.
5. I used a cocktail stick and pipe cleaner for the stem, and used stickles along the edges of one of the pumpkins for a finishing touch.

Oh, and only 24 more days to go!!

Because Babies are Cute

2010-10-04T13:31:00.003-04:00

Here are some videos for you to enjoy:

Sadie in the Jumparoo--she can't get enough of that thing!!

In the grass

Card Day

2010-10-01T14:45:00.008-04:00

Well, it's card-making day! So I figured I would buckle down and make a few for this great organization that sends cards to our troops.

I got to use some of the awesome stickers from EAD designs--aren't the monsters and owls the cutest? Thanks for stopping by...

We're doing a Card Congo line at the GalBlog--join us by submitting your link below (there are prizes)!

Yay for October!

2010-10-01T14:26:00.004-04:00

It's a new month, and I am ready for Fall! Not that the tropical weather we've been having has been at all autumn-like, but just as soon as it cools off I have my sweaters and boots at the ready!

Here are 2 pages I did this month using Crate Paper's Restoration line, and can I just say LOVE?!? It's my new favorite, and I want to cover everything in my house with it.
There's this old skool band called The Dave Clark 5...And now so are we! It's funny, even though my parents, brothers and I were 5, I never expected to be part of another family of that number. Having twins changed how we do everything--but I am pleased to be a 'party of five!'

OK, so I'll miss this about summertime--playing outside! It's so nice to have a patio to move our messy activities to--and Chloe looooooooooves to paint, she could spend hours doing it! Now to figure out how to 'paint-proof' our rumpus room for the long winter!

31 more days...

2010-09-30T23:30:00.002-04:00

Here's another of last year's Halloween projects:
I used glitter stickers on drinking glasses (and some dried kidney beans) to make these eerie votive holders!
When I was done displaying these, I just stuck the glasses in the freezer for a few hours and the stickers popped right off, no mess!

Check out this site for more Halloween inspiration!

We Had a Picnic...

2010-09-29T20:01:00.003-04:00

last weekend, in celebration of a very special person, at the park.
It was a perfect day for a picnic--warm and breezy--and everyone enjoyed relaxing outside.
Peter and Sadie had a blast playing in the grass...
..and having snacks

We're so lucky to have so much green space nearby!

I got an iphone...

2010-09-24T23:24:00.005-04:00

So of course there has been lots of picture taking:

We went to a wedding last weekend--my parents watched the babies and we had a great time as a threesome with Chloe!
We had to share Chloe with her other grandparents--don't they look all spiffy for the occasion?
Even the babies are happy about the new iphone :)

Only 38 days...

2010-09-22T21:09:00.005-04:00

Until my favorite holiday!!

I have been loving all of the halloweeny-crafties abounding in blog-land lately, and it dawned on me I have a few projects from last halloween that I never shared here. So, in the interest of joining in on the spirit of the season, here's a little book I made:
One of my favorite Halloween traditions is throwing Costume Parties--it has been a few years since we've been able to host one, but I love looking back at the photos. At the last party, we had a Polaroid camera handy as people cam in the door. I snapped a pic, then hung the photos up on a clothesline to display I finally put all those pics in a mini, using my Zutter Bind-it-all and Overlays from Hambly.

Some of my favorite pages:

Go see more Halloween Goodness at Craft-Critique's Halloween Blog Carnival!

2010-09-20T00:01:00.000-04:00

I made this page for the crop at Scrapgal last weekend--my challenge was to use doodles:
I took these pics of Chloe practicing with scissors--she looks so big!!

And I made another Peter page, of him pulling to stand back in June:

Blog Hop / Sweet Teacher Gift

2010-09-15T05:00:00.002-04:00

Welcome to the Scrap Gal Fall Haul Blog Hop (wow, that's quite a mouthful!) If you hopped here from Janet Ball's blog, you're in the right place! But if you didn't even know you were hopping, jump on over to the Gal Blog to get started.

I'm sharing a little project I did for last year's Scrap Gal fall crop--a rerun, I know, but I've never posted it here, so what the heck:
ScrapGal has these cute bags from Shabby Green Door for sale in the store, and I decided to embellish them and fill them with cookies as a "thank you" for Chloe's teachers.

Trim papers to fit the bag (I covered the front and top flap only), then adhere and embellish. Next fill with cookies, fold top of bag over and punch two small holes for the twine. Tie in a bow, and present to your favorite teacher!

Here's my favorite quick cookie recipe--always a hit!

White Chocolate and Cranberry Cookies

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon brandy (or vanilla)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup dried cranberries

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and brandy. Combine the flour and baking soda; stir into the sugar mixture. Mix in the white chocolate chips and cranberries. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. For best results, take them out while they are still doughy. Allow cookies to cool for 1 minute on the cookie sheets before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Thanks for stopping by! Your next blog on the hop is Kelly's--enjoy!

For more fun, games, challenges and prizes be sure to join us this weekend at the Scrap Gal Fall Haul Crop! I look forward to seeing you there.

Yesterday was a big day here...

2010-09-14T12:38:00.005-04:00

Fresh and Fruity turned 10 months...

Yup, Sadie's crawling now :) She also loves finger foods like pancakes, banana, and cheerios. She has perfected her sippy cup technique down to one-handed drinking, and says mamamama very sweetly to anyone and anything. She always has big grins for her twin brother, and an everlasting amount of patience as he grabs her toys, uses her as a step stool, and tugs her hair. She is really moving around and exploring, and is getting braver about moving herself into new positions. This past month she scraped up her nose after falling out of the kiddie pool at my folks--something we were on high-alert for Peter to do, but not her! She continues to adore splashing in the water, though, as well as jumping in the doorway jumparoo. She is fascinated by everything Chloe does, and will be entertained as long as her big sister is within eyesight. Sadie is still squishy and oh-so-sweet!

Peter hates to sit still, except when he needs to nurse and snuggle. He is an intrepid explorer, checking out the far reaches of our house with plucky fortitude. This month I have found him standing on the couch, checking out the toilet bowl, as well as knocking over the fireplace screen (on top of himself--eeek!) and with various leaves and twigs in his mouth. Trouble with a capital T, he is none the less cheerful and happy to see everyone--unless he is hungry or tired, then he greets you with an ear-piercing shriek. It's god-awful, and now he has his sisters imitating it, and I am thinking of investing in some good earplugs! He can cruise around holding onto the furniture, and is very interested in going wherever Chloe goes. Becoming more coordinated, he no longer plows over whatever is in his way, and can now maneuver with a little more finesse and agility.

For Chloe, yesterday was also a big day--the first day of school. She was so very sad to be leaving us, and I had to pry her out the door...

Just kidding! She was actually super excited to be going back to pre-school. So blase about the whole thing that she requested Pop bring her rather than I do it...OK by me, since he'll be in charge of drop off and I got to meet the teachers last week at open house. It will be good for her to be back in the school routine, and to have a little space from baby-central!
Peter wanted to know what the all the excitement was about:
But wasn't about to sit still for too long!
See ya :)

Fall Orchard Trip

2010-09-12T15:53:00.006-04:00

We took the kiddos to Smolak Farms on Sunday--it was a perfect day for apple picking and pumpkin pics!

Enjoy your week!

September is here...

2010-09-04T22:06:00.004-04:00

..and I have a couple of scrapbook layouts to share:
I love those vinyl letter stickers, but they just wouldn't stay stuck. Now they're not going anywhere, heheh.
It's October Afternoon month at Scrapgal--good stuff!
I love the way this page came together--the pictures of Chloe's funny face made it so easy!

This next project is an altered message board that I did a tutorial for at the Galblog--you can check it out here!
Fun Scrappy stuff happening this month!
A Contest! Check out the details here...

a blog hop that I'll be participating in--and you can too!

AND an online crop--more info here!

Go, Sadie, Go!

2010-08-31T09:09:00.005-04:00

She's on the move, and has two teeth!
Isn't she awesome?!?

Pincushions

2010-08-21T21:55:00.003-04:00

I made these for a swap at Sacrapgal (well, the pink one, I kept the other)...
I think they came out pretty cute.
Here's a link to the directions I (mostly) followed: How to Make a Yo-Yo Pincushion

Nine months...

2010-08-18T16:42:00.007-04:00

It's crazy to think that Peter and Sadie have now been 'out' for as long as they were 'in'--longer, actually, since they were 5 weeks early! People say "I don't know how you do it," to me all the time. When out in public with all 3 kiddos, many people comment "Well, you've got your hands full!" As if I didn't know. One guy at BJs actually said "Three babies?? I'd kill myself!" Thanks for the encouragement, dude! Sometimes I'm not sure how I do it either...things are most definitely different this time around as compared to when Chloe was a baby.

For one, we were sticklers about the "no screen time" until two years of age with Chloe. With these guys, I have no problem putting one in the exersaucer while Chloe is watching PBS so that I can have a tiny break--I had no idea it would captivate their attention as well as it does! Another big difference is feeding solids. With Chloe, I was steaming, pureeing and freezing everything for her. Since P&S started solids I have made 1, maybe 2, batches of baby food. The rest has been from a jar--so much faster and simpler, and I'm buying it by the case, we go through so much! The other big difference is getting out. When Chloe was between 3-24 months, I was doing at least 1 or 2 scheduled outings per week--varying from Sign and Sing to Little Gym, plus playgroups and visits to the Children's Museum and the like. Getting out with all 3 right now is a little daunting--it can be done, but we haven't braved any museums yet. And as for classes, I did a Moms-of-Twins class when they were newborns, and then tried another with singletons, and there was just no way of handling 2 babies--someone was always getting short changed! Given, they couldn't even sit up at that point, so if I wasn't holding them both, one was lying flat on his or her back staring at the ceiling. Not so fun...
So, here we are, at 9 months. Peter had graduated from Mr. Trouble to Mr. Death Wish. He has an almost magnetic attraction to cords, is a pro at getting his fingers pinched, and can crawl up the stairs faster than you can say "I need more baby gates." He is always on the go, exploring the nooks and crannies of the world. at floor level. And putting everything in his mouth--damn you pincher grasp! He is also super cuddly and cute, and has started to vocalize more, especially as he crawls around (and around and around). He has the sweetest way of coming up to me, pulling himself up on my leg and reaching up just for a quick hug, before he is off again.
Sadie is just as squishy and sweet as ever--only now she looks so grown up with her 2 bottom teeth! She is starting to wiggle more on her tummy, sometimes even moving backwards, and will get up on all fours and rock back and forth like she wishes she were crawling. I catch her studying her the parts of her toys and surroundings quite earnestly. She also has a great laugh, and is always blowing raspberries, so it's hard to take her too seriously. She loves to be pulled to standing, and will hang on for dear life if you prop her up on her feet. It's such a relief to know she'll mostly stay where I put her though, because Peter is SO busy--I don't know what I'll do once they're both moving!
Chloe is the resident artist and storyteller; she'll narrate and act out the adventures of her dolls and trucks. She loves being outdoors, and is pretty good at entertaining herself in the sandbox or on her playset.
She is slowly adapting to having P&S in her life, and shows both her adoring big sister and jealous older sibling inclinations--it's a little Jekyll and Hyde at times. I can't wait for the 3 of them to be able to play together--I know Chloe will lead them on many adventures!

So I 'auditioned'...

2010-08-16T14:35:00.003-04:00

...for a spot writing/crafting over at the May Arts blog. Go check it out here!
A project and little tutorial--if you like it, you can comment here and win yourself some ribbon!

Free Kid

2010-08-10T16:23:00.004-04:00

Which one do you want...?
The one that's 2 steps away from walking and already nicknamed "Mr. Trouble"?

Or the one that's cutting 2 teeth and has been up at night all week?

Sorry, you can't have the one that's potty trained...I'm keeping her :)

August is here

2010-08-03T21:43:00.002-04:00

You'd think it'd be my favorite month, what with having my birthday in it and all, but really August kinda gets me down. Too much heat+humidity will do that to a girl...

August is Prima month at ScrapGal--there's a contest and lots of Prima-inspo. Here's my layout:
This paper is the coolest--already stitched for you, how handy is that!?! Tomorrow I have a post at the Galblog about how I made the distressed frame around the picture--go check it out!

My second layout for this month is my *first* Peter layout...I think I have been so excited to scrap some boy pages I got "scrappers block" so to speak. Anyways, I just think he's adorable, and I have so many great pictures just dying to be made into scrapbook pages--this is just the beginning!
And some kiddo pictures, since they are growing so fast and I gotta keep track somewhere! These are from our vaca at the lake:

Pretty typical scene--Peter on-the-move crawling, Sadie sitting and playing.
Another typical scene--big Sadie smiles!
Yup...she's got style :)

And he's off...

2010-07-29T07:50:00.002-04:00

Adventures in Vacationland...

2010-07-23T09:10:00.002-04:00

Wait, that's Maine. I guess in the land of "live free or die" just doesn't have as nice a ring to it...get a better slogan, New Hampshire!
We're in the midst of 10 days at the lake, and the first real rain we've had since we've been here brings this:
Yup. That's a tree. On our lake house...here's another view:
And from the inside:
That's Peter and Sadie's room, the ceiling above their cribs. We are so so so blessed that no one was hurt! And now the roof is already patched, the tree is chopped into firewood, and we can get onto our vaca! Enjoy your weekend :)

hot...

2010-07-09T14:51:00.006-04:00

I know we're not alone in the heat wave, but can I just say, enough is enough!! Luckily for us, there's lots of water nearby for cooling off--so much, in fact, that we have been swimming in 4 different places in just as many days...

The Lake in NH

The Kiddie Pool

The Big Pool at Grandma and Grandpa's
(do you see that big girl swimming by herself!?!)

And, The Ocean
(Chloe kept losing her bathing suit bottom. Clearly she has inherited her father's derriere!)

Did you see my post about making popovers? Well, as soon as it cools down, I am excited to try ALL the other recipes in that book (I think we'll do the pretzels first). Speaking of which, pop over to the author's blog for a fun giveaway--then visit Betz White's blog for a chance to win Homemade Fun for yourself!

Popovers from Homemade Fun

2010-07-06T14:23:00.003-04:00

I was so excited to get this book just in time for summer-fun for me and Chloe:

There are tons (101 to be exact) of activities to do inside, divided up into various categories: sewing, papercrafting, and baking, to name a few. Since Chloe and I love to cook up a yummy snack (and before the heatwave hit us with full force!), I flipped right to the Popover recipe. With 4 ingredients and 4 steps, I was sure it was something we could do before losing focus...
Whisking the eggs...
Adding the flour...
Pouring into ramekins (the recipe calls for popover cups...never heard of such a thing! Apparently, muffin tins will work as well, but I didn't find this out until after)
Watching excitedly as the popovers begin to "pop."
...and, here they are--our quickly sinking popovers :( They looked so pretty when I first took them out, but quickly deflated. I also read later that I should have poked a hole in the top to allow steam to escape once I took them out of the oven (would have been good info for the recipe).
They ended up being eggy-muffins instead of popovers, but this was my first time making them. Others tricks I found online were to use room-temp ingredients and mix them quickly in a blender to get lots of air incorporated into the batter. We'll try again in a few days--can't say I mind making them again, they were so quick and easy!