Tuesday, May 26, 2009

I used to like shopping...

I don't know what happened. It seems that clothing got more expensive even though fabrics became thinner and less durable. I give up trying to find clothes that I like, that are on sale and that fit my body. So I'm going to start sewing more. Honestly, if I could figure out how to adjust pattern pieces to my measurements this sewing thing would be a piece of cake. I'm working on it but in the mean time, done is better than perfect.

This was going to be a dress, it still may become one. I have a few more steps to complete, like adding elastic to the waste and fitting this to my body before it either becomes a shirt or a dress.
The fabric was inexpensive, maybe $2 a yard, and I think this would look good on the cruise with white pants or as a dress. I would add a band of white material at the bottom if I make it into a dress.
Swimsuit update: I'm pretty sure that I am returning it. It is one size too big and I would never have enough time to exchange it before leaving for vacation. I did email Bravissimo and they apologized for the time it took to respond to my fitting advice questions and arranged to refund my shipping too. I did think about making the swimsuit fit because honestly, even with it being too big, it looks better than anything that I have found in the store. I am not nearly confident enough with sewing to alter clothes, especially something that will be covering my unmentionables while swiming.
Matt suggested that I make one, although he very quickly suggested that I go buy another one at the mall.

Monday, May 25, 2009

A real post with photos and all!

It's about time right?
I am so excited to share the first project I completed using my new Collage Press stash.
I think I'm in love.
I seriously was looking for someone to pinch me at 3am.



Supplies: Cardstock: Bazzill. Pattern Paper, Die Cuts and Letter Stickers: Collage Press. Buttons: Creative Cafe. Brad: Queen and Company. Other: Staples, String, Pop Up Dots.

I love the star die cuts from the Knave of Hearts Collection. I used regular adhesive in the middle and pop up dots on the ends. I layered two of the stars together and added buttons to both. I love how I was able to use both of the new collections to find everything I needed for this LO.

As promised, a photo of my new hair cut. I am horrible at taking photos of myself with my new camera. I have the 50mm 1.8 lens on here, great for photos, hard for photos in the mirror since it's so hard to tell where I should be pointing the camera. I'm sure I will get better if I keep practicing. If anyone has tips, let me know.


And did you see that strap? I made that before going to my in laws surprise anniversary party. Do you know not one person commented on how cute it was.
NOT ONE?!
Oh well, I am proud of myself that I figured out how to do it and that it has stayed together, lol.

And because he's just so cute, here's one of Colin from this weekend.


This was before the face plant into the cement. Thank God that he didn't get hurt but he does have a little scratch on his chin and upper lip. I've already told him that he only has one week to heal and that he must be careful this whole week to not get anymore boo boo's. Especially in the face. :-)

That's it for now. I may be back later today with a Memorial Day post. I have a fantastic photo of my Dad in his uniform that I would love to share if I get time to photograph it.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Blogging from Tumble Town

I can't promise that this post will be fabulous but I can be pretty sure that it will be random and full of spelling errors.
I am finishing to do lists while giving my little guy a much needed physical activity break.
Yesterday we spent most of the day outside either at a birthday party or swiming at the pool. I'm so glad that it's summer and we get to spend more time outside. I wore an old swimsuit since my new one wasn't here. Turns out that it didn't matter anyway since when I got home my new too big swimsuit was here. Now the trip is just too close to exchange it for the right size. So I will be searching at the last minute for something similar. I guess I should be excited since I should be able to score a deal, you know if there's anything else left in my size. *sigh*
Oh well after I get over paying to return it I will get over it.
I did get to scrapbook a little.
So with any luck I will finish what I started and post photos tomorrow.
Have you checked out the website simplemom.net?
I am loving some of her free downloadable templates and I am using one for my grocery shopping today.
What about the presserfoot blog?
It's like an online sewing circle and while I have not made any of the projects so far, I'm adding a ton of ideas to my to do list.

Um I told you this was random, lol!
I will post a worthwhile post soon, with phots and everything.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Spotlight is up!

GCD Studios Blog

I had auditioned for this DT and while I wasn't picked, they choose to spotlight a LO that I had made with their products. I love how this LO turned out and appreciate that GCD decided to feature it.

Thanks again for the opportunity GCD!

My To Do List....


1. Pack.
2. Finish food arrangements.
3. Tie loose ends up at work.
4. Finish travel documents.
5. Commit to a spa time.
6. Make vacation tee shirts.
7. Make a dress.
8. Learn to embrace relaxation and having "do nothing" on my schedule.

Only a few more weeks which I know will fly by. Before I know it, I will be hanging out in one of those chairs sipping a fancy frozen drink, wearing my new swimsuit while trying to figure out how to relax. I'm hoping to bring a few good scrappy magazines and may even subcome to the whole vampire book obsession.
So anyone have any good book recommendations?
I haven't read a novel for fun in years!
I may need some help to start, lol!

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

It's Here!


Hopefully after I finish all of my chores I will get to play!
I gotta tell you that this stuff looks even better in person!
I. Can't. Wait.

Monday, May 18, 2009

So I know I said I would scrap....

But I have been meaning to work on this for weeks now. Colin's old nap roll has about bit the dust and I'm not sure if it would have made it through the washing machine one more time. So I finally got off of my butt and finished this, (well, almost).


And this is what happens when you realize that you somehow got a hole in your almost finished project. A little cutting and some fusible web and voila!



I think I am going to let Colin take this to school tomorrow since I only have to put the velcro straps on the edges so it will close. I think I will wrap ribbon around it tomorrow so he can carry it to nap time without too much trouble. I can't wait to see his face when he gets up in a few hours. He has been bugging me to make this for ages now. Note to self, don't take toddler to fabric store to pick out said fabric unless you are absolutely ready to start the project.

Thanks for the comments about my hair, it's growing on me, (as well as hopefully growing). I think I will need to play with it a bit but I think I will be able to manage wearing my hair straight a lot more often.

Friday, May 15, 2009

So I ordered this one....



I had a few people ask where to find this suit. You can check out this website.
Anyone who has had a buttoned down shirt that didn't give you enough room in the front for the girls can appreciate this website. This is the first order that I have ever placed there so I am anxious for it to arrive and am crossing my fingers for it to fit.

Hopefully this model's hair comes with the suit.

I just got a terrible haircut. *sigh*

It's my fault, I should have had a better idea of what I wanted and now it is painfully too short. It seems that I may be wearing my hair straight a lot more frequently for the next few weeks. If I get brave enough I may post a photo so everyone can point and stare.

It's really that bad.

Wish me luck as I try find a way to style this that makes me want to look in the mirror again.

Oh and I am so scrapbooking this weekend so I should have lots to share here soon.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

I think I am too tired to scrap?!

Today was a busy day to say the least, between work and Colin's soccer game, I'm pretty beat. Our team won, again, 2-0. We continue to be undefeated...go green team! I gotta tell you, there is absolutely nothing better than 4 year olds playing soccer. It's wonderful and funny! Parts of me would love to sit on the sidelines, watch and take photos but I would miss all of the funny little things that come out of their mouth during the game.

"Coach can I get a drink of water?"
"We can't play soccer in the rain?!"
"I don't want to run, I mean yes I do, I mean no I don't."
"I still got it and then I still got it and then I still got it!"
"Did we win yet? Can we have snack?"

I laugh and cheer the whole time. It really is so much fun. Exhausting, but a ton of fun.

Since no post is complete without a photo, I will share a photo of Colin that I took outside of the hotel on Blue and White Weekend. I had to beg him for this and right after he told, "now that's it!"


He is holding flowers for me that he picked himself. He has been obsessed lately with getting me flowers. I love it. It's so funny though because if he is in a store that has flowers and he is with his grandparents he says, "hey, there's flowers, I wanna get some for my Mommy." You which means he picks them out and they pay for them. It is so adorable that he thinks of me when he's away and that he wants to get them for me "to make me happy."

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

RAK Winner!



So that means Jen is our winner!

Sigmagirl said...
Ooo.. LOVELY giveaway! Hope you pick me! Congrats again on making the Collage Press DT!!! HUGSS!

Jen

May 10, 2009 10:52 AM

I made a list of all posts on the Two Peas thread and the RAK post. Each number was assigned based on time stamp. Thanks so much for stopping by and Jen email me at kck182 at comcast dot net so I can get this box to you. I'm pretty impressed with myself, I actually already have the box packed and ready to go.

Right now I am cleaning and organizing my scraproom/laundry area. It drives me completely nuts to have piles of laundry around the house. It feels like everywhere I turn something is in a hamper on its way into or out of the wash.
It. Never. Ends.
Seriously, when I am in control of the mountains that we call clothes, I can really manage just about anything. If the laundry gets ahead of me, well a toilet paper commercial may make me cry.
Is it just me?

Monday, May 11, 2009

How to be Dash from the Incredibles....


Have your Mom go to the store and realize that since it's not Halloween, they do not have any spiderman fabric.
When your Mom asks what would you like to be instead, make sure to shoot webs to reiterate your point that Spiderman really is the only superhero worth being.
When Mom reminds you of this...

Remember that it is not fun to pick to said Spiderman costume out of your butt all day. It's kind of annoying.

Although, eating candy does let you momentarily forget about previous annoyance.
Ultimately decide that Mom won't let you eat enough candy to compensate for the annoyance ALL day and that being Dash might be fun.
Once your Mom makes most of your costume remember to get really excited for arms in it this time. (Mom had a tough time with those last time).
Remember to sing the You're the Best Mommy Song while she sews. I find that Mom generally forgets that I was pulling the spool off of the sewing machine and jumping up and down over the pattern pieces.
The song really seems to help.
In addition to being fast, remember to arrive fashionably late to your friend's birthday party. Jumping on patterns and pulling spools off of the sewing machine does seem to add some additional sewing time.
See above reference to singing the Mommy song.
But most importantly remember to look cute and extremely appreciative, it really makes Mommy's day. She then stops ranting about, (I don't know why I do this stuff for you, you need to be a good listener if I'm going to be able to finish this. etc. etc.)
See above referenced Mommy song.

Friday, May 8, 2009

Pubster of the Day RAK!

In celebration of a fantastic day I'm doing a HUGE giveaway!


Yes that is exclusive Studio Calico paper that I am sharing with a lucky blog reader. This RAK includes products from Crate Paper, KI Memories, Studio Calico, K and Company, SEI, Scenic Route, Tinkering Ink, Making Memories, Chatterbox and exclusive papers from Scarlet Lime.


Let's also throw in some vintage cards, ledger paper, trim, defective tags, a Basic Grey stamp and a black cloth post bound 12x12 album from Maple Lane Press.



I told you this was HUGE, lol!

Just leave a comment here or on this post.

I will leave this open until Monday evening and will post a winner on Tuesday.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Here's the Finished LO!


Supplies: Cardstock: Bazzil. Pattern Paper: Making Memories, October Afternoon. Stickers, Chipboard: Jenni Bowlin. Stamps: Inkadoo, Fontworks. Ribbon: SEI. Buttons: Creative Cafe.

I finished this last night before heading to bed. It was late and well, I didn't really feel like taking pictures and I wanted to try to get to bed at a reasonable time. I knew I wanted a title about my "men" but wanted something a little different. This was taken on a trip to Dutch Wonderland by a stranger because I wasn't there. I don't know if I was at a crop or doing laundry or at a crop :-) but I am very appreciative of those few hours that allow me to get caught up or simply recharge my batteries. So the more I thought about it, "one on one" seemed to fit! I stamped on vintage ledger paper that I felt fit in with the rest of the page and just adds a little more interest while still being able to read my journaling. I've been into stacking my buttons lately, it's an easy way to pull colors that are in your LO and have them "make sense" with everything else.

I also wanted to thank everyone for an amazing day today! I appreciate all of the well wishes and congrats on my DT announcement. To make a great day even better, I was also Pubster of the Day over at 2 Peas! A little birdie told me that tomorrow is supposed to be a pretty decent day too so be sure to check this out!

So you bet your pattern paper that we will have to celebrate here tomorrow so check back to see what the giveaway will be. (I'll be checking back too since I'm curious to see what I will pick!)

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Yes there's been screaming....

and some jumping and a lot of hugging because of this!


I was just added to this wonderful design team!
I am so excited I can't stand it. I have been drooling over everything that they have been releasing and now I get to work with it! Eeep!
Please excuse me while I scream some more!
Thanks so much for letting me share!

Now to finish that LO....

Monday, May 4, 2009

Start to Finish with Me!

I have been wanting to do this for awhile. Mostly because it is my favorite thing to read about. I always look at other LO's and wonder how they decide to use blue or white paper, brads or buttons, ribbon or paper and punches. So bear with me since it's my first time and it honestly is kind of annoying to stop every time I glue something down to take a photo, lol!

This is the base of my LO. I had an extra copy of this photo printed and I just grabbed pattern paper from my scrap stash and cardstock that coordinated.

I wanted to ground my photo, (so it doesn't look like it is floating off of the page). So I went to my ribbon stash. I love color and wanted to try this orange ribbon. I wasn't a fan so I looked for a different color.

I like this brown a lot better and decided I liked it better on top of the photo. I kind of like the post mark on the bottom of the paper and didn't want to cover it up. Also when I covered the seam of my photo on the bottom I also covered a bit of my little guy's face. So on the top it went.

I have wanted to use these from Jenni Bowlin for awhile and well...they were on my desk. Sometimes things end up on a page just because they haven't been put away yet.

I LOVE this paper from October Afternoon. I have used it a ton to back embellishments and stamps. Because of the ribbon, the sticker was raised a bit so I backed the sticky stuff with pattern paper.

I layered my embellishments and added a button to connect the sticker and the chipboard. I added the vintage string from Studio Calico because of the little bit of blue that it adds to the page.

I changed the button from green to a softer hue because when you look at the entire page it was just too loud. Although I do like how it looks close up, (I think everything always looks better close up).

Now I'm thinking about my title. I don't really have any thickers in the right shade or font. I know...I really need to buy some more. How did I let that happen? Anyway so I have been thinking of stamping a title. I have seen a few LO's at Studio Calico with those Carter stamps and craft cardstock. Well I can drop $18 on a stamp set for a technique that I don't know if I would use. But I can spend $4.99 for this stamp set. It's the same kind of style and I can try it out and see if I like it. If I do I may just find enough of a reason to purchase those stamps!

So that's it for right now, I realize that the LO is not finished so maybe I should change my title of this post, lol. But my little guy needs to go to bed and I shall return if I am able to stay awake throughout the reading of the books, (said in my best King Julian voice).

So what do you guys think? Is this helpful information or completely lame? (Don't really answer that if you think it is lame...I know I asked but I don't really want to know if you think it's lame..I mean I kind of want to know...but not really).
Anyway, I will finish this LO after the reading of the books and will create another post with the finished product.

Happy National Scrapbooking Day!

I think I will celebrate on Saturday. Can you believe that no one wished me a Happy NSD in real life. Hallmark really needs to get on the ball with this holiday, lol. Now I didn't get a chance to scrap this weekend so I have decided to move the holiday myself and celebrate this weekend. Possibly, even one night this week. There may be streamers involved.

On a different note, did I mention my son can fish?


About three weeks ago Colin went on his first little fishing trip. Which I'm sure will be the first of many. He loved it! He was very excited to bring one of the 7-8 fish that he caught home to his mama. It was a bit traumatic for everyone involved since we are not necessarily the outdoorsy type. But I persevered and prepared this little meal. I also made sure to thank Colin for catching dinner. He especially got a big kick out of that!

Thanks for stopping by today and hopefully after my NSD celebration I will have some scrappy shares!

Friday, May 1, 2009

I can't decide...



I told myself that this year I would get a great fitting swimsuit that actually came in my bra size.









You think this would be an easier decision since I don't have a ton of choices. I can't stand paying for shipping especially considering I might have to return it....to Europe. *sigh*

I really want a tankini but the more I think about it, the more I remember why I wear a one piece. I like the once piece a lot but it comes in a cup size smaller than I need. I could try to compensate with a larger band size, blah, blah, blah. And I'm sure it would still fit a TON better than anything that I have now but I'm also sure that I would need to return it at least once. They are way too expensive to buy them both to just try on.

What do you guys think?

What do you think will scrapbook better? :-)