I'm No Vera Bradley....

But I am pretty impressed with myself. :-)



I enjoyed working on this and was thrilled that I learned a few new things in the process. Keep in mind, I decided to start sewing when I took a lesson with my machine so I could learn to sew on scrapbook pages! When I realized how this whole thing worked with fabric I was like, "I can do that!"

Remember this post?
Speaking of which, I wonder what I am going to make this year?

So another crafty obsession began where little time exists to dabble in the one I already had. But alas, I recently organized my room and it is fully functional for all my creative ventures that time allows. (AKA I organized my fabric so I actually know what I have and I can actually get to my sewing machine without sitting on the coffee table).

The materials for this purse were pretty inexpensive. I used two fat quarters for the exterior and two fabric napkins from Walmart that I found on clearance.

Grand total for fabric...$2.75!

I seriously always stop in the Pottery Barn Outlet not to decorate my home but to find inexpensive fabric items that I can use on sewing projects. For me...mostly because I'm lazy...it is so much easier to work with smaller portions of fabric than trying to cut what I need from yards of it. Then there's the whole OCD folding issue I have. Don't even get me started on that! So with my limited time, sewing bags out of napkins works for me!

Hopefully it works for everyone else since I think this is what everyone is getting for Christmas. :-)

Busy Day...

I seriously think I did like 13 loads of laundry in the last two days.
I scrapped, sewed, played, cleaned, organized and stayed up for the Studio Calico Reveal. Can I say that this month is just stinkin awesome? Honestly I think I could sit and look at the gallery forever, seriously.

Anyway I have loads of pages to share and even more to photograph. So while you are waiting for the debut of my new purse....(which is almost complete), here is a LO that I completed recently during Spirit Week at Colin's preschool.



I think this is going down as one of my favorites! I just started pulling products that went together and used a lot of my favorite embellishments that I have been holding onto for awhile.

I'm also seriously obsessed with that border punch.

Okay that's it for now, I'm going to try to finish my purse and get to bed in an hour.

Do you think I can do it?

Me neither!

Ha!

Girls Night Out...

Me, Jenny, Emilie and Mary

It has been so long since I have gone out for dinner and a movie that I wondered if I would even remember how to do it, lol! I had a great time and got a much needed break to just stuff my face and chat with lovely women.

Can't wait to do this again and hopefully everyone can make it next time!

So hopefully this break will leave me energized to complete the HUGE task of getting a bit more organized in the next two days.

I am planning on sewing a purse tomorrow and I realized that I really have no idea what kind of fabric I have. I know I have a ton but I really couldn't tell you where it is. So apparently I need a better system because you know I'm a nut about using everything that I've purchased. So I have this crazy idea of tearing apart my scraproom and finding a better home for my fabric stash.

I have a feeling that Matt will be freaking out about this time tomorrow.

Maybe I could just close the door? :-)

New LO....

Now if I can just figure out what to wear tonight? :-)

Collage Press Design Team Day

If you haven't already head over to the Collage Press Blog to check out what the awesome DT completed for this month. I love the Halloween Projects that are posted even though I wouldn't have considered the Sweet Shoppe line a "typical" choice for Halloween. Everyone did a great job!

I have some LO's to photograph and I plan on sharing them soon so be on the look out for that. There also may be a RAK in the near future as well. :-)

I also am hoping to sew a purse this weekend. My Vera Bradley bag's straps have seen better days and I have a plan to make something super cute. Hopefully that plan works and I'll be sure to share the results here...good or bad, lol!

So between creative plans for this weekend and a girls night out I am really looking forward to the end of this week!

Conversation With a 4 Year Old...

Colin: "Why are you washing your feet in the tub?"
Me: "I don't want my feet to be stinky."
Colin: "If your feet are stinky will nobody like you?"
Me: "Well, it wouldn't help."
Colin: "Well, I would still like you and I would love you, even with stinky feet."
Me: "Aw...thanks bud. I love your stinky feet too."

I am glad we are teaching Colin to look past poor foot hygiene to see people for who they really are. He makes me very proud. :-)

Wonderful Weekend...

We had a blast at PSU this weekend.

I even had a little family photo shoot at the Lion Shrine. Apparently the BEST time to go is during the 1st quarter of the game. It was just the three of us and I was able to take a TON of photos!
These photos are just resized for the the web. I can't wait to play with these images and print them!



Colin did great during the game and made it through three quarters and tailgating.




Now we are working on getting back into the routine.

Oh and my little sis is getting married tomorrow morning. I found out on Saturday.

Needless to say...I have a feeling that tomorrow...this week...will be a bit insane.

Wish me luck...I have a feeling I may need it!

Time Away...

Sometimes it's good to take a break and have a change of scenery. It's even better when the change of scenery is at Penn State. I'm hoping for a relaxing weekend that includes a few Woodchucks and a couple wings at Champs.

Colin doesn't remember living there, he was one when we moved, but I often wonder what our life would be like if we made different choices.

Heck, I wonder if I would even be scrapbooking now. Although I did have a stellar room that would have made a GREAT scrapbook room in our old house.

So I am back in my home town, working in the community that I grew up in and raising my son with so many of the things that I loved when I was a kid.

I'm coaching soccer, working full time, and scrapbooking to my hearts content.

I'm learning to take better photographs, thinking about what I want to be when I grow up, and trying to take as many Disney Vacations as I can sort of afford.

I'm continuing to learn how to take care of a little boy who has special instructions, a husband who has his own set and a family that at times is a bit atypical. (Did I mention that my sister is getting married on Monday, we think?)

I'm learning that I can't do it all and that I need to ask for help, say that I made a mistake and constantly remind folks that I am not as "perfect" as I seem.

So sometimes when I feel a bit guilty for scrapbooking instead of grocery shopping I remind myself that this is how I take care of myself. This is how I make myself take a break and without it....I would be completely lost right now.

Paper and glue doesn't ask me for anything, photos of my family remind me that they also do nice things and most importantly...it's quiet in this little room.

Man do I love when it is quiet.

I'm not sure why I'm sharing this today, I think this post really made me think. Think about finding the right balance between this hobby and the rest of my life.

I found Emilie's blog after meeting her at CKC Valley Forge when I was volunteering for Stacy Julian last year. She showed me where they were selling Heidi Swapp chipboard letters and I knew that if we lived near each other, we would be insta friends.

Fast forward to this girl moving to this coast, an all day crop, and then moving even closer and I was right. Insta friend. I admire her so much for making this decision and if you haven't had time to read the comments, I encourage you to do so. It is really cool to hear how many people she has inspired by her approach to life and her priorities.

It's just very cool.

So this weekend I am going to enjoy time with my family, cheer for one of my favorite teams, (my other favorite is the green soccer team), and take tons of photos.

And I'm going to scrapbook them when I get home. :-)

10 Disney Cruise Tips

So have you ever thought about taking a Disney Cruise? Well here are some things I learned....

1. Don't worry about clothing, you seriously need very little during the day, (just a swimsuit) and most people won't remember what you wore to dinner.

2. The rooms are small, large for a cruise ship, but still small. Spend the extra money for a window or splurge and get a balcony. Make sure you like who you go on vacation with, always a bonus, and bring the least amount of stuff as possible. We took an inside cabin while the grandparents splurged on their room and got a balcony. I really didn't think it was a big deal for all of the extra $ but it wonderful! I know they enjoyed having coffee in the mornings and enjoying a drink before bed.

3. Bring an over the door shoe organizer to use for toiletries. I saw this in another room and you bet I wished I had thought of that!

4. The pools are small and there are bigger kids using the slide and therefore running across the pool, a lot. Have a Margarita before getting in and you really don't care.

5. The excursions are expensive and except for the Dolphin Experience, you may enjoy just wandering the ports independently. If you want to go to the beach there are plenty of cab drivers willing to take you to a nice beach if you ask. Just be sure to bring a watch and leave yourself enough time to get back to the ship.

6. The cruise is not very Disney, for those who want a neat vacation that is kid friendly this is a good fit. For those nuts like me...do the land and sea option to get your magical fix.

7. I can't say enough good things about the daycare. You seriously could leave your kid there all day and they would probably be fine. They did such a nice job of doing activities and games that the kids were not bored and had a great time.

8. Bring chip clips to hold your towels down on your beach chair.

9. I got sea sick. If you get even the littlest bit sick in the car opt to get a room in the middle of the ship. Even better if you stick to activities that are located in the middle of the ship. We went to a wine tasting in the front of the ship and that was definitely my worst day.

10. Wash your hands often. It's not fun being sick on vacation and with so many people so close together it's very possible to catch something.

Disney Cruise Mini Book...

Warning this is a photo heavy post :-)

So most of you know that we went on our first cruise this past June. We went on a 7 night Western Caribbean Disney Cruise. (Say that three times fast!) To say that Colin loved it would be an understatement. He STILL asks if we can live on the cruise ship forever!

He would walk around the ship asking, "are we still on the boat?" When I would say yes he would jump up and down yelling, "yeah!"







Supplies: Minibook, Pattern Paper, Chipboard and Ribbon: Cosmo Cricket. Labels: October Afternoon. Pin: Maya Road. Floss: Karen Foster. Vintage Thread: Studio Calico. Half Pearls: Basic Grey. Letter Stickers: Adorn It. Foam Letters: American Crafts.

To complete this mini book I printed my favorite photos 1 by 1 1/2 in my photo program. I then picked a couple to print at 3 1/2 by 5. I mainly wanted to break each page into a day and put random photos of things that we did on that day together. I try to make a mini book for each trip so that I have the overall story of our trip captured and then I can focus on making pages for the stories that I want to tell in our main album. So far this has worked for me and helps streamline the whole process. This was pretty easy to put together and by having two packages of the White American Crafts letters I had enough A's and Y's for the whole mini.

Thanks for stopping by. Tomorrow? 10 Disney Cruise Tips.

Food Allergy Expo....

This was far! We traveled on the turnpike the whole way which seems to make 2 hours feel like 10! But it was worth the trip! Colin kept looking at all of the cars and saying, "look at all of those people with allergies!" So even though it was crowded, hot and Colin couldn't have a lot of the snacks that were being offered at the vendors...it was worth it for Colin to see that he isn't the only little guy that has to worry about what he is eating.


Please excuse the funny face here on Colin, he was mid bite of a blueberry muffin.


We then headed to Chuck E. Cheese next door. This was WAY nicer than the one in York!


Again, excuse the funny face...that thing moves a lot, lol!

How do you like my hair? I needed a trim and I have been trying to save money so this is my $7 hair cut. I used a coupon for Great Clips that I got in the mail. I'm embarrassed to say how much I usually spend on a hair cut but honestly. I am just as happy with this as I was with the fancier one. Go figure!

Well I'm off to run errands for the rest of the day. I have a scheduled post for tomorrow that has my finished mini book from our cruise. I can't wait to share it with you!

We Are Headed Here Today....

This event is located at the Whole Foods Market in North Wales, PA. They plan on having a magic show, a rock band and several vendors all catered to kids with food allergies.

Colin is pretty excited to see if they have foods that don't hurt his belly. It is really interesting to see him in a store. He understands that he needs to read the label before he can eat it and has been looking at the pictures to get clues about the product.

Last night while at the mall we passed an ice cream vendor. Colin asked if he could have ice cream and we of course said no because the store didn't carry his ice cream. He said, "I figured the sign over there has nuts on it."

He then asked for a rootbeer float and we told him he only had about 6 more weeks until he can have one at Disney. :-)

So even though this is a two hour trip today and Matt keeps complaining about "wasting the whole day," we are making ourselves go. It will be nice for Colin to see other little kids doing the same thing as him.

Right now anytime I overhear someone talking about their child's allergies I make Colin go over and say hi. He usually wants me to do it but you can tell that he enjoys meeting others who live the same way he does.

So wish us luck as we navigate our day and hopefully those frozen coconut ice cream bars will make it home in the cooler. I would hate to have them melt since they are $5-$6 for a box of four. I can't tell you what they taste like since we save things like that just for Colin since 1. they are expensive and 2. they are hard to find.

But they look just like a Dove Bar and Colin loves them!

Stamp Storage

I had a vision last night while participating in the chat at Studio Calico. I have an activity case that I found at Target for about $2 that I have been using to store my photos that are waiting to be scrapped. It's a little bigger than 8 1/2 x 11 so it fits a whole sheet of photo paper perfectly. Well I looked at it last night and thought, you know, I bet that would hold stamps. I have been storing my stamps in CD cases but even they are starting to take up too much space and aren't super accessible when they are in my cabinet.



I LOVE THIS!

I can see everything and this can easily sit on the side of my table without taking up too much room. I am planning on purchasing a few more so I can fit the rest of my "cool stamps" in them. This binder is organized with Studio Calico and Scarlet Lime Stamps. I will make another for alphabets and another for journaling spots. I'm so excited!



Also if you wouldn't mind, please keep your fingers crossed for me. I submitted my application today for Disney's Mom's panel. If you haven't noticed, I'm a bit obsessed with Disney :-) But even more than that, I really enjoy planning each trip and helping others realize how easy it really is to manage. So whether it's questions about managing behavior or navigating an airport with a toddler I'm usually able to help. (Or if I am standing in line at Gymboree and I hear a Mom say that she's worried about her upcoming Disney trip since her child has food allergies. "Your child has food allergies? Do you have a pen? Here's the number to Special Dining, her name is Brenda, and this is how it works!" That really happened by the way, lol!) I enjoy helping because once I figure something out I believe in paying it forward. So I applied, as I'm sure 20,000 other Disney loving Moms, but I am realistic that there are a ton of qualified applicants. Hopefully I can represent all of the scrapbooking and food allergic Moms:-)

I will be uploading LO's soon, I completed 3 and just have to decide which ones I'm submitting and which ones I'm sharing.

I did try loading the video but it didn't seem to work. I'm sure I will have time this weekend since I think it will be raining most of the weekend. *sigh* At least I should have time to scrapbook!

Quick Share

I recently added this LO to my gallery. To make the circles I used my Creative Memories circle cutter and then adhered pattern paper to the back of my cardstock with pop up dots. (Love those!) The half pearls are from Basic Grey and have been a little obsession of mine lately.

Oh and a very tiny toot for me...my name was listed in the CK Reader Gallery in October's issue. That was a fun surprise!

I have a video that I want to share here of Colin. He sang four, yes four, made up songs highlighting various superheros. There is also breakdancing involved.
Trust me, it's very funny.

Okay now I'm off to play for a few minutes before heading to bed. My Studio Calico box came today and it was a much needed bright spot in my day!

"I Love That You Do This!"

This is what my husband said to me over the weekend when Colin was asking about his baby scrapbooks. Colin wanted to see photos of himself when he was a baby and pointed to every page and made hilarious comments! "This is me with no hair!" "This is me when I came out of your belly! Wow, you look really different!" (Basically a very nice way of Colin telling me how fat I looked.) "This is me with my friends, he didn't want to share that with me but then he did and then we had fun!"

It was nice to see my family enjoying the pages that I spent loads of time creating. It was a great trip down memory lane even though it reminded me of how old I'm getting, lol!

Matt even mentioned how neat it was to see how I have progressed in my scrapbooking since I first started :-)

So this is a reminder to pull the scrapbooks out frequently to remember all of the good and not so good times as a family. I sure hope to do this more often!

And I will be sure to remind my dear hubby that he said this the next time I am going to an all day crop :-)

Finding New Ways to Waste Time on the Internet...

Well I joined Facebook and am quite fascinated by the whole process. I mean...there are farms and free hamburgers and frequent status updates, it's easy for a girl's head to spin. I have known for awhile that Facebook was a great way to network but I just didn't get it. I'm starting to understand the draw considering how easy it is to stay in touch with folks that one may not talk to otherwise. The internet is pretty cool!

So what have I been up to that was more important than updating my blog? Honestly, not too much, lol! We did have soccer two nights last week, did I mention that I am coaching again? Between that and a busy week at work I have been pretty wiped. So when the three day weekend got here it was nice to just spend time with the fam and relax at home. We have been traveling so much in August that the last bits of summer just flew by. *sigh*

So I watched a lot of Avatar (a show I would have never watched except my son is obsessed with it and it's actually pretty good), went grocery shopping, spent time at the pool, and went to Hershey Park.


This is what I get now when I take his picture. I have essentially created a monster! Oh well, at least it is a cute monster!

And for those who have made it this far....



A recent LO that I made featuring that awesome photo of Colin and his grandparents. I have been working on this in little spurts over the last few days and it feels good to call it done and place it in the album.

I hope everyone had a great Labor Day Weekend!