Wi Fi Where Have You Been All My Life?

As I sit on my couch soaking in all of the possibilities, I am in awe of technology. In just one day we have increased our online presence significantly with a new iPad and a Google TV. Santa was very good to us this year and we are truly blessed. It will take a little time for me to learn how to do everything I am used to doing on my regular computer but I hope to be able to blog more regularly. Because that, my friends, is the gift that keeps on giving :-).
So just a quick update while I learn to add photos to posts.
The kids are great although why any toddler should get 5-6 teeth at once is beyond me.
Miss C is running all over creation and wants nothing to do with being held and certainly does not require hand holding.
Colin has been enjoying his Christmas gifts even though he was really sweating the Santa stuff. He was sure the big guy was not coming to our house this year. Colin's doing well and being well, Colin. See previous sentence about being worried that Santa was not coming.
I have been trying to craft but it's been hard to make time. I'm hoping to start working on Miss C's newborn photos. Maybe that will get my butt in gear? It was around 18 months when I started scrapbooking for Colin so I only have a few more months, right?
Anywho that's a lot of words with no photos, I will post some Christmas photos soon. Promise.
I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!

Welcome....

Seems only fitting that the first layout I completed is about Miss C's birth story.

This layout was completed with Vintage Vogue by College Press Studio for Pink Paislee.

On Saturday, Matt took the kids so I could spend some time cropping in the scrapbook store. It was great to just clear my head for a bit, spend some time away from the kids and just focus on something that makes me happy. I can't explain how much of a difference this makes. I'm so grateful for having the opportunity to have a little me time. I really didn't get that much done but at least I started. I'm thankful that I have been able to clean my room a bit and get reacquainted with my supplies.

The one benefit of not scrapbooking in over a year is that all of my supplies are new supplies, (well at least to me, lol!)

I have to admit that when I received these lovely supplies from Pink Paislee, I was just grinning from ear to ear when I opened this box. So maybe I should thank them for helping me find my mojo again. Thanks so much Miriam and College Press Studio for thinking of me. You really made my day!

I'm Thinking About Making Something....

But I have gifts to wrap.
Who am I kidding...I still have loads of shopping to do.
Laundry and packing.
And tons of things that need organized, which is why I'm looking forward to this.



I could use a little, okay a lot of help in finding things in my craftroom and with less time I NEED to know where things are.

Why is this important? Well there is something about completing a project that motivates me in all other areas of my life. Whether it's a scrapbook page or a sewing project, being able to look at something and say, "I made that," makes me feel like I could do anything.

I get that feeling looking at the kids but this feeling wears off quickly. And well, I can find a place for 100 layouts...100 kids, not so much.

So I will be tuning in since my friend Emilie is a crafty genius and I am sure I will learn something that will improve my quality of life. Seriously.

So I Am A Bella Babe!

So I was contacted by the very fun and witty Emily, owner of Stamping Bella, to see if I was interested in designing for her new scrapbooking website, Scrapping Bella. It didn't take me long to say yes to playing with really cute stamps and a fun mix of products. However it did take me a little longer to email her my headshot and bio :-)

So checkout the blog here this week for the official announcement!

To say that I am excited, flattered, inspired, excited :-) would be the understatement of the year. However, I am most of all grateful for the opportunity!

And if you haven't had a chance to check out the website I would encourage you to do so now.

Go ahead, I'll wait :-)

Isn't it awesome?!

Okay that's it for now...I have some new LO's to share and loads of Project 365 photos to share that will shed some light on what the Faust clan has been up to over the last couple of weeks.

Excited? Me too!

The last two weeks have been a bit of a blur so I am anxious to see what we have been up to too!

Oh what the heck! Here's that LO that I was working on in this post where I realized that glue and toddlers don't mix.
You see that ribbon at the bottom of the photo? It's covering the big glue spot courtesy of Colin Faust.



In the end I did thank him for "helping me" with my scrapbooking.

The ribbon was a nice touch!

*ETA* Have you seen all this stuff?


The very generous Emily is providing my readers and new Bella friends a chance at winning all of this loot! So comment on this post to be entered for your chance to win!

Good Luck everyone!

Quick Update!

I have HUGE scrappy news to share...well at least HUGE to me :-)

Not to make you wait on the edge of your seat but I am on my way to work and well....it will take me more than 30 seconds to post the story.

I didn't fall off the face of the earth I am just being super productive in the Christmas department!

So productive that I have gotten totally behind in my blog stalking ritual :-)

Never fear, I will be stalking your blogs shortly as well as sharing my news.

Now back to your regularly scheduled day :-)

Ham and Project 365...

There she is! I got it done and even made some corn pudding too. I haven't had that in ages and since Colin was at school I figured it was safe to bake eggs in the house.

On another note, guess what happened?

I purchased We R Memory Keepers 4x6 page protectors to use in my American Crafts Modern Album. They didn't fit. So I figured that I needed a different album yet I'm cheap so I purchased a Pioneer D Ring album with a coupon. I got the album home, put in the page protectors...they don't fit. I figured "Great, now I have to purchase the expensive album." Just because I am a quick thinker, I brought along a page protector when I went to the store to purchase the expensive WRMK's Linen Album. I tried the protector and THEY DIDN'T FIT IN THERE EITHER!

So I called WRMK's and they explained that they were probably a bad batch and that I should return them. Well I purchased them in Hershey which is more than a hop, skip and a jump away. When I explained that it would be difficult to get there they told me that they could ship new ones if I covered the cost of shipping. The SHIPPING COST MORE THAN THE PAGE PROTECTORS!

That was the best that they could do. *sigh*

Needless to say I now have American Crafts 4x6 Page Protectors.

And I actually like them better.

Take that WRMK's!

Well It Finally Happened...

After ages of leaving LO's in progress accessible to preschool hands, Colin finally decided that my LO needed "some help."

Colin: "Mommy where's the glue?"
Me: "I don't have any."
Colin: "Well what is this?" As he walks across the room and finds a tacky glue bottle.
Me: "It's glue but please don't use it, we are getting ready to leave."

We finish putting our shoes on and as we walk into the garage Colin says...

Colin: "So Mommy, what do you think of your scrapbooking? I made it special for you. I wanted to scrapbook with you so I made it special."



So I walk slowly over to my counter and see how special Colin made my almost finished LO. He glued a string of scrapper's floss to the photo with coordinating buttons.

GLUE. He used GLUE.

So I walked backed to the car and I didn't have the heart to tell him that I was tempted to ground him till college because he was so happy that he helped and that I liked it.

When I came home I removed the evidence and I may cover the spot of clear glue with an embellishment or possibly reprint the photo. Colin was upset that someone moved the buttons and I told him that the glue didn't hold it.

Colin: "Well I better get more glue."
Me: As shrieks of panic go through my body. "You know that would make a really nice necklace."

He is now happily making me a necklace that I WILL wear in exchange for him laying off of my LO's.



Who knew scrappers floss was so versatile?

Did I mention that this LO is due tomorrow morning?

Seriously This Week Just Flew By...

I realize that it was my first week back but still, are things really that crazy? It felt like as soon as I would get up and get going it was already time to start winding the day down and get ready for bed. It felt like it had been ages since I made something and I'm pretty sure it was starting to get to me, lol!

So I went to a little crop and my son's daycare today. I just brought a few things...still more than I needed, and worked on two LO's. When I came home and started putting things away I realized that my "do dads" had gotten a bit out of control. I have two bowls on my desk that I throw little embellishments in so I don't forget about them. Well, for the last few weeks I have been just dumping stuff in there and not actually using anything.

So they were a complete mess!

So I reorganized those which then led me to putting everything away from the crop. Then I realized that I had too many scraps in my scrap bag so I needed to sort that. And while I was thinking of that I realized that I hadn't organized my pattern paper in awhile or my cardstock....

So it's now 1AM and my room is much more organized and functional.

Unfortunately, I'm too tired to function in it!

So tomorrow friends...I shall have photos to share, some scrappy projects and random witty remarks to start this next week off right!

New LO...

And a bit of self doubt. I spent Friday night at Times to Remember at the Hershey Outlets. I try to do this at least once a month but it has been awhile since my schedule and their midnight crop schedule matched. I go up by myself, spread out my supplies and try to get as much done as I can. This is usually when I realize that I think too much about stuff and sometimes can be painfully slow.

Friday night I only brought a few supplies and just the LO's that I was working on. So I of course forgot a few things that would have made my life easier and was having a hard time with this LO.



I'll be honest...it's only now starting to grow on me. I wanted to finish this first before working on anything else since I started it about a week ago and just was tired of looking at it.

So I called it done and sat it to the side. Well I just kept looking at since I wasn't happy with it. What I liked was the tone on tone color scheme, the die cut paper that I journaled on and the stitching. That was about it. I struggled trying to balance the die cut paper and the rest of the LO. But I was bound and determined to not pull it apart and start over.

In the end I added the floss, buttons and half pearls in the middle, yet it still didn't feel right. Then I added half pearls in the top right corner, that didn't do it either. It wasn't until I added the punched sun embellishment with the staple and half pearl that I started to feel better about it.

Did I mentioned that I also dropped my stamp onto my photo?

Now that I stepped away from it for a bit I am happy with it. I wish I didn't waste so much time on it but I am glad it was done.

More importantly I got this funny story onto paper.

But I will admit, I had a few "I'm a terrible scrapbooker, why even bother to submit stuff," moments.

Luckily I came home, slept and then looked through albums with Colin today and remembered exactly why I do this.

So self doubt gone....scrapbooking can resume :-)

Paper Collecting...

I really try to avoid purchasing more pattern paper than I could ever possibly use. I only buy what I love and want to use every single piece of it. However, I'm beginning to become concerned that I couldn't ever use all of the lovely patterns that I have acquired no matter how much I scrapped. Will they be outdated when I get to them or will they be considered an "oldy but goody?"

The forecast is for a rainy weekend so I'm hoping to turn that into a scrap fest that may possibly make a dent in my ever growing stash.

I wonder if there is a midnight crop tomorrow?!

Since no post is really complete without a photo....



So when you need to make some space in your scraproom what do you do?

Do you purge and give to friends or create LO's with as much stuff on them as possible?

Guess What I Ordered...

I had no idea that this was already available. I'll be honest, I wasn't sure how I felt about the new lines until I got a chance to see them in person. I love all of them! So I order a few sheets of Boyfriend and Earth Love along with some stickers for each. Since I have new paper on the way I'm hoping to make a huge dent in my stash this weekend. So what is everyone planning to purchase first once the new products start to hit shelves? Cosmo, Pink Paislee, GCD Studios and Sassafrass have been some of my faves since sneaks started. How about you?

Scrapbook Trends Online

I just caved and ordered an online sub to scrapbook trends, I even got the all access pass. I used the coupon that I got in my email which made the pass 4.99! I really got it because I was dying to see the July issue in print. I heard awesome things about it and I wanted to see if my LO was still in there. I am so glad I subscribed! The august issue is available too and they are both WONDERFUL!

I am so proud to be included in both of those issues! I LOVE this mag and they do a fantastic job staging LO's for photos. I love that they used a wire dress form next to my July LO. How did they know I would love that?!

Onto more depressing news...according to Scrapbook Update Ck Media has been sold. The first order of buisness was to hand out a ton of layoffs. I am so sad for the families involved and will be keeping them in our prayers during this transition. Even though I guess the writing has been on the wall for this to happen, it still took me back this morning when I read it. You can say anything that you want about CK and what they have done in the past, it is still terribly unfortanute for anyone to loose their jobs, especially right now, and especially in print media.

Well I have a little man knocking in my scraproom so apparently it's time to go swimming at Hershey Park. Wish me luck!

I'm Back....

And I'm finishing this LO as we speak. As soon as the sun comes up....okay a little, I mean a lot later than that...I will take photos and share.
I have to say, tonight was pretty productive. The one benefit to the weird way I start 10 LO's and not finish them is that when I do finish them....I have a BUNCH to share. I think I should have about 6 all together.
I think at least two of these will get posted tomorrow!

Hope everyone gets a chance to do something super fun tomorrow!

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....

Only about a month to go....

Till Colin gets to hang out with all of his Disney buddies on the big boat. To say he is excited is a major understatement. Poor kid, he keeps asking, "they are going to make me waffles right?" For those of you who are new here, Colin has multiple food allergies and an Eosinophilic disorder. Basically that means he has a few allergies that are like the regular ones you hear about in the news, milk and eggs, that are life threatening. He has a much larger list of allergies that while they aren't life threatening, cause severe discomfort, skin issues and damage in his gut. A lot of kids who have this disorder are unable to eat food at all and are fed through a G Tube in their tummy. We were able to avoid that step since we were able to find the foods that cause the damage and remove them from his diet. Needless to say, we eat a lot of chicken in our house, lol! But this is the reason that Colin has been taken to Disney so many times in his short life already. They are FANTASTIC at managing his allergies and for one week a year, our family feels a little more like everyone else. So we go in the off season, bring our umbrellas and cross our fingers for good weather. But the weather doesn't really matter because it really is all about the waffles :)



Supplies: Cardstock: Bazzil. Pattern Paper: SEI. Buttons, Photo Corners, Turns and Brads: American Crafts. Letters, Journaling Cards: Reminisce. Other: Ribbon, Trim.

So we are starting to think about what we need for this trip, getting all of our forms and passports together and trying to figure out what we will do for food when we are not on the ship. It takes a lot of planning to travel with Colin but it's totally worth it and we are extremely appreciative that we even have the option to travel. So I am trying to get photos scrapped from previous vacations before getting a ton more photos to scrapbook. We will see how I do. I did a major purge of the 2000 photos on my hard drive, (remind to back those up). I think I'm done to 1800 but that is still a ton of photos that need to be scrapped. I'm thinking photo albums are in my future, lol!

Photo with Lion...check!

I can't believe our luck, talk about being in the right place at the right time, lol! We spent the weekend at Penn State for their annual Blue and White game. The weather was wonderful and there was lots to do for little ones. Colin started to get a little hot so he went to the carnival outside the stadium for a bit with his grandmother and Dad. As I'm watching the game I see that the lion is making his way over to where we are sitting. I start wishing that it wasn't so hot and that Colin was still watching the game. Sure enough, Colin walks in with his snow cone and a renewed spirit. (No crabby pants from being too hot). So we run to the edge of our section and Colin starts yelling, "Hey Lion, Hey Lion!" We ask for a photo and hand our kid over the fence so this complete stranger can hold my son and I can get the photo of a lifetime. I cannot believe Colin is looking and smiling! It seriously makes me insanely giddy that I got this photo! Colin was very happy to meet the Lion but also made it very clear that it wasn't really the Lion because there was a kid inside. He said, "I saw him, I saw his shoes too!"


Supplies: Cardstock: Bazzil. Pattern Paper: Studio Calico, October Afternoon. Rub Ons: Hambly. Letters: American Crafts, Making Memories. Buttons: Creative Cafe. Brads. American Crafts. Stamp: Scarlet Lime.
I took this photo when I was learning how to use my new camera. When I saw those little feet I knew I wanted to do this LO. This is the weirdest habit that Colin has. (Well one of them at least). When he has a tough time falling asleep he will ask me this. He doesn't actually mean it, he wants to put his feet on my back. Still weird, but not as bad. Not that I think I will ever forget that he does this, but I wanted to make the LO just in case I need additional stories for embarrassment when he is in high school.

So I promised a LO...

Supplies: Cardstock: Bazzil. Pattern Paper: Basic Grey, Sassafrass Lass. Rip Strips: Studio Calico. Buttons: Creative Cafe. Sticker: Scenic Route. Chipboard Letters: American Crafts. Letter Stickers: Making Memories. Other: String, Cork.

And here it is. This was one of the seven that I had in progress that I finished up this weekend. Colin spent the weekend fishing with his grandparents and I headed to my LSS after dropping him off. I mean...I was in the neighborhood and I just happened to have cropping supplies in my van. You know, it was the least that I could do, lol! Anyway not too much new here. I have loads to do today and I want to use the "free time" I have today to get groceries and laundry completed. If I'm lucky, I might even get to sew this weekend. That would definetly be a four star weekend! Just as a heads up, I am planning a giveaway to celebrate hitting 100 posts, (I know I'm a bit late) and 10,000 hits, (I know a bit early). I haven't decided what it is yet but as soon as I do, I will post it as well as what you need to do to win. Take care and have a great Sunday!

How many LO's do you work on at a time?

I currently have 7 LO's in progress. Yep, you read that right, 7. I have no idea why I do this. I generally start my LO with cardstock, pattern paper and photos. I then decide what my title will be and then decide on placement. I always do embellishments last and I know I'm done when it just feels done. So sometimes, okay most times, after I get all of the major stuff done I just don't feel like finishing it. So then I start a new one. Hence why I have yet another photoless post. I'm hoping to kick myself in the pants and finish ALL of the LO's I have started either tonight or this weekend. The plus size to this method is that when I do finish them I will have a ton of new LO's to share. You know, as long as I don't start a new one, lol!

So I talk a lot....

at crops, well really I talk a lot all the time, but especially at crops. I can't help it, apparently I have a lot to say, lol! I think that is one of the major reasons that I got hooked on scrapbooking. I love telling stories, funny tid bits of my life and making others laugh. It just makes the day go better when you can share a laugh and a little bit about yourself.
So the crop that I attended today was from 9AM-9PM. I really didn't get that much done compared to others but I did get quite a few things started or finished. It was cold and humid, (weird combo), and I started getting frustrated with my photos and paper warping. So around 8PM I think I gave up and started packing. I really want to do this at least once a month. Even though I didn't cross a ton off of my to do list and I technically have more things to do at home since I lost a whole day to scrapbooking...I always FEEL SO MUCH BETTER after spending time with good friends, paper and glue! So thanks honey for watching our gremlin today, I needed the break.


I had started this LO last week and have been dying to finish it. I was really proud of how many of my little brads I used on this page. I tend to hoard supplies just in case there was ever a brad crisis, (you never know). So thanks for stopping by and wish me luck as I get my turn to be "man on man" with Colin tomorrow.
Supplies: Cardstock: Bazzil. Pattern Paper: GCD Studios, October Afternoon. Chipboard: Colorbok. Letters: American Crafts, Making Memories. Accent: American Crafts. Rub On: Cosmo Cricket

So I'm packing!

I am very lucky and have the ability to attend a scrapbooking crop tomorrow for 12 hours. I'm packing, planning and doing more packing. It's about 45 mins away so whatever I don't bring I will have to do without! I'm hoping to get some pages done but most importantly relax and laugh with other women who get this whole scrapbook thing! I can't wait.