big girl

This past Saturday I woke up and was ready...ready to ditch the diapers and go full force into potty training Avery.  I took her to Wal-Mart and let her pick out her own undies and some candy that would be used as some positive reinforcement (or bribe, depending on how it goes :)  We came home and I immediately began the process...so as of 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Avery became a Big Girl.

Potty training on Saturday afternoon and evening went very well, no accidents at all, but Sunday was a different story.  I think I washed at least five pairs of Hello Kitty underwear on Sunday, but I wasn't going to get discouraged or let her know that I was a little disappointed (and rethinking all of this!).  Yesterday, however, she did fantastic! She woke up dry and stayed dry ALL day, she even got to the point where she wasn't asking for candy after each flush.  I felt like we spent the entire day in the bathroom, but she was very proud of herself and continued on telling me that she is "potty taining".

I'm so proud of her and I know she's proud, too :)  This is the end of an era!

favorite room in the house

When I started scrapbooking a little over six years ago, I claimed a small corner in our spare bedroom of our basement where I had a small folding table and chairs and one small set of drawers that a dear friend had given me as a gift.  The rest of the room was used as storage because we were in the process of finishing our basement.  After we finished the basement, we moved our computer and "home office" supplies down there as well because it made sense for all of these things to be together.  As my passion (and supplies!) grew over the next few years I purchased a set of cube drawers/cubbies and a few shelves to hold my growing stash.  I added a rug and a few home decor pieces and voila...I had a pretty decent craft room!  Of course that was over three years ago and I hadn't really done anything since then (as far as organizing and purging go) so last week I spent 4 days cleaning out every inch of my craft room...it was soooooooo overdue!

I didn't get a chance to snap a "before" picture, so mentally just think of a bunch of paper, supplies, projects, containers, brown boxes, and adhesive EVERYWHERE!

Here's the "after"...

ahhhh, much better!

 I found this shelf to store all my scrapbook and crafting magazines at www.scrapbook.com.  It's a great size and I love the wire drawers that pull out...they hold a TON of mags :)

 Here's a shot of one of my favorite organizational products that I've purchased over the years...my Clip-It-UP!  I got this at Archiver's with a coupon so I scored it for less than retail.  It's handy because it allows me to see all my embellishments and I don't have to rummage around piles trying to find stuff.  It's also really lightweight and easy to move around if needed.

The only thing I bought for my craft room re-do were two canvas bins from Target.  I'm using one to store all of my chipboard letters that are loose and come in bulkier packaging.

 I found this shelf at Michael's and it holds lots of tiny embellishments, ribbons scraps, and my paint.  The clear glass jars with black lids are some old spice containers I up-cycled :)

I used to have my Big Shot on my table and it took up a lot of space, but since I reorganized, I found a new home for it...right under my Cricut.  Now all my die cutting supplies are in one place!

These cheap shelves came from Wal-Mart and hold a TON of stuff!  I moved all of my finished albums over here and I have all of my sewing supplies stored here as well.  The white boxes (from Wal-Mart) hold all of my letter stickers, Thickers, sticker sheets, and chipboard shapes.

 This cube shelf is just like what's under my craft table...the manufacturer sent us an extra one at no cost because one had been damaged...I found these at www.target.com.  I store all of my stamps, punches, adhesive, ribbon, card making supplies, and anything else that needs a hidden home in them.

 Inside of cube shelves

Computer desk, filing cabinet, and printer locale

A little wide angle action for ya!

I hope you enjoyed this little "tour" of my favorite room in our house.  It's come a long way over the past few years and we ALL spend a lot of time in here.  It's my happy place, my retreat...it's MY room, LOL!

If you have any questions about organizational tips, products, or anything at all, feel free to leave me a comment and I'd be happy to help :)

Happy Thursday to everyone...can't wait for Grey's tonight!

you are my #1 friend

It was so fun to participate in last week's challenge at Studio Calico that I decided to jump in on their Sunday Sketch challenge for this week :)

Here's the sketch:

And here's my take on the sketch:

I took the sketch and rotated it one turn to the right (clockwise).  I really like the way the picture looks like it's sitting in a pocket :)  I went all out with the embellishments and I even broke out the sewing machine for an added "homespun" touch.  All the products I used came from Studio Calico's most recent kit (w/add-ons), County Fair.  Hope you enjoy!

box of happiness

This is the first layout I've created in months...and the first time I've ever created a layout for a Studio Calico challenge! 

The challenge was to use a monochromatic color scheme and I couldn't help but be inspired by all of the lovely Studio Calico boxes that fill up my craft room.  Plus, I LOVE me some kraft-colored paper so I was really inspired and excited to participate in the challenge...hope I win!!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.  I've spent the last four days cleaning and reorganizing my craft room and let me tell you it needed it!  More on that this week :)

love letters

I've been having way too much fun with my Bind-It-All lately....makin' the mini albums like crazy! One of the add-on's from Studio Calico's January Kit featured some adorable vintage envelopes and stationary which inspired me to make a Valentine's mini album...

This is actually the back of the album :)

 And here's the front...just like an envelope!

Under the flap

To make this mini, I hand-drew the parts of the envelope I wanted to layer and cut them out...

I painted all the pieces, let them dry, attached them with adhesive, and then applied a coat of Mod Podge over the entire cover (front and back)...

I used various patterned paper I had on-hand to make the pages of my album and I added this free Valentine's printable from www.eatdrinkchic.com to the front page of the album.  They have tons so go check 'em out! 

 

February is always a very eventful (and busy!) time for my family.  Jubal's birthday, our anniversary, and Valentine's Day all fall in the same week, so I plan on filling this album up with those fun-filled events! 

Have a great day!

"don't cut out my paper heart..."

Avery and I are were in a "Valentine-y" mood so we made a super cute and easy craft decoration for the play room today...paper heart garland!

Here's the play-by-play...

I punched out the paper hearts using my Stampin' Up! heart punch and 

three sheets of 12x12 patterned paper.  Can you see my helper?

 Next, I threaded my sewing machine and started sewing down the middle of the hearts...

 It was so quick and easy this project literally took minutes :)

 I made two strands and strung them up in the window...

I love how they turned out...I will definitely be making more of these using different

 punches and experimenting with different colors and patterns.  

What a great decoration for a birthday, baby shower, wedding, or ANY event!  

Hope you enjoy!

One Little Word-January

I just finished up with my January prompts for my One Little Word album.  This is a totally new approach for me as far as scrapbooking and crafting goes, but I already know I'm really gonna like this project!  I'm still waiting on a few supplies that I ordered from Amazon, but I had enough supplies on-hand to work with...

All I had to do was print out this template, cut it out, and add my letter stickers.

The five cards with headings on them were templates I printed off as well (you get access to them when you join the class :)  All I had to do was fill them out and slip them into the plastic sleeves...I used some of my crafty skills to fill up the rest of the sleeves!

I can't WAIT for February's prompts!  

Hello Kitty returns!

I threw together a small mini book over the weekend...I got the inspiration from my favorite blog Dear Lizzy.

Here's a peek at a few pages...

The envelope contains a letter I wrote to myself to be opened at the end of the year.  This little project was sort of a new and creative way to celebrate the new year and to keep my resolutions handy and within reach throughout the year (and it also gave me the chance to use my new Bind-It-All :) LOL!

On a completely un-related and cute note, Avery re-discovered her Hello Kitty Halloween costume and has worn it for the past two days now... :)

She's a MESS! 

(the adorable tulle pouf was purchased at Practically Perfect Boutique here in town!)

fresh

This is my One Little Word for 2012...

Head on over to the BPC website to learn more about this class taught by the super-talented Ali Edwards.

This is my first year participating in One Little Word so I'm really excited to share this with you and you don't even have to be a scrapbooker or crafter to take this class!  It's all about focusing, reflecting, and engaging yourself with One Little Word that you choose (or that chooses you!) for the whole year, with month-by-month prompts and inspiration.  I hope you'll check it out and join me on this new and fresh journey!

Happy Monday, everyone!

Favorite Quotes Mini Album

I have a board on Pinterest that holds all of my favorite quotes and sayings.  I got the idea from another blog, www.amytangerine.blogspot.com, to put them all in a mini album so I can keep them handy when I'm feeling the need for a little wisdom or pick-me-up...

 I took a 5x5 embossed mini album from Studio Calico and painted it aqua.  I applied a couple of coats of Mod Podge and then bound it together with some adhesive backed fabric.  

Here's a few of the quotes I included in my album...

I had over 30-something quotes on my pinboard, plus a few of my all time faves I've remembered over the years...I still have some pages left so I can add more as I go.  I kept the album super simple so it wouldn't get too chunky.  It was a bit of a challenge for me not to over embellish :)

This was another one of my "to-do" projects from last year so I'm really happy I got it done!  I just have to keep reminding myself, "one step at a time".  Oh look, another quote I can add to the book... :)

Christmas 2011 Album

A couple of months ago I signed up for a class via www.bigpictureclasses.com that was entititled the 12 Days of Christmas.  Needless to say, due to the fact that I had quite a bit going on last month (as we all did!), I didn't get to fully experience the class and I ran verrrrrry far behind.  I got frustrated and just decided I would make the best of it by finishing my album my own way :)

I started by painting my chipboard album (which I had on hand at home) with plain 'ol white acrylic paint (3 coats to be exact), inside and outside...

After the paint dried, I used Versamark Ink, Iridescent Ice embossing powder, and some Stampin' Up! stamps to emboss these beautiful doilies onto the front and sides of the album...

I also added a few embellishments to complete the front of my album...

Here are a few of my favorite pages from the album...

I finished it off with some gorgeous striped Stampin' Up! ribbon...

This is the earliest I've ever gotten my Christmas pictures scrapped so I guess I wasn't too far behind :)

On to the next project!