Christmas tags, gift card holders

I have been making labels and tags for our family's Christmas gifts for years. But this year when I went to grab some to put on our presents and we didn't have any? Really? I think that the girls actually got into them and used them as stickers. But its not a big deal, and it gave me a chance to play a little with some new ideas. I couldn't play that much because I needed to whip up 32 tags the night before Christmas to put on the gifts that needed to be under the tree. So I made some fun ones and wrote down some ideas of others that I wanted to try a little later.

And of course I didn't take a photo of the ones that I made. In my defense, it was Christmas eve, I had some people coming over for dinner the next day and we were planning to be out walking the loop of lights in our neighborhood so I really needed to be getting the food prepared and the house cleaned.

I've always made little labels (pretty much the same size as an Avery address label) but I decided that I didn't want to do that anymore.  I also decided that I am going to need something to store them in as well. I still haven't figured that but they need to be able to stay neat until the next Christmas.

Here is one of the three that I did today. I really like them. I wish I had maybe printed the To/From on the computer but I do love that they look nice and neat.

 I do plan on using diecuts on some that I will stamp a polar bear on and some diecuts of snowflakes.  I also am planning on making some giftcard holders. I don't currently have a die or anything for them (which I know that I could convert 2 dies that I have into something simular) but I decided to make a tag that I made 2 yrs ago into a giftcard holder instead of tossing it. It actually turned out pretty cute I would say.

 

I really didn't like putting giftcards into premade little boxes from Walmart or Target (not sure which one I got them from) but now that I think of it, I know that I have access to one or two designs with a LD set of svgs that I bought a year or two ago. Oh well. But I am going to save this one for next year, most likely for someone at church or work.

I also ran them through my Xyron 250(??) so that they would already be sticky and then I just stapled them all together.  The other labels are too big to use that Xyron. But I am glad to say that I plan on getting my other two way before Christmas next year so I will be able to use those for the bigger labels. But until next time. Smiles, Tracy

Christmas recap...

Well I haven't been posting on the blog in awhile and there is much to report and share. I am honestly jam packing alot of projects and things into my weekend before the start of the 2013 first because I would really love to get some crafty things done and start off the new year with a somewhat smaller to be done list, and secondly I have a job that starts in 3 days.  And honestly I am so excited and can't really focus so crafting really does help me to get it together.

Well the first thing to share is that I changed the wall mantel before Christmas and here is a photo of that. I love the new style.

And then there is the Christmas ornaments that the I had to do over for the girls. Their baby ones where destroyed by them last year or maybe it was the year before? I honestly am not sure at all. But I have redone those. I just realized that I honestly forgot to take a photo of daughter #1's ornament. But here is what I created

Everything was made using old stash. I honestly haven't purchased anything new or scrapbook related since June or July of this year and that was a few things for projects for my job and then some things to help son#2 get a project completed for school. So nothing else at this time, but I am sure that that will change real soon.

But here is the supplies. I just wanted to say that there are some that I honestly don't remember who made them so I have just put a ?? for that information.
Clear acylic sheet (??) I believe it may be Creative Impressions?
Diecuts- MFT snowflake (cut using Quickutz metal adhesive sheets/paper), Quickutz label die
Embellishments- Metal glitter brad, Happy Holidays metal label are both Making Memories old products, Glitter Christmas vine-Micheal's, Twine and ribbons??
Patterned Patters:??
White Acyrlic paint- Anita's


 I have decided that I am honestly going to try to take more pictures no matter what in 2013 and since the app that I had for blogger hasn't worked since the first time that I used it, I have got to find another way to blog and post things on here. I am working on it though. I think it will be much easier to post and blog since I will be away from the house and kids. And although I am not scrapbooking all that much I am still 100% invested in some sort of crafty thing. Most of them lately have been decorating but still busy using the supplies that I have and love.

Oh and of course I have to add another picture of the cuties in my life from Christmas morning...

My oldest said for me to say that he didn't get all the gifts that were in front of  him. LOL I didn't realize it until now but the "community" gifts (which are the gifts that we buy for all the kids to play with because no one specifically asked for it, but we thought it would be nice to get) are in front of him and his gifts. But I hope that eveyone had and is still having a safe, and fun holiday season. Smiles, Tracy

Jewelry Mess No More

I have been really wondering what to do about my jewelry for over a year and I tried several different storage options for it but honestly none of them really allowed me to see the collection when I was searching for something to wear with an outfit. And so many times I would just grab the first thing that I came across because alot of it was all tangled up together from the girls playing with it while I was at work.

So I decided that since I am planning on having our bedroom finished for my birthday month that it wouldn't be a bad idea to work on projects that have been bothering me. So I went shopping in our house and found 2 pieces of scrap wood and a half used package of hooks. I knew that this option was going to be more permanent and also it would have to be something that I could expand on.



This is what I came up with. It is the middle section of our closet. When you look to the left of this section it is my side of the closet and when you look to the right it is my hubby's side. The closet isn't small at all. In fact, this is why I am able to use this whole section for my jewelry. And if I hang my weekly clothes out for work (which I usually do), I won't knock down any of my jewelry.

 

 

It is perfect for me right now but I am hoping to honestly purchase 2 long boards that span the entire wall and that use the scraps that I have here cut to fit each side of the top row of boards. I will also purchase more hooks but these will easily be able to be unscrewed and added to the new boards.


It took me 40 mins to actually get the jewelry I had organized and I decided to actually hang my pieces in color order of my most favorite outfits and work clothes. The good news is that in a couple of weeks there won't be a big difference in either one of those wardrobes. Meaning that my new job actually lets us wear whatever we want. There are some rules but basically if I wanted to wear jeans everyday of the week I actually could. I love love love that! Although now that I think of it I actually have only 3 pairs of jeans and I don't really wear them even on casual Fridays. LOL but if I do decide to wear I can whenever I want to. Speaking of jeans I was watching the news and they named some celebrity that doesn't wash his jeans but like 2xs a year or something. I seriously was disgusted by that. I wash my jeans after each wear. I know that some will say that nuts but that's how I roll.

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas...

Or at least my house is! Our neighborhood is too. I am not as excited about all the Christmas light traffic that is coming but I can at least enjoy the fact that I am working on making our home look better each season/holiday that we share in it.

I really do have to admit that I am starting to really see our home change into a place that no longer is builder grade but is starting to have it's own character. I am working on it. It is a process, but it is moving along. And I haven't been posting much here because I have been busy doing little projects. They aren't huge or exciting things so I didn't take pictures but we have been working on updating our home. And enjoying our family. My father-in-law has recently moved back to the area from Prescott and so now I have been planning dinners and activities that we all can do together.

I am so excited about the things that are going on and really wish that I had tons of pictures to share but I don't, first of all my tripod broke, and then to add to the issue, my camera is taking really blurry pictures. But I have been learning to work with it while being on the look out for an affordable new point and shoot camera.

Well I do have one photo to share. This is a photo of our Christmas mantel.

 I have been wanting a mantel but not a fireplace (its to hot here to have one in our home) so after reading and researching shelves. I decided the raw wood shelf that I could stain was a great idea. And my hubby made it and I stained it and the brackets and it was done. I then pulled several items that I had gotten for really cheap at garage sales. I have to say it almost all fit together like a puzzle. And there are many things that I still plan on hanging our stockings with some really nice permanent hooks. Well until next time...Smiles, Tracy

Today I was looking through my mail and realized that I have been tossing away free money. I have been sent free gift cards from Kohls, JC Penny, and other stores but I would toss them because I thought that you had to purchase a certain amount of something in order to get something for free.
Well today I went to Kohls to see what I could get for $10. And there were a couple of things that I wanted and are on my wishlist, but I found some towels for $1.99 for a set of eight and although they aren't the best quality, they are perfect for our guest bathroom. I also get 4 napkins to add to my Thanksgiving Day decor. So I have 24 towels and 4 napkins for $10.04. Which means I actually paid 4¢ after my gift card.
I will be using these from now on instead of tossing them. Well I'm tired and need to get to bed. Goodnight, Tracy

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Get it all together

Well that is exactly what I have been working on, getting it all together. Reorganizing our master suite closet, getting the office clutter free ( is really my hardest task when it comes to organizing) and trying to make small productive steps in decorating. Which was spray painting the guest bathroom faucet and shower components, light fixture and door knobs. And after all that it looks amazing, but I realized that I really need to replace the shower head all together. With little ones you have to have shower heads that can be held to wash sticky feet and shampooed hair. But these things all take money that isn't in the budget right now. But I did get some scrapbooking done as well.  I really am proud of the fact that I am almost just a year behind in the youngest's album but I don't have any photos to share mostly because I am using my phone to post. So once I get an understanding of how to edit and add the pics from my phone I will surely be uploading photos. Until then, smiles. Tracy

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Food Allergies

So I don't really talk about this much but since having children (3 of the 4) with food allergies, I often avoid certain things for our family. I do sometimes experiment which substitutions but often times we avoid certain things all together.

One of those things that I love is banana bread, and I haven't made it ever from scratch and I refused to make it from a pack because I know that the ingredients could have nuts in it. And no matter what nut I wanted to put in it at least one of my children with allergies would be allergic to it. And it never crossed my mind to actually make it without nuts. Which is weird because we make chocolate chip cookies, and brownies and every other dessert that calls for nuts without them.

So today I looked at my fruit basket and thought I really want to make banana bread with those really ripe bananas. I have been freezing the bad ones for months for smoothies or milkshakes but I really wanted banana bread.

So I searched online for the perfect quick recipe to make before the kids got home from school and it was one that jumped right out at me from here http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/banana_bread/

And although it took an hour to cook it was nice to have this waiting for the kids for an after school snack...

And they loved it! I pulled out my glass cake stand that I got for $2 at a garage sale and it looks really cute on the stand. I love fall, it's cool enough to experiment with baking recipes and not feel like you are burning up! So this week I say if it's cooling down where you are at, try a recipe that you haven't tried or haven't made in awhile.  Smiles, Tracy

So fall is officially here...

I used to associate fall with having a little more time to relax and do crafting projects. Well in that was the case in the state that I used to live in, but not so much here. The temperature changes a little during this season but not by much. And for the most part there are things that I have on my to-do list that are calling my names.

I don't have a lot of fall decorations for the outside of the house. In fact, I never purchased anything for our first house. And honestly I was not really thinking that I was going to do that just yet for this house. I think that if you put up fall themed decorations some people associate those decorations with celebrating a certain day of October that we don't celebrate at all. And in our last house I put up a wreath one year and that was the year that we received knocks on our door that night (even with the lights off). So I was thinking that maybe I wouldn't do anything. But I really do want something that says Have a Blessed Thanksgiving/ autumn or something. I am thinking vinyl. And I knew that I was going to do a wreath again. But I couldn't find on that I loved. So I picked up an undecorated Christmas wreath from Walmart and some floral items from the Dollar Tree. And I was good, well that was until I headed to the 50% off sale at my local Goodwill and saw that there was a wood branch wreath for $1.50. It had roses on it and I got rid of those because that isn't exactly what I had planned for my fall wreath and the size isn't perfect but it will work and so I got all my supplies together.

And sat them on the kitchen table for a few hours before I decided that I need to just do it.

Once it was completed which actually took a few hours because I was working on it while completing a project for LT's room and working on a picture frame that I love. And I loved the finished wreath. And I went to hang it last night but that was interrupted by spider killing, and watching baby toads and finally looking at the stars. So I sat it on the hall floor. This morning I decided that it was time to get it on the door. But when deciding that I was stumped because wasn't sure if I wanted to add a nail again in the door since I had to patch the previous nail hole because hubby just ripped the Christmas wreath off with the nail. The wreath was ok but the door not so much. But I decided to just do it. And I screwed in a nail and made an actual hanger with burlap that I had in my stash. It turned out perfectly.

So for a total cost of approximately $10 (because I didn't use all the floral stuff I bought) I now have a fall wreath that I honestly now love. Adding the burlap made it perfect and it went from being an ok wreath to me to being perfect.  And now I have plans to get other items that are fall themed for the front of the house. I am thinking maybe a huge planter and some fall related something or another?

 

And now I see that I need to touch up the trim more and scrap off some excess paint on the door kick.

Happy Fall Blessings! Smiles, Tracy

Garage door...what an improvement!!!

The entry way into our home from the garage was always an issue for me when it came to the look and feel of the door. It was a plain white door that I wiped down honestly at least 2xs a day. And the day that we had a garage sale I wiped it down way more than that. And it was getting to the point where it also was becoming dingy as well. I believe it was partly due to the flat builder's grade paint. I hoped to paint the house rooms all before starting to work on projects that didn't really matter too much to anymore but me, but sometimes you just feel enough is enough.

So I pulled out my paint samples that I had gotten from Lowes for painting our bedroom and mixed several colors together to get what was as close to dark turquoise as possible. I didn't want to buy paint because I honestly knew that I will most likely change this in the long run because I will paint the entire garage when I purchase the above shelving system and storage containers.  And I began painting the door. It looked ok and I honestly was fine with it but I wanted something more. Then I decided that it would look better if I distressed it and so I added the black/espresso stain. It was almost perfect and then that's when I decided to pull out my cricut and cut a sign.  And now it is absolutely awesome. The sign is truly a trial and error experiment and I honestly will be doing that over too when I get more vinyl.

What I learned is that any vinyl works in my cricut. And I used painters tape (in place of the cricut transfer tape) because I didn't have the correct tape. As I stated this was a project that I decided to just do. I also learned that it would maybe be easier to make the sign straight by making very light lines or my leveler. And finally I will add some decorative elements to the design next time. Maybe a flourish or some sort of scroll. But the best part it how easy I can do the whole design with MTC!

 

Well I am off to take care of my 2 sick ones. Which is the one major issue with having children in public school...all the cooties that are spread!

I love surfing the web and reading decorating ideas. I often think that I should share more ideas that I have about my own home. I mean I have shown things that I am working on and maybe given some tips but I haven't really shared too many details. I am hoping to change this.

So today I took these supplies                      

and began labeling my storage containers that I did have in my pantry and baking cabinet. I was on pinterest and I saw some chalk board labels. Now I knew that Hobby Lobby carried that chalkboard vinyl and  instead of waiting to do this project, I went to pick up a roll. Well first off that place is addictive for those of us that love all things decorative. I have since made a wishlist of things that I just have to get once I can afford to do a little fun shopping for the house.

So I got the chalkboard vinyl ( a little under $6 with tax), and then used my chalkboard markers that I also picked up from Hobby Lobby months ago (for our family menu chalkboard) and pulled out my old reliable Big Shot and cut some labels using a Spellbinders Nestabilities die set (Labels 4) and this is what my pantry looks like right now.

I have also went over my storage containers that I had used white rub ons to label over a year ago and re-did those with these labels as well. I know that my containers don't all match and I need a few a lot  more but this is something that I am not in a rush to complete or willing to invest loads of money into at this time (especially because I want to do our kitchen and great room). But I do love the black labels.  I really like that I used a few scrapbooking tools to make my home better.

I am hoping to find the mother load of storage options at a garage sale...that would truly be awesome!

So I was wondering if other people use a pantry and cabinets for for food storage. I was thinking about this because I have a pantry but I used 3 of my other 5 cabinets for junk food, baking, and spice storage. I have been thinking about maybe putting the junk food in the pantry too but I think that it would make it to easy for the little ones to get to more junk food items instead of the health stuff that I would prefer for them to have. And it doesn't seem to make sense to store spices in my pantry since I cook on the other side of the kitchen. Plus my baking goods are all by the stove and baking pans. I guess now that I think of it, it makes perfect sense for me not to store all my items in the pantry.

Hello everyone. There has been many things going on here with the family. I have completed the organization of the pantry and I actually pick-up some storage items from my local thrift store this last weekend while they were having a 50% off sale (although I originally didn't want to purchase anything at all).  I wasn't able to get a lot of them so I am not going to be taking pictures and sharing them right now. I did however finally luck out and find picture frames that will fit the license plates of the states that we lived in and visited, these frames are 6x12 and perfect. I haven't gotten all the plates (still need IL, WI, AZ). I spray painted them and cleaned up the plates (they were really dirty) and they are now sitting on the office desk waiting to be put on the walls.

And once that is done, I will need to find some amazing frames for the 12x12 scrapbook pages that are going to be under the plates. I am thinking that it would be really nice to get vacation pages mounted on the wall (under that states license plate) and also maybe that will be the push to get out and vacation more as well as take new family pictures. I am wondering if I should maybe redo a couple of the pages so that they are more my current style of scrapbooking but I will see.

Well I have no pictures to share just yet because nothing is exactly photo taking quality right now but hopefully it will be soon.  Well until next time. Smiles, Tracy

House updates...still in progress

I have been organizing and cleaning trying to get this place together. I just really didn't realize that it was so messy and cluttered because I wasn't really paying attention since I was working full-time. So here is the pantry cleaned and organized.

 I have no plans on doing much more to it at this time. Well except looking for glass jars for storage and grocery shopping since I got out all the expired items. I have no plans on painting it or anything more. Mostly because I am ok with it being cleaned and stuff being together and neat. I love looking at all the fancy pantry ideas but honestly I need to spend the little money I have on making the rooms I have look better. Although I do plan on painting the pantry door with turquoise leaving the trim white in the center and then using chalboard paint on the center of the door so that I can write menus and also so the kindergartener has a place to practice writing alphabets too.

I have been hand sewing a cute flower/lady bug clothe shower curtain (from the Goodwill $2.50) for the kid's bathroom and honestly it is taking a lot longer than I thought that it would but there are a lot of details that I plan on doing to it. So this is what the bathroom looked like a few weeks ago...

and here is the photo of the progress...

it is going to take a little more paint (because I thought I bought a paint with a primer, the can even says it but I don't think it is) because the paint isn't really covering the wall. I don't know why it isn't but it isn't so I will need another can so that I can cover the walls.  And then I am going to hang some other wall art pieces. And find some more clings of butterflies and flowers to add to the mirror and the fronts to some of the bathroom accessories. 


Well I have to head off because I have the self cleaning feature on the oven going and I am wondering how this will turn out. I have never had this option before but I like the fact that I will be able to wipe everything away since can't use a wire scrapper on it (it would void the warranty). Until next time.  Smile, Tracy.

A quick update with no pics to share

Well the planner is in full swing. I have all of the pages done and have been using it successfully for the last two weeks. I actually finished it on Aug 1 and have been so happy with it. I got a couple of comments about how cute it was from strangers. I didn't mention that I made it until after I got questions from the second person. I never thought that women pay that much attention to the details but one really did while I was out grocery shopping. The first thing she mentioned was that she loved that the menu and grocery list were on the same sheet. I designed it that way just so that they wouldn't be seperated. It also has one letter missing from the front cover which is so funny because it seems that is always the first thing to go. No matter how or what I put the letters on with, they always seem to come off.

I will also add that after this planner was made I really decided that without a shadow of a doubt I don't love the bind-it-all. Plan and simple there is too much room for error when it comes to the holes being punched for the pages.

So whatelse is going on...well we officially are all back in school. Full swing. I love it and hate it at the same time. I love that my kids got new teachers and they love going to school each day but I hate that they are gone for so long. The kindergartened had a melt-down at school the first day. I mean she didn't burst into tears but she absolutely was upset and tears were falling when I said that I would be leaving. So I pulled her to the side and talked to her and she was fine. She must of thought that I was staying with her in class. And she isn't a clingy child at all but she was truly shocked that I would be leaving her although she was extremely excited about school and we talked about her being there all year long and so on and so on. Well that was so different on the second day of school when she ran off and left me at the gate of the kindergarten entrance and didn't even say bye.

I am adjusting to having the littlest one at home with me alone and honestly this had made her even more clingy. She was and has always been the clingy one and now she is in full swing my little shadow. So I have used this for my advantage in making she that we get out of pullups all day long. I mean we have been trained to the point were she doesn't have a pull-up on during the day at home, but now I am fully making she it's when we are out and about to. Doesn't seem to make sense to let her keep wearing them when we are doing things. Except when we are driving anywhere. Especially since we live in a rural area and she would surely have accidents if we didn't have them when we are driving. But she is now taking naps without them on because she has been waking up not wet after naps when she was wearing pull ups. And besides that I am in full swing organization mode. I have redone my spice cabinet, and pantry. I am currently sitting in a huge mess in the kitchen because I emptied everything out of the closet in there and oh my goodness it is a mess. But it has to get worse before it gets better right? I surely hope so. I truly do hope so.

Calendar progress

Well this calendar idea is a great idea (this is a pep talk for myself..lol) but seriously I like being able to make calendars and notebooks because I seem to use so many on a daily basis. And personally there hasn't been a calendar that can do all the things that I need it to do at a reasonable price and also at a size that I love. But enough about all that. I can't believe how much I actually have accomplished in the few hours that I have been working on this project.

The calendar pages are done, the menu planner pages are done and I have decided to have it be effective and also a reasonable size to carry around in my purse, I need to only do it from August to December and then re-evaluate how I have it set up and what I am using it for next year.

I have decided that I no longer want it to be a bracket shaped album, especially since the point on the bracket shape would eventually be destroyed. And then the shape would like weird.

Here is what I have completed so far...

I love that I my "draft" allowed me to see that I really didn't love the look of the stamped undefined sections of the original design and so I really needed to make sure and make it look cleaner. I know that many don't use calendars or planners but I have since forever and I haven't just made one or two in my day. I originally made calendars when I was a teen by using printer paper and a ruler. And the stamped date section really felt like it was just too unorganized for my taste.  I say that to say, it doesn't matter what your calendar is just as long as you like how it looks and know that it will help you. And too much undefined space would surely get cluttered to me (especially since I love to write).

I cut all the pages from the cricut using MTC (my most favorite go to tool) and before I could blink I have a really neat looking planner. I am now going to cut down some college ruled filler paper and add a notes section. And I am still debating on having the bill paying section after each month or having a separate section (tab) just for that.

Well I gotta get some laundry done, some kids fed, some calls made and... until next time!

PS...I have huh duh moment while working on this project. Originally I was cutting the rounded rectangle on my cricut and then running it through my printer on top of the a previously printed word doc to get perfect alignment but after I thought about I changed the margins of the word doc, and then put the previously diecut cardstock directly into the printer and then printed on that directly. I couldn't believe that all that time I had spent re-taping a next cardstock piece on top of the printed image and then printing one side and then un-taping and doing it on the other side. I completely forgot that with my new printer that I could adjust the size that I was printing...huh duh! LOL!

PS#2...I really can't believe some of the other things that I have forgotten about since moving into this house. I completed decorated the office a certain way (on a budget) but honestly I don't love it. I love that there is an office, but really am not loving that the kids (especially the girls) get into everything all the time. And I'm trying o figure out a way to make my stuff not be so accessible. Well I opened one of the cabinets that I haven't been able to get into because the youngest one's desk blocks it, and I could have slapped myself. I mean I knew that my felt was in there and mini album stuff and old homeschooling stuff but I'd completely forgotten that I had 2 band spanking new 8.5x11 American Crafts 3 ring (alterable) albums...really how could I forget that? I have been postponing working on the girl#1's  album because I didn't know what size album to make for her. And school will be starting soon and I just knew that I wanted to be prepared for Kindergarten pictures. But  my budget doesn't allow any spending on scrapbooking stuff right now...well I don't need $$. I also couldn't believe that the albums had $2 stickers on them, but then I remember that I got them from the garage sale at Scrapbooks, ETC before I left MN...oh I miss local scrapbook sales where you can get 8.5x11 new albums still in plastic for $ 2.00! At that price it is a bonus and a treasure to loose them and find them again when you really do need them!

Hello everybody..

Well its been a little time since my last post but I wanted to stop by and share some ideas that I have. I have been really working on getting licensed as a home childcare provider. And although I am scared of the idea and I am working hard to get all things done, I still have been crafting (a little bit). I am also trying to get the kids ready for school, well the oldest is already back. But I have two others to work on. And honestly now that I am not working, I don't know if I really want the other 2 to go to the school right around the corner. I mean it is the first time that we had a school within walking distance that I wanted the kids to go to. I had been driving the boys since 5th grade for our oldest and kindergarten for the our second oldest. But even before that I didn't want our oldest to ride a bus to school so I would walk with him (summer months only) and then drive all the rest of the year. But that was in MN but now there is good weather all year long. And when I was working I liked being able to walk with the kiddo to school in the morning. I mean the school literally is in our backyard.

The school is ok, but honestly I like the idea of smaller class sizes and full day kindergarten that might start later in the morning?? So whenever I wanted these options in MN I went with a charter school and it seems that I might have to do the same thing again. And so I have been working hard at looking for other options. And believe it or not there are lots of options here for schools.

So enough about that...I am currently working on a menu planner and monthly calendar. I should say that I am in the process of designing one. I haven't done any planning yet but I started my list of what I want the book to have in it.
I know that I need it to have a monthly at a glance calendar section, and a weekly calendar section that allows me to write a little info. I know that it also has to have a 1/2 sheet in the middle of the 2 pg weekly calendar section for me to write a weekly menu for all three meals daily and also a section to write a grocery list.

I don't want this to be a super big calendar/menu planner but it has to be at least 11 inches tall. I don't know exactly how wide it will be at this point and I haven't created the calendar pages as of yet because I have been searching for ideas online. But haven't found many that are helping me in my decisions. 

Well I am off to get something done but when I get a chance I will make sure to take photos of the project as I go along.

Birthday cards are always fun!

I am so excited to be able to have something to share honestly I was truly excited because I made cards for a co- worker and I didn't get the chance to take photos of them before I handed them off to her. I wish that I would have planned my time better but it's hard to do that when you get asked to do something at the last minute and then you still have your everyday life too.
So I made cards that I could get photos of so that blog wouldn't feel abandoned. I truly thought that I could sit down a couple of days and make a bunch of cards, but what I found out really quickly is that the girls have raided my supplies. And there are a lot of things that are now damaged. After the initial oh my goodness they broke that (which was my very last tape and runner dispenser and refill that I can't get anymore--sigh) and they left the top off that ink pad...and so on and so on I cleaned up my desk. And decided that I might need to move my scrapbooking space into a secluded area, maybe away from the main office where everyone can hang out, play computer games and do arts and crafts at their own desk, which somehow now has become code for my desk when I am not at home!

But back on task Tracy...I was able to get a couple of fun cards that I have been wanting to do for awhile. The images/stamps are ones that I got when they were brand new but I was never able to sit down and play with them. And birthday cards are always a reason to pull out something fun and new. This first card has an image that I wanted to use for Valentine's day (2010) and say that I'm sweet on you, but I have never gotten around to that but it did make an awsome wishing you...a sweet birthday card...

And this next card has a stamped image that I loved too. I actually got this stamped image from a friend how purchased the stamp set. I scanned it into my computer (after stamping it) and then enlarged and shrunk it until I found a size that seemed better for the front of my card. I love the stamp but the size wasn't perfect for this card front. But here is that card too...

I know I mentioned several stamps/images that I have, and there are about 15 more that I want to play with and have decided that I am going to try to make a birthday card of each of these images at least once a month for the next couple of months because I know am going to be home a lot more. Or at least that is what I am planning. I love the hand cut grass on this card. Mostly because I didn't think that it would turn out so nice and also because it didn't take nearly as long as I thought that it would. I initially thought I need to purchase a grass die or get a svg, but really how often would I really use a grass diecut? Maybe once or twice so it wasn't worth the expense. At least not right now. But I do have to find myself some really cute patterned papers with gray and bright cheerful colors. I really do. But I have many things to accomplish in a very short time.

June is almost over...

I was making a plan of all the things that I want to get done before the kids head back to school and things that I just really planned to complete before our 1 yr home anniversary and realized that June 28th is our one year anniversary and it is almost over. We have a builder one year walk threw so that they can repair on cracks, paint, tile etc. And honestly there is very little that they need to do. Because I didn't wait until the 1yr walk to let them know about any issues. I called and had the few things that I needed repaired done right away.

I can't believe that time has flown by so quickly for both the amount of time that we have lived in our house and also the fact that this year is half over.

So there will be some catching up on photo updates of each room in the house to come in the next few weeks. I have things that I am still working on (like painting). It never seems to end when it comes to remodeling but honestly I love that the issues are major ones at all.

And so while working on printing pictures the last couple of weeks I realized that all of 2011 and most of 2010 scrapbooking pages need to be done. And for anyone who lives in AZ, you know that this is our "winter". Which means most days you are inside because it's 100 degrees outside or more an then you go outside in the evening/night. Or you go out early in the morning. We seem to be doing a little of all of that. But the point is this is the perfect time to actually scrapbook. So that is my plan. Somehow I am going to fit scrapbooking into my few more weeks of summer and finish the house...wish me luck!

And last but not least here is 2011 Christmas layout...now my Christmas scrapbook is current. 

I finally finished....

My Christmas 2010 layout. I have had this sitting on my desk since the beginning of May and if I had taken a photo of it most of you would wonder why wasn't it finished by now? The problem that I had was that in my attempt to limit my Christmas pages to just one 2 page layout, I couldn't shorten the journaling to say what I wanted it to. Or at least I thought I couldn't so it sat on my desk for almost a month...and today I said no matter what I am going to get it typed and added to by blog. And so I did.

Here is the finished page. I don't know why my photos aren't as great as the used to be with my camera, but I just wanted to share that photo anyway.

And here is one for the family...the kids playing in the front yard (because the back yard still isn't finished).

 So since I am so against guns and I wanted the kids to have something to spray water and play with (since the pool isn't happening for awhile) I found these sprayers at the dollar tree. And they love them! In fact, once we had them playing outside in the front with them, other neighborhood kids came out to play with buckets and water hoses. It was one of those moments when you think back to your childhood and playing in the neighborhood with your friends. Honestly I hope that they have wonderful memories in this house, and in this neighborhood. I hope everyones summer is off to a great start.

Just the inspiration to get something done

Have you ever wanted to do something so badly and just couldn't find the time to do it? That is what I have been going through the last couple of weeks. I have really been wanting to get some scrapbooking done and couldn't. The first reason is simple. My camera (Sony DSC-H55) is broken. It doesn't read my Sony memory stick cards anymore. Not at all. And although I can use a SD card (which I recently found out) I can't print any of the pictures at home that I want and need to sb.

But I found a few pictures that I had printed from 2010 before we moved from MN to AZ and I decided that it was time to get those pages done. The challenge on twopeas inspired me to get those pics on pages since I have been planning the page forever and just never did it.

So here is the page that I completed. My son's 14th Birthday page (and yes he will be 16 in December) but I love how it turned out. All the journaling has been moved since it was personal.




All the supplies used for this page are from my stash and are super old. Everything except the stamp used to make the date. I haven't purchase any scrapbooking supplies in forever. But I am hoping to get some new stamps and some adhesive. Which I haven't purchased adhesive since before moving to from MN. So I have had enough adhesive for almost 2yrs but then again I haven't done nearly as many projects/pages/cards as I would have been doing at any other time.

So that inspired me also to create something scrapbook related for my desk at work. I have to say that I am truly enjoying my job now. I feel so blessed to find a position that allows me to drive less that an hour to get to work. And honestly that was really starting to wear on me and our van. But here is what I created for my desk...
             

And I can't wait to put it on my desk tomorrow. Well I hope that you all got inspiration to do something scrapbook related soon.

Another 10th Birthday card...

Well after working on the first card that I liked, I decided that I would like to make another one for my son and give the first to one of his classmates. Well that was after I looked at a stamp set that I had bought to use on a card just for him.

I started by stamping the game controller in one color and then I decided that it would probably be better if I stamped it in multiple colors. And so I did.

I cut more of the stripes that I had used for the first card since the color scheme actually came from the stripes. And the greeting was the hard part for this card. The stamp set came with a greeting that I really didn't think fit the card theme (it says Game over), and I originally wanted the card to say, LaTrele, welcome to level 10, on the front and then Get your game on in the inside but instead ended up with what I have now because I didn't like how stamping each letter/word out looked. It really wasn't that bad but the font that I had in stamps just didn't seem right for the boy themed card and then I remembered it would be perfect to just use the rusty pickle rubons that I need to use cause some of them are sticking to themselves. And so I did. I think that I am still am going to use the greeting that I originally wanted to but in the inside of the card. Well I am going to try to get some sleep cause I really do need to get up early, I do have appointments to go to and business to take care of tomorrow. So I gotta get some sleep. Until next time, Smiles. Tracy

PS...after taking photos of the card, I really think that it needs some embellishments. Maybe some stars or something but I am too tired to think about it anymore and am really heading off to bed.

A 10th All Star Birthday wish

That's what I hope for my soon to be 10 yr old son... I finally went into the office/ scrap space and decided that it was time that I worked on something. But the list is long and there are many pages that I want to start but know that I won't be able to finish because I don't have pictures to use.

In fact I haven't printed any pictures at home in a while and I can't seem to figure out what is wrong with my Epson. I love that printer. And although I have several ink refills; the paper that I have used forever (Epson premium photo paper) keeps getting caught in the printer. My printer is really eating the paper and also smearing ink at the same time. And this is both waisting money ( a 50 pack of that paper is almost $35 ) and ink. And the last time I took photos to Sam's club I was so disappointed in the prints that I will never do that again.

And so I decided to work on some cards. I planned to use some of the supplies that I have in basket that are newer items. And although there are a few nice things in there, the only card that I could decide to make was for my son's 10th birthday coming up in May. This is what the finished product looks like....
The supplies that I used are all from my stash and most are really old. Except for the red twine, which I picked up about a month or so ago from Micheals. Its from WRMK, it's their sew easy fancy floss. And I have to say that I love how easy it is to work with but its the only item that I actually used from the basket of newer items. The stars are from a 4th of July $1 bin item from Ms too, and the big star is diecut using my spellbinders nesting star dies. The #10 is cut from QK Diesel Grand ( can I say it again how much that I absolutely love this set!!) The banner flags are hand cut from 1/4th of an inch stripes of Cosmo Crickets really old paper line called Twist and Shout/ Get Happy Number 9. I remember how I searched high and low to get this set and I have had it over 3 yrs and I still go to it for the colors. The only issue is that the stripes were always too large to use on a card face and I would always opt to use something else. So I decided to cut thinner stripes and use them how I wanted...and so that is what I did. I love the fun bold primary colors of this card. I also used Basic Grey 6x6 patterned papers too. I forgot what the line is called but it was perfect for the card. The stamps are all from my stash, I believe that the all star is from an old WRMK 99 cent set and the happy Bday is from a studio G set. The card size is 5.5inch by 6 inches. And I will be cutting an envelope for it using my Cricket. But all the dies were cut using my Big Shot (I still love this machine even after all these years!) Almost forgot one of the best parts of the card, the hand stitching around the star. That was so relaxing. I just pre-poked the holes and then pulled some turquoise bakers twine apart and used a single thread to stitch on the card.

I am hoping that I can pull a few more things out to tryout since that basket is getting so full and I have made a promise to myself not to buy anything until I have actually used what I have on a project. It also has helped me to not spend any money on scrapbooking supplies.

I don't have to work this week so I am hoping to get a lot of scrapbooking done, well after I pull weeds from my front yard. I have to say that I am so shocked by how quick weeds can grow even here in the desert. I also have a few other projects I want to get finished around the house so scrapbooking might not happen as much as I'd like but I am hoping that I can have the chance to get something done to share. Until next time, Smiles, Tracy.

Well I was crafty a few weeks back and made this card for my stash. I have learned that each time that I am "off" from scrapbooking or card making it takes alot to make something when I try to make something. So my card isn't the best card very but it is cute enough to be in my stash to give to one of my co-workers who are leaving.


And speaking of leaving...I got another job offer. And I am so super excited!

I got the position that allows me to get more experience in being a manager, lets me use both my accounting and medical coding and billing experience/degree. I am so excited because it also is only 30 mins (non-freeway) driving. So I am no longer driving an hour and 15 mins one way! Can you say extra $$ saved!! I have been so super excited about that fact that I don't even know whatever else was said to me at the interview.

Well there are so many things that I am hoping to share with you all this week but there are so many things that aren't even pictured so I am not going to be able to share photos of them.

I haven't been able to get much done with my wrist hurting so bad. But one of the things that have gotten started is one of the kids bathrooms have been painted yellow. I love the color or should I say it has started to grow on me. At first when I saw it on the walls I thought of mustard but now it seems perfect for the wall pictures that I got from Frys. I know the grocery store isn't normally the place to go to get wall art but these were so cute that I just had to get them. So I am hoping that I will get some photos of that soon.

Well I don't have any photos of my master bedroom changes but I have decided that the bed that I am planning on getting is the one that I really do want! And the hubby loves the bed too. But of course there still isn't one in stock, and it is driving me nuts but I will be ok.

I have since changed the girls' bedroom completely too. They no longer have the picket fence frames that they had before (because my youngest daughter's bed was broken) but now we have some IKEA beds for them. I don't love them but they look good in the room and it makes it more uniform. I love the bedding that I found at Kohls. I got them on an unbelievable low deal. They were $99 each, but there was a sale or 1/2 off and then I had some coupons/vouchers and ended up sending $69.00 for both sets! And because Valentines day was over I found and an awesome owl/butterfly wall art piece to hang on there bedroom door.

I am still working on the color for their room. I would do turquoise and also the picture looks very blue-ish/ turquoise, there is a lot of green in their bedding. I am trying to find the right shade of green maybe a lime or something. But none of the ones that I love work well once they are in the room on the wall.

Hello everyone. (Waving hi!!) I am on lunch at work and now would be the perfect time to update my blog with photos. So as I stated here is a photo of the kitchen.....



and here is another view.
It is really coming along. And honestly I can't wait to get the few other things that I want done to it done. Like the multi colored glass backsplash, the new granite counter tops, the undermounted sink, the black faucets and of course more blings and some really nice curtains. Not to mention I will need to paint it some color that I still haven't decided on just yet. But it is starting to really not look like a builder grade room. And there are no plans for stainless steel, I got that question is an email. I know a lot people love it, but honestly I really don't. I love black applicances. But there was a time that I loved the idea of stainless steel, that time has since long passed.

I do also plan on getting a larger frigerator. Our family really does need a bigger one. We also need a deep freezer too. I can't see how I am supposed to be able to feed the crew without being able to stock up and freeze some of the great deals so I am surely going to be picking up one in the next couple of months. I am thinking that I will get the freezer before I get the frig because my frig works great (after all it was brand new).

And here is a picture of the lighting that I plan on putting above the kitchen table in the next couple of weeks too...


I will be posting some projects that I plan on working on in the next couple of days or so. Until then...smiles, Tracy

kitchen changes

I am super excited because my kitchen is starting to get closer to where I want it to end up. I have been talking about getting a new table forever. And honestly I thought it would be a few more months away from now before I would get one. Mostly because it was so hard to find the type of table that I could see buying new only to change it to fit the theme of my room. That was the hardest idea for me to get over. But I couldn’t take another moment sitting at the old conference table for dinner ever night. And so I headed back to the Potato Barn and bought a beautiful table that was unfinished on the top and the bottom was painted black. But the legs of the table are what made me fall in love with it. I really do love them.So here is a photo of the table I completely forgot to get a photo of it before I started staining it but this is what it looked like when I stated the staining process.

It still isn’t done but because it was our anniversary weekend and we had plans that I just had to have us do, I only got the first 2 levels of work done to it. I am not sure how distressed I want to go with it but I know that I plan on having the black stain show through a lot. I don’t want the chipp-y paint look though so it will most likely be a smooth finish. But one of the best things about this is that now my entire family can sit at the table together. And no one will touch one another and no one can complain about not having enough space to eat when serving platters are on the table. It is the perfect table for our family.

And on to some other things that I have changed in our newly built home…this is the light hanging above my kitchen island now.

As I look at the photo a see a price tag for $99 I wish I would have gotten this for that price. LOL I wonder what that tag was for?? But what I have learned about saying you are going to replace lighting fixers is that you will learn really quickly from a huge fixer if your kitchen island is center or not. LOL. But I am going to be uploading pics of the room again (a full view) so that I can show it to you almost done.

I think I 've found my master bed. I love this bed and can't believe that I haven't found it before. I am still going to be looking at beds this week but I love love love this one. The bed is at Ashley Furniture which means this week I will have to check it out and see the quality of it when I am off. But here it is...I like both below and have to make a decision. Which one would you like?
I love the above bed the most but when I invision my master bedroom suite and the theme of a tropical retreat it's honestly perfect expect it doesn't have posts that I hang shear curtains from...

And so the bed below is very close to what I like but there is one big problem...the posts are way too thin looking.


But I won't know for sure what one I will like better until later this week when I get the chance to get to Ashley but I am also going to head to the Potato Barn too. I can't wait to make a decision. But either way it goes we will have a new bed.

Its about time!!!

Seriously, the blog has been too low on my list of things to do and it is so sad. I haven't been on here in months and I miss being in touch with family and friends and of course my followers. Well that is if I still have followers since there is nothing to follow. So I was thinking with all the technology that I have it is sad that I haven't updated anything on here. I mean really nothing at all...

So I am going to do a few things differently going ahead. I am really going to do better at posting photos of something that I have done creatively or something that I am decorating.

I have only done a few things that are craft related since working, 1 was Christmas cards, #2 was a new book so that I could store my home decorating and shopping finds. I love using the book and have really been able to stay on top of a lot of things because I have the book. For instance I keep a list of home inventory items in the book. And so when there is a sale I check that list and decide if there is a need to get the items or not. And despite my honest attempts to continue to coupon I haven't been doing that nearly as much as I had when I was home.

And honestly I still use coupons and shop sales and competitors match everything. But I don't purchase newspapers as much because I was starting to notice the same things in them and despite that fact that I love deals and I am mostly not brand loyal, I also like having things that I will use and want. And I never really purchased things that I knew I wouldn't like, but since trying so many different things I realized that there were alot of things that my family didn't love and I'm not forcing myself to eat Bar S items when I'd prefer deli ham.

So that leads me to my latest shopping trips...Pros Ranch (aka Rancho market) had papertowels on sale for 39 cents. So because I was at work and that store isn't really on my way to the house I decided to match prices at Walmart. That was the best deal ever! I mean really, I got 6rolls of papertowels for $2.57 (tax included) vs waiting for a coupon or sale. And I stocked up. I travel almost an hour to get home from work so I stopped at 3 Walmarts each night and each morning of the sale. And once I had my laundry room filled I filled the cabinet above the masterbedroom toilet. And I didn't go overboard at all, I have enough papertowels to last us half way through the next 4 months. Or so I hope. Especially since the hubby is home with the kids and it seems we are using way more than we were using while I was home. It's weird cause he even stated the other night how the bills seem to be much higher since I am not at home. I didn't say a word. But I now know that when or if the roles are reversed ever again, I know he will then respect all the efforts that I put into budgeting.

Speaking of reversed roles...he is rocking at being home with the kids. I am 100% surprised at how well his at it. I am very proud of him as a Dad and a hubby. I really am! I mean the house is clean enough for me to be ok most days. I still do much work at home but he is amazing at making it a lot easier for me. He mentioned that he was impressed that I was still able to get laundry done and so much more before I needed to be at work.

I have also realized that I don't want to be a typical working Mom either so I have went many nights with only sleeping for a few hours here and there to make sure that I completed something I told the kids that I would do. I want to keep my word. I sit at a cubical all day listenng (not by choice) to other coworkers talk to their spouses and children and I thank God that he gave me the job but I will never treat my family the way that they do. I have heard woman cuss out their kids for calling. I mean really you are working 12-15 hrs and your kids call cause they want to talk to you and you cuss them out. Sad. Really sad. Well I don't cuss #1 but if I did I wouldn't cuss at my kids. Why do so many people think thats ok? But I don't want to sound like I am judging cause I'm not but I know how it feels to be cussed out by a parent...and I promised myself I would never do it to my kids. So far so good.

But enough talking about nothing...here is a photo of my house decorating log/ideas. I wish I had taken a photo of it before my littlest decided that she wanted to pull off the thickers lol.

And here is a photo of the new inspiration room for my teenagers bedroom.

I really don' t like the style but thats because I don't like IKEA furniture. But he likes the bed and the dresser thingie in the photo. So I am going to be picking those up in a few weeks when I get paid. And yes even with one income I am still able to get things here and there for the house. I have to really plan but honestly its not any different from when Vele was working...ok maybe a little, he made more money!

Oh I just have to show the photos of some of the papertowels too...no fun talking about them if you can't see some of them right? Having a stash of household items really helped this fall when Vele decided to become self employeed after being laid off! It lasted up until a few weeks ago when I needed to start working on getting things replenised. It would have been a lot harder living on our savings if we couldn't buy pullups, papertowels or wash clothes. But I am really thankful that I did work hard at having a home supply.