My Weblog

Redecorating

It doesn't take me long to find an excuse to redecorate a shelf or two. My scrapbook space needed some sprucing up. I've been sort of neglecting it for some time. I picked up a few little items at the local antique store too add to the room. I must of rearranged everything on the shelf at least fifty times. It's the part of me that seeks symmetry and balance that has me moving stuff around over and over again. I finally compromised on this...

I folded extra scraps of Anna Maria fabric I'd had left over from the quilt I'm working on for Ethan. I placed a stash of these fabrics in a small turquoise metal basket and displayed one of my faves on an old painted yellow tray in the back. The arrangement will remain till I tire of it and desire something fresh and new. Until then, this arrangement will become a source of inspiration for future projects. It entices me to spend time in my scrapbook space also.

Today, we spent the afternoon chasing "cool air". The high today was 90 degrees. Our air conditioner has been out of order on and off for the last week in a half.  We thought we fixed the problem after replacing the condenser. It stopped blowing cool air almost immediately after the first and second repair attempt though. I'm hoping the third time will work it's magic. So far, so good. I'm going to remain hopeful that we're done dealing with this issue.

Today is a small entry. I've been allowing Ethan into my scrapbook space more than usual lately. His inquisitive nature is maturing and he enjoys looking at some of the fun items I have in the space. Today, it was the acrylic paint. I store my acrylic paint in drawers by color. It's easier for me to find paint this way. I could easily sit them side by side on a shelf, but they tend to fall out of order quickly after lots of use. The drawer system is more practical for me. I'm loving drawers lately...

I'm going to be starting a new mini album tonight. I'll post pictures of the project when I complete it. Not sure how long it will take, but I'm hoping to complete the album in a few short days. I've already printed the photos and I've got a system set up for the putting together the pages. I'm using wedding table number cards I picked up from Target a few days ago for the pages of the album. I attempted to find the cards online at Target.com, but was unable to locate them on their website. I purchased mine at a local Super Target in town. I'm almost certain their available for purchase at other Super Target locations. I'll post pictures later.

Weekend Update

I hope all of you are having a lovely weekend and getting in some scrapbook time. I've been running non-stop since Friday mornen'. It's actually been a great weekend for us. We've been keeping busy and spending lots of time with family. On Friday, Ethan visited with grandma K. (Eric's mom) while I went out for a leisurely lunch at Cafe Latte and did a little shopping at "The Bibelot". It was a very relaxing Friday afternoon, though I had to rush home to meet with the air conditioner repair guy for the tenth time. The air conditioner is still  not in working order. We've had some days when it's been working fine and others where it's not working at all. It's been a pain in the rear, but we're managing to find ways to stay cool. The weather's been mild, which has been a huge plus!

On Saturday, we went out with my family for lunch and picked up a few items at Baby's R Us. The store is absolutely dangerous. It's almost worse than Target because the store is filled with every kind of baby product known to man and a parent is prone to buying lots of it for no good reason. I can come up with a million excuses to buy the various things they sell in Baby's R Us. You should see me.."oh look, it's a newer version of something I already have..but this one is so much better! Maybe I should get it...wow, they have a gadget for that? That would make my life so much easier as a parent" Laugh. Then of course, common sense kicks in and I leave the store with only the things I need. I visit the place once every few months. Ethan's been getting so big lately, that we'll soon have the perfect excuse to not shop there anymore. Laugh. It's sure fun to talk about it though..Smile.

Today, we headed up to the Minnesota Zoo with my sister and her family. We got to see the new Russia's Grizzly Coast exhibit. We saw the otters, grizzly bears, wild bores, and more. We had more good times, but navigating the crowds was challenging. Would love to go on a weekday when it's not so crowded. After the zoo, we headed over to my parent's place for dinner. My mother enjoys cooking food for the family, so we shared in a wonderful dinner.  By the time we got home, Ethan was ready to retire and so was mom.

In between all the trips, mostly in the evenings, I managed to squeeze in some scrapbooking.  I stayed up extra late last night trying to finish up this one layout I've been working on for Prima. It was inspired by a photo I shared with you a few posts back:

Here's the layout inspired by the photo above:

I had a lot of paper I pulled for this project. I have a habit of pulling twenty sheets of pattern paper for one project. I never really use it all, but I like having options. For this particular layout, I didn't want to compromise on my paper selection for the project. Instead, I cut bits and pieces from each sheet to create a small mosaic for the layout.

The mosaic is built on a white cardstock base. I cut the cardstock base first to fit the area below my photo. I then glued the cut pieces of paper in a non-orderly fashion to the cardstock base.  I trimmed the excess pieces of paper from the base and adhered it to the layout as shown. Note the repetition of color and pattern within the mosaic...I used nine different sheets of pattern paper to create the mosaic.

I picked up the butterfly while at The Bibelot shop. Similar butterflies can be found at craft stores, gift shops, fabric shops, etc. I adhered mine to the layout using glue dots. It was a bit tricky (I actually tore one of the butterfly wings while attempting to adhere the butterfly to the layout), but worth the effort.

The label was made using a "Heather Bailey" label stamp from  Autumn Leaves (find here). I stamped it out on white cardstock paper and trimmed it to size. I adhered it to the layout with a foam core Pop Dot. I layered a KI Memories Bloom Softie (find here) with a Making Memories blue circle label sticker. I then adhered the layered softie and label sticker to lime green cardstock and cut the coordinated piece from the lime green cardstock using Fiskars mini scallop scissors. I adhered the "Bloom" softie to the stamped label as shown in the photo above.

These are some of my favorite chipboard glitter letter stickers from American Crafts. I love the font, color, and size of these letters. They do need a little extra glue to stay adhered to the page, but that's not unusual for "Thickers". The title is adhered to a painted piece of Prima chipboard (which I further embellished with punched holes ("Alligator Punch"), Fuchsia paint, and gel pens). Along the edge of the painted chipboard piece, I applied hand-cut Cloud 9 epoxy ring stickers. I filled in the ring stickers with chalk ink using a soft Lavender Souffle pen by Sakura.

These are KI Memories rub-ons that I applied to white cardstock and trimmed to size. Once trimmed to size, I layered a couple of the trimmed rub-ons onto American Craft Acrylic circles. I then adhered all trimmed rub-ons to the layout as shown above.

Just for fun:

Getting ready to fly out in three weeks. I couldn't resist taking this orange illustrated owl luggage tag home with me while at The Bibelot. I needed a luggage tag that "stood out" from the crowd. The only thing worse than waiting for luggage is not being able to find one's luggage because it looks like everybody else's luggage. Laugh. I'm hoping this owl will help me locate my luggage once it's thrown off the plane..and when I say "thrown", I mean it literally. Laugh. Isn't that what they do to our luggage when it's time to leave the plane?!

Another little item to take with me to CHA..going to carry some photos and business cards with me. I found this a few weeks ago..the turquoise color of this leather mini album is so unusual. I figure I could easily turn this into a mini album at some point. It would be a lot of fun to carry around as a portable mini album:)

No plans for tomorrow. Sounds like heaven. Thank you everyone for the sneak peek links ..keep them coming! Well wishes to all of you! Have a great day :)

A New Companion

Ethan has brought home a new friend. He's brown, wears a red shirt, makes an appearance on public television each and every single afternoon, and he loves getting into trouble. I'm certain you've guessed the name already, "Curious George". Ethan found him at the local Barnes and Nobel book store in the kid's section. The minute he picked it up, I knew it was coming home with us. Ethan couldn't stop admiring George's quirky, disproportionate features. When I attempted to put the monkey back on the store shelf, Ethan inquired about George's whereabouts. He seemed very sad without George, so we brought him home with us. Ethan held George the whole way home. He kept hugging and talking to George as he sat in the car seat. It was absolutely adorable and I caught myself laughing quite a number of times in response to Ethan's reaction to George. As expected, George has become a symbol of security and familiarity for Ethan. George comes with us everywhere. He recently made a trip to "Target" with us and rode in the cart with Ethan. There they sat, side by side. I almost couldn't tell them apart..but don't tell Ethan that :)

With Summer CHA just around the corner, I'm starting to think about the kinds of new product I'll find at the show. I'm never really sure what to expect, but I'm always thrilled with the prospect of seeing "new stuff". Like I need more stuff?! Right? Laugh. Technically, none of us need more scrapbook product, but I figure it doesn't hurt to have it. It provides me the freedom and opportunity to create. Beyond the product though, are trends and new design ideas. It's difficult to predict where the industry is going from one moment to the next. CHA can be a foreshadowing of new trends and industry changes. I never know what to expect, but I always get excited about attending CHA. It's a ton of fun and there are a lot of great people I can't wait to meet while at the show. I'm already getting ready..it's only three weeks away!! So, for all of you reading this..has anybody found product sneak peeks yet? If you have, could you link us up? Post link'(s) in the comment section of this post. Thanks!

Still working on June projects for Prima. This is the second layout I've completed for Prima in the last few days. The color palette for this layout came together after locating this picture on Flickr. I really like the purple, light yellow, and lavender combination. It's fresh, airy, and so reminds me of Summer afternoons at the park with family and friends.

Do you ever feel like you have a lot of transparency that needs using? I have drawers full of transparency items and for the most part, I try to include transparency on almost all my projects. When I'm using transparency product on a layout, I usually end up cutting it up (like everything else) before adhering it to a layout. Here, I created minimal transparency borders for all three photos on this layout. The purple/pink swirl transparency strips were cut from a Making Memories 4" x 6" transparency photo frame. I could of easily used the transparency to frame a 4" x 6" photo. The 4" x 6" transparency frames also make great pages for mini albums...I decided to cut the frame apart and used small sections of the frame on my layout. It worked out well.

I covet fabric covered brads. I especially like the ones from K & Company. These ones are from an old Amy Butler line that was released a year or two ago. There are a number of companies that now manufacturer fabric covered brads. You can find them almost anywhere. One of my favorite uses for large fabric brads is to combine them with large soft, textured flowers. The two materials work really well together and compliment each other nicely. Fabric brads can also help to soften a large, contrasting flower like this one.

I've been paying close attention to layouts with circles lately. Circles are so basic and enjoyable to look at. They're a good option for softening a strong angular layout. I had some strong angles in this layout and it needed something to balance it out a little bit. This circle did the trick. I livened it up with paint, diamond glaze, glitter, and ink (souffle pen). I also gave it a scallop Fuchsia border using scallop scissors from Fiskars.  The large ornate pink rub-on is from one of Creative Imaginations rub-on booklets-"Narratives by Karen Russell".

Who is this crazy lady? I have noooo idea. It's been a long time since I took a photo of myself and I did so unsuccessfully. Oh well..so much for perfection. It was a half effort attempt to capture a little bit of happiness. I think it's there. I'll be spending time with a my photography friend, Krysten, at some point in the next month or so to get some photos taken of me and Ethan. I can hardly wait. :) She's sooo talented. 

Not quite a full update

I attempted to update the ol' blog and I had arranged quite the entertaining update. Lo and behold, the not-so-dependable typepad gave out and crashed the web browser. I lost everything. This is about the 100th time I've lost a post because of the changes to typepad. I'm getting awfully tired of the new "compose window" bugs. When are they going to get the mess cleaned up? Not sure, but in the mean time, I'm going to provide a bunch of fun links and not say much about them because I'm certain the browser will crash once again if I hang out too long with Typepad. Here's a few places to peruse while online: 

When is this Mr. Kaffe Fassett going to design a scrapbook product line? Not entirely sure, but when he does, I'll be the first in line to buy his product. Until then, a little fabric and some fusible webbing will have to do the trick. See more of it at Artful Quilter.

Needing a simple way to change that wallpaper you've been looking at on your computer for months? How about this pretty wallpaper? The shabby pink, red, turquoise color combo has already found it's way on my monitor. Find it at Real Simple's magazine website.

She's one of my faves that I turn to for color combo inspiration. Holly is a blogger and an amazingly talented decorator here in the US. Her blog is one I refer to almost daily.I've mentioned her a couple times and will continue to do so when looken' for fresh hues and gorgeous patterns.

Print & Pattern showcased this pattern artist a day or two ago. These patterns make me want to get out my scissors and start cutting out funky shapes for my layouts. Just think what you can do with these sorts of shapes on a layout? Cut up stickers, pattern paper, and play them together using these patterns. Definitely gonna consider this the next time I'm doing a page. Too cool.

Photo courtesy of Mrs. Heather Bailey. I'm going to sew one of these up and use them to hold my fancy pins. These are a great way to hold those embellished pins from Fancy Pants and Heidi Grace. Imagine this little shabby pin cushion sitting on your scrap desk? I'd want to carry it around all day and look at it. Adorable. Thanks Heather. You can find the pattern at Home and Garden's "Quilts & More".

Just a couple little finds to share with you. Hope you enjoy them! Be back in a few with more updates! Thank you everyone for the show of support for my brother. We're still waiting. No word just yet.

Catching Up

Thank you so much for patiently waiting for me to update this thing. I promise, it's been on my list of things to do. It just hasn't happened because we've had a lot going on lately. It all started last Tuesday. Some of you may be familiar with my brother's cancer story. He was diagnosed with Stage III Melanoma three years ago. He's been in remission since completing a year of Interferon, which is a drug that is used for treating certain cancers and has very toxic side effects. Two weeks ago he had a whole body scan (they monitor him very closely) and his doctors noticed suspicious activity under one of his arms (don't remember which one). They brought him into surgery right away and removed ten lymph nodes. The pathology report showed that one of the lymph nodes is cancerous. We're not entirely sure what this means and what the next step will be. My brother hasn't had an opportunity to discuss the news with his oncologist just yet...I'll post an update when I know more...

Wednesday, my air conditioner stopped working. I couldn't get someone to look at it until Friday. I was spending a lot of time outside trying to stay semi-cool (it was 80 to 85 degrees on average this week + humidity). I've been trying to socialize "Chester" (the name I've given to the only kitten that remains with me outside-the other two kittens were adopted out). He's nearly four months old now and he's growing fast. He's very active and extremely playful, though very shy. I took some photos of him while playing "chase the feathers". He's a strong little guy!

My air conditioner is still not working. My computer is in my four season and it's been extremely hot in the room. It's another reason I haven't updated the blog. My compressor went out on the air conditioner. Thankfully, it's under warranty, though it won't be fixed until Wednesday. We've been avoiding staying home because it's been hot in the house. Spending lots of time at other people's houses. Laugh. I totally appreciate the air conditioner now...I'm curious if any of you have tips on keeping a house cool in warm weather when one doesn't have air conditioning?

Working on my Prima June assignments. Just finished up this layout today. I played with the paintable transparencies again. This time, I went ahead and used Making Memories Acrylic Paint. It works really well and doesn't peel away from the plastic. This transparency is from a 12" x 12" large transparency sheet that is split into four small individually designed sections. One of the sections is of a medium size frame which I used on this layout.

Most of my vintage buttons are used for embellishing fun flower combinations. I know some of you asked me what I do with all my vintage buttons..I'll admit, I don't get to creative with them. I wish I did..I sort of get attached to them and I don't want to use to many of them. Laugh. I definitely need to get more inventive when it comes to using vintage buttons. I've seen a lot of people sewing buttons to layouts. I wish I had the patience to take out the needle and thread to do that sort of thing. I get caught up in wanting to move onto the next step. It's hard for me to slow down and focus on a single embellishment, especially when it involves sewing. I think it looks absolutely lovely when people add sewing to their layouts..whether it be by hand or machine.

I stamped these circular images onto the layout and then used a black thin tip marker and drew rings around the images. I then used Ranger's Dimensional Pearl Paint and added randomly placed dots on top and around the rings. Lastly, I painted little red circles and added olive green rhinestones to the center of each circle. I'm sure this stuff has been out forever, but this is my first time using Ranger's Dimensional Pearl Paint and I love it. Dries quick and really easy to use.

More of that paint and more dots. I wanted to write a little bit more tonight. It's nearing midnight, so I think I'll end the post here. I've been playing around with digital frames and for those of you that are pro's at digital scrapbooking, I may need a little bit of your input. Hope all of you had a great weekend! Take care :)

Father's Day

It was a weekend of leisure, exploration, and relaxation. There had been family gatherings arranged, but everyone seemed to be getting sick with the "cold" or the "flu". We decided to avoid both and stayed home on Father's Day. The day actually went by fairly quickly. I wasn't quite sure what to expect having it be the first Father's Day without Eric present. It was actually ok. I kept the day quiet and low key. I put together a new, beautiful bouquet of silk flowers for Eric's grave site. The grave yard itself was cleared of all winter bouquets. The original silk flower arrangement I made for Eric earlier on was disposed of a month or so ago (unknown to me). I suppose it was time for a new one anyway...a Summer bouquet.

I also printed some pictures of Eric from our last camping trip together at Gooseberry Falls. I spent Sunday evening scrapbooking one of those photos. It's one of my favorite photos of Eric. He is completely in his element and totally relaxed. Eric grew up camping in the Boundary Waters on a regular basis. He even took a trip to the Canadian Mountains when he was a child with his family. Nature and all it's beauty was something Eric deeply respected and observed routinely in his life. It provided him a place of clarity and awareness. He felt connected to the trees and water that surrounded him when he traveled North. Some of my best photos of Eric are from our camping trips together. I've come to cherish these photos..we shared a lot of great moments together while camping. Many of those moments made us closer as a couple. Shared experiences that I'll never forget.

This is the first layout I have created about Eric since he passed away last January. The timing felt right and the photo had a strong presence I couldn't ignore. It's been waiting for me along with the story of Eric's last day before losing his battle to brain cancer. A day of great sorrow and loss. One that has changed my life forever.

Even though I was ready to create a layout about Eric's last day, I wasn't ready to write about it. I'm going to wait to do this part. I've given myself extra space to share the story when I am ready.

I hope all of you had an opportunity to spend some time with "Dad" on Father's Day. I would love to hear what you did to celebrate the day. Feel free to share your Father's Day in the comment's section of this post. Take care everyone.

A Trip to Pine City

I've taken some time off from scrapbooking these last few days. I needed to work on some other things and I also wasn't feeling the usual scrappen' "mojo". I'm not always entirely sure what is to blame for my lack of motivation to scrapbook, but it happens from time to time. It shall pass at some point..I'm already wanting to get some scrapbooking in this evening. Instead, I worked on Ethan's quilt the last two nights. The supplies and the quilt itself is taking up quite a bit of space on my kitchen/dining room counter. I used to have a sewing room where my fabric piles and spools of thread could sit around without issue, but I gave that up some time ago. Now, I just want the quilt done and to remove the supplies off my counter and kitchen table. It's a great motivator to finish the quilt. Plus, Ethan's already been eyeing it and he's grabbed it a couple of times to play with it. I hope to have the quilt completed in a few weeks. I think I'll be able to do it..though, with CHA just around the corner, it may have to wait till after CHA is over.

Today, I had the wonderful opportunity to visit a local scrapbook store/retreat center in Pine City, MN called "The Pine City Scrapbooking Co." . My MIL took Ethan for the day while I made the one hour journey to finally see their new location and retreat center. It was fabulous! I'm so glad I made the trip. I visited with Marni, the store owner, for quite a while. She's a very sweet lady and she's so gracious and welcoming. She gave me a tour of the new retreat center and the store. It looks spectacular! I already want to make plans to stay there for a few days. I just have to ask the babysitter fairy to grant me a sitter for a few evenings. Laugh. Of course, I couldn't leave the store without bringing home a few items. Her selection is vastly different from what's available in the cities. She had some of the new "Heather Bailey" Autumn Leaves line (the paper). I've been waiting for this line to be released since last CHA. It's been slow on arrival and I wasn't really sure if it was ever going to be released for purchase. I was so grateful to have found at least a few pieces of the pattern paper from this line

I also brought home these 7 Gypsies ATC's and this vintage style paper from Jenni Bowlin. I figure I'll cut up both and use them on future layouts. The cards are a great option for creating vintage style embellishments. I intend to use paper punches to cut out shapes from these cards and also, to use them as back drops for layering.

I even found a few vintage buttons while visiting the store. When I got home, I found a package on my front porch which contained a button auction I bid on a week or so ago. The package contained a pile of moonglow vintage buttons. Moonglow buttons have a underlying sheen and they literally "glow". The colors are usually vibrant and have a lot of depth. They're also very unique and come in a variety of styles, shapes, and sizes.

Before leaving Pine City (by the way, I forgot to bring my camera with me today. I was so bummed, because Pine City has a lot of character and I wanted to remember my visit to the small town), I visited a local antique/country gift shop. I found some vintage furniture items that had been repainted in bright, warm colors and they were very reasonably priced. Sadly, I wasn't able to bring any of the large funiture pieces home with me. It served to remind me though of my earlier years with Eric. We had thought of buying an old early 1900's home in Osceola, WI. It was a yellow and white house with lots of detail work and a whole lot of character. It had a matching playhouse in the backyard. It sat along main street on a corner lot. Eric and I watched it sit on the market for months..eventually, someone bought it. We decided to stay close to family and live in the cities. I'm glad we did. I still love old homes and flea market furniture. I don't get to see either all that much while living in the cities. It was great to see both in Pine City. 

On a last note, if you like birds, take a look at these cute, little guys at "Shabby Pickle Designs". I would love to print these out and put them on a layout. I also love this paper line I found while visiting this online digital scrapbook venue:

I'm off to scrapbook before the evening is complete. Have a great weekend everyone!

Exploring

Why on earth would I be posting a picture of buttons from my dishwasher? My little guy, the investigator of all things that make noise and light up, took a liking to my dishwasher today. He has shown interest in it before, but today, he was ready to put the appliance to work. I don't know how many times I found him sneaking up to the machine in a desperate attempt to turn the thing on. I think I must of told the poor guy "no, the dishwasher is not a toy" a hundred times. He wasn't having anything to do with what I had to say and sure enough, he was back at the dishwasher pressing every single button with a big'ol grin on his face. Mom just about lost it. I could of just let it go..it's just a dishwasher. I guess I don't want him to get in the habit of using my dishwasher. Laugh. He'll get plenty exposure to it when he's older and I have him helping with the dishes later on in life. The real point of this story is to show all of you where Ethan is in his development. He's a busy, little scientist and he's exploring everything. I don't think I've ever been on my feet this much since I was his age. He's got me running everywhere. You never know what a one in a half year old is up to from one minute to the next. I'm certain that soon he'll plug the toilet and flood the bathroom when I'm not looking..he's not done that yet (he's been close). It's only a matter of time. The day will eventually come when water meets floor. Today, it was about the dishwasher. Tomorrow..who knows. Laugh. Each day presents it's own unique set of challenges when it comes to children.

 

"BOO!" My little nephew Myles is sooo shy. When he see's me coming his way, he hides instantly. Of course, his curious nature can't help but get the best of him. He'll peek at me from where ever he's hiding, whether it be on dad's lap or behind a corner, with his big'ol eyes. He's adorable. I caught him hanging out with dad here out in the garden. He kept popping up and down from behind dad's shoulder. Luckily, I caught a photo of him popping "up". Wasn't sure I would catch him or not..he was quick in his response. I wanted to create a layout immediately about this subject after getting this photo before forgetting about it (which I do all the time).

I did some patchwork on this page. All the quilting I've been doing these last two weeks has been influencing my scrapbooking. For this layout, I kept all the rectangles a similar theme-dots/circles. I covered only half the layout with rectangles. I left some white space for journaling and embellishments. For fun, I threw in a owl. The subject matter called for it. I worked on this layout for three nights. I know, no one in their right mind would work on a single layout for three nights..I often do. Laugh. I've already mentioned this previously, I'm the slowest scrapbooker on the planet. I'm indecisive and very selective when it comes to gluing things on paper. I can't help it...I've tried to change my ways, but all attempts have been unsuccessful. I can't scrap quickly or efficiently. For those that do, I'm totally envious.

I've seen other scrapbooker's back their letters with paper. I've not done it before, but decided to give it a try with this title. I needed the letters to stand out and this technique seemed to be the best solution. I also backed the letters with American Craft acrylic die-cut circles. This emphasizes the "oo" of "boo".

My greatest weakness; flowers. Ever since joining the Prima design team, I put these things on every layout/project. I love them. I enjoy the texture they lend to a layout/project. I didn't go with the usual flowers on this layout. I decided to use die-cut flowers instead of the fabric/paper flowers. I combined the large pink/brown die-cut flower set with a Making Memories transparency label. If you look closely, you'll notice a small hole in the transparency that sits between the small pink flower and large brown flower in the photo above. I don't mind it being there..the transparency frames the brown flower nicely and creates depth (as an additional layer). It also inspires me to experiment more with transparencies and flowers. Lots of possibilities there.

One quick note:  There were a couple of you that asked me where you can purchase vintage buttons online. You can locate them at Ebay under Vintage Sewing Supplies/Buttons. You can purchase them in lots or individually. I usually buy them in lots. I enjoy sorting through them and figuring out which ones I want to keep. Also, the ones I purchase are always plastic. I don't typically buy the glass buttons..too heavy for scrapbooking. You can find them in all shapes, sizes, and styles. The Moon glass buttons are some of my favorite. They "glow" and have an extra sparkle to them which combines nicely with flowers. Hope this info helps!

A New Addiction

Technically, it's not a new addiction. I've been collecting piles of these for years, but lately, I've developed a habit of collecting more than usual. It's nearly a sickness. Why do I need so many of these? Who needs this many buttons? No one, just me. Smile. Actually, I'm a collector by nature. I've collected things all my life. It all started when I was a young girl. My first collection consisted of rocks. I used to have one of those rock polishing machines. My father and I would spend months turning dirty old rocks into shiny pretty stones. From there, I fell love with beads. I would travel miles to feed my bead habit. I even worked at a bead store for four years. I have more beads than I know what to do with. After years of bead hunting, I started collecting fabrics, buttons, yarn, vintage tableware, tea cups, and more. It didn't take long to add scrapbook supplies to that list. 

I've come to realize that my collection habit is more than just about the objects. Take a look at any collection and you'll find the owner's personality a part of the mix. Collecting is just another form of creativity and self expression. I'm constantly needing to involve myself in the creative process. It's part of my existance. It's a source of fulfillment and it brings me great joy. Getting buttons in the mail is pure bliss for me (especially on gloomy rainy days). They're objects that I can use to be "creative" in my day to day life. So, here's for a happy day:

Speaking of things that make me happy, how about the new KI Memories "Bloom" Line? It's just been released and it doesn't disappoint.

I often fail to notice Origami paper. It's one of those items I don't often look at while at Michaels Craft Store. Today, these little butterflies caught my eye. The patterned paper in this pack is "kraft" paper based. The paper is very thin. There are a quite a few patterns in the pack. Below are a few sheets I used today on a project:

Other items to add to my collection list would be letterpress cards, stationary, and booklets. There is one letterpress company in particular that I've grown to love and that would be "Snow & Graham". You can find their stuff at "Red Stamp" and at "Paper Mojo". Their patterns have an organic feel and are very simple. Easily likable. Below are just a few samples of their designs.

 

I did find a few other links/online venues that were a lot a fun to visit while searching out "Snow & Graham" this evening. I'm going to list a few of those here:

Looking for some inspiration? This blog will provide it: Print & Pattern

Quaint place for stationary goods: Luxe Paperie

More Inspiration: Paper Crave

And more: Freshly Blended

To end this post, I would like to thank all you for the kind responses I received to my last post. My mood is on the upswing. That's a good thing. I'm feelen' well and grounded once again. Doing better. Glad to have a fresh, new week ahead of me. I feel like I've overcome something big within the grieving process. I've come to the six month mark. Dealing with a whole new set of emotions right now. Thank you for your continuing support. I really, really appreciate it :) 

Simple Things

I feel like I fell off the face of the earth. I've been battling a horrible cold all week. It's nearly knocked me off my feet. It started Monday. You know how it usually works..the throat get's a little sore, the nose starts to itch, and you feel more tired than usual. Well, that was my Sunday evening. By Monday mornen' I was feeling like I got hit by a train. That "hit by a train" feeling lasted three days. Today is the first time I've actually been able to semi-focus and get out of the house. We've been trapped inside our home all week. It's always nice to get a breath of fresh air and visit the outside world. Once we got outside the house, I realized just how exhausted I was (from having been sick). I wasn't feeling particularly "together". I kept thinking of Eric and how much I miss him. I'm not always entirely certain I can do this mom thing alone, especially after having been through a week of illness without Eric around to help care for Ethan. So much of my life is complicated...even when I'm sitting at home not feeling well. The simple things like washing dishes, doing laundry, picking up a gallon of milk at the local grocier..all these things feel "gigantic" and out of reach, especially when I'm tired. Of course, they still need to get done, so I do them. I miss the days of sharing my life with Eric. Having him there to reach for that one item on the very top shelf while shopping at one of the local stores. He was the guy I leaned on when life felt impossible. He was my "safety net". Having been sick this week, I'm reminded once again that there is a no longer a safety net waiting to catch me when I fall. Eric is absent from my life (physical world). It's a painful reality. It's a reality that becomes more obvious when I feel incapacitated. There's so much about Eric that kept me afloat. He was my anchor. Now that I don't have that anchor anymore, I'm having to find a new kind of stability for myself and Ethan through family and friends. It's not the same though...I miss him. I miss the simple things. I miss the old life...having a cold has never made me so miserable.

Even with the awful cold, I gave myself permission last night (with the little energy I had) to put together a few layouts. Scrapbooking is very cathartic for me. It's a resting place where I can go and not think about anything. I especially enjoy it when the house is quiet and the hours grow late into the evening.

These two layouts were made using the same pile of supplies I pulled out from my scrapbook collection. Even though they were made using similiar items, they don't necessarily look identical. This is good reminder for me that I don't always need to pull out a fresh pile of supplies to put together a new layout (which is what I always end up doing). It can be time consuming and can sometimes prevent me from focusing on my project. I can spend hours looking at scrapbook product. Here's what I pulled together last night:

During one of routine trips to my parent's place, Ethan had the opportunity to learn a little something about "tools" with Grandpa. Ethan's really into mechanical things right now..he's a little engineer. He likes buttons, switches, twist caps on bottles, etc. He enjoys activities that demonstrate "cause & effect"-press a button, hear a noise. For Ethan, it's part of learning about the world. I was so glad to have captured this moment between him and my dad.

He's definitely one tough guy. Hanson's been with us since we moved into our home six years ago. He was here when we built our house. He remained on the property after we moved in. He's a feral cat, which would explain why he doesn't live inside our home. We've watched him struggle and endure. Being a feral cat isn't an easy life...he's proof of that.

The flower above is made using a Seven Gypsies flower/stem rub-on and Sassafras die-cut stickers. I combined the two to make the flower image appear larger in size and to give the flower dimension. Combining various elements to create a simple object like a flower is an easy way to create a personalized embellishment.

Have a great weekend everyone! Take Care!