Silent Night

Apparently I have a problem letting go of Christmas this year. I had printed this pic of my family room awhile ago fully intending to scrap it before Christmas, but it obviously never happened.

As I was cleaning up my desk (story to come in another post), I came across it again & made a point to scrap it since I was all inspired.

Everything on this is from MM's Fa La La line. And since I was in a scrapping mood I didn't want to stop to go mess around with the journaling on the computer so I just hand wrote it.

I have not even begun to scrap my Christmas pics but I am going to try & do something new.....scrap Valentine's day BEFORE the actual day!! LOL I seem to be inspired to work on the holiday/season after it's over all the time....don't intend to at all but it always seems to happen! So now that I've put it out there I need to follow through! LOL!!

Cards from Scraps

Once again I am aware that Christmas is over. But once again I am posting some Christmas craftiness!!

I made these cards from the leftovers of these albums. I didn't really want to store the leftovers. I wanted them put to use!

Small cards maybe 3 x 3.25. Used my favorite Hero Arts stamps.

Here I cut out some of the trees from the scraps & pop dotted them to make them stand out, then added some gems for stars. Simple.This cards was super simple. Just punched the squares & added a snowflake made with my Cuttlebug, with a snowflake brad in the center topped with a little gem. The greeting is a rub-on that was starting to flake but I carefully colored in the little spots & you can't even notice!This card looks better IRL--the colors are tough to take pics of. The paper has a shine to it & doesn't do it justice. The "Joy" letters match better IRL too.Another easy card. Just cut out more trees & pop dotted the center one. And if you're wondering I STILL have more Christmas to share!! LOL!

Blast from the Past...Christmas Style

So yes I know it's January...almost February but I'm behind in my blogging.

What else is new lately??

First off, Thank you for your well wishes. I am feeling back to normal...whatever normal is!

I don't know about you but I still have my Christmas cards still up in my kitchen. The rest of the decorations are all packed up but the cards remain.

WHY?? You ask?

(there's more to the right of the door)
Because I'm a procrastinator.

And the fact that I am S-L-O-W-L-Y taking all the cards we've received over the years (yes I've kept them!!) & I'm turning them into these.....


Books of Cards. Card Books. Mini albums of sorts. Whatever you want to call them!

(Yes I know there are only 3 years worth of cards but I ran out of binder rings that I hold them together with & only had small rings at home. Will be making more albums once I go shopping!)

I take the cards & put them in the order that suits the voices in my head. Then I take those chipboard sheets that come with my patterned papers orders to keep from getting mangled, & trim them to size about a 1/2 inch larger than my largest card.

I covered the chipboard with my ginormous stash of Christmas paper & line the inside of the covers as well. I even remembered to use some of my old embellies & charms to dress it up. Love using up my stash!

Now I have a Bind it all.....I've had every intention of making these books with that little gadget BUT since so many of the cards we get are photo cards I have a problem punching through the tops of family & friends.



I have issues, yes I know it!

So I took ordinary office supply page protectors, fit the card inside & cut off the tops leaving room for the hole punches.

I really eyeballed the hole punches. Whenever I had a small card that wouldn't fit the holes I'd attach it to a trimmed piece of cardstock like this.

I really like how it looks with all the cards layered in different sizes with a photo card here & there. I plan on displaying them in a basket during Christmas. It's been fun seeing all the kids grow from card to card & I'm sure the girls will like flipping through the books too.

What do you do with your cards? I LOVE LOVE LOVE Laura's idea of saving cards too.....maybe once I get over my phobia of cutting the photo cards I will try that!! LOL!! (BTW-Check out those 2 CUTE girlies in the top left hand corner! hee hee!!)

ETA: I hope this post makes sense since I am so tired from a few late nights. Will have to read it over once I get a few more hours of sleep! ;)

I'm Here!! I'm Here!!

So I know I've gone from being a good blogger to MIA lately but I swear I have good reason. I had been wanting to pack up my Christmas decorations & fully intended to last week...but then I had a pain in my side. Thought it was a pulled muscle.

It hurt to breathe, no exageration.

I waited about 5 days for it to get better but it didn't. I was not a happy camper.

I finally broke down & went to the doctor & she took a blood test & made me pee in a cup. After about an hour I was told I had a kidney infection of sorts or kidney stones.

Lovely.

After a few days on meds I started feeling better & slowly got back to doing things around the house.....like taking down the Christmas decorations!

Thankfully I can now say it's down, packed & stored away ready for next year!!

Now to clean the house!

My World

You know when you have pics that you love & scrap them over & over? These pics are it for me (well 3 out of 4 pics are--guess which I'm not crazy on!).

To tell the truth I think after I had printed these I realized I'd like them better in B & W for this LO. I think I even have these printed in different sizes so I'm sure they'll pop up again at some point.

I'm almost afraid to mention how long this LO took me since looking at it is so simple. I had it going one way, but wasn't feeling it so I left it for a couple of days. When I had time again, this is what came together....then the title/journaling threw me when I had a lightbulb moment to just keep it simple & this is what I ended up with.


(Used all MM on this)

Looking at it now I see a few things I could change but as I always say...it's done!! Besides I've got more copies!! LOL!!

An ode to my Big Sister

Today is the day my big sister, Maria, was born.

My parents named her "Maria Carmelina".

She's 3 years older than me.

(Not sure how old we are in this pic--she's the one wearing red)

When I was little, I couldn't pronounce her name so I called her "My-mella".

Eventually I was old enough to call her by the right name {and a few other names as well--c'mon we're sister's! It's not all peaches & cream!!}

I thought the world of my big sister & would do just about anything for her.

Case in point: This one time her & I were having ice cream cones with our Mom & she bet me $1 to touch the ice cream to both the lenses of my glasses. Because I thought the world of her {and I wanted that $1} I did it. But I never got my $1 despite my mom telling her she had to.

Go ahead & laugh at my naiveness!!

Despite the ups & downs over the years we're are pretty close. We even worked together (different depts.) for 7 yrs before I left to have Marissa.

When we weren't being "professional", we could easily revert to being kids & goof off.Every year on Halloween the company we worked at would let us leave work early if we wore costumes to work...and we took advantage of that.....Somehow she got to be the "sexy green M & M" while I got the goofy yellow one (that's all they had left). And you know why I'm ok with that?

Because I'd pretty much do anything for my big sister.

But I'm still waiting for my $1!!! Now pay up!! LOL!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARIE!!!
Love you!!

Waiting

Still sorta up in the air on my ribbon storage from this post. I got some great ideas from people but hesitate to put them into effect at the moment. See, I'm currently in limbo with my scrap area/room. Until it's in full effect, I don't want to re-do anything, only to wish I had done it differently.

So I'm waiting, for now.

Joe & I agreed to turn our guest room upstairs, into my scrap room. The downside is the furniture we have in there. It's mainly this piece that keeps it from finding a new home (there are 2 other pieces that go with it). We're trying to get rid of it, (there's nothing wrong with it) but no one that's interested in it has the room big enough for it to fit. ***SIGH*** Joe tells me not to give up & I'm not but I'm out of room where I'm currently scrapping & it's driving me crazy at times to find things.

Now don't get the wrong idea. I'm complaining but I'm not complaining.

But if you live in NJ, & are in need of a nice sturdy 3 piece bedroom set with LOTS of storage please come knock on my door!!

Precious

Yes the baby LO's continue!! What can I say? I come across the pics & get inspired!

Some of these pics are the same or similar to this LO but it doesn't faze me (I had extras). I'm just happy they're scrapped!!

Sorry for the cruddy pic.....Used a lot of older stuff from my stash on this one. I'm determined to use my stash more this year. No that's not my New Year's resolution.....I don't make those any more.

Older MM papers. Some older & not so old metal embellies mixed together. Buttons, I need to really use more of those on my LO's! And some old MM ribbon. If there's anything I need to add more of on my LO's, it's ribbon hands down!! LOL!!

Surrounded By Pink

When I did the last baby LO I found this pic of Joe & the girls. The look on his face melts me. This is him in his glory, surrounded by his girls.

Used older MM product on this. Figured it worked since the pics are old. And my Slice for the title. Still learning about it but it's been fun playing with it!

Let's re-visit Halloween

After the holidays I had a chance to go back & clear the mess off my desk. That's when I finished the coffee mini-album.....but I also found this LO sitting done since November except for the journaling. So I made sure to get it done & put away but I wanted to share it first.


I was on a Halloween kick in November. For some reason I seem to get into seasonal LO's after the season is over. Go figure.

Baby Love

I've had these pics printed for a super LONG time. I've had every intention of scrapping them but they were out of sight out of mind. Then I was going through Nov's (??) Scrapbook Trends & saw a baby LO that inspired me to dig out these baby pics of Gianna.

Disclaimer: This LO has no connection to this post what-so-ever, just in case anyone gets any ideas.

All products used on this is from Making Memories Animal Crackers line. Made the title using my new Slice! Love my new toy!!

Ribbon Storage

I don't know about you, but for me the new year always seems to put me in the mood to re-organize my scrap supplies. Usually I rethink it all & re-do everything but I'm ok with how I have things organized (for the most part).

The thing that's bugging me is my ribbons.

I have them in this 3 drawer chest under my scrap desk. I can get past the fact that I can't fit my legs comfortably under my desk. What bugs me is the ribbons are layered 2 deep in each drawer. Trying to dig out a spool of ribbon can be time-consuming & annoying. Come to think of it I haven't used ribbons on my LO's much. Now the chest holds only my spooled ribbons. The ribbons that come on cards I took apart & wrapped them on embroidery floss bobbins from Michael's & put them in these bead cases. Still not the easiest to get to & yes it's also under my desk, but I'd rather pull those out than the spooled stuff.So my question is this.....

How do you store your ribbons?

Sincerely,

Ribbon Addict

Coffee

It's no surprise to anyone who knows me that I LoVe coffee. Not just in the morning but all day long. Even late at night before bed, it doesn't faze me a bit.

So when I saw this cute album on 2Peas I knew what I wanted to do....

An ode to Coffee & my favorite mugs.
Since I had more mugs that I wanted to include in the album than I had pages I traced one of the "pages" onto a Hambly Transparency to create extra pages.

Chipboard Album: Maya Road
Patterned Paper: Bo Bunny Double Dot
Transparency: Hambly Studios
Alpha Stickers: Making Memories, American Crafts Thicker Stickers
Rub ons: Doodlebug
Die Cuts: QuicKutz
Punch: Marvy Uchida
Stamps: Hero Arts, Inque Boutique,
(lots of different stamps used--let me know if you need to know which is which)
Embossing Powder: American Crafts Zing!
Stickers: MAMBI Swirly clear stickers