Everything's Coming Together

To say I am my mother's daughter is true in SO many ways.  But in no way is that a bad thing!!  Of course I love my mom, but she is THE most talented woman I know, so if I can accomplish a fraction of what she does...I feel pretty good!

Anyhoo...

When we moved to Colorado we knew there was a good chance we would only be in our house for a short period of time...long story, but we MAY have to move again in the near future...anyway, short-term or not it was VERY important to me to unpack and get settled.

I have NO DESIRE to live out of boxes no matter how short-term it may be.  It took a few weeks to get rid of all the boxes and find a home for everything...bigger house, smaller spaces if that makes sense.  Once I was done with all the boxes I could start "Making it my own".

I thought I would use my crafty blog to show you just how I have done that!!  I will start with a little piece of Taylor's room.

I have been hitting up TONS of thrift stores since I have been here and the garage sales...plenty!!  It's too hot in AZ for garage sales, so this is a HUGE bonus.  While my mom was in town I found this little Utensil caddy at the Goodwill.  I thought the price was OK since it still had the original tags attached.  And best of all...I knew exactly what I would use it for.

The color was perfect, so all I needed was a little Goo Gone to remove the sticker.  This was my second (I will show you my first later) project back in my craft room.  It felt good to be crafting again.  I used my Cameo to create a cute vinyl phrase and added a few supplies...

And VOILA...

Whatcha think?  Frankly it makes ME want to color!!

Here are a few pics of the whole desk!!

The piggy bank that she got for her first Christmas was in a million pieces when I opened the moving box, so my mom told me about this cute OWL bank she saw at Target.  It's small, but so CUTE!!

My MOST favorite part about her desk...this stack of Dr. Seuss.  Three of these books were gifts and the rest...THRIFT STORE FINDS!!  The most I paid for any of them...$2.00, but most where $0.99.  Seriously people...if you know anything about books that is a HUGE score!!

One last look at the coloring caddy!!  I used pint mason jars to hold the pencils and markers.  I made little cardboard platforms to raise them up.  She was so excited to use it this morning!!

Stay tuned for the full bedroom reveal!!

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Catching Up

I am not quite sure what is happening with me...

I started making cards again...and as if that wasn't gasp worthy...

Now I am starting to play catch-up on the kids' scrapbooks.  WHAAAAATTTT??

I know...a little part of me thought I would never get back to this life project, but I have and it is great.  I took out Thomas and Taylor's books and they just made me smile.  Well...what I have done that is.  And then of course they both stop abruptly and Tatum didn't even have a book.

Well now she does and now pages are getting done.

Here are a few that I did for Taylor's book!!  Both Thomas and Taylor love seeing old pictures and wow how flies.  I am currently working on pages for ages 2 and 4.  Hilarious right??  Wait until I show pics of the pages I did for Thomas.  My little man has changed A LOT!!

 

I am movin' right along!!  Tatum's nap time is proving to be the perfect time for me to be productive!!!   3 quiet hours I can spend in my craft room!!

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Good Luck

First of all I want to thank all of the lovely ladies that left comments on my very first challenge card.  Each and every one of them made me smile from ear to ear.  And as if that wasn't great enough...my card earned Honorable Mention!!!  How sweet is that??

Well...it is sweet enough to make me whip up another. 

Here is the CAS(E) this Sketch Challenge #18

  

And even though I am pretty sure there isn't much Irish running through my veins...I am loving everything green right now!!

Here is my card...

If I keep up with these challenges I shouldn't need to BUY a card anytime soon!!

Supplies:

Paper: Bazzill

Embellishments: Glitter Shamrock and Impress Bakers Twine

Sentiment: Taylored Expressions 

Ink: Stampin' Up Glorious Green 

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12 For 1

While I was going through all of my paper crafting supplies I came across some paper that coordinated with the months of the year.  I decided it would be perfect for a little gift I wanted to give to a friend.

12 Cards...

I for each month of the year!!

Now that I have started making cards again I am reminded how nice it is to send a card "Just Because" and if you just happen to have cards on hand...it is a whole lot easier.

The sentiment on or in each card is simple because the paper is pretty busy.  I thought they turned out cute though and hopefully the person that receives  them will as well.

Happy crafting!!

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First Challenge

For the first time EVER...I decided to participate in a challenge.  I have seen them...I have said I am going to do them...AND THEN I DON'T.

Well today I did!!

My moms bestie Karolyn over at Paper Therapy always posts to Facebook something called a CAS(E) This Sketch Challenge.  I was curious, so I clicked on the link and decided...I think I can do that.

Here is a pic of the template...

 

And here is my card...

I can definitely see how these challenges become addicting, I had fun making this card and it didn't even take me that long.  LOL...that says a lot...I can sit and stare at a blank card forever before I decide what I want it to look like.

Supplies..
Paper: Bazzill Paper
Ink: Stampin' Up Chocolate Chip
Stamp: Stampin' Up Teeny Tiny Wishes
Embellishments: Pebbles Layered Felt Embellishment, Buttons.

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Keep Calm and Birthday On

If I am being honest I was planning Tatum's first birthday party before I was wrapping presents for Christmas.  I knew all of the things I wanted, but I couldn't decide on a theme, so I opted for NO theme.  Instead I just wanted color...TONS of color.

And I think I accomplished just that...

I used my Cameo for everything.  And except for the boa on the party hats, I had all of the supplies in my craft room.  The party hats were a huge hit with the four little girls.  Note to self though...when you make party hats...make them all the same to avoid three sad little girls who did not get the "pink" one.

And because I was shooting for mom of the year...I decided that I would make Tatum her birthday outfit.  I bought a plain white T-shirt at Hobby Lobby and sewed a fabric #1 and some flowers on the front.  I wanted a super cute diaper cover to go with and my mom was nice enough to help me fumble through the pattern and sew one myself.  Not going to lie...I was pretty proud of my work!!

 

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Dark and Dusty TO Light and Clean

Project PURGE had me rethinking almost everything in my house.  If you know my mom you will know that I come by it naturally.  After she insisted I watch a show on HGTV called Clean Freaks I went home hating strongly disliking almost every space in my house.  Not everything needs to go, but certain things could definitely use a re-do.

Enter these drab pieces in my kitchen...

To be fair...my wonderful mom gave me these canisters a very long time ago when she was getting new and I was moving out on my own.  You can't go wrong with black?  Right?!  Maybe these days that only applies to clothes.

I decided that they needed to go and what better time than right before the big garage sale?

And here is their replacement...

I bought all four of the canisters at Hobby Lobby for less than $10.  I used my Camer to cut vinyl lettering. 

Did a little cleaning of my countertops...

And here are my NEW and much prettier canisters...

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My Take On The Chart

For some reason I have had the hardest time committing to a "Chore" chart for the kids.  Please do not ask me why because I have no answer.  I didn't LOVE anything that I tried.

I bought this Melissa and Doug Chore Chart at a garage sale for only $5 (good deal) and guess what...It will be in my garage sale on Saturday.  I decided that it was too...kiddish!  I know, I know...they are kids, but remember...I have to look at it and I wanted something more esthetically pleasing.  This was not doing it for me!!

I found this over at A Spotted Pony.  I loved it!!  I went to the Goodwill...found two matching baking sheets...spray painted them...and then decided I wasn't a fan.  I just didn't have the perfect spot I guess.

So after I hemmed and hawed...pushed the project to the back burner...I finally made a decision.

This is what I came up with.

I used my most favorite thing these days...My Cameo...and cut vinyl for my refrigerator.  I made bottle cap magnets (also with my silhouette) and Voila!!  Can you believe the kids were super excited to see what their chores would be this morning?

Although the chores are not meant to be a choice...I added $$ amount to each chore as an incentive.  My kids love getting money!!  Most of the chores are pretty simple as my munchkins are only 7 and 4.  I plan to put at least one bottle cap chore under their name each day.  We shall see how it goes!!  It turned out to be a pretty simple little project and if at any point I change my mind all I have to do is rip the vinyl off.

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Crafting to Save Money

One of my goals for 2013 and just the future in general is to spend more time crafting and therefor posting more to this blog I created for said crafts.

In early January I started what I call Project PURGE.  You can check it out, but basically a simple DE-clutter my life project one space at a time.  My craft room always seems to land in the top 3 for cluttered spaces.  I think it is only natural, but there seems to be a fine line between clutter and chaos in this particular space.  A mess means I am actually crafting, but that mess can quickly turn into chaos which keeps me at bay. 

I am not sure what it is about people who craft and their ability to justify keeping every little scrap of crap.  You just never know when you might need that 4" piece of ribbon!  Anyway, I am NO different and it is those scraps that have started to take up space.

Enter my money saving/crafting project all in one.

If there is one thing I always seem to need, but rarely want to go spend money on it is cards.  Birthdays, Thank You's...you name it and a card is needed for it.  I started making cards after my mom started and then for some unknown reason...probably hair bows...I stopped.

Last night I took a break from my little purging project and made a card and before I knew it I had made 7.  The best part....I used only stuff in my "scrap" pile!!!

I won't be entering my cards in any contest, but they will serve the needs of any occasion.  Crafting and saving money all at the same time.  And thanks to my moms bestie Karolyn I have cute new Stampin' Up Sentiments to play with.

Honestly...I forgot how much I love to paper craft!!

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Simple Projects Are The Best

I thought I would share two little projects I did a while back.  Of course it should be stated that Pinterest once again was my inspiration.  Pinterest is the worst kind of addiction.  I am either pinning things I can't afford and can only dream of OR I am pinning things that I have every intention of trying, but rarely ACTUALLY do!!

Except these two projects!!

I am always looking for ways to make life with three kids easier and this little basket project was one of those ways.  I will say it took me a little longer than I had thought it would to find 3 matching baskets that were the perfect size for my stairs.  Once I did though, it was easy peezy to finish.  I used scrap paper I had and some rub-ons to create the name tags and I borrowed my moms laminating machine to keep them nice and pretty!!  When the kids pick up around the house downstairs they can put their things in the basket and when the basket is full...it is easy to carry everything up and put away!!

And the frame...

Well thanks again to Pinterest and Photoshop I now have this fun piece with all the important dates in our family!!  Sometimes words and numbers are much more fun than an actual picture!  It's a talking piece when people see it and then see that Thomas' birthday falls before our wedding date!!

Yep...

He came first!!!

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