Monday, December 15, 2008

Countdown to Christmas - Day 10

As of today, Christmas is 10 days away. It is hard to believe that this month has gone by so fast. This year I have decided to document the time leading up to this big holiday.
As of right now, I am starting to enter panic mode. I still have so much left to do and so little time to do it in. After an aggravating day at work, I came home and got to work on my to do list. My first task was to complete some assignments for school. Unfortunately, this left me with no time to wrap these presents -

We have had our tree up and decorated for weeks now. Now we seem to running out of room for all of the presents. Thomas and I always pledge to cut back on our gift giving every year, but some how the Christmas spirit gets the better of us -

We have gifts scattered all around the house. This is really frustrating for Thomas since he always wants to keep our home neat and tidy (I can't fault him for that). This is a stack of gifts that we will be delivering this weekend -


Still have a lot of stuff to do before Christmas arrives. I hope to cross more things off of my list everyday.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Scrapping for a good cause

I thought I would spread the word about this project that I heard about on the Two Peas website. The Sunshine Album Project collects scrapbooks or "mini books" to give to children in the hospital facing an illness. Here is a link to the person's blog who is organizing the project, Deb: http://debwisker.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/10/sunshine-albums-for-children.html
All of the requirements for the project are listed on Deb's blog. I encourage all of you to get out those supplies that you are probably ready to purge from your stash and put together a couple of mini books for this great cause.
Below are some photos of the first book I made. Deb sent me some simple instructions for a mini book and I put this together using 2 pieces of cardstock and some patterned paper that has been sitting around for a while.



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Wednesday, November 5, 2008

What a night!

I am sure most of you were watching the election results last night. While I was watching something struck me. This is only my third presidential election and I am ashamed to say this is the first time I REALLY paid attention. I watched every debate, researched the issues, and carefully considered my choices. After voting yesterday I felt great - I had renewed my hope. The hope that our country could come together. I didn't care if people were supporting a different candidate than I was - the point was that our nation had a dialogue going.

As I was driving to work this morning, I drove past an American flag waving in the breeze. That flag means different things to different people, but for me - this morning - it reminded me of what a wonderful nation we live in.

Now it's time to get to work.

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Weekend Project

Here are some photos of a project I finished over the weekend. This little book is for one of the owners of the company I work for. I hope she likes it.






















Friday, October 3, 2008

Yay!!!! A day off!

I am so happy today. I have a day off to just do nothing. Today I am going to be working on some scrapbook projects and doing lots of laundry. I love days like this :-)

Monday, September 1, 2008

Happy Labor Day!

Hope everyone got to have a a little time of from work this weekend. Thomas and I had breakfast with my parents, Charles, and Sofia. We then went to the mall and to a LSS. This is not the normal LLS I frequent and I was so uninspired by their selection. When we got home I spent most of the afternoon working on an AWESOME explosion box for a class at Scrap Paper Scissors. I am really proud of this project because I incorporated some pop up elements. I think it's really cool (I will post some pics as soon as I can).

Well it's back to work tomorrow. We have someone new starting tomorrow so I will be training most of the week. This week will be busy but the weekend will be here soon enough.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Fay, Fay go away!!!!

So today is our 3rd day straight of non stop rain. Today we are also getting wind gusts of 40 mph. Of course, this is the day they decide that it is ok for the kids to go back to school. I just don't understand it.

This weather is really bringing me down. Hopefully it will all clear up soon.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Glitter


Glitter and I are NOT friends. Glitter never cooperates with me. Glitter never does what I want it to do. Glitter always makes a mess everywhere. Glitter stays around for days even after I clean it up.

I am sure I am not alone in this struggle. I want to like glitter, I really do. But everytime I give it a chance, it proves itself to be not worth the aggravation. My husband also HATES when I use glitter because of the mess it makes. It has offically been banned from our house. That doesn't bother me though because I hate it almost as much as he does.

So for now, I will stick with using Stickles for my glittery effects. At least then I can just put away the bottle and not worry about the clean up.

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Guess what...


I got a B!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That is, I got a B in my college algebra class!!!! I am so happy. This was the result of a lot of hard work this semester. It may have taken me a couple of times to get through this class but at least I made it this time.


I can't even express how glad I am. One more class to go to finish my degree.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Scrap cards

Here are some of the cards I made this weekend. I made all of these cards using the scraps of patterned paper & cardstock that I had on hand. Making cards is so much less expensive than buying them.

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Thursday, July 17, 2008

Smile

I am sure everyone has certain things that make them smile. I like to keep things close to me while I am at work that cheer me up. My workplace is stressful and having these things near me help. I don't have much room on my desk so I have a bulletin board next to my work space that has a bunch of my favorite photos. The one happy thing that will always be on my desk is my cow.

Yes, that brown lumpy piece of clay next to my phone is a cow. It is one of my prized possesions. This cow was given to me by my nephew. He made it in art class when he was in elementary school. I was talking to him yesterday (he is now 15) and told him I still had that cow on my desk (I think he was surprised). There is just something about this little piece of art that makes me happy.

So Thomas, thank you for making Aunt Sandra smile today.

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Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Class this weekend

I am teaching a class on Saturday at Scrap Paper Scissors (Winter Garden, FL). In Saturday's class we will be making a pop up scrapbook using the Basic Grey Two Scoop's line. Please contact the store for more information.

http://scrappaperscissorsinc.blogspot.com/2008/07/hello-friends_05.html

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Journaling

Today's blog prompt on 2 Ps is about journaling.

I have scrapbooked since high school but when I really got into the hobby was after going to a couple of Creative Memories demos. In these demos I was taught that scrapbooking was really about the story that your photos tell. The CM philosophy was photos first, then journaling, then add embelishments as a final layer.

I eventually broke away from the CM way of thinking. While the photos and journaling were still important to me, the overall design of a page is what brings me the most joy. I used to mandate that there be journaling on every page. Sometimes, the journaling didn't have much substance. Now often the only journaling on my page is my title and I am ok with that because sometimes that is all I need.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Sad news for my work family...

Well, this week started off on a sad note for me. One of my dear co-workers lost her mother rather suddenly over the weekend. From what I have known this woman was very warm and caring. She had a large family (including adopted family members) and was the very much loved matriarch of the family. I went to the viewing last night with two of my other coworkers so could show support for Dottie and her family.

I should stop here and tell you a little bit about Dottie. I have worked with her for about 4 years now and I just think she is terrific. She is warm, funny, and always willing to help you out. Dottie has a lot of siblings (10 total) and family has always been very important to her. This past Christmas was a big one for her family because everyone was coming into town for a family reunion. Dottie talked about this reunion a lot last year and was always saying how excited her mom was about it.

Dottie wanted to give her mom a special Christmas gift since it was such a special occasion for her family. Her plan was to put together a large scrapbook of family pictures for her mom. The project became a little to much for Dottie to handle on her own so she enlisted my help. I put together a 50+ page scrapbook for that included pictures of the whole family. In someway, I think I got to know her family while I was making that book. Dottie’s whole family loved the gift. Dottie even told me that her mom would sit and look through the scrapbook over and over again. It was her life in a book. Because of this it seemed only fitting that they included this scrapbook in the service for her mom.

So this week Dottie and her family will definitely be in my thoughts during this difficult time.

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Time for an update...

I haven't posted for a while so I thought I would share some of the stuff that has been happening with me recently. A new scrapbook store openned up about 5 minutes away from my best friend. Scrap Paper Scissors is the name of the store and the owner, Debbie, is supper nice. I had posted before that we had visited the store. Well during that visit Debbie asked our group what kinds of classes we would like to see offered. We got to talking and I ended up teaching a Father's Day Exploding Box class at her store. Debbie and her customers must have liked me because I am teaching two more classes in July and have more in the works. I seriously feel like someone needs to pinch me. I have always wanted to teach classes at a scrapbook store but I never really thought my work was good enough. Doing these classes at Scrap Paper Scissors has really boosted my confidence. The best thing is that even though it is work to put together the classes and teach it doesn't feel like it. I may be exhausted after a class but I also feel fulfilled.

I am also taking classes this summer to finish up my AA degree. I have finished one class so far and got an A. College algebra is the class that I am finishing up now and it is stressing me out. If I can just pass this class with a C I will be thrilled!!!

A few weeks ago my husband also started classes towards an AA degree. I only mention this because I am so PROUD of him. He is doing great in all of his classes (no surprise to me) and is enjoying his work.

I am sending good wishes to all of you. Have a great week!!!!!!

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Creating Art

For today's blog topic, I am going to address the challenge question posted on the Two Peas message board. The question is, "Is creating "beautiful art" more important than the process of creating?"

My immediate answer would be that I don't care if my art is beautiful, as long as I enjoy the process. But of course, we all want what we create to be deemed beautiful. Many times I think I get to caught up in thinking about what other people's opinions are going to be about my work.

The most important thing to remember is that creating shouldn't be a chore. You should enjoy the process.

Sunday, May 4, 2008

Time for an update


I haven't posted for a while so I thought I would catch up on some things that have happened recently. First of all, I went to New York with my husband a couple of weeks ago. I never wanted to travel to New York because I was afraid to fly. I am proud to say that I have now conquered my fear of flying. New York was great and I hope to go back again when we have more time to see the sights.

Saturday was a Girl's Day Out for me, Kimi, and her Mom. We had such a good time visiting a scrapbook store in Winter Garden and having lunch at this quaint French bakery. The new scrapbook store is Scrap Paper Scissors (http://www.scrappaperscissor.com/). This is a new venture for the owner and she is very enthusiastic about her new business. The store is small but she has a bunch of cool items (most things I haven't seen in any other store locally). I really encourage anyone in the area to stop by. It's important for all of us to support these small local businesses.


I also found out that I only need 3 MORE CLASSES in order to receive my AA degree. I was so excited when I found out. I never thought I would get to this point and I can finally see light at the end of the tunnel. I am taking all 3 classes that I need over the summer semester. It's going to be a lot of hard work but I think it will be worth it.

So since I have all of this work ahead of me with school, I have decided that I need to take a break and / or significantly cut back on scrapping. This was a hard decision for me to make but it's something that is ultimately going to be in my best interest. In order to help me stay focused, I have put away many of my scrapping supplies and have turned my "scrapping desk" into my "homework" area. I have been really sad most of the day because it is scrapping and crafting is something that I enjoy so much. Tomorrow is time for a new start...first day of classes. I am hoping that the next 3 months goes smoothly & I earn my degree.











Sunday, March 23, 2008

The BIG clean up

It's spring and time to get our place clean and organized. A few posts ago, I said I was going to work on cleaning my scrap area. Well I finally got around to doing it.

My husband and I live in a pretty large one bedroom apartment. Our apartment has an area connected to the living room called a solarium. It's basically the space where a balcony would be. Since we hardly ever used are balcony at our old place we opted to have more usable living space. So half of the solarium is my "scrapbook studio". This is where I make the magic happen. My little corner is my favorite place to be. My space is not my idea of the perfect space, but it suits my needs and works for our current situation.

First, I took some before photos. I have to say that I am almost embarassed to post these pictures. I will admit it - I am a messy scrapper. Most of the time my supplies will go everywhere. It is so disappointing too - since I have so many orginazational tools. In these pictures you will even see that I have claimed a folding table as my scrap space because I just couldn't bear the task of clearing my desk:



Here is my scrap area after cleaning. What a BIG difference!!!! It only took me 2 hours and one trash bag. I had to stop myself from dragging out another project before I took my after pics.


So my space is now clean and has remained clean for a few hours. Hopefully I can keep my area clear for at least one week.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

What I am working on...

I my previous posts I have talked about some of the projects I am working on. I thought I'd take this opportunity to give you some updates.

The BIG project I am working on right now is a scrapbook for my mom for Mother's Day. Here's one of the layouts I completed. This is one of my favorite baby photos. This is me with my mom. I really like how this paisley SEI paper kind of matches the time frame when the portraits were done.

Something new I tried with this album is using divided page protectors. I have lots of pictures that I am trying to include in this book and I have found that these pages work great. I am using pages that have 6 - 4x6 pockets. I can mount my photos on 4x6 pieces of patterned paper and just slide them into the pockets. They look really cool and add something a little different to the scrapbook.


This year, I have tried to set a few goals for my scrapbooking & papercrafting. One of my goals this year is to use the supplies I have on hand to make small "gifts" for my co-workers to celebrate their birthday. My thought is, no one likes to come to work on their b-day, so having a little something waiting for them when they come in makes them feel special. March is a busy month for birthdays in my office so I need to get on the ball! Here is a small altered paint can I made for a birthday this week. Coseree likes to chew gum while she's working so we filled the can with different kinds of gum. I left this on her desk so it would be a surprise for her when she came in. She was surprised and love her little gift. It makes me feel so good to put a smile on someone else's face.

One other update: I posted earlier this month that I was challenging myself to not buy any scrapbook supplies other than adhesive. I am proud to report that I am still on the wagon. I had to go to Michael's this past weekend to buy adhesive and I think my husband was shocked that we were out of the store so quickly. I only have like two more weeks to go. Right now I am trying to convince myself that an ATG gun would fall under the "adhesive" category.

As always, thanks for stopping by. I will be posting again soon.




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Thanks

I just wanted to thank those of you who had posted comments. I really appreciate it!

Friday, March 7, 2008

My current project

I am currently working on a project for my mom for Mother's Day. I have all of our family photos and I am putting them into a scrapbook for her. I carefully removed all of the photos from those yucky adhesive albums. Luckily all of the photos are in pretty good shape (Even the polariods). It feels weird to me to now scrapbook my own baby pictures. But I love the fact that now these pictures are going to be safe.

One problem I am having is with pictures of my brother. My brother is 6 years younger than me and there are hardly any pictures of him when he was a baby. I am actually having to leave pictures of me out so I can make sure the book is somewhat balanced. I don't know what to do because I really don't want to offend him. I think that his lack of photos may hurt his feelings. I think I may try to get a lot a recent photos of him and see I can bulk up his section that way.

Other than that the album looks great. I am really hoping that my mom will like it.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Etsy

Don't know if you know about etsy but it is great. People from all over sell things that they have made like jewelry, purses, panintings, and even scrapbooks. I have a store set up on Etsy so please stop by and take a look:

scrapasaurus.etsy.com

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

March challenge

I have decided to try to complete a challenge this month. This month's challenge is going to be to spend $0 on scrapbook supplies this month. The only exception is going to be adhesive. (I go through adhesives like water)

Wish me luck!!!!

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Busy weekend

This weekend I was busy making two projects for gifts. Lately I have been working on so many gift items that I have had no time to scrap for myself.


The first project that I was working on (and the only one I took pictures of) was this scrapbook in a box for a friend who just had a baby on Valentine's Day. Pics of this project are on the left. There's a spot in the box for one photo for each month of her first year. I also left the center area open for the baby's first photo. These little boxes are fun to make and really look nice when finished. I think they are great way to keep your photos with you while you are at work.



My other gift project was an alter paint can for a "Wedding Day Survival Kit". I filled the paint can with things like a sewing kit, lint brush, Tylenol, etc. The bride to be loved the gift!

This week's goal is to clean up my craft area. Hopefully, I won't get distracted and just create more of a mess.


Friday, February 15, 2008

Starting something new

Today I am starting something new. I have decided to start my own scrapbook blog. I hope to start posting info about some of the projects I am working on. Who knows, maybe my work will inspire others. Stay tuned!