wordless Wednesday: birthday boy

check out my amazing birthday card

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! We ate turkey, decorated for Christmas and celebrated two birthdays. I’m playing catch up on a few things and a project (and lots of laundry!) but my blog felt lonely so I wanted to say HI! and share a really cool video with all of you.

This is the birthday card that my wonderful friend Karen made me. She’s amazing. The card is amazing. Thank you Karen!

I turned 40 yesterday, yo!

I am thankful for…

all of them. <3

Happy Thanksgiving!

wordless Wednesday: on the coffee table

I’m kind of in love with Pinterest

So, Pinterest is awesome. just sayin’.

Pinterest is an online, visual idea board where you pin things you like. You know how you put stuff on your fridge or in a notebook? It’s kind of like that. What kind of things? Whatever your little heart desires…

• Scrapbook and stamping ideas
• inspirational pictures
• kids crafts
• people
• Holiday ideas
• Style ideas for clothes
• Ideas for your home
• food
• fun stuff
• bugs (if you’re into that sort of thing… but eww!)
• whatever!

I’m always looking for new recipes and I find it very helpful to pin recipes I want to try. I have it broken down into two boards that are food related – good eats and sweat treats. It’s so easy just to refer back to the boards without printing out a ton of recipes – and there’s a visual reminder too!

I’m warning you now, it’s addicting… but it’s oh so fun! I currently have 18 pin boards (because you can categorize your pins! cool huh?). One of my favorites may or may not be boys I like.

You know what is really cool? When someone pins you. I ran across this early this morning and it made my day -

That happy mug layout is my layout! It was pinned from Scrapbook.com… how fun is that?! Another reason this was such a treat for me… I have a thing for Alan Rickman! And there’s ol’ Alan as Severus Snape just a few pins above mine. I find this highly amusing and it made me totally happy. true story.

Want to know if something has been pinned from your blog? Just copy and paste in the following text and replace my blog name with yours (or click and replace… it works with Typepad too!) -

 http://pinterest.com/source/gscrapbooks.blogspot.com/

If you want to search a site that isn’t a blog, just drop the www. Like this -

http://pinterest.com/source/scrapbook.com/

How do you know if you have been pinned from Scrapbook.com or Two Peas? I have no clue! But you dear reader, if you know, please share because that is the question of the day!

How exactly do you pin? Check out this page on Pinterest, they tell you all about it: Goodies on Pinterest.

So, are you on Pinterest? It’s very pinteresting don’t you think? ;-)

Happy Pinning!

wordless Wednesday: trashies in the house - smelly mouse

December Daily 2011 | Foundation Pages

My foundation pages for my December Daily album are done – woo! go me! As mentioned in my previous post about prep work I did some debating on the size but am really happy I chose to go with another 6” x 6” album again. It seems to be a good size for me.

The set up is pretty much the same throughout the album with a few alterations. All the left hand pages contain white cardstock that have been embossed with a 25 Days of Christmas Textured Impressions by Sizzix. There’s a strip of cardstock and patterned paper on the bottom, and a label die from the Celebrate Sizzlits Set by Sizzix and that shows a number signifying the day. For that number, I used the Vintage Market alphabet set by Sizzix. I can’t tell you how much I adore the look of the white embossed cardstock. It’s so crisp and clean, I love it! For the right hand page I used a coordinating piece of patterned paper with a piece of Frosty Snow Flakes Screen Print by Hambly in between.

Foundation Pages:

Throughout the album will alternate between these two basic designs (feel free to click on the images to make them all bigger):

Odd numbered pages have a Hambly Screen Print in between that were cut with an Ornamental die, I cut the print using about 3/4 of the die. The even numbered pages use a 6” x 6” piece of Hambly. I alternate colors throughout.

Here are all the inside pages:

Close up details:

I used the Season’s Greetings Collection from Echo Park and threw in some Fancy pants. I think it mixed together well. I originally pulled ribbon out to use but haven’t yet… don’t know if I’ll use it at all actually but it’s out, just in case!

Supplies:

InLinkz.com

Notes (or lessons learned from last year):

This year I am not adding a lot of decoration before hand or any pre-done journaling spots to the inside pages. Last year I had added those extras and found it difficult to work around when I had a lot to say or wanted to use more than one photo. This year I decided to be a little more loose and wing it a bit (if you know me, this is huge! I’m pretty structured). The Season's Greetings Collection came with two sticker sheets and a sheet of cut-outs for journaling so I plan on incorporating those as I go. I’m keeping all my extra December Daily papers and items together so they’re at the ready when December comes.

What about the cover, title page, and closing page?

One thing at a time! Last year I drug my feet on all three of these, I’m sure this year will be no exception.

Just for fun:

• my December Daily from 2010
• follow me on Twitter
• click on “Join this site” on the right hand side of my blog (come on, you know you want too!)

Alright, that’s it. Longest post ever right? Happy Monday!

Create Scrapbooks: The Stamps of Life November 2011 Special Release Sets

Hi everyone! It’s time for the November special releases for The Stamps of Life. There are three super cute sets so head on over to CreateScrapbooks.com to check them out.

Supplies - Froggy Mini Card Sets: sayings4froggy (The Stamps of Life), white cardstock (Bazzill), Umbrellas (Splash, Echo Park), Hello Sunshine: Clover (Cosmo Cricket), Flower Dots (Adorn It, Carolee’s Creations), twine – Charcoal, Denim, and Cappuccino (The Twinery), Premium Dye Inks – Artichoke, Spearmint, Blueberry, Chocolate, and Licorice (Colorbox), black pen. | Happy House Warming Card: born2party, houses4us, and summer4fun (The Stamps of Life), Brown Floral, Seeing Spots, Set the Table, Simple Stripes, and The Neighborhood patterned papers (Life is Good, Echo Park), Scallop On The Edge die cut (Tim Holtz, Sizzix), Licorice Premium Dye Ink (Colorbox), Big Shot (Sizzix), black pen. | Friends 4 Ever Card: morepenguins2love and borders4me (The Stamps of Life), Whisper White cardstock (Stampin’ Up), Heart (Celebrate Sizzlet Set, Sizzix), Carnival Color Set markers (Marvy), Licorice and Bubblegum Premium Dye Ink (Colorbox), Big Shot (Sizzix), Mono Aqua Adhesive (Tombow), felt.

Have a great weekend!

wordless Wednesday: homework

photo recap | October 2011

October was a full month. Now that we’re in November with December right around the corner, I don’t see the craziness slowing down any time soon.

October brought our anniversary, first jobs, a Senior t-shirt, chalk art, pumpkin carving and costumes, and a very patient dog waiting for kids to come home. It was rather awesome.

Here’s to a great November!

December Daily 2011 | prep work

The papers I chose for this years December Daily album pretty much laid on my table all weekend long. I was having a debate with myself about the size and completely over thinking everything. I encourage you to not do this – do not over think it – it’s a complete time waster! It’s suppose to be fun! I decided to go with a 6'” x 6” album just like last year. I feel good with my decision. The alternative was doing a 6” x 8” but I decided to stick with what I knew.

The papers are from the Season’s Greetings collection from Echo Park. I plan on mixing in some other papers from my Christmas stash, coordinating cardstocks and ribbon… and anything else that strikes my fancy! Anyone else doing a December Daily this year?

Want to know more about December Daily? All the details you need can be found here: December Daily by Ali Edwards.

Order Your Holiday Cards

True story: I order my holiday cards every year. I only make a handful for those I know who will truly appreciate them. Mixbook has an awesome deal going that I wanted to share in case anyone else orders them too. :-)

• Deal: 75 5x7" Flat Classic Coated Cards with Free Budget Shipping for $30
• Code: CARD75
• Valid: November 7th, 2011 4:00AM PDT - November 9th, 2011 to 11:59PM PDT
• Restrictions: This offer cannot be combined with other coupons, vouchers, Groupons, or applied after an order has been placed.

Happy Monday!

well, that’s a fun surprise…

Always fun while visiting galleries for inspiration to find a project you’ve made featured.

My card from the Fresh Vintage Blog Hop is currently listed under “Top 3 by Views” and “Top 3 Most Bookmarked” at Two Peas.

Find me on Two Peas in a Bucket: gscrapbooks gallery

Made my day! :-)

an Angry Bird, a Jester, and The Blue Man Group

It’s time for a Halloween costume recap! Guess what my kids were? Not that the title is a tip off or anything huh? ;-)

The Green Angry Bird

Remember this post about making a Green Angry Bird Costume? Well, here’s my 9 year old in the completed costume:

I believe he said this was the “best Halloween EVER!” yeah! patting self on back! Here’s something flattering and odd all at the same time… people wanted to take pictures of his costume. I’m all about photos, don’t get me wrong, but I’m not down with strangers wanting to photograph my kid. My husband wasn’t into it either and steered him clear of a camera or two since he was on Trick-or-Treating-with-the-bird duty. It’s nice that they liked the costume and all but I just thought it was strange.

The Jester

So my oldest son, who is 16, wasn’t Trick-or-Treating this year but he and a few friends were going to the Renaissance Festival and wanted to dress up. He headed to Party City and came home with a Jester Costume.

Here’s the thing though, that costume had sculls hanging all over it. He said he didn’t want to be an angry Jester, he wanted to be a happy Jester. He asks, “mom, do you have any bells I could sew on the costume instead?” Tell me, how many moms out there can answer yes to that question?! Of course at 9pm is when he remembered he needed to get them on there. I lost him at “just thread the needle and…” That’s when I took over and just did it for him (because yes, I had bells!). He had a great time at the festival, I believe he said “it was the best day ever!”

The Blue Man Group

Which leaves me to my 17 year old daughter and her friends. They were The Blue Man Group. Or would it be Blue Girl Group? Throughout their High School career they’ve all been in orchestra together and every October they have an Orchestra Masquerade. All the kids get to dress up and the parents get to listen to an awesome concert. This year they did a piece from Phantom of the Opera – it was AMAZING! I believe she said it was “the best concert ever.” These three Senior girls wanted to go out with a bang with some really kickin’ costumes… I think they did it! Up close they looked freaky though. Cool… but freaky!

How’s this for a lame “what was I thinking!” moment… the photo below is the only one I got of her by herself. I completely forgot to get shots of just her. I snapped this one because I thought it was cute that she was all covered in blue and eating. After all, a Blue Man’s got to eat!

I’m thinking they had a pretty awesome month… one could say, “the best ever!”

Sizzix Fresh Vintage Blog Hop: Petal Power

It’s my day to get to hop! yeah! Thanks to Eileen Hull for inviting me to be a part of the Sizzix Fresh Vintage Blog Hop. To create my card I used some cool papers from Grant Studios (a company from Australia), pretty stamps from The Stamps of Life, and of course the fun Petal Power die from Sizzix.

Want to hop around and see some other projects? Just click the nifty Fresh Vintage banner in the upper left hand corner. :-)

Make sure you check out the Oh My Crafts blog, where you can enter to win a Flower Layers #9 die! (between the dates of September 27-November 3, 2011)

And now for the project…

Supplies:

InLinkz.com

Other: daisies2garden (The Stamps of Life), Patterned paper - Hello Doiley, Tangerine Tulips, Lemon Bloom (Grant Studios), ribbon, button, embroidery thread, corner rounder.

Basic directions

1. Cut your card shape and round corners. The card I made is approximately 6” x 6”. 
2. Layer cardstock and patterned paper onto card front towards the left side. Edge your card with brown ink.
3. Use a long sentiment to stamp continuously on the right hand side of your card.
4. Cut all your petal pieces and the center piece for the flower. Ink edges of all pieces and assemble.
5. Glue flower to card front. Thread embroidery thread through button and add to card front.
6. Tie a ribbon on the left hand side and you're done. wa-la!

Want to see some other ideas for using the Power Petal die? Visit this post on Eileen's blog to find links to all the other projects. 

FAQ about the Fresh Vintage Blog Hop:

How do I hop around to see ideas using the current featured die?

Every Tuesday and Thursday between September 27-November 3, 2011 there will be a new Sizzix Fresh Vintage die featured on 6-10 of the 75 participating designers' blogs. The navigation buttons for "Hop Back" and "Hop Forward" will allow you to easily hop around and see projects featuring whatever the current die is, since those buttons are programmed to navigate only to the blogs that are participating for that die. On the next Tuesday/Thursday, the buttons will automatically reprogram themselves to navigate to the blogs that are signed up for the next featured die.

What if I start at a designer's blog that isn't one of the 6-10 signed up for that die?

No problem! Simply hit either the "Hop Forward" or "Hop Back" button on the Fresh Vintage navigation widget from any blog's sidebar and you'll automatically advance to one of the participating blogs.

Can I go back and view the ideas for a previously featured die?

Of course! Go to Eileen Hull's blog and find the "Blog Hops" link at the top of the page. It will bring up her blog posts where you'll find direct links to each participating blog along with a thumbnail image of the project.

Where can I buy the Sizzix Fresh Vintage dies, by Eileen Hull?

You can visit Sizzix.com to find a local and online retailers for Sizzix products. Also be sure to visit Oh My Crafts, one of this blog hop's sponsors, (between the dates of September 27-November 3, 2011) and enter for a chance to win a Flower Layers #9 die!

The Blog Hop has ended and the navigation widget is no longer in the sidebar. How can I see the ideas?

Go to Eileen Hull's blog and find the "Blog Hops" link at the top of the page. It will bring up her blog posts where you'll find direct links to each participating blog along with a thumbnail image of the project.

Enjoy the hop!

wordless Wednesday: favorites

Create Scrapbooks: Tutorial with The Stamps of Life November 2011 Release - froggy2love

It’s November 1st and that means I’ve got a new stamp set from The Stamps of Life to share with everyone as well as a video tutorial. Head on over to Create Scrapbooks and check it out. The newest set is called froggy2love and it’s super cute!

Supplies: froggy2love (The Stamps of Life), Life of the Party – 6x6 paper pad (Lime Twist, My Mind’s Eye), Artichoke Premium Dye Ink (Colorbox), Licorice Premium Dye Ink (Colorbox), Sage Chalk Ink (VersaMagic, Tsukinek), Zig 2 Way Glue, Tombow Permanent Adhesive, black pen .01 (Zig Millennium), MicroTip Scissors (Fiskars), paper trimmer (Fiskars). Other: bone folder, ribbon, pencil, eraser.

Happy stamping!