Scrap Room

I've been working on finishing my scrap room (basement) and can finally show it to all of you!!! If you remember, I got a counter top from my parents and moved that in. I used an old bookshelf with a homemade desk area for my Cricut and displaying some of my supplies.

I love the storage I chose for my papers. The 7 drawer cart has drawers that snap shut and I can pull them out to take projects with me to work on them (and they're big enough to hold supplies like paint, stamps, embellishments, etc.) I also love the 12x12 pockets I'm using for storing scraps by color.

I want to add more bright colors like these little baskets that hold alphabets, ribbons and embellishments. I'll also have to add more color to the walls by hanging up some pictures or layouts or something too.

Hope you enjoyed the little tour of my scrap room!!! If you want to see what it looked like before, check here and here. Thanks for looking everyone!!! 

Menu Plan Monday

Alright, I'm going to give this a shot! I've been trying to plan menus at our house lately. I don't have kids and I don't have a whole lot of responsibility other than me and Chad but this has made it so much easier to cook. I hate always asking "What do you want for supper?" and all I get is "I don't know, what do you want?" So, now I just decide on Monday and that's what we have. I can shop on Monday for what I need the rest of the week and it's easy. This website is fun to look around and I would consider myself an organizational junkie so the title really caught my eye! Here's my first menu plan.

Monday -  Hamburgers, Mac & Cheese, pears

Tuesday - Potato Ham Bake

Wednesday - Grilled Chicken, potatoes, cooked carrots

Thursday - leftovers

Friday - pizza

Saturday - Lunch - Minute steak, green beans, biscuits
                  Supper - ?

Sunday - Lunch - in Lincoln
               Supper - leftovers or grilled cheese

Friday Five!!!

I'm going shopping tomorrow...for scrapbooking things!!! I've been looking on the internet all week for stuff that I want need to get for my scrapbooking. Hobby Lobby is having 50% off on albums and paper so I decided this was the weekend to go. I've been a good little scrapper and have looked around on the net for the best prices on the things I need. So here goes...5 things that I'm shopping for tomorrow!!!

1. STORAGE

This is a 7 drawer storage unit from Target. The drawers all snap shut so that dust and stuff doesn't get all over my paper. I'm also going to be using them to store projects/kits in progress so I can take them out and upstairs with me.

2. SCRAP STORAGE

Planning on using these nifty little 12x12 Memory Keepers pockets for all my scraps... organized by color of course. Also, dust free.

3. SMALL STUFF STORAGE

I desperately need storage for the brads and buttons that I'm starting to collect and I also have a few embroidery threads that I'm going to put in the box. Thinking of this, my mom has a whole box of thread at home that she doesn't use anymore...wonder if she'd make a donation?!

On to the FUN stuff!!!

4. ALBUMS

I have a huge stack of finished layouts but I'm trying to organize by category/time...High School, Trips & Travel, Our Story, College, Family.

Eventually I think Our Story will start to be chronological but the other categories will still be there. Regardless I'm going to get some fun albums because they are 1/2 off too!

5. PAPER!!!

I'm really excited to get some new paper too because I've been using up the stuff that I've had forever and I'm running low. I know, to most of you this sounds like it should be impossible but I haven't been collecting things because I was in college and either couldn't afford it or didn't have anywhere to put it.

So, with all the stuff that I'm buying...storage...you  might have guessed that I'm working on that goal that I have...the one where I'm turning my basement into a scrap area. You can go to Scrap Our Stash and see what my space used to look like and what it looks like now. I'm organizing and stashing up this weekend and it will be clean and pretty and I will be HAPPY!!! Lots of creating is going to be happening! Can't wait to share the finished room with you!

Have a GREAT weekend!!!

Sunshine shining!

Yes! It's sunny here...but windy. It's finally starting to show little bits of spring which means I better start getting ready for gardening and tree planting and yard work! Ok, so to most this doesn't sound like fun at all but last summer was completely spent remodeling our house. So, this summer I get to plant new trees and have my own garden and grow pretty flowers. There's a lot of work to do because it's been neglected for so long. I just wish this wind would go away because I almost hate wind more than snow at this point...actually I love snow :D but I'm ready for SUN! I think I'm working on my winter blizzard pictures so much because I can finally see an end to all of our horrible weather and I just want the pictures to go away with it. So...here is another layout I finished of our 2009 blizzard. I decided to do some stitching on this layout, kind of a new thing for me. I'm also really loving to type out my journaling on these layouts. Oh, and I like the little ball ribbon!

SNOW ... that four letter word

I liked the scraplift over at Handmade Love so much that I used it for another layout! I'm going to use this as the main page for all my 2009 blizzard pictures. I found a cute winter glitter sticker sheet at a crop a few weeks ago (we just went to visit a friend and shop...but next time we are actually going to scrap). Used all scraps on this layout as well. The blue polka dot vellum is a piece I've had for about 5 years! When I inherited my counter top I also had to take all the old scrapping/cardmaking sutff that my mom and I had. There's lots of stuff that I will probably never use! TFL!

Mya ~scraplift challenge~

I did this layout last night for the Handmade Love challenge blog. This week our challenge was a scraplift of one of Shannon's pages. I also used my March kit from SBKC which included these super cute papers from Cosmo Cricket Earth Love. Had some trouble with the title and ended up just painting it brown. I'm also having qualms over the pink flower...:S I had this perfect picture in my head and now I'm not 100% happy with the layout. Anyways...enjoy! And you can still submit a layout for the challenge until tomorrow night. (Every submission in March gets a chance at a $20 gift certificate at Two Peas)

*~Mya~*

I would like to introduce to you ...Mya! She is a 9 week old golden retriever. We drove 3 hours on Saturday to go get her and she was amazing for the drive back. She is from a litter of 14 puppies so she's very small for her age but now that she's on her own she eats like a little piggy and will probably grow like a weed now! She's so much fun, so cute and with the nice weather we get to spend so much time outside with her. We love her and she will be sooo spoiled!

the Blizzard

We took lots of pictures in December of the blizzard that had us all stranded for quite a few days. We had Christmas Eve supper at Chad's parents', about a half mile away from our house. On Christmas morning we woke up to find that our water pump had frozen so we didn't have water. We journeyed over to his parent and in the process got my 4x4 Jeep stuck in a drift in the middle of the highway!

Good thing we were headed over there to take showers and so we had extra clothes with us. We stayed there for 2 1/2 days (a half mile from our own house!) His brother and sister were home too and eventually we all got bored (started fighting) from being couped up inside. So out we ventured! The snow was soooo deep that we couldn't walk because we'd sink in. So we crawled around outside for a while and had a lot of fun climbing on this huge drift in their yard. It was probably 10 feet tall at least!

With all the pics I took I decided to use an idea I found from Scrapbook Patty. I used 12x12 4x6 page protectors because it's just so easy to slide in pics, decorate 4x6 cards and then slide those in too! I'm loving the results and will probably do this with so many more pictures so that I can get back to taking more pictures too!

Which reminds me that I wanted to share this with you!!! I will soon have a new love to photograph...we're getting a puppy tomorrow morning!!! Can't wait to introduce her to all of you! But she is definitely going to cut into my scrapping time because all I will want to do is be outside and playing with her. Fine by me :D 

Have a great weekend!!

hi...sharing a card

I don't usually do cards...unless there is an occasion. I have sooo many pictures that I just don't see the point in using my scrap time or my paper and stuff for cards. However, my grandma wrote me a letter a few weeks ago and I still haven't got back to her :( With all the winter storms I didn't get to see her at Christmas either so I decided it was time to send her a card/letter back. She likes travel and bold/crazy prints so this is the perfect card for her...and a way to use a paper that I normally wouldn't be able to find a use for. The yellow scallop is actually a shared file that I cut with my cricut and all the paper is Basic Grey Urban Couture. I should also mention that my grandma is legally blind, so while she can't really see it I know she will appreciate it when someone tells her what it looks like and reads my letter to her.

You might also be wondering how she can write a letter to me if she's blind...well...it's very large. hehe :) Her words are about an inch tall but she likes to stay in touch so it's super cute. I'm thinking of going home this weekend as well so maybe she can come to my parents for lunch or something. Alright, that's all I have today...it's supposed to get warm tomorrow!

*20 pages in 1 week!*

I have stacks and boxes of pictures. Many of these "stacks" are electronic but I just ordered another 118 pictures to be printed today!!! Yikes! I started working on Stacy Julian's "Finish Line Scrapbooking" last weekend with step 1. Organize 50-75 pics, crop them, and then scrap them quickly with pp and matching cardstock. Last night I used my cricut to cut flowers and swirls and letters. I took today off because it's so yucky out and I've been adding embellishments to my pages today....and they're finished!!! 20 pages (about 75 pics) ...all in just one week! Now I'm going to have to do this with so many more if I ever want to get my stacks to dissappear. Enjoy!

Survey the Damage...then Try Again

Well I decided that I needed to survey the damage and see if I finished any of the goals that I set out to accomplish. If you weren't reading my blog when I started, here's a refresher.
1. Blog
2. Take pics of all layouts I've done and upload
3. Find blogs/challenges to follow
4. Clean and finish basement for a scrap room

Where I stand ...(not literally, I'm actually sitting)

Blog...check!

Pics of layouts...check! (kinda - I still have a few I need to retake the pics of)

Blogs/Challenges...check!
Take a look at my sidebar and you will find all of the super cool blogs that I like to peruse. My 2 super-duper-ist favorites are Handmade Love and Stacy Julian.

Handmade Love is a challenge blog made up of a group of really fun girls with super great ideas. I do like to do my own thing and just stick paper and pictures down lots of times but with my piles & piles of pics, this blog really helps me use up my supplies and pictures in creative ways that I might not have before! Most of the layouts here on my blog are actually done for their challenges. So...go check them out and join in the fun! They have some fun prizes too so you never know!

Stacy Julian is just really inspirational and fun! She has sprinkles & color & music & podcasts! I've been working with one of her ideas but more on that later...all I will say for now is "scrap BIG"

and finally...
Clean the basement for my new scrap room...a big fat NOPE!
I did paint two walls and my parents brought my counter top and bookshelf but I'm still scrapping in my living room/dining room/spare bedroom! Scrap Our Stash Challenge blog is having a challenge to clean and organize your disastrous scrap rooms so I'm trying to remember to take a picture of it now to submit and hopefully by the end of March I can have it ready to go.

Which brings me to my new goals...

• Finish basement for scrap room ...bet you didn't see that one being at the top of the list ;)
• Complete my "Finish Line Scrapbooking" project from Stacy Julian
• Scrap winter storm pictures using a new idea inspired by ScrapbookPatty - she uses sectioned page protectors and then fills in some of the spaces with pictures and some with scrapped areas...very cool!

All of my other goals include nagging a "certain someone" to get busy and help me finish all of our house projects...not likely as planting will be starting soon.

Finally, I just want to show you something really cool from Scarlet Lime that I really REALLY want! Cute huh!

Spring Break 07

I sat down last night to do this layout for the Handmade Love challenge. It was supposed to be one page but I wanted to use all my pics together so I made it a two page LO. A group of girls and I went out to Colorado my sophomore year and went skiing for spring break. It was super fun to have a whole five days to ourselves!

Best Buds

Toby...

is such a great friend. We hang out, watch movies

do homework, go for walks and cuddle. He listens 

to me and is happy when I'm happy.

I love him!

Just a couple layouts I made last night with the rest of Toby's puppy pictures. I love this one because it shows him doing all the silly things he does. His tongue out, resting on a toy and scratching (he would usually fall over while attempting this :D) I usually can do about one layout a night while watching TV but I just pulled out some sketches last night and went at it and I impressed myself with 2 layouts! TFL!