My Scrapbooking Wish List

Going on right now, only 2 hours away from me, is CHA winter! As someone this week called it, it's "the Super Bowl of Scrapbooking". This is where all of the companies debut all of their new products and even let you use some of them in Make n Takes. Many of the top designers are there and it is something that I dream about going to someday... crazy right? Oh well, you can go ahead and call me crazy! So here are just some of the things that I am loving the past few days as I have been stalking all of the company blogs... just a warning, this is a long post! And I haven't even touched the new Slice Design cards yet! Enjoy!
Here is the iBond from Imaginisce. This is a cordless hot glue gun and yes, you see that correct, those are colored and glittered glue sticks! I can't wait to get my hands on this baby!
I won an iRock from the Imaginisce blog a few months back and I really love it. This CHA they debuted more glam rocks in other colors and even shapes! And this handy little tray to get them back into that lipgloss looking bottle... clever!
These Starter papers from Sassafras are heavenly and are just screaming for me to layer some paper yumminess on top of them...
And this paper from the Sweetly Smitten collection is awesome! I love ledger papers!

I am a huge Echo Park fan and they have 3 new collections that I am drooling over. The first is this Springtime collection... love that tree!
This Summer Days collection is so totally me and perfect for pictures of my girls playing this summer. Is it crazy that I am already planning activities for this summer just to go with some of these papers?
Here is the collection that I am most excited about: For the Record. All of the fun, funky, vintage stuff that I am loving right now!
Here is one of the papers from the Hello Sunshine Collection from American Crafts. These clouds are so cute and I am itching to detail cut some of them out to add to my pages.

Here are a couple of the embellishments from the Peachy Keen line from American Crafts... loving them so much! The rose brads are amazing!
American Crafts has come out with a couple of revolutionary products this CHA, one of them being this Micro Glitter paper. This is glitter paper that WILL NOT come off! Coming from someone that hates having glitter on them this makes me happy!
Lately I have tried to not buy every single piece of a collection that I like. Because I have come to realize that I do a couple of pages, some cards and maybe a mini album and then I am ready to move on and not see it again. So I waste so much money by buying it all when I could just buy my favorite papers, and a few embellishments (making sure to get different types and textures) and then that's it. That way I spend less and I get to try more collections and keep things fresh. All of that to say that this Confetti line from American Crafts I am so in love with (and with four kids who seem to have birthdays every year!) I have to have it all! It's way too cute to not get every little piece.
Check out these darling little delights embellishments. Love the colors.
These details cupcake embellishments look so good that I find it difficult to not lick my computer screen, just darling!
The #1 thing on my CHA wish list? These new Knock Outs border punches from American Crafts! Check this out.... one punch base and then you buy the decorative inserts to go with it. Less expensive and it takes up less room! Genius those American Crafts people are, just genius!

Hope you enjoyed the peeks at new products coming out soon! I could probably find enough products to do another post as long as this one... maybe if I have some extra time!

My Wish List

I thought that it would be fun to share some things that I have been drooling over as I peruse online stores. These are things that I am working on picking up here or there whenever I get a few extra dollars and others are being saved for birthday/christmas requests! Ok here we go...
Black Glitter Toms! I have been wanting a pair of Toms for quite a while now but have been unable to decide which ones I want... there are way too many that I like! But I am thinking that these black glitter ones will be perfect for this spring and summer because I really need a new pair of black flats anyway and these would look so cute with my cropped jeans!
We love to watch Blu Ray's and these are some of my favorite girly movies, our blu ray drawer is a little guy action movie and kid movie heavy! When In Rome is hilarious!
This was one of my favorite movies when I was in High School and still the best version of an incredible play.
This one is a classic "already know the story line" kind of movie but still really enjoyable and the Italian countryside is beautiful in Blu Ray!
Here is my "someday I will own you" item. The Epson R1900 large format printer. I don't print 12x12 photos often although I did a couple of our Maui trip, but I mostly want it for the option of printing journaling or images directly onto my 12x12 cardstock background... someday!

I am loving this jewelry holder from Urban Outfitters.

I'm really wishing that they still had this one! Why do they have to torture me with posting it on the website but then in big Red letters posting Sorry this is no longer available!


Oh you precious Jo Tote... the camera bag of my dreams! This is an amazing camera bag that is big enough for your DSLR, extra lenses, accessories and your normal everyday purse stuff too!

Well, there is a peek at the things that I am daydreaming about lately. Monday I will post my scrapbook wish list, CHA starts tomorrow and great things are coming out!

Working on a Project

I am trying out for the Sassafras Design Team next week so I have been busy working on some new projects. I had the idea to use a little chipboard album that I bought at Michaels, for a dollar, a long time ago. It is in the shape of a cloud and it's just been sitting in my gift album bin waiting for inspiration to strike. Well working with the Sassafras products this week has definitely been inspiring! I have been inking, misting, painting and doing all things messy and artsy and absolutely loving it! But to do this mini album I really needed some new pictures of the kids. I asked my friend if I could borrow her backyard for a few minutes because ours is still not landscaped at all. And these are a few of the shots that I got...
My sweet Madison whose hair is growing so fast, and she has so much of it!
My Kaley Bailey and that awesome "fancy sweater", gotta love the pigtails...
Zach and his obsession with Nerf guns, I adore the look on his face...
Check out the steering wheel that my friend put on the fence in their backyard! The boys love it! And I love this inquisitive face that Gabriel makes.

I will share the album as soon as I finish it, in fact, I'm off to Costco to pick up my BIG picture order of 5 prints! haha. And I will be sharing a couple of posts this weekend that I'm working on, one on some things that are currently on my wish list, and the second is my scrapbooking wish list that is growing as things are being unveiled at CHA this weekend! Oh how I wish I could be there... SOMEDAY!

Finding that Balance

I've talked before about my one little word for this year "balance". Trying to balance the many hats that I wear each and everyday, the never-ending to do list that seems to grow every time that I check something off. I'm the housekeeper, the referee, the boo boo fixer, the homework helper, the artist and family historian, the cuddler, the bad guy sometimes (both literal and pretend), the organizer, and a wife and woman all at the same time. But this morning as I was making my website and blog rounds for the day, I came across something on Ali Edwards' blog. As she was talking about how she balances her family and work at home life and what her day looks like she focused on the things that she has learned recently and this hit me...

"It’s easy to get trapped in the cycle of always trying to find that elusive perfect balance when in reality what you have at any given time might be just right. These days I’m less focused on trying to find the perfect balance (not sure it even exists) and more focused on something I mentioned above: being engaged with my kids when it’s that time, engaged with my work when it’s that time, engaged with Chris when it’s that time, engaged with myself when it’s me time."

This hit me kinda hard... how much of my day do I spend thinking about the other things that I need to be doing? I spend my cleaning time thinking about how I can't wait to sit and play Batman with the boys, I spend Batman time thinking about what I want to accomplish during nap time, I spend nap time prioritizing what I will be doing the rest of the evening, and the evening I spend thinking about what needs to be done the next day!

As women our minds can be going in 50 million directions all at once. I can be doing one thing, making a mental list of other things, and analyzing things that happened earlier in the day at the same time. But am I really present in those moments and making each and every one count? This is something that I am thinking through. In the meantime... I am trying to enjoy the moments that I have with my boys as I try and help them take that next step into boyhood. This is a sight that brings me happiness...


These are the things to focus on as they happen. Yes, I am spending more time in my downstairs bathroom than any other room in my house. Yes, my house is a little messier because of it. And yes, I am doing A LOT more laundry. But I will be able to look back and know that I made the best of every moment... even the not so pleasant ones.

Thank You Becky!

Some time last year Becky Higgins shared on her blog this free download of a picture she created after visiting her parents in Europe. She kept taking pictures of beautiful doors while walking around Tallinn, Estonia with the vision of what she wanted to create. You can download it here. I instantly fell in love with it and knew what I wanted to do. This space in my stairway felt very empty... until now!
I had this picture printed at Costco at 20x30 and then had the mat cut at Michaels to fit this frame that I already had (goodbye french black cat!) I also knew that just hanging the picture wouldn't be enough so to my silhouette I went. I found this image in the online store and sized them to 18 inches long and then cut them out of black vinyl.
My wonderful hubby adhered the vinyl pieces to the wall and now it looks nice and finished! I love the colors and textures of this picture so much! Thank you Becky!

Valentine's Decor Project

I went to Marshall's for the first time and I believe that I left there saying to myself "why haven't I come here before!" I was in love with so many things but only bought a couple of home decor items. Two vases that I will have to share later once I actually buy the flowers to go in them, and this frame that was $7.99. I knew immediately what I wanted to do with it...
This adorable little piece now sits on the cabinet just outside my downstairs bathroom. I used some Love Me Do collection papers from My Mind's Eye that I picked up last year.
I measured and cut white cardstock to fit the frame and then cut these two frames and pop dotted the red one to add some yummy dimension. I don't know about you but I am in love with turquoise this year!
Then I picked out several of the coordinating papers and punched hearts out of them and just started laying them out until I was happy with the pattern. I got out my new sewing machine (and actually threaded it myself this time!) and I stitched down the center of each heart. I did have to adhere the hearts down with one little strip of adhesive just off center to keep them in place so I could sew them down. Then I lifted up the sides to make them pop! I took out the glass from the frame so it had enough room, and that was it! Super simple and super cute!

More decor stuff coming tomorrow with stuff I have done using my Silhouette SD.

Extras of My Room

To end my organization week here on my blog I will show you a few other things around my room. My hubby just put in the rest of my counter today so next I will get my curtain done and then I will be able to show full pictures of my dream space!
This is where I store all of my chipboard letters. It is from I think Home Depot and is for screws and stuff. My mom bought two of these for her room but took the drawers out and then painted the rack a purple to match her room, really cute!
My Clip it up, which is one of my favorite things in my room. There is so much product that I store on this thing and most of the top rack is American Crafts products.
On the wall just above my Clip it Up is my Making Memories Embellishment Shelf. I took the ribbon racks out of it because I didn't like having my ribbon there. When a spool in the middle is gone I have to take off every spool just to get to it! Not fun. So now I store my ribbon in other ways and this is where my American Crafts Zing Embossing Powder is and my Stickles, plus Martha Stewart glitters. The jars are from Partylite jar candles that I used up and then cleaned out the jars. (I used to sell Partylite so I had a lot of these!) They now hold my flowers by color and fit perfectly in those spaces.
This is where I display my recent pages so that I can enjoy them a little before I put them into my books. I had the color matched to those polka dot bins and painted this rectangle on the wall. I think that I might put a white trim border around it. The clipboards are from Close to my Heart, I got them for I think $5 a piece.
Here is my chalk drawer. As you can tell... I LOVE SEI's chalk inks! They are soft and easy to use and I seem to always have the perfect shade to ink the edges of anything. I also have some Pebbles chalks and My Mind's Eye chalk inks.
This is the area to the left of where I sit. On the far left from the top down on those shelves is my Creative Memories Cutting Mat, small Fiskars trimmer and Creative Memories decorative trimmer, Martha Stewart Scoring board, and then a couple of little CM things that I still have and use once in a while, like my Titletopia. On that lower shelf is my regular office supplies (stapler, paper clips, etc. ) and in the drawer is my Making Memories Distress Kit.
The drawers on the right from the top are: Adhesives, Pens & markers, CM Custom Cutting System, punches and corner punches, border punches and border scissors, and CM punches.
That's it for now about my room until I finish the rest or come up with something clever. Next week I will be back to sharing creative stuff!

My Island

This kitchen island first belonged to my parents and then it lived in our kitchen for about 5 years. When we moved and bought a different island for our kitchen I had big plans for this baby. My husband and his friends who refused to move this thing up the stairs warned me that it wouldn't fit and that I would hate it being in there. So what did I do? I asked my dad to help! So when he came over and helped my hubby get it up the stairs (which wasn't easy but doable) they put it in my room and I knew that it had found it's perfect home! It has a counter that folds down so that a couple of friends can come over and scrap there. Plus 3 big drawers, shelves, a cabinet, a pull out trash can holder, towel bars, hooks and a secret compartment. I am in heaven having this here! Here is a look at the three drawers...
The drawer on the left just has some odds and ends like my extra glue gun and a washcloth for paint. The middle drawer has my glimmer mists (which I definitely need more of!) and the drawer on the right has all of my favorite trims, not ribbon, trims. Especially my favorite new thing... this rose ribbon from American Crafts, and Webster's Pages.

On one end are these hooks and I decided to hang a few of my mini albums there. It's nice to have a place for them.
Here is inside the island. Thereis my trash can, the shelves in the middle with just some random stuff for the moment, and on the right is my new label maker and my Xyron and supplies for it.
On top of the island is where my Making Memories Carousel sits with extra tools and pens and normally my trimmer sits on top too.
This is that secret cabinet! There is no handle, it is magnetic and you have to push it in for it to open. This little cabinet I have dreamed of using for my paints for years! I know, I'm wierd! But I love how they are all lined up and ready to get used.
Yes, this island does take up quite a bit of room but it's functional for creating and for storage so I love it!

My Fancy Little Clock

I wanted to break up all of these organizing posts with a little something creative that I have done lately... My Fancy (and cheap) Clock!

Back when we were first moving into this house, we took that necessary trip down to Ikea with my parents, their suburban, and trailer, plus all four of my kids in tow. It was a crazy trip in good ways and bad and a reminder of why I don't live closer and go there more. But one of the things that I really wanted to pick up was this Ruche wall clock that I had seen altered on the American Crafts blog. And for only $1.99, how could I not pick one up and at least try to create something a little cuter? So I did and 3 months later I finally got around to playing with it! Here is what I did with this little clock and it will go in our Master Bathroom because I have no idea what time it is when I am in there getting ready!
I used the American Crafts rub-ons from the Blue Skies line which has been one of my absolute favorite collections of theirs. Our bathroom is brown and that same blue so these worked perfectly. I had a little bit of trouble getting this thing apart to figure out how to get it apart without breaking it but I love how it came out. I also used brown glitter thickers and had to glue them down to make sure that they would stay for a long time. Now I just need to get a battery in it and hang it up so everyday can start off a happy day!

My Expedit Bookcase

Here is a look at my Expedit Shelves from Ikea. I absolutely love these things and if I could have fit the bigger one, I would have! This one was only about $129. And you can barely see it here but I painted behind the shelves the same green that is in those polka dot cube bins. I had it matched at Home Depot along with the berry color that you will see later on the opposite wall.
Here is where I keep ALL of my American Crafts Thickers... yes, I am a little obsessed! I think by now I have over 50 sets. I made that orange thing in the front so that the front set of Thickers would no longe bend over the front, it was driving me crazy! So I took a piece of chipboard and cut it to the right size, painted it orange and then added some fun embellishments including Thickers!
Here is where I keep my other letter stickers. These bins I got at Target in the dollar section. I love that section!
In these two spaces I keep my Sizzix Big Shot (which my son Gabriel is always sneaking in just to turn the handle), and next to it is a bin that holds all of my cutting pads and dies for the sizzix.
I picked up these jars at Ikea for super cheap and I love them! I store everything from special stamps to some of my American Crafts chipboard and Bits tags to the two sizes of shipping tags that I picked up at OfficeMax. And in the back is a jar just for the scalloped circle dictionary papers that I cut out to make dictionary flowers.
All of these polka dot bins are from Target and I fell in love with the colors. This is a half bin that I store all of my stamps in. I love being able to see them and easily access them too.

I also have the deeper bins for things like gift albums that I keep on hand to put together and my daughters' scrapbook supplies. That way when they want to scrapbook, they just have to grab the bin and everything they need is there. All of my magazines are stored in two of the squares along with other idea books. And that is pretty much everything!