(diva)logues

The golden rule is: Zumba before travel. Always.

One last project for the week before I head off to Chi Town.  I actually have 5 more pages in progress sitting on my craftroom floor, but one of our printers (the one I usually use for printing photos) died a tragic death this week so I was waiting for Bob to come to my rescue.  Yesterday he purchased a new one & then installed it for me last night... while I went to bed early.  LMAO!   

This one is a mix of lots of older stash... Crate chipboard stickers, October Afternoon paper, SRM school-themed sticker sentiments and some of my lifetime supply of red + white bakers twine... 

I used Bryn's class photo, along with her Fall & Spring school photos on here.  I don't usually use my own handwritten journaling on pages because I think it looks neater when it's printed, but this design & background paper didn't really allow for it.  So I just did some list-style journaling of the highlights of her past year, activities she was involved in & awards received.  I made 2 small hole punches on both sides of the page so I could feed my bakers twine through & wrapped it around a few times before finally tying my bow...

Just finished Zumba & now it's time to finish (or actually START) packing. 

When talking about what we should do in Chicago we mentioned museums & Bryn said, "I don't want to go to any museums.  I'd rather just go shopping." 

She is my daughter.  There's no denying it...

"Yeah right, picture that with a Kodak... or better yet go to Times Square & take a picture of me with a Kodak..."

It's the last day of November (man, that month went by fast)... so that means it's time for a new challenge on the Nikki Sivils' blog!  This month's challenge is to create a page using photos taken with your cell phone.   

I went with a recent photo I took of Bryn helping Bob put up the tree.  For those of you who haven't already read my Facebook status from that day, I'll repeat the story.  I had a moment of temporary insanity and allowed my 10-year old to talk me into putting up the tree the weekend before Thanksgiving. 

I told her, "We can put up the tree today, but we can't decorate it until next weekend because it's against the law to have your tree up before Thanksgiving." 

With a very concerned look on her face she said, "It is?"

I said, "Well... it's against MY law.  I can only celebrate one holiday at a time."

I used the Gingerbread Land collection to create my page... 

Love the little tree & ornament punch-outs.  Makes it so easy to embellish a page.  Need some inexpensive red + white bakers twine?  Check out my ETSY SHOP!

So... join us in this month's challenge!  Use at least 75% Nikki Sivils' products (old or new) for your page and post your link here for a chance to win the Nikki Sivils' collection of your choice!  The deadline for the challenge is December 31.

Happy Wednesday!  I'm off to Spin class...  

"Don't stop... keep it moving... put your drinks up..."

Hopefully you're not tiring of seeing the Playground line yet, because this is now the 3rd page I've made using the 12x12 paper pack I received from Echo Park a few weeks ago.  If you are tired of it, I'm sorry to say there will probably be more.  I still have more left & I can't help myself.  I'm finding the bright colors & patterns of this line to be highly inspiring.  And since that doesn't always happen for me, I'm rolling with it.  :-) 

 

In addition to the Echo Park products, I also used both sets of letter stickers from the Nikki Sivils' Summer line, some SRM Sticker birthday sentiments and two Bazzil Just The Edge cardstock border strips.  I also added some of my bakers twine for my "balloons"... because I have to reduce my lifetime supply a little bit at a time, you know.  

And can I just say that was one fun night?  Friends that I love, never-ending laughter, dancing & singing like crazy people... the perfect night as far as I'm concerned!  

Must do it again soon...  

A little updating...

I love sweet surprises.  This weekend I received one.  My mom mentioned that they were selling her dad's old typewriter on Craigslist.  I said, "Oh I wish I knew you were doing that... I would love to have it."  She said, "Well, we'll call the guy who wants it & tell him nevermind."  I said, "Oh, no, don't do that.  I'll just take it if he's a no-show or decides he doesn't want it."  We went to her house on Saturday & there it was, in all it's retro baby-blueness.  She said, "We decided we didn't need that $25."  ;-) 

  

I've updated my etsy shop a bit.  I added my 2011 Mini Flag Banner Calendar set...

 

{Here's how I used the January 2010 card earlier this year}

 

... and some more red + white baker's twine...

 

With the holidays coming up, baker's twine can come in handy for all sorts of reasons... scrapbooking, card-making, gift wrapping & more! 

Duh...

 

Just a correction to yesterday's post because I realized I made a mistake today.  The bakers twine in my etsy shop is sold in packages of 10 YARDS of twine for $1.50... not 10 feet!  The etsy shop has it listed correctly, but I typed it wrong when I was posting.  It's a bargain! 

And thank you to those of you who recently made a purchase!  As of today, I sold the last of my original 12 packages of twine that I made and have started restocking again today!  Big hugs & happy creating! 

What is it about 100+ degree weather that makes me long for FALL?

Aside from the fact that the heat & humidity stinks... it might be all the new fall fashion hitting the stores right now.  Who wants to wear these, raise your hand?

And speaking of wish lists, here's some of my favorite things I spied at CHA...

SRM Stickers We've Got Your Sticker (love that they include brown & white sentiments)...

Nikki Sivils My Friend Birdie...

 

Basic Grey Wander (imagine me using a buildings paper other than my beloved Craft Fair... heehee!)

 

Crate Paper School Spirit...

... and the Crate Paper Snow Day line...

Bella Blvd Sunny Happy Skies...

... and Bella Blvd's Socialite...

My Minds Eye Alphabet Soup...

... and My Minds Eye Blackbird...

Prima's Road Trip...

Echo Park Life is Good...

October Afternoon's Modern Homemaker...

Cosmo Cricket's Togetherness (love that ledger paper)...

 

I liked some of the new Thickers fonts also...

Just a reminder that I have a LOT of baker's twine... like enough that Bryn's grandchildren will still have plenty to use.  Each package in my etsy store contains 10 yards of red + white twine for only $1.50.  I think if you check around, you'll find that it's a real bargain...

Stay COOL this weekend!

You've got a friend...

Who's your FAVORITE FRIEND is the newest challenge at These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things blog.  Not an easy question to answer for me.  I've been blessed in my life with a lot of great friends, some I've known for most of my life.  When it comes to playing favorites, though, I pass that off to Bryn...

 

I used 3 Nikki Sivils lines (Bella Blue & Oscar Too,Willow Bee & Flaming Butterfly) + SRM Sticker Sentiments.  Seeing a trend here?  Nikki + SRM = happiness.  :-)

Now for more happiness... I'm giving away one of the 2 prizes for this challenge from my Etsy store.   Here's what one winner will receive from me...

Check out the post today to see what the rest of the team made, as well as a photo of the other prize up for grabs!

Hope you're having a GREAT weekend!  
  

Patty cake, patty cake...

... baker's man TWINE.  I have over 3,000 yards of it now, if you're interested.  Why so much?  That's a good question.  It's not easy to find locally, so I thought I'd just get a HUGE spool of it in red & white, since that color will work really well for Valentine's Day & Christmas, among other things.

Another reason I thought I may as well just purchase this never-ending amount is because I purchased some a couple months back from a very well-known kit club (not  HIP 2B SQUARE either).  Their price for 5 yards of bakers twine was $1.99.  I purchased 2 spools... red & green, before doing my homework.  Their minimum price for shipping is $7.25.  

R.I.P. O.F.F.

My stupid fault for not shopping around.  I do that for everything else, but not for twine I guess.  Lesson learned.  Anyway, I have a boatload to use, share, sell, whatever.  I have it listed for $1.50 for 10 yards + 75 cents for shipping, which is a LOT more reasonable than the kit club, who was selling half that amount for MORE money.  If you don't see it in my Etsy... it just means I've sold out of what was posted & haven't had a chance to repost more.  I don't think I'll ever be able to get rid of all of it, so just email me if you don't see it. 

Here's a couple more things for Valentine's Day using the twine.  A tri-fold card...

... and on this one I wrapped the candy bar in one of my paper doilies, laced the twine through my hand-made cupcake button from the other day & added my own tag...

We just got new appliances delivered.  We now officially have all stainless steel in the kitchen.  I'm sure I'll be constanly anal about the fingerprints showing on all of it, but I'll just add that to my already-long list of issues.  LOL!

TGIF!  Have a GREAT weekend!

Owl always make greeting cards...

Still making Valentine's cards whenever I have nothing better to do.  :-)

I realized I still had some paper doilies that I purchased at Target last year (in their dollar bins) & decided I needed to make some cards with them.  The felt owl on this card is here...

I've also been working on making my own paper fortune cookies for Valentine's Day, but we'll save that for another post. 

Speaking of Valentines... Bryn wanted me to find her some for school this year with either puppies or kittens on them.  I found a box of 32 for 99 cents.  Gotta love finding a bargain!

I must have FELT the need to create...

Now that things have settled down & I'm finished with all my projects, layouts & deadlines... I'm happy to say I have time on my hands to create things for fun (or ummm for sale, as in this case!)  LOL! 

I've added quite a few hand-made felt appliques to my etsy store...

I HEART REALITY TV...

I'VE GOT MY HEAD IN THE CLOUDS...

SPRING HAS SPRUNG...

WHOOO LOVES YOU...

CUT THE FAT, PORKY...

 

None are backed with adhesive to allow for more versatility.  They can be used for card-making, scrapbooking, t-shirts, hair accessories, etc.  When I use them for scrapbooking or card-making they are easily adhered with gluestick, sticky dots or pop dots. 

Some yarn flowers, too!

LET'S TIE ONE ON...

 

There's more... take a look!

I have more ideas up my sleeve and will post here as I update the shop.    

Bob surprised me last night with babysitting he arranged for tonight, so we're off to dinner & a movie.  We're finally going to see Up in the Air.  Looking forward to noticing a lot of familiar sites in that movie, as it was shot primarily in my home town!  The seafood & chardonnay will be yummy, too! 

Gotta love a surprise "DATE NIGHT!"  Hope you're enjoying your weekend, too! 

New year = new goals...

I'm excited!  I have the honor of being a featured artist today at Ideas For Scrapbookers!  I wasn't exactly sure what "idea" I could actually supply when I was asked (I mean, I don't think I do anything here that hasn't been done before), but ended up talking about how I use scalloped-edge border strips to add texture to a page or card.  We all know I do plenty of that!  Ahem... 

Since it's a new year... my first layout was made with my goals in mind. 

You know I had to have some kind of rainbow-themed goodies in my Etsy store, so I created a Rainbow Flag Banner calendar set.  I used the January card on my layout & then made my own banner at the top of the page with a piece of raffia to add some more brown...

 

After I adhered the scallops, I curved them out a bit to add some dimmension.

Then I re-worked a layout I made last summer using the Nikki Sivils U R My Favorite line.  Again, once I adhered my scallops (this time with a straight machine stitch across the top), I curved them out a bit to add dimmension...

   

Nikki has it now.  :-)

I also made a new card using my Fiskars border punch + one of my hand-made trees.  I have some of those in my Etsy shop as well.  Check out their blog for my post today to see it.  Would love it if you could stop by there today! 

Day #2 of snow & no school.  So... we're hanging out here again, but first I'm heading up to the Y for my interval class.  The roads are clear & I live 2 minutes from there.  If only it weren't 7 degrees outside...

Have a GREAT weekend everyone!

And it's STILL all about the dress...

A new "all about me" challenge is up at the Nikki Sivils blog!  The challenge this time is to create a layout about a childhood holiday memory using the new North Pole Nights line.  Here's mine...

Notice I used my new Martha Stewart border punch set for this one.  Love that thing.

And speaking of dresses, here's the dress I wore to dinner last night...

I took the sash off & wore it with a big black belt instead.  Found it at Lulu's & also bought a couple other fun things while I was at it.  Loving that site.  Dinner was fun, too.  We sat & chatted for so long that they actually started dimming the lights on us.  We took that as our sign to leave.   

I added a few things to my shop.  I don't have much time to add anything else yet, as we're off to Bryn's friend's birthday party & then to an early family Thanksgiving dinner.  Will keep adding as I find time.  Still need to create my bio.  What can I say except... I'm a multi-tasking, work in progress.  :-)

It makes sense to write down your goals...

... because eventually they will be achieved, even if it does take 11 out of the 12 months to finally sit down & do it!  One of my goals for 2009 was to open my own Etsy shop.  This may not be very exciting to those of you in the scrapping community.  My friends & family, however, ask me all the time if I'm still selling my cards or doing any craft shows lately.  I've done several shows, but quit doing them.  It required a lot of sales to break even with the minimum $50 entrance fee.  I usually did pretty well, but let's just say it's a LOT of work for not a lot of return.  So, Etsy makes sense for me, since I don't sell a lot of big-ticket items.  It's just that it takes time to figure it all out & taking time to read the "manual" is not my idea of fun.  I like to just do it.  Impatient, bull-headed, etc.... that's me.  But I'm closer to opening shop...

And just incase you were wondering, DKM is the first initial of mine & my sister's first names.  It's also the logo we use for our running gear when any of our family members run in races.  The logo was created after my sister, Kaysy, passed away.  It has special meaning for all of us.  DKMdiva came to fruition about 4-5 years ago, when my sister Marci & I started selling cards we made.  That was a couple years before my blog, so when it came to making up a blog name... I wanted "diva" to be part of the title.  (DIVA)LOGUES just came to me.  Hard to believe I've been blogging now for almost 2 years... in February.   

Still waiting for lots of projects to be posted, so I can post them here.  Still working on my Christmas shopping.  Still busy, busy, busy.  Looking forward to a night out with friends tomorrow night. 

 

Write down your goals & post them somewhere you can see them daily.  It will happen... 

I get inspired when I run...

I think it's because I have time away from the computer & I have time to think.  Sometimes I'm flipping through a magazine when I'm on the treadmill & I'll rip a page out & throw it on the floor.  I did that this morning when I saw this calendar in an article in Better Homes & Gardens.  The section was on gifts under $35.  I got excited & thought I might be able to make something like that. 

And guess what?  I did it...

It's hanging with magnets on my inspiration board in my craftroom right now.  Still trying to figure out the best way to put it together as a book... ring, ribbon, mini easel... not sure yet.  I made this set using the K & Company Carolyn Gavin paper pad.  I also made a Nikki Sivils set, that I'll post at a later date!

I think next time I'll play with changing the fonts & colors on the calendar part, but for my first 2 sets I just wanted to see if I could make it look decent.  It's been raining for days, so the lighting wasn't the best when I took these photos, but you get the idea!  They certainly aren't calendars for writing all your "stuff" on... they're just for looking cute on your wall!