(diva)logues

Mirror mirror on the ceiling...

 

Looking for a fun and easy way to jazz up a basic "boob light?" 

Or worse yet... the builder's grade light most of us get in a walk-in closet? 

 

Maybe I shouldn't really care so much about the lighting in my closet, but since I kinda like staring at all the shoes I rarely wear while I'm mostly in workout gear... I figure I should also like the lighting as well.

Although... since I don't exactly have a handy-man around anymore... any projects I attempt on my own cannot include rewiring of any sort.  Good grief, I had enough trouble changing out a doorknob a few weeks ago... so no way I'm attempting anything electrical just yet!  But the new doorknob is super cute if I do say so myself, so I'm kinda proud.  LOL

 

Anyway... I've had this project pinned on my Pinterest board for quite some time and finally decided to investigate some mirror options online that would work for this project.  Here is the image for my inspiration and the directions they provided seemed easy enough:

 

I found a mirror on Amazon that had the perfect dimensions... and let's just say I was also crossing my fingers that I measured correctly and the mirror would come out without an issue. 

Stonebriar Round Decorative Antique Gold 24" Metal Starburst Hanging Mirror for Wall, Modern Boho Decor for the Living Room, Bathroom, Bedroom, and Entryway

 

That actually ended up being the most time-consuming part... trying to get the dang mirror out.  And yes, I had pliers to pull up the clips behind the mirror, and yes I guess I thought it would just pop right out like a picture in a frame.  However, I'm pretty sure they must've super-glued it on so as to keep it secured through any force of nature.  But being the true determined Taurus that I am, I persevered and the next thing I knew it was shattered into a million tiny slivers all over the carpet.  #winning

So... if you need to figure in vacuuming time... the project MIGHT take more like 20 minutes than 10 minutes. 

Here's what I started with...

 

I removed the dome and then placed the frame of the mirror around the circumference of the light fixture.  There's about a half-inch to spare, which is good because I didn't need to paint or do anything to make the light look as if it wasn't all attached together. 

I added 4 screws in between spokes around the frame to attach it to the ceiling.  I also decided to hit the top of the screws with a gold Sharpie paint pen because I didn't like that the silver screw heads stood out next to the gold frame.  I should probably go back & add another screw because clearly they aren't equidistant, but again this is my closet & I'm the only one who's going to really see that minor detail...

Bryn was at school as you know, so I did this project by myself.  The trickiest part, aside from avoiding shards of glass on the carpet, is obviously holding the frame in place, while trying to attach it to the ceiling.  But with a little patience & elbow grease it is totally doable!!

Quite honestly I love it so much, I'd do it in other rooms except I had already changed out all the ugly builder's grade light fixtures when I moved in.  Although I guess I could hit the boring entryway light.  It looks pretty Mid Century Modern to me, so if you love that style as much as I do, this is an inexpensive way to add new life to a boring light.  I'll likely go ahead and add this to my other closet as well!

 

As for the shoe storage if you're interested... that's been around since I moved here and I miss having actual shelves, but these were an inexpensive solution that allowed for an organized display without having to remove the wire shelving.  Because why not have a nice little display of shoes you rarely wear?   SMH

SONGMICS 5 Tiers Shoe Rack Space Saving Shoe Tower Cabinet Storage Organizer Black 39"L Holds 20-25 Pair of Shoes ULSH55H

 

And on that note... happy Friday!  Hope your weekend is off to a fabulous start!

XOXO

 

 

The world is your runway ♥

"No need to worry, no need to cry, I'm your messiah & you're the reason why..."

 

 

Heading to Louisville for Bryn's last volleyball tournament of the season with her Net Force team this weekend... my first time there. 

Too bad the Kentucky Derby isn't going on!

Although we won't exactly be doing much sight-seeing as we'll be watching games all weekend.  But that's ok & I'm excited to watch them play.  They really are good & fun to watch!

And the parents are all fun to be with too, which is great! 

 

Anyway.... I made treat bags for each girl.  Just a bottle of Gatorade & a couple snacks for in between matches. 

I mean, why not waste time getting crafty when I should be packing? 

Once again, I've used my SRM Volleyball Stickers.  Love them.

And coincidentally, this particular sheet happens to have a "net force" sticker on it. 

I mean... how cool is that??! 

This sticker set has been discontinued but a similar set can be purchased here.

 

I did design work for SRM Stickers several years ago & the owner was kind enough to send me quite a few extra volleyball sticker sheets since she knew Bryn played.  So.... I just happened to have enough of those "net force" stickers to use for each player's bag. 

Simply printed a fun team photo of the girls on cardstock, used a volleyball patterned ribbon, basic brown lunch bag.... easy peasy.

 

 

I also did a volleyball gift for Bryn's teammates back in 2011 using that same sticker set + SRM Tubes. And that project STILL to this day causes DAILY hits on my blog because it's been pinned & repinned so many times on Pinterest. 

Craziness I tell ya.  I guess people love shoelaces??  LOL

You can see the original post here.

 

Okie dokie then.  TGIF!  Weekend begins now.

 

But first things first. 

Before I leave town, dancing is a MUST.

 

Added a new arm song for Zumba this morning.  A little Prince.  It's one of my many favorite songs of his.

Still shaking my head about his death.  Very very sad...

 

 

 

Big props for photo props...

 

I recently had the opportunity to try out some of SimplyEverydayMe's instant printable Santa North Pole photo props!

So fun & easy to use!  You download to your computer upon purchase, simply print at home on white card stock & cut! 

I couldn't find my wooden skewers, but the popsicle sticks I had on hand worked just fine! 

They are great for themed parties... and she has quite a few different themes in her shop... for baby showers, BBQ's, even a Wine Photo Booth theme, just to mention a few! 

How fun is that?!

 

The New Year's Eve Photo Booth props will be a ton of fun too!! 

 

There's currently a "Buy One, Get One" sale going on in her shop so check out ALL the cuteness! 

She has other fun printables that are great for packaging small gifts, treats, money, gift cards, etc!  Here's a fun packaging idea I got to work with last year... a Camper Cupcake Box that I put a few Oreo cookies in.  You can see my original post here...

 

 ALL of her products are instant downloads!  No waiting for your online purchase to be shipped!

 

Okie dokie then... Christmas week is upon us!  Hope you're ready for the holidays and have time to sit down & enjoy it all with your loved ones! 

Happy-pump-some-iron-and-then-dance-Monday!  #BOOM

 

 

"You could be sweet dream or a beautiful nightmare... "

 

One last quickie before I shuffle off to Buffalo... or Scottsdale, wherever I end up.  As long as we leave town for a few days, I'm good. 

I was given the opportunity to test out another instant downloadable printable from the SimplyEverydayMe etsy shop.  This time it's a popsicle.  And they look pretty realistic if you ask me!  There's 4 different color options that you'll receive when you purchase this one.  I printed out the green popsicle & it literally took less than 30 minutes to put this together from the time I printed, cut it all out, used my paper scoring tool, folded & glued.  Quick & easy...

 

There's lots of fun ways to use these printables.  Her own examples show these sweet treat boxes filled with candy.  Since it's a popsicle, I thought it would also be a fun "summer" idea to slip some folded cash in there with a little note.  What kid doesn't go running out the door when they hear the sound of the ice cream man?  That music SCREAMS summer... and sadly other creepy things sometimes associated with the ice cream man. 

Just keep an eye on the kids when they go running out the door, ok?  LOL  

 

Could be fun to use for summer-themed party favors, etc. 

Love her etsy shop!  Check out all the fun instant downloadable printables available at SimplyEverydayMe!  A few months ago, I tested out her cute Camper ...which was fun & easy to assemble....  and I'm looking forward to finding some time to make a few others as well like the Retro Car boxes & Cassette Tape boxes.

If you only knew how many actual cassette tapes I own.  And there would've been lots more, had that idiot not broke into my first apartment & stole my entire collection prior to what I had to replace. 

 

I bet it was the creepy ice cream man.  That jerk...

 

Get yo self(ie) some help...

 

 

Bryn takes a lot & I mean a LOT of selfies.  In fact, every 13 yr old she hangs with does the same.  Instagram anyone?  Kinda sorta cute while also annoying when 13 yr olds do it all the freakin time, but it loses it's cute factor for me when adults do it on a more than occasional basis.  

You know it's a sign of the times though when there's even a song about it.

But first... let me take a selfie!

I personally love when someone gets creative with their selfies & makes them funny or self-deprecating.  Post those often & make me laugh please.  I have a friend that uses Face in Hole & posts the most bizarre profile photos almost every day.  That I find hilarious.  Flip off the camera... selfie with someone else... how about just texting obnoxious selfies to your friends!  It's when someone is posting the aren't-I-so-totally-hot selfies ALL the time that I roll my eyes harder than dice thrown on a craps table. 

Do something... anything...  besides make love to the camera. 

Speaking of flipping off the camera... I accidentally texted one of those selfies to the wrong friend once.  She replied, "I'm not sure whether to laugh or be offended."  And then she promptly sent back a selfie flipping me off.  SO FUNNY.

Seriously.  I could not possibly love my friends more. 

 

I like to jump in on Bryn's selfies sometimes just to annoy her. 

She often says, "You're so weird, Mom."

I take that as a compliment.  Normal is boring.

Besides if she's going to keep doing that stupid kissy face in every photo, then I am too. 

As for that selfie above... she was looking out the window waiting for her friend's mom to pick her up for a birthday party sleep-over... and at 2pm in the afternoon I was STILL in my stanky work-out clothes from a 9:30am spin class.  Now that's hot.  Sweaty hot. 

Put both arm-pits down please.

It's our reality though.  Unless I've got someplace to go right away, an immediate shower is rarely the first thing to happen after working out.  Lunch is almost always first. 

Apparently a 4-hr extended "lunch" where I avoid a shower. 

Lucky for Bob though, he was taking me out for another "date night" so I reluctantly took one as soon as Bryn left.  A shower, that is.  Not a selfie. 

Anyway...

My suggestion for the selfie lovers who love to show all their selfies on Facebook is to put them all nice & neatly into a book for their very own book shelf.  Or... coffee table book anyone??

And Christmas is right around the corner.  Someone might love to receive that selfie book. 

I'm in the process of putting all my blog entries into a paper-back book again.  I did that for 2008 & 2009, but then never went back to do 2010-present.  I've heard of people losing all their blog entries, so I figure this is a good way to have it all forever if a computer disaster strikes & I somehow lose everything.  Doubtful I'll always be blogging anyway... especially since I went from doing it almost daily at one time, to now blogging a few times a month if I'm lucky.  The books are basically an extension of my scrapbooks... probably with more detail since I couldn't possibly scrapbook everything from every day in the last 7 years.

To make this long story all tie together, as I'm sure you're now thinking...  speaking of those dice on the craps table, who gives a crap about all this... when I went to use Blurb again after all these years to make my book I saw that there's an option for creating a book with all your Facebook photos. 

Who knew.

So there ya go... you can use Blurb to make all kinds of books. 

 

Even #selfie books...

 

"If this is a dream, then open my eyes... am I asleep, no I'm alive... "

 

OK... so enough about gratitude (or the lack thereof) and boobs (or the lack thereof)... I should probably change gears & post about something crafty.  You know, like the primary purpose of this blog.  Although some may wonder if my life really revolves more around Zumba (and now Body Pump) than scrapbooking.

And the answer is yes... yes it does. 

Speaking of which... I'm going to teach my very first full hour of Body Pump without team-teaching tomorrow.  May need to wear my HOT MESS socks just incase...

 

Video-taping will happen soon.  In fact Les Mills just sent a kind reminder that I have only 30 days left to get my video tape to the company. 

No pressure.  Nope, none at all.

 

And let's see... my little girl is turning 13 on Monday.  And really I wish she was my little girl, since I'm very much missing those days.  She's actually my taller-than-me young lady now.  Yesterday was her last day of 7th grade.  Can't believe she has one more year of middle school & then she's off to high school.  Lord help me.

 

Since she's obsessed with Instagram (and I wish I could say I was exaggerating), I thought it would be cute to have an Instagram-themed birthday party.  So I showed her my idea.  The first thing she said when she saw the invitations was, "No Mom, that's so hoosier." 

Hmmm, not the response I was expecting. 

Hoosier is not usually my way of doing things, thank you. 

Well, unless you're keeping track of some of the pictures of me on Facebook where I've flipped off the camera.  That might be kind of hoosier.     

Sometimes I wonder if she even knows what certain words mean or if she just says them because she's heard them before?  Hoosier invitations??  What is that?? 

The fun thing about living with a teenager though, is that every moment can have new mood.  Much like living with a 46-year old.  It's fun! 

So later that day she said, "I'm sorry I said that earlier about the invitations, Mom.  I didn't even look at them or read them & they really are cute."

Ooookay... so we WILL have an Instagram-themed party?  I shall print them out. 

I made note on there for the girls to bring their smiles for many party pics & said to please just say NO to more duck face photos. 

Fairly confident that part will be ignored.

And please don't bring up all the duck face photos of me on Facebook.  I'm old & there's no hope for changing me at this point.  There is still hope for my 13 year old though.   

 

 

And all of her friends said the invites were "SO CUTE"... which definitely made them less hoosier, I'm sure. 

Insert sigh. 

 

 

Finished a few more pages recently too.  All old photos, but chronological scrapbooking went out the door long ago.  Now I'm just happy to get photos in the books at some point.  Mostly used a new Me & My Big Ideas "Quoted" paper pad I bought the other day.  It's cute & colorful & has some inspiring quotes in there...

 

 

In addition to that paper pad, I also used a few SRM Stickers on the 3rd page.  Love those.

 

 

 

Ok then.  First day of summer.... here we go! 

 

 

A happy camper...

 

Recently I was given the opportunity to test out a new product for the Simply Everyday Me etsy shop.  It's an adorable downloadable Camper Cupcake Box.  In other words, once you purchase it...  you can instantly download it onto your compter, print, cut & assemble as many as you want!  All you need are scissors & adhesive.  There are several colors to choose from, but I decided to go with the blue & red version.  

I added a little bling to the tire...

In addition to cupcakes... it could be a great way to give party favors or gift cards...

And if you don't want to put a cupcake in there... how about a few Oreos in a cupcake liner? 

 

Love that there are very easy to follow instructions included. 

 

I'll be trying out the Carousel Box this week & will post my results.  Looking forward to assembling the Cassette Tape Boxes too!

I still have quite the collection of cassette tapes.  If only I actually still played them...

 

Check out ALL the adorable items in the Simply Everyday Me shop!

 

And speaking of happy camper... we just returned from an awesome week in the Bahamas.  More on that tomorrow.  It's time to go teach Zumba & I have missed my friends!! 

                                      

Pinterest anyone?

Seen this project yet on Pinterest...  like a million times?  My creative daughter decided to tackle this the other day.  She purchased her own canvas + a box of generic crayons (she found the Up & Up box of 24... Target's brand... for only 25 cents).  I like the look of the generic crayons with the polka dots.  Every time I've seen this on Pinterest it's been with Crayola crayons... so the Crayola logo is on there.  This is way more cute!   

The instructions on Pinterest say to put them on your canvas with a hot glue gun.  After they are adhered... heat the crayons with a hair dryer until they melt, causing that dripping effect.  She said the hair dryer wasn't melting them, so Bob suggested she use one of those long Bic lighters.  I found this out after the fact.  It worked, but I'm not going to suggest that.  Especially if you have a 12-year old doing the project & you're not aware of what's going on.  No one needs to burn the house down.

 

She added her own text to the bottom.  I said, "You wrote that?  That's so cute!"

She said, "Well I wrote it in pencil first in case I made a mistake."

 

The girl never ceases to amaze me...

Christmas in June...

Today I have some Christmas gift wrap ideas on the SRM Stickers blog.  I can honestly say that every year, I get less & less crafty with wrapping Christmas gifts.  Lack of time & patience is probably the reason.  SRM Stickers came out with some fun new products that make gift giving easier. 

I used their new Kraft Bag, Pencil Sentiment, Christmas Greetings Label & a Clear Purse Box with another Christmas sentiment sticker on it...

 

 

Some paper doilies, some ribbon, some jingle bells... easy enough, right?

Now who wants to wrap all my gifts for me in December?

 

Anyone.... anyone... ?

"I can see clearly now the rain has gone..."

SRM Stickers has new clear Pillow Boxes in 3 different sizes.  The SRM Stickers blog is featuring how I used them today.  Did you know that you can easily emboss these boxes for a fun new effect?  I also added some Blossom Twiney twine, SRM Label & a SRM Birthday Sentiment sticker...

Another fun way to embellish these clear pillow boxes is to add SRM Sticker Stitches.  Since the stickers are also clear... they just adhere seemlessly on top.  Love that!

I simply added SRM Stickers new Glassine Bags inside each Pillow Box to hold gift cards.  Easy way to give a little gift...

 

These new Pillow Boxes are the perfect way to give a small gift!  In fact, I just used one for a Mother's Day gift the other day. 

Check out the SRM Stickers blog daily for more ideas on how to use all the SRM Stickers products! 

Chocolate for V.Day...

Or in my case,  EVERY day of the year.

Have you seen these FREE printable journaling cards?  I LOVE THESE! 

Probably because I spy a rainbow...

 

I've used quite a few of her free printable journaling cards before, but this set definitely ROCKS.

I'll be using some of these on a page soon, but decided to use one today as a quick & easy way to give the gift of chocolate... like for teachers for instance!

I wrapped the chocolate bar with a piece of white tissue paper, then wrapped a pink paper heart doily around it & topped it with one of my journaling cards.   A few punched hearts to top it off (adhered to my card with a staple in the center of each, so I could add some dimension), a little bling and some pink & white Blossom twine from The Twinery wrapped around the bar...

 

Did you know you can now buy The Twinery's bakers twine from SRM Stickers?  Gotta love one-stop shopping! 

Gotta love chocolate too...

Hearts & flowers... ain't nobody got time for that...

Valentine's Day is coming up and since I'll be spending it in "Sin City" with Bob (appropriate for Valentine's... right?)  I wanted to have a little bag of goodies for my other favorite Valentine, who will be at home with her Grandma & Grandpa for the weekend.

I started with a basic 99-cent  pink bag from  Target (love me some Target) & decided to make it look a little more Valentine-ish.... because seriously, if I had bought a Valentine's bag (same size), it would've cost twice as much. 

I know.  Total rip-off. 

I started with some patterned paper on my bag as the background... layered a couple heart-shape paper doilies, then added a punched heart to the center before I added my tag to the middle...

The sentiments are from SRM Valentine Stickers By The Dozen with more layered hearts, some Target washi tape on there & a flower brad...

SRM's Stickers By The Dozen are a great way to make 12 quick homemade Valentine's too.  Although, in our case, I think Bryn has reached the age when she no longer wants to send them.

Boooo.

As for me... I'll take a trip to Vegas over hearts & flowers any day...

New product from SRM Stickers...

Have you seen all the cool new products from SRM Stickers?  I have a project on their blog today, using 2 of their new products that just debuted at the 2013 Winter CHA Trade Show...

SRM Thank You Stickers By The Dozen and SRM's Glassine Bags

Just a very quick + easy way to make gift card holders!  Place the card inside, fold the top over, add a journaling card (mine were from the Simple Stories Fabulous collection), punch 2 holes & lace your ribbon through.  A little bling, of course, will finish it off...

Check out the SRM Stickers blog daily to see more creative ways to use these products and MORE!

Have Passport, will travel...

Here's one last project I created for Nikki Sivils' booth at the 2012 Winter CHA trade show in January, using the brand new Exit Here collection.  I love this travel-themed collection & especially love the Passport cut-out that's included.  How CUTE is that?!  I decided to use mine as the cover of my mini book, even though I obviously didn't have to leave the country to attend this particular event.  My book includes photos + memories from the Summer 2010 CHA trade show that I attended in Chicago that year.  What a FUN event that was!  

I was actually there to represent 2 manufacturers... Nikki Sivils and SRM Stickers... but since this book was to be used on display in Nikki's booth, I only included photos from her booth in here for now.  I will add all my SRM Stickers photos + memorabilia to the book eventually... 

I just adhered my patterned paper (or photos) onto scrap pieces of cardboard, cut to size, as the foundation for each of my pages...

No matter what good things happen to me in this industry... NOTHING will EVER top Nikki naming a piece of patterned paper FOR DEANA after me & I got to see it in her booth at the show.  Still gives me goose bumps...

Just a simple book ring to hold it all together and still plenty of room left for the rest of my photos! 

TGIF and yay for the weekend!  Bob is going Downtown to watch the NCAA Midwest Regional tournament games tonight & Sunday.  I'm subbing a Zumba class tomorrow morning or I'd be going out late with him tonight!  Gotta behave sometimes.  ;-)  BUT... we'll have fun celebrating a birthday out tomorrow night, so I'm looking forward to that!   

Hope you have a GREAT weekend everyone!

"Wrap it up... I'll take it..."

Just trying to finish things up around here... wrapping gifts and also cleaning the house since we'll have my family here on Christmas Day.  The grocery store was mayhem today, as was Target's parking lot, but thankfully most people were smiling.  Love people that are smiling.  ;-)

Making gift tags is about as crafty as I could get for our gifts this year.  I used the Nikki Sivils' Gingerbread Land collection for my letter stickers.  I hand-cut my trees, stacked 2 of them on my hand-cut tag, machine-stitched it down the middle, then added a small folded piece of ribbon to the top & adhered it with a staple... 

... same process here, only this time I used a large snowflake punch & stacked 2 of those...

Notice how lazy I am at changing the thread on the sewing machine?  They all got green thread.  LOL

Also, just wanted to share this version of Ave Maria that put tears in my eyes the first time I heard it the other day.  What doesn't put tears in my eyes these days?   I have issues... like hormonal... LOL 

This is my last post for the week, so I'd just like to wish you all a very MERRY Christmas!  Enjoy your time with family & friends this weekend & make sweet memories.  And thank you SO much for always leaving such kind and funny comments.  You all keep me smiling, for sure!

XOXO...

Grazie, Bella!

Bella Blvd's August e-newsletter was sent today & one of my pages was featured in it this month.  You can see the entire newsletter here if you're not already on their mailing list.  Thank you, Bella Blvd!  Your fun & colorful products make it so easy for me to get inspired to create...

 

And speaking of Bella Blvd... I used some of my Family Dynamix line (the yellow patterned paper for my "bow" and the red letter stickers + a blue Baby Blooms flower on top) to make a gift I wrapped just a little more personalized.  I really love those funky letter stickers...  

 

As a matter of fact, I've created quite a few things recently with the Family Dynamix line.  What a fun, fun collection!  More on that later. 

We did end up seeing "Horrible Bosses" on Friday night.  Totally hilarious.  I laughed out loud for most of the movie.  Even when no one else was laughing.  No one else meaning... like out of all 10 of us in the movie theater.  Guess it's been out for awhile.  Go see it if you need a good laugh... assuming you're not easily offended.  LOL 

Oh and Bryn's back home as of yesterday.  Yay!

Have a GREAT week everyone!

A little Christmas in July...

 

The new Gingerbread Land collection from Nikki Sivils is adorable... and perfect for documenting winter time memories.  I love the pastel colors in this line, and of course... those clouds had me at hello.  I created my journaling for this page using some of the word cut-outs from the cut-ups page + Word for the rest...

 
    

 

Nikki also asked for Christmas ornaments for display in her booth, so I made one like I made a few years ago... using a foam ball, my circle punch & some colorful stick pins...

 

I found both of these projects on display in Nikki's CHA booth photos.  You can see all her photos here if you haven't seen it yet!  I swear her booth just keeps getting cuter & cuter for every show! 

"... thank you disillusionment... thank you frailty... thank you consequence... "

Bryn had her first of 2 birthday parties on Sunday.  This party was with her friends.  We still have the family BBQ coming up, for which I've made almost zero plans.  Help.  One thing we have tackled before the next party though, is the thank you notes.  Bryn had 3 of them written before I even woke up this morning.  Love her determination! 

 

One of my favorite ways to send a thank you note is with a photo attached from the party.  This one is very simple... black cardstock, with a piece of white paper on top, the photo (which was edited in Picnik where I added "thank you" in the color pink onto the photo) and some pink ribbon at the top.  The color scheme for the thank you notes matched the color scheme of the cupcakes and treat bags...

 

The party took place at SkyZone where there was a whole lot of jumping going on... thus the sweaty face!  

My homemade cupcakes were topped with some edible Duff cupcake "tattoos" I found at Michaels.  What is it about animal print that I love so much? 

 Mine don't look quite as "perfect" as the example.  The instructions say to place the tattoos on a fondant icing OR buttercream icing.  Since Bryn is allergic to both, we went with what she COULD eat!  I had a room full of impressed 10-year olds though, so that's all that matters! 

The treat bags were black, white & pink too.  I'll show you how I made those this weekend during the ELMERS & X-ACTO BLOG HOP!  And speaking of the blog hop, have you seen who has been announced so far?

• Amy Heller
• Amy Parker
• Deana Boston
• Davinie Fiero
• Danielle Flanders
• Gina Hanson
• Jenni Hufford 

The last 3 designers will be announced in the next 3 days and then on Saturday morning the HOP begins!  Hope you'll be there, too! 

Volleyball is life... or at least it was anyway...

Last night was our final night of volleyball for awhile... maybe for a long while, as Bryn seems to have lost interest in the sport.  To be perfectly honest I wish she'd keep at it.  I think she's improved SO much in the past year and could be really good with more practice.  But, right now it's not working for her and I'm not going to push it.  At this age, I think keeping yourself open to trying new things is good.  It's only in trying new things that we figure out what it is that makes us happy.  So this summer we'll look into doing gymnastics and I'll be registering her for a 1-week soccer camp that she's participated in for the past 4 summers as well.

Anyway... with the final night of volleyball looming & lots of SRM tubes on hand, I decided to make a little something for all the girls on Bryn's team.  She's been into changing out her shoe laces lately, so I thought it might be fun to fill each tube with a pair for each of the girls.  I started with a bunch of different colors I found at Target, but you can find an entire batch of 15 pairs on Amazon  for less than I paid, and well.. who doesn't love the convenience of online-shopping? 

Isusser 15 Pairs 45" Flat Coloured Athletic Shoe Laces Sneakers Skate Shoes Boots Sport Shoes

#ad

I used my SRM volleyball stickers along with a star punch, some Pink Paislee & some random ribbon I had in my stash to embellish my tubes...

I put it all together on Tuesday night while watching The Voice.  Wanted to pass the time with something I didn't actually have to sit & watch...

 

I love how the volleyball stickers fit perfectly on top of each tube...

 

 

Check out the SRM Stickers blog for more inspiring ways to use the SRM tubes.

  The ideas are endless!

 

And now... I'm happy to say it's time to go teach ZUMBA!  Love my job! 

 

Speaking of which... have you checked out Spark? 

It's a GREAT way to kick your soda habit while getting more benefits than just caffeine. 

In fact, it contains vitamins, nutrients, caffeine... but NO sugar!

 

Get 10% your order if you're a first time customer:  Use this link.

 

 

This crafting stuff we all enjoy so much is a very sedentary hobby.  Get your body moving daily.  It's so important to your overall health & mindset. 

Lace up those colorful shoestrings and put YOU first on your daily "to-do" list! ♥

 

It's all fun & games until someone gets hurt...

It's Friday... the weekend is here!  And for some weekends that can mean "Game Night" at our house.  Popcorn, wine & the "80's Game"... makes me happy.  Whether it happens this weekend or not remains to be seen.  We have plans to go out to dinner tonight, while Bryn is at a friend's house.  Not sure about tomorrow night yet because "Game Night" can tend to mean we aren't as likely to get up & go to church in the morning... so we'll see.  ;-) 

Anyway, speaking of "Game Night," I adore the new Game Night line by Bella Blvd.  In fact, I really love all their new lines & had trouble limiting myself to just purchasing from this one (for now!).  I bought a couple pieces of the paper to use on a future page, but it also worked really well for a little thank you gift I wanted to make for a friend who's traveling to Vegas this weekend.  I started with a small plastic tumbler I found at Target, filled it with some shredded paper & then added some Vegas-themed goodies.  I taped my greeting card on a wooden skewer because it wouldn't fit inside the cup...

 

I filled 3 SRM tubes with rolls of pennies because she's won BIG on the penny slots... go figure!  These tubes are the perfect size for rolls of coins if you want a fun way to give the gift of money... especially with graduation time right around the corner! 

 

 

My "Good Luck" sticker came from the SRM Thinking of You sentiment sticker sheet... 

In addition to fun + games this weekend... I'm looking forward to participating in a fun charity event tomorrow with 2 hours of Latin Hip Hop and Zumba!  If you're local and looking for the most FUN workout EVER, please join us for a great cause!  Leave me a comment & I'll get you the details!  

Have a great weekend everyone! 

Nikki Sivils' love..

It's Nikki Sivils' birthday today & in honor of that, I thought I'd create a collage of all the layouts, cards & projects I've created in the past 2 years with her products (minus about 12 that are not yet posted and/or are temporarily "out for publication").  I LOVE her products SO MUCH! 

 

You can see the birthday card I made for her, along with all the other birthday cards created by the rest of the design team right here!  And maybe you can leave her some birthday wishes while you're there!

PS... There is a give-away going on!

Some HIP Valentines...

There's always a TON of product included in the HIP 2B SQUARE kits every month.  I was able to make 5 layouts (which I posted yesterday) all these cards plus a mini book using the main kit & the add-on kit!  There's still plenty left-over, so I may just make a few more Valentine's before all is said & done.    

My first card is based on this Card Maps sketch that was given to our team this month...

 

I used the ribbon in the kit to make a flower & then just added one of the My Mind's Eye buttons on top...

 

And just a few more Valentine's here...

The Pink Paislee flower rub-ons in the main kit look SO realistic!  I rubbed them onto white cardstock & then added a pop dot underneath each one to give them a bit of dimension...

 

The coordinating envelope for the next one was made using one of the Maya Road envelopes included in the add-on kit...

 

For this one I used the Tattered Angels Glimmer Glaze Paint (the Flirty color) I received as a freebie from Northridge Publishing to cover my chipboard LOVE piece & then added some pink glitter on top.  I love that the Glimmer Glaze paint includes a little brush like nail polish has...

 

 

And just a little pillow box here for holding sweet treats...

 

I'll post the mini book I created with this month's kit on Monday!  Check out the HIP 2B SQUARE blog for more information on their monthly kit club!

Happy Friday!  I hope you have a FABULOUS weekend! 

We are family... get up everybody & sing...

So what do you think of all the new releases from Nikki Sivils so far?  Aren't you loving all the fun cut-outs that are included with each line? 

How about some more with the new "We Are Family" line!  Another perfect line for the SPRING time (and it can't get here soon enough... SO over all the snow right now!)...

 

I bought a cheap unfinished wood heart frame from Michaels... I think it was only a dollar.  After painting it white, I just embellished it with some of the paper & cut-outs plus a little baker's twine for the kite...

 

 

Love the fun trees, houses & kites in this line!  There's also a full sheet of fun journaling tags with this line that I love! 

Ok... so no school AGAIN today due to all the ice on the ground and the "blizzard" in the forecast of up to 12 inches of snow. A lot of businesses are closed today, including the YMCA, and Bob is home from work, too.  Yesterday school was released 2 hours early due to ice.  At this rate, we'll be going to school until July!  

What a crazy winter this has been.  And it's not even over yet.  Thank goodness we made plans for Spring Break.  Something to look forward to...

It's Your Day!

Happy Monday and day #4 of the brand new Nikki Sivils' lines that are debuting at the CHA Trade Show in California right now!  Today is "It's Your Day" and it's perfect for creating birthday-themed projects with all the cute party hats, cupcakes & presents!  I think it's adorable! 

 

I used an old photo of Bryn to create a page about her 3rd birthday...

 

... and more use of my Glossy Accents on the candle flames...

 

I also made a pair of birthday treat boxes.  Love making them.  They're so easy to create & so perfect for holding candy, gift cards, etc...

 

 

Speaking of Nikki Sivils, there's a new challenge posted on her blog for February.  Create a goals or resolutions-themed project and post it here for the chance to win one of Nikki's new releases! 

Have a great week!

I could use a little SUMMER right about now...

The new "Summer" line from Nikki Sivils just might be my favorite line of hers EVER.  I adore the lined paper with the scalloped border.  The cameras, rainbows, clouds, ice cream, birds... it's all just tooooo CUTE! 

 

I ended up making more projects for CHA with this line, than any other.  And you know there will be MORE to follow in the coming months! 

I thought I'd use some of my photos from last summer's CHA for this first page + a lot of the cut-outs & stickers.  I had so much fun meeting Nikki & seeing her booth in person...

 

Just a fun card, with another cut-out on the inside...

 

 

This next project was a basic black photo storage box that Nikki sent to me.  I'm not sure what company sent it to her?  I put a photo into the cover & then "framed" it with the camera border strips.  I also added some Glossy Accents to the bigger camera in the corner...

 

 

And finally, I made a birdhouse.  It was a left-over from my Kid's Art Camp that I hosted last summer, and I thought it would be perfect to use some of the little bird cut-outs on it...

 

 

 

Don't you just love all the fun colors & patterns in this line?  I LOVE IT!  

Check out the Nikki Sivils' blog today to see lots of photos from Nikki's booth at CHA!  It's simply adorable! 

Congratulations are in order...

... and what better way to celebrate, than with POPCORN!  Oh... okay, okay... maybe a little wine, too...

 

 

Did you see the announcement on the SRM Stickers blog?  The 2011 team was announced today!  A huge congratulations to the new team... you are going to have a really FUN year!  And I'm very excited to still be part of it all in a small way! 

 Happy Monday!  Have a GREAT week!

"...bad decisions, that's alright... welcome to my silly life..."

It's finished.  It's thick, too.  Was beginning to think I might need bigger rings, but I think I'm going to leave it as is.  It's such an undertaking to get this thing accomplished every year, especially considering the timing of it during the craziness of the holidays PLUS some mad CHA deadline creating going on.  I'm always SO glad I did it though.  There's no way I would document all the detail of our daily life in my normal scrapbooking of events that occur.  It always makes me want to do more of a daily journal all year, but then I wake up from that nightmare-of-a-thought & come back to reality.  Ummmmmm... no.    

 

 

  

 

 

 

 
  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Santa signed the bottom of Bryn's note she had left for him with his hot chocolate, cookies & carrots for the reindeer.  She was pretty excited when she saw it on Christmas morning.  

Sigh... going to miss all this innocence.  If only it could last forever... 

Time to finish this project up...

I'm in the middle of finishing up this December mini book today.  If you've missed any of it, you can find all the pages here.  The last couple years I made one of these books, I finished the last page on the 25th.  I'm half-way thinking I may just finish on the 31st this year since we have so many things going on this last week, but we'll see if that works out...

 

 

 
 
Now that I've put that thought out there, I'm thinking maybe I don't really want the extra work & the 25th will be just fine! 

Have a great week!

Nice package...

I made some gift tags the other day.  I also managed to rope Bob into making some paper snowflakes for me per this tutorial, because I wanted them for gift toppers.  I was having trouble figuring out the folding instructions and thought maybe it was a right brain/left brain thing, so he said he'd help.  Usually when one of us can't figure something out, the other one picks it right up & does it.  It's weird.  When he said he couldn't figure out their instructions either, I felt a lot better.  Determined to make me happy though, he persisted & figured it out.   

 

 

 

 
 

Bob said his weren't as pretty as the How About Orange version, but I was thrilled with them.  One less thing I had to do! 

Had a FUN Zumba class this morning... Bryn joined me since today is her first official day of Christmas break.  We're just finishing up lunch & then we're headed to Illinois to see Bob's daughter & her family to celebrate Christmas with them for the rest of the day.

 

Oh... and the class party yesterday was fun!  Ok, ok, I'll stop taking pictures of you...

HIP 2B SQUARE for November...

Yesterday I had Basic Grey on the brain, probably because there's LOTS of it included in the November HIP 2B SQUARE kit... the "Jovial" line to be exact.  This month is full of holiday colors & patterns, and I was able to use the kit for most of our recent holiday memories.

On this first page, I sprayed the Maya Mist (included in the add-on kit) on the chipboard Maya Road flag banner.  Love the metallic sheen to it.  I also used some white paint on the scalloped triangles that I layered underneath and then laced the brown twine through each one... 

 

Kimberly likes for us to stitch all of our buttons that we use in our projects.  So on the next page, I had quite a few buttons that I put on my "tree" for "ornaments."  Had this not been a page I made for HIP 2B SQUARE, I would've stopped right there with no stitching.  So... I'll admit right now that I bribed Bryn to stitch my buttons to the tree.  I told her I'd agree to buy the more pricey tennis shoes she wanted.  It was worth every single penny too, as I was able to finish up the rest of the page while she was stitching away.  I know you're all wishing you had a little assistant now, aren't you?  She doesn't come cheap...   

 

I used the negative space of the chipboard packaging on the next page to frame my photo, journaling & some of the embellishments...

 

This next page was based on the Pencillines sketch #216 that Melanie gave the team to use this month.  If you recall, it's the Christmas photo shoot gone awry & the story definitely needed to be on paper...
 

 

And finally, just a simple masculine page with a funny title & no journaling.  It's not my typical style to have a page without journaling, but this was just for grins... 

 

I also made a card, some gift tags & a gift bag...

 

 

 

Go here for more information the HIP 2B SQUARE kits!  They are PACKED full of great products every single month!