Thursday, February 26, 2009

Christmas Scrapbook Pages

So, over the past couple of days, I've been pecking away at my Christmas Scrapbook pages. I got a new book called Imagine by Jeanette Lynton. It has a bunch of layout ideas and specific instructions for cutting your paper to maximize the use. I like it. It was a little time consuming and some of the layering and embellishing is over the top, but of course you can run your own way with it. This page I really minimized and kept simple. But I liked framing out the pictures with fuzzies like Santa's beard.

I kept the same layout idea, but used different papers for our tree picking day. And I sewed on the paper for the first time! I got templates from Bazzill's In Stitchz.


For the next two pages, I used the same template, but I really stuck to the book and used all the paper they recommended and did all the layering they demonstrated. It looks nice, but it wasn't quick.




I'm happy to have Christmas pages done. The Disney pictures are calling my name, but I really want to dedicate a WEEKEND to do the Disney book. So, they may have to wait patiently until the Fall when I go on another scrap weekend get-away.

Monday, February 23, 2009

Instant Satisfaction

Sorry, socks are SLOW going! I needed a quick project that promised quick results and instant gratification! Here's a simple knitted washcloth. Do you think knitted washcloths are crazy? I did! I remember the first time I saw someone using one. Brandi, it was you! A dishcloth from your grandmother. And I thought, "wow, that's a lot of work to put into something that's gonna sit around in a kitchen sink and get all stained." Then, I didn't give it another thought for probably 8 years. And that's when I decided to learn how to knit. I borrowed a knitting DVD from the library and the first project the lady taught was a dish cloth.

I no longer think they are crazy.

I am in love.

Knitted washcloths are so awesome at picking up crumbs instead of spilling them onto the floor as you wipe the counters. They're hearty and they're beautiful. You should make one. You should make one today. If you're interested in the pattern I used for this one, let me know and I'll give it to you. If I thought I had a lot of followers who would actually pick up some needles and start one, I'd include the instructions now. But I don't. So I won't. But, thanks for looking!

Friday, February 20, 2009

A Card Today

The other day I got an e-mail from an old friend. She was a fellow soldier medic when I was stationed in California. We're in contact via e-mail every few months. She always looks at my pictures and responds. Well, in her response the other day she tells me she's retiring this year. Wow! She then tells me she's just had a baby! Double WOW! Retirement and baby in the same year!

We spent a lot of time "out in the field" together (read: out in the desert in sweltering heat). Everyone had their favorite staples that they always brought to the field to munch on. Mostly it was Beef Jerky, Pringles, sunflower seeds, and Lunchables. This girl always had jellybeans!

So, in her note she mentioned jellybeans and I thought it'd be perfect to make her a card and send her a little gift.

I plan on getting her a bag of jellybeans and sending this card, which on the inside reads something about munching on jellybeans during those sleepless nights with her new little jellybean.

Kati, I've had that polka-dotted paper since our scrapping days at Recollections!

I also had a little time today to put this scrapbooking page together. Actually, it took no time at all because the lay out was already created. I just slapped the 5X7 photo onto it. I made the layout a couple months ago at a Simply Cropping scrapbooking weekend I attended in the Poconos. A class was given by the Creative Memories ladies and this is what we came out with. I thought it'd be perfect for a Thanksgiving layout, but once I saw this picture from a day I spent with my sister and our kids, I knew it was the one. I know, for sure, I have a bountiful life.

It was a long day. I'm riding solo on the parenting front for a couple of weeks. We don't transition well :-) So, I cooked a big comfort meal....all for myself! It's Shephard's Pie brought to you by my cousin Amy. It was delicious! My kids thought for sure, though, that since we were making Amy's dinner she must be showing up to join us!

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Teeny Tiny Little Needles

My current knitting project is a pair of socks. This is my second attempt at socks. Last year I bought the book Getting Started Kniting Socks and set out to dress my feet in unique style and comfort. Well, my first pair turned out quite thick and Wig Wam-ish. Not, bad, but not really suiting my needs, so I gave them to my sister-in-law who needs thick warmth while she's out in the barn tending to her horses.

So, on this new attempt, I decided to step down....step WAY down....to size 0 needles and very fine yarn. I'm not really loving it, honestly. The needles are so tiny that they make me feel as though I have man-hands! I'm sensitive about this. You see, I used to have beautiful hands. Young, flawless, smooth, unwrinkled, hands with long, always painted fingernails, and rings on almost every finger. They were hands that my Mom would show off to piano salesmen saying, "Do you see these hands? They belong to a pianist." They were hands that got me out of cutting my fingernails in the seventh grade because I told the guitar teacher I couldn't because I was a hand model! Honestly, I did!

And then....oh 1998....I joined the Army. The Army was the demise of my beautiful hands. I cannot tell you for how many hours or for how many miles these hands had to clench onto an M16, but the knobby knuckles and overall burliness of these hands can attest.

So now, I sit down with my teeny tiny size 0 knitting needles and my big hands and I reflect. And I sob. And I hope the socks are worth it all.

Pretty yarn, though, isn't it? Intimidating cluster of needles isn't it?

While I'm at it, I'll show you a few hats that I've made.

And finally, mittens from last year.

That's all I've got for you for now. These socks will take forever, I'm sure.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Cute Little Valentines


So, I know it's a little late to be inspiring anyone for this year's Valentines, but I needed to post my latest crafts and at the very least, tag them for next year.

Here are the little Valentines I made for my pre-schoolers to give to their classmates. They are not quite four years old, but they helped stamp some of the sentiments and put them together.


And here is the card I made for them to give to their teacher.















And lastly, on the Valentine front, are the cute little mailboxes I made for my girls. I'm pretty sure I got the idea from last month's Family Fun Magazine. I found the mailboxes at Target in the dollar spot. I covered them with scrapbooking paper and embellishments and finished off the lids with ribbon.