Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Nailed It: Halloween costumes

Halloween themed crop at Cool Crops Portland meant I had to come up with a costume. Vendors don't generally have to get involved with the themes but it's always nice to participate. I talked my vendor friend, Jen to team up and we loved the "oh deer" and "holy cow" idea.
My original plan for my shirt was to wear a black long sleeved shirt under and cut holes in a white shirt to go over. Another friend of mine convinced me that I had to do it right and since I had black heat transfer vinyl handy, I used that instead...staying up until 2am the night before heading to the crop to make my cow shirt. I think we did ok even though you can't see my halo. There were some funny guesses on our costumes - angel cow, fairy cow and even oh s%@t!

Monday, October 27, 2014

Weekend Wrap-up

Halloween with the Cool Crops Crew is always a blast with the most creative costumes. Some of my favorites were the Ass family (wise-ass, dumb-ass, smart-ass, etc), rock paper scissors, fork in the road, and the 3 blind mice. 
Jen Pitta (SU rep) and I also dressed in join in the festivities...can you guess what we were?
Other than a little too happy...I was "Holy Cow" and Jen was "Oh Deer" :)

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Sneaky Sunday

Last week, in between practices, work, house training Diego, cooking, cleaning, etc., I snuck in a couple of hours to design November's class. Kaisercraft has the prettiest Christmas themed papers and I had to do a little happy dance when I finished. It came out just even better than I imagined it. Wait 'til you see it!!! 
Christmas Cheer - This class is all about layers, inks and bling. Cost is $15 for 4 pages (2 double page layouts). I will be teaching this class at Cool Crops Cromwell.

Friday, October 24, 2014

Pinterest Fave Five

On the last Friday of the month, I post five of my favorite pins. I then attempt them during the following weeks and share with you my "Nailed It" moments.

These Chalkboard labels are adorable and super easy to make. I am going to give it a whirl and maybe make some cards with it.
With a new puppy in the house, it's inevitable there's going to be a DIY puppy project. We are going to try to make a DIY Dog Rope Toy. At the rate Diego is destroying his toys, something recycled from old shirts and basically free will be a breath of fresh air.
I have canned organic pumpkin and nutella in the cupboards so this recipe, Nutella Swirled Pumpkin Bread, is a no-brainer. Looking forward to making and eating it.
Halloween is next week, by default, one of my fave pins will have to be a DIY costume. Jen and I are dressing up for Cool Crops Portland (check us out Saturday night) and we have decided on these for our Halloween costume. Not telling who's what but it will be fun!
And last but not least, this shirt caught my eye and it had to come on as my last fave pin.

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Nailed It! DIY puppy shampoo

I think you can tell by now that we have a new puppy and I'm over the moon with him. Unfortunately, the shampoo we were using on him was stripping his skin and he was flaky and has a few scabs here and there. How did I know it was the shampoo? Well my hands were super dry after bathing him. No, we didn't take him to the vet, he has an appointment for Monday so we're going to wait until then. He is not itchy and not losing any hair/fur. Basically he is fine just flaky (and a little scabby) so I looked up DIY dog shampoo on pinterest (good ole pinterest) and found that the main ingredients used were baby shampoo, apple cider vinegar and water. One of the pins I found talked about dry skin plus a recipe for the DIY moisturizing shampoo she used on her black labs that included coconut oil.
http://www.firsthomelovelife.com/2014/04/homemade-dog-shampoo.html

I didn't think it would hurt to try so I gave it a shot. I modified the recipe a little since I didn't have rosemary or lavender essential oil on hand. Also, I made a smaller batch since we were just trying it out.

My DIY puppy shampoo recipe
1 cup water (boiled with sprig of lavender)
2 tbsp baby shampoo
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar (apparently it helps with odor control)
1/2 tsp coconut oil

It's only been a few days and I can't say it's getting better but it's not getting worse. His coat is shiny and beautiful...check my boy out.

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Tuesday's Challege: Recipe challenge

Tuesday Challenge was started to push myself to scrap for myself at least once a week. I will be pulling challenges and sketches from blogs all over the www and will link to them as much as possible. If you would like to join in, I would love to see what you've done with the challenge. 


This challenge was one done at our Just Scrappin' crop 2 weekends ago. I've been designing classes and kits instead of scrapping for myself. But since I got a few pages done at the crop I'm going to count them and share them here. I found this recipe challenge on a blog (I'll have to look it up and update when I find it) and thought it would be a really fun challenge. 

Recipe - layout must have the following items...
1 large photo
3 patterned papers
a pinch of wood veneer
a dash of die-cuts
and anything else your heart desire's.

And here is my take on the challenge.

Monday, October 20, 2014

Weekend Wrap-up

A weekend off after 3 weekends in a row is a breath of fresh air. Add to that an off hockey weekend makes it even better. I bought myself some time to play with papers work while my boys took in a UMass football game at Gillette. We scheduled it in and I got another kit designed as well as a mini-album class. All will be available this weekend at Cool Crops Portland. Limited seats for this class and I am planning on having it available as a kit. Sneak peek coming soon.
There was a flag football game (that Diego got to tag-along too since it wasn't pouring) and the usual weekend church activities.
It was a slower weekend and we accomplished a chunk off of our to-do lists. Back at it today with a million items on my to-do list. Have a great day...see you back here tomorrow!

Friday, October 17, 2014

I am...

I looked back at last month's post and it was written before we got Diego. Oh boy! Things sure have changed around here. I'm going to do a little contrast post. I sure had it made before we got him, wouldn't change a thing though.

Sept: enjoying the quiet after my high schooler heads out and before my middle schooler wakes up
Oct: running on the treadmill after my high schooler heads out and before I have to head to work on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays. Tuesday and Thursday's, I drive him to school early for a newspaper club.

Sept: adjusting to the early wake-up call of 5:30am that is required of my high schooler
Oct: still adjusting to the early wake-up call of 5:30am. He however is doing well waking up at that time. Maybe I should go to bed when he does at 8:30pm.


Sept: listening to my middle schooler walking around upstairs (I'm in the basement) getting himself ready for school.
Oct: listening to my middle schooler getting himself ready and getting Diego ready for the day

Sept: working on adding more miles to my morning run
Oct: still working on this...had a setback, my funny knee went funny and I'm taking it easy


Sept:playing too much Minion Rush on my iPhone #guiltypleasure
Oct: quitting games...there just isn't enough hours in the day :(


Sept: reading Insurgent and American Shaolin at the same time and enjoying both books
Oct: reading China Dolls by Lisa See...a few pages a day is all I can manage :( :(

Sept: knitting myself a scoodie (scarf + hood)
Oct: still knitting that scoodie...working on the hood part now.


wanting to scrapbook but there is just so much to do around here, needless to say puppy is taking up A LOT of time


loving on our new puppy

prepping for 3 more events before I get December off followed by a whole lot of events

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Nailed it: Dog bed from an old pillow

Diego has been chewing the stuffing out of his dog bed. This could have been avoided if the pillow didn't snag and tear when we placed the divider into the crate. As it is, there was a small tear and he made it bigger and bigger. I wasn't ready to buy a new one when there were plenty of old, pretty new unused, pillows laying around. I found a how-to online, dug out the sewing machine and went to town. An old pillow, an old snuggie that didn't fit the boys anymore plus 30 minutes = new dog bed.
Not the best of pics...and he's ringing his bell. Time to go!

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Tuesday's Challenge: Sketch

Tuesday Challenge was started to push myself to scrap for myself at least once a week. I will be pulling challenges and sketches from blogs all over the www and will link to them as much as possible. If you would like to join in, I would love to see what you've done with the challenge. 


This challenge was one done at our Just Scrappin' crop 2 weekends ago. I've been designing classes and kits instead of scrapping for myself. But since I got a few pages done at the crop I'm going to count them and share them here.Just to get a jump on layouts for those really busy weeks, you have them too, right? Sketch is from the Pagemaps website and a favorite source of mine for sketches.
Here is my take on the sketch. I used 2 photos instead of 3, buttons instead of sequins and pretty much followed the sketch. No creative license here and love how it came out. Looking at it now, I think it needs a title...on the tag.

Monday, October 13, 2014

Weekend Wrap-up

I had the privilege of spending the weekend with the Scrap-A-Way girls and had a blast. The Halloween costumes were super creative and fun.

and the dancing and croppin' cash bonanza is always a hoot as well. Looking good ladies...thanks for having me and for your support!!!

Sunday, October 12, 2014

Sneaky Sunday

Lookie lookie!!! A new class for the start of a new season. Starting off the year with a travel themed double page layout title "Away We Go". With this layout, you will make a decent dent in your stack of photos - it takes 11 photos plus room for lots of journaling. Paper line is Imaginisce's Perfect Vacation line.

Friday, October 10, 2014

Flashback Friday

Back to the day Jean and I forged out friendship getting lost in Boston. We had met a few times through I Remember When (a direct sales scrapbooking company) but didn't really get to know each other this evening. We decided to drive in together, Jean driving and me navigating. Needless to say, we got hopelessly lost, pulled over for directions and made it to where we were going. A training dinner at the Barking Crab in Boston.
If I remember correctly, it was also the day we crashed a CK welcome party, won a prize or two (we helped Jean's friends win) and our photos made it into the final day photo montage slide show! Oh and deep in the archives, I found this gem...these were the girls we crashed the party with...recognize anyone?!!??

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Nailed It

I've been doing quite a bit of bread baking and feel like I finally "got it". The rolls, breadsticks and bread are coming out nice and fluffy...with more baking they will be perfect!!!

Some of the recipes I've tried are...

1. Homemade French Bread
Spaghetti and meatballs and some yummy homemade French bread. Mine weren't quite as brown but they were tasty and "fluffy". This is something I prefer to buy in the store but since I wasn't heading out and wanted bread and had decided early enough for the risings, I went ahead and made it. They were even better the next day for sandwiches :)

2. Copycat Olive Garden Breadstick
Darin said they were just as good as Olive Garden's and that I should make them more often. And I have to assume it was a hit because there were none left. Served them with Zuppa Toscana.
3.  Pizza and Calzone Dough
The dough was super easy to work with. I made stromboli - sausage and cheese, sauce on the side, with the dough. My boys loved it and I had plenty for school lunched. Another hit!!!
All the recipes needed only basic ingredients and were kneaded in no time using my Kitchen-aid mixer. Give it a shot and tell me what you think.

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Tuesday's Challenge: Positives AND Negatives

Tuesday's Challenge...bringing challenges back to the blog. Why? 1. there isn't much going on in the garden and those garden posts are getting boring ;) 2. I have not been getting pages done for my personal albums. I do make my class layouts and kits do double duty ie. they eventually end up in my albums but that still doesn't cut it. Back when Jean and I ran monthly day crops, I got a lot more pages done. So, it's back to challenges here on the blog where my goal is to share a challenge and a layout of mine every Tuesday. a layout a week is doable, right?
Found this layout on pinterest and thought it would be a good jumping off point for a layout challenge. The challenge is to use both the positive AND negative of a die-cut in a layout. It's a great way to use double sided paper. Here's my take on it...
I also used stars, both the positives and negatives for my layout of Jori and his ornament for 2010. Below is a pic of the faux stitching. I used my white souffle pen...it goes on wet and dries to a beautiful raised, almost an embossed look, white.
One layout down, many more to go. I think this is the best way to get my pages done. Won't you join me?

Monday, October 6, 2014

Weekend Wrap-up

Spent a wonderful weekend at the Doubletree in Leominster, MA with the Ready Set Crop girls. There I saw friends I had met when I first started the business as well as made new friends. It is so nice to be back in-season, getting out and being scrappy again. I took TWO photos this whole weekend while at the crop...I'm thinking I need to take a few more pics next time. The two photos I did take though are from two different angles, one an overview of my store...
and another taken from where I was sitting. Do you try different perspectives when you're taking pictures?
 

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Sneaky Sunday

Two new kits in the stock :) First up is "School Rocks' - TWO 2-page layouts just right for back to school and everyday school pictures. I used one for back to school and the other to highlight all the projects my son did in 3rd Grade with his favorite teacher. Paper line used is Simple Stories' Smarty Pants line.

Second kit is a basketball themed 2 page layout. A nice su[er sized paper pieced title and space for lots of photos.

Friday, October 3, 2014

Around Here

September is when everything kicks back into high gear. It's a tough adjustment from a slow summer but I'm getting there. September meant back to the football field, with my oldest starting freshman tackle football. It's also time for fall festivals and street fairs. We got ourselves the smartest and cutest puppy ever. We celebrated a 14th birthday. Worked/Ran my first crop of the season - lots of fun thanks to YOU. Tackle football also meant we had an ER visit and a dislocated finger. He's on the mend but on the DL for a bit.

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Failed it: DIY Bleach Pen Shirt

Can it be? Is it true? My first Failed It post. When I first saw this DIY project on pinterest I thought it would be so super easy to do.
How could it not? Write/Draw with the bleach pen directly on the shirt, leave it for an hour and wash off. Easy Peasy, right? Well I did exactly that, washed the shirt - came out clean and looked exactly like it did without the bleached out writing. It FAILED...not even a blotch!!!

I was determined to get it to work, much easier than vinyl iron on and I needed shirts for our event the next day. So I took myself down to the local ACE and bought a brand new bleach pen 'cos the one I had was a million years old. Wrote my #JustScrappin, let sit for 1 hour, washed the shirt and NADA!!!

I have to say, I don't know what went wrong. Maybe it's the shirt, maybe I didn't leave it on long enough, maybe...it could be anything. I FAILED IT! Let me know if it works for you and what you did different.

BTW, I ended up using the vinyl iron on and it wasn't as hard as I had imagined it would be. This is the only pic I have of the shirt (on Jean taken at our crop over the weekend) with the vinyl iron on. How-to etc will have to be on another post. I loved the shirts so much, I ordered a bunch more vinyl yesterday. Now to shop for shirts ;)