Sunday, May 31, 2015

Sneaky Sunday

It's unofficially summer and it's always nice to have a red, white and blue layout for those 4th of July, Memorial Day and any other patriotic photos you have in your stash. Don't have any of that? No worries...it's generic enough you can use it on almost any other photos in your stash ;)
Life is Good Layout Class
We will put together a 2 page layout using Pink Paislee's Declaration paper line. I will show you how to use up (almost) a full 12" sheet of stickers and maximize double sided patterned paper. This fun summer-themed layout showcases 6-8 photos. I will be teaching this 2 page layout class at RSC Leominster and SAW Warwick. The cost of this class is $12.

Friday, May 29, 2015

Fifth Friday

I have a blog schedule for Fridays, just in case you haven't noticed. I loosely label them as Random Fridays and they're titled...I Am, Fave Five, Flashback Friday and Around Here. When there is a 5th Friday in a month, like this month, I never know what to blog about. On top of that I have a crop this weekend where I am playing the part of hostess. Phfftt...what to talk about? How about nothing and I just post a few of my favorite pics from the month?
Darin's project for school...build a coliseum. A 3D puzzle qualifies, right? He spent 3 days building it!
Any time I can capture emotion is a great pic. Oh the disappointment!
Playing SS...backing up his brother. The best!
And this kid...this kid that I can still trick into smiling for the camera.




Thursday, May 28, 2015

Garden Tales 05.28.15

Planted the garden over Mother's Day weekend and it is definitely thriving. I added new compost to the raised beds and planted bought seedlings. The lettuce in the front of the bed came up from last year's seeds. The mint (in the buried pot) grows back every year and is in a pot to contain the creeping. The hosta all the way on the right was dug up to make room for some work in the backyard.
Here is the work that is being done to the backyard. Going up as I type. A few minor setbacks but it's moving along. Those poor guys chose a tough weather week to be digging fence holes by hand.
The main purpose of the fence it to keep Diego in and other critters, loose dogs...lots in our neighborhood, out. Besides dogs, there are plenty of small children and while he is super sweet with them, it never hurts to err on the side of caution. And I can't talk about the cutie without posting a pic of him now, can I?
ps. the dandelions are a problem in our backyard this year. I don't think it's ever been this bad. Any suggestions?

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Nailed It: Baby Blanket

It took me months and a little help from a friend to finish this baby blanket. I worked on it during our drive back and forth to Florida, watching TV, watching movies at the movie theater and the last bit of it at Cool Crops Portsmouth.
No pattern, just 4 colors...knitted the blue, green and teal into as many rows as I could with a ball, 4 rows of white in-between the colors. There are a few errors in the blanket but not noticeable. As long as the blanket works, right?
I shipped it off to my nephew in Australia and it's been put to good use.

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Share A Card Tuesday

With several friends and family members having babies, I made up some cute baby boy cards. Need a good one for baby girls, any suggestions?
A combination of stamps were used on this card. The "It's A Boy!" stamp is by Whipper Snapper Designs and the greeting is Stampin Up. Stamped image colored using my handy dandy copic markers.

Sunday, May 24, 2015

Sneaky Sunday

Crossing things off my to-do list and one of the items was to design the FREE Just Scrappin' Make n Take. It is a bright and colorful Family themed 2 page layout using 2 Vertical 4x6's, 1 horizontal 4x6, 1 4x4, 2 3x4's an 2 2x2's.
There's still time if you would like to join us next weekend.

Friday, May 22, 2015

Around Here


1. I have been asked to please take pictures at the JV baseball games.

2. Reading the chatter from said pics of the players have been very entertaining.

3. Diego started doggie day care once a week to get him used to the place before we board him when we go on vacation in the summer.

4. I am so glad I came across the place on facebook...it's as if we are leaving him with friends except they are trained to care for him and it is their livelihood.

5. I love the idea that he spends the day outside, his evenings with the family and nights in his crate...just like he does here with me.

6. I am prepping for Jean and my weekend just 2 weeks away.

7. Jori is on THREE baseball teams and he is loving it.

8. He has totally stepped up to the plate (pardon my pun hah) and has been taking care of cleaning his uniforms.

9. Meanwhile, Darin hurt his wrist playing basketball at the graduation party last Saturday and is playing his least favorite position on the team, right bench.

10. He wrote a couple of articles in his school newspaper and I couldn't be prouder.

11. Today, the Mr. and I will be going on the first of our year of dates...a visit to the Samurai exhibit at the Worcester Art Museum followed by a sushi lunch.

12. My to do list is calling so I'll stop here.

Hope you have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend!

Thursday, May 21, 2015

What's for Dinner?

This is my go-to meal when I need something quick and easy. Teriyaki chicken, grilled veggies and steamed jasmine rice.
Buy yourself a bottle or two of this delicious marinade/sauce. We prefer boneless skinless chicken thighs but it's yummy on any other cuts of chicken as well as on steak. Pour some onto the meat, let sit in the refrigerator...I buy family packs at Sam's, separate the chicken into 2 bags, pour in the marinade, cook one and freeze the other. Here I cooked it in a pan but I've also cooked them on the grill or in the winter months, on a grill pan.
Veggies pictured are carrots and asparagus. Seasoned with sesame oil, pepper, soy sauce and garlic (fresh or powdered). Baked in the over at 400F until done. They can just as easily be cooked on the grill. Serve & enjoy!

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Nailed It: Bright Pom knit hat

Going a little further back for a Nailed It post. Darin had chosen a skein of this really cool Plymouth yarn way back on our first trip to a yarn store. He finger knitted with it and then didn't love it. So I took it apart and the yarn sat for a while. On my last trip to the same store, I saw the yarn there and bought another skein. I decided to knit myself a hat with it and this is the result. There was quite a pile left after I finished the hat so I decided to make a pom pom with it.
I love how bright it is. Also that it is very warm. Only problem is, I knitted it a little big for my head and am afraid to try to shrink or felt it to make it fit. I'm told it's not hard and I can't go wrong...yet I wear it big. As long as I don't bend it over, it stays on my head and keeps me visible when I'm out at my crossing guard job. ps. please don't mind the really dirty mirror

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Share A Card Tuesday

Monday? Tuesday? One of those beautiful spring days last week, I couldn't bear to be stuck in my scrap cave so I brought a project out to the deck to work on. I'm no expert on Copics, but I loveusing them and it's just so relaxing to color. I  quickly stamped a few sheets with this image and spent an hour or so coloring.
I finished them up later that night, turned them into cards and mailed some out. How did I do?

Stamp is Penny Black's Enjoy the Ride!

Monday, May 18, 2015

Weekend Wrap-up

We had such beautiful weather over the weekend and we spent most of it outdoors. On Saturday, while the boys cleaned their rooms and the Mr. did yardwork, I got some household stuff done as well as made some Graduation cards. I used up some leftover papers from a MnT I had designed. Just something quick and easy.
We cleaned up and headed out to take Diego for a meet n greet with a potential boarding place - we loved it and grabbed some lunch sans kids! Drove home, dropped off Diego, picked up the kids and headed to a graduation party. It's been a while since we've been social and it was nice to get out. We left the party and the boys immediately asked, "What's for dinner?"...ugh...so we headed to a family run place nearby and enjoyed the most delicious soft serve ice cream. We even managed a family selfie :)
Sunday morning was for baseball, followed by some summer clothes shopping for the boys. Neither of them had any shorts that fit!!! And since it was so nice out, we stopped by a different soft serve ice cream place on the way home.
It was a nice, relaxing weekend and we got a ton of things crossed off the to-do list. Enjoying it as it's about to get crazy the next few weekends! How was your weekend?

Friday, May 15, 2015

I Am...

blogging away and on a roll :)


choosing to spend my time at the baseball field to watch my boys play


spending a few extra minutes in the garden every day checking on my plants and worms

learning to budget my time better so I can fit in long walks with the pup, time in the garden, exercise and of course the scrap cave


experimenting with new recipes but also going back to favorites like the grilled pizza and mexican chicken


reading and listening to books as much as I can, there are only so many hours in a day


still knitting that hat I started way back in March


working on challenges and sketches for my Just Scrappin' Bristol CT event


designing classes and make-n-takes for my upcoming events

looking forward to a weekend that will be a nice balance of friends, sports and family.
Have a wonderful weekend!

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Nailed It: Jori's ETA project

Good Morning! Today I'm pulling a project from Nov/Dec that Jori worked on. A little background first...Jori is a Freshman studying in the Engineering & Technology Academy within our high school. One of his projects in the fall was to develop a parcel of land in the Blackstone Valley. They incorporated their core classes into ONE project - History: the history of Blackstone Valley, English: writing proposals for their land parcels, Math: the math required to design and make a scale model, Biology: green technology and Engineering: schematics, design, etc. The scale model is what I would like to tell you about this morning.

He was assigned a parcel that was designated recreational and you could team up with kids with land next to you have bigger developments. So he teamed up with a friend who had the park area and he built a basketball complex. Finding items to scale was the hardest part so we had to get creative and that's where mom and her scrap supplies came in handy. Here is a pic of the work in progress...the fencing is black burlap ribbon, telephone poles are cut black wire, hoops are Jolee stickers. The courts are Bazzill paper and the grass is standard diorama grass sheets.
We also bought air dry clay and mom lent a hand in making benches, lamps and for his friend's project, art installations at his "Peace Park". I used Queen & Co.'s bling for the lamps. 

The boys spent TWO days holed up in my scrap cave working on their park before delivering it to school to prepare for their open house. I didn't quite know what to expect but walking...WOW...they had laid out all the land parcels around the canal on the cafeteria floor. It was amazing!!!
It took a bit to find the boys' parcels but here they are...came out great. I helped with the clay and then left them on their own except to explain how certain glues and tools worked.
Students also had tri-fold boards that displayed their research and design work. They encouraged the parents and family members to talk to the students and have them explain their work. Doesn't he look all grown up?
I have to say, the kid Nailed It!

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Share A Card Tuesday

 
A little fun with a cool saying, fun Stampin' Up punch and really cool wood grain textured American Crafts cardstock. It's a card-lift..found the orginal on Pinterest.

Monday, May 11, 2015

Weekend Wrap-up

We started the weekend with a baseball game. This year, the boys are on a team together and it is so much fun to watch them. The Mr. is also helping out in the dugout so, I either roam the field taking pics or bring Diego with me. It's one or the other as I can't watch the puppy and take pics. By next year, fingers crossed, he will be ready and he has been doing really well at the fields.
This photo...this is why I try to attend every single game they play. Back story is he threw the pitcher out on 2nd in the 1st inning and now we're in the bottom of the 6th (they play 7 innings) tied game with him as the go ahead run (the boys supplied the lingo, I'm not that good). He was told to steal 2nd, took a huge lead and the pitcher tried to catch him stealing. They did this EIGHT times...what a battle and both boys, teammates on the high school team, had big grins on their faces the whole time! Be still my heart...love that he loves playing the game! ps. he stole his way to 3rd, brought home on a sac fly and they ended the game in a tie since they ran out of time.
We got home and got to work on the yard. A Mother's Day gift...they weeded, mulched, lifted and helped with the vegetable garden. The best kind of gift, don't you agree?

Sunday, we headed into Boston for our favorite brunch, dim sum, followed by a walk to and through SOWA Sunday. It was a beautiful day to spend walking around and exploring the markets.
 The Mr. saw these "shops" and said, "That's what you need for the store!" Wouldn't that be awesome? I could drive up in my truck, park, open the doors and voila open for business. No lugging it in (or out), setting up and breaking down!
I had to get a pic against this backdrop and somehow I always forget to hand over the camera :(

Friday, May 8, 2015

Flashback Friday


I started Time 2 Scrap back in 2009 and was with I Remember When for 4 years prior. In that time, I've met a lot of scrapper friends and in the last few crops, a few have mentioned how big my boys have gotten. I get a lot of , "they were so little when we first met you." So I thought it would be appropriate to post a Then & Then & Now pics for Flashback Friday.

Way back in 2006
At Cool Crops' last Mom & Me, May 2012 at the Bayside on the Cape
Fast Forward to 2015...14 & 13...yikes!!!

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Nailed It: A Year of Dates

Remember this post? I finally put the album together while I was at the Point Sebago crop. The benefit of having crop space at an event. I shopped my own store and used an October Afternoon SNAP album that I had in stock...especially since I had the refill pages too.
Washi tape, papers pulled from different lines/scraps and words (months) I had pre-cut on my Cricut Explore before the weekend. I wasn't sure about the wifi at the campground and didn't have space for it in my car.
I left one 3x4 pocket open for each month and wrote our date details on a Project Life 3x4 journaling card. I then sealed it in the envelope with tickets, gift cards, etc that I had bought in advance. One envelope per month and 1-2 pocket pages per month depending on the activity. Obviously if it's dinner and a movie there will be less pics than, say, going on a hike.
Here you can see the envelope has been opened and I've slipped the journaling card into it's spot. For our anniversary month, we will visit the Worcester Art Museum to check out their Samurai exhibit and then head out for a sushi dinner. The "WTFS" is a coincidence...the paper was a calendar type page and it was for days of the week ;)
The gist of my "Year of Dates" album is to go out at once a month sans kids. We will open the envelopes on the 2nd (our anniversary date), pull out a calendar and pick a day to go. A few date ideas I included are hiking, bowling, paint nite and even a couples spa day.

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Share A Card Tuesday

Feliz Cinco de Mayo!!!
Sharing some cards from my stash made with Uchi's Design bilingual clear stamps. I love how crisp the images come out as well as the Spanish/English choices.

Monday, May 4, 2015

Weekend Wrap-up

I spent the weekend at a new to me event...the Point Sebago Scrapper's Weekend in Casco, Maine. It was such a beautiful setting and I loved having a Park Home to stay in. Walking to from the crop room to the dining hall and back and forth to my park home was so nice in the beautiful spring weather we had.
Check out the views. This shot was taken right outside the crop room at dusk. 
Best of all, I had my own table to scrap at and even got some scrapping done. Hung out with the coolest chickies...there were more but I don't have that pic so I'll share the one I do have.
  
The crop ended at noon so I even made it back in time to watch the second part of J's double header with my trusty sidekick, Diego. 
 
The girls were very welcoming...THANK YOU LADIES!!! I had a great time and have reserved my spot for next year :) 
ps. there was an awesome 10th year crop anniversary that I will share when it goes live.