Sunday, December 25, 2016

Peace & Love

From mine to yours...

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Weekend Wrap-up

Last week was a little crazy with Darin finishing up on his model for school. It was a scale model of an apartment building and a tri-fold board to go along with it. He of course got into my stash and helped himself...bazzill, adhesive and even foil cardstock. My Cameo of course came in very handy when he needed a title for his board. All other attempts to assist were rejected...it's a good thing he's independent and determined, right?
Once the project was turned in, we had a wonderful quiet family weekend. The boys cut back on their sports for the winter season which freed up our weekends quite a bit. It will pick up again after the holidays but for now we'll enjoy it. We spent Saturday at a few stores and then visited out favorite sushi restaurant in Natick, Minado. If you love sushi, you need to give it a try.

Sunday, we stayed home and we each did our own thing. I hunkered down in the scrap cave and worked on Christmas cards and as I write this blog post, I have the entire pile of cards sitting on my desk waiting to be addressed. How many cards did I make? That's another post but I'll show you the adhesive tape in my trash...



Friday, December 9, 2016

Fave Finds: Xmas edition


It's that time of the year! A few ideas I found on Pinterest to make the season a little cuter and merrier!

How cute is this DIY Christmas Decoration? Wonder if I can find that Jolee's pack of stickers.


Teacher Gifts $5 and under  - this guide will come in very handy for all the teachers I have on my list.

Another list, Christmas Stocking Stuffer Ideas, that will come in handy when it's time to fill those stockings!

We'll have to make it out to one of these this season, Top 9 best Christmas displays in Massachusetts. Two years ago we made it out Springfield and that was awesome!

Another good list to have on hand is this handy 20 Photos you should take this Christmas.

White Chocolate Peppermint Potato Chips looks like a delicious treat for the holidays.

Two great ideas for cupcakes that are easy yet look amazing, going to have to try this Christmas Tree Cupcake and this Christmas Light Cupcakes.

This Christmas Tree Cream Cheese Danish looks easy, delicious and kid friendly for Christmas morning!

Enjoy the season!

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Project share

Pulling this out from the archives since I never did share it on here last year. I made this Beer Advent, an idea I got after months of searching for the perfect gift for my husband's 40th birthday and found a RUM advent but was way over priced. I took myself to the packie (liquor store) that stocked single bottles and asked for help choosing 24 different beers. The guy in the store gave me the weirdest looks and after they understood what I wanted, he dove in and actually seemed to enjoy picking out 24 bottles for me. He also gave me a box for that fit all 24 bottles and carried the whole thing to the car for me. Once home, I covered the top of the box with brown paper, added some washi tape and made numbered bottle caps...simple process of circles, scalloped circles that I folded up and glued them on.

Inspired, I used Echo Park's Dad paper pack and made a mini album to go with the advent. The idea was that we would take a picture of each bottle and hubby could critique the beer of the day.
 
 A year later, I am still waiting for him to hand over the pictures. He took them and made notes but...you know! Most importantly, he loved the gift, took the photos AND took notes, right? This year, I didn't get as creative but did manage to get tickets to a play of one of his favorite movies, The Little Shop of Horrors!

Monday, December 5, 2016

Weekend Wrap-up

It was a nice and quiet weekend for us. Our boys were away at a church retreat so we took the opportunity to head out for a date night on Friday. We ended up at British Beer Co. for dinner and then took in a play, The Little Shop of Horrors, at a local theatre. We had not been there before and did not know what to expect. We pulled up to the theatre, which was a house and absolutely loved the show. The cast did an amazing job. It was a small audience I had was having too much fun to take pics...didn't think it would be appropriate either.
Saturday, we stayed home and got some house work done before heading to a friend's baby shower. We got teased quite a bit about having a kid free weekend and choosing to spend it with friends and about a dozen kids under 8! That's how much we love our friends lol! We are kid magnets too...photo taken during the group photo.
Sunday, we went to early mass, went to our favorite diner for breakfast, spent the afternoon with the boys decorating and more got more housework done. Today, we woke up to this...Stay warm! Stay safe!

Friday, December 2, 2016

'Tis the Season

Lots and lots of classic and modern twists on Christmas papers and embellishments this season. This Christmas Classic collection is my favorite of all the new releases. I guess I am an tradionalist at heart...the classic colors get me everytime.
Reminisce's collection, Christmas Eve, is a new take on the holidays with more snow traditional colors. I will have to scrap some of our X'mas eve traditions and I have just the right studio (old school way back when) photos of the boys that I have yet to scrap...these papers will be perfect for them.
Pinkfresh is a new company and I am reserving judgement on this collection until I get it in my hands. Embellishments are super cute though.
Luke 2 by Photo Play is an amazing collection with just a dash of faith based references thrown in. Love the colors too...nicely done!
These two collections are a twist on traditional Xmas colors and the pink just doesn't work for me and my boy heavy home. Otherwise, they are super cute especially Bella Blvd's Holly Jolly collection.
Love the Retro Christmas line by Authentique...just perfectly retro.
Authentique's Classic Christmas line is another one that I could see myself using. Maybe this one for a Christmas album?
Bo Bunny has two collections out and neither are speaking to me :(
Kaisercraft as has three different lines out and, here is the collector in me talking, I would love to have all of them. Even Christmas Wishes...just because it is just beautiful!
Graphic 45...saving the best for last...didn't disappoint and has this amazing line. Just love!
Good Luck picking just one or two lines this year! As always if you see one you have to have, email me and I'll make sure I have a kit set aside for you.