Organizing with Mixed Bags products

I've been asked by where I get the bags I use to carry my scrappy stash.  The answer is Mixed Bag Designs...they market bags that are sold via fundraisers mostly.  The three products I use the most when transporting my scrappy stash are...
1. The Grocery Bag - large and fits my 12x12 albums perfectly as well as my tonic trimmer.

2. The Duo Shopper Set - these bags are 14x14x5 and have been serving me well transporting paper.  Love that they wipe clean and water-resistant.

3. The Single Bin Car Tote - this fits 12x12 paper packs perfectly.  Mine is packed and I have been carrying it from crop to crop since the beginning of the year and it's holding up perfectly.

Our elementary school is currently running their spring fundraiser with Mixed Bag Designs.  If you would like to make a purchase and help out our school, just place an online order and key in our fundraiser code 48111 upon checkout.  Thanks!

Time Off

Took a week off from the blog to celebrate my TWELVE year old...twelve, can you believe it?  I also had the weekend off and oh time off is so nice.  For his birthday, we cleaned and re-organized his room for him...here's a before and after pic.

We then had 12 kids over at the house before driving everyone over to Skyzone for a fun night on the trampolines. I have to say, it is different having girls in the mix...LOL! Talked them into this cool pic...love the choice of socks combined with the trademark orange sticky socks.

I got some crafty-ness in with these SRM tubes, a vintage SU stamp and go-to Wink of Stella markers.  (If you're interested, the tubes come in packs of 12 and 2 sizes.)

There was also hockey, baseball, farmer's market & antique shopping, cooking, cleaning, board games, movies and everything else in between. I half wished was back in Portsmouth for their second weekend there but being home chilling with family was nice too.  I'm back to blogging and gearing up for the last few crops of the season. 

Weekend Wrap-up

Another wonderful weekend with the Cool Crops Crew in Portsmouth, NH. This has to be one of my favorite locations...with the Roundabout Diner on site. The food and desserts are so yummy, I had all my meals at the diner with my partner in crime!

There was a water leak in the crop room...a water line broke in the rooms above...but the Cris, Cara and Kandi handled it like the pros they are.  Everything will be replaced and no major harm done - Well Done Ladies!!!  Also, a cropper had a medical issue and 911 had to be dialed, firefighters and an ambulance showed up to whisk her off to be checked.  I was most impressed with the fact that Cris followed along and stayed with her at the hospital until her family showed up to be with her.  It all turned out well and she came back to the hotel after a few hours but it was above and beyond...Kudos!  Just proves that Cool Crops is not just a crop to attend, once you drink the Kool-aid, you're family!!!

It's here!

Bazzill Bulk Vuy cardstock is in. Now to sort and pack :)

Morrocan Lamb Stew

Remember the freezer meals I prepped a couple of weeks ago?  We have been working our way through them slowly, a meal or two a week.  Last week, I made the Morrocan Lamb Stew not knowing how it was going to turn, crossing my fingers when I dumped it into the crock pot.  It smelled wonderful cooking and tasted even better when it was done.  I microwaved a sweet potato, cubed it and added it into the stew before serving.  Served it with some couscous (box mis) and pita bread.  Delicious!

The Quickstik Tool

I have been scrapbooking for over 10 years now and have never needed a tool like this. I've always managed with my fingers clumsily picking up and applying it to my layouts. I came across this Quickstik Tool by We R Memory Keepers, formerly sold under Quickutz, and now reach for it everytime I work with small die-cuts, letters and bling.  It has 2 ends  - one with a tacky end that is a picker upper and the other end has a poker and scraper tool.  This other end pulls out and has 2 ends that you can use together with the picker upper or just on its own.  Check out the picker upper picking up a tiny piece of paper that I am placing onto a larger die-cut.  Magical!

I've also found a video that reviews and demos this magical tool.  Stop by and check it out in my booth the next time you're at a crop with me.

Weekend Wrap-up

Spent the weekend with the "A Crop to Remember" girls in Southington CT. It was so nice to meet all the wonderful ladies at the crop and chat about kids and pets. Class as always was awesome and filled with interesting conversation.  Thanks for a great time Ladies!

Sneaky Sunday

New layout kits in stock!!!  Baseball and Favorite Things are newly designed and stocked.  Both are selling for $10 each.  

These next few are extra kits leftover from past classes and are priced from $10 - $15.

More papers are coming in weekly to be designed and kitted...looking forward to going through them and playing.  Check back soon for updates!

Dear Science Project,

Second son finished his science project with 1 d to spare. We stayed up until 10:30 (an hour and half past his bedtime) to finish up.  He set up to work on the cold tile floor when there was a nice warm padded rug not 5 feet away.  Also, there are tables that were available to us. But, I'll let you in on a secret, we are picking our battles...I mean, I'm picking my battles.  We are entering those sensitive and oh so difficult tween years.

How does everyone else complete their boards without a Tonic trimmer, ATG gun and Bazzill cardstock?

And Stickles...oh my!  He was very specific about what colors he wanted on the board - Black Diamond and Diamond, thank you very much!

Flip flaps came to mind for hiding the raw data but I drew the line there, we used a regular ole office supply store page protector but just had to pretty it up with washi tape.  Yes we had to dig up my entire stash and hunted through it until we found the right color.

And here is the final product.  One that he declared "better not win" because he didn't want to have to present it at the next level...*deep breaths* were taken at this announcement.  And true to his words, he did NOT win and is happy as a clam.  Me? I'm just glad it's over because apparently I didn't know anything about Ohm's Law, batteries and voltage drops.

Finally Scrapping

It took long enough but I finally finished a layout that is not destined to be a kit or a class.  This was me just playing around with some of the goodies I have laying around.  Chipboard from way back when that I dug out for a challenge on the Twisted Tuesday Challenges Blog.  I first colored the chipboard with chalk ink (red)/distressing ink (yellow) and then went over it with my Wink of Stella colored markers.  On the heart, I decided to cover the whole thing with glossy accents and it looks so shiny and the shimmer from the Wink of Stella pens are still noticeable. 

Next, I inked the Petaloo Color Me Crazy Wild Roses with distressing ink and colored the centers with yellow Wink of Stella brush. Then comes the fun part, I sprayed the flowers with water using my Tim Holtz mini mister and the colors just spread and meld into each other giving the flowers a shimmery watercolor look.  I let them dry on their own...kids to pick up and drive around helps with drying time ;)  Did the same with the smaller flowers but reversed the colors.

The background was inked using a Heidi Swapp stencil and some distressing inks. Some 24/7 stickers, a few drops of Color Shine, thicker letters and a die-cut and voila ONE layout completed for the year.  How many did I say I was going to get done?  Something to the tune of one a week?  I guess I better get cracking on them.  Which leads me to the question...when and where do you get the bulk of your scrapping done?

Nailed It!

 When I saw this pinned project from the Goodwillionaire blog, I immediately pinned it and couldn't wait to get started on my frame.  I have a pile of them sitting around in a corner and so they sat for months.  3 weeks ago, I pulled a candidate (an IKEA frame that we broke the glass on) out and set off to Home Depot to get the tiniest eye hooks I could find.  It took a while to get my frozen fingers (it's cold in the scrap cave) to twist the hooks in but they're in and still there ;)

Last week, I finally ordered my 4x4 instagram prints through Persnickety Prints.  The order came in within 2 days and I am in LOVE with the heavy weight paper the photos are printed on. 

 Yesterday, I got around to tying twine to the eye hooks, chose 12 photos and hung them up.  Added some stickers from way back when...anyone recognize them?  Narratives by Karen Russell.  The words were just right.

It's not quite as fancy as the original pin but it suits me and was a quick DIY project. Picking prints to print and hang up took the longest time. 

March Bazzill Bulk Buy

A Bazzill Bulk Buy is an opportunity to stock up on Bazzill paper at a reduced price.  New to my cardstock bulk buy?  Here's the scoop...

• You will receive 60 sheets of cardstock, 5 sheets each of 12 different colors.
• Price includes tax and shipping to me.
• Price is for local hand delivery only - It does NOT include shipping to you. We can meet up or deliver at an event (check my schedule here).  Cardstock will be available for delivery starting March 14 if all goes as planned (in time for Cool Crops Portsmouth).
• Mailing from me to you will be actual USPS cost, $9.95 in a priority flat rate box.
• Order Deadline is noon Wednesday, March 5th. 
• Payments in advance by check are appreciated or cash upon delivery.  No CC's or paypal please.
• Does not apply towards prizes or rafffles at crops if you take delivery and pay me at an event

The cost of this month's buy is $26.  Email me (sluvs2skrap@yahoo.com) to purchase.

Weekend Wrap-up

Ready, Set, Crop! This is the coolest name for a crop and I got to spend a weekend with them. The crop was held in Leominster, MA and that's the area I started this gig at. It was so nice to see some of the ladies that I met when I first started out. I have to say, meeting all of you is the best part of my job...that and getting to play with paper and glue as my day job. Thanks Ladies!!!

Class was a hit as well as the Wink of Stella brushes :)

Not only that, RSC almost always happens to host an event when there is something else really fun going on at the hotel.  This time, it was the Leominster HS Icicle Gala to benefit their music program.  Guests in evening gowns and suits and their jazz band for entertainment made it an interesting night. 

Sneaky Sunday

Ordinary Day (2 page layout - choice of teal or pink)

  I will be teaching this as a class at Cool Crops Portsmouth #1, Scrap-A-Way Hyannis, Cool Crops Portland and Scrap-A-Way Warwick.  Limited Supplies...email me to reserve your seat.

Class times TBD.  Cost $10.00.

Random Friday

We have been eating healthier for a while now and quite often I find myself starving with no quick & healthy snack in sight.  I saw a post about this cool snack delivery service and decided to give it a shot.  I got my first order in and very impressed.  It comes with 4 different snacks complete with nutritional info.  After you've tried all the snacks, you go back to the website and rate them, or you can even say don't ever send me that one. My boys have decided that they love this every other week box in the mail so we sit and try everything together before going online to rate them!

If you would like to give it a try...head over to the GRAZE website and sign up.  It's $6 per box and an every other week auto-ship.  Your first and fifth boxes are free AND if you enter my friend code SIEWLE84B, I get $1 off my next box.

Wednesday pins

So I've been seeing a lot of layouts and cards with banners and twine! I couldn't figure out how to add the twine without stitching it on and at a previous crop, someone told me they used glue dots...one on each end of the twine but what about the middle? I had read about dipping the twine in Elmer's glue but that seemed too messy. So I decided to play around while I designed some new kits. I found a good in between method and thought I'd share. I used my Zig squeeze and roll glue pen...just apply a line of it, you can even write with it...and hold your twine in place until it dries. Doesn't take longer than 5 minutes. So far so good...a week later, the twine are still in place.

 Here I glued the twine on over the banners.  Banners are Coredinations Kraft with the edges sanded. 

This one has the banners over the twine with knotted ends.  I just pop dotted the banners.

Same thing here except the banners are layered stickers so I tucked the twine between the layers.

 

Writing with the glue pen was a little trickier but still worked great.  Love this new trick of mine!!!

Just Scrappin' Commuter Seats NOW OPEN!!!

Those of you that have been anxiously waiting for this, Jean and I are happy to announce that we are now accepting commuters for our May/June weekend! Commuter rate is $195, includes everything except the hotel room. 

We also still have spots for those who want to come and stay for the weekend, but we are about 2/3rds of the way full, so please send me your deposit to reserve your seat! 

 Hope you can join us!

Registration forms can be found HERE in the files tab 

or by emailing me at sluvs2skrap at yahoo dot com.

Weekend Wrap-up

Mom n Me weekends are always fun and eye-opening. Kids just have such a different view on crafting. I taught two sessions of my Kids Kards Class and had 11 kids in each class, ages varying from 8-14. They dived in without any hesitation...distress you say? OK! Use a souffle pen?  OK!  mask and ink? OK! Musical cards? YES Please!  What is musical cards...6 different cards and 11 kids meant I had to get creative with how I taught the class.  There wasn't enough for everyone to work on the same card at the same time.  So I set up stations, walked them through it at the beginning of class.  There was also a time limit...soooo...I put on some music, told them to work in pairs one station at a time and when the song ended, they moved to the next one.There was singing and bopping...so much fun.  I should do this with adults too ;)

 The other thing I noticed why how they just rolled with it...on this card, they had to cut out the bee with scissors and 2 girls told me they cut off the antennas by mistake.  And before I could say anything, they piped up to say, "It's not a big deal, we stuck it on and drew the antennas back on!"  Amazing and so creative!  Nothing threw them off...smudge? Just color over it with a darker color. Crooked?  I like it like that.  

Layout kits pt 2

Just in case you're wondering, yes Time2Scrap is a family business ...that is everyone gets involved.  The husband with his support and heavy lifting loading and unloading the car.  The boys aren't left out either, they load and unload and most importantly they help kit my layout kits.  Last week during the Nor'easter, they were tasked with kitting 4 kits.  The Q&A session that ensued...

Kid 1: Mom, do you make at least $3000 profits from these kits?  (I like how his brain works
Me: I don't know how much I actually profit, want to do the math?
Kid 1: It's a snow day, no thanks!

Kid 1: Mom, do all the papers have to face out?  What about the instructions and photo?
Me:  Yes.  Everything faces the same direction, make all the kits exactly alike? 
Kid 1: You mean I can't change things up? 
Me: That would be confusing and it helps when customers can see what they're buying and the price.
Kid 1: That's boring!

Kid 2: Mom, why is there always an extra sheet of patterned paper leftover?
Me: They come in packs of 25.
Kid 2: That's dumb! I agree but that's the way the world turns.

Anyone want to join us for another kit making session?  

Weekend Wrap-up

Another great weekend with the Cool Crops Crew...they sure know how to throw a crop!  The theme for the weekend was red and it was a sea of red in the crop room on Saturday.  I stayed up too late and woke up too early the whole weekend but it's always well worth it when there's so many people to visit with :)

  Teaching 3 classes and trying to get new layout kits out = less time for picture taking but trust me it was worth it.  Ladies, I hope you enjoyed the classes and layout kits, that bin is looking really sad and I'm on a mission to get it re-stocked.  Thank you all for your support and love...the picture below says it all, taken during the 20 minute sidewalk sale.  

THANK YOU!!! 
I'm also going to take a break from blogging this vacation week and spend some time with my boys!  

Random Friday

Today is a special day so I'm here to wish you a HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!  
And a post is not a complete post without a pic, here's one of the gift we put together for my youngest's classmates. 
ps. Snow day on V-day so we might just have to dress this gift up a little bit more...I'm thinking names on the rulers and a little bit of Wink of Stella on those hearts!

New kits in the store!!!

Working overtime here in my scrap cave...many events coming up, papers piling up in my to kit pile...it's nuts in here.  Good thing the weather is conducive.  You must be thinking I'm nuts, lol, well it's freezing out so what better reason to stay in with warm sweats, heater and music cranking and scrappy goodness?!?!!

I've got 4 new kits to debut in the store this weekend.  TWO are brand spanking new complete with home-made die-cuts by yours truly and TWO are leftover class kits.  If you didn't get an opportunity to take the class, you can get the kit complete with photo and instructions.  Also, if you want to get a group of friends together, we can sit down and work on them together!

All kits are $10 and comes with a photo of the completed layout plus written instructions.

Freezer Meals

There are tons of pins regarding freezer meals on Pinterest and they look, to me, like a brilliant idea.  Spend a few hours in the kitchen one day, stick the food in the freezer and when in a bind, thaw (sometimes you don't even need to thaw) and dump into the crockpot.  Voila...healthy warm meal on the table! I decided to give it a try some months back and loved the recipes.  I'd love to share which recipes I tried but I can't remember and can't find the pin :(  I have it printed out and can repeat but won't post until I can give credit.  

This time around, I poked around my pins, found a few recipes I thought my family would like, brought out a few from the last round that we loved and made some regular recipes into freezer meals.  In Saturday night, exhausted from a long day but with all the raw food waiting in the fridge, I put together 11 meals and 2 baggies of turkey meatballs!!!  It should hold us through til then end of my crazy crop schedule...I will still cook but these meals will come in handy on Sunday nights when I'm rolling in on Sunday afternoon and there's an evening hockey game.  Hubby or even the boys will be able to get a meal started in the morning.

If you would like to try making these meals, here is what I made, some recipes made 2 meals.  Some of these recipes are new to me so I'm not making any recommendations.  I will try to come back and update though.

1.  Maple Dijon Glazed Chicken
2. Teriyaki chicken - bite-sized boneless, skinless chicken thighs plus teriyaki sauce.  We love Soy Vey's Very Very Teriyaki.  Just thaw and pan fry (or dump in crock pot)...serve over white jasmine rice.
3. Morrocan Lamb Stew
4. Salsa Chicken - will add sour cream after cooking
5. Cilantro Lime Chicken
6. Healthy Mama BBQ Chicken
7. Turkey Meatballs

Have you tried freezer meals?  If so do share your meals and results.  

 

Upcoming Events

Four back to back events coming up starting this weekend.  Looking forward to it!  Prepping like a busy bat in scrap cave ;)  I will be teaching my 2 page Winter Wonderland class at all 4 events.  I will also have my Card Class kits available for sale.  Limited availability of the card kits...message me if you would like me to save you a kit. 

Feb 14 to 16 - Cool Crops in Andover, MA.

Feb 21 to 23 - Scrap-A-Way MOM'n'ME in Warwick, RI.

Feb 28 to Mar 2 - Ready Set Crop in Leominster, MA.

Mar 8 - A Crop to Remember in Souththington, CT.

Want to join Jean and I for our Just Scrappin' crop in May and/or September?  Registration forms can be found HERE in the files section and deposits are coming in daily.  Reserve your spot ASAP!

If you have been trying to get into a Cool Crops event, they have openings at their March Cromwell, CT event.  Head over HERE for more info.

Whirlwind Weekend

This weekend totally felt like a whirlwind weekend. I got a TON of stuff done and yet there is still so much to do. Trying to get ready for 2 back to back crops so I can enjoy winter break with my boys. 


Friday I designed a card class for a Mom n Me crop. The cards came out super cute and can be seen HERE. I spent a few hours Sunday afternoon while the boys were with friends playing basketball prepping for the class...I'd say it's 60% prepped. More to go today and my goal is to get it done! My favorite has to be the Super Hero card...waiting for the matching die to show up for the super hero before I can continue but everything else is going to be prepped and kitted to go by the end of today!!!

Going solo this weekend meant I also spent a lot of time driving back and forth between practices and games...for a total of 3 practices and 1 game and 2 religious ed classes. Good thing there was no hockey, they got the weekend off. 

We also squeezed out some time for fun...Friday night, I took the boys to Sky Zone for Jumpalooza with their friends. If you haven't been, I highly recommend it.  Lots of fun and a great energy burner for the kids. Two tips - One, buy your tickets online to ensure they get in and two, sit as far away from the DJ as possible. There weren't many seating choices and I was about 20ft. from the speakers...I think I get a Mother of the Year award for knitting 2 1/2 hours straight next to the speakers. I did have my earphones in for an audiobook but it was still loud.


In between all that, Saturday night, I put up 14...yes FOUR-TEEN freezer meals. It just had to get done, I had bought all the ingredients and I didn't want it to spoil. I'm so glad I did it and that it only took 3 hours. Now I have a freezer full of meals that just needs thawing and then dumped into a crockpot to cook. A few easy sides and dinner's on the table. The details will have to be another post on another day. 

What else? I started knitting a new hat and accomplished a few more rows on the baby blanket. We checked out 2 antique stores hunting for a specific something for my booth, had a playdate, watched some shows (the boys and I are watching a new series Almost Human together) and got some shopping and visiting in.  Busy indeed but fun and productive!  How was your weekend?