Weekend Wrap-up

How was your Father's Day weekend? We had a nice quite weekend with a little of everything mixed in. We started off Friday evening with some quiet family time at home, getting some chores done and an early bedtime. Saturday started with a baseball game, where some of our friends came to cheer Jori's team on followed by lunch at a chinese buffet with said friends. Totally impromptu but so much fun to get to hang out with our friends. Then it was home for some rest...the Mr. napped, the boys played video games and I kitted (needed to be done so I could claim my desk back).

When dad woke up, the boys went out for some baseball in the backyard where they got a good workout learning not to drop the ball because this happens...

Sunday, we celebrated the Mr. with a waffle breakfast and a movie, Jurassic World. We thoroughly enjoyed the movie and had ourselves a late sushi lunch. It was back home for a little bit before we headed back out to hockey. He couldn't be happier that his cast was off and could be back on the ice...he's the kid in the bottom right, gray jersey, yellow socks.

Sneaky Sunday

Kits using 6x6 paper pads are back! Introducing my latest creation called "Best Day"...this is a 4 page (1 two page spread and 2 one page layouts) layout kit. It also comes with a 12x12 sheet of chipboard stickers to make embellishing easier. Kit is $18.

Flashback Friday

Flashback to, I believe, the very first crop Jean and I hosted. We started with all day crops at the Hampton Inn in Sturbridge, MA. We had their small conference room and were allowed to bring in our own food. This first one, Jean and I both brought our stores and it eventually evolved to taking turns. I still miss those all day crops :(

Prizes...it's not a crop without prizes!

Look at those design runners and bags. We are really dating ourselves here!

Fast forward to 2015 and we're getting ready to start a new season with THREE weekend crops. We're still working on the contracts with the hotels but I can tell you to save the following dates...October 1-4 and February 25-28. We have one more for Spring but are still working on dates, we'll let you know as soon as we can.

Garden Tales 06.18.15

The weather has been all over the place the last few days but today is looking like a beauty. I took these pics with my iPhone 5 after a walk with Diego. Everything seems to be blooming and growing...happy looking plants without my help whatsoever! The pollinators are out and it's looking like a good start.

Bella Blvd's Rover Collection

Another layout share instead of a Nailed It post. My Riley and Rover collections came in and I just had to play with the Rover line. The industry seems to go through phases of what theme comes out and right now it's all about pets. It seems every manufacturer has a pet line out right now and Time2Scrap has quite a few of them in stock. I had taken these pictures of Diego's head tilts and just had to scrap them. Isn't he adorable?

Share a card Tuesday

We attended a baptism on Sunday and I needed a card. I browsed through pinterest and found this one, loved it and decided to lift the idea. I used SU's Special Blessings stamp set, it was all I had on hand, the SU bird punch and a Martha Stewart butterfly punch. Die-cuts are a set of Spellbinders nestabilities set I've had forever and this may have been the first time I used it. It was easy enough to put together and my friends loved it :)

Weekend wrap-up

It's always a great weekend when you get a text with this happy face wishing you a good morning. Isn't he cute? I just want to squish him! And check out the blanket...so happy it's getting so much use and looks like it'll fit him for a long time :)

We spent the morning at back to back to back baseball games starting at 8:30am. Great weather for baseball and we won 2 out of the 3 games. I brought Diego with me and he behaved like a champ. That is until another dog showed up and needed potty breaks next to us...seriously?

The rest of the day was spent doing chores and yard work. D also managed to pick up poison ivy on his chest...goofing around with his friend while walking home from the bus stop. They were throwing sticks at each other and his friend grabbed a handful of leaves to throw at him, not realizing he was grabbing poison ivy. So I guess in this case, "you should see the other guy" is appropriate?

Sunday, we slept in a little and I got talked into joining hubby in starting the "Insanity" workout. I thought I was in decent shape, the workout kicked my behind and I am hurting today. We cleaned up and headed to a baptism mass but realizing we wouldn't make it on time to their church, we stopped at our church to attend mass before heading to the baptism party. I took this as the guests gathered for group pictures.

A good weekend...just the right balance of sports, friends, work and downtime. How was your weekend?

Sneaky Sunday

It had to happen eventually, a Good Puppy layout is in stock and up for grabs. This is a 4 page (one 2-page spread and two 1 page layouts) layout kit, $18.

I Am...

enjoying the beautiful weather

reading Gone Girl...and not sure if I like it


spending the day with the Mr. since he has the day off



pinning ideas on outdoor spaces and raring to get started on a patio and fire pit

researching sewing machines because I want a new one and the fabric stash is piling up


looking forward to a weekend home with the family. No events on the schedule for 6 weekends!

loving the fence we put up in the backyard...and taking advantage of it to do some work with Diego.

bracing myself for the last day of school, T-15 days, and summer break. What do you do with your teens during summer vacation?

Moxxie's All Star Baseball paper line

I don't think I would specifically call this a Nailed It blog post but since there is a lack of "Nailed It" projects in my craft space, I thought I'd share how I used this paper line for my own scrapbooks. I do have these papers in stock...no stickers, just the papers with matched cardstock.

I had pictures from a Fenway Tour we took with my parents when they visited back in 2011. If you don't know this yet, I scrap chronologically for each of my boys. When I scrap an event that involves the both of them, I scrap both layouts at the same time. Basically making two of the same layouts and using similar pictures...pictures that highlight them. Here are my two layouts...one for each kid.

The stars are cut using a thin die I had on hand, adhered to the pages and painted over with clear Wink of Stella to give them a little shine. I added some Red Sox paper and embellishments, picked up at my local Joann's. If you were scrapping a different team, you could use other baseball embellishments as well as some washi tape. Quick and easy!

Share A Card Tuesday

I can't believe I haven't shared this card yet. Another SU stamp set...actually 2 different stamp sets that should be sold together! A little bit of fussy cutting, some brown ink and a few strips of washi tape pulled this cute card together. Now who to send these to, hmmm...

Weekend Wrap-up

Good Morning! It took me a few days to get this post up...I've been busy talking to hotels and trying to work out some contracts for our Just Scrappin' events. Can't spill any beans until I sign on those dotted lines so hang tight. We'll share details as soon as we can.

Back to my regularly scheduled post - a wrap-up of my weekend. I had the pleasure of spending the weekend with the Ready Set Crop crew in Leominster this past weekend. The store was set up by noon Friday...love that this location is 40 minutes from home and that the crop room is only a few steps from the back door.

At Ready Set Crop, the vendors have the opportunity to present a Scrap Chat where we present a quick 20 minute demo on a product of our choice. My Scrap Chat was about Core'dinations cardstock and the many different ways to use it. Would you like to see a post on it?

And a crop isn't complete without a slew of class offerings. Thanks to Tiffany, I have pics to prove that I actually taught a class and the girls did enjoy my class. Look at those smiles ;)

The best part of all is since this crop is so close to home, my family could come visit. I chose to stay at the hotel over the weekend and they took the chance to stop in and use the pool. After, since White Mountain Laser had the whole family there as well, we decided to have dinner together. Proof that vendors have fun at crops too!!!

Sneaky Sunday

Ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes when I design a class or layout kit? This isn't quite that but I thought I'd show you what happens when I get stuck on a layout. This is what I originally came up with for my Been there Pinned that layout class. I had too much stuff I wanted to add to the layout and it just looked too busy and I did not love it. It's hard to teach or sell a class that I personally don't like.

So I reworked it and this is the layout I have for sale currently. It looks so much cleaner and there are spaces for your eye to rest upon. There's even some visual triangle work going on.

It's in stock and selling for $10 if you're interested.

Fave Five Summer Edition

Had a similar salad at a cookout last weekend and it was delicious. Looked up the recipe on pinterest and found this one. Time to get in the kitchen to re-create it.

And this Watermelon Slushie looks absolutely yummy. Going to have to give it a try...wonder if my boys will like it.

What a great idea for lights to hang on our new fence. Looks like I am on the hunt for these cool solar lamps...wish me luck! Original idea found on pinterest and here is the original blog link.

 Another backyard project...maybe for Father's Day weekend. Our store-bought fire pit is on its last legs and I think this one would be an easy weekend project.

Lastly, I think this would be a fun addition to our backyard. I would have all the places we've lived and visited on it. This will maybe make a dent in our wood scrap pile.

Garden Tales 06.04.15

The rain helped the garden quite a bit and everything is just taking off. All the transplants are doing well except one. Not worried about that since I have extras. One major development to the backyard is this...

We put in (hired some people actually) a fence around the backyard. There is chain link on the sides since there are privacy hedges and wood privacy fencing along the back, to block the encroaching jungle from the back. We are loving it and I can safely say, so is Diego. Weirdly it seems to make the backyard look bigger than it did before. More work to be done...looking forward to a finished backyard.

Nailed It: Store special easel

I stumbled across this tabletop easel at a local crafting store and thought it would be a great addition to my store. One side is chalkboard and the other, dry erase. Instead of re-writing the same info over and over, I cut out my store name and the title "Weekend Special" from vinyl using my new Cricut Explore Air.

The transfer was easy peasy using masking tape instead of transfer tape, didn't have any handy. And here is the result...cute, right?

I know it should read "specialS" but the last letter didn't fit. It's going to bug me so I'll probably have to take the letters off and try again.

Share A Card Tuesday: Graduation cards

Graduation season is in full swing and I've been stocking up my stash with a few cards. This first card was made in a pinch and I used what I had on hand. Some scraps on the table and a greeting. Nothing fancy...for a college graduation.

While at our crop, I purchased a "graduation" themed stamp set from our Close To My Heart consultant. I had a thin die for the stars and used American Crafts POW glitter paper...I have these in stock and the glitter does NOT come off. Stamped the greeting and cap, fussy cut the hat and tassel, popped it up and I have another graduation card.

On the inside I added a pocket and slipped in some cash. I found a cute idea to fold a $20, $1 and $5 notes so you see "2015"...make it any dollar amount by multiplying the 20's and 1's.

Weekend Wrap-up

Recovering after a wonderful relaxing weekend at Just Scrappin' Bristol, CT. Jean and I hosted the crop but the staff and scrappers made it so easy for us, it felt like I was away on a weekend. Thank you to those that joined us for the weekend...we know you have choices and are grateful you chose to spend your weekend with us! If you couldn't join us...here's a peek into the weekend. We hope you can join us at our future dates.

Closed up for the first night and the patio lights looked so inviting.

The pool called my name but alas, I didn't make it in there. I do know a few of the ladies indulged and enjoyed it. Pool party next time?

Classes galore

Impromptu dance parties...we didn't have to bribe them with tickets!

We even had a scrapper who decided she was done playing with paper and brought the quilting project she had brought with her.

BBQ dinner on the patio is our signature meal at our May crops. This one was hard to top since we had saturday's BBQ dinner on the patio AND there was a LIVE ACOUSTIC band playing on the patio Friday night  with bar service.

The staff was excellent and totally made us feel at home. The banquet girls got creative and put together this sign...they had one for dinner and Sunday brunch.

Looking forward to our next crop at the Doubletree Bristol, CT.

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.

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.