I know, I know

You're dying to see my current craft room after yesterday's post. Patience my pretties.  As suggested by Joy and Judith I shall do a video. In fact, I started to make one today, but was so embarrassed at how much of a mess it was and how gross I looked, I decided to clean up a bit(myself and the room). In the meantime, here's a little sneaky peek, brace yourself.

Anyone who has organizational OCD probably just passed out, so my apologies. In my defense this was taken as I was in the midst of a project. Wait til you see the video. I imagine I should just be thankful I have a hole room to work in. I'll give you the grand tour tomorrow. Maybe I'll even let you see our dreaded basement. It could be neat to document the entire process.

In other news, I am sad to report I have relapsed with my coffee addiction. It's pretty funny that whenever I hold a mug, G says,"Coggee! Coggeee!" (we are working on the 'F' sound).

Supplies: I don't have time. You see, I must get my workout in before The Bachelor starts and I'm already pushing it! It's ALL PTI though!

10

Looooong Weekend

So hubs had off Thursday and Friday because of snow.  I'm not complaining!

We swung by Michael's today since I had a coupon.  We are going to finish our basement and I am going to be getting my very own craft room. I really can't contain myself. I seriously think about it almost every minute of every day.  I bought this book to help me get some ideas.

AMAZING. I  only wish they would tell me where I could find all this stuff.  I picked up a few Jetmax things from Michael's...they were already on sale for 40% off. Can't beat that. I got these (see below), plus a magnetic board, and a ribbon rack.  Pretty sweet deal. I wanted to get everything, but instead I exhibited some very impressive self control (especially since husband said "Get whatever you want").

While we work on getting the basement finished, which is a major undertaking, I need to at least get my crafting stuff somewhat organized because right now it is disastrous.  Come back tomorrow for a longer post about my organization woes as well as some seriously scary photos!

For now I am off to get my butt kicked...Jillian Michael's workout DVD's are worth every penny. 

I have been using them almost religiously for about 3 weeks now and am so happy with the results.  What I am more happy about is the fact that we were able to cancel our gym membership and save ourselves some major $$.  I am also looking forward to Spring so I can get back to running/doing anything outside. I had a slight slip up this weekend when I baked banana chocolate chip muffins and ate about 23 of them...

Til tomorrow my friends!

3

Winter Wonderland

Just popping in real quick to share some pictures of our morning

I love that the forecast called for rain all day, changing over to snow this evening.  Well, it's only 11:30 am and we already have a good 3-4 inches I'd say.

Also, these cute flower embellishments are now available in my shop.  They come in colors that match 27 (no Pinefeather or Blueberry Sky) of the 29 colors in the PTI color spectrum. Right now you can scoop up a set of 24 (1 of each color), each day I'll add sets of individual colors for purchase (takes a little time to do the listings!). I can also always do a custom order if you're looking for something special.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the hubby has a snow day tomorrow...means lots of time for crafting.

3

Papertrey Ink Blog Hop

Good morning all! Today is PTI's monthly Blog Hop.

The Challenge:

With the new year comes a clean slate along with many resolutions.This month's blog hop challenge involves you challenging yourself to use a Papertrey stamp set that has yet to see ink or even one that might be collecting a little dust!Go through your stash and see what little used treasure it might hold.

I was so pumped about the Little Bitty Bird Set, I bought it, and it sat for weeks on my desk with no love.  So I decided to ink it up for the challenge.

Since my time and supplies are limited I like to multitask...I wanted to combine it with The Playdate Cafe's Challenge too.  For whatever reason I struggled with the color combination.

So without further ado

Be sure to stop by later today for another post with some new items in my etsy shop...including these cute crochet flower embellishments...in PTI matching colors.

For now I am off to blog hop!

Supplies

Paper: Stampers Select White and Spring Moss cardstock(PTI), Orange patterned paper for birds (BasicGrey)

Stamps: Little Bitty Bird(PTI),  Love Birds (PTI)

Ink: Versafine Black, Pumice Stone Distress Ink, Crushed Olive Distress Ink, Versamark

Fun Stuff: Rhinestones (PTI), Heart Brad (Making Memories), Tim Holtz Label Die, Double Ended Banners Die (PTI)

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Would you believe it?

I had every intention of cardin' it up tonight after I put the baby to bed. Let me tell you a tale of why that didn't come close to happening.

Hubby had some baseball clinics he was doing tonight, so I was flying solo giving little G a bath and putting him to bed (usually the hubs does this).  So let me set the stage...

I was really really really tired. G has some molars coming in, so he was up from like 2am-3:30 am screaming last night. (Thank God for Tylenol). Then I had one of those really horrible dreams that I awoke from thinking it was real and totally jacked on adrenaline. By some weird sort of baby magic that I don't understand yet, G was able to wake up bright eyed and happy as can be at his usual 7:30 am despite the rough night of sleep. Needless to say, it was a very fun and eventful day (including a trip to AC Moore!), but man I was pooped when bath time rolled around.

I got everything all ready, pj's, socks, diaper, lotions, toothbrush, story book...it was looking good. I had my Blackberry set up on the floor where I sit with Pandora running so we could listen to some tunes, I plopped the little guy in his tub which looks something like this:

(Before you ask, no, that is not G, it's the baby from the Amazon ad) So he's all happy in the tub when things take a turn for the worse.  He stops moving. He stops breathing. Panic sweeps over me because I know exactly where this is going, and for the first time in 15+ months he poops in the tub. I quickly scoop him out of the tub, clean him up, and turn my attention to the tub situation. I wasn't really sure what to do so I scooped the poop, and then dumped the water out into the big tub, let it drain, and began to clean. I kept glancing over my shoulder at the little dude as he stood very quietly and watched. Just as I was finishing all this cleaning I thought that it was strange that he was so quiet. I glanced at him, saw that he was standing directly in front of my phone which was on the floor.  I looked down at my phone and found it soaking in a puddle of pee. At first I had hopes that it was just water that was dripping from him, but no, it was as if my phone had a target on it.  At this point he is done doing his business and starts to run around grabbing everything (pjs, socks, lotion, etc.).  Meanwhile, I'm trying to save my phone before the pee seeps into the cracks and short circuits the thing. In the 10 seconds I am turned around getting a paper towel, G manages to pull about 75% of the toilet paper off the roll. Seriously it was like a circus in the bathroom. G was laughing and so was I. Probably the best bath time he's ever had! 

After I managed to re-roll most of the toilet paper, I got him back in the tub. 

He peed again before I even got the tub half full. Drain, rinse, repeat.

 As crazy as it gets sometimes, I love every minute. I'll probably never forget tonight, or how when we were both so exhausted after our bath time extravaganza we just cozied up in a rocking chair for a nice long story and nodded off together.

I spent the rest of my night on the couch watching You've Got Mail. 

I'll be back tomorrow.

5

Happy Hump Day!

Yay for it being Wednesday...weekend can't get here fast enough. The hubs and I are having a date night on Saturday so I am very much looking forward to that.

Another day, another package.  Today was some PTI goodness, including some beautiful felt and little birdies.  I cannot wait to put these to use. (Sorry no picture)

I started this card for The Playdate Cafe Challenge, unfortunately I didn't have a chance to finish it. Luckily, it also works for the Wee Memories one.

Don't you love the glitter? I think I'm in love!


Supplies:

Will be back!

11

This and That

I've been a busy busy bee lately.  Happy to show you a few peeks of some new items to be in my Etsy shop by the end of the week (fingers crossed).

New neutral shades of wrinkle ribbon

Little flowers to match all PTI colors (pretty sure my eyes are crossed from making these)

Also exciting, I have ordered a bunch of crafting supplies, and it works out that I'll be getting one package a day. Hello perfect timing. Gives me a little something extra to look forward to.  Today's package...October Afternoon's Modern Homemaker Kit. I had a really hard time finding this!

Thought I'd share another something something I've been enjoying lately:

As you all know, I had a bit of a coffee problem.  In my quest to get back to being healthy I made the executive decision to start cutting back on coffee and creamer. This has become my replacement. Dr. Phil says you never really get rid of bad habits or behaviors, you just replace them with something better. Seems to be working for me so far.

I'll be back tomorrow with my entry for The Playdate Cafe as long as my camera cooperates and I don't smash it into a million pieces. 

4

My first

...Jay Gee's Nook Challenge!

I'm hiding in our bedroom quickly doing this post as my family waits for me for dinner...

I was so excited to get to play along with this one, and look at me getting it done all early.  I love the color combination, reminds me of Spring (which I am longing for).  That stitching took me much longer than anticipated...don't know if I'll be doing that again any time soon!

Supplies:

Paper: Sweet Blush Stampers Select White (PTI), Pretty Pastels (PTI)
Ink: Versafine Black, Wild Honey  Distress Ink
Stamps: Fly Free and Bannerific (Lawn Fawn)
Other: Lemon Tart Ribbon (PTI), yellow Button (PTI), Rhinestones (Queen and Co.)

12

Let's Talk

Let's talk for a minute about a pet peeve of mine, shall we?

Commitment. Why do people have so much difficulty making and keeping commitments? Seriously, is it just my peer group (20 somethings), or does this happen across the board?  Here is an example.

Now that I stay at home, I need to go a little more out of my way to see my friends and get some 'me' time. No big deal. So, to ensure that I get this 'me' time on a regular basis I sent a message/email to approximately 50 friends on Facebook asking them if they would like to be part of a Bunco group that meets once a month to hang out and have fun. ONCE A MONTH PEOPLE.  I even set it to a regular day, the second Wednesday of the month so that each month we could plan our schedules accordingly. I also made it very clear that if you were the type to flake on such plans not to join as we need a regular number each month to play.

I got about 12 people to respond, and at our first meeting we had 10 actually show up.  The next month we had 8 show up. This month...5. Seriously? Luckily the 5 of us are pretty awesome and had a great time together, and decided we are going to transform it from a Bunco group to a pot luck dinner group. I'm all for that as I LOVE to cook and try new things.

It just really upsets me that people don't value the commitments they make. I know it's just a silly get together - but it still irks me.  Like the hostess for this month had no idea how much food or drink to get because hardly anyone from the group RSVPd. She asked over and over who was coming, and only the same few responded. That's just rude if you ask me.

Phew, felt good to get that off my chest!

On a lighter note, I had a great time hanging out with best friend today. She came over and we had coffee and tea and chatted for hours.  Hubby is in Atlantic City with some friends for the day, so we had a girls day (well, G was here so it wasn't only girls).  My friend loves owls, so I made this card for her. (The photo is a bit dark, as I took this at night in my crafting hole)

Supplies:
will update later...I can barely keep my eyes open! (mostly PTI though)

12

Waaaaahhhhhh

Imagine that title in the voice of Snooki (for those of you who watch Jersey Shore).

I submitted my first few cards for the most recent Paper Crafts publication call. Sadly, none got picked up. Oh well, there's always next time right. I'm actually not surprised considering I rushed through them (forgot about the deadline), and immediately thought of a million things I would have done differently.  Live and learn I suppose. Maybe I won't procrastinate so much next time...is that even possible for me?

Here was my favorite of the 3 I sent:

Well, I am off to finish packing up the last of the Christmas decorations. Now that the holidays are over I am ready for Spring!

Supplies:

Paper: Sweet Blush and White cardstock (PTI), Pretty Pastels patterned paper (PTI)

Ink: Versafine Black

Stamps: Just my Type (Lawn Fawn), Hello Girlfriend (Unity Stamp Company)

Other: Perfect Pearls(Ranger), Pearls (Queen and Co.)

8

An Award and a Little Bit About Me

Well, we got about 5 inches of snow last night...just enough to ensure hubby had off.  Thank goodness because there was a TON of stuff I've been wanting to get done around the house (vacuum, take down Christmas stuff, pack up G's clothes that don't fit, nap, etc.).  Needless to say it's not even 12 yet and I'm halfway through my list.  Nothing like feeling productive!


So yesterday I was checking my blog and noticed an unusual amount of traffic. So I took a peek at where it was coming from.  Seriously my heart stopped, because it was from Joy Taylor's blog Less is More. Um, hello, I've been lurking and stalking her site forever. I love her style. Needless to say I headed over to see that she had given me a Stylish Blogger Award. ME! 

These are the rules for accepting the award...
So, when you accept the award, you must:
1. Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this
2. Share 8 things about yourself
3. Pay it forward to 8 bloggers that you have recently discovered
4. Contact those bloggers and tell them about their awards

Here are 8 things that I will share with you:

1. I secretly wish I lived during the 50's. I Love Lucy is my absolute favorite show (Hence our dog Lucy, and cat, Fred. There was an Ethel, but she passed away.) I just love shows from that time, movies, the fashion, styles, home decor, lifestyle, etc.
2. The only time I can fall asleep easily is if Hubby is still awake. I think this stems from when I was young I used to love drifting off to the sound of my mom washing dishes or dad watching tv. Something comforting about the presence of others I guess? I also have to have the tv on.
3. I've had the same best friend for 20+ years, we've been friends since Kindergarten. 
4. I can wiggle my ears.
5. I changed my major 4 times in college because I couldn't figure out what I wanted, but now I am a stay at home mom and I know this is what I was put on Earth to do.
6. I HATE shopping (unless it's for crafty stuff or things for G). Don't get me wrong, I love beautiful shoes, clothes, bags, etc but I lack the patience to search for them. I need a personal shopper.
7. I'm a bit of a germaphobe. Is it sad that my 1 year old knows what antibacterial hand wipes are?
8. I dream of moving to San Francisco. I visited there a few years ago with my college roommate and just fell in love. I'm trying to get the hubs out there for an anniversary trip to convince him. Wish me luck! lol

Now to the next 8 people that I would love to bestow this wonderful award to:


Denise - Stamp with Sass - Seriously amazing...I love ever thing she does!
Judith - Jay Gee's Nook - Great style, fun challenges, and a cool shop!
Sue Ann - Simply Sue Ann - Met her over at PTI, beautiful cards and she's funny to boot.
Michele - Studio MSG - Found her through The Playdate Cafe...I pretty much sit and drool/laugh while checking out her blog.
Britta - Britta Swiderski - Another 20-something paper crafter like myself, love her style and am always inspired when I leave her site! She's a Lawn Fawn lover like myself, so another +
Jessica - A Simple Kind of Life - I actually went to high school with her. Why do I love her blog? Um, because I get to see the inside of her house and we all know about how I'm a creeper like that. Plus she has great style.
Laura- Laura Vegas - When I first started crafting I reached out to her and she gave me some great ideas and encouragement. PLUS she does beautiful work, I get lots of ideas for my scrapbooking here.
Danielle - Au Claire de La Luna - She shares my name, so she's automatically awesome! PLUS she is super crafty. I love the home decor things she puts together!


That's all for now! Working on a few cards, but I've got Bunco tonight so they will have to wait til tomorrow.

4

Monday Monday

Another Monday...where did the weekend go?

Just a quick post to share the card I made for The Playdate Cafe Color Challenge.

At first I didn't know what I was going to do for the gold and silver. Then I remember I had those Perfect Pearls I've yet to use, so it worked out.   It's a mini card too, only 4x4. My apologies for how dark the picture is, but my camera is not cooperating.  After about 100 tries I just quit and had to settle for this!  It's a bit cloudy here today, so I'm going to blame the weather.

Supplies

Paper: Kraft Cardstock (PTI)

Ink: Versafine Black, Antique Linen (Distress ink)

Stamps: Mega Mixed Messages (PTI), Mini Scrapbook Series Library Ledger(PTI)

Dies: Spiral Notebook Page (PTI), Signature Series Flower(PTI)

Other: Buttons and Jute Button Twine (PTI), Perfect Pearls (Ranger)

14

Friday Funday

Today has been like, the perfect day.  Mr. G slept in until about 8, we had a lovely breakfast of waffles, did some vacuuming (he seriously loves to vacuum with me), and then went outside to play in the snow.  It was his first real time out there.  I took him out last winter when we got pounded with like 24 inches, but he was only a few months old so I doubt he remembers it.

I don't know if you heard, but I'm getting the Mother of the Year Award later for his snow boots.  Look carefully at the picture. Yes, those are plastic bags on his feet.  You see, I was ill prepared for the weather and didn't even think to get the kid snow boots.  So I improvised by putting some plastic bags over his sneakers and securing them with rubber bands.  Worked like a charm. Judge me if you must.

Next up we had a snack and nap.  Well, he napped, I uploaded pictures, drank coffee, and watched reruns of Sex and the City. 

I have been spending my free time (you know, since I have so much of it) working on a few fun things for my personal stash of goodies, as well as for my Etsy Shop.   First up, these little beauties!

Bunch of Blooms- A box of 10 hand crocheted flowers in an assortment of styles (5) and colors (about 10, not all shown). 

I've got a few other things up my sleeve, but they will have to wait until this weekend to get finished.

I am happy to report I am on day 5 of my 30 day workout plan.  Hubby has been doing it with me which makes it a whole heck of a lot easier. 

Well, I've got about 2445 loads of laundry to do, so I am off. How is it that just when I think I am caught up our hampers are full again?

4

Christmas Love

Quick post to share the card I made for hubs this Christmas. I know, it doesn't look Christmasy at all.  I just wanted to do something simple, and none of my Christmas sentiments really fit.

Off to catch a nap! I woke up in the middle of the night, and my body was so sore from working out I had trouble getting back to sleep. Darn you Jillian Michaels!!!! I also need to do some major work on my craft room to make space for my new sewing machine. I have some serious organizing to do so getting my etsy shop orders together is quick and efficient, because right now I have stuff all over the place and it's driving me nuts.

Supplies

Paper: Kraft card stock (PTI)

Stamps: Merry Little Christmas and Signature Series Flower (PTI), Just My Type Too (Lawn Fawn)

Ink: Frost White (Colorbox), Vintage Photo and Barn Door (Distress Inks)

Fun stuff: Jute button twine (PTI)

8