Thoughts from the Craftie Gal

CRAFTIEGAL IS ALIVE!

2011-06-23T12:50:00.001-04:00

Between travel, family visits, pregnancy (I'm due in January!!!), and a toddler, I have had my hands full lately. I am especially busy with my photography business which exploded during these nice summer months. I just love this vintage, classic photo I took at a recent wedding (Yup! That's right!!! I SHOT A WEDDING!). When I manage to get my head above water from all the editing, I'll share some more pictures with you, but if you can't wait then you can find some of my great new work at: www.sharonhoeg.com

Craft Along With Me - Thursday 4/21/11

2011-04-21T19:23:00.000-04:00

Every Thursday night at my house is craft night. At least, I hope that it is! For the most part my husband meets up with his brother to play board games and I finally get to my craft table(s). :) I have three. Four, if you count the card table that I annexed last week.

Getting back to the project at hand, I spend all week thinking about what I will make. Tonight's project, that you can follow along with on my twitter feed (CraftieGal) or you can read it right here in the column to your right, is a "First Year" Album for an engaged friend.

This is totally last minute.

I am going to a shower on Saturday. I have known this for several weeks. I fully intended to go to Bed Bath & Beyond and buy something for them two weeks ago. Then, I decided I would make something. Unfortunately my plans were thwarted when EVERYONE IN THE HOUSE GOT SICK, including my best friend/babysitter/fabulous craftie pal. So much for making something.

Today I went online and took a peek at their registry. It is the usual stuff. Yup, kitchen aid mixer was on there for sure. Spatulas, and the like, were prominent. Nothing fun, interesting, or exciting, even for me, who is known for making fabulous baskets of many kitchen things all put together. I just couldn't do it. Given my current commitment to hand make all of my Christmas gifts I felt like this too, was cheating.

Instead, I came home determined to make this album instead. There is still time to buy something on Saturday morning if I don't finish, right?

Friday Musings...and Other Photography Thoughts

2011-04-15T08:30:00.001-04:00

I was watching the Master's this last weekend. Did you see any of it? I don't usually watch golf, I tend to think of it as a non-sport, but I do like watching the Master's. It must be something about the green jacket!

I watched in amazement as the Saturday leader, Rory McIlroy, had a complete meltdown in Sunday's rounds. He was up by four shots going into Sunday and his play just suffered. It was like watching a black hole eat itself.

Golf is an interesting sport. You cannot blame anyone but yourself if you don't succeed. You are hardly reliant on others around you. There is rarely a heart-gripping last second shot or final touchdown drive. It is a mental game, as McIlroy illustrated, as much as anything else.

Photography is the same way. You cannot get inside your own head. You have to stay relaxed. You must still be focused. You have to wait for your moment and evaluate exposures. It's very similar to judging shot distance in golf. Choosing a lens is like choosing a club.

On Saturday I had a shoot that did not go well. It was one of the moments that just didn't come together. It was just for practice and wasn't for a client, but I just couldn't get anything going. It's the same thing McIlroy said at the end of his round on Sunday.

I realized on Sunday, after having a GREAT shoot with two sweet kids (photos soon!), that photography is as much a mental game as it is a technical art. And, like most things in life, my only opponent is myself.

Handmade Christmas: Felt Houses

2011-04-14T08:30:00.000-04:00

I was inspired by these felt houses I've seen mom's making. I know that my daughter will love hers because we spend a great deal of time just sitting in a play tent together...like several hours a day! I suppose it's more like I sit in the tent and she brings me toys for an hour or two, but that's our day! I am making several of these and you can see my sketch to see what I'm designing. So far I have just a little cat and dog coming along for the Pet Shop I'm making.

I am using a felting technique for the cat's stripes. "Felting" is a technique where you take a piece of roving wool, or, in this case, two pieces of felt, and you use needles to meld them together by poking them over and over again. It easy to learn and the results can be amazing! You can buy felting tools in the knitting/yarn section of your local craft store. There are amazing things you can make, like small creatures, finger puppets, or even just add a nifty design to a wool sweater/scarf/mittens. I love it for this project because it makes the cat feel more authentic. These animals will go in the window of the pet shop.

I am waiting for some die cut alphabet letters to arrive in the mail. I am going to use a die cut machine to cut out the titles. Things will really start moving once I get those AND when felt goes on sale! :)

Novi - Family Photography

2011-04-13T22:34:00.000-04:00

I am so fortunate to have my brother and his family living nearby. They are one of my favorite and BEST clients! Their sons turned 3 years and also 3 months old last weekend and we had a GREAT time together.

I shoot all on-location and do not keep a studio location. These pictures were taken in their home.

The giant letters were my idea. What do you think?

Michigan Family Photography: College Friends Mini-Session

2011-04-13T08:30:00.007-04:00

I love photography. I love chatting with people and finding out more about their personalities as it comes out through the camera. These two friends modeled for me on one of the nicest, but still cold, spring days, we've had recently. How nice to be outside!

Northville Child Photography: Winter Mini-Session

2011-04-12T08:30:00.000-04:00

I am so grateful for warmer weather so that we can shoot outside again. However, coats and hoods and scarves and hats really do make for great photos.

Disney Home Decor: Silhouette Portraits

2011-04-11T08:30:00.000-04:00

We are Disney fanatics. I won't deny it! On our last vacation I had them make a beautiful silhouette portrait of our 14-month-old, Emily. Isn't it sweet? It looked pretty sad and lonely on the wall by itself and so I decided to add a subtle and tasteful piece of Disney decor to go with it.

The hardest part of this project was finding an oval picture frame!!! This was the ONLY one I found and I decided to pair it with a smaller square frame. I made these outlines by using the "shadow" feature on my cricut (fancy paper cutting machine) with black paper. I used the Winnie the Pooh Cricut Cartridge. It was so quick and easy that I finished this project in less than 15 minutes. I think it took longer to find the frame!

I LOVE the way this looks on the wall in our library.

Handmade Christmas: April Update

2011-04-08T13:07:00.000-04:00

Whew! Where has the time gone??? I realize that I still have 9 months until Christmas, but it seems much closer than that. I will be posting a little next week about each of the presents I'm working on. I have decided to give ONLY handmade gifts this year for Christmas. I will write more about why and the reason later.

BIGGEST CHALLENGES

Coming up with handmade gifts for men! Unless you're knitting a golf club cover, there are very handmade gifts for men. Unfortunately, NONE of the men in my life are golfers...not grandpas, dads, brothers, or my husbands. So, all golf related gifts are pretty pointless! It has been a stretch to find things for them, but I'm working on it. I am particularly fond of a duct tape tie for my brother (he is required to wear a tie to work and I just thought that would be funny) and a "bad call brick" for my husband. You use a sponge and paint it and then he can throw it at the TV when there is a bad sports call. Those are my funny "ha ha" gifts. Luckily, my husband said his favorite gifts involve photos. I can make photo related gifts for days. I love photo related gifts...coasters, bags, scrapbooks, calendars, little books that you can put on your desk. Thanks for letting me off the hook on that one!

Keeping the rows of a quilt straight and lined up! This is my first quilt. Just as you should not cook a new meal when you have guests over, I probably shouldn't have made my first quilt a gift. Oh well. I hope the person who gets it will like it anyway! :)

Finding old board games to use for one of my gifts! I really didn't think this one would be that difficult, but, alas, three thrift stores later and NO LUCK. I finally turned to eBay to find some things and, luckily, I bought a pile of board game pieces for my project.

BIGGEST SURPRISES

Just how much I've enjoyed making everything! I am a paper crafter by desire, a photographer by training, and not ever ever a seamstress. However, I have greatly enjoyed quilting. I love laying out a quilt, apparently, and sewing it together is very peaceful. It does not involve a lot of thinking and I find it quite relaxing! WHO KNEW?! :) (you quilters probably did! ha ha!). I've also enjoyed dabbling in other crafts and it gives me great ideas for paper crafting too. I would love to use my scraps to make a "quilted" background for a scrapbook page, might try that later too. I have greatly enjoyed the quick projects, like sewing felt monsters or tiny finger puppets. Learning something knew is also appealing.

This undertaking is huge, but I am enjoying the process. These are the best kind of gifts to give. They are intensely personal and seriously thought about. I hope that people enjoy receiving them as much as I loved making them!

Ribbon Basket Tutorial

2011-03-19T08:30:00.010-04:00

Here is an easy little prop that is perfect for photos or for holidays
(or to just let your kid carry around the house):

SUPPLIES: one large ribbon, two coordinating colors of curling ribbon (you could also use grossgrain I suppose, but getting the ends curly would be tricky), one tiny basket, scissors.

I found this little basket at Joann's. I'm so glad I did because I had been looking for something this size for a while. I wrapped the handle with two colors of curling ribbon, tied it in a knot a the end, and then curled it. I used a large green ribbon to weave in and out of the side and just tied it in a simple knot. My daughter is using this one to collect felt shamrocks, but I think that different colored ribbons could make a great Halloween/Christmas/Easter/Springtime/4thofJuly basket too!

Baby Lepruchaun!

2011-03-18T08:30:00.001-04:00

I've been so inspired by the work of Adele. I don't know that I could ever be that creative (you have to check out her blog!), but I thought I'd try my hand at crafting a photo like she did! Here's my take on a baby leprechaun!

I used some felt I just bought for a future project to create this rainbow. I made the shamrock wand myself and then added a cute headband from my prop collection for St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2011-03-17T08:30:00.000-04:00

Handmade Pot of Gold!

2011-03-16T08:30:00.000-04:00

I whipped this up late on Friday night for a photo shoot on Saturday. I had a huge pile of props for the kids to play with and it resulted in some great photos (check back tomorrow for the pictures!).

SUPPLIES: black cauldron (check your Halloween supplies), shamrock garland (Joann's),

Gold Coins with shamrock print (Joann's), black fleece, stuffing, hot glue gun, scissors.

STEP 1: fill the bucket with stuffing.

STEP 2: cut a circle of black felt to fit just inside the rim of the cauldron.

STEP 3: hot glue the circle to the underside of the cauldron rim.

STEP 4: hot glue coins to top of bucket. I like them kind of overlapping the edges and not stuffed inside.

STEP 5: add decorative garland around the top of the bucket.

This is a quick and easy project and the kids LOVE IT. My daughter carried around all morning!

Mickey Mouse Skirt

2011-03-09T15:00:00.000-05:00

Let me preface this by saying that I HAVE NO SEWING SKILL WHATSOEVER. If you are a sewing person you should probably look away because it isn't pretty.

I am very proud of myself for making a skirt for my daughter!!! It actually stayed on and didn't fall apart!

Here's a quick pic of my finished work. This is a HUGE day for me. I followed it up the next night with a little dress/top and have started sewing more things. I think this is beginning of something good!

Shamrock Wands

2011-03-07T21:11:00.000-05:00

I sewed up these cute Shamrock Wands to use photo shoot props. They also make great decoration and my daughter loves to use it as her own personal shamrock wand. They are quick and easy to make, even for those with NO SEWING SKILL like myself. You do not need a sewing machine for these, but aren't they cute?

Supplies: green thread, needle, stuffing, green felt, shamrock template, fabric scissors, sharpie marker, sticks (large popsicle sticks or dowels).

(1) First, find yourself a shamrock template. I just googled it and found one that I liked.
(2) Trace your pattern on your felt. I made 5 of these. Make sure that you trace 5 one way and then flip the template to trace 5 the other way, this way the sharpie marker lines are on the inside!
(3) Cut out your templates.
(4) Match pieces together making sharpie marker lines on the inside.
(5) Hand stitch the two pieces together, leaving the stem open.
(6) Stuff a little bit of stuffing into the shamrock until they are puffy enough for your liking!
(7) Pop those shamrocks on a stick!

I am thinking of adding a little dot of hot glue to these since my daughter likes to take them apart and then hand them to me to put back together! :)

Great Birthday Gifts!

2011-03-03T08:30:00.001-05:00

My birthday was last Monday and I got a great haul of Birthday Presents!!!!! I got some cool things that I LOVE, including a whole set of pens from Stampin' UP!

My husband was sweet and got me a new die cut machine for my birthday. It cuts the large dies which is fantastic. I can't wait to make some great star garlands with new machine!

Read Across America Day - TODAY!

2011-03-02T08:30:00.002-05:00

Mostly all of the pictures I've taken of Emily reading books...with most of the people she loves in her life!

Today is also Dr. Suess's Birthday.

You should check out my previous post for a great scrapbook page with a Dr. Suess theme!

Reading Week

2011-03-01T21:17:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow is Read Across America Day. It is also Dr. Suess's birthday. I thought I would celebrate by scrapbooking some of my favorite pictures of Emily reading. Nearly all the pictures of Emily and her Dad are of the two of them reading. I think it is very important to read to children of all ages, even if they cannot talk or read themselves. We never hesitate to buy books at our house! I love this picture of them on her birthday sharing a reading moment together.

I kept this page simple because it is faster and added a few more embellishments. I made this entire page from scraps. TIP: I used my cricut cartridge to make the cool title piece on the left. What a great way to make scraps look fabulous!

Christmas 2011: Sneak Peek

2011-02-23T21:30:00.000-05:00

I was inspired recently by a No-Sew Felt House for kids that fits over a card table. I have made a pact with a friend to make all Christmas gifts by hand. They MUST be homemade and I thought these little houses would be cute for the kids in our life. Here is a sneak peek sketch of the "Pet Shop" I drew up today that I am making for my daughter. It will have felt flowers on the side that can be redesigned by my kid and a roll-up front door. I am also going to add an open/closed sign to the front. Can't wait to share the final product! Tomorrow we buy fabric!

Monster Cards

2011-02-21T20:32:00.000-05:00

Last year I joined a card club group. Part of the requirement was purchasing a minimum amount of product each month. It was great fun to sift through the catalog each month and choose what fabulous craftie thing I was bringing home. The only problem is that I still have not used many of those fabulous items! When I was looking for a quick project (Emily's nap time is only 1 hour long after all!) I came across this monster set! Here are my funny creations for your enjoyment!

WDW Name Poster

2011-02-20T12:26:00.000-05:00

Hey Friends, so this year I have made a pact with my best friend. We are hand making EVERY gift for Christmas this year (the one exception may be my husband's pile of gifts that, once wrapped, usually have to be shaped like a DVD box for him to get any use out of it).

A unique, one-of-a-kind gift that I have thought up is to spell out the names of each member in our family using letters from ride signs at Disney's Magic Kingdom in Florida. This is a place the entire family enjoys visiting. So, my question is: Would you like this AND would you prefer to receive it framed or unframed? What do you think?

Newborn Photography: South Lyon

2011-02-19T19:58:00.000-05:00

I had a chance to photograph this sweet new babe last Thursday. He was just 2 weeks and the tiniest of two week olds that I've ever seen! He was cooperative, but a little cranky about it.

DIY: Photography Yarn Blanket

2011-01-24T18:30:00.001-05:00

I looked into purchasing a yarn blanket for baby photography. It costs a ridiculous amount. Instead, I bought 7 skeins of yarn and made one myself. Here is my little tutorial:

First, find 7 skeins of yarn that kind of go together. I like these earth tone colors and that they are kind of variegated instead of just solid colors.

Our strategy was to loop the yarn about the length of our arm-span. We tied in the middle when we had a good amount and then cut all the ends so that they were just ends instead of loops.

To finish it off we took all of our yarn bunches and laid then diagonally across a pillow that was placed in a basket.

I didn't do any fancy sewing and was able to take this great picture:

Novi-Baby Photography

2011-01-23T21:44:00.000-05:00

I have been living behind my camera for the last few days. I had an awesome opportunity to photograph my new nephew. At just one week old, he was the perfect model. Here are some of my favorites.

If you are trying to get some great photos like this of your little one here is the best tip I can give you: TURN OFF YOUR FLASH & SHOOT BY A WINDOW. You will get the best light for your subject if you use natural light to shoot, especially if you have a pop-up flash or a compact camera.

As for styling your shoot, you do not need lots of fancy props, although you could head over to ETSY and find some great hats. All you really need is a blanket in a nice color. Place that on the floor and the baby on top of that. You can get some great pics without needing a lot of fancy stuff (although a basket with a pillow in isn't a bad idea either).

Photography Musings: Fundamentals Still Apply

2011-01-16T19:46:00.000-05:00

Hey Friends, as you know I dabble in photography. Every now and then I write a little something to a friend or a fellow photographer, just some thoughts, about photography. Just little things about what I am thinking and learning. I thought I would share them with you. Maybe they will resonate with your photography, maybe they will be a jumping off point for you, or maybe they will just be an interesting anecdote to share the next time you are at a cocktail party.

This week I realized that the Fundamentals Still Apply. Shutter speed and aperture make the difference, and little tweaks like ISO and flash compensation will dramatically change your photos. While I was watching two kids run around the living room I was playing with the settings on my camera phone. I get the world's worst pictures with that phone, but I figure there has to be SOMETHING I can do to change that. I realized yesterday that at some point I had increased the flash compensation by one and THAT was the reason everything was blown out or hazy. Set it back to zero and the colors were much better. Sometimes I think I make it too complicated.

I borrowed a book from the library to get some other perspective/inspiration. It is a book entirely of Michigan barns and it is all in black and white. It is okay. Most of the barns are gray looking, but Emily (my 14 month old) and I enjoyed looking at some different things. It made me appreciate the subtle differences in buildings and architecture. Something to consider next time I shoot.

Photography at Home

2010-12-15T22:04:00.000-05:00

Plagued by unreasonable cold weather the photographer was forced to shoot the outdoors from indoors.

Emily in the Snow

2010-12-14T15:30:00.003-05:00

Saturday was my daughter's second time in the snow. She did not like it. She was okay, at first. Then, she just started to cry. I managed to get a few quick photos before I had to take her back inside! She looked totally adorable in her snowsuit.

Photo Tip: Don't be afraid to get in close when shooting, even in the winter. I know our tendency is to try and capture the snow and all of the wintry wonderland, but I think that you and I both know that it was cold and snowy in this picture, even if you can't see it.

Should you buy an SLR camera?

2010-12-13T15:48:00.000-05:00

Friends, if you are trying to get great pictures of your kids you need an SLR camera. Because of the technology in an SLR camera, which I will not bore you with here, it can take a picture much faster than a regular point and shoot. That means that you are able to focus on Joshua AND take a picture, before he runs away. The inter-changeable lenses are extremely useful for getting in close and taking detail pictures.

I highly recommend the Nikon D40, which is what I shoot with, if you are looking for an entry-level (and affordable) SLR camera. The one drawback that may put you off is that it does not have a "live view" which means you have to use the eye piece to take a picture and cannot rely on the handy view screen on the back of the camera. You can still preview all your pictures, but you cannot view it as you take it. If that is a deal breaker and you have the money, I recommend the Nikon D90. There are several other popular models including the Canon G12 that come highly recommended.

I suggest reading some reviews first to find the camera that's best for you. The link in the last sentence will take you to a great buying guide if you are still searching for the perfect camera.

Remember, a great camera will help a great photographer, but a great camera does not a great photographer make.

Holiday Tag Workshop

2010-12-13T08:30:00.000-05:00

Saturday, I was so fortunate to have spent the morning with good friends (craftie people!), good food (thank you panera!), and good crafting (thank you Melissa!).

I hosted a little Stampin' Up workshop at my house and asked if we could make holiday tags as our projects. Here are some of the great things we made:

I dream about this vintage ribbon. (above)

This cute reindeer is actually made using the sweet owl punch. We just cut the legs off the owl!

The antlers are a snowflake! What a cute idea.

Styling Your Winter Photo Shoot

2010-12-11T16:15:00.002-05:00

Hey Friends, I had a chance to get out a few weeks ago and shoot some great pictures of two models at a little village near my house. What a great time we had. This is a great season to be shooting hats, scarves, gloves, mittens, and jackets. "Snow weather" is friendly for photography, even though it is cold. Here are three tips for styling your winter photo shoot.

(1) Choose jackets with colors that POP. Red, especially, is a wintertime favorite. I highly recommend it. You can take pictures of face or you can capture the warmth of the season like in this photo by shooting just the coat.

(2) Use funky hats! Winter is all about getting to wear your craziest knit hat and scarf combo so play it up and use them in your photos.

(3) For outfits or jackets that don't really do much in the "color pop" department, shoot in black and white or change your photos later when you edit. The photo above, for example, didn't really do much for me in color. The coat was gray, the house was a weird green, and the colors all together didn't really work well. In black and white, however, this picture is MAGIC!

Christmas Card

2010-12-10T22:35:00.000-05:00

Every year I make a ridiculous number of Christmas cards for my Dad. Here is his 2010 card!

He always requests something religious, so I chose this stamp of the Holy Family. It is heat embossed with gold embossing powder. I used the Zing! embossing powder for this card. For whatever reason I always have a hard time finding a good gold embossing powder. I am very happy with the Zing! line. This one heats up nicely and provides a smooth finish.

I used the Storybook Cricut Cartridge to create the interior shapes. I used the swiss dot embossing plate with the sizzix for the background. TIP: When attaching an embellishment (in this case my stamped and mounted Holy Family) to an embossed paper, use glue dots instead of regular adhesive. This gives it a little dimension, but also helps keep things stuck together!!!

I ran into a little problem when assembling these cards. Anytime I tried to put adhesive on the embossed piece or the piece it was mounted to, I ended up flattening the embossed dots along the adhesive line! To attach these pieces I suggest assembling in this order: put glue on red bases, place white pieces over them; using glue dots put stamped shape on embossed piece; put glue on main card base, place finished piece on that. If you are a picky craftie, like me, then assemble in that order to get a perfect card.

These cards came together very easily and quickly. Here's my tip for making a large number of cards go together easily: when you get ready to "build" you card on your card base, use a heavy duty glue stick. I like the Scotch mega glue stick. It goes on purple, dries clear, and is so much less expensive than using your everyday adhesive. These are cards after all. Some people, those people who don't get it, will probably throw them away after Christmas. I wouldn't waste good adhesive on them. :)

Total Supply List: Red & white paper, Zing embossing powder, heat embosser (a hair dryer does not count!), watermark stamp pad, Holy Family stamp, storybook cricut cartridge + cricut, swiss dot embossing plate + die cut/embossing system (sizzix, cuttlebug, etc.), paper trimmer, adhesive, glue dots, pre-folded cards and envelopes (find these at Michael's...$10 for 25!!!) and a mega glue stick.

*WHEW* Who knew I had that much to write about this card!

Photo Workshop: Background Blur

2010-12-07T19:41:00.002-05:00

Hey friends, next time you are getting a delicious dessert (these are from the Gathering Place in downtown Northville, MI) take a great picture with these tips:

(1) Get down eye-level with your plate.
(2) Use a second dessert in the background (If you have one...they don't have to be the same)
(3) Get in close on your dessert, but make it slightly off-center in the frame.
(4) Focus on the closest dessert and if you have an slr camera or a point-and-shoot (that is set to portrait mode and you are shooting from far away and zoomed IN really close), the background should blur.

You'll be left with a deliciously tempting photograph!

Weekend Projects - 12/4

2010-12-05T21:42:00.002-05:00

I am focused on only one thing this weekend: the 150 Christmas Cards I'm making for my Dad!!! I only have 70 to go!

I also found time to finish up four cards for myself. I went through all the cards I made this year. There are quite a few. I am in several card clubs and like to go to workshops. With all the cards I made I had just enough (12) to send to immediate family. I am not sending dozens of cards this year. It is too much work! Let's get real for a second: People send cards so they can send you a photo and since all I've been told this holiday season is that "I can see your pictures on facebook" (which also resulted in my finding 4 new gifts for Christmas at the last minute!) I decided that no one really needed a card with photo and life update memo. Instead, I am sending some very creative handmade cards to our immediate family and that's it.

Anyway, just popped in to give you my weekend update. I am off to heat emboss 70 more cards. Remind me next year to design a card with NO HEAT EMBOSSING. :)

Christmas Cookies: Crinkles Recipe

2010-12-04T13:35:00.001-05:00

To all you loyal blog readers, I am posting the recipe for our favorite Christmastime Cookie: The Chocolate Crinkle

These are deliciously chocolately and do not require nearly the work of fancier cookies (like gingerbread...OH I LOVE GINGERBREAD but they take so darn long to make!)

Enjoy!

CHOCOLATE CRINKLES
3/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
6 oz bag choc. chips
3/4 cup powdered sugar, for dusting

Mix butter, cocoa and sugar.
In medium size bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Mix eggs and vanilla into butter.
Slowly mix flour mixture into butter/egg/sugar mixture.
Stir in choc. chips
Refrigerate dough 2 hrs or overnight.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Roll dough into 1" balls and roll into powdered sugar.
Space 2'' apart on ungreased cookie sheet. (Cookies will flatten on their own.)
Bake 12 minutes.
Makes 25-30 cookies.

Shrinky Dink Bracelets

2010-12-03T22:09:00.001-05:00

I have been trying to find my craftie groove again. I greatly enjoyed this little project.

Using the "Greeting Card Kids" stamps by Stampin' UP and some shrinky dink materials, my friend and I made little charms for a bracelet. (In this picture you can see a full size version and how small they get when they shrink!!!)

Here's what to do:

(1) Stamp your favorite stamps using a quick dry ink like Staz-On on your shrinky-dink materials.
(2) Color in your stamps with sharpie markers. The colors will get darker when you shrink them, so keep that in mind!
(3) Punch a hole for your jump ring.
(4) Cut out your stamp. These can get sharp when they have corners, so try to keep everything more smooth and rounded.
(5) Shrink!!!!
(6) Use a jump ring and add your cute charms to a bracelet.

You can find bracelet materials for around $2-3 a piece at Michael's.

The Daily Digi with Dip - Dec 3

2010-12-03T19:53:00.004-05:00

Today it is snowing out, so Dip decided to snuggle up in a blanket and get cozy in the library.

Daily Digi with Dip - Dec 1

2010-12-01T10:30:00.002-05:00

Dip plays the piano

Once a day I am taking a picture of this silly dinosaur.

You can have some fun too. Join my photography challenge for December!
Post a link to your "daily photo" below! More details can be found here.

December Photo Project

2010-12-01T08:30:00.005-05:00

Yesterday I posted about my brain going to sleep. I have struggled for a year to find a way to wake it up. I am very grateful to Chris Diset, an amazing photographer and good friend who introduced me to photography in a way I had never seen it before.

I was a snapshot photographer. You know the type. They take pictures of every sign, every meal, every ride entrance, every rest stop, and nearly every tree. I never understood all the mechanics of photography, but I knew I wanted more out of my camera and so began an amazing journey into this awesome art form, but also my brain's journey from asleep to awake.

As a result, I am starting a monthly photography challenge on my blog to help you do the same thing. Maybe you feel like you do the same thing every day. Maybe you feel uncreative. Maybe you are just plain bored. Whether you have scrappers block or just can't find another fish dish for dinner, I think I can help. It helped me and I hope that it can help you.

Check out the details on my new page (above): Wake Up Your Brain!

Has your brain gone to sleep?

2010-11-30T16:14:00.002-05:00

I don't mean "Are you in a coma?"...I mean: Are you a mom, retired, or currently on bed rest from some reason and your mind is asleep?

You know what I'm talking about. It's that thing that happens when you can't get to your craft table for a few days and you feel a withdrawal. It's that thing that happens when you've cooked the same meal over and over again for dinner and you don't want to eat it anymore. It's that thing that happens when you feel like you just can't possibly drag yourself out of bed to do the same thing over again that you have done every day before (and I'm talking about more than the laundry).

Your brain has gone to sleep.

I think that I suffered this problem (mine is motherhood induced) about 2 weeks into my child's life when I realized just how boring it was. I know what you are thinking! Children are a blessing, you will tell me, this stage will pass, you will add. Yes, I agree, and one year later I understand it a little bit better, but maybe, just maybe I have a point too. I can't read the same 5 books over and over and again. I can't change diapers constantly. It just gets old.

I was a mom who had a job and a career and plans! I got me some learnin' and I was armed with all the confidence that two parents could pour into one person. I could be anything I wanted in life! And then, I had a kid. All of that sort of came to halt and it was a joyous occasion, but, like most things, there were some unintended consequences.

You know what I'm talking about.

Maybe for you it was something different. You changed careers to something less interesting, you retired and found you had nothing to do anymore, or you became a mom and your identity got stolen by your baby.

And Your Brain Went to Sleep.

Are you ready to wake it up?

Baby Photography in Michigan!

2010-11-27T21:38:00.003-05:00

I had a wonderful opportunity to do a

mini-shoot with some family friends.

These are some of my favorites.

If you have some great ideas for holiday photos I'd love to hear about them.

Here's my tip: Find a cute outfit...and shoot some fun stuff in your own kitchen!

New Photos Are Coming....

2010-11-22T21:00:00.003-05:00

Hey Friends! I am on a photography HIGH right now! I had my good friend and amazing photographer Chris Diset visiting us for the last week. We had a great time shooting together and I was so very pleased to actually BE in some photos with my daughter! I have so many wonderful things to show you. I can't wait. I'm going to edit them right now, but here's a sneak peek of a maternity photo I took of my sweet sister-in-law last Sunday.

Engagement Photo Shoot - Plymouth, MI

2010-10-19T22:15:00.007-04:00

If you've been following my blog you know that I have started doing more and more photography. One of my friends suggested I keep my blog updated with my latest photography endeavors as I am shooting more and more and crafting less and less (it IS a cheaper hobby after all).

Last weekend I had a chance to photograph a few friends as an engagement photo shoot. They were great fun to work with and brought some wonderful ideas along with them. Here are a few of my favorites.

SCRAP Projects

2010-08-24T08:30:00.000-04:00

Today is August 24. I just realized that I am woefully behind in my quest to finish 100 projects made only from things I already own.

I was lucky enough to have my mom visiting last week and we managed to steal a few hours for crafting, even with a 9-month-old around!

I created this little card set to give to a lucky friend using Stampin' Up's stamps and punches and some scrap paper from another project.

My tip of the day: Circle punches are your friend. Buy them in several sizes to layer sweet stamps to make these great cards.

Monday Mission 8/23/2010 - Use a Stamp!

2010-08-23T08:30:00.000-04:00

Today's Mission:

USE YOUR STAMPS

I have had several stamp sets floating around (I am still finding some of them even!) and many of them I have not used. So today's mission is to take 15 minutes, find a stamp, and USE IT. Make a little card. The dimensions for this little card are 3 1/4" x 4 3/4" (the base should be 9 1/2" x 3 1/4" and then fold in half) and I made it using things I already own!

Weekend Projects - 8/22

2010-08-22T15:54:00.002-04:00

Weekend Projects

I have a lot of miscellaneous stuff going on, but I'm already getting ready for the holidays. Here's my list:

Sample recipe book for purchase
Mini card sets to give as gifts (photos coming this week!)
Home decor pieces for the laundry room
Watching my mom make curtains (I can't really say I am "helping" with this, but I am at least sitting here
Sample Christmas card for my Dad (I make his cards every year)

Penguin Tag...and some craftie thoughts

2010-07-14T20:40:00.003-04:00

Dear 9 Followers,

I think about you daily. I know that you are out there following me and I feel badly for not posting more often. I know that what I will say sounds like an excuse, but I've moved and gone on vacation all within the last month. It's been a long month. :) So, this project is dedicated to you.

I love you!

The Craftie Gal

NOTES ON THE ABOVE PROJECT: I joined a stamp club a while back. It should probably be renamed "stamp manipulation club." The concept is great. Go to someone else's house (no cleaning!), make crafts, buy $20 worth of stuff each month. Except you and I both know that neither of us would buy ONLY $20 worth of stuff. I also discovered that I also buy things are not on my list, not related to a project I'm working on in any way, but, instead, are an excuse to just "buy something fun."*

This week one of the make-and-take projects was a tag. The workshop hostess had several stamps for us to choose from and said offhandedly, "I guess you probably wouldn't use this penguin...unless you put red on him or something." I took that as a personal challenge and made the above little tag! I am sometimes a craftie rebel.

All of the above products are from that evil little conspiracy called Stampin' Up. I mean "evil" with all the love in the world because they are a great little company with fantastic stamps and great ideas and great demonstrators, but they are not so easy on the pocketbook!!!

*this is not a bad idea, but you can't do it every time!

Photography: Trash the Dress Shoot

2010-06-22T08:30:00.000-04:00

A recent phenomenon among brides is to do a "day after shoot" or a "trash the dress" shoot where they get some stunning and interesting photos in their dress at an unconventional location. The brave and the bold end up with some gorgeous shots of themselves and their dress.

I had the privilege of shooting with Chris Diset Photography and Joelle Leder Photography last week on just a shoot, with my fabulous sister-in-law Jess W at Laguna Beach. You might remember Chris from the photo shoot he did with my daughter a few months back. It was great to meet up again and take on this new project.

I do not have a lot of experience with photography. I am still learning all the buttons on my camera! This was a great opportunity to learn from two really great professionals.

I got a great tip from Chris: you should always shoot your photo wide, just a little bit. Did you know that your digital camera is taking a picture for a 4x6 ratio print? That means that if you want to print it as an 8x10 you will have to crop some of your photo. Even if you have the perfect photo framed in your camera you should shoot your picture just a little bigger so you don't have to cut anyone's head off for an 8x10 print!

There is a lot to think about when you are taking a "really great" photo. :) The most important thing is light. You can underexpose or overexpose a photo pretty easily and you can only rescue it so much in photoshop! That didn't stop me from trying to save this great look from Jess:

We were shooting in direct sun most of the day and the shadows in the middle of the day are hard to contend with. Here are two more of my favorites:

Monday Mission - 6/19

2010-06-21T08:30:00.000-04:00

Today's Mission:

TAKE SOME PHOTOS

I don't care where you are or what you're doing, but take 15 minutes, get out your camera and take some photos. They don't have to be fancy or artistic, but they should reflect your life. What are you doing today? What have you been working on? Do you have flowers growing, tomatoes popping out or an empty plot of dirt that you are planting? Do you have a closet that needs cleaning, a car that is a mess, or a garage full of boxes? Is your kid off for the summer, making a mess in the backyard, or eating drippy ice cream cones?

No matter what you are doing today, even if it is just errand day, take your camera along. Photograph your kids in the car, the bags in the trunk, the list in your hand. Take pictures of a sink full of dishes, the dirty pans after dinner, or the table set and ready. Take pictures of your unmade bed, the bugs in the yard, or the trash from your recent move.

These are the photos that make up your life!

So, get out there!!! CAPTURE TODAY!

Photography Tips for Baby & Kids: Get Low

2010-06-19T01:39:00.004-04:00

I've written in the past about my tips for newborn photography, the importance of actually printing your photos, and getting detail shots of babies.

Once you get some of those techniques down, try changing the perspective of your photos and "Get Low."

Dropping the camera for the above shot adds movement and motion to the shot. In the below picture it puts you at eye level with the baby, looking her right in the eye. This doesn't mean you have to lay on the ground, like I did to get this shot. You can hold your camera down low and shoot up to get the same look.

By the way, it's not just good for babies and kids, but a great way to capture drama for a photo like this:

My NEW Craft Space!

2010-06-01T11:00:00.003-04:00

We are finally moved! The unpacking has begun! I still can't find anything!

And my craft space looks like this:

Monday Mission 6/10/10 - Scraps!

2010-05-10T14:30:00.000-04:00

After my post this morning I thought that this Monday mission would be perfect!

Take 15 minutes and round up all your scraps in one place.
Throw away anything that is too small to use!

5 Tips for Organizing & Using Your Scrap Paper!

2010-05-10T08:30:00.000-04:00

I love to save my scrap paper when crafting. I never used it before I organized it. I would bet that you probably have a box of scraps hiding somewhere in your scrapbook stash too. Whether you save your scraps because you want to recycle or you want to save money, every crafter faces the challenge of how to store them and how much to keep! Here are my 5 tips for saving, sorting, and storing your scrapbook paper scraps! Once you do, you’ll be able to use them to make some fabulous projects!

(1) Start by getting rid of the small stuff!!! I’m starting with this one because parting with even the tiniest of scraps is so hard for me. I always think that maybe I will use it with a tiny punch or make a page of short and skinny stripes. I didn’t, so don’t keep the small stuff. Anything smaller than 3x3 is probably too small. You can’t use it on your cricut and you can’t get a good size tag punched out of it. I PROMISE that you will never make that page and never make those tags! LOL! In fact, not only have I never made a page using the tiniest of scraps, but when I do want to make a page where I could use the tiniest of scraps I end up reaching for the largest of scraps anyway. I bet you do too! It’s faster and easier. If you need permission to get rid of your scraps I’m here to help. I give you permission to throw away the tiniest of scraps!
(2) Now that you’ve gotten rid of all the small stuff you need to get organized. Sort your scraps the same way you sort your paper. If you do not have a way of sorting paper I suggest you sort by color! I have a lot of scrapbook friends in a lot of online communities and only one person does not sort by color. Some people not only sort by color (red, orange, yellow, blue, green, purple, black, white, brown, pink), but also make separate categories for: glitter, Christmas, bazzill, textures, and other themes or holidays. I use a separate stack for printed papers too.
(3) Next, make your scraps usable! Cut off all the uneven edges. Make your scraps into rectangles or at least make them all have straight edges. It will be so easy to use a scrap on a cricut mat or as a photo mat if you are dealing with straight lines! This part will be tedious, so go find your favorite TV show and watch that while you cut up your paper. J

(4) And now, the toughest of challenges: how to store those scraps! You have lots of options for storing your scraps:

rolling drawers so they are easy to get to and easy to put away (my choice!) http://thecraftiegal.blogspot.com/2010/03/organizing-scraps.html

Notebook with clear pages Folder in a filing drawer
Accordion folder
2 gallon plastic bag and then stored with full size papers
Mail sorter box http://www.flickr.com/photos/taniawillis/2295545232/
Cropper Hopper plastic paper organizers http://www.flickr.com/photos/39452456@N04/4487479191/

(5) Once you’ve gotten everything sorted out and organized you can use your scraps to make some great projects! Scraps can be used for: Titles, paper piecing, cards, photo mats, embellishments, backgrounds, and more!

Using scraps when crafting can really free you to do some amazing things. I challenged myself to make a scrapbook layout using only scraps. I made this page in under 15 minutes. Have you ever done this? It is not as hard as it seems, especially when your scraps are organized! http://thecraftiegal.blogspot.com/2010/03/15-minute-page.html

Just for you, I made this great page the other night out of scraps.

All my scrapbook stuff is packed and ready for a move, except my scraps. I love the way it turned out. You don’t need fancy things to make a page with scraps. I printed the lettering on the computer and cut the hearts out freehand. All you need to make this is: computer & printer for title (or use scrap letters!), scissors, adhesive, and scraps!

If you are a card maker you should definitely keep your scraps because you can make great cards, but only if you can get all your scraps to coordinate! Ha ha. http://thecraftiegal.blogspot.com/2010/04/scrap-card.html

I hope that this helps you get your scraps organized so that you can start to use them to make some great things. Thanks for letting me share my thoughts with you! You can do it! I know you have a box of scraps hiding somewhere. Free yourself from those scraps and let the creativity flow!

Simple Birthday Card

2010-05-02T08:45:00.001-04:00

This card was designed by Melissa for our biweekly card club. I love the simplicity of it and, of course, how well everything coordinates. I am obviously a very messy stamper since I did not stamp the sentiment straight! OOPS! Stampin' Up offers a really great white stamp pad that you can use to get this same look on your cards!

Inspiring People

2010-05-01T15:30:00.000-04:00

I wrote yesterday about people who inspire you and how important and creatively challenging it is to share with others who like to make stuff like you do. My point was that you need to be with other people who make stuff!

Here's the thing: They don't have to make the same crafts at you!

For the last few years or so, I've had a group of gals meet at my house for "craft time." There were never any predefined projects or any restrictions on what you can make. What resulted was an eclectic group of crafters getting together to make stuff.

And I mean all kinds of stuff! Knitting, scrapbooking; card making; clay beads; jewelry; elaborate costumes that involved painting, cardboard construction, and sewing; fleece hats; bead creatures; painting of all kinds on canvas, wood, fabric, and just about any surface they could get their hands on; doodling; drawing; dioramas; and more.

You'd think that as a paper crafter I would look at them and say, "What are you doing here?" but instead I found myself inspired by them.

They would take things and put them together in different ways, combining stamping with collages and combining sewing with paper crafting. They would say to themselves, "Let's try that" and "Why not?" They were limited only by their imaginations and never by the products or the materials or even the craziness of the idea.

As a result I found myself saying, "I can try that too!" and I started cutting things up and doing more mixed media and altered art projects. I started saving weird things to put in scrapbooks like clothing and seashells. I knew I could figure out how to incorporate them into what I was making.

I soared with a creative freedom I never felt before.

You need to be in a group of people like that too. Find them, seek them out, and if you cannot, drag your friends into your hobby with you. Let them interpret what "craft time" means. You'll all be better for it.

Dinosaur Card

2010-05-01T08:45:00.001-04:00

My friend Heidi G. made this cute card for a card swap. She used the cricut dinosaur cartridge and a sizzix texture plate to create the dinosaur. It just goes to show that you really can't have too many die cut machines. :)

SUPPLIES: cricut with dinosaur cricut cartridge, leaf stamp (hero arts), green stamp pad, sizzix with bubble texture plate, letter stamps, brown stamp pad, white scrap paper, two coordinating shades of blue cardstock.

Random thoughts on Creativity

2010-04-30T15:30:00.000-04:00

You should always have people in your life who challenge you....intellectually, physically (your personal trainer or yoga instructor...ha ha!), and especially creatively! I started going to card club for a bi-weekly craftie "fix," but mostly for social time! What I found there was the ability to say, "I can try that!" Glitter was not my friend, water color pencils were a waste of time, and card making seemed like too much for work for so little reward. You MAIL THEM TO OTHER PEOPLE for crying outloud! You don't even keep them! However, what I found was a freedom to try some new things and that freedom led to a new found creative energy and spirit. I hope that you have people like this in your life. PS: They don't even have to do the same crafts as you....more on this tomorrow.

Scrap Card!

2010-04-30T08:45:00.001-04:00

I love using scraps on projects and this card came out wonderfully. The design is by my friend Melissa. She is lucky to have coordinating scraps. I can't ever seem to coordinate them that well!

SUPPLIES: 4 coordinating scraps, trimmer, border punch, ribbon, sentiment stamp, brown stamp pad, adhesive, heart punch.

PS: Check out her take on yesterday's sketch!

Photo Tip Friday: Check Your Camera!

2010-04-30T07:58:00.002-04:00

So, my photo tip today is an obvious one.

When you leave the house check your camera for your memory card BEFORE you leave.

When you are halfway done with your walk and you want to take a picture of your daughter holding a pine cone you will thank me.

My First Sketch!

2010-04-28T08:45:00.002-04:00

I know that many scrapbookers like to use sketches to create pages. I got some great tips from Gloria. I was admiring her sketches over at Practical Scrappers and she kindly gave me a little advice on turning my crude hand sketches into fabulous digital ones. So, here's my first sketch to get you going if you are lacking inspiration today!

Practical Scrappers

2010-04-27T08:45:00.000-04:00

I'm a big fan of using what you already own. In fact, you might know that my goal this year was to make 100 projects using ONLY things I already own. I have had great fun digging through my project files and finding amazing papers and embellishments to use.

I greatly admire the gals over at Practical Scrappers for their encouragement and inspiration to use the things you own. You should check out their weekly challenges to help you get use out of that stuff you bought!

Moving Day is Coming!

2010-04-26T21:27:00.001-04:00

We are packing to move. Why I packed the craftie stuff first I don't know!!! I got a little fix today at my bi-weekly card club, but I am getting twitchy (and possibly crabby) without my craft time!

I did keep out one set of things to make cards for a card swap (photo tomorrow?!) and the sewing machine is still plugged in. Unfortunately, I seem to get all my best ideas when everything is packed!

In the meantime I am feeling inspired by ZukZuk's ETSY shop. I just LOVE the bears and the colors. I find it so inspiring.

I'm going to go dig through my scraps and see if I can't throw SOMETHING together even with everything packed and I have to do it less than 30 minutes because I desperately need to sleep!

Could you make something if all you had was your trimmer, paper, and adhesive? That's enough for a page, right?

PS: The good news is that in our fabulous new place I will have my own bright and cheery craft space WITH A BIG WINDOW and HEAT! :)

Photographing the Little Things

2010-04-20T08:30:00.000-04:00

I love Emily's eyelashes! They are so long and exquisite! I find myself staring at them while she eats wondering if they will look smaller when her head gets bigger. If you have a baby at home I hope that you get down close and photograph the little things like ears, eyelashes, and, of course, fingers and toes.

MY TIPS: Get in close with your camera. Use natural light. When you are done snapping away, run your photo through Shutterfly's photo software, Photoshop Essentials, or some other program to make your photo black and white and to adjust the contrast and color. I also cropped out nonessential face parts, like the other eye, because I was solely focused on those beautiful lashes!

This is my favorite photo from the last two months!

How Does a Robot Say I LOVE YOU!?!

2010-04-19T08:30:00.000-04:00

Moving Day is just 2 weeks away! I have packed most of my craft supplies. That job was bigger than I expected! I tried to throw out and give away as much as I could to get rid of things I will never use.

As I was packing I had to finish cards for a swap. I made this little guy. I got a great set of robot stamps from Stampin' Up and made this layout and the card above.

I did a little watercolor to get him the right color. I imagine this card to read: 01001010100101 with the inside saying "Is how a robot says 'I Love You.'" It is always such a challenge to make a card good for a guy, but I think that this gets the job done.

SUPPLIES: Robot Set from Stampin' Up, black ink pad, watercolor pencils, watercolor brush pen, adhesive, scissors, red pen.

Photo Tip Friday: Photographing Babies

2010-04-16T10:06:00.004-04:00

Photography Tips for Photographing Babies:
Experiment with different rotations of your pictures. You don't have to rotate everything!
Take a lot of photos, use natural light, turn off your flash

My daughter is now 4 1/2 months old and I am having endless fun photographing her.
She is not yet sitting up by herself and for this shot she was laying on the floor. I could have rotated the picture after taking it to make her laying on the floor OR you can leave it this way and it looks great. She was very wiggly so getting a good shot was difficult.

For you digital scrapbookers, there's some great space on the side for journaling.

Compare it to the original shot:

Chip & Dale Page!

2010-04-15T09:34:00.000-04:00

My finest work ever? No. On a page? YES!

I made the acorn by hand and ran it through a sizzix texture plate to give it that great bumpy look for the top. Also, when I found this paper part of it was torn, but it was the PERFECT paper. Solution? Tear some more places along the edges! I love the look of it now! Scrapbook lesson of the day: embrace the flaws in your paper or products and even your photos. It could make your page even better!

Can I properly do justice to or journal this fabulous dinner? Never. But I tried.

Robot Scrapbook Page!

2010-04-14T09:21:00.002-04:00

While in the midst of major scrapper's block my husband said, "Make me a page with robots on it." So this was what I came up with. Now, I do not have a boy. I have a girl. So, I do not have any photos for this page. However, I do picture either a few horizontal 4x6s down the left side or one big 5x7. I left some blank strips on the right for journaling.

SUPPLIES: Stampin' Up Robot stamps; scrap paper!!!; circle punches; versamark ink; black stamp pad; adhesive; Font: Computerfont

Crystal Palace WDW Scrapbook Page!

2010-04-13T12:52:00.003-04:00

*CLICK THE PHOTO ABOVE TO VIEW THE WHOLE LAYOUT!*

Okay, so this is not my finest work ever and for some reason I couldn't get it to photograph well either. However, these photos are ON A PAGE where someone can actually LOOK AT THEM.

I experimented with stitching which was kind of fun, but once I stitched the curvy parts on the left I had a hard time balancing the page.

My favorite part has to be the leaves which I cut freehand. Then, I folded them in half and while they were folded in half I folded all the veins by folding the top part of the leaf down one little piece at a time. I LOVE the way these leaves came out nice and textured and gave this page some dimension.

All my letters and the scrolled die cut on the bottom left came from the Storybook cricut cartridge. I LOVE the versatility of this cartridge and have used it on nearly every project I've done since I got it. It has great shapes, a great font, and some great accents. You'll be seeing it again! To coordinate with the bottom left pink piece I hand cut the top right piece. It just needed a little more color up there and I stitched those up on my sewing machine for some more texture and to tie the whole page together.

If I could do it again I would reshuffle this page a little bit and leave off the extra stitching on the side of the paper, but I am not a believer in redoing scrapbook pages. They are what they are and you should be looking at the pictures anyway!

PS: Just one more project I made using things I already owned!!!!

My Sketch: Revealed!

2010-04-04T22:25:00.003-04:00

I am happy to announce that one of my sketches got chosen the Creative Scrappers Birthday Celebration! You can see what one designer did with it here.

Black & White Baby!

2010-04-02T17:47:00.005-04:00

This photo simply could not be improved upon, but I sure did enjoy coming up with this black and white scrapbook layout using Little Yellow Bicycle stamps. I cut out the butterflies to give it a 3-D effect. I also experimented by stamping the swirls and then cutting around them to create a giant photo corner (or photo side?) and slipped the photo underneath.

I made all the embellishments on this page with stamps. The paper line I love so much had a coordinating stamp set. I bought the girl set (and ordered the boy set a week ago!). I love the way this turned out with stamps and I plan on using them much more in my layouts! Can you imagine a background of those butterflies with glitter or embossed with something sparkly?!

I love this photo. It is me and the baby in the SAME PHOTO. I always seem to be the one behind the camera!

I would love to hear how you are using stamps in your layouts. Leave me a comment!

Cleaning Out My Craftie Space

2010-03-30T20:51:00.002-04:00

There is a lot of junk in there. Who let me buy all this stuff?

In case you have not heard, we are moving! Hooray! We found a great big beautiful house with a nice yard and the best part is....Nope, not the craftie space waiting just for me....it is just 4 houses up the street from the grandparents! HOORAY! Now I can send the baby to the grandparents for the day and get so much more stuff created! :)

In the meantime, I am going through a bunch of my stuff and throwing out things that are garbage and giving away a lot of stuff including paper and lots of tools that I don't use anymore.

When was the last time you looked at your stash of stuff? Take one box or a small corner and just free yourself of the things you don't need! I am only moving things I LOVE or NEED/USE. I am not taking anything that I don't think about regularly (do you have a fiskars embossing pad that you use because I don't think I've ever even touched mine).

I have also decided to rid myself of anything other than paper crafting suppliesand a few sewing projects. There is no point in keeping those other projects. My basement looks like I've read one too many Martha Stewart magazines, if you know what I mean.

I am a scrapbooker at heart, an altered artist in spirit, and a card maker when I have to be. I'm only going to keep things for that calling and let everything else find its way to a good home.

So that is why I am not posting. I have NOT been buried under a pile of scrapbooks.......yet. :) I'll keep you posted on my progress.

Monday Mission 3/8/2010 - Post a Comment

2010-03-08T08:30:00.000-05:00

Today's Mission - March 8th

Spend ONLY 15 minutes and go post a comment on a blog!

As a blogger I live for the moment I find out I have a comment! It is almost the only proof we have that someone actually reads this stuff! This is not a shameless plug for you to leave a comment on my blog! There are LOTS of great blogs out there and all those people should know their projects are cool! You can check out all the other blogs I follow and find one that you love!

Weekend Projects -3/6

2010-03-06T08:30:00.000-05:00

My sister has been visiting me this past week. Unfortunately, I have to say good-bye today. I will try to not miss her too much by keeping busy with these projects:

Dig up photos for last concert I went to so I can finish those pages!
Print birthday photos
Make some altered blocks!

What are you working on this weekend?

No New Post Today

2010-03-05T07:52:00.002-05:00

Ironic, that if I write a post titled "No New Post Today" I am actually writing a new post today. :)

Regardless, my sister is in town and we are having a great time together. So far she has made some awesome pretzels and served us a gourmet meal.

I am caught up in having some fun with her and I'm still finishing some new things to show you, so no new inspiration today from me. However, you should check out this blog for some great scrapbook inspiration: http://www.practicalscrappers.com/ I especially LOVE the idea to ink your embossing plates (use chalk ink) before you emboss! Enjoy!

The Green Chair Scrapbook Layout

2010-03-04T08:30:00.001-05:00

Our daughter provides no end of inspiration for scrapbook layouts and photo opportunities. This page is brought to you by her bumbo chair.

I love to collage photos so I started to experiment with different lines and shapes for collages, like using a wave as an edge to this collage.

I also must really love that scallop punch because I used it on three layouts last week! I am putting this layout opposite this page in her album.

Supplies: white, black, green, pink paper; striped paper by Doodlebug; flower punch, black stickles, scallop punch, cuttlebee scissors, black pen, adhesive, cricut (Don Juan cartridge), glue pen, circle punch, rub-ons (doodlebug).

I also made this layout using everything I already own! One more project down on my 100 projects list!!!

Organizing Scraps!

2010-03-03T08:30:00.000-05:00

On Monday I mentioned that it's a lot easier to throw together a quick page if your scraps are organized. I used to keep all my scraps in those big 12x12 bins. You know, the ones that now cost like $8.99 EACH! I'll admit that I rarely cleaned up after myself too. So instead of putting scraps away I just put them in a box and then I would dig through a box to find what I wanted. That wasn't very efficient.

Also, most of the time I scrapbook in the basement. There is plenty of room and everything is organized. This time of year the basement is only good for scrapbooking if you are a penguin (just pause for a second and picture scrapbooking penguins...it will brighten your day...how would they hold scissors?). Since I am neither penguin nor polar bear I move my "most often used" supplies to the dining room to craft during the winter.

When I put it that way I sound like a migratory bird.

Anyway, I had to do something to round up all that scrap, especially with my 100 Projects Challenge in effect!

My solution

Yes, it's a $50 solution that I bought at amazon, but it's still cheaper than those 12x12 boxes. You can also get it in multi-color drawers if you want some color in your space.

There are 10 drawers which meets my color needs exactly: pink, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, black, white, brown/neutral.

These drawers are deep enough to hold all my scraps. It is both easy to find paper and put away. It is not 12x12, but I'm only keeping scraps in here, so it's the perfect size. There is a tray on top for holding extra things, and little stoppers on the drawers so you don't push them all the way through. This is working for me and made my 15 minute page super easy to finish.

PS: If you are organizing your scraps don't be afraid to throw things away! I threw out scraps that are too small, too ugly, too wimpy (i.e. thin cardstock we used in the olden days of scrapbooking...1999! ha ha), and too wrinkled. ONLY KEEP THINGS YOU LOVE AND WILL USE. You won't miss it. I PROMISE.

Hop on Pop Scrapbook Layout

2010-03-02T08:45:00.001-05:00

Today is Dr. Suess's birthday. In honor of Dr. Suess I created this scrapbook page!

Supplies: white paper, black thread, green and yellow paper, Hop on Pop (by Dr. Suess), green pen, adhesive, pop dots, cuttlebee scissors, black pen.

My friend Sarah K. captioned this photo "Hop on Pop" when she saw it on facebook and I thought it made the best page title. I used actual images from Hop on Pop by Dr. Suess to create this page.

Don't be afraid to cut up a book or alter a book to make great art or scrapbook pages. I used a Winnie the Pooh book to decoupage these letters and I've also used the cover of a book as home decor. Books were made to be read, but if they hold a special place in your heart it's okay to cut them up too!

Just a note: I had never stitched through a photo and paper before. Photos tend to be a little thicker and if you plan on tackling a layout like this (I just freehand drew a guideline for my stitching and just guessed as I stitched) you will need to help pull the paper through the sewing machine as you stitch over the photo part.

Did you do anything to celebrate Dr. Suess's birthday?

15 Minute Page!

2010-03-01T09:05:00.003-05:00

Okay, so in reality this actually took 18 minutes. I had a little gluing problem, I had to find the cricut, and I had to re-cut the word "camera." However, it still took less than 20 minutes!

SIMPLE - EASY - DONE!

In only 18 minutes I found a photo in a pile of photos, grabbed white paper, found 2 scraps that coordinated with the photo, found the cricut, plugged it in and selected a font, cut a title using two different fonts, punch a scallop border, trimmed down scrap paper, found adhesive, attached everything, re-cut a title, glued down the title, found rub-ons, looked up the picture on the computer to figure out when it was taken, added a rub-on caption, and wrote journaling. *WHEW* That might SOUND like a lot...but it went quickly.

MY TIPS

Organize your scraps to make it easy to throw something like this together!
Keep your favorite stuff handy like rub-ons, journaling pens, and adhesives.
Keep printed photos on hand! See last week's mission for help!

PS: I used only things I already owned....one more project done on my 100 Projects list!

Why are YOU not scrapbooking RIGHT NOW?

2010-03-01T08:30:00.000-05:00

Please let me encourage you!

Go find a photo...grab some white paper...AND MAKE A PAGE RIGHT NOW!

It does not have to be "perfect."

The only requirement for a scrapbook page is that it says something. NOTE: It does NOT even need a photo! It can say something about you, your style, your creativity, or something about a photo.

I am taking 15 minutes RIGHT NOW and making a page RIGHT NOW. Check back here in 15 minutes to see it.

When you're done....check out this post to help you end your craftie pity-party: I love this post.

Weekend Projects - 2/27

2010-02-27T08:30:00.001-05:00

No craftie projects this weekend! My b-day party is TONIGHT! I am having a cupcake & card making party! Can't wait to see what Melissa comes up with for us to make! Why am I not making the project? Come on now! It's my birthday! No one wants to do all that work on their birthday!

2010-02-26T08:30:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I talked about how much I had just taken photos because I thought they were interesting. This was my favorite shot that I got!

My Personal Photo Workshop

2010-02-25T08:30:00.002-05:00

I'd like to say that I've been really busy crafting and that's why it's taken me a while to post anything, but the truth is that I've been really busy taking photos!

Our good photographer friend Chris Diset visited last week for a few days and not only took some great shots of our girl Emily, but I had a chance to shoot around our hometown and beyond with him too. I now know how to use 3 more buttons on my camera than I did before and actually found the manual and opened it too!

I really enjoyed our time together because I had never looked at photography as a "fun" kind of "hobby" thing. I am more of the "We're-on-vacation-must-record-every-minute" kind of photographer. What an amazing feeling to say, I'm going to take this picture because I think it's interesting.

More Elephant Cards....

2010-02-24T08:30:00.000-05:00

I'm a little obsessed with elephants and this one was just too cute NOT to glitter!!!

Something Simple

2010-02-23T08:30:00.001-05:00

This card looks awesome because of all the glitter. Also, I made it using everything I ALREADY OWNED!

What I'm Printing

2010-02-22T16:15:00.002-05:00

This morning I asked you to spend just 15 minutes finding photos to print. I'm printing photos of our 3-month old. Here are a few tips if you feel overwhelmed...It happens to all of us!

(1) Print something that inspires you! No matter the timeliness or the relevance of the photo, just print something that inspires you to make something. Sometimes kick-starting the creative process makes it easier to print and scrapbook the more challenging or currently uninspiring photos.

(2) Print something current. You can always go back and do old stuff. Do something recent! You can stay up to date from this point forward and always go back to that other stuff later.

(3) Print something for a SIMPLE project. You don't need to photo edit, sepia tone, crop, etc. every photo and every photo doesn't have to go in a scrapbook! I love this idea from a busy mom. She makes simple quick albums, but they actually have journaling in them (don't try to hide it...I know you sometimes skip that part) and are complete! Everything doesn't have to be a masterpiece. Remember, these photos are for sharing and they can't do that trapped in your computer.

Taking my own advice, I'm printing the most recent, inspiring photos of our 3-month old including the sweet sweet picture shown here. Happy Printing!

Monday Mission 2/22/10 - Print Photos!

2010-02-22T08:30:00.001-05:00

Today's Mission - February 22

Spend ONLY 15 minutes and find a few photos and get them PRINTED!

This should only take you a few minutes, but if you are like me you are prevented from scrapbooking because you don't have any photos printed! I like making pages around a photo. It is nearly impossible for me to (a) make a page from a sketch I find online (weird, I know) and (b) without a photo. So get some stuff printed and when you can steal 10 minutes for yourself you don't have to spend time lamenting your lack of printed photos!

What photos are you printing this week?

One Tree...3 Ways

2010-02-21T11:30:00.001-05:00

I love the versatility of this tree. It doesn't just have to be for Valentine's Day either, although that's what we used it for here.

Thanks to Melissa I have no fear of glitter and have enjoyed adding it in little places to things on these cards! I just used a glue pen to dot the ends of the branches. Here's a close up:

The black & white tree is courtesy Heidi G., a good friend, fellow craftie, and baby wrangler. I love that she used black gemstones and pearls on this tree. Something totally different. Here's a close up:

Weekend Projects - 2/20

2010-02-20T10:08:00.003-05:00

I have been in hiding...actually, I have been in my own personal photography lessons (more on that on Thursday) and haven't been making much. I've got to get back on the wagon. Here's my project list for this weekend:

buy ink for photo printer
print photos!!!!!!
make a few baby pages
start organizing wedding photos

Yes, my wedding was years ago. No, I haven't made an album yet. When my photographer asked me if I had an album I felt bad saying no and then felt even worse when he said, "Don't you like your photos?" So, yeah, I think it's about time I get that done. Since my 2010 word is FINISH I should probably get on that. Enough with this post!

100 Projects - Update!

2010-02-10T19:30:00.000-05:00

I have been very good, but I did have to buy 2 pieces of paper. One, because I left the paper at home for a swap I was participating in and one because I started a title with scraps and didn't have enough. I spent less than $4.00.

Elephant Valentine's Day Cards

2010-02-10T14:58:00.004-05:00

*more fun cards below*

Today I am featuring some elephant Valentine's. EVERY stamp I used in these projects I have NEVER used before and one of them I bought three years ago.

I cut a regular sized 5 1/2" x 4" card in half. These cards measure 2 3/4" x 4" and I find them very manageable (I am not a card maker first, so this is a stretch for me!).

I did a boy and girl version of the card above because I did not think my nephew would appreciate pink elephants. :) It would also make a cute "baby" card if it said
"Congratulations on your new arrival."

A tree branch of LOVE! This entire elephant is glittered!

This elephant has three little glittered hearts on its hind quarters! :)

More tomorrow for those of you who do not share my love of the pachyderm.

Has it been that long???

2010-02-10T14:56:00.002-05:00

ACK! I cannot believe I have been away from my blog for so long!!! I have had my hands full with one cute baby (here she is at 12 weeks old!). She is so distracting! I was having major craftie withdrawal so I stuck her in the swing next to me so she could watch me craft! I didn't know what else to do! Coming up in just about 4 minutes....some new cards!!!!

Monogrammed Stationary

2010-01-23T08:30:00.001-05:00

I made up this handcrafted monogrammed stationary set with something I found in last weekend's project bag.

I made 4 personalized cards, 20 little "g" circles, 6 big scallop "g" circles and even 4 little present tags. The circles are great for personalizing the back of envelopes or blank cards for additional stationary. It was great fun to make!

Want your own or one in another color?

What to Do With Grandpa's Photos

2010-01-22T08:30:00.000-05:00

Jessica left a comment on my blog asking about what to do with 75 photos of flowers from her grandfather (Thanks, by the way...I'm glad to know I don't just do this for my own pleasure, but that I am sharing with others too and I'm flattered that you think I would have some ideas!).

First of all it sounds like these photos are very special to you and really mean something. Personally, I LOVE looking at pictures of plants and finding out about them, so putting them in a book sounds good to me, but here are some ideas off the top of my head:

(1) Mini-Album: Since these photos are all of one theme they would make a nice mini-album. You can include some information like: why these photos are important to you; info about the person who took the pictures; which flowers/plants are your favorites; any stories you remember about the plants. It would be a nice keepsake for you. You can do it in a 6x6 size, but I might go even smaller and do something like this:

This book is a large tag that is slightly smaller than 4x6 size. I used the sizzix tag die to cut out my photos (but you could make your template to use as a pattern) and the zutter to put it together. You can see if a local scrapbook store has a zutter you can use or ask your friends! You will notice in the middle-left example that I left the picture of cactus so big that it is the entire page. I think your flower photos would look incredible in a little book this size with a fun cover.

(2) Cards: If you are willing to part with these photos it sounds like they might be a nice cover for a card. You could stamp something simple inside.

(3) Altered Blocks: I made some altered blocks using paper, but you could do the same with your photos and use them as home decor.

(4) Scrapbook: You can create a scrapbook for yourself personally or just something that is like an inspirational book. Sometimes I just like to make cool looking pages and write some reflections about life on them. They aren't really for anyone else to see but me. You could create a wonderful layout using lots of photos and journal a little in the corner. Never underestimate the power of a grid of photos. Essentially: cut your photos into 3x3 squares and use them to cover an entire 12x12 page in a 4x4 grid. The page will be very dramatic. As an opposite page layout you could choose one of your favorites and use the Kodak picture machines (they are truly amazing) to scan and print a photo as a 5x7 and create a beautiful page.

(5) Printer's Box: This gets a little more "altered," but you could create a printer's box display for somewhere in your house or even in your gardening shed/garage. I am dying to do one of these, but have nowhere to put it. I might have to add on to my house just to have walls to ve a place to hang all the stuff I want to make! ha ha. To start you will need a printer's box also called a printer's drawer. Do a quick search on Etsy for others or check around at your local antique shops. There is a great book called Photo Decor by Donna Downey that I highly recommend. It has a sample in there on page 52. You could add some photos over some of the squares in the drawer and also inset in the squares in the drawer and then add little gardening trinkets (think dollhouse size) or charms along with letters or tiles to spell things out that represent your theme. The possibilites are endless. I did a quick search online and found this great example!

Whatever you decide please let me know and SEND PICTURES!!!! :) GOOD LUCK!

Does anyone else have suggestions for Jessica?

Baby Mobile Project!

2010-01-21T08:30:00.000-05:00

I got this idea while laying in bed, awake, after a 3:30am feeding! I made up these quick black and white mobile pieces for the baby to view.

My Tips: I used the George cricut cartridge and cut all the white pieces on the inch setting and all the black pieces on the 1/2" setting (for example: White was cut at 1, 2, 3, & 4 inches; Black was cut at 1 1/2" and so on). It was quick, easy, and used up my scraps!!!

Christmas 2009 Scrapbook Page

2010-01-20T08:30:00.003-05:00

Just finished this up. I still need to print photos for it!

Supplies: Paper: Falala Skinny Stripe by Making Memories, Christmas Stamps by Karen Foster, Reverse of Skinny Stripe, Red Paper (Bazzill), Adhesive, pop dots, Scallop Scissor, Regular Scissor, Paper Trimmer, Cricut Storybook Cartridge, Sizzix Swiss Dots Embossing Plate, Dark Green and Light Green paper, cream paper

MY TIP: I cut out the stamps from the Karen Foster paper and used them with pop dots to create the bottom border. I also used the embossing plate to add some extra details to the stripe paper. It's hard to see in this picture, but I used it to add dots to cream paper and tape it over the cream stripes on the striped paper, just to give it some extra dimension!

Very Merry Scrapbook Page

2010-01-19T08:30:00.002-05:00

As part of the 100 Project challenge I created this page! I'm still on a holiday crafting high, so making pages from Christmas is still very inspiring.

Obviously I still haven't moved the photo printer from the positively frigid basement to the warmth of the dining room. Thus, there is no photo for this page yet. :)

Monday Mission 1/18/10 - Pens

2010-01-18T08:30:00.000-05:00

Today's Mission - January 18

Spend ONLY 15 minutes and throw out any of your scrapbook
pens that don't work anymore!

I know it's happened to you because it's happened to me! I reach for a pen...no ink, bad color, comes out all lumpy and chunky. Whether you are journaling or coloring stamps, get rid of those old pens. It's going to save you a lot of trouble.

Weekend Projects - 1/16

2010-01-16T17:12:00.005-05:00

I have figured out (at least for now) the baby's schedule. She sleeps for a while in the afternoon. That results in more craftie time for me! (Yes, I should take a nap...but crafting calls!)

So, this weekend I am working on projects found in a bag I pulled from under the desk. Note: I keep all my projects in separate bags with all the supplies I purchased for them OR I keep the bags I bring home from the store with all the stuff in them under the desk until I get to cleaning them out. In short, there are a lot of bags under there.

What's in the Bag - 1/16

This lucky bag was a pile of stuff I purchased with a gift card right after Christmas. I still hadn't used anything in it. I found all kinds of great supplies waiting to be used in there:

1 photo bracelet for Mom's birthday - had to call her to find out when it was!
2 photo ornaments that I bought 1/2 off for next year
1 sheet of 12x12 paper for making personalized stationary
1 sheet of clearance snowflake paper to go with the full-priced paper I bought before Christmas
2 scallop 12x12 sheets for no reason at all....probably for baby book. Darn that clearance section!
1 12x12 sheet for "Seattle" vacation trip I took with my Dad
2 12x12 solids, 3 12x12 prints and an embellishment sheet for one fabulous photo of my daughter
1 stamp for next year's Christmas card

Some Personal Craftie Thoughts...
Upon reflection I am actually quite sad about all these things. This bag of stuff was purchased using a gift card, but usually I am shelling out my own dough for scrapbook supplies. I'm sure I've purchased dozens of bags like this over the last year. It is both embarrassing and depressing to think about all the unfinished, unused, wasted supplies (and money) that sit lonely, sad, and ignored in my basement. It's just sad. And then I started to feel guilty about all that money I spent.

Thank goodness for Bree Tetz at the Artsy Fartsy Scraproom and her idea to use up supplies this year. She has challenged the me (and the world) to complete 100 projects without buying any new products (except adhesive).

I am not only getting things done, making cool stuff, and using up supplies, but I am also letting go of a lot of guilt for having things I'm not using and spending on projects unfinished.

Watch my blog this upcoming week. I'll show you what I've made from just one bag of stuff!

Do you have supplies you aren't using? Do you have projects left unfinished? I would encourage you to check out Bree's blog and take on her challenge. You'll be amazed what you can finish with what you already have!
....And isn't saving money and blessing your family with those extra dollars a great way to live in 2010?

My 2010 Word: FINISH!

2010-01-13T14:33:00.001-05:00

My word for 2010 is FINISH.

I am notorious for not finishing things. I have half-started projects, things I meant to do, clutter piles, half-written birthday cards, unmailed presents, and even thawed meat in the fridge that never gets eaten.

So this year, my focus is to FINISH something, anything, everything! It will require patience and perseverance, stamina and strength, dedication and devotion, but I think I can do it.

Ali Edwards started this concept. Read her original post about the power of a single word.

My New Year's Resolution

2010-01-12T14:43:00.002-05:00

Yes, I realize that it is January 12th, but I made a resolution on the first: Don't waste food.

This resolution is not what you think. It is not about finishing what's on my plate or only taking what I can eat it's about using the meat that actually gets thawed in the fridge!

Do you suffer from misplaced meat mania like I do?

That is what I've decided to call it. You know, when you thaw the meat and then your husband says, "Oh let's order pizza" or "I'll bring in dinner." The anti-cook in you does a happy dance and you forget all about the meat that you, at one time, thoughtfully removed from the freezer to cook and left to thaw on the bottom shelf of the fridge. You figure, "What's one day! I'll cook it tomorrow!" And one day goes by.

The next day you remember that you are going to be gone for dinner, so instead of making the chicken you have thawed, you throw a roast in the crock pot. "I'll cook that chicken tomorrow," you tell yourself. Another day goes by.

The next day you are too tired to cook. The baby is cranky, you are cranky and the husband is cranky. You all end up eating frozen omelets and sausage for dinner. "One more day won't hurt," you tell yourself, "I'll cook that chicken tomorrow." Another day goes by.

And on and on and on and on.

Until, "When did I thaw that chicken? It is probably not good to cook if I can't remember when I thawed it." And, you throw away $5.40 worth of chicken.

Misplaced Meat Mania.

It can affect the best of us.

So this year my resolution is: NO MORE WASTING FOOD. To reach my goal I plan to: Cook the thawed meat! Eat the leftovers! Use what's in the freezer! Make better menus! Learn new recipes!

I think I can do it.

100 Projects!

2010-01-12T11:22:00.002-05:00

I LOVE this idea to save money and use stuff up in 2010. I'm accepting this challenge from Bree!

I plan to make 100 projects using scrapbook supplies I ALREADY OWN!

So far I have 2 layouts done. Can't wait to finish it up and start on something else.