Pink Owl Inspiration

Is there anybody out there?

2012-03-09T16:18:00.006-08:00

Wheeew! It has been a long time since I posted anything on this little ole blog of mine. We finally got the Internet at our new house,and even though we aren't really in the middle of nowhere, I guess we might as well be for the amount of time it took. Anyhoo.... we are in our new house and loving it! Today I thought I'd just say hi and share some digi scrapbooking I've done. I also have plans to reopen my Etsy shop, Pink Owl Paperie, sometime in the near future. This time it will be all digital and printable scrapbook/papercraft supplies. Just think no shipping charges! ;)(more on that to come later)

I've been making some photo masks (they "trim" your photos into a collage) for quick layouts and I'll post one you can use soon. They work great for digital scrapbooking or just print them out as a photo collage. Have a great weekend!

Where has the time gone?

2011-06-09T12:14:00.000-07:00

Geez Louise! It has been a looooong time since I posted anything here. Life has been mighty crazy these days. Right now were on summer break, finishing up the new house, packing up this house, and getting ready to move. Lots of excitement... if only it would stop RAINING! UUUGGGHHH!

I was hoping to keep a record of sorts of this house building adventure on this blog, but since it's been months since I posted I think I've missed a step or two. ;) Good thing I've been taking pictures so we have something to look back on.

Here's a little bit of what's happening now... my new laundry room. I know a laundry room might seem boring, but I am soooo excited. Right now my laundry room is basically the mechanical room with a washer and dryer crammed in.... so my new space seems downright luxurious!

The walls are painted this color: (it's actually a very pale neutral green gray)

One wall is getting this super cute 1940's/50's looking wallpaper:

The cabinets look like this:

and the hardware looks like this:

I'm hanging up some cute retro artwork too: (maybe like these)

Oh yeah... there will be a washer and dryer in there too, along with lots of counter space to fold clothes. Ahhhh it's a dream come true! ;)

craft room

2011-03-21T12:37:00.001-07:00

Hello! Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend! I thought I'd take a second to share some of my latest finds for my craft room. (by finds I mean things I'm drooling over and wish I had...;))

Ok, so I found all of these at Laurie Ann's Vintage Home. It's a super cute shop, you should be sure to check it out.

Look at this awesome rack! I want it to sit on my scrapbook desk to hold my must have handy tools, embellishments, inks etc. So stinking cute!

I love these chalkboard hooks. They would be great for display or hanging favorite ribbons and trims. I would also love these for my entryway, pantry (how cute would these be for holding aprons), and mudroom.

... now I am happy to say that these beauties are actually mine. I ordered 2 of these mercury glass pendant lights a few weeks ago. They came last week and I was soooo excited when I opened the box. They are beautiful... even better in person... and to top it off the lovely Laurie Ann threw in a freebie too! A gorgeous mercury glass candle holder. I will definitely be visiting her shop again!

Hope you like my finds! Have a great day!

Counting Down the Days!!!

2011-03-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

Oh man oh man... I can HARDLY wait for the Farm Chicks show this year! It's terrible! I mean June is a not exactly around the corner and yet I find myself daydreaming about this amazing event. If you have never been you should make this year your first visit.(I say first because once you go you will want to come back every year) Go here to the website to find out the details and then check out the Farm Chicks blog on my blog roll to the left. If you love vintage, shabby chic, junkin, chippy paint on old furniture, glitter, and sometimes find yourself daydreaming about all the things you could do with some chicken wire, hot glue and an old window frame, this show is for you. NO ONE will look at you like your crazy when you pick up that beat up old milk pail and take it home to turn into a planter. No one will doubt your intelligence when you spend money on that adorable old beat up bench with 3 layers of chipping paint. They will smile, wave, and say, "Ohhhh that's soooo cute! I'll take it if you don't want it!" It really is a junker's paradise. Then of course there is the whole girls weekend, no husbands or kids to look after, no housework or cooking to do, out with my best friend having fun, laughing, and relaxing all weekend long. Unless of course we both spot that perfect vintage treasure at the same time... then it's every woman for herself! ;) Ok enough daydreaming, I'll just have to wait till June like everyone else!

Scrapbook Organization

2011-03-12T09:11:00.000-08:00

Hello there! Well I don't know about you, but spring always makes me think of organization projects and right now I have scrapbooking on the brain. I just discovered an awesome way to organize my digital scrapbook products so I can be way more efficient. I'm using Picasa, it's a free photo editing and storage program you can download off the Internet, if you aren't already using it. I got the idea to use it for my scrapbooking supplies from this little tutorial on the Design House Digital website. Go here if your interested. It is working great for me!

I'm also trying to figure out how to organize my scrapbook supplies in our new house. I'm a little slow these days, so I JUST realized that when the house is finished and we move I will have almost NO scrapbook storage. Right now I have wonderful white cabinets that my hubby put up for me, but when we sell the house they go with it. So I'm on a major hunt to find some cheap and cute storage. Any ideas? I'd love to hear what you use or where you found some great pieces! The thought of having my stuffed piled on the floor makes me want to cry! ;)

A little scrapbooking

2011-02-23T08:06:00.000-08:00

This last weekend was an extra long one for us. The kids school had parent teacher conferences last week so they basically had Thurs.- Mon. off. It was so nice! We hung out with family, kids played with their cousins, we spent lazy days reading and playing playmobil, we picked stuff out for the new house and spent an afternoon there, we built snow forts, tunnels, had a snowball fight,made ski jumps in the back yard, and I even got some scrapbooking in. So I thought I'd share some of the layouts I did.

I'm done with 2008 and halfway done with 2009... and boy oh boy it's feeling soooo good to get caught up! I'm always so worried I'm going to forget the stories behind the pictures (the stories are sooo important to me) so it is such a relief to be getting these older ones done before the memories become to faded. Good thing I often make little notes about events ect as they happen.

So I'd love to know... you scrapbookers out there, are you like me? Are you years behind with mountains of photos on your computer that you haven't even gone through? Or are you on top of things with only a few months worth of photos to print and scrap? If you are the latter, please let me know your secret! I just hope it's not "take fewer photos," because I'm pretty sure I'm beyond help on that front! ;) Have a wonderful Wednesday!!

Happy Valentines Day!

2011-02-14T07:21:00.000-08:00

Have a wonderful Valentines Day! I'm off to bake goodies and make treats for school parties, bake some mini red velvet heart cakes for my family, and to whip up this super fun idea for Hubby and I tonight. Then I'm off to meet hubby and go the kids parties. Then it's homework, reading, and dinner for the kids (hubby and I are eating later). Next it's off to ballet, more Valentines in hand, and lastly home and bed for the kids.... then we get to start our couch picnic date night in. (you gotta follow the link above to understand) What are you doing today?

Valentine Freebie

2011-02-13T08:16:00.000-08:00

Hey there! Well I thought I'd share this Valentine Freebie that I made, since I haven't reopened that shop of mine yet. Someday, I hope! ;) Maybe after we are in the new house!

Just click on the picture above to enlarge it then right click to save it. Please use this for your personal crafts, gifts, etc only. Thanks! Have a great Sunday!

Valentine Treats

2011-02-12T10:06:00.000-08:00

I saw this adorable idea on the Farm Chicks blog. That Serena is so clever! If you like me, you've been seeing all kinds of "lollipops" appearing lately from paper lollies to ones made of cake. Well when I saw these Brownie Pops on Serena's blog I just had to try em. My version is a bit different from hers, mostly because I forgot I was supposed to be making this treats for my kids Awana class until late in the day. I didn't have time to let the brownies cool all the way before dipping them in chocolate so the kinda fell apart instead of holding their square lollie shape. So I grabbed some red candy melts from the cupboard and drizzled away. Then I added some fun Valentine sprinkles, wrapped them in cute polka dot bags and tied em up with curling ribbon. They turned out pretty cute for a rush job and the kids LOVED them. I think I'll make some more for school. What Valentine treats have you been making?

Valentines...

2011-02-10T08:56:00.000-08:00

Hello there! Well we're back from a wonderful vacation in Disneyland! It was super fun and such amazing weather! It was around 78 while we were there. So warm and sunny, we kinda forgot we were coming home to Montana winter. Yah, I kinda convinced myself it was spring... then we hit the tarmac and the blustery 21 degree temperatures of home. My 3 year old was so convinced it had been summer that when we got back to our house, he told me we'd better get the Christmas decorations back out cause summer was over already and winter was back. ;) Anyway more on the trip later....

I thought I'd share the Valentines I made for the kids to give away at school. The kids help me make em in Photoshop. They picked out different digital scrapbooking supplies, colors, etc... it was lots of fun. (Well it was fun after I started over and asked them to help when they got home from school. Before that I was being Miss Picky Pants and spending way too much time on the design.)

Here is what we came up with for Parker:

and here is Maddie's:

The little aqua gal in the corner is Maddie. I used that silhoutte brush I made a while back. Man I LOVE those!!

The kids have been busy filling out names and signing them this week. This weekend we are going to punch some holes in the corners and use curling ribbon to tie them to Valentine suckers the kids picked out.

I just love Valentines Day! The kids are having some friends over this evening and I think we'll all make some Valentines cards and treats as a surprise for their parents. I'll let you know how it turns out!

Autograph Books

2011-01-18T09:01:00.000-08:00

My family and I are feeling pretty lucky cause we are headed to Disneyland soon. Goodbye snow, ice, cold, and rain and hello sunshine, palm trees and Mickey Mouse! I made some autograph books for the kids to take and have the characters sign. I decided to digitally scrapbook them, that way if they get beat up on the trip I can just print out a new cover and replace the beat up one. They were super quick books to make... I just cut some 5x7 chipboard pieces for the covers, cut white cardstock into 5x7 pieces, scrapbooked, printed the covers to size, and stuck em to the chipboard, then used my handy dandy bind-it-all to put them together.

When we get back I'll probably add some ribbons etc to the binding and maybe a few keepsakes to the cover and inside pages. These little albums are so quick and easy to put together you could make em for all kinds of things. How bout some cute Valentine gifts for Grandma and Grandpa?! Just fill the book with black cardstock and put a cute black and white photo on each page. Hmmmm... I think I'd better get working on those! Have a great day everyone!

I feel pretty...oh so pretty

2011-01-14T08:23:00.000-08:00

Ok, well I don't exactly feel pretty, but my camera sure does! I had to share this because I'm just so darn excited about it and I thought some of you might want one too! I take my camera with me all kinds of places but I get soooo tired of packing my camera bag and a purse whenever we go somewhere. I don't have a ton of camera equipment but I have a Canon digital SLR with a couple of lenses so I cant just stash it somewhere easily. So my WONDERFUL hubby got me this great camera bag/purse combo as an early birthday present. It came this week and boy I am so stinkin excited about it!!! It has padded movable dividers inside meant to hold my camera, lenses, charger etc and places for a wallet, sunglasses, lip gloss, etc. and the huge bonus is it's cute and looks like a purse! WHOO HOO!
It's really comfortable and has a couple of strap options... very nice for a bag full of heavy stuff.
Great adjustable insides.
A serious upgrade don't cha think? (Old camera bag on the left)
Thanks sweetie!
Ok so here are a few links for some cute camera bags:

Jo Totes
http://jototes.com/handbags

Epiphany Bags
http://www.epiphaniebags.com

I have a few more but cant find em! I'll check the laptop and share later. Have great day!

Just wishing and hoping and planing and dreaming...

2011-01-05T10:14:00.000-08:00

Our little farmhouse is really coming along! I can't believe it! We are so excited... and I'm having so much fun picking everything out!

I LOVE this cabinet... I'm hoping to find something similar to make into a sink vanity for the kids bathroom.

I found these lights and was instantly smitten. They are made to look like vintage mercury glass... a favorite of mine. I'm hoping to get these pendants for my craft room. You know... that cabinet would be pretty great for the craft room too...hmmm... so many decisions!

I picked out tile for the bathrooms today and I don't know about you, but for me all tile starts to look the same after a while. (unless it's WAY outta my budget) Needless to say, I wasn't to excited about my trip to the tile shop. Boy oh boy was I in for a wonderful surprise after meeting the lovely and talented Cindy at Loren's Flooring in Missoula. I now have wonderful tile floors for our bathrooms in budget and I'm so excited. I wish I had a picture.... the tiles look like stone and are very light in color not quite cream or white but kind of a combo that will be laid in a brick pattern with these awesome teeny tiny clear cracked glass accent tiles.
These are the accent tiles... they will be like 1" square and give our floors a touch of glittery sparkle. Yeah! Maddie and I are cheering! Anyway just having fun with this process and feeling very blessed to be doing it!

Back in the Swing of things!?!

2011-01-04T06:27:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year! We had a marvelous time here. Yesterday morning came way to fast as usual though. Back to school, back to work, back to ballet, piano, and all the other after school activities, back to busy! It was so nice to have a relaxing break though... I just love hanging out with my family!

I thought I'd share a fun project I made for the gals in my family. These are necklaces made from dominoes and some vintage images. They were pretty easy and fun to make. I used some Tim Holtz alcohol ink to stain the dominoes, drilled a hole for the chain, printed and cut an antique image to size, inked, glued, and covered it all with diamond glaze. After it was good and dry I added a "hook" for lack of a better word and chain.

Please excuse the terrible picture! They were not so high contrast in real life!

Have a great day!

Gifts on the Fly

2010-12-17T07:55:00.000-08:00

I don't know about you, but it always seems despite my best efforts I need last minute goodie bags for something... a party, classmates, Sunday school, etc. Well here is a quick and easy solution. I try to have those clear treat bags on hand at all times around the Christmas season. This year I also picked up several bags of Christmas candies and stashed them away for just such an event. Then all you have to do is fill the bags with goodies and staple them shut with a cute paper topper or tie them closed with curling ribbon. (or you could get really fancy if time allows...I'm hoping to share some ideas for grownup treat bags soon) These bags came with us to Awana on Wednesday night as a little reward for some hard work and great behavior by the kiddos in my Sparky class. I tell you, just a little bit of organization and it's so much easier to sit back and enjoy the Christmas season! Merry Christmas!

Teacher Gifts

2010-12-15T07:00:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd share these fun and easy teacher gifts I made this year: Christmas Candy Cones. Ok, so first start with a pattern. Go here if you don't have one of your own. Trace in onto some pretty paper, cut it out, roll it into a cone and fasten with glue or double sided tape. Viola! You have a candy cone. Now if you want you can decorate the cone to your hearts delight or you can simply punch a hole on each side of the cone and tie on a ribbon hanger. Either way they are cute! Then fill your cone with goodies. I filled our cones with chocolate cause who doesn't like chocolate! ;) You could even tuck in gift cards, pencils, or other little trinkets.

This year I also made a bunch of treat bag toppers in photoshop and printed them out so I'd have some on hand for gifts. (you could make yours from scrapbook paper too, this was just quicker for me and sometimes quicker is better ;)) I tucked the cones in clear bags, added a topper, and set them in a basket ready for giving!

We started giving them out this week, and they have been a big hit! I had the kids make Christmas cards to go with them... and those have really been a huge hit. Everyone likes a handmade card with a wonky little Christmas tree and a child's handwriting! ;)

I have some more ideas to share later for quick gifts for classmates, friends, and neighbor children. Merry Christmas! Have a great day!

Gift of Gift tags...

2010-12-13T09:11:00.000-08:00

I made these simple gift tags for a Sunday school project the other day, so I thought I might as well share them here! I don't know about you, but every Christmas it seams like I am forever running out of tags! These are nice to have on hand just incase I need to print out some quick ones!
Merry Christmas!

Journal Your Christmas Pages

2010-12-03T08:43:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited about this project!! I received my 2nd email yesterday and I was really looking forward to working on another page. I'm so excited because by the time New Year is here I'll have an entire Christmas album created full of all the little details that make our Christmas ours recorded as they happened. I'm usually scrapbooking Christmas pictures eons after the events are over desperately trying to remember the cute things the kids said and did etc. BUT not this year. Thanks to good ole photoshop, the ease of digital photos, and "Journal Your Christmas" I will have this book off to the printers and back in the hands of my family sometime in January. YIPPPEE!
So here is the "manifesto" page... I used it as a dedication to my family.

... and here is yesterday's page. The prompt (each day there is a journaling prompt to help you record all the details of your Christmas) was all about snow and White Christmas so this is what I came up with.

I don't know if you can tell from these photos but I used some blue tinted textures on the photos and then "erased them" around a focal point. I think they turned out looking pretty wintery! ;)
Here is an example:
Before

After

Love to play in photoshop!! I'll have some teacher gift ideas to share soon. Have a wonderful day!!

Silhouette Ornaments

2010-12-02T08:42:00.000-08:00

I found this wonderful little tutorial on how to convert your child's photo into a silhouette (don't you just LOVE Photoshop?) the other day and it got me thinking.... they would make great Christmas tree ornaments for the family!!

I can't believe how well it worked! My Maddie's little profile came out perfectly. I'm going to either mount them on chipboard and glitter the edges or frame them in mini frames if I can find them. I'll show you the finished product when I'm done, and while I'm at it I'm going to make some for me too! ;)

It begins today....

2010-12-01T07:25:00.000-08:00

Yep, today is the first day of Journal your Christmas. It's an online scrapbooking class/inspirational thing (man I'm eloquent today ;)) meant to help you document all the magic of Christmas while the memories are fresh. I signed up for the class last year and the awesome thing is that once you sign up you can take it every year after for free!! I'm going to do this years digitally so I can keep up daily and still get my other projects done too! Go over to my sidebar and click on the blinkie to go to the site offering the class. It's not to late to sign up! You won't regret it. Each day you will receive some instructions and a theme/inspiration point for that day's page in your email inbox. There are also great freebies, printables, and tons of inspiration on the website too. Check it out!

I made the title page for my book yesterday... now I just have to work on today's page.

Have a great day everyone!

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T09:37:00.001-08:00

from my family to yours! I'm constantly reminded how blessed we are. I'm so thankful for all we've been given. Have the most wonderful day!

Thanksgiving Place Cards

2010-11-17T09:03:00.000-08:00

Here's the little place card freebie I was talking about. If you want to use them just click on the photo to enlarge it and the right click to save and print.

Have a great day!

Oh where oh where did October go?

2010-11-16T14:00:00.000-08:00

Playing a little catch up around here. I just can't believe how quickly time goes. Thanksgiving is almost here and then we all know that Christmas is just around the corner after that! I finally downloaded our Halloween photos and have to say I love how easy photoshop makes it to create a quick little collage, card or scrapbook page.

See? That took about 5 seconds... now all I have to do is add it to my layout!
I've been busy working on Christmas gifts, cards, and decorations. I love to give and get handmade presents. So far I've made some funky jewlery for the gals, gifts for teachers, and a baby doll diaper bag set for my daughter, just to name a few. I'll try to take some pictures of the teacher gifts and other goodies for my kids classmates etc because they were very easy and afordable to make (something we all appreciate!)I'd love to hear what your doing too... I'm always on the lookout for a good idea!

I've also been wanting to work on some fun place cards for Thanksgiving. If I get them done in time I'll make a little download so you can use em too if you want. Since I still haven't opened my shop I figured I might as well share the goodies I still seem to be making. ;)

Have a great day!

It's Official!!

2010-10-26T11:03:00.000-07:00

We started on our new home this weekend. Connor and I took a trip out there today to see the progress. He was so excited.... look at all those mounds of dirt! Boy paradise!!

The driveway is in, or at least "dug out", and the "big hole" as Connor calls it for the foundation has been dug up as well. Everything looked so beautiful out there this morning. It was chilly with low clouds over the mountains so the fall colors just popped liked crazy!

I couldn't resist snapping this pretty picture... this is the beautiful country road leading up to our house. We are so excited!!!

Well I'm off to work goodies and projects for all our Halloween events this week. If your in the Missoula area you should come to our church on Wednesday night. We are having a HUGE Harvest Party as part of our AWANA program. It's at 7:00 at Clark Fork City Church on Latimer behind Target. It's going to be a ton of fun for families... two big bounce houses with slides, hay maze, carnival type games, food, candy, and prizes (all for free)! We'd love to see you there! Have a great week!

Here's One for You Pal.....

2010-10-19T08:43:00.000-07:00

Hi there! I hope you are all enjoying a lovely fall day! I had a special request here at my house, so I thought I'd share it with you today. I don't know about you, but being the mother of 3 young children I always find myself trying to make sure things are "fair/equal." You know, things like "why does Connor get the green one, I wanted green," are always popping up. ;) Now as far as I'm concerned the phrase "you get what you get and you don't throw a fit" applies to most situations, but I have to admit when it comes to photographs I'm a bit paranoid. I've heard so many sob stories from fello grown-ups over the years who have said things like, "there are 80,000 pictures of my older sibling(s) and 10 of me," that I vowed I would not do that with my own kids. I think I should've set the bar a little lower with my firstborn. ;) The other day I was scrapbooking, and most of the layouts happened to be of Parker and Maddie. So when my youngest, Connor, came in the room and checked it out he said, "Mama where is one just me?" He has been randomly asking me since then so.... here you go Connor one of just you!

I'm not sure how much he appreciated the pink glasses and the baby stroller, especially since he is 3 1/2 now and thinks pink is girly, but I love it! It will be one of those perfectly adorable photos to share at highschool graduation or his wedding! ;) Have a wonderful day! I've got some fall crafts I've been wanting to share, so hopefully I'll get them photographed soon!

Might as Well Jump!

2010-10-07T09:20:00.000-07:00

In the leaves that is. We have several very large cottonwood trees in our front yard and every year they give us the most wonderful gigantic piles of yellow and brown leaves each fall. There were just enough leave on the ground yesterday to get a pile going, so as soon as the kids got home from school we were jumping! I'm really glad we are getting to spend one more autumn in this house before we move. We will really miss our big trees and beautiful leaf piles... but for now we are jumping away!

More Scrapbooking!

2010-10-05T07:17:00.001-07:00

Oh how I miss the days where my Parker wouldn't go anywhere without his wranglers, boots, and a pistol! He makes such a cute cowboy!

Woooo, major shocker I know, I think this is the most scrappin you've seen outta me in a year! ;) It feels SOOOOOO good to be getting caught up! Hope your week is starting out wonderfully! I'm off to get the house ready for a showing, bake a birthday pie for my hubby, and get dinner in the crock pot (I have this super easy really yummy recipe I'll share later) before we have to leave for the potential buyers. What's on your list for today?!

I love fall!!

2010-09-20T09:33:00.000-07:00

We've been doing lots around here getting ready for the season changes. I planted mums in my big pots on the deck and decorated the front porch and house for fall. In a few weeks we'll be headed to Greenbluff Farms for some apple and pumpkin picking and we're planning a trip to Yellowstone Park too. I figure I better get last years pictures fall pictures scrapbooked before I take a million more! I love to use digital frames for my layouts, so many photos so fast! Here's a fun frame I got from Shabby Blogs that I'm using for some digi pages. Her designs are so cute!

Now I just have to slap it on a page, embellish, and 1 layout down! ;) Have a great day!

Scrapbook and Craft Season is OPEN!

2010-09-17T07:54:00.000-07:00

Well it's bow hunting season here in Montana, and for my family that means lots of "see ya next week Dad" being shouted around the house. Hubby was just gone for about a week so during the evenings, after the kiddos were in bed, I was in serious scrapbook mode. I am really proud of myself! ;) I finished a lot of projects I'd been putting off, things like putting my gazillion scrapbooked pages into their proper albums, finishing couple dozen or so layouts I'd started in the last 2 years and had never finished, scrapbooking baby pages for my 3 year old's baby book, sorting photos and getting kits together to make 14 more layouts, and some digital layouts too! I'm on a roll! It's funny, but I think doing the digital layouts really got my creativity going. It must be because I have felt a bit stressed about being so far behind and that was shutting down my creativity, motivation, and fun! So silly of me, but now that I have a good way to get caught up I've been scrappin like a crazy woman! ...well a little less now that hubby's home.... ;)

Here is another digital layout. I got my first batch back from the printers and they turned out really well. I have to admit I do miss that they are not dimensional, but they still accomplish the goal very well. I used Persnickety Prints and they did a quick and fantastic printing job. My layouts came back looking EXACTLY like they did on my computer, and apparently in the digi scrapbook world that's sometimes hard to come by. They were also much cheaper than most of the places I priced. I would definitely recommend them for any printing need!

If I get some of my other layouts photographed I'll share them too. I also have some fall decor project ideas to share later. I love Scrapbook and Craft Season! Have a great weekend everyone!

Trying New Things...

2010-09-11T14:34:00.000-07:00

Whooh, getting back into the swing of back to school and fall schedules is hard! We've been trying to keep a low profile for these 1st few weeks, letting the kids adjust to the rigmarole. Now next week starts another round of after school activities dance class resumes, fall soccer, school open house, and hunting season has started too. This will soon be followed by Awanas, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and possibly piano lessons. I'm tired just thinking about it! ;) It's actually a very fun and exciting time for our growing family. I can't believe we are at this stage already! Anyway, I digress.... onto the topic at hand.

I have gotten so far behind on my scrapbooking that my family has seriously started to protest about the lack of photos they get to see. So... in order to try and get "caught up" (hahahah like that's really possible with the gazillion photos I take each month) I have decided to try my hand at digital scrapbooking. I figured it couldn't really be too different from designing journaling cards etc for my shop so I down loaded some scrapbook products and gave it a whirl. I've done about 20 some layouts in the last week (so definitely getting more done)and they are off to the printers, so I'm hoping I like the results when they arrive. Now don't get me wrong, I am not giving up paper and glue scrapbooking. I love it too much to ever do that! ;) ...but digital is giving me a much needed solution for some quick scrapbook catch-up and the big bonus is I don't have to wait while I sort and edit photos then order prints. I just do it all as I build the pages and I can make them any size I want and fit a ton of photos on 1 page! YEAH! Sooo... here are a few samples of my first foray into the digi world of scrapbooking.

When I showed hubby some of my digi layouts he said, "Those look great babe. I'm so glad your doing this. I know you love scrapbooking, but maybe all your layouts don't have to be so artistic." Yah know, he's right. I do love to scrapbook, and I will always do it, but what's the point of having boxes of photos and files on the computer that no one sees. As long as my layouts come back from the printer lookin' good I will definitely continue to do both paper and digital and mix em in our albums. That way we get the best of both worlds: all of our memories scrapbooked and recorded to be looked at and enjoyed and I get to be a crafty happy gal! I love it when that happens! Have a great weekend!

Fall is in the air...

2010-08-23T09:41:00.000-07:00

School starts this week, the harvest is in, mums and other fall delights are popping up all over town, and even the air last night had a bit of crispness that whispered fall. It's coming, and as much as I hate to see summer go, there is just something so magical about autumn. I love the crisp sunny days, the colorful leaves, the bountiful fresh produce, the festivals and festivities, being able to cook and bake again without overheating the house.... anyway I thought I'd share something else I've been working on for my shop for fall.

I think they will be so fun to decorate scrapbook pages, cards, or strung as a little mini banner for your house. I haven't decided when I'm going to reopen my little shop yet... probably later in September after the initial back to school craziness has worn off. I'll let you know! ;)

Have a great Monday everyone! I'm off to can pickles, peaches, jam, make pies, and freeze some of the 100+ lbs of produce we picked at the Green Bluff Growers (one of my families favorite places to go) this weekend. It's going to be a busy couple of days!

Summer PLEASE stay...

2010-08-10T08:21:00.000-07:00

don't go yet. We are not ready. I don't want to appear to needy, but we have not had enough of your loveliness. I know... we have had a lot of fun. We have traveled, had visitors, frolicked in the wilderness, swam and sunbathed, played and laughed ourselves silly, stayed up late, and slept in.

We have pushed schedules and to do lists aside and enjoyed all you have to offer... but I say again we are not ready to say goodbye. Just a bit longer please?

...because when you go this year you are taking 2 of my babies with you. That dreaded date, August 25th, is close on the horizon and when it arrives I will lose the best you have to offer. Time with my kiddos. You see, dear summer, when you leave they go back to school and I'm just not ready. Little Miss starts Kindergarten and Big Brother moves onto First Grade... Little Brother and I will be so lonely for them.

So you see dear summer, why we need you to stay a bit longer. Maybe you could add just a few more hours to each day, stretch them out a touch more? 2 1/2 months is just not enough!

Editing Photos

2010-07-23T10:42:00.001-07:00

This is what I've been doing a lot of lately. I don't mind editing photos, I actually really like playing around in photo shop and using all the fun actions that are out there. The problem is that I take a gazillion pictures and now that I have photo shop and fun actions etc. I can't seem to make much progress. Right now I'm working on our Disneyland photos from January. I seriously took over 900 pictures in 1 week. Crazy I know! So it's taking me forever to sort through, pick the good photos, edit, and organize into files so I can print them! My family is really getting tired of our Disney album sitting empty. (I bought an album in Disneyland with the idea that I'd come home and sort/edit/print our photos and put them in an album we could use right away cause I knew it would take some time to get them scrapbooked.... needless to say it's not working so well) The kids LOVED our trip and still talk about it all the time. So I've been feeling pretty guilty about the photos, hence the editing. I'm going to have to stop myself from editing all the ones I'm going to print or I'll never be done! ;)

Have a great weekend everyone!
(oh, the shot above is our little Maddie waiting in line to meet Ariel and Belle)

Making new stuff...

2010-07-20T09:09:00.000-07:00

Even though my Etsy Shop is closed for the summer, I can't help but spend some of my evenings designing new goodies for the reopening this fall....and since fall means back to school I've been working on some new school scrapbook goodies. Here's a little sample from a new set of journaling cards I've been working on.

I'm also hoping that working on school stuff will help me to get caught up on last years unscrapped school photos before fall comes around again! ;) What crafty things have you been working on? Sometimes it's so hard for me to stay crafty during the summer, there is always so much to do outside! We've been spending most of our days playing in the lake in our backyard. We will really miss it when we move, but for now were soaking it up! Have a wonderful day!

Farm Fresh

2010-07-19T08:53:00.000-07:00

We LOVE having fresh eggs straight from our backyard! It's a great feeling to know my family is starting their days with healthy food that we provide ourselves.

Nothing like french toast made from eggs my little chicken farmers brought in from the coup topped with strawberries they picked from our favorite farm! Yummmy!

Getting chickens has been such a wonderful adventure! The kids love our "girls" and help us to take care of them. They love gathering the eggs, feeding the chickens, and they even carry them around the yard. My two oldest have started selling eggs to friends and family to earn extra money. I love that they get to see how their hard work helping raise the chickens is paying off!

Well I must dash, my daughter is throwing her doll a birthday party this morning and I am a guest! ;)

Happy Fourth Of July!

2010-07-04T08:44:00.000-07:00

We are just so blessed to live in this country. I'm so thankful for each and every man and woman who has fought for us, stood for us, and died for us. It's an honor to be a part of such an amazing place! We in for lots of fun here today. First it's our neighborhood parade, followed by hanging out with friends and family, a BBQ, squirt gun fights, relaxing on the deck, and then popcorn and fireworks! I love the Fourth!! Have a very happy and safe Fourth everyone!
xoxo Renee

Were off!

2010-06-27T13:48:00.000-07:00

Getting ready for an open house here this weekend and the headed to Spokane to pickup my mother in law. She's coming to stay with us for a few weeks. Were hoping to get in a bit of strawberry picking while we are there. We had so much fun last year!

I'll probably mia for a while, so in the meantime ENJOY your summer!

Meet the Ladies

2010-06-26T09:25:00.000-07:00

A couple of months ago my hubby announced we were headed to the feed store to buy chickens. We had been wanting to get chickens for a while, we had just planned on doing it after we moved... but I guess waiting isn't our thing so one rainy May Day we arrived home with 4 baby chicks and 3 ducklings.
here they are then....

... these are the lovely ladies now: meet Ginger, Tillie, Coco, Lucy, and Mickey.

We also acquired some Big Ladies from a lovely family who was moving and had to get rid of their coop and flock. This is Ethel.

Boy oh boy it's hard to keep track of all these names! I can't believe how well my children do it. They love the chickens. They spend hours with them every day. In no particular order here are Tinkerbell, Belle, Peaches, Big Red, Pepper, and Fluffy. These lovely ladies delivered us our first eggs yesterday. So far the kids have brought in 7 eggs in the last day and a half. They are going to sell the some around the neighborhood to earn some extra money. This whole chicken experience is really amazing for kids! I love it!

...and this crazy lady or gent (were not sure yet) is Fern. He is our resident foofy chicken. Not really good for egg laying, but fun to look at. He/she is a super nice chicken and I think were are going to let the kids enter him/her in the fair this year. Don't you just love the crazy hair do?

I couldn't resist showing a baby picture of those "lawn ornaments" I posted the other day. Here are the fellas as babies! Soooo cute! Can you see why hubby and I couldn't say no when the kids were begging?!

Lazy Days...

2010-06-25T10:00:00.000-07:00

What could be better than a sunny day, a big playground, a picnic lunch, and good friends? I just can't think of anything!

Don't forget to take time to soak up the everyday moments of summer! I'm trying to remember to take photos of the "regular" moments this summer along with the vacations and holidays. I'm a bit behind on scrapbooking as usual, but I actually completed a page the other day! HOOORAY! I'm working on some photos from last summer and wishing I had more everyday moments. So this summer I'm going to wear out my camera! What are your scrapbook goals? I'd love to hear them! Have a great day!

Summer at the Lake House

2010-06-24T12:37:00.001-07:00

We've been enjoying summer around here...even with all the rain. It's so nice to have all of our projects done! I've got all my flowers planted, the house has been painted and we are all set up for enjoying our last summer here at our house on the lake. It's going to be bittersweet when we get a buyer... we are all really going to miss living here. Good thing my parents live at the other end of the lake so we can always come and hang out!

Some of my summer staples:

Our front porch is pretty shaded so I always pot plenty of inpatients, fuchsias, coleus, vinca, and lobelia. Big hanging pots of fuchsias are a must.

My peonies are just beautiful this year. Every year they get even better... and the smell oh it's heavenly. Our entire front porch smells amazing especially in the evenings!

Big pots of tomatoes on the back deck. I usually do herbs too, but I haven't planted any yet.

We have a really big deck looking over the lake in the back yard. It gets plenty of sun so I get to have lots of fun with flowers! Geraniums are a definite must with there wonderful spicy sent, along with allysum, petunias, daises, cosmos, zinnias, and verbena. My wonderful hubby added drip irrigation to all my pots on the back deck, even the little ones so now that they are planted they are virtually maintenance free and will stay lovely even while were out vacationing! He's even going to get my hanging baskets set up! Thanks sweetie!

We have a little balcony off our bedroom upstairs. This year I found the cutest red and white chairs to sit up there. We had a table and chairs set up there before, but I was never too happy with it. It took up too much space. I love the scale of the new set... makes the balcony so much more usable. I added a few pots of flowers and now hubby and I can enjoy our morning coffee while looking at this view!

As long as we were painting the house, I had hubby spray our picnic table too for this little area just off of our kitchen. It looks so much better. It was really weathered before. I'm really looking forward to dinners out here in the shade, once summer weather really sets in!

...and of course what summer yard would be complete without lawn ornaments? Meet the fellas: Donald, Chuck, and Sunny (as named by our children). I guess we don't know for sure that they are males(I guess we'll find out eventually if they lay eggs), but I've started calling them the fellas, so lets hope they aren't offended!;)
They are such a kick! I just love having them and I can't believe how fast they've grown! We got them about 2 months ago when they were just a few days old. Now look at them!

Well that's a bit of what we've been up to so far this summer. How bout you?

SUPA*STAR

2010-06-16T20:28:00.000-07:00

Our little superstar had her dance recital last night. She and the other adorable kids in her tap class did amazing! They were SOOOO STINKIN CUTE out there tapping away to an Elvis song dressed in costumes from Grease! I mean come on... Elvis, Grease, and my adorable daughter dancing.... what could be better! I love to watch Maddie. She is so opposite of me in so many ways. She has zero fear... no stage fright at all. She gets up the on the big ole stage in front of a packed house and gives it her all. It's so great! She also won an award this year which thrilled her to no end, and to top it off her class is in the best of show and will perform again Friday. As long as she loves to perform I'll keep signing her up for class. Next year she says she wants to sing too. Lets all hope she doesn't take after her mother there either or I see some broken glass in our future! ;) Way to go sweetie!!! Mommy and Daddy couldn't be prouder!

I hope everyone is having a great start to their summer! It was finally nice enough that we got to paint our house last weekend. Now we get to just sit back and enjoy the summer. I think were going to try some camping this weekend... as long it's not rainy again! We also have to get a chicken coop built for our chickens. It's time to move some of them out of the garage and outside. What's on your list this weekend? I hope something fun!

woohoo

2010-06-04T09:06:00.000-07:00

...here we come! My pal Jami and I leave today for the Farm Chicks show and a MUCH NEEDED girls weekend. There will be coffee, SUPER FAB JUNK SHOPPING, laughter, good food, great company, and plenty of relaxing too! 4:00 just can't come quickly enough... of course my to do list before I leave is about 14 miles long... so maybe 4:00 can take it's time.

Today is also the last day of school for my big guy. WOW, I can't believe his first year of school went so fast... scary fast. It's been a great year though! I've really been looking forward to having him done for the summer... I really miss having him around during the day! :) Congrats my big guy on your first official year of school!!!

Have a great weekend everyone! I'll be back next week with some great Farm Chicks photos!.... oh and say a little prayer for me... hubby, the kids, and a crew of friends will be trying to paint our house this weekend...(it's been raining here like crazy and we haven't been able to get it done) we need good weather and I REALLY NEED THE INSIDE OF THE HOUSE TO BE IN GOOD CONDITION when I get home Sunday night because a Realtor is bringing a potential buyer by to see the house Monday. Jami, be prepared... I may be calling you in a panic after I drop you off Sunday. ;)

Taking a little break....

2010-05-24T09:41:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I'm not really on vacation. In fact, I'm pretty sure I've never been busier in my entire life. But my little Etsy shop, Pink Owl Paperie, is taking a vacation. I'm closing up the shop until fall. We just have too much going on between getting our current house ready to sell, getting ready to build our dream home, end of school year activities, summer house guests, getting ready to launch my hubbies new business, etc... and I'm really looking forward to having my kiddos out of school for the summer! We have a lot on our plates right now, too much really but it will all be worth it in the end. (So my dear friend Jami keeps telling me, and she is right ;)) So for now my little shop will close. It will reopen sometime this fall with lots of fun new changes. I'll still pop in here on the blog from time to time too. Well enough sitting around... I've got more trim to paint and boxes to pack! Have a great Monday!

Someday...

2010-05-03T16:27:00.000-07:00

My hubby is so sweet! I am not a car person. Honestly I could care less what I drive as long as it gets me from point A to B. There have only been 2 cars I've ever loved and neither are very practical. I really want an old pickup, to be more specific I want a Ford or a GMC 1948-1955. (the other car is a convertible slug bug) I just think they are so cute! I've always admired them, but lately my hubby has been talking very seriously about them. He's even been looking for them on line. (Which is where the photo of the truck above came from) They are a little spendy because most of the time they are tricked out like hot rods, but mine doesn't need to be that fancy. I love this one he found. I especially love the aqua color and the fact that the chrome has not been painted. He found a really cute green one (a GMC) with the wood slat bed and it's great too but even more pricey. My dear hubby keeps hinting that it would make a great Mother's Day present, but I think for now I should just keep dreaming! What are you dreaming of?

Birthday Bonanza

2010-04-28T13:32:00.001-07:00

Spring is our birthday season... all 3 of our children have their birthdays in about a 1 month period. Our youngest Connor just turned three last weekend. He's so happy to be getting big! His birthday was dino themed and after the party was over he said to me "mama, me had a good birthday," which just melted my little heart! I love to throw them parties and they love it too! About 2 days before his birthday he came to me and said he wanted to wear big boy undies (a big relief on my part because up to that point he had refused to even attempt potty training)! Once he finally decided it has been so great... piece of cake! I just can't believe how fast my baby is growing up! I'm really trying to soak up every bit of my kids childhood... it just goes way to fast. I don't want to miss a thing!

Pick me, Pick me.... oh PLEASE pick ME!

2010-04-27T11:19:00.000-07:00

The lovely Serena is giving one lucky Farm Chicks Show attendee a shot at an amazing VIP pass and some royal treatment! If you have never been, the Farm Chicks show is the MOST AMAZING antique/junk/flea/shabby chic market around. The first time my best pal Jami and I walked into the show we about died. It was our own personal version of paradise! We had the best time and loved being around all the other amazing women who were there. Honestly... Jami and I have had a very hard time finding other ladies in our neck of the woods who share our love of junk... so you can imagine the thrill we felt to see 1,000's of gals who didn't look at us like we had 3 eyes when we began to gush over some chippy piece of furniture or the most amazing rusty old baskets! Ahhhhh... the show was a little bit of heaven! So PLEASE Serena... pick me to be your special guest!!! Oh, but can I bring my best pal Jami too?...cause we're driving up together and I'll have to try to sneak her into the dinner in my granny cart if you say no... and that just wouldn't be very comfortable at all! ;) Thanks for the amazing giveaway!

Happy Easter!!

2010-04-04T08:10:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter everyone! I hope you all have a very special day full of sunshine, love, and happiness as we celebrate the resurrection of our Savior Jesus! Have a great day!!!!

Girls Trip!!!

2010-03-25T08:46:00.000-07:00

(It's GREAT to have friends with the same priorities!)

I'm headed out today for a much needed girls weekend! A couple of friends and I are headed to a scrapbook convention. I'm so excited! Good friends, good coffee, scrapbooking, great deals, no remodel mess... whats not to love! Have a great weekend everyone!

Spring

2010-03-19T15:13:00.000-07:00

I love Spring! I love the return of the birds, the smell of flowering trees, putting away the winter coats, gloves, etc... but it is such a short window here. Anyway this is something I started working on before all the remodel business. It's a new set of journaling cards using vintage bird images. I hope to get them finished soon and in my shop, but for now here's a little sneak peek....

Have a wonderful weekend everyone! I have a few major paint projects to finish, then I'm on to some packing and sorting! It feels great to get this stuff done!

Up to my eyeballs...

2010-03-15T07:34:00.000-07:00

in paint, Spackle, trim, flooring, and a bunch of remodel projects. It's the big push to finish all our updates to this house before we put it on the market. This place is a crazy mess right now, but it's going to be beautiful when were done! Anyway, I'll be in and out of the shop and here for a bit. There is just so much to get done! But I'll share a few photos later...

Don't forget about the March Special in my Shop. See previous post for details.. I have about 5 new sets I hope to get photographed and listed... but I'll have to see how the remodel is going. :)

Here's a quick photo I took of my little guy. I can't believe how fast this kid grows! I LOVE this sweater on him, Grandma got it for him for Christmas and it's almost too short in the sleeves already. I asked if I could take some pictures of him wearing in and he was thrilled. He's such a little ham! I used some of my new photoshop actions on it... so much fun! He is actually standing outside with a hill of snow behind him, but I loved how the actions blended it all together and gave it a vintage look! I love photoshop!!

Have a great Monday everyone!

Whoo Hooo!

2010-03-04T07:45:00.001-08:00

I'm running a little Spring Special in my Etsy Shop this month. Buy 2 sets of journaling cards get 1 set of equal or lesser value free! I've got several new sets to get listed too, so I'll let you know when they are up for sale! So head on over to Pink Owl Paperie and check out my shop!

Have a great day!!!

When is Spring coming????

2010-02-23T12:18:00.001-08:00

I'm so tired of winter! We are all sick yet again. This time it's ear infections, strep throat, and bronchitis. YUCK!!! I can't wait until SPRING and I can open all the windows and get some nice fresh air in here!! I tried it a bit yesterday, but when it's only 30 some degrees it's not very helpful! ;) We are on the mend though, so that's good. We are also in the middle of several remodel projects (finishing things up so we can sell our place and start building) which is VERY exciting! I'm going to have to see if I can dig out a before shot of the worlds most hideous bathroom (aka our master bath)... yikes it was bad. Let me put it this way... we don't use that bathroom. Whatever crazy person put this bathroom in, must have had something against privacy. The bathroom is open to the bedroom. I mean wide open, no door, doorway, nothing. Just a transition strip on the floor to mark the end of the carpet and start of the ugly pink and grey linoleum. This big ugly 1980's blue and brass octagonal shower sat about 2 ft. from our bed and the toilet was only behind this little 1/2 wall. It was crazy. It looks so much better already, even when the whole thing is torn up!

Well I hope you are all staying healthy and well! Have a great day!

Dreaming....

2010-02-16T08:11:00.000-08:00

I think we're finally really going to do it. This year we are going to build our little "farm house" (as the kids call it). We bought a beautiful piece of property a few years ago and have been waiting for the "right time" (really is there ever the perfect time for such an undertaking??) to sell and build. We have a floor plan in mind, and now we just have to get it to our guy who's going to put all our ideas into one cohesive home. I've been looking at and looking in magazines, books, and on-line for a long time for inspiration, ideas, and must haves for our home. It's very exciting!! These are 2 kitchens that I just love. I love the darker floors with the simple white cabinets and black/dark grey counter tops. So elegant, classic, and simple. I also love the idea of painting the island (see the blue island in the 2nd photo) in an accent color... definitely going to do that too... and WHOO HOO!! I think I finally convinced my hubby that we should do the white "subway" tiles as a black splash. See the long skinny white tiles in the first photo. I just love them!! It's a good thing I've been working on converting him to my style for some time now. He is always a little slow to come around. I don't know about your hubby's but mine always says, "I don't care, decorating is your department," and then disagrees with every decision. :) If he could design the our house it would be floor to ceiling dark wood, timbers, big beams, rock work, dark leather, with a gazillion deer, elk, etc mounts hung on the walls. For me it would be a bit like a gigantic animal tomb. Don't worry though, he will have his own man cave in our home.
Love these floors and counters!!
These simple cabinets are great!
Well here's hoping this is the year we really get to do it!

Girls day crafting!

2010-02-15T08:30:00.000-08:00

Maddie and I had so much fun making Valentine gifts and decorations this year. She loves to craft with me. For those of you who know Maddie I'm sure it will come as no surprise that she decided we really needed something fancy to wear as we worked. She put a coffee filter on her head and said we could make hats, so that's what we did. Maddie's "beautiful" hat was made using coffee filters, cupcake liners, curling ribbon, feathers, and a big fake jewel. She loved it! We had a wonderful mother daughter afternoon and made some special gifts her Grandma is going to love. (if your looking for ideas the house of 3 has some great tutorials and easy projects to do!)

Have a great day! I'll be working on my etsy shop this week, adding some new stuff and getting ready for a sale to clear out some other goodies. Stay tuned...

Happy Valentines Day!!!

2010-02-14T09:25:00.000-08:00

Just sharing a bit of our lovey dovey decor! The kids just love holiday decorations, so each year we add a bit more to our stash! Have the most wonderful day and be sure to let everyone you love just how special they are!

Happy little decorations...

2010-02-13T09:00:00.000-08:00

I love making banners and garlands. They would be strung all over the house all year round if I had my way... :) These are a few of my Valentine garlands that are hanging in my house. My daughter Maddie and I made the "puff ball" (as she calls them) garland and the doily garland. The honey comb hearts were a fun dollar store find.

A Valentine Freebie!

2010-02-12T12:02:00.000-08:00

I'd thought I'd share a little freebie I made today! Here are some printable love coupons you can use for Valentines day! They'd be super cute bound into a little book and given to your sweetie, a friend, or family member! They'd also make cute embellishments for scrapbook pages and cards! Simply click to enlarge and save to your computer. Then print away for some Valentines fun! Happy Valentines Day!

Crazy crazy crazy!

2010-02-09T12:41:00.000-08:00

My sweet Maddie girl!
Oh my what a whirlwind! We got back from our WONDERFUl vacation (more on that later...) and I got hit with a terrible cold/flu/stomach bug. I'm finally starting to feel normal again but now I'm soooo far behind. The bookkeeping is piling up, laundry, housework, the kids have Valentines Day parties to bake for and Valentines to be made, errands up the wazoo, orders, and hubby is out on a business trip! Yikes! I'm hoping to get my Valentine goodies in the shop before it's too late! Good thing we scrapbookers have to wait until the holiday is over to scrapbook it! I'll be in and out for a bit trying to catch up! I'm hoping to finally get some scrapbooking done too. I have lots of inspiration, like the picture of my daughter above!

Getting a little R & R

2010-01-27T07:24:00.000-08:00

... more fun messing around with my new photo editing toys!

Well... I'll be out of for a about a week, getting away for a little R&R with my family. We are so excited! I think we may even get to see the beach! Whoo hoo!

I'm in trouble....

2010-01-22T15:11:00.000-08:00

My sweet hubby got me some new toys for my photo shop program for my birthday. I just got them yesterday and I stayed up till 12:30pm playing with them! They are so fun, lots of great color tints, textures, etc. I've been playing with all kinds of combinations. I was supposed to be cleaning my house and getting ready for my b-day scrapbook party tomorrow, but I keep getting distracted by my new toy! Here's a little sample.

The before shot:

and here's the after:

I love this present!!! I have a feeling my hubby might not think it was so great if I stayed glued to this computer all day and night though!

Well I'm off to scrapbook tomorrow. My best pal Jami is having an all day girls scrapbook party for my birthday! I'm so excited to spend the entire day and night scrappin away with my friends! Hopefully I'll have lots of fun layouts and projects to share with you on Monday! Thanks so much JAMI!!

A Creative Layout

2010-01-21T08:03:00.001-08:00

Hey there! I thought I show you a fun and very creative layout by Miss Pamela Young. She is an amazing scrapbooker and I always love to see what she does with my products.

Pam used one of my Shabby Felt Birds and some Vintage Lace Ribbon from my Etsy shop.

If you get Creating Keepsakes Magazine look for some really cute layouts and tips from Pam Young in the February issue. They are great ideas! Congrats Pam!!

Calendar Cards

2010-01-20T08:44:00.001-08:00

Just thought I'd pop in to show you some fun calendar cards I've been working on for my Etsy shop. I think I'll make a few varieties of these for 2010. I'm still working on getting my Valentine goodies listed too. Hopefully by the end of this week.

Have a great day!

A little Valentine Peak

2010-01-07T08:05:00.000-08:00

Just a little peak of my Vintage Valentine Journaling Cards. They will be coming to my Etsy Shop soon!

Something Inspiring for the New Year

2010-01-06T08:21:00.001-08:00

Heidi Swapp, one of my fav scrappin ladies, is doing something that looks really fun, inspiring, creative, and healthy for 2010. The big kick off is today and there is a fun freebie on her House of 3 site. Go to her blog to check it out and join in the fun!

(This little 2 page journaling sheet is the freebie!)

Still working on getting a new printer, any tips on a good inkjet? My little girl is sick today, so I won't get much done on the new goodies for my Etsy Shop, but hopefully by the end of the week I will have some in there!

My word for this year...

2010-01-04T13:26:00.000-08:00

I don't know if you've seen anything about "a word for the year" floating around in scrapbook land... Ali Edwards started it I think, check out her blog to see what she has to say about it... ANYWAY I've been thinking about what my word would be and chose:
2009 was a bit of a bumpy year for us... don't get me wrong, we had so many wonderful things happen and lots to be thankful for... but still there were these bumps. Some of them felt like mountains and others were simply annoying little pebbles, but those pesky mountains had a knack for weighing me down. Why is it that when Jan. 1 rolls around we make new starts? I mean really anytime is a good time for a fresh start! ... but I digress... this year I am determined to demolish the mountains that grew over the last year and ENJOY every minute of this life. I have been constantly reminded lately of how fragile and short life is and in 2010 I am going to remember this and recapture the joy that was lost. This life we are living is such a gift, I don't want to waste a moment of it on those pesky mountains!

Now, of course I as I thought about this, I also thought about a way to express this idea/plan creatively. This year I'm going to keep a journal/scrapbook of sorts. In it I plan to put "everyday" photographs (you know the simple little things that make us glad to be alive), ponder/journal about the things I have to be grateful for, write about the fun things we do, maybe even add some ephemera, and just what ever else makes me happy. This journal/scrapbook is only going to contain "happy stuff". I know there are always going to be struggles and bad days. I'm not trying to paint the picture of a perfect life, I just want to FOCUS on all that good stuff and ENJOY all that this year has to offer everyday! Just making this book will be a happy thing! I'll show you a picture of the cover once I get it finished.

What's your word for 2010?

I'm working on some new Valentine goodies for the shop. My printed died today though, so I must get a new one before I can print them out and get them listed in my shop. Have a great day!

Happy New Year!!

2010-01-01T09:21:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a very happy New Year! I have really been enjoying some down time with my family. I'm sooo not ready for school to start back up! ;) I am looking forward to a new year though... some many things to look forward to, other things to put behind us, changes to be made, bringing new ideas to life, and another year of adventures. Yep, 2010 is going to be great! I wish you many blessings this year! Have a wonderful weekend!
Renee

A little gift from me...

2009-12-18T07:04:00.000-08:00

Just a little gift from me to you! I made these to from tags for my packages this year and I've been using them like crazy! I just punch them out with a 2" circle punch and away they go! Just click on the image to enlarge it, then right click to save the sheet to your computer. Now you can have some free gift cards for all your wrapping and packaging!
Merry Christmas!

Christmas Wishes

2009-12-17T09:26:00.000-08:00

This is the Christmas card we're sending out this year. I made several different styles, but the fam voted on this one. So out it went in this weeks mail, but I thought I'd give one to you too here in blog land! Merry Christmas!

Stop by my etsy shop if your in need of some Christmas cards, I have some cute ones in there.

Easy Christmas Craft Idea

2009-12-16T06:55:00.000-08:00

Today I'm sharing an easy Christmas decor idea you can make in just a few minutes. Jami made these super cute candles using the Classic Christmas Journaling cards from my shop.

Jami took scrapbook paper, cut it to size, and wrapped it around the candle. Then she embellished them with the round scalloped journaling cards, ribbon, and crystals. They look so cute and festive on her window ledge! Try some for yourself!
Happy crafting!

Christmas Scrapbooking

2009-12-15T07:47:00.000-08:00

Do you have any traditional Christmas photos you do each year? Well every year we take a picture in front of the tree at my parents house. Everyone is in their Christmas best and each year it gets more interesting trying to get everyone to look at the camera, sit still, and leave the ornaments alone. ;) We have pictures like this from starting from the year I was pregnant with my first. This year in addition to the "usual" layout I'm going to scrap a layout with 1 photo from each of the last 7 years. It make take me awhile though, cause I'm actually going to have to dig out negatives (remember those?) to get the first one or two printed...

Today though, I'll share the traditional photo op layout. Be sure you take time to scrap all those great "everyday" Christmas traditions.

Stop by my etsy shop for some fun Christmas embellishments for those scrapbook pages!

My oh My!

2009-12-14T09:14:00.000-08:00

Where is December going? I can't believe how fast it's flying by! I've been having major Internet problems... something with our new anti-virus software and the connection to our office computers... I don't know it's beyond me. Long story short I have not had consistent Internet in over a week, so all my Christmas plans for my blog and shop came to a standstill. I never really realize how much I rely on this computer until it's not working. I've been able to get online with our laptop, but as far as access to my photos, files, etc... I was getting worried I wouldn't be able to get our Christmas cards ordered! I think/hope all the kinks are out now, thank goodness!

I thought I'd share some Christmas decor today. My house always looks so full this time of year, and I'm really enjoying it! Especially because when we take all the decorations down it looks so naked! ;)

This snowman is new to my collection this year... isn't he great!?!
This is part of a vintage inspired decoration I made. I was a super fun tutorial in Sommerset Magazine. I just love crafting with crepe paper!
My children just love these mittens. This year my son hung the up and filled them with "scraps" from our Christmas tree.
I love my Putz houses! I have a huge village that my Grandma passed down to me. I just love seeing bits of her collections around my house. My favorite decorations are the ones passed down through generations!
Lots of sparkle and glitter!

Head on over to my shop and check out the Christmas goodies. I'm working on a few more things today and I'll try and get them listed soon!

Get out your needles and thread...

2009-12-04T07:01:00.000-08:00

...cause we are going to do some stitching today! I love to use my sewing machine or hand stitch on scrapbook pages! So I thought I'd share a layout today with a lot of stitching.
I used my handy dandy paper trimmer to cut squares out of red cardstock. Then I trimmed them into triangles using my pinking sheers. I tacked them to my page to form a banner for my title and then used my sewing machine to stitch a "string" across the top. For the title I punched circles out of cardstock and backed them with a pop dot for dimension.
I also stitched this quilt like paper to my page and added extra stitching to give it even more of a quilted effect.

For a quick and colorful border for the top of my page I added a row of brightly colored buttons.

Be sure to stop by my shop today and see all the new Christmas goodies! There are all kinds of things perfect for giving this time of year!

Christmas Cards

2009-12-02T08:13:00.000-08:00

I've been playing around with photoshop a lot lately and having a ton of fun doing it! I am so not a manual person. If I have to read about how to do something, I'll never figure it out! It's so much easier for me just to dive in and start playing around... more fun too! I've been making Christmas cards lately. This is an example of one I made for our family.

It still needs a little editing. I've made several and I haven't decided which one to use yet, or maybe I'll use a combo of all the ones I've created.

Have a great day, and be sure to stop by my shop and see the new goodies going in today!

Fun Christmas Tradition

2009-12-01T07:45:00.000-08:00

It starts today! This is a pretty new tradition for my family, we started it last year. I read somewhere that one clever mom wrapped one Christmas themed book for each of the 25 days of Christmas. Then each day her child got to unwrap a story that they read as part of a countdown to Christmas. I thought the idea was so great I started it for my family. (Thanks to the help of my super fab cousin Jessie who stocked me with a bag full of Christmas books last year!;)) We actually do several different kinds of advents here. I created an advent mini album with pull out tags that give us activities to do each day (like wrap presents, take cookies to a neighbor, make someone a card to show you care...etc). This year I also made a countdown calendar. I'll share a picture of that later... but for now let the countdowns begin!

I'd love to hear about your advent/countdown traditions... leave a comment and share!

More new goodies going in my shop today... stop by and check them out! Have a great day!

Parade of Lights Layout

2009-11-30T07:05:00.000-08:00

Christmas is such a bright and sparkly holiday! I love all the shimmer and shine, so naturally that translates into my Christmas scrapbook layouts.
I used lots of glitz for this Parade of Lights layout. I love these glittery chipboard letters... I'll be so sad when I run out!
I made some crepe paper rosettes and glittered the edges of them for some extra sparkle and texture.
I also added some gold sequin stars for more shimmer and shine... it is a parade of lights layout after all! ;)

I've got lots of fun Christmas scrapbook goodies in my shop, so be sure to stop by and get some so you are ready to get all those holiday photos scrapped!

...and the winner is...

2009-11-28T08:58:00.000-08:00

I had my #1 helper draw a name for me. He was very happy to help, but was a little disappointed to find out the drawing was for my shop and not something to do with him! ;)

Congrats goes to Jami! Yeah! I'll get those out to you next week! Thanks to all who entered the giveaway! Be sure to keep an eye on my shop this week... more new goodies going in!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Oh my it's Black Friday! Last day for giveaway!

2009-11-27T08:36:00.000-08:00

Well I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving, my family and I sure did! It made me miss my Gram a bit... we always used to sit down with a cup of coffee and look at the ads together at the end of the evening to see where we wanted to go. We always went shopping and then back to her house for turkey leftovers. She loved shopping!

Speaking of shopping, I thought I'd share some of the new goodies coming to the shop! Be sure to stop by my shop and snap up some Christmas gifts (maybe even get something for yourself... ;))

Shabby Vintage Ornaments- several styles coming! Hang them on your tree, from a wreath, on a garland, or tie them on a package for a topper that doubles as a gift!They are made from heavy chipboard so they are really sturdy!

Classic Christmas Journaling Cards - so bright and cheerful you'll need two sets 1 for scrapbooking and 1 for gift tags!

Jumbo Collage Tags- these tags come in 8 different styles designed by me and measure 3 1/2" x 5". Then they are embellished with glitter tied up with handmade yarn pom poms, vintage style tinsel, and seam binding. They make great tags for packages etc because once the unwrapping takes place these tags make adorable Christmas decorations!

Don't forget today is the last day to enter my giveaway! So leave a comment here! (see previous post for details...)

Have a great day and happy shopping!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T10:00:00.000-08:00

Oh... there is just so much to be thankful for! Family, friends, my faith, jobs, the simple everyday things like healthy children, food on our plates, and a home to keep us warm. Things I sometimes take for granted but never want to forget how truly blessed I am! I know I've been buzzing around in a Christmas frenzy lately, but Thanksgiving is really one of my very favorite holidays. It's one of the only holidays that the stores haven't figured out how to commercialize to the point of insanity. It is a day not filled presents, costumes, baskets, or games, but a day to stop and be grateful. A day to slow it all down, hang out with family and friends, and remember how good we really have it. Everyday should be thanksgiving... but since the craziness of daily life can sometimes make us forget or keep us moving too fast I'm so glad there is a day of Thanksgiving where we all take time to be grateful!

I'm so thankful for all of you out there who support my shop and creative endeavors... without you none of this would be possible, so thank you! Have the most wonderful Thanksgiving!

Yummmy! and a Giveaway...

2009-11-25T07:05:00.000-08:00

This is one of my families favorite holiday appetizer. You can whip them up in a snap, but be warned, you may want to double the recipe cause they go fast!
(click to make it bigger)

Don't forget to leave comment here to be entered in the giveaway! You can enter once a day through Friday and then I'll draw a winner Saturday. If you purchase something from my shop, your name will be entered again!
Have a fantastic day!

Easy as Pie Project!

2009-11-24T08:02:00.000-08:00

Hello! I'm really getting into the holiday spirit here, so I thought I'd share a quick and easy twist on a classic Christmas craft... paper chains! This is such a great project to make with your kids, grandkids, etc. and best of all it only requires a few basics.
You'll need some vintage sheet music, a paper trimmer or scissors, and a glue stick.
The just get to work! I cut my paper strips 1/2" by 3 1/2" because I wanted tiny little rings, but you can make them any size. Let your kids cut them out or pre-cut strips yourself for little ones to glue.
If you wanted to make an even more "grown up" chain you could add ink and some vintage glass glitter to the edges of the rings.

This project is going to look so cute on my piano this Christmas! It would be super cute on my tree too! Happy Crafting!

Be sure to leave a comment here to enter for this weeks giveaway! (see previous post for details) Stop by my shop too and see all the new Christmas goodies going in!!

A Giveaway and Shop update!

2009-11-23T08:00:00.000-08:00

So here is the first giveaway! It's a biggie! One lucky winner will get a package of my new Christmas Cheer Mini Journaling cards, a package of To and From Label Journaling Cards, and a cute Toy Soldier Collage Greeting Card! I created all these goodies for my shop, and they will be popping up there soon as well! To enter the giveaway, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post! You can enter once a day through Friday, and then the winner will be drawn Saturday. If you purchase anything in my shop this week you will get an extra entry in the drawing too!

Be sure to stop by my Etsy store today and do a little shopping! Today is the start of my Christmas update, so lots of new goodies will be going in, including some ready to give gifts, crafty supplies, and fun vintage treasures!

Stay tuned for lots of great Christmas inspiration, easy gift ideas, tutorials, recipes, giveaways, and more all month long! (between now and Christmas that is...;))
Have a wonderful Monday everyone!!

Happy Sunday!

2009-11-22T07:01:00.000-08:00

Hey there! I hope you are all having a great weekend! I've been crafting my little fingers to the bone here. ;) I just love this time of year! The holidays always inspire me to create. How about you?

I thought I'd share a layout with you today. I used some of my Little Bit Country Journaling cards. (I haven't got these in my shop yet... they are coming soon though...)
I was trying to use up some of my older supplies on this layout, and I'm really happy that it all came together to look new!

I did a lot of distressing on these pages with sandpaper, ink, tearing, crumpling, and staples. I love to distress... no matter what you do you just can't mess it up! :)

and now.... a little reminder about my the Christmas update in my Etsy shop... it starts tomorrow! I'm going to start adding the new goodies to my shop mid morning and the update will probably go throughout the week. It will include ready to give gifts, crafting supplies, decorations, pretty packaging, and vintage goodies! I'll be having a giveaway here on my blog too, so be sure to come back tomorrow to enter! I'm also going to be having some Christmas fun on the blog with easy handmade gift ideas, tutorials, decor inspiration, recipes and more so be sure to come by and join in the fun! See you tomorrow!

Enjoying every minute of fall...

2009-11-21T06:45:00.000-08:00

We've been trying to get out and enjoy as much of fall as possible before the snow flies... which in Montana could be any day now. We have quite a few large cottonwood trees in our front yard and it always results in mountains and mountains of leaves to jump in. The kids love it, and honestly so do I!

I've been having fun getting to know my photo shop program more and more. I just love these fun white photo frames from the House of 3- they just add so much to interest!
I've been making a bunch of super cute vintage inspired tags, cards, and signs for Christmas too. They'll be making their debut to my shop along with lots of other goodies during my Christmas shop update. It will start the Monday before Thanksgiving. I'm also going to be doing giveaways, and sharing ideas and instructions for Christmas gifts, decorations, recipes and more. Be sure to join me in the fun!!

Sneak Peek of the New Christmas Shop Goodies

2009-11-20T07:38:00.000-08:00

Ok, here is a quick little peek of the new goodies coming to my shop! I'm going to be doing a big Christmas update starting the Monday before Thanksgiving. Be sure to come by and check it all out. There will be things to craft with, ready to give gifts, vintage goodies, package trimmings and more. I'll also be doing giveaways, decorating ideas, craft/gift ideas and tutorials, along with some fun recipes and more on the blog! Please join me for some Christmas cheer!

My little cutties!

2009-11-19T07:18:00.000-08:00

I know Halloween was a while ago, but I couldn't resist sharing my little darlings! This probably is the last year that I will get away with dressing them alike. This year we had the characters from Peter Pan in our house! My hubby even got into it with a pirate costume (complete with one of my fancy sparkly earrings which he is never going to live down ;)).
Darling Peter! Oh how I miss those curls... I gave in and finally got Connors hair cut. sigh...
Lovely Tinkerbell... I think her favorite part was the glitter spray we put in her hair. She loves glitter even more than I do!
...and the fearless (and very handsome) Captain Hook! It was a stressful day for the Captain, big events always throw the poor kid for a loop!

Don't forget about the big Christmas update coming to my Etsy shop! It starts the Monday before Thanksgiving. There will also be giveaways, fun gift making tutorials, decorating ideas, holiday recipes and more on the blog, so STAY TUNED! Sneak peeks coming tomorrow!

Bits of Fall...

2009-11-18T08:59:00.000-08:00

Hey there! Anyone out there still??? I've been seriously out of touch lately. Life has just been so busy, I haven't wanted to give up a drop of time with my kiddos, hubby, etc! I have been doing a lot of crafting lately, which has been wonderful!!! I have lots of fun things planned for the Christmas season including a big holiday update in my etsy shop, fun decorating ideas, recipes, easy-peasy gifts you can make with your children... and a whole lot more! The glitter will be flying, so stay tuned!

Today I'm sharing a little bit of fall around my house. First, this is a little Fall sign I made for our dining room. I love fall decorations because they go up in Sept and last through November! It's great!!!

I layered paper, vintage sheet music, buttons, and silk flowers to make these big blooms.
Add in a cute little Jenni Bowlin bingo card, some vintage lace, and vintage inspired festooning (the fluffy trim around the bottom half) and it was finished!
This is Thanksgiving/fall wreath I made from strips of muslin, a vintage bingo card, a glittery gold bird, and a few other odds and ends. There may be a tutorial to make a Christmas version of this in the near future! ;)

So... on to my Etsy Shop- Pink Owl Paperie, there will be a big Christmas update coming to the shop starting the Monday before Thanksgiving. It will be a mix of goodies to create with, ready to give gifts, and of course some vintage treasures. I'll be sharing a few sneak peeks over the next week, so be sure and stop by to check them out! I'll also be doing a giveaways starting that same Monday, so stick around for some holiday fun!!

Whew....

2009-10-19T11:49:00.001-07:00

It's so nice to be almost back to normal! My children have been battling the dreaded swine flu for the last week or two. It has been a long haul for sure... several scary nights of 105+ fevers and really sick children. I was even running a fever off and on for several days. But... so far so good today... no fevers for anyone and, aside from nagging coughs, the kids feel so much better. If we make it through today with no fevers the pediatrician said we are free and clear! YEAH! So... now that I have a bit of time I thought I'd share some photos from Apple Fest. This my the booth my pal Jami and I had.

We were really happy with the way our booth turned out, unfortunately though the weather did not cooperate. It was the coldest October day we have had here in 20+ years. We froze our tushes off and apparently looked pretty funny doing it. The few brave festival goers that came all stopped to laugh and comment on our set up. Some even took our pictures! We couldn't figure out what was so funny, but then again we were sitting in camp chairs, bundled in sleeping bags, hats, scarves, and gloves, sitting in front of a mini propane heater... well at least the booth looked pretty!
I have lots of fall and holiday goodies to add to my etsy shop, I'll share some previews here when I get them photographed! Have a great day!

A few little peeks...

2009-10-09T13:35:00.000-07:00

I've been working my tush off trying to get some things made for the Apple Festival this weekend. It always seems I'm crammin as much in as possible at the last minute. I thought I'd share a few little looks at some of the things I've been working on.

If you live in the Missoula/Bitteroot Valley area be sure to stop by and see me! The Apple Festival is always a ton of fun for the entire family. It's just off the main drag in Hamilton this Saturday from 9-4. There will be lots of craft vendors,a farmers market, homemade pies, apple cider made on site by the boy scouts, music, food, and the traditional kettle of apple butter cooking away! (oh... and box after box of yummy Macintosh apples for sale!) My pal Jami and I have a table there and she has tons of fab goodies to sell to so be sure and stop by!

Busy, busy, busy...

2009-09-23T07:39:00.000-07:00

Man oh man, there is just something about this time of year that always seems busier. The change in seasons, canning & freezing goodies from harvest time, craft shows and holiday fairs, getting the house/yard ready for cold weather... but now that I have school to add to the mix I must admit things seem downright crazy!! Hence my lack of posts, scrapbooking, and new goodies for the shop. I will say I feel really good about all the things I've accomplished in the last 2 weeks, so it's feeling very worth it! My biggest accomplishment, thanks to my best pal Jami who devoted 3 days to helping my, has been switching my craft room/office with my children's play room. The craft room/office had REALLY outgrown it's space and it was a COMPLETE disaster. Now it looks 100 times better. I still need to purge some craft supplies, organize a few things, and decorate, but it has given me such a new lease on life to have that project behind me. THANK YOU JAMI!! I LOVE YOU GIRL!!

I also have been canning and freezing produce like crazy this year. I plan on giving lots of homemade/handmade gifts this Christmas, so I made TONS of jam to give in goodie baskets. Peach, raspberry, strawberry, raspberry-peach, blueberry, and blueberry-peach... still to come apple butter, pear butter, and chokecherry jelly. I've also done pickles, pies, and frozen lots of yummy fruit to make into cobblers, muffins, and pies later.

... and I'm happy to say that I've been sticking with the 21 Day Challenge (see Rhonna Farrer's blog for details). It's funny how just knowing that I am doing this with so many other women out there makes it easier. I'm not saying that some days aren't REALLY hard, but with God's help and the 21'ers encouragement I am becoming a more patient person. I am also happy to say my kids seem to be enjoying it too... I've been trying to slow down the running lists of things to be done etc that go through my head all day and just take care of today. Enjoy the moments, even the difficult ones because life just goes so fast. I think I had become a bit overwhelmed with the growing busyness of life; it was making me feel like I was always 10 steps behind, making me impatient, and a bit crabby too. ;) That's why I'm so glad I'm taking the challenge. This stressed out attitude of mine was becoming a habit and I do not want to be like that! Life is too short and there is too much to be thankful for. So here I am on day 15 (I'm a day behind the official challenge) feeling so much better about things. It is so rewarding to see that just a simple change in attitude on my part can make such a large impact in my home.

Boy am I chatty today!! Ok enough babble and here's a layout I did for Jenn's design team. I just love her jotters, the quality is so amazing!

Well that's it for today, have a great Wednesday everyone. Hopefully there will be more goodies going in my etsy shop today... so check it out!

I'm taking the challenge...

2009-09-11T06:11:00.000-07:00

...the Rhonna Farrer 21 Day Challenge that is. It is an AWESOME idea. 21 days, 1 habit, inspiring quotes, and an art journal equals a very fun creative way to lick a bad habit or start a good one. I'm breaking a bad one. With all the craziness in my daily life, I often feel I have very little patience. I do not want to let myself be easily frustrated with those around me, especially my family. I'm on day 3 today, I started a day behind everyone, and I'm so glad I'm doing this. I know it won't be easy, but it is SO worth it to break this habit. Making time to spend creating and writing in my journal everyday will be so good for me too. If you haven't heard of this challenge yet, go over to Rhonna's blog and check it out. You can start today and just be a day or two behind like me! :) She has amazingly beautiful quotes for you to download for your journals too. Well wish me luck, this is one challenge I'm gonna lick!

Just something I've been working on...

2009-09-10T06:51:00.000-07:00

There is a local festival coming up next month that I was thinking of participating in. My pal Jami and I are going to get a spot and sell some of our crafty creations. I was thinking of stepping outside the scrapbook box for this show... so here is one of the things I've come up with.

The photo is not very close up, sorry, but I think you get the idea. They are so soft and shabby with handmade ruffles and flowers and lots of vintage touches too. I'm also working on some pillows, brooches, and probably a few scrappy things too. I just haven't quite decided. All I know for sure is I better get my tush moving cause the show is about 1 month away!

Have a great day!!

Sketch and a layout

2009-09-09T06:42:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I posted a sketch on the blog, so I thought today was about time! Here's the sketch...

...and here's the layout I made.

Instead of circles, I cut butterflies out of the Pink Pailsee butterfly paper and stuck them over the cut edge with pop dots for dimension. (I added glitter to them as well. I also used a chipboard strip and gathered some ribbon into ruffles for the border strips. I added some chipboard and sticker word spots and some really cute tree brads I was so excited to use. It was a very fun and girly layout to do!

I'd love to see your take on the sketch, post a link here so we can all check it out! Have a great day!!!

Oh, and stop by my etsy shop, new stuff going in this week!

Scrap Happy

2009-09-08T09:25:00.000-07:00

Hey! I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend. Well it's back into the swing of things again today. My daughter started Pre-school this morning. She was so excited, especially since big brother started kindergarten 2 weeks ago. I can't belive next year she'll be a kindergartener then it will be just me and Connor. We'll be so lonely! Speaking of me and the little man, here is a layout I made of him at Easter.

Check out my etsy shop for new goodies today! Go here to see them!

Making new goodies...

2009-09-07T07:26:00.000-07:00

I've been making some new goodies for my etsy shop, and realizing how many things I need to get listed in the shop! So watch out this week for some new items and restocking of some favorites.
a little peek at some of the new goods
These Ticket Tags will come in a set of four (each one is different) and are perfect for journaling.
I'm going to have several color versions of this Journaling Card set... this is the Fall Stamp version.

I hope you all have a great Labor Day!! See you tomorrow!

Creative Chaos Challenge!

2009-09-06T12:00:00.000-07:00

I created the weekly challenge over at Creative Chaos today. Be sure to go over and check it out. Here's a little sample...

Have a great day!

Oh my DIY!

2009-08-31T06:45:00.000-07:00

We are constantly up to our eyeballs in DIY projects around here it seems. We have been in the process of redoing the kitchen, our kids rooms, the deck, finishing projects in the family room and dining room...the list goes on and on. (oh, now I have decided to bite the bullet and swap the playroom and office/craft room because the latter has really outgrown it's space. Jami... are you out there... you wanna help??? ;)) Anyway, I digress... I wanted to share a cute little picture I made for my daughters new room. It is a pink poodle ballerina room... she chose the theme herself. I think it comes from a combination of her love for pink, ballet, Fancy Nancy, and the fact that she somehow thinks that poodles really are pink. She cracks me up, when I was making the sign she kept telling me "I think it needs more glitter"... All my life I have detested the color pink, but now it's starting to grow on me, as if I had a choice since Maddie fell in love with the color at age two and the obsession has never wavered! ;)

I used a 10x10" canvas as the base for my project. I love to use them for projects like these. You can also mount your scrapbook layouts on them to make some non-traditional artwork for you home!
The ballerina is an old cake topper... I'm kinda obsessed with them. I use cupcake picks in lots of projects. Something about them just makes me smile.
I used lots of vintage goodies from my childhood on this project. The pop pearl necklace, the rhinestones, and the pink beads were all part of my grandma's collection of jewelry I used to play with. After she passed away, I found the jewelry in the back of a closet in the same red box she kept it in for me as a child. She had saved it all those years! It makes me SO happy that it now has a home in my daughters room! I also used some vintage mica flakes, old lace, and some millinery flowers off of an old hat. It was a really fun project to do and a great creative release from all these DIY projects! ;)

I've got some new things happening in the shop this month, so stay tuned for some previews!
Have a great day!!

Wednesday Night Scrappin!

2009-08-26T06:23:00.000-07:00

My pal Jami and I have been scrappin on Wednesday nights. It has been SOOOOOO nice to have one night a week (well most weeks anyway ;)) to get some layouts done, have some fun girl time with my friend, and get a break from everything... and we always have lots of yummy coffee and some kind of goodie so you know I'm in heaven right there!

This is a layout I did last time we got together. I'm really trying to finish up some page kits I had put together a while ago so I can stay focused on my "keep 2009 current" plan.
I used some vintage wooden bingo markers for the flower centers. I LOVE these things! They are one of my fav. embellishments. My stash is getting low though, so I'm going to have to track some more down!!
I also used some of the Bright and Funky Journaling Cards from my shop. They match Pink Paislee papers so well, I love to use them together. (they also go really well with the October Afternoon lines....)
Go here to check them out!

No scrapping with Jami tonight, but I'll be doing some projects here at home for the Creative Chaos design team. I'll share those later! Have a great day!

Oh and PS incase you were wondering, we survived the whole first day of kindergarten trauma. Parker LOVED it and had a great day!! :)

His First Day Of School....

2009-08-25T09:06:00.000-07:00

I just can't believe 6 years has come and gone so fast. When Parker was born I thought school seemed so far away, now I can't believe it's here. Everyone says it's the hardest to send the first child... I hope they are right! Being a stay at home mom, it's so hard to imagine Parker being away all day 5 days a week. Montana does all day kindergarten now. He was so excited! He had his outfit all laid out the last night and he actually took time to fix his hair this morning. He said goodbye to his brother and sister about 20 times. "Bye Concon (aka Connor), you won't see me very much now. I love you!" "Bye Mado (aka Maddie) will you miss me cause I'm going to be gone a long time?" It was cracking us up! We didn't realize we were sending him away for so long!:) I kept reminding him you'll be back this afternoon hon, but he was so excited I think he would have packed a sleeping bag and stayed there if we'd have let him! :) We took him to his class, met his teacher, and he said "OK Mom, you can go." I however, was not as nearly as cool and calm as he was. I fought tears, while I convinced him I'd just stay a few more minutes for some pictures. I'm SO PROUD of him! I watched other kids cling to their parents, cry, and try to escape as my Parker walked over and started chatting with another boy... and even though it hurt like crazy, I am so glad he is a confident kid ready to take on the world (aka kindergarten). I wore my big dark sunglasses and tried not to think about what was going on as I headed off to the parents meeting. I'm pretty proud of myself, as long as no one asked how I was I held it together. Of course now that I'm home... :) well that's another story. For all you other first timers out there today, my heart is with you!
Hugs,
Renee

Happy Scrapper!

2009-08-24T06:25:00.000-07:00

I have been such a happy scrapper lately! I've been doing more scrapbooking the last month or two and then I have done in quite a while. It's so nice just to sit down and work on my photos! I'm always doing so much crafting for the shop or for other people, it's been so nice to work on projects for my family!! ...and nice to use up some of those supplies I've been continuing to buy...

This is a layout I did for the Creative Chaos Team. Jenn is so amazing, I just love her jotters!!
I cut one of the jotters in half and layered it behind a photo on each page. You can do so much with journaling cards...they are AWESOME!
I also stitched on a fun ruffled border out of pink and white striped fabric. Just "crumple" it up as you stitch it to the paper to create a shabby ruffled strip.

Have a great day!

We just love the Fair!

2009-08-21T06:50:00.000-07:00

Last week was Fair week here in Missoula. It is definitely a summer favorite in my family! The kids LOVE to look at all the animal exhibits. They are convinced we should have a farm with sheep, pigs, horses, and chickens. Now after the fair this year they've added ducks, goats, and rabbits to the list. Pigs and chickens seem to be the absolute favorites though. This is a layout I did a week or two ago from some old fair photos I hadn't scrapped yet. I had it sitting out in my living room and everyday my youngest son (2) would walk over to it and say "pig, me go! pig, me hand!" (aka "I want to go see the pigs" "I want to hold a pig in my hand") He was so excited about the fair it was the first thing he asked about in the morning. A week has gone by now and he still says "Mama, me go pig" when he wakes up. It's so cute!
I made the flower accent from punched circles that I inked, distressed and layered with a cute star brad. So easy and a great use for scraps!
I used one of my "Quote It" Mini Journaling Cards from my shop. Go here to check them out!

I'll have some more fair layouts and photo ideas to share from this year. I hope to be scrapping them soon since my goal is to keep 2009 current!

Have a great day! Oh... I put some supplies up in the shop yesterday, cute stamps, stickers, etc. Be sure to check them out!