SOCIAL MEDIA

Cocoa Daisy February Kit "Frayed Canvas" Sneak

1.22.2011
Thought I'd share a little sneak with you of what's coming up for February! It's full of texture, funky patterns and I love the colors! Check out the full reveal on the 28th over on the Cocoa Daisy message board...see you there!



Weekend Project + Little Girl Crushes

1.17.2011
Zoey has been wanting to paint t-shirts for awhile now and I found some plain white t-shirts for super cheap this weekend so made it a priority project for us on Saturday. I made one for her and she made one as well.

Puffy Paint Shirts

Puffy Paint Shirts

I glanced over at her while she was working on hers and thought she was writing "I Love Mom" and was all happy and feeling special and then when she was done I saw the "Mom" wasn't in fact "Mom" but "Max"! Max just happens to be a boy in her class this year. She has gotten quite a bit of teasing about this already (and even blushed a bright pink) so we're taking a break and advising any friends that may see this to NOT bring it up to her in person. She's shared that she will be only wearing this shirt in the safety of her own home...she's even tried saying that it's a make-believe friend Max, not the one that's in her class. Hmmmm... Oh my! Are little girl crushes starting already? :)

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Creative Imaginations Layout + CHA Sneaks

1.14.2011
baking fun

Thought I'd quick share a layout featuring Samantha Walker's Christmas in the Kitchen collection with you here since it's been featured on the CI blog already. I love this collection so much, so versatile and the colors are great. I've been wanting to alter a recipe box using this collection as well, I just haven't gotten to it yet. The layout came together pretty quickly and the pictures of Zoey helping with Christmas cookies were perfect to show this collection off!

Be sure to check out the Creative Imaginations sneak peeks...they are starting to post the new releases that will be at CHA on the blog and you don't want to miss them!

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Creative Space Re-Visited

1.09.2011
Creative Space

Yesterday I spent half the day reorganizing, cleaning and purging my craft nook.  It was totally unplanned and I made a bigger mess than I originally had in the process but the end result left me smiling and happy and wanting to create!  Thought I'd share a bit of what my space looks like.  Mind you, it's teeny tiny (approximately 8 x 10 feet) and is essentially a nook that is off our living room.  I love it though.  I love the natural light and love that everything that I have is literally at an arms reach and I love that I have to be selective with my supplies.  There is no room for excess. And I also love the challenge of creating a space that looks a little bit pretty while being functional. 

Here is the view that you would see facing from the living room to my nook.  The small wooden hutch in front of my desk is a desk that I picked up for Zoey at a local antique store.  I love that it mimics the look of my hutch while creating a space for Zoey right next to mine.

Creative Space

Here is a peek behind my desk...the wooden rack on the wall was a piece that I got from a bakery that I used to work at.  It's original purpose was to hold plates but I use it for storing blank chipboard albums, Luminarte misters and watercolor paints.

Desk

The scale was also something that I got from the same bakery...the tray on top holds some of my recent notions and bits for scrapbooking.  I lined the glass door of the black storage unit with some of my favorite paper.

Standing Organizer

Creative Space

Here's a shot of my hutch which is plum full of more supplies!  The shelves that you can see I filled mason jars with goodies and then inside the drawers and places that you can't see I have filled with more boring things like adhesives, small tools, small paper scraps, etc.

Hutch

At the foot of my hutch is a big basket filled with papers from kit clubs for my design team work.

Kit Club Papers

An old coco-cola tray is perfect for storing my paints...an old wire mail basket holds my punches.

Punch and Paint Storage

A boring but functional paper rack holds my papers from Creative Imaginations. 

Creative Imaginations Paper

On top of my desk are jars full of buttons and some muffin tins filled with recent favorites.

Notions

A hanging kitchen basket holds paper borders, flowers and tags.

Misc.

A paper towel holder serves as storage for some favorite trims with a cigar box on the top holding blank cards and envelopes.

Favorite Trims

A very boring shot but this is what is underneath my desk...more paper, clear acrylic stamps, chipboard pieces, gems, brads, pearls and other random things.

Hiding Under my Desk - More Paper, Idea Books, Clear Stamps

Here is a plain old bookcase that I use for storage of more supplies. 

Shelf Storage

Sewing Machine, Misters, Paint, Blank Books, etc.

And another shot of my hutch...my favorite part of my work space!

Hutch

Thanks for looking!
 
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Little Treasures

1.03.2011
Lately we've been finding all sorts of little fun things written and drawn on Zoey's new easel...this was the latest.

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She loves her dance classes! :)

P.S. Ms. Dana (her instructor) sometimes has them leap over little stuffed animals so the can practice with something visual so I'm guessing that's what's drawn under the little dancers' feet...

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Shrinky Dinks!

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Over break Zoey and I had some fun playing with Shrinky Dinks (she got some from us for Christmas).  They are pretty addicting to tell you the truth, it's so fun to see them shrivel up and shrink in the oven!

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We created about a dozen or so and still have lots more plastic to create with.  She put some of them on little pull rings.

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The bird was my favorite.

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She put the the one that says "Zoey" and the yellow flower on her backpack zipper and then I thought it was pretty funny that she went and put the one that say's "OK" on Ethan's backpack.  :)

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Some Pictures From Christmas Morning and a Re-Cap

1.02.2011
Thought I would share a couple pictures before the holidays are long behind us and it just wouldn't make sense to anymore. This Christmas was rough with Zoey getting sick on Christmas day, however time seemed to be on our side for Christmas morning at least...thank goodness. Here Zoey is ripping into her first present from Santa, she is so unlike me when it comes to what it is that she opens first. I always would chose the smallest and work my way up to a grand finale...she on the other hand does the exact opposite.

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Here is the master at work assembling her easel...Santa thought it might be a good fit for Zoey since she loves playing school so much.  He was right about that, she's been painting, using her chalkboard and writing on her white dry-erase board ever since she's been up from being sick.

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Loved this shot of the two of them after it was put together.

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Santa was good to all of us this year...and I've come to the conclusion that despite Zoey being sick the entire break I'm thankful that we were on break when all heck broke loose otherwise I would have missed quite a bit of work and she, quite a bit of school had it been otherwise.  Zoey was sick starting on the 25th right up until about today...she's still fatigued and has a nasty cough but we're told that fighting off pneumonia can take awhile so we're thankful that she's made it this far along the path to recovery already.  We read lots and lots of books, watched lots and lots of movies, played lots and lots of games and took advantage of having the time to lounge around and snuggle. Something that we needed to do anyways and Zoey's health just made it so that we actually slowed down and did.  It is little blessings I am seeking. 

I read this post right around the time when I was feeling my lowest and it rang so very true that it seemed to shake me to my very core.  I can't even tell you the extent of my disappointment that I felt this year with everything.  I kept feeling rushed and realizing that I was missing the mark on so many things (the cut-out cookies were never made this year, I never got to the fudge, I only sent out half of the Christmas cards, shopping for others wasn't finished, my packages weren't as "pretty" as usual, I could go on) and then I read that blog post and it was like a damn broke and I could breathe again because it was so very true.  I was totally getting sucked into the trappings of this "holiday" and wasn't focusing on the reason itself.

 "Whenever Christmas begins to burden, it’s a sign that I’ve taken on something of the world and not of Christ."

And with Zoey getting so very sick, scary sick, it was almost as though God reached down and shook me to help me better see what the focus should be...where my heart should be...where it is that my family should be.  And now, we all go back to school tomorrow and things will go on as they did before but I am determined to say "no" more to others and "yes" more to my family.  I am determined to make things matter and have substance.  I am determined to push away guilt that is mis-placed and to live with a happy and true heart.


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Happy New Year!

1.01.2011
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