Tuesday, August 28, 2012

A Quick Page

Life has been crazy around here...we started our homeschool year this week, our small group for church kicked off on Sunday, my online classes started last week (I'm the instructor, which means lots of administrative details to tend to), and we're prepping for an upcoming family vacation (yay!). 

I do have a quick layout to share with y'all today.  When I'm running in a hundred different directions, usually my crafting is the first thing that gets put aside.  But sometimes, spending a little bit of quality time in my craft room is just what I need to rejuvenate.

With that in mind, here's a quick layout I recently completed in about half an hour:


When I'm short on time, I usually go for a smaller size layout, and this one is an 8.5 x 11.  I'm actually hoping to start a smaller (either 8 x 8 or 6 x 6) album for my boys to record the the next year.  I've got an older K & Company pad of paper that I think will work perfectly for them...I'll share as soon as I've got something to show.  :)

I'm also getting ready for Fall.  Autumn is, hands down, my favorite time of year.  In fact, I'm pulling out the decorations this weekend.  It matters not that I live in south Georgia and the weather is still in the 90's, I'm prepping for fall!  I've got some fall/halloween/thanksgiving projects planned too, so I'll be sharing those in the next few weeks.

Monday, August 20, 2012

Is it Tuesday already?

We are having a major case of the Mondays around here.  I'm not sure if I should blame it on the rain or if we're still tired out from all our traveling...either way, today has not been very productive.  I do have some pictures to share, though - including a picture of the prize for the "week in pictures" challenge I'm running.

Last week I wrote about my Mom and her scary post-surgery complications (we're talking blood clots in both lungs scary).  I'm happy to report that she is now home and doing really well.  We are so thankful for her healing and recovery!

But Mom's situation led me to think about how much life can change in one week, and I posted a week-in-photos type of challenge.  So, here's how my past week shaped up:




We had a mini-family reunion with my husband's family in Orange Beach, AL.  On our first day, we visited the Naval Aviation museum in nearby Pensacola...my boys are WWI and WWII junkies, so they were loving it!



We visited a seafood restaurant and enjoyed feeding the turtles outside.  I've never seen turtles move as fast as these!


Of course, we had to spend some time at the beach...this is my youngest enjoying the Gulf of Mexico.


In my family, no vacation is complete without a round of mini-golf!


And we can't forget the arcade...my little guy really got into his game of skee-ball!


Before we left, we tried to get a picture of the cousins...at least most of them are looking at the camera.  ;)


And finally, back at home, I think it was safe to say the kitten missed us.  (Yes, we do have winter sheets on our bed in August...call it wishful thinking.)

Before I sign off, I'd like to share a layout I finished while we were at the beach.  (I wanted to be prepared in case of rainy days.  That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!)  Here's what I made:



That's it for this Monday.  I look forward to seeing your pictures, and I hope you have a great week!

Monday, August 13, 2012

Come Celebrate With Me!

I have a confession to make...I don't have a project ready to share with you this morning.   I do have a very good excuse, though.  

Last Tuesday, I received a phone call that I wouldn't wish on anyone. My Mom was rushed to the hospital with life-threatening complications from surgery. Needless to say, my family dropped everything and made the 10+ hour trip to be with her.  Fast forward to today...she has made an incredible recovery and will most likely get to go home today. In the span of 7 days, she went from being unable to move from a hospital bed to walking laps in the hospital hallway!  What a difference a week makes!

In thinking back on this past week, I've been reflecting on how quickly life can change - for both better and worse.  While I'm thanking God for the recovery my Mom has made this week, I know that there are others who had to say goodbye to precious loved ones in the same time span.

My challenge to you is to document this week in photos.  Each day, take one - or more - pictures of your everyday life.

Monday, August 6, 2012

Easy Wall Art

Happy Monday!  This morning I'm going to share a Subway Art-inspired project I created for my son's bedroom.  This project is very simple and could easily be a project that you make with your children - mine preferred to supervise though.  ;)


I started with a frame that I picked up on clearance a couple years back.  It was originally intended as a graduation frame (though I think I threw away the mat that came with it...sorry 2010 graduates).  I liked the size (it's just under an 8 x 10) and the fact that it was thicker than most frames (almost, but not quite, a shadowbox).


Using the back of the frame as a guide, I cut a sheet of chipboard and patterned paper to fit.  I also inked the edges of the paper (it's very subtle though).



Next came the most time consuming part of the process.  I knew that I wanted to use some Thickers, but I wanted them to really pop, so I cut down foam squares and applied them to the back of the letters in my phrase.


Before adhering the Thickers to the patterned paper, I placed them down for a rough placement of where they should go.  I paid special attention to the word "courageous" because I knew that would be the first word I adhered.


Using a ruler as a guide, I adhered the letters, starting from the bottom.  This part was also a bit time-consuming, but something that could easily be done in front of the tv.


Once the bottom word was adhered, I eyeballed the space between the words and used the ruler as a top guide to keep the individual words straight.


And that's it!  Once it was done, I popped it in the frame, where it's waiting for my son's room to get painted.  (Because of the glass, it's hard to get a glare-free shot of this...it's brighter in person.)


And finally, here's a shot to show the dimension of the letters:


Friday, August 3, 2012

Sewing Machine + Scrap Paper = Patchwork Layout

Happy Friday Nesters!  This week I pulled out my sewing machine to create the background for my page:


As I've been working through a couple of kits from my stash, I've been left with an ever-growing pile of scrap paper.  A few days ago, I was trimming the scraps down to squares and rectangles (I cut off any irregular sides once a paper has been relegated to the scrap pile).  

While I was cutting the scraps, I got an idea to make a patchwork out of some of them as a background for a layout.  And my layout for this week was born.  :)

Here's a video I made highlighting the steps to this week's page:



And here's a close-up of some of my not-so-fancy stitching:


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