Busy Around the House

I haven't had much time for papercrafting lately because I've been very busy doing other things like...

...decorating the house.

A little beach alcove appeared just outside my bedroom. I didn't realize that I had coordinated the decor until I stepped back. Isn't that funny?

My mom gave all of the girls this candle holder while we were in Cape Cod. I filled it with found shells.



I liked the look so much that I replicated it in a grander scale over on the other side.



Those white branches were on major Christmas clearance at JoAnns four years ago. I think they look like coral when paired with beach shells and rocks.

...and sewing like a crazy woman. Just last night I finished two dresses for D's baptism tomorrow. Note to self...Do Not Wait Until 2 Weeks Before A Big Event to Start Sewing the Dress for Aforementioned Event. Do Not.

The dresses turned out beautifully as long as you don't focus on the hemline or those darn zippers. D thinks they are fabulous which is really all that matters in the long run. I'll post pictures next week.


...and knitting. While traveling home from vacation, I took up knitting again. What a lovely way to pass time on a loooonnnnnngggg car ride! This project has no purpose whatsoever except practice.


Oh, and I want to tell you about the My Mind's Eye giveaway at The Scrap Review! Leave a comment and you could win the collection. It is really great!

The Scrap Review

I just joined a new very hip team.

I'm thrilled! You can check it out here.

Embossed Edges

Embossing powder isn't just for stampers anymore. You can use it to add a beautiful gilded edge on your artwork. It adds a touch of glamor to any project.

I did this technique on the following page for the My Little Shoebox booth at CHA. Do you see the silver edge on the white mat around my picture?


Here is a close-up of the silver gilding. I tore the edge so it looks rough. The white "paper" is actually the front of a box of brownie mix. I painted it with gesso to make it white. I love how it turned out.


This is what you need to do to achieve this cool effect.

1. Tear the edges of your paper or cardboard.

2. Apply Versamark ink (or any ink that will stay wet long enough for you to sprinkle on embossing powder.) Ranger Distress inks and Colorbox inks work well too.

3. Sprinkle on embossing powder. (I used Judikins silver.) When I do this, I like to place a manila file folder under my project. The fold in the middle acts as a wonderful "spout" to pour the excess back into the container.

4. Using your heat gun, melt the embossing powder. You can tell that it is melted when it gets shiny and the granules run together.

Voila! You're done! Pretty simple, n'est-ce pas?

Have a lovely Sunday!

Yuck

We've got the stomach flu going on today.

Yuck.

Z was up half the night. I'm feeling a bit tired-ish. To say the least.


Hopefully, it won't spread to the entire family over the next few weeks. Wishing upon a star...

Superhero

I think I've mentioned our family's obsession with Superheroes before. As if we needed more proof, I just completed this layout for My Little Shoebox on the very theme.

I'm sure that D will be positively mortified when she is 16 that I posted these pictures, but luckily we've got a few years still to go.


My journaling.


A close-up of the painted title. This was my first attempt at this technique. I love the way it looks. Definitely planning on doing this again!

So Berry Sweet Summer

Here are a few more projects that I did this month for My Little Shoebox with their Little Lady line.

I made the strawberry for this card using a pink heart and a small green flower. I rounded out the bottom of the heart and applied the flower to the top as the leaves. It turned out pretty cute.

Materials: Bazzil cardstock, My Little Shoebox papers and letter stickers, Machine and thread

Modpodge glue and pop dots, Ranger ink, punch bunch flower punch

And two ATC cards. The flower is actually a scalloped die cut that I snipped to make petals. It was an experiment that worked out pretty well.

Materials: My Little Shoebox die cut, pattern paper and stickers; Making Memories paint; Sharpie pen; dry wall tape; Stampers Anon stamp; StazOn, vintage button


Materials: My Little Shoebox pattern paper; Inkadinkadoo stamp; Queen and Co felt swirl; Fashion jewel; StazOn; machine and thread and Making Memories paint

Signature Move

One of the things that I love most about being a Momma-of-Many is the observation of those little things that make each child unique. You know, they way each of them combs their hair, puts on their clothes, eats and writes. In some ways, they are very much alike, growing up in the same house with the same crazy parents. (giggle...) But in other ways, they assert their individuality in small, almost imperceptible ways. Ways that you aren't even aware of until you are looking through photos and you see one that is so totally, amazingly, and completely that child.

And no one, but a mother would think so.

This picture of Z is so...well...her. This is her stretch. One arm up. One fist on the side of her face. She does this every single morning. And I never really noticed it. Until I came across this picture. This stretch is one of her Signature Moves. Hence the title of my layout.


My journaling.


This was a really fun layout. I treated each pattern paper square (about 1 1/2 inches) as a mini collage and added little do-dads. It was very satisfying. And a great way to use up little embellies.


Here is my most favorite square. I love the bow on the tree. It is a small touch of whimsy that makes me smile.

Materials:

Pattern Paper: My Little Shoebox; Cardstock: Bazzil; Flowers: Prima; Ribbon: Cosmo Cricket; Pen: Sharpie; Brads: Making Memories; Metal ladybug: American Crafts; Letter Stickers: My Little Shoebox; Transparencies: My Little Shoebox; Felt swirl: Queen and Co; Adhesive: 3L and Glue Dots; Dry wall tape, DMC floss

On Thumb-Sucking

My dad is a doctor and during my summers in college I would work in his office as a medical assistant. I would bring the patients back to the room and take their blood pressure, find out what medications they took and what ailed them. One day, I was sitting on the stool talking to an old patient (meaning one who had been seeing him for years, not as in elderly, although that would apply too). Suddenly she exclaimed in a very excited tone, "you are Dr. Kolbaba's daughter aren't you?" I assented, a little embarrassed at such a rush of emotion, and asked her how she knew. She said that it was how I sat in the stool. I guess the placement of my feet was identical to my dad. We both sat with our feet behind us, toes on the floor. (Very hard to explain and not really pertinent to the story.) I found it uncanny that unknowingly, I picked up the same habits. I mean, it's not like I ever watched my dad sit in a stool and if I had I certainly didn't study the way he placed his feet. It was something that was done instinctively. A trait that was passed down via that mysterious DNA sequence.

That's why I get such a kick out of my two children who suck their thumbs. It is an instinctive thing. Passed down via my DNA. Now, I know there are a lot of people who worry about thumb-suckers. They worry about their jaws and teeth getting all screwy and various other emotional dependence issues. I'm not one of them. I sucked my thumb as a child for many years. Perhaps longer than I should have. I sucked it so much that I had a perpetual callous. I continued with that habit until I felt that I was done. Then I quit. Like that.

So I don't worry about my sweet thumb-y kids. When they are done, they will be done. As a mother, this lack-of-thumb-sucking-worry allows me to focus on issues that I feel are of greater import. Like teaching them stuff. Stuff like..manners, and honesty, kindness, and how to read. It also allows me to embrace where they are now as little individuals. I love their little quirky habits. Including those thumbs that, in quiet moments, sneak up to their mouths. In a way, it reminds me of...well...me as a child.

I took this picture of Z last summer in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She was waiting patiently for her turn to ride a horse (hence the hard helmet.) She just looks so sweet and innocent and so utterly unaware of the world around her that every time I see this photo, I fall in love with her again.

Materials:

Bazzil Cardstock, My Little Shoebox pattern paper, Uniball Signo white pen, Sharpie black pen,

My Acrylic Album heart Ranger alcohol inks, Stickles, My Little Shoebox transparencies,

Making Memories brads; staples, 3L adhesive My Little Shoebox letter stickers; DMC floss

Cosmo Cricket ribbon

I titled this layout, Quiet Moment. My journaling can be found on the green strip and it basically states that every time Z has a quiet moment, her thumb goes into her mouth and her fingers twirl her hair.

Here's the little cluster of goodies in the top left corner.



I did this layout for My Little Shoebox with their new Little Lady line. Oh, how I love that line! I love the yellows and all the cute little girls. Oh, and the ladybugs. When I opened my last MLS package, I couldn't wait for my girls to get home from school so I could show them the utter cuteness that was contained therein. They loved the paper and oohed and ahhed for my benefit. Then they asked for a snack. Oh well.

Glittered Vase and Flower Tutorial

Alaina asked me for the directions for this project.

That she saw here.

In this awesome magazine. I seriously love all the projects in it and I highly suggest it for your inspo-library.

All of the directions can be found in the article, however, I know that it isn't always easy to get a hold of Stampington publications so, I thought that I'd give you the directions as I submitted them. Especially since Alaina wanted them for a possible wedding centerpiece. (I'm so flattered!) Planning a wedding is a major ordeal and if I can make that process just a little easier, I'm game. Good luck sweetie! Oh, and I totally want pictures when you have a chance.

Hand clean and dry an empty soap dispenser. (I used Method brand soap available at Target. By the way, it will melt in a dishwasher. I figured this out the hard way.) Spray with Elmer’s Spray Adhesive, coat with glitter. Repeat until you have the coverage you desire. If you are having problems with extra glitter falling off, push the glitter onto the dispenser while the adhesive is still wet .You can also spray the entire piece with a clear gloss. (This will dull the glitter, however.)

To make the flowers, punch out eight hearts and one small circle out of Stampington Artist Papers using Creative Memories punches. (If you are using double-sided paper, you only need 4 hearts.) To make the flower petals double-sided, adhere the wrong side of two hearts together. Repeat for the other three petals. Ink the edges using a Colorbox pad. Adhere the four double-sided hearts in a flower shape to the wrong side of the circle. Adhere a vintage button to the center top of the hearts. Take strands of floral wire and thread them through the papers and through the buttonholes leaving long tails for the flower’s stem. Twist the floral wire tails together for the stem. (One end of the wire will go up into a button hole and down into another.) Look closely at the first picture if you are confused.

A ribbon bow covers up the threaded top of the soap dispenser.

If you have any questions, please let me know and I'll be sure to answer them as soon as possible!

Did You See Me?

When you submit something for possible publication, you don't (at least I don't) expect to hear back from anyone. So when you do, it is such a lovely surprise. And so exhilarating. There is an initial rush to get the artwork in and to fill out all the paperwork. Then you wait and wait and wait. And almost forget.

Then you get a call from your Momma telling you that she's seen you here.


Right in the front of the magazine, the first page of an article (page 23). Not that I have that memorized or anything...


And when you are at the grocery store and you happen to flip open the magazine to your page, you feel a special excited feeling right there in the aisle. And you wish that someone would walk by and you could make eye contact and tell that random stranger that this is your work. But no one does. And that's okay.

And sometimes, you submit something simply because you had extra room in your box and you figure...what the heck? the worst thing that could happen is they will send it back to you unused. (Yes, that has happened before.) And it really wasn't that bad.

Then out of the blue, you get an email from an editor and you can't believe it. You simply cannot believe it. And you kick yourself for not getting to more projects.

And you wait and wait and wait. Until you open your mailbox on a normal Thursday afternoon and this is inside.


So you turn to the back, thinking that your art will be a mini picture in the back. But you don't find it. Anywhere. You start to panic, just a teeny bit. Not much, but...yeah...

Then you come across an article somewhere in the middle (page 75) and you see your name in the teaser.


You turn the page and you get a teeny bit teary because your project is right there. In full color. A HUGE picture that takes up the whole page. And it looks better than you remembered. And the article is about you. And what you said. And you can't believe it.


You simply can't believe it.

And you are on an art high for days and days.

She's Got Sass

This girl has inherent style. She can take any outfit and make it her own. Using the most basic materials. Like seaweed and lycra.


And she knows how to work it for the camera.


Oh yeah, baby.


She's got it.

Can You Hear the Waves?

I absolutely adore the beach. If I could, I would live right on the sand so I could hear the ocean all night. The beach reminds me of my childhood, my Grammy and Grampy, my parents and many happy memories.


This year, my dad rented 3 houses within walking distance of a small-waved beach in Eastham, MA. We loved it.


The entire clan came (except poor Todd who worked the week away in boiling hot AZ.)


My mom was in heaven.


So was a certain youngster whom I adore. (I'm an Aunt again!)


There was lots of burying going on.


The guy who arranged all the flights (18 people), rental cars (4), lodging (3 homes) and activities (numerous). He is an travel planner extra-ordinaire. Vacations are my dad's hobby. He plans them with exact precision and at least a year in advance. Love that.


We spent almost the entire week in our swim suits.


Listening to the water, burying our toes in the sand and feeling the salty breeze on our faces.


It was delightful.

First Day Already

Is it possible that my girls started school already? Where did summer go? Did it wither away like a Gerbera in the desert sun?

Today was a big morning as D and Z started at a new school. The morning was ripe with promise and bursting with excitement as they donned their new uniforms, combed their locks, tied their new shoes and mounted their backpacks.





Someone clearly needs to take a few hair-cutting lessons. I won't mention any names, but...it starts with a B and ends with a Y. Goodness, I'm glad that bangs just keep on growing...


When I picked up the girls this afternoon, both of them were thrilled with their new teachers, classes and school. When I asked them how their day went, they both responded with a resounding "GREAT!" which made me slightly teary with happiness. This year is going to be a good one. I can feel it in my bones.