Tuesday, October 18, 2016

And...I'm back.

I must admit, I pulled up my blog for the first time in…well…2-1/2 years! It’s crazy to me that it’s been that long. Life just happened to get in the way. First my mother was sick, then passed away. Then I had knee surgery. Then I met the man of my dreams (okay, that sounds a little cheesy…but it’s true!) and one thing led to another…engaged, married, moved to a new city, new job, remodeled a house and moved again.

All the while (or at least most of it) I’ve still been scrapping and still been putting things in my Etsy shop. Sometimes full speed ahead and sometimes at a slower pace. Lately I’ve been experimenting a bit with some new techniques, tools and products. Some things have made their way into my shop but some are still in process. Usually I find that my most inspired creations are those that come my way as custom orders. The challenge of finding the right supplies and creating exactly what my customer has envisioned keeps me excited and ready to put together the next book.

I just finished a large order of wedding books that are a quite a bit bigger than what’s typically in my shop. These books measured 8”x12” with 20 pages and lots of inserts. My favorite little embellishment was this car.

It’s a die from Cottage Cutz. How much fun is that?

I’ve got a few large Christmas books next up. Might have to go shopping for more dies…

Monday, April 28, 2014

Think big thoughts….

Think big thoughts but relish small pleasures.
~H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

This is one of my favorite places to go to think big thoughts. I’m still holding out hope for living near the beach one day but for now the Mighty Mississippi feeds my craving for being on (or near) the water. And on a beautiful spring night, you can’t ask for anything more relaxing…or inspiring.

There have been lots of “big thoughts” going through my head lately. A wedding. A big birthday {one that ends in the dreaded “0”}. A new job. The uncertainty of good health. A major remodel. And love.

I Love Us Scrapbook

Technorati Tags: scrapbooks,etsy,apicketfencelife

Friday, July 26, 2013

Back to School? Already?

Back to school has a different feel around here this year. Not 3 kids….not even 2 kids…this year I have only one that will be hitting the books. Ceara is off to grad school this fall. Long gone are the days of buying crayons and glue. These days “school supplies” are more like “apartment supplies”. But that’s okay. I quickly sniffed a box of crayons and then moved to the aisle with ironing boards!

The schools in my town start on Aug. 5th and with temps today only in the low 70s it definitely feels like summer is fading fast. I still have a month before classes start at my college but it won’t be long before I’m back there full time preparing for that first day. It will be nice to see students back on campus. I’ve been working a couple of days a week this summer and it is just too quiet without the kids.

I must admit, it has been a pretty lazy summer…but I have been working on scrapbooks too. Lots of custom orders (which is always fun) and even some new things for my Etsy shop. Some variations of old favorites…and some entirely new things too. Here’s a sneak peek of some of what’s new…

Kindergarten Kid Scrapbook

Did your summer include a trip to Disney? Or are you still planning to fit that in before the school bells start ringing? This book has 8 fun tags to use just for autographs…and plenty of space for the photos that go along with them!

Disney Autograph Scrapbook

Whether you’ve got a cheerleader or a cheerleader-wanna-be, this book is perfect for those summer cheer camp pictures! A great way to keep the memories close.

Cheerleader Scrapbook

One of my twins is getting married next summer so this summer has been all about the wedding plans. So many decisions, I think my head might explode! Hopefully by the time the bachelorette party arrives it will be smooth sailing…

Bachelorette Scrapbook

Pregnancy books are always popular and I’ve made this one, or a variation of it many times…but I absolutely love the papers I found for this one. They’re by Heidi Grace Designs and the colors and designs just make me smile.