Gettin Ready

I have a scrap booking weekend coming up in two weeks.  This is being run by Denise Sanner, Close to My Heart consultant and it is the first time at this venue.  It will be at the Hilton Garden Inn.  I have never been at a Garden Inn but my experience at the Harrisburg Hilton was very nice so I am pretty positive at this point.  So my yearly dilemma of what to pack and what to expect to get completed is upon me.  I plan to take the advice to plan ahead and bag the photos, paper and embellishments together.  I just let the time slip away.  I organized my photos and now I need to match up paper.  I am not a chronological scrapper.  I tend to put together a book of stories.  I have photos of Gabrielle that are categorized as personality plus, activities, school, and like mother and father.  Like mother and father will be some photos of her that remind me of photos of Bob and I when we were kids.  Personality plus will be photos that I took of her being herself, such as the layouts I did at my last scrapping day of her donating her hair to lock of love and the hot chocolate layout.  Activities  will be the things she was  involved with such as scouting, swimming, summer camp.  School is the school activities that I have photos of.  I am deciding about sports.  She played some school sports and some community sports so they could go in either category.  The family stuff will be vacations and holidays so far.  I think that will be good.  I know that I will not be able to get everything done in three days.  I also have a baby shower album for Rylee to finish.  I started it with the Tuesday Trigger challenge.

 

I think that I will be able to bring less if I have stuff already matched up (I hope).  I just start thinking oh I will need that and that and before I know it, I have over packed again. 

My first challenge attempt

Now that I am back in school I am getting back to scrappin.  I am using Moxie Fab World Tuesday Trigger challenge to jump start me into the swing of everything.  I hope that I linked it properly below.

http://www.moxiefabworld.com/search/label/Tuesday%20Trigger


Here's what I did

I was inspired by rug, there is a similar pattern on my paper it is very subtle.  The bedspread, and the blue bed.  I added some brads to look like the nail head embellishment on the bench .  I have a little stripe patterned paper that looked like one of the pillows.  I had white background to ground it like the photo.  I think I may have gone a little too literal. 

Jaunuary 2013

So I finally graduated from Temple.  I can now throw MSW at the end of my name.  It also means that I can get back to creativity.  I plan to participate in more challenges so that I can sharpen my crafting skills.  I have learned that being in the trenches really can get you down if you don't have a hobby that you can lose yourself in.  I hope to upload my first entry in Moxie Fab Tuesday Trigger later this week.  I have the layout down but I need to choose the photos and journal it.   

Back in the saddle again

Instead of shopping till I drop I decided to go to a crop with my friend Mel tomorrow.  Yes, I am avoiding the Black Friday mall madness and spending the day using what I already have.  I am also packing up donations for the Purple Heart.  Throwing away the wreckage from Hurricane Sandy has caused me to examine how I spend the resources that the Lord has entrusted to me. 

S.A.V.E. 2012

Back from S.A.V.E.  I had pages planned and did not get everything done.  I overpacked again.  So once again I hope I can learn more about myself.   I did not touch my cricut so I will not bring it next year.  I did not use many of my stamps so I will only take stamp sets with me that I have planned.   That goes for inks as well.  Paper and embellishments need to be paiored down as well.  I plan to practice this by going to the monthly Calvary crops only bring one project. If I can get it all packed in one container for a three hour crop then I hope to have a better idea of how to pack for a three day crop. 

What did I get done?  I finished the baby shower book by adding the hospital photos.  I scrapped a two page spread of Gabrielle and Katie at camp, a two page spread of Gabrielle drinking hot chocolate and took two classes. The second project took me nearly all day on Saturday.

 Also Sunday is a complete waste because all I did was pack up which is another reason to pack light next year.     

SAVE prep

I am packing for my annual trip. I already started packing my clothes. I like to be comfortable and I need a new pair of slippers. The Hello Kitty slippers have stretched out so baggy that I cannot keep them on my feet. I need to bring lots of eye wettener solution because the dry air heat is brutal. I am in the process of paking my 12x12 bags. I watched a Tim Holtz video of how he packs his supplies. He has some cool looking train cases that he designed. Me, well I favor lock n lock. It seems to work for me. I will upload a photo when I am done.

the year in review

I noticed that I had not really posted anything since S.A.V.E. and I gurss that is because my world got rocked a bit. I dropped out of school for a year to regroup. I cannot say for sure whether it was time well spent or not yet. I do know that I surely want to graduate already so I will be putting more effort into my education.

I am praying about relocating. I should say that my husband and I are praying about this together. We have been living in a somewhat rural area and Bob had been a Philly guy all his life. So we are praying about movign closer to the city. Not in the city, I already endured that for a season and I really did not like it. I felt the tension as soon as I walked out my door. I do want to be closer to Calvary Chapel of Philadelphia so that my daughter can go there for high school.

Along with praying about relocation, I am praying for patience, wisdom and obedience so that I can recognize the Lord's direction.

Check it out

There’s a new challenge blog in town with articles, swaps, interviews, videos, challenges, great prizes and MORE! Check out Lily Pad Cards! [Link: http://www.lilypad.inlinkz.com/] I love a challenge it helps me get my mojo on.

salebration

I caved. I noticed at S.A.V.E. that I wanted the Stampin Up color caddy to keep my ink pads organized on the table. So Stampin Up has salebration going on and I figured that I should purchase it now and get some freebies. Well my Stampin Up Demo, Missy, informed me that there is a clearance rack when you order online, so I ordered some ribbon, paper and tools along with some new colors and markers andwell it totalled over $170. So I got three freebies. I ordered paper from the Salebration book and two stamp sets from the regular catty. This was something new this year. So I ordered Dasher, a single reindeer stamp and Funky Four, a 70's retro mushroom set. My guess is that these will be phased out so I feel better getting them now for free.

I am pretty much trying to use up my stock pile of supplies but sometimes I cannot resisit the lure of the deal, like real red polka dot ribbon for $1.99. Oh well I will have to post something when they come.

BACK IN THE GROOVE

I came back yesterday from S.A.V.E. Scrappin Away Vacation Events and it was very productive by my standards. Now there are some very organized women who got 100 pages completed. I am not worthy but I did manage to scrap Lynn's baby shower, although I must admit that Michael is 5 years old. I also created a first day of school chipboard book to place all Gabrielle's photos. I took two classes and created 2 two page layouts and I even had photos for the one so I have it completed.

As always I try to reflect on what I learned from my experiences. There were some good times and some challenging times this weekend. So here we go...

"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer" only works in the Godfather movies. This is a 24-7 event, meaning that you are going to be sitting with a group of friends, eating with them and sharing a room with them. You really have to know yourself and know your friends. This weekend we had a roommate that we did not know very well and she treated my one friend who invited her very badly. She was politely told that next year she should get a group of her friends together to come up with. So I am actively recruiting for next year.

Pack Smart. Dena and Trish passed on a tip from the very organized women I mentioned from before. They put together their cardstock pattern paper and photos in these 12X12 clear plastic bags so that there have all their layouts ready to go and the weekend goes very smoothly. So Trish gave me some bags and I pulled together some paper and embellishments for the Christmas craft that I will be working on next. I will have this ready for my mini crop this Friday at Calvary Church of Souderton.

Price low at the yard sale. The purpose of the yard sale is to get rid of the stuff. If it is collectible then sell it on ebay or Splitcoast stampers where the collectors shop.

Back up adhesives are a must at a class. My ATG gun pooped out during a class and I did not have time to reload. So it is a good idea to have a back up ready to go. This is also an idea that I gleaned from Swamp People on the History Channel. Alligators on the hook are not going to wait for you to reload your gun.

Comfort is king or queen in this case. I brought a pillow to sit on and one of those As Seen on TV back pillows. Next year I am going to bring a slip cover to keep them in place. A scrappin queen needs a throne anyway so I will take the time to sew up a really cool one.

Vanity thy name is ... There is nothing worse than a bathroom hog. Please don't bring bathroom hogs with you to these events and if you are a bathroom hog then be willing to allow a roommate to pee. It is really annoying to have to wait around for breakfast when you were the first one up and ready to go or the one who has to wait to pee. Also I have sensitive eyes and the hotel dry air really irritates my eyes so no eyeliner or mascara for me next year. Also I should remember to bring saline and water to keep me and my eyes hydrated. Also this is one trip that I truely can pack lightly regarding clothes, I dress for comfort not fashion for this weekend. The rule is that you should have more bags of scrapbookin than of clothing or you are packing wrong.

Don't believe Gordon Gecko; Greed is not good. It is very tempting to spend lots of money. Seriously, get a budget in place, and only pay with cash. Rollie has great stuff and was running insane sales but I promised Bob that I would only spend the cash we agreed upon prior to my departure.

Make sure that the keys get turned in. There is a $100 key charge. Enough said on that one.

Only the Lonely

dum dum dum dum do wah. I love Roy Orbision. Anyway, I am halfway through my second summer class and I really like it. I wish that my professor was teaching in the fall too. She is such a bundle of energy. I really enjoy her enthusiasm.

Yes I am lonely because my daughter is at a sleepover and won't be back until tomorrow. I really love that she has friends that I am not afraid to have her around.

I had to drop my stampin up demoship but I will still be okay since I have Missy to shop from.

so sad about us

I am still having sadness. I don't know what it is. I just have no motivation. I think that this happens to me after placements. My philosophy when working with families is that I tell them not to paint me in a corner in which I cannot get out of without a court order. I try to keep children in their home whenever possible.

Anyway maybe I will cheer up tomorrow night when Mel and Deb and I scrapbook together! I will have something new to post.

I am still working on Corrie's baby scrapbook. I am finshing up a snow page.

Stampin Up Last Chance list

I placed my pre-order for some new stuff. Stampin Up offered one year of discounted pre-order stam sets in honor of their 20 year anniversary. This was the last pre-order because it has been one year duh. They are going back to one catalogue per year. I am happy about that. I think that some sets take a little longer to develop their full potential and by the time you fall in love it was being retired.

So I ordered a really cool circle set, cute animal set with a giraffe. The set Wild About You is being retired and I never got that one.

There is a second level hostess set called Christmas Punch that I will get alot of use out of. I am a Christmas stamper. I love the Christmas stamp sets and usually will keep those sets after they retire.

I ordered the curly label punch set because I like the labels and the punch can be used with the new Christmas punch stamp set. The accessories are available as supplies last and there are already things selling out. That is why I put thogether this little order.

I will place another order by the end of the month to get the new in colors. They are very vibrants and happy colors.

quilt square attempt

Some of my coworkers have decided to make a quilt for one of the retiring supervisors. This is my first attempt to do anything like this. The inspiration was "As for me and my house we will serve the Lord."hence the house. Service- because she is a social worker and she has not only retired from BCCYSSA but had already put in 20 years of service at DYFS in New Jersey and retired from there as well.

I then decided to put a heart on the side instead of windows. The inspiration was one of my favorite lines from the Wizard of Oz. It is the wizard telling the tin man that "A heart is not judged by how much you love; but by how much you are loved by others." I did not know her very well because she worked in a different division that I did not have much interaction with. I do know that she is very much loved by the adolescent unit and they will miss her terribly.

I am fusing the house onto a piece of muslin and then I plan to stitch around the outline with coordinating embroidery floss to give it punch. I would like to stitch the scripture on as well.

snappy birthday

Happy birthday to Becca.

I am still trying to use up my old stuff. Here's the recipe:
Crab & Co. retired stampin up stamp set, carmel gingham ribbon, pink peroette (spelled wrong but I am too lazy) 2009 in color soon to be retired cardstock. certainly celery retired designer prints paper, watercolor paper. I watercolored the crab with riding hood red classic ink (2009 in color which is also facing the same fate as the mispelled pink ink) and used markers in tempting turquoise, and certainly celery, apricot appeal and so saffron.

I

praying for a mission

I have been working on a paper for school. Everything is winding down to the finish for this semester. I have a Pumpkin patch layout for Corey that I need to upload. I like how I am dictating to her what she is going to scrap about LOL!

My mother-in-law told me about Angelfood ministries so I checked it out online. There are a couple of churches in the area are pick up places. Angelfood is an outreach ministry where the people order boxes of food a nominal amount of money and it is picked up at a local church. Anyway, I have really been drawn to Angelfood Ministries and I think that I should pray some more about it before I talk to my pastor. It is funny because my husband and I ran into him at the local Lowes today and I mentioned that a client asked me if my church had a food pantry because it is in walking distance to her house. So it occurred to me that since the location of the church is in a residential area that maybe it would be a way to reach out to our community. So I will continue to pray about this. I really need to find a way to serve.

A name change

I decided to change the blog name because Pawprintz was too closely associated with pet products instead of the fact that I used my dog as an avitar and she makes paw prints if she tried to stamp with ink oh well so much for that.

I want to be more closely related with an industrious woman since I do try to handle lots of roles so the most industrious female role model for me in the bible is the "Proverbs 31" woman. It is a standard to attain so to speak. I will try it out for a while and maybe I will get some feedback either way.

comfort CD holder

I just completed the CD holder for the Calvary Chapel Comfort CDs that I purchased to give for friends who have had a loved one go home to the Lord. The inspiration for the style of the holder came from a project I made at a class given by my upline Missy Fuentes, who is very creative. If you look closely the rays on the cd cover actually look like they are radiating from the scalloped circle like sun rays cool huh? That was totally by accident.

The plastic is a 6X6 sheet protector. I used baja breeze, more mustard and chocolate chip card stock, and riding hood red and chocolate chip ink. The chocolate chip ribbon is from the fall winter mini, the designer paper is also from that mini. The riding hood red ribbon is only going to be available through July because it and Baja Breeze are both in colors which will will retire at the end of this catalog. Oh and the stamps used were Season of Friendship, Warm words and Very Versatile.

I really love the in colors but I have been very lazy about using them up before they are done. So I am doing a project blitz in which I am using up all my designer paper which has old in colors or current in colors so that I can make room to love the new colors which will be here before I know it. BTW: I just opened my Baja Breeze ink today. Yes I am such the slacker er hoarder. If you visit my friend Mel's blog, (Temporary Residence )you know that she and I are trying to use what we have...

Corey's scrapbook pages

Here's some of the pages I have completed for Corey I used the Simply Scrappin baby boy kit from two catalogs ago, yeah that would be wasabi green and soft sky. Oh well I need to use them up because I am running out of paper. Anyway all she will have to do is take photos of her baby boy who is due to arrive any day now. The other ones looked right when I uploaded them but it is now coming up sideways.

Uncomfortably Numb

Hello, I'm back. I spent today crafting with some very creative women and girls at my church. I worked on a scrapbook for a coworker who is expecting a baby boy any day now. I have 7 pages done and I hope to upload them as soon as I figure out how to on this new Dell Laptop. Now I am from the dinasaur age and this is really frustrating. I am finally figuring out how to use the mouse pad. It doesn't help that two of my fingers on my left hand are still numb. Yes I have been suffering since January but the soonest appointment was for the first week in April. I was told that I was lucky to get that. Gabrielle should become a neurologist.