Home Organization

Stampin' Up came out with some designer file folders and gusseted envelopes this fall that caught my eye, but $14.50 for 12 file folders did not catch my pocketbook, if you know what I mean;) Still, I found myself looking at pages 116 & 117 of the idea book more than any of the others...the 'organization collection' -- and while I decided against ordering the file folders and envelopes mentioned, I simply HAD to HAVE the 'Favorite Things' stamp set (loved the journaling stamp and loved that there was a stamps where you could check of whether something was 'for..today..tomorrow..another day..or..NEVER - something in me LOVES that *NEVER* is an option - we'll just call that the administrative rebel inside me;) Well all that to say, that I took inspiration from those favoured pages of mine in this fall's idea book to create my own organization solution for incoming bills, filing to be done, medical receipts to be submitted etc and this is the result.

The file folders I used and embellished further came from Michael's ($1.50 a pack - and they have a French flare:) I housed them in a basket also from Michael's ($8 - on 50% off - and I think it coordinates well!) I also altered a folder into a notepad holder for the notes I made when I'm paying bills, etc. I used the 'Favorite Things' stampset throughout - and you'll notice that I altered one of the stamps because to me it's NOT 'all in the details';) This was simple and fun to put together and I'm sure I'll add to it or adapt it further as time goes on. Already it's been an improvement on my previous organization system:)

Pillow Box Bucket

I made this using last week's Splitcoast Tutorial. It is made out of 3 pillow box dies! I love finding a new use for something I already have - you know! Lynn from The Queen's Scene came up with the idea! Thanks so much, Lynn!!

Altered File Folder/Notepad Holder

I've see several of these notepad holders on the blogs I visit, so I had to try my hand at one. Most people have been using SU's new modern file folders which I haven't ordered. I made this one from a Mary Engelbreit folder. It fits a 5 x 8" pad inside and has pockets to hold stuff:) I got the file folder that I used in a pack at Michael's quite a while ago. Here's a tutorial for making these:)

Sketch Book

This is the sketchbook I made with Kristina's MACM a couple of weeks ago. I'll probably play with it a bit more yet, but I love having a place to sketch my cards out. The DSP, border and journaling tag are all from Basic Grey...I believe it was called 'bittersweet'.

Diorama

I made this diorama at club too - the windows were created with the 1 3/8" circle punch and the 1 1 /4" circle punch.

Club

Last week I went to the first stamping club of the season - which was a good chance to "play" with new things. Here is one of the cards we made... Thanks again, Nicole!!

Good Works

This card was intended to have a tissue flower on it...a tissue flower that didn't work out...oh well, I like the colours;)

Merci

This is a recent thank you card I made for a friend who loaned me a bag of goodies to help me brush up on my French. Tres bonbon!

Pumpkin Basket

I saw the idea for this adorable little pumpkin basket on Becky's blog, but I didn't have the punch she used, so I thought, what do I have that might work?... and I have a large (but not huge oval punch) - so I punched 7 of these for each pumpkin (one on each side of the basket) and voila! (If you have the really big/wide oval punch, then you only need 5 ovals:) It's pretty stinkin' cute - even if I do say so myself;) I dtp'd the edges with red ink to give a bit of a shaded effect. Paper was last season's tangerine tango from SU and the handle is attached with brads.

Quote for Today

On the weekend, we caught 'Akeelah and the Bee', a movie we had wanted to see and had never gotten around to. We just happened upon it flipping channels after our housework. There was a lot of good food for thought in it, and this is the quote that Akeelah's coach had her read as they started working together. I think it struck a chord with all of us, so I thought I'd make a place for it to rest upon our shelves so we could think about it some more...

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same."

The frame is an 8x8 wooden frame that I got at Michaels for all of $1.50. Most of the dsp I used is from Webster's Pages (Your Life. Beautiful.) I also used the Baroque Motifs stampset from SU, Chestnut Colorblok Chalk, some Ridinghood Red CS, etc.

Home + Happiness

This is the card I made for our new neighbours. I took inspiration for the colours by the row of houses ribbon I had on my shelf from American Crafts. I was going to bake muffins for them this morning as well, but found my canister was low on sugar - so maybe later...

I have mixed feelings about the new neighbours.. On the one hand the family that moved in seems super nice, but on the other hand they have a tenant in the basement that caused a raucous on Friday night and then this morning was parked so close to our shrubs, I'm not sure how they got out of the car and I am sure that they stepped through them. Forgiveness...I keep telling myself - forgiveness. I haven't even met this person, but how do I ask them to show respect for us respectfully?!

Anyway, I better go get some sugar...

Wiper Card

We made these at the lake last weekend too! There was also a recent tutorial on Splitcoast on this.

Shawna's mum crocheted the big snowflake - isn't it daring?!!

Snowman Card

The new to me techniques on this card were the 'sweet center' part in his belly and stamping with shimmer paint (the camera might not have picked up on this one very well - it's very subtle). The snowman was coloured using an aqua painter and stamp pads (I usually use a blender pen).

Recipe Box

I went to Shawna's stamp camp this past weekend, so the next few projects were all done at camp. I tried to do a new technique (for me) in most of the projects. It was a beautiful day to be at the lake and I have missed crafting with Shawna as I wasn't in her club this year.

The new technique on this project was the colouring of the flower (using markers and pulling the colour down the petals with an aqua painter).

Happy First Day of School

It's our daughter's first day of high school (grade 9) today. I can't believe I'm the mom of a 14 year old. I gave birth to her 7 years ago now - and trust me, it's not easy giving birth to a 7 year old - but it is totally worth it!

Back to School - Part 3

...and this is the suitcase that the card, chocolate and other goodies (you need an assortment of s-f gum, etc. to go back to school don'tcha-know?!)

The suitcase is ala Becky's tutorial (see the set I made here). I thought I'd make my girl a suitcase kind-of symbolically - you know 'oh the places you'll go...' She has amazing dreams - so we want to give them wings (aka the butterflies:)

Back to School - Part 2

...and this is the matchbox full of chocolate that goes along with the letter... every girl needs some chocolate of course when she's facing something new;)

Back to School - Part 1

Every year when our daughter goes back to school I write her a letter to tell her how special she is and give her encouragement for the year - and I try to come up with some creative way to give it to her (along with some treats;)

This is the card I'm writing the letter in this year...

DSP is 'Tessa's Fairytale'
CS is all SU

Matchbox File Cabinet

I got the idea for this from Becky (she made one for the SU convention boards). I don't even remember where I got the dsp from (I grabbed it from my scrap pile;). The CS is SU.

All you do is make 4 matchboxes and then attach them with sticky-strip, cover with dsp and voila - a mini-cabinet:)

Paper Bag Purse

I made this little 'purse' out of a paper bag (...and some Basic Grey dsp; the ribbon and cardstock are both SU). Here's a link to the tutorial I used from Becki - thank Becki for such great inspiration!