Mini Art Journal Fun!!!

A while ago, I bought my Girls the Smash Journals from K & Company {Okay, yes...one for myself too!}. I love the idea of it but soon realized that its just too big for me to lug around. The Girls like them but don't take them with them for the same reason and because they are too big for their already over laden backpacks. After seeing some of Amy Tangerine's albums I thought I would make something similar that I could shove in my purse and the Girls could tuck in their backpacks! This is what I came up with....

So Fun! Seriously. I sewed all these fun pages in there...like vintage atlas pages and vintage sheet music. Plastic overlays, a card stock card, graph paper, ledger paper, regular paper. An envelope and more. Ends up to be 40 pages to put pictures on,decorate, stick stuff too and of course write on!! Here is a peek inside....

I made lots of them. I'm doing some craft fairs this coming Holiday season and need to start getting prepared...They are packaged up with some Happy Little Bits to use for the cover and inside the mini journal...This is what the pink bits look like...I thought this would be so perfect for Breast Cancer awareness...

I didn't just make pink embellishments....I made the rainbow of colors...Whats your favorite color? I probably made one in that color too! Inside is fun foreign stamps, cork board tags, glittered clothespin, felt circle, paint chips and more!! So Fun!! I'll be putting some of these in my etsy shop tomorrow...fun part is you can pick what color you want your embellishments to be!!!

So, I've been busy, busy! What are you doing? The weather here has finally turned into fall....with rain and all! I kinda love it!! I love sweat pants and sweaters, rain boots and warm crock pot food!!
Hope your having a great week!! Thanks for stopping by!!!
Hugs,

Spooky Pillow Boxes!!!

Edited to add: I put a Kit to make these in my etsy shop!

Hello!!! Happy Tuesday!!! How is the start of your week going? Busy as always around here...and still feeling like I never get anything done.

Just a quick post today...wondering if you ever package up gifts in pillow boxes? You can make them or buy them in all different sizes and they decorate so easy and fun! I love them!!! I decided to make some for Halloween treats and stuffed them full of sweet candy {that I wanted to eat the whole time!!}

Using my hand dyed ribbon and some bling these little pillow boxes really came alive...love them...and they would make perfect classroom treats or party favors too, dontcha think??!!

Its so hard for me to be thinking about Halloween and Thanksgiving and the Holiday season when the temperature around here is still in the high 80s and 90s and I'm sweating in my house!! I like fall...I like the seasons....I love snow....its crazy that I still need to hit the pool to cool off!!!!

Okay....I'm going back to work...I am going to do a few craft fairs this season and I need to really start working on some projects so my table isn't empty!!
Hugs,

That Time Again......

Wow, this week has just flown by. I haven't really been creative. Just busy and lazy, I guess. I haven't cleaned enough either. I need a house cleaner. Wouldn't that be wonderful? Someone to come in and clean...really clean...not just straighten up but deep clean the mess?! ahhhhhhh, would be so nice!!

Its also been a long time since I've talked about Childhood Cancer...in fact, its been a year, this month. September. National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. I don't talk about it often anymore but every time I look at Kolten I am reminded and therefore, never forget. Each September, I will talk about it and I will share because everyone, everyone can help in some way or another.

The facts about childhood cancer are just plain scary. Cancer is the #1 reason for disease related deaths of children. Over 12,000+ Children will be diagnosed this year and for the past 25 years that number just keeps rising. One forth of those children, 2300+ children, will not survive.

Childhood Cancer affects the entire family, forever changing everyone. I always say, our Family was one of the "lucky" families. Kolten survived and is a thriving young Man with a bright future ahead of him. His memory of the years in treatment are cloudy and that is probably a good thing. Sometimes, I'd like to forget too but then I remember, if I forget....you could too and what we need, is to be more aware and to help those families going through it and ultimately, we need to find a way to prevent it!!

You can help. You can. You can volunteer your time, your money, your stuff...it doesn't have to be huge. It doesn't. Imagine if 1 million people donated just $1...a dollar isn't huge but $1,000,000 is!! Know a Family who is going thru it? Offer to babysit, which can be scary but the parents need a break! Clean, cook or run errands for them. Have a skill? Volunteer it....call your local children's hospital and ask what they need and how you can get involved. Like to exercise? Run a Marathon that supports Childhood Cancer! Have a blog? Post awareness and ways your readers can help! Something simple can have a huge impact!!

Here are a few great links for you to learn more about Childhood Cancer and to find out how you can help! When you get to each site, you can look up Events in your area!!
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
CureSearch
National Children's Cancer Society
Make a Wish Foundation
Okizu Foundation {A Foundation close to my heart!}
There are a lot more places where you can help, too many to even list. Go in your own community and find places local to you that help and be a part of it!!

I know this was a long post!! Thanks for taking the time to read it!! I will be back later this week with something crafty!

Hugs,

Mid-Week Thoughts!

This weeks Words on Wednesdays...so true....



Hope you are having a good week!
xoxo,

Dreadfully Delightful......

Friday, Friday!!! {Did you just catch yourself singing that?!}

I've been working on some cute little paper bag pocket treats for Halloween!! Perfect for tasty gift giving!!

These are so fun to make...you feel like your creating a new little art piece with each one.

I used tiny paper bags. They are approximately 4.75" x 7". My friend, Mandi gave me lots of them to use! {Thank you, Mandi!} These are my favorite because they fit a gift card in the front pocket perfectly!! For Christmas I made dozens of them!! They look pretty awesome for Birthdays too!!

I love these spooky ones. I used regular Hershey bars as the main candy but you could use anything that you like. The bag of spiders came from Target last year and I hope they have some this year as they are the best...flat bottoms, perfect for gluing and realistic...Love them!!

Here they are all ready to go off to new homes! I wonder if I should put these on etsy? Maybe?!

My Daughter called this morning from school....she forgot her binder, could I please bring it...I told her I couldn't...I told her I had asked her a dozen times between last night and this morning if she had everything in her backpack and reminded her she said she did...everytime...I felt so bad and mean. I told her she would have to tell her Teacher that she had forgotten it. Her tiny voice quivered and she said Ok. I told her I loved her. I told her to have a good day. Her little tiny voice quivered again and I could tell she was trying so hard not to cry. We hung up and I practically cried myself!! Responsibility and Accountability...Right????? Right??? Its a good thing this is only the second week of school and we get to learn this lesson right off the bat....ugh....my poor little peanut!!

Hope you have a wonderfully, exciting weekend!!
xoxo,


This post linked to:

Hello There!!!

Photo Source

I've been working on some Halloween treats but I think its time for a dip at the pool!! What exciting things are you doing today? Hope its Happy!!
xoxo

You are the Apple of my Eye......

We are almost at the end of the first week of school and things have been going pretty smoothly!! YAY!!! I decided they needed another first week of school treat, so inside the Girls {and Honeys!} lunches today is this super sweet "Apple" treat!

After seeing pictures of them on the Pinterest, I was able to find the recipe on Gourmet Mom on the Go. I did change the leaves and used Air Heads candy instead of frosting for them. Using a small heart cookie cutter, I made two heart leafs per apple. I think they turned out pretty cute! I was surprised to find that the coloring was from Jello and not food coloring but after making them...and tasting them....Jello makes krispy treats quite deeee-lious!!!

Since no treat would be complete without cute packaging....I found the adorable and Free {Thank You!!} Apple of my Eye tag on Jam*n*Jilly! It was the perfect tag!!

Don't you think "Apple of my Eye"...is a funny saying?! According to the U.S. Apple Association...The "expression dates back to ancient Greece and Rome, when people conceived of the pupil of the eye to be, like the apple, a global object. The word itself comes from the Anglo-Saxon “aeppel”, which literally meant both “eye” and “apple.” In addition to providing the literal, vital sense of vision, the pupil was also regarded as the figurative "window" to the treasured secrets within each of us. Thus, the “apple of my eye” meant someone very beloved". Interesting, don't you think!!!

I'm going to "try" and spend some time cleaning my studio today so that I might be able to work in here...I feel the need to make happy things!!!!

Hope you have a Great day!!!!
xoxo,


This post is linked to:

Wonderful Wednesday Words....

Hello!!!

Photo via: Pinterest

Hope you are having a good day!!!
x0x0x0,

Big Day Tomorrow!

I guess its already today since its after midnight! I just finished these little cookie treats that I'm going to pop into the girls lunches tomorrow for their first day of school!! When I saw these printables on "it is what it is" blog..I knew I wanted to use them! {She also has a Smartie Pants printable that is adorable!!}

I didn't have time to bake fresh cookies...but Oreos were there for the rescue...I simply dipped them into baking chocolate and sprinkled them with red hearts and chunky red sugar. The hard part was waiting till they hardened! I have a few more things planned for the girls like some after school cupcakes...but right now...I'm so tired I'm having a hard time writing a complete sentence...so I'm totally going to bed....
Nite!

W O R D....

Wednesday!! Words to live by!!

Source: Pinterest

The Kiddos go back to school in less than a week!! Woot, Woot! LOL...don't get me wrong...we've had a lot of fun this summer but I am ready to get back into some type of routine, which is so hard to do in the summer. This past couple of days have been filled with Dr's appointments, school registrations and shopping....not that fun....but I know I will have time in the studio soon and a routine that makes everybody happy!! The half finished project that has been sitting on my desk can be finished and dinner can be counted on at 6:30pm....it's Goooooooooooooooud!!!!

I've been looking up fun things to do for school lunches. I want to make their lunches interesting at least for the first week. They have Bento boxes and that's pretty fun in itself, but I'll need to fill 'em....have any good ideas????

Hopefully you are having a fabulous week!! xoxo

Sometime on Pinterest...you can't find an original source of a picture or quote...while I hate that....I usually just direct you to the place where I found it.

Back Home Again....

I'm quite certain Lake Tahoe is one of my most favorite places on earth!! Every time we go there....I love it more...the air smells goods, the breeze is delightful, the water brisk...

I brought crafts to work on....but never once opened the bag...like the Smash Mouth song says..."too much to do, too much to see"....

We went to the beach. We ate everything. We rented Kayaks. We Gambled...and lost. We played in the arcade. We went to the pool and hung out in the spa. We mini golfed. We ate some more. We watched movies. We went to the arts and craft faire. We went to another Beach. We had a blast.....

Hard to believe in one short week...the Kids will be back in school and summer will be officially over!!
This week will be spent doing my most least favorite thing....school clothes shopping! Along with registration and getting ready for the new school year to start.....Then...I'll get back to my neglected studio...
Hope you've been doing something crafty and fun!!

Wednesday....Already????!!!

I'm still playing hooky....this time here....one last summer fling before Middle School starts again....not all of us can go because some classes have already started, but still, fun is to be had {and of course that doesnt mean FUN as in a party at the house or anything, Right?!!}.....

It's hard to be crafty in the summer.....the weather is good. The sun is out....the pool is cool....and places like Tahoe are magical...I really will be back soon....after...I have some more fun!! Wednesday's Words....Perfect....

Have some Fun!!!

Home Again...Home Again....

Well...I'm back...seems like I was gone a long while and I'm glad to be home!! This trip did have a purpose....Burying my Mum and Dad in their final resting place and while that wasn't that fun and is highly unrecommended, I did really enjoyed seeing my Family even if I did have to take a little baby prop plane on the last leg of the trip to get there....

I stayed "Up Country" where fond lifelong memories have always been made....Its hard to have a bad day when you slip into the pool in the middle of the woods and lookout onto the water below.....

equally as hard to complain about nature making its way straight to you...fawns in tow....

Larry the Lobster was in rich supply....we had several nights of lobster feeds and I managed to eat 4+ this week!!! I'm sure I've gained a dozen or so pounds....

I had fun looking for Inuksuks....Kinda of like Where's Waldo in rock formation...I found this one on the side of the highway heading toward the ferry. They are very fun and their story is equally interesting.

Its always sad to say goodbye...to my Parents who have now been placed in their eternal home, to my Family who I never see enough of and to a place that I just love to visit.....but am thankful for the time I got with all of them and coming home is never a bad thing!!!

I was thinking about my trip and everything we did...and coming home to a Family I missed and adore and thought about what Wednesdays Words should be and the only thing I could think of was simply this....

Photo source : The Wheatfield

Have a Super Day!!! xoxo

Out of Town!

On Holiday! Be Back Soon.....

Have Fun, eh!!!