Weekend In Photos

This weekend we:

*had friends over for some fun chatter and take-out before heading to M's show at The Clocktower. It was awesome to chat about the old days with our friends and generally have a great time! The bands were pretty good but The Johnnies didn't go on until well after midnight and I was T-I-R-E-D and wanted to go home. I stuck it out in the name of friendship though!

*I made Oreo Cake Batter ice cream with BJ (the name we've given our Cuisinart Ice Cream maker due to it's Ben & Jerry's recipe-making action!). If I had three thumbs I would give it a three thumbs up-seriously it's that good.

*We ran-three times. A 4-miler, a 3-miler and a 6-miler. That's how I earned my ice cream! ;)

*I worked on my Scrapbook on the Road album! It's almost completed!

*I worked on a layout using Studio Calico's February kit Candy Shop.

*We ate delicious food. Saturday night we had mussels and ravioli in a marinara sauce. Then we ate Cajun chicken and jerk corn & sweet potato fries on Sunday. I'm hungry just thinking about it!

*I ordered an add-on from Studio Calico's April collection "Singin' in the Rain". I got add-on number three, "Moses' Supposes". You've gotta love the names they give the kits huh?! I can't wait to get my hands on all those spring colors!

It was a great weekend! How was yours?

xoxo
K

Happy Mail!!!

Yesterday was a gooooood day. When I got home there was some serious happy mail at my door.

My new issues of Creating Keepsakes and In Style came and were sitting patiently waiting to be read in the box.

I'm not usually a huge magazine subscription person but my Secret Santa bought me a subscription for In Style for the year as his gift to me. I think that is just so thoughtful and it's like a little reminder of Christmas and every time it appears up in my mailbox! It's a great idea if you need a unique gift for someone!

If that wasn't good enough there was a really, really, big box sitting in front of the door. Now, early this week my husband told me he had 'ordered me a book'. He told me it's something I would never order for myself so I took his word for it and went about my week. Then yesterday here's this box. I opened it and low and behold it's a book alright! It's a "Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream Recipes" Book.

Underneath it was an ice cream maker! He claims he got a great deal and he figured that I couldn't have the book without having an ice cream maker!

There's a little back story you need to know in order to understand all this excitement though. While away on our road trip last week I rediscovered my deep love for ice cream. (It didn't really go anywhere. More like I had to take a hiatus because it isn't so great when you eat pints of it often and yes, I have done that. Multiple times.) We visited the Ben & Jerry's ice cream factory in Vermont and that was it. I was hooked. The love was reignited.

I ate ice cream every single day of our vacation. I had "Late Night Snack" and "Oreo Mint", "Chocolate Cookie Dough" among other flavors. In Boston we discovered a place called JP Licks. I had their Oreo Cake Batter ice cream and contemplated divorcing M to marry the ice cream. It may not be much to look at but words can't describe how delicious it was!

The funny part was that M, who is not really an ice cream kinda guy, was over the moon for this ice cream as well! Now, that was a first! Are you seeing an ulterior motive here for the recipe book and the ice cream maker?! ;)

What I do know is that I have the BEST husband! And tonight I will be making him some homemade ice cream to thank him for being so wonderful!

xoxo
K

Project: Kids Class

So I'm teaching a class to a group of elementary school children at my school next month. I've been working on the project for a few weeks now and I have some pics of the project to post here on the blog.

I used a bunch of the new Basic Grey supplies in conjunction with some other great products. The box is by Maya Road. It's one of those cute little trinket boxes.

The project is based on the individual and it's essentially a representation of them! Note the title: "I AM".

I attempted to include lots of little techniques like embossing, misting and layering in this class. You can't tell but there's lots of dimension in there too for a shadow box effect. The kids love the tricks! I'm certain we'll have a fun little class!

Here are a few shots up close:

xoxo
K

And We're Back!

We had a great time on our Road Trip! I'm still culling through photos and tying up some loose ends of the 'Scrapbook on the Road' album so I'll have photos to share later this week.

I did get some GREAT news last week right before we left though. On Thursday morning I got an email from Scrapbook Trends requesting one of my layouts for their August issue. This is my first pub so I was soooo excited! Who am I kidding? I'm still pretty pumped! It's reassuring that someone likes my pages other than my husband!

In other news, Kelly Purkey announced her third installment of her popular Sketchbooks class. Inspired by the class announcement, I dug out the sketches from the previous classes and used them last week to create a few layouts. If you'd like to see the sketches themselves they're still available on Kelly's site.

I love using sketches because you never know where you'll end up when you start out.



Totally scraplifted the this one from Kelly's example. Not one bit ashamed of it either! Scraplifting rocks! It's quick and easy and gets the results you need without the fuss of fooling around with the design.

Then I used another sketch and created this one:



I used an add-on with product from Studio Calico's February kit "Candy Shop". I love the colours of the kit and that banner paper is super cute and fun to work with.

If you've never taken Kelly's Sketchbook class I highly encourage you to sign up and give it a shot. It's a great way to get inspired! I know I'll be joining Kelly again this time around.

I hope you enjoy the end of your weekend!

xoxo
K

Scrapbook on the Road

We're going on a road trip this week and I am excited! I've been working on Ali Edwards latest class release, "Scrapbook on the Road" for the last two days and have an awesome mini album to chronicle the trip as it happens!

Yesterday I put the book itself together and watched all her tutorials online. There are some pretty cool ideas in this class! Last night I worked on the cover but I really wasn't happy with it. Here's cover #1:

I used a technique I learned from the class but I didn't have any cream paint. So, I used black...but I didn't like it at all. And it's the cover! So, this morning I went back to square one and tried something else.

I ended up with this...

...which I LOVE! There's a transparency over top of an October Afternoon 'map' pattern paper. I printed the title and cut a camera from a Studio Calico paper from the Documentary line. I'm very happy with the way it turned out.

Here's a few pictures of the inside of the album.

Love this! That tag is stapled onto a transparency. The cameras were a happy accident. I laid the rub-ons down with the intention of only using one camera but the rest stuck! Oops! It works though. On the right is a transparency with a quote and beneath that is a piece of pattern paper with the calendar and the dates circled for our trip.

Some different size pages here-a 6*6 page. A transparency & underneath is a piece of pattern paper stuck to another piece on the other side to make it heavier.

A couple of the techniques that I learned in the class back to back.

I used a bunch of those 7 Gypsies journaling cards (5*7) and I added in the bingo card form Jenni Bowlin, just changed the word to 'Break'.

Another 7 Gypsies card, a couple of tags together, and another transparency underneath.

I'm quite pleased with the way the book turned out. Now the challenge is to journal and add things from our vacation 'as it happens'! I'll be sure to take pictures o the final product when it's all said and done to share it with you!

Happy hump day!

xoxo
K

Today...

It is: sunny outside!

I can: almost taste food again! My sinuses are finally clearing up.

I started: training for the half marathon. Despite my sinus congestion and my stuffy nose, I ran 2 miles at the gym and didn't die!

I am working on: a "Scrapbook on the Road" project for our upcoming trip. My table is a mess!

I am listening to: Adele's new album '21'.

I got: an email telling me I had won a $5 gift certificate at SC! So pumped!

I'll be back tomorrow with pics of that mini album for my road trip! It's almost finished! Have a great night!

xoxo
K

Project: Oh Baby! Part Deux

There's been progress today at my scrapbooking table. I completed Part 2, the baby album, of a baby gift I am giving a friend of mine who is due next week! To see part 1, go here!

Without further a due here are a few pics of the album...

I used a 6*6 American Crafts album and a bunch of old Studio Calico products from old kits. It's really a giant mish-mash of products so I won't go into too much detail about what I used suffice it to say I used up a ton of old scraps and products!

I kept it simple since neither of my friends are scrapbookers themselves. I wanted something that wasn't overwhelming for them. The opening page looks like this. The line beneath the title is for the baby's name. Note: the pink + blue combo-they don't know what they're having! ;)

Then I chose pattern papers that coordinated with each of the colors on the onesies. It's just one 6*6 piece of paper. On each page is a punched circle and the number of the month. I stamped the same number on a tag and left it plain for the parents to include notes.

I haven't adhered the tag to the paper because I'm going to suggest that the parents tuck the tag behind the photo. I'm going to include some double sided tape in their gift bag as well to make that process easy!

That's it! I have to drop it off later this week before the baby comes! I'm so excited for them. I hope they enjoy chronicling their baby's first year of life in this way!

xoxo
K

Project: Oh Baby!

I've been secretly working on a little project for a number of weeks.

I have two friends who are about to become Baby Mama's. I'm so excited for them! Of course, I wanted to create something original and special for them and their new bundles of joy.

I can't claim the idea was my own. Susan Weinroth posted just the cutest idea on her blog a while back and it got me thinking about what a great baby gift these would make.

So, I picked up some Joe Fresh onesies and created these....

The idea is that you take a photo of your baby in the onesie each month and make some notes on the month's events, milestones, etc.

The process was fairly simple. 12 onesies+iron-on's (made in photoshop) make this a simple project.

Make sure you follow the instructions for the iron-on's carefully though or you end up with a not-so-perfect outcome. I had to re-do this one because I didn't let the iron-on cool down before I peeled it off.

They are really are just the cutest little baby gift!

Of course I had to give my friends something to put those monthly photos in so I am creating a little 6*6 album for each of them. It's simple and all they have to do is add some notes and a monthly photo to chronicle Baby's first year!

Last night we had a party for one of my friends. She's due on March 18th and about to pop! These were a hit with her and all of our friends as well. I was pleased that she appreciated the effort that went in. I only gave her Part 1: the onesies because Part 2: the album, isn't quite finished yet. I'll post picks of it when it's completed.

This project was fairly simple, inexpensive and it makes for a great original gift too!

xoxo
K

5 for ...Oops! It's Saturday!

In all the March break excitement I forgot to post my '5 For Friday' post! Forgive me for being late but I'm on vacation! ;)

1. Yesterday March Break began! Two whole weeks off. I have a list of house-related things to do before heading out of town on a road trip next Friday for the rest of the break. I am so pumped for my first real road trip.

2. Which brings me to #2! Ali Edwards posted a Workshop entitled "Scrapbook on the Road" on Thursday. I signed up for it. This is on my to-do list this week, completing a little mini-album for our road trip. I'm excited to scrapbook the trip a little as it happens! If you're interested in checking it out click on the icon to the left for "Scrapbook on the Road".

3. This week I've been organizing my photos and challenged myself to find stories to tell that have nothing to do with the initial photo. Take this layout for example- at first glance you might think it's about food, namely s'mores, but it's not at all. (Even though I do LOVE s'mores!)It's about my decision to go back to sleep away camp for one last summer.



I've been going to Iroquois Springs each summer now for the last 9 years. This summer will be one decade of sleep away camp. It's an amazing place and has given me so much to be thankful for. This summer might be the last one and I used this photo as a jumping off point to describe my feelings going into the planning and preparation for this, the last, one.



4. I got my UPS email Thursday telling me that my Studio Calico kit for March is on it's way. That's my kind of happy mail! It should be here by Wednesday. The kit's sold out super fast this month. I didn't order much this month-just a second helping of the main kit paper. I really like the colors of the pattern papers this time around.

5. I'm trying to expand and try some new things in my scrapbooking. I tried doing an 81/2 by 11 page on Craft night this week. I think it turned out okay.



I used a sketch from a layout I really liked online. I used the photo to anchor the journaling and the title.



This was also the first time I used the book stamp and I LIKE it. I found it harder to confine all my business to a smaller design space but I think that's part of the challenge!



Here's my weekend to-do list: (edited)

*buy a new pair of fancy running pants (Done!)
*return a ton of old (and I mean these have accumulated over 2 years) wine bottles that have taken up way too much space above our kitchen cabinets! (Done!)
*work on a little secret project for a few new 'Baby Mama' friends of mine (look for a post on that later this weekend)
*attend a pre-baby party with friends for one of those said 'Baby Mamas'
* SCRAPBOOK (goes without saying right!)

xoxo
K

Craft Night Layouts

Last night was craft night again. This time though there were only two of us and we hung at my house. I set my stuff up on the floor and went to town creating two layouts.

I used up some more of my Who's Who kit from Studio Calico for these two layouts. Unfortunately, it's only a few sneaks because the lighting wasn't good and there's journaling missing from one layout.

Stop by this weekend for the full size layouts.

xoxo
K

Happy Hump Day!

This layout has taken forever to put together. It's not for lack of inspiration or creativity. I had all the ideas but I've been laid up on the couch for days battling a cold.

So here it is. I used the Who's Who kit from Studio Calico.



The layout above and this layout are a perfect example of how versatile these kits can be. If you take a look at both layouts you'll notice they have some similar things in common but there were two totally different layouts that came out of that packet of supplies. Pretty cool huh?!

So I tried something a little different in this layout. I changed up my photos a little and used a 6*8 for my focal point and punched 6 circles out of 2*3 photos. I was channeling Susan Weinroth with this design. That girl loves circles!



I broke up my circle photos into two sections-a few posed shots on top of the journaling block and some sequenced action shots below. I also aimed to place them in a grid-like format. I really focused on design with this layout.

xoxo
K

March Madness

This month is a busy one. As I typed those words I realized that I say that about every month these days! Maybe 'life is busy' is a better way to start.

Here's the run down on this month:

*Student-led conferences at school: I am excited for the kids to show their parents what they've done with Glogster. If you've never checked out this site it's really cool. Kids LOVE it and it's fun and educational too!

*March Break: As of this Friday I have two whole weeks off. I am excited.

*1/2 way through M. Ed course: I have an assignment to pass in on Friday and discussions are done March 25. There's just one project left and another course is done.

*Road Trip: This year for March Break we are taking a road trip through Vermont, onto Boston, through Maine and New Hampshire and back home. I am pumped. In Vermont we're going to the Ben and Jerry's Factory. In Boston we have tickets to see the Celtics play. We are going to go see Mary Poppins on Broadway. We are going to eat Boston cream pie. We are going to the outlets in Maine to shop and Portland for some great Man vs. Food restaurants. It's going to be AWESOME!

*Training: we start our half marathon training next week. I looking forward to running outdoors more. I don't like the treadmill much. It's boring.

I'm sure many other things will come up during the month to make me even busier. Right now though I have a lot to look forward to.

Happy March!

xoxo
K

P.S: If you have ever been/live in Vermont, Boston, Maine or New Hampshire I would love to hear what your 'can't miss' sights or eats are.