It's Back!! I'm so Happy!

Yay!! Starbucks has brought their old lemon loaf back.

I know this isn't news but I am thrilled that I can once again enjoy my favorite white chocolate mocha and a lovely piece of lemon loaf on occasion.  In case you couldn't tell, I was not a fan of the newer one they brought out a few months ago.  I even tried to make the copycat version that I saw on Pinterest...yuck!  

Seeing this slice of lemony goodness again just makes my day.  It's the little things that make this girl happy!

Happy Scrapping!

 

Welcome

I wanted something to make the front of my house just a bit different that the others around us. We also  have a very boring white front door and I wanted to add something to it to make it less boring.   I liked the look of the vinyl welcome signs I was seeing on front doors all over Pinterest.  So I decided to make my own.

I measured the space I had to work with and designed it out on my Cricut Gypsy.  I had to use the 12x24 size mat for it.  I used the Calligraphy Collection font and welded the letters together.  Once my Cricut was done cutting the lettering from black vinyl, I had to weed out all the useless bits and was left with a pretty welcome sign for my house.  I used transfer tape to adhere the vinyl to the door.  The nice thing is when we move, I can just take it down with no fuss.  It will peel off with no problem.

I actually received a nice compliment from our housing manager (military housing) about it.  *smiles*

Happy Scrapping!

Diane

Goofy Layout

One of my favorite Disney characters is Goofy.  There is just something about his complete klutziness and well, Goofiness that reminds me of someone....Me!  From the crazy laugh to tripping over himself to his complete duh moments, everything about him is just perfect.

If we get an opportunity to see Goofy when we are at Disney, we take it.  Our trip to Disneyland in 2010 was no exception.  On our way to Soarin', we caught Goofy just coming out to visit so we immediately got the girls over to take pictures with him.

For this layout, I used the Mickey and Friends Cricut cartridge.  The title can be found on page 94 of the cartridge booklet.  This one was in the Layers: Outfit/Tongue section.  I used red card stock and shiny silver card stock from my stash.  

The arrows were from a chipboard set I got from Stampin' Up! a long time ago.  I used my Stampin' Up classic ink pad to color the red arrows and a silver paint pen for the silver arrows.  I used lined paper cut to fit for the hand written journaling.  

Tip:  While computer journaling can look nice, especially if, like me, you do not like your handwriting.  It is important, though to do some journaling in your own writing.  It will be important to the people you are making those scrapbooks for someday.

Happy Scrapping!

Diane

Butterfly Paint Chip Card

I have recently started making cards for Operation Write Home.  I really like this organization and think what they do to support our military members and their families is just wonderful.  What they do is send quality, handmade blank cards overseas so our troops can send beautiful cards and letters home to their families.

When my hubby was deployed, we mostly relied on email and phone calls for our communication.  We didn't write any letters back and forth.  I sent a few cards to him and, of course, care packages but no letters.  The immediacy of email was faster and easier.

I recently found some letters (both of them) from earlier in my hubby's career.  It was so nice to read them again.  Hubby's grandfather was in WWII and wrote constantly.  He also drew wonderful pictures on the letters and envelopes.  This was known as trench art and is completely priceless for our family.  Before he passed away many years ago, Hubby's grandfather put these letters in an album for his daughters and grandchildren to be able to see.

Anyway, back to the cards I made.  If you have been on Pinterest at all, you have seen the tons of pins making things using paint chips from the hardware store.  The draw of these is that they are free and make the whole ombre trend easy to recreate.  So I went to the hardware store and picked up some paint samples.

I found a punch I wanted to use for my card, in this case the Stampin' Up! butterfly punch.  This is an old type before they went to the wonderful space saving style they have now.  Still one of my favorite punches though.  I was able to punch two butterflies per color.  I designed the card for three butterflies each.  This gave me two cards for each three-color paint sample.

I broke from my norm and used kraft card stock for the card base and then used a Cuttlebug embossing folder for the pretty butterfly background on white card stock .  I wanted to emboss the butterflies themselves but found that the color came off the samples when I tried to emboss them.  It wasn't a cute look either. So I left the butterflies plain and adhered them to the card with my ATG gun.  When you are placing items onto an embossed background like this, you have to use a good, strong adhesive.  I left the inside blank and decided on no sentiment for the front so the card could be used for any occasion.

I like how this card turned out.  I have made more cards that I will share soon.  If you are interested in supporting our troops and like making nice handmade cards, I recommend Operation Write Home.

Happy Scrapping!

Diane

Distractions!!

I have been trying to get some scrapping done, really I have.

For some reason I have not been as productive as I should be.

The problem couldn't possibly be the two adorable animals that keep appearing by my side.  

It's A Small World

"It's a small world after all.  It's a small world after all..."  Now that you have that song in your head I wanted to share a layout I made recently when I took a class through Big Picture Classes.  I took the Stashbusters class with Aly Dosdall.  It was a good way to get motivated to scrap and to use what I have.  Too often, as scrappers, we hold on to certain papers and embellishments waiting for the "perfect" page.  Well, really, there is no reason to hang on to those things.  Use them.  That is what you bought them for.

I had some chipboard shapes from Stampin' Up! that were just sitting in a drawer.  I colored the flower piece with my Stampin' Write Pink Passion marker. The leaves were colored with Garden Green and Green Galore.  I sealed them all with Crystal Effects.    I used a green ribbon that I had in my stash for the stem.

I used Stampin' Up! Designer Series Paper for the patterned layer and I think the solid layer is from DCWV.  I was happy with how well the colors matched up with the two different brands.

I like how this page turned out.  The Crystal Effects gave the flower and leaves a nice shine and a bit of texture that doesn't really show up well in the photos.  The photos are from our trip to Disneyland in 2010.  I am making progress!  LOL  Hey, a positive attitude is always a good thing, right?

Happy Scrapping!

Diane

Photo Sorting

I have started the task of sorting through the photos I had printed from Snapfish.  I am a chronological scrapper so I have to put the photos in order by date.  I also like to label them with what the occasion was and if I have any ideas for a title, journaling, colors, or embellishments.  

The pictures spread all over my desk and cutting table.  There was a two year or more time span for these photos so I was having the hardest time trying to remember what was when.  I think I might hire my girls to do the sorting from now on.  

Once the photos are sorted I put them in order in my photo drawer, that I keep close by for the most current photos I need to work on.  I also have a photo box that I got from Michael's for pictures that don't fit in the drawer.  I picked up a bunch of them when they were on sale.  The boxes are good for temporary photo storage as well as storing other scrappy items.  I use one for my roller stamps and one for my brads and Crop-A-Dile. 

Now that I have my photos and my space is ready, it is time to get scrapping!   Woohoo!

Happy Scrapping!

Diane

Pictures are here!!!

Happy Monday!  I hope everyone had a wonderful Fourth of July. Ours was relaxing, just spending time with family and friends.  Saturday was spent at a family reunion/golf outing.  Hubby gets the chance to golf with his uncles and cousins that we don't see very often and he has a great time.  The girls and I usually hang around the resort pool, just chatting.

My Snapfish order is here!  I have so many pictures to sort through.  I am really looking forward to organizing them and matching with embellishments.

Opening the box!!

Soooo many memories!









I also ordered the 100 "free" prints that I can get every month with the Snapfish app.  I say "free" because they shipping is not free.  It was $8.99.  Which is actually the cost of 100 prints at $.09 each.  So basically I paid for the prints but they were shipped for free. Not really a deal in my opinion.

Anyway, I am going to organize some photos and get some scrapping done.  Have a great Monday.

Happy Scrapping!

Diane

Happy Independence Day!

Happy

Independence 

Day!

This is a photo of my youngest on our first July 4th at West Point.  If you ever get a chance to visit West Point, go!  It is a beautiful area with a lot of history.  And their fireworks display is the best I have ever seen (outside of Disney).

I am taking a break from The Challenge today to spend the day celebrating our freedom with my family.  I will be back to work tomorrow.  I hope you are having a wonderful day, whatever your plans are.

Happy Scrapping!

Diane

Independence Day Decor

Tomorrow is July 4, Independence Day so I thought I would share a little decoration I made for the house.  I really don't have that much decor that is specific to Independence Day but we do have patriotic decor throughout the house year round.

I made this fun subway art using an art canvas (12x12) I picked up at Michael's, dark blue vinyl that I got in an assortment of colors from Amazon, red and white paint and a crackle medium.  I cut the vinyl using my Cricut Expression and my Word Collage Cricut cartridge.

It was a bit time consuming with the different layers of paint and weeding the vinyl once it was cut.  For those of you who haven't worked with vinyl yet, weeding is the process of removing all of the unnecessary bits from the image.  You know, like the center part from an "O".  All the parts that don't belong on your canvas or wall need to be removed. I use a hook tool I got when I bought my Cricut and the process goes fairly quick (and can be fun, too!) once you get the hang of it.
Anyway, I really like how this turned out and we have this hanging in the family room for all to see.  Once July is over, I will replace it with something else.  I think I might have to spend some time on Pinterest to see what other Independence Day decor I can make.  I will, of course, take pictures and post if I do!

Never fear, I am still working on my scrappy catch-up.  It's a bit slow going right now as I figure out a schedule for me and the kids (and the puppies) now that they are all home for summer break.

Happy Scrapping!

Diane

Fast Titles

In my quest to make quick, but nice looking scrapbook pages I have had to turn to my computer to make titles and to quickly journal something about the event I am scrapping.  I have never been big on using the computer for scrapping, other than to look something up or to print a picture or two that I may have missed in my frenzied Snapfish uploads.  Mostly this has been because my scrap space is in a different room (or in this house a different floor) from the computer.  I just never wanted to make the trek to the computer.  Yes, I am that lazy.

Now, for the ease ease and speed of it, I descend the stairs and use the computer when I need to.  Hey, it counts as exercise, right?  Maybe I'll work off a few KitKats in my travels up and down the stairs.

First, I plan out the colors and general shapes I want to use in my layout.

Second, I decide on the title and do a rough draft of the journaling on scrap paper.

Third, I make the trek to the computer and, using Microsoft Word, I design the title and journaling.  I have downloaded some fun fonts onto our computer so I enjoy trying different fonts and sizes to see what will work with what I have in mind for the layout.
When I do this I also make a bunch of blank lines that I can use later for handwritten journaling when I want to.  This way I am not wasting card stock and I can use them to make my own journal boxes when I want them for a layout.

Last, I print out the document on card stock.  So far I have only used white as it's handy and works with the layouts I am working on.

 This picture shows one such title and journaling I have printed out from a document I created on the computer.
I like this method right now because it saves me from having to buy a lot of letter stickers or having to design and cut titles with my Cricut machine or Silhouette.






This little cutie car I cut with my Cricut using the Going Places cartridge.  I don't use this cart that often so I tend to forget all the cute travel images on it.  The cut was very simple, with just the top layer and a shadow. I added some shiny silver card stock behind the grill and headlights to give it a bit more dimension.  I then used some gem brads I had in my stash for the headlights.

I might go back and add some vellum for the windshield.  I just thought of that while writing this post.  :)

I hope these tips help you in your scrappy catch up!  

Happy scrapping!

Diane

The Scrappy Challenge Starts Today!!

It is July 1, 2014 and Day 1 of The Scrappy Challenge!

I have my ATG gun loaded and a bag of KitKats on standby and plenty of Pepsi's in the fridge.  I am ready to scrap!

For the record, my Pepsi is only on the desk for purpose of this picture. Normally it lives in its cup holder on the side of my desk.

The ruler on the bottom part of the picture is an old tape measure that I glued down to the edge of my desk.  I saw this idea on (like most of the things I do) Pinterest.  The tools on my desk are my ATG gun, Cutterpede scissors (great for fussy cutting or trimming of embellishments), Cutterpede rotary paper trimmer, Stampin' Up! journal pen, Stampin' Up! corner rounder, and of course my junk food of choice for the time being KitKats.  These are my most used tools.  In a future post I will show some of my other toys.
Time to get to work!

Happy Scrapping!

Diane

One More Day...

In my last post I wrote about The Challenge from my hubby.  Over this past weekend I decided to officially start on July 1. This gives me four months to scrap from Summer 2010 to somewhere within 2014.  Four years worth of pictures (we take lots and lots of pictures of our girls and the fur-babies) in four months. Easy peasy. *gulp*

I spent all day Saturday organizing the photos I already have printed and then uploading pictures from our back up drive to our computer and then to Snapfish. We had a computer crash last year so we lost everything from our computer.  Luckily we have the back-up drive for that very reason.  We only permanently lost a few things...like our (get ready for the "B" word) budget.  That's okay though, I didn't like it anyway.  ;)  And my hubby got the opportunity to build a new one with all new graphs and colors.

Snapfish has a 4x6 print deal going on right now.  It expires July1, though, so you need to hurry.  So here is the deal and the codes you need to enter at checkout:

100 prints for $10 - FDP100

300 prints for $29 - FDP300

500 prints for $45 - FDP500

This is for their 4x6 prints only and includes shipping.  This is a good deal.  If you have photos you need to have printed before embarking on your own scrappy challenge, now is a good time to get started.

Today I am going to go through my embellishments and see what I have that will work with the photos I have waiting to be scrapped as well as all of the new ones that I have already been notified are on the way (have I mentioned that Snapfish is fast?).

Here is a quick photo of the drawer where I keep my most current photos I'm working on.  I have a few sticker packs already tucked in with the photos so when I get to that set of photos, I already have the embellishments at hand and don't have to search for them.

The other photo is of one of my embellishment drawers. I need to get that spot straightened out so I know what I have!

Happy Scrapping!

Diane

Challenges

Last week we took a nice vacation along the East Coast.  We were lucky enough to meet up with some good Army friends.  It is always good to see our Army family.

Anyway, while we were on our travels, we were remembering previous vacations and I commented that a certain trip that we had taken was not in the scrapbook yet. It drives hubby crazy that I am so far behind (only four years!) in my scrapbooking.  To be honest, it drives me crazy too but I tend to let other projects get in the way.  This conversation led to The Challenge.  Hubby challenged me to get caught up on our scrapbooks by November 1 (so they are complete before the holidays).  This year.  *sigh* The deal is that I have to be caught up to at least the current year - 2014.

Four years.
Hundreds of pictures. (Possibly thousands...no kidding, we take a lot of pictures of our kids and puppies!)
I can do this... I think.

I need to print this saying out, frame it and keep in my scrappy space and look at it often.

Speaking of my scrappy space, it is now rearranged and a bit more organized so I can access what I need easily.

I have to spend a few days organizing my photos and memorabilia.  I also have to upload and print tons and tons of photos.  I will be keeping my eye out for good deals from Snapfish.  They usually run some good deals during the summer.  I will post any I find.

I hope these posts encourage others to work on their scrappy catch-up too.  As I come across good ideas, or tools that will help in this challenge, I will post them.  Pinterest will be my good friend through this process. My scrappy idea books will get a workout too.  I have already pulled out my favorite book Fast Scrapbooking with 4x6 Photos and marked the ideas I like most so far.  This is a great book because the layouts are fairly simple and they do not require crazy sizes for the photos.  I can also look up ideas by the number of photos I have for a certain event.

So, how about you?  Will you take The Challenge?  Leave a comment and let me know.  I would love to have some company on this!

Happy Scrapping!

Diane

New Dog Toy

I completely blame Pinterest for this one.  One day, while completely wasting time in the time-suck called Pinterest, I came across something about making dog toys using old t-shirts.  I thought it was an interesting idea but moved on to something else.  Probably a recipe for something completely wonderful I might never make or something made of pallets that I know for certain I won't ever create.

Recently while cleaning out the house for a neighborhood yard sale, I came across an old flannel-ish nightgown of mine I don't wear anymore.  It wasn't really in any shape to be sent to Goodwill so I set it aside because I hate just throwing clothes in the trash.  Then I remembered the dog toy I saw from recycled t-shirts!!  Problem solved.

Yesterday I finally decided to make this thing.  I cut the nightgown into nine strips. I separated them into three sets of three and, after tying all of them in a knot at the top, braided the sets together.  Once I was close to the end, I finished it off with a second knot.  It came out pretty well, I thought.  Today, I made another knot in the center since my pups seem to like an extra knot to hold it by.

I also cut the long sleeves off the nightgown, made a knot in the center of each and that was that!  Kind of like you do with old socks before giving them to the dog.  The best part was no sewing!!  I do not sew.  I tried it once or twice and discovered my craftiness does not extend to sewing.  I also didn't have to cut anything straight.  I just cut strips and it didn't matter if they were even or not.  The doggies certainly don't care.

I have to say this was one of the craziest crafty things I ever made.  I was actually pretty happy with how the new toys turned out.  Most importantly, the puppies like them too!

Happy Crafting!

Diane

Froggy Birthday Card

I recently discovered a fantastic website called DoodlePantry.  I am new to the whole digi stamp thing so I am still learning about sizing them and working with the images.  What I love about the images on this site (besides the fact that they are completely adorable images) is that they have the images colored or uncolored.  One of my goals for this year is to learn how to use my new Spectrum Noir alcohol ink markers for coloring images as well as to pull out my Prismacolor pencils and start coloring images again.  I like having something else to do when I watch TV so coloring would accomplish that multi-task well.  They have some images that are completely free, some that are free with purchase, and some to purchase.  

Anyway, I needed to add some cards for my stash as well as add more cards to my Operation Write Home box.  I downloaded this fun froggy image from DoodlePantry and chose to use the pre-colored design to make some quick cards. 

I used some of my green Stampin' Up! card stock that I had on hand and my polka-dot Cuttlebug embossing folder to add a bit of dimension to the background.  The "Hoppy Birthday!" stamp is from My Pink Stamper.  I don't think her stamps are available anymore, but, if you can still get them, I recommend them.  They are decent quality and the sayings are very cute.  They were made mostly to be used with cards, so the sizes are perfect.

I think the next time I make this type, I will use a cute corner punch to help eliminate some of the white space from the image layer and add some dimension as well.

I am working on some other cards with images from Doodle Pantry and a few other fun projects too.  I can't wait to share them with you.

Happy Crafting!

Diane

Oh the Cute!!

This has been a busy week so I wanted to just write a quick post and share a bit of cuteness with you.  This bundle of cute is our six month old Yellow Lab puppy, Wrigley.  He is named after Wrigley Field.  We already had Bear (our 8-year old Lab whose full name is Cubby Bear), so named for the Chicago Cubs and Chicago Bears.  

I was actually lucky to be able to take these pictures of him.  Usually Wrigley pictures turn out blurry because he is always moving.  

The other night I was watching a movie, Night at the Museum (don't judge, its a cute movie!), and fussy cutting some images for cards I want to make for Operation Write Home.  Wrigley decided to join me on the bed and watch the movie with me.  I don't think I have ever had a dog actually watch TV before but Wrigley does it all the time.  He is such a silly puppy.

After a few seconds of watching, he looked over at me to make sure I saw what a complete bundle of cuteness he really is.  Little devil.

Have a great day!

Diane

Play Ball!

Today marks the start of the 100th season of baseball at my favorite hometown field Chicago's Wrigley Field.  While I am not a huge sports fan, I do like to watch live baseball games. I cannot watch them on TV...too boring to listen to the announcers talk.  There is something that makes a live baseball game magical, in my opinion.

I think I have always been a Cubs fan.  I can remember my Grandma turning on a Cubs game from time to time when I was a kid.  I recall walking in the house from playing outside and hearing the iconic Harry Caray talking.  Not a voice any Chicago native from that era is likely to forget.

My brother, however, is a White Sox fan.  Not sure how that happened, since we both grew up in the same house on the Northwest side of Chicago, but it is what it is.

Hubby is a die-hard Cubs fan and was thrilled to take his dad to Arizona last year for some spring training games...and golf, I cannot forget the golf.  

Anyway, I made this sign last year for a raffle donation for a St. Baldricks event my friends hosted.  They had it at a local baseball field on the coldest and windiest night in May but it was still a great event.

Hubby loved this sign when he saw it.  I probably should have made one for him too.  Hmmm...well, I guess I should add that to my crafty to-do list.

The canvas is 12x12, from Michael s.  The baseball glove piece is a pre-painted wood piece I found at either Michael's or JoAnn's.  I designed the wording on my Cricut Gypsy and cut the letters with my Cricut Expression from a dark red glossy vinyl from my vinyl stash.  I used transfer tape to easily adhere the lettering to the cream painted canvas.  Then I just hot-glued the baseball glove to the top corner.  Voila!  Finished, easy-peasy.  My favorite type of craft project.

Today also marks the last day of Spring Break (how sad) so I should get off of here and go get some things done around the house.  I think my house exploded this week with all of the kids at home.

Happy Crafting!

Diane

Look Up when you are down

I write this post with a heavy heart after just learning of the shootings at Ft. Hood.  I pray for everyone there.

We were never stationed at Ft. Hood, but have many friends who have been there and most have said it was a great place and loved it.  

I made this sign with my Cricut and Gypsy last year.  I have one similar that I bought years and years ago that I have always loved.  It always hangs from the side of one of my baker racks in my kitchen.  That way we always see it throughout the day.  

I like the reminder to have faith when things don't look so good.   I think everyone needs that reminder from time to time.

If you are reading this, please take a moment to say a prayer for those affected by today's tragedy.

Diane

Hallelujah...Spring Break!!!

I always look forward to spring break.  One week of no homework, no after school activities, no rushing to get three girls out the door in the mornings.  Woohoo!

The trouble starts after spring break is over and I really, really start to wish for summer vacation time to get here.  I swear I am like a kid waiting for summer and school to be over for two months.

I am hoping to spend this week taking some nice pictures of my recent crafty projects as well as knocking out a few projects I have already in the works.  My mind is just overflowing with new crafty ideas. It must be the beautiful weather we have had over the past two days.  This has been such a nasty winter, I am ready for hot, steamy summer weather.

But before I hunker down and work on those crafty projects (and cleaning up my very messy scrappy space) I plan to get out with the girls and the dogs for a bit and enjoy that sun.  I hope you have a day as pretty as we do today and that you can have a chance to get out and enjoy it.

Happy Spring!!

Diane 

National Scrapbook Day

Believe it or not National Scrapbook Day is coming up on May 3.  I have always wanted to spend that day scrapping to celebrate but there was always something else going on.  Life just plain got in the way.  This year, though, I have blocked the day off on my calendar and for extra incentive I have signed up for the Big Picture Classes National Scrapbook Day 10k. 

 Click the link above to find out more information. 

I think this sounds like a lot of fun.  I can't wait for May 3!  I have a lot of pictures that need to get out of their storage box and into scrapbooks, hopefully I can make a lot of headway in this never-ending task. 

Happy Crafting!

Diane

*Disclaimer:  I do not benefit in any way by sharing this information.  I share it because I think it will be fun, interesting and a learning experience.

Where to Begin?

I hardly know where to begin this new adventure.  I"ll start by saying welcome to Army Wife, Crafty Life.  I want to let you know up front that I am not the greatest of writers.  An English teacher will probably cringe at my postings and I do apologize for that.  I am hopeful folks can see past that and just enjoy what I share and post on here.  I want this blog to be fun and entertaining as well as informative.  

As the name of my blog implies, I am an Army wife to a mostly great guy (he gets on my nerves from time to time, but let's face it, what husband doesn't?).  We have been married for close to nineteen years and have three pretty okay daughters (don't tell them I said this, but they really are great kids). We also have two crazy dogs who are just children with fur.  

I am also a crafty person.  I love to work on crafty projects and often have several different things going at once. It is my therapy and makes me happy (when it isn't making me want to tear my hair out because a project isn't turning out quite right).

My main focus for the past thirteen years (when not dealing with deployments, moves or random kid things) has been scrapbooking.  I have made thousands and thousands of scrapbook pages and have loved (almost) every minute of it.  The most important thing is that my kids like to sit down and randomly grab a scrapbook and look at how cute they were back when they were little.  Just kidding!  They are still cute...kinda.  

Cardmaking is right up there too. I recently started making cards for Operation Write Home and am about to ship out my first box of cards.  If you haven't heard of it, I encourage you to click the link and check it out.  It really is a great organization providing support to our troops.

Recently my friend and I learned to crochet.  I now have more dishcloths and scarves than I know what to do with (along with a large basket of yarn I have no idea what to do with).  I am also in love with Pinterest and often pin projects I will never ever make and then spend two days cleaning out all that stuff and finding things I actually will make.  Eventually.

Anyway, thanks for visiting. I hope you enjoy my posts and come back to visit me again.  I love comments and look forward to hearing what you have to say.

Happy Crafting!

Diane