the moments in between

two sang, one slept

today was the winter program at alex and ben's school.  they do two shows - one at 10, and one at 2.  last year we went at 10, but this year they INSISTED that we come at 2 - because if your parents come to the show at 2, you get to leave with them.  a whooooooooooole 15 minutes early. so off we went, right in the middle of sam's nap. i was worried about that but it worked in our favor - he fell asleep about halfway through, and didn't even wake up during the band performance.

the kids all did awesome - because of the snow days they didn't have a rehearsal, and the stage didn't make it to the school. the principal said there were a lot of nervous faces at the morning performance, but they, of course, did great. i always get a little teary at these things - i just love their school and am so proud of how well they did today. after a rocky start to the relationship when alex was in kindergarten and we ultimately ended up homeschooling for 2 years, i will never take the awesome community there and our wonderful relationship w/ the current principal for granted. i'm so glad we were able to put the past behind us and start over there, because it's a fabulous school.

as sam would say - holy pete's sake!

it has been one of those weeks.

saturday : i spent the afternoon at create w/ the girls, getting my craft on.  i was finishing up a mini for fiskars, but there was sewing and scrapping happening.  it was good.  we MUST do it again soon. i stopped at buffalo wild wings on my way home at matthew's request.  the big 12 championship game was on at 7 and football and wings is just a happy combo.  i stayed up too late writing directions for fiskars, and he stayed up too late trying not to yell at the tv too loudly. NE lost the game in the last second, and there was much heartbreak at our house.

sunday : more scrapping and writing for fiskars, and then we did the furniture shuffle and got out the christmas tree. it's lit but not ornamented, because i don't want to spend the next couple weeks putting them back ON the tree. snow started to fall overnight.

monday :sam's runny nose had turned into a runny nose, cough and not sleeping, so we went to see the pediatrician.  he's got an ear infection. boo for that, but yay for antibiotics and an end in sight for the crankies. at 8pm, w/ 2in of snow on the ground, none in the air and a heck of a storm prediected, we got the call that school was cancelled for tuesday.  

tuesday : it snowed.  and snowed.  and snowed.  matthew worked from home.  some friends of ours that live a block away called and invited us to a sledding party, so we made some cookies and headed over in the afternoon. the snow fell, the sleds slid, snowball were thrown - and then there was popcorn and hot chocolate and cookies.  good times. they called school off for tuesday while we were there, we trudged back home through the snow in time for dinner.

and after dinner, ben's bottom 2 teeth came out. =)  and since i couldn't find the tooth fairy pillow that i had made him about a year ago, we worked together and made a quick felt pouch.

wednesday : no new snow, but lots of blowing. matthew worked from home again.  we did some picking up and chores in the morning, and then the bigs went outside to help the neighbors build a snow fort for a bit before lunch.  sam and i made chocolate chip muffins, and we had friends over to play board games & wii in the afternoon. while we were playing, we got the call that school was going to be off AGAIN - and all of us adults just stared at each other, dumbfounded. there was no more snow forecasted, but i guess the wind chill + the plows probably not hitting all the residential in the city were factors.

thursday : today.  matthew went back to work.  it's too cold to send them outside.  alex is disappointed that he's missing a field trip. cabin fever is setting in, and i'd kill for a mcd's diet coke. alex is playing wii, ben is playing ds, and sam is stacking and restacking the presents under the tree. i've got the beautiful january kit from studio calico on my desk, but can't play with it till the rest of my mess from my fiskars deadlines is cleaned up.

i've been doing my darndest to go w/ the flow and enjoy the last few days..  but i'm done. i'm ready for a little normal.

shopping for a cause

this is my sweet friend becca.  she is a fabulous, wonderful, caring, creative and beautiful person - who happens to have type 1 diabetes. she lost a brother to diabetes shortly before her own diagnosis, and has a nephew that was diagnosed in the last few years as well. so to say this cause is near and dear to her would be an understatement.  she works tirelessly for our local chapter of the jdrf and pushes her fundraising goals higher each year, because she knows they can find a cure in her lifetime.

she is currently auctioning items on ebay, with all proceeds going to the jdrf.  you can see the list here. there are signed books, stamps, an original canvas by ali edwards, and even a 70-300mm lens up for auction.check them out and bid. =)

and if you're local, she's having a mini crop at CREATE tomorrow - you can see details here. i'll be there! =)

la vie en rose

tricia from cocoa daisy emailed me a while back and asked me to guest design for them - and i was thrilled to get the chance. =)  their gorgeous and elegant december kit is perfect for your winter and holiday pages, but can definitely be used for projects of any kind.

 

after everything i went through to get this pic last year, i never managed to send cards.  sigh.  do you think i can send this THIS year instead of trying to get a new one?  of course, all three are a lot bigger..  LOL.  i misted the background w/ brown maya mist, and used it on the blue letters as well, just to make them less bright.  i loved the effect.

 

i've almost scrapped this pics so many times, but they always seem to get pushed aside. i'm happy to have them on a page. =)  i used heidi swapp star masks + charcoal mist on the background, and used fiskars star punches for the other stars.

 

as soon as i saw the envelopes, i knew i wanted to use them on a page about santa letters.  i wrote out santa and then cut it from the basic grey paper, and stitched it in place.  i stitched the grid for the envelopes and then masked it off and used gold mist on the rest of the page.  each of the envelope flaps got a blast of red mist, just to make them pop a bit.

 

more tags!!!  the two on either side were masked w/ the basic grey doiley paper and then misted in avocado and red.  and i misted the flower on the left one w/ gold and avocado.  but the snowman in the middle is my fave.  i just stacked two jenni bowlin buttons, colored in the button holes, and cut out a hat.  i dressed him up w/ a little flower for his hat and a ribbon scarf.  isn't he cute??

thank you, cocoa daisy, for letting me guest design for you. =)  you can check out the work of their fabulous design team here : la vie en rose DT gallery

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btw, everyone went back to school today and it was HEAVENLY.  i admit that all i accomplished was printing two pics and wiping sam's nose 894,328 times.  we needed it.  tomorrow there will be target and scrapping!

and i was looking forward to monday.

as much as i love having everyone home, i love sending them all away again.  LOL.  i was looking forward to sam and i getting back into our regular routine today.

but.. i got pink eye on saturday.  and alex got it on sunday.  so he's home today.  we're both almost back to 100%, but, seriously? not the best way to start the week.  on top of that, sam's nose is running like crazy and matthew worked from home so he could take ben to and from school, so the house hasn't been anywhere near monday quiet.  sigh.  i'd never had pink eye before this, and i am hoping to never get it again.  

since i have nothing interesting to share from the weekend and my big excitement for the day has been placing an old navy / gap order, how about a fiskars project?

 

this is a simple little project that i contributed to a holiday wrap article. this is a bit of an adaptation of how i wrapped last year. i'm thinking this year will be a mix of these fabric garlands and baker's twine and of simple tags like this one and some more funky ones like the ones i showed in the last post.

okay, i've got some more cyber monday shopping to take care of (lego.com and landofnod.com both have things i need *and* free shipping through today and moolka.com just sent an email that i need to check out), but here's a deal at studio calico for you to take advantage of:

they just got in some new release colors of maya mist : my favorite is hydrangea, (i've been hoping for a nice aqua, and this one looks perfect!), but i've also got dark cornflower blue, sunflower yellow and silver plated headed my way.  mists have become one of my favorite things to reach for to finish almost any project, so i'm excited to get some new ones to play with.

i'm off to change sam's diaper and give alex another round of eyedrops - here's to a better tuesday. =)

orchestra

studio calico revealed their december kit, orchestra last night. the 2 add-ons that i worked with, strings and percussion, are already sold out, but the main kit and woodwinds project kit are both still available.

they also debuted a gorgeous set of calendar papers and month stamps - the stamps are currently sold out, but are being reordered.  i have a pack of the calendar papers coming to me soon and can't wait to use them! i don't plan to make a calendar out of them, but they will be an awesome basic to use on almost any page.  i love the pattern on the back, and the calendar squares will work well for journaling or small groupings of embellishments.  i hear these are going fast, so if you're on the fence..  you might want to go order. ;)

while some elements of the kit and add-ons were definitely christmas / winter themed, most of it isn't.  i did five pages, and they cover a diverse set of tops *and* looks.  love that in a kit. =)

 

this page uses the strings add-on, plus the green paper & buttons from the main kit.  as soon as i snapped these pictures, i knew i wanted to scrap them with the cosmo chipboard snowman.  i handcut leaves from the brown paper and then machine stitched little stems on them to make him fit the page.  i also added a bit of brown baker's twine to help fill the space at the bottom.

 

this page uses the main kit, plus a couple of small elements from percussion (the black tape & "08" numbers), and lemon mist.  i cut some small triangles from scrap paper and used them to mask off my own banner at the top, and then misted my background cardstock.  i used my typewriter to add words to the white banner flags, and then used a craft knife to cut the patterned ones out so they added a bit of dimension. i'm not going to lie, i love this page.  i didn't add a lot of journaling, but when i look at it, i feel like it totally captures the fun of the day. ps : that banner paper is my favorite part of the whole kit.  i recommended adding more studio calico paper to your order. ;) 

 

davinie (btw, click that link for a giveaway and some cool news!!) challenged me to scrap my photo from my home front post - and i'm glad she did.  this layout was a bit of a fight, but in the end, i'm happy with it.  i used the main plus the stamps & some small bits from percussion.

 

this layout just wouldn't photograph well.  it's so much prettier in person.  i masked off three circles and then sprayed the grey background with silver mist.  i then added tone on tone stitching and lots of little silvery sparkle-y bits - the prima sequins and american crafts brads.  i love how the bright photo pops off the mellower background.  this page uses bits from the main kit and both add-ons.

 

this page...  hee.  well, it started out simple.  REALLY simple.  and then i just kept adding bits.  and now it's fun and busy, sort of like christmas morning. ;)  i stamped "december" with the new month stamps, and then stamped it on a piece of scrap paper and cut it out.  i used that scrap piece as a mask and sprayed green mist on the background. it's a subtle effect with the colors that i used - i didn't want to add too much contrast with everything else that was going on here.  i'm planning on trying it again w/ colors that have a bit more punch.

 

these weren't in my gallery - they're just a little bonus.  i made them today for a challenge that nik and i hosted this week on the studio calico blog.  doris made a bunch of christmas tags last week, and she inspired me to give it a try, too.  these were so fun to make!!  i used turquoise mist and broken china ink along with a variety of my favorite studio calico stamps, a bit of aqua paint around the edges, and scraps and embellishments from the december kits.  i did these 4 in about 20 minutes, and will be making more.

so - that's orchestra.  if you have any questions about any of my projects, please leave a comment and i'd be happy to answer. =)

thankful

i'm a couple days late - but i hope all of my US friends had a wonderful holiday.  we had a quiet day - every other year the truesdells have a *big* reunion thanksgiving, but this was an off year.  we went to my mom's for a small gathering.

i am thankful for a quiet (well, what passes for quiet around here) morning to gather some of my thoughts.  the boys are playing star wars monopoly and there are cinnamon rolls in the oven.

i am thankful for a house that's almost never quiet - as frustrating as it can be, it comes with three happy healthy boys. so i'll deal with it.

i am thankful that matthew has patience with them when i don't.  and vice versa. 

i am thankful that this is my life. and that i get to share it with all four of them.

and on thanksgiving :

ilsa was thankful for extra people to rub her head.

 

we were thankful for phone calls to uncle dan.

 

and hungry hungry hippos with grandma.

we were thankful for making christmas lists, a tradition that goes back to my childhood.  once the pie has been eaten, out come the catalogs.

and thankful for rides in grandpa's new convertible.

and just one more thing to remember - when my grandma walked in to my mom's house, sam stopped what he was doing, jumped up and down and said "HEY!  it's anudder grandma!" hee.

(i will be back later w/ december studio calico LOs - the kit went live last night)

everybody clap your hands

last night, our school had a family fun bowling night.  it's a good PTO fundraiser, and a cool way to get together w/ the families of our kids' friends.  everyone's having a good time, we timed getting there perfectly and both of the boys got to bowl w/ one of their best buddies, and there was even cosmic bowling. and then, all of a sudden, the cha cha slide comes on.  and every kid in the place starts dancing.  it was hilarious. after a little questioning we found out that they've been learning it in gym class.  so there you go. that = awesome.

we're officially on thanksgiving break now and laying low today.  the bigs are currently playing new super mario bros on the wii.  sam is making a grand mess w/ toy cars.  we have a quiet thanksgiving planned with my family and i'm looking forward to a few days of just hanging out with my boys. =)

i've got a couple of projects to share today - both were done for fiskars.  the first is for the handcrafted holidays project a day :

 

i made this messanger bag w/ a reverse applique detail for alex. it's a good size for library books - or bakugan. ;)  you can find more pics and directions here.

 

i also contributed this house to a holiday houses article - there are 3 other house ideas, as well. =)

i hope all of my US friends have a happy thanksgiving - and happy rest of the week to those further away. =)

projects and peeks

how is it monday  and how is it thanksgiving week, already?  i'm kind of in denial - this year is flying by.

we had a good weekend.  ben had a friend spend the night on friday, and alex went to a bday party sleepover at the zoo.  seriously, how cool is that?  they got to sleep in the aquarium.  ben and his buddy were up too late, and then sam woke me up too early - so we were all dragging on saturday.  the bigs + daddy played a lot of new super mario bros wii and sam + me played a lot of air hockey.  and i snuck some scrapping time.  which means i have sneaks from the dec studio calico kit. =)

 

this page uses mostly the main kit, with a smidge from the percussion add-on. i LOVE the numbers stamp set.  love.  i'll be using it a lot, i think.

 

this is my favorite LO from this month.  i really wasn't sure how it was going to turn out - when you're doing a page with misting & sewing, you can't just lay it all out and see how it looks, like you do when you're using paper + embellies.  you've got to go with it and hope it turns out like it looks in your head, which it did, thank goodness!!  i love the effect of the silver mist on gray cardstock, so pretty.

 

and my last page.  which started out really simple and got kind of busy, but in the end, i think it works. =)

we also got the bookshelves for the bigs' room built - but i think we're going to need to do some rearranging to make some work.  i forgot to take a vent into account when i measured.  oops.  so i think they'll do better on another wall, which means taking down some wall shelves - which means spackling & painting, and rehanging them on the OTHER wall.  oy.  not something i have time for right now, and i'm kind of hoping i can come up with a better solution.

i'm heading back to my desk today, when sam is willing to let me.  i have 4 projects to finish up before friday, and the bigs are only in school today and tomorrow.  here's to productivity! =) 

happy friday!

oy.  i meant to come back with another post on wednesday, but the day got away from me. then alex was home sick yesterday, so i was out of whack again.  and now it's friday - i'm trying to get back on track before the weekend rolls in.

i really loved reading everyone's house wishes in the comments of the home front giveaway.  i think my fave was the one wishing for a maid - ME TOO. lol.  right now my biggest wish is time to build the bookshelves we bought for the bigs room. they need tall bookshelves for the storage - especially the "out of reach of sam" storage - and i've been trying to find something that wasn't flimsy but wasn't way too expensive.  i was estatic to find these on sale + free shipping at target, and jumped on them.  we have the same bookshelves downstairs in dark wood and really like them.  we got the shelves last week, they've been in the dining room  and i keep almost stubbing my toe on them. i'm very excited to get them up and have their room DONE.  well, as done as it's going to get for now.  i've yet to find a rug that i like enough to suggest to them, and we've hit a stalemate with art.  too many decision makers, lol.  

after two months of slacking on taking photos (i think 18 months of photo a day-ing did me in), i actually picked up the camera and took a few of sam playing the other day. nothing exciting, but this one makes me smile.  i need to get back to taking more, without the photo a day pressure.

we've got a big weekend planned - sleepovers and shelf building and scrapping. =) lots to do.  but before any of that can happen, sam i am and i have to run an errand and do some picking up around here.  hope you all have a good friday!!