In Progress

Tonight I've been working on another page for our Disney album. Perhaps I'll finish the album one of these days. ;) This particular page is of the Test Track ride at Epcot. It's gone in a different direction than my original thought. Going to sleep on it and see what I think tomorrow. In the meantime, here's a little sneak peek.

2ps blog challenge:
Three things you'd donate to charity right now are...
This challenge ties in perfectly with something we're already doing. Trent & I have three boxes in our guestroom that we are filling to donate to 3 different groups. The first is for Goodwill and mostly contains clothing. The second is for the local homeless shelter. I'm filling it will toiletries that I pick up during my regular CVS shopping trips. Finally, I started a third box a few weeks ago for the SPCA of Wake County using their in-kind donation wishlist as a guide. :)

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Color of Mind

I'm working on a new Disney layout, but it's just not quite there. Missing something. Think I'll sleep on it. In the meantime, I decided to play around with a quiz from Blogthings. Not sure how much I agree with it, but the last sentence is dead on (well, minus the science part). Kind of creepy...

Your Mind is Yellow

Of all the mind types, yours is the most intellectual. You crave mental stimulation, and your thoughts tend to very complex. Your thoughts tend to be innovative and cutting edge, though many people don't understand them. You tend to spend a lot of time thinking about science, architecture, and communication.

What Color Is Your Mind?

2ps blog challenge:
With the economy is today. Have you started to cut back on your scrap shopping? If so how?
I have cut back on my scrap shopping, but not because of the economy. I'm trying to use up some of the supplies I already have.

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summer of 86

A page for Trent's childhood album. Found this cute photo of him & his older brother just goofing off and having fun. One of the prompts for April in the Autumn Leaves designing with 2008 calendar was to use flowers on a boy page. I picked some Primas from my stash that closely match the 70s pattern on the couch. :)

Supplies: misc. cardstock; Prima flowers; Making Memories brads, rub-ons and TinyAlpha; Autumn Leaves journaling stamp; Creative Imaginations patterned paper; Li'l Davis rub-on letters. Inspired by Apr 10 and 26/27 of dw2008.

2ps blog challenge:
Do you have spring projects you're excited to do? If so, what are they?
My spring projects typically revolve around my yard & gardens. I'm already searching for the perfect hanging baskets for my front porch. Through trial and error, I've learned that my personal preference is ivy-leaf geraniums. They look gorgeous and handle the sun and dryness of our west facing porch.

Next on the list will be shopping for vegetables for our garden. We typically grow tomatoes, peppers, lettuces, strawberries and a variety of herbs. I love being able to step outside in the summer and pluck food for our dinners. :)

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Joy

2ps blog challenge:
What five things in life give you joy?

1. My faith
2. Family
3. Friends
4. Creating
5. Helping others
   

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Scrapbook Shopping

2ps blog challenge:
Are you the type of scrapper/card maker that buys things to use on items your creating now. Or do you buy with the future project you could be creating?
I buy a little for both. Typically, I'll be looking for an item or two for a current project and stumble across something that looks fun for later. Going to a scrapbook store is out of the way for me (minimum 30 minutes drive each way) so I tend to buy more than I would at a chain craft store - stock up on the "goodies" I don't have easy access to. However, I haven't been scrapbook shopping in several weeks now because my collection of "goodies for later" has left me with plenty to work with. And to maintain a bit of order in my small scrap space, I need to use up a bit of my stash before buying anything else.

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Banana Bread & the Two Peas Challenge

Last night I baked two small loaves of banana bread - one for us and one for our neighbors who are expecting. I used the recipe from the Deceptively Delicious cookbook which includes pureed cauliflower. Well, the house smelled so good from it last night, both Trent & I tried a bit of ours. Absolutely delicious! We'll definitely be making this again. :)

2ps blog challenge:
What was your favorite childhood book?
Stuart Little is the first book that came to mind when I read today's challenge. It was my first "big book" that I read on my own and I remember being so proud of that accomplishment.

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Eighty-six

A couple of weeks ago, I posted about my grandfather's 86th birthday celebration. This week I made a digital 8.5x11 layout to share with the rest of the family. I used the sketch provided on Feb 9/10 of dw2008 for my inspiration.


Supplies: File Folder, Photo Frame, Label & Masking Tape from Rhonna Farrer's Office Supply Tool Kit at Two Peas; Birthday Cake Tag from hapPEA Birthday Kit at Two Peas; Paperclip from Craft Jar Kit at Peppermint Creative; background paper from After Midnight Kit at Peppermint Creative; Two Peas fonts: Blocks - Birthday, Blocks - Happy, Flower Pot, and Old Type; Lucida Sans font.

2ps Blog Challenge:
With the nicer weather coming what is one thing your family looks forward to doing?
Trent & I are looking forward to various trips. The beach is one of those. Thankfully, his parents' own a place a couple hours from here in South Carolina so we can get away for a weekend to relax. Another trip that will hopefully be in the next month or two is a visit to the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro. For Christmas, Trent gave me a year's membership to the NC Zoo. We have free admission for the year as well as any zoo or aquarium that is part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. If we can squeeze it in, I'd also like to make a trip to the North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores.

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Valentine Candy Jar

2ps blog challenge:
Are you making anything special for Valentine's Day? If so, share it with us.
Well, I can't share anything for this year as I might spoil a surprise, but I can share something I made last year. Part of Trent's gift was this altered candy jar - filled with M&M's. :)


Supplies: Provo Craft jar from Michael's ($1); Making Memories metal tag rim, sweets heart, pink/white ribbon, and "i love you" rub-on; misc red ribbon & patterned paper from my stash; Micron black pen. Inspired by Nov 10 of dw2006 and Feb 10/11 of dw2007.

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Etsy

I opened my Etsy shop (2pawsdesigns.etsy.com) yesterday! This has been a goal of mine for months but keeps hitting the back burner. I listed a few of the cards recently posted on my blog including this card I created tonight:


Supplies: Die Cuts with a View card; American Crafts patterned paper; Making Memories chipboard heart, brad, rub-on letters & word "love".

2ps blog challenge:
If you keep your photos on your computer. How often do you put them on a disk to back them up?
I schedule weekly backups to my external hard drive using the Windows Backup program. A few times a year, I will burn the photos to a CD. Currently, my 2007 photos will not fit on one CD so I'm planning to burn a DVD of them. For more detailed information about how I organize & store my photos, see my Photo Organization post.

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Manic Monday

The Bangles keep running through my head today. It's been a LONG one. I was grateful to walk in the front door tonight and, at least for a few hours, leave work behind. We had planned to try and make the yoga class at our gym. However, Trent had stayed home today not feeling well so we opted instead to try the new Gaiam Yoga Conditioning for Weight Loss DVD my brother gave me for Christmas. We did one of the 45 min routines and both feel worlds better. Amazing how missing something that simple can alter how you feel. We need to reinsert it into our weekly routine one way or the other.

2ps blog challenge:
Do you tend to find yourself always trying to keep up with the in scrappin trend? Or do you just go with what your flow is at that time?
I definitely do not follow scrapping trends. Half the time my stash is full of "last year's" hot items. To be "in" doesn't matter to me. I prefer to enjoy the art form and work with what I find appealing at the moment.

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Small Space Organization {Master Closet}

When Trent & I purchased our home almost 5 years ago, we were both more than excited. I came across a book advertised in a magazine I was reading called Our House Journal. Basically, it's a scrapbook for the homeowner with pages set up with prompts, pockets to hold ideas, and a few sketch sheets. This book has been great for keeping up with the little details around our house from paint and fabric colors to ideas on how we'll remodel a space. One of those spaces is our Master Closet.

The Master Closet is 7'-0" wide by 3'-6" deep. Not overly large. When we bought the house, the closet had metal wire shelving - a single shelf on each side high enough to hang dresses and two 3'-0" wide shelves in the middle spaced to hold shirts or slacks. Sadly, I never took a photo of this setup. But, trust me when I say it barely held my clothes which meant Trent's were in the guest room closet.

Reworking the Master Closet layout was our first big project inside the house. In January 2004, we went to Lowes with the intention of purchasing additional wire shelving pieces to improve the space. As we were looking at the options, I realized none would work. They wouldn't fit within the size and current arrangement. Being the professional designer I am ;) - I dug in my purse for some scrap paper & a pencil and begin sketching a new option. Below is the much nicer sketch I created later for our journal which illustrates the before and after:

We ended up buying multiple wood veneer closet pieces by ClosetMaid. It took about 2 days because we had to remove the old shelving and patch & paint the walls. Then construct and install the new pieces. We did reuse the 2 wire shelves that were originally on the side walls. They are both on the right side wall now and stacked so Trent & I can both hang shirts & slacks.

I have a few photos on the pages below of our progress. Of course, the cats were both very curious and kept an eye on things - note Cali yawning and Chester found the shelves to make a great napping spot. ;)
We spent about $300 on the wood veneer pieces. For a more functional space, it was worth it. We've easily shared the closet for the last 4 years and still have enough room. :)

2ps blog challenge:
What are your scrapping plans for the weekend?
I would like to work on my Disney album a bit more. Also need to finish uploading photos to be ordered. Those 2 are top on my list.

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My First Scrapbook

I had inspiration from 2 different spots for tonight's post. The first was a visit to SpiderGirl's Web earlier today & reading Angela's post about her first scrapbook. Then I saw the latest 2ps blog challenge & it was along the same train of thought. I confess, it took me a second to dig this up. I put it in a "safe place" - you know, the kind so safe that you can't find it yourself? Lucky for me, it was in the 3rd "safe place" I checked. ;)

My first scrapbook is a spiral bound, 5x7 notebook with lined paper. My Grandma Pillsbury made it for me when I was little. Perhaps a toddler? I can't find a date on the book, but looking through the pages that have her handwriting lead me to feel that around 3-4 might be accurate.

Here are two of the pages she made. Carefully attaching the photos and neatly writing in simple sentences a note about each.
As I got older, I began to add my own photos and notes. I have a good laugh now reading comments such as those on the pages below. The left side says, "I got play mackup for Chirstimas. I like to put it on." [Note: I copied the words directly - misspellings & all. ;) ] And on the opposite page, "I'm six years old. I like to blow out the candles."
I suppose it's safe to say my scrapbooking has evolved a bit over the years. But this little book is probably my most treasured as it was a gift from my Grandmother. :)

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Tagged

I've been tagged by Colleen! :)

1. Name your two favorite scrapbooking topics: Disney & any vacation we've been on. :)
2. What are the 2 best places you've been to? Grand Canyon and St. Lucia
   
3. Name 2 things you do every day? Check my email and read the paper.
4. Tell us 2 things that pretty much everyone knows about you. I'm married & have 2 cats.
   
5. 2 places you wish to visit. Europe and Chicago
   
6. 2 things you may not know about me are- I've only lived in 2 counties in my life and I have 6 siblings.
7. 2 nicknames you've had at some time in your life! Scooter and Philly
   
8. The question I'm adding is: Name 2 of your favorite drinks. Sweet Tea and Margaritas [separately, of course ;) ]

Notice a theme? :) All of the questions have 2 in them. Answer the questions, add one question of your own (this tag started with 4 questions) and then tag 2 people. Simple enough?

I'm tagging Sherry and Janet! Looking forward to seeing your answers.

2ps blog challenge:
Do you ever think back to when you were a child and wish you could relive it to get more photos to scrap the memory?
I'm on the fence with this one. My gut instinct was "absolutely!" I mean, it would definitely be great even just to have fresher mental images of those memories to enable me to journal them more completely. On the glass half empty side (LOL) - I'm thinking no because it adds to my already large pile of stuff to scrap. ;)

Layout details.... "Favorite Drinks" is a layout I created in July 2006 to record a few of the various drinks we enjoyed while vacationing in St. Lucia.
Supplies: Various scraps of patterned paper; cardstock lime & drink by me (drink sketch based off Making Memories metal tag); Akbar font; title: Lil Davis rub-ons.

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Our Animal Kingdom Anniversary

2ps blog challenge:
Share what you have created lately...
Found a little time tonight to create a digital page for our Disney album. The photo was taken at Animal Kingdom on our last full day of the trip and our 4th anniversary. :) I was inspired by Jan 17th of dw2008 to scrap a favorite photo and to experiment with different styles & ideas. While I'm not new to digital scrapping, it's not something I do a lot of nor am very comfortable with. I still prefer traditional scrapbooking. However, I thought I'd play around with some different papers & techniques tonight in Photoshop. Here's the result:

Supplies: Lined Kraft paper from Back2School kit by Shannon Freeman; Blue Title and Yellow Border Strip from Color My World Kit by Rhonna Farrer; 2Peas Stained Glass font; staples from Miss Mint's Twinkle Toes kit; Making Memories note{worthy} journaling page; KI Memories Hopscotch Red paper (thanks, Terri!!).

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Busy Weekend

Last night was a lot of fun. Trent & I went out to dinner with friends at 518 West in downtown Raleigh. We were there to celebrate a birthday. [hi, Kevin! LOL He didn't want us to embarrass him at the restaurant -- ie, birthday dessert, singing, etc. We behaved then, but I've got to have a tad bit of fun now. ;) ] It had been a couple of years since any of us had been there, but the food was still exceptional. Definitely one of my favorite Raleigh restaurants.

Today we've got plans in north Raleigh to help out with Operation Sharehouse. It's one of the programs run by Stop Hunger Now. Along with other volunteers, including members of our church, we'll be packaging meals for emergency relief efforts.

To fill our own bellies beforehand, I made French Toast for breakfast using the recipe in Deceptively Delicious. As I mentioned in my post on Wednesday, it includes pureed bananas. The recipe was far simpler than another I had previously tried and so delicious! I had planned to top the toast with fresh bananas, but unfortunately the only ones available at the grocery store yesterday were still green. I'll have to wait until next time to try that. For today, I topped them with a touch of powder sugar.

2ps blog challenge:
What helps you get some inspiration?
Most of my inspiration comes from dw2008 and the Calendar Girls. :) All of the amazing work posted at Two Peas constantly inspires me as well. My "book of scraps" (yeah, I'm still "old school" and not ready for that boring new title of "bookmarks") is filled with fabulous ideas from other Peas. And, I've been finding great inspiration in blogs.

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Birthday Cards

A couple of quick birthday cards I made this week. Both were inspired by Jan 14 of dw2008. The first by the prompt and the second by the layout design.

Supplies:
Card 1: Die Cuts with a View card; Scenic Route patterned paper; My Mind's Eye rub-on; Making Memories definition sticker & metal clip.
Card 2: Die Cuts with a View card; Scenic Route and Paper Salon patterned paper; Bazzill Edged cardstock; misc. "happy" sticker; SEI letter stickers; Li'l Davis rub-on; Making Memories metal charm.

2ps blog challenge:
Do you try to join scrap/card challenges to keep you going on your projects? Or for inspiration from others?
Absolutely! I joined the Calendar Girls challenge group at Two Peas in Sept '06 and have gotten sooo much inspiration from those talented ladies and the Autumn Leaves designing with calendars. As time permits, I join in on Theresa's BOS challenges and in the Disney challenges. :)

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Happy New Year!

Our New Year's Eve in photos. As you can see, there are some real party animals around here. ;) LOL
We stayed in all evening (minus a quick trip to pick up the pizza). The cats napped through most of it. Shocking, I know. ;) I spent a couple of hours working on cards. Then we ended the night watching the movie My Super Ex-Girlfriend. It's not the best film I've ever seen, but I confess I did laugh out loud several times. But then, maybe that was the glass of wine....hmm. At any rate, we went to bed just before midnight. I suppose we should have stayed up those couple extra minutes because as I was trying to fall asleep, I kept being awaken by fireworks and emergency sirens. I guess someone nearby had a wilder night than us.

Here are the cards I finished. Two more Valentine's cards:

Supplies: Die Cuts with a View card; Deja Views patterned paper; Making Memories chipboard and rub-ons.. Inspired by Jan 26/27 of dw2008.

Supplies: Die Cuts with a View card; Sweetwater patterned paper; Making Memories chipboard heart, fabric tape and metal heart. Inspired by Jan 1 of dw2008.

And 4 Thank You notes (only 3 are pictured):

Supplies: Die Cuts with a View card; KI Memories patterned paper; Making Memories metal rimmed tag and eyelet; Li'L Davis chipboard letter; Studio G stamp. Inspired by Jan 23 of dw2008.

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From Red & Green to Pink

Here are a couple of simple Valentine's Day cards I created yesterday:

Supplies: Die Cuts with a View card; Making Memories paints, "Simply Fab" foam stamps, TinyAlpha stickers, and rub-on.

Supplies: Die Cuts with a View card; My Mind's Eye and Chatterbox pattern papers; QuicKutz heart die (RS-0010); Making Memories "love" rub-on.

2ps Blog Challenge:
Do you have any plans for the last day of 2007?
Yes, I'm working today. Tonight Trent & I are going to stay in and watch a movie.

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Peppermint Mochas

This afternoon one of my neighbors and I got together at Starbucks and enjoyed Peppermint Mochas while taking care of HOA business. We've become the lone two on the architectural review committee. This was a nice way to get the work done and then enjoy a bit of catching up.

Supplies: Starbucks beverage wrap; snowflake punch; Die Cuts with a View adhesive backed white cardstock; misc. green cardstock; Uniball signo white pen.

edited to add...
2ps blog challenge:
What is one thing you look forward to during these last few days before Christmas?
Time with family. :)

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Yellow Glass Ornament

Angela Daniels posted a photo of her ornaments last week on her blog. It got me thinking about how I should start photographing and recording why certain ornaments have special meaning to me. Our tree has some typical shiny "filler" balls that are just ornaments. But it also is full of ornaments that tell a story. With that idea in mind and the prompt from Dec 6 of dw2007 ("create a unique border..."), I created tonight's card:
Supplies: "Black Frame" (I changed it to white) from the Color My World kit by Rhonna Farrer (Two Peas in a Bucket); Bazzill cardstock; Uniball Signo white pen; Making Memories epoxy sticker.

2ps blog challenge:
10 of your greatest joys...

1. my marriage :)
2. my family
3. my faith
4. my scrapbooking
5. my furbabies
6. helping others
7. teaching the preschool Sunday School class

Surely there's more! I'm drawing a blank at the moment. Probably because I'm up past my bedtime. ;)

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