Scrappin' Sanity........

A little catch up time....

I felt the need for a little catch up post, so here goes:

Weekend before last...I was at a quilt retreat in Cody, Wyoming with dear friend Martha:

This weekend...National Scrapbook Day.  Did I hear bells ringing and angels singing?  Maybe.   I told hubby (who was in disbelief that such a day actually existed) NSD is like a holy day for me.  It involves shopping the local scrapbook stores and taking advantage of the savings they offer and doing a make and take:

The day also involved lunch at a Mexican restaurant, a pitcher of margaritas, lots of laughing, and working on this mini album kit (purchased from Scrapscription) at a crop with my scrapping buddies:

After a great weekend like the last one, and a great day like Saturday, how do you top it on Sunday?  You can't.  You have to attend to neglected business and work with supplies like this:

Yes, the house was a tiny bit neglected.  But it's not anymore.  So now I can unload, put-away, and make new stuff in the evenings this week.  So until then, thanks for coming by!

Scrap time/scrap space....

My friend Felicia posted the question "What does it look like from where you sit at your craft area?"  So, in the spirit of keeping it real, here is my view tonight without any tidying up:

 

You can see two of my "must-haves" at my work area.  #1 is the desk calendar pad.  I get it all inky and sticky with glue and then rip off the top page and have a fresh working area underneath.  The lines  serve as rulers and alignment helpers.   I try to catch them on sale for $1 at the office supply store along about June-July.  I think I missed my window of opportunity to stock up this year, but they aren't too costly at Walmart.

My other favorite is that unfinished wooden caddy (it spins!) that holds my most used tools (small ruler, paper piercer, bone folder, scissors, Crop-o-dile, sanding tools, micro tip marking pen, pencils, and tweezers to name a few.  Someday I will get it painted and covered in some pretty paper.

The green plastic basket right in front (Dollar Store) holds my various adhesives.  The basket to the right of that holds a collection of (mostly Basic Grey) 6X6 paper pads. On the shelf right above that is a drawer unit from the tool department at Lowes.  It holds miscellaneous doo-dads like large and epoxy brads, some small inkpads, some chipboard. 

So, I would love to see the view from YOUR seat in your craft area.  Go check out Felicia's view here.  It is VERY neat and organized.  She has a great tip for you on storing markers. 

Friends....

are the flowers in the garden of life.  That is what it says around the top of this painted and decopaged pot:

 

Two nights ago I was downstairs "working" in my craft room and Jim came in to ask me to come and teach him how to use his QuickBooks program so he could enter some invoices.  I have always done his books for him, but have been really bad at it lately.  I just don't want to come home from work and then do more of the same in the evenings.  So you think I would be glad to teach him.   But this task required WAY more patience than I thought I could possibly posess at 8pm on a weeknight.  (I'm safe writing this - Jim doesn't read my blog!)   I tried really hard, he did pretty darn well, and we made it through.  About 9pm I took my myself, bloody tongue and all, back to my craft room and found a text message on my phone from MARTHA, saying she had left a present on my porch.  (The same Martha that made me the Tinkerbell birthday cake.)  And this beauty was it! How awesome is that, to have a friend that randomly drops off such a heartfelt, handmade, and beautiful gift. 

You rock, Martha.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart.  I love it!

World's Best Mom...

 

Thank, Mom, for all you've done and still do.  You are truly the best Mom and I am so glad you are my Mom!  I love you!

 Here is your card.  Hope you don't see this before we get to your house in about an hour! 

What a fun day....

Your birthday celebration is guaranteed to be fun if you get a cake like this:

 

And flowers like this.  Thanks Martha!

And then you get scrapping goodies like a shirt and pink SU mug from Kelle.

 

And this fabulous magazine, wooden paper clips to alter, a balloon, and a coffe gift card from Brenda:

 

And these beautiful aqua fibers and a note pad wrapped in gorgeous batik fabric from Becky and Kaitlyn.

 

We had a great lunch at Grains of Montana, then hit the local scrapbook stores.

What an awesome group of friends.   I got to meet them and become friends just becausee Kelle spotted an altered kleenex box on my desk at work.  Amazing!  Thanks so much for the great afternoon everyone...you are all the best!

As if....

her cards don't rock.  Here is the latest:

 

Kelle's cards are guaranteed to bring a smile to your face.  They are always beautifully colored, and the envelope is usually decorated as well.  The inside of the cards are as great as the front.  We are both trying to loose weight, and are trying to keep each other encouraged.  What a great thing to find in the mail after a hard day at work.  Thanks Kelle!  You are a great friend.