What a week!!

I had a seriously awesome week, all things considered. The allergies are kicking all of our rears and making us tired and draggy, but there were some hi-lights that I have to share!!

First off, as some (or most??) of you know, I am a smash*aholic. Also, I am a member of this  awesome group run by some of the most creative and talented ladies around.

So, a couple of months ago we had sign-ups for an awesome swap called a secret sister swap and it was so fun!! I loved making and buying things for my sister and I hope she enjoyed using the items as much as I hope she will!! I had to be patient for my package, but it was worth EVERY minute of waiting. My sister was from RUSSIA! Russia is near and dear to my heart so it made it all the more special and fun when I received her package yesterday. Every item was perfect.

Also, this week, I was blessed enough to win a drawing for a Fuji Instax camera in the same Smash*aholics group. I can't believe my luck. It was once in a lifetime, I am sure. I couldn't wait to try it out when it came in the mail today. (and, of course, immediately smash about it). My first picture of my 5 year old boy relaxing on a swing with Daddy...loved his grubby summer feet. I can't wait to take more pictures. Its a learning curve, choosing your shots wisely. Back to the late 90s! ;) 

So that's what's going on in my world. Hope you all have a Smash*ing rest of the weekend!! 

Scrappy Mama Scraps Again!

Man, I am SO bad at coming up with good titles for these things, haha.

So, since I discovered the joy of Smash* booking I have gotten a little (maybe a little more than a little) behind on my son's 2012 scrapbook as well as I am still working on 2011. Oi. Bad, mama. So last week and the beginning of this week I worked to get some pages done for him so that I wouldn't feel so guilty smash*ing again (see previous post).

Here they are! Some are neater than others, some are a lil on the almost girly side, but not everything can be blue and blatantly BOY. Just sayin.

 Hope you all enjoy and that maybe you were at least a little bit inspired. Have a crafty weekend!!

Smashtastical Week

Wow, it has been way too long since I have blogged. A shame too, since I have actually crafted a lot, recently. Sewing, paper crafts, and more!

First, I will show you my smash*book. I am in love with Smash*ing, and its going to be a sad day when I run out of pages in my Mod book, haha.

The first one is a page about reading. I am a book worm who grew up in a library, almost literally. My mother worked at the Library for years while I was in elementary school aiding me in reading almost every book I could get my hands on! I plan to do the second page about books as well, but ran out of time that particular day. I have gotten lots of question about the nerd girl graphic and the stamp as well. The stamp is from Saturated Canary and the nerd girl problem graphic I found on Pinterest. Here it is.

 This next page is for one of my favorites, Downton Abbey. Oh, man, I can never get enough BBC. WHY aren't there more episodes over there? Sheesh! LOL The Keep Calm quote is another I found on Pinterest, and laughed so hard at that I had to have it....and then I couldn't find it again. I think it got removed, so I made another one. And lost it on my computer. ::shakes head:: Good thing I printed it out!

Hope you all enjoy this post! I will be back later with my scrapbooking, as well as sewing. Keep calm, and smash on!

Papermom is back!

Woo! Got to play with paper, today! An old friend of mine from grade-school is getting married next month and asked me to make her a banner for her wedding photos. I was happy to oblige, of course.

With her approval I got to play with a paper pack from The Paper Studio called Rue de Fleur. This paper pack is gorgeous and it was 50% off to boot.

For the banner its-self, I used my cricut to cut the banner shape and the letters. For the banner shape, Independence Day and for the letters, Storybook.

Here is the final banner. She asked to make it double sided so one side says, "thanks" and one side says, "Mr. & Mrs." I used some nice jute twine and sewed it all together.

Sew Awesome!

So, honestly, I was starting to think that I should just not sew. I was very discouraged. My head doesn't work like other people's and visualizing how something should work without detailed step-by-step pictures was a nightmare for me.

Last night my sweet husband surprised me with a late birthday present.  A LAPTOP! YAY! Now I don't have to print tons of tutorials and I have have videos and pinterest at my disposal in the dining room with my sewing machine.

To celebrate, I decided to use some fantastic fabric that I bought on a recent trip to Hobby Lobby and make myself a laptop bag. For once, I am glad to say, the bag turned out exactly how it was supposed to! I never once got discouraged or anxious. Of course, it helps that the the tutorial was very basic and straight forward.

I didn't have interfacing or quilting stuff so I used some thick, thick felt that I have had for a long time and it worked like a dream. I also decided to add a flap closure and velcro since the bag is a smidge big (better than too small, eh?) For the inside I used some minky material to keep the laptop nice and safe. Its also big enough that if I am going to be out for a long time I can put in the charger cable.

All in all, its been a fantastic Monday. Noah has had a blast playing legos and drumming to pandora songs while I sewed. Oh! And we have had RAIN!!!! Woo! The bad thing about it was so windy...took out part of our very mature maple in the backyard. Thankful it missed Noah's playset!!

Have a wonderful week!

Sweet baby cakes

Well, not cake, exactly. Just a baby. A new "niece" to be exact. One of my best friends in the world has been trying so hard to adopt and they finally have been granted custody of a sweet baby girl who is, as of today, 4 days old. So jealous that I can't hold her! So, to negate the jealous energy, I sewed.

I found this great old vintage print at our local hope center. I have been hoarding it for ages and had no one to make anything for. So, with this print and some towels I made 2 bibs, a burp cloth and a crinkly taggie toy with minky on the back. It was tons of fun and now I am like, WHAT ELSE CAN I MAKE? lol

I am still very much a novice seamstress, but I hope my dear friend only sees the sentiment, lol. Besides. I am sure these will be covered in spit up in no time and no one will notice, right? 

Hope you all are still able to stay cool! The "cool front" is on the way for midweek here in middle Tn. Going to be in the 90s instead of the 110s! Woo!

Happy Sunday!

I might have a problem

I love aprons. Ordinarily, that wouldn't be a problem, but me? I am not a cook. I can bake okay, but its a stretch. Haha. But I freakin LOVE cute aprons! I haven't made one for myself since this one:

You know....like over a year ago and I made it by hand stitching every single stitch? Bahaha...yeah. 

I have made aprons for friends, and family and even my SON...but not another one that's more classy for me to use in the kitchen. So, here it is! YAY! And the flower is actually a pin so that I can use it in my hair or on a shirt or whatever I want. Cause, that's how I roll. I can't commit. LOL 

And, of course, my attention bug Noah HAD to get in on the action. 

Hope you all are staying as cool as you can in this inhumane weather we are having across the country. I read somewhere that over half the country is in some form of drought. And the list of all time record breaking temperatures grows by the day! Hugs and safety to all!

Here is a link to the list of records broken. Kinda amazing, actually!

http://www.weather.com/news/weather-forecast/record-heat-all-time-monthly-20120628