Hello.

Hello once again.

For several months, I've either gotten home from work if it was a weekday, or gotten up on a weekend, and gone straight to my Craftination Station. I've been crafting so much and have enjoyed every minute of it. Obviously I haven't posted anything, so you wouldn't ever know. I haven't even taken pictures of my products (what else would you call them? works? but it's not work, it's fun?) in weeks.

This is my stack of cards that I created in just the last week. Yesterday I created probably 15 cards. I was on a streak!

Above my work area is a window where I put some of my recent cards that I think are super spectacular. Some of them inspire me to be better. Others remind me to cheat when I want to. My brother Scott says "if your'e not cheating, you're not trying". (Actually, the first person that said that was Mark Grace).

That second to last card on the window is just printed off of the computer. I guess you could say I didn't quite cheat on it because it took a long time for me to find the exact center after a 8.5"x11" paper was split into two cards.  Then I just used fonts that I already had that I .l.o.v.e.d. and printed a bunch off. All I did to finish that one off was colored part of the letters. Maybe you'll get to see the silly detail of that card someday.

This is my photo area and my smash book that's just one page from complete.

I'm smash happy. Get it? hah.

For the record, smash books are freaking AWESOME.  I've gotten nearly every one of my friends to buy one, and not every one has gotten necessarily "into" it, but they've each tried it! I think the problem is that they think of it like a scrapbook... when it's more like a random art book and a place where you can put random mementos like ticket stubs and cards you received, and can just paint a page bright orange because you feel like it.

Last bit of update I have is this inspiration board I made of Pinterest pieces Erin and I found for a wedding reception we threw for her sister at their parent's house. It was SO much fun and such a huge adventure that I've started (and I AM going to finish) a scrapbook about it.

I haven't been on Blogger at all, so I haven't even been following your creations, Michelle. I intend to fix that immediately!

Right.

Blogging feels like work. I feel like I have to post and I don’t enjoy it so much. That’s stupid, I should enjoy it.

It’s because I hate to explain my projects. So maybe I’ll just stop doing what I think I should do and just do what I want to do. I’m not good with words; I never was. So I think I’ll stop trying to pretend trying.

This is a page for our wedding scrapbook. Adam and I talked on our honeymoon about things that went right and wrong. This will go after all of the pictures at the back of the scrapbook.

Details:

I typed the list and the title on regular copy paper and inked with Tim Holtz Distress inks. I added some lovely Prima flower ribbon and strips of paper cut with border punches.

I used the Movers and Shapers Butterfly dies on leftover felt from a Moxie Fab challenge for added dimension.

 

Stamps are Tim Holtz.

In other news, I’m going to enlighten your life with some WAY too much information: I got my period! Why am I sharing this with you like a middle school girl going through puberty? Because I haven’t had my period in a year. No, I wasn’t ever pregnant. My body just hates me.

In other not-so-TMI-news, Adam and I joined a gym and have been good! We both hate working out but we still go three times a week. We’ve been at it for four weeks or so now. I need to diet better, but those Girl Scout cookies are just so gosh-darn delectable!

When I lost weight a few years ago, I lost the weight so fast. I was expecting it to slide off this time just like last time. It’s not. I haven’t lost a pound. Well to be fair, I did lose three pounds, but then I gained it back. Last time I was actually dieting but now I haven’t exactly been doing good restricting myself. I have a yogurt in the morning, Nature Valley granola bar at 10…. And then I eat a crap-ton white pasta at lunch and it all just goes downhill from there. I have cut out most candy/chocolate and soda from my daily cravings. Goal: today, I will eat no carby breads for lunch. I’m thinking cheese wrapped in lunch meat (if it’s not expired), an orange, no Girl Scout cookies.

I will lose this weight again.

More

I already posted today but I'll be out of town for a while and I don't know I'll be able to update regularly. Plus I have some really lame photos I want to share.

My grandma passed away on Easter Sunday and her funeral is this Saturday in Utah. Adam and I were able to get plane tickets and we are blessed to have a mother that loves us and will be able to help us with some of the cost. Last minute flights are super expensive - we ended up spending $1000 on just the two of us. And we got crappy flight times. Our flight leaves tomorrow in Milwaukee at 6 in the morning. Milwaukee is an hour and a half away, meaning we probably don't get to sleep tonight.

Adam's work allows him 8 hours of bereavement time for her passing but he still doesn't have much PTO. He will be coming back to town on Monday and I will be able to stay until next Saturday, after my good friend Cari's wedding. They got engaged several months ago and I think I was one of the first to know (what a fab friend). I swore I was going to be there and I put in a PTO request and made sure it was approved. And then I got fired and I couldn't afford a plane ticket. How bittersweet that my grandma passed so close to the wedding and her funeral is just 6 days prior. I told Cari I will be 100% at her disposal as long as she gives me a couch to sleep on. Gary, her soon-to-be husband, will be taking the week off work to help clean and get her mom's house ready and I get to tag along to help! She has a fabulous site and you all should at least click on it to see the awesome picture on the front page: here. She's having a steampunk themed wedding. I won't be able to afford to dress up but she said there will be props I can steal. I'm so excited!!

I've been so unbelievably exhausted recently... since Sunday. Probably from a lot of stress - hearing about it on Sunday, then trying to deal with anxiety when I don't know when or where it's going to be so I can't plan until I know, and then I know and I have to plan and try to find a flight that won't make us go bankrupt. Oye vey. Oh, and the time of month may have a factor in that too.

On happier news, I checked our bank account this morning and found our federal refund is pending to hit our bank account tomorrow! I really don't like getting big refunds but we figured it was better to overpay last year than to underpay... we weren't sure with getting married and buying a house how much we would really owe. It turned out to be a huge blessing for us. With all my medical problems and two surgeries late last year we had a lot of medical bills that were taking a long time to pay off. With this refund we'll be able to completely pay all my medical bills and still have a little money left over. This is especially exciting because Adam and I made an agreement a few months ago that we'd do something special when they were paid off - something I'll actually blog about when we do it.

My camera is now charged and I uploaded the photos from yesterday and found out how really sleep deprived I am.

I would like to know why cameras have ONE object in front of it and it even has a little box it puts around the object before you snap the photo, but then when you click the button the BACKGROUND is in focus? I love this camera except up-close photos are NEVER in focus! So Merry Freaking Christmas - you get blurry photos.

This is the ring I posted about yesterday. I was 18 when my mom and my aunt Kathy went out to Gering, Nebraska to visit my grandma. We were sitting in Sacrament Meeting (like Mass for Mormons) and I was sitting next to my grandma. She was wearing this ring and I told her I thought it was beautiful. She took it off her finger and put it on mine and said "it's yours." I started to say no to be polite, but a lady nearby was watching and whispered to my mom "you make her take that ring!" So I did. And I love it.

Yesterday I did and didn't get much done. As I said yesterday, I get distracted easily when in that spare room. I went in there to finish the wedding card for Cari and in the middle of it I put some stuff on the wall:

Distraction #1
Does anyone else have a hard time putting things on walls? I just feel like there's a certain place to put things and I don't know the formula so if I put it on the wall it's going to look tacky and out of place. What's wrong with me?

Distraction #2
See like this. I love the "dream" and I love the butterfly. I wanted it in a place I would always see it, but doesn't it look awkward here?

Distraction #3
Last week I was looking for a product that would easily make circles. I knew of die cuts but they were so expensive. I was tracing objects and cutting by hand but that was getting tedious and puts a lot of strain on my wrists. I found a product called Fiskar's Ultra ShapeXpress. I bought it and a $5 circle template card thing. I can't stop making circles now - it's so fun!

Distraction #4
Buttons. I was looking at every single button in my stash. Why? I don't know. Because they're interesting?

Distraction #5
I found this next to the Ultra ShapeXpress templates for $5. I love the look of flowers on projects but spending a dollar per flower for the fancy, pre-made ones I can't justify. I thought I'd give it a try since it was cheap.

This is the template I chose - you trace the design, cut where it says to cut and fold where it says to fold. You make however many it tells you to make, in this case 3. On the left is what it came out looking. Maybe it would've been better on plain paper but I had scraps I wanted to use.

Another view. I'm not too impressed with this one. I'll have to play around with the other templates. What do you think?

This wasn't part of my distraction, but I wanted to share my story about it. I was watching a free video/lesson on stamping techniques on one of my favorite websites ever, Two Peas in a Bucket. The lady was using a technique I use all the time, embossing, but in the video she had her embossing powders in plastic containers. Ingenious! The powders come in a tiny plastic jar thing and you sprinkle like half of the container on your project but then you dump 95% of the powder off and have to get it back into the tiny jar. It gets messy. This way you just spoon the powder onto your project and can easily dump it back into the container. No mess!

I used this embossing powder (clear) for part of the card, the only part I'll show you today:

I used a new stamp I got from Hobby Lobby in the clearance section. Originally $10 and I think I got it for $3?

I got distracted again when I decided it was time to write my sentiment inside the card. I went to the computer and didn't get done for two hours. I probably worked on the card for a good 20 minutes, the rest was messing around.

Today I had to stop by Walmart to pick up some beloved travel size items. Gotta love the stupid 3 ounce rule. In the travel item section I found this thing and I loved it.

Closed. What is it?

Open. Ok, a mirror, cool, but what's on the right?

BAM! A brush! Super awesome!

I blame a picture of these different colored bottles on my lack of sleep.

Does anyone have any victorian-era/steampunk stuff I can borrow? I need it for May 6th and can have it back to you the next day. Anything like:

• Parasol
• Gloves
• Hats with plumage
• Fans
• Lace
• Ruffles
• Bustled skirts
• Brooches

Hat and hairpiece

Day 1: Wedding Dress: SOLD

I've been trying to sell my wedding dress since the wedding in July. I originally purchased it on Craig's List for $250 from a bride in Random Lake, Wisconsin. I took my mother in law with me on the hour and a half trip and we both knew it was perfect. The one. And so cheap! It was made by designer Maggie Sottero and the gown is called Paigely. I loved it when I saw it online when I was first browsing for wedding dresses, I loved it when I saw it in person, I loved it when I tried it on, I loved it every time I tried it on again, I loved it when I wore it on my wedding day, and I still love it. Redundant? Maybe. But I can't get over how gorgeous it is.

Most brides keep their dress, right? Pay to have it professionally packaged or wrapped or boxed or something? Why? As much as I loved this dress, I wouldn't love to never see it because it's in a box I can never open. I want money, baby!

I had a listing on the classified page of one of my favorite websites, Weddingbee, for several months with no responses. Eventually a soon-to-be bride in California contacted me and I sold it to her for $250! (with shipping included). What a blessing to have a little extra money in our time of need!

Before I sent it off, I had to take several more detail pictures in case I ever forgot what it looked like.










The Cali soon-to-be bride has received it and loves it! Hurrah!!