“Camping in the Cold”

Last October, my husband took my son camping for some “man” time.  It was a cold night.  They still went.  They left with a portable heater, I was afraid they’d either freeze or die of carbon monoxide poisoning, but hey, what good is life without a little (or a lot) of that “mom worry”.  My husband assured me they’d be find and off they went. 

Well, my daughter and I quickly did our “girl stuff” while they were gone and enjoyed the evening.  They called a few times to tell us the exciting things that happened, like feeding a purple duck!  I didn’t know purple ducks existed, but apparently a beautiful grey duck with purple wings does.  Hmm…(yes, this was before the portable heater, so I’m pretty sure they weren’t just high on fumes).  They had a great time, ate lots of junk food.  I think that was what my son was most looking forward to, Mom wasn’t around to say, no you don’t need another cookie.  I do have to say though how times have changed that now while camping, we can still communicate via cell phones.  Much different than when I was a kid!  LOL

Anyway, the night went on.  My daughter was safely tucked into bed and I stayed up late anticipating their early arrival home to help unload the truck.  11 PM, no show.  12 AM, still no.  Well, I thought to myself, they might actually make it!  So I went to bed.

And then I’m woken with a start at 3:30 AM ish thinking for sure someone is breaking into my house….and I’m home, by myself!  No man around to protect me!!  Ahhh…..that was not part of the deal…and wouldn’t you know it, someone waited until they were gone to come break in!!! 

Then I realize (after I stupidly go to the front door with nothing to defend myself – yeah, I’m smart) that it was just the boys returning.  I have to admit, I expected midnight, but not 3:30 LOL…..

They camped the night, then the fuel in the portable heater went out about midnight.  My son was so cold my husband gave him his sleeping bag which resulted in a still mildly cold boy and a very cold Dad.  They broke camp, went to walmart at 3 (yeah, they got lots of questioning looks for that one!) and came home.  Sigh…but the boys are home.  The two of them took a good nap the next day.

Now this is a story that I wasn’t on, so sometimes tellling it might be hard.  But my son was sooo excited about it, it needed to be told.  And I was on the receiving end of a few phone calls, so I did still have that perspective.  I only had one photo, but I still felt this was a story to be documented.

 

I did an 8.5 x 11 page because I only had one photo.  And this October Afternoon paper was perfect for the page!  I created the page with a small amount of journaling in mind then realized I needed more room.  So I did something I don’t do often, I used hidden journaling.  It meant taking the page apart a bit, but I’m glad I did.

Supplies:  October Afternoon, Jillibean Soup, misc (buttons, kraft paper, floss, chocolate ink & bling)

“Home School”

It was an exciting week in our house.  We  homeschool, and there are so very many benefits to it.  One of which being we can adapt the learning to the ability of the child.  My first grade son loves math.  It comes extremely naturally to him.  This week, we finished 2nd grade math and moved onto 3rd grade!  Yay!  How very exciting.  (So now, next time you see me messing with numbers here, you’ll know it’s a family thing…we all love numbers).

 

Well, I knew I had to do a page to mark it.  This is a sketch by my friend Ashley at Frosted Designs.  Now, I had to do what works best for me with sketches.  I’m not a sketch person, so I looked at it, made mental notes, then walked away.  I pulled a few key things from it (the vertical blocking and the circles) and then did my own thing using those key features. 

 

Supplies:  American Crafts (cardstock & Thickers), Cosmo Cricket (papers & ledge letters), October Afternoon (paper and stickers), misc (bling & ink)

“Lego Bliss”

It’s almost the end of January already!  Wow!!  I just wanted to share this LO to remind you that I still have the January challenge open!  You have until Jan 30 11:59 PM Pacific to post your link for your chance to win the prize!!! 

This page I did with a twist on the sketch.  I had larger pictures, so I flopped the sketch a bit and then used 3 pics instead of 4.  But the great thing about sketches is they are just that.  A sketch, not a set in stone rule.  Make it work for you!!

Journaling:  “In October we went to the Lego Store in Bellevue.  You looked forwards to it for months and had a blast.” Oct 2011

Supplies:  Simple Stories, American Crafts (cardstock, thickers & ribbon), PapertreyInk dies (alphas), Cosmo Cricket (ledger letters), Studio Calico (veneer stars), Misc, floss & buttons

 

Be sure to link up your page to your blog or online gallery for your chance to win this months prize!  The sketch (and Mr Linky) is on the right sidebar.

The Twinery Buy-In Update 2

I just dropped in the mail all the boxes for those whom I've received paypal payments from!  Keep an eye out at your mailbox because in two to three days (depending on where you are) you should have some happy mail :)

I do still have 3 2 spots for the 10 yards of all 18 colors  15 spots for  ONLY 10 yards of the new colors (for the record - all will be cut in 10 yard lengths now....it was a nightmare working with the 20 yards at a time.  So if you want 20 yards, you'll receive 2 - 10 yard lengths.).

Email me at lovejoypaper (at) hughes (dot) net if you'd like more info.

Reusable Grocery Bags

My husband always makes fun of me because I write a grocery list and promptly forget it at home when I head out the door.  He seems to think it’s funny.  And while I guess there is some humor in the fact that I nearly always forget it, there is still benefit in that I usually can remember what was on the list by just the act of writing it out.  But I also do a similar thing with reusable grocery bags.  Yup, I either leave them at home, or if I’m lucky enough to get them to the car, in the car while shopping.  Urgh!  I much prefer to use the reusable bags.  They hold more, they’re easier to carry, they’re a bit more attractive and best of all, they don’t tear leaving a trail of lemons and potatoes on the ground behind me as I carry groceries in.  No, I don’t speak from experience.  Okay, maybe just a *little*.  okay, okay, a lot.  I get so stinkin frustrated when that happens!  And it seems to happen weekly. 

Anyway, I heard a friend of mine really wanted some for her birthday.  I was a bit intimidated because she’s a crazy good seamstress and I’m well, a lazy one!  LOL.  But I set to work anyway and did my best.  I was so pleased with the result I almost didn’t send it!  Sigh.  But I was good and did.  And now I’m thinking I just need to find some time to make myself a nice set of 6 or 8 because I’m thinking that if I had really pretty bags, I wouldn’t forget them at home or in the car. 

I’m thinking about doing a pattern for these, but I need to perfect the pattern, so give me a bit and check back!! 

The 6x6 Debate–Part 3

Today I’m going to wrap up this little 6x6 paper exploration with a few more examples of projects done with the same two papers in different scale.  The first is a card.  This was using a piece of My Minds Eye paper that has a very focal pattern.  I often struggle with these types of papers, so these aren’t my favorite projects ever, but they serve the purpose of demonstration.

“Such a Lovely Day Together” Journaling:  “In October, the boys went camping so we had a girl day.  We had a tea party, painted our fingernails and had fun.”

Alright, now my next two projects are some of my favorites.  I’m really loving these two.  So just like Thanksgiving dinner, I’m saving the best for last.

For this card, I distressed the papers and rolled the edges a bit to give it a shabby look.  I also cut the paper flowers (using both scale of papers) with my spellbinders dies and rolled and inked the edges.  No sentiment because I’m not sure who I’m giving it to yet.  Yup, that’s how I work.

This page I love because of the photo.  I was so happy with the result of the page and the shabby look, it went perfectly with this picture I thought.  There is no journaling, but the title is based off a song by Steven  Curtis Chapman called “the Treasure of You.”  Yes, this is one of my favorites.

Supplies:  My Minds Eye (paper, flowers, brads, epoxy, ribbon), Misc (paper, ink & floss), Basic Grey (alphas), Cosmo Cricket (alpha ledgers)

 

To wrap this all up, and because I’m a complete geek, I wanted to give a  bit of a price break down of the price per square foot of the 6x6 pads compared to the 12x12 paper.  For the most part, they are pretty comparable.  A few are less, a few are a tad more.  But all in all, it’s not costing more to buy the 6x6, sometimes it’s a 25% less (but those are often the papers printed on only one side when the 12x12 is double sided).  Here’s a brief overview of some companies.

Basic Grey

6x6  – $.66 per square foot (single sided)

12x12 – $.93 per square foot (double sided)

 

Echo Park

6x6 – $.99 per square foot (double sided)

12x12 – $.89 per square foot (double sided)

 

My Minds Eye

6x6 –$.99 per square foot (double sided)

12x12 – $.99 per square foot (double sided)

 

Crate Paper

6x6 – $.74 per square foot

12x12 – $.99 per square foot (double sided)

 

Simple Stories

6x6 – $.66 per square foot (single sided)

12x12 – $.99 per square foot (double sided)

The Twinery Update

If you are participating in the Twine buy-in I just wanted to give you an update.  I received the twine today, which was ahead of schedule.  I didn’t expect it to ship until today.
If you did option 2 for just the new colors (and you have paypal’d already), I am dropping them in the mail tomorrow.
If you chose option 1, I will probably be sending those out on Thursday.  Those ones will take longer to pull the twine for.  But they will be coming, and I’ll update when I have sent them out.

If you have not participated, but would like to, here is all the information (prices include shipping).  I have 6 5 spots available for all 18 colors, 17 15 spots if you want just the 4 new colors.

The 6x6 Debate Part 2

Well, since I was told Saturday that the word “debacle” is speaking of failure I decided to use the original word I was planning which is debate.  So boring though.  But thanks Bethany for correcting my not so good English skills.  I’m tempted now to use a very long run on sentence full of grammatical error just to see what she says.  I shall refrain.

On to the subject at hand.  6x6 paper compared to 12x12 paper.  As I said on Saturday, there is a difference in scale.  Over the weekend, I made a few projects to demonstrate this.  Today, I am just sharing one card.  I’ll have more tomorrow but I’m crunched on time today.  No, I don’t just lay around eating bon bons and watching Oprah.  At least not most days.  No, today, I have to brave the 6” of snow that fell overnight and venture into town to pick up my whole foods order.  Ahhh….

This paper is from My Minds Eye Lost and Found TWO.  Can I just say I loved this line?  Guess I don’t need your permission, I’m going to say it anyway.  I love this paper line. 

I cut both sizes into 1 1/2” squares and made a faux quilted card.  You can see the difference in the scale of the patterns.  Same pattern, one is just 25% of the other. 

Supplies:  My Minds Eye (patterned paper & embellishment), American Crafts cardstock, misc thread

Tomorrow I have two pages and two more cards to show using the same papers.  Now, I’m off to do school with the kids.  It’s an exciting day, my first grade son is moving into 3rd grade math!  A new journey starts today.  Off for the adventure.  Over and out.

The 6x6 Debacle

That is a word right?  Hey – I never said I was an English major….In fact, I’m feeling pretty special in all I’ve learned homeschooling my son in 1st grade phonics.  I have a problem with English.  How’s that for an intro? Completely off the subject and random. Sigh. Perfect!

If you’ve been in any scrapbooking aisle in the last couple years you’ve noticed that 6x6 paper pads are taking the industry by storm.  It seems every manufacturer is releasing their papers in a 6x6 size as well as the full 12x12 size.  There are definite benefits to the 6x6 size, especially the obvious, for cardmakers.  The smaller size is perfect for the smaller canvas.  In addition to just being smaller in size, the scale is usually smaller as well.  Most commonly it’s 25% of the the original scale (however I have found some exceptions as I’ll show).  But the benefits go farther than just cards.  These paper pads are a great option for the scrapper on a budget.  It allows the consumer to have the entire (or majority) of a paper line at a more affordable cost.  Most 6x6 pads are $6 each, less than the comparable  12x12 collections at $15 and up.  One more benefit is the smaller scale.  I know I already said that, but I related it to cards.  Now, I want to relate it to scrapbook layouts in terms of die cuts. 

To demonstrate this, I pulled from my stash some papers that I had in both the 6x6 size and the 12x12 size.  Then I punched circles with my 1 1/4” punch in both the full scale and the 6x6 scale.  I have photographed those punchouts as well as the sheets of paper together.  The full size is on the left, the 6x6 is on the right in all the pictures.

Simple Stories 25 Days of Christmas

My Minds Eye Stella & Rose (both sides of paper)

 

Echo Park Happy Days (this one appears to not have as dramatic reduction in scale)

 

My Minds Eye Lost & Found TWO (both sides of paper)

 

 

Studio Calico Memoir

I hope these visuals allow you to see the benefits of using the 6x6 papers in your papercrafts.  Take a chance and try something new.  I did, and haven’t regretted it yet (as you can see below )

“Forever Friends”

Sheesh, I can’t believe how fast these little squirts grow!!  This seems just like yesterday, but it wasn’t.  It’s been 16 months and how much they’ve changed since these pictures!

This is a page that really, is just about the pictures.  No journaling, just the picture.  I tell enough stories in my pages that sometimes I like to do a page that simply doesn’t tell a story with anything more than the picture.

Supplies:  Crate Paper (papers & alphas), Cosmo Cricket (flowers & butterflies), October Afternoon (stickers), Misc (floss & rhinestones)