Beach Photos

In our house, we have this little tradition of doing "Fun Fridays". Living in San Diego, there are so many fun things to do. Since we have so many memberships, often times we spend "Fun Fridays" at Sea World, the Zoo, or the Children's Museum. Oddly enough, we rarely go to the beach. But now that all the stinking tourists are gone and most kids are in school, last Friday seemed like the perfect time to go to the beach. But, wouldn't you know it, it was the first cool cloudy day we've had in months. It didn't matter though. We had a great time and went with our friends Laurie and Bella. I just gave the kids a paper bag and they were set to explore and collect all kinds of new treasures. Here are a few pictures:

I just love this one!

Oh so much inspiration!

For some reason, I've been attracted to a vintage/shabby chic style lately. So, I bought this book called Vintage Paper Crafts by Anna Corba and I'm in LOVE! This book is so inspiring. So many projects are so simple, yet elegant. Now I'm on the hunt for vintage sheet music and all things French (no surprise on that one!). Inspired by this book, I made this little candle in about 5 minutes with a few things I had on hand. Cute, eh?

Fall is my favorite season and I find inspiration everywhere. Outside hiking, warm apple crisp, cozy sweaters, and of course, making Halloween plans. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays so when I found this fabric print of the Wicked Witch of the West on etsy from Vintage Bella, I knew exactly what I would use it for...a scrapbook layout, of course! Last year, our family did the Wizard of Oz theme for Halloween and Madeleine was Dorothy.

Take a look....I am madly in love with this layout!

And here's a halloween card made from the scraps of the layout.

Back to the vintage stuff... I just wanted to share another canvas collage I've made. This one is of my Mom's family. My Momma is the cute girl sitting on my Grandpa's lap. I love making these collages and am considering making custom ones and selling them in an etsy shop. I wonder if they'd sell, and if so, for how much? Hmmm....
On a more personal note, last week Maddie started Karate. She loves it and has been practicing her kicks on the ottoman. And she never forgets the loud "hi-yaa" as she does it. This could be an interesting experience for my living room furniture.

Also, Sam started a "Tiny Sports" class where he'll learn T-ball, soccer, and basketball. But, perhaps "learn" is too big of a word here. Really, its a bunch of 2 & 3 year olds running around randomly and occasionally following instructions. Its like herding cats. I'm exhausted by the end of class. Its all about us being fit together I guess....

Anyways, I hope you're finding lots of inspiration in your everyday moments too. Thanks for checking in!

Christy

busy... busy... busy...

Do you ever have those times when you have about 10 half-finished projects and you're always busy but never getting anything done? Well, that's been the story of my life lately. But finally, here are a few new scrappy things finished.

I went to the scrapbook expo a couple weeks ago and bought all kinds of new "toys". I also took 2 classes, both by Rusty Pickle. Both were taught by the talented Casey Rivas, who is just as charming as she is talented. The first class was a calendar class which is one of those half-finished projects that I hope to finish in the next 3 months.

The second class was a Birthday Reminder Book and I actually finished this one:
This is perfect for me because as life is getting busier, I'm forgetting some important birthdays. Please feel free to send my your birthday and I'll add it to my book.This beautiful card was a make and take from the expo. I didn't want to worry about it drying so I brought it home to finish. I'm not sure who will be the lucky recipient yet.... ;)

In June Maddie had her first dance recital and I finally have it in a layout. This picture does not do it justice. Its actually very sparkly and the photo opens like a card to reveal another picture. The card is actually one of those musical cards from Hallmark. It plays the Conga song, the same song that she danced to. She loves to open it up and dance along!
The last thing I'm going to show you is this Christmas bracelet I made for myself. I *LOVE* Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and I was over the moon about these buttons I found off etsy. Then when I found this empty bracelet by Creative Cafe at the expo, I knew this would be a new treasure!
This week we start singing class for Madeleine, a "Family First" parenting class for Brentt & I, Karate for Madeleine, and a Tiny Sports class for Sam. Busy... busy... busy...

My BFC

This layout is dedicated to my friend Cydne (aka: my BFC). Next week, Cydne and her family are moving to Spain for 3 years. For the past 4 years, she has been a big part of my day-to-day life. Our kids are about the same age, she's my work-out buddy, my scrapping buddy, and my playdate pal. She's the one I call at 8am to see what she's up to for the day. If we don't get together, at least I've had my "Cyd-fix". She is a great friend but really, its so amazing that we are such close friends because we are complete opposites! I'm organized, she.... improvises a lot. I'm a detailed planner, and she can be enviously spontaneous. She does not stress about the little things in life and well... I'm a control freak (admitting it is the first step, right?). Being her friend has made me a better person. I know our friendship will continue even though she'll be on the other side of the world. I'll just miss our day-to-day interactions.

So... I say all that to explain this next layout. I made her and I this matching layout that is not my style at all. Its whimsical, crazy, and free.... like Cydne.



They have a lot of texture, techniques, paint, and patterns. I learned some of the techniques, like paper shaping with water from a class on SISTV. I'm also using gesso in a lot of my projects too. I love this stuff! Here I spread it out using a fork and heated it up so it bubbled, then painted it.

Off to school

Yesterday was Madeleine's first day of pre-K. She's getting so big! I can't believe how different she looks this year even compared to last year's first year of pre-school. Here she is posing (all by herself., I swear I try NOT to encourage this but... it is hilarious!)

Here is Sam barely tolerating her "fanciness". And here he is walking away from all the dramatics. Ha!

I'm so happy to have her home with me for one more year before Kindergarten! Perhaps I'll be able to convince her not to pose so dramatically by then. ;) She cracks me up!

Vote for Paper Tales

Ok, bear with me while I get on my scrapbook soapbox for a minute....

There is a new scrapbook store here in San Diego that just rocks! It's called Paper Tales. I know I've mentioned them before but they are a new favorite of mine. They opened about 5 months ago and the owner, Michelle, has a real intuition about what is hot in the scrap-world and what people really want. She carries all the latest Cosmo Cricket, Jenni Bolin, Pink Paislee, October Afternoon, Making Memories, Heidi Swapp, Melissa Frances, Amuse Stamps, and odds and ends vintage stuff. Their classes are unique, the people are so nice, and its a great place to visit if you need some inspiration.

So... I tell you all this so that you can not only stop in and support them but also vote for them. A local news station, 10News, makes an A-list of the best stores and restaurants in San Diego. I think this place needs to make the list. Please vote for them here. There are a lot of great crafting stores here but this one is unique. For example: The Melissa Frances (the lady herself) is coming on Sunday to teach a class. (I wish I could go!) And because I shop around, I can say that they have been getting the new stuff from CHA much quicker than the other stores.

So... please vote for them. Please visit them. I'll step down now... ;)

Christy

My "secret" Cranberry Meatball recipe

We're having a wine & cheese party this weekend and I'm getting ready. I've bought wines, cheeses, fruit, and ingredients for desserts and appetizers. One of my favorite appetizers for any party is my Cranberry Meatballs. Everyone has a go-to recipe and this one is mine. Its easy, its quick, and everyone loves them. And everyone always asks me for the recipe! Often, I forget to give it to them. Sometimes, I'm not so willing to give away my favorite recipes but I think this one is too fabulous not to share it. So, the secret is out...here's the recipe.

Get your crock-pot out!

50 frozen Italian meatballs (about 1 3/4 pounds)
1 cup pre-made beef gravy
3/4 cup whole berry cranberry sauce
2Tbsp heavy cream or whipping cream (do NOT substitute)
2 tsp dijon mustard
chopped parsley or dried cranberries for garnish, optional

Mix gravy, cranberry sauce, cream & mustard in a bowl. Pour frozen meatballs in crockpot. Pour gravy mix over meatballs and stir to coat. cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or on high for 2-3 hours. Serve using a toothpick. Save the left over sauce--its great over egg noodles the next day!

I hope you add this to your go-to recipe collection. Especially with the holidays coming!

Another canvas

Hey there-
Happy Friday! Before the weekend craziness begins, I wanted to show you one more canvas I made. This is also a 8" by 10" canvas using the Making Memories paper line. The addition of the pearls and the felt flourish ribbon really makes this canvas. This will be a gift for my cousin who just had a baby boy named Dylan. (I guess this gift won't be a surprise if she's reading this!)


I'm going to lunch with a couple girlfriends today (no kids!) and then off to the beach for a bonfire tonight. Sadly, this will be our first trip to the beach this summer. Living in San Diego, I simply choose not to fight the tourists at the beach during summer. But now that school is in, it means less tourists. Tomorrow we're going to go check out the new Children's Museum downtown and then to a friend's house to watch football. Football already? Fall is coming... I hope your weekend is fun for you too.

Canvas art

Eversince I took a class at Papertales here in San Diego, I've been inspired to do canvases featuring vintage photos. This one that I just finished features a picture of my mom when she was just one year old. Its easier than you'd think to make. The canvas is 8" by 10" and I used Making Memories Noteworthy paper. First I painted the canvas with a glossy black acrylic paint. I then layered and adhered the papers on with a glue medium. I then applied the rub-ons (from Amy Butler) and the letters and gave it a finish with the gel medium (matte). The photo is an enlarged photo copy. I cut the photo out and then I adhered it to chipboard covered in pink paper. After cutting it out, I used pop dots to give it some dimension. The finishing touches were adding the flowers (from Amy Butler), the chenille ric-rac and the fabulous white paper fringe (adhered to the outside of the canvas) which I bought at Papertales.

The best thing I love about doing canvases is that you can add as much dimension as you want, and you don't have to worry about smooshing it inside a scrapbook. Here's a photo showing some dimension of this canvas.

I hope my Mama loves this art-piece as much as I do.

Pictures from Estes Park, CO

What do you get when 29 people get together for a family vacation/reunion in Estes Park, Colorado?

• a herd of elk
• "siblings gone wild"
• one little fish and some other fish tales about the one who got away
• a trip to the ER (John's knee)
• a trip to the chiropractor (Darin)
• people from 8 different states!

• A bicycle made for 4

• 
• 2 drunks in a covered wagon
• Ok...ok...there were 3 drunks there...
• a wilderness adventure trip that made some of us wonder if we'd ever return
  (no, it wasn't because Sam was driving!)
• 6 sore butts after horseback riding
• the continental divide
• a rainbow
• the feeling that you're a little closer to heaven when you're above the clouds at 12,000 ft

• An amazing thanksgiving meal (yep--in August!)

• cozy, precious moments between aunts & nieces, cousins, grandparents & grandchildren, great-aunts and great-uncles & great-nieces and great-nephews, etc...

• watching new friendships blossom between cousins
• And over 300 pictures of one great week together. They're great pictures--I'll post more soon!

Thanks to everyone who made the trip so great! We really missed Val, Eric, Jake, and Bob who couldn't make it.