Harry Potter books Layout (way way back Flashback Friday)

A few weeks ago, I met up with my good friends, Liz and Jossie, for a Harry Potter themed craft day.

Want to know a secret?  Since we were having too much fun chatting and eating and shopping and getting the room ready for craft day, we didn't craft much ahahahaha!

I had planned on working on a layout of when I recieved the 7th Harry Potter book in the mail...in 2007!  Yeah, I am behind sometimes...

After I came home with all my craft bags still packed, I decided to work on that layout at home.

I had kept the box the book came in all this time ("After all these years? Always..." ok, you have to be a Harry Potter fan to get that--haha) and I finally used parts of it.

Items used...a library card, my typewriter, Kelly Purkey's Harry Potter stamp, and some book washi I had.

Another secret?  I first did this layout totally different, but it was way too busy (I mean even this one has a lot on it)...I hated the first layout, so I started over...I have absolutely no problem redoing layouts that I hate :D  Here is the horrid first try.

Sorry your eyes are burning now!  ha ha ha.  Thank you for reading!

Be a Unicorn

Back in August, Liz threw Jossie and me a birthday party, but not just any birthday party...A magical crafty UNICORN birthday party!!

*Fun Fact...Jossie and I were born on the same exact day (yes, including the year!).

I'm pretty upset with myself since I didn't take any photos...not even of the yummy cake Liz made us.  Luckily, Jossie and Liz sent me the selfies we took. 

We (mostly Liz and Jossie) made some awesome glittery unicorn horns.  It was a total blast laughing at ourselves taking selfies in the hallway of Joanns. 

For my layout, I was excited to use new and old products. I also broke out my typewriter and used the We R Memory Keepers magenta ribbon. 

**The Unicorn embellishment cluster was actually taken from a goody bag Jossie made us.  It was so cute that I couldn't help but use it on my layout! :)

Thank you for reading. 

December Daily 2015

Since I finished the album in February, I figured I would wait until later in the year to share my album from last year.

This was the first time I did a "true" December Daily.  Technically, I did a December Daily in 2012 which was part of my Project Life Album and I did a Smash Book type December album in 2014 which wasn't daily.

I told myself I would never do it again, because really, who does something "Christmasy" every single day and you can only tell the story of your decor so many times before it is like "ok, I know that story!" haha.  But then I seen the new December Daily stuff from Ali's site and I had to buy some!!  Plus I have so much Christmas stuff to use.  So I may do December Daily, but I may only document the 12 or so days my kids will be home.

With completed albums like this, I really think a video is the best way to show it off :)

Please excuse my fogginess...I have no idea why I forgot a few words.  This was the 3rd video of the day...I was tired...my brain is old...the list goes on and on.  I thought about reshooting it, but I figured I would have just fumbled on other words haha.

Thank you for watching.

December Daily(ish) 2014

In 2013, I had to have this Smashbook, but didn't use it.  Since I really need to use what I buy, I decided to use it to document my December in 2014.

I opted not to take photos daily 2014, but rather used the whole album as a snapshot of our whole month.  Since the Smashbook doesn't allow you to move the papers around, I stepped out of my comfort zone and scrapbooked them out of order.

Hopefully a video of the album is easier to watch instead of seeing a bunch of pictures that go on and on forever in the post.

Thanks for watching!



I go back and forth whether I like to "vlog" or not because I always fumble my words, but sometimes when sharing a whole album it is just easier I think.

Take me to the Beach...

Each summer, my mom and I like to take the girl cousins (her granddaughters/my nieces and daughter) to the beach.  There are currently 5 of them, but 1 is only 2 years old, so we only took 4 of the 5 girls to the beach.

I had recently found and bought a Polaroid camera for $10 at the Antique Faire and wanted to try it out.  Since Polaroid discounted the film for the cameras, I found that a company, Impossible, now makes the film...although pricey, it is still fun to use.  We used all 8 exposures on our trip to the beach.

I know it is kinda busy with all the patterns and such, but I like all the colors in the layout.

I had taken a photo of all 8 of the Polaroids in the sand to post on Instagram.  I then let my mom and the 3 older girls take their favorite Polaroid home.

The "Going on an Adventure" tag is from Amy Tangerine's Stitched-Jump Stitch.  The "A Day at the Beach" stamp is from Ali Edwards Beach stamp set.  The background paper is Dear Lizzy's Happy Place-Beachy Betsy.

I had subscribed to the Studio Calico Stationery kit for a couple of months and the "June 2016" card came with one of the kits.  I stamped "Friday" with the Amy Tangerine's Oh Happy Life roller stamp.  The "Life is better in Flip Flops" is from Kaisercrafts Sandy Toes stamp set.

This envelope was also from the June Studio Calico Scout Stationery kit.  I used the We R Memory Keepers typecast teal ribbon to type all of our names in the 'sky'.  The ampersand is from the Project Life Value kit Notes & Things (I think). 

I used Amy Tangerine Stitched-Applique, Amy Tangerine Stitched-Bobbin, and Amy Tangerine Stitched-Thrifted papers to layer the photos on.  The "so love the sound of the waves" is from the Ali Edwards Beach stamp set.  The camera paper clip is from American Crafts.  The "shine" bit is from Webster's Pages These Are the Days-June.

I think I got this wooden tag from Michaels--the glitter was already on the tag.  The "California" and "girls" is from a discontinued Kelly Purkey stamp set.  The hearts are from the Amy Tangerine's Oh Happy Life roller stamp. 

The journal tag is from Amy Tangerine Sketchbook bits pack.  

So we didn't take my youngest niece, Max, to the beach with us because she is two.  Later, my mom texted me to tell me that she had drawn all over one of the Polaroid photos.  I found it too funny and I like to think she was mad that she wasn't able to have a beach day with us :)

This "Polaroid" bit from Maggie Holmes Confetti ephemera pack was perfect for this layout.

I hope my links help you find any of the products...I do not get any thing for linking any of the products.  I am actually not sure if I am going to link in the future since it takes a while to find some of the items since a lot of the stuff I use is older.

Thank you for looking!

Long Beach Mini Album

**quick note...I link a lot of the supplies, but I do not get paid from any one to link these :)

Back in April, my husband and I went to visit my daughter in Long Beach for a couple of days.  I have really embraced making mini albums of our quick trips.

When I got home, I put all the receipts and such aside...seriously, I do not know how I accumulate so many pieces of things on a 2 1/2 day trip!

In May, I met up with Jossie and Liz for a craft day and I made myself limit the supplies I was going to use on this mini album and I left the house with only 1 bag!!!!  woo hoo!

Here are the supplies I limited myself to use:

For roller stamps, I closed my eyes and picked a few roller stamps that I had to use...Amy Tangerine Ready Set Go, Maggie Holmes Shine, Amy Tangerine Cut & Paste, and Jennifer Garner-We Made It (exclusive at Joann-no longer available)...after I decided I was definitely going to need and use the time roller stamp from Ali Edwards...so that came along with me as well.  Later, I went back to my basket and pulled out the Jasmine Jones Foodie stamp.  During the trip, I had bought 2 more roller stamps from Typo, so I decided to use those as well...but those I just stamped to show on my page about buying them :D

For the washi and stickers, I closed my eyes and pulled out just a few:  
The red hearts washi is from the Dollar Tree
The lime green has white dots I don't know from where
I think the rainbow diagonal stripes came in a Studio Calico Project Life kit
I don't know where the red/white washi came from 
and the "Tickets" are from Shimelle  

The stickers are Dear Lizzy Fine and Dandy, Typo, and Amy Tangerine Better Together.  I also pulled out 4 sheets of letter stickers--I don't think I used them all.

Stamps were a bit harder just to pick willy nilly, so I just took a few that would work with my album.  Amy Tangerine, Ali Edwards, and a Kelly Purkey exclusive California set that is no longer available.  I later used a Kelly Purkey Bright Ideas stamp that is not pictured for the lines to write on.  I also used an older Close to My Heart baseball set not pictured.

I tried to just take the basic stamp pads along.  3 Hero Arts Ombre pads (they stain the stamps and acrylic blocks!) and 3 Close to My Heart stamp pads.

Here is the mini album I started with from American Crafts.

 I used a few papers from 2 older Michaels paper stack pad.

I printed all the photos in the album with either the LG Portable Printer or the Pringo.  Both can be used with the iPhone, but the quality isn't that excellent.

And a few other embellishments.

And they all fit into 1 bag...sometimes I take too much stuff to crops and it is overwhelming.  Of course I didn't finish the album that day, but when I came home, I limited myself to stick to what was in the bag to finish the album.

Since there are already so many photos in this post, I decided do a video to show the finished product.



I will note that I first made a video with my 2008 Pentax Optio camera and the sound was horrible...it sounded like a ghost was in the background making noises--hahaha...so I used my iPhone 6 and I am so happy with the quality...not only was the sound way better, but I think the quality was much better as well.

Thank you for getting to the end and watching!

Let's Skate--Flashback Friday

These photos were taken in 2006 at my niece and nephew's 9th birthday party.  The two photos on the left were taken by my aunt Renee and given to me so so long ago, probably back in 2006, but I never scrapbooked them.

I don't know why I waited so long to scrapbook them, but I am glad I did since I now have the perfect embellishments that I didn't have in 2006.

For this layout, I tried to use Shimelle's methodology by keeping the same colors or embellishment types in all 3 embellishment areas.

It turned out ok, but not something that flows easily for me.  This layout has been sitting on my desk for nearly 2 months waiting to be complete!

I used the Mega Date Stamp which didn't have the year 2006, so I just used the "date" area of the stamp to make my own year by first stamping 20 then 06...it is a bit off, but it works :D

I tried to limit myself by using the Maggie Holmes 12x12 original Crate Paper line and her Flea Market line Project Life cards.  Since I have way too many PL cards, I forced myself to use these by cutting portions from the cards!  I didn't even feel bad :)  I didn't really care for the rounded corners, so if I wanted to use the whole card, I cut it down so it was a rectangle.

There wasn't much on the layout that is new except the pinked grey stickers that came in the July Studio Calico Stationery kit (which I have since canceled).

Thank you for looking!

Wicked Good Time...

About a month ago, my mom took me, my daughter and two of my nieces to San Francisco to see the play Wicked.

It was nice...my daughter and I had seen it before, but it is still awesome...and funny!  It was the first time that my mom and nieces watched it though and they had a great time.

It took me a couple of weeks to complete the layout (and another couple to post because I am a slow creator), but it is finally done.

One of my main blocks was the background papers.  I didn't know if I wanted to use plain black cardstock or plain white card stock, but then I found this Amy Tangerine Plus One paper in my stash that was perfect to mimic the black and white of the poster.

The inspiration for the layout was the poster (in the layout above) and the playbill.

I actually wanted to put it on the layout, but it was too big for the layout plus I already had a good picture of the girls in front of the poster for my layout.

From the playbill, I pulled out the black and the white and of course the green, but I also pulled out the red from her lips.

Everything I used was from my stash (yippee!) and I am sure it is all pretty old.  Along with the background paper, I used the backside of another Plus One paper (the polka dot), a black glitter sheet from the DCWV Street Lace pack, green swirly glittery paper from K&Company, American Crafts white and dark red cardstock, white glitter paper, my mega date stamp, green thickers, Heidi Swapp color shine in white, black velvet, & citron, and a journal card from the Stampin' Up PL Love Story. 

I am really trying to use stuff that I have and not buy too much anymore...but that doesn't mean I haven't bought anything this past month! haha

Thank you for looking! :)

Galentine's Day-Craft Day

I had never heard of Galentine's Day until this year.  A couple of friends and I decided to get together at a local Michaels to create and it happened to be Valentine's weekend--which is also Galentine's weekend.

What is Galentine's?  Well I guess if you watch Parks and Rec, you would know--I have never watched it.  Amy Poehler's character Leslie Knope talks about February 13--a day for "Ladies celebrating ladies."  I love it!

Anyway, we decided to gather on Friday from 3:30-8:30 (we would have gone all night but they close the store at 9 and we had to be out by 8:30--boo!).  As always, we have so much fun together.  Liz and I worked on our planners and Jossie worked on a layout.

During the holiday weekend (it was also President's Day weekend), I shopped a little too much for crafty supplies.  I bought Heidi Swapp minc tags, Heidi Swapp foil, a Scotch brand laminator, Crate Paper "Hello Love" paper pad, Dear Lizzy "Documentary" paper pad, and Amy Tangerine "Stitched" paper pad.

I so didn't need any paper!!!  But it was on sale at Michaels and I had to have it...

On Monday, I challenged myself to use most of the stuff I bought and I came up with this layout.

I have been wanting to try the Heidi Swapp minc stuff, but I didn't want to spend a fortune on it.  I found the tags and foil at Michaels on clearance and bought a $20 laminator at Target (much better than the $130 minc!).  And guess what?  It worked!!!  I hope not to go crazy with it though.  I bought silver, gold, teal, and hot pink foils.

I also dug into my stash for red foam Thickers, 6x6 Echo Park "Head over Heels" paper pad, Teresa Collins "Crush" ticket, Maggie Holmes "Confetti" phrase stickers, a paper straw (I bought a pack at the Target dollar spot, but these are similar), Maggie Holmes "Confetti" ephemera tag, BoBunny "Crazy Love" chipboard sticker, My Mind's Eye "Unforgettable" Stickers, and the Studio Calico Mega Date Stamp that I had to have.

I had fun making the layout (it only took me a couple of hours--woo hoo!!!).  Thank you for looking.

Road Trip (destination-Kirkwood, CA) Mini Album

Last month, my husband and I embarked on a road trip.  The destination was Kirkwood, CA for a wedding.  We took "the long way 'round--The one with the prettiest of views, It's got mountains, it's got rivers, It's got sights to give you shivers"...

Initially, I thought Kirkwood was by Lake Tahoe which is near Reno which is where my son goes to school--so I was like "let's take Friday off and visit him after he gets out of school at 2pm".  Well Kirkwood is a little further than I thought it was (as you can tell we are not skiers-haha), but we were still closer to my son, so we took the long scenic route to our destination.

We got on the road early so that we could stop in Auburn, CA.  Every time we go up to Reno, I see the Historic Auburn sign and every time we don't stop for one reason or another (and we never want to stop anywhere on the way home :D ).

Once on the road, my husband reminded me that I hadn't gotten the couple a present--oops.  I was all for getting a gift certificate and a card, but he wanted buy them something off their registry.  The problem was the only Crate and Barrel on the way was in Roseville and they didn't open until 10am.  This changed our initial plan to eat breakfast in Auburn and we ate at Mimi's Cafe in Roseville instead while we waited for the mall to open.  My husband was not happy with our meal choice since he loves breakfast and isn't a fan of Mimi's.  But he survived.

We finally got to Old Town Auburn and it was a cute town, but we didn't buy anything.  We still had some time before having to get back on the road, so we stopped in Downtown Auburn (same town--down a few blocks) and walked around that section.  We got some candy from a candy shop...seen a closed old-fashion drugstore through the window...and my husband got a haircut from a barber shop.

Finally, we got to Reno around 2 and because I didn't communicate with my son very clearly, we only had about an hour to spend with him since he had plans from 3:30-6.  We took him to a late lunch/early dinner.  We could have stayed and visited with him after his plans, but I wanted to get to Kirkwood in the daylight since we had never driven those roads before.

It was a beautiful drive and I was able to step onto the Pacific Crest Trail before the sunset.

The next day, was the wedding, but it wasn't until 3pm.  There wasn't anything near were we were staying so we drove about an hour to eat breakfast (the most important meal for my husband).  And then we drove an hour back.  Which I suppose wasn't too bad since there wasn't anything to do at the Kirkwood Resort anyway (it was off season and every shop/restaurant in the resort was closed).

The wedding was beautiful in the middle of the woods at a place call The HideOut.  Luckily, there was a shuttle to drive us because it was 30 minutes away and part of the road was a one-way dirt road.

Sunday, we woke up and just drove home (1 stop to eat the most important meal of the day).  I told my husband the day before not to let me drink so much...but I still drank way too much...I am too old for hangovers!

Since I stopped reading so much, I have actually been scrapbooking a lot more :D I am happy to get this Road Trip mini album completed.

Instead of posting all the photos of my album, I did another slideshow.



Thank you for viewing.

Florida 2012 (#8-Final)

It has taken a while, but I finally finished my Florida Smash book. I was on a mission to just complete my journaling for the last day of this trip--whoo hoo. Sometimes you just need to force yourself to sit there and complete an "assignment" :)

Our last day was spent at Universal's Islands of Adventure. It is way better than Universal Studios, in my opinion, because of all the awesome rides. I wanted to go because HARRY POTTER!!!

One of the best things we did was upgrade and bought the express pass  they have two versions--one is unlimited "shorter" lines--we got the other which allows you to skip the lines once per ride. Since we got as much done in a short time it was so worth it for us. 

Seuss Landing was fun to look at, but we were too old and tall to ride anything but The Cat in the Hat ride. 

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter did not disappoint--although I was the only one nerding out in my family :)

We rode a few more roller coasters before leaving--I'd totally skip Disney all together and only come here if we ever go back haha

We were so exhausted by the last day. My husband was a trooper, 10 weeks prior to our trip he had broke his ankle--it was so swollen but he did all the walking for us :D

Our travel day was bittersweet...we had to get up way to early, but we were home around noon. 

When we unpacked, we found out TSA had gone through our suitcase...I guess they didn't like the look of all our charger wires together...oops. 

Thank you for reading. I'm hoping to craft more often and blog more. 

*I used the blogger app to post this on the road (the middle of nowhere on highway 5) :) hopefully the formatting isn't too crazy.