Thank goodnes the holidays keep rolling along...

 forcing me to get creative even though I don't have as much tims as I would like...

good things about the calendar!

February

 

"Oh, if it be to choose and call thee mine, love, thou art every day

my Valentine!"

Despite the dreary weather, there are plenty of crafting opportunities in February. Hope you got the chance to enjoy some too!

An Awesome Halloween Mini Album

Browsing around YouTube the last few nights gave me some great inspiration for this Halloween Mini. I really like the model I found here. This shows how I made the basic book.

From another crafty scrapper I got the idea to use these decorative brads and some bakers twine to close the book. It did turn out a little bulky, so I am glad I did!

There are tons of pockets in this mini, great for adding journaling or photos!

Some of these images came from Helga at Art Chix and some are from google images.

More secret pockets!

One more secret pocket to go!

Hubby is telling me to shut down the computer before Hurricane Sandy does it for us, so I will end wishing you a Spooky Halloween!



 Why do I never take 'before' shots? I decided to take advantage of the long weekend to do a little 'junkin' and look what I found? Something I'd been looking for...and old 'train case'.

 This one had the monogram G.J.L.

It took a lot of elbow grease, but it was worth it!

Although I really love the seasons, I always hate to see summer go. The long days, the slower pace...it all is such a welcome relief! But it's time to pick the pace up again (sigh). I am going to remember this adorable door decoration for next summer. Hopefully it will be here before we know it.

Off to enjoy some summer fun.

See you soon!

Crafting Gone Too Far

Yup. Time to get some help.

Combining cool and easy photo software with old vintage images? Sign me up! I love this photo editing software that I found thanks to a fellow blogger. It's called Pic Monkey and you can find it here. So cool!

 I decided to make a birthday basket full of goodies for a crafting friend, and this is how it turned out. Pretty cute, huh?

 I added an envelope of tags, a sweet postcard and a cool card from a vintage boardwalk game.

 When I found a bag of pastel taffy at the grocery store I knew it would be a great sweet treat to add...after I spruced it up in my own bag, of course!

 Who wouldn't love a bag of bits of lace and other yummy fabric pieces?

And of course...nothing is complete without one of my favorite vintage wedding photos. I know, it may seem strange but I just love 'em. I hope you are getting some summer crafting done, too!

If I had a flower for every time I think about you,

I could walk forever in my garden.

– Claudia Ghandi



Wild About Washi !

I admit it. I'm wild about Washi Tape. I fell in love with it a few years ago and had Hubby helping me get it from Japan. Now that you can find it all over the place I couldn't be happoer! There are two places I love to get my Washi tape. One is called Happy Tape, and the other is awesome Etsy shop called In the Clear. But be warned: it's addictive! Happy shopping!

In case you thought I had been crafting, I was anxious to show how this latest project turned out. I was courageous enough to holster my Mod Podge and turn a Maya Road journal into this album of my daughter's 8th grade graduation.

I love how it turned out!

Now it's your turn!

I don't know about you, but cute packaging makes getting a crafty order all the more enjoyable! What a great treat when I ordered these craft bags here http://www.etsy.com/people/JadeLilCraft.

 Tiny mushroom??? How cute!

At this rate I might never use them!

An added cuteness: thank you goodies in tiny glassine bag.

Thank YOU, JadeLilCaft!

53

by E. E. Cummings

may my heart always be open to little
birds who are the secrets of living
whatever they sing is better than to know
and if men should not hear them men are old

may my mind stroll about hungry
and fearless and thirsty and supple
for even if it's sunday may i be wrong
for whenever men are right they are not young
and may myself do nothing usefully
and love yourself so more than truly
there's never been quite such a fool who could fail
pulling all the sky over him with one smile