My visit with Heather

So my fellow scrapbooker, sweet friend, and owner Scrapbook Bakery, Heather, came to Chicago last weekend for a visit with her husband. We've never met IRL so we planned an afternoon visit of some Chicago pizza and scrapbook shopping! It only takes me about 30 minutes to get to the city during non-rush hours so it was an easy trip.

I brought Kendall with and she was pretty good the first half of the visit.

I picked her up from her hotel and immediately we headed to Lou Malnati's pizza.

Its my favorite pizza! If you ask anyone here what the best Chicago pizza is, you'd get about 3 different answers so there's a debat about it but Lou's is definately one of the top choices. We started with some deep fried cheddar cubes and then shared a deep dish butter crust pizza with pepperoni. A true deep dish Chicago style pizza has the sauce on top. Yum!

After Lou's we headed to Windy City Scrapbooking for some much needed shopping. Even though its only 5 miles away, it took us almost 45 minutes because of the traffic. I had to take a detour from my planned route and Heather was looking at my map for me and telling me how to get there. LOL. Good thing we have Lake Michigan to use as a reference. I always head there when I get lost.

Yeah, typical traffic here in the city...that's why I like the suburbs!

Windy City is amazing. It isn't huge but it is jammed packed. I think we spent well over an hour in there. They have a whole corner of Creative Cafe supplies! You can buy buttons by the scoop, which I love!

Look at those jars of goodness...it was hard to hold back!

We both loaded up on goodies...Kendall kept sneaking papers and stamps in my basket and then running all over the store. She definately was a handful but I can't blame her, I would be doing the same thing if I was her age!

Next to the store was this awesome cake bakery with some fun shaped cakes!

Just some views of Willis Tower (aka Sears Tower), the tallest building in the US. Yes, took these while I was stopped at lights. Another view of Willis.
(Just some random pics)
On the way back to Heather's hotel, we got stuck in traffic again and had to take some detours. Even got some pics of carriage rides. I was turning right and was side by side with the carriage. I got kinda confused over who has the right of way and which lane I was supposed to be in. I'm so not a city girl.

And there you have it, a perfect afternoon! I'm so glad that Heather and I got to meet. She is super nice and I'm pretty sure she had fun!

My New Baby

I've been on a hunt for a library card catalog for months now..scouring ebay, craigslist, etc. I was just dying to get my hands on one. They can cost a lot of money and that's what stopped me. Imagine my surprise when a nearby university was selling 8 of them for $100! I would have gotten more, but I don't have any more space in my room. Its solid oak and weighs a TON! My poor stairwell is going to need some drywall repair but it was worth it. I'd take more pics but I'm still working on loading my baby up...as you can see on my messy floor. TFL!

More Halloween Project

I have had SO much fun the last couple of weeks making some Halloween decorations. I'm not really into that holiday but the stuff out there is so cute and fun! I made this coaster, after seeing Laura's adorable one here. I didn't have the same background paper so I found this oldy but goody PP from 7 gypsies. I hoard this paper because its a classic!

I purchased a little easel for the coaster to put by the front door. This would be a fun project to do for all the holidays and seasons...hmmm.

The die cuts and paper are from the Recollections (Michael's brand) Halloween line. Used the Slice to cut out the word "Halloween" and also the green index label holder. I added some extra owl die cuts with pop dots and added some googly eyes. I also added a sakura glitter pen to the die cut word.

This 8x8 layout used products from the Making Memories "Autumn Splendor" line. Love the colors in it. Just wanted to do a quick layout of my girl at the pumpkin farm. She's 8 months old, then 2 years and 8 months old. I think we skipped a year. LOL.

And lastly, I'm making these treat bags for Kendall's first grade classroom. Used the Recollections line again here. I used my SU Big Notz Die cut and folded it in half. I added the border using the Martha Stewart drippy goo punch, stamped the sentiment, and added some bat confetti. The treat bags I purchased are a little big so I cut them down but I think they are too wide, I'm not about to go out and purchase more.

I have about 23 more to make so I'll be busy!

Supplies Used

Coaster: Bazzill Coaster, 7 Gypsies and Recollections PP, Recollections Die Cuts, Slice Machine and Design Cards (Calendar and Studio Essentials), Sakura Glitter Pen, Heidi Swapp Distressor, Memories Ink, W R Memory Makers Corner Chomper, and Ranger Inking Tool.

Lil Pumpkin: Making Memories PP, mini letter stickers, and leaves, Hobby Lobby Kraft CS, SEI Ribbon, Basic Grey mini chipboard letters, EK Sucess Circle Cutter, Fiskar's Border Punch, and Jute

Treat Bags: Recollections PP, Martha Stewart Drippy Goo Punch, Stampendous Stamp, Memories Ink, Hobby Lobby bat confetti, Michaels treat bag

Halloween Topiary

Right now all I can say is that my scraproom is a terrible mess...counters are covered in crafting supplies, stuff all over the floor, yet I didn't even scrap this weekend. I did make a decorating project, however, but I made it at the kitchen table.

I've seen so many Christmas trees on 2peas lately using styrofoam and folded patterned paper. I literally made an emergency stop to Michaels on day this past week just before they closed because I was dying to make the Christmas tree. Problem was that I couldn't find any double sided Christmas paper...LOL. I was thinking about it more and came up with an idea to make a tree for Halloween but different. I'm pretty happy about this tree, what's even better is that everything here came from Michael's or Hobby Lobby's general crafting section. Its so fun to take some basics and turn it into something of your own. OK, I'm going on...but here's the supplies and instructions:

Supplies: Terra Cotta Pot, 2 different sized styrofoam balls and one square one, a wooden dowel, black and purple paint, glittered modge podge, wired glittery ribbon, straight pins, potting grass, double sided halloween paper, small foam black and orange glittery balls, wooden fence, and Krylon glitter spray.

Instructions:

Paint the terra cotta pot with black metallic paint, let dry and add a coat of the glittery modge podge, hot glue the square piece of foam inside of the pot. Let dry. Spray paint the styrofoam balls (this is where I messed up, I let my kids paint them black and it took hours to dry). Use a skewer or other tool to make a hole in one end of the smallest one and push through until you reach the middle.

Cut the dowel rod to size and paint purple or any other color.

Cut up the patterned paper. I used 12x12 sheets and cut about 16 pieces that were 12" long. I stack 4 of them on top of each other and wound it around the pencil to curl it. Cut the curled piece into 6 segments...don't measure, just eyeball it, you don't want all the pieces to be the same lenthwise or across. Start pinning the curled pieces with normal length straight pins. Leave the area around the hole bare until later. Take the second, larger ball and skewer a hold through the middle all the way through to the other end. Cover the ball with the patterned paper leaving space around the holes again. Put a hole in the middle of the square styrofoam and pour some hot glue into the hole. Put the rod into the pot, then feed the larger ball, then the smaller one, leaving space in between, do not feed the smaller ball all the way through the rod. Fill in the bare spaces with more PP strips and add ribbon and small ornaments with hot glue. Take project outside and spray the PP with glitter spray. Fill in the pot with the potting grass and add a broken fence.

Hopes this helps...if you have any questions, please ask.

Check out this party happening at Be Inspired Party at Rooms to Inspire!

In a couple of days I'll be sharing some more infomation about my trip to California and also a great piece of furniture I got for my scraproom!

Indian Summer Cards

Just a couple of cards I made using the new Indian Summer paper by Basic Grey. I promised myself that I wouldn't buy any more BG because I have a ton of it. Couldn't resist the 6x6 pad of it when I saw it at Archivers. Perfect for cards! I embossed the birds and butterflies with some American Crafts Copper embossing powder. This stuff is gorgeous. I think it works pretty well with the paper colors. Thanks for looking!
Supplies Used:
Patterned Paper: Basic Grey
Cardstock, Sentiment, Slot Punch, and Definition Stamps: Stampin Up
Textured Cardstock: Bazzill (bling)
Corner Chomper Punch: We R Memory Keepers
Border Punches: Fiskars and Stampin Up
Ink: Papertry Ink (cream) and Versamark
Embossing Powder: American Crafts
Glitter Pen
Ribbon: Michaels
Photo Corners: Craft supply (left card) and Heidi Swapp (right card)

My Scraproom Updated

OK, this is going to be a long one...its been a year since I posted pics of my room. I've been doing some minor changes here and there and lately my dilemma is figuring out how to organize my paper. I was using Cropper Hopper vertical storage files, which I love, but I just wanted something different, something that makes it even easier. I'll talk about that more in a bit. OK, ready for a tour? We'll start on one end and work our way to the right.

My Expedit mounted on top of 4, 2 drawer file cabinets...all from Ikea. My ribbon storage. I cut the pieces of cardboard and wrapped the ribbon around them...tried to keep the same color family on each card. I also wrote down the manufacturer on the cardboard underneath the ribbon. I cannot tell you how easy it is to find what I want. I got this fabric box from Michaels but I haven't seen it around lately.
I'm a bit obsessed with border punches...when I first started scrapbooking 6 years ago it was just punches in general. I used this basket I already had in my kitchen and switched it out to hold all my border punches. It stays on my Expedit now.

So to the right of the Expedit on the backwall of my room is a small counter space with shelving above. You see those 2 clear red cubes there? Those are from Ikea and they are made for the Expedit. Until last night I had those in my Expedit to hold my patterned paper and cardstock...I had to pull them out to look for paper and they are heavy. I also added a Clip It Up to hold my stickers and embellishments...not all of them, most of them. I keep my journaling cards in a drawer and my Thickers in a special spot. Here is a close up of one of those cubes. They are both filled up. I have the CH file dividers in there since I organize by manufacturer. I keep my smaller papers, and stack packs in vertical folders on the other side.
I gotta say that I really love having my paper in these cubes...its so easy to thumb through them. But they won't work if they're not filled.
Some jars above the cubes that hold my large buttons. I divide my buttons by size, it may seem unconventional but I have a harder time looking for the size I want rather than the color. Sometimes the color really doesn't matter. My ribbon that I get by the yard at the scrap store goes in a jar too. They're too pretty to put away. And my candy jar on the right.

I got this MM embellishment organizer a few months back from Crop Chocolate. I put my newer loose embellies in here. I like to know the manufacturer of everything I have so I clip the name of the company and stick it in with the product.

To the right of that back table is my MM embellishment center and my Ikea beno towers. I keep jars of goodies here and they are all labeled with tags. I added a 3 tiered basket (which I got from goodwill) to hold my string and fibers. I have a drop ceiling so I can just hook it right up there. When I'm scrapbooking the beno towers are right behind me so I can look for product.

A close up of the Embellishment Center...I have another kitchen wire organizer thingie below that...it has 6 rows in it. To the right of that is my thicker storage. I think I have about 30 packages...yikes! The hooks are from Scotch, I believe. Its a hook with an adhesive that really holds up. Some of my punch storage...I keep small ones in a drawer below my expedit.

Ok, wall 3...the short end of my "L" shaped work station. I just updated this last night. I purchased 3 jetmax cubes for extra storage. Last year I added the wall vinyl saying "Be Creative Everyday". I also added a hook rod from Ikea and hung it above to hang my most recent 12x12 layouts.

On top of the cubes is my Crate and Barrell tiered basket to hold my wood stamps...everything but Stampin Up sets. Got my Cuttlebug there and in the basket on the counter are my Cuttlebug plates.

Got the cute little bulletin board from Goodwill for $1...love it.

My wide format Epson printer (which I only use for photos) I got about 9 months ago. Its so big that I had to put it under my countertop. I was looking for a printer stand...finally settled on this old Ikea TV stand we had in storage. Under that I store computer paper, photo paper, my camcorder, and my Slice.

I've only filled up the right drawers so far. This one holds embossing powders, stickles, flock, glitter, alcohol inks, etc.

The top one is for adhesives. I have an entire drawer under my Expedit stuffed so this one will be the ones I use most often. Paints, crackle paints, glazes are here.

The 4th wall and to the right of my computer is my workspace. Its about 7 foot long...to the right is my trimmer and my MM carousel and to the right of that is a large Tonic trimmer, not shown. Just got this Cropper Hopper Ink Pad holder yesterday. I love it. It holds 12 ink pads...I have a lot more than that so I just put the ones I use the most. I use my ink pads a lot so this will come in handy.

I have to add that my room is in our basement so I don't have a window. I decided to use white shelving and counters to brighten it up.

Well, I hope you enjoyed my little tour.