Organization....

So, I must confess: I did something decidedly brave (foolish?) last night...I re-organized my craft bins. Not, however, in a way one might think of as organized! I separated out three bins which previously contained: 1)stickers, 2)embellishments, and 3)chipboard/vellum/etc. I decided, per the inspiration I gained from Shimelle Laine, to re-organize in a way that makes sense for my crafting process, so that I will get more out of my supplies. Here is what I came up with: 1)sticker/vellum bin, 2)journaling card/die cuts bin-note, there are some stickers here, as they fit into the journaling/labeling category,as well as homemade 2D embellishments which can be used as journaling/die cut pieces, and 3)3D embellishments, such as gems, mini clothespins, unique brads and charms, etc. I must say that it took a certain element of bravery to put together the journaling card/die cut bin. It meant taking all of the little die cuts out of the packages from which they came-the same packages which were hindering my use of them-however, once I poured the first one out and felt the liberation, I was on a roll. It feels so good to be able to sift through them, to see and touch each one. And, it sure feels like I have a lot more than I could have conceived of when they were all packaged up. I even pulled each tag from the journaling tag booklet I had. It is fantastic! I am excited to get back into the creation station and play after work!

Have a great Thursday! Thanks so much for stopping by! :)

Summer Recap-Oh, How I Miss The Sunshine!

Here is the first, of what will be many, posts about my outdoor adventures! We love to be outside when the weather is nice, and enjoy as many backpacking, hiking, running, biking, and fishing trips as we possibly can each Spring and Summer. Here are some photos from our 2012 adventures!

Here is a picture on a mountain biking day when we were hunting for huckleberries, planning for the fall....

Here is a picture of the first evening we stayed near the ocean. I am saying hello to the ocean after a long time away.

Another picture of me and the ocean....

And a picture of where the river meets the ocean.

This last one is a picture of an eagle being tormented by a little bird. We saw tons of eagles on this backpacking trip! I love them!! :)

Thanks for visiting! I will post more tomorrow! Happy Saturday!! :) Time to craft....

A STEAL! PaperPals Facelift Sale! Check it out!! :)

So...I headed out to my local scrapbook store and guess what I found? MEGASALE! Karen over at PaperPals has some exciting new changes coming up if you haven't heard already. The result? Great deals for you and me!! Here is some of what I picked up:

This first picture is an overview of my wonderful finds! There is so much fun stuff in here!! Papers from Graphic 45, EK Sucess, Basic Grey, 7 Gypsies, sEI, Luxe, and many others. (I like to buy 2 sheets each of most papers I love so that I can use them for cards and scrap layouts...that way I can see more of them...so there is more paper here than it looks like, since most are doubled up.)

This second picture shows the adorable MME stamps that I picked up and a few other embellishments and papers...Soooo glad it is a 3 day weekend! :)

This one is a close up of the papers and tags...

This last one is a close up of all of the tags I picked up...70% off! Plus, other fun stuff I picked up....Hero Arts stamps, Kaiser Craft rub-ons, other embellishments, etc. I am so excited to start making stuff with these!

My entire purchase was quite a steal, with a savings of $44.07. The price I paid for all of these lovely supplies? $29.19 plus tax! I am so happy!

Head on over to PaperPals today and see what you can find. And, check out their blog, here, to see all of the new and exciting products, classes, and upcoming expansion going on: http://scrapatpaperpals.blogspot.com/ They have a super design team, too! While you are there, click the link and check it out!!

You can also visit their facebook page, here: https://www.facebook.com/PaperPals?ref=ts&fref=ts

You can also sign up for their newsletter, here: http://ymlp.com/zVXVvc

Tell Karen I sent you! :)

Happy Friday! :)

Good morning! Hope your week has been a great one! Just finishing up the Hero Arts Hostess Blog hop here...It was such a fantastic and inspiring experience! You can check it out here: http://heroarts.com/blogs/club/

Also heard back from ablognamedhero last night...did not make the team this time, but will try again later in the year. It was my first design team application. I am a little disappointed, but know it was a hard choice for them. There are so many talented women out there! Now I can't wait to see who will be joining the team. I am excited to see what they share!

Lastly, I just wanted to thank all of you for your encouragement and inspiration. You're the best! It is all of your love and support that reminds me how important it is to do the things I love and to always be grateful for the wonderful people in my life....that is the driving force behind all of the creations, as they are an expression of my love for friends and family. You give me determination (that's why I had to share that wonderful sentiment above!) Have a great weekend! I will be back to post more tomorrow. {I picked up some really cute stuff at a local store here and want to show it off! :)} Plus, I want to share some of the summer trip photos with you that I meant to put on here a million years ago. Here is a preview!

Happy Friday!

Hero Arts Hostess Blog Hop Day Four

Good morning! :) Happy Thursday, everyone! Just wanted to say hello. It has been a pretty busy morning already...including watering the plants. Have I mentioned that I love plants? I will have to tell you more in a confession about them and share some pictures with you. In the meantime, I am excited to join the gals over at the Hero Arts Hostess Blog Hop for Day Four! You are invited to come along. You can find them here: http://heroarts.com/blogs/club/

See you there!!

Hello (Hoppin') Wednesday!

Good morning, Everyone! Just wanted to say hello and thank everyone over at Hero Arts for a wonderful blog hop so far! The girls over there have done such a wonderful job putting everything together...and the hostesses? Wow! What beautiful work! If you have not already checked it out, you can start the blog hop here: http://heroarts.com/blogs/club/

So...I just wanted to let everyone know about a fun challenge I found over at Paper Issues!

You can check it out here: http://www.paperissues.blogspot.com/2013/01/my-favorite.html You can also check out their facebook page, Paper Issues! If you like it you will get all the updates and lots of fun project ideas, inspiration, challenges, and prizes! :) This will be my second challenge entry, so if a newbie (that's me!) can do it, so can you! Join the fun! Can't wait to see what you create! Have a great Thursday!! Thanks for stopping by!! :)