Reliving Rome

I signed up for crops two weekends in a row.  So. Much. Fun. The first crop was a boy scout fundraiser crop, and it was okay.  Just okay.  It wasn't as fabulous as I'd hoped, but I did get a nice tote bag for Karen out of it.  And I bought a t-shirt, because I don't have enough of those.  There were no door prizes--I do like those hourly drawings! And there were no snacks.  I am one who likes to much and work.  The food was really good, but I like a little something in between.  Also, my scrapbooking friend got some bad news health-wise just a few days before, and she wasn't in a fantastic mood because of that.  Still, we laughed and did our best to have a great time.

Yesterday's crop was a no-frills crop put on by my CM consultant.  Knowing that it was no-frills, I had very low expectations.  But it was great! The people there were all tons of fun, and the consultants had a good sale table.  I took my new wagon with me, and everyone was envious.  It certainly made hauling my stuff in and out much easier:

I also liked the way I had it right next to me at my table and my stuff wasn't sitting on the ground.  It was easier to reach in and find things when they were right next to me.  I have decided that I love it.

I brought my own lunch because the church's location is not near any fast-food restaurants, and I didn't want to lose the time driving to get something.  Others did the same, and we had a nice little lunch break.  It snowed most of the afternoon, but nothing stuck to the roads.

At the crop, I worked on my Italy trip scrapbook.  The memories were flooding back as I read my journal and looked again at all the pictures.  That was such an amazing trip. Class.  I keep forgetting the CLASS part! Here's the last page I worked on this weekend.  It's the Republic Day parade we watched.  It was such a show of military force, and when we mentioned this to the desk clerk at our hotel, she kind of laughed and said that Italy has no military force to speak of.  This was interesting to me!

It's not a fabulous layout, but I think the pictures, program, and barrier tape really capture the day.  My classmate Carol and I went to the parade together, not at all knowing what to expect, and we had such a blast! Our vantage point across from the Coliseum was the starting point for the parade, and we saw everything! The president, or maybe it was the prime minister, or maybe even both, we're just not sure, came by a few times in his official car.  That was great.  The residents around us really cheered and were excited to see him, but we could never figure out who it was.

I'll be sad when my Italy trip is finished being scrapbooked.  It was such an amazing time.

Ordering Photos!

I just ordered bunches of Christmas photos to be printed.  I thought that was where I was in my scrapbooking...until I took a look at my scrapbook.  It turns out I haven't done any pages since the end of September.  So all my fall photos and Thanksgiving pictures were still just on the computer.  So this morning, I sent those pictures off for printing.  I take advantage of the online coupons for developing, and I got all these for 5 cents each through York Photo.  I don't really have a favorite photo printing place--I wonder what the consensus is out there? I do think that York and Clark are the same company, just different names.  And I've been using them since I would send my film rolls off to them when I was in high school with the check folded up inside that wonky envelope--do you remember those days?!?!

I have used Walgreens photo center to order online photos, but I wasn't terrible impressed with the quality.  I don't know, truly, if it was just some of the files that were low resolution, but I didn't love all those pictures.  The place was convenient to where I was cropping, but unless I'm in a pinch, I don't think I'll be using Walgreens again.  Their ordering site is a clumsy, too.  I once did a big order (400+ photos) and it slowed the site down to a crawl.  I always prepaid my order so I could just run in and grab the photos, but the workers didn't ever seem to know that I'd prepaid, and it was always a little ordeal to discover that indeed, I had paid for it already.

Yesterday, I started getting ready for a crop I'm going to this coming weekend.  That's where I discovered that I hadn't scrapbooked anything since the late September photos.  Then I got sidetracked working on a calendar project:  I like to have a monthly calendar at my piano, and I didn't get a new one for 2013.  I had picked up calendar templates that fit inside a CD case (?!) for free at a crop last year, and some sort of modern 4X6 photo frame I'd received from a student, so I got the idea to make my own 4X6 monthly calendars.  It was kind of fun and quick, and I got to use up some stash that I probably wouldn't use in my scrapbooks.  Here are a couple of photos:

February calendar

April calendar

 I pulled out some CTMH stamps (that I have never, ever used), and that was fun.  I colored in the shapes--coloring is so therapeutic!! And since I don't need to write anything on the calendar, the numbers could fill the whole space--the whole sheet is 4X6, so each calendar block is about 1/2 inch high.   I will love looking at these as I teach piano each night. I made the calendars through June, and it'll be fun to make the rest of the   year.

Anyway, back to the photo printing.  I hope that the pictures arrive before Saturday, although I am not terribly hopeful.  If the photos don't make it in time, then I'll scrapbook my Italy trip.  I just scheduled myself to go to another crop on Feb 2, so I can scrapbook those pictures then if they don't come in.

So busy!!

So much has been going on lately--I love the creativity that flows during the summer.  It's all set to end soon, though, with school starting in a week.

My CM consultant, Marcia, had a ScrapOlympics competition that coincided with the Summer Olympics.  It was so much fun.  We got points for doing all sorts of things--using our stash, making digital projects, completing an album, journaling, etc.  I won the silver medal!  So exciting! A scrapping friend and I were trash-talking for two solid weeks on Facebook about it, and she killed me! She had 390 points, and I had 94.  It wasn't even close! I won a pack of pages for my efforts, though, which is very cool.

Near the end of the Olympics, I attended Crop for a Cure, a huge crop that benefits St. Jude.  What a great event! I've gone several times now, and it just keeps getting better.  We laughed pretty hard at our table--I was with a great group of friends.  One of the table prizes, won by Diane, was this fabulous stamp set:

No offense to the Mark's Finest Papers people, but really?!?!? We laughed EXTRA hard over this gift.  Somehow, I ended up with it, and let me tell you--EVERYONE at our scrapping table will be getting a buffalo birthday card this year! I particularly love the poem under the warriors.  It's a haiku!! Wow.  It's just not something you see everyday.

Tomorrow, I'm heading out to another crop.  It's a "no frills" summer crop from 9:30AM-9:30PM.  I'm just doing the first half of the day, which will be great.  We have dinner plans with some friends, so scrapping from 9:30-3:30 will be perfect.  I have to pack a lunch and take a snack to share, but I'll get to show off my silver medal from ScrapOlympics, and claim my prize.

I bought a new product after last week's crop:

I'm so excited to start embossing paper! We used this at a couple of the make-n-takes at the Crop for a Cure, and I was hooked.  It might even get me into some card making!! Hmmm...we'll see about that.

Oh, and today at A.C. Moore, I got a Cricut cartridge that I just couldn't pass up:

If you know my love for bunting, then you know this is PERFECT for me! I can't wait to try it out.  So cool.

Scrapbook Space Update

I bought an Ikea desk (and its many parts) from a friend yesterday, and since it was in the middle of the basement, I put it together today and moved stuff off the tables and onto the new desk.  It looks great and I have a lot more room! AND it matches the big cabinet where I hide a lot of junk.

So....scrapbook room before and after:

Notice the old restaurant table--you can't even see the little table under the bulletin board!

The new desk! A little longer, a few more shelves. 
Love it!

You might be wondering about my fathead in the background.  It's my favorite baseball player of all-time, Mariano Rivera, #42 on the New York Yankees. (currently hurt, but let's not dwell on that)

Here's a close-up of the shelves against the wall, just for my friend Denise.  She doesn't like that teeny-tiny shelf on the top, but I think it'll work find holding the punches, as long as it's up against the wall.  Also, it enabled me to get rid of one of my totes.  I'm going to be selling a bunch of stuff on ebay!



Sewing Room Before and After

I think the sewing room is finally finished.  According to SOME PEOPLE in my house, I do not have another inch of space.  Hmmm...I'm looking at that blank wall above the dress forms thinking that a little shelf would look perfect there!

The journey started last winter when the basement got finished and I moved all my scrapbooking stuff down there.  I had a whole room just for sewing stuff, but more important, for inspiration! I hated sitting in that room working on projects--it was so dull and boring.  But now, I love being in that space.  Lots of little bits were inspired by Pinterest, but many are my own little bits and pieces put together.

One of my favorite areas is the wall above the bookshelf.  I picked up a printer's tray at an antique shop in town, and then I began filling it with vintage spools, needle cases, and sewing tools. 

Window treatment before.

Window treatment after.

Main area before...okay--during.

Main area after.

Back wall before.

Back wall after.

Sewing table before.

Sewing table after.

Bookshelf before.

Bookshelf after.

Sewing Room Updates

I've been working on the sewing room lately.  It became the catch-all room when I was packing for my Italy trip and moving winter clothes out and summer clothes in, so I had some digging out to do! I can see the chaise longue again, which makes me happy--there's a place to sit!

I posted about the bunting the other day, but here's that area of the room completed:

I bought one of the decorative dress forms online last summer, and my sister gave me the awesome one for Christmas, and I just picked up that short one at Hancock Fabrics for 60% off last week.  I think three is a good collection.

I hung the bulletin board next to the sewing table and have already put a few things on it--it's such a pretty design that I hate to cover it with all kinds of junk. 

On the back wall, I've been adding frames and pictures and things, and I have a couple of more things to add before it looks totally balanced.  I don't know what those things will be yet, but when I find them, I'll know!

On the far left, I hung the thread and notions puzzle that we put together a hundred years ago, hanging vertically this time.  I moved it because of a new addition that will hang above the bookshelf.  It's not ready yet, but when it is, it'll be posted here!

Sewing Room Bunting

I've been making bunting for almost a year now, and I always made two for the house: one for the mantle in the den and one for the sewing room.  I realized, in May, that the St. Patrick's Day bunting was still hanging in the sewing room, and that's when I decided to make something to hang there that will be permanent and more fitting for a sewing room.

Here it is!

I know it's hard to see the pattern from the wall, but the fabric is all sewing-related.  I got it from Keepsake Quilting as a pack.  Here are some closeup photos of the fabric:

I'm working on a few other additions to the sewing room and will post more pictures soon!