Angel Baby Layout

This picture's been waiting to be scrapbooked for months. It was taken about 3 weeks after Evie was born, right after we moved to the East valley.



That pink patterned paper has been in my scrapbook supplies for maybe . . . 5 years now. Makes me feel like, YES, I knew there was a reason for hoarding, when I finally use something I've been hanging on to. Instead of using the journaling spot that was originally on the patterned paper, I cut it out so that I could put cloud paper behind it.

One Year Old Layout

Layout of Evie's cupcake-mashing in the backyard when she turned one.



When I started this layout, I didn't anticipate that it'd be so covered with patterned paper. But I busted out my Everyday Eclectic paper and . . . there we have it. Layout up to the eyeballs in the collection pack and 6x6 paper pad.

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I've been mulling over perhaps getting some Project Life supplies not so much because I want to do Project Life (too big of a commitment - just the idea of it kind of scares me), but more because there are fun designs and kits, such as these:


Seafoam Core Kit


Olive Core Kit


Baby Core Kit
There's also a new Midnight core kit that's coming out soon that looks pretty sweet as well.

Yellowstone, 1956

I found this stack of old Yellowstone photos in a box of old Greg photos that his parents gave us. They are labeled October 1956 (except for one that is August 1956) and they are neat because they are of Yellowstone sights that you'd still see today.

Blog Named Hero Challenge #18

Made a card for the current challenge at A Blog Named Hero:




I used the H5312 Silhouette Burst stamp, which Greg got me pretty early in this whole paper crafting hobby. There's also some Papertrey Ink and Creative Imaginations stamping, as well as American Crafts patterned paper (the rounded squares).

December 2011 Mini Album

I was able to finish my December 2011 mini album before our ski trip at the end of December, but didn't get a chance to post it before we left.

Front and back covers (front is on right, back is on left):


Interior pages:

















Same as the year before, I didn't take pictures of the holiday cards we received, but they were included in the back of the album.

I finished the covers for my December 2012 mini album, so I'm already ahead of where I was this time last year!

Also:
December 2009 mini album
December 2010 mini album

Vintage Stamp Holders

On our ski trip at the end of December, we went into historic downtown Durango for an afternoon. There was a neat little antique shop on the main drag, the Durango Antique Market, that I saw from across the street and had to check out. I like walking around antique shops, but don't always buy things. On my way out, however, I spotted a couple of vintage stamp holders that I couldn't pass up.



The one-tier holder was about $15 and the two-tier holder was about $25. Call me weak, but although I didn't really need both, I couldn't talk myself out of leaving one behind.

When I got home, I put the one-tier holder to good use for a few wood-handled address stamps and an ink blending tool:

{thank you} Mini Card

A little Thank You card on a 2.25 x 2.25 inch base, for the Make an Itty Bitty Card Challenge at Moxie Fab World:


Patterned papers from Pink Paislee Nantucket collection. The pink arrow is one of the patterned papers that I cut down the sides - worked out well for an easy arrow shape!

Stamped Frame Background Thx Card

Stamped card in rainbow colors for the Make Your Own Background Paper Challenge at Moxie Fab World:



The frame and sentiment are both from this older American Crafts stamp set:


Speaking of square frames, Papertrey Ink is releasing a set this month called Square Prints that looks awesome for stamping backgrounds. Here's the release blog post with examples of the set in use: Introducing Square Prints, Think Big Favorites #24 and Everyday Photo Finishers. And some blog posts from Maile Belles, who designed the set: Introducing Square Prints, Square Prints Day Two, and Square Prints Day Three.

Knife Guys

From Jimmy Kimmel Live:


"Look at what this baby does to balloons, huh?!"

"You always have trouble cutting through flan, don't you, Jimmy?"

"This thing literally cuts through warm butter like its warm butter!"

"Let's get to chopping, huh?! Cookie dough! Cotton candy! Chocolate milk! Always gotta slice chocolate milk! Potato chips, gone! Tapioca pudding! Cottage cheese! Apple sauce! Chocolate pudding!"

Pottery Barn January 2013

Oh, Pottery Barn. Pretty, but expensive.

I got the January catalog in the mail and a few things caught my eye while I was flipping through it. I don't always keep up with Pottery Barn, so I couldn't say whether all of this is actually new or not, but anyway . . .


From left to right, top to bottom:

1. Accordion Dual Pendant - industrial!
   
2. Mason Jar Drink Dispenser - this and the stand below makes me want to throw a cute party, if I were a party thrower.
   
3. Galvanized Drink Dispenser Stand - imagine how cute this would look for a party, with ribbons and/or garlands wrapped around it! If I threw parties.
   
4. Jordana Paisley Quilt & Sham - there's something about paisley that I really like. That + quilts = fan.
   
5. Ludlow Trunk - I wonder how hard it'd be to find an actual antique trunk and make something like this DIY-style.
   
6. Photo Carousel - the postcard stand (which I mentioned years ago in this post) is back!
   
7. Cubby Organizer - I've seen this organizer in several other people's craft spaces. 'Cause it's awesome. If I had to pick my favorite item from this catalog - this is it.
   
8. Modular Family Locker Entry System - Like this idea, but probably wouldn't work for some entryways, including those in my house. Craft spaces though? Yes.
   
9. Benchwright Bath Collection Ladder Shelf - I'm partial to ladder shelves. I have them in my craft room.
   
10. Industrial Chalkboard Wall Clock I once saw metallic magnetic letters, either at Pottery Barn or Crate & Barrel (those are pretty much the same thing, right?), which I think would be neat on a piece like this.
    
11. Rustic Frame Shadow Box - I like the larger one with the tree for vintage family photos.
    

Car Keys

Today, while picking up Evie from daycare, I made the mistake of letting Evie hang on to my keys after I buckled her into her carseat. She was pressing buttons on the key fob rather indiscriminately and - surprise! - locked me out of the car. Nooooooooooooo!

The next five-ish minutes were spent telling Evie through the window, as if she could understand, "Evie, unlock the doors. Evie, press the button to unlock the doors. No, the bottom button. The bottom button!" She thought we were playing a game. It was very reminiscent of a blog post that Stephanie did not too long ago about how keys are not toys.

I figured if I waited long enough, her finger would eventually wander back to the unlock button and all would be well. Question was how long that'd take and whether she'd start freaking out before that or do something unrecoverable like drop the keys. The thought of having to go back into the daycare to call Greg and tell him that I accidentally let our daughter lock herself in the car pained me. Fortunately, it didn't come to that, otherwise I may not have ever lived it down.

Unrelated photo of Evie, just 'cause I like to have photos in posts. This was taken when we had Indian for lunch while in New Jersey. She was watching Indian music videos while eating. Heh.

Hip Hop, Call of Duty, and Soiled Onesies

Few things I found funny this week, particularly because of their relevance to me.

1. This Twitter exchange, which I saw on a friend's Facebook status:


2. This Facebook status via Failbook, which Greg shared with me this morning:


And this third thing I found really funny related to Evie:


Greg and I picked Evie up from daycare today and the girl at the front desk asked if they had called us. We didn't get a call from daycare today. The first thing that crossed both our minds was that something bad happened, but that wasn't the case. Although "bad" is subjective . . .

For about a month, Evie's been reaching into her poopy diapers and pulling poop out (pediatrican says it could be a sign that she's ready to be potty trained). Daycare asked us to start putting her in onesies to keep her from doing that, which we've been doing. Today, though, she apparently not only pulled poop out of her diaper, but managed to smear it all over her face and possibly eat some. Aaaaaaahhhhhhhh. If ever I thought playing in the cat water or eating cat food was bad, this is the worst.

See those lips up there? Those cute little pouty ones? You wouldn't ever suspect that those lips have eaten poop now, would you? I think the girl at daycare was a bit concerned that we would be shocked at our daughter eating poop. It's gross, for sure. But I also thought it was pretty funny. I laughed out loud all the way out the door.

And yes, I'm immortalizing it by posting it on the Internet. I'm sure she'll thank me when a future significant other digs it up 20 years from now.