Category Archives: Life

May8

my only layout from nsd

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my only layout from nsd

I had great plans for Saturday.  I was going to get up bright and early and get everything ready to go in my craft room so that as soon as we got home from soccer, the scrapping would start.  I was going to be online and chatty and scrapping like crazy all day.  I had musicals ready to go into the dvd player and snacks ready to eat.

Needless to say, that did not happen.

First, I overslept.  Second, my table wasn’t quite done so I had to go by more lacquer, and since I overslept, that happened after soccer, which meant at least 2 hours before I could use it.

Then it was lunch time…  so I fed the boys while Matt mowed the lawn.  At 1:00 Matt was still mowing, so I took Owen to church for dress rehearsal for the play this weekend.  Around 2:00 Matt switched with me and I got to go home.  I put the table back together and cleaned up the mess from painting it and then it was 3:30 and Jacob wanted a snack.

After that, we went back downstairs, he grabbed his crafting and sat at my table and got to work.  Meanwhile I finally started to edit pictures and put in “Singin’ in the Rain.”

At 5:00 it was back to church for Owen’s performance.  At 7:00 we were heading home from running to the grocery store and ordered pizza.  By 7:30 the boys were in front of a movie, pizza was delivered, and we were eating.  Then it was time to get them ready for bed because Matt had a bowling tournament all night…  he had left at 5:30 to go to that.

So, at 10:30, I had pictures printed, paper picked out, and I sat at my desk, starting at them, wondering where the day had gone.

It was a wonderful day with the family – don’t get me wrong…  It just wasn’t exactly what I had planned.

That said, I finally did get the layout done, around 2:00 on Sunday, but I did manage to complete one layout…

 

I used some fun papers from Bella Blvd. and the new Jenni Bowlin punches from Fiskars (where I work).  While it took two days to do, it was still a great weekend.

Hope you enjoyed NSD and happy crafting everyone!

 

 

Apr24

upcycled cookie box…

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upcycled cookie box…

So a friend of mine gave me a challenge – eat a box of Girl Scout cookies.  Ok – I can do that – no problem!!!

Then she challenged me to do something with the empty box…  well that proved to be a little more difficult.

However, after enjoying my cookies, I found that was ready to make something fun with the box.  So, I printed out some Instagram pics and got busy.  I made a little box to hang on the fridge that holds a mini-book of Instagram pics.

It was a great and fun project to do.  Here are a couple of pics and a link to the Fiskateer Blog where you can see a video of how I made it!  Hop on over there and check it out!!!

Apr5

it is finally done – my new crafty space…

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it is finally done – my new crafty space…

or as the boys are calling it – “the lounge.”

As some of you might know, my craft room is in our furnace room.  Not exactly a great space.  I have two tiny windows, a water heater, and a furnace, as well as pipes from the upstairs bathroom (I can hear anytime anyone uses the restroom…)  It is definitely not fancy – that’s for sure.

Last year, in an attempt to make it prettier, I had my dad help me hang some fun Ikea chandeliers, with full intentions of redoing the room.  Then, while I was on a trip last spring, we got water through a basement door that subsequently flowed into my room.  The lousy carpet that was already in here had to be cut out in weird places and Matt in an effort to save what he could tossed stuff into corners and shoved this here and that there…  Until this week I have been working out of a mess…

The walls were either painted an odd beige or were such old unfinished wall board that they had turned a shade of beige that matched the painted cement ones.  It was drab and dirty and dreary and less than inspiring.  I had gotten really good at trying to carve a path to get what I needed and then take it upstairs to work at the kitchen table.  My computer was in another room, basically unused, and nothing at all was organized which, for me, is painful.

So, for spring break I had a plan to work on updating the room.  It took 2 days longer than I had hoped, but it is finally done.  I would now even let me friends come over to craft (hint hint!!)

Here’s what we did:

  • Painted the cement walls bright white.
  • Installed new Ikea shelves that I got as Christmas presents from Matt’s parents and mine.
  • Installed my new Olivia sewing cabinet (soooo in love with it!) from Arrow Sewing Cabinets here in WI
  • Sorted and purged -  A LOT!!!!
  • Organized every drawer and cubby
  • Decopauged the nasty old drywalled walls with Vintage Marketplace papers by Margie (hope she doesn’t mind I took them in a whole different direction…) along with vintage music and book page and sewing patterns in the sewing corner…
  • Added an old loveseat from my mom and dad (bought an inexpensive slip cover)
  • Made covers for the existing garage storage units to pretty them up a bit.
  • Added curtains around the essentials and non-movables of the room (furnace and water heater) – and, don’t worry, they are plenty far away so they don’t cause a fire hazard.
  • Pulled out all of the remaining carpet

 

So, now that is all done, organized, and clean, it is time for me to break it in and get my craft on… just not sure where to start – I found all sorts of fun stuff I forgot I had when I was cleaning!  I see some great craftiness in my future!

Happy crafting!!

Mar29

this boy…

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this boy…

This boy is…

Owen.

my heart.

my soul.

my joy.

my first reason to be called “mom.”

my blessing.

my laughter.

my bubba.

my little man.

super smart.

caring.

honest.

This boy also is…

struggling.

anxious.

upset.

floundering.

My heart is…

saddened.

crying.

struggling.

hopeful for a better future soon.

Today I am…

mom, in every good and scary sense of the word.

Mar28

chelsea market

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chelsea market

When we travel for work, we rarely have time or the opportunity to actually see any of the city we are visiting.

Last week, however, was a different story.

After we finished our meetings we had time to go out and see some of New York, which I have never really seen before, because last time I was there was the first time I had been and we spent 90% of our time in Queens and the far Rockaways…

This time, however, I got to see some fun places, including Chelsea Market, which has always been somewhere I have wanted to go.  The Food Network is upstairs (didn’t brave trying to go up there, but…).  It is full of amazing little restaraunts and food shops, as well as some artisan shops and a couple of book stores.  It is small, but it is wonderful.  We didn’t get to stay too long, but at least I can mark it off my list of places to visit.

I cannot wait to go back.

 

Mar27

so very lucky…

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so very lucky…

I am beyond lucky.  I am blessed.  I have 2 super amazing little boys that make my life full of moments. 

There are certain times of the year, however, that their unique personalities shine a bit more.

One of those times is St. Patrick’s Day.

My boys, but especially Jacob, love this day and plan what they are going to wear for weeks in advance.  Trips are made to Old Navy and Target.  Hats are bought.  Light-up pins are bought.  And, yes, green moustaches are bought.

When it is all said and done, they typically draw a small crowd in public, which is what I think makes them go bigger every year if I am to be honest – they have learned they are cute and can draw some attention…  Yup.  My kids.

So, even though it was more than a week ago, here are the final pics of the kids on SPD…

Mar5

an exciting announcement

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an exciting announcement

Well, it is official.

I am going back to where it all began for me – the Fiskateers!

While I will continue to be the content and education manager at Fiskars, starting today, I will be taking over primary responsibility within HQ for the Fiskateer program.  And, eventually, all of our social media efforts.  There is a lot to transition and a lot that needs to happen, so we are starting with the Fiskateers, as it is the biggest of the programs to move over.  In the next two months, however, I will also be managing our facebook, twitter, and Pinterest accounts as well.

I am very excited and thrilled to be getting back into even more communication with our end consumers, especially where the Fiskateers are involved.  It feels like I am coming home…

 

Mar1

drowning.

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drowning.

Yup.  That’s how I have felt the last couple of weeks and that’s how the next 3 weeks look as well. 

I never see it coming.  Why is that?  It looks like blue skies and shiny sun and then a storm hits that pummesl me down and washes me out to sea.

I have, however, started to try to dig out and breathe.  I hope to be back on here blogging again, now that I am making some progress against all of the piles and waves.

Wishing you all a great Thursday and I hope to have some fun stuff to share with you over the next couple of days.  Part of the drowning feeling comes from some really great and exciting stuff I have been working on and can’t wait to share!

Remember – and I am saying this to myself as much as I am to you – Stop. Breathe. Pray. (And hang on for dear life!!!!)

Feb1

project 365

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project 365

Now, for those of  you that know me, you know that it is a big BIG HUGE deal for me to commit to something everyday for a year.  I decided that this year, however, I could commit to doing a picture a day – it can’t be that hard.  Thanks to my iPhone, it has been actually much easier than I thought it would be.

I started out January, just taking one picture a day and then joined Instagram and started to post them there.  As the month rolled on, I realized that some people have special challenges each day.  So for February, I will be adding that in as well.

So – Here are the challenges for February that I will be doing…

And, I started adding my pics to a Flikr account, which is now on my sidebar.  In addition, here is the slideshow that shows my first 32 days of the year…  not that it matters much to anyone but me, but I thought I would share.

If I can do this, trust me, anyone can!!!!