Feels so good....

After my difficult pregnancy and tragic hard drive crash....behold my first layout in over a year:

Happy to be back in it!

iNSD (or for those of you who don't speak digiscrap, International Scrapbook Day!)

It's technically Saturday (always the first Saturday in May), but many shops have already started their festivities and sales.  It's an awesome time of the year.  (Cue the big cheesy grin.)

But before I get into that, let me tell you a little story.  Once there was a lovely girl who had almost completely filled up her terabyte external hard drive with thousands of photos and WAY too many digiscrap supplies.  This was her only source for these things.  Her computer was getting older, so to make it run faster she stored nothing on the computer's hard drive and EVERYTHING on the external hard drive.

And then one day it crashed.  And the data recovery folks couldn't get any more than 8% of the data (for a cool $900!).  So she lost everything.  And she cried a lot.

Moral of the story: BACK UP YOUR FILES!!!!!

But that isn't actually why I'm telling you this story (though it is a good moral, believe me....).  I want to tell you about the....opportunity....this has given me in terms of my digi stash.  Before my hard drive crashed, I was trying to slowly make my way through my supplies and eliminate the excess.  It was a hard process.  Not a fun process.  But now since my involuntary purge, I "get" to start over.

When I first started digiscrapping, I collected freebies like crazy.  'Cause they were free!  Well, this time around, I am EXTREMELY picky about freebies.  I only download

1) Templates (I adore templates, they do the hard work for me)

2) Full kits that I REALLY like (no mini kits unless they are absolutely incredible)

3) The occasional alpha or something else that I fall in love with

I do NOT download

1) Mini kits

2) Anything requiring a daily download (I think my time is worth more than that)

3) Blog trains (again, the time issue, and I also feel often they just aren't cohesive, though there are some big exceptions to this)

4) Odds and ends

I have found that all those things just clog up my hard drive and I just don't use them.

This leads me to iNSD!!!  Man, is this a week of craziness in digiscrap land!  There are TONS of freebies, and this event (and iDSD in November) are my blog train exceptions.  So I thought I'd tell you about the freebie trains I'm following this weekend:

Pixels & Co full kit, More or Less

The Digiscrap Parade, That's Life

GingerScraps, The View

Scraps N' Pieces, Queen's Template Jubilee

And here's the top deals I'm taking advantage of:

Etc. by Danyale's Create Your Own Grab Bag

The Digichick's Pick Your Collab Grab Bag

Scrap Orchard's $1 Farmer's Market

ScrapMatter's graduated discount sale (up to 45% off)

The Daily Digi (this is not just a iNSD thing, it runs all year and is a TERRIFIC way to build your stash)

And some eye candy....some of my favorite purchases (or plan to purchase as soon as the sale starts!):
(images linked)

Whew.  Believe me, I could link up more!!!  :)
(And if you think I must be spending a fortune, well, you're right!  My husband offered me a very generous budget to replenish my digi stash since we didn't spend 900 buckeroos on data recovery...bless his little heart....)

House-iversary!

Two years ago today, we closed on our house!  As I am fond of saying, you know those things in life that you've built up in your mind and then when they actually happen, you find out they are kind of overrated?

Being a homeowner is not one of those things!

We recently had some family visit for the first time, and we took them around our house.  My mom and grandma kept piping up to tell them all about the things we have done to our house, and I realized....wow, we have accomplished a lot!  So often, I just see everything I still want to do, rather than how far we've come.  Just for kicks, here is what we have done in the past two years:

 

- Painted the entire main floor

- Redid our kitchen cabinets....twice.  (Stripping and restaining, and then painting.)

- Tore out trees and shrubs in the front yard and planted grass seed to open up our yard

- Painted the front door red and the garage doors black

- Built shutters and a windowbox and installed them

- Scraped off the tacky adhesive house numbers in the window and put up custom metal numbers

- Tore out the huge weird garden in our backyard and planted grass seed

- Built raised garden boxes

- Painted and glazed 8 laminate bookcases

- Painted and reupholstered 2 living room chairs

- Built and installed gallery shelves and a gallery wall (post still coming)

 - Painted and stenciled bathroom, painted faucet and other hardware

- Created a super cool new room for my son (post still coming)

- Built a very cute daybed for my daughter (post still coming!)

- Installed flooring and finished off sheetrock in the cold storage room we are making into a craft room

- Built and installed lower cabinets, moved outlets up and installed countertops in the craft room

 

Now, of course, the things we still want to do:

 

- Finish building and install the upper cabinets for my craft room

- Build cabinet doors and drawer fronts

- Install new french door for my craft room

- Paint the basement

- Plant shade trees and fruit trees in our barren backyard

- Build a pergola and pour a patio

- Build the kids a play structure

- Plant lilac bushes and honeysuckle in the front yard

- Take out part of one of the pantries and build a desk

- Pantry organization (shelves, drawers, etc.)

- Build a wall cabinet for our bathroom

- Build a closet organizer for our room

- Build a headboard for our room

- Finish decorating my older daughter's new room

- Decorate my baby girl's room

- Build cabinets for toy storage the play area

- Build cabinets for electric fireplace and storage in the basement family room

- Build closet out of odd useless nook at the bottom of the stairs

- Build front porch furniture

- Replace the all flooring on the main floor

- Recover thrift store ottoman

 

The list could probably go on, but that will do for now!  :)  Stay tuned as I tackle as many of these projects as I can in the coming year!

 

 

Sale-A-Bration card!

I made a pretty cute card last week, if I do say so myself, for a swap with fellow Stampin' Up! demonstrators.  I've been loving rainbow color schemes lately, so based on that, here's what I came up with:

Stamp Set: Bloomin' Marvelous (2013 Sale-a-Bration)

Cardstock: Basic Grey, Basic Black

Inks: Basic Grey, Basic Black, Rich Razzleberry, Pacific Point, Old Olive, Daffodil Delight,  Pumpkin Pie, Real Red

Designer Series Paper: Neutrals Collection

Punches: 1-3/8" Scallop Circle, 1-1/4" Circle, 1-1/4" Square (for banner)

Big Shot: Cloudy Day Textured Impressions Folder (Spring Catalog 2013)

Now is the best time of the year in the Stampin' Up! world...Sale-A-Bration!  For every $50 you spend, you can pick a freebie, one of 19 pretty awesome options.  6 of these options are regular catalog items, but 13 of them are exclusive limited-time Sale-A-Bration products.  Sale-A-Bration runs from now until March 22nd, so don't miss your chance!

Click here to go shopping!

Also, this is the BEST time to be a hostess and reap the rewards!  If you are in Utah, from Layton down to Lehi, and would like to host a workshop or private class, drop me an email and we can plan something fun! diykindagirl@hotmail.com

Linking up here:
{M} Twigg Studios-Skip to My Lou-The DIY Showoff-Mad in Crafts-Marvelously Messy-Pinkopotamus-The Girl Creative-Sumo's Sweet Stuff-Making the World Cuter-Sew Can Do- C.R.A.F.T.- Keeping It Simple-Creating My Way to Success-All Things Fee-Craft-o-Maniac-Boogieboard Cottage-Be Colorful-Between Naps on the Porch-I Should Be Mopping the Floor {T} Today's Creative Blog-Tip Junkie-Cherished Bliss-A Diamond in the Stuff-Sugar Bee Crafts-Vintage Wanna Bee-Reasons to Skip the Housework-The Kurtz Corner-Me and My Boys-Funky Polkadot Giraffe-Hope Studios-Creative Itch-Not Just a Housewife-At Home with K-My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia-Home Stories A2Z-DIY by Design-Primitive and Proper {furniture only}-Elizabeth & Co.-Project Queen-Coastal Charm-Ladybug Blessings-Homework-Topsy Turvy (third Tuesdays)-New Nostalgia {W} Tea Rose Home-Someday Crafts-Lil' Luna-Creations by Kara-Sew Woodsy -Blue Cricket Design-Sew Much Ado-My Girlish Whims-Very Merry Vintage Style-Savvy Southern Style-Seven Thirty Three-Sugar and Dots-The Trendy Treehouse-Southern Lovely -Polkadots on Parade-Restore Interiors-Ginger Snap Crafts-Fireflies and Jellybeans-Organize and Decorate Everything-Rae Gun Ramblings {Th} The Shabby Creek Cottage-House of Hepworths-The Brambleberry Cottage-The 36th Avenue-Yesterday on Tuesday-Momnivore's Dilemma-Beyond the Picket Fence-Somewhat Simple-A Glimpse Inside-Domestically Speaking {paint only}-A Creative Princess-Christina's Adventures {$20}-Tales from Bloggeritaville-A Little Knick Knack-Crafty, Scrappy, Happy-Two Yellow Birds Decor {F} Thirty Handmade Days-Romantic Home-Remodelaholic-Shabby Nest-Lovely Crafty Home-WhipperBerry-At the Picket Fence-Finding Fabulous-delicate CONSTRUCTION-My Repurposed Life-Naptime Crafters-Chic on a Shoestring Budget Decorating-Fingerprints on the Fridge-504 Main-French Country Cottage-See Vanessa Craft-It's a Hodgepodge Life-Truly Lovely-Simply Designing-Miss Mustard Seed {furniture only}-Simply Sweet Home-Joyful Stamper-Craftionary-Release Me Create-Simple Home Life-Family Ever After-Addicted to Decorating-One Artsy Mama {S} Funky Junk Interior-Ladybird Lane-Tatertots and Jello-Craft Envy

Housewarming gifts

I love giving handmade gifts.  It gives me a thrill to imagine up a design, personal in nature, and then create it.  Two of my good friends recently moved into a new home, so I made a couple simple housewarming gifts for them.

I took a 1X8 pine board and cut a couple rectangles (end dimension of 7.5 by about 6.5 inches) on the table saw, then sanded them down and drilled two holes in the top.

Then put on several coats of white spray paint...not enough to cover it completely, as I wanted more of a whitewashed look with the wood grain showing through.

Next, I designed the quotes with my Silhouette, and cut them out and used them as a stencil.  Mixed a couple different colors of brown acrylic paint to match the brown grosgrain ribbon, then filled in the stencil with around 6 coats.  Removed the stencil, and sanded the lettering and wood to get a worn vintage look.  Sanded down the edges as well, and then added a coat of Valspar translucent Mocha glaze, then threaded the ribbon through.  I love them!

 Fonts: Albemarle Swash and skinny jeans
 

Fonts: AlternateGothic2 BT and Albemarle Swash

Linking up here:
{M} Twigg Studios-Skip to My Lou-The DIY Showoff-Mad in Crafts-Marvelously Messy-Pinkopotamus-The Girl Creative-Sumo's Sweet Stuff-Making the World Cuter-Sew Can Do- C.R.A.F.T.- Keeping It Simple-Creating My Way to Success-All Things Fee-Craft-o-Maniac-Boogieboard Cottage-Be Colorful-Between Naps on the Porch-I Should Be Mopping the Floor {T} Today's Creative Blog-Tip Junkie-Cherished Bliss-A Diamond in the Stuff-Sugar Bee Crafts-Vintage Wanna Bee-Reasons to Skip the Housework-The Kurtz Corner-Me and My Boys-Funky Polkadot Giraffe-Hope Studios-Creative Itch-Not Just a Housewife-At Home with K-My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia-Home Stories A2Z-DIY by Design-Primitive and Proper {furniture only}-Elizabeth & Co.-Project Queen-Coastal Charm-Ladybug Blessings-Homework-Topsy Turvy (third Tuesdays)-New Nostalgia {W} Tea Rose Home-Someday Crafts-Lil' Luna-Creations by Kara-Sew Woodsy -Blue Cricket Design-Sew Much Ado-My Girlish Whims-Very Merry Vintage Style-Savvy Southern Style-Seven Thirty Three-Sugar and Dots-The Trendy Treehouse-Southern Lovely -Polkadots on Parade-Restore Interiors-Ginger Snap Crafts-Fireflies and Jellybeans-Organize and Decorate Everything-Rae Gun Ramblings {Th} The Shabby Creek Cottage-House of Hepworths-The Brambleberry Cottage-The 36th Avenue-Yesterday on Tuesday-Momnivore's Dilemma-Beyond the Picket Fence-Somewhat Simple-Gluesticks-A Glimpse Inside-Domestically Speaking {paint only}-A Creative Princess-Christina's Adventures {$20}-Tales from Bloggeritaville-A Little Knick Knack-Crafty, Scrappy, Happy-Two Yellow Birds Decor {F} Thirty Handmade Days-Romantic Home-Remodelaholic-Shabby Nest-Lovely Crafty Home-WhipperBerry-At the Picket Fence-Finding Fabulous-delicate CONSTRUCTION-My Repurposed Life-Naptime Crafters-Chic on a Shoestring Budget Decorating-Fingerprints on the Fridge-504 Main-French Country Cottage-See Vanessa Craft-It's a Hodgepodge Life-Truly Lovely-Simply Designing-Miss Mustard Seed {furniture only}-Simply Sweet Home-Joyful Stamper-Craftionary-Release Me Create-Simple Home Life-Family Ever After-Addicted to Decorating-One Artsy Mama {S} Funky Junk Interior-Ladybird Lane-Tatertots and Jello-Craft Envy

Introducing the latest project...

Well, I guess my child is not actually a project, but she and her big brother and sister are sure keeping me busy busy busy, just like my projects do!

With any luck, I will be back soon...I have all kinds of things to post!

Merry Christmas!

One week until my due date....oh, and Christmas!  We have been extremely busy getting our house ready for this new addition....I have lots to share with you, but I can pretty much guarantee it won't be until the end of January!  Don't give up on me, I have craft room progress to share, as well as two new kids' bedrooms complete with decor.  I WILL be back!!!

In the meantime, have a wonderful holiday!

Software: Adobe Photoshop 10, Template: Aimee Harrison, Papers and Elements: Stampin' Up! Christmas Cocoa II

Stampin' Up! - Our biggest sale of the year!

The Online Extravaganza promotion is our biggest online sale of the year! During these 10 days only, you can get incredible discounts-up to 50 percent-on some of your favorite products!

In addition, there will be three products 20 percent off for 24-hours only on both the first and last days of Online Extravaganza-our very own doorbusters!

Click here to start shopping or here to view the PDF list of all the deals!

Free Digital Downloads

It's been awhile, I know.  I still even have one more post to do about the wedding.  But I've been busy, to say the least.  Working on these:

Yep, we built those cabinets all by ourselves!  I'm pretty proud, not gonna lie.  All the lower cabinets for my craft room are done now, we just need to move a couple outlets, then we can install the cabinets and the countertops....then on to the upper cabinets!  This craft room WILL be done by the time my baby is born around Christmas!!!!

Anyway, just wanted to drop in and tell you guys to be sure and pick up the free digital downloads Stampin' Up! is offering in honor of Digital Scrapbooking Day.

You can find them here through tomorrow (November 5th).

Also, all digital kits are 50% off through tomorrow as well.

Happy Shopping!

Wedding: Embellished Picture Frames

This is one of my favorite projects from the wedding.  To make these embellished frames, you need:

an unfinished wood frame, $1.00 at Michael's
Modge Podge
a 1 inch foam brush
Patterned paper
Fabric strips
Felt
Hot glue
White cardstock

I just discovered I have literally no photos of this process!  So I'll describe it as best I can.
First, find or create your patterned paper.  I made mine in Photoshop.  I used a linen look digital paper, then put the lyrics of ten of my favorite love songs over the top in a typewriter font to look vintage.  If you'd like to use my papers, you can find them here (1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10).
Next, trace the outline of your frame onto the back side of the patterned paper.  Cut an X in the center hole, but be careful not to cut over the lines you traced.

Then using the foam brush, coat the front of your frame with Modge Podge and then place the frame face down on the backside of the paper, making sure to line it up with the lines you traced.
Next, brush some Modge Podge over the back side of the frame, and carefully fold the paper over the edges, kind of like you are wrapping a present.  Make sure the paper is taut, you don't want any creases.  Trim off excess paper as necessary.  The Modge Podge may cause the paper to look wavy, but don't worry, it will dry nice and smooth.
This is optional, but I didn't like how messy the backside looked, so using the white cardstock, I again traced the outlines of the frame and then cut out around the lines and then Modge Podged it onto the back of the frame.
Let it dry, and in the meantime, make your embellishments!  I used fabric strips, felt and a hot glue gun to make rosettes.  Once whatever embellishments you choose are ready, hot glue them on!
And there you have it!  A very inexpensive but very cute frame.

All the posts on this wedding found here.

Linking up here:

{M} Twigg Studios-Skip to My Lou-The DIY Showoff-Mad in Crafts-Marvelously Messy-Pinkopotamus-The Girl Creative-Sumo's Sweet Stuff-Making the World Cuter-Sew Can Do- C.R.A.F.T.- Keeping It Simple-Creating My Way to Success-All Things Fee-Craft-o-Maniac-Boogieboard Cottage-Be Colorful-Between Naps on the Porch-I Should Be Mopping the Floor {T} Today's Creative Blog-Tip Junkie-Cherished Bliss-A Diamond in the Stuff-Sugar Bee Crafts-Vintage Wanna Bee-Reasons to Skip the Housework-The Kurtz Corner-Me and My Boys-Funky Polkadot Giraffe-Hope Studios-Creative Itch-Not Just a Housewife-At Home with K-My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia-Home Stories A2Z-DIY by Design-Primitive and Proper {furniture only}-Elizabeth & Co.-Project Queen-Coastal Charm-Ladybug Blessings-Homework-Topsy Turvy (third Tuesdays)-New Nostalgia {W} Tea Rose Home-Someday Crafts-Lil' Luna-Creations by Kara-Sew Woodsy -Blue Cricket Design-Sew Much Ado-My Girlish Whims-Very Merry Vintage Style-Savvy Southern Style-Seven Thirty Three-Sugar and Dots-The Trendy Treehouse-Southern Lovely -Polkadots on Parade-Restore Interiors-Ginger Snap Crafts-Fireflies and Jellybeans-Organize and Decorate Everything-Rae Gun Ramblings {Th} The Shabby Creek Cottage-House of Hepworths-The Brambleberry Cottage-The 36th Avenue-Yesterday on Tuesday-Momnivore's Dilemma-Beyond the Picket Fence-Somewhat Simple-Gluesticks-A Glimpse Inside-Domestically Speaking {paint only}-A Creative Princess-Christina's Adventures {$20}-Tales from Bloggeritaville-A Little Knick Knack-Crafty, Scrappy, Happy-Two Yellow Birds Decor {F} Thirty Handmade Days-Romantic Home-Remodelaholic-Shabby Nest-Lovely Crafty Home-WhipperBerry-At the Picket Fence-Finding Fabulous-delicate CONSTRUCTION-My Repurposed Life-Naptime Crafters-Chic on a Shoestring Budget Decorating-Fingerprints on the Fridge-504 Main-French Country Cottage-See Vanessa Craft-It's a Hodgepodge Life-Truly Lovely-Simply Designing-Miss Mustard Seed {furniture only}-Simply Sweet Home-Joyful Stamper-Craftionary-Release Me Create-Simple Home Life-Family Ever After-Addicted to Decorating-One Artsy Mama {S} Funky Junk Interior-Ladybird Lane-Tatertots and Jello-Craft Envy