Coping through Crafting

So, while I was home for two weeks recovering I completely overdosed on projects. It was wonderful- how can I make money and do that? Here are some of the things I finished up.
I started this quilt two summers ago. I had been collecting fabrics for it since I got married (yes folks, five years!). My mom and I pieced together the top summer of 2008. The plan was that I would quilt it at home using an embroidery hoop. Well I tried. I took it on three road trips and got about 15 blocks done. In the meantime my mom purchased a quilting machine and offered to help me quilt it up that way. Well it was hard, I'd already put all this time an energy into and would now have to pick it all out! Then I found out I was pregnant so I was like, "This is ridiculous. If you don't finish this quilt before the baby comes, you never will." So I took it on yet, another, road trip and ripped out all the quilting. Over fall break my mom and I put it on her machine and I quilted it in 2 hours- 2 hours!!!! All I had left to do was bind it, and with my track record that could take 2 years (my problem is I never sit still long enough to do handwork, I have a thing called ADD, I swear). Well, while I was in the hospital, my mom brought it with her thinking I could work on it there- except I was so drugged up and my head was below my feet that wasn't a good plan. But once I came home from the hospital, my mom came over and showed me how to bind (again, I've made other quilts, it'd just been a while, a Miamaid Evening in Excellence project I think...) and I finished it up. Now it's done and gladly resides in our family room and with the weather finally cooling off it's getting used too!
This one officially got finished November 1- do you think that stopped it from having a reign of the front door- NO! I left it up until the 15th.

I had big intentions of making this one before the holiday, well I couldn't find any 4th of July fabric I liked until August. I am all ready for next summer!
I got roped into helping with Super Saturday this year. This was one of the projects I was in charge of. The others were holiday cards and tags- way cute too, just no photos.
I bought these wooden pumpkins in Utah this summer. They didn't get finished until November 10th, so they'll just have to wait until next year to be unveiled. I used up my Halloween scraps and love how they turned out!

To adhere or not to adhere...

As an avid scrapbooker I have very STRONG feelings about adhesive. Here are common concerns:

1. How much are the refills?
2. How long do they last?
3. How well do they adhere? If I mail someone a card I made, is it going to fall apart when they open the envelope?
4. How easy is it to apply?

I've had some pretty bad experiences with a few adhesives that should remain nameless because I'm not one for official mudslinging. I tend to mudsling only "off the record." I think my blog is very much "on the record." Basically, I hate ones with refills that unfeed themselves. I hate ones that won't apply well and you have to keep fighting it.

As I've evolved as a scrapbooker, so has my adhesive selection. Some of my recent favorites are:

1. My ATG Gun. LOVE IT! I pretty much use it on just about everything and my friend just found refills on EBay for super cheap! Yippee!
2. The Xyron X. I have a bigger one too, but I feel like it is too wasteful. The X is perfect for little stuff. I remember seeing an infomercial that Lisa Bearnson did about Xyron and I thought it was the dumbest idea ever- then I used one- oh boy! Heaven sent.
3. Scotch Quickdry Adhesive. I use this on fine detail work or chipboard stuff. My friend Melanie referred me to it and sometimes I joke with her that it's probably just watered down Elmer's glue with a much higher price tag on it.
4. Zots. Right now I have some in all of their sizes, but I tend to use the tiny ones and medium ones the most. I use them on flowers, ribbons, and other detailed things that need stronger adhesive.

Those pretty much meet all of my adhesive needs with all of my projects.

Last night I had a Stampin Up cards class and needed to bring my own adhesive and scissors. I packed them up on Thursday night and then left the bag at home Friday morning. I realized I forgot about 10 min from home and thought about turning around but then realized I could probably just pick up some adhesive somewhere before the class.

I ran through my mind of all of my options: a scrapbook store (too expensive), Michaels/JoAnns/Hobby Lobby (not one nearby, and didn't have a coupon on me- and I never pay full price for something like that there) or Wal-Mart (right on the way to her house and cheap). So I headed to Wal-Mart's scrapbook aisle. Well, I got there and saw a few adhesive options for $6! $6! I didn't even NEED one (see, I have 4 very feasible options listed above) and I just had to have one for a few hours! I couldn't use glue sticks (the affordable option) because I was making cards and I'm too stingy with my glue sticks so there is no way I was going to wrestle with glue sticks all night long on 10 different cards.

Then I saw one (Ad-Tech) for $3.50. Definitely cheaper than $6, but still more than I wanted to spend. But I didn't have any choice- otherwise I'd have to pay my consultant for whatever SU was trying to convince me to pay for something I could get at JoAnns with a coupon. They had a runner option and a dots option. I thought I'd try out the dots option as I never had before. I LOVED it! It was totally agreeable and pretty decent adhesive. I now have a backup! My friend said that apparently Oriental Trading Co also sells them. Who knows how long the refills last, but for last night, that little purple tool saved my hiney! Thought I'd share the info!

Overhaulin' the blog

So, rather than work on the projects I have piling up in my scrapbook room and overflowing into the living room, I decided to redo my blog! I made my new title- even though I don't like it as much as my Dialing life one, I am pretty happy with it. (I am loving PSE 7!) Hopefully I can keep it around for a while before I get an itch to update it. Enjoy!

Mini Book Fiesta!

I have been on a mini book binge. I offered to make some mini books for a friend for a fundraiser. I ended up making over 20 of them! I can't seem to stop... As a result, I've decided to start trying to sell some. So, if you're interested or know someone who is, send them my way. I can make them for just about any reason in the whole wide world: family, baby, birthday, beach, vacation, family, etc. They make great gifts, coffee table books, bookshelf books, and more!

Tag Swaps

After scanning in my tags, I realized that apparently they are too dimensional-ly and don't scan well. Just pretend they aren't so blurry- I promise they are adorable in person!

July- I got the rhinestone tattoos in the $1 section at Target along with the button too. I got that star ribbon a long time ago and it worked perfectly for this project!

August- I can't explain it but August makes me think of pink and green, like watermelons. I don't even like watermelons! But I went with it and used the colors on the tag. I was so excited to use the pink and white flowers that I got a few months ago at Hobby Lobby. The phrase on the side is "Sweet Summer- Aug 09."September- I know that as a Chandler employee school actually starts in July. And I know that in all of Arizona, and most of the US all students are back in school by August. But, I don't like it! I don't like it one bit! So I rebelled and did my back to school tag in September, the way it should be! I had to freehand my apple because there wasn't a die cut with it small enough. Not too happy with how it turned out- but, oh well.
And, those will be my last tags because of similar reasons to me taking a break from swaps. It was fun while it lasted!

Been Busy Swappin'!

So based on this blog it looks like I've done nothing all summer. But, trust me, I have! Here are some photos of the swaps I've been working on. And there are even more I didn't snap photos of.
This was for a summer swap. The only thing I made was that little mini book in the corner. The theme was "Bright Sun-Shiny Day." Throughout the book were the lyrics.
So this was for a Scrapbook Page Around the World swap. You were supposed to take photos around your city and scrapbook them. Uh, what exactly would I take pictures of in Queen Creek? So I just did a page of the Grand Canyon. Since that is one thing in AZ you can't miss!

This was a 4th of July paper bag album. Inside was the lyrics to "You're a Grand Old Flag." Obviously, my pictures are horrible, but it was so cute in person! This was actually my favorite swap to receive. I have really received a lot of duds; to the point where I'm going to take a break from swaps. I'm tired of putting all this time and energy into them and getting back something Toby could have made better.

This was for another summer swap. You were supposed to send a "summer treat" with a summer mix. My CD mix rocked (let me know if you want a copy!) and my album rocked (notice the theme from the earlier one, I made two of it just different colors). In return, I got a CD with Lithuanian music and a plastic bug, really, no joke, I don't make this stuff up.

This was my 4th of July card. Pretty dang cute, huh? I made about 10 of them once all was said and done. These flowers are my favorites in the whole world to put on a page or a card. They are so dimensional! I actually saw one in real life, (no, not in Arizona, silly!), at Temple Square. They are just as pretty in real life too!

I also did a color swap that I didn't take any pictures of and a few CD swaps. But as I said before, so long swaps! I'm sick of getting jilted. So, if you get a nice surprise in the mail it's because I had to get out some creative energy and had no swap to send it to!

Easter Project Completed

A few days after Easter I was roaming Hobby Lobby and saw the most adorable Easter fabric, on clearance. So I decided I would make myself an Easter wreath. I cut all of the stuff and then just got around to it while camping this last weekend. Great project to take camping because you can talk and tie!I took this up close shot so you could see the two inspiration fabrics. I love the little chickies! I bought some more fabric to maybe use it in a baby quilt for someone.

Originally the plan was to finish it right after Easter and still hang it on the door in May (still spring, you know), but now it is definitely June and totally summer, so I'll just have to hang onto it until next year. Oh well!