paper ADVENTure

the month off from knitting and stitching has been good. really good. the days have taken me in all different directions from mothering sick ones to rediscovering creative loves to celebrating a new year of living. and while I started stitching again last night, I'm desiring a little more balance in my creative life going forward (more on this in another post).

the projects I created in February, for myself and my ADVENTure, all centered around my love of paper and memory keeping.

:: project 1 ::

I drew inspiration from Stacy Julian's book Big Picture Scrapbooking for this mini-scrap for a *L* in my life. I covered these outback steakhouse coasters with pretty papers on one side and her name on the other and a ribbon running through all. my hope is that she captures a few special memories here.

:: project 2 ::

after making these, I decided a special someone might enjoy the gift of cards, so I've started a "year of cards" collection for this gift. each time I make cards, I'm making a few extra and tucking them away. this month I added valentines and thank you's.

:: project 3 ::

this year (february 2011 to february 2012) I'm moving one of my scrapbook ideas from the "to-do" list to the "to-done" list. the skeleton frame is now complete for my "all about me at forty three" scrapbook.

my desire is to not only capture special moments but also special "things" about me at this age. growing up I don't remember thinking of my mom as a woman with hopes, dreams, wants, and needs of her own...she was just "my mom." some day my boys may look back on these years and say: "mom was always creating something; and she had these friends online that she cherished; and why did she take pictures of the mundane in our life?" this scrapbook is intended to explain some of that.

tip of the month: start thinking about the holiday sweet treats you love and love to make. some of the recipes you love to eat may not be the same ones you love to make.

like baking cookies? pick your three favorite recipes, and stick with those. holiday baking doesn't have to be about ten different varieties and the stress they bring with them!

and for those of you looking for a new recipe...you may want to bookmark these for future use- peppermint whoopie pies.

I know many of you have been diligently creating for your own ADVENTure. link up with others to share your thoughts and ideas. please remember to link to your specific post(s) that are ADVENTure related.

string of hearts

my shutdown on knitting and cross stitching has allowed me time to create with paper. the stringed hearts here and here, gave me the inspiration I needed for my valentines. thank you friends for all the inspiration you so willingly share!!

supplies:

white cardstock

red cardstock

pink cardstock or pink note cards

white pearle cotton thread- one 10" piece per card

needle

pop dot

tape

cricut cutting machine*

*I used my cricut machine with the "beyond birthdays" cartridge to cut 6- 1" white hearts and 1- 1.25" red heart for each valentine. If you don't have this machine you can use your computer to create or hand cut the hearts.

the process goes like this:

* cut enough 1" white hearts and 1.25" red hearts out of cardstock for the number of cards you'll be making. (6- 1" white hearts and 1- 1.25" red heart per card)

* using the threaded needle, string hearts on cotton thread in order- three white, one red, three white.

* attach the string of hearts from the front side of card to back.

* tie a knot at the end of each side of thread on back of card. put a small amount of tape over knot.

* once you have the hearts in a position you like, add a pop dot to the back of the red heart and attach to the card.

* write greeting and share generously.

go send a card

I love to send cards. always have, always will. I could spend hours making cards, thinking of the people I love, picking out the perfect card, then sitting down and hand writing a special message. that whole process would make up a "perfect" day for me.

did you know January 9th - 16th is National Lettering Writing Week?

just another reason to pick up your pen and share a few thoughts with a friend.

having a hard time thinking of someone to send a card to? what about: someone who blessed you with an awesome gift recently; someone who's lost a loved one in the past year; a friend you haven't spoken to in awhile; a relative you'd like a stronger connection with; a child who needs a bit of extra encouragement.

now that I have you thinking, "just start." send out one hand written note this week. I dare you to bless someone with your words!

To send a letter is a good way to go somewhere

without moving anything but your heart.

- Phyllis Theroux

scrappy

after finishing my Christmas quilt top and back (which I'm so excited to finally share) I had extra fabric strips. I love these fabrics and wanted to find a good use for them. after seeing this tutorial, I knew just what to make...scrappy Christmas cards. this is how they came together:

I'm sure you have a few fabrics in your stash you'd love to use again. I hope you'll try to make some scrappy cards for yourself.

cre8.

the past few weeks, our house has been filled with activity, as mark and I checked "to do" items off our lists. we've done time consuming projects like (finally) painting and decorating the downstairs' family room area for the boys to easier projects like (finally) ordering 5x7 photos to fill picture frames. we kept each other moving toward the finish line with words of encouragement and by finishing one project at a time.

{because it's our first day of school...} remember newton's first law of motion? an object at rest will remain at rest and an object in motion will remain in motion unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. I can say I've been at rest.

I've always considered myself a finisher. that is until I was hit with the feelings that came after kris' death back in may. then something happened. I got stuck. do you ever get stuck? ever feel like you just don't have enough time or a project is too large or you don't have the skills to finish? if so, don't loose heart! you can finish those projects!!

here are a few of my finishing tips:

* make a written list of projects taking up space in your mind and consuming mental energy

* pick the most important task for you to finish to feel like you've made progress

* begin working on that one item for 15 minutes

{don't discount 15 minutes! you'd be amazed at what you can complete in that amount of time!!}

* as time permits, add time to the project in 15 minute increments

* don't focus on perfection, focus on completion

* celebrate each and every finished "to do" with a large check

* once you're moving...pick the next task and repeat

while many of our items were house related, I had plenty of things I wanted to cre8 as well. these are 8 of my favorites:

1. back-to-school card cre8tions

2. an idea that turned into a new fall decoration

3. a dropped stitch scarf

4. a set of laundry room curtains

5. a craft room curtain

6. an original lego cre8tion

7. pillowcases for connor.

8. and (the most important) part of the downstairs' family room

happy finishing my friends!

press play

remember when we played music using a boom box? one that had pause, play, fast forward, rewind, and record buttons? when kris' health started to quickly deteriorate three months ago, I pressed pause on my own life and became very present in hers. I felt like I was honoring her life in making that choice.

it wasn't obvious to me at the time, but on Monday I pressed play in my own life again...in the best way I know how.

I gave myself the gift of a day. a day to create, to celebrate special friends, to complete a project. oh, how good it felt to get back into my life again.

sharing love

for most of you, valentine's day has come and gone and so have your posts about the holiday. I may be a week behind, but I'm excited about the projects I created for love day and want to share a few.

my handmade valentines started as a sketch in my list notebook:

then step by step the pieces combined into a card:

step 1: cut hearts from read felt.

step 2: sew on a button with pearl cotton floss.

3: stamp the inside message.

step 4: sew a straight line down the front of the card to dangle the heart by.

step 5: trim thread on the inside of the card.

step 6: glue heart to the end of your sewn line.

step 7: write your personal message and send off to bless another.

when I realized I didn't have very many valentine decorations, I decided to sew up a few hand towels using this pattern book. I made a total of three towels (two for me and one for a bff). I found the towels at Home Goods and the fabrics at my local quilt shop.once the fabric had wonder under ironed on, I cut out the pieces and ironed them onto the dishtowels, then began the blanket stitch around each section. with the addition of a few buttons, they were ready to decorate the kitchen.I'll be back tomorrow with my words for wednesday and an exciting framed creation for you to try!