Inspired by a sketch from Studio Calico Blog

Supplies: cardstock: Bazzill; patterned paper, rubons: Fancy Pants; Chipboard letters: American Crafts; Stamp: Studio Calico; Baker's Twine: Martha Stewart; ink: Stampin' Up

I have not had much time lately to scrap and that alone disappoints me and then on top of it, I have not been too inspired lately. So when I stumbled across this little sketch challenge posted on the Studio Calico blog, I had to play along. I mean, I have wanted to try a banner for quite some time and so here is my rendition of the sketch by the fabulously talented Nicole.

I have been busy the past few days, also, researching flower tutorials and making up some awesome ones for a Spring Flower Technique class that I am teaching at my LSS, the Scrapbook Shop of St. Paul, this next month. Got to get to work on the display board for it, so be back soon! Love and hugs, Lara

Puddin Cat and Friends

My kids call me the crazy Cat lady but I know that they are softies for these guys too. Love all three. All three have very distinct personalities. There is Puddin'--our big old guy who is such a beautiful Part Himalayan cat, all fluff and no gruff; and then there is Sadie(the black {Mommy's} princess)--some gruff, and snottiness about her, but she is also very much the mother cat...to me and the other humans in the house; and then there is little Torrie, who walks around with the tiniest meow, with every step she takes, but she can be a little stinker too!

Well, we are having a food war at our house. Because two thirds of the cat population at our home is overweight (which contrasts with the one fourth of the human population in said home-->that would be me (LOL)), we have been trying different foods for them that is "diet" food...OMG, what a nightmare...and I must say, these are HIGH END foods like IAMS, Purina One, Nutromax, you name it...well, one they will not eat at all...and pretty much just hairball around on every surface known to man so that one is out...but we are currently on a Purina One and a Nutromax for weight control...and they are p'o'd. One of the 3 will not like them at all...and ironically, the one who is NOT overweight, Torrie, will eat anything...

so it is just Puddin' and Sadie that are on a rampage...so here is how it goes...get up the morning...meow,meow, meow, feed me, feed me, feed me...and then they stick their nose up the in the air and walk away...until I put the other (or the other) in the dish (and same again at night)...I cannot tell which one either of them likes because they won't eat either until I dig into the other...are you confused? Well, so am I. I know you would think it is easy but it is not...so I just started feeding them one, 1/4 cup for the day (each)of one food and when they start to meow a second time, I add the 1/4 cup of the other...but does this mean I will have to buy 2 more bags of food in the future to mix? OMG...it is dry cat food...it cannot taste that much different...can it (ack...is what I say but hey, they are cats)?

Another thing is that Sadie has decided that in order to butter me up in the morning, she needs to lay on my head and give my hair a bath in the morning. This is what I call "mothering"...she licks my hair/forehead(which can be quite painful...cats have strong rough tongues) until I wake up and bury my head in the covers, and sometimes, puts her paw on my head and flexes her claws...until I wake up with a shriek to pain...OMG, most annoying but cats will be cats...and they truly are a sweet part of my life...and I would not change a one of their purrsonalities...just would like to get the food right!

Becoming the Coupon Queen

Supplies: Cardstock: Bazzill; Patterned papers, tag: Cosmo Cricket; brad: Doodlebug; Baker's twine: Martha Stewart; letter stickers: Making Memories; library pocket: L'il Davis; Punch: Stampin' Up; Envelopes: Wells Fargo (LOL)

I am trying to be economical...saving money is important to me and my family...so I clip coupons. The most I have saved is about 28% of my grocery bill. That is a lot. I have signed up for several websites for coupons and buy a paper every Sunday. That helps so much. The key for me, is clipping coupons for things I know we will use and occasionally, I will try different items that we would not normally buy, ONLY, if I think that it is a good buy and will be used! I hate waste and will not buy something that will sit in my cupboard and only be useful for the food shelf donations.

In my creative being, I had to make something pretty to put my coupons in. I have been using it and even had a great comment from a fellow shopper who thought I was incredibly organized. She said "ooh, that is so cute, where did you get it? It looks so organized." Of course I had to show her all the compartments in it.

So, here is how I did it...I found 6 envelopes...garnered from bills that I pay on line and those are my compartments.

Cover: I cut cardstock to from a 12 x12 sheet...a little bigger than the envelopes (no measurements here since old bill envelopes vary slightly in size)...but I would say, about 7 x 12. I embossed 2 lines 1 inch apart at 3 inches on the short side on one end and then again at 1 1/2 inches for the top. I covered it with my favorite papers from Cosmo Cricket's Early Bird paper and embellished it with borders and tags/letters.

I used a big brad and button (button is stitched on) to make the closure and used baker's twine for the closing tie.

Inside: cardstock cut to same size, made into an accordian fold for the six compartments. I glued one end into the inside of the folded cover and an envelope into each fold. After all the envelopes are in place, I glued the other folded edge to the inside front cover.

Inside front cover: I glued a library pocket in the center so that I could tuck my list in the front with my planned list for the trip.

I embellished the envelopes on the inside and added little labels of the categories...for me, and my grocery store, I lined them up according to route I shop at my Cub Grocery store...Produce, Meat, Dairy, Frozen, Grocery, and paper products...I organize my coupons this way and before each trip to the grocery store, I go through them and am aware of what I have.

My grocery habits are pretty predictable. I go to the grocery store every two weeks on Sunday mornings. I plan our meals for the two weeks in advance and buy what is needed for them. Our grocery budget is about $150 for two weeks and we try to stick pretty closely to that budget. Coupons help immensely and with 2 growing teens in our house, as well as tons of teen friends filtering through throughout the week, it is pretty hard to keep the coffers full, but we do it!

Weekend challenges

Weekend challenges. My sister, Jacquie--(just click on her name to see her beautiful efforts), and I scrap together frequently. She in Texas and I in MN. Lately, neither of us have been getting much scrappy time because of, well, life. I try but it seems that the time is not there. So this past weekend, we challenged each other to scrap and made up challenges for each other.

Supplies: Cardstock: Bazzill, craft supply; Patterned paper, chipboard, stickers: Creative Imaginations; Chipboard swirl: Basic Grey; Flowers: Imaginesce, Prima; Gems: craft supply; Brads: Pink Paislee; Punch: Martha Stewart; Die Cutting Machine: Slice, font from Design card #2
Our First challenge was to make a layout with paper older than a year. Here, I used some old, beautiful paper by Creative Imaginations, that I have been saving. I loved it then but for a time, I bought things and stashed it and well, I still love it and don't know what I am saving it for....and it is a layout of my hubby, just in time for Valentines Day!

Supplies: Tags: office supply; Medium: Glimmer mist, Smooch Inks; Chipboard: Scenic Route; Scalloped Edge: Jillibean Soup; Patterned paper: Websters Pages; Baker's twine: Martha stewart; Stamps: Pink Paislee; Ribbon and buttons: Craft supply
Our second challenge was to make 2 tags. I am somewhat befuddled by tags. I have a hard time with something so small, and for me, it has to be usable, so I have to make it for SOMETHING...a gift, a card, or on a layout...never just BECAUSE.

Supplies: Cardstock: Bazzill; Patterned paper and dimensional stickers: Basic Grey; Scalloped circles: Archiver's; Letter Stickers: American Crafts, Adornit; Bling Kaiser Crafts; Journaling Card: Jillibean Soup; Punch: EK Success
And finally, color combo that we rarely use. For me it was hot pink and brown. So I went for the Basic Grey. These are photos of my two cousins, Kristy and Tara at Kristy's baby shower this December. Tara put on a great and fun baby shower for her! There is always lots of laughs when these two are around!

So there are my projects. I encourage you to challenge yourself, find a sketch, play with paint, mist, glitter, or just start cutting. You will find that after awhile you get down to business and actually create something that makes you want more time to scrap!

There was one more challenge that I need to post (a layout with a banner on it), but alas, I ran out of time, but hope to finish it this weekend! TFL. Love and Hugs, Lara