Cloudy with a Chance of Failure

So, you're lucky this week...two posts! I'm just trying to get caught up with all the things I want to say, and I'm delusional about the number of perfect strangers who might be interested in anything I might have to write about. Remember, I take medication. : )

With the new year upon us, I wanted to make a list of some of my favorite pages created last year, but my husband moved all of our files from one drive to a removable hard drive. This was so nobody could steal any of our data through the wireless network. I know, HE should be taking the medication. Seriously though, network security is what he does for a living, so what was I supposed to do? I did manage to ask why someone would want to steal any of our family photos or pictures of my scrap booking projects. He just looked at me. I knew at that very moment #1. the removable hard drive was on sale at Best Buy; a deal he couldn't possibly pass up AND #2. that I should have just kept my mouth shut. In any case, here are a few of the pages that I managed to find.

"Summer Together" - My daughters and two nephews a few summers ago...back when they got along!

"Soft Touch"- My three year old with the look that wraps her father and gets her the car on Friday nights.

"Goofy 101" - My husband and two oldest making faces at me during what was supposed to be a serious photo op.

"Mud Models" - My oldest Molly and some of her friends during her b-day party playing in the mud they created with the hose on the front lawn. Note: my husband was not at all impressed with the fact that I let them get this dirty or that I let them make a mud pit on the lawn.

"I Don't Know" - My youngest and a mess of buttons that miraculously appeared without her help in my office. I've since had the room exorcised of it's invisible imp.

"Some Kind of Wonderful" - My darling husband. He really is something special.

"Shoes Optional" - This is a picture of my two youngest and my nephew having an impromptu picnic on the front lawn (if you consider oreos, chips, and candy a picnic).

Along with proving to you that I did do something last year, I also took some time to make some new years resolutions. If you know me, then you know that making resolutions (for me) is so beyond futile that it borders on pathetic, but I really am going to try this time. I am, really. : )

#1. I am going to write in this blog at least once a week, so be forewarned.

#2. I am going to cut down on the amount of times I say "yes" in a day. I don't know about anyone else, but I find myself doing way too much and it's all because of my lacking the word "no" in my vocabulary.

#3. I am going to make sure to hug my girls every single day. I tell them that I love them, but sometimes you need to feel the love!

#4. I am going to eat better, quit smoking, lose forty pounds and fit into that bikini before the start of summer.

Hey, this post is called Cloudy with a Chance of Failure...three out of four ain't bad!

Smile,

M.

Welcome Wonderful!

Happy belated New Years!! I hope everyone had a nice holiday break with family and friends. I know I did, but aren't we really just supposed to say that so we're not cast out like lepers? Anywho, I do have to complain a little bit because things weren't the same for my family this year, and it's obvious that it never will be again. As you already know (if you read this blog and I've paid you enough to pay attention), I lost my Bampa very suddenly this past year.

Nana and Bampa~Christmas 2004

It was obviously heart wrenching in every sense but, what really knocked me on my ass, was how quickly our family fell apart. He was the reason we were all so close; spending every holiday together making up traditions that I thought would be carried on well into the years beyond my passing. This was the first year since I was a child that our entire family (cousins, second cousins, great grandchildren, aunts, uncles, exes and their new wives, girlfriends, boyfriends and their buddies - frankly, we would take anyone in) didn't get together during Christmas. We split up into our respective little family units and did our own thing.

I'm complaining because I don't remember that meeting where all this was decided. Where was I? Who agreed to let this family fall apart without a fight? And what about Nana? Well, okay she can't remember she has feet let alone who we are and whether or not she wants to spend time with us, but I was sort of disappointed. I couldn't watch Uncle Paul fall asleep on the couch with his mouth open and coax the little ones to throw small toys at him. I couldn't get pissed at a certain cousin and his wife who conveniently show up just as dinner is being served and leave while the dishes are being done. Was I the only one who enjoyed seeing everyone's stiff new outfits? Bampa's gone and so are our entire family get-togethers. I'm sure we'll still try and get together during the summer for our annual lobster feed, but how many summers will it take before that stops happening too? Then we'll have to resort to those annoying 7 page holiday news letters that come with the generic Christmas card and twenty stamps on the envelope for postage. I guess it was inevitable when you think about Bampa and what he meant to this family, and I still believe that this family is blessed beyond words. I'm just going to miss counting Uncle Paul's cavities!

"I would rather have 30 minutes of "wonderful" than a lifetime of nothing special" ~ Julia Roberts

I'm forever an optimist (well, I take medication to be an optimist) and with any new year comes promises of change and a better outlook on things to come. So, this year being no exception, I'm going to welcome wonderful with open arms and duct tape it in the basement!

Remember to laugh at least once today!
M.

Thankful

I hope everyone had a pleasant Thanksgiving spent with family. I know I did. We even started a new tradition - a thankful journal. I got the idea from Cathe over at Just Something I Made.
Everyone who came for dinner took some time and wrote in it. It will be interesting to open it up next year and reflect on each entry.












I had my first craft fair this past weekend. Other than the awful noise, I had a great time and made quite a few new friends. Crafty people are so friendly. It was enough of a success that I think I'll go ahead and do more than one next year. Though I won't make my mother sit with me like I did this time. I have to admit that having her there eased a lot of my unwarranted nervousness. What I didn't sell at the fair has been listed in my Etsy store, so please stop by and check out all the holiday items.

I've actually been pretty busy with Reverie Creations these past few weeks while preparing for the craft fair. I've had a couple special orders; including the two notebooks below. The first one was left to my own design, and since I love the colors red and yellow together, I used quite a bit of Jenni Bowlin.














The next order was for another notebook, but I was given more direction with this one. I was told that the recipient was in love with pink, leopard print, music and inspiring quotes. I looked high and low for the perfect leopard print paper, but to no avail. I did find this nice sheet of paper with brown flocked sihouettes that I thought looked a lot like leopard print, so I went with it. I think it turned out nicely, and I certainly hope the customer likes it. Her name is Kara, by the way; therefore the "K".

Thank you for spending some time with me and have a wonderful day!

Hugs,

Mandee

You all know that I have an Etsy shop. It's been my passion for about a year now, and I finally got my first special order. One of my repeat customers (I am so thankful for her) asked me if I could make her an upcycled notebook with a vintage feel with some sort of inspirational saying on the front. That was my direction, and this is what I came up with.

I took some My Minds Eye Laundry Line paper and a little bit of vintage lace and the rest just fell into place. I absolutely love My Minds Eye. They have so many beautiful floral patterns that it's almost hard to choose which one to start with let alone cut up. The large daisy is from the Oriental Trading Company. I've ordered quite a bit from their scrapbooking embellishment line. They've certainly come a long way from the party favors. The small brown paper flower is of course Prima with an added a vintage button and a piece of hemp cord tied in the middle. The tag was traced out and stamped with sentiments from The Scrappy Cat vintage line. Love them too! I heat embossed some of the words to add a bit more interest and added Kaiser Craft pearls to anchor it a bit.

The inside got a little attention as well. I made a small library card pocket from a template downloaded somewhere off the internet. Sorry I don't remember where from, but I find quite a few templates on line. I also found the bookplate online as well.

My loyal customer was very pleased with the outcome, and I couldn't be happier. It's all in the details.

Thanks for spending some time with me.

Have a great day!

Hugs,

M.

Grateful

Thank you just never seems like enough, but I wanted to take this time to show my appreciation to all those men and women who have given more than expected for all of us.

Thanks to Cathe Holden at Just Something I Made for allowing the use of the above image.

Hugs,
M.

"Green" never looked so festive...

We all have those magazines laying around...the ones we don't ask for but somehow end up in our mailboxes...sometimes three a day! I know I have tons hanging around all over my coffee table waiting for me to peruse them or get rid of them, but I always have a hard time tossing them out. It's paper no-less, and we all know how I feel about paper. Anyway, the other day I sat down to watch one of my favorite shows, and wouldn't you know it, it's a repeat. So, I pick up one of those catalogs and start browsing through only to find that everything inside is way out of my price range. What to do with it? Why not recycle it, but into what? I thought with all the colors on the pages they would make great bows, so I took a store bought bow apart and was amazingly surprised at how easy they are to make. I started in and after about twenty minutes I had four already done.

My two oldest daughters, ages 7 and 9, also made a few for their teachers. They are just that simple to make.

Supplies you will need:

Magazine page

Scissors

paper fastener/brad

something sharp

double sided foam tape that can be cut to size

Step 1:

*Cut your magazine page into roughly 8 or 9 strips. Perfection is not necessary.

*Take one strip and cut approximately two inches off the top so it's shorter than the rest. This will be the first strip you start with.

Step 2:

*Loop the strip like shown. *Flip it over and loop the other end.

Step 3.

Poke a hole through the middle and slip it onto your paper fastener/brad.

Step 4.

Continue looping the rest of the strips and adding them one by one to the back of the first.

You can add more strips or less depending on your preference. Once you have all the strips you want, just split the prongs on the brad to secure.

Step 5.

Place a piece of double sided foam tape to the back so that it can be attached to a package easily at a later date.

And there you have it. Beautiful bows from all those over-priced sales catalogs.

Please post a link to the bows you've created!!

Thanks for spending some time with me! Have a great day!

Hugs,

M.

Ornaments Galore

Still working on items for the upcoming Christmas Fair. My favorite items to make are these adorable cones. This one is victorian style with an image of Marie Antoinette. I added Prima glitter flourishes, a crown with crystals and tucked a little tulle on the inside. The purple around the top is just a piece of paper that I fan folded and then glued to the inside. A little different than the last few I've made. I thought it added a nice touch.

These next set of cones turned out a little more festive. Again, I added the fan-folded paper along the top with chipboard bulb ornaments attached to the front. Some ribbon and red string finish them off.

I also made these gift card holders using an old soap box as a template. I went ahead and traced the soap box onto paper, reglued them and punched a couple of holes on the top to string ribbon through. Embellished each and voila, complete. These were so easy to make.

I'll post some more later as I've got to get the girls onto bed. Thanks for spending some time with me.

Hugs,

M.