Celebrating a Little Late

So I finally got around to scrapping my little sister’s wedding.  It only took me 3 years!


Mr. & Mrs.

I made this muslin flower myself.  I used this Tim Holtz die to cut some scrap muslin, tacked the flower layers together with a couple of stitches, then sprayed it with Chalkboard glimmer mist and my own handmade mist.  I was inspired by Pink Paislee’s new mistables line.

American Crafts cardstock
Cosmo Cricket patterned paper – Everafter
Crate Paper Restoration – Doilies
My Minds Eye Lost & Found paper - Madison Ave Sisters, Union Square Perfect
October Afternoon Farm Fresh label sticker
My Minds Eye Stella and Rose – brads , label stickers
Making Memories metal charm
Ranger Perfect pearls – pearl , bronze
Joann’s stick pins
Tattered Angels Chalkboard glimmer mist - banana pudding

{Greek}ed Out

Do you love Greek food?  I love Greek food.  I’ve mentioned before that Mark and I might be considered “foodies” by some.  But Greek might just be our favorite. Ahh, the spanikopita and the loukamadas and the dolmades and the baklava.  MMMMmmm, baklava.
We are lucky to live in an area with a large Greek population, and every year in the fall they hold Greekfest.  We look forward to this weekend in November like kids look forward to Christmas.  Last year, we hit a record and went to the ‘fest 4 times over the three days its open.  This year, we’re gonna try for 5.  Heck, maybe we’ll set up a camper in the parking lot!

{Greek}ed Out
 

 

Sketch Support Two Page sketch #12
American Crafts – Cardstock, Remarks
Echo Park patterned paper, stickers - For the Record (Table Cloth, Noteworthy, Elements, Fabric Store, Apron Strings)
Martha Stewart Rain Drop punch
K & Co transparency
Joann’s straight pins
Doodlebug Sugar Coating glitter
Cosmo Cricket Ready Set Chip Alphabet  Blue Line
Tim Holtz Distress Ink Weathered Wood
Glossy Accents

The Beer Lovers

My husband has become a beer snob.  And worse, all of his friends are too.  I;m subjected to intense beer discussions.  I prefer red wine, or a good gin and Bombay Sapphire, though I am not opposed to something with an umbrella and fruit.  They belong to a beer club, for God’s sake!
Mark doesn’t brew his own, but a couple of friends do. So we ventured down the road to the Pensacola Beer Festival to support the local home-brew club.  I even had a couple.
All About the Beer




Sketch: 2 page sketch #12 from Sketch Support.
Patterned Paper: My Minds Eye, Sticker letters: Cosmo Cricket, letters: Tim Holtz Grungeboard, Sticker and cardstock sticker: My Minds Eye, Label Sticker: Studio Calico, Sticker: Jolee’s Boutique, Journaling Card: Elle’s Studio
Stamp: Ali Edwards for Technique Tuesday

My “Can’t Live Without These” Stamps

If you didn’t already know, Ali Edwards designs stamps for Technique Tuesday.  Along with stamps for the regular line, there are limited edition stamps for the monthly kit club.  The club runs about $20 including shipping, and its been totally worth it.  My first 6 months are up, and I’ll be renewing.  The stamps are so cute and versatile that I even tracked down some of the prior month’s sets.

I’ve been using the stamps on a lot of layouts, and I used them to make my sister’s birthday card.  Yes, that’s pink glitter cardstock!

Whatever Happened to Accountability Wednesday?

Travelling for work got my whole routine out of whack. I totally forgot about my Accountability Wednesday posts.  Not that there's much to post.  I joined SparkPeople and I'm really liking being about to see calories in and calories out, but it doesn't seem to be helping much.  I just keep gaining and losing the same 2 lbs., but at least I know now that I'm not taking in 7000 calories a week that it would take to gain 2 lbs.  I guess I need to restrict my calorie intake more than SparkPeople suggests.  Right now I'm eating between 1400 and 1550 calories/day, and burning about 600 a week.  My doctor suggested cutting back to 1000 calories/day, and burning 1200 per week at least.  I don't really have time for 30 minutes of cardio 6 times a week like she suggested, but I can bump up my cardio some.

Any thoughts on the calorie intake?  Any experts out there that want to give me some advice?  I think 1000/day is kind of low, I was thinking somewhere around 1200, but I'm willing to do it if it means finally getting the scale to budge.  Sigh, I didn't have this problem the first time on Weight Watchers.

Weight today: 140.4 lbs. (+2 lb)
Obstacles: Really bad week all around, but I didn't seek out comfort food, except for the one froyo.

Upcoming obstacles: Anniversary dinner on Saturday

I think we are what you call “foodies”

We stalk The Food Network.  We plan trips around a restaurant Anthony Bourdain has been to on his show.  We fit in as many feedings into a trip as we can.  Are we foodies?  Take New Orleans, for example.  We don’t really like going there, but, since its the closest major city, we end up there a lot for various reasons.  How do we stand it?  Three things:
Mother’s (crawfish etouffee [eh-too-fay] and debris [day-bree] sandwiches),

Cafe du Monde (begneits  [ben-yays]),


and The Gumbo Shop, for gumbo and french bread.


It’s Why We Go

Shimelle Laine’s Border Between the Photos challenge
Patterned Paper: October Afternoon; Felt Letters: American Crafts; Sticker letters: Making Memories

Missing How Things Used to Be

I was a very lucky girl growing up.  My family owned a small cottage at the beach, where I spend pretty much every weekend and all summer.  But I didn’t know how lucky I was.  You see, I just thought it was the normal thing to do: pack up every Friday after Mr. Rogers and go for a 2 hour drive, to spend the weekend playing in the sand and never changing out of my bathing suit.  To scoop up crabs and catch shrimp and boil them that night for dinner the next.
But time and age took its toll, and the house took many beatings from hurricanes.  Beach houses, even small, 1 bathroom cottages, are expensive to fix and to keep.  So it was sold.  And with it went an innocent, simple time before tremendous coastal development where we were the only ones for miles on the beach.  Beach houses involve a very different way of life now.

The Beach House



Patterned Paper: Basic Grey, Cosmo Cricket, Fancy Pants, Target Dollar Spot; Stickers: Crate Paper; Fabric Flowers: Prima; Paper flowers: Making Memories, Prima; Chipboard Letters: Miss Elizabeth’s, American Crafts; Sticker letters: Cosmo Cricket; Bird charm: Tim Holtz; Word sticker: K & Company; Buttons: Jenni Bowlin; Pearls: Kaisercraft; Tattered Angels Chalkboard Glimmer Mist; Ali Edwards for Technique Tuesday stamps; Versamagic and Rubber Stampede inks.

Hippo Happens

I used the May 6 sketch from Your Scrapbook Stash.
 




Patterned Paper: Sassafrass, Sticker Letters: Scenic Route
Stamp: Ali Edwards for Technique Tuesday

The Yellow Cardinal

Growing up, my dad loved to feed the birds in our back yard.  He had special seeds and feeders to attract different breeds.  We never imagined he’d attract a bird that looked just like a male cardinal, except it was bright yellow!  I wish I had better pictures of this bird, because nobody believes me when I tell them about it!

I made this layout for the May with May class at Big Picture Classes.

Yellow Cardinal

I really wanted to repeat the bird motif in the lower right of the layout, but I only had 2 of the chipboard shapes.  So I masked off the other openings on the chipboard sheet I punched the birds from, and used it as a mask for Glimmer Mist.  I wish now I had flipped the chipboard so it faced the title, but oh well.


Patterned Paper: Pink Paislee, Jillibean Soup; Tape and Rub-on: 7gyspies; Rub-on and flowers: K & Company; Brad: My Minds Eye; Thickers and letter stickers: American Crafts; Journaling Card: Elle’s Studio; Chipboard shapes: Scenic Route; Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist; Martha Stewart glitter; Unity Stamp; Versamark and Tim Holtz distress inks

Mystic Seaport – More Digging into the Old Photo File

A long long time ago I went to a conference in Mystic, Connecticut.  Yes, the same one from the movie Mystic Pizza.  It’s a really cute town, and I recommend visiting if you’re up that way.

Being a traditional fishing village in the heart of New England, they have a Seaport you can visit to see what a traditional fishing village in the heart of New England looks like.  If you like boats, especially wooden ones, this is the place for you!
 

 
Mystic Seaport
Cardstock: American Crafts, Patterned Paper: American Crafts, Scenic Route, Stickers: October Afternoon, Tim Holtz Grungeboard, Chipboard letters – Miss Elizabeth’s.  And yes, the circles are canvas, cut with my Cuttlebug and Nestabilities.

One Tough Layout

Ever have one of those layouts where nothing seems to go right?  This was one of them.  I tore the white cardstock (twice).  The Tim Holtz Crackle Paint wouldn’t stick to the American Crafts Thicker element.  The paper went on crooked (see paper tearing).  I’m still not loving my choice of paper.  But you know what?  The story of Ozzy and his crazy love for our red duffel bag is preserved, and I put this sucker in a page protector and moved on to the next one!
Red Bag Crazy Love
 
 
Sketch: Creative Scrappers Sketch #157
Supplies:
Patterned Paper: American Crafts
Paper Ribbon: K & Co
Journaling tags and chipboard letters: Heidi Swapp
Rub ons: Luxe Designs, Daisy Hill, Fancy Pants
Brads: My Minds Eye
Cardstock Sticker: Crate Paper
Divine Twine
Jenni Bowlin ink
Stamps: Ali Edwards for Technique Tuesday
Stickles - xmas red, diamond
American Crafts thickers
Tim Holtz Crackle Paint

Mastering the Machine for the Master of the Grill

Ever since I brought this home, Mark’s been asking for an apron for when he grills.  I still have the bug to learn to sew, and I bought a new machine.  There was a problem with the bobbin on the Goodwill purchase, and the new one was significantly more than $20!  But I’m having a great time with it.

Over the Fourth of July weekend I made my first items: an apron and matching chef’s hat for my very on Grill Master Mark.  He wore them the entire time he grilled and was in the kitchen that weekend.  I didn’t do a great job, and it’s a little big, and the flame fabric runs upside down on the hat, but I was pretty proud of my first try.

I intend on cutting a witty, grill-appropriate saying with my Silhouette for the bib, but I have to order some of their cut-able, fuse-able vinyl.  Use your imagination for now.

Christmas in July – Week 3

Something about the unbearable heat and humidity of South Alabama in combination with a record drought are really motivating me to get out the Christmas photos and use paper with snowmen and snowflakes!

Even though its tough to tell from the photos, this layout is of Ozzy and his Christmas present this last year.  For once, he actually liked it, and it was destroyed within the week.

 

Christmas Kitty

Inspiration: Becky Williams layout here

Supplies

Scenic Route patterned paper; American Crafts patterned paper, cardstock; Creative Imaginations patterned paper, journaling card; Bo Bunny patterned paper; Cosmo Cricket chipboard; K & Company sticker; Mary Engelbriet rhinestone sticker; Echo Park letter stickers.

Wednesday Accountability: Trying Something New

If you are familiar with Weight Watchers, you know that in the past year or so they revamped their plan to the new PointsPlus © system, which deemphasizes calories and promotes fruits and vegetables.  Ever since I re-joined under the new program, I have struggled to lose any weight.  A little investigating found several complaints, particularly from more petite women with fewer pounds to lose.  Following some suggestions I found, I started double-counting this week using WW and SparkPeople. I’ve noticed a discrepancy between how much WW says I can eat and the calories and fat that I am actually consuming.  And I did lose 1 lb. this week, which is encouraging.  I think I’m going to continue to double track for a couple of weeks and see what happens.

 

Weight today: 139.8 lbs. (-1 lb)

Obstacles: House showings threw us off our routine this week, so we ended up eating out unexpectedly a couple of times.  Mark made a huge pot of spaghetti carbonara, which is not exactly good for you.

 

Upcoming obstacles: Travelling out of town for work for the next 2 weeks.  This presents both an eating and a fitness challenge.

Pensacola Butterfly Garden

A few weeks back, my sister and I ventured over to Pensacola for the opening day of their butterfly house.  She and I share a passion for photography, and couldn’t pass up the opportunity to shoot those little buggers in a confined space.  We also made a stop by ScrapHappy, of course.