Sneaky Inclinations

Our babysitter came over to play with the kids this morning.  Emma took her in Simon's room while I started sweeping the hall.  Emma said to me, "Momma, I have to tell Beth Ann something.  You can go ahead and sweep."  I said, "Ok."

As soon as I got out of sight, but not ear shot, Emma explains to Beth Ann that I used to let them play on the table in Simon's room, but then Evy got hurt and they couldn't play on it anymore.   Now they just have to wait until Momma is not around to play on it.

Emma clapped her hands over her mouth when she saw me appear in the doorway.  I told her it still was not ok to be on the table even though I was not around.  That would be being sneaky and sneaky is not nice.

Emma takes her title of "Momma's precious little angel" very seriously.  This morning I think I saw a feather fall from a wing.  :)

Sample Page

Another topic for our Journal 13 Project at Snagging Stampers Yahoo! group was to make a page with a sample on it.  This topic was inspired by a Sample Book swap I was doing at Swap-Bot.  

I made the page simple, with graduated hearts and glue dotted one of my favorite hard candies in the middle:  Werther's Original.

Putting it on the black background really made it pop!

Can someone tell me how those folks at Somerset Publications photograph their paper art?  

Rate Your Day

For a Journal 13 Project I started at Snagging Stampers Yahoo! group, one of our journal topics was this "Rate Your Day" card.  I sent these cards to all participants to incorporate into their journal page.  

Here is my Rate Your Day page.  The background is K and Company's Que Sera Sera paper.  This paper is rocking my world, People!  The hearts were punched with old school Sizzix dies, and I added stitching around the outside to soften it a bit.  I added some stamped images with my new royal blue irradescent ink.  Rick rack, being a serious craft addiction of mine, got put on the card to help bring it into the page.

I went crazy with the colors, but I like it despite its lack of coordination.  

Value Added?

I got a set of blank cards as part of my Sample Book from my swap partner at Swap-Bot.  They are neat little cards, but I decided to doody them up a bit.

Actually, I am trying to clean my craft room and rid my desk of the litter of punch outs, cut outs, and ephemera that needs to be put in its proper place.   While I was tidying, one of the images reminded me of the colors on the cards I just got.  So, I put the two together.

It is simple, but I think effective.  I may or may not add a stamped sentiment when it comes time to mail them.

Morning Walk

One of my favorite times with the kids is our walk through the woods.  We really haven't done it much since Winter set in...too cold, too wet, or too sick.  With are tastes of Spring-like weather, we've resumed our outings.

This morning, we took Po our dog with us.  Emma insisted that she take a pic of Po in the pond.  I think she did very well.

Everyone wanted to be in a picture.  No one more so than Simon.  He loves the camera.  I got lots of close ups of him.

Emma learned to identify huckleberry bushes today.  She had learned about "blueberry trees" on Dora.  I am not endeared to Dora or Diego because of their weird mix of mythology and fact.  I told her blueberries grow on bushes, not trees.  So, when we started our walk today, I saw a huckleberry bush blooming by the gate.  I pointed it out to Emma and told her that was a wild blueberry bush.  

During the duration of our walk, she pointed out no less than three other huckleberry bushes.  It's amazing how quickly she learns.

Evy is a collector of mushrooms.  My mushroom knowledge is very little.  Maybe one day she will teach me about them.

Sample Book

I joined a sample book swap at Swap-Bot a while back and made this sample book for my partner.  The description of the swap was to make a book with samples in it.  It could be samples of anything.

I decided to raid my paper crafting stash, as my partner likes paper crafting, too.  I tried, for the most part, to be clever how I attached things to the pages.  I wanted it to be pretty to look at, but also easy to get off.

I picked things I knew my partner would like, according to her profile.  I also included some surprises.  One of the fun things about swapping is when you receive something you haven't used before and it introduces you to something new.

I just realized that I am going to have to learn a little more about photography to take some appealing pictures.  Photographing my book was quite a challenge.

Something Fishy

I recently joined the sketchbook club SBMAC at Yahoo!  (Thanks, Rebecca!  I am loving this!)  Today, I got to do a page for a "Something Fishy" book.  I thought I would share it with you.

I did the background with some blue and green acrylic paint and some royal blue irradescent ink, applied with my favorite 3/4" flat glaze paintbrush that I use for EVEYRTHING.  The jelly fish ephemera is from an ancient encylopedia I have.  I have finally forced myself to cut the encyclopedia up.  It goes against my grain to destroy a book, but I am also trying to use and enjoy instead of saving everything.  There is not much fun in saving and organizing and worry about something going to waste.

I really like how this turned out!

New Project

Just call me the Project Queen.  Oh, and don't forget to bow when you say it.  

My latest endeavor is to make a book about things I wish to always remember.  Just a smattering of stories and experiences from my life that I can read and find of interest when I am old and doddering about and cannot remember my own name.

Somehow, my powers of persuasion overwhelmed a few of my associates and they have found themselves wrangled into my wonderous web of reflection.  Once we finish our books, we plan to swap them around to share our creations, with our own books ultimately coming back to us.

The genesis of this project came from a previous project I did.  I made a small book of 100 things that make me happy.  It was such a fun book to make.  It turned out to be so meaningful to me that I was unable to part with it, as was the original plan.  Although, I have shared it with some close friends to view, it was so special to me, I plan to keep it.  I would do well to read it each morning before even leaving the bed.  It has been very inspirational to me.

I have only started my new book, but I wanted to share a page that I have prepped for an entry.  Just a few very simple stampings, but I think it is just enough to really make the page pretty.

Sponge Bob Inspirations

Emma drew me some pictures this morning.  I guess this verifies that Spongebob is indeed good for something.

I especially liked her Gary the Snail in Repose.

A Woman of Many Moods

Evy, you are a complex little lady of many moods.  Your range and thorough explorations of emotions fascinates me.

I hope you grow most attuned to joy and happiness.  It really does suit you.

Momma

Little Boy

Can you tell by this picture that he is resolute in his Mission of Mischief?  Can you see the cunning in his eyes?

Well, maybe not in THIS picture, but it is there....lurking.

I love you, Tweedle Bug.

Momma

Costumed Cactus

I got the kids each a cactus, so they could have their own plant to take care of.  Cactus will forgive you if you forget to water.  Plus, the spines force you to be gentle.  

They were all very excited.  We looked in several cactus books to see if we could identify them and find out what color bloom they would have.  We learned a lot.

Emma, however, was most carried away by her new acquisition.  She made it a blanket so it would be warmer and feel more like it was in a dessert. She invited the birds outside to come look at it through the window.  She told her new cactus all about its new home.  

The kids inevitably wear a costume at some point in the day.  For Simon, it is a cape.  Emma prefers her ballerina costume.  Evy has no allegiance.  Later, Emma decided to make her cactus a costume, so it would really feel at home.  As a mom, I was very impressed.

Here is a picture of her creation.

New Passion:  Journaling
I am obsessed with journaling.  I have been enjoying paper crafts for about four years now, but about a year ago, I saw some art journals.  Boy!  Everything just clicked for me.  I have never religiously kept a diary, but I do enjoy writing...letters to friends, emails, and writing just for the sake of writing.  

Journaling seems to be the perfect fit for me.  I feel free to do whatever I please in a journal.  Some pages are jammed with words, some only images, some doodles.  I write about whatever I am inspired about at the time.

With three small tots running about, I seldom have the time to sit down and do anything to completion.  Even a scrapbook page seems a monumental task, taking days to complete.  But, the interruptions of the day don't seem so bothersome when I am in my journal.  I can write for 5 minutes or and hour, whatever time is allowed.  It is portable, so it goes most everywhere with me.  The only accessory it demands is a pen.

When the a glorious stint in the craft room presents itself, I can spend more time being artsy and exploring any artsy inclination I have had.

I find I jump around in my journal:  a diary type entry here, an art journal style page there, a page o'doodles over yonder.  I don't set explicit rules for my journal.  The constriction of a traditional diary of every page being a sequential rehashing of each day's events turned keeping a diary into a chore.

Now, I look forward to time alone with my journal...to express, create, and record.

Graphic Novels

Joseph and I have recently discovered the world of graphic novels, thanks to our friend Kyle.  We have been selectively devouring every one we get our hands on.  So far, we have enjoyed the first two volumes of _The Last Man_, _I Am Legend_, _The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen_, and _The Watchmen_.  The latter, we just purchased our very own copy yesterday.  Joseph is re-reading it!