Thursday, January 29, 2015

Life at our Home

It's been a while since I've blogged about life at our home. We made it through the craziness of December. We had a wonderful Christmas and enjoyed spending lots of time with family. We were lucky enough to spend Christmas Eve and part of Christmas day with my grandparents. I remember so many wonderful Christmas's with them growing up I was so excited to have my kids spend Christmas with them. I took tons and tons of photos but this one is my very favorite.
Isn't this a great photo? I think my grandparents are the cutest! I'm so lucky to have them!

On Christmas Eve we play minute to win-it games. In this game Nana & Papa were trying to get ping pong balls to go into the basket by using a book as a "backboard". We had so much fun with them.
I really want to emphasize to my kids that the holidays are about family and making memories, not presents. We don't focus a lot on presents. At our house we do the "something you want, something you need, something to wear, and something to read" gifts. The "something you want" gift comes from Santa and the rest come from mom and dad. When I look back on Christmas's when I was a child I don't really remember what I got but I do remember spending time with grandparents, cousins, and aunts and uncles. Hopefully, that is how my kids will remember their Christmases as well.

We've settled into the quiet of January. (Well, as quiet as things get with 3 kids.) We all got lots and lots of books for Christmas so we've been doing lots of reading. My girlie has been reading some classics as well as some new books. She got a kindle for Christmas so she's taking advantage of the free classics. She's loving Little Women and the new Diary of a Wimpy Kid book. My little man is reading lots of Little Critter books and lots of the Berenstain Bears books. My oldest is reading Brian's Winter it's a sequel to Hatchet . I loved that book growing up! I'm not sure what my hubby is reading. He loves to reread books. I think he's probably reading a western novel or something by Clive Cussler. I should probably pay a little more attention to what he's reading so I can get books for him sometime, I'll work on that.
I've read a TON in the last few weeks. I've been loving anything by Sarah Jio. I got hooked on her books when I read Goodnight June (this quickly became one of my all time favorite books). It's a fun easy read. I've also read: The Rosie Effect and The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry. I loved both of them. I've already loaned them out to friends. I've read a lot of great books lately. Have you read anything good lately? I'm always up for a good book. Amazon Prime is my favorite...but it may be a little too convenient. My collection of books is already out of control.

As for my health, I would like to say that I've found the right treatment and that I feel great all the time. That's not how things are going though. I've tried a few treatments without success. I started a new one this week. I'm crossing my fingers that this will be the medication that my body needs. I'm doing my best to keep up with the kids and all their activities. I do pretty well most of the time. Of course, I have good days and bad days. Last night as I crawled into bed frustrated and exhausted because I knew I hadn't accomplished nearly what I needed to get crossed off my to-do list. My little man crawled into bed next to me and kissed me on the cheek and snuggled in right next to me. He put his arm around me and just laid there. The thought crossed my mind that I needed to quit feeling sorry for myself and that I had so many things that so many others long for. I have a beautiful home, three beautiful kids, the best husband I could ever ask for that takes such great care of me and the kids. I've got a job that I love and family close by to help and support us. I really shouldn't be whining about not crossing a few items off of my to do list. Looking forward, I'm still trying to keep up, be grateful for what I have, and just keep trying!

I've also been doing a LOT of scrapbooking and paper crafting project. I thought I'd share one of my recent favorites with you. I created this using bits and pieces of the Open Book collection and some bits and pieces from Gossamer Blue.

This is such a low quality photo but I love it and I had a story to tell about it. I love how these two collections came together.
I stitched along the edge of my layout and a few places throughout with gold thread. I LOVE how it looks.
I haven't added ink splatters to one of my projects for a while, I don't know why but I remember how much I love the look of it. My favorite gold spray ink is Heidi Swapp's Gold Lame. It's the only bottle of ink that I'm even close to running out of.
 I tried a different method for attaching my journaling strips and just stitched them right down the center. I like how it turned out.

Here are a few of the supplies that I used on this layout:
Crate Paper Maggie Holmes Open Book Chipboard
Crate Paper Maggie Holmes Open Book Chipboard Frames
Tiny Attacher
Heidi Swapp - Color Shine Iridescent Spritz - 2 Ounce Bottle - Gold Lame


I have a lot more fun projects hiding up my sleeve. I can't wait to share them with you. 

Thanks for hanging out with me today and sharing a little bit of life at our home.

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Easy Handmade Valentines

Valentines Day is just around the corner. I love making easy handmade Valentines. The Pebbles We Go Together line is just perfect for creating the perfect card for you Valentine. 
These cards are so simple. I spent less than 30 minutes on each card. I simply layered stickers on patterned papers from the 6x6 paper pad. Don't you love the accordion folded hearts on this card?
I'm going to have to order more of these, I think they're perfect even for projects that don't have a Valentines theme.
I don't make a vast number of Valentines but I do make a few special cards.
Do you make your Valentines or do you buy them?

Supplies:

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

January Design Guide

A step by step instruction sheet including supplies, photos, a sketch to create this layout by @jbckadams #scrapbook #scrapbooking #papercraft #scrapbooksketch
With the start of 2015 I set some goals for my blog. One of those goals is to bring to you more specific instructions, supply lists, and sketches. I'm excited to bring you monthly Design Guide starting with January. I will have a new design guide each month.

In these design guides you'll find:
  • completed layout
  • a supply list
  • a sketch
  • step-by-step instructions (including measurements)
I'm hoping these will be a great resource for all of you and that you'll look forward to them each month.

This is the layout I created for the January Design guide:
A step by step instruction sheet including supplies, photos, a sketch to create this layout by @jbckadams #scrapbook #scrapbooking #papercraft #scrapbooksketch

I used the Bella Blvd Max collection to create this layout. This collection is a little bit older but I love it! It's perfect for boys of all ages.

A step by step instruction sheet including supplies, photos, a sketch to create this layout by @jbckadams #scrapbook #scrapbooking #papercraft #scrapbooksketch

A step by step instruction sheet including supplies, photos, a sketch to create this layout by @jbckadams #scrapbook #scrapbooking #papercraft #scrapbooksketch

A step by step instruction sheet including supplies, photos, a sketch to create this layout by @jbckadams #scrapbook #scrapbooking #papercraft #scrapbooksketch

A step by step instruction sheet including supplies, photos, a sketch to create this layout by @jbckadams #scrapbook #scrapbooking #papercraft #scrapbooksketch
And here's the design guide: You can download it HERE so you can print it.
A step by step instruction sheet including supplies, photos, a sketch to create this layout by @jbckadams #scrapbook #scrapbooking #papercraft #scrapbooksketch
You can also get a copy of the sketch HERE
A step by step instruction sheet including supplies, photos, a sketch to create this layout by @jbckadams #scrapbook #scrapbooking #papercraft #scrapbooksketch


I think that's everything. I'm really excited about these projects. Let me know what you think and if you would please share them with a friend I would appreciate it. Also, make sure you're signed up for my newsletter so you'll know when a new design guide goes live.



(This post contains affiliate links, by purchasing items through these links you will not pay more for any of the items I will just receive a small percentage of the sale. These affiliate links help to keep my blog running and to support my family.)     
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