Some one has too much Halloween in her house...

Sorry about last week.  We were fighting our internet provider and had them out here in person for a total of 24 hours plus many calls to figure out what was going on.  It is kind of hard to sit down and write about crafts when you want to throttle half the people you are talking to.

So, this week, I am going to make two posts about what I did last week.  Mostly because my first album ever will take so many pictures to get through.  I am very excited about how this turned out and it really was super easy using the "Brenda" method of album making!  I even used some basic Scotch tape in there!  If you are curious, go and watch MayMay's video.   For some reason they took down part 3 (I think it was because it was blurry) but you get all of the techniques and ideas.

The first part I wanted to share is the small album I made to go into one of the pages.  This is so stinkin' cute, I just want to make it over and over again!

 I was so excited, I even inked the edges where I tore them!  This collection had a few matching washi sets, sticker book and die cuts.  I went super stupid, I bought all of it!

 You can kind of see the page it slides into above this picture.  I was trying to show what the inside really looked like.  I added the "bookmark" cut-a-part so you would have a little tab to pull it in and out of the page band more easily.  The cover circle and the pumpkin circle were fussy cut out of one of the 12x12 pages.

 I wanted to show more of the sizes of the pages and how I alternated the print sides.  The orange spider is also another sticker from the book.










The coffin cut-a-part was just too cute to not use here! 










The back of my mini album.  Washi and stickers!  I know, I just can't contain how happy I am about this little guy!





I just can't believe that turned out at all!  Having never done anything like this before, I am just so surprised that it turned out so well!  Since this is a gypsy journal kind of thing, I had to try really hard to make sure I was adding in things that were kind of rough in texture.

On to the journal flip through.  So I took pictures to show you what it looks like when you turn the page and what the "action" for each page is.  There are so many hidden embellishments in this album, I wanted to share some of them.  This is part of the reason that this post is so picture heavy  and why I am splitting my post for last week into two posts this week!

First up we have the front cover.  This is pretty basic.  We have some cut-a-parts in a pocket.

The first page flip brings us here to a waterfall and "belly band" with pull outs.  I tried to mat everything that was a pull out or a "photo spot".  Some are matted with pattern paper and others with black or orange (had to keep with the colors) cardstock.

Page flip two brings you to another pocket with pull outs and also a waterfall with four matted pages.  You can kind of see the mat that is also under the waterfall.  The waterfall page was my first journal/album page ever made.  I am super excited about it still!

Flip three brings up my mini book and a side pocket.  I really wish I had put the pocket facing the other way, but...  Still works and it still super cute!

Our last flip three brings us to a double pocket with journal/photo spots and a flip out spot.  There are three directional flips and a final photo spot on the bottom.

Our back cover!  Okay, not overly exciting, but here it is!

Thank you guys for staying with me as I went through this.  I won't post such detailed pictures for a journal again.  I am just so excited with how this turned out. 

I hope you guys enjoyed my album and I will be back later this week to update you on the rest of what has been going on here!

Hugs and kisses!

Baby Sitting, Crafting and My Sad TV

Hey guys, I am very late getting this post up this week, but it has been nuts over here.  I mentioned a few weeks ago that I would be babysitting my grandson...  Let me just tell you, a smart 3 year old makes for a very interesting day...  By no means is he a bad kid, quite the contrary, he is very well behaved.  He is smart enough to negotiate, asks questions that are very advanced, considers his options and makes a choice (FYI, because of this he doesn't regret his lunch choices seconds after they are made)...  He is very active and interested in EVERYTHING.  You can't so much as read a pattern without being asked about it, how it is made, what color it would be...  Why do you need scissors and a paper cutter?  Like I said, interesting. 

He hasn't stopped my crafting, but it is harder to get things done.  Everything is so much slower.  He found it amazing that the girl on the TV had the same product that I was using (the washi tape sheet I made) and just couldn't stop talking about it for 10 minutes until one of the cats ran through the room with a toy in his mouth.  The only other thing he said about my washi was asking if he could have a piece to tape 2 pieces of pine straw onto a ball...  If it makes you happy...

So...  Yeah...

On with the whole reason I have any readers here...  What have I worked on from my craft horde...

Lets start with my current progress on my Dr Who Scarf.  I am almost 75% done.  It is taking a long time because I haven't had much time to sit and knit in front of the computer.  I have been trying to weave in my ends as I work it up.  I am weaving in about ever 100-150 or so rows.  So that is making it slower to knit but I know I will be so glad that I did it that way when it is done.  There are A LOT of ends to weave in here!

I used Tater Tot's (grandson) nap time to work on this S'more softie.  Like I said last week, since the yarn was already down here from the Burger Hat, I just couldn't resist make him.  I wish his mouth were a little more centered, but obviously that doesn't bother Tater Tot at all!  He spent all day Monday running around with it.  He had lunch with him; he slept with him; he posed for a picture for Grandpa with it; he didn't let it go until it was time for Daddy to come and pick him up.  Grandma had to explain that he needed to be entered into a contest before he could take it home.  He was excited and asked if Grandma would win. 

The pattern for the S'more Softie is S'more Kawaii Cuddler by 3amgracedesigns.  Go and check them out, they have a lot more on their site!  I kinda want to make the unicorn one for my granddaughter (Nilla Wafer).  That way they both get to have something they like.

On to paper crafts...  So, I do get the Simon Says Stamp kits.  Mostly because I like the stamps they come with.  I am not counting them towards my annual budget because I had already subed before I started my challenge, however, I don't get every single one.  I finally pulled out the spring kit (as opposed to the Easter kit) and got some cards knocked out.  While I love the stamp sets it came with, I really didn't use them.  I used one on a tag sticker.  For the most part, I am pretty happy with how these have turned out.  I don't know what to do with them.  I might see if someone wants to buy them off of me.  I have enough scrap paper to do another card or two, but I haven't had time to get those finished as of yet.

One of the things I tend to impulse buy has been washi tape.  It is so pretty, goes on sale regularly BUT, I don't know what to use it for...  I add it to cards, envelopes and sometimes my planner, but let's be honest, that isn't using very much at any time.  I was watching a video on covering notepads with it, but to me that just doesn't seem very durable.  The tape is very low tack tape so over time I seen problems with handling coming up.  I decided that I would take some card stock (I used my Neenah 65 lb) and covered that.  I will then cut it down to turn it into covers for some pads I already have but I will laminate them first.  That way I can also have some over hang compared to the card-stock covers I did last year.  I was also thinking of turning a few into some laminated bookmarks so I can get my post-it-notes out of my books.  I am rather pleased with how these turned out and even thought I didn't finish a single roll out of what I worked with, I did use a lot of it!

As a side note.  Last year I went to IKEA twice and picked up some of their washi both times.  I used a lot of it in this project so far.  I would just like to say WOW!  It is some of the best quality washi I have ever worked with!  Not only did it not shred while pulling it off the roll, but it laid down so well!  If you are planning an IKEA trip in the near future...  Go check it out in their stationary section!


My last thing this week was starting my first ever album.  I am using the tutorial videos from MayMay Helm's Youtube channel.  Brenda Album is the series she explains the name and who Brenda is and where the style of the album comes from.  I haven't made much progress.  I just got my pages and covers...covered...?...  Yep, that is right...  Any who!  I am doing Halloween because I have boxes and boxes of Halloween craft and decor stuff in my stash.  I am using a lot of the stuff from the Michael's Recollections Dead and Breakfast set from 2017.  This is another thing that I way over bought because I didn't know how much I would actually use because I am fairly new to paper crafting and I really do love card making.  I will be coming back to this collection for my Halloween cards in the fall.  I really do like it, but I have 3 12x12 pads and 3 6x6 pads.  So, I will have a lot of crafting to do before I can feel like I have made progress on this collection in my stash!

I am excited about this, but I am leary too.  This is something that is way far outside of my comfort zone in so many ways, not just the loose way it is constructed.


Finally, I do have have a funny situation to share with you guys...  So a few of you know that even though you can't tell, I do exercise here at the house on a regular basis...  I love videos that keep me motivated and videos that are build-able.  Well, for years, I have used a giant 30" tube TV.  I have had this old analogue delight since my sophomore year of college.  This is an OLD TV...  Well, I use a cheap DVD player with it...  A few weeks ago my oldest stepson came to get the dresser this set up was sitting on.  He went to pull the TV down, but he didn't realize it was attached to anything.  My DVD player went falling down...  Like I said, this thing was cheap ($15 from Wal-Mart cheap) so it of course broke. 

My beloved, tech keen husband has been nagging me to get a small "updated" TV to go up there...  I finally relented because we had a old up convert DVD player in our bedroom that we never use...  That way I can finish fixing that room up...  Well... this old DVD player is about 5 years old...  We haven't really used it for 3 years...  Guess what...  It is dead too...

So in the end, I ended up spending $200 for what could have been fixed for $15 but would have left me 18 years in the past (this TV was old even when I bought it)...  I am still a little salty, my old TV didn't bother me...  It was also kind of funny because it just wouldn't die.  That old Samsung has been dropped, treated like crap and abused for the last...  I don't know...  15 years...  It still worked.  Just since we have been married we have had 3 new TVs die on us, but this 500 pound silver brick still worked...

I know it isn't a knee slapper, but I still think it is funny.  Not to mention that the guy at Best Buy just about had a heart attack when he found out that I was being so obstinate about this TV...  How can you possibly watch TV on a TV that old...  "Well, it works..."

Oh well, on wards and up wards! 

Take care and I pick up next week!

What happened last week?!

After last Tuesday, I am really not sure what I did with my week.  I will be honest...  It was a blur!  Paint flying, cleaning...  Wait, I think I had a burger in there...  Yeah, last week was not a normal week for our household.

Before Painting

As I said in my first blog post, we moved last year.  We actually closed on April 1st (LOL!  Still cracks me up!) and moved in on the 12th.  Last week, I painted the last part of the house that had to be painted.  Well, the last place I could figure out a color for...  My master bath is still unpainted and I can't figure out a color other than pink or coral that will tie sea glass blue and green to olive green...

My poor husband had a devil of a time trying to get things prepped for painting.  Once he got started, he started to notice a lot of things that weren't done well or needed more work than we thought.  For starters, someone along the way painted over wall paper...  So every time you need to patch a hole, say for instance where ancient, primordial security system panels were...  You have to contend with the wall paper.  When you are spackling the nail and screw holes, you realize there is a huge gap in the texture of the wall from the seam of wall paper...  If a new door frame went in after the wall paper was hung, you might have bunching from moisture and pressure...  Just some of the issues he encountered while trying to do the prep work in the foyer...

After Painting

It took 1 1/2 weeks for him to fix all of those kinds of things while I patiently waited to get the paint on the walls.  A lot of time was spent waiting for things to dry and cure before getting paint up.  A lot of in-between cleaning was done to keep wall dust in the house at a minimum...  It took me almost the projected 2 weeks to finish up, but...  It is done!  The last rooms were done exactly 1 year and 1 day after closing.  Of course I had 3 days of clean up afterwards...  Not all due to painting, but... LIFE!


Because we haven't fully gotten settled into the new house, my guest room and "workout" room both have had things just shoved in for storage.  I am not saying that I got those fully organized, but I did make some headway towards having those room "clean".  I can at least vacuum and dust those rooms now.  I did realize while making progress, we need to have a garage sale.  We own a lot of stuff that we have little to no use for...  That is a project for another day...

But you guys don't read my blog for my painting stories, regardless of how relatable they are.  You come here more or less for the crafty goodness that comes out of my down time. 

Let's start with paper since I only did one paper based craft this week.  My grandfather's wife sent my brother down with a horde of crafty supplies a few weeks ago.  She has always been a wonderful grandmother and friend!  Always super generous and she didn't fail to be generous in this gift either.  She needed a Thank You card right away!  So, I made her one!  I forgot to take a picture of it put together, but I did get a bad picture of the two panels.  You can at least see where I was going with the shabby chic Thank You card.

I brought down my bin for hexies and got a handful done.  I thought I had 300 of them upstairs in the craft room, but when I took my new bundle up (hip hip hooray for 100 hexies done), that made 300, so I have at least another 100 left to go...  Here is what I got done though.  I did a happy dance all the way up the stairs to drop them in the stack.

I also had an afternoon where I was able to sit down and make a kid's burger hat...  You might ask yourself why I would make a burger hat...  The answer is simple.  It was there and I liked it!  Come on!  This pattern is epic in its simplicity and fun factor!  The pattern is The Cheeseburger Hat by Devin Lynch.  Go and grab your hooks and get too hooking ladies and gents!  This was so much fun to crank out!

Since I finished the Plum Pudding blanket 2 weeks ago, I needed a new "Car" project.  I went up and grabbed one of the 14 balls of Lion Brand Pound of Love <insert eye roll for the stupid amount of this yarn I own> to start my next baby blanket for Birth Right.  Since I have at least 2 in this colorway I will most likely make hat, booties and/or a sweater to match.  I will keep them all super simple in the garter stitch pattern. 

This isn't the last time Pound of Love will make an appearance though.  I already printed a pattern for a crocheted ripple wave blanket for some of the pinks and whites.  I know I have a ripple wave bonnet pattern somewhere too.

Last night I had this this kawaii cutie come across my Facebook feed.  I just happened to notice that aside from white, all of the colors were already down in the living room as leftovers from working on the Cheeseburger Hat.  So while we watched Justice League (meh-not a bad start, but not nearly as good as Wonder Woman) I went ahead and got started on it.  I have my grandson all week, so in the afternoons I have a feeling I will get some work done on it.  Smore Kawaii Cuddler will be fairly easy to just work on during breaks.

I think that wraps up my crafty work for the last two weeks.  Not much got done on the Dr Who Scarf or even cleaning in the craft room...  The last week really was dedicated to working around my house and trying to make our house more organized.

I ended March with only adding $15 to my total spent.  I found some 6x6 pads on sale/clearance for under $2 a pad.  They were all solids so I went for it.  My year total spent has been $30.25.  I did make $20 by selling some slippers.  I am holding on to it to decided as to whether or not I will give it to myself as a bonus spend at the end of the year.

I hope you all have a wonderful week!  Blessings to you all!