{creative cents}

project {life}... week 1

2012-02-01T07:05:00.000-06:00

Here is my first week of 2012. It was my birthday and we went to the Wisconsin Dells for a few days. I love collecting tidbits from the everyday and including them in my album.

For this layout I included a card from the outlet store where I did some birthday shopping, a map of the water park/hotel where we stayed, and a piece of the brochure from Uno's where we ate.

I had extra pictures that I wanted to include, so I added an 8.5x11 insert page.
For the insert page, I added 4 photos on some Kraft cardstock and embellished the bottom.

On the other side of the insert of added a picture that Little Bit colored in the kids area at the hotel. How is your scrapbooking going so far this year?!

{love}ly hutch...

2012-01-31T21:00:00.004-06:00

I love finding new ways to use pieces I have around the house when decorating for the holidays. Example....jars!

I pinned this idea from The Pleated Poppy and knew it was just the Valentine's touch my kitchen hutch needed!

I used doilies I had leftover from making my heart garland, cut some pink hearts out using my Cricut and then wrapped twine around the jar, securing the doily in place. I simply tied the twine tight at the back of the jar.

I also saw this idea recently and thought it looked cute! I had a small white plate that I wasn't using for anything, so I broke out my red permanent marker and got to making x's. I think it turned out pretty {love}ly! ;)

And for no money I added some {love} to my kitchen!

{check} this out...snow books

2012-01-26T20:58:00.008-06:00

Well we haven't had much snow but the little we did made a big pile in our yard, driveway and street! So we have been enjoying a few snow books from the library.
Lucille's Snowsuit by Kathryn Lasky

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

I Love Snow by Hans Wilhelm

Snowmen All Year by Caralyn Buehner

There Was a Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow! by Lucille Colandro
Little Bit and Daddy had fun playing in the snow.

Various snowman activities...dot to dot, color by number, sorting, decorate a snowman.

Little Bit used a different colored crayon to go between each number on her dot to dot snowman! She said it was her rainbow snowman! ;)

For lunch one day we made a snowman sandwich! {and the plate was empty afterwards....I love when that happens!}

project {life}... title page

2012-01-25T22:19:00.004-06:00

With my kit all prepped and my station set up....I was ready to scrap! I really wanted to order some of the Design A pocket pages from Project Life but everytime I checked they were out of stock. So I decided to just use what I had on hand instead....which were divided page protectors with 6 - 4x6 slots from American Crafts.
I had so much fun putting this title page together. I love that it showcases our family. I saw several layouts where a playing card was included, with the number representing the people in their family. I {loved} using the 3 of hearts!

I really love this concept Becky Higgins developed and love checking out her blog for tons of inspiration! You should too! ;)

heart garland...

2012-01-24T07:11:00.000-06:00

Not that we have a had a very harsh winter so far but I am so ready for it to be over....so I decided to take the snowmen down the other day and put up the Valentines decor! I pretty much used what I had from last year just adding a few new things. I like it light and simple though...so it works!
I did want to add something to this mirror though like I did at Christmas with the picture garland. I had pinned this idea and thought it would be just the simple touch I needed!

I was excited to find these heart shaped paper doilies in the Target dollar section.

I cut out some pink hearts using my Cricut. Then I mounted them on the heart doilies using pop dots.
Then I used some red and white bakers twine to string the hearts together.

And voila...just the touch it needed!

Menu Plan Monday

2012-01-23T06:58:00.001-06:00

Monday ~ honey teriyaki salmon, green beans, rice

Tuesday ~ crock pot pork chops, mashed potatoes, salad

Wednesday ~ gingerbread waffles, sausage, fruit

Thursday ~ pasta, salad, bread

Friday ~ chicken fajitas, chips & salsa, refried beans

Linking up with Org Junkie...check them out for more recipes

project {life}...work station

2012-01-22T22:03:00.005-06:00

I was so excited to get started with the my project life style of scrapbooking for 2012. As I mentioned a couple weeks ago I got this Simple Stories kit Year-o-graphy for my birthday. I broke it out the other night and started some prep work. I cut up 2x3 cards and 4x6 cards and left some sheets whole to cut bits and pieces from as needed.

I thought I might need some more cardstock to add in with what I got in my kit to make it last as long as possible....all year hopefully! So I checked out a local scrapbook store that is closing at the end of the month to see if I could find some coordinating papers....and I did...
I picked up several solid card stock sheets and then a few designer papers. So I have some Echo Park {Season's Greetings}, My Mind's Eye {Lime Twist} and October Afternoon {Thrift Shop} to mix in with my kit.
I decided to set up a {station} so all my supplies would be in one place. So I rearranged some stuff in order to clear off this little desk in my craft space.
I love this old sewing drawer I recently got at an antique mall. It is filled with my date stamp, ink pad, pen, tags, adhesive and pics! Now I'm ready to get scrapin'!

FREE {organized simplicity} & 2012 book list...

2012-01-17T15:50:00.005-06:00

One of my goals for 2012 is to read more! Those who know me personally, know that before I had Little Bit I worked at the local library for 6 years! I love books but I just don't make enough time to read. It would take me months to get through a book. Well I have a long list of books fiction and nonfiction that I would like to read so I decided to make reading more of a priority this year. I have been setting aside time most nights to read before going to bed. Here a few of the books on my list...

A Turn in the Road {currently reading}

The Help

The Best of Me

David: Seeking a Heart Like His {currently reading}

Grace for the Good Girl

One Thousand Gifts

Organized Simplicity {You can get a free Kindle Edition on Amazon.com right now! Don't have a Kindle, don't worry. I have the Kindle app on my phone and that's how I read the electronic books I get for free. There is also a PC version you can download.}

The Perfectly Imperfect Home

We will see how far I get with this list and if anything else gets added to it! I for sure know there will be more decorating books added to this list once we get into our new house!

What are you reading or hope to read this year?

Labels for Education

2012-01-17T15:20:00.004-06:00

I recently received a sampling of products from Meijer. These are just a few of the many participating products in the program Labels for Education. This program is similar to Boxtops where you collect labels from products and turn them in for points at the school of your choice to earn educational products.

Just a handful of the participating products are pictured here....Glad, Campbell's soups, Emerald snacks, Post cereals and even select magazines like Real Simple! Check out a complete list of participating products here.

Here is an example of what the labels look like. This was on the can of Campbell's Select Harvest soup...and is worth 5 points. Just clip the label and turn them into your school so they can start earning freebies through this great program!

finishing up 2011...

2012-01-16T22:40:00.004-06:00

This past weekend I attended an overnight crop with a few friends. We had a blast and I completed 19 12x12 pages! I was so excited to complete my album for 2011! So I thought I would share a couple of my favorite layouts I put together...

I had several random pics of Little Bit and some of her friends enjoying activities together over the summer. I decided to throw them all in one layout and title it {summer fun}.

I really liked these yellow letter stickers but didn't have enough to complete my title...I almost didn't use them. Then the idea hit me to use the leftover part of the sticker. Once you peel the letter off there is a little colored border still on the sheet. So I cut around it and tada...outline letters! I love how it turned out!

This layout took me a little while to complete but I love it!!! I used a layout I had found in a scrapbooking magazine as inspiration and got to work cutting....{I cut out alot for this layout, but it was well worth it!} Most of the papers I used where from a fall paper pack I had found in Target's dollar section a while back.

I free-handed a large and small pumpkin to use as patterns, then used the different patterned paper to create the finished pumpkins. The leaves were cut from a full 12x12 sheet of paper with leaves all over it. I also cut out little triangles to use for the banner on the far right.

Sometimes it is fun to create a layout that you really throw yourself into, with lots of different elements but sometimes it is nice to complete a simple, no brainer page as well. That is how I felt about my last page. When I found this Amy Tangerine paper, I instantly fell in love with it...the colors, the camera and the stitching! :D I let it do the work for me on this layout. I just added the purple paper strip for the pictures and the FRIENDS title to complete the page!

Now I am excited to start my project life style scrapbooking for 2012! What are you plans for scrapping in the new year?