Every year I have intentions of participating in December Daily / Journal Your Christmas (you pay for the class once and you get access to it every year, which is awesome!!) but never actually sit down and do it.  I know one of the things that both Ali Edwards and Shimelle recommend is that you pull your supplies and/or prep your pages or titles/embellishments beforehand so that the actual album comes together much easier, faster, more efficiently.

…but I am a PROCRASTINATOR, through and through!  Even with the mental anguish and suffering I will be experiencing until the 15th of December (a.k.a. when finals are done and my semester is over!), I again plan to participate.  And this year I even went so far as to pull a basket of Christmas-themed paper and embellishments to use in my album.  And in sticking with the “no buy” rule, I am using up a bit of the HOARDE of patterned paper we all have somewhere.  Everything was bought on clearance (*yay me!*) and has been sitting in my stash since last Christmas (or possibly the Christmas before that!)

Paper: Making Memories.  I believe the line is called “Tinsel” but it’s so old that I can’t find it on the internets!!  There are 1-3 sheets of each pattern and they’re all double-sided so I have more options.

I also found embellishments from American Crafts (buttons, house embellishments) and coordinating embellishments from the Making Memories “Tinsel” line.

I plan to use a 12×12 D-ring album with both full 12×12 and divided (4×6) protectors.  I expect to have more than a few lazy days so the divided protectors are my easy way out, where I try to keep it so simple that I don’t give myself an excuse to not finish this project!  I’ll share the rest of the stuff soon – cardstock, album and protectors.

Are you participating?  Let me know and if you’re like me and have trouble following through, we can keep each other on task!!  Happy December!

lovies, =o) kel

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Scraps After Thanksgiving Specials 2011

click the “shop” link at the top to see our brand-spankin, no-frills shop.  not because we’re cool like that, but because this mama and computer code do NOT mesh well.

specials good through the 30th and there are limited quantities so shop now!!

I know it’s not quite the end of 2011 but for me, reflections on this year came early. Its probably because I’m registering for next semester’s classes tomorrow and still trying, after my 3rd semester back in college, to find balance. I think the bulk of it has to do with the fact that I’m not really happy with the way this year is ending… Lots of regrets on the “I should-a, could-a, would-a” front.

Home/Family -
* I should-a been there more for my kids. I know this is probably on a lot of parent’s lists, but it’s definitely on mine.
* I could-a been more diligent about cleaning and cooking. We ate out way too often and lived with too much mess too frequently.
* I would-a done more handmade gifts, more arts & crafts, more game nights with them.

Me
* I should-a stuck to my diet! I’m NOT happy to report that I haven’t really lost any weight, but at least I haven’t gained significantly, right?
* I could-a done with less tutoring hours! While it’s good to have a small, but steady income from tutoring 15-18 hours a week, it’s exhausting!!
* I would-a spent more time in my garden and tried really hard to cut back our grocery bill, at least the fresh foods portion of it!

Biz/School
* I should-a taken more time to work on business things and balanced it with school a little bit better. My counselor said they recommend students live by a 60 hour rule, meaning you should try to total school and work hours to 60 hours a week. Every class counts as 10 hours, so 3×10=30 hours of school, leaving me with 30 hours for work. In reality, I put around 15-18 hours tutoring + 40-50 hours of work alone during the busy months. My family and sleep suffer for it!
* I could-a spread out my seasonal work over the course of the year instead of procrastinating (as usual!!) and jamming all the work out in 5-6 months.
* I would-a spent more time working on making my ideas come to life… So many new things I want to do and kinds I want to expand on but no time to do it because I procrastinated!

I spent the past few days thinking about all of my should-a, could-a, would-a’s and rewrote my life’s plan, from the day-to-day to the short term, even to the long term.  and while I know I can’t expect it to be set in stone, it’s a start and a step in a much better direction!  And one of the main ones is that I’m done ignoring this blog!

lovies, =o) kel

(click image to see bigger)

the Christmas card class on Wed, Nov 16th will feature papers from the Doodlebug – Santa’s Workshop line.  SUPER bright colors and the typical fun Doodlebug prints!!!  It’s a 10 cards-for-$10 class and everything is precut, so all you need to bring is adhesive and scissors.  Go to Ben Franklin Mapunapuna to register.  Hope to see you there!!

lovies, =o) kel

Only one class this month, sorry!!

here’s the link: November Calendar

Christmas cards this month, hope you can make it!!

We’ll also be at the Aiea HS Craft Fair this Saturday, 11/05, as well as the Rubberstamp & Scrapbook Expo @ the Blaisdell on Sunday 11/06.

I believe that this is the LAST Rubberstamp Expo we will be doing this year (I think the next one we can make is in Feb) so make sure you come see us!!  We have a TON of stuff 50% off, and hopefully (crossing my fingers!!) a whole bunch of extreme value stuff will be here… all 50% (or more!) off the retail price!!  If you can’t make it, I will be listing the “leftovers” on this blog, first come, first serve!!

This will be a super busy week… but hope to see you this weekend!!

lovies, =o) kel

here’s the link:  Paa October Calendar

We are doing Halloween treats and Halloween cards, see the calendar for dates and details!

Hope to see you there!

lovies, =o) kel

…but we’re not on it!! lol.  there was a mixup and we didn’t make it onto the calendar this month, but we WILL be having classes.

Wednesday, August 17 from 430-6pm – Card Class, Back-to-School themed.  Make 10 cards for $10.

Saturday, August 20 from 430-7pm – Open Crop – Teacher gifts.  Bring your own supplies and projects to work on.  I will provide a couple make and takes and bring bigger tools like the big shot and dies/embossers.

hope to see you there!

lovies,

=o) kel

this week has been about clouds for some not-so-odd reason.  i have a fascination with clouds, especially their texture.

and when we renovate, i’m definitely putting in a photography studio… or at least a wall or two that i can decorate to my heart’s content.

(source)

yup, my fascination with clouds is definitely a good thing.

lovies, =o) kel

here’s the link.

this month we’re doing christmas cards with non-christmas themed paper and something tbd for crop night.  still have to figure that out!!

hope to see you there!

lovies, =o) kel