Tutus&GlueDots

Project 366

2012-02-23T06:28:00.001-08:00

So I’m updating my project 366. I am still using these prompts by fatmumslim.

And here are the details

17:Time

Kept it simple. I wore a watch this day. I don’t always, so I lucked out.

18:(birthday)drink

We headed to the Cheesecake factory for my birthday this past weekend. I ordered a Pomegranate Margarita. Yummmm, it was so good.

19:Something I hate to do

Don’t really like using the word hate, but I went with it here. As I said, I just got a new printer and I had to get everything calibrated so my photos would print out the way they were on the screen. Here is a few of the prints I made. What a headache.

20:Handwriting

I went with Alyson’s and mine. I will especially like looking a this a few years from now, when I am SURE her printing will be MUCH neater – ha!

21:a favorite photo of my

I would say this is a favorite recent photo.

22:where I work

Scenes from my classroom. Basically, my second home.

Thanks for stopping in!

Michelle

Project Life|Week Three

2012-02-21T20:56:00.001-08:00

So this weekend I was very excited to get ahead and catch up with Project Life. Well, it didn’t happen. My printer decided to die. And it waited until I purchased NEW cartridges – ugh! Well, my birthday money went towards a new printer. YAY! Would have rather bought something frivolous, but without my hobby of creating, I would not stay sane – LOL!

So after a bunch of stress with getting things just the way I like them, I created.

This one is an oddity, in that it has quite a lot of photos of me – ha! Not sure why, but I was obviously feeling rather sassy that week.

the bottom photo of Alyson is a favorite. I couldn’t leave well enough alone and had to embellish it a bit. you can barely see it, but there is a AE Silhouette cut that says Hello Life.

The week 3 cut is from my freebies, you can get yours here. There was a sheet of circles in the CC package and it inspired me to make this banner. I also used my new Martha Stewart stickers.

Love the color combo that I used this week. Links for “stuff” I used are below! thanks for stopping in!

Michelle

InLinkz.com

Catching Up

2012-02-20T22:44:00.001-08:00

Hey there! I plan on playing some “catch-up” on the blog this week. I have had some photos on the back burner, and am only getting to them now.

A couple weeks ago, Alyson had her school Open House. I took place on a Saturday morning. I guess this was the first year they tried it this way, so we were interested to see what it was all about.

We got there right at 10am. It turned out to be perfect timing, I was able to get a photo of Alyson at her desk without getting in anyone’s way.

Alyson and her teacher. It is a little overexposed. I tried a new editing program and didn’t bother fixing it.

Alyson with some of her friends.

We hung out in her classroom for a bit, then headed on out to the fun stuff. There were two huge bouncer/slides. There were some booths set up for small businesses to promote themselves. I thought about doing something for my photography, but I am not quite prepared yet. maybe next year.

Alyson said it was the best Open House ever! Ha! I would have to agree, the free food, small community feeling, and fun was definitely a blast.

and since I am trying to get in more photos, Mike took this one of the two of us.

And one in color

I like this one because of her goofy smile!

And this one. I don’t often post too many photos of them together, but I couldn’t resist this one! She loves her dad!

That’s all for now. I have a new week of PL coming up and maybe more. we will see!

have a great day!

Michelle

Project 366

2012-02-16T23:10:00.001-08:00

*editing this to add*this is the photo a day prompt that I am following.

So this week things were pushed back a bit, but I am posting my Photos for Project 366.

Here are my little tidbits behind each photo.

DAY 8|morning SUN

I took this one while dropping off Alyson at school. The sun was so bright and pretty, I couldn’t resist.

DAY 9|FRONT DOOR

Just a bit of my front door.

DAY 10|SELF-PORTRAIT

took this blurry photo in my bathroom before work. I look a little green, but it did the job.

DAY 11|MAKES ME HAPPY

Alyson and I enjoying the morning watching t.v. on our new and comfy couch.

DAY 12|MY scrap CLOSET

I went with the safe one here. This is a peak at my closet scraproom after putting together a PL spread.

DAY 13|BLUEberries

something blue was not easy, but when I opened up the fridge, I saw these beauties. Perfect!

DAY 14|HEARTs

Of course I couldn’t pick only one heart item, so I picked my favorites.

Top left (all my Brighton heart charms.the red and white ones were a birthday gift from alyson)

Top right(heart shaped pasta in a heart shaped bowl)

Bottom left(my free birthday coffee with a lovely heart)

Bottom right(gifts from my kiddies)

DAY 15|workPHONE

I didn’t take a photo of my iphone. Instead, I opted for my classroom phone. Made it black and white to make it a bit more interesting.

DAY 16|NEW

Opened my new Primer this morning. I LOVE this stuff. Couldn’t imagine my make-up routine without it!

Ahhh….glad I am still plugging along. Hoping to make the most of this 3 day weekend and catch up on some PL weeks. Not making any promises to myself, but I will try.

Have a wonderful day!

Michelle

Project Life|Week Two

2012-02-16T06:32:00.001-08:00

Good Morning! I finally can post my Project Life week 2 spread. Lisa over at 2 peas asked if I would contribute to her monthly class for project life, so of course I said yes. So this has been on the backburner for awhile. Here it is…

The photo on the right with the sunset, is actually in a smaller, clear page protector. It is part of the Martha Stewart line from staples.

Here it is without the mini photo. I used a lot of Pink Paislee, Daily Junque on this layout.

Here is the back of the photo. It is an assignment that Alyson completed in her computer class. It fit in there nicely.

I stitched a hear with bakers twine.

A note from Alyson fit perfectly into the 3x4 pocket.

Journaling is hidden underneath.

To check out Lisa’s class for the month, click here.

Have a wonderful day!

Michelle

Happy Valentine’s day

2012-02-14T06:01:00.001-08:00

A real quick post for you today. There will be more project life this week.

Had a mini shoot with Alyson yesterday. It took all of 7 minutes! I will be back to share the rest.

For now, leaving you to spend my day with some hyper 6 year olds. Will be celebrating my birthday with my girl, and then watching some good tv. Oh yes, must get my free Starbucks today!

Have a great day!

Michelle

Project Life Downloads

2012-02-09T06:21:00.001-08:00

Hey there! Just popping in to share the Silhouette cuts I made. I completed week 2 through 8. Just click on the photo to go to the link. Enjoy!

Let me know if there are any downloading issues!

Have a great day!

Michelle

Project 366|February

2012-02-08T06:05:00.001-08:00

Hi there! I mean to have some PL downloads today, but I hit a snag with them, so hopefully will fix that tonight and have them ready tomorrow. For now, I thought I would share a new week of photos. (Trying to stay on top of this).

Here are the “stories” behind the photos.

Day One|My View

I wasn’t sure what to take a photo of for this one. I didn’t want my typical photo of Alyson doing something, or me, because let’s face it, 90% of the photos here will be just that.

So instead, I took it of an author that came to visit our school. She was great!

Day Two|Words

My kiddos write in their journals daily. I often get some nice entries about me. I never document them, but this time it worked out perfectly.

Day Three|Hands

I was creative with this one, right? Ha! I “made” Alyson do this as we were walking into school. I think she just agreed to get me to stop bugging her. Turns out, I LOVE this photo. Thinking of doing something with it.

Day Four|A Stranger

Okay, this was a tough one. I really didn’t want to invade anyone’s privacy by posting their face on the internet (that I don’t know). So while at the mall, we stopped to get Alyson some candy. This woman was stocking the See’s candy shelves. Perfect! I love their uniforms

Day Five|10:00

If you look closely, I took this photo at 10:01. I was in the process of editing photos.

Day Six|Dinner

I made a yummy Chicken salad for myself.

Day Seven|Buttons

Ummm, I have a HUGE jar of buttons. I just zoomed in real tight and took this photo. Love how colorful it is.

That’s it! Thanks for stopping in! Hope to be back with some downloads tomorrow!

Have a great Day!

Michelle

Lazy Mom Tip

2012-02-07T06:11:00.001-08:00

Hey there! I have a real quick post today. While I was organizing my DVD’s, I came across my handy dandy hair box. What’s a hair box you may ask? Let me show you.

It’s this red hat box that I keep downstairs. It use to sit on the coffee table ~~open and filled to the brim~~ all organized and cute, and now it has it’s own home in our new wall unit.

You see, I live in a two story townhouse, so there is a lot of going up and down the stairs. In the morning while getting ready, it stinks when we are ready to go and then I realize that I need to comb Alyson’s hair. The last thing we want to do is run upstairs. So, the Hair Keeper was invented.

I have all the essentials I may need. Rubber bands, flowers (for the last minute accessory), bobby pins, lotion (not for your hair).

Here is a different view of what I have in there. Detangler (can’t forget), safety pins (Alyson often needs her clothes pinned).

This hat box is a lifesaver when we are in a rush. I still try to do her hair upstairs, but it doesn’t always happen.

Just a little tip from me. I will be back tomorrow with some downloads!

Have a great day!

Michelle

Valentine Décor & CHA

2012-02-05T23:32:00.001-08:00

Hi there! What a full weekend we had here. Started out with a very relaxing Friday evening watching Matilda, and then falling asleep on the couch – ha! Alyson also had her open house this weekend which was exciting and she loved it (maybe it was the bouncy houses they had?). We also did some organizing of all the DVD’s we had. And of course, today, trying to get caught up with everyday stuff while Alyson is with her dad.

I am not sure that I succeeded in organizing everything I wanted, but I did manage to take a couple photos of some Valentine Décor we have up. Take a looksie!

So this is right as you come in. I don’t have a mantle, so I decorate every spot I can. This is one of those areas. The bear is a gift from Alyson last year, I have to include it in my décor.

I made these last year. I believe I had them in a cake plate. I like to change things up each year. I had to crop in close because of all the strings I didn’t cut off – ha!!

I made these last year for the Glue Arts blog. I had forgotten about them until now. Love happy surprises.

These garlands were fun to put together. I used some old Making Memories Valentine paper. The hearts were made by using an idea I saw on Pinterest. I did change it a bit, I like the was it came out.

I love that I can see this when I walk down the stairs in the morning. Reminds me that my birthday is near – hehehe!

And before I go, I know I have mentioned that I am no longer designing for any Scrapbooking Companies (for now), so I didn’t get to make it to CHA this year. I did realize I still had some work at the show. Look here.

See that Create banner? I made it! It was for the Summer CHA show. It was fun to see it on the Pink Paislee blog! They are a wonderful company and great to work for! Click here to see the rest of the booth tour!

Thanks for stopping in!

Oh, and for those that were wondering what kit I used for my title page. Here it is.

Have a wonderful day!

Michelle

Project Life|Week One

2012-02-02T22:24:00.001-08:00

Hi there! Happy Friday(almost)! I am sooo glad the weekend is almost here! I just want to thank you all for the PL cover love. It means a lot to me!

I finally got around to photographing my first week spread so here it is.

Not sure why it looks a bit crooked? Ahh, well, you get the idea.

So this first week, I decided to try my hand at making my own Silhouette cut. It took a few tries (like 500) until I finally got it where I wanted it. Now it’s done and I think I am going to use it for now! (I have the download link below for you to use if you’d like).

There were a couple large photos of Alyson’s play date that I wanted to use, so I went ahead and placed them across the top of the 2 page spread.

My poor girl was sick at the end of the week and although it was not fun, I documented it. I wanted to journal about it so I used one of the Becky Higgins journal cards.

Here is the inside. I threw in a photo that got lost in the shuffle.

And here is the Week one Silhouette cut. Just click on the photo. Let me know if you use it! I plan on making more this weekend (like more than one week at a time-ha!)

Have a wonderful day!

Michelle

One Month Down

2012-01-31T23:11:00.001-08:00

Yay! 31 days of taking a photo everyday! LOVE it! I have had fun putting this together and I love the entire month completed.

The full spread! And here are the close ups.

And here are the “stories” behind the photos

Day 25: Something I made

I wanted to take a photo of something scrappy, but while at work, I spied this guy. I made this school house/tissue box my second year of teaching. My kiddos get a kick out of the fact that it is a tissue box.

Day 26: Color

My original plan for this was to take photos of ROYGBIV, but non of my apps had enough “windows” to work them all in. So this is what I settled for.

*a huge apple my mom gave me

*My Amy Butler teacher bag

*My wallet

*Crayons of course

*and my sandals – love California Winters. And my feet are not that tan, the app did that – ha!

Day 27: Lunch

Self explanatory

Day 28: Light

This one came courtesy of Mike. It was the weekend and I knew I was spending the day at home. I wasn’t sure what I would be taking a photo of and then Mike texted me this photo – ummm – perfect!

Day 29: In my fridge

this one came at the perfect time, I had veggies in my crispers – ha!

Day 30: Nature

Took this one on my recess break. I was running copies, ran outside, held my phone up to the sun and that’s all! Pretty right?

Day 31: Me(again)

Me, again.

I made it and I loved doing it! Are you going to play along this month? Let me know, I would love to follow you. Here is the next list!

(click the photo to go to the site).

Thanks for stopping in!

Michelle

Project Life|Cover Page

2012-01-30T22:08:00.001-08:00

So, I have finally finished all of December in my Project Life. I love it! I have had so much fun putting them together. I think I say that each time, right?? Okay, I’ll stop. :) I was even super excited to see my PL pages pinned on Pinterest. Love when that happens!

It was finally time for me to put together my title page. There were so many inspiring ideas floating around Pinterest and Message Boards, that I just didn’t know how I would make mine. The first downfall was that there is no mom and daughter photos of Alyson and I (that aren’t candid), so I will definitely be working on that this year. And I really don’t like taking pictures of me (unless I have my phone and am having a good make-up day- heee). And because this album will cover just me and my girl, I knew it would be different than the many I have seen out there in Blog/Pinterest land. I wanted to make sure that this albums’ cover focuses on “us”, Momma and daughter. So this is what I came up with.

I originally thought I would go with what came in my Becky Higgins kit, but I scrapped that idea when I came across the Free rainbow chevron card. I knew I needed the fun kit that it came from.

In the kit there was a “Hello, my name is…” tag. Since it was editable, I changed it to suit us. I love it.

I am loving the see though pocket with my Ali Edwards cut. I am not sure if you can tell because of the white background I used.

And because I wanted to use a large photo of Alyson, I made the bottom portion fit into the 4x3 pockets.

And that’s it! I love how simple and fun it is. I think it captures who we are right now. It will be fun to see what the last page will look like!

I will be back tomorrow to share my first week’s page, along with a freebie.

Michelle

So it seems…

2012-01-28T12:21:00.001-08:00

So it seems that Thursday and Friday are the hardest days for me to blog. I am thinking that is is because in the beginning of the week I am a bit more rested and have the energy to do what I need to do at home & still have time to blog. By Thursday and Friday, ummmm, not so much. And that’s okay, but I always have something I want to blog about just no energy to do so. I thought since I have the morning to myself, I would share some photos I took this week while Alyson and I were out.

Alyson marked on her ToDo list (she aw mine and made herself one too) that we would go get ice cream. I agreed that Wednesday would be the perfect mid-week break from homework, washing dishes, etc. So we were going to go to Farrell’s, but she really was hoping for Baskin Robin’s, so that’s where we went.

I took along my “real” camera to capture this little outing. And I am so glad I did.

The time we went worked out perfectly. And as you can see by Alyson’s outfit, it was warm, felt a bit like a summer evening (I can’t wait for summer).

Alyson always likes to taste a new flavor when we go, I think it’s the spoons:) After we got our pre-dinner ice cream, we headed out to check out the shops. Her favorite is World Market.

All the valentine stuff was so fun to look at! I didn’t bring my wallet, thank goodness, but I may have to go back for a couple things.

I mostly took this photo because of the chocolate all over her face. She thought it was the chocolate I Love you bar (which she wanted). You can’t tell here, but the chocolate made it to her nose too! I didn’t have her clean it, because well, who cares, she will clean it when she’s done!

She fell in love with many desks there – ha! She wanted one of each style! I snapped this and told her to get away from the white furniture – heee!

After taking mental notes of things I wanted (especially the Cupcake red-velvet wine), we left to hang out and finish our cones.

My favorite shot of the evening. The sun/lighting was just perfect.

All of this fun in 30 minutes?? Priceless. She already has a plan for us this week. Fun!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Michelle

Project 366

2012-01-24T23:31:00.001-08:00

Hi there! I have another week of Insta-photos. Here is the calendar with photos in place. (again, posting it here so that I stay on top of it).

You know, it may be silly, but it makes me feel good that I have almost filled up the month – yay!

The “notes” – I guess that I will fill out the bottom portion of the calendar next week.

And here is the “story” behind the photos, I know, you are dying to know – ha!

Day 18 Something I bought

I bought these super cute sunglasses at the Forever 21 accessory store. Who can resist $5.80! Click here to get your own.

Day 19 Sweet

Since I have been trying to cut down on my favorite item at McDonald’s, this prompt gave me the perfect opportunity to indulge in a sweet tea – sooooo good!

Day 20 – Someone I love

Umm – self explanatory.

Day 21 – Reflection

I lucked out with this one. It happened to be raining that day so when it stopped, I ran outside and took a photo in the puddle.

Day 22 – Shoes I wore

So is it obvious that I didn’t go anywhere?? Ha! My slippers

Day 23 – Something Old

Wasn’t sure what I was going to photograph for this day. When I walked in from work, I noticed my 2 vintage cameras. Perfect!

Day 24-Guilty Pleasure

I LOVE gummies that are slightly sour and sweet – mmmmm,

Here is the link for the digi template that I used.

InLinkz.com

That’s all I have! Have a wonderful day!

Michelle

Project Life|December 26-January 1

2012-01-24T06:11:00.001-08:00

Hi there! It was so good to hear the comments about Farrell’s. And I see that it holds many of the same good memories for others! Alyson was just talking about going back this week, hmm maybe.

Well, for now, I am here to share my next week of Project Life. This week turned out to be a bit trickier than I originally thought it would be. I knew this would be the last week before I made my 2012 title page, so I technically had an “extra” page. Take a look and you will see what I mean.

I used some older Studio Calico and Crate paper. They seemed to go with my photos best. And I know that shouldn’t matter, but I treat each little area as a scrapbook page.

You can see that the right side is a bit smaller than the left. I don’t have it handy, or I would tell you what style this one is.

Close up of the left side. I used my silhouette to make those awesome chevron cuts – LOVE them!

There were so many NYE photos I wanted to add, but I had to cut it down. Still love the ones I chose. I knew before I started this PL that I wanted to add the confetti to a pocket. I saved it from that night and simply placed it in a pocket and sewed the opening closed. Doesn’t really “match” but it is part of that night.

That bottom photo opens up to reveal our NYE table. I HAD to include it so, of course, I added a “flap”

I decided to use the back “extra” page for more photos. And it was a good thing I had this much space because I really needed it!

Next up, I have finally started my title page! Can’t wait to share!

Have a wonderful day!

Michelle

Farrell’s

2012-01-23T06:25:00.001-08:00

Geez, Monday came so quickly, right? We had a relaxing weekend and I got a lot accomplished on the Project Life front and I can’t wait to share soon (just need photos). Since February is right around the corner, I wanted to post these photos before I “forget” them.

So there is this ice cream parlor that used to be around when I was little named Farrell’s. I had a birthday party there and I loved going after the movies to have ice cream. They served food too, but it was all about the sundae’s for me. I am not sure when, but Farrell’s was closed down. Recently, they have been rebuilding them, and I always wanted to go, but never wanted to take the drive. Well we lucked out because they built a brand new one in our downtown shopping center.

I could not wait until it was open, we would drive by and I would tell Alyson my memories of the place. Soon, she became as excited as I was for it to open. It finally opened the day after Christmas. And the lines was crazy long, I heard people waited in line for 3 hours. Ummmm, no, I am not that nostalgic. ha!

Well on New Year’s Day, Alyson asked her dad to take her. He agreed and came down. Well, I tagged along, because he knew how much I wanted to go. We only waited 30 minutes – score!

Here are some photos that I took.

Here is the ice cream only area. This line was much shorter, but not as much fun.

I love the old time decorations. Never gets old, I loved it when I was little too!

Now when we got there, Alyson was excited until she realized how loud it is in there. They go crazy with birthdays and take out the drums and make people do silly things. She wasn’t prepared for that – but she got over it – heee.

Her food. Two mini hot dogs.

And my lunch, the “grown up” grilled cheese. Yummmmoooo!

And although part of going there is the experience, I always look forward to having ice cream. But guess what? Alyson didn’t want any. I know! Shocker – she always wants ice cream. Sigh, so we didn’t get any. I figured that I would take her back and make her have some ice cream another time – heee!

What she was holding out for was candy from the candy shoppe they have.

They have all the good old time candy! She had a hard time choosing.

They even had Bacon soda – what??

Look at those giant Gummi Bears!

And these, oversized pops. Don’t believe me? Take a look.

So cute! Alyson wound up with some candy that looked like rocks, and something else, can’t remember, but she ate it all.

It really was the perfect way to start the new year-I can’t wait to take her again!

That’s all I have today!

Michelle

Project 366!

2012-01-17T23:08:00.001-08:00

So, I know that it is only January 17, but I have been doing really well with taking a photo everyday! I had planned on taking most of these daily photos with my “big” camera, but my phone is just so much easier. And it really just allows me to have fun and not worry about all the technical stuff, ya know? Here’s the link to my old post.

Here they all are. This download even comes with some pages to write a little blurb about each day. I am liking it! Thinking it will be easy to make into a book!

That’s all I have today! have a wonderful day!!

Michelle

InLinkz.com

Project Life

2012-01-17T06:09:00.001-08:00

Hello there! So, Christmas week of Project Life was a little hard for me. I’ll tell you why. There are so many things we do leading up to Christmas and I want to make sure to “showcase” the “feeling” of fun. And because I didn’t do a December Daily this year, I really narrowed it down and tried my best. So, this spread took me a bit longer than usual, but I do like the end result. Take a look.

The photo with Santa was made using a 6x12 pocket. I wasn’t sure I would use them, but they are perfect for journaling and adding some fun pieces.

Here is the back. Now, I forgot to take a close up shot, but I actually added a “flap” and I have journaling under the “flap” I used Ali E’s 6x12 template for the journaling.

Left side of the page.

I made sure to include Santa’s letter to Alyson so I simply adhered the letter to the 3x4 pocket. I added the paperclip to weigh it down.

These are close-ups of the photos and the hidden photos underneath.

Whew! Putting this week together was tough, but totally worth it. It has never been a favorite for me to scrap Christmas, only because I am always overwhelmed with “what” to scrap. So, this was a GREAT way to put it together. I am so glad it is done!

Oh, and you may have noticed, but I brought out my Silhouette and had some fun! After I reinstalled the software and dusted the machine off (literally), I found that I had a $98 credit still! Woohoo! I forgot how easy it is to work that machine. I may eventually have to invest in the Cameo.

That’s it for me. Have a blessed day!

Michelle

At the park

2012-01-16T01:36:00.001-08:00

Hey there! It is Monday, and I am off of work! Yay for 3 day weekends!We have had a very relaxing and healthy weekend so far. SO glad! Last night, I introduced Alyson to Beetlejuice.

Such a fun movie, that has some parts that are a wee scary for certain 7 year olds. But, she did want to watch it again – so good, right?

This weekend, I finally got a chance to upload my photos from my camera (I have been using my phone like crazy). And I came across some fun photos I took at the park.

I also opened up Lightroom. I haven’t done so in such a long time. I even needed to reload my presets. I forget how fun it is and how easy!

When we got to the park there were some kids there, but by the time I took the camera out, most had left. Which left Alyson and I having fun on our own.

Looking at these photos just makes me happy. They are just her, being who she is, crazy, fun, silly, you name it, it’s her! And don’t you love that she has a skirt on? I told her we were going to the park and this was her choice – ha! At least there were no heels.

And then I came across this beauty.

When the heck did she grow up? She makes me laugh like no one else. She also makes fun of me like no one else (I love that). We have a great banter and have some intense conversations. She is sensitive to a fault and NEVER forgets anything. And although she has so many things like her Dad, she is so very much like me. I just pray we can get through the teenage years – ha!

Have a great day! I will be back tomorrow with some Project Life!

A Little Project Life & Some Sewing.

2012-01-11T06:15:00.001-08:00

Good morning! I have to say, I am glad to be getting up and going to work today. Going to work means that Alyson is feeling better and I can get some teaching done! Whew!

Because I stayed home with a sicky yesterday, I was able to complete another week of Project Life. Yay! I have to say the hardest part is not the putting it together/scrapping part, it is deciding which photos/memories to pick.

Here is week 3 of December (the next layout will be a biggie).

I am still using the old pocket version for my pages, but will be transitioning to the newer ones soon!

This week also happened to be the week without my camera. So I am so thankful that I have my phone to take photos with. I even printed some instagram photos for this. The IG photos have the titles next to them.

I knew I had a bit to say so I journaled on the computer and printed it out with some Ali Edwards frames. I am debating bringing my silhouette back out. It sure is dusty, but I can cut some cute frames with it, hmm…..?

I already have the next pages planned and photos printed, so only the fun part is left! I will be working on those in the next couple days.

Before I go, I have to share some photos of Alyson sewing on her new sewing machine from her cousins.

All I had to do was put the batteries in and she went to town! It is the cutest little machine and even comes with a presser foot (which eventually she used her hand with).

She didn’t need any direction! I was impressed.

She sewed this “purse” on her own. She put straps in and everything! Soooo cute! She’s a natural. I may actually have to get her a machine.

Have a blessed day!

Michelle

Project 366

2012-01-09T12:31:00.000-08:00

Hello there! Happy Monday. Whew, this weekend was filled with a sick girl and a whole lot of watching t.v. The only bad part, is that my girl was sick. Thankfully she is feeling much better today. :)

I did get a chance to start to reorganize my scrap space so that it is more project life ready. Before, when I was doing traditional layouts for DT's, it was hard to juggle anything like Project Life. But this year, I am on top of it and more excited than ever! Maybe this will actually give me the time to put layouts into albums?? Ha! One day!

In addition to sharing Project Life here on my blog, I hope to share another project that I have taken on. Project 366. A photo a day. I am mostly taking these through my instagram app (which is my favorite app). And I don't know about you, but I have the best convo's on there as opposed to Twitter - LOVE it!

One app that a friend introduced my to is called, My365. Here is a photo of my calendar.

Everyday you can add a photo. It is pretty cool. Look me up if you aren't on there yet. I have been using this prompt for my photos of the day (so much easier than trying to think of one).

And here is a closer look at the photos so far.

Don't mind the late at night photo of me. Had to use a filter because my eyes were so red - heee!

My Breakfast. Apples and Peanut Butter & Coffee.

Something I adore was day three. I ADORE when she is a happy camper in the morning. This is the day I still had off and se went back to school, SO she got to sleep in an extra hour. It is amazing how much happier she is when she can sleep in.

And this one stumped me a bit. A letterbox, I figured was a fancy name for Mailbox? So here is my photo.

Something I wore, my glasses. I wear contacts 90% of the time. I do like to wear contacts, but I am blind without my glasses so I hate doing my make-up sans glasses. F.Y.I., Alyson doesn't like me in glasses - ha!

Made a collage of this one. The photo was "Makes me Smile" These are just a few.

A favorite? Getting photos of Alyson while she is with her dad. I LOVE it and appreciate it more than words can say. (She was at Disneyland here).

And then, my sky. Yesterday I was lucky to get out of the house. Luckily, my mom came over so I could run to the store and get some groceries. I snapped this one as I stopped at the bank. Pretty right? Well, except for the street lights.

I still have not done today's, but I will soon. I am loving how easy this is so far.

Thanks for stopping in!

Michelle

The best gift

2012-01-05T12:44:00.000-08:00

So being a single mama isn't easy. It is especially hard around the holidays when time is split between mom and dad and I can't hog my girl to myself. But, at least Mike and I get along and everything goes pretty smoothly. It may sound selfish, but I miss getting a gift from your significant other because those gifts are often things that you would never buy for yourself. And really, although I don't need anything, I still miss those fun gifts to open. Well, leave it to my girl to show me that her gifts are the only ones that matter.

We have always told her that we fill up her stocking and not Santa. Not sure why, it just worked out that way and makes things much easier here. So Alyson periodically would feel the outside of her stocking to see if I had been filling it up. And boy was she excited to find I was! Well I don't know, a few days later while she was at her dad's, I noticed this note on my stocking.

Can you read the note? Is that not precious or what? I LOVE that she did this and didn't say a thing about it. And of course I then noticed that the stocking was bulging with goodies. And I am thinking, what the??? I waited until Christmas Day to open things up. Alyson was so excited for me to open this. Wait until you see what was inside.

I knew she thought this out carefully, I mean she never gives up her glitter glue. She had just gotten those paint brushes, and she knew I could use them. The dry erase markers were of course for my classroom. And those crafty scissors that I gave her? Right back to mom! I can't tell you how special these things were to me. Everything was "new" to her and she had it in her big heart to give it to me for Christmas. I LOVE that! She is so thoughtful and sensitive and knows just how to make a momma realize that all I needed was these thoughtful gifts from her to remember the reason for the season. I am so lucky to have her.

And to show you, Alyson did a great job picking something out for me.

3 charms to go on my Brighton bracelet. The one heart says, I love you, there is an art palette with colors on the back side. And then the globe, "because you're a teacher mom." Sigh, I love her. I must come back and read this every time she is driving me bananas.

I hope to get into a schedule soon. Going back to work is not easy. But now that for the first time, in like 5 years? I am Design Team free! Can you hear me exhaling?? I love and miss it at the same time. But it is something I needed to do so that I could be the mom I want to be. But, that has not stopped me from being scrappy. So be back soon!!

Michelle

Project Life|December

2012-01-02T12:56:00.001-08:00

Hi there! I am so excited to finally start sharing some of my Project Life items. I started with the month of December. I know, doesn’t really make sense, but since I did not do a December Daily album this year, I thought that this would be the perfect way to still document things on a smaller scale.

I will make an official title page for the New Year, but I thought that this one was perfect for the month.

All of the page protectors are from the original 365 project (that I never finished). I finally got my order in and I now have a variety to choose from.

I can’t tell you how much fun I’ve been having putting these together and using up my stash. yay! Of course there are a few new things (mainly digital) that I have purchased, but that’s all. Here we have some Christmas themed paper. I think I like this approach, it lets me get the creative scrappy side out.

I added this little pocket here. I realized I didn’t have enough room for my journaling. So if you life up the flap,

And you see the only horizontal photo I took.

Here is a full week spread. I used some old goodies here too. All but 3 of these photos were from my phone. I love that!

Here is a close-up look.

I made another flip pocket (you can even see that it is sewed crooked). I loved both the instagram photo and the photo with Alyson holding the snowflake, so I included both.

Got to use my glitter alphas here.

So there you have it, the first part of December. I will be back with the next week. Let me know if you are completing your PL and I will be sure to follow you.

Michelle

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T20:46:00.001-08:00

Hello 2012! A new year, new beginnings, and new memories, love it! Before I share my word for the year, and talk about the things that I am looking forward to, etc, I wanted to share with you our wild NYE.

I did complete some of what I talked about yesterday and this is the result! I went with silver, gold, and black. I usually prefer the more colorful, but this seemed like the perfect change from all the green and red of Christmas.

I made the bags and added a clock to each. I had planned on numbering them, but Mike was bringing Alyson back, so time was limited. And your kidding yourself if you think that Alyson actually lets me get anything done when she’s home – ha!

Changed up the lazy susan a bit and added out “snowballs”, a great idea I got from a scrappy friend of mine (we had a snowball fight for one of our advent activities-I highly recommend them.

And you are not seeing double. This photo has the two balloons that I forgot in the first photo, but I liked the first one better. Lucky you. You’re welcome:)

I bought the new square marshmallows that are supposed to make it easier to make your smores. I wasn’t so sure they would, but they did! I would definitely recommend them.

Alyson all cozy and ready to watch the movie. It was funny. We did have to take a break to make some smores.

Someone was VERY excited. Excuse the hair.

See, the marshmallow is gooing out of the graham crackers. Yummm.

Yeah, she didn’t watch the move until she finished her two.

Kanani sat and watched the movie too!

After the movie, we did some mani’s/pedi’s (notice Alyson’s nails). I also had Alyson fill out her Best of 2011 worksheet. We then watched some t.v., and I honestly thought that she wouldn’t make it to midnight, but, well, take a look…

I love them! It truly shows how she is all.the.time. No kidding.

And then we took this at the end of the night.

Excuse the no make-up, again. I am on vacation people!

I will be back soon. Like, tomorrow! Can’t wait!

Michelle