Creative Play

One project down….sooooo many more to go. It has been nearly a month and a half since my return from Missouri. I told the girls when I left I would have the Circle Journal pages that I needed to complete sent to them within two weeks. It took me a whole month and a half to get these pages done.

I pretty much had the layouts sketched out and ready to create, but couldn’t get the motivation to get in the room to do them. I finally did them weeks later and then the whole journaling stumped me. What should I write on these pages? Really there was not a lot of journaling involved, other than Amy’s holiday tradition page, but coming up with creative text and titles threw me for loop.

Amy – Holiday Traditions and recipes. Her circle journal rules: she wanted to know what our holiday traditions we had with our families and what recipes do we use for these holidays. We could not duplicate holidays. Well Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Halloween were already gone when I got the book and I had to come up with other another holiday. Our family summer get togethers were always on the Fourth of July and we have great neighborhood celebrations on this day too.

My recipes I choose were my Texas Chili and Mississippi Mud Pie.



Allie – All About a Boy. Her circle journal rules: make a page all about the interest of her son Austin. He likes music, sports (especially the Saints), and playing video games. Because Austin and I like music, I chose to do a page geared towards rock songs. Of course my genre of music is classic rock, Austin’s interest is probably more pop rock. Thank goodness for Guitar Hero it has brought back quality music to the younger generation! I like working on Allie’s books, because having a girl I really do not ever get a chance to make masculine boy pages.

Michelle – Friendship page with shades of blue. Her circle journal rules: create a page with only shades of blue and friendship quotes. I had fun making these pages because I am really getting into making my own paper flowers. I recently volunteered at a Scrapbook Convention (CKC) and one of the classes was called Floral Fancy and it was about creating flowers with scrapbook papers. I really learned a lot in that class. Well on Michelle’s page I created a distressed, wrapped, button flower. Not easy to work with, but love the look!

And finally they are off to the next recipient creator!

Girls Annual Retreat - Kansas City

I recently returned from my annual girls scrapping retreat. Although we don't do too much scrapbooking, we still call it a scrapping retreat.

I had a great time! Our hostesses, Lori, Brenda, and Amanda had a busy schedule planned out for us. Since I got there a day early I was able to do a little sightseeing. Went to a cute town - Lees Summit, visited a local wine bar and scrapbook store. The next day we visited a very cute cupcake bar Sugar Mamma's. The lunch there was awesome, the decor of the place was really cute. Loved the bathroom! We then went and visited the shops within the strip center - Briarcliff Village. I found out through one of the shop vendors that all the shops in the shopping center are exculsive to Kansas City. I loved Urban Arts and Crafts! The shop was like a very down-scaled Michaels with classes for different crafts. From there we went to the airport to pick up two more girls arriving for the retreat -Michelle and Misty. Then onto the gorgeous house offered to us by Lori's brother for the weekend. We did a little scrapping that evening, but mostly just enjoyed each other's company. Saturday was packed - visited a local scrapbook store, toured the Plaza in Kansas City, and then on to dinner at GoJo's Japanese Steak House. We spent most of Sunday catching up on scrapbooking we had not done - afterall we have to account for the fact it was a SCRAPBOOK RETREAT! Then in the evening did fireworks at Lori's house. Our California girls do not get a chance to experience the 4th of July bonfire of fireworks like the rest of us because they are outlawed in Cali.

Monday came and it was time to go back home :(. The trip was a great taste of Kansas City flavor, shopping fun and great friendship reunions! Can't wait to see the girls again next year!

Free scrapbook generated with Smilebox

Update on old news

I got a little behind on my blogging in June. Probably because I was engrossed with Samantha's swim practice and meets and preparing for my girls retreat in Kansas City.

Although, today's report is old news, I felt it was blog worthy.

Since cupcakes, have become the great rave of the sweet/baking industry, we had a cupcake bake-off at work. Food Network even has a new food show titled Cupcake Wars. I haven't had a chance to see it, but hoping to look at some of the creations and try them out.

Well I didn't do to well on the cupcake bake-off. I actually came in third. There were only two participants, but the other participant made 3 kinds of cupcakes. I made a Rocky Road Brownie version. I'll admit right out of the oven it was awesome, but somewhere in transition it lost the moist factor. In other words....it was dry! The winner was a Lemon Zest cupcake with pistachio nuts on top. I'll admit it was very good.

Crafty Creations
My girls weekend was awesome! We packed a lot in four days. I really enjoyed Kansas City, I told my husband we definitely need to go visit. BTW...we even visited a cupcake store there and it was good, but not as good as Oh La La.

Within our group we do swaps that we hold for possible gifts. Although, some of us do hold onto them and keep them for ourselves. This swap was a calendar block swap. The theme was to keep the colors, black, cream, and red. 6 of us girls created 6 blocks a piece and we swapped the blocks amongst each other. I created the numbers, which are magnetic and cling to two blocks that are also magnetic. The months are missing from the picture, but will be also magnetic. The girls at the retreat loved them and have decided to make more for gifts for the holiday season.


Me and the girls came up with some other ideas that will be featured in later post!

How does your garden grow?

Quite well! I planted bell peppers, tomatoes, and cucumbers this year.

Well I only got two bell peppers and two tomatoes. I think I planted them too late in the season and the heat was too much for the plants. The tomatoes and bell peppers were used in cooking. The cucumbers have taken over the flower bed. I'm going to have to come up with all kinds of cucumber recipes.

We had one of the cucumbers with dinner this evening. It was crisp and very few seeds.

Next year we will start a little earlier on the tomatoes and bell peppers.

MOC - MEET OF CHAMPS

Samantha and coach Trish

Samantha and Jessica

YEAH! Samantha made Meet of Champs. What does that mean? Well you have to be in the top 10% of your division to qualify.

Although, she only qualified for one stroke -50 M Freestyle, she did it! I'm soooooo proud of that accomplishment. I could never ever swim like that. Actually, the only sport I was interested in was tennis and I only played two years.

Unfortunately, we found out this past Friday about MOC qualifications and I will not be able to attend the meet Saturday 6.26.10. She will know after the MOC meet if she makes the All-Star team. Crossing our fingers!

Her and her friend, Jessica, are already conspiring of joining the SEVEN LAKES Swim Team when they get in high school. Hope she keeps that dream alive!

Watch out Michael Phelps

This is Samantha's third year on the neighborhood swim team. I have seen her progress year to year, pushing herself to the limit and me right behind her making her raise the bar even higher.

Samantha's strongest swimming stroke is the freestyle. She can fly across that pool like a fish. Her weakest is the butterfly, but she is working on it and getting stronger at the stroke.

Michael Phelps knows all too well how 1/10 of a second can make all the difference in the world. With time I know that Samantha can improve more on all of her strokes, for now the freestyle is her moment to shine. Our focus now is to improve on her time, maybe even someday beating Phelps record. Dreams are not impossible to overcome!

Event 18 Girls 11-12 50 Yard Freestyle
Name Age Team Finals Time
1 Danielle Broman 12 Seven Meadows Swim Team 32.55
2 Tara Christopher 12 Seven Meadows Swim Team 32.81
3 Morgan Lerro 11 Seven Meadows Swim Team 36.43
4 Samantha Gautier 12 Seven Meadows Swim Team 37.00
5 Laura Broman 11 Seven Meadows Swim Team 37.56
6 Jessica Casanova 12 Seven Meadows Swim Team 39.28
7 McKenzie LeBlanc 12 Seven Meadows Swim Team 40.53
8 Morgan Willoughby 11 Seven Meadows Swim Team 40.91
9 Grace Ardis 12 Seven Meadows Swim Team 42.49
10 Paige Alvarez 12 Seven Meadows Swim Team 44.94
11 Gabriela Dortolina 11 Seven Meadows Swim Team 46.28
12 Kaia Stephens 12 Seven Meadows Swim Team 47.29
13 Aurea Andrades 12 Seven Meadows Swim Team 48.19
14 Megan Lerro 11 Seven Meadows Swim Team 48.48
15 Siena Erickson 11 Seven Meadows Swim Team 49.93
16 Samantha Seigworth 11 Seven Meadows Swim Team 53.40
17 Isha Dighe 12 Seven Meadows Swim Team 54.85
Megan Middlebrooks 12 Seven Meadows Swim Team DQ

Make-overs, New Art, Trash to Treasure

I few weeks back I listed some items I found in the trash and an art piece I started (link).

I've finished the art piece, created a make-over, and cashed in some of my trash.

Here is my finished art piece. I used watercolor crayons on the background sky and ground. Modeling clay for texture. Acrylic paints everywhere else. This was not my original idea, so I must give the original artist credit.

My makeover birdhouse. The post came from garage sale trash. It was raw and I painted it the brown color that it is now. The birdhouse was made by my uncle and once covered a mailbox at my old house. Now it greets the birds in my garden!

Remember the glass table top I dug out of the trash. Well it sold on Craigslist for $15. I listed it and within 10 minutes received a response. I found a homemade shoe organizer or wine rack (not sure what the orginal purpose was used for) also in the trash a few weeks back. I've listed it but no one has responded. I'm thinking of keeping it and using it as an organizer in my craft room.

Now onto another piece of art work and more trash digging!

Cyber-Site Tuesday

Do you like reading? Today’s feature will provide you links to book sites for fun reading.

I just finished EAT, PRAY, LOVE by Elizabeth Gilbert. Can I tell you that it was the hardest read I’ve had to endure. I heard it was such a great book by many friends and it was on the NY Bestsellers list for a while. Oprah even gave it a good rating and it is being made into a movie this summer. I just had to read it of course! I think it took me 3 months to get through it. My carpool buddies even made fun of me and said “if you hate it why are you reading it?” Well, I’m not sure really. Maybe I just wanted to see what everyone else saw in the book. You probably do not care Ms. Gilbert, but I definitely will not pick up your new book Committed.

The next book on my list is THE NEXT THING ON MY LIST by Jill Smolinski. One of my carpool buddies suggested it. She said “this will be a much easier and fun book to read.” She was right I really am enjoying it! Short synopsis: It’s about a girl fulfilling a bucket list of someone else that died and was not able to start the list. I think we should all have bucket list in our lives because it always gives us something to strive for and cross off once completed. Yes, I do have one. Unfortuantely I have only one thing crossed off.

I found three sites this week that you can bookmark in your favorites on suggested book reading.

If you like girly books, not necessarily romance novels but fun silly chick books then you will like Chick Lit Reviews . I’ve already found a couple I would like to read.

Books On The Nightstand is a great site for all kinds of books. It provides podcast on synopsis of books and interviews with the authors. The blog writers of this site are in the publishing industry and in the know of new and upcoming books in the publishing world.

Books On The Brain is another blog site I found. The author is a book club coordinator and has an area with book reviews on books she has read. She also has a great blogroll if you’re interested in surfing through other book sites.

Happy reading and if you grab one of these books from one of the sites listed, be sure to come back and leave a review on the comments.

Fabulous Finds Friday

The last couple of weekends my friend Holli and I have been hitting some awesome garage sales in our area. She has gotten some great deals on Little Tykes equipment for her children. She could open her own daycare with all the stuff she has gotten!

I’ve been looking for specific items: stuff to use in my garden, hardback books, outdoor serving cart, odd end chairs, and anything else that may catch my eye. Last weekend Grand Lakes, a sub-division near me, had their bi-annual sale. I hit the jackpot and only spent $40. I was even able to pick up some freebies. Check them out below.

Giraffe tier platter - new: $15. Great addition to my scraproom! It's sitting on my desk holding my brushes.

Elephant platter - new: $10. Another great addition to my scraproom. It will sit on my shelf unit and hold embellishments.

Foot/Sitting stool - $3. One of the legs will not screw into the back. Nothing gorilla glue will not fix. It's sitting at the end of my desk. I need to find a great chair to go with it. In the mean time it's a sitting stool.

Flamingo plant stand - $1. It is made out of wood and has a space in the center to put a pot. I just put this plant on it until I find a smaller planter to put into the center.

Hardback books - .30. I will be using them on a project to be displayed later.

Perfection Game - $2. Only two pieces missing. Samantha is starting to babysit. I thought it would be neat to find some simple board games for her and the kids to play.

Okay now for the freebies:
I found some of these items in a neighbor’s trash. Someone was moving out and throwing these perfectly good items away. I probably would have continued looking, but it was late and I really couldn’t see that well and then and adjacent neighbor comes out and starts eyeing me. It’s trash and open game, but I felt guilty!

I found the tin piece in the someone's garbage towards the end of the day while we were out garage saling. They had free items. I haven't figured out what I'm going to do with it yet, but I couldn't pass it up. The shelf iron piece was from the neighbor's trash.

I found this perfect glass topper also in the neighbor's trash. I have a project in store. Picture to come later.

Another trash item from the neighbor's pile. It still had the price tag on it. As you can see some of the buttons are missing, but I plan to sand them down change the color of the frame and maybe use the mirror in my office at work.

Isn't this basket cute?! Yep it was in the nieghbor's trash too!

Another freebie from the garage sale. In the same trash bin as the tin piece. I should have taken a before picture. It was raw wood on one side and black on the other. I'm going to use it as a post for one of my birdhouses. I painted it brown.

I did not find this print in the trash. It’s currently a painting I’m working on. Since I have my creative mojo flowing I decide to pull out some canvases to paint. The canvas has a plaster medium that will give the print a 3-d effect. I will post pictures when I complete the print and the other projects I am working on.

Cyber-Site Tuesday

My weight loss program is going great so far; however I still have 10 more pounds to go. What discourages my spirit is that those last 10-15 pounds are always the hardest! Since I hit my 40’s it has been challenging keeping the weight off, even with eating in moderation.

I’ve been doing all kinds of research on what is the best way to lose my mid-section. Apparently the best way of getting rid of that is eating more grains and extensive core exercise. Yes, I am working out, but apparently not hard enough and age does have a lot to do with it. The site WebMD has a great article on trimming belly fat and other health and diet issues. I love this site for searching all kinds of medical issues and health information.

Another issue I have is that I am not a big water drinker. As a matter of fact I hate water. My drink of choice is iced tea or Diet Coke. I know that water is a better source for me, but it makes me gag when I drink it (strange I know).

A friend who is extremely health conscious told me of a new alternative sweetner – Stevia. She said if I like iced tea I should consider using one of these products instead of Equal or Splenda. Stevia is a little more expensive, but I’m liking it!

Another reason for laying off the alternative sweetners – my family. They drive me crazy about drinking Diet Coke, but then I should them this article in Time Magazine and they pretty much have given up swaying me away from DC.

Cyber-Site Tuesday

If you link wearing fun and funky jewelry, you will like today’s feature.

The latest jewelry crazy is memory glass charms. I saw them all over Round Top on my visit a couple of weeks ago. The booths were crazy with people buying them. I recently just purchased one off of Etsy. After studying my new purchase, I knew I could make them myself. I searched YouTube for tutorials, below are the links I found. I have also attached a picture of the charm I purchased.

This first video provides a tutorial for soldering the two memory glasses together. I just happen to have all the soldering tools from a stained glass class I took.

This second video provides a tutorial for non-soldering. The memory glasses can be purchased at Michaels or any craft store. I’m going to attempt one day soon to create my own piece. When it’s completed I’ll share!



Here is the piece I purchased off Etsy. Imagine the cool memory charms you can create for Mother’s Day, Christmas, or birthdays. http://www.etsy.com/shop/ArtUnderGlass

JUNK GYPSY

I love Junk Gypsy and their ecelectic decorating style. I'm posting a link to their blog today- JUNK GYPSY.

If you are familiar with country star Miranda Lambert, Junk GYPSY recently "gypsified" an airstream trailer for her. The pictures are posted on their blog. I got a chance to see it last Friday when we were in Round Top. Unfortunately, my camera ran out of battery power and I did not get a chance to take a picture of their booth. Always fun and gypsy styled!

Below are some of my pictures I was able to capture in Round Top before my camera ran out of juice.



My Friend Lisa in the Bluebonnets.


I was able to find some fun stuff! Come back in a couple of weeks to see what I found to refurbish.

Cyber-Site Tuesday

Even if you’re not an artist, scrapbooker, gardener, baker, or cook – do you have a creative space?

Artist – have studios, scrappers have scrapping rooms, gardeners have outdoor gardens, and bakers/cooks have the kitchen. Even writers, readers, knitters, and mom’s need creative spaces. Sometimes these creative spaces are places where we just need to think and relax for the moment.

When we moved into our current house five years ago my main concern was that we have an extra room or study for me to work in. In our old home I did not have a space for myself and I had craft stuff stored in miscellaneous rooms. That was truly a hassle! It’s taken me five years to get the room where I want it. There is still a lot more to be done in there, but a little at a time will do.

Cyber-Site Tuesday focuses on links from creative spaces of artist around the US. I like to visit many of these sites for ideas. If you ever have a chance pick up a Studios magazine, you will be amazed at the designs of these art studios. Some are neat, others eclectic and colorful.

I have also provided links to some individual scrapping rooms. I love Amanda’s site where you can click on the drawers of her desk and you can actually see what is in that drawer. I love the color of Krystal’s room. The lime green and blue go great together.

Finally I am posting pictures of my own scraproom. I came up with the color scheme, because most of the colors in my house are warm tones (browns, red, yellow, and rust). Then the idea of a safari theme came to mind. I have always loved animal prints, so why not make my creative space WILD!

The organizer is an IKEA expedite system. I have filled it with miscellaneous baskets and glass containers. Some of the animal pieces on the top shelf come from Hobby Lobby and Home Goods, with the exception of the lion tile - I painted it! The wall pieces come from the San Antonio Zoo. I bought them at a gift shop there for 50% off! Finally an art piece that I have been working on for a while, it’s a quadrangle animal print consisting of 5x7 canvases. I’m pretty happy of how it came out. I hope to create some more art pieces for the room, put a futon or chaise lounge on the long wall, and buy a flat screen for the wall facing my desk.

Another picture collage by Smilebox

I could spend the whole day in there sometime!

I found a new home

In a previous blog post from a couple of weeks ago I mentioned two sites that showed you how to reinvent old items into new items. Well I went out garage sale shopping this past weekend. The two items I did buy were not really in any need of reinventing, they were pretty much in good shape. One thing I did learn, if you don’t claim it when you see it, then it’s not going to be there when you get back. I lost out to a very cute Parisian cart because of this. It would have looked great in my study or dining room. Oh well!

Here are my finds:

A canvas print of Italian coffee now hangs over my pantry door in my kitchen. I had been meaning for the longest to try and find something for the only wall space I have in my kitchen. The red colors in the picture match well with the red on my bar counter. Listed for $10, I offered him $5. Sale price - $5.
My second find was an old picnic basket. The bamboo was a little fragile, but when I got home I pulled the pieces out that were holding the lid in place and tied it off with an animal print ribbon. This basket now serves as my scrap basket for all of my scrap pieces of scrapbook paper. Cute & neat and goes with the theme of my scraproom. Listed for $5, I offered her $3. Sale price - $3.

What old treasure can you find a new home for?