Hello!  Been a little busy lately getting those boys off to college and settling into some new routines, activities, patterns with Tim as a couple (again)!  Been fun and exciting and a bit sad all at the same time.

To stay busy, and with the help of my sister Jennifer, I've been working on prayer journals for the ladies in the Bible study group I belong to.  It was a ton of fun to play around with paints, stamps, rub-ons, inks, templates and die-cuts/paper scraps.  I will take the journals to our study tomorrow night so I wanted to capture some images of them before they disappear!

They were made using composition books purchased from Target when they were on super markdown during the back-to-school sales and then I added paints, inks, etc from supplies on hand.  Now I just need a reason to make some more!

Fast forward 12 months... (one way to keep any would-be blog readers up to date with little time commitment required on their part).  Alex has finished his first year of college and is heading back in 8 days for his second year.  Jake has graduated from high school and is heading to college for his freshman year in 12 days.

That's it - we only have two kids.

Which means that in precisely 13 days Tim and I will be the only people living in our house (I'm really becoming averse to that annoying "empty nester" phrase).  Maggie, the chocolate lab will of course still be here.  Love.

So how should one prepare for such a dramatic change in homelife?  Large quantities of wine and Godiva Liquer of course.  But since that can interfere with the day job, the go-to tactic in this situation is overscheduling.

Last month I began taking this power-scrapbooking class with Lain Ehmann.  The class is 'closed' to new students but if you check out Lain's blog, you can get her FREE super-secret guide to fast scrapbooking.  In her class, we're in training for the layout-a-day marathon in September!

In case that's not enough, today was the first day of a five-week course created and taught online by Kelly Rae Roberts that guides creative-types turned would-be entrepreneurs through the process of navigating the path from part-time passion to life-long happiness doing what you love.  I am SO excited....this is going to be great!  And will serve as a nice distraction from the upcoming changes around the house!

And I'm an alumni of Stacy Julian's A Library of Memories which means not only are my pictures uber-organized but I also get to audit this class annually for free - which is a great way to stay on top of the photo/memorabilia/random-stuff-that-I-want-to-scrapbook (which will come in very handy for the pending scrap-a-thon in September).  This class is HIGHLY recommended (should start up again sometime next spring) as is her book, Finding Photo Freedom.  It.will.change how you scrapbook.

So between the two classes (and lots of homework to go with them), working on my items for my first etsy shop (more to come!) and keeping up my pinterest boards, I should think there are enough distractions to keep me from fretting about the reduction in our household head count over the next month or two.

I think it will be lovely to have my husband all to myself for a little while, too. :)  A major distraction right there, right?! wink wink

My Latest Obsession

I found this e-zine on free-style embroidery by Teresa McFayden which is totally up my alley and fell in love again with a pastime that I enjoyed as a kid.    Over the years I have cross-stitched several projects and enjoyed making them.  The thing that I love so much about free-style embroidery is the unlimited stitch selection, creativity and ability to personalize each piece.   Here's my finished piece, with a few variations from the sampler used in the class.

With my first project under my belt, I am now working on a new sampler that will (hopefully) reflect the Summer of 2010.  Now I've got yet another way to capture memories!  More to come....

In the meantime, am wondering if I should change my blog to Paper and Stitching Love?!

Day One - Week in the Life

Day 1 of Week in the Life finds me missing Tim (still - gone since the 10th), trying to get back on track with the morning workouts, ready and excited to help plan Alex's Eagle Summit Ceremony (8-10 Scouts getting their Eagle in one ceremony), and basking in what was a surprisingly smooth Monday. I don't have the materials quite in the order I'd like for them to be for this project but did download and print out these tonight...I think they're fab and love that I can just print out as many as I want. They're also on sale right now!! Thanks Ali! ;-)

More great news from Ali - head on over to her blog this week and check out the amazing list of giveaways she's hosting! Leave your comment by Friday and you'll be in the drawing!!

Loving the challenge for today in the Everyday Explorer class (you can still sign up for this class through this Wednesday). Can't tell you what the challenge is because I think someone might sue me if I do...of course someone other than my sister and mother would have to be reading this blog for that to happen and since they're the only ones who even know it exists at this point, I probably shouldn't be too worried.

I'm inspired by Ali's gi-normous give-away. I don't have that kind of stash (or clout with anyone who would be in a position to give me such cool things) so I'll have to think of something else to lure readers to my blog....any ideas? Going to go to bed now to dream of fabulous prizes for my loyal following (of 2).

Nite!

A Week in the Life + Everyday Explorer

Yes, I'm addicted to online workshops and classes. There. I typed it. Mostly just the ones that have something to do with keeping records of my days. I guess I keep thinking these days seem pretty darn good and there's just a whole bunch of stuff I want to remember about them. So I wig myself out by signing up for inspiring online classes that sometimes I have a hard getting around to actually doing. The good news is even if I can't get everything done while the class is live, I've got all the materials, instructions and downloads so I can "take" the class whenever I want.

Anyway, this week, there's a class on tap through Big Picture Scrapbooking called Everyday Adventures. I made this cool notebook for the class and the 1st official day is tomorrow!!

The other activity on tap is A Week in the Life, created and hosted by Ali Edwards on her blog. It also starts tomorrow and I am working on a system to keep track of my notes, pix and memorabilia (yes I now have a reason for keeping that Starbucks sleeve for 3 months).  I think I'll use this collection of goodies for the mini-book (apologies for picture quality....will take a better of the project in progress).

Good news....I was able to work on Alex's Boy Scout album yesterday and it's about 80% there...just the embellishing and journaling to finish up...and, oh, those fabulous Eagle Scout ceremony pix yet to come!!

Next up - finishing Alex's School Years scrapbook!

Handmade Gifting

So it was my sister's birthday yesterday and she told me a while ago that she wants to do more simple, handmade gifts for people this year for gifting occasions (birthdays, Christmas, etc). Guess what? I figured since I'm getting something handmade in the near future (smile) she would probably appreciate the same. As it turns out, I really like this handmade gifting idea. I found this cool print-and-go kit from Rhonna Farrer, purchased and downloaded it and made her this awesome Inspiration Jar. The plastic paint can is from Michael's; the tickets are Tim Holtz while the paper flowers and ribbons are from my collection.

She seems to like it....she loved that it was handmade. I hope she enjoys it!

BTW, Alex didn't like that I folded the slips of paper with the words and phrases facing out...I thought it looked more interesting this way but he thinks it makes it more likely someone will cheat and pick out whatever they want to do. ;-)

Mother's Day is just around the corner...I'm wondering if I should make something for my sweet mom? Any ideas?

wow - long time since last post

So the CEO of the company I work for asked in a meeting last week "does anyone here have blog?". I raised my hand knowing that I had done this at some time in what I thought was the not too distant past. Was I wrong - two years is a very long time in blog world. But I did have one. Just not keeping it up.

So here's an update on what has happened over the past two years.

1. We moved (3 1/2 miles, but still had to pack up all the stuff and get it over here so still a big deal)
2. Alex and Jake are both in high school now (yikes!)
3. Alex has his driver's permit. Can't get his license until at least March 16, 2008.
4. Tim still works at the City in the Treasury Department
5. I'm still working at the apparel company (but not with the foodies anymore - that changed in 2005)
6. Maggie (the dog) isn't chewing up everything we own any more.
7. I've been taking FABULOUS online classes at Big Picture Scrapbooking.
8. Oh yeah, my parents moved here from Michigan in the fall of 2005.
9. And my sister Jennifer moved here exactly a year ago today from Michigan. pretty cool.


That wasn't so hard...

First post

Welcome to my blog!

This is my first attempt at a web journal and I hope it doesn't blow up my computer! As you may have guessed by the title, my passion (in addition to my husband, kids and extended family) is making scrapbooks and journaling about life as it quickly passes by. My goal in creating this blog is to keep a record of how this passion is working (or not) as a conduit to creativity, expression and connection in my life. I would love to hear from anyone out there who reads any part of this blog and is inspired in some way (good or bad).

Enjoy!

scrapperlauri