page maps sketch

Happy Sunday!

It is currently snowing like crazy outside my window, the big fluffy, almost-snowball-sized flakes.

It truly is beautiful, but I am ready for spring: the flowers, the birds, the warm sunshine...

Something that feels a little more like this:

This page was inspired by a sketch at Page Maps:

It feels so good to be scrapbooking again.  And I have spent much of the weekend getting myself organized for Project Life.  Only 8 weeks behind, I can catch up!  So excited for this project!

I'll be back later in the week to share a granny square project I'm working on {along with the pattern I created}, and hopefully some thoughts on Project Life.

Have a great end to your weekend!

christmas kisses and a baby

Super quick post to share two layouts.

I'm so happy to be scrapbooking again.  Ordered some ink for my little photo printer, filling in organizers for Project Life, going through and editing photos to send to the printer.  It all feels so good.

Here's a page I completed last week while creating with a friend:

The green ink splatters went a little awry so I had to cover them up with a snowflake (oops!)

a close up of a snowflake cut with my fabulous Silhouette Cameo:

Then last night, I searched online for some scrapbooking challenges to get me inspired and came across this simple one:

from My Scraps and More

So after cooking up some delicious crepes for the boys and I this morning:

recipe here

I set straight to work on this page:

Every time I use the Silhouette, I am amazed at how intricately it can cut.  Tell me you're not amazed.

That's all I've got for now.  

Need to go get lunch for the boys who have been rotting their brains on Minecraft and various other absurdities for the past 2 hours.

yummy food

We just began a new tradition in our house last week.  

Hmm, can you call it a tradition after only a week?

Well, whatever it is, I wish I had started it sooner.

Each of the boys helps me cook dinner once a week.

I married a man who does not cook (boxed mac and cheese sends this man into a panic).

He is a wonderful man, with many talents and abilities.  Cooking is just not one of them.

We have been blessed with three boys.  Three smart and eager-to-learn boys.

I refuse to send them out into the world without a working knowledge of the kitchen.

Don't get me wrong, I am no Julia Child.  I can get by in the kitchen enough to scrape together home cooked meals 5 or 6 times a week, and I admittedly live for take-out night.

I get a lot of help, and one of my favorite cooking partners is The Pioneer Woman.  This girl can cook! I have never tried a recipe of hers that I did not like, and often my sometimes-picky eaters will ask for seconds.

Well, last night's dinner was no exception.

Seriously the best beef stew known to man.  And the mashed potatoes?  Out of this galaxy!

I have to admit, I did not follow the recipe for the stew exactly.  Tuesday was my middle son's turn in the kitchen.  We were cooking along: him pulsing the mini chopper on the onions and garlic, me handling all the raw meat parts.  Happily cooking along, the two of us, when I came to this line: "simmer covered for 1 1/2 to 2 hours."  Uh-oh.  Um, yeah, it was already pushing 6:00 and feeding my children at 8:30 is just not an option.  He sprang into action and threw together a pizza on a pre-baked crust, and I set the stew to simmer.

Later that night, I followed the rest of the directions on the stew (omitting the turnips--remember those "sometimes-picky eaters"), let it cool and refrigerated the whole pot until about an hour before dinner the next night.  I set the pot on the stove to simmer and whipped up TPW's to-die-for mashed potatoes (also included with the stew recipe link above), and had a delicious, stress-free dinner on the table in no time.

And oh, what a dinner it was.  Today's lunch leftovers were equally yummy.  I highly recommend this one!

Oh, and if you're looking for a yummy banana bread recipe, this one is the best I've ever tasted (and that's coming from a girl who doesn't even like banana bread).

The cinnamon-sugar swirl makes it divine!

How about you: try any yummy recipes lately?

crochet hats

I love an excuse to craft up a girly project.

And what's a better excuse than the birth of a sweet new baby girl?

I followed the pattern here, with one minor change: I did not join my rounds, but worked continuously in a spiral, using a stitch marker to mark the beginning of each round.  This eliminates the "line" that is created by joining and chaining 3 at the start of each round.

This little family welcomed their second girl, so of course I had to make a hat for big sister, too.

{bad early morning lighting on this one--was working against a deadline!}

The pattern for that hat is here.

I used two different, but similar flower patterns.

The one pictured above is from Crochet Adorned

Ranunculus pg. 127 (the first 5 rounds) & Small Leaf pg. 48

The second flower is made using this cute flower pattern from Skip to My Lou 

& this leaf pattern from Attic 24

Much to my relief the hats fit both girls.  And they look adorable in them!

could it be. . .

I have created a scrapbook page.

It has been over 6 months, half of a year, since I last scrapbooked.

I have missed it terribly.  Hardly a day has gone by that I haven't thought about pushing paper around on a blank canvas, reminiscing over moments gone by captured in photographs, arranging and rearranging, putting pen and glue stick to paper to assemble a page for our albums.

Today, when I should have been folding laundry and vacuuming a rug (or 5) , I sat down to scrapbook with the challenge of using circles.

Here is my result:

Hoping it's just the beginning. . .

Thanks for looking!

valentine garland

I have found a new addiction.

photo credit: Small Good Things

Pom-pom making!

The above pictured gadgets can be found at your local craft store.

They whip up pom-poms quickly and easily.

But you could also use a fork

Or a piece of cardboard

Pom-poms were the perfect use for the variegated pink and white yarn I picked up on clearance 

{I'm a sucker for clearance}.  

Instagram photo

From the moment I made the first pom, I had envisioned a little Valentine garland.

And what would a pom-pom Valentine garland be without some crochet hearts?

For the small heart:

Work all stitches in a magic ring.

Ch3, dc, trc, 4dc, trc, 4dc, trc, 2 dc, pull cricle tightly closed, slst into ring.

The larger heart was worked using this fun pattern from Barbara Summers.

As a last minute design element, I decided to add some fabric scallop circles cut with the Big Shot, pressed in half, and stitched with baker's twine in a running stitch.

Instagram photo

Love on a string!

be my valentine

I really like Valentine's Day.

I do.

Love seems too strong of a word, but I do really like it.

All the pink, the flowers, the symmetrical hearts, the lace and doilies.

The chocolate.

It epitomizes femininity (and maybe a few extra inches on the hips).

What I do love is coming up with little Valentine ideas for the boys to hand out to their classmates.

And then spending time with my favorite Valentines to put them together.

This year's treats:

filled with chewy fruit snacks

Happy Valentine's Day to all of you!

XOXO

a crochet stocking

I have another crochet project to share with you today:

Yarn: Lily Sugar and Cream in 

Hot Pink, Hot Green, Powder and Red

To make the hexagon motif, I followed rounds 1, 2, & 3 form this Red Heart pattern.  For the final round (hot pink) I did the following:

join new color in corner space of round 3

ch3 (counts as first dc), dc1, ch1, 2dc all in corner space

dc1 in each stitch along side

in corner space: dc2, ch1, dc2 

repeat around and join with slip stitch to top of beginning ch3

Then I followed the instructions in this pattern from Priscilla Hewitt to join the motifs.

That's one stocking down, 4 more to go by December 1st!

Thanks for looking!