I mentioned in a previous post that I am guilty of procrastinating...well I am also extremely guilty of over-committing myself. I have complete realization that this is a lethal combination, yet I continue on my path of destruction. My most current example: last February our friends' dear daughter turned one. They requested that no one give her any gifts, but I just really wanted to do something for them, as they are some of the most kind & generous people you could know.  So I told them that I would make a little album using one photo of each month of their daughter's first year of life.  They are now expecting baby number two in about two weeks and up until yesterday afternoon, the status of the promised album was still "uncompleted."  Un.believable.  I mean, ok...I am home with a 3-year old and 1-year old by myself for 14 hours a day, with only a few mornings a week that Santiago is at preschool. I do have to actually make food and do dishes & laundry. And I did commit myself to making several other gifts this past year as well: a 40-page 12x12 album, an altered album cover and an altered album box.  Not to mention all of the scrapbooking layouts for our own family as well as multiple cards to send out. So, yes maybe I'm unneccesarily beating myself up over the timeliness of their gift...but really? Who's fault is it?  Seriously, one of my goals for Twenty-Twelve is to stop volunteering time that does not exist and to say "no" when I can't. Let's see how long my resolution lasts :)

As for the album I made...I presented it to my friends last night and they loved it!  They actually thought it was great to receive it almost a year after her first birthday, as it gave them the opportunity to reminisce. So I guess it was a success...

Blog Surfing

So I was waaaay lacking in the scrappy mojo department today, and whenever that happens I find there are only two solutions (besides giving up and actually doing something productive around the house, like laundry or dishes lol).  Either I organize my craft room or I surf blogs & challenge sites. Since I was also feeling a bit lazy (with it being the end of the week and all) I decided that relaxing with the laptop & a cup of coffee was a bit more appealing.  Somehow or another I stumbled upon a brand new blog that sells "handmade & unique embellishments"  Not only that, but they are currently offering the chance to win a $25 voucher in their first product release. I would love to win something new for my scrappy stash, and I thought I would share the link for all of you as well.

So if you get a chance, check out Greatest View here

Have a fabulous weekend all!

Love of My Life

So blame it on there hardly being any pictures of my husband and myself together, or the over abundance of pictures of our kids, but I just don't do as many layouts of us anymore. So when Santiago (who is only 3-1/2) took this adorable picture of us this past October I just knew I was going to have to do a really special layout with it.  You know the kind...where you use that patterned paper you have been hoarding for "just the right moment" and one of those really nice embellishments (like a Prima silk flower) that cost $5 lol.  And when Colorful Creations started running a challenge to use lyrics of a song on a layout, I knew immediately that I would use that very photo.  The challenge will continue to run until January 31st so you still have time to play along as well!

For my song lyrics I chose part of the chorus from one of my favorite songs "Say Hey (I Love You)" by Michael Franti...."It seems like everywhere I go, the more I see, the less I know. But I know one thing, that I love you"

Colorful Creations Blog - My Sketch!

Whoah! It's Wednesday already??  Do you ever feel like some weeks seem to just fly by, while others just drag along? Clearly this is one of those weeks that has just simply gotten away from me...and I can't believe I didn't post the second of this month's sketch challenges from the Colorful Creations blog!  And of all times to forget...this half of the month my sketch is being featured lol. 

Here is my sketch:

And here is my layout:

So please go and check it out...you still have until January 31st to complete and link your layout for a chance to win a fabulous prize!

Big Sister Competition - Week 2

Well even though I was the first to post my layout for last week's  Big Sister challenge at Colorful Creations I was not chosen as HOH.  Luckily though, I was not eliminated, so I was able to make it through to the next week. For this challenge we were to use the following sketch and at least 3 of the 5 colors from the provided palette.

And here is my take on the challenge:

Another Birthday Card...

Just thought I would make a quick post of a card I made this afternoon for a friend's 30th birthday. His wife is throwing him a surprise party tonight...so fingers crossed that we succeed in the surprising part :)

I used a card sketch from The Color Room.  It's not this week's sketch, but from back in December.

And here's my interpretation:

Belated Birthday Wishes

I can be the worst procrastinator.  In high school and college, I would frequently wait until the night before a paper was due to start typing it...which then would result in pulling an all-nighter, drinking one or two pots of coffee to keep me going.  Between age and little ones requiring my attention extremely early the next day, I don't think I can pull  off working on a project until the wee hours of the morning these days, but I do still tend to procrastinate.  So I was extremely proud of myself for making a birthday card for my mom over a week before her actual birthday.  My pride quickly dissipated when I found said card sitting in my craft room yesterday....and her birthday is today...and she lives about 1400 miles away. I don't think my mom follows my blog... which is too bad because then she could get a sneak peek of what is now her belated card :).

Colorful Creations Monday Mixer

I think I may have finally reached a turning point with Santiago & Paolina.  This week they have been happily playing in their room together for 30 minute increments before they either get bored and come looking for me, or start fighting with each other.  Maybe other moms don't have trouble with their children playing by themselves, but I have always had this problem with Santiago.  He doesn't seem to like to be alone, and I think the only reason he's willing to play without me now is because Paolina is finally old enough to "keep him company".  Paolina has never had a problem with being alone...must come with the territory of being a second-born.  Since birth she has been constantly abandoned in her pack & play or high chair whenever we had to speed off to prevent Santiago from wreaking havoc in the house (the only time he's willing to be alone is when he's doing something rascally lol).  So now she'll take a toy or book off to a corner and sit there by herself, probably happy to be away from Santiago hopping about & screaming as 3-year old boys do.  Anyhow, these 30-minute moments have not only allowed me to start some much needed organizational projects around the house, but to squeeze some scrapbooking & cardmaking in too.  I can't even remember the last time I was able to craft in the middle of the day, unless I had both kiddos down for a nap.  It really provides a nice break from housework!  So this week I have been working on a few layouts, and I completed one for the Monday Mixer challenge at Colorful Creations.  We were to use the below sketch and color scheme.

For my interpretation, I adapted the sketch to a double-pager, and used some photos of Santiago with his best friend when they were at the Discovery Science Center last year.  We could not tear those boys away from the Pin Wall attraction, and everytime we have been since, it's the same!

Big Sister

This quarter Colorful Creations is running a super fun competition called "Big Sister" (based on the CBS TV series Big Brother). Each week a challenge will run, and the first three competitors to post their layouts will be up for HOH (head of the household). Admin will choose one of those three to be HOH, and therefore be safe from elimination that week. One person will then be selected by a secret panel of judges for eviction.  Any competitor who does not complete a challenge by the due date will automatically be evicted. This will continue each week until a winner is determined. I was definitely hesitant to participate in this quarter long challenge after last year's So You Think You Can Scrap, which was fun yet also stressful LOL.  But Admin promised that the weekly challenges wouldn't be crazy hard like SYTYCS, so I figured I was game ;).  For the first week's challenge we were to use the following PageMaps sketch:

And I used a photo from Santiago's newborn photo shoot for my interpretation:

01.05.12

Have you ever noticed that the majority of scrapbooking out there is only of photos? One rarely sees cards or memorabilia on layouts. I myself become guilty of this...because naturally cute photos of my kids are more pleasing to the eye than a bent ticket stub or crumpled cocktail napkin.  But what should we do when there are no photos to scrap?  Should we not record that event or memory? Since journaling is  not my strong point, and I feel like the pictures tell much of the story for me, I do often find myself not scrapping something if there are no photos to accompany it.  This is such a shame...especially since the original scrapbooking craft was all about the collage of memorabilia along with photos, so all of that stuff wasn't hidden away inside a shoebox in your closet.  So I do make a conscious effort to always scrap the lovely cards my husband gives me for my birthday, our anniversary and Valentine's Day.  Now for the following layout, I was fortunate to have a photo that Noé took of me when he surprised me with some Valentine's Day gifts when I arrived home from work as well as a photo I took of the gifts & cards we exchanged.  But I feel like the focus is actually on the IOU I had made for him, the beautiful card he gave me as well as the tag that had been attached to my gift.  To create this two-page layout, I modified a single-page sketch from a challenge that is currently running at Colorful Creations.

Happy New Year!

Hello everybody and hello 2012!  As promised in yesterday's post, I have information about Colorful Creations' new sketch blog.  I urge you to go check out the fabulous new look of their blog as well as join in their bi-monthly sketch challenges at http://ourcolorfulcreations.blogspot.com/.  A new sketch will be posted on the 1st and the 15th of each month, and when you post your layout, your name will be put in a drawing for a chance to win an awesome prize.

Here is my take on the first challenge of 2012

My layout is based on the following sketch which you can also find over at the Colorful Creations blog!