Day #29 - 30 Days of Thankful

Day #29 - Today I am thankful for all the reading I've managed to do this year.  I've cruised through all but three books that once jammed my book drawer, and in the process rediscovered some of my favorite authors.

Day #28 - 30 Days of Thankful

Day #28 - Today I am thankful for that fleeting moment in the still silence of a golden-orange Colorado sunset .

 

If you're partaking in 30 Days of Thankful, the Instagram version or something similar (there are quite few options out there) please share your links in the comments to your blog, photos, words or layouts.

Not the Intention. . .Rake Up #16

I never intend to skip out on a day of posting, but there are days that it just happens.  I try not to beat myself up too much, but I hate it every time and feel like a big dork for missing a post.  I wish I had a good excuse like I was working on fun stuff, conquering the Take 12 album, or finishing up those 4 year old, half-finished Christmas cards to send out this year or any number of other fun crafty items.  Shoot, even that I de-cluttered my entire home.  But that's never the case. :(

Rake Up today is for those tackling their crafty spaces.  Purging and cleaning out should be a task you undertake on a regular basis.  It not only gets you in touch with what you have on hand, but it is inspiring to look at it all, as the mind races with all kinds of ideas on how to use it.  It's also good to let go of items that just don't do it for you anymore - there are plenty of places to donate your older products.  It also cuts down on what you have to look through.  Cuts the guilt of having and not using.  The tip today for helping you do this comes again, from Professional Organizer, Geralin Thomas, and the informational series she posted on her blog.  Ask yourself,  "How much did it cost? There’s a big difference between deciding to toss a complete set of Copic markers (price: $6 each) and a complete set of Crayola crayons (price: $6 total). If you invested heavily in the supply or tool, give yourself the benefit of the doubt and hold onto it. If it didn’t break the bank or was free, toss with abandon."

If you are not in the organizing groove then this little holiday treat is for you.  This tag created by Tomi Ann Hill, using the November Card Kit, is darn cute (love me some pom trim.)  However, take the design and blow it up for your Christmas cards and you have a great, easy to pull together idea for the bulk of your cards - seriously, look . . . Cardstock base, white pen stitches, swatch of double-sided paper with a corner fold, a brad, a cardstock circle with the sentiment and then another strip of patterned paper across the bottom - even without the pom trim it's totally simple!  Make several of them for gift tags or for tags on holiday treats and hostess gifts. 

 

Note: As you complete your projects, leave a comment under any Rake Up post sharing what you completed. If you've got a photo to share, include the link.

Happy Thursday,

Day #27 - 30 Days of Thankful

Day #27 - Today I am thankful for the reminder to find joy, daily, in "the little things."  Like the utter thrill (if I were 4 y.o.) in hearing the train whistle, and then eagerly watching for the first engine to slide by.

 

If you're partaking in 30 Days of Thankful, the Instagram version or something similar (there are quite few options out there) please share your links in the comments to your blog, photos, words or layouts.

Day #26 - 30 Days of Thankful

Day #26 - Today I am thankful for common ground and answered prayers.

If you're partaking in 30 Days of Thankful, the Instagram version or something similar (there are quite few options out there) please share your links in the comments to your blog, photos, words or layouts.

Day #25 - 30 Days of Thankful

Day #25 - Today I am thankful for whatever brings them all together.

If you're partaking in 30 Days of Thankful, the Instagram version or something similar (there are quite few options out there) please share your links in the comments to your blog, photos, words or layouts.

Monday Already. . .Rake Up #15

I hope everyone here in the states enjoyed their Thanksgiving feasts, time spent with family and/or friends and recalling all we have been blessed with.
 
We spent the day in our house, enjoying a dinner with just the six of us; turkey and all the fixings.  We did crawl out of the cozy recesses of our home to have dessert with hubby's family, but retreated quickly to return to play a rousing game of Pictionary, boys vs. girls, and then enjoying some popcorn and Blazing Saddles.  It was as perfect a day as I could imagine.
 
The rest of the weekend was equally pleasant.  House stayed in pretty good shape considering everyone was home.  I made some decent in-roads on my to-do and Rake Up lists.  I not only printed my 2011 December Daily photos, but I completed the album.  Can I get a "WOOHOO!"
 

 

Let's see, what does that leave on my own list?  Take 12 related items - haven't printed any more photos or done a layout.  Christmas Cards.  "Joy" decor.  My knitting project - our little group decided to continue meeting on Thursday evenings, so I need to get to a point where someone can help me finish the hat.  I have signed up for a workshop that starts on Sunday.  Would like to have the first project off the needles before I start the next.

 
Since we're in the home stretch for our Rake Up November lists, and I'm on a decent roll myself, I've uncovered some simple paper ornaments (originally found on Pinterest.)  Easy and quick - perfect for kids.  These would be cute using scraps, glitter papers, vellum (remember that stuff?), different sizes.  Hang them on a tree, make them small and put them on bare branches, make them larger and hang them by windows or group them mobile-style.  Shoot you could even hook them end-to-end to make a garland.  And those little grommets - you could totally use eyelets - REMEMBER THOSE - or just go without.
 

Note: As you complete your projects, leave a comment under any Rake Up post sharing what you completed. If you've got a photo to share, include the link.

I am still holding out hope to get a few more items off my Rake Up list.  Stay tuned.
Happy Monday,
 

Day #24 - 30 Days of Thankful

Day #24 - Today I am thankful for the two dozen ornaments occupying two sqare feet on the tree - all on the bottom branches . . .and the little elf who put them there.

 

If you're partaking in 30 Days of Thankful, the Instagram version or something similar (there are quite few options out there) please share your links in the comments to your blog, photos, words or layouts.

Day #23 - 30 Days of Thankful

Day #23 - Today I am thankful for being reminded what the excitement of waiting for Christmas truly looks like.

If you're partaking in 30 Days of Thankful, the Instagram version or something similar (there are quite few options out there) please share your links in the comments to your blog, photos, words or layouts.

Day #22 - 30 Days of Thankful

Day #22 - Today I am thankful for evenings spent together as a family.

 

If you're partaking in 30 Days of Thankful, the Instagram version or something similar (there are quite few options out there) please share your links in the comments to your blog, photos, words or layouts.

Day #21 - 30 Days of Thankful

Day #21 - Today I am thankful for big treats in little packages.

 

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Happy Thanksgiving

All that we behold is full of blessings. ~William Wordsworth

Day #20 - 30 Days of Thankful

Day #20 - Today I am thankful for my two 12 year old boys. . .the one who is living it now and the one who remembers when he was.

 

If you're partaking in 30 Days of Thankful, the Instagram version or something similar (there are quite few options out there) please share your links in the comments to your blog, photos, words or layouts.

Refreshed and Ready. . .Rake Up #14

After a tumultuous start to the day yesterday, what with parent/teacher conferences - I must state for the record, however, that my kids are good students, but it's just draining and no matter how good they are, there's always something that catches you off guard.   As a result, I never really got much into the groove of accomplishing anything.  Maybe I'm reserving my energy for turkey-day, though I'm only cooking for the six of us, and hubby's cooking the bird, so my role is pretty small - sweet potatoes (which everyone would hork down without the bird), dessert, some other vegetable dish, the requisite cranberry jelly (which everyone recreates the noise of it coming out of the can when they ask for it) and maybe a warm, yeasty roll of some kind.

 

I'm looking forward to the long weekend and the chance to get my hands dirty doing something for me.  Selfish, but true.  Though as I went downstairs to get my iPod charger, the mess that greeted me was nuts.  The 4 y.o. had managed to, literally, dump a 66 quart plastic container of trains onto the floor so he could haul up the empty box.  His brothers wondered how he managed to lift it to dump out and drag (or push) it up the stairs, and my only reply was, "sheer determination."  So between that, and the Legos, I've got some cleaning to do before I'm inspired.

 

But you get to be inspired now. . .first, by Kristin Perez and her layout using the November Smaller than a Breadbox kit.

 

 

And next, if prepping for the holidays is on your Rake Up list this adorable paper ornament (found the link on Pinterest from the Hybrid Chic) could be your ticket to inspiration.  How great would it be to use up those paper scraps!!  And especially for those much-loved Christmas papers.  I have an ornament using this technique but made from fabric that I just love.  I think this would be fun with kids - except the pinning part - maybe a little help there for the younger fingers.  They'd be cute on a tree, on a package, hanging with stockings, even has a place card holder for your holiday table.  Make them mini or make them big.  My mind is a-whirl with the possibilities.

 

 

 

If you haven't left your list of Rake Up Goals (and really, it's never too late to start a to-do list) and you want to take part, you can leave your comment attached to the post HERE.

Note: As you complete your projects, leave a comment under any Rake Up post sharing what you completed. If you've got a photo to share, include the link.
I'm off to make my shopping list, short though it is - like sweet potatoes and cranberry jelly short.

Happy Wednesday.

Day #19 - 30 Days of Thankful

Day #19 - Today I am thankful for just being home.

If you're partaking in 30 Days of Thankful, the Instagram version or something similar (there are quite few options out there) please share your links in the comments to your blog, photos, words or layouts.

Monday? What?. . .Rake Up #13

I seem to have missed Monday.  I was here; at least my body was.  But apparently my brain was just checked out.  Big surprise, I know.  I wish I could say it was turkey-day prep, but no.  I wish I could show you I was deep in creating, alas no.  Big cleaning because guests were coming. . .nope.  It was just one of those days.  And after a morning of parent/teacher conferences, today isn't starting off with any more clarity than yesterday did.

 

But that doesn't mean there's no inspiration to keep rolling along, or that you should be slacking on your Rake Up list, like me.  Take the card below, created by Tomi Ann Hill using the November All Year Cheer Card Kit.  If getting your holiday cards done is on your list, then you're in luck!  Not only are there a couple, but only a couple, card kits left (which are coordinated to help you get your holiday cards done with leftovers for creating holiday tags) but it comes with full-color instructions on putting together the examples.  What's that mean?  It means could whip out this exact card in just a few minutes and be one step closer to having your cards done.

 

Oh, and look at the cute stocking, hanging there ,"banner style."  Or the colors.  I love the sort of non-traditional take on Christmas colors with the purple.

 

 

 

If you haven't left your list of Rake Up Goals (and really, it's never too late to start a to-do list) and you want to take part, you can leave your comment attached to the post HERE.

Note: As you complete your projects, leave a comment under any Rake Up post sharing what you completed. If you've got a photo to share, include the link.

Off to find my focus and get to work.

Happy Tuesday.

Day #18 - 30 Days of Thankful

Day #18 - Today I am thankful for cheesecakes (the Pumpkin Swirl in particular) and the hubby who made them.

 

If you're partaking in 30 Days of Thankful, the Instagram version or something similar (there are quite few options out there) please share your links in the comments to your blog, photos, words or layouts.

Day #17 - 30 Days of Thankful

Day #17 - Today I am thankful for the skills necessary to fit two cheesecakes for a birthday party, doggie-bags from report card celebrations at Beau Jo's AND the Thanksgiving turkey into my already over stuffed, need-to-eat-leftovers full refrigerator.

 

If you're partaking in 30 Days of Thankful, the Instagram version or something similar (there are quite few options out there) please share your links in the comments to your blog, photos, words or layouts.

Day #16 - 30 Days of Thankful

Day #16 - Today I am thankful for any book that Jackson likes enough to keep reading.  And with the,"this is better than Hunger Games" praise, he's still reading.  Go Jackson.

 

If you're partaking in 30 Days of Thankful, the Instagram version or something similar (there are quite few options out there) please share your links in the comments to your blog, photos, words or layouts.

Day #15 - 30 Days of Thankful

Day #15 - Today I am thankful for the Knit Knack where I take my knitting classes - and will be doing a snowman next (so excited). . .it is me, just me, time. (And the twinklie fairy lights lining the street don't hurt either.)

 

If you're partaking in 30 Days of Thankful, the Instagram version or something similar (there are quite few options out there) please share your links in the comments to your blog, photos, words or layouts.

Seven-or so. . .Rake Up #12

Big Picture Classes is celebrating their seventh birthday.  I've taken several classes and there are dozens that appeal to me every year.  But I try to be realistic in what I can actually accomplish as I'm not so great at the self-paced or going back and finishing up if I've fallen behind when the class ends.  There are a couple classes coming up that I'm contemplating; 12 Days of Christmas being one of them.  They have broadened their selection to go beyond just scrapbooking - exercise and health, sewing, techniques, photography and more.  On one of their blog posts this week, they shared the following journaling prompts and I thought it'd be interesting to fill-out:

• 7 everyday things I couldn't live without (no people, see below):  1. my recipes, 2. my "lounging" sweater, 3. my DVR, 4. my slippers, 5. my hair dryer, 6. something crafty to do, 7. something to read 
• 7 of my favorite songs (these change often - except for White Christmas):  1. White Christmas by Bing Crosby, 2. 50 Ways to Say Goodbye by Train, 3. Some Nights by Fun, 4. Pour Some Sugar on Me by Def Leppard, 5. Kyrie by Mr. Mister, 6. Celebrity by Brad Paisley, 7. Fireman by George Strait
• 7 adventures I want to have before I die (no places, see below):  I guess I'm not the adventurer-type because I am coming up empty
• 7 pastimes I never tire of doing:  1. scrapbooking, 2. cooking, 3. baking, 4. cross stitching, 5. wandering around Pinterest, 6. watching my kids play their chosen sport, 7. watching movies
• 7 treats I could eat every day (and probably do):  1. Scones, 2.  Baby Ruth, 3. Potato Chips, 4. Coffee, 5. Chocolate Chip Cookies (homemade), 6. Pumpkin anything (this is probably just a seasonal thing), 7. French Fries. . .hmmm. . .not lookin' too healthy, though it didn't say "healthy treats" just "treats"
• 7 people I'd be lost without:  1. my husband, 2. my kids, 3. my parents, 4. my siblings, 5. Jennifer, 6. Maggi - that totals way more than seven.
• 7 places I want to visit:  1. Alaska, 2. Hawaii, 3. Ireland, 4. Turks & Caicos, 5. New England

Today's Rake Up inspiration comes from Nancy Longo using her Bigger than a Breadbox - the Cosmo Cricket S'More Love line.  First, I love her bunnies.  Second, another great example of how double-sided papers give you so many more options.  This line, if you look at the main theme rather than the color scheme, is outdoorsy-campy, though it works perfectly to house Nancy's fluffy family.  If your Rake Up list includes layouts, her grid is a design that'll help you crank out your page for today lickety-split.  If you're making cards the dimensional butterflies may inspire you add dimension to snowflakes, Santa faces or Christmas trees.  If you're prepping for Thanksgiving the colors are great for your table-scape, invites, dish cards or home decor.

 

If you haven't left your list of Rake Up Goals and you want to take part, you can leave your comment attached to the post HERE.

Note: As you complete your projects, leave a comment under any Rake Up post sharing what you completed. If you've got a photo to share, include the link.

The weekend is here and as usual I have hopes of getting to my own Rake Up list.  The weather is supposed to be cool, we have nothing really on the calendar. . .so, as usual, hope springs eternal.