Love Your Stash - Day 7

Life here would seem to be crazy - given the amount of things NOT getting done, but really I think it's an over-stuffed mind that is to blame.  I haven't had time to catch up my Project Life - my photos are at least printed for the last two weeks - though my printer is telling me my ink is low, so I'm teetering on an edge here.  I went to my knitting class over the weekend and wasn't able to finish to the point I need to be for this week's class and so now I have to figure out a time to go down to get help with my "heel turn."  The house feels cluttered, though when I really look it doesn't look cluttered.  I haven't even read the One Little Word prompt for February, and it's what, the 12th!  Plus there are the 100's of things prancing around in my head.  I need more than a to-do list - I need a to-do book!

Today's Love Your Stash challenge is about clearing out the odds-and-ends.  Dig out some of your random sheets of paper and pair them up with other random sheets to create your layout, card or other paper project.  So that small print dot, and, oh yeah, this stripe and maybe that swirl background - they're getting cleared out today.  Keep two things in mind when mixing patterns from various manufacturers:  1)  find common colors - they don't need to be matchy-matchy, but a similar shade or two will help unify them.  2) use various scales of designs - it's best if your polka dot isn't as big as your large graphic, then the designs aren't competing on the background with the photos on your layout or other elements on your card.

Remember to add your link in the comment sections by Sunday evening to be eligible for this week's prize - Authentique's "Uncommon" line.

Happy Tuesday,

Love Your Stash - Day 6

Today, as I got dressed the sun was shining and it was snowing.  Soft, tiny snowflakes that, because of the sun, glittered like diamonds as they floated past my window.  Some caught the heat off the house and floated up and seemed to beg to come inside.  It was beautiful. 

In honor of those millions of twinkling, sparkling, glittering little snowflakes, today's Love Your Stash challenge is to pull out those bits and baubles we call bling:  glitter brads, rhinestone swirls, sparkling words, self-adhesive twinkling strips.  Include them on your layout, card or other crafty item (maybe something for Valentine's Day ;D) and get them linked in the comment section by Sunday evening for a shot at this week's goodie.  "Uncommon" from Authentique - this is the complete line of papers and diecuts (and I think there's stickers in it too.)

Happy Monday,

Love Your Stash - Day 5

So far today I have done nothing, save getting dressed and making my bed.  This is becoming a disturbing trend in my Fridays.  I need to get moving on something before I get to 2:30 (kid-gathering time) and realize I won't have down time until well after dinner.  We host my in-laws twice a week for dinner, and so I don't get my usual downtime those nights until generally 8:00 or later. 

It's not like I have come to Friday and completed all that needs doing for the week.  Hardly.  Case-in-point:  I have one sock that needs about five more inches knitted to it before tomorrow's 10 am class.  I have a party for our 16 y.o. tomorrow night and have nothing planned to feed the masses.  I have dinner to fix for tonight  (at least I'm still doing my weekly menus) and need something for dessert since we'll have family game night after dinner.  So, yeah, there's plenty that needs doing.

In case you are suffering similar can't-get-going-itis, today's Love Your Stash challenge is to gather up an Apron Strings kit and use it 'til there's nothing left.  If that means two layouts, or cards galore, or a mix of layout and cards, so be it.  Use it 'til the last drop button!  If you don't have an Apron Strings kit, gather a supply of three patterned papers, two sheets of cardstock and a handful of embellishments; whatever you pull together you need to use up.  By all means, in either case, if you need extra cardstock or a few other embellishments to complete the projects, dig them out and use them.

I did find a super cute set of papers, Princess, from AdornIt (Carolee's Creations).  Folks who've linked up their work for the week under the various posts will have a shot at winning this.  You have until Sunday evening to get your work linked up.  Do you need to play everyday to be eligible?  NO!  Just the more you link, the better your odds!

In case you see some crafting in your future this weekend because you not only want to dig into your stash, but you want a shot a prizes (and who doesn't), you'll need a quick, yet yummy dinner to serve to your family.  This Zesty Calzone (found on Apron Strings I Can Cook That board) is just the thing to get you in and out of the kitchen and back to your scrappy spaces.  I've made this, and it was a family hit.  Switch up the inside meats to meet your family's tastes.  I served it with fruit salad, but it would be a great side for a soup, as well.

Off to get rolling on . . . well. . .anything.

Happy Friday.

Love Your Stash - Day 4

If you've followed along here for a while you know this is the time of year my favorite non-chocolate candy is out - Brach's Jujube Cherry Hearts.  Forget the roses.  Besides being insane in cost, they don't last long here.  No - get me bags of these candies.  This year it took browsing through four stores before I found it...or rather my husband found it.  I think the four bags he brought home are the perfect way to celebrate hitting my 10 pound weight loss milestone.  Right?  Totally!

I've been working on digging out things I'm not using.  Like this.  Glitter.  I have several tiny bottles of Doodlebug Glitter.  It sits up and behind my work table, so it's out and visible, but I think I'm in too much of hurry, usually, to think about using it.  So, I've pulled it down to remember it.  It doesn't take a lot of glitter to make an impact on a card or layout.

Today's Love Your Stash challenge, find a product that's more technique - I think of glittering as a technique -  and use it.  For you it might be Diamond Glaze, or maybe ink pads to distress edges.  

Share you card, layout or other paper project by Sunday evening to win a goodie.  Leave your link in the comments.

Happy Thursday,

Love Your Stash - Day 3

Today, 16 years ago, we welcomed our first child and only daughter.  She's become a beautiful young woman inside and out and all within the space of the blink of an eye.  She's bright, funny and a serious hockey fanatic. We're proud to call her our daughter.  We love you so much, baby girl, Happy Sweet Sixteen! 

Today's Love Your Stash challenge is to select and use and older tool on your layout, card or other paper project. 

I don't have a lot of tools left - they've been purged over the years.  I have my Cricut and some punches - nothing like the stash above - mine fit in a small basket, but really that's about it.  Uh, I just remembered a grommet setter I have that has never been cracked out of its box.  I'm sure you have similar things in your own stash.  Today's the day to use it/them.  And hey, if you determine after you've used it, it was not a, "wow, why I have waited so long to use this again" moment, maybe it's time to put it in your give-away pile.

Upload your project by Sunday evening - or rather provide your link in the comment section and be sure to tell us what the tool was.  I'll try to find the prize package tonight so you know what you're playing for.

Happy Wednesday.

Love Your Stash - Day 2

First things first - that applesauce I was making from the Apron Strings I Can Cook That Pinterest board - awesome!  It was easy, relatively quick what with the peeling and chopping eight apples, and good.  It cooked down enough I didn't really need to blend it - I left it chunky and whatever my rubber spatula could smoosh that's all I did.  I would be an easy baby or toddler food to whip nice and smooth.  Cook down some berries with the apples to mix up the flavors.  If we hadn't eaten most of it for dinner, I would expect that the batch would have produced two quarts.  The recipe says you can process them, which I'd do if I was making several batches, but stored in the 'fridge for a week or so should work, too.  I don't know how it would fair being frozen.  This seems like a good reason to head out to the farm we frequent this coming fall for some serious apple picking!

Mixing old and new is a great way to breathe life into supplies that you've lost interest in.  Today's Love Your Stash challenge is to combine your oldest embellishments with your newest papers.  For me it would be these. . .remember these?  These tiny, sold by the 100's, ear-splitting, table pounding fun.  Eyelets.  I've got enough to last me through a nuclear winter, but they sit, sorted and stored - languishing, waiting for the light of day.  So I'm thinking. . .cards.  I can use them on the cards I'm making.  I just need to pull the box out so I see it. . .that whole Closed and Visible thing for me. ;D  See - it pays to understand your process!

What's it gonna be for you?  Chipboard?  Items from your swap days?  Photo corners?  Vellum tags?  Photo turns?  Go get them and use them.  Layout, card or other paper project is due this Sunday evening.  Please link up your item in the comments.  I'm hoping to find time to research the changes at the linky site I was using or find an alternative source this week.

Happy Tuesday!

Love Your Stash - Day 1

February.  Mr. Groundhog here saw his shadow, and so far he's more accurate that our weather-guys.  It's cold - though they said it's supposed to get to 60.  Yeah, not so much.  Cloudy?  Yes.  Windy?  Totally.  Warm?  No.  And it's blah outside.  Snow is gone and everything is dry as toast.  It's a good day for just working, so I am.  I've tackled my chores.  I've tried to jam the Christmas tree back into the box it came it.  For the record the tree has been down, but it's been in pieces laying at the foot of the stairs in the basement.  They should pack these types of things into a box that can be re-used, meaning the consumer should be able to get the item, in this case the tree, into the box without super-human strength, complex mashing machinery (this is a technical term, naturally) or the splitting and bulging of the box the item arrived in.  Seriously, it's like trying to get marshmallow fluff back in the jar.  I got frustrated, so I moved on to cooking and homemade applesauce (found, of course, on Pinterest and on the I Can Cook That board) seemed a good choice what with the blustery day and all.

We enjoyed a mostly quiet, stay-at-home weekend.  We celebrated my niece's birthday Friday night, started my next knitting class on Saturday afternoon, cropped on Saturday night  and Sunday we had the Super Bowl.  Which for us meant a reason to have finger foods serve as a meal.  We sort of watched the game - but we were more in it for the commercials, which weren't as entertaining as we'd hoped.

As I mentioned I cropped.  I completed more of my December Daily Album.  The number of 5x7 pages completed versus the hours I was there seems to be a tad out of whack, but it's about completed pages and crafting.

There are a couple pages that need . . . something . . . something a little more dimensional.  I'll have to dig through my stash, maybe a button or pin.

Speaking of stash, since I'm sure you all have taken the ideas from January's posts about organizing your scrappy places, caught the cleaning bug and have been a whirling dervish of organizing activities and now you're ready to celebrate your space by getting all crafty.  

Right?  

Hello?  

Is this on?  

Haven't undertaken the organize and purge of your supplies?  That's okay, if you take part in this month's challenges you'll have less to purge and organize.  Given that we're in the month of "Love," it seems only fitting that the challenges center around Loving Your Stash -- aka, digging it out and using it!   You'll combine the challenges with items you already have - old or new, cutting edge or cut it up, we're gonna use it.

We'll start today off with something fairly simple - dig deep now - and grab an item that you've been passing over for a while and use it.  Papers that aren't really a shade you enjoy - well, it's time to enjoy them.  An embellishment that you had to buy 50 of but only used five and haven't touched them since - go touch them.  Whatever your item, create a layout, card or other maybe something for your home or mini project, then upload them here by Sunday evening. Be sure to let us know what item it is that you've been passing over.  (Yes, there will be rewards.)

Happy Monday.  

P.S.  The website I've been using for linking up your work has undergone some changes, so I need to read up on the changes or find a new "linky."  For now, please link your work in the comments.  Thank you.