9 more?!?

Can I do it?
Blue & Gold banquet shopping, tonight..
Blue & Gold banquet and prep tomorrow...
and then MARCH 1st is SUNDAY!!
Can I do it?

Winner..

Bree!!
Congrats..
E-Mail me your addy at: mindypitcher@comcast.net... I'll get it off to ya!

Check this out!!

Holy smackaroni!!
Christie told me to go here...
This girl is twelve and so amazing!!!

Organizing..

I know, I know..
I have 10 (ten) layouts to do before month's end, in order to reach my goal.. but I am having trouble getting inspired. I have more than enough sewing projects on my table, and more than enough pics to scrapbook.. but I am struggling.. so I decided to clean out.
I am fighting the urge to re-paint too...
But here's one of my favorite ways to organize my scraps.. and if you know me, I save ALL of my scraps.
I take an ordinary file folder, and trace the shape of the tab on the folder on the little tab that comes on the end of so many manufacturer's paper now days.. cut it out, and glue the baby down.. I like to use my Xyron sticker maker.That way, I have all my scraps organized by manufacturer, and in My Mind's Eye's case, their different lines :)
Don't forget.. one more day to enter!!

Some craftin'..

It's hard to craft when you have a sick baby, who only wants to snuggle with mama, not dad.. but I did manage to get a few things done.. and I'll be danged if I forgot to take pics of the cute b-day gifts I made for a lady I visit teach!! Oh, well..
This one hangs on my front door (how I wish it were painted black, still.. *sigh*). It's a paper mache letter painted and the edges inked with StazOn, then embellished with a bookplate and some cute ribbon I found at Michael's.
This one was easier.. Cricut, my buddy and the plate was found at Bed, Bath & Beyond. I can't help but think of the movie "Click" whenever I go in there!
Watch for a give away on this one soon :D

6 things that make me happy...

Aartee tagged me.. so here goes!
(I could have easily made this 6,000,000 things that make me happy.. and somehow chocolate isn't on my list..?)
#6- Fun, new, colorful scrapbooking goodies to play with..
#5- Darling new ribbons to make many things with...
#4- Yummy new fabric...
#3- LOVE LOVE LOVE these stamps!! They are used much.. loved well and never neglected..
#2- My girls! They are my muses and inspiration to all things creative and crafty...
#1- My honey.. "Merrill Hottie-Body", sometimes goes as "Punkley Pitcher".. he supports all that is crafty and fun to me :)
I tag: Paper Cakes, Cutie Pie, Ally, and Crafting Memories crew...

Well.. you loved it enough..

So I am giving one away!!! Leave me a comment, telling me something you love to do to celebrate a birthday, your own, a friend, or family member's..
Drawing will commence on...
We'll say next Wednesday...
Post it to your bog, and tell me? Get 2 (two) more entries!
'Till then, keep watching.. I'm gettin' my craft on...

Birthdays Book...

So, one of my goals for the year, was to be a better friend..
One idea how to show my friendship, was to remember birthdays...
My hurdle was how to better organize them all.
Mandy Douglass shared an idea similar to this that uses a $1 brag book from JoAnn's. It was the inspiration I needed..
I covered mine with felt, after I embellished it, of course. I hand stitched the swirls on, ironed on patches (from JoAnn's also), then printed off my text onto ink jet printer fabric. I tacked that on with my sewing machine and I also went around the edges to add a little border.
I took out the flimsy card stock front and back pieces and added more sturdy chipboard.
I glued it all on with the best adhesive ever, FabricTac.
Next step, to fill in all those birthdays!

48..

..that was just the cupcakes!!
I have been super busy, room mom stuff.. a 1st birthday party.. many Valentine projects for friends and family.. and yes.. that Diet Coke in the background, really helped me through it all :)
..but sadly, no scrapping.. :(
Hopefully I'll get some done this next week!!
I do have 10 left for the month..

More Valentines...

Made these cuties after Brooke gave me the idea, over a year ago.. I had the bottles hanging out, waiting.. I wanted to do them last year.. but someone (Peyton) had to come the day I made plans to complete them!! I can do many things but laboring and crafting at the same time are not one of them..
The hardest part of the whole project was drinking all the pop.. not that hard!
Thanks Brooke for the cute idea!!
It was nice making a "green" craft, if you are into that save the whole earth thing... :)
I loved using my newest punches, the scalloped circle, which I put off buying, cause, do I really need it if I own scalloped scissors? Yes.. especially when it's 40% off, plus an additional 20% with a coupon, and will make life a little easier..
The border punch is also new.. it's a Fiskars punch "Threading Water". I hunted this one down, because I knew I would use it endlessly.. thanks goes to Paper Cakes for sharing that info!

Super Easy!

These little cuties were so simple to make. My sister-in-law, Jaclyn, found the link for the pattern to these on Ali Edward's blog..
- felt
- poly stuffing
- needle
- embroidery thread
- pinking shears
- pins
Cut out two layers to make a little pocket, sew around the edge (by hand), leave an opening to stuff the heart gently.. finish sewing it shut.. then glue on a pin!
Super easy, super cute!
I am pretty sure they will be seen one up close and personal, pretty soon! :)

Ooohhh.. it's so project day...

I am cleaning out the craft room.. finishing up some projects that have been lying in wait..
Finally made my Valentine's sign.. still need to do the flag and the girls' dresses.. :0
..and my word of the year:
There's more coming!!

Valentine's Prep..

I bought the girls Valentine's shirts, after much deliberation on whether to make them or not.. I still have their pillowcase dresses to make..
I made my Valentine shirt, though..
Get it.. m&m.. Mindy & Merrill...We also had a little fashion show last night.. I had to make bows to match Peyton's shirt..
Piggies in her hair are too much fun!!

Header...

I cannot take total credit for my header..
In the November CK, "Dear Lizzy" column (pages 105-106), Elizabeth Kartchner gave directions how to do this.. using traditional scrapbook supplies and PhotoShop (someday!!!).
I used my supplies, made it 8 x 2 1/2 inches and embellished away!
I scanned it in to my pictures at 300 dpi, and saved it, then re-sized it to 650 x 250 pixels.
I went into my Layout tab, clicked on the header, and uploaded the desired file. Saved the changes. I already had my template set to "Minima", which you have the option to do black or white, and changed my font and outline colors to match..
Super easy..
So customized...

Gotta give some love..

..to Christie and her Sizzix die..
These flowers are to die for!! (No pun intended this time :)!)
She borrowed my Sizzix, and purchased some new dies to use with it.. since the Sizzix resides in my home, she so generously suggested that we keep the dies with the machine...
LOVE IT!!!
You will notice, I have used them on many of my most recent projects.. they are perfect in every way possible! Plus, you get three with every cut, and if you turn your paper/felt/chipboard, just right, you can get a bonus small flower!
Thanks Christie!

Hey winners!!!

Pebley3
and
Courtney...
You have until midnight tonight...
or I am gonna have to pick new winners :(

February starts with a BANG!!

Had the Superbowl on today.. didn't watch so much.. well, didn't listen so much either..
Got two pages done today! Yes, they are the same.. one for me and one for her!
I also got 25 (county them!) cards done.. I believe in using all of my scraps (and people think I am crazy for it..) but when I finish a layout, I use the scraps right then, to make cards, unless I absolutely love the paper.. then I file it away and save it!
17- 2x2 cards
and
8- 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 cards



You can see, they all look a little familiar..
Some of the 2x2 cards will be going into a card jar.. a give away you can look forward to soon!