Gluing First. Story Second.

I went to Archiver's the other day, and I found the SUPER-cute Paper Doll by Crate Paper. I had to play with it right away! Funny, this was the first time I had the layout glued and had *no* idea what photo or story I was using! LOL. That was a first for me, but I thought it would be a fun challenge. It was!


And I used mist! Woo! I punched out some labels, put them down, and then started misting. When I took off the labels, the spaces were nice and white, so I could journal there (and put photos/title). :-) Title is a bunch of Thickers.

I love this photo of my dad with my nieces! He is such a great grandpa! He always has *so* much fun with them, and on this particular day, he let them do *whatever* they wanted to dress him up. HEEEE! So cute!

Thanks for stopping by today! :-)

Finishing 28 Before 29 Comes Along...

I can't believe it. I'll be 29 in 37 days. *sigh* Well, at least I got this album done *before* I turned 29! ;-)

I did this entire album with the Joyland kit from Studio Calico. I also used the add-on, Skycoaster, and I had some from Whacky Shack too. This was SUCH a fun kit with some awesome colors!

This is a pretty simple mini. I stamped a whole bunch of journal blocks, and I created my own from some of the K & Company packaging that came in the kit as well!

(How fun is it to make your own pinwheels?! EEEE! :-D )

(On this last page, I'm going to hopefully add this stamp. I don't own it though!
Ha! So I guess I'll have to get it with my next SC order! :-)

Thanks for taking a peek! Soon, I'll have photos and a tutorial of an altering project I did with FabRips. Man, I love those things! :-D

Journaling Jeremy's Favorites.

One of my favorite times of the month! A new challenge at the Journal Challenges blog!

This month, we let someone else do our journaling. I had hubby write down some of his faves, and I had a great time with this layout! (Love the colors/textures in these Crate Paper patterned papers [teal & yellow-green]!)

Cardstock: American Crafts. Patterned papers: Crate Paper, Jillibean Soup, Studio Calico.
Frames: K & Company. Alphas: Making Memories, October Afternoon.
Punches: EK Success, Fiskars. Stickers: Sassafras. Kit: Studio Calico's Joyland.

The design of this layout was inspired by a painting I saw at a Chinese restaurant. Yes, I guess I get inspiration from everywhere! ;-)

Where did you get the inspiration for your last layout or project? :-)

Winning a Watch and Visiting Shamu!

So... there's a Fossil watch giveaway over at Creature Comforts. Get this... you get to CHOOSE which watch you want (under $125) if you win! How cool is that?!

I think I'd want this one...

And though I don't really *like* bling, this one is just very unusual, so that makes me like it. LOL.

The first one is definitely more *me*, but I think it would be cool to own a watch that's super unusual like the 2nd one. LOL. So I'd probably go with the 2nd one! I need to branch out more... you know, get out of my clean and simple box. :-)

*************************************************

And this last Saturday, Jeremy's parents invited us to Sea World! Yay! The Sea World in San Antonio also has a water park inside, so that's pretty cool. It was about 96 degrees and super humid. We stayed for about five hours, and we were VERY hot and tired when we left. LOL.

Just some of the photos we took... (we didn't bring the BIG camera. I guess we should have for the Shamu show... LOL).

The first thing we did was go to the Shamu show. It was VERY different since the trainer died in Orlando. I was glad they were being safe. :-) They had a baby whale... only FIVE months old! She was timid, and didn't come out of the water much. But oh, how cute!


These next two photos were taken at the END of the day. You can see how tired I look! LOL. I asked Jeremy to smile for the camera, but he turned around and kissed me instead. That was just fine with me. :-)

Then , I get one of his Silly Mister looks...

While resting at a cafe, they had this show for the kids... with dancing and singing. It was HILARIOUS! This guy on the left and all those characters dancing to crazy music! HA! We were laughing SO hard!

And of course, I couldn't leave without getting a handstand photo. I haven't done one in SO long! I had to walk in this one, so it's very uneven. I may or may not be getting too old for this. Tee hee. Ah well. :-p

More projects and organization coming soon! :-)

Creating More... YAY!

It's nice to have time to scrap lately. And *that* is awesome, since Studio Calico's May kit (plus this add-on) is one of my faves EVER! I don't ever want to put it away... LOL. Though, I've realized that I'm happier when I do simple, quick pages. For some reason, I have ADD when I scrap. LOL.

I channeled my inner-Caroline for the strips on this one... ;-)

This next page took me WAY longer than it should have, and I was glad when it was over. LOL. Jeremy works A LOT, and he's been so tired. Poor guy. :-(

Mmm... quick and clean and simple. :-)

This last layout makes me so happy! This is me (and my aunt, Joy) in 1982. The photos my dad took that day are some of my favorite photos ever.

That's it for now. I'll have more to share soon. And I think it's about time I took photos of my new scrap room... LOL. :-p

Confessing Reality.

A while ago, Kelly and Steph both did posts about their "real" lives. Oh, it felt SO good to read these! I feel like this too... I really hope my life never looks perfect... because it SO is not. LOL. And it's funny we do read the scrappy lives of one another, thinking that may be perfect when so many of these people's lives are, in fact, *not* so glamorous.

Steph encouraged everyone to do a list of their own. *sigh* Here's mine...

1. On a lot of days that I don't do errands, I stay in my PJs all day... no makeup, wearing my glasses, a few naps, and IMing with Caroline from the time we wake up, till the time we go to sleep. LOL. (Though I should say, that we do *try* to be productive while chatting... ie scrapping, putting a load of laundry in, making food, possibly washing some dishes, and walking the dogs.)

2. My scrap table/workspace is almost always clean. The floor, however, is not...

3. Sometimes Jeremy has to spend the night in Waco, for work. I usually stay up till 2am, sometimes 4am, not being able to sleep and worrying about his safety. Neither of us sleep well and barely get more than four hours of sleep. I know that military wives endure WAY more than this, and I'm so blessed to have Jeremy home most nights, but we still hate these long nights.

4. When my dog, Ruby, gets scared (thunder, lightning, quarry blasts, rain, blender, etc)... it literally scares the pee and poop right out of her. I have had to clean up *a lot* of pee stains. LOL. We own quite a few doggy diapers.

5. I'm sick and weak almost every, single day. I have to sleep... a lot. After working out, doing errands, or hanging with friends, I need a day or two to rest. I hate that I'm unable to work or go to school. Confession: I've been like this pretty much my whole life.

6. We have a lot of credit card debt now. And now that I'm not working, I'm trying to spend as little money as possible, so that we can pay as much as we can toward the debt. It's hard for both of us.

7. I'm not *always* positive and optimistic. I worry. I get anxious. I get scared. I get lonely. I cry.

8. Jeremy works 50-80 hours a week, and I feel bad for him.

I hope that didn't sound like a bunch of complaining. LOL. But it's real. And that's the point, I guess. To be real. :-)

Thanks for reading my real-ness. :-)

Couponning Can Be Fun!

So... my sister is obsessed with the Krazy Coupon Lady. And I wanted to get in on the money-saving action too, so I thought I'd take up some couponning. :-)

My sister has a binder, and I made this to slide in the front cover's pocket:

(Papers/Thickers: American Crafts, Alpha Stickers: Doodlebug, Lady: Studio Calico)

How cute is that Studio Calico lady?! So perfect with her little purse! :-) (When I showed my sister, she said, "Oh! This is SO cute! And I LOVE her dress!" Tee hee.) Now I just need to make a label for the spine and some cute page for the back cover. :-) Yay! She'll have the cutest coupon binder ever. :-)

And I don't need a whole binder, but I did need a few pockets for my planner! I didn't really want to pay $12 for their pockets (though cute and handy!). I knew if I made my own they'd be WAY cuter and... you know... free! ;-)

In each pack of refills (notebook paper, calendar pages, etc) come some chipboard sheets to use to divide your planner (or maybe they just put those in there, so the pages don't get bent in the packaging.... LOL). Either way, they were perfect (with the holes already there)! I just needed to add a strip of paper to make a pocket and some cute details!

Papers/FabRips: Studio Calico, Alphas: October Afternoon, Border Punch: Fiskars
Butterfly punch (punched with Little Yellow Bicycle paper): Martha Stewart

I'll probably make two more for grocery coupons and Target too. Heeee! :-D

Do you have a special place for your coupons (if you use them) and receipts? I love to hear how people organize these types of things. :-)

Forgetting Breakfast and Lunch.

This guy...



Yeah, that one right there! Just in case, you couldn't tell by this photo, he is silly. Very silly.

He came home from work today, and he was a little hyper. Okay, a lot hyper. This surprised me quite a bit because he left the house this morning at 7 am... without me making him his usual breakfast and sack lunch. He arrived home at about 8:15 pm. A LONG day.

His hyper-activity was still going strong at around 9 when we sat down for a late dinner. Here's what went down.

Jeremy: I just ate TWO pieces of chicken! And rice! And green beans!

Reyanna: Two?! (These were HUGE chicken breasts!) Wow, you were hungry! Did you not eat lunch?

Jeremy: Umm... well, I only ate one of the sandwiches I made.

Reyanna: What kind was it?

Jeremy: Ummm... errr.... uhhh... Nutella and jelly sandwich. It was REALLY sweet!

Reyanna: Umm... yeah! That's almost pure sugar between bread! Silly! You're supposed to have Nutella and peanut butter or peanut butter and jelly!

Jeremy: Yeah, I couldn't remember, and I didn't want to wake you up this morning. And then as I was eating my sandwich, I thought, "Whoa! This is sweet! OH! I bet I was supposed to put *peanut butter* with the Nutella! NOT jelly!"

Reyanna: Holy cow! Did you eat anything else?

Jeremy: I bought some candy because this convenient store was having a special: 50% off! So I bought four packages of sour gummy candy.

Reyanna: So... all you ate all day was a Nutella and jelly sandwich and four packages of sour gummy candy? Did you drink some water with that?

Jeremy: No, I had Gatorade! That's good, right?!

Reyanna: *laughing* Umm... honey, Gatorade is almost pure sugar!

Jeremy: Maybe it was PowerAde...

Reyanna: Still has sugar. Sheesh! No wonder you're so hyper! Man, you're gonna crash in about an hour! *laugh*

Jeremy: Oops.

Tee hee. So yeah. That's what happens when I'm too tired to wake up to make him breakfast and lunch.

Yes, I learned my lesson. Yes, I will be going to bed at a reasonable hour and waking up early to make breakfast and lunch for my Silly Mister.

Yes, I'm still giggling at his silliness.

Good thing he's cute. :-)

Pondering 28 Things.

So... with April's Studio Calico kit, I decided to make a mini album. I didn't really know what I was making it *about*; I just really wanted to make a mini album. Tee hee. And I wanted it to be journaling *only* because I wanted to use my journaling stamp lots and lots... and lots. Ha! (Okay, and I really wanted to use the new Studio Calico rub-ons! EEE!)

This is the front:

The inside is simple, colorful, and has spaces for journaling (thanks to the awesome stamp, a trimmer and my trusty corner rounder...) and one photo of me in my super-cool "28" shirt! ;-) So now I just need to come up with the 28 things. *sigh*

I can't believe my 28th year is almost over! It's gone by so quickly! But Jeremy says I can still say I'm 28 if I want. I can just say, "I'm 28! .... plus one (or you know, plus twelve... whatever)." Tee hee.

Otay, umm... let's see...

1. I live on PB sandwiches, quesadillas, chocolate milk, french fries and iced tea.

2. For the first time in my life, I LOVE my wardrobe!

3. I feel like a mom already... without a baby. Some day... :-D

4. Creating makes me very giddy.

5. I NEVER leave home without water or lip stuff.

6. I don't like spending a lot of time online.

7. I watch Friends, Love Actually, 50 First Dates, and You've Got Mail WAY too much. :-)

8. I need a nap every day, or my body just doesn't work.

9. I never thought I'd be childless and jobless at this age, but I'm learning to be okay with that... for now. ;-)

10. I LOVE Texas weather!

11. I listen to Christian music, Glee soundtracks, and a single playlist I made on iTunes. That's about it.

12. I can't sleep without earplugs... or Jeremy. ;-)

13. I promised myself I wouldn't choose my children's names before they were born, but I have already... tee hee.

14. People usually think I look 20.

15. I LOVE our pets (Ruby, Amber and Kissa). They make me so happy. :-)

16. I miss coaching gymnastics, but I don't want to go back. LOL.

17. My house is VERY organized.

18. I LOVE the color blue (in all shades).

19. My other favorite colors are green, peach, and yellow. And white! Does that count?

20. When I don't get to spend a lot of time with Jeremy, I get cranky. :-p

21. I can still hold a handstand.

22. I think too much. About everything.

23. I still love dolls and stuffed animals. I'd probably buy lots if Jeremy didn't stop me.

24. I talk on the phone. A lot.

25. I'm still in shock that we own a house.

26. I spend a lot of time with Elizabeth... as much as I can! :-D

27. I LOVE talking to my grandparents.

28. I want to be 28 forever.

Okay. Perhaps I'll change a few, but for now, this looks good to me. :-) Now I'll have to write them in my mini, so I can post inside pics. Yay. :-)

Have you made *your* list this year? :-D

Finding (and Creating) the Perfect Nightstand.

So when we bought our house, we bought a new bed (before we even moved in, and we put it on hold at the store)...
because... well, we hadn't slept on a bed (our mattress was on the floor) since 2005. And now that we actually had *room* for a bed (YAY!), I wanted my dream bed: King sized, four-poster, canopy bed... in white. :-) Thankfully, Jeremy was totally stoked on it as much as I was! Hee!

And then since I had the perfect bed, I needed the perfect nightstand to match our perfect quilt (both sides A and B)...
And I just didn't want any ole nightstand! I wanted one drawer (preferably two) AND a shelf on the bottom. AND it had to have character. And be cute too. :-) I looked EVERYWHERE: Online, thrift stores, furniture stores, antique stores, flea markets, Craigslist. I didn't find one I loved. And even ones that I sorta liked were out of my price range (under $100, which I think is reasonable).

So one day, I'm driving home from work. I turn on to my street (my old street of the apartment, not the new street of the house), and I see this beautiful and perfectly fabulous (with potential, of course) nightstand laying on the side of the road...

My reflexes couldn't have been faster! I pulled over, hopped out, threw it in the back, and drove away. Tee hee.

But as I'm driving, I'm thinking, "Holy crap! I just threw something... that I found on the side of the road, no less... in the back of my car and drove off like a lunatic like I was robbing a bank! It could have a bomb! Or... or... a freaky animal! Or poisonous spiders! Or drugs!" I floored it back to the apartment... petrified that it could be one... or all... of those things.

I was probably trembling as I slowly and cautiously opened the top drawer...

Turns out, it *did* have something horrible in it. Well, something naughty (at least, in my eyes). I'm guessing someone's girlfriend got pissed that her boyfriend had naughty stuff, so took matters into her own hands... or something. Tee hee. I packed up all that... umm... adult stuff... and put it in a black trash bag and promptly threw it in my dumpster. HA! Take that, Naked Ladies! :-p

Then I got to work! First, I primed it...


Then I painted it with leftover paint from my closet renovation (Green Wisp by Benjamin Moore). Then I got two knobs from Anthropologie (would you believe some of their knobs are cheaper than Home Depot?!?!), and oh my, every time I walk in our room and see this, I'm totally stoked that it's mine! :-D

It's greener in real life. Huh. Strange. Ah well. You can click on it to make it larger. :-)

The box on top is an altered project I did a few months ago (it's for trash). The boxes on the shelf are boxes I altered (with Basic Grey Sweet Pea papers from LONG ago). The frame was Christmas gift from my in-laws. And the lamp I bought in Rhode Island at an antique store, but it's not an antique! LOL. And I'm actually going to move that lamp into the guest room, I think, and we'll get swing-arm lamps instead... maybe.

For our next renovation/DIY project, we're painting and making over hubby's grandparents' old China cabinet:



Stay tuned for that! I bought the new hardware today, and we just need to finish painting! EEEE! I LOVE projects! :-D

Creating. Mmm... Creating is Therapy.

This month's Studio Calico kit?

Is GORGEOUS. It just may be pure perfection in a box. I'm just sayin... ;-)

Thank goodness this kit is all cozy and warm like a blanket. I'm not gonna lie... since quitting my job, I've been kinda down about it. But trying not to get *too* down, so on with creating! :-D

I had so much fun making this layout! I used the negative of the October Afternoon journaling cards, and I was totally inspired by Paige to bust out my VersaMark ink pad that I haven't used in ages!

I love that this design left open THREE spots for my journaling. I just really had a lot to say. And I when people see this photo and layout, I want them to know what I think of when I see this photo of myself, my mom and both my grandmothers. And that's exactly what I wrote down. :-)





Tomorrow, I'll show my Before & After shots of my awesome Nightstand Makeover! You won't wanna miss it!

p.s. Products used on this layout...
Cardstock: Bazzill Basics
Patterned Papers: October Afternoon, Studio Calico
Flowers: American Crafts, K&Company
Buttons/Stamps/Baker's Twine: Studio Calico
Chipboard Cloud: Buzz & Bloom
Alphabets: Making Memories, October Afternoon
Kit: Studio Calico
Stamping Ink: VersaMark
Pen: Copic

Sharing a Journaling Challenge!

(Papers/Thickers: American Crafts, Bee: hand-drawn, Markers/Pens: Copic,
Baker's Twine: Studio Calico, Photo Label Punch: EK Success)

A new challenge is up over at Journal Challenges! Yay! This one is really fun... Humour! Or "Humor" if you live in the States, which I do, but using the "ou" is just so much fun! :-)

Here's my journaling:

Jeremy: I’m a bee! I’m a bee! I’m a - I’m a - I’m a bee!

Me: You’re a BEE?!

Jeremy: No... I’m a bee! It’s a song by the Black Eyed Peas!

Me: Hmmm... Why are the Black Eyed Peas singing about being bees?

Jeremy (laughing at me): No, they’re not singing about being bees.
They’re singing, “Imma be,” as in, “I’m gonna be...” Get it?

Me: Oh. Okay. Huh. I’ve never heard that song.

Jeremy: No? Imma be! Imma be! Imma - Imma - Imma be!

Me: I guess I need to get out more. :-)

Okay, that's all for today. I'm really busy cleaning and organizing and decorating and just enjoying all my new-found time! :-D

Altering Is SO Fun!

*sigh*

I love to alter stuff. LOVE it. I haven't done it in a while, but now, I'm totally in the *altering mood*! :-D

I got this box at a thrift store... I'm pretty sure it was $0.79 (that's what the price-tag on the bottom said... LOL.) It was totally falling apart, and honestly, I can't believe I didn't alter it sooner. I think it's because the original color/design matched my former blue, shabby chic scrap room. And the fact that it was falling apart was just driving me NUTS! I couldn't take it anymore...


And it was VERY hard for me to cover up this cute old woman's writing:

I mean, how cute is that?! She kept her long nylons in here! ;-) I figured a photo would suffice because I REALLY wanted it to be adorned with October Afternoon paper. :-D

And the after shots...

(Paper: October Afternoon, FabRips: Studio Calico, Flower: Creative Imaginations, Brad: Pink Paislee)

Yummy. :-) Pure blue, green and white loveliness.

I've said it before, but Studio Calico FabRips are PERFECT for altering stuff! Seriously! I've used those for this box, a canister, a journal, scrap pages.... probably something else too, and I LOVE them.

I keep cards I make in this box. They collect in there until I have a big stack to send to my mother-in-law. She loves cards. :-) There are also a few in there that *I* need to send out... LOL.

More altering to come... ;-) Thanks for stopping by!

Leaving Something (Special) Behind.

I quit my job yesterday.

It's bittersweet, really.

Those of you who know me know that I LOVED my job. LOVED it. It was so perfect for me, and every time I was there, it felt like Christmas. Christmas for two years. LOL. I'd be having a bad morning/afternoon, and my mom would say to me, "Don't worry! You'll get to work and feel MUCH better! And when you get off work today, you'll be in a MUCH better mood." And you know, I knew she was right... every.single.time. Not many people can say that about their jobs. I absolutely LOVED being there.

I hate to say it, but I quit for "health reasons." I just couldn't handle them counting on me anymore... knowing that I might be too sick to work. And I found myself resting during every hour I *wasn't* at work, preparing myself for the next shift, so that I could give 150%: my perky, positive, upbeat self. That's not a life, and this *will* be a good thing. It will be. It's the best for me. For us. And I just have to keep telling myself that when I'm missing work.

It's okay though! Jeremy (hubby) has been encouraging me to do this for MONTHS now. We want to have a baby, I want to be a stay-at-home Mom, I want to homeschool, I want to go to church on Sundays, I want to spend more time with Jeremy, we want to travel more, and I want to open an Etsy shop (EEEEEE!). And I want to take care of my husband: cooking, cleaning, doing errands, etc. I *enjoy* that. And I can still go back and visit my awesome co-workers.

And I can still help people organize outside of work, right?!

So yeah... if you have ANY organizational dilemmas (scrappy or otherwise), please don't hesitate to drop me an email or post. I would LOVE to help you. I actually think I'll do a "series" of organizational videos on YouTube. And now, I have plenty of time on my hands to rest, be well, and help people out with organizing!

Thanks for listening to me babble. I just needed to vent about it.

*sigh*

I feel better.

p.s. I don't usually copy and paste blog posts, but this was actually a forum post I wrote. It said everything I needed to say, everything I'm feeling, so I decided to post it here too... so I could look back and remember.