It's for the birds! & April Challenge

I can not wait until the real spring gets here. See this little guy here?

It's an Eastern Bluebird. We have a pair of them that come every spring and build their nest on a fence in our back yard by my flower bed. Every year they raise at least 1 if not 2 sets of babies. Well, unfortunately, last year one of our cats (Skinner...that's another story in itself) knocked the birdhouse off of the fence and it broke apart. As of yet we haven't gotten another one built yet. We must hurry though, as I have seen one of the pair flying around looking for their house. I don't want them to go elsewhere, as they've been here for probably 4 years. They're family

And then there's this guy. He's a Baltimore Oriole. Last year for the first time we had one of these also. He hung around for a few days. He's beautiful. Now, I'm not sure how to attract these fine fellows, but I did find out they like oranges. Now I just need to figure out how to get them to see an orange and come eat it!

Have you started on your April Challenge yet?

Well, I haven't either, but....I did order pictures to start it! Today was Clean the House Day, so nothing creative to share...but tommorrow is free and clear, so hoping to get something done to show and tell!

I'm saving my energy for Chuckie Cheese this weekend. It's Wyatt's 6th birthday and that was what he wanted to do. So...the 4 grandkids, both moms and grandma are off to Tulsa to celebrate the day! John wants nothing to do with Chuckie Cheese. We went a few years ago..he wasn't impressed! So he decided he would let us have the fun and stay home. I just like to watch the kids have fun, and it's a good place for them to run wild and be safe. (Despite the pizza is like eating cardboard!)

Monthly Layout & Card Sketch Contests....

How about a monthly contest? Starting in April I will be posting both a layout sketch and a card sketch as a basic inspiration. Instructions are as follows: Make a scrapbook layout or a card (or both!) following the inspiration sketch. It doesn't have to be exact, but you need to be able to tell that you used the sketch as your main inspiration piece. Take a picture or scan your finished product and email it (web size) to me at nanasmemoriesctmh@yahoo.com On the 25th of each month I will post all of the entries on my blog and then we will vote on the best sketch inspired card and layout. The winner will recieve a prize from me. Sounds like fun! The more participants, the more great ideas we will have, and the more fun it will be. So today, I'll go ahead and give you the sketches for April so you can get a jump start. Remember, your finished layouts and cards must be emailed to me by April 24th so voting can begin on the 25th! To vote you will leave your vote by using the comment section of the post with the entries. Winner will be announced on April 30th! Good luck and have fun creating! If you have any questions, drop me an email or leave a comment on this post and I'll get back to you!

April Scrapbook Page Challenge


April Card Challenge

February scrapbook club layouts finished!

The finished product finally unveiled! It took longer then I thought to get my pictures back. But here it is . I really like out this layout turned out. It's a collection of pictures of my hubby and I throughout the last 33 years together. We've changed alot over the years, me more so then he (except for the cutting of his long hippy hair way back then!)





This is the year I finally started my own scrapbook for myself, and this is the February layout. Sorta for Valentines Day I guess! The paper I used is from Close to My Hearts "Perfect Day" collection. I was really happy with how well it matched most of the pictures I used. I LOVE the new pewter brads with the designs on them. They finished it out just perfect.










The paper flowers are primas that I had already. The colors were just made for this paper pak! I used my cricut to cut out the titles. The layout was made from a sketch in the Imagine pattern book. So easy to follow the directions!


If you think you'd like to join our scrapbook club, drop me an email. The rules are simple, and we have lots of fun!

Oh, I forgot this....

This is the view of my scrap room coming in from the kitchen. I have tons of light streaming in during the daytime. I reaarange the tables for whatever I need, but usually just have them pushed up against the windows when nothing is going on. I love being able to see out into the back yard and watch the birds and the occasional deer. Ok, that's all for today!

My Finished Scrap/Stamp Room

Okay, here we go.... lots of pics. I'll take you on a little mini tour of my newly remodeled scrapbook room. Hope you like. Feel free to leave a comment at the bottom if you have any questions about storage or where I got something. I am really happy with how it turned out. I love having a place for everything and knowing exactly where everything is. Makes clean up a breeze and hopefully I'll be able to be more productive. I'll try and let you know if I can where I got the organizational products as I go. First up is my embellishment storage. I store embellishments by color, just as it's easier for me. These are just the drawers from Walmart. Just throw them in the correct drawer and go on!

This is my new paper storage. I LOVE this. I have so much more room then storing it in racks. I have two different sizes of the Cropper Hopper storage sysytem for my 12X12 papers. The wider ones are for my patterned paper that I store by theme. I keep my kit papers together in the plastic bags they come in, so I can put the scraps right back in the bag they go. It's easy to add to this system if you need to my just adding another container. If I have a lot of papers from one line like Basic Grey, I may have it's own storage, but most of my paper is Close To My Heart.

This is the smaller size storage containers. This is where I store my Close To My Heart cardstock. Each color has it's own container, so I can just throw the scraps right back into the container. Super easy clean up which I love. I always had a terrible time sorting my scraps out and putting them away. But now I just drop them into the appropriate slot and go on! I got my Cropper Hoppers from JoAnns.com. They usually have 1/2 price cpns so you can get them cheaper. You can check out Ebay also if your'e interested in getting some of these. I LOVE them!

This is my personal stamp/scrap area. I was always working on my tables, then when I have club nite or people coming over, I had to move all my stuff off to make room. Now I have my own area to work in and won't have to move my stuff around! Love that! This area looks right into the kitchen.

Another view of my work area! I usually stand when I scrap and stamp, so this counter height is perfect for standing. Notice the pillow in the chair...it's a little low for sitting. Need to get a new pillow..but I hardly sit anyway!

I use the stamp/marker storage from CTMH for my stamp pads and markers. It has an area on top you can store reinkers, or take the top off and there is a handle to carry your storage if going to a crop or something. I have containers holding scissors and pencils etc on top of mine instead of reinkers.

This is how I store my buttons. I love to have them out where I can see them. I got the little jars from Walmart for $1.97 each. Perfect size for storing my buttons. Don't they look pretty!

This is the other storage I have for stamp pads other then CTMH. Before CTMH came out with their own stamp pad storage I had gotten this one on-line, so now I use it for my other brand of stamp pads that I use occasionally.

Ribbon storage has always been a problem for me. I found these ribbon dispensers at Wal-Mart and they are perfect for your ribbons. They have dividers that you can remove so they can accomodate thicker ribbons. I have more ribbon to put in them yet, but haven't gotten around to that yet. Another thing I just like to look at cause it's so pretty!

My paper flower collection! More containers from Walmart. I love having these out where I can see them cause they are so beautiful. I've decided I'm a color freak...!

A view of the bookcases with my papers all stored snugly away. So neat and tidy!

Well, I hope you enjoyed a tour of my room. I'm very lucky that my hubby built it for me. He's such a sweetie!

Then & Now....

As you all know one of my resolutions for this year was to finally start a scrapbook for myself. I have books for each of my grandkiddies, but not one for me. So this year I wanted to remedy that. I want my grandkids and even my kids to look at my book and get a real knowledge of who I am and what really goes on in my head and my heart! A scrapbook is a place to not only put pictures of events and memories, but to record forever your innermost thoughts for those who come after you. It's kind of a journal with pictures. I'll be the first to admit that I don't always journal in my books the way I should. It's easy to just put "5th Birtday" and go on, instead of taking the time to put your thoughts and feelings down. I'm not saying you should go in depth with every single page you put into your books, but I think everyone who scrapbooks should take the time to "lay it all out there" so to speak every once in awhile. But, I digress...I'm just waiting on a couple more pictures to arrive ( hopefully today?) to finish my very first layout for my own scrapbook. My goal is to do a two page layout a month for my book, and although here it is March already and I have not one finished, I do have the pictures and idea in mind for each month so far. Just a matter of my schedule settling down enough to get it done. I wanted to share with you today the picture I found of my hubby and I very close to the time we met. This picture was taken in 1977. Just look at the cracks in the picture and you can tell we are OLD! We'd been together a little over a year at this time. It's so funny to look at this picture from so long ago, compared to how we look now. A lot of years... a lot of memories. I'm sad now that I've let all that time go by without putting down what happened between...but todays' a new day, and God willing, I'll have a lot more memories to save and share with those I love! Have a great day...and save the memories!

April Showers are coming soon....

Aren't these the cutest stamps? The stamp set is from My Favorite Thing. How sweet for baby showers, get well cards, or for a special friend. I used a variety of papers, and paper pieced the umbrella and lady's dress. I pop-dotted the umbrella to give the card some dimension. I just love how they turned out! By the way, you can click on the pictures for a closer look!

I have a few more little things to do in my scrapbook room, then will post some "after" shots. I can't wait to get busy creating again. I'm almost finished with my first layout for my own album using the pages we made in this month's scrapbook class. I got the last picture taken tonight (my aunt Carol (Hi Carol!) & Uncle Everrett dropped by and was kind enough to snap a pic of John and I together that I was needing) to finish it. so now, just to get them sized and put on my pages, then I'll show you the results!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Not much planned here. Maybe a fishing trip to the lake on Sunday if it's nice.

WhooooHooooo!

Finally, after 2 1/2 weeks, I'm done cleaning out my scrap room. I have a few things yet to get through, but the room itself is arranged the way I want. I'll snap a few pics and post for you at the end of the week. It's so nice to have it all put together. I LOVE my new way to store my paper. It is taking up so much less room. I'll be back to posting creative work soon, so don't give up on me. I'm trying to put the finishing touches on last weeks scrapbook club layouts so I can post them for you to see after the pictures are put on. They always look more finished with the pics! Till then....have a wonderful day!