Altered Composition Book & Porch Project Sneak Peek

Lately on Splitcoast Stampers there has been some buzz about the availability of cheap composition books at big box stores thanks to back-to-school sales. These notebooks are quick & easy to alter and perfect for journals, organizers, etc. The clever crafters at SCS have shown that there really is no end to the usefulness of these books.

I picked mine up at Wal-Mart for 25 cents each and altered mine to keep meeting notes and reminders. I used the Trend K&Company Scrap Pad to Go to alter it, which was great because it had all sorts of useful coordinating elements, like the tabs, frame, mini file folders, etc.



Back view:

I have a feeling I'll be spending a lot of time here with my journal:


Yep! Remember that porch project we started last year?




We're coming down the homestretch now. Just some touch-up staining on the balusters, staining the ceiling, and some finishing touches here and there - and we're done! I'll definitely share some full-view photos with you when that happens. :)

Thanks for stopping by today!

Hugs,
Marcy

Holiday Head Start

This year I am determined to get a head start on my holiday crafting. I always have a million ideas for homemade gifts and cards, then I run out of time and only create a fraction of them. I figure that even if I only make one or two things a week, I will still be way ahead of the game.

This week on the Crafty Secrets forum challenge on Splitcoast Stampers, Pammyjo challenged us to use paper bags for our projects. I cut down and folded a lunch sack to make this Christmas gift card holder. It was such fun and pretty quick to make!


Details:
Main Image - Crafty Secrets - Seasonal Images booklet
Stamps - Crafty Secrets - Sweet Kids (snowflakes); Papertrey Ink - Mixed Messages
Ink - Ranger Distress Ink - Antique Linen; Stampin' Up! - River Rock
Patterned Paper & Tag - Basic Grey
Cardstock - K&Company (red); Neenah Paper (natural)
Accessories - ribbon & brad - Making Memories; embroidery floss - DMC; vintage button; edge distresser - Heidi Swapp

Last week for the Crafty Secrets member forum challenge, Darlene asked us to use blue on our projects. I used this adorable Thanksgiving image from CS's Seasonal images booklet.


Details:
Main Image - Crafty Secrets - Seasonal Images booklet
Stamps - Crafty Secrets - Thanksgiving set
Ink - Ranger Distress Ink - Vintage Photo
Cardstock - Core'dinations; Gina K. Designs (natural)
Markers - Copic Sketch
Accessories - ribbon - Paper Wishes; Pop Dots

Thanks for stopping by! Wishing you a great day!

Hugs,
Marcy

Christmas in July

This week I'm the host for the Crafty Secrets challenge on Splitcoast Stampers. It's been so hot and humid here lately that I thought it would be fun to escape the heat for a bit and celebrate Christmas in July!


Details:
Main Image - Crafty Secrets - Seasonal Booklet
Stamps - sentiment - Anna Griffin
Ink - Ranger Distress Ink - Forest Moss & Antique Paper
DP - holly (unknown); crackle paper - Provocraft
Cardstock - unknown
Accessories - glitter - Stickles (gold); seam tape ribbon - Rebecca Sower Designs; Pop Dots

It's supposed to be cooler here today with lower humidity - yay! Hope you're staying cool too!

Marcy

What a Hoot!

Yesterday I took Shannon to her classmate's birthday party at a local campground. The kids played and swam in the pool, and the parents got to chat and catch up almost uninterrupted. Since I work from home and have very little face-to-face adult interaction, I think I had as good a time as the kids!

Here is the card I made for the birthday girl, whose favorite color is blue:


Details:
Cricut Cartridge - Create a Critter
Patterned Paper - Wild Asparagus
Cardstock - Bazzill, Martha Stewart, DCWV
Ink - Ranger Distress Ink - Vintage Photo; Stazon - Forest Green; Palette Hybrid (blue)
Accessories - Pop Dots; brad - Making Memories; marker - Sharpie

Thanks for taking the time to stop by today!
Marcy

Best Birthday EVER!

We traveled to Erie yesterday to celebrate Ronan's fifth birthday. Here is what we did:


Took a trip to Build-a-Bear, where Ronan made a Jedi Knight bear. Thanks for the gift certificate, Grandma!

Then we ate at Sara's at the entrance to Presque Isle...


because the sign said so! :)

And who can resist an anthropomorphic hot dog?



Next was a visit to the Tom Ridge Environmental Center, which was really impressive, to see the dinosaur exhibit.


Then we were off to catch some waves on the beach at Lake Erie!




Finally, home again for one last surprise...

It's fun to be five!

Ronan's Five!

Ronan is turning five today!

He asked to have a special family day today instead of a party, so we have lots of fun things planned. We celebrated with a cake last night. This year is all about Star Wars, so I made an R2-D2 cake. It turned out a little rougher than I'd hoped, but Ronan was thrilled with it.



Here is a layout that I *finally* did of Ronan's 4th birthday party. I had such fun making this!


Details:
Patterned paper: Sassafras - Monstrosity; DCWV - Grade School Stack (polka dots)
Monster & cloud stickers: Sassafras - Monstrosity
Rub ons & label sticker: October Afternoon - Night Light
Cardstock: Neenah Paper (black); Bazzill (yellow)
Brad: Oriental Trading
Number sticker: Making Memories
Glitter glue: Stickles - Black Diamond
Pen: Sharpie

Thanks for stopping by today! Hope you have a happy day too!
Marcy

Proud to be American

I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July! In the spirit of the holiday, I thought I would share a childhood photo and a card with you.



This photo is of my brothers and me (I was four years old) from the Halloween parade in 1976. It was the year of the bicentennial, so my mum went with the patriotic theme. She made all of our costumes then. I wish I could show you the whole photo, but the only copy I have is framed, and there is too much lens flare from the glass. We won first place that year, and this picture was taken for the local paper. Don't we look excited? ;)

Last week my hubby, the kiddos, and I took a three-day vacation to see some of the sights in the central part of Pennsylvania. It was such a neat trip, and I'll be sharing photos from it later on in the week. The second day we headed to Harrisburg to see the state capitol building. Our state representative was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule to give us a tour, which was wonderful. The card below is for him:



Details:
Main Image: Crafty Secrets - Seasonal Booklet
Stamps: Stampin' Up - Noteworthy
Patterned Paper: Daisy D's (striped & red); Provocraft (speckled); Karen Foster (stars)
Cardstock: Neenah Paper
Ink: Ranger Distress Ink - Antique Linen; Palette Hybrid (blue)

Thanks for coming to visit today!
Marcy