the moments in between

wordless wednesday : it's all in the arms

2012 : captured // may : project life week 16

there's just something about this time of year. my 2011 book is missing several weeks in the late april / early may time range. and now my 2012 book is as well. i'm once again contemplating a catch up plan. i've got week 15 half done, and have weeks 17 and 18 mostly mapped out. i need to sneak some time to at least get photos printed!

(2012 : captured // may - copyright www.twopeasinabucket.com)

though i may be a smidge behind, my 2012 : captured class for may went up this morning. this month, we're talking about stickers. they're a quick and easy way to dress up a journaling card - and i'm all about quick and easy right now. i've been joined once again by two fabulous guests - emily spahn & lisa day. you can see their pages here (emily) and here (lisa). they both used stickers in some really fun way on their weeks - i hope you'll check both of them out! we're also all talking a bit about staying on top of photos - both taking them & organizing them.

week 16 // april 14th-20th : time for baseball. hello, darth vader. committing to classes at a new school. an art show. and a road trip to des moines.

the oh hello! sticker + darth sam cracks me up.

i've shared a quick and easy tutorial for making photo collages using picasa over at the 2peas blog. collages are becoming my go to for those events that come with too many photos - i've used them in quite a few weeks this year!

InLinkz.com

happy tuesday! i'm about to clean up the mess that i made while putting this week together yesterday, and to start a new one. i'm nearing the due date of a big project that i can't wait to share with you - just gotta keep moving down that to do list!

(project life is a system created by becky higgins to take the stress of of scrapbooking. for me, its a reminder to pick up my camera and capture the everyday. you can learn more about how i use project life here, and you can find all of my project life updates here. if you want tips + tricks to use the supplies you already have in your stash in your PL album, check out my 2012 : captured class at 2peas.)

memory keeping monday : sun & baseball

(sun & baseball // copyright www.twopeasinabucket.com)

it's my turn in the memory keeping monday rotation! this time i'm rambling about mixing and matching manufacturers, and the new super cool studio calico mistable thickers. you can find the video here - but grab a snack first, it's a long one. ;)

happy monday! i'm off to get my 2012 : captured class finished up - it goes up tomorrow! here's to a super productive start to the week. =)

on holding on, on letting go

we've spent early spring facing two big decisions. one was ours to make, one was ours to guide. i'm not good at being in flux, so this has been hard for me. 

holding on. the littlest's birthday falls two days before our kindergarten cut off. he's the baby of the family, and he's all boy. he could care less about sitting and learning right now. and after talking to educators, friends, anyone i knew with a summer birthday kid... we're waiting. he'll go to a 5 day / morning preschool next year, along with some other late summer / fall babies from his current school. we visited on tuesday, and i think the environment there will be a perfect way to help him transition into the sort of kid that IS ready for kindy.

letting go. this one visited a science and technology middle school in late january.  he's gone over classes with a counseler. he's observed classrooms in action. despite some nervousness, he'll be leaving the comfort of 6th grade at our small neighborhood elementary and diving into a new adventure at a BIG 5th-8th magnet school. we have helped him find answers to questions and offered support, but this was his decision to make. we're excited that he's doing this - it will challenge him in so many ways. one of his buddies is making the leap with him, and i'm glad of that.

this all comes with a bit of melancholy. this could have been the only year all three were together at school. there will be no 6th grade program for alex. sam has friends that will be moving on next year. it's not easy to say goodbye to all that, even when you know you've made the right decisions.

piggyback

for all the complaining alex does about his annoying little brother, he's awfully tender hearted about the smallest dude. ;) i have no patience for sam's "i'm too tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiireeeeeeeeeeeeeed to walk" business, but he's got alex wrapped around his little finger. it really is just too sweet. my collection of alex piggybacking sam on the way home from school photos is growing like crazy, so i thought i'd use a couple on a page. i started with some veeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrry light misting, then cut a strip of fabrip and clustered my elements above and below it. the circles are cut from the new banners - i'm really loving using them one or two at a time.

this page comes with a challenge - break out the patterned paper backgrounds! you can find all of the details at the studio calico blog. i love that the subtle pattern on my background here keeps a fairly simple page from looking too sparse. you can find the full supply list here at SC or here at 2peas, depending on your shopping habits. ;)

happy wednesday! and happy early mother's day to me - matthew's making the trip to rescued junk to bring my shelves home. i'm a *wee* bit excited. =)

nine

yep. yesterday, he turned nine. and for the first time in years, his birthday was baseball free. it was definitely nice to be able to just spend the evening hanging out with the birthday dude.

ben's big birthday wish was skylanders. which seems to be quite popular w/ the kids these days, lol. instead of getting it for him we gave him some cash towards the purchase. and like we did for alex, we had to come up w/ a good way of giving the cash. 

four shipping boxes. seven folded up bundles of packing paper. four of which had money in them. "do not rip" written on all of them. it was fun. ;)

happy birthday, ben. love you and can't wait to see what this year brings.

 

it's the last day....

...to sign up for the pieces of me workshop at 2peas and get my little album as a bonus PDF when the class goes live. if you sign up tomorrow, you'll get maggie's awesome class + albums from 3 other contributors - but you might as well do it today and get an extra one, right?? ;) here's a couple more tiny sneaks from my book :

(love that love tag from amy tangerine)

(ah, vellum. who knew who cool you could be after all these years?)

i'm working from my own stash, but there's an exclusive class kit you can pick up if you want to simplify the process - the stamps in it are adorable.

happy monday! i hope you had an awesome NSD. i wanted to share this make & take i did for 2peas - there's a blog post w/ a tutorial on creating a triangle background using the silhouette studio software, as well as some ideas for getting a similar look if you don't have a cameo. the new studio calico stamp set made just for 2peas is sold out right now, but i hear they'll be restocking. go and click "notify me" and you'll get an email when they come back in. ;)

NSD blog hop

happy national scrapbook day, everyone! as part of the fun, some of us at studio calico are doing a little blog hop. our may kit, 35mm has sold out - but we thought it would still be fun to share some extra inspiration using it since it will be on all of YOUR desks soon!! and if you missed this one, you can email waitinglist@studiocalico.com to get a subscription start with the june kit - i can tell you right now that the stamps in the main for june are going to get a workout at my house!

i saved the "hello" die cut - which was my favorite from the mix - specifically for this page. the title was cut with my cameo, and the font is called arsenale white. the text paper is from the heidi swapp photo stack. the designs / size of the pages of these little folders makes perfect photo mats! i swiped the photo from becky's instagram feed, because i left the store without even snapping one. these beautiful shelves have yet to make it to my house - between school activities and baseball we've had a hard time finding a chance to make the 3hr round trip! 

and how about a giveaway?? leave me a comment and you could win brownie, one of the may add-ons. that stamp is super fun - it's 4 cocentric circles. i love how bright and happy this mix of product is, and i'm glad i get to share it with one of you! =) i'll draw a winner on tuesday. here's the complete list of SC DTers sharing inspiration + giveaway on their blogs today - be sure to stop by each one for a chance to win! and don't forget to head over to the SC blog to see all of our NSD fun. =)

Celine Navarro
Davinie Fiero
Dawn McVey
Geralyn Sy
Jen Jockisch
Kelly Noel
Kinsey Wilson
Lisa Truesdell
Susan Weinroth
Tina Aszmus
Vee Jennings

i've also got a NSD challenge up over at the studio calico blog. i want to see you use confetti! you're shocked, right?? ;) this photo cracks me up and i couldn't wait to get it onto a page. i cut the stars + LOL right into the background with my cameo, and then filled one star and the "O" with confetti. i hope you'll all join in on this challenge - i can't wait to see what you make!

InLinkz.com

 

and last, i wanted to post a little reminder that my free ship code at 2peas ends today! here's the fine print : Just use the code LTFS40 for free shipping on an order or $40 or more of non digital / non phaseout product. it expires on saturday - may 5th. sorry, the code isn't valid for international orders. they've gotten a ton of new stuff in, including goodies from hello forever & MME, studio calico mistables and the new simple stories summer line!

happy saturday!! in addition to NSD, we have baseball pictures, a teeball game, a baseball game and free comic book day. oh, and the bigs + dad are going to see the avengers.

 

a little bit funky

and now, my friends, for something a little different. in fact, when i finished this page yesterday, i texted it to kelly noel along with a message that basically said - i'm not sure this even looks like i made it, but i think i like it.

and on that note. welcome to the balzer designs / crafter's workshop blog hop! ;) when julie emailed me and asked me to join in, i was totally excited. i love her stencil designs and have wanted to play with them, so this was the perfect opportunity. this is the mask i got to play with - it's called funky tags.

i started my page with the idea of misting over patterned paper in various colors...  and it was a disaster. sometimes that happens. as i sat and pondered what i wanted to try next, i noticed the cardstock in my mist box - and thought it looked kind of cool. i had tried to mist a row of chevrons on it straight up and down and it slipped, and then i'd left it in the box while misting other tags. i repeated the row of chevrons from one of the tags on pieces of patterned paper, then started building the page on my crazy background. i love that a few misting mistakes made me look at the stencil differently and isolate some of the patterns rather than use a whole tag design.

InLinkz.com

this little blog hop definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone and let me get in touch with my inner julie. ;) it was a fun way to try some new things - there's nothing as freeing as being willing to get a little messy and make a few mistakes. after all, it's only paper.  be sure to hop on and see some more fabulous inspirating using the funky tags stencil!! 

Julie Fei-Fan Balzer
http://balzerdesigns.typepad.com/balzer_designs/2012/05/stencil-hop-funky-tags.html

Catherine Matthews-Scanlon
http://cmscanlon.blogspot.com/

Lisa Truesdell  <---------- you are here. ;)
http://gluestickgirl.typepad.com/

Dina Wakley
http://dinastamps.typepad.com/

happy thursday! we have nothing scheduled for this evening. and that makes me kind of giddy. in fact, i probably shouldn't have even said that, because now something will come up - ha! sometimes i think this time of year is busier than around the holidays.

free shipping at 2peas!

happy may day! it's not flowers or candy, i know, but i DO have a little something to share with all of you. i mean, a 2peas free shipping code is ALMOST as a good as a bouquet of daisies on your porch, right? Just use the code LTFS40 for free shipping on an order or $40 or more of non digital / non phaseout product. it expires on saturday - may 5th. sorry, the code isn't valid for international orders. 

if you haven't grabbed the exclusive oh happy day stamp set that studio calico made for 2peas - then this is a good time to do it. =) i've been sneaking some time here and there to get some project life done, and i can already tell that i'll be using this set a LOT.

i also wanted to share a NEW workshop that studio calico is doing with two peas - pieces of me. maggie holmes is teaching this one - it's a really fun mini album all about YOU.  he workshop is for sale now, but will start june 1st. 

and guess what? if you purchase the class by may 7th, you'll get exclusive access to MY pieces of me album + step-by-step instructions. this will be available on june 1st when the workshop is available for download. 

there's a class kit to go along with the workshop, but i'll be working from my stash. kind of wishing i was one of the kit contributors, because this is a gorgeous mix of product! 

happy tuesday!! after a wet and rainy weekend, it's sunny and warming up quickly today. i'm glad - we have teeball / baseball tonight and tomorrow, a field trip with sam's preschool tomorrow, and our elementary school's field day on thursday and carnival on friday. so hope the good weather holds for all of the fun!