Family Update- February Edition

It's that time of the month again, where I take a moment from all of the crafty posts and share with you some of the highlights of this month for my family. Since moving away from most of our family, my blog has been a go-to place for picture and story sharing.

This month started off with visits to the doctor. I had to do a not so fun test to make sure that a procedure that I underwent in October was successful, Marcus had a procedure to correct something and Maddie had strep. No fun but we are thankful that everything is fine now and everyone is healthy. 

Also this month, we got to see my sister Gem in between her flights from Florida to Idaho. She was in Florida for work and just so happened to have a lay over at the Denver airport. Mitch didn't have work that day and the weather was nice so we decided to drive over there, see her for a bit (seriously, I don't think it was even for an hour) and then wave goodbye as she ran to catch her next flight. We got to introduce Mason to her, which was also a treat. 

We got teased by mother nature in the middle of this month with some wonderful weather. There were a couple of days were it was above 60 degrees. We took advantage of these nice days and did some family hikes. 

The first one was at the Bear Creek Regional Park

and the second one was at the Palmer Red Rock Trail

This month we found out that Marcus got into the honor roll of his middle school. So proud of him.

After all of the sun that we got in the beginning of the month, we got pelted with snow for the last couple of weeks of February. It was so bad that church even got cancelled. I know this moisture is all good for our area but I am definitely looking forward to Spring. 

As for Mason, just a couple of days ago, he turned 6 months. I can't believe our baby is already half a year old! I'm so not ready for this yet. 

Some of the things to remember this month are:

-He's a "grabber" now. He loves to grab faces, pull on the table and place mat (which causes spills) and he loves to grab on hair. Maddie and I always have to careful when we come near him because he gets a tight grip on our locks.

-He loves to eat everything, and I mean everything. We have been introducing food to him since he was 4 months old, gradually of course. But this month, at dinner, he would make noises if I'm not fast enough to serve him his spoonful of baby food. He is also very observant about what everyone puts in their mouth. He has this serious look on him every time he watches one of us put something in our mouths and if we try to tease him and bring the food towards his mouth, he gets his mouth wide open ready to taste. Will I finally get a kid that is not a picky eater? 

-When we place him on his back, he loves to lift his legs up and try to grab on his feet. He has gotten pretty good at it and at times, even try to eat his sock.

Life is fabulous when you are learning layout + Process video

Thank you for stopping by. Today I'm sharing a layout using my homemade scrapbook kit for the month of February. I love being able to dive into my stash and put together products that will make for a cohesive page(s). It makes the process of scrapbooking efficient and fun for me. 

This layout is about a summer activity that my kids and I discovered a couple of years back and have become a tradition. I have a process video, sharing how I created this layout from start to finish here...

and here are some more close ups....

Thank you again for stopping by and I hope this layout share inspired you to dive into your stash and create a layout that will document your favorite "library" or summer activity.

Till next time,
Grace

What's new in the store

Hello my crafty friends. Today I'd like to take a moment to share with you two card sets that I recently put in my Etsy shop. I'm going to try to share with you some of the new things in my store in case you or someone you know might be interested in purchasing some handmade cards. 

Card set #1- This card set has 8 5x5" card sets. Up to know I've only been selling 4 1/4 x 5 1/2" cards and I thought I'd mix it up a bit with this size. These will come with envelopes as well.

Card set #2- These are also 5x5" cards but in this set you get 10 with assorted themes and sayings.

All of these cards were handmade by me and are full of texture, dimension and heart.

If you would like to visit my shop, please click here. Shop today and get a 20% off coupon by typing in THANKYOU2015 in the discount code box.

Till next time,
Grace

Peace at the Logan Temple layout + Process video

Hello friends. It's a Winter Wonderland outside of my window and I'm dreaming of green grass and warmer weather but for now, looking at this latest layout I made will have to do. I made this layout using my February homemade kit and the sketch from here. 

Because my photos were all 4x6, I went with a double page spread so I didn't have to crop them. I love how the sketch gave me enough room to add my photos, layer papers and add some embellishments. 

Here's a process video where you can watch this layout made, from start to finish...

And here are some more close ups...

Thank you for stopping by. Stay warm and crafty today :)

Till next time,
Grace

Book Review- How Successful People Grow

Hi there friends. For this month's book review, I decided to share How Successful People Grow by John C. Maxwell. I got this book at the library in January. I signed up for their adult reading program (I don't know why don't do it in the summer though) and picked this one up mainly because it was a small book. I know it sounds like I'm cheating but if I had to read 8 books in a span of a month, I might as well be smart about my choices, right? 

Anyways, after a few chapters of the book, I am glad that I picked it up, even if it's for the wrong reasons. Since my one little word this year is LEARN, I thought this book will be perfect as I work on my OLW. 

This book is very inspirational and after each chapter, the author gives you some "challenges" to quickly apply what you've learned in that part of the book to whatever you wanted to be successful in. I feel like this book can be used by any one, in any field. 

Some of the things I jotted down from this book are:

"Creativity comes at the end of your comfort zone."

"Borrowed beliefs have no passion, therefore no power."

and when learning something new, I need to ask the following questions:

Where can I use this?

When can I use this?

Who needs to know this?

Good stuff, huh?

So I hope you enjoyed my book pick and review for this month. As always, I am not being paid to say any of these things. These are just my personal opinion on the books that I read. 

Thanks for stopping by. 

Till next time,

Grace

Paper strips idea #3- Petting Zoo layout (with process video)

Happy Friday friends. Today I'm sharing the final layout for my "Paper strip idea" series. I hope that you've enjoyed this little idea share that I made this month. I hope to do it again next month. Do you have any suggestion of topic I should tackle?

This layout used strips as a simple horizontal background. The variation that I did was cut them in different widths as well as add a piece with scallop edge. The differences in width made for a more interesting background. 

Here's my process video for this layout...

And here are more close ups....

Thank you again for stopping by. I hope the ideas I've shared helped you use more paper strips on your layouts.

Have a great weekend.

Till next time,
Grace

Pin To Done- Diaper and Wipe Fabric Case

Hello crafty friends. If you remember last month, I introduced a new monthly share called "pin to done". This is my attempt to learn something new and also to get some of those projects that I've pinned checked off. 

This month's project is this diaper and wipe carrying case made with fabric. Although I have a large diaper bag that carries all of my baby essentials, I found that my diapers gets lost underneath all of the clothes and blankets and it takes time to shuffle in the bag to retrieve them. This little case makes changing diapers fast and efficient.

I got the idea and followed the tutorial from this Source

I liked how easy her tutorial was. Had some leftover fabrics from making Mason's rag quilt so I used that.

This is one of those projects that can be done in less than two hours, including cutting the fabric, ironing the pieces and sewing. Here are some more close ups...

Thank you for stopping by. I hope this share inspired you to go through your Pinterest boards and bring one of your pins to life.

Till next time,
Grace

Paper strips idea #2- Hello new specs (plus process video)

*reposting with wording. I'm sorry I forgot to update my post when it went live last week. 

Hello again my dear friends. Today I'm sharing the second way I use my paper strips. 

This one was actually inspired by this paper... 

I watched a few You Tubers use this paper and it inspired me to use the design on my next paper strip layout.

I love how the slanted edges of the paper creates movement in the page but still lets me get a lot of strips and designs into the layout. 

Here's a video sharing my process...

And here are some more close ups....

Thank you for stopping by.

I will be sharing my third and final layout with the paper strip idea on Friday (20th) so make sure to stop by then.

Till next time,
Grace

Paper strip idea #1- Our Little Picasso layout

Hi there friends. Today I'm sharing a layout that is the first layout of a three part series share that I'm going to try out on the blog. I would like to share ideas on how to use your scrapbook supplies and I will give you three ways to use it. Kinda like in fashion where you see a piece of clothing that can be dressed up in three different ways. I hope you will like this new theme/idea that I will trying out every month. Make sure you subscribe to this blog and/or to my You Tube channel (links on the right side bar) to be informed as new posts come up. 

This page is also based off of this sketch from Sketch N Scrap....

Here's my layout...

The idea that I would like to first share with you are three ways to use paper strips on your layouts. The first idea would be to use them as skinny strips, weaved together. 

Here's a video on how I created my weaved background accent...

And here are some more close ups...

I used two different types of letter stickers for my title and added some arrow stickers to point to the photo.

I also added some stickers, die cut tabs and flairs for my accents.

Because this is about my son's artwork, I wanted to add some artistic designs on the page. I used an old round container, added paint on the rim/edge of the container and then stamped that on the page. 

Thank you for joining me today and I hope you stop tomorrow for the next installment of my paper strip idea blog post. 

Till next time,

Grace

Garden Harvest layout

Happy Wednesday friends. Today I'm sharing a layout, along with a process video, about one of the things that I love about summer. I've enjoyed gardening over the years. I started when my daughter was about 2 years old and she's going to be 10 this year. Even during my most pregnant months last year, I managed to grow a few zucchinis and corn. 

This layout was created with a couple of challenges in mind. The first one is this sketch from Stuck On U Sketches which can be found here. 

The second one is based off of the challenge of using a product collection that you love and the theme of the layout is about something you love. It is from the Facebook group called Nicole Jones 911. This group has been one of my favorites lately. The members are awesome and so kind with their comments and suggestions. 

Here's my page...

If you want to see how I created this page from start to finish, watch my video...

And here are a few more close ups...

It was definitely fun doing this layout and I am so happy that my new way of recording my process is better with the video on my phone.

Thank you for stopping by and I hope you come back soon.

Till next time,
Grace