Altered Trays

I have been meaning to photograph my craft room trays for some time.  I purchased these wood trays from Hobby Lobby. I traced the sides onto scrapbook papers that I liked.

I sanded the trays and painted them with some acrylic paints, then let them dry.  I cut out the scrapbook pieces, and used Mod Podge to adhere them (note: I chose to use it only on the bottom of the paper with a brush, as I did not want a shiny sheen to the sides).  I then sanded the edges of the papers so that the finish was relatively smooth, and a little "weathered."

I decided which things in my craft room really needed their own space.  I seemed to be acquiring a bunch of photo paper, so I chose that as one of the trays.  I also use one for cardstock and one for random scraps for after I am done with projects. (eventually, the scraps go into my scrap drawers, but this gives them a place in the interim)

I had fun with my VAST and ridiculously large collection of letter stickers when labeling.  These trays fit well with my modular shelving in the room.

A Closer Peek at OLW January

I just put the finishing touches on January's layout for the One Little Word album.  I love it.  It's amazing to look at the gallery for this.  There are so many different takes on the same instructions.  Pretty cool.  The digi scrapbookers are making me wish I had more time to invest in that.  Still, I liked cutting, gluing, inking, and writing all the same.  It's all good.

A Tale of Two Scrapbooks

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...oops, wrong tale...

I finally have most of the supplies needed, along with a cooperating printer, for my year-long scrapbooking adventures from Big Picture Scrapbooking:

The We R Memory Keepers albums arrived.  I tried to get them locally, but the 8.5 x 11" variety are not that plentiful, and it would have taken the local scrapbook store a few weeks to get them, so Barnes and Noble.com won out.  However, do not be lured by their promise of free shipping for orders over $25...these orders did not qualify.  I love the variety of color choices of these "faux leather" albums.  When creating albums, I appreciate the three-ring binder option, as these are, however, I am learning that gravity is unkind to these types of albums as they sit on shelves.  Just giving perspective to people considering these projects.  No one says these are the albums you MUST use.  It's just nice that all of the printouts fit the specs for the page protectors.

Each album required different divided page protectors.  I am a huge fan of divided page protectors, as they eliminate the "layout" part of the equation, which is usually the part that extends my time on task.  The Move More Eat Well album requires these page protectors:

The One Little Word album required these page sleeves:

It also requires these adhesive sleeves, which I am awaiting the arrival of any day:

I was introduced to mixing page protector sizes during Cathy Zielske's Design Your Life class, and I must say, I like the idea that the book can be filled with many sizes and still look unified.  The C-Line protectors are self-adhesive, which adds another interesting dimension.

Here are some shots of some of the things I have done thus far:

Move More Eat Well:

One Little Word:

I am very much enjoying both classes so far, and do not feel that either is asking us to do too much too fast.  Very doable.

MMEW has included a written statement of intention, some photos, some quote cards, some measurements, and a reflection on our personal stories with healthy (or unhealthy) living.  We also were asked to come up with 5 things that we rocked at, and ONE thing for the month that we would focus on.  Cathy has also included some great links to some good resources and articles.

OLW has included the opening page (which is awaiting the CLine protectors) backed by a 4 x 6" photo of us with an overlay.  Here's mine:

We then needed to focus on our word on small cards.  We were asked to define it, to look in a thesaurus for synonyms, to find a quote, to discuss why the word was chosen, and what we "invited" from this word for the next year.  I REALLY liked doing this part.  The blanks you see will be filled with various "crafty" items related to the word.

So, there you have it.  The reality of returning to work is coming in the next 48 hours, but the enjoyment from working on these has been great.  Glad I chose to jump in!

A Crafting Date

Today, my crafting buddy and CAS designer extraordinaire, Ann Cox, came to the Plato Craft Lab as part of her "gift" from me for Christmas.  It was a great way to spend a rainy day!  Here's what we came up with:

I made about 18 of these for Christmas gift thank you notes for my students.  I love the notebook paper embossing folder I just got at Hobby Lobby (made by The Paper Studio!).  Very quick and I like how they look.

Then came these awesome cards from Ann...

Looking at her bag, we gave ourselves a Valentine/color challenge:

The Bag

Ann's Take

My Take

And while we were crafting, the UPS man brought my scrapbook for my One Little Word project.  I tell ya, Barnes and Noble is FAST!  I just ordered it maybe two days ago.  Got me quite excited.

And another?

So, I hemmed and I hawed, and I thought, and I thought.  And I decided. And I convinced Scott that if we did this together, it would be awesome.  So, yes, you got it, the Platos will be doing their first "together" scrapbook.  And year-long journey.

Yes, I am doing "One Little Word."  And working on my Master's degree.  And teaching.  And mothering.  Yes, it seems like one more thing on my "plate" (pardon the pun).  Here's how I justify:

• I am already trying to follow the basic ideas of this.  This is just a matter of documenting.
• We have both been sluggish and lethargic.  We eat crap and then wonder why we have no energy.  
• This is monthly.  I can commit myself to getting things down once a month.
• Scott's journeying with me, and that's huge.  His mere acknowledgement that he will go on this trip for a year makes it more exciting.
• It's not a weight loss plan.  It's not Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig, or whatever other constrictive programs I have followed.  It gives a nod to what we need to do in life: move more, eat well.  
• I have followed Cathy's journey on her blog since she began (formerly "Move More, Eat Less").  I love that she has changed the title to "Move More, Eat Well."  The "Eat Less" part was what I knew I needed to do but, psychologically, seemed depriving, which sets me up for failure.  Anyway, she has shared the good right along with the bad; the triumphs and the struggles.  That is all this is.  A place to do so.
• This is my third class with Cathy through Big Picture Scrapbooking.  She does a fabulous job with them, and it's well worth the registration fee.
• I am always one step away from packing it in (always, not just now...the edge is always right there).  I need to keep things in the forefront that keep me from doing so.

And there you have it.  A good juggler can throw in a refrigerator and the plates will still stay in the air.  Or so I tell myself.  I will share a bit here and on my "family" blog, so enjoy!  Or ignore! :)

And so it begins...

Our only assignment so far as we wrap up 2011 is to find a word and create our title page.  Sounds pretty simple?  NOT really.

My search for a word began with a Facebook query of my cyber pals.  I kicked around joining this journey with Ali Edwards, but wondered what word would see me through 12 months.  On December 11, I proposed the following question:

I love how it says my question was posted "near Normal."  As in Normal, IL, not the state of mind.  Ha!  Among the responses: thin, baby, balance (2), life, Jesus, happiness, grandbabygirl, hope, priorities, family (2), faith, children, peace, debt-free, redirection, fitness, fresh, tequila, organize, farts, perseverance, don'tsweatthesmallstuff, healthy, grateful, margarita, chocolate...as you can see, I have a wide range of friends with a wide range of sense of humor.  I decided on December 13 that "strength" would be my choice for so, so many reasons.

Upon signing up for the class, the decisions then begin: What color album? Where to buy materials?  What color for the cover art shown above?  Do I follow Ali's recipe or do I stray and make myself more of a perfectionistic nuthead?  

I looked up colors associated with the word strength, and one answer resounded: RED.  Its placement in flags of nations indicates strength.  It's considered a "power" color (although the "power" connotation of strength was not really in the realm of why I chose the word).  Red it was!

So, do I overcomplicate things and recolor the .png file Ali provided, or do I just choose one of the available colors?  Yup, I went with easy...and chose brown.  Uh oh, of the red alpha letter stickers I have, can I write out "strength?"  Even if I have to mix upper and lower case?  Yes, but... not in love with the choices (I have very little red in my stash... not a signature color).  But, JoLynn, you ninny.  You have TONS of stamps!  Ah, yes, Stampin' Up! Whimsical Alphabet Lower stamped in Stampin' Up! Ruby Red.  Perfecto.  Even used the Stamp-A-Ma-Jig to make sure I did not completely screw this up.  Reread "perfectionistic nuthead" above.

So, now, that's ready.  I think I will work on my unfinished "MeTAV" album before I get my first assignment and see what dent I can put in that baby.  Stay tuned!

One Little Word

Yup.  I am again embarking on a class from Big Picture Scrapbooking.  This time, I have enrolled in Ali Edwards' "One Little Word" class.  No, I have not finished Me the Abridged Version.  I will get there, I swear.  Even if it is a two-year thing, I'm still me, and I still have lots to say for many letters of the alphabet.

I was intrigued by the idea of One Little Word and the focus it brought me when I kept thinking about it.  So, what's my word, you ask?  I have chosen "strength."

That is all for now.  The announcement is big enough, eh?