We Will Always Have Paris

Finish It Friday: Do It/Did It Rolodex Cards

(This should have posted on Friday, but I've been struggling with my Typepad account)

I've been woefully behind in my Do It/Did It Rolodex, so I've started pumping out the cards this Friday.  I'm just trying to get these done, so right now I'm following the same template:  circle punch, some ribbon & a photo rolodex card.

Stacy Julian really pushed this book during this year's appearance at Get Croppin's ScrapBowl.  I'm dying to read it, so I made myself a little card.  It will also trigger a reminder to add it to this year's Christmas list!

Everyone raves about the Genesis paper trimmer.  They are hard to find and almost always out of stock.  Of course, that just makes me want it more!!

 

My sweet Millie really needs a tutu of her own.  I keep promising her that I'll make it. 

 Aaaah....  My favorite TV show.  I think I need it on DVD!

I received an amazing puzzle (gotta love that Bas Bleu) for Christmas a few years ago.  I've yet to assemble it.  It just seems to hard to pull out all of those pieces with a little one running around. 

Pretty soon I'll have a new baby to shove into flower pots and silly hats for pictures.  Momma needs herself some better lighting!! 

 

Most of these fall under my "To Buy" divider tab.  It makes for easy Christmas Wish List making!! 

Finish It Friday #3 - "Take Delight" Layout

I've been so busy trying to get ready for my crop this weekend, that I haven't had time to post pics of last Friday's "Finish It Friday" project:

  

I originally worked with these photos back in March and proudly posted my layout on this very same blog.  I was then flooded with e-mails letting me know that I had a major typo.   I had journaled that the photos were taken in August 2008, when we were still 5 months out from that date.  So...  I quickly tore my layout apart, vowing to clean it up & re-post it that very same weekend. 

The layout was pushed around my project desk for a month or so, before I stuffed it into the "Projects" cabinet where unloved works in progress go to die.  I was thrilled to fish it out last week & fix it up.  It's now safely protected in my daughter's album & I have one less thing on my "To Do" list.

Finish It Friday #2.1 - Wine Tags For Mom

I did actually finish the wine tags for my mom this week.  I added a bunch of Christmas-themed tags (since we're quickly coming up on the holidays):

 

And then I boxed the whole bunch up (with the stamp) in the Maya Road case I made a while back:

 

I added a tag (Happy Mother's Day 2007) to the outside and it is ready to ship!! 

So there!  Two projects completed and out the door.  Damn, this feels good!

This week's "Finish It Friday" is going to have to be a smaller project, as I have a field trip with my daughter's pre-school on Friday.  I have a number of layouts that need to be finished/fixed.  I'll probably choose one of those.  So....  what are you planning to finish this Friday??  Diane?  Karen?  Amy S.?  Cupcake? Jeanette? Chrys?

Finish It Friday #2 - Wine Tags For Mom

I am well known for my half-ass handmade gifts.  I have the best intentions and I start the gift well before the recipient's birthday/anniversary/baby, but then I get distracted by life/baby/classes/on-line orders and never finish it.  (Holy Spice, if you're reading this, I promise that your mini book I started when you received your PhD in 2003 will get finished this year.  I swear!)

Back in early 2007, I ordered a custom stamp for my Mom for Mother's Day.  My goal was to make cute little wine tags for her to attach to bottles of wine when she gives them as guests.  My mom is a wine freak -- perfect gift, no?  Well, I received the stamp in February.  Mother's Day is in May.  I'm good to go.  So, two days before Mother's Day, I remember that I forgot to make the stupid wine tags.  I sent my mom a nice card describing the gift that she would receive in a couple of short weeks.

Ahem....

Yeah...

So, now it is September 2008, and that damn stamp is still in my "unfinished projects" cupboard.  I haven't made a single tag.

I pulled the stamp out today & I've been feverishly working on making her some cute tags.  (Note:  The stamp has their last name in the middle and their full names around the edge -- since I prefer to protect my family's privacy, I've had to block the names out, but the stamp as a whole is really cute!)

 

All of these tags were made using regular shipping tags (purchased at Staples) & scrap paper (click here to see how I organize my scraps so that I can quickly access them).  Everyone who know me knows that I'm an absolute whore for the Marvy scalloped punches and my Fiskars "Threading Water" punch.  Love 'em!

 

 

If you're working on some of your unfinished projects today, send me a picture & I'll post it for everyone to see!

Finish It Friday #1.1 - Seasons Book

I finally finished the last two dividers:  Spring & Summer.  I also added two more sets of pages to each season:  Crafty Ideas & Recipes.

 

 

The rub-ons used on the Spring & Summer dividers are from Creative Imaginations.

Thank you for all the wonderful e-mails about the book.  As of right now, I'm not planning to add these to the Flea Market as a kit.  There's a lot of work in this book & I can't see how I could do it in bulk.  However, I am donating one to Lauri's auction basket for those of you attending the CraftChix retreat in October.  She's working to raise money to donate to her church in her beloved mother's name.  I'd do anything for Lauri!

There!  Done!!  One long forgotten project is actually completed & I look forward to sitting down this afternoon with a cup of hot cider (I'm feeling Fall-ish, even though this darned weather is feeling July-ish) to plan out my Autumn -- hay rides, pumpkin spice cookies, apple bobbing for the kids, the whole she-bang.

Start giving some thought to what you want to work on this Friday for "Finish It Friday".  I'm thinking I might actually work on my Mom's Mother's Day present from 2007 (yes, I said 2007...).   Wouldn't it be a pleasant surprise for her to receive her Mother's Day present on a random Tuesday in September??

Finish It Friday #1: Seasons Book

To start my first "Finish It Friday", I tossed a background DVD (I can listen to the movie "Sixteen Candles" over & over again) in the trusty DVD player, turned off the phone & set a timer for 30 minutes.

Part of my crafting problem is that I tend to putz around my studio instead of working.  I feel that I have to have everything put away & my workspace has to be pretty before I can get going.  Not today.  I gave myself 30 minutes to clean up & organize.  That's it...  30 minutes.  When the bell went off, I went to work on one of my MANY unfinished projects.

I started this book last year:

 

 

 

Those of you who have taken my classes will recognize the standard Korie B. outdoor canvas spine and ribbon binding.  Why re-invent the wheel?

I started this book last Fall when I was trying to find all of our holiday decorations.  Hubby was recovering from his surgery and I was frustrated because I felt like the season was slipping from my fingers.  I needed a place to organize everything and really celebrate the change of seasons.  Thus, my "Seasons" book was born.

Of course, I then allowed myself to get distracted from my project by starting the same book as a gift for my good friend Suni.  My book was shelved, her book was completed and another year passed.

Well, no more my friends.  I'm going to finish this book for myself.  I spent my first "Finish It Friday" decorating the dividers, adding a library pocket and printing pages.  I may not finish it this Friday, but at least I'm working on it!!

Here are the details:

• The paper on the cover is my beloved Daisy D's.  I'm happy that I used it on a book that will be regularly used, as this paper is no longer made and I love it.
• The metal frame on the cover is Basic Grey.
• The font is Conga.  It is one of my all-time faves.

Here are my current pages:

• Things To Do (Fun Ways To Celebrate The Season)
• Seasonal Cooking
• Our Traditions (Same Stuff, Different Year)
• Important Info (What & Who You Need To Know)
• Decorating Ideas
• Party Ideas
• Everything Else
• Gifts & Cards (Celebrate The Special Occassions!)

• Seasonal Inventory (What Do You Have & Where Is It Stored) (Note:  This has separate pages for Dinnerware, Linens, Cookbooks/Cookware, Music/Movies & Decorations)

I'm hoping that by filling the inventory pages out, I'll stop buying the same darn "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" DVD this year. 

Take a look at what I've accomplished today:

 

I've started decorating the dividers for each of the seasons.  This is one of my all-time favorite Fall pics.  

  

It wouldn't be one of my books without a library pocket & borrower's card.  By the way, look at the terrible job I did with the pinking shears.  Oh well.  It's my book.  Oh yeah, and I just noticed the typo on the quote.  A time to "rend"?  What the hell is "rend"?  Guess I'll be fixing that...  That's what I get for cutting & pasting from the internet....

Here's the Winter divider:

 

By the way, the rub-ons on both the Winter and Fall dividers are from Deja Views. 

Here's a look at the printed pages:

 

 

 

I'm off to put Sweet Baby G. down for a late afternoon nap.  Who knows.... maybe I'll actually finish this thing today!!