When the cats away, we will..... shop.

Ohhh I have so much to share with you....its been a month since my last blog post!!
I used to post every day and now that hubby and I are both retired it seems I should have more time...but it goes by more quickly, lol.

I will do an update post or posts later on, but lets start with today.
My honey and I are on a little getaway!!!
Every once in a while we like to head to the border for a little R&R and some shopping 😏

Here we are!!!!

At first he wouldn't let me get a photo of us together, so I was trying to make it look like I was picking his nose....I never once claimed to be mature, lol.

We went to 5 Guys for lunch and then Red Lobster for supper.
Just a little phone etiquette.....please turn off your ringers during dinner.
It is a bit infuriating to hear someone's cell phone go off every 3 seconds (I'm not even kidding..a party of 3 and I don't think any of them looked up from their phone the whole meal) during dinner.
I love themed rings, my friend has one and I will call her when she is over just to hear my theme (which by the way is the music from Walking Dead), but hearing a themed ring isn't any less irritating  than a ring during a meal out.
Off my soap box for now, lol.

First stop was to Hobby Lobby 💗
We don't have a Hobby Lobby at home, so it is always a treat when I get to shop at one.
We also picked up some Christmas wrapping paper.

I ran into JoAnns while Wayne went to Best Buy.
The Joanns here is a smaller store, but I always seem to find something.

I then went into a Dollar Tree.
What I love about these stores is everything really is ONE dollar.

Ashley asked me to pick up the alphabet puzzle from the Walmart here....I found it!!!
As well as something extra for Sawyer and Dawson.

Micheals was next!
I found these really cool keys, they are really heavy.

Wayne picked up a container for Kristy as she has taken up that Diamond Art and has baggies of those diamonds, so thought this would be easier for her to organize them in.

Target always has such cute clothes for little ones.

We also ran into Office Depot as I wanted some of these Job ticket clear pockets..I like them for storing my 8.5x11 cardstock.
Wayne and I love these Pilot G2 gel pens so purchased 3 boxes, teehee.
And I was happy to see these sticker books by Vicki Boutin and Heidi Swapp at the front entrance.

I was very excited to see the new Recollections planners at Michaels today!!!
I am torn on which one to get.

I love both of these covers!!
I am a more drawn to the bold colours so my eye went straight to the Every Moment Matters cover.
But the Enjoy the Simple Life is so soft and pretty.
Ohhh such a dilemma.

So I opened each planner to the weeks (as the month pages are the same).
So to make it even harder, each of these planners has a different weekly layout.
My planner I use now, has the same layout as the bold planner....but then looking at the soft planner I think I could merge my creative planner and my life planner into this one, so I would only need one (but do I only want one, teehee).
Sooooo I was thinking if I got tired of the soft planner cover I could change it up with my planner cover I have now, as it doesn't have the date on the front.
Why do I make things so difficult, lol.

So that is our trip so far and I will share with you again what we do tomorrow :)

Hope you all are having a creative day

Tracy 💗💗💗

Dashboard for my Recollections Spiral Planner.

I went to a class at Michaels.
I never usually take classes but my new Art Journal buddy Stephanie was teaching and I wanted to support her.
We made a dashboard for our planners :)
The class was free and we were to bring our own supplies.
There were 5 in the class and we all had different planners, so each dashboard was a different size and because we brought our own papers and such, they all looked different as well.
I really enjoyed it, thank you Stephanie :)

I am trying the Recollections spiral planner this year (I will share more on my planner in another post).
I usually use my DayTimer, but thought this looked like a fun one to try :)
So lets continue with the dashboard shall we?
I used a grey cardstock for the base (looks black in the picture) and then adhered some Heidi Swapp paper on top of it.
I didn't want to adhere the backs of the post its on the paper because if I wanted to change out the post its, it would rip the pretty paper, as I am using my ATG to adhere them.
So I used a clear sheet of sticky Avery paper on the Heidi Swapp paper.

I was thinking of using velum, but I didn't like that it muted the pink paper.
The quote on the top left corner is printed on velum, see how the paper is muted behind it...ya, thats what I didn't want ;)

Now for the back of the page.
I completed my dashboard at home.
If I remember correctly, there was suppose to be a pocket on the back of the dashboard.
So I mounted the pink paper on the grey cardstock and then adhered the 3 sides leaving the top side open.
I just added some washi in the pocket.
I didn't put the sticky paper on this side, as I'm not planning on adding the post its on this side.

Now because it is a spiral planner, you can't add pages....or can you ;)
I used the packaging paper as a template on where to punch the holes, you could also use the front cover for this.
Then I cut slits from the edge of the paper to the punched holes.
This way the dashboard (or anything you want) can be added to the binding.
It can be removed from the binding, as well as turning the pages easily.

Here is what our dashboards were suppose to look like if we used the supplies that they called for.
This is Stephanie's, pretty isn't it.

I thought I would share with you why I don't normally take classes, just so you know I'm not snobbish on them, lol.
I like to look at a project and figure it out myself.
I also don't follow directions very well and go my own way, and would feel like I might me insulting the teacher if I don't follow her instructions.
And lastly, while I am figuring out how to put the project together, I come up with different ways, or different ideas.
See, I'm not snobbish, just stubborn ;)

I hope you all had a very Creative Day

Tracy :)

Projects from Day 2 at Crop & Create

This is the project I worked on ALL day and ALL evening at the Crop & Create event on the Saturday.
My friend Lynne and I both worked on it as we purchased the kit at this same event last year.

I took a few pictures of the inside of the mini album.
There are so many fun flips in this book :)

If you are not familiar with the papers and embellishments, they are from Heidi Swapp.
Such pretty papers and I love the acetate butterflies.

I think Lynne may have got a bit frustrated with me, as she was following not only the instructions, but my pages.
And with almost everything I create, I don't follow the instructions, lol.

Onto My Day:
I am still enjoying my Walking Dead marathon, so today was Season 3!!!























Yesterday while watching my show, I worked and completed my grandson to-be's crochet baby afghan.

Today I thought I would bring up my scrapbooking supplies and a kit to work on.
I didn't get anywhere with it...besides seperate the papers and embellishments.

You see, a friend took the class for this kit and she wasn't really feeling it, plus she was more interested with making the cards and they didn't get to that in the class....so she gave me the kit.
I couldn't believe that she did that <3 p="">But because she had completed 2 pages and only needed the embellishments on next 2 pages, I have been having trouble working on it.
When I get a kit, I usually switch up somethings and I get more pages than the kit is expected to make, I also add some of my own supplies.
So because I wasn't able to scrimp on the papers, I am having to rethink some things ;)
It will get done though....maybe tomorrow while I watch Season 4 ;)

I hope you all have a very creative day :)

Tracy :) 

February 2016 Tag

Good thing we have an extra day this year...or I wouldn't have completed my February tag for Tim Holtz "12 Tags of 2016"...and I want to complete them all this year.
Here is how my tag turned out...so different from Tim's...and so different from what I started with.

Tim is revisiting past techniques this year.
Funny thing is the techniques he has been sharing so far, have been ones I have not done before, as I missed a year here and there.
The one technique I thought was interesting was to use distress stain and ink up your stencil, then flip the stencil on the tag to transfer the ink to the tag.
I do not like how mine turned out...but no worries, I will save this tag for another month, October maybe since it looks like blood splatter, lol.

So I went a whole different route.
I also thought his technique to sprinkle embossing powder to embossing paste was a pretty cool idea as well...so lets see how this one turned out, lol.
I didn't want to fill in all of the hearts with embossing paste, so used sticky notes to mask them off.

To be able to see my exact placement, I held it up to the light....looks pretty good to me :)

They turned out nice a crisp..perfect!

Now when Tim Holtz warns you about what NOT to do during a technique...my advice, Listen, lol
I have done this many times and many times I get the same result, why....because I am impatient, lol.
I was to sprinkle the embossing powder to the embossing paste and let air dry...not dry it with my heat gun.
But being the rebel that I am thought...what the heck, whatever happens happens.
Yup, the embossing paste bubbled, lol.
Which I am fine with, now I have puffy gold hearts.

As much as I like the crisp gold on the black, I thought it was a bit plain, even when I added my other elements.
So I decided to use some white ink to stamp some text.

Then I forgot to take photos of the rest of the process, lol.
So here are some close ups of the completed tag.

This here may be my favourite part of the tag.
Love all of these metal embellishments.
The game piece spinner and screw thingy are from Tim Holtz, not sure where I picked up the heart locket, but isn't it so pretty :)

One last look at my tag for this month.

I didn't do a video for this tag as I have a pretty nasty cold.
I didn't think listening to me cough, sniffle and sneeze would make for a good video, lol.

I hope you were all creative today :)

Tracy :)

My planner for 2016

I am keeping a planner again this year.
I love my planner and I love planning …. or I love decorating it…either way, its fun :)
I use the Day Timer and its inserts.

Here is my 1st pages of the year.
Because it had the last week of December on these pages I adhered some pretty pattern paper to cover up the days (I am planning on writing my goals on here).
Because not much was done the 1st and 2nd of January, I just added some die cuts that I had extras of.

To decorate up the pattern paper I adde some of the Heidi Swapp washi word tape.

Here is my first full week decorated.
I am thinking I am going with the gold theme this month ;)

I cut some flags out of the same pattern paper that I had used on the first pages.
I then added a piece of the washi tape to the flag :)
It wasn't until I posted this photo that I noticed the pattern in the paper and the washi tape are the same pattern…pretty cool eh..and I didn't even plan that :)

I am loving the look of the gold  Heidi Swapp washi tape.
But am a bit disappointed as to the quality.
Some of the washi tapes are hard to peel off the roll as it sticks to the roll, it rips when I tried to pull off a section, and one tape I wasn't even able to use :(
I had the same problem with some of Tim Holtz washi tapes years ago.
Mind you, I have to say, I love most of their other products :)

I am just sitting here chuckling knowing that I will never be asked to review a product from a manufacturer, lol.

I am using other planners for other purposes and will share those in a future post.
I was actually thinking of using a different planner this year, instead of my Day Timer…but this is my 4th year using a Day Timer.
I just wish they would make this size pages in a vertical format…but you know what they say about wishing ;)

I hope you all have a very creative day :)

Tracy :)

January Planner insert..dissected

Today I was getting my planner ready for the New Year.
I know a bit late to the party, but I didn't have time to get to them before the holidays.

If you remember from a previous post, I didn't like the monthly inserts that came with my new planner inserts, that I received for Christmas.
They were 1 month on 1 page.
I like 1 month on 2 pages.
The reasons I prefer 1 month on 2 pages, is I think they are more fun to decorate…..and I love to decorate my planner.
The second reason is, I have bold primary writing and need the space.

I thought I would just go with the flow and try 1 month on 1 page for this year.
After decorating it, I changed my mind, lol.
That didn't last long, did it, lol.
See how tight everything is, plus not too much room for adding my personal touch.

I found some inserts I liked and copied them out on my photo copier…I did 2 sets just in case I needed them for next year.
But they didn't work out how I thought they would, so I scratched that idea.
Good thing I didn't use them, as I can now return them :)

I received a full planner with inserts included, for Christmas…I will share that planner at a later date ;)
What I am going to use my new planner for, I won't be needing the inserts.
The inserts were dateless, besides the month header.
Because I wasn't going to use them in the new planner, I thought I would try them in Yearly planner.
I just needed to alter the left hand page.
I cut the header off, as I like the font in my 1 page month inserts more.
I then cut off the sides and a tad off of the bottom.
So I was left with just the calendar.

In this photo my 1 page month insert is on the bottom, and my left page (cut up) of my 2 page inserts is on the top.

Then I adhered the insert, that I cut to size, to the insert of the month on 1 page.
I didn't have to do anything to the right hand side of the 2 page month calendar.
Looks good so far…except there are no numbers on the blocks.

In other years I have added the number with my label maker :)
But this year I picked up a couple of Heidi Swapp monthly number rub-ons.
Thank you Heidi….I love these!!!
A tip for working with these is to cut the numbers in a strip so you are only working with one month of numbers.
Also pull back the backing sheet for only the number you are using, cause once the paper touches the rub-on part, it sticks….this includes sticking to your fingers ;)
Last tip for working with these, is to cut off the numbers you don't need. If a month only has 28 days, cut the last numbers off. Once you get going, you may just keep rubbing those numbers and not pay attention to stopping at 28 ;)

If you are wondering why I went though all of this trouble, instead of just using my new monthly inserts..I will tell you.
I like the colours of the tabs, I like the font in the header and I like the other side, where the month title page is shown.
Yes I am particular in what I want, lol.
And if I can make it happen, I will.

Now after all of that work, I got to the fun part of decorating it :)
I changed up how I am going to mark birthdays.
Last year I stamped cupcakes on a sticker sheet, coloured them up with markers and fussy cut them out.
One thing with my planner pages (I have had this planner for 3 years) that I don't like, is when my markers and inks bleed through…this really irks me.
Last year I used many sticky notes to solve the bleed through problem.
This year I will use chalk inks to stamp (as it doesn't bleed through) and just regular ink pens.
I would rather write in markers, but I will have to get over this ;)

Now if DayTimer would only make 1 month on 2 page inserts that are prettier, and use a better quality paper so bleed through is no longer an issue…my life would be perfect, teehee.

I hope you all had a very Creative Saturday.
I did, and I have the mess to prove it ;)
Do you keep a planner?
If you do, do you prefer 1 month on 1 page, or 1 month on 2 pages?

Tracy :)

Day 2 of the Shopping Adventure.

Did some shopping today…lots of shopping ;)
But these are still my purchases from yesterday.
I brought enough 50% off coupons for everyone, so they could help me with my purchases ;)
We went to JoAnns and I found some new colours of Gelatos.
I also found some new colours of Inka-Gold.
I just fell in love with this colour of metallic shimmer paint in blackberry.
Ohhhh how I want to play!!!!!

Look what I found Becky!!!!
I found the "love" punch. Oh so much fun :)
I also picked up this fun deer die for 40% off.

We also went to another Tuesday Morning and I picked up a stencil and some more pretty napkins…yup, I am planning to create withe these ;)

I ran into the Dollar store and found a few goodies.
I grabbed these plastic table cloths for a crop I plan on hosting in the New Year.
I am planning on using this coupon holder for memorabilia I collect throughout the months for my scrapbooks and smash books.
The hair bands are also for using in a craft ;)

Last but not least from yesterdays shopping craziness I picked up a pretty new Christmas table cloth and placemats for my dining room table.
Look at those cute tiny tree and stocking punch..so so cute.
Some fun decorative tape and a planner, like I need another planner, lol.

Onto My Day:
Woke up early so we could get to Mall of America when the stores opened….they opened at 8:00am.
Wayne figured the girls would have 13 hours at the mall, but they only needed 7 hours the first visit, then over 2 hours the second visit, lol.
Wayne and I walked the mall, enjoyed a crepe and some Cinnabon twists. We also brought a couple buns back to the hotel for breakfast in the morning..if they make it that far, lol.
I got over 18,000 steps in today, so I think I deserve it ;)
Wayne and I had a drink and took a breather at Barnes & Noble. He went on his phone and I wrote in a journal I purchased at Marshals ;)
The girls (Ashley)  wanted to go to Ikea….I didn't plan on getting anything, but $40.00 later, I left the store, lol.

I hope you all had a very creative day :)

Tracy :)