Sunday Blog Love

Are you having a great weekend?

Last week, our weather was warm enough that the snow started to melt but this week we're
back into the crazy cold temps.
I woke up this morning to -5 degrees! Dang cold out there!

And now it's time to show my Sunday Blog Love...



Jenn lives in Canada and has some of the cutest ideas around.

We've all seen those plastic organizers, I typically thought of putting in brads or buttons or organizing crafting things in them. But how about turning it into a candy showcase for Valentine's Day?

(note to my kids - I have a few of these organizers not being used - one of these might be coming your way very soon!)

Is this not the cutest most fun idea you've ever seen?

For all of us shoppers, it gives us a challenge to find color coded candy...

And because I love scrapbook albums, Jenn also made one to highlight each day leading up to Christmas.

I didn't make one this year but it's very possible that I'll be making one next year!

I hope you'll stop by and check out Jenn's blog too!

Have a great Sunday and we'll talk again very soon...

Recycled Mini Album for Bailey

When it's summertime, there's nothing like a cold, icy glass of lemonade.

We tend to use the frozen concentrate as it's more tart than the powdered mix.

Have you ever noticed how nice those lids are? If you're like most people, probably not!

Well I saved several of those lids and recently used them to make a mini album for my

daughter's super sweet beagle,  Bailey.

Let me show you how it turned out...

DH used his drill to make the holes so I could hold it together with twine.

This was so much fun to make...

And the back cover....

Is Bailey not the cutest puppy?

How can you not smile when you see this cute picture?

Bailey is definitely loved by all!

I'm linking to these parties

Showing Off My Thrifty Valentine Decorations

I've been working and showing several of my scrapbooking projects lately and thought I'd show 

our home decorated for Valentine's Day.

(This is the kitchen cabinet above the sink.)

I got two shelves at Goodwill and immediately spray painted them cream color.

Goodwill - white ironstone teapot and white bowl.

Dollar Tree - pink hearts in the bowl and the frame(spray painted).

Michaels - glittery hearts.

Goodwill - duck ironstone dish.

Dollar Tree - frame

Michaels - glittery heart.

Kohls -wedding picture frame

I bought this three tier holder about a year and a half ago at a rummage, it got spray painted and then was put away until recently. I didn't use it until now, I got stuck and wasn't sure how to use it.

Do you ever have that?

This picture turned out kind of dark and I was too lazy to take another one.

I put my toilet paper mini album on the bottom shelf, almost time to send it to Japan....

I found this cute picture on the internet and printed it out wallet size to fit in this another frame from

Dollar Tree. Simple, cheap and very cute!

I love Willow Tree figures and have found too many at Goodwill but I bought this one.

The frame is from Dollar Tree, I loved the design as well as the red color not to mention it cost $1!

Have you decorated your home for Valentine's Day?

I just finished up super cute scrapbook project from a recycled project and will share it tomorrow.

Have a great day and stay warm!

I'm linking to these parties.

All You Need Is Love

First of all, I want to say thank you to all the encouraging comments I received yesterday. It's nice to know that other people know how I feel, life truly is better!

Now on to my latest mini album...I love Valentines Day! In fact, my youngest daughter, Ashley was

born on Valentines Day. When she was little, we called her "Our Heart Baby."

This Valentine's Day, she'll be turning 21 - hard to believe!

I bought the standard $1 heart mini album at Michaels and I made the flower out of cupcake liners and added a couple of buttons.

A few months ago, DH and I bought a scrapbook at Goodwill from the 1950's that was full of Valentine, Easter, Christmas and Birthday cards. Isn't this a cute card?

No mini album is complete, or at least to me, without some bling and flowers!

Here's another one of the vintage Valentine cards with a glittery flower.

The girl at the typewriter is actually a cupcake pick that I picked up last year at Hobby Lobby.

Added a glittery heart from Michaels and a flower that I made awhile ago.

Another cupcake pick with more heart embellisments.

I still need to add some fibers and charms, got a little ahead of myself with the pictures...

Already working on two other mini albums using recycled things from around the house.

Again I say, if you've never tried scrapbooking, buy a $1 mini album and some scrapook paper and a few embellishments and let me know if you don't think this is fun!

Click here for the linky parties I'm joining.

Have a great week!

A Different Sunday Blog Love

Today instead of doing my weekly Sunday Blog Love, I wanted to share something personal.

I try to not use my blog to discuss my work and to keep it strictly about projects around the house and my family.

It's been almost a week and a half ago at work, there was a reduction in force (RIF) and 50 people were let go. I wasn't one of the 50, but my boss was one let go as well as one on my team.

While this news was very upsetting, I was also told that I would be demoted from a manager to a supervisor.

Added to this, they've temporarily suspended vacation accrual  and I would need to work 4 months before I would receive any additional vacation time.

Pretty much every night, I would come home cranky and experience chest pains. After lots of thought, I decided to quit my job. While this should cause a great deal of stress, I feel a indescribable release.

I've updated my resume and applied for a few jobs and have been cleaning and organizing the house. I made chocolate chip cookies from scratch (can't remember the last time I made cookies from scratch) and we are having some great home cooked meals.

We will get through this and hopefully very soon, I will find another job.

I hope you have a great Sunday!

And the Winner Is...

I'm happy to announce the winner of my anniversary giveaway.

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE who left comments and became followers!

The winner is Lavender Dreams.

Congratulations - please respond to my email and your magazine subscription will be arriving to your door very soon!

Living Room Wall Remix

It's been awhile since I've done any spray painting but it's also been awhile since I've found anything at Goodwill to redo with spray paint.

Last Sunday, I found an oak shelf that looked like it would hold teacups and saucers. So I spent Sunday afternoon changing it up to fit my style. DH found a pair of shutters, he's got a great eye for what I like!

And I'm very pleased with the results, let me show you my latest redo to our home...

Here's what the living room wall looked like before...it looked empty now that we moved the

TV to the corner.

I spray painted the shelf and one of the shutters, a soft cream color...

This frame is also a goodwill find that I bought a few months ago and spray painted it.

Valentine subway art, courtesty of Eighteen25.

I pulled out a couple of my Willow Tree figures and added some red bead necklaces.

The glass holder is a glass vase attached to a candle holder.

The valentine accesories are from Hobby Lobby.

I just love this frilly pillow, also Hobby Lobby...

The bottom shelf holds one of my white ironstone platters, a Goodwill find.
And the picture is another freebie that I found on a blog that I can't remember.

And no decorating project is complete unless a little silver is added.

I would like to add something on the side of the shelf.

Possibly some white plates?

But for now, I love how it turned out...

I'll share more of my Valentine decorating this week,

but please don't forget that I'm celebrating my

2nd anniversary...

You have a chance to win a magazine subscription for a year.

Click here for more information.

The giveaway will end tonight at 9 pm.

Have a great Wednesday and stay warm!

Sunday Blog Love

Have you been checking out all of the great Valentine projects?

My Sunday Blog Love this week goes to..

Then She Made

Amy and her super cute Valentine tree made out of scrapbook paper.

Stop over and check out how you can make this too.

And don't forget to enter my giveaway, a magazine subscription...

Have a great Sunday!

Second Anniversary and a Giveaway

I recently discovered that I've posted 382 times and my second anniversary was Jan 1, 2011. How strange is that? I was sure I started blogging sometime in February.

Blogging has become so much fun and I've become obsessed with checking

out other blogs and am constantly inspired.

And with that being said, let's talk about the giveawy.

You have the chance to win your choice of one of the magazines shown below.

But there are some things you need to do in order to qualify...

You must be a follower....

and you must have a blog...

So leave a comment and let me know ...

which one of these magazines, you'd like to win.

The giveway will end one week from today, Jan 19th @ 9pmc.

Good luck!

And more importantly, thank you for inspiring not only me, but countless other people.

**UPDATE - the drawing is now over, the winner will be announced very soon.
(Jan 20, 2010)

Toilet Paper Mini Album for Valentine's Day

It's been snowing here since yesterday morning, the snow is the consistency of powdered laundry detergent.

The snow is very pretty but it's created some icy roads and for that reason, I don't have to go to work today.

It's a good day!

I finished up my mini album that I made from empty toilet paper rolls.

This picture shows four but I ended up using six of these.

My cover, I really love this cupid.

When I went to Michael's, I picked up the smaller pack of Valentine's scrapbook paper.

I didn't want to have a lot of scrap leftovers when I was done.

The embellishments on the left side were actually from aValentines card kit that was on clearance.

For this mini album, I really tried to stay in the pink color family as much as possible.

The pages aren't big...4 1/2" wide and 2 3/4" long.

I made the flower with the pearl in it, using a die from Die-namics.

This is a very much a mini album for a little girl..

who lives in Japan....

Do they celebrate Valentine's Day in Japan?

I sure hope so..

The back cover, I love this paper.

And no mini album is complete until lots of fibers are added.

 And some cute charms for added bling.

I'm linking to the parties listed at the top of my blog.

Have a great Monday!