Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone. Here's to a scrappy, crafty, healthy and fun New Year and warm blessings for 2008.

Lot's have been going on in my crafty life that doesn't really involve crafts. But now that I have a few free moments at the end of this year I get to post some things I have worked on and some things I have have done. Are you ready? Well, let's go..........

A cute Holiday album we made at our November crop

Tara, Susan and me at the November crop at the Red Bee

This is a canvas I made for my dad for his birthday. This one is of the grandkids and me and my brother when we were kids. The second one is still a work in progress

A lay out from our trip last November ('06) to San Louis Obispo for Evelyn's Mission project

Pismo Beach and Santa Barbara on the way home from San Louis Obispo

Remembering familyHorseback riding
Knott's Berry Farm
This is a card organizer I made by altering an expandable organizer bought at Staples
Cards and organizer I made at a Lasting Impressions class. I am hooked! Evelyn took the class with ne and did quite an awesome job on her cards and organizer too.

Altered paper clips, large clips, tin box and frames I made for teachers gifts.

Altered Family hanging frame for teachers gifts.

Altered frame for a friend

Inside of a Friends mini book made from a kit. Thought this would be a good gift Evelyn could give to one of her friends for a birthday present.

My 2008 work calendar. Have to make it fun.
My new ribbon organizer. I can see it all!
Altered wine journal for a friend
Altered journal for my dad.
My Christmas organizing box, made from a kit. Maybe this will help me get through Christmas a little easier.

Well, looks like that is just about it. For now at least. Hope to get some good quality scrap time in before we get busy with the next round of sports. Have a lot of catching up to do. Last few times I scrapped I worked on projects and making gifts. I sure could use another weekend here too. Can't wait for our April weekend crop!

Time for dinner and spending the evening playing games and hanging with the family. My favorite thing to do on New Years Eve. Maybe (hopefully) the kids will let me play some games on our new Wii.

Again, Happy New Years :)

Anybody home???

Yes, I know it..... I have been neglectful. But if you read my other blog, you will know I have no time. Oh, wait, plenty of time, but not for scrapping and fun projects. I have done some things, have taken a fun class and actually just went to a fun scrap day. That one, I helped plan. Oh, I know I have also been tagged a few times.

So my friends and my trusty blog.........I have not forgotten you. I promise I will post, reply to my tag and keep up this blog, at least for awhile.

If you have been wondering where I have been......I've been a busy mom wearing many hats: Football mom, Soccer mom, Horse mom, homework mom, carpool mom and the list goes on...... It's been busy since early August with football, then soccer, then school starting which brings on carpool and homework and school projects. Oh, and I have a full time job. No I am not being sarcastic. Not in my nature, just a little punchy now as I am still a bit overwhelmed.

But I did have a great time on Saturday at our C2R first day crop at the Red Bee in Tustin. What a great store and a great bunch of folks who work there and who own the store. And what a great group of gals who came to crop. :) I can't wait to go back to a scrap night there, even if it is a little drive. I unpacked my stuff and left it in the garage. Tom is out of town this week so I figured since we no longer have football practice, only soccer, I can spend some time putting things away where they belong and organizing my closet a little better. I did clean out my office closet yesterday. Looking nice!! Photo op? maybe.

Well, my scrappy friends, I must sign off. Almost time for the kids to be home and me to be homework/snack mom. I am hoping to squeeze in a quick (yeah right) trip to the mall too.

I got to scrap last night

Oh yea, uh huh, I got to scrap last night.
It was getting late, close to 8, and I was home all alone. So, I decided to drag it all out into the living room and set up there. I got 4 pages done. 2 almost done. I am leaving it up so I can continue tonight. Oh yea, uh huh! Have so many pages to post.
Time to get ready for the first football scrimmage today. Big day for Greg. He is still asleep. shhh. Hope he sleeps till 8 or later. Gonna be a hot one here today!

My mess

It always seems that no matter what type of organizers I get and what I do, it is just never right. Stuff all over the place and contstant rummaging around to find what i need. I don't have a crafts room or even a small corner to put my stuff in. So, it's shoved in my closet and the office closet. Oh, office, that sounds like a good place for stuff. Well, no, not really. This is where I work all day at my job. Tom' stuff is in her as well as a desk for the kids computer. It's a small room and very overlly crowded. It's also the place where stuff is dumped unitl it finds a home.


So, after my fun Crops2Remember weekend early August, I left all my stuff out with the hopes of organizing and purging. I have already purged so much! So, anyways, last weekend I decided to give it my best organizing and consolodating. I did it too. I broke down and bought a vintage suitcase from Angels Scrapbook Garden. And got another XL tote from Michaels (yeah for 40% coupons!) Still have to put the tote to good use as I just got it yesterday.


What a mess! How did I ever get all this stuff?
I got this at Target. It has paint, brushers, ink stamps, distressing ink, adehsives, tools, etc... Even some stamps fit on the other side.
The organizer behind the blue box is great for goodies and it is all labeled too!
Now, this is much better. See my cute vintage black and pink suitcase? Well, it's stuffed full of a few projects I really want to finish up.
Now, at my scrap weekend, everyone had Stickles. Glittery glue. And what girl does not like glitter and a little bling bling in her scrap books. So, I went to my favorite shopping mall (ebay) and found a gal that sells in quantities. Got 1o of my choice. Even got these pretty flowers from her. I like the containers and wall hanger too and want to hang it up on my wall. But what wall? Maybe when I get a scrap corner :)

My new XL tote is not pictured here. But, the gree/blue collapsable rolling box will be transferred into the tote. I am hoping I will be able to stack it on top of the other tote and roll them around together. Ok, now I really need another scrap night/weekend. I am all orgaznied and ready to go! I have so many projects I need to finish up too. OH, that reminds me, need to order even more pictures too.

Oh happy scrap day!

Freckle Friends Sale

Oh, hurry, check out www.frecklefriends.com for their great sale. Super personalized service too. I ordered this morning and picked up my order this evening. How is that for service. they are like 2 minutes from me. Love it!!
what did I get..... bling for a bling swap at www.fiskateers.com I have so much fun on that site. check me out, #1154. Some new acrylic stamps, glue dots (I ran out over the weekend) and other stuff I just have to have.
So, this morning I also placed an ebay order for some stickles and some flowers, I got the flowers just because I love the cute jars they come in and the cute wall hanger that comes with them. Thought I could hang them in the kitchen or in my sewing corner. I really need to sew! Miss my machine.
OK, enough rambling for tonight.
Happy shopping!!

Some fun places to shop on line

Some fun places I like to shop on line:

http://www.frecklefriends.com/ (they are right in my neighborhood!)

http://www.mpaperie.com/ (also close by)

http://www.creativexpress.com/ (get on their mailing list for great sales - even on Cricut cartridges)

And a fun place to hang out and meet fellow scrappers and crafters from all over the world http://www.fiskateers.com/ (I am #1154 :) )

Busy getting ready for our Crops2Remember weekend. It's this weekend, Aug 3-5. I'm so excited. I am so far behind and need to do a lot of catching up here! Have so many projects to finish as well. Yikes, where do I begin. And I ordered 125 pictures from our Florida vacation. Help!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy scrapping.

Finally got in some scrap time last weekend. Enjoyed a nice evening at Angels scrapping the night away.

Here is a few layouts I did. Have to put some finishing touches on a few more and hope to finish up those tomorrow :)




Way of the Cross - Good Friday in Silverado Canyon.


Family times and Birthdays


La Brea Tar Pits












I'm tyring to be thrifty and using things I have from my own never ending stash o' stuff. Seems to be working out and it's fun too to find different ways to use things.

Now I want a scrap room like this

Hello everybody! It's Stacey….
Do you have your bags packed? I hope so, because I can't wait to head out on our Journey! I have left my scrap space and am heading to the airport to meet you…
Simply login to your account, and click on the "Enter Classroom" button to get started on the first part of our Travel Album.
Let's go!
http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=tiue9acab.0.fsnnbrbab.ze6g7qbab.17955&ts=S0255&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bigpicturescrapbooking.comCopyright 2007 Big Picture Scrapbooking. All Rights Reserved.

I am taking another online class from Big Picture Scrapbooking. (click on the link) Can't wait to start. Got all the week one hand outs and ideas printed out. Hope to find some time this weekend to get started. Oh, like I need another project.

Blue Moon 5-31-07

A friend of mine sent this to me in an email...... check it out

May 31st marks the first blue moon since 2004.

The next won't occur until December 2009.

So for everyone who only do things once in a blue moon, now’s the time.


Click on the link below to learn more about the “Blue Moon”

http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/astronomy/BlueMoon.html

Here's what it says:

When two full moons occur in any calendar month, the second is called a blue moon. The term (in its modern usage) therefore has nothing to do with the Moon's actually color. A blue moon occurs about once in 2.5 years on average. A blue moon can occur in January and the following March if there is no full moon at all in February, as is the case in the years 1999, 2018, and 2037.
There are several other meanings ascribed to the term "blue moon" (the most common being "a very uncommon event"), but the one given here seems first to have appeared in The Maine Farmers' Almanac of 1937. The phrase "blue moon" has been around for several hundred years, but its meaning has changed a few times. The earliest use of "blue moon" meant an obvious absurdity which everyone knew never happened. However, the moon does occasionally turn blue as a result of smoke from forest fires or particles from a volcanic eruption. Since these blue-looking moons were rare but did happen from time to time, the phrase "once in a blue moon" was coined, meaning that an event is unusual, but can happen occasionally (Kibbey). "Blue moon" has also been used as a symbol of sadness and loneliness. That appears to have a history of its own among musicians and songwriters (Kibbey).
The following table lists all blue moons from 1990 to 2010 for dates in universal time. Note that because the full moon occurs at different times (and therefore potentially on different calendar days and in different calendar months) in different time zones, the occurrence of blue moons is time zone (and daylight saving time) dependent. For example, a blue moon occurs on May 31, 2007 in the Eastern Daylight Time zone, but on June 30, 2007 in universal time. Blue moons cannot occur in February, since the Moon's synodic period is 29.531 days, but February is 29 days at its longest (during a leap year).

I'm not neglecting you, promise

I know it's been awhile since I have posted here. :( Busy getting through the end of the school year, baseball, and just whatever life tosses at me. Everytime I think I have some time to scrap, something else comes up. Well, hopefully that will change this weekend and I can complete a project I really want to get to and also do some scrapping.
Last weekend I did organize most of my pictures. Have to do some shopping too. Oh what fun! I love to shop..... especially for fun stuff.
My secret project that I was working on was entered into a contest. Well, I didn't win, but that's ok. First scrap type of contest I have entered into. The project was something I would have done anyways, regardless of the contest and winning some cash. I don't have it back yet, looks like June. But it may get published anyways, so I am told. Yippee!! My first time. I will for sure share when I am done. Hint.......it has something to do with base ball.

Got pictures?

I do. 236 to be exact. Found a nice box from Snapfish filled with pictures sitting on my front porch today. Now just need to find the time to sit down to scrap. Baseball has a lull for about 1 1/2 weeks until the TOC. School is out June 2. Hmmm, maybe I can get away one Saturday and spend the day at Angels scrapping. Hope so.
I am still trying to put things away from the last weekend. Yikes, I just don't have the room. Need a larger closet, or hey, a craft room would be great!

Crops2Remember weekend pictures

Well, it's been awhile since I have posted on here, but life has been keeping me very busy.
But let me tell you, our Crops2Remember weekend was great! I enjoyed every minute of it - enjoyed meeting new friends, scrapping and just having a super time.
I know I already posted about it but here are some pictures. I spent Sunday uploading 236 pictures to Snapfish. Have a lot of scrapping to do when I get them back. When is the next weekend, oh yea, August. Is it August yet?

The room started off clean

Red Buggy loaded to capacity
Check out all the goodies!
Evelyn and my mom brought dinner over Friday night
Jessica, Stephanie (MAMBI), Nan and Me
our yummy cake

too much black frosting for you young lady
Zutter robe winner Rebecca and Lori with Nan
You call this scrapping?
Julie, Fiskateer Cheryl, Krystal

Jessica, Cheryl, me, Nan

Scrap gals busy at work
Contest winners Julia, Elena, Michele
Queen of the Crop - Julia
Carole, me and Lori
Nan, Beth (Heritage Makers) and Me


I really need to get some scrapping done - hopefully one of these weekends. Will have layouts galore to post (I hope).

Have fun!!

Race for the Cure

This will be the 3rd year since I participated in the Race for the Cure on the Bagley Bunch team with my dear friend Michele.
The team began when in 2004 Michele's mother fought and won her battle with breast cancer. It was a devastating time, but with the love and support of the Susan G. Komen foundation (and friends and family!) Barbara made it through, as well as Michele's Step-Mom Marilyn who continues to fight, and is still CANCER FREE!!!Our team is made up of family and friends and it just wouldn't be the same without you! :)
Last year I did the 1 mile Family Fun walk with Evelyn and we had such a great time. Evelyn could see first hand what a difference people can make in the fight against this horrible disease. This year I signed up for the co-ed 5K run/walk. Evelyn has shown an interest in running so her and I will train for the 5K run.
You may sign up for whatever race or walk you'd like (or sleep in!)....BUT your contribution to our team matters and we need you!!Registration is open....won't you sign up and join my family on the "Bagley Bunch" Team #413!?
https://www.kintera.org/faf/login/teamPageEdit.asp?ievent=227667&lis=0&kntae227667=CED3450D88F54B4789D111FBA15FF809&page=view
If you are unable to join our team, but would like to offer a donation and support our efforts....THANK YOU and GOD BLESS YOU! You may donate by clicking on the link below.
https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=227667&lis=1&kntae227667=B5472681CCC84A3ABFA6A292950D0E8F&supId=87371498

WOW, What a weekend!

I had the best weekend last weekend. It was our first Crops2Remember scrap weekend. We have a wonderful group of ladies from all over So. Cal. I enjoyed every moment of the weekend. I was exhausted but it sure was worth it. I really enjoyed meeting each and every person at the weekend. You ladies are great!
We had some guests come to the weekend also Stephanie from Me and My Big Ideas, Fiskateer Cheryl, Beth from Heritage Makers and Debbie from Freckle Friends.
I managed to get a lot of pages done too in between chatting and getting food ready and raffle drawings.
I can't wait till our August weekend and to start planning future weekends.
Thanks ladies for your wonderful support and making this such a memorable weekend.
And also a special thank you to Jessica, Nan and Michele. We all worked together as a team to get this from an idea to details on a pink piece of scratch paper to a successful weekend.

I am working on a secret project

Yes, I am. I have decided to make a project to enter into a contest at Angels Scrapbook Garden. My LSS. http://www.angelsscrapbookgarden.com/. I sure wish I could post a picture here but can't till the contest is over. It involves the Bind it All (http://www.binditall.com/). I had a long chat with Lisa today about the project. I am now convinced to enter. Thank you Lisa! Maybe I will get to work on my second idea too.
I went to the scrap night on Friday night. I got there at 5, rather than 6 to start work on my project. I had it safely tucked away before the 6:00 crowd got there.
But I am happy to say, I did start 2 projects at Angels. I finished them at home as I needed my Cricut to cut the letters. I will download the photos and post them here in a few days. Need to mail them off to the recipients.
I also got started on another lay out. Adventure Princesses. Its' a fun one! I didn't get to finish as I was too busy chatting with Lanetta and Judy and also TJ and her group of fun gals.
Oh, and I got a crop-a-dile. What fun! Now it is easy to set eyelets and to punch holes in cd's and other stuff. Used my Michaels coupon for a great deal. I have so many eyelets and brads that I have not been using as they are hard to set. But this tool sure makes it easy to set them. I made some fun flowers on Sunday.
Ok, I know I am rambling and said I was calling it a night. Good night everyone!!

Crops2Remember

I am so excited! Our Crops2Remember first crop is just around the corner. April 27 - 29 here in Lake Forest, CA. Oh my. I remember when Michele, Jessica and I first jotted down our ideas on that piece of scrap paper in January. Wow, and here we are about to launch our first weekend crop.
We met on Saturday and boy oh boy, have we got tons of great stuff! Just a few finishing touches and it's ready to go. I won't post any pictures of the goodies yet, will just have to wait till the weekend is over.
We have some local vendors coming to our crop too. Me and My Big Ideas is coming on Friday night. Check them out at www.meandmybigideas.com . Our own Fiskateer Cheryl is coming on Saturday, www.fiskateers.com (I am #1154 and got my engraved scissors today! ~ Thanks you Fiskars).
Back to MAMBI (Me and My Big Ideas). I knew they were local and am so excited to meet Stephanie. I used to use their kids stickers in my books when the kids were younger. I could always find the perfect blond boys and girls. I still use their product to this day.
Fiskateers, love that site. I am on it way too much. But there are so many great ladies there. Love the message board and am in my second swap. I have gotten so many ideas from the site too. I can't wait to meet Cheryl who is stopping by on Saturday! I am also enjoying my Big Picture Scrapbooking online class with May.
Now, back to our weekend. Did I say I am excited?? Well, I am. There are ladies coming from all over and I am so excited to meet them all. My mom is bringing dinner by on Friday night. She is excited too. I will have Tom bring the kids by one day so the kids can actually get an idea for what I do when I am away at a scrap weekend. I am glad it is close by so I will still be able to get to Greg's baseball game Saturday night.
Well, I am calling it a night. I am tired.

Happy Easter!

I want to wish you and your families all a Happy Easter. :) May you all enjoy your day with your families and friends. The kids don't like to dye eggs anymore, boring, so they say. But we did fill plastic eggs for the egg hunt tomorrow. Now that is more fun. Here are our pretty eggs.



But I also thought I would try some eggs like Julie, oops, Martha did. Well, mine didn't turn out like Julie's (thankfully!) or Martha's (figures). Here they are, but I wouldn't eat them! The brownish ones were boiled in coffee and then I let them sit for awhile to get darker. The kinda reddish ones, with the flakes on them, were boiled in chili flakes. I am not the cook like Julie and Martha, so tried the next best thing I had, chili flakes rather than chili powder. Didn't work very well. Lastly, the pink ones were boiled in water mixed with a powdered energy drink. Thought it might turn out pink since that is the color when mixed with water. Nope. But I put in some red food coloring and let the eggs soak.


So, my take on all this, by the Paas egg coloring kit, or better yet, the colored eggs from the store, or even better, fill the brightly colored plastic eggs with jelly beans and other yummy candy.

Once again ~ Wishing you a wonderful Easter from the Murphy's.