Miss Nat's baby book

So, a VERY close friend of mine entrusted me with the task of "re-doing" her baby book. It all started when we were having a discussion about the proper care of pictures and how when you leave them in the 1980's peel and stick style albums that your pictures will yellow and tarnish with age.

Being the crafty person I am I offered to re-do her book and I went over to her house and sat down with her, her mom and sister and took apart her album. Each picture was numbered and had a brief description written down. This way I could re-piece the album in the same order. Since her folks thought she was going to be a boy, her baby colors where mainly primary and had a train theme. Since Nat was a tom-boy in her youth, I've honored the album with the same themes: Primary colors and trains. Granted there is a splash of pink and secondary colors (green, purple and orange) through out, but I think she'll be happy with the look. To keep the baby album personal, I've kept the detailed picture list and left spaces for her mom to go back and "journal" who was in the pictures and the events. This way the baby book will be written in her mother's hand and have a more personalized touch.


This task was given to me about a year ago and I'm nearing the end of my journey (well mostly). I feel like I've gotten to know baby Natalie very well through her little smiles and gestures only a beautiful baby could display. Although her album is mostly complete, I'm having a hard time wrapping up the rest of the book. There are several pictures still waiting to be placed. These are pictures I wanted to do a special layout with, but can't seem to commit to paper. I'm sure Natalie would say that she doesn't really care and that she REALLY wants her baby book back (and I would to after a year), but I'm starting to feel the pressure. In some ways, I feel like I slacked off on this project, but then again I've put a lot of time into it. I told her I would have it for her Spiffy Graduation party, but now I'm not sure I can deliver on the deadline. Every day I go over it adding little embellishments here and there and I've even re-done a few layouts I'm unhappy with. I'm normally not this much of a perfectionist, but this gal is someone I consider a best friend and "okay" is not good enough. I'm not hoping to inspire tears, but in the years to come when she shares this book with others, I want it to shine!


I'm frustrated because each time I open her album, I see a design flaw or realize that one layout isn't as detailed as another. I'm hoping I can kick it into gear, but I don't think I'll have it finished by next weekend. I know that I have all the time in the world, but being creative is like writing and sometimes I get "writer's block" in the creative sense. Some days are better than others. UGH! Well, for now, I keep adding to it and hope she'll end up loving it anyways! I'll keep you guys posted....

Poppies!!!

So, a really cool gal (MonkeysInk) from swap-bot sent me a fun package for a recent swap. Inside was a really fun (and might I add beautiful) mini album along with the template. It was so different and fun that I decided to make one for myself using the Autumn Leaves "Pretty Poppies" collection. It's odd because I've never seen this style before and I considered myself pretty up to snuff with the latest and greatest templates. To keep the gift of scrapping rolling, I'm posting the link for the template of this album here

what's great about this album is that it's VERY quick to make. Paper bag albums and chunky books are time consuming, but I was able to whip this out in just a few hours. I think they would make awesome gifts for baby/bridal showers or for any holiday. I love how this album turned out, but I might pass it a long in a swap along with the template to keep the inspiration flowing. In fact, I was so inspired by this mini-album, that I'm trying some other new projects too. Thanks again MonkeysInk for such a wonderful inspirational piece!

This is the Cover (the back, not shown has a giant Red Poppy)

The view after you untie the ribbon and open the first page

The view after you open the right panel

The view after folding out the center; with the 2 side panels closed and the center opened

The view with the 2 side panels open

Paper Doll Swap

I just signed up for a new swap on swap-bot.com It's a very cool website if you haven't already visited. Anyways, the requirements for this swap are to go to this website: http://www.theenchantedgallery.com/paperdolls.html and create a doll for your partner from one of the templates. When I first saw the site it got my creative juices flowing! I was so excited that I couldn't wait for the swap so I made a proto-type. I used K&Company paper (as it is thick and sturdy and also printed on both sides) to create a mermaid. I loved the idea of having a jointed doll and the whole thing only took me a half hour to create. I love that you can pose her arms and fins. "Teach" made her do the "I'm a little tea pot" dance. It was pretty darn cute. Anyways it was so easy and turned out Amazing! The cool thing is that she is reversible. Since the paper I used for her fins, tail, clam-shells and flower are reversible, you just have to take out the brads and flip the paper to create a different look! I love these dolls and I think I will make a bunch of them to send out as thank-you gifts for people. I also copied and pasted the templates and shrunk them down to create a smaller doll.

For my partner's doll, I used "Basic Grey: Scarlet's letter" paper for her skin and the fins/tail/hair from "DCWV: All dressed up" paper line. I kick myself for not taking a picture before I mailed her out as she turned out so beautiful. Her tail was the black/white/silver/pink large polka-dots and her fins and clam-shells were the same colors, but in stripe form. I found some cute pink and black mini polka-dot ribbon given to me by my "Ro-Bot" friend and used it in her "hair" which I made out of black and pink polka-dot paper. The brad in her tail had a silver rhine-stone and the mermaid was so cute! I hope my swap partner likes her!

How sad...

I feel sad for the hypocrites. Mostly because they spend so much energy in whatever endeavor they're dwelling on at the moment. Like a scorned lover that says she's done with her leading man forever and then turns around and stalks his every move.....that's not so bad, but when the leading man says he would never do any such thing (it having been done unto him) turns around and does it to someone else.

Why can't these simple minded folk see that they're perpetuating the cycle? Maybe that words are too big for them to understand. I find it interesting that such childish behavior comes from those trying to retaliate or get that one last jibe in. For instance a situation where you were stuck with someone and got all your anger and terse words out while in the situation and once it was over had moved on. Then perhaps 2-3 months after all is over and done with, you get a harsh letter. At first you're wondering what it's all about and then realize they were still upset and couldn't let it go after you had moved on. Sorry too little too late. You are so over with everything, but sadly realized that they weren't. They have NOTHING going on and have to track you down and jump through hoops to deliver some message as if to say "see I got the final word"? I suppose it means more to them, than it does to you. After all, if you had cut ties and communication lines to wipe your hands of a mess, you would think it would be enough to deter these childish antics.

I guess it just goads me how people who had their every movement stalked online (every blog, profile, website visited) and hated every second of it, do the same thing to someone else. I think they like the drama and attention. If they don't have something or someone to worry about they are bored and unhappy. I couldn't give two shits about who they monitor. It just shows they're vain hoping to find something on themselves to document and discuss.

I guess the moral to this odd little blog is, no matter who gets the "last word" in, you can tell who really won or who is the bigger person by their actions. If someone has already moved on from a situation why dredge it up again WAY after the fact? It shows cowerdise and childishness. Move on people..... because even if you say you have, obviously you haven't.

And this will be the last I will speak on the subject.....

Top 10 Pet Peeves with my job search

Don't you hate it when you have a kid and then everyone and their mother tries to tell you how to raise your kid? I don't have a kid, but I know the feeling. As most of you know I was laid off in November and have yet to find a job. Usually this is a pretty shitty thing, but what makes it worse is how everyone thinks they know the answer to how I can get a job. To clarify, I would like to state that I am not bitching about not having a job, I'm bitching about my search/struggle to look for a job. Yes, there is a difference. I'm not blathering on about how it sucks to be unemployed and the struggles that comes with it. I'm bitching about my frustrations with my search. Here's my top 10 biggest pet peeves with my job search:



10. People asking how I'm making ends meet: I hate to say it, but yes; I'm on unemployment. It's not the proudest moment of my life. In fact it's degrading to tell people that this is how I'm getting by, but you know what? This program was created for people like me, people who really want to work and stop mooching from the system. No I don't have a kid to feed and I'm not treating this as a vacation and I pay my taxes so I have EVERY right to this money. Probably more so than someone who likes the free ride. Do I enjoy the time off? Sure, to an extent, but when every day is the weekend, what do you have to look forward too? I'm going stir crazy here and chances are you can relate. Maybe you got reduced hours at your work, are temping or even unemployed. If not and you have a steady job, I'll stand by you and celebrate a promotion you got at work. I'm not going to pout about my situation because you may have a better one or gloat that I'm bettter off than you I'm not like that. I'm just trying to get by the best way I can.

9. Temp Agencies and Staffing firms: If you've never been to one then you have no idea how degrading it is. You show up and are asked to take competency tests in basic math and computer skills. They then evaluate your typing and software skills. After that you get interviewed and fork over your resume and are told "we'll call you". First of all, due to everyone and their brother being laid off, the temp agencies are flooded with people. This means instead of having 50 people to choose from to send out on interviews or job assignments, they now have 200+. Secondly, when you actually get an interview, you don't hear back from them if you don't get the job. Seriously, they don't call you. EVER. In fact, if you try to get a hold of your agent, you're blown off and avoided. It is in most of employment/temp policies to keep you motivated and positive and they feel being honest with you will de-motivate you. Instead of giving you the news, they wait until they can line up a temp assignment (even if it's only for a few hours) so that they can justify "sorry you didn't get the job, here's some work to tide you over". I'm not a 5 year old people, don't treat me like one.

8. People telling me to sign up with as many staffing firms as possible: Do you really think I haven 't thought of this? A close friend of mine signed up for 5 agencies and did it double her chances of interviews or send her on more jobs? No. She may have gotten 1 or 2 more interviews a month, but a lot of them were interviews for the same job. 2 different agencies telling her they had an interview lined up for her only to find out it was for the same job. Then she has to tell one agency that she's interviewing through the other one. There are so many people looking that jobs (even temp jobs) are few and far between. I know, because I call my agent a few times a week and now she's fielding my calls because she's tired of giving me the same crappy answer.

7. Hypocrites in my situation: I understand that there's a ton of people in my boat riding the wave of unemployment, but don't bitch to me about how you have no money to go do anything and how you're struggling to make ends meet and then go out and drop a wad of cash on something that is a luxury not a necessity. I understand if the water heater explodes and ruined your bed so you have to get a new one and yeah, it's probably a hell of a lot nicer than the old one, but don't decide that you suddenly need a new bed because there's a lump in the mattress. I'm sure you can wait it out and sleep with the damn lump for a few until you find something stable. Same goes for other major purchases. I have no sympathy for you because there are things I would like too. LIKE, not need and I choose to wait until I have a steady income to get them. So should you. If you have to have that major purchase, great! buy the bed or couch or whatever, but don't bitch to me how money is tight. Obviously it's not that tight if you're dropping the cash for luxury living.

6. People who ask why I don't get a job at Target or other minimum wage job: Again, you think I haven't looked into this? Look, I'm not a desperate person (not yet at least). I make more on unemployment than I would working some 40+ hour a week hard labor shitty job. I know it sounds tacky, but I would rather have some free time and play domestic goddess, than slave all day at a place that smells like the back of some soccer mom's mini-van to make less money. Wouldn't you? I know my worth and I have damn good skills that I'm not going to waste folding clothes or flipping burgers.

5. The job hunting websites: Monster.com, indeed.com you name it, I've searched it. What you people don't understand is that most of the jobs out there ARE NOT posted directly by the company, they now use staffing firms and temp agencies. Go ahead, go to www.indeed.com and search "receptionist" under "orange county". Look in the lower left corner of the listing to see who posted it. I'm sure you'll see LA recruiter, SOS staffing, AppleOne employment agency, etc. .......see a trend? That's because in order to get to the jobs, you have to sign up with the employment agency or staffing firm, then realize that the ad listing was a generic one sent to lure you in.

4. Persistent people wanting to talk to me about my job search: I know you're concerned I can tell, really. You're trying to be a good friend, but you know what? If I politely tell you that I do not wish to talk about it or change the subject, TAKE THE HINT. I'm frustrated and I know you're trying to help, but guess what? you're stressing me out by reminding me how shitty it really is out there right now. Yes I'm unemployed, but I have other stuff going on in my life besides a job search.

3. People asking if I have a good resume: Thanks for asking, no I have the shittiest resume that was ever applied to paper. In fact I haven't bothered to spell check it, get awesome references or have top industry people look it over to help me revise it so that it's amazing. Again, thanks for asking.

2. Everyone giving advice on where to look for jobs: Thanks, but no thanks. REALLY, stop telling me. You don't think I haven't already looked there? Unless you have an inside person who is directly looking to hire or have the inside scoop, don't bother me with another website. I know you think you have the answer to solve all my problems, but you don't. People in my boat understand this and all their friends thought they had the answer too. Funny how we're still unemployed. I know you're trying to help, but you're really not so please stop the broken record, because I'm 99% sure I've tried it before and don't think you're the 1% who has a new perspective on it.

1. People who get offended when I give them any one of the answers above to one of their questions: If you're offended, then I'm offended that you're offended. I know you mean well, I don't know how many times I can tell you thanks, but I'm frustrated with the same questions and advice. I try to put on a smile and be really patient through my situation, but understand that if I give you realistic feedback to a suggestion you make, don't act like a hurt bunny if I'm not bending over backwards thanking you for your advice (unless it lands me a job). Please don't get huffy at me.

various projects

So I've been working on various projects as of late. Some are successful, some...not so much. The first thing I've been really working on has been my "Green Valley" scrapbook. Green Valley is a place located in between Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear where my friends and I go camping every year in June. This year will be our 4th year in a row and I thought it would be fun to bring up my scrapbook so everyone can reminisce about previous years. Since I've been a slacker, I haven't scrapped 2007 or 2008. I want the book to be all finished for our trip so I'm making it a priority to get it done. I'm starting with 2008 and here is a picture of the title page: Make sure you click on it to get a closer look.

The entire album is done in 12x12 which is great to add in a bunch of pictures or extras, but I'm a little rusty as I have been working with 6x6 and 8x8 albums lately. I blew up the group photo, but forgot to crop it, so I used the extra space in the photo to cut out a title and I really like how it turned out.

The paper and large tag are from my current favorite paper line called "Wild Saffron" by K& Company and the beaver tag (and other critter paper used in the rest of the album) are from DCWV's new environmentally friendly paper titled "Green". The Green paper is hysterical and I was lucky enough to find a small 12x12 paper stack with matching stickers and tags all together in a kit at Target. It's odd, because I couldn't find the "kit" (or any of the other ones I saw at Target) on DCWV's website. While on the website I found out that the "kit" I got didn't include all the paper in the "Green" line, but it did have the cutest ones so it all worked out. I guess Green came out in January, but I have yet to see it at Michael's or Tall Mouse. I'm just glad that I was able to grab a hold of it when I did!

So I combined the Wild Saffron and Green line to create the 2008 layouts. Since every year in the album is done in different coordinating paper, I'm not sure which line I'll be using for the 2007 chapter. I think all the companies are stocking the stores with the newest lines, so I'm hoping to find something soon (well, before June).

Another project I did was 2 small postcard collages. They were for a 'make your own postcard swap' on swap-bot. They aren't my best work, but I had fun making them and thought they came out cute. It has been a while since I have done any collaging so I was rusty. I used some different paper scraps and pulled from my Big ass sticker collection (and by big I mean 4 binders FULL of stickers). Not bad work for 20 minutes right?

One was for a gal that liked antique/vintage stuff so I found some old looking paper and cute Victorian stickers to add around as different borders. I sought inspiration from my salt jar and ripped off the label and cut it down as I think the little Morton's salt girl is cute. The Kwepie is from My "Ro-Bot" friend. The other post card was for a spunky person who likes bright colors. I found a really neat paper scrap that looked like a water color with random ink blots. I used a mini-dictionary cut-out and highlighted words and created them in the post card (for example: "Host" is represented by the moon "hosting" a small audience. Just different things like that. There is a lot to see and look at on this bright post card, so I'm hopping that it was fun for postal workers to handle as well.

I've also been making "Thank You" and other cards to have on hand. Most of them are blank themes and fully decorated, but have a few open spaces to add in a themed sticker to easily adapt the card for whatever event it's for. I have not posted pics as I didn't feel they were super noteworthy to post. Maybe one day I'll take a group picture so you guys can see them.


The project that I was frustrated with and gave up on was my crocheted scarf. It started out pretty good, but for whatever reason began shrinking width wise. I wanted something kind of mind numbing to do in front of the TV, but it was something I had to focus on too hard to make sure I didn't skip any rows. The whole thing looked like a warped mess and I thought I could salvage it by going back and adding rows sidways, but it still looked like ass. I ended up unraveling the whole thing and found out how to crochet balls (to make into animals) and used the yarn as a template. I was going to make an owl to surprise my "ro-bot" friend, but it looked like ass and is now sitting on my book case. I really feel sorry for the critter, but I'm hoping I'll get the bug again and bust out some cute yellow baby chicks for Easter. We shall see....

That is it for now. I'll try to be more regular with my posts on here. I've been busy as of late, but it's important for me to keep up my blog. I like sharing my projects and didn't realize how fun it was to post what I've been working on. Until next time, have a great one!

HOORAY for Internet!

well, I finally have my new roommate all moved in and settled! This means I also have my internet up and running! I promise I will be posting more blogs soon! Hang in there...