I Sewed a Dress!

This past week, I got a new sewing machine. The one I've been using for the past 10 years secretly hated me, I'm convinced of it. It always started off at top speed and was just a pain in the butt to work with. So I did not do much sewing because it was such a headache to try and sew anything with it. Well, now I am very excited to start sewing for Avery since my new machine is so much easier to work with. My mom had bought this piece of pre-shirred fabric to make a dress for Avery last summer, but never got around to it, so she gave it to me to finish. While she was here this past week she helped me actually get it made into a dress! I think it's super adorable and Avery is pleased as punch with it. I'm so proud of myself! :D

My First Vintage Piece!

I have been absolutely filled with envy lately at all the cute scraprooms I have been seeing done up with vintage pieces. Milk glass, hobnail glass, cute little cakestands, mini tart tins, repurposed vintage furniture pieces, all of it! My scrap space currently occupies about half-ish of our 3rd bedroom. One wall is all built-in bookshelves which house all our reading books and nonfiction books for homeschool. And it's a small room, so space is really at a premium. I make it work, but it's crowded and not very "pretty", if you know what I mean.

Well, lately dh and I have been discussing moving my scrap space out to the "man cave" in the garage. The previous owners of our house collected movie posters, so they built a room into the garage in which to store them. Dh doesn't use it as a man cave really because all his gaming systems and whatnot are inside the house (because the better TVs are in here, LOL!) So right now it just gets used to house family when they come to visit. (Aren't we so nice to put them out in the garage? ;) ) And my mom and stepdad will be staying out there while they are in the process of moving here in the very near future. My mom is here this week trying to scout out both jobs and houses.

Anyhoo, to make a long story longer, once my mom and stepdad get moved into their own place, I will be getting the man cave for my very own! We're going to have to do a little remodeling on it before it will be ready for me. Most likely some better lighting and possibly putting in a window. Also some carpeting and pretty paint on the walls.

My mom and I were out shopping this week, just here in town, and went into this great shop that I have been wanting to visit for ages! It's amazing! All sorts of awesome home decor items as well as jewelry and hair accessories. And mixed in with new pieces are vintage pieces on consignment! Everywhere we turned there some adorable thing that we wanted to buy! What I fell most in love with were all the vintage glass candy dishes and bowls.

So I bought myself one!

And now it holds *most* of my buttons! (I still need a couple more dishes to hold my metal buttons and my shaped buttons. Darn it! ;) ) I'm hooked now. I know I'm going to be going back to Grandiflora again and again to find more pieces for my new scrap room. My mom has also told me that she has some dishes that belonged to my great-grandmother that I can have, too! Yippee!

My Little Shoebox Blog Challenge

I was so excited to participate in the MLS sketch challenge this month. I just love Aphra's sketches, and I was so glad of an excuse to pull out my MLS papers. All PPs are My Little Shoebox. Die-cuts and photo corners are My Little Shoebox. I used my Cricut and the From My Kitchen cartridge to create the cake slice. Alphas are a mix of My Little Shoebox and American Crafts Thickers. Crocheted flowers are American Crafts Dear Lizzy Spring. TFL!

Bo Bunny Layout Challenge

It's been a while since I did a Bo Bunny layout challenge. A looooonnnnngggg while. This one just spoke to me and I went all out! I've been saving these Olivia PPs for when I got our pumpkin patch pictures printed. And oh, were they perfect! All PPs are Olivia, even the background, which is Olivia Nectar. The large layered scallopped circle was cut with my Cricut and the Lovely Floral Lite cartridge, Olivia Stripe PP and Olive Double Dot cardstock. Glittered cardstock is DCWV. Trims are Making Memories and, I *think*, Creative Imaginations. Flowers are all various Prima, including some of the E.line flowers that I colored using Tea Party Smooch Spritz. Brads are all Olivia iCandy brads. Leaves are hand cut from the Olivia Honeydew PP. Journaling page is Olivia Noteworthy. Letters are American Crafts Stroll Thickers. TFL!

My Mind's Eye Blog Challenge

This is for the current My Mind's Eye layout challenge. I dug deep into my stash of MME to find a line that would coordinate with this picture of Avery making a snow angel, since the theme this month is "Winter". All PPs are MME Bohemia, as is the die-cut title, which I embellished with KaiserCraft gems. Glitter cardstock is Core'dinations. Scallopped strip is Bazzill Just the Edge. Transparency is MME. Letters are American Crafts Thickers. Snowflakes are Heidi Swapp. Floss is DMC. Bling is KaiserCraft and Darice. TFL!

Creative Scrappers Sketch #137 and American Crafts "Details" Challenge

This week on the American Crafts blog, the challenge was to feature "Details" on your layout. Background is the backside of American Crafts Dear Lizzy Spring Beehive Brunch PP. PP is Dear Lizzy Enchanted Sophisticated Jack and Gentle Badger. Doilies are Wilton and Martha Stewart. Chipboard is Magistical Memories. Ticket is Dear Lizzy Enchanted Just Write, stickers are Dear Lizzy Enchanted Remarks. Butterfly is Dear Lizzy Enchanted Details. This is also based on Creative Scrappers Sketch #137. TFL!

Resolutions and Goals

Okay, here we go. I'm going to actually try and get these down and put them out there for all the world to keep me accountable to! (Did that sentence even make sense?) Honestly, I really stink at keeping resolutions, but if I don't even make them, then I make no effort AT ALL to change and that's even worse! So THIS is the year that I will keep my resolutions all year! (I know, I know, but I really am going to try!)

Resolutions:
1. I am not going to spend any money on scrapping/craft supplies for myself, with the exception of adhesives. Any new supplies will have to come from gifts, prizes won, gift cards, points accumulated at ACOT and my ACOT Secret Sister.
2. Get healthy! This basically entails cutting waaaaaaayyyy back on the Mountain Dew, drinking a lot more water, exercising using a combo of Wii Fit, Leslie Sansone walking videos and actual walks outdoors. Also changing my eating habits and working on portion control.
3. Devotions every day. Right now I'm going to start out with "God's Little Devotional Book for Moms" and "The One Year Book of Christian History." I'm also going to try and get back into journaling in my gratitude journal.

Goals:
1. Blog more.
2. Better school planning.
3. Scrap more.
4. Start earlier on Christmas gift making.
5. Cross stitch more and finish up projects already completed.
6. Try more new recipes.

I think that's enough! Truth be told, I'm already feeling overwhelmed.