Andrea's blog

We held a silent auction at church this past weekend to raise money for a mission trip to Honduras and I was shocked and flattered to create quite the bidding war for one of my personalized signs.  It turns out three people bid $95 for a personalized sign!  Who am I to stand in the way of worthy cause fundraising?  Instead of donating one, I just went ahead and donated three signs to the top bidders.  I'm happy to help raise money for a great mission. 

So, as a result, I've been a painting fool this week getting the auction signs done as well as some regular orders (providing immediate confirmation of  the old "give and you shall receive" mantra). 

Here are a couple that I can share now...the others will have to wait since I believe they are suprise gifts!:

3ft x 6in

A Bridal Tea gift for the bride...
1ft x 6in

The weather is great for painting right now! Place your orders. :)

Since Ayla has a birthday banner, I knew I'd need to make one for Paxton as well and since his birthday is only two weeks away...well it was time to get crackin!

This canvas pennant banner from Maya Road was the perfect product to make it with (especially since his name fit so perfectly on six pennant triangles!)

I painted each triangle either orange or brown with acrylic paint, and then alternated colors to create the background for the banner.

I added his baby photos, chipboard letters to spell his name, and used the Little Sprout collection kit from Crate Paper as well as several zoo stickers from Doodlebug and monkey stickers from Reminisce to decorate each triangle. 

Since Paxton's nursery is decorated in zoo animals, and his monthly photos are taken with a stuffed gorilla, I figure it's only natural that his banner have the same theme.  I plan to use the banner every year on his birthday -- maybe not for party decorations (because I doubt the zoo theme will keep his interest for much longer), but at least I can use it for family birthday breakfast decorations!

And the other side:

DIsciples Fellowship is doing a silent auction this weekend to raise money for a mission trip to Honduras.  Last year, my cards were fought over by several bidders (yay!), so I had to submit another set this year.  I used the beautiful Brook Collection from Crate Paper to make a set of 9 cards:

I'll also be donating a custom sign from Signs by Andrea.  The weather is great again, wedding season is starting, and it's time to start painting some more signs!

I'll never use a broom and dustpan again. 

I also think I may have decided what gift I should buy for every baby shower I ever go to.  

What do these two statements have in common?  - The Bissel Versus

It is so "THE BOMB".  For real.  Especially when you consider the challenge it has to clean up our kitchen 3 times a day after two VERY messy children. 

Paired with this - Eureka Hard-Surface Steamer - we now have clean floors (more often than we used to anyway)!

I cannot explain how sadly excited we were to have these arrive last week.  Giddy, actually.  In fact we spitefully avoided sweeping and mopping at all costs during the 5 days we waited for them to arrive.  Believe me...EVERYONE was glad when they arrived!

Now Paxton has clean (chemical-free) floors to crawl on.  Yay!

UPDATE (10/11/11) - We still LOVE both of these. That Versus is a must-have in every kid-friendly kitchen and has continued to work well for the past year and a half. And mopping with the Eureka has never been easier (or more calming).  Buy them.  Seriously. You (and your back) will thank me later.

Ben took the kids with him grocery shopping this morning so I could hang out alone and do some scrapbooking (I know...I'm VERY lucky).  I managed to get caught up on Paxton's album, at least through the end of January.  Only a couple months left before his year is up!

Just in time for my sister-in-law's baby shower last Sunday, I finished up these twin first year scrapbooks.  Lucky her, she gets a boy & a girl!  The plan is to let her fill in the calendars, photo sleeves & journaling tags as the year progresses and then I'll add additional special pages (showers, christmas, etc) as we go. 

*Learn how to make this album in my e-book: 365 Special Days

Supplies:

• white cardstock
• kraft cardstock
• black cardstock
• Fancy Pants Rough & Tough collection
• Fancy Pants Dancing Girl collection
• Making Memories Puffy Alphabet Stickers (blue & pink)
• Autumn Leaves Journaling Stamps by Katie Pertiet
• Heidi Swapp Month stamps
• black StazOn ink
• We R Memory Keepers blue album
• We R Memory Keepers pink album
• We R Memory Keepers photo sleeves
• yellow & blue ribbon
• primitive hearts AccuCut die
• star cut w/Cricut

Well, now that I've been working at Maurices for a few weeks, I can honestly say, I've been affected.   Suddenly I *need* a whole lot more than I thought I did! Well, maybe not need, but I do really like a lot of what they have in the store...which makes it a lot of fun to sell! 

Here are a few of my favorites from the spring line of clothes...might just have to pick a few of these up the next time I'm working....maybe (okay, so I already bought the jeans & khakis).

Then of course, there's this and this and this that I think are really cute too. :) 

So far so good with this new retail job.  I really enjoy it, the hours fly by and I get to visit with lots of women in the area.  Plus it's been fun to be a little more fashion conscious than my typical yoga pants & tank top! 

My new retail job requires rather excessive accessorizing (for me anyway), so it was a good excuse for me to organize the jumbled mess that my jewelry box had become. 

I took everything out, got rid of a couple of things, and put the smaller pieces (rings, small earrings & bracelets) back into the jewelry box on my dresser. 

Then...I needed a visually accessible (and jumble-free) solution for my larger earrings & necklaces.  And of course I wanted it NOW, so I looked for stuff I had on hand.  After a trip to the garage and digging through my craft stash of stuff, here's what I ended up with:

My solution: an old frame, some scrap fabric, black wire, duct tape and a few nails!  It was about a 15 minute project.

1. Find a wooden frame with a mat-board backing.
2. Remove the glass and set it aside (surely there will be a need for it some day!)
3. Wrap the mat-board backing with fabric, attaching with duct tape to the back of the mat-board.
4. Spiral wrap the fabric-covered mat-board with wire (I used heavier wire to be sure that it would hold up well).
5. Twist the wire to itself on the backside to secure it and put a strip of duct tape over it to keep it in place.
6. Insert the mat-board back into the frame.
7. Add nails to the wooden frame at the top & middle of the sides (for neclaces).
8. Find a convenient place to hang it up & add your jewelry!

I put mine in my closet, next to the full length mirror.

My MOPS group is hosting another fundraiser crop and we'd love for you to join us! We have lots & lots of door prizes, mini-classes & make-n-takes and food is provided. You can't beat it! Hope you can come!

Reserve your spot today by calling or emailing Patricia at Prlinehan@hotmail.com or 824-4459!

Date:

FRI, Feb. 26th - 5 pm to 11pm
SAT, Feb. 27th - 9 am to 10 pm

Location:

Riverchase Community Church, 2053 Old Montgomery Hwy, B’ham, AL 35244

Cost:

$15 per session

• Session 1: FRI, Feb. 26 – 5 pm to 11pm
  sponsored by Heather Harkins, Creative Memories
• Session 2: SAT, Feb. 27 – 9 am to 3 pm
  sponsored by Shirley Ross, Close to My Heart
• Session 3: SAT, Feb. 27 – 3 pm to 10 pm
  sponsored by Vita Padalino, Stampin' Up!

Includes:

• 3 feet of table space per person
• access to die cutting tools - AccuCut, QuicKutz, & Cricut
• mini-classes (1 per session)
• tons of door prizes!
• swap table (bring your no-longer-needed or partially used supplies)
• dinner FRI & SAT, lunch SAT, & snacks FRI & SAT

work space * door prizes * mini-classes * food

SPACE IS LIMITED! To reserve your table space or for more information:

Contact Patricia at Prlinehan@hotmail.com or 824-4459

Crop Sponsors:
Scrapbook.com , Stampin’ Up!, Scrap Etc., Creative Memories, & Close to My Heart

I realized this week that I never shared the scrapbook I made for my niece Ani!  So here it is:

It follows my standard "Baby's First Year" formula from my e-book 365 Special Days.  So easy for the mom to fill-in throughout the year, it looks great, and is a PERFECT gift!

What's that?  You want me to make you a custom album like this for your baby (or grandbaby, or niece, or nephew)?  Sure!  For $250 I'd be happy to get all the supplies and put it together for you.

Contact me for details.

Supplies (roughly $100 at regular retail cost):

• We R Memory Keepers - Classic Leather - 8.5x11 - Three Ring Albums - Buttercup

• white 8 1/2" x 11" cardstock

• Black StaZon Ink

• Bazzill Basics - Monochromatic Packs 12x12 - Yellows

• Calendar & Growth Chart templates from A Scrapbooker's Quick Guide - 365 Special Days (E-Book)

• misc. patterned papers in a color scheme matching the striped paper (which sadly, I don't remember who makes)

• Making Memories - Puffy Alphabet Stickers - Black (actually, I used red)

• Heidi Swapp calendar stamps

• Paper Shapers Whale of a Punch Nesting Punches - Circle - 1 1-2"

• Imaginisce - Wild Things Collection - Glossy Chipboard Stickers - Go Wild

• Memory Keepers Sheet Protector Refills - 8.5 x 11 3-Ring

•  We R Memory Keepers - Page Protectors - 2 Up - 4x6 Inch Photo Sleeves - Fits 8.5x11 Three Ring Albums - this doesn't look exactly like mine...wonder if they changed the style