Welcome to the Scrap Cave

as my husband lovingly has named my craft room.

There are tons of pictures so I thought I would post as video which is linked to Flickr. Enjoy and feel free to ask any questions in the comments.

Oh- if you click on the square with the four arrows going in different directions you should get it to play in full screen.

lovemon

Photo Album Scrapbooking

This month the lesson in my Have More Fun class over at Big Picture Scrapbooking is Photo Album Scrapbooking. For many of us in class this is a new way to scrapbook and can be a little hard to jump into because it feels like cheating. Well, at least for me.

But the truth is that largely due to digital photography we have more pictures than we will ever be able to scrapbook in the traditional way. Photo Album Scrapbooking is a strategy to use in order to make a dent in our pictures.

This really appeals to me because I take multiple pictures to tell a story. I believe abundance is just my style. If I tried to scrapbook these in a traditional layout I would end up with at least a four page spread which is simply not realistic and would lead to losing focus on the story because I would be preoccupied with at least 4 different layouts that were good enough.

The very cool thing is that there is more than one way to Photo Album Scrapbook. The first week in August focused on using a cheapie $2 plastic album from Target & an interview album. I've only completed the first one. I do believe I'm making this a little harder than what it should be eventually I think I'll be able to let go of the " I should be". Here is an album that took me about 2 to 3 weeks to complete because I kept working in small chunks but probably only spent 8 hours on when it was all said and done.



I'm really excited to catch up to my assignments and get more comfortable with Photo Album Scrapbooking. I think this is going to be a wonderful tool for productivity!

lovemon

Little Blessing

We've had a wonderful time visiting with some friends of ours from Kentucky this week and today I had the opportunity to practice my photography skills. They were kind enough to let me use their son as a test subject.

Congratulations Lisa & Chris on your beautiful baby boy.

lovemon

Happy 4th of July!!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Independence Day!

We tried to celebrate with Fireworks on Thursday night but Garrett just wasn't ready this year. When we asked if he wanted to get ice cream and watch Fireworks, he fimly answered "No, they scare me". We are not parents who push so that was that.

Then Friday morning we asked if he wanted to go to the neighborhood parade but when he realized his friends wouldn't be there we got another "No". Instead, our little guy wanted to go fly a kite.

Later that day Garrett spent the afternoon with Grandma & Grandpa at the Dallas Aquarium. I grabbed the opportunity to scrap with a friend and create a mini album using Stacy Julian's color challenge in the July/August issue of Simple Scrapbooks.

Remember the Target coasters for 50cents? Here they are....

We ended our day with hamburgers & potato salad with Grandma & Grandpa. I swear my husband has a way with the grill. Mmmmmmm

Speaking of, with all of us occupied Mitch actually got to be relaxed and do whatever moved him.

lovemon

My New Space

I kept waiting to post pictures of my new scrap space until it was "done" but who am I kidding it is done enough! So, in the spirit of intentional imperfection here is my new space. Over time I will add more crafty touches but I love it the way it is and it works great!

So far, I am most pleased with my desk which I only spent $60 on at IKEA :) Most of the stuff I used for organization we already had around the house. So, the shelves are a a bit of a mix of items but I actually feel very comfortable in the not everything matches chaos. I also decided to surround myself with my piano music, old books and some favorite pictures. Someday, I will incorporate my fabric and sewing items but that is certainly Phase II. All in all, the room just makes me happy.

However, without my husband giving up his space unselfishly this would have never come to fruition. So thanks again sweetheart. I just LOVE my new space.


Sorry the slide show is so long; I was in a Willie mood. The song has nothing to do with the space except that it is something you would probably hear if you popped in.

Happy National Scrapbooking Day (NSD)

I know....most of you didn't know it existed :) But guess what - today is the day. They have some very cool things going on over at Simple Scrapbooks and Big Picture Scrapbooking. You should go check them out!


I have chosen to celebrate by reeking havoc upon my household. Almost a month ago, I mentioned to Mitch that I would love to move into the sunroom aka I want to have my own space and that is the one that's not claimed. I loved his response "I'll build you a room over the garage before you move into the sunroom." Before you judge take a look. That is all my scrapping stuff dumped in a spot. Would you want that out in the open in the hub of the house? I think not.


He then followed up later that day with "What about you moving into the office?" I'm sorry, did I hear you correctly? You are giving up your domain without any hinting from me? I would have never dreamed of asking because quite frankly its been his since we moved in almost 2 years ago (Yes, we've been back in Texas practically two years now!)


What you see is the result of my very generous husband's offer. I have begun the move!! I'm really keeping my fingers crossed to wrap it up quickly, like tonight so we can have order again. Honestly, the mess above is not contained to that room. The living room is housing all the stuff that WAS in those very large bookshelves before. I must find new homes for all the outcasts that are not worthy of residing in Monica's room..... OK WOW I have my very own room now!!! Since my theme on the blog is taking off the mask please know that I am not above pushing my displaced goods on unsuspecting souls who are close enough to get a random drop off on a Saturday afternoon.


So, Garrett is napping. I must be quick because I'm sure his supertoddler radar will alert him that I'm trying to accomplish something and wake him up.

While I allude to superhero abilities we have entered a new era - an entourage of Spiderman, Spiderman in a black suit, Batman and Superman. Before the heartbreak, here is a cute picture.

Now to the heartbreak. Someone took Superman. After we attended a Cookie Baking Birthday Party this morning which of course we were 1/2 an hour late to because I had it in my head it was at 10:30 not 10:00 AM and consequently were not on time, we went to the Galleria to play at the animals (play area with the theme of jungle, not very original in nick naming in this household).

I was smart enough to take our entourage out of the stroller and into the bag while he was playing. But when we went to The Children's Place to buy my little man bigger clothes, yeah he's growing, he requested them to play. I honestly try to do a very good job of keeping up with the four guys and take them from him when he's lost interest and did so in the store. When we left Garrett requested his pals and I counted, yes four superhero's.

Then we went to Slappy's Puppet Playhouse and I was more concerned with watching him because he just runs from one cool thing to another than our buddies. I hate to say that at times I left the stroller since I had my bag with me to follow Garrett. When we got ready to leave I went to give him his entourage and in my counting saw that Superman was missing. I do believe he went home with another child who were everywhere today because there were like 3 birthday parties.

Here's more heartbreak - In the car Garrett said "I'm sorry I left my superhero's in the stroller." My poor angel somehow thought this was his fault. If anyone wears the weight it is me and the other parent of unknown child. I should have put them in the bag and who doesn't notice there child has acquired a new toy???? Mommy said "I'm sorry that Mommy didn't keep him safe and couldn't find him."

I quickly assured him we would get another Superman. Because I was so bummed I had to call Mitch who had just left the animals a bit earlier to tell him Superman had been taken. I'm sure that's the call a golfer wants to get as they are trying to tee off!

My rambling is a sign Garrett is being SUCH a good napper today which we don't always get, YIPPEE.

A couple of cool things to share. First this book is interesting; meaning some funny some strange some disheartening some sad but the concept amazing. If you only had six words to write your memoir today what would they be? To give you a peak into my mind my "gut" one was Trying to Raise a Good Man. Take a peak at the promo and please share yours in the comments section. I would love see where you are today.

Second and more importanly you need to watch this.

Thanks Heather for sharing this with us last night I can't get it out of my heart.

My angel is up and we are off to the toystore.

lovemon

Easter Weekend

I hope everyone had a Blessed Easter and was able to take a moment to enjoy their loved ones.

I've put together a slide show of our festivities. We decided to hunt Cascarones on Saturday due to rain being forecasted for Sunday. We also mixed in some plastic eggs with candy. Last year it was cold and Garrett hunted plastic eggs with his neighboorhood pal inside. It was great having our dear friends join our family again this year for the big hunt.

The boys had a blast throwing the eggs against the house. They didn't exactly grasp the concept of surprising each other with the Cascarones. But I'm sure the time will come, very soon, that we will have to caution them about surprising each other too hard.

There are a few shots of Garrett going through his Easter basket. This year my theme was less is more. There was a brief question of is there more but it was fleeting and the two prized items were a chocolate bunny and What's New Scooby-Doo, Season 3.

There is actually a picture of Garrett & me this Easter before church thanks to my dear husband.

We ended our Easter celebration with another Easter egg hunt over at our dear friends house after nap. So much fun! The Mom's hid the eggs for the boys, then the boys hid the eggs for the Mom's and finally the boys then hid the eggs for the Dad's. The boys were very good finders and hiders! We wrapped it all up with the boys watching an Easter Carol and enjoying candy!

This Easter was a mix of everyone's history to create Garrett's history. I think that is pretty amazing. I brought the Guitierrez tradition of Cascarones, Mitch brought the McNeill tradition of a plastic eggs with candy and our friends introduced the tradition of having the kids hide the eggs for the parents. We are so fortunate to have to many wonderful people in our lives who together will shape our son.

There is a story out there that has touched me in a profound way. Randy Pausch has terminal cancer, has already outlived his doctor's timeline and is dying in the manner we should all be living. I've included links to his lectures, blog and upcoming book on this blog and encourage you to explore them.

lovemon

Music Man

Much to say but I'll leave you with this instead.

This kid is so cool....