Monday, January 31, 2011

My {Project Life} will keep me saying 'Yes'!


Look!  Look what arrived on my doorstep this evening!  Its Becky Higgins' Project Life - Turquoise Edition!

I am a traditional scrapbooker, love my paper, love cutting and pasting, love glitterfying (okay, so that's my word :>), getting inky, and most of all, getting our family memories down in a tangible way.  But, as of late the last several years, I haven't been doing that.

When I began scrapping, I was not married, did not have kidlets, and was scrapping in a whole other style.  Then I graduated from college, got married, had a couple of fantastic kidlets, went on an autism crash course, and learned to balance a whole lot.

However, one thing that got lost in the balance in the last two years was scrapbooking, documenting the itty bitty, the fireworks, the mundane, the heart wrenching and heart warming moments in our lives.

And I've known for awhile now, that I need to find a better way to make scrapping work for me, for us.  I don't want to miss any more of those big and small moments.  And now I won't have to.  Its a month into 2011, but I don't feel behind at all, because that's the great thing about Project Life....I can pick it up right now, work on it right now, make progress right now, document right now.  And I'm uber happy about that!

I'll still do the creative scrapping for the kidlets baby albums and the other years that I already have started (goodness knows I have the supplies for it!), but for 2011, I'm going to work on keeping track of our lives through Project Life....simplified & smile worthy! :>


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Disclosure:  The photo & links are Amazon affiliate links.  If you want to learn more about the person behind the product, Becky Higgins' blog link is in my sidebar, though she has no idea who I am.  Happy memory keeping! :>

Sunday, January 30, 2011

What do we rescue first? ~ Microfiction Monday

Two posts today, scroll down to see the next Inspiration Everywhere art journal page, created with January's theme, Highly Prized, for The Sketchbook Challenge!

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Its time for Microfiction Monday with the shortest of short fiction (140 characters or less), inspired by a picture selected by our host, Susan of Stony River!
 


"Look, I told you it would work!"

"Yea, but what about our mates left on the sea?"

"Eh, there's still the raft!"


(120 characters, including spaces & punctuation)



Come write along! :>

Hope everyone had a great weekend!  We've had a pretty chill one here with a sick Hubs and very imaginative kidlets.  I was happy to get a little creative time in!  What did this weekend have in store for you?

Highly Prized: The Sketchbook Challenge meets Inspiration Everywhere

Still continuing with the Inspiration Everywhere class from the end of last year...at my pace.  And today, the next prompt for that class, Hands, meets The Sketchbook Challenge's January Theme, Highly Prized.

Hands

Pulled out my watercolor crayons to wash on the background (while my wee girl painted with the watercolors Santa brought her)...

Watercolor Background

And when it was dry...  Remember when wee girl & I got a handle on some pink painted playtime? Well, this is where I stamped that uber pink hand o' mine:

Highly Prized

And then I got to journaling on my take on The Sketchbook Challenge's January theme:  Hands. Highly Prized. Hands.

So much fun to pull a brush, get my hands all gooped up, and write away!  Are you participating in The Sketchbook Challenge?  If you are, let me know so that I can come see what you are creating! :>


(Also, I've been made aware that some people are having trouble viewing my blog in its entirety - left sidebar, body/content, right sidebar.  If you are, I do apologize.  I am trying to figure out what's going on.  Though it is definitely a challenge as I can see the whole site.  Just want to say that I'm looking into it!  Hope you'll hang in there with me! :>)






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504 Main Join  us Saturdays at tatertotsandjello.com for the weekend wrap 
 up           party!

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Blizzard Bloghop 2011

Hello there!  I'm Karen and Time Crafted is my little online home.  I'm participating in the Blizzard Bloghop, are you?


While 'Blizzard' is quite appropriate for many places around the northern hemisphere, the weather is a bit different here.  Its not quite as warm as it was when I took you with us on our country drive last week, but its still sunny here, in California.  And since the warmest jacket I have is the hoodie I stole from Hubs, that's a good thing. :>

Speaking of Hubs, I'm married and have two sweet & energetic kidlets.  One rocks video games, Harry Potter & Lego bricks and the other makes sweet music with anything creative

My princess of a wee girl and I love to get our creative on whenever we can.  When I began blogging, I was primarily sharing cards here (think this one is my favorite) and while I still love papercrafts, I've been enjoying spreading my creative wings to photography (I'm on Flickr, come say hi!), writing, altered journals, and painting.  I'm taking Ali Edward's One Little Word class this year and participating in The Sketchbook Challenge (both links are in my sidebar).  I'll be sharing what I create with both, here on the blog.

Some other bits & pieces you'll find on Time Crafted are posts on others' creative talents here and great places to be found in cyberspace that are oh so Worth the Click, friends (come meet the Four Musketeers :>), a little on autism and GF/CF (gluten & casein free) cooking.  Oh!  And of course, the Little Things that Make Me Smile....'cause the little great stuff can add up to being waaaay bigger than the harder to deal with big stuff!

If you want to chat, you can of course, find me here, or zip me an email or on Twitter! :>


I'm looking forward to hopping today and all through the weekend!  Its always great to meet new peeps, have a laugh or get inspired from around the globe.  Hope you'll hop along, so I can find YOU and say hello!

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

A Roofline's Peaceful Offering

Beautiful Build

Every school day, when my little Princess & I go to pick up her big brother at school we take in a bit o' peace before the flood of kidlets spill out of the classrooms into the open hallways.

Some days, we stay in the car and sing away to whatever music we've got playing and many other days, we go into the hall outside the classroom and quietly wait for the bell to ring.  On those days, when the sky is dry, we like to look up!

Look Up!

The school is still quite new and the open air hallways are covered by the most beautiful planked ceilings.  At the roofline, the red tiled roof against the blue sky is striking.

We both look up and smile.

Then the bell rings and a sea of kidlets overtake the halls!

Where do you find those little smile worthy, peaceful moments in your day?


Linking up for Wordful Wednesday!

Live and Love...Out LoudDear Crissy

She caught me...I've been tagged!

Through a connection made on Twitter, I've been tagged by Laurie (@mylivingpower) of Living Power and now I'm 'It'!  So, I'm going to channel my kidlet-hood and play tag!

And as 'It', I'm to share seven things you may not know about me...so, here we go!

1)  I love color!  Okay, so that might not have been so much of a surprise, but I love the whole spectrum.  And while the colors that I lean more strongly towards change as the beat of time marches on, I do adore the entire box of Crayolas!

2)  Another love?  Writing.  I have since I was a kidlet.  And after so many years of writing term papers in my college days, I had gotten away from it.  I've missed my old friend and have been having fun, bringing her out, dusting her off and playing.  Blogging, microfiction Mondays, Writer's Workshop, and You have all helped me dive back into that word filled pool!

3)  Animals make me smile....in between sneezes!

4)  The Northern California coastline is a beauty to be breathed in.  When I'm there, the environment literally melts away any stress.  I'm just a puddle of happy goo when I leave....always already looking forward to the next chance to hop on over.

5)  My family are Post-it Note junkies!  Yes, we are beyond addicted to them.  They are everywhere.  You know you are a family with a Post-it problem when your littlest, who is just learning to read now, has been writing notes on them and hanging them in her room for over a year.  Is there a twelve step program for Post-it addiction???  Though, if we went to that, then we'd also need to go to a Learn to Jog your Memory Without Little Colorful Squares of Paper bootcamp!

6)  I was a Girl Scout from 2nd grade (Daisies didn't exist back then) all the way up through high school and registered as an adult Scout for a bit after that.  I was a Girl Scout on both coasts.  I made so many fantastic friends through Girl Scouts and quite a few I'm still friends with today, including my Four Musketeers!

7)  My feet are too big for my height.  Seriously.  No, really.  I wear a size ten shoe and yet, I'm only 5'5".  Everyone I know with feet above a shoe size 9 are all 5'7" and up.  Stay with me here!  There's merit in my theory...really.  I am convinced that the reason I trip over my own feet is because they are simply too big for my height.  A perfectly valid theory....I'm not uncoordinated, just have incorrectly sized feet! ;>:>

And since my seventh bit o' me has digressed to my feet I think its a great time to start tagging some other fantastic people so we can learn more about them!  And since I got tagged via Twitter, I think its only appropriate that I continue to play there.

So, I'm reaching out to tag:

@MinkyMoo who blogs at Dial M for Minky (Moo)
@thienkim who blogs at I'm Not the Nanny and Cup of Creativi-Tea
@libismorgan who blogs at Am I a Funny Girl? and Not Just Thursdays
(Lizz is another one of those old Girl Scout friends!)
@beeswithhoney who blogs at Bees With Honey
@CarriBrown who blogs at Adventures in Mommyhood
@30daysblog who blogs at Thirty Handmade Days
@adventuresgfmom who blogs at Adventures of a Gluten Free Mom

Whether you visit them via Twitter or their blogs, there is a little something for everyone as I've linked up some Mama bloggers, some funny gals, some creative & crafty, a camera loving photo gal, and a gluten free, allergy blogger.  And guess what?!  They are all Oh So Worth the Click! :>

Monday, January 24, 2011

Sunday's Surprise & Microfiction Monday

Microfiction Monday again here! I'm having so much fun playing along, I hope you'll join Susan, who hosts & the rest of us, who play! :>

I had hoped to post this earlier, but as I spent the night in the Emergency Room with my son, obviously, my attentions were elsewhere. He hit his chin mighty hard and got stitched up. And he handled the whole experience like a rock star (quite better, actually)!


Set to breach the riverbank's rim, the mind numbing fog rose to greet the town's inhabitants, ready to void their memories...and begin again.

(139 characters, including spaces & punctuation)



Hope you are off to a great start of the week!  We've started a wee bit bumpy, but when your kidlet finishes the night, telling you he had fun in the Emergency Room and was glad that you were there, I'd say that bit o' bumpy has smoothed out just fine. :>

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Come take a {Country Drive} ~ Writer's Workshop

I'm playing along with Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop again this week! With five prompts to choose from, I've got my foot on the gas for the number two: A photo journal entry…show us what winter looks like in your town.  Except, rather than IN town, I'm rollin' just outside of town and taking you with us on our one of our daily country drives!  Do hope you'll come along! :>

Roll your windows down, the sun is shinning, no fog in sight!  Tuesday we couldn't see more than a few feet ahead and the next morning the thermometer read fifty degrees, by the afternoon, we had passed seventy!  See?  Perfect day to get out & into the country!

Vineyards

We have numerous routes we take for our country drives, but you can bet there will always a vineyard or two...or three or four or more!

Gnarly Old Vine

Gnarly old vines capture my attention each and every time, looking like hands erupting from the earth with tales to tell!

Bare Tree

I loved gazing up at this tree, from below.

Bare Tree B&W

Loved it so much, couldn't decide to dress it in color or B&W!

Trees Almost There

You might remember these trees from their photo op back in November.  They were all dressed up in shades of gold & crimson and while many have shed their party clothes, it does look like there are a couple still hanging on with to their attire.

Whispering Tree 3.2

Hope you've got room for one more tree to see on this drive, but this tree hides its whispers the rest of the year beneath a coordinated skirt & shawl of verdant leaves.  Listen closely now, surely there's secrets to be shared.  I wonder what they'll be?

Nandina Bamboo Berries

And our country drive for the day comes to an end.  But, just before entering my front door, the Nandina bamboo berries called to me.  Aren't they pretty??  But, they're just for looking, no tasting now....when I went a Googling, I learned they are poisonous!  But, that's okay, they're feast enough for the eyes...at least, I think so. :>

Would love for you to come say hello and tell me how the drive was! 



Mama's Losin' It

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Circle Photo Fun - Wordful Wednesday

Currently, I'm in the middle of the Great Next Camera Debate and rather than clicking mine, I've been reading about them. So, I thought its only fitting to give my current (point & shoot) camera the proper send off to Back Up Status (once I make up my mind what camera I want to get!) and share a couple of my favorite pics taken with it!

Circle Round

Last year, I was clicking around the backyard and became very interested in something I never use....the upside down charcoal starter.  (Hubs does the BBQ'ing here!)  I took quite a few shots of it, but the ones I fell in love with were taken through one of the outer holes.

Circle Rounds

And then I played around with them while editing.  These two versions (they are two different captures) have the saturation pulled down & cranked up.

I have oodles beyond oodles of favorite kidlet pictures, but these are two of my favorites not from the Energetic-Moving with Super Speed-Smiley-Targets pool!  If you're on Flickr, come say hello and I'll come visit you!

And hey, if you have any camera recommendations, I would luuuuvvvvv to hear it! :>


Its Wordful Wednesday time & I'm linking up:

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Microfiction Monday {The Parasol}

I had so much fun playing along with Microfiction Monday over at Stony River last week for the first time that I'm joining the party again!

The shortest of short fiction (140 characters or less, including spaces), based on a picture:


Birds tweet as he towers above, wielding his katana.
Deftly, I reach for my parasol, knowing every woven silk thread would give me strength.
(140 characters, including space & punctuation.)

Come write along at:

Two posts today, scroll down to see what new creative challenge I'm taking on in 2011! :>

The Sketchbook Challenge

Have you heard about The Sketchbook Challenge?  I first learned of it from Thien-Kim over at Cup of Creativi-Tea and I'm so glad I did!


The Sketchbook Challenge was launched on January 1st this year and we'll be using monthly themes to guide our creations in our sketchbooks.  January's theme is "Highly Prized" and a new theme to create pages with will follow each month.  There are lots of fantastic prizes that will be randomly awarded as well.

Okay, Confession Time!  I have been wanting to create an art journal for quite awhile now.  But, when I would look at so many others' journal pages heaped upon with creativity & talent, I chickened out (bwak, bwak!).  And then I started one through Jessica Sprague's Inspiration Everywhere class and took that initial guidance & instruction (you know...teacher told me to do it, so I did it...) and ran with it.  And now I don't want to let it die out.

So, when I was chatting with Thien-Kim one night on Twitter and she suggested I check out The Sketchbook Challenge, I ran clicked my way over and found a world to keep creating in!

I hope you'll click on The Sketchbook Challenge badge to check it out & create along.  Let me know if you are, I would love to come visit you, see what you are creating & cheer you on!  I'll be sharing my 'Highly Prized' page later this week and hope you'll come back to join me on this journey to {{{Grow}}}. :>

Saturday, January 15, 2011

KT Tunstall's kickin' it in my head!

Been playing my Inspiration Everywhere iTunes playlist and just can't get KT Tunstall and her "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" outta my head! Sooo...thought I'd share a little YouTube video fun with you.

Here's the music video to go with the song:


And here, she lays down all those sounds, all those rhythms, one on top of the other.  This performance is both wee girl and my favorite!


What songs get your toes a tappin'? Share a favorite video (one that us Mamas don't have to race to shield a kidlets' eyes or ears for please....or at least a warning to watch without them :>), I always love some blurf (blog surf) enabling!

Annnnnnd........are you cheering a team on this weekend for the NFL playoffs??  In case you didn't know (;>), I AM!  Seattle Seahawks are playing Chicago Bears and its an all out call for Seahawk blue this weekend......GO HAWKS!!! 

Hope your weekend is fun, full o' laughter, & simply fantastic! :>

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Inspiration Everywhere {Music}

Does music inspire you?  Move you?  Drive you?  Make you laugh?  Sing?  Create?  Smile?

Jessica Sprague had us rockin' it both Old & New school with this Inspiration Everywhere project.

We started by creating a playlist on iTunes and then rocked it Old School, making a Mixed CD (remember the days of Mixed Tapes??  I just came across an old one from my best friend from high school....you might remember her as friend Jenn who sews those fabulous tote bags.....and oh my, did that ever send me back! :>).

And while I got inked & painted up for the Cover & Dedication page, I liked the idea of going digi here and used the pdfs that Jessica provided for the class.

Inspiration Everywhere - Mixed CD

Here's what I'm groovin' to while I'm creating or crafting (often with my wee girl):

1) I Gotta Feeling - The Black Eyed Peas

2) Walking on Sunshine - Katrina & the Waves

3) Black Horse & the Cherry Tree - KT Tunstall

4) Jai Ho - A.R. Rahman, Sukhvinder Singh, Tanvi Shah, Mahalaxmi Iyer & Vijay Prakash

5) Waiting On the World to Change - John Mayer

6) Time for Miracles - Adam Lambert

7) Pocketful of Sunshine - Natasha Bedingfield

8) Don't Stop Believin' - Journey

9) Unwritten - Natasha Bedingfield

10) Suddenly I See - KT Tunstall

11) Sweet Disposition - The Temper Trap

12) Dance the Night Away - Van Halen

13) Just Dance - Lady Gaga & Colby O'Donis

Inspiration Everywhere - Music Playlist

And to rock it New School, Jessica had us submit our playlists to iTunes as an iMix and Here is mine.  (Though iTunes dropped Walking on Sunshine by Katrina & the Waves from the list....it was probably a version they didn't have for purchase.)

Do you listen to music while you are getting your creative groove on?  I'd love to know what you are tappin' your toes to, come tell me! :>

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Can You Handle a Little Playtime? {Wordful Wednesday}

Can you?  Can you handle a little playtime?

We can & we did.

Did you play with me for one Wordful Wednesday back in October when I cropped in on the photo?  Well, I was editing photos for another post, when I cropped in and saw this:

Fun with Acrylic Paints

(These are more fun, if you don't scroll down right away! :>)

What do you see?

What do you see besides a boat load of pink? 

Do you have any idea what it is?

?
?
?
?

Truthfully, if I didn't participate in the process & take the pic, I wouldn't know.  But, I did still enjoy seeing something else entirely once the photo was cropped down. :> 

The red looks something like a cross between a road runner, a turkey, and an alpaca running to me!  But, its really a part of this:


Wee girl & I had some fun with acrylic paints, our hands & making hand prints!  Just before I washed this already drying paint off, I snapped a pic.  Thankfully, acrylic paint comes off easy peasy in the sink and I'm no longer sporting a pink mitt!

We've been having a lot of creative fun since her big brother returned to school last week from Winter Break.  There's been acrylic paint (a lot o' pink), watercolors, construction paper, scissors, glue sticks, and more Inspiration Everywhere projects, which I will continue to share as I complete them (including the page that painted hand stamped itself upon).

Thanks for stopping by today!  What has the New Year brought your way?


Linking up with:
Parenting By Dummies
Seven Clown Circus
A Beautiful Mess
Live and Love...Out Loud
5 Minutes for Mom

Monday, January 10, 2011

Microfiction Monday #65, but my first time!

I'm writing along with Microfiction Monday at Stony River. Its the shortest of short fiction (140 characters or less, including spaces & punctuation, thank you Twitter! :>) with a photo each week as a springboard.


“Take me to your leader.”

“If I lead, will you fly?”

“Take me to your leader.”

“Okay, I ‘Lead’, so now you fly!”

112 characters (including spaces)
Susan puts the photo up a week ahead of time & the Linky goes up Sunday evening (she's in Ireland), so I'm a little late hopping onto this train tonight.  But, I've wanted to join in for awhile now, so tonight, I'm doing just that!  Come write along! :>

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Will you {Indulge} me for a minute??

Generally there's a creative share here, but also those Little Things that Make Me Smile.  And if  you'll {indulge} me for just a minute (pretty please?), I have a little thing that has elicited cheering, shouting, and yes, outright screaming at the box in the room playing the Saints vs. Seahawks playoff game today.


The 12th Man rocked today as it prompted the 107th False Start as the loudest stadium in the League.  That's pretty amazing considering that its an outdoor stadium...its louder than the domes!!!

And while I'm in California, I asked those fantastic Boys in Blue via Twitter, if my screaming still counts and was ensured that it does!


I'm a happy gal & thankful for my Niners loving family & friends (Hubs, son, Jenn, Deb, Siobhan, and Falcons fan, Wayne) who were willing to cheer on the Hawks today! :>:>

Are you cheering any team on during this NFL playoff season?

Friday, January 7, 2011

From Lego Landslide to Organized!

Do you remember when I posted about my boy's Lego Landslide last month?  Thousands (not exaggerating in the slightest here, more like an understatement!) of Lego bricks took over our living room floor, upon a full white sheet for a week.

But, I had us on a mission (inspired by this post by Ali Edwards), a mission to organize those little colorful plastic, hurt your feet when you step on them, easily get sucked up by the vacuum cleaner, fantastically imagination fostering bits, bricks, pieces, and parts.


And we did it!!  They took up so much floorspace that there was only room for two of us to sit on the floor at any given time and work on separating them.  So, we all took turns working and separating and sorting all those thousands of lego bricks by color.

Note:  These drawer units are no longer available, but many of these alternatives would work in the same way.

We used two Sterilite 5 Drawer Storage Carts (wheels come with the units, but we left them off).  One drawer each for white, blue, black, red, yellow, grey, and a combo drawer with brown, tan, greens, and orange.  Mini figures, animals, and accessories got their own drawer....none of us, not even our son, had any idea that he had that many mini figures!!  The two double sized drawers at the bottom are filled with specialty parts.

When I shared the original lego post, an old high school friend on Facebook commented something to the effect that there's no way he'll keep them in this order & sorted (only because she's a mama and knows how often & easily kidlets can redisasterize, I'm sure!). 

Its been a month now and every single Lego is still in its proper home.  Don't get me wrong, his room can (& does) still explode with his other toys, but the Lego organization seems to be working for him.  Truthfully, I think he likes having his bedroom floor back and being able to find whatever Lego he wants, when he wants it!


Wee girl is getting some room organization of her own!  Look what Hubby came home from work with one day!!  One of his coworkers had it and offered it to him.  Of course, he knew his princess loving daughter, our Princess, would adore it and she does.

Its the beginning of a New Year, what organizing tips, tricks, adventures & tales do you have to tell?




Enjoy a good hop?  I do.  So, I'm linking up with:
504 MainTidy Mom I'm Lovin It Fridays


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Disclosure:  The link to the sanity saving, organizing friendly Sterilite Drawers is an affiliate link, as are the Lego links.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Inspiration Everwhere - Art Journal {Dedication}

Loved Jessica Sprague 's Inspiration Everywhere class so much that though I wasn't able to keep pace during the two weeks of class last month, I am still happily working on the class assignments and today I'm sharing the Dedication Page.

Art Journal - Inspiration Everywhere

Jessica prepared a fun pdf to use for this page, but my mojo was sparked with the combo of her class & Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of Christmas and I had to continue diving in, hands on & enjoy the full tactile experience of creating (just as I did for the art journal's cover).

When I saw the pocket Jessica used on her Dedication Page to insert her journaling, I immediately knew what I would use.  I have a pile o' old Levi's & other jeans (all sizes, from the kidlets on up to ours) & went running to see what size tush back pocket would work on my page.

Dedication Page

I also grabbed this uber cute paper that I've been hoarding for wee girl's scrapbook album (I still have a sheet & a half left, so I didn't de-hoard it all ;>).  Isn't it darling?

Inspiration Everywhere - Art Journal - Dedication Page

A bit more patterned paper for the journaling, some acrylic paint, rub-ons, and ink to complete the page.  Oh yeah, did I mention the smiles, fun & even a few giggles (courtesy of wee girl working on her own collage beside me)?  Because there were!

Inspiration Everywhere - Dedication

The journaling for my Dedication Page reads:

Explore.
Seek.
Search.
Find.

Inspiration.
It is everywhere.

Outside. Inside.
Above. Below.
Friends. Family.
In Print. Online.
Color. Shape.
Texture. Line.
Words. Spoken.
Written. Sights.
Sounds. Smells.
Emotions. Sensations.

Inspiration.
It.
Is.
Everywhere.


Where do you find your inspiration?


Supplies:
Paper:  Foofala;  K&Company
Rub-Ons:  Making Memories;  My Mind's Eye
Pink Hippo Party
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