Friday Features-Sweater Weather

There is nothing better than a good pair of jeans and a warm, comfy sweater on a chilly fall day! I'm so excited to start breaking out the sweaters soon! I may just have to add a few more to my collection after doing some searching on Etsy!

Check out these finds!

crochet wool knit ruched wrap

by sandmaiden

Dip Dyed Upcycled Sweater - Purple Haze

by erinsapparel

Knit Sweater -Sage Green

by AllThingsTangled

The Girl Loves Pink

Okay, like I really had to tell you that, right :) By now I'm sure you know I'm in love with pink! It all started when I turned 21 and Jesse's aunt bought me a pink tank top. I owned nothing pink at the time and needed to buy a shirt to go with the tank top. I bought my first pink top and never looked back!!! And I've loved pink ever since :)

The other day I went to the eye doctor to get a new pair of glasses. My other pair was stolen last year along with my purse and I hadn't replaced them yet. I normally wear contacts, but it's nice to have glasses as a backup. I went in knowing that I wanted something similar to what I had before: small, tortoise shell rim, very basic. The nurse asked if I'd like something fun. I said no, and told her what I was looking for. After trying on several pair and narrowing it down I thought I had found the ones I wanted. While the nurse was taking a phone call, I continued to look around...and there they were! Pink rimmed glasses. I tried them on more as a joke at first, but once I tried them on...I knew they were so ME!

If they were something I wore everyday, I would have chosen something more practical. But hey, a girl's gotta live, right :) What do you think?

Wordless Wednesday-Favorite Fall Treat

Brown and Purple Success

A while back I did a Friday Features on the color combo Brown and Purple. These two colors had made their way onto my work table through different projects and were just calling to be put together :) This weekend I was able to finally make an album with them!!!

I LOVE how it turned out! I really like the dark purple with the brown! And now I can't wait to make more albums with this color combo!

What's your favorite color combo right now?

Looking Ahead to 2011

I know it's still a little ways off, but 2011 will be here before we know it! And before many of us are even ready for it! But this weekend, I decided to do a little planning ahead to 2011. I downloaded a new 2011 calendar set and couldn't wait to create something with it!

2011 Calendar - A Year In Photos

I was so excited to make something new and get a new listing in my shop!!! These calendars are perfect for displaying photos from 2010 or for adding new photos from 2011 as you go. And they would make great gifts too! I can even customize them in any colors or theme as well :) You know me and custom work!

Though I'm not ready for 2011 to be here yet, it was fun to do a little planning ahead and make these cute calendars this weekend :)

A Pretty Perfect Weekend

This summer seemed to fly by! It was so busy with things going on almost every weekend! I am usually a summer girl, but this year...I'm ready for fall :) I'm ready for things to calm down, to stay home more, to just relax a bit and catch my breath!

This past weekend was the perfect way to get fall started :) I scrapbooked all day Friday and didn't even leave the house until later that evening when we took Harley for a ride to get a few groceries to cook supper. We ate supper on the couch and fell asleep watching a movie.

Yesterday was much of the same. It may be the perfect example of my ideal day: I took a long, hot bath while I enjoyed my coffee and toast. I scrapbooked all day long :) I got a hair cut (and didn't even have to leave the house to do it!). Talked to my mom on the phone. Then Jesse and I went out for supper just the two of us :) Yup...pretty perfect to me!

And today we don't really have too many plans either. Most likely we'll stay around the house again. Sundays are a short day when you work night shift, so it sounds like another good day to relax :)

Hope you have a relaxing Sunday too!

Team Treasury-Celebrate Fall

SweetSallysSoaps curated this awesome Fall Treasury for us last week! And with the weather we're having here in Iowa today...it is rather fitting!

Click on the photo to be taken to the treasury :)

Friday Features-Fall Trees

Fall is officially here! And soon the trees will be in full glory!!! I have decided that the turning of the trees is my favorite part of fall :) I could drive around the country side just admiring the trees. Last year I parked in town and walked around enjoying the sites of all the pretty fall colors! Etsy is another place I love to look around for gorgeous fall trees :) Here are my faves for the week:

fall tree wood necklace

by SweetWoodWorks

(New seller with great work btw!!!)

Japanese Maple No. 2 - fine art nature photography print

by NatureMandalas FALLIN' IN LOVE custom wooden photo plaque

by JessyKayne

PAINTING HUGE JMJARTSTUDIO ORIGINAL 3 PIECE PAINTING 20 INCHES X 48 INCHES FABULOUS MUST SEE TREE

by JMJARTSTUDIO

Blog Carnival-Weddings

For this week's blog carnival, Patch gave us the options of writing about our own wedding or showing wedding items we have for sale in our Etsy shops. Well, since I haven't had a wedding yet, I guess that leaves us with option 2...LOL :)

And speaking of weddings, sorry to get everyone excited yesterday. My Wordless Wednesday Photo was just to show off my pretty polish...not the ring...LOL! Jesse got me that ring for Christmas almost 10 years ago! Now on to the fun wedding items I have in my shop :) As you know, my Custom Name Albums are my most popular item in my shop. And of course I have one in a wedding theme. Actually I have two...I have also made a Custom Wedding Name Guestbook. I have been toying with the idea of adding a multi-album listing for wedding party gifts. I have sold several as gifts for bridesmaids and family members helping with weddings. I thought a package deal for wedding parties would be a great way for the bride and groom to thank their friends and family for sharing in their special day :) What do you think?

Wordless Wednesday-Tutti Fruity Manicure

A Girl Can Never Have Too Many Tools

By now, I'm sure you know how much I love new scrapbooking toys/tools! I just can't resist something that is fun to play with AND will make the process easier!!!

A while back I bought a special cutter that would cut chipboard. I was so excited that they had finally come out with such a tool and had to be the first to own one! Well, unfortunately it wasn't as spectacular as I had hoped! The first one I received was damaged and the second one still wasn't up to par! I was very disappointed and went back to cutting everything by hand.

I have been looking into getting a computerized mat cutter to cut out my Name Albums, but want to see and use one in person and just haven't been able to bring myself to the large investment (almost $10,000!!!) yet. But in the process of looking outside of the scrapbooking world for new tools, I found my new toy :) It is actually made to cut photo mats. Matboard is similar in thickness to chipboard and the cutters can handle the large size I like to work with as well. The chipboard is a little harder on the blades, but it definitely gets the job done! Meet my new buddy...

The Logan 301-S. It is one of the smallest mat cutters Logan makes and it is my new best friend :) I cut an entire stack of chipboard (25 pieces) down to 4"x12" in a matter of 30-45 minutes. And this was the very first time I used it, so I was getting the size right and playing with different blade settings, etc. It does leave a little bit of a raggedy edge, but it easily comes off with a nail file!

Aren't new toys fun :)

Winery Consignment Success

I recently took some of my scrapbooks to a local winery to try to sell in their gift shop. I wasn't sure how things would go or if it was even the right area to market my albums, but I figured it was worth a try. I spoke with the owner over the weekend and I have sold 4 albums!!! And the best part is, 3 of them were ones I made specially for the winery :) I sold 2 Wine Albums, 1 Vino Album and 1 Family Album!

I'm so excited that this is going to be a good match for my albums :) I'll be busy making more albums to replace the ones that sold and may bring a few others over as well! With Christmas just around the corner, I think a few Holiday Albums would be a good idea!

Rockin' Baby Album

I got my Rock 'n Roll Baby Album finished this week! It turned out so fun!!! I can't wait to give it to my friend to use for her baby contest!!!

Free photo slideshow generated with Smilebox

I also used a new program for my slideshows and think it turned out great! I always had a hard time with photobucket not letting me add text to posts with slideshows, so I was happy when this one did :)

Team Treasury-Autumn Celebrations

Fall may not be here officially for a few more days, but it sure feels like it came early here in Iowa!!! The temps are in the 60s today with a chilly breeze in the air as well! Time for jeans and sweaters :)

Patch of PatchFirstShop has fall on her mind too! She curated this beautiful Autumn Celebration Team Treasury for us this past week:

Thanks for including my Custom Team Name Album Patch :)

Friday Features-Born to Rock

I've been having so much fun working on my Rock 'n Roll Baby Album this week that I went in search for more rockin' baby items on Etsy! This is really quite a popular baby theme with lots of cool finds!!! Check 'em out...

Burp Cloths Pack of 3 - Rock N Roll Theme - Pink and Purple

by Redrane

ROCK N' ROLL ON THE WILD SIDE waterproof diaper cover - swim diaper cover size xs-lg

by olivejanes

RETRO ROCK N ROLL BABY ONE PIECE TEES

by funnytees01

Boutique Baby Set ... Bib ... Contoured Burp Cloth ... 2 Wash Cloths ... Guitars

by Jajansi

The Eye of the Tiger

We recently adopted a cat from some friends of ours who were moving away. When we got him home, we noticed we have a tiger kitty theme going on. All 3 of our kitties are tiger-striped! And isn't it fitting that our new kitty's name is Tiger :)

I just love his green eyes!!!

Of course I have to show you Chevy...

And Momma Kitty too :)

Aren't they all just so cute :)

Wordless Wednesday-Ridin' With Uncle Jesse

Tuesday Teaser

I'm working on a really fun project this week :) I've barely gotten started, but couldn't resist showing you what I've got laid out on my work table!

A photographer friend of mine is having a baby photo contest and the winner will receive this album. Her business name is Rock -n- Royalty, and the album will go along with her theme. There will be guitars, tattoo inspired embellishments, crowns, grungy music notes and other cool items!!! It's so much fun to take a break from all the Name Albums I've been working on and just play :)

I hope to have the album done this week! I'll post pictures when it's finished!!!

Have it YOUR Way!

One of the things I love most about my Custom Name Albums is that they can be personalized in SO many ways! From the spelling of the name to the colors used and even adding a shape in place of a letter. You name it...I can make it happen :)

This particular Sorority Album was made using the girl's favorite colors, not her traditional sorority colors! This got me to thinking that this is probably a hard thing to come by. Most sorority items can be personalized with a name, but the colors always remain the same. It makes me happy to be able to offer one more unique feature with my albums :)

Happy Grandparent's Day

I came across this photo recently and knew I had to add it to my collection :) I love finding photos of my grandparents from when they were young!

And at 79 and 87, they still act and feel young (most days)! They travel for the winter. My grandpa still farms. They dress up and go to theme parties every year. My grandpa golfs and my grandma plays bridge. It's so great that they are still active and able to do the things they enjoy :)

I thought today was the perfect day to share it with you being that it's Grandparent's Day :)

Team Treasuries-Purple and Lime

Linda of PruittHandCrafts curated a beautiful Purple Team Treasury for us last week. Since I was away on vacation I didn't get a chance to share it, but wanted to make sure you got to see all the wonderful finds! This week's treasury is brought to us by Rose of RandomCreative. She made us an awesome Lime Team Treasury! Thanks for including my Friends Album Rose!!!

Friday Features-Purple and Brown

Many times when I work on Custom Albums, I do several at once and sort of get an assembly line going. I will often cover them all in cardstock at the same time. This leaves a large assortment of papers on my table as I work on finishing the albums.

The other day I was cleaning up after a batch of albums and there were two pieces of paper from different albums sitting next to each other...deep purple and dark brown. They sat there just looking like they were meant to be together :) I think I've found my newest favorite color combo to work with!

Other Etsians must feel the same way! Just look at these great finds in Purple and Brown!

Florence Wrap LEATHER Cuff Brown, Purple

by hollyhawk

Damask Pillow Cover in Purple and Brown 18 by 12

by indenyldesigns

Fruit baskets in Purple and Brown

by VickyVK

Amber Brown and Purple Topaz Daisy Necklace

by WireNWhimsy

The Beauty of Missouri

Jesse and I made it back from our vacation to Southern Missouri and had a great time :) It was so wonderful to spend time with my parents and just relax for a few days!

We spent a couple of days on the lake and a day driving around seeing the area. We drove down to my parents property and saw the area they will eventually retire to. It's so peaceful there and the scenery is beautiful :) I could do without the curvy, hilly roads, but they sure make for pretty landscape.

Here's a photo I took of the rocks along side the roads.

And this one is my Mom, Dad and Jesse at Dogwood Canyon.

I would love to go down in the fall sometime...the trees will just be gorgeous!!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Labor Day weekend :)

Wordless Wednesday-To Be Young Again

Blog Carnival-2nd Quarter of My Life

Judy of jnoriginals is our host for this week's blog carnival and she gave us these two themes for the carnival: 1. Are you in the first quarter of your life (up to age 25), second quarter of your life (up to age 50), or 3rd quarter (beyond age 50)? Describe your goals and dreams for your current "quarter." How have they changed over time? 2. Describe someone who influenced the person you are today, or who motivated you to do something. Explain how this is so. Is this a positive or negative? The first topic actually threw me for a surprise! At 27, that puts me in the 2nd quarter of my life! Wow...am I there already! Most of the time I feel 50 years old, but in my mind, I'm still a youngin'. I think it's because we hang out with a lot of "older" people that makes me feel young. After all, Jesse is almost 7 years older than I am!

Pendant 27

by XelasArt

My current goal right now would be to find an office job that I enjoy and get out of the factory life. I am happy to have a job...and a good job at that, but I want to use the degree that I spent 4 years of my life earning. I would like to find a job that suits me better and makes better use of my skills and talents. My dream is somewhat similar, but a little far off. I would love to turn my scrapbooking into a full-time job. What Etsian wouldn't love to work full-time on their craft :) But a dream is all this is for now. I have to be realistic with my life and figure out a way to work my goals and my dreams together. I'd love nothing more than to find a part-time job that paid well enough that I could work more on my scrapbooking. Or a job where I could telecommute. I'd love to do more shows and add more stock to my Etsy shop! I just need more time to get it all done! Fingers crossed that I reach my goals and dreams before the next quarter of my life :)

Happy Labor Day!!!

I hope all of you hard working men and women are getting a day off of work today! Enjoy your day and do something fun :) We all deserve it!

Make Me Another

I think my albums are beginning to be like Lay's potato chips...people can't have just one! And this makes me so happy :) All three of my most recent orders have already decided to order more albums!!! I showed you Emily's album earlier this week, and here are the other two albums that got repeat requests: I think the fact that these make awesome gifts and that they are such a unique item makes them a great buy! They fit so many different occasions and are completely custom you could get one for every person on your Christmas list!!!

Team Treasury-Happy Fall Y'all

Fall is just around the corner! Summer is my favorite season and I'm not usually ready for it to end, but this year...fall just sounds so good :) I'm ready for sweaters, harvest, beef stew and chili, the beautiful trees and all the other wonderful things fall brings :) I'm also ready for some fall shopping!

This week I created an EtsyBloggers team treasury all about FALL!!!

'Happy Fall Y'all-EtsyBloggers Style' by memoriesforlifesb

The EtsyBloggers Team is ready for fall! Check out all these great fall listings!

SALE-Artisan lampwork b... DevineDesignsJ... $48	Perfect Pumpkin Body Lo... spottedcowsoap... $12	Hand Knit Ladder Ribbon... FoxyGknits $40	Gold Leaf Necklace w F... mysticwynd $39.95
Paper Bag ART Patchwork... pruitthandcraf... $3	Clearance Handmade Zip ... TiLTcreations $10	Autumn bracelet with Ca... carriegrab419 $20	Coppery Oak Leaf Neckla... BunnyKissd $13
Peyote Cuff Bracelet - ... randomcreative $38.25	CLEARANCE Reversible Ma... AKeepersJackpo... $14	Summer Breeze - Antique... BeadedTail $14	PLUSH MOD BIRD BLANKET ... joeyandaleethe... $126
Autumn multi gemstone c... SunshineDaydre... $12	Set - Red Autumn Leaf N... PruittDesign $45	Hand Knit Earth Tones S... FoxyGknits $65	Season of Friendship Tr... AForestFrolic $2.25

Generated using Treasury HTML code generator by Whale Shark Websites.