Monday, December 30, 2013

Organizing, Purging, and Cleaning up...Some of my FAVORITE things!!!

One of my favorite things to do is to organize OTHER people's stuff.  Check out my Clean Sweep blog post from back in March.  It's SO much EASIER for me to go through someone else's stuff.
Please don't ask me about MY STUFF.

My sister Betty is moving soon and called me to help her go through her stuff so she would have LESS to move.  So, today we went through some of the boxes she had in her room.

We ended up with a few piles, since one of the principles is having ZONES for everything:

  • Sell on eBay or Donate
  • Return to Mom
  • Electronics 
  • Items to Scrapbook 
  • Linens
  • Camping
  • Triathlon stuff (divided into Swim, Bike, and Running) 
  • Winter wear (gloves, scarves, hats, etc)
  • Books
  • Bookshelf items to go into the yet to be assembled shelf from IKEA
  • Stuff to go through later and original packaging boxes to save "just in case"
  • Recycling
  • Trash
So proud of Betty, she got rid of a TON of stuff!!!

Two and a half hours later, and we had a FULL Trash bag, a FULL Recycling bag, a box for me to take home, and FOUR bags to either Sell on eBay or to Donate.
I think it was successful!!!  I wish I would have taken pictures, but I didn't, we were too focused.

WHO'S NEXT???

Thanks for checking in!
Sharon
EMAIL: lim5harona@gmail.com

Friday, December 27, 2013

Recycling Paper Pumpkin boxes!!!

I have to admit, I have a container/box problem.  They say that admitting it is the first step, right?

Sometimes I get a little giddy when I see a really good container, AND if it has a LID?  Even BETTER!!!
Here is just SOME of what I have, that don't have things in it...YET! They are just waiting to hold my "Treasures!"
So, I was creating some holiday treats, and needed to package them nicely.

Here's a little background:
I receive a monthly Paper Pumpkin kit from Stampin' Up!
Each month is a surprise to see what can be created, it could be cards, a journal, a banner, etc.
For additional information, check out my Paper Pumpkin page.
So, if you are like me, and have a lot of the boxes lying around and can't bring myself to throw them away, what do you do?  Re-use them!!! Here is about half of them:
This is what you do. Once you finish the AWESOME project,  open the empty box, there is no glue that keeps it together, just a tab and slot on each side of the bottom.
 Undo the 2 tabs that hold the bottom part.
Flip it over...
 And re-fold the bottom and slip the tabs into the slots.
Ta-dah!  You have a wonderful box to hold your creations.  Tie it with a nice ribbon and you are done!!!

Thanks for checking in!
Sharon
EMAIL: lim5harona@gmail.com

Monday, December 23, 2013

Etching mirrors, another craft creation!!!

Sometimes I miss being a teacher...I must admit I miss the kids sometimes.  I guess that's why I'm always needing a "kid fix" every so often.
One of my favorite memories is creating a bulletin board every month depending on theme or subject matter we were discussing.  Once, during December I created a board with a bunch of presents with the children's names on them.  At circle time, I talked about presents and asked them if they remember the very first gift they received.
There were many answers, kind of like those AT&T commercials.  I love when kids are honest like that!!!
Then, I would say, "Your name was the very FIRST present you received."
So, that inspired me to do another thing I loved doing, which was making gifts for the kids in my class.  I enjoyed making them and especially enjoyed personalizing them specifically for them.
I had some mirrors saved up and was inspired to make some etched mirrors this year.
Here are the etched mirrors I made:

 Then, I would use some of the twisted ribbon (I LOVE Twisted ribbon!!!)  to wrap it.  Here it is in gold.
 Here it is in green.
Want to know how I made them?
It all starts with Glass Etching Cream by Armour Etch
 I bought these mirrors from Michael's, they are perfect for this craft.  Back in the day as a teacher, I bought 4 X 6 mirror tiles from Home Depot and bought frames and hot glued them in.
 Remove the mirror from the frame, and make sure to clean the mirror well with glass cleaner to remove any dust or fingerprints first.
Now, you cut out a 6" X 9" piece of Contact Paper and write the name with a Sharpie to fit the mirror.
To add a little flair, I used a hand held punch to punch out the circles at the ends of the letters.  Remember that look back in the day when Dot Lettering was popular?
A little tip, if you are having a hard time getting the Contact Paper off the backing, fold a little corner with a REALLY good crease, and Well-ah!  You can separate it easier.
So, peel off the backing and place it on the mirror, making sure it is all flat and makes a great "seal" on the mirror.
Then, use an X-acto knife to cut along the letters, you can make any corrections you want at this point.  See, how I didn't follow the Sharpie lines, exactly?
Then, use your X-acto knife to remove the letters.

Follow the directions on the Armour Etch jar.  (CAUTION:  It is corrosive, so use gloves and use in a well ventilated area)
Shake jar well, brush it onto the mirror, going both ways, vertically and horizontally, ensuring everything is covered.
Leave undisturbed for 5 minutes and then rinse with cold water.  Dry well and remove the Contact Paper.
Tah-Dah!!!
A Personally Etched mirror for someone special!!!
Here it is with some red twisted ribbon!

Thanks for checking in!
Sharon
EMAIL: lim5harona@gmail.com

Friday, December 20, 2013

Elf on the Shelf inspired by Pinterest

My co-worker, Jenn, asked to make something for her Elf on a Shelf and sent me this picture:

Instead of lemonade, she wanted Hot Chocolate, but I switched it to Hot Cocoa instead and thought I would look great with a red and white theme.
Here it is:  
She took a picture of the elves in action, here are Scott and Snowflake.  What do you think?
Thanks for checking in!
Sharon
EMAIL: lim5harona@gmail.com

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Baby Shower album and candy game!

One of my good friends, Sheri, called me up to tell me that her brother is expecting a baby and needed help with hosting a baby shower.
She just wanted a couple of games, and didn't want anything too elaborate.
We served this awesome pink punch made of scoops of raspberry sherbet and ginger ale.  It foams up like a root beer float and tastes really YUMMY!
So, first I thought it would be nice to have a nice keepsake for the baby, so when I was at the Scrapbook Expo in Sacramento, I picked up a small pink photo album and cranked out 20 pages for the guests to write in their good wishes for the baby and the parents to be.  I used my Big Shot and cut out a variety of shapes, stamped a ton of baby images and die cut the baby's name on the first and last pages.












Then, I shopped  for some items at Party City.
Remember the old shower game where people wear clothespins and aren't allowed to say the word "baby?" If they do, then their clothespin can be taken away.  The person at the end the party with the most clothespins wins.
To put a twist on it, I decided to buy some pink beaded necklaces instead.
 So, as the guests arrived, we gave them each a necklace and explained that they weren't allowed to say "baby" or "Patty," the mom-to-be, otherwise their necklace would be taken away.  The winner would be the one with the most necklaces at the end of the party.

I also thought a nice candy vase would be an easy game.  I layered different colored candies in a container, and had the guests guess how many candies they think were in the container and the closest guess would win the container. Yes, I actually counted out the candies.

Here were the guesses and the winner was ONE candy away!!! Can you believe that?
Thanks for checking in!
Sharon
EMAIL: lim5harona@gmail.com

Thursday, December 5, 2013

My 2014 schedule for Cardmaking classes and Scrapbooking events!!!

Hello there,
I'm so excited about my next class...Stamp a Stack
OSW=One Sheet Wonder!
You can make 12 cards from one sheet of 12 x 12 scrapbook paper, coordinating card stock and card bases.  So simple and appropriate for ALL occasions!
You will have 12 cards to send to everyone you care for. I'll be doing Stamp a Stack classes EVERY quarter to keep your card stash full throughout the year!
You'll even go home with the template to be able to recreate the cards on your own!  All for $25.00!!!
For the January 18th class, you can pick from 3 themes:  Birthday, Valentines/Love, and Masculine.  I'll change it up each quarter to the types and styles of cards each time.

If you are interested in taking this class at It's all about the Scrapbook in Dixon.
Bring your own adhesive, paper cutter and scissors.

To sign up for a class, send a check made out to, "It's all about the Scrapbook" or your credit card information with the date of the class and your name to:

It's all about the Scrapbook
1670 N. Lincoln Street, Suite B
Dixon, CA 95620
or call 707-676-5252 with the date of the class, your name and your credit card information.

Let me know you want to attend so I will have enough materials for you!

CARD MAKING CLASSES:
SCRAPBOOKING EVENTS:
Thanks for checking in!
Sharon
EMAIL: lim5harona@gmail.com