SCRAPBOOK LAYOUT IDEAS

Here are some more ideas for scrapbook pages. These were all taken during Spring Break in Colorado.

On our way to Colorado. Some photos of our 1st view of the mountains.

Page 1 of 2 page layout.

Page 2 of 2 page layout.

2 page layout of the mountains & learning to ski.

All bundled up at Copper Mountain!

Page 2 of 2 page layout.

Family photos of vacation & snowtubing.

1st page

2nd Page (I had our actual tubing tickets & stuck them to this page)

Our last day in Colorado...

I really like to tear paper in my scrapbooks using the Creative Memories Tearing Tool. I also like to add journaling boxes once in a while just to be able to write a little bit more than what I can fit under the pictures.

I hope these give you an idea or 2 for your scrapbooks :)

30 Minutes of Organizing

I got motivated today to organize something. This drawer needed a change!!

BEFORE

Everytime we would go to pull one cord out, we would get a ball of about 50 cords all tangled up. The end was never to be found!!

This is the tub of all the things I took out of the drawer that we don't even use anymore. Every cord is now nicely wrapped up with a rubberband.

Neatly labeled and down to the basement it will go!!

AFTER

So organized, clean and nearly empty :)

I love a nice easy organizing project!!

JUSTICE SALE

I was out shopping and my daughter and I stopped into Justice just to look. It just so happened that they are having an amazing sale!! They had take 40% off of all redline items PLUS you can still use the 40% off coupon that comes to your email. I couldn't believe what awesome deals they had. I asked how long the sale was going on & they said they believed until Monday. Not sure if all Justice stores are running this sale, but it would sure be worth it to check :)  You can use coupon code 755 if you want to shop online.

Happy Shopping!!!

DIY-Kitchen Curtains out of a Painter's Drop Cloth

So I looked everywhere for kitchen curtains that would suit my style and had no luck. Scoured every store online searching for the perfect curtains....NOTHING! So I took upon myself to make some :)  I started out with one painter's drop cloth and ended up with these!!!!

I have very minimal sewing skills, but I can kinda make a curtain. The valance I just measured so that it would be wide enough to bunch up. I hemmed each side & made a pocket for the rod. The bottom curtains were the same thing. The cutest part of all is the little ruffle at the bottom. All I did for this was cut long strips of the drop cloth and then ran a loose stitch thru the middle of each strip using a heavy duty thread. I then pulled that string tight until it was ruffly enough. When I had enough ruffle to cover the width of the curtains I used my hot glue gun and attached the ruffles to the curtain. That was it! I think they are too cute :)

I have seen lot's of uses for drop cloths around blogland. What have you made??
 I am linking up over at Fingerprints on the Fridge. Hop on over & look at all the great ideas :)

On the Menu

This weeks menu:

Tacos

Grilled Cheese

Pork Roast

Spaghetti

3 Cheese chicken penne (KRAFT RECIPE)
http://www.kraftrecipes.com/cooking-tips/cooking-videos/three-cheese-penne-pasta-1020.aspx?ct=1

Bierock Casserole (COOKS.COM RECIPE)
http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,178,158184-229207,00.html

Ham, Potatoes & Green Beans

I'm linking up over at I'm an Organizing Junkie

Head over & check out all the great meal ideas there!!
http://orgjunkie.com/2011/06/menu-plan-monday-june-20th-birthday-week.html

My Birthday Boy & a Party

My "baby" turned 8 today. I cannot believe he is growing up so fast. We had a party for him last weekend and he got to invite a couple friends. We took them to a skate park & let them ride skate boards and play for 2 hours. We got McDonald's lunch and brought it to the park. The chocolate cake I made him just about melted it was soooo hot. No shade there at all!! Everyone had a good time though. I wanted to post some photos of a  Circus party we had for him when he turned 6. It was tons of fun & I just thought it was a cute party idea.

Here he is, he's so TINY!! My daughter made all of these balloon creations for his guests. Hats, swords, etc.

We had popcorn and cotton candy for everyone. He invited his whole class!

I did all the face painting & am by no means an expert. But it was a huge hit!

Hubby helped me hang streamers from the ceiling to create a "big top" effect.


Everyone got a bag with tickets in it. Each game took a ticket & prizes were awarded. They could then carry their prizes around in the bag.

Inside games were tossing a ball into pails, tossing rings around bowling pins and a little basketball game.

For outside we had bubble blowing, balls, and hula hoops :)

Hubby is a volunteer firefighter so we held this party at the firestation. As a little bonus, he gave the kids a tour of the fire station & trucks. They loved that!!

And here is a photo of the Birthday Boy today at 8 years old!!

Love him!!

Home-Before & After

When we 1st looked at this house & I saw this room, I knew right away that it would be the perfect scrapbook room for me. Small, but big enough for a table and supplies & lots of windows = lots of great light. The room served it's purpose for about a year when we decided we would turn it into a playroom for the kids. It is right off the living room and would work. We don't have any photos of what it looked like pre-playroom, but here it is as a playroom.

Lots of toys crammed in this small area

The other side of the room

Hubby put shelves up for game storage etc.

We kept it as a playroom for a couple more years & now that we have the basement area for kids toys we did another transformation on it :)

A new charming sunroom :)

Lots of light coming in

Got the kids some parakeets

Got this darling dresser @ goodwill for $29.99 & hubby painted it for me!

For this room we bought:

the dresser from goodwill $29.99
the resin wicker chairs from home depot $49.99 each
the chair cushions from home depot $20
(had a 10% off coupon for home depot tho-woot!!))
3 tablecloths from target on clearance $16 each
(used these to make all the curtains & pillows)
curtain rods from walmart $45-$50
birds, cage & supplies $120
all accessories were from thrift stores or garage sales :)

We already had:
area rug
wood typewriter crate the bird cage is on
white paint for trim
beige paint for walls (I actually used a beige color that I had & didn't like & added white paint until I got the shade I wanted)

I really think this room turned out cute. We have books in there and it is just a nice quiet place to sit and read or do homework.  I love to read and I also love to buy old books. I just think they are so sweet & charming. I use them a lot in my decor.


I am linking up over at Not JUST A Housewife. Go over and show her what you've got ;)

Linking up at I {Heart} Naptime for the Sundae Scoop.

Also partying at The Shabby Nest for her Frugal Friday party.

My inspiration for this room came from Ashli at Maillardville Manor. She has a beautiful home!!

WALGREENS FREE 8x10 PHOTO COLLAGE OFFER

I just ordered mine!! Woohoo :)

Use promo code 1FREEBIE at checkout. Valid thru 6/18/11

I love a good FREEBIE

Scrapbook Layout Ideas

I am posting photos of some scrapbook pages I have done recently. Please excuse the quality of these photos. I have not figured out how to get them to turn out better just yet. I have been scrapbooking for about 10 years now and I am very passionate about it!! My local consultant holds crops once a month & I try not to miss them. She usually holds them on a Friday night from 6pm-midnight. There is food, friends, supplies for sale and she also lets us use all of her tools. It is a great time to get together with the girls and get some work done. I love it!!!

Valentine's page in her album. I completed these pages at the last crop I went to. The little blue flowers were a free gift from our consultant. I thought they went cute with the paper I was using.

Part of the 2 page layout. I love holidays & one day of holiday themed clothing is not enough for me. So, I try to dress my kids in at least a holiday appropriate color for a whole week! Pink, red or hearts for Valentines week :)

The girl's 12th birthday celebration. I got this fun kit of paper & diecuts from goodwill. It just worked perfect for these pictures.

2nd page of this layout. For her 12th bday we started out w/3 friends, pizza, and Justin Bieber!!

Horrible photo of this-darn!!

Birthday Morning. Opening a gift before school. She loves Marilyn Monroe so we got her this print & it goes well in her Paris bedroom. The cute shirt she is wearing was a bday gift from a friend. It says Pisces on the front & lists all the characteristics of a Pisces on the back.

Middle School Fun Night. She wanted the perfect outfit for this occasion. Pink tutu skirt & zebra stripes it is!!

So are you a scrapbooker?

On the Menu

I like to grocery shop for 2 weeks at a time and I plan my menu before I go. I find that this helps keep the cost of  my grocery bill down. I go through what I still have in my fridge, freezer & pantry before I plan my menu so that I am able to use up what I have. I just picked 4 meals off of my 2 week menu to give you all some ideas of what we might have the rest of this week. I know I am always looking for more meal ideas!!

Chicken Stir Fry

Sloppy Joes

BLT's

Chicken Fajitas

I would love some new recipes so feel free to comment :)

** I am linking up over at "I'm an Organizing Junkie". Go take a look at all of the wonderful recipes!!

http://orgjunkie.com/2011/06/menu-plan-monday-june-1311.html



A Frugal Fix-The Basement

When we bought our house almost 5 years ago we were sure we had more than enough room to live. With the kids growing up and all the "stuff" accumulating we seem to be tight on space, so we decided to turn the unfinished basement into a usable place for the kids.  We did not want to spend much money on this transformation so we made do with mostly what we had.

Breakdown:

$15 on white sheets
$200 on a paint sprayer (we have used this since then as well!!)
$5 on eye hooks to hang cable

Already had on hand:

white paint
2 white sheets
leftover carpet scraps
carpet squares
our old dining room rug
curtains (made from an old shower curtain)
furniture
tv
toys
game system
cable to hang sheets
the nice big shelving system we bought way back on Black Friday but didn't know what we needed it for yet-$49

Wah Lah!! Hangout spot for the kiddos :)

The sheets were used to partition off this area from the storage area

View from the basement stairs

Finally a spot for the boy's train table

Their very own TV & a game system should keep them busy

**And there you have it. What frugal ways have you transformed your space??

My "Extreme Couponing"

I have been hooked on TLC's show "Extreme Couponing". I figured I might as well give it a try. I've been clipping coupons for 3 weeks now and have quite a few in my "coupon organizer". I scoured the weekly ads for Walmart, Walgreens & Dillons trying to match sales, coupons and register rewards to get me the best deal. I would say my shopping trip was pretty successful for a beginner!



10 lbs potatoes

Bag Chx Breasts

Taco shells

Frozen corn

Turkey bacon

FF shredded mozz.

GV shredded Colby/jack

FF cheese slices

4 cans Grn. Beans

2 cans HR crm mushrm

Can sauerkraut

Head lettuce

Celery

Radishes

Tortilla shells

Hot dogs

Half ham

Sour crm

Bell pepper

Fajita seas

16 ct pop tarts

Horseradish mustard

Mustard

2 lbs hamburger

1 lb sausage

5 michaelinas frozen meals

4 carb freedom yogurt

2 lbs red grapes

Spaghetti sauce

Doritos

18 pk eggs

Hot pockets

4 2 liters pop

3 boxes mac n chs

6 candy bars

2 deoderant

Blistex

Toothbrush

1 men’s schick razor system

1 Gillette fusion power razor

Shave gel

12 dbl rolls TP

Body wash

100 sandwich baggies

SUBTOTAL= $120.09

REGISTER REWARDS= $13

GRAND TOTAL= $107.09

TOTAL SAVINGS= $40.28

Since I didn't think to take a photo of all this craziness before I put it away, here is a quick photo of my pantry.

So what do ya think!? Have you tried "extreme couponing"?