We Need a Little Christmas

Ok, I'm usually not this girl.  I'm usually against Christmas until Thanksgiving.  However, on November 1 when the entire world started celebrating Christmas, I got a little in the spirit of things.  So much so it seems, that I even started my December Daily.  Yes, I do realize that this sort of goes against everything that December Daily is.  However, I've now decided that all the lead up to Christmas - as in Snow Head Day! - deserves to be documented as well.  

At least, that's what I'm telling myself.  I've realized that the little things like Black Friday Shopping, or Snow Head Shopping, or just the Christmas concerts that happen throughout the season are deserving of storytelling as well.  You may say I've spent a little too much time on Pinterest in the last few months.  Or you may say that I've finally gone way to Christmas.  Both of which are completely true.  

But honestly, once I start, it's hard to stop getting in the spirit. And since I'm way ahead of the game this year - something I'll only be for a few more days, then I'll be just as far along as everyone else is - I'm feeling even happier to be singing Christmas carols, and scrapping away with santa stickers.  And even finishing my first Christmas book of the season.

Yay Christmas!

A Tale of Three Pictures

For the last few weeks on Facebook, there's been this photo challenge.  The challenge entails posting 7 black and white pictures of your everyday life - with no people in them - and then tagging a new friend each day to do the same.  Of course I assumed I'd eventually get tagged and because I'm a sucker, I knew I'd have to go for it.  Today, I'm 3 days in.  Now, the other part of the challenge is that you're not supposed to comment on the photos at all on Facebook.  But I love the stories behind pictures just as much as I love photos, so I'm going to tell you the tales of the first 3, even if they're not entirely exciting...

Photo 1 - Day 4 of a 4 day Adobe InDesign Class.  It was a long week, but it was also pretty great.  I learned a lot about the product, which I'm hoping will mean lots of opportunities in print and print production around the corner.  And of course, the banana is there because I love bananas and that was half of my breakfast.  : )

Photo 2 - The front page of my December Daily album this year. Yes I realize it's only October, but the only way I can stay on top of December Daily is by pre-doing a lot of the inserts.  Also, I LOVE the way it turned out.  This has been the cutest year so far for this scrapbook - even without any photos added.

Photo 3 - St. Mary's church in Annapolis MD.  Such a beautiful church inside and out.  I just couldn't resist a fun uppy shot of the steeple!

Scappy Lessons

The last time I went to England, it took me about 4 months to finish my scrapbook of the photos.  I was lazy, and uninspired and by the time I finished it, I wasn't its biggest fan, and I had already shown everyone my photos on my phone, so no one really cared about looking at the album.  After this trip I decided I would be better about scrapping the photos, and I would get it done as quickly as possible.  It's been a little over 2 weeks, and I just finished printing all of the photos, and a great deal of the journaling.  All that's left is some fun embellishing and filling a few holes.  I'm feeling so much better this time around!  But I did learn a few lessons along the way.

~ When you have a goal in mind, every Best Buy in the metropolitan area will stop selling Canon Selphy printer ink, so you'll be forced to wait on an order from Amazon.  The same will go for 6 x 8 album inserts.  Thank goodness for Scrapbook.com!  Speaking of 6 x 8 albums..

~ The rings in this size binder are either too small or I feel the need to print way too many photos.  That album is bursting at the seems...here's hoping the rings, while too tiny, are strong.

~ A SAG/AFTRA Backstage Broadway interview with Andrew Rannells is the perfect accompaniment for the "watching paint dry" activity level of printing photos.  I almost didn't realize I wasted hours of my life watching a printer spit out photos...

~ Not all photos look great printed.  I'm convinced iPhones trick your eye somehow by making you think you have an award-winning photo on your phone, but when it's printed, it looks like you took it underwater.

~ You will always lose the scissors, stickers, tape roll, or glue amongst your work area, and will then find it 20 minutes later, after you've opened a new one or grabbed another pair.

~ And lastly, getting the scrapbook done early, helps you remember all the lovely stories that happened on vacation which totally helps with the journaling.  Not everyone will read it, but at least it will make you happy!

Friday Five

1. Even though, I'm still dealing with some terribly awful tech issues - some my fault, others not so much - I've been enjoying scrapbooking my England trip.  I love the way it's turning out.  I'm only half way through the trip, but now it's getting to the Cornwall fun, which is all beachy all the time, so that should be super fun to see come together!

2. I cannot wait to listen to this Podcast.  I love Jonathan Groff and honestly, how could a musical podcast be anything but fabulous?!

3. I love those dreamy Supernatural boys, and I'm always hoping they'll get some recognition from the late night shows.  Of course, it usually doesn't happen.  However, this week is Comic Con and they finally (finally!) appeared on Conan.  They were dreamy, and hilarious.  Jensen's Birthday surprise keg for Jared, with an added Keg Stand on national television will be hard to beat.  

4. Speaking of Comic Con - what about the new casting for the next Doctor.  A woman and a woman as super-talented as Jodie Whitaker?  Fabulous news!  I'm so happy to see the show move forward.  I loved Jodie on Broadchurch, and I think she'll be awesome as the Doctor.  And I'm also so happy to see so many of the fans getting on board - we won't mention the jerks that are actually taking the time to complain to the BBC about it being a woman...

5. Last but not least, I'm going to New York tomorrow to see a show I know NOTHING about.  Apparently it's called Puffs and it's about Harry Potter, other than that, I've got no idea.  One of my friends is a big HP fan, and she's seen it - and loved it.  Now she wants all of us to go see it too.  I was a little taken aback when everyone was planning to wear HP gear, since I have none, but I side-stepped the themed outfit, and now I'm just super ready to see it!

On Creativity

Lately, I've been super busy at work.  It's the really, really dull form of busy though.  The kind that forces me to read a computer screen for 8 straight hours a day, editing and formatting tech materials on a constant basis.  It's super boring and I'm getting super tired of it.  However, after work, the creative juices have been flowing.  I've been writing and scrapping and working on projects like there's no tomorrow.

That's the funny thing I've learned about myself.  Apparently, the more bored I get with one aspect of my life, the more excited I get with something else.  And in this instance, it's the writing and the scrapping. I suppose because I don't get to flex those creative muscles as much as I'd like to at work.  And those muscles really need a work out after a full day of editing, so by scrapbooking and writing, I'm working the muscles and getting stuff done.  It's actually quite good for me.  I've never been more tired than I am this week but even with all of that, I've managed to stay up until about 11 every night just working on fun things.

But with the complete and utter boredom at work and the madness of creativity at home, something's had to give. And that something is reading.  For the last year, I've been reading and average of 5 books per month.  This month I read 1.  I'm 20 pages into the second (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) but haven't picked it up in a week.  I think it has something to do with reading ALL day long, that has me avoiding it at night.  But hopefully, this too will pass. I have way too many books (bought 3 more this weekend) to be slacking like this.

But I also have a lot of scrapbooking supplies that need to be used.  Let's just hope I find a way to mix the creativity and the reading together and subtract just a little of that awful work editing.  Life would be fabulous!

Friday Five

1. Since the show Waitress opened on Broadway, a friend and I have been trying to get tickets.  However, the price has always been just a bit too high and there have been other shows that have taken priority.  However, when we heard Sara Bareilles was taking over, we knew we had to bite the bullet and purchase. That finally happened tonight!  The second of my 4 trips this May, is finally set.  Of course, I was ok to wait until Betsy Wolfe took over in June, but I think my friend would have killed me if I waited any longer!

2. I happened upon this site after In a Creative Bubble mentioned using her stamps, and I'm so glad I did.  Every single stamp set she has is absolutely adorable!  Not to mention, she also has Hamilton!!!! stamps.  Seriously?  How perfect are they?!

3. After seeing the horrendousness of what Sean Spicer said during his Press Briefing on Tuesday regarding Syria and Hitler, I needed a serious laugh.  I mean, honestly - his entire job is to not say stupid things and he goes up to the podium and says that?  Anyway, this made me laugh - probably more than it should have.

Josh Lyman's secret plan to fight inflation doesn't look so bad now... pic.twitter.com/R9hya8B3r8

— Kristen (@ScrappyTravels) April 11, 2017

4. With the return of the original King George to Hamilton, this video along with the Coro-re-knee-tion of Brian made me so very happy.  Of course, I'd be much happier if I had tickets to see his return!

Thank you @HamiltonMusical Th King has returned. pic.twitter.com/hTiRhqh4Ch

— Taran Killam (@TaranKillam) April 14, 2017

            

5. Spending Good Friday in my usual way - not at work, shopping with my mama.  Great Friday indeed!

Just a Tiny Bit More Project Life

As I said last night, I had some issues getting good pictures of my spreads for Project Life.  It turns out that tonight was no better.  I have pictures, but they are most definitely not as lovely as I had hoped, so don't judge...

So this is it, so far.  I'm noticing now that I tend to repeat items and embellishments quite a bit, but they're super cute so I'm ok with it.  Some of my favorites are:

In a Creative Bubble Journal cards - I love her style and each time she releases new stock, I must buy at least one set of her super-duper adorable journal cards.

My Emoji journal cards from Studio Calico - I mean, who doesn't love a good emoji?

Hearts - I use heart stickers an embarrasing number of times...

Washi Tape - This stuff is addictive and it doesn't help that Hobby Lobby has it on sale almost every week

Font Candy+: This great app adds text and cool graphics to pictures right from my phone.

Zig Writer: My favorite pen for all my scrapbooking needs.  

 I love this one mostly because this so far has been my favorite thing I've done in 2017 so far.  

 But this layout is my favorite.  Not sure why, probably because it has lots of pink.

Thoughts on Project Life - Two Months Down

For the last 3 years or so, I've been willing myself to complete Project Life.  Every January 1st I have the best of intentions, and then every February 15th or so I let it fall by the wayside where it stays until the following January. It's a whole hellish cycle, that I'd really like to end.  Thankfully, it seems like 2017 is the year to end it.  I don't want to alarm anyone but it's officially March 1 and I'm still up to date on all things Project Life. That's not to say that a new cycle won't begin on March 15.  However, I still enjoy doing it, and I can't seem to stop looking at it, so I'm much more confident this year than most. 

So what's different this year?

First, I went simple.  This is where I screw up usually.  I devise all sorts of templates and plans.  I assume each week must have its own theme, or all pieces of memorabilia and all stories must match each other.  I've now learned that that's not the case.  Simple is your friend.  Whatever I like goes into the album.  Most of the cards I use are white with blank ink from In a Creative Bubble.  I try to jazz them up a bit with some colored ink, or washi tape, but sometimes they're just black and white.  And that's ok.  They still tell the story I want to tell and that's all that matters.  

Next, along the lines of simplicity is your friend is organizing monthly instead of weekly. Weekly is too intimidating.  I feel like you need pics and stories for every single day of every single week.  And honestly, there are days when nothing memorable happens and therefore I have nothing to add to the album.  By organizing monthly, I don't feel that pressure.  There's never a month that goes by when nothing happens.  Some months may be more chock full than others, but the important part is that they all have something in them.  Also, 12 title cards is so much easier to handle than 52 title cards.

Lastly, I don't have to rely too heavily on pictures all the time.  If I take pictures of something memorable, that's fun.  But if I read a book that has a great quote in it, then that gets added too because it's something I want to remember in the future.  Along with pics, in the last 2 months I've added trading cards, quotes, pictures from Seth Meyers Twitter, movie tickets, reviews of shows I've seen and a cancer ribbon.  It's all fun and it looks great! 

So that's where I am right now.  I'm still having fun and I still look forward to editing and printing so I can scrap.  I'm super excited by what I've created and I literally cannot stop looking at it.  Honestly, the reason I'm writing this all tonight - instead of tomorrow when I'll have pictures of the pages - is that I was just looking at it all again, and thinking about how much I love it.  Not perfect by any means but I've finally realized it doesn't have to be.

December Daily: Complete!

Until about an hour ago, this madness was my kitchen table.  You see, I decided that December Daily was going to be completed this evening.  And apparently, when I put my mind to it, things get done.  Because it's done, and it's adorable - in my opinion that is, in case you were asking.

I had every intention of completing it on the go like most scrappers do.  I have huge respect for those ladies - especially the ones that finish it, then photograph it, then blog about it.  It's a massive undertaking; one that I failed miserably at.  I managed to get to Day 10 before abandoning it in favor of actually buying, wrapping, and distributing gifts.  

However, I kept track of the photos I was taking, and the stories I wanted to tell, knowing that I would definitely get back to it eventually.  I just didn't think eventually would come so soon.  I mean, I hate to say this, but last year's still isn't complete.  So I kinda figured this year would be more of the same.  But it seems organization is the key.  I had everything Christmas all set and and ready to go.  So it was only the matter of printing the photos on my handy dandy Selphy, and writing the stories on my journal cards.  Add simplicity to the list as well.  My new motto is Simple is Better - apparently it's working well for me!  

So without further ado, here are just a few of my favorite pages. (Please ignore the weird shadows and carpet background.  I finished at night, and when you finish at night, you need to photograph at night, and there's NO good light at night - at least not in my house...)

December Daily Prep

In an attempt to celebrate the little things in life, I've decided to do December Daily again this year.  Last year, it went much better than I had hoped.  I'm not entirely happy with how the album turned out, but I kept up with it all through the month, so that's progress for me. And since there's always fun things happening around Christmas, it was pretty easy to find things to scrap about.

This year, I have a new motto for creating the album - Simplicity.  I've learned I like the simple look as opposed to all the crazy scrap-happiness that some people prefer.  Don't get me wrong, it's gorgeous but way too difficult for me. My new guru in the simple scrapping movement is In a Creative Bubble.  She makes amazing pocket scrapping cards, and I'm in love with her style.  And it just so happens she designs whole packs for Christmas each year. Let's just say I spent a lot in her shop this year. (The page above is just one of the many I bought!)

Also, in my rush to be organized and just a teensy bit OCD, I've made a list of all the things that I have to scrap in the month of December with corresponding dates for each item.  Yep, I'm that girl.  But the more I think about it, the more I realize I'm sort of losing the fun and the whole point.  The point to celebrate the days in December is to focus on the beauty of the season, and not to make it a chore.  I want to experience Christmas for what it is instead of what it should be.  So the list is getting tossed, and I'm leaving it up to chance. I'll still have all the other lists that I need to keep my sanity in the month of December - cards to make, presents to make, presents to buy, things to decorate, etc. but I'll be documenting all of those things as I go, and hopefully getting just a bit surprised by the awesomeness of the season!

Friday Five

1. I've been pretty excited to see the Gilmore Girls revival on Black Friday, but not nearly as excited as I was when I saw this trailer! AMAZING!  
           

2. I haven't quite figured out why a Welsh dragon has appeared in London, but it's super cool nonetheless.  He looks just like Smaug!

Watch out - a Welsh dragon has appeared outside St Paul's Cathedral in #London!! 😱 #bestintravel @visitwales pic.twitter.com/PQh2shBnDM

— VisitBritain (@VisitBritain) October 25, 2016

3. I've always believed that Shakespeare was Shakespeare and that he wrote all his beautiful works himself.  I've never really bought the critic's point of view that someone as poor and un-educated as Shakespeare couldn't have written these amazing works.  But with the news of Christopher Marlowe being added as his co-author on the Henry plays, I have to say I'm impressed.  I still don't believe he actually co-wrote with Shakespeare, but I do enjoy that the Oxford University Press made the gutsy move to add his name to the text.  Bold move book nerds at Oxford!  

4. Have you scrappers out there discovered The Lily Pad yet?  It's an online shop full of gorgeous digital scrapbooking elements.  I'm in love mostly with giant set of New York themed journal cards for pocket scrapping.  Why does one need all these cards you ask?  To that I reply, why wouldn't you?

5. A friend learned this week that her company would be shutting down at the end of the year, and while this is completely terrible, it's been heartwarming to see all of our friends and families rally around her and her co-workers. They've offered assistance, and love and encouragement and I'm sure have made this transition just a teeny bit less scary.

Friday Five

1. Words cannot express how much I love these stamps.  They are super adorable and fun to color on a Friday night!

2. Rickie Fowler seems to take this whole being single thing way better than I do.  Good for him!

3. For the record, this is exactly how I react when it's time to leave the book store...

           

4. What a fabulous piece on a phenomenal actor!  I had the chance to see Christian Borle play Shakespeare and in 1 month I'll get to see him in Falsettos and in about 7 months I'll get to see him as Willy Wonka.  He's amazing, and I'm glad he's getting the chance to shine!

5. Honestly, how cute is this dog photobombing Pope Francis?  He's just about the happiest dog ever!

Winner Wednesday

I did exactly two marvelous things this Wednesday.  First, I had a brainstorm earlier in the afternoon to kick up my steak a bit by making green chile mayo and making steak sandwiches with that - with frizzled onions as a side.  It was fabulous and actually the first dinner I've made in a while that I actually liked!  Win number one.

And I made these

This is the very first Christmas gift that I've started and finished for 2016.  Two friends of mine went on a cool Road Trip and these will be their gifts - photos of all their awesome adventures that they don't know I have since I knicked them off Facebook.  Can't wait to give them out!  Win number 2.

I can now officially head off to bed much happier than I woke up - Hump days are hard... : )

Friday Five

1. I'm officially in love with this dog.  He has the cutest face and seems like the sweetest! After seeing these pictures, I'm not sure how anyone can say that ALL pitbulls are dangerous.

2. No matter how many people say that Phil Mickelson is all washed up, he always comes back and surprises everyone.  And in this case he doesn't hold back from taking his jabs at the critics : )

3. I'm a sucker for creative ways to raise money for a great cause.  This is one of those creative ways.  Pasta as a way to help those hurt in the earthquake in Italy?  So perfect! 

4. I'm still a huge fan of In a Creative Bubble for all my scrapbooking needs, however I found another designer this week that almost matches her designs - One Little Bird.  Such cute stuff at such great prices!  I love this whole digital scrapbooking revolution - it's just so much cheaper than buying stuff in stores.

5. This means it's super close to Series 4, right?!  Woohoo!

#Sherlock Season 4 -- new image! pic.twitter.com/LurLKUurNZ

— Michael Ausiello (@MichaelAusiello) August 31, 2016

Scrappy Blues

About 11 months ago I went to England and Belgium for almost 2 weeks.  This past weekend I finally completed my scrapbook of those photos.  I certainly hope that happens to other people.  Because I was feeling like quite a slacker.  In all honesty, I had some trouble with it because I was overwhelmed.  I took over 900 photos over 12 days.  That's a lot of editing, printing and situating (my term for what I do when I attempt to scrapbook.)  And since that time I had taken 8 trips to NYC, 1 trip to Texas, celebrated Christmas, and took a trip to the ocean that I also wanted to document.  #Overwhelming

In this ridiculous process of "finishing" the album, aka starting with a plan, scrapping that plan after a month, starting with another plan, then also tossing that plan and finally deciding on the simple option, I learned a few things.

For one, I'm apparently neurotic and slightly obsessive compulsive. Who starts a scrapbook 3 different times?  This girl right here. I originally started with a 12x12 but quickly decided that even though I had 900 pictures, only like 100 were actually good, so there was going to be a lot of filler in the 12x12.  So then I moved on to a 6x8 which was a lot more manageable. But then I also wanted to edit my photos, which is mind-numbingly annoying when using PicMonkey. So I actually relied a lot on my cell phone pics to make up a majority of the album - PicTapGo + My trusty Canon Selphy really made that process so much easier.  So - Lesson 1 I guess is - Don't mess with simple.  If it's overwhelming, then it's not fun any more.  

Secondly, even though I had the best of intentions taking journaling cards with me to write about the trip in the moment, I was much too busy enjoying the trip to take the time to write.  Also, when I did have the time, i.e. on trains, planes and automobiles, the journey was much too bumpy or cramped to spread out and write. While it's best to scrapbook on the go, it's not always practical.  I suggest just taking some notes on things that need to be remembered on your phone, and then writing them down when you get back home. What there was time and space to do though was to edit photos on my phone.  Getting them done a little at a time, instead of one enormous batch was so much easier to handle.  Then printing was a breeze. Lesson 2: Technology is your friend.

Invest in some journaling cards designed by In a Creative Bubble.  She's amazing and makes super simple and super cute journaling cards for travel as well as every day life.  All you need to do print them out and fill them in.  And they look fabulous in an album.  My 3rd lesson: Apparently I like simple designs.

Lastly, as much as I love to scrapbook, and as much as I enjoy looking at everyone else's albums, my friends do not.  I just spent months of my life making it perfect, and only close family actually wants to see it.  Unfortunately, my friends are not crafters making them simultaneously a pain in my neck and no fun when it comes to showing off.  Lesson 4: Get crafty friends!

And one last lesson I learned just as I was writing this post - I need better lighting in the room in which I took these photos of my album.  I promise they looked better on the phone screen...

Scrapping on the Go

Over the years I've read tons of articles of women that have learned to scrapbook on the go. Whether they use apps, or fancy equipment, or just their camera, their albums were super easy and gorgeous.  And I've been totally intrigued by the concept for a while.  I tried it in England, and it didn't go too while.  I had high hopes, but I just couldn't get into the rhythm of it.  

That was of course before I discovered the Pic Tap Go and bought my handy dandy Selphy printer.  Both of these things make scrapping on vacation a breeze.  The process is a fairly easy one - one I sort of just discovered on my own, and one that's probably exactly how the women I've been reading about have been using.  

I take the pictures - which is a pretty important step of course.  Then I edit them using Pic Tap Go (if I haven't said it enough, if you take loads of photos on your phone this is the app for you.  It's so simple to use and makes the shots look so much better than before!)  Then, if they're the 3x4" size, I use PicFrame to combine 2 into a 4x6" size.  Then I use the handy dandy Canon app to print to my Selphy. 

Once I've got my photos, I add a few notes about the pictures, and then embellish with some themed journal cards I've brought with me in my kit. And if I don't have something to fill a space, I leave a note to self so I remember what I want to fill it with when I get home.  The kit isn't anything special.  Just a small plastic container filled with the essentials: scissors, mini paper trimmer, glue, stamp pad, a few stamp sets with block, a few pens, and the cards that match the theme of my trip. Then that's it.  In about an hour today, I had 6 pages complete with all the shots of my trip. Why have I waited this long to learn this?  Such a great concept that I'll definitely be using in the future - of course, I also now have a reason to buy the travel bag for my Selphy now too. Shopping and Scrapping - the best of both worlds!  

Saturday Six

1. Finally (Finally!) getting enough sunshine and warmth to sit on the beach and get in the water.  With all the rain we've had in MD this year, it was great to have a full beach day!

2. Possibly (Possibly!) getting the chance to see #Ham4Ham next week in NYC.  I have high hopes they'll actually have the live #Ham4Ham, and Lin will have someone fun and fairly well-known so my first time NY visitor I'll have with me will get a great chance to see something awesome.  And of course, winning the lottery would be just icing on the cake.

3. I must admit that this ad for the Special Olympics made me tear up upon first watching it. So sweet!  I just love the message!

4. A few weeks ago when someone posted a picture of Lin Manuel Miranda doing Carpool Karaoke with James Corden, I was thrilled.  Now hearing who else will be doing it, I'm so darn excited it's not even funny!

5. I'm not entirely sure where the cat is in this video, but this pit bull is about the cutest thing ever.  The poor thing just looks terrified of a much smaller animal than himself.  How can anyone think an animal this goofy, would be dangerous?

6. Heat Embossing is my new favorite past time.  I may have spent an hour or 2 this week just searching Pinterest for ideas of things to emboss with my super cool heat gun.  It's just so darn addictive!

Craft Magic

I've always been a bit intimidated by rubber stamping. There's a lot than can go wrong.  Also, I can't seem to stamp, cut, draw, or even see straight half the time, so things tend to get just a bit crooked.  Then there's the whole thing with ink possibly not being dry yet, or smudging or a million other things that could go wrong. In recent years, I discovered StazOn ink which has made my life much happier.  

But even with the new lease on my stamping life, I've never had the guts to try out embossing.  There's just way too many tools that required.  But today I went to Paper Source and they were having a sale, and long story short, I've spent the last hour embossing all sorts of things and getting way more pleasure out of it than I should.  I mean, it's like magic! Sparkly, 3D, crafty magic.  I foresee loads of new card designs this summer!

52 Lists: Week 17

It may have something to do with the fact that I've been in spring cleaning mode all day.  And spent a great deal of time reorganizing the craft room.  Or maybe it's just because I spend a great deal of time thinking about craft ideas.  But for whatever reason, I've been thinking a lot about craft supplies and what I use lately.  While I have a ton, there are definitely a few I gravitate to for all my projects.  These are those supplies:

~ Journal cards by In a Creative Bubble: I'm hooked on her style.  They're so simple and clean, and she makes tons for travel which is what I tend to scrapbook.  She also tends to focus on specific places as well - so much so that I really want to go to Portland, Seattle, LA and Hawaii just so I can use those journal cards she's designed : )
~ Watercolor paper: It just looks so much nicer than regular paper.
~ Embellishments: These are my favorite.  I usually tend to go with the wooden looking shapes or the paper clips in different shapes.
~ Stick-on Letters: I use these for everything even when they're not called for. I think I may have the alphabet 100 times over.  The letter sticker aisle is my favorite aisle in the craft store.
~ Stamps: This is more a need to buy than use.  I have TONS and they're all so cute.  But I'm no good at the fancy-schmancy stamping, so I tend to just hoard them instead of using them.
~ 6"x8" Album inserts by SN@P: So much better quality than Project Life.
~ Sizzix paper trimmer: For someone who cannot cut a straight line if her life depended on it, the paper trimmer was a revelation for me.
~ And lastly, in the technology category, the Cuttlebug, the Cricut, the Purple Cow laminator and the Canon Selphy printer - I cannot live without them! 

52 Lists: Week 16

Ali Edwards does this amazing project each year called "Week in the Life".  She basically documents everything that happens - some small and some big - in one week of her choosing.  And she gets tons of scrapbookers to do the same. I'm in awe because she seems to put so much work into it, and it always comes out looking so beautiful.  I've never tried though, because I'm not that interesting and I forget to document things almost immediately after I start a project like that.  

So in honor of this being the week for that amazing project, I thought I'd list the things I always do each day.  And you should start to see why a week in the life from me would not be a real page-turner like Ali's is.

~ Hit the snooze button on my alarm for 30 minutes before getting up.
~ Wash my hair in the morning, dry it and then straighten it.
~ Drive to work with no music on which allows me to daydream.
~ Check Facebook, Twitter, Feedly and my email - about a dozen times over the course of the day.
~ Play 7 Little Words and Red Herring on my phone
~ Call my mom and dad
~ Check Huffington Post or CNN for any breaking news I should know about.
~ Have a cup of tea at some point in the day - usually at the time I can't stand being cold anymore.
~ Mentally dream up the next big adventure I have planned
~ Blog
~ Read in bed before going to sleep.

See?  I told you. Riveting stuff... : )