Completed Coupon Organizer

As previously mentioned, I have made a coupon organizer for my Mom. Here is the final outcome:

Love it? Want to make your own? Feel free to email if you have any questions on how to do it. With gas over $4 per gallon and milk about the same, couldn't hurt to be a little more conscious of our spending habits, right? Plus it gives us another scrapooking project! This one was made with paper from My Mind's Eye, another fav!

Easy Idea

My Mom & I were talking about all these CFO's (Chief Family Officers) who were making a quest out of living frugally. They take clipping coupons to the next level. They keep their blog and give an account of what they spend. It's astounding how many of them are cutting their grocery budgets down next to nothing! In fact I read one woman's blog where her grocery budget, with 3 girls, was $800 for the YEAR. I know some people who spend that per MONTH! So, while you'd think she'd be half way through her funds by now, she actually has MORE than she started with by using coupons with in-store specials and getting many things free. It's unbelievable. Here's a link to one that shows you how to do it: www.moneysavingmom.com

So, the question was with clipping (or printing your own) coupons, how do you keep them organized? Here's my version of just that. It's complete except for labeling each pocket. With this black cardstock I used, I was considering using a white chalk pen at the top of each library pocket. The categories would be, for example, dairy, bread & bakery, breakfast, lunch, dinner, drinks, personal hygiene, pet, baby, even specific stores or restaurants you would regularly go to. This is an EASY, EASY project. Took me less than an hour to have most of it together and I used the leftovers from my September "Circle of Friends" acrylic album sample for the class at Heartfelt Creations! :) (Paper by American Crafts) After punching the holes I used binder rings to hold them together.


My Mom liked the idea and I am making her one. I will post the photos when it's finished. As always, would love to hear your comments/feedback! Have a great weekend. Looks like the weather here in Utah is FINALLY cooperating and we are expecting fantastic sunny days for the foreseeable future! Enjoy!

Jackson Hole "Babymoon"

This poor project has been on my book shelf, incomplete, since Nolan was born nearly 18 MONTHS AGO! So, a couple of weekends ago, after a Sugar Free ROCKSTAR (until 2am) I cleaned and completely organized my scrap studio. Infact, I will have to post new photos, as I am very pleased with the result. Anyway, I decided it was hightime to finish this. That's ONE of the things I'm trying to implement into everyday life....DO IT NOW. Get it done and move on!

So, the album (8" x 8") went really quick with great help from these COSMO CRICKET papers and die cuts! They're awesome and make it easy to complete a project like this. I love, love, love everything from Cosmo Cricket! Check it out for yourself at http://www.cosmocricket.com/. Their new line HELLO SUNSHINE is perfect for your summer projects!!! Pair it up with one of the Blackboard albums...oh, how cute!! And their blog is awesome too: http://www.cosmocricket.blogspot.com/

More updates to come.

M.I.A. and a sneaky peeky

Have I been "missing in action?" Only here, every other part of life, definitely not. I've been in a little bit of a "funk" lately, in large part due to my lost camera. But I've now fixed that!! Life is getting back on track. I've rounded the corner and have SO much to share. Lots of good things happening, the first is THIS:

YAY!! Meet the Sony Cybershot DSC-T300, my new best friend. I toiled over whether to get another point & shoot or an SLR, but with my lifestyle this works much better. And thus far I've been very impressed with the features and options. The back is a 3.5" touchscreen display. You can edit onscreen before you ever download the photos to your computer and even review your shots in a slideshow with music! The best features I've discovered are the Smile Shutter and the Child vs. Adult Priority settings. The Smile Shutter recognizes facial movement, as when someone laughs or smiles and it takes the shot (instead of waiting for my easily distracted, slow hand to press the shutter). The Priority settings use scene recognition to focus more on children's (or adult) faces in the scene.

So, were back in business in the camera department! And I have much to catch up on. I have completed all three (3!) acrylic albums for my classes at Heartfelt Creations and will post them here very soon. I have opened a little shop on ETSY and have sold everything that I've put up! I will be making more goodies to post onto the ETSY.com store and will preview it here first, so keep your eyes open for that along with a link.

Lastly, I have a little "sneaky peeky" at my (and Lauren's) new venture!

Any ideas? This calls for a give away!!! If you think you know, post a comment and the first one to get it right will get some goodies to enjoy.

It's GOOD to be BACK!

The missing piece of me

While I will admit the posts have been sparse lately, there is good reason. Between the 3 albums I have to make for the scrapbook classes and being elected to the Booster Club Board for Lauren's gym and trips to the emergency room with Nolan and the other daily events of life, I'm barely keeping my head above water. And this is difficult with a major piece of me missing...

When one has a small child it's extremely important to have those little safety latches on the cabinets. And I do. However, they're incredibly cheap and break WAY too easy. At one time I had plenty of extras but as each member of the house has broken one here or there they've all been used up. After many trips to the normal places (Target, Walmart, Babies R Us) I can't find the same ones I previously bought. The advantage to using the same ones is that I only have to replace the latch, not the piece that screws into the cabinet door. If I can't find the same ones, then I will have to go around the house and replace with whichever new ones I buy. Yes, this does relate to the title of this blog!! Bear with me.

So, in having some latches broken, Nolan has figured out there's so much more to get into. The medicine drawer in the master bath, the kitchen garbage....ahhh, here we are, the gist of the story. Nolan is such a wonderful helper. When he's done with something he loves to throw away the paper or package in the kitchen trash. Then he will return and smile & clap his hands and we'll exclaim "YAYYY Nolan" in encouragement. Well, as the latch has been broken for a week or so I've discovered things missing. When he finished his juice, guess where the sippy cup goes? Yep, in the trash! Silverware, yep! Toys and books, yep! I find myself going through the trash a couple times a day (YUCK).

One last scenario, hang in there. So, last Monday Lauren took my camera into gym. We had this cute chipboard album made for the Owner of her gym (she's also Lauren's coach) which spells out the name of the gym. Lauren was going to take photos of the girls and other coaches so we could put the album together. Anyway, she returns the camera to me that night. Then the next afternoon, Travis cleaned out my car (more like pimped out my car) as he needed to use it to take his boss and some visitors around his territory the next morning. Everything came out, even the car seat ( and toys & cheerios & school papers...you know how it can get).

I can't wait any longer.......MY CAMERA IS MISSING!!!!! I went to get it out of the car (where I left it last Monday) and NOT SO MUCH. Travis insists it wasn't there Tuesday when he mucked out the car. So after much deliberation I have come to the conclusion that (as he LOVES anything electronic looking) I think Nolan has thrown it away :( Ipods, cell phones and the like are fair game for Nolan if you leave it within little hands reach. He'll push buttons, reset defaults and place random calls, he's even sent a (blank) email from my blackberry!

So, while I haven't been posting lately, rest assured I have been looking under furniture, between cushions, in drawers, EVERYWHERE for my precious camera. I am LOST without it. It truly is a "piece of me." I have come to carry it everywhere like my trusty sidekick. I am absolutely beside myself. One upside, I hadn't taken any pictures that hadn't been downloaded. But still, the thought of having to go buy another camera just puts a knot in my stomach. If anyone has any suggestions as to a good camera to consider, I'm open!

Still Here...

Yes, I'm still here. So much going on with Mother's Day and an impromptu trip to Napa, California last weekend. The weather was PERFECT, especially for laying out by the pool.
Now that I'm refreshed (sort of) I am getting ready for my next three classes that will be taught at Heartfelt Creations in Sandy, Ut. There will be an album class for July, August & September. All the information (for all 3 classes) will be posted in their newsletter which comes out July 1. To sign up for their newsletter, please visit: http://www.heartfeltpages.com/ . I will also be posting photos of each album as I complete them between now & the middle of June.

**Also, don't forget about the Making Memories Baby Love book give away.** Customize your MM Desktop Organizer and get your photos to me by May 25th! The winner will get a copy of the NEW book! If you can't find one locally, please contact me & I can help you get / find one. libby@scraphappystore.com

Create Joy

Happy National Scrapbook Day to all!! Hopefully you are all busy creating your Making Memories Desktop Organizer for the "BABY LOVE" book give away. It truly is an adorable book! Here's a link to check it out: www.makingmemories.com/Products/detail/baby-love

I, too have been busy, creating joy of my own. An 8" x 8" acrylic album by Rusty Pickle decorated with Basic Grey papers & ribbons. There is a slide show to the right that shows all the pages. This was a very fun project and I enjoyed the challenge of having to think ahead to the next page or two because what is on the backside will show through to the front! Inking the edges & stamping with StazOn and using rub-ons made it easy and super cute. Please leave your comments, I'd love to hear your thoughts :)