Shower for Baby Olivia

Hello Everyone,  today we celebrate the coming of Baby Olivia. 

I'm so happy that CallyAnn has asked me to be apart of this baby shower hop for Sandra of 365 Days of Cricut.  She is due any day now and we wanted to show her some blogging love before the blessed event. 

Each of us has prepared a wonderful baby gift to share with you and then send off to her.  I have to start with a quick card for her new baby girl

This is a standard 5.5 X 4.25 card.  I used A Muse Studio card stock for the base and matt.  The pattern paper is from DCWV Nanna's Nursery.  The stamps are A Muse Studio Little Peanut and Chirrup.   The inside statement reads "tiny yawns and sleepy sighs, nursery rhymes and lullabies"

The gift I made for Sandra is a shadow box picture frame with Olivia's name.  It's just waiting for a few tiny pictures from mom.

Here is an 8 X 8 shadow box frame that I picked up from Michael's.  I used K & Company Small Wonders paper to cover the base of the frame.  Then I used corresponding prints for the letters that were cut from the Mickey Font Cricut Cartridge.  The flowers are from Creative Memories. 

I hope that Sandra will enjoy our special creations in honor of baby Olivia. 

If you stopped by today in the middle of the hop, I hope you will go back to CallyAnn's blog and see what great gifts have been created.  If you have been playing along with our hop today, you should have arrived from Lori.  Your next stop is Monica.

I have blog candy to go along with our hop today.  One lucky winner chosen by random.org will win A Muse Studio Sleepy Sighs stamp set. 

 If you're not already a follower, become one. Then leave a comment below and you will be entered to win.

If you get side tracked along the way, here is the full blog hop line up. 

CallyAnn-http://callyanncraftycreations.blogspot.com - Our host
Nicolette-www.beyondscrapin.blogspot.com-
Laura - www.makinprettythings.com

Colleen- http://www.cbcscrapbooking.blogspot.com

Sigrid- http://wwwlovescrapreflect.blogspot.com/
Yolie - http://www.justyolie.com

Lori - http://www.scrappinmystressaway.blogspot.com/
Tammy- http://cuttinandstampin.blogspot.com - You Are Here
Monica- www.monicascreativemadness.com - Last Stop.

Thanks for stopping by,

Tammy

Winner & Baby Shower Hop

Hello Everyone, 

I have to admit that I'm slow getting back to my blog.  Work's been busy and unfortunately I have to use the accounting side of my brain to pay for the creative side, blogging takes a back seat.  I want to thank everyone for stopping by and leaving such nice comments during the last blog hop.  The Crafting by Designs Network picked up a few new members.  We would love to add more wonderful members.

I used random.org to pick a winner for the A*Muse Studio stamp set. 

True Random Number Generator Min: Max: Result: 5

#5 is Gloria Sauve  her lovely comment:

Hi, Tammy,
I have just one word for your cards: stunning!!!
I'm inspired.
Hugs,
Gloria

 

On, to the next fun and exciting thing.....

 

BABY SHOWER BLOG HOP.

 

Sandra from 365 Days of Cricut is having baby Olivia very soon.  We are having a hop in her honor, sharing our excitement and send her our crafty gifts.  The Shower start March 31, 2012 at CallyAnn's Crafty Creations.  Be sure to stop by tomorrow and enjoy the BABY SHOWER BLOG HOP. 

 

The final bit of exciting new...

 

The Idaho State University Rugby team won the ‎2012 PACIFIC NORTHWEST RUGBY FOOTBALL UNION CHAMPIONSHIP.  The team is off to Santa Rosa, California over Easter weekend to play in a quarter-final tournament and hopefully keep the playoff streak going.  The National Finals will be held in Salt Lake City, UT  (our own back yard) in May.  

 

If your heart is open and feeling generous, we are selling T-shirts to help raise money for the trip.  They shirts are $15.00 each, there are two styles to chose from and come in sizes S - XXL.  There is $3.00 for shipping.  Contact me at tammy@cuttinandstampin.com if you are interested. 100% of the $15.00 goes directly to the team. 

We appreciate all your help and support for the ISU Rugby team. 

I will see you back here tomorrow for our Baby Shower Hop. 

Thanks,

Tammy

Wings and Blossoms Blog Hop

Hello Everyone,

I'm really excited to be a part of the Crafting by Designs spring Wings and Blossoms Blog hop.  This wonderful adventure makes 18 wonderful stops.  Each designer showing their wonderful creations dealing with Wings and Blossoms. 

First I want to encourage all of you that stop by to join out little group over at Crafting by Designs.  We are a marvelous group of women that create for our personal enjoyment and created friendships that will last a lifetime.  To find out more click HERE.

I'm the second stop in today's adventure.  You should have arrived here from Doris at Moms Been Scrappin .  If you just happen to stop by today, take a step back and start at the beginning and see what wonderful project Doris created today.

Today I have two cards for our theme.  The first is on to celebrate the WINGS portion of the hop. 

This is a standard 5.5 X 4.24 card.  I used A Muse Studio Bellini card stock for the base, stamp sets Papillon, Charming Gardens and Beautiful Botanical.  The butterfly is colored with Copic marker numbers Y13, Y17, YR12, R24 and 100.   All of the products can be purchased HERE.

The second card is to celebrate the BLOSSOMS portion of our hop. 

\

This is also a standard 5. X 4.25 card.  The Base is A Muse Studio card stock in Heather, the  matted is Sage green.  The stamp set is Wild Rose from A Muse.  I used Copic marker numbers R85, R8,81V17, V15 and BV00.  The products can be purchased HERE.

One lucky blog hopper will receive this wonderful Woodland Friends stamp set from A Muse Studio.

All you have to do, is become a follower and leave a comment.  For a chance to win the Grand Prize package, visit all the blogs in our Wings and Blossoms Hop and leave a comment on each.  Doris will chose a Grand Prize Winner on Tuesday.

Your next stop is Cindy at .Papers Pads and Pictures www.paperspadsandpictures.blogspot.com  Hope you have a great time.

If you get disconnected along the way, here is a complete list of all the blogs.  For more inspiration, challenges and friendship join us at Crafting by Designs. 

Blog Line up:

Doris at Moms Been Scrappin http://momsbeenscrappin.blogspot.com 

Tammy Smith at Cuttin’ and Stampin’ http://cuttinandstampin.blogspot.com

Cindy Leek at Papers Pads and Pictures ww.paperspadsandpictures.blogspot.com

Julia Vazquez at Papers and Scraps Creations http://paperandscrapscreations.blogspot.com

Sharon Duff at Sharons Scrappin http://www.sharonsscrappin.blogspot.com

Chrissie Tobas at Harvestmoon Papiere http://harvestmoonpapiere.blogspot.com/

Rene van Wyk at Life in the Craft Lane http://www.craftlane.blogspot.com/

Aletha Jane Williams at AJ’s Designs http://ajsdesigns.blogspot.com

Tammy Martinez at Whimsically Me http://tammartcards.blogspot.com

Suzanne Russell at Beauty and Blessings http://suzanne-russell.blogspot.com 

Beth Pollack at Mossberry Cottage http://elisabetpollock.blogspot.com 

Berni Cuttino at Chasing the Dream http://berni46.blogspot.com 

Deb Fortin at Paper Arts and Other Crafty Things http://www.paper-crazy.blogspot.com 

Gwen T at Wind Chimes and Lilacs http://windchimesandlilacs.blogspot.com 

Theresa Gerber at Crafts Friends and Angels http://craftsfriendsangels.blogspot.com

Susan Janicki StampersBest at http://stampersbest.blogspot.com 

Gloria Suave at Globug Ideas http://www.globugideas.com 

Yvonne Spinks at One Creative Momma www.OneCreativeMomma.blogspot.com the end

29 Day Challenge - End Results

Hello Everyone, 

Wow, it has been an amazing 29 days.  The first day of February I started working on the challenge put on by I'm an Organizing Junkie.  The challenge was to pick one room in your house and organize it in 29 days.  Take before and after pictures to show the progress.

I chose my front bedroom.  This room started out as the office/storage room.  This room has always been the place to hold financial papers and store the important things that just can’t go in the basement.  While I was finishing my degree, it’s the place I did my homework.  Over the past five years, it’s become the place to drop anything and everything that doesn’t have a home.  Reality is, it’s the place things got dropped because I was too lazy to put the stuff away or find a home for it. 

Here is the first before and after picture.  As you can see, I can’t even get into the room. 

I had to create a plan to tackle this room.  The first thing I did was read a few websites on how to organize a space like this.  The next thing was to plan what steps I needed to have completed by the end of each weekend.  The next step was to head to the store and purchase some storage bins for sorting. 

The hardest part of this challenge was purging all the clothes.  I’m a serious clothes collector with a huge yo-yo weight problem.   So that means I have clothes that range from size 8 to 20.  When I started working on the clothes, I had to realize that I was never going to get into the size 8 again.  I took a long hard look at myself and decided that I was never going to get smaller than a 14.  Anything that was smaller than an XL was set in the donate pile.  Should I ever lose more than 20 pounds; my reward will be to go clothes shopping.  I was not able to purge the cedar chest.  I really tried, but the tears wouldn’t stop and so I figured I’m just not ready for that step.

I had four piles of purged stuff.  One pile was professional clothes that went to an organization that helps to outfit unemployed women for interviews.  The second pile was everything else that was still in good shape but just needed a new home.  I took games, puzzles, purses, Tupperware and casual clothes.  One bucket was for stuff that needs to be shredded.  Every night, I spend about 15 minutes shredding until the machine is full.  I figure I will be done in another week.  The last pile was paper crafting stuff.  All of this was placed in the basement in the crafting area of the basement.  This will be the next area to organize.

Here is a picture of the casual clothes.  I had to make three different trips to Deseret Industries.

The main thing I did to create space was to put shelves in the closet.  These shelves help to hold a few things that I don’t want in the basement, such as photos and special mementos.  My son welded some metal rods onto a plate to hold my thread.  When just stacking them, they fell over.  I used magazine holders for both the magazines and to hold all of the past taxes and got rid of the bulky binders.  I then used one bag and placed the rest of the bags in it.  

The best piece of advice I can give anyone – If you are taking on a big project discuss what you are planning with the whole family.  I really thought that this was Tammy taking on the house. It turned out to be Tammy taking on the family and the house.  Everything I was ready to get rid of, husband and son wanted to keep. 

I am very excited that I was able to finish my room.  There is still plenty left to do.  I didn’t complete the second area that was on my list, but I feel like I got a really good start.   I would love to hear what you think of my change. 

28 Day Challenge Week 3 Update

Hello Everyone,

I've been working on the this challenge at I'm an Organizing Junkie. 

When the challenge started three weeks ago, I was going to take on the world and get two rooms cleaned out and organized.  Today, I feel like I've been smacked in the forehead with a 2X4.  What in the world was I thinking? 

Both areas were so bad that even thinking about going into the rooms would give me a headache.  Most of my thinking was to back the truck up to the open window, grab the snow shovel and just start throwing stuff out.  This wasn't really the answer, but man it was worth the thought. 

Anyway, I have managed to complete one of the rooms.  The bedroom that was overloaded with clothes, papers and everything else that didn't have its own place.  Here is a picture of the top of the dresser.  I haven't seen it in quite some time. 

The green bucket in the bottom of the picture is waiting to be taken to the shredder.  In the mirror you can see the top of my cedar chest.  That's another piece of furniture that was sooo berried that I hadn't put anything in it in two years.  I wanted to cry when I realized that some of the special things that should have been in there were damaged from just being placed in the room instead of put away. 

My second area has been much more of a challenge.  After dragging my husband down the stairs, I showed him a picture off the Internet of what I wanted my space to look like.  The man was laughing so hard he had tears in his eyes.  Apparently I was way off base.  The first problem was that my side of the basement didn't have electricity.  Second, my space has the overflow of toy, skis, car seats, horse tack and boat accessories that won't fit in HIS garage.  So the light bulb switched on and I said, "Why can't I have the other side of the basement?  Mike has moved out and we don't exercise anymore, let's get rid of the extra living room furniture, old Christmas stuff and gym equipment."  Well, the can of worms was opened. 

I realized that this is no longer a TAMMY is taking on the cluttered house challenge.  This is TAMMY taking on the family challenge and that can be done in 29 days.  

I am not the only one it the house that has a problem.  Every member of my family is that exact same.  You can't throw anything away because you just might need it one day or someone gave you something and you just can't part with it. 

I have until Wednesday to try and make some progress with my craft things.  Let's hope I can come up with something by then.



28 Day Organize CHallange Update #2

Hello Everyone,

I hope everyone had a long weekend like I did.  I started my weekend early on Friday and could still use another day off to finish everything I wanted to get done. 

The first part of the weekend I spent with my husband and son in Idaho.  It was nice to spend some time with him and his friends.  The rugby team won their game on Saturday.  The team suffered a few injuries, but I don't think any major damage was done.  All of them should be back on the field and ready for the next round in Boise this coming weekend.  I must say that my kid will be looking like a raccoon for the week.  His nose was about twice it's normal size and not quite the right color. 

I was left with Sunday and Monday to myself and my organizing projects.  I must say that being involved in the challenge at I'm an Organized Junkie is lighting a fire under my backside and making me take charge of my clutter. 

SO with two days to my self and one room that I hadn't really tackled, it was time to dig in.  Honestly, I wanted to back the truck up to the window and just start shoveling. I must admit that I have made good use of my garbage can this weekend.  Could there be anything in that room that was needed or wanted?  I haven't been able to step foot in there for a long time.  I could get to the clothes rack that sits in the door way and that was about it.

I started with bins lined up in the hall.  One for craft stuff, quilting stuff, cook books, office supplies, books and clothes.  I had a pile of things to go into the cedar chest and things that should be in the closet.  Once all the clothes were out of the room, it was easier to see what was left.  I emptied out the top shelf of the closet that had 15 years of financial information.  It's now down to a few magazine holders and one great big bucket to be shredded.  The Husband wants to have a fire. 

I have a trunk full of games and puzzles to take to the good will.  Today I want to spend some time trying to find out about the homeless shelter and school that I know exists in town.  I have two 25 gallon buckets of office supplies like paper, note books and binders that they might be able to use.  Not only am I a craft supply hoarder, but an office supply hoarder as well. 

So, the front room is clean.  There is a floor and the top of every piece of furniture is cleaned off.  All the papers are filed, the printer and scanner are in their proper homes and all the spare buttons are in one dish with room to spare.  All of my kitchen chairs are now........in the kitchen.

Now, it is functional?  I'm scared to death that in three weeks, the place is going to look the same.  Did I make the office a place where the important papers just don't go, but go in the right place?  I don't think the challenge is just about getting your space in order.  I think the challenge is going to be how long can you keep it in order.  Here is a picture of the clean room. 

I wanted to show how I decied to sort my 8.5 X 11 sheets of paper.  I have these plastic drawers that I purchased from Staples.  Then the Back Pack folders were on close out for $0.50 a package. 

I didn't really care what was on the front so I have quite a selection of folders.

I got busy with my lable maker and cut three of each name.  The first one is here on the folder tab.  The second on is on the front of the drawer.  And the third lable is on the sample card that I cut from each piece of paper and placed on a ring.  The ring will be fasten to the end of my work table with a string that I can grab and bring to the top of the table when I'm looking for a specific color.  Kind of like my scissors that are hooked to the side of my quiting frames. 

The drawer sets are 36 inches tall and will fit great under my work table.

I hope all of you that are working on this  Challenge are doing well.  I appreciate your comments and hope to see your progress soon.

28 Day Organization Update #1

Hello Everyone,  It's time for an update on my progress in the 28 Day Organization Challenge.  The challenge is being presented by I'm an Organized Junkie. 

During the first 12 days, I've been able to create a vision of what I want my two spaces to look like when I'm done.  Then I've taken my husband by the hand, shared my ideas.  At this point, he pointed out a few changes and added his own ideas.  I really thought that my two spaces didn't effect him, so when he started giving out ideas I was really surprised at what he had to say. 

We purchased a table top from the good will and added legs so that it's counter height because I like doing things standing up.  The table became the sorting place.  I have labeled bins around the table with garage sale, good will, snow stuff and must save. 

The Good Will pile is over flowing and over the weekend we made two trips with more to go.  I have also sorted all of my 8.5 X 11 paper and have them sorted by color and in drawers that will fit under the table when I'm ready to move it into my craft area. 

This week's plan is to take on the 12 X 12 paper and the over flowing clothes. 

I love to hear all your comments and suggestions.
Thanks for stopping by.