month-in-review | march 2012

31 days full. Wow, what a busy month for so early in the year. Spring Break has come and gone...and it was beautiful and restful...and now the countdown is on for Summer break. Our last day of school is in mid May!

Did you notice all the accolades under Isabella's name? She said she was "following in Zachi's footsteps." He went to the County Art Show several times, was in the Talented and Gifted Program and attended Academic Olympics for many years.  That girl adores her big brother and remains his biggest fan. There are times when she talks about him and her eyes become moist with tears remembering how much fun she had with him. On the Report Card front she missed all A's by just one point {3 A's and 1 B}.

Not to forget Victoria, she made straight M's {Mastery} for Kindergarten and is quite the little mini Mathematician. Her reading skills are progressing so well. One night I heard her on the couch reading one of the Easter story books. And she's become a {front} toothless wonder. These two girls are keeping the Tooth Fairy extremely busy the last six months!

Photo taken with the iPhone Instagram app at the Muffins for Mom event this month. If you want to follow along on Instagram, I'm monikawright.

Yesterday was the day I decided that the month-in-review series will be an ongoing project for me. It's all these really small details that make me realize that I'm capturing easily forgotten details that my much older self will appreciate.

Month-In-Review 2012 Archives

January  |  February  |  March  |  April  |  May  |  June  |  July  |  August  |  September  |  October  |  November  |  December

the twinery & nikki silvis | product showcase

Have you ever begun a project having absolutely no idea where it was going to end up? Yep, me too! I do it all the time and I'm always happy with the results. Creating is FUN and I do enjoy the time in my craft room!

Welcome, everyone! Today and tomorrow, design team members from The Twinery & Nikki Silvis will be presenting creative and innovative ideas for your crafting pleasure in our product showcase. You'll want to begin at The Twinery blog and then comment on each blog along the way to be eligible for the giveaways in our two day event.

Beginning with an upcycled book, I removed the spine and what was left of the pages I had already used on other projects. Using Mod Podge made adhering my newly crafted pages made with the Audrey Collection Kit from Nikki Silvis simple and effective. Yesterday was my birthday, so on a whim I decided to make a book to document the gift of my 48th year...and that's where all the letter stickers and die cuts will in the kit will come in handy.

Just take a look at how layers and layers of Denim, Peapod and Buttercream baker's twine pair so well with those gorgeous patterned papers.

I've added different page dimensions for a little surprise each time a page is turned. The different heights, widths and patterns keeps it interesting and page-turning {sorry for the pun}.

And of course I had to add in at least one page from the original book.

Here  you can see how I constructed my pages and used the Mod Podge to adhere the layers on top of each other atop the original book spine.

Always a good idea to use baker's twine on your shipping tag..so much cuter, especially when adding one of the die cut shapes from the kit.

Here's the middle, which might give you an idea of how I constructed my revamped, recycled, but now cuter-than-ever mini book. I made the "spine" of each page layer somewhat smaller than the one before it.

Oh yeah, and the cover was embellished with more baker's twine and embellishments from this adorably fun, colorful kit. See what I mean about how perfectly paired The Twinery twine and Nikki Silvis' Audrey collection is?

I fussy cut the heart {because I love}, the coffee cup {because I'm addicted} and the lipstick {because I think Bobbi Brown makes the best lipstick ever} and tied them onto the dangling twine strands. I see lots of fun times ahead in the next twelve months as I fill my "48" book with memories.

I'll let time dictate whether I will cover the spine and embellish the front cover or leave as is...all part of the creative process. Don't forget to comment on each blog and good luck in the giveaways! Your next stop is with the delightfully talented and creative...

Angi
For an extra chance to win, be sure to visit with
The Twinery
for Friday's line-up of designers and their projects!

MORE BOOK PROJECTS

Book Page Paper Flower Tutorial...and here, too

49 Lists

Book Page Canvas Art

52Photos | door

my 52Photos capture

The basement door. It's so old that it has sagged on its hinges, but because it's such an unusually wide door, it has been difficult to find a company to make a door for us. It needs to be repainted as well. Each and every one of its 12 panes needs to be cleaned and shined since Duke loves to lie up against the door, especially when we're downstairs. And he also seems to choose this spot to shake off the wetness from his fur every chance he gets. It's a dog thing. When we first married, and since I am older than Gordon, I always said that it's a good thing the door is so wide so that one day he can push my wheel chair through the door. I truly hope that doesn't happen, but at least we're prepared. 

next week's theme

the wrap-up

Be sure to stop in to see Lisa today, she's posting her 3rd round up of your 52Photos Flickr group photos.

rules of love | iloveitall.etsy.com giveaway

Did you know that the I Love It All Etsy shop is now on Facebook?

UPDATED  |  ...and the winner is commenter Freja who said, "Ooh, how lovely!!"  

stay tuned

Don't miss the discount code that lasts just until 9am EST today!

happy birthday to you {and me}

That's right, it's my birthday today and I've already received well wishes, gifts, hugs and kisses!

Fun, festive and ready to make your next happy birthday party celebration complete. Just pop this modern print into an 8x10 frame and place on the mantle or gift table for perfect pop of color. Also new to the shop, is the option to add your custom color to any stock print offered...don't be limited by the colors I've listed, now you can choose the color to best fit your home decor!

sizzix spring fling blog hop

I was thrilled to be included among the extraordinary crafters in the Sizzix Vintage  and The Twinery blog hop and honored to have the opportunity to create a project with the Caddy Bag die Eileen Hull designed for Sizzix. She has such talent and a great knack for creating dies that are multi-purpose. You can see more of Eileen Hull's amazing die designs for Sizzix here. 

And just to show the many uses for one die...take a look at how I used the Caddy Bag die in the mini album I made for my Month in the Life I'll be documenting in April. I've pre-assembled my mini book with 30 pages for each day of the month. I just adore layering smaller pages, like this one made with the Caddy Bag die by Eileen Hull, with larger pages to add a bit of surprise as you turn the pages.

Yes! That's the same die as I used to create these two projects as well. Would you have ever guessed?

Be sure to hop along with the rest of the designers, beginning at Eileen's blog, where the details of a giveaway are revealed!

i heart flowers

did you notice the heart-shaped leaf?

scrapbook. saturday

I'm over at write.click.scrapbook. today with a free download that I used for a mini book...continuing with the March Mini Madness theme we've had going on all month. But, the journaling spots could easily be used on layouts, Project Life or card making.

You'll want to see what the other write.click.scrapbook.'ers are sharing as well!

30 Days of Lists | Days 1 - 22

Hard to imagine that we're this far into the month of March already. Guess it's time to share my 30 Days of Lists mini book to date. There are still one or two left of the second round of Journals that I added to the shop a while back.

Day 1 | Challenges to Accept

Day 2 | Goals for this Month

Day 3 | Recipe for a Perfect Weekend

Day 4 | Things I'll Put Off Until Tomorrow

Day 5 | Words To Live By

Day 6 | Things to Collect



Day 7 | I Am Inspired By

Day 9 | Happy Places

Day 10 | Today Was Awesome Because

Day 11 | Right Now I Am

Day 13 | My Superpowers

Day 14 | 10 Years Ago

Day 14 | Tools and Toys to Try

Day 15 | Overheard Today

Day 16 | Pet Peeves

Day 17 | Favorite Days of the Year

Day 18 | Family Traditions

Day 19 | You Can Make Me Happy By

Day 20 | Favorite Memories

Day 21 | With An Extra Hour In the Day I Would

Day 22 | My Care Package

Some of my photos were shot with my fancy schmancy DSLR and some were shot with my iPhone 4s. My favorite list so far is Day 10 and my favorite list designs are Day 4 and Day 14. Here's another post about my 30 Days mini book.

HELPFUL LINKS

Read more #30lists posts

See more Mini Books + Journals from I Love It All

Cute and colorful Embellishment Kits