Scraps Of Time

yikes, it's almost september!

i had to make a post before our summer comes to an end. it's amazing how fast the season slipped by and yet, how slowly each day proceeded through the summer. for me, it was a summer like when i was a kid, the days were relaxing, filled with reading, visiting, napping, enjoying the smells and warmth of  a summer holiday. we had family gatherings, bar-b-ques, and camp-outs. we rested on our lawn swing with our twinkling "loulou bells" as my dh calls our string lights, and enjoyed the warm summer nights, midnight skies filled with a zillion stars, and, relatively few bugs!

it is still warm here so we will take advantage of our september and lollygag. since our kids are no longer enrolled in the public school system, we don't have to get down to business until the end of the month- yeah! there is the state fair, zoo and more camping to do, then we'll set in for fall and winter and i will once again become disciplined and create for the holidays, that's my goal at least! lol!

i hope everyone has enjoyed their summer  and was able to make time to relax and enjoy your family. i know that now is the busy time for many, but the routine will soon set in... just in time for the holidays!

 i do have a couple of items i will be photographing and posting in etsy, a halloween album, and adornment pack and hopefully, that ephemera altered  book! geesh!

thanks everyone, for still visiting this lazy blogger!-rebecca

happy st. patrick's day!

                                

the sun is shining, all's right with the world! wow, we are cold here in the great northwest, but not like we were. some more snow fell sunday but it quickly disappeared, thank goodness!

i have a few things i would like to share with you, first i am revising, recreating? my adornments. instead of raising the price, i am slipping the vintage images in without cutting, rounding the edges, inking or protecting. i am adding a slip of paper letting you know how to protect them from water driplets, but the rest is up to you to create the look you want. also, i am switching out some of the images for new ones, but keeping the adornment name the same. they will be sent in 4" X 6" poly-bags instead of the 3" X 5" ones, but the papers and images will still measure 3" X 5", they shouldn't be so difficult to remove from the bag! geesh!

a couple of places you might like to visit:

 http://etsyprofiles.blogspot.com/ this is a great etsy profile blog, that is fun to visit to get to know see some of the etsy shopkeepers and  see what handmade goodies that they have to offer. SummerRose is the editor of the paper goods section of this blog, who contacted me to see if  i would be interested in adding my profile.

marty, from ephemera contacted me for an interview about my altered book albums. he posted that interview yesterday. marty's site has all kinds of wonderful tidbits, interviews and links about ephemera, i love this! i have been collecting "junk" all my life, little rusty things, stained papers, books and oddments-ephemera a much more better word than "junk"! lol.

i have to say, this lady has the most beautiful seam bindings ever, they are soft, colorful and take tea-dying perfectly! she wraps everything up pretty and sends your goodies out pronto!   MattieCakes-cute name too!

one last bit of info- i have opened a "studio" on artfire a new handmade selling site. actually i opened my studio in december, and haven't quite figured out just what to stock it with, right now i've just put some items that i have listed on etsy and some paper curiosities. art fire just opened in september, i believe, so we need all the advertisement possible! it offers a few different features, it's FREE, photos can be uploaded and they are bigger, that's always nice. i hope it becomes as known as etsy. if you have some items just sitting around and you would like to maybe see if selling is for you, try artfire, it's totally free! my advice to anyone thinking of selling- be patient! it took at least 3 months before i really started selling on etsy, i did have some dear fans that followed me from ebay, so that helped, but it takes patience and perseverance. keep listing and creating! hey, you have nothing to lose on artfire, it's free!

so, i guess that is all the newsy news here, oh yes, i am really cleaning out and organizing! it feels good, it's distracting, i will be in the middle of creating something and just have to stop and get that dang paper folder cleared out so i can see exactly what i have, or,  that drawer of stuff that keeps hanging up when i open it, geesh! well, when it's done, i will have more flat space to spread my goodies out when i'm in the middle of a project, instead of a little 12" X 12" area.

back to work! enjoy your st. patrick's day events, and your corned beef and cabbage dinners!            -rebecca

this and that

hi everyone, it's been such a long time since i just got on to chat! geesh, i love being busy but the last couple of days the orders have relaxed and i have been able to work on some special orders and my monthly adornment packs for "all moments remembered", which, by the way have some new sneak peeks out for their march kits! they will put new peeks out every day, all week and then reveal the whole kit next week- very fun.

my cousin stopped in today and we got her new shop in etsy, "thymessquare" up and running, yea! granted, we were only able, in the time allotted, to  list only one card, but she will be working on a header and listing more cards, her wonderful soaps, hand sewn baby goodies, and all kinds of fun items! she is very creative and her cards are absolutely beautiful! i will add her shop to my "fellow etsians" link on the left. i can gaurentee quality items and honest delivery!

it's been cold, rainy, then sunny, stormy, and rainy each day  or about a week now. very spring like weather except the cold, well, isn't march "in like a lion and out like a lamb"? lol.

i have received some wonderful emails from all of you, and they are much appreciated! you guys make my week! one nice lady said many nice things and said she is now thinking "out of the box" with her scrapbooking, that made me feel very good! isn't it funny how when we are young, we think "out of the box" with all we create and it's fun and exciting! as we get older, and are taught to "conform" we do end up putting even our creativity in a box and fight to get it out! why do we go that far? geesh!  as i create, i still wonder "well, i don't know how this will go over with everyone, will they get it? will i be embarrassed? what if it's the goofiest thing they've seen?" lol, very frustrating, to say the least! it's much easier now and i usually just create because i love to do it, but when i get special orders and have the freedom to just make it, i still get that funny weird thought, what if?

well, i need to get a few things done, like some st. pattys albums and easter! off to work, thinking of all of you and being thankful. good night, sleep well, -rebecca

love is in the air, sneak peak

good wednesday morning! i thought i would check in and let you see that i am deep in pinks and reds and ready for love! now, i am not usually a "pink" girl but during this time of year, i seem to turn towards that girlie color. i mean, i love the pinks out there and the shabby pinks, and creams. i guess, i must confess, i have always wanted a shabby pink floral love seat/couch with that shabby green and cream stripes ruffle around the bottom, lots of fluffy pillows and cording around the edges, but... living in the northwest and with a man that would "rather not" indulge in that couch, i have collected pine cones, berries, bears, moose and twigs to adorn our shelves and brown leather and earthy soft fabrics to relax on. that is the first me, i guess, and the garden shabby the second me. anyway, where did that all come from? geesh!

here is where i've been for 4 days: engulfed in lace, pinks, reds and sparkles!

 

and here is a sneak peak of the next Pocket Pages Album Kit and Add-On:

 

 

this kit will be called "cupid's bow" 2008. i know i made an album last year called "cupid's bow" but with this obvious cupid with bow, could i call this anything different? i will try and post it today or thursday, depending on which day i feel the urge to clean the floors, and walls and counters and tub and, well, you get the message, this place is a wreck! after having our sweet boy visit us last night,and seeing all the grunge everywhere, i was disgusted at my housekeeping, and swore that i would do a deep and thorough cleaning before this little cutie comes for another visit! but then again... since they are working all week we probably will not see him again until this weekend, so i might as well scrap another day, right? lol. isn't he the cutest? already walking in papa's boots, i think we'll save these boot and give them to him when he's 20!

well, gotta get to bed, school in a few short hours. have a great day! -rebecca

mouse ears, forests, and... canyons?

hi everyone, well, we are almost on our way, yeah! trying to ready for a road trip, sometimes, almost, takes  longer then the trip itself! geesh! the yard work is done, the housework is caught up, the dog has her shots, the bird has his wings clipped, the planning is sort of done; to be honest, we are more "spur of the moment" campers, but, when traveling to a metropolis such as la, we best have reservations somewhere, right? we do.

this is our story, lol. we are tent campers, i confess. but a couple of years ago when we made the trip up through the yukon into alaska to visit my sister, and "clam gulch", we had our fill of tent camping on long trips! every night we would have to put the tent up, just to pull it down after a few hours of sleep. we ran into a swarm of mosquitoes on our first night out after traveling for 2 hours over/through the "hells gate canyon"( 2-lane, sheer cliffs 500 feet down, 7 tunnels within 25 miles, with hairpin turns and no guardrails, 100+ heat!) and couldn't even cook dinner, everyone ran into the tent and fell asleep with growling stomachs and voices. we forged on and after 5 long days of travel, fives short nights of tent up, tent down, and 1 dark, rainy(pouring) night of saying "tah heck" with trying to raise the tent and succumbing to the four of us humans, our african grey and boarder collie/lab, wrapping up in our sleeping bags with pillows, eating crackers cheese and apples, setting up our laptop like a drive-in and watching "invaders from mars" from within the comfort of our expedition, we arrived at Polly's front door! although the trip was extraordinarily beautiful, with sights that still are fresh in our minds; glaciers, wildlife, the hugeness of it all, we swore the next extended trip we would at least spring for a pop-up tent trailer, and that we have!

it is a basic model with something i am very excited about- a screen room that attaches to the awning outside so we can sit out but not get attacked by bees, mosquitoes, or any other pesky, annoying insect that flies, bites or stings! yippee!

so, we begin this trip with a new pop-up trailer and since our van doesn't really have enough horsepower to pull the thing with ease, we decide, as competent adults, in charge of 2 teen girls, said bird and dog, that we are in need of a new vehicle. we purchase a great, new honda ridgeline truck, with great made- for- towing capabilities in the knowledge that that we will need to attach a canopy to comfortably accommodate the pets. we are promised, without a doubt, unless some natural disaster should occur, that it will, guaranteed, be in the shop by this week -NOT. so it goes. that is great, now, should we wait for the canopy to arrive, next week, for sure(?) or go ahead and take off as scheduled, this week. being a parent to 2 teen girls is good, life is good, choices are good - most times. other times, it's a royal pain in the you-know-what. to go, or to wait. hmmm. this news about the canopy has just come to us as i am writing this, funny when you are younger, you take the risk thinking "we gotta do it now!" as we mature we think "what is the hurry? we have the time and resources to think about this and come to a good decision." i really don't want to boil over in the heat of the desert with a carfull of teens and pets but, we started out thinking of taking the van, so why wait?

i guess i better get off of this blog and we better have a family think. have a good night.

if you purchase anything after today, i will not be mailing until we return home in a couple of weeks. i will contact you when i will ship. thanks everyone! -rebecca

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!

      

first snow

in pictures.

happy halloween!

                                               

                                                             boo!

and the winner is...

susan lew is the winner for dede's "survivors crop" donations, yeah sue! thank you everyone who clicked and donated at dede's site, and dede, have a good weekend doing the crop! -rebecca

daisy d's school album

just thought i better leave a post here to keep up. i'm working on a mini album using that daisy d's school paper now, finally, after starting this album almost a month ago. ideas for more albums and images of my next altered book album are rushing through my head.

this time of year is a busy time, not only for our family but for album making. and as far as album making goes, the weather is perfect, rainy, damp and cold, can't go out and clean up the garden or yard- to wet, so indoors all day with maybe a fire and symphony- perfect!

i received a wonderful, hand crafted card from my creative friend dede, just at a time when i was fRaZZleD from putting numerous halloween kits together for mailing! it calmed me down and helped me to focus! thanks dede!

hey jess, if you are reading this, help! get off and start working, we need 200 kits by tomorrow!

just kidding, thanks for all your help cutie pie!

well, gotta get working while i can, i will not surf my favorite sites, i will not surf my favorite sites, well, maybe...just... no!

i'll update and post some pics on this album when i'm near done. maybe ebay, maybe here, not sure where i'll sell it, i miss ebay though, i love that place! hmmm

later -rebecca