Grrrr...

Well, I knew I would have to replace the kitchen faucet one day. Just didn't want to do it yet! I went to turn off the water on Thursday and it would not turn off. Wonderful. Finally jiggled the handle around enough that it shut off. That lasted about a day. So, went to Lowe's with my sis to buy a new faucet. Now, why do they have those faucets on display at 5 feet and above. Sheesh! I got a neck ache just looking up at 'em for so long! I also had to buy a leaf blower and weed trimmer since what I have does not work. (THAT is another story.) Once I got home with my purchases my sister had to leave so I started putting together the lawn equipment with my dd's help. We got it done pretty quick. Soooo...she decided we should just put the faucet in, too. Okaaaay. I don't really want to do it but on the plus side, my dd wants to help. How can you say no to that? We got the old one out pretty quick only to realize the new faucet's pipes would not reach the connection under the sink. Now, it's off to Sears to buy extensions (I am sure there are better, more technically correct words to use here but, I am a scrapper not a plumber.) After that little glitch we got the new faucet on with no problems-no leaks. I think we are good to go.

An added bonus: once we turned the main water line back on the icemaker started working again. Yes, I did put in a new motor about 6 months ago and it worked fine for about 5 months. It just quit working for some unknown reason. So, now I am thinking what a productive day it has been, right?

Oh, not so! For now the dishwasher does not work. I may have ruined it by running it right after we put in the new faucet. At the time, I am not sure if the water supply to the dishwasher was on or off. Whatever the case, it will not fill with water. At least that is my original complaint. So, now to look at new dishwashers. Ok, I knew I needed one of those too. But, come on! Not today!

Remember, I said the original complaint was no water, right?

Well, this is what I find after church today.

The entire kitchen is covered in water. wth! Luckily, I had just bought a Mr. Clean mop at the local Targe' because prior to today I did not have a real mop. Just that sorry Swiffer mop piece of crap. Now, I tell you what! That Mr. Clean mop works awesome-it is just one giant Magic Eraser on a stick! My floors have never been so clean. (See, I am looking at the bright side here!) So, the problem is the dishwasher is full of water even though I have not turned it on. What to do, what to do? I shut off the water supply to it but it is still dribbling. Just lovely.

And, here are all of the dishes I had to wash by hand.

Ok, new dishwasher in 8 days. We are eating off of plastic 'til then. What a fiasco!

More of the May Swirlydoos kit

My daughter. Christmas  2009.

Everything is from this month's kit except the Prima flowers, 7G transparency, and some of the smaller flowers that we received in our goodie bag at Swirly Camp. I used the distressing technique that Robin taught us while we were at camp. Ink and distress the edges of your paper then you just hold the edges's of the paper under running water and get all the edges wet. Then, lay the paper on the counter and start scurnching and forming the edges how you want them. Use your heat embossing gun to dry the paper. Swipe ink around the folds and edges to get more definition and distressing.

This is my dd's Christmas 2009 choir concert. Everything is from this month's kit except the Prima leaves.

This is an old photo of my grandparents seeing us off on our first day of school sometime in the 1970's. My grandparents would drive their fifth wheel trailer around the country visiting with all of the family. It was always a great time when they came because we got homemade doughnuts! yum!

Sketch Challenge

Here's my interpretation of the sketch challenge for the June Swirlydoos kit. This is a photo of my grandmother back when she first married my grandfather. He was a pilot during the war and he took this photo of her with him on each mission that he flew during World War II. He placed her picture among all the dials and controls of the plane so she was with him.

I originally had this on a piece of the cs that came with the kit but realized how bulky it would be in a page protector so I ripped it up and placed it on this 12 x 12 acrylic piece that I bought at the CK convention. I spray painted the piece with white paint around the edges. The only other items not from the kit are the blue Prima rosebuds and BoBunny rub on. I used my Fiskars apron lace punch to create the punched edge around the big circle.

Another Challenge

I completed another challenge for Swirlydoos. This one is hosted by Tina and continues until the end of the month. Her challenge is to use at least six layers of distressed paper to create your layout. An added twist is to make your own rose for the layout. So I followed her rose tutorial to make the blue rose that I added to this page. All the papers are Webster's from the April Swirlydoos kit. The picture is of my daughter in the third grade. Now she is finishing her last week as a middle schooler. Then I will have two high school children! Wow!

The smaller yellow flowers were made by gluing and scrunching layers of Prima hydrangeas together.

Round Robin #4

It's Friday! Time to post my lift for Round #4 of the Round Robin Challenge.

I used some papers by Kaiser to put this one together. Everything is from Swirlydoos kits except the small blue Primas and the Fancy Pants rub on. The Kaiser papers were from the clock technique add-on kit.

This picture was taken around 1891. It is my great-great-great-grandfather Joshua Martin Morris's brother James Henry Morris (age 57) and his second wife Mary Molly (Miser) Morris (age 40) and children: back row; Oscar Noland, age 16; Everett Allan 14; front row: Senie, Garrett G., Malcolm and Artie.

 Mary Molly Miser was his second wife. His first wife was Mary's sister Hannah Miser. [the baby Garrett was born July 1891, Everett would have been 15 in Jan. 1892, so maybe this is a Christmas family picture]. Genealogy provided by my Mom.

Go here to check out the challenge and the layout that I "lifted."

A look back at the Eighties

Well, how 'bout a look back over twenty years ago to the high school prom? It is that time of year again so let's revisit the 1988 Prom! I pulled out these old pictures to scrap because they were perfect for the May Swirlydoos kit-red and black. I was a freshman in college and went back to my high school for my then boyfriend's senior prom. I made my prom dress on my own. Yep, sewed it myself in my college dorm room. I still have it hanging in my closet--too bad I can't fit into it anymore! We double-dated with my younger brother and a mutual friend. At the time I had a black "Knight Rider" trans-am. You know, the one with the gold eagle on the scooped hood, t-tops, and five speed manual transmission. Loved that car!

Kaiser 9 drawer Storage

Here's another altered item that I did while at my sister's last weekend. It is a Kaiser Craft 9 drawer storage system. I decorated this one with Webster's Paper as well. This is the paper we received in our April Swirlydoos kit. First, I found some white spray paint on clearance at HL and painted the drawers and all the wooden pieces white (matches all the shelves in my scraproom). After adding the Webster's to the fronts I used the Tombow metal glue to add wooden feet that I bought at HL and the metal bookplates to all of the drawers. I am using the drawers to store some of my Prima stash. So, I just stuck a flower or two into the bookplate to "label" each drawer's contents. When I run out of those flowers all I have to do is pull out the flowers and stick in the new ones. TADA! The drawer has a new "label".

Just an fyi, the est. 2002 represents the year I started scrapbooking. I have scrapbooks from my middle and high school days but they are nothing like what we consider scrapbooking now.

TH feet

Guess it is time to reveal the $2 wooden box that I altered. I used Webster's Papers to decorated all sides. Added Prima flowers and leaves and some Prima pearls. The bookplate and feet are Tim Holtz. The rub-on is an old daisyd item. I used the Tombow metal glue to attach all the TH metal and it worked great.

Now I Know...

where I got my love for scrapbooking! My mom and I went to visit with my grandparents on Friday. I wanted Grandma to teach me how to knit. I tried to teach myself and gave up-could never get past the first row! Anyway, before we got to the knitting lesson (which was a hoot!) we looked at some more of her scrapbook albums. Yes, you heard me! She has scrapbook albums from her high school days up to the present. That is a lot of albums. And, I never knew she had them until a few years ago when I wanted to make a heritage album. Here Mom and Grandma are looking at one of her scrapbooks.

So, it is something I was born with-I can't help it!

Sneak Peek

Ok, first of all-WOOHOO!!!

I had to get that out of the way! Finals are over until next semester. I can officially say that I am a fifth year Doctor of Pharmacy student! Just 2 more years left! So, after my last final today I came home and started playing in ... you guessed it! I went to my scrap room.

As you know, I went to Swirly Camp at the end of April and had a blast. It was a much needed break right before I geared up for all of my finals. While at camp we received an enormous amount of scrap supplies. After all, it was National Scrapbooking Weekend! I had to buy another bag to bring to pack all of the extra goodies! Some of the scrapbook manufacturers provided supplies for us and requested that we share our projects with them so they could post them to their websites. How exciting is that?! I was able to start on some of my projects today and here is a sneak peek for you.

I used my favorite manufacturers for this: Prima, Webster's Pages, and Tim Holtz. Tombow provided the metal glue that I used for the TH feet and frame. Let me tell ya, the glue works great!

Just 2 more days...

and I will be able to scrap! My last final is on Tuesday, then I will be able to post my layouts from Swirly Camp last weekend. There are a few challenges in the forums at Swirlydoos as well that I hope to start on Tuesday. If you are looking for some inspiration or just lost your mojo the challenges are a great way to get you started. Check them out here. I took a break from studying today just to clean my scrap room. That is as close as I will get to scrappin' until Tuesday.

I will also post pictures from our scrappin' retreat up in the Rocky Mountains last weekend. It was an amazingly good time with some great friends.

Hope everyone has a Happy Mother's Day tomorrow!