On what really matters. . .

So, I've been kind of obsessed with my to-do list lately. And my to-do list is long.
On top of the regular chaos of being a mother of three and full-time homemaker, I got a job. Well, two actually. Fortunately one is a massive writing project which will come to an end in a month or so. The other is permanent, and it's a whole new challenge for me. And on top of all that, we've been thrown into a full-time school schedule this week. Suddenly I have to make lunches, organize book bags and papers and make sure everyone is up, dressed, fed and out the door on time EVERY day! Needless to say, I have to be organized and on top of things.
So, I'm obsessed with my to-do list.
This evening I was trying to catch up on a day's worth of chores and tasks after a day which literally had me run from school, to child's dental appointment, to interview for work, back to school. . . you get the idea. I was quickly replying to e-mails and Facebook messages when a sweet little blonde boy appeared beside me with a balloon. "Hey Mom, want to bat the balloon back and forth with me?"
Honestly? My first thought was "Heck no! Leave me alone."
I put him off for a few minutes so I could read a few more status updates and suddenly it occurred to me: "Are random status updates really more important than my son?" I suddenly remembered my "Mommy first" mantra - a credo which guided me to shelve my career, aspirations for a perfectly tidy home and most of my me-time for the past six years.
It won't be long, really, before this sweet boy can think of a million things he'd rather do than bat a balloon around with mom. So I shut off the computer and headed upstairs with him.
It pained me - really pained me - to walk past the kitchen without stopping to quickly make tomorrow's lunches. But I kept going, took my place in the living room and for the next 15 minutes enjoyed a cacophony of giggles as we swatted that silly blue balloon back and forth.
I'm behind on my to-do list now. And you know what? I think I'm a better mom for it.

8 layouts! 8!

I had a fabulous weekend! I was able to join a great group of girls scrapbooking at Embellished Memories for the weekend. (And as a side note, if you haven't been into Embellished Memories lately, you have to get in there. The projects displayed around the store for inspiration are A-MAZ-ING!)
I spent Friday evening and Saturday afternoon and evening there and while I wouldn't say it was my most stellar weekend creatively, I was definitely productive! I completed 5 two-page layouts, two single-page layouts and started a sixth two-page layout. I actually finished scrapbooking our trip to Las Vegas - which we took 5YEARS ago! On top of that, I knocked off my daughter's third birthday photos and a couple pages of my boys I have been meaning to do since I took the photos in 2008. Am I caught up now? Not even close, but I feel better knowing I got something done! I thought I'd post a few photos of my work here for you to enjoy. I hope they inspire you!

From the top: The Sophia Workshop on The Go layout. I had the paper pack but not the stamp set, so I did my own thing with a stamp set I did have.

Second is a layout with the older Caprice paper pack, and thirdly is a close-up of the painted and inked chipboard letters I titled the page with.

Happy Scrappin'!

New Catalogue!

So, have you seen it?
The new catalogue is live! There are a ton of great changes - lower prices on stamps, changes to level two paper packs which make them more user-friendly, new embellishments, and the list goes on! Be sure to check out the back pages - changes to the Stamp of the Month program make it more affordable to get your hands on these limited-time stamp sets!
I'd love to hear what your favourite new paper pack is. I am lovin' Wonderland and Dreamin'. What tops your list?
To have a look through the catalogue online, click here: http://www.closetomyheart.com/Home/Products/Online_Idea_Book.aspx

Happy scrappin'!

What's your scrapbook organizational style?

Well, my baby turned four recently. She had a fabulously fun day, and we had a small party with three other little girls that was super girlie. We painted toenails! The same weekend, I finally ordered the photos of her 3rd birthday that I wanted to scrapbook. But, I haven't yet scrapbooked her second birthday! Leaving the issue of me being hopelessly behind in my scrapbooking aside for now, it got me thinking about organizational styles. Normally, I am pretty darn anal about chronological order. I'm also anal about co-ordination, matching and nice even layouts. I'm super linear. So to scrapbook a third birthday before a second? Yikes! But in this case, I came across a paper pack (Sophia) that matched the theme and photos I knew I'd taken perfectly. I was inspired by the layout in the Sophia Workshop on The Go and all of a sudden just wanted to work on that fun layout!
I have printed a billion photos of Cassie's second birthday (we took her to the Birds of Prey Centre and everything she did was so cute I got a little camera-happy) and honestly, there are so many of them now I don't know what to do with them all! So for now, I'm skipping to her third!!
But what's your organizational style? Do you work chronologically? Seasonally? Do the fun photos or occasions first? Work on whatever you're inspired by at the moment? I'd love to hear what works for you!!

Newsprint Rub-Ons from Close To My Heart

What a Sweetheart!

Ok, so I couldn't wait! I had to dig my new Sweetheart Workshop On The Go kit out last night and do a layout. Buying this kit was a no-brainer for me because, as anyone who knows my daughter can attest to, she is all about pink and there are 3 different shades of pink in this kit! I knew I'd have a stack of photos that would co-ordinate. And maybe it's because I actually planned in advance for once in my life and knew which photos I was going to use, but using the kit was super easy!
I have to admit, I wasn't in love with the layout provided in the kit, plus it required a 6x6 photo and I was planning to use already printed 4x6 photos, so I did a different layout. However, the entire thing is still done with the papers, stamp set and embellishments that came in the kit. It had everything I needed to put together this two-page layout of Cassie's first experience jumping in puddles.
Best of all - it only used a fraction of the paper, so I still have a ton of options for further layouts! Stay tuned for more artwork featuring this kit!

Thinking of ordering the Miracle Workshop On The Go?

Well, let me inspire you! I used this super versatile paper pack to create this layout from our family trip to Fairmont in July 2009. My mom shot a bunch of pics of us in the pool, most of which were taken from a distance, making them perfect candidates to cut down. I found a layout incorporating a bunch of smaller square photos in the Imagine book and got to work. The greens, browns and blues of the paper pack go great with these pool shots, as they would with any outdoor summer fun-type photos! Enjoy!

Happy scrappin'!