project life :: week 2

week 2 spread with insert

Holy inserts, Batman!  This is fun stuff!

week 2 spread (without insert)

Week 2 :: left side

week 2 :: right side

This week I was able to put in some "stuff", which was kinda cool!  We got a new TV, so I put the quick start guide in a pocket. We went to a concert so I punched holes in the program and stuck it, along with the tickets, in the book. Our nephew turned five, which meant this week we needed an insert! (Becky Higgins "G", which is a bit smaller, 12x10).

insert front side

I put lots of photos in the pockets on the front with one journal spot that also held the title and some tickets from Chuck E. Cheese's.  Of course I got some flair from A Flair for Buttons in there along with some alphas and other stickers.

insert back side

On the back side of the insert I also left a place for journaling. There was an injury, so it needed documented.  More flair, more alphas, more stickers.  The picture of the three of us was originally printed out (from one of the games) on a piece of paper.  I went ahead and scanned it in, resized it (it was a little too big) and printed it on photo paper before I stuck it in the book.

what happens to tickets when they go through the wash

Concert tickets went in a pocket (after one had also gone through the wash).  I used the tiny attacher to staple them in (love that little thing)!  I love that B. now says, "Hey Mom, are you going to put that in your book?"  I love it even more that she has "a book", too. What an awesome project.

The basics:  Becky Higgins "A" and "G" style page protectors, Seafoam Digital kit (printed out), the "Yes" flair is ormolu, but the rest is A Flair for Buttons.  The rest of the stuff is from my stash -- just ask in the comments if you want to know about a product and I'll look it up!

Peace, love and understanding to ya!
:-) o.g.

Confused about Project Life?  Check this out from Becky Higgins.  Check out all my PL posts here.

:: my pinterest challenge | taped table ::

In this post I talked about how this year I am challenging myself to actually do something with all those lovely things I am pinning on Pinterest!  I find myself pinning, and pinning, and pinning, but not returning to the pins and doing, doing, doing them! My not-so-lofty goal is one per month.

I have been wanting to tape a table like this since I saw it on Elise Blaha Cripe's blog last June! There were a few obstacles in the way, but it's done and I like the final product!  Obstacle number one: I wanted to do it, but I had no tables or spaces that needed it at all!  My work desk at home is in great condition and it's rather "pretty" wood that I didn't want to cover, and the only other thing I could think of was Bea's work table (which still might happen).  My concern with using Bea's table is that I'm not sure that it will withstand all of the water ('tea') and paint that gets spilled all over it! However, I knew I wanted to do it, so I went to every Target within an hour or so of my house to look for the tape that Elise used.  Obstacle number two: None of the Targets within an hour of my house had the tape.  They had similar tape (same brand) but it was patterned and wouldn't work for me.  So, I kept looking every time I was in a Target, but never found it.

How this table came to be. So how did it happen?  Well, without going into it all, my job description was tweaked a bit this year and I am seeing more students than I have in the recent past (as a Literacy Coach, I work mostly with teachers).  So I have been trying to make my room more inviting for students and I switched out some furniture recently.  I ended up with three tables, all with black tops and in good condition, but not exactly inviting.  Enter: perfect opportunity to make a taped table! With this renewed motivation for the project, I set out to get that tape.  Not available from Target online, or anywhere else online that I could find, I decided to see just where the Target Store is that has the tape (you can do that on Target.com).  Bad news. Nothing for three to six hours away.  That would be expensive tape!!! Enter: casual conversation that turned magic.

I was telling a colleague about my predicament. She and her family just happened to be traveling that next weekend to visit family about six hours away in a city that had this tape. And she said that she would be going to Target anyway and would pick some up for me.  Score.  I got the tape on a Monday, and a half hour later I had a taped table!

in progress

in use

Before I felt like I could really use it, I felt like I needed to seal it.  So, I purchased some of this Mod Podge to seal it and make it a little bit more durable (especially because there will be kids using it).  I gave it four coats, drying about 15 -20 minutes between, and now it's done.  Pinterest Challenge for January...check!

Coming soon:  Project Life Weeks 2 & 3 (almost ready to share) & OLW blog hop (on Feb. 1st).

:: goals and my olw ::

Most people post goals on their blogs at the beginning of the year, month, week.  Nope.  I'm posting in the middle of the week toward the end of the month, and twenty three days into the year; I'm fun like that, yo!

I decided that I cannot do a post about my word for this year, without also sharing some goals I set for myself.  I also couldn't share my goals without my one little word.  They are so connected.

If you are a friend, or happen to have followed my blog over the last year or so, you will know that 2012 was a rough year, a rough year that actually started October of 2011.  :-)  Our miscarriage, my oldest daughter's marriage dissolving, adjusting to her and nearly two-year-old Mikaela moving in (but I was glad they were with us), Mikaela's accident and death, and several other deaths in our family, to name the biggies.  Ugh.  I'm am glad that is over!  There were positives to last year too, and I have NOT forgotten them.  My mother, who lost a daughter to a car accident many years ago, said something quite wise to me during all of this, "There will always be a hole, but I don't have to live in it."  I am happy to say that she is completely right (as usual) and that I haven't been living in it, but I'm keenly aware that it's there!  :-)

What a powerful quote this has been for me!  I am happy to say that my oldest daughter is participating in Ali Edwards' One Little Word class with me.  I am so excited about that!  Her word is strength. What a wonderful word for anyone, and perfect for her.  I contemplated that word myself, but another one just kept coming at me.

Be Present. If I've learned anything over this past year or more I've learned that nothing is permanent, and that it is important to embrace the present...and be present for yourself and for those around you.  So present it is.  I need to remember to live in the present, not worry obsess about what the future brings  (at least not too much) because it 'empties today of it's strength'.  And today is so strong.  Completely connected to that, my word is also about being present for my family. Listening to my Soul Mate completely; noticing, appreciating and loving him as he deserves. Three year olds, work and life can make that seem impossible sometimes, but it's so important, and so possible.  Computers, blogs, and memory keeping also get in the way, if you let it.  My goal with this word is not to let it. And work, let's not forget work -- it can so easily engulf you me if allowed to, and I must not allow it.  Being present is about being present in both body and mind. So, my focus with this word is also related to choosing to be physically present at those things that are important to me, namely with family & friends.

I will continue to share my adventures with this word in future posts.  As I finish Ali's first prompt (which has been amazing to work through) I will also post pictures of my product, and more about my focus and experiences with this word. What a fun journey this word will bring me.

Goals.  In addition to Ali's class I am also participating in another self-paced class at Big Picture Classes.  This one is with my other mentor, Elise Blaha Cripe, called I Choose, and it's all about goal setting.  It seems so funny to call Elise (who is more than ten years younger than me), a "mentor", but I cannot think of a more perfect word to describe it.  I would love to be more like her when I grow up -- she starts and finishes things!  LOL. The class has helped me to look at goal setting a bit differently, and likely more manageable.  I'm looking forward to getting 'er done.  I think this has been a perfect match with OLW for me this year.  Many of my goals are silly and fun, and others are more serious and connected with keeping my word close to me.  My plan is to "share as I go" with this one.  I thought about following Elise's lead and sharing a list at the beginning of the month and then checking them off as I go, but I think I'm going to let these goals seep into my blog as we go, if that makes sense.

Seep. If you follow my instagram feed or flickr, you may have already caught a glimpse of one of my goals. Do you pin stuff on Pinterest and then never do anything about it?  One of my goals is to do something with all of these lovely pins; do a project, use a sketch, scraplift a layout, make a recipe, transform my house, etc.  At least one per month.  At least that's how I'm looking at it now. So, by the end of the year, I will have done at minimum twelve projects that I've pinned.  Not too lofty, but still progress compared to pretty much nothing.  ;-)  I have a feeling that I will end up surpassing this goal, and I may even beef the goal up more as the year progresses.  Either way, this is one that I hope to share here, and I'm calling it my Pinterest Challenge.  If you want to play along, I would love to hear about what you are doing, please share!  I have met this goal for January and will share soon.  There have already been sneaks, so it may not really be a secret.  ;-)

More information about One Little Word with Ali Edwards can be found here (and the class is still open).  More information about Elise Cripe's I Choose class is here (and it's a self-paced class, that is also open)!  Also there are links on my sidebar!

Peace, love and understanding to ya!
:-) o.g.