Monday, July 30, 2018

Downsizing my scrapbook stash

And wow!
Decisions decisions.
Here is my scrappy space.
I love my scrappy space and everything is white
is mine all mine!
I have a lot to get rid of.
My awesome husband bought this brand new toolbox.
It's pretty cool actually and it'll allow to
scrap inside or outside.
As you can see from this post I have rearranged my
12x12 albums to give to the kids/grandkids.
I then decided that 8.5x11 would be more storable especially
doing it project life style with some 8.5x11 size
tossed in for variety.
Also, I'll be using traveler's notebooks for well 
whatever floats my boat. 
We'll see how that works. And they'll be
a lot more storable.
I also purchased a new paper trimmer - mine was 12x8 size
and that would be too cumbersome to store.
 I did take the trimmer out of the top drawer and added
some punches instead.
Carefully culling through I decided not to go with 
shapes like squares because I can use the
trimmer for that so I can bring more variety in 
things I'm not talented in, i.e., like birds, butterflies, my
favorite sunburst/fireworks things like that.
I also tossed in my circle scissor that'll give me a
variety sized circles and it takes up less space than 
several heavy punches.
And then there's my super satchel for paper, alphas, 
cut aparts, and all kinds of embellishments.
I also went through my assortment of PL cards and
tossed them in.
I went with recollections 8.5x11 cardstock and added
a lot of 12x12 papers that I purchased prior to the
whole RV living thing.
Pink Fresh, new Hip kit - that I changed from scrapbook kit
to project life. 

I had 3 die cutters; a big shot, QK revelution and squeeze.
I chose to bring the big shot since it does all the dies
it seemed to be the best choice and again I
have chosen dies that lend to things I'm not artistic
enough to pull off.

We haven't stopped long enough to really break it out.
Overnight stops aren't really enough time and I'm usually
too worn out to even think about it.
We will be back in NJ for about 4-6 weeks so I'll
be breaking things out to see if I packed well.

The plan is to take my IKEA Alex drawer and put it in the 
coach - that'll eliminate the super satchel and it'll add more storage.
Also it's perfect for my canon printer.
I also have a selphy but I'd really like the option of
being able to print 8.5x11 size photos so.... we'll see how
well that rides.


Friday, July 27, 2018

Whelp - on the third day - RV living

It started out innocently enough as things always do.
We got an early start and hit the road
and then.......
the dreaded dashboard lights awoke.
 It was the diesel particulate light.
It is basically a filter that needs to be cleaned.
Or it could be a sensor.
Or it could be a multitude of things we are
at this point clueless about.
In any case, when the dashboard light comes on and
it's the diesel particulate light
you have limited power to limp to a safe place.
 Tom limped it into a truck stop in Virginia - Cockerham's
Gulf Station in Hillsdale VA.
Called Coach.net and three hours later our coach
was getting hooked up to go back 81 miles
to a Cummins dealer to see what's what.
 Because of insurance stuff we were not allowed to stay
in the Cummins parking lot so we ended up at the Holiday Inn near the airport.
At 5 a.m. the hotel decided that everyone needed a wake up call
so there we were sitting outside due to a false fire alarm.
Thankfully false.

It was an interesting alarm.
It's loud, annoying and persistent.
However, getting bounced out of bed and trying to figure
things out - I, for one, can't do anything willy-nilly
first thing without a bathroom break.
Fire schmire. LOL.
Then I was NOT going outside in my underwear,
so throwing on clothes was necessary for everyone involved,
and they even had coffee made in the lobby.
This has never happened in a campground.

Returning upstairs we found it impossible to go back to sleep.
All that adreneline you know.
So Tom went to Cummins to see about the coach and
I'm just chillin' in the room.

Life is so not boring on the road.

Tuesday, July 24, 2018

The last 3 12x12 pages and a birthday card

We are headed out today for the east coast for the
grandkid tour carrying all those albums under our bed.

I made these pages prior to our decision to go full time
so these will be the last 12x12 pages which is kind of a bummer
because this is the second page of our Alaska trip.
Glacier Bay.
What a beautiful cruise that was - hanging out
or our balcony watching the glaciers go by.
Studio Calico
 Going a bit monochromatic on this page of Annie
and Owen first jump in the pool of the summer.
Pink Fresh.
 Seems to be the time of summer and Amelia
is also hanging out in the cold waters of NH.
I stuck my toe in once.
It's cold.
Studio Calico.
Did some paint white paint strips and some
packaging technique with mists.
 I'll still make cards and found this adorable minion
card on pinterest.
Love pinterest.
And who doesn't love a minion.
I just wish I thought of it myself LOL.

So because of the limited space in the RV I have
decided to roll with 8.5x11 and use project life type
with of course some full pages to save space
and I will also be doing a lot of Traveler's Notebooks
which is pretty apropos I think.

Times -they be-a-changing and it'll be a fun challenge.
Of course I'll still do the grandkids but
I may batch them for easier distribution at a later date.
Nothing set in stone.

Sunday, July 22, 2018

Let the declutter begin - RV living

So being a scrapbooker my first thought was
where do my scrapbooks go...
Seriously.
I put a lot of love and creativity in these pages that
I want people and myself to enjoy.
So....I do a lot of grandkidlet pages but until I
started separating the pages....
I didn't realize how many there were.
 Seriously.......
 These are my books remaining. 
Keep in mind that all those empty shelves were
completely filled.
 This is the separation of the grandkidlets.
Whew!!!
But shhhhh!!!
Don't tell the parents!
We are currently planning a trip in our new RV to
do the grandkidlet tour we try and do
every year.
And this year............
Won't they be surprised. 
LOL.
All the photos I scrapped of the grands.
I hope they keep them.
I hope they love them.
I hope they enjoy them.
But...........
 I didn't have the heart nor the fortitude to toss them
so I figured if I give them away -
to the parents
that they might keep them
and love them
and enjoy them.
If not, please don't tell me. 
I don't want to know.
What you don't see is that I have a few heritage 
photos and one framed picture of my
grandfather, whom I adored...
Well my Cousin Al has graciously accepted
to take all the original pictures of the family - like
back to the great greats (in my case) and
he'll be surprised with an album.
It's going to a good home.

I totally feel great about this decision, however, now there's
the decision of where my albums are going to go.
Probably storage as my kidlets are gypsies too.

More heavy decisions like this will be better made after this trip.

Procrastination is a wonderful thing.
LOL

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Photo Collage and BIG Numbers

Love this little cluster and finally using a bunch of
things in my stash.
The transparencies are fun but tough to stick down.
I used my xyron machine and it seems to work.
 I really wanted to use the HUGE numbers.
So I did and love the result.
 The tassel is fun and finally worked in that pink and 
blue tag.
 After I got all the big stuff in I forgot about the journaling LOL
and the only place to put it was at the top
and bottom of the page.
Used a mix and match of alphas because
I didn't have all the letters.

Studio Calico.

Tuesday, July 17, 2018

Do you know how hard it is to find baby neutral items

Even in the scrapbook world.
Sigh.
So I plundered Echo Park baby both boy and girl
to find that neutral stuff.
Because the parents want to be surprised.
And what a great surprise it'll be.
Tucked under the books are the crocheted 
blanket I made and I found really cute leggings
and onsies in grey and white.
My other niece in charge of the shower
asked if I could help with the grandma badges
and banners she found on pinterest 
and of course I could
Would you believe I had all the supplies on hand?
Surprised me too (well except for the badges and flowers needed for
the grandma pins).
Love the soft yellow and grey.
They also requested books so I found two of my boys
favorite books.
I have had this acrylic heart - like forever
and really wanted to use it.

 I forgot how tough it is to do see through.
But I made it work.



 Goodnight Moon another favorite book
that I couldn't readily find but love it as an ending to 
the baby album.

All this was completed in less than a week.
Love it when a deadline comes through.

So on our way to the shower is when we met up with our friends
at a campground in northern Florida.
Where we discussed going full-time and found our new coach.
So it's all their fault LOL.







Monday, July 16, 2018

4th of July cards & a Birthday card

Sent all the grands a 4th of July card
made from kraft cardstock
and then being quite bold and daring
I freestyle painted the stripes using regular
craftsmart paint.
The stars are from a punch and popped up.
Assorted stamps for the sentiments. 
Then firecracker girl Annie has a birthday 2 days later
so I broke out my flamingo QK die cut
and added a fun party hat and a googly eyeball.
Love the splatters.

Got a couple more cards to go before
we hit the road for the summer grandkid tour
and the family fun for Labor Day at the shore.

Friday, July 13, 2018

We will be taking our show on the road...

(Sorry I've been MIA - big doin's)

Not that we have a show, mind you, 
however, 
lifestyle change coming up.

And its gonna be a doozie.
I can't wait.
But I'm gonna have to wait because.....
there are a lot of things that need to be done.

That change involves 
this....
 Our new beautiful Holiday Rambler 2009 38' coach.
 Living room and kitchen with a queen sized bed in the back
with a washer/dryer combo.
AND
a fireplace.
 We shared our pineapple from my garden and hung
out with our pals Paul and Sharon while we
picked their brain.
They have been full timers for 10 years so
They know a thing or too.
Of course I kept the top that I'll be giving away at some
point - no sense planting it in the yard at this point, 
and then there's artwork of Owen's that has been on the road
with us since 2013 that made the move official.
So...
We have a plan - sort of because as we all know plans can be changed.
THE PLAN
We will obviously be downsizing ALOT.
Then we will be selling our house and going on the road
full-time.
How exciting is that.

WELL...
It was not a sudden decision.
I have been mulling this over for some time because I had

issues.

Like I love my house, my stuff, my people, my crossfit, 
my friends, my scrapbooking, my people, my stuff and my town.
Raise your hand if you get emotionally attached to stuff too.
Because I do.
So...
In spite of all the above, there is really nothing to keep us
in North Port, at home, when we love to travel.
We don't get a lot of visitors, my own kidlets are gypsies
 and all the grands live in other states.
So.....
I have a lot of downsizing to do and won't
that be emotionally fun.
LOL.
But I really can't wait.