Money-Saving Scrapbooking Supplies

If you’re like me, you just can’t have enough scrapbooking supplies. I can honestly say that I am addicted to scrapping & buying supplies for my pages. But as expenses for gas & groceries go up, something has to go down. In my case, it has been my supplies for my pages. Just because I’m spending less doesn’t mean that I’m scrapping any less. I’ve been able to reuse & recycle some everyday items into scrapbooking supplies.

Here’s some ideas-

- When our daughter was born, we received a pink mylar balloon with “It’s a Girl” on it in a balloon bouquet. I trimmed it down to fit a 12”x12” page, glued to a white sheet of 12”x12” cardstock & made it my background page. We had also gotten a small mylar balloon in a bouquet of flowers & I was able to use it as a decoration on another page.

- After my husband has a beer, I ask him to save his bottle caps. I can paint them to cover the beer logo & put letters, symbols or whatever I want on them & use them as embellishments. They work really great for that 3-D effect! (I love it when we have parties & barbeques!)

- Some cereal & cracker boxes use pretty sturdy cardboard. When the box is empty, I cut the box on its sides to make flat pieces of cardboard. On the printed side, I can use stencils to trace & cut out my own “chipboard” letters, numbers, shapes & symbols. By doing the tracing & cutting on the printed side, it leaves the plain cardboard side clean & mark-free. Then you can add your own color to it, to customize your page even more.

- Get with your scrapping friends & make things interesting. Take your paper, stickers, embellishments, whatever & have a trading party. Or if you like to play cards, use your supplies in place of chips or money. You’ll get rid of the supplies you won’t use & get new ones without spending a dime.

Happy Scrapping!!

The purpose of my world

This was a blog that I had posted on my myspace page shortly after going back to work after Vanessa was born. It wasn't that I didn't feel any of these feelings with Harley. They just multiplied exponentially after Vanessa arrived. (as you will see in my blog).

For those of you who have already read this, maybe it will give you inspiration. For those of you who haven't read this before, this is a small glimpse into my world. I thought it was definitely worth posting again. Enjoy!

As most of us have been taught, we are all here on this earth at this specific time for a specific reason. We were all put here for a purpose. Some of us go through an entire lifetime never knowing why we are here & what we're supposed to do with our lives. A handful of us know our purpose at a very early age & most of us gradually discover our place as we go. I happen to fall into the "handful" group.

As far back as I can remember, the only thing I knew for certain, not matter what life brought me, is that I wanted to be married & have kids. From the moment that I became pregnant with Harley (at 19), I knew that my "calling" in life was to be a mom. There wasn't anything better or more rewarding. There was nothing that could fill my heart more than being a wife & a mom. And from that day, I knew that's what I was put here on this earth, at this point in time, to be & do.

I used to think that it was degrading or "less than" to be a stay-at-home mom. That if I was out in the workforce, being successful at my career, that I was somehow a better mom. I used to tell my husband in the most sarcastic tone I could muster, "If you can find a job that will replace my salary, I'll go against everything that I believe in & stay home & be the cute little housewife." I don't know if it was some kind of defense mechanism or what, but secretly I DID want to stay at home & be the "cute little housewife" & be at home with our son. I thought that if I admitted that out loud, then somehow it made me weak.

The reality of it was, that in order to pay our bills & maintain the lifestyle that we were accustomed to, that I did have to work & that staying home really wasn't an option, that it was more of a fantasy. When Harley was born, I only took 5 weeks off work. But I was extremely fortunate that I was able to bring him to work with me until he was 8 months old. Since then, I've continued to work full-time, all the while, wanting to stay home with my child more than anything. I surrendered to the fact that I wouldn't be able to be with him all the time, but it sure didn't make it any easier.

So as you all know, about 2 months ago, I gave birth to the most beautiful baby girl. She joins the most handsome boy of all time. :0) When Vanessa was born, I took 9 weeks off work. This week, I returned to work full-time. All those feelings just came flooding back from when Harley was first born, but exponentially multiplied. For the entire day that I am away from my kids, I feel like I'm going to have a panic attack. My heart just rips apart every time that I look at their picture. I can't stand to be away from them!!! I come home & I tear up when I see my kids. I cry every time I hug them & hold them. It breaks my heart to leave them every morning. There is never enough time after work or on the weekends for me. I am totally in love & addicted to my husband & my kids!!! My purpose is not to work for someone else. My purpose is not to be away from my kids. My purpose is not to be anything but SuperMom!!!

I'm pretty confident that I am not the only mom who has ever felt this way. But I'm not sure how to deal with this. This is wearing on me mentally & physically and is emotionally draining. Any words of wisdom or experience is welcomed! Please!

This is just a moment in time. It's just temporary! Everything right now is a stepping stone to get me to the next level. The next level being able to stay home with my kids. I know that this is all temporary because I am working hard to line things up so that being home with my kids will be the reality, not the fantasy, & at the same time be able to still collect the same or greater paycheck that I do now. I have to keep telling myself that "it's just temporary" so many times a day, that those are the only 3 words that I hear.

While I'm mending my heart back together & through my tears, I am keeping my eyes on the prize! The prize is the ultimate gift & miracle for me… to be home, where I belong, with my kids!!

A little about me...

For my first official blog, I wanted to post something epic & profound. But alas, Epic & Profound were not available. So I thought I'd take the kindergarten approach & start with a "Getting to Know Me" post first.

My name is Sarah, I am 30 years old & I am married to my high-school sweetheart, Skip. We have 2 beautiful children; a son, Harley (1998) and a daughter, Vanessa (2008). Our hometown is Vancouver, Washington. (It is not Vancouver B.C. or Washington D.C.)

My areas of interest & expertise is multi-faceted & is a lengthy list at that. Anything to do with crafts, family, homemade items, home improvement projects, being an entrepreneur & running your own business, improving life & living an overall positive life is what I do- it's what I know. I do not claim to be an expert at anything because I am a life-long learner & believe that we all should be. I am a hope-springs eternal kind of gal & my glass is ALWAYS half-full, even in my darkest moments.

The purpose of this blog is to share the eclectic, plethora of craft knowledge, family knowledge & life knowledge. I am FAR from knowing everything, unless you are one of my kids & then of course, Mom knows EVERYTHING! I am a firm believer that knowledge is power! If I can share my techniques & my knowledge with all of you, I hope that I can touch & enrich your life somehow. I also hope to learn & gain some knowledge from all you.

My professional background is accounting & bookkeeping, but I also have enough knowledge in computers & technology to be dangerous!

I am in the process of starting my own business so that I can work from home. I enjoy being a working mom, but I enjoy my family MUCH more! So why not have the best of both worlds? My business includes handmade scarves & blankets, handmade cards & jewelry, and custom scrapbook kits. Another one of my passions is writing. I can write in any genre, on any topic, but my favorite- what I choose- is children's books. I have several in the works & hope to have them published sometime within the next 2-3 years. I also have plans to help my mother write one of the books that she's always wanted to write. She has the knowledge & the teaching. I have the skill. Together we shall combine forces & make the world a better place.

Fashion is one of those unimportant important things in my life. I take what's trendy & put my own spin on it. I have done that since I was about 6. I know that in another life, I was a clothes designer & fashionista. I am constantly changing & modifying what I think is trendy. If I could draw people, I could take the designs I have in my head & turn them into real clothes. I am not a size 2 or a size 4, but I do have a few extra pounds to shed , so there are some styles that are just out for me. I love shoes, but they are just ornaments to me, as I am always content with just flip-flops or bare feet. (That is still not an acceptable explanation to my husband, as to why I have so many shoes.)

I am a collector of crafts & craft knowledge. Any new craft or skill I can learn is just another weapon in my arsenal. I'm secretly hoping for one of those new kick-ass sewing machines for Christmas, but I wouldn't know how to use it..... yet. :0) I must have over 150 books on almost every type & kind of craft. Each one has taught me something new or sparked a new idea. I am never afraid to learn something new. You never know when you'll need that skill somewhere along your life's journey.

A very small part of starting my own business is that I want more tattoos. I have 1 professional one & 1 that needs fixing. (no, it's not somebody's name that was a result of a drunken stupor.) And I've always wanted my nose & my eyebrow pierced. In Corporate America, piercings & tattoos are a sign of white trash, less than, blue collar, disrespect, and some other names & phrases that would never dream of escaping my lips. I barely got through with my earrings, as I have 7 in my left ear & 5 in my right. Even though I want to be pierced & tattooed a little more than I already am, I am non of those names or phrases, either listed or implied. This would be why I would want to disassociate myself with Corporate America. And besides, I wouldn't have to be a female version of a suit-monkey anymore.

I believe that work (a job) is a necessary evil, unless you are doing what you love. That is my transition at the moment; to turn work (my job) into what is fun, into what I love & be able to pay the bills. I have a responsibility to my family, so I would never just up & quit to satisfy my own selfishness. I will never have to worry about being fired, unless I choose to dismiss myself. I will never have to worry about an HR department because I am the HR department. (so I can cuss at myself, as needed.) I can be successful on my own esteem without concerns of having to brown-nose & ass-kiss & involuntarily participate in office politics. If 1 month is slower than another, it is nobody's fault but my own. The buck starts & stops with me, with no excuses.
I am a hard worker & by no means am I lazy or could even be in the same category as that word. For me, there is just never enough hours in the day to get everything done. So we just carry on, doing the best that we can, at any given moment.

"In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure"- Bill Cosby.

Failure is NOT an option. I am driven & know my purpose.
And my purpose shall be carried out.

Welcome, my friends!

I'm very excited to be out here for the masses! It is another step in my journey as a writer, a mother, an entrepreneur, a wife, a crafter & all the other many, many hats that I wear, that makes me, me!
We'll have a lot of fun, laughter, tears & inspiration!
It is my priviledge for you to be my reader & I promise that I won't disappoint!

Welcome to my blog!!