lindaalbrecht

Like a river...

...life flows swiftly by.  It's  been a wonderful June though, with beautiful perfect weather. We've been biking and walking a lot (which I need) and it feels so good.  I finally have decided to take a bit more time for myself and improving my health after abusing my body for too many years ;-)

Then there's the CHA crunch time that all of us on design teams are working on now.  But you know what that means-- lots of awesome new scrapbooking and paper arts product.  Ahhh.... just wait until you see some of the new stuff.  So, so darn fun.  So inspiring and addictive and if you're like me you'll need to have it all!  As soon as we get the okay, I will share some of my projects here.

One of the things that I've been working on around the house is organizing and cleaning up a few areas.  So let's talk mini books.

This is just one of my stacks.  I used to just have a few that I could store in a basket, but they've outgrown that, so I put them in a storage tub which sort of defeats the purpose of being able to look at them because well... they're in storage. 

So what do you do with all of your minibooks?  I'd love to know of any ideas on how to contain them without feeling overwhelmed by them.  By the way, I'll be making a trip to Ikea this upcoming weekend so if you know of anything there let me know --- quick!! :-)

Speaking of minibooks, I have one that I want to share.  It's not made with new product, but some of my favorite tried and true papers and embellishments. 

Mmmmmm.... Melissa Frances papers, Vintage stickers, buttons and glitter stars.  BasicGrey papers and Creative Cafe Chipboard, felt, brads, and Art Warehouse stamps.  Just good, basic, go with anything product that I turn to over and over again. 

Sorry about the red color variations-- I always have a hard time with photographing red--sometimes they look burgundy, sometimes pink, sometimes true red.  Don't know what's up with that, but you'll see it in the different photos.  Ugh.  Oh well, you get the idea anyway.

Those are old photos of me and my sister waaaayyyy back when. ;-) 

I also should tell you that the pages of the minibook were made with an AccuCut envelope die.  Have you ever checked out the AccuCut Craft blog?  Lots of inspiration there to see-- here is the Link.

One more thing to share.  I did this for the Melissa Frances blog as a gift for Melissa in celebration of her last chemo treatment for Breast Cancer.  You can go there to read more about her journey and recovery. 

This was made with the "Thankful" collection which she designed because of her survival as a Breast Cancer patient.  A part of the proceeds from this line benefit Breast Cancer research. 

It's a beautiful line of product, don't you think?  God bless you, Melissa-- you are an inspiration to women and thank you for creating something that benefits women's health.

I'm back to work now.  So much to do, but as always I am thankful for the things that keep me busy and creating.

Love to all,

Linda

Excuses, excuses....

I know, it's been a whole month.  To those of you who emailed and commented or even saw me in person and wondered why I haven't updated my blog, all that I can say is Spring gets in my way every time.  So sorry. 

I have been really, really selfish and have been busy doing one of the other things that I love --gardening.  I love to be outside when the weather is perfect and it's time to plant.  I spend hours and hours cleaning up the yard and picking out the yearly annuals and then digging them into the ground or the pots.  Pure bliss to me!  I've also been busy transplanting some perennials and just enjoying watching them grow.

Here's a couple shots of some of my hard work.

My favorite color combination is pink, purple, and white so in this planter I put some Princess Lilies, Million Bells petunia's, Geraniums, white Sweet Alyssum, purple Nemesia ( my very favorite) and then some ivy, verigated potato vine, and some Helichrysum.  Yes, that's a lot in one container, but it's huge and I love it when it gets all full and overflowing.  I usually have to cut back something every year so that the lovebirds don't get hidden from view.

 

My perennials are just barely showing themselves, because it's been so cool here this spring.  Normally by now my climbing pink  rose is crazy with flowers, but they are just starting to bud.  But, the Columbine (in my new banner above) has doubled in size already compared to last year.  How I love their sweet sleepy flower heads.

 

It's so amazing to look at a photo of a flower.  You can see so many details that it makes you want to look closer the next time you view them outside.  I love the captured intricacy of this beautiful white Anemone that I transplanted a couple of weeks ago.  (Click photo for a close up!)

Love my flowers :-)

So, on to paper crafting, as that is probably why you're here ;-) ;-)........

I did this layout for the Melissa Frances blog.  Just a nice reminder that Summer is on it's way and there will be lots of memories to capture.  Check out the new chipboard that  Melissa released at the Winter show.  Pretty cute!

Then of course there is always something to share for Pink Paislee. 

There's more that I did for the month, but I'll wait to share that later or you can head over to the Live Pink site to see it.  Lots of other great projects by others there too, plus you can even post your own Pink Paislee projects.  We'd love to see them!

Whew.  I guess that I should pop in here more often because I have much more to share, but I'll wait for another day.  June will be better for blogging, I promise.   I'll leave you with one last image.  I was debating between this and the Columbine photo for my new banner, so you'll have to let me know which one you like better. 

Love to all,   Linda

 

Happy Monday!

I know some people hate Monday's, but I have always loved them.  Love the start of a fresh new week and hopefully it brings good things and productive moments. 

It is gorgeous here today-- finally!!  Seems like forever that we have seen 60's and 70's, but it's been warm now for a couple of days.  The buds are popping and lots of things are pushing up from the ground.  So glad to see the green again.

As usual I have been swamped with design work and life in general.  So, I have a couple of things to share from an April guest designer gig that I did for Scrapmagie.com , an online kit club.  From looking at the site's past kits, the owner, Marina Simakova does a wonderful job of putting together beautiful papers and embellishments for her kits.  You should check them out when you have time.

This layout features My Mind's Eye, Pink Paislee, Fancy Pants, Prima flowers, K & Company, and more. 

Another layout with K & Company, Making Memories, Hambly, Sassafraslass, Fancy Pants, and some fun Pink Paislee stamps.

This little altered project is also made from the April kit.  You can find Step By Step instructions on how I made this by clicking this link HERE !  I made this from a large peanut can or you can also use a large coffee can.  It's really simple, fast, and fun. 

One more....

Can you believe that all of the product came from one kit?!!!  There is more over at Scrapmagie, but I will let you go check it out there for yourself. 

I am off to bring Cort to an after school "Cinco De Mayo" celebration in a couple of minutes.  I'll try to have more to say next time.  Thanks for stopping by and letting me share the projects. 

Hope that there's celebrating and sunshine where you are too!               Love,  Linda 

I see sunshine!!

Halleluiah!!!! 

Everyday last week was grey and cloudy.  Cold too.  It's amazing how a little sunshine can make me feel like getting something done.  I want to clean something -- or paint something.   The sun was out most of the day yesterday also, but it was still a little chilly.  I finished up some design team work and made a few things for myself. 

It all started out with some of this:

I'd been working with the Creative Cafe felt for a couple of days and really wanted to do something for my front porch--something that said warm weather and sunshine so I came up with this little sampler.

Sorry about the glare on the glass. 

I like how this turned out-- I may sit it amongst the geraniums that I put on the porch during the growing season.  Sort of as a reminder to what their job is ;-) ;-).   

I added some red and creamy brown Fluid chalk ink to the pink felt flowers to change the color a bit to match my porch colors.  But, they have several colors in these that you can purchase at 2Peas in a Bucket now or click on this link to go to Just Need It.com.   Or if you are really lucky your local scrapbook store carries the entire Creative Cafe line!

Once I cut a few pieces for the flower centers and pots from fabric, I sat down in the living room to watch a couple of movies with my family and stitched away.  3 1/2 hours later I had a new accessory for the porch!

Here is a close up of the flowers:

Once I saw the completed project, I knew that I wanted to do a scrapbook page using some of the same things.

That's my version of an artsy layout.  I edited the photo to look all funky like that--don't know why, it just happened.  I like it though.  I even threw some paint on there just for fun.  I think that sometimes it's refreshing to not expect perfection when you scrapbook -- to not worry about the straight lines and perfectly clear photos.  Actually I add a lot of imperfection to my work almost always.  Guess that I just like old distressed stuff. :-)

Well, I have a long list of things to do over the next few days.  Lots of housework and a few design team projects to complete.  It's good though because the sun is shining and the birds are singing , so I think that I will join them in their happy little work songs.  I may even take a moment or two to sit on the backyard swing.  There's always so many gifts to the soul in a warm spring day!

See you soon! 

Love,Linda

A few captured moments

It seems like forever that I've had my camera out to get some shots of the everyday that fills up our lives.  I can remember for the big things like birthdays and other special occasions, but really to me, the best memories are the little moments that consume the days.  Things like this:

I caught the cat being sociable with Cort.  They didn't know that I was looking.  Now if I had tried to put Tiko up by Cort on the front porch swing to take a photo or two, well... Tiko is just too independant to be told what to do.  It has to be his idea or nothing.  Sometimes Cort wants to hold and hug and cuddle with him so bad and Tiko will have nothing to do with it.

But today he let down his guard and snuggled in by Cort.  Probably because it is still a little chilly on the porch and he needed the warmth.

Uh oh...........................................................................................

  I've been caught .  Now he'll have to get down because it just isn't cool for him to show any affection or tolerance for Cort.

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

But not until I got one last shot of Cort enjoying the companionship .

Shortly after I snapped this one he was down and walking off with the flip of his tail.  Sheesh, it's so hard to be loved by a little boy, isn't it?!!

*************************************************************

Then I took these shots of Cort on a new skateboard type thing.  My son Luke, who is a really, really, really good skateboarder/trickster said that it looked "like a concusion waiting to happen."  Ughhhhhh!!!!!  DO. NOT. TELL. ME. THAT.  Seriously, facial road rash and 2 broken front teeth is all of the anguish that I can take from this child for this year!

This thing... I guess that it's called a Ripstick... has only 2 wheels. 

TWO WHEELS !!!!  And no handle bars! I was actually hoping after the concusion comment that Cort wouldn't even be able to balance it on the two wheels.

But, of course that didn't happen. 

This thing is really a lot different than  a skateboard because it pivets between the front and the back sections and also at the 2 wheels.  It's like it rocks.  I told Cort that he had to wear a mouth guard to protect those 2 new teeth, but that would not be cool.  Not at all.  It's much cooler to give your mother just one more thing to worry about in the course of the day.  Oh... it is going to be a loooooong summer, I just know it.

   

****************************************************************

Okay.  Now, you've got to see these.  In one of my earlier posts I showed you the new Creative Cafe colored gift bags.  This time I was asked to make some paper bag puppets with them.  Oh my gosh, I tell you I have not laughed so hard at one of my creations in a long time.  I felt like a kid again.  I had so much fun making these with some of the AccuCut dies --  like the large button shapes for the eyes and the little tummy accents are also AccuCut.

I promise I did not play with them, but I wanted to.  ;-)

Last thing to share  is this layout that I did for Memory Makers magazine.  It was for a Glitter article.   I hope that you can see the glitter--not always such an easy thing to capture the sparkle. As always, click on the pictures for a close up!

Have a happy weekend!  I've got a few Creative Cafe projects to work on that I'm very excited about.  Let me just say that it involves lots of the  polka dot felt !!  I'll be back to share as soon as I can.

Love,  Linda

I need to talk!

Or I'll fall asleep.   So gloomy here today -- I saw snow flurries in the air when I dropped Cort off at school this morning and he didn't have on a winter coat.  That'll give me something to worry about today..... will my child freeze while on the playground at school -- or will the teachers think that I am a bad mom for sending him to school inappropriately dressed for the weather?  Dang I suck some days. ;-)  This time of the year is so iffy <----that's a MN word--I really didn't make it up!  Mornings can be in the 30's then by the afternoon it's 50's.

Last Friday and Saturday were beautiful though!  Near 60 both days.  I felt so energized with the warm breeze and the sunshine.  I even washed a few windows, which is of course why it is snowing and raining.  Sorry,  fellow Minnesotans- I'm such a jinx.  It felt so good to clean off the winter's grime -- clean windows change the whole room.  Now if it will just warm up a bit so that I can finish the rest .  When Cort was little he used to think that if we sang "Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun please shine down on me..."  that the sun would come out.  Actually when we did that a few times it seemed to work...hmmmmm... I may just have to try that today!

My "To Do" list grew over the weekend too, so I need to get busy completing a few projects, but before I go I have a few things to share.

This layout was done using the  Pink Paislee Office Lingo collection.  That's my little Cort when he was just a year old.  He loved to do the "sooo big" thing.  Anything to get everyone to clap and say, "Yayyy, Cort!!"  Awww, I miss those days. 

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

I used some of the Pink Paislee clear stamps on this layout also.  Such fun.

**************************************************************

Another Pink Paislee project--this one was for the Pink Paislee Blog.  There are instructions over there, so if you click that link you can see a quick rundown on how to make it.  Lots of other inspiration there too by other design team members. 

****************************************************************

One more thing--I want to share a few photos of Cort's 10th birthday party.  He wanted a Hawaiian theme.   Here is the invite made from Art Warehouse Summer Vibe paper. 

A little decorating on the front porch for the kids table.

Centerpieces that I made from straw beachcomber hats that I cut a hole in the top to insert a candle holder into.  My daughter thought that the idea would also be good for chips and dip-- small bowl for dip in the center and place the chips in the curve of the hat.  I like that idea-- maybe for our next Hawaiian party.  Those hats are pretty inexpensive if you get them through Oriental Trading Company based out of Nebraska.  Like $1.50 each and they are big enough to wear also.  Not with the candle or the chips and dip, of course!  :-)

I also got these little rubber duckies all decked out for a luau to float in the drink tubs.

Of course they did the Limbo!!***************************************

More party go'ers....

My daughter, my mom, and my sister Terri.

After all of that, I was pooped!  So much time and energy put into it all, but the memories are worth it.  Plus, we are ready for another Hawaiian style party anytime.  Did you notice the banners with the lights?  Those were made using strings of white lights and an AccuCut die.   I used some current scrapbooking product and some older stuff that I have in my stash.  I think that something similar would be so fun for other parties, like showers, weddings, etc.

I'd better get back to work now.  Everybody sing with me ... "Oh Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun..."

;-)

Linda 

Bunny Winner!

*** Raechelle Bellus ***

You won!!!!  Please email me or post here and I will get in touch with you to ship the bunny.

Congratulations!

I'll be back in the next day or two with another post and some new projects to share.   Thanks for checking in!   Linda :-)

Where for art thou, Spring?

It doesn't seem like Spring ... or Easter for that matter.  We are getting 4+ inches of snow today.  Not fair.  Not fair to those of us longing for Spring or to the Easter bunny-- poor little thing will be soaked and cold. ;-) 

Not fair for the Easter egg hunt either.  I want green grass and daffodils and short sleeves.  I guess that everyone here will have to improvise this year.  There probably won't be any pretty Easter Hunt photos either-- it's a dirty trick that Mother Nature is playing, I tell ya.  What will the weather be like for your Easter festivities?  Wait... maybe I don't want to know because I will be jealous!

I can do something about this cruel trick of nature though.  If you visit the Melissa Frances blog you'll see the Easter bunny project that I made.  How fun are bunnies?  They make me smile, especially when they are pink and combined with pretty paper.  I am putting a close up image here, but if you go to the Melissa Frances blog you will see the whole project.  While you are there, if you comment and tell us how much you love Melissa Frances products, I will put your name into a drawing to win the project.   

If you'd rather make one for yourself , just comment here on my blog and I will send you the pattern for the bunny.  Either way, you can have this bunny for your own!  Ahhh, see now I feel much better about the weather;-)

*********************************************************************

Here's another Easter project that I made recently. 

This project is made with a fun AccuCut "Bag" die.  It was cut from chipboard then the cute Pink Paislee Office Lingo paper.   Then I cut a chick from yellow felt, layered it onto some more Pink Paislee papers and added some handstitches.  I thought that these would be fun for Easter table favors.

*******************************************************************

One more project that I did for Melissa Frances this month to celebrate St. Patrick's Day and all things "lucky" was this layout.

 

That's my sister Cheri and I in the ooooooooold photos ;-) ;-) ************

I love love those Melissa Frances Summer Breeze stamps.  And the crooked (darn it) white image along the bottom is also a new stamp from Melissa called Imperial Borders.   Love that one also.  Then there are those vintage looking papers that I adore-- one  from her new Baby collection and the roses paper called Carol Ann.  They just make me feel like I am back in 1960 something.

*******************************************************************

So, I really feel like I should share something for Creative Cafe today also.  Danelle Johnson always has something new going on.  Such awesome new releases and ideas from her and her partner for Creative Cafe, Alison Wong.  One of the new dies that they did for AccuCut was this cute Mask for kids to make at the Artbar in their local scrapbook stores. 

What kid wouldn't want to make their own version and with all of the options available in product from AccuCut and Creative Cafe each mask will be unique.  How fun is that?  Check out the other options in dies available through AccuCut also -- really fun stuff that you can do so much with.

******************************************************************

Just a note about the Birthday Cake Album in my previous post.  The class went up for sale at Heart in Hand Scraps  on the March 15, so if you were interested you can go get it now.  As always, thanks so much for your kind comments and emails about my projects.  You always make me smile. 

Enjoy your long weekend and have a Happy Easter!

Love,  Linda

Good things

I am happy to report that Cort has 2 front teeth as of yesterday!!  Yay!!  They don't look quite right to me from the side view and I'll have to talk with the dentist about that, but at least those roots are sealed up and he is not in pain.  The dentist said that he went through the root canals better than some adults do.  My big boy...  he always makes me proud.

Then some creative good things.

I made this Birthday Cake Album for a class at Heart in Hand Scraps.  This is just a little sneak peek because the class is not up for sale yet, but I wanted to share because I was excited to use more older photos.  These are of my daughter's 2nd birthday party -- sooooo long ago.  Oh, how I miss having a little one in the house.  Grandchildren just aren't coming fast enough for me ;-)

Anyway, this album has pages built up/cut out to resemble the tiers on a cake.  In the class you get all of the measurements and instructions to assemble and embellish it along with step by step photos just in case you are a visual person like me. 

I used Creative Cafe papers and embellishments which you can now get at 2 Peas in a Bucket, and some BasicGrey Two Scoops paper.  Don't they just remind you of birthday cake?  Yum.

So if you are interested in making this album, head on over to Heart in Hand Scraps in a couple of weeks.

*******************************************************************

Another project that I made this week is this "Welcome Spring " cone.

This is made with Pink Paislee papers and tag.  I posted it over at 2Peas and have been asked how to make it, so I have a couple of visuals and a few short instructions because it is so easy and quick.

The paper that I used has a diecut  edge and is a cardstock weight which will hold up better than a lightweight scrapbook paper.                                 

First, lay your paper with the backside facing up toward you then grab the bottom right corner  and start to tightly roll it toward the inside.

Continue to roll the corner toward the inside, but begin to head it toward the left bottom corner so that the cone shape starts to take shape.

My tip isn't quite as tight as it should be in the photos, but that's because I had to let go of  it to photograph.  You should always be holding onto the right corner tip that is forming as you roll the paper so that it stays nice and pointed.

Continue to roll the paper toward the left edge.  Once the cone shape is complete, I use a good strong super glue to hold that left corner edge in place.  My favorite glue is "The Ultimate".  I have bought it at Hobby Lobby, Michael's and even WalMart so you should be able to find it just about anywhere.  It holds like nothing else and my stuff never comes apart.  I use it on my scrapbook pages too and I've never had anything come back from a show or magazine with any loose pieces.  Try it, you'll like it!!

Once you have glued that left corner to the cone, lay it down so that the corner that is sticking up at the top is toward the back.  I then "lightly" , VERY lightly pushed the front toward the back so that my cone was slightly flattened.  Not so that it had creases on each side, but so that it would hang and not roll if you hang it on a door or something.  Make sense?

Next you will need to cut a piece of paper to measure 4 1/2" X 4 1/2" square.  (I used the Pink Paislee "Skipping Stone" dot paper from the Spring Fling Collection.)  Add some adhesive to the back  of the paper and then layer onto the inside of the cone matching one of the corners to the corner that is sticking up in the back of the cone.  The flowers on the front of the cone are cut from THIS Pink Paislee paper.  I added small pom poms to the centers for some texture and depth.

Then, you just add the tag that says "Welcome Spring", fill your cone with something like tulle or even tissue paper and put a little nest at the top.  You can get little robin's blue eggs at a craft store this tme of the year -- I picked mine up at Michael's.  I also punched a  1/8" hole on each side near the top and added a twiggy handle.  I found the bendable twig in the floral section at Hobby Lobby, but you could use a real vine branch too.

*************************************************************

So that is my good things for today.  Such simple things that make me happy.

It also makes me happy to hear from so many of you when I've needed a little hope and encouragement like when my son had his accident and when  my mother in law died.  I want you all to know how touched both my husband and I are by your thoughtful words.  Words mean so much ... and when they are said in kindness and good will they can lift a person more than several hands can.

"Words are creation of self and every time you open your mouth, you give the world around you a glimpse at who you really are."  Ashley Highland   I can only imagine for those of you that I don't know other than through your words, how wonderful  you must be -- thank you for always being so kind.

I hope that you're enjoying lots of good things in your life today!   Love,  Linda

Real life can get in the Way

Of  blogging.   I like to sit here at my little blog and share the fun product that I work with, but sometimes it just doesn't work because real life stuff keeps me away.   

I think about it everyday..... 

....then I feel guilty that maybe some of you have checked in and you find nothing new.  So I apologize if you have checked up on me while I have been absent, but thanks for taking the time to come back.

I'm sure that you really don't want to know that I had a big, old cruddy cold.  Hasn't everyone?  Maybe it was the flu.  Don't they say that the flu gives you cold like symptoms?  Anyway, all that I know is I felt like death was upon me and only the past couple of days have the energy to stay awake for more than 4 hours at a time.

Then in the middle of the crud my sweet little guy, Cort had a sledding accident.  He was a mess for a good week.  He broke off his 2 front permanent teeth and had road rash and deep cuts in his mouth and on his lips from hitting asphalt.  Yes, I said asphalt , as in someone's driveway.  Have I ever mentioned that when the Albrecht boys get an injury they never do it small?  I remember the beginning of summer vacation several years ago when I get a call from the police saying that my son, Cole had been run over by a golf cart.  Imagine my confusion ...  because really... HOW does one get run over by a golf cart?  That's another long blog post -- just know that it wasn't pretty.  He still has the scars on his leg today to prove it.

Back to Cort.  He gets his teeth repaired next week.  First he has to have root canals in both teeth then they will do a white bonding to build up the teeth.  The dentist says that caps will probably have to wait until he is 17 or so, but promises that he will make him look good. 

He has been such a trooper through all of the Hydrogen Peroxide rinses and cleanings, ointment applications and antibiotics.   He can only drink  through  a straw and eat soft foods that can be shoved to the back of his mouth to avoid the exposed root canals.  Makes your teeth hurt just reading this, doesn't it?  But he has never complained or cried--sometimes I wish that he would.  The mom of his friend (where the accident happened) thinks that he's missing a few nerve endings that the rest of us have ;-) ;-) 

So anyway, I have been  nurse, substitute teacher, and constant companion to him while he healed.  He looks amazing after only 2 weeks!  Now to just get through the repair of the teeth.  I will miss the cute little lisp that he has now -- brings me back to when he lost his baby teeth, but he looks forward to biting into a piece of pizza.  Can't blame him.

Things to share.....

I did another layout with the new Pink Paislee product that debuted at CHA winter and again I used an old photo of my son's, Cole and Luke.  This photo makes me all mushy.  I can remember that day in the hospital after Luke was born like it was yesterday.  I still can't believe that my husband was able to get that shot of Cole kissing his new baby brother because he did it all on his own.  So sweet.  I can remember when Cort was born too (sorry if all of the C's are confusing.) The first thing that Cole did was kiss Cort when he held him.  Cole was 14 at the time and I thought that it was awesome that he didn't feel the need to act like a cool teenager and avoid too much tenderness.  One of my favorite memories of him as a teenager. 

That captured moment is what makes being a mother worth every minute of the worry that children can bring. (Remind me that I said that if something big ever happens again!)

******************************************************************

Here's a little Creative Cafe project that you can do at your local Artbar.  They will have scallop edge gift bags in all of the Creative Cafe colors that you can decorate up for your next party or gift giving occasion.  Aren't they fun?!!

There's also new Ledger papers.  I made this quick little back to school photo frame with the paper and a sheet of rub ons from the Lucky Memories Swatchbook .  If you click on those links it takes you to the Just Need It website where you can get all of the Creative Cafe products.  I know that 2 Peas in a Bucket now carries the papers and Swatchbooks also.  Hopefully they ordered the new releases from CHA.

******************************************************************

Whew!! Thanks for making it through all of that.  I must have felt like talking since I've been away for awhile!  Imagine. ;-)

See you soon-- or at least sooner than last time!   Linda :-)