Purging continues in my scrap studio!

    Continuing to purge as part of my Organizing FUNdamentals class through BigPictureClasses, I have purged so much paper.... Yes Dawn,  I purged PAPER... a ton of it in fact... so much that I have emptied a 3 section 4' high paper rack.  Not all at one sitting, but over the past year.  I gave in to the inspiration and emptied the last third or so of it the other day.  I then took a hammer to it, began tearing it apart, hubby finished the demo and carried the scraps outside!  Dakota IMMEDIATELY came down and claimed the empy space!  " MOM!  FINALLY..... an empty spot on  the floor for me to take a nap!"

For my bpc classmates, this is the "nasty popcorn walls' that I've been complaining about...  EVERYTIME you even THINK about reaching for something as it rolls to the back of your table, or you try to move a paper rack to a new space...... ouch.  Less skin on your fingers, knuckles, etc.  OFF IT IS COMING!  We are going to be RIPPING OUT ALL THESE WALLS, reframing, insulating, and putting up new drywall.  YEY FOR ME!!!!!  WOO HOO! 

A new heat source, as we are no longer dependent upon the furnace, raised floors for further insulation from the cold, a bar height island to replace my current 4x8' crop table,... WOW will I be one happy scrapper!

My 1st layout utilizing the NEW 3 BIRDS ESTATE COLLECTION TREASURED LAYOUTS V2

Organizing FUNdaments class from Big Picture Classes (BPC) is great!

  I am in the midst of the sort/organize session of this class, as we are in week 3.  Wendy Smedley and Aly Dosdall have offered this great class to help us to practice methods, make realizations & insights into how WE think and craft, & therefore make OUR spaces more useful & pleasant for US.
  Although I have been purging my studio at least twice a year for the past 3 years or so, there is ALWAYS something to be discovered which we no longer love, have absolutely no use for as we move on to other stages in our children's/grandchildren's lives (ie I no longer really need all that cutesy newborn boy product since Wesley is now 9 years old),  does not fit our current 'style' of scrapbooking, cardmaking or papercrafting (I'm very into shabby chic and layering now), or is simply taking up TOO MUCH SPACE and cluttering our lives, minds & hearts.
  Because this class is offered through BPC, it is a "FOREVER" CLASS.....all the material listings, handouts, VIDEO tutorials, etc are ARCHIVED on their website...you can access it at ANY TIME, DAY OR NIGHT, even on CHRISTMAS EVE as a gift to yourself if you see fit!
  Come on over to www.bigpictureclasses.com to check it out, as well as see all the other wonderful offerings, including FREE CLASSES!

New ESTATE COLLECTION products from 3 Birds!

I spy with my little eyes....SEVERAL NEW ESTATE COLLECTION PRODUCTS ON HSN.COM!!!!! TWEET, TWEET, TWEET YOU'VE WARMED THIS LITTLE BIRDIE'S HEART!

My 1st layouts utilizing the NEW TREASURED LAYOUTS V2 by 3 BIRDS!

     At last!  It has literally taken me all afternoon, on and off, to get these to post!  It was worth it though.  I see my monitor jumping around again, so I may have to save this and come back to edit!

Alright, let's give this another try, shall we??????

     3 Birds Scrapbooking & Paper Crafting kits have been my fave for a couple of years now.  They are continuing to create wonderful kits at great prices!  Since they began the ESTATE COLLECTION series of kits, I can't get enough of them.  I have atleast 2 of each Estate Collection kit! 

     Even though I am not a cardmaker, I have purchased their cardmaking kits in order to utilize the awesome embellishments (many are 3D!) that are included, working them into my scrapbook pages.  I also utilize the cards themselves as journaling blocks (both hidden by using the entire card, or visible journaling blocks by cutting them down), or even as photo and embellishment mats.

     My most recent obsession has been in creating these pages as part of a LARGE gift project.  The pages above are part of my own album, which has grown to 5+" in depth!  The pages themselves are approximately 9x6.5",  CUT BY HAND (I have NEVER liked having to cut by hand, but I want these to fit the album shape and size) in order to fit the same-shaped album covers that I fell in love with (Teresa Collins).  I am making 2 more of this size, as gifts for my 2 nieces who are giving birth to the TWO, YES TWO grandnieces being born within 3 months of each other.  This is a big deal in our family, as we women are outnumbered 2 to 1 by the men!  I am ALSO making several more mini-copies of these albums for the grandmas, etc.  Those albums are also utilizing Teresa Collins album covers, but they are approximately 5.5" wide, allowing me to get 2 PAGES FROM ONE 12" PIECE OF CARDSTOCK/PATTERNED PAPER.  This has saved me a fair amount of money, but even so, I have spent well over $200 on this project so far.  I believe that I will be making 9 albums in all!

    I realize that I may be rambling on a bit in regards to this project, but it is important to me, and an UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY for me, since I am the mother of an 8 year old boy, and prior to having our own son, I created a lot of pages about and for my nephews.

      I have been trying to decide how to go about posting the creation of my pages.  I have hesitated videotaping their creation until I learn how to use the high speed play back ability, & am researching how to put still shots of the pages into a narrated video.  Ultimately, I believe that I will end up posting step-by-step still shots with typed info below each photo, thus allowing me to atleast get some of them posted.

      I am in awe of the amazing number of ultra-talented women (& men) who are creating such wonderful works of art.....yes, paper crafting is an art, as are most things we are capable of doing.....I literally "ooooh" and "aaahhh" over the beautiful, innovative creations that I accidentally find on a nearly daily basis.

     I know that my family appreciates the effort & time I spend on my hobby, and my hubby encourages me to find a way to earn some 'extra' income for my hard work.  I would LOVE that opportunity to 'fall into my lap' as they say, but in the meantime, I am sooo lucky to have had ACCIDENTALLY STUMBLED UPON SCRAPBOOKING while reading a general crafting magazine which I bought immediately after we were engaged.  It has literally been  A GODSEND, helping me through the loss of my job as a Fisheries Management Technician for the state of Michigan, and my continuing struggle with FIBROMYALGIA, as well as trying to be the best mother I can be for our son.

      On that note, I think I will once again try to endure the high humidity and heat of our home (we are dealing with an a/c problem tonight) and make another attemt at sleep. 

       GENTLE FIBRO HUGS TO ALL and goodnight from HUMID NW MICHIGAN!

New product from 3 BIRDS on HSN TOMORROW!

http://www.hsn.com/crafts-sewing/3-birds-cling-eeeze-rub-on-kit_p-6730929_xp.aspx
     A new rub-on kit, which coordinates with ALL the 3 Birds products currently available on HSN.COM!!!!  woo hoo!

My poor, beautiful Dakota has hotspots

   My best friend, my malamute Dakota, has HOTSPOTS :(    I've never had a dog with hotspots before, and after I discovered that her dry skin wasn't the biggest problem, I searched online for home remedies.  When that didn't clear things up completely, I used an otc treatment (another topical), which still didn't completely heal them.  My next stop was 1800petmeds.com......the oral treatment really turned it around, but it still continued to spread.  After a visit to our veterinarian, I decided to follow his suggestion & shave/trim her coat.  Shaving her would not only help me find any more infection, but trimming her entire coat would increase air exposure and therefore help her heal faster.  I am treating her 2-3 times a day with a highly-oxygenated water (spray) that kills bacteria on contact. 
        Last year she weighed 112 lbs., so I cut her food back, plus began feeding her Purina ONE, per the vet's recommendations.  She looked her healthiest at 80-90 lbs.  She had lost 3 lbs in just a couple of weeks last year, but now weighs 121.3 LBS....GAINING BACK THE 3 LBS PLUS 9 MORE!   We discussed checking her THYROID since she has been gaining wait even though we have been walking every day.  It turns out that her thyroid function is terribly low (0.5)....low being between 1 & 2!  She is now on thyroid medication twice a day....the thyroid problem can also be contributing to her skin condition, preventing it from healing as it should. 
      I had already trimmed ALL the hair from her hotspots, with one of our neighbors saying that she looked like she had a reverse mohawk.  The complete shave was required to expose the area to topical treatments PLUS allow airflow & help drying.  Unfortunately, as I trimmed her remaining coat, she lost most of her beautiful black guardhairs.  She now is very gray (the color of her wooly undercoat) and looks much older than her 6 years (estimated since she is an adopted stray).
     I FEEL AWFUL about shaving her....I've been fighting suggestions for the past 3 years by local husky-mix owners who shave their dogs in the summer to supposedly help them to stay cool.  This is a very controversial topic not only among pet parents, but also among professional groomers.  Most groomers REFUSE to shave multi-coated dogs, as it may not completely fill back in, & if so, may take SEVERAL YEARS to return to normal, if at all.  Insulation works two ways: prevents heat loss & heat gain, but then again, she has a black coat....I've ALWAYS been stringent about helping her stay cool.
     Her hair has already been regrowing withing the completely shaved areas, as I had to reshave her to expose the skin to the topical treatments, but I have been PRAYING that her entire coat returns, healthy & full.....she is meant to be a beautifully, heavily coated animal.  I still feel terrible each time I look at her or think about it, but I am feeling more hopeful about it returning after seeing new growth already within the hotspot areas....

Wesley loves to make 'fur babies', 'fur puppies' or 'gremlins' out of Dakota's fur each time I brush her, but this pile is ridiculus!