This is only for the 365 project people out there...

I have had such a ball doing this 365 project and thought I would share where I am so far in the project. I am 14 pictures from being totally caught up until today. It takes me more time to print the journalling than it does to construct the layouts.
Here is my scrap booking space while I am creating things....a total mess:
Drawers and doors open, stuff everywhere...
And here is what it looks like when I finish for a day or for several hours even. I can't stand disorganization and when I come back to it, it has to be cleaned off:
OK, now for the 365 project so far:This is the album I bought yesterday, by American Crafts. Love the color!!

Title page, haven't done much with it....picture is thanks to Becky Higgins inspiration. Very difficult to set up.
December 28-January 3rd

January 4-11

January 12-18

January 19-25
January 26-31


February 1-7February 8-14
And finally, this layout isn't finished, but I wanted to show off the "Bling" I made today...it's the B block....
Most of this was for Catie's benefit because when we go to S. Carolina in a couple of weeks, I can't bring it with me.

Saturday, February 28th, the Phoenix rises from the ashes....

Today while looking out the patio window and bemoaning the fact that winter seems to never end (do I actually live in Narnia?), I spotted something in my seemingly dead flower beds:
Yes, my friends, those are the daffodils!!! I can't wait to get out there and clear away dead stuff making way for the new life of spring, though not today, it is 19 degrees outside and snowing!!

Friday, February 27th, getting stuff done..

Today was such a great day. I used my 30% coupon at Archiver's and bought a 12x12 d-ring binder for my 365 project. Now that it is in a book, it looks great. I am caught up until February 7th now. Also, Celia came over and I made labels for 6 quilt projects and she showed me how using "Printed Treasures". Probably the greatest thing that happened today was the fact that Chuck made these cool ironing surfaces. We saw them at Patsy's and they are such wonderful portable pressing surfaces. We translated our idea to Chuck, whose perfection always shines. Celia and I then covered them with some fabric that I had.

Thursday, February 26th, such pretty colors

My orange for work last night had the prettiest coloring. When we went apple picking in the fall we noticed that some of the apples had interesting color variations depending if a leaf shadowed it from direct sunlight. I wonder if that's what happened to this guy? By the way, my co-workers thought I was totally insane for taking pictures of my orange....

Wednesday, February 25th, becoming a slug

I have been much too sedentary of late, with all of my activities being those where I sit on my fat butt. Because it is slightly warmer, with temps in the high 30's and at times reaching 40's, I decided that I would go out and walk for at least 30 minutes today. While reading the paper, it started to rain....well, a few sit-ups wouldn't hurt me....

Tuesday, February 24th, Honoring her memory..

Dad went to a memorial service for those who have passed in the past year under Hospice care that we used for mom. I am so proud of the fact that he has joined a grief group that meets weekly. Even though dad was always the quiet one, he loves being around people and has stayed busy with golf, Rotary, the grief group, church, concerts and dinner and lunch several times per week with friends. Caring for mom occupied all of his time for the past three years.

Monday, February 23rd, Yumminess

Since about 1994, Chuck has done a majority of the cooking here. He is quite proficient in making good, balanced meals and has it ready in time for me to get ready for work and get out on time. I still cook occasionally, but when I am sleeping all day or napping prior to a shift, meal planning is not a priority.
He made this delicious meal on Monday:
Corn chip encrusted Tilapia, Mac n cheese (Kraft Deluxe, yum...) green beans and homemade garlic bread. Isn't it pretty?

Sunday, February 22nd, Dan

Yesterday, while delivering his sermon, my brother-in-law had chest pain and profuse sweating. Being the guy that he is, he finished the sermon and then drove himself to the emergency room. Initially they didn't think that he had a heart attack but serial blood work proved otherwise. They transferred him by ambulance to Traverse City and today put a stent in one of the vessels. My sister was down visiting my dad for the weekend, so wasn't home when all of this transpired. She is doing ok now, but really exhausted as it is almost an 8 hour drive from dad to Traverse City.

I have thought for most of my life that a coffee cup is an actual extension of his arm. It is rare that the pot even cools off.
Here he is posing with dad and the kids at the funeral dinner.

Love this guy, and have for the majority of my life. I've known him since I've been 14, so he is more like a brother to me than a brother-in-law.

Saturday, February 21st, a good start

Yesterday, I stayed up until 4:30 in the morning because there was a monthly crop at church. There were scissors, stickers, paper and tools a flyin'. I got a good start on my project 365 journal and was able to get most of the first two weeks done.
Some just sorted the pictures of their lives and remembered.
Some in catch up mode
Some with such amazing artistry
And some scrapping baby number one before baby number 2 arrives.
A really fun time, but I left early to go to work.
By the way, I am done with winter, not that I don't like it you see, but it just hangs on like a nasty relative that you can only spend a short time with. We got another 3 or more inches of show.

Friday, Februrary 20th, finally...

I did a two page scrap booking layout tonight. It has been laying on my table for about 3 weeks. Now that I am getting more proficient at photoshop and printing photos, I am thinking that the creative block I have been suffering with will soon be a thing of the past.

Thursday, February 19th, mmmmm..m&m's

Was searching for a picture for today, and Chuck suggested the pretty candy in our candy jar. One of my top candies.......

Wednesday, February 18th, I have conquered!!!

Many of you may think this is no big deal, but for me, I just climbed a huge mountain and planted my flag. Saturday is a group crop day and my goal was to scrapbook all of my January 365 project. I had no expectation that it would actually work, but today, I printed all of the pictures and half of the journalling blocks. Thank you, Creating Keepsakes for the free down load.
The pictures turned out gorgeous, thanks to photoshop. I am just so happy right now....

Tuesday, February 17th, Humbled by others beauty

I finished both pieces for show and tell last night at guild, but man with the talent in this group, it is very intimidating to follow some of these artists. I said that I wouldn't make apologies for it, but I spent the whole time doing just that. I can't help it, but I have to keep reminding myself that I am on a huge learning curve. My friend Deb took the picture and couldn't get me with my head up because I was so embarrassed. But I have to say, this was completely and totally made by me, piecing, layering, basting, quilting. For that I can be proud. For you non-quilters out there, this took more hours than I can count to make; I spent at least 50 hours quilting it and binding it. That doesn't take in to account the hours I spent piecing it. That is why when you purchase hand made quilts, they are so incredibly pricey. But for all of our sakes, please don't buy a quilt from someplace like Domestications or JC Penny or Kohl's. They are all made in China and my work looks like museum work compared to that crap.
A sidebar, I am playing with the backgrounds for my blog. I loved the green and paisley one, but had a hard time reading some of the text, so another change for today....enjoy

Monday, February 16th, Love 'em with sweets...

Last night was small group and I try to make them Valentines every year. Yesterday I had embellishments all over the basement floor searching for inspiration. It never came. I was so tired after cleaning, laundry and sewing that I decided to give them a different sort of Valentine.
I made this delicious heart shaped chocolate raspberry cheesecake for them and I was so excited to serve it that I didn't get a photo beforehand. As you can see, they loved it and I have some left for my sweetie. Actually, because I used the heart shaped mold, there was batter left over, so I really made two. It is quite good....

Sunday, February 15th, Nearly finished

I was up until 12:30 last night finishing the big quilt. It is about an hour from complete. I am not totally pleased with it, but it is a growing process. When I pieced it, I had a different sewing machine and I have learned much about proper seam allowances, etc since then. Hence, the quilt is wavy and won't hang straight. So, it is a learning project. A novice wouldn't notice, but I do. I will try my best not to point out the plethora of mistakes on it.
Today, I will finish it while listening to one of the old movies I have recorded off of TCM. Also,I must clean the remnants of my sewing from the house as small group is tonight. Above is just a sample of all of the bits of tracing paper laying all over the house. My camera isn't good enough to show all of the threads also.

Saturday, February 14th, a lazy Valentine's day

When I got up yesterday morning, Chuck had sent me this adorable Hallmark card on my e-mail. Very cute. I was so bad yesterday, because all I did was sew all day and I didn't even take my jammies off. I am determined to finish the large piece before Tuesday and because it makes such a huge mess with threads, bits of fabric and tracing paper everywhere, I really can't clean the house until I am finished quilting it. By 4 pm yesterday, I was getting impatient with it, so instead, I finished this:
It is one of the 6 Jo Morton projects from last year and I just did some very simple crosshatching quilting on it and bound it. I finished it last night at 9:30 and I was absolutely exhausted. See, this quilting stuff is hard work. Today, I have to get some housework and laundry done after church, but I am also going to try to finish the quilting on the other thing.

Friday, February 13th, A new quilt shop

Today, Celia and I went to "Quilter's Heaven" in Northbrook. They were the shop that was at the first guild meeting we attended and we have wanted to go ever since. It is just a lovely shop with some wonderful fabrics. Celia was drooling everywhere and it was pretty embarrassing to come behind her and wipe her chin...not that I was doing the same thing, oh no!!!
This area of Northbrook has many beautiful homes sprinkled in with older homes. We just happened to see a tear down in progress right next to the shop. This is what was happening when we went in:
Lots of shattering glass, and crunching wood sounds.
Here was what we saw when we came out less than an hour later:
It looked like a giant monster came along and had a little snack.
We came back to Celia's house after our expedition and I had a bologna sandwich on white bread...what a treat!! Then we sewed side by side for a couple of hours. Just a great day. Tonight is bunco....

Thursday, February 12th, Still practicing

I am still quilting on this piece. Today, I have moved to the stencil part. It is difficult and requires a ton of practice, but I am starting to get more confidence. It is far from perfect, but I will persevere!!!
Oh, by the way, my oldest nephew is 30 today. My little baby nephew....I can't believe it. Love you, Nathan!!!

Wednesday, February 11th, Idolizing Idol

There aren't a lot of shows that I record anymore, but this is one to which I have been faithful since discovering it three episodes before the finale of season one. I generally work on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so I rush home on Wednesday and Thursday mornings to watch it on the DVR. A couple of the seasons I got mad when my favorite was voted off, as in the Fantasia season when Latoya London was canned about 5 from the end. Also, Jordan Sparks year when Melinda Doolittle was voted off. I quit watching after that in protest. I'm sure that made a huge difference in ratings. Two of the seasons, I picked the winner from the beginning, which was Carrie Underwood and David Cook.
This year, there are a couple of stand outs for me, but no girls have really caught my eye or ear. I like the guy from Milwaukee that is the "church music instructor". I don't know what that means....is he a choir director, or a worship leader? I have never heard that term. I also like the guy with the punk hair, black fingernail polish and big rings. He is a stage actor and Simon criticizes him and says he is too Broadway. I like the blind guy, but he is a better pianist than a singer. I really like the guy that sang "Georgia" with the keyboard last night. But girls? None, so far....we will have to see. The girl that thinks she is the best singer since Ella and has a laugh that could clear rooms has got to go. I'm thinking they are keeping her because people will watch just to hate her....I know I do...

Tuesday, February 10th, Home is where the heart is....

This is our home, our refuge, our sanctuary. It has it's problems, and I get my "wanter" out of joint sometimes. The carpet needs to be replaced (it is still the construction grade stuff), there are more than a few windows that have broken seals, I would love more landscape upgrades, I would love a screen room off the kitchen, I would love another bathroom in the basement, and the list goes on and on. But this week, I have been reminded of how blessed we really are. God has given us this house and we have always said that we would use it for His glory. What does that look like? Well, recently, we have been challenged to examine that thoroughly. Also, I am especially grateful for our home as a former co-worker of mine lost everything in a house fire on Saturday night. I have looked around this house and seen what my life would look like without all of my things. It is a very humbling prospect....

Monday, February 9th, practice makes perfect

I have made the leap to use those machine quilting skills that I have been practicing on an actual big piece. It is very time consuming, but very gratifying. I started this while at retreat and hope to have it finished by show and tell at guild a week from tomorrow. With encouragement from my friends, I hope to continue this process. I have 11 items waiting in the wings needing machine quilting. We will see...

Sunday, February 8th, A celebration

Today we witnessed a beautiful baptism. Our friend Kelly, who is 18 made the decision to have his uncle baptize him today. What a wonderful testament of his faith.

Saturday, February 7th, more techno challenges..

Recently, my phone has been giving me fits. I make one short call and the whole thing goes dead. So, we made the decision today to get a new one. Just when I get used to one thing....here comes something new to challenge all of my gadget skills. We will see. It is supposed to hold my planner, addresses, etc just like my present phone, but is not Windows or Palm based. I may have to manually enter everything. That will not be a pleasant Sunday afternoon's activities.

Friday, February 6th, a portent of things to come

This morning the temperature was so mild!!! It was 24 degrees, which sounds cold, but it has been close to zero most of the week. Then today, it got up to close to 40. Winter is one of my favorite seasons, as is spring, summer and fall, but I am ready for this coldness to be over. Tomorrow it is supposed to be over 50, which will help Chuck and I in our garage cleaning expedition.
I noticed that our mailbox, which has been totally encased in a snow bank is starting to peek out from the mounds of snow. There are little snow caves where it is melting. I know that we will still have winter for quite some time, but there is hope!!!

Thursday, February 5th, My fav jammies

Two years ago for my birthday, my family bought me these awesome jammies. They remind Chuck of his favorite toy from childhood. When I get home from work and I am so cold and tired, they warm me perfectly. Between these and my bed, I'm snug as a bug. The forecast says that in the next few days, they will probably be replaced with a cotton t-shirt. Spring's a-comin'......

Wednesday, February 4th, facing grief

Yesterday, Chuck and I went to the wake of an old friend. By the looks of the number of people there at 6 p.m. on a week night, he was much loved. The kids are around the same age as our kids and that was hard to see. Also, his widow is just the dearest lady and all of the kids don't live around here, so I think the loss will be very hard on her. He was fairly healthy until Friday, when he just dropped playing basketball, one of his passions. He was also a HUGE Steelers fan, but where he is now, I don't think he really missed the game...he is having way more fun than that!!!!

Tuesday, February 3rd, tools for this project

I think I said that this 365 blog is in addition to a book that I will be making based on inspiration from Creating Keepsakes kit of the month. Well, I wasn't quick enough to order a kit and from the chatter that I have seen about it, I can do much better in quality by getting things at Archiver's. Today, I picked out the binder I will be using, but didn't purchase it yet, because my credit card hasn't cooled off from the weekend yet. For the other 365 people out there, there are wonderful binders made by "We are Memory Keepers" or the Archiver's brand. However, I did buy some pages, acrylic for monthly dividers and a date stamp. I scored big because the date stamp was 50% off!!!
A profitable trip to be sure.

Monday, February 2nd, recuperating

I forced myself to stay up until 9 last night. I thought I would sleep only until 6 or so, because Lord knows that is enough sleep even for a baby.
Imagine my surprise when I looked at the microwave this morning:
You know, quilting is hard work....