~Spring is in the Air~

Just wanted to share a little project that I did yesterday with the February Kenner Road Kit.



Featherweight.



I think I amazed myself that I got the box in the mail at noon, opened it and within an hour figured out a cute use for the old spool and finished the project. It was pretty fast. It is much cuter in real life then in the pictures..you don't get a proper sense of scale from pictures.
I used a Maya Road butterfly page from the Chipboard Butterfly album and traced it onto this cute Cosmo Cricket Girl Friday paper...It almost killed me to cut into this paper but I had to do it at some point.....used another piece of the Girl Friday paper on the bottom and a title from the Girl Friday Elements quote paper.
The bottom of the project is made using an empty ribbon spool (Told you Michelle, I would do something cute with it) that Michelle gave me at Paper Tales....I bought the rest of the bakers twine that was on it..and she gave me the spool. After seeing Danielle Flanders cute CHA project using ribbon spools...I was hooked!

Anyway, I used Fabri-Tac of course....sticks stuff like crazy. Love, love, love that stuff (and when I write 3 loves, it means I seriously love it). It's liquid gold in a bottle! And NO, I don't work for them or even know them...just love that dang glue!

I am also addicted to curling ribbons now that I know how....thanks to fellow Maya Road DT member, Andrea Wiebe.....look HERE to learn how.

Anyway, enjoy....although I'm still enjoying our mild winter here in San Diego, I know that some of you are counting the days until Spring. So, here's a glimpse of it!







Have a Great Weekend!
~Katie

~PS-I Love You~ Maya Road Blog

I had the blog today for Maya Road and after a few times of my computer shutting down (it's my computers new favorite hobby) I finally got it finished. This is a peek at my project using the Airmail MailBox (comes with a stamp edge mini album too)...

Before-


After-



You can see more pictures of the Airmail Mail Box plus the supply list and directions if you go to the Maya Road Design Team Blog.

Have a great Day!
~Katie

~This is where I need to go....~

I have a friend named Christine Penaflor, I met her while we served together on the DT at A Million Memories. She is a super talented scrapper and paper crafter (elegant, beautiful, dreamy, shabby chic)but aside from her talent..she is one of the nicest people that you will ever meet.

There are few people like her, really there aren't. Just out of the blue she'll send you a present in the mail to tell you she's thinking of you, or knows someone is sick and will send a handmade card. Her gifts are always well thought out...and she always includes some little handmade embellies or a handmade card..always something sweet that she made for you.

About a month ago, she told me about something that she was working on....hmmm..what could it be..well, she has a beautiful house up in the wine country (just north of San Diego)...that she was turning into a scrap retreat. Well, if you know her work then you know she doesn't do anything half way...so I KNEW that it would be gorgeous.

It's called the Scrap Retreat House at French Valley California.






Well, it is gorgeous but I was shocked at how much thought she put into it.....read here..........

The largest room in the retreat home is the crop area which is over 500 square feet and dedicated for the use of weekend retreat guests. This elegantly appointed room boasts custom built coffered ceilings and a mirrored wall surrounded by beautiful moulding. Nine recessed lights provide daylight lighting ideal for scrapbooking. The overhead surround sound speaker system is connected to the digital stereo receiver equipped with an iPod docking station where guests are welcome to listen to their favorite music playlists.
Each guest is treated to their own six-foot long table which provides a spacious area to freely create their projects. Guests are provided with comfortable leather task chairs which easily move on casters as they work at the tables. Each table is also equipped with a daylight lamp for detail work and a power strip to conveniently connect laptops or other electronic devices.

Separate tool areas and a computer station is available within the crop room.

A computer workstation is equipped with a desktop computer with WiFi internet access. The computer is installed with the Cricut Design Studio software and is connected to a Cricut. A library of 14 Cricut cartridges is available for use.

Plus there are a ton of other tools and die cut systems available. Does this look nice or what?







It is lovely....and would be perfect for an event or just hanging with friends....my thinking cap is on for this....I would love to plan something...just gotta work out the details.
Anyway, The Scrap Retreat at French Valley is a dream come true for my friend Christine and I am so happy for her!!

Oh yeah, and it looks like I'm going March 27-29...Derek will have just gotten back from being gone for 3 weeks...so it will be a much looked forward to break!

~My Favorites~ My most favorite album that I have ever made....and I need to see it today...

Just needing to see some of my favorite things today.......need some bright aquas, turquoise and Pinks.......... Color therapy I think......right?

I'm a bit overwhelmed today and burned out..........Finally got Hannah in school for the first full day since her casts came off.....but have Maddy home with 102.5 degree temperature.

Derek gets home on Wednesday and I so need a break.......from this house and my kids...and my back needs a break from carrying Hannah everywhere..the walking is coming very slowly.....she hurts and her ankles are stiff.

And the RAK winner is............#15!!

I had 22 total comments and MADD clickers....so I told Hannah, pick a number between 1-22 and she said 15!!

So, #15....
samanthasib said...
Thanks for the link to MADD. Hope this will get passed. Your apple book....amazing...how do you think like that?
I will hopefully be in your upcoming class, got my babysitter, just need to pay now!
xo-Samantha

February 14, 2009 11:07 PM

Miss Samantha, please email me at KatieBWatson@aol.com so I can get your shipping info!!

Thanks to all who participated, my husband got tears in his eyes when he saw all your comments....thank you, thank you, thank you!!

~Katie

~Gotta Love a Washington Spring..~ Pink Paislee Fascinating Line- Photo HEAVY

I'm serious....there is nothing like Spring in Washington state....the tulips, the trees filling in, the birds chirping....it's gorgeous. I miss living there...Whidbey Island was my favorite place that I've lived in my whole life.
And these pictures have been waiting for a special project to come up. I used a 7Gypsies ATC carousal and a whole lot of Pink Paislee's Fascinating line and created this little end table project.
I used the papers, the alphabet stickers, the chipboard letters, the chipboard elements ,the brads, the sticker packs and the pressons all from the Fascinating line.

You may see some cards twice...I took pictures and then did more cards and had to rearrange a bit...so accidentally have doubles of certain pages...I can't rephoto it right now because it's being displayed at Paper Tales here in San Diego.




























I hope you found this Fascinating!!!!

Creative Therapy-Catalyst # 49- A photo that brings up emotion....

This weeks assignment was to use a photo that brings up emotion.... you can see the other artists versions by going HERE.

Sunshine in the Rain

These photos totally bring up emotion when I look at them. I can remember that exact moment......I remember how happy she was and I remember it feeling like that little break in the clouds where the sunshine shines through....even if just for a moment.

I also used January's Kenner Road kit for this page.....the rainbow's were beyond perfect for the pictures!

~Happy Valentine's Day~ Our treat bags this year....so sweet!

I had so much fun (notice I say I on this.....the girls lost interest quickly) making these treat bags. I used the stamps from Pink Paislee's Sweet Cakes line, so darn cute. I love them, they make me happy!

I hope that you had a great Valentine's Day and were able to share it with someone sweet.

These big bags were the girl's valentine's bags...full of fun stuff from the dollar section of Michael's. They were super excited to get them!!

The bags by the way are from Paper Mart. I use them to package up my kit pieces for classes but they come in SUPER duper handy for other things too!

On this 3 day weekend.........plus an RAK!

Please drive safe and please take a minute to listen to this.....


As many of you know, this summer my 19 year old brother-in-law was killed by a drunk driver. (Link to the first post after he was killed , just click on "newer" posts at the bottom and it will chronologically take you through my blog as I have a ton more posts on him and the situation.) The loss has just been beyond difficult for our family and friends to deal with. My in-laws are still devastated and it has changed their lives forever. There is so much sadness for them everyday. The impact has been deep for everyone involved but please let it make a difference. Please let this inspire us to make changes and change the laws to protect others.


There is a legislative proposal that would make the Ignition Interlock mandatory in the last 42 states that haven't already made it mandatory.

This is SO easy to sign and send...all you do is click on this link Ignition Interlocks for convicted DUI drivers and fill out name, address etc on the left side and send, it's already written for you. You may add to it if you want or just keep it in the form letter. Takes 2 minutes.

from the MADD site----
"In 2007, almost 13,000 people were killed in crashes involving a drunk driver. Fortunately, there is a technology that has the potential to eliminate these preventable deaths -- the ignition interlock. These sophisticated devices can prevent a vehicle from being driven by a drunk driver. If they are used correctly -- in concert with treatment, in addition to hard license suspensions and in the vehicles until they are no longer needed -- they can stop repeat offenses.

People who have previous drunk driving convictions make up approximately one-third of the drunk driving problem in America. These are people who have been failed by a system that has in turn failed to keep the rest of us safe. Even first-time offenses are serious indicators that a person is likely to become a repeat offender. First-time offenders have driven drunk an average of 87 times before they are convicted and most likely have a serious problem with alcohol.

Studies have shown that ignition interlocks can decrease repeat offenses by 64%. We have the technology and we know how to reverse the trend, but the laws haven't been passed yet making this technology mandatory for ALL convicted DUI offenders.

Currently eight states mandate or provide strong incentives for ignition interlocks for all persons convicted of DUI -- Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana, Nebraska, New Mexico and Washington. If you are a resident of one of the other 42 states contact your legislators and tell them you support saving lives and eliminating repeat drunk driving offenses by mandating ignition interlocks for all convicted DUI offenders. "

In case you missed the link it's here ----> Ignition Interlocks for convicted DUI drivers


and I'm going to be doing my first RAK.............here's the skinny on it.....

You MUST click on the above link (honesty policy here) AND post a message on my blog. I will randomly draw a name ONE week from today. Next Friday morning (Feb. 20), I will draw a name and send you out a GOOD RAK.

So remember, 2 things.....click on the link (and if you agree with the legislation and live in one of the 42 states left, then please fill it out and send) and leave me a message on my blog!

I of course would love it if you sent out a link (for the Ignition Interlock Campaign) to all your friends and family but I know that's a lot to ask.


So, have a great 3 Day weekend and please be safe!!

~Katie

~October at the Farm~ Maya Road's new Apple coaster Album

This sure was a fun little album to make. I had these farm pictures from when we lived on Whidbey Island...that were perfect for it. As soon as we get around Julian and get some "local" pictures then I'll do another one of these as a Julian album. For those of you that are "not from around" these parts...Julian is our local mountains, it's where my husband grew up. They are famous for their apple pies. My in-laws still live there and we go up there all the time but we stay away from town. We just hole up with the family and breathe in the mountain air and stay as far away from people as possible....but for the apple album I need some "julian" pics...the mine, the candy shop, town, the pie places etc....

Anyway, enough rambling.......here is the rest. I think my favorite part of this was making the little trees.....I painted them green, sanded the edges, used Glossy Accents and flock to make the little apples. Then I inked the trunk brown and used a brown pen to make the trunk texture. I then used Glossy Accents over the whole thing to make it shiny! They were so fun!















Here are links to a few products that I used...Maya Road doesn't have the brand new product on their site yet so I can't link to that yet. I'll edit my post when I can link.
I used the Calendar Sheer Set, Metric Ruler Stamp (I love using scallop scissor with this stamp to make little borders), Red Trinket Buttons(love that you can sand the edges of these to make them white and distressed), Oval Calendar Stamp, Scallop Chipboard Frames, Red Scallop Ric Rac (This stuff makes me weak in the knees)and here is Ranger Glossy Accents (a favorite product among the Maya Road DT members)...as soon as the new MR products are up, I'll update these links.
Hope you enjoyed my little apple album as much as I enjoyed making it!!
~Katie

ETA- The red gingham paper is made by Daisy D's, which sadly is gone....loved that company!

btw- Hannah is walking on her own, even with the big bulky casts and started school yesterday!! So proud of her!!

Kenner Road Kit Layouts and some Sorry Sneakers....

I just did 3 layouts with the Jan Kenner Road kit..........2 I can share, one I can't share yet....I did a layout for next weeks Creative Therapy assignment...
This months kit was full of fun stuff...some cutie pie vintage milk caps, rainbows and popsicles, bright blue tissue garland and lots of reds, limes, oranges, hot pinks and other fun colors.
This layout is called "I {heart} OverAll Season".




This layout is called "Happy Feet".




These are Hannah's sneakers....that were a couple of months old...and I just wanted to show you the tread wear from her feet.....

Now these were some "unhappy feet"......oh man, I see a layout coming for those!!

I also ran across some free Valentines Images, you have to post a link in order to be able to download them, they look super cute and I need something cute for our Valentines Bags this year.... so go HERE to look at them!

Pink Paislee Blog Post and Class coming up!

Today was my blog post day on the Pink Paislee Blog, you can see it here....Lucky Me Mini Album

I will also be teaching this book on March 7th from 2-5ish... (may last longer) at Cool Scrapbook Stuff here in Poway, Ca. For info go HERE.

We will be using the new "Fetching" line by Pink Paislee and it is rich and beautiful, you will love it!!The album is a 6x6 binder album by Maya Road. You will also receive 3 sets of alphabet letters plus the "ME" big Maya Road letters on the front! So, this class will be full of product!! You'll take home leftovers!

The cost is $35 and includes all the product so you will get LOTS of Pink Paislee and Maya Road.....this will be a little bit of a different class as your pages might not look the same as mine...and that's because you don't have my pictures so your titles and placement may be different. You will have all the same supplies to work with and you will receive a list of what photos I used (like pg 1- 1 vertical 4x6 picture that was cropped, pg 2- 1 horizontal 4x6 picture) so then you can follow the same pattern that I did for each page. Make sense?

So, if you are interested and live (or will be) in the area then contact Cool Scrapbook Stuff for details.

Here are a couple more pictures....more can be seen at the Pink Paislee Blog.

Another CHA project from the Maya Road booth.....

This is another project that I did for the Maya Road booth. I was assigned the new Layered Mini Album. I was hoarding this Heather Bailey Paper and waiting to find the perfect project...this one was it!






I used the new "mini" Noah alphabet and the Valentines "Love" release chipboard keychain set for this cover.

I also used the new little blossom on this page, they are kind of like leather...they are fun to use.

This is one of the new owl sheer pieces....couldn't be more perfect for the glasses that my girls have on......Man, I miss the Gymboree days....I also used one of the Maya Road borders on this.

Did you notice the little white butterfly rubons that I used inside her bug catching jar? She was really catching mostly little rolly polly's but I added a few butterflies for her!

On a more personal note...Hannah is walking!! Very unsteady but she is up and around...she just follows stuff that she can hold on to...like a baby..when they cruise the edge of the couch. She hasn't walked without something to steady herself on yet...but she's getting there! So NICE to not carry her to the bathroom anymore...!!

We went to Julian this weekend....to see my in-laws...we also looked at a bunch of houses in Ramona....they are totally affordable...and maybe, just maybe we can buy a house....the money we pay for rent is such a waste....would love to own a home and paint the walls ANY color I want!

I had a moment....in Ian's room...actually quite a few moments...his room is untouched...it's been 6 months and it's pretty much like he left it...dirty clothes in the closet etc...and I walked in there and on his nightstand was his hat...like it was just waiting for him...it made me cry. I went through his closet and just touched some of his stuff....found a rock in one of his shoes...took it out but put it back where it was. It's still so unreal....just so strange...and sad, deeply gut wrenching. Makes me sick to my stomach that he's never gonna put that hat on again. I still can't believe it. My in-laws look tired....and older...and they have lost their spark..and if you know them then you know the spark that I'm talking about....it's amazing...and it's lost. I love them dearly and wish there was something that I could do...but there's not. We are going to try and get them going to a support group called Compassionate Friends...we went to that after my brother died. It helped us all a lot. I think they need to be around people that have walked in their footsteps...to see that life is still important and it does go on. It's a hard grief to share and I think being around people that completely understand will help.

We drove past the accident site and as usual I had that feeling in my stomach like you do at the top of a roller coaster right before you go down...not that excited feeling but that feeling like your gut is in your chest and you can't catch your breath...the glass is still all on the side of the road and the sun was shining on it so it was sparkling...to go and remove the glass would be very unsafe...as that road is bad and there is constant traffic coming around the corner.

Driving the route that he last drove was also strange....I just kept putting myself in his car...and thinking that he was just driving with Tessa, music on, windows down...and just driving without a care in the world...not knowing that this would be his last action, his last moments, his last laughs etc....it was horrible...but I couldn't escape it...I just couldn't. He was happy and in love and spent the last few minutes with his girlfriend... gosh, how much one minute can make..just one stinking minute...that's all he needed. The drunk driver might have missed him....just one minute... Miss you Ian.

~K

This is a picture of him holding Hannah....he was about 12 or so in this picture and she was a chubby little bundle.