Snow in the fall...

New york is unpredicatable in many ways.This year the weather is proving that quite early.Not even a fair chance to enjoy Fall, Winter comes and steals the show.
I would love to be there to see the first real snow.
But only for an hour.
Seeing it is one thing, living with it is another.
Last year there was a major snow storm.
It made life for New Yorkers a little harder.
But the pictures were beautiful.

Don't the alphabet remind you of ice?
And the snowflakes really hit the spot.
Now I have to admit to something.
Most scrapbookers (actually ALL responsible scrapbookers) give you the name of the product.
I,on the other hand, have layouts from too long ago to know what company they are.
I did not know I would become a Blogger.
That's my excuse.
But I promise from now on I will keep all the pakaging.
Meantime enjoy and be inspired.

Showing appreciation...

This morning I woke up to find this on my daughter Chanale's blog.
And I thought to myself what a great opportunity to give homage to this wonderful person.
So here is a layout I did many years ago.
For my children to remember how lucky they were to have Frida in their lives.
For my children to remember the important lessons she taught them about how to be a decent human being.
She is from "Chassidei Umos Haolam" for sure.
I feel honored to know her...

Faygie's advice:“Learn everything you can, anytime you can, from anyone you can - there will always come a time when you will be grateful you did.”

Happy Birthday....

Two of my amazing girls were born on the same calendar date.
Must have been a great date to be born.
They are both fun and fabulous .
Must have been the day Hashem gave an extra dose of "best laughs".
I am humbled by their talent and capabilities.
And most of all for their big hearts.
They give us much nachas.
How lucky I am to be their mother.

 

Faygie's advice:
Dont't wait till someones birthday to show them how much you love them.
Give them a hug today...

My mother always says
"far a kush git men nisht kein patch"

(for a kiss you don't recieve a slap).

Lesson Number One....

The most valuable lesson to learn when you are a beginner scrapbooker is ....
SCRAPLIFTing.
Its like shoplifting but it's not against the law.
Actually it's very much encouraged.
Not many people can be totally creative without inspiration.
Scrapbooking is about more than one thing.
It's documenting.
It's creating.
It's preserving .
It's whatever fills your need.
So therefore the first and most important thing is to JUST DO IT!
Last year I was asked by this magazine if they could publish one of my layouts.

This is what they wrote:
Here's a perfect example of creating "outside the box". The patterned paper featured here is actually from a Jewish holiday collection, but as you can see, adding a little of this and a little of that makes for a very happy springtime layout. How sweet is that?

This paper is from the Rosh Hashana collection (hence SWEET) for Crafting Jewish Style.
The creater of these awesome collections asked me to design layouts.
The magazine gives specific instructions how to make this layout.
Easy!
Did I say "you can do it" yet?
Here's a layout that I scraplifted from this book a few years ago.

I loooove how it came out.

As you can see I changed the words.
But all the same the message is clear.
And now I have it forever documented.
See how easy that is?
You should be convinced by now that you can do this.
That you want to do this.
That you will do this.
Start with this layout too.
Purchase exactly what you need.
If you have any questions E-mail me.
I will show you one more example of a scraplift.
This is from my very favorite Elsie.
A few years ago she put out this book.

She inspires me to be free with my creativity in a fun and colorful way!

Heres the original.

And if you read my blog from the beginning you will remember this one.

I changed it up but you get the idea.
So now that I am starting to trust you with my secrets the least you could do is start scrapbooking.
If you will check in with me I will show you more at a later date.
Just to keep you interested.

Something new I learned.

My mind was working overtime.
What could I do to make this sweater mine.
So I decided why not use the opportunity to learn something new?
And while I learned how to stitch felt flowers...
I learned how much fun it is to learn something new.

Cute right?
So now I'm thinking about making a skirt.
We'll see...

And the winner is.....

DRUMROLL........................................
YRR!
I don't know who you are so please e-mail me your address.
Thanx to all of you who participated.
I will definitely be doing this again in the future.
So don't go away.

And in between scrapbooking I'm knitting...

I'm excited about this little sweater.
Making two of them for my two cuties.
Using the lovely Peter Pan yarn.
The fun part is deciding how I will add some whimsey to it.
Gotta make it my own.
Will definitely keep you posted.

“I'll try anything once, twice if I like it, three times to make sure.”

So I'm looking at some of my favorite blogs.And I come across this.
I'm thinking  I could do this.
I looked through my collection of 'stuff I buy on sale just in case'.
I found exactly what I needed and went about creating.
What a great way to spend the day.
A perfect way to wind down after all the Yom Tov festivities.

First I found a canvas. Yep I only paid $3.50.

Then I used this wonderful quote from a book I bought in a thrift shop.
My daughter was reading it the other day and got a kick out of this particular one.
The author  has a website  with all kinds of interesting things.
Transformed the canvas to this.
I love the way it came out.
Especially for a first try.
Thanx ELSIE.
(My first scrapbook crush.)

 And put it on a shelf to display.

I could see myself doing this again.
How about you?
Are you willing to try it?
If you have any questions on how to do it give me a call write me an e-mail.

Have you laughed today yet?

My daughter is a good sport.
I showed her this layout and asked her if she minds me poking fun at her.
She said if it makes me happy, then she's happy.
I think she's growing up.
Make a layout poking fun at someone you love.
Make sure they are also a good sport.

OR
You could do what KELLI CROWE did.
That is where my inspiration came from.
She is one of my 3 favorites scrapbookers.
She has fantastic ideas.
Check them out.
Get inspired.
And get scrapping already.
If you need a good start on laughing read this.
(Faygie's advice: LAUGHTER CAN BRING A NEW PERSPECTIVE.)

A good time to laugh is any time you can. ~Linda Ellerbee

Research has shown that the health benefits of laughter are far-ranging.
While more studies need to be done, studies so far have shown laughter can help relieve pain, bring greater happiness, even increase immunity.
I laugh when I read the 'funnies'.
Especially ZITS.
You can use comics for scrapbooking.
Hits the spot.

I cut out a few lines from an old Curious George book.

I thought it was funny.

My daughter didn't.

I can see why.

Hard to believe I was 15 once too.

The point I'm making here is, if you read a funny comic, cut it out, scan and copy it (before you scrap it).

You can use it now or put it into an envelope and wait for the right picture.

I have a bunch saved up.

Makes me happy.

Make yourself happy today.

You deserve it.

...more love...

The girl (woman) in this picture walking with her mother wrote this.
I think it's worth reading.

...and more on the subject of love....

What a spectacular idea to make for someone you love.
This is where it originated.
OR you could do what my CHANALE did.
For my surprise 50th -(more on that later)
(much later!)
She strung many of my layouts across the wall.
For all my friends to see.
It was such a beautiful show of love.
For me.
and for my work.
So do it.
Make something meaningful for the one you love.

You will be happy you did.

It may not be a heart.
But it might as well have been.
A whole lotta love...
Don't wait to show your love for someone.

Do not ask that your kids live up to your expectations. Let your kids be who they are, and your expectations will be in breathless pursuit. ~Robert Brault,

Raising children is not easy.
My mind wanders.
Where did the time go.
We try our best to teach them right.
Times change, our children move forward.
We love them with all our might.
It's not easy to raise a child.
We don't always know what to do.
No instructions.
It's a challenge that's all new.
Our children our lives
Our most important resposibility.
To love , to guide.
To place them in life's role.
Our children are our future
Time will only tell
the job we've done as parents
If we've done it well....

Last night I woke up thinking how wonderful my daughter is.
So kind.
So loving.
I wanted to express that through my layout.
What better way than with hearts.
Anyone can make hearts.
Quick - get a picture
of someone you love
everyone loves somebody
and scrap it
with hearts
one big one
tons of small ones
whatever you want.

And in her spirit of giving...
Don't forget about my GIVEAWAY post.
I want you to win.
You only have a chance if you comment.

Once upon a time......

I was a little girl.
I still have my 1st grade class photo.
It's the only one I have from all my years in school.
Some of these little girls might be your mother!
Can you guess who they are?

How could my mother have given me that haircut!!!

P.S. DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE GIVEAWAY. IT'S AWESOME!!!

GIVEAWAY!!! Giving is better than receiving because giving starts the receiving process.

I will be giving away a starter kit to one lucky winner.
So you guys could see that I am REALLY serious about teaching you from the very beginning.
I'm gonna give you all a week.
OR when I get 50 comments.
Whichever comes first.
So spread the word.
Whatever you want to say.
eg. You are awesome.
      I love your blog.
      You inspire me.
You get what I mean.
THEN I will randomly choose ONE winner (or maybe TWO if there are many many posts)
You will get lots of goodies which I will post a picture of soon.
So spread the word.
Someone will win.

It might as well be you!

So here it is.
So many goodies.
By popular scrapbooking companies.

HEIDI GRACE
K&CoMPANY
COLORBOK
AMERICAN CRAFTS
MARTHA STEWART
AMY BUTLER
If I see tons of comments it make make me feel even more generous.
Who knows what more surprises you will find !!!

I almost want to send this to myself .
Just to feel that excitement of opening up the box!
So go ahead already.
Post me a comment!

Another one of my favorite things.

Ribbons.
I love ribbons on my layouts.
When I'm in the store I can never remember what colors I have.
(i know i should write it down on a piece of paper)
So I buy more.
And more.
And more.
So that's how I ended up with this:

Actually I have a lot more.
But I'm embarrassed to show you all of it.
I've started to get organized.
This is far as I got.

That was easy to do because they are already rolled up.

It's the loose ones that are a pain in the neck.

I'm looking for ideas.

Found this which I ADORE!

This is also a great idea.

And inexpensive too.

Meanwhile I will keep using ribbons on layouts like this.

If you can drag your eyes away from that adorable girl,

look behind her.

You can see this layout.

You don't always have to put it in to a scrapbook.

You can also frame it.

And this.

Or this.

This one is so simple anyone can do it.

Even you.

Yes you.

I used a glue stick.

And staples.

Everone has a glue stick and a stapler.

It's all in the combination of colors.

Make it pop!

If you hang out with me I will teach you how to make pretty flowers.

Stick around.

Be patient.

I promise you I will teach you how.

Gather your supplies.

Make a list like I do.

In your little note pad.

Put it in your purse.

You never know when you will be near Michaels.

Or a REAL scrapbook store.

You have to be ready.

So you could make something like this.

Ok.

I can feel you getting excited about this.

Stay with me here.

By next week,

ok, next year,

you will be able to do all of this!

And more.

Faygie's advice

I'm gonna give you guys a tip.
Buy disposable raincoats.
It's gonna rain alot on sukkos.
Amazon sells them really cheap.

Your guests will love you.

It's a brand new year, are you ready?

For me this year is already amazing.
I have a blog.
Are you ready to learn?
Cause I am ready to teach you.
Get your stuff together.
If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask.
Get a few things though.
12x12 cardstock.
Gluestick.
Paper trimmer.
Sharpies.
And whatever else you want.
Cause we are gonna start very very soon.
And I want you to be ready.
Meanwhile I will show you something to whet your appetite.

Looks difficult right?
What if I tell you one day you will be doing this.
Just be patient and I will show you how.

So go get your supplies and we will begin very soon...

"We'll start from the very beginning

A very good place to start..."

I'm starting to hum now!

Nothing to do with scrapbooking OR knitting...

I have to share something with you.
Every year before Yom Kippur I make KREPLACH.
I roll out the doe as the woman in this video shows you.
And I sweat. 
And sweat.
And sweat.
Rolling out doe is an arm twister.
Especially when you live in Florida and it's hot.
This year I had a light-bulb moment. 
I just cut little pieces of the doe.
THEN I rolled each little piece separately.
NO SWEAT!
Ok, maybe just a tiny little bit of sweat.
But for those who know me, I am a 'shvitzer'
But it was so much easier.
Can't wait till next year.

Knit one Pearl one.....

If any of you like to knit, this is the yarn for you.

I am making three vests for the cutest boys ever.

Here's how they look in progress.

Looks hard right? 

Easy as one line knit one line pearl.

Also known as 'stockinette' stitch.

Called 'self striping' yarn.

Used mostly to make socks.

So smooth to knot with you might never stop.

And best of all - not expensive.

Just looks it!

 

Looks like I'm using different color yarns right,,,

That's why it's called self striping.

Works like magic.

And here are the boys.
Can you imagine how cute they will make the vests look?
I will definitely be scrapping that picture.

Being creative is not always about skill. It's about will.

I don't know anything about using a sewing machine.
But I've seen lots of layouts where a sewing machine is used.
So a few years ago  I bought one in Walmart.
Took me a while to figure it out.
I didn't learn how to make a dress.
But I can sew across my layouts.
(One day I will learn how to quilt.)
Meanwhile here is some of my fancy sewing work!
It's really fun to let your design flow.
Even when you don't know what you're doing.

So organic.
It's a messy look that makes sense
Here I used stitches to make the grass and the rays of the sun.
Makes me smile.

This picture is from 20 years ago!
(you kids know who you are)
Did some of my 'professional' finger painting.
I'm telling you guys - you can really do this.
Don't be afraid.
The worst that will happen is that you'll paint like me.
Or sew like me.
I'll say it again.
Being creative is not always about skill.
It's about will!