Exciting announcement!

I've been keeping a secret. Over the past month or so I have been working really hard on a top secret project and I am FINALLY ready to tell you guys all about it!

As you all know, I love to do paper crafts. More specifically, I like making scrapbook pages, handmade cards, and DIY party favors. I'm usually working on something all the time, and since I've gotten my Silhouette I pretty much haven't stopped. Normally the things I make are given as gifts or are used to decorate for a holiday or event. However, after much encouragement from friends and family, I have decided to open up my own Etsy shop! I wasn't sure about it at first because it can be embarrassing to put your handmade items out there for people to judge, but I decided I love doing it, and it makes me happy so why not? It's a way to bring in some extra money to support my family and having fun doing it!

For the past month I have been working non-stop creating an inventory for my shop, photographing everything, and then listing it. I can't even begin to explain how hard it has been to keep a secret. Now that I have a good stock of items ready I set the GRAND OPENING date for April 1st which is one week from today! To celebrate the opening, every day next week leading up to it, I'm going to post sneak peaks of the things I will have in my shop here on the blog! That's right, you guys get to see it all before anyone else! AND on the day of the grand opening I will give my blog readers a discount code so make sure you stick around!

I am so excited to share this with you guys and I really hope you like what I've come up with! And to everyone who has encouraged me along the way, THANK YOU! I couldn't have done this without you!

Tutorial - Make your own chip board album

I wanted to make something special for my 2 big sisters this Christmas. My sisters are my world... Having a busy single mama, they were the ones who answered my questions and wiped my tears growing up. They taught me things, gave me advice, and have always been there for me to pick me up when I was down.

It's funny, because both of my sisters HATE to cook. They just have no interest in learning and couldn't be bothered. My mom always says I'm the one with the cooking gene. Regardless, I'm always trying to get them to try it out and encouraging them to make something. Cooking is so FUN! So I decided to make them a book of recipes. Not just any recipes, but our family recipes. The same side dishes that my mama has been making every holiday for as far back as I can remember (the ones I have finally mastered!). Sweet potato casserole, fruit salad, mashed potatoes, stuffing, deviled eggs, and potato salad. One day in the (far, FAR) future when my mom is no longer with us, I want them to be able to make these dishes and think of a time we were all together, sitting around the table and talking about horribly inappropriate things.

I have always loved chipboard albums, but they intimidate me. So much creativity and detail goes into making them and I never thought I could pull one off, much less two of them! Until a few months ago when my best friend made one for her baby girl and I saw the process step by step. I thought, I could do that! And although it was risky, I wanted to try it out for the first time and give them as gifts to my sisters. So here's a step by step tutorial created by me, for you. Don't be intimidated. Make one! They make a great gift for any occasion, or you can keep it for yourself. You can fill them with family photos, romantic keepsakes, or recipes like I did. There's so many options!


Chip board album tutorial. (Excuse the crappy point and shoot photos. As usual.)


You will need:

• pieces of chip board in your desired size (found at michaels or scrapbooking stores)
• scissors
• glue stick (I needed 2)
• hole punch
• nail file or emery board
• scrapbook paper
• ribbon
• metal rings that open and close (found at staples or office supply stores)
• distressing ink (optional)
• desired embellishments and/or photos

Step 1.

I found large square chip board pieces (looks like card board) at my local scrapbooking shop for about 30 cents each and bought 6 of them. Using scissors I measured and cut them into my desired size. Each piece would be 1 page of the album (and don't forget a front and back page) You can buy pre-made chip board albums ready to decorate, but they tend to be overpriced when it's so easy to make yourself.


















Step 2.

Once you have your pieces all cut you will need to choose your scrapbook paper. Because I was giving these as Christmas gifts, I decided to go with holiday themed paper. It's easiest to choose these all ahead of time and arrange them in the order of your pages. This was easily my favorite part. It's like choosing outfits for a fashion show; everything must be cohesive. Make sure to have paper for both the front and back of each piece of chip board.


















Step 3.

After your papers have been chosen and arranged you will need to trace the pieces of chipboard on each piece of paper and cut them out. If your paper has a white back (versus double sided paper) I would use that side to trace so you don't have to worry about erasing pencil lines. Try to get as exact as possible. This will make future steps easier.



















Step 4.

Once you have your chip board pages and scrapbook paper cut out, it's time to glue! Using a glue stick, cover the entire piece of chip board with glue (use a generous amount), line up the scrapbook paper and stick it on! Rub your hands on the outside of the paper to secure it. Once it's on, you shouldn't be able to move the paper in any direction. Glue pieces of paper on both the front and back of each page.

















Step 5.

Let your pages dry for 15-20 minutes. Then get your nail file or emery board and file each side of each page until the paper is completely flesh with the chip board and the sides are smooth. If you notice the paper coming off during this step just add a little more glue to that section and press down until secure. At this point you can choose to distress the edges of your pages or leave them as is. I actually did one of each because I couldn't decide which one I liked better. I don't have photos of the distressed album, but below is a photo of a distressed gift tag from Brown Paper Packages (she's the distressing master!) in case you're not familiar with the process.





















Step 6.

So now all your pages are done! Next you're going to punch holes on the left hand side of each page. Make sure to line them up and mark where you want the holes to be so they match up. You can do one hole in the top corner, 2 holes on the top/bottom, or 3 holes going down as I did. It's completely up to you! Then put your metal rings through the holes and tie a little piece of ribbon around each one. Normally I like the busy, cluttered look for this type of thing and would do 3 pieces of ribbon for each ring, but because I knew these were recipe books I only did one piece of ribbon per ring to be practical.





















Step 7.

This is your final step! It's time to embellish! There is no right or wrong way to do this... it's all personal preference! As I said before, you can put pictures, keepsakes, or recipes (or anything really) on your pages. Then decorate! I found rhinestones, stickers, scrapbook embellishments, buttons, and ribbons and just went to town on each page! Be creative and try things out! If you get stuck you can always look at other albums for inspiration (try Etsy for photos).


























































So there you have it! I think it turned out great for my first one! And most importantly, my sisters both loved them. I'm planning on making another one soon with pictures of Cayden. I'm thinking a nautical theme to go with his nursery. Really, the possibilities are endless!

If you end up making one of these (which I hope you do!) please, share pictures! I would love to see what creations you come up with!

Winner winner chicken dinner!

First, thanks to everyone for your suggestions on my DIY Christmas! The winner has been chosen! (drumroll please)















"I think the album and blocks are way cute.. How fun =)"


Congratulations Francine! Leave your email in the comments and I'll email you with a few choices of handmade prizes! :)

I followed Francine's suggestions and decided to make the albums and blocks. The albums will only be going to 2 special people though; the blocks will go to everyone. I've also decided to do the baked goods idea!

I actually ended up getting lucky on the price of materials for the photo blocks. I was searching around online for a place to buy 20 plain wooden cubes (2 for each of the 10 people) and I didn't see anything under $50. Since I didn't have that kind of budget I decided to try Home Depot and see what I could come up with myself. Well, I was in luck! I ended up getting an 8x8 piece of wood for $7 and a member of their friendly staff cut it down into 30 cubes for me (for free)! I also bought some wood stain and sandpaper to smooth out the sides and make it the perfect shade. I think I ended up spending $18 total. Score! Now all I need are pictures printed out, some scrapbook paper for the sides, and vinyl lettering or a stamp for the message. I'm still trying to decide between 'Joy', 'Peace', or just '2010'.

As for the chipboard album, I went to the scrapbook store Tall Mouse and got large pieces of chipboard for $.49 each. 1 piece of chipboard will make 2 pages so I only needed to get 6. It ended up costing less than $4! I need scrapbook paper for this too, so I'm going to get one of the bulk packs of paper in a Christmas theme. Hopefully I'll find some on sale on Black Friday!

I want to get baskets to put everything in also on Black Friday (you'd be suprised how much 10 baskets can cost) and find a cute container for the baked goods. Suggestions welcome!


And lucky for you I'm going to document my progress on these crafts so you all can watch! Here's to hoping I don't cut a finger off or anything...

First step is sanding 30 wooden cubes! To be continued...

Domesticated Delight Halloween Event - Giveaway #4

Those who follow me on Twitter know that almost every Wednesday night I go scrapbooking at my local scrapbook store with some friends and my sister. It’s kind of ‘mommy’s night out’ for all of us and it’s something we all look forward to! I’m just finishing up a memory book for Mando of our first year together full of pictures and mementos (I save EVERYTHING) and once I’m finished with that I’m going to start Cayden’s baby book (another one of my 4 Simple Goals). For those of you who scrapbook you know how incredibly time consuming it can be (especially if you are taking care of little ones!) and it can ALSO get very expensive once you get sucked into all the adorable paper and embellishments. I know a lot of people who LIKE scrapbooks, but simply don’t have the time or maybe lack the creativity to do it themselves. That’s why I love the pre-made scrapbook pages that many Etsy shops sell. In my search for inspiration I found Mishelle’s adorable paper crafts shop Pinky Crafts. I think a lot of people can appreciate her pre-made scrapbook pages because all you have to do is pop your own picture in and Ta-da! All done. Here’s a look at some of her fall and Halloween themed pages that I just love:

Cute and simple! I personally prefer simple streamlined looks like this one and I love the green rhinestones to add a little bling!



I think this one is my favorite! It’s a 2 page layout with spaces for 4 pictures as well as a journaling box to write down your Halloween memories! I love the Dracula and Frankenstein detailing!



This one is so fun and would be perfect for those pumpkin patch pictures! My favorite is the sparkly letters at the bottom (I may or may not have an obsession with glitter)



I think this page would rock those trick-or-treating pictures! A little bit spooky but still cute!



For you Autumn lovers like myself!



Mishelle is such a sweetheart and I just love her story of leaving the corporate world to follow her dreams! Something I hope I have the guts to do some day.

I used to work in corporate America, and was very unhappy doing so. I was spending all my time at work in a job I hated. I didn't have a real life; I was miserable. My husband and I, living in Arizona at the time, knew there had to be another way of doing things. We knew we couldn't spend our lives living for somebody or something else. Last summer, we decided to save up, quit our unfulfilling jobs and move across the country to start living our lives the way we wanted to. We moved to Oregon (where I'm from) in January of this year. We wanted to find employment that was actually fulfilling and added to our lives instead of took away from it. I had realized how important it was to celebrate life, and I had always loved crafting. I decided to put those two ideas together, and PinkyCrafts was born! My slogan is "helping you celebrate the good times in life", I love that I get to help other people do just that! This has been the best job I've ever had.

How inspiring!

Mishelle also makes other items like adorable cupcake toppers, wine glass charms, gift tags, and pre-made albums! Her prices are VERY reasonable and I just love her work! And I’m a little bit obsessed with this party pack! (Feel free to send this to me Mishelle. Just kidding. Sort of.)



So are you ready to WIN?!? Mishelle has offered the winner a CUSTOMIZED pre-made scrapbook page. She’ll choose a design and personalize it with your name, information, etc. And if you don’t have a scrapbook or want to start one you can ALWAYS pop these cute pages in a photo frame and hang it on the wall. Instant art! I just love having family memories on display. Here’s how to enter:

Mandatory entry:
• Become a follower of Domesticated Delight
• Heart Pinky Crafts Etsy shop here and tell us what your favorite thing is

Extra entries (1 each):

• Like the Pinky Craft’s Facebook page
• Follow her on Twitter here
• Become a follower of her blog
• Follow me on Twitter here
• Tweet 'I entered to #win a customized scrapbook page at the Halloween #giveaway event hosted by @Johnna_Mama http://tinyurl.com/2g2edp9' (once per day please!)
• Mention this giveaway on your blog (make sure to share the link!)
• Visit this post and this post and read the instructions on how to get an extra entry

Please leave 1 comment for EACH entry. So if you Tweet about it, that's one comment. If you blog about it, that's another comment. If you only leave 1 comment for everything it will only count as 1 entry so make sure to do it right! :)

This giveaway is only open to US residents and the winner will be announced on 10/18/10 at midnight. Good luck everyone!