Its August!!

Howdy Bloggers!

So I realize it has been a while since we last talked.  I am sorry for that...not my intention at all.  Forgiven?  Good!  Now lets move on to the blog. :)

Life has been pretty crazy at the Myers house the past several months.  June brough Father's Day cookouts and visits with out of town friends.

We also took a road trip to Austin to vist Dave's brother and his lovely wife.  It was a great trip.  We got to see some great places in Austin.  We went up this trail that was kind of rocky and at the top of this tall hill, overlooking a river.  It was really neat to see all the homes along the river and all the boats.  When we reached the end of the trail there are these steps that go through a shaded area.  We decided to take those steps as it was shaded and it was probably 110 that day (thanks Texas!).  Unfortunately the stone steps had become slick over the years of wear...or maybe there were always slick, I dont' really know.  Anyway, the stairs were slick and I slipped on one and landed flat on my backside..ouch.  It is now forever known as the time I went to Austin and fell down a mountain.  Hee hee....but I was fine...toes were a little bruised on the foot that I fell on top of, but that was really the worst of it.  After our adventure we went to a street fair and saw crafts and questionable bug candy. We also saw food trucks, though we did not stop.  It was kind of a neat place, but it was so hot we just needed to cool down.  So we piled in the car and Stephen drove us around showing us the highlights of Austin.  We saw the Capital building - so pretty.  We also saw some funky restraunts and some really lovely parks.  We had dinner at The Saltlick...pretty tasty BBQ, but I was not a fan of their sauce.  It was a mustard based sauce, and while it was great on the sausage, it wasn't my favorite on the brisket. 

On our way home from Austin we stopped by The Collins Street Bakery for lunch and some treats.  Their deli sandwiches were delish! On our way out we went through the line and picked out some cookies to take home - so good.  My favorites were the Lemon Sugar cookies and the Cherry icebox cookies.  We also got some Pecan Balls and Chocolate cookies with white chocolate chips, they were tasty as well.  about an hour after we left Collins Street Bakery we came across West, Texas and stopped at the Czech Stop.  You can't drive through West without stopping there...so we did.  We got a dozen sausage/cheese kollaches and a dozen sweet collaches - Pumpkin and Strawberry - yum!

After our adventures on the road, we got back in to the swing of reality.  After being quite sore from our adventures on "the mountain" in Austin hubby and I came to the realization we are not leading the healthiest of lifestyles.  So, we are in the process of changing that.  We have cut WAY WAY back on the amount of soda we drink on a weekly basis - I think Dave has given it up, but I will still have one when we go out to eat.  We've also started cooking more at home.  Its way easier for me to make good choices at home that out, so we've really only had dinner out 3 -4 times in the last 3 weeks - good for us!  So far I have lost 9 pounds since coming back from Austin 5 weeks ago...I'm quite excited about that kind of loss.  Now I just have to keep it up, and I've found some lovely ladies on YouTube going through the same thing - it's great to support each other and go on this journey together....even though we don't really know each other, just through YouTube comments...  :)

In crafty news, Momma is cleaning out her studio and getting it super organized so I've been helping her purge.  In the process I inherited her AWESOME stamp collection.  You know what that means, right?  Time to reorganize my scrap space!  The stamps are all organized by catagories, so I all I need to do now is figure out where they will live in my room.  I know know...I promised a room tour 2 months ago...sorry.  But I promise once I get the stamp situation all figured out and implimented you will get a tour.  Promise.


That's all for now in the land of Myers...until next time, enjoy life!

xoxoxo
Jessi

Let's get Cooking!

Hey Guys!
So for Dave's birthday we bought him a new grill and a mini fridge for the man cave.  (the grill was not for the man cave....just the fridge.)  ;)  That means grilling!  He spent the last several weeks cooking things, this week was no exception.

So Thursday we tried steaks on the grill for the first time - so good!  We marinated them over night so when we grilled them they were super tender and super juicy!  We were nervous because the steaks were pretty thin cut so it's hard to cook a steak to medium, but they were AWESOME!  Congrats Honey!

We also tried a recipe from my Pinterest board - LOVE PINTEREST!  So here is what I tried:

Click the Picture to visit Six Sisters and get this recipe!

It was the first time I'd ever tried it and I must say it was so tasty!  I was a little disappointed that the sauce didn't thicken they way it looks in the picture, but you know what, it was still the most delicious chicken I had ever had!  I think next time the trick will be to move the sauce from my crock pot to a saucepan on the stove, and try to thicken it up.  Want to see what mine looked like?

I added Carrots and Broccoli and served over rice - so yummy!  We will definitely be trying this one again!

Yesterday my Father-in-law's birthday is Tuesday so we all got together yesterday to celebrate.  Dave cooked on the grill - burgers brats - yum!  He also grilled some bell peppers and corn on the cob.  I think he's getting quite handy on the grill - so yummy!

Have you had any cooking adventures lately?  Would love to hear about them!
Until next time, enjoy life!

xoxooxo
Jessi

Catching up...

Happy Spring Bloggers!

After taking a break from the blogging/crafting scene I have decided to do a total re-evaluation of what I want to do with my time, with my blogs, and even with my You Tube channels.  Hubby and I are taking a long weekend this weekend, starting today and I am going to spend most of this time creating video/tutorial content, organizing my schedule, and basically getting back in touch with what I really want to do with my spare time.

So now for the layout of what's to come -

This blog will focus more on my goals outside papercrafting and scrapbooking.  I will still share my creations and links to tutorials here, but I'm also going to use this to share my other loves in life - family events, cooking,books, movies, music, other fun crafts, and other fun adventures going on in my life.  Hope you'll all stick around for the fun times to come.

My other Blog - Create with Jessi - will continue to be a crafty blog with a focus on tutorials and videos.  I'm working on some fun ideas, and hope to have a schedule of sorts sorted out by the end of the year - thought I'd try a few different things over the next 6 months to find the right fit.  I would really like to work on more scrapbook pages, mini albums, and other crafts.  most of my projects to date have been cards, but it all started with the scrapbooking so I'd like to go back to my roots.

As for YouTube - MyersMemoriesCrafts will still be crafting videos - some of it will be tutorials, a walk through a mini album and the occasional haul...tho I'm not to fussed on haul videos so not too many of these. I have a second channel that I started mostly for my own personal non-craft subscriptions.  I don't have anything on it yet - still debating if I'm going to actually do anything video wise - if I do it will mostly be blogs, possible book reviews, that sort of thing.  Only time will tell how ambitious this girl wants to get.  ;)

So now that you know what I'll be doing, I suppose you are curious about what I've been up to.  Well I have been rearranging the studio - a girlfriend of mine downsized her space and gave me some wonderful paper towers - now all my patterned paper is out where I can see it, and remember what I have so I don't buy duplicates.

Before:

After

I think part of my work this weekend will be a video tour of the whole space. Would love to know what you think of my little slice of heaven.

I've also been working on some Christmas Tree Ornaments.  We bought a new Christmas Tree of the front living room in our house and discovered we do not have enough ornaments to cover both of our lovely trees, so I am spending the next year creating ornaments so that come Christmas time I will have have two lovely trees full of ornaments.  Perhaps you'd like to see what I'm making?  Stay tuned for some tutorials and photo shares.  :)

Well, I suppose for now I should be off.  Lots to do, lots to get ready.  I just wanted to say thanks for sticking around, and I hope to bring some new content soon for you to enjoy.
Happy Crafting!
Hugs,
Jessi

Chocobos Rule the World!

seriously, they do.  ;)

Square Enix is hosting a contest to honor the mighty chocobo steads - to enter, simply create a project honoring your trusty feathered friend.  Here is mine:

My trusty steed is Hedwig (after Harry's snowy feathered friend, I know).THis was my first major sewing project on my own with no instructions - think it turned out pretty well.

Would love to know what you think.

Have a great day!
Happy Crafting!
Jessi

Sweet Sunday in February

Hi Bloggers!

Well, February is well underway and Valentines Day is coming soon.  Are you ready?  Reservations made?  Presents or cards made for your sweet?  I'm a little behind, but my plans for my sweet are falling into place nicely.  :)

I've had a fabulous weekend!  I spent most of the afternoon at Mom's making Valentines with my niece and my lovely sister in law.  We found these awesome butterfly printables on Pinterest so I printed them down on colored cardstock, we cut them out and then the three of use decorated with bling and flowers....and love. ;) They looked great, but once Shannon added the suckers they really came to life:

After I left Mom's house I came home to start working on a project for my boss and a new tutorial for Create with Jessi.  It feels really good to be back  in my studio crafting, and blogging and filming again.  I think not working on these projects was really taking a toll on me.   Not like it was killing me, but I kinda felt lost - like I go to work, I come home, cook dinner, go to bed, and start all over the next day.  There wasn't really anything else going on...I let the blogging get away from me.  Well, I am back and plan to stick with it, so stay tuned for more projects, videos, etc.  

Wow.....I kinda swerved and got a little soap-boxy there....sorry.  Back to Saturday - so I started working on a few projects in my studio when Dave came in and sat down opposite me to work on a painting project. I was tickled to see him in my studio, totally engrossed in his own creative project.  It made me quite happy. We had Netflix going and were both in our own creative zone.  It was great.  My project isn't quite ready, but Dave's was finished and it turned out great:

I think it turned out pretty cool!  Can't wait to see what he does next. :)

Today I spent the day in my studio working on a new tutorial.  I made this simple, sweet heart wreathe inspired by a project I found on Pinterest.  I just love Pinterest, don't you?  Wanna see the project?

Want to know how to make it?  Check it out on Create with Jessi!

Is there something on Pinterest that you would like to see me try?  Let me know, either here, on my YouTube Channel, or on Create with Jessi.  I would love to know what inspires you, or what you would like to learn to do.

Until next time, have a great week, and Happy Crafting!

Jessi Myers

xoxoxo

Wrapping Up 2012

Hi Bloggers!

I am so sorry it has been so long since my last update.  Lots has been going on since we last left you.

My house is nearly fully moved into, and our new floors are FINALLY in!!  They are beautiful, and I could not be happier.  My Craft Room is finally unpacked and nearly completely organized - perhaps a video tour should be done?  And we've had our first house guests!  The house still needs lots of work, but we will be here a while so I'm not too worried about trying to get it all done right now.

So lets get into the really meat and potatoes of what's been happening at Casa De Myers!
August, as you can imagine was lots of trips to Lowes to pick out floors and picking up tools/home repair/general home need items.  We learned alot about the area around us and found some great shopping.  :)  We spent a little bit of time meeting the neighbors - all very nice - and lots of time unpacking.  can you believe we nearly filled up our 5 bedroom house with all the stuff form our 2 bedroom apartment?  (And we haven't even been to Storage yet!) 

September - by September we finally had our floors down in the kitchen and enough of the work was done that we could actually spend sometime in the kitchen.  I've learned how to cook all sorts of stuff - pasta with a marinara cream sauce, corn dog muffins, taco cups, oven baked fried cheese, Crescent Chicken Casserole, Marinara sauce, loaded baked potato dip, etc.  I think Dave and I have converted from eating out every night to eating at home every night!  I love it.  :)  I've also offered to help teach my sister-in-law how to cook.  We've had a really good time, and it has been fun getting to know my new sister. <3>I also got all the floors/paint and work done in my room and started moving furniture in.  The unpacking took FOREVER!  But its all done now.  I learned how to use power tools and installed all the wall fixtures myself. Dave learned how to change outlets, and finished up swapping out all the plugs just in time for Christmas.  I also spent a weekend in Austin with mom at Quick Quotes Private reserve. Made some really fun projects, bought some really lovely stuff at Archivers...it was a nice trip, but it made me appreciate my studio so much more!

October was pretty busy for both of us.  My job basically has their busiest time during Q4 so I was working long days, weekends...it's lucky I can log in from home, otherwise I might not have seen Dave at all for the month of October.  I also spent the month of October planning Thanksgiving...my whole family (in-laws and actual family) was invited to my house...I had my work cut out for me.

November - November was primarily taken up with researching recipes, planning shopping trips, planning furniture placement to seat all 17 of us....it was very busy.  I learned to embrace Pinterest and found some really great recipes because of it. 

• California Pizza kitchen's Mac and Cheese
• Paula Dean's Green Bean Casserole
• Super easy yeast rolls

Mom and Dad also came over and helped.  Dave bought a smoker so he and Daddy smoked a turkey while Mom and I worked in the kitchen on a roasted turkey and 7 different side dishes.  (Needless to say we ate Thanksgiving dinner every day for the next 4 nights with all the left overs).  We spent the last week of November decorating for Christmas.  It was so much fun, but with that much house it was also a lot of work.  My sweet mother in law came over the day after Christmas and helped me put up the tree.  Dave and I had not found our new "big" tree so I figured we would put up our 7.5' tree and shop for our big tree next year....instead we found it that night at Garden Ridge and decided to move the already decorated tree into the kitchen....not a good idea.  Luckily it made it, and no ornaments were lost. 

December brought a whole month of crafting...really...honest! 
I made two beautiful trees out of Styrofoam cones and glass ornaments and trims.  Will be making some for my sister in law later this year and hope to have a Tutorial up on Create With Jessi.

I also made 2 beautiful Christmas wreathes - one for my front door, and one for my sister Jennifer.  I also learned that my mother in law has a quite a talent for wreath decorating.  I wish I had taken a picture of her grapevine wreath...I'll have to remember for next year - it was absolutely stunning!  Be on the look out for tutorials later this year as well.

My cousin Brooke also came over and brought her scrappy mojo with her.  She made a really great scrapbook for her BF for Christmas...and gave my sister Jennifer the scrappy bug in the process.  The Saturday before Christmas the 3 of us were crafting away in my studio..that is until my mother in law got there..then it was the 4 of us.  Brooke and Jenn on their albums, Edith on her wreath, and me, sewing felt ornaments in between cricut cuts for the scrappers.  It really was quite lovely to have all that crafting going on in my studio.

Christmas was quiet - it snowed so it ended up just being Dave, me, and our Christmas lasagna.  It was a nice way to spend our first Christmas in our new home.  I was quite happy.

Well, I think that is about all for now.  I'm really hoping to get back on a more regular blogging schedule, so look forward to my official  2013 post over the weekend. 

Happy Crafting!

House Update

Hey Guys!

So, I am happy to announce we are out of our option period on the house, and, provided all goes well, we are scheduled to close on or first home on July 23!  That's like 2 weeks....wow it's happening so fast!

Of course that means no crafting for the next 2 months while we pack, move, and unpack, but it will be well worth it.  I am going to start packing up my office this week - it's gonna take some time for sure....we'll see how it goes.  We are also planning some updates to the house.  There is an overlap of time between when we close and when our lease is up so we thought, we are going to have to have a contractor in to replace some things in the Master Bath...might as well do some other work while he's there. :)   Looks like David will be taking the largest extra room in the house for a media room.  I was pretty mad at first, but he told me if I wanted too, and it wasn't too expensive, we could knock out a wall between 2 of the bedrooms to make me one large craft space. Can I just tell you this is a dream come true!  On top of that my mother told me that all her Cricut Cartridges can come live there! (she has a Gypsy).  I am so excited, I can hardly wait.  Once we decide what route to go on the room, I will be sure to keep you posted w/ pics and updates, etc.

IN the mean time, I am working on some sketches for card and layout designs to teach on Create with Jessi so definitely stay tuned for that.  I should start that again mid to end of September once I'm back from Private Reserve w/ Quick Quotes.
Until then, you guys be safe, take care, and keep crafting!!
Hugs!
Jessi

Wow...A Month has gone by...

Can you believe a month has gone by since my last blog post?  Me neither....I'm slightly embarrassed..but only slightly.  Unfortunately there has been no crafting lately...so sad.  :(  But the main reason for that is because my spare time has been taken up by a quite grown up endeavor.  Jessi, grown up???  Yep, I'm taking another step into my adult life.  Dave and I are house shopping.  Not only are we in the market to find a home, but in 4 short weeks we have found what very well may be it!  We currently have an offer in on a lovely 5 bedroom , 2 1/2 bath home in Flower Mound.  Pics to come once it is ours.  We had an inspection on Friday...found several minor cosmetic issues, 2 really big issues.  1 we were expecting - AC is as old as the house....we may be replacing it...we knew to expect it, not a big deal.  The other....leave under the shower and tub in the master bath.  Again, we can seal it, not a huge deal, except we don't know how long the leak has been going on, and we don't know the damage under the tiles.  Dave has SEVERE allergy to mold so we can't put off the rebuild and clean up of that mess.  There may be zero mold or any thing, but water damage is not something we can afford to take lightly.

So, what else have I been doing with my time?  Well, I have, sadly, been indulging in YouTube.  I have discovered some delightful things, and revisited some equally delightful old friends.  Here are my top 5 favorite things found on You Tube over the past Month:

1.  Geek and Sundry - not a new find for me...been a follower ever since the channel started, but I love it!  It's The Producers of The Guild doing some amazing shows every week.  My favorite is the Flog and Table Topand of course, The Guild, but I do find myself watching all of it.  Visit, Subscribe, and leave some love!

2. Fu Music - OMG!!!!  I don't even know where to start except to say these guys are amazing, adorable and oh so talented.  Found them through Internet Icon on YomYomF and I heart them!  Again, visit, subscribe, leave some love!

3.  SuperTaster - This poor, brave man tastes all those catchy, "latest fad" foods and reviews them so we don't have to...and let me tell you he isn't a bad reviewer.  For the most part he and I see eye to eye on things.  He has reviewed fast food, frozen foods, local and chain restaurant foods, booze, foods from out of the country....he's just fun to watch.  I encourage you to check him out.

4.  The Lizze Bennet Diaries - Any of you read Pride and Prejudice?  Not me, but I am loving it's retelling in this modern day webseries based on the period classic.  (Thanks Felicia Day for mentioning in on The Flog!) You should definitely check this out - the episodes are 5-7 mintues...I think....but they are entertaining and fun.

5.. Lana McKissak - Ok, let me start by saying she is a little on the annoying side, but her videos have a cutenss about them, and when she sings, ah-mah-zing.  She has a really lovely voice and she's got some great play lists set up so I've got some tunes at work. :)

I will probably be on crafting hiatus for the month of July - if we get the house, we'll be closed by the end of the month so that's  not a lot of time to get packed and moved...will keep you posted here as things happen tho.

Have a great week, and a Happy Fourth Of July!!!
Hugs!
Jessi

Happy Tuesday Crafters!!

Happy Tuesday Crafters!!
I am in such great spirits this week!  My grandfather spent the past week down in Texas visiting, my lovely cousins Shelby and Erica both graduated highschool and my baby brother is home on leave for the next two weeks.  Things are going so great for me right now!

As you know last weekend I was at the Great American Scrapbook Convention in Arlington, TX.  Can I just say #1 I thought it was so cool how close we were to the stadium - could hear the Rangers games if you sat outside near the food court. :)  And #2 I got some really great deals on some really awesome product!  Now before I get into all the goodies I got let me preface this by saying if you are looking for brand spankin' new scrap stuff...this is not the convention for you.  Most of the shopping was 6 months to a year old.  That being said, there were still a fair amount of vendors that had new stuff.  On the flip side of that, the metroplex does not have much in the way of scrapbook stores so until it comes to Michaels or Hobby Lobby, it's still new to us...unless I want to shop online.  And believe me that did not stop me from buying up all the yummies!  (sorry Dave...I just couldn't help myself) *giggle*
So here are my top 5 purchases:

1. A 4 pack of Spellbinder Dies - Circles and Scalloped Circles (large and small) - $30! (for all 4 sets!!)
2. 6x6 Stella and Rose Pads - MME (I know it's an older collection but I love it so much!)
3. Vintage glass bird ornaments from Melissa Frances.  (Wait until you see what I do with them)
4. Mini Album Class Kit from SEI
5. Zipper Trim from Melissa Frances

Mom and I also took 7 different classes over the weekend.  Our first class, which I will share with you today, was a Shabby Chic card class taught by the fantabulous Melissa Frances herself!  

I thought about my friend Kristin the whole time I was there making such gorgeous cards - so wish you could have been there...but I picked up a present for you. :)  

After class we went to her booth where her daughter taught us how to make an 8 page mini album using 1 sheet of cardstock.  I haven't finished decorating it, but it turned out too cute!  I might do a tutorial on that...we'll see.  I'll be posting pics once it is done. :)

I also have a new tutorial over at Create with Jessi! Stop on over and check it out.

IWell I am off to do some crafting!  Come back soon to hear more about the convention and the classes I took.  

Until then, Happy Crafting, Happy Life!

Hugs!

Jessi

Happy Memorial Day!

Hi guys!
 Happy Memorial Day to all my lovely friends out there!!  I am so honored to live in a country where brave people are willing to risk their lives for my freedom and the honor of our country and for that I am truly grateful.  I hope you all had a wonderful and safe weekend!

Today was a great day!  Spent the day at Mom and Dad's visiting with the family.  My GrandPap is in town this week and I am so excited!  I don't get to see him to often so it was really nice to spend some time with him.  Mom and Dad were great hosts opening their home to our fun family.  The food was great, and the company was even better.

Next weekend I have 3 cousins graduating Highschool, Erica, Shelby and Dave's cousin Victoria.  Congratulations girls!!

I will also be leaving home Wednesday night to check in to our Arlington hotel to attend the Great American Scrapbook Convention.  Festivities begin at 8am on Thursday.  Mom and I are signed up for 7 classes but they are spread out across 3 days this year.  Last year we crammed just as many into 1 day...it was exhausting!  I'm excited!  We'll be taking classes from Prima, Melissa France, My Little Shoebox, Quick Quotes and more.  Plus there will be tons of shopping, make and takes, and all that quality time spent together.  I am really excited.  We had such a great time last year.  I promise to take pictures and post them here through out the weekend.

No new tutorial this week at Create with Jessi, but I have some projects in the works, and I'll be sharing them with you soon.  In the mean time, I have challenged myself to use some tools I bought way back when and just had to have.  I'm sure you all have one - what's yours?  Do you use it?  Tell me all about it!

I will be taking mine with me to the convention and working on creating something awesome and fun!  There will be a full tutorial on this project when I get back!  (And possibly a give away of goodies fresh from the convention) so stay tuned!

In the mean time, let me leave you with a list of my favorite crafters on You Tube:

Kristen Wilson - http://www.youtube.com/user/LilsweetpeaVideos
Drew - http://www.youtube.com/user/Cardofmyeye
KWernerDesign Video: http://www.youtube.com/user/starofmay
Chic'n Scratch - http://www.youtube.com/user/ChicnScratch

There are quite a few more that I sub to, but these are my top 4 faves.  Stop by, check 'em out and show some love.  :)

Happy crafting and I'll see you next week!

Food Trucks, New Jobs, and a Fun Card!

Hey Bloggers!
This update is coming much later than I had hoped - life around the Myers home is sure getting crazy!

Here's a peak of crafty goodness before we dive right in to the life stuff:

Head on over to my new Craft Tutorial Blog to learn more, and read/ watch how to make this card!

Let's start with the job front-
Two weeks ago I learned I would be getting promoted to a new department - new job, new everything.  Great...except you gotta be ready to go in 2 weeks.  Now, normally this would not be a problem, but work has been slamming for the past month and I was doing my best to keep my head above water.  Needless to say there were 2 weeks of long days, long stress filled nights, and not a whole lot of crafting going on.  Well, I am happy to report that last Friday was my last day - I will miss my team -I worked with some amazing people, but I was definitely ready for a change.  I walked out the door on Friday ready for a relaxing weekend filled with fun and no thoughts of work.   On Monday I walked in to a shiny new laptop and a whole new world  - it's really different, but I am working with some awesome people and I'm getting afresh perspective on things.  It's pretty cool so far.

Ok, now let's head home and check things out there -
What do you know about food trucks?  When you hear food truck do you think of roach coaches down by construction sites?  Believe it or not, there are some amazing gourmet food trucks out there!  About a month ago Dave and his friend Chris went out to a gathering of food trucks and had some amazing experiences.  Well I got lucky and there was a small gathering near us at The Village in Dallas.  We sampled yummies from Three Lions, Whoopie Pies from Rockstar Bakeshop, and Philly Cheesesteaks from another truck (sorry I don't recall the name).  It was all really good.  Now, Three Lions is a truck run by a British chap selling meat pies, sausage rolls and chicken and dill sliders.  My Hubs and friend had experienced the meat pie previously and told me of the epicness...I have to say it was amazing!  So good infact that we brought home an extra one for today.  It was just as delicious today!  The puffed pastry lost a little bit of crips, but was not soggy at all.  Great job guys!  The cheese steak was also delicious.  And we had a native of Philly with us..he approved. :) Now on to the Whoopie Pies - AH-MAY-ZIIIINNNNNNNNGGGGGGG!  That is all I can say!  Great flavors, fabulous textures....please sir, I want some more!!!  I can't wait to track these guys down again...will have to take pics for the scrapbook.

Last week my darling husband also celebrated a birthday!  He had a nice relaxing long weekend - played lots of Diablo III and we even made it out to Freddy's for chocolate brownie concrete.  What?  You don't know what that is?  Freddy's serves frozen custard -amazing btw - and concrete is the frozen custard mixed with treats - similar to the DQ Blizzard, but 10 times better, I think.  The food was good and the Concrete was amazing..can't wait to go back again.  We also upped our video game collection.  Yes, I contribute to a video game collection.  We collect vintage consoles and games.  My husband has almost turned me into a full fledged geek girl.  (Felicia Day and the greatness of The Guild are also partly responsible.)

Now onto the crafting!
With the stress of my old job behind me, and Dave happily immersed in Diablo III, I had the freedom to craft!  So I stalkedd some of my subs on YouTube and was inspired to create an awesome card! (Thanks StarofMay and Cardofmyeye!!)  So awesome infact that I made one for my boss for her birthday, and several more to send to Operation Write Home.  My box is about 1/2 full...got a long ways to go to get it filled up.  Wanna see the card?

Isn't it fabulous!  You can learn how to make it by heading over to my Craft Tutorial Blog: Create With Jessi. If you like it, let me know!  I'd love some feed back, ideas, things you'd like to learn more about, but don't want to try it yourself first.  I've here for you guys!

Well, it is late and I am getting sleep so I am off to bed now.
Happy Crafting and Happy Blessings!
Jessi

Where did April go??

Hi Bloggers!
 Can you believe it's May 1st!?  Where did April go?

I am cooling down after a really long and slightly exciting day.  I can't talk a whole lot about it, but I found out today I got this really awesome opportunity to move to a new department at work.  The details are still fuzzy, but it's a great opportunity and I am really excited about it.  Things sure are changing at the Myers house. :)

In other news, I have a new tutorial blog.  Check it out! http://createwithjessi.blogspot.com/

This new blog will be solely dedicated to craft tutorials - techniques, projects, etc.  Do you want to see something, learn something new?  Let me know and I'll put it in video.  My first tutorial went up today - go check it out and let me know what you thing
No pics for me today - but stay tuned - I'll be working on projects all evening Saturday with my scrappy gal pals  online and I'll be posting updates as I can.   How are you celebrating National Scrapbook Day?  Did you know it's this weekend?  Tell me all about your plans!

Long Needed Update....

Oh wow it has been 2 months since my last update... poor neglected blog.  Well lets catch up shall we?

I spent nearly the entire month of March working on wedding stuff for my brother in law and his now wife.  I did 12 centerpieces, 60 invitations 90 programs, 60 thank you cards and a 20 page album/ guestbook.  It was a lot of work but it was so worth it to help make Thomas and Jennifer's wedding day so special.  I learned alot about working with silk flowers and learned you can cut through 1 inch thick flower stems with a grinding attachment on your Dremel.  see ladies..your husband's power tools aren't just toys for him.    lol!  Also something good to know...Hobby Lobby has some great silk floral stems and you can find them on sale 50% off quite often, and foil gift bag shred makes great vase filler on the cheap.  it was soooo pretty!  Will post pics once I get the images from Jenn.

Wanna see the pages from her guest book?  Here you go!

After the kids got married Dave and I took a much needed Vacation and spent 4 days in lovely Las Vegas.  We didn't bring any money home but we had a really good time.  We went with a friend of ours, Lori, and had some fun adventures.  We saw "O" at The Bellagio, ate at some really good places like Emeril's and the Carnegie deli.  I had Matza Ball Soup for the very first time....so good!  We were only there 4 days but it was a really good escape.

On the crafting front I have kind of been at a stand still.  I designed a card last minute for a Paper Crafts call a few months ago...thought it was cute but it was a no go.  What do you think?

It was a little more graphic and clean than I have been doing lately but I really like the way it came out.
Supplies:
kraft card base - Hobby Lobby
patterned paper- Echo Park and My Minds Eye
chalk ink- Color Box
chipboard sticker- Echo Park

In other news, Dave and I have decided to take the next step into adulthood and we have decided to by a house.  Yay!  I am super excited.  I am so ready to be done with this apartment, and can not even wait until we have our own place.  Stay tuned for updates on the house hunting. :)

Well that is what's been going on with me.  How about y'all?
Happy Crafting!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hi Bloggers!

I hope you spend some time today with the person or people you love most in the world!  And if you're doing any kind of weightloss program, splurge today!  Have some chocolate....or better yet, have it with fruit!  

Have a wonderful day everyone!

Hugs!

Jessi

Because She's Going to the Chapel and She's Gonna Get Married...

So my BIL is engaged to the sweetest girl, Jennifer.  I have to say, growing up I always wanted sisters, and now I have 3!  Sweet Shannon who is married to my baby brother, Emily, who is married to Dave’s older brother, and now Jennifer, who will be marrying my husband’s baby brother.  I have spent quite a lot of time helping Jennifer and Thomas with their wedding – invitations, helping Jennifer find a dress, favors, labels, centerpieces, flowers, etc…it’s been a lot of fun, and I truly have enjoyed the time getting to know them both, but especially getting to know Jennifer.  She’s so nice, and I love that she’s included me in the planning process.  Their wedding is 48 days away and things are quickly falling into place.  Their wedding shower (a couples shower!) was yesterday.  Dave and I gave them a GC to use on whatever they want – even if it is for the wedding. And here’s the card I made for them:

 I also have been working on centerpieces and helping them decide on table décor – here’s the staging I did yesterday for them…they are going to look fabulous!!

 This week will be filled with shopping and hopefully more time spent on centerpieces.  I need 17 more bushes of roses from Hobby Lobby so I may be heading to every Hobby Lobby in DFW this week – yay!  Luckliy silks are on sale 50% off this week.  (if you’re in DFW are and reading this – please just save me some Red Roses. J )  I can’t wait to get them finished and checked off the list.


I've also been working on reorganizing my room.  This is still in progress, but here's what I've done so far:

 The Shoe bags on the doors actual house my punches.  The wicker unit is cards/ envelopes/ paper pads mini albums/ alterable items/ hardware/ flowers...working on getting them labeled.  The book shelf is all my empty albums from my days as a CM consultant - I'll use most of them.  :)  There is also a shelf just for 12x12 paper kits/ pads/ collections.  Yeah...I have way too much ( and I still find things I want...sheesh it's sick I tell ya!) In front of the book shelf are my wheeled totes - one is all wedding album stuff...one is finished pages and such I need to get in albums and hung on walls or pitched if I'm not going to do anything with them...

This side is my table (covered in wedding stuff right now), another book shelf with craft magazines, class instructions from Recollections, Completed albums, all of my books (as in my library that moved to the studio when I gave Dave the front room for an office), various bottles of Prima and Recollections flowers.   Then I have a wire rack holding my favorite projects - some created, some gifted...they are kinda piled up right now, but these are all the projects that inspire me the most!  Next to that I have my cardstock towers.  That's right -towers!  LOL!  One is 12x12 and one is 8.5x11.  I need to use them up so I can start storing patterns there too so I remember to use them.  Then I have my Alpha drawers with stamps/ ink/ tools/ tape and then my desk.  Once it's all done, I'll give you the for-real tour - perhaps a YouTube virtual tour??  We'll see if I get it done....

Well that's up for me right now.  Hope everyone is having a great week!

Happy Crafting!

Jessi

A Quick Update

Hey Bloggers!

No pictures this week - it has been a whirlwind of a week at the Myers' place but I wanted to check in.

Weight Watchers is going really well!  Dave and I have been packing lunches pretty much every day and cooking nearly every night - go us!  :)  I'm down 7.5 pounds total since I started on 1/9/2012.  I'm very happy with the progress so far.  I still have a long way to go, but it's a good healthy positive start.

Dave and I spent some time last weekend cruising the neighborhoods around his office - planning to move out there middle end of summer early fall.  Found some really cute neighborhoods and lovely homes.  Now we just need to talk to the bank to see what we can really afford.

On the craft front, I am working on getting my studio COMPLETELY redone - I let things get out of hand this winter and it really is quite messy.  I'd take a picture, but I'm way too emberassed.  Good news is I'll be purging and organizing so I can get back to creating and crafting. :)  I've been pouring over Pintrest at all the inspirational rooms out there - so many awesome things to see!

I hope all my friends in the craft world and real life are doing well!
Happy Hugs and Happy Crafting!
Jessi

Weekend Update and a new Canvas!

Hey Bloggers!

This week Dave and I decided to take a big step towards a healthier lifestyle.  We joined Weight Watchers Online.  We are finishing up our last day of week 1 today and I am already feeling really good about what we've been able to do.  It's still a little bit of an adjustment for dinners, but for breakfast and lunch, we are doing REALLY well.  I'm encouraged by his willingness to jump in and learn about the program, the point values, and the open dialogue about his progress.  It's encouraging to know I have a partner in this journey to a healthier me, and it makes us feel good about us.  :)

In other news, in case you have not noticed, Paper Therapy is no longer a part of my blog.  Our fabulous leader, Kristin made the difficult decision of shutting things down to pursue some amazing opportunities in scrapbooking of her own.  Thanks Kristin for allowing me to be part of such a fun place!  Glad to take your friendship with me even after the doors closed. :

I wanted to share another amazing canvas piece I did for my BFF at last weekends scrapbook retreat.  This is also a kit by Quick Quotes.  I've changed out the black ribbon for red to tie in the colors from Christina and Andy's wedding.  Isn't their family so sweet?  She loved it so much, and that made making it for her all the more rewarding!

Thanks for stopping by!  We'll chat more toward the end of the week!

Happy Crafting and Happy Hugs!

Jessi

A New Year and New Beginnings

A New Year and New Beginnings

After many many months of blog neglect I am making a return to the land of the living and the land of crafting!

So first some catching up....the last time I stopped in I was coming back from Austin and a Hauntingly good time with Mom.  Things  were insanely busy after that - I had a birthday party at Painting with a Twist in Garland, spent 3 days with the lovely ladies at Quick Quotes at Private Reserve, and then my sweet sweet husband got me tickets to a hockey game for our anniversary - Stars lost, but it was awesome!  :)

I've also been having a difficult time battling with some depression and generally feeling lost in this big world.  Luckily my lovely friends and wonderful families have really helped me pull through.  I still have my bad days, but I've pulled through the worst of my funk and I'm looking forward to an awesome new year full of new beginnings and many many scrappy adventures!

So want to know what I've been up to in the world of Paper Crafts?  I have fallen in love with the Canvas Kits from Quick Quotes. 

This one was created for my BFF in honor of her marriage to her wonderful husband Andy, and the great card her MIL gave her on their first anniversary.  It is such a sweet card, and I love the photo - they are such a lovely, kissy face couple - captures that perfectly.

Here's a 10x10 canvas that I did at Private Reserve.  I haven't decided what I'm doing with it...maybe a pic of me and Dave...he has been such a blessing in my life so it really is a perfect fit.   With him in my life, I am TRULY TRULY blessed. :)

One last project to round out the weekend:

6x6 Canvas Mini Album - So Thankful for....well, everything!  This sweet little album has a place for all the things I am so thankful for - My sweet husband, my lovely family and my FABULOUS friends.  I can't wait to get home from retreat so I can print pictures to go in them. :)

Well that is all from me for today!  See you next week, and remember - do something creative, and do something for you every day!
Hugs!
Jessi

A Haunting good Time, and a Challenge!

Hi Bloggers!

My poor blog is really feeling neglected lately - Bad Jessi, Bad!  LIfe has just bee super busy - lots stuff at work, my Birthday month is in full swing, and we're having lots of fun at Paper Therapy.

First thing is first - lets post a new Challenge!

Paper Therapy Staff has agreed to move their challenges to once a month.  This will allow all players plenty of time to participate.  Starting this month, all challenges are posted to our challenge boards on the 10th of the month, projects due by the 8th of the next month.  This will allow the DT 1 day to vote for the winner.

This Month's Challenge?  Create a project based on the title of a song.  I created a card using the Song Title "Still the One" by Shania Twain.  Here's mine:

Supplies:

Patterned Paper - My Minds Eye

Ribbon - from Stash

Chipboard Letters - Pink Paisley

Embelishment - My Mind's Eye

Nesabilities Die

Foam Adhesive - Making Memories

Can't wait to see what you come up with.

Now, on to the Haunting.  If you know me at all, you know I am intrigued by the thought of hauntings and ghosts...not the garbage you see in horror films, but actual hauntings.  Last year Mom and I went to Jefferson Tx for the Ghost walk - fascinating stuff.  This year, to carry on the new tradition, we went to the Central Texas Paranormal Convention.  It was really interesting.  Small, not many vendors, but we did meet Dustin Paris formally from Ghost Hunters and Ghost Hunters International.  We heard a few speakers, and got to be part of an investigation at the Rosewood Recreation Center near downtown Austin.  It was fun, and I don't know if we caught anything....still reviewing pictures and listening to recordings...I'll let you know if we find anything. :)

While we were in Austin, Mom and I also found some new scrap stores.  We first went to Scrapology.  It was a cute little store filled with some delicious goodies.  I got some really cute papers to make cards with, some Smooch Paint, and some of the Magic of Oz paper to do my Wicked Pages from my Honeymoon a couple years ago.  Then we went to Archivers.  OMG....not since the days of Recollections have I ever seen anything so wonderful.  I was sad that I have to go the whole way to Austin to see it, but OMG.  This store was huge, had EVERYTHING I wanted and then some, and it was just....it was beautiful.  Made me a little sad because I miss my old store.  For those of you that don't know, I used to be a classroom coordinator and teacher at Recollections.  We were a LSS owned by a Big Box Store.  Well, after all the other LSS closed around us Michael's decided to pull the plug.  I was heart broken.  I had finally found my place in the world - I loved to meet people, I loved to teach, and I loved to watch other people develop as crafters.  They took that away from me, on my birthday no less.  We finally closed our doors Feb 2008.  I know it's silly, that was so long ago, but I still miss it.  Anyway, back to the shopping - While I was at Arhivers, I bought some MME 6x6 pads and matching embellishments, some Graphic45 goodies, a cute Jilly Bean Soup 6x6 pad and some Websters Pages Papers.   It was so hard not to just buy one of everything, but we did eventually stop shopping and headed back to our hotel.  What a fun store!  Saturday afternoon we went out and found Felicia's Scrapbooks.  It's a cute store, but we chose the weekend they did a scrappers garage sale to come for a visit.  Problem was, it's a tiny store, so they upset their own displays to make room for other peoples stuff.  I found a cute stamp set that I did end up getting, but I didn't really see much else I was interested in there.  It was still a nice trip.  

Now I'm off to spend the weekend with the hubs - it's my Birthday on Tuesday so we've got a full weekend.  Enjoy your weekend, and Happy Crafting!!

World Card Making Day is Coming!!!

Paper Therapy is hosting an Online Crop on World Card Making Day, which is this weekend!!

The crop will run all weekend - starting with "early bird" specials this weekend, door prizes, and 1 grand prize for 1 lucky winner.  Want to learn more?  Come play with us at Paper Therapy!!  More details to come.