Sweetwater Designs

::: { Bathrooms.... your kidding me right?

Another week gone and I cannot believe the amount of cleaning I have accomplished. The kitchen zone went well... I managed to get sooo much done in there... maybe not everything but very close. This week is bathrooms and one extra room. I am going to overextend myself in hopes of tackeling an additional room on top of the zone requirements for this week... the  { stamp room }. Zone 3 from Flylady.

The stamp room is covered in stuff that no one else is sure where to put... the official home of anything falling under the categories "I think this is moms, and if not she will know what to do with it" , and my favorite "I have no idea where this goes, but I am sure mom will know" or my personal favorite "the office is in such a mess, she won't notice if I set a few extra things in here to help me get my chores done faster" lol gotta love kids and their attempts to see the end of a project as fast as possible. However all of these fabulous reasons combine to leave the office in an unfit state for living lol... talk about total CHAOS.

I know it has been weeks since my last stamped creations but believe me it is worth the wait. I have been picking up all kinds of little things here and there to put together the perfect Halloween home decor. I am hoping to get a few birthday cards done this week as we have a slug of birthdays coming in the next month or two... the fact that I got new stamps has nothing to do with the urge to do some stamping... {promise} lol.

During the month of September, Flylady is doing a huge super fling boogie. This is basically the process of getting rid of a bunch of stuff you no longer need or want. So far this month, I have over 50 lbs of stuff to be donated... today during my errands I am going to drop off my donation items, grab another set of bags and hopefully double my total for this month.

Be sure to check back throughout the week for some fun birthday projects, and hopefully a few halloween goodies... and some hilarious pictures of the "stamp room".

::: { In the Zone

It's only Tuesday? This week seems to be going slow.... so very slow. The fact that I have been working in kitchen could be contributing. This week Flylady's zone is the kitchen... and mine has been neglected for a while. While I daily clear the clutter from the counters and do a good clean, it has been far to long since the cupboards were cleaned out, wiped down etc.

I spent most of yesterday wiping down cupboard doors and walls... oh the fingerprints lol I could not believe how many little prints there were. I managed to tackle that project as well as cleaning behind the refrigerator ::: SCARY ::: I could not believe how much dirt had snuck back there in just a few short months.

Today I plan to start going through cupboards cleaning them out, flinging unused kitchen gadgets {I am such a sucker for these, I have about everything you can think of and never use it}, wiping down the insides and replacing items.

My stamping to do list is growing ... I am hoping to find a few minutes this week to get some much needed stamping in. I have a birthday card to send off.... some grandparents cards and a congratulations wedding card. If I get done early today I may make a lil trip to the scrapbook store for some halloween supplies so I can finish my home decor projects. My shipment from Eclectic Paperie should be here soon... I ordered some fun halloween stamps and the Merry Muffins stamp set for my Christmas cards this year.

::: It's a Dirty Job... but someone has to do it

Just wanted to pop in with a friendly "hello". The kids returned to school on Tuesday this week and to say that this week has been a bit :: { crazy } :: would be a bit of an understatement. In addition to the circles we seem to be running in... I have gone back to my flybaby roots. I have decided to go back to school after the holidays and I am devoting a lot of time to the house at the moment trying to get things ready for such a big life change.

Today I am putting on my lil fireman's hate {okay seriously, I would never do that lol} in an attempt to put out all the lil hot spots in our house. There are so many surfaces that seem to draw clutter to them... I have also been "flinging" stuff left and right. In my stamping room... I have already collected 25lbs of stuff to give away and over 35 lbs of stuff to throw away. My office is still far from decluttered and ready for some weekend scrapbooking by my standards but I was surprised at how much I was able to get rid of. I have decided that I am no longer in the Stampin' Up business for the business just the discount on my own purchases and the sneak peak reordering opportunities. Having made this decision I had a ton of business related materials that were ready for donating.

I have also been purging through the many issues of Papercrafts, Creating Keepsakes and other paper crafting magazines I have picked up along the way. I still have quite a stack to sift through but I am hoping to find the bottom of that project today. Having purchased the magazines for project ideas I have gone through each of them and clipped out anything I found to be inspiring. I am hoping to organize a binder for those when the office is completely cleaned.

And then there is Mt Washmore... I cannot believe how quickly the laundry can pile up. My husband and kids went on an 8 day camping trip at the end of August. They cleaned out the camper this weekend and I cannot begin to tell you about the laundry pile up. I have been sifting through, doing a few loads each day and I am finally starting to see the bottom of the baskets. Hoping at the end of this weekend that I can truly say  "I have been to the top of Mt Washmore, and down the other side".

For those that are unfamiliar with some of the terminology used in today's post, you can check out www.flylady.com for details and definitions.

::: { Too Short

Its been about a year and a half between photos but I am amazed at the changes that have taken place. Today we scheduled hair appointments for the kids, school starts September 2nd and its tradition to start the new year off with a new look. 11" later Tayllar has achieved her look for this school year... she looks so much older, it is hard to believe the changes she has made.

::: { Before } :::

Her hair this morning was even longer than the before picture indicates.... 11" gone { still cannot believe it myself } and here is her 4th grade look.

::: { After } :::

::: Ruffled Edges :::

I love the ruffled edges on this Lilly... so { beautiful }. We are tackling mount washmore today, should be lots of fun. Laundry seems to be the one thing around the house I can never manage to keep under control. The kids are getting ready for a camping trip... so there is lots to wash and get ready to go. Camping... is without a doubt :::  not my thing ::: so I will be spending the weekend getting some much needed cleaning done, and hopefully some scrapbooking.

::: { All good work is done the way ants do things: Little by little. } :::
-  Lafcadio Hearn

::: A quick Hello :::

The last few days have been wildly crazy with lots and lots of stuff going on. We traveled to Lyman to see my grandma last week, visited a fabulous scrapbook store.. a fabric store... and a floral shop. It was so much fun.  I found some block letters :: { F A M I L Y that I hope to cover with decorative paper and display in my home, I am having trouble finding the right paper as of yet but I am sure I will find it. We { my mom, the kids, and I } are planning another trip on Tuesday. We are traveling to Vernal UT to visit my other grandma and my cousins for the day. We have jam packed a day trip with lots of fun ::: Dinosaur Museum, the Nursery { amazing flower varieties }, and of course every scrapbook store in town.... a quick lunch and an hour at the splash park and then we will be returning home.

The kids return back to school in just a few short weeks... I have a feeling September 2nd will be here before I know it. We have been trying to squeeze in a few fun activities everyday as we wrap up the last few weeks of summer. Tayllar will be going to an all girls :: End of Summer :: sleepover tonight, she is so excited... I am sure they will have lots of fun.

Hopefully I will get back into the stamping over the weekend and most definitely toward the end of next week as things unwind a bit. I have been organizing everything to get ready for some ::: { Power Scrapbooking... I purchased a Cricut Expressions and a ton of new cartridges... some new cuttlebug goodies and I cannot wait to show you all the fabulous paper I have found in my traveling. As for the yard... the last few days have been a friendly reminder of how suddenly things can cool down... today feels like Fall is creeping around the corner.

::: { Happy Boo to You } :::

I woke up yesterday feel horribly under the weather... so I immediately started the cold medicine regimen. For anyone who knows me well this is a sign that I will be staying away from stamps... I cannot cut a piece of paper to save my life when I am not feeling well, its almost like the creative side shuts down completely. However... despite it all I decided to make yet another spider card. It took me much longer than it normally would have to make it, but I am more than pleased with the results. { Are you tired of spider cards yet? } Oh I certainly hope not... I have had more fun with these little spiders, I cannot wait to share the rest of the spider projects for my Halloween Home Decor. Just need to wait for a few seasonal items to become available first. Of all the spider cards, this is definitely taking the top favorite spot.

:: { Supplies } ::

Stamps: Booglie Eyes, Batty for You, Web Wishes

Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Jet Black Stazon

Cardstock: Basic Black, Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie, DCWV pattern paper

Other: Marvy Uchida Scalloped / Circle, Scalloped Circle SU, 1 3/8",  1 1/4", 1/4" Circles SU, Black Brads Vintage SU, Spotted Ribbon May Arts, Orange Ribbon misc.

::: { A Soft Yellow } :::

The lilies in our yard just keep getting better and better. We purchased a variety of bulbs last year trying to { cheaply } increase the colors and variety that we had. We did purchase a few from the nursery but 95% of what we have is from the one variety pack.... and not just any variety pack... one we picked up at our local hardware store on clearance at the end of the season. And they sat the garage until the middle of the next summer... some were skeptical as to weather or not they were any good but we planted them anyway. The varieties and colors have been nothing short of amazing } :::

::: { The love of gardening is a seed once sown that never dies } ::: - Gertrude Jekyll

:: { Art Gallery } ::

Now you can view all the crazy creations I have made over the last year or two in my new Art Gallery. I had a hard time leaving so much behind on the old blog, now this site finally feels like home. I will be editing all the photos to include a materials list, but given there are nearly 100 images in the album, it may take me a while to get caught up.

::: { Art Gallery } :::

::: Coneflower :::

What a wonderful surprise after a day of rain. My garden has been neglected for the last week... I have had little or no desire to get out there and work, my plans today included some much needed yard work but I think I am coming down with a cold. I may have to put it off a few more days lol } :::

Garden Giggles } ::: I love walking around my garden... admiring the flowers and finding that one bloom that stands out from the rest... and thinking to myself { wow that is beautiful, when did I plant that? }

I am not sure where this coneflower came from... but I excited it has taken root in my garden.

::: { Cultivate the garden within } ::: -unknown