Katie Stories {Scrapbook + Crafting Blog}: June 2014

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Make Your Own Vase Fillers with ThermoMorph {Review}

I was provided with this product free of charge for review purposes. All opinions posted here are my own.

Happy Weekend Eve!

While AJ and I were on vacation in South Carolina, Rizzi at ThermoMorph reached out to me and asked if I would review their product.

To be honest, I'd never heard of it before, but when I went on the website, the crafter + the chemistry teacher in me were totally intrigued by these polymorph molable plastic granules.

Basically, they are little white pellets, and when you put them in boiling water, they melt into moldable plastic, then they harden back into hard plastic. And you can buy them on Amazon in a giant tub (500g).

It was really easy to use. You boil some water and let it cool to around 150*F, drop the pellets into the water and wait two minutes for it to get clear. Then you can stretch, mold and play with the plastic.

When I started out, I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it.

I am not great with free hand molding of things, and I found that the material was hard to cut or trim into shapes with the scissors I have. So I tried a few different things, including making a "bowl" with my giant cupcake pan.

Fortunately, the plastic can be melted again and again, even after you've molded and hardened it. I loved that I could just "melt" my mistakes away! And trust me, I made a lot of ~~mistakes~~ creative attempts that didn't work out how I imagined.

When I'd had enough for that, I pulled out my molds. I tried out two different ones. The first one I tried was this red one. It is a soft silicone mold. It worked okay, but I found when I tried to squish the plastic into the mold, the mold squished with it, and so my pumpkin was a bit misshapen.

The second one I tried was this orange mold. I think its silicone too, but it is hard so it held up to my squishing!

These little plastic guys came out great! And a coat of orange + green paint made them look like real little pumpkins.

I ended up making this little piece of framed art with some of the pumpkins. {inspired by this pin} I can't wait to add this to my fall decor...in a few months!

Have you ever tried a product like this before? What would you use ThermoMorph for?

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Pacific Ocean {Scrapbook Layout}

Happy Tuesday!

Last week, I went a little scrap-crazy. I made 13 layouts in just three days! I think it was a combination of having lots of time, lots of pictures and a newly cleaned (and unpacked) scrapbook room.

I found lots of papers and embellishments and stickers that I forgot that I even had! So I just had to play with them :)

This layout is about my first trip to the Pacific Ocean. Even though I grew up a short drive from the beach, and spent a week every year on the Jersey Shore, it was always the Atlantic. So having the chance to see the Pacific while in California for a close friend's wedding was pretty awesome.

I loved it. Part of it was exactly how I imagined - palm trees and lots of people on the beach.

And part of it was not at all how I'd imagined - it was freezing cold. I guess I just assumed nice weather in California meant the ocean would be super warm. But I found out because its warm during the day, but cold at night, the ocean temperature never gets a chance to really heat up.

I also didn't expect all of the cool tide pools and sea life. I had so much fun photographing the ocean and climbing all over the rocks.

But mostly I was just proud of myself for venturing out by myself (AJ had a major project at work and couldn't attend the wedding with me) Just a few years ago, that definitely isn't something I would have done. But I'm so glad I took the opportunity and didn't let the fact that I had to drive in a unfamiliar area by myself stop me from seeing an ocean that I've always wanted to visit!

Have your crossed any locations off your "must see" list lately? Where do you still want to visit?

Monday, June 23, 2014

snap.scrap.share {June 2014}

Happy Monday!

Last Thursday, Julie and I shared a few layouts using one of my favorite lines - Bella Blvd's Engaged at Last.

If you remember a few ~~weeks~~ months ago, I made this layout about AJ's bachelor party. But there was a problem with it...I didn't have the picture I actually wanted!

See how I ended up remedying that over a Julie's!

I'll be back here tomorrow with another layout about a recent trip I took. See you then!

Friday, June 20, 2014

Project Life 2014 {Week 21}

Happy Friday!

Week 21 | May 19 - May 25

This layout really focuses on Memorial Day weekend. Its the official start of summer, and I couldn't wait for this weekend. We hung out in our backyard Friday night + went a crawfish boil on Saturday (our first!) On Sunday, AJ got me tickets to Bayou Country Superfest for my birthday. I love Eric Church and have been waiting to see him in concert for a long time. And it was so so worth it - he was awesome!

Just like last week, I wanted to include the tickets + schedule in my layout. Unlike last week, I could have put these into a page protector, because being able open/read them isn't as important. But, I had the hole puncher out, and I decided to just punch holes and put them directly into my album. Simple, easy and done!

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Atlanta + Savannah + Harbor Island {Summer List 2014}

Happy Tuesday!

I was definitely quiet here last week, because AJ and I crossed a few things off of our summer list. We went on road trip!

In April, we decided we wanted to go to the beach this summer {we are both really struggling with living so far from the water down here} AJ did a ton of research and found Harbor Island, South Carolina - we could drive there, it was the Atlantic Ocean, and it was quiet. So we booked a condo on the beach, and away we went!

Well, not really as easy as that. A wasp flew into the car as we were leaving, and it totally threw us off. So we ended up having to kill it, then go back into the house to get stuff clean off the window, then go back into the house because we forgot to turn off the light after we got the windex. Then go back around the block after we left because we couldn't remember if we'd shut the garage door with all the craziness.

But after that - away we went!

Since the drive was 13 hours, we decided to stop in Atlanta on our way to South Carolina. Neither of us had ever been there before (aside from the airport!)

We didn't do too much sight seeing, since we were very tired from driving (and fighting wasps at 5:30am!) But we did walk around the city a little bit, and went for dinner and drinks.

the view from our hotel room | walking around Peachtree Street | grabbing a drink at the hotel bar

The next morning, it was a not terribly long drive to South Carolina. Even though we were staying on the sea islands, we were super close to Savannah. So we took a day trip over there.

We didn't take one of the tours - although we saw them all over the place. We just really wanted to walk, as opposed to taking the trolley {walking is another thing we desperately miss since moving down here}. Fortunately, Heather had some really awesome posts about her family's trip to Savannah {here here and here}, and we used her posts as our tour guide!

city hall | the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist | AJ in front of the historic Savannah theater | Juliette Gordon Low's house (as a former Girl Scout, I so loved seeing this) | the square where Forest Gump was filmed

We also did some sightseeing of a different type. The next island over was Hunting Island - a state park with beautiful beaches, nature trails and a lighthouse.

We took a walk on one of the trails. Until we saw a snake. Then two steps later saw another snake. We decided that was enough nature for us and ~~screamed and ran~~ walked very quickly back to the safety of our car and the snake free beach!

But mostly our vacation looked like this.

I seriously can't believe we are back in Baton Rouge. Even though we just got back Sunday night, it feels like this was weeks and weeks ago.

But AJ had to go back to work and I guess I should start getting back to our regular routine. Which means I need to do all that vacation laundry!

Friday, June 13, 2014

Project Life 2014 {Week 20}

Happy Friday!

How is your summer going? I am just loving every second of being off from work and recharging for the new school year. But seriously, let's not talk about the new school year yet.

Let's talk about Project Life instead :)

Week 20 | May 12 - May 18

This was a pretty crazy week for everyone in my family! My brother graduated from law school on Saturday! We are all so proud of him :) Unfortunately, AJ and I couldn't attend because it was halfway across the country on Saturday morning and we couldn't make it in time due to work. But, everyone kept us in the loop with lots and lots of pictures (thank you Mom + Dad + Jamie!)

We also had a bit of drama this week. Monday night, we attended Confirmation at our church. Everything was going great - right up until the very end of Communion! I passed out! Fortunately, we were surrounded by good friends, including two nurses, who were able to take charge of the situation and were so so helpful.

Although I did end up in the emergency room until 1am! Fortunately, everything seems to be okay, but we had to get it checked out.

I was feeling much better on Tuesday. Better enough to bake cookies for AJ's plant's crawfish boil. Of course, AJ helped me too. He was great at icing the Andes Mint cookies {recipe found from Becky Higgin's blog - and is definitely a new favorite}

And Wednesday was my birthday! We celebrated twice - once on my actual birthday with dinner at a local restaurant + cake + presents. And again on Saturday with dinner in Baton Rouge. I loved celebrating all week long :)

Since we had lots of "things" from this week that I didn't want to cut up - the Confirmation program + my birthday cards - I decided to just punch holes in them and put them right into my book. I could have included them in protectors, but because I want to be able to easily open and flip through these items, I decided to just punch holes directly into them and leave them out of the page protectors.

Do you include "things" - cards, maps, programs, etc. - in your albums? How do you like to display them?

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Road Trip Essentials {Summer List 2014}

Happy Tuesday! The first Tuesday of my summer break and I am loving enjoying everything this summer has to offer.

One of the things on my summer list is to take a road trip.

As much as I'd love to be spontaneous and just take off whenever I want, we all know that that is just not going to work for me! I'm a planner and a list maker and a pack-everything-we-could-possibly-need-for-a-road-trip-er.

So our road trip has a list of essentials that I just cannot forget to bring along.

cons + a cardigan | Cons are my most comfortable shoes, I wouldn't go away without them! And I'm never without a cardigan - especially in the car! AJ and I totally disagree on how cold the car should be. And I'm always always cold, no matter where we are, so the cardigan goes a long way to stop the air conditioner wars!

snacks | Some healthy snacks, like an apple + granola bars. Some not healthy snacks, like kettle cooked chips. Its all about moderation, right?

sunglasses | Do I really need to say more?

phone | Its a GPS, a camera and holds our road trip playlist. Without this, we are lost, have zero pictures to scrap and can't find anything on the radio. This should probably be number one!

documenting supplies | I always have some Project Life cards with me, along with a few of my favorite journaling pens. But for a road trip, I throw in some stamps, so I can mail postcards from the road.

hair clips + bobby pins | Nothing is worse than trying to drive with your hair in your face. And I am not above stopping at the nearest CVS to buy a clip if I need one (probably why my hair clip collection is so large!), so I'll just save us a stop and pack them.

glasses + contacts + contact solution | I learned this trick during a 6 hour delay at LGA. My contacts were driving me crazy, and I had my glasses, but no case or solution. So now I carry my emergency eye kit anytime we travel. Sometimes you just have to take out your contacts!

an awesome road trip partner | Especially one who take pictures while I'm driving, pumps all the gas and stops whenever I ask. Now if we can just work on the air conditioner issue...

a car | If you've got a car, you're going to want to make sure its ready for the trip. Before our road trip, our car is going in for a check up, an oil change, a tire rotation and to get washed and vacuumed. (Can you tell that I married an engineer?) Of course, if you don't have a car, you probably want to get one of them!

Now, you can always go out and buy one. But buying a car for one road trip might be a little extreme for you.

Fortunately, you can rent one from RelayRides, a peer-to-peer car rental agency. In a nutshell, people who have cars, but don't need them that day/week/whatever can list their cars and rent them to people who need cars.

And, its worry free for the owners and the renters. Owners can rest happy knowing that their car is protected by RelayRide's liability insurance policy, renters are screened before they are allowed to rent, and the owner has control over who they rent to. Renters can travel with confidence knowing they are backed by 24 hour roadside assistance and customer support and they can choose from three different insurance packages that fit their needs for physical damage and liability protection.

I love the idea of people sharing their resources to make travel happen!

Speaking of sharing our resources - what are your road trip essentials? Is there anything I forgot?

Disclaimer: I was asked to participate in RelayRides Road Trip Essentials Campaign. I was not compensated by nor did I receive any products from RelayRides for this post. All the opinions expressed here are my own.

Friday, June 6, 2014

Project Life 2014 {Week 19}

Happy Friday!

I'm officially on summer break (yay!) But something crazy is going on. I keep waking up at 5:30am every day! Part of me likes getting up early because I get so much done...and part of me hates it because its summer.

But it worked out well today, because the summer I-have-no-idea-what-day-of-the-week-it-is mind set is already here, and I almost forgot to post my Project Life layout! Silly me.

Fortunately, I remembered and I was up early enough to post it now!

Week 19 | May 5 - May 11

This week got off to a bad start. On my way to work I was in a very very minor car accident. Fortunately, no one was hurt. Unfortunately, the side view mirror broke off my car. Just the mirror part, not the holder or anything. It was pretty weird, to be honest. AJ ordered the part on Amazon for $20 and tried to put it on himself when it arrived, but neither of us could get it in to stay put. It was pretty frustrating!

But, we also did some fun things this week - a shopping trip to the new Costco, walked outside, AJ got a new "engineer" shirt, and I tried a new bread recipe. I actually didn't love the recipe, but it was still fun to do!

Well, since I'm up super early, I should go do something productive so I can relax this weekend. Maybe clean, maybe do some laundry, maybe take a nap ;)

What are you up to this weekend?

Thursday, June 5, 2014

Sunflower Blogging Award

Happy Weekend Eve! Although I don't know if I get to be excited about weekend eve during this summer, since I'm off all the days and not just on the weekend. Either way, I'm going to be excited, because its the first full day of summer!!!

I know I don't normally post on Thursdays, but on Tuesday, Tracy gave me the Sunflower Blogging Award and because I think these are so fun, I couldn't wait to answer.

Well, I waited one day because it was a Wednesday I had to finish up my wedding recaps, and I really really love schedules and couldn't mess with it.

Here are the rules:

share 11 facts about yourself | answer the questions set by the blogger that nominated you | nominate bloggers | post 7 questions for those nominated bloggers

Eleven Facts About Me {that you may or may not already know}

1. I really really love schedules and my day planner. So much so that I spent almost a month deciding on a new planner. I finally chose the Erin Condren Life Planner {recommended by Heather} Of course, it doesn't go on sale until June 12!

2. I am not patient. I will take a long time deciding what I want, but once I do, I want it quickly!

3. This is the first year I can ever remember that I will not be going to a New York Mets baseball game.

4. I hate running, but will gladly run 30 seconds sprints followed by 30 seconds of walking.

5. I love post it notes. I use them for everything and color code them for different events.

6. I prefer handwriting notes over putting them in my phone. Appointments, grocery lists, packing lists, everything gets hand written. Usually on post it notes.

7. My mason jar water bottle from Target is my favorite.

8. We have been grilling at least once a week.

9. August is my favorite summer month. But ever since I moved out of New York, I have to start teaching in August! I miss my August beach days.

10. This summer I'm trying to put away my phone when AJ is home. I tried during Lent, and failed. So I'm trying again.

11. I didn't freak out when my chalkboard wall was a gigantic disaster. It has to be re-done this summer. But I stayed calm. Major steps for me!

And Now for Tracy's Seven Questions

1. How did you get into blogging?
I originally started because I saw everyone's awesome crafting blogs and I wanted to play too. But I sort of was terrible and never blogged anything. Then when we moved to Illinois, I started blogging more regularly and made awesome blog friends, who I love because they always come "with" me when I move.

2. Do you have a favourite craft and if so, what is it?
Scrapbooking! Unless napping is a craft, and then that is my favorite.

3. How long have you been blogging?
Ummm...hold on, I will go look...April 2010 officially, but I really started blogging regularly in the summer of 2011.

4. Would you ever think of running a 1/2 Marathon?
Heck no! I run for 30 seconds at a time. That would be terrible.

5. What would be the hardest food to stop eating for you?
I seem to have a problem stopping when I start eating Goldfish. But I could not eat them anymore and be sort of okay. I would hate to have to give up pizza. Its my favorite. Left to my own devices, I will eat pizza for every meal, every day, until someone stops me.

6. What is the hardest thing to organize in your crafting supplies?
That's a good question, I'm not sure. Right now, I'm having trouble with my scrapbook room. I never finished unpacking it, so its half super organized, and half a disaster. Its definitely a project for this summer.

7. What TV series or movie could you watch over and over again?
We've been re-watching Home Improvement lately and I've been loving it.

And now for my bloggers to nominate. Can I kind of cop out here and just nominate anyone who wants to do it? It always reminds me of picking teams, and I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings! Just today (meaning Tuesday the day I'm writing this) the girls in my 5th grade class were being all mean like that and it made me sad

So, if you want to answer these 7 questions, you can!

1. What was the last thing you read?
2. Do you have to wear glasses or contacts?
3. What are you having for dinner tonight?
4. What is your go to crafting supply?
5. When did you first start crafting?
6. What is your least-favorite-wouldn't-eat-it-for-a-million-dollars food?
7. Do you have a really hard time coming up with seven random questions like I do?

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

The Party Ends + Continues at the Hotel {Wedding Recaps}

We'd gotten married, we'd taken pictures, we'd danced (and danced and danced!) and we'd cut the cake.

And before we knew it, the party was ending.

Our photographer was taking the last picture of the night.

Photo Credit: Ruby Star Photography

Our DJ was playing our last song.

Our limo was leaving Stewart Manor Country Club.

Photo Credit: Ruby Star Photography

But we weren't going to let the reception ending stop our party.

My parents organized a little after party at the hotel. After going up to our beautifully decorated room to drop off our luggage (and ditch the heels I'd been wearing all night long!) AJ and I headed back downstairs to hang out with our guests for a little bit.

guest photograph
this is the only one I could find of the after party!

And before we knew it, it was time to go to bed so we could get up in the morning to head here.

Can you believe it? Its over! These recaps seem to have flown by just as quickly as our actual wedding did!

I do have one more little thing to share with you next week, but then its time to move on to something else. Just like real life I guess, hahaha!

I hope you enjoyed these recaps as much as I've enjoyed sharing them with you :)

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Summer List {2014}

Hello Summer!

Well, summer's officially starting tomorrow at noon. And if we are going by the weather, summer's been here since April. Yay Louisiana...

The past few summers, I've created a list of things to do before school starts - and sometimes I even throw in a list for fall.

I usually wait until after the last day of school to post my list. But I am so so ready for it to be today (and I accidentally wrote it as today in my day planner!) and tomorrow's only a half day, so I decided to just post it now!

Sometimes they work out great {fall 2013} And I end up with lots of fun pages in my Project Life album {summer 2012} And other times, it doesn't work out so well {summer 2013}

But that's okay, because I still love making a new list every summer, even if we start school with none of it being done!

I already know that a few of things this will happen {road trip | beach} and some have already happened {concert} But there are a few I know probably won't be perfect {take a picture every day} but that isn't going to stop me from trying!

What's on your summer agenda this year?