Studio Calico Layout Fun!

This week has been long, but brightened with the fun of my new kit from Studio Calico, “Handmade!” Check out these fun layouts.

“Uncle,” this picture was taken on our recent visit to the States. It was the first time that Mr. C. saw his nephew, the day he became an Uncle. They were so cute together in their Detroit Tigers gear!

I love documenting everyday life. These pictures were taken in downtown Stuttgart, Germany outside of our favorite Doener place, “Beykebab.” Doener’s (in German there is no e next to the o) are a form of Turkish food which has been altered to a German friendly, delightful pita filled with meat, cabbage, lettuce, cream sauce, onions and other goodies depending on the location. I don’t know how I am going to be able to go without them when I move back to the States some day!

What would scrapbooking be without documenting the Elimination 2011 project? For the background of this project I used masking and various colors of mists to create the pattern. I love using mists!

I think I am addicted to my sewing machine lately. I love the look it gives.

Do you have plans for the weekend? Mr. C. and I were taking a trip to Berlin but just found out it was cancelled! Now it is time to plan again because no matter what we do this weekend, I am looking forward to an adventure!

- Katie

Buttons…Buttons and More Buttons!

Elimination 2011 is going great! I cannot wait to post the pictures of my new art space. By the words new I mean cleared of all the junk and clutter that was my creative arch-nemesis.

One thing I have learned going through boxes of items is that I have a lot, did I just say a lot of arts and crafts items? I think moving overseas has helped inflate my number of items because I now order in bulk to save on shipping and trips to the States involve buying massive amounts of stock that is either not available or much more expensive here in Germany. Such as these buttons:

I was so excited to buy them, bags of buttons for only $1.59. Then I had to find a place for them and organize them by color. Needless to say it made me question my buying enthusiasm!

I am now off to finish sewing my new curtains. If you are just now joining the blog please check out the Elimination 2011 post here: Elimination 2011 and remember to follow if you like what you read!

Elimination 2011

Have you ever had an epiphany…when you realize that the way you are living your life is not the way you want to live? When Mr. C. and I moved to Germany we assumed we did not have much stuff…we were wrong.

Imagine having a group of strangers come in to your house, pack everything up and then give you a weight… a weight that declares to the world just how much crap you own. It went something like this,

“Mrs. C. we have weighed all of your household belongings and you have 9,000 pounds of household goods".”

I was shocked! How had two people and a tiny little dog accumulated so much stuff? Then friends who had moved overseas told me,

“Only 9,000 pounds? That’s barely anything! My household goods weighed over 18,000 pounds”

This made me compare 18,000 pounds to 9,000 pounds and my feeling of embarrassment and shock about the amount of stuff Mr. C. and I owned turned into a feeling of being comfortable, satisfied, self righteousness,

…“I only have 9,000 pounds, I am doing great!”…

until my reality check when they dropped all 9,000 pounds of goods in my German house.

The true horror of all of this stuff did not really hit me until my parents came to visit. We had this big, beautiful house and no where to put anything! Before the dust had settled on their suitcases I had a plan…

Elimination 2011

I have to say after only a week of Elimination 2011 Mr. C. and I are doing great. We now run around the house declaring loudly, “eliminate!” as we add another item for removal to our foyer. This declaration prompts much laughter and encouragement because we each know how hard eliminating really is.

The best part of Elimination 2011? That we are eliminating the things from our life that hold us back, the unorganized pieces of our past that we think hold the keys to our memories, rather than realizing that this 9,000 pounds of stuff is really preventing us from making new memories in our lovely new home. I am not saying it is easy…but it is liberating…and eliminating with your best friend? Simply amazing.

So here is to the future, a future where a moving man looks at me in shock when he loads my items and tells me how much it weighs…a future where I know each and every box that is loaded into the moving van and can say that I  truly need and want every item in those boxes…and I look the moving man (or girl) in the eye and respond proudly, “it’s called elimination buddy!”

Do you have items in your home that are keeping you from living life and experiencing your adventures? Remember this phrase,

“Eliminate 2011 , You Can Do It!”

- Katie