Ever Hear of a Digi Journal?

Well, neither had I until today, but I read about it on one of my blogs that comes in my Google Reader. I think the idea is intriguing and I just might attempt it. I guess you could say it's like the Monthly Round Up in a sense, but more of a journal that you work on throughout the month. Check it out here. It's from the ScrapMatters website. There are links in the blog post that show what it's about. I don't think it has to be confined to digital. If you like to keep a journal I'm sure you can adapt this idea for paper scrapping as well. I just thought I'd throw it out there in case anyone else was interested.

Well, if you read my Round Up post, you read that I did indeed go through all the Christmas boxes and purged out items that were broken or that I no longer wanted. I managed to consolidate the number of boxes down by about 5, which I think is pretty huge. I also pulled out of the attic a pair of huge stuffed bride and groom dolls we got for our wedding. They haven't seen the light of day since our wedding and I had absolutely no use for them. So given the Flylady mantra, if I don't love it or use it, out it goes...they went, along with the still usable but no longer wanted holiday decorations, to Goodwill today. What a sense of accomplishment I felt. I have been meaning to do this for a couple of years and yea, this is the year it got done!

So, Christmas is put away and now I am ready for whatever 2008 brings. We will be staying home this evening...who knows...maybe I'll work on a layout or two...

Thanks for visiting and see you soon!

December Round Up

Here's the Round Up for December. I got the idea for doing this by reading a blog. Katie the Scrapbook Lady posts this each month. I think it's a super idea and am trying to do this myself. Click here to check it out for yourself...

What books and/or magazines did I read this month?
I keep reading those escapist romance novels. I finished up the series by Debbie Macomber and am currently reading Mending Fences by Susan Wiggs. I need the books to be thick so I don’t race thru them in a sitting or two. This book is about two friends and their families. The kids grew up together pretty much and the son of the one family hurt the daughter of the other family only neither family knows for sure that it happened. It's exploring these relationships and how something like this can tear friendships apart as well as showing how to work on mending the relationship after something terrible happens.

What movies and/or tv shows did I watch this month?
TV Shows-My Reality shows mostly. Finished up the season on Survivor. I’m not sure if I am going to continue to be so engrossed in this show. The person I feel should win rarely does as they are usually deemed a threat and voted off. Keeping up with the Amazing Race…barely…I keep getting interrupted when it’s on. Most shows are now reruns due to the Writers’ Strike, so I may have the TV on, but as background noise while I’m doing something on the computer.

What special days did I celebrate and how?
Pretty easy this month I guess…Christmas! I let the girls decorate the tree and our big room. I kept up with putting something on my table by getting a photo holder and putting some of our Christmas cards on display. I put the wooden sleigh I painted years ago on the table too, to house the rest of the cards received. It looked nice. For Christmas this year, Grandma Tomshack came on Christmas Eve and is staying until January 5th. We went to Dave and Tracy’s home for a party on Christmas Eve. Amy wrote a letter to Santa and he responded. The girls enjoyed opening up their gifts. We stayed home and played games like Zingo, Cariboo, Dora Checkers, Memory.

What gifts did I give and/or receive?
I received a Garmin GPS system from Steve for Christmas. It’s pretty neat. Kelly sent me a butterfly ornament (which Amy opened and put on the tree) as well as a subscription to Digital Scrapbooking Magazine. Gave lots of gifts this month! Amy and Jessica got Fisher Price’s Digital Arts & Crafts Studio, along with two discs; Dora and Diego to go along with it. Games was the theme this year…Zingo, Dora Game Box, Cariboo, Guess Who. Both girls got pajamas with Cars and Princess themes. Amy got the Cars Mack Truck and Jessica got Dora’s Globe. In addition they received two new games for the V-Smile (Diego and Scooby Doo) and a Dora Smart Book. We gave Grandma Tomshack a handheld Free Cell game along with some fashion pins. I also made her a CD Case Calendar from a digital kit I bought. It has pictures of the girls for each month of the year. Steve got a rocket ship and a pair of binoculars. As I said, lots of gifts this month. I made Kelly a home organizer notebook as well as a tin filled with decorated Reece’s Cups. Garrett and Devon got gift certificates in decorated holders. Gram Jones got a decorated gift box with a Starbucks card and Julie got a Gift Certificate in a deocorated gift box. Monica and her boys got a Friends tumbler and gift certificates. I made some goodies to give to our mailman, UPS man and the swim teachers at the Rec Center. Whew! Lots of giving going on this month!

What illnesses or health concerns did I have?
I thought I might be getting a cold, but managed to thwart it by taking lots of Cold Snap. Both girls were sick. Jessica got an ear infection and was up all night one night. The following week Amy got sick with an ear infection/strep. Both girls were on antibiotics.

What fun things did I do with my friends and/or family?
Spent Christmas together. Amy’s class made mini gingerbread houses with milk cartons and graham crackers. I went in to help and it was fun. Jessica’s class made Corduroy dolls and I went in to help trim the excess fabric off. That was fun as well. I met a mom whom I’d never chatted with before. It’s always fun meeting new friends. We went to Dave and Tracy’s for Christmas Eve. I had Hostess Club and we made a couple of fun projects. The girls and I baked together this month.

What new foods, recipes or restaurants did I try this month?
I made Snowman Cookies for the first time. Nutter Butters dipped in melted white chocolate. The girls helped decorate them. I got a few new cookbooks and have tried one recipe, Chicken Piccata, which was tasty. Oh and I tried making Spiced Tea. It came out a little strong, so will need some tweaking.

What special or unusual purchases did I make?
Seemed like I shopped a lot this month, which is to be expected. My most unusual or funny purchase was getting two Taste of Home Cookbooks. First I saw them in the Taste of Home catalog at the party I went to in November. Then I saw them at Kmart. I picked one up for Steve to wrap for me for Christmas. He never did. Then I saw the same books cheaper at Walmart, so I took the one from Kmart back. Right after leaving Walmart with the books I went to Sam’s Club and they were both there (both being the regular cookbook and the baking cookbook) even cheaper than Walmart’s price! So I bought them at Sam’s and turned around and returned the two I had just picked up from Walmart. Thankfully these stores are right next to each other. Anyone who knows me well, knows I will do what is needed to get the bargain. Steve just shakes his head at me. But he’s glad I’m willing to do it.

What were this month's disappointments?
I don’t know if it’s really a disappointment, but I hoped for an external hard drive for Christmas, or the cookbooks mentioned above. Neither was under the tree for me. I talked to Steve about the hard drive and he told me he’s got a network storage system in mind, so I guess it’s something to look forward to instead of a disappointment. And I got the books I wanted. :o)

What were my accomplishments this month?
I’m proud of myself for getting my Christmas cards out by the end of the first week in December. For the most part, I felt pretty well on top of, or at least not stressed out about, Christmas. I let the girls decorate for the holiday, which they thoroughly enjoyed. I am proud of myself for going through all the boxes and purging out holiday items I no longer wanted. I consolidated the number of boxes considerably and even made the trip to Goodwill to donate what is still usable. Took a digi class called Brushworks from Big Picture Scrapbooking. Haven’t finished it yet, though, since Christmas got in the way.

Anything else noteworthy to record?
When we were at Sweet Tomatoes for dinner toward the end of the month, Amy commented that her tooth hurt. After saying Uh-Oh, I looked in her mouth…she’s getting her 6 year molar! Whew! She’s not been feeling well since then, but hopefully will kick the bug before school starts on January 8th.

Blog Banner Changed

Since we are so close to the new year, I thought it time to change the ol' blog banner! You can see the credits for what I used way down at the bottom of the blog. The picture was taken LAST winter when we had that record snow fall. I was going to use some swimming pictures of the girls I took earlier in December, but somehow the pictures of them in the pool don't quite evoke the same feeling for January as the photo I ultimately chose to use. :o)

I'm gonna be working on my Monthly Roundup today (hopefully), but we do need to take down the tree and put Christmas away. My thought is I will go through my holiday boxes and purge items I no longer want. Would have done it when we first pulled down the boxes, but the girls had a field day working on the tree and I was just in the mood to put the boxes away by the time they were done. LOL

I'm thinking of updating my blog roll, too.

But you know those intentions....sometimes life just gets in the way.

If I, for some reason, DON'T get all the stuff done I hope to and don't get a chance to blog again today...Happy New Year! Stay safe and have fun ringing in 2008~

Get a L.O.A.D. of This!

I just found out there is a class at Big Picture starting on January 1st. It's scrapping a page a day for the entire month of January! Sound like fun? Something to do? Best of all, this class is FREE. Check it out here! I signed up. There's probably no way in heck I'll ever actually do it, but since I'm trying to scrap more...this may be some good incentive to get into the habit....

Oh and one of the presents we got my mother-in-law for Christmas is a hand held Free Cell game. She likes those things. Well, I didn't know how to play it, but was familiar with the name at least. That is, I didn't know about it until I sat down to try to play it. I even ended up looking up how to play on the internet. So...I figured it out! And I played. And I won a game. And so, I had to play again. Didn't win. But wanted to try again...do you get where this is going?

There is NO way I'm gonna be able to do a layout a day in January if I am hooked on a silly solitaire game called Free Cell, is there?

What's funny is that the girls want me to sit on the couch with them so they can watch me play it. They also give me advice on what to move where. Yea. Like THEY know what the suits are and all that. I'll tell you though, they are SO excited for me when I win! LOL

Okay, are you game to try to do a layout a day? Go to Big Picture and sign up already! (hee, hee)

Til next time....Thanks for visiting.

PS I even took this silly game with us on the drive over to Sweet Tomatoes for dinner. See, I sit in the 'way back' of the van and can't really hear anything. The girls are always engrossed in a video...so I needed something to do while on the way. Oh and Steve wanted to go back to the Pro Bass Shop to exchange a shirt he bought...it was too big. SURE! I said, thinking...oh goody more time to play...It's a sad and sorry state of affairs, I tell ya!

Jessica & Corduroy

I forgot to mention in my last post that I corrected my journaling mistake in the Christmas is coming layout. I wrote that Felicia gave us the wreath last year. Well, she saw it and correctly pointed out to me that it was in fact two years ago. Oops! I also fixed a spelling error I found.

Steve and the girls took Gramma Tomshack to the Pro Bass Shop earlier today, and I stayed home to be able to scrapbook. Well, I futzed around first! But here is the layout I came up with. I love it that Jessica still wants me to take her picture. I was working on something on the computer when she asked me to take pictures of her and Corduroy. Hope you enjoy!
Credits:
Template (love these things): Misty Cato-Hooked on Templates freebie from her blog. Scroll down to get to the template.
Papers: Brown Swirl-Heidi Larson-Candy Can Freebie from http://www.littledreamerdesigns.com/
Blue Swirl: Pamela Gibson-Elizabeth-www.polkadotpotato.com
Graph paper: Homeroom-Math Graph-www.atomiccupcake.com
Buttons: Pink-www.raspberryroaddesigns.blogspot.com - Annie's Room freebie
Orange:Funky Button-http://www.bhgscrapbooksetc.com/ Guide To Digital Scrapbooking Free Kit
Purple: Melissa Bennett-Button Bonanza http://www.elementalscraps.com/
Word Art: Hip Chick Bitty Words-from http://www.scrapgirls.com/, Loved Circle Stamp: Katie Pertiet Stamped Moments from http://www.designerdigitals.com/ (I got this as a freebie from my Jessica Sprague class)
Fonts: Fling and Pea Tracy

Whew! I think that's it!

Believe...

This was pure magic. Amy wrote a letter to Santa on Christmas Eve and wanted to mail the letter. I suggested she might want to leave it on the fireplace hearth. So, after the excitement of opening one gift (the pjs in the picture) the girls went to bed. Amy woke up on Christmas morning and discovered that Santa had indeed come, eaten the cookies, drank the milk and even responded to her letter! She was so very excited! She realized it was snowing and immediately ran down the hall back to her room. She exclaimed she knew she would see Santa's sleigh tracks in the snow when she looked out her window. And she did! Her excitement woke Jessica and Amy proudly read Santa's letter to her. Jessica was full of wonder. And so began our Christmas morning...
Credits:
Template: Kissed Studio #S0007
Papers: Plain Paper Spearmint (under journaling) www.shabbymissjenndesigns.com
All other papers: from Holiday Sparkle Kit by M. Shefveland (from Scrapper's Guide Premier subscription)
Scalloped edge-Shabby Princess Holiday Sampler (www.shabbyprincess.com)
Word Art: Mindy Terasawa-Quote Challenge freebie from www.designerdigitals.com - August 2006 I believe
Fonts: Fling (Believe...) Pea Tracy (journaling)


I hope your holiday was equally magical! Thanks for visiting.

Christmas is Coming

Well, actually Christmas is here! It's 6:30 on Christmas morning and everyone else is still asleep! There is a gentle snow falling outside as I sit here in the quiet before the chaos. I thought I'd work on finishing up this layout while I was waiting for everyone else to wake up.

{edited on December 27th for journaling to reflect the correct time frame for Felicia's wreath}
The journaling reads: The girls were quite excited to be able to help Mommy and Daddy pull the Christmas decorations down from the attic this year. In what seemed like no time at all our Great room was transformed for the holiday. Not only did the girls decorate the tree, they also put decorations out around the house. It was so sweet listening to them chatter as they worked, proclaiming each decoration as their favorite, as they pulled them out of the boxes. The beaded tree was made by Mommy years ago, with the help of her mom. The pink ornament was made by Jessica this year in preschool. The sequined tree was made by Mommy when she was a young girl. The wreath was made by Felicia two years ago. Mommy painted the elf sleigh when she lived in Palmdale and was still teaching school. The angels were given to Mommy as gifts from Auntie Kelly and Gram Jones. The Stocking holders are new this year. There are lots of memories stored in our decorations. It makes for a wonderful trip down Memory Lane. Thanks for a great job decorating my sweet girls! 2007

I hope each of you has a wonderful holiday, full of all of the delights of the season!

Thank you for visiting!

Credits:

Template used: Kissed Studio F0003 from www.kissedstudio.com) I believe this one was a freebie.
Papers: Noel kit from http://www.atomiccupcake.com/
Frame for picture: {Vintage Boho Brush Set} by Gypsy Chick (Jodie Patterson)-www.scrapartist.com
Fonts: Fling (Christmas), 2PeasScrapbook (is Coming), Pea Olson (journaling). Fling is a purchased font, 2PeasScrapbook is downloaded from http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/ and Pea Olson is downloaded from http://kevinandamanda.com/

Snowman Cookies

I saw this idea both in the Taste of Home Celebrations cookbook (which I ordered recently at Taste of Home party-yes, they do direct sales like Close To My Heart) and then I saw the idea again on a blog recently. I thought these little guys were so cute, I had to try them myself. Get the recipe here. The girls helped me by putting on the mini chocolate chip eyes and M&M baking bits. I mixed some food coloring into frosting to get the nose and scarf colors. I just put the frosting in a baggie and snipped the corner to allow the frosting to flow out. Basically, these are Nutter Butter cookies, dipped in melted white chocolate, break apart a stick pretzel for the arms and then decorate.

We gave this plate to the swim instructors and lifeguards at our Rec Center. It was the last day of swim class for this session. Both girls will be repeating their levels, but that's okay. However much practice they need before moving on is fine with me. The instructors and guards were very appreciative of the treat. I think they deserve a little something for all that they do in teaching kids to swim!

Here's Jessica getting ready to climb up the slide at the pool. I like this picture. It's hard getting decent pictures at the swimming pool because the lighting is pretty bad. But this one came out pretty cute!
And here's sweet Amy. I think this one came out so cute, too! She loves her new pink goggles! She was going down to the bottom of the pool to retrieve rings and things for her teacher.
Thanks for visiting!

I think I am just about done making things for gifties now. Today is the last day of school for both girls. They will be on Winter Break until the new year. I hope to continue to post from time to time, but we will be having my mother-in-law here for Break and my dad will be arriving after the New Year for a week. Their visits will overlap a couple of days. I can't promise how much I'll be able to create until the girls are back to school but you never know...

Hope you find some time to create and I also hope you are having a wonderful holiday season!

Teacher Holiday Gifts

I'm very excited about this year's holiday gifts for the girls' teachers. I originally was going to make them cards, but time kept slipping away and the cards weren't made. I envisioned a really late night trying to get them done. Then, while at Target the other day, I saw they had the Jiffy Pop popcorn in the Dollar Spot and a new idea emerged! Here is the final result. Jiffy Pop, a gift card to Borders, a large paper clip bookmark and homemade Spiced Tea mix. So, the hope is that the teachers will grab a good book to read while on Winter Break and enjoy some popcorn and tea while they are reading said book. I needed to get Amy's teacher's present done for today (Wednesday) because she is leaving to go home to Hawaii for her Winter Break tomorrow.


Here's what it looked like when I was done (I actually started AND finished 4 of these last night, by my bedtime). Four because Jessica has 3 teachers...

Gift Card in a holder and large paperclip bookmark

Spiced Tea Mix

Here's what I did/used:

I carefully took off the lid of one of the Jiffy Pops and traced it onto cardstock. I used it for the pattern for the remaining containers. I stamped the main background piece. Then I cut another half circle from patterned paper and added the ribbon. I adhered it to make a pocket for the goodies.

I made a cover for the gift card. See my previous post on how to make these.

Paperclip Bookmark

I got these at Walmart in the office supplies section. When I made these before, I used Liguid Glass to stick the topper on. This time I decided to use Pop Dots-oh boy, that was so much more efficient and it looked great! I cut the scalloped circles using my Cricut (2 1/2 inches in size, I think)

Spiced Tea Mix Recipe (fixed so it will work now)

I used some baggies I had on hand to put the mix in. Then I cut more scallop circles using my Cricut. The green is one is a whole circle folded in half. The other circles are cut in half and adhered. I made sure to attach the baggie lower so that I could punch holes for the ribbon. I tied it around the handle.

All supplies are CTMH:

New England Ivy, Cranberry Cardstock

Patterned Paper from an old CTMH Reflections pack

Victorian Snowflakes stamp set

Cranberry, New England Ivy ink

Cranberry Grosgrain Ribbon

Olive Organdy Ribbon

Red Sparkle

Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Holder

I went out to my craft room again today to work on some more gift card holders and these! I got the idea from Nichole Heady's {Capture the Moment} blog. She designs stamps for Papertrey Ink and comes up with some FABULOUS gift ideas. You definitely want to check her blog and Papertrey Ink out. Anyway, I loved the idea of decorating up some Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, but didn't think I would have time to order and receive a shipment in time for Christmas. Then I remembered Archiver's had some new tins in stock, with a see thru lid. I was tickled pink to find that not only do the cups fit, but I could actually fit 10 in there!


I used CTMH's Twilight cardstock and ink, New Fallen Snow, Sensational Seals as well as the Victorian Snowflake stamp sets. (hope you aren't tired of that VS set, it's one of my faves obviously) On the second set, I also added some of CTMH's clear sparkles to add a little oomph. The circles on the peanut butter cups are punched with a 1 1/8th inch circle punch and a 1 inch circle punch. The scalloped circles are made with my Cricut.


Thanks for visiting! Happy Creating!

Favorite Christmas Shows

Here's a layout I created this morning based on a layout I saw here at Lisa's blog. I thought it was a fabulous idea and asked her if she minded that I lift the idea. Thankfully she didn't and I spent last night Googling to find pictures. I'm not sure I would actually print this (because I don't know if it's okay to actually use these pictures), but it sure was fun to create. Thanks for the inspiration Lisa (who is a fellow classmate from Jessica Sprague's classes).

The papers are from a kit I got from ScrapWow. I don't know if I ever mentioned this on my blog, but not long after I started digi scrapping, I came across an advertisement banner that said FREE KITS, so of course, I had to check it out. For $19.95, I joined for a year. You get something like 6 kits free off the bat, access to a website (not that I use that much) and throughout the year, you get several unannounced Bonuses of free kits from some top name designers (for free). Seriously, it's a great deal! Click here to check it out if you are interested.

Anyway, I got the papers from an unannounced bonus this past week. They are created by Kelly Schults. The fonts are MonteCarloScriptNF and CK Carefree-both downloaded from the internet. I used a template by Bree Clarkson from SweetShopDesigns. It's from Collection 9. Anyway, I thought it would be perfect to showcase my favorite shows from my childhood.

Thanks for visiting. I hope you find time to create today!

Non Traditional Colors Snowflake Card

I'm not sure if you have noticed, but I added a blog I really enjoy visiting called Kathi's Creative Corner. Kathi is a very creative Close To My Heart consultant and I've long admired (and stamplifted) her ideas. She is also very good at posting new projects on her blog, so you just might want to bookmark it and visit often (or add it to your Google Reader), since she doesn't have a subscribe button. Anyway, she recently posted a version of this card on her blog and I fell in love with it. Check her card out here. She gives the directions/dimensions on her blog. I didn't have the same snowflake set, so I used Victorian Snowflake from CTMH. I also used the wider twill ribbon she mentions. My last variation was to add a Bigger Brad to the center. I hope you enjoy her version and mine as well. Thanks, Kathi for always inspiring me! :o)

And, in case you are interested, that Cold Snap stuff I have been taking to thwart getting sick seems to have worked! My throat feels fine now and I only have a tiny bit of sniffles. Whew! Hopefully dodged the bullet there!

Thanks for visiting!

Gift Card Holders

I was able to spend some time out in my craft room this afternoon after my Hostess Club left. Since the room was warmed up (literally-since it's in our garage) I figured I'd better take advantage of it and get some gifts done. Or rather, some gift card holders. I found my inspiration for these gift card holders at Jenn D's blog. She gives a link for the directions on her blog. The patterned paper I used is a gift pack of paper I got from Archiver's recently as a gift for a purchase. You can't get it anywhere else, apparently. I used CTMH's Twilight cardstock and a CTMH snowflake stampset, but the name escapes me at the moment. Sorry! I'm going to forge ahead so that I can get this posted. If I remember, I'll check the set and let you know later.

This next gift card holder is a project kit I got at Archiver's. I thought it was really cute, so I picked up the kit, even though they were doing it as a make and take that you could purchase and make right there in the store. All the items are from Archiver's, with the exception of the ink, glitter and sparkly gem. I used CTMH's Olive and Vineyard Berry inks. The snowflake is an adhesive foam one and I took the backing off to expose the sticky side. I then poured Prisma Glitter over the sticky side to make it sparkly (yea, I know it's sort of hard to tell isn't it?). The back side of the snowflake was sort of green, so that's why it isn't white. I adhered it with some pop dots and, because I couldn't find the little tiny gem that came with the kit, I used a red one from CTMH.

Thanks for visiting! I hope you find time to create today!

BPS-Brushworks Class

Since Jessica's next class won't be starting for a while, and I received a coupon from Big Picture Scrapbooking, I couldn't resist signing up for Renee Pearson's Brushworks workshop. (I don't think you'll find it on the schedule now, since we are into the second week of this two week course). Here is the layout I created as the Week 1 project. The swirlies are brushes we were given as part of the course (as well as the layout design). We were taught how to create that large background picture and how to manipulate the preset brushes. We just got the lesson for week 2, where we will actually create brushes (think of them as a digital equivalent of stamps in rubber stamping), but I have't had the chance to get started.

I know I've been a bit quiet lately. My younger daughter had an ear infection that we went to the doctor for one week ago today. Last Wednesday night/Thursday morning, we were both up from about 2:30am on. She's doing much better. Well, on Monday morning, just as we were about to head out the door to get to school, I noticed my older daughter had pink cheeks (which she only gets when she is hot) and she had barely eaten her breakfast. A temp check showed she had a fever! No school for her on Monday and, let me tell you, she was NOT happy about that! She was even LESS happy when the doctor told us it could be an ear infection or strep and that she would not be able to swim at swim class. She had a large amount of wax build up in the ear, and they couldn't get it flushed out to get a good look. Her throat was a bit swollen, too. So, we got antibiotics to cover either ailment. Now, our refrigerator door is lined with "pink" medicine! We got some drops for the ear and on Tuesday she was better and could go to school. The drops apparently did their magic as she reported to me after school that the wax fell out during the day. She never behaved in a manner that suggested she wasn't feeling well (tough girl that she is) and played while home. I'd have been okay sending her to school if not for the fever!

Now, today...guess who is feeling a tad under the weather???? I am hoping I have been able to nip things in the bud, but I've had a runny nose and slightly scratchy throat most of the day. I'm trying something called Cold Snap and am hoping it will NOT let this get to be something that will slow me down at this busy time of year. Keeping my fingers crossed and heading off to bed here soon.

The last thing I wanted to share today is the fact that Renee Pearson has a blog , which I've known for a few months, but I'd always forget to check it out. Well, now that I have that Google Reader, I added it to my subscriptions. Why am I telling you this? Well, I guess to sort of set up that I JUST this week started really reading it. This time of year, I'm noticing, there are a lot of 12 Days of Christmas giveaways and Renee is having one. Well, I'm not one to really post to try to win any of the blog candy that is offered. I don't know why, but I feel funny doing it, partially because I don't do that sort of thing here. Since I don't, it seems selfish to me to take advantage of others who do. (Quirky maybe, but there you have it). Well, Renee had something posted the other day that looked cool and from a company I'd never heard of. I loved the colors in the picture of the item, so on impulse, I posted a comment(which is all you had to do to be eligible for the giveaway).

Here's the description she gave: A digital kit from Glitz Design. Here's what the case says...
"The possibilties are endless with this CD jam-packed full of creativity from Glitz Design. This digital and printable scrapbooking kit comes with paper dsigns, journaling cards and lots of fun accents."

I just found out today that I WON that giveaway! I seriously cannot believe it! That made my day! Thanks, Renee! :o)

Okay, there's probably more I could write, but this would end up being more of a rambly post, so I will close for now. I'm going to Amy's class tomorrow (if I don't feel too bad) to help with a holiday project her teacher is having them work on. We'll see if Jessica lets me help others and not demand all of my attention...

I hope you have a great day! Thanks for visiting!

Jeanne

A Couple of Projects...

Here are a couple of projects I was able to work on today. These are what my Hostess Club will be making when we meet next weekend.

This first one is a cute little treat holder. You can't tell very well in the picture, but there are Hershey Kisses tucked in there. The main color is Baby Pink, with some Blush ink on the white circle. I may cut up some in different colors to give my gals a choice. Not sure about that yet.

Anyway, I found the pattern at SplitcoastStampers. This really is an awesome resource for fun project ideas, I tell you.

This next project doesn't have any stamping, but I think it sure looks cool! It's a 3-D snowflake and I found the idea on the Close To My Heart artwork board for consultants. Deneen Treble posted the Snowflake and a series of pictures that show how to put it together. I am not comfortable posting those here, since it's not my work, but here is a link from Carol Duval that shows how you can put one together.

Thanks for visiting! Have a creative day!

Link to Google Reader

After my post, I remembered I didn't add the link to the Google Reader, so here it is. (Click on the words Google Reader).

I still haven't done any creating yet today, but I sure have been having fun reading blogs, finding new ones to add, picking up some new digi stuff. (like I really need more)

I even ventured out in the snow to pick up a few Christmas gifts, and new wiper blade refills for the car. But I got tired of skidding around and having people ride on my tail, so I went home after getting the wiper blades. I called Steve while I was out and told him they weren't working well. He said just put the defrost on high and it should be okay. Ummmm not for me! Went to the car parts store and the clerk even put the new ones on. The driver side blade was actually broken! hmmmmm...maybe THAT's why they weren't working too well? LOL Well, they work great now! But I still came home because I get to be too much of a Nervous Nelly driving when I know I can slide right through a stoplight despite my best efforts.

Schtuff...Ramblings...Cute Socks!

How's that for a blog entry title??? chuckle, chuckle

First of all, I haven't been creating much at all-but then I think you already figured that one out, huh? Well, since it is a snowy weekend, who knows what may happen! I WAS going to create something last night, but a certain friend of mine, who shall remain nameless(susan) called and we were on the phone for nearly TWO hours! So it's all her fault. (smooch, smooch)

Next up, I hope blogger doesn't mess up my spacing again! Drives me batty that it looks good in my preview, then I post and you see these huge gaps between paragraphs. I don't know what I am doing wrong, but I keep trying to figure it out. I think it has to do with uploading pictures, each time I do, the extra spaces pop up. I try to backspace over them to delete, but it doesn't always work. Anyone who knows is welcome to share their tips to avoid this!

Did you see my Round Up post? Probably not. I started it one day, then couldn't finish, so saved it as a draft. Well, when you do that and come back to it another day, it doesn't post as a new article. It just gets added to the posts with its original date/time stamp. So, if you want to read this neat idea, you'll have to scroll through and look for the November Round Up post. I DO think it's a fabulous idea, and that's why I'm talking about it again...in case you missed it.

Subscription Notes: I just discovered something new (well to me at least, you all probably ALREADY know this) this morning. There's this thing called Google Reader that you can sign up for (it's free) and then you can add urls as subscriptions to the reader. Then when new posts are added to those urls, it'll show up in your reader! It is really cool. Why you might ask? Well, there are several blogs out there that I really, really like, but they don't have a subscribe button. And those who know me know that I tend to forget things, like check out those blogs without subscription features. Well, I can ADD those to my Reader subscriptions and see when there are updates. I LOVE this! So, what I did is unsubscribe to my feeds and resubscribed in Google Reader. So, if I was a subscriber to your blog and you keep up with those who unsubscribe, please don't be upset that my name has unsubscribed. It's NOT because I don't like your blog, it's because I changed it to get it through Google Reader. Note, this does note affect anyone who has subscribed to this blog...you'll still get updates like you normally do. This is something I did on my own end for me so that I can keep up with all the blogs I like in a new fun way for me.

Ummm, what else? Oh yea, another reason I haven't created is that Jessica got an ear infection this week. Guess when she told me her ear hurt? Wednesday at 5:30pm (of course)! So, can you guess what happened THAT night? hmmmmmmmm.....ding, ding, ding! She was up all night! Let's see, Steve got up with her a couple of times and tried to get her to go back to sleep. Which worked for all of an hour? So, at 2:30am, I thought, nuts to this...it hurts more when she is lying down, so we'll get up and doze on the couch. (Make that Mommy will doze and Jessica will stay wide awake watching Sprout). Oh yes....Then when I got the prescription filled after going to the doctor...she refused to take any. My sweet daughter who got 6 shots at once at her well child check up without a tear, balked at taking her medicine. Sigh...she was over tired of course. She finally fell asleep at around 4:30pm Thursday afternoon. And after about an hour and a half, she woke up and was quite amenable to taking her medicine. So...that about zapped any creative juices I might have thought of having. She's much better today. Says the ear still hurts, just a smidge (picture thumb and pointer touching together).

And finally, look at these cute socks! Steve took the girls out for a bit (despite icy roads...he's originally from South Dakota, donchaknow) and one stop was Big Lots. I just giggled when I saw these and had to share...Enjoy!

Amy's new socks-don't they make you smile??

Jessica's new socks...guess who loves Dora?

See, I Knew I'd Forget Something!

Okay, just like I thought, I remembered one of my accomplishments that may not sound like a big deal to you, but it is to me. I have been on another organizing kick and I managed to clean out and purge a bunch of costume jewelry off my dresser, along with the containers for them. Since I don't wear jewelry all that much anymore, they were just dust collectors. This is one of those things that have nagged at my brain for a long time and I'd had enough of it! I also cleaned our room pretty well. That led to me going through our bookshelves in the living room and disposing of several baskets of junky toys cluttering up those shelves. Got those out on trash day, just as the trash collectors were picking up our trash. Made it to the trash just in time.

What a relief to have accomplished those things. My house feels a bit less cluttered.

Oh and for subscribers, I picked up a new blog banner and decided to post it today. You'll have to go to my blog to see it. :o)

November Round-Up

I just discovered this idea from a blog I subscribe to. In this blog entry, the blogger references another blog by Katie, where she posts a round up of each month's happenings. I think this is an awesome idea. Actually, it's one of the reasons I started blogging, so I could write down and remember things that happen for future scrapbook pages/journaling. Of course, I got side-tracked along the way, but I love how this is set up for me and I am going to try to do this. I'm also going to add her to my blog roll, because her blog looks pretty neat.



So, here we go!



What books and/or magazines did I read this month?

I read every night before I go to bed, nothing spectacular, just escapism reading. I am on a Debbie Macomber kick right now and I've been reading her series about a small town. Each new title is an address and I worked through 7 books over the past few months. Now I am reading the second in a trilogy about the Dakotas. Then I have to find a new author because I'm caught up and have to wait until next year for new installments. Magazines read or glanced through...Creating Keepsakes and Papercrafts, Scrapbooks, Etc. (this is what I remember, there might have been others).



What movies and/or tv shows did I watch this month?

We don't go to the movies anymore, but I admit to liking my TV. Continued watching Survivor, the Amazing Race and albiet reluctantly, Grey's Anatomy. I don't much like the storyline with Meredith, or Izzy, but I do love to watch Bailey in action, so I keep tuning in. Although with the current writer's strike, they may be into reruns soon, so that will end that idea. I enjoy Clean House and Jon and Kate plus 8, along with Little People, Big World and How Do I Look? Most of the time those are on in the background though, so not sure if I should really count them. I only want to see the reveals of the makeover shows! I am also interested in Desperate Housewives again. They seem to have gotten back to the roots of the first season.

What special days did I celebrate and how?

Digital Scrapbooking offered its first national day early in November and I had a blast doing some online shopping for goodies. Scrapbooks, Etc offered up the Scrapafaire again and I succumbed to taking a digital scrapbooking class. It was okay. Got a couple of neat ideas, but am not convinced it was worth the price of the class. It was less than half an hour in length and kind of light on content. Although, I did save the pdf file, which will probably come in handy later when I want to remember what it was all about.

Then of course there was Thanksgiving! I made dinner again this year, and without a sense of stress. I spread out the making of the meal throughout the day (we still eat at our normal time) and also worked on organzing my digital stash. The girls enjoyed playing whatever they wanted to. Steve went out to a few stores that were open and picked up a couple of good deals. He wanted me to see what I could find, so I went out after the turkey went into the oven, but I wasn't successful in finding anything. However, later in the weekend I found a new coat, so it evened out! The girls and I played several games of Memory together with a new deck of dinosaur cards I picked up at Target.


What gifts did I give and/or receive?

I made cards for my Hostess Club members which were pretty detailed in terms of cutting out all the pieces, but the final effect was worth the effort. I made some acetate boxes for the girls' teachers to say Thanks for all their hard work. They were very well received. I gave Becky a belated (sorry) birthday gift of two stamp sets and designed the above mentioned cards for my club members with her in mind.


What illnesses or health concerns did I have?

My jaw continues to bother me, somedays more than others. I keep wearing that night guard. I probably should go back to the dentist and pursue further action, but the next step would be a more expensive night guard and I'm not convinced it would help. No major illnesses for me, thank goodness, but the girls have had slight colds most of the month. Jessica had her 5 year check up and is healthy, although still under 40 pounds!


What fun things did I do with my friends and/or family?

I enjoy hanging out with the moms I'm getting to know after preschool. Jill is so funny! An hour can go by in a blink of an eye because she is so entertaining. Susi and I enjoy chatting while letting the kids (Amy, Jess, Hattie and John) play after Amy gets out of school.


One of the coolest things we did this month was go to a birthday party at the Paul Derda Rec Center in Broomfield. We were invited by a little girl in Jessica's class. Anyway, the main part of the party was held in the gymnastics room. (Silly me, I didn't bring my camera and now I regret that) The kids got to hang onto a ring on a zip tie and get pushed over a pit full of foam cubes. They hung on until they were over the pit and then let go. That was the hit of the room. Jessica even did it, which impressed me! There was also a trampoline lowered so it was level with the floor (which was cushiony throughout the room, too) and that was fun. I tried it until I saw myself in the mirror and scared myself. They also had a huge blow up slide the kids could slide. Remembering how I burned my elbow last spring at Amy's Field Day, I opted not to do that activity. Anyway, the kids (Amy was able to join us) had a blast and were quite tired when we were done.


What new foods, recipes or restaurants did I try this month?
Nothing new here, although I did go to a Taste Of Home party and ordered a new cookbook that is all about celebrations and am anxiously awaiting its arrival. Lots of cool ideas in this one. I also ordered a slow cooker cookbook at Steve's request, from a flyer we got in the mail. I know it's not technically something new, but it'll have to do!


What were my accomplishments this month?
I completed the second Jessica Sprague class called Now We're Rocking. I learned so much. I'm excited to sign up for the next one. I've participated in posting my layouts on the Gallery at her website and even participated in creating a layout for a special project for Jessica. I don't usually do things like that, but I really wanted to participate in this one because I've experienced great excitement about scrapbooking since taking her classes and this was a small way to express my gratitude. I hope she'll appreciate the project!


Anything else noteworthy to record?
Way back at the beginning of the month Amy had to get a crown for her molar. She slipped on the play equipment after school one day and knocked a chunk off her molar. She was a real trooper though and didn't shed a tear. Yea, Amy!! Jessica, at her well child checkup, got something like 6 shots all at once, 3 on each leg and she didn't flinch or shed a tear! That was also very impressive! (I don't know why it seems like we are always "catching up" on immunizations, since we do what is required each time we go in for a check-up).

Well, I started this a few days ago and now want to finally post it! Hope you enjoyed this little recap of November. I'm sure after I hit "post" I'll remember something else! I need to work on some new layouts, but being the time of year that it is, I've been busy with other things! LOL

Thanksgiving Layouts

Well, goodness me. I've been pretty quiet on this blog! My kids and hubby were off school/work last Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and all will be returning to the regular routine tomorrow.

(Yee haw).

We had a really nice, relaxing Thanksgiving. It was just the four of us, but it was nice letting the girls do what they wanted to do. I spread out the cooking chores throughout the day, so I didn't feel any stress over making the big meal. Steve ventured out to a couple of stores that were open and managed to find some things he wanted/needed. He insisted that I go look for a few things I had been wanting, so after I put the turkey in the oven I ventured out for a bit. I was not successful in finding anything, though. Oh well. I made up for it on Friday. I don't usually go out on Black Friday as I am not a huge fan of the crowds. I did venture out later in the morning and while a few of the deals were already long gone, I managed to pick up some deals. Plus, I was pleasantly surprised to find I didn't have to wait in any lines! Double score!

In amongst the holiday festivities I managed to work on organizing and tagging my digi stuff on my computer. I'd let some of that lapse, so had a back log to work on. Because the girls are good at entertaining themselves, I found I had more time to work on it and feel good that I accomplished my tasks! I did some online Digi Black Friday shopping though. So, now I have a bit more to organize. Ah well, it felt good for a few minutes to be caught up on that. hee, hee.

I also managed to create a few layouts over the past few days. And here they are!

Credits: Comfy for Fall Mega Kit (papers, alpha and numbers) by Gina Cabrera. Brush from a set called Flytrap found at designfruit.com Font: Century Gothic. Template used is from the SimplySarahDesigns blog.

I didn't title this one, but I think you can tell what the subject is by the pictures.

Credits: Comfy for Fall Mega Kit by Gina Cabrera, Font: CK Carefree, Template: SimplySarahDesigns blog.

I worked on this one quite a bit today. I was trying to figure out how to do the stitching. I still need to work on getting that down better, but I like how this one came out. I subscribe to a Premiere Newsletter at http://www.scrappersguide.com/. Each month we get a wonderful kit as part of the subscription (as well as some awesome tutorials). I saw a layout in the gallery created by the creator of the newsletter and tutorials, Linda Sattgast and was inspired to create this layout from the layout she posted. Most of the items used in this layout came directly from the kit this month called Autumn Flowers. I used a frame from Gyspy Chick Boho Vintage Frames. I also used a grid overlay from Christine Borgfeld. The other thing not a part of this kit was the font I used and that is CK Carefree, which I found on a disc I was sent by CK magazine as part of a promotion. I found the disc while cleaning in my scraproom (the other thing I did that kept me pretty busy on Wednesday). I had never even looked at the disc before this weekend and I've had it for probably a year-and about the only thing I like so far on the disc is that font! LOL I'm sure if I really looked at it, I'd find something else I like. But who has time when all I want to do is create or do digi stuff these days!

Thanks for visiting! I hope you find time to create something today!

Project Credits and How-To...

Usually I am pretty good about giving credit where it is due and I'm sorry to say I neglected it when I posted the Hostess Club projects the other day. Let me correct that right now.



The Reflection Card-I stamplifted a card I saw on the CTMH artwork board that was created by Laura Buckley. She contributed it to a swap she was involved in. Thanks Laura! Here's what I did to create the card...It's a standard sized 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 card. The Heavenly Blue strip is 1 1/4 x 5 1/2 inches. The Baby Pink is 3 x 5 1/2 inches. The white cardstock is 2 1/2 x 5 inches. I cut a piece of white vellum 2 1/2 inches square. The Blush cardstock is 2 3/4 x 5 1/4 approximately.



I stamped the main snowman in Grey Wool toward the top of the white cardstock and colored it in. (I used markers-but color in however you like). Then I stamped the vellum piece with Grey Flannel. You can color it in or not, depending on your preference. I highly recommend making sure it is dry before putting adhesive on. I used a heat gun. Then I ran the vellum inked side down through my Xyron so that you won't see any adhesive marks. By putting adhesive on the inked side, you will notice that your vellum piece is a mirror image of the Grey Wool snowman. Adhere to the bottom of the white cardstock. To disguise the line of where the vellum ends, I added glitter glue. You could also use Liquid Glass and Prisma Glitter.



Tic-Tac Holder...stamplifted the idea from one posted on the CTMH artwork board by Yvette West. Thanks Yvette! She got the idea from http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/. And I also saw a variation of it (Halloween themed) on http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/.



I found Tic-Tacs in bulk at Sam's Club. 24 in a package for around $10. I'm sure Costco would carry them too.



Dimensions: Cardstock-4 5/8 inches wide by 3 inches tall. Cut a piece of patterned paper the same size. Score at 2 inches from each end so you'll have a spine about 3/4 inches wide. Cut a length of ribbon 14 inches long. The white piece with the snowman is 1 3/4 wide by 2 3/4 inches tall. After you stamp the snowman, use a 3/4 inch circle punch for the tummy. I lined this up on the base and punched the hole in the base, so it'd be easier to punch through. Color the snowman as desired.



To assemble: Use a corner rounder to punch the corners. Do this before you add your ribbon. It will make it easier to punch. You want to sandwich the ribbon, towards the top of your holder, between the base and the patterned paper. I used my ATG gun adhesive and it held fine.



You can peel off the label of the tic tac holder or not, depending on your preference. I peeled it off and the poem covered any remaining residue. If you want to take the date off the back, use rubbing alcohol. I used glue dots to attach the tic tac container to the holder. I cut a piece of white cardstock to fit the width of the tic tac container and used my ATG gun to adhere. Tombow or similar adhesive should work fine.

Poem:
Snowman Kisses



He's cute, cuddly,
& full of good wishes.
He wants to give you
these snowman kisses!

I hope this helps those who expressed an interest in creating these projects!!

And finally...no digi projects today...got busy doing other things. But here's a picture of my girls helping out by doing the dishes after dinner the other night! Yep, they asked if they could! Ain't life grand when your kids think doing chores is fun? Better enjoy the enthusiasm now since I'm sure it won't last forever. LOL

Hostess Club Projects for November

As promised, proof that I still know how to use my stamps. LOL These are the projects I'm having my hostess club do this weekend. I think they came out pretty cute, if I do say so myself. We will be using the November Stamp of the Month-Snow Friends. The card shows you can do a reflection in your stamping and the other project is a tic-tac holder. It has a cute little poem called Snowman Kisses...Enjoy!

I didn't get to work on any digital projects today, other than picking up some good bargains at Sweet Shoppe Designs (thanks to a coupon I got for 30% off my purchase) and ScrapArtist, where they have a Fab Friday and various items are only a dollar! Guess who needs to work on organizing her digital stash again???

Hope you have a great weekend! I'll be kinda of busy, but in a good way! :o)

Exploring Layout and a Flylady Layout

Well, here it is...the last lesson/layout in Jessica's class. Sniff, sniff! But the good news is she tells us she's going to teach another class come January! Yippee skippy!

I have to say that this class was definitely a step up from the Up & Running class but in oh so good of a way!!! I learned so much and got to see the talent my classmates possess in our gallery. I only hope to be a fraction as good as they are someday!

These pictures were taken at our recent day trip to Eldorado Park outside Boulder. Don't you just love the semi-transparent photo in the corner? It was so simple to get that look, but I hadn't a clue before this lesson!

The journaling talks about how I used to go on hikes with my dad and his Boy Scout troop when I was a girl. We'd go to the Sierra Nevada Mountains in CA. Well, I am tickled that my girls really enjoy exploring and hiking in our nearby parks. If you click on the photo, you should see the layout larger.

I'm going to miss the daily emails from Jessica come Monday. But knowing a new class is just around the corner is great.

I actually did a couple of paper crafts for my Hostess Club meeting this weekend, but I forgot to take pictures of them today, so they will have to wait until tomorrow. But I DID do them! :o)

Now here's the layout I finished today. Those of you who know me are probably laughing your heads off that I would do a layout about this, but I had fun and that's what counts. I do love Flylady, even if I'm not great at consistently keeping up with it! :o)

I hope you find some time to create today!

Tucked Away-Another Layout Today!

Hey, I was able to complete another layout today! Wow! That makes 3 in just a few hours. Not bad for me. :o)

Template by Jen Caputo (Collection 20 @ Scrapbookgraphics.com)
All papers from Autumn's Flowers kit received from Scrapper's Guide Premier newsletter (www.scrappersguide.com)
Fonts: BahiaScriptSSK and Century Gothic

I filled the journaling circle with color, then used the burn tool to add some interest and make it look a little less stark.

Thanks for looking! I hope you find some time to create today.

A Couple of Halloween Digi Layouts

No assignments or challenges for these layouts. I did 'em just because I wanted to! I used some templates for these, which in theory, is supposed to make the creating of the layouts faster. Well, I'm sure it would, IF I had an idea ahead of time of what papers I wanted to use!

This first layout is of Jessica's Homework Assignment. Yes, she gets one main homework assignment in preschool and this year it was creating a pumpkin to be used for decorating the hallway at preschool. I futzed and futzed with this one because I couldn't find papers that I really liked! That is one great thing about digi scrapping, if you don't like it, hit UNDO! Sort of a cyber version of the Un-Do paper scrappers use-only without the smell.

Credits:
Picks A Plenty Template by TerriAnn Hanks, Scalloped template byMad Scraps-ThisNThat set by Robin Blankenship)
Frame a Date Overlay-Christine Borgfeld (PolkaDotPotato)
Boo To You Mega Kit (Digital Design Essentials): Candy Bag paper, Glitter Edge, patterned papers with color, stitched black tab
Notebook Paper: Katie Pertiet (Designer Digitals)
Font: CTMH Noodge

I couldn't resist this Spooky template when I saw it! I thought it was adorable and am glad I found a way to use it!

Credits:
Spooky Template-Scrapgirls
Papers: Letters in Spooky Fall Fiesta solids The Posh Collection by Meridith Fenwick
Background paper (circle) Christine Borgfeld Fall Collab Kit (Polka Dot Potato), Orange colored background paper from Oogelie Googelie kit by Sausan Designs (kit from ScrapWow.com)
Grid Overlay-Christine Borgfeld-(Polka DotPotato), White Swirly Overlay-Nanci Rowe Janitz-Simple Pleasures Mega kit (from Scrapbook Answers disc).
Journaling Spot with Bracket-Katie Pertiet (Designer Digitals)
Fonts: SweetheartScript and Century Gothic

Whew! I need to figure out a better way to mark down my credits! It took me almost as long to type this out (because I needed to hunt down the credits) as it did to create the layouts!

Thanks for looking! If you click on the pictures you should be able to see them larger.

Sunday Hike Layout

Since it was supposed to be a nice day, Steve thought it would be fun for us to go to Eldorado State Park on Sunday. It's located southeast of Boulder. He had taken the girls last month, but this time they wanted me to go. In the course of their recent day hikes, Steve noticed the girls slipping on the trails quite a bit when they wore their sneakers, so we recently found them some hiking shoes. Steve even got a pair! But so far, I haven't found any that I care for. Amy is so enamored of her new boots, she's worn them almost non-stop for the past few days. Guess that is one way to break them in!

Those of you who know me and how I love to watch the Broncos, might be surprised that I gave up watching the game for our family outing (good thing, since they got creamed-I'd have been so annoyed had I watched all of that game). I was quite impressed at how close this canyon is to us! I was also fascinated by watching the rock climbers. Especially since it turned out that it was REALLY windy!! We ate a picnic lunch and hiked a bit. I took several photos and decided to take some pictures of their new shoes. And just for fun, I took a pair of my sneakers! I thought it might make a fun scrapbook page! And looky here, I used the photos in our lesson for this week. Neat, huh?! It turns out the trail we decided to hike on was pretty steep and rocky. One of the highlights though, was this little cave that you can see them going into in the photo. And the girls kept exclaiming how they WEREN'T slipping. Success! But on the way back to the van we were walking into the wind and it kept blowing dust into the girls' eyes, so Steve went to get the van and come back to pick us up. We were next to a couple of rock climbers which was kinda interesting to watch.

We did our first official two page spread in this lesson. There were so many details jam-packed in this lesson I can't begin to describe them all. I was proud of myself for changing up a few of the details from her sample to better suit the theme of my layout (must mean I'm starting to feel more comfortable with this whole digi thing). The background paper was a pretty bright/bold pink and I changed the opacity so it would look a bit more muted. The swirls and the grungy outline around the big half circle picture was originally supposed to be white, and I changed it and the mat behind the four accent photos to be tan. Loved learning how to make that large circle picture! Can see using that technique in the future. She has shared with us several techniques and hot keys (shortcut key strokes) to do different things a bit more quickly.

All in all, each lesson seems to be getting better and better. I'm almost sad that were are already over half way through the course. But today we heard that she will be announcing the 2008 line up of classes in mid-December and the next level class from this one is slated to be on the list! Whooooohoooooooooo!!!

Thanks for looking! (I think if you click on the picture, you should be able to see it a bit larger)

1st Ever National Digital Scrapbooking Day!

Today was a fun day for me. Yes, there is indeed a National Digital Scrapbooking Day and it was fun! Just about all the digi shops had specials, freebies, chats, etc. I grabbed some great freebie kits, bought some goodies on sale and watched a webinar for my photo managing/digital kit software. In amongst this fun, I cleaned up my computer corner, swept, cleaned out the couch and chair, found a computer disc I thought I lost (and learned a paper clip can open a non-plugged in device) and even found a cartridge for the girls' video game. Oh mustn't forget that I started and finished all the laundry!

I also managed to work in completing two digi layouts. Ta-da!
This first one was a work in progress most of the day. It is so simple, but it took me a long time to figure out just what I wanted to do. But, in the end, I think it was worth the time it took.
I used a kit from a CD I have called Digital Scrapbook Memories-Playground. The specific kit is Megan's Swing (papers, stitching, swirl).
The "girly" is an alpha from Amy Teets-Sunporch. Fonts: Edwardian Script and Century Gothic.

This second layout is our second Saturday Start To Finish Challenge. I took the pictures this afternoon, but didn't get to start the layout until after the girls went to bed. We are supposed to start and finish the layout in 30 minutes. Last week I did it in around 45 minutes, but today I was able to complete this in 30 minutes! Yea, me!


Our subject was What Makes Me Happy and I thought I would try to have a little fun with it.

Credits: Festival Kit from Shabby Princess, Edwardian Script and Century Gothic fonts.

Man, it was a race to get this one done and while it's not perfect, at least I can say another one done!

By the way, Amy has been practicing her jumproping skills for about a month now and she's getting pretty darn good!

Now, my eyes are tired, so I will close.
Thanks for looking. I promise, one of these days I will work on something besides digi stuff, but for now I am just having too much fun with it!

Corn Box-Week 2 Lesson

I was going to post this yesterday (Monday) and it didn't happen! Ooops! This lesson was jam packed with all kinds of new things. I decided to use pictures from our Saturday adventure and try to showcase Jessica, since my previous layout was of Amy. Anyway, at the pumpkin patch we went to they had a corn box instead of a sand box! It was pretty cool! The girls absolutely LOVED it! We'd go off to look at something else and they wanted to go back to the corn box. There were little pumpkins and squash buried in the corn, too. Amy was practising her swimming moves and Jessica just had a blast playing.

Now for the lesson. We learned how to add a grunge frame and make it look like the picture was made with it. We learned about the burn tool, which adds the darker color around the edges of the background paper and the notepaper. For me it would be the equivalent of adding ink to the edges of your layout and you all know how I love to add ink to the edges of my creations. :o) We got the template to add the four pictures in the circle and add the journaling in the inner circle. We added the white lines to separate the four pictures. Oh and we learned how to create the black journaling strips with white text. And finally (as if all that wasn't enough) we added an overlay (the flowers in the corners) AND learned how to recolor it. The actual overlay we were given was BLUE.

This lesson was JAM-PACKED with fun stuff to learn. I had such a blast creating this layout.

I didn't get to play with anything today. I ran errands and delivered my Hostess Club orders. Then when we got home, the girls and I carved our pumpkins.

I was a little nervous to let them try to carve themselves, but they really wanted to try it. So I poked starter holes in to give them "dots" to connect and they used those "safe for kids" little knife/saws. Jessica decided early on that I could finish, but at least she tried. Amy absolutely LOVED carving her pumpkin and she really did do a great job! It was a nice time.

I forgot to mention two things from previous posts. First, in the layout about my hair, Amy is the one who took the picture of me in the larger circle. I had her stand on the couch and she did a great job! Most of the pictures were blurry, but that one was pretty darn good!

Second, after we went to the pumpkin patch, we decided to look elsewhere for a corn maze because this place was charing $8 PER PERSON! Seemed awfully steep to me to wander through a maze. We ended up in Brighton and found a maze that was a little less and Jess was free.

I had never been through a maze other than the free ones which are just wander through til you find the end. Well, this one was designed to be the shape of a race car. They also included the words: corn maze, 7News and American Furniture. So in addition to the car shape, we had to work through the letters of the words. Our goal was to find 10 numbered signs and hole punch the corresponding number on our ticket. Each hole punch was a different shape. We could have bought a map(that had the numbers marked), but we chose not to(don't know what we were thinking). As we were looking for #1, a family was leaving and they gave us their map. THANK GOODNESS! We might still be wandering the maze today! LOL

The girls had fun and I discovered that Steve is way better with spatial reasoning than I am, although I did manage to direct us to a few of the signs. And because we were there during the day, there were no spooky scary things popping out at us. Whew...

Guess what the girls wanted to do when we were done at the maze???

Go back to the Corn Box! LOL

Happy Halloween! (since most of you will read this on Wednesday) This year the excitement for Amy is a toss-up. She's excited for Halloween, but is almost more excited about her field trip on Thursday. They are going to a planetarium (sp?) and she's beside herself about being able to get on the bus to go. She still talks about the field trips from last year. And no, I'm not going. She's too independent for Mommy and Jessica to come along. sniff, sniff

And now I'm done!!

Start to Finish 30 Minute Challenge

We were challenged today in Jessica's class to start AND finish a layout in 30 minutes! I saw we had the challenge, but didn't read all the details until after we went to a pumpkin patch this afternoon. I took this picture and purposefully framed Amy off to the side. Imagine how tickled I was went one of the details for the challenge was to use a photo with the focus off to one side! And the photo was to be one that was taken today! PERFECT!

I have to confess, I didn't really get this layout done in 30 minutes. It took more like an hour with all the interruptions from the girls. But I guess if you discounted all of those, it was about 45 minutes, not too bad.

I found that I didn't like the time constraint much. I didn't like the PRESSURE! LOL

But, I think I am happy with how this layout came out in the end.

The paper and elements are from www.shabbyprincess.com. It's a freebie kit called Harvest Spice. I also used the fonts Century Gothic and Vintage Typewriter.

Thanks for looking!

Me & My Hair Challenge Layout

In my Now We're Rockin' class, we were given a challenge to create a layout using a mega freebie kit called Carnival from Sweet Shoppe Designs. Oh my goodness, it is a HUGE kit! Anyway we had several options to choose from about what to include. Mainly, it was supposed to be a layout about ourselves. I chose to do this layout about my hair! Yes, sort of strange, but I wanted to write about why I decided to start coloring it. When Jessica was about a year or so, I noticed that it was assumed by many people that I was my girls' grandmother and not their mother and it really started to bother me. Up until that time, I liked how my hair looked. But I didn't like it that people made that assumption and I couldn't think of a good comeback. So I succumbed and started coloring my hair. And you know, no one has made a "grandma" comment since I colored it. I feel a bit bad that I let the comments of others, especially strangers, get to me, but at the same time, I do feel like I look a bit younger with color. Maybe someday, when my girls are a bit older, I will feel proud to let my hair go back to it's natural gray (or white if I follow in my mom's footprint-she had beautiful white hair).

Anyway, I selectively recolored the hair on a couple of the pictures. I used a template I got from ScrapGirls.com The fonts used are CTMH Uptown, Typewriter and Century Gothic. Oh and I softened the look of a couple of the papers (the green and the cream journaling area) using an overlay option in my layers.

Hey a post two days in a row! I'm on a roll! LOL