On My Mind

Feeling kinda handsy

2009-05-04T00:06:00.000-07:00

Don't you hate it when you've gone without something for awhile, then you do it and become consumed? I have my latest creative whim to blame on a friend of mine. A friend invited me to stamp/cardmaking class at one of local craft stores. I loved every minute of it and learned new watercolor techniques. However, like always, my mind wanders into the vast possibilities and I quickly realized my budget and my office space don't have the room for yet another branch of this paper craft hobby of mine.

So, how can I satisfy my creative cardmaking desire? Hybrid. Simple. Using digital scrapbooking materials, I've been experimenting with how to make tactile, dimension cards. For now, I am satisfied :) Okay, not completely...I'm sure I'll make more cards this week.

All the Elements - Jeanette Bollinger Designs at Scrapable.net

Angel Hearts - Charlize's Art at Scrapable.net

All three cards:
One Kit Fits All Families by Scrapable Designers at Scrapable.net

Spring Fever

2009-03-20T12:37:00.001-07:00

This week has been a good week. As a mom to a teenage daughter, I'm truly enjoying watching her evolve into an adult. As this time seems to be going so fast, I'm savoring the little moments I get to share with her. Yesterday was the first track meet of the season. She ran in four events, completely wore herself out and her eyes just gleamed with joy. A truly beautiful thing to watch.

I'm itching to get out this weekend and get some pictures while the weather is good. Last weekend the weather was nasty so I stayed in. On a positive note, I was able to get some scrapping done.

Credits:
Roben-Marie Smith - Spring in My Step Kit available at paperbagstudios.com

Special Moments

2009-03-15T16:32:00.000-07:00

This week has been a good one. On weigh-in day I was down again and I'm now at 48.4 lbs. total down since 6/24/08. I'm really hoping I'll hit 50 lbs. within the next couple of weeks as it sure would be a nice birthday present to myself.

My biggest event of the week is I took on some additional responsibilities at Scrapable. As this is a brand new digital scrapbooking store, I'm loving the idea that I get to be on the front end of helping shape some of the personality. I'm having a blast!

This weekend I did take some time for myself and scrapped some. I have some layouts in the hopper whose products will be released soon and I'll post them then. However, here is one layout made from a new kit released this week by Miss Crow's Magickal Emporium:

Me and Celina
Credits:
Petit Garcon by Miss Crow's Magickal Emporium available at www.miss-crow.com.

Cruise Diary 2009

2009-03-03T22:12:00.000-08:00

Weigh-in day:
Today I'm up 1.2 lbs making my total loss since 6/24/08 46.4 lbs.

What a bummer! The whole week has been a whirlwind. This week has been a tough one as I've had a hard time pulling meat out of the freezer to cook...I've eaten too much pantry food which I think overloaded my carbs...better luck next week.

I did find time to do a layout:

Credits go to:
Scrapable Cabana Girls: Life's a Beach Collab Kit at Scrapable.net

Font is "Christine".

Unspoken Wishes

2009-03-02T17:57:00.000-08:00

This weekend was brutal. I tried my hardest to set up photo time down by the park but between getting the house chores done and the weather, it just didn't happen. On the plus side, the weather made me focus on what needed to get done around the house. I've been stressing out over the fact my office/hobby room is filling up with miscellaneous stuff. My two work tables are covered with scrapbooking pretties and I'm dying to set up my sewing machine...there is no space!

So, thanks to the weather and the fact I don't want to spend money on shelves, I cleaned...I mean really cleaned! I gutted the closet, stripped the bookshelf and got rid of old office paper and magazines and just things that I know I'll never use. Mom came over and the resourceful person she is, took everything...it was awesome! I rearranged everything and organized my boxes on my bookshelf. However...I still haven't set up the sewing machine, lol!

Anyway, I did find time to do a layout:

Celina last year.

Credits go to:
Cottage in the Country Paper Pack
Cottage in the Country Botanical Papers
Cottage in the Country Frames Vol. 2
Cottage in the Country Cluster Elements
Cottage in the Country Cross-stitch Alphabet
All by Miss Crow's Magickal Emporium available at www.miss-crow.com.

Font is "Matisse ITC".

St. Kitts

2009-03-01T11:43:00.001-08:00

Jim picking up shells while we were in St. Kitts.

Credits go to:
Scrapable Cabana Girls: Life's a Beach Collab Kit at Scrapable.net

Font is "Antique Olive" and "CK Broad Pen".

The Road

2009-02-23T21:13:00.001-08:00

Celina, Drew and Destiny several years ago.

Credits:
Weather Kelt {Reformulated} by Miss Crow's Magickal Emporium available at www.miss-crow.com

Yesterday

2009-02-22T20:48:00.000-08:00

Mom with several of her siblings.

Credits:
Weather Kelt {Reformulated} by Miss Crow's Magickal Emporium available at www.miss-crow.com

The Pose

2009-02-13T23:41:00.001-08:00

Journaling says:
Like your mama, you were blessed with a little extra baggage in the trunk. You are so funny when you pose for pictures because it is so natural to just stick it out there. Once in awhile, you remember.

Credits go to:
Roben-Marie Designs at Paperbag Studios
Hearts and Love Mini Kit

Font is Rough Typewriter

You

2009-02-13T18:04:00.000-08:00

Celina down in Mom's field.

Credits go to:
Roben-Marie Designs at Paperbag Studios
Hearts and Love Mini Kit

Silly Girl

2009-02-11T22:13:00.000-08:00

This is Destiny showing off her cheesy grin :-)

Journaling says:
Silly girl...always making people laugh.

Credits go to Connie Prince; DigiDiva:

-Desperately Seeking Spring Page Kit

-12 x 12 Mixed Batch Templates (coming soon)

Font is CK Girl

My Funny Valentines

2009-02-08T00:48:00.001-08:00

Another layout of the kids down in Mom's field.

Credits go to:

Miss Crow-Altered Valentine Page Kit

Miss Crow-Altered Halloween Page Kit

Font is CK Footnote

Not all girls play with dolls...

2009-01-30T10:44:00.001-08:00

This is Destiny my niece. She isn't the type to sit around the house; she'd rather be out playing.

Credits for the scrapbook materials go to Laura Berger-Sweet Couture Scrap Kit at gottapixel.net. Font is CK Storybook.

Simply

2009-01-23T17:42:00.001-08:00

Last year the kids helped me experiment with my camera in Mom's backyard. This is Celina, down by the tressel.

Credits go to: Sarah Meyer-Snuggle Up Page Kit at gottapixel.net
Font is 1942 Report

More Vacation Pictures

2009-01-14T06:56:00.000-08:00

We have had so much fun! We are now napping our way back to Florida. :-) The weather was beautiful, the water was blue...just what was needed to destress a little. Here are a few more pictures from our trip.

Vacation

2009-01-13T04:55:00.000-08:00

We are having so much fun! Although we didn't pick the best timing, we are happily making the most of it. Two days ago we saw St. Maarten, yesterday was St. Kitts and today is Tortola. Today we're going snorkeling so hopefully we'll see lots of fish. The weather has been beautiful...only sprinkled once.

Cruise 2008 Album

2009-01-04T16:34:00.001-08:00

Phew! I'm finally finished! 20 (40) front and back pages later I've completed our cruise album from 2008. It has photos, postcards, cruise ship itineries, and other things I wanted to remember.

Credits go to:
Catherine Designs and Lily Designs at After Five Designs: -By the Sea Kit

http://www.afterfivedesigns.com/shoppe/product.php?productid=181&cat=11&page=1

Scrap materials include an old three ring binder album stripped of it's leather/vinyl cover, spray adhesive, tape runner, and ink.

Font is Copperplate Gothic Bold.

Celebrate 2008

2009-01-01T15:23:00.000-08:00

What a wonderful way to start the year! I am so thankful 2008 is finally over...I'm really looking forward to a better 2009.

I have had the good fortune to begin doing some creative layout work. This means I get to use the products for free in return to help the designer with a little advertising. What better way to fund my hobby? :-)

Credits go to Sara Ellis at www.gottapixel.net - Happy Blue Year Kit

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T09:03:00.000-08:00

We wish everyone a safe and Merry Christmas!

Hybrid Frames for the Sibs

2008-12-22T14:18:00.000-08:00

On the plus side, being homebound from the snow and ice really has given me a few extra hours to do the things I've been meaning to do. I always have good intentions of getting Christmas taken care of around September/October only to find myself on the 22nd or 23rd of December buying what I can last minute.

This year is different. As we are very aware of the current economy, creative gifts seemed right this year. I always have a hard time trying to figure out what to get my brother and sister. Who really needs an extra coffee mug set? Or a big tin of cheesy popcorn? (Yes, I admit...these are past years gifts)

I'm not going to fight it this year. Heck, I couldn't even if I wanted to...I can't get out of my driveway. This year they are getting pictures of their own children. Doing what I know how to with all of my digital scrapbook stuff, here are the framed pictures for Michael and Stacey this year.

(Digital scrapbook credits go to Cinzia Loosemore-That's Amore Bundle, Urban Grunge Bundle, and I Believe Add-On Kit; Flergs-Denim Blues Kit; New Life Dreams-All Things Grow with Love Kit; Sabrina Dupree-Isabella's Room Kit)

Dec. 22-Will it be a white Christmas?

2008-12-22T11:23:00.000-08:00

We have gotten snow and ice every day for the past week. Today is again another day where it is too dangerous to get down the hills to get to work. For as long as I've lived in Oregon (30+ years) I don't think I've seen it as thick. The weather guy is forecasting snow/ice for the rest of the week. The problem isn't really the snow...it's the daily thaw that turns it to ice.

I think it will be awesome to finally have a true white Christmas. However, I'm really itching to leave the house. Celina broke down today and made a paper garland for the tree out of shear boredom. We're plowing through the DVDs as the TV has been sketchy. I'm probably going to make ornaments within the next couple of hours.

Despite the boredom, we feel extremely fortunate and thankful...we are healthy, warm and not hungry. If we're housebound until the new year, we wish you a safe Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Fall/Christmas Tradition

2008-12-12T12:54:00.000-08:00

I love my mom. I love my hubby and daughter. I love my brother and sister. I love my nieces and nephews. Fortunately this Christmas doesn't have to be any different than years past (despite the economy) as I learned a valuable lesson years ago from Grandma Pearline. The gifts from the heart are the ones that people will cherish the most. I remember very well the crocheted pillows and the other handmade presents Grandma gave to all of us grandchildren as there were simply so many of us. I still have many of the handmade quilts that Mom gave us at Christmas.

Although everyone knows the true meaning of Christmas, there is still that desire to give someone a gift...something that you know they will get joy out of. God didn't bless me with the ability or desire to create needlecrafts or beautiful quilts. However, he did give me a desire to play with pretty papers and photographs.

I've been very fortunate over the years to have a wonderfully cooperative family who help me "make gifts" for Mom (Grandma) and their parents for Christmas. Every Fall we try to have a "photoshoot"; sometimes it is on Thanksgiving day if I'm running behind. Most of the time it turns into a play day with the kids goofing off for the camera...PERFECT for gift photos. Here are some of the photos from this year. I was fortunate and found a great website (www.snapfish.com) to print them for 9 cents a picture (the shipping was free from a promo). A few of them I'll put in some cheap craft frames that I've decorated, some I'll turn into scrapbook pages and some I create into an album. I truly enjoy giving photograph gifts as I've yet to feel it wasn't something someone cherished.

Summer Photo Envelope Book

2008-11-16T13:05:00.000-08:00

I have been in such a nesting mode this Fall. I don't know if it's the overall doom and gloom I see every time I turn on the news but I've noticed I'm spending alot more time at home and burying myself in my crafts.

Here is a small project I did. It started out as a souvenir project but morphed into a summer memories book. It is a book of envelopes designed to hold mementos, pictures or little souvenirs. In this case I used some various digital scrapbook paper images and added the digital doodle stamps to each page. I then printed out the pages and cut and glued them to create a book of envelopes.

Credits go to:Gypsy Chick-Scribbly Flowers Brush Set Collection, Agness Lahur-La Rosa Page Set, Aja Abney-In the Garden Papers, Nancie Rowe Janitz-Digital Distressing Kit, Font-Courtney Dorkling, and miscellaneous Eyelets, Binder Rings, Chipboard and Glue.

Little Ladies

2008-10-04T02:44:00.000-07:00

I think this is Mom, Rosie and Pearl. The date on the picture says 1958. Mom's said before that with so many kids that grandma would make things easier by doing the same for all. Same haircuts, same dresses, same Christmas presents.... It makes me smile seeing three beautiful little girls all holding the same baby doll. Credit for scrapbook supplies goes to Miss Crow/Clever Crow: Altered Autumn Kit temporarily at Christina Renee Designs Shop and Something Blue Studios: Worn Photo Overlays 2.

Silver Falls

2008-09-21T09:54:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from our trip to Silver Falls, Oregon a couple of weeks ago. It's a beautiful state park with lots of waterfalls and trails.

Had to take advantage of the last bits of Summer and enjoy the sunshine while it lasted!

edit: repost for Facebook test