Keep It Crunk

Well, I've had some aggravation trying to figure out all this stuff. All these tutorials act like you already know everything. But I did manage to make another blinkie. Although the first two I really made were the best. This will have to do for now until I figure out what the hell I did! Something to do with the two photo images I put in them...hmmm....

I made a blinkie!

There it is! My first one ever! I'll get better at it, but that's what I have for now. There's quite a bit to learn about my new Photoshop Elements 5.0 software. I bought it with my recently earned e-bay money! Wahooooo!
I also have a digi lo that I am currently working on. I'm stuck at the moment. I need to do a little research and I should have that to post by the end of the week!

Altered Flip Flops

Okay, DD's lil' sis on JV said she loved cheap flip flops. They have to bring them a gift for cheer camp. So dd bought these blue flip flops. They looked like they needed some LOVE, so I altered them and made them cute!

I don't know about you, but I think they are just about the cutest stinkin' things I have ever seen, and I might just have to make myself a pair! Maybe they will all love them so much, that they will pay me to make a pair for them!!!

These were done in less than an hour! What a great craft. I stuck that red tacky tape along the thong top to make sure the ribbons wouldn't come off. I just simply tied the ribbons around the thong and put a bow where the piece is that slides between your big toe and 2nd toe!

Mojo was on vacation. It might be back. I do love summer colors!

I was at Walmart of all places today, and saw some totally awesome stuff for scrapbooking by Colorbok. They have these chipboard cubes that are so cute. They are just layers of chipboard tags, alphies, and words. They also had Autumn Leaves kits and some more Colorbok stuff.

I'm selling some more things on e-bay...rubber stamps. I've used the hound out of them, and I am sick of them. So when I get my cash, I'm going to buy some holiday rubber stamps to make my holiday cards and some of that stuff from good 'ole Walmart! Why not!!!

I also used the money I got from selling my old scrapbook mags and idea books to purchase PhotoShop Elements 5.0. I'm very excited to try that out. That way when we are on vacation, I can still scrapbook. I don't have to cart all my crap with me. I can just do it on my laptop! Will be playing with that tonight and while dd and I are at cheer camp.

I certainly hope I survive camp with 40 teenage girls on our two squads and probably 1,000 other girls...OMG! I must have lost my ever-lovin'-mind. I should get some great pics. I hope so. I can scrap them digi while I am there. Or at least try!

We leave at the crack of dawn or as Madea would say, "Oh-dark-thirty." Oh, it'll be dark alright! And the girls have to perform right after they register. I'm sure they are ready, though. They practiced like dogs! They're going to be awesome. I'm definitely videoing that!

Tagged by Amber

I have been tagged by Amber from Scrapstreet! Here's the rules: I must post the rules, 7 random things about me and then tag others to do the same. Sound fair enough, right?

These are the rules…. each player starts with 7 random facts about themselves on their Blog. People who are tagged need to blog 7 facts about themselves and post the rules as well. At the end of their blog list 7 people you are tagging. Let them know that they are tagged by leaving them a comment.

1. I can read an entire novel in one day.
2. Housework drives me absolutely nuts. I hate it!
3. Hawaii is the most fabulous, exotic place I have ever been and the one place I would LOVE to go back to.
4. I think my hair may be entirely gray, but I'll never know for sure!
5. Kohl's is my favorite place to shop these days.
6. I haven't scrapped since May's National Scrapbook Day at the lss, which is very unusual for me.
7. I have 4 dogs and one of them looks like Frankenweenie.

Seven people I will tag??? OH my, not sure...Missy, Melanie, Denean, Di, Linds, Emma and Mandy (when I can figure out where I put her blog addy!)

Selling OLD Scrappin' Stuff

You wouldn't think there would be a market for it, but girlies, one man's junk IS truly another man's treasure. It seems like the sorrier I think something is, the more money I sell it for on e-bay. There is no accounting for taste is another theory that accounts for that!

All I know is I have sold paper I no longer want, eyelets of all shapes, sizes and colors, old tools, extra tools, extra embellishments, prizes I've won that I don't want, idea books, mags I've read...the list goes on.

So why are you letting stuff sit around collect dust? Because you paid for it? Well, if you are not using it, at least a little cash in your pocket is better than NOT USING IT! And if it doesn't sell, it must be junk, so donate it to your local school or charity. They can sell it or use it for projects. Teachers love our old scrap crap!

Nothing is worse than having to organize stuff that you don't use. You are just shuffling it around. What is the point? Try it sometime and see how happy you are when you get rid of something and have some cash in your pocket.

My friend, Nancy, and I keep each other going on this endeavor. She usually is the one inspiring me. She has incredible luck on e-bay, meaning if I sell the same thing she does, she always gets more!!! She's at the right place at the right time! KWIM! No hard feelings, though. The point is you can make room for more stuff, which I'm not doing because that defeats my purpose, or make room for the stuff you have after the "junk" is gone.

I have some stamps I have used the hound out of. Some I have used once or twice. My next goal is to go through all them and sell them in lots. Now those I can make room for more of. I try to buy ones that have multiple uses, but some of them came in kits. I won't get rid of the ones that have words or sayings on them, unless I have used it to the point that everyone I know already has seen it!

What are you doing with kits sitting around that you are not using. Sell them. Now I don't have any of that, but I see alot of it on e-bay.

The thing is, if you save it for a rainy day, it just gets old and outdated. You get sick of looking at it. I try now to only buy what I am using right then. If I buy brads or stuff that comes multiple in packs, I try to share with a friend so we at least have different colors and such. I'm not being stingy or cheap. I'm being smart.

I think I finally got to the stage where hoarding was just hoarding and that didn't make any sense. I don't even save my scraps. What for? I try to use every last piece of paper as I am scrapping. And the teeny bits that are left are tossed. It seems I never had the right scrap for what I needed. Why store it if it is just taking up space.

Now this may not be your philosophy. Maybe I have just opened your eyes! Hard to say. I just know this is working for me and lining my pockets!

Cover Finalist Again

WAHOOOOO! I'm up for the cover for July at Scrapstreet.com. I just got my e-mail today. Now I'll have to wait the long rest of the month to find out if I'm on the cover. I'm so excited! The layout is called American Graffiti and is my mom and dad on the way to their honeymoon. It's a great picture. What a way to start the day! That will be 5 pubs this year. March, Apr, May, June, July, plus my pub in Nov. 06!
Let me do the happy dance.
I'll link to the pub when it's in the mag.

Cake Squares All Decorated To Eat

Okay, here they are ladies and gentlemen, my cake squares. Now, the green man with the black hat, is actually a snowman. We were just making these last night and using the three colors that we brought with us! So my Christmas candle, tree and wreath might look a little insane with blue lights and such, but hey, I'm learning! LOL!

Look at all my cute things: balloons, pumpkins, nests with eggs, bunnies, chicks, Christmas, baby and rose buds and yes, clowns. I am not a big fan of clowns, but these icing clowns are really cute, and you can decorate them even more than what they are on here. Clowns can be sitting up, lying down, knees up. Lots of different ways to pose them. Just lots of icing! LOL!

I signed up for the Advanced class in the fall. We get to make a 3 tiered wedding cake. That will be interesting.

I really love this class and am having alot of fun with it. I'm not so restricted, and my creativity just flows!

Cakes & Cards

Here are some photos of a cake I made recently for a friend and a card I made for a couple who is getting married.

Welcome June and Publication

http://www.scrapstreet.com/magy2/junejuney2/features/bells3.htm

Here it is - my fourth publication this year. I nearly made the cover as I was a finalist. Lisa Pepper was the cover winner with a gorgeous layout of her friend. It was all very exciting to be in that group. There were several of us from Scrapstreet in the group of finalists!

I don't know why it is so exciting to be published. Yes, I do. It's the fact that someone else feels as excited about your layout as you do. It is a very nice feeling to be recognized. It's a pat on the back. It's not why I do it, but I love that I can do it well enough to be picked from the many submissions as one that stands out.

Often times it can be discouraging on line to not get pubbed. There was one website that was all they talked about. What people fail to realize I believe, is that people that are online are obsessed with scrapbooking. I think they are the ones that excel and so you are in among the PhD level scrappers, IMO. It's hard to be recognized in that kind of company and can be discouraging to some.

I have found that I can't scrap for calls or contests specifically as it makes the hobby I love turn to work which takes the joy out of it for me. That's just how I am. Many scrappers I know love scrapping for calls, but my personality is such that it just turns me into a competetive nut and it ceases to be fun!

I like to submit stuff I already made in answer to calls. I need to submit more stuff, but I'm so happy to be pubbed at Scrapstreet with all the talent they have! I'm just a happy camper today.

So check out the rest of their mag, too, because it has alot of great stuff in it! Subscribe to it. It's so convenient. It comes right to your mailbox every month. Dora and her staff do a great job. I haven't seen a bad one yet!

More blog stuff

Well, I've just been adding some more things to my blog to see what they do. I added a guestbook. I hope that is fun...to see who visits. Hopefully, friends. If not, I can delete anything I don't want anyway. And a guest map. To see where all the visitors are from. Now that seems very fun to me!
I do need to learn to do more things. These were easy. But I've got some yard work to do and the day is warming up!
I do need to get some cards made. What is my problem? I'm just not in the scrapping mood lately. I miss it, I do, but the sunshine is calling me louder than my scraproom. That will change soon I'm sure as we get more into the summer?
I know when I take dd to cheer camp, I'm going to have a ton of photos to scrap and share. So I better get my mojo back by then!

Header/Banner with Layouts

Oh, I did it. I got layouts and the title in my header/banner for my blog. Just a little piddling this morning. I removed the notebook paper and added the layouts that I stitched together in Photostudio. I feel like such a stud! Woohooo!

Adding a Banner

Well, I think I added a banner to my blog today, but I'm not really sure. I took some time to play with my blog, which is one of my goals this summer to get it looking exactly like I want it. But I think I get how to add pictures to my header now so I might work on that this weekend. I want to spruce up my blog and make it look more like me instead of these templates. We'll see how that goes!

Anyway, I added the notebook paper look at the top of the blog. That's what I did. I played in the HTML code. Yes, I did!

Cakes and Magnolias

Well, we had our roses class last night. We had to bring our cake iced and ready to decorate. We used the e'motions for the side instead of zig-zag. Of course, we did the scallop top and bottom, and then our rose spray was done on the top. We also learned to make the bow.

I might have gotten a little goofey with my icing. I wanted to try all the colors in the gel colorant box. So I decided to make chocolate roses. I had to add a little chocolate to the green for the leaves and the bow or it would have been totally wrong with the brown. I learned that trick from another lady in class. Should have known it from scrapbooking.

The lady teaching our class told me that my roses were really good! I'll take a compliment from the cake expert! She also likes me writing, but honestly, we know that comes from all my scrapbooking, doesn't it!

I picked some flowers yesterday from my garden. I picked tiger lillies, gardenias, petunias and a magnolia blossom from my tree. I could not resist photographing my magnolia blossom this morning in the early morning light. It was so beautiful! I got two photographs I wouldn't mind blowing up.

Next cake class...get ready...we are making decorating cake squares with all kinds of little things on them. I'm looking forward to that. It's not so much the baking as it is the decorating. Ashleigh said she would bake and I could decorate if we had our cake business!!!

Top Of the Cake Rose Spray

Much to my excitement, our lesson was making roses! We worked on the full rose and also the little rose buds you see on the side. The little rose buds are supposed to be small like that. They are a spray off to the side.

Our next lesson is actually doing this on the top of a cake and doing some on the side. We have to bring a fully iced caked to class and our rose icing, which is thicker for stability.

One thing I am really good at is the writing. The teacher always comments on that.

I will probably do another color rose. I did pink this time and last time my flowers were pink. I noticed with the other colors that people used that the non-traditional colors are really cool. One girl did blue! I also think it helps to mix the colors of the roses using more than one.

My roses are somewhat small compared to the instructors. When I practiced at home, I think I have that figured out. It's the way I was holding my tip. I needed to tilt it out more.

I'm a cake decorator! And it's fun!

Two Survey and First Cake

Nancy issued a Two challenge on her blog which she got from Two Peas. It sounds like fun so I am doing that today. I haven't blogged in a bit. Shame on me!

TWO:

Two Names I Go by: Leigh and only my bff can call me Leigh Anny

Two Things I am Wearing Right Now: T-shirt and jeans

Two Things I Want (or have) in a Relationship: Love and humor

Two of My Favorite Things to do: sneak a nap and scrapbook

Things I Want Very Badly At The Moment: my pool to heat up and my kitchen to be clean

Two pets I have: Boo and Run

Two things I did last night: cooked dinner and watch ds play softball

Two things I ate today: coffee and soon to have a bagel

Two people I just talked to last: ds and dd

Two Things I'm doing tomorrow: varsity cheer carwash and sunning by the pool with an sb mag

Two longest car rides: moving coast to coast as a kid and driving the whole stinkin' way in the family station wagon! Once east to west...once west to east...

Two Favorite Holidays: Christmas and 4th of July

Two favorite beverages: Diet Coke and water

Now on to other things: I am taking a cake decorating class with my friend, Ashleigh. It also turns out a girl I used to work with is there, too, Donna and her dd, Sara. This class was something I wasn't sure about, but I hadn't hung out with Ash in a while. It turns out it is alot of fun. Maybe it is the artistic expression on the cake. I'm not sure, but making roses out of icing and decorating a cake like you see in a fancy bakery is rather satisfying. This is the first official cake I decorated. I sent samples to various people, and they thought it came from a bakery. I guess that would be the seal of approval! I thought it turned out remarkably well, and frankly, I'm rather proud of myself.

This was class number two. In class number one, we got some recipes, went over all the tips and tried a few things. For class two, we had to bake the cake and glaze it and bring our icing. Then in class we decorated it!

I've decided to bake a cake with a different recipe they gave us in class and decorate it for the Varsity cheer carwash tomorrow. I'm going to see if I can make pom poms out of icing... We'll see. I'll post my results!

Old stuff and new stuff

I've been a very busy scrapper this year! Trying some different things, mixing old and new products. Check out the "my crew" lo. I used some old MME paper dolls and dresser, along with new faux stitches and Chatterbox paper, stickers and tags to make this lo. I think it turned out really cute. Just because the stuff is old, doesn't mean it doesn't have a life! We just have to think of creative ways to use it. So what if it's not in style either. The important thing is that we like it! I have a little journaling on the index card tucked in the pocket.

I absolutely adore this lo of my dear mother's wedding portrait. She is so stunning, and I wanted to keep the focus on the portrait, but create a delicate layout around it. Still have her dress in a box in case dd wants to wear it! This is a Becky Fleck sketch in case anyone was wondering. I like having the journaling on the delicate shade of yellow. Reminds me of daisies, which are our flower. No one else might get that, but I do!!!

OOOOPS Removed for publication in June Scrapstreet magazine. Will be back later!

Birthday Photo

Today is my birthday. Here is my birthday portrait. Self portrait. I tell you one thing, I have great hair!
Tragedy at Virgina Tech yesterday. Very sad. Disturbing, but I know that God was there for His people. It's still unfolding, the whole story. We may never know since the crackpot killed himself. Very sad.
On to a brighter note: another year, another bit wiser? One hopes anyway! No complaints on my part. Main goal last year was to be published in a mag. I've hit that goal so I'm tickled pink.
What am I going to do today? Probably clean out the pool from all that crazy windy weather we had. Many leaves. Lucky no trees down. Not the same for everyone around here.
May scrap some. Not sure. I've got 106 more layouts to do towards my scrap goal for 2007 of 272. You know I'll make it. That's the kind of chick I am. Set a goal. Do it! Get 'er done, as they say!
Hmmm. Should apply that philosophy towards scrap room. Oh, but that isn't fun!
Want to make that lap board. Cool idea from my friend, Kelly, who will be moving to NC here soon. She's a cool chick. No obvious issues (she knows I'm kidding here)! Regular chick. Very creative. Fleece is her medium. She rocks it.
My bff, Mandy, is bringing my card by today. Last year she sent it to me in August. Bff's don't make ya mad, do they? Nah, life happens so you just don't even think about it. I just thought it was sweet she sent it after all that time. Even sweeter, she doesn't want to do it again. Worried postal service might not get it here. Chose to deliver to make sure it got on time. That's nice, isn't it!
Waiting for school to get out. Not much longer. Ds has project for landscape class. Dh is in charge. He's the science dude. Not me. I'm there for the creative aspect. Camera. Paper. Layout. Those types of things.
That's all my comments for today. Except one, Kearnsy...you're next, dahling. Can't hide. We're a month apart. Birthday's coming! And I'm going to remind you every day! Cuz I love you!

Just Chatting

I didn't make the next round in an online contest, but that is alright. I'm still applying for the mag staff spots they have open. Maybe I'll get one of those. If not, it won't slow me down!

I'm thinking of teaching some classes again at the lss. I've got some pretty nice books we can put together. High impact visually, but fairly easy to do!

Other than that I am waiting so much for summer! We are having another cold snap. It was just 80 deg. the other day...now morning temp expected of 37! It's crazy!

Photography etc.

Had to post a challenge at a website so I posted one using silhouettes and reflections. I love when things are reflected in windows and water. I think it is just fascinating. This is my favorite picture from the ones I took. I just photographed some different shots around the pool.

Speaking of the pool. I cleaned the pool furniture today. It was a gorgeous day, and there was no way I was going to be inside. I hosed off the porch, too. That pollen was just digusting. I'm glad that has passed. I'll finish the porch tomorrow or another day. I need to go over all the wood trim with some bleach. It gets so dirty over the winter.

The pool chemicals have been ordered, and they are on their way. As soon as they get here, the pool will be officially opened, although it really is since Matt has actually been in twice already!

It's definitely time for the weather to warm up. I'm tired of it being cold! I'm sure all the dogs are too!

I'll post the layout that goes with this picture as soon as I get it photographed. I tried this evening, but the photo was blurry. It's just easier during the day, and I get better, truer colors.

DD and DH are both snoozing. Such company I have for the night. What am I going to do with them. I'm thinking of scrapping. I did some scrapping today, but I really had to think to hard about it. I'm not sure why, but I hope it passes. It was driving me nuts.

My Wedding Album

Scrapstreet is publishing an all wedding e-zine in June. I'd love to end up with something in there. In that light, they had a lift challenge last night so I decided to scrap my wedding song that Lou and I first danced to as Mr. and Mrs. I guess it is corny, but what girl doesn't dream of that her whole life? I've known from the time I was in 2nd grade and heard the Carpenter's "We've Only Just Begun" that I wanted that to be the first dance at my wedding.
An additional bonus is, this e-zine has given me the prompt I need after 18 years of marriage to get my wedding scrapbook done. I want it to be informal with writing and notes and such. That way, when I'm old and gray, I'll have lots of fond memories to stare at and little notes along the way to jog my memory!

Video of Recent Pages - It's fun to go back in time!

Okay, i hope this works! I made a video at photobucket with music and everything. I used my recent prize package of Flair papers from Dora at Scrapstreet to make all of these pages. Well, except the cat one. I just like that picture because my cat is so nosy every time I bring my camera out!
These photos are from 10 years ago. Hard to imagine my kids being that young. Time does truly go by fast. Matt's baseball team won the championship game in a squeaker. The soccer photos are a riot as Caitee was a no fear goalie, but she had to pose in her ballet poses!
Makes me want to do some more older photographs. It's nice to relive those moments, which is after all the reason we scrapbook. To share and relive!
Enjoy!

Changes and New Web Ring

I made a few changes to my blog. Added some links, put up a funny pic, and joined the Scrapstreet web ring, for which there is also a link.
I didn't know what a webring was until last night when Lindsey started the Scrapstreet one, and I decided to join it with my blog. Now you can cruise around if you want and see what some of the other chicks I hang with online are doing.
I also added a link to my Scrapstreet gallery. Although I do post most everything I do there here as well. I think I might link to my old galleries at Scrapvillage, Scraptalk and maybe even Scrapjazz. It just depends on how bad that stuff looks compared to now! LOL!
I do like the 2peas gallery as well. I haven't posted very much there. I need to post more stuff there. There are alot of great ideas. I skim it every day and add stuff to my favs to get inspiration when I am brain dead, which at the rate I am scrapping this year, happens more often than I like.
I still need to figure out how to add a banner, but all things in due time. The fact that I have made a few changes and added some stuff is pretty cool for now.
I will be scrapping this weekend because it is the Scrapstreet Star 3rd round. Even if I don't make round 3, I will do the challenge. Also, I want to see what is up for Saturday Night Scrap there. Do the lift and the sketch probably.
Although I'm not as excited as I was to scrap becasue my OTT light just shipped yesterday so it's not going to be here. Major bummer. My scraproom is just so poorly lit. And I splurged on that stinkin' light. But the main thing is that its on its way, and I can hardly wait for it to get here.
I hope if any of you read my blog that you will leave a comment so I know you were here. Just for fun. Please be nice! LOL!

Andy Warhol-ish scrapbook page or Modern Art

I have some fun recently doing some different things. This month at Scrapstreet, my favorite scrapbook site to hang at, the "street" is in Kyoto, Japan, a place I have actually been. Of course, I was 3 1/2 so I don't remember it, but I thought it was kinda cool anyway. The colors for the challenge were red, black and white. I had a picture of dd that I had digitally altered that just begged to be used for this challenge. Looking at it made me think of the song, "China Girl", for some reason by David Bowie. Maybe it was how funky the photo was and that song is very funky. I love the quote I used on the lo from the song, too, "I can hear your heart beating loud as thunder." I used circles, which are my favorite shape right now and lots of brads. I think it turned out really neat. Lou says it looks like something Andy Warhol would have done. I was a bit concerned with the red and yellow that it might look like a mastercard so I had to make sure I arranged the circles in such a way that it wasn't making me think of that!
I also finished a page of my Nana and my great-grandmother, Nana-P that I had started over a year ago! I just could never get the page to click. So I took it out of the drawer it was stored in and took it all apart. I trimmed the photos' corners to soften them up and rematted them, which improved their look greatly. I love the bouquet of flowers I made to replicate the corsages the "Nanas" are wearing. They are so cute together, mother and daughter. The occasion was my mother's wedding, which I have a photo on the page taken when my parents came home sometime when they were engaged. I also have the hat Nana was wearing. It was saved all these years, and ended up at my house. Crazy!
Finally, I had those two black and white photos, one of which is blown up and hanging in my dining room. I scrap so many beach photos! But we love the beach so what do you do! I mean where else do we go on vacation? Nowhere! I lifted this lo from my DW calendar. When I applied my ink to the chipboard letters, it made the two-toned effect, which looks like ocean water. I really do like this lo! And the best part is, I used all old supplies from my stash! Woohooo! Making room for more stuff!

Gin X Scientifically Weird

Gin-X is some nice paper! I'm serious! I haven't had any experience with their stuff until our lss had a 40% off sale of the entire store! I bought this kit and a few sheets of coordinating Bazzill cardstock. I've made another lo beside the two here, but it is part of a 5 week contest so I can't post it!
We sure do go to the beach alot! I guess it's a good thing. It seems like I take so many pictures of dd during the year, but at the beach it is mostly ds, so I guess it all comes out in the wash.
Skimboards or skurfers sure are alot of fun. I even tried it, and nearly killed myself, but hey! What kind of mom would I be if I didn't give it a shot!

When Did I Start Looking OLD

When did I start looking old? It seems to have snuck in out of nowhere! Those laugh lines so etched in the corners of my eyes. The lines above my forehead, which I have had since I was 10, from years of lifting those eyebrows. The furrow between my eyes from the years my mother was so ill and worrying. The puppet mouth. I even notice that my neck is finally going. What is happening? I'm wearing make-up and it's not helping. Ah, age!

Lots more layouts done

My friend, Mandy, and I have been scrapping so much this year that we are caught up on our current photos and are going back. It's all thanks to a great site called Scrapstreet and some fabulous crops, along with two weekends away doing nothing but scrapbooking and cropping Friday nights at our lss.

It's amazing to have that much done. I feel so good because I don't have all that current stuff hanging over my head. I know it shouldn't feel that way, but it does. The few photos I have left from last year are all in bags, sorted by topic, and ready to be scrapped. I only have about 4 of those left! Isn't that great!

Now by no means am I anywhere close to being caught up! I have boxes and boxes of photos and memorabilia. But at least the current things are done! I am looking forward to going back and working on the kids baby books some more. It's fun to relive that time!

Exciting Getting Published AGAIN!!!

I submitted a few pages from a Garden Journal that I keep. I take photos of pictures of flowers and I scrapbook them in a gate hinged album from Kay & Co. This is a very simple little book I have that I can doodle in or write poems or I can scrap more elaborately in, but I am leaving it fairly flat. I want it to be a free form, random thing so I can just enjoy the fabulous flowers nature provides in all their colors and shapes and sizes!
Anyway, Scrapstreet's E-zine picked up my little sample for publication in May, which is very exciting to me. I have some drawings in this garden journal that I am rather proud of, and those were in the pages I submitted. I wonder if that counts for art?
My great Uncle Arthur was quite the artist. We have some of his work here in my house. I have a charcoal drawing he did of his grandfather, Cockety, a pastel of a kitten and a few oil paintings. He had a wonderful eye and was very talented. My mother was artistic, but with floral design more so than anything else. Although she did decoupage in her younger years and made some terrific things, along with a needlework phase.
I guess Uncle Arthur rubbed off on me a little bit too with my limited drawing ability. Nothing too defined. I think that Matt has that talent, more along the lines of Uncle Arthur, but he doesn't want to take any art classes.
Arthur's brother, my Pop-pop, was a doodler all of his life. Not serious doodles, just silly drawings. He would do those for me all of the time. He would start drawing, and we would have to guess what he was making. He was a funny guy so it was always something funny like a fat lady from behind or a jalopy.
Anyway, this has made my day. When June comes, I will post a few of my pages so you can see what I submitted. Can't have them up anywhere for the month of May!!!
BTW, thanks to Meesh for picking it in case you ever read my blog. I'm never sure if anyone reads it really, except for a few friends. But that's ok. It's my window on the world, and if I"m the only one that sees it, so be it!!!

birthday card

Someone in my family has a birthday today. Growing up and changing. Sometimes it is hard to be the mom and be left behind because they don't need you so much anymore. But it is also a blessing. To celebrate, I made this card. Very simple.







I made this lo the other day based on a sketch by Dora Phillips. I really liked the sketch, and of course, I have plenty of photos to use! This was a fun sketch to do. I bought Chatterbox Poolhouse kit because it was more boyish to me, and I knew I had these pictures to do.
I'm trying to scrapbook as much as possible. I've made 137 layouts towards my goal of 272, which means I'm more than 1/2 way there now. Think of the amount of paper and supplies I have used!
I'm really trying to not buy alot of stuff just to have in my stash. It gets outdated so fast and new stuff is always coming out. I have been enjoying using these smaller kits that companies put out with paper and embellies. You can do several layouts with one kit and use all the stuff. That way you aren't sick of it!

My Celebrity Look-alikes

My cool celebrity look-alike collage from MyHeritage.com. Get one for yourself.



Holy crap. Joan Collins? Are they kidding me? Well, it's only a website's opinion! YIKES! It was a little chuckle. You ought to try it!

Going cropping tonight with my scrapping friends. Can hardly wait. Hmmm...will definitely have some more to post tomorrow! I have printed out my crop weekend photos to and will do a layout about that. That definitely was a fun time!

Contest at Scrapstreet doesn't start for another month, but we do have a challenge coming up next weekend. That will be fun. I love those. They get the ole brain thinking along new lines!

My Celebrity Look-alikes

My cool celebrity look-alike collage from MyHeritage.com. Get one for yourself.


I've just been playing at this website that my friend found. It's not really on that much, but it's a fun thing to do. Mostly people tell me my dd looks like Christy Brinkly. Maybe she's not one of their picks. I'm also trying to see who they say my ds looks like and then me and my dh!

Editing Photos for a Different Look

Here are two recent lo's. I submitted the one of my ds. We'll see. I like the journaling, which I lifted from Starbucks website - their make your own coffee. The other lo is a scraplift challenge, which I edited one main photo two different ways. Something I don't do very often. I really like the effect.

More Layouts Done and Some Shopping Too

Well, I have about 120 layouts done so far this year towards my goal of 272. The first layout you see is an 8x8 that I did for a scraplift challenge. I printed right on the cardstock with a new font I found, Depot. I really like it. It's typewriter-y.
I love the colors in this lo, too. Strictly straight off teh color wheel! Orange is opposite blue so it makes it pop! I also used 3 ribbons slides from my stash of stuff. 3 down. Have to make room for more stuff. Sick of looking at the old stuff!

I submitted the beach lo. Not sure if it will get picked up or not. I really like the colors in it, too. Very summery. It just reminds me of being at the beach, which is what the lo is about.

The last layout is a heritage book lo of some photos of my brother from 1971. It was a sketch challenge. I love those. They always get my creative juices flowing! However, I'm not in the dark color mode lately, so I might put some heritage stuff on the back burner for a while. I'm just really feeling the color lately.

The last pic is of my ds. I'm planning on scrapping this photo tomorrow. He's such a cool kid. I have a great idea for my journaling, too, which I lifted right off of Starbucks website. You'll have to wait and see!

I went to Hobby Lobby today. I nearly bought some paper, but controlled myself since the new Crate Paper is supposed to be released on Monday. It was tough, but I just don't want all that paper lying around. Use it and get some new stuff is my new motto.

I did get some new MAMBI glitter alpha rubons for 50% off. I felt a small tinge of guilt as I had put them on hold at the lss, but they are $20, so 1/2 price is an awesome deal. I got over it real quick. I also bought one pack of jumbo brads. I don't need to go crazy and get them in every color. I'm sure I'll use them this weekend. That way I won't have them in my stash forever and get sick of them.

9 Layouts at the Crop Last Night

I made 9 layouts at the crop I attended last night. Yes, it is much easier to crop at home than to have to cart my stuff up to the scrapbook store, but I have learned that if I stick with one theme at the crop, I significantly cut the junk I bring with me in 1/2! Now I just have to cut that in 1/2, and I will be fine!

More layouts...222 to go!!!

Here are the layouts I did over the weekend. I only did 4, but now I am up to a total of 50 lo's completed this year. That means I have 222 to go towards my goal of 272! Not bad. I'll be at a weekend crop this weekend so I know I will be under the 200 mark by the end of the weekend. I'm secretly trying to get them all done in the first half of the year, then anything else I do is gravy! Not that it's about just getting them done, but I'm very goal oriented and this method is really motivating me. If you are not goal oriented, then having a goal will not work for you!

I did some scraplifting on all of these except one. I'm really on a scraplifting jones right now. Not sure why, but it is working so why fight it!

A new way to plan layouts

Well, I'm tickled pink. I've been picked again to have a layout published in Scrapstreet's online mag in March 2007. I'll definitely have a link to it here in case anyone wants to see it. It was a scraplift called A Boy's Fun, which I had posted on here and had to remove since it is going to be PUBLISHED. WOOHOOOOOOOO! That is just so satisfying.

I went through a stack of pictures and followed some layout planning advice I had read somewhere. It said take your pictures and match your embellies first, then match your paper because it is easier to match paper to embellies than embellies to paper. I'm not sure why, but I did it. I'm not wild about the lo I made today, but it used stuff from my stash so that is always a plus for me! However, I will say this method does work, although I only have matched one set of stuff with paper. I'm a bit under the weather, and I think my inspiration is flagging. It's kind of a busy layout, but let's face it, it's done!

Kibbles our Krazy Kat

This is my cat, Kibbles. If there were such a thing in the cat world as a dumb blonde, she would be it. She is not very bright at all. Beautiful and soft with huge eyes, but she is dumb! She will do #2 in her cat box, but she pees on the paper infront of the catbox. She will not pee in the cat box. We have tried everything. For some reason, she just has this mental block! At least she goes on paper!

She also takes her front paw and takes water out of her water bowl until she is standing in a puddle of water. Once she has herself a nice puddle, then she will drink out of the water bowl. Mind you, not the puddle, the water bowl!

If she wants you to pet her, she will head butt you until you do or she will meow in your face. She will also tap you with her front paw.

For a while, she had a crooked head and looked at us cock-eyed. That seems to have passed. She must have had a kitty cold that affected her in some way. She is fine now!

I have not scrapbooked this photo yet. It is on my to do list. I really like it because it is right up in her face. How often will a cat cooperate like that...NEVER!

My friend, Missy, has started a scrapbook blog this week. I have really enjoyed seeing her stuff. I love seeing her stuff in person anyway. She has a great scrapbook style. She always has the greatest papers! I love what she buys. I always tell her that I just need to go behind her in the scrapbook store and buy whatever she buys.

She buys some of the coolest kits. I never seem to be able to find this stuff. I guess I just need Missy with me. Not that I need to be spending anymore scrapbook money. I have spent more in January than I did in the last four months of 2006! In fact, I hardly spent any scrapbook money last year.

So far I have purchased $5.00 worth of red ribbon (on sale at Hobby Lobby), Pioneer strap hinges for two albums with 3 posts each, 2" extender posts, Ali Edwards Designers' Eye II and had it coil bound, $20.00 worth of Bazzill cardstock in various shades to match pp I already have, a set of chipboard alphas, a binder and tabs for my DW 2006 calendar, and finally $11.00 worth of 5x7's for my dd's cheer book. WHEW! The only thing I have left is some Cosmo Cricket paper that Hobby Lobby has. I'm waiting for it to go on sale, and then I am back on my spending moratorium. Still under $100, but as a SAHM, sb supplies are a luxury item these days. Not that I mind, it's just made me very picky!

Hmmm. I think confession must be good for the soul! LOL!

Coil Binding Ali Edwards DE2

I took my Ali Edwards Designer's Eye II to Office Depot yesterday and had it coil bound. That is like a spiral notebook. My friend, Missy, had hers done this way on our recent scrapbook trip, and I loved it! It lies flat now so I can easily scraplift her fabulous ideas, which I will be posting here, of course.
I also bought a small three ring binder to house my DW 2006 calendar. Now I am in the process of punch 3 holes in all the pages. Office Depot did not have a punch machine that would punch holes in something that small. Let me tell ya, it is boring to do it, but worth it. That calendar has plenty of good ideas for me to lift as well.

My favorite spot to hang these days is www.scrapstreet.com. There was a post there about pre-planning layouts. The girl who wrote it can plan 160 layouts in a week! And she can get 14 lo's done at an evening crop. I am going to try her method this Sunday at a football widow's crop.

Not that I am a football widow. My dh loves Da Bears so I will join him on the sofa for the game. I might be reading, but at least he has my company!

Black Monochromatic Layouts

I real.ly like this layout. It photographed darker than it is, but if you have BG Black Tie, you know the colors. I tried to use papers that emulated the scientific look my dh had going on with his project. It is really funny how much my ds looks like his dad, even though I've been told that Matt is the spitting image of my dad as a child!
This was a Becky Fleck sketch. She has a great website. I have printed off all of her 12 x 12 sketches for use at crops and such.
Anyway, I think black monochromatic can be an effective "tool" if used correctly. I really wanted to keep the emphasis on this photo, especially with the title on the project board. I felt it would get lost if I used color. I used some graph paper from American Traditions that I just so happened to have found at the scrapbook store. It has a hint of blue on the lines. The rest is all black and white as you see. I really am pleased with the way this turned out! My dh got a kick out of it, too. The kids love it. That after all, is the goal, right!

A Boy's Fun

OUT FOR PUBLICATION
check out www.scrapstreet.com and their online mag in March!
This was a scraplift from my online friend, Mel from Australia. I'd been dying to do these pictures. I just think they are hilarious. Matt also has a record to be broken. None of us have been in the pool as early as April 2nd!

Crate Paper

For some reason, I am having to do this post twice. I'm having to re-write what I just wrote. Aggravating! Anyhow, I received an awesome prize pack from Scrapstreet recently for a two week layout challenge. I got the most points of anyone.
Part of that prize pack included some Crate Paper. Their paper is delicious. It is high quality and a nice weight. It has a subtle texture and beautiful patterns. I am a patterned paper junkie! The paper was used on this lo along with my favorite font, Enviro, for the journaling. I believe the Smile rubon was from Scenice Route.

Slide Show of Recent Layouts

Went cropping with my two girlfriends this past weekend. We had a blast. I made 34 layouts. I used some sketches from www.scrapmaps.com, a great site and some ideas from Ali Edwards Designer's Eye 2. It feels good to "git ur done", although that is never the point. But if you don't have them finished, how can anyone look at them???
I finally finished my Bahamas album from our cruise in 2003! That was a long time coming, and what was the point of waiting so long?

Get a move on that scrapping! It's 2007!

I've managed to welcome the new year and today I have actually scrapped 3 layouts! Yes, I have taken time out between celebrating on New Year's Day and my general housekeeping duties to scrap and get a jump on my goal of 272 layouts.
Two of these layouts are photos I have been carting around for over 2 years. They are when Missy, Mandy, and I went to Charlotte, NC, CK Convention for Faye's talk and some classes. We loved Faye and drooled all over her like buffoons, but who cares? It was fun.
We also went shopping in the convention center. What a mecca of scrapping goodies. Things we don't see where we live. We actually got overload and finally got so tired shopping, we couldn't do it anymore. It was so hard to buy because what might be around the corner. Not that we didn't buy plenty of stuff to play with. Good thing Mandy and I had our business at that time, and it was a write off!
However, don't wait 2 years to scrap photos that mean the world to you at the time. If they are that important, do it now.
And, make sure if you meet someone you've wanted to meet for a while, you give someone else the camera. Otherwise, you'll have great photos of all your friends with them, and none of you!