Winkasheart Scraps

It's that time of year again...

2009-10-27T09:40:00.007-05:00

...when I start wondering where the heck the year went to, and scrambling to get my gifts made for Christmas. I think I am even a little ahead of the game this year! Not by much, but at least I have an idea of what I want to do. I do know I am going to make a couple glass block lights like the one below for my nieces maybe. I made this one for an article in The Daily Scrapper. LOVED how it turned out. Here is a picture of the one I made which has been claimed already, lol. If you click on the image, it will take you to the issue of The Daily Scrapper it was in with the directions on how to create it. It's really very easy.

Last year I also made a couple altered books (can't find the pics of those for some reason), some candles and votive holders,

and of course some calendars. A few years ago, I made some photo blocks, a set of 5 for each of my sisters and my Mom. I also altered a kids board book into a mini album and although it wasn't for Christmas, it was for a gift and something else to think about making. So I either start to repeat myself, or I have to come up with something totally new, which is why I am thinking of having some books made this year with some of the many pages I created. And maybe even a canvas made from a favorite layout. Now to just decide on what I want to do, lol.

So, while I am still deciding what to do for this year, I thought I would give you a few ideas!

On a Roll...

2009-10-22T10:28:00.004-05:00

I am just thrilled! I entered the best gift challenge at Log Your Memories and it won! Ok, so it won by random number generator, but still, I am excited! AND I am even more excited to see that I won admission into The Best Gift Online Workshop! (it's linked so you can check it out yourself and see what it's all about.) This will be such a big help to me since I was thinking about making something like this as a gift for Christmas this year. One more thing I will be able to check off my list of things to do. Here is the layout I entered. I made it last year, and this is actually a re-do of the first one I did and it has more journaling on it, which in my book is a good thing.

I have not done much of anything this past week, just been kinda lazy, but I did get one challenge done for the Every Life has a Story workshop at TDC. This one was for the Let's Try That Again challenge, where we took a layout with little or no journaling and added that. Here is the original one.

I changed up a couple things and then added some journaling, and here is the re-do. I really like this better.

And now I am off to try the next challenge in the workshop. Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

Yes, child of mine, I am a Favre fan...

2009-10-16T12:07:00.008-05:00

I am just bursting with excitement and can't wait until Thanksgiving! But alas, I can't say yet what exactly is happening to make me so happy! But, I can tell you about the other thing that has me grinning from ear to ear! I usually click on the notify me button when I post my layouts in galleries so I can see any comment made on them. I like to see that others like my pages, and to return the love, so this morning when I checked my mail I had a notice for one of my pages at a new site, which by the way, looks like it will be loads of fun and very helpful for getting the journaling down. And the comment was that my layout titled Beginning, was featured on their blog! How awesome is that? But the thing I liked the most about the blog post was the comments made about my page. The author made this comment, "it reminds us how much we’re all alike … and that we’re not alone in our struggles." I have to say that alone made me feel so good, because truly, I forget that small fact sometimes when I am struggling day to day with myself to just get going. I am not alone, other people have some of the same struggles, and this helps me get through the day. And isn't it funny how it took me putting that out there, for it to come back to me in this way? This really is an awesome thing we have in our lives, the internet, and being able to share with others and maybe even touch someone else to help them get through their day. And the digi-scrapping community especially, is an awesome group of people! Oh, and here is the site in case you want to check it out. Log Your Memories. This coming week I am going to be working on a layout for the grand opening kick-off challenge, which will be kind of hard since I usually cringe when I have to create a page about myself, lol. I hope to see some of you over there.

In other news, I have a challenge going on at Polkadot Plum, the One Word Challenge. You will have to go check it out to see exactly what it is, but here is the page I did for it. Before I print it I will probably make some tweaks to the journaling, but I really like how this turned out.

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The Digichick has some wonderful challenges going on all month, one a day, and here is one I did which is a scraplift of Seattle Sheri's Layout titled Heartbreaker. I really love the composition of it and loved how my page turned out.

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Then I did a challenge at Oscraps, using a template and pictures of my daughter just being her usual fun self. And for this one, I decided to use my bamboo fun tablet and write out the word you. I need to do that more often I think! It turned out fantastic. Although it did take me quite a few times before I actually liked how it looked, and that was just one word, lol. So I am thinking practice will make it better.

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I have a photo of my daughter today that she posted. I live in Wisconsin, and I am a Packer fan. But not only that, I am a Brett Favre fan. Now, while my daughter is just so irritated with Favre going to the Vikings, I on the other hand, love watching him play and while I wish he wasn't with the Vikings, I am not upset. The man has a love of the game that makes him just fun to watch! SO, she found some t-shirts online and had to order them and here she is modeling it. This was a day when she was missing home and decided to dress in civvies and do her hair and show off how much weight she has lost in the last 7 months, and get her dig in, lol. I love her to bits, but this is something we are totally on opposite sides on.

And with that, I am off for today. I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend! Thanks for your comments, I love reading them!

Oktoberfest

2009-10-01T12:12:00.013-05:00

It isn't Sunday, but I had to work this past one, and I am actually getting to a post in the same week! And truth be told, I was a little hung over this past Sunday and about the only thing I managed to do was go to work later in the day. I live in LaCrosse, and come this time of year they have a huge, huge week long Oktoberfest. It starts with the tapping of the golden keg and then a parade, and then a party. You can walk or drive down the streets and wherever you look, there is some sort of party going on somewhere. Now this is the first time I ever been here for this and I had originally decided to wait until next year when my daughter is home, to partake in any of the festivities going on around town, but my sister was asked and decided to work at our hangout carding people, so when I finished work Saturday, I headed down there to keep her company. Here she is getting the number of the guy who makes those Favre shirts.

I had no intention of really drinking, maybe a beer, but that was it. Best laid plans and all that...I had quite a few. Good thing she wasn't drinking, because she was my ride home. But I have to admit, I had a wonderful time, and there are still things I will do next year with my daughter, like getting to see the parade. I am told you have to see it at least once. And the best bet for the whole party time is to find a nice place that you call home, and stay there to have fun, which is what I did. Knowing the people that are bartenders here, and friends of Niki's and now mine, I knew they would not let anything happen to me. And I did one of the things I hadn't done yet from my summer manifesto, which was to dance like no one was watching. I danced and didn't care about anyone else, didn't even have to dance by myself. It helped that the band was pretty darn good. I'm going to miss the Torchlight parade tonight as I work, but next year I really want to see it. All things decorated with lights, sounds awesome. Here are a few more pictures from that night.

Almost done working. Having polish...an acquired taste, but I am learning to kinda like it, lol. It's blackberry brandy.

After the band, we headed inside.

Showing me the trick she leaned for doing jello shots...makes them go down much easier.

Yep, I was having fun!

Right this minute I am trying very hard not to laugh my behind off. As I sit here and write this, my cat is on the arm of the chair next to me, sleeping. She just rolled off, and you know, if you laugh at your cats they know you are laughing at them. And they try so hard to make it appear that whatever just happened, they meant to do, lol. So she walked it off, and is now purring at the other side of the chair. See, it pays when you don't laugh, she came back and gave me some loving.

OK, and now I have some pages to show you. First off, a couple using some kits from Roben-Marie Designs. I LOVE her stuff! This first one is a mix of different kits, so click on the number to be taken to the credits. My daughter has 3 cats, and each one has their own unique and awesome personality, Fez being the most awesomest one. He is always doing something that makes me run for the camera and in turn, turning me into a cat lady...I have so many pictures of the cats I am sure that is what people think anyway, lol.

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This next one is using a brand new kit Art Nouveau a collab by Roben-Marie and Dawn Inskip. I love showing off my beautiful daughter.

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These last two are using kits by Kelley Mickus. Another one of my fave designers! I especially love her papers lately, I want to use every one in my layout, lol. First up is Beginnings which is new at The Digi Chick today. An about me page.

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This month, Kelley made the kit Happiness for DST Gold Members. And it is another fabulous one! You can find out how to become a gold member and get this kit here. The photo in this layout was from the last time my daughter returned from overseas with the National Guard. I am waiting a little impatiently for her return this time round.

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if you made it this far, thanks so much for stopping by! I almost forgot....her friends from the bar sent her one of the t-shirts they all wore during the weekend festivities and she got it yesterday and modeled it. She worked there a couple nights a week before she left.

Re-committing

2009-09-20T13:20:00.006-05:00

I have not been doing a great job on project 365. It has been hit or miss if I get a photo these past few months, and doing layouts with them? Nada. So, today I am going to re-commit to doing them. I have been thinking on this for a few days now, and I don't want to quit, so I will just get back on the wagon and go from there, and hope that next year I can actually do the whole year. And that means, I actually have one for today. This one was easy because we had a visitor and who can resist a baby? This is Xavier at 3 weeks old. He is just adorable!

The next thing I am re-committing to is my blog. I wanted to be blogging every day, and that has not been the case. I am lucky if I get one post a month. For the rest of the year I am going to aim for once a week, and since I have Sundays off (most of the time) I am going to post on Sundays. Sounds like a plan to me, lol. If I get more than that, great! If not, that is cool too.

This month has been so hectic. Lots of hours at the job, a death in the family and trying to get the days off to go to the funeral, and just in general feeling behind almost every single day this month. I hate that feeling. When you are out of town and then working 6 days a week, when you do have time off, the day is filled with catching up. I have not done more than a few layouts so far this month, although when I look in my folder on the comp, I am always surprised at how many I really did get done, which is a whopping 5. Which means that I am behind on my CT pages, which isn't good, and always makes me rethink how many I am on. And truly I am not on that many, so I will wait to make any decisions until I am feeling more normal and not like a chicken with its head cut off!

I have been looking around the web when I do have time, for some different challenges and I found Hodge Podge Art. I have done the past 2 challenges and find them so much fun and interesting, and they make me think and try something new for a page. This is my layout for the last one, The End of an Era. I used supplies from Rachel Young for this page and you can find links and journaling by clicking on the number under the page.

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Another fabulous challenge this month was the Oscraps Creative Challenge. This challenge made me look at my photos in a whole new light and brought me back to the reason I scrap in the first place which is to get the stories down and not worry about not having the perfect photo. I truly loved this challenge and will do more layouts like this. Here is what I did and I used RooRah by Kathryn Wilson Designs for this one.

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There is another challenge at Oscraps also, called Embrace Imperfection, which I am going to do also. I love challenges that are different and not your ordinary type. And speaking of different, I am loving the journaling challenges over at PolkaDot Plum that Suzyqscraps is doing called, Journey Journaling Challenge. They are different and make you think, so make sure you check it out. I haven't done the first one yet, but I will, after I do the second one, lol, which is on my list of to-do things today, right after I am done posting this. I AM on the CT at Polkadot Plum, but believe me when I say I am horrid about posting all the different challenges going on there during the month, and I really truly like this one!

I am waiting for the Digi Dares to get back so I can check them out again. I love finding new and different challenges and especially ones where I am not limited to using the kits from any one store or designer. However, when I do a challenge at a store site, and I have supplies from there, I DO use them. I just don't like being limited sometimes. So if you know of any fun and different challenges, link me up in the comments!

And on that note, I am off for today. Thanks for any and all comments as I truly love reading them and always try to visit your blog and comment back! Have a great day!

Was that Summer?

2009-08-26T20:31:00.006-05:00

I don't know where the summer got to. It really didn't make an appearance in my neck of the woods. My Mom's tomatoes did not grow at all, although she did try that new fan-dangled hanging pot for them. My sister's grew, but not like normal. They are just now getting red. And it's all because we have not had our normal hot sticky nights. This is the first summer I can remember when it didn't stay hot and humid day and night. And even when we had some warm nights, it wasn't longer than a week or so. Most of days I woke up cold and it took most of the day to warm up. Not very good swimming weather either, although we did get a few great days in for that and for the first time ever I swam in The Mississippi. I loved it, and could imagine I was back in time as the paddle boats and barges floated past in the background. And since the area is a lot smaller than Lake Michigan, it was even kind of warm. The water in Lake Michigan never gets to much warmer than 65, and that is in late August!

I am so NOT looking forward to fall. OK, so there is one reason I want the fall to come and then winter, because that means Niki and Rocky will be coming home.

We are counting down the months, weeks, and days now.

Hahaha, I was talking with her the other day and she was telling me how humid it has been there the past month or so. And how bitchy she has been. She hasn't been handling the humidity well at all. I tell her I know what she means, four words, THAT ONE SUMMER VACATION. I tell you, I don't know what happened, but I was bitchy with a capital B! I am surprised my family didn't leave me there on the side of the road. However, she keeps insisting that it is MUCH worse there and that is why she has been so horrid, I have no idea if that is true or not and I will have to take her word for it. But I was so hoping she would finally let me live that one down! Not gonna happen.

I am now working now, got a part time job. Nothing major, but it gets me out, gives me a little more money, and helps me to start leading a more normal life. Which is the goal. And so far I am enjoying it and have not had too much of a problem facing the days and going in. My goal is to not have any sick or late days. And so far I am doing it. Yes, there are days when I have to really talk myself into doing it, but I think that is a good thing since it means I am learning and doing and beating this stupid depression/bipolar. Yea me!

I also got on 2 new CTs and I am so thrilled! I am now creating for Karen Lewis Designz and Kathryn Wilson Designs. I am about to start on my first layout for Kathryn when I am done with this post. I have truly been enjoying being at The Daily Scrapper and coming up with one or 2 hybrid projects a month for that. That seems to be a more manageable number of projects for me.
I had to take Max in to get a shave. He was just so full of knots and he hates to let me try and get them out. So now he looks just a tad goofy, but even more like a lion with a mane.

My sister and I had a couple of Niki and Rocky's friends over for a cook out last Friday. I really love that her friends like us and enjoy hanging out with us even when they are not here. I even played a bean bag game and enjoyed myself. Yes, I am stepping out of my box and doing, even if I think I will do horrible. And I am surprising myself by not doing so bad! I guess that is about it for now. I will leave you with my latest layout I created for Digi Dare #147

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Thanks for stopping and commenting. I love reading your comments!

Jessica Sprague ROCKS!

2009-07-08T17:49:00.004-05:00

I signed up for Jessica Sprague's new free class Photo Editing: Frame-Ups and Special Effects. The first 2 days, I was just a tad disappointed, thinking well gosh, I know this. So today, I went and watched the first videos and then after a reference in one of them to the set-up video, (which I truly did not think I needed to watch, hehehe), I went and watched that one too, and I learned something from each and every one! OK, so far so good, and I am feeling a little sheepish. I am pleased I learned something and ready to tackle the next one. If I learn nothing else, lesson 3 was enough to keep me happy for weeks! I totally loved it and not only made an awesome photo, but I used it for something a little different to. So, after this class is over, and I have saved for a couple of weeks, I am now going to sign up for the other class she offers on photo editing. I LOVE learning these things and being able to make my photos do what I want. Let me show you what I did today.

Here is my first photo, before and after. I just love the new look!

Now for this other photo. Outside our apartment is this sign. And one night, when I couldn't sleep, and I was sitting outside all by myself, it just reminded me of all those scary movies with the vacancy signs out front. And I kinda got a little chill, because truly, it could be used for just such a movie. But you know, just taking a picture of it, in broad daylight doesn't convey what I was seeing in my mind. Well, after this tut and a frame from Paislee Press, and viola! I think it gets the feeling across perfectly! And now I can almost start work on a page about this sign out front. All I need is to find some kits from my stash to work with, lol. So, anyway, here is the before and after of this one. I felt so good to be able to take something I had learned and use it for something else.

I have added a link to her site on the side bar. Check it out, it's a fabulous place to learn. She also posts on her blog every Friday with tuts in Photoshop and has lots of free tuts and items to go along with it.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping!

Long Distance House Hunting

2009-07-06T15:56:00.005-05:00

I am house hunting. Not for myself, but for my daughter and her husband. They are in Iraq right now, and they were planning on waiting until they returned next February to buy a house, but they want the tax credit and we aren't sure if it will still be available when they return. I am still not sure if I am really all into this. I don't mind doing it, I have been to a few houses now and I kind of like looking and doing the leg work for them. The thing that makes me a little leery is telling them that yes, I think you will like this house, put an offer in for it. I mean, what if they come home and totally hate it? I would feel horrible!

Don't get me wrong, it's not like they have no idea what I am looking at. They look online and find ones they think they might like, then I go and look at it. I take tons of photos, ask tons of questions, and then go home, upload the photos, and wait to hear back from them. I think by the time we are finished, the realtor is going to hate hearing from me, lol. And then, if I can, I get my sister to go back and look at it with me, and sometimes even my Mom if she is here in town. And then I IM with my daughter and I go back with a ton more questions and another list of photos to take. I am thinking at this point that maybe I should make sure the place they eventually get as a mother-in law place. After all, I am doing all the work, I should get something out of it don't you think?

I hope everyone in the States had a great 4th. Me, I did absolutely nothing. Stayed in pretty much, and I didn't even go out for the fireworks. I just wasn't in the mood to deal with all those people. I did however get some pages scrapped. I surfed around the different sites and had fun creating pages for challenges I liked and using non CT items. Sometimes, it's just good to scrap. Of course, I scrap for myself even with the designs from the CTs I am on. That is what it is about for me. I have never understood why people create pages using stock photos, unless it's for something you are creating a page about that you don't have a photo for, like a thing...not a person. Don't get me wrong, I think those pages are stunning, but when it starts to make me feel insuperior, I just remind myself that my pages are just great and I get enough satisfaction using my own photos. And I am forever trying to better my photography skills, but I still feel mediocre sometimes when I see these other pages.

Which brings me to my next thought. I am thinking about maybe taking some photography classes. But they are hard to find unless you are working on a degree. Do I want to do that? Will all that other knowledge in all the other classes really help me in the long run? Because really, all I want to know is how to take better candid shots. I have always told myself that it's all in just taking the photos, LOTS of them, to get those good shots. But, I sometimes forget to just keep shooting. Will these classes improve me in anything I really want improvement in? I don't plan on going into the business of photography. At least not at this moment. It sometimes crosses my mind though. And I am starting to take photos in RAW format now. My family thinks I am good. I see photographer's photos, the ones that get paid for it, and mine are not even in the same class. Sigh, must be an introspective day today.

I had my second interview today for a job. I think it went pretty well. Now all I have to do is wait for the phone call. Which I hate. What happened to the days of going in, them liking you, and saying, ok, you have a job you start tomorrow? Things like that makes yearn for the simpler times. But then, I would have this cool thing called the internet!

Today I leave you with the pages I did this weekend. And my desktop for the month. Have a great week everyone! and remember, to see credits, just click on the number under each one.

A little story...

2009-06-18T14:16:00.001-05:00

I posted a page the other day that I had done about a pose I get from my daughter when she is tired of me taking photos and I got a few comments about how familiar that is, or how they usually get an arm or hand in front of the face, or even a whole body turn. So let me tell you a little story.

All kids get to that age I think, when they start doing this. And back in the day, when my daughter was younger, we only had film cameras, and I got tired of wasting my film on these horrible photos. So, I stopped taking pictures of her.

And one day, as we are looking through photos, she says to me, "How come there are none of me?" To which I replied, "You always cover your face when I try and take a pic, so I stopped trying to take them of you."

Would you believe that suddenly there was no more of that?? Yes, I still get the tongue sticking out, or goofy faces, or whatever she has planned for me, but now, and specially since digital, I can just keep snapping away and eventually I will get a good one. And I also scrap those not so great ones too!

And really, I do believe they grow out of that faze...until they become adults that is, and we never like our photos taken do we?? Which, if you think about it...if you set a good example and put yourself in front of the camera more often maybe they wont mind so much, plus...your family will get to see you without the camera in front of your face!

Just some food for thought...

Have a great weekend!

It's the Middle of June...

2009-06-17T11:02:00.004-05:00

...and it still is not summer around here! My daughter keeps telling me not to complain. She is in heat that melts...her words, lol. And she says to me, "and if you were in this hot of weather, you would be grumpy. I seem to recall a trip to South Carolina....mean mom!" Hahaha...I guess I have to agree with her, up to a point. When she graduated boot camp, we drove down to South Carolina for the ceremony. Yes, it was hot and humid and I was a tad bit grumpy. We went to her barracks, which was not air conditioned, and she was stopping every time we turned around to say goodbye to the people she had made friends with. I finally said, can we please just go?? That is why she called me a mean mom, I wouldn't let her say goodbye to all her friends. But that was a horrible time in my life, I was 8 years younger, my body had done an about face on me...I was a total bitch when I got hot, and I had on the most uncomfortable shoes! She will never let me forget that, lol. Plus earlier that day at the ungodly hour of 6 AM, we were at the stands waiting for the ceremony to begin and I fell going up the bleachers. Yes, you read that right. I am not one who falls DOWN the stairs or whatever, I always fall going up!

Anyway, I am a little older now, my body seems to be changing again, and I am wanting it to be sunny and in the 80s or 90s. I can do without the humidity, but that comes with it around here. As long as I have air, I am good to go! You know, even just a couple years ago, as soon as it hit 50 degrees in the spring, I was opening up windows and heading outside without a jacket. This year? I am cold when it is only in the 60's, lol. And I am NOT opening windows or going outside without a light jacket. So, I am either getting old...not possible, hehehe...or my body is just going through a change again, just because it can! I mean really, I was only 35 when it went through that first change. And I am craving warmer weather. Florida is looking better and better to me...and don't ask my daughter about the family trip we had down there, oh...close to the same time she graduated boot camp...can we say bug-eyed, sweaty monster?? And lesson learned...never share a hotel room with my sister. I do like to think that I have grown some since then...I can share a suite with her now, lol.

Hmmm, let's see, project 365...not doing so great on that lately. However, I am not going to let that stop me. I will be plugging along and not berating myself for days missed. But some days it is hard to think of something to take a pic of. I was happily taking photos of the 5 cats that allow us to live with them, when someone (who shall remain nameless) said to me, you need to stop taking pics of the cats, or people are going to think you are an old cat lady. Pffft!! I happen to think the antics of said cats are hilarious sometimes and I like to get that down. But I really don't want people to see me as a cat lady....so I am trying to take other things too. But what is a person to do when you live mostly alone with 5 cats? My sister is here, but she works like 60 hours a week and soooo hates me to take pictures of her..like anyone does really. So most of the time, it is just me and the cats. Hmmm, maybe I need to get out more?

I have actually been doing pretty good with my layouts and stuff. I was getting behind, so I decided to quit quite a few of my CTs. And that was prompted by actually being let go from one of my favorite sites because I wasn't doing as much as I should. I was on the hybrid team there, and just couldn't keep up. So it was a good thing really, and I am feeling less stressed and having more fun making my pages. I did however get on the CT of The Daily Scrapper and had my first items and instructions published this month! You can see them here, I did the boy party stuff and the birthday board book. What a thrill that was! There are tons of other things in this issue, so check out the whole thing while you are there.

I will end things here with a few layouts I have done recently. As usual, you can click the number under each one for credits.

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Thanks for stopping by!! Have a great week!

{inter}national Scrapbook Day!!

2009-05-02T10:32:00.004-05:00

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog! You are aboard the Scrapmatters Blog train and should have come from Kari's blog and after you pick up your freebie here you will head on over to Heather's blog.

Our theme is My Idea of Paradise and for me that one is easy! It doesn't matter where it is as long as I am surrounded by family. That puts me in paradise. It can be just one family member or the whole brood with extended family. We always have fun, laugh, giggle, cry, and love one another. We get on these giggling jags when something strikes any one of us as funny and we all start in and can't stop. Sometimes we giggle and laugh so hard we cry. And the men in our lives just look at us and smile. And sometimes they get in on the fun, like when there is THE pile up!

Whenever I see these layouts, I see love, fun, and laughter.

We all love to go and see places and sometimes takes trips together which is even better. There is ribbing on each other, jokes, lots of walking together and swimming, and whatever else we all decide to do while away from home. My Mom, sisters, nieces, and daughter all live relatively close still and we get together as often as possible. Sometimes it's just a day out shopping around town, but to me it is paradise!

OK, enough of my rambling, I could go on and on about this, lol. But you came here for a freebie and here it is! Just click on the image to get the download. And have a great weekend! And don't forget all the sales and speed scraps going at Scrapmatters today! See ya there!

And now for the reason

2009-05-01T11:09:00.006-05:00

I couldn't say before why I was so sad because my daughter and son in law were traveling with their unit to Iraq and we aren't supposed to advertise the fact that they are traveling there. But they are safely down on the ground now and starting their year there. I am not sure exactly why it is hitting me so much, they have been in Texas preparing to leave since late February. I guess it is the fact that I won't be able to talk to her on the phone as much and just knowing that they are no longer in the states and could run into trouble at any time. I have been through this before as this is their second tour, but the first days are always hard for me. I get through them, but right now inside, I am just so sad. I am keeping myself busy and that puts it at bay until a stray thought pops in, and then I do my best and pray, and it passes.

It also saddens me that for a whole year I won't have any pics to scrap of them. Weird thought process I know, but its just one of the many little every day things that pops into my head. But I am hoping that this tour they send me more photos while they are there and I won't have to wait till they get home. She seems to have a block when it comes to sending me photos. Just this past week I finally got her to send me a photo I took for my project 365 using her camera, from February. I forgot to put it on my computer before she left. I asked her quite a few times to please send it to me and finally last week she finally did, and this was the subject title...Here woman....now leave me alone. Gotta love her! And remembering the little things like that, always puts a smile on my face and makes me feel better. So, onto other things.

My Mom returned yesterday from her trip to Florida. She had a great time and is thinking of buying a house and moving there. Her Mom, my grandma, and two of her sisters live there and she loved seeing them and doing things with them. She also loved being able to just sit outside and read or whatever. It's still too cold to do that here except for the occasional warm one that comes around to tease us. Then we open all the windows and let the fresh breeze come in and blow out winter. I will be following my Mom down there sometime in the not too distant future. I don't mind the winter, I just hate that it is 9 freakin months long! And as much as I don't really enjoy the thought of her being so far away, I know she will like it so much better. But give me a couple years and I will be there with her!

The festivities have started at Scrapmatters! It's {inter}NSD weekend! I am so excited to check out all the challenges and goodies and sales going on! Here is the link to take you to the forum where a couple challenges and games ahve already started. And don't forget about all the speed scraps going on this weekend. OH, and be sure to come back tomorrow for the blog train!! You won't want to miss this one!

My picture from yesterday. The photo prompt challenge #14 at Weeds and Wildflowers was to snap a photo that represents love to you. Something that shows how love is expressed. I thought about this and the first thing that popped into my mind was AIM. With AIM, you can put a little message that shows up along with your name. And in our family, it has become just one of the ways I see love being expressed. We go back and forth, changing the sentences and ribbing each other, or sending out bday messages or just have a little fun with each other. No one else knows what the heck is going on, but we do, lol. And I LOVE it! Even my Mom is online and some days, the little barbs going back and forth between her and my daughter have me rolling. Then there is the added plus of being able to chat with each other daily. So it's not really a photo, but a screen shot of what that looks like.

And a few pages I can post now. This first one I did for the Grand Theft challenge at SM. It was so much fun lifting Christy and the subject I chose to scrap was just as fun!

This next one I did for Akiloune Designs. She had a one kit call and allowed me to play with this fantastic kit, Coccinelles. It was the perfect colors to do another wedding page for my daughter. The photo was taken by Luann Dibbs.

And this last one I did because I was feeling blue and I found this fun pic to scrap of my daughter.

With that I am off to do some scrapping and surfing for some great deals. Have a fantabulous weekend!

Sad Today

2009-04-29T12:47:00.008-05:00

I am really bumming today, but I really can't say the reason right now. But those of you that know what is going on, can probably guess the reason. I just needed to get that out there. I will touch more on that in a couple days. So, lets get my mind off this and onto something else.

I did 2 weeks of pages for my project 365, woohoo!! I found out that Weeds and Wildflowers does a bimonthly incentive to help you stay on track and get your pages done, so I will hopefully continue with them now and get caught up with past weeks. Gina is just awesome for doing that! As I do the weeks I haven't done yet, I will post them. Here are the ones I just got done.

And lets see, I am behind on posting my daily pics, so here are the past few days of those.

Part of my daughter's DVD collection

We had a couple warmer days, and then some rain. Then POOF! we had green all around.

I finally got a MP3 player. Not an Ipod, but I decided for what I would use it for, this was just fine.

As I said, a few days of rain, and today the sun came out.

Now I am also caught up on that, lol. Last post, I mentioned Scrapmatters and the sale for NSD and promised I would link you up to things going on this weekend. First, make sure you sign up for the Queen of Scrap challenge that will be going on all month, starting May first. You could win a guest spot on the SM CT!! How cool is that? Go here to check it out and sign up. Then there is a TON of speed scraps going on all weekend. With the amount they have planned, you should be able to attend at least one. Go here to see the schedule and put them down on your calendar. I plan on checking out at least a couple of them, so I hope to see you there!

I am sure my niece will just kill me for this, but she got her first period this week! That is always such a milestone in a young girls life. We wait patiently for it to happen, and then once it does, we wait patiently for them to stop. Or in my case, I waited rather INpatiently, lol. Then she also got her braces on yesterday. Remember those times?? I do, barely, lol. She is growing up so fast! I will surely miss all these little and big milestones once Mantha reaches them and we are done with those kinds of things. We have a few years to wait on her, thank goodness! And as I write this, I am thinking I bet my daughter is so happy that I wasn't a blogger when these things happened to her! I think I will close today's post with a couple more layouts I finished. I hope you are all having a great week so far!!

A Little Taste...

2009-04-25T14:21:00.012-05:00

...of summer the past couple of days. And while I totally enjoyed it, I just need to state here and now, "I HATE bees and wasps!" And with the warm weather the past couple of days, they came out in force. I am not sure where there is a hive around here, I am pretty sure there is because the wasps are horrible here. And I mean horrible!! I have never seen so many in one area. I opened my patio door in the bedroom on Thursday, and killed my first one because it was inside the screen, and 1.) I DON'T want them flying around in the house and 2.) I don't want the cats to chase them and get stung. So, it died. The second one met an untimely death because, well, it landed too close to me when I was outside, lol. And the third, because it decided to follow my sister and me into the house. Normally, as long as they stay away from me I am fine, but these things are all around and way tooo close for my comfort. Yesterday I opened up the whole house as it reached a very warm 89 degress, woohoo!! And all wasps managed to live, although there were plenty buzzing around the front windows, driving the cats crazy. I have a feeling this summer is going to be a battle between them and me. And today and the rest of the weekend, we are back in the 40's and wet and chilly. I am waiting not so patiently for summer to get here and stay. Then I can start to complain about the hot and humid weather, lol.

My picture from yesterday.

I am trying different ways to show them to you, and today I am following a little bit how Gabs showcases hers. And if you haven't been following Gabs, you should! She has been taking some awesome photos AND keeping up with her daily pages!!

I am going put this here in the middle of my post because for those of us that scrap, NSD is coming up next weekend and I need to tell you about a sale going on at Scrapmatters. Be sure to check back next weekend when we will start the blog train and festivities and I will link you up to what I can.

I talked to Niki for a little bit yesterday on the phone and in IM. They are gearing up for the move to Iraq soon. She was standing in line yesterday for another shot for something or another. She always seems to call me when she is standing in line somewhere and bored, lol. But I will take the phone calls any way I get them. She is team leader and has a few soldiers under her, and so she is now dealing with having to reprimand when someone does something wrong. Something that is new for her this time around. I know she will be a great leader.

And last but not least today, a couple pages. Oh, I forgot to mention that I am participating in the SUTUCS contest that has been going on. Been having lots of fun making pages for the challenges on that. And once it is done, I will show all my pages from that. But here are a few from April so far.

And that reminds me, I have set another goal for myself for the rest of the year. I really want to get a page a day done but I have to be realistic, so I am going to start with getting 4 a week done. I have been averaging 3 a week this month, so for next month, I want to move it up to 4. I will stick with that for a few months until I manage to do that. I may not get past that, and that is fine. I am keeping it real, lol.

And now I am off to start on a page. Have a great scrapping weekend!

Making it a habit...

2009-04-23T12:14:00.004-05:00

Since moving to my daughter's home, taking care of 5 cats, and my DD and DSIL are away from home for the next year, I decided there were some things I wanted to change about my life or habits and figured this would be a good time. Some things I am doing very good with, such as cleaning the litter boxes every day. You kind of have to with that many cats or else your house will start to smell like cats, lol. I also wanted to get in the habit of doing up dishes before I had a sink full and no more cups to use, lol. I have been doing good with that too. Of course, having a dishwasher sure does help! I wanted to get in the habit of doing laundry every week instead of just when I really need some clean clothes to wear. Can you tell I am a horrible house keeper?? I have been doing great with that too. So I am well on my way to making these things that I have to think about and make myself do, into a habit. Something that comes naturally to me and will do without thinking about it. I am on my way and feel good!

However, there are still some things that I really need to work on to get myself started. Like blogging every day, scrapping my project 365 photos, and losing my tummy. I am doing pretty good taking pictures, just not scrapping them or posting them here. To help with that, I am may be posting the day before pics instead of that days, since sometimes I don't get around to taking them until much later in the day. Having said that, I hope I won't worry about not having a photo to post from that day and just go ahead and blog. Which will in turn help me to blog every day. My DD said to me the other day, "Mom, you haven't posted anything since January!" That made me realize how horrible I was doing. And part of that may be the fact that they haven't left the country yet and I can talk to her on the phone still. But they will be leaving soon and via the computer will be the major way I will communicate with them, with a phone call thrown in every now and again.

A few weeks ago I went out and bought some sweat shorts and sports bras to start working out in. I have a plan on how to lose my stomach and get toned up and lose about 20 pounds or so. Have I started it yet?? Nope. So, while I have been doing great on some things, there are still things I need to concentrate on. Will I do them?? YES!!! Starting today. I am posting on my blog, even though Fez is making it a little difficult by sitting on my lap and right in front of the keyboard, hanging his head over one arm, lol. And I have a couple pics today, even one from today. Days 112 and 113.

The lamp on the big screen TV in the living room went out and after one being shipped to us broke, many irate phone calls and 4 weeks later...we finally got a new lamp for the TV and can watch it again!!

When we go outside, whether the front or the back there is usually one or more cats watching and waiting for their chance to get out. They try, and sometimes make it, but not for long,lol. We chase them back into the house. But they always make their presence known, lol.

I have a couple pages to show you also. I created my first ever kind of scene. I am not totally happy with it, but think it turned out pretty good for a first attempt. And then I scrapped a page about my nieces birthday last year. I used the fab kit Vintage by Soval at Scrapmalin.

And that is it for me for now. Have a great day!!

Technology amazes me yet again...

2009-01-19T11:16:00.004-06:00

The other day I was watching Life on Mars. My daughter has most of them saved on her DVR. It's about this man who gets hit by a car and is transported back to 1973. And as I watch this, I see how much things have changed, and in all reality, in such a short period of time. In the police station where this guys works, they show a policewoman who really is more of a glorified secretary than anything at that time, using a mimeograph machine to make copies. And how old am I to even KNOW that is what she was using? There are no computers in the station, no cell phones, and all the other things we pretty much take for granted in this day and age. And that was only 30 years ago! How awesome is that? They now have women on the police force that are police officers, not someone they call on when they need a caring ear when they have to tell someone a loved one is gone or to make copies.

I have always loved history, and if you really sit and think about all the things we have in our lives now that our parents and grandparents didn't have, it just truly amazes. But what really prompted this is my day 18 picture. But first I must show day 17...

Friday after being cooped up inside for days with the below zero weather, I needed to get out, and I had found a camera shop in LaCrosse and they had a battery charger for my Canon DSLR, so my sister and I headed out to get it. This is a shot of downtown LaCrosse. Kinda pretty isn't it? I like when cities try and keep the old buildings and use them and keep the downtown area so interesting. I could probably spend a whole day down there checking out all the little shops, which I will do once the weather is nicer.

Day 18

OK, when I first took this picture I thought well that didn't turn out so great, but the more I looked at it, the more I like it. So, why did I take this? I went with my sister last night to Sloopy's while they threw darts. Now this is not the first time I have been there, but it was the first time I really looked at the juke box. It's hard to read here, but at the top it says, Internet Jukebox. How cool is that?? You can pick from 1,000's of songs now! I just thought that was amazing and very cool. Can ya tell I don't hang out at bars all that much? I don't know how common that is to have a juke box like that, but it was very new to me, lol.

And day 19

SO, moving to my daughter's house to take care of her 3 cats and bringing my own 2 in the mix, we knew we were going to have some not too happy cats. I have to say it hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be. A few little skirmishes, and still a little growling and hissing, but this morning 2 of her cats and 1 of mine decided to finally let things go so they could share a saucer of milk. And if any of them want any they have to share because Dori, the tabby one, will drink it all up if you don't get your little tongue in there, lol.

Now onto my layout for ADSR #4 challenge 4. I had a lot of fun with this one and used stuff on my hard drive I forgot I had. It was supposed to be a little arty and journaling from the soul. Something that is important to you or you want others to know, heartfelt. I really liked how it turned out.

I finally got the chance to upload my January Desktop. I love how it turned out. I used Winter Magic by Jule Designs at The Digi Chick. You can find it here. I used one of my favorite pictures from Rocky's birthday last year. Oh, and Happy Birthday Rocky!!

That's all I have for today. Have a great day!

I am back, project 365 and ADSR

2009-01-16T14:30:00.015-06:00

This is going to be a long post...

Man, what I thought would be an easy thing once I got to my daughter's house turned out not to be. I figured all I would need to do was plug in my computer and I would be set and connecting to the wireless internet here. Not so!! I thought my computer already had a wireless set up, and it didn't. I went to the store and got a card to put inside my computer. Now this is an easy thing for me to do. I have changed out hard drives, put in more memory, replaced CD drives and so on in my time since I started using computers about 10 years ago. I opened up my computer, which by the way companies have made easier for us to do. Figured out where the card had to go, but it wouldn't fit! ARGH!!!

So off I go back to the store and find out I have an express CPI or whatever slot on my computer, so the guy suggests a USB wireless connector. That was easy to do. I am all set to go, or so I thought. It kept connecting to the wireless but with limited access..which meant I couldn't get online. Now what does it matter that it is connected if I can't get ONLINE?!

I call the internet company. And after trying a few things, the lady tells me, it must be your connector. Maybe you got a bad one. So I resign myself to waiting until the next day to go back to the store and get another one. In the mean time, my SIL is trying to connect on his laptop and is getting the same thing. (obviously NOT my connector). SO when he calls, they decide to send someone to check it out. Now I already had someone coming to connect another DVR to the TV upstairs so we figured we would wait and see what he could do, if we were lucky enough to get someone that knew about the wireless connections.

We lucked out, he knew how to check and do things with that also. And I ended up not getting another DVR, he talked me out of it, lol, by showing me how to connect my VCR so I could record things and not have to disconnect my daughter's DVD player. This very nice guy spent about an hour here, trying to get it working. Still no go but he determines that maybe the router needs to be changed and he doesn't have one, so he sets another appointment for someone to come out and replace that. So we wait another few days for this guy to come out.

He comes out and says, "but one of your computers is connected to the network so its not the router, let me see what I can do." And then he proceeds to do EVERYTHING the guy from the other day did...except he didn't have the CD to install the USB connector to my computer, so he decides he will come back on Friday with the CD and do that. Mind you, the other guy already tried this...but does he listen to me?? Oh and while talking to the tech guy on the phone he says, "she tried installing a card, but she did that herself." EXCUSE ME?!!! I wanted to pound that guy into the ground! Like I didn't know what I was doing, the jerk! OK, I am calm, and tell the guy all that was already done..but we must wait. WHY can't they send out the same person that was here the first time?? After telling the guy that I KNOW what I am doing, he tries to mollify me and tells me that if he can't get the USB connection to work, he will send out the tech guy the next day. So now I am waiting over the weekend for him to come back out and try it himself.

It's monday and after 12 and still no one. On the phone to the cable company again. They inform me that I have no appointment scheduled. GRRRRR! They will send out someone tomorrow. OK, I am calm....I am calm...I am calm. And a new guy comes out the next day and does the EXACT same things the first 2 guys did. I am calm...calm...calm...and he can't get it to work either. NOT so calm any more!! But what can I do, I can't get mad at this nice man who came out. He was here for over an hour trying to make it connect. And FINALLY, he makes an appointment for a tech guy to come out. I have been thinking that every time they wanted to send out another installer...just get me a tech guy!!

The tech guy comes out and hallelujah he gets it to work!! Then he says, but you only have one bar showing, did they replace the router? Nope. Well, why the heck not, you would think they would have at least tried that. And this wonderful man not only got me connected but he had ALL the supplies he needed to do so and another router and he replaced the old one and now I am connected at almost 100%! And so is my daughter's computer. I am happy.... And to show you how excited I was here is day 14...

see, I have yahoo and AIM and I am connected to them!!

I have decided to go with project 365 this year. Not a self portrait but just a photo a day. I have been doing pretty good so far. I started late, and so I missed a few days. I cheated and went back and took a few extra photos of things I wanted for the the first couple of days and I am still missing day 8 I think,but I am caught up. Will I keep it up? I hope so, and this will give me an incentive to post on my blog every day. I can at least post my photo of the day and a little journaling so when I go to do layouts I won't forget anything. I am not going to go back and post all of them so far, but I do have a couple a want to share and then today's.

Day 10

My daughter took me to see Twilight on my birthday, the 6th. LOVED it and since she had just finished reading the books, she let me read them. By the 10th I was done and want to go back and see the movie again. Awesome series! And yes, I love Edward, lol. I have to say, I have never seen her so happy to go and see a movie. She had already seen it once, and I swear, she was skipping to the theatre with this huge happy smile on her face telling me to hurry up.

Day 13

I woke up after the 4 inches of snow we had the night before, looked at my car, and thought, "Seriously?!" I can't believe the guy who plows the parking lot for the apartments did this. I mean, really, the snow is up and ON my bumper!

And here is today's photo
Day 16

OK, this photo I had to take after I had gone out for a smoke and came back and made this comment to Kate. "Ya know, Mother Nature has a wicked sense of humor. It is a beautifully bright, clear, crisp looking day. The sun is shining brilliantly just inviting you to come out and play. And when I go in the garage to have a smoke, it calls to me to open the door and enjoy the sunshine. So I do, and then the -22 degrees slam into to you, actually slaps you in the face and takes your breath away. And I can hear her, Mother Nature, laughing at me." She said, OMG, you need to use that on a layout...so I shall, lol.

And now I come to ADSR 4. This is the first time I have played in this and so far it has been loads of fun. It has been hard for me to get the pages uploaded, but I did it and we are doing pretty good so far. I am working on challenge 4 at the moment. But I wanted to share the first 3 we have done so far.

Challenge #1 We had to tear a photo into 3 pieces. I tried doing this on my own and I think it turned out ok. Love the layout tho. This is not the one I put in the ADSR gallery, I can't find that one at the moment, but basically I had to change the 3 tears to make it look like there was 3 pieces.

An aside here, I am taking a page from Gabs blog and numbering my layouts starting with this year so I know how many I did at the end of the year. Thanks for the idea Gabs! And also,by clicking on the number it will take you to DST where you will find credits. (something else Gabs does, lol.)

Challenge # 2 was a layout we both had to work on. We had to redo the middle photo to make it one photo to go along with the rules. We could only use 8 elements which was very hard for both of us to do. We thought it was very plain...but we liked it.

Challenge #2
We had to redo the first layout posted in a gallery. I went with my gallery at SBB. Not only was it the first layout in the gallery, it was my first digital layout. We could not change any of the words and we had to use the same photos. I like the original which is here, but I do really like the new one too.

And finally, that is all from me for today. I am all caught up on this at least, lol. Lots more to get caught up on. Have a great day!

Organized? What's That??

2008-12-02T14:40:00.002-06:00

I am so unorganized! And I so need to get that way soon, or I will be wondering where the heck the time went. I haven't packed a darn thing since last time and I am just not in the mood to do any of it. So today I makinga To Do list and breaking it down into little steps and hopefully keep on track so I am not freaking out in 3 weeks. I also have lots more to do on the gifts I am making this year so that will go on the list also. Other than that, I have not much going on right now. So this will be a short little post and I leave you with my latest layout I did for the template challenge at ScrapMatters. It's a wonderful template and I am sure I will use it again and again. You can find all the info here.

Another Blog Train!

2008-11-28T05:00:00.001-06:00

Good Morning! And welcome to Wisconsin! Today is the day, and you won't want to miss one stop on this here train...it is chock full of some amazing holiday printables! Everyone has worked hard to bring you some amazing stuff, so when you visit the blogs and start downloading, don't forget to leave some thanks.

Before I tell you one of my favorite Christmas traditions, I want to remind you of the Black Friday Sale going on at Scrap Matters. After you have all the freebies be sure and check out the shop. Image is linked to the ScrapMatters shop.

One of my favorite things every Christmas is the stockings. I have loved digging into those every year. Always something small and fun inside and always in the toe is an orange. And even now, at 45 y/o I still love it! After our individual families have had their Christmas morning, we head over to my Mom's for the day. And she has the stockings lined up in front of the tree, in front off the presents. Each one geared for the recipient. Mine is a snowman design because I like them, my SIL's a Camouflage design because he is a hunter, and so on. And yes, my Mom makes them up for everyone! So as everyone starts arriving, there are now 8 stockings lined up, waiting for everyone to arrive and get situated, so we can dive in, lol.

And in our house, it wouldn't be complete without a few pairs of underwear stuffed inside. One year she decided not to put that in there, and we were all just a tad disappointed, and the following year, they were back, lol. Sometimes a necklace or ear rings, a CD, some body soap, all sorts of fun little treats to be found inside those stockings, which is why I think I have always loved them so much. And yes, we also make one up for my Mom, lest you think us heartless, lol.

OK, ok, you came here for a freebie huh?? So I will get to it. I have a couple treat toppers, and cone shaped ornament or treat holders for you. The treat toppers I think you all know what to do with...print 'em out and fold and staple onto a baggie filled with treats. The cone ornaments, and I am so sorry I don't have a completed one yet to show you, but print them up, shape them into a cone and adhere closed along the edge. I like to put ribbon or wire hangers atached to the top on the sides and maybe a little jingle bell or tassle hanging from the bottom, and then you can fill them with treats and hang them. Or you can fill with some stuffing and have some sort of decoration coming out the top. I have one I left plain for you to add all sorts of scrap supplies to the outside. Some tags, or brads, bling, whatever suits your fancy! And then you hang them on the tree as ornaments. Sometime today or tomorrow I will have finished making mine up and will take photos and post them here. I hope to anyway. I have had the hardest time finding matte photo paper to print them on. Still haven't found any yet, but I have decided to just try using something else for now. Yeah, yeah, I am in a 'talkative' mood today, lol....so finally, thanks for hanging in with me, here it is. Just click on the image to download. And thanks for stopping by! I hope your Thanksgiving was fab!

Next up on the train is Kim and you can find her post at the following link.
http://kimbytx.blogspot.com/

And if you missed anyone, you can check back at the ScrapMatters Blog.
And remember everyone is in different time zones, so if they haven't posted yet, just check back a little later. Have a great weekend!!

A Challenge Between Friends

2008-11-24T08:03:00.003-06:00

My friend Kate has decided to challenge herself, and asked me if I wanted to join in on it, and I jumped at it. We are both on a few CTs and most of our layouts use the products just from them, which is not a bad thing, but we also find lots of freebies and still purchase kits from other designers and those kits tend to sit on our hard drives gathering dust. So our challenge to ourselves is every day we scrap and do layouts or whatever for CTs, we are going to also make something using a freebie or a kit we have purchased. We started yesterday and we each met our challenge. Go us!! I can't post my CT stuff that I worked on yesterday, for that you will have to come back on Friday, as it will be a freebie! I can post my non-CT layout, which is also going to be a calendar topper for the one I am making for my family this year. This one is Januarys. Two down, 10 to go, lol. And if you'd like to check out the beautiful layouts Kate did, check out her blog, Life In My Zoo. Image is linked for credits.

I woke up this morning to see the trees all covered in white. Our first real snow of the year! I always love the first snow, the first real blizzard/storm, and of course I always hope for snow on Christmas, although that doesn't always happen. But right now, the traffic is muted, and during the night the snow has covered everything in a white blanket. Unfortunately I am assuming it will all be gone by Wednesday evening, when I have decided to go out and take some pics of the lights downtown. And I will only be doing that if I can find my charger for my camera battery. It HAS to be around here somewhere. I am hoping anyway, because it's around $60.00 to replace it and I want to be positive it's not here before I go out and spend that much money. I could always use my point and shoot camera, it does fit on the tripod and I can go manual with it, but I know how to work my DSLR and I like using that for playing and trying new things. And the big plus is I have a remote for it, so I don't have to set it up and then run to get in place for the ones I want to be in, lol.

Have you ever been to the Photo JoJo site? It's a fun and informative blog with info about taking pictures, setting up a mini studio, and everything in between. My favorite so far is how to make an extender that is light and folds up, so I can put my camera up high and take a shot looking down on something. I have yet to it but it's on my list of things to do. First on my list is to put together the mini studio. I have been making quite a few hybrid things lately, and trying to get good photos in my home is next to impossible. At least I don't like them and I want to be able to show them off to the best. So, if I don't have to go and get a new charger, I am going to get the supplies for that and have my b/f help me construct it. Hopefully I will have that done by the end of December, if not sooner. Oh, and that just reminded me of something I NEED to put on my Christmas list for this year. Now I just have to find out what it is called, but it is that tripod thingy that can wrap around anything so I can carry it around and take a photo anywhere! Guess it is time for me to check out Photo JoJo and find out what it is called, lol.

Hope everyone has a great week!

Some gifts

2008-11-20T12:50:00.005-06:00

I have a couple things to show you today. I have been busy creating gifts for the family as you know. I am working on a book/journal/album for my niece. I will probably do that same for my other niece. Can't do one and not the other, lol. I was planning on doing something different for each one, but then thought, what if the other one likes what the other got better? So, I am going to make the same things. Just different color schemes.

Here are a couple pics of what I have done so far. I got the idea and the ring binder mechanism from Janet Hopkins on her blog It's All in the Details. So far I have used kits from Alma Townsend for this one. Pretty Birdy, Awesome You, and Brighter Tomorrows.

The other items I made are posted on the ScrapMatters Blog for the reNEWit project. It's a sort of altered book, but just the outside. I will post one of the pics here, and you can check out the instructions at ScrapMatters Blog here. There are 2 different types I did. Two more gifts done! Hope you enjoy these ideas today. All are actually quite easy to do and the altered book frames only took me a night to do. The other book is even better! So be sure to check it out!

Have a great day!

I am so excited!!

2008-11-18T09:15:00.004-06:00

This morning is all about scrapping! And I am just so excited! Why? Well, because my name is up in lights! So to speak anyway, lol. Last month I made a little luggage tag album for Kelley Mickus to go along with her collab Zoom, Zoom, Zoom. I was just making it as a freebie for her to go with her grand re-opening, but she put it in her shop too! How awesome is that?

And then late last month I got on Dianne Rigdon's CT, and I just finished up making a Thanksgiving hybrid project with her new kit Well Worn, which is awesome by the way! And it is in the shop today! I am just so beside myself with pride...that is allowed isn't it?? Of course, they both did all the hard work creating the gorgeous kits, and Dianne had the templates for some of the stuff, like the fry box, so all I had to do was have fun playing with it all. But it is just so exciting seeing your name along with their's. So, ya wanna see? Gonna show you anyway, lol. Images are linked to the products.

And, the Well Worn Thanksgiving Hybrid kit is on sale, so get it now and decorate your table this Thanksgiving. I am going to print them out and let my nieces put them together and write the names on the place cards. And I think maybe a couple of the fry boxes, so the families can write things they are thankful for on the cards, and add to them through out the year. And of course, they will love doing the napkin rings.

And now I have another layout I did yesterday too. I used Kiki Halbert Designs, Amethyst Nights. It has some awesome, gorgeous, deep purple papers with lots of texture. And since purple is one of my nieces favorite color, it was perfect to do a page about her birthday earlier this year. She was just so embarrassed when everyone sang to her in the restaurant.

Love the expression on her face! And that is it for today. Or I may come back, who knows, lol. Back to packing and purging. Have a great day!

Oh, and make sure you check back on Thursday, I have an awesome hybrid project to share with you all that makes a wonderful gift!

Small boxes, Fish Fry and Mozzarella Sticks

2008-11-17T00:42:00.005-06:00

I actually got some packing done today. I hate packing. It's worse than getting dental work done for me. But this time I promised myself, I am NOT waiting till the last minute and then running around like a chicken with it's head cut off. Have you ever wondered where that saying comes from? Do chickens really run around after their heads are cut off? Anyway, back to the packing. After many times going through this, and people complaining that I pack my boxes too heavy, I have learned to start out with smaller boxes. But it seems even that does not help, lol. I have been packing my books, craft books, and scrapping and misc specialty soft covers and the boxes are about 12" by 18".

As small as they are, I can hear them now as they help me move them...I don't know why or how, but they are still heavy. But then my theory was, less trips with bigger boxes, ya know? And besides, have you ever watched men move? "oh these aren't heavy." and so they stack up box on box to...and what did I just say was my theory..oh yes, because then they don't have to make as many trips. And of course now that I am older, and so are the people that help me move, I worry every single time they do that, waiting to be the one that made their backs go out. Me, after 2 back surgeries, I make the trips.

And this time, I have to differentiate between which boxes will be going with me, and which boxes will be going into storage. I am thinking most will go with me, but some will be going into storage with my bigger items. No sense in moving them up there with me and putting them in storage just to decide that I am moving back here and having to take it all back with me. So, that stuff will stay here until such time I decide on where I will go when the year is up.

Sigh...have you ever read The Creative Junkie Blog? I love her blog, She is funny, straight from the heart, and a great read. And when my blog grows up..it wants to be just like her's. Check it out, you won't be disappointed!

I went to my sister's for fish fry tonight. I love fish fries, and it's even better from there because it is fish my nieces and BIL have caught on their fishing trips to MN. Little perch, that my BIL has painstakingly gutted and all that fun stuff guys love to do, and recently even my nieces have been helping with that part now. But I have a problem now, every time I go out for a good fish fry, later that night and all the next day I am miserable. I don't know why this has suddenly started happening. Can't possibly be because I am older. I mean, I have been this age for a whole year now, why now?? So needless to say, as I entered their house I said, you realize if I get an upset tummy, this will mean no more fried fish for me. And my so nice BIL said, ya know I can just wrap some up in foil and cook it up on the grill. I declined. I guess I like misery, I am just not ready to give up a staple in my diet of a really good fish fry. But, as I write this at 1:30 AM, so far, so good. But it in my life, things like that like to make me THINK I am safe, and then wham...hahahaha, got ya!

Earlier this year, in April, I had some cysts removed from my ovary and the uterine burning to get rid of fybroids. In doing my reading beforehand, I learned that 80% of women that have this done, don't have periods any more. But I also know my body. Whatever small chance there is of something happening or not, I am in that small percentage. So every month that goes by, I thank God that I am still in that 80% this time, and I have not had a period since then. But if you look in my bathroom cabinet, you will still see all the personal hygiene us woman have to have. I just know, as soon as I decide to give what I have to my sister or someone, can't let it go to waste, that stuff is not cheap! I JUST KNOW, as soon as I do that...HAHAHAHA...fooled ya!! So anyway, I am hopping this fried fish thing is a passing thing and I can still eat it.

Like the year I ate like 5, yes I am a pig sometimes, mozzarella sticks. We always go to my Mom's house Christmas eve for horse derves...hehehe, I am too lazy right now to look up the correct spelling of that. And that particular year she tried a new brand of moz sticks, and they were awesomely good, so I pigged out on them. I remind you here that I live alone. And so does my Mom, although that night my other sister had come to town for the big day and was staying in the extra room at her house. Late that night, I had THE worst and first time really, heartburn. I am in pain, really big pain, the am I having a heart attack pain. So at 2 AM I am in my car heading to Walgreens to pick up some heartburn stuff, because really I am sure that is all it is. Then I went for a drive because every time I went over a bump in the road, I felt slightly better. I know, weird..but that is me. I went driving and actually looked for bumpy streets to drive down. I finally get home and about 2 hours later, I am thinking as the pain is stilll there, what if I am having a heart attack? I am all alone, and who will be able to call 911 or get me to the hospital? I sure don't want someone coming over here on Christmas morning and finding me dead on the floor. So, I gather my stuff together, and head over to my Mom's. I have a key, so I went in silently and laid on the couch trying to sleep. Just knowing that there was someone there with me that I could holler to, made me feel safer. Didn't help the pain any. And then on one of my trips to the bathroom, I scared the hell out of my Mom and almost gave HER a heart attack. She thought at first it was my sister, but my shadow was bigger...

But then she went into her pharmacy and got me something else to try which helped a lot. Needless to say, IF I have a mozarella stick again, it is ONE. I had heartburn for months after that, and I even went as far as writing down everything I ate to see what was causing it, and then poof, it went away. So, after taking you all so far off course here, I am hoping it will be the same with the fish. One can dream. I dread the day I may have to stop eating spicy food.

And I will leave you with a layout I did yesterday and a card. I got the chance to work with this beautiful kit, O Holy Night, by Connie Prince. She had a one kit call and she let me play. I loved the blue and white together.

Have great Monday!

A Little Rambling

2008-11-14T13:54:00.007-06:00

I don't know what happened, I used to journal every day, but now I can't even keep up with my blog, and as far as journaling in my paper journal...forget it, it has been months and months...maybe even a year since I last put pencil to paper. And I so need to get back to that, I feel an emptiness in my life without that journal getting filled with all the day to day stuff. And I miss playing with my art supplies to create visual pages. SO, I guess it is time to start setting aside a little window of me time and get back to that. Maybe start out slowly and aim for once a week. As for blogging, I need to start doing that every day, and there are reason for that, including one I am not all that happy about, more anxious than anything.

The reasons? My daughter and son in law will be leaving for Iraq for a second tour this coming year. They will be leaving the area in January, and I don't know, but sometime in April or May they will be leaving the country. While I know a little of what to expect this time around, it is still going to be a nerve wracking year, full of worry. I know in my heart that God will watch over them, but the worry still creeps in. And of course I hate not being able to just call her up and talk, or take a weekend and go visit them. I miss not being able to hug her or see her in person for so long.

So anyway, the last time they were in Iraq I tried myspace to try and keep her up to date on the happenings around here, but that didn't go so well, I hardly ever updated in the journal area there, so I want to do it more this coming year while they are gone, and I will do that here. And then there are other family members that I should send this link to so they can keep up too. And lastly, my responsibilities to my CT's. I should be posting my layouts all the time. For them and also for the family, besides words, my layouts usually show what is going on in my life and with my family. SO...I am starting now, today, to get something posted every day...even if it is just a few words or a layout. Now to decide on a time to do that, and DO IT! I am thinking I will have a couple friends try and help me out by asking me, 'did you blog today?" LOL. So if you check my blog and don't see an updated post...give me holler and tell me to get on the ball! I know Hummie is good at leaving me a comment every now and then when it has been a while since I updated...thanks Hummie!

I am going to plop a layout here in the middle of my post. I did this one for Digi Dare #108 and it was just the perfect dare at this time in my life. At first I was going to do it on my Mom, and I think I will still do one about her being my hero, but I went with my daughter this time. All images are linked.

Last time she went to Iraq, she lived in an apartment here in the same city as me, and she decided to put everything in storage and then find a new place once she got home. She has 3 cats, and we had to split them up within the family because we all have 2 and 5 total would have been a bit much. Now she is married, has a great place, and doesn't want to put her animals through that again. And she wants to be able to come back and be able to really come home to her own place, not live with someone while she looks. So, I am moving the end of December to stay at her place and take care of everything for them. I just live in a studio apartment and I still have my 2 cats, but her place is much bigger and I will have one of my sister's staying there too, so it will be easier for me to just move out there. And I don't have a bunch of stuff really, how can you in a small place like I have? I pretty much plan on coming back here, my Mom, my other sister, husband and nieces live here. I am thinking I will miss not being so close to them all. But who knows what the future holds. So for the next month I am going to be busy packing and getting most of my stuff up there. I think the big things I will put in storage here, maybe in my sister's basement, but I don't think she has room, lol.

And what else have I been doing in the scrapping area? Making presents! I have quite a few in progress and a couple done, so I will also be busy doing that this next month. I want to get them all done by this time next month. And I have been busy creating layouts and hybrid stuff. I am even starting to do a few hybrid layouts, which is harder for me to do than anything else, but I am getting the hang of it...or at least figuring out HOW I like to do hybrid layouts. I do most of it digitally and add accents from my paper stash. And I am finding that I like to use templates for hybrid. I can print out the main part, then hide that and print out other parts so I can layer with things that aren't digital with the digital. Here is my latest, and you can see how I did that.

I printed out the photo strip on the left separately and put it on top of the swirl. Plus I was able to write on it with my own handwriting, which I sometimes miss doing. Of course, if I ever sat down and finished doing my own font and sending it back in to Darcy Baldwin, I could put my own handwriting on digi layouts too.

I have also been doing some challenges from Get Digi With It and Scrap Matters. You should check them out, they have some great challenges. Here are a couple of those.The first one is for the everyday magic challenge at Scrap Matters. The second one was for the paper 2 digi challenge at Get Digi With It.

And this last layout I just had to show my funky hats, the large photo showing my new one, lol.

And lastly, I signed up for Jessica Sprague's Storys in Hand class. I have not even started it, but will do that this weekend I think. So far it has been awesome! And really I can't wait to make my little album to put my stories in.

If you made it this far, thanks so much for sticking with me through this long post! Have a great weekend!

A Cool Photo Effect!

2008-10-28T00:38:00.003-05:00

I just love when I find cool effects that are super easy. I was at the Scrap Matters Blog and Alamama posted this very neat and easy effect for your photos. And I just had to try it right away. So I went from this...

To this...

Amazing isn't it? I really like this effect. And it took me about 2 minutes to do it, really! To see how to do this, go here. And have fun!