Sunday, May 30, 2010

Pass the tissue

When I'm sick I don't much feel like doing anything except trying to get over being sick. Well, all that changed today when hubby dug out the iPad he brought home from work to check out his facebook Stuff. He's been sick too. I am pretty amazed I can be lying here in bed, accepting facebook gifts, watching Lost, and updating my blog all while feeling like lukewarm dookie from the comfort of my own bed. I have the iPhone and can basically do the something, but the speed is much faster on this iPad, and I don't have to zoom in on the screen to see what I'm doing. Plus the keyboard is actually large enough to cover a fingertip, and I can feel like I'm almost typing with 4 fingers on this gadget. Pretty nifty, I don't know if this is something I would ask for for Christmas or not, but I'm seriously thinking about it.

I think the only thing I'm really missing on here is a good flash player, and the ability to take some photos...why not? ;)

Wish me and the hubs better, and Happy Memorial Day to all our soldiers.
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Friday, May 28, 2010

Long weekend ahead

YAY! I love long weekends when my sweetie is home with me... even if we have work to do, it's always nicer being together. We're both happy if were together. Sounds sappy, but it's true. :)  I was contemplating things we need to do this weekend, and it got me to thinking about Father's Day. It's right around the corner.... Doug is a wonderful daddy, and this is for you babe.

If you'd like the SVG with shadow, click HERE.
I've decided for any shadows that I'm making with my files, to just create an extra svg seperately.. it's a PITA in my opinion to break it apart and assemble it to get the file correctly... and you get the choice of how much of a shadow you want around the file.

Timeless Daydreams is sponsoring Sketch Inspiration this week... the DT also created layouts based on their #125 Sketch. Products used from the May Blissful Sunset kit. There's only six of these beauties left... run and get you one!

Check them out here: http://sketchinspiration.ning.com/ and go play to win!!

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Friday, May 21, 2010

MTC Tuts

You know, I don't remember who, but I think my friend Tues told me about the yahoo group that has tutorials and shows you how to use your Make the Cut software. The name of the group, if you're interested is called MTC_Tuts.They did their first webisode a couple of weeks ago, and I just got a chance to take a look at it today. Very interesting. I learned a lot.  I know she did another webinar on the 18th I believe... I think I'll dig into that one tomorrow. :) Anyways, I learned how to use the boolean tool a little better, and tweaked an svg I found from MTC library, and learned how to create a good blackout shadow and add/combine text with shapes.  I hope I retain this info! lol

If you download, could you say hi... luckily my hubby has his own website, and he lets me put my files up there so they can be downloaded here without any hassles from advertisements and such = no waiting.  I can't wait to use this on a layout or card.

**Update -- I've had two people so far tell me they can't download the SVG file. If you are experiencing problems, just right click on the link and choose "save target as" or similar in your right click menu. I've quadruple tested the link and there is nothing I can find wrong on my end.**
 
The MTC file is HERE.
The SVG file is HERE.

TGIF!!!
I need to grocery shop in a bad way... busy day ahead, take care y'all!
xoxo,
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Thursday, May 20, 2010

Top Shelf Memories - blog launch party!

Top Shelf Memories is launching their official party on their blog through the 28th. You have plenty of ways to join in and win some scrappy prizes. Go check them out ~> http://topshelfmemories.blogspot.com/2010/05/blog-launch-party.html

And if that wasn't cool, check out the sale going on!
25% off almost EVERYTHING!!!
In honor of TSM Blog Party, Taryn has marked almost everything 25% off in the store.  you can check it out here. This includes their April kits!

TSM also have a new flat shipping rate of $5.00.
THAT is amazing! Go Shop. Go follow the blog. Have fun!!

It's almost the weekend and I'm getting ready to get started cleaning up. Doug and I finished up season 3 of LOST and we're heading into Season 4. OMG!!  Can't wait to get through all the seasons and see how they end up. No spoilers please. :)

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Wednesday, May 19, 2010

No power no internet

So I was without power for nearing 15 hours... you lose track of time once you are unable to charge your phone.. lol Then once the power came on, the internet never came back.  They finally got it up mid afternoon... its days like those that make me take a closer look and wonder WTH I did to piss Karma off. ;) PB&J's mixed with McD's saw us through the evening meals, and Sookie Stackhouse saw me through the days. (along with my beautious small wonders of course!) I read all three of my Mother's Day books in Tuesday and Wednesday... the first three books in the series.  I enjoyed the Books so much better than the HB0 series, True Blood.  I am going to start trying to watch it again though. :)

I've created 4 layouts so far with the Timeless Daydreams Blissful Sunset May kit.

It really goes a long way.. and I have plenty for another layout or two, or cards... I can only share 3 layouts right now... and I'll show you a sneak of the other at the bottom....  I won't be sharing it until after the 23rd. ;)

Yeah.. my Doug hates mowing and weedeating ;)
Spin & Twirl
LOVE the jillibean corrugated alpha in this kit.. and couldn't see wasting ANY of that!
Hard Rock in dc.

There is this honkin huge flower on a sheet of Kaisercraft pp in the kit.. it's so dreamy and I had to cut it out and scrunch it up a bit for this layout.


... this layout.. made me happy. It has a, oh wait.. I can't reveal it all yet.

Oh yeah, and in exciting news... check out the Timeless Daydreams forum or blog to see how YOU could be our next Contest Coordinator. It's a staff position and totally worth checking out.  I love working with Michele and Dolores!
xoxo,

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Sunday, May 16, 2010

I was so inspired

by a post from Cosmo Cricket this past week.. they showed a project made by a lady named Ana Costa... she is quite brilliant. I've never seen a project quite like hers before.. You can see it on the Cosmo Cricket facebook page here. Her project really spoke to me, and I sat down last night to work out the design... I'm really pleased with how mine turned out. I made it for Doug to take to work, so when he's having one of those tough days, he can just look at that and smile. How could you not smile with that wackadoodle expression? ;)
You can click it to see it larger, but the words say don't worry, be happy! SMILE! :)
The photos aren't that hot, because as I was in the middle of taking them, it started to rain. You can actually see raindrops in some of the photos. :) I foresee making several more stand alone projects like above for my mantle, and as gifts to family. I used the products from the May Treasured Scrapbooking kit and add ons.  Speaking of, I put a nice tutorial on their blog yesterday you can see here.

I just got in my hot little hands yesterday the May kit from Timeless Daydreams. It's exquisite! I've already created one layout with it, here's a sneak peek. I'll reveal all of it tomorrow.

Cheers and happy scrapping,
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Saturday, May 15, 2010

Super lazy saturday

I am worn out from being so lazy today! It's been fun though. For some reason, none of us could really sleep this morning (except Katelyn... she's a teen though and that's how it goes. lol) and we're up pretty early. The morning was spent watching Doug and Katelyn mowing, followed by some Scrapping from me.  Today is also reveal day for Treasured Scrapping May kit, Thriftshop Treasures. This kit is packed with the newest releases from October Afternoon, Making Memories, Jenni Bowlin, and Crate Paper!


It's gorgeous, as is the add ons... I still have plans in the works for that add on.
I love when she gives me photos of herself!

Also one from Easter. :)
I love masking tape, especially painted masking tape.
There are only 5 kits left, and the card kit was released today as well, Eva rocks the cards like a superwoman!

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Thursday, May 13, 2010

Still raining here

but that can't put a damper on my spirits. I actually LOVE a good thunderstorm.. as long as I don't have to go out in it. Batten down the hatches, curl up on the bed with a good show like Lost, and some hot cocoa and a baby or two snuggled up to me, and I'm a happy girl.  Samantha, Cameron, and I have been snuggling in the afternoons this past week since its been raining so much here. It's been nice.

One thing I've been doing today is looking for new photoshop actions. I'm seriously addicted to these things, and it really takes the thinking process out of editing my photos. I'm lazy, what can I say? It's easy to just load an action up, click a button, and presto chango, your photo is edited.  The last year or so a lot of people have been digging the Polaroid photos. I found a gem this morning.

Original SOOC

Polaroid 600 expired with blue tint - I think it looks so retro and fun.
It takes a good minute or so to process, but so worth it.

Originial SOOC

I used Polaroid type 600 vivid with a red tint around 75%.
 Aren't they lovely?  I believe you'll be seeing some Polaroid love on some scrapbook pages soon. ♥

The maker of this action (*rawaction) actually leaves the layers open, so you can play with things like color tint, noise, texture, etc. I only checked two out and rushed over here to post about it... if you'd like this one for yourself, head HERE. I know it works in PS CS4.

Happy rainy Thursday to you!
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Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Sweet rainy day fun

I have lots of errands to run, but have decided to just stay home and cross the rest of the things off my to do list that can be done at home.  My list was ginormous on Friday with over 20 things on it... I'm down to like 5-6 things.  Figured it was time to reward myself with me scrapping. Nothing for DT work, just fun with a sketch and letting my mind wander.  I used a great sketch from Thoughts 2 Paper from DT member, Delfina. Add in some fabric paper flowers, Dear Lizzy, and Cosmo Cricket with a cute photo, and we have ourselves a layout. :)
It's cloudy out and I'm blaming that on my crooked photo... ;)
some close ups
... and I can't believe I hadn't shared this here yet on the blog.. but on Friday, Katelyn received paperwork stating she was accepted into the National Junior Honor Society!!! She's being inducted on May 26th! We are so very proud of her!!

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Monday, May 10, 2010

Mother's Day

You know, I really am quite upset... I didn't get ONE single photo yesterday on Mother's Day. I'm contemplating what it is I'm going to do to document this event this year. I could always let the journaling be the focus on my layout... but I'm a picture happy kinda gal, so that doesn't really appeal to me. My children always make me a lot of homemade cards and drawings, so I'm thinking a two page spread with pockets to hold their art in is the way to go. I'm not a two page scrapper though. It's difficult for me to make both pages look cohesive and fluid with one another. Something I'm ok with not perfecting, but I really would like to LIKE the finished project.  I'll be working on this soon. Cameron made me a great worm buddy for Mothers Day too.. so I'm thinking he will be a great embellishment on the layouts.

This past week has been a whirlwind of activity. I've been keeping late busy nights each night of the week.. mainly helping out my Mama. She's having marriage difficulty which saddens me. I'm not going into details, but Doug and I have 'been there' for her as she's asked for it. The nice thing is the kids are seeing more of their Grandma, and Grandma appears more relaxed and peaceful. 

Mom and I had planned to go buy some Strawberries from Scott's Strawberry farm on Saturday, and it ends up all the kids (and Doug too) wanted to go. Ok.. but all we are doing is buying a flat or two of strawberries!  They had fun picking out the boxes with the prettiest berries in there. When we got back to town, Katelyn stayed over at Grandma's house to help clean up a bit, and I came home to make my Mama something for Mother's Day.

She has mentioned a few days ago that she'd like a collage when I had time to make one. I dug through my stash looking for a shadowbox or a small canvas. Nope. Only thing I had was this monstrous 18 x 24" canvas. I don't even remember the original idea I was going use it for, but it became apparent at 1pm Saturday, that time was slipping away from me, and I had to act fast.

Who knew painting random spots of color on a canvas would be relaxing?
 
If I wasn't stressed about different deadlines I had to meet, I would have been floating along the clouds with my happy paint covered hands.
 
 I loved the final result, and so did Doug. I think a trip is in store to Michaels soon for more canvases.

My mom flipped over it. She totally thought I had forgot, and wants another one because on auto pilot, I forgot my sweet adoring husband in the photos. I also made her a card and it made her cry, which made me cry... she's such a good mama.

Doug made us dinner with help from mom and I. We had liver and onions, mashed potatoes, spinach salad, and for dessert we had Strawberry Shortcake. yumm!

Doug and the kids bought me 3 Sookie Stackhouse books, and a super cool rolling scrap cart. I love it, because on late nights I have deadlines, I can roll it to the bedroom and watch TV with Doug while being productive at the same time.

Its a good life, and I'm so thankful I'm not home alone to live it.

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Saturday, May 8, 2010

Time is slipping quickly

through my fingers... I run and run and run ALL day long and I can't seem to get anywhere. It's really insane! I can relate to poor white rabbit.
I love this quote: “It takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!”
-The Red Queen 
 I guess I should be running twice as fast!! ;)

I love Home Depot. They are always knowledgeable, courteous, friendly, patient, and most times have the better prices in the area for our home/garden needs. These guys that delivered mama's new washer were the best on Thursday! They chatted with my kids and didn't ignore their questions, they chatted and joked with me and didn't ignore my questions, they hooked up my new washer in no time. I was able to spend time yesterday washing clothes.. holy smoked CARP.. I'm all caught up on all the clothes... now I can wash all the sheets and bedding and move on to dog beds. I love it!

I have SO much to do before the 10th, before Mother's Day.... like I said, time feels like its slipping and I'm antsy as all get out.  Going to buy some strawberries in a few minutes for Strawberry Shortcake dessert tomorrow for Mother's Day.

Oh.. and I was so thrilled. Helmar asked if they could feature my April newsletter article I wrote for Treasured Scrapbooking. It was on their blog Thursday, you can see it here.
Hope your day is filled with love and sunshine!
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Wednesday, May 5, 2010

I was in TOTAL Shock... (and to be honest, STILL a little in shock) when I found out I had WON something on a blog... not just any blog though, a brand spanking new blog and online store called Thoughts 2 paper. They just made their debut on NSD weekend.   The really exciting part for me... I won the new zutter distrezz it all!!!
I've been wanting this baby for over a month or so now... I am going to put this baby to good use!!
I'll give a review once I receive it.. I really can't wait to play with it.
Thanks so much Liz and the ladies at Thoughts 2 paper!
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She's registered for Kinder


and she is getting excited. She wants to start shopping for school supplies, her backpack, and the whole nine.  I told her we would buy a few school clothes and stuff every other check until school starts. :)
It is so hard to believe this Fall we'll be waking up at 6am to get her on the bus in time. 

I can remember the day so clearly eight years ago.... I walked Katelyn to her school bus for the first time. She skipped ahead of me a little bit, we held hands as we crossed the street, and when the bus pulled up, she crossed the road in front of it, climbed the steps, not once peeking back. I pray I remember everything so clearly rich with details on Samantha's first day too. :)
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Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Snowflakes in spring

The best thing about challenges for me, is being able to grab photos from any time or season and scrap them when they fit a challenge.  Dolores from Timeless Daydreams gave us a challenge this weekend to scrap a layout using nothing but white. I've seen Monochromatic white done before, and it can be insanely gorgeous.  I like my layout, but don't love it.. the main reason why I don't, is until I tried to scrap ALL white.. I had NO idea that there were different hues of white. I mean, I KNEW there were... just not in my scrap stash. 
 My large flower appears kind of like a cream color next to all the other stark white elements.
I ended up painting my American Craft Thickers, they were grey... after a couple coats of white paint, they were loaded up with Ranger Stickles. Actually, stickles in Star Dust was used on everything except for the Bazzill cardstock! 

I still have some work to do on that filmstrip, but the snowflake border cuts nicely that I created in Make the Cut software.

If you're interested in it, you can download it HERE.

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Monday, May 3, 2010

TSM May reveal Part Three

Part 3 of 3... :)
If you missed the previous reveals you can find 1 here and 2 here.
Finishing up with the Top Shelf Memories May reveals today... the last four layouts are from the May Mini kit Taryn is offering... for a super great price! You should check it out.. easy on the budget!
MME lil boy blue... amazing papers.. i love this mini kit.
Pile on
One day in the backyard, Ooxie jumped up on Doug and was trying to kiss him, which resulted in everyone except for me to pile on daddy. hahaha.. at least I got the photos :)
There was a journal tag from MME in the kit that inspired my lil tree paper piecing.. super easy to do.. just free hand... it's nature and art, and doesn't have to be perfect!
I tend to curl my papers up a bit or chop them to bits if I really like both sides... :)

Faux Hawk
Thanks to the loving of his older sister, Katelyn, Cameron received a lovely gel in his hair and a fake mohawk.. he loved it for like three seconds. :)
The bo bunny chipboard frames in this kit are so cool.

Adorn it makes mini alphas like nobodies business.. they put SO MANY of each letter on there.. I used them for journaling on a couple layouts, for titles, etc.. and still have lots leftover!

Best Buddies
My girl and her BFF taking random photos of themselves... I happened to catch them in the act. :)

Must have antenna
Funny story here.. ok, so it's really NOT funny.. but if I don't laugh, i'll be mad at him.. and he's too cute to stay mad at. ;)  So, Doug created a media center in the bedroom and wanted to get rid of our DISH service in that room to save money. So, in order to pick up some HD signals, he ordered this complete kit online for an antenna and amplifier to pick up the tv stations... to the tune of $180. yeeps. It better work honey! Katelyn took photos of him on the roof before it started raining that afternoon... he was SO excited. Got it up there.. came down... You see, the back story story, is we had a really cheap antenna in the bedroom that picked up some HD channels except for the channel ABC... that's why he bought this new antenna set... yep, it didn't work. So.. I had to document this one. ;)
Hop on over to the Top Shelf Memories gallery and check out all the other fabulous DT work, and grab a kit while you're there!

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