Kabra's Korner

Eye Candy

2011-10-12T08:09:00.000-05:00

What a topsy turvy weather world!!! We had frost here last week and 2 days later it was in the low 90's!!! Such a swing in a few short days. And speaking of short days, it is definitely getting darker lately. Can't believe that in less than a month it will be dark so early around here!!! And since I've lived here, our first snow has happened around November 10th, so this fall is going to feel awfully short!!!

Boo This was created using
Miki Ferkul's Hallowtide
Pumpkin Patch This was created using
Miki Ferkul's Hallowed Haunting
And So It Begins This was created using
Miki Ferkul's Catalina

Pick A Peck This was created using
Creative Victorian Designs' Hallowed Evening

Celebrating Everyday Life This was created using
Netta Riss' Simply: Gathering

Free This was created using
Studio Rosey Posey's The Treasure Collection

Autumn Harvest
Fantastic Fall These were created using
Laitha Designs' Fall Extravaganza
Laitha Designs' Fall Extravaganza Add-On Bundle

Silence This was created using
Snickerdoodle Designs' Sounds of Silence
Party
Sleep These were created using
Snickerdoodle Designs' Dare To Dream Bundle
Snickerdoodle Designs' Autumn Masks

And with that, we'll call it a day. Have big plans to clean the carpets, mop the kitchen, clean the guest rooms and go through my "junk" room!!! And, if there's time, I'd like to do a little blog make-over to get ready for fall. . . .

At Last - Autumn

2011-10-04T11:24:00.000-05:00

Well, the calendar says it is autumn, but we are in for a warm-up later this week. In fact for my Barn Tour on Friday it will definitely be "shorts" weather!!! This also means there won't be an incredible show of color, but I still hope to find some wonderful scenic sights!!!

I've been a bit behind on posting so there's a lot of catchin' up to do so get ready. . . . .

Beauty
So Adorable Both of these were created using
Laitha Designs' Fragile Heart
Laitha Designs' Fragile Heart

Fall This was created using
Miki Ferkul's Autumn Hush
Choices
Boo-tiful These were created using
Miki Ferkul's Grimoire
Miki Ferkul's Grimoire Add-On Bundle

Simply Adorable This was created using
Netta Riss' Tranquility Changing Seasons This was created using
Netta Riss' Simply: Turning

Discovering Nature This was created using
Studio Rosey Posey's Inner Critic

Cute This was created using
True Blue Studio's Autumn Bliss Templates

And with that, I think I will call it a day. . . .

New Layouts

2011-09-18T20:11:00.000-05:00

Even with the super busy week I had last week, I did manage to get a little bit of scrapping in. This week, I took a couple of days and went shopping for my "grands" - they need clothes for the cooler months coming and the stores are just putting out their fall / winter selections. My first stop was the outlet mall and I got lots of super cute things for the little guy set to arrive next month. But, it seems when it came to the girls, they were missing some key sizes!!! What's up with that??? So the next day I drove the opposite direction and fared much better. Honestly, I find that the local farm supply store has the best deals on clothing - except most places were running grandparents specials in honor of Grandparents Day, so I scored!!!

On Friday my dd and her family came and spent the night. I really appreciate my sil driving over 10 hours!!! He'll never know how special that time was to me. I'm sure the next time they visit, we'll have a little one to enjoy too. Saturday, we drove to my other daughter's for a very special birthday party for a two-year old!!! It was so much fun watching both granddaughters play together. I plan on uploading my photos as soon as I get my blog updated, so you can expect to be bored to tears by those photos for a while - LOL!!!

Now on to my work for this week!!!

Anticipation
Cherish These were created using
Laitha Designs' A Day To Remember Kit
Laitha Designs' A Day To Remember Add-On Bundle

Autumn This was created using
Studio Rosey Posey's Amiable Autumn

Happy Go Lucky This was created using
True Blue Studio's Purple Dreams Kit
True Blue Studio's Purple Dreams Template

And with that I'm outta here. This coming week is going to be busy with a visit from a two-year old on the schedule for the weekend and spending time with a three-year old after that!!! The weather is getting cooler so there my be a pot of chili or soup in my future!!!

Flickers of Fall

2011-09-13T17:11:00.000-05:00

It has finally cooled off a bit from the mid-90's and later this week we are forecast to have 1 day with a high in the low 60's so I say bring on fall!!!

The last couple of weeks have been kind of busy and this trend will continue well into October for us. Last weekend a very special little girl had her 2nd birthday and we will be attending a party this coming weekend to celebrate that milestone with her.

Now on to scrapping.

Beginnings
Dance These were created using
Laitha Designs' Renaissance
Laitha Designs' Renaissance Add-On Bundle

Beauty This was created using
Creative Victorian Designs' Love My Joe

Trip Time This was created using
True Blue Studio's Midnight Elegance Templates
Elises Pieces and Kim Broedelet Journey of the Heart
Graham Like the Cracker's Crop Me: Paper Cutting Templates

Life This was created using
Miki Ferkul's Dusk

Uncles
Golden Gate These were created using Rina Kroes' When Evening Fades
Rina Kroes' When Evening Fades Alpha

Focus This was created using
Mandy King's Pocket of Pixels - Autumn Skies
Fall This was created using
Mandy King's Pocket of Pixels - Reaching for Fall

Service This was created using
Snickerdoodle Designs' Until They All Come Home Bundle
Snickerdoodle Designs' Grungy Wood Paper Pack
Snickerdoodle Designs' Grungy Wood Styles

Back To Nature
Happiness
Both of these also used templates by Cindy Schneider in their creation.

And with that I'm outta here for a while. . . lots to do and places to go!!! Enjoy. . . .

WOW - Warm!!!

2011-09-02T10:52:00.000-05:00

It is finally September, but my goodness, it was over 100 yesterday and it will be a scorcher again today. While the kiddos are back in school, many schools are very old and do not have air conditioning, so they are getting out at noon. I grew up in the south and I don't remember it being this hot when we were in school. . . .And, for August, we had a whopping .01" of rain!!! The crops in this part of the country will be really hit and miss regarding their yields. Temps are supposed to drop for next week, but it is hard to see how with no rain in the forecast. I'm really starting to fear a nasty winter to counter balance the summer!!! Certainly hope I'm wrong on that!!!

Starting to feel a bit better so I hope I'm just about over this flare. . . .it wasn't very much fun. I could actually detect a scent yesterday for a brief second. When you can't detect odors and when you have lost your sense of taste it makes for a rather boring time in my opinion!!!

Starting to get back into scrapping to sit back and look at the goodies for the week. . . . .

Twins
Grandma These were created using
Laitha Designs' Seaside Harvest Laitha Designs' Seaside Harvest Add-On Bundle

Admit One This was created using
True Blue Studio's Perfectly Squared: Templates
Jady Day Studio's Summertime Fun - At The Zoo

That will catch me up to this point. . . .Lots more waiting in the wings to post later this weekend, so stay tuned!!!

Summer's End

2011-08-27T05:38:00.000-05:00

Gosh, it has been a couple of weeks. Summer should be winding down here now that school has started, but it still seems hot for this time of year. We have had no rain for quite a while now - it is odd because we can see it rain at the neighbor's house!!! We live next to a wooded state park so I think there is something with that that steers the clouds around us!!!

I have had the worse summer cold for over a week now, it's hard for people to understand that I am freezing when it is over 90-degrees outside, but that's me. Hopefully I'll get the cold over for the year before that new grandbaby comes in a few weeks!!!

I think with all the back to school activities, the digi-scrap world has been kind of slow for the past couple of weeks. This cold pre-empted last week's update, but I'll catch up in short order!!! So sit back and look through two weeks of scrapping - LOL!!!

Daughter This was created using
Studio Rosey Posey's Letters To My Daughter
Planting Memories This was created using
Studio Rosey Posey's Shabby Garden

Smile
Special Bond
These were created using
Miki Ferkul's Mellow
Miki Ferkul's Mellow Add-On Bundle

Time This was created using
Rina Kroes' Serenity

Weeds
Silence These were created using
Snickerdoodle Designs' Outside My Window Bundle
Nap
Sweet These were created using
Snickerdoodle Designs' Kitty And Tweet Bundle

Mission Bound This was created usingCindy Schneider's Half-Pack Set 15 and Kimmi Stewart's Spotted Cow
Bebe This was created using a template by Cindy Schneider and Kimmi Stewart's Garden Gingers
Little Tadpole This was created using
Kimmi Stewart's Turtles
Cutie This was created using Busy Bee Designs' Easy Breezy Part 4 and Kimmi Stewart's Toadstool Fairies

Carousel This was created using
True Blue Studio's Pretty In Pink Templates
KimB's Designs' Merry A Round - Kit

Lil Love Bug This was created using
True Blue Studio's Baby Blues Templates
Jady Day Studio and Kay Miller Designs' A Boys Life

I had the opportunity to work with a gorgeous offering by Studio Maya.
Grand Lady This was created using
Studio Maya Post Script Collection

And with that, I'm looking forward to spending at least part of the day with one of the granddaughters and her family. Hard to believe this one will be two in a couple of weeks. . . .time flies!!!

Time Flies!!!

2011-08-12T11:15:00.000-05:00

It is hard to believe that summer is winding to a close - school starts here on Tuesday and my daughter started back to school this week. My time has been spent watching granddaughters - one got to visit for nearly a week which was nice. I have also been fighting the affects of a couple of mosquito bites. For some reason, those trigger an allergic reaction which in turn activates my immune system in not so good way. There were days that it was actually difficult to sit at the computer!!! While I love being outdoors, this now limits my time significantly - the pain is just too intense.

You would think with all the babysitting opportunities that I have had, I would just be swimming in new photos, but I decided this time just to spend time with them instead of chasing them around with a camera.

I have been able to get a little bit of scrapping in, so here's what I've been up to lately. . . . . .

This was created using Creative Victorian Designs' Star Cross'd Kit

Patience This was created using Netta Riss' Freshly

Friends This was created using a collection that Miki Ferkul collaborated on Studio Girls' Studio Mix #5: Summer Of Romance
Possibilities This was created using Miki Ferkul's Reflections

It's A Boy This was created using Studio Rosey Posey's 3 Little Words

Movietime
Elephant Both of these fun pages were created using Snickerdoodle Designs' Imagination Station
Hoss
Buddy Both of these were created using Snickerdoodle Designs' Kitty And Tweet

Tutu Cute
Topsy Turvy
Working At The Carwash
Summer
Shiny Girl These were created using products from Rina Kroes' Bring Me Sunshine Line at SBE.
Rina Kroes' Bring Me Sunshine
Rina Kroes' Bring Me Sunshine Alpha
Rina Kroes' Bring Me Sunshine Stacked Papers

Forever Sisters Created using Elka Romero's Summer Strawberries
Sleepy Yet?
Mandy King's August Grab Bag

Celebrate Created using Kimmi Stewart's Americana Teddy Bears
Peace Created using Kimmi Stewart's Kindness Bears Mini 6
Quack Quack
10 Things I Miss Created using Kimmi Stewart's Cute Farm Animals
Lilac Blooms Created using Kimmi Stewart's Garden Gingers
Monkey Bars Created using Kimmi Stewart's Monkey Business
And with that note, I am off to do my weekly errands. Hope I get it done before the rain gets here - it will be nice to have a bit of a cool down with the temps and schools starting next week!!!

It's Getting Hot

2011-07-22T13:53:00.000-05:00

For some reason that song "It's Getting Hot In Here" has been playing on the radio nearly non-stop this week!!! The temperatures here have been close to 100 all week. . . . .last time I remember it being this hot for this long was 29 years ago!!! I remember it being hot that year but not nearly has humid as it has been this time around. Luckily we are supposed to get a break in the temperatures on Saturday. . . .next week the highs are supposed to be low 90's - golly gee!!! But, just heard that our excessive heat warning has been extended through Sunday evening - double golly gee!!!

With the heat, it is just too hot to do any outdoor things so that means more time to scrap. . . . so here's a look at my latest endeavors. . . .

If you have followed my work, you know how much I enjoy using templates to jumpstart a page. Seems the busier I get, the more I depend on a good template and this week I got to work with two from True Blue.
Playtime This was created using True Blue Studio's Sunshine Templates
LDrag Designs and Erica Zane's Sultry Summer Collaboration
Smiles This was created using True Blue Studio's Electric Avenue Templates
Jady Day Studio's Summertime Fun - In For The Ride

The Sea This was created using Studio Rosey Posey's Seashore

Just in time for fun summertime days, Miki Ferkul has re-released Sunny Days at ScrapbookGraphics.
First Fair This was created usingMiki Ferkul's Sunny Days

Finally, based on this photo you can see the "energy" my dd and her friend had throughout high school. . . . .not one serious photo in the lot!!!
Boundless Energy This was created using Creative Victorian Designs' Inner Fire

And with that, I think we will call it a wrap. . .now to find a nice cool, refreshing beverage to counter this blasted heat!!!

What A Week!!!

2011-07-15T20:05:00.000-05:00

As another week comes to a close, I have to wonder where it went!!! Honestly, summer is just speeding by!!!

This week, I made a little time for scrapping, so I'll share with you what I have done.

Miki Ferkul's Bouquet
Miki Ferkul's Bouquet Add-On Bundle

This was created using these products:
True Blue Studio's Purple Dream: Templates
Amy Stoffel's A Real Wild Child

These were created using Snickerdoodle Designs' Granny Finch's Bundle

This was created using Studio Rosey Posey's Shabby Sun And Fun

And, with that I'm out of here until next week and some more snippits of my life!!! Have a good one and stay cool!!!

Summertime???

2011-07-11T16:44:00.000-05:00

Gosh, it is certainly hot in these parts!!! The weekend of July 4th we had a wedding to go to - it was the hottest day of the year, where the girls got dressed (yes, 3 of my girls were in the wedding) there was NO airconditioning!!! Talk about sweltering!!! Then we had a wee bit of a cool down and now it is right back up in the unbearable bracket again.

And, where has this summer gone? Suddenly it is almost the middle of July and I am faced with no free weekends now until the end of August!!! I say bring on the cool, crisp mornings and the glorious colors of fall!!! My theory is I can stay warm a lot easier than I can stay cool. . . .I can always put more clothes on, but if I start taking the clothes off, people somehow disapprove - LOL!!!

During the dog days of summer, I've been taking advantage of sitting in front of the fan on my computer desk and scrapping, so grab a cool beverage of choice and take a look at the new pages!!!

Over the past few weeks, I have had an opportunit to work with several new products at Scrapbook-Elements. Here are a few, if you would like to see my entire SBE Gallery, please follow this link.

Day Trippin This was created using Ildi Geist's Tuscan Sun -----------------------------
Hello Sunshine This was created using Elka Romero's Summer Delights -----------------------------
Family History This was created using Stephanie Ogren's Tea Whimsy -----------------------------
Joy This was created using Mandy King's July Grab Bag -----------------------------

Recently, I received an offer to work with Snickerdoodle Designs's products. I find this style is so fun to work with.
Tractor Time Sweet Both of these were created using Snickerdoodle Designs' Watermelon Wishes

Always This was created using Creative Victorian Designs

Netta Riss has recently created a "Simply" product line available at Creative Victorian Designs. This product line can be used for creating pages with simple, clean lines, but works just as well for more embellished pages. Here are a couple of examples.
Comfort This was created using Netta Riss' Simply: Laugh
Pride This was created using Netta Riss' Simply: Pride

Dance Through Life
Swingsations 2000 These pages were created usingMiki Ferkul's Midsummer Dream Page Kit Miki Ferkul's Midsummer Dream Add-OnBundle -----------------------------
Freedom This was created usingMiki Ferkul's My Country Page Set -----------------------------
Blue Skies This was created using Miki Ferkul's Verano -----------------------------
Beauty This was created using Miki Ferkul's Bouquet Page Set

Lately I have seen some stunning pages in the galleries that use a strict symetry in their design, so I have been playing with this concept.
The Party This was created using Studio Rosey Posey's Shabby White -----------------------------
Freedom This was created using Studio Rosey Posey's Land Of The Free -----------------------------
Finally, from Studio Rosey Posey, I have used one of her template sets to create two pages. These blended template sets are a combination of elements, background and a template. The elements included with each Blended Template are on their own layer so that you can move the elements around to your liking if needed. Most of the elements have shadow effects as well that can be changed or taken off. The background paper can be used as is or switched out for another paper of your choice.
Love
Remember Both of these were created with Studio Rosey Posey's Blended Templates Bundle 08

Bygone Memories This was created with Rina Kroes' Summer Serenade UBI product line available at Scrapbook Elements, There are 8 components to her offering, all packaged so you can mix and match your choices. While there, be sure to check out the UBI offerings of the other SBE designers, it is a great way to sample their work!!!

True Blue Studio is also part of the Studio Matters' July Mix A Kit line with her I Heart You collection.
Explore -----------------------------
Cherish This was created using True Blue Studio's Orange Sky Templates
Jennifer Labre Designs' Cherish -----------------------------
What A Wonderful World This was created using True Blue Studio's Curvy Fun Templates
Amy Stoffel's What a Wonderful World

Kimmi Stewart has been releasing a series of mini kits at Scrapbook Elements to extend her Country Cows and Kindness Bears collections. Here is a sampling from those product lines.
Growing Up
Cousins Both of these were created using Kimmi Stewart's Country Cows Mini 6
Kimmi's Kindness Bears Mini 5
Additionally, Growing Up uses Cindy Schneider's Layered Templates - Half Pack 3

Well, I think that is going to just about cover it for this week. Look forward to a little "something" from me in the next few days!!! Provided the heat doesn't get me first that is - LOL!!!

Gorgeousness!!!

2011-06-12T15:44:00.000-05:00

Finally, a gorgeous day!!! After temperatures in the mid-90's and threats of rain and storms, we have an absolutely gorgeous day today!!! Yes, the cicadas are out and while they are singing today, they aren't flying as bad as they have been. I have to admit, I kind of like their song, but I don't like when they join me for a ride in the van or fly behind my glasses or try to get into my ear - gross!!!

And, today is kind of a lazy day. The weather is so nice and I have meat smoking away outside. A salad is done, the beans are ready to bake and I have some cole slaw to make then we should be ready to go until Wednesday!!! Starting tomorrow, the chance of storms moves back in so having a stash of smoked meat will be nice in the coming days.

I thought I'd share a few of my layouts for the week with you and try to focus a bit on the products that were used to make them.

Photo Only

Rina has a new product line at Scrapbook Elements called Sweet Taste Of Summer. In addition to the page kit, a corresponding alpha, danglement, clustered frames and stacked papers are available.
Sweet Taste Of Summer Page Kit

Here are some pages I created with this product line - each image is clickable so you can see it along with the credits in the SBE Gallery.
Sweet Soul - someone was kind enough to place this in the GSO at DST!!!
Go Cards
Look At Me - The wordart is by me!!!
Uh-Oh - This was also placed in the GSO at DST!!!
Love Story

Kimmi has several mini kits this week at Scrapbook Elements.
Kimmi Stewart's Country Cows Mini 3
Kimmi Stewart's Country Cows Mini 4
Kimmi Stewart's Kindness Bears Mini 4
Park Play
Orchard

Last week, I created this page using Cathy Bretz' Monroe.
Cathy Bretz' Monroe
My Sunshine

I love the wonderful textures that Netta Riss offers in her products.
Netta Riss' Crushed
My Girl

This is a page that will be in my dd's album for her 30th birthday.
Miki Ferkul's Cruisin The Carib
Cozumel

Rosey Posey has a set of layered templates this week at Scrapbook Graphics.
Studio Rosey Posey' Layered Templates Set 3
Family Love
Blooms - the thing I'm most proud of with this page is the fact that I used features of Photoshop CS5 to remove a blossom that was well "past its time" in the photo on the right - looks pretty tood I think!!!

True Blue Studio's Summer Garden
Study
True Blue Studio's Butterfly Kisses
Forever

And, with that, I think I'll wrap it up for the week - need to check the charcoal and watch the last 5 laps of the NASCAR race!!! Hope you have a fabulous week!!!

Finally An Update!!!

2011-06-04T22:02:00.000-05:00

Things have been a bit hectic since April 15th!!! What with Easter, Mother's Day, a very special birthday party, an anniversary and a bridal shower, things have been hopping around our house.

Now that the cicadas have come out and are serenading us during these super hot June days, it reminds me of growing up on the farm. I actually kind of enjoy their songs and since we live next to a state park with a forest, they are oh, so easy to hear.

I have been busy scrapping believe it or not and I'm also branching out a bit and trying to experiment with creating wordart. I have always love typography so I thought why not try. I'm still experimenting with some new software and learning the ropes on that, so it may be a little while before you see any offerings from me.

So, without further ado, here's a look at some of my work over the past few weeks. Most of the layouts are clickable so to see a full list of credits, please visit those links.

The following were created with Rina Kroes' Revelry product line at Scrapbook Elements.

Sights
Dance Your Dream
Wedded Bliss
Dublin

Here are some pages created with various products by Kimmi Stewart at Scrapbook-Elements.
3

Off The Beaten Path

Out And About
Cattitude
Little Darlin
Growin Up
Zoo Day

Her Future Credits: Ildi Geist's Think Green
Crack Me Up Credits: Karen Schulz' Balancing Act Bundle
Bloom Credits: Karen Schulz' Merry Month of May Bundle
Artist At Work Credits: Karen Schulz' Artist in Me Bundle
Your Hand In Mine Credits: Karen Schulz' Second Chances Valentine Edition Bundle
Window To The World Credits: Ildi Geist's Ham And Eggs
Beautiful Day Credits: Karen Schulz' Second Chances Bundle
Shake It Up Baby Credits:
Elka Romero's Spring Babies Element Pack
Elka Romero's Spring Babies Paper Pack 1
Elka Romero's Spring Babies Paper Pack 2
Elka Romero's Spring Babies Paper Pack 3
Elka Romero's Spring Babies Work Papers And Mats
There Is A Season Credits:
Karen Schulz' Empty Nest Bundle
Karen Schulz' Border Bling
Kimmi Stewart's Clipping Masks - Set 3
Adventure Credits: Mandy King's For The Birds Bundle

Cook
Wedding Glam
Love

Class of 2000
Gone Too Soon
Through The Storm
Free Spirit
Precious
Smiles
My Wedding - The Moms
Cujo Cat

Study
Tuckered Out
Shades
Independent
Cuteness
Little Lady
Grandma's Joys
Little Reader

Take Time

So, on that note, I'm calling it a day and hopefully things will be quiet for the next few weeks and I can keep this updated in a more timely manner!!! Hope you have a great week!!!

Woo-Hoo Finally Friday and a Wonderful Weekend Ahead

2011-04-15T22:44:00.000-05:00

What a week - we took Miss Evie back to her Mom on Monday. It was certainly good to have her visit. And this weekend, we are going to watch Little Lucella while her Mom and Dad have a nice relaxing weekend. Their wedding anniversary is coming up but the weekend they would celebrate is super busy, so they decided to take Grandma and Grandpa up on their offer to watch Lucella.

It has been a pretty quiet week for me - a lot of cleaning still. Next week, I'm going to tackle the closets downstairs and depending on the weather pack up my winter stuff and get out the summer stuff. I think we'll have some visitors for Easter, but it probably won't be a full house this year. Then apparently I'll be working on the Easter dinner for the in-laws. Let's just leave it at that. . . . . .

Here's my layouts for the week.

A Tale of Two Brothers

Ancestors Both of these were created using Rina Kroes' Fantastical Future Page Set. This coming week, there will be several additions to this product line including Rina's scrumptious stacked papers, dramatic danglement and an alpha.
Rina's Fantastical Future This Sunday, the following pages will be in the SBE Gallery.
Family - this is a photo of my dad's family.
Twins - this is a photo of my grandfather and his twin sister
Farm Life - isn't that a cutie!!!

Beauty This was created with Creative Victorian Designs' Easter Elegance page kit. I found this to be super functional and can easily span outside the spring holiday.
Creative Victorian Designs' Easter Elegance

Bundle of Love The fabulous florals for this page were found in Studio Rosey Posey's Violet new this week at Scrapbook Graphics.
Studio Rosey Posey's Violet
Dream Big This page was created using 3 new products from Studio Rosey Posey.
Studio Rosey Posey's Glee
Imprints Dance '
Studio Rosey Posey's Layered Templates Set 01 - with this, I rotated the photos to better fit my photos. So remember, templates are just a starting point for your creativity!!!

Thoughtful This was created with Miki Ferkul's Peacock.
Miki Ferkul's Peacock

Finally this week, I have two pages that were created using templates from True Blue Studio.
Slidin This was created using the following:
True Blue Studio's Blueprints: Set 5
Amy Stoffel's Madeline And a neat little find at MScraps
Studio Basic's Add A Border - CU Version

Rocker Chick - isn't that little rocker a cutie pie!!!This was created using a kit from Amy Stoffel that is no longer available and True Blue Studio's Sweet Spring Templates: Set 5.

And with that, I'm off to bed to build up my energy for a very active 18-month old this weekend!!!

Another Week

2011-04-07T12:24:00.000-05:00

Well, another week has come and gone, but was it super busy!!! We decided back in January to do a bit of spurcing up in our "computer room". You see, at one point, both of us were computer programmers and always on call which required that we both have computer systems available 24/7 in case there was a problem / emergency. Once I "retired", my computer became my scrapping computer so we still have 2 computers in our office and we sit with our backs toward each other so we don't disturb the other. As I work on my blog, he is over there working on a problem that occurred during the night. But, our "computer room" is also our catch-all room so in preparations for the mini-remodel, I unloaded everything from my side of the room, so now I have bins sitting behind me. It seemed to take forever to take everything down from the shelves that we are replacing and expanding. I threw a lot of stuff away and still have more to go through when I load everything back up. In the end, it will be much nicer. And, I better hurry up with my blogpost so I can disconnect the monitor when we start working again.

I had several pages posted this week and some nice recognition along the way. So, without further ado, lets get this party started!!!

I find extractions so very tedious and I'm never happy with them, so I seldom try it and never post anything that uses an extraction. But this time I did - I still wasn't happy with the extraction, but found putting the background behind it that it covered what I thought was a mess!!! This actually got an unsolicited GSO nod at DST and was featured on the Artisian Guild's Gallery Showcase: The Delight Of Spring page
This page was created using Studio Rosey Posey's Charm Collection available at ScrapbookGraphics.
Charm Collection By Rosey Posey

Although my daughter is all grown up with a family of her own, she will always be my sweet little girl.

This was created with Romantic Intrigue, a collaboration between Creative Victorian Designs and Armina's Designs.
Romantic Intrigue

This is a photo of my daughter from the previous layout on the night of her senior prom. Not long after this photo was taken, a funnel cloud was spoted in the area and it started to hail just as they got inside the restaurant. Needless to say, it was quite an evening with the festivities evacuated to the basement at one point due to the storm warnings!!!

This was created using Netta Riss' Gently, a softly shabby kit.

I was going through old photos this week looking for something rather "Eastery" and found this photo of my youngest daughter. I can tell from her eyes that she wasn't feeling well when I took this photo. So, I decided to pair it up with her favorite poem by Shel Silverstein, "Sick". All these years later, this poem cracks me up and she can recite it perfectly!!!

Miki Ferkul's Alluring Add-On Bundle was used.

Where I Came From means quite a bit to me. For this page, I combined a photo of my Dad as a baby with a photo of my granddaughter and it just puts life in perspective for me in ways I can't even begin to express.

I used True Blue Studio's Blueprint: Set 3 and Amy Stoffel's Saturday Flea Market.
This is a photo of my dgd from last Easter after enjoying one of Grandma's Stuffed to the Top cupcakes. I have NO idea what I was thinking with that!!!

I used True Blue Studio's Sweet Spring Templates: Set 3, Jady Day Studio's Spring into Easter, Chelles Creations' CU Cheerful Doodled Alpha, and Happy Scrap Girl Designs' Worn Out Overlays 5. All of these products are available at ScrapMatters.
True Blue Studio's Sweet Spring Templates: Set 3

Finally, I got in one of those moods to try to combine a bunch of different things to create a layout. Here's what I came up with!!!
You can click on the image and go to the layout in the gallery for the full list (basically, I'm just too lazy to list everything here - LOL!!!).

Also at SBE, you will find the following:
Created with Denise Bailey's Apple Of My Eye.

Created with Ildi Geist's Rabbits and Chickens Page Set and Ildi's Sweet Season Word Art Stickers.

So, until next weekend which will get here sooner than you all know, have a great one!!!

Nice Quiet Week (But Busy Too)

2011-03-27T08:09:00.000-05:00

For a change, it was a nice and quiet week around here!!! The only mystery is what is taking one of my bird feeders!!! After years of having a suet feeder hanging from the clothes line post, during the past 3 weeks something has taken not one but two of the feeders. I live next to a state park and I'm guessing that deer are coming out and enjoying the bounty at my house. There used to be a corn field a block south of my house and after 33 years, someone has decided that a new subdivision would be perfect there. Now, in the past, the deer would eat corn in that field all winter. The past few weeks, the construction noise has picked up and I think the deer are hungry. The bark has been stripped from my apple tree. I don't mind feeding the deer, but they could certainly stand to pick up their droppings and if they want to eat the suet, just leave the feeder - LOL!!!

One of my goals this past week was to snap some photos of flowers in the neighborhood, but alas, it was rainy and gloomy all week. One of my trees started to bud out this past week and I really wanted some photos of those buds so I packed up the camera, got my shoes on and went outside. . . . .only to discover that I'm too short to take photos of the buds - UGH!!!

Now it is "show and tell" time. I have several new pages that went up around the digi-world this week.

This week, Creative Victorian Designs teamed up with Aimee Harrison at Girlboheme Studio to create Morning Fresh. I used this collaboration to scrap a photo of my dd and her bff before they left for their senior prom.
Freshly Sweet Creative Victorian Designs and Aimee Harrison's Morning Fresh

For her guest spot at Scrapbook Graphics, Miki released Printemps. This is a page I did of the rose bush in our backyard. It has survived all of my dh's attempts at gardening and blooms in its full glory every single spring. It has outlasted every other flower in my backyard!!!
Springtime This was created with
Miki Ferkul's Printemps Page Kit Scrapping With Liz' Paper Strips CU/PU Scrapping With Liz' Little Scallops - CU/PU
After a brief haitus, True Blue Studio has opened a new store at Scrap Matters. Her templates are a great starting point for creating pages. I use templates quite a bit in my design, especially on those days when I need a little jumpstart. The thing to remember when using templates, they are a guide, you can add to or subtract from to suit your needs. Here are some pages I created with True Blue's Templates.
Fun In The Sun This was created with the following products:
True Blue Studio's Sweet Spring Templates: Set 1 Park Play by Kay Miller and Jady Day Studio
Sweet Spring This was created using the following products:
True Blue Studio's Sweet Spring Templates: Set 2 Graham Like The Cracker and WM [squared] Designs' Rainbows and Butterflies
Sweetie Pie
This was created using the following products:
True Blue Studio's Blueprints: Set 2 Stolen Moments and Jady Day Studio's For the Love of Girls
Definitely Delightful This was created using the following products:
True Blue Studio's Blueprints: Set 1 Amy Stoffel's Sassafras
I did a couple of pages using products by Kimmi Stewart. First up is Little Miss Surprised Face - my dgd is all about the drama sometimes and she'll give you her look of surprise from time to time.
This was created using the following items.
Kimmi Stewart's Little Eskimo Kit Kimmi Stewart's Paper Flowers Make Your Own - Set 1 Kimmi Stewart's Paper Flowers Make Your Own - Set 2 Kimmi Stewart's Paper Flowers Make Your Own - Set 3
Next up is Happy Girl - this brag book page uses a photo of my dgd with her neon green hat!!! Just like her Mom, she enjoys dressing up and is usually all smiles!!!
Happy Girl So Very Cute is another page of my dgd and the first time I saw her in her "pigtails"!!!
So Very Cutre Both of these were created using Kimmi's Flower Pandas Kit
One of the things I enjoy doing in my scrapping is combining elements and apapers from different sources to complete a page. Giving, a photo of my dd and her dance class of 3-year olds does just that.
Giving This uses 3 items from Scrapbook Elements. . .
Miki Ferkul's Alluring
Barbara Derksen's Fancy Swirls
Jennifer Steffen's Words With Purpose Wordart

As I was surfing around this week, I found the following things to add to my wishlist!!! I know there are some wonderful spring things coming out at SBE next week, but I found this at Sweet Shoppe Designs - how cute is this!!! I think this has so many more uses that just Easter!!! I know both of my girls have been having me create invitations to baby showers for their friends, I think this is perfect for all those little spring lambs that will be arriving with the May Flowers!!!
Bunnies & Chickies by lliella designs
And, with that, I think I'll wrap up this week's scrapping recap. It looks to be a sunny, but very cold day today. My dd had nearly 5 inches of snow yesterday and they live south of us - definitely a wacky weather winter!!!

TGIF!!!

2011-03-18T21:26:00.000-05:00

It is finally Friday and I have a few minutes before the University of Illinois NCAA Tournament basketball game - Go Illini!!!

Today has been a super busy and productive day!!! I scrapped a couple of pages, did some "deep" cleaning in the bathrooms and laundry room. Then I cleaned out two cupboards in the kitchen, washed 3 loads of dishes and put things back!!! All in all it has been a good day.

I wanted to share some pages I created and show you some of the new "toys" I picked up today. But first, the new pages.

Today at ScrapbookGraphics, Studio Rosey Posey released another set of Blended Templates. This is a cross between a mini kit and masks and a template, so they are fun to work with.

Studio Rosey Posey's Blended Templates Bundle 04
Champagne and Kisses

Also at ScrapbookGraphics today, Miki Ferkul released her Serenity Add-On Bundle. The bundle is a fun way to gather components to create oh so many pages!!!

Serenity Add-On Bundle

Barn Touring

Now it is time to see some of the things I found in the various stores. These are fun things that will definitely be on my wish list since I'm not associated with these designers.

As a grandma to two little girls, I think this is just adorable - and how yummy are those make-your-own-cupcakes!!!

Birthday Girl Collection By Flergs

I am always on the lookout for templates, may have to check these out!!! Thaty is guesting this month at ScrapbookGraphics.

Page Templates Vol.01 By Thaty Borges
And speaking of templates how about these clustered templates!!! Instead of an entire page these templates are for photo clusters.

Cute Clusters Volume 5 by Nanie's Designs

I have always loved everything related to music, so I think this is just the cutest kit!!!
Joyful Noise by Misty Cato
My granddaughter loves all things Dr. Seuess, so I think this might just be the perfect little kit for scrapping a photo of her reading one of her books.
On The Loose by Dani Mogstad and Shawna Clingerman

More New Stuff!!!

2011-03-15T19:14:00.000-05:00

I feel awesome at the moment!!! I have accomplished more in one day than I thought I would get done!!! The cupboards are stocked with food again and all those little errands that I had let build up are done!!! Maybe it is because I'm getting ready to watch the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament for the entire weekend!!! I'm not sure why, but I certainly do enjoy this time of year. . . .a few years ago, we were able to score some tickets to one of the first and second round games when they were in St. Louis. That was a fun time for sure.

I have uploaded a few more pages today and thought I'd share those with you.

Miki Ferkul released Sanctuary at ScrapbookGraphics today. I really like the luscious, rich colors in this kit and that orange flower is just awesome!!!

Sanctuary

I used Sanctuary to scrap a page of my two girls together. For some reason (probably because there was always a fight if I asked them to be nice for a photo), I don't have all that many photos of the two of them together. In addition to Sanctuary, I also used Thaty Borges' Classic Template Collection Vol 3 which is no longer available from what I can tesll and Something Blue Studio's Worn Photo Overlays 2.

Simply Sisters

Last week at Scrapbook Elements, I chose a couple of seasonal kits to work with. First up is Cathy Krenek's Lucky Go Happy. This kit is perfect for those St. Patrick's Day photos and my favorite by a long shot is this photo of my granddaughter. This was taken on her first St. Patty's Day and I think it is just adorable!!! In addition to Cathy's kit, I also used Penny Springman's Word Jumbles: St. Patrick's Day and Rina Kroes' Circle Mats which are no longer available.

Cathy Krenek's Lucky Go Happy

Irish Eyes

The second selection I made was Denise Bailey's New Beginnings. For this kit, I decided to try a different style, but kept the same traditional approach I use. One of these days I'll try an honest to goodness "scene" but until I get more comfortable with extractions, that isn't going to be happening - LOL!!! In addition to Denise's New Beginnings, I also used a modified template from Busy Bee Designs' Easy Breezy Part 12 and e-lena Designs' Shabby Paper Overlays.

Denise Bailey's New Beginning

Just Ducky

And that should wrap it up for a couple of days. Tomorrow I'm going to clean house and somehow deer-proof those birdfeeders!!! They are building a new subdivision in what used to be the cornfield a block south of us. Now the deer who live in the state park one house over are looking for food and have discovered my apple tree and birdfeeders!!! They have completely stripped the bark from my apple tree and walked off with the new suet that I put out yesterday!!! In exchange, they are leaving me little "droppings" which I'm sure are tokens of their appreciation - LOL!!!

Scrapbooking News - 3/14/2011

2011-03-14T12:13:00.017-05:00

I have been wanting to redo my blog for the longest time and I finally decided last night to start in earnest on it!!! I still have one little bitty thing that I'd like to fix, but it is acceptable at the moment!!!

I can't believe I didn't post a single thing last year. But last year was kind of a crappy year. There were days when I didn't even feel like sitting at the computer and working on anything at all. This year has also had its share of challenges, but at this moment in time life seems good and as we have all seen in recent days, that can change unexpectedly in a heartbeat!!!

A lot has changed since my last scrapping-related post!!! I've expanded my CT list and have really enjoyed working with their designs. Here's a list of the things that were released by the designers this past week.

Miki is a guest designer for the Month of March at ScrapbookGraphics so she is one busy lady this month!!! On Sunday (March 13), Miki's Luxurious Add-On Bundle was released at Scrapbook Element. This Add-On Bundle has stacked papers, clustered frames, clustered journal tags and a set of luscious photo masks.

Miki's Luxurious Add-On Bundle

Here's a page I did with Miki's Luxurious Add-On Bundle and Miki's Luxurious Page Kit.

Dream Vacation Home

At ScrapbookGraphics, Miki expanded the Imagica line with a comparable Imagica Add-On Bundle.

Imagica Add-On Bundle

Here's the page I created using Miki's Imagica Add-On Bundle
as well as Imagica.

Sisters

Netta Riss is a new design line at Creative Victorian Designs. These products had a wonderful, shabby feel and are perfect for scrapping everything from heritage photos to more romantic memories. The first kit in this design line is Netta Riss' Reverie. If you stop by, make sure that you check out the coordinating alphas, brads, clusters, etc.

Netta Riss' Reverie

Here is one of the pages I created with Netta Riss' Reverie

Time Flies - this page also uses Creative Victorian Designs' Paper Masks 4 and Busy Bee Designs' Easy Breezy Part 16

Last week, Studio Rosey Posey released Demure and the Demure Collection.

Demure Collection

And here is the page I created using the Demure Collection

Bliss

There were several new products available at Scrapbook Elements, but I chose the following to work with.

Denise Bailey's Sunshine
Daniela Austen's Color Lane Collection - Black Is Back
Daniela Austen's Color Lane Collection - Beautiful Beige
Daniela Austen's Color Lane Collection - Yummy Yellow

Here is the page I created using these products in adddition to Creative Victorian Designs' Paper Masks 3 and Busy Bee Designs' Spring Blooms, Part 2.

Hot Mess

So, until I have more to say or share, have a great week!!!

Albums!!!

2009-10-25T18:58:00.003-05:00

Well, they are finally done!!! The albums that I've been working on for the past week are done and have been given to my MIL for her birthday. Yesterday (Saturday) was a tense day!!! I finished the pages on Friday just before we left to go pick up my dgd and SIL in St. Louis. By the time we got home and had Evie squared away, I was just way too exhausted to do anything with the albums, so I decided I'd just get up early on Saturday and finish them. True to my internal word, I was up at 2:30 am to print the pages trying to get as much done as I could before Evie woke up. I got the "Evie Album" all printed, but when I started working on the "Lucella Album" print, the printer got all tempermental on me - it would print may be 2 pages and then just quit feeding the sheets through. I Googled the problem and finally found that the roller mechanism is somewhat fickle. One solution offered was to clean the rollers with denatured alchohol. That seemed to do the trick, but the trick only lasted for 1 or 2 pages. Now, keep in mind, this paper came from New York so it's not like I can just run out and get more at the drop of a hat!!!

Now, through all of this, my dh wanted to take Evie outdoors for some outside fun, so we took the afternoon yesterday to take Evie to the Pumpkin Patch in Amish Country. It was pretty cold and we had had 3+ inches of rain, so it was pretty muddy too, but she seemed to enjoy herself - and, I must say she really likes goats!!! It was fun to watch her in the hay maze for little kids!!!

Anyway, here are peeks at the albums I did. Some of the pages have been posted, but some have not. I don't intend to put them up, so the credits for the pages are all over the board - and I have to admit there are some scraplifts throughout!!!

Evie's Album

Lucella's Album

Fall Is In The Air

2009-10-08T05:30:00.003-05:00

Well, fall is finally in the air around here. The farmers were out yesterday frantically trying to get in as much harvest as they could. We have a forecast of 3-5 inches of rain over the next 2 days followed up with SNOW in the forecast for Sunday. It is just way too early for snow - our leaves haven't changed yet!!! I was scheduled to go on my Barn Tour this Friday, but with the amount of rain in the forecast and the way the roads wash out around here, I think I may just go buy my map and take my own tour once the leaves change!!! I can't wait to put some homemade soup in the crockpot - love those fall smells!!!

Welcome To The World!!!

2009-09-17T05:58:00.004-05:00

On Friday, September 11, Miss Lucella Ludean entered the world!!! She was 6 pounds 3 ounces and by the first measurement was 17-1/2 inches long. Mom, Dad and baby are doing well!!!

Little Lucella

The New Family

There were a record 30 babies in the hospital during the 2 days that Lisa was there. They were so full that she had to wait hours for a labor and delivery room and then after the baby was born, they waited even longer to get a regular room. Everyone is now home and enjoying their own couch as opposed to the chairs in the hospital - LOL!!!

From the time that we learned that we were going to be grandparents again, I joked to my husband that even though the baby's due date was later in September, she would be born while he was on his annual Disaster Recovery Test in Chicago. As it got closer, Lisa said that the baby would be born on 9/11. Lo and behold, we were both right. I got the call that they were headed to the hospital just minutes after my husband had left for his trip!!!

Lisa is concerned that the baby will have mixed feelings about sharing a birthday with a day that holds such tragic memories for our country. My birthday is the same as Pearl Harbor Day which in retrospect is much like 9/11 for the current generations. I do pause each day on my birthday to remember the events of 12/07. I can remember the stories my Dad told me in such vivid details about the events of Sunday morning, so in a way, I think it may be a good thing - otherwise, I think the sacrifices of that day may have been lost on me.

And, you can bet there are more photos forthcoming - for some reason, I'd much rather be holding baby that taking photos - LOL!!! Oh, and by the way, she shares her middle name with my Mom!!!

Images, Links, Yahoo Groups and E-Mails, Oh My!!!

2009-08-26T18:45:00.005-05:00

These instructions are more for myself than anything. When I post layouts in galleries, I typically send out notifications through various Yahoo Groups. These instructions work for me, and may or may not work with your particular system configuration. Having said that, I am using Windows Vista, Internet Explorer 8.0, and Outlook 2007. For these illustrations, I am using Scrapbook Elements, but these same instructions should work for most posting sites.

Step 1 - in IE, navigate to your gallery. and snag the url of the thumbnail image itself. To do that, point to your thumbnail and right-click and select Properties. To close the Properties windows, click on OK

Step 2 - Now, in another window / tab, go to a forum and create a new thread. This thread is NOT permanent and should NEVER be saved.

Step 3 - I usually enter the title of the layout and the URL of the thumbnail. The title is easy, and here is how you do the URL. Click on Insert Image (that is the "mountain" icon).

After you have clicked on the Insert Image icon, you will get a pop-up screen where you will paste the URL of the thumbnail that we captured in Step 1 above.

After you have done this, it is a good idea to hit the HOME key and verify that the address has "http://" only once. Click OK when you are done.

Step 4 - Now you have the base information in the forum thread, now it is time to create the hyperlinks to your layout. Make sure that your image looks like the one below before proceeding.

If it doesn't and you see something that looks like this

You simply need to Click the Switch Editor Mode

Step 5 - Snag the URL of your page. Go back to your gallery and select your image highlight the URL and copy it. Notice that I have not included the &ppuser=2737 part of the URL. It is optional and since I usually copy and paste the Yahoo post, leaving this off is just one less additional thing for me to change.

Step 6 - Go back to your forum entry and highlight the image itself and click on the Insert Link icon (the icon with the chainlink or paperclip)

And paste the URL of your layout page in the popup window and click OK.

Step 7 - Repeat the process in Step 6 for the Title.

Step 8 - Go to your Yahoo Group. On the right-hand side you will see the various options.

Select Post. You will receive the following screen.

You will have to click on the Rich-Text Editor (Beta) or the images and links will not appear correctly in the resulting e-mail.

Step 9 - Format your Yahoo Group message. In the Subject, I use LO Share - layoutname and try to enter something "creative" in the description.

Step 10 - Copy the Title and image from the entry in the Forum. Highlight the image and the title in the forum and copy.

Step 11 - Go back to the Yahoo screen and paste the information. Your screen should look like this:

Step 12 - Include the layout credits and if your Yahoo Group allows it, include the hyperlinks to the products. You can do this by entering the text, grabbing the URL of the product and using the Insert Link option in Yahoo.

When you are done, hit send - but remember, once you send it, there is not editing it!!!

Resizing Those Stacked Papers

2009-08-13T09:19:00.002-05:00

I love the look of those stacked papers, but sometimes, I just don't have the time to do it myself, so I do turn to the premade stacked papers. There are a number on the market, several designers have Stacked Papers available at Scrapbook Elements for example. I love to use the stacked papers to create brag book pages, but the dilemma is sizing. I have found a technique that works for me, so I thought I'd share it with you. All of these illustrations were done in Photoshop Elements 5.0.

Start by creating a new page in PSE and for my brag book, I set the size to 6 inches wide by 4 inches high and open the stacked paper that you want to use. In this case, I selected a paper from Rina's Some Enchanted Evening Stacked Papers. With PSE, I can drag and drop from the Photo Bin to my project and PSE will automatically center and resize the object retaining the original ratio. Here's what the page looks like at this point.

Now, you need to examine the paper that you have selected to determine a good place to cut in order to resize the paper. In this case, the cleanest area is diagonally from the left to the right. Once I have a game plan, I can continue.

I need to resize the page to fill the work area. In order to do this, I like to select both the paper layer and background layer and use the Align feature in PSE to align the two layers on the right.

Next, we want to resize the stacked paper layer to fill the 4x6 area horizontally. I use one of the corner handles to maintain the ratio. Photoshop CS3 note: to lock the ratio, hold down the Shift key while dragging (this is the default in Photoshop Elements). DO NOT simply drag the resize handle to the left, that will distort the proportions!!! Alternately, you can manually set the proportions (Alt+T, then change the height / width to 150%)

Here's a look at the Transform area of the PSE screen

Now, notice that we have our work area filled, but the bottom is hanging off the screen, we are going to fix that now. Figure out where a "clean" line is for our changes. In this case, I want to slice the page diagonally from the upper left to the lower right. This part will vary!!!

First, it will work so much better if you zoom out on your screen. Next, select the polygonal lasso tool and plan your course and start drawing. Below you will see my area - notice that I have selected an area without embellishments.

Next you want to "cut" the selected area and split the stacked paper. To do this you can use either Layer --> New --> Layer via Cut or Shift+Ctrl+J. Notice the 2 layers now in your Layers Palette.

Now, we need to move the new lower part of the paper up to align with the bottom of your work area.

We are getting much closer to a fabulous background, but there are 2 more steps that we need to do. First, we need to carefully erase the overlapping area. Since I'm always a "nerveous Nelly", I like to copy the bottom part of the page and hide it in case I really mess up with the erasing. To do my erasure, I select a soft brush that is included in PSE5.0's Basic Brushes. Here's what my page looks like after I have erased the overlapping area.

The final step is to delete the hidden layer and to merge the two stacked paper layers. Sometimes, I'll then save that as a full-sized jpg file if I think I may use it again later, that way, I've saved myself some time in the future!!!

Here are a couple of examples where I've used this technique.

Rina Kroes' Meadow Breeze Stacked Papers

Rina Kroes' Something Nautical Stacked Papers

Rina Kroes' Joyful Awakening Stacked Papers

Rina Kroes' Teen Tude Stacked Papers

Final Notes

If you end up with a bit of a "jagged" alignment, just add an embellishment to cover it up and nobody will ever know!!!

This is also a technique that I use to resize a frame that may be square when I really need a rectangular frame or vice versa!!! I often do not want to alter the width of the frame itself!!! I use this ALL the time!!!

A Trip To The Zoo

2009-08-06T05:53:00.002-05:00

We have a little zoo in our town that I have to admit, I have not been too for quite a while. In recent years they have done a lot of work to it and even built a fabulous children's playground next to it. When our granddaughter visited, we took her to the zoo one Sunday afternoon. The zoo wasn't very crowded and our granddaughter looked like she was an old pro at zoos - after all, she is all of 14 months old), so I was able to take tons of photos. Like I said, it is a small, and intimate zoo. Here's one of the photos I took while there.

Experimenting Again

2009-08-03T16:42:00.003-05:00

Well, I am bored with the "style" that I have currently been using, so this weekend, I decided to branch out a bit. Here goes!!!

First up is a page I did for one of the Sweet Shoppe Designs' Challenge A Day exercises. I have found this really pushes me!!! Plus, the 40% discount reward for completing 27 challenges at the end of the month is pretty sweet!!! With Senior, I am trying to work with cleaner lines and more blocking. This is a scraplift of scarletsierra's Laugh More made with Libby Weifenbach's Krafty Essentials (SSD), Eva Kipler's Boston Bistro (SSD) and Camilla Designs Recipe Template 3 (A5D). The font is Hotel Coral Essex. While I'm experimenting, I decided to scraplift and use templates so I could concentrate a little more on what I was doing - LOL!!!

Next I did Love using Lorilei Murphy's Devotion from Rosey Posey Studio. Somewhere (don't know where), I saw a page that used a clipping mask in more of a blended mode, so I decided to try it with this one. The clipping mask is from Cafe J's Showpieces - There Goes the Neighborhood (A5D).

Then, I went back to the clean line approach with these two.

Big Girl uses Lorilei Murphy's School Girl from Rosey Posey Studio along with another template from Camila Design's Recipe Template 3. I really like those pastels - they seem so vibrant!!!

For another challenge at Sweet Shoppe Designs, I scrapped the Diaper Cake I made for my dd's baby shower (7 weeks and counting!!!) using the Animal Crackers (SSD and ScrapOrchard) collaboration kit by Libby Weifenbach and Tracy Howard. This is a scraplift of scarletsierrra's daydreamer.

Here's an example of my typical "style" - if I have one!!! For Baptism Day, I used Lorilei Murphy's Pristine from Rosey Posey Studio to do a more monochromatic page. For this one, I tried to keep the embellishments at a minimum so the photo was the primary focus. I think my dgd is so sweet in that dress!!!

I think I'm going to continue experimenting just to shake things up from time to time. I hate being in a rut!!!

July 10 - Wicked Weather Ahead

2009-07-10T07:46:00.003-05:00

After a rather soggy 4th of July weekend, we were surprised again on Wednesday of this week with MORE rain!!! I would imagine we have had anywhere from 3-5 inches of rain this week alone!!! And while normally the farmers here in the Heartland welcome a bit of rain this time of year, this is getting ridiculous!!!

Now, the first thing I do every morning is to check the radar for the central US. I knew the forecast for this afternoon was strong storms and lo and behold, that is exactly what seems to be headed this way. When the storms are this strong before 8 am, it does not bode well for the rest of the day!!!

I hate storms. Been in too many storms, seen too much distruction, just really don't like them AT all!!! But all week long, the temperatures have crept up and yesterday we were in the high 80's and this morning it is so horribly humid outside I think we are probably in for some wicked weather!!!

New Layouts

2009-07-04T20:06:00.003-05:00

Well, it must be the 4th of July here because it has rained steadily all day long. I honestly can't remember a recent 4th when it was nice and sunny. Since all of our plans were scrapped, I decided to get some scrapping done today.

Share - I have this page ready to post, but have used all of my postings for the day at DST. When my granddaughter visited recently, I couldn't get over how well she shares things. First thing in the morning when I open the toys, she makes sure everyone has something before she picks what she wants to play with. Then after a while, she will bring something over and 'trade' for a new toy. I tried to get her to use the crayons, the next time she visits, I think we will get that mastered!!!

For this playful page, I used Lorilei Murphy's Crossing available at Rosey Posey Studio.

When my dd was little, she wanted to play softball so bad. I love this first softball photo of her - she was SO proud of herself!!!

For this, I used Rina Kroes' Celebrate Liberty page set available at Scrapbook Elements.

Finally, I got a new batch of photos this week from my dd. They recently took a little day trip to the Ozarks and took Evie on her first hike.

For this, I used Kimmi Stewart's The Ark available at Scrapbook Elements.

New Layout

2009-06-16T17:10:00.002-05:00

I have just uploaded a new page to some of my galleries. For Faded Memories, I used photos of my family from my childhood - Mom, Dad, my sister and myself. This time of year is so hard - my Dad passed away 32 years ago in a farming accident and this is also the time of year both my Mom and sister first got sick. I try to keep their memories alive for my girls so they can share them with their children when they are older.

Faded Memories

If you would like to take a closer look, please follow one of these links:
DigiShopTalk
DigiScrapAddicts
Scrappers Guide

To create this page, I used items exclusively from Lorilei Murphy's Posies available at Rosey Posey Studio. I love the vintage feel of the page but at the same time, this would make a wonderful souce for some whimsical pages too!!!

Posies

Recently Posted Pages

2009-06-09T16:55:00.004-05:00

Well, I finally found time this afternoon to create a slide show of some of the layouts I have posted recently. These are in a variety of galleries, but I thought you might like to take a look!!!

May - What a Month!!!

2009-05-25T07:16:00.003-05:00

After another buzy weekend, I am certainly GLAD that next weekend should be much quieter. This month was a whirlwind of activity much of which was centered around our granddaughter's first birthday. Not only did she have a party at her house, but I hosted a party for her Mom's side of the family too!!! My dh and I "celebrated" our 32nd wedding anniversary by simply relaxing at home - LOL!!! And we attended a graduation that sitcoms are made of!!!

Being the Center of Attention

Birthday Cake

What kid doesn't like getting hosed down after cake?

What a life - look at all of these BALLS!!!

May also brought a graduation and some horrible storms. This photo was taken around 4 in the afternoon - it was nearly dark as night. This storm brought high winds, hail and 7+ inches of rain!!!

Tips - Paper Strips

2009-04-30T10:00:00.001-05:00

When I am doing layouts, I love to use papers. Now, most of us have layered papers using those fabulous worn overlays and mats that are available. In addition to these, I like to use paper strips.

I found I got bored pretty quickly with just "straight" cornered paper strips until I found a handy feature in Photoshop and Photoshop Elements for making rounded strips. Here is an example of a page I did using paper strips that were created by little old me!!!

Here are the steps to create a strip.

1. Select the paper layer that you would like to use for your strip.
2. Select the Rectangular Marquee Tool and drag the cursor to make a strip or square the size you would like.
3. From the menu click on Select --> Modify --> Smooth
4. Select a degree of rounding. This just completely depends on your preference. I find that I vary mine from layout to layout, but typically use anything from 40-60 on 12x12 pages, for brag book size pages, I use something from 20-30.
5. Once you are happy with your selection, cut the strip using Ctrl+J

I like to layer my strips to give dimension to the page. And also like to tilt the strips from time to time. Remember to add shadows to create your depth of field!!!

On the above layout, you will see that I have used photo masks. I sometimes find that it is hard to use pre-made masks, so lately I have been creating my own. Look for a future tutorial on that!!!

Have Fun!!!

Resolutions - What Resolutions

2009-01-30T12:23:00.001-06:00

Here it is almost the end of January, and honestly, I can't remember my resolutions!!! So this is little or not wonder!!!

You Probably Won't Keep Your New Year's Resolution

Something isn't quite right with the resolution you've selected. Maybe it's time for a different one?

Will You Keep Your New Year's Resolution?

Color Table Usage - Photoshop

2008-09-27T11:31:00.007-05:00

From time to time, I enjoy making my own papers to coordinate with a specific photo. When I first started working with Photoshop, I would use the eyedropper tool to select a color, but if I had selected several colors, it become difficult to duplicate that color. That is when I found out about color tables!!!

First step - open up the photo that you are scrapping and duplicate that photo to a new document and close the original. The process that will be described here atually alters the photo somewhat and this will prevent inadvertantly replacing the original photo. Also, verify that the Color Swatch window is visible. You can do this by Window --> Color Swatch.

Verify that you are in fact in that new document with the copy of the photo. Now, click on Image --> Mode --> Indexed Color. By default this will display a Color value of 256. For me that is just too many colors to choose from, I typically find that 24 is much more to my liking.

Here is the resulting Color Table.

Next, we will want to save that Color Table. I have a special folder where I save my color tables. To save the Color Table, click on Image --> Color Table --> Save. Navigate to your Color Table Folder. Notice that the extension on your fill will be .act

Now that we have the color table saved, we need to load it into the Color Swatches window. To do this, on the Color Swatch window, click on More --> Replace Swatches (the Load Swatch option will append your new color table to the existing one). Again, navigate to your Color Table Folder.

You will notice that the extension is .aco, change this to .act and your saved color table will appear.

Click on that and notice that the swatch has now changed.

Close the document and do not save it. Open your new document and you are ready to create!!!

As a note, I have found it much easier to go back to the default color swatch if I have saved a copy of it in my Color Table Folder first. To do this, click on More in the Color Swatch window and Save. Navigate to your Color Table folder and supply the name Default.aco - after you are done with your current project, you can just replace the color table with the default.

Recent Posted Pages

2008-06-02T12:14:00.006-05:00

It has been quite a while since I updated my blog, but I have a very good excuse. I'd like to introduce you to my first grandchild!!!

And, just in time for Evie's arrival, I got the wedding album for my other daughter done. So now I can start to scrap all those cute little baby photos!!! For the past several months, I have been on the lookout for some adorable baby kits that would work not only for the newborn photos, but would transition as the baby gets older.

I'd like to share some of my most recent pages with you.

First Stroller Ride

Credits:
Stacy Carlson's Bead Style
Rina Kroes' Spring Medley
Tracy King's Template for SBE Monthly Template Challenge
Fonts: Cookie Nookie, Arial, Bambino

Sweetie Pie

Credits:
Rina Kroes' Enduring Love
Font: insomnesia

Daddy's Girl

Credits:
Rina Kroes' Some Enchanted Evening
Kim Hollibone's Template for the weekly Brag Book Challenge at SBE

Destined

Credits:
Rina Kroes' Bellisima Bracket Album
My Ballerina

Credits:
Rina Kroes' Bellisima Page Set

Creating "Clickable" Links for Gallery Credits

2008-04-15T16:21:00.005-05:00

When posting a layout in a gallery, we should always credit the products that were used on the page. Maybe it is because I just have too many things swimming around in my head, but I usually like to see those nice tidy clickable links or hyperlinks instead of the entire URL. I can usually remember the name of the designer and item, but the URL is just too much for me to store away even for a little while. I have found there are a couple of ways to create those clickable hyperlinks. But, remember, before you use either of these methods, please be aware of the posting guidelines for the the site!!! Some sites will only allow hyperlinks to products from their store while other sites have a more open policy regarding credits. Always check!!!

There are two methods to create a hyperlink. The method to use depends on whether the site uses BB Code or HTML as the basis for their site. Sites such as Scrapbook Elements, DigiShop Talk, Digi Chick and Digital Freebies use the BB Code method. Treasures to Scrap uses the HTML method. If you try one approach and the results are just what you typed in, then you will want to edit that photo and switch to the other method.

BB Code Method (used at SBE, DST, DC, DF)

FORMAT:
[url=LINKTOPRODUCT]Product Name[/url]

EXAMPLE:
[url=http://store.scrapbook-elements.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=13218]Rina Kroes' Some Enchanted Evening[/url]

Typically, with this method, if you have several credits, you can atually create a list by simply pressing "enter" at the end of the line!!

HTML Method (used at Treasures To Scrap)

FORMAT:
<a href="LINKTOKIT" target="_blanc">NAMEOFKIT</a>

EXAMPLE:
<a href="http://digistore.treasurestoscrap.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=993" target="_blanc">Rina Kroes' Bling String Embellishment Set</a>

If you have several credits, this method is a little tricker to use. You will find that you will need to use the <br> HTML code to create a line break.

Welcome to My Blog

2008-04-13T04:30:00.003-05:00

Well, I finally did it - I decided to create my own little space!!!! I hope to focus on digital scrapbooking and include some of my own work as well as provide useful information regarding some of the "tools" that I use.

Speaking of "tools", I use Photoshop Elements 5.0 and Photoshop CS3 for my work. You may ask why I use PSE 5.0 as opposed to PSE 6.0 I find the user interface in PSE6.0 very cumbersome to work with. While the black palette is fine for the work area, I am not a fan of black on black for the toolbar areas. I also really rely on the Photo Bin in PSE5.0 and love the drag and drop as opposed to the technique used for CS3. So the way I design my pages is to place the objects onto the page with PSE5.0 then switch to CS3 for the fine, finishing work.

Alien Skin's Impact is also in my toolbox. I am still experimenting with this product, but so far, have really enjoyed some of the things it will allow me to do to make a page special. I am also in the midst of doing some digital "spring cleaning". I recently purchased ACDSee and am trying to organize my stash with this product. It is a very time-consuming process, but in the end, it should be very nice!!!

While I do work with pre-made kits, I do enjoy doing "my own thing" by creating items using overlays, styles, templates and actions. I have also been asked what my "style" is - I'm not sure that I really have one. The pages I create are pretty much based on my mood for the day!!!!

Please be sure to check back periodically. Not only will you find new layouts that have been posted, but Photoshop hints, new product finds, etc.