Croppycatter's Corner

Kissy Kissy

2012-02-09T18:43:00.000-06:00

Finally! Kissy Kissy is done and loaded in the store and ready for release tomorrow (or today if you are reading this on Friday lol)!! I really wanted this done last week but no matter what I did, I just couldn't get there. It's just been crazy around here between kids and trying to get sick and a million other things you can relate to. And I really need to go down and make supper...it's already 6:30. Laundry could use some attention too come to think of it. Not to mention the Flash and Art Journal classes I have woefully neglected. But before everyone starts screaming "I'm hungry", I will show you the new kit. :)

I'll have to link it up for you tomorrow when it is actually in the store. Brannon is supposed to be taking off tomorrow so if I don't get it linked you can click on the Berry Sweet blinkie up in the upper left of this page and it will take you to my store (sorry all of you English majors...I'm the queen of run-on sentences).

Here's a couple of add-on kits that will be released tomorrow too...

I had a lot of fun making this kit and I hope you can have fun with it also! Even though I guess it's technically a Valentine's Day kit, you can use it for other projects too. See my layout below??? Definitely NOT Valentine's!!

This is just a sampling of what I live with. Thank goodness for my daughter!!!

Ok...I guess my family really is ready to eat and to tell you the truth I'm kinda hungry too.

OH!!! I forgot to mention that this whole collection + the add-on kits are 30% off this weekend (Friday, 10th-Monday, 13th). After that, it'll be business as usual!

Have a great weekend and a great Valentine's Day!

Hybrid Challenge at Berry Sweet

2012-02-02T09:58:00.000-06:00

The start of February has brought with it a bunch of challenges to participate in at Berry Sweet Scraps. Each challenge you participate in is worth points. You can read more about the rules and how to track your points here. The challenge I'm hosting is the hybrid challenge. Hybrid is mixing traditional (paper) supplies with digital supplies. For my layout example, I used supplies from Fright Night. I printed out my digital supplies on Epson Premium Presentation Paper and cut them out. A little hint for printing...if you are trying to print white or whitish elements, add a small gray stroke around the element so you can see more easily where to cut. After cutting, I inked up each piece just like I would "normal" scrapbook paper and elements. For the title, I added Glossy Accents to the letters to make them pop out a little more. I also added some traditional supplies like the ribbon and the clip from Heidi Swapp. So if you like the idea of using your computer more for your scrapbooking, head on over to my challenge and see what you can come up with. I have other ideas listed in the challenge to help you get started with it. :)

Here's my sample layout...

Making Linkable Signatures for Message Boards

2012-01-28T17:07:00.001-06:00

When I was trying to find out how to do this, I ended up not finding a whole lot that made sense. After finding instructions from a few different places on how to do this for web pages, I was finally able to piece together how to do it for message board signatures. So I wrote this tutorial to hopefully help you to avoid a lot of frustration. :) and tears...and throwing things...saying bad words (not that I'm admitting I did)....

You need to check your forum rules to see what, if any,limitations there are regarding the size of signatures. A lot that I’ve seen can be around 600 px x200 px so you can use that as a guide and adjust later if you need.

For this tutorial, we’ll use the one I created for mine.

You can use anything you want to create yours. I’m assuming you can probably figure thatpart out. ;)

Now to make it linkable…

Open up your Photoshop program. I’m using CS5 for this. Elements users…you will need to make your CSfriends a batch of cookies and ask them to link it up for you. I have no idea if you are able to do thiswith PSP or Gimp. If you find that youcan, feel free to post a comment letting everyone know!

You are going to become friends with your slice tool.

Now you will need to select your slice tool and drawselections around the different parts that need to be linked. If you are wanting the whole image linked toone place, then you don’t need to do any of this. On my siggy, I need 4 different links, so Iwill be making four different selections.

You will need to make your selections right next to eachother trying to avoid overlapping them. If you do accidentally overlap them and need to fix or resize them, thenclick down on the slice tool and hold it down until you can see the otherembedded tools. Pick the slice selecttool and click down on the slice you need to resize and resize it like you wouldanything else.

Another thing to think about is that it is way easier toslice side-by-side like I have mine. Itried slicing it in ½ vertically and then doing little slices for my linksunder it and it was a disaster! You canplay around with it and see what works for you though.

After you get your slices where you want them, you will needto save them. Go to File>Save for Web& Devices.

Make sure you have Optimized selected (don’t ask me why…haveno idea…just saw that somewhere). Youwill also need PNG-24 selected. The pngpart is for the transparency. If youhave a solid rectangle and no transparency parts, then you can pick jpeg. Do a quick check and make sure that yourImage Size is right. You can change ithere if you need to.

When your settings are right, click save. Now you can name your siggy. Since you didn’t actually embed hyperlinksinto the image itself (you can do that for actual web pages but I’m notcovering that in this tut), then you can choose Images Only in the Format andAll Slices. Be sure to save this whereyou can find it easily.

Now, go to the place where you saved your image. You will have a folder called Images. In that folder you will find each of yourslices.

Here in mine you see 2 extra files. I really think that’s some overlap where myslices didn’t quite meet where they should. We can just ignore them…it looks like it’s just on the edge and the topor bottom. My image has transparentareas around it so it’s not going to matter much.

You will need to have an account as some image hosting sitelike Photobucket (which I use) or Flickr or something like it. Upload each image and open up your messageboard where you are going to place your siggy…be sure to open in a differenttab or window because you will need the coding from Photobucket.

I’m going to show you how to load your images to the messageboard but keep in mind that every board is different. Some may not allow links or may needdifferent coding than what I’m showing you. You will need to check with your forum rules or ask a moderator ifthere’s something different.

Ok…now log in to your forum and go to where you can edityour signature. A lot of boards eitherhave a Settings tab or a tab called User CP. Then find a link that says Edit Signature.

In the signature box, you will need to place your imagecodes. It’s the [IMG][/IMG] code…inPhotobucket, it’s the last one in the coding list. Some boards may need you tospell out image instead of using IMG…try the IMG first and if it doesn’t work,try the other. When you are copying thecode to your signature box, you will need to copy it in the order your imagewill appear with NO SPACES between the different image codes. If you add a space, that will add a gap inyour image. ;) After you get all yourimages loaded, then click on Preview Signature and look at your image to makesure that it looks right. Sometimes ifyou didn’t get your slices lined up exactly right you may have a little glitchthat shows up. If it’s not toonoticeable and you aren’t a perfectionist, you can just leave it. Now scrollthe screen back down to the message box. Your image will show up there. Click on the slice where you want to add your first link and it willhighlight or have a box around it. Nowclick on the hyperlink box…it’s a picture of the earth with a double chain linkon it. A box will pop up and you can addthe url of the link. An easy way to dothis is to open up each place that you are wanting to link in a differenttab. When you are ready to link thatpage, then flip over to it and copy the url and then paste it directly into thepop up box. Make sure that the http://that is already in the box is highlighted so when you paste the url it replacesit. Otherwise you will have http://twice and your link won’t work until you remove one of them.

Now do that for each of your links. If you only had one image with one link, thenjust highlight the whole thing and do your link the same way as above.

Click on preview signature again and click each of yourlinks to make sure they work. Save yoursignature!

If you want your signature to be centered, then go back toEdit Signature and highlight the whole thing and push the centering textbutton. Save it again and your done!

If you have any questions or run into any problems, feelfree to leave a comment and I’ll help out the best I can.

Winter Wonderland

2012-01-27T10:36:00.001-06:00

Winter Wonderland has been released today! Everything at Berry Sweet Scraps is still 1/2 off until the 31st so this would be a great time to grab the whole collection if you want it. :) I really had a lot of fun working on this kit. Maybe it's because I can see "snow" without having to freeze to death in the process. I hope you have as much fun using it as I had in creating it!

Ok...so you've seen the sneak peek and now it's time to see the real thing....

Remember, you can buy the whole collection for a discount or buy the individual kits separately. ;)

Now for a layout I made with it...

Don't forget you can pick up a glitter frame freebie to go with your collection. It's down a post. :) You can also find one on my Facebook page and at the Berry Sweet Scraps blog both linked with the freebie post.

Happy {warm} winter!!

Winter Wonderland Freebie

2012-01-26T08:00:00.000-06:00

Ready for a FREEBIE??? To celebrate the release of Winter Wonderland on Friday, I'm offering a set of 3 frames...glittered snowflake frames like the ones in the Winter Wonderland: Frames set. You will need to do a bit of traveling for them though! One is here, one on the Berry Sweet Scraps blog, and one on my Facebook page.

Enjoy!!!

Sneak Peek-Winter Wonderland

2012-01-24T20:41:00.003-06:00

Winter Wonderland is my new kit that will be released on Friday! :)

Now for my Big Announcement!

2012-01-16T14:28:00.002-06:00

Well, it's big to me anyway! lol I am now selling my kits at Berry Sweet Scraps! I didn't want to tell everyone until I got all my kits from the other store moved. I'm really excited about my move! Right now there is a Grand Opening 50% store-wide sale going on...just for January. There are lots of challenges and games going on too. They are a great group of people and I really think you'll like them too.

Now for some JessicaSprague news....

Candice Stringham's new flash class...A Flash of Brilliance...is starting soon. Registration opens tonight for it! I'm really excited to learn about my flash! Candice is a great teacher and gives out tons of information. This class is going to be set up like Oh Shoot in that there is an extended version and a standard version. The extended version is limited class size...she comments on each assignment. I want to be in this one...she's very encouraging and gives great advice on how to improve things and lets you know what you are doing right. But I will be in the standard version. You get everything the extended class does except for the comments from Candice. She's pretty active in the class forum too. Her teacher assistants are really great about helping too. And as with all JS.com classes, once you sign up for them, they remain in your class menu forever. So if you can't get to a lesson right now, it's still there for when you can!

It's a beautiful day here so I'm going to get outside and go walking with the family! :) Have a great day!!

Digital Art Journaling Class

2012-01-09T16:26:00.001-06:00

I started yet another class today at Jessica Sprague...Digital Art Journaling. This is a whole new arena for me! it definitely took me out of my comfort zone. We also got to make a font out of our own handwriting. (have you ever tried typing with a yappy 12-year standing beside you?? lol) It came with a HUGE kit...a lot of it made by Nancie Rowe Janitz! I've had a blast putting this together. I've been wanting to do something like this but really didn't know how to go about it.

This is the page I did today...

....and since I had so much fun with that, I made contact cards for the ladies on my visiting teaching route...

I got the wording on it from Sugardoodle.net. After I printed these, I ran them through my Xyron with the laminating/sticker cartridge and then slapped them on business card magnets. They turned out really cute!

In case you are wondering about my big announcement...you still need to wait a few more days! lol

Something's Brewing

2012-01-08T19:57:00.002-06:00

Have a big announcement to make soon! :) :) :)

Photoshop Fridays are BACK!

2012-01-06T13:38:00.003-06:00

Jessica Sprague has started the Photoshop Fridays again. If you haven't heard of them before, they are mini-classes where she teaches a specific Photoshop (Elements, too) technique. You also get a layered template so you can make a layout just like the one Jessica did. She has these for sale as individual lessons or you can get different subscriptions for a big discount. You will get a Mega Kit with a year subscription. And as with all of her classes, once you buy them, they are available to you in your Student Menu forever! Can't beat that!!

Here's a layout I did with today's template and I also used Cosmo Cricket's Odds and Ends kits.

I did a layout yesterday about Caden using the supplies from Lesson 2 of Up & Running...

and another one from Up & Running...

If you've been wanting to try digital scrapbooking, this is the way to go! Don't be intimidated by it either...you can always request a mentor to help you out. We are free of charge and are always willing to help. :)

Free December Desktop

2011-11-28T21:22:00.001-06:00

I made a desktop for you with Home for the Holidays. It's yours free! The file is a layered .psd file. There's space for 3 photos and I have clipping masks for them. For those of you who don't know how to use clipping masks, it's really simple! Just move the photos you want to the top of the desktop file. Select one of the +photo layers and move your photo above it. Hover your mouse between the photo and the +photo layer and hold the Alt key (Option if on a Mac). When you see two interlocking circles, click with your mouse and your photo should conform itself to the boundaries of the mask. Hit Ctrl + T to get your transform box and you can resize your picture to fit and rotate it if you want. Easy peasy! If you have questions or get stuck, feel free to use the Contact Me page.

One thing to keep in mind...the screen resolution on my monitor is 1366 x 768 so that is the size I made the desktop. You may need to resize it to fit your monitor. The easiest way to do this is to open a document the size of your screen and then move the desktop file to the top of it and resize using the transform handles. :)

Click on the image below to get your desktop!

Hope you like it!

Free Holiday Class

2011-11-20T17:54:00.001-06:00

Looking for some holiday ideas?? Jessica Sprague has a new FREE holiday class starting in December. Registration is open now. You can find more information here.

Subway Art

2011-11-15T16:41:00.001-06:00

A new Mouse, Paper, Scissors class has started at Jessica Sprague and the first project was way too much fun! Jessica showed up how to use typography to make a subway art poster for our homes or to give away as gifts. I've got so many ideas of things I can do this with...I'll never get them all done. But I DID get this one done so here it is!

I'm also working on a new kit to put in the store. I'm hoping it will be next week. I'll let you know when it's ready.

New at KaBoks

2011-11-03T13:03:00.000-05:00

I've got some new products in the store at kaBoks. Fright Night is now completely complete. :) I have added svg files (cut files) to coordinate with this collection. They are available individually as well as all the svg files in one collection (you get a discount buying the collection).

Also, I have a Christmas kit ready for you. There are 4 kits that make up this collection. The two paper kits and 2 element kits are sold individually or you can buy them all together in one collection for a discounted price. I may have a collection add-on soon so keep an eye out for it.

Don't forget about Digital Scrapbook Day! Look in the post below this one (Nov 2) and you will find a 30% off coupon good for Saturday and Sunday at kaBoks. New things are being added weekly! You can also find all of us in the forums. Be sure to stop by and say hi!

Now in the midst of all this, Ali had her 12th birthday yesterday! How in the heck did that happen???? I'm sooo not ready for her to be 12 yet. She's been so excited about moving up to Young Women's at church and hanging out with her friends that already had their birthdays. And guess who forgot to take a picture yesterday! With the most beautiful day!! I didn't think about it until 5:30 when she, Caden, and Brannon were heading out the door. And of course today it's cold. Figures, right? We'll do some celebrating Saturday and I've got the perfect place to take pictures. I'll share them with you when I get them.

Enjoy your day!

Digital Scrapbook Day this Saturday!

2011-11-02T17:12:00.000-05:00

Since Digital Scrapbook Day is Saturday, kaBoks has a special coupon for you for the Saturday and Sunday. After you complete your shopping, enter DSDAY in the coupon field and get 30% off. There are lots of new things going in the shop weekly! You can find my store here. Enjoy!!

kaBoks Grand Opening

2011-10-24T10:26:00.004-05:00

kaBoks has finally opened! Yay!!! You can find my products here. I'm going to be adding more soon so keep checking. Right now, you can get 30% store wide until October 30. Also, you can receive this collaboration kit for free by signing up for the newsletter.

Click here and you will be taken to the newsletter sign-up form.We are all very excited about you joining us!

I'm going to have links to my products on the Digital Scrapbook Kits page and move the freebies to a different page. So if you see something you like, just click on it and it will take you straight there! Hope to see you on the message boards there soon!

2011-09-29T12:40:00.003-05:00

Been wondering when I'd ever finish this?? I turned it in today for my AODD final assignment and it will be available to buy on October 15th from kaBoks! More information will be available later. I also have a Christmas kit that will be for sale too. Sneak peek later....

Kit Layouts

2011-09-02T09:21:00.000-05:00

In AODD2 this week, we had to make the first paper set in our collection. Here's a sneak peek at what I have in the kit. I used this week's Template Tuesday for my layout...too much energy to come up with a layout of my own after making these papers!

Every year, the first-graders have to turn in a scrapbook page about themselves. Then, they put them in a binder and send it home with a different kid each night. It's Colton's turn this year! I have to admit that the only part of the page I let the kids do is telling me what they want to tell their friends about themselves. I probably should let them do them though. Anyway, I used my Rough & Tumble kit to make Colton's this year. I really like how it turned out!

Both of these kits will be available to buy from kaBoks in October. BTW...the store opening has been pushed back to October 15...most of us including the store owner is in AODD2 so that will make things a little less stressful. I'll keep you updated!

Jessica Sprague's next round of Open House has started! This month you can get Digi-in-Deep and This Old Photo discounted.

How to Get Rid of Hiccups

2011-08-31T14:17:00.000-05:00

The other day Colton and I were driving back from his doctor appointment. He was acting really silly which is totally normal for him...he's our comic relief. Anyway, he ended up with the hiccups. I was trying to get on the interstate and all of a sudden I hear this really loud "BOO!" I start explaining to Colton why he shouldn't be screaming in the car especially when we are driving and how that could cause a wreck. Poor little guy said he wasn't trying to scare me...he was trying to scare his hiccups away! Well buddy, good luck with that!!! lol

Storm Damage and BIG Announcement

2011-08-26T17:12:00.001-05:00

As I told you in the last post, we came home from Caden's baptism to a HUGE mess.


Fence between us and neighbors and the front of ours.

same fence

This trampoline has lived a very traumatic life.

HELLO neighbors!!

fence on other side of house

neighbors tree between our houses. This one made me sad...loved that big ol' leafy tree especially when it would bloom in the spring. Even though the smell was horrible it was pretty. ;)

So now to my big announcement! I've been working on digital kit designs since I took Art of Digital Design at JessicaSprague. I'm going to be selling them now in a brand-new shop that will open at the end of September called kaBoks!! Yay me!!! I think you will like it there too. The message boards are already open if you want to pop over and see what it's like. Siri's store is going to be different...she's bringing all crafters together. When I say all, I mean ALL...digital, tradtional, hybrid, card-makers, non-scrapbookers, whatever you are. She has a big dream and a big heart and I'm so excited to be on this journey with her. I also have some Spraguemates that will be selling there too and I'm glad I get to work with them too. She has a team of Creative Explorers who have never done any digital before and they will report on their progress as they learn on the kaBoks blog. I'll keep you posted on when the store's grand opening is. The kits on my Digital Scrapbook Kits tab will be available for sale there. Wish me luck!!

And speaking of luck...Caden is needing some. He and Colton were taking a shower yesterday after playing in the sprinklers. After they'd been in there awhile, I went to check on them. I look at Colton and he has all this white stuff in his hair so I chanced a look up. My dear sweet Caden had taken the shower head and watered the ceiling so that the popcorn texture all came down. Now we have a HUGE watermark and exposed sheet rock. Caden needs your prayers that that sheet rock doesn't buckle. ;) Life at the Hackworth's....

Baptism Day!

2011-08-20T19:44:00.000-05:00

Caden was finally baptized today! He turned 8 in June and we kept having to put it off. He was so good today. We were kind of afraid he'd get nervous and take off running. Caden wanted me to give the talk on Baptism. I found a story on Sugardoodle that involved smearing peanut butter to represent sin and then using a paper towel to "wash away" your sins. I definitely had to pre-warn him about that one! Caden couldn't get through it without leaving his mark either...of course. So after Brannon baptized him and he was pulling the plug to drain the water out of the font, Caden decided to kind of swim around in there. It was pretty funny! I'm really proud of my little guy! This is all he's talked about for a couple of months and I'm happy that he finally got it done!

On our way home, we hit a storm with some pretty stout straight-line winds. We pulled in to our neighborhood and found that the fence between us and one of our neighbors was completely down as well as some of our other fence. The trampoline is completely mangled and sort of twisted up in the maple tree that lost a lot of limbs. The same neighbor lost their pear tree that provides a lot of shade for our yard. We are all very grateful that it didn't hit either one of our houses. All my flower pots were knocked over and some of the guttering popped off. But all in all, we didn't really have a lot of un-repairable or too costly damage. Brannon had asked Caden to say the prayer last night and we asked him to pray for rain. The last time he did, we got a really good rainfall. Well, I guess we did again!!!

Now, Brannon is calling me outside so until next time!

Digi Kit Freebies

2011-08-08T13:25:00.001-05:00

ETA: Links will be going down tomorrow, Aug 12.

I'm going to be removing the links for my scrapbook kits soon so if you want them for free, grab them now!! :)

Design Factor Challenge 6

2011-07-31T18:42:00.000-05:00

Just Desserts is now on the Digital Scrapbook Kit page! Since it's a bigger kit, I have download links for the whole kit or you can download the papers and elements separately. I hope you enjoy it!

Dinosaur Giveaway

2011-07-28T16:13:00.000-05:00

Well...not an ACTUAL living, breathing dinosaur but some really cute cutting files designed by Charity Adams!

Charity is celebrating selling her designs at Diecut Designer and the response she has gotten from there. She has 3 of these sets to giveaway. All you need to do to be eligible to win is to leave a comment on her post about the giveaway on her blog and to Like Adams Acres on Facebook (you can find the Like button on the same blog post you need to comment on). She'll pick the winners on August 4th.

Wanna see what you could win???

Super cute, huh???

Digi Scrap Connect Blog Train

2011-07-28T00:00:00.011-05:00

Welcome to the First Digi Scrap Connect Blog Train. This blog train is
comprised of 24 fabulous designers who have been participating in the Design
Factor Challenge the last 5 weeks. For our 5th challenge, we were required to
make an element pack using CU items. Since 1/2 of the items for all the kits
would be coming from the Scrap Matters great challenge freebies, we were worried
that we were going to have flowers, ribbons and strings coming out our ears with
this challenge :). We decided to have fun with it and turn it into a great Blog
Train by adding some fabulous papers as well. Flowers, Ribbons, and Strings Oh
My!! the blog train was born. We hope you have fun collecting the great mini
kits. If you get lost along the blog train, just return to Digi Scrap Connect
to find the list of all participants.

Here's the rest of the train...

Scraps by Mara
Digital Gator Designs
Snackpackgu's Designs
Rumki Designs
Designs by Angel
Scrapdragon Designs
scrapN2Nspire
Rebecca Meyers Designs
Ramona Memories
Binty Designs
Lizard Dau Designs
Digital Harmony
Foosa Moon Creations
PamlaKlenczar
Midnight Owl

If for some reason you jumped in the middle and need the rest of the blog train, here it is...

DigiScrap Connect {Home Station}
Piccolina Designs
JDK Skrapz
Dancing Princess Designs
Inspired By Dominic Designs
Dana's Footprints Designs
Milly Dee Designs
Amanda and Millie Designs
Rose Thorn Designs
NanaScraps

Have fun and enjoy your freebies!!!

Class Layouts

2011-07-23T15:47:00.001-05:00

I've really been going through the classes at Jessica Sprague. I've got some more layouts done and some in the process of being done. Her Open House is still going on so you still have time to jump in! If you are scared to try something new or are afraid that you won't be able to keep up...STOP WORRYING RIGHT NOW!! You can ask for a mentor to help you out with one or ALL of your classes...I happen to be one of those mentors. ;) The classes are always available...you can finish them at anytime and always have the class material available to you. Anyway...here are some layouts from Now We're Rockin (the first 3) and Digi in Deeper (the last one):

Until next time...

Design Factor Blog Hop

2011-07-23T15:36:00.002-05:00

Are you ready for another blog hop??? Some of the designers participating in the Design Factor are having a blog hop using the elements kits we had to do for Challenge 5 plus papers we added to go with our ellies kits. Here's a sneak peek...

The blog hop will start July 28th at Digi Scrap Connect. I'm not going to have my Challenge 5 kit available as part of my Digital Scrapbook Kits page since it's part of the bigger kit in the blog hop. Right now we are only planning on having the blog hop kits available through August 4th. If that changes, I'll let you know. I'm also going to disable the links for my other kits on August 4th so if there is anything you want, grab it now! :)

Another New Kit

2011-07-21T21:04:00.001-05:00

I have added another new kit on the Digital Scrapbook page. :)

Challenge 3 is Up!

2011-07-11T09:16:00.000-05:00

This is my latest from the Design Factor Race! I'm about to disable the link for the first challenge so if you want it, better grab it. ;)

Do you want to know more about Up & Running at Jessica Sprague??? Here's a couple of the layouts you do in the course of the class. You get all the supplies you need to make each of the projects and there are TONS of projects!! You can do them all at your own pace too. If you need help, you can request one of us to be your mentor...kind of a personal teacher assistant for you. ;) There's always help abounded at Jessica Sprague! Hope to see you there!!

M&Ms :)

2011-07-08T10:12:00.000-05:00

If you've ever wanted to learn how to scrapbook using your computer, this month is the time to get started.
JessicaSprague.com just celebrated four years online and is offering the month of July as a Beginner's Open House. Until July 31st, you can order both beginner classes for 30% off! Up & Running with Photoshop is regularly $45 and in July, you can get it for $31.50! Photo Editing: Good-to-Great Workflow is regularly $49 and in July, it is $34.30. Steal of deal, folks. In August, the next level of classes will be on sale and the advanced classes in September. The nice thing is that the classes are self-paced and you can complete them at your leisure, at home, whatever time of day you wish. Oh ... another nice thing is once you purchase a class, it's yours forever! You can go back and review the lessons whenever you want.
There is a new program available now, too ... The Magnificent Mentor Program was instituted this month and I was privileged to join the team. We are called the M&Ms (cute, huh?) and are assigned to people wanting more personal coaching than what they receive from the classes or the forums. This service is FREE! To ask for a mentor, contact Meg at meg@jessicasprague.com.
The "Spraground" is a fabulous place to play. We'd love to have you pull up a swing and join us in "using technology to beautify, enhance, record, celebrate, and tell the stories of your life".

PS...Thanks Tammy for writing this up so I didn't have to think. ;)

Fruit Salad

2011-07-02T12:14:00.000-05:00

I have a new kit on the kits page! I did this one for Design Factor Challenge 2. Click on the digital kits tab and you can download it from there. Hope you enjoy it! BTW...all the kits I have over there right now are free so grab them while you can!

Digital Scrapbook Freebies

2011-06-26T21:43:00.001-05:00

I know...I'm a little slow. The Art of Digital Design class has been over for a long time but if you will click on the Digital Scrapbook Kits tab at the top then you can download my final assignment. It's a direct download so when the box pops up, just click Save.

Digi Scrap Connect is having a 6-week challenge. The first challenge was to create a summer theme kit without using any commercial use items--we had to create everything ourselves. The kit I created for that is also included on that page. The link will take you to 4shared where you can download it. If you don't want to navigate away from my blog to download it, right click on the image and click on Open in a New Tab (or window if you prefer). I haven't decided how long I'm going to keep these up...I have to keep the challenge one up for 2 weeks at least...so if you like them, grab them! Hope you enjoy them!! Come back to look for more...like I said this is a 6-week challenge so I'll have some more. :)

Catch-Up...

2011-06-10T14:19:00.005-05:00

So April and May ended up being really busy months and June is starting to follow suit. I'm just now getting some of my latest posted. First, remember the craft desk I said that my dad was building me? Or did I just mention it on Facebook? Anyway, I've had it for a little over a month now and I'm loving it! It takes up all kinds of space but totally worth it.

The finished size is about 8' x 3' x 36 1/2". I still use my other cabinets and my closet but both are too messy right now to show you. ;)

Every year I make albums for all the kids teachers. The inspiration for this year's albums was from the MPS:Mom class at Jessica Sprague's web site. At least I stole the shape and some of the elements but had to change a lot of it to fit what I was doing. But that's the whole point of these classes, right?

I did Mrs. Spearman's first so it's a little different from the other two...just a little though.

I made little journaling tags that I sent to school for the teacher's to pass out to their classes. When the kids filled them out, their teachers sent them back. So they knew something was coming. The pocket on the back is for extra pictures or whatever and will even fit a cd. The zip lock has extra elements I printed out for them to decorate their pages with after they got the pictures adhered in the book...kind of like I did with Colton's page. I got the decorations from Echo Park's Walk in the Park Elements Pack.

Now to the project I just finished today...

This is from the MPS: Dad class. It's an album for Brannon for Father's Day.

Here are the pages both before I printed them out and how they look with the book put together and decorated.

Then my sister was just here looking at it and informed me that I put 11years instead of 9 years (of marriage). Ooooppppssss! So I guess I'll start digging in my Thickers stash to fix that one. I made 3 note cards so the kids can each write him a note...that's what's in the pocket. This class is a self-paced one so you can still take it and have it finished in time for Father's Day.

Sorry for the picture sneeze....

Kimono Blog--Start Here!

2011-06-05T21:21:00.002-05:00

Yay! It's time for the blog hop! I hope all of you are ready...we have some fun treats to share with you. ;) We've (the Art of Digital Design Class, March 2011 at Jessica Sprague) had a lot of fun putting this together for you. Most of the treats were made using the new Kimono kit (which we created too) and you may find a few surprises along the way. If you would like to purchase the Kimono kit, just click on the kit image below. We created the kit in hopes of trying to help the victims of Japan's earthquakes and tsunamis from a couple of months ago...even just a little bit. So if you would like to help them a little bit too, all you have to do is buy the kit! All proceeds from the sale of Kimono goes to the American Red Cross.

Now, I realize some of you don't know how a blog hop works. All you have to do is download the treat here...in this case a Quick Page...and then "hop" to the next blog by clicking on the next link at the end of my post. You will do the same thing until you get to the very end. A few of us are listing ALL the contributors to the blog hop so if you get lost, you can find your way again. Ready???

First, download my QP. The image actually shows a finished QP...the one you download will not have the journaling or a picture of my daughter or my logo. ;) Where her picture is, you will see a transparent space. When you open up the QP in your photo-editing software, you will move your photo to the page and then just move it BELOW the QP layer and then just re-size your photo (ctrl + T) if you need to. Easy peesy! If you have problems, feel free to leave me a comment and I'll help you out the best I can.

To download, click on the image. :)

Now, go to Mellybird Design's blog for your next treat! In case you get lost, you can always come back here or to one of the others posting the whole list.

Here's the order of the hop:
Me...you're already here so you really don't need a link, right?? lol
Mellybird Designs
Michele Pouliot
Stephanie Costello and Dori Melton
Pamla Klenczar
Rosa Mia Nissenbaum
Christina Ming
Anissa Burson
Foosa Moon Creations
Mary Moseley
Maribeth Graf
The Digital Celt
Zindra Nelson
Jellybean Design
Lady Bug Designs
Cori Farnsley
Yvonne Michelle
Little Birdie Digital Designs
Monique Helfrich

The actual blog hop doesn't start until 11:59 tonight, Eastern. I'm posting mine a little early since I plan to be asleep then. :D So if you start the hop before then, you may have to revisit some of the blogs to get everything. The links will actually be available for awhile so you have time to visit everyone. Just be aware that everything won't be ready if you start early. ;)
Ok, here ya go! Ready, Set, GO!!!!!

Ready for some Freebies??

2011-06-03T21:52:00.002-05:00

The AoDD class I was in is doing a blog hop using the kit we collaborated on for Japan (see a couple of posts down). The blog hop starts Sunday at midnight Eastern. Good thing school's out now, huh? Most of us are doing Quick Pages using the kit...for those that don't know what that is...a QP is a scrapbook layout that has already been done. All you have to do is add your photos and/or journaling and you're done! A couple of the girls are doing other elements that will coordinate with the kit. Each blog will link up to the blog before it in the hop and will link to the next blog. So be sure to come by Sunday if you can stay up that late or Monday and grab your pages! Here's a look at the kit so you can see what we are working with...

You can also grab the kit yourself to make more pages at www.JessicaSprague.com. It is $11.99 until Sunday at midnight, Eastern and then it will go back to its regular price of $15.99.

ugly blog

2011-06-02T17:06:00.003-05:00

temporary I hope!! :)

ok...a little better but I'm going to have to finish working on it later. :)

Helping Japan

2011-06-02T09:15:00.001-05:00

Back when the Art of Digital Design class was starting, Japan was hit with the earthquakes and tsunamis. Our class wanted to make a digital kit to sell with the profits going to the victims. The kit is almost completed and will be up in Jessica Sprague's store soon (today or tomorrow). So I'm posting a little teaser...my part of the kit. There were several of us that came together so there are a lot of different styles. I'll let you know when the kit actually goes up so you can go check it out.

Oh and the kit is called Kimono. :)

About 2 seconds after I posted this, the kit went up. :) You can find it HERE and get it for 25% off if you buy it before Sunday June 5th at midnight Eastern.

A Trampoline Story

2011-04-14T12:49:00.001-05:00

On June 6th, 2009, I finally convinced Brannon that the kids needed a trampoline. I wanted them to have something else to do outside and get some more exercise while having fun. And I wanted them to WANT to go outside and give me a break from all the bickering that comprises summer vacation. It was GREAT for the first few days. Then the first storm hit it. And another. Brannon called the company and got the parts to fix it and did it. And then another storm hit it again, soon followed by 2 others. Every time, the trampoline would either get thrown up against our fence or up against and almost over the storage shed. We (by that I mean B) called and got replacement parts again and never got around to fixing it. At that point, summer was almost over so it was kind of a lost cause. When the next summer came (2010), I begged and pleaded and begged some more for the trampoline to get fixed. It didn't happen. But we did get to go to Disney World but there was still a whole lotta summer left when we got back. Still no trampoline. I let it go knowing that the Summer of 2011 was going to be different and that trampoline was going to get fixed one way or the other. So guess what we did a few weeks ago??? The kids love having it again! I guess it worked out since they are a little older now and hopefully a little more careful. The net around the top didn't survive so they have to be more careful. And now here we are today...expecting severe storms and possible tornadoes tonight. Figures....

Supplies: Everything from Pink Paislee Daily Junque by the House of 3 EXCEPT: mini-staples and attacher (Tim Holtz, Ranger); scallop punch and chipboard 2 (Stampin' Up!); shipping tag and printing on tag (Mouse, Paper, Scissors class from www.jessicasprague.com ); chipboard tag, tiny alphas (Making Memories); ledger journaling spots (Heidi Swapp); dyes (Trunk Bay Glimmer Mist and Sprout Chalkboard Mist by Tattered Angels)

Desktop Calendar

2011-04-07T13:40:00.000-05:00

Typically, people make their calendars in December getting ready for January. But since I just found this tutorial a few days ago, mine is a few months in. You can find the tut here at Hungry Heffy Crafts. I love that blog! There's a bunch more crafty things I want to try when I get a chance to. I had to make my own measurements up and change the calendar dates so they would match this year. She has a download link on the instructions for the calendar element. It comes in a pdf which you can open in Photoshop and fix. A few weeks ago, Heidi Swapp was on HSN selling some of her kits. I used her Soiree kit plus a digi patterned paper leftover from the Mouse, Paper, Scissors class, gaffer tape from 7Gypsies, a bulldog clip from Making Memories, card stock from Stampin' Up!, and the ribbon from my scrap ribbon jar. It's bound together with the Bind-it-All.

I {heart} making rosettes!!

So we are still in the middle of Art of Digital Design. I'm having a blast making my own kit! I used my own kit to make my desktop for my computer this month. It desperately needed it...still had January up! Here's my desktop so you can kinda get a preview of what I've done with my kit.

Speaking of class, I better go do yesterday's assignment...

In Love with a Cookbook

2011-04-01T13:58:00.000-05:00

Yeah, I know...hard to believe. Me!! Loving a cookbook!! I've had my eye on it for a long while now...ever since my friend Steph showed me hers. Then, I saw it at Wal-mart several months ago but I still didn't get it. It was too close to Christmas and I elected to buy for the kids instead of me but it sure was tempting. Then, Wednesday night I went hometeaching with Brannon. We had to stop by Sam's Club too. I always have to go down the book and software aisles...Brannon wishes I would wear blinders but that defeats the purpose, doesn't it? Anyway, here I go down the book aisle and THERE IT IS!! The Pioneer Woman cookbook!!! I was sooo excited! I'm sure Brannon thought if I could get that excited about seeing a cookbook, that I would get just as excited about cooking from a cookbook. So he bought it for me! I didn't even have to ask or sell my soul or anything. If you haven't seen it, click here. And then go to a store that carries it (or even Amazon, another love of mine) and buy it. You won't be disappointed! I made chicken spaghetti last night and it was sooo good, I ate some more today for lunch...and I'm so not a leftover kinda girl. Brannon loved it. Ali loved it. The boys wouldn't touch it with a 10-foot pole but they are picky that way. ;) There were only a few recipes in there that I will probably never cook...the one or two alcohol drink ones and the one with clams. That is only THREE TOPS out of the whole book! She also has tons of cute stories and tons of pictures of her family, friends, and ranch. I read the whole thing Wednesday night after we got home...including most of the recipe directions. I'll shut up now, but seriously...GO GET THE BOOK!

nope...not paid for an endorsement just really love it!

Last MPS Project...at least for now

2011-03-29T19:05:00.001-05:00

Class ended last week and I'm so sad about it! It was so much fun learning from Heidi and Jessica and just CREATING. The next MPS-Mom version is in a couple of weeks and I'm really looking forward to that.

I'm in the Art of Digital Design class right now too...yep you guessed it...at Jessica Sprague's site! :D She's teaching us how to make (and later market) our own digital kits. I'm learning so much and having fun putting different things together to make different papers and elements.

More MPS Projects

2011-03-18T16:03:00.000-05:00

Our first project this week was making a little album about 10 things that make us happy. It was such a fun project! If you aren't in this class, go to the House of 3 web site and click on the link for web shows. Heidi Swapp did another album almost like this one she did for the class. The idea is the same. She records her web shows so you can catch them later. I think she's going to have a tutorial on her blog for these too! :)

This is my take on the layout Jessica had for us this week. I really like how this turned out! I haven't really done a whole lot of scrapping lately so I'm glad they included mini albums and pages in the class.

I started another class over on Jessica's site this week too...I'm becoming such a class junkie!! It's Art of Digital Design...all about creating and marketing your own digital scrapbook kits. I'm not sure if I will go the commercial route or not but it'll be fun to make kits for myself and friends. And I'll know what to do if I ever do want to start selling them. I'm already starting to feel a little overwhelmed so wish me luck! :)

Mouse Paper Scissors-Layout

2011-03-11T17:09:00.001-06:00

Today, we made a totally hybrid layout in our Mouse Paper Scissors class. I've done hybrid as far as playing with my photos and journaling before but not to the extent we did this one. Most of the papers and elements were done on the computer and printed out. Even the swirl was printed on the back of the cardstock and cut out. Lots of fun!!

Project Explosion!

2011-03-09T19:37:00.000-06:00

That's about right too! I've been taking a class at Jessica Sprague called Mouse, Paper, Scissors. I almost didn't sign up for it but decided to last minute. I'm so glad I did!! Jessica is teaching the digital part and then Heidi Swapp is teaching the hybrid part of it. We've done sooo many projects in just the couple of weeks we've been doing the class. And it came with an awesomely packed kit too! ;) Here are some of the projects we've done so far...

This is an observation book. Every day we have an assignment and a prompt for an observation to record. I really like this...kinda like short-hand journaling, diary-keeping. :)

This is another one that I did on my own to give as a gift. I also gave one with different papers to Ali's teacher...the pics are on another camera downstairs so no pics to share this time.

We've done a lot of cards...and envelopes too! I love my stamps still but these are fun to make.

We did this album yesterday and today! They are super cute and super easy to make. I've already got a plan for this one I did today and plans to make a few more for some albums I've been putting off that really, really need to get made. I'm only a few months late with them!

My friend Evie came over to craft with me today. She had found a tutorial for these here. I dug out all of the lace I could find and we hooked up our glue guns and lost a few fingerprints. But we did make some pretty cute flowers! Evie put hers on alligator clips. I thought I was just going to use mine for album covers but Ali informed me tonight she wants it on a hairclip. She NEVER NEVER NEVER wants her hair up so this completely shocked me!

One of these is white and the other cream. It's hard to tell the colors...indoor pics at night...but I promise that's what they are!

I've got a spring banner and some pinwheels I made over the last few days. I'm too lazy to take anymore pics but I'll try to remember after I get them fixed up.

It's Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas

2010-12-01T12:43:00.001-06:00

Remember that Halloween Advent calendar I made a few posts down? Well, I couldn't let Christmas go without one too. The pictures aren't too hot since I didn't really have a whole lot of room to work but you get the general idea. I saw a picture of one in Pottery Barn Kids catalog...was looking over my friend Chrissy's shoulder as she was looking at it. :) Anyway, I was inspired and made a trip to Wal-Mart. The backing is just regular fabric that I doubled over and sewed. I made loops instead of folding over the top. The Christmas tree is made out of green felt. I ironed wonder under on it (I'm totally in love with that stuff!!) and folded it in 1/2 and freehanded a tree and cut it out. I sewed around the edges and then ironed it on the fabric. I used a tag I found on one of my Cricut cartridges and cut it out of paper. I ironed wonder under on little sheets of felt and traced the tag pattern on the back and made ornaments out of them. The star was done the same way except I stitched around the star too. I also ironed 2 stars together to make it a little thicker. Before I ironed the ornaments on the tree, I placed a piece of ribbon under the top so I could tie candy canes on the ornaments later. I used a stencil to trace the numbers on the back of the felt...reverse them so they will be facing the right way when you turn them right side out. I finished up by decorating the ornaments with Stickles and tying on candy canes. I hung it on a dowel I painted red and tied a wire-rimmed ribbon to hang it from the wall. It turned out a lot bigger than I intended it too. I did the tree part first and built the rest of it around it. Oh well...still really like how it turned out!

This is our Christmas tree. The stinkin' cats think the ornaments are their own personal toys. They are really annoying me! I used to put the tree by the front windows but this year I decided to change it up. I conned Brandi into helping me move my living room around so now the tv is by the front windows and my tree is by the couch. I think I like it this way. It was a lot easier to decorate it since I didn't have 2 walls in my way. I still need to take pictures of my mantel but I'll do that later. I LOVE this time of year!!

Fun Pictures to Share

2010-11-15T16:57:00.000-06:00

This is the last week of the Portraiture class I'm taking at Jessica Sprague. Here are some pics from last week's lesson.

And now, these are some pics from our Temple trip on Saturday.

Caden smelling what he considers a stinky flower...

Colton taking his time getting back to the picture-taking and then immediately running through the landscaping...

Forever family...

Great, supportive friends...

Wish I had composed this a little better so Caden's arm doesn't look chopped off, but really no time to do too much composing with kids who were ready to run around...

New Jessica Sprague Class

2010-11-08T08:32:00.000-06:00

Head on over to Jessica Sprague's website...she has a new FREE class!! :) Yep...already signed up first thing this morning. They also have a blog hop starting today and you will end up with a digital Christmas kit. Have fun!!

More Digital Layouts

2010-11-03T15:38:00.003-05:00

These are the layouts from the first 4 Photoshop Friday's at Jessica Sprague.com. Check them out if you want to learn some fun (and easy) Photoshop (Elements too!) techniques.

What 11 Looks Like

2010-11-03T09:30:00.003-05:00

It's hard to believe she's 11 now!! I took this picture of her yesterday in front of the garage. She looks so grown-up! It makes me kind of dread next year's picture. :(

Halloween!!

2010-11-01T17:24:00.003-05:00

Halloween has been crazy busy this year...especially with all three kids in school. I had TONS of black felt leftover from the Halloween advent calendar I made, so I thought it would be a good idea to make little treat bags for the kids' classmates. It was a bigger job than I really thought it would be. I found these cute little bags on www.about.com and modified the pattern so they would be a lot smaller. After it was all said and done, there were 70 of them things!! The kids loved them though so it was worth the effort.

I finally got around to carving the pumpkins on Saturday. Caden picked out the skull and Colton wanted the cutesy face. Ali informed me that she will be picking it out next year. That's fine as long as I don't forget! Last year, Home Depot had this little Dremel pumpkin carving thingy that I meant to get this year if they had it. I forgot, but I have a feeling I won't forget to look for it next year!!

We took the kids to Target this year for their costumes. It was pretty last minute...we had decided to go cheap (read as what we could throw together at home) this year but Colty decided he HAD to be Iron Man. So off we went. Ali found this Cleopatra costume. She got a wig for it but it was too itchy so she didn't want to wear it. This was actually her second costume. Her best friend's dad dressed Ali, Lily, and their other friend Kasey up as zombies for the school costume parade. They went to the mall for their Halloween thing and ended up on the news! I'll post that picture later. This one is the kiddos right before Trick-or-Treating.

And this is the sunset shot from my backyard on Halloween night.

Photo classes

2010-10-19T16:16:00.004-05:00

I've been playing with some pictures today. Here's my favorite one.

I'm taking a photo-editing class at Jessica Sprague too and was lucky enough to get a spot in the Portraiture class starting next week. I'm really excited about learning more! I've always loved photography but was never happy with my pictures. Sometimes I'd get lucky but it was ONLY luck. :)

Here are some more pics I've been playing with...

I'll post more later when I have a little more time. :)

Another digi layout

2010-10-05T21:36:00.003-05:00

I promise this is the last one today. :D After I finished with the Photoshop Friday's I was working on, I started playing around making a template. Then, I had to make a page out of it so here ya go! The papers are from Life is Good by Echo Park, the flower and grow brushes from Au Natural Elements and Brushes by Crystal Wilkerson, and the swirly brushes were made by Jessica Sprague for one of the classes I took. All of them can be found at JessicaSprague.com.

Photoshop Friday

2010-10-05T15:30:00.004-05:00

I've become seriously addicted to Photoshop Friday at JessicaSprague.com. On Friday's, the new episodes are only $1.00 and come with the supplies to make the sample layout, including the template. They are a lot of fun! I've spent all day today catching up on some of them. I got pictures scrapped now that wouldn't have been done any time soon if I was paper scrapping them. The kids have my scrap area completely destroyed and it's hard to be creative when you are kicking toys out of your way. That's a project for this week...

Halloween Crafts

2010-10-04T21:18:00.003-05:00

This is going to be short...but these are a couple of the Halloween crafts I've been doing. I found the instructions for the advent calendar here at Executive Homemaker. LOVE that site! I still need to buy a dowel to put on the bottom but I was missing a few brain cells when I went shopping and just got the top one.

The pumpkin was made out of a dryer vent. You can find the instructions here at House of Hepworth's. This woman can work wonders with a can of spray paint.

So hope you enjoy them! And have fun visiting their web sites...you can spend hours on them. lol

Finally...scanned layouts!

2010-10-01T11:53:00.004-05:00

These are the paper layouts I did over the summer. I didn't get a whole lot done but the kids were home for summer break too. I've seriously got to get upstairs and de-kid my scrap area...I'll take any volunteers!! :D

Scrappy Weekend

2010-09-26T17:38:00.004-05:00

We spent this past weekend in Arkadelphia at my mother-in-law's house. I took my laptop and played around with some layouts. I made this desktop too. I haven't put a new one up since April and I was getting tired of Ali bugging me about it. True, it says October but September is almost over anyway, right? I made it out of Shabby Princess's Harvest Spice kit and the cross-stitches are a brush I got from Obsidian Dawn. Shabby Princess has a LOT of free digital kits (very cute ones too!). You can actually get lost on both of those web sites. Anyway, I did this desktop for my computer. I made a png version too so you can add your own photos and put it on your own computer. Just let me know if you want one!!

These other two are just digital pages I was playing with too. The photos in the first one are part of the ones I took as part of the photography class I'm taking right now (see last post). The baby layout is Colton. The kit we got this month as part of our Premier membership on Scrapper's Guide was a baby kit.

And for this one...I found it while I was looking for the other projects I was putting on here. I forgot I even did this one! I really need to buy ink for my big printer so I can get all my digi pages in albums. Donations welcome! Just kidding...sort of. :)

I still haven't scanned my other pages. I'll get it done one of these days!!

Return to Blogger-land

2010-09-22T17:51:00.003-05:00

MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) has started up again and today we were all listing our blogs. So...since I haven't been on here updating anything except for my background, I figured I'd better start. It's not like I haven't had anything to "report". We've been to St. Louis to watch the Cardinals play (and lose to) the Astros. We went to Disney World in June and saw Vicksburg on the way home. And I have been scrapbooking some...not as much as I was during my design team stints though. In fact, I have some pages that I desperately need to scan. I've been doing more digital while taking some Jessica Sprague classes (www.jessicasprague.com). Right now, I'm taking Candice Stringham's Oh Shoot Digital Photography class on Jessica's site. This week we are in MANUAL mode! I was playing around with it last night and took this picture of Ali...inside during the evening. This is without any editing except to resize it so it'll fit on here.

Not bad, huh?? Wish I had known all this in June...BEFORE the Disney trip. But that's ok...it rained just about every day we were there anyway so I didn't take too many pics for fear of ruining my camera. Anyway, this was taken with a Canon Rebel T2i, 1/25 shutter speed, f/6.3, 400 ISO, 50mm focal length, auto white balance, and NO flash. Yep...that's right...NO flash, indoors, with lamp light. And yes, I'm just a little bit proud of myself!! Miss Hardly-Ever-Left-Auto Mode-Without-Going-Into-A-Panic-Attack.

Here's some digital layouts I did during Jessica's Pen Tablet class I took a few weeks ago. Seriously, if you want to learn about digital scrapping or photography (including editing) and other fun stuff, check out her web site. She's even got a free class coming up in November. Another good site for learning Photoshop Elements is www.scrappersguide.com. Anyway, back to the layouts. All of them were done with templates that Jessica included in the class materials except for Play which I did from scratch.

Enjoy! And I'll try to get my paper layouts scanned tomorrow. :)

Christmas Projects

2010-01-22T14:21:00.003-06:00

I'm finally getting around to post some of the gifts I made for Christmas. I made some Joy blocks too but I can't find the picture...probably didn't even take one. Figures. I found these plagues and coasters at Hobby Lobby back in the unfinished wood projects section. They were super cheap! The coasters were only 50 cents each and the plagues were $3.99 or something like that. I also used vinyl for the cutouts using my Cricut and Design Studio. Next time, I'll get the transfer paper too...placing those flourishes was more fun than I ever want to have again! Some of them have stickers, buttons, ribbon, and/or Stickles added. They were a lot of fun to make and super easy!

A Few Projects

2009-10-07T16:40:00.004-05:00

Can you believe I haven't even touched a scrapbook page in over a month?? It's been pretty busy around here. For some reason, I decided that the wallpaper in my kitchen HAD to go. So off it went. And then the real fun began! My kitchen is now wallpaper-free, walls painted asparagus, cabinets painted almond cream, and new hardware put on the cabinets. It only took a little over a month! I'm still waiting on Brannon to caulk it but if he doesn't hurry it up, I may decide to just do it myself. No...I've never tried to caulk anything so that should be interesting.

I HAVE found a little bit of time to finish my haunted house. It didn't really turn out the way I had visualized it and I keep thinking of things that I should've done instead. I started it a year ago, but when I went to buy the drippy goo punch (by Martha Stewart), it was no where to be found. Kristen at Serendipity Scrapbooks tried to find it for me to order but it wasn't available anymore. So I put my little house in the closet and there it stayed until a few weeks ago. Back in July, I got an email from Kristen telling me that she was putting in a pre-order for that punch if I still wanted it. You bet I did! Now, my little house is sitting on my mantle instead of being shoved in a closet. Colton was "helping" me finish it the other day, throwing a fit if I didn't do exactly what he wanted. I do have to say, that I did like most of his ideas. ;)

These are the pictures I told you about a couple of months ago. They are from the Jessica Sprague class I took. I'm taking another one right now. Or let me clarify...I'm signed up for it but haven't had a chance to really start it yet. It started on Monday and is a 15-day class so I'm going to try to catch up real quick and then see what happens. If you've never taken one of her classes, you don't know what you are missing! She has some really fun ideas and techniques using your computer...mostly Photoshop and Photoshop Elements (you can download a trial version if you don't own the program to take her class with). You can find them at www.jessicasprague.com.

Saturday, we are having a craft day at church. I'm in charge of doing a few of the projects and I'm thinking about posting the tutorials on here. It depends on my time over the next week or two. I'll try though! I'm doing a maze book, 2-4-6-8 box, and a gift bag made from a sheet of patterned paper. I'll take pictures of the projects that I make and post them. Hopefully, it won't take me a month to post again. :)

Yep...I've been scrapping....

2009-09-18T13:56:00.003-05:00

just not as much as I had been. These are the projects I did for the manufacturer contest at Crop Addict. This month the contest is being sponsored by Pink Paislee.

Playing with Digi Again

2009-08-02T22:29:00.002-05:00

It's time for a new digital kit from Scrapper's Guide so I've been playing today. If you want some quick and easy lessons to learn digital scrapbooking or even how to use Photoshop or Photoshop Elements to edit your photos, go to Scrapper's Guide. This is Linda Sattgast's web site. I love all the little tricks I learn from there and all the digital kits I get every month (I'm a Premier member so I get a new kit + video lessons at the first of every month). It is seriously worth the investment!!

A Few More Layouts

2009-08-02T06:35:00.002-05:00

Since all of my design team terms have ended, I had time to just do layouts I wanted to do with whatever I had on hand. I miss being on the teams but at the same time, it was nice using from my stash. I'm still going to be around Crop Addict doing the manufacturer kits as they come up though. If you want to learn some cool Photoshop Elements tricks, check out Jessica Sprague's web site. She offers free classes a lot of times...just sign up for her newsletter and you'll know when they are. I took her latest free class and that's how I did the photo in Fly. I also have some projects that I framed with photos I played with after this class but I haven't taken pics of them yet. I'll try to do that next week. Until then, hope you enjoy these projects!

Tamron Lens Giveaway

2009-07-08T16:53:00.008-05:00

They are giving away one of Tamron's new SLR lenses. I really want one of these so I don't have to change my lenses out all the time...they are kind of an all-in-one type lens. Anyway...wish me luck!! Click on the link above for more information and to enter yourself.

For some reason I can't get Blogger to post the link. Here it is if you need to do it manually. Just highlight it and copy it and then paste it in your web browser. Sorry, I tried...don't really know what's wrong with this today.

http://mcpactions.com/blog/2009/07/08/win-an-slr-lens-brand-new-tamron-lens-%E2%80%93-18-270mm-or-28-300mm/

July Crop Addict Projects

2009-07-01T13:44:00.006-05:00

This kit is by far my favorite kit from Crop Addict. I couldn't stop playing with it! I've got some paper left that I'm wanting to use too so you may see some more projects from it soon. If you want the kit, just click on the photos in the sidebar and it will take you there. There's stuff from Basic Grey's Lime Rickey and Fancy Pants Summer Soiree lines included in the kit.

One of the items in the kit is a policy envelope from Bazzill. That's what I made the mini-album out of. A few years ago, I had bought a little mini-album thingy from Making Memories (I think it was called inner pages or something like that). It had a cardstock cover and little page protectors. I have held on to that thing thinking that some day I may actually use it. I wanted to do something different with the policy envelope so I folded it in half and adhered the inner pages to the inside. I folded it so that the envelope opening would be the back cover so I could undo the enclosure thingy and put extra photos or whatever in there. I used Lime Rickey for the patterned paper. The pics of the little pages below the mini-album pic are the pages inside the album. Since Caden has only been to Kindergarten, he only has the one page done. I really liked how it turned out!

I've been using a lot of collages for my layouts lately too. I just have too many pics that I want to scrap and I don't really like doing 2-page spreads anymore so the collages have become my new best friend! I use Picassa sometimes to make them but I like having more control over it. (Picassa is a free photo software from Google.) I found a BUNCH at Scrapbooks, Etc's website. I've been making some of my own too. I'm about to do a tutorial on making your own for Photoshop Elements at Crop Addict. I hope to have it done in the next couple of days. So head on over there, if you're interested!

Have a happy 4th!!!

June Crop Addict Projects

2009-06-10T17:41:00.003-05:00

Well, as usual, I'm late posting these here. It's been crazy since school has been out. This month I got to work with Piggy Tales The Ants Go Marching Collection. I really, really loved playing with all that bug paper! Hope you enjoy them!

May Projects-Crop Addict Kit

2009-05-15T12:56:00.003-05:00

May Projects-3Bugs Manufacturer Kit

2009-05-15T12:51:00.005-05:00

Be sure to check out the Manufacturer Contest this month at Crop Addict. This month's sponsor is Three Bugs in a Rug.

Crop Addict's April Kit and Kit Option

2009-04-02T08:35:00.003-05:00

All of these with the exception of Grace Place was made with the kit option and the 1st Kit 1/2. Grace Place was made with the 2nd 1/2. I wish I'd had more time to work with the 2nd 1/2. I really love that 3Bugs paper! If you want one of the kits, you'd better hurry! They sell out really fast!!

Crop Addict's April Manufacturer Challenge

2009-03-30T10:39:00.001-05:00

This month Crop Addict's manufacturer challenge is using Dream Street Papers. You can find the challenge here...Debbie hasn't posted it yet but when she does, it'll have Dream Street in the name. While you are over there, check out the other challenges as well. We have monthly and weekly challenges and Debbie is very generous with the prizes.

These are the projects I did this month with Dream Street's Forever Family papers.

Another digi layout and another sketch

2009-03-06T15:55:00.003-06:00

No...I'm not going all-digital but it kinda feels like it, huh?? I can't give up my paper and glue but I like the fact that I can catch up on some of my scrapping by using digital too. Plus, I've always like playing on the computer so I guess that goes with the logic side of my brain while paper and glue goes with my artsy side. I started working on both of these the other night at my friend Liz's house. She lets us come over and work on whatever we want to or just come and have some adult conversation for awhile. I took my laptop so I could work and talk at the same time. I was working away too and then all of a sudden my battery ran out. Ok so it wasn't all of a sudden but I wasn't paying attention to my battery level until there wasn't a battery level. And of course I hadn't saved anything! But Dell techies being the good guys they are built in a fail-safe that saves your work to the hard drive in case it's users aren't paying attention. So after a little bit of panicking and rushing to plug my computer in, I was able to find my stuff and save it. This layout is using a kit by Holly McCaig for www.scrapwow.com called Summer Garden.

Sketches

2009-03-01T21:21:00.005-06:00

Well, today was a PMS day (sorry if that's too much information!) so I didn't really feel like doing much. I started playing around with Photoshop Elements and made some sketches. I'm posting them here for you to use if you want. Hope you like them!! If you use one, post a link to your layout in the comments...I'd love to see what you do with them!

Crop Addict March Projects and Online Crop

2009-02-28T16:54:00.006-06:00

Right now, Crop Addict is in the middle of an online crop. If you have some extra time and want to play with some challenges and games, head on over! We are having a lot of fun!! I'll post my layouts from the crop later. The projects I did with Crop Addict's March Kit are below. You can see the kits in the sidebar over on the right. Because of some shipping problems, Debbie couldn't get our kits to us until last Friday. But the kits were so inspiring that I did all of these in just a few days!! Plus, I have another project in the works but I need to print the pictures I want for it. Hope you enjoy them!!

On a sad note...today is my last day on the design team at Serendipity Scrapbooks. I've been a part of it for a year so it's going to be hard letting go of that. But just wait until you see what the new DT has in store for you!! They are a very talented group of ladies...Marci and Jennifer are staying with the team too. Please come over there some time and check things out!

Happy Saturday!

Another digi page

2009-02-12T15:50:00.002-06:00

Do you see the resemblance between Caden and Brannon's dad???

I made this using a kit from Di Hickman (Feelin' Breezy, www.scrapwow.com).

2009-02-10T16:42:00.004-06:00

Just a quickie post. The top three are layouts I did for the February challenges at Crop Addict. The last one is a digital one I did today using a kit from Scrapper's Guide.

February's Projects for Serendipity Scrapbooks

2009-02-02T14:43:00.003-06:00

Check out what everyone else did this for this month too at the Serendipity Scrapbooks Gallery. This does it for the current team. Next month, the new design team will be in place. I know a few of them and they won't disappoint you!!! So congrats and good luck to them! And to the outgoing team...I'm really going to miss working with you. Love you guys!!!

Great Site for Some Free PSE Actions

2009-01-28T17:24:00.008-06:00

I found a link to this site from a message board that I'm on. It's PanosFX.com. I've been playing with the stuff I downloaded all day long! Guess it's good I'm sick so I don't have to feel guilty about sitting here playing instead of cleaning house. :) My favorite one by far is the Out of Bounds action. Here are a couple of the pics I did with that one. It was sooo much fun! There are other free actions you can get there too. They also have some available for Photoshop CS users. Have fun!

Ok...not sure why that link isn't showing up...guess it didn't like being blue. It's http://www.panosfx.com/index.php.

Crop Addict Kit for February

2009-01-23T15:46:00.007-06:00

The kit this month ROCKS!! If you want to see a preview of what comes in the kit this month, check out the sidebar. You can find a bigger image at Crop Addict. I've got some more done but since I'm the featured DT for February, I can't show you yet since I used it for my challenge samples.

At the end of February, we are having an online crop. Debbie always has tons of prizes to give away to the winners. Stop by if you want some scrapping inspiration!

Things are happening at Serendipity too! We have an online crop going on the weekend before Crop Addict's. These are always a lot of fun too! Kristen has a prize (a kit of your choice usually) for the Queen of the Crop. The DT gives out prizes for each of our challenges too. So if you are looking for lots of inspiration in February, Crop Addict and Serendipity Scrapbooks are the places to be!!!

Happy scrappin'!

Yeah another Twilight post....

2009-01-18T20:07:00.003-06:00

So I go with Steph and her sister yesterday to see Twilight again...my second time and their first. In fact, Steph's sister has never read the books. We laughed through most of it!! I told them it was a good movie but some things were just too stinkin' funny even though it wasn't intended to be. So we are sitting in this theater (sold out again btw) and laughing in all the wrong places. I don't care who you are...you still have to laugh when Bella walks into the classroom for the first time and Edward is overplaying the need to hold his nose. Tara asked if his teeth came down...remember she's never read the books she just knows that Edward was a vampire. Jasper's expression during the whole movie is something else. And who can forget Spider Monkey???? But it is still a great movie and I'll still be stalking the store at midnight on March 21st to buy my copy to torture Brannon with. And I still can't wait for New Moon to be released at the end of the year! Awww...Edward......

Reappearance

2009-01-16T21:13:00.003-06:00

Sorry for being gone for so long! The last couple of months have been really busy and all of us have taken turns being sick. Let's see....The day after my last post I got to go see Twilight. Yeah, it had parts that were way different from the book but I still loved it. BTW...it's supposed to be coming out on DVD on March 21st! Brannon will be hating life. Anymore, he just rolls his eyes every time he sees me reading one of the books (granted I'm on my 5th pass through them but they are REALLY good!), so he's going to hate me having the DVD on all the time too. I guess to say I'm obsessed is putting it mildly. :)

We all had a great Christmas and everyone got what they wanted. I'm still trying to get the house back together after taking the decorations down. My village is still up. I really need to get that down.

I have been scrapping too. My projects are on the other computer but I'll post them soon. Or you can see them in the gallery at Serendipity Scrapbooks. Kristen usually sends me stuff that scares me to death but then after start playing with them I really like the projects. She sent me an acrylic album and asked me to use very little patterned paper on it. After I was done, that ended up being one of my favorite projects. You can see it here. This last month she sent me Heidi Swapp papers, Melissa Francis stickers, K&Company chipboard words and I can't remember what else. I made this canvas for one of my projects. I'm really sad this is my last month on the design team. I'm glad I got to stay on for 2 terms. It's been a lot of fun and I've made some really great friends. I'll still be on the boards though. ;)

I made the design team at Crop Addict again. Debbie has combined the Creative and the Design teams. I'm excited I get to play with the kits. You will LOVE February's! If you haven't checked her kits out lately, she's changed them up a little to make them more affordable if you are on a tight budget. She is offering 1/2 kits or you can get the whole kit if you want everything. I think this starts with February's kits though. January is still the whole kit. January is a great kit too!! They sell out fast so if you want one you'd better hurry!

I've been playing around with digital scrapping a lot the last few weeks. Brannon let me get the Premier subscription to Scrapper's Guide. I've really learned a lot so far!! Mom got me the video tutorials from Scrap Girls for PSE 7 for Christmas so too. So between Ro and Linda, I've been learning all kinds of tricks! The first digi layout on here is one I did with the January kit from the Scrapper's Guide January issue. The 2nd one is a picture of Caden I took over Christmas. I was playing around with PSE today and did this. The next one was for a challenge over at www.splitcoaststampers.com. The supplies were from the freebie kit that was created for the challenge. And the last one is a layout I did with some supplies I found while I was tagging my digi kits. Oh and speaking of digi kits, Kristen (Serendipity Scrapbooks) created a Christmas digi kit and is offering it for free on her blog. Check it out! You'll be glad you did!!!

So until next time....

Twilight Quiz

2008-11-20T08:40:00.003-06:00

Jenn found a fun little Twilight quiz from TwilightersAnononymous that tells you which Twilight female you are most like. I'm Esme!

Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!

You are thoughtful and care very deeply for your family. A loving home is of great
importance to you and you always try to make people feel welcome. Although you have a great capacity to love, you also have a great capacity to hurt, so at times you can be
sensitive. You're firm when you need to be, but people trust your judgment and
appreciate the kind way you always handle things.

Click on the link and find out who you are!!

I. CAN'T. WAIT. FOR. TOMORROW!!!!!

Bad Blogger

2008-11-06T10:26:00.006-06:00

I've been such a bad blogger lately!!! It has been so busy since school started...it was supposed to slow down. I thought with Caden starting school and then Colton going to preschool in the afternoons I would have more time to relax. HA!! My goal of 15 layouts a month has gone right out the door! But I am getting all of my DT work done and I did do a few extra layouts last month. I don't think I've posted all of September's stuff yet either...or was that October's? At any rate...here are my projects from Serendipity from last month.

And my projects from Crop Addict for this month. I got to use the manufacturer kit this month. It is from Scrap Within Reach...a new company. It was hard for me to figure out what to do with it at first but after I got started I really liked it!

I'll try to better this month!!! :)

Tagged!

2008-10-29T09:31:00.003-05:00

Megan...a friend from Crop Addict...blog tagged me yesterday! So now I need to tell you 7 things you may not know about me.

1. I've always been deathly afraid of spiders. The farthest back I can remember being scared of them was when I was about 3 or 4. A Daddy Long Leg got on me and was crawling up my arm...still freaks me out to think of that. When I was about 8 or 9, I made myself a Spider Protection Suit because mom was making me go into the cellar to get something for her. Embarrassingly enough, there's pictures.

2. I'm scared of cows. I was chased up the fence by one when I was 7 years old.

3. I'm scared of chickens. When I was 4, mom had some banty roosters that used to chase me and then claw up my legs.

4. I've been to the House of Seven Gables. Pretty cool if you ever have a chance to go!

5. I love kitchen gadgets and tools but I HATE to cook.

6. I've got more online friends than I do real-life friends.

7. I'm a big fan of Star Trek.

Wow...that was actually hard to come up with something. Now I have to tag seven other people!

1. Deb Just Another Scrap Blog
2. Kim A Sweet Smackerel
3. Morgan The Wiebke World
4. Michon Mom, Maid, Middle age
5. Debbie Just a Little Type A
6. Steph Gibson Grapevine
7. Wendi Scrappy Day In Paradise

Take a minute and visit their blogs! You won't be disappointed!! :)

Birthday Girl

2008-09-30T07:51:00.002-05:00

Hope you enjoy this one too!

Kit:

Patterned paper: Black Market Paper Society (Imported Rhythm: Bongos, Shruti Stick)

Transparency: Hambly (Vintage Plaid)

Paperclips: Doodlebug Designs (Cute Clips: Birthday Girl)

Felt: Queen & Company (Felt Fusion)

Rhinestones: Glitz Designs (Frosting: Clear)

Extras:

Adhesive dots: Glue Dots, Intl.

Border punch: Fiskars (Threading Water Punch)

Felt flowers: Stampin’ Up!

Foam adhesive: Scotch

Foam letters: American Crafts (Thickers: Smoothie)

Black ink: Inque Boutique

Journaling pen: American Crafts (Precision)

Instructions:

1. Cut strip of transparency. Attach to middle of yellow side of patterned paper…either put your adhesive under the printed parts or be aware of where you are going to place your felt fusion and photos and place your adhesive under that.

2. Adhere felt over transparency.

3. Cut 1 ½” strip of polka dot paper (back of yellow). Trim one long edge with decorative scissors or border punch. Adhere to top of layout.

4. Cut 1 7/8” strip of striped paper and adhere to bottom of layout.

5. Adhere photos to layout as shown (4 x 6, 3 x 5, 2 ½ x 2).

6. Add title. Adhere large rhinestones to dot the “i”.

7. Adhere extra flowers. Use rhinestones from Frosting strips for flower centers.

8. Cut journaling block out of yellow. Add journaling. Ink edges and doodle around edges. Adhere on top of felt and transparency layer.

Fun with Mud

2008-09-26T15:30:00.005-05:00

This is another one of my projects from my September Serendipity projects.

Kit:

Patterned paper: Black Market Paper Society (Import Rhythm: Didgerido, Juggernaut, Bongos)

Extras:

Cardstock: Bazzill (Bling)

Ticket corner punch: Stampin’ Up!

Curvy trimmer: Creative Memories

Black ink: Inque Boutique

Die cut machine: Provo Craft (Cricut)

Cartridge: Provo Craft (Making the Grade)

Black marker: SU!

Rub-ons: Doodlebug Designs (All Mixed Up: Beetle Black)

Foam adhesive: Scotch

Scallop circle punch: SU!

1 3/8” circle punch: SU!

stamps: October Afternoon (Notebook Doodles, Detours)

journaling pen: American Crafts (Precision)

¼” circle punch: SU!

quote rub-on: Die Cuts with a View

Instructions:

1. Tear edges of Didgerido and adhere to cardstock.

2. Cut mat for large photo (4 ¼ x 6 ¼ with trim) out of Juggernaut. Ink edges. Adhere photo to mat.

3. Cut a curvy strip of Didgerido (stripe side), ink edges, and adhere about 2/3 the way to the bottom of your page.

4. Cut title out of solid side of Bongos. Ink edges with black marker. If you ink from behind, then you won’t get any stray marks on top of your letter if your marker should slip. Adhere with foam adhesive. Use rub-ons or stamps if you need to fill in your title more.

5. Punch out flowers from Juggernaut paper with ¼” punch and adhere to circles bordering the larger circles on the Didgerido paper.

6. Finish embellishing as desired.

Sketch-a-pa-looza Crop

2008-09-22T09:14:00.004-05:00

I actually got 4 layouts done this time! This crop was a lot of fun...full of sketches with twists. Now, I've got to get over to Serendipity and get these uploaded but I wanted to share them with you first. Later!!

I heart your blog

2008-09-19T08:39:00.006-05:00

My friend Teresa from Serendipity left me this blinkie on her blog. Isn't it cute! This means I'm one of her favorite blogs.

So now, I need to go through and spread the love to 7 of my favorite bloggers. There's about a hundred more I could come up with. But here goes....

Morgan
Michelle
Virginia
Jana
Wendi
Christy
Steph

Some fun stuff

2008-09-18T21:20:00.003-05:00

Ok...like the crop coming up isn't fun but you know what I mean! By the way...that starts tomorrow and I can't wait!!! My friend Liz is coming over to scrap with me and it's going to be so much fun. The kids are supposed to go to my parents tomorrow night too so I should be able to get lots done tomorrow.

I don't think I've shown you this layout yet. I used a kit from Crop Addict (June or July I think??) and a challenge from Serendipity (show water on your page). I really love how it turned out! Those pics of Colton are too cute. Who knew sprinklers could be so much fun?!?!

Ok...here is one of my DT projects for Serendipity this month. Kristen sent me the Imported Rhythm line from Black Market Paper Society this time. If you haven't seen their paper, it is way cool! It's regular patterned paper that has been textured...think patterned paper mixed with Bazzill cardstock sort of. It's fun to play with! The clipboard is from Stampin' Up! I bought it a few months ago and have been waiting for something to do with it and this was just perfect.

So...how do you make it??? Let me just tell you!

1. Make a template for your clipboard out of regular copy paper.

2. Trace onto patterned paper (Huaca) and cut out.

3. Put on clipboard and adjust to fit.

4. Glue in place. Hint: Glue while still on clipboard…the clip holds the paper in place so it doesn’t shift. Decoupage medium works really well for this.

5. Sand and ink edges.

6. Cut designs out of same patterned paper and run through sticker maker. Adhere to clipboard.

7. Cut flowers out of felt fusion and stick to project.

8. Cut rhinestones off strips of frosting to use as flower centers.

9. Adhere die-cuts and photos to clipboard.

10.Add tags and ribbon and any other embellishments you want.

And the supplies I used...

Kit:

Patterned paper: Black Market Paper Society (Imported Rhythm: Huaca, Juggernaut)

Felt: Queen & Company (Felt Fusion)

Rhinestones: Glitz Designs (Frosting: Clear)

Extras:

Clipboard: Stampin’ Up!

Decoupage medium: Plaid (Mod Podge)

Sanding tools: Basic Grey (Precision File Kit)

Ink: SU! (Summer Sun Craft)

Adhesive: Xyron

Die-cutter: Provo Craft (Cricut)

Cartridge: Provo Craft (Tear Drop)

Glitter glue: Ranger (Stickles: Pink)

Jump rings: Making Memories

Tag: Making Memories

Foam adhesive: Scotch

Ribbon: American Crafts

Satin ribbon: SU!

I'm not sure why my fonts are all screwed up right now. I copied the instructions directly from my Word document that I sent to Kristen. I just need to get a pdf writer and link it so it'd look better. Oh well! I'll have some more in a day or two! Until then....

It's time for a crop!!!

2008-09-17T10:22:00.002-05:00

It's a Serendipity Scrapbooks Sketch-a-pa-looza Crop Fest

Mark your calendars ladies and gentlemen for our first ever Sketch-a-pa-looza starting Sept 19th-Sept 21st

Since we have Back to School and the holiday fast approaching, the Design Team thought it would be fun to provide you with fun filled and easy sketches for you to create from. But of course you know us at Serendipity Scrapbooks, there will be amazing twist and turns to every sketch challenge that is provided.

We have some great artist creating sketches exclusively for this Crop. Some of them are Becky Fleck, Alicia Berry, Kazaan, Sketches by Tamara, and many many more. Oh you can't forget our wonderful design team that is working hard at creating some really fabulous sketches for you.

We will be providing over 20 prizes, games, and wonderful sketches to get your creativity flowing. And we can't forget our oh so awesome Blue Light Specials. They are famous in this neck of the woods. They will be thrown out at you through out the weekend so don't forget to take advantage of the wonderful sales. Loads of them at 50% off!!!

Where: Serendipity Scrapbooks www.serendipityscrapbooks.com
when: Sept 19th-21st (pre crop challenges starting Sept 12)
Time: Most challenges will be loaded by 12pm PST 3pm EST Friday 19th

Hope to see you there!! I have some layouts plus instructions to post for you too. I'll try to get to those in the next couple of days. :)

GUESS WHAT???

2008-09-10T10:32:00.005-05:00

Scrap That Moment has the gallery and the message board up and running!! We've been posting to the gallery the last couple of weeks. Today, when I got on the gallery, I decided to just click the forums button just in case, and there it was! I was so excited I just about peed my pants! So come on over, take a look, and introduce yourselves. It's going to be a lot of fun!

Crop Addict Manufacturer Kit

2008-09-08T10:01:00.005-05:00

I got to use the Dream Street kit from Crop Addict this month! When I first opened the package, I had no idea what I was going to do...that wasn't my normal style. But...once I got an idea, the ideas just started flowing! I was afraid I was going to run out of paper before I completed my required number of projects. This is the Hugs-n-Kisses line. Enjoy!

Fragile...Handle with Care (This one was my favorite.)

Love Card

Monkey

Preschool

If you want to see the supplies I used, you can find them here. While you are there, check out the Dream Street Manufacturer challenge in the forums. You only have to use 70% Dream Street products (any line) and the winner will get a RAK of Dream Street stuff...can't be any better than that!

Catch-up!

2008-08-28T09:21:00.005-05:00

This has been one crazy month! First off, it was the beginning of school. Caden started Kindergarten, Ali 3rd grade and Colton preschool. I'll get pics a little later. Caden did a lot better than I thought he would do. He's been saying all summer that he didn't want to go to school so I really thought I'd have a problem on my hands. Brannon stayed home with Colton while I took the other two in. Caden remembered where he was supposed to go from when he had his orientation and he sat right down. Mrs. Testa had some playdough for the kids and they were working on that. I told him bye and that I'd pick him up after school. He didn't even look worried about it! I even got pics and a kiss out of it. Ali, of course, did fine settling in too. She met a new girl at orientation and she found her and sat by her.

Colton on the other hand wasn't as thrilled at first. He started this Monday. At the kids' school, there is a special education preschool that you have to qualify for. Caden did for two years for speech and fine motor and Colton qualifies for the same...he learned to talk listening to Caden so he needs help retraining. He was so excited about getting to go to school too. He cried Friday when we dropped the other two off because he wanted to stay too. Monday gets here and he puts on his backpack at 12:20...the bus isn't supposed to arrive until about 12:50-1:00. But he was ready! He gets on the bus, tells me bye and gives me a kiss. Then the bus never goes anywhere. Janet opens up the door and tells me that Colton won't get in his seat and asks if I can come help calm him down. He is holding on to the seat in front of him for dear life!! Guess he thought I was riding the bus too. Finally, we get him strapped into his car seat and off they go. I ended up calling about 20 minutes later to ask if he was doing all right. Judy (teacher) said that he called for me when he first walked in, cried for a couple of minutes, and then went to the table to work puzzles with the other kids. He's done just fine ever since. He loves going and it's not so bad since he's not expecting me to be there now. He really adjusted faster than I thought he would. Caden would always cry when he'd have to go but he was fine once he got there. Colton has always been the momma's boy and really hasn't been away from me that much. So he's been a big surprise for me this week.

Brannon took off Monday afternoon so he could see Colton go to school for the 1st time and go pick all of them up afterschool. He talked me into walking to the post office and then ending our walk by picking up the kids. It was HOT!!! We usually walk about 3 miles anyway so this normally wouldn't have been a problem. What killed me is that he underestimated the time and we had to book it back to school! I had a pinched nerve in my lower back that slowed us up when we first left and I had to work it out. I also ended up with what I thought at first was a blister but it never did pop up. So brainiac me decides to go for another walk on Tuesday morning after the kids were dropped off. I got back home and couldn't move! And that blister decided that it was going to pop up after all. Imagine Mt. Everest on the bottom of your foot and trying to walk on that! Needless to say, I didn't get any notions of walking yesterday...at least until that all heals up.

Remember me saying that I got a DT spot on Scrap That Moment??? Well, everything is fixing to re-open up!! The gallery is now open and ready for all of your layouts. Lynette still has some security patches and some fixes to do and then the forums will be open too. I'm really looking forward to everything. She's got some fun stuff lined up so I hope to see you over there!

I missed the Ali Edward's chat. I was asked to teach a scrapbooking class at church and by the time I got home it was too late. Kristen posted a recap of it here if you want to see what all she said. Serendipity also has a crop coming up in September so look for more info coming about that.

So now that my novel is done (speaking of novels...have you read the Twilight series yet???), I'll leave you with some layouts that I did for Serendipity for this month.

Chat with Ali Edwards at Serendipity Scrapbooks!

2008-08-05T16:46:00.002-05:00

Here's the announcement...

We are so excited to be able to announce our upcoming chat with ALI EDWARDS. She has graciously agreed to come and chat with YOU.

Where: Serendipity Scrapbooks chat room (under general chat) www.serendipityscrapbooks.com
When: August 19, 2008
Time: 9 pm EST, 8 pm CST, 7 pm Mtn, 6 pm PST

This is the perfect timing to chat with Ali Edwards and learn more about her new book that will be coming out in August.

Sharing Your Story: Recording Life's Details with Mini Books by Ali Edwards
Discover the fun, fast and easy way to capture and document the everyday moments of your life. With CK lifestyle editor Ali Edwards’ expertise, you’ll learn how to record the important stories of your life, store the memorabilia that matters, track the special events, make memorable gifts and more—all in the beautiful and doable format of mini books. You’ll love the dozens of practical and meaningful book ideas for every occasion. 164 pages. Available August 2008.

If you are new or unfamiliar with Ali, here is a little bit about her and her accomplishments.

An advocate for not making things more complicated than they need to be & embracing imperfection, Ali shares cool concepts, design, and project ideas in her idea books: A Designer’s Eye for Scrapbooking, A Designer’s Eye for Scrapbooking with Patterned Paper, Life Artist, and Sharing Your Story: Recording Life's Details with Mini Books (available August 2008).

You can also find Ali's monthly column in Creating Keepsakes magazine: Studio A

"I started scrapbooking in 2002 as a way to organize all the stuff I collected after the birth of my son. It has become so much more than an organizational process for me - it has let me find my own personal passion and voice. It has become all about the process of capturing life and creating art."

Well known for her signature style of everyday-life scrapbooking, Ali is a highly sought-after workshop instructor. She travels the US and internationally conducting classes and inspiring students to tell their stories fearlessly.

Ali lives in Eugene, Oregon. She enjoys travel, reading, politics, and spending time with her husband and son.

You can read more about Ali on her blog http://aliedwards.typepad.com/

We are so excited and can't wait to see you there!!

Lots of News!

2008-07-31T15:01:00.003-05:00

Remember a few weeks ago when I said I had some more news but I couldn't share it right then??? Well, now I can! I get to stay on the design team at Serendipity Scrapbooks!!! The new team was announced yesterday. I'm really going to miss working with everyone else but am excited to get to know the new ones better. So come on over and see what we've got in store for you!

Now for some exciting Stampin' Up! news. Beginning with the new catalog, all NEW sets will be die cut!! NO MORE CUTTING OUT YOUR STAMPS! Well, that is unless you buy a stamp set that has been in previous catalogs. Any new stamps that are introduced will be die cut though. I'm really excited about this...it doesn't really bother me too much to cut them out but when you buy a whole lot of them, it gets very tiring very quickly. Also, starting in the Fall sometime, SU! will introduce online ordering...meaning you can place your order anytime of the day or night and you don't have to talk to your demonstrator to do it! If your demonstrator has a business web site, you simply go to that site and there will be a spot to place your order. If you don't have a demonstrator, you can order directly from SU!'s web site but you will pay higher prices. You can choose a demonstrator at this point too. Your best bet is to go to someone with a business web site so you get the best price and still earn rewards similar to the existing Hostess Benefits. So keep watch out for that!! Convention is going on right now so I'm sure we will get more news in the next few days.

I think that is all of my news right now. Between a headache and screaming kids, I'm having a hard time thinking. I'll update as more comes to me!!

Until next time....

Look

2008-07-17T08:39:00.004-05:00

This has been Colton's favorite word over the last several months. A time or two ago at Bill and Judy's, Colton wanted to pose with his toys he found. "Look" was perfect for this page. I used Serendipity Scrapbooks' June I Deserve It All kit for this...I just added ink, Thickers, and chipboard photo corners(SU!). The photo corners were colored using Craf-T's metallic rub-ons. I also used one of Becky Fleck's Page Maps sketches for this.

Until next time...

Serendipity's July Just Enough Kit

2008-07-15T13:59:00.005-05:00

Ok...I'm a dork. I forgot all about posting my layouts for this month's kit. I had a lot of fun with this one...but when do I not.

So here they are!!

Supplies:

Kit:

Patterned paper: K&Company (Urban Rhapsody: Sugar Rush)

3-D stickers: K&Company (Light Ideas: Chandelier)

Extras:

Birdhouse: Darice

Paint: Making Memories (Honeydew)

Gesso: Demco

Mod Podge: Plaid

Circle punch: Stampin’ Up!

Ink: Ranger (Distress Ink: Peeled Paint)

Flowers: unknown

Large rhinestone: The Beadery

Bling: Glitz Design (Kit Add-on)

Supplies:

Kit:

Patterned paper: My Mind’s Eye (29^th Street Market: Fresh “Mother” Apron Dots/Soothing Green Paper, Fresh “Beauty” Summer Dress/Blue Slash Paper, Fresh “Outdoors” Natural Print/Tadpole Paper)

Crown template: The Crafter’s Workshop

Rub-ons: Fiskars (Kimberly Polson: Flourish Rub-ons Old Fashioned Flowers)

Chipboard letters: Heidi Swapp (Center of Attention: Metallic Pink)

Journaling block: Luxe Designs (Simple Labels Lime)

Clear accents: Heidi Swapp (Carefree)

Flowers/rhinestones: Petaloo (Box Blends: Dahlia)

Extras:

Decorative scissors: Hobby Lobby

Black ink: Inque Boutique

Bling crown: Me & My Big Ideas

Rhinestones: Glitz Designs (from add-on kit)

Journaling pen: American Crafts (Slick Writer)

Supplies:

Kit:

Patterned paper: K&Company (Urban Rhapsody: Blue Starbursts Flat Paper); My Mind’s Eye (29^th Street Market: Fresh “Outdoors” Spring Greens/ Sprout Paper, Fresh “Mother” Apron Dots/ Soothing Green Paper)

Chipboard letters: Heidi Swapp (Center of Attention: Metallic Pink)

Journaling block: My Mind’s Eye (29^th Street Market: Spirit “Sisters” Foliage Die Cut)

Die cut: My Mind’s Eye (29^th Street Market: Fresh “Beauty” Flower Die Cut)

Clear accents: My Mind’s Eye (29^th Street Market: Fresh “Outdoors” Leaves); Heidi Swapp (Carefree)

Rub-ons: Fiskars (Kimberly Polson: Flourish Rub-ons Old Fashioned Flowers); Scenic Route (My Girl)

Flowers: Bazzill (Primula Whirlpool); Petaloo (Box Blends: Dahlia)

3-D Stickers: K&Company (Light Ideas Chandelier)

Extras:

Scallop punch: Fiskars (Threading Water)

Ink: Ranger (Distress Ink: Peeled Paint)

Journaling pen: American Crafts (Precision)

Foam adhesive: Scotch

Supplies:

Kit:

Cardstock: Bazzill

Patterned paper: K&Company (BW Mira Filigree Texture Flat Paper; Urban Rhapsody: Word Confetti, Blue Starbursts)

Rub-ons: Scenic Route (My Girl); Fiskars (Kimberly Polson: Flourish Rub-ons Old Fashioned Flowers)

Template: The Crafter’s Workshop (mini-crown)

Chipboard letters: Heidi Swapp (Center of Attention: Metallic Pink)

Clear embellishments: Heidi Swapp (Carefree)

Flowers/rhinestones: Petaloo (Box Blends: Dahlia)

3-D Stickers: K&Company (Light Ideas: Chandelier)

Extras:

Silver gel pen: unknown

Glitter glue: Ranger (Stickles: Star Dust—from add-on kit)

Border punch: Fiskars (Threading Water)

Foam adhesive: Scotch, Stampin’ Up!

Pen: American Crafts (Precision)

Now, off to finish cleaning my desk so I can do some more projects! (It's been about 2 weeks since I've touched anything. )

Caden's Surgery

2008-07-09T18:26:00.002-05:00

Today was Caden's surgery. We got up around 6:00 this morning and left Caden asleep until it was time to go. We took toys and coloring books but he didn't want to play with anything. There was a fish tank in the waiting room that completely distracted him until they called us back. The nurse came in the prep room and gave him some medicine to relax him...totally made him drunk and loopy!!! I was laughing so hard I was crying! It took a few minutes to start working. We were rubbing his head trying to relax him and when that medicine kicked in he got completely hyper! So much for relaxing! He was giggling and trying to jump off the bed (actually do a head dive off the head of the bed!) and then laughing his little head off about it. His eyes were rolling in the back of his head and he was all wobbly and his speech was slurred. You would've thought they had given him a beer or something...he was tanked! The nurse told us that he wasn't as bad as some kids get. Just about as quick as that started, he was drowsy and they wheeled him back to surgery. It only took 10 minutes or so. His doctor came out and told us that he was really pleased with how everything turned out. His little tongue was tighter than he had thought at the office visit. Caden took 30 or 40 minutes to come back around. His tongue was swollen and the doctor gave him a local on his tongue which I'm sure made his tongue feel even bigger. Caden kept telling us he couldn't breathe but I think it was because his tongue and throat felt funny. He didn't want to leave the hospital so we just stuck around. The recovery nurses were really nice to him and were really patient. All of a sudden, he popped his little self up and said he was ready so we left! The anesthesia made him sick a few times but that part went away quickly. He tried playing a little bit but that lasted only about 5 minutes. Then, he just stayed on the couch all day. Now, he's up playing and having a great time. So, I'm happy to say it was a great success!! Thanks to everyone who sent thoughts and prayers his way...they were greatly appreciated!!!

More Happy News!!

2008-07-08T08:05:00.004-05:00

First off...thanks for all the comments about my little boy being safe! I really appreciate them. Today, we go for his pre-op appointment and tomorrow he is having his tongue clipped. The ENT doctor and his speech therapist all think that his speech will mostly self-correct once he has full movement of his tongue...so PLEASE keep him in your prayers!! I'll let you know how everything goes.

Now...for my really big exciting news!! If you are playing along with our blog party on Serendipity, then you probably read Christy's good news yesterday. Well...I have the EXACT SAME GOOD NEWS!!! Christy and I are going to be teammates!! Jeannie Moler, who is also going to be on the Scrap That Moment DT, is the one who told us about the call. She's a real-life friend so I'm excited about her being on there too! I can't wait to get started...heck Lynette (owner) even made my picture look good so she must be WONDERFUL (go to link above and click on Designers and then my name)!!! Now the wait begins until the site is up and running but it looks great so far. I didn't make the Chatterbox call-back but the ones that did are extremely talented! I have a couple of online friends that did...really happy for them and especially for Mimi Leinbach...check out her gallery at Serendipity and you'll see what I mean.

So that is my happy news this week!!! I've got a layout on my desk with a very cute Page Maps sketch...it's just waiting for me to have a little extra play time. I'll get it done and posted soon!!

Happy Ending

2008-07-07T09:17:00.003-05:00

Our 4th of July weekend started out really well. We went to Arkadelphia Thursday night. Friday, Brannon and I painted the bathroom. That night the kids had sparklers. Saturday, we finished up our part of the bathroom. Then, Saturday night hit. Brannon's brother and girlfriend were there at dinner too and all of us were sitting around the table talking. Ali comes in at one point to tattle on Caden. Needless to say, the kids were fighting a lot by that point. Maybe a 1/2 hour or so after that, we all got up so Brannon and his brother could go hang a door. We realized we hadn't seen Caden for a long while and we hadn't heard him either. All of us start calling his name and Brannon is grilling Ali on when she saw him last. She had told him she was telling and that was the last time she saw him. We looked everywhere he would fit...even taking the blankets down on the beds and looking under them. Then, we go outside. At this point I'm panicking. I walk down to the pond and couldn't find him there and then walk back up to the barn. Brannon and I drove down the road one way and Blaine and Ashley took off the other way and still no Caden. Bill calls the sheriff's department and has them tone it so then all these volunteers...most of them from the volunteer fire department and friends of Bill and Judy...show up to help me find my baby. Brannon and I had just started back towards the house with one of the deputies when Bill told us he'd been found...this was at least an hour later I think. Judy's sister went back through the house one more time and she found him on one of the beds under the pillows asleep. He had hid from Ali when she said she was going to get him in trouble and placed the pillows just right over top of him. We never saw him. Margaret just saw a little bit of Caden peeking out so we thought he probably got hot and moved a little. I can't believe all the people that showed up to help us! I'm very grateful for all of them and especially for Margaret for finding him. My heart has always gone out to those moms and dads on tv pleading for help in finding their kids...now I can empathize with them a whole lot more. I've never felt so numb and scared in my life. I was terrified that he had walked down the lane and got to the highway and someone had taken him. Caden is too scared to get too far from us like that but I really didn't know what else to think since we couldn't find him. I don't ever want to go through anything like that again. My kids have been getting extra hugs and kisses since then! I appreciate them a whole lot more too!!

Crop Addict Creative Team

2008-07-02T16:21:00.003-05:00

Woohoooo!!! I get to stay on the Creative Team at Crop Addict for another term! I'm really excited...I love being on the team...it's a lot of fun. The girls on there have become my friends over this last year. I'm really thankful for each of them (DT/CT members and non-dt alike). The first thing I do every day is to log onto the internet and check out what everyone is doing. I've become quite the message board addict. But anyway...wanted to share my good news!! I'll have some more in a few weeks...MAN I hate to keep a secret!!

June GDT at Keeping Memories Alive

2008-06-30T16:11:00.003-05:00

I was chosen for Keeping Memories Alive's June Guest Designer. You can find the supply list here. These are pictures I took of Caden at my in-laws playing with the Legos his Dad used to play with. He loves building with them! Hope you enjoy this layout as much as I did making it!!