First Ever Scrap Page Game

Melly tagged me!!!!  When I look back at my older pages I sigh because I was able to capture the perfect moments, without the perfect page.  My shadows might have been off, my color scheme may have been suffering, goodness knows my photography wasnt the best, but I still captured those memories.  After all, isnt that why we do it?  To capture the moments in our lives that we want to share with our children, grandchildren and so on?  It does not have to be perfect to be beautiful, it just has to mean something you.

In March of 2006, (just like Melly!) I started digital scrapbooking.  My boyfriend had gotten a new laptop awhile before and Photoshop.  He asked me to learn PS and teach it to him.  I opened the program, laughed, made a comment about the 1000 buttons and closed it.  Fast forward….  I was bored and thought, I can do this.  So I opened PS and went online to look for tutorials on how to use it.  I stumbled across a digi site and clicked on the Gallery link.  That was it.  That was all it took. 

I saw a layout by a lady named “keeplearning” and was blown away.  I wanted to create pages like her!  She actually sent me an email thanking me for all the comments I made that day on her pages.  I guess I made a lot.  lol  I had done some paper scrapbooking and was eager to learn this new craft.  This is the first layout, of my friends, Janice and Jordie.  It was a pretty simple style layout.  I later started to play with kits and learn about shadows and whatnot….

Side note….”keeplearning” is Debb Cozzi, a lady who I now consider a wonderful friend.  I am happy to say that we are now working together at her site, the Guild.  Yes, she is the fearless leader of our Gigis.  How lucky we all are!  I was inspired 3 years ago, I am still inspired today.  Thank you Mrs. Cozzi for everything you have shared with me, with us, with the world of digital scrapbooking.

Here are the rules:
1. Show us your first scrapbook page

2. Write a couple of lines about the scrap - associated with your feelings, your thoughts and when you did it.

3. Pass the game on to 5 person and leave a comment on their blog....I'm passing it on to:

 Maggie, Carolyn, Christine, Debb, and Tiffany.

As I was writing this entry I thought it might be fun to go back to one of those layouts that I found so inspiring and lift it!  I decided on Teaching You to Pray, a layout Debb created of her darling niece back in 2006.

Credits:  Marcee Duggar’s Apple Jam and Heritage Postage Alpha

With my soon to be released new kit, Out of this World, here is my page!!

 

Thanks for the tag Melly!  :)

Thanks for stopping by!!!

How to: Felt Flower Hair Clips

If you are anything like me, you love all things girly.  Being the mother of a boy, I do not have many opportunities to buy/make girly things.  No matter how many times I try to convince Connor to let me make him dresses or hair bows, he always says no.  Go figure.  lol   With his birthday party coming up, I thought I could take advantage of the opportunity and make some girly things for prizes.    I made some hair bows, check them out!  :)  Images straight off the camera, so please excuse. 

What you Need:

felt

buttons

embroidery floss

needle

hot glue gun and glue

scissors

hair clips

First cut out four squares of felt.  Small squares for small bows, large squares for large bows. ;)  Cut the end of the square into a half moon shape, these will be your petals.

Thread your needle, tying a knot at the end of your string.  Next take one of your pieces of felt and fold it in half, then fold back the edges to create a little accordion. 

Stick the needle through the straight end of your petal, pull to the knot, continue with the next three petals.

Pull the thread taunt and tie into a knot.  Now play with your petals and flatten them out so they are even. 

Sew your button to the middle of the flower.  Now your flower is complete.  Simply use your hot glue to attach the clip to the make of the flower.  Done.  :)

The rest of my 365 photos for the week….

Day 110

What?  What is that number?  Oh THAT is a size TWELVE pair of jeans that I am wearing these days.  Yeah, much better then the size 16s I was wearing a few months ago.  MUCH better!  :)

Day 111

Fighting Ninjas???  Connor always has some sort of pose happening.

Day 112

Connor’s room…

Day 113

LOL  What do grown adults do on a Saturday afternoon?  They go see Monsters Vs Aliens and then spend the rest of the day playing with the glasses.  Or at least that is what Sean and I did, we took my Dad too!  We all highly recommend it.  IN 3D of course!!  I love BOB.  Seth Rogan is paving the way to making geeks the new Sexy!!!

Day 114

This is my new friend, is she not ADORABLE???  She is a Momiji doll and she is such a sweetie.  :)

 

Tomorrow begins a new week….where did April go?

Frugal Friday!

If you know me, you know that I am frugal by necessity.  However, I also like the challenge of it.  I enjoy being able to go through a store and trying to find the best deals I can.  There have been times where we have left the store with Sean shaking his head in disbelief.  One day he challenged me to tally up what I saved by shopping sales, clearance and using coupons.  We chose the day that I went to get groceries and at the end of the day we sat down and marked everything down.  I had saved over $100 in one day.  Sean no longer laughs at me when I say, “OH wait, I have a coupon for that.”  LOL

We promised Connor we would do his room over and he asked for Spiderman.  So I went to work and did the best I could with my budget.   This pictures are straight off the camera so please excuse my tones.  ;)

First we painted the room blue with white trim.  Sean drew the web on the wall and then I helped him paint it.  It took a surprisingly long time to complete.  We bought the Spiderman decal at Walmart for only $20.  That desk I bought at a store for only $20 and its in perfect shape, no bench but we have one that fits.  The curtains were five dollars. 

We bought him just the comforter and the pillow case.  Using plain blue sheets saved me a LOT instead of purchasing the licensed sheets.  Not that you can even see anything for the pile of stuffies!  My parents bought him the blanket, my mother made him one of the throw cushions and they got him the  mat.  My mother also found those cute Spiderman slippers on sale for only $2.

For the pictures I used old white frames we had on hand.  I simply downloaded Spiderman pictures from the web and framed them.  I did the same with the clock.  When Connor was born he was given this clock as a gift but it was Winnie the Pooh, so I just redid it.  I had the stickers on hand so it cost me nothing but paper and ink.

He loves his room.  :)  Thanks for stopping by!  For more Frugal Friday posts check out The Shabby Nest!  I just discovered this blog today and it inspired me to post this!  Thanks for the inspiration.

Speed Scrap!

Every Monday night I host an Inspired by Art chat at the Guild.  Every week the ladies create amazing pages that truly awe me.  :)  They are wonderful!  We would love to have YOU join us as well!   This week my challenge was to create a full layout in 30 minutes or  less.  Yes, there was a lot of groaning and people saying they just cant do it!  I KNOW they can do it!!!!  :)  However, to help inspire I created a FREE template for everyone to download.  Feel free to take it!  If you create a page with it I would love to see it!!!  Just link back here and I will post your layout on my blog.   Actually if you have any layouts you created in under 30 minutes, LINK ME UP!  :)

You can download it here.

This layout is of my darling little niece, Emma.  She is such a doll and just LOVES my camera!  lol  She was eating a donut, hence the pink and blue streaks on her face.  The kit I used on this page is a Guild Encore kit called Freestyle Frolic from last Spring.

The original layout I created for my challenge is this one….

This page was created in under 30 minutes with this month’s Guild kit, Hillside Morning and Vinnie Pearce’s kit, He’s Royalty.

Here is a page by CT Member Amson, Cup of Tea, using my kit Sunday Morning Coffee.

A wonderful page by Guild Member ChiChi, Simply Perfect.

 

A few 365 photos….

Day 103

I cant show this one online….  I dont have permission.  :)

Day 104

Connor had been begging me to take him back to this library.  Not only does he love to read but they have a little play center and a fish tank.   I was pleasantly surprised to find out they have free wireless so I could work while he played.  SO NICE!

Day 105

Connor’s party is coming up fast!  I spent this day  making Batman symbols out of felt for the capes.  The bats were slightly annoying to cut out.

Day 106

A project that I am working on and should be able to show you shortly.

Day 107

Another project I am working on!  I know, I have a lot on the go.  I am making some hair pins here….  My trusty Tim’s next to me at all times!  ;)  Connor keeps taking my pliers because he says they arent “real” tools anyway.  Kids.

Day 108

Picture a really cute baby in this spot.  I dont have permission to post though. 

Day 109

That would be today…. I didnt take any photos yet today…..

Thanks for stopping by!

OMG! OMG! OMG!

How could I have been lost in this world like this?  HOW could I NOT know that they were making a movie out of My Sister’s Keeper?  Starring Cameron Diaz, Abigail Breslin, Alec Baldwin, and Sofia Vassilieva.

Jodi Picoult is, without any doubt, my most favourite author.  My Sister’s Keeper is the first book to ever make me shed a tear.  A book had never actually moved me to tears before, but this one…this one had me hook, line and sinker.  Her books make you question yourself, question the world, hate the world, love the world, they make you think, laugh, cry, they make you angry, happy, they make you a believer, a dreamer, a realistic, they teach you about the trials in life, the best moments in life, they capture every emotion, they capture me.  I have never met an author whose stories have touched me like her books have… 

Even the preview had me in tears….visit her site to watch it!!!

June 26th….where will you find? Crying, hysterically, in a dark room with a bunch of strangers and loving every minute of it….

This news MADE MY DAY!  :)  I am currently reading Handle with Care by Jodi Picoult and it too, has made me cry and talk out loud.  Yes, I talk to books.  LOL

A Little Freebie for Ya!

My fabulous CT member Sayo, aka bunnynose, created this wonderful page as a gift for my blog readers.  Isnt she a doll?  She used my kit Sunday Morning Coffee for this one which is ON SALE for 30% during the month of April!

AND!  I thought, heck, I should make one too!  So here is mine!  To save the pages, just click on them to bring up the full size version, then right click on the image and choose Save As, otherwise you will get the black in there.  :)

Thanks for stopping by!

BLOGS! BLOGS! BLOGS!!

A part of my every day being is surfing blogs.  I love blogs!!  LOVE THEM!  I find that you can go to any “expert” site and learn a few things but when you visit BLOGS you can learn AMAZING things!  Blogs are goldmines of information, inspiration and learning!  There are a few blogs I check regularly and a few I occasionally pop in on.  I am finding new blogs every day!  I have my bookmarks set up for Digital Scrapbooking Blogs,  Handmade/Paper Scrapping Blogs, Projects to Try (for specific blog pages that I want to try some day), Photography Blogs, well…you get the idea!   At least my blogs are organized, right?

A few of my daily blog reads are…

Simple Me by Donna Downey (I have a creative crush on her)

A Beautiful Mess by Elsie Flannigan

EnJOY It by Elise

Oh my! So cute!

PoppyTalk

Here are a few blogs I discovered this week that I love!

Dollar Store Crafts (if you really know me, you know I love doing cheap projects and I love dollar stores, perfect combination)

A Soft Place to Land (love her style!)  This lovely is having a give away for a gift certificate from Lisa Leonard, who doesnt LOVE her?  Check it out here!

Reinvented!  (Who doesnt love digging through trash for treasures?  lol)

Some 365 photos that I have been slacking on…

Day 96

Hillside Morning by the Guild Designers

Day 97

This kid needs more COWBELL!  :)  I was so excited to find some cowbells and sheep bells in my Dad’s barn.  LOL

Day 98

Day 99

Day 100

He’s Royalty by Vinnie Pearce

Day 101

Speaking of going through the trash…*cough cough*  ok, it doesnt look like much now but give me a week!!!!  I have big plans for this chair!

Day 102

The face only a mother could love…..  LOL

Have a great day! Dont forget to scroll down for some FREEBIES and some Crafty Ideas!!!  :)

NDISB’s April Blog Train!

COUPON CODE HAS BEEN FIXED!!! THANK YOU!!!!

This month at NDISB we are having our very first monthly blog train!  How exciting is that?  With all these designers and one naturally GORGEOUS kit that celebrates our wonderful Earth, how could you go wrong following this train?  Jump on board!  CHOO-CHOO!  LOL  Ok, a little corny but seriously, how could you miss out on this one?   In case you have just jumped on the train here, you can find all of the designer’s taking part listed on our main blog here.

A Natural Earth by the NDISB designers.

This is my part of the contribution here!  The coupon code is NDISB-BT-AEH-n94be!!!!!

The next stop on this train is CHARLIZE’s ART blog Life in Beautiful Frames, such a cool name for a blog, is it not?

Thanks for joining us on the train!!! Oh and remember!  We would love to see what you create with the pieces so feel free to post them in our gallery!!!  :)

The Dryer Escapade!

When I moved out of my parents’ house I was fortunate enough to have an apartment where the dryer/washer were included.  Yeehaw!  Unfortunately, the landlords ended up being a little loopy.  Ok, a LOT loopy and I had to move out.  The next place I moved into ALSO had a washer and dryer included.  YIPPEE!!!  However, there was a house fire and I had to move out.  Booo!  My brother, who lived in the downstairs apartment, got the washer/dryer and I left with nothing.  HOWEVER!  Bright and shining lights were upon me!  After months of washing my clothes in an ANCIENT washing machine, you know the kind that you wash on one side and spin on the other?  Yeah, one of THOSE!  I was even SHOCKED once!!!  Ok, twice.  I didnt learn my lesson.  Anyway!  A friend called and said he knew someone who had just bought a new set and wanted to know if I wanted the old set.  Ummm YEAH!  So they brought them over and I was in bliss!  BLISS!  Three years later the washer broke, no issue, we bought a new one because we just happened to have a way too.  Four years after the fact, we got a different dryer to replace the old one.  Different dryer, not NEW dryer, different dryer.

A few weeks ago, the dryer stopped putting out heat.  OH NO!  THE ELEMENT IS SHOT!!  Nope!!  My father, the hero, came over and worked on the dryer and eventually fixed it.  YAY!!  Love my Dad.  Best part?  Cost TWO DOLLARS to fix it!!  Fast forward two blissful, dry, beautifully done laundry weeks later, and the dryer wont turn on!  WHAT?  NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!  I call my mother, she says SoNSo just got a new set, call and see if the old dryer works.  Ring, ring, ring….hello?  Yes?  Oh, it works!  Come and get it!  YAY!  So I call Sean, head to my Poppy’s house (cuz he has a truck) and gather up my cousin (cuz he has muscles).  We go and pick up the new-to-me dryer and bring it in the house.  Poppy and Cuz leave and Sean says to me,  Ummmm baby?  Yes?  There is no plug on the dryer?

WHAT!!!  What do you MEAN there is NO PLUG!?  No plug.  Ring, ring, ring….Hello Daddy?  Have I told you how much I love you lately?  So out he comes with the toolbox, after much time, grunts, groans and general annoyance from me, Sean and Father,  we get the plug off of the old dryer, onto the new dryer.  We hold our breath in anticipation!  Plug the dryer in!  Dad says, Hit the switch!  To which I reply, there is no switch, only a button I can push.  PUSH THE *insert foul language one’s father should never yell at his sweet, innocent daughter here* BUTTON!  I push the button, out of fear for my own safety.  ;)  AND!!!!,……nothing.  Nothing happens!  BUT SHE SAID IT WORKED, I screamed and tears formed in my eyes.  I was SOOOOOOO frustrated!  Dad got out his D0-Hickey machine and checked everything, everything should work.  BUT IT DOESNT!!!

Want to know what it was?  The old dryer had blown the fuse.  Seven dollars for a new fuse AND drum roll please……New-to-me dryer works!  YAY!!!  Clothes are dry, Amy is HAPPY!!!!   No more clothes hanging from my shower rod, the backs of chairs, the bathroom door….its all GOOD!  :)  Sure, the dryer is UGLY but it DRIES my clothes and it saved me from having to pay $300 for a new one.

Price to fix the dryers….$15 (coffee for labour)

Trips to the store…2

People I annoyed in the last month because of my broken dryer issue…6.37 million

Price of having a dryer that actually dries my clothing?  

Priceless!!!!!  :)

How To: Custom Checkerboard

It was the day before Easter and we still hadnt thought of something unique to do for Connor.  Having talked to my parents I knew that going into the city was out of the question because of the traffic.  We were really limited.  I thought I could find something but there was nothing that I knew would make him excited.  I had planned a Scavenger Hunt for him with clues and the final clue was going to lead to something special.  I said that he was playing checkers a lot on the computer and that may be we could find him a board.  We could not.  We were so frustrated but finally Sean said, Why not make him one?  So we did! 

What you need:

12x12 square of word

1.25inch wooden dowel

Mod Podge

Brushes

Paint in colors you want for your board and pieces

Saw

Painters’ tape

Photos cut in circles for game pieces

First we cut the wooden dowel into .75inch coins, sanded until smooth.   You will need 24 pieces, 12 of each color.  Paint your pieces and let them dry.

In Photoshop I took a picture of Connor and turned it into 1inch circle and duplicated it 12 times.   I wanted to use the same pictures on both colors so I simply changed the color of his jacket using Photoshop.  Using the Lasso tool I selected his jacket, then went to Image>Hue Saturation>Changed from Master to Blue>Upped the Saturation until his blue jacket turned red.

I then opened a second photo and added a crown from a stock photo and repeated the above steps.  Printed them on good photo paper, cut them out and then using Mod Podge, glued the photos onto the coins.  Blue jacket photo on the black coins, red jacket photos on the red coins.  Regular photo on one side and the crown photo on the opposite side.

Sean cut a 12x12 piece of wood, painted it red and waited for it to dry.  Then using painter’'s tape, he made a grid and painted the black squares.  Each square equals 1.5inch.  Voila!  Your own custom checkerboard!!!  We also added a 8x8 inch black base to lift it off of the table but that is not necessary.  Sean just screwed that to the bottom of the board.

Connor LOV ED it!  It was unique, personal and something he really cherishes now!