Photoshop

I printed 3 more layouts today - so hopefully I'm all caught up with printing. And I bought Photoshop 6.0 on eBay today, so I guess I made my decision - LOL! Here's what I figured - I sold an embroidery hoop about a month ago for $85, and I've been saving that money for something special. Then I sold some embroidery software last week on eBay, which netted me $329. I also have some other software I'm selling which won't sell for anything close to the first one, but is currently at $39. So I figure if I'm ever going to buy it, now is the time, right?

Printing

I realized I hadn't printed any layouts in awhile, so I printed six layouts today! I love the way they look when they're printed. I really need to do a better job of printing them as I do them. Anyway, I think I may be caught up on the ones I want printed now - I'll have to go through all my layouts and see. And next step is to burn them all to a cd to be sure I have backups of everything - I sure don't want to lose anything!!

I'm also considering buying Photoshop. I've been using Photoshop Elements for a long time. I won't pay the full price for it ($649!!!). But I discovered yesterday that I could buy an older version of it on eBay for around $100, then buy an upgrade version for $169. So now I have to decide if it's worth almost $300 by the time I add shipping costs and everything. It has some features I would like, but is it worth the $$$? Still not sure. But since I sold my old embroidery software for a little over $300, I'm considering it. Of course, I did just buy a Wacom tablet, but I would have bought that eventually anyway. LOL!!

Fred

This layout was published in the Aug/Sept 2006 issue of Ready Set Create.

This is of our 13 year old dog Fred.

Credits: Feelin' Dirty by Lauren Grier at Sweet Shoppe Designs
Font: Times New Roman
Misc: Alpha from Punky Mom kit by Lauren Grier

Shopping

Here's my latest layout. I went wedding dress shopping with my future daughter in law, her mother and sister. We had a fun day!

Credits: Collingwood kit by Eve Recinella Designs, Arrow by Shawna Clingerman, Date Stamp by Debbie Fisher.

Daily Life

I finished another set of circle journal pages tonight. I was pretty worried about the theme at first, because it is "your daily routine" and I don't really have a daily routine. At least, not in the sense that a lot of people do. I don't work outside the home, so I don't have a strict time structure. But then I got to thinking that I really do a lot of the same things every day, just not necessarily at the same times each day. So I concentrated more on what I do than on when I do it, and had fun with it. So here you go, here are my pages. I put them together so you can see what they will look like side by side.



The journaling reads: "I am retired, and because of that, I don't live on a time schedule. But I do a lot of the same things every day. (1) I try to walk two miles most mornings. (2) I eat the same breakfast every day. (3) I usually read a book while I eat my breakfast and lunch. (4) I take good care of my cat, feeding him twice a day and emptying his litter box daily. (5) I am very lucky that my husband cooks dinner, but I do have to clean up after him (pretty small price to pay, I'd say). (6) I spend time on my laptop computer every day. (7) I sew with friends once a week. (8) I eat frozen yogurt most evenings. (9) I'm a chocoholic.

"I'm very happy with my life and I wouldn't change a thing!"

Credits: Inspire Me kit by Lauren Grier
Font: CBX-Watson
MISC: Atomic Cupcake's Pristine Chipboard Effect on Bernard MT Condensed font

And by the way, I took the photo of myself in the mirror, then I flipped it in my software so that you can actually read the name on the camera. This way it looks like someone else is taking a picture of me taking a picture! LOL!! If I hadn't flipped it in my software, the name on the camera would have been in reverse. I was pretty proud of myself for figuring that one out. LOL!!

Published Layouts

I just found out Friday that I am having 3 of my digital layouts published in a magazine called Ready Set Create! I am SO excited about it!! These are my first published layouts, and I'm getting 3 published at once! I guess it helped that I submitted 12 all at one time. So today I went to all my galleries and substituted "removed for publication" statements for the layouts. This publication doesn't actually require it, but they do prefer it, so I was more than happy to oblige them. I guess I should remove them from here, too. I can upload them again after the magazine is published. The layouts that were accepted are the tribute to my dad, the one of my husband fishing, and the one of our dog.

Explore

I did another layout today. I took this photo of my son and his fiancee, along with several others, in February. I had already scrapped some of the others, but had been wanting to do something with this one. I finally got around to it with Lauren's beautiful kit.

Credits: Carry On Kit by Lauren Grier of Sweet Shoppe Designs, Simply Stitching by Christine Nash, Word Art by Tina Chambers, Date Stamp by Meryl Bartho. Scraplift of this layout by Shari Barnes: http://www.scrapbook-bytes.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=54643. Font - Henry Morgan Hand.

So Cute

I created an unusual layout today. Lauren asked each of us who was willing to do a layout of a donkey for Amanda, another designer at Sweet Shoppe Designs. Now I don't know exactly why she wanted us to do this; I know it was some sort of a joke because I guess Amanda likes donkeys. Another one of the team members had a picture of donkeys that she emailed me, and so I did this layout. I didn't mind doing it; it was actually pretty fun.



Credits: Carry On kit by Lauren Grier
Tab from Punky Mom kit by Lauren Grier
So Cute doodle from Girl Notes kit by Lauren Grier
Sketch - Layout Blueprint #6 - left page
Photo from Susan Toon

First CT Assignment

I did my first assignment for my new CT today. It was just a bit of a challenge, since the kit was more girly than I normally use. Luckily it was more girly than Lauren usually designs, so I won't have that challenge again any time soon. But I was able to find appropriate photos, so it worked out great. We gave Jessica a new pillow for Christmas last year and I hadn't scrapped the photos yet. The large photo was pretty good, and the smaller ones weren't that great, so this layout worked for these photos. Lauren liked the layout too, so it's all good.

Credits: Vanessa kit by Lauren Grier, Date Stamp by Meryl Bartho, Sketch by Scrap Maps.

Punky Girl

I have exciting news to post today - I got my creative team that I applied for earlier in the week!! And I really am thrilled!!! I just got notified today, which actually was earlier than I expected. In fact, when I saw the email so early, I was afraid it might have been a rejection. But no, it wasn't.

Creative Team Call

I applied for a Creative Team today. I don't know whether I'll get it or not, but I'm really hopeful. All I had to do was send an email with a link to my gallery and a brief blurb about why I wanted to be a "Punky Girl." But I was impressed enough by this designer that I decided to buy one of her kits and scrap a page instead, hoping to get noticed. Shameless, I know! But I hope it works. I uploaded the page to a new gallery and emailed her 2 links - that one and my scrapartist one. I've already gotten a reply from her that she got my email and that my layout made her smile. So that's good at least. She won't be making a decision for a week or so.

Journaling reads: "When I saw your Creative Team call in The Sweet Shoppe Designs Forum, I went to Elemental Scraps to look at your kits right away, since I wasn't familiar with your designs, and all I can say is WOW! I was just blown away by several of your kits. I wondered how I was going to show you in an email that I really want to be part of your team? So I decided that I had to do it this way; I had to scrap a page with one of your kits. I hope you like what I've done!"

Credits: Punky Mom kit by Lauren Grier; Paper tear by Stephanie Krush; Font: Cheryl

New Header

I decided I wanted to put my own header on my blog, so that's what I worked on today. I had some terrific help from this blog: http://lindsayteague.blogspot.com/2005/07/how-to-2.html. Thanks Lindsay!! Boy, it wasn't hard for me to create my header, but getting it to show up, that's another story all together. It showed in the preview, but when I'd publish, it wouldn't show up then. Talk about frustration. I think it finally came down to I didn't have a semi colon after the url for the header (but then why did it show up in the preview?). From what I hear, if I was willing to pay for a Typepad blog, it would be a LOT easier to do things like this. I love having a blog, but not quite enough to pay for it (yet). So I'll just have to struggle through for now I guess.

Lucky

This layout was published in the Feb/March 2007 issue of Ready Set Create.

My cat Lucky (who is feeling much better now, by the way - no more sneezing or coughing).

Credits: Smitten Kittens kit by Sara Carling - Sweet Shoppe Designs
Tag and String - For my Father - Peppermint Creative
Handstamped Alpha - Michelle Coleman - Scrapartist
Zigzag stitches and curve template - Christine Nash - A Cherry On Top
Blanket Stitches - Sweet Jane Stitches - Sandra Boddington - Sweet Shoppe Designs
Photo of my cat is "stamped" on the tag

Waiting for the Ferry

This layout was published in the April/May 2007 issue of Ready Set Create.

I did this layout yesterday in between having a migraine. I took the picture of my son and his fiancee while we were in New York last month. One of the things I'm most proud of is that I didn't use a sketch or scraplift or anything. And I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

Journaling reads: "Waiting for the ferry to Liberty Island."

I saw this kit yesterday on Eve Recinella's blog, and thought it was so cute I had to have it. It was on sale for half price, plus if you posted a layout to her gallery by Wednesday, you'd get an add on for free. And if you attend her chat on Tuesday, you get a freebie. So with all those incentives, I obviously had to buy the kit and complete a layout with it!

Giggle Me Happy kit by Eve Recinella, Paper Tears by Stephanie Krush.

Altered/Collage Challenges

ScrapArtist is now my favorite digital scrapbook message board. They have cool challenges, the absolute best shoppe, and a very talented community. One category of challenge that I've been participating in the past 3 weeks is Altered/Collage. Here is the artwork I've done each week:



(1) Altered envelope. I used Sentimental Journey and Art Inspiration Collection kits from ScrapArtist and Valentines Kit from Digital Memories Magazine. The font is Cheryl.



(2) Altered tag. I used clip art from the Vintage Workshop, Art Inspiration kit from ScrapArtist, Bookbag Essential kit by Gina Cabrera, and brushes from the Digital Distressing kit from ScrapArtist.



(3) Tear It Apart - Puzzle ATC. The background is from Sentimental Journey kit; everything else is from Emma's Sundress kit (both by Michelle Coleman of ScrapArtist). Font is LB_Typewriter. I used a photo from the Flickr 100 year old pool.

Cat Update

We found out today that our cat has a bladder infection. So we have to continue his antibiotic that we're giving him for his respiratory infection, and before we discontinue it, we have to take another urine sample in to the vet to see if it is cleared up. The pills haven't been too difficult to give him, thank goodness, but it has been pretty hard to get him to drink anything. He's a bit dehydrated, and with a bladder infection it's pretty important, so if he isn't better by the end of the week, we'll have to take him back to the vet for an IV. He's also still sneezing and coughing, although that seems to be just a bit better.

Breaking Bad Habits.

I have gotten into some bad habits lately that I've been thinking for awhile I needed to stop, but today I finally took the first step. This morning, I did my exercises for the first time in months. Then we went for our usual 2 mile walk.

When we got home, I called our vet, because our kitty has been sneezing and coughing for several days now. I got an appointment for 10:00 (it was 8:30), so I ate my breakfast, took my shower, got dressed, asked my husband to get the cat carrier down from the attic, and cleaned it up. By that time, it was time to take the cat to the vet. We have to give him an antibiotic (a pill). Have you ever tried giving a pill to a cat? But guess what? They've come up with this clever pill gun that makes it so much easier! It looks almost like a really long syringe without the needle. Then because he's a "senior cat" we had a whole bunch of lab work done on him (about $100 worth!). Pets are expensive, but so worth it!!

Anyway, I didn't spend all day on the computer. I spent some time sewing. I took care of some sponsor responsibilities for Our Stamping Studio. DH and I watched a movie this evening (Brokeback Mountain - awesome movie). So all in all a pretty good day. I feel like I accomplished a lot.

Ramblings on Father's Day

I've been using this blog almost exclusively to post my digital scrapbook layouts lately, but I also intended it originally to keep a sort of journal as well. So tonight that's what this entry is supposed to be.

I gave Glen the layout I worked on yesterday of him and his fishing buddy canoing our pond. He seemed to like it. I also gave him a card I made (digitally, of course). I told him he was the best dad a boy could have, and it's true.

Brian came over for dinner tonight, which I cooked (I don't do that very often, but since it was father's day, I couldn't very well expect Glen to cook his own dinner, now could I?). I fixed meatloaf, which is something that he doesn't cook, which is also why I fixed it. Plus we had fresh sweet corn from the garden (yum), new potatoes (also from the garden), fresh pineapple (from Walmart LOL!), and zucchini bread (yes, the zucchini was also from the garden - see a trend here?).

Then I asked Brian for some help with the journaling on my layout I did as a tribute to my father, because I thought it was a bit choppy (he's working on a master's degree in English). He read it and agreed, and suggested that it was "too general." He thought I might focus more and maybe give some anecdotes or more specific examples. When I said I liked the basic sentiments but just felt it didn't flow, he reread it and said I needed more active verbs. Well, I could change one sentence around from "He was warm and loving and put his family first." to "He loved his family very much and always put them first." But it's pretty hard to come up with any active verbs for "My father was a kind and gentle man." And this is when Brian went back to his original suggestion that this statement really didn't mean anything to him. The problem I'm having is that my father has been dead for over 30 years, and my memories of him are pretty dim, so I'm just not sure I can come up with anything much better than what I've written. So for now, I think I will change the one sentence and print it, then I may try to do another one later. It's not that I disagree with Brian - he's probably right. I'm just not sure how deep I can go right now. We'll see.

A New Circle Journal Page

These pages have the theme of favorite vacation spot in your home state. Now we don't really vacation in our home state, since we take our vacations in the heat of summer and use that time to escape the heat. But we do enjoy taking day trips, and this is one of our favorites.

The journaling on the tag reads: "We have enjoyed visiting Honor Heights Park in Muskogee several times during their annual azalea festival."

Credits page 1: New Growth Kit by Tia Bennett
Flower from Summer Sunsations kit by Digiscrapz
Atomic Cupcake Jelly effect on CK Artisan font
Credits page 2: New Growth Kit by Tia Bennett
Sweet Renewal kit from Digital Memories Magazine
Butterfly Charm from New Beginnings kit from 2BScrapped
Inked edge by Atomic Cupcake
Filmstrip from Bookbag Essentials Collection by Gina Cabrera
Pin from Day to Remember kit by Sweet Shoppe Designs
Tag from The Garden Megakit from RAKScraps
Fibers from Raspberries & Cream kit by Kim Liddiard of DSP

Graduation Party

Our son's fiancee graduated from college last month, and her parents had a party for her. Her sister had also finished her nursing degree sometime in the past year, so it was a double celebration.

Credits: Shabby Fall and Shabby Smiles kits, both from Shabby Princess
Digital Date Stamp by Meryl Bartho
Sketch by Scrapmommies

Fishing

This layout was published in the Aug/Sept 2006 issue of Ready Set Create.

I took this photo of my husband and his fishing buddy on our pond a few days ago. I got several shots before they saw me, although this one was the best. So I decided today that I needed to do a layout of it and give it to my husband for fathers day tomorrow! Luckily, I was able to find a perfect layout to scraplift, so it was pretty easy! Here is the original layout that I scraplifted.

Credits: A Girl's First Love by Sweet Shoppe Designs
Sun stamp from Summer's Call by Natural Designs in Scrapbooking
Dirty Edge - Mudd Pie by Mandabean
Raffia tie and bow - Acorn & Berries by Kim Liddiard
Notepaper - All American Boy by Ashley Olson
Clip - Shabby Princess
Fonts - Arial and CK Typewriter

Cheeky Boys

I took this picture at my son's fiancee's graduation party. Holden is her nephew, and Hudson is her cousin's little boy (first cousin once removed?) Anyway, at this moment, they were playing very nicely. Holden got a little rough a few moments later.

Credits: To Be a Boy Kit by Fiona Renwick - Clik Chic Designs
Tabs and staples from Feels Like Home Kit by Robin Carlton - Sweet Shoppe Designs
Sketch from dailysketches.com

Tribute to my Dad

This layout was published in the Aug/Sept 2006 issue of Ready Set Create.

I decided I wanted to create a tribute to my dad, so here is what I came up with. I'm still not totally happy with the journaling. I mean, it pretty much says what I want it to say, but it doesn't flow; it's too choppy. But it comes from my heart, so that's what's most important. If I come up with better wording later, I'll redo it, but for now, it's done (that's one of the things I love about digital).

The journaling reads: "My father was a kind and gentle man. He was warm and loving and put his family first. He was very patient. I only remember seeing him angry one time, and that was when he believed that a teacher was mistreating me.

He was honest and had integrity. He had great strength and determination that we didn't see for many years due to illness, but it was there.

My husband is like him in many ways. I often wish that they could have met, because I know they would have liked each other. And I wish my son could have known his grandfather."

Quote at the bottom is: "He didn’t tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it." by Clarence Budington Kelland.

I used the Sentimental Journey kit from ScrapArtist.

This was also done for 2 challenges on the Scrapmommies website: Photo Challenge #9 and Quote Challenge #9.

Photo Shoot

I am so proud of these photos. Yes, I had help (see journaling), but still, I snapped the shutter. And I love the kit from Scrap Artist, too. I almost didn't get the kit either. It was a freebie on National Scrapbook Day, which was the day before we left on our trip to New York. You had to "order" the kit (put it in your shopping cart), but there was no charge for it. Then you were sent an email confirmation with a download link. But we left town the next day, and I overlooked the email confirmation. So by the time I read it, the download link had expired. Luckily when I inquired about it, they reset the link. It took a couple of emails, because I didn't remember exactly how I'd gotten the kit in the first place. At first I thought it was just for registering on the site. But once I gave them my order number it all fell into place. I'm so glad, because the kit was perfect for this layout!

Journaling reads: "We went to the OSU Botanical Gardens with Kitty Story on a photo shoot, and she helped me get these gorgeous flower shots. She gave us a lot of great tips, including taking photos at eye level, being aware of backgrounds, and filling the frame with the subject. She also taught us some things about our camera we didn't know, including that we could zoom in on our LCD screen."

Credits: Summer Whimsey kit from ScrapArtist.com, Sketch from Scrapmommies.com, Fonts: Artistamp Medium and Cheryl.

Treasure

This is another layout I did where I was able to combine several challenges - I always love to do that! But mainly I am learning to collage photos together and blend them. I really love the technique. I haven't done much yet, but I intend to do more. The quote here is "Happiness is your own treasure because it lies within you."

Credits - Lilacs for Lilach kit by Sue Jones.

Trying to Catch Up!

I did this layout for a scraplift challenge on the Scrapmommies website. It is based on this layout. It is also for the ABC challenge - being the letter "O" this time. I always try to combine challenges whenever I can.

We had our son's fiancee's family over for fishing on Memorial Day and that's when I took these pictures. Her family includes her parents and her sister, sister's husband and 2 boys.

Credits: All papers from Bold and Chalky by Traci Reed of Scrapmommies; doodle arrow by Gina Cabrera; brushes from Digital Distressing Kit of Scrap Artist. Font is Arial.

I have several more layouts to post, but probably won't get them posted tonight.

Bundle of Joy

I've completed a lot of layouts the last couple of weeks, due in large part to challenges on Scrapmommies. This one was to use the lullaby for inspiration:

"Baby mine, don't you cry.
Baby mine, dry your eyes.
Rest your head close to my heart.
Never to part, baby of mine."

One of my online friends just had a baby, and she posted this picture of herself with her baby, and I knew instantly that I had to use it for this challenge (since my "baby" is 24 years old and is not ready to make me a grandma anytime soon!).

Kit is Baby Girl Story by Jen Reed. Photo corners by Valeri Brumfield.

Crown

This was just a lot of fun to do. It was a scraplift challenge on the Scrapmommies website, and so different from anything I've ever done before!

The journaling around the outside reads: "Jessica had to have this crazy foam lady liberty crown, so of course I had to take a picture of her on the ferry back, since she looked so cute."

Credits: Background papers - Shabby Princess; Happiness swirl - Sweet Shoppe Designs; colored flowers - Jen Reed; outline flower - Digital Design Essentials; swirl and squiggle brush - Suzanne C. Walker.

Grimaldi's

Journaling reads: "Dianna told us that Grimaldi’s had the best pizza in New York. The only problem was that she isn’t very good with directions. All she said was that it was on the first street under the Brooklyn Bridge on the Brooklyn side. The cab driver wanted an address, which we didn’t have. At first we weren’t even sure he was going to agree to take us to Brooklyn, but after some discussion he did take us across the bridge. But then he started driving around aimlessly, getting farther and farther away from the bridge. Glen started giving directions to get us closer to the bridge. Once we saw the bridge, we insisted that he just let us out. We started walking, when I saw a man walking a dog. I asked him if he’d ever heard of a place called Grimaldi’s, and he said it was in the next block with the green awning. While it was pretty good pizza, Glen and I thought it couldn’t compare to our own Hideaway."

The word art reads: "Life brings simple pleasures to us every day. It is up to us to make them wonderful memories." by Cathy Allen

Kit - A Day to Remember - Sweet Shoppe Designs Team

Statue of Liberty

We spent a few days in New York City last week. We took our son and his fiancee with us. We had a great time! I have been scrapbooking some of the photos this past week. The journaling reads: "We took the ferry to Liberty and Ellis Islands on Monday, May 8, which really made us all think a lot about immigration." Kit and alpha by Robyn Gough.