Two More Circle Journal Pages

I finally got another set of Circle Journal pages done this week. The theme of this set is easy low fat recipes. I'm not much of a cook, so any recipe I make is going to be pretty easy. I like both of these chicken recipes. Everything is from Feels Like Home Kit by Robin Carlton, available at Sweet Shoppe Designs.

Cards

You can also make cards digitally. I've made a few over the last couple of weeks, so I thought I'd share those. For the first two, I used Manhatten Loft Kit, and for the second two, I used Sunday Mist Kit, both by Cindy Simon at Natural Designs in Scrapbooking. On the third card, I also used a tear overlay by Stephanie Krush, and on the fourth card I used a stitch from Lauren Grier's Vanessa Kit.

Sorry Jen

I really love Jen Caputo's digital sketches, and I use them a lot. I realized yesterday that I made a comment in my last post that probably came across totally differently from how I meant it. So I want to take a second to apologize to Jen and make it clear exactly what I meant, just so there's no misunderstanding! Jen does a fantastic job with her 12 X 12 sketches, and she also does a great job of converting them to 8 1/2 X 11 sketches. I have bought most of her 8 1/2 X 11 sketches (in fact, I bought her newest collection just today, available at The Digi Shoppe). A few of her older sketches are not available in the 8 1/2 X 11 size, and I have learned how to convert those myself. When I do them myself, I have found that it is fun to play with them and decide whether I want the page to be horizontal or vertical. While it gives me more options, it is also more work. Sometimes it is worth the work, most times not. So once in awhile, I might decide to buy the 12 X 12 sketches and convert them myself, so that I would have those extra options (meaning the horizontal layouts and the extra work). But not very often - I didn't with the collection I bought today - I bought Jen's 8 1/2 X 11 sketches.

And now, she's even making card sketches! How cool is that? You can see them on her blog.

John David

I seem to be back to only posting when I have a new layout. So, here's a new layout! This is the grandson of one of my best friends - isn't he just so cute? And of course she made the quilt he's on. I used Lauren Grier's newest kit, It's All About You, as well as a new digital sketch from Jen Caputo that was a freebie in September's issue of the DST Insider (the newsletter for DigiShopTalk.com).

I've learned to modify her 12 X 12 sketches to my liking - maybe better than the ones she does herself, but shh, don't tell her that! LOL!!! Especially since I asked her to make them in 8-1/2 X 11 for me. Now I wasn't the only who asked her, or she wouldn't have done it - it would hardly have been worth it for 1 sale. But it gives me more options if I do it myself - for example, I can decide whether I want them horizontal or vertical. So I may start buying them in 12 X 12 in the future. I'll just have to evaluate each one individually as they come out.

It's All About You

Lauren created a new kit this week, called "It's All About You." I really love her designs, because they're just a little bit different. I mean, look at the frame with the buckle on the side - isn't that cool? I've never seen that anywhere else. This kit Contains: 8 papers plus an additional 5 coordinating solids, 1 belt loop, 1 button, 3 blank journaling strips, 4 word snips, 3 charms, 4 corner fasteners, 1 loop fastener, 1 index card, 1 frame, 1 stitch, 1 splattered paint, 1 screw, 1 wooden pin, 1 safety pin, 1 staple, 3 stars, 3 tags, 1 tag string, 1 word stamp. And you can get it at Sweet Shoppe Designs.

My Home

Here is the new layout I did with Lauren's newest kit.

Journaling reads, "We built our house in 1989. When we bought the land, there weren't any houses behind us; now, there is a whole housing development there. We considered moving for a long time because of it but have finally accepted it. In every other way, our house is perfect for us; with the land and ponds Glen wants and still being close enough to town for me."

Credits: Morning Bloom Kit by Lauren Grier, Available at Sweet Shoppe Designs
Fonts: Times New Roman and Artistamp Medium
Misc: Circle by Dianne Rigdon from Art Inspiration Collection Kit, Available at ScrapArtist
Sketch by Rachael Giallongo (InLoveWithDOTS) at The Digichick

Rejection

Well, I didn't get the CT assignment I applied for. I'm not terribly surprised, but I have to admit I'm a little disappointed. Not extremely, but a little. There's another call for The Digichick that I think I'm going to apply for too. I'm sure the competition for that one will be REALLY tough, and they're only looking for 2 or 3 people, so I'm not sure exactly why I'm going to put myself through this. Except that the Digichick would be a dream assignment if I got it. It wouldn't be for just one designer; it would be for all the designers there; how cool is that? So what does it hurt to send them an email? So I guess I'm going to do it - I just have to remember not to get upset if they turn me down.

Morning Bloom

Lauren has come out with another new kit, and this one is even better than her last one. It is called Morning Bloom, and here is a preview of it. It is available at the Sweet Shoppe Designs.

Girlfriends

I did a new layout last week. This one was for a challenge on The Digichick where we were to scrap about a place we visited each week. I took the opportunity to scrap about sewing with my girlfriends, since we do that every week.

Journaling reads: "I sew once a week with my very good friends Frieda and Betty. We trade off meeting at each other's houses each week, making exceptions as needed for any special reasons. We don't meet on the same day each week because our schedules vary, but we manage to meet almost every week. We share fabrics or thread if someone forgets to bring something for her project that day, but we share so much more than that. We share smiles and laughter and sometimes even tears, because we share our lives with each other. It keeps us all sane!"

Credits: Collingwood Kit, Giggle Me Happy Kit, and Hippie Chick Kit, all by Eve Recinella, Available at 3 Scrapateers
Arrow by Christine Smith - Freestyle Arrows, Available at the Digichick
Stitching by Christine Nash - Simply Stitching Imperfect Frames #1, Available at A Cherry On Top
Jump ring from Twist of Lime kit by Mari Koegelenberg, Available at the Digichick
Digital Sketch by Jen Caputo, Available at Plain Digital Wrapper

New CT application

I applied for a new Creative Team today. This one is different though - instead of a digital scrapbook designer, it's a sketch artist. So it would mean I could use any product with her sketches. Only one problem - I think there were a TON of applicants! So I have no idea what my chances are - probably not too good. But they would be zero if I didn't apply, so I applied. Applications close the 20th, supposed to hear the 23rd. Wish me luck!

My Sewing Room

I did this layout for a challenge on The DigiChick. We were to identify our favorite spot in our house, which for me is my sewing room.

Journaling reads: ". . . is my favorite place in my house. I love to spend time here because I lose all sense of time and I can create beautiful things here. I have two sewing machines - my Bernina that I quilt on and my Viking that I embroider on."

Credits: Fudge Dream Supreme kit by Robin Carlton and Lauren Grier at Sweet Shoppe Designs Freestyle Flowers by Christine Smith at The Digichick
Word Snippets by Lauren Grier at Sweet Shoppe Designs
Digital Sketch by Jen Caputo
Font: CBX-Watson

Lucky

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

I created this with Lauren's new kit. My cat Lucky. Full of Sweetness Kit by Lauren Grier available at Sweet Shoppe Designs. Digital Sketch by Jen Caputo available at Plain Digital Wrapper.

Full of Sweetness

Here is a preview of Lauren's latest kit - today only, it's 20% off, so what are you waiting for? LOL!! You can buy it here. It's really one of her best kits yet. You really need to buy it! LOL!! Gorgeous papers and elements in some beautiful colors.

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.