live, love, laugh, create

The Winter Blues and a great sale

I know...what does one have to do with the other? Absolutely nothing. We're really suffering from a bad case of The Winter Blues this year....everyone I know, no matter where they are...except for those in warmer climates who never get snow...ever. Here in our house we have been sick 4 times this winter. The flu, colds and the dreaded stomach virus. Ugh. The cold, the snow and the sickness just sucks the life out of me. I have barely taken any pictures, I haven't scrapbooked since the beginning of January and it has taken me 3 weeks to get through a book that I know would normally take me 1 week or less to get through. The wicked bad snow & ice storms had also displaced me from my comfortable and warm bed to a creaky, narrow and really uncomfortable stretcher in our PACU 3 times this winter. And no matter what, you just can't sleep...at all. Can you tell I am so over winter??

But on the bright side, it was actually sunny and 44 degrees today when I got out of work at 1 PM and I drove home with a window cracked open. The fresh air felt so good and honestly, it felt a little like spring!

I started my class in portrait photography 3 weeks ago. Class got cancelled last Tuesday because of....you guessed it....snow. I am looking forward to this class because it is a mix of Newbies and some of us that are now considered "advanced students"(nice....I'm advanced!). The advanced students have an independent project to work on and complete by the end of the semester. Our portfolio consists of portraits (obviously), but we do not have homework like the other newer students. This is my third course with  Professor Wesley Bernard, and I really enjoy taking his classes. I am hoping he will teach the documentary photography class next fall too.

I hit a mother of a sale at Joann's on line a couple of weeks ago. 50% off of D-ring albums and page protectors. So I grabbed 2 albums and 2 25pks of page protectors by We R Memory Keepers. The albums also have 10 page protectors in them too. I got the albums in buttercream and red.

 
I love how they say they are "Classic Leather Albums".....they're really "pleather"......but they look nice.

The bookplates are a nice touch too.

 

 Before I went away in January to a crop I kind of felt like I didn't want  to scrapbook anymore. I wasn't sure if it was that I really didn't want to or because I just didn't have any current photos so I had no projects to work on, or what.....but I came home after that weekend and felt rejuvenated and ready to move forward creatively, especially with my photography. The scrapbooking is still going to be a part time hobby for sure, but I really have the desire to move forward to the next level with my photo skills. This summer I am going to Tanzania for a photo shoot. I am really looking forward to it. It is one of those "chance of a lifetime" trips, and if I don't go, I know I will regret it forever. There will be 9 of us going, including Professor Bernard. We'll be using Thomson Safaris while we are there. I already started my travel shots and will be finishing them off in July. I plan on keeping a journal of the trip. I wish I could blog while I am there but from what I understand the internet is sketchy at the big lodge and unavailable (of course) in the Serenghetti. It is going to be such a great trip. I'm looking forward to learning more from a Master! Who knows? Maybe some day I can call myself a Master too!

Thanks for stopping by!

CHA sneak peeks

Just a quick post to send you on your way to check out all of the fabulous new products coming out from Maya Rd at CHA this week. Awesome....just awesome.

Thanks for stopping by!

A couple of great links

I have been surfing through lots of blogs tonight and came across a great tip on Tammy's blog for organizing embellishments. Stop by and check it out!

I also have been to the Maya Rd blog and saw the first wave of sneak peaks. Awesome. Head over and leave  a comment for a chance to win some great goodies.

Thanks so much for all of the wonderful comments over the last 2 days. It feels good to be back in the creative groove!

Thanks for stopping by!

More creative stuff

Here is the second half of my busy weekend creations. I have been this productive in the past, but its been a long time since I have, and it felt so good at the end of the weekend. If I were a runner and ran a marathon, this is how I'd probably feel!

 
This LO is a kit from The Scrapbook Diaries . One thing about Janene's creations is that you are guaranteed layers and lots of embellishments. You  are never disappointed with her creations.

 
This LO is from the Basic Gray kit club. I love the colors in this one. I was totally bummed that I needed a photo that was not uploaded to Snapfish. It will come this week, then this will be complete. This LO was designed by Kelly Goree. Love her style!

 
This LO was inspired by a LO I saw in the October 2010 issue of Scrapbooks, etc. (pg. 104) in the "made in minutes" section. The papers are from American Crafts's Dear Lizzy,  the cameras were cut from a page of Jillybean Soup. I used a little Bazzil for the blue and brown strips, a piece of Tim Holtz's film strip ribbon, Thickers numbers and alphas for the top of the page and Making Memories for the alphas at the bottom. This was a total mix of what I have been hoarding in my stash. And that "50" has fallen off of the LO at least 4 times. Guess I had better straighten it out and glue it down for good.

 
This is another BG LO. I am not really happy about this one, but I am hoping that putting pictures on it will change how it looks.

 
This is the last LO, and another Basic Grey kit. This was a little labor intense, but it is really cute. It was designed by Kelly Goree. One thing I have found out from joining this kit of the month club is that I need to invest in a few border punches. I only have 1...or maybe 2. All I can say is thank God for friends who have it all! And she knows who I am talking about because she reads my blog!

Thats it. My creative and productive weekend. Now I just have to wait for my extra photos to get here so I can get them mounted on these LOs, get them into the album and give it to the recipient.

Thanks for stopping by!

A creative weekend

I had a really productive and creative weekend away with my scrapbooking pals. It was good to get away and "make stuff"....I was beginning to think I'd never get my mojo back.

I have been working on an album for someone that is a surprise gift. I am hoping that it will be complete before Sunday, when I hope to give it to that someone as planned. I had to order more photos from Snapfish today as I left a few off of my order last week. Oops! Here is a look at some of what I got completed. The remainder I will post tomorrow so that we're not so photo heavy here all at once.

 
This LO was an inspiration from an old issue of Creating Keepsakes Magazine (Oct 2010,pg 33) I have only 1 photo for this, so I substituted embellishments for photos at the bottom, left and on the right. The paper is from My Mind's Eye, and I just happened to win it as a door prize raffle. Go me! The alpha letters are from Making Memories and I have had them in my stash forever. I used some foam tape on alternate letters and on 2 of the flowers to add some dimension. I like how it turned out.

 
This 2 page LO was inspired by a LO in Creating Keepsakes Magazine...the same October 2010 issue. What I liked about it was how fast it came together with using 4"x6" photos and minimal embellishments. The papers are from a Cocoa Daisy kit...maybe October or November 2010 and the alpha letters are American Crafts Thickers. The papers are from Jilly Bean and Lillybee, along with some kraft cardstock from Bazzil.

 
This LO was a kit from Janene at The Scrapbook Diaries. She does such beautiful work. This was a little labor intense, but I really like it a lot.

 
This LO was inspired by a Pagemaps sketch from February 2007. It actually was a 1 pager, but I created the right side for more photos about the hunt for our Christmas tree...and I am waiting for the pictures to come from Snapfish so I can finish it. All of the product here is from Pink Paisley. I loved this Christmas line. I still have some in my stash too.

 
This LO is a Basic Grey Kit. I subscribed to a "kit of the month" club through my LSS for 2010. We received a kit every month with instructions for a 2 pg LO, and enough product to make a couple of cards with whatever remaining product was left after the LO was completed. We also got an album from the Kioshi line. I liked this deal a lot and signed up for it again this year. The designers were great-Kelly Goree, Greta Hammond and Nic Howard to name a few. Good stuff!

Well, thats it for now. I will post the remainder tomorrow.

Thanks for stopping by!

A weekend away and a little splurge

I got away for the weekend with my friends. It felt good to get in the groove and create. I haven't had any mojo in almost 3 months. I'll be posting some of what I created tomorrow. I still have to unpack. I happened to splurge on a little something for myself last week. I had seen a link in someone's blog for Lisa Leonard Designs. I have visited her sight before, but this time I dedcided to treat myself to a little something. I came home to this today

 
Yay! And before I did anything, opened the package...

 

Its a custom charm necklace. It has a camera, my initials and Lisa's signature pearl that is put on all of her creations. I love it!

Check back tomorrow for some creative stuff!

Thanks for stopping by!

Celebrating a birthday by paying it forward

As I mentioned in a previous post, I read Kelle Hampton's blog several times a week. This month her daughter Nella turns 1 year old and to celebrate, Kelle is asking for people to recognize Nella's milestone by paying it forward. I did, and it felt good....better than buying a toy or an outfit that would so quickly be outgrown. Won't you join me in doing the same?

Thanks for stopping by!

Reusing, repurposing, being green

In today's times we are all looking for ways to reduce, recyle, and reuse. One of the "Masters of Repurposing" is Julie Fei-Fan Balzer. She takes repurposing to new heights.

I just came across a blog that has an incredibly cool project for repurposing used gift cards. I don't know her name, but here is her blog with the project. Check it out when you get a chance!

Thanks for stopping by!

Inspiration, education and new toys

I surf the net...a lot....

I am intrigued by blogs that have fabulous photos. I love to see what kinds of images people are capturing.

For example, Andrea Nay. One of my dreams is to be a photo journalist. One can only hope.

Portrait photography. There has to be a special gift for this. Laura Novak definitely has it. And then there are the newborns. Angela Crutcher captures some fantastic images that are just adorable.

I adore Kelle Hampton for her enthusiasm, how she embraces life and relishes in the joys of motherhood.

I receive a weekly newsletter on Thursdays from Digital Photography School. I love the articles and the online forum. You can join for free!

I yearn to know more, to be able to do more with my camera. I have pages bookmarked with post it notes in this book

and I need to make time to play around with the camera settings and read the book at the same time.

I finally got this after learning last summer at a Tamron seminar that plugging your camera directly into the computer was a recipe for disaster.

And while I was at it, I found these at a great price and got 2

I got them for my trip this summer. I am totally stoked about going on a photo shoot with my photography professor and several other students from my classes to Africa. We'll be using Thomson Safaris.

I was disappointed to find out that I was wait listed for the Portrait Photography class I need to take. I have my fingers crossed that I am able to get in. The semester starts in 2 weeks.

Thanks for stopping by!

The Holiday Rush

Its been a whirlwind for the past couple of weeks! Cookie swaps, last minute chocolate parties, a staff holiday party, shopping, a stomach virus, a final project for class,  shopping, baking, a final exam, get togethers with extended family, the flu that started on Thursday and carried through to today, a snow storm.....its been busy here, thats for sure!

I went to a card and cookie swap on the 10th. It was hosted by the owners of my former LSS...they still keep in touch with many of us and we look forward to this party every year. There was lots of great cookies

 
and someone really went above and beyond, but we won't mention Suzanne's name...or show the cookies that she made either

 
awesomely delicious!

Here is a sampling of the cards

 

And lets talk about these tags....pure genius....a unique alternative to cards. They were packaged in groups of 5 tags per ring

 

Kudos to my friend Ruth for such a great idea!

We had Bob's family get together the week before Christmas at his sister's house. Almost everyone was there, except for Bob, who had a cold, and 2 of his nieces who had to work.

 

Why is it that everyone has to gather in the kitchen? We always do that, and Chris's house is huge, so its not like there is not enough room to spread out or anything....

We got our tree the first week of December. It was a big one this year. I was actually told it was too big....seriously....a Christmas tree can never be too big! But not to worry, it was quickly dwarfed by the volume of gifts placed under it!

 

Sorry that its a little grainy, but I used my little point & shoot without the flash...

I honestly believe that the size of the gift your kids ask for are in direct relation to their age and height....2 of them got TVs for Christmas....one got a queen size bed, which, by the way, did not get placed under the tree...

A good time was had by all, except for Chris who is sitting on the couch with a stomach virus..

 
and for some, it was their first Christmas

 

And although I had a wicked cold/flu, I puttered through the day and got dinner on the table (finally) at about 6 PM....not bad, considering I wanted to throw in the towel and beg for mercy by 10 AM.

Santa must have thought I was a really good girl this year. He really loves me and was incredibly generous

 
Awesome, just awesome.

Thanks for stopping by!