Scrapping digi style

Hi all!

On our list of summer fun family fun time this year - the county fair.  Now I haven't checked off everything I put on the list at the beginning but I am doing my best.  Initially we were going to hit OUR county's fair and catch it on demolition derby night - another check mark!  BUT it rained out and we skipped it so we went to the fair in the next county and caught the truck and tractor pull (YEP check mark).  Now I have to say - I was spoiled in San Diego by going to the Del Mar State Fair every year - it was massive and amazing.  This fair...not so much.  I was excited initially looking online at the contest categories for crafts and art and such....yikes.  Pezza was another story.  She has never been to a fair.  We did the buy a bracelet and ride all night option and her and two little friends raced around to do the kiddie rides.  I let her stay until the end (10:00pm) and get an ice cream.  While we were waiting in line she hugged me real tight and told me it was the best thing ever in the whole world and I was the best mom.  Funny how little it takes huh?!?! 

So today I am sharing a layout but not the usual layout.  This one is a digital layout.  Now I know there are some big time digi scrappers out there and they do ALL of their stuff digital.  I am not one of those but oh how I do love to collect it all up!  It is SO much cheaper!  What I do love digi scrapping for - making books for family.  I can send digital photos but they never get printed out or I can send photos and they get tucked away.  There is no way I would manage to do books for all three sets of grandparents but digi is perfect.  I can make a brag book - maybe throw in a few pics customized for each set of grandparents and then print them out and bind them.  I always print my own stuff so I am sure you can do the same basic thing through Shutterfly or something but I don't know anything about that.  I love making my own stuff in Photoshop too.  So here are my first two pages:

 I used a super old set called Sweetie Pie from Ellie Lash and Scrapbook Graphics.  It's not available anymore but they have LOADS of adorable stuff.

I approach my digital pages the same way I do my regular ones.  You can purchase layout templates but I did not find one I wanted to use so I grabbed a sketch I liked on Page Maps and worked from that.  Know what else is nice about these?  Digi pages are easy to bring with me and work on during long car rides!  We have some sort of gizmo my genius hubby knew about that plugs into the car and we have a regular electrical outlet so I can plug in.  I have used our long rides this summer to go through and completely organize all of my photos from the last 3 years so I can get them all scrapped!

Have YOU done any digi scrapping?  Where is your favorite place to get supplies?

Not scrappy but still a crafty post....

WOW!  Did I drop off the face of the earth or what?!?!?!  I guess I just needed a break - not that I have been keeping up with this blog the way I used to anyway but....It's been going strong for 6 years!  Of course, entertaining the ever adorable little daughter can really put a dent in your time to play!  We opted for no summer camps in an effort to save money this summer so that means it's mommy time ALL the time!  And also means not a whole lot of crafting has been going on.  Because if I am in there she is in there and if she is in there I am not getting a heck of a lot done.  But we HAVE been busy.

So what's been going on?  ALOT.  As y'all know (if anyone is still here reading this!)  I have been really battling health-wise with getting off of my medications and dealing with my struggle against depression and borderline Bi-polar disorder.  Well, it's gotten alot better.  The meds are out of my system and I am slowly normalizing - to what's normal for me anyway - and learning to accept myself and rejoice in my facets!  Because I am not broken I am just unique.  And that can be ok.  I had a HUGE wake up call this summer when an old friend of ours who has long struggled with depression killed himself.  I have always seen suicide from the view of the person who is suicidal - I know the pain he was in.  But I have never seen the aftermath or felt how completely flooring it is to be someone left behind.  To be so completely filled with the WHY of it.....  Steve was mutli-faceted and profoundly interesting and I believe these things often go hand in hand - the mad scientist and crazy artist types you know?  It gave me a new perspective and has helped shift my thinking back towards a healthier place.  But the road is long.....

Our very sick litter of foster kittens with the horrible eye infections - they all survived AND no one is blind.  However, it is a lifelong ailment that may require future meds and treatments and vet visits so it will not be easy to find adopters for them.  Especially my little Bun-ny, the boy.  He is SO stinkin' adorable but his eyes were the worst and he really struggles.

Bun with his "Big Cat" buddy Bubba

"Jungle Bun - he single-handedly destroyed this plant for me...

"Ferocious Brioche-ess" - in my old purse

Baby Baguette - the runt

We have been on lots of trips too - out with the camper to Myrtle Beach, Luray Caverns and soon Lancaster PA to name a few.  We also went to Utah to see my Dad and Step Mom and I strolled CHA which I have not done for several years.  It was SO SO good to see friends I only see during the show.  Nothing bowled me over as far as products but I think I have gotten a bit jaded to it all!  The highlight (other than my awesome awesome friends Terri and Nadja) was meeting Anna Dabrowska - Finnabair - and watching her demo while I worked in the Splash of Color booth.  She is so chock full of talent plus super sweet and fun to boot!

So what have I been crafting?  Not a whole lot I have to be honest BUT I have been doing a bit of things here and there outside of paper crafting and mixed media.  I pulled my sewing machine out of the disaster that is my studio and laid it out on the sunroom table (my hubby loves when I do this sort of thing and begin taking over the whole house) and I also FINALLY got back to my dollhouse I had started 2 years ago (HOLY CRAP TWO YEARS!) 

So while I know y'all are all papercrafters, and I WILL have more of that coming,I wanted to show y'all the purse I made:

 

Now even though this is fabric and it's a sewing project it's still relevant!  For one it's crafty - HAHA!  But I often stroll through my {incredible} local quilt shop and think how adorable some of the fabric collections would be if they were translated into a papercrafting collection and this collection is definitely one of those!  My papercrafting/mixed media stuff has been filled with this great color combo - Turquoise with Terra Cotta or Coral - and I even did a post about why it works so well together HERE. And of course the OWLS - holy cow I cannot seem to get enough of the owls.

Anyway I made the great big boho-esque bag.  Then I realized the lack of pockets (I normally only use patterns with lots of pockets) would be a problem so I had to make a zipper pouch and sunglass case from the extra fabric.

They both gave me problems though since it was my first time for each so the extra fabric turned into a trip to get even more fabric BUT in the end I am pleased.

It was important to me that my pouch have the little fabric end stops on either end of the zipper and I found the PERFECT and perfectly FREE tutorial on Flossie Teacakes.  Now I want to make more but I don't have a reason to....YET...but I am sure I will think of something!

Some little matching fabric Kanzashi flowers, yoyos and buttons were the perfect finishing touches.  Now if someone would just make me some paper to match this collection......!

I better scoot - I have lots to do before we can get out of the house - heading to the local county fair to look at the booths and then see a truck & tractor pull and ride some rides!  Hot dogs and funnel cakes here we come!

What is YOUR favorite color combination OR scrappy/paper collection right now???  I want your input!!!!

Beach Girl LO for the CMC Challenge

Hi y'all!

I knew it had been awhile since I blogged but a month?  Wow!  Apparently it's been BUSY around my house! I mentioned our little foster kitty family, The Breads, were really struggling as all the foster babies do.  Well that was grueling to say the least.  However, I am happy to report with loads of love and attention and lots of careful eye med administration they have not only ALL pulled through but NONE of them are blind!

Pezza the Cat Whisperer

We have been talking about needing to adopt a buddy for Bubba so we are seeing how him and the little boy, Bun do together...

Little Bun-ny was the sickest by far but he has bounced back and while he may not be able to see perfectly he CAN see.  Plus he's a boy and I really like the boy cats.  They are very different than the girl cats - girls are prissy and stand off-ish and boys are more lovey and dopey and silly.

Of course they all love Kevin as usual!  Doesn't he look THRILLED???

We took a trip to Myrtle Beach over Memorial Day weekend - HEAVEN!

Hollyn LOVES it at the beach as much as I do

We stayed at Ocean Lakes and I was in LOVE.  This place is awesome!  HUGE with loads of amenities right on the beach.  A combination of RV sites, RV rentals and individually owned little beach houses.  I spent my high school years living right on the beach in San Diego and I did not really miss it much until we spent the week in Myrtle.

Of COURSE I wanted to move there.  Kevin reminded me I want to move every place we go.......Since Pez and I get up long before hubby is interested in getting up I made my coffee and we went and walked on the beach.  We played in the ocean, swam in the pool, biked around the resort, saw a Pirate Show (similar to medieval times dinner shows), went to Ripley's Aquarium and got to pet rays and sharks, a fantastic trip!

The downside of Myrtle Beach is the drive.  Made even worse by towing a 28' travel trailer IN THE RAIN.  We will skip the part about how ugly it was backing in to the site and hooking up in the DARK and RAIN...  BUT I did make good use of the drive by finally going in and organizing all of my pictures so I can get them printed and scrapped.  I got them weeded out, grouped and even did the journaling.  Those are my big 3 road blocks to getting any scrapping done and with that out of the way I can move forward!

We went to Myrtle for the first time last year for Kevin's brother's wedding but only stayed briefly.  I told Kevin I wanted to come back for a longer stay.  Today's project is a layout of pics from LAST year's MB trip for the new coloring challenge my buddy Suzanne just posted on the CMC Classroom site:

color ANY IMAGE with

Any Colors that Inspire Thoughts of Summer

We want to see you use YOUR COPICS, ProMarkers, other alcohol markers or Colored Pencils!!

Our fabulous Sponsor for this Challenge is:

Milk Coffee Digi Designs

1 lucky winner (chosen at random) will win a $15 Gift Certificate to

spend at Milk Coffee Designs

I was really inspired by the colors of the beach cottages at Myrtle and used them to do this layout of LAST year's pics:

As always I used a Page Maps sketch - from May 2012 I think - it was a 2 page 8 1/2 x 11 but I just extended it to 12 x 12.

I chose this cute little mermaid from Milk Coffee Digis and colored her up with my colored pencils.  If you would like to learn to color with pencils OR improve your coloring with pencils check out my classes over on the CMC Classroom website!

My die cuts are from several different Designs on Cloud 9 SVG file set and cut using Make the Cut software and my Black Cat cutter.  I designed the title piece using Make the Cut software, a font on my computer, a dingbat font from Lettering Delight for the shell, and a sun from one of the Designs on Cloud 9 files.

 I hope you'll join us for the coloring challenge!

A turkey day LO

Hey y'all!

How is everyone?  It's the usual wild and crazy shenanigans around here.  I am beginning to think I am the Queen of Plans-Too-Much :P  Before I get into anything I wanted to touch on a topic I mention here occasionally.  Y'all know I have been waging battle against depression.  More specifically getting a handle on NOT taking my meds.  The good news is - I think I might FINALLY be winning - as much as one wins that battle.  The medication seems to have finally left my system and I am stabilizing - which translates into almost no crazy lunatic angry bitch episodes

But it is still tough sometimes to navigate.  I used to read a blog called Hyperbole and a Half.  Along with a butt-load of other people.  She has been waging the same war and has returned after 18 months with a post about it - a follow up to her initial post about it 18 months ago.  Both are raw and so true - you can read them here - Hyperbole and a Half.  Meanwhile I am still going med-free.  Some days are tough but others are really good.  I know that it's possible there could be a better medication choice for me but I am not there yet.  A plus side - i have lost just shy of 20 pounds of the 53 pounds I gained while on the meds!

One last update for ya - our little foster kitten family - The Breads.  When they came to us Biscuit, the mom, was very scared and had a cold.  The kittens were small, especially Baguette, the runt.  We got Biscuit on meds and I was hand feeding the kittens to supplement what they got nursing and everyone started gaining weight.  Biscuit began to relax and was less scared.  BUT saving rescued kittens is not for the sqeamish or faint of heart.  The kittens got sick too, especially Bun, the little boy.  After a grueling routine of administering 4 different meds a total of 7 times a day and stressful eye cleansing routines we decided they were not improving as much as we had hoped and last night we took them to our emergency vet hospital.  Any positive thoughts and good vibes y'all can send to these poor little things is greatly appreciated!  I think my hubby has trouble understanding why I put myself through this BUT (and maybe this relates to my topic above) it is really important to me that i don't just live but that my life has meaning and this is one of the things that makes me feel meaningful.  To me a life that doesn't include doing something for some OTHER life besides your own and your immediate loved ones just isn't a worthy life.  And so our hearts are with our little furry babies and we are hoping they pull through.  And if one or all don't make it we will continue to put our efforts into saving tiny little fuzzy faces when we are blessed with the opportunity to do so.

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One thing that has been changing in my life is my studio focus - I started off as a scrapbooker and I am leaning back towards that.  Cards are great - smaller, easier to whip out and give a bit more instant gratification but I was beginning to feel wasteful since I have enough cards for 5 lifetimes!  Except kid birthday cards which you may see show up in a future post.  Scrapbook pages feel more useful to me.  Of course I still do the mixed media art work too!

Anyway I am slowly catching up and liking my system for doing so which you can read HERE.  This is a thanksgiving LO that haas sat around my studio half finished for ages!

I LOVED this paper pack from Close To My Heart - fall colors but not the typical fall colors.

I liked these pics because it was the first year Pezza really got in there and helped me cook!  Plus I hardly EVER have pics with ME in them!  This photo is not great - the pics are not actually that dark!

That awesome turkey is from Treasure Box Designs and cut using my Black Cat.

As always my sketch came from Page Maps - I couldn't scrap without them!  I am SO out of touch with scrapbooking and scrapbooking blogs though!

Do you have a favorite scrapbooking blog or scrapbooking challenge blog??????  PLEASE share it with me in the comments!  Especially ones using Cricut or other die cutting machines!

Flowers for Teacher Appreciation Week

hey y'all!

I am in recovery mode after an incredibly huge amount of shenanigans and hilarity resulting from a weekend visit from Catherine (AKA Silly Skittles) and Ann along with both of their significant others.

We packed in as much as we could and laughed until we cried - literally tears.  Good for the soul!  The slide show below includes more of our antics...



Yes, we were skipping down the aisles of Target...that's how we ROLL!

We are a perfect little group really - our hubbies get along well too.  I see MANY more gatherings in our long futures - next up, a 5K.  We are still trying to decide between the Warrior Dash and the Run For Your Life Zombie Run....

I have been wanting to do more "Series" type work lately so I decided to start with some flowers I really like creating:

I have posted the ones laying down previously though I can't remember if it was here or on the Luminarte blog...I should check....

I can't find them so maybe not....

ANYWHOO, The larger back two were done for FaveCrafts and you can see the full tutorial HERE.

I created these 2 for Pezza's teachers for Teacher Appreciation Week - the theme was "You help me grow" so I thought they would be perfect - flowers that don't die!

I began with MDF board of course - my favorite surface.  I covered it with a piece of scrapbook paper and then added layers of white Gesso and acrylic paints to soften the patterns on the paper but not completely cover them. 

Then I gave them some sparkle using Luminart Silks - the orange is put in with a plastic pallette knife and then I sponged on the green and pink through a piece of sequin waste to get the dotted patterns.  Next I stamped on the Butterfly from the Dreamy Daisies Stamp It Australia Set from Crafter's Companion.

The flowers are cut from more scrapbook paper using my Cricut.  I inked the edges and then adhered them in place.  For the centers I mixed Gel Medium and Luminarte Primary Elements Artist Pigment Powder.  I piled it on to the flower centers, added the buttons and Pezza sprinkled on the beads.  Doodling around the outer edges and Silks around the sides of the boards finished everything up!

What would YOU embed in the Gel Medium shimmer mixture???

Kitty layout for NSD

Hey Y'all!

We are counting down to my buddies' Catherine and Ann's arrivals tomorrow!   Catherine is like my missing half I didn't even know I was missing!  We have a LOADED schedule for the weekend and I have been so busy this week I can barely see straight!  Trevor has moved in and started a job but his driving or non-driving situation has not been totally resolved yet.  That meant me getting up at 3:45 to drive 1 1/2 hours to bring him to work and get back home PLUS another 1 1/2 hours to go pick him up then running him around to get things for work PLUS several times of sitting in the DMV.  It's. been. fabulous.  BUT he's working, he has finally gotten his license back which means he can drive himself to and from work although that leaves ME stranded without a car.  AND because that isn't enough excitement I also FINALLY got a new momma kitty and 3 itty babies!

We have decided on names.  Momma is Biscuit, The girls are Brioche and Baguette and the little boy is Bun.  They are going to the vet for a check up - Momma feels a little warm and has begun sneezing.  Upper respiratory infection is one of the biggest dangers to foster kittens.  So cross your fingers for them!  I may be trying to do some bottle feedings with the littlest one too - she is seriously behind her brother and sister.

So what do I have for y'all today?  A scrapbook layout!  Yep I had some time to myself last weekend for my birthday and decided to get some scrapbook layouts done.  Imagine my surprise when I signed on to Page Maps - my hands down go to source for sketches - and realized it was National Scrapbooking Day.  Not only that but Page Maps is celebrating their 7th anniversary and has a great sketch contest going on - PERFECT!  The Grand Prize is a $200 gift certificate to A Cherry On Top - I could SO use that!  I have been on a spending ban for quite a long time and have had VERY little new stuff come in to my scrap room over the last couple years.  I thought the sketch was fantastic as always and got this layout done:

When I did thi sLO I didn't know I would be getting my first foster litter on Monday!  Well timed  - my LO focuses on how fabulous hubby is with all of our foster kitties! AND our own kitties!  He doesn't even really LIKE cats!  But they ADORE him!  

We have two couches - I am usually on one DIEING for a cat to come sit with me.  Hubby is on the other SURROUNDED by our cats and any foster cats we have at the time!  When I was a kid twin boys lived down the street.  I realize now that they were not particularly well looked after and they used to call my neighbor's dad "Miss" Woody.  So my poor lost foster kitties always call hubby "Miss Kevin."  I refer to him as Miss Kevin the Cat Whisperer!  In fact I have been unsuccessful at getting the tiny kitten to take a bottle so Kevin is going to try tonight - he iis usually much better at it than I am!

And speaking of not having gotten new scrapping stuff in ages I actually went on ACOT and was looking for pet or cat themed embellishments.  I came across a really cute pack of them and then realized I could make something similar using my Cricut.

So I made this little paw print embellie using the Meow cartridge for the paw and the George cartridge for the layered base.  I popped up the blue layer with foam tape - no need to buy some!  I am going to do some more of this type of thing I think - I have been getting very out of practice!

This is the Page Maps sketch Becky has posted for the contest - you can enter until May 31st!

What are you waiting for!  Head over to Page Maps and enter!

a birthday girl...

Hey!

Our first trip out in the camper for the season was a HUGE success!  We always go somewhere fairly close to home for our first trip out JUST in case of disaster.  This time we went to Luray VA about 1 1/2 hours south of us.  The campground was gorgeous and peaceful.  We spent Saturday hiking to the highest point in Shenendoah National Park, roasted marshmallows and just relaxed!  Below are some of the highlights!

 

I have been running around like a mad woman since we got back though - seems I have three day's worth of stuff jammed into every single day lately!  But I am pausing for a moment to reflect...

About a million years ago blog land was a much much smaller place and somehow I stumbled onto this blog or she stumbled onto mine - I forget which way it happened.  Anyway, one of us suddenly realized we lived right near each other and a fun ride of a friendship began!  Me and Suzanne Dean {Scrapbitz} have had quite our share of adventures and I am happy to be joining in on her birthday blog hop today!  {mine is tomorrow - isn't that funny?!?!}  All of the girls on her Design Team are highlighting her fave color in our projects - Aqua/Teal.  Today I have some balloons to wish her a Happiest of Birthdays!

My background is layers of oil pastel, acrylic paint and turquoise glitter in light and dark shades of aquas.

Next I added a trio of balloons with India Ink and shaded them using my Neocolor crayons.

Of COURSE I had to finish it off with a black accent!  I used Pearl Viva Modeling Cream and a Splash of Color stencil and then I sprinkled liberally with Black ultra fine glitter.  I love the raised lava-like surface it gave me.

Your next stop on the hop is my sweet and talented friend Linda Payne.  If you have stumbled into the hop on accident and want to start at the beginning head over to my wild & wonderful friend Tina G's blog!

Happy Birthday Suzanne!  MWAH!