Amys Creative Corner

I love the launch of a new CTMH Idea Book!

2011-08-02T22:43:00.000-07:00

Seriously, every single new paper kit and lots of the new embellishments are available to play with on Studio J right now! I've only ordered 1/6th of what I want from this new Idea Book (I try to pace myself!), but I feel like I have the whole thing as a result of Studio J. Check out this quick tip video and let me know what you think.

Ready for Some Craft Time

2011-07-26T22:34:00.000-07:00

If you haven't checked out my new blog yet, be sure to read my "A Big Thank You & Celebration" post! You'll also get a look at the new CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut Collection. Mine will be here soon; I can't wait!

I'm really ready to start scrapbooking my Hawaii photos and to finish some pages I'm donating to a friend who recently started chemo for bone cancer. Her son asked her to create a scrapbook for him, so my goal is to help her make his wish come true. Sharing our stories with the ones we love is so important! I don't have kids, so I think I lose sight of that sometimes. Yet, I'm the only one who is qualified to tell my story! I'll share the layouts that I make for her here. I'm working on the Technique Tuesday "Live in the Moment" kit by Ali Edwards right now. The inks that came with the kit are so nice; they are so chalky and smooth and look absolutely beautiful.

Nikki Sivils CHA Release

2011-07-06T13:22:00.000-07:00

CHA is around the corner and that means a look at all the new products coming out! Nikki Sivils released her new line early on this blog post. She is also giving away the entire line to one lucky winner, so be sure to repost the link on your own blog! I'm a huge fan of My Lil' Monster (thinking LOs about my cats) and You're a Hoot (want to use some of those stickers on my Harry Potter LOs)!

Creative Weekend!

2011-06-12T18:07:00.000-07:00

I completed a layout while cropping with a friend last night and another one today on Studio J! I love weekends like this. Only 1 1/2 weeks left of school and then I hope to spend my summer in many such creative endeavors. Be sure to check out the video on my new blog, Studio Scrapping! I'll post my other layout after I talk to my sister and iron out the journalling for it. :-)

Visit my new blog--Studio Scrapping!

2011-06-10T18:46:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited about my new blog, Studio Scrapping, which focuses on all things Studio J! I spent the last month setting up my new blog and coordinating my Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube accounts with it. It is a one-stop-shop for everything you want to know about Studio J. Now that I'm "done" creating the site, I can get back to creating tutorials. I have a ton of ideas that I want to share with you, so I hope you will follow me at my new site!

Close To My Heart is offering an amazing special this month...create a Studio J layout and receive a FREE JPG of it--no purchase required! Seriously, how awesome is that?!

It gets better! Both Close To My Heart and Studio Scrapping are holding contests this month. Upload your free JPG to our Facebook pages, get your friends and family to "Like" your layout, and win big!

Studio Scrapping Contest
Close To My Heart Contest

Studio J Boot Camp 2011

2011-05-04T08:29:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting in the hotel lobby waiting for day two of the Studio J Boot Camp to begin. Yesterday was a fantastic day! I learned a couple of fun new techniques that I can't wait to share with all you Studio Scrappers! We will get our layouts today, plus I'm downloading the JPGs right now. Can't wait to share all 10 layouts with you!

They're here! I'll share a few that I want my mom and sister to see right away and then the rest later since our meeting starts in 15 minutes!

This is the layout that I taught!

Studio J Video Tutorials

2011-02-25T23:48:00.000-08:00

Yikes...I haven't updated my blog in ages. I have several new Studio J video tutorials up on my YouTube page, so be sure to check them out!

Creating & Embellishing Journaling Strips in Studio J

2011-01-01T21:51:00.000-08:00

I had a great New Year's Eve with my husband and friends last night. We always share our goals for the new year, but this time we are finding inspiration from the one little word post by Ali Edwards. My guiding words for the year are balance and write. I want to find balance in my life so that I have more time to write!

I created this layout using the new Wings kit that was uploaded to Studio J today. This paper is so beautiful. I have the classic paper kit, too, but haven't cut into it yet. Here is a video showing how I created the journaling strips and embellished them using staples and thread from buttons.

Face lift courtesy of Studio J's wrinkle tool!

2010-12-30T22:48:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited about sharing this video with you today. The photo editing tools in Studio J are awesome...especially if you don't have Photoshop or another editing program on your computer. I demonstrate how I can remove an unsightly wrinkle with one of the editing tools built into Studio J...cheapest face lift ever!!!! I'm also happy to report that this video didn't take me very long to produce and I'm far more relaxed. That makes a big difference in my ability to find my words. :-)

Comments and suggestions for future topics are appreciated!

Getting Started with Studio J Part 2

2010-12-29T00:16:00.000-08:00

I finished the second half of the tutorial tonight! I think I did a much better job with avoiding the "um"s, but there is one really long pause as my mind was searching for a word. I really wanted to say "rotation thingy!" I eventually settled on "rotation symbol"--still not the right word, but at least I didn't say thingy. :-)

Getting Started with Studio J Video Tutorial

2010-12-28T16:39:00.000-08:00

My login video is a little long winded with an annoying clicking sound. I think I figured out what that was and fixed it, but now I'm "um"ing all over the place! I will get better at this with more practice! This tutorial walks you through uploading photos, choosing a paper kit & pattern, coloring embellishments, and converting a photo well into a journaling box. Now I'm going to record finishing up the layout!

Again, please let me know when you start playing around with Studio J. I currently have one friend who is a member, but I would like to hear from more of you. Send me your questions/needs and I'll work them in to future video tutorials.

Sign Up for Studio J Online Scrapbooking...it's FREE!

2010-12-28T00:32:00.000-08:00

Here is my first Studio J tutorial using Camtasia Studio. There is an annoying clicking sound periodically; I promise to figure out what I was doing and will make it stop. This tutorial simply shows you how to log in. I'll start posting the good stuff tomorrow! Please let me know when you create an account. These tutorials will be so much easier to create if I feel like I'm talking to real people. :-)

Amazing Giveaway on Teresa Collins' Blog

2010-12-25T22:34:00.000-08:00

Check out the amazing giveaway on Teresa Collins' blog! You can enter as many times as you want. The drawing takes place at midnight MST on Monday. Good luck, everyone!

Mockingjay and Scrapbooking

2010-12-19T22:07:00.000-08:00

I finished Mockingjay, the final book of The Hunger Games trilogy, tonight and was reminded of the power of scrapbooking. Here is a passage from the final chapter:

"I got the idea from our family’s plant book. The place where we recorded those things you cannot trust to memory. The page begins with the person’s picture. A photo if we can find it. If not, a sketch or painting...Then, in my most careful handwriting, come all the details it would be a crime to forget."

It’s all there!

I scrapbook to remember. I scrapbook because I don’t want time to fade my memory. If I don’t have a photo, I can draw an image or use memorabilia. Heck, I can simply use words if that’s all I have. I use my handwriting because it is a part of who I am, and that’s an important piece of my story. It would be a crime to forget the people and little moments that make life worth living. I scrapbook to remember.

The Hunger Games is a great series; I highly recommend it!

My Favorite CTMH Product?

2010-11-11T18:48:00.000-08:00

Close To My Heart is running a contest on Facebook asking us to blog about our favorite product. Are they kidding me? How can I choose a favorite?! I love the My Acrylix stamps and have several favorites, but I couldn't choose only one. I love the How-To books, but would have a tough time choosing the one that I like best. CTMH has so many paper packs, embellishments, and My Creations products that make me giddy...they can't ask me to choose only one! Don't even get me started on the 60 Exclusive Colors...oh, okay, Twilight is my favorite, but there are about 20 other colors that run a close second!

Okay, if I have to choose, I'm going to select the Workshops on the Go kits...talk about a perfect product! Each kit includes a level 2 paper kit, an exclusive stamp set, embellishments, and a how-to guide. It's everything I love in one coordinating packet...how awesome is that?!

LOAD #7

2010-10-07T21:52:00.000-07:00

The 2nd page to the layout I posted a couple days ago. Pressed for time, so I'm glad I had this one started.

These photos were taken in Charlottesville, VA in July. I was in DC for a CTMH event and had a week to kill back East before the Folger Shakespeare Library reunion the following weekend. I decided that this was the perfect opportunity to visit the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, VA. Well, it just so happened that Jan and Eric were at a conference in Charlottesville that same week! Seriously, what are the odds! They let me stay with them for a couple days, and we had a great time exploring the University and town. I love spending time with them and am so glad we shared this experience.

LOAD #6

2010-10-06T19:50:00.000-07:00

The challenge was to create a filmstrip on the page. I ran with prompt and created a layout that explains why I love photography.

LOAD #5

2010-10-05T22:17:00.000-07:00

Thank goodness for Studio J! I would never be able to finish a layout a day without it. Well, I guess I can't say never since I did complete LOAD 2008. My point is that I wouldn't be able to finish it THIS month without Studio J. The most time consuming part of this 1/2 of the layout was choosing the photos. I'll add my journaling and the rest of the photos tomorrow.

Now I need to get to bed since I need to get up early to figure out a plan B for my Web Design class until we can get our web server set up. We were eating up too much space on the school hard drive!

LOAD #4

2010-10-04T22:02:00.000-07:00

This layout has given me fits since the day I started it! It was a WOTG that a club member selected, and I wasn't fond of the paper used in the sample. I switched patterns and actually really liked the layout. We were planning on spending Christmas 2008 with my mom in Boise, so I made this layout with specific photos in mind. I was going to take a photo of the tree for the large focal point on the first page. I was then going to take photos of the three couples and one of Katie and Kyle. I had it all planned out and then our flight was canceled. We were snowed in. So, I went to plan B after building a snowman. I had Neal take pictures of me playing in the snow; I even took a self-portrait with my snowman. I uploaded my photos for printing, but they didn't print. I tried printing them again but couldn't find them when I wanted to finish the layout. After printing for a third time, I gave up...that was two years ago! I ran across the photos last night and decided that it was time to finish this layout! I almost had a fit when my journaling came out with uneven margins. Yet, I'm so ready to be done with this that I pulled out a stamp set, stamped Merry and Bright a few times and am calling it good. I will say that, even though this layout has been a bit of a curse, I absolutely LOVE this photo of Neal!

The journaling reads, "This wasn’t the Christmas we had planned. Nature thwarted our trip to Boise to spend the holiday with my family. Neal and I were at the airport when my mom called to say our flight had been cancelled. I was so disappointed. During our trek home, we debated driving but didn’t want to risk it. In the end, we spent Christmas with Kit and Tanis. Neal tried to salvage his plants, and I spent an afternoon building a snowman! The snowman lasted for over a week. He eventually melted and we had to go back to work, but we will always remember the winter we were snowed in!"

LOAD #3

2010-10-03T15:53:00.000-07:00

I went classic style for today's Layout a Day! The challenge was to focus on photography and create a layout with a photo that tells the story...no journaling! As I'm in a bit of a journaling mood, this was actually a real challenge. Yet, once I remembered this photo...I've been wanting to scrapbook it since 2008...it was easy. The photo and the title say it all! I'm a little bummed that the weather is so crappy today, because this layout (including the photo) are much more vibrant in real life. My picture doesn't do it justice. This layout was inspired by a layout in the Summer 2009 Idea Book. I used Daydream Level 2, Blush ink, Fresh Shapes DE, Booksmart DE, Clear & Bitty Sparkles.

This is a little note to myself to remind me that I don't have to complete all of Lain's daily challenges for LOAD 2010. I had a great time doing it this weekend, but my time is at a premium during the week, so that's when I'll go back to completing some of my partially created layouts. I have so many that I want to finish, so that is my personal challenge this month. Anything extra is simply a bonus.

LOAD #2

2010-10-02T19:52:00.000-07:00

Another digi layout for the LOAD 2010 Challenge. The prompt asked me to spend some time thinking about what made my life situation unique. I instantly thought about the fact that Neal and I don't have kids and that our attention is solely focused on each other. We have a unique bond as a result. Here is my journaling:

"We buried Kit on September 21, 2010. When we finished, we stood looking down on the graves of our “babies,” Kit and Tanis. We realized that, after over 18 years, we are alone. Like parents whose kids go off to college, we are empty nesters. I don’t think I truly understood the depth of that phrase, and I probably still don’t, but I have a better understanding of the emptiness parents must feel when their last child moves out. Neal asked me if I regretted not having children, and I can honestly say that I don’t! We are childless by CHOICE, and I think that makes all the difference. I shared that a friend told me that I don’t know what I’m missing, and she is absolutely right. I don’t know, so I don’t miss it! What I do know is that Neal and I gave more love and attention to our cats than some people give their children. We also have a love that many married couples don’t have because our focus is entirely on each other. So, we may miss the joys of raising children and watching our grandchildren grow, but we will also miss the heartache. Instead, we get to nourish our love and experience a depth of commitment to each other that is beyond words. Our house feels empty right now without the pitter-patter of kitty paws, but my best-friend and soul-mate is still here, so I know I will never be alone!"

On a side note, I'm cleansing today because I was really sick last night. Not fun!

LOAD #1

2010-10-02T00:15:00.000-07:00

Lain Ehman's Layout a Day challenge started today! I was at school late and didn't have much time, so I used a digital quick page to create this layout. Lain's challenge to us this time is to focus on storytelling, so I'm less worried about the products I use and more centered on crafting a good story. The prompt today was "Once upon a time." As I'm still mourning the loss of Kit, my guess is that many of my layouts over the next week or so will be about her! The journaling reads:

"Once upon a time, there were two beautiful cats named Kit and Tanis. On a fateful day in May, they were rescued from a garbage can, and their people knew that Kit and Tanis must come live with them. The two kittens brought so much joy to their people, and the people fell deeply in love with the little fur balls. Over the next 18 years, Kit and Tanis made the house feel like a home and were the children their people would never have. Yet, Tanis was the first to go, and Kit mourned her loss right along with her people. Kit wandered the house at night, searching, searching in vain for a sister that was forever gone. This sadness took its toll on Kit, and she ended up leaving her people 8 months later. The emptiness their people felt was profound, and loneliness swept through the house. Yet, as they shared stories of Kit and Tanis, the people began experiencing joy again. Memories of Kit and Tanis will help their people live happily ever after."

I'm going to be out of town for several days this month, so I need to get my digital files organized and placed on my laptop so that I can continue with the challenge on the road.

1st Order as a Studio J Member!

2010-09-29T22:17:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited about my Studio J Membership! I just ordered four layouts (8 pages total) for 1/2 off with FREE shipping, FREE page protectors, and FREE JPG files for the web and for printing. Studio J membership seriously rocks!

Although one of the main goals of Studio J is to do layouts quickly, I actually spent a lot of time on these two layouts about Kit. After losing her a week ago, I needed to scrapbook her stories to process my grief. I wanted to take the time to make sure these layouts honored her and expressed my love for her. I think they are pretty amazing...just like my sweet Kit!

I also took a bit of time with this layout earlier in the summer, because I was trying to figure out how to make my own B&T paper with text. This is a direct scraplift from the Studio J website! I posted a screen shot of it earlier, but now you can see the details.

Now, this layout is what Studio J is all about! I modified my old, out of focus photos in Studio J. I used the embellishments that came preloaded on the page and simply added a few My Stickease as a title and to cover up a Diet Pepsi can...LOL! This layout took me less than 1/2 hour and most of that time was spent editing my photos.

If you want some of this scrappy goodness for yourself, let me know and I'll hook you up with a Studio J membership! I'm going to demonstrate it at the THS FBLA Scrapbooking Crop on October 23rd; I can't wait to share Studio J with everyone I know!

You Make Me Happy

2010-09-12T22:18:00.000-07:00

I discovered a Sketchabilities contest last night and fell for sketch #20! Even though I have a ton of school work to do, I decided that, after the stress of the past couple of weeks, I needed to relax and scrapbook. So, I've been working on this layout on and off throughout the day. I know the lighting on this photo is horrible, but I'm past my 10pm computer cut-off time, so I need to hustle and get to bed. I had a great time playing with my Silhouette for this layout. I purchased all the die cuts through the Silhouette store, the background paper is Scenic Route, and everything else is Close To My Heart. I resisted the urge to further embellishment; I'm trying to simplify my process. Anyway, this layout makes me happy, so that's all that really matters!

Autumn/Winter 2010 Idea Book Sneak Peek

2010-08-26T13:10:00.000-07:00

I'm not really a Halloween person. For years, Neal and I ignored the holiday, turned off the porch light, and went to a movie to avoid having candy in the house. Luckily, our house was never egged by disgruntled trick-or-treaters! Even so, I find it amusing that, for the past two years, I've had a Halloween stamp for the new Autumn/Winter Idea Book swap. In fact, I won 2nd place in a CTMH contest with last year's card! Here is the card I submitted for the current swap and a little sneak peek at some of our awesome new colors! The paper I used is called Hooligans (X7129B); I love this paper! The colors are fantastic and will look great with a variety of photos, not just Halloween pictures. The stamp set is called The Boo Crew (C1421) and comes with 6 darling pumpkins.

The new Autumn/Winter 2010 Idea Book launches September 1st, so contact me to reserve your copy!

Amy

Family Photos

2010-08-21T21:39:00.001-07:00

We had a fantastic family photo shoot in Moscow at the end of July, and the CD with all the photos arrived today! I've been having fun playing with Photoshop and then importing the photos into Studio J. My 12-month Studio J membership starts next month, and you can be sure that I'm going to take full advantage of all the member benefits...such as FREE shipping once a month! I can't wait! My goal is scrapbook at least one Studio J layout a week since they are so quick and easy...assuming I don't spend a ton of time in Photoshop first. These quick layouts will (1) allow me to capture memories I don't ever want to forget, (2) help me to scrapbook more frequently, and (3) motivate me to use my classic supplies since I'll be in a scrapbooking groove.

In case you don't know, Studio J is FREE! That's right...FREE! Log in through my website and try it for yourself. You can test your photos against different paper packets and sketches before scrapbooking with your classic supplies. You don't pay a thing unless you want to purchase the layouts you created. If you love it as much as I do, let me know and I'll share the membership options with you.

I need more time!

2010-08-16T18:09:00.001-07:00

My "To Do Before School Starts" list is absolutely overwhelming. I'm trying not to stress out because that only makes matters worse. Neal sent this comic to me today and it made me laugh. I think he is trying to tell me something. I did start a new cleanse today and am carving out time for exercise to help manage my stress level.

CTMH Customer Appreciation Sale Starts Today!

2010-08-04T12:44:00.000-07:00

$2, $4, $6 for 8...It’s You We Appreciate! Amazing deals at more than 50% off to show our thanks to you! We are shouting from the rooftops how much we love and appreciate you! It only makes sense to pass along our appreciation with amazing deals. So for 8 days, August 4 through August 11 (while supplies last), you can purchase select My Stickease® Assortments for only $2 US/CAN, My Reflections® Level 1 kits for only $4, and My Reflections® Level 2 paper packets for only $6 online. Click on the “$2, $4, $6 for 8 Sale” link to the left to shop these amazing deals for yourself. You’ll want to shout for joy, too!

More Studio J Layouts

2010-06-06T23:13:00.000-07:00

I completed another batch of Studio J layouts and they are waiting to be filed away into albums. I love how quick and easy each layout comes together. The quality of the photos I used on the "Love Story" layout were really bad--complete user error--but the layout still looks great. I did journal about the fact that the photos are blurry so that anyone looking at the layout will know that they were used intentionally. My favorite LO is "Enjoy" which is a CTMH scraplift!

Zippidee-Doo-Da!

2010-05-24T17:52:00.000-07:00

I finally had a chance to sit down and scrapbook some of my spring break photos this weekend! My sister and I took our mom to Disneyland in April, so I couldn't wait to use the new Zippidee Workshop on the Go!

I wanted to make this a more traditional Disney layout, so I covered the Indian Corn Blue stripes with strips of black cardstock!

I also had fun layering my journaling stamps using the masking technique.

Help me enter a CTMH contest!

2010-05-16T17:28:00.000-07:00

Close to my Heart recently announced that they will be giving away an all expense paid Scrapbook Spa Getaway to 8 lucky Consultants. The catch is that in order to be eligible I have to have a certain amount of sales this month and attend Convention in July. I am already registered for the Convention, now I just need to make sure I get enough sales this month to qualify for the drawing. As the month is ½ over and I’m less than ½ the way to my goal, I am shamelessly asking for help. I would be soooo grateful if you might be willing to help me qualify. Here's what you can do to help:

1. Place an order on my website for regular and discounted products.

My friend Kim is participating in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure walk and is hosting a CTMH fundraiser on Thursday, May 27. I'm donating 20% of the retail sales to her fundraising efforts! If you would like your order to be included in this fundraiser, follow this link to place your order!

2. Place a Studio J order on my website.
3. Host a catalog party that closes before May 31st. (Contact me for more details.)
4. Host a Home Gathering that closes before May 31st. (Contact me for open dates and details.)
5. Call or email me with an individual order.
6. Pass this information on to everyone you know!

I am having a special drawing of my own at the end of the month for all of my customers. So, if you place an order this month, you will be helping me reach my goal and you will be entered into my special drawing as well. It's a win-win situation!

Thanks so much for your help and support!

Amy

A couple more You Rock layouts!

2010-02-16T15:56:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple of the layouts I worked on last night while scrapbooking with my friends. I have more details about the layouts on my Close To My Heart Art page.

This layout was created using the artwork on the back of the You Rock My Stickease...did you know there were pictures on the back of the Stickease?! Check it out, because this LO was fast, easy, and oh so cute!

A Library of Memories Week 1

2010-02-14T22:03:00.000-08:00

I'm feeling pretty good about the fact that I'm only a few days behind in my Library of Memories class; I finished week 1 yesterday! My assignment was to complete a personal page assessment and draw some conclusions based on my current pages. What I found most striking during this exercise is the fact that I really don't have that many albums/layouts considering (1) how long I've been scrapbooking and (2) how many supplies I have! I've always known that I'm a slow scrapbooker, but this is ridiculous! Don't get me wrong, I'm not putting pressure on myself to complete X amount of layouts each month or year, but I do realize that I need to step it up if I'm going to tell the stories that I want to tell before I forget them all!

During the Sticky Note Exercise, I also realized that 44% of my current layouts are travel related. I have entire albums devoted to trips to NYC, Las Vegas, Chicago, and Disneyland. I have theme albums that do contain a few layouts about the people I love, but the rest of the layouts focus on the places I've been. Now, this wouldn't be a problem if I had more layouts that are all about us. I'm counting the cats in my "All About Us" category, so 14% of the layouts are about us. If I take the cats out, then only 6% are about me and/or Neal. That is pathetic! I want to record our stories and the funny things that happen in our lives. It can't all be about the places we have been...especially since most of those trips didn't include Neal!

Finally, I discovered that I do a good job of journaling the "what" and "where" of my pages, and I usually name the "who" and "when". My area of weakness is the "why"! Why are these moments in time so important to me? Why am I taking the time to document this memory? What was I feeling and why does it matter? Wow! These exercises really got me thinking. So, our final assignment was to create a "Least Common Layout" and mine was an "Us--Why" page.

As I am incredibly far behind in my Design Your Life class, I decided to use an asymmetry sketch from week 2. It made me feel good to complete two assignments at once. I've already scrapbooked our hike, so my focus for this layout was why I'm so thankful that Neal joined me in becoming more fit and how days such as these strengthen our relationship. This layout is simple with a clean design, but it says a lot in a few short words. I will complete more layouts like this in the future!

As I finished the Personal Page Assessment, I created a few goals for myself: include journaling from the heart, always answer the "why," and showcase my relationship with Neal more often. On a product level, I have SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO many stamps and embellishments, so I will include some type of embellishment on EVERY LO and will include stamping as often as possible. For this LO, I added a simple bookplate (Z1277) and stamped the sentiment from Soul Mates (D1254). I'm so excited about where this process is going to take me in developing my creativity!

Finished Photo Freedom & Started LOM!

2010-02-07T23:29:00.000-08:00

I finally finished Photo Freedom this morning and started the Library of Memories class tonight! My first step is to complete a personal assessment. The first question asks about my scrapbooking strengths. I honestly had a hard time with this because I'm such a scraplifter! I think my greatest strength is my photography and then finding a layout to scraplift that will fit my needs. I'm growing in my journaling skills as I become more confident in telling stories that matter instead of simply recording events. The next question had me focus on my weaknesses. Again, I bring up scraplifting because I rarely design my own pages, but I don't know if this is a bad thing. I may not be the most creative or publishing-worthy individual, but I'm able to take other people's great ideas and make them my own. I love my pages and the stories I tell; plus, I didn't spend hours coming up with original ideas, so it leaves me more time to scrapbook! I love the CTMH How-To books for this very reason; they save me time and make me look creative when I'm not! It makes me happy, so I guess that's all that matters. Perhaps I should put as a weakness that I'm the world's sloooooooowest scrapbooker...LOL!

Why Scrapbooking Matters

2010-01-17T22:04:00.000-08:00

To stop her suffering, Neal and I made the painful decision to put Tanis down Friday evening. This has been an awful weekend. After we brought her home, I posted a photo on my personal journal/blog. Neal copied the photo onto his computer and then asked me if I had pictures from when the cats were young, because he doesn't have any. I looked at him a little funny and said, "I have scrapbooks of the cats!" He said, "Oh, I guess scrapbooking is good after all." Really? It took this moment for him to realize why scrapbooking matters?! Perhaps this will motivate him to actually look at some of my scrapbooks from time to time.

I started this page a couple weeks ago as part of the Design Your Life class at BPS. I knew the cats were getting old, and I wanted to tell their stories while they were alive so it wouldn't be so painful. I thought I could also use this project to practice my digital scrapbooking skills. I had no idea that Tanis was going to leave us so soon! Now it is more important than ever that I tell her stories before the memories fade.

Live Out Loud!

2010-01-04T22:38:00.000-08:00

We had such an incredible time doing this photo shoot in Seattle in July of 2006! I made poor Katie jump in front of the Space Needle over and over again until I got the perfect shot. I would have preferred if she had been slightly to the right in the photo, but I wasn't going to make her do it again. Fun times!

Again, this is a sketch from Design Your Life at BPS and I'm using You Rock papers.

Design Your Life @ BPS

2010-01-02T23:51:00.000-08:00

I'm taking Design Your Life with Cathy Zielske at Big Picture Scrapbooking. I wanted to take this class the first time it was offered but didn't have time. Well, I still don't have time, but I'm choosing to make the time. I am so excited to learn about design principles. Plus, she is providing PDF files for all the lessons, so I'm going to get to practice some digital scrapbooking along the way! Here is my first layout. The assignment was to use the grid pattern but to add our own touches to tell the story of why we love to scrapbook. I played around with a bunch of techniques on this one since I know I won't have time to do much playing once school starts. Once again, I'm using the You Rock WOTG kit!

New Paper--You Rock!

2010-01-01T14:47:00.000-08:00

I absolutely love the new paper kit, You Rock! The colors and design are fantastic. This is my version of the You Rock Workshop on the Go. This awesome LO took less than 1 1/2 sheets of B&T, so I still have a ton of paper, cardstock and embellishments to play with this weekend!

This paper is perfect for this LO about my niece, Kate. We took these photos in Seattle and at my house in 2006. Today she is gearing up to go to New York for a job interview! I’m so proud of and excited for her! I used this LO to write a letter to her. In addition to the Just Be You exclusive stamp set that comes with the Basic WOTG kit (G1006), I used Comments (D1359) for the journaling lines. Comments is a must have stamp set!

Unfortunately, this photo is a bit blurry, but I'm sure you get the idea. For my LO, I used the "Best" option and added the Rockin' Top Coats™ (Z1272) and White Hemp (Z281). I forgot to order the Bitty Sparkles (Z1263), so I'll just add them later for a little bling on the page!

The Rockin' Top Coats™ (Z1272) include 14 fun and funky, colorful overlays! They do have a plastic film covering the top so the image doesn't get scratched. Be sure to take the film off before using the Top Coats™.

Okay, I'm off to make another LO with this kit, because You Rock rocks!

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T02:01:00.000-08:00

Good news! The Spring 2010 Idea Book launched today! Click the cover and browse the book. If you want a paper copy, please let me know.

Celebrating Christmas

2009-12-28T12:37:00.000-08:00

I hope you had a wonderful and relaxing holiday! I certainly did. Neal and I had a leisurely day at home with our little old fur babies. Thanks to our moms, we did have gifts to unwrap, so that was nice! My gift to Neal is doing the litter all week and cleaning up after the cats…not a pleasant job, but it’s better than the alternative of putting them down. Anyway, I’ve been using my holiday from school to catch up on photographing my club projects and uploading them to my CTMH art page. I’ll share a few of the projects here over the next couple of days. Be sure to check back on the 1st for a special announcement!

Christmas 2008 in Boise—Neal and I were snowed in at home and weren’t able to make it down for this celebration. I was so disappointed. Christmas didn’t feel like Christmas last year.

I absolutely love this photo of my mom and sister! They are looking at photos from the Disney cruise we took that summer.

Photos of the whole family…minus me and Neal. :-(

Here are a few detail shots. I used textured cardstock so the ink coverage on the stamped packages isn’t as clear as the one below. I love the look of the textured cardstock and try to use it as often as possible.

These Twinkle Brads make me so happy…I have 3 packages of them! LOL! The other thing that I really like about this LO is the use of the Dimensional Elements On Target. The large scalloped circle is fantastic! My crop buddies make fun of me because I’m so particular about filing off the "nubbies" on the chipboard before inking. When inking, I used the back of the large gift stamp to get lots of ink on the chipboard. I let it dry and then when back with a sponge dauber to even out the ink coverage. It’s a fairly time consuming process, but I love deep, vivid color it produces. I also like that the chipboard is easy to cut so I’m able to use partial circles or make my circles cover two pages.

The WOTG directions say to stamp the title onto white cardstock and then sponge ink onto the letters. It also suggests stamping each letter with the zigzag stamp. I chose to stamp my letters onto B&T paper and adhered them using foam tape. I love this paper!

Studio J Sneak Peek

2009-12-22T17:52:00.000-08:00

Close To My Heart’s Studio J will launch in a few months, and I can't wait to share it with everyone I know! Since I attended Leadership, I was given early access to Studio J but have only now had a chance to play with it. I placed my first order a few minutes ago and thought I would share my LOs here.

So, what the heck is Studio J?! It is a FREE online scrapbooking studio. It's like digital scrapbooking, but not nearly as time consuming, expensive, or difficult to use. You’ll be able to try the full, web-based program through my CTMH website when Studio J launches in March. Until then, enjoy this little sneak peek!

Good news--if you are a digi-scrapper, you can import PNG files to drop in the photo wells like I did here with Katie Pertiet's Postage Frame Clusters!

If you know nothing about digital scrapbooking, never fear...Studio J was designed just for you! The following LOs were designed in a flash; choosing my photos and writing my journaling was the longest part of the process.

Creativity Challenge Update

2009-12-22T16:27:00.000-08:00

Wow! It's a little embarrassing that I haven't updated my Weekly Creativity Challenge for 3 months! It’s not that I haven’t been creative; it simply is that my blog took a backseat to school, my online classes, my CTMH club, and my sick kitties. I’m on winter break now, so I’m going to get back into the swing of posting.

9/20-26 ~ Complete the Telling Stories Deeply and the Learn Something New Every Day class prompts. Create digi LOs for Learn Something New.
Although I didn’t do any of the Telling Stories lessons, I did manage 10 digi LOs for Learn Something New. I also went on a bit of a digi shopping spree. I’m technically not a digital scrapbooker, but I have purchased a ton of digi elements, papers, PDF files, Etc. over the past few months. Not really sure what that is all about other than the fact that most of the items are $.25 at Designer Digitals…LOL!

Blog ~ Post digi LOs. Blog “The Great Escape” story!
How is it possible that I STILL haven’t written about “The Great Escape”? Seriously!

CTMH ~ Finish card kit and Twitterpated WOTG.
I finished ½ the card kit and both Twitterpated LOs. I am absolutely in LOVE with those LOs and will post them during break!

The Passing of Jim Rohn

2009-12-05T22:38:00.000-08:00

My sister called me today to let me know that Jim Rohn passed away. We met him several times at Herbalife conventions in the early 90s. I was always so inspired after listening to Rohn speak. During Shimelle's Learn Something New Every Day 2006 workshop, I created this page as a reminder to myself to make healthy choices. "We must all suffer from one of two pains; the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons." His words of wisdom helped me get back into exercising; I eventually lost 45 pounds! I feel very fortunate to have met him in person and send my heartfelt condolences to his family and friends.

I'm shocked!

2009-09-25T11:29:00.000-07:00

I have to tell you, I am absolutely shocked right now; so much so that I'm posting a quick blog during lunch at work...I never do that! I just discovered that I won 2nd place in the August CTMH "Make it from Your Heart" Contest for the "Trick or Treat" card I submitted to a swap. I love this card, but I NEVER would have sent it in on my own. I'm very thankful that my friend, Sue Laufer, asked for an extra set of cards to enter into the contest. Now I have $50 in select product credit to spend...woo hoo!

Learn Something New Day 10

2009-09-20T17:52:00.000-07:00

I really wanted to get caught up on my digi LOs today, but this was all I was able to finish. I need to spend the rest of the evening exercising and grading papers...fun times!

I rotated the designerdigitals.com template I used yesterday since this LO will be on the facing page. I also included a free pocket from their What's in Your Pocket challenge. I had to reduce the pocket a great deal since the photo of my card had been saved for the internet. That pocket is such a clever design. I can't wait to print out my book when I'm done and see how it looks on the page.

Learn Something New Days 7-9

2009-09-19T23:22:00.000-07:00

I saw a news segment on the 7th about a woman who reinvented herself by publishing her first novel at 45. I need to reconnect with myself as a writer. Neal and I have spent the past week brainstorming story ideas, and I'm getting really excited about writing again! Learn Something New Every Day is motivating me to write in my journal daily, but I haven't started writing any fiction yet. Perhaps that will be my goal in October after this class is over.
On the 8th, I rediscovered that, in the greater scheme of life, true friendship matters most! I may not get to see Karen or my few close friends very often, but they are always in my heart. I'm so blessed to have such wonderful women in my life! Neal took this photo at our house during a scrapbooking crop the day after my birthday. It is one of my all-time favorites!
I purchased this template from Digital Designs for $.25 today! I would love to get the entire series of templates, but I can't justify the expense since I'm not really a digital scrapbooker. I guess I'll just keep watching for sales.

These are some self-portraits after my first day of school on the 9th. As I was driving home, I was thinking about the fact that I had a cute new outfit for the first day and no one to take my photo. Well, I wasn't going to let that stop me. LOL! The mirror photo is blurry, but you can still see my cute Eddie Bauer outfit. I'm determined to look more professional this year as I work toward my CTE certification. I have a feeling that Neal is going to be shocked by my clothing purchases this year!

Creativity Challenge Update

2009-09-19T22:04:00.000-07:00

I haven't been online much over the past couple of weeks due to the start of the new school year and Neal's challenging me to stay off my computer! I must admit that I felt a little lost on the days that I didn't turn on my computer. I'm hopelessly addicted; sad but true! What I have determined is that there is no way I can go without a computer two days during the week--I'm okay with one. On the other days, I simply must force myself to use my time more wisely (e.g. limit the amount of time I spend surfing blogs!).

9/6-12 ~ Complete the Telling Stories Deeply and the Learn Something New Every Day class prompts. Create digi LOs for Learn Something New.
I've managed to copy and print all the Telling Stories lessons, but I haven't written anything yet. I have written in my LSNED journal daily and have completed LOs through the 9th. I'm 10 LOs behind, so I need to increase my speed...story of my life. I'm the slowest scrapbooker EVER!

Blog ~ Post digi LOs. Blog “The Great Escape” story!
Digi, yes. Great Escape, no. I really do want to tell that story!

CTMH ~ Set up new club and place order. Send e-mail to change open house date.
Done and done! My club meets on the 28th and we are completing the September Card Kit; it is so cute!

Learn Something New Days 3-6

2009-09-07T18:08:00.000-07:00

Shimelle's prompt was about what we can learn from our feet. It amazes me how right on target her prompts always seem to be with my life. For instance, Neal and I were watching football and one of the players was carted off with a foot sprain. I was thinking to myself how horrible it would be in everyday life let alone as an athlete, and then I open a prompt about feet! My lesson came this summer when Neal and I hiked up Multnomah Falls. During the entire 4 mile hike, I didn't experience any pain until we were on the way DOWN...my feet were killing me!

Sadly enough, I continue to waste time on the computer. When I first took this class, I ended up with 6 pages about getting off the computer and spending time exercising, enjoying nature or doing something productive. Three years later, I'm still giving myself the same advice...I see a problem here! Neal has challenged me to leave my computer off on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I will still have to use the computer at school, but those evenings at home will be spent reading, crafting, Etc. I'm going to try to start tomorrow if I can finish all my school work at school. Wish me luck!

Neal got a little annoyed with me the other night. After exercising, I said I was going to take a quick shower. Well, our versions of quick showers don't exactly match, and he had to come up and tell me to hurry because dinner was ready. It's a good thing he loves me!

Side note: I am using much more white space on these digi LOs than I do when working traditionally. It is very strange for me. It will be interesting to see how I feel about the pages when they are printed and in a book.

I had such a busy summer with my online course, travels, and CTMH events that I never started a "To Do" list. Now the summer is over and I realize that I didn't accomplish much around the house. Oh, sure, I did a little cleaning, but I didn't do any big projects. Now I'm back to life as a busy English teacher and will be swamped with grading and meetings. Hopefully my computer ban on Tuesday and Thursdays will motivate me, but I still need to make a list!

Learn Something New Every Day

2009-09-07T13:46:00.000-07:00

Shimelle's Learn Something New Every Day class started again on September 1st. I first signed up for this class in September of 2006. That was an incredibly eventful month in my life, and I'm so thankful I was taking her course, because I journaled every day. I didn't, however, finish my daily pages. In fact, I completed the book during Lain's Layout a Day Challenge in May...of THIS year! Yikes! So, my goal for this year is to journal daily and finish my book by early October. I came to the realization last night that I simply don't have time for traditional scrapbooking, so I'm going to go digi for this project. It isn't my first choice, but it is far more realistic at this moment in time. Plus, Shimelle has included some great digi downloads for this class, including PDF files for the LOs. That is going to save me a lot of time.

After taking Photo Editing: Frame-ups and Special Effects from Jessica Sprague, I got pretty excited about playing around in Photoshop. In fact, I've downloaded a bunch of free digital designs and have even purchased a digital kit and some embellishments. Now, mind you, I've only ever created two digital LOs in my life! LOL! So, I'm going to use the Learn Something New class to work on my journaling and to hone my digital skills. I'll stick with Shimelle's LOs for the first couple of weeks since school is starting, but then I may try to come up with my own designs.

To save myself some time, I'm using the Ana Reis Designs "I Heart You" kit. I purchased both the paper and embellishment kits because I loved the doodle hearts.

My first page deals with the presentation I gave to our staff about metacognition. I felt good about the presentation but didn't think it was amazing. Throughout the day I was given a lot of positive feedback. My colleagues made me realize that I do a good job and that I should have more confidence. I'm using a horrible photo from a Web 2.0 presentation I gave at a business education conference in May. Yeah...people should NEVER be photographed while they are speaking!

My learning continued at our school district teacher training on the 2nd. I co-presented a workshop on lesson planning using Project CRISS and then went to a workshop about ways students hook us into power struggles. The presenter talked about being intentional in our emotional lives. Negative thoughts impact everything we do even if we don't say them out loud. This made me think about my health and approaching it from a positive POV (e.g. I'm not trying to lose weight, I'm gaining muscle, tone, and a firm core!).

This is a photo from my classroom in May. The presenter also talked about seeing your most difficult student as your greatest teacher in living an emotionally intentional life. Brilliant!

Creativity Challenge Update

2009-09-07T13:22:00.000-07:00

I have been MIA the past few weeks, because as soon as I finished my online CTE course, I had to start gearing up for the three presentations I gave last week. I didn't get any of my own school work done, so I'm going to have to work very hard in my classroom tomorrow! I decided to use today to get caught up on some of my creative projects.

8/9-15 ~ As I really want to take the Telling Stories Deeply class at BPS, I need to complete my unfinished classes before I enroll for another class. So, I’m going to work on my 52 Card Pick Up class this week. My goal is 2 cards per day starting on Monday.
I didn't look at my 52 Card Pick Up class once, but I did sign up for Telling Stories Deeply. I have done nothing with that class since I have been so busy these past couple of weeks. I need to add it to my challenge list for this week.

Blog ~ Post my LOs from Kyle’s visit and my two cards each day. Blog “The Great Escape” story!
I did post the LOs from Kyle's visit, but I still need to work on "The Great Escape" story. Hmm...I'm sensing an opportunity to double dip with my Telling Stories Deeply class!

CTMH ~ Advertise and prepare for my Christmas card workshop; finish my Leadership projects; complete my card swaps. Yikes! It’s a good thing I’m still on summer vacation.
I finished my card swaps and Christmas card workshop. I still need to finish the Leadership projects.

His name was James

2009-08-16T19:09:00.000-07:00

I fought tears most of the way home from Safeway this afternoon, but soon the emotion overwhelmed me and bitter tears poured down my face. Neal asked me what was wrong, and it took me some time to compose myself. What was wrong? What was at the core of this despair?

I hadn’t noticed the signs or balloons on our way to the store. It wasn’t until we were leaving the parking lot that I noticed the makeshift memorial where we usually saw an older man sitting on an upturned bucket. The bucket was there, but the man was not. In his place stood a sign that read, “His name was James.” Bouquets of flowers were taped to the stop sign. I blurted out, “Oh, that man died.” That man died. James. I didn’t know him. In fact, if truth be told, I never bothered thinking about him more than the moment we drove by him as we left Safeway each week.

I do remember some specific moments such as the time his plumbers crack was showing. We laughed about it. I remember a couple times I was alone and I wondered if I had any granola bars or bottled water to give him. I never stopped. I certainly never stopped to ask his name or learn his story. I would drive on by and he would slip from my memory, but not today. Not today! Today I am consumed with the fact that I never once wondered about him other than why he was begging. Today I am wondering how I have become so judgmental and uncaring. Am I not an accident or debilitating illness away from needing a helping hand? What happened to the me that used to care so much about people that my heart broke when I saw someone begging by the side of the road?

And there’s my answer. My heart broke. My heart broke, and instead of allowing it to mend whole and fragile, I forced it to harden. Luckily, I’m not so bad that I’m hard hearted, but I certainly am not the me that used to volunteer at Camp Easter Seal or for the nursing home. I think I became so tired of being hurt and feeling pain, I simply stopped putting myself in situations that would break my heart.
When I was explaining all this to Neal, I was reminded of Julie’s article in the T-Bird Splat (my school newsletter). She wrote about a revelation she had during a 4Ps presentation. She became painfully aware that this boy sat through her class the previous year, and she never really knew the struggles he was facing on a daily basis. Her advice to us is that “kids won’t care how much we know until they know how much we care.” It sounds so cliché, but the truth of her words slapped me in the face.

Passion has been missing in my life for quite some time. I’ve felt moments of depression, and I really couldn’t figure out why. I’m more fit and healthy than I have been since college. I teach at a great school and have incredible friends. I get to scrapbook during my free time and share my love of the art with others by leading workshops. I’m married to my best friend and have an amazing marriage! So, why do I feel empty?

I think James gave me my answer today. I have not been feeding my soul for a very long time. I allowed a wall to keep me from being hurt, but it caused more damage than I could have imagined.

I’m a scapbooker and an English teacher. I love stories! Not simply my own stories, but the stories of those around me. I want to know what makes people tick, and how someone like James ended up on the corner of the Safeway parking lot.

I need to feed my soul by helping others. For years, I have used the excuse that I’m a teacher; that’s my volunteer time, but I know I can do better than that. Plus, if that is going to count as volunteer time, then I better do far more for my students than I have been over the past couple of years! Now, I will say that the closest I have come in a long time to feeling like I was making a difference was this time last year. It was right after the Close To My Heart convention in Florida. Jeanette Lynton gave a moving speech as she introduced William and Kathleen Magee, the co-founders of Operation Smile. She explained that she was so touched by the work that Operation Smile is doing for children around the world that OS is becoming CTMH’s exclusive charity. Shortly after convention, we were able to offer the From Me To You card kits for a $10 donation to Operation Smile; I was able to raise over $130! I was only $110 away from providing an operation for a child. It only costs $240, takes 45 minutes, and changes their lives forever! Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to earn the other $110, but I’m done focusing on my failings in the past and am going to look to the future.

So, what is my why? I want to bring smiles to the faces of those I meet and allow their joy to make me smile! As a teacher, I will do this by showing my students that I truly care. I want to know their stories and help them succeed in the classroom and beyond. As a friend, I will do this by staying in better contact with the people I love. I make tons of cards as a scrapbooker…I’m going to start sending them! As a wife, I will remind Neal daily of the difference he makes in my life. He is my everything, and I am not going to let him forget it. As a CTMH consultant, I will teach workshops and help my customers gain confidence in creating beautiful art to chronicle their memories. I will work to raise money for Operation Smile so that I can put a smile on the face of a child who may have only known pain and misery. I will live my life with passion, because I am beyond blessed!

I will remember that his name was James, and I will smile!

Shhh…Halloween Card Sneak Peek!

2009-08-14T12:51:00.000-07:00

You guys know how much I love CTMH products; I think it is safe to say that I’m addicted…LOL! What I love the most is how versatile they are; in fact, this is the key point they make on the latest episode of CTMH TV. Take a look at these new Grace papers; they are perfect for feminine or masculine projects. The text paper is well suited to Thanksgiving or any other project that expresses thankfulness for family, but what about Halloween?

Well, I say "Yes!" This is a card that I made for a swap using the new Grace papers and Beware stamp set. I used the front side of the text paper for the large circle and the back side for the smallest circle. I speckled the large circle with Black and Olive markers using an airbrush and then added Black Distressing Ink to the other circles using the Black Texture Tool. Using these distressing techniques helped me convert a shabby chic Thanksgiving kit into a spooky Halloween card!

Pattern: Delightful Dots from Wishes (pg. 53)
Paper: Grace (X7117B), Autumn Terracotta TCS (X5669), Olive CS (1245)
Stamp: Beware (D1381)
Ink: Versamark (Z891), Black Distressing Ink (Z1296), New England Ivy (Z2135)
Markers: Black (Z2305) & Olive (Z2337)
Embellishments: Black Embossing Powder (Z670), Black Bitty Brads (Z1218), 3-D Foam Tape (Z1151), Sanding block (Z1294), Texture Tools (Z1298)
Other: Inkworx air gun

Digital LO vs Studio J!

2009-08-13T13:49:00.000-07:00

Well, I received an email from scrapNfonts this morning with some freebies and a challenge. I'm not typically a digital scrapbooker, but I took up the challenge since they included a free Photoshop template. I can't remember how long it took me to complete this LO, but I'm fairly sure it was close to two hours! It's cute, and I will print it for one of my albums, but it got me thinking about how excited I am for Close To My Heart's Studio J!

Studio J takes digital scrapbooking to the next level by providing you with an online scrapbooking studio FREE of charge! The best part about studio scrapbooking is that you don't have to know anything about digital scrapbooking to QUICKLY...notice I said QUICKLY (unlike my LO here!)...create beautiful pages using CTMH patterns, papers, embellishments, and colors! I saw a demo of Studio J at Leadership a couple weeks ago, and I'm so excited about trying it. Visit the Studio J website and watch the video to see a quick preview. Then come back here and let me know what you think!

Wolf Haven

2009-08-10T17:30:00.000-07:00

Our second day trip with Kyle was a quick visit to Wolf Haven. We arrived a few minutes prior to the tour, so it was perfect timing. Wolf Haven is a sanctuary for many wolves but only 14 are on the guided tour. We didn’t get to see all of them, but the ones that were out were absolutely beautiful. They gave us a special treat about half way through the tour…wolves started howling on one end of the sanctuary and each of the wolves returned the call. It was breathtaking! According to the Wolf Haven website, “Vocal communication among wolves consists of howls, whines, growls and barks. Although all the functions of howling are not known, scientists think that one of the main reasons wolves howl is to assemble the pack. Another possible function of howling is to claim territory. Some experts think that wolves can identify other wolves through their howls.” I don’t know what they were trying to communicate, but I’m so glad that I witnessed it!

I’m aware that the title “High Adventure” makes no sense for this LO, but I was doing a direct scraplift from page 17 of the Summer 2009 Idea Book, and I couldn’t deviate from the design! LOL! All supplies are CTMH: Back Country kit, pewter brads, Adventure Dimensional Elements, natural hemp, sanding kit, and My Legacy Writers.

Mt. Rainier Hike

2009-08-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

I thought I was being kind by letting the boys sleep in, but it ended up being a bad move. By the time we got up to the mountain, the parking lot was full. I couldn’t believe how packed it was during the middle of the week; I would hate to see what it is like there on the weekend. Anyway, we ended up parking a couple miles down the road and hiking back up to the visitor station. We only had a couple hours to spend on the mountain since I needed to get home for the mobile vet visit. We ate a quick lunch and then walked the Skyline Trail to Myrtle Falls and down the 4th Crossing Trail right to our car; it was almost like we planned it that way! It was a really easy, relaxing walk. I’m looking forward to going back and trying some of the more challenging trails.

All supplies are CTMH: Bella WOTG sketch, Back Country, Campin' Fever, pewter brads and photo hangers, Adventure Dimensional Elements, natural hemp,sanding kit, and My Legacy Writers.

I absolutely love this Back Country kit! I added Barn Red textured cardstock and I'm now wishing I would have used a different color. I had already sanded it, so I wasn't going to start over. The Bella sketch has the title under the photo, but I placed the title on the photo, so I'm wondering if I need anything under the picture.

Don't get me started about that picture! I used a great grunge mask from the jessicasprague.com Photoshop class. After I uploaded the photo to Wal-Mart, I checked their print preview option and it looked just like it does here. Well, when I picked up my photos yesterday, most of the top and left borders have been cut off. It looks hideous now, so I adhered it with removable adhesive and am going to print it out at Costco this week. Ugh!

Creativity Challenge

2009-08-09T20:20:00.000-07:00

I'm thinking that I want to archive my "Weekly Creativity Challenges." I wish I would have done this from the beginning. Oh well, I'm doing it now.

7/17-18 ~ Now that my craft room is back in shape, I am going to scrapbook at least 4 layouts for my cruise album! For a bonus challenge, I'm going to use a sketch from 52 Sketches and Inspired Blueprints.

I'm also working on my Shakespeare High Ning this weekend. I need to create a banner in Photoshop and mess with the CSS.

I met the scrapbooking challenges and posted the LOs. Although I did finish my Shakespeare High Ning, I'm not crazy about the banner. I'm sure I'll change it later, but I'm not going to worry about it now.

7/19-25 ~ I need to prepare card kits for Karen's workshop on Wednesday and page kits for Mimi's crop on Saturday. I want to write and upload a couple more stories to my blog, as well.

Again, I accomplished the scrapbooking challenges but didn't add stories to the blog. I have a childhood story that I really want to write--it's on my "to do" list--but I haven't made the time. I'm going to add it to my list for this week!

This is a Graduation Trip?

2009-08-09T19:55:00.000-07:00

When Katie graduated from high school, I took her to Disneyland. We had a wonderful time, and I knew that I would do the same for Kyle when he graduated. Well, fast forward six years to Kyle’s graduation…he doesn’t want to go to Disneyland! Not want to go to Disneyland? I couldn’t believe it. So, I tried to think of other fun trips we could take that he would enjoy. Perhaps to a Dude Ranch or the Nascar driving school. Nothing appealed to him. He even admits that he doesn’t like to try new things even though he knows that he will probably end up liking it in the end (our Disney cruise last summer taught him that). Alas, we ended up giving him money for graduation and decided he would visit us for a few days this summer.

I knew I would be in California for the CTMH Leadership conference near my sister’s birthday, so I called Kyle to see if he wanted to come up the following week. Since he did, I flew from LA to Boise to spend the day with my sister and then Kyle drove me home. The nine hour road trip provided us with more opportunity to chat about life than had we gone on a big vacation, so this really worked out in the end. We did end up taking a couple day trips to Mt. Rainier and Wolf Haven, and I had a great time scrapbooking those events today.

On the Trail at Multnomah Falls

2009-07-26T19:01:00.001-07:00

To celebrate his 2nd week of vacation, Neal and I took a day trip to Multnomah Falls on Monday. Our other option was going to the ocean, but we decided it would be more fun if we could spend the night, so we did something a little closer to home. I don’t think either of us planned on hiking as much as we did, because we did not come prepared with good hiking shoes and were wearing jeans. It was incredibly hot, and I was longing for some khakis! Luckily, we ate lunch at the Lodge before heading up so the lack of trail food wasn’t that bad, but the lack of water about killed us! We probably should have turned around once we got to the top of the waterfall, but we pressed on. It was so beautiful and the next mile was so peaceful since very few people went off the beaten path. As rugged as some of the non-paved trail was, it was absolutely worth it to truly enjoy nature alone with my husband! A little over two miles up the mountain, we ran into a work party repairing part of the path that had been washed away. They would have let us by, but Neal and I are both glad that we turned around. We were both feeling dehydrated and needed to get some water. Unfortunately, Neal was far worse off than I was and developed an incredible headache on the way home. I slept most of the way home, so I felt fine! What surprised me about the trip down the mountain was that it hurt more than going up; my feet were killing me! Neal had me tighten my shoelaces and that made a big difference. Honestly, my feet were the only things that hurt on the trip. My legs weren’t sore at all during the hike or the next day. Yet, my hips were so sore the next day; I couldn’t believe it! I’m only 42 and they made me feel like I was 80…this is not a good sign for my old age.

This LO is a direct scraplift from page 19 of the Summer 2009 Idea Book. I absolutely love this Back Country paper packet and need to find my other outdoor/camping photos to finish off the packet. It’s hard to see, but I added grunge masks on the 5x7 photos and an overlay on one with text that reads, Multnomah Falls. I’m practicing my Photoshop skills!

Crazy for Shakespeare

2009-07-21T19:10:00.000-07:00

I had a huge "To Do" list today, but I spent it working on my Shakespeare High Cafeteria instead. I wonder about myself sometimes! To top it off, I added a Shakespeare High Twitter, because I obviously need to spend more time on the Internet!

As per the world of scrapbooking, my copy of Photo Freedom arrived today...woo hoo!

I need to get ready for a card workshop tonight, but I should be back to scrapbooking tomorrow night. Neal and I took a hike up Multnomah Falls yesterday and I can't wait to scrapbook the experience! I won't look at the photos until I finish prepping for the workshop or I'll be up all night. I have issues!

Slowest Scrapbooker...Ever!

2009-07-19T18:47:00.000-07:00

Seriously, I must be the slowest scrapbooker on the planet. These two pages took me 2 hours, and there is nothing to them! I forced myself to simplify and resisted the urge to stamp on these pages. Yes, finding the photos took a bit of time, but...still! Oh well, they are done, and I completed my challenge for the weekend. That makes me a happy camper!

The first LO is from the current Creative Scrappers sketch. I know...it wasn't on my list, but I saw the sketch in my blog reader and was inspired. I'm really attracted to circles. The only problem I had with this LO is that my large Coluzzle circle is only 8", but I went with it since my goal was to simplify.

Again, notice my love of circles! This time I went with sketch #5 over at 52 Sketches...52 Weeks; I'm a little behind! The beauty of being the world's slowest scrapbooker is that I don't put pressure on myself to keep up with a LO a week. ;-) That being said, I do want to finish my cruise album this summer, so I do need to pick up the pace. I also need to cut back on the number of pages I create--I'm already at 20 and I haven't made a dent in my photos...uh...yeah...not a good sign. I'm fairly certain that I don't want to look through a 50 pound scrapbook!

This LO reminds me that I really need to get a zoom lens for my camera. I also need to learn how to use the manual features of my SLR. I need more time in the day!

Weekend Challenge = 2 Down + a Sketch

2009-07-18T17:32:00.000-07:00

I completed a double-page spread from this Inspired Blueprints sketch. I spent a lot longer on it than planned, but I really like how it turned out. I don't have a great eye for random brad placement, but I like how it looks on other layouts, so I'll keep practicing.

All CTMH supplies unless noted:
Cardstock: White Daisy
Textured CS: White Daisy & Dutch Blue
B&T: Tinkerin’ (green) & Laid Back (blue)
Ink: StazOn Black, Clover Meadow, Dutch Blue, Sunny Yellow, Hydrangea
Stickers: Color Ready Alpha (Oxford Caps & Bold)
Stamps: Spot On Backgrounds (D1280), Star Struck (D1237), Circle Around (D1300), Comments (D1359), Connections (D1330), Good Times (B1332)
Pen: My Legacy Writers
Brads: Summer Carnival, Bigger White & Dutch Blue
Other: Coluzzle circle & Fiskars Threading Water punch

Photoshop Class

2009-07-18T13:30:00.000-07:00

I’ve been having a great time taking a free Photoshop course over at JessicaSprague.com. I’m learning so much and really enjoying the delivery method. Here are the photos I have modified thus far. Click on the thumbnail to see a larger photo.

I'm back!

2009-07-17T20:22:00.000-07:00

After scrapbooking a layout a day in May, I needed to focus on finishing out the school year strong and getting my classroom in shape. I took a week long teaching course in Kalispell, MT, right after school ended so didn’t finish in my classroom until Monday night at 8:30pm! I still need to go through my filing cabinets, but I’m going to leave that for early September. Another couple days in my room prior to school beginning and I’ll be set.

I was so inspired by cleaning my classroom that I spent a week cleaning and organizing my craft room. I did not dare take any “Before” photos as the room was a hideous mess. There was one path on the floor to one small area on the futon. My desk was a nightmare from the LOAD challenge, so I couldn’t have scrapbooked in June if I had wanted. I still have a little bit left to do, but here are my current “After” photos!

The first is a view from my window seat and the second a view from the door.

Notice that the floor is spotless and the only piles I have are (1) works in progress on the window seat, (2) my school books for the class I'm taking next to the futon, and (3) the magazines I need to go through to cut out scraplifting ideas!

I had to include a photo of my bookshelf as it used to be stacked with books two deep on most of the shelves. I finally made the decision that I was never teaching theatre again, so I donated most of my theatre books to our drama teacher. I also quit hording books I've already read and took them to my classroom library. I will admit that most of the books I kept are my favorites and I wasn't willing to part with them. I do have one shelf that contains the YA books I haven't read and will take to school once I do. The beauty of this system is that I'll be able to start buying YA novels again once I start reading them and making space on the shelf.

Okay, now to my organization system. I went through ALL of my scrapbooking supplies and donated several boxes to a friend who is having a garage sale next weekend. It felt good to purge things I haven't used in years. I even donated a bunch of the wood stamps I never mounted! Someone is going to get a good deal at that garage sale! Anyway, I cleared out all the paper in the rack above my desk and replaced it with CTMH cardstock. This is where I'm storing my page protectors, pages in process, and the non-CTMH cardstock/paper I kept that doesn't fit in my other paper container.

It holds CTMH paper packets older than a year, papers by manufacturer that I am keeping for specific projects, and other miscellaneous papers in the side trays. I also have a couple black storage boxes that fit nicely under it.

I'm proud of my storage system! In addition to the 4 deep black storage boxes, I got 8 white photo boxes that hold paint, foam stamps, paint trays, and photos. I also got 6 white project boxes (they are under the futon!) for CTMH chipboard, stickers/rubons, embellishments, non-CTMH chipboard, Bind-It-All coils/cardboard, and one box for all my Scenic Route kits/papers!

By placing all of those embellishments in easily accessible boxes, I was able to better organize the cabinet to the right of my desk. I have to move very little to get to items in the back of the top two shelves, and I have pull out drawers for inks, wood stamps/punches, ribbon, CTMH stamps (WOW! I have a lot of stamps!), card, other projects, and CDs/software.

The final bit of organizing I did was clearing off the majority of the paper from the rolling cart in front of my cabinet so there was room for my CTMH ink tower. Getting that off my desk really helped. It also forced me to decide what I was going to do with my CTMH paper.

I finally made a divider for the 5 different paper packs in each season. When the next Idea Book is released, I will transfer the unused Winter 2008 packs to the black paper storage by the bookshelf. Having the current year's worth of paper packets right next to me will give me motivation to finish them off prior to new product arriving. I have a feeling that this new system will help with my productivity. I guess you will get to be the judge of that as I post my new pages/projects here!

For anyone who made it this far...thank you for reading my very long and involved post! Leave a comment and then e-mail your address to me and I'll send you a gift pack of handmade cards!

LOAD #31 ~ It's Over!

2009-05-31T11:53:00.000-07:00

My LOAD Challenge is officially over and I did it! I managed to create a layout a day for the entire month of May! It was difficult at times due to my workload at school, but I'm glad that I stuck with it. Now, for the bad news...I got on the scale this morning...not pretty! I will be taking a break from the Internet until I lose the 5 pounds I gained this month. It is amazing how quickly it comes back on when I only exercise once or twice a week. I've got to get back up to my five or six times a week and really increase the intensity of my workouts.
Again, I used a Scenic Route class kit to finish my layouts for today. This was the final day of our Disney Cruise vacation last summer. I wrote that I was disappointed that we didn't go to Disneyland that day, but it really did end up being the perfect way to end our vacation. We walked around the pier and surrounding areas. I got to take a lot of photos, and we simply relaxed and enjoyed each other's company while soaking in the beautiful weather.

Okay, now I'm off to exercise! Wish me luck in shedding these pounds!!!

LOAD #30

2009-05-30T14:20:00.000-07:00

Only one more day and then I will have completed the May Layout a Day Challenge! If feels so good to have accomplished a goal, but it will feel so much better to gain some time back in my day to exercise and grade papers! This has been a very busy month, but the summer holiday is in sight, so I feel myself calming down a bit. Even though it is Saturday, I didn't have time to do a full layout, so I pulled out one of my partially completed pages from a Scenic Route class at CKC. I absolutely love this Metropolis line of papers! In fact, you can get this page kit on their website right now! I love that they are selling their class kits online, because those were the only classes I wanted to attend but I don't really have a desire to go to CKC anymore. The sales aren't that great; plus, I have enough CTMH to keep me scrapping for years, so I really shouldn't be buying anythng new anyway. Now, I can pick up these class kits, get my Scenic Route fix, and save time/money by avoiding the convention.

LOAD #29

2009-05-29T17:51:00.000-07:00

This is the last official page for my Learn Something New Every Day mini-album. I will type a detailed reflection and paste it to the back of this page. I also have two page protectors left, so I'm going to add a page to this book each September for the next four years. It will be nice to reflect on the past while recording where I am at that moment in time. Shimelle's last prompt asks us to send her a photo of the book when we are done...I wonder if she has had anyone take this long to finish the project!
This is what I'm adding to the back of the page above: "I find it ironic that Shimelle’s class fell in a month with such incredible highs and tragic lows! As a Star Trek fan, I couldn’t have asked for a better month. I finished the 40th Anniversary celebration blog, attended the big event in Seattle, met many of the stars of the show, wrote reviews for StarTrek.com, was interviewed by Rico at Treks in Sci-Fi, and eventually ended up in LA sitting next to Tim Russ while we were getting our Vulcan ears applied! Had that been the opening and close to my month, it probably would have been the best month of my life (other than May 1990, of course!). Yet, tragedy struck in the middle of the month when my cousin died. I was overwhelmed with profound guilt. I had tried to call him earlier in the month and left a message, but I never called him back. After Grandma and Dad died, I told myself I wouldn’t live with regret. I would let people know that I love them. I would stay in touch. I wouldn’t let myself be put in this situation again…but, here it is, two years and eight months later, and nothing has changed. I don’t make the call. I don’t stay in touch. I let life get in the way of telling my family and friends how much I love them. I hope they know, but how will they unless I tell them. It makes me ashamed of myself. To top it off, my student died at the end of the month in 2006. Another one of my students died at the beginning of this year. What am I doing each day to let my kids know how much I care about them? I know it hasn’t been enough for any but 3rd period this year. So, the lessons learned are things I know in my core, but do I have the strength to apply them to my life? Do I have the courage?!"

LOAD #28

2009-05-28T22:21:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that I've finally finished this mini-album! I still want to do a page to sum up the entire month and experience, but that will be primarily text. As tragic of a month as this was in my life, I'm so glad I'm ending on this high note. This was they day that I hung out with some of the crew members of Star Trek: Of Gods and Men at Universal Studios. We were a bunch of goof balls; it was so fun. That evening was amazing, though! I met Lana Lane and Erik Norlander at a restaraunt in LA. They are progressive rock artists and I love their music. When I found out that I was going to be in LA, I took a chance and contacted them through MySpace. They agreed to meet me to discuss the posibility of using their song "Romeo and Juliet" when I directed the play. As much of a Shakespeare fanatic as I am, I didn't like R&J until I heard that song. It was what made me want to direct the play and inspired my entire concept for the production. The song was essential! I couldn't afford to pay royalties, so I was overjoyed when they granted me the rights to use the song and film it for a DVD release! They were so friendly, gracious and generous. I could definitely see being friends with them if we lived closer.

LOAD #27

2009-05-27T18:15:00.001-07:00

I finally scrapbooked this memory! I know that it was ridiculous, but I felt guilty for not being there for Christina when she needed me. I was running around Universal Studios when she came to school to talk to me. She needed me and I wasn't there. I more than made up for it by making myself available any time she wanted to talk that year, but my heart still ached for that missed moment. The journaling on the back of this layout discusses how proud I am of her for turning a tragic situation into positive motivation for her life. She is a strong young woman, and I know she will be successful in whatever she chooses to do. I saw her earlier this year, but I haven’t heard from her in months. I must admit, I miss her! I hope she is happy!

I’m really excited to say that I’m only TWO pages away from finishing this mini-album! Woo hoo!

LOAD #26

2009-05-26T21:22:00.001-07:00

The LOAD prompt today was to push myself, so I finally decided to complete the pages that deal with Adrianne's death. I cut up a pair of jeans for the fabric on the page and wrote the following on the back:

"The last conversation Adrianne and I had was in the hall outside the office. I asked her about the holes in her jeans and she said she couldn't afford new pants. I asked her what size she wore since my 10s no longer fit me since I had gained a bunch of weight back. Even though she was smaller than that, she appreciated the offer. I told her I would bring the pants when I got back from LA. I had no idea it would be the last time I saw her. She died that weekend in a drunk driving accident. I swore that I would get back into those pants--it took me two years to get my act together, and I almost gave up, but I lost the weight before her class graduated. I now wear a size 8. I will never forget AW!"

On a related side note, the ScrapHappy January 2008 LOAD Challenge taught me that I could do anything for 30 days. I started a cleanse in February of 2008 and lost 45 pounds in 5 months! I've kept the weight off and am gearing up for another cleanse this summer with the goal of losing another 10 pounds. The May 2009 LOAD Challenge is almost over--it has been a good reminder that I can accomplish my goals!

LOAD #25

2009-05-25T17:28:00.001-07:00

I didn't have much to finish on my LO today, but it still took me awhile since I had to stamp and cut out all the letters for the title. I tell you...I love the Rustic Alpha stamp set! I use it all the time. I'm really excited about it now that I've started using my Back Country papers and embellishments; they are so cute! I spoke to my mom this afternoon and am going to look through all our old camping photos when I stay with her next month for my nephew's graduation. It will be fun to scrapbook my childhood memories. I have a few funny and highly embarrassing camping stories to tell!

LOAD #24

2009-05-24T21:45:00.001-07:00

I'm getting a jump start on the Back Country WOTG for my club next month. I'm uploading the second page today and will finish the title and journaling on the first page of the LO tomorrow. I need to get some information from my husband to find out exactly where we were on this road trip after I got my first brand new car. It was very exciting!

LOAD #23

2009-05-23T22:07:00.000-07:00

This is the second 1/2 of the Omak Fair layout I started yesterday. Although the photos are bad, it is a reminder of a fun day we spent together as a family. On a product note, I'm having so much fun with Heartfelt Whimsy!

LOAD #22

2009-05-22T20:59:00.000-07:00

This is another LO where I am embracing imperfection. My pen kept slipping as I outline the letters...oh well! Another page complete and photos that I've had for 16 years are now in an album. Life is good.

The Big Orange Beast!

2009-05-22T18:03:00.000-07:00

What happens when my husband takes the day off? He comes home with a new "toy"! I'm really glad that he is so excited about working on the property and making the outside of our house beautiful, but every time something like this happens, I wonder how much longer it will be until I get hardwood floors. Well, the good news is that he will eventually have to build an out-building for all this equipment, and I'm going to demand a second story to create a scrapbooking loft large enough to hold classes and crops! I guess I better start selling more scrapbooking supplies to help pay for this...LOL! So, does anyone want to host a gathering or workshop this summer?!

He actually downsized from the one he wanted to get which is a good thing. He claims he can get this in the garage, but I'll believe it when I see it. Of course, he's an engineer, so I'm sure he has the layout designed on his computer. Speaking of layouts, I better get to mine for the LOAD challenge. I'll leave you with a photo of me in the front loader. He thinks I'm a complete goof ball!

LOAD #21

2009-05-21T22:22:00.000-07:00

I'm having so much fun with this set and my old photos! The Heartfelt Whimsy collection makes me happy! I did break out the Waxy Flax tonight and inked some edges, but this layout still took less than 30 minutes from start to finish. I'm now going to go to bed early!

LOAD #20

2009-05-20T18:56:00.001-07:00

As soon as I saw Heartfelt Whimsy in the new Idea Book, I knew that I had to pull out my old Let's Get Together papers! This is from the Level 1 kit that I received when I became a CTMH consultant a couple years ago...LOL! Hey, at least I'm using it now. :-) This page went together so fast; I even refrained from inking the edges of the Stickease. I was all about a quick and easy tonight. The longest part of the process was finding the photos...I need a new system. Anyway, these are really old and really bad, but they still let me tell the story of my fun summers in Moscow with Neal, Angie, Pat and Katie. Ahhh...the good old days!

LOAD #19

2009-05-19T22:02:00.000-07:00

This is the second page to the LO I started yesterday. I really like this sketch. I was able to finish it while my club members were putting together their Tickled Pink kits. It was a fun night! I only wish I wasn't so exhausted. My cats kept waking me up all night and morning; now it is slightly after 10pm and I can't function. I'm posting this and going to bed!

LOAD #18

2009-05-18T22:21:00.000-07:00

I'm back to the Unforgettable kit...I really am determined to use all of the paper this month! I can't believe how much I still have left over. Anyone who says they can't afford to scrapbook hasn't purchased a CTMH paper pack! I decided to use the exact same sketch from the Tickled Pink kit; it's fun to see how different a LO can look based on paper and the placement of embellishments.

LOAD #17

2009-05-17T11:12:00.001-07:00

After working on the 2nd 1/2 of my LO, I decided that I didn't like how the title turned out, so I went back and made some changes to the first page. I'm much happier with it now. It says, "I am...45 pound lighter!" This page is a celebration of my accomplishment in losing weight and gaining a healtier lifestyle. The journaling is in white gel pen, so it may be difficult to read. The journaling strips say, "I am...fit!" "I am...healthy!" "I am...so happy!"

Now I'm off to spend the rest of my day doing chores, exercising, and grading essays...fun times!

LOAD #16

2009-05-16T20:16:00.000-07:00

I'm playing with my before and after photos and the new Tickled Pink set. I'll finish the 2nd page with journaling strips tomorrow.

LOAD #15

2009-05-15T21:49:00.000-07:00

I'm so exhausted today, so I'm really glad I only had to find and trim photos plus add my journaling. Once again, I didn't have a plan for my journaling, I simply started writing. What I discovered is that I'm thankful that the Schaub's still own the ranch as it is the last family home from my childhood that I can still visit.

So, why am I so exhausted, you ask? I was up until nearly 1am cleaning the 3 Ps from my cats. Kit also woke us up at 3am. Apparantly, she didn't get the memo that this is high on my list of why I DIDN'T have kids! I'm cranky when I don't get enough sleep. Argh!

LOAD #14

2009-05-14T23:30:00.000-07:00

Oh, my goodness, it is so late! Neal and I went to Heaven Can Wait at OLT tonight and didn't get home until after 11pm. Luckily, I had an old make-n-take that just needed photos. I really need to organize my photos this summer to make them easier to find. Okay...must sleep!

LOAD #13

2009-05-13T20:08:00.000-07:00

The irony of this LO is that the prompt dealt with finishing this project, avoiding procrastination, finishing what you start...um...it's been almost three years since I started this project! Oh well, better late than never.

LOAD #12

2009-05-12T20:21:00.000-07:00

This would look a lot better had I printed the picture on photo paper, but I didn't have time to bother with that tonight. I'm going to upload this LO and go exercise for an hour and a half while I watch the Biggest Loser finale! I hope Tara wins!

I used a photo from my day on Enterprise because September 2006 began and ended with amazing Star Trek experiences. I'll write more about that on my final reflection LO. It feels good to finally be finishing this album!

LOAD #11

2009-05-11T23:19:00.000-07:00

I saw Star Trek again today at the IMAX theatre, so it is only fitting that I do another Star Trek LO from my Learn Something New Every Day project. September 2006 was a major month for me as a Star Trek fan!

LOAD #10

2009-05-10T17:28:00.000-07:00

I'm off to a Shakespeare workshop in Seattle so don't have time to write much. Good news is that I'm back on track with exercising! The prompt for this LO perfectly fit my needs for today! It's amazing how something that should have been done three years ago spoke to me so clearly today...wow!

LOAD #9

2009-05-09T21:22:00.001-07:00

Yikes! I'm in a hurry. I'm late for a date with Neal in Middle Earth!

LOAD #8

2009-05-08T18:00:00.000-07:00

I had a little more time to work on my LO today since I stayed home from school so the mobile vet could come over. I used the Reflections book to find a sketch and continued to use up my Unforgettable kit...I still have a lot left!

I'm going to the school play tonight and need to leave in a few minutes, so I don't have time to write a full review of the Star Trek. Let's just say I loved it! I can't wait to see it in IMAX this weekend.

Here's a photo of my poor baby getting shaved. I'll post the "after" shots tomorrow...she looks so funny!

LOAD #7

2009-05-07T20:53:00.000-07:00

I'm back to 12x12 today. The prompt challenged me to use ribbon, and I really did intend on using more when I started this LO, but I'm anxious to go to Star Trek tonight and wanted to get it done ASAP! With that said, I'm heading out to the movie right now!

LOAD #6

2009-05-06T22:45:00.000-07:00

The Learn Something New Every Day prompt for 9/27/06 was "Something I shouldn't forget...." Talk about a perfect prompt as my journal is completely empty for that day! I honestly have no memory of the day because I didn't write anything down. My guess is that I was busy packing for my trip and writing lesson plans since I was leaving for LA the next day directly from school. But, I didn't take the time to write it down, so I don't know for sure. I have no memory of what I was feeling or thinking, because I didn't take two seconds to jot down a sentence or two in my journal. This is such a valuable lesson! So many of us put off journaling, but what happens when you go back a month or year or THREE years later? Memories fade if we don't record them in some form in the here and now. I challenge you all to start keeping a journal or blog or daily Facebook/Twitter update. Anything to record your memories so that they aren't lost forever. Something I shouldn't forget...write it down!

Exercise Update: Sadly...nothing to report.

LOAD #5

2009-05-05T22:18:00.000-07:00

Since our challenge today was to go with the flow, I put away my cruise photos and pulled out the Learn Something New Every Day project I've been working on for THREE years! I am in a Star Trek mood this week as I anticipate the new movie opening on Friday, and my Sci-Fi class finished watching Star Trek: Of Gods & Men today. I decided to go with the flow and finish the last Star Trek LO for that project since it was on my mind! At some point, I still need to journal about my conversation with Grace Lee Whitney and my interview with the lead singer of Electric Crush, but at least one moment of that day is documented. I only have 9 pages left to finish this mini-album. I finished many of them during the 2/08 LOAD challenge on BPS, so I think I need to make it my goal to finish the rest of them this month.

Exercise Update--it was raining this afternoon, so Kristina and I didn't do our walk. I did come home and exercise for an hour (eliptical, back align and abs).

LOAD #4

2009-05-04T23:09:00.001-07:00

Here is my 4th LOAD challenge. The goal was to incorporate squares in the LO...thank goodness for CTMH preprinted pages! I only had 1/2 to get this done and I finished with time to spare, which was really good because my card reader flaked out on me and I had to restart my computer.

I gave a card workshop to a great group of ladies tonight. It was a prize in a charity auction to support the drama club!

Exercise Update--due to the workshop, I didn't have time to work out tonight, but Kristina and I did take a long walk around the school this morning during planning.

LOAD #3

2009-05-03T23:09:00.001-07:00

Wow! I was cutting it close tonight. I spent the whole evening getting ready for a card workshop I'm giving tomorrow. It wasn't until 10:20pm that I realized I hadn't done a LO yet. Thank goodness for CTMH level 1 kits! I used the Unforgettable kit with a little stamping using Comments (I LOVE this new stamp set!). I didn't plan out my journaling, so I ended up going on a bit of an anti-smoking rant...LOL! Now I'm going to bed!

National Scrapbooking Day Mystery Hostess Winner!

2009-05-03T14:12:00.000-07:00

LOAD #2

2009-05-02T20:10:00.000-07:00

I had a great National Scrapbooking Day! Five great women came over and did some make-n-takes and browsed through the new Idea Book. It was a lot of fun, but I'm really tired. I cleaned up the make-n-take area before dinner, but I'm leaving the rest of it until tomorrow. :-) I did finish my LO for today...thank goodness most of it was complete and all I had to do was add the embellishments and journaling. These photos are really bad, so I'll have to retake them before uploading them to my CTMH website. I just wanted to get them up here for the LOAD challenge.

LOAD #1

2009-05-01T22:29:00.000-07:00

Well, as bad as I feel right now--splitting headache--I am happy to have my first layout uploaded for the May LOAD challenge. This is the first page of CTMH's new Moon Doggie Workshop on the Go. I absolutely love these papers and can't wait to use the rest of the packet with my Disney Cruise photos. I'm also very thankful that we went to Mexico last year and not this year! I was home all day, so I spent much more time on this LO than I will on most of my other LOAD pages. The 2nd page is almost finished; I just need to add the final embellishments and journaling tomorrow.

I'm looking forward to the big National Scrapbooking Day extravaganza at my house tomorrow! I still have a lot to do to get ready...I better get to it!

Gamer Girl to the Rescue!

2009-04-28T18:20:00.000-07:00

All I can say is thank goodness for books! This was the perfect escape I needed after a rough afternoon. I came home and finished Gamer Girl by Mari Mancusi.

Here’s the back-story. Nerdy as I am, I wanted nothing more than to go to Barnes & Noble for my birthday on Friday. As usual, I stalked the Shakespeare shelves, because one can never have enough Shakespeare books! This time around, I picked up a couple by Barry Edelstein: Thinking Shakespeare and Bardisms. I then trudged over to the YA section, but I really wasn’t feeling it. I told my husband that I was a little shocked that I wasn’t in a YA mood; I’ve been teaching teenagers for 19 years and can’t remember a time when I haven’t been excited about some new YA book or author. I decided to move on to the Sci-Fi section when the cover of Gamer Girl grabbed me by the eye and shouted READ ME! Can’t say no to that. I got to the “Squee!” on the back cover and knew I had to read this book. On a side note, I wonder if the author is a Pottercast fan, too. Anyway, my final purchase of the evening was my real birthday gift—Star Trek Scene-It! I can’t wait to play that game. I wish my friends were as geeky as I am; I guess I’ll simply have to take it to school and play with my Sci-Fi class.

Okay, I guess that’s enough exposition, now on to my review. Gamer Girl tells the story of Maddy, a sophomore who recently moved to NH after her parents’ divorce. We all know how bad it can be to be the new kid in school, but imagine being forced to change from a “gothy, but approachable,” outfit to old lady jeans and a unicorn sweatshirt! I’m old and that would mortify me! Maddy’s situation goes from embarrassing to humiliating when her grandma walks into school with her and inadvertently insults the most popular kid in school. Turns out he is also the biggest bully and now Maddy is his prime target. It really is no surprise that she immerses herself in the online game Fields of Fantasy, which is a birthday gift from her dad. Virtual life is much more appealing than real life when you are known as Freak Girl at school. As an avid YA reader, I found the book to be very predictable, but I didn’t care! I loved watching Maddy discover what I already knew. Plus, the description of the game play felt like a cross between WOW (World of Warcraft) and LOTRO (Lord of the Rings Online). As a gamer girl, I must admit to laughing out loud at some of the jokes that only the geeky can truly appreciate. Overall, this is a very fun book and is a quick read. I look forward to giving book talks about it tomorrow and adding it to my classroom library.

Amazing Week

2009-04-26T19:06:00.001-07:00

I can't believe it has been a week since I last posted! It has been a very full week, so I'll try to be brief. Alas, I did not meet all of my creativity challenges. I was able to finish my second card for the CTMH unit swap today. It is a direct scraplift of the Just Right card from Jeanette Lynton's blog. The sketch is from the new Wishes book; I can't wait to get it! I used the following new products which will be available to order on May 1st: Sweet Baby (C1359), Comments (D1359), and Animal Cookies Creative Basics (X5807).

I didn't complete all of my creativity challenges because I was so busy this week. I wasn't able to work on the Tickled Pink kit, but I did get my photos printed. So, I inadvertently finished the two page kits! Those will be my first two LOs for the LOAD challenge in May. I must finish them for my big party on Saturday!

I celebrated my birthday on Friday! My friends and husband made it a very special day. Several of my friends came over to scrapbook on Saturday, so I feel like I had two birthdays this year! I am so blessed to have such amazing people in my life!

I completed my first creativity challenge!

2009-04-19T20:20:00.000-07:00

Woo hoo! I finished my swap card. It may not look like much, but it took a lot more time than I thought it would. I'll put 34 of these in the morning mail.

So, this is a little sneak peek from the new CTMH Idea Book that is being launched on May 1st. This is the Animal Cookies Creative Basics paper. It is so cute. I used the new stamp set Sweet Baby everything but the "UR" which is from the Be True stamp set.

I'm not a card maker, so this was my second attempt at a card for the swap. My first attempt was a total reject! LOL! I'm showing it here simply so you can see the back of the patterned paper. The back of the small flower print is Clover Meadow. I really like the color combination in these papers.

Okay, I'm off to set my creativity challenge for the week.

Amys Creative Corner

I love the launch of a new CTMH Idea Book!

Ready for Some Craft Time

Nikki Sivils CHA Release

Creative Weekend!

Visit my new blog--Studio Scrapping!

Studio J Boot Camp 2011

Studio J Video Tutorials

More Studio J Tutorials

Creating & Embellishing Journaling Strips in Studio J

Face lift courtesy of Studio J's wrinkle tool!

Getting Started with Studio J Part 2

Getting Started with Studio J Video Tutorial

Sign Up for Studio J Online Scrapbooking...it's FREE!

Amazing Giveaway on Teresa Collins' Blog

Mockingjay and Scrapbooking

My Favorite CTMH Product?

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1st Order as a Studio J Member!

You Make Me Happy

Autumn/Winter 2010 Idea Book Sneak Peek

Family Photos

I need more time!

CTMH Customer Appreciation Sale Starts Today!

More Studio J Layouts

Zippidee-Doo-Da!

Help me enter a CTMH contest!

A couple more You Rock layouts!

A Library of Memories Week 1

Finished Photo Freedom & Started LOM!

Why Scrapbooking Matters

Live Out Loud!

Design Your Life @ BPS

New Paper--You Rock!

Happy New Year!

Celebrating Christmas

Studio J Sneak Peek

Creativity Challenge Update

The Passing of Jim Rohn

I'm shocked!

Learn Something New Day 10

Learn Something New Days 7-9

Creativity Challenge Update

Learn Something New Days 3-6

Learn Something New Every Day

Creativity Challenge Update

His name was James

Shhh…Halloween Card Sneak Peek!

Digital LO vs Studio J!

Wolf Haven

Mt. Rainier Hike

Creativity Challenge

This is a Graduation Trip?

On the Trail at Multnomah Falls

Crazy for Shakespeare

Slowest Scrapbooker...Ever!

Weekend Challenge = 2 Down + a Sketch

Photoshop Class

I'm back!

LOAD #31 ~ It's Over!

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The Big Orange Beast!

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