Orlando Mini Album

So as usual, I am a very infrequent blogger. Guessing no one is reading anyway so it probably doesn't matter. If you are reading, please leave a comment so I know, OK? :o)
Anyway, here is my latest creation...the long-awaited Orlando Mini Album. I say that because all the pictures are from 2007! Here is the cover page. This is a very old Rusty Pickle chipboard mini that I picked up at CKC St. Paul many years ago. I used the October Afternoon Rocket Age collection Sprinklers on all the pages. I took the spray nozzle off and dripped them on from the tube. Also used here on the cover is a tag from We R Memory Keepers (Orlando - I cut off the top hangy part), a sticker from the American Crafts Amy Tangerine sticker book, some Prima flowers from my big tube and a cloud brad from Recollections.

This second page is pictures taken on the airplane. I used the picture of the clouds in place of background paper and added some clouds stamped with my Hero Arts Studio Calico stamps and punched out with my Fiskars cloud punches. The ink is from Jenni Bowlin for Ranger. I stamped out and punched a bunch of these so I could just add them in as needed. The stickers are from the Echo Park Splash collection kit.

For this page I just cut some of the EP Splash papers into flag banners and adhered them with the ends hanging off, kind of as a photo mat. Then I added this October afternoon label sticker to the top of the picture and it was done!

Here I cut a circle with my Creative Memories circle cutter. I cut it in half and adhered it to another piece of the patterned paper. Now it looks like a sideways purse. Oh well. Then I added my photo and another EP Splash sticker.

This picture is hilarious. Here I just cut a piece of the EP Splash border paper and adhered it so it was going off the edge of the page. Then I took my craft knife and cut the excess off. More stickers from the EP Splash collection finish it off.

Here I did the same thing with the EP Splash paper across the page and a bunch of various stickers from October afternoon, Bella Blvd., EP Splash and some old ones from Scenic Route.

Here I didn't use any patterned paper, just a couple bigger stickers from EP Splash and another of my Prima flower concoctions with a Basic Grey bling in the middle. I am mad because my journaling got smeared because of the shiny sticker surface. I used a Copic multiliner figuring it would work like a Sharpie, but it didn't. Oh well, lesson learned...

Here again, I didn't use any patterned paper, just EP Splash stickers and another Hero Arts/SC/Fiskars clouds.

EP Splash patterned paper and stickers.

EP Splash stickers, AC Amy Tangerine sticker, Hero Arts/SC/Fiskars clouds. LOVE those cloud punch/stamps together. (By the way all the ink is Jenni Bowlin.)

EP Splash stickers, Cosmo Cricket tiny Type, Prima flower and Papertrey Ink button.

This is the back cover page. I just treated it like a regular page. Here is a picture of my Grandma smoking a cigarette. Wish I would have gotten one of her NOT smoking, but I wanted one of her in the album in the context of the pool part of the trip. Oh well... Again it's the EP Splash stickers, Hero Arts/SC/Fiskars clouds and a Bella Blvd sticker finishes it off (Life is Good).

Just to brag a little...I have been done with my Christmas cards for about a month already. It really feels good to be ahead of the game. Also, I got about a month behind on Project Life, but I sat down this week and got it all caught up so that feels good too. However, in the process I realized that I hadn't taken a single photo for one of the weeks. I decided to just completely leave that week out of the album. I doubt anyone will ever notice, especially since nothing apparently happened that week. :o)

I've got a lot of projects brewing in the craft room, so hopefully I will be back soon to report on them all.

See ya peeps!
Melissa

I made a tray!

Hi! I've been crafting but nothing worth posting about until now...behold - the tray!!

This is something I wanted to do for a very long time and finally was able to accomplish! The tray itself is a 7 Gypsies printers tray. The insides are from a kit designed and sold by Kerri Bradford. I absolutely LOVE her style. Recently Kerri had a giveaway on her blog and I won $50 worth of die cuts/kits from her store so I was able to grab this kit along with a lot of other amazing stuff. It is called "This & That: Family". I chose it because it isn't holiday themed so I can leave it out all the time.

The kit contains the printable background elements and the cut files for your digital die cut machine. I own the Silhouette and would recommend it highly. It also includes a photo template for use in Photoshop as a clipping mask. Everything is already sized perfectly so all you do is print, cut, assemble and you are done! Kerri's got the links from her store to the blog posts which give all the details on how to use the kit. She also has video and written tutorials on her blog. This was really helpful to me in learning to use the clipping masks in Photoshop.

This piece has taken center stage in our living room and has even inspired a new addition to the color palette around here! Let me know if you have any questions.

Until next time,
Melissa

A Birthday Card

Well, I haven't posted in a while, but have been very busy crafting! I went to a scrapbooking retreat toward the end of July and got completely caught up with the girls dance albums. I also was able to get the books separated by girl. So now each of the three girls has their own dance album! I will try to get pics of the layouts posted sometime soon.

This is a birthday card I made for my father in law. He likes birds and wildlife - and even flowers, so it was nice not to feel trapped into using something completely "manly".

It's a 6x6 card using a kraft base. The bird is a print and cut shape from the Silhouette Store, designed by Echo Park and cut with my Silhouette (love that thing!). I used thick foam adhesive to pop up the birdie. Here are the details of the products used:

Cardstock - Bazzill, Archiver's and Close To My Heart; patterned paper - Basic Grey; die cut - Silhouette designed by Echo Park; Stamp - Close To My Heart; Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black and Antique Linen Distress by Ranger; Flowers - Petaloo and Prima; ribbon - Stampin' Up.

As a fun side note, I am a huge fan of Nichol Magouirk and Kerri Bradford. I entered a giveaway on Kerri's blog for her new site launch and I won $50 worth of products from her amazing store! Yay me!!

I will try to make it back soon with more stuff to share!


~Melissa

Birthday Fun!

In case I haven't mentioned this on the blog before, I am doing Becky Higgins' Project Life. I started in January and have kept up-to-date and current with it and am very proud of myself! In addition to the regular photos I decided to add in an extra 8.5x11 layout for special occasions and other events when I have a lot of photos to scrap. I am also adding in extra memoribilia in the 8.5x11 page protectors. Other than that, I am doing Project Life (PL) really straight forward. I've seen others who are not using the products that came with it or really getting fancy, but I am just sticking to the basics. The point of getting it in the first place was to make it easy for me to keep up with documenting everyday life for our family.

This layout was done on the front and back side of an 8.5x11 pice of kraft cardstock. At the bottom of the first page I stamped the word "together" but the ink was too light and it doesn't really show up in the picture. Also, I had to re-stamp "real life" and it wasn't lined up good so it looks kinda crappy, but that's OK because I'm not perfect! The borders are up on foam adhesive.

The pictures are so funny! It was my middle daughter I's birthday, but my youngest daugher S blew out her candles without permission! The photo caught S getting ready to blow and you can see I looking at her like "she isn't about to do what I think she is, is she?". The photo on the right is my husband sticking his fishy smelling hands in her face. She hates fish and fishy smells so the look of revulsion on her face is priceless.

With this second page I just cut strips of patterned paper for above and below the photos. I also fussy cut this sentiment out of the patterned paper from Echo Park's Little Girl collection and put it up on foam adhesive.

The photos here are also funny. In the left photo S was jokingly going to "hit" I and this photo caught it all in a hilarious way. On the right, I is checking on her birthday dinner. We had ravioli, which was her choice.

Here are the products I used: cardstock - Archiver's; patterned paper - Echo Park; cardstock borders - Martha Stewart Crafts; chipboard letters - Cosmo Cricket; stamps - Technique Tuesday; ink - Tsukineko and Close To My Heart.

I have plans for a card for my Grandma next so stay tuned!!

~Melissa

I'm On A Roll!!

Wow, I'm on a roll! Another card already...and not waiting until the last minute even. Here is the Father's Day card that all 4 of our "fathers" will be getting this year. What do you think of my photography? Is it horrible? I am using a point and shoot so I know that is one disadvantage. I took the above pic in direct sunlight. The detail pic below is indirect. Well, I will keep experimenting until I figure it out. Maybe eventually I will set up some kind of special area with lights if I keep blogging regularly.

I used the Silhouette to cut the star and create the sentiment banner strip. I used the print and cut feature, so easy! I also busted out the sew mini and stitched on the woodgrain paper with red thread to tie the red star into the design. I used the Papertrey Ink Mat Stack 4 die to cut the mat out of cork paper. I have had that cork paper for at least 5 years. Isn't it funny how you can hang on to something for so long and then all of a sudden you finally find a use for it? Makes a good case for hoarding, ha ha! Also used on this card: cardstock - SU; patterned paper - My Mind's Eye, Echo Park and Cosmo Cricket; ink - antique linen distress ink by Tim Holtz; cork paper - unknown.

I have big plans to create a 8.5x11 birthday scrapbook page insert for Project Life, so hopefully I will be back soon!

Have a great day!

~Melissa

I made a card!!

Hi everybody!

Yes, I made a card. I kinda had to. My hubby is attending a graduation party for the daughter of one of his co-workers and needed me to make one. I made two since we have another grad party coming up soon. I am really happy with how it turned out. I did a sketch first and then let creativity rule from there. It's hard to see in the picture, but I used a notebook lined background stamp on the yellow mat piece with light blue ink. Kinda gives it an academic feel with the staples and paper clip.

Truth is, I made three other cards since I blogged last. Mother's Day cards. I didn't have time to photograph them (and then blog them) since I had to take them straight from my craft room to the post office!! Nothing like waiting until the last minute!

Here's what I used on the card: cardstock - CTMH; patterned paper - Scenic Route (really old!); Stamp and Ink: Hero Arts; Print & cut - Silhouette (House of 3); Dies - Papertrey Ink; staples & paperclip - Tim Holtz.

Hopefully I will be posting again soon!

~Melissa

A Layout!!

Well, I've made a bunch of stuff since I posted last, but I have a hard time getting a picture and posting it on the blog for some reason. Oh well.

This layout is a scraplift of Nichol Magouirk's "From Start to Finish" layout from March 23rd, 2011. Here's a link to her original post. When I saw this design, I couldn't get it out of my mind. I had to replicate it with my own photos and supplies. I got the photo template from Kerri Bradford (Picture That - Go Long). The papers and stickers are mostly Echo Park - Little Girl collection. I also included some Sasafrass and KI Memories. Stamps are from Hero Arts (grid background) and Technique Tuesday (Ali Edwards Simply You).

As a side note, there is one photo of my daughter sleeping with a kleenex on her face which is quite disturbing. We have no idea to this day why she did it, and she is 13 now, and doesn't remember why either. I would love to go back in time and ask her and this time - write it down!!

Papertrey February Blog Hop Challenge

This is my first time ever doing a Challenge or a Blog Hop, so I am excited about this. I don't even use my blog hardly ever, but I am feeling more inspired lately, even if no one looks at it but me (and maybe my friends)!

Oh, and I apologize for the poor photo - I didn't finish the card until after it was dark, so I had to make due with bad lighting.

Ingredients: Cardstock - CTMH; patterned paper - My Mind's Eye; stamps - Papertrey Ink and My Mind's Eye; Ink - Papertrey Ink, Hero Arts and Ranger Industries; Dies - Papertrey Ink; Punch - Stampin' Up; felt and pin - Joann Etc.; other - twine.

Thanks for looking!

~Melissa

A Card I Made!

Here is a card I made a while back. I used PTI's Everyday Button Bits and Polka Dot Basics II stamps, the sentiment is SU, some cute felt buttons from my stash, CTMH cardstock, Cosmo Cricket Early Bird patterned paper, Marvy Giga Scalloped punch, Fiskars Apron Lace border punch, clear embossing powder and Ranger Distress Ink in Antique Linen. Hope you like it!

I Won!!

I forgot to say this in my last post. I was following Two Peas In A Bucket's coverage during CHA on Mellypea's blog. I love her warehouse walks. Anyway, she put up a bunch of videos previewing some of the newest collections. If you left a comment on the post you were entered to win some of the products. I commented on almost all of the videos and was lucky enough to win Jillibean Soup products. I am so excited and can't wait to see what I get in the mail! Surprises rock!

I do this all the time trying to win stuff. I've actually won stuff in the past. The last time I won was on the Diva Craft Lounge website. I won a Christmas paper pack from Paper Element (which is gorgeous and still waiting to be used by the way).

Right now I have my fingers crossed that my luck will continue and I will win the Fairy Friends stamps giveaway on the Pink Cat Studio blog. Wish me luck!!!

I'm So Excited

Hi! It's been a loooonnnnggggg time since I posted. Oh well, I'll try harder now that my blog looks pretty. I have a laptop now and hopefully will be getting photoshop elements soon, so that should help with posting pics of my cards and layouts. I also need to learn how to work this blog, so there will probably be a lot of trial and error along the way. I decided to keep a seperate log of fun and funny family things for journaling. I will use my blog for my scrapping, stamping and cardmaking now.

I am excited because I've been following all the new releases from CHA and other companies I have discovered recently. I just added a "blinkie" on my sidebar for Pink Cat Studio. They have a new release on August 6th and is very intriguing. It's the Fairy Friends stamp set. My little Sadie loves Tinkerbell and everything fairies, and I love Pink Cat Studio. I'm guessing this one will be a must-have set. Fun, fun, fun!!!

Living Up to My Title

Yes, I am frustrated. The last post I tried to put up got lost in cyberspace. I spent a lot of time on it and it chaps my hide. Oh well. I've mustered up the gumption to try again.

I tried to post about our bouts with pneumonia but I've worn that subject out in my mind. Suffice to say, we had pneumonia.

Sadie is funny. The other day she was rubbing the doggies belly (which is cute enough in itself) and spent a while studying the dogs private parts. After a while she said, "you're nakey" - which in Sadie language means the dog is naked. It was just so funny to think that her mind was trying to make sense of what she was seeing and the conclusion she came to which ended with a simple statement to the dog herself.

Went to my first stamp club last night. It was fun. I am going to a crop tonight so I am finally getting my creative fix which I have been needing badly. Yay!

Zoe got voted "best eyes" in her class at school. I guess they pick two girls and two guys. She will have her picture taken with the others and be featured in the yearbook. Who would have thunk that a kid of mine would be best anything as far as looks are concerned. Her eyes are beautiful, so at least I know these kids aren't stupid.

Okay, this JUST HAPPENED. Sadie walks in to the room and she smells bad. So I ask her if she is poopy. Initially she says no. I say I don't believe her. Then she says boldly ,"I POOPED MY PANTS!". She's never used that terminology before so I thought it was pretty funny. She does however, on a regular basis say "I pooped my butt" which I still think is funny every time. Hopefully she doesn't try to amuse everyone at church and MOPS with her sophomoric humor.

Went through Zoe, Isabel and Sadie's rooms and got rid of a mountain of trash. Now I have a ton of baby stuff I need to post on Craig's List. Stuff to donate to charity. Toys to bring to Immanuel. How is it that their rooms generate all this work for me? Ugh.

Our computer in the basement which is my arch enemy got infected with a nasty virus-like adware bug. At first we thought we would have to re-format and start over. Then I found a post on Cnet explaining how to get rid of this particular bug and the solution worked. I was kind of proud of myself for fixing it.

Got communication going with my MOPPETS. Got some feedback and we are going to discuss it as a team and make some decisions. Finally I feel like I am "doing my job" as MOPPET Coordinator. It feels good to have a handle on it and be in control of that stuff. It took a while, with being sick and missing meetings but now I feel confident in the role.

Well, I must go now and get my stuff ready for the crop. I wish I could bring everything. If I did it would take up a couple tables. I'd have to pay extra for that I am sure.

Oh yeah, I have a diaper to change too.

Sad Days Ahead for the USA

So the Dems are revelling in the glory of their victory in the Presidential election. Now they can finally shut up, right? I don't think so. I have come to realize that much of what dictates your political direction is your spirituality. In some cases, people do not have a spiritual life, and then seek something to fill the void. I think this is the case for a lot of liberals. Politics becomes their religion. They defend it as hard and fervently as I would my own faith in God. As a result, they will most likely continue to assault anyone who believes differently from them no matter what.

The results of this election scare me. Our country is drifting further and further away from what it was created to be. A place of freedom where governments function is to protect those rights and liberties. We are becoming a socialist society and I do fear for my children's futures.

Suffice to say, I will be praying that God will protect us and that He will guide our new President in all he does.

Poor Doggie, etc.

Took the dog to the vet yesterday for long overdue shots, nail trim, etc. Found out she has a bum knee and is extremely overweight. Dare I say, obese? Anyway, she is now on a diet. Special food, no cleaning up after Sadie :o( I will miss this greatly. If she doesn't lose weight she may need to have surgery. After hearing the price tag on it, I am confident this dog will lose weight. :o)

Sadie made it through an entire episode of illness without experiencing a bout of her dreaded reactive airway disease. Yeah!! It gives me hope that this thing really is something she will outgrow. It was also so nice not to have to deal with that pain-in-the-butt nebulizer. This is a huge praise God event in our lives!!!

Sadie said "chihuahua" last night in her sleep three times. It was funny. She is obsessed with the Chihuahua song by DJ Bobo, and the dogs in general. This passion is of course, being fueled by the recent Disney release of Beverly Hills Chihuahua. I think I will take her to see it during the day when no one else is in the theater so she can scream and run up and down the aisles, etc.

What else is going on? Zoe is at camp this weekend. I went scrapbooking last night. Finished my trip to the zoo mini acrylic album - just need to add some ribbons to the ring. It turned out cute! I also finished one page in Sadie's book. It's a "happy baby" page featuring a 5x7 portrait taken at 3 months. This one turned out cute too. Very simple. Adding more blog feeds to my iGoogle page. I like being able to see the new posts without having to surf to each blog. "Yes, I love technology...but not as much as you, you see!!"

My Blaaagh!

Oh dear, start a blog, then never update it. That is SO like me! Well, I found out on Thursday that our dentist wants all our money. Zoe needs phase 2 orthodontia to the tune of 5k, Isabel needs braces (luckily they can wait), and Sadie has two cavities that need to be filled under anesthesia in the hospital. I can tell you that none of the above is going to happen. I'll be looking for a new dentist now, thank you very much.

Some noteable things that happened recently include:

• Sadie said "churkey" (instead of turkey)
  
• Sadie said "to the rescue!"
• Sadie went on the "big girl swing" for the first time and we had a hard time getting her off of it.

I got the book "The Organized and Inspired Scrapbooker" by Wendy Smedley and Aby Garvey. Lain Ehmann reviewed it on her podcast and ever since I heard the review I kept thinking that I need that book. I got it at Archiver's with my 30% off coupon. It was well worth it. I am now in the process of analyzing my everyday life and what "inspires" me to scrapbook. I can see that my style and inspiration is never cut and dried so it will be interesting to see how I can organize my space to work with so many scenarios. I don't even have walls in my space so how I am going to actually accomplish anything I am not sure.

I have realized that my inspiration for scrapbooking (the reason I put a page together is based on many different sources). I remember a few years ago driving down the main road that you take to get to our house and I saw a dark brown wood garage with these beautiful coral/fuschia colored flowers planted along the edge and thinking what a gorgeous color combination that was. It made me want to create a page using those colors.

Other inspirational sources include: gorgeous photographs, patterns (circles are especially attractive to me), seasonal changes (spring and fall are my favorites) and photographs of family. With regard to family photographs, they inspire me to create layouts or mini-books to document those special times. I usually need time to come up with the "plan" for how I want to preserve them. I will usually see something in a magazine or products in a store that will give me the idea and I will run with it from there.

It's interesting that I have never taken the time before now to analyze the "why" of my scrapbooking. I know that I have a creative need to express. I also feel the motivation to document family events. So through the creative process so I feel like I am killing two birds with one stone. (Why do I use that expression? Yuk.)

I guess that's enough blathering for now.

The Angel Book

This was very surreal. I am still not sure what to make of it.

Last night Sadie pointed at a design on my shirt and said "angel". Although it wasn't actually a picture of an angel, I wondered why she would even think such a thing, or use the word. I said, "where did you hear about angels from?". She said, "the angel book". I said, "where is the angel book?" She got up and went to the drawer in the coffee table where we keep her books. The whole time she was digging in there I was trying to rack my brain thinking of any book she has with angels in it. Then I helped her dig and she said, "there it is!" It was a photo album with some pictures that Isabel and Zoe had taken a long time ago of goofy stuff. We put them in there for Sadie to enjoy. I opened it up and we looked through the photos of friends, her sisters, stuff animals, zoo animals, etc. Then we came to a picture of my mother. My mother passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2004, before Sadie was conceived. The picture didn't really show her face. She was in her basement doing laundry. I asked Sadie, "who's that?" Quickly she said Daddy. Then she seemed to think for a few seconds, then looked at me and said, "Grama". Whoa. That's heavy. How did she know that? Did she look at the photos recently and someone tell her it's Grama? I'm not sure. It's all very mysterious and fascinating. She's only 2 1/4 years old so anything can come out of a child's mouth at this age. It does make you wonder, though...

Diaper Rash

I hate diaper rash. It seems like Sadie is always battling it. I will be up to my ears in Balmex today.

Had a girls night last night. Pretty much flapped my gums and laughed more than I had in a long time. Got home to a dirty kitchen and brownies that were uncovered. That really annoyed me. Did they think the brownies would just magically stay moist and fresh without a protective covering?? So I did my motherly duty and added aluminium foil.

Based on last nights discussion with the girls, I decided we need to get a Costco membership. I went on the website earlier to check things out and guess what? They have scrapbooking stuff!! Bonus!

I have a blog! Now what???

Well, I have to say I have no idea what I am doing. Also, I have no idea why I am blogging. I mean, who cares about my boring life? Answer: no one.

But, out of selfishness I just wanted a "fun" place to be able to journal about my life and my family. Maybe this will help with my scrapbook journaling? You know, all those pages with pics and embellishments and NO journaling. Yes, it's true. Hence the name of my blog. That is the main source of my frustration. I want my journaling to be more "of the moment" to give it that real feeling of what was happening and the emotions involved.

But I will be blogging on other humorous and non-scrapbooking related stuff just to keep it interesting for myself. Yes, this is mostly (if not totally) for moi.

So, if you give a rats butt...check back later for more of my boring life.