New Pages

I seem to have lost whatever scrapbooking "edge" I might have had once upon a time and darn it if I can't seem to find it. I think I've decided to look into taking an online class to see if I can (re)spark my creativity but in the meantime - this is what I did today.

credit: Jen Wilson's Fronzen Tundra

Credit: Shawna Clingerman's Power Puff Girls

Looking at them again, they aren't as bad as I first thought but they definitely lack "something".

My Puddle Girl

credit: Dani Mogstadt "Don't Rain on My Parade"


And the rest.....





And in case you are wondering - boots wash up in the washing machine quite nicely. When she took these off I actually poured the muddy water out of them. Eeeeeew! :)

New Page

Tonight, a little more than two months after I received it for my birthday, I finally got around to uninstalling my Photoshop Elements 4 program (it has never worked properly on Vista) and installing Photoshop Elements 7. It took more than an hour to accomplish this task. For some reason, the uninstall took forever!

The new format of PSE is so completely different! Eeeeeek! It took me a bit to figure out the basics but I did manage to create a page. I'm not 100% crazy about it but at least I did a page, right? To be fair, I did see a page very much like this in a magazine today. Not exactly like, of course, but I did try to mimic it. Not sure it worked for me but hey - at least it's something. I seem to have my own style though I'd be hard pressed to tell you what it is...."ridiculously simple" comes to mind but you know, it's a style that works for me. :)

Still - you gotta give me credit for trying something new. :)

credit: Dani Mogstadt's kit "Don't Rain on My Parade"

Keeping Busy as My Mind Settles

I am completely wiped out. It's been a long few months around here and emotions have been running high. Last night was the icing on the cake and I expected to be riding the high for days. However, as it turns out, I think I have "election let-down". It's like that feeling you have on your birthday or Christmas was the excitement is high but then - suddenly, it's over. And you are left standing there amidst all the wrapping with this amazing gift and yet - also this sadness that it's over. Election day has come and gone and I could not be happier with the results for the country and for my state but still - it's such an odd feeling to be done with that part of it.

I'm left standing here saying "Now what? Now what do I blog about? Where is the new data on the poll sites that I've been checking many times a day?" Oh there will be more in the days, weeks, months and years ahead but for now - I feel a little hung over. :)

So what's a girl to do? Get together with her BFF's for some girl-talk and scrapping. I put together three pages though I do want to go back to the one of Kelton in his goggles to add some journaling. He was so cute last Saturday when we went out to rake leaves. It was a very windy day so both he and Kaylen wore their swimming goggles to keep "nature" from flying in their eyes. So, so cute! :)

I think the pages turned out pretty cute. But then, we all know I'm biased. :)

Credit: Stuffed by Shawna Clingerman, Libby Weifenbach & Melissa Bennett

Credit: Sometimes Called Falling In Love by Shawna Clingerman

Credit: Pink Elephants and All That by Shawna Clingerman

Pieces of Perfect

credit: Pieces of You by Micheline Martin and Shawna Clingerman

These are the days....the moments....that we will remember all through our lives. Days like these truly are the "good stuff" of life.

New Pages

I've been busy being creative today and completely outside the loop of all things political. It was a nice change - just sitting around laughing with friends and being silly. Note to self: Must schedule in more of those days.

Here are my latest masterpieces:

Credit: Boy of Mine Kit by Melany Violette
*Photo dated September 24, 2007

Credit: Seasonal Scraps by Jen Wilson
*Photo dated October 22, 2007

Credit: Clowning Around by Dani Mogstadt
*Photo dated April 15, 2007

Credit Princess of LaLa Land by Shawna Clingerman and Lauren Grier
*Photo dates March 2008

Credit: Fresh Air by Dani Mogstadt
*Photo dated May 2002

Credit: Sassy Pants by Dani Mogstadt
*Photo dated September 29, 2008

New Page

credit: Babalicious By Shawna Clingerman, Julie Billingsley and Libby Weinfenbach

and

Still One of the Gang by Lauren Grier, Shawna Clingerman & Micheline Martin

Revamped Page

I think I like this version better than the first. :)

credit: Star Brite by Shawna Clingerman and Lauren Grier

Of course, now that I look at them both - I think I like them both but for very different reasons. Isn't it weird how they can look so completely different?

Digital Scrapping

What do you need to start digitally scrapbooking? A computer, Internet access (at least to download kits but once they are on your computer, you don't need access to the web to use them) and some sort of program that will allow you to work with graphics. I use Photoshop Elements.

Here are some helpful links to get you started:

How to make a basic layout:

A list of tutorials for Photo Shop Elements

ScrapGirls.com Learn lots of fun tricks!

Freebie kits can be found all over the place. The best way to find some is to type in "free digital scrapbook" or "Freebie digital scrapbook" into your favorite browser. To get you started, you can always visit Shabby Princess. When you are ready to buy a kit (or two or three or four), there are tons and tons of digital scrapbooking stores on-line to visit. One of my favorite designers, Shawna Clingerman, sells her kits through Sweet Shoppe Designs. The kits range in price but seem to hang out around the $7 range. The really nice thing about digi-kits is even if you use the elements and papers, you still have them because you are only copying them into your project. So that $7 can stretch a very long way. :)

Hmmm...what else? I know for some people digi-scrapping is a no-go because they love to touch all the elements/embellishments and papers and that's great but for me, I love digi scrapping because I can manipulate things, change things easily, resize, etc. For me - it's easy, fun and I love it! I can't believe how long I've been away from it - and I can't believe how good it feels to be back doing it. Just like coming home! :)

(And if you haven't seen them yet, I did five new pages this morning. Scroll down and take a look. :) )

Five New Pages from this Morning

My friend, Jeri, and I decided to get together this morning for some scrap-time while her two girls and Kaylen played. I was amazed what how much I accomplished in 2.5 hours. WOW!! Check them out!

Color My Mood by Shawna Clingerman, Lauren Grier

Credit: Princess of LaLa Land by Shawna Clingerman

Credits: Pile of Scribbles and Funk by Shawna Clingerman

Credit: Boys Rawk by Mindy Teresawa

credit: Out Loud by Shawna Clingerman

L'il Gardener Girl

credit: Shawna Clingerman's Grass Stain kit.

Scrapping Good Time

I haven't scrapped in - oh about a million years and I am as rusty as they come in regards to my creativity but I just had to take a break from reality tonight and figured I would try my hand at creating *something*. Anything.

So here it is. I created. Now I just have to find my groove. I've missed it. I wonder if I can remember how to do all those cool things I used to do. *sigh*'

Shout out to Shawna....are you proud of me? :)

Alert the Media!!

She Finishes TWO Pages in One Day. WAHOO!! This photo was taken at Kelton's 5th birthday party which was held on April 13th; the evening before we headed up to Seattle for our 5 week stay. I think this photo is sweet and it's all too rare I have a picture of myself with the kids so I really love it. :)

credit: Clowning Around by Dani Mogstadt

Princess Cool

This is the page I created today at the scrapbooking day for my MOMS Club. Seems to me that after four hours I would have more to show for myself but I guess it's hard to show side-splitting laughter and good food.

credits: Power Puff Pixies by Lauren Grier and Shawna Clingerman

And now I want to scrap, scrap, scrap but there is just no way I can since the kids are going nutty and I think Dakota would having some not so nice things to say if I stayed glued to the computer. *sigh*

What a Weekend!

I don't have much time tonight to go into all the details of the weekend so I'll just bullet point things and then elaborate on it tomorrow. (This of course is more for me since I am very likely to forget to talk about things if I don't write them done. Mommy-brain: isn't just a myth. :)

Friday I took the kids to a new play place. It was SO much fun! I took some pictures so I'll have to upload them so I can share a few.

Saturday Kaylen and I ran some errands while Dakota and Kelton stayed home and cleaned the carpets (check off on the To Do list!). Kaylen and I made a post office run to ship a birthday gift (check from the list) and we even went and picked up two other birthday gifts (check and check) and then today I shipped the final one that needed shipping from last weeks To Do list (check!).

We went to our great-niece's 2nd birthday party.

Today we played in the yard and then ran a few quick errands. We settled on a birthday theme for Kelton's 5th birthday and picked up a few party-type things and a decoration for the cake. I also work on, and completed, his party invitation. (YAY ME!) I even uploaded it and got it sent to the printers for printing. (Are you impressed?) Here's what it looks like:


Hmmm..that list isn't as impressive as it feels it should be. I'm sure I'll think of others things we did so that I can share but for now, Dakota is impatiently waiting for me so that we can watch The L Word. More tomorrow!

You are all cordially invited to......

....my pity party. Aren't you the lucky ones. :)

I'm tired. I know that. So therefore it stands to reason that I am not coping very well. The last few nights have been filled with precious little sleep for me and I dare say, probably not a lot for my little girl either. She seems to be in the midst of some gigantic developmental growth. Her verbal skills have grown by leaps and bounds in the past few days (she is cranking out some four and five word sentences and using tons of new words) so I think her mind is just so busy that it is keeping her from staying asleep for longer than oh say...30 minutes at a stretch.

All. Night. Long.

For. Days. On. End.

She talks and cries out seemingly non-stop all night long. She thrashes around in the bed. It's incredibly frustrating to have a lot of patience for it at 2:30 in the morning when it had been going on since way earlier and I still have hours left to go. And naps for her? Forget it. The past three days she was napping for a mere 30 minutes, even though she is no where near ready to give up naps. She wants to sleep, I get that. I want her to sleep. Scratch that....I NEED her to sleep. I NEED sleep.

Ok - so the groundwork is down for you - I'm tired and my darling little one is the reason.

My pity party? I guess I'm just feeling like a loser these days (probably one day less than the sleep deprivation has been happening but whatever...I still feel like a loser). I feel like one of those girls in high school that no one wanted to be friends with who, if given half the chance was probably a really great person. And yet, people couldn't get past her ugly glasses or stringy hair or whatever it was that the popular crowd considered loser material.

I know I'm being sensitive. I get that. But is it really that much to ask that my posts in message groups and boards get responses equal to the responses other people get? Is it *really* necessary for one person, who seems to have an issue with me, to attack every freakin' thing I say when I respond to someone else's posts? I'm just saying that I don't recall an MD following HER name and it did indeed follow the name of the person who gave ME the advice I was passing on (and properly credited). Why do some people feel the need to throw barbs every chance they get? This is exactly why I stopped posting and responding on this particular group for a long, long while (and because of the exact same person) and yet why should *I* have to stop posting? Why does someone else have free reign to be an ass to other people?

I'm just tired. Normally it would (probably) roll off my back but today it really hit me hard. It made me feel like a loser - like I have nothing of value to add. I know that it's not true. I'm not that pathetic but for a while today I was (am) feeling *that* pathetic. And you know the kicker? I usually hit delete whenever I see a posting come through from her. I have no need to read her crap and yet for some reason, I scrolled through it (and her posts are longer than the freakin' Gettysberg Address! I guess she has a lot to be right about.) today to see the "not so subtle" attack on what I had posted.

And...in case that isn't enough..when I start feeling like I'm a loser I start to focus on all the other things that suck. Why don't I have many friends in real life? I used to have so many friends (and therefore know I can make and keep friends) but then, after kids and staying home with them, I just don't. I have a few mommy friends I talk with and one really good friend I talk with daily but I'm missing the connection from having friends you can just call up and say "Hey - what are you doing? Wanna meet for coffee?" I know it all changes once you have kids - I get that. I'm just feeling lonely. Isolated.

And again - I know this all comes from being tired. I just have to get it out.

Please, please, please - let me get some decent sleep tonight. Life always feels, and looks better, when you get sleep.

Sleep.

Totally under-rated.

Seriously.

And on another front - I scrapped tonight. Check it out:

credit: Unamused Boys kit by Jessica Bolton

New Pages

Wow - my scrapbooking skills are feeling rusty tonight. I guess that's what happens when you don't do something for a few weeks. I'm not as "in love" with these pages as I have been with pages in the past but I'm pretty happy with them. I clearly need to "get my groove back" though.

I used to scrap every night after the kids were in bed but lately, I've been spending the hours between kid bedtime and Dakota arriving home from school to catch up on the many blogs I read. I'm not sure how it happened but I'm finding the list of blogs I read increasing exponentially. So much for my goal of parring down. :)

So - without further ado; here they are:

credit: Grey Day kit and calligraphy heart by Shawna Clingerman

Journaling reads:

Your first time flying a kite all by yourself!! You were so proud as the kite soared higher and higher. The rain was falling from the sky and the wind was blowing but you held steady. The joy on your face was incredible and the excitement in your voice made both Mama and me laugh. Each and every time we watch you experience something for the first time we are reminded of how precious, and how fleeting, childhood really is.

So fly kites, baby boy. Fly then often and fly them high because you, my love, were made to soar!

credit: Cabana Boy kit by Dani Mogstadt