Calendar pages

on vacation

I brought my PSPX disc with me to play with while on vacation since I never seem to find the time to experiment with it at home. Forgot to bring the serial number as well though. So much for that idea. I'm just going to have to sit down & make myself use it. But when I am home I want to get scrapping, not figure out a new version of my software.

I want to get scrapping now. I found a site that has 2 page layout blueprints & I printed them out & am looking at some to adapt for the quick pages. I've got several other ideas as well. Bought a graph paper notebook today & started writing them down so I don't forget.

Totally missed the chat today. Lost track of time while Brad was napping & i was dealing with the boys. Derek very clingy today & Drake being standoffish. I think he is having nightmares or something because he is talking about 'scary things'. Then Mom says dinner is ready & I realize it is almost 6pm. I never heard back from Amy to my PM so I wasn't sure what was going on with the chat.

made it!

All 8 layouts finished! I need to write up the descriptions but that is all that is left. I'm glad I got it all done for this month. I'm already eyeing up the kits I want to use next month. Bought some stitching elements from CG essentials. Need to download them but haven't got the links yet.

progress so far

I have completed 5 of the 8 pages I need to do and 2 of the 3 pieces of word art. Not bad. I'll get the 6th page & the 3rd piece done before we leave on Friday. I had told them I might only get half the stuff done this month so I feel good I'm doing more.

I had a neat idea for a layout during MOPS (they were readin Ephesians & Titus to us ) to get 24-25 photos on one 12x12 page. I did a shoe layout with it. But I also did a quick page. Brad gave me some suggestions for the matching page, so it should go together fast.

It needs to. I *have* to write that article this weekend & I won't write it while I hav epage ideas in my head.

busy

I'm now a moderator at ScrapMommies. I run 2 challenges a month & co-host a weekly chat. I also do an article for the newsletter.
I'm on Nightwolf Designs CT - did a mini album
I'm on another design team creating quick pages. I have to do 8 a month, but I get a commission on the sales! I;ve got 4 done so far this month.

I've got to get going on the article. I need to finish it before we leave for vacation.

I need to print out the folder version of my recent layouts & finish the 2 I am working on also before we leave or it will bug me the whole time we are there.

Drama

Grandpa

Where is Drake

That Hat

My latest DET contest entry

That Smile

AllBoy

Picture

Wearing Many Hats

Playing in the Hay

Done for the sketch challenge on DSD

Pumpkin Patch

Done for DSD sketch challenge

Swingin

Done for DET Boot Camp challenge

10 Things About Me

Done for ScrapMommies All About Me challenge

Applied

I applied for the Design team & to be a moderator at ScrapMommies. I really like that site. I'd like to be a bigger part of it, helping out. I like their kits & it would be nice to work with them. I've been only buying fundraising kits lately, so some free kits would be nice.

It's also be nice to moderate some place where people are not at each other's throats all the time.

Girls Night Out

Done for a chat challenge at Scrap Mommies

Quite Day by the River

Done for ScrapMommies Element challenge

Boys & Leaves

Done for DSP's October color challenge

Autumn Activites

For 3Scrapateers color challenge

Who are they? and Baby Bucket

A couple of LOs for challenges on the ScrapMommies site

This one is for the AAM challenge

This one is for the sketch challenge. It's a couple of my very favorite pictures of Drake

Before & after

Some LOs from my DSU 190 class & DET Boot Camp. Before & after constructive criticism
before

after

before

after

before

after

before
after

Xmas 2003

For DSD's scraplift challenge

Some recent LOs

This one was done for a Journaling Challenge at digiscrapdivas

This one was done for a scraptlift challenge at digiscrapdivas

This one was done for a scraplift challenge at scrapmommies

Determination

Derek spent a great deal of time trying to get the shovel to stay up in the tree branch.  He was so intense & determined as he went about it.

I used the DSP Sunshine kit and fonts Bradley hand & Signboard

Then & Now

My Then & Now mini album pgs 1-6

pgs 7-12

Music Man

2 versions of a LO I did for the scraplift challenge on digiscrapdivas.com

Getting Organized

I went through my installed fonts & moved 70% of them to my new My Fonts file & categorized them. I have a couple dozen serif fonts that are the EXACT same thing under different names.

I reorganized my scrap folders to include website under the kit folders & then moved kits into the right folders

I've visited the 6-8 websites I've been checking out & posting on for the past couple of weeks & made a list of each site's challenges & chats that I like. I've got them all arranged on a calendar now. I plan to spend the rest of the month visiting the sites, checking out the stuff & seeing what I end up doing regularly. I've already dropped a few sites. I don't want this to get out of hand. DSP, DSD, 3S & Scrap Mommies seem to be the ones I like most, though RAK & POTH have possibilities.

I think I may sign up for 3 classes at DSP this October - Intro to PSP, Layout Design & Creating Word Art. This will set me back $65 when Brad's job is not all that secure but if I don't take them now, who knows when I might get the chance. Brad & I have talked about it. We're both more of the 'live the high life while you can' sort than the 'start saving now' sort. This is not good in the long run but the loan the business was hoping for has come through so I've decided to be an optimist and take the chance.

Now I need to wade through all my PSP links & sort out what is actually useful & what i have already printed out & what can be saved to my PC & clean the whole folder out. I don't know how Gizmo does it. She always has the greatest links & several times I've discovered I already had them too. I need to *use* them. But i want to get organized first.

Then I need to organize the crochet & cross stitch & quilt stuff. Someday...

Drake version 2.0

This is an updated version of the second page I ever created.  I shrank some things down, added the clips (by KT) and a small block of journaling.

Old Friends LO

I did this for the scraplift challenge on digiscrapdivas.com.  The pic is of my freaky friends & I in Detroit at our big meetup this past May.

A lot accomplished

Last night I changed the layout here to a more autumn feel and in the process the comment option came back.

Overnight I downloaded some filters for Virtual Photographer.

Today I created 3 background papers for a Ghosts & Goblins PTP on DSP. My first attempt at joining one. Background papers are the one thing I feel competant at creating. Elements not so much & ribbons not at all.

If Brad was able to dl the free papers from DSD I want to dot eh scraplift challenge tehre tomorow.

No more computer stuff after 8pm for me for awhile. I am fiarly sure that even just working on layouts is keeping me from sleeping well. I need to spend that time doing mindful meditation stuff like crochet or cross stitch and doing yoga. I know when I do those things I sleep so much better. That really cuts into my digi scrapping time though.

Lots of stuff downloaded

I was able to get the mega kits from DSD & DSP downloaded plus about a dozen more free kits I have been wanting, and 2 unabridged Brother Cadfael mysteries from audible.com. I'd still be dowloading that stuff if I had done it from home.

Somewhere along the way of my editing this layout I seem to have lost the ability to let people add comments. I have them turned on & set so anyone can make them but nothing comes up on the page when I look at it, even when I am logged out of blogger. I can only guess I deleted something onteh template I used for this template. This is the same as my Spirital Journal blog & I'm not looking for comments there. I'm not sure how to get them back so I may need to redo this layout.

Not sure when I will find the time to do that though....

new sites

I decided to join a few more scrapbook forums, to give me opportunities for more challenges & contests. I've joined www.scrapbook-bytes.com, www.sotbox.com & www.digiscrapdivas.com. There are a bunch more out there but these are the ones I hear the most about on the elist I am on.

I'm going to see about going into the office tomorrow & using Brad's T-1 connection to do some downloading. I have 2 audiobooks plus some kits I've purchased. I can just email links to him& he'll do it when he finds time during the day but I'd sorta like a few hours to myself to just surf at speed & really look around without all the tedious dial up crap.

Supposedly we are just 2 steps away from broadband but I've ranted about that elsewhere. It's best if I function on the belief that I will never see a conenction speed faster than 26.4. I get less tense that way.

DET contest LO

This is the LO I did for the DET contest at www.digitalscrapbookplace.com.  It is what I came up with after my scanner died & I felt like I had to produce something to justify the free kits.  I like it.  I was in a purple mood & this toned out nicely to purple.  The kit is tan - A Story to Tell. I got the idea when this pic came up on my screensaver.  I realized after I uploaded it that it really doesn't fit with the contest though.  DET members are supposed to scrap 5 kits at least a month & put the LOs on 3 other sites to display the kit to potential customers.  This LO does not do that.  First it iosn'teven the same color as the kit & second it uses one element & one background.  Hardly showcases the kit well.  My other idea wouldhave.  3 b&w pics of people we know are family members but are not sure who they are.  I was going to do them up as a cautionary tale on labeling you pictures.  Oh well, maybe next time.

bummer

My scanner is dead. I had a good idea of the DET competition layout but I need to scan some old pics for it. The scanner was a floor model we got for about $20 5 years ago & it hasnt seen much use so unless I can find a good deal like that again I don't think we'll be getting a new one any time in the near future.

I knew I didn't have a chance really of getting into the DET this time around so I'm not heartbroken to lose the opportunity. I just feel sort of bad because I got 2 free kits to use in the contest and since i am not going to be able to use them...unless I come up with another idea soon.. then I feel like I got them under false pretenses

Zodiac LOs

I made these with Lauren Bevin's zodiac kit.  The words "air", "fixed" & "cardinal" are by me.  The astological information on each LO comes from the children's reading on www.astro.com.

Ren Fest 2001 LOs

I've been wanting to scrap my 2001 visit to the Maryland Ren Faire for awhile now. I didn't think it would run to 5 pages but it did. I used Lauren Bevin's Live Life kit from digitalscrapbookplace.com.