Scrapping Out Loud

Race for the Cure thank you cards

2009-10-13T22:50:00.001-07:00

Did I mention I love my Gypsy? I made this card using my Gypsy and the George and Basic Shapes cartridge. I cannot take the credit for the shape. JenC, a wonderful member of the Cricut forum, created this cut. She did it on Design Studio. Because DS is not compatible with the Gypsy, I had to recreate the cut in my Gypsy. It took a while but it I like it and I learned a lot about my Gypsy. I used paper from Basic Grey's Valentine line from 2009. The ribbon is from Michael's and the beads are from Paper Studio.

If you want the cut file for Design Studio, go to Jen's blog. If you leave her a comment, she will email you the file. She has some really nice cut files. So grab a coffee, sit back and enjoy her blog.

On a side note: I am in the process of recording Gypsy videos for beginners. I should have them edit ted and up by this weekend.

LAST WEEK TO WIN WINTER WOODLAND

2009-10-05T19:07:00.000-07:00

Winter Woodland is ProvoCrafts 100th cartridge. To celebrate they are giving away 100 of this fabulous cartridge. All you have to do is go to the Cricut message board and reply to the "Cricut Celebrates Cartridge #100" in the Cricut chat forum. So go sign up and good luck!

I love my Gypsy

2009-10-04T20:39:00.001-07:00

I am so in love with my Gypsy! I am an SCAL user and I still love my SCAL. I had to use it this weekend to make my sign for the Race for the Cure board I made for our team. We had a fabulous time. If you want to know more about the race, go to SeeFluffyRun to get more details.

But at the end of Saturday I started to play with my Gypsy. I decided the best way to learn how to use my Gspot was to go to the Design Studio form at Cricut.com and see if I could recreate some of their designs. The above one is from LOLOGRL. She converted the Sizzix Scallop Favor Bag into a Design Studio cut. I then made it into a Gypsy cut. Eventually, you will be able to take DS cut files and convert them to Gypsy and vice versa. But until then I will play with them. Here is LOLOGRL's Blog. Thank you LOLOGRL!!!!

You have got to visit Bug Junkie

2009-09-29T23:17:00.001-07:00

You have to drop by BugJunkie's Blog. She makes the most amazing shape albums with her Cricut and Design Studio. I haven't scrapped in months and she has me going. Not to mention, I bought into the Gypsy. I bought mine at HSN on flex pay and received additional goodies. Okay, back to what I was saying. Bug Junkie's shape books tell a story by themselves. The one she is demoing on her blog is a Halloween Album. Now if you go to her blog, she will tell you the Cricut cartridges she used. I don't have many carts so I had to use SCAL to make my book.

I know, I know. Why did you buy a Gypsy if you don't have a many carts, or go to crops and you have SCAL 1 and 2? I don't know but I do know that I am on a quest to buy carts. Because I spent alot of time searching the Internet looking for free SVG files and finally had to create my own for the haunted house. I spent all day looking for them. As soon as I remember where I got them, I will come back and add the links for SVG files. As for the haunted house, leave me a comment and I will send you a copy of the SCUT file. Or I can send you the whole SCUT file for the book. I DID NOT ORIGINATE THIS BOOK. GO TO BUGJUNKIE AND LOOK AT HER GREAT VIDEO. I AM MERELY TAKING THE ONLINE FREE CLASS AND LEARNING AS I GO.

Not only am I making a great book but I am learning so much about Design Studio. We are about 75-80% done on the book. I'll put up more pictures when I finish.

Happy Scrappin'

It is here at HSN!!! Come get it!!!

2009-09-24T00:33:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it! Todays Special Value at HSN is the Gypsy. You can't buy it yet at retail stores and even if you could, why would you pay full price and get just the Gypsy. I ordered mine at HSN and I can't wait until I get. For 299.99 and 5 flex pays of 59.99 I get the following:

Gypsy
Battery charger
2 preloaded carts (Gypsy font and wanderling)
Don Juan Cartridge (previously exclusive to the Create)
Battery charger
travel sleeve
Traveling case for Gypsy and battery charger (cute pink and black exclusive to HSN)
Car charger

You don't want to miss this. Here is the link.

http://tinyurl.com/cmm2tw

Don't miss out.

I've been on a Journey

2009-09-21T21:19:00.000-07:00

So I have been MIA on my scrapbooking blog. Not because I have been busy making projects. I have been MIA because I was busy starting a new habit, running. And I love running. But before I start scrapping again, I had to establish a strong foundation in my running world. If you want to read about it, check out SeeFuffyRun.

I am excited about my next scrapping project: Race for the Cure. I am running in the Houston Komen Race for the Cure in October. I am an 11 year survivor and one of 18 women in my family that have heard those scary words, "you have breast cancer." I started a team: Team Boob Troop and I want to do a mini album about our run. I can't wait.

But even more exciting is the Gypsy by Provocraft. It is a handheld version of Design Studio that will hold all your cartridges in one device that you can take to any crop and hook to any Cricut and cut to your heart's desire. Here is a picture of it.

It is amazing and HSN will have it as their Daily Special on September 24th at 12:01 am. So for all us Central time gals, that is 11:00 PM on September 23rd.

Here is what it will include:
- Gypsy
- Preloaded Gypsy Font
- Preloaded Gypsy shape card
- black and pink carrying case
- black an dpink skin cover
- car charger
- USB cord
- ac adapter
- stylus
- Don Juan cartrige and overlay

$299.99 $59.99 flex pay with $11.20 for 4 day shipping!

Long time no see

2009-08-06T14:11:00.000-07:00

So I have been MIA for a couple of months. Well, I have been MIA on my scrapbooking blog but my running blog is pretty active. That is why I haven't posted to this one. I had to take a break from scrapping. It was consuming my time and my health. I needed to get healthy and I wasn't going to do it scrapping. Not that I think scrapping is bad, I just needed to step back and get some balance in my life. So I have devoted 10 weeks to a running program. Since then, I have become a runner and ran my first 5K. Once I graduate from my training program, I will start adding scrapping back to my life...hey a mini album about my running.

If you want to know more about my running, vist me at SeeFluffyRun. Meanwhile, my father's 80th birthday is coming up and we are throwing him a party. So I thought I would share the invitation I made for him. My sister sent me a picture of him that I have never seen, so I used it. I used Photoshop elements to change the size and bought an element..darn...I forgot where...and I used it. Enjoy!

Cupcakes....For Real!!

2009-05-28T21:55:00.000-07:00

My daughter turned thirteen last week. I can't believe it. We did not do the cake thing but she wanted to take cupcakes to her 6th period class. So about 11 am, I started to make her cupcakes and I realized, "Yikes!! I don't have any toppers for the cupcakes." So I ran upstairs to my craftroom and die cut some butterflies with my Cuttlebug. I cut 36 to be exact. One was for the base and the other folded and hot glued on top of the other. Twenty five minutes is all it took. Thank goodness because I finished just in time to get the cupcakes to school.

Mini Album of Favorite Things

2009-05-21T16:24:00.001-07:00

I started this mini album in Canada, during Spring Break. I didn't even know what I was going to use it for. I just started making it. Well last week I decided to put my favorite things in there.

I am in love the the Basic Grey Valentines paper. I can't remember the name to save my life. I used three mirrors in the mini album. See if you can spot them.

Happy Mothers Day!

2009-05-10T09:26:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to pop in and wish all you a Happy Mother's Day and share my mini album I made for my mom. It was inspired by Teachnpea at 2peas website. Somethings to look for:

I cut the Voila Felt strips to mimick the antenna and tail of the butterfly.
I also used "Thanks" Ribbon to tie a hidden picture to a page.
I used Ephemera digital element from PCLayers.com to do all my journaling.
The "Thank You" on the journaling is the font "Albemarle Swash" (the same font used for some journaling stickers from Making Memories Love Notes Tiny Alpha stickers
I aged and distressed my jounalling tags with Tim Holtz Distress ink so that they matched the paper from My Minds Eye, "Out and About"
Distressed Wild Saffron embellishments so that they weren't so bright.

Glass Mermaid

2009-05-08T21:12:00.001-07:00

I just had to share a wonderful little shop I found recently, The Glass Mermaid. It is right here in Seabrook. This is actually their second location. The original was destroyed in Ike. But it is scrumptious. Every time I go in there, my head just spends and I feel drunk. There are just so many beautiful things to see. She has colorful chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and I absolutely love chandeliers. She has unique jewelry and what nots. Oh, and if you love all the girly stuff, she has pink rubber cleaning gloves that are trimmed in a faux fur and bling. There is a matching apron with leopard trim and a laundry bag with trim and a beautiful crystal belt. You just have to go in to see all the beauty in this place. It really lives up to its name "Glass Mermaid". It is all blinged out and full of fantasy.

They even have classes and parties in glass mosaic making. More on that later. I plan to have a girls night out at the Glass Mermaid. We will start out with wine and appetizers, move on to glass mosaics then travel five minutes over to Kemah Boardwalk for a nice dinner and to listen to live bands.

Card Candy

2009-05-06T21:20:00.000-07:00

I thought I would share a picture of the Card Candy I made for a swap. I am a member of Cricutscraplifters yahoo group. I had so much fun making these. I hope everyone will enjoy them!

Happy National Scrapping Day!

2009-05-02T13:45:00.001-07:00

I love this day. Scrappers around the world unite. Well, I have some plans with the family but I plan to scrap tonight. Enjoy!

One of my favorite gifts

2009-04-27T21:25:00.000-07:00

I thought I would share one of my prized possessions. Years ago my sister made me this church out of a birdhouse. I have moved about eight times since she gave me this church. It always gets a prominent place in my home. It currently sits in my scrapbook room on a bookshelf. It is one of the inspiration pieces of my decor in my scrap area. Every Monday, for the next few weeks, I'll either share an inspiration piece or how I incorporated it in my room. Thanks for stopping by.

Expressions, Yudu and Your Story...OH MY!!!

2009-04-25T11:09:00.000-07:00

I just had to share about this great give away from 225 Cards & Gifts. Ok, here is how you play. It is a blog hop. Click on the magazine above and it on will take you to the starting point. Answer their question on their blog and then hop over to the other 11 blogs and answer their questions. When you are done, you will have visited 12 great blogs and enter 12 times for a chance to win either a Cricut Expression, a Yudu or Your Story. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT! So hop over to the first blog and get to it. YOU HAVE UNTIL MIDNIGHT (MST) ON SUNDAY APRIL 26TH. They will draw the winner on April 28th. Good luck!!

Keychain

2009-04-22T19:09:00.001-07:00

We bought a new car last month and I have been in search of the perfect keychain. I decided that I am going to try to make my own. This is the first attempt. I didn't realize there were so many details to beading. I originally thought of making some kind of picture charm jewelry from Lea Sanders. You have to check out her blog because she has some amazing work on her site. have watched hours of youtube videos about beading. I have been to several stores to look a their beads and key chains. I still have two more picture frame charms to add but I think I am going rethink the design of this one.

I have to add an addendum to my blog entry today. I want to thank Nancy W. for helping me with my blog couture. Check out her blog...she is dripping with creative juices. And her scraproom is to die for. Maybe I can get her to come to my place and help me get my scraproom in order.

Sure Cuts Alot

2009-04-21T11:11:00.000-07:00

I have received some questions regarding Sure Cuts Alot (SCAL) but I don't know how to respond individually so I thought I would respond here in a post. SCAL is a third party software (very similar to Design Studio from Provo Craft) but it allows you to cut any TTF (most fonts are TTF) that you have on your PC or Mac. Yes, unlike Design Studio, SCAL can be used on a Mac.

You can get it here. Craft Edge is the original company that created SCAL but I understand you can get it cheaper from other people. Just google SCAL and I am sure you will find some good deals on it.

But even more exciting is that you can also cut shapes with SCAL. It comes with some basic shapes but you can cut SVG files with it also. If you google SVG and scrapbooking you will see there are many people out there that are gracious enough to create SVG files and share them for free. THere is also a yahoo group for SCAL that gives you more information and file sharing. But be warned the yahoo group is very active and will fill your inbox very quickly.

So to recap:

SCAL is a third party software that allows you to cut any TTF font on your computer and any SVG file. SVG files can be found online by googling for them and you can download more fonts by going to www.dafont.com .

My 15 Seconds!

2009-04-15T21:16:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it!!! I was looking through my May/June Scrapbooks etc. magazine when my name just popped off the page. What the?!?!??!!? And then I realized why. They quoted one of my forum posts at the Scrapbooks etc. site. Eeee gads!!! I am such a dork but this made my day. Heck, it made my week!!

Tax Time

2009-04-14T22:15:00.000-07:00

Happy Tax Day! Kinda funny actually. Sunday we celebrated the day Jesus paid all our debts, then the government asks us to pay them. I guess even our government is too big for Him. I'm kidding. This is what happens when you let me go wild with sugar. Yes...Lent is over and on Sunday morning at 12:01 AM, I attempted to eat some banana cream pie. I say attempted because when I got it home from Krogers, that is a grocery store, it was completely frozen. I knew I had to be up early for church because I was greeting this weekend, so I just went to bed.

By the time I got around to having my sugar rush, a piece of a rabbit shaped coconut cake, I was tired and disappointed. I would upload a picture of my failed attempt of a cute Easter Bunny cake but it looked like a mad crazed evil rabbit. Okay, maybe black frosting should not be used for the eyes, the nose, the whiskers and the crooked smile. He looked more like Heath Ledger as the Joker, than a cute Easter Bunny. I tried to save a step by adding the coconut to the frosting before frosting the cake, so he looked like he had the mumps. Are you getting a visual? Okay, whatever you are seeing in your head, it was scarier.

Sunday is Coming

2009-04-10T08:38:00.000-07:00

I am kinda going off on a personal note here. For the past two years I have been absent from my faith. Don't get me wrong, I knew I was saved, I picked up my Bible every once and a while. I did some Bible studies, but I felt dry. I felt empty and honestly, I didn't center my life around Him. But about four months ago, we began attending church again and did a great study, Starting Point. It was perfect for me and my husband. I needed to renew or rekindle my faith and my husband wanted to understand more. In those short ten weeks, we both grew.

Which is why I am going off topic today. I am reminded about what Good Friday is all about. It isn't about all the great sales or the day off of work. It is about my Saviour being judged, ridiculed, beaten and abandoned by almost everyone who knew Him and loved Him. Only three stayed near. Peter denied Him three times and wasn't there for his final breath. It was this day, over two thousand years ago, that my Saviour was abandoned by everyone, including his Father. In Matthew 27:46 "Jesus cried out "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Can you imagine being a believer back then? All the doubt, all the confusion about what was going on around you? You have seen this man perform miracles. You have heard him speak about love and forgiveness and you watched as he did nothing to save himself. I get an awful feeling in the pit of my stomach as I think about what was going through their minds. What now?

So Good Friday is a somber day for me. It is a day of reflection and prayer. It is a day when I review my faith. Were there times in my walk that I felt I had been forsaken and ran? Were there times that I denied him as I turned my head to things said that were unjust or when I heard others judging. Are their times that I past judgement...because I should never past judgement but love with His love.

The good news for me, unlike the disciples on that Friday, I know the rest of the story. I know what happens next. I know that Sunday is Coming!!!

NOT Enjoying the Process

2009-04-10T08:37:00.001-07:00

So I spent money on a background that won't even work on my blog. I have tried emailing, commenting on blog of House of 3 and no one has responded. My advice, don't buy it unless you know HTML and know how to tweak it for your blog.

I might as well been asked to dance naked in public

2009-04-04T12:40:00.000-07:00

So, I am laying in bed at home about 7ish last night thinking I should log into 2peas online crop. It was a chance for me to crop with others in a virtual world which meant no packing or unpacking on my part. As I lie there, my phone rings with a loud obnoxious ring, of my choosing, that says, "I've gotta woman as big as house, yes sir,.." from the movie Igor. I totally love that movie and that song, but when you are in public...well, people just look at you weird. So, I answer the call and it is my best friend in the whole world, hounding me to go out a Wine Bar with her. OK, I envision this place with snobby uppity people talking about things that I nothing about and paying outrageous prices for something that I could get from a box and feel just as drunk. And the idea of going to a yuppie place was just as uncomfortable as someone asking me to dance naked in public. After a few minutes of trying to argue my way out of going, I gave in. You see, she is smarter than me and I am just never going to be able to win a debate against her.

So I get up and get dressed up and we head out to Sonoma, an uppity wine bar off of Kirby and Richmond. It felt so old world, because the lighting was so poor that I could not even read the menu. And well, we happen to choose a seat next to a rowdy bunch. Who knew uppity people could get rowdy?!?!?! But we ordered to flights. If you have never ordered a flight or you don't know much about wine, flights are a good place to start. You get 3 or 4 miniature glasses of wine from a certain family. For example, you can get a flight of reds, ice wines, whites, bubbly...you get the point. You get a small sample of each. I have to say I really enjoyed it. And I found that I do have a place in the wine world....ice wines. Apparently they are made from frozen grapes and they are really sweet. And yes, at first I felt naked but as the night wore on, I felt the wine warm me up and naked wasn't so bad after all.

Updating my look and cupcakes

2009-04-02T22:43:00.000-07:00

OK, call me crazy but I gave up sweets for Lent. Now, I must admit, I am not Catholic but I thought I would join the fast. I think that is why I have become obsessed with paper cupcakes. Don't they look yummy? I made them using my Cricut, Design Studio, Glitter paper and DCWV pattern paper from the Sweet collection. Oh yeah and Robins Nest pebbles. I used my Cuddle Bug to make the swirls on the glitter paper to make it look like frosting. I made some into cupcake shaped cards and others I just made into cupcakes that I could place on a card. Ok, I have a confession, I forgot to hit the "weld" button on design studio so my first ones did not come out like cards, so I just made individual ones with those. They still look great on the front of cards. But you know what I thought about? What if they made scratch and sniff pattern paper? I would so use those on cards. Scratch and sniff chocolate paper or wedding cake flavor...yummy!! Ok, I can't wait for Easter, as Queen Antoinette said, "Let them eat cake!!"

On a side note, this may be difficult to read but I am working on my changing up my blog. I bought some Blog Couture from House of 3 but I can't seem to get it right. I have emailed them and they are going to help me. I can't wait. So again, I apologize, but it will change soon.

I am officially a Fiskateer #4175

2009-03-31T20:28:00.000-07:00

Aren't they beautiful? I received them in the mail the other day from Fiskars. They have my Fiskar number engraved on them. I feel so special.

McGiver and a tip about a giveaway!

2009-03-25T21:24:00.000-07:00

Have I ever mentioned that I hate crops? Well I don't hate crops, I just hate packing for them. I don't really pre-plan pages very well so I always forget half of what I want to use and bring the other half that I won't use. I also use my Cricut alot and my laptop and I don't want to lug them around. But I had no choice when it came to my MIL gift. I knew I wanted to use the Basic Grey Valentines line and pearls but beyond that....no clue. I knew what I wanted this to be a hybrid project because I didn't want it to get to bulky. Oh, and did I mention we already had tons of stuff to pack for the trip so I was limited to one small bag for scrapping supplies . So I packed my paper, my tin, my pearls, my whatever that felt thing is that I used, my ATG gun (which by the way was almost empty...I forgot to check before packing it), some liquid adhesive, ruler and pen. I was doing to do the inner pages while in Canada and print them at Walmart. Well my ATG gun ran out and I had to buy some a red stamp but I was able to do the outside in traditional scrapbooking and the accordion portion of the inside. I then created digital layouts that were sized 3" by 4" and had them printed. I added bling to the girls pages.

So what is it? It is a tin that is meant to be kept open and stretched out. All of her children and grandchildren are displayed in the order of where their birthday falls in a calendar year. Inside the circles on each page is the actual birthday. I got the idea when my dad made a comment to me last year that it is my job to call him a couple of weeks before my daughter's birthday so that he can buy her card. He also said the same thing about my brother's birthday and my sisters. So I am going to make one for him. But since my MIL birthday came first, I did hers first. I used great digital paper from PCLAYERS. It is called Sushi from Tinkering Ink. I used a Rhonna Farrer Circles from Twopeasinabucket.

TIP: Nancy from LovestoCreate is giving away some fancy schmancy mirrors. Check them out and check out her blog. Her craft room is really coming together. I may have to recruit her to do mine.

Just a layout

2009-03-24T18:55:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the bad cropping but I seem to be so busy lately. Taking a week off, when you are your business, can really put you behind. I did this layout at a Saturday crop with my Meetup group. I have so many projects to upload but I just don't have time. I have one more layout to do tonight for the SBE challenge. Gotta run.

This is how we do it in Texas

2009-03-23T20:40:00.001-07:00

Ok, it looks so much worse than it really is. I went to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo before leaving to Canada and caught this great picture. They have an event for 4-6 year olds. They ride a sheep. Don't worry, they are geared up with padding and helmets. I happen to get this picture. The sheep is not over the boy but it looks like it. I just had to share it.

Home Sweet Home

2009-03-22T20:45:00.001-07:00

We have been in Canada for over a week and it is good to be home. We love it up there but sometimes you just want to run around in your underwear. Not literally,but you get the idea.
I now have over 2000 pictures to go through and figure out which ones I want to blog about, which ones I want to share on facebook, which ones I want to print and which ones I want to scrap. I have a huge task ahead of me.

On a different note, someone asked how I made my Nike+ pouch. Here is the link for the gal who put up great instructions. I cannot sew but this was so easy. Look at my previous blog tagged Nike+ and you can see what I am talking about.

It is late and I have to get some rest. Bye for now.

My Prize

2009-03-05T20:55:00.000-08:00

I can't believe my prize is already here. Doesn't it look yummy? I received 7 pieces of Noteworthy paper, Thickers and Noteworthy ribbon. I can't wait to use it!

I won! I won!

2009-02-26T17:18:00.000-08:00

I entered a Scrapbooks etc. Page Planner challenge and I won in a random drawing. I am gonna get a whole bunch of goodies in the mail. I am so excited. I'll post them as soon as I get them. I am so excited. Did I say that already? This is a weekly challenge, come join the fun.

Hello Monday

2009-02-23T19:27:00.001-08:00

This is my digital version of the Page Planner Challenge from Scrapbooks etc. Page Planner challenge. I really enjoyed doing this one.

Thank God its Friday

2009-02-20T06:50:00.000-08:00

Good Morning, Glory! I just had to share the surprise gift my husband gave me on Saturday. It is a Bromeliad. Gosh I hope I spelled that correctly because I am going to have to google it so that I will know how to care for it. I have to admit, receiving this gift was a shameful moment for me. I woke up early on Saturday for the Revolve Tour, but I was running late. I ran from our room to the bonus room to wake up the girls. I then grumbled at my husband for not waking me up earlier. ( I am deaf in one ear so sometimes I don't hear the alarm.) About 20 minutes into my putting on make up, my daughter comes into my bedroom and says, "Did you see the kitchen?" and I just rolled my eyes. I thought someone had made a mess. But to my surprise, I saw this big beautiful plant, a vase with roses and a card. I didn't have my glasses on earlier so I didn't see them the first time and I have to admit I was taking the time to see things but just do things.

Ever do that? Not take time to take in the scenery but just do the task? I feel that way sometimes when I am trying to capture a moment on camera but not taking time to actually enjoy the experience.

Happy Hump Day!

2009-02-18T11:56:00.001-08:00

Ok I have really got to remember to upload in the opposite order of how I want the pictures to be displayed on my blog. This page is a little out of my element. I am doing a Scraplift Challenge at Scrapbook etc. This is a scraplift from the Scrapbooks etc. Page Planner Bookazine. The original is on page 62, You are Beautiful, by Becky Novacek. I did it last night...really late. But I knew I would not have time today to do it because we have a track meet tonight and this past weekend I had the Revolve Tour. I used my Cricut on this one. I used Celebrations Cartridge to make the cake and the "its a party". I used pop dots to raise up certain elements. Oh and I used my Cricut to cut the squares in the pattern paper because it was easier, for me, to use the Center point button and make sure I cut out exactly what I wanted without ruining the rest of the pattern paper. There is more I will probably add because there are these cute puppies with party hats on the Celebrations Cartridge that I want to use.

Happy Valentines Day!

2009-02-13T06:30:00.001-08:00

I used a CuttleBug embossing strip to emboss the back of the envelopes.
I used my Cricut and the Celebrations Cartridge to make the scallops and circles for the cards.
Happy Valentines Day! One of my daughters favorite teachers, Mrs. Muzslay, is taking a group of girls to the Revolve Tour. It is a wonderful annual conference that comes to town that is geared for Tweens and Teenage girls. It shares the message of True Love Waits, What guys think and who you are in Christ. But it is done in a manner that is energetic, meaningful and age appropriate. Imagine being in an area with over 20 thousand girls, all worshipping and praising His name. There are four adults going also. But I didn't know the exact number of girls going until yesterday afternoon. We are taking nine girls.
So yesterday evening I ran around Hobby Lobby, Joanns and Walmart getting all the goodies. I used DCWV, All Dressed Up, stack to alter the composition books. They are not typically what I would use but I think the girls like all the black/pink/silver motif. I then went to Joanns and picked up the CuttleBug embossing folder for the trim and some cardstock. At Walmart I got the bags and the candy. I didn't start making anything until 11PM last night. I am tired.

So I spent last night...I mean all night, altering nine composition books, making nine cards and nine goodie bags. I used these fabulous stamps from Clear Dollar Stamps. They are called Sweet Jesus . (Thank you Aimeslee for sharing this company with me.) If you click the hyperlink, you will recognize the cards and the Hershey Kisses bags. They are perfect little stamps that can be used all year long. I even used one on the journal, "Nuggets of Wisdom". I had planned to also make a smaller books that they can carry in their purse as a reminder of this weekend. But it is almost 9 am and I need some sleep before tonight's Revolve Tour.

Happy Valentines Day! I hope you have a wonderful weekend. Single, married, Significant Other... no matter what, we are not alone on Valentines Day. There is One that always loves us.

The Bionic Woman

2009-02-11T23:07:00.000-08:00

Do you remember the Bionic Woman ? Jamie Summers almost dies in a sky diving accident but the government saves her and makes her a spy. She has all these bionic parts. Well that is how I feel when I run. Here is my ritual. I strap on my Polar A5 chest band to track my heart rate. I strap to my left wrist, the Polar A5 watch that displays my heart rate, calories burned and minutes in the "zone". I then proceed to put my Nike+ sensor into my home made sensor holder on my left shoe. Then I get my Ipod Nano and place the remote sensor into the jack so that it can record my pace and my distance and give me verbal prompts like, "you have just completed twenty minutes" or "half way point, only 30 minutes to go." and finally "congratulations you just have completed your work out of 45 minutes, x amount of distance, average pace x". (you can see my recent distance and time in my Nike+ tag on the right.

So by the time I finish hooking up to all my gadgets...and yes if you have been reading my earlier blog posts, I have an ITouch and I just upgraded to an IPhone. But alas, while the ITouch, Gen 2, is compatible with the Nike+, the IPhone is not....go figure. Ok, where was I? Oh yes, by the time I hook up all my gadgets, I feel like the Bionic Woman. So when I work out I have to pull out my old Ipod Nano and use it to work out. My husband has my Itouch and I want him to feel like it is his, 100%. He always settles for less and for once I want him to have it all.

My wish, an Iphone that is compatible with Nike+ that is also compatible with a chest band to get precise reading of my average heart rate and total calories burned. Is that asking for too much? I only want to carry around one gadget. Oh, and if it could do the dishes and clean the kitty litter, well then I will divorce my husband and marry it. Just kidding.

SBE Weekly Challenge

2009-02-10T22:34:00.001-08:00

Scrapbooks Etc., my favorite magazine, has started a weekly scrapbook challenge that I am enjoying. I try to do a digital and a traditional version of each sketch. My goal this year is to do scrap 10 pages per month, digital or traditional. I have a love for both. By the way, the digital one took about as long to do as the traditional one. Not because of its complexity, but because my limited skills in PSE5. Which is one reason I love the challenge because it will encourage me to work on my PSE5 skills if I keep up my personal goal of perfecting my digital skills.

I would like to thank the Academy....

2009-02-08T21:58:00.000-08:00

I am so excited! My blog buddy, Aimeslee gave me two awards. You like me, you really like me! Ok so here is the deal. Once I accept the award, you are to tell five of your addictions and pass the award to five others. Gosh, I hope I have that right. Well here it goes.
My Addictions
1) Scrapbooking
2) Chocolate
3) Singing Mamma Mia out of tune
4) The Girls Next Door
5) Italian Wedding Cake

I would like to share this award with

Lea Sanders-- Her work is beautiful.
Nancy Wyatt--another great crafter. Can't wait to see her finished room.
Life as Lou--I am a voyer for this one...I love her work and take a peek every once and a while.
Leah Fung--Great videos with her scrapping gal pals
Christine--She makes great videos...if you have an Ipod you can subscribe to her podcasts

Check tham all out. They are great gals with this gift for crafting. You won't be disappointed.

So busy

2009-01-27T20:53:00.000-08:00

So believe it or not, I have been creating. But between working, finding a new church, working out and creating, blogging has gone to the wayside. It is 11PM and after this I hit the treadmill for 45 minutes. But I am enjoying my new scrap space. The girls at 2peas really helped me reorganize it. I uploaded pics of my how I had things set up and they gave me great advice.

So the bottom picture is a collage of some of my recent creations. And the first picture is the plan I have for scrapping more this year. I really struggle with scrapping. If I am not doing a mini-album then I feel lost and with no direction. I seem to get lost in picking just a few pictures to print and share in an album and journaling all that I want to journal. Well in the July issue of Scrapbooks Etc. they did an article about doing a hybrid album that has both layouts and 4x6 pictures and 4x6 journalling spots for those occasions that you want to journal but don't want to create a whole layout. I had forgotten about the article until recently people started talking about Project 365. So I am doing a digital version of Project 365 and traditional version of a hybrid LO. It has been so freeing and exciting.

The first thing I did was pick out pictures from December that I wanted to print and share. I uploaded them to Walmart and printed them. I then divided them into occasions ( I have many occasions for December) and topics. Then I placed them all in the 12X12 pages that had 4X6 pockets. Once they were in order, I took a post it note and decided what LO's I wanted to do. As I started a layout, I either used the 4x6 pictures I had or I printed them on my own printer at the desired size. Once the layout is complete, I place it in a 12x12 protector in the general area of the 4x6 pockets that are also about that event. It probably sounds confusing but it works for me. I have already completed 7 layouts and 3 cards for 2009. This is far above what I did last year by this time.

On a side note I had a fallout with Sprint and we broke up. So I moved to AT&T and bought an IPhone. I was excited to have one piece of technology that served as my music manager and my phone.....NOT. While Nike+ works with the ITouch. It does not work with the IPhone. So now I am stuck like chuck with two pieces of equipment again, if I want Nike+ to track my progress.

Valentines Card

2009-01-19T23:16:00.001-08:00

I did this card for a class at TwoPeas. It is a monthly class that challenges you to make three cards from three different designs. I used my Cricut to cut the hearts and my Cuttlebug to emboss the base of the card and the elements. Since I was trying to stay pretty much with monotones, I added dimension by using different embossing folders and different materials. I wanted my hearts to stand out more so I used Metallic Champagne acrylic paint from Walmart to paint them.

One great tip about die cutting, whether it is with a manual or electrical machine, buy tons of heavy white cardstock and acrylic paints. Your color choices are limitless with the right acrylic paints. Use them straight out of the bottle or mix them to create your own personal color. Then you won't have to worry if you have the right color cardstock for a particular embellishment. I am a very late night scrapper so I can't just get up and drive down to my LSS for the perfect color cardstock. So I buy several paints and I try to get them in different finishes. For example, this paint has a metallic finish to it. I also have a flat Champagne color that I like to use. I use to be an Acryli[c paint snob and just buy Making Memories but I have started to use brands like Folk Art and generic. Don't get me wrong, the Making Memories bottles are so much more attractive and love the way they come in color groups but sometimes I can't find the color I want or another brand is on sale, so I just go for it.

My Sewing Project

2009-01-16T06:11:00.000-08:00

So, I started walking again. I think I may have mentioned in an earlier post that I use Nike+ to motivate me. I really enjoy it. I didn't want to buy a new pair of shoes because frankly, I like my old ones. Sure they are scruffy looking but they are comfortable. So inorder to use my old shoes with new technology, I had to make a tight fitting pouch for the sensor. Google, my dear friend, showed me a place where I could learn to do such a thing. Now, I own a sewing machine because I sew on paper. So this sewing on material was a whole new thing for me. I even had to create my own pattern. I have to admit, I enjoyed it. However, I found a new use for my Cricut. I can create a pattern in SCAL and use the Cricut to cut out the pattern onto the material. Can I just say I love my Cricut?

I have been tagged!

2009-01-13T21:48:00.000-08:00

I have been tagged by Nancy Tovar Wyatt. What a small world. I knew her and her sister when we were in Junior High and High School. She found me on 2peas.

So here are the rules:
When you are tagged you have to share 6 things about yourself.
You mention the person that tagged you and give a link to their blog.
You choose six other people to tag.
You go to those six other people's blogs and let them know they have been tagged.

Here we go:
1) I am a Child of the Most High God and feel blessed each day.
2) I own a medical billing company.
3) I have a wonderful husband and wonderful children.
4) There are more animals living in my house than people (3 dogs and 2 cats).
5) I am allergic animals.
6) I crave ice cream on cold days.

So who will I tag? Wow so many great bloggers. There are so many blogs that I follow and I truly love them all. Some I quietly visit each day. I try to spend my first hour at work just visiting blogs....Good thing I am the boss. LOL

Drum roll please

Lea Sanders She is such a creative person. I met her at Scrapafaire. It was an online Scrapping event hosted by Scrapbooks etc. Simply love her.
Shar Another gifted scrapbooker that I met at Scrapafaire.
Aimeslee Met her on 2peas board. And low and behold she is practically a neighbor in the real world. :)
Idzibitsy Great work and great SVG files. I love seeing her work.
Heather Found her and loved her work.
Jennifer McGruire You have to see her craft room. I simply love it.

A New Year

2009-01-12T22:11:00.000-08:00

I am so behind in blogging so I thought I was just stop by for a moment. Wow! So many things going on in my life. I got a new IPod for Christmas and as you can see by my mini, I am using the Nike+. If you are the time that nees motivation, NikePlus can help. I can track my miles, minutes, calories...all by using a sensor and my Itouch. It automatically records everything and when I sync to my PC, it uploads to NikePlus. The only downside for me is that in my excitement I didn't want to take the time to read the handbook on it and my first two workouts were lost because I pressed the wrong button. Oh well.

I didn't buy the Nike+ shoes but instead made my own pouch. I took pics but I have to upload them....later.

Second Layout 365

2009-01-04T01:20:00.000-08:00

Ok, I admit it. I got up in the must have, must do the 365 project from Becky Higgins and CK. I was one of the ones trying to get the album and had the system crash. But after trying for a while, I decided to create my own digi template and do the project anyway. I am not finished with the first week and I have one blank slot left for journaling (the blue rectangle) but I am working on it. I'll probably tweak my template over the next few weeks. I am still learning how to digi scrap so over the next few weeks I may pick up a few more short cuts. But doing this digi is really helping me learn more about digital scrapping and it allows me to flex my digi skills.

If they decide to sell the Project 365 again, I may buy it for expecting friends and newlyweds. Can you imagine being able to have such a detailed journal of your baby's first year or your first year of marriage. Years later when you look back at it, you will appreciate all the little details you may have forgotten. So I am doing my digitally....for now. But if they begin selling the kits again, I may just have to buy it anyway.

First Layout of the Year

2009-01-03T23:49:00.001-08:00

I promised myself that I would do more scrapbooking this year than I did last year but that I would use my existing stash. {note to self: do a page on resolutions} I decided this year that I wasn't going to be bogged down with scrapping vs printing pictures. Ever since I started scrapping and taking digital picture, I have struggled with printing and sharing pictures. I love albums and I love going through them. I love sharing them with family when they come over. But since I started scrapping, I have felt limited when it comes to printing pictures. If I print it then I have to scrap it. But if I don't print it, then it stays forever hidden on my PC.

Well I read an article in SBE about scrapping/photo albums. The idea is to print your pictures and put them in a 12X12 album in refill pages that are divided into 4x6 slots. Then you scrap your favorite pictures from a certain time period or event and place them in protective sheets within the same album. So I printed about 115 pictures for December and I am going to scrap a few events (sister’s graduation, brother’s birthday, husband’s birthday, making tamales, Christmas Day and my birthday). So I am doing 7 LO’s and will use about 15 pictures but an additional 100 will be shared. I am excited about scrapping this way.

Happy New Year!!

2009-01-01T22:38:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year!!

In my family, my grandmother made Manuelos [mahn-wel-os] each New Years. We loved to eat them. My mother made them for me when I was a child and now that I have a daughter, I make them for her. So last night at midnight, I made them. We also celebrated a duel birthday. Max and Buster, two of my animals in our zoo, turned three years old. I have plenty of events to scrap.

Almost Done!

2008-12-31T22:27:00.000-08:00

Months ago I mentioned a project that I was doing that took the joy out of scrapbooking for me. I had to put it down, along with all other scrapbooking projects, for many months. Well I finally came back to scrapping and I finally came back to this project. I used the baby dresses I made with my CE on the cover. All I need to do is bind it together.

Baby Dresses

2008-12-30T22:36:00.000-08:00

Lately, I feel so out of sorts so I decided to make a to do list for scrapping. One of my items was to learn how to use inkscape to make my own SVG files. If you don't know what SVG files are or what you can do with them, look it up on Wikipedia. If you don't want to know THAT much about it, then just understand that you can use SVG files in SCAL to cut images. Now, my only limitation is my mind when it comes to what my Cricut can cut.

This one is a simple baby dress. I dressed it up with stickles and ribbon. When I can figure out how to share files ( better put it on my "to do" list). I'll start sharing my SVG files.

Mamma- Mia

2008-12-30T12:12:00.000-08:00

Can I just say I was wrong? My husband is 11 years my senior and while I am a child of the 80's, he is a child of the 70's. So there has always been this struggle in our car...which IPod to hook up. When he wins, he plays ABBA. I cannot stand ABBA. To me, it has a real disco sound to it. I don't like disco.

Years ago in Canada I saw a billboard for Mamma Mia and I wanted to go until.....I found it was based on ABBA songs. Yuck. But on the Eve of Christmas Eve, I begrudging ling agreed to rent the movie. One week later...I have been converted!!

I HAVE SEEN THE MOVIE 7 TIMES AND I HAVE LISTENED TO THE SOUNDTRACK COUNTLESS TIMES!!! If you haven't seen the movie....go right now and get it....go...go...I'll wait.

It is so upbeat and Meryl Streep is amazing. My only downside is Colin Firth. I love that man. I love him for the characters he has played..Darcy in Pride and Predjudice. The amount of love that oozed from his presence around Elizabeth is amazing. And I loved him in Bridget Jones Diary. I imagine him looking at me that way. So I was a bit perturbed when they took my perfect man and made him gay. Not because of social issues but because.....hey leave someone perfect for us women.

Get the movie...you won't regret it.

Christmas Cards...finally

2008-12-16T21:41:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it is the 16th and I am just finishing my cards. Well I am not finished. I have to wait for the stickles to dry, then I have to attach these to the front of the cards. Hopefully, I will be able to do this tomorrow.
I have to thank Tim Holtz for his Twelve days of Christmas. I took one of the ideas for the tags and just made a bigger version. I then expanded it to a stamp that I bought last year and never used. On the card with the Virgin Mary, I used a technique I learned at 2Peas to make the heart stand out. I had to look all over town to find the blending tool from Tim Holtz. Now, onto homemade decorations.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

2008-12-10T21:59:00.000-08:00

Can you believe it snowed? I can't. The first time I saw snow I was three years old. I didn't see it again until I was 19. Then after that, I was 34. Now again it is snowing. Just to give you an idea of how south I am, you see that leaning tree in my front yard? Well it is from Hurricane Ike. I live less than a 1/4 mile from the water...the bay. We had so much fun in the snow. We made snow balls, watched our dogs try to eat it and just enjoyed it. There were kids outside with their parents. What a magnificent sight for everyone.

Almost Famous

2008-12-03T21:56:00.001-08:00

Ok, I have a confession. Ever since I was a little girl, I had this small thought in my head. "If I do it well enough, they will put me on TV." I don't know when it started but it continues to this day. I have to say it takes a lot of energy to live up to that thought. For instance, the other day I was driving down the street and I stopped at red light. I was the first in line and I made sure I stayed behind the white line in front of our lane. I turned on my right signal, looked both ways and proceeded slowly forward and to the right. I wanted to make the perfect turn. Because in my mind, if I do this well, someone also waiting for light will work for company that makes those movies you see in driving school. You know the ones. All the actors look straight out of the seventies in their huge vehicles. Each looking straight into the camera as they slowly approach the stop light. Their window is down and their arm is dangling out the window and resting on the side of the car. As they slowly come to a complete stop, they turn towards the camera and say "Remember, stop slowly and gracefully and behind the white line. Leave room for pedestrians to travel safely across the street." I mean who talks like that besides the people in educational videos.
Ok where was I? Oh yeah, so as I make my turn, this person that works for an educational video maker, flags me to pull over and says, "Hey, I loved the way you made that turn. It was perfect and we would like to use in our next video. Do you think you would be interested?" And I would just say in disbelief, "Gosh, Mister, I would love to be in your video. I never thought this would happen to me. You can count on me." And I realize, I am beginning to sound like the others in those videos but I don't care because I AM GOING TO BE ON FILM!!!!

Well that is how my mind works. One day I shared that intimate thought process with a friend of mine. While in a specialty shop, she found this miniature wine glass and the tag says "Almost Famous". She immediately thought of me. As soon as I saw it, I knew it was me also. I couldn't wait to get it home and to fill it with beads from Robins Nest.

Site of the Day A few months ago I read about a website Wordle.net. It is a great place to create your own backrounds. It takes whatever text you place into it's engine and it will create a background for you that uses your text. In this example, I took the text from the story above and entered it into Wordle and this is what it created. Pretty cool, huh?

Wall Art with Cricut Expression

2008-12-02T19:18:00.000-08:00

I couldn't wait to play with my new Cricut Expression the other day. I have dreamed about making wall art with it since it came out. Now that I finally had an Expression, I bought some Vinyl from Walmart. It comes in an array of colors. However, Walmart only had black. I also bought some transfer paper. The transfer paper allows you to manage your vinyl once you cut it so that you can place it on your wall or wherever you choose. It makes applying your vinyl to your wall as easy as rubbing a rub on. The vinyl comes in 3 sheets to a package and each sheet is 12X24. The transfer tape comes 2 sheets to a package and each sheet is 12x24. I know, I know, I thought the same thing. Why not give the same quantity of both since they go hand and hand? Sorta like hot dogs and hot dog buns, they don't come in same quantities. I'm convinced it is a conspiracy to make us buy more of each. :)

I used my SCAL and used three different fonts. I used the font Curlz MT for the word "My"at 2 inches, the font Pristina for "Reservations", at 4 inches, and for the rest of the quote was done in the font Angelina at 2 inches. You should have these fonts on your computer already. If you don't then you can go to dafont and download pretty much any font your heart desires. Remember, SCAL, the program I used to create my word art, only can read True Type Font, dingbats and SVG files. The majority of fonts are TTF so you shouldn't have any problems. However, think outside the box. When you get to dafont.com you will notice that some of the fonts don't print letters but rather symbols or silhouettes. For example if you go to Christmas Fonts you will notice that some fonts are snowflakes, Santa Claus or reindeer. So you can prett much cut anything! I can't see enough about SCAL. I'll do a formal training on it sometime soon. But once you download your font, you need to install it to your PC. The easiest way to do this is to go to your support and help and type in "add font" or "install font" and it will take you step by step on how to install a new font. Trust me you won't regret it.

However, the flourish came from my new cartridge Home Decor that is a new exclusive cartridge for the Walmart Bundle for Black Friday. Some Walmarts may have some Cricut Expressions left from Black Friday so if you want to buy a CE and you like this swirl, then check your local Walmart or wait for someone to put it up on Ebay. I am keeping mine. I used the "fit to page" feature for the flourish.

My husband laughed as I started to place the Vinyl letters on the transfer tape as I explained what I wanted him to do with it. His originally thought the texture on our walls would prohibit the Vinyl from sticking. But it didn't. He was so impressed that he wanted me to create more wall art for the living room, the dining room, the foyer, the breakfast room, the bathroom and stairwell. My house will become one big novel.

They say its your birthday, It's my birthday too!

2008-12-01T23:05:00.000-08:00

Well today, or actually yesterday was my birthday. Where does the time go? I was just looking at the clock and it was 9pm. Now it is 1 in the morning. Well I had to try to take a picture of the sky last night. If you missed it, it was amazing. The Crescent moon, Venus and Jupiter were very close in the sky and for brief moment they were in a straight alignment. No big deal you say? Well if you missed it, you probably will never see it. The next time this will happen is 2052. This was a very rare and beautiful moment.

I would like to think God did it for me. :) Well, it could happen. Today is my birhtday. Which brings me to my second picture, the birthday card. I had so much fun making it. I used my new Cricut Expression. I love this machine! I bought it on Black Friday for only $199.00 Can you believe it? It came with two amazing carts, Plantin SchoolBook and Home Decor which is a brand new shape cartridge that debuted in the Walmart Black Friday Bundle. And to boot, if you purchase a Cricut Expression between Oct 15 and December 15, you can mail off your receipt and rebate form for two additional cartridges for free! All you pay is $7.95,for shipping and handling. Pinch me because I must be dreaming. It does take up a bit more room than my original Baby Bug but it is awesome. I made this card using my new Expression and my Celebrations Cartridge. I am looking for an SVG format of the cupcake so that I can weld two cupcakes together and they become the base of the card. I haven't found one that I like. I don't have Design Studio or I would use it to weld the ones from Celebration cart. But I can't justify in my head to buy DS when I already own SCAL. (Sure Cuts Alot).
If you haven't heard of SCAL or used it then you are in for a big eye opener. It allows you to cut all True Type Fonts on your computer, ding bats and SVG files. You can get Inkscape for free and create your own SVG files or you can Google for free ones. There are tons of free ones on the web.

25 Days and Stories in hand

2008-11-25T22:07:00.000-08:00

So I finished my Stories in Hand journal inspiration and my 25 Days journal. I was excited to find that I had ribbon that matched the Stories in Hand paper and I loved altering the dividers with personal touches. I have looked but I can't find the user that inspired the pics on the individual tabs. I thought it was a cute idea.

What a week

2008-11-23T21:31:00.001-08:00

I have never wanted a week to be over so much as I wanted this one. It started out with a root canal and ended with a kitty diagnosed with Hepatic Lipidosis and two puppies with expensive yearly appointments. With every turn I was spending over $500.00.

Not to mention my daughters data was due for Science Fair and we had the added stress of finishing building her light box and hauling the huge monstrosity up to the school so she could test other students.

But on a good note. My daughter was in her first competitive swim meet and she did very well. It was at a high school. We had to leave school early on Friday to make it to the meet on time. We took a friend of hers with us. I had never been to a meet, so I was a little nervous about what to expect. When we arrived at the school, the halls were filled with folding canvas chairs, blankets for the kids to lie on between events and coolers filled with snacks and drinks. The school kept the pool area warm but the rest of the school was pretty cool. So the kids tried to bundle up. But I was impressed at how quickly they went through the heats. There were about 900 kids there and it was over in about 2 and half hours. The parents of the girl we took were so helpful at explaining things to me. My husband could not go because our cat was so sick and required hourly force feeding to get his energy up. But I was very proud of my daughter and how well she did.

On Saturday I finished to projects that I had been working on for about a week or two. I finished my 25 day album for Christmas and Stories in Hand project. I'll post pictures later. Truth be known, I am too tird and lazy to go downstairs to get the camera and upload my pictures.

What a week

2008-11-23T21:27:00.000-08:00

Monday dentist appointment 60.00
Tuesday yearly house insurance due 966.00
Wednesday...root canal 780.00
Dad's hair products 168.00
Get kitty out of vet office...2 day stay 287.00
Sunday Take puppies for vaccinations 240.00

These are the unexpected expenses for the week...well the insurance was not unexpected but the rest were. My wallet is floating away.

Christmas Cards

2008-11-09T21:53:00.000-08:00

I can't believe Christmas time is here. It seems like just yesterday I was complaining it was too hot outside to celebrate 4th of July. And yet, here it is...a chilly 50 degrees outside in Seabrook. Better get the coats out and the fireplace going.

And now I am off to scraplift Christmas cards from 2peas.

Another Scraplift..Getting digi with it

2008-10-30T22:28:00.001-07:00

Still going through my ScrapTrends Magazine and trying to recreate traditional scrapbook pages using my digital supplies. The original layout for this page comes from Ginger Williams. It was a Baby page. So I scrapped about one of my babies. This layout took me about an hour. Well more like 2 and 1/2 but I can't count the snack breaks, folding towels and greeting my hubby after a night of playing pool. (He is number one in his league!) I am so loving the two kits I got from PCLayers.com. They are 7 gypsies kits. I have been a traditional scrapbooker longer than a digi one. So I am familiar with 7 gypsies and my mind can wrap around it alot quicker. I know, it's just a mental thing but it works for me. Oh by the way, Faith Sisters is doing a 9 week project on the real meaning of Christmas. At the end of the 9 weeks, you will have a nice book to share with your family. And if you are into digi scrapping there is a free download each week that contains materials you can use to tell the story. Or you can use other digi materials or even just traditional scrap the project. I think I am going to try to do both. I'll try to upload the pages as I go along. However, they are on week 3, so I am already behind. I know what I am going to be doing this weekend.

How do you get to Carnegie Hall?

2008-10-29T21:58:00.000-07:00

Practice, practice, practice. I totally love the women at 2peas. They have helped me so much when it comes to digital scrapbooking. On this layout I learned a new technique on how to cut paper. I know, I know, it seems simple when you are a traditional scrapper. But I couldn't figure it out when it came to digi. Oh and I learned about the Wacom Bamboo Fun from those gals. I used it to color in the buds on the branch. They also taught me how to make a text box and how to space my journaling...thank you Sande and your great videos on 2peas. I scraplifted the LO from Scrapbook Trends. It is a layout done by Angela Hancock. My hope is to be able to create digi layouts that look traditional. I know it is possible...so here I go....practice, practice, practice.

Tattoo

2008-10-28T21:12:00.000-07:00

So I did a quick page with a hilarious picture that my brother sent me. For Halloween, his is Tattoo from Fantasy Island. He is on his knees and I can't seem to stop laughing. When we were just kids, my Uncle Joe use to call my brother "Tattoo". Now 30 years later he is living up to the name. Too funny.

Women of Faith

2008-10-27T22:50:00.000-07:00

I did this page today. It will probably be my intro page for a mini album that I am doing digi. I went to the Women of Faith conference this weekend in Houston. And it was fabulous. Sometimes we need a boost. We need a moment energize our batteries and thank our maker for making us who we are and we are uniquely and wonderfully made. Hallelujah! More pages to come. I am trying a new kit I got from PCLayers. It is a great website that I discovered when looking through my Scrapbook Trends Magazine. They offer digi versions of paper lines like 7 gypsies. Can you believe it? Anyway, the price is right for their kits and they are amazing kits. Enjoy!

A cross and a prayer

2008-10-14T21:30:00.001-07:00

Have you ever felt helpless in the time of someone else’s need? I have. I see their pain and their struggles. I see their hardships and I am left feeling poor. And I don’t mean poor in a monetary way but I feel like I am lacking. Well….maybe poor in a monetary way can be a part of it, sometimes.

What do you give the person that has just lost their home? After days of wondering how your home faired in the storm, you come home only to discover your home is wet from top to bottom. There is mold growing on the walls, the furniture and even the carpet. And the smell is something you can’t even imagine. You realize you were left with nothing. You only have what you packed in your car during the evacuation and any money you may have in the bank… which may be little or much. But what do you give them? Where do you start? Do you give them a blow up bed?....how do they blow it up? Where do they place it to sleep? Okay, well now they need a tent. And food, don’t forget food, but they no longer have a refrigerator so you need to get them either a refrigerator or a cooler, but then they need a lot more money to eat out since they can’t keep anything cool. Oh, and don’t forget cooking utensils, clothes (and a way to clean them). Do you see my point? How it can seem overwhelming. And if you don’t have much to give, then what can you do?

And the stress is unreal. Kids are going to school in borrowed clothes or donated clothes. They may not fit right or even be within dress code. So now they are singled out because those who lost nothing are wearing their normal uniform. And well those that didn’t do well…well they wear what ever sorta fits. And they are scared. Mom and dad are worried about when the claim adjuster is going to come and how are they going to pay the mortgage on a home that is no longer livable? FEMA helps but it is not perfect and where it stops or lacks, as a child, you look to your parents for strength. And no amount of books or videos can prepare you for this but you do the best you can and you move forward. Toys are scarce and little Sally and little Juan are bored. Sally misses her doll that you promised would be there when you came back from the evacuation. And Juan complains that his XBOX is gone….what is worse, he doesn’t complain about his XBOX. He just wants to be in his room again. He wants to sleep in his own bed. Even then I feel poor because no words I say to them will make their lives normal again. Nothing I will say will ease them and make the fear go away.

But God is so good. And someone listened to Him and was faithful. Someone, and I don’t know who, but someone went from house to house of those that were devastated and said they were sorry for their loss and handed them a cross and told them they are praying for them. And for those that didn’t answer the knock at the door, or perhaps there was no door to knock, a note was left and a cross. Sometimes we don’t see the fruits of our labor but God does. You see, a little boy that sits next to my daughter in one of her classes, wears one of these crosses everyday. When his parents finally let him come back to see his home, someone had been by and left one of those notes and left a cross on a necklace. The note said they were sorry for their loss and they were praying for them and that God is here and He will guide them.

So when he sees his parents worrying or when he thinks of his old home and all the changes he has had in his life, he holds the cross in his hand and knows he is safe and all will be well again. A prayer and a promise from a stranger not seen has brought peace and faith to one young man. God is good.

So when you don’t think you count or you think you can’t help….pray. Let God work through you and when you do, He will do more than what you could have ever done on your own.

A little something something

2008-10-12T22:22:00.000-07:00

So after taking my class at 2peas, I created this layout. If you take the first 3 classes of Sande's you will recognized the format. I didn't use any of the items she used. I have plenty of free and paid for digi elements to last me for awhile. Sorry, 2peas. I know that is probably their intention when putting free classes out there. You see they list the items used in the class and you can purchase them. Well I have bought plenty digi things from 2peas, so I don't feel guilty. Now I know what to do with them. Actually, I do love the basic paper pack of the tutorial and I have some nice templates that I bought from 2peas that would go nicely with this paper. But I think I will hold off for awhile.

I used a brush from Rhonna, paper and additional elements from Carrie Stevens' Spontaneous Delight kit. Can you say FREE at Shabby Princess. If you have never tried digi, this is a great place to get complete kits for free. But restrain yourself. You can go crazy and overwhelm yourself. Grab a kit and play with it.

Getting Diggi with it

2008-10-12T20:44:00.000-07:00

So life has somewhat come back to normal. The weather was amazing this weekend. We did the yard and cleaned the house and I took some free digiscrap classes at 2peas . If you ever wanted to try digi, go there and check out Sande Kriegers free video tutorials. And if you want to try her photo editing class then head over to Scrapbooks etc. Fast Foto Fixes . It isn't free but it is well worth it. I took it during Scrap-a-faire in November 2007...has it almost been a year...time flies. Anyway, I took all the classes back then when they offered a all inclusive pass for $100.00. Anyway, I took all my PDFs and sent them to Kinko's online . I had them printed and bound. I have to tell you. I refer to those classes all the time, especially the one on fast foto fixes.

OK, so while I write this, I am watching Starter Wife, and I have to say I am liking the show. I typically don't like the main girl, you know the one from Will and Grace, but I like her character on this one. And I have decided...if I could be anything, yes I would want to be an Observational Journalist, like Sex in the City or Dan in real life. But alas I lead a boring life and I don't have the patience to spend time writing and rewriting an article....just check out my blog...how often do I update it? But if they paid me money...well..perhaps then I could devote "time" to it.

First Day Back

2008-09-29T15:26:00.001-07:00

Well there is so much going on mind that I don't even know where to begin. We came back on Thursday of last week. After two weeks at my brothers home, we were home sick. So we spent Thursday afternoon packing up and came home. The lights weren't on yet and the weather wasn't cool but we were home. And just to prove He is God, as soon as we started our generator and began to settle in, he turns on the power. We unplugged the generator and rejoiced in the light.

We stood outside with many of our neighbors. All of us with stories or rumors of went on during the storm. Stories of police told to stay during the storm. Their escape to the second floor of our city hall as the waters rose in the first floor during the storm. Stories that our small passed a reform a few months ago that does not allow drop off spots to be set up in our city. But a storm hit and rules couldn't be broken so citizens set up drop off spots in their yards so that those who needed help could get it.

My daughter started school today. She came home with an upset stomach...nerves. As I signed her out, I saw a long list of other kids that left. The nurse that many kids are just nervous. Kids were in class talking about who lost their complete home, who was flooded, who was homeless and who came out okay. In class they filled out forms on where their family stands so that the school could get an idea of what they were dealing with.

Red Cross is amazing. They have been out everyday handing out water, hot meals, smiles and even just "We care and are here". They have been a blessing. If you have never seen them at work...consider yourself lucky. That means you probably have never been in a disaster as big as this. I have been blessed but it is nice to see others here to help those that need help.

All the hand painted signs in the yards. Some serious..."keep out" "residents only, no tourists allowed", "please dont steal what we have left", "thanks for nothing Fema", "Looters will be shot", "small dog, big gun". All with a true meaning. We were there. We contemplated a gun to keep looters from stealing our generator. not so much our generator...things are things...but strangers in my house and possbibly harming my family.

Then there are those signs that just let you know we are going to be okay. "ike can't beat us like Tina" or "yard of the month" (this was in front of a house that had all this debris, trees down...devastated) or a plastic Frosty the Snowman with a life preserver around his neck that read "I survived Ike".

Is it going to take a long time to get back to normal? Yes. Will it be tough? Yes. But we will make it. We will survive and we, as a community, will do whatever it takes to make our community, safe, clean and home again.

Welcome back Seabrook!! We have missed you!!

The Devastation

2008-09-17T19:45:00.000-07:00

I went back to my hometown today. We still don't have lights but I can't complain. My husband and I drove around our small town. I couldn't help but cry. We are a town of 12000. I don't even know where to begin. We have a lot of woods in our area and jogging trails that wind through them. But they have the cadaver dogs out searching for victims. They are looking in the trees because they believe a 30 foot wall water came on shore. In those waters were people. And in some places where there were homes, all that is there is the foundation. Or maybe their homes are there...1/2 a foot to the left or right of the foundation. There are TVs, baby clothes, dressers, refrigerators in the woods, the parks and in the middle of the street. We had a wholesale fishing market street....just empty land now.

But for everyone...just imagine everyone in your neighborhood taking everything, and I mean everything, out of their house and putting it on the curb. Rugs, sheet rock, insulation, furniture, clothes, baby strollers. food, toys, pictures, just everything and putting it on the curb. It piles up about 10 feet and spans the length of your yard. Now imagine everyone in the neighborhood does this. There is no electricity, mosquitos are everywhere and you have nothing to drink or eat. You wanna stay to keep cleaning but you can't stay in your home. And you are limited on gas. Sure you can get a "snack pack" from FEMA but you have kids and that is not enough. If you are fortunate your job lets you take care of things. If you are not, you have to get to work or worse, your employer no longer exists because it was wiped out by the storm.

Kids start school on Tuesday in a building that has no AC and you don't have any AC either. For me, that means 75 miles one way to get her to school. I may have to enroll her into a school in Spring. She is worried about her friends and just wants to see familiar faces. She remembers how everyone ahhed and ooohed the Katrina evacuees that enrolled in her school and she doesn't want that kind of attention.

No picture on TV or story can even begin to touch the reality of actually being out there. I was blessed with just a few shingles gone...I am in awe of the difference of my house and almost everyone around me. I can't wait to get back and just help out my neighbors. We are going this weekend and help anyone we can.

Pray.

House was spared!

2008-09-15T20:43:00.000-07:00

My house was spared from Ike. I was one of only 5-10% people that did not get water in their house or wind damage. A few shingles came off but not much more.....Tired...emotionally. Going to bed, will post more tomorrow.

Tired

2008-09-12T19:45:00.001-07:00

It is 9:47 at night and the winds are still calm. I have stopped watching the news...same thing over and over...my house will flood. My husband is sleeping on a couch at my brother's place. He is emotionally and physically drained. He spent all day yesterday measuring windows, cutting boards and hanging them with hurricane clips. We drove to my brothers and today we spent the day worrying about the hurricane. He is from Canada and this is his first hurricane. Let him sleep. He is worried about our home and feels powerless. He knows the rough journey we have ahead of us and we have learned to put it in God's hands. Let him rest...give him peace.

7:59 PM

2008-09-12T17:59:00.000-07:00

Well Ike hasn't hit yet. We have had a pretty weird day. Nothing much going on but we are just in wait and see mode. This is how our day has gone:
8 am--wake up and like Christmas morning...run to the front room in anticipation...not for gifts but the most current news on the storm.
8:15 am We realize it has moved closer but we are now on the dirty side.
9:00 am See the 17 foot Seawall in Galveston disappear
12 noon See the small township next to ours underwater
2 pm Make sure all the clothes are washed....preparing for water to be shut down
3 pm cool down the house...feeling the house will lose electricity

Last run to store
Just waiting and see...taking baths in case we can't for a few days
Finishing up stuff for work...the rest of the world still revolves

My daughter's friends that stayed in Seabrook are updating with photos from our area...Toddville, the road into our neighborhood is under.

I have feeling my house is already gone.

It's coming

2008-09-12T08:07:00.000-07:00

So the storm is on it's way. I am at my brothers house, it is about 75 miles from our place. We are watching on TV as the storm starts to take over Galveston. As I write this the update is showing on TV and the storm is a CAT 2 and they still believe storm will strengthen. It's crazy. But I have peace. I know I can and have put it in God's hand. As my mom says, "This too shall pass".

Hurricane Ike

2008-09-11T09:46:00.000-07:00

Well, we have to evacuate by noon. No scrap things going just albums and pictures. I'll blog later about it...some pics of our attempt to keep the rain and wind out of our house when it hits. Gotta keep telling myself...it is just a house and this too shall pass.

Ideas to scrap

2008-09-09T22:11:00.000-07:00

I always seem to find myself in a dilemma of what to scrap. I have all these creative juices flowing but don't know what to scrap. So here are a few ideas that I can review later, when I am not half asleep and have some time and energy to scrap.
* Proverbs 31 and a good women...how that doesn't mean a really clean house
* My dad and why he is my hero
* My mom...thanking her for putting up with me as a teenager
* My weight goals and rewards
* My top ten favorite things right now
* Why my husband is so special to me
* My grandmother
* My crazy dog, Max

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

2008-09-08T21:24:00.000-07:00

So I am revamping my blog. So if it doesn't look the same as yesterday...it isn't....and it may be different tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Square Mini Album

2008-09-08T20:15:00.000-07:00

I thought I would post some images of a mini book that is one of my favorites to make. I got the idea from 2Worlds . This is one of my favorite blogs. She has so many great ideas. Here are two books I made from one of her tutorials.

My first pages in a long time

2008-09-06T13:28:00.000-07:00

I saw this page in Scrapbook Trends that just really caught my eye. So I scraplifted it. I did a digital version and a traditional page. That is how I scrap most of the time. I like Challenges and looking through magazines to get my creativity flowing. They were simple to do and not time consuming, perfect for my firt pages back into the world of scrapbooking. Although, I have to admit, sewing on the pages took a lot longer than I expected.

It's coming back!

2008-09-05T19:25:00.000-07:00

I am working on my first layout in months. I am working on a digital one and a traditional one. The baby book is as about finished as it can be for now. I only need to finish the calendar pages but I can't do that until the baby is born and I know which month is the first month, November or December.

With that almost done, I feel free enough to do some scraplifting. I found this wonderful layout in Scrapbook Trends that I am scraplifting in traditional and paper. I can't wait to show them to you.

I've lost my Mojo

2008-08-31T21:52:00.001-07:00

I am so burnt out. I made this First Year Baby Book for my aunt. I actually took a class, All About Baby at BHG Scrapbooksetc. I actually took all the class last November and I really love this album. But it takes alot of man hours to create. I find that I enjoy scrapbooking for the creative side. I enjoy a challenge from Twopeas or Faithsisters. I like taking a basic idea and building on that idea. But when I create the Baby Album, I have to stay pretty straightforward and it gets monotonous. However, I am in the middle of a new one and I feel guilty putting it to the side to do a personal project. The baby is not due until November and if I let my procrastinate self have it's way....it won't be done until the baby is due and I won't create anything else until then.

How many pictures do you put on your LO?

2008-08-30T16:20:00.000-07:00

That is a tough question. I don't have a particular amount of pictures that I put on a layout. It really depends on what I am trying to say on my LO. For example, if I am writing a love letter to my daughter about the just one aspect of her personality or maybe I am writing down my thoughts and dreams for her, then I would probably just use one 5X7 picture. However, if I am trying to tell a story of the day's events or a holiday, then I may put several pictures on a LO.

When using several pictures, I love using premade templates for the pictures. And the best part...is that they are free collage templates.

They are very easy to use and really help many when I have 5/8/10 pictures I want to use on a page.

Where in the world is Rozette?

2008-07-25T23:35:00.001-07:00

So now I am mobile with my blogging. Hopefully, this will help me stay in touch. I still seem to be doing less scrapbooking than before but my fitness didn't seem to pick up anymore. Back to square one.

Wow it has been a month!!

2008-06-03T22:28:00.001-07:00

I have been out of the loop for a while. The days are just whizzing by me. I am trying to change my habits. I haven't really scrapbooked in a while and I am trying to focus on fitness. Anyway, just thought I would drop in.

Just a few things

2008-05-06T20:28:00.000-07:00

First let me start by saying that my digital book is a no go. I need more time to learn how to do it. That being said, I have started a 12X12 traditional one. It won't be ready in time for Mother's Day but not too far behind.

I am torn right now. It is not my place to judge and to be honest...God is so good that I am at peace with situation that has nothing to do with me. LOL I am laughing so much right now because I sound ridiculous as I type it out. I was putting myself into something that really was none of my business, yet I got caught up in the frenzy of it all. Which makes me wonder, how easy would I fall for propaganda against a person, race, economic level...or any other way a group can single out another group? I think pretty easily if I did not have God to ground me. Ok, I got swept up in an ordeal at a forum. A sad situation but nothing I could add could change anything yet I kept adding, kept reading the responses...there was a thrill that I felt about it.

But I stepped back for a moment and I had a stirring and I couldn't explain it but I had to address it. And here is what came out...compassion and love and prayers for those involved. Oh how we love to be loved. How we love to be accepted just as we are. How wonderful it is to be vulnerable and feel safe. But with that love comes a desire to be more. Great line from Jack Nicholson in the movie "As Good As it Gets"..."You make me want to be a better man." Ohh that was good. Let me repeat it..."You make me want to be a better man."

God loves us in our brokenness but he loves us so much that he doesn't want us to stay broken. And as followers of Christ, we have a desire to become a better man. I mean think about it. Matthew was a tax collector and Jesus loved him before Matthew even started to follow Jesus but he didn't stay a tax collector and tell those he collected taxes from.."Jesus loves me just the way I am and he loves you too." No, he left his job and served. That is what we are to do. We are to die to self and serve. We should want to become a better man or woman. He wants us to receive all the blessings but that comes from obedience, redemption, humility and most of all Love. My husband said it best...if we would do everything with love, we wouldn't break any commandments. In love sometimes we have to sacrifice some of our joys to make amends to those we have hurt. Sometimes we have to be torn down so that we cannot boast that it is not from our strength but His that we are able to receive victory. When we sin we sin against God but sometimes in our sin we hurt others. God forgives us for our sins but we must still do all that we can to stop the pain of those we hurt. Sometimes that means letting go of our pride, sometimes it means going above and beyond what society has asked us to do and do what Jesus would do.

But in that same brokenness, we as Christians need to support one another. Now I am not saying to clean up someone else's mess but to keep focus on God and when we say things to tear someone down, to pass judgement, we are not doing something in love. We are in fact, saying we are better than them and even if we do sin our sin is not as great. That is not so. Sin is sin. We are called to shed light into the darkness, not sit there and join it.

Still working on Digital for MIL

2008-04-21T21:37:00.000-07:00

I have been so busy doing the scrapbook for my MIL. I feel guilty anytime I pick up the laptop for fun or to google something...another addictive past time I have. I google everything...like...hey, I remember that guy from another movie...let's pull up his movie resume. HMmm why do we say ...they kicked the bucket when they died...I know that has to be some where on Google. Anyway...I hope to finish by this weekend and hopefully create a project a day or atleast have one in the works each day.

I have all these idea books and magazines and I love buying supplies....now I just need to start doing something with all of them.

See ya in the funny pages...hmmm gotta google that one also. O_o

Beautiful day

2008-04-08T05:52:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday was a beautiful day in Seabrook. It was one of those days that I fall in love with my little town all over again. We live about 3 minutes from a park that is oceanside and has this really long pier to go fishing. Lots of sailboats out today. We even have a trail that we can walk to the park from our house. It winds through the woods and passes right in front of my neighborhood.
My Canadian husband has decided March and April are his favorite months down south. Low humidity and a comfortable breeze.

Digi Scrapping

2008-04-07T06:27:00.002-07:00

I am in the process of creating a Scrapbook for my Mother-in-law. I am trying digital so that I can have it printed and shipped to Canada in time for Mother's Day. I am so in love with Rhonna Farrer's digital paper, elements, and templates for decorative borders. I don't seek out Rhonna's work but it seems anytime I see anything worth buying, I look at the name of the creator and there is Rhonna. I also like Erica Hernandez. She has these great torn templates that I can't wait to use.
So here are a few things I love about DIGI...takes up less space, once I buy something or download something, I can use it for ever. If something isn't the right color, I can colorize it to any color that I want. My pages seem to come together alot quicker.

Things I love about traditional scrapbooking...I love working with my hands and seeing the fruits of my labor. I love embossing, stamping and painting things to make them my own. I love the additional sense of touch you get from traditional layouts. I love shopping for new embellishments, paper and trying new techniques.

My next goal is to do some hybrid scrapbooking and combine both loves. SBE has a good class on hybrid scrapbooking. I should take out my notes from that class and get to it.

I've been tagged!!

2008-03-06T20:22:00.001-08:00

A- Attached or single: Attached
B- Best Friend: My husband Craig, but my friend Julissa is a close second.
C- Cake or Pie: Pie...strawberry pie from Flying Saucer
D- Day of Choice: Friday!
E- Essential Item (s): Bible, Cell phone, debit card
F-Favorite type of music: Contemporary Christian
G- Gummy Bears or Worms: Neither
H- Hometown: Houston, TX
I- Indulgence(s): Chicken Mole'
J- January or July: July
K- Kids: 1 Girl, however 1 stepson and 2 step daughters
L - Last movie: Michael Clayton....on my Ipod...great movie
M- Marriage Date: 11/19/2005
N- Number of Siblings: 2 sisters, 1 bro
O- Oranges or Apples: Apples
P- Phobias or Fears: reoccurence of Cancer
Q- Quote(s): My Beloved is mine and I am His SOS
R- Reason To Smile: My blessed life
S- Season: Spring
T- Tag Four: Aimee
U- Unknown Fact About Me: I always wanted to be an actor
V- Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animal: I eat meat.
W- Worst Habit: Putting too much on my plate
X- X-Rays or Ultrasounds: NO different...no biggie
Y- Your Favorite Food: Luciannes noodles
Z- Zodiac: Sagitarius...but I don't believe in them

He has called His Beloved home

2008-02-24T21:12:00.001-08:00

It has been a hard two weeks. My neighbor passed away. Her name was Erica. Erica. I wish you could have met her. She moved into the house next door about 5 or 6 months ago. There was a mix up on when their lights were to be turned on and they were left with no lights for the first 5 days. This was in August...hot month in Seabrook. We loaned them candles, an extension cord and a small fridge. She took it all in stride.

Young. Did I mention she was young? She always had a smile on her face. She came by one day to give us a thank you gift. I had to ask...what's up with the blond wig. I knew...but I wanted her to tell me. She explained to me that she was Stage IV breast cancer. It was a relapse. She originally was diagnosed in her early twenties....three weeks after her wedding. They removed the cancer but two years later it came back with a vengeance. Her husband, Paul, had been following a new medication and she was accepted into a study here at MD Anderson. That prompted them to move here. Paul, Erica, their 2 dobermans and 2 cats packed up and moved here, next to me.

We talked for a long time. I too was a cancer survivor. And to me...that is how I knew to call us...those who have been diagnosed and are now in treatment or over treatment. You see, until you are diagnosed, you are dying because you are not defending yourself. But once you begin treatment, you are surviving. But Erica was more than surviving. She was living. She found a job and worked during her chemos. I understood why. To sit and think about nothing but yourself can drive you crazy, so you focus on other things, other people.

They built a pool. It is beautiful. I am sure she couldn't wait to use it. But winter came and it was too cold to swim. She laughed alot. And in her eyes you saw joy and a will to live. She had everything to live for. A wonderful husband, family and friends. They had no children yet. Always fighting this beast called cancer. It probably seemed like a whisper murmuring through the house at all times. When will it be over? How long do I have to take medicine? What side effects can I expect this time? How long do I have to be hooked to this machine? When will my hair grow back? These questions were whispers throughout the house. But so was her laughter. Life was at the forefront of her thoughts. What to do after cancer was on her mind.

At age 31 with a mind and a spirit that wanted to live, her body betrayed her and she left us. I didn't know her for long but it affected me soo much. It still affects me. I cry as I write this post. She had every reason in this world to live. I could justify in my mind why she was going to live. God wouldn't take someone so young, so full of life and so willing to live. Someone that was such a fighter. Pray Rozette. Pray and she will be healed. I mean, I was. I prayed and had it out with God and He healed me. But why not her? Why not the 13 members of my family that were diagnosed before I was diagnosed? Why were His answers to us so different?

ERICA embodied all my hopes, dreams and fears. She expected to make it through this ugly disease. She knew that she knew that this was just a small chapter in her life. She had so much to live for. But it came back and this time it would not let go. It hung on and choked her and her family. Crazy as it may sound, I lean on this hunch...no longer a fact...that I will not get cancer again and if I do, I will be healed. I have an 11 year old daughter that needs me and a husband that I love. It can't come back and if it does, I am going to fight and it won't win. Or so I thought. It isn't enough to just have good reasons to live or a will to live or a prayer. God is God.

GOD is God. We grow with all things. Some are glorious things (a new baby, a true love found, a dream come to fruition). But some are not (death of a child, death of loved one, a dream fallen apart, a marriage broken). But one thing remains the same...God is God. And in the midst of my brokenness over Erica's death, I found peace. I don't know why. I am still working on that part. I know that her struggle is over and I know that during these times I pray Paul and her family lean on God for His healing of their hearts. And I know from experience, that during those times that you just seem so tired and so weak and so alone that during those times when we are too tired to go on, He holds us. And when we are in His arms, nothing feels better. No place feels safer than in His arms. In the midst of all this brokenness comes healing and that is a Glorious thing.

So Paul and everyone else, to God be the glory. To God is where you will find the most glorious peace and love and understanding. Erica, beloved, you are home. One day I will see you again and I will see your smile again. They say that a person lives on as long as they live in the hearts of others. If that is true, then as long as I live Erica will also because I will never forget you.

3X3 mini album

2008-02-03T17:46:00.000-08:00

We had someone leaving at the library and I thought I would make her a gift. We had a Christmas party in November and I took pictures with my new camera. I have no idea where I got the instructions on how to make this but it was saved on my computer. The great part about it ....I only used 1 12x12 solid cardstock to make the album and then 1/3 of another piece of cardstock. It was very easy to make and I love the way it came out.

What do Valentines, Cricut and SBE have in common?

2008-01-27T21:38:00.000-08:00

Can I just say how much I love my Baby Bug? (aka Cricut) I cut 15 2 1/2 inch hears, 15 2 inch hearts, 15 hollow hearts, and 15 tags. All of this within minutes. And not only did I cut these, but I was burning CDs at the time. How is that possible? Because I just key in the items I want to cut and my BabyBug does the rest. I am so in love with it, I think I will have to give it a pet name....I'll get back to you on that one.
The hearts are for work. We have 40 or 50 employees at the library and Valentines Day is coming up. I got my SBE Magazine on Saturday and they have these cute Valentines day cards on page 88 and I just fellin love with them. I did not want to have to go buy anything so I used paper that I had and embellished. So I made these and I will use another pattern to make the others. Perhaps two more patterns.

My Daughters Faith

2008-01-26T20:12:00.000-08:00

I am on a count down for Revolve tour with my daughter. I grew up in a faithless home and at times I could have really used it. Looking back, I can see the times God was there when I didn't even acknowledge His existence. My prayer is that my daughter grows up knowing Him. And not just knowing Him but being in love with Him and having a relationship with Him. It overwhelms me, in a good way, when I see her engrossed in praise and worship. I took this picture at a concert we went to together. I can't wait for the Revolve Tour, for girls.

Birthday Card

2008-01-24T23:17:00.001-08:00

This is the card I made for my son. I used AOL trial offer CDs from Best Buy. My inspiration came from 2peas. My son lives 2000 miles away in Canada and my husband really misses him. Well we all miss him but my husband misses the time he use to spend with him during the weekends. Now, our son won't call dad to talk but he will spend a few hours each night playing Call of Duty with his old man. So that is what I used for a theme. The cover has two players and if you have ever played Duty of Duty, your user name is displayed near your man. So I used PSE5 to insert their names onto the screen shots.

The Answer is...scrap

2008-01-21T19:14:00.000-08:00

I have been so out of blogging. Sorry guys. I went to CKC Houston...so it was a scrapbook store on steroids. I didn't take any of the classes and they may be the difference. I didn't connect with anyone and to be honest...so much stuff that I was just overwhelmed.

However, I did come away with a few new loves

1) Technique Tuesday...I love their stamps and I love their layouts. I fell in love with their style of scrapping. I think I have found my home...scrapbook wise.

2) Stamps by Judith...totally love her stubbies and her tree stamp.

3) Liquid Glass...I have some in a package..never used and now I can't stop using it.

Do I scrap or do I blog? That is the Question

2008-01-14T22:12:00.000-08:00

Recently, the answer is scrap. My stepson's birthday is coming up. So you know I had to scrap a card for him. And of course, not just any card but a "special" card. You know the ones, the ones that take hours and hours to make. The ones that take as long as a mini album. :) The hard part was thinking of a theme. God bless the women at 2peas because someone said scrap his hobby. Well then it became a little easier, Call of Duty 4. So I was on a mission at 2peas looking for inspiration. Thank you memrybug for your pirate CD...it was just what I needed for inspiration. The cover is a screen shot from the game and I used Photoshop E5 to add his user name and my husband's user name. (If you are ever online at Xbox, look them up.) And again, the Bind it all from Zutter was my hero. It cut through those CDs like butter. I have to say it has become my bff.

Christmas Eve at the Blancos "Joyfully"

2008-01-05T23:59:00.001-08:00

Wow! It has been a whole year since I started my first scrapbook. This time last year I was working on my first scrapbook.. Well I did one about 11 years ago for my grandmother but it was a once in a lifetime deal and when I was done, I was done. (so I thought) It was at Christmas that I presented my very first scrapbook. It was a hit with all the family. She passed away about 3 or 4 years ago and I was given the scrapbook.

Well this year, one year into my new scrapbook adventure, I did a a video montage to music that consisted of all the pictures that were in the original scrapbook, some of them dating back to the 3o's and pictures of time that has passed since creating that one.

But this page is about Christmas. Christmas as it has been since I was a little girl celebrating it at my grandmother's house. It is still celebrated at her house. Well, my aunts house but we call it grandma's house. Her spirit is still felt and missed, especially at Christmas time. The house is full of children, as it has always been. Only now I am not the one begging to open presents early, running around the house, and laughing with all my cousins. No, it is my daughter now and her second cousins. I don't think we will ever be without children in the house. With a new one even this year, there is a promise that Christmas will always be filled with children. That is why I love this picture and why I could not wait to scrapbook it. It is us, the Blancos, celebrating as we always have...joyfully.

One more look at the years gone by

2008-01-03T22:25:00.000-08:00

I began to reflect on the year gone by and was searching through my pictures to find the perfect one to tell my story and I found my Christmas tree. It isn't big, full or even real. But on its branches hang symbols of days gone by. If you look closely you will see one I made by hand. That was Christmas when money was so tight that we had no gifts between me and my love one. So I went to the dollar store and bought a roll of wrapping paper and some plastic doilies and took some tape from work and some paper clips and I made some ornaments. We didn't have a tree that year, I just hung them on the wall in the shape of a tree. There hangs the first ornament I bought for my little girl. Her eyes had not seen the world yet but I already loved her. I could feel her move around in my tummy and I know she was mine and I knew she was loved. There hangs one of the first ornaments she made for me, a big white angel with gold trimmed wings. There hangs a wreath ornament made of Chili peppers, the one me and my beloved bought the first time we met in person. There hangs an ornament given to me by a sweet young boy. A thank you gift he made for me. We had adopted his family one year for Christmas and their wish list consisted of things I could not afford. But by the grace of God, through others, they received their stove, beds, food, clothes and even toys...they hadn't asked for toys, they only asked for things they needed. At 10 years old he could tell you how many cans of vegetable he had in their pantry and corn bread mix. They made one of each a day, to share between him, his sister and his mother. I still cry when I think about them. There hangs the lyrics to Away in a manger, the song that tells of my saviour and how he was born so fragile yet he is the King of Kings. Even my tree itself has a story. It is the tree me and my precious daughter bought on our first Christmas alone. It wasn't big and it wasn't real but it was ours. My tree and its ornaments are symbolic of all of God's blessing. Through the good times and hard times, He was there. He loved me and cared for me when I knew nothing of Him. He worked through others to help me and as He filled me, he used me to help others. How great is our God!!

Happy New Year!!

2008-01-01T18:26:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!!! We had a wonderful time New Years eve with some good friends and new ones. I am excited that two of the most amazing men I have known, have found their soul mates. And what else would an amazing man have but an amazing woman?!?!?!? They are wonderful women, Godly women. We sat and chatted and rang in the New Year. A wonderful time was had by all.

Madame Librarian....Marian

2007-12-31T06:36:00.000-08:00

Do you remember the movie...The Music Man? Well there is this scene in the library where the Music Man declares his love to Marian, the librarian. Well, I have only seen the movie once, but I have to tell you, anytime I come to work at the library, that song comes to my head and I hum it. I thought I would get over it but it has been 4 months and it still kicks in when I get here. But I have to say I am surprised at what you can do at your local library and the programs they offer.

For example, at my library, you can take Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, Digital Photography and Computer Basics classes.....for free!!! And you can take them as often as you like.

There is an online database for family heritage that has records from way back when. And if your family came via Ellis Island and they signed in, you can get a copy of the page of where they signed in....all for free. Need information about a company? Check out Reference USA in our database and you can get their financials, home office information, gross income etc. What if you want some stock information? Check out ValueLine, we have a paid subscription to it so you don't have to pay. There is this series of books that you heard about and you can't remember the name or author of any of the books...check out Novelist and you can type in the plot line and it will give you a list of books that meet that description. Narrow your search to books in a series and wahla....you found what you are looking for.

Our Young Adults have a whole area to themselves. 12 computers dedicated to them and a reference librarian if they need help searching for information. The teachers can email her before the projects are given out so that she can be prepared for their questions. They also have an anime club, the traveling pants club, they make Christmas cards, eat chocolate from a chocolate fountain ( not all the time) and play Runescape all day long.

We have study rooms that you can reserve for up to 4 people at a time for up to two hours. Some tutors rent our rooms all evening (under the students names) and run their tutor business from here. We have meeting rooms that fit 150+ people and it can be reserved all day and for free!!

Did you know you can check ebooks via the library and audiobooks? It's true. I know Iknow...I didn't know it either until I started working here.

Let me encourage you to check out your local library, you will be amazed at what you can do there.

VHS vs Beta

2007-12-30T16:22:00.000-08:00

For those who are old enough...and you know who you are, remember when VCR's first came out? Those big bulky top loading machines that were going to change how we watched TV? Remember, the debate over which was better--Beta or VHS. To say the least, VHS won and all those mislead Beta people had to convert. Well at least until DVD came along.

Well I feel mislead. Some time ago I discovered Photobucket. I loved it. Even purchased more storage but as months went by....all I see are people with Flickr. For months, I have stood my ground and refused to view any Flickr sites but I soon discovered, everyone I knew that wanted to share pics were using it. And now I am trying to set up a slideshow on my blog and guess what? Flickr interface works but not the Photobucket. So, here I stand....defeated. I broke down and opened a Flickr site....now if I can only get it to show the pictures that I want to show.

2007 Christmas ornaments

2007-12-30T00:38:00.000-08:00

I love Christmas!! Sometimes it is cooler in Houston, other times, well it is just less humid. but I love all the colors and how somehow the air feels with joy and giving. Since my little girl, Gabby, was in my tummy, we have bought an ornament each year. This is one of my favorites. We got this one when she was two and this is the first one she picked out. Which is just awesome because I love Mickey and Minnie. But as much as I love this one, I now have another favorite because of the story it tells.

You see, a few years ago, as a single mom, I bought a real inexpensive fake tree. I know...I know...you are asking why? I don't know why but I did. In any case, this year I really wanted a real tree but my husband did not want to go buy one. And the truth be known, we didn't even put up our Christmas decorations until December 21st. So as we are pulling out the fake tree, that I have to fill with garland because it is so lean, I notice a funky smell. We stored it in the garage and it really smelled musty. I continue to complain about the smell and when my husband goes to the grocery store for a midnight run, I ask him to bring home a Pine smelling candle to help with the odor. After searching high and low at the store, the only thing he found was a car freshner, ironically shaped as a Christmas tree....come on...we have all seen them. Knowing that I really wanted a pine tree smell, he brings home the car freshner and hangs it on the tree. And by the way, it does not smell anything like a pine tree....just chemicals. Well we have a huge two story foyer and family game room, where my scrap room resides, is upstairs. And only God knows why, but that smell travels straight up to my scrap area.

But despite the horrid smell, I leave the car freshner on the tree. Why? Because it is a symbol of how much my husband loves me and what means he will do to make me happy. So the Christmas ornament for my husband and me for 2007? A car freshner, and I wouldn't change it for the world.

Superscrapilfragilisticespialidocious

2007-11-26T21:35:00.000-08:00

That's me!!! Somewhere in the midst of my chaotic life is the word scrapping. How I love to collect tools, buy paper, take pictures, review books, discuss techniques, collect stamps, stroll down aisles at Michael's, Hobby Lobby, Scrapbook Junkie and Scrapbook by Design. But that will soon change. You see, January 1st is around the corner. Some will promise to walk more each day, others will promise to eat less but I will promise to scrap more and buy less. Yes my fellow scrappers, I will learn to use what I have and to use it well.

I don't have a plan yet but someone once said the best plans that are kept are those that are written. So here I am world...I am writing my promise to scrap more.