My art project for this weekend...

I follow Kayla Aimee's blog - you will too, once you fall in love with her baby Scarlette - and she recently sent out a mom's plea for projects to do with her little girl.  You see, Scarlette and her mom are quarantined for 6 months - they're 4 months into it already so there's a HUGE light at the end of the tunnel - but she needs to keep her very active baby busy!  And they don't have the distraction of wandering the mall, going to the library, going to a crop...  Scarlette was very premature, in NICU for a long time (5 months or so, KA?), and to keep her healthy, mom and baby are sort of housebound...

WELL, someone sent her this awesome project.  Put some different color paints in a ziplock bag, shut it securely, and let baby Scarlette "paint" a piece of modern baby art by squeezing and pressing...  KA thought to put a piece of cardstock in there and rescued it pre-destruction, then gave the bag'o'paint back to Scarlette.  A regular piece of modern art!

So I'm going to do the same thing this weekend, and create some Project Life inserts, some card bases, some backgrounds to use in my art journal and in my scrapbooks!  Thanks, KA, for the idea!  (And thanks, too, to whoever sent the idea to Kayla Aimee!)

http://www.kaylaaimee.com/2012/02/ziplock-bag-painting-1st-art-project/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+kaylaaimee+%28kayla+aimee%3A+only+slightly+neurotic%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Project Life

I'm doing Becky Higgins' Project Life this year.  I bought last year's binder package when it went on sale on Amazon for, if I remember correctly, $30 or $40.  I've bought some different divided page protectors so that I could include multiple sizes, additional photos, etc.

Here are some photos, from Week 1 on...  I'm not including spreads for each week, and some might be more overview and others might be close up...

A list of scrapping classes I'm taking in 2011

When I have to go back and fill something in, I just insert a Post-It with a scribbled note.  If I don't go back and finish the page, the memories are still there, sparked by that little note...



I took a photo of my favorite soda while food shopping in Shop Rite.



Mom came home from AZ so I took some photos in the train station while I was waiting for her.



I bought myself a necklace from Lisa Leonard.  It included my 2011 word:  FOCUS.



Aunt Fanny died.  Nothing more to say.  RIP, Aunt Fanny!  We miss you!



Kat brought us all a candy snack from Japan so I saved the label!



Love you and miss you, Kazia!



Paying bills - I could post a picture like this twice a month, but I won't...  That would be cheating...  and really boring!



I'll post a few more photos another time - My friend E is coming up on Saturday to do some scrapping.  I've almost got her converted, to a small degree.  She joined me at the Rockaway crop earlier in June and made herself a mini-book.  And LOVED it!  She loved the process, the end result!  Everything!  Yay!  Someone else to scrap with!  (Yea, I know, don't end a sentence with a preposition...)

Some scrappy examples...

Was chatting with my sister this weekend and she commented that she'd be interested in seeing some of my scrap pages, and my art journal work, too.  I'm taking a new art journaling class called Life Journaling with Amy Coon (it's an online class) and while I haven't started any hands-on work in this class, I have some other pages I can show off here...

DISCLAIMER:  Although I love to do it, and I read tons'o'blogs written by professional scrappers, I.AM.NOT.A.PROFESSIONAL.  Please leave only happy, constructive criticism - vicious laughter at my ineptitude will only make me cry!!!

I created this background when the prompt called for inchies:  they wanted us to put together a page using 1"x1" photos, pieces of photos, etc.  There's a running joke amongst my scrapping pals that I never do exactly what I'm told, or what the instructions say to do - I always give it somewhat of an original twist and do it my way...  So rather than 1"x1", I used colored squares that were about 2-1/2 to 2-3/4 inches square and I inked them up with my selection of distress inks.  (That selection has doubled since then, by the way!)  I thought it would make a cool background but I can't decide what I want to ruin it with - I like it just the way it is!  Someday I'll add to the page, either some journaling, some lettering, some photos, some other type of something to finish the page...

This was a page I did in a previous art journaling class that wasn't based on any prompt whatsoever.  I was playing around with colors and that wiggly way of putting text on a page, and this is what came out of my doodling...

This is an art journal I made with my own two hands - it's from a kit from Donna Downey.  The cover is canvas with a fabric front and back.  The interiors are all random sizes and textures:  some envelopes, IBM timecards, cardstock, etc.  I like the randomness of it a lot - some of the artwork can take literally 5 minutes 'cause the "canvas" is 3"X3" - others take me forever 'cause they're on a 7"x9" page!

For some unknown reason that may be related to the fact that I'm a "guest" on my corporate "guest" wifi network, I am having a devil of a time uploading photos to this site, even from my external hard drive.

I'll make a point of posting future work, and old stuff when I can figure out why I can't post them today...

Received two orders today...

... two orders containing some of my favorite things... scrapping paper, stamps, alphabet sets, brads, buttons, labels, and rub-ons based on "The Classics" - The Three Musketeers, Pride and Prejudice, The Wizard of Oz, The Ender, et cetera, et cetera... How could I resist???

And what did the other package contain? Books! The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels - A Love Story, by Ree Drummond, .and The Gifts of Imperfection, by Brene Brown. I can't wait to start them!




J is building some cabinets for me for the basement at the lake house.  They're not for the summer kitchen, per se, but for the pantry and a counter for the microwave.  There will be some closed in cabinets so that the canned goods don't get AS dusty when he's working on one of his projects in the big room...

We put together the frame of the floor to ceiling pantry today.  Tomorrow he'll start working on the smaller cabinet.

I'm going to the mall with my sister-in-law tomorrow, to start looking for a dress for her son's wedding in Cabo San Lucas in April.  I'm going to start tomorrow with a visit to WW, then a bagel with my hubby, then I'll run home and shower before we start shopping.  Maybe I'll be able to talk P into lunch while we're out shopping...  I'll check Bloomingdale's, Lord & Taylor, Macy's, etc.  If I can even try on a few dresses and get some idea of styles, colors, prints and patterns...

Sunday we'll got to Shop Rite, Mom and I will, after breakfast with J's Uncle Johnny.  Breakfast at the little coffee cafe in the Shop Rite, actually.  (They have some yummy flavored coffees - J really enjoys the Amaretto flavor, while I usually opt for the Chocolate Raspberry.)

I have about 2 or 3 hours of housecleaning to do, too, which I'll probably do after the mall.  A load or two of laundry, clean off the coffee table, match up the dental insurance and send a payment to Dr. M., and then start sorting through our tax paperwork so we can submit our tax returns.  (Yea, sounds like fun, right?!?)

Want to do some reading tomorrow, and some scrapping.  Ordered some photos tonight, for pick up at Costco tomorrow.  I ordered a real cute one of E in J's camo hat.  I chose to print 4 wallet-sized ones so I could use it in my Project Life book...  I have to remember that I have other page protectors that I can use for vertical 4"x6" photos...

Well, it's 10:43pm and I need to just finish my coffee and relax before bedtime...  Talk with you tomorrow...

My Scraproom

Finally, photos of my scraproom -

If you stand in the door to the spare room, this is what you see on the opposite wall.  The green fabric drawers contain either embellishments, stamps, or flowers.  You'll get a peek into one of them later on.  I modified Stacy Julian's organizing by color idea to fit me, and when I did it, I found it SO much easier to create a page.  I tend to choose the photos first, the background paper next, then the embellishments, and then I create a title and journal.  So being able to decide what paper I want by color, to match or contrast or enhance the photo, and then do the same with embellishments - that works for me!

To the right, against the front wall of the room/house, I have a Clip It Up, 2 tiers high, with 1/2 of my alphabets on it.  This was a HUGE breakthrough for me!  Seeing them in front of me makes it easy for me to use them.  I would love to have a room decorated perfectly with closed storage, but I'd never accomplish anything.  I've learned I'm a visual learner as well as a visual doer!  Below the spinning rack is a Polaroid printer I got 6 years ago for $5.  You heard right - $5.  No offense, Polaroid, but it's worth $5.  The colors don't print true and you can't adjust them, so I'm thinking I'll give it away on Craigslist or something later on - I wouldn't even be able to take money for it - I'd feel I was robbing the customer!  That brown horizontal box has photos in it, and the dark basket on top is "stuff" that needs to find a home.  The white wire cubes have, in order from left to right, top to bottom:  stamps, my art journaling supplies (paint, gesso, paper, brushes), that wicker basket will go in one of the bottom cubes (it contains paper I can use as background, books I don't mind tearing up), and that blue folder has assorted photos in it.

This is my tiny desk.  I was happy to get it (it's the first piece of furniture J ever built and he used it for a kitchen table/desk when he bought his first house after his divorce), but now it's simply too small.  I can't even keep my tool spinner on it - that has to stay on top of those wire racks!  In the back is another wooden rack with my Distress Inks in alphabetical order.  That works better for me - I know their names so it's easier to grab Barn Door from the B than go looking for red paints and inks...  Those two piles of "stuff" need to be put away.  That black unit all the way to the right is a rolling rack that I gotfor $25 (originally $89.95 at AC Moore).  It came with a fabric cover.  The next photo shows what's on it...

I took the cover off - there's plenty of room here I'm not using yet.  The hanging files have gallon freezer bags with scraps sorted by color.  The basket on the top shelf on the right contains photo CDs.  I'm a bit worried that they'll become obsolete so when I retire in a few years, that will be my 1st project - be sure the files are on my external hard drive.  If they're not, copy and organize them.  THEN I won't worry that the CDs will go the way of cassettes and 8-tracks...  Plus, there are probably photos on them that I haven't scrapped yet!!!  The shelves on the right side of the unit are empty, except for one project I'm working on, a painted Christmas canvas project from Donna Downey.  The two drawers have my journal, my P-touch, a small photo trimmer...

This is my favorite part of the room.  That wooden unit is a Murphy Bed that J built so that I could use the room but if we have guests, there's a full bed that can be pulled down.  On either side are floor to ceiling shelves that I use for storage.  I was worried about the sun fading my paper so I went to Walmart, spent $4 on a flat sheet (BH&G brand), cut it in half and trimmed it.  I sewed the pocket rod, but used iron-on hemming tape to finish the long edges and the bottom.  Easy!  (Thanks, G, for the idea of using a sheet!)  My ribbons are all sorted by color:  red/pink/white/black, yellow/orange/brown, green, blue/purple.  The shelf at the top is miscellaneous "stuff" right now - a white shelf that needs to be hung up, an altered paint can I'll get rid of soon, and two boxes of fibers I have to sort into my color bins.

This is the bookshelf on the left side of the bed.  Top shelf:  extra empty photo albums.  Next shelf:  a basket of projects to do when I'm bored (HA!), an empty cookie tin that I thought I could use for storage of something, and a couple of albums I put together with pages I got in a scrapping swap, two sorted by 2 pages/month, and one sorted by a theme/holiday for each month.  Next shelf:  plastic drawers with borders in the top one, punched out faces of family and friends from pictures that weren't so great, but their expressions were, and then an empty drawer (except for a few cut-out words from paper or magazined.  Next shelf:  paper storage using Cropper Hoppers, and this shelf includes an envelope of transparencies.  Next shelf:  the green and white bin contains 6"x6" and 8"x8' paper, and there's a stack of notebooks to the right.  Bottom shelf:  the orange and white bin contains alterable "stuff", and to the left of it are some chipboard albums, magazines I'm saving to scrap, and a pink box of letters from my best friend from college.  Okay, some people save love letters...  LOL!

 This is the set of shelves to the left of the bed.  Top shelf:  all but empty, with just an expanding folder with a few photos in it that have to be moved into photo storage. Next shelf:  my idea binder (a project I did online with Wendy Smedley, I believe), card storage for my homemade cards and for store-bought cards.  There's also a photo album of pictures of this house being built that has to be completed and moved out to the sitting room with the other scrapbooks.   Next shelf:  Cropper Hoppers with 8.5"x11" Stampin' Up paper, and horizontal files with my patterned paper in ROYGBIV order.  Next shelf:  the remaining ROYGBIV patterned paper shelves and some page protectors.

I had to take a separate photo of the last two shelves because of the rolling cart, which admittedly, I could have simply rolled away...  Next shelf:  storage bags and a file of magazine clippings for decorating my house.  Bottom shelf:  Sizzix Big Shot, Sizzix alphabets, and assorted other miscellaneous "stuff" to be sorted through and put away someday...

This rolling cart has a project in each plastic box.  From the top down:  a book I'm making for my stepdaughter about her boyfriend/fiance/soon-to-be-someday husband, a vacation album, a home album, and three Christmas boxes (yes, I love Christmas, so what?!?!).  My Cricut lives on top, with the various Cricut doo-dads on the shelf immediately to the right of the machine, just below the ribbons you'll see in the next photo.

Those ribbon storage boxes came from Walmart, and they work but I wish they were closer to my other ribbons.  Oh, well...  Those plastic drawers contain my Bazzil paper, some 1/2 sheets of mulberry paper, and some pads of Bazzill.  There's a jar of binder rings I use for mini-books, a plastic box of mini-books that will move to the sitting room soon, alcohol inks and blender solution, adhesive-backed ribbons, and a whole punch on top of the plastic drawers.  The Stampin' Up craft inks will go somewhere else when I figure out where I'm going to store my Stampin' Up ink pads...

Each of the green drawers contain, for the most part, embellishments sorted by color.  There's a little mini white plastic basket in each to corral the small "stuff", quart ziploc bags for some of the embellishments I picked up at the EK Success warehouse sales they used to have here in NJ, borders, adhesive- backed/themed felt ribbon borders, etc.  For instance, if it's green and it isn't an alpha set, paper, ink or paint, it pretty much gets tossed into this drawer.  Each drawer has a ribbon tied on the handle to indicate what color "stuff" is in it:  green, blue, pink/red, yellow/orange, gold/silver/bronze metallic, purple, black, white, multicolored (where I couldn't decide what the predominant color was).  There are a couple of drawers that aren't color specific:  one of adhesives and tape refills, one of Christmas embellishments, one of my flowers, and one of stamps.

When you look at the white cubbies/ green drawers in the first photo, you'll notice several cubbies without any drawers.  They contain, in no particular order:

• paper tagger
• Crop-o-dile
• a fabric tote with journaling spots
• a wooden bowl with scrap-decorated tags I've either gotten in a tag swap or created myself
• embossing supplies
• markers in a mini 3-drawer unit, paints, and pastels
• stamps in two or three cubbies (some Stampin' Up and other vendors, too)
• boxes with buttons (sorted by color) and other mini embellishments (similar to fishing tackle boxes)
• chipboard shapes
• two metal bins with my punches tossed in them (I don't have a lot of punches)
• blank card/envelopes
• quote books/title books

There's one empty wall on your left when you walk into the room (opposite my desk).  I have a poster to be hung up there, and there's a card table there now with a few boxes on it - boxes of some supplies that need to be stored away, and two boxes of supplies I'm looking to get rid of/donate.  There's also a clothing closet with cardboard, albums, storage containers and TONS'o'photos that I've started sorting according to Stacy Julian's Library of Memories program...

Hope you liked the mini tour - thought I'd do a video, too, but I want to practice that a bit before I actually post it here for you all to see!!!

FOCUS - My One Little Word

I'm taking an online class from Ali Edwards called One Little Word.

We had to choose a word to be "our word" for 2011.

I thought about "create," "try," "faith," "healthy," and so many more.  Then I realized what they all had in common was that what I wanted to do was "focus" on my creativity, on my faith, on trying to whatever, on eating more healthily and working out a little more...

So I chose "focus."  It sort of covers it all.

So I treated myself to a necklace from Lisa Leonard, personalized with my One Little Word.  Here's a photo:

It's going to be my anchor, my reminder, my touchstone...

Last Week's Crop

On January 15 I spent the day at Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Rockaway, scrapping away with the Scrap Addicts Unlimited Meet Up group.  Not, perhaps, my most productive day, but I did catch up on E's baby album, worked a bit on my picture files on the computer, and started a couple of other pages.

Last month my friend E spent the day with me; this month I was on my own, but had a great time with my scrapping friends!  Here's a view of the room, from my seat at the back.  I was the last table in the middle, at the back end of the room.  You can see there was another double row of tables against the windows, one behind me, and than against the wall you can't see (outside the right side of the photo) was a single row of vendor tables. 

This is Bea.  She's a scrapping friend I met through the Morris County Scrapbooking and Cardmaking Meetup Group that M and D started years ago.  Thet's the first group I joined, and it's a wonderful group of ladies I'm proud to call friends of mine.  Bea lives in Mendham Park and has an absolutely GORGEOUS home.  She hosted a few scrapping meet ups at her house a few years ago, before she lived in remodeling hell while her kitchen and family room were gutted and redone.  (Personally the original was awesome, and I haven't seen the new and improved version, but I'm sure it's stunning!)



And here are a couple of the pages I started.  The one with Mom will eventually get framed.  The one with my gorgeous daughter?  That one will wind up in my family book.  Took that photo at the Kindergarten graduation she ran last year at the after-school program.  We're so proud of her - she did a great job!

February's scrapping day is the 12th, so I'm not sure yet if I'll be there - our long weekend is the weekend after so perhaps we won't celebrate St. Valentine's Day the weekend it actually happens; maybe we'll do something the following weekend. 

Of course, I have to schedule my 1st colonoscopy soon; perhaps that 3-day weekend would be a good choice...  IF the doctor's working that weekend...  (See what happens when you turn 50?!?)

Unplugged...

So I spent Sunday unplugged along with P. Well, unplugged except for the requisite phone call to Mom first thing in the morning, and a check-in with P during our Day of Unplugged-ness. (We both pretty much agreed to that phone calls, especially to Mom to check in, were allowed if necessary. Except for Mom and P, the only other phone call I accepted was from DSD, post-surgery. (I couldn't not talk with her; we needed to know how she was doing.)

I started my day at church and then we took a ride up to Bagel Station, on Route 15, where they sell "the best bagels in New Jersey." And it's not just our opinion; they have a sign!!! J had his usual asiago cheese bagel, "the best [I've] ever had!!" And I had a garlic bagel: the first time I had a garlic bagel from them - okay, but their everything is better. I think next time I'll either try J's asiago or the bacon, egg and cheese one...

Then we went home, planted ourselves in lounge chairs on the dock, and absorbed some Vitamin D for a few hours! (I'm not responsible for the scientific accuracy of my blogging!) I have a nice tan from yesterday. It was warmer than on Saturday, a bit more humid, but far from as humid as today. (I only lasted 1/2 an hour today.)

I read a lot: I read Tess Gerritsen's new Ice Cold, James Patterson's new Private, and finished 3 short stories in a book called The Bodyguard (I like Cherry Adair and she was one of the authors). I also finished Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, and started Karen Rose's Silent Scream.

I scrapped some, too, and worked on my art journal. I made this mini book with pictures from A's graduation party.

We went to bed without the usual DVD or TV movie; after all, it was "Unplugged Day."

And that was it...

A Week in the Life: Updated

So I'm thinking maybe I won't be able to do 3 pages a day... But one page is just fine, right? The idea is to record your everyday.

My everyday, quite honestly, isn't all that interesting. As I browse through posts by some of the other participants, well, I just don't think to take a picture of the really cool brick road near my child's school (no child, no school, no brick road). I don't take self portraits of me running on the treadmill (while I DO have a treadmill, I DON'T run on it!). There are no pictures of me taking care of my stunningly beautiful baby girl (although I did take a picture of my beautiful daughter when she popped by the house to see her new tire rim the other day... and I took a picture of her rim...).

What did I take pictures of? Okay, here you go, an update:

• the new shoes I ordered from Zappos - FitFlops for those of you who care!
• as mentioned before, the new rim we bought for M
• my work PC screen when an IM popped up on it from an ex-colleague
• the backyard at the lake with more dirt dropped and more plants transplanted
• the vitamins I bought for my sister's dog
• the shop I bought a cup of coffee at
• the parking garage I parked in this morning (REALLY bad photo - no idea if I'll be able to use it)
• the waiting room at the Imaging Center where I went for my annual mammogram (be sure to get checked!)
• the front door of the building where I work
• some wall art around the corner from my job that illustrates Hoboken and its history, painting on the wall around the park at 4th and Hudson
• the salad I had for lunch yesterday
• my groceries on the conveyor belt in the Shop Rite
• the little bagel shop we had breakfast at on Sunday
• the pills I take every evening: BC, Calcium+D3, and D3
• a page in the art journal I created for an online class I'm taking
• the weather monitor showing the temperature in the house and outside at the lake on Sunday
• dinner cooking in the pan on Saturday night - in honor of my MIL, who died 9 years ago next month - we had one of her classic meals on her b'day Saturday
• J driving the truck
• the Burger King where we ate on Saturday afternoon
• a few really cool photos at the place where we bought some turfstones on Saturday - a huge factory, different exterior stones, big bales of fencing wire
• the container plants we planted for our new faux front porch - this warrants a photo and a post all its own at some point in the future... remind me if I forget...
• our street sign and a couple of shots coming down the road to our lakehouse
• the church we attend at the lake
• some clothes I tried on in the store on Saturday
• me reflected in the mirror in the dressing room - fully clothed! No worries!
• the appetizer I forgot to take a picture of until it was almost all gone

Okay, so these photos were perhaps a bit more of my everyday than last weeks photos from work... One desk, 10 hours sitting in front of the same computer screen - doesn't lend itself well to various photos of my everyday!!!
I think I'm going to take pictures a few more days; tonight is our usual Monday night at my SIL's. I didn't take any photos there last week and it's definitely something I would want a record of it (the only night I eat dessert every week!) and time spent with family. This weekend I'll take a ride up to the lake and get some supplies; I think we might be home working at J's niece's house to get her nursery ready for the baby-to-be!
J will finally find out if it's a boy or a girl! Neither of us wanted to know but my SIL slipped and told me. I've been keeping it quiet until J finds out but will tell you all once he hears! (I don't think I told you already!) I really feel very strongly about not knowing; I have a 100% record of guessing when I guess, but it's usually in the 9th month, just before the baby joins us. I wanted to guess this one, too, and I was leaning toward either a boy or a girl (;-D), but when my SIL spilled the beans, well, I was right! I will admit how much fun it's been going shopping for either a boy or a girl, looking at all those cute boy and girl clothes... I admit to enjoying that, but still, DON'T tell me if you're pregnant whether it's a boy or a girl! I like to guess!
Well, gotta run - it's time to go home!

A Week in the Life...

My life is boring. And never have I been more convinced of that than this past week!

I am supposed to be taking numerous pictures each day of "my life" - my boring, ordinary life that's just like every one else's boring, ordinary life who's participating in that same project. What project, you ask? Visit Ali's blog; she started this whole deal.

So there are thousands of women, scrappers all over the globe, participating in this project. There's Cathy Zielski - here's a link to HER blog. The other day? She took 192 pictures.

1.9.2. One.hundred.ninety-two. CXCII. (Is that right?)

192 pictures? I'm struggling to break 10 in a day!!! I know I'm supposed to take photos of "my every day." And I tried. So, in words (photos to come at a later day!), here's a typical week:

• picture of my breakfast
• picture of me dressed and coifed for work
• picture of my desk
• picture of PC screen
• picture of a representative project on my desk
• picture out the window of my office of NYC hidden by fog
• picture of my lunch
• picture of my dinner
• picture of J
• picture of us watching TV
• picture of my breakfast (which, btw, IS.EXACTLY.THE.SAME.AS.YESTERDAY'S
• picture of me dressed and coifed for work
• picture of my desk
• picture of PC screen - oh, wow! Different shot!
• picture of representative project on my desk - I do the same thing every day, people, so this looks the same as yesterday's, too!
• picture out the window of my office of NYC NOT hidden by fog
• picture of my lunch - different salad, but salad, nonetheless
• picture of my dinner (Oh, this picture is of an empty plate 'cause I forgot to take a photo of the dinner itself!)
• picture of J doing something a little different, maybe changing a tire rather than cleaning the basement
• picture of us watching TV (hey, it IS a different show!)
• and on, and on, and on
• and to shake it all up, OH! I did laundry one day!!! Wanna see photos of my clean socks?!?

This is going to be ONE.BORING.PROJECT.

To prove it, I'll post those pictures later on... I'm going to take photos for two weeks, in the off chance something interesting happens to me, or around me, next week...

Color

This is fascinating!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xl1lLze5ZpM

Artistic & Creative: I Am!!!

A few years ago I NEVER would have used the words "artistic" or "creative" to describe myself. And I'm still not comfortable with them. But today they apply a heck of a lot more than they did way back when.

I picked up scrapbooking several years ago, when I became unemployed. I wouldn't recommend this: no income? Scrapping stuff? They don't go together. One needs money to buy stuff...

And lo and behold, I really liked some of the pages I created. Not all of them, but some of them. And that's okay.

And I found Donna Downey. What a creative genius! And she makes it all look so easy.

So I tried.

I bought an art journal kit from her months ago. It required sewing. No one had a working sewing machine so I carried that kit from room to room, convinced some day I'd start on it.

And I did. Last weekend.

I'm STILL not happy with my first page, which admittedly is a work in progress: I put some color on the page, liked it, and fell into the old trap: if I like it now, I'll like it more with more paint! And I don't. So I'm going to re-create my first page this weekend, but for now, here's what I've created so far!

And THANK YOU, DONNA!!! For helping me find my creative and artistic self!!!

(I sewed this!! On my new sewing machine! I'm feeling so inspired!!!)

Finally Scrap Creative!

So finally, I created some cards and I'm posting them here! I took a class with the very talented Lisa T (her blog is called Stamp with Lisa T). There were only two of us there with her; our 3rd classmate took sick (feel better, Jo'Anne!).

Lisa cut and scored all the paper for us, so we were able to jump right in! She's a great instructor - she had a finished set there for reference and is a big help when you get stuck! The great thing is that this project will make an awesome gift for someone! And I almost always need an awesome gift for someone, and I never have one home! [So I suppose I should take this home and not leave it on my desk at work...]

The colors are so soft and complement each other so well. And I got to practice my blender pen technique, and I used some SU Crystal Effects (which I've bought but never used! Now I'm hooked!), and I like the 3-D effect of cutting out and raising some of the flowers...

I know this isn't the best picture, but... no one ever said photography was my thang!!!

Okay, so I lied...

I'm back. For now. For a few minutes.

Nope, nothing important is going on. I just felt like I had to write something! Miss Hope emailed me and said she'd have worried had I not noted I'd be MIA for a while... Aw, that Miss Hope! She's a nice lady!

Work is work. There's a bit of an internal power struggle between our department and another in our same division. They're trying to take over accounts I've been working with, and accounts my colleagues have been working on, too. A comment flew by me today that the VP in our department likes this wrangling; he thinks some internal competition is healthy. Well, I don't. I'm a firm believer in respecting each other's territory, in working as a team, one for all and all for one, as it were. This infighting just leads to bad blood and bad morale, as well.

My sister's beau had some surgery last week. 41 staples later, they've removed the primary tumor, some smaller ones, too, and the spot that's left will be treated with radiation. The doctors are giving him a good prognosis and expect that chemo will not be necessary. I've had everything crossed that could safely be crossed: eyes, fingers, toes, etc. And I've been praying, Lord knows I've been praying! My sister is really happy with this guy and she deserves some happiness in her life (her ex, well, let's just say L.O.S.E.R. with a capital L!). He's having some pain and some trouble with recovery; apparently he's not a sit-down-and-just-heal kind of guy. He's a get-up-and-go-and-do-and-never-sit-still kind of guy so he's a bit nuts. (And it's only been one week! Imagine what he'll be like for the next 7 weeks...)

So, anyway, Jack went to the doctor for a pain in his back. He was getting up in the morning and feeling, well, crippled! He was sore and bent over and since he's very fit it was a bit worrisome for him. The diagnosis? Arthritis of the spine. No idea yet, though, whether that's one of those diagnoses that the doctors put on paper so insurance will pay, or whether, indeed, he has arthritis of the spine. The reason I tend to believe he doesn't is that he was fine. Until he wasn't. Until he laid down on the gym floor with the little kiddy-poos, then got up with a giant OUCH! No little twinges, no aches and pains - an all of a sudden, one-time, OMG! I think I hurt myself! kind of pain...

BUT, that said, his cholesterol is a bit high and there were some white blood cells in his urine and his white blood count was a bit low. I Googled that and it appears it could be as insignificant as a urinary tract infection or a kidney infection. Or it could be worse. He has an appointment for a full physical on Monday, March 9. So I suppose all of this will be addressed then. I am not my sister-in-law so instead of panicking and worrying until the 9th, I called the doctor this morning. IF there was anything to worry about the doctor would have had the nurse call Jack in sooner. The physical on the 9th is "just fine." So, see? No reason to worry. (Except that now I feel all guilty and want to quit my job so I can stay home and cook healthier food for him!)

So, here I am, asking you to keep us on your prayer list, even those of you who don't know us! (I figure it can't hurt to have some extra praying going on for us, right?!??!) I want my hubby to be just fine, to have a little infection that actually will be gone by the 9th 'cause his ear/nose/throat doctor just put him on an antibiotic for a sinus infection...

Tonight I'm going to Scrapping Bingo! I won some cool prizes last time and I have a cool prize to donate this time. I'm also going to pick up the really cool stuff I bought from my SU rep. And remember, if Jack runs into you and asks about the "stuff" I brought home: I.WON.IT.AT.BINGO. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!!!

Journal Your Christmas

In yesterday's post, I attached descriptions of several online scrapping classes I'm taking. There's a real good reason I'm doing this, "this" being overbooking myself during the Christmas holidays with an obligation to record the weeks before and after Christmas.

This is my ALL.TIME.FAVORITE.TIME.OF.YEAR.

Thanksgiving. My birthday. Christmas. New Year's.

It's always been my favorite time of year. So much so that had Jack been willing to add our anniversary to the mix, I'd have gotten married in December, too! (He just didn't want to have to buy me so many presents all at once!!!)

So many things happen around the holidays. And as I get older, there's even more going on and I want to make sure I remember it all. But more importantly, my mom goes away every other winter to spend the holidays with my sister who lives in Arizona. My husband likes to say I'm cranky the whole holiday season 'cause my mom's not around. That's not it. I'm missing her so much, and I miss my sister, too. I want to create a record of this Christmas (without mom here) and I want to do this again next year (with her here in NJ). And I want to see if I really am cranky when she's away - I'll have to journal and record and remember - proof positive, one way or the other, that my Christmas is made better or worse by my missing my mom.

And it's a nice record of the holiday itself: the decorations, the preparations, the people, the presents, the food - all those things I swear each year I will never forget.

Guess what. I can't remember what I gave people as gifts last year. So let me warn you now, folks, if you're on my list, there might be some repeats!!! (But next year??? Uh-uh. 'Cause I'll have a record, you see, of what I did this holiday!!!)

Online Classes

I have a new addition.

Online classes.

I'm signed up for four of them right now: Soulology Project, Stories in Hand, Journal Your Christmas, and Get Organized, Be Inspired. One was free and three had fees attached.

Here's a brief description of each:

Soulology Project/Hosted by Erika Martin: "Many times, we find ourselves behind the camera, but hardly in front of it. We create beautiful pages about holidays, milestones, children, family and everyday life, but often times, we’re missing from those pages. Sure, our creativity and journaling went into the pages, and in that sense, we’re present on those pages but our actual presence is often what’s missing. If you think about the pages of the albums that you’ve completed (or are still working on….let’s admit it, our albums are a constant work in progress), really think about them, how often do you find pictures of yourself, along with journaling ABOUT yourself, on those pages? Probably a lot less than you think. That’s what this course is all about. Getting yourself on your pages….not just in your creative presence, but your actual presence in photos and journaling about what makes you who you are. This course is an exercise to get you started on a journey that I hope will far outlast this online course experience. It will be eye-opening, joyful, full of discoveries, sometimes painful, surprising and it will definitely be liberating. It’s time to tell your story. It’s time to leave your legacy. It’s time to dig deep and share your soul."

Stories in Hand/Hosted by Jessica Sprague: "I am so excited to go on this journey with you! I have been thinking a lot in the past few months about stories. As I've looked through my scrapbook albums, I have realized that while I've told many of the stories I've wanted, there are SO MANY MORE stories in my head and my heart that need telling. I decided to create a system for capturing the stories I would like to tell, so that when I sit down to storytell (whether that's scrapbooking, taking photos, blogging, or any other of the various ways I can record the stories of my life), I can have some stories in hand. This class is really not about writing, or about scrapbooking, but about the gathering process. About the remembering process. About collecting the experiences, big and small, that have shaped us and made us who we are. The stories worth telling. I anticipate that this will be a life-changing experience for all of us, and I am so excited that you've made the decision to join me on this journey!... What you have to say matters. The things you think, the experiences you've had, the people and places and things you love, and why, are worth talking about. I believe that. And I believe that each of us has a story to contribute. I'm often reminded as I go throughout my days of experiences I've been through, or little moments I've savored, that I've never written down or told anyone. Stories in Hand is a system I created in late 2008, to help me gather the stories of my life that I wanted to tell. I decided to create a class to share this system with you, to help you tell the stories that matter most to you. Stories in Hand is not a journal, but a companion to your storytelling. It is not a place to write, but a tool to get inspiration, a guide to spark memories you've forgotten, and a system to organize and gather the stories you want to tell. It's designed to sit right alongside whatever method you currently use (or would LIKE to use) to tell your stories."

Journal Your Christmas/Hosted by Shimelle: "The holidays are just around the corner and in my world that means one thing for certain: it’s time to journal even more. It’s something that started small. One year it was just me and my pen and my book, trying to take back Christmas and rediscover my love of the holiday after a few years when Christmas lacked a certain sparkle. The second Christmas, I shared the idea with a small group of crafty friends, just to see if this reclaiming idea was something that made sense outside of my head. It did. And from there, Journal your Christmas became an online class that I shared with the rest of the world. And by ‘rest of the world’, I mean we now have Christmas journallers from more than forty countries. This is the most magical time of the year, so it’s time to make Journal your Christmas just a bit more magical yet. Like every year, Journal your Christmas includes daily prompts from the 1st of December to the 6th of January, the twelfth day of Christmas. The 37 illustrated PDF files are delivered straight to your inbox so you can read them over your first cup of coffee and mull over each topic for a full day. There’s also an archive of the class materials online in case you can’t get to your email or in case something dreadful happens to your computer. And like every year, you can go it alone or be as social as you like, with a private discussion forum where you’ll find other Christmas journallers who will cheer you on and share your excitement, but if you prefer to stick to the prompts only, that’s completely fine too. And like every year, if you’re participated once, you can join us every Christmas for as long as you like at no extra cost. But what’s not like every year? Well, there’s definitely a bit of extra kick this year. A few kicks, perhaps. A kick-start for your writing… Journal your Christmas isn’t just for crafty types. If you love to write or want to improve your writing, you’ll have thirty-seven different topics for daily journal entries, whether you use your favourite pen, a typewriter ribbon or a blog to compile your stories. Each prompt offers a few quick tips for making your story that little bit more memorable. A kick-start for your photography… Rather document Christmas through your viewfinder than by picking up a pen every day? Or just wishing your Christmas photos had a bit more sparkle? This year we’ve got experts on board! Fabulous photographers share their secrets for taking your holiday photos to the next level, from family portraits to Christmas lights to making Christmas morning photos into works of art. A kick-start for your crafting… For the past few years, the daily prompts have featured one or two scrapbook pages per day to provide visual stimulation for you crafty types. This year the visuals get a big kick: you’ll see more than 250 amazing pages over the 37 days, and that doesn’t include the hundreds more you can view in real time as participants share their work online."

Get Organized, Be Inspired/Hosted by Wendy Smedley and Big Picture Scrapbooking: "Do you wish your scrapbooking space were more organized and user friendly? Are you drowning in piles of paper, a slew of supplies, or an explosion of embellishments? Do you want to be organized but don't know where to start? If so, don't despair; help is on the way! In this three-month class, expert Wendy Smedley takes you on a guided journey to understanding your scrapbooking approach and organizational needs. Using her book The Organized and Inspired Scrapbooker as a resource, Wendy will help you create a space that is organized to fit your unique approach. In addition, she will help you understand what inspires you, and she will teach you how to organize that inspiration so you can actually use it!... Join us on this organizational journey that will help you scrapbook more efficiently as you work in a space that is based on how you work. During innovative "Super Saturday" events, we'll bring together hundreds of scrapbookers working and organizing LIVE with Wendy. You'll even receive bonus storage and labeling downloads to use in customizing your space, making it all your own and one you love to work in! Wendy's class includes:

• Weekly reminder e-mails when the classroom is refreshed
• Weekly audio messages guiding you through each week's assignment, available as streaming audio, downloadable MP3 files and transcripts
• Colorful, step-by-step instructions for each lesson/project
• Two live "Super Saturday" events designed to direct you through purging, sorting and storing your supplies
• Video-enhanced presentations illustrating key topics, plus guided video tours of real scrapbookers' spaces
• Friendly, step-by-step instructions and bonus downloads for customizing your storage containers
• Multiple ideas for recognizing and displaying your inspiration
• Monthly online chats
• Insight into other BPS experts' and teachers' scrapbooking goals and approaches
• "Ask Wendy" feature on message board where you can seek organizational and inspirational advice from your instructor
• Community building private message board to share thoughts with other students
• Weekly supply lists for each project
• Private posting gallery for posting your assignments and viewing those of other students."

So that's it - they're all scrapping-oriented. I'm not going to save the world, cure cancer, or convince anyone that global warming is a bunch of whooie. But I will have a chance to expand my creative right brain, learn some techniques, write more, put all that stuff I bought for scrapping to good use, and (bonus!) get that scrap-room-to-be done!!!

My favorite scrapping room

I'm sorry to the lucky owner of this beautiful room - I copied these pictures into my file so I could create a page about my dream scrapping room, and I did. Create the page, that is. But I never took a picture of the page, so instead of pasting a copy of my layout here on my blog, I'm posting the beautiful photos of this lucky lady's room!!! (I promised to post a picture of my layout in my comment on Aby's blog (Creative Organizing) this morning...
I'll take a picture of my page this weekend (if I remember!) and replace these photos at a later date..
While I'm lucky enough to be working on my own scrapping room, it's never going to look like this one...

So, an internet friend'o'mine is dealing with some big issues these days - her son has been diagnosed as having ADHD. I'm just taking a moment here to ask my readers to say a little prayer for her and for her son and their family. They have hit the ground running with doctors' appointments and research and medications, and I just want them to know we're all pulling for you! Our prayers and good thoughts are winging their way to Georgia!!!

Now on to much sillier, less important things...

I've finally started to try to put my scraproom together. DH and I went out and bought two Lowes units 'cause for some unknown reason, he's got it in his head that the one big Ikea unit would not work; it would be too big. Of course, the small units he bought at Lowes are less sturdy and he's already complaining about that, but in a couple years, when these are not holding their own, I'll go get my Ikea unit (or I'll make him build me one like I wanted!). In the meantime, I get to start putting things away so honestly, I'm okay with what we've got... First, a before photo - Nope, no "before" photo - I don't have one handy... So here's the start of my putting all my scrapping stuff away:

I will not be keeping that rolling cart on the left under that window; there is a lot of sun that comes in that window and I don't want it to fade my papers... The wall opposite this unit is the Murphy bed. I have appropriated all the shelving on either side, except for two or three shelves that will have sheets and towels in baskets, once I buy the baskets (we don't have a linen closet on this floor so I'm making do!). Here's a fuzzy picture of that side of the room (clearly not cleaned up, either!):

The left side of the unfinished bed has scrapping albums on the top few shelves and patterned paper beneath that; it's all going to be moved to the opposite set of shelves so the sun doesn't fade them (the same sun I mentioned a paragraph ago!). That empty space above the bed will have extra pillows or blankets; it's so wide without a brace of any kind we're not going to put much weight on that particular shelf... Those 2 computer CPUs will move to the sitting room, on the computer stand I inherited from my former job. It's actually a good place for it since it's out of the way in the corner...

We're not going to the lake this weekend; DSD's tire blew out so DH is going to be spending Saturday repairing it and/or getting a new one. The rim is cracked so she really can't drive on it; she's SOOO annoyed! Anyway, I'll take advantage of a weekend home to get a pedicure, then finish bringing winter clothes down and summer clothes up and packing up my donations for AmVets and I'll take my mom food-shopping... Yea, I know, B-O-R-I-N-G!

I act 27 years old - NOT! (But I do think I am still that same age until I look closely in a mirror, in the sunlight, which I did last week and almost fainted!!!)

And here, because I have nothing else to do here at work... Another of those quizzes to occupy your time and share stuff no one is interested in...

I act 27 years old - uh-huh, sure...

[x] You know how to make a pot of coffee (edited to include badly!)
[ ] You keep track of dates using a calendar
[x] You own a credit/debit card
[x] You can handle your own money
[x] You know how to change the oil in a car
[x] You've done your own laundry
[x] You can vote in an election
[x] You can cook for yourself (ditto first comment!)
[x] You think politics are exciting
TOTAL SO FAR: 8
[ ] You show up for school late a lot
[x] You always carry a pen in your bag/purse/pocket
[x] You have never gotten a detention
[ ] You have forgotten your own birthday at least once
[ ] You like to take jogs by yourself
[x] You know what credibility means, without looking it up
[x] You drink caffeine at least once a week
TOTAL SO FAR: 12
[x] You know how to do the dishes
[x] You can count to 10 in another language
[x] When you say you're going to do something you do it
[x] You can mow the lawn
[ ] You study when you HAVE to
[x] you've hand washed a car before
TOTAL SO FAR: 17
[x]You can spell experience, without looking it up
[ ] The people at Gloria Jeans know you by name
[x] Your favorite kind of food is take out
[ ] The first thing you do when you wake up is get caffeine
[x] you can go to the store without getting something you don't need (I "can" but I usually don't!)
[x] You understand political jokes the first time they are said
[x] You can type pretty quick
TOTAL SO FAR: 22
[ ] Your only friends are from your place of employment
[x] You have been to a Tupperware party
[x]You have been to purse/jewelry party's
[x]You have realized that no one will take you seriously unless you are over the age of 25 and have a job
[ ] You have more bills than you can pay
[x] You use the internet every day/ or try to
[x] You make your own bed
TOTAL : 27

NOW REPOST AS: I act __ years old

Sorry that this is not a good picture, but since I took the cocky move of posting that button in the right margin about being inspired and artistic (I'm really not, but trying to convince myself that I am!), here's a layout I created about Jack and me. That really attractive picture of the two of us was taken at midnight, New Year's Eve, 2000, on the cusp of the new millenium. Don't we look so excited?!? (In truth, we'd fallen asleep in front of the TV and woke up at literally 11:59:46!)

We are such old fuddy-duddies!

This layout is hanging in the corner in our dining room at the lake... It probably won't stay there when the room is actually a real dining room, but for now, it's okay...

I started the Ali Edwards project 09/29, a few days later, so that I'm in sync with the rest of the world... I'll have to download the pictures another time, but here are some wordy updates about the past few days...
Monday, 09/29
- my usual breakfast: egg/pepperjack cheese on a wheat wrap, with Tabasco sauce, and hot tea
- waiting, waiting, waiting for page loads on my work computer
- lunch
- catching up on blogs and email
- met with my reading partner for volunteer work at school
- played Bejeweled 2 on the computer while waiting to go home
- took some photos of great clouds and light on NYC skyline
- to Carrie's for dessert, to meet Oreo and Dolce, her two new kittens
- called the dr. about a chest x-ray and more cough medicine
Tuesday, 09/30
- switched it up for breakfast: multigrain toast with peanut butter and raisins, and hot tea
- Norwegian cruise ship cruised on by the office, calling out my name!
- catching up on blogs and email
- some difficult customers today: discount issues, delivery issues, etc.
- Board of Ed meeting with Jack - he's so happy I went with him - the contract didn't pass
- roast beef sub from Subway for dinner
Wednesday, 10/01
- sick day
- took mom to urologist - 80% sure it's not cancer - I want 100% - 2nd biopsy to make sure
- went to Imaging Center and had chest x-ray taken
- Atlanta Bread Factory for breakfast with mom
- short visit to AC Moore
- fried some eggplant and squash
- spinach ravioli
- B&N with Jack
Thursday, 10/02
- the usual breakfast, and hot tea
- the Intrepid returns to Pier 86 on the West Side
- VP debate: Biden vs. Palin (a bit worried about this!)
- tuna fish sandwich and french fries for lunch

See? Boring! But a few typical days in the life of Krys...