Baby Dresses

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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?

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?

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!!

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

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

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

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

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!!

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

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

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?

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

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

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

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

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"

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

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!!