So busy

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

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

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

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

Valentines Card

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

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

My Sewing Project

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

I have been tagged!

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

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

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

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

Drum roll please

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

A New Year

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

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

Second Layout 365

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

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

First Layout of the Year

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

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

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year!!

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

Almost Done!

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