Wednesday, October 24, 2007

haven't done one in a while...

I scrapped a picture from my wedding... :)

She's one of my good friends yet we don't talk nearly as often as we both would like. Still, she's one of the greatest people I know. She just rocks... :)

Created this LO for one of my assigned 2 layouts for K-Joi... I thought this kit would be perfect to scrap some more wedding photos! :)

supplies:
Digital Kit (patterned papers, embellishments): "Soft Vintage Garden" by Jolanda Meursen (http://www.kjoistudios.com)
overlay: Overly Template Swirl-4 by Jolanda Meursen (http://www.kjoistudios.com)

Photography credit: Sharon Dawson (http://www.dawsonstudios.com)

Also used a Color Wonder PSE Action by Mindy Bush. :)


And I just finished another...

A rare LO about my mom... I don't know why I don't scrap more layouts of us... I'm lacking pictures? I'm not sure. I need to do more...

supplies:
Digital Kit: "Soft Vintage Garden" by Jolanda Meursen (http://www.kjoistudios.com)
fonts: Century Gothic, Susie's Hand, Plastique

photography credit: Sharon Dawson (http://www.dawsonstudios.com)


TFL!

what's meant to be...

Well I guess it isn't meant to be - me being a DT... Applied for one this month and got the rejection email today. With each rejection I'm getting better about it and I know my time will come soon... But lately I've been starting to re-evaluate if I even want to apply to various DTs anymore... With all the hype around Creating Keepsakes and Kristina Contes and HOF, it made me ask myself if it's really worth it to even put my name out there...

Not saying that I would, but what if my name became a household name someday like Elise, Becky, Ali, Donna, or Cathy Z.? Do I really want my personal business out there? Like when people started putting 2 and 2 together when Elsie stopped posting pics of herself and her husband in her blog and stopped creating LOs about him and their marriage, it made people wonder...and those wondering people did some research and more snooping and discovered she went through a divorce and announced it on 2Peas (and from what I heard, found the legal documents online and posted them too)... How wrong is that?!

Do I really want that? No way. I already lack privacy because I'm a registered nurse. Any former patient of mine can look me up on the board of registered nursing website. How safe do I feel?

So yeah, with the rejection email, I'm actually ok for once. I might retire from applying to more DTs for a while, at least until the holidays are over... I'm also in this weird funk where I don't even *feel* like scrapping lately. Maybe a little loss of mojo? I don't know...

I'm also feeling awesome about the rejection too - I really don't want to be defined by deadlines and minimum requirements for layouts and messageboard posts - I want to create stuff and make stuff and for now, I want to make them all for me... :)

Friday, October 19, 2007

3 more...

I guess you could say I was on a roll this week... Which is good - at least I feel productive, having been off since last Thursday night. Well, technically, I wasn't off since then - I had to take 2 classes this week that were mandatory for work...

So I have 4 more shifts of work before I go on vacation to Vegas in a little over a week. Excited? A little bit. I just need a little getaway. :)

supplies: patterned paper, ribbon, pen: American Crafts; die cut letters: "Printing Press"; font cartridge for Cricut; stamping ink: Color Box Chalk Ink

First time using the Printing Press Cricut cartridge. Had a lot of fun!

supplies: patterned paper: Kristina Contes paper collection at SIStv.com; transparency overlay: Hambly; felt letters, flowers, brads: American Crafts; tab punch: McGill; stamping ink: Color Box Chalk Ink, StazOn; Dymo Labeler

And it was a rare 8.5x11 layout. Super proud of myself! :)

supplies: patterned paper: Basic Grey, Tinkering Ink; transparency overlay, rub ons: Hambly; label sticker: Fontwerks; pen: American Crafts; chipboard letter: Lil Davis Desings; chipboard number: Heidi Swapp; stamping ink: Color Box Chalk Ink, StazOn

Had a lot of fun creating that one... the "V" is for our last name... but I'm thinking it could stand for "version" in a future layout... Might have to think about that one. :)

Have a great weekend, everyone! I'll be spending it working for 3 nights and being tired. Ugh.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

jonah layouts...

I went to a friend's baby shower this past Saturday and it got me in the mood to scrapbook more of Jonah's pictures - don't want to get behind!

So I was on a roll with the layouts... I had been working on a couple of them for a bit (sometimes I walk away from my desk when I feel uninspired) and finally finished them up...

My favorite is the first one here:

supplies: patterned paper, foam letters, chipboard shapes: American Crafts; font: CK Jot; stamping ink: Chalk Ink by ColorBox, StazOn

I like it because it's pretty much displaying the story of Jonah's first night of sleep in his crib... I remember being so happy that he did it, but I was sad because I knew he was growing up. So bittersweet.

Then I worked on a few more LOs...
supplies: pp, chipboard, rub ons, foam letters: AC; pen: uniball signo; rub on stitching:L Daisy D's

supplies: cardstock: Bazzill; pp: Cloud 9 Design; ribbon: Scrapworks; transparency: Hambly; font: 2Peas Tiny Tadpole; rub on letters: American Crafts; stamping ink: Chalk ink by ColorBox

supplies: cardstock: Bazzill; patterned paper: Basic Grey, Prima; rub on stitching: Daisy D's;
fabric tag: Scrapworks; stamping ink: Chalk Ink by ColorBox; letter rub ons: American Crafts;
stamp: 7gypsies; Dymo labeler; other: tag, date sticker; photography credit: Corinne


And then I made this card today:
supplies: patterned paper, rub ons, pen: American crafts; stamp: 7gypsies

Remember that baby shower I metioned earlier in this post? Yeah, well, the baby wasn't due until around Thanksgiving. On Monday (mind you, TWO days after the baby shower) we get a picture text message - our friends had the baby! So exciting and surprising and I know only TOO WELL what it feels like to deliver early and feeling unprepared (Jonah was born 2 weeks early and the day after my baby shower!). I made the card for our friends to let them know we're here for them - for a hot meal delivery or even advice givers... We hope all is well with them...

Hump day is over - have a great rest of the week!

Sunday, October 14, 2007

one.

Been a slow week with producing LOs... I've been super tired lately when night comes around and when Jonah's asleep so I haven't been exactly motivated to work on LOs. bummer.

Got a digital one done, though:

supplies: patterned paper, die cuts, word art by Lynn Grieveson (Hugs kit, www.designerdigitals.com); doodles by Jackie Eckles (Whimsicality Series #1 Element pack, www.littledreamerdesigns.com)

I did it just because... Not for my CT work or anything. The K-Joi Studios site is down and I didn't download my assigned kit this month so I'm behind. *sigh*

I've scrapbooked these pics before, but I love them so much that I could make a million LOs using them. *lol*

Have a great week, everyone!

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

i've conquered my everest.

*lol* Well, sort of.

I had been struggling with Photoshop Actions for a while and I finally figured them out! I had forgotten I had downloaded a few to play with a few months ago and I was disappointed that I couldn't get them to work. But finally - FINALLY - I figured it out. :)
http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif
Here's what I figured out...



I used the Image Transfer Action from Something Blue Studios for that one...

And used the Antique Paper Action from Little Dreamer Designs for this one:


Yay! Now I'm officially addicted. *lol*

Friday, October 5, 2007

a handful of cards...

Finally got a chance to take pictures of my latest card creations... Here they are...

Got this idea from Cynthia - I SO love the Cricut "New Arrival" cartridge! :)








Have a great weekend everyone!

Thursday, October 4, 2007

productive... well sort of...

I've been in a good mood to scrap these past few days, but I've really been unhappy with what I've been coming up with. *sigh*... I get in these ruts sometimes. The best thing for me is to just push through it and get past the slump...

This first LO is a LO I did a while back and used it for a DT submission... I really liked it because it's kind of funky yet clean... And I like the pictures I used: the one on the left was 1 week before Jonah was born and the on the right was the day before (at my baby shower)... Brought back memories when I created this one...

supplies: Daisy D's, American Crafts, chipboard, ribbon

This next LO is one I just finished tonight. It's my interpretation of the 2nd dare in the We Dare You book: "Safe Place." I couldn't think of just one place so I scrapbooked about the fact that I feel safe any place far and away from work. *lol*

supplies: My Mind's Eye, Scenic Route, Art Warehouse, Century Gothic Font

And finally... This is a LO I did a couple days ago... Love this picture but I didn't know what to do with it... Eh... Used some old stuff in my stash: the KI monograms! Yippee. :)
supplies: Sassafrass Lass, Fancy Pants, KI Memories, Hambly, American Crafts

Sent in another DT submission this evening... Keep your fingers crossed and say a little extra prayer for me, will ya? :)

Have a great weekend everyone! :)

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

another one bites the dust...

Tried out for another DT and well, no surprise here, I didn't make it.

Today, I'm actually ok with it... Tomorrow might be another story.

I don't know... Rejection always leads me to question my talent and ability. It makes me reflect on why I scrapbook... And it always makes me wonder if I'm sending in my very best stuff - like, I may think it's my best, but personal style is so subjective...

But I'm ok this time... Really, I am. :)