Another new beginning...

It's time to restart my Scrap Ticker. I have kept track all of 2009 of how many layouts I got done, over in the right hand side-bar. Well, I originally started out counting up to meet my goal of 100 pages in the year, which I thought was a very high aspiration for myself. But I was pleasantly surprised when not only did I meet it, but exceeded it! I created 129 pages in 2009! And I am so happy about that. I love to be able to go back and see how everyone has changed, what we did through the year, and how my scrapping style has changed and progressed. Yes, I 've always had pictures, but they all just sat in my computer and nobody ever saw them unless they happen to catch them running through my screensaver. Now I have them prettied up, printed out and in my album for everyone to share. I love that! So... I will restart my ticker. I don't know that I really have a goal for myself this year other than to beat last years ;)

And here is my first page of 2010! I didn't take any pictures on New Year's Eve, we were too busy having a great time. But I did want to remember that, so I made this page. "New Year's Eve 2010"

I was inspired to make this page from a challenge over at Scrap Matters. It was an Inspiration Point Challenge and they had chosen a movie poster as our inspiration. I loved the blockiness of the poster, so that's what I used to make my own template. Then I used "It's Gonna Be A Happy New Year" Collab by Jennifer Barrette and WM Squared, found here. I LOVE this kit! Full of pink, grey and black, adorable elements, and beautiful papers!

Now, I do NOT make resolutions, because I have NEVER been able to keep one. But there are a few changes that I would like to implement in my life and now is as good of time as any.

I want to find a better way to keep myself more organized this year, scrapbooking-wise. I always find myself scrambling to figure out what I need to get done, what I have done, and where everything is. So, I have made myself a spreadsheet on excel and printed it out so that I can keep better track of what I'm doing. This is what I made:

If I need to make any changes or adjustments to it I can easily enough, but at least I have everything on one page. I have a tendency to write myself little notes on post-its and then lose them or have a hard time remembering what I was trying to remind myself of in the first place. I'm hoping this will be a huge help for me.

I also am going to try again this year to do either Project 365, 52, or 12, I haven't committed myself to any one just yet. I think as soon as I feel like it's a "have-to" is when it's not so fun anymore and I stop it all together. So for now, I plan to take a photo a day and see where I go from there. Last years attempt only lasted a couple of weeks. I'm determined to do better this year. There are so many sites taking this on as a challenge with random freebies to help along the way, that I feel like I have a better chance of sticking with it this year... Only time will tell. :P But, I have taken a photo both days so far! Hehe Last year I showed them to you each day, but I din't think I'll do that this time. I feel like if I keep them to myself I'm more likely to scrap them at the end of the week, or month, which ever I choose. So, you'll just have to keep watching to see what happens! Until then... God bless and C'ya!

Ahhh, A fresh new face

Well, as you can see, I finally got my new background done. I have tried working with several different kits, but always hit a wall for whatever reason. Then I found this kit from LittleDreamerDesigns. It's called "Autumn Sky" by Lisa Sisneros, and I LOVE it! It's fall, but not overloaded with bright pumpkin orange. I hate orange. This kit feels like our fall here in the Pacific Northwest lately. Yes, the leaves are changing, but we still see the blue overcast sky. It's getting chilly, so don't forget your sweater. ;)

Anyway, that isn't the only thing I've been busy doing. Not by a long shot!

First of all, my hubby went away this year for the first time hunting with the guys from church. I was really excited about him getting to go, maybe even more excited than he was. But, what I didn't expect was how much I was going to miss him! By the night of the first day he had left I was a mess! I had to sit down and scrap him a page letting him know how much he means to me. So this first page is called "My Everything":

I made this using "Simply Fresh" by Karen Wallace at DigitalScrapGarden. Making this helped, but I didn't really feel any better until he called me later that same night! That was unexpected because there was no cell service where they went. But I was sure glad to hear from him.

My next one was from my very first Speed Scrap Challenge! Ellandriel hosted the challenge at SunshineStudioScraps, gave us all our directions and here's what I came up with, "My New 'Do":

The kit I used is called "Neopolitan Taffy" by Dani's Delusions at SUN. I used the same picture I showed you a few weeks ago went I had it done. I had to scrap it, nobody believed I would do it, and I like it, so it's something I want to remember.

Next is my first CT page requirement for this month and my page for the Template Challenge for Oct. 1. I used a beautiful kit called "Seriously" by Craft-tastrophic. The template was made by Jeneva4u, all at the SUN. The photos were taken back in July at my nephew, Noah's, birthday party. Here is "Canada Goose":

And my last one was made for another challenge at SUN. This one is the Monthly Layout Contest. Each week you get a 1/4 of that months kit, and then you have to make a LO with only the pieces you get as you go along. The kit is called "Fall's Whisper" by The Wonder Girls. And the template is from Pam Marotz. The photo I used is from last Halloween. It is my beautiful niece, Akaila. Here is "Fall Fairy":
I hope you enjoyed my scrappin' mania as much as I did, lmbo. BTW, at the beginning of the year I put a little ticker on the right side of myblog, keeping track of how many pages I get done in 2009. My goal was to get 100 done. Check it out, I'm at 83! And I still have 3 months left! I may exceed my goal! That would be awesome! I've got lots of challenges I want to get done this month, so I'm sure it won't be long before I'm back again to share some more. Until then...C'ya!

How is it May already?!

Where does time go? And why does it have to go so fast?! lol

I'm sure by now you've all heard about "Swine Flu". Well, our whole school district is shut down for 2 days. There is a case of it in one of our grade school and possibly more through out the district. We will be updated tomorrow as to whether the kids will go back on Wednesday or not. My kids are actually mad! They want to go to school! How blessed am I?

Well, if you remember back in February we were going to have a house guest come stay with us for a while. We had agreed to let my brothers fiance and her little girl stay with us for 1 month. But, when things weren't working out for them to get a place of their own, we decided to let them stay a little longer. Well, after 3 months we felt it was time to give them a gentle nudge. Unfortunately they weren't able to find a place they could afford so she ended up having to move to California with her Mom. I feel horrible because now because she's pregnant with my brothers baby and now he won't be able to go with her anymore to the Dr. appointments or the ultrasounds. On the other hand, they have both said they knew it needed to be done and they feel like God has a plan for them, so they're doing what needs to be done. I think this way it'll be easier for my brother to save up his money and get things straightened out for all of them. God willing!

Ok, so I was never able to find that LO I told you about in the previous post. So, I had to go back to SunshineStudioScraps.com (SUN) and save it back to my computer. At least I had uploaded it there so it wasn't completely lost. I can't figure it out... I always save all my LOs in 3s. One .PSD file, one 12x12 .JPG and a 2x2 .JPG (smaller for web upload). All three versions are completely gone! Vanished! POOF! Disappeared. Who knows...

Anyway, here is the LO. It's called "Beautiful". I made this to remember our Women's Retreat in 2007. We rented a gorgeous mansion right on the beach in Neskowin, Or. We were definitely pampered that weekend! Everything used for this LO is from Viva Artistry's kit "Infusion" found at SUN.

These next 2 LO's are ones that I made in April over at Sun for my CT requirements. This first one is called "Happiness". It is of my niece enjoying the sunshine on our first beautiful spring day. Everything I used is from Scrapidea-timkova's kit *Moss Path*, also found at SUN.

This last one is called "Being a Brother". These are my 2 youngest, Zach and Cody. (Yes, really! I named them WAY before the show came out on Disney lol) I was surprised by how many pictures I have of them loving on each other, as they seem to always be fighting! I found the word art at ScrappingWords.com and knew I had to use it. I used a template from Sya's Blueprints, 'Stripped Set 4' (Template 2). The kit I used is from Mish Bowley, 'Color Theory in Blue'. All found at SUN as well.

Speaking of the CT... I have become a permanent CT member! I am no longer a 'guest'! I am so thrilled! I have SO much fun creating for them (& myself in the meantime) and the ladies over there are so AWESOME! Come on over and check it out sometime!

Oh, I made a little ticker app. to keep track of how many LOs I get done in 2009. My goal is 100, but when I went thru and counted up how many I've already made this year I was quite surprised! I've already done 22 in 4 months! I did count desktop calendars also, but I didn't count cards. You can watch and keep track with me on the right hand side, towards the top. Can't miss it :)

I will be back tomorrow with the last 2 LOs I did for April. They are VERY cute, you don't wanna miss them. Until then... c'ya!

well, I've got some catching up to do!

First of all, as I noted in my last post, I am officially a Creative Team Member over a t SunshineStudioScraps! I have made 2 LO so far.
#1 is a LO I made using PolkaDotPlum's kit called "Her First Kiss". This LO did double duty for me as I also used it for an elements challenge over at GoDigitalScrapbooking. We had to include 10 specific things in our page, one of them being the little heart embellishment at the top.
#2 is a LO I made of my sweet little niece Natalie. I used Mish Bowley's kit called "Color Theory in Blue".
Also like I said before, I've been busy making some cards too. I've had some friends that needed some extra love, so I made this using Alisha Hess's kit called "In The Country".

From KJ Kreations

And some Valentine's day cards. This is one I made specifically for a friend using Sherri Tierney's kit called "X's And O's":

From KJ Kreations

I made these just in case, but I don't remember the kits I used (sorry!)

From KJ Kreations

From KJ Kreations

And I made some really cute ones that I thought Zach could use for his class party, but when I showed them to him he said, "Really Mom? Aren't they a little to babyish for me?" lol He's only in the 1st grade! My goodness, they grow up so fast. I used Kristin Aagard's kit called "Love Buggies" for these.

From KJ Kreations

From KJ Kreations

Well, It's 12:30 am, so I think I better be done for the night. I hope you enjoyed my recent work. I'll be back with more soon since I'm behind on my "His Holy Name" pages. DRAT! I'll be back to share that soon. Until then...c'ya!

Happy Inauguration Day! lol

Well, It's official. History is made in so many ways today. Two things I noticed while watching the inauguration that surprised me were these: 1.Obama quoted scripture. Are these HIS chosen words or the speech writers influence? 2. He was wearing a flag lapel pin on his jacket. Something he said he would not do. ok, now I have to tell the truth... I fell asleep during his VERY LONG speech... and I was busy getting Zach off to school to watch it from the beginning, so I'm wondering... did he sing the National Anthem? Speaking of Zach, my 7 year old... he was very impressed by the whole thing today. All the kids watched it in their schools, and Zach had a few questions and was able to tell me a lot about what he learned. I'm impressed!
OK, I did take a photo this morning. I tried to get a photo of the sunrise glistening on the frozen dew covered lawn. It did NOT look as pretty in the photo. The sun was just a huge orange circle and you couldn't see the sparkly grass. :( BUT! I did finish a LO! I'm applying in a CT(Creative Team)Member call for SweetBlossomDesigns. I already have done 1 LO with her product and she wants 3, so I completed another one today. The photo is of Tyler and Zach in front of Haystack Rock in Cannon Beach when we went there for the day with our friends The Cookman's in July of '07. The wind that day was HORRIBLE! And very COLD!(Typical of the Oregon Coast, actually.) But it did not stop the boys from going right into the water. Crazy Children! LOL Here's my LO:
Igot the template for this LO from PixelGypsy. It's a freebie from their January Designer Template Challenge. Go check them out. They have some BEAUTIFUL products.
I am also applying in another CT Member Call for Sunshine Studio Scraps. I am very excited to hear back from her. I've never been a CT Member before, but I know I would LOVE it! So much fun! Basically you get the newest kits by selected designers before the kits are available to the public. You make the required amount of LOs and post them in the designated Galleries and blogs as well as your own gallery and blog to help advertise for the designer. Just the idea of it tickles me. So pray for me, wish me luck, send good vibes... whatever it takes! ;)I'll let you know how it goes.
Hopefully tomorrow I can get a good POTD to share... until then, c'ya!

LO completed for Digitals.com Challenge

I finished this LO for the He Said, She Said Challenge at Digitals. It's a quote challenge. I have been wanting to use this kit in a LO of my daughter for a long time, because it's mostly made of her favorite color, teal. The kit is called "Golden Blue" found here: GoDigitalScrapbooking.com. I hope you like it :)
I'll be back later with my POTD. Till then...C'ya!

2 Layouts completed today!

I surprised myself by completing 2 LOs today! Ok, well, one of them is a challenge that was suppose to be finished by midnight last night and I didn't get it done till this afternoon after I got home from church, but I DID finish it! :)
This is for a word/quote challenge over at http://digi-designs.proboards.com/index.cgi. The word was LEARNING.

I like it. I've had this poem for quite a long time and wanted to use it, but hadn't found the time for it yet. This challenge gave me a good reason to get it done.
The second one I did for my Aunt Laura. Her doggy died, so I made this for her to remember her Scamp.
That's it for tonight. I hope you like my LO's. I better get to bed... tomorrow's the dreaded Monday. I don't do Mondays and I don't do mornings. So you can imagine how much fun I am on Monday mornings! LOL
Oh yeah! I didn't get a POTD today. You can see what I was busy doing instead. :) But I'll get another one tomorrow. So until then...c'ya!