Friday, January 29, 2016

Had this Lawn Fawn paper forever

Love using stash and I have 
way too much.
This adorable paper was perfect for this photo.
Got a little cluster going on - love those little critters
tucked into the photo.
Fussy cut that arrow out and using up the enamel stuff.
 Kept the title low key and since this is going
to Jill I left alot of room for journaling.
Love these transparency stars from Studio Calico.
And more fussy cut arrows.
 That bow diecut was the best purchase ever.
I cut and build them ahead of time and
even though the papers and colors are random 
they seem to fit in wherever I need them.
Hope everyone has a lovely weekend!
Is the weather crazy where you are??? Hot/Cold - Damp/Rainy???
Very bipolar LOL.

Thursday, January 28, 2016

Creating a background

I really wanted to use these veggies again from Basic Grey
and I fussy cut them out from remaining scraps
and I also wanted them to pop.
So I used a small circle stencil and some
modeling paste on a white background.
 I used the packaging technique to add the mists.
They say you can't screw it up.
Well....LOL.
I don't feel like I screwed it up but I also don't
think it "went on" like those experts in the video showed.
However in the end I did like the result.
 The packaging technique is when you take some mists
and either drop it on or mist it on the plastic
packaging from embellishments - then you smoosh it around
on the packaging and then dab/smear/smoosh
around your page.
It is pretty cool and easy actually.
I seem to make things harder than I have to LOL.
I wanted those veggies as an accent because its a photo
of a veggie - zucchini actually.
Tom's daughter gifted us a spirilizer for Christmas and
we finally got to use it when we
defrosted some homemade spaghetti sauce
in the crockpot this past nippy Sunday - and decided
to forgo the pasta.
We substitued zucchini and spaghetti squash 
and they were both a delicious- my favorite
was the zuchini which was sauteed really really quickly
in oil and garlic so it wouldn't get soggy.
As a result, it had a bit of crunch and we found you need
to make a lot of zucchini to have enough.
It was fun to do and I'll be using that spirilizer more.

Basic Grey with some Mr. Huey mists and some jute because I liked
the rustic-ness of it with the veggies.
I heard Basic Grey is going out of business.
Very sad if true.

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Really busy scribbled background

Love it - and its from the new
Studio Calico kit.
Of course it fits Amelia to a T.
 I picked up on the pink and bumped it up
to hot pink.
I like hot pink.
It was a total match.
The paper is fun.
The photo is fun.
Doesn't get any better than that.
I think there's a paper issue tag in there.
And doesn't that arrow make you swoon.
It's hump day and I'm feeling light here as there really
wasn't much to do here as there is so much
going on already.
Since the mojo is iffy I'm just rolling with it.
You never know when a masterpiece will come out to play.

I'm still playing with photoshops stuff and I'm
still annoyed with apple.

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Stamping fun

These stamps came with my new kit and if you look really
really closely - you can see I used every single one
several times.
(Sorry for the color on this - I did it at my desk).
Because I cut this down to 8x8 size I only did
2 clusters in the corners of the page.
Also that party Tag- I knew that was going to go with this photo
so that needed to be worked in - and of course,
covered up some of the stamping.
HINT: Stamp way more than you think you'll need that way
some will actually be seen LOL.
 Had that black "tag" left over from the moon papers
that I used previously and that adorable
mushroom dude was from a cut apart - I fussy cut apart.
I took off his right arm by mistake and that
is why he's sort of tucked in there.
I had those Bella Blvd do-dads forEVER and
finally used every single one of them too.
The paper is older Studio Calico and I have been
digging my way through "older" stash.
Woohoo!!!
I'm pondering the winter Basic Grey warehouse sale.
But I still have so much.......
I'm waivering.
Sigh.

Monday, January 25, 2016

Cutting apart cut aparts

We are back from the cold northern part of Florida
and its good to be home.
Thanks for your prayers for Shane - he is doing very well.
I'm so proud of him.

This photo was orginally being scrapped as a 6x12 and
what a disaster that turned out to be.
Somehow the gesso and watercolors I used on that
base paper looked well-stupid, and
there was no fixing that
which bums me out because I really love the paper -both sides
and that is why it was to be 6x12.
Anyway - I "scrapped" it (literally) and
began again after I returned home.
I found some Shimelle papers that I started for a page 
that somehow was tossed aside.
I seem to do a lot of "scrapping" yunk yunk.
The Shimelle papers really seemed to rock with the Studio Calico mats 
that I had glued to the photo - I then
added a few more touches and wa-la, mojo has somewhat returned.
I really liked the you and me from the cut apart sheet
but alas, it was too big to use on the page
So I fussy cut the & and whacked down the you & me
and wa-la, a lovely title that fits perfectly.
 That red hatch marked papers behind the photo looks
in real life more orange then red, until you
use orange.
And I wanted that title - so I just added more orange
stuff to pull it together and make the orange title less lonely
- and  then noticed the inking behind on the base page
is the same sort orange-red as the mat paper
so it really all works together.
And whacking it down - perfect fit.
 However, AT this point if it didn't work together
I was rolling with it anyway - because
seriously, is this gonna matter 100 years from now
if it lasts that long.
My new intention is to not sweat that kind of stuff.


Wednesday, January 20, 2016

A Time for Everything

Ecclesiastes 3

A Time for Everything
1There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
2a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

We'll be helping our youngest son through his time of grief. We all would appreciate your prayers. His dad, whom he has taken care of the last 6 years, lost his battle with cancer. Thank you.

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

If someone has seen my mojo

I'd appreciate it if you'd pack it up and send it back. I'll pay the postage. It appears after a flurry of rolling out pages the past couple of months - there's zip, zero, nada creativity going on.

Which happens.

I even tried playing around to no avail. So now I'm just ignoring it. I'm reading, exercising, and just hanging around doing nothing, or near to nothing.

We're also gonna be traveling in a couple of days, for a couple of days. Hanging with favorite youngest son should get things rolling. Or not.

In the meantime, we've had some very weird weather going on. High, heavy winds, tornadoes, rain and it finally got cold. So after everything settled down we took a ride over to see what the gulf was doing. The gulf is usually smooth, flat and relatively easy-going. Not on Sunday. It was cranky - extremely cranky and it was rocking and rolling. Of course I took photos.
 I decided to reload lightroom on my computer and give it a roll. Of course it drove me crazy as I'm totally spoiled by aperture, which is going away. I did do a tutorial and what they said I could do and what I actually could do were two different things. My keys didn't work the same as theirs.
Shocking. See the skies are different and I couldn't figure that out either. Grrr....
 I persevered and I'm mostly liking how they turned out, but I can tell you my frustration level was up there. It really shouldn't be this hard.
I therefore, uninstalled, reinstalled, and will give it another shot on other photographs I took that day. I still don't understand the catalog, file and project system. There's a lot of hoop jumping importing and exporting. Is there anything comparable to aperture but not as PIA as lightroom?

AND on another note, anyone else having trouble with blogger loading and uploading? It appears that not only has my creative mojo gone, but it appears my electronic mojo has hit the road too. 

I may have to go unplugged. 

Monday, January 18, 2016

Leftover transparency

I have a love/hate relationships with transparencies.
Love that they look so cool...
Hate that they're a pain to adhere......
Here I used the tiny attacher - which was brave of me
because letting staples shine on their own
is hard for me - for some reason I 
feel the need to cover them up.
Being the rebel I am decided to use them on the transparency
and let them be part of the embellishments.
Of course you'll have to look at the last photo to see them.
LOL. I didn't think of what I wanted to "chat" about until I
sat down and after I took the pix.
Isn't that always the way?
 The new Studio Calico kit paper is perfect
for this photo, I think it looks like tire treads.
I also liked the other side so I whacked it down for this page
so I'd have some leftovers.
And those Tim Holtz do-dads have been around
for a LONG long time.
Hardware and tires - win.
 See those staples now?
Three times to hold it down then layered
everything on top.
Those stars are perfect for Connor being at
the top of the heap.
Of course I had the title way before anything else.
It just worked. 

Friday, January 15, 2016

How far I've come - A Crossfit update

And man didn't time just fly.
Of course I had a few months off which caused
some set backs
but all-in-all I it didn't take long to
get back into the swing of things.

I treat my crossfit workouts like an appointment
that can't be missed. I try to keep absences to a minimum
because one thing I learned is that I need to be consistent in
order to keep things in working order
and to improve.
You may remember that I signed up for crossfit
because I was not able to do everyday
movements - like walking, bending, stooping, even sitting and
getting back up - which is important.
These are everyday movements that I took for granted
and these movements slowly eroded
 over time until one day - 
I couldn't do them anymore.
I couldn't squat down and get back up, I couldn't bend my
knees to sit normally so I just flopped down and
rocked to arise from sitting.
And then one day - I was walking, sitting and bending
like a 90 year old woman. And decided 
enough is enough.

I am two years into Crossfit and heading into year three.
So let me tell you what I've gotten out of my two years.

 It didn't take long to get back into shape after my 2 month vacation.
I did run into knee issues by overdoing things right away.
And didn't I learn my lesson.
I did some extra runs after workouts 
that caused my knees to
be seriously unhappy and that's when I learned to row.
I found I like rowing. 
When my knees returned to normal
I started to run again - my numbers are down
presently but they will be getting better.
800M - 6:10
1 mile - 12:57

And THEN since
my knees snapped back to attention
I discovered that I CAN LUNGE.
Lunging is important.
Now when I lunge - MY KNEES TOUCH the ground
and I can arise and lunge again.
I have never been able to do that before - NOT EVEN CLOSE.
This helps with the whole bending down thing.
Weighted lunges are in the future - I have an equilibrium
thing that needs to be worked on I tend to roll around like a weeble.

And I'm not done yet.
I CAN JUMP OVER THE BAR - when its laying flat.
I know I know 
it totally doesn't sound like a big deal but trust me
IT IS.
For some reason - after my brain fired off the command to jump
it rode on down to the hips and then to the feet
where both appendages totally ignored said command.
No matter how hard I tried my little fat feet were glued to that floor.
Well not anymore.
I can jump.
Since all the commands are now being obeyed by the body
and because my hips are now in working order I can sort
of do burpees semi-normal.
Now its just a matter of trusting my arms to get me down
and back up in one swift move.
BUT MY HIPS 
OMG. 
I can throw my legs back
and bring them forward simultaneously- no more 
looking like a crab getting out of the bottom of a boat.
It also allows me to jump rope.
Working on double unders - it appears that
I lack rhythm. Shocking.
Box jumps are in the future now as well.

SQUATTING - 
I have been working on this move for-like-ever.
This is another big deal because its key to 
almost everything. Especially the olympic lifts.
In my head I remembered being able to squat down in heels
and arising like a graceful giselle.
Well the graceful giselle turned into a clumsy camel.
Just bending those knees were a pain. Literally.
WELL.
NOW I CAN SQUAT TO ALMOST PARALLEL AND THEN 
ON A REALLY GOOD DAY or after I've warmed up
I CAN
GET BELOW PARALLEL.
I'm working on consistency now.
So my lift numbers have lowered because I'm
working on being confident to squat down and get back up
and know my knees and legs will do the job.

Back & front squats 55-65#
Overhead squats  & Snatch - PVC, training bar and maybe 25# on a
good day - there's something about these moves
that confuses the back and hips. One day....
Power cleans 70#
Hang cleans 55#
Squat cleans - still tricky but oh so getting better
Deadlift 170#
Push Jerk 60#
Split Jerk - 45# (maybe) I have daffy duck
feet that doesn't bode well for stability

I have to tell you that I'm shocked each and everyday
after a workout - about all the things I can do.
Its not getting easier -  I've gotten better.
It also helps thatn the coaches and
the people are the best -
and no box is complete without them.

With all this improvement -  year three is gonna be so awesome.

On a scrappy note - new Studio Calico kit papers 
that were perfect for Crossfit and 
I added the pink accents to match my sneakers
being girly and all.
I loved those alphas and ended up frankensteining
just a few vowels. 
Looks like greek to me LOL.







Thursday, January 14, 2016

Christmas paper NOT Christmas paper

Well.
Always a conundrum in decision making
when encountering pretty papers.
I decided to roll with 8.5x11 of this fabulous 
Christmas paper because
I liked both sides of the paper
only then realized that its Christmas paper.
I really went rogue 
and decided to roll with it
even though I noticed that the different sides 
were well really different .
You'll notice the green with white stars - obviously
but then the strip to left is the B side.
Not a speck o'green anywhere on that side.
                And didn't that baffle me for a second or three.
However, since I'm trying to be more whimsical 
I decided no guts - no glory. 
I didn't go too far afield because well - one can only
be so wild and crazy in doses. LOL.
But I love how all the do-dads and embellies came
together - and I have to admit that it
sat on the desk as I walked by and rearranged it
about 1000 times before 
committing.
I have learned that I now have commitment issues.

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Rockin' still with the old & new Studio Calico kits

I love that their papers are so interchangeable
from one kit to the next.
I have a bad habit of hoarding and then binging
trying to use up older kits before the new one comes.
  I didn't do that here.
I sort of jumped into that new kit - mostly
because that gorgeous paper was yapping at me.
I can dig it.
Of course I popped into the box of scraps
to find the bits and pieces
that make the layers that make
you peek into to see what's there - and you'll
note I used a glassine envelope - 
woohooo!!! 
 So way in the back feeling quite like the big boy
is Sam. Sam is almost two now.

Seriously - some slowing down needs to be happening.

I really love the color combo - especially that pops of "yellow/gold".
I sort of mixed them.
I'm trying to be more whimsical
so I'm not going to hold two different golds against me.



Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Old & New Studio Calico Mix

For a birthday page!
Connor turned 7 and omg. where did the time go.
Seriously.
Totally looks like he had a great birthday bash
and so glad he had a great time.

So the new Studio Calico kit came and how about that
delish number paper.
The cut aparts are a few kits ago and
I really do like the emoji ones - 
they have been alot of fun to try and incorporate
into pages.
I have been sort of successful.
I can roll with that.

I did purchase a new stamp at M's in the $1.50 bin
and even though I was thinking
"older" person sentiment - I decided to use it
here. Because he is getting awesome.

This page is pretty straightforward - not alot of tricks.
Every now and then I like to go "old" school.

Sunday, January 10, 2016

A couple itty bitty changes on the blog

Nothing too rash, but as you may or may not know,  I change things why? mostly for no particular reason.  Crazy I know. I'm not quite sure if I'm bored or just need a change. However, in this case, playing around with the pathetically lack of choices in blogger - although you get what you pay for in FREE, I found I really like the title font because it almost looks like my handwriting. I changed up the title somewhat - well because I could, again. And then The colors are sort of the same as the previous one because I really liked the green and red and one can't get too crazy with the changes as it may drive all three of my readers to thinking they're on the wrong blog and we can't have that. LOL.

So as the grandkidlets photos of Christmas rolled in I scrapped them. Rather than spacing them out over the week I decided that they needed to showcased together because I'm still into changing things up. Is this wild or what. Must be New year's fever. Anyhooo.......

The New Hampshire grands came over the wire and
it looks like Santa got everything right.
Their page is a mix of Basic Grey and the Paper Studio.
I have a huge book of the paper studio
(the Christmas cards were made from the paper studio) and I believe
you'll be seeing those papers next year as well - LOL.
Unless you need cute papers - let me know.
The New York grands photos
were filched of their trip to Bass Pro Shop
where it looks like a fun time was had by all.
I'm loving the elf in the snow or did he collide with Frosty.
Still trying to work that one out.
This page is Basic Grey with a hero arts Merry Christmas stamp.
Then the New Jersey kidlets came in - and captured that moment
where the grands each got jersies of their favorite team.
I think they foiled dad's plans of following in his footsteps
and rooting for his teams.
Kids - minds of their own. LOL.
Again, Basic Grey.
Oh but wait!
This is NOT a grand - its the hubby showing
off his decorating and santa skills.
First time in a long time that the outside lights were lit.
He did a great job and it looked lovely and festive.
And I helped. Sortof - by staying out of the way.
More Basic Grey.
I'd love to say Basic Grey Christmas has been used up, 
but, alas - no...
except for the 12x12 papers - I have a 6x6,
stickers and embellies remaining.
Which is good - because one set of grands is remaining
and there's always next year.

I also did my Ali Edwards style page of all the cards
we received using up more Christmas papers 
and alas, you won't be seeing it.
It is done and that's all I will say.

Friday, January 8, 2016

Mini album from scraps

It's a well known fact that I stalk SoaphouseMama
over at Purplemailbox
and she does alot of these little mini's.
 I went into my scrap box that is way too full 
and just randomly pulled out papers.
I made sure the outside of the album was 6.5 inch paper
so that the rest would hopefully tuck inside
when it was inside and full of stuff.
 I stitched the binding a couple of times
and hopefully it will hold.
And then I threw in photos and do-dads and STUFF
THAT I'VE HAD FOREVER.
 And had the best fun ever just doing what I wanted
in tossing things about.
Especially for no particular reason.
 There are quotes and fun embellies.
 I'm not sure how to latch it so for now
its just a fat album that doesn't close
LOL.
If felt good to use stuff up that I had forever.
it felt good using some new stuff too
but MOST OF ALL
it felt good whittling down the scraps.
I'm totally gonna do this again.

Thursday, January 7, 2016

Two 8x8 pages simultaneously

Shocked me too - I know.
Orginally I was going to do both photos on
one page - and then....
It just seemed to work out especially when
I found 2 8x8 size papers
that was perfect for each of the photos.
What were the odds.
 Love this paper and its totally Lou.
Added a bit more stars
and some layers.
(if anyone remembers this paper let me know)
It escapes me.
 This Cosmo Cricket paper was leftover
from a paper pack 
which most was used a LONG time ago for
a mini album.
Added some do-dads.
 And that frame was perfect for his name.



How cute and fun are these.
Kept everything bare bones
 which
 let their cuteness shine through.
I love having different sized pages in
my 12x12 albums it makes
the flip throughs fun!

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Totally love 6x12 size

And I don't do as often as I used to.
I'm not sure why.
Did a bunch of layering with mats
as well as clustering.
It uses alot of leftovers and stash
that I had forever.
Love it.
 I never thought I'd ever work in that Big City
chipboard piece.
And finally.................
It works very well in this little cluster.
 And a tiny littly cluster bottom left
that is needed for balance.
It looked plain so I drew lines around the page with
little scribbles going on.

It's actually a very good size for a 4x4 photo.
This is Studio Calico for the most part.

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Pink and gold combo

Well it started out with the paper again,
and I've had it forever.
I'm so glad that I didn't put this in the
giveaway bag and I'm
glad it finally found the perfect photo.
 The photo of these pretty
young ladies just screamed this paper.
And.....
 Doncha just love them birds.
I used a gold transparency
as a mat and
that black paper to make the
photo pop.
The fancy gold swirl on the journaling card
pulls it all together.

It actually came together pretty quickly
and I came to realize that
not all gold is the same color.

Which I decided I'd not obsess over.
Another 8x8 album for Jill which she will
need to journal about.