Stress Mess

The first two pictures is proof of what happens when you've been gone for 3 weeks, buy stuff when you are on vacation, have a lot of mail to open when you get home, have a stamping workshop to prepare for, you are stressed out, and you left a big mess to begin with.

I think cleaning it all up will be a great de-stresser...honest!

And this is proof of my afternoon tea-time today (also a great stress-reliever). I have been trying some new tea. Today it was Almond Sunset and oh my...it is GOOD! Especially with French Vanilla Coffeemate creamer. *licking lips*

This beautiful mug was a gift from a dear friend of mine! Thank you!! I love the hearts; it's perfect!

Also, my kitties are going through cat therapy (where the stress comes from). This is basically what has happened. We've had both cats together for almost 5 years, so this is so odd. I just want our normal cat happy family back. I know we will get there some day, but in the mean time I have to be patient and both kitties have to cooperate (we all know that cats cannot be reasoned with). Haha! I'm laughing now, but I have spent a lot of tears the last few days. They are my kids, really, so this is very hard on the emotions.

Weekend Workshop

Hello! This is what we made at the Saturday Stampin' Up! workshop.


A scrapbook page using a new flower set from SU called Fifth Avenue Floral. There's also a Baroque Motifs stamp on this page, too. We did some watercoloring.

I don't know how to *really* watercolor, but I make it work...somehow. Ha!

This is the card we created. It had a lot of layers and a lot of steps. I "card-lifted" this idea from Beate. I wasn't feeling very creative because of being under stress, so I searched until I found someone else's idea.

Stress-Reliever

The last two hours have been a bit stressful. Let's just say that the cats aren't quite themselves right now. I won't go into details, but this very thing happened a few days ago and I don't think Shadow has gotten over it because something today set her off. Oh the fun! I hope she gets over it soon!!

In the meantime, while waiting upstairs, out of the growling territory, I have been working on the last details of the page I started yesterday. I think after this I'll knit. I love it when hobbies help through stressful times!

Sunshine

There was absolutely no sunshine today...but this bright page sure did help!

This page was entirely inspired by Michelle.



It was neat because I've been looking at CD Muckosky's digital art and had been wanting to purchase something of hers. I love her brightly colored creations. She's one of my favorite! So when I saw Michelle's page I thought it was a perfect opportunity.

After playing around with some more digi, I realized that I forgot to add the heart embellishment to this page...oops! It's corrected on my side though.

Fonts!!

I just had to share. I finally found a website that has the Pea Fonts I have been looking for. Enjoy!

P.S. I forgot to mention that these fonts are FREE!!! Yes, FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No. 8

After struggling through not feeling very creative today, I put together this page layout with pictures I took on my brother Jacob's birthday. Hopefully the creative juices flow some more because I have a stamping party to plan for. Ha!

I looked through the Creating Keepsakes March 2009 issue for the first time today. I really enjoyed the article by Ali Edwards. She talked about trouble spots in scrapbooking. The first one was: Thinking your project/story/photo has to be PERFECT. (cough) Honestly, I felt even more set free by that truth. There are some pictures from my trip that aren't "perfect" because of being blurred or other such things, but I still want to use them. I wish that the top left picture of Jacob would have turned out different, but I realized that I don't have to have it perfect to use it. There will be more imperfect pictures later...

I also really enjoyed what Ali said in Trouble Spot #3:

Comparing yourself to others
How often has your personal self-talk at a crop been negative? As you look around the room or at your neighbor's project [or blog], do you look down on your own work or feel like it is not "good enough"? Remind yourself: there's no right or wrong way to scrapbook!

*emphasis mine

Can I get an amen?

Amanda & Katie

This is lesson 2 of the digital scrapbooking class I am taking with Jessica Sprague. I'm almost caught up with the class.

I really like how this page turned out! And you know what's really funny to me? It has PURPLE!! Do you see that? Did you have to look twice? It kinda reminds me of that quilt I posted about. I love these colors together. Originally the "&" was an orange, brown, etc. stripe paper, but I decided to change the hue/saturation to match the colors in my pictures better. I also really like the blending of the pictures (thank you gradient tool!). I felt it was time to finally upload the pictures I took on my trip and I was so glad I decided to take these pictures of my sisters because they worked perfect for this page. (Thank you Amanda and Katie!!)

I learned so much while creating this page. There are so many things I never knew existed in Photoshop. The program is HUGE!!! Maybe one day I'll share some of the things I learned...maybe. Ha!

And just for the record: I believe I'm letting a little bit more purple back into my life. *blush*

Quilt

My friend Rebekah and I went to a quilt/fabric store to check out some Amy Butler fabrics and this was the quilt we drooled over that was hanging above Amy's fabric. I haven't had a desire to make a quilt in a long, long time, but this quilt may change that...for just a little while. I love the big squares and rectangles. My favorite thing about this quilt is the long strips that have the flowers on them. Maybe I just want the fabric? Haha! We'll see what happens... I think this is called a Five in Dime quilt pattern. I'm not sure what that means, but I do know that it would take a LOT of dimes to make this quilt using the fabric used when it's over $10.00 a yard. *faint* Maybe it's time to take a quilting class....hahaha.

One more thing...

In continuation to what I was saying in the previous post, I wanted to add one more thing:

You don't always have to be the "odd one out". Let's say Person A likes something Person B does (like a scrapbooking technique). It's perfectly ok if Person A is inspired by Person B and creates something similar using that technique. Person A doesn't have to look at something Person B did and think, "Oh, I like that, but I don't want them to think I'm copying them." They can just simply BE themselves. The importance is being yourself! For example, when I look at something on Ali Edwards' blog that I like and want to try to create something similar, it doesn't mean I've stopped being myself. It means that I have found something *I* like and was inspired by it; I'm still being me. Now, if I was looking at something and thinking that if I only create what someone else has created in order to be important or have it be "perfect", then I'm stepping into dangerous territory of comparison.

Live Your Style

Do you ever just have something in your heart/mind that you just feel like you need to get out in the open? That's what I feel like today. So here I go...

I often hear people talking about how they want to do something, but they are afraid to do it because of fearing what others will think about them or what others will do to them. I hear this a lot and each time I'm amazed that there are others out there who deal with similar things. So many are living their life trying to constantly please other people, but they never take the time to really do what they want. I see so many (myself included) comparing themselves with others and thinking they are "all right" if they are just like the next person. We feel safe in groups, but we are afraid to step out on our own. We are afraid to be the odd one out.

This morning I was thinking about all of this and the phrase "live your style" kept on popping up in my mind. It also made me think of the word "lifestyle". What is your style? Are you LIVING your style?

Yesterday when I was working on that Jessica Sprague assignment I was basically doing everything she said because it was a class, but on my own I would have done a lot of things differently. I thought it was neat that she has her style and that I have my own style. God didn't take out the same cookie cutter and use it on everyone...we are all different. We all have a different style. And it's neat that we can look at other people's styles and learn from them. Jessica Sprague has her own style, and because of that I was able to learn new techniques and ways of working in Photoshop. But I didn't feel that I needed to be just like her and create each layout looking like hers for the rest of my life. I still have to be true to myself and live my style.

Why are we so afraid to live our style and to be ourselves? Why are we afraid of floating dust bunnies when company is over? Or caked dust on a shelf? Why do we feel we have to be less or more of ourselves? This is life, not a play or movie where we are acting out a part. Why are we so afraid to just BE ourselves?

When I hear others talking about what they want to do, but they are afraid of what others will think, I just want to say to them, "So what! Just do it! Don't worry about what others say or think. You have to be you!" So many are wasting time worrying instead of just loving and enjoying their lives.

Don't be afraid to be the odd one out. The people in history who really stand out are the ones who were the odd ones out. Just think about some of those people in history. It's amazing!

Don't be afraid to do something no one else is doing. If everyone around you is making cards and you would rather make a scrapbook page, make the page!! Ha!

Live your style. Be you! It's the best person you can be!

More pages

I created both of these pages before I left for Michigan, but I never posted them.


I like the colors on this page.

This isn't my favorite page, but it's done. Ha!

Assignment

This was my second assignment from the first day of the digital scrapbooking class by Jessica Sprague. She asked us to use several techniques we learned while creating the first page (below). I am so glad she had us do this assignment because I was able to learn so much more working on my own and following her notes. I think my biggest learning challenge with it so far is using masks. I don't really understand them, but I know that as I learn and practice, it will become more clear.

Digital Class

Above is the page that Jessica Sprague had us create for our first assignment in her advanced digital scrapbooking class. I signed up for this class in December and the class started when I was on vacation, so I have a lot of catching up to do. I'm learning so much already. One of the last things she asked us to do I was just like, "Oh wow, that's amazing!" Photoshop IS amazing and it's SO powerful!! I'm looking forward to learning more. This page has a journal block and another place for words or journaling, but I left it all blank because I'm not sure what I want to do or if I will even keep this pics for this page.

I really missed digital scrapbooking when I was gone...like a lot! I am definitely a digital scrapbooker now. Scrapbooking stores still make my heart go "pitter patter", but it's definitely not the same for me anymore. Most of the things I bought are for card-making. I know there's still a part of me that wants to make a mess and play with paper, so I think I'll just have to leave that to the card-making part of it.

So if you ever get a chance to take a Jessica Sprague class, I would highly recommend it! She's an amazing teacher and really knows her stuff!

Making cards

On Saturday we made cards. It first started out that we were going to scrapbook, but we were all lost because we didn't have any pictures to work with. So we made cards instead. You should have seen all of the cards that were made. Most of them are still being displayed in the livingroom. Amanda made 8 cards; Jacob 5; and Katie can't remember how many she made, but she thinks it might be 7. I made 3.

Jacob, Katie (with a very silly face), and Amanda.

Jacob showing a couple of cards he made.

Amanda with some of her cards.

One of the cards I made.

And another that I made.

What Mess?

We were having so much fun! I was telling the kids that I make a big mess in my loft each time I create, but that I make sure to clean it up (well...every once in awhile). Don't worry, we cleaned up our mess when we were finished.

Here's another Ro Muse from Scrap Girls:

BU

I looked at the blog and heard a familiar voice of discontent whisper in my ear that the blog was proof that my life isn’t good enough. “You should be like that,” the voice said. “You’re boring. You’re messy. You’re wrong.”

I held my head in my hands and groaned. I was so weary of these feelings. “How do I get them to leave?” I wondered.

The response was short and to the point, “BU.”

“BU?” I asked, puzzled.

“Write it down,” came the instructions.

“BU,” I scrawled in my notebook.

“Not that way,” the whisper called. “Vertically.”

B

U

I stared at the stacked letters.

B

U

I said them out loud to make sure I was receiving the correct message.

B

U

“Be you,” I repeated. “Yes, I need to be me. That’s the answer. I just need to be me.”
It is a small and simple idea and yet it’s powerful. If you happen to be like me and sometimes feel like you are not enough, just remember this little thought. I think it will help.

B

U

- Ro

There seem to be so many who are afraid to be themselves. They compare themselves with others. They define their worth by what they do, how much they weigh, what they look or don't look like. I know for myself I wore masks for years, afraid to be myself, because I was so tired of hearing criticism from others. It was more safe to be the pretend me than the real me. Throughout the last few years I have come to know myself more and more. It's been a wild journey and each day I learn more and more about myself. Sometimes those around me don't like or accept the changes, but I still need to be true to myself. Sometimes they don't like the real me, but I'm not here to win a popularity contest. Being me is good enough.

Hello!

It's been a couple of weeks since I have posted anything. I'm visiting family/friends in Michigan. I have really been missing creating, so I sat down and made some cards today. I felt like I had better create something before I went crazy. Ha! I'm used to creating something each day, so this was a much-needed time of creating this morning. I have been knitting a bit, too. I found a super cool yarn shop in town here and I'm planning on going there again sometime. I've been to a few scrapbooking type stores too and I have plans for a couple more. *SMILE* It's strange though because when I walk into a scrapbooking store now, I'm a lot more selective and picky about what I purchase because I love digital scrapbooking so much.

I thought the lighting for these cards would be good, but I guess it wasn't...sooo, I tried to lighten everything as much as I could . The blue on the card is actually more of a brighter turquoise color. That was the last card I made.

This is my favorite card I made today. I'm so thankful they had glue-all (Elmer's). I tell ya, it's challenging not having a paper cutter and other things I'm used to using, but it's fun working with what I have. It's so possible to make cards even when you don't have everything you think you need. I really think I'm going to have to purchase a paper cutter for my little sisters though.

I just couldn't pass up this paper. I think this will make a cute little kid birthday card.

Maybe I'll be back with more creations soon!

Friday Cards

This card is pretty simple.

I used purple! This was inspired by Dawn. This is the first purple creation I've probably made in a year.

You are my...

It's time for another one of Kristina Werner's color challenges. I wasn't really planning on participating, but once I got started on this page I knew I must. Ha!

Having color in a black and white photo like so was one of the main reasons I wanted Photoshop. Little did I know it was just the tip of the iceburg!

Happy Valentine's Day

I know it's early, but I thought I'd post some things about it now.


Quent brought me flowers! Awww....

This is the card I made for Quent for Valentine's Day. Since I won't be home on V-day, we celebrated Valentine's day early.

Happy Valentine's Day!