Monday blahs

Mondays are just always boring…. it’s back to housework, back to work for my husband, back to whatever. I miss working sometimes (not very often!) just because it gives a person some structure or routine and, when I used to be a technical writer in Texas, something to look forward to on Monday mornings. We’d all catch up on what everyone had done on the weekend, have our team meetings to decide what we’ll do for the week, and just generally get the feeling of moving forward. Oh well.

Yesterday I made a Get Well card for my mother. She had a serious fall a few days ago and broke some bones so she’s in the hospital and today is moving to a rehab center where she’ll spend possibly the next six weeks, having physical therapy, etc. I’ve talked to her every day and she seems to be coping fairly well, but desperately needs cheering up. I wanted to go for a visit but my sister insists there’s no need. I’m having a foot operation in a few weeks and I’ve been waiting for this for two years!! If I cancel it, no telling when I’d get it rescheduled.

For this very simple card, I used My Mind’s Eye Bloom & Grow patterned paper and SU cardstock (Mellow Moss). The flower was also from the My Mind’s Eye range but the leaves were from SU (Best Wishes and More set), and the sentiment is also from SU. The button and ribbon are just stray ones I had on hand – and the ribbon matches the colours in the paper but in the photo it looks completely different!

I found some really lovely card ideas this weekend and want to try a couple this week. Have you seen Cards magazine? It’s published by the same group that publishes Scrapbook Trends in both the US (Northridge Media) and UK (Red Line Publications). I used to salivate over Take Ten, Stampers Sampler, and the other Stampington publications, but they’re all very same-y to me now. Cards magazine, however, is really fresh and inspiring. When I find a card designer I really like in the magazine, I look at her blog online and get even more ideas! I’ve now started printing the images (about 6 to a page, catalogue style) and keeping them in a ring-binder for just flipping through and getting inspiration when I’m in the mood to try something different. So much amazing talent out there!

Scrapbooking again….

For a change, I’m not making cards but doing some scrapbooking! Who can resist scrapping wedding pictures? I still struggle with titles and agonize over the getting started, but once I finally decide what I’m going to do, it all comes together really quickly. I generally start with a photo (or a few photos), then I dither for ages about which paper to use. I only (!) have about 1200 sheets of patterned paper and I have to look at every one of them. That may seem like a lot, but they’ve been collected over the last six years. Some of them I bought, some I was given, some came in kits for classes I attended, and some I won at various crops. I have some of them that are really horrid but I can’t bring myself to toss them out in case I may….possibly, though unlikely…. in a million to one odds, want to use it some day!

Once I’ve got the paper, then I start the hunt for inspiration: magazines, books, sketches, favourites saved on my computer (saved from looking at blogs and galleries online), etc. Then I may realise I don’t have the right paper, so it starts over again. But once I get the design, I actually start the pasting, cutting, journaling, etc. That part doesn’t take long and the funny thing is that my final result usually doesn’t look anything like the design or sketch I started with! Anyway, here’s today’s result:

I’m never completely happy with my final page, but once it’s filed away inside an album, I don’t lose any sleep over it. I accept that I’m artistically-challenged and just do the best I can. In this 12 x 12” layout, I used Basic Grey’s Urban Prairie collection pack. It has to be one of my favourites! I do love Basic Grey!!! Even the rub-ons (above the main picture) and the butterfly are from the same line. And I’m really and truly into a butterfly phase right now. I love them on cards or scrapbook pages.

My favourite scrapbooking, however, is making mini-albums on a theme (holiday, person, event, etc.). The lumpier and more colourful the better, if I’m doing it for myself, but if I’m doing it for someone else (like a circle journal), I try to make it simple, keeping in mind that lots of ribbons, bling, or stuck-on-things aren’t everyone’s cup of tea. I’m currently in two circle journals and I’ve finished the last ones, so we’re just waiting for everyone to catch up so that we can all post them on the same day. But here’s a peek at one of them:

This was for an entry in a Poetry CJ, with the CJ titled ‘Poems that Make Me Smile’ – some really cute ones there. The owner specified handwritten so that’s why the journaling looks a bit wonky. The other is the Faith  CJ. Here’s my entry for the one titled ‘Prayers’:

But as much as I love circle journals, I’m glad these two are almost finished. I always worry whether my entry is something the owner will like when she gets it back! I don’t think I’ll do any more for awhile. The postal strike isn’t help reduce the stress, either! C’mon posties, let’s get it sorted!!!!!

Photos and Photoshop Elements

For some reason, my cameras will NOT take good close-ups. It’s so frustrating…. they come out very fuzzy. The photo below shows a card I made today.

The colours are not quite true-to-life, but close enough. I use Photoshop Elements 7.0 and tweak, tweak, tweak like crazy to get the colour saturation, contrast, sharpness, etc. to improve. But neither of my cameras (Canon 350D and Canon IXUS 960 IS) take very sharp close-ups. I’d love to know what I’m doing wrong! They’re great for things shot at a distance, so it’s just close-ups. I guess I’ll have to start shooting everything at a distance, then cropping it in Photoshop Elements.

For this card, I used K&Co papers (large background is from Que Sera series, the smaller paper is from Classic K: McKenna), the 'Hello Friend' is a die cut from Cuttlebug combo set, American Crafts ribbon, and a Crafty Individuals stamp.

Anyway, I’m getting my crafting enthusiasm back again…hurrah! It’s about time. Yesterday I went out to Pickleberry Crafts and got some new stamps and some Petaloo blossoms. I’ve really been in the mood to BUY more than CREATE, but hey, it’s a start! I have tons of new photos but have to print them so that I can scrapbook some of them. I’ve got quite a few ideas, like the recent wedding, our new dog, and a few other things.

Speaking of dog (which I do quite often….), we’ve been taking her to a trainer for one-on-one behaviour training. She’s had four sessions now and next week will be her last. She hasn’t shown great improvement, but is a bit better than she was at first. Her main problem is that she’s a typical Jack Russell terrier: very nervous, quick to snap, and slightly mad. Here’s a picture I took of her in training this morning.

I think probably my husband and I have learned more than our dog has, but it’s been very interesting. We love listening to the show, ‘The Dog Whisperer’ and wish we could have Cesar Millan visit us!!!!

New face

I'm trying out a new blog template -- this one from Shabby Blog Creations. I don't know about most people, but I like to freshen things up once in awhile. Still not sure about this one as it's a bit 'plain' but certainly readable. I'm still looking for some good templates, though, so if anyone has suggestions, please let me know.

I've also added a 'Quote of the Day' in the left-side column. I'd love to find a different quote widget though.... this one isn't especially inspirational but I suppose it's easy to use.

Forgot an update on our Bella... she's been going through a false pregnancy, we think, but the last two days have been much better. I had to take her original stuffed toy away from her as she was snapping and snarling at anyone who walked near it. She's much, much more relaxed now.



This is a picture of her with the 'baby' that turns her into a mental monster! I bought her another one that she seems to like but not get obsessive about. We hope she'll be better when we have her spayed, but even the last two days have seen our Bella's loving, sweet nature return.

Little of this and a little of that

It’s been awhile since I updated my blog but I have honestly been very busy!

Last week we went to Devon for my husband’s son’s wedding. They had the registrar service one day and the church blessing the next, so it was non-stop activity! It all turned out well, though, and that’s what counts.

The little bridesmaids are the happy couple’s nieces and they were so cute and performed their ‘duties’ with great style! I took loads of photos of everyone and everything  (and a couple of video clips) so I’ll have plenty of scrapbook material.

Speaking of scrapbooking, I’ve kind of been in the scrapping doldrums lately…. we all get there sometimes, I suppose. The other day I cleaned up my craft room and my ‘mojo’ has begun creeping back in. Hurrah! It was also helped by a shopping trip yesterday. My pal, Barbara, and I went to the first-day opening of a new Hobbycraft store in Broadstairs. Ooh, I got some fun things. Can’t say I was favourably impressed with the prices on most things, however. We also went to Dunelm Mill in the same shopping area and found some of the same things for nearly half the price!

Last night I picked up my latest Scrapbook Trends and Cards magazines and got some real inspiration for a change. Today I tried a ‘card lift’ (i.e. to copy someone’s card design) from the November issue of Cards magazine (UK edition). The designer was Tanya Tahir and here’s my ‘lifted’ design:

I used Kraft paper for the card, SU paper for the flower and leaves, and My Mind’s Eye patterned paper (‘Bloom & Grow’ pack) for the band across the card. To make the leaves and stem, I used Elusive Images ‘Funky Doodles – Retro’ stamp set on light green cardstock, Chocolate Chip inkpad from Stampin’ Up!, and cut them out and attached it decoupage-style. The stamped sentiment is American Crafts ‘Clear Stamp Sentiments LG’.

To make the flower, I used Nestabilities Scalloped Circles to cut five flower layers, then wet each layer and scrunched it up thoroughly. When the layers began to dry, I opened them up, sprayed them with ‘Antique Brass’ Glimmer Mist, then sort of dusted them slightly with a Copper Brilliance Ink pad. Finally, I put a brad in the center and used foam tape to attach it. The glistening effect of the Glimmer Mist and Copper Brilliance inkpad doesn’t show up very much on the photo, but I’m quite happy with it ‘in real life’ at least. You can see it better if you click the photo to enlarge it.

Now I’m off to find inspiration for some wedding layouts! I might even do a mini-album for the bride and groom. Wish me luck and watch this space…………..

Heritage Scrapbooking

At last I’ve started the family heritage scrapbook I’ve thought about for so long. This week I purchased Legacy 7.0, a genealogy program, so that I can get my files and paperwork organised. I did have Legacy 5.0 on my old computer but it wouldn’t work with Vista (of course!). Also, my old database was CORRUPTED so I had to open an earlier version. It’s been so long since I worked on the family history that I don’t even know what I’ve missed between the backup and the corrupted version!

The first layout is of my paternal grandparents, with the photo they had made on their honeymoon. Although there was nearly a 20-year gap in their ages, they still make a handsome couple! And they were married for 34 years when Grandpa died. This branch of the family is all German-Swiss and I have them documented back to the late 1700s when they immigrated from Europe.

I’ve decided to do it all in an 8.5” x 11” album with D-rings, so that I can add documents as well as layouts and photos, plus not worry about scrapping it chronologically. I can put the pages in much easier this way than with a post-bound album. I’m also deliberately not using titles for the pages, but will have a lot of journaling, including some family pages with no photos at all. For example, I have a lot of data on my maternal family, all the way back to 1590s here in England (!) that I want to use, but due to the fact photography wasn’t even invented yet, they’ll have to be photo-less pages. Great stories though!

Family History or Heritage Albums are such wonderful things to pass on to future generations. I have two grandchildren and another on the way, so some day I hope they’ll be interested in seeing where our family comes from. Sadly, I think most people aren’t interested until they find themselves the last living generations and suddenly heritage stories become important.

I’d love to see some other Heritage Albums, so please leave me a link if you have one.

Graphics Programs…blecccchhh!

I’ve been wrestling with Photoshop Elements 7.0 for about three hours now and am no closer to figuring it out. I’ve tried the Help, various websites, etc. and just ended up in frustration. I used to have PaintShop Pro 9 (so easy to use) on my old computer but figured I didn’t need it on my new one, and probably don’t if I could just get PSE or any of the Vista products (i.e. Windows Live Photo Gallery) to work. Grrrrr…!

Well, I think I managed to tweak the image enough, only by trial and error (thank goodness for the “Undo” button). Here’s the result:

This is the first double-page entry in Bella’s Book. It’s the story of how she stole our heart and, on the first day, nearly our fingers! Please remember to click the image to enlarge it. I apologise for the colours…they’re nothing like they are in real life. The flower actually matches the yellow mats behind the photos.

The second one shows how much she loves my husband. She follows him everywhere as if she were his bodyguard! She sits next to him on the sofa each night, but I do have to say that she’s very good when we say ‘Off’ – she then goes into her little bed where she can watch us both. When he goes into the garden, she’s right there with him. I put a red arrow to show her walking as she’s so tiny, she’s difficult to see.

Tomorrow we start her training, although it’s probably more accurately OUR training. We’ve found a woman who is a member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers, which was highly recommended. Hope so…

I’m making her album using 8.5” x 11” so that I can insert pockets for all her vet papers, etc. I’ve decided to use an American Crafts D-ring album. In fact, from this day on I’m ONLY using D-ring albums! I don’t scrap chronologically and using post-bound albums is a nuisance.

But back to the mechanics of the graphics: On both these layouts, I used the same paper for the right side as the left side and yet the pages came out different colours when I scanned them! I had to first correct the colour variances, then figure out how to combine them into one image. I found the online help useless. I think I’ve about got it sussed, but just wish I had an A3 scanner!