My User Manual

Campbellsburg - Lesson 1

2012-01-24T17:06:00.002-05:00

We live in an old-fashioned railroad town, with the road running along the still active tracks. Snuggled against the tracks is the old railroad station, once a graceful white icon of our town, but now just a faded and falling memory of the boom times of Campbellsburg. I love hearing the faint whistle of the lonesome train calling across the fields.

Across the street from the station is our downtown. Campbellsburg's original down town was taken out by a tornado in the '70's and replaced by a brick strip mall containing our local businesses. Our bank is still owned by long-standing members of the community, as is the local grocery and our small-town drug store. Brenda's beauty parlor is where the woman-folk catch up on all the local goings-on. Last is the post office, hanging on in spite of all the recent post-office closings.

The gas station is the hot spot in our town. Called the Minit-Mart, it is situated on a small triangle of land between the highway, the rail road tracks and a side road, it has two pumps. Folks often think of that space beside the pumps as a parking space and make it hard to get gas. The Minit-Mart also sells chicken and pizza, closest thing we have to a fast food joint. It is also the local coffee stop for all the retired gentlemen, farmers and rail-road men from the trains that stop on the side-switch in town. Few women will brave the smoky man-cave more than a few minutes.

My husband died in April.

2011-12-15T17:33:00.000-05:00

What can I say? I'm lost? I'm broken? So many feelings and so much sorrow.

How to keep busy...

2010-08-04T16:29:00.000-05:00

My biggest problem is that I don't know what to do with myself. I have spent the last year keeping myself busy on the computer and reading while my arm healed, re-operated on and healed again.

Nice

2009-06-18T18:36:00.001-05:00

Chuck a rock...

2009-04-05T13:27:00.002-05:00

What a fun day... so far. It's warm and sunny, with just a touch of a breeze. And that means I can't go outside... the maple, pear and redbud trees are blooming. Pollen alergies!

Oh! And a warning. Don't let your thoughts drift in church: Today our new minister was talking about his visit to the holy lands and said he was standing on a hill overlooking Jerusalem, so close he could have "chuck a rock" to the temple. I got so tickled I about chocked! All I could think of was Ernest T.

Ray gave me a dirty look to make me quit laughing, but LAST WEEK... when the preacher started his closing prayer, he started, "Oh God!" and Ray thought of the prayer for the poor farmer in the beginning of "Paint your Wagon."

It's a New Day!

2009-03-15T14:27:00.000-05:00

It's a new year and lots of things have happened. Guess I've started a new me. I'm not sure how I will turn out by the end of this year, but I know I will not be the same.

I left the scrapbooking world. I just didn't have that many pictures to scrap, and all the kits were beginning to seem the same. I thought about selling kits, but I think that would just be adding to the problem of lack of creativity.

I've retired from my job as the secretary of our church. I had been frustrated for about as long as Bert was our preacher. He didn't even try to be a pastor. I was tired of trying to keep the church on track with a immense lack of communication and resentment. I was beginning to hate me and my life. Then Bert resigned (hooray!) but my feelings of resentment did not seem to improve that much, so it was time for a change. I had lost my religion and beginning to dread going to work or church.

I made some rules with my retirement. First, I will be a better partner to my husband. He loves me to do things with him, so I have decided to work on ways we can be together more often. Maybe go stay on the shanty a few days when he is there. Also, I try not to let a day go by without doing something constructive (besides Mafia Wars on Facebook).

I can't say there has been much improvement yet. I've spent lots of time just sitting around - playing on the computer or cutting up material for quilts. I took a photography class, (which I loved), and bought some more equipment that I think I will really use. I haven't cooked much lately, I think mostly because I don't want to go shopping. I just have to decide what I want to do and then WORK at.

Happy New Year's Eve

2008-12-31T12:15:00.005-05:00

We had a lovely sunset today. I thought it was a lovely ending to a year.
I tried to take a photo of it, but the trees kept getting in the way. I scraped it about seven times, never getting the look I wanted.

Poor Lulu
Our little cat was operated on four times this last month, then the vet said she had a rapidly growing cancer on her head. So we had her put to sleep on Dec 27th. The photo below shows her after an operation sleeping with Shebie and I.
Lulu was the daughter of an outside cat. We tried to give her away several times, but she wouldn't go away as a kitten. Very skiddish and needy.

Christmas is almost here!

2008-12-21T22:10:00.003-05:00

Hubby took this photo of me & the cats taking a 'cat' nap yesterday afternoon. With everything that has to get done before Christmas eve... I really thought about staying in bed!

December?

2008-12-20T13:40:00.004-05:00

When did that happen? I've been busy with so many urgent and emergency situations that I have barely looked online. I think maybe things will calm down soon. I put in my resignation at work, and looking forward to some REAL retirement time.
I went to the church's children Christmas play Wednesday. I love seeing the wiseman taking baby Jesus out and banging him on the floor. And Mary pulling her dress up over her head. Well.. you get the idea. I did make a layout using a tree template by Christie Lemmon.
Hope to make a few more... We'll see!

Pan-Seared Pork Chops with Dried Fruit

2008-07-12T18:46:00.002-05:00

I was cleaning out the pantry and found 6 bags of dried fruit that hubby had horded away. He loves dried fruit, but buys these gigantic bags, then gets tired of it and stuffs it on the back of a shelf!

I made this recipe up to use some of that fruit...

Pan-Seared Pork Chops with Dried Fruit

Ingredients

Olive Oil

4 (6-ounce) boneless center-cut pork chops (about 1/2 inch thick)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup flour

Sauce

2 tbsp olive oil

1 sliced shallots

1 tbsp garlic/ginger mix

1/4 cup white wine

1/4 cup beef broth

1 cup chicken broth

1 1/2 cup mixed dried fruit: Apricots, Raisins, Cherries, Blueberries, Crazins (whatever) soaked in chicken broth 1/2 hour.

Preparation

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Lightly coat pan with olive oil. Sprinkle both sides of pork with salt and pepper and dredge in flower. Add pork to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Remove from pan, and put in warm oven (350)

Add shallots & garlic/ginger mix to pan; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add broths and fruit, then simmer till sauce is thick. Add wine and continue cooking till sauce coats spoon. Return pork to pan, and cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated.

4 servings

2008-05-29T18:04:00.001-05:00

aCk! I've been tagged!

2008-05-29T16:09:00.003-05:00

I haven't blogged in TWO months... but now I have been tagged by enableem. And there are RULES! Here's what I have to do and what you have to do if I tag you!!

Rules:

1.) Link your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2.) Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3.) Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4.) Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Seven facts... hmmmm.
I love gardening. But I hate heat and sunshine! And bugs! I get things planted in the spring and then watch them from the windows.
I don't like talking on the phone. And my husband calls me when he's on the road just to pass HIS time.
I can pick up things with my toes. Saves on leaning over too much. (And drives hubby crazy because he can't do it.)
My bathtub is six feet long.
I love wooden boxes and cigar boxes. I have lots of them, and most of them are empty. And I passed that love on to my daughter.
I love to read. I read two to four books a week, mostly mysteries and thrillers. If the book is good, I can finish it in a day. And I passed that one on to my daughter, too. She reads MORE than I do.
My cat will play fetch. But only when SHE wants to.

There! Even more than you ever wanted to know!

Oriana Vianey
ConnieB
Sausan Scraps
Stampin with Alexa
mmbstaley
AngelaUK
ScrapMel's Ramblings

My son's cat

2008-03-25T10:39:00.003-05:00

My son sent me this photo of his lazy cat... and I could tell what she was thinking... I liked the way this turned out. and got to use 2 of my favorite designers, Dawn Inskip & Weeds & Wildflowers.

Such a funny email!

2008-03-20T16:30:00.003-05:00

I got this email from a friend, and just fell in love with this photo. Poor baby elephant fell off his stand. *giggle* So I just had to scrap it to keep!

Fun layout

2008-03-01T09:29:00.002-05:00

I was doing a sponsor kit for RakScraps... and hunting through my hoard of photos to pick one, when I came across this photo of Gizmo. Gizmo had been an outside cat until Denise decided to take her. We were getting her used to the house, when she found the television!
We got such a laugh out of Gizmo trying to find the dog in the television. Of course, that is a photo of our German Shepherd, Zac, but that is much more fun than the shot of Law & Order.

Layout of the Week

2008-02-24T16:28:00.008-05:00

HOORAY! I got layout of the week from Digital-scrapbooking.org. I found this old photo of one of hubby's aunts, and scrapped it! Isn't she beautiful? Looking at her dress, Hubby and I think she must have been very well off.

I made this layout from Lynn Griffin's Vintage Bliss kit from Art and Scraps. I tried all sorts of embellishments, but ended up using swirls from Cari Lopez's Cool and Grunge and a second background from the kit.

I am very lucky to have so many old family photos. I love genealogy and often find more photos from other relatives. I have not been able to track this aunt down, other than knowing which family she belonged to.

Look at THIS!

2008-02-23T14:49:00.002-05:00

Have you seen this new action by Cholie Watkins? Beautiful ribbon roses! I do a bit of ribbon embroidery and I just fell in love with this! I think it is so old-fashioned and so dressy.
Check it out here!

Amazing Grace

2008-02-06T10:07:00.000-05:00

This is beautiful. Wonder if it is from the movie?

Music Video:
Amazing Grace by (Chris Tomlin)

Music Video Code by Video Code Zone

100 Years

2007-12-09T18:31:00.000-05:00

I love this song. I just downloaded it for my ringtone. Nice we can do these things now.

uggg... maybe I'll die!

2007-12-08T16:14:00.000-05:00

I had a little surgery Wednesday. I had to look to see exactly what they did to me, besides rotter-router my sinuses. Shame when you let a doctor operate on you and not even sure exactly what he is doing!

The goal of the surgery is to correct any structural problems within the nose and sinuses as well as to eliminate blockage by removing thickened tissue creating wider drainage channels.

Exactly like I thought! Rotter-router!

Wednesday I thought I'd die... but Thursday I was hoping to die... and then Friday... I was afraid I wouldn't die. But today... I feel bad but not like killing myself!

My daughter's Wedding Dress

2007-11-04T10:16:00.001-05:00

I was making a little brag book for my daughter's wedding. She got married last month at the justice of the peace. I was mad, because I wanted the whole big shindig! So... I made a photo of her in a wedding dress.

I like it! LOL!

I needed the perfect frame for this... so I asked Dawn Inskip for a white-lacy frame. She made the frame, and an entire kit! Beautiful.
All elements & papers are from her kits, Heritage & Love you Lots.

I'll be posting these sometime next week.

Put some 'joi' in your scraping!

2007-10-23T20:28:00.000-05:00

I found this really cool new forum, k-joi studios. The folks are really friendly and the designers are great. I can't wait to get my hands on these designs. I found Irene Brown there... and Dragon's Lair designs... can't wait to see who else is there!

I've been visiting for a few days... and think I will stay. Come and see me here!

Changes

2007-10-12T11:02:00.000-05:00

Well, it's time for a few changes in my life. Change is so hard... I make resolutions and plans, and then somehow they slip right out of my fingers... or mind... or whatever.

Like making our beds. Hubby and I have twin Sealy beds.. pushed together to make a king size bed. I love the twin beds and enjoy being able to use the adjustable back and foot thingy. But NOW I have to make up THREE beds, instead of one. I make up his side, then my side then put the king-sized bedspread & stuff on them. You know how easy it is to put that off?

And what about vacuuming? My husbands dog looses about 3-5 lbs of hair a day. I vacuum today, and tomorrow it needs it again. And he STINKS & drools! Cats are so much nicer! :)

She got married this morning!

2007-09-25T20:08:00.001-05:00

Hey! I just got a call from my daughter telling me she got married an hour ago! WOW!

My desktop:

New again...

2007-09-21T15:13:00.000-05:00

Our old den lazyboy chairs have seen their better days, but they are the most comfortable ones in the house. So, I thought they might do with a little face-life.

Do you know how hard it is to find someone to upholster here in the country. There's a lady over in Smithfield that has been upholstering for about 20+ years. So yesterday, I brought home about 20 books of fabric. I narrowed it down to about five and had Ray choose between them. We ended up picking a whole new fabric! :)

Same old 'same old'

2007-08-29T12:21:00.000-05:00

I'm just tired of seeing the same post for the last month. Hopefully this will get me in the mood to blog a bit more! :D

Vacation Plans!

2007-07-29T09:18:00.001-05:00

Well.. we have our vacation planned and all the hotel arrangements. All we need to do is go enjoy... and pay for everything! LOL!

We're landing Wednesday in Providence, RI and spending the night in a nearby hotel, a Holiday Inn in Mansville, MA.

Then we are heading up to Bath, ME! We're heading on over to Rockland, ME for the Lobster Fest. YAY! Lobsters for me! Then the night in another Holiday Inn in Bath.

The Friday & Saturday nights will be at Bar Harbor, at.... guess! RIGHT! Holiday Inn SunSpree Resort! There we are going to go out to enjoy the coast and the parks and relax a bit. We haven't mapped out anything special yet... but I hope it is a visit to Stonington at Deer Island!

Then it is heading home time. But this evening is going to be special! We're going to spend Sunday night at Wentworth by the Sea. Hope it is a relaxing and fun day and night for both of us. I know I'M going to enjoy it. I already have appointments for a facial and a manicure! Trying to get hubby to take a mud bath... HA!

Then down into Boston, where I hope to be able to meet up with Irene Brown... the en-able 'em of all my scrapping. She hangs around Rakscraps and keeps thing running. She has a sister in Cape Cod... should have planned another day staying with the sister! JK! But we love Boston and that area, too, so want to spend the day there.

That night, we plan to stay by the airport in Providence, RI, at.... guess where? Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites! Poor hubby used up all his points on this trip. Now he will have to work more out of town and gather some more points for next year! )

More later!

It's VACATION Time!

2007-07-24T17:41:00.000-05:00

That's right... hubby and I are planning a vacation to Maine. For the lobster fest in Rockland. Hubby is a die-hard lobster fan. Loves the things.

So far, we have airplane tickets and hotel rooms (all more or less free on hubby's priority points. Still so much more to plan. I hope to visit with Irene when we are up there.

My cute puppy!

2007-07-10T10:56:00.000-05:00

Last week, I was trying to take a little nap when I heard my dog barking... and barking... continuously! I thought maybe someone was outside, but instead, Zac was running around the yard... chasing robins.

When Zac was a pup, a robin must have chased him away and maybe pecked him on the head. Well, since then, he has hated robins. Any other bird can walk across his nose, and he doesn't care. But robins are not allowed to land in the yard. Worst part of it, when the robins fly up to the trees, he thinks he has "treed" them! :D

When our German Shepherd was a puppy we think a robin chased him away by pecking him on the head. Now he hates all robins. Any other bird can land in the yard, but he will try to chase the robins out. He *thinks* he's treeing them!
----
This layout contains pieces from many kits:
* Monica Larsen's Summer Flirt
* paper from Clohie Watkins My Precious One
* tag and string bow from Monica Larsen's Workable
* frames from Christine Renee Piled High Photos
* stitches from Monica Larsen Cute & Shabby
* cardboard edge from Monica Larsen's From This Moment On
* reeds from Monica Larsen's Sandy Beach
* pin from Monica Larson Lily

I am so MAD!

2007-07-02T11:03:00.000-05:00

Ever have one of those jobs where your boss drives you crazy? You wouldn't think that would happen at a church... but believe me, I'm going crazy. This guy just doesn't do his job. And he plans meetings, then gets busy and calls the meeting off! He calls off evening services and kid groups on a whim. Why plan anything?

At least the sanctuary is close so I can go pray for patience!

Monkey Shines

2007-06-10T14:22:00.000-05:00

I had to share this with everyone! Here is one of Monica Larsen's other ct's layout of her son. I just love this!

a MONTH?

2007-05-31T14:15:00.000-05:00

Wow... it doesn't seem that long. But it has been a busy month.. what with the kids visiting and Mother's Day and my Birthday (which I try to make last until Mother's Day!) And my laptop acting up all the time! I've downloaded a couple of kits from Monica Larsen's wonderful collection.. and now I got to get busy.

I resigned from the Creative Team at Rakscraps. I'm just not creative enough to design! (I'll leave that to my wonderful designers!) I am on the sponsor's team now... and that is a lot of fun! Every time a newsletter comes out, I feel famous! (Where is that little green smile?)

Michael & Marie came up for a visit through Memorial Day. Michael finally got Ray's laptop up and running ok... and I upgraded my dsl... and baby I'm flying! I hope to be back posting and doing layouts like crazy now! Here's just a taste of what we did!

While I have been down and out, Monica has been busy designing and uploading! WOW that girl can design! Check out her new kits at www.wedoscraps. I downloaded her new action, "Tie a Flower" to try out. She has them for both personal and commercial use. Just LOOK at this! Isn't this cute? And so many variations! Check it out here!

I'm back on DSL!

2007-04-27T16:11:00.000-05:00

Wow.. I went through withdrawal! Three days without my dsl!

I tried everything I could think of to fix it, then called Bellsouth and had to spend 20 minutes on a line with a computer telling me to do all those things over again! DUH! Where is the bypass this junk button and talk to a real person?

Finally, I did get a person. Somebody probably in India. And he had me do all those things all over again. I finally told him I had even got the neighbors modem and it wouldn't work here. He said he would send a repairman out, but if it was inside the house, it would be $80.00. Hubby about died when I told him, although I assured him it wasn't anything in the house.

Thursday, the guy called.. then went to the building where all the connections are, and found it was a broken wire on their end. Was THAT so hard? Sheesh!

But all is well that ends well... so they say! I'm busy trying to catch up on all my forums and upload lots of stuff. I found a great tutorial from Misty Cato's Blog. How to make a template from a layout. Really interesting. I love learning!

I also bought Sausan Design's new kit, "Cutout Kidoki" Real cute, and I wanted to use the houses with a Church Youth Group photo.

WHERE have I been?

2007-04-20T10:59:00.000-05:00

Sheesh.. this month has flashed by! Here it is the day before my Birthday and I haven't blogged since April 4th! Well.. I did have a lot of layouts required for my designers and RAKScraps. Now to post them!

Another Cutie!

2007-04-04T13:35:00.000-05:00

This was in an e-mail received today. Is it cute or what? My friend is a budding artist... great work. I may have to scrap this...

Magic

2007-04-02T18:12:00.000-05:00

Don't you love it when things just come together? This layout was 'magic' in that all the elements were sent to me about the same time.

This is fun!

2007-03-31T20:04:00.000-05:00

From Cartoon Brew

POPEYE’S PIPE

March 30, 2005 9:16 am

Not to prolong any debate about Popeye’s politics, but we just received this missive from Dana Larsen, editor of Cannabis Culture Magazine, who offers some fresh evidence in making the case for the sailor man’s spinach high:
Hi there,
I am Dana Larsen, the author of the article you linked to reply you posted from Bobby London, denying that there was any connection between spinach and cannabis. Of course, he is not the creator of Popeye and there’s no reason he would have any more insight into the thought processes of Popeye creator Segar than anyone else. I thought your readers might like to see this Popeye cover (at right) from October 1939, drawn by Joseph Musial. I only came across this cover recently, after I had written the original article posted on Alternet. The comic cover shows Popeye lounging among pillows in an Arabian sort of tent, smoking out of a hookah labeled “Spinach.” This cover illustration shows that, to at least some people involved in the early formation of the Popeye comics, the spinach/marijuana connection was obvious, and not something they were ashamed of, as King Comics put it prominently on the cover. Thank you for your attention.

Oh no! My last Doris Castle kit.....

2007-03-30T18:45:00.000-05:00

Today, I downloaded Doris Castle's newest kit, LeJardin! WOW is it ever great! The papers are beautiful... and so ornamental that you can just post a photo, add some journaling and a title... and ta-dum! You have a page!

I love that most of her kits blend so well together. So sad... this is my last day of being Doris Castle's Guest CT! She is such an artist!

My cat, Shebie, was wandering around the porch today, so of course, I snapped a couple of hundred photos of her. I put her in the flower garden, and she quickly decided to go find critters... some diva she is!

This is the sum of my endeavors today... I love the look on Shebie's face, and the kit was perfect for the look I wanted. I love the journaling block as a frame for my baby Shebie's face.

The things you find on the internet!

2007-03-29T12:23:00.000-05:00

I've got a few more minutes at work... not time to start anything. So I starting surfing the internet highway... and found this poem. I remember my mother quoting the 'refrain' of this poem since I can remember! She read this poem on stage when she was a little girl.

The poem? "I've got a pain in my sawdust." I found this at this site.

"There's a songbook that has the lyrics and score for that song. Go to your local library and ask them to interlibrary loan it for you - there are 37 copies of the book in the US. Here's the info:
Songs From the Golden Eras, 1900-1929
ed. Ronny Schiff MCA/Mills OCLC 1894095 "
[posted May 2, 2003, by KellyG629]

A prior post mentioned it had been available as a player piano roll.

And then another post gave the full lyrics from sheet music in the poster's possession:
" A little bisque doll and a little rag doll
And a dolly imported from France
Were sitting one day on the shelf of the store
With a doll that could wind up and dance;
When all of a sudden the shopkeeper heard
A scream that rang out thro' the store,
And this was the plaint of the little bisque doll
That made such an awful uproar;

I've got a pain in my sawdust,
That's what's the matter with me;
Something is wrong with my little inside,
I'm just as sick as can be.
Don't let me faint, someone get me a fan,
Someone else run for the medicine man,
Ev'ryone hurry as fast as you can,
I've got a pain in my sawdust.

They took her away in a hospital van
And the whole town was filled with the blues,
For ev'ryone thought it was quite an odd thing,
And the papers all printed the news;
The surgeons looked wise and they all shook their heads
And asked her just where she was sick;
"I think it's 'appendisawdust'," she exclaimed,
"And won't you please do something quick?"

I've got a pain in my sawdust,
That's what's the matter with me;
Something is wrong with my little inside,
I'm just as sick as can be.
Don't let me faint, someone get me a fan,
Someone else run for the medicine man,
Ev'ryone hurry as fast as you can,
I've got a pain in my sawdust.

Oh, sad was the day for the little bisque doll,
For they cut all her stitches away,
And looked for the seat of the terrible ache;
"'Twas a delicate task," they all say,
For none of the surgeons had ever before
Performed on a dolly's inside,
They tried to restuff her but didn't know how,
And this was her wail as she died;

I've got a pain in my sawdust,
That's what's the matter with me;
Something is wrong with my little inside,
I'm just as sick as can be.
Don't let me faint, someone get me a fan,
Someone else run for the medicine man,
Ev'ryone hurry as fast as you can,
I've got a pain in my sawdust."

Golden Spring!

2007-03-27T14:18:00.000-05:00

I don't believe that I've ever seen as many spring flowers in bloom at once. Or see forsythias as beautiful as they are this year! They are so full and so bright! Our crocuses & jonquils are in bloom, and lilacs and redbud trees are budding up.

Of course, I don't believe I've ever had a 'spring' as hot as this... in the 80'sF! If this is spring, I am very afraid of summer.

Busy Weekend!

2007-03-25T13:30:00.000-05:00

It's been a great week! The weather is warm and the flowers are blooming. The jonquils were just a few inches out of the ground, and in two days' time, they lunged up and bloomed! I have never seen anything grow as fast as they did this week. Well, maybe Kudzu!

I am so stiff today. When the weather gets warm, I want to go outside and get my fingers in the dirt! (I wish I'd remember to wear gloves!) Yesterday I was out hoeing and shoveling and moving plants around. Today, I can hardly turn my head. (Good reason to stay on the computer?)

This week's tutorial is from TechEBlog. So many of my photos are in black and white, and I wanted to add a bit of color. The process is the simplest one I've every tried. Here's my hubby when he was 4-6 years old. I thought about doing it all in color, but ech!

I wanted to use some of Sausan's little animals. They are so... happy looking. But I couldn't find anyplace to put them that I liked. So, I ended up deleting them... maybe next time! (Hubby, the retired policeman, especially likes the pig. You DO know that 'pig' stands for "Pride, Integrity and Guts"?)

I love this kit!

2007-03-23T14:37:00.000-05:00

I've been watching this kit for about a week. It never did anything... but get cuter! Finally I bit the bullet and bought the sticker part of the kit. I think this will be a lot of fun! Although I still wish there was a cow in the mix!

Here's my Grand-Niece, Candy. My brother keeps sending me photos of her, with food all over her. Men have a weird sense of cute. Anyway, I like this layout, although I think I will make the frame and Candy a bit smaller... someday.

How cute is this?

2007-03-17T17:04:00.000-05:00

I just downloaded Doris Castle's new kit, Whispers. Isn't it so Victorian, with it's little birds and flowers? I just love it. I've got a dozen layouts to do ahead of Doris Castle, but hey... This one was fun.

I am interested in making an 'opposite' or 'different' type of layout for my second one. I'm thinking about it!

Note to me...

2007-03-16T11:21:00.001-05:00

NEVER take a handful of pills with a V-8 again! uck!

The More Things Change...

2007-03-16T11:00:00.000-05:00

I've been worried for a few weeks, because when RAKScraps divided it's creative team up into groups... they left me out! (I hate being picked last!) I kept waiting for someone to tell me what I was supposed to be doing... but nothing! I finally asked them, and they put me on the Sponsor's Team. Making layouts to feature that month's sponsors... Not bad, just four layouts a month. AND a lot better than making kits!

Then I took a look at this month's RAKScraps Newsletter. And they picked one of my layouts to do a scraplift on. I made this layout for a quote challenge, and I was practicing a new blending technique. Personally, I think it would be a hard one to scraplift... just photos and no papers, element or anything else. But I am really looking forward to seeing the entries!

One of my most favorite things about digi-scraping is that, almost every day, I learn something new. Sometimes I can't retain things very long, but then I just have to learn it again until it sticks! Old age keeps picking on me!

The Rule of Three

2007-03-15T12:07:00.000-05:00

On one of my forums, a member asked.. "What's wrong with this layout? It looks disjointed" hmmm... don't ask ME if you don't want an answer. People say I am a touch to blunt sometimes. 'donno'

This member has a great lo idea and some good elements already in place. But they had too much space between them. The only rules I know of in scrapbooking is the rule of three and grouping or touching. Well.. they are more suggestions! I found this great article on the rule of three. Visual Architecture: The Rule of Three

Of course I don't always follow it; like Emeril says... "Who makes up these rules?" Scrapbooking is what makes you happy. You do it the way YOU want to, and the way you think is pretty.

1000's of photos!

2007-03-10T13:20:00.000-05:00

I've noticed... as I go to my albums to find pictures of my children... what a difference there is between then... 60's & 70's.. and now.

When my kids were young, film was very expensive. And to develop them... WOW! Not everyone even had a camera. And if they did, it was probably a little point and click.

I know that is unbelievable, but true! So, when I took pictures of birthday parties... it was probably one or two pictures. This year, Michael only got a picture, because Hubby had to send a roll of police film to develop, so took a photo for me. Black & white, but a picture that I treasure.

But now, people have digital camera and computers and printers. They take 100's of photos without a blink. Things that were not even dreamed of in my childhood, except maybe by Dick Tracy.

Now I, too, have a wonderful digital camera, and the 100's of photos I can take at one event, will probably be of flowers, dogs & cats, or hubby. Occasionally I can take some of the kids... but they are old now, and not nearly as cute as they were twenty or thirty years ago. My kids refuse to reproduce... although that might be good for the gene pool. ;)

Here is the layout I made from the one photo of his birthday. The kit is from Laura Pitman, with the cake from Doris Castle. I cropped three photos from the one picture... making the layout a bit more balanced. I was tired of all those one-photo layouts I've done lately.

ho HO!

2007-03-02T16:22:00.000-05:00

Found a nice site today. Adobe Photoshop Killer Tips From what I can tell, they have short videos teaching one tip at a time. Cool!

Enough Harleys

2007-03-02T11:48:00.000-05:00

My son got a Navy Edition Harley-Davidson Motorcycle for his birthday. He's been wanting one for years, and this year he started saving for one. He ordered it to be in by May... but his wife surprised him and moved up the date to his birthday.

Of course, they sent us video and lots of pictures. And I had to scrap them. I used Doris Castle's "Its a Guy Thing" kit. Lots of manly and grungy papers and elements! I've posted two and got one more to go... then I am through with grunge and motorcycles for a while!

But doesn't he look like a kid in a candy shop? He ordered lots of extras and pretties.

Now they tell him not to ride it yet, too much salt on the road, and that will eat the chrome up. hehehe!

I LOVE this!

2007-02-24T16:44:00.000-05:00

I always loved this photo of my daughter. This was her first Easter... well, that she was old enough to play. She couldn't find any Easter eggs, so her older brother would show her an egg, and she would run to get it and put it in her basket.
This was the original photo. It had yellowed with age, and her little face was in a shadow. Well.. I've been doing some tutorials and reading up on hints, and was able to save the photo and make this layout with it.

I found a really nifty tutorial... mentioned in the post before this, that helped me save it. I was able to brighten it up and get rid of most of the shadows.
I loved the beautiful pink kit that I used in this lo. It's Monica Larsen's Romantic Breeze. I added some little flowers in the upper right corner with a brush. I needed that corner to have a little stronger color to be balanced with the lower right. Then I moved the entire lo up a little to show off the flowers more.

Challenge

2007-02-24T10:48:00.000-05:00

I like doing challenges. It gets me out of my rut and often, I learn something new. Today, I joined in a challenge scraplift of Doris Castle's layout. Learned a lot about her style... and her family! LOL! Very cute.
The challenge is here. And this is the layout I did. I used three or four of Doris' kits.This was a tree that was full grown when we moved here, 25 years ago. Then, last year, it just fell. We really miss it.

Learning something new...

2007-02-22T21:49:00.000-05:00

Today I found a tutorial from Monica Larsen that I tried. It did teach me a few new things. I've used blending before.. but not in this way. I think the blending of the two papers is a wonderful idea. I loved the way the feathering looked. And I was able to use a few of my flower photos in the photo too!
The elements were from Doris Castle, Lucy Hampton and Rachel Dickson.
I do like her style! Woohoo!

Yet another Christmas Layout

2007-02-19T15:26:00.000-05:00

Hubby was so happy to hear Michael wanted to be a Kentucky Colonel! Months before Christmas, he set the wheels in motion. He contacted a friend in the Manson and started the process. Unfortunately, a few days before Christmas Ray was contacted saying the form was signed, but was sent to the wrong end of the state.
Then Christmas day, a friend on his way back from Frankfort stopped by with the certificate! YAY! Michael was here and was presented.
What fun!

New Toys!

2007-02-18T18:36:00.000-05:00

Ok.. today I made a layout about my Dad. When I posted it, I noticed one of the other layouts had their photo looking bent. I loved it!

After much playing around in photoshop and then searching on Google, I found a little action to do this! From PanosFX.com. It did a pretty good job. Then I added a duotone to the photo and here is the finished photo.

I like this. I love learning new techniques and new ideas. What fun!

Great Idea!

2007-02-15T15:15:00.000-05:00

Gift Bag Scrap Book
I saw this a few days ago.. and got around to trying it today. Took me two hours to find the original post at SOTB! Looks like a cute idea for a Church Craft for TeamKid or Bible School.

Pictures soon...

Irene Brown's New Kit

2007-02-12T11:38:00.000-05:00

I got to try a beautiful new kit from Irene Brown. Just perfect for my collection of heritage photos. Her kit is called "Adieu."

(I won't bore you with the long story of my minor heart attack when I got this pm that said "This is adieu!")

Anyway... Here is a preview of the lo I made with this kit. I can't put the preview of the kit up, as I don't have permission... yet! I'm not sure if I am finished with this or not... so it won't be posted anywhere else yet.

Ok.. time to try a layout.

2007-02-10T13:58:00.000-05:00

This was a challenge at RakScraps. I loved the quote, so I had to do the challenge. It is my favorite photo of hubby... made a few years ago. Font is LD painters hand and the kit is RakScraps Feb06 Kit

The quote is: "What counts in making a happy marriage is not so much how compatible you are, but how you deal with incompatibility."~ George Levinger

Some Benefits

2007-02-10T10:18:00.000-05:00

Well.. I found one good use for this blog.. I can make lists galore with just a few clicks.

Maybe I'll be organized? HA!

Here I must Dribble...

2007-02-09T16:55:00.000-05:00

So... I need a blog. Everyone said so!

I don't know why? I don't have much to say. I seldom leave comments on other's blogs and have a hard time finding something different to say in the forums.

But... now I have a blog. ummm... yes!