A Few of my Favorite Things

February Card Swap

2009-02-16T14:22:00.003-08:00

Just wanted to post my card for our upcoming card swap on Thursday, February 26th. The theme is "masculine birthday cards." (And I will make the kits with matching brads - I guess I am getting blind in my old age.) :)

If you would like to join us please let me know by the end of the week so I can give everyone a final head count. Looking forward to it!

February Swap: Masculine Birthday Cards

2009-02-03T15:30:00.000-08:00

At our last swap we decided that we are always needing more masculine birthday cards. We are still finalizing the date but our next swap is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, February 26th.

It's a unique theme and can be a challenge. This is a swap you won't want to miss, and it may well save you the next time you need a card for your brother's birthday and all you have are flowers and glitter. ;)

Contact me to sign up.

Valentine's Card Swap

2009-01-07T08:12:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to remind all you fellow card swappers that our next swap is on Tuesday, January 13th at 7pm here. The theme for this month is Valentine's cards! Contact me ASAP if you'd like to join us.

Those who I have down thus far include:
Me :)
Maddie
Melody
Julie H.
Julie O.

Card Swap Date Change

2008-12-11T11:13:00.000-08:00

For those who were not able to come to last Tuesdays swap you may want to be aware that we actually had to postpone it to this Tuesday. So if you'd like to come there is still time!

Contact me ASAP for more info!

Card Swap

2008-12-02T18:07:00.000-08:00

Don't forget, card swap is early this month - one week from today! Let me know if you'd like to join us! We don't have a theme this month, so go wild! :) And just for fun here is my card for swap:

Feel free to contact me with any questions!

Those who have signed up so far include:

Tammy N.
Tammy C.
Julie O.
Julie H.
Star
Holly

Christmas Card Class TONIGHT

2008-11-25T09:45:00.000-08:00

Just a reminder for everyone who signed up for my Christmas Card Class. It's tonight at 7pm.

Those of you who ordered the cards kits but can't make it to the class, the kits will be ready for you to pick up tomorrow.

Thanks!

Simply Because

2008-11-17T21:28:00.001-08:00

Today I took some time out to make a card... just for fun! It was the first time I'd done that in months, and it was totally therapeutic!

Card Swap

2008-11-14T11:19:00.000-08:00

Here are the cards I've received thus far for our Christmas Card edition of November's Card Swap.

Holly's Card:

Rosemary's Card:

Tammy's Card:

McKenzie's Card:

I am still waiting for cards from:
Julie H.
Julie O.
Maddie
Mandi

If you would like to join us for an upcoming card swap just let me know.

Thanks!

Su! Paper Club II

2008-10-29T11:31:00.000-07:00

Here are the papers for this months paper club. You will receive 78 6x6 sheets of double-sided designer paper. The cost for the club is $20. I only have 1 slot remaining in the club, so if you'd like to order contact me asap.

Club Members:

1. Tammy N.
2. Mandi
3. Rosemary
4. Julie H.
5. Holly
6. Tammy C.
7. Starcia
8.

October Card Swap

2008-10-21T10:26:00.000-07:00

Here are the cards thus far for our October Card Swap.

Holly's Card:

Tammy's Card:

McKenzie's Card:

Christmas Cards

2008-10-05T16:03:00.000-07:00

Here are the cards we will be making at oru Christmas Card Class on Tuesday, October 28th at 7 pm. They are all made using pieces from the "I Wish" Scrappin' Kit from SU! Very fun, and very easy!

Card Swap Cards

2008-09-16T17:52:00.001-07:00

Here are the card pictures that I've received thus far for our Card Swap on the 25th. They are looking great! One more cards to come...

Maddie's Card:

Mandi's Card:

Julie's Card:

Rosemary's Card:

Holly's Card:

Tammy's Card:

McKenzie's Card:

Retired Stamp Sets for Sale

2008-08-22T10:19:00.000-07:00

Below is a list of retired "Stampin' Up!" stamp sets that I am selling. All stamps are sold on a first come, first serve basis and are priced at 30% off the retail price. As soon as a stamp set is sold I will remove it from the blog.

Thanks! Contact me with any questions.

"Best Friend Alphabet - Lower" - $19.50

"Alphabits" - $10.50

"For a Friend" - $12.50

"Genuine Article" - $11.00

"So Many Sayings" - $12.50

"Flower Friend" - $12.50

"Little Pieces" - $12.50

"Phrases for a Friend" - $14.50

"Office Accoutrement" - $22.00

"Time Well Spent" - $21.50

"Labelicious" - $14.50

"Big Blossom" - $11.50

"In the Spotlight" - $17.00

"Perennial Favorites" - $9.00

"Make it Count" - $12.50

"Friendly Flowers" - $16.00

"Friendship Blooms" - $12.50

"Fast Flowers - roller" $4.50

Engagement Photos

2008-06-18T20:44:00.000-07:00

More shots from my photo shoot yesterday.

Graduation Shoot

2008-05-26T12:50:00.000-07:00

Here are a few more from the second day of Maddie's shoot.

Prom Dress Shoot

2008-05-23T11:23:00.000-07:00

Here are more of Maddie's photo shoot. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous!

Bridals

2008-05-21T11:14:00.003-07:00

Here are some more bridals from the shoot I did last month. Thanks girl, you are gorgeous!

Such a fun shoot!

2008-05-13T13:23:00.000-07:00

Here is a continuation of the pics I was showing here.

I had so much fun with this group! Adults may be easier to photograph, but I will always love photo shoots with kids best. I love being around their enthusiasm, playfulness, and love of life! With a little effort you can catch the best pictures, and I always come home after a shoot like this feeling happy (and maybe a little tired).

This picture above may be one of my favorites of all time! I love capturing kids being kids!

I asked all the boys to give me their best super hero faces, love it!

Benji

2008-05-08T17:01:00.000-07:00

Just for fun...

Isn't he cute?

What it's all about.

2008-05-05T10:08:00.000-07:00

The other day I got thinking a bit about life, and specifically my life. The ups and downs, and the things that keep me going. I decided to sit down and make a scrapbook page about that, life. This is what I came up with.

I like that this isn't an especially glamorous picture, and the fact that I am missing an earring only makes it better for what I was trying to say. On each of those strips of orange colored paper I wrote something that I really like about life and me. When it was finished it read:

I like that I don't have all the answers.
I like that I still laugh until my tummy hurts.
I like that I am still learning new things.
I like that I don't know everything.
I like that I am still growing up.
I like that I still have dreams.
I like that I am not perfect.
I like that I am only human.
I like that I am passionate.
I like that I make mistakes.
I like that I am me.

Pages like this are important to make. It's good for us and our family to know who we really are, and that you don't have to be this amazing individual who stands out and is perfect in every way to be important.

Scrapbooking for me is really just an extension of keeping a journal. I have always been an avid journal writer, and as I've grown older I've stopped trying to document "events" but more feelings, thoughts, and experiences. I am the same way when I scrapbook. I think the great Cathy Zielske put it best in her new book "Clean & Simple scrapbooking - the sequel."

She ends her book by saying,

"It boils down to this: scrapbooking is cool...

It's 'cool' because it's people taking the time to embrace their lives and to express creatively the stuff that matters and the stuff to remember. The real stuff of life...

In the end, we are storytellers. We are historians. We are documentarians. We get this incredibly unpredictable and unpolished script to work with: life...

I hope you never stop telling stories. I hope you never apologize for being a scrapbooker...

I hope you continue to save the bits and pieces of your amazing, ordinary, stressed out, happy, exhilarating, unique, insert-any-other-adjective-you-like-here life."

Thanks Cathy, that's what it's all about - grabbing moments of your life.

More Senior Portraits

2008-04-28T07:43:00.000-07:00

Just a continuation of the photo shoot I was showing everyone here.

Fun with Photoshop!

2008-04-25T10:07:00.001-07:00

Sometimes it's just fun to add some dramatic color to your pictures using gradient maps. All the color in these pictures is the true life color, but when you contrast them against the black and white it really makes the color pop. Playtime!

Happiness is...

2008-04-25T08:51:00.000-07:00

My reflector is here! Just in time too, I have three photo shoots this week!

More pictures and examples to come!

A few more pages...

2008-04-23T09:09:00.000-07:00

More Scrapbook Pages

2008-04-22T13:03:00.000-07:00

Just thought I'd share some more scrapbook pages that I've made over the past week! I loved the scrapbook expo and found some awesome new products that I have been playing with all weekend!

Reflector is on it's way!

2008-04-16T14:48:00.000-07:00

I am very excited to say that today I ordered a 40'' 5 in 1 reflector! A whole new photographic world has just opened up to me! I can't wait!

What's in a layout?

2008-04-14T17:30:00.000-07:00

A good layout can be reproduced over and over with a completely fresh look every time. If you are busy like I am, you don't have a lot of time to fuss over layouts. I keep a sketchbook of ideas and layouts for both cards and scrapbook pages that I like so when I need a creativity boost, I can refer back to it. Below are two completely different pages created using the same basic layout.

]

Photography Glee

2008-04-14T10:44:00.000-07:00

I take a lot of portrait shots for friends and family. This is a picture of Alex that I took over the weekend, and it makes me so happy I thought I would share it with all of you. He is the CUTEST little boy on the planet, and has been completely adopted by Will and Ben as their older brother.

It's those big blue eyes, can you stand it?

First Shoes

2008-04-10T11:01:00.000-07:00

Today I was feeling a little reminiscent, so I grabbed a picture I took of the boys first pair of shoes. They are all worn out, and it was fun to journal about important events that happened while wearing their shoes. I wanted to keep my layout very simple and clean, so it was really the shoes and the story that stood out.

And because I have twins I simply made a copy for each of them! (Often I like to print out my pictures with a white edging for a built in matting, especially when I am working with a black & white photo.)

Card stock: River Rock & Basic Black (Stampin' Up!)
Thickers: White "Giggles" Foam Letter Stickers (American Crafts)

William's First Page

2008-04-09T12:16:00.001-07:00

This is my first official scrapbook page of my son, William! I can tell it's the beginning of a long and happy process, but before I began I gave myself a scrapbook creed to live by.

1. All scrapbooking shall be done at random, by my whims and feelings of the day. One day it might be little newborn pictures of the twins, the next, pictures of my dirty feet. Because I am scrapping what I am in the mood to scrap my feelings will transfer to the page, and it will be a much more cohesive process.

2. I will not scrapbook everything! I simply can't. In one day, on average, I take around 50 pictures. So my fun job is to find pictures that capture the personality and moments of our lives in a special way, and use just those.

3. I will never be caught up, and that's half the fun. There is no end goal in sight, what I do, I do because I love it, not because it's a duty. It's a happy, relaxing, and low-pressure thing!

Happy Scrapping!

(All products are from Stampin' Up! except the patterned dot paper which is from My Mind's Eye.)

Celebration!

2008-04-07T14:27:00.000-07:00

True joy is when my hubby called a few minutes ago to tell me our copy just arrived! Can't wait to start playing with it tonight!!!

Flap Card

2008-04-07T10:26:00.000-07:00

This is a new card template that seems to be all the rage right now, so I thought I'd try one out. Thanks to the use of patterned paper it comes together quite quickly. All materials are from Stampin' Up! except for the rub-on letters, which are from American Crafts. For a complete tutorial on how to make a flap card of your own click here.

Happy Stamping!

PS- Rather than using a magnet like the tutorial suggested to keep the flap closed, I used some velcro tape.

Photo Tips

2008-04-04T19:18:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to let ya'll know. This week my Graphic 45 Blog was on Simple Photography Tips. Check it out here.

The Misunderstood Color

2008-04-04T13:18:00.001-07:00

White, in my opinion, is totally underestimated and is often tossed aside or labeled as a boring color (I might agree when it comes to wall paint). However, white has the ability to deliver a fresh and contemporary feel, and I love using it to create a clean, open look in my designs and projects (hence my blog color). Below are a few recent cards I've made using my friend, white.

So go ahead, let white back into your life!

It's coming...

2008-04-03T10:13:00.000-07:00

It was just released for the MAC, we have ordered our copy, it's on it's way, and my brain just might explode with excitement while I sit thinking and planning all the things I am going to do with it!!!

Sometimes it pays to be a student. Retail price $89. Student discount price, $69. Ya baby!!!

First Post!

2008-04-02T12:19:00.001-07:00

I am so excited to start this new blog! I have a few addictions in my life, which include taking pictures of my family and friends, scrapbooking, cardmaking, and blogging. So it only made sense that I create a blogging forum where I could share all of these things, just because it makes me happy! Hope you all enjoy it!!!