New Classes at SG!

 I just had two more classes go into the Scrap Girls store. One is a Basic photo editing class for PSE users called Photo Fixes You Need To Know - Photoshop Elements. We'll cover things like straightening pictures, fixing color casts, blemish removal and teeth whitening. Little things that make great pictures even better. Saturdays, July 10 and 17 - 9:00 AM MT

(Scrapbooking page uses: ABC Fun Collection Biggie, A Little Worn Out Collection, AMC_Chalk Talk Font, and ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Basic Shadows 6501)

The other class is based on Shalae Tippetts' fabulous Mastering Brushes in PSE book. This ebook is so full of techniques for brush work, but it can be overwhelming because of the sheer amount of information it covers. The class is 6 sessions long, and it's a great way to break the book up.Wednesdays, July 7 - August 11, 7 PM M. Mastering Brushes in PSE Digital Scrapbooking Class

(Scrapbooking page uses: Mastering Brushes for Photoshop Elements eBook, Zac and Sarah Collection Biggie, ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Basic Shadows 6501, ScrapSimple Layer Your Own Brushes: Scallops, ScrapSimple Type Shapes: Circles 8301 Biggie, Brush Set: Grungelle)

Top Ten {Tuesday}: Questions I Wish I Could Ask Mom

 
Mom's 65th birthday would have been earlier this month. Have I mentioned that I really miss her? The kids and Travis and I had a little birthday party for her. How better to celebrate someone you love than by making paper hats and eating chocolate cake?

As I've been writing a new Who I Am class, I've been thinking a lot about her, wishing I had the chance to talk to her. There are so many things I'd like to ask. Here are few things I'd ask if I could interview her:

1. Let's start with something important. Mom, what were your views on chocolate? I honestly can't remember. Dark? Light? White? None (gasp!)?

2. What kind of books did you like to read? Based on my childish memories, I would have to say the "Little House on the Prairie" books, but I doubt that's right.

3. How did you feel about moving to the reservation? Was it hard to move so far from family, to leave all signs of civilization? How did you adjust to a culture that was so different?

4. Did you really like to cook or was it just something you did because you had to?

5. How did you learn to not yell at us? Or did you ever yell at us? I don't remember. How did you feel about having 7 kids? How did you deal with living with us all in such a small space?

6. Did you really like to camp? Or did you just pretend?

7. Alto or soprano? Did you love to sing?

8. You always said that when you got to heaven, you wanted to meet the prophet Isaiah, to see if he spoke like he wrote. So, does he?

9. What were your favorites? Color, fruit, house plant, composer, thing to eat, way to spend an hour of free time?

10. What advice would you give me now?

You can find lots more great Top Ten lists at OhAmanda.com.

A Love Affair with Water

We spend a LOT of time in the water this summer, either at the pool, at the splash pad, or just in the back yard. Staying wet makes the Houston heat and humidity tolerable.

This is Jared's favorite part of the splash pad. He pretends it's a car wash, and he's a race car driving through.

Megan loves filling up a big Rubbermaid tote with water, and then playing Barbies in it in the back yard.

I'm not sure why little mini water balloons are so much more fun than big ones, but they are. Megan and Jared were always asking for "Water Babies".

The Clean Team Super Heros

Once upon a time, there was a little old woman who had a very dirty kitchen floor. Okay, so she wasn't that old, and she wasn't particularly little. But, her kitchen floor was dirty. It had spots of chocolate milk and bits of play dough and finger paint, scraps of felt, and smashed gold fish crackers. It had lots of sand from the sandbox and grass and mud, and it had some chocolate pudding blobs and bits of bread and cookie crumbs.

The little old woman (who was actually neither little nor old) knew she needed to sweep and mop her floor, but she was just so tired. She had been working so hard, entertaining several very energetic young little people (they were both little and young), and so she simply didn't have the energy to sweep and mop her floor. So, one afternoon as she was sitting on the couch, feeling guilty for having such a dirty kitchen floor, a group of super heroes arrived at her house.

They introduced themselves as the Clean Team. There was Soap Boy, and Scrubber Girl and Checker Girl. And they were here to clean her kitchen floor. So the little old woman got out her broom and swept the kitchen floor, and she and Soap Boy hauled all of the chairs into the living room. And she filled a bucket with soap and water and found three sponges, and the Clean Team took charge. They scrubbed that floor and they entertained the very energetic young people at the same time. Everybody had a happy afternoon and kitchen was so clean and wet that it sparkled and shone like a small lake in the sunshine.

The Clean Team also cleaned all of the mirrors in the house, but that's another story...

I'm in love with my Bind-It-All

I outdid my crafty self this time. A few months ago, I was hanging some frames up in Jared's room. To get the frames to lay against the wall correctly, I had to take the stiff cardboard triangle-y thing off the backs. After I ripped them off, I thought "Hey - those are sort of tie-shaped. They would make great covers for a cute Father's Day mini album!"

I scanned one piece and opened it in PSE to use as a guide for my album pages. It didn't scan as crisply as I had hoped, and I wanted my pages to be a little smaller than the cover, so I just used it as a guide. I created my own template in PSE. Since the sides were straight, I used the Polygonal Lasso to draw the sides. When I had my shape outlined, I created a new layer and used the Paint Bucket tool to fill the selection. CTRL+D to deselect. This became my template. I deleted the original scanned layer, leaving me with just one layer with a transparent background.

I created a duplicate file (File>Duplicate), and flipped the template vertically (Image>Rotate>Flip Vertically) to create the template for the back side of each page.

I opened and edited the pictures that I wanted to include in the album. Since it was for my husband, I wanted to keep things very clean lined and simple, so I chose just one picture for each page (or one picture for the bottom page and a paper for the top page). I moved a photo or digital paper onto the template document, and used a clipping mask (CTRL+G) to make it take on the shape of the template. I added a quote or thought to the pages that just had paper and no picture. Then I went File>Save As, and named it something original. Like "Father's Day Album page 1" or "Father's Day Album page 2". Something original like that. I used a .png file type so that

Once all of the individual pages were finished, I created several 11x17 documents and placed as many of the .png files on to them. I got 5 per page. I saved these as .jpegs, and I emailed them to Office Max. They printed them as colored files on cardstock. I really like to have this kind of thing printed at Office Max. I like their paper (for something that won't be in page protectors, I don't like to use photo paper), and they are always really helpful and quick. I ask for prices on a variety of sized papers and then try to put as many album pages onto one paper as I can to save cost. I got 5 per 11x17 inch paper, and each paper cost me $1.25. That's only $0.25 per page. I couldn't print it for that price at home - even if my printer was working right now.

I roughly cut out each album page, matched them up and glued them back to back, and then trimmed them. I glued the cover pages to the cardboard pieces and after they dried I trimmed them as well.

Then I used my Bind-It-All to punch through the cardboard pieces (I had a moment of panic when the cardboard pieces were almost too thick to fit in the Bind-It-All! After all this work, I would have fallen apart if I hadn't been able to punch the covers! I jammed them in and they did fit finally). I put all of the pages in order, inserted the O-wire and used the Bind-It-All to close it all. Tada! A tie shaped Father's Day album for my sweetie.

Along with my Bind-It-All, a glue stick, scissors, and some modge podge, I used some digital supplies: His and Hers Collection Biggie, A Little Worn Out Collection, Brush Set: Grungelle, and AMC_Doodlelicious Font.

I loved these quotes:

• It kills you to see them grow up. But I guess it would kill you quicker if they didn't. ~ Barbara Kingsolver
• Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body. ~Elizabeth Stone
• Any man can be a father. It takes someone special to be a dad. ~Author Unknown
• Dad, your guiding hand on my shoulder will remain with me forever. ~Author Unknown
• The greatest gift I ever had came from God; I call him Dad! ~Author Unknown
• I don't care how poor a man is; if he has family, he's rich. ~M.A.S.H., Colonel Potter
• A daughter needs a dad who will let her know that while she may not be the center of someone else's world, she is the center of his. ~Gregory E Lang
• Dad, you're someone to look up to no matter how tall I've grown. ~Author Unknown
• You don't marry someone you can live with, you marry the person who you cannot live without. ~Author Unknown
• Soul mates are people who bring out the best in you. They are not perfect but are always perfect for you. ~Author Unknown

Oh what do you do in the summer time?

The pool, sprinklers, and popsicles are necessary survival tools in the summer time in Houston.
Our cousin Becca stayed with us for a week. It was a lot of fun to have her!

Top Ten {Tuesday}: Dreaming of Chocolate

 

I'm running low on chocolate today, so I'm sitting here dreaming. This top ten list was difficult only because I had to stop at 10...What's your favorite? Is there anything fantastic that I'm missing out on?

1. Idle Isles Dark Chocolate English Toffee. So so so sooooo good. Sigh... How many months until my birthday? Can I reasonably expect my husband to have these shipped across the country before then? Will I eat a whole half pound box in three days again like I did at Mother's Day?
2. Godiva Belgian Dark Chocolate Ice Cream. Oh, this is heaven in a carton.
3. Sheer Bliss Chocolate Ice Cream. Ditto
4. Black Bottom Cupcakes. Chocolate cupcakes filled with cream cheese. Need I say more?
5. Molten Chocolate Cake. Chocolate cake on the outside, ooey-gooey  fudge sauce on the inside.
6. Dove Dark Chocolates. These are my stand-by always keep in the house in the back of the pantry (out of Jared's reach) to get me through the day
7. Double Chocolate Milano Cookies. Ditto. I keep these on hand and hide them from my children...
8. Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies. It's a good thing these aren't available all year long. I had some boxes in my freezer, but they are long gone now.
9. M&Ms Premium Triple Chocolate. Sigh. These are so good. They don't last long at my house. I eat them up like candy.
10. Lindt Lindor Milk Chocolate Truffles. If you are getting chocolates at the grocery store, these are pretty darn yummy-delicious. 

Some how, writing this list didn't help my cravings a bit. Gonna go have a dish of cottage cheese. Sigh...  Wait! I think I've got the fixings for Black Bottom Cupcakes. I'll talk to you later - I'm gonna go bake something right now (shh - don't call the fire department!).

You can find lots more cool Top Ten lists at OhAmanda.com.

Sea World

We went to Sea World with the Ellingsons in June. It was a great day and we had a lot of fun. It's great to live close enough to family to get to do such fun things with cousins!

Megan and Becca had a wonderful time pretending to be Mermaid Princesses in the pool.

Journaling Class at Scrap Girls

I am excited to have another class in the store! I've taught this one a couple of times, but I'm looking forward to teaching it again because I feel so passionate about the importance of journaling. People ask me why I scrapbook, and really it's because I love to tell stories. I love to record stories. Making pretty pages is nice, combining beautiful supplies and cool techniques is nice, but in reality, the only important things are that you 1. Preserve the pictures, and 2. Preserve the stories. Journaling is a great way to keep stories and memories from being forgotten. Pictures aren't enough.

One of my favorite quotes:  
In a thousand words I can have the Lord's Prayer, the 23rd Psalm, the Hippocratic Oath, a sonnet by  Shakespeare, the Preamble to the Constitution, Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and almost all of the Boy Scout Oath. Now exactly what picture were you planning to trade for all that?
~Roy H. Williams

Class information: Online Class - The Art and Importance of Journaling - Tuesdays, June 15 and 22 at 7:00 PM MT

This layout uses all Scrap Girls products:
Zac and Sarah Collection Biggie
ScrapSimple Tools - Styles: Basic Shadows 6501 
Brush Set: Grungelle

Top Ten Funny Quotes from Jared

I'm gonna start doing the top ten challenge from OhAmanda.com this week. Wish me luck!

Here are 10 Funny Things Jared has said recently, in no particular order:

1. A few days ago, we watched my friend's 10 month old baby. She was adorable, but she kept us busy. She got into all kinds of things and made several messes. The next day, Jared and I had a rather interesting conversation.
Jared: Mama, babies are busy. And messy.
Anna: Yes, that's true.
Jared: Babies keep you busy.
Anna: Yep.
Jared: Jesus and Heavenly Father must be really busy.
Anna: Why?
Jared: Cuz all the babies are in heaven with Them until they are in the mama's tummys.

2. Bedtime prayer the other night: 

Jared: Please bless sissy to go to bed for mommy. And please bless mommy that she can be patient and not yell. And please bless me to be quiet.

3. Jared: Mommy, I am half of a knock-knock joke.

4. Prayer over his lunch: 

Jared: Bless the food that it can be yummy and not yucky cuz mama made it.

5. Jared: I. Am. A. Lunch. Eating. Robot. I. Will. Eat. All. My. Food. I. Will. Eat. All. Yours. Food. I. Will. Eat.... All....... Daddy's....... (he dropped his head to his chest and stopped moving)

Anna: What happened?

Jared (whispering): I runned out of batteries.

6. If given any choice, this is what Jared wants for lunch and dinner (and occasionally breakfast) every single day.
Jared: I want turkey cheese sandwich with one bread on the bottom, two turkeys in the middle, and three cheeses on top. With no more bread.

7. Jared: Mimi is in time out. (Mimi is his imaginary friend)
Anna: Why?

Jared: She being naughty.
Anna: What happened?
Jared: She colored on the walls.
Anna: WHAT!!! Where?
Jared: Here it is (pointing to a blank portion of walls). Mimi colors invisible.
Anna: Whew.

8. Jared's "fortune" (from a fortune cookie after playing with some puppies at the Tuscon Mall).
Jared: It says I will come back to the mall someday to pet one of those puppies and take one home to ours house. We will keep it and take care of it and tell them that we will take care of it too.
Anna (thinks to herself): Sorry buddy, your fortune is going to take a long, long, loooong time before it ever comes true...

9. (Said while wearing a Superman cape backwards - I wish I had gotten a picture!).
Jared: I. Am. The. Kitchen. Cooker. Robot. I. Will. Cook. All Yours. Food.

10. Jared has been singing constantly. It makes me laugh to listen to his version of songs, and when he sings in his falsetto voice (I couldn't get him to do it on the recording. Maybe next time!)

I've missed you!

Dear Blog,

I have missed you. I'm sorry for being so neglectful. Life got busy, but that is really just an excuse. I will try to do better in the near future.

Love,
Me