Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Fresh Picked Fall Layout

I just got Fresh Picked Fall by Teri Mayo of Teri's Thing O My Jigs today, and it is so nice. It's a great combination of fresh fall colors. The embellishments are nice and very useable. No filler here. One thing that I've really enjoyed about this kit is the beautiful frames. They are very unique! I hope you'll go over to Pretty Scrappy and check it out. (PS is in the middle of changing servers, so if you get an error message, just try again. They'll have all the issues worked out in a couple days). Check out this beautiful preview....


And here's my #3 doing what he does best....pushing my buttons....


Thursday, October 22, 2009

Three Things Thursday

I'm feeling like I need to document my life as it happens, so here's my version of "Three Things Thursday."

1. I'm totally overwhelmed by birthday party preparations. Who would have thought that we'd have over 30 people in our house to celebrate #3 turning 2? I have a lot of cleaning to do, and I can't help but thinking that all the cleaning that I do will be "uncleaned" by Saturday night. So I kinda have a "what's the point" attitude.

2. I'm feeling like I need to spend more time with #2. She hasn't had a lot to look forward to that's special for her, and she's starting to act out a little to get attention. Maybe she can stay up and help me paint the backdrop for the birthday party....if she'll take a nap.

3. I feel like I'm running in circles. My husband calls it "wallering." Instead of moving and acting with purpose, whatever I do doesn't seem to accomplish what it should. Maybe a little time of thinking and praying this afternoon will help me with that.

This was a melancholy "3 Things Thursday." Hope yours is better.

I'm going to leave you with a new preview of a kit Teri made called Freshly Picked Fall. You can get it at Pretty Scrappy.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Organizing Digital Scrapbooking Supplies with iPhoto

One question I see a lot on scrapbooking blogs is "How do you keep organized?" It is a dilemma - how can you organize your digital scrapping stash so that you can find what you want when you need it? Do you keep your kits together? Do you organize by designer? By color? By theme? Do you break every kit apart, and keep all the papers together in one file and all the ribbons in another and the buttons in a third? What about things that fit into more than one category?

I've found a way where I can organize my scrapping stash in a variety of different ways, so that I can find what I'm looking for by designer, by kit or by element. If you are lucky enough to have a Mac computer and iPhoto program, then you can too.

1. When I download a new scrap kit, it ends up in my downloads folder in my Finder. I drag all my newly downloaded folders onto the iPhoto icon at the bottom of my computer and import them into iPhoto. Each folder is a new event.

2. Most of the time when you buy a kit, it comes in a few folders - a paper folder, an elements folder, and an alpha folder. Each folder will be its own even in iPhoto, but I will merge all 3 events into one for the sake of streamlining. I shift click on 2 of the events and drag them onto the third event, and choose yes when it asks if I really want to merge all 3 events. Then when you click on the event, all the paper, elements and alphas for a specific kit will be in the same event.

3. I also re-name the event with the designers name and the name of the kit. I double click on the event and usually the designer includes a preview, and I make the preview the key photo for the event. The key photo is the one that shows up on the event page. You can make a photo the key photo by right clicking on the photo that you want and choosing 'make key photo.' I organize my events alphabetically by designers name, because that's how I normally remember what kit I want to use. in the photo above, you can see several of the kits that I have from Teri Mayo. If I remember the name of the kit, but not the designer, I'll use the search bar at the bottom of iPhoto and type in what I remember, and it usually pulls it up.


4. Once I've imported and re-named my kit, then I'll add keywords to each piece of the scrapbooking kit. I created custom keyword tags for my stash. Every paper gets tagged with the "paper" keyword; every ribbon gets tagged with the "ribbon" keyword. Here's how to create custom keywords. First, press command + K at the same time, and your keyword menu will pop up

Then click the "edit keywords" button at the bottom to add your custom keywords.

Click the plus sign at the bottom to add your new custom keyword.


Type in your keyword. Then choose a shortcut for your new keyword and click OK. A shortcut is the key you press on your keyboard to choose that keyword. I use the number 1 as my shortcut when I want to add the keyword "paper" to a digital scrapbook paper. 2 is for accents; 3 is for frames and borders; 4 is for ribbons; 5 is for journaling spots; 6 is for buttons; 7 is for alphas; 8 is for templates and quick pages; 9 is for brag book pages. I also have a letter designated for each person in my family, so that when I import photos that I've taken, I can tag each person in my family that's in each photo. That way when I'm looking for the perfect shot of my son, all I have to do is type his name in the search bar and all the photos that I've tagged of him will show up.

5. Once you have all your keywords set up, double click your new scrapping kit from your events, press command + K to open your keyword menu, click the first photo in your scrap kit, and start tagging. For the photo below, the first 3 photos in my scrap kit are paper, and I press 1 to tag it (because 1 is the shortcut for the paper keyword), then I'll press tab to go to the next photo. I can add keywords to a normal sized scrap kit in less than a minute.
That's the basic way I organize. I've also added something called smart albums to help me find things quickly. A smart album groups all the photos together that have certain properties. I have a smart album for all my scrapbook papers, for instance, and when I click on it, it will show me all the different papers i have.


To make a smart album, click File - new smart album


Name your smart album - I have ones for each of my scrapbooking keywords. And use the dropdown menus to define what goes in each smart album. I choose "keyword" from the first menu, "is" from the second, and then the keyword that I want included. Then click ok. For instance, in my "Scrapbooking Papers" smart album, I have all the photos whose keyword is "paper," and every time I add the keyword "paper" to a photo, it automatically updates in the smart album.



I hope that helps all you Mac scrapbookers who use iPhoto! If you have any questions, leave a comment!


Friday, October 16, 2009

Today....


I get really inspired by Ali Edwards. I love her articles in Creating Keepsakes magazine and I've been following her blog for a while now. Last summer she did a blog post called "Today" and it contained several "fill in the blank" sentences to help you record the details of your everyday life. I remember liking it so much I copied it into a document on my computer thinking, "One day I'll make a layout with this." Did I? Nope.

Today on Ali's blog, she did the same type of blog post, and she referred to the blog post from last summer, and I remembered it! So today, I'm going to document my day, instead of saving it for later.....

Outside my window...It's about to storm - a good, old-fashioned Florida afternoon thunderstorm.

I am thinking...that I hope the storm doesn't wake up #2. She doesn't like storms. I'm also thinking that I should be cleaning the bathroom instead of blogging, but I enjoy the computer so much more than the toilet.

I am thankful for...The unexpected blessings in our lives this week. The kids are all healthy again. Air Conditioning. My husband who is handy enough to fix the air conditioner. My friends who tell me what I need to hear and love me anyway.


From the kitchen...Mini Moon Pies! We watched an episode of "Unwrapped" about marshmallow treats, and they featured Moon Pies, and I found them at the grocery store this morning.


I am wearing...a Nike t shirt, adidas athletic shorts, no shoes


I am creating...a crafts to make at #3's birthday party next week, quick pages for my Preschool kit, and an accompaniment dvd for a music student to sing in church with.


I am going...to go clean the bathroom as soon as I'm done with this so that I don't have to think about it anymore, then to church tonight for a Sunday School teacher's meeting.


I am reading...The Mentoring Mom by Jackie Kendall and Communicating for a Change by Andy Stanley


I am hoping...to get more time to practice my guitar, and to really get our dining room/work room organized. And to get all the laundry put away. I'm also hoping that #2 doesn't melt down when she realizes that #1 gets to spend the night at grandma's house with his cousin tonight and she doesn't......

I am hearing...#1 mumble while he is "inventing" things....


Around the house...It's surprisingly orderly. I've been trying to get things more organized and clean so it's not so overwhelming, and fortunately, my husband helps. Right now, it's really quiet because #2 and #3 are asleep. Hubby is delivering lunch to the local football team. #1 is "inventing" while I'm doing my thing...

One of my favorite things...Hearing my kids sing....


A few plans for the rest of the week...Church meeting tonight, #1's flag football game in the morning, celebrating mother-in-laws birthday, church, preparing for #3's birthday party,

A picture to share...



I was playing with Photobooth on my computer and #3 was totally confused by what he saw....It makes me laug
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Thursday, October 15, 2009

My quick Page - FREE!

Hey everyone...
Teri is offering the quick page that I made based on the layout below as a freebie on her blog!

Go Get IT!!!!

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

New Kit by Teri!

I was looking around the gallery at Pretty Scrappy a few days ago, and I saw this preview...


Teri's back!!!! Let's call her the Brett Favre of the digiscrapping world. Out of retirement and better than every. And this kit is very, very adorable. Great color and texture. Fun elements. Great frames and little spooks to adorn your page. It's perfect for those of us who like the fun part of the Fall season, but don't get into the scary, gory stuff that can accompany it. Here's a layout I made last night..

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Tuesday, October 13, 2009

The Cutest Thing in the Universe!!!!

Oh my goodness! I think I saw the cutest thing in the universe today!!! Flair for your fridge!


Where can you get these? Somethingbluestudios.com They have an amazing collection of different types of magnets in their store. Ok, go check them out. You can download a free template and customize your 9 magnets, and they come to you in this cute little box!! I'm LOVING IT! Set of 9 is $10. You can get them in sets of 1, 2, 4, 9 and 16. They have square magnets, calendar magnets, magnets with post it notes. Can you say Christmas presents? I'm in love....

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

September 2009 Round up!

Yesterday I found the blog of Katie the Scrapbook Lady. What a great find! I haven't seen such a informative and well organized blog in a long time! I got tons of ideas in just the few minutes I spent cruising around, but one of them I'm going to implement now...the monthly roundup. Katie has been doing monthly roundups for years now, and she uses them to keep track of what was going on in her life while it's fresh in her mind. Then when she gets around to doing scrapbook pages from that month....she refers to her blog for the details. Brilliant!!! So here's our monthly roundup for September 2009

What books and/or magazines did I read this month?
I'm in the middle of Communicating for a Change by Andy Stanley. It's given me lots of great stuff to think about in one of my roles as a Sunday School Teacher. I also read a back to school issue of Flute Talk magazine, and it made me want to teach more flute students.

What movies, television shows, plays, etc. did I watch this month?
Lots of new TV shows because they're not re-runs anymore!!! So glad to be seeing new episodes of House and CSI (the original). We are also watching lots of episodes of YoGabbaGabba as #3 is addicted to the show. (and honestly, I think it's wicked cool too.) Not a lot of movies. The last one I saw in the theater was Julie and Julia, which I absolutely loved!

What fun things did I do with my family and/or friends?
It was the first full month of school, so we were in the full swing of our crazy schedule. We had a few fun playdates with friends. #1 started playing flag football, and dad is coaching. Very cute to watch. My husband and I also did a series of 4 skits in our church on stewardship. The first one was written for us, then I had to write the following 3. Definitely harder than I thought it would be, but the congregation really liked it, and I think learned from them.

What gifts did I give and/or receive?
I got a $25 gift card to Starbucks!!!!! For helping a friend decorate her baby's bedroom. In turn, I bought my whole family starbucks one afternoon. That was fun.

What illnesses or health concerns did I have?
I got the #1 & #3 both got a pretty big virus. I got the flu - fever of 103! I felt awful. While I was about to die, my husband was running the house, even though he had a cold too. We both ended up finding a doctor and going for appointments. Somehow #2 never got sick.

What were my accomplishments this month?
uuuuuhhhhhmmmm........It's hard for me to think about my life in terms of accomplishments. I did design a tshirt for my dad for the volleyball team (see older post). I got the choir tour album finished and printed. I got a gift album made for my friend for her grandmother's birthday. I got 19 scrapbook pages done! And I made a magnet system for my husband to teach his 4-6 year olds their football plays.

What were my disappointments this month?
I had a few music students quick or reduce the number of lessons they take this month, which is disappointing for 2 reasons. I had to tell my babysitter, who my kids love, that I didn't need her to watch my kids anymore (b/c I had that many students quit), and she got another job. It's also disappointing because it's made our budget tighter.

Anything else noteworthy to include?
I tuned my guitar and started playing it again.


Thursday, October 1, 2009

October Desktop

I wanted to share with everyone the desktop I made for October. I love October in Florida...just starting to cool down (if you call high of 80 degrees cool - we do). It's a busy month, but I just don't get into the halloween and autumn harvest stuff like everyone else does. Don't get me wrong...we do dress up and find pumpkin patches to take pictures in. But what's really on my mind is that my baby is turning 2 this month, and he is in the throws of the terrible 2's. His vocabulary has really taken a huge leap, and he gets overly excited when we understand what he's saying. By like token, he gets overly frustrated when he can't communicate with us. When he pitches a fit, it's loud and long. By the end of the day, I'm normally pretty frazzled, and my hubby has to always remind me that it's easier to train him up the right way now than to fix his character when he's a teenager. He's right...I think he read Proverbs 22:6 "Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it." Anyway, I read the quote by Frederick Douglass that says "It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men." and I thought that I needed to see that on my computer desktop every day to help me not get frustrated with my children. I used Wendy Tunison's kit MishMash to make this desktop. Check out her Blog, and you will be totally inspired. Here's the desktop with my kiddo in the picture...


His face is just full of mischief, isn't it....
You can put your little mischief maker in your own desktop. It's Personal Use Only. Download it HERE
Thanks to all the people who post comments...I like hearing them.

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