Out of Commission

I hate to do this...but the blog is going to go black for a few days. My hands did not do well after this craft weekend - so I am giving them a break. I will be back ASAP with all kinds of crafty goodness. I hope everyone's week is well. Until then...Happy Crafting.

MIA

Sorry - I forgot to mention in my last post that I was going out of town for a few days and would not be blogging. However, I am back now and have a bunch of things to share (coming tomorrow). I hope everyone had a nice couple of days. I just can't say enough about going to see good friends and getting out of the same tired old place. Until then...Happy Crafting!

Humpday Challenge???

Don't adjust your screens - there is no challenge today. I am currently working on a project (started last weekend) that I believed was part of a challenge. Unfortunately - I'm starting to think it was just in my mind. I can't find it on a challenge site ANYWHERE. So...that project will be on the blog soon - probably next week. In better news, I'm having a craft weekend starting Thursday so there should be all kinds of crafty goodness next week. Tuesday really kicked my ass a bit. But today I'm kicking back. I'm going to have a nice day. I hope you do too. I've included a pic as an apology for no challenge. I hope you enjoy. Have a great Wednesday. Until then...Happy Crafting!

Reading Corner

Welcome to another Reading Corner. On Monday, I thought I was going to have a really hard time finding material for this post - and then I remembered the book I found at Barnes and Noble on Saturday. When I saw the cover, I immediately grabbed the book and headed for the register. However, some small part of me thought I should take a longer look before buying the book. Blind shopping is not a good thing - especially for a girl that just went to CKC. When I took a longer look - I started to like the book much less. However, I realize it does have a place in my library - just not immediately. It's basically about being more free in your crafting/journaling. I'm excited to get this book - I think it could really help me stretch creatively. I just need to wait a little bit. I'm actually quite happy I put it back - not really my style at all.

In other book news - I feel like I've been waiting for ages for Certain Girls to be released on paperback. It comes out today!!! It's available at Target - but I think I might need to wait on this book as well. We'll see how long I hold out on this book. I really enjoyed Good in Bed and this book is a follow-up. However, I still have to finish The Post Birthday World and I have the Sherman Alexie book to read. I need to remember that I don't need this book now. I wonder if anyone else goes through this. BTW: Monday was eventful but good. I'm hoping today goes well. I have a long meeting this afternoon. It's not my favorite thing - but I think it will go well. I hope everyone has a great Tuesday. Until then...Happy Reading and Crafting!

Monday Madness

These beautiful 2 X 3 cards were on the Sassafras Lass blog recently. And, I can honestly say with complete confidence - they will be mine soon. :) They're for sale on the Two Peas in a Bucket site. I have absolutely no idea what I would use them for. I currently have two sheets of October Afternoon cards that I struggle to use. But they're so friggin' cute - I can't NOT have them (I know double negatives). I think their most promising use is on collages. Maybe it would give me the courage to finally get started. I'm a little disappointed that I didn't see these gems at the Creating Keepsakes Convention this weekend. I would have bought them in no time flat. Alas, these cards were not there and I didn't even know they existed! So that's Monday Madness for you. To be honest, I'm surprised I found anything to present since I bought so much friggin' stuff this weekend. Not to mention, I'm having a craft weekend over my spring break starting Thursday. My wallet is really taking a hit this month. For now, I'm going to get away from my computer and rock some crafting time. I hope your Monday is wonderful. I, for one, am going to work tirelessly to make my day a good one. Until then...Happy Crafting!

Today Was a Good Day

Today was a good day. No wait, today was a GREAT day. I haven't said that much lately and I don't have much to say now, just... I had a great day. I loved shopping and laughing with friends. It's so nice to be around people who are fun and caring. That's all I wanted to say. I had a nice day. The universe was very kind to me.

BTW: Stay tuned to the greatness of CKC - hopefully coming this weekend!

Digital Goodness

My first digital layout - this is my first full digital layout also known as the twist mentioned in yesterday's post. I guess I've been doing hybrid layouts for a while. And by hybrid, I mean typing my journaling and titles - nothing too major. Technically this layout fits with the OLW challenge, but I've been wanting to talk about digital scrapbooking for almost a month. I've always been interested in digital scrapbooking but several things got in my way initially.

1. I did not have Photoshop Elements or the $100 to pay for it due to my traditional scrapbooking expenditures. I took care of that situation by borrowing a friend's copy. Shhh, don't tell anyone.
2. I believed digital elements were too costly.
3. I spent most of my time in Photoshop Elements cursing the Adobe gods. Man I didn't understand the program at all.
4. Fear - I would look at other digital pages and believe I could never do anything that cool.
5. To be honest, I wasn't sure I liked 100% digital pages.
6. I love the feel of my traditional scrapbooking supplies - I was worried about giving that up.
7. Sometimes it just takes me a long damn time to start something. Okay, most of the time it takes me a long time to start something.

In the past few months I've learned a few things about digital scrapbooking.

1. Buy books and magazines on digital scrapbooking if you're a newbie. If you're not a book person, there are some great forums online. I went to Jessicasprague.com to learn how to use photoshop actions.
2. Go to Digital Shops and download freebies before committing to digital products. I've only purchased three digital items. I have 130 items in my digital scrapbooking folder. Most of these items are folders with multiple elements. Most of these elements were freebies I have gathered from magazines, books, and digital shops (find a list of my favorite shops at the end of this post).
3. Digital scrapbooking is very creative. It suits me well in terms of layering and altering pictures. I'm a little unsure of how to get the pages printed - but I'm going to research an affordable printing service. I really like my 100% digital layout.
4. Digital scrapbooking is less messy - but harder on my hands. Those clicks on the mouse are not my right hand's friend.
5. Digital scrapbooking is totally doable. Just play around with it and have fun.

I hope to do a few more layouts in the future - but I'm sure I'll be mostly a traditional scrapbooker. I like the feel of the elements in my hands. If you are interested in taking the plunge, I've listed a few links to shops and magazine sites with free digital elements.

Designer Digitals - Click on freebies at the top.

Little Dreamer Designs - This link is straight to the freebies but the shop is definitely worth checking out.

Creating Keepsakes Magazine - Click on the downloads menu

Scrapbooks Etc. Magazine - Check out the digital scrapbooking section.

I can't say enough about buying magazines and books on digital scrapbooking. They have LOTS of free extras/elements that make the cost of the book really worth it. With all the freebies out there, give it a try. I have this book, which even gives information on digital scrapbooking with Microsoft Word. I really feel like this page - it gave me the jumpstart I needed. I hope your Thursday is great. Until then...Happy Crafting.

Humday Challenge

So here it is - I went with the Effer Dares Challenge #132. My feelings were still a little too raw to tackle the OLW challenge - but I will in the near future. I got the hidden journaling ready on Sunday. I don't know if I mentioned this before - but I do the challenges over the weekend. I actually came home last night and decided I was going to tackle the OLW challenge for my birthday with a little twist. I'll be unveiling that tomorrow - the word unveil should not imply any type of grandeur about the layout, just that I'm excited. The Effer Dares Challenge really speaks for itself. I'm not super excited about the way it came out but I feel like it's solid design wise. It doesn't have anything funky about it and it's a little "one note" color wise - but it's done and sometimes that's all that matters. I hope this Wednesday is great for you. I'm excited to have sushi with friends to celebrate my birthday. Until then...Happy Crafting!