I have a new passion!!

OK....both girls have now created pages of their own and I was able to get another one done this morning. AWESOME!!! I finished reading the book last night. Yes, I read a 261 page book cover to cover in 2 days. THE BOOK is awesome!! In fact I plan to order it so that I can keep one for myself. Or maybe I'll just keep it checked out for forever and never return it to the library. *hehe* Just kidding of course. But its the first book in a LOOOONG time that I can rave about! UBER AWESOME! So I went to Amazon for ya and looked it up. Click HERE and get yourself one too, or at least you can see what I am talking about.

I also went through last night and organized all my embellishments and papers into folders. Do you know how many sites out there offer FREE stuff? I mean, like download and use FREE. Just google free digital elements and holy smokes!!!!

I got me some ribbon, some of those handy dandy little staples, the hardware...oh yeah...and check out that background paper. That started out as blue denim. Now it looks kind of burlappy. SOOOO COOL HUH!!!

I have a new obsessi...er I mean hobby.

I have been wanting to go digi for a long time and just have been too chicken heart to do it. Well then, at the library I checked out the most awesome book I have ever seen. I mean it REALLY spoke English to me. Its called PICTURE YOURSELF CREATING DIGITAL SCRAPBOOKS by LORI DAVIS & SALLY BEACHAM. Its got pictures and words and step by step of how tos in each and every chapter. I mean, seriously. How many HOW TO books do you read cover to cover?? I am litterally reading it cover to cover. It is THAT informative. And the book comes with a CD full of elements!!!!

OK, so here is my first attempt. This is what they call a PLOPPER. I just plopped my photo down in it. Added a bit of text and I added the extra date tag, staple and the puppy print and a few splotches of paint. Basic. But I like it.

THEN! I got brave!! I started with the pink striped paper. I added the florish overlays, the silk flowers, the ribbon, the lace the butterfly the journal box the bow.... OMG! I am learning so much. Like that bow up there! It was originally BLUE! I made it pink, all by myself!!!!! Then added a few shadows, layered it just right, and whala!

I got a little braver with my next attempt. As the background paper was originally an array of oranges and browns. But was able to get it to the blues to match Heathers vest. The colors dont all quite match and if I had put this on paper I probably would have started over at least 5 times. But I figure its a learning process.

I loooove the fact that I have only downloaded a few FREE items and I already have a stock of tons of stuff. In all different colors!

So then, people ask. Now what? Well, I get coupons all the time for photo printing. So I will wait for those to come in and a few at a time I will go get printed. And since I am officially switching to 8x8 albums, it wont cost me a TOTAL fortune to do this. As they will print on 8x10 photo paper. My main reason for this...is one, to cut down on space. Not only on supplies, but also on the albums themselves. I like lumpy bumpy so my albums get pretty thick. And the second is that I have worked hard to make albums for each of the girls. Heather has a book and Hannah has a book. But then whats gonna happen when they go away and take their books with them??? I got nuttin! So my way of doing things is changing now. I am going to make ONE album. Its gonna be MINE, then the girls can make copies for themselves. There will be pics that each of them will not give a flip about and then others that they both will want. But we are a family. And other than little books that we will make for summer vacations and travel and such....well just have the family book.

So now I have the issue of my already bad computer addiction habit. YIKES!

Its Hump day!

Are you all making great plans to celebrate the 4th? We dont have any huge plans, just going to go over to a friends house and watch the fireworks from his back yard. They set em off like less than a quarter of a mile from his house and the view is simply AMAZING! Were hoping to spend some quality time together though.

Yes, sorry folks I am gonna kill ya with the baskets. I am just LOOOOVING them!! I looove all of the different options you can do. Yeah, a bit more work with all of the masking and lining up, but you can litterally get a bagillion different designs. SOO FUN!

Yesterday we had a FANTASTIC day! Went to the park and the library. It was soooo beautiful outside. I was able to get new pics of the girls. So I will update the sidebar soon.

Today its clean house and putz around here for a bit--so not too exciting. But the sun is shining and we are doing great!!

Im thinking its blog candy time soon. Dont you think? Maybe another round of Bingo? Hmmm....a scavenger hunt? Hmmmm....

Funny how 15 years ago...

Fifteen years ago was there really any OTHER mail than SNAIL mail? I guess people had voice mail, but I know that "I" didnt have email, infact, 15 years ago I had never even dipped my toe into the wonderful waters of the internet. I certainly didnt have a cell phone (or I guess BAG phone is what they were back then) and my answering machine still had 2 little bity tapes that recorded the incoming and outgoing messages. I guess now we are truly seeing what our elders meant when they said the good ole days. I am not saying that ALL of these new inventions are not fantastic. I mean, I LIVE for my email, Id feel like I had lost a limb if you took away my cell and I am quite grateful that the phone service offers an answering system so I dont have to keep checking the tapes. But in fifteen years look at how much WE have witnessed. Amazing.

Anyways. On to the card. I am having SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCH a blast with my new set from PaperTreyInk. These baskets are totally awesome! Theres all different kinds of baskets and then all different kind of stuff to put in it. I looooove this snail mail one. :)

Today is sposed to be another gorgeous day with low humidity. So we are heading out!!!! To the library and the park. I am so blessed!!

I hope that YOU too, have a blessed day!

Be Yourself.

BE YOURSELF. NOBODY IS BETTER QUALIFIED!

Wow. With today's economy and all that is happening with jobs and everything. I just looove this saying. There is ONE job out there that only YOU can do. No matter who submits their resume, they will NEVER beat you in winning the job of just being YOU!

Anyways. Heres this week's Copic challege from Kimm's Artful Sentiments. I sure hope that youll join us in the spectacular challenge!!!! This week its B24, G24 & Y21. Lets see what YOU can do with it!

Its Thursday---head over to Dustins!

Today's release day over at Dustin's -- have ya gone to check out all of the cool dinosaurs??? This is just a quick card I whipped up.


Things are going well here. Hannah bridged on Monday. She is now a BROWNIE girlscout instead of a Daisy. She is excited about that. Heather has an endo appt this morning, so were starting our day out there. Then a trip to the library and then going to spend the entire afternoon at the fountains in Knoxville. It should be warm...and I just KNOW that the girls will have a good time. Then its back home to continue prepping for the Open House here on Sunday.

Its FREEBIE WEDNESDAY!

Yeah, get on over to Dustin's again today! He has a killer image for you today that is free. But do you know what the best part is?? Its all the stuff that goes WITH the image that will be out tomorrow. SOOOO CUTE! And soooo much fun!

This image is back from the Easter release that he did. Yeah, this little guy was originally holding a little chickie. I thought tho--to get into the spirit of things he needed a flag!

I sooo dont know what happened in this pic, cause the lettering really does NOT look this messy in real life.

I looove this time of year. Everything starts getting all sparkly and patriotic. ~sigh~ I know that it is still an HONOR for me to be an American...I pray that for future generations that will still ring true.

God Bless!

ARGH!

Well fiddlesticks and gumdrops. I have been so diligent and pre-posted cards for you and blogger held on to them!! So it was much much to my surprise when I came on to see that there were no new posts! DANG!! I was trying to be sooo good! So now you got posts...and I gotta go fight with Blogger.

Hope your day is gushing over with blessings.