that show?

Do you watch a tv show that you don't admit that you watch? Well, I have one, The Big Bang Theory. I think we originally recorded it because we were trying to find a show to watch on Monday nights. It's actually still the only show we have on Monday nights, so if you have a suggestion let me know.

So The Big Bang Theory is based on these two extremely intelligent, extremely socially awkward roommates and of course the hot girl that lives across the hall. And I'm not going to lie, I laugh a LOT. I haven't been able to figure out why this show is so funny. However, I finally figured it out... I'm suffering from a lack of sitcoms. No, seriously. All of the shows I watch are either reality tv: Survivor, American Idol, Project Runway or dramas: Lost, NCIS, Men in Trees. Since Friends went off the air, the symptoms have increased. To the point that I'm cracking up at THE BIG BANG THEORY, and I am literally cry when I catch a rerun of Everybody Loves Raymond (which I admit is a million times funnier now that I'm married) or Friends.

Anyone else out there suffering?

Here's my latest layout. I actually haven't taken many pictures lately:

Ah, speaking of sitcoms (I promise I just realized this). The kit I used for this page is from a set of kits by Chere Kaye inspired by all the characters of Friends! This one is Joey.

The white tiles are by Emily Merritt.

yeah.

First of all, I really love March Madness. I don't stay up late for a lot of things, but I'm totally staying up to watch all the games. Okay, I'll admit I'm slightly biased towards the last game, Tennessee v. Louisville.

Guess what I got today. My shutterfly book. I ended up having 70 pages in it:

I also finished The Shack last night. I highly recommend it. It's one of those books that you can't put down, but when you finish you realize how deep it is and reread it.

I don't have a product to suggest today, but I do have a buying suggestion. Don't buy a Zebra Plant. I wanted something that would live in my office with zero outside light. The guy at Home Depot, who seemed smart, said the Zebra plant would live! Yea right. The thing didn't even make it a week, and it's at my house. Yea yea, bring on the jokes, but I promise it's not me!

Here's what it should look like:
And here's what I have:

Poor thing. No but seriously, if you have any advice, I could obviously use them.

a modern look.

As Easter has pasted, I'm reminded of some of the Easter activities that we no longer participate in. For example, my husband's family has an Easter egg hunt every year. And, all the grandkids participate. To increase the excitement, we would hunt for money! It was great. Apparently we have outgrown this, as the youngest is 18. I already miss it.

I also miss Easter dresses. I know, I could go buy my own. However, on a normal basis, I NEVER wear dresses. I'm just not a dress girl. Friday my mom, sister and I went out to pick out my sister's (16) Easter dress. I miss that, even though normally I don't wear dresses. I want someone to buy me one for Easter.

As much as I miss somethings, I think the older I get the more I appreciate Easter. Not that I don't have Easter dresses or hunts, I only have the real meaning to focus on.

Now back to crafts.

Here's a card I made. I love the modern look of it.
Here's what I used: Spring Solitude, Only Orange ink and paper, Cool Caribbean ink (retired), corner rounder, dimensional, buttons

Here's another one of my favorite products, Glade ForceFlex Bags. These things never rip. I hate when I'm taking the trash out and something rips the bag and I'm losing trash as I take it out.

Let me know if you love these too, or if you know of something better. I'm a sucker for something new!

easter crafts

I made a ton of stuff for Easter this year. Actually this was the first Easter I've made anything. I don't know why I've never thought of making stuff, but I haven't. This year I'm really trying to use my 'stuff.' Sometimes I fall prone to the 'I don't want to use that.' You know like I'm saving up some pretty paper or flowers. I've finally decided that I'm not going to buy stuff if I'm not going to use it.

So here is everything:

These are York Peppermint patties. I used my scallop punch to make a top and bottom.

These are those Hershey Nuggets covered in paper. I've seen these a lot on other blogs/website. They really have never been that exciting to me, but they are really easy and we you see them all together, they are so cute.
All the treats together. Oh here's something I learned. For some reason I thought it would be a great idea to stamp my plastic Easter eggs with Stazon. Um, don't try that. One it was really hard not to smug, and it didn't turn out well at all.
That's all my Easter stuff. Here's another product I love.
This stuff makes your hair so smooth and shinny. You have to use a small amount or else you will have super greasy hair (so be careful). But I love it and it smells great.

Happy Easter everyone.

i heart shutterfly.

No seriously Shutterfly made my day. They are giving me a free 8x8 album. Little do they know I've been waiting around for a sale to order my 2007 album. I love them.

I was missing one page before I could order the book, so here it is:
Paper (One Fine Day) by Micheline Martin; Mossygreen Brushes- Kimberly Giarrusso; Swirly Whirly Strings, Fluffy Puffy Ribbons- Natalie Braxton; Staple, Doodled Black Alpha- Kate Hadfield; Pretty Petals- Blythe Evans; Alpha Bits- Christina Renee; Font- Ali Edwards

Also, I wanted to share another one of my favorite things. I love Mr. Clean Magic Eraser.
Mr. Clean is the man. These things can get anything white, super white. For example, the refrigerator door. You know all those gross finger prints, gone. Or what about your light switches? Or so clean. Trust me these things are worth a try, and it's kind of fun to go around your house looking for anything white! Try them out, let me know if you agree.

a new layout.

I'm watching Food Network's Dr. Seuss Cake Challenge. These cake people are incredible. Here is my latest layout. I really love the way the picture goes across the page. And here's my secret: the picture is really two pictures. Obviously if you look closely at the middle you will see the seam of the two pictures.
Most of the layout is from Chere Kaye's part of All We Need. If you're interested you can get it at funkyplayground.com. There is also a hybrid kit that goes with it!

All We Need, Chere Kaye; Alphas, Corina Nielsen; Lace Glitter, Christina Renee; Font, Ali Edwards

the first step...

It's Friday, and I am glad to say that I have completely finished cleaning our apartment. Isn't that the best feeling... clean.

I've had several people ask me about how to get started in digital scrapbooking.

First of all, there have been several questions about Creative Memories products. Personally, I would not purchase! For one, their is tons of really great products out there (and much better in my opinion). I used to be a huge CM user back in my paper scrapbooking days, but they haven't seemed to catch up with the move to digital.

I'm not an expert at digital scrapbooking, but here are the steps I took to get started:

1. First of all you need Photoshop.

Some people have really expensive versions, PhotoShop CS2, CS3, but what you need to get started is Photoshop Elements 5.0. It will run you anywhere from $29.99 (used on Amazon) to $50.00. You can also try the newest Elements software 6.0. I would suggest trying that for free for 30 days before you buy: http://www.adobe.com/products/

I personally have used 5.0 since I've started, and I love it. I have heard several rumblings of people not liking 6.0. So try it out, if you like it, you can get it at Staples for $99.

2. You need some stuff.

I suggest getting some free stuff first. Don't go crazy downloading free stuff. Trust me there is a lot of poor quality downloads out there. You'll get it printed and hate it. Here some places to get some good quality free products:

Little Dreamer (I think you might have to register to see them. So if my link won't work for you just go to littledreamerdesigns.com and freebies at the top)

Shabby Princess

Here's how this works. You download the the paper and elements rather than going to Hobby Lobby to get your stuff. Your products are in zipped folders. You need to unzip (right click the folder and click unzip). Then your set to go. If your computer isn't set up to open jpegs into Photoshop, you can just drag it to Photoshop in your start bar.

3. Learning Photoshop.

I really learned by trial and error. I did read several tutorials, but if you are computer savvy you will pick it up easily. Here are some tutorials about getting started:

Shabby Princess Tutorial

Two Peas Tutorial

Changing the color of an element/paper by Emily Giovanni

Using a Frame by Emily Giovanni

4. Learn from others.

I look at a ton of other people's layouts. There are some really talented people out there, and if you're a visual learner like I am this will help a ton. My galleries are on the right side of my blog (not that I'm saying I'm one of those great scrappers). But I recommend checking out myscrapbookart.com for some great inspiration.

5. Get in there and try it.

You're not going to be a pro overnight. I thought it would be so good since I had paper scraped for some long, um... no. You can't make fun of me. Here is one of my first layouts from last June:

Paper, Button, stitches- christinareneedesigns, lil fan fairRibbon- Christina Renee Designs, skinny minnisPhoto Frams - Christian Renee Designs, Pilled High with AttitudeFont- Pia Frauss, Jane Austen

Okay, but here's one from January:

Vera Lim - If OnlyKate Hadfield- Doodled Black Alpha, Heavy Duty StaplesGina Miller - Off Beat Alpha, Boardy LeavesNatalie Braxton - Fluffy Puffy RibbonsRachel Young - Sequin SpillsMiriam Lima - A Quick NoteChristina Renee - Dream ElementsKimberly Giarrusso - Just the Basic Doodle, Seattle Grunge FrameEmily Merritt - Crumpled Accent PaperAmy Hutchinson - Courthouse Doodles

Better right? Well since I started I've learned a ton: how to make realistic shadows, enhance pictures, make things that perfect color, etc. etc.

7. When you're ready to start buying paper, elements, alphas etc.:

We Are Storytellers

Funky Playground Designs

The Lilypad

The Shabby Princess

Vera Lim (If you like her style she has a grab bag for $2 and they are always good)

There are about a million more, but make sure their quality is good before you buy!

8. Printing your album.

I get my layouts printed through shutterfly.com. They will bind your pages together in a book, and you can even design the cover.

There are also tons of places to have your layouts printed. You can also do 8x8 pages and print them on your own printer!

Just a couple of random things. You have to give credit when you use someone's product. So anytime you post online, credit the designer of the paper or element. Also, don't steal (I know none of you would). Make sure you never give your friends copies of freebies or products by designers!

I'm sure I've missed something, but if you have any questions, please ask! I hope this helps.

i hate these shoes...

I got these really cute shoes from Marti and Liz last month. They are fierce (in my best Christian from Project Runways voice). However, they hurt so bad. They hurt so bad that I literally cannot walk. Once a week I think, "Oh this will be the day that I finally 'break them in." Yea right. Yesterday I was putting band-aids on my feet at 8:15. That's got to be bad. By 1:15 I was literally limping, no kidding. I ordered some petals to see if those would help. I'll let you know the verdict.

If they don't help, maybe I'll do one of those photo shots where you ruin something. Like playing in the mud in your wedding dress (yea right).

***I just tried to find an example, but I couldn't find one picture that wasn't extremely morbid***

In crafting news. I purchased two 6x6 acrylic albums from funkyplaygrounddesigns.com. They should be in tomorrow and I can't wait to try them out. Here's what they look like:

They come with protective paper on them, so that's what you are seeing on the 2nd-4th pages. Here is a whole gallery of acrylic albums. I'm starting the search for the perfect rub-ons. I'm thinking Basic Grey might be my best option.

Easter is coming

I am 100% sure that no one is reading this, but even if I'm just showing my crafts to my mom, who occasionally checks in with some prompting, I'm going to continue (however infrequent that is). I finished a new craft for Easter. I made these two little buckets for my nephew and little cousin. Since the buckets are smaller at the bottom I glues the paper vertically, but afterwards I realized I could have just cut strips in the paper at the bottom and used the grass to cover it. I have 4 more buckets to cover, so I'll try that method on those.

Here are two other cards I made. I got some great inspiration from Splitcoaststampers. There are some really great cards and layouts to try:

Here's what I used: Time Wells Spent, Bold Bright Watercolor Crayons, Aquapainters, Cameo Coral, Pretty in Pink
Here's what I used: Moose You So Much, Ribbon, So Saffron, Blue Bayou, Chocolate Chip Ink and Marker, Winter Green, Bashful Blue