Creative Outlet

Digital Scrapbooking is a fun and creative outlet I discovered (again) last January. I first explored the hobby 5 years ago about the time my grandson, Zachary, was born. I was having a hard time locating supplies back then and the software I knew of was very expensive. So...fast forward 5-years and the availability of online materials and user-friendly, affordable software is phenomenal, and I have a new hobby.

This is what started it all...I was making cupcakes for Abbey's 12th birthday and came across a video on YouTube where the demonstrator made cupcake toppers using My Memories Suite Software. As shown above, I got the flags made pretty quickly and from that point on I was hooked!

This is the first actual digital scrapbook page I made. I was finishing up on FaceBook before running out the door to a very important birthday pedicure appointment - Abbey's first, when I saw a posting from My Memories about a kit titled Beauty Parlor. I grabbed up the kit, made sure I had my camera with me, and ran out the door. That night I had my first layout.

Since that time I've been acquiring kits, learning new techniques, making layouts, organizing materials, meeting folks in digital scrapbooking circles on FB and in online storefronts, participating in Speed Scraps (which don't require you to be speedy), and looking into PhotoShop Elements software for some things that can't be done(yet)  in My Memories Suite.

Folks outside my family won't care much about my digital scrapbook pages...and that makes perfect sense considering this is a hobby that allows you to document your life in a beautiful and personalized fashion.Key word there: personal. The test for me is easy...when I look at a layout I've done and get that 'I really love that page' feeling - I know I've captured the memory/event/photo just right. Digital Scrapbooking makes me feel good...the whole process from the creativity involved in the layout to the final product that has preserved a memory - a moment in time.

As I'll be showing you here, my favorite scrapping projects involve everyday life. We'll remember the big events - it's the day-in, day-out activities that get lost easily yet make up so much of our lives.

This looks like a great place to start.
Our family is large and we often grab a bite to eat at the local CiCi's Pizza where they can seat us easily, it's inexpensive, and for the kids' sake...it's PIZZA. The plaza where it's located is often the backdrop of family snapshots. Here's my granddaughter, Alexis, just being cute.

My grandson, Matthew, lives in Texas. I jumped on a couple of photos his dad posted since I don't get very many.

Here's my youngest son, Chris. He's a big Wesker fan and I made this page for him as a surprise for his birthday.

Here's another of Matthew. Such a cutie!

This was done for an "All About Me" challenge on a scrapbooking site.

This is a layout featuring my daughter and son-in-law. We were at a church carnival and while the weather was picture perfect, the ladybugs were enjoying it as much as the people. They were everywhere!

My 15-yr old son is working at the local Boy Scout camp this summer. They had a camp staff weekend, a camp staff week, and then finally camp. This layout was a speed scrap featuring Chris as he arrived for the first camp staff weekend.

This layout is titled "Abbey's Locket." Abbey, my youngest daughter, lost 2 of her grandparents the year she was born. She received a locket for her birthday and she keeps pictures of her maternal grandmother and paternal grandfather.

Speaking of Abbey, here she is...this too was done for a speed scrap. Aside from the fact that she's not big on pink, this layout captures her pretty well.

This is our youngest grandson, Zachary. He was a prince at his preschool's Valentine's Day party.

This is definitely one of my favorites. I took rapid-shot photos of my husband and youngest son while we were at lunch one Saturday afternoon.

This is our middle daughter who celebrates a birthday near St. Patrick's Day. It's her adopted holiday. Just had to give her a pocket full of wishes here.

Another favorite. These are 3 of my kids at the local park.

That's a good bit for now. I'm trying to get layouts set up here so I have a place to direct others to when the need arises. And, of course, truth be told...I also like showing off my kids :-)  

Digital Scrapbooking

Having a great time with Digital Scrapbooking, a new hobby I started at the end of January '13.

This is a layout I put together for a Speed Scrap hosted by Celeste of Touched By A Butterfly. She's also running a "Anything Goes" challenge at MyMemories.

I'm thinking about...

Concert Series at a local university this evening. It appears the weather will cooperate for a change. Still a bit hot but no storms and even the heat won't be as bad as it's been recently. Looking forward to a fun evening with the kids!

Too hot for many of the great summer activities offered in our area. As one who lived most of my life in south Florida you'd think I'd be used to that...high temps and higher humidity. At least here we only have a few months of that followed by a discernible fall.

My ADHD in action...I opted to make a project for my husband's office...photos of a local spot adhered to canvas. Then came the decisions...black/white, sepia, color. I'm supposed to paint the canvas first including the edges. Hmmm...what color? that depends a lot on the first question. Next...1 large canvas with the 3-prints side-by-side or 3-separate canvas' hung next to each other? I thought I liked the idea of 3-separate ones but that's when I thought the pics would be vertical rather than landscape. Oh no-sidetrack ahead....while researching the how-to's of my project I came across another project idea. Now I'm thinking of abandoning the original project idea and go instead for this new one.

Knitting...lest you think the above scenario is a rarity, think again. I found a lovely infinity scarf project I wanted to knit. I went to the store and found the color yarns I needed and hurried home to get started. While reading over the pattern and the comments of other knitters who had made it. Now I'm thinking instead of 4-different yarns I could just buy a nice color-changing yarn and avoid all the yarn changes. I did that and then started looking at other knit patterns. Found one that looked nice and started knitting the now-revamped project, got a few sections completed and then found I had turned the project around at some point. Ouch!!! Now trying to decide whether to rip it all out and start again or just rip back a portion and continue on.

Wash or Dish Cloths... I'm getting very good at knitting them. When I'm in-between projects or discouraged with other knitting projects I knit dish/wash/spa cloths (spa cloths when I'm feeling fancy!). I started one last night after discovering the turned-around section of my infinity scarf. It does keep my daughters happy...they love them!

Home Shopping...I've been amazed how many things I find on home shopping channels that I simply must have. Fortunately my budget hasn't been in agreement so there's been little-to-no damage there. I think I'll sit back one day and have the tv on in the background and keep track of all the things I'd like to order. See just how much damage I would do in a day. Have you seen the aluminum foil/plastic wrap/wax paper dispensers??? And for only 2-easy payments...

Time to start getting ready for our picnic/concert evening. No rain clouds in sight.

No Place for Fear...

This came through a group posting that I follow. I love this message and this was a great time for the reminder. Courtesy of Greg Laurie and Harvest Ministries.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

No Place for Fear

So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” —Matthew 14:29–30

Peter was willing to put it all on the line. He and the other disciples had been straining against the waves and wind all night long when Jesus appeared to them, walking on the water. Wanting to prove his courage to Jesus, he made an amazing statement: “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water” (Matthew 14:28). These were rough seas, and Peter was willing to literally step onto them because He was looking at Jesus. That gave him confidence and courage.

It went well for awhile until Peter started to sink. And why did he sink? Because he took his eyes off Jesus and put them on other things. The Bible tells us, “When he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid” (verse 30).

Circumstances can be frightening. When your boss calls you in and tells you the company has to downsize and they are letting you go, when the doctor calls you with the test results that are not good, when you open that letter from an attorney that says you are being sued, it can scare you. It can devastate you. And it can cause you to take your eyes off Jesus.

Where fear reigns, faith is driven away. But where faith reigns, fear has no place. Faith and fear don’t mix. As you bring in faith, fear will walk out the back door. But if you invite fear as a resident in your life, then you will drive faith away.

Peter had faith. He had his eyes on Jesus. He was doing the impossible. But then he started to sink, because he took his eyes off Jesus. In his case, he looked at the wind. In our case, it might be something else. But when we forget God, we will start to sink.

Copyright © 2011 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

For more relevant and biblical teaching from Pastor Greg Laurie, go to www.harvest.org
and
Listen to Greg Laurie's daily broadcast on OnePlace.com.

Watch Greg Laurie's weekly television broadcast on LightSource.com.

You just never know...

Last Monday I wrote about certain milestones within the family, and yes, the kiddos had a great day at pre-school. Later that day I took Abbey to sewing class, stopped by the grocery store, went home and fixed dinner. Just hours later I was in the ER. You just never know...

I remember when my mother fell ill in the wee hours many years ago. There was such an unusual series of events leading up to it. At least a dozen reasons why I should be sound asleep and unable to hear her. But...I wasn't asleep, I did hear her, and we were able to get help. I have always been certain that God's hand was leading the day's events.

I can't help but believe that again. For two-weeks or so I had been having heart-rhythm concerns. A 4:00 am phone call (nobody on the line) woke us up and I soon realized I was feeling very odd. That feeling got worse and I was having typical heart-attack warning signs. Off to the hospital we went.

Monitors, IV's, blood work...all was going well. They gave me the 1st of 3 Nitroglycerin tablets to ease the pressure I was feeling on my chest. Before the 2nd pill I suddenly felt dizzy and knew I was going to pass out. My heart stopped for 20-seconds. Everything went into high gear at that point.

Ambulance ride to the larger hospital, multiple tests, pacemaker surgery Wednesday morning, home Thursday afternoon.

Pretty standard, right? Well, not really. The heart rhythm issues I was having turned out to be harmless. The chest pressure, weakness in left arm, tingly fingers, etc... we have no idea why. My heart tests came back fine.

What we did learn was that I have something called malignant vasovagal syncope. It means I pass out a lot. Generally caused by situations which lower my blood-pressure and an over-reaction within my body. I think. The Nitroglycerin dropped my blood-pressure and the rest kicked in. That's when my heart stopped. That's a simplification but explains it pretty well.

So...even though my heart tests fine, I have a pacemaker. While the pacemaker won't stop me from passing out, it may give me a few extra seconds to get to safety and it should keep my heart beating through the episode.

So, in summary, I was concerned about my heart rhythm (harmless) which caused me to go to the hospital when the other symptoms kicked in (still don't know why) and during treatment for the heart symptoms, I fainted (while on a monitor) and we found something I have had my whole life. It's a great relief to know there's been a reason for all of the fainting through the years; it explains so much.

You just never know...but I do believe that God does.

Thank you, Lord!

NEW EXPERIENCES...

Two of our g'kids start a 2-day a week preschool program today. I'm excited for them and only a little nervous. I am, after all, their g'mom.

Before Alexis' arrival Zach was in a wonderful program where he did very well. His former teacher is a wonderful, caring woman. She still attends many Z-events and he's been very blessed to have Miss Lisa in his life. So, aside from the fact that he's now firmly in his wonderful/terrible two's, I'm not worried about him (maybe his teacher, but hey, if you choose to work with 2-years olds...)

This will be a brand-new experience for Alexis. Between family and friends she's been around other children a good bit, but I think it will be new for her to have a caretaker who isn't a member of her family. She's so sweet and easy-going, though, that I don't think this will be a problem.

All this to say that I'm saying extra prayers for these two precious kiddos today. I hope and pray for wonderful experiences with caring people in an atmosphere of wonder and play!

MILESTONE...

This handsome young man is our dear Matthew. He's our oldest grandchild and this is his pre-school graduation picture.

Milestones or stepping stones...they mean the same. They (and we) are all on journies of 1000+ miles, and all, begin with those very first steps.

We don't get to share in as many of his steps as we would like but our hearts partake in each one.

NEW (Spring) PURSUITS

Over the weekend Abbey took us on a trip to the local Home Improvement store. She wanted a rose bush. It was also time to get tomatoes started again. So...before long we were loading a rose bush, plant food, 2 tomato plants, a random plant, and a beautiful pink dahlia we found (specific hybrid to aid in breast cancer research). I thought the dahlia was going to be mine but Abbey had other ideas. She's also taken over care of the peonies in our back yard planted by her grandfather many years ago. Over the weekend we found out the he had planted those because they reminded him of his mother; they had been her favorite flowers. Time to grab the watering can!

Spring is such a wonderful time of year!

Random Thoughts

...in no particular order

Easter - Celebrating with joy the wonder of this day. Reflecting on my relationship with Jesus and being so thankful for God's incredible gift!

Remember to "Be still..." It sounds odd to say that I miss my blog. Ok, so I'm odd. I do miss my blog...I miss feeling inspired enough to write something - OR - energized enough. There are many things which that applies to; baking, cooking, reading, knitting, playing board games with the kids, etc... Families today are on treadmills set way too fast. Do we view our worth by how busy we are? How full our calendar is? Maybe that's why I particularly love Psalm 46:10 where we are told to "Be still and know that I am God"

Royal Wedding...Yes, I must admit that I'm following some of the hoopla concerning the upcoming nuptials of Prince William and Kate Middleton (and NO, I do not read supermarket tabloids). I feel a little embarrassed by this but counter by saying that I have a 10-year old princess of my own and she's enthralled with the whole thing. We're anxious to see 'the dress,' the carriage ride, and the couple's balcony appearance. I was brought up reading fairy-tales and this is the closest thing we have to them. So, laugh if you must, I can handle it. I'll just send my fairy godmother after you!

Cars - We recently purchased two cars for our family. I find it interesting (and humorous) to see the process of 'getting to know,' and then, personalizing, our cars. For me, it has included some of the following...

• Transitioning from seeing it as 'a car' to 'my car.'


• Establishing a relationship; My car! We're a team! We'll take care of each other! Then...a trip to the dealer for a glitch. Still happy but a touch more cautious.


• Designed custom front-plate


• Applied for personalized SC license plate


• Set radio stations


• New key ring


• Purchased floor mats (a little sporty-looking AND practical)

I spend a lot of time in my car. I want it to reflect 'me,' - at least a little bit. This has been a good start but we hopefully have a number of years to spend together, and hey, I still have a rearview mirror, bumper, and back windshield for my canvas. Oh, and for the record, I see my husband doing many of the same things with his car!

Hobbies - What an incredible time to pick up a new hobby! I started knitting about a year ago. I'm an ok knitter at this point. I can tell you, however, that I wouldn't be any kind of a knitter (except a failed one) without the tools and technology we have available now. Online magazines, online patterns, YouTube videos, EBooks, Video classes, online yarn shops, knitting specific blogs, Ravelry (think of FaceBook for knitting), Skype, and so much more. If you've ever had a hobby or interest you wanted to pursue, there's never been a better time!

Graduation - Our oldest son, Darrell, is graduating from University of South Carolina - Upstate in 9-days. I can't begin to convey how proud, happy, and excited I am about this. Congratulations, Darrell!

Cocoa Krispies, really? - A blast from the past...I was reminded how much I (still) love Cocoa Krispies cereal. Just eat them fast because they get soggy (but oh so chocolatey) pretty fast. So, on that note, have a wonderful week and don't be afraid to eat your favorite childhood cereal (and maybe a pb&j for lunch!). Got milk?