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Jan
18

December Daily…

Posted by DeAnna

Yes, I realize it’s the 18th of January. Yes, I’m late finishing it, although truth be told I finished it over a week ago. I’ve been prepping for Project Life in the meantime and hadn’t posted these yet. As many of you know, I was kinda out of it for the majority of December with kidney stones. I knew going into it I probably wouldn’t get it done IN December, especially after December 3 when I ended up with the fever and after I literally ruined my back cover in my delirium and had to start over… But I had prepared my covers and cut the inside pages, so I knew I wanted to at least complete it, even if that happened AFTER it was all over. And finish it, I did. I did it. I FINALLY did a December Daily. I’ve kind of tried the last few years – emphasis on kinda.  I’m a {reformed} procrastinator, you know… A couple of years ago I tried doing a combo December Daily/Holidays In Hand thing.  I did one page and that was it.  Last year, it just didn’t happen at all.  I was determined this year.  And at the same time I was going with the flow…  if that makes sense.  I was also conscious of my 2012 OLW (which I discovered near the beginning of December) as well during the month which drove me to think about taking photos and take some notes while sitting at the hospital, etc., etc.  At the end of the month while looking at my collection of photos I knew I had to complete the album.  If ever there was a year, this was it.  My mantra as I was working on it was “don’t over-think this, just put photos and words together”.  And that’s what I did.

Now, on to some photos.

I hand painted my covers using thick box board.  Not quite chipboard, not quite thin cardboard (you know the stuff that doesn’t have the corrugated inside…).  I was extremely happy with it, especially after I used my Studio Calico intertwined circles on the second layer of paint and then removed it which left depressions where the mask had been.  It’s hard to get a photo of, but trust me, it’s fab.  I misted with some Tattered Angels and inked it using Antique Linen to tone down the white and make it work with the patterned paper I chose for the inside pages.  I adhered patterned paper to the insides of the covers to cover up the paint overages and add some extra support/stiffness.

 

I used plain flat white card stock cut to 8×8 for the interior pages (which I had actually cut last year but never used…) and I punched the outside edge with a Fiskars border punch and then inked with Antique Linen and Brushed Corduroy.  I chose My Mind’s Eye Lost and Found Christmas (yes, me too, but it was just too beautiful to pass up…).  I trimmed each 12×12 sheet to 6×8 and adhered to the left-hand side of each two-page layout.  On the right-hand side I used masks and mists.  I used a Cottage Cutz ornamental snowflake die and two of my Studio Calico masks – the intertwined circles and the ampersand.  Here are two photos of inside pages.  One has no photos (there were a few days that did not have photos and for those I created an embellishment to go on the left, and my journaling is on the right.  For when I had photos they would be on the left and journaling and/or extra photos on the right.

 

I also created an inside cover page using some of the die cuts from the MME collection pack, brads, and some alpha stickers/thickers.

Since I am so late with posting my December Daily, I decided not to show every page, and only cover the highlights of how I put it together.  There is a lot of journaling, my thoughts during a really difficult time for me, plus Rob and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary albeit we didn’t get to go out and celebrate.  I was definitely not up to dinner and a movie!

I used a lot of older Basic Grey product as well:  some stickers from the Wassail line, chipboard alpha/numbers from Eskimo Kisses, an alpha sticker sheet from Bittersweet and another more recent one, from Pyrus I think.  I used Thickers and some Authentique die cuts along with mists, Distress Inks and some really, really old large chipboard alpha and number sets.  Other than the new paper and some brads/layered stickers from MME I tried to use as much on-hand product as possible.  I had a bunch of Christmas stuff sitting around that I’ve gathered in one place and will start my Christmas cards for next year from those scraps BEFORE I go out and buy new… unless something amazing catches my eye again.  ;D

Overall, I LOVE this album and I am so glad I completed it.  It’s getting packed away with the last of our Christmas stuff and the box is labelled as one of the first to be brought out next year.  I can’t wait to go through it with everyone and see how much our life has changed (and hopefully I won’t be dealing with kidney stones again next year!!).

If you started an album and haven’t finished it yet, don’t feel discouraged.  Plug away at it.  But please, finish it.  You won’t regret it.  Make it simple, it doesn’t have to be perfect, but you will love it for the simple fact that you finished it.  I wish I had finished my earlier attempts, but I will definitely, DEFINITELY do this again.

[On a side note, I finished my first week of Project Life and am working on Week 2.  Since we are only part way into Week 3 I think I'm doing pretty good!  I think I would like to share my layouts, possibly once a month as a month review kind of thing.  There are so many inspiring artists out there sharing their work in detail I think I'll just share an overview and link to some cool products and/or projects I particularly loved.]

 

DeAnna

 

 

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Jan
16

Project Life…

Posted by DeAnna

I decided to jump in and just do it.  For the last couple of years I’ve hesitated.  I’ve worried I would start out strong and peter out and not finish it, or I wouldn’t have enough to say to fill the pages, etc…  I finally decided to skip the excuses and just do it.  I decided to buy the digital version of the Turquoise edition from JessicaSprague.com (I’ll provide a link to all the PL stuff below the post).  You probably all know I’m a big fan of hers and have taken a bunch of classes there.  What I liked about using the digital version was I could use them as printables, but I also had the freedom to play with them and add accents to the journaling cards, or my photos to keep it tied together visually when I had time or the desire to do so.  I ordered the Design A page protectors and the black Signature binder (via the links of Becky Higgins website) which are on their way to me soon {edited to add:  they are scheduled to arrive today!}.  That’s the other part I like about the digi stuff – I can start PL despite the fact that I don’t have the physical product in my hands yet.

 

When I downloaded the files I was kind of expecting .psd or .pdf documents.  Instead they were .pngs.  That’s fine, but for me, I’m all about easy.  This project is made to make scrapbooking and memory keeping EASY.  I wanted to be able to use Lightroom to print my pieces with my photos.  I didn’t want to have to open Photoshop to print the pieces I needed and THEN move on to Lightroom to print my photos.  If I was behind or really busy and didn’t have a lot of time to devote (and really, who isn’t rushed or pushed for time), I needed it to be easy and FAST!  Now, of course, Lightroom doesn’t recognize .pngs.  SO, I had to figure out a way to save everything as .jpgs without opening each and every file in Photoshop and saving, OR creating an action to do it.

 

I did it!!  I figured out a simple way to do it!  I was so excited, you have no idea.  It really is so super easy it’s crazy.  HOWEVER, I am on a Mac and so I’m not sure if this would work for a PC.

 

Firstly, created a few new folders on my computer.  In the main folder containing all my PL documents the files are sorted into folders for each type of product (i.e.:  Journaling Cards, Title and Last Page, Extras, Filler Cards, Papers, and Title cards – this is how they come when you unzip the file you download).  I then created a new folder within the main PL folder on my computer.  I called that folder JPGS.  Then inside that folder I created a new folder for each of the product types.  So in my PL folder on my computer I have the folders that came with the download and another folder called JPGS which contains sub folders for Journaling Cards, Extras, etc…  Now that you have that all set up, you can go on to the next step.

 

Next, I opened Preview on my Mac.  Then I clicked File, Open and navigated to the folder containing all the original subfolders for my Turquoise edition of PL.  I worked in one folder at a time and selected the documents I wanted to convert.  If you select multiple items to open Preview will put them all in a side bar and you can use Command+A to select them all.  Then I went back to File and chose Export.  I selected .jpg, increased to the best quality, then navigated to where I wanted to put them.  For instance if I was working in the Journaling Cards folder, I would navigate to JPGs>Journaling Cards.  I hit enter and voila!  I have .jpgs!!!

 

Once I had completed working in all the folders and exported the documents I wanted to convert, then I went to Lightroom.  I am working in Lightroom 2 I believe.  I want to get LR3 but LR4 is in beta right now.  I might download that to see how it’s changed.  I’ve heard it’s changed a lot, so we’ll see.  If you are not familiar with Lightroom, when you open it, you will have an open workspace in the middle, with collapsible menus on the right and left sides.  On the top left there are several modes:  Library, Develop, Slideshow, Print and Web.  By clicking on these you will see different options on the side menu bars.  I generally use Library when I am importing and reviewing my files, and Print to, well, print.  Here’s a screen shot.  I am in Print view in this shot.  You’ll see on the left and right the collapsible menus and the modes you can choose to work in.  Like I said, I mostly use Library and Import.

 


Once in Lightroom I imported the JPGs folder.  I had my import menu set to [import and leave in the same location], and to retain the existing file name.  It automatically detects subfolders and so I hit Import. There are lots of other settings you can play with but I leave it pretty simple.  If I am importing photos from an SD card reader, I choose [copy and import to new location] so the files are moved to a folder of my choosing, whether on my computer or to an external device.

The last step is the most important step.  Next I chose the Print menu on the top right corner in Lightroom.  I created my own custom templates to exactly fit the measurements for each type of product I want to print (and yes, I did have to open Photoshop to get the measurements – I opened a journaling card and a title card and went to Image>Image Size and wrote down the measurements.  I believe they are 4×6 and 4×2.9 – just shy of three inches).  Here I am mostly going to print the title and last pages, journaling cards and filler cards.  I might print some of the circular elements to punch out and add to photos, etc.  but for now I’m not worrying about those.

 

To create my custom templates, I fiddled with the settings on the right-hand side menu bars (the ones that collapse and expand when you click on the triangle beside the name – still under the Print menu).  I chose Contact Sheet/Grid under the Layout Engine menu.  Under Image Settings I chose to do a small stroke of .2 px to make it easier for me to cut out some of the lighter/grid patterned pieces.

 

 

Under the Layout menu I left the margins alone and chose the appropriate number of columns and rows.  For the 4×6 cards I chose to print two per sheet, so I selected 2 rows, 1 column on a portrait canvas.  For the 4×3 cards I chose to create two separate templates.  There are some portrait and some landscape cards, so I decided it would be easiest to have them separated.  For the portrait cards I used a landscape canvas (under page setup on the bottom left below the template menu or under File in the top menu bar), with 2 rows and 3 columns.  For the landscape cards I chose a portrait canvas and 3 rows and 2 columns.  Next I played with the cell spacing until it looked right for the template I was working on.  The next choice is cell size.  This is where I set the size to match the product I was printing:  4×6 for the title cards and 4×2.9 for the journaling/filler cards.

 

 

For each individual template, once you have the settings where you want them to be, you click on the plus sign (+) next to Template Browser on the lower right menu bar.  This will prompt you to save your own custom template.  I named mine “Journaling Cards Portrait”, “Journaling Cards Landscape” and “4×6 2up” (since I can also use it to print two 4×6 photos) to make it easy for me to remember.  ;D  Once you’ve saved them they will be under the “User Templates” collapsible menu.

 

Wow, that’ s a long post but I hope it’s useful to some of you!  This will make it so easy for me to print what I want, quickly and efficiently without having to play around too much.  I am all about making this easy for me to do and stick with!

 

DeAnna

Project Life Links:

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Jan
11

One Little Word 2012 – Discipline

Posted by DeAnna

Yes, my word is discipline.  I was contemplating what my word would be about six weeks before the new year.  I thought about what I wanted, how my word from 2011 affected me and what more I wanted to accomplish.  I knew that in the beginning of the year I definitely concentrated on my word and made things happen in that direction.  As the year progressed, I lost focus.  I concentrated on class projects and barely got any of my own scrapbooking done.  I didn’t blog enough.  I didn’t do this or do that.  Of course the last six, seven weeks of 2011 I was kind of incapacitated, but still. 

See, I procrastinate.  A lot.  And I mean, A LOT.  I wanted to do some research and find the antonym for procrastinate.  I found some weird words.  I mean, really weird.  Like Churchillian and precipitancy.  Huh??  So I kept searching and I landed on THIS site that made me sit up straight and say “YES!”.  I knew I had found it.  It resonated in a way that was profound.  Already!

So here is what I plan to do.   Since I am not able to take the class this year, I have scheduled in my calendar a day each month to review the prompts from last year’s class (especially since I didn’t complete it – boo).  Once I have reviewed the materials I will set a date to have it completed by.  I am also setting aside time in my calendar to catch up on Project Life every two weeks so I don’t ever get too far behind (although I haven’t decided if I will share my PL pages, or if I do whether it will be bi-weekly or weekly, etc.).

If I want to sit and play a game on the iPad (which my husband won at work and thankfully he already had his own so by default it became mine, even if I have to share it with the boys every now and then!), I am going to try to remember to set a timer.   Because I could sit there for hours saying “oh, just one more”…

I also searched Pinterest for some cool typography images.  I found this one, which is SO true:

 

 

A search on Google got me the quote “Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments.” Jim Rohn I will be creating a canvas with this quote on it that I can hang in my den (which is where I work and scrap). Someone seriously needs to create a typography poster with this quote on it…

Anyway, that’s my OLW post for the year. I would like to share my monthly prompts from last year’s class once they are done each month as well.  Why not share your OLW in the comments?  I’d love to hear what others are choosing to focus on this year…

 

DeAnna

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Dec
31

Curve balls…

Posted by DeAnna

(Note: I actually started this post on November 29, but since then I have been in the hospital more times than I can count, on painkillers and generally feeling miserable. I finally came out of the fog just a couple of days before Christmas. I did prepare my December daily album but I haven’t put anything in it yet. I printed the photos and cut them out last night, so that should be coming soon. Look for more posts from me this year. I am participating in One Little Word again this year but am not able to take the class. I will have a post up about my word in the next day or so. I am also attempting Project Life but I haven’t received my binder or pages yet. Thank goodness I bought the digital version from JessicaSprague.com so I can start with the first of the new year and fill it in when it arrives… Happy new year and hello 2012! All the best in the new year ;D )

I was just starting to get back into the swing of things and life threw me another curve ball. Ta da – I give you KIDNEY STONES! Ugh. Painful, and generally just yucky. So I found out the hard way that I have four stones, one in each kidney and two partially blocking my bladder. Hopefully medication will help…

In the meantime I have been working on putting together a December Daily album which is almost ready, and getting my christmas cards done. I went to a fundraiser for Kyle’s school on Saturday which was a scrapbooking crop. It was great, I got some prep work done on my December Daily and not quite half of my christmas cards finished. I took a different approach to my christmas cards this year. I wanted to play around a bit and try a few new things so I haven’t made one design and completed all of them in that design. Here’s a peek at one of my favorites using the Lawn Fawn polaroid stamp from Say Cheese and Bo Bunny’s Blitzen 6×6 pad, a whole lot of distress inks, and an embossing folder…

Lawn fawn and bo bunny

I stamped the polaroid onto white card stock and inked it up with Antique Linen Distress Ink. Then using a craft knife I cut out the center of the polaroid. I stamped the polaroid onto the 6×6 paper and cut it out leaving a slight edge to glue to the back of the polaroid frame. Voila, instant christmas scene! I stamped Seasons Greetings from an American Crafts stamp set, and layered it onto a 3×3.5 piece of patterned paper and onto an embossed card base inked up with Faded Jeans, Antique Linen and Iced Spruce (from the Seasonal set). Sooooo cute!

I’ll share my December Daily after the first once I get it ready and have a few days into it to share.

DeAnna

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Nov
11

How can it be November already??

Posted by DeAnna

Wow. I guess I needed a break! The end of September was busy trying to get classes prepped and then October was a gong show. Rob was away for ten days in Mexico for the Pan American Games umpiring baseball. He’s gone again for five days to LA for an umpire camp. The season of never-ending baseball… I did manage to get a few crafty things done in October. I’ve been wanting to make my own wreath for fall using fall colors and die cutting leaves. I finally did it. Here’s an “almost” finished photo. I added some feathers after I took this photo.

Fall wreath

I used the Spellbinders Three Leaves die set and then spritzed them with a water/perfect pearls mix and crumpled them all up.  Once they were dry I inked them with various Distress Inks around the edges and on the creases to give them extra depth and texture.  I used some letter stickers for the banner as a mask and inked it with greens, oranges, reds and walnut stain for the edges.  Then I took off the letter stickers and spritzed with water/perfect pearls.  I love the way it turned out, it’s stunning in real life.  I made an extra banner using some letter stickers from Echo Park saying “All Hallows Eve” and some die cuts which I can slip right over top of the hello fall banner and remove after halloween.

I also attended my Intermediate Copic Certification in Langley and I am so glad I took it.  I learned so much about light and shadows, shading and even hair – it was so worth the long day and the extra money!  Here are some of the projects we worked on:

Copic Intermediate certification

Intermediate Copic certification

Intermediate Copic certification (Note:  All drawings by Marianne Walker).  All these photos were taken with my iPhone too.  Not bad, eh?

I also bought the Penny Black Little Elf Finn stamp and I couldn’t wait to pair it up with some kraft cardstock and my Copics and this is what I came up with:

Penny black and copics I used my Marvy La Plume Opaque White marker using flicking motions to color in the fur and it gives it so much texture I LOVE it!  I used some MME Lost and Found Christmas paper from the 6×6 pad for the ornament and a gold glitter gel pen from my stash for the top of the ornament and the bells on her feet, and some glossy accents on the holly berries and leaf.  That one is definitely getting a die cut frame and going onto a card.  Someone special will get this one for sure ;D

That’s about it for right now, but I will try to start posting more regularly again.  Got a couple projects coming up that I’ve been thinking about and working on and Christmas cards are percolating in the back of my brain so I can get started on them.  Christmas is going to be here before I know it…

 

Oh, and here’s a quick product list.  I’ll try to add one of these to each post when possible.  Not all items I used are listed.  For example, I couldn’t find the Marvy Le Plume Pigment Opaque Ink in White on any of the usual web stores (Two Peas, Simon Says Stamp, Ellen Hutson, etc.).  Instead you can use Copic Opaque White with a toothpick or fine brush tip…

 

DeAnna

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Sep
23

Hello again!

Posted by DeAnna

Okay, August got away from me and September is flying by already…

We camped three times in August, and then Kyle started kindergarten.  KINDERGARTEN!  Already.  I managed not to cry when we left him at school the first day.  He waved and said bye and went right back to playing, so he was good.  He’s had a really smooth transition so far, which is awesome.  He even had an amazing compliment from the teacher which just about made me cry – she said he plays really well with the other kids, and especially with the two autistic children in his class who tend to play by themselves.  I don’t know what it is about Kyle but he seems to really draw kids in.  Maybe it’s his enthusiasm or just the fact that he’s totally not afraid to approach someone and start playing.  He’s a really good kid.

I was so busy in August that I really didn’t do a lot of crafting, and only managed to put together three classes for October.  Which reminds me that the October calendar is up at Precious Memories – make sure you check it out.  I have classes on October 6, 20 and 26th.

Hubby’s birthday is today and mine is in a couple weeks.  Then hubby heads out to Mexico for a week and a half to umpire in the Pan Am Games.  I’m so proud of him.  While he’s away I get to do some more Copic coloring at the Intermediate Certification in Langley ;D  That will definitely be a fun day!

Now that we’ve started to settle into a routine with school I am trying to get back to some craftiness and will be posting more again.  Hope everyone had a great summer!

 

DeAnna

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Jul
28

A couple birthday cards…

Posted by DeAnna

I apologize for being absent so much the last few weeks.  Rob left for a 10-day tournament in Prince George in early July and the day he left his grandmother passed away.  You may remember her from this post about her 90th birthday party – she was a woman who had a sparkle in her eye and had more spirit than most people that I know.  We traveled to Kamloops the day after Kyle’s birthday for the funeral and then last week we all just hung out.

This last weekend Kyle had two birthday parties on Sunday so I made a couple of cards while practicing my Copic coloring.  I had to make one card for a girl and the other for a boy so I used my new Penny Black flower girl stamp for the little girl and paired it with some Echo Park Springtime from the 6×6 pad.  I have the 6×6 pad for months and hadn’t used it yet – no better opportunity than now!  Here’s what I came up with:

DSC_9421


I had so much fun coloring her in.  I stamped using Memento Rich Cocoa to give her a softer look than using black.  Less coloring of her hair too ;D  I created a mask with a sticky note and inked up my Hero Arts flourish background using Peeled Paint and Tumbled Glass Distress Inks and stamped over the image.  Then I used the same distress inks to color in the grass and sky background then removed the mask over the colored flower girl.  So easy!  Then I used my Spellbinders Labels 8 die and cut out the image then edged it with the same Distress Inks.  I added some stickles to the flowers in her hair, the hearts on her dress, the band at the bottom and the spots on the large flower.  I die cut a Labels 1 shape and heat embossed the happy birthday from Lawn Fawn’s Sophie’s Sentiments.

For the boy card I used the Stampavie monkeys I’ve used before and some of the My Mind’s Eye Stella & Rose Hattie papers from the 6×6 pad.

DSC_9427

This one is pretty self-explanatory.  I used my new Pumice Stone Distress Ink at the bottom and my all-time favorite Antique Linen on the top of the die cut piece then layered it over a larger die cut patterned paper.  I used a circle punch to cut out the happy birthday from Lawn Fawn and edged that in Pumice Stone too.  I did have to do some improvising with my Copics since I didn’t have all the colors I wanted to use to match the papers.  I blended Y21 with W00 to get a color closer to the paper for the monkey’s bellies and also used the Woo with my BG13/15/17 for the present and some of the colors in the balloons.  I used Boooo with W00 for the lightest color in the balloons as well.   At the very end I used a scrunched up tissue with my colorless blender refill to give the monkeys some texture (I didn’t have a cloth handy as they were all in the wash so I had to make do – I’m lazy that way ;D ).

In the end I was very happy with the two cards and hope their recipients were happy with them too.

DeAnna

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Jul
04

Weekend update:

Posted by DeAnna

I finished up preparing a couple of classes for August (including a Copic class), and I had to make a birthday card for my son to give to one of his ball team friends last Thursday.  Since I had my copics out I created a cute monkey card using a Stampavie image that I think is just adorable ;D

I pulled out some My Mind’s Eye paper I’ve used a bunch recently that’s really good for boys from their little robots collection.  I picked it because I liked it but also because I had copic colors to match it!  I colored the monkeys in on white cardstock using E35 and E57 for their bodies and I started with E21 for their faces and bellies but I thought it was too pale so I added Y21 over it to warm it up a bit.  I colored the present using BG13 and 15 but then I didn’t like the way it looked with the blue background so I added B04 over it.  It matched much better that way.  I colored the bow using YR04.  Then I did the balloons using Bo4, B06 and YR04.  I added shadowing using my warm greys because the greys in the striped paper were more warm than cool or neutral (you can’t see the grey in the photo but it’s there ;D).  I used W00, W03 and W05.  I made sure to keep some hard shadows and I was imagining my light coming from directly above (really only to keep it simple for me yet add some dimension).  Once I’d finished coloring it in I die cut the image using a Spellbinders Lables 8 die, the largest one, then added the Hero Arts friend definition stamp using Antique Linen Distress Ink.  I blotted some off in the center of the stamp so it didn’t completely cover the image.  Then I used my applicator tool and applied Antique Linen to the edges and slightly into the center leaving a brighter area around the image.  I stamped the sentiment from Lawn Fawn in Walnut Stain, added the button with twine and put stickles in the star in the center balloon.  Simple but effective ;D

We went camping this weekend for Canada Day in Washington on Whidbey Island (it’s beautiful there) and we went to a ball game to see the Mariners and Padres.  It used to be the Blue Jays always played the M’s on this weekend but not for the last couple years.  It was a good time and Matthew got a ball at the end of the game – our seats were right along the third base foul line out towards left field, right on the wall as it rises to meet the outfield wall.  They were amazing seats, probably the best I’ve sat in before.  Matthew held onto that ball the entire walk back to our van, the entire drive back to Whidbey Island and our campsite and actually slept with it too ;D  He was very happy.  We were at a game on Father’s Day too and it was also Little League day so we dressed Kyle up in his ball uniform and walked the “parade” along the warning track around the field.  Another great day at the ballpark!  Here’s a picture of me on the field (not actually touching the grass, mind you!).  I was in the outfield just about to head back through the gate and I thought I should take a pic with my phone looking back at home plate and the Welcome to Safeco Field sign ;D

I also got a cute pic of Matthew recently after he face planted at the end of our driveway – the boy needs a sign that says “Trouble Just Seems To Find Me”…  I have more pictures of boo-boos with this boy that I knew I could have.  He’s a bit of a daredevil and will try anything.  Almost.  Thankfully almost!

He was all good though – he cried for a few minutes but he didn’t want me to clean him up, he just went right back to the toy he’d been riding on and got back to the business of playing.  I noticed the next day that he’d actually dripped blood into his brand new shoes.  Oh, well, they’ve been broken in!

Kyle’s been busy finishing baseball, finishing preschool and getting into the swing of summer.  I tried not to book him solid with activities this summer since it’s his last summer before he starts school in the fall – I wanted to be able to enjoy spending time together and playing as much as possible.  It goes by so fast.  Next thing I know Matthew will be in school and my babies will be getting big…

Hope everyone had a great Canada Day/Independence Day weekend!

DeAnna

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Jun
24

Tuesday Trigger…

Posted by DeAnna

I promised to share something creative and crafting related and here it is!  I decided to play along with this week’s Tuesday Trigger over at Moxie Fab World.  I love the distressed quilt with the frayed edges and the three little tabs are perfect!

It reminded me of this layout I created for a class at Precious Memories:

I also had to create a couple of teacher thank you cards for Kyle’s preschool teachers so I thought I would do both at the same time ;D  I created two slightly simplified versions and a third for the challenge that has a few “extras”.

DSC_9349

I wanted to create texture by distressing the edges of each square, but I also wanted to create depth.  I cut each square 1/4 inch bigger than I needed, then scored 1/8 of an inch into each square.  I cut out the corners where the score lines intersected and then distressed.  When I was done I was able to push each side up creating the depth I was looking for and the illusion that the “quilt” has been sewn together with the frayed edges out.  I added three tabs with ribbon and a couple of buttons with some of my extensive collection of embroidery floss ;D  I stamped the sentiment before adding the square to the card.

Here are a couple other views so you can see the depth:

DSC_9353 DSC_9356

Thanks for looking!

Materials:

Papers:  MME Stella & Rose Hattie 6×6 paper pad/American Crafts card stock
Stamps:  American Crafts stamps
Ink:  Colorbox and Memento
Ribbon:  Pebbles and other
Buttons:  Hero Arts
String:  DMC Embroidery Floss
Adhesive:  American Crafts This to That/Glossy Accents

DeAnna

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Jun
17

It was not to be…

Posted by DeAnna

Well, here we are, a new day, and this house is sad.  Our beloved Canucks lost in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, but even more, the city was taken over by hooligans who decided before the game even started that they would cause chaos, win or lose.  Vancouver burned, glass was shattered, stores looted, people were beaten…  I could go on, but I won’t.  It was horrible to watch and I am glad our family was safe here at home in Maple Ridge and not caught downtown in that mess.  A mob mentality took over and ruined what had been a beautiful, celebratory crowd.  It’s not like it hasn’t happened before (1994), but this time was worse.

On a good note, though, people are being responsible and sending in video footage and photos they took to the police and to pages on Facebook and a whole lot of people showed up in downtown Vancouver yesterday morning to help with the cleanup.  I am still proud to live in the lower mainland and to support my team, win or lose.

In crafting related news, I have another class coming up at Precious Memories next Thursday, Flower Frenzy Level 2.  Should be a great class and lots of fun!  I believe there’s still room, but again, Flower Frenzy Level 1 sold out the first time and this is the first run for Level 2, so if you’ve been thinking of taking it, call or go in and sign up!  The contact info is at the bottom of the page in the link.

I promise to post a craft project soon – it’s been crazy around here lately!

 

DeAnna

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