Crazy Summer Listening

I caved. About two weeks ago, I bought an RCA Pearl mp3 player. I resisted for the longest time and quite honestly, I can't believe that I bought one sooner. I have no idea why exactly that is because my portable CD player was so cumbersome and tempermental. Not to mention the constant changing and carrying my collection of CDs. But with my Pearl, I can be picky and choosy with songs and easy to load. It fits in my pocket and I wouldn't even know it was there. Pure heaven!

So you must ask, what is on my playlist. Quite a bit of everything, but lately I have really been digging Lily Allen and Amy Winehouse. Both youthful with raw lyrics of love lost and careless times. It brings me back to a time before a child that I experienced angst and a path to find out exactly who I am.

And yes, the lyrics, especially Amy's is well, raunchy. I never quite realized it until I started reading the CD insert. But quite honestly, aside from that, I think the music supercedes it. It really is good stuff. I do suggest you check it out. It might be your cup of tea.

So what esle is on there? Well, here is a page to tell you.

Materials Used
Photo editing software: Adobe Photoshop
Paper: Citrus Sea by Kim Crothers (http://www.creativesnaps.com/ )
Crumpled Paper Circles and stapled label: Trevor by Victoria Feemster (http://www.thedigishoppe.com/ )
Rusted Clip and Brads: Festive by Shabby Princess (http://www.shabbyprincess.com/ )
Funny Stiches: by Vendula Sediva aka Natali (http://www.scrapwithnatali.blogspot.com/ )
Felt Stitched Alpha by Angela Neihaus (www.aniehaus.typepad.com/my_digital_scrapbook_blog/ )
Fonts: Harting ad Downcome (http://www.dafont.com/)

And I'll leave you with a card I did last night for a CHA in Spirit challenge hosted by a pea named Kathy Romack at Two Peas In A Bucket.

Cardstock:Bazzill Patterned Paper: My Mind's Eye - Tres Jolie, Junkitz Transparent Overlay: K & Company Rub On: Urban Lily Chipboard Flower and Flower Jewel: Heidi Swapp Brad and Glitter: Making Memories Other: Embroidery Thread

Thanks for looking!

A little inspiration for scrappers and non-scrappers alike.

Lately I have been slacking on my blog reading. I know, I know friends. I am sorry. I am working on getting better at it.

I like to peruse blogs every once and a while and see what everyone is up to. Where they have been what they are working on, and maybe find myself a little inspiration from those I admire.

So, I went cruising over to my friend Anam's blog and when I got there, of course I did a little nosing through her gallery because it's quite pretty, LOL! But I also remembered that Anam had started a spinoff of the sketch challenge blog Pencil Lines, called Altered Pencil Lines. It has a *very* cool concept. Let me explain:

So of course you know that there are many of us scrappers that love to follow sketches for our pages. Kinda like a page map, right? Well, this is the twist; Altered Pencil Lines takes these very same sketches and applies them as inspiration for creating art. Amazing. The thought of taking something 2 dimensional and creating it into a 3D piece of artwork is very cool, not to mention that it would be quite the challenge.

And that art. Blows me away.Those gals are designing are extremely talented. Wow. Makes me want to just go create. That is if I weren't so darn tired right now!

And as for me, I am busy creating. I do have new camping pictures from holidays that I want to get in books. I especially wanted to scrap a page about our friend's wedding. And lately, I received the Blanc Noir digital CD by Tinkering Ink and I couldn't wait to use it in my digital designs.

Psst! Lean in, I have to tell you.........
Quite honestly, I think that they are rather clever. They are the only company I know if that has both paper an digital! There are so many paper companies that I love to use and now that I am digi scrapping more and more, I am finding myself disappointed that they don't branch out into the digi market so that I can enjoy their work on my computer too!

And thanks to Tinkering Ink , I used their designs in this page for friends:

Materials Used
Photo Editing software: Adobe Photoshop
Paper: cream grid and green - Retro by Michelle Coleman (http://www.littledreamerdesigns.com/ ), Blanc Noir - Harlow and Dietrich by Tinkering Ink (http://www.tinkeringink.com/)
Tag and monogram: Blanc Noir by Tinkering Ink (http://www.tinkeringink.com/)
Messy Stitching: by Vendula Sediva aka Natali (http://www.scrapwithnatali.blogspot.com/ )
Glitter Spatters: by Scrappy Pony (http://horseshirts.blogspot.com/ )
Fonts: Porcelin, Harting and Exotica (www.dafont.com)

I love the results!

That be my life in a nutshell. Don't forget to go check out Anam's blog, she has lots of cool stuff going on. See ya!

I'll just open the fridge door and hang out here...

Hot, sticky and lazy. That has been a great way to describe the weekend. It has been in the mid-30's here in Sylvan Lake and we have been finding numerous ways to beat the heat. Friday evening right after work, the family set sail in our boat and went for a swim in the lake. The water definitely is an initial shock of cold, but one finds that you become easily climatized and it becomes extremely refreshing. Trevor and I were hoping to head out once or twice more this weekend, but summer makes the boat launch a little too insane!


So how else did we beat the heat?

#1 - The Kiddie Pool
Jake is at the age where a kiddie pool is good fun. Jumping splashing and playing with toys. Jake wanting me to play with him was a great excuse to jump in there and cool off.


#2 - The Sprinkler
Watering the lawn was only a thinly veiled excuse. All three of us took turns running through. I am sure we looked like sopping wet dorks to the neighbours perched upon their decks, but at least we felt cool.

#3 - Air Conditioning
When we built our house here in Sylvan, it was the one thing that we insisted on getting. Not many houses have it around here, but we did. You see, when we planned this house, I was pregnant and was always overheated. Second and more importantly, when both Trevor and I moved out of our parent's houses, they promptly turned around and installed air conditioning. Could either of them got it when we lived there? God only knows that we fried every summer. So, somehow, after that, it became some twisted way to get back at them. You want to do that? Fine, we'll just get one too!

Thank goodness for weird family psychology.

This weekend was definitely not without scrapping. First on the agenda was finishing up an assignment for Canadian Scrapbooker Magazine . Can't quite tell you what because it is a shot and not quite a fer' sure thing. Just cross your fingers for me and I'll definitely be able to spill it in the fall.

And I am sure that you are asking, can I be anymore vague? I suppose I can't, LOL!

But I did make a page to share with everyone. Over my holidays, I started this page and put it away to be finished later. Sunday was such a lazy day that I pulled it back out and finished it up. I am absolutely loving the funky wild trendy graphics used in advertising. I was inspired by the graphics found in mens beachwear this season. Enjoy!

Materials list:

Photo Editing software: Adobe CS2
Digital Paper: Shabby Blues by Michelle Coleman (www.littledreamerdesigns.com), Color My World by Rhonna Farrar (www.twopeasinabucket.com)
File Tab: Spa Holiday by Correen Silke (www.computerscrapbook.com)
Journal Spot: Cinnamon by Jenn Reed (www.computerscrapbook.com)
Swirl Frame: Festival by Shabby Princess Designs (www.shabbyprincess.com)
Paper Tear: by Traci Sims (www.your-digital-dream.com)
Messy Stitching: by Vendula Sediva aka Natali (www.scrapwithnatali.blogspot.com)
Brushes: Worn and Tasty Tattoo by Jason Gaylor (www.designfruit.com) Swirly Flourishes by Hawksmont (www.brusheezy.com), label brushes by synthexstock (www.brusheezy.com)
Fonts: Rockwell and Arial (MS Word), Metacopy, Downcome, Middle Saxony Text (www.dafont.com)

Mosquitos, fish and a wedding thrown in for good measure........

I am finally sleeping in my own bed. We hauled in last night and boy it felt great to curl up in familiar settings. Don't get me wrong, I love vacations, but it just feels good to know routine once again.

None the less, I had a great time. I spent two weeks with my boys our family members and friends. I could however do without the 13 hour + drive towing a fifth wheel camper!

It was quite the action packed agenda. We had a few stops along the way. First, Regina. Can't go back to Saskatchewan with a child and not visit both sets of grandparents! Just a couple of days relaxing and catching up with everyone.

Next stop, Wordsworth. The farm. A place to gather all of Trevor's family for the trek up to Yorkton for a wedding. Congratulations to Terris and Sandi! May you have many years of happiness. Thank you for letting us share in your day.

It was a great time. And, it was nice to see Trevor so excited to see many of his childhood friends that you never seem to get a chance to see when you visit home but never have enough of a chance.

I did have a bit of a chuckle at Jake though. This was his first wedding experience and we got him all pumped up for the big party. The one thing he knew he was ready for was the chance to dance his little heart out, because honestly, he's like a dancing machine! So, time to hit the dance floor. Jake skips all the way there and is thrilled to see other kids to play with. So he hops on the floor and joins them. Well, no sooner had he joind the kids, and he is gently but promptly escorted off the floor by the cute little flower girl! Poor Jake, it broke his little heart. All he wanted was to shake a leg and he got shuffled off. Tears spilled. Poor kid finally got his chance to dance and he did. And he was quickly tuckered out.

The next morning all the family packed up and began in the convoy yet again. Off to the fun part, camping and fishing! The weather was gorgeous - hot and sunny. And yes, I know, it is not supposed to be good for you but I can't help but admire my new golden tan from hanging out fishing on the lake.
The fish didn't bite all that much, they were mostly yearlings and not keepers, but I did manage to snag a 6 pound walleye from the lake, yet again outfishing my husband! He's learned to accept that he has stiff fishing competition every fishing trip we take and is now the runnign joke that he can only outfish me when I am not around! hee hee

The week sure went fast though, and now we are home and back to the old ho hums of the everyday schedule......laundry, work, cleaning......sigh.

However, while I was gone I still managed to stay busy with a small amount of scrapping. I snuck in one more page to Scrapbook.com Bigi Digi contest and played with photoshop. It was a great way to kill the time during the driving.

Lastly, I wanna give a shout out to http://www.scrapbooking.com/. A while back they asked me to write an article about why I scrapbook. What an exciting honor! Thank you very much to Stacy Smith. You can check it out right here.

And that is me in a nutshell. Later folks!