Check out these classes!

Chances are if you are reading my blog, you either scrapbook or you are a friend/family member who knows that I love to scrapbook and dabble in photography!  I also love to learn and reteach, in my own words, the valuable information I have acquired.  I have a site I want to share with you that ROCKS!  The classes are free as long as you watch them live.  Depending on your timezone and the time of the class, this could be fabulous or really bite!  The site is called CreativeLIVE.  They have classes on Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, Photography, Web Design, and they just did a class on pumpkin carving! Check out THIS 3 hour class that will talk about creating gifts for Christmas using your photography.  Or THIS 3 DAY class on Children's Portrait Photography, or THIS class on Photoshop Elements!

Do you have a favorite site or two where you have gained valuable knowledge about scrapbooking or photography?  Please share in the comments section!

Have a fabulous weekend, and thanks for stopping by!

Make sure and stop by next week as I have a handful of FREE items to give away!  These freebies will appeal to paper scrappers, digi scrappers, and Shutterfly fans!  You won't want to miss this!

New products out at Mscraps and Free Digital Scrapbooking Items!

Mscraps is SO generous!  Look at this kit that is FREEEEEEEE!!!! (link under photo):

Link HERE

Mscraps has some new items out and they are on sale too!  Check these out:

Find HERE

Find HERE

Find HERE

Like Mother Like Daughter!

Morgan is taking her very own Digital Scrapbooking Class at Jessica Sprague's site called MyAwesome Life.  She LOVES this class!  She is learning keystrokes and Photoshop terms, along with making a book about herself!  To help her in her scrapbooking journey, this self-paced class provides her with a digital scrapbooking kit, templates, quickpages and instructional videos.  Here is one of the first pages she has completed:

She even cleaned her room so that she could complete this page! Woohoo!  I am very proud of her, but I think she is going to start interrupting my computer time!  :)

Template Tuesday - Free Digital Scrapbooking Template & Design Tips!

Happy Tuesday!  Thanks for stopping by!  Here is a peek at today's free digital template:

 Click HERE for link for free template (link expires in one week)
 Here is how I used the template:

I used United Kingdom by Honey Designs at Mscraps

So let's talk for a minute as to why this design works.
1. Visual Triangle: (the small splashes of red) Placing items on my scrapbook page in a triangle allows the viewer's eyes to see the page as a whole rather than being distracted by one or two pieces on the page.  A  visual triangle can be created on a scrapbook layout using photos, embellishments, or event text such as your title, date, and journaling.
2.  White Space:   White space is the areas of a layout that is has no text or graphics.  It gives the viewer's eye a chance to rest.
3.  Symmetry:  If I were to cut this page in half, I would have the same weight on the right as the left, and the same thing on the bottom as I do the top.  While symmetrical pages are predictable, they are also very solid and comfortable
4.  Repetition:  I repeated the colors black, white, gray, and red using a variety of patterned paper and elements with various textures.  I have also repeated the squares from the brick work in the photo.  Repetition creates visual consistency in page designs.  Be careful not to overuse repetition as it can get boring quickly!
5.  Unity:  Unity creates a feeling of wholeness.  The photo and papers are spatially connected to each other because of their proximity.  This placements gives a unified look to the layout.

To read more about design principles go HERE.

If you are new to digi scrapping, you are going to need some software to get started.  Go to www.adobe.com and download the FREE 30-day trail version of Photoshop Elements.  (For a direct link, click HERE )  There are instructions all over the web as to how to get started in digital scrapbooking.  You can click HERE for instructions too.  Click HERE to for instructions on how to use a template.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great week!

POTD (Photo of the Day)

I have to admit that doing the POTD project is a pain at times.  More than I once I have had to do some catching up on this project because life got in the way! Regardless of the mild burden POTD occasionally brings to my life, I am thankful I am doing it!  Here is last week's page:

I also work on the front cover every month.  I like to be able to have the whole book ready to print by January 1!  Here is what my front cover looks like so far.  I highlight a memory from each month with my favorite photo (there's one photo on here that I didn't take - Thanks, Mike T.!):

What is holding you back from doing a Photo of the Day project?
Thanks for stopping by!  Remember that tomorrow is Free Template Tuesday!

Blessings

There are times when I like to sit back to watch and listen to my surroundings.  My house is always full of kid noise.  Fighting, laughing, singing, and whining are all common sounds found in my house on a daily basis.  Today I rediscovered just how great my kiddos are.  Nothing earth shattering happened.  I just remembered that I have a lot to be thankful for, including fabulous kids! 

Brie is unlocking the key to reading.  I watch in amazement as she uses her knowledge to decode the written word:

Morgan recently enrolled in a scrapbooking class.  Her first assignment was to to gather various photos of items important to her in her life.  I handed her my camera, with the proper settings in place, and encouraged her to fill the camera's frame with her subject and to look at her subjects from different angles.  This is one of her shots she took all by herself:

I overheard Tucker talking to Troy, a fabulous (adult) neighbor.  Tucker and Troy were talking college football stats like grown adults who think they can out-coach or out-ref the individuals they are watching on TV!  I was amazed at how much Tucker knew about so many teams.  I was tickled that he was holding an intelligent conversation with an adult too!

I am thankful for the blessing in my life.  I need to spend more time appreciating the gifts I have been given.  What blessings are in your life that you are currently taking for granted?
Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by!

Template Tuesday - Free Digital Scrapbooking Template!

Happy Tuesday to you all and thanks for stopping by!  It's beginning to feel like fall in these flatlands that I call home.  I love fall colors! I love sleeping with the windows open to feel the cool breeze while snuggling under warm blankets!  I am excited to open up the fall Scentsy aromas to fill the house with yummy fall scents!

As promised yesterday, today's template is my 2010 Photo of the Day (POTD) template. A special thanks goes to Laura V and Miranda for asking for it!  :)  I LOVE this template because I can easily change it up to fit my photos and journaling, and I can use new papers/colors without creating a new design.  Keeping things simple is the key to my success in my POTD project.  Here are a few examples of this template:

I use Log Your Memory found HERE as a tool for photo/journling ideas

You can read the journaling by clicking on the photo. I found a typo & fixed the original!

There are times when I wanted to highlight a day or event with more than one photo.  This is how I documented those times:

Journaling box by Ali Edwards. Go HERE to buy

As seen in the OCT 2010 of Creating Keepsakes magazine. Copyright Creative Crafts Group. Posted with prior permission from the publisher.  To get a subscription to Creating Keepsakes Magazine go HERE

There are elements to the 2010 POTD template that I had to take out since I bought them, but I will list them out so you can grab them from the designers should you want.
HERE (link expired) is the template for this week:

Stitching Holes by Katie Pertiet found HERE
Square background by Kellie Mize (this gal has AWESOME templates!) found HERE
White Stitching around photos by Anna Aspnes found HERE

Katrina Kennedy has a great tutorial available that is full of photo ideas, resources, and encouragement that is a huge help with POTD (click HERE for link):

Katrina also has fabulous, easy to follow photography tutorials that I have used to improve my photography!  Go HERE for her photography tutorials.

If you are new to digi scrapping, you are going to need some software to get started.  Go to www.adobe.com and download the FREE 30-day trail version of Photoshop Elements.  (For a direct link, click HERE )  There are instructions all over the web as to how to get started in digital scrapbooking.  You can click HERE for instructions.  Click HERE to for instructions on how to use a template.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Celebrations & scrapbooking classes!

Lately I have been horrible at remembering to wish loved ones Happy Birthday or Happy Anniversary! Yesterday was my brother and SIL's anniversary.  They have been married for one blissful year now!!  Happy Anniversary Erik & Erin!  Their wedding was BEAUTIFUL!  Their fall colors were stunning!

My Family :)

Today is my sister's birthday. Happy Birthday, Amanda! I was in 5th grade when she was born.  I remember the day vividly.  Dad pulled me out of science class (we were coloring the human heart) to tell me that she was born.  I came back into class and HAD to tell one of my best friends that she was born.  I got into trouble for talking in class!  Here's a pic of Amanda and me:

On another note, Morgan has signed up for a Tween scrapbooking class at Jessica Sprague (click for link)!  She is so excited!  Her first assignment is to gather her photos for her photobook that is about herself.  I overheard her talking to her friend about her scrapbooking HOMEWORK!  I just giggled.  Here is a picture of her learning to use my camera.  I was encouraging her to get down on the floor to photograph her cat.

 Have a great Monday and thanks for stopping by!  Come by tomorrow for a free template!  I am giving my 2010 Photo of the Day (POTD ) template away for free!  See you tomorrow!

New products out and Free Digital Scrapbooking items!

The designers at Mscraps just released a ton of new products!  I made this layout of Brie (photo taken when she was 1.5 yrs old):

 Using this kit:

Click HERE for kit

Here is a shot of Tucker from when he was little:

Using this kit:

Click HERE for kit

Cinzia Designs is offering this for free:

Click HERE for freebie

And Ruth Melody is offering this for free:

Click HERE for freebie

There are THREE more pages of freebies at this shop too!!  Check them out HERE!
What a fabulous day to do a little online shopping!
Have a great Thursday and thank for stopping by!

Template Tuesday - Free Digital Scrapbooking Template!

Happy Tuesday!
As promised yesterday, today's free template is my 2009 POTD (photo of the day) template.  I love this template.  It kept my 2009 POTD looking uniform, but it could be flipped around to provide variety.  I love that I captured the everyday moments along with major events like holidays and birthdays.  This template made the POTD project much more manageable because I didn't have to come up with a new design each week.  To mix things up a bit, I changed out the papers, flipped the template and re-sized the photo boxes on a regular basis.  The individual squares can be re-sized so any photo can fit and any amount of journaling can be written.  If you are thinking of doing a 365 POTD book or even a Daily December page, this might be the template you are looking for!  Here is a page from my 2009 POTD book:

 Here is the complete book:

Click here to view this photo book.

HERE is the link (expires Jan 3, 2011) to the free template:

If you are new to digi scrapping, you are going to need some software to get started.  Go to www.adobe.com and download the FREE 30-day trail version of Photoshop Elements.  (For a direct link, click HERE )  There are instructions all over the web as to how to get started in digital scrapbooking.  You can click HERE for instructions.  Click HERE to for instructions on how to use a template.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Happy Monday!

I hope you had a great weekend!  I had a blast hanging out with an old friend from Nebraska.  We used to teach together in a rural country school.  We had 20 kids that ranged from 1st-8th grade.  The school was surrounded by corn fields and the kids were fabulous!  What a challenge it was writing the language arts lesson plans for so many grades!  Good memories!

Speaking of memories, I spent yesterday afternoon on my 365 POTD (photo of the day) book.  I love doing this project!  I looked through my 2009 POTD book and just smiled.  It's so awesome having the small memories of life captured forever!  Here is a page I worked on yesterday for my 2010 POTD book:

Come back tomorrow for Free Template Tuesday.  I will be giving you last year's 365 POTD template for free!

Friendship and Creating Keepsakes winner!

I LOVE Fridays!  I love that there is nothing that I have to do tomorrow except visit with an old friend!   I am super excited to see my friend Angie and her family!  They decided to take a last minute road trip to Kansas  for the weekend.  The last time I saw Angie was 3 years ago!  Yikes!  They came down to Texas in 2007 for a visit during cotton harvest.  Here are a few pictures:

Close up of cotton

Rows of cotton

Cotton picker

This photo was taken before I understood how to take direct sunlight photos! :)

Covering the bail of cotton

These bails get picked up by trucks and taken to the cotton gin to get cleaned:

A machine inside the cotton gin

The clean cotton is pressed into a bail & hauled off to make jeans & other goods!

That's probably more than what you wanted to know about cotton!  :)


So how about we pick a winner for this book:

Go HERE to look at the book

With projects like this inside:

Drum roll please!



Oh wait!  If you don't win, you can still use this code to get free shipping of orders over $25:  FS101B (expires 12/31/10) There are some awesome items HERE to add to your shopping cart too!


The Random Number Generator picked:

CANAY!  Woohoo!  Congratualtions, Canay!  I will leave a message on your blog or you can email me at babyroo7@yahoodotcom.

A HUGE thank you to all of you that posted a comment and linked my blog to your Facebook accounts and blogs.  An extra huge thank you goes out to my SIL, Erin who linked it to her FB account, blog, and Jessica Sprague message board!

Thanks!  Have a great weekend!

Helping Hand

Mary, a fellow team member at www.mscraps.com recently lost her 17 year old daughter, Charlie.  Last week, Charlie suffered a seizure and went into cardiac arrest.

Some of the best {digital scrapbooking} designers have come together to create a collaboration to help our dear friend Mary cover the cost of her daughter's hospital bills and funeral.  Please take a moment to read Mary's full story HERE.  Here is a peek at the kit you can buy for $10 to support the family:

Click HERE for a link to buy this kit.

The team at mscraps put together a quick page kit using The Helping Hand kit:

This is available HERE.

This is the quick page I created that is for sale in the above kit:

Thank you.

Template Tuesday - Free Digital Scrapbooking Template!

Happy Tuesday!  I hope your week is going well!
PLEASE go to THIS BLOG ENTRY for a chance to win this book from Creating Keepsakes.  You have until Friday, October 8, 2010 to enter.  International folks are welcome to enter too!

...................................................................................................................................................................

UPDATE!!!  I had to take this layout down as it is getting published in a magazine!

If you are new to digi scrapping, you are going to need some software to get started.  Go to www.adobe.com and download the FREE 30-day trail version of Photoshop Elements.  (For a direct link, click HERE )  There are instructions all over the web as to how to get started in digital scrapbooking.  You can click HERE for instructions.  Click HERE to for instructions on how to use a template.

As mentioned in LAST WEEK'S POST, this layout also has a visual triangle and white space:

This layout also has a few more design principles including symmetry, repetition, and unity.

Symmetry: If I were to cut this page in half, I would have the same thing on the right as I do the left, and the same thing on the bottom as I do the top.  While symmetrical pages are predictable, they are also very solid and comfortable.
Repetition: I repeated the colors blue, gray, yellow/orange using a variety of patterned paper and elements with various textures.  I have also repeated the rectangles from the door in the photo.  Repetition creates visual consistency in page designs.  Be careful not to overuse repetition as it can get boring quickly!
Unity:  Unity creates a feeling of wholeness.  The photo and papers are spatially connected to each other because of their proximity.  This placements gives a unified look to the layout.

To read more about design principles go HERE.

Have a great day and make sure and enter for the free Creating Keepsakes book!
Come by next Tuesday for another free template!

Win a free book!!

Happy Monday!
Creating Keepsakes has a new book out called 101+ Creative Ways to Use Your Scrapbook Supplies!  It's a handy and informative book for paper and digi scrappers alike!  It is also a great reference for craft and card making ideas!

Go HERE to view/read more

Want a sneak peak at what is inside?  Click HERE for a peek inside of the book!

Creating Keepsakes is so generous that they are giving away free copies of this fabulous book!  Want a chance to win this book?!  Leave a comment in the comment section of this blog post for a chance to win this book. (make sure and leave your first name at least!)  Want to increase your chances of winning?  Link this blog post to your Facebook page and/or blog and then come back and leave another comment in this blog post linking me up to your blog or Facebook page.  That is three simple ways to be entered!  I will randomly select one winner on Friday, October 8, 2010 at 4PM Central Time!  International folks are welcome to enter too!  But wait, there is more!  Come back to my blog every day this week for more chances to win!

Have a blessed Monday and good luck!  See you tomorrow for Free Template Tuesday and some design tips, along with more chances to win this fabulous book!

Family Farming

Yesterday we hung out with family for most of the day.  While some people would consider this torture, I love it!  I didn't get to grow up near family so I consider days like this to be a real treasure!  We watched Kyler play football:

We did a little shopping.  Then headed out to take supper to the field.  Most of my family are farmers, and I am proud of that.  I love to think that my family helps to feed the world.  They were done cutting corn and had moved on to the fields of milo.  What's milo, you ask?  Milo is a grain sorghum grown to feed livestock animals.  Some parts of the world use it for human consumption too.  It's harvested with a combine & stored in grain elevators.

Uncut Milo

Milo stalks after they are cut

My Uncle Rusty took 5 kids to the elevator in his semi.  He deserves an award for that!

Thanks for stopping by!