Well, there are times that blog trains don't really get to take off from the station, but I think you'll like this trio even with so few stops. ;) The incomparable Jacquie, the awesomest Linda, & lil ole Mawkinberd have put together a mini Valentine's Day treat for you!
You can pick up my bit here:
Wanna get the other parts? Be sure to visit the other ladies! Their links are above. Also, don't miss out on visiting The Digi Scrappers forum for great freebies, great ladies, and great fun! Happy Valentine's Day, mes amis!
Gosh, I didn't think I'd be done with Joe's Second Year album so quickly, but I am! And I even made a video of the results (that some of you have seen already, so bear with me for the repetition). Daddy loved it especially. ;)
I had to leave out a few pics to be able to fit the timing on the music, but I think it turned out cute anyway. And I was still surprised to see how much difference there was between my scrapping at the beginning of the book and scrapping at the end. I guess that means I'm improving! :P Thank goodness. lol
And in all that, I've started Joe's Third Year Album. Woah! My plan is to catch up with the Third Year album, and while I keep up with it, I can play with my other projects, like my wedding album. I haven't given it any time lately, and I really want to finish that one up sometime soon. And now that I'm learning more about photo editing, I can start using pics other than the professional ones in this album. :)
As for the Third Year album, I've made several pages already, including these:
This one was a lot of fun. Joe was so good while we were ornament shopping! And he got a really big kick out of picking out his special ornament, the one with Mickey Mouse on it. Yeah, he's going through a Mickey phase right now. :P
It's so rare that I get a sad or mad picture of Joe. For one thing, he's a ham. For another, he never seems to stay sad or mad long (unless he's sick, and then I'm not a camera hog). So I thought it was fun to see him in this one. It's a lot like another layout I did of him, but I just love the sunny colors with that sad face. Makes me smile. :)
Daniel worked so hard on getting this extra special present ready for Joe, I couldn't help be feel like this deserved its own layout. We were together until around 11 pm on Christmas Eve wrapping gifts, but he was the one who stuck it out until the wee hours of the morning. We really thought it was more put together than that! Daddy's rock. :P
Of course, we didn't just stay home on Christmas Day... the grandparents would have been upset! We went to Daniel's dad's house first, since he always wants the morning. Joe had a wonderful time! Great company, fun food, and wonderful gifts. A great time for all.
And, last but not least, I had to go back to pick up this event at Granny's house. She has a Christmas party annually where everyone who's ever been a part of it is invited. This was Joe's second time to attend the party (and Daniel's first). He had even more fun this year than he did last year. It was almost impossible to get him to sit still for a photo, but I got plenty of sweet photos of the other kids. :) The pics were really overexposed, so I'm kind of proud of all the work I put in to process the pics so they would look nice.
As always, I have all my designer info on these in my Flickr album, so be sure to visit it and see where all the talent came from. ;)
I'm still going strong in the Journal in Weight Loss journaling class. This last prompt was pretty tough, but I think I finally slugged it out. I'm looking forward to seeing what the other ladies have to say. And I really need to make another layout for all this! I'll bet I could do something about my new goals...
Until next time, j'éspere que vous êtes très heureux et sûr, mes amis!
So, I have several pics to show you. Yes, all at once. Believe it or not, I've had a layout spurt. Yes, I've been procrastinating about some other things, namely my prompt on our board. But yeah, I finished my book! This first one, I went for a retro look because the pictures were pretty overexposed. Plus, I always think old timey when I hear a calliope. :)
This one is just another example of why I like Fa Maura. Perfect kit for going to the park layouts! Aren't the colors sweet? Besides the pictures, I like the little squirrel the best. :D
You know, this one is one of my favs in the whole album, and I'm not sure why. I usually hate this palette for a kit, and I love it here. And Joe is so cute! Maybe that's why. :D
We had a fantastic time on Joe's birthday. I'm glad I got so many pictures of him having fun! It worked out perfectly.
And the final page for the whole shebang... I was surprised I found so many fantastic face shots of Joe that I didn't use in any other layouts. It worked out so well. :) But how can you go wrong with such a wonderful little face? He just makes it happen!
Of course, if you want to know more about whose works I used here, please click the pics to see my Flickr page... all my designer info is there! And keep your eyes open here... I'll be making this into a video soon, if I can make my choices a little better this time. lol Until then, take care, my friends.
I'm not much of an activist. Heck, I'm just not very active, period. lol But I have a cyber friend who is. Her nest of monsters is a groovin' place to be, and she always keeps her eyes open for injustices and people needing help. So if you're like me and want to know more about what's going on in the world of special needs, you should visit her anyway. And if you want to know more about Deeds and his amazing family, please visit today. He's an amazing little boy! And if we can, as a caring world, help him get the autism dog he needs, it will be worth every bit of effort.
I am toodling along in the scrapping. I guess it's because I can see the light at the end of the tunnel on this task. I'm almost done with this book! :D And because I know dh, aka Football Fiend Daddy, will love this, here is another pic to share with you all.
I'll have you know, I thought I was done with this layout yesterday evening. Then I showed it to dh, aka Football Fiend Daddy, and he said that he was disappointed that I didn't include that cute pic of Joe "helping" the cheerleader. After all, cheerleaders are a part of football, too. (As if I were arguing that.) And he thought it should be there. Yeah, right about... there. (giggle) Since this is the first time he's taken an interest in editing any of my layouts, how could I refuse? So in she goes. Hope she doesn't mind. :P
The Journey in Weight Loss is going along quite well. I've had some setbacks with an infection that is making me *not* lose weight right now, but I am not discouraged. Check with me later on that one. lol For now, though, I'm just glad that I'm making so many positive changes in my life. Oh, and I've even stopped a couple of times just to say wow to myself. That's pretty amazing in itself. Dh also says that these last two days have been more high energy and feel good for me than he remembers in a long time. That is definitely telling. :)
I finally finished the cover for Joe's second year album. It was probably the most intricate layout I've ever made, and it certainly took longer than any other layout I've ever done. It was actually more like two big layouts in one. But it was worth the work. I'm so thrilled with it! And I'll definitely have to do something similar another time. I think the best part was picking out the particular magazine I wanted to make. It wasn't easy! There are many more cute kids magazines around today than I ever remember seeing when I was younger. I'll have to remember to maybe ask for this one for a gift for Joe next year; it's really more for the 3-5 year old crowd. ;)
There's really only about 3 or 4 layouts I want to add towards the end, and after that, the album will be complete. :) And since that is the case, I'll be looking around again for options for making this into a movie. It might fall through again; the hard part wasn't the programming but the right music. lol But regardless, I know that I will be prepared for the family reunion this year with just the right thing to give folks.
You know, sometimes I have to remind myself that the word "inspiration" has a technical meaning of breathing in. If I am around things that are inspiring, they tend to take my breath away and make me want to take them into myself and create. So if I put myself where they are, I will inevitably begin that joyful process.
One of the cool things that I found recently (thanks to my awesome friend Linda!) is the digi designer Fa Maura. If you are afraid to use designers who are not native English speakers, you're going to have to let loose of that worry for a bit and check her out. Her store is in English, and she has both page kits and designer resources. And when I say I love her designs, let me tell you, I REALLY love them. I got several items at her store, and you know I don't just go and get myself digi items. I haven't gotten so much stuff since I won a coupon to Studio Ztampf! a few months ago. :D
As per usual, I have all my credits on my Flickr page, but I want to say how much I enjoy this mix of realistic, drawn, and scribbled items in this birthday kit. But even better than that is the color scheme. I normally enjoy natural colors for my normal layouts, but I really wanted some more bright and colorful ones for my special pages with Joe. Fa Maura really does it, and beautifully.
Ok, I'm really not on her CT, honest! lol I've done several more pages lately, but I have not loaded them onto Flickr because I've mainly been putting them in my gallery at The Digi Scrappers. A lot of them have to do with the Journey in Weight Loss group I am taking part in. It is really going so well. I am so excited with the progress we have all been making. I'm being a bit premature, but I think that this is going to the be time I really start turning around my health. I am having such a good time facing what I need to face, and I'm getting so much accomplished on the inside, it seems obvious that the outside will continue to follow. I'll keep you all updated on how it goes. In the meantime, if you want to join, please do! We have a nice, tight-knit group that is very supportive and loving, and we would enjoy helping you along, as well!
Alright, time to move back into work mode. I need to get some more recipes downloaded for my healthier meal plans. :) Until next time, here's to hoping you are all making your new year's ambitions into realities. Je vous aime, mes chers!
