Quick Update

AngelCakes other grandmother, Mimi, came to relieve me for a couple of days so I got to come home last night.  Brooke did very well with her surgery and recovery is going well, too.  She is still in pain, but the doctor said that is to be expected because a nerve can't heal itself that quickly.  She is still taking pain meds and is not allowed to pickup anything that weighs over 10 - 12 pounds.  (AngelCakes weighs 16 1/2 pounds.) 

Until last night, I have been with her since the surgery.  I know why women my age should not have babies - we are too old and tired to keep up!!! :)  AngelCakes is almost crawling.  She is "scooching" and can get around; of course she heads straight for any electrical cord she sees.  I will be stopping by Babies R Us to get a buggy full of child-proofing supplies. 

I'm headed back to her house tomorrow and will probably be there all week.  Until then - I'll be trying to clean my own house where my 4-legged children have tromped in all kinds of fun stuff!

Hope to get back to crafting in a few more weeks.  I'm trying to look at blogs whenever possible although intrnet connection at her house is not good.  She really does live in the middle of nowhere! 

At 79

This is a layout I did of my Mom, aka Maw Maw, holding AngelCakes' little foot when she was just over two months old.  This picture really speaks to me because you can see the 79 years in my Mom's hands, and you can see the newness of it all in AngelCakes' foot.  It is a very sweet picture to me.

I used black paper as the background and then about 1/3 piece of black and pink patterned paper for the bottom.  I used a beige lace trim and a black trim, both from Joann's.  The embellishment beside the picture is a flower design cut from Cricut and then a Teresa Collins Blingage clock on top of it.

This may be my last post for a few weeks.  I'm headed out of town for a few days on business and when I return my daughter will be having back surgery to repair one herniated disc and one bulging disc.  I'm planing to totally devote my time and energy to taking care of her and AngelCakes.  So I'll catch up in a few!

Purple "Bug" Head

A HUGE thanks to Michelle at Scrappin With My Bug!   I won a hand-made Bug Head from her blog.  We were even able to choose a size and the color - how cool is that!  Naturally I chose purple.  I told her that I would be putting it on my "baby bug", which is now known as my "Grandbaby Bug" because I'm going to hold onto it until AngelCakes is old enough to start crafting with me, then it will become her Bug. 

Isn't it just adorable??? :)

My Big Purchase from Expo

So yesterday I posted about my purchases at Scrapbook Expo; however I didn't show my biggest purchase.  I've been looking on-line at the new ArtBin Cricut Storage system.  I almost ordered several a few weeks ago, but found out that they would be available at Expo so I decided to wait.  I love these boxes.
Each box neatly holds 16 cartridges and 16 books and overlays.  I especially like them because they are low profile and take up very little space on the shelf.  They had a deal if you purchased five, you got a sixth for free. 

I came home and enjoyed getting my cartridges, books, and overlays all organized.  Well........at least part of them.  I knew I wasn't buying enough but decided to wait on purchasing more until I took them for a test drive.  Now I'm wishing I had purchased another set on this deal because I could use four more boxes.

Below is a picture of one box, opened.  I like the way the cartridges lay neatly in their little slot.

Below is a picture of the six boxes on my shelf.  I think you are probably supposed to store them one on top of the other, but then you would always have to be taking all of the boxes out to get to the bottom box.  I'll eventually label the boxes - with something that can be changed as new cartridges are added to the collection.

We Went; We Saw; We SHOPPED!!!

Today Susan and I went to Scrapbook Expo.  We had such a good time!  Some years we tend to see the same stuff that has been there forever, but there were some neat new products this year.  And some of the vendors had some good deals to offer.  Above is a picture of my haul with the exception of one item (which I'll post tomorrow).  I got a really pretty page kit, two sets of stamps, three big flower headbands for AngelCakes, a Stickles container, a punch,  three spools of ribbon, a dabber container (I like containers!), three new Sew Easy heads, and some embossing paste.  I went with a set budget in mind and with the exception of the item I'm going to post tomorrow, I came in under budget. (I'm not counting my big item against my budget because I was going to order it on-line anyway, but I got a deal on it at Expo.  Don't you like the way I justified this purchase? :).  

I like all of my new items and think I will get use from them.    My favorite vendor is Dan the Cicut Man - he is just so darn cute!!!

Oh.....after the Expo we HAD to go to Archivers because they were at Expo handing out 30% off coupons.  So I purchased a bottle of Tim Holtz stain there!  

What a FUN day!!!!

Shots

I went with AngelCakes and her Mommy to her 2-month well baby visit.  Of course she had to get shots at this visit.  It was very sweet to watch Brooke comfort her baby. 

July 4 Fun

We did part of our celebration on the 3rd.  AngelCakes came and spent the night with us so we got in our "pool" for a while.  We had so much fun having her; I just love each and every single minute that I get with her.

Then today we had our annual "Boxer Popsicle" treat day.  I don't know why we do this; we just do.  We started a few years ago when we had our precious Boxer, Jake.  He enjoyed those Popsicles better than any human. But they made his tummy upset so we only gave him one on this special day.  We still miss our Jakers.  But Carson and Miss Baylee enjoy them to.  Carson is such a clown and Baylee is just .... well  ...just getting old so not too much excites her these days, but she did enjoy her orange Popsicle.

And finally, I did this "Photo Op" layout.  I used the CM Traveler Cricut cartridge for the camera and title.  All very simple, which is totally in line with my scrapbooking style - slash and dash!

Little Jumper

This weekend I had the time to make a little criss-cross strap jumper for AngelCakes.  I am showing the back view because I like the way the straps criss-cross and I also like that you can see the polka dot contrast lining.  It was relatively simple to make.  One of my biggest sewing nemesis is the button hole.  I have never been able to make them the correct size.  Well, this past Spring I purchased a new Singer sewing machine and the button hole attachment makes it so easy it is ridiculous!  (It also helps if you read the instructions :-).  All you do is put on the button hole attachment, lay the button in the handy dandy slot on the attachment and the machine then knows how large to make the hole.  Who knew???!!!!!  

I haven't tried the jumper on her yet, but I'm thinking it is going to be too big right now.  The pattern is for "infant" and one size fits all.  Hmmmmmm - not too sure about that!  But at least we still have probably three months of hot weather, so she will probably grow into it before the Fall gets here. 

I haven't been sewing too much over the past several years, but with this new machine I hope to get back into it.  I found Simplicity patterns at Hobby Lobby last week for 99 cents each.  These patterns are normally $15 - $17 each (which is crazy).  I bought a pattern for tote bags and one for a shopping cart seat cover (the thing you put in the child seat part of the cart).  I wanted to finish the jumper before purchasing fabric for these projects.  Now I can go get my fabric!!!!

Road Trip

I dd this layout last night.  It is entitled, "Road Trip".  It is AngelCakes' first well-baby visit to her pediatrician.  She was actually two months and a few days old at this point.  It was early March and still cold; hence the fleece hoodie. 
I used Bazzil and Core d'nations paper and a few misc. metal embellishments.  I did computer journaling as well.  The title is from the Baby Steps cartridge.   I cut out the phrase, then the phrase layer, and finally the phrase shadow.  I pen-stitched around the phrase layer letters. 
(Sorry about the glare on the photos - I just could NOT get a photo without glare.  I had the flash on, I had the flash off.  I was in different rooms, etc.  Just not meant to be I guess! :-). 

Celebrate

I completed this two-page layout this evening.  This is a picture of Brooke, Jay, and AngelCakes when we took them to dinner to celebrate Brooke's 30th birthday.  I used my new Teresa Collins Sophisticated cartridge for all of the embellisments and titles on this layout.  I'm really LOVING this cartridge.  There are some really pretty borders and I just love the frame font (used on the "30). 

A Long Weekend Ahead.....YAY!!!!

I'm so excited to have a 4-day weekend ahead.  It has been a long time since I've had one of these.

So what is everyone planning to do for your Holiday weekend?  Crafting?
I'm hoping to sew a little outfit for AngelCakes.  I purchased the material and cut it out a while back, but it requires elastic in the little diaper cover, and I've been putting it off because those precious chunky little legs just keep on growing!   But if I don't make it soon, she will outgrow it before I sew the first stitch.  I'll post a picture if I manage to finish it.

We are also going to have the kids over for a cookout on Sunday.  On Monday we will have our traditional
"Boxer Popsicle Fest" to celebrate the 4th.  Every year on the 4th, we give each of the Boxers a popsicle.  They love it; however sometimes the popsicles don't sit too well on their tummies.  So we only have this very special treat once each year. 

Other than that, I'm hoping to sleep and work on my scrapbooks and just enjoy a 4-day weekend without having to think about work!  

Latest Cartridges

I had ordered the above two cartridges last week and they arrived yesterday.  I was so excited to get them.  I'm so loving Teresa Collins and I really like her two cartridges.  I also HAD to have the Love you a Latte cartridge.  For those of you that know me well.......well you know this cartridge had my name written all over it!   I can't wait to find a little time to play with these.  Also, I made a promise to myself that I won't purchase any more cartridges for a while (unless I just HAVE to!) :-)

Below is a new picture of AngelCakes.  You could call her "Sweet Potato Cakes" in this photo!  She is loving the Sweet Potato baby food. 

Sweet Features

This is a two-page layout I did last night entitled "Sweet Features".  I'm sort of the original slash-n-dash scrapbooker, meaning I don't spend a lot of time on most of my pages.  I just get the photos on, do a little embellishing, usually (but not always) journal, and call it a page.  On these pages I cut the word "Sweet" from the new Nine Months cartridge and the word "Features" from the new CM Traveler cartridge.  I used the Bazil Stitches template for the flowers and then stitched with Making Memories purple floss.  I added a little purple bling and that is it. 

Sugar and Spice

My project of the day (which I actually did last night) is entitled, "Sugar and Spice".  I cut the title using Cricut Rock Princess cartridge.  I had a piece of Core'dinations cardstock which was pink one one side and black on the other so I used the black side for the shadow and the pink for the phrase.  After cutting, I sanded the black shadow piece so just a smidge of the pink is coming through.  Then after I put the phrase on top of the shadow, I decorated with Stickles and a little color on the ends.  I used some black bling along the top and bottom of the page and three large pieces of pink bling on the black mat.  Yay - another page for the book!   Eventually I'll get caught up - maybe when I retire.  Regardless, it is FUN!!!!

Card for AngelCakes

AngelCakes will be six months old on Thursday.  I wanted to make a special card for my special girl.  In cleaning my craft room yesterday, I came across the little girl stamp by Unity.  I colored her with Crayola pencils and blended with Gamsol.  In my mind's eye, this is what AngleCakes might look like when she is about three years old.

I used the following supplies on this card

     Paper - scraps from Creative Memories and Archivers

     Little Girl Stamp - Unity

     Sentiment Stamp - Hero Arts

     Inking on edges - Stampin Up Lovely Lilac stamp spot

     Ribbon - from my stash

Time has certainly flown by and I cannot believe that she is already six-months-old.  There will be many changes in her over the next six months and I look forward to watching her grow and learn. 



7Gypsies Artist Printer's Tray

Today I stayed at home all day.  Miss Baylee did great with her surgery yesterday and I didn't want to go anywhere and leave her at home alone.  Well - she wouldn't actually be alone - Crazy Boy Carson, our white Boxer, would be here with her, but he can drive her crazy in a flat second.  Sooooooo I did a little house work and then some serious cleaning in my craft room.  I finally decided that I wanted to work on my 7Gypsies Tray.  I've had it for several months but could never decide how I wanted it to look.  I am very happy with the results.  I used several pictures of AngelCakes when she was a newborn and made sure to include pictures of her with me, Grampy, Uncle CritterBug, and her Mommy and Daddy.  I used the following supplies (all of which I had on hand, thank goodness!):
7 Gypsies Artist Tray
Watermelon Paint Dabber
Tim Holtz Metal Embellishments
Jenni Bowlin Bingo Card
Creative Memories Heart Punch
K & Company Butterflies
Clear Rock Candy Crackle Paint
Flower from Michaels
Scrap paper
Misc. fiber and ribbon
Once I landed on the photos, the rest was fairly easy.  The packaging for the tray gives the exact dimensions for the photos, so cutting was a breeze.  I attached almost everything with a wet adhesive except for the key which I attached with hot glue. 
Now I just have to figure out where I'm going to put it!!! :-)
BTW - the "thing" I am using as my display is FRED which stands for "For Real Easy Design".  It is a magnetic board that I use when designing layouts.  I purchased it from the website www.myscrappinbuddy.com.  I used one when I went to a crop in Texas (Rockin Reality -Melissa, are you familiar with this place?  It is about 2 hours south of Dallas).

If it's not one thing.....it' your Boxer

My goodness, that crazy dark cloud over my head won't seem to move right now!   It has just been the most unique year so far for me.  Of course, the most amazingly wonderful thing happened - AngelCakes.  But there has been a lot of not so great stuff going on as well.  Nothing horrible, just stuff that makes you NOT smile.    The latest is my Boxer, Miss Baylee.  She is getting really old - not sure of her age since she came to use as a rescue, but we are guessing nine or ten years old at least.  She has some "old lady disorders" such as incontinence and arthritis which we we have been dealing with.  I will say that the incontinence is getting really, really bad.  Then last week she came in and was tracking a little blood on her paw.  It looked like she had a little cut on the pad of her foot. So we have been soaking it in peroxide and keeping it bandaged for a week because every time we take the bandage off, it starts bleeding again.  It looked bad last night and really weird, so I decided to take her to the vet right after work today.  Unfortunately it isn't a cut; it is a tumor that is rupturing.  Boxers are very prone to tumors with many being cancerous.  She will undergo surgery tomorrow to remove it.  Hopefully it will be benign.  The vet is also going to run some more tests to see if there is a medical reason for the incontinence (we've already had many tests run) and if everything looks good, she will be placed on medication.  But, I love, love, LOVE my Miss Baylee.  She has been my good friend for many years now and we will do whatever we can for her.    Needless to say, I'm not getting much crafting done around here there days.  Like I said, if it's not one thing (or ten things), it's your Boxer!

Sew Easy

Today I went to Archivers (me and Susan took a little trip) and they were featuring the WeRMemory Keepers Sew Easy.  I actually had purchased the tool and three of the heads several months ago, but they had the cutest case for all of it today!  Anyway, I got the case and when I got home I organized my Sew Easy supplies and decided to use it on a layout.  This layout is of AngelCakes and her Grampy.  I used Cricut Rock Princess cartridge for the butterfly, Cricut Elegant Edges for the border, and then the Sew Easy scallop pattern for the needlework design.

Ditto Binder

My project for today (which I actually did last night) is the Ditto 8 1/2 x 11 binder.  I used the Teresa Collins Baby Boutique font to make the initial.  I already had the black and white ribbon on hand and I like the way it coordinates with the initial.  This was super easy - the whole thing took about 5 minutes.  The inside of the binder contains paper, calendar, post-it notes, etc.  It is a cool binder - sort of like the new Smash binders, which I also really like. 

Baby Boutique Cartridge

I had a little time this evening to play with my new cartridge.  So far I'm totally loving it.  I made two calendar pages.  If you are familiar with the Imagine you know that it can cut and print or print only.  Each cartridge, even the full art cartridges, have patterned paper on them.  The papers are print only.  The calendar page is considered a patterned paper; therefore it is print only.  On the first one, I actually decided to hand-cut around the scroll design.  I like the effect.  On the second, I am showing just exactly how the Imagine prints it.  Of course I like the hand-cut one best, but as they say, "the juice ain't worth the squeeze" on this.  It took a long time to cut. 

And just for fun, I'm throwin in a picture of AngelCakes.  We were in our hot tub, only we turned the heater way down so it feels like a nice warm swimming pool.  This is a great place for her to learn the joys of the water. 

New Cartridges

So last week I did a little on-line shopping.  I found a good deal on some Imagine cartridges.  I purchased Ancestry which is just colors and patterns.  I purchased Better Together which is a full art cartridge with some really cute graphics of things that "go together".  But my MOST favorite purchase is the Teresa Collins Baby Boutique cartridge.  We have been teased with this cartridge since April and I have been SO anxious for it to hit the market.  I haven't played with it yet because AngelCakes is visiting for a few days, but I plan to have some serious fun with this one.

The Importance of Scrapbooking (to me)

I've always appreciated the importance of memory keeping.  However, something kind of unusual happened recently that was a good reminder for me.  My sister-in-law Carol is a widow.  She is dating a man named Michael who is a widower.  Michael puts on science shows at schools, parties, etc.  So.....a few weeks ago they were at my husband's grandmother's house looking through a scrapbook that I had made for the grandmother.  In this book is a photo of my son (we call him CritterBug) at his 5th birthday party.   We had hired a magician named Mr. Fun for the party.  When Michael saw the pictures of Mr. Fun he was amazed.  Mr. Fun had been one of his best friends.  Unfortunately he had died just a few months after Michael lost his wife.  Michael was so touched by seeing a photo of his friend that he teared up and called the widow of Mr. Fun.  "Where is this going"?, you ask.  Well, Carol contacted me earlier this week to tell me the story and asked if I could possibly find any more photos of that party.  She said she knew it would be difficult since I probably have thousands of photos.  Five minutes later I let her know that I had two pages of additional photos from the party.  She was amazed that I was able to find them; but it was simple because they were right there in the scrapbooks I have of the CritterBug.  So keeping those photos organized and in books (if at all possible) is important for so many reasons.  And another bonus to this story......CritterBug turned 28 yesterday and we enjoyed looking through this volume of his childhood albums!

I've Been Googlefied!

I haven't been able to post to my blog or comment on other blogs for over a week now.  Not sure what happened with Google, but I guess I was just "googlefied". 
First, a BIG congratulations to TensGal on the birth of her granddaughter!   How wonderful.  First a grandson and now a granddaughter - it's perfect!

I've finally been back in my craft room this past week.  I've done seveal scapbook pages and made a card.  Hmmmmmm - wonder who this card is for? :) 
I did spend a lot of time doing "power layouts" of pages for an upcoming crop at Archivers.  I have about 30 pages ready to go and I'm looking forward to cropping the day away.  I'm on my third - yes THIRD album of AngelCakes and I'm still just in January - her first month of life.  I need to catch up!

What I've Been Up To Lately

Well, it's been even longer since my last post.  I did a quick business trip to Alaska May 10-13 and I was exhausted when I got home.  I left my house at 5:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning, flew to Seattle, WA for an afternoon meeting and then got up on Wednesday and flew to Anchorage.  It is the daylight season in Alaska now and it is light outside for about 20 hours per day.  I had back-to-back meetings all day on Thursday and then had to get up at 3:00 a.m. Friday morning to start the trip back home.  I got back to my house at about 9:30 p.m. Friday night.  This past week was spent getting ready for the baby shower that Christine and I hosted for Amanda.   I've been working on a few special projects for the shower.  I didn't want to share any photos beforehand, but now I can post a few photos of the items I made.  I made another diaper cake.  I just LOVE making these.  I think they are fun to make, they are practical for the mom-to-be, and they make a pretty center piece at the shower.  I also made favors.  I purchased the little tins from the wedding aisle at Michaels, filled with M & Ms, and made the little rosette to go on top using the Tim Holtz die.  The shower was fun and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.  And I can tell you that there is going to be a very well-dressed baby girl in town very soon!!! :) 

WAAAAAAY Off Topic

Well - The "Wal-Mart Man" has finally retired!   My husband had to have an implant in the very front of his mouth.  Because it was a front tooth, I made him get a "flipper" (which is a removable temporary), but unfortunately, he was AWFUL about actually wearing this flipper.  Everytime I turned around he was smiling with no tooth and it was just horrible!   And worst of all, he had a lisp without the flipper.  He tends to mumble anyway, so he mumbled with a lisp.  I dubbed him the "Wal-Mart Man" but even that didn't shame him into remembering the flipper.  So, finally, after over six months of prep work, his permanent implant is in place!!!   Buh-bye Wal-Mart Man!!! :-)

Time is Flying

Wow - time is flying.  I haven't posted in over a week and I've barely had time to read my friends' blogs.  As retirement gets closer, my energy level gets smaller.  I get up at 5:00 a.m., leave by 6:15 a.m. and walk back in my door at 5:00 p.m. (or later), feed the 4-legged children and start my evening routine.  I'm just pooped out!  

Anyway, my husband's 96-year-old grandma has decided to move from her house into an Independent Living Apartment.  As such, she has begun distributing some of her items.  One thing that she had always wanted my daughter to have is her good china.  It is Dresden Garland and it is just beautiful.  She purchased it at auction years ago.  She has 12 full place settings, a few odd pieces, and several serving pieces.  So on Sunday we went and carefully packed it and brought it to our house.  Brooke has no where to use it or to store it at this point in time so we are keeping it for her.  I asked her if she minded if I displayed it in my china cabinet and use it.  It is just far to pretty to store in a box!   Today at lunch I went to the Container Store and purchased china storage for my own china and put out the Dresden.  Of course this forced me to dust all of the  shelves in my china cabinet!  I still have stuff all over my dining room table, but the china is in the cabinet and it looks beautiful!

The Cutting Edge

First - Happy Easter!  I hope that everyone will spend today with family and/or friends.  I know that we will all have some cute pictures to post later today or tomorrow.  I can't wait to spend AngelCakes first Easter with her!

So my post today is about cutters.  Susan and I keep trying to find the "perfect" cutter.  It is really out there?  Here is my current collection.  My favorite is the new Fiskars cutter that GQ turned me on to.  My second favorite is my Creative Memories straight cutter.  I have the wavy cutter and the newest rotary cutter, but I'm not "in love" with those.   For me, the perfect cutter has to be light weight, have a good cutting groove that won't warp, very visible hash marks, and blades that last a long time.  The CM straight cutter is light weight and has a great cutting groove.  However, I had to mark the hash marks with a white pen in order to be able to see them and the blade doesn't last as long as I wish it did.  The new Fiskars has everything on my wish list....so far.  I haven't had a chance to judge the groove and blade, but am hopeful that they will make me proud! :)  I do like the CM wavy cutter for cutting decorative borders and strips. 

Do you have a favorite?

Stuck on You

Adhesives - wow, there are so many to choose from.  And just like other tools, certain adhesives are better than others for certain tasks.  The scotch liquid glue is my favorite for general purpose use.  I love my Scotch ATG for everyday scrapbooking  and card making.  The adhesive is pretty aggressive, which I like.  I LOVE my Creative Memories precision point pen for adhering small items such as letters.  And you CAN'T forget the pop dots - a crafting MUST!!!   But, as you can see, I have many different brands and types.  I use most of them.  Sometimes I will decide that a certain type just doesn't work for me in my crafting.  But rather than just toss it, I'll use it for other purposes such as gift wrapping. 

Do you have a favorite?

Do You Have a Favorite Designer?

I have ALWAYS loved Anna Griffin.  I love almost everything she designs.  Everything she designs has such an elegant flare to it.  You can view her latest work at http://www.annagriffin.com/.  She will also be on HSN on May 7 for National Scrapbook Day.  I can't wait to see what she will be launching. 

So who is your most favorite designer???????

My Little AngelCakes

I took off of work this week.  No special reason; just really needed some time off.  Unfortunately I wound up getting sick last week and it has lingered into this week.  I have managed to salvage some of my time off though.  I have had the opportunity to spend some extra time with AngelCakes, which is such a treat.  AngelCakes' Mommy and I did another "Glamour Shots" photo shoot with her (not the real Glamour Shots - just our version at home).  She was in a great mood this time.  Since she is still too young to sit up on her own, I purchased a beanbag chair for her.  She actually loves the chair!   We covered the chair and backdrop with a black sheet and started snapping away.   We did three outfit changes and took close to 400 photos in about 30 minutes!  It was fun.  I enjoyed getting to spend this time with AngelCakes, but I also enjoyed getting to spend some fun time with my daughter.

Ribbon Organization

I love organizational ideas.  I love trying new organizational ideas....seriously.  Susan and I have decided that somtimes we think we enjoy organizing our supplies more than we enjoy using them! :)  Ribbon oranization has been a tough one or me.  I love ribbons.  I love the texture that ribbons and fibers add to pages and cards.  I have tried numerous ways of organizing my ribbons.  I've tried having each ribbon in a small baggie - takes up a lot of room.  I've tried keeping it on the spool and organizing on dowel rods - I wound up with tails of ribbn hanging down all over my wall.  I've tried wrapping the individual ribbons around popsicle sticks - that was okay but not great.  I've tried wrapping around floss cards and storing in plastic floss boxes.  Can't even remember why that one didn't work for me.  I had my ribbons organized by color and stuffed into glass jars.  That was too hard to work with because the piece I wanted was ALWAYS on the bottom. 

Anyway, I think I have finally found a system that is working for me.  It is made by Best Craft Organizer and  can be found at http://www.bestcraftorganizer.com/.  I have about a dozen of the trays and each tray has six tubes.  Each tube holds six selections.  If your purchase the initial kit, you will get the winder, which is very easy to use.  I love that I have all of my ribbons organized by color and can just pull it rght out without having to dig.

Photography

I like photography.  This is another hobby that I wish I were better at, but  I am just so thankful for automatic settings. 

My Mom has always liked photography, and her father liked photography.  She has a cool collection of old cameras.  She knows how to take pictures the "real" way - manual settings and all.  I remember borrowing her 35mm film camera to take pictures at a Braves game back in the early 90's.  She tried to give me a quick lesson.  All I really remember is "thread the needle".  I actually got some good shots that day. 

I have always had a camera.   I remember being a little girl and having the kind that had  flash "cubes".  I worked my way through various cameras through the years.  Finally - in 2001 I got a Canon Rebel 35mm film camera.  I stayed with film until the GQ convinced us all that digital was the way to go.  She was the first in our group to go digital.  So I started out with the original Canon Rebel digital and am on my third upgrade.   I currently have a Canon Rebel T2i.  I have tried to upgrade every two years; however, this may be my last upgrade since retirement is around the corner.  I have four good lenses.   Sometimes I'll try to use the manual settings on my camera, but by the time I remember all of the settings I'm supposed to adjust, the photo op is gone.  So I mostly just use my auto settings.  Creative for me is "no flash" - that is about as good at it gets!  

I have had the opportunity to take pictures of some wonderful scenery.  All of my pictures are from U.S. destinations (except just a few from Mexico).  I've never traveled abroad - again, except Mexico - and I don't even have a passport.  I went to Mexico before passports were a requirement.  I think I'm better at photographing animals and nature than people.  But now that AngelCakes is here, I really want to get better with people.  My kids used to tease me about my lack of skills.  Either there was no head on the subject or my thumb was in it.  I'm better these days because of digital.  I may take a thousand pictures of the exact same thing, but at least one picture will have a head!!! :) 

I do enjoy reading photography tips and seeing what other people are able to do.  My current favorite photography site is http://www.picturecorrect.com/.  I get automatic posts from this site.  They are a great source of  information.

Potato Chip Scarf

I knitted this scarf as a gift for a friend.  The pattern is super simple, but you have to keep a really good count on your rows.  I love the way it spirals.  

I have found that YouTube is a great resource for learning certain stitchtes.  I didn't even know what m1 stood for, so I googled it and found that it means "make one".  Then I went on YouTube and found several video resources which helped.

Also, if you google "free knitting patterns" you will find numerous free patterns that can be downloaded and/or printed. 

Ceramic Bunnies

Susan (aka GQ), Christine, Holly and I went to a Pottery Painting session a few weeks ago.  I wanted to do something special for Easter so I chose these two little bunnies.  One is the Mom and one is the Baby.  Painting pottery is not something that I do well at all.  I kept slathering on the paint but because I was using a very neutral color, you couldn't even tell that my pieces had paint on them.  We had to leave them for a week so that they could be glazed and fired.  I fully expected my pieces to come back looking naked....shiney and naked!   But to my surprise, the color came out in the firing process. 

These will go in AngelCake's Easter basket from Grammy and Grampy.  Shhhhhhh!  It is supposed to be a surprise for her -:) 

Knitting - My Latest Obsession.....I Mean PASSION!

Knitting is my latest craft.  I have been crocheting for many years (although I'm not too good at it), but I have always wanted to learn to knit.  Around Christmas I visited The Yarn Garden knit shop in Lawrenceville and I signed up for a basic class.  In the class we learned the two main stitches....knit and purl.  We learned to cast on and cast off.  My favorite thing to knit is scarves.  I guess I like scarves because they are fairly quick.  I am also one of those A.D.D. crafters who has to have umpteen things going at the same time, so I have three or four scarves as well as a shawl and an afghan in process.  I knit on one until I get bored and then I move on to the next for awhile.  There are many things I enjoy about the knitting process.  I like that it is a "small" craft project as compared to scrapbooking.  I can fill my entire SUV with supplies for a weekend of scrapbooking, but I can take one small bag for a weekend of knitting.  It is also a "lap" craft; something I can do while watching TV, I can do it during my lunch break, I can do it on a long plane trip and I can do it in my hotel room when I'm bored and lonely.  It is a great stress reliever and it keeps my hands busy.  Even though I quit smoking long enough ago to be considered a "non-smoker", I still have days when I miss it.  This occupies my hands and my mind.

These pictures show one of my baskets of yarns.  I love pretty yarns.  I am also showing my Boye electric yarn winder.  I love this tool.  I enjoy knitting so much more if my yarn is "center pull".  The winder takes a skein of yarn like the blue one and winds it into a perfect center pull ball like the one next to it.  I purchased the winder from Michaels.  It retails for $90, but I used a 50% coupon and got it for half price. 

There are several nice yarn stores in metro Atlanta.  I like the Yarn Garden in Lawrenceville (on the square) and the Needle Nook in Atlanta (located at the intersection of Briarcliff and North Druid Hills).  Both stores are run by people who know their business and are willing to help a newbie.  While teaching classes is  a part of their business, they will always help you if you need help learning a particular stitch.  .

My "Crafty Steal"

One of the daily sites I visit is http://www.craftysteals.com/    I love this site because you can get some really good deals.  For instance, this Anna Griffin set.  I have been looking at the tote bag for a year now.  Just the tote alone retails for about $50.  This deal came with the tote, the flat pack which included cards, envelopes, and many embellishments, and the zippered pouch which snaps inside the large tote.  I got the whole "steal" for just $29 plus s/h.  This tote is such a great size.  It can be used for multiple purposes such as a knitting tote, a scrapbooking tote, a purse, or even a diaper bag.  I love bags, so this was right up my alley  This bag will definitely be going to Texas with me later this week!

My Teresa Collins Mini Album

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I took a Teresa Collins class which was offered through Emi Scrapbooking Store in Cumming.  I loved the class.  We worked with different items than I have worked with before.  I think one of my favorite things  was the crate paper - yep, just plain old crate paper.  We put down a line of adhesive (we used thermoweb) and then just hand-pleated the paper.  We used black in the class, but you could take white and spray it with Glimmer Mist - that would probably produce an awesome look!   We also used lace, bling, metals, and even an embellished hair pin.  It was so much fun.  I didn't put the pictures in my album until I got home, but I am really happy with the results.  I plan to use many of these techniques on future pages.