Odds 'n' Ends of 2009

So, it's the end of 2009, less than an hour to go. I scrapped quite a bit, but I didn't use quite as many dies as I wanted. I did play with the Sil alot, but spent WAY too much time perusing the new releases and not enough creating with it. Although the Santa Owl Cards are pretty awesome and they were all my idea!

I managed to greatly increase the amount of paper in this house, the total opposite of what I wanted. I did finally find a stamp I can work with while reminding myself why I quit using Glimmer Mist. I can get that stuff all over everywhere and it doesn't come off! Okay, let's clarify: it came off of my iPhone protector, but not my hands or cutting pad. People look at you really funny when your fingers are blue. Maybe it's just the bottles, I need to investigate that angle.

I didn't make the SRW DT for the second term, but did for the 3rd. It's been fun and I have learned lots - like I really need to improve my card-making! I have enjoyed the ATC, postcard and recipe swaps. I am always amazed at how amateurish my items look, but they let me come back! Simply amazing the works of art I receive from others!

So, next year I need to work harder on finishing more projects and making them reflections of the person I am, not just check marks.

Good-bye 2009 and hello 2010 - are you ready to scrap?????

A Trying Technology Day

Digital Scrapbooking sounds interesting, but after today I am giving it a wide berth. I spent over three hours fighting with Photoshop and Blogspot to give my Tae Kwon Dos Mom's blog a kanji background. It was frustrating, but I finally came up with something I can live with. DH's suggestion was to take a Photoshop class. I did that once - the teacher read from a book. Besides, I wanted it done today. To make a long story short, most of the problem was the fact that the template I had chosen was not wide enough to begin with.

This blog was easy: I found the 'paper' on Shabby Blogs and just followed their instructions. Tae Kwon Dos was not so lucky. And then, to celebrate, I decided to scan and print some photos - and Photoshop denied the existence of the Kodak Printer's scanner. Luckily the printer let me copy and enlarge the photo without using the computer. I did that with three photos of DH & myself from years ago (prior to digital and with negatives in some unknown place) and they all turned out wonderfully.

So tomorrow I am going to do some old-fashioned scrapbooking, except maybe just a bit of my Sil. That technology seems to like me.

Reigning in My Paper

I have too much paper. Seriously. I mean pounds of paper, mainly cardstock. I doubt I will be able to use up all this paper unless I really start scrapping. It's not that I don't have projects, but for some reason I can only think in brown tones for the scrapbooks for DS and DH - but my paper is all over the place.

Why do I have pads of bright colors? I only use those for Disney. Oh, yeah, that's right - I still haven't done the Disney books for TWO trips yet. (No wonder DH is not happy that I am talking about a trip in 2011 - besides the cost!) Was it really necessary to buy 3 or 4 pads of the "Once Upon a Time"? Yep, Disney - again. For the Princess pages, except I also have Princess paper - and DD is so not into the Princesses. The Eastern Paper was a great idea, until I tried to use it and realized that the elaborate scenes for some of them just didn't work for Tae Kwon Do photos. I mean, butterflies when DD is taking someone down???

So, what to do? I use lots of brown and black, so those are good colors to have on hand. Blues, reds and greens almost need to be matched to the photos. Yellows and oranges are usually only for accents (or Halloween, as is purple). Photo background papers are too hard to work with and cannot be diecut (at least not by me!) and let's not even get into patterned paper. I have the worst time with that stuff. So, of course, I have a huge lot I bought at Costco for something like 12 cents a sheet.

I really need to work with what I have and not add more - except for brown and black. If something isn't quite right, I need to ink, chalk or spray it until I like it. I need to expand my horizons. Maybe a yellow border might actually work. That castle could be a slightly different shade of grey. My imagination has to work a bit harder, that's all!

What I really need to do is start scrapping and stop buying so much paper. It's not like I don't have the photos, paper, dies, or albums.....

It's an Epic Gift!

Well, DH managed to surprise me and I DID get the Epic!!! I was thrown off by the box, thinking it was taller and thinner.

I took it out to play today and one thing is for sure: I am really going to have to stock up on cutting pads! I cut the postcard about six times and the cutting pad is all warped. It is so weird-looking. I can really understand why people were so frustrated when it first came out. Luckily, QK has fantastic CS, so I can always contact them. I will NOT be giving up my REV (or my back-up REV) anytime soon! I love my magnetic plate, dies moving around make me nervous.

Back to the postcard. It looks wonderful all cut out. If it weren't for the slit down the middle, I could easily see myself creating items to send out. They will make incredible page accents, I just need to get the photos together.

Oh, and the printer is wonderful! Unfortunately, the photos are all on the Flagship and the printer is not. At least not yet. DH needs to install it, but his mom is using the office/guest room, so it might be awhile. I cannot wait to see how photos turn out. The HL coupon came out quite nice. Love that wireless printing!

Feliz Navidad!

So, it's Christmas Eve and - believe it or not! - it is snowing here in Frisco! DS is so excited because it is his first White Christmas. I need to get the camera out and take photos. Guess I did really need to download those 10+ snowflakes from Sil!

Well, most of DH's gifts are wrapped, but only one for DS and none for DD. That's because we split the shopping by gender. I am very happy because we traded in the Epson RX500 for a Kodak EP-9 which is a photo printer. We used the money from my parents and I cannot wait for DH to hook it up so that I can print 5x7 photos for an album for him.

I am also hoping for an Epic, but that remains to be seen. I cannot wait to play with the QK CC Postcard for the Indiana Jones album. If not, there is always my birthday next month! And the Sizzix meanwhile.

Here's wishing a Merry Christmas to all!

Scrapping Gods Love Me!

What is it about my ideas? Last year DS & I decided that he was going to dress as Indiana Jones for a few days while we were in WDW so that we could create a scrapbook/storybook like DD has from our second trip. Problem: I didn't have the right kind of embellishments. So, other than a couple of pages, the book was pushed to my back burner.

Well, in a matter of days, nearly a year after the trip, the scrapping gods let me know that it is time to get working on that book. Guess they decided to wait until the D's got their black belts so that I wouldn't be distracted! First they led me to a large compass stamp from Tattered Angels. I was planning on ordering it, but found it at Scrapping Bunnies when I went for more of their awesome Kanji paper. The best part was that the stamp actually works and it is clear! Yep, my impressions turn out just how I want. That's a first.

At about the same time, Frank showed us the Dec 2009 QK release. Travel! OMGosh, I fell in love with the mini and large postcards, both of them perfect for DS's book. I ordered them, only to find that the CC Postcard is for the Epic. I don't have an Epic. Bummer. They do fit in the Sizzix, though. I am hoping for an Epic for Xmas from DH because my first choice, a renewal of my Sil subscription went back to regular price of $30/month and that is just too much for us to pay right now. Plus, I have over 1600 designs, many of which I haven't yet used, so adding more is probably not the best idea.

So, now all three D's are home for two weeks, I have embellishments, paper up the wahzoo, and photos - I get the message!

Ink on the Stamps, Pages, My Hands

So, back to Mom's calendar. After much thought (and lots of laziness), I decided that I would NOT be cutting out each number individually like last year. That was insane - and then Mom told me that a few of the numbers fell off. If I had been thinking about it, I would have had the Sil write in the numbers as it was drawing the calendar pages, but it was too late. What to do?

First thought: write them in by hand. Yech! I don't like my own handwriting that well - and I have a tendency to switch back and forth while writing my '2's'. I do have the calendar set on layaway at SRW, but I really needed to get it done this weekend and knew that I would get it by Monday at the earliest and then I would have to cut them out and glue them in. I should have just bought it outright. Oh well...

So, the next choice was to stamp the numbers. I have tons of ink (for edging and distressing, but funnily enough, no numbers. I had to go to four local stores to find a set that could be used. Coupons really help! It took me a couple of hours, but the numbers are on! Of course, there are mistakes. I am NOT a stamper. I am a diecutter. I use ink to highlight. Stamps never turn out how I picture them - and the ink gets all over my hands. This time was no exception. I actually had to keep washing my hands so that I wouldn't stain the pages.

Now onto the edges, I am going to distress them. Then I am going to dig through my extra diecuts to decorate the title sections and put down mats. Once all is done, I will post a couple of pages.

Off to stain my hands - I mean the edges!

Let it Snow!!!!!!!!!!!

I am from Wisconsin, but hate the cold. Texas is more to my liking, but I do miss a bit of the white stuff every now and then. We do get snow, but it is rare, so imagine my surprise this morning when Sandy called me and asked if I had looked out the window yet. She knows that mornings here are tough. The fact that the kids make it to school by 8 a.m. every day is amazing since the kids usually are non-functional until 7:30 and it is a 9-minute walk. Luckily, they love peanut butter sandwiches for breakfast.

I digress. It was white outside, well except under the enormous Bradford Pear that barely even has grass (no, I am NOT going to trim those branches - I am not THAT crazy!) My yells got the kids running with an adrenaline jolt (and probably deafened Sandy since we were still on the phone.) DD got dressed in record time. Seriously, it had to be under two minutes. She had her jacket on and was headed out the door while I got DS's breathing treatment ready. He was none too happy! I let him go out while I got their backpacks in the car. We made it to school at 8:00 - and were not the last ones in. Not sure if they got tardy slips, though. It was worth it to see their faces. The photos are incredible! Luckily Mom got them jackets from Wisconsin, so they were nice and toasty. Well, they would have been if they had bothered to ZIP UP THEIR JACKETS!!!

Funny thing, Sil just came out with a ton of snowflakes and snowflake borders. I downloaded them, thinking I might have to scrounge up photos of my youth, but now I have a use for them! Bummer I decided to use flowery paper in Mom's calendar.....

Computer Font Rant

Well, the cards are almost done, but I need to put some innards in them. The thought of hand-writing messages in almost 60 cards makes my hands protest (writing 'Season's Greetings' that many times, in two languages is just asking for a meltdown), so I decided to have a printed message in each card and from there we can personalize them.

That, however, was easier said than done. I have tons of cool fonts on the Dell laptop which I consider mine (hey, DH said I could use it for my Sil - and I use my Sil a lot and he has the HP and the Mac, so I am right!), but the main printer is not wireless, so I needed to use the Flagship (sounds important, right?) Unfortunately, the Flagship (I hear cannons shooting) doesn't have all the same cool fonts. It has endless versions of Arial and Times New Roman.

Seriously! I spent 20-30 minutes (or was it an eternity?) trying to find something I could use in each of the card styles. Word in XP, though, won't show you what the font looks like in the menu - you have to highlight your text. I nearly went insane ( I know: short trip!) trying to find something that would match each card. Most of the fonts had such subtle differences I kept checking to make sure I had picked a new one. Whose idea was it to have cool names like Verdana and Tahoma when there is visibly NO DIFFERENCE!!!??? My eyes started to glaze over...but I persevered and found three different fonts, whose names are now lost to me.

So, now I have two ideas running through my head: 1) I now understand why people have so many fonts for journaling, since most of them are variations of the same font and you need to really hunt for something different and 2) If your are a font designer and you are just changing Arial or TNR, don't give the result a name like Verdana because someone might just think you have done something really cool when all you did was make the letters a tad wider. If that indeed, is what you did!

Okay, off my soapbox now!

Sil Pens as a Swap Saver!

The Sil pens are not only fun, but they can save your scrap hide! Found that out on Monday. I signed up to do two different designs in TXAngel's post card swap. The poinsettia gave me a headache - but that was thanks to the glitter. It was fine for outline, but not all over, so that took me longer than planned. Like two weeks longer. I got so frustrated I tossed them all. I then redid them with marker edging and a pinch of Stickles. I needed to change my second idea and quickly because a highly decorated snowman was going to take more time than I had.

I went through my Sil designs and found the perfect idea : pen snowflakes background with a horse and sleigh silhouette on top. The background turned out lovely, even though I cannot rotate the flakes. The horse and sleigh, however, were an absolute nightmare. I tried cutting them out in two different sizes on two different types of textured paper. DD was not impressed with the lack of quality. The little ones were a series of dashes and the larger ones looked like a child cut them with a craft knife.

I then hit upon a solution: my pens! I tried it out on white paper - and it worked! I had to color them by hand and cut around them, but they melded into the mostly white background. Not perfect, but much better than using the other ones, which is a bummer, because I was really taken with the design I had created. Oh well, maybe next year for cards for DH's work.

The pens also made light work for those cards for this year. I took the Season's Greetings with a shadow and just switched out the pens for the different 'layers'(I drew lines around the edges) and in less than an evening, I had 28 card fronts (4 per sheet), ready to glue to cards tomorrow night.

As for photos, would you believe I sent out the cards without photographing them? I will post photos of the Season's Greetings soon, though!

Pens on Silhouette Rock!!!

Ohmigosh!!!

I cannot believe how versatile the Silhouette is! I have used it for creating my own designs, but there was something I hadn't yet tried: the pens. I knew it could be done, but I lacked the bravery to try them.

Christmas' approach gave me an urgency which overwhelmed my fear. Throwing caution to the wind, I chose to start my pen attempt with the calendar from Sil. How bad could straight lines be? I started with black, worried what would happen....

Perfection!!! The calendar page was gorgeous, nary a flaw. So I made another, then another. Mightily impressed, I changed inks. The green and red were beautiful, as were the purple and navy. Pink, however, well let's just say I wouldn't be the Scrapklutz if I had perfect luck. My pink pen leaked. On the calendar page. On my cutting pad. On the left-hand roller of my Sil. Of course, I had no idea of the magnitude of the disaster until I went to load a second page and got ink on it. Two sheets later and I gave it up. I thoroughly cleaned the pen and put it away.

Then I tried to draw shapes for the background of the Feb page. I used Red, Purple and Pink - which thankfully didn't leak. Unfortunately, the page didn't turn out how I had hoped. It needs solids, not outlines. Oh well, back to the drawing board!

Adhesives Hate Me!!!

Why do adhesives hate me? The pens get all over the place - or just refuse to work. If they get on somewhere they shouldn't be, they refuse to erase and show up shiny where I don't want it. My Xyrons (I have three: X, 250 and 500) all leave boogers, or worse, have extra adhesive that sticks in areas and refuses to be erased, thus leaving shiny sections. My Glue Gun Pro's Repositionable adhesive refuses to stick, causing everything to fall off when I lift my pages off of my desk. My ATG is hard to refill, and once I have put something together with it, it is stuck PERMANENTLY. No mistakes allowed with that. That is nigh-impossible for me - afterall I am the Scrapklutz!


Okay, rant done. I need to think about my new DT projects.

Halloween Frame and Minuscule Pieces

It seemed like a really good idea at the time: use the new Sil bat and spiderweb frame for the Halloween postcard swap. How I didn't see all those little holes/spaces that would need to be cleaned out is beyond me. Or, I REALLY need glasses. There were lots of little spaces, and I made the frames to fit on 4x6 cards, so some of those spaces were darned near microscopic.

Did I mention that I needed 15 frames? And that it took me a few cuts until I figured out that I needed to have the Sil cut each frame twice? Then I had to punch out/cut out/stab out all those little pieces, because some just did not want to come out.

So, now the frames are on the cards - and there are all sorts of minuscule pieces of black paper upstairs (my desk) and down (while waiting for the UPS guy I had to have something to do!) and I am not planning on cutting out that frame for quite some time - and not that small. Not for quite some time - say October or so!

Embossed Homeless Dragon

OOPS! I accidentally deleted this photo from both my phone and Photobucket!




Whaddathink? Does it look like a dragon? It was made using a new stencil that I picked up yesterday. DD has decided with the help of her best friend, that stencils rule, but no stores around here have a wide selection, so we had to order some from a store in Plano. That was in June and DD ordered a unicorn stencil and a Japanese kimonoed lady. I ordered the dragon because I thought it would look awesome for Martial Arts pages.

Even though I was exhausted last night, I just had to experiment. Experiment is the correct term because the first paper I chose was reddish-orange and one of the embossing pastes I chose was gold. After three small sections, I changed my mind and switched to black paper. Then I did something not so smart, I started on the outside edges of the stencil and worked in. I know better than to do that. Needless to say, it was a more frustrating experience than I had counted on, especially since I decided to use three colors: gold, green and red. Don't see the red? Well, it's not there because trying to get the green in between the gold was a nightmare, not helped at all by the fact that the two pastes were of different textures. The gold was sort of like glue and the green was paste. I know that different manufacturers use different formulas, but really - it was like using two totally different mediums.

Well, it has been 12 hours and the dragon is still drying. Didn't know I used THAT much paste! Sorry the photo is not the best quality, but I thought I would play with my iPhone and upload it that way. Think I need more light (and to be more awake, took it about 7 this morning.)

As for its final destination, there is some debate. DD wants it, DS wants it on his backpack and DH hasn't seen it. I think I need to make another with white and then chalk it....

Stop the Chubbies!

Ohmigosh, QK has got to stop posting Halloween Chubbies on the Sil site!!! I am so in love with them - especially the Chubby Mummy. It is so adorable - and what I have been wanting for quite some time. I have witches, vampires, Frankensteins, bats, owls (okay, so I need those for lots of things) and ghosts. I had no mummies. Mummies are cool. As with the rest, they can be used for not only Halloween, but Scooby-Doo, too. We have lots of photos from the Scooby ride in Fiesta Texas and those chubbies will be perfect. And they will work for the Halloween swaps, too!

So, if I have uses for the chubbies, why do I want QK to quit posting them? Because I cannot quit playing with them!!! I keep pulling them up and shrinking them to see how much detail they retain when fit on say a 2x2 square. The first mummies tore, so I switched to textured paper. They came out fuzzy, and tore in a few places, but usable. Of course, it took me four tries (I needed to change my cutting mat since the sticky went away on try #3). Now I have to place my Chubby Mummies where they need to go. Bummer most of them lost their feet. I am thinking that under two inches is too small.

Of course, I should really try the ghosts. Frankenstein would have to lose his scar and the vampire his teeth. The witch's broomstick might meet the same fate as the mummy's feet.

See, I cannot stop thinking about the chubbies. They are just too cute, too full of promise.

So, no more chubbies - I need to concentrate on other things, like finishing my swaps. I could stop looking at the QK store, stop playing with the images in my library - but how would I know if they came out with a Chubby Werewolf?

Let the Purging Begin!

The first step in reducing my overflow of items was ordering some magnetic sheets for my All-in-One Binder. I just couldn't take hunting through my black magnetic folders for what I was looking for anymore. I decorated the first few, but then they no longer closed due to the paper I had used. That was annoying but six identical black binders were also a pain. The magnetic sheets were the only solution.

So, tonight I put my Country CC's on the pages; already I have found dies I can do without. Australia and South Africa were each purchased for one or two dies - ones I can now do on my Sil. I have nothing against those dies, but I have never used them - especially not the heads of the animals. I really prefer whole bodies. What was I thinking? I was collecting, not thinking.

Now I have four empty black magnetic folders. Five, if you count the one I haven't opened. WHAT am I going to do with them? What am I going to do with those dies?

And how am I going to lift that very heavy AiOB? Those pages with dies are HEAVY! Dorothy from RW warned me - and given my history, it was well-appreciated. Do I need another AiBO? Would that improve or worsen my problem?

My head hurts just thinking of the possibilities.....

Unwanted Die Decisions

So, as I have already stated, I have lots of dies, LOTS and LOTS of dies. Maybe too many dies. Undoubtedly I am addicted to dies since I have pharmacy boxes full of 2x2 QK dies, folders of CC's and a whole cd drawer full of 4x4's - plus all the shapes I have on my Sil.

Some of those shapes were bought in haste, in a rush to make sure I had them. I really should have taken my time, thought about it much more carefully, checked sizes. Yes, careful thought and consideration, plus research would have kept me out of the predicament I find myself in: dies I regret buying.

I cannot believe I have admitted this; I cannot believe I lost control of myself enough to acquire dies I may never use. The worst thing is that the great majority - if not all - are exclusives from different stores. None is from Remember When, those are among my favorites!

Thus, begs the question: what do I do now? I really don't think I should keep them, I am not sure I should give them away, but do I really want to go the ebay route? Would I even get any money for them?

Decisions, decisions, decisions.....

The List Comes Down!

Okay, so last year -horrified at how many dies I have accumulated- I started a list on this blog of all the QK dies I use, challenging myself to use the equivalent of one a day. I wanted to see how long it would take me to use them all. I was doing well for about four months, then the problems began. I really needed to work on items that didn't exactly call for QK - or put this way: QK has no Martial Arts dies and none for Disney. Not that I cannot use other dies, but sometimes you just want Mickey on your page.

Once the list got into the 150's, it got rather challenging: I had to review the list to see if I had already added the die. I caught a few repeats. Sometimes I used the die and put it immediately back into the box, forgetting to add it to the list. Other times, I would leave the dies out in piles, waiting to add them when I had time. They would get knocked over, adding yet one more mess for me to clean up.

The Sil, while a wonderful tool, actually worsened the problem. I can make the cuts in any size, and even create my own designs - thanks to the outline feature. And Sil can cut out multiples of one item much more efficiently than me. When I needed bamboo borders for a layout for DS, I turned to the Sil instead of my trusty QK 2x2.

Now, seeing the list makes me feel guilty, like I am ignoring my QK, but I am not. I am using them, but I really don't feel like keeping track. The ironic thing is with the new way I am scrapping, I am actually using more dies than before.

I am just not going to list them. I will let my albums speak for themselves.

SIL to the Rescue! (again)

For something I wasn't too sure I wanted, my QK Silhouette has certainly become indispensable in my crafting life. A while back I was bemoaning the lack of Martial Arts embellishments in this blog. I managed to create several with my Sil - and then Helen sent me to a site with MA dingbats. She was a lifesaver! The font is called Karate Chop. The uppercase face one direction while the lowercase face the opposite. They cut very nicely and really help me fill otherwise empty space on my pages. (Helen is like my knight in shining armor for that and other help she has given me.)

And now, the Sil has pulled me out of another bind. As I mentioned in the previous post, I am scrapbooking DH's trip to London. I have the QK England CC set which contains the Tower of London (well, a couple of towers of it), a taxi, two flags, a crown, Big Ben, Underground Sign and a telephone booth. Those are all great, but there is no die for the Tower Bridge and DH took several photos of that. QK does have that die in a special Britannia set, but I really don't want to pay $45 for four dies that I really won't use too often (I can use the dies from the CC for other things - like Epcot!) Those $45 can be used for something I would use more - say the new alpha Haunted!

DH told me to look online, and sure enough, I was able to find a few outlines of the Tower Bridge. It took several tries, but I was able to create the perfect image using the 'get outline' function. The design cut very nicely. I was able to do the same with the London Eye which QK doesn't seem to have.

So, now my pages look awesome, thanks to the Sil, and DH's book is coming along nicely. I finished the Tower of London tonight and Windsor Castle is tomorrow. Not sure how many more pages are going to fit into the Your Story album, though....

Your Story at Hobby Lobby!!!

I am so PSYCHED!!!! Hobby Lobby is now carrying the items I need in order to use the Your Story book binder and laminator the DH & the kids got me for Mother's Day. I wanted this because I really like the look of the bound books - especially for gifts. Sometimes the Bind-It-All doesn't quite give the look I am aiming for. Tying ribbons to the O-Wires can get rather tedious and not appropriate for certain people (read: guys). I haven't used my Your Story yet because I only received a couple of books with it and they didn't hold too much, so the projects had to be small. (And the 8x8 pages that came with them are not my style at all!)

Small projects are hard for me. This whole finishing an album is a difficult concept for me. I know I should, but I am never quite sure how to end them. I guess I am going to have to learn!

So, what is my first project? DH's trip to London. He was really there for work and instead of taking our camera, chose to use his iPhone. He came home with less than 100 photos, some of shaky quality, so using the Your Story is perfect. I really don't have that many pages I can make, especially since I have chosen to do it in 12x12 and colorblock it. The albums can hold up to 20 thin pages, but I like my cardstock, thus I may only get 12-14 - which is just about what I think will fit.

I have already finished six pages, with two more just needing embellishments. DH has to do his own journaling, but wants to wait until the book is bound. If I get myself in gear, that could be as soon as this weekend.

Wish me luck!

Sil Blade Change

After I posted about my lack of klutziness, I decided that it was time to change the blade on my Sil. I was a bit apprehensive - understandable given my history. I was sure I was going to cut myself or break my Sil. Trepidaciously I opened the package and took out the new blade; then I decided to remove the old blade - easier said than done.

As I was pushing the blade out, something small went flying over my left shoulder to never be found. Luckily it was an unnecessary piece. It took me a bit to get the new blade into position, but at last it seemed to be fixed in place. Hesitantly I loaded the Sil and proceeded to have it cut some titles.

IT WORKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The cuts were clean and no funky noises.

So, that's good, right?

Still the Scrapklutz?

So, announcing to the world that I was the Scrapklutz jinxed me. This past year has been relatively safe. No major wounds, no breaking of equipment. I almost did once pull my SIL off of my desk when I forget it was still attached to the laptop, but I have been accident-free for quite some time. It feels weird. I keep waiting for it to happen - not that I want it to, mind you - because the suspense is needling at me.

Is it skill or is it avoidance? I am getting better at opening packages (of course, since I have a ton of dies and a Sil, I am also buying fewer dies), my Squeeze is in the closet and only came out the other night so I could cut something downstairs while watching tv with DH. The Fastenator (heel puncture) has been put away, it really didn't hold DD's interest. Liquid dies and stencil crayons have been replaced by chalks and small ink pads. Craft knives rarely come out because I truly rarely need them now. My desk is level, thus things cannot just tip off like the Squeeze did.

Hence, begs the question: if I am no longer klutzy, am I still the Scrapklutz?

Reflections on Year One of Scrapklutz Life

Has it really been a year since I began this blog? Oh wow, time surely has flown - and I have NOT kept my promises. I have not posted as often as I had wished and promised. Not sure why that happened. Could be laziness, could be dedication to my hobbies - or too much websurfing, but definitely not enough blogging.

Well, whatever it was, I need to get rid of it. I need to post more. As of yesterday I finally figured out how to post photos properly, so maybe I could post more of my work. I could also talk about my experiments with the SIL - something a year ago I never imagined I would purchase. I certainly do not regret buying the SIL, but it has taken me in a whole different direction and I have really not mentioned that.

I touched on switching up my scrapping style, but have posted nothing to show. What was I thinking? I fell in love with a new paper line, but nary a mention here on my blog. What was I thinking? Or is the question: what was I NOT thinking?

So many changes, so little that I have actually blogged. Not really what I started out to do.

Thus, I need to change, to work on being the blogger I had planned on being.

Wish me luck!

Color Select Studio ROCKS!!!

I LOVE Color Select Studio!!!! It's a program that I picked up at GASC and haven't really had a chance to play with. Well, today I finished titling all the photos from DS's BD party and decided to play around.

The absolutely best thing about CSS is that it automatically turns the photo B&W for you. No playing with hues, it imports the photo as B&W. (You can import it in color and then turn sections B&W - but I like the reveal better.) Then you choose your brush size and paint over what you want returned to its original color. In a matter of minutes, you have a masterpiece. Okay, well, the above photo is of a reptile - not the first choice for most people- but I think it turned out great. Makes the lizard pop! (Photo was from the party and what was at the top of my mind when I started to play.) The ones of the albino python are awesome, but probably too freaky for this blog.

DH thought this was a bit of a frivolous purchase because Adobe Photoshop does the same things. Yeah, after a few steps. You have to have layers and opacity and then remember to save it correctly. CSS is much quicker - except that you can only save in ttf or ttif. Our photos are all jpeg. Luckily, it only took me a few minutes to figure out how to put them in jpeg. Best part, I didn't have to call DH. I love being married to a computer guru, but sometimes I really need to figure out stuff on my own. And the kicker? CSS cost me $15 and so easy that DD & DS can use it.

There are all sorts of uses for this program. The photos I did today were to highlight some of the best reptile photos for the gentleman who brought the reptile show over as a thank you. DD did the Hidden Mickey Hunt at WDW and this will be a fantastic way to highlight the photos; leave all but the actual figure in B&W. I am anxious to try this with some Martial Arts photos and see how they turn out.

Oh, this is going to be so much FUN!!!

DT Ambivalence

Last year at this time I was nervously working on my submissions to for the Remember When Design Team tryout. I was so excited - and then thrilled and totally shocked when I was chosen. I had a lot of fun and was rather sad when I was not chosen for the next team. I know that those who were chosen truly deserved it and have showcased the newest QK dies in spectacular fashion, but my pride was a tad dented.

Now it is time again and I am feeling rather ambivalent about the whole thing. I still love QK, but I have been playing around with the SIL so much lately that I have not been using my dies at all. A big part of that has to do with the fact that I have been working on Martial Arts pages that require embellishments that QK doesn't carry.

Another part is that I truly feel that the DT needs to showcase the best of the best - and that is not me. I am an average scrapper, not showcase material at all. It was wonderful to be chosen, but my projects always paled next to the much more polished items of the other members. I had trouble incorporating the items that were sent to us from the TBC and I still feel guilty about that.

So, part of me feels like I should at least attempt my items, but I just don't know. I need to think about it. A lot. But not too much, the items are to be posted next week.

Okay, so the templates are a great starting point, but I have a major problem: my photos are not the same sizes as the templates. Of course, I only have four templates, so that doesn't give me a lot of variety to choose from. I have certain photos I have to use when I do Martial Arts pages (poses, action shots, receiving the belt/patch, and poses with the Black Belts) and they all need journaling, so I have had to create my own colorblocking.

I start by cropping the photos and matting them. Then I make room for the journaling, titles and embellishments. What ever is left over I make thin boxes for. If everything turns out, the pages turn out just as I envisioned.

I tried some patterned paper mixed in with the solid and it doesn't look too bad. Guess I just need to keep experimenting, playing around with papers until I find good mixes. I know it can be done because my Color Blocking books show that it can be.

Bye-bye Triple Mats!

My layouts have become boring. There, I said it. Well, actually I wrote it.

I have been looking at my pages, especially the martial arts pages for the D's (husband, daughter and son) and they are not at all exciting. Triple or double matting, the same font in all three books (QK Mini Indigo) and not very exciting embellishments. I have a Kanji Strength stencil and stamp and two sizes of that martial arts die from Delta Die Cuts (which is now closed and thus no more help in that area.) Let's not forget the QK Kimono - which is a pain to alter to make it match the ghees.

I had to do something. First, I need some fresh embellishments. I looked on line and found Kanji. I found Fire, Danger and Father. Those were easy to convert to .gsd files and they give a punch to the pages. Then I found more figures via Google images and converted them. Luckily Sherri had a fantastic sale on QK Rev dies and I bought the Chinese Lanterns. They are terrific - and can be used with the Kanji symbols and Delta Dies - thereby increasing my embellie options.

The triple matting had to go - too much wasted space and serious limitation on how many pictures per page. I am not creative enough to branch out on my own - that's how I got into this rut to start with. Luckily I remembered about the Deluxe Design's Colorblocking Books. I got the second one at GASC and the first one via ebay. I also picked up a few of their templates.

Long story short (I know, too late!) but they were the final piece to my scrapbook liberation. Looking at the books and playing with the templates (I only used the first one exactly), I have managed to make much more dynamic pages. I am able to get up to four pictures on a page, plus journaling and embellishments.

So, no more triple mats. Maybe no more patterned paper, either. I need to play with that since the two I have done with pp didn't turn out as well as those I have done with solid colors.

Of course, border dies are a whole 'nother matter.....

SRW Guest DT for June!

I know, I promised to write about the book that is inspiring me, but I have become sidetracked by a new project (or 4). Months ago, after I found out that I had not made the SRW DT, I received an offer from Frank to be a guest designer one month. I said yes, but never heard back from him, so I figured that he had more than enough offers - or didn't get my email. No problem, it went into the back of my mind - until last week. That's when I received an email from Frank asking if I would like to do it this month. Sure, sounds like fun!

Then, I got my dies. Maybe it's because I was busy trying to get DH to agree to the VERY EXPENSIVE repairs to his car (makes my new tires look reasonable), arrange a last-minute camp for DS (Sensei is not charging for it, she only had one student sign up and figured age-wise DS was a better fit than DD) and catching up with a friend, but I seriously could not come up with any uses for a ladder. Oh, I thought of the tree die with the ladder against it, but I am seriously lacking photos for that (no cats or tree houses and DS has a thing about heights - he fears them; DD has shown no interest in climbing at all. Hard to read and climb a ladder!) Train tracks came to mind, but I never got the big train dies. ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!

After awhile, it dawned on me: photos from the kitchen painting! I have the ladder in a few of the photos. Okay, one layout. Then it occurred to me to use the ladder as a trellis for a card. Stumped, I went to bed.

We had a bad night. DS had nightmares and a VERY stuffy nose, so I was tossing and turning (and getting kicked and elbowed - sleeping with two martial arts enthusiasts can be rather dangerous!) when it occurred to me that the ladder would make a lovely basket. Sort of like a lattice. Check off the altered project.

Finally, my most inspiring idea came: the Mexican Pyramid!!!! I have been trying to create one for weeks, but the steps were beyond me. The ladder is perfect. A bit long, but that's fixable. I cut them out, and THEY FIT PERFECTLY!!!!!!!!!!!!! (After two snips, that is!) Showed the layout to DH who was duly impressed. DS, for whom the layout is, was VERY HAPPY.

Need to put the finishing touches on the items and post them tomorrow. Why am I writing here and not finishing them? Well, hot glue needs to be used and I am not feeling brave right now.....

I LOVE GASC (Part 3) - Stencil Collection Chalks!

Okay, so last night I finally used the chalks from The Stencil Collection. I used them with the Spellbinders wine die I got at GASC. I really thought it would be harder than it was. I simply scratched the chalks ( I used a royal blue, a royal purple and a dark green), swirled them up with my stencil brush and applied them through the openings on the dies.

I LOVE truth in advertising!!! I did NOT need to clean the brush before switching colors and they did blend divinely. I did, however, notice a bit of the colors rubbing off on my fingers, but they did NOT smear on the paper. Yep, I purposely tried that. How else would I know?

DH was duly impressed, which made me very happy because the embossed and chalked die cuts are for his wine notebook to keep track of which ones he has enjoyed, and those he didn't care for. Now that I have the dies - and the chalk! - we can get working. Afterall, I made the book last year....

And, before I forget, I now know that yes, using the simple rubber mat really DOES make a difference with the Spellbinder dies. Sux I got rid of the dies that I tried to emboss using the metal stylus....

Next time, my review of a book of ideas that I actually like and may even use.

I LOVE GASC (Part 2) [and Hate Stencil Crayons]

Okay, I fibbed. I really, really meant to use the chalks, but there are 48 of them and I just didn't know where to start.

So I started with the embossing pastes. There are only five of those: black, red, blue, green and purple (I got the Winter set from The Stencil Collection) which came with an intricate fan stencil and since DD will be presenting fans for her black belt demonstration - the decision was made for me. I decided to emboss the fan in red and black on black and red paper. It was lots of fun - like decorating a cake, which is how they describe it. I love truth in advertising!

Well, to make a long story short: I should have bought the embossing pastes years ago instead of stupidly battling with the stencil crayons. The pastes go on smoothly and dry nicely. Come to think of it, I am pretty sure I like them better than embossing powders, too. I ALWAYS make a mess with embossing powders. (That little factoid shouldn't surprise anyone.) It goes all over the place, melts unevenly and is a royal pain to get off of my desk.

Of course, for multiple colors, I would need white paste and my handy-dandy non-smearing chalks. (MY chalks, not meant for consumption by minors - sorry Kids!) I supposedly just need to spread the white paste, remove the stencil, let the paste dry and then color those with the chalks.

Except I opted to not get white embossing paste. Dumb move. Guess I need to find a source for the pastes. I hate to pay shipping, unless it is my only option. (Makes no sense with the price of gas, I know, but I am nothing if not stubborn!)

In conclusion, the pastes rock! If only I hadn't gotten rid of most of my stencils when I became frustrated with the @#$% crayons....

I LOVE GASC (Part 1)

I LOVE GASC!!! The Great American Scrapbooking Convention is a great place to discover new techniques and supplies. It's also a great place for picking up items you keep putting off...

A bit of background first: in 2005 DD and I attended a scrapbooking convention in Austin, TX, where we used to live. That's where we discovered QK and several other items. I bought the QK, but left the embossing pastes and chalks in favor of the stencil crayons. I spent years trying to use the crayons, passing up the chance every year at the GASC's to get the pastes and chalks. Last year both my friends bought the chalks from the Stencil Collection - and hearing how great they were made me gnash my teeth while fighting with the stencil crayons which smeared all over the place, since the chalks stay put.

So, this year I decided that I needed the chalks - and the colored embossing pastes. It helped that I now have the Rev, Sil and tons of dies and alphabets, a BIA, the new YourStory (thermal book binder), the Mosaic Magic cutting mat and cork-backed ruler, a two-sided Purple Cow and other 'wants'.

To make shopping easier and quicker, I used the links sent by GASC to check out most of the companies. I found several interesting items which went onto my Wants List.

My list was pretty simple:

-Mosaic Magic paper
-Color Studio Cd
-Necklace stand from Glue & Co
-Idea book from Deluxe Designs
-Stencil Company Chalk & Colored Embossing Pastes
-Chipboard Owl Book

-anything new & exicting

I managed to get all of the above items in less than hours, plus a few more....

In fact, one of my best purchases was Postcard for the Sil for $30!!! By the time I got my Sil and decided that I wanted that particular cd, Sherri was out. I wasn't willing to pay $70 where I could find it - and $30 was a dream price. I really wish that some of the others interested me because that is one AWESOME price. While deciding on that purchase, I starting talking to another QK enthusiast about the Sil and all that you can do with it. She ended up buying one, but the booth owners were oblivious that it was thanks to me.

Tomorrow (or when I get a chance), I will reveal whether or not the four-year wait for the chalks has been worth the wait.

Crafted Out?

I am so EXHAUSTED!!! It has been two crazy weeks! I have about crafted myself into a coma. Let's see:

Last week DS handed me the famous scrapbooking letter. That's the one where we were given an 8x8 refill page and asked to do a scrapbook page. I upset the two moms in charge by insisting on making a real scrapbook page. Hey, at least our page will last! We had to turn that in by last Friday.

That same day I went crazy trying to prepare one-and-a-half uniforms for Saturday's Belt Test. Got them done, stripes and patches just in time to go see "Night at the Museum 2: Battle for the Smithsonian." Saturday was the belt test. I am the photographer and videographer (since no one else seems to want to.) DH, DD & DS all tested (brown and 2 pre-blacks), so now I have 3 more layouts to add to my stack of projects. The older two have to do their own journaling, though.

Sunday I worked on finishing the baby album for DD's teacher whose wife had a baby. DD wanted it to be done with my Bind-It-All, which made it a bit trickier. I used most of my cutesy animal dies - good thing I love to piece things together!

On Monday I found out that the Speech Therapist at the school is leaving. Another BIA album needed to be made. Then the Room Mom for DD's homeroom (she had two teachers this year) didn't get her act together for a class gift, so I needed to do something since we absolutely LOVE this teacher. That would be BIA album #3. This one was Texas-themed.

On top of that, two girls in the mid-level martial arts class needed alterations to their uniforms for Wednesday. Okay, fine.

Then, I innocently ask DS about his teacher's birthday. Turns out that it is this coming Sunday. Total is now four BIA albums. One done. Three due by this Thursday (yesterday.) I managed to get the uniforms done, help with the school parties and finish the albums by midnight Wednesday.

Took finished gifts to school (baby album had been taken in on Tuesday), saw part of the end-of-year program and headed off for the Great American Scrapboooking Convention in Arlington where I proceeded to add necessary items to my life.

What were they? Let me get back to you. See I went back today with the kids, am totally exhausted and DH's ghee, which was back-ordered, arrived yesterday and needs to be altered....

Bearly Saved!

DH is a genius! He came in and saw my Bear layout and his first suggestion - well, actually his second- was to use Norbert's muzzle.

It worked! The BAA bear is now a bear in my eyes.

As for the white-paint bear, I was able to use LOTS of tan paint and paint him all over, thus totally rectifying my mistake. Lesson learned.

Oh, and DH's first suggestion? Give the bear round eyes....

So Beary Frustrated!!!

Okay, this was supposed to be a quick layout, whilst I ponder how I want to do DS's China layout from Epcot. It has been rather frustrating, instead!

See, I have this portrait taken of DD when she was one with lots of bears (it was a background at the portrait studio), and I just got my Build An Animal die that can be made into a bear, so off I went.

No offense, but that BAA bear looks nothing bear-like in my hands. It looks more squirrel-like. Why squirrel? I dunno, but it reminds me of a squirrel. Of course, I decided this AFTER I glued it down. Then I put a Norbert down, further squirrelifying the other bear. It occurred to me that it was the eyes, so I got out my trusty animal-eye-maker (the QK Willow Buds) and proceeded to get rid of the round eyes that came with the die. Now I am torn: is is a tail-less squirrel or tail-less mouse?

(And on a side note, I really hope I can work with this die. I am going to have to try making several of the animals :duck, panda, cat, etc - and the mouse. Wonder if I mean to make a mouse, will it turn out to look like a bear? I love the idea of this die, but right now the reality of it bites.)

Determined to save this layout, I proceeded to cut out two bears from a design I purchased online. Mistakenly, I used a marker on the face crease of one of them. Looks really bad. REALLY, REALLY BAD. I have been using white paint to go over it so that it disappears enough to be able to put some tan on and cover my mistake.

The other bear I painted straight away - and I left his crease alone! He turned out the best of all, except for his eyes....

You know, I really need to think things out next time, so I don't end up so BEARY frustrated!

Frank-Inspired Layout

I cannot figure out why the whole layout is not showing. I guess I need to tweak my settings!

Creative Juices at Full Blast!

So last week Frank (GypsyBear) posted a Disney layout using the new Silhouette bookends. He used Laugh Often with his pics of Chip & Dale. He also used the Sil acorn and some leaves.

I fell in love with that layout. It inspired me. It inspired me to spend most of last Sunday afternoon on the couch fiddling with my RoboCraft software. I decided I wanted to do something similar to Frank's masterpiece, but using a Disney-esque font. Took some time. Counting 1/2-inch squares when you need glasses is a real headache-inducer! Finally I got the bookend section done, then it was onto the words.

Luckily I had the font I wanted, and the welding ability of the software. What I didn't have was the software and welding's realization that I wanted the letters to just kiss the edges of the bookends. The software is NOT intuitive, it does what it should. Thus, the bottom part of the 'N' could disappear if overlapped. Same with 'R', 'M' and a few others. Capital letters were necessary or the 'g' would become an 'o' and 'y' a 'v'. Not quite what I had in mind.

I kept welding and undoing the welding until the bookends looked like the idea in my mind. Then, on Monday, I was finally ready to cut. The first one was a disaster - the cutting mat is no longer sticky and it moved around too much. So, I switched cutting mats and tried again. Success! Then I tried the second set. The letters were too thin and tore as I was removing them from the rest of the paper. I had to fix it.

For some reason I had the text set up as outline, so I switched it to bold and the set cut out beautifully! Now, not all of the letters are connected to the bookends due to the the disappearance of certain sections.

The next hurdle was gluing the letters down. That is why thin glue pens were created! Just my luck: the glue ran out. GRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then, the photos and bookends were on the pages, but something was still missing. Debating on that took a couple of days. I settled on paw prints and bones. My QK bones are smaller than I wanted and I cannot remember actually buying the pawprint, so it was back to my Silhouette. I downloaded them and tried to cut them out. The bones were fine. I used a whole sheet of paper.

However, I decided to use a partial sheet for the pawprints. BAD IDEA. The paper moved around so much that most of the pawprints were a mess. I rescued what I could ( glad I had tried to cut out 10, I got 4) and put all the embellishments on the paper. On went the journaling and they are done!

Oh, and while I was doing all of that, I was using the SIL to work on DS's Disney book. I am going to make him a storybook using photos and things we did. First I am going to do the layouts and then go back and journal. He is a very creative child, and is quite happy with the first two pages. I will post those when I have more done.

One of these days I need to use my metal dies.......

It's the SIL's Fault!

Has it been two months since I last blogged? OHMIGOSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What have I been doing?

Playing with the Silhouette. Playing with the Silhouette alot. See, David is a genius when it comes to computers and he showed me how to find JPEGS online, open them in RoboCraft, get an outline and BAM! a new file for my SIL. Thus, I have spent long hours searching for files I could cut in my SIL.

Hours and hours have been spent going through Google images, trying to figure out which ones work and which ones don't. Dark and simple lines work the best. Colored items are iffy. My favorite searches are for Korean symbols for the scrapbooks for David & the kids. I have found some great ones : strength (which is probably more Chinese and/or Japanese), fire, father and sensei (teacher in Japanese).

Notice how the symbols are supposed to be in Korean, but I said they were Japanese? Turns out, at least according to my research, that Korea and Japan incorporated the Chinese symbols, later creating their own. It is driving me NUTS!!! Undoubtedly I am driving Sheryl (the aforementioned sensei) and her husband Geoff batty with my questions. We are all aware that somethings do not translate well, so we are doing our best to be careful. They look so beautiful, so I feel this need to replicate them perfectly. (The card is at the top of the post.)

So, I have spent hours and hours looking for items to cut out on my SIL, but very little actual scrapping. I am behind on my die challenge and all of the layouts I need to do.

Thus, it is the SIL's fault for tempting me to spend those hours dreaming about scrapbooking, but doing little actual work.

I need to get my butt in gear.

Valentine Thoughts

Today is Valentine's Day. A day to remember the one you love. I did that, I just forgot to make him a card! I cannot believe I forgot that. I even cut out the knight in shining arm in white (on my SIL) and then I totally forgot!

Luckily he loves me. He also forgot to get me a card, so we are even. Not in a tit-for-tat way, but rather in a "gee, I really love you, but we don't need to celebrate today just to make each other look good way." I would rather he hold my hand in public in the heat of July than buy me roses in mid-February. And since I prefer peach roses to red, and do not love those expensive chocolates (a box of Dove Bananas Foster-filled Milk Chocolates is my ideal), I am not the target market. Thus, no tears or complaints here!

[Disclaimer: part of the reason I was remiss in the card department is that we have a coupon from Wolf Camera for a free photobook from when we bought the new camera, and I decided to use it -with some paid upgrades- to create a photobook for David of WDW. I spent 2.5 hours on Thursday creating the book, only to have the system crash on page 16 out of 22. I left the store extremely disgusted, determined to make him something on Friday. I got called to work on Friday. Then we had to run him his tuxedo to the airport (he had flown to Orlando for a work meeting (Alex was beside himself with jealously) and had a dinner at 5:30), and then I had to make supper. By the time our company (an aunt is visiting) went to sleep, and I got the kids ready for bed, my brain wasn't working.]

What we did do today meant so much more. We renewed our vows. Our church holds a ceremony every year and this was the first one we have been able to attend. It was sweet, it was touching and it brought tears to my eyes. It was strange, in a lovely way, to say the vows in English. Our wedding was in Spanish since we were married in Mexico, and now I can say that this time I understood what I was promising! (Just kidding, I am very fluent and was more so 13 years ago since we were actually living in Monterrey and I had to plan everything by myself.)

So, while in church, that section of my brain that is dedicated to scrapbooking was whirring. I think this special occasion deserves to be commemorated. I had a friendly church member take our photo (not the best, but Sandy took a Photoshop class) and I can do a layout using a reprint of a photo from when we wed. It's not like I need to buy any dies (although there is a SIL banner that would be perfect.)

That can be my belated Valentine's 'card' to David. I hope he likes it. Maybe I can work on it tomorrow.

I Have HOW MANY DIES?! (Not for David)

I have been remiss in listing the dies I have been using. I decided it was time to get caught up. It took me about an hour. I hope I didn't miss any.

For those who do not know, I decided I would challenge myself to use a die a day starting August 12, 2008. It hasn't quite worked out that way. Some days I use several dies - mainly due to my Design Team Submissions- and there are days I do not use any QK. I know that sounds like a blasphemy, but the Martial Arts pages for David & the kids are not using a lot of QK since there are few QK dies I can use.

So, as of now, and barring any dies I may have forgotten, my list is up-to-date. I am proud to say that I am ahead of my goal, thanks to a second DT assignment at the end of the month, plus new submissions for the next DT. The deadline was today. I made it with 11 hours to spare! Hey, I have been a bit busy!

I doubt I will be chosen again; there are so many talented people who deserve a chance. At the end of December I was in denial about it, then I passed to sadness and now I have reached acceptance. Plus, there are some who tried out for the DT that will throw a holy fit if they are not selected - and I do not want to have that tag. It has been fun, I have learned alot, I have expanded my horizons and my confidence has had a major boost. Now it is someone else's turn.

I have made the decisions to participate in more swaps, they stretch me with the assigned themes and I will be receiving items from others that will inspire me. All-in-all, a wonderful step forward in furthering my creative wanderings!

Oh no, I just remember two dies I forgot!!!

Off to post them while the memory is still rewarmed!

OOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooops!!! It was actually four!

WE"RE BAAAAAACK!!! (And I am BEHIND!!!!!!)

Ohmigosh, has it really been that long since I posted? Wow.

WDW was a BLAST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We came back with just under 2400 photos!

On check-in I received a pin proclaiming it was my birthday. David helped with that. When the registrar (drawing a blank right now) noted that we had a celebration listed on our reservation, my darling hubby was helpful and pointed out that it was mine the following Tuesday.

I wore that button everyday. I have NEVER been wished 'Happy Birthday!' so much in my life. At first I felt guilty, but then I just went with the flow. It was easier than explaining to every single person.

Our first day was at Epcot. The park was pretty empty. We started at Mission Space. I decided to try it since it was cold enough that the dizziness should dissipate rather quickly. (My Meniere's seems to dislike the cold; for some reason dizzy attacks that are immediately followed by cold - preferably with wind- tend to go away much more rapidly. Of course I prefer warmth, which probably exacerbates the problem.) I walked out dizzy - and that was the Green Ride! I sat outside and watched the Monorail while David & the kids took another gander on Mission Space. We also did Soaring ( I am fine until we zoom over Los Angeles in the dark.) Test Track is my favorite - we did that three times in a row! Lunch was at Akershus. It was okay, though Ariana had the tiniest cheese pizza I have ever seen that was not labeled micro! Then we did a bit more in Future World such as a private visit with Mickey & Pluto thanks to our Disney CC. At one point Mickey litterally got right into my face while I was photographing Alex & Pluto!

We ended the night at Downtown Disney. I got some great photos in the dark! Turns out our new Canon Camera takes awesome night shots once you figure out how to work it. I need to figure out how to make those layouts shine.

Day Two was also Epcot, punctuated by a quick visit for yours truly to try to fix the problem with Ariana's reservation. We booked before she turned 10, but Disney considers that to be an adult. I had paid the difference, but the info did not transfer. Luckily Rafeeza was much more able to help me than her boss. He was a lost cause!

I returned to Epcot to find David had only taken a couple of photos of the kids. We were mistakenly told that Future World is not open for Extra Magic Hours, but World Showcase is, so we spent the whole night in back. We bought pearls in Japan. My last pearl had identical twin pearls that David had set in gold drop earrings. My other pearls were set in gold, one with a small emerald and the other in a gold cage. Ariana had two pearls set in a ring and the other set with a small sapphire. Alex chose an oyster which contained an 8mm pearl! He had it set in a tie tac. We finally were able to enjoy the American Experience, something very meaningful to me since I am an Inauguration Baby.

The photos that night of the different buildings in the dark turned out incredible!

More later!

Disney-Bound

I cannot believe that we will be in DisneyWorld in four days!!!!!!!!

Ohmigosh, there is so much to do!

I need to finish the kids' autograph books.

I need to make DD a dress.

I need to make DS a Peter Pan Shirt.

I need to clean my scrapping area.

I need to clean the house because my mom is coming 36 hours after we return.

So, I guess I need to make this a short post so I can make some headway.

My next post will be fun. I promise. It will be about Disney. And all the photos we took.

I hope!