Pieces of me

Thursday

I am starving. I worked out at the gym yesterday (not usual), then did my usual step class this morning & it's made me so hungry, I'm consuming everything that isn't actually nailed down.

I've wanted to make a folio book for ages & the extra photos left over from our Italy/France trip seemed like the perfect choice to fill something like this.  I put most of the photos from this trip into my Rome-Paris album, so most of the ones in this are the "b" team, or doubles. There's not a lot of journalling in this book as there's lots in the main album & I figure I've said it all there.

Really love how this turned out - a great way of informally storing these pics - otherwise they were just going to sit in the photos box.

Love the fact that I used lots of patterned paper & embellishments that I've had kicking around for ages. I've really tried not to buy anything new for a while (though I did crack a month or so ago and spend about $200 on supplies!), as I'm wanting to use up what I've got rather than it being a "collection".

Stacks of distress ink on this.

I've put together a video on how I constructed this project. The folio's been made from manilla folders - so is quite large finished. Lots of fast-forward stuff in this & instructions & measurements are written in in these sections. I'm sorry to subject you to enrique, but I really love this song & rediscovered it on one of the kids old cd's that made it's way to Erin. We've been singing it for days. LOL.

Some of the pics from the project - they're a little hard to see on the video.

Close up of the tie that keeps the side flaps in place.

Open folio:

SOME INSIDE PAGES:

 

I've taken out the thumbnails of the videos from the sidebar - the links are still there, and I'll leave up the most current.

Another option other than checking the blog, if you're interested, you can be notified when I put a new video up by going to subscribe  to them at YouTube - you'll have to create an account to do so :)

I need to make a move on our home videos and try and sort them out before doing any more for the blog. I'm going to an event in April & plan to tape the instructions for the classes I'm doing there :)

Have a great day!

hx

Saturday morning!

Yay! It's the weekend, Friday Pizza Night is behind us, and only another 6 sleeps to go till I get pizza again!

O.k., so I'm loving my new video software & put together another video showing how to put together this layout.

Love photos of babies feet. Unfortunately, I didn't know much about photography when my kids were babies, so I missed out on these sort of shots for me. Now I have to steal other people's babies to exploit to fulfill my need to have feet photos!

These feet belong to Lily, my friend Rachel's baby.

I had some pics of the baby book I put together for her a while back on the blog :)

Video shows the layout from concept through to completion, and I have gone overboard including music, fast-forward, scrolling titles, etc, etc. John is just waiting till I figure everything out so that I can show him how to use the software without him having to touch the manual. LOL!

I had so much fun I'm already planning my next one!

Somebody stop me!!

Anyway, I'd love to hear what you think, any suggestions, etc :)

Here's some closeups of the detail from the layout:

DETAIL PHOTO 1

FLOWERS

Love these. They came from a ridiculously expensive piece of ribbon that I bought years ago.

I removed the flowers from the ribbon backing then reattached them, along with the "leaf strip" to the layout. I left some of the original centres intact, attached some with pearl beads, and held others in place with embroidery thread/french-knots.

DETAIL PHOTO 2

STITCHING

I stitched around most of the photo (didn't want to go over those cute little toes). First in straight stitch, then over some areas in zigzag stitch to mess it up a bit.

Same around the side and bottom of the fabric

Little heart is a rubon that I found kicking around - I think it's from a sweetwater set.

DETAIL PHOTO THREE

EMBOSSED PHOTO CORNER

These have been created with metal shim (my fave material to emboss), cut into shape & then the design applied, painted, sanded.

I created 2 for this layout - the large photo corner on the upper RH corner, and another one - a triangle, for the bottom LH corner.

Edges of layout and "baby" title have been highlighted with Tattered Rose distress ink pad.

Now, I have a technical question - I see some people manage to centre the images that they post on their blogs - how do they do that? I only have the option of uploading to LH, or RH sides? Do they create the photo with a large white area to fit the space, thus centring it? Drives me crazy that I can't do everything the way I want it! Frustrating.

O.k., off to plan my next video.

Have a great weekend!

hx

so, what's been happening.......

In the past few weeks since the drama with the old computer began, my ongoing projects, plans, etc, pretty much went to crap. Since I didn't have a computer to check email, etc, I didn't have any reason to go to my desk, didn't get lured into doing any scrapbooking........you get the picture. On the other hand, I did get quite a bit of house stuff done. The night Alana came home and there was a list on the fridge stating what all the meals would be for the coming week - it became obvious, they had to step in with an intervention. All signs were pointing to me becoming like a real housewife - the shock of that would be too much for any of us to handle. LOL. Thankfully, the new computer was picked up a couple of days later - who knows what I'd be doing now.............colour co-ordinating my sock draw, or something!

o.k., so 365 project - phhhhh - fuhggetaboutit! I'm too far behind now to even try catching up with that, I lost the momentum of taking pictures once I couldn't upload them to the computer. Though, something good came out of it........the whole thing spun off into another concept for me. This year, I'm going to focus on taking "everyday" photos - slices from our normal, daily life, that will hopefully give a more rounded picture of who we are & what we do. With these, I'm going to be putting together my "everyday" album - just ordinary layouts with more of a focus on the story behind the picture.

I am not going to set myself up for failure by trying to make 10, 20, or 30 layouts a month for this, it'll just be when I want to do it and hopefully I'll have enough layouts by the end of the year to have made it a meaningful project.

Some layouts from January:

Me doing Yoga on the verandah. This is totally the coolest place to do it during summer. There's usually a breeze up here and the birds are singing........love it.

Love the grunge-board scrolls & I actually used some alphabet stickers - I've only had these sitting in my sticker folder for like 3 years or so!

With my yoga, I'm currently working on doing the splits. My teacher reckons I'll get there in a couple of weeks if I do the practice every day. How cool would that be? I haven't been able to do this for about 25 years! I'll keep y'all updated on my progress :)

Tabsta the night we put his collar on.

I'm trying to make the date a fairly prominent part of these "everyday" layouts.

This one also uses some MM rubons, Rusty Pickle alpha stamps. The lines have just been ruled on with an orange marker. I am so not even worrying about my spelling correction right there on the page - look how mature I am. LOL. a few years ago I wouldn't have been able to cope with it - even for a simple layout like this!

An update: Tabby's still wearing the collar - we took it off a week ago & he started licking at it right away, so we're waiting till his fur grows back - he's got a little bit of reforrestation happening now, so it shouldn't be long. In the meantime, I'm a little concerned his having a bit of a sexual identity crises.

What can I say? The boy knows how to work it.....go baby, go, go.

Erin's sunflowers. Love these UM stamps :)

More alphabet stickers here, too!!

It was nice to use some cardstock colours that don't normally find their way to my layouts :)

NEWS BULLETIN:

YESTERDAY BEN GOT HIS LICENCE :) SO PROUD!!!

Have a great day! hx

New video.........

It took me 4 times to get this right! I have new video editing software & it wasn't playing nice with YouTube. In the end, I saved as a very small MPEG4, so may be a little harder to see, but it should be easy & quick to upload :) Next time I'll play around with something a bit more high res, but seriously I'm over this one now.

A layout I did back before the old computer got sick:

Writing style was inspired by a layout I saw in CK, love the way it works on this layout.

Felt Flowers are making memories, which I've embroidered to individualise:

Close-up of the detail on one of the paisley designs:

I've hand-drawn the paisley designs & used beading, adirondack acrylics(textured dots) and shimmering paints that come in little pots - their name has totally eluded me right at this moment, here's a closer look - you can see the paint shimmering. Love, love it!

Been playing with my drawing tablet (yep, again!), and turned these designs into brushes :) Just email me if you'd like a copy of these. 4 designs. Remember, they're hand drawn so the lines will not be perfect, etc. I like 'em that way, but you might not!

A 5 minute layout using the brushes :

Have good weekend!!

hx

BACK ONLINE! THE ADVENTURES OF TABBY CAT & THE DANGERS OF ROTARY CUTTERS!

Woohoo!!! I picked up my new computer yesterday, along with some super-cool new software that I'm learning how to use! (I had to compensate myself for 3 weeks without a computer - what better way than new toys?)

O.k., one of my new toys is a Bamboo Fun Tablet, which I've only just started doing some scribbles with to try and orientate myself to how it works - it's so weird drawing and having it come out on the screen instead of under the pen. LOL. A bit like when I first used a mouse, it felt totally out of control!

Also bought myself a new video editing program that was recommended to me, it's pretty full-on, so I hope I can manage to use it! I'm going to play with it a bit this afternoon and will hopefully have a new video to upload tomorrow.

Also have some new projects to upload soon, just no time to edit the pics just yet.

I'm finding it a little hard to type today - last week, for some crazy reason, I decided to cut some of the tip of my index finger off with a rotary cutter. Yeah. Fun. That's just the kinda girl I am!

I was working on a project, not concentrating too hard (much the same as usual!!!) and my rotary cutter went off track and over my finger. It was pretty surreal seeing part of my fingertip and nail lying on my work bench before it registered that it was supposed to still be attached to my hand...........and, boy did that sucker bleed! It seems to be healing up o.k. & I'm hoping I don't have a deformed finger tip once it does. It's actually not as bad as when I cut half way through the top of my thumb & the nail bed with an axe a couple of years back and that healed out without any scarring. AAAANNNND I can now officially vouch for the sharpness of both the Fiskars Axe & my Olfa Rotary cutter. Yep, the cup's always half full here in Helen-land.

Onto the ADVENTURES OF TABBY CAT......... (o.k., so we got bored without the computer!)

When we put the Revolution on the back of tabby's neck last month, we must have mis-aimed, because he started licking it and created a huge sore. We had no choice but to implement the Collar.

He didn't like it too much at first, but, being the way cool dude that we all know and love, he totally got over it and was strutting his stuff the next day ......... o.k., he had managed to undo it and turned it into a cape, but once we did it up the other way around so it wasn't in his face, he was cool with it and so made it work for him.

Some of his incarnationations:

Lord Tobias - the benevolent despot

SUPA-CAT - Always on the lookout for a damsel in distress

International Cat of Mystery - just call him Cat, Tabby Cat

Angel Tabby

Shark Tabby - his ears are as pointy as his fins

Bat Cat - to the batmobile, wonderboy!

the DNR order has been given!!!

My old computer can't be saved.........I get a new one on Monday. YAY for a new, faster computer. Been looking at software today - think I might have to celebrate with some video editing software. Anyone use the photoshop one? (can't remember the name of it).

have a good weekend!

hx

Still computer-less

And, yep, it is totally driving me crazy. My whole system crashed whilst at the doctors and they couldn't resusitate. Fortunately, they managed some fancy stuff and have saved all my data files and are doing stuff to it which means IT WILL LIVE. But I'll have to reload all my programs, etc, back onto the system :) Not looking forward to that, but at least my photos, etc, have been saved. I'll know the full story once I get it back home!

Thanks for the comments on the last post. For whatever reason I can't email replies back from my email program online at the library, they just keep bouncing back, so here's just a general one :)))

On a totally unrelated matter. MY LEGS ARE KILLING ME. Yep, I was bad, bad, bad over the Christmas break when the gym stopped running the classes for the school holidays, I did nothing. O.K., well, I did do yoga, semi-regularly, but somehow that does not compete with the torture that the boxing dude and the step class instructor put me through. My thighs and butt may never be the same again. You seriously know you're in trouble when you need support to sit down at the kitchen table, and forgetabout getting all the way down to the couch! John told me that everytime I rolled over Monday night (after boxing) that I called out ow, ow, ow in my sleep......LOL. And, of course, total sucker for punishment that I am, because I could walk without shuffling this morning I decided I was up for the step class. Huh! o.k., yeah, so, I'm warmed up right now from it, but I know, just know, that I'm going to be chair-ridden for the next few days. Forget about housework!!!! I'll be lucky to make it upright. Probably will be feeling o.k. just in time for Monday again.

Another funny thing I heard on the radio about texting..........one kiss after your name - like hx, is friendly, 2 means your up for sex. LOL. Is this true????? Since I regularly put 2 or 3 after my name on everything - emails, posts, texts, well, hell, who knows what I'm up for??????? I do love everyone who drops by to read my blog, but, you know, let's keep it platonic, 'kay?

Have a great day!

hxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A.W.O.L.

Though, technically, I probably don't have to get permission. Do I???? No one ever told me THE RULES.

O.k., my very sad tale......I'm actually typing this from the library.

My computer is at the doctors, and apparently it must be critical, because it's now going into its second week in ICU. Huh! No matter how many times I slapped it and told it "you can't die on me", it did, repeatedly, so I packed it up in my car and raced it off to emergency.

I was supposed to be able to pick it up today, but apparently the new, you beaut, memory that they put in it is having compatability issues with my system. Trust ME to have a temperamental computer.

At least I'm working on a few projects without the distraction of staring hypnotically into the computer for hours on end. Yep, that's it, it's a GOOD THING. That's what I'm going to keep telling myself, anyway!!

hx