shopping the stash: it can be done!!

after many, many years of making product driven pages and projects, i had to break a very hard habit of backwards scrapping.

for a while i was able to find pictures first, arrange them and then figure out paper and embellishments.

it felt like work.

so much like work that i didn't work that way for long.

and then i found digital scrapping.

so much better.

now i find templates i like, fit my pictures with the layers, add or delete elements and then i'll let it simmer for a while in a folder on my desktop.

sometimes i will just plow thru a page in 20 minutes if i know exactly what i want.

as a result of whittling down the designers i REALLY like and keeping my stash under control, i am able to make pages i truly love.

plus no excess of pictures:)))) 

this is one of those pages that make me go AWWWWWWWW:) the pictures are not the best quality, but the memory is. it was a magical evening.

freebie template here:

freebie shabbyshoppe template

and this amaze*balls kit was via thedailydigi.com

if you are thinking going digital you NEED to get the dailydigi.

just saying:)

Simple Comforts: freebie scrapping

freebie template from scrapping with liz

like scrapping with liz facebook page to access template

love, LOVE Allison Kimball's free kits. i REALLY think they are top notch quality and would buy them in a heartbeat:)

Allison Kimball's freebie three things digital kit

budget digital scrapping: a plan for the rest of 2012.

ok....it is that time again.

the dh has placed me on a scrapbooking budget.

dang.

what does that budget include?

i made a breakdown last nite that was ok for us both...and realistic.

1. i will keep my subscription to the dailydigi.com that is $7.50 a month.

2. i will be able to print a max of two photo books for the year, each for 6 months for the bulk of my pages.

3. what does not belong in the photo books will be printed @ costco, as long as we have excess $.

4. NO digital kits, new albums or paper supplies unless positively absolutely needed.

5. PL will be continued:) with ONLY the supplies i have @ home. good thing i stocked up on page protectors:)

i will be on the hunt of freebies and will be sure to post the origins here @ the blog.

there will be some paper scrapping soon too!

here is the start of the budgeting:)

find the template here:

theshabbyshoppe freebie template

and the freebie kit here:

cherish the thought by sugarplum paperie via sweetshoppedesigns

shifting priorities.

i knew the day would come, but dang...it caught me by surprise!

the girls joined forces and explained (in no uncertain terms) that i was NOT to post any pictures of them on facebook.

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA?

my dh was no help, obviously he thinks the same was they do.

alrightythen.

i'll just post them on my blog. and it will be ok:)

the dog is another story!!!

he waits all day:)

for his family to come home.

just me is not enough.

he looks out the window starting at 2:30. he knows when the alarm goes off, the kids and the daddy  are close

and he is not completely himself until all six of us are together again.

he is our little boy. we adore him to pieces:)

editing photos.

straight out of the camera:

cropped and edited with original film(yellowskyactions)

mr. fix it (yellowskyactions)

title brush (karla dudley) 

a lot of THIS.

the last week has been very hard both physically and emotionally.

it seems we have been on a roller coaster ride for months now.

my kiddos are almost 3 months to the end of school and summer vacation, but the days have been so nice that is difficult for them to stay focused. add to that the start of allergy season and it is just NOT FUN.

to counteract the craziness i have taken to doing this project.

organizing, cutting down pictures to fit PL page protectors and saving the very best photos to paperscrap later on.

it helps.

weekend scrapping part two:)

weekend scrapping

the daily digi and project life.

a page

and a 4x6 for project life:)

scrapping family:)

a long time ago, before digital, i would take pictures of family and friends and leave them in photo boxes. i was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of pictures and even though i was a fast paper scrapper, those were the pictures that hardly ever got done.

fast forward to the here and now.

not only am i able to get my own pictures digiscrapped faster, but i am able to keep up with friends and family:)

i might not be physically there to take the pictures, but i am able to download from flickr or facebook and make beautiful pages of my loved ones:)

and it is ALL good!

K.I.S.S. scrapping:)

easy.simple.ME!

template by simplyyin, kit via the dailydigi

two page template by mandagirl, kit by karla dudley

*Love*Love*Love*

ok. i will admit that when i saw this kit in the new thedailydigi, i was like hmmmmmmm?

it was so pastel-ey and colorful and just little kiddie for me....

man, was i wrong!

i have a folder on my desktop that i use for powerscrapping.

as soon as i find a template that works for a series of pictures, i process them with PSE and then plug them into the layered fie and save as a psd.

so much easier to scrap that way when i know that the "hard" stuff is out of the way and that i can just play around with the digital kits i collect thru the weeks. 

so that is exactly what i did with this particular page.

all the photos were processed with yellowskyactions for PSE.

i usually delete some embellishment layers and play around with the placement...but i REALLY like how this one turned out.

if you like the kit it is available this month @www.thedailydigi.com 

a day with the kids:)

freebies are awesome. yes they are:)

one of the best things about being digital is not having to wait until new supplies are shipped to stores after cha to be able to try them out.

something else that might entice you to try digital are the freebies that are available on the internet:)

one of my favorite designers is allison kimball

http://allisonkimball.typepad.com/

even if her designs were not free, i would be buying them up like a crazy person!!!

the elements on this page are mostly from her newest free kit, plus a few doo*dads from miss karla dudley.

from psd to jpeg:)

the layered psd file by kim lund via thedailydigi

it is a cool, simple layout with lots of space for photos and journaling.

i made a few adjustments to fit my pictures.

also i like shadows so i use them all the time:)

not much journaling because this is something we do all the time.

except that this time we took our very super cool niece miss vivi:))) i love this kid!

and after plugging on a few choice pieces of karla dudley's new kits t is all done:)

took about 30 minutes from start to finish.

*a little story*

this lady sets up her homemade ice cream cart outside the clinic on 125th street every spring/summer or until it gets cold.

devyn LOVES it, but this time she stayed home.

i used to love the cart ice cream too...when i was a little girl.

those carts have been around a long time, and the "HELADOS" still taste exactly the same.

spring.

picture processed with sunflare and majestical actions by

yellowskyactions.

spring has sprung and so have our allergies:)

digital makes me happy.

...because it just rocks!

no more buying paper, tape, glue and all the other little do*hickeys that make my life more cluttered.

all my stuff is contained in my macbookpro and when i am done, i just close it and that is that:)

right now i am in the process of getting rid of all my paper supplies.

luckily one of my daughter's friends LOVES all things paper....so i thing next week i will be making her very very very happy:)

right now:

i used a template from mandagirl (freebie)

and a kit from karla dudley.

happiness indeed:)

a new me, a new blog:)

so far this year i have been through many, many life changes.

children's illnesses, family illnesses, kids school activities and in the middle of it all trying to keep myself sane and healthy.

i could start this blog off by saying that i am on an awesome new fitness plan and eating better and being on a true path.

but i am not.

what i am doing is trying to spend more quality time with my family.

i AM trying to be more active...working out and eating better than i was before.

choices are being made that involve ALL of us.

it's a good thing.

we are in a better place.

and i want this blog to be a reflection of everything true in my life:)