Blog-Love

I finally got around to scrapping a few LOs again for the fabulous Pencillines-Blog. I love their sketches, but haven't had enough time to do them. So... here's what I came up with for the April Sketches so far. I still haven't done Sketch #29 and #30, but they are in the works. Sorry for the dark scan on the second LO. The flowers are so bulky... the scanner just didn't like it.







I also did a LO for a contest at Savvy'n'Sassy, which is a fun Canadian ribbon kit site. The contest is for 6 weeks, with different assignments each week. This week's assignment was to use a specific sketch, a specific quote, and (of course) 4 different kinds of ribbon. This is what I came up with.



PP Fontwerks, American Crafts, Frances Meyer, generic flowers and buttons, American Crafts ribbon, Bazzill (?) brad.

Have a good one.

Digging through some old pictures

Well... it's been almost 2 months that we moved into the house and I still haven't unpacked everything. It is not really a problem, because I figure, if I haven't unpacked it yet, I must not need it. The problem is that there are a lot of things I simply cannot find. I know they are here in the house, but I just don't know where.

But on the other hand, there are things that I found, that I hadn't seen in years. Like these old (well... at least 12 years old) pictures I found the other day. So... what does any good scrapper do? SCRAP THEM.

So here, not in my usual 12x12, two LOs with those old photos. The first picture is of Sunset over Lake McConaughy in Western NE. The other pictures are of my friend Steve feeding Freddy, my cockatiel, some Ramen Noodles. Crazy bird!

Workshop Minialbum

I finally found some batteries for the little digital camera, without having to go to the store, so I took pictures of the minialbum from Christiane's workshop this past weekend. Like I said, I didn't get to work on it during the workshop, and I don't remember exactly what hers looked like, but heck... that's the beauty of these workshops, no album looked exactly alike.

Enjoy.













Sorry, I didn't think about the right pages being a bit hard to see since the next page is wider.

Materials: BG and misc. fibers, rubons, chipboard and paints/inks. I also used the CreaMotion giant rub-ons on the last page. I had planned on putting those on the cover overlay, but they just wouldn't come off the backing on the overlay. I was getting a bit frustrated with them, so I just put one on the inside back cover.

Have a good one.

Tagged

I was tagged by Anja.

Here are the rules:
Each player starts with 7 random facts/habits about themselves. People who are tagged need to write down their seven facts and copy/paste these rules. You then need to tag 7 people. Don't forget to leave them a comment on their blog telling them that they have been tagged and to read your blog!

Well, first things first,... I think pretty much everyone I know has already been tagged, so if you read this and feel like playing, consider yourself tagged.

Now, 7 random facts/habits:

1. I love eating Bounty candy bar, but I have to nibble of the chocolate on the sides first, then the top, and only then will I eat the chocolate. Since it is somewhat messy I only do it at home when no one is watching. Blush

2. I don't like wearing socks and if I have to wear socks, I love girly socks... pink, orange, red, stipes, polka dots, flowers.... anything but boring.

3. I have never mowed the lawn. That means, I either learn real fast, or sweet-talk my dad into doing it ever other week or so.

4. I love sea food, but you know... I used to eat lots more when I still lived in NE than now that I live on the coast. Go figure.

5. I love fried egg sandwiches.

6. My favorite city is New York City

7. I wish I could take riding lessons with my kids.

So, like I said, if you haven't already been tagged, consider yourself tagged.

Have a good one.

Just do it

Something to that effect is what everybody must have told Andrea and Jana when it came to publishing the first printed German language scrapmagazine. And so they did! And then there was Scrap-art-zine.

After one online/downloadable issue and one printed issue, it is time for the second one. Yeah. It is due to be mailed out in June and I Just pre-ordered mine. Can't wait to see what the ladies are cooking up next. It is going to be really cool to see the development from one issue to the next. It is so easy to compare the magazine to the usual suspects, you know, Creating Keepsakes, Memory Makers, or whatever they all are called, but all these magazines are professionally published, with paid staff, professional fotographers, etc. etc. magazines, which have been around for a long time. But to see it develop first hand.... how cool is that?

Anyway, now I am going to tell you to JUST DO IT! Order your issue of Scrap-Art-zine. HERE


In other news.... for whatever that is worth, I made the minialbum for Christiane's workshop last Saturday. I didn't get to do it in class, because we thought it was better to be available to assist participants, but I did have the materials package.... and it was gorgeous materials, thanks to our fabulous sponsors Creativ-Freizeit and Scrapbook-king.
But... ya'll will have to wait for pictures, because the digital camera is out of batteries and I can't find the charger and the album is too lumpy to scan.

Anyway,

Have a good one.

Workshops in Hamburg

It was a fabulous day. We had lots of fun, lots of laughs, lots of things to talk about, lots of things to learn... and I think all the participants enjoyed the projects we presented.

Since I am still living in the dark ages camera wise and refuse to give up my trusty Cannon EOS 30 for a digital camera...I don't have any pictures to show, but head on over to Christiane and Nat and you can get a look at what it looked like.

I did scan the cards I made as class samples. Actually, sorry, I had planned on getting 6 cards done but we ran out of time, so the first one shown isn't actually one we did at the workshop. And, sorry again, they didn't scan so well, because they are somewhat lumpy. My mother told me that was going to be a problem...lumpy cards and mailing them, not scanning, but heck, I like lumpy.

To the workshop participants, Nat sent out an e-mail asking for your feedback. We really appreciate any open and honest opinion. Only then can we learn and change how we do things. With that said, I hope you all enjoyed it and had a great day.

Have a good one.

Blog Love or Am I a sewer at heart?

Alright, bear with me, I am dealing with fundamental issues right now... Deep stuff, you know.

I know I am a scrapper. When it comes to hobbies, my heart beats for scrapbooking. I love everything about the creative process. I love my scrapping friends, I love the ideas, the shopping (yeah, I am not even going to pretend that I don't like the shopping part), the feeling of accomplishment and pride after I have created yet another LO.

But, I was once a sewer. I used to sew my own clothes. I used to hoard fabric. Am I turning into a sewer again?

Over the last few months I have only used my sewing machine to sew on the occasional layout. I will have to get out the sewing machine again, because my brother asked me to sew some curtains for his living room. There is a huge box sitting in my halway right now with almost 40 yards of red velvet. Yes, the boy wants red velvet curtains. And my lovely friend Rike asked me to sew some curtains for her new apartment. No problem, I owe her big time. I mean BIG time. She showed up 5 days in a row to help me move. But, those are things I have to sew. Now I WANT to sew.

I have been itching to sew some bags. Fun, happy, funky, but yet practical bags. Now, trying to find fabric in Germany is a bit of a difficult undertaking. I am spoiled from the US... think what you may about JoAnns or Hancock's, but they have a huge selection at reasonable prices. Just an example... a yard of quilting fabric runs on average $5-6, right? Here in Germany? $20!!! Needless to say, sewing is not a cheap hobby.

Well, I have been looking on the web for fun fabrics. For one, I don't want to go into the city to go to the usual fabric store just to be disappointed again. And two, I was hoping to find something really FUN and FUNKY. And I DID! I know, I know, I am "shouting", but I am just so excited.

So... back to the topic "Blog Love"... I found this little store/blog and... sorry to my non-German speakers/readers, it is actually in German and actually in Hamburg. How cool is that? She does the cutest little projects. And she has fun fabrics in her store. I will have to buy some fabric. And with all the other projects I have waiting for me, I will have to add another one: sew that bag.

I will leave it at that for now. Off to look at some more fabric.

Have a good one.

And then there was light... ahhhmmmm, TV, I mean

You know, I don't watch much TV, but not having TV to watch was pretty hard for the first week or so. Now it's been 6 weeks of no TV and it has gotten easier. But, wouldn't you know it? My lovely Internet/TV provider who shall remain nameless, finally managed to deliver my receiver box.

See.... 4 weeks ago, already two weeks into being TV less, I received a very friendly letter, stating that to their regret they couldn't send out the receiver box quite yet, because the age confirmation thingy failed... I am lacking the technical term here, so bear with me, they couldn't confirm that I indeed was over the age of 18 and since they are a concienscious company, they couldn't possibly risk me watching someing age inappropriate. So... after being able to control my fits of laughter, I mean, Trouble #1 insists that I am 27 when we all know I am NOT, so I am definitely not a minor, I called customer service and the lovely young man that I talked to agreed, that though his math skills were quite poor, with my stated (and confirmed in their system) birthdate, I was indeed a tad bit over the age of 18, and he promised he would look into it and get it taken care of ASAP.

Fast forward 2 weeks: I received 2, I mean "TWO" ,letters from unnamed TV/Internet provider, providing me with my super secret very important, only under threat of death ever to reveal, TV access codes. Except... what do I do with them? I have nothing to access anything with?

Fast forward one more week. I checked online as to what the status of my order was. It was marked as being "Stage 4" (out of 5). Mmmmmhhh, sounds promising, but then...not really, because, it's been Stage 4 for 3 weeks now. But, I got busy, the weather was too good to be spending much time inside, so I forgot to call CS.

Fast forward another week to TODAY. I came home to find a large box on my doorstep. It is THE box. The receiver box. Yeah. Silly that I am, I read the label on the shipping box that GLS had affixed: MOVED! and then, on another label, higlighted in yellow pen, my new adress.

Now why, since I have changed my adress on all the possible form, have confirmed several times with CS that this was really my new adress, would they still send out the oh so important box to my old adress?????

But, all is well, I unpacked the huge box, there are several little boxes inside, with splitters, modems, receivers, miles and miles of cables and plugs and do-hickys.... I guess I better figure out how to create the most hazardous cable maze, so that anyone trying to get through my hallway will invariably trip and fall down the stairs. The builder of my house, in his infinite wisdom, has only provided me with one phone outlet, and it is in the hallway, about 5 feet from the front door. My TV is at the other end of the house.

Have a good one.

Kids, Sun, and scrapbook talk

Yesterday us "city folk" Nat, and I took Trouble #1 and Trouble #2, AKA India & Hayden on a road trip to visit Schulu, for a day of fun, family and fascinating scrapbook talk. Okay, I am reaching on the "fascinating" part, but it was fun and I am sure any scrapper can relate.

After the initial shyness disappeared, the girls had a blast running around with Christiane's boys, playing hide and seek, chasing the dog through the field and, slinging around the rubber chicken, Schulu's husband BBQ'd for us, the big "girls" got to talk scrapbooking in person and not as usual via e-mail or on the phone, and in the end, Trouble #2 fell asleep on the couch, Trouble #1 snuggled up on Nat's lap and we basically froze our behinds off out on the terrace, because despite the cold it was just too beautiful an evening to spend it inside.

It was close to 11pm when I finally got back home and the kids into bed.

Since I am such an old-fashioned girl that I still take analog photographs, I can only post pictures Trouble #2 took with #1's little digi cam. I sure hope the whole "Germany's next top model" or whatever Nat and Schulu kept calling her, pans out, because a photographer she is not (yet).

Outtakes.... or Workshop Reminder

Remember this? Nat, Christiane, and yours truly are teaching a couple of workshops in Hamburg-Altona. It will be so much fun. We also managed to get two fabulous sponsors, Scrapbook-King and creativ-freizeit. So, at the risk of sounding redundant, it is going to be soooo much fun.

Anyway, I am going to be teaching a card workshop. Cards... just because, quick to make, pretty, make you happy, make someone else happy, give as a gift, give for no reason, make you happy cards. Oh, I already said that. And since I have been cranking out enough cards to.... well, supply a Hallmark store, you get to see the outtakes. Hope you like them, because the "real thing" is going to be much more fun... at least I'd like to think so.











Have a good one.

Happy Easter

Have a good one.