Oct 30, 2008

Something's brewing

Something's been brewing alright! My creativity, so to speak. I've been working on my design team projects & finished 2 so far & I've also been working on a 2 page spread that isn't for the design team. I know, I'm supposed to be getting caught up & working on things for my craft show, but when inspiration hits, you can't put it on the back burner! It will never get done then. I'm coming to the realization that I'm just an ADD sort of person & I have several projects (not just scrapping) going on all at once & it seems like a huge accomplishment when one finally gets finished!

I finally completed the 2 page spread in memory of my in-laws that was supposed to be turned in 2 meetings ago, but it was a hard one for me. I never met my father-in-law & only knew my mother-in-law for 2 years before she passed, which was 2 days after 9/11.

Then, I finished my Family Memories photo CD/case this morning. The challenge presented to us on the Memory Zone design team was to use only old products still left in the store, with maybe a hint of some new stuff. We're also supposed to be working on projects that can be made for gift giving at Christmas time or birthdays, or whatever. I chose to make a year in review family photo CD because it's pretty verstile & I didn't want to make it Christmasy, so I used some Making Memories paper that still had a whole stack left. I wouldn't say it's anything exceptional, but it's definitely an attention grabber & I even added some elements of surprise to it. You'll just have to check back to the Design Team Gallery at the Memory Zone later to see.

My next project is supposed to be doing a page that humorously depicts an object in my everyday life. I knew the object that I wanted to do the page about, but I got my real inspiration for it from my fellow DT sistah, Kelly Crowl. With her permission, I came up with a cute idea & now I just need to dwell on it more for the best design. I better take some pictures, but that might have to be on another day.

I have a few more projects up my sleeve, but I'm beginning to think I'm over booking myself. Perhaps I should step away from the computer. I might get more done....

On that note, I think I'll go start on my next project!

P.S. I want to thank Rose for her kind words about my blog header! BTW, you might be seeing more of those pictures in the future!

God Bless and have a great day!
Beth

Oct 28, 2008

Mad & Happy!

I am mad & happy, both at the same time. Sometimes I wonder just where my mind is some days. And inevitably, on the days that I THINK I got my stuff together, later I find that I really didn't & it hits me and hits me hard!

First, I'm mad because I had the accepted potential to be published in the Nov/Dec issue of ScrapN'Art ezine. You would think YAY, right? Well, you would be right IF you would have responded back to them by saying Yes, you are accepting their acceptance! Today, I was going through my old emails & decided to check that acceptance email & seen further down in all their mumbo jumbo terms of agreement that you had to respond by a certain date, which of course, has looooong passed & I hadn't, cuz I double checked my outgoing mail, and you KNOW I did. I think I miss out on opportunities like this because of stupid oversights like that & it really is more than just aggrevating, ya know? Am I NOT the one who's whining, crying, snortin & bawling about how I can't get published? It's quite possibly my work that isn't making the grade & I can live with that, but it could very well be that I simply can't follow instructions & that really irritates me when it comes to my own stupidity.

But, there is happy news! I AM getting published in the Scrapbooking.com monthly newsletter of their December issue for my "Winter Cold" page. I tried really hard to make sure I followed all their very detailed instructions and they were VERY detailed, but that actually made it easy for me, because I didn't have to wonder if it was the way they wanted it & their instructions were actually easy to follow - even though at first glance, I thought Holy Cow!

I don't know how much I'll get to be on here in the next few weeks. I have several design team projects that I need to complete still & I'm trying to get some more things made for the craft show I'm in on November 8th. I really shouldn't even be on here now, but I just had to share the news, bad and good.

So, God Bless & have a great day!
Beth M.

Oct 21, 2008

Not always easy

Some weeks, well it seems like most weeks nowadays, I have a hard time coming up with stuff that is creative. You know, those things that even YOU know are pretty cool. I have to say that my scrapbooking creativity is lacking in this area, but my cardmaking seems to be kicking into high gear. What's up with that? Why can't I get as inspired for my scrapbook pages as much as I am for my cards? I realize that a scrapbook page is 12x12 & a card is considerably smaller & doesn't really take much to make it POP! But, you would think you could switch gears easily from one to another without a hitch, wouldn't you?

I've been working on my Memory Zone Design Team "In Memory" assignment for over a month now. It's not exactly where I want it to be, but I like it enough to turn it in. Maybe when some new stuff comes out later, I can add to it.

I turned in 4 cards for the last meeting because we had assignments to do a Cancer Awareness card, so I did two. Then, I made 2 more Christmas cards using the Reminisce Christmas Basics papers & stickers. I used a sketch made up by the Memory Zone's own DT diva, Charity for one of those cards. Here's her sketch:

Isn't it a great sketch? If you go here you can see my take on it. while you're at it, check out the rest of the Gallery for TONS of inspiration. And, you should check out their blog for lots of interesting chat on just about anything scrappy!

Today I was playing around with my Quickutz embossing phrase & thought, wouldn't it be cool to emboss a transparency! So, I dug out one of my preprinted My Mind's Eye (I think?) transparency frames & embossed the center. How cool!!! I liked the look of leaving it see through to the inside of the card, but then realized that if you were to write on the inside, you'd see it from the front of the card, therefore taking away from the look I was going for. I decided to add a contrasting background color to the back of the transparency & I like the unique, yet simple look you get.

Here's how it turned out:



















With a different angle to see the embossed image better. This is definitely one of those cards you need to see in real life to truly appreciate.
I've played around with other things as well, but I'm saving those for later & you may have to see them in the Memory Zone Gallery.
Well, I'll be busy some more since we're going camping again for 4 days down to Brown County during the Fall break from school. It's always a nice time & we camp in a little known campground between Nashville & Bloomington called Yellowwood National Forest. It's primitive camping even though we still use our campers. We like to drive around the hills & countryside looking at all the scenery & we check out a few flea markets that are nearby in the little town called Gnawbone. We checked out a "haunted" Inn in a even tinier town called Story. We would have liked to have eaten at the restaurant, but it's VERY expensive, so we just took pictures. We do like to check out the little shops in Nashville, but we're kind of over that after seeing them so many times.
Well, this is pretty long, but you'll get a break until next week, at least.
God bless & take care!
Beth M.

Oct 17, 2008

Busy, busy, busy...

It has been a very busy week for me, with no relief in sight!

Today is my son Jordan's 16th birthday! What?? When did that happen that I have a teenager that is old enough to drive (soon)? I can hardly believe it. I still frequently think back to when he was 4 & 5 & miss those days of sweetness. He's still a sweet kid & still tells me he loves me when he's on the bus back from a football game with his team mates, & still gives me a kiss goodbye or goodnight. It's just different from when he was 5, ya know what I mean?

Then, last night, Brooke lost her 2nd bottom front tooth, but luckily for the tooth fairy, she forgot to put it under her pillow. Gonna have to remember that tonight! I can't believe she's already losing teeth.

Brooke also has her Harvest party today at preschool, which I TOTALLY forgot all about! Thank goodness I didn't have to bring anything, but I'll be making up for it next week when we have treat duty & I will be bringing stuff that's extra special, since it's HER birthday next week. At least next week is a short week, since they have Fall Break on Thursday & Friday.

I have a friend that is supposed to be coming over on Sat. She hasn't been here in a couple of years, even though we only live about 30 minutes from each other. We can thank the high fuel prices for that!

Well, I have some cleaning & laundry to do, so I better get some more of that done before I have to head back to the preschool for Brooke's party.

God Bless & take care!

Beth M.

Oct 14, 2008

Fall is here!

Is it starting to get beautiful in the trees, or what? We went to the Covered Bridge Festival over the weekend & camped at Raccoon State Reserve Area. We like this park simply for the fact that we can camp primitive (in our campers - *snort*) for cheap! We don't spend any time there really, other than cooking & sleeping, so we don't need other amenities to entertain us in the campground. Even down in the Rockville area, the trees were turning beautiful colors & we seen a few little scenic spots. I didn't get any pictures of them tho. I know, my bad. And I call myself a scrapper.

There were lots of flea markets & yard sales all along the routes between the towns where the festivals were at. We like to stop at theses sales instead of all the hubbub in town. I found some Rusty Pickle scrapbook paper that I hadn't seen or had for 25 cents a sheet. I was trying to save back some of my money for a vintage door knob to put on my vintage door to put on my garden shed (that Alan & Beth built). I only purchased 4 sheets of that & 4 sheets of some Holiday Basic Grey paper that I already have, but are some of my favorite ones. I was going to go back later after not finding my doorknob, but they were closed already. I guess I didn't need anymore than I already had.

We were going to stay until Monday, the 13th, but had to cut the trip a day short because just the week prior, DD's preschool decided they would take their Pumpkin Patch field trip on that day. Needless to say, we paid for that day, but didn't get to use it. Then, DD gets a nasty head cold on the day we left too. We get home kind of late & we're tired after the 4 hour drive, so we pretty much just head straight to bed. I had to get up early so I could get my shower, because I'm also supposed to help be in charge of this field trip, due to a death of a family member of one of the preschool teachers. Then I'm getting DD ready & we start to work on brushing her teeth, but she has 2 loose teeth on the bottom front. Well, guess what? One came out, so looks like the tooth fairy is going to be making a pit stop at our house tonight, but she can't find the tooth! She leaves the fundage anyway, because she can't sleep at 3:00 a.m., & hopes to retrieve the little gem later after the princess child awakes. She SCORES! She takes her precious gem & flutters outta here before she can have a chance to get spotted by the over-attentive tot! Whew! That was a close one. BUT! She will probably have to do this again in just a few days, because there is another precious gem just waiting to break free and be carried away in a cloud of pixie dust.

OK, enough from Never Never Land. Hope that was enough information about MY exciting life to last you until I find more pixie dust to vacuum up!

God Bless & take care!

Beth M.

Oct 10, 2008

*Sigh*

Well, not that I was really expecting anything honestly, (but I had high hopes) of getting chosen for the Reminisce Design team, but that didn't happen, as I read the announcement this morning on their blog. One very lucky lady, by the name of Angela Ploegman. Congratulations Angela!

We're off to the Covered Bridge Festival now, but I wanted to touch base with anyone who might be interested in who won the Reminisce contest.

Oct 8, 2008

Flan

Have you ever made Flan? I hadn't, until last night. Not something I ever thought about making really. Why did I make flan, you might be asking yourself? (or maybe not)

Well, here's how the story goes...I pick up DS from school yesterday & he asks me if I have any authentic Mexican recipes, but it can't be tacos. Ummmm...I'm about as far from being Mexican/Spanish as they come with my pasty white (except for the freckles) Scottish/Irish heritage skin. So, the answer would be No, I have no authentic Mexican recipes. Why do you ask? He proceeds to tell me that he has a Spanish class assignment where they have to prepare an authentic Spanish/Mexican dish, take a picture of it, bring in the recipe & write a report on how they liked it. It's due this Friday & his dad & step-mom wouldn't be dependable enough to help him properly. Don't even ask me why he wants to live there...anywho- so I check online to see what's "authentic" that I can make & I have all the ings. on hand. Doesn't look like it will be a main dish with all those peppers & spices! Maybe Mexican Wedding Cakes? Possibly, but wait! Here's a simple recipe for Flan. I think we can do this! Well, never let an almost 16 yr. old boy stir melted sugar until it's golden brown, you'll get scorched dk. brown hard rock candy! My first mistake was not having the custard mix already prepared & leaving him to handle stirring the sugar while I mixed the custard portion. Nor did I expect the sugar to start melting down so fast! Anyway, the flan turned out pretty good, as long as you don't eat the burnt caramel. It looked pretty though & that's what we needed for a good picture.


Not all the brown you see is the burnt caramel. I placed the dessert on a brown drip plate, the caramel is actually just a small portion around the custard.

I might consider making it again, but it doesn't sound like something the rest of the family is raving about. I might just need to make it again without burning the caramel, just so I can redeem myself. Or, maybe I should let sleeping dogs lie & know that this will be one less dish I will be requested to make! I think I like the 2nd option better ;)

I have lots of things to do to get ready for our camping trip to the Covered Bridge Festival in southwestern Indiana, so that's it for today.

Oh, and so far nothing for any of us Memory Zone girlz on the Reminisce Design team....

God Bless & have a great day!

Beth


Oct 7, 2008

Cool!

I noticed yesterday that I had my first blog follower!! YAY & a great big THANKS Rebecca for being my first groupie! hee hee hee! I don't know how long you've been listed as a follower, but I finally realized it yesterday, cuz (duh!) I never thought to check. Who'da thunk that someone would actually want to follow MY blog? I so need to jump on the bandwagon of being a blog follower. I'm starting to follow a quite a few blogs these days.

I hope those of you that are following my blog are liking the recent changes. I know I do, but I'm still working on that header & a few other color changes. My background is supposed to be a bit different, but the instructions tell me to select "minima" somewhere & I can't figure out what in the world they're talking about.


I did get back a journal book I altered a while back. I just had it returned at my last design team meeting from the Memory Zone scrapbook store from being on display there. I used the fun papers from Cosmo Cricket & some bits & pieces from the Creative Cafe line. It was originally inspired by a wonderful designer by the name of Brittany Dixon who made a card using these papers. I put a different twist on it, but thought it turned out decent.

I have got to get my butt in gear & get some inspiration for lots of projects that I want & need to complete. I get going OK, but follow through tends to be an issue with me. I'm a slow scrapper & if I'm in a hurry, the end result tends to reflect that. I know this. I can't help this, as much as I try to fix it, it just seems to be that way for me.

Now, there's quite a few girlz on the Memory Zone design team that can whip them projects out like nobody's business & I idolize them cuz they always look great & make my jaw drop. Seriously!


I'm thinking that I'm gonna have to do a RAK here soon. I've got lots of stuff that I've cleared out of my stash & picked up a few extra things just for that. When I come up with a challenge & gather up everything for the RAK, I'll post it here. Keeps your eyes open for this! It just might be worth it....

Have a great one, God Bless & take care!

BethM.



Oct 6, 2008

Reminisce Announcement

I read the Reminisce blog this morning to see who won the spot on their DT & the other runner-up winners. I thought that was pretty cool that they gave us an actual date for the announement, BUT - they're having some fun & still making us wait in their own way (little stinkers).

They've included an additional Runner-up spot & I think that's very cool of them to do. They even had a tie for the 4th runner up & lots of Honorable Mentions, another cool thing to do. However, they're only going to announce one Runner-up spot each day until they get to Friday for the HUGE announcement. It was killing us to have to wait until Monday & now we have to keep waiting (unless we're one of the runner-up winners). I know they just love to torment us, but I'm sure they have to keep building the interest.

I thought that maybe they'd send the winner an email ahead of time, just prior to the announcement, but now I'm thinking that just might not be the case. What's a girl to do, but sit & wait each day (fingers drumming, drumming, drumming...)

There are 6 of us Design Team girlz from The Memory Zone that submitted to this call & I'm wishing each of us buckets of luck, but none of us were mentioned in the 4th Runner-up spot, so that leaves 4 spots left to win.

Well, now on to a subject that has been kinda consuming a lot of our time here. My garden shed that my DH is building for me. It's coming along very nicely, if I do say so myself. My hot hubby is so handy I just can't believe what he can do & I'm so glad he's all mine! We found some really old double barn doors, thanks to a friend of mine giving me the lead. And wouldn'tcha know, at this same place, I found THE door of all doors that I was looking for, as well! I was tickled & the barn doors were only $10 & he threw in an extra one & the dream door was only $20 & the windows were still perfectly in tact too. DH had to cut down one of the barn doors to fit the shed opening & it's perfect.

Next, I had to pick paint. Easier said than done apparently. I know the color I want, finding a sample is another story. I thought I found it at Lowes & for $26 I basically got an expensive turquoise primer. hmmm...... Way too bright for what I had in mind. I don't want my shed to look like a dollhouse. So, while I was at my Design Team meeting at the Memory Zone last night, I found a piece of colored cardstock that was close to what I wanted, but just a little darker. So, I take my cute colored piece of cardstock with me to Walmart today & get it matched & she adds a little bit of white to it, but not quite enough and she can't add anymore or the can will be too full. OK, it's better than turquoise & I might even be able to add more white to it here or even try mixing it with the turquoise for a look I might like. We'll see.

Oct 2, 2008

ANOTHER Reminisce DT update...

They posted on their blog that they will make their announcement on Monday, Oct. 6th. I think that's very cool that they are coming out & actually telling us when the announcement is to be made. When it comes to these kinds of competitions, the ones making the decision usually leave ya hangin' for quite a while & wondering when you'll get the news (good or bad). I'm speculating that the winner(s) will be notified prior to the announcement via email. I don't actually know how it works, since I've never been chosen for a DT through internet selection before, so I am no expert by any means.

I know I'm up against some extremely talented competition - especially from my fellow Memory Zone DT sistahs, Heather W, Kelly C, Rebecca S & Charity S. These girls are all just dripping with talent! I'm hoping at least ONE of them gets something out of this. There isn't any of us that doesn't deserve to get something out of this deal, but I feel my fellow DT members deserve it more than I & I'm keeping my fingers crossed for them! Good luck!

Well, enough babbling on about Reminisce & I don't really have much else to post about, so today's posting will be a bit shorter than the last couple.

Oct 1, 2008

Reminisce Design Team update...

My chances aren't looking so good now. I've went back & checked out many of the last minute submissions for the Reminisce Design Team member search & I am NOT getting my hopes up now. Some of them created amazing projects & even new ones specifically for the call, mini books too! I created a few little things that were new, but nothing major like that. My hopes is that Reminisce will see that I've been a pretty committed fan of their product for quite a long time & created MANY projects using mostly THEIR product all along & not just to get on a design team.

I was feeling a little hopeful before, but I think I'll just try to think of a way to say congrats to the winner & wish them lots of fun in their new endeavor for the next year & maybe try to work on some stuff for when they have another call!

Another "somewhat" disappointing note to add: It looks like I no longer have my one night of cleaning work to earn a little bit of spending cash anymore. My friend, who has a cleaning service decided that the company that I clean for is not financially sound enough to keep on as a client & they couldn't work out a suitable agreement for payment, so she withdrew her (our) services. Not that I will miss having to clean nasty men's factory bathrooms & break areas & all the little cubicles that had full cups of coffee & pop cans in the trash cans, not to mention that I was expected to spring clean those babies every week. NO! I won't miss that one bit! Then to have them call my employer to accuse me of something that I didn't do (more than once). I won't miss being the scape goat for THEIR blunders & I wasn't anyway. At least now I don't have to defend myself. The only thing I will miss is the small amount I got paid to put up with all that. I'm not heart broken, or even really disappointed by any stretch of the imagination. Iwill miss the scrapping money tho. *sniff-sniff*

Of a different note now. I have to apologize for how UGLY my blog looks! I don't like it, but oOne of these days, I won't be so blog illiterate & I'll figure out how to make my blog more pleasing to look at. I was trying to change my background, but I kept getting an error message in doing so. I HATE that! I don't have the patience or the time for codes to not work when they're supposed to be simple. I do want to work on making a prettier header for my blog though. This one isn't as pleasing as I once thought it was. What was I thinking????

Well, my blogging tends to ebb & tide in frequency. Apparently, it's at high tide right now! LOL!!

Have a good one friends & I'll keep you posted on the Reminisce news as soon as I find out.

God Bless & keep you well!
Beth M.
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