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Playing in the Rain

Photos from June 16.

Journaling: Leave it to kids to make the best of a dreary situation! We were supposed to be celebrating the end of G’slast pee-wee baseball season with his teammates. Chad was coach, and we were treating everyone to Dairy Queen. The game scheduled for this night was rained out, but we decided to go ahead and take the kids to DQ anyway. While the parents huddled under umbrellas and the small building’s awning, a handful of the kids (including you two) decided they’d rather get a little wet. Chad and I don’t typically encourage playing in the rain. It’s not that we don’t think the kids would enjoy it; it’s just because we typically are busy and don’t often have a chance (or take advantage of a chance) to just enjoy the rain. Besides, it’s usually storming when it rains in Indiana! But today, we decided to let you enjoy yourselves. It started with a cautious giggle as you stepped out from under the umbrellas. It didn’t take long, though, before you were completely soaked...and completely loving it! Soon, you were joined by Kaden, Hailey and Lainey, and you were having a ball trying to get soaked by passing cars. It was just as enjoyable for us to sit back and watch you enjoy yourselves, having fun like kids are supposed to do. I think we’ll play in the rain more often!

Sources: All elements from Americana Mini Kit from Heather Ann Designs. Fonts: Effloresce and Avenir.

Digital scrapbooking: Getting started

Ever thought about giving digital scrapbooking a try but didn't know where to start? I hope that my new series of posts here will help! I absolutely love digital scrapbooking, and I'm so excited about the idea of getting other people (in addition to my friend Michele, who is already) hooked, as well! So let's dig in.

And, for the record, consider this fair warning: This is not a craft that you'll pick up in an hour or a day or even a week. It's amazing how much there is to learn about Photoshop and Photoshop Elements (and any image editor, I imagine). I have been using the full version of Photoshop for years (only heavily and beyond basic photo editing, though, for the past three or so, since I started digital scrapbooking) and learn something new all the time! I love it!

All that said, you CAN pick up enough simple skills and tips to complete beautiful pages in a relatively short amount of time. :o) So don't give up before you get started!

WHY SCRAPBOOK DIGITALLY?

If you have an interest in capturing the stories that make up your life, then you probably already understand the value of scrapbooking. And if you've given paper scrapbooking a try, you probably already understand the amount of time—and money—that can be funneled into this hobby in a hurry. You also probably have a good sense of what a scrapbooking mess looks like—and maybe even dread cleaning it up when you're done creating. And maybe you have had the daunting task of creating multiple copies of the same layout, maybe for multiple kids' books or for family members who have lost a grandparent/parent/friend, for example.

Sound familiar?

Digital scrapbooking is a fantastic option if you...

• want to be able to curl up on the couch and scrapbook instead of gathering all of your supplies, clearing off a table and cleaning up when you're done.
• don't like messes.
• want to be able to go to crops with one simple bag, and that's it. (Although, I will admit, I still prefer paper scrapping for crops. There's something about creating with your hands that provides a different kind of satisfaction in a group setting.)
• want to be able to reuse products over and over and over again—even a single sheet of paper.
• want a seemingly endless supply of free scrapbooking goodies.
• want to print multiple copies of a layout or multiple copies of a complete book without any extra hassle, supplies or time.
• want to scrapbook a little faster than you can with paper scrapping. (This, though, is dependent on your comfort level with your editing program and gets better the more you practice!)
• want to easily share your finished pages with friends and family through e-mail and social media like Facebook and MySpace.

Can you identify with one or more of those? Good!

Now that you know you might be interested in digital scrapbooking, what will you need to get started?

STUFF YOU'LL NEED TO GET STARTED

As with starting any new craft or project, you will need to have a few items before you get started. Here's a basic list:

• Software. This is the most essential element, of course! You can't create computer-generated scrapbook pages without some form of software. You'll want a high-quality photo editing program that offers lots of flexibility. While I'm sure there are additional programs out there that might have some functionality that would work for digital scrapbooking, by far the most widely used are Photoshop Elements ($139 from Adobe.com, may be less expensive elsewhere; test drive with a free download) and the full version of Photoshop ($699; test drive with a free download). I know this is expensive, and I can't twist your arm to make you pay for it. But I can tell you that if you think you'll enjoy digital scrapbooking, it's worth every single cent. Just think, you can spend that much (not the $700, I'd hope!) in just a few trips to the scrapbook store for paper and supplies! Anyway, give it some thought. PSE will do the majority of things for digital scrapbooking that Photoshop will do. So don't spring for the full version if you don't need it for another reason. Whew. That's enough about that subject!
• A large-format printer or an online photo-printing service you trust. While I would love to have a printer that prints 12x12 layouts, I don't want to spend the money. Instead, I opt for www.scrapbookpictures.com for printing my loose pages and www.heritagemakers.com for printing my books. I have tried other sites, and for me, these are my preferred services. Check out all of the fantastic sizes scrapbookpictures.com offers. And 12x12s are only $3.50 each. Shipping is only $2, no matter how many layouts you order! Can't beat that! And the quality is fantastic! Now, if you will be doing ONLY digital pages, and you scrapbook chronologically or by themes, you might consider printing a book of pages all at once, rather than individual pages. You'll come out better financially in the end, and you can design your own hardbound cover! :o) Fun stuff!
• Kits and/or loose elements. You can absolutely do the digital scrapbooking thing without any embellishments. (Cathy Zielske has some good examples on her blog. She's a minimalist when it comes to embellishments. I LOVE her style.) But if you want to add some zest to your layouts, there are tons of digital scrapbooking kits out there for the taking for free or purchasing. Do a Google search for "digital scrapbooking" or check out some of my favorite sites: www.designerdigitals.com • www.theshabbyshoppe.com • www.scrapbook-bytes.com • www.shabbyprincess.com • www.twopeasinabucket.com. If you do nothing else, go to Shabby Princess and download her kits. There are a BUNCH of really GOOD, full kits that she offers for free! :o)
• Photos. Digital photos are obviously the easiest way to go, but if you have old photos, just scan them in, and they're ready for you to use! Make sure, though, that you're shooting your photos on the highest resolution setting possible on your camera (Fine or Extra Large setting), and that you're scanning at at least 600 dpi (1200 preferred if possible). The quality of your photos will drive the quality of your layouts. Don't skimp on quality to squeeze more photos on that memory card! Go for the bigger memory card! :o)
• Fonts. You'll probably want some fun fonts to choose from on some or all of your layouts. If you're feeling a little skimpy in that department, check out www.dafont.com (lots of free fonts) or my favorite, www.MyFonts.com. Just remember that fonts can quickly bog down your computer system, so you don't want tons of fonts active at all times. If at all possible, use a font management program to turn fonts on or off when you need or don't need them, or consider storing some infrequently used fonts somewhere other than your active fonts folder. If you're on a Mac, FontBook is a beautiful thing! Use it!
• Other stuff. These are just icing on the cake. (Sorry, TypePad won't let me indent the next set of bullets.)
• Scanner for memorabilia. I personally don't have one at the moment. I often just take pictures of my memorabilia or photos I need to scan! :o)
• Tutorials. Just Google "Photoshop tutorials."
• Ideas. Check out digital scrapbookers' blogs, Web sites dedicated to scrapbook sketches or scrapbook magazines. Sometime I'll list my favorites here, but because there are MANY, I'd suggest doing an Internet search for "digital scrapbooking," "scrapbook sketches" or "scrapbook magazines" to get you started. There should be enough results to keep you busy for quite some time!

OK, it looks like a lot, but it's really not! You truly can create stunning pages with nothing more than the colors built into your software, your photos and a simple font like Times New Roman. Anything else is just eye candy! (I'm pretty sure, though, that you'll find something you like out there on those free kit sites!)

Are you excited to get started?! :o)

A wild hair: Getting others hooked on digital scrapbooking!

Well, I somehow managed to get a wild hair today, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it.

I have posted several of my digital scrapbook layouts to my Facebook page, and almost every time I do, I get comments from friends saying they want to get started digital scrapbooking, too. I always try to sum up in a very short amount of space what would be involved in getting started, but it just doesn't do it justice. It's a complex topic! (I think that's why I like it so much!)

So it occurred to me today that I could use my blog to help some friends get started without having to spend hours upon hours in front of individual computers or make them spend some cash at an online scrapbook teaching site (although I love jessicasprague.com). Granted, it will take some time to learn much from my blog, and I can't guarantee that I'll have time to make detailed posts every day (for sure) or sometimes even every week. But if you're like me, you might not have that kind of time to sit and learn stuff anyway. A little is better than nothing, right?

Anyway, so that's my plan. I'll start off basic and get a little more complex as time goes on. Please be warned up front that I don't know how often I will be updating. But I'll do it as much as I can!

Before I get started, please let me know if you have any ideas for things you'd want to know as you get started with digital scrapbooking. Feel free to leave a comment below or send me an e-mail with your ideas for topics. And then stay tuned!

If at first you don't succeed...

Here is a long-overdue spread! I have been wanting to scrap these pictures for some time, but the thought of weeding through dozens of photos from this day held me back. I finally got over that, though, and made the plunge. This page took me two nights, only because my computer crashed mid-layout last night. (Not fun, but I like the new version MUCH better than where it was headed last night!) Anyway, these are pics from more than two years ago when my son was learning how to ride his bike without training wheels. He seemed to have dead-on targeting for every mailbox on the street, but he surprised us at how easily and quickly he mastered the sport! It was literally just minutes before he had it figured out. :o)

Journaling: We were surprised by how easily you were able to master riding your bike without training wheels. With just a few shaky starts (on your too-little Harley Davidson bike) behind you, you got brave enough to try the “big-boy” bike, easily collected your balance and took off, sailing down our street without a worry in the world. Your aim was perhaps a little shakier than your balance, though. Nearly every mailbox in sight seemed to be your direct target for those first few rides on your Hot Wheels two-wheeler!

Sources: All patterned paper from Tracy Collins' Welcome Home kit. Scallop journaling blocks are my designs, using Tracy Collins' patterned papers.

A day in Shades

We have been quite busy lately, and I have lots of events and little things happening that I want to scrapbook and/or blog about. Here is one of those. Last weekend, we went to Shades State Park and thoroughly enjoyed a creek hike. I absolutely love creek hikes; they remind me of lots of enjoyable fall visits with my dad when I was growing up. (He had lived in Florida and came to see us every fall. We went down there to visit him several times a year, too, but creek hiking in Florida — alongside the alligators — would probably not be a good idea!)

Anyway, last weekend, we enjoyed a creek hike of our own. And as often as we have gone hiking with the kids, dabbling our toes in water on occasion, I don't believe we have ever found a true creek trail like this one. (We typically stay with Turkey Run State Park, which doesn't have much in the way of creeks.)

Here is the journaling: When I was a little girl, my dad (your Papa) would come to Indiana every fall. Each year, we would try to squeeze in a hike in a state park. If we could find a good creek hike, our day was made! Flash forward 20 years or so, and here we are in 2009. Chad and I have always loved going hiking in state parks, and since the two of you have been born, we’ve been hiking several times. But this trip to Shades State Park in Waveland, Ind., is safely one of our favorites to dates! Without realizing what we were getting into, we set off on Trail 5, headed down to the shores of Sugar Creek for some rock skipping, and headed back. For some reason, we chose to head back on Trail 4, and we were so glad we did! It was a true creek hike at its best—narrow, wet and rugged. Daddy carried E** most of the way, but even she got in on the fun. It was a great hike! And we’ll be back!

Sources • Notebook paper: Karen Lewis, Flutter freebie. Background: K Teague, Dirty Stocks, tan. Tab: Tracy Collins, Welcome Back kit, altered with clipped paper from K Teague, Dirty Stocks kit, green. Fabric ribbon flower (altered color): LouCeeCreations, A Touch of Class kit.

101 Things I Love

Remember this topic? A while back, I started listing on my blog 101 things I love and don't. It was a working list that I never quite finished here. But I have been, here and there, adding to my "things I love" list offline, and I finally finished it last night! I figured if I started the layout, I would be more likely to finish the list. :o) So I did just that.

I decided to quit the "101 things that bug me" list, for two reasons. One, I was having trouble thinking of 101 things. And two, I decided that I really needed to just focus on the positives. There's no reason to dwell on the things that make me feel crummy.

So here is my final layout. Rather than copy and paste the text from 101 text boxes in the PSD file so you can read it here, I decided to just post a larger version and let you read it in the layout. So click on the pic above for the full-size version if you're interested in reading all of those tiny little boxes!

If you're a scrapbooker (and even if you're not), I'd highly recommend making a 101 list of your own. Not only did it make me realize that I had 101 things (actually, even more) in my life that make me happy, but this list paints a nice picture of who I am right now. I hope that my kids will some day enjoy looking back on this list and remembering me...especially after I'm gone! :o) I also posted this layout on my bulletin board behind my computer at my desk, so I glance up at it now and then and can remember that there are lots of things that make me happy, even when I'm stressed out! :o) Anyway, take some time to make your own list. And please share some of your 101 things in my comments section! (Just click on the word Comments right below this message.) I'd love to read them! :o)

Digital scrapbooking element credits: Most pieces are from the Cabana Boy kit by Dani Mogstad. The ribbons are from Katie Pertiet's Little Princess kit. Fonts are Blue Highway Free D (from MacFonts CD) and Black Jack from MyFonts.com

Miscellaneous Monday

A few random thoughts today:

1. I miss blogging. I am in a blogging funk. I just haven't really felt like it much lately, and yet I miss it, all at the same time. I hope to get back to blogging about stuff soon. And not just scrapbook layouts (although I enjoy making and posting those, too).
2. We just got back from a weekend get-away to Cincinnati, just Chad and me. It was wonderful. We needed to get away - away from work, away from animals that puke and need walked and poop where they shouldn't, away from kids whom we love but who need lots of attention, away from a house that needs cleaned and clothes that need washed and dirty dishes that never end. We enjoyed ourselves quite thoroughly, if even only for two days. Maybe I'll blog about that sometime soon.
3. I got into Karen Russell's Online Photographer's Workshop! I am super-excited about this — and wondering whether it was a necessary purchase. I LOVE Karen Russell's photography. (Check out her stuff on her blog.) She's what I call a "real-life photographer" - someone who captures life in the moment, as it happens, without any (or much) posing. That's my kind of style. She is famous (in the scrapbooking/photography world) for photos of her own family life. She doesn't photograph other people's families like "normal" photographers...and yet she has a captivating way of telling her life's story (and making it into a profitable business!). Anyway, I tried registering for this class last year, but ended up one of 745 (or was it 795?) people on her waiting list. So when registration opened this morning, I was clicking on Register just as soon as it was active. And I was so, so excited when I got in! (Then, as buyer's remorse set in, I began wondering if I really need this class. After all, I did go to school for this stuff. Still, I think she can teach me a lot! Hope I learn some great stuff!)
4. I am having trouble staying motivated today. I was doing well earlier. Not so much this afternoon. Hmmm...
5. Can't let a post go by without a photo. So here's my layout that I did for Chad's and my anniversary. I'm too impatient right now to wait for Photoshop to open (my computer is in a funk, too) so I can copy the text and paste it here. So you'll have to click on the image for a bigger version, and then squint! :o) I hope I don't get sick of this picture of us. I have used it a LOT lately - on everything from a Christmas ornament to an 11x14 picture framed in our house to scrapbook layouts to a little canvas for Chad's desk at work. I love this shot! (It's by Connie Phillips, if you're from around here.)

Have a great week!

10 years!

Ten years ago today, we did this:

(My apologies to Madeline Price, the photographer, who retired a while back. Don't know how to get a hold of her for permission, so I'm saying a prayer she won't mind that I posted this!)

Anyway, this is now -- or at least, it's what we looked like back in March of this year.

I guess you could say we've grown up a bit in the last 10 years! We look like kids in our wedding pictures! Still, that was quite a memorable day, from the last-minute change in wedding location, to eating Subway in my wedding dress, to crying on my way down the aisle, to the reception with family and friends, to getting lost in a not-so-good part of town on the way to the hotel, to the carriage ride through downtown Indy in our wedding attire. What a day!

And since then, we have been through it all -- the birth of two fantastic children, job changes, family changes, the loss of a parent, the adoption of too many animals (!), arguments and reconciliations, laughs and cries, ups and downs, rewards and challenges, struggles and happiness.

I know it's cliche, but I wouldn't have it any other way, and I wouldn't want to have gone through everything (or go through what's to come) with anyone else. Chad and I have something special -- a friendship and relationship that I believe is strong enough to last through anything. I feel so lucky to have him in my life. And I look forward to what's to come.

I love you, Sweetie!

A little bit of chaos

The lower photo on this layout just makes me laugh.

It is a pretty clear representation of the chaos that ensues when you mix five young kids, two adults, four animals (at the time) and a small space. (This was last year. When we get together now, there are four kids and five animals!) I'll stop here and let the journaling tell the rest of the story.

Journaling: On the surface, this photo looks pretty imperfect. After all, nothing is in focus. But I love it. Why? Because it is a pretty clear picture of what our little house feels like when there are five kids, four adults, three cats and a dog sharing space. But despite the chaos, we absolutely love when our friends, Kevin and Kelly, and their three (and not long after this photo was taken, four!) kiddos come to visit. We love hanging out with our friends whenever we can. We’ll take the chaos any day.

Credits: Beige background - K Teague, The Basics, Beige. Loopy embellishments: JenAllyson, Adorn LoopyFrames, 2 Peas in a Bucket. Fonts: 2 Peas Renaissance (title) and Avenir. Blue background paper: Skrapper Digitals, Nighty kit. Small ring to right of photo (with date): Chipboard circle by Design by Dani, Cabana Boy kit; clipped paper: Nighty kit.

Summer rides in the bike trailer

Another page to share! And it's another from 2007. Not sure why, but I've been in the mood to scrap some older pics of the kiddos lately. Enjoy!

Journaling:
One of our favorite summertime activities is going for a bike ride. Daddy often goes on long rides (sometimes 20 miles or so at a time), but occasionally we’ll join him for a shorter ride. You both pile into the bike trailer (it can hold up to 100 pounds)—with your helmets, shoulders and legs touching each other—and enjoy a snug little, four-and-a-half-mile ride. The fresh air keeps you calm and happy, and you couldn’t be cuter!

Credits: All elements from Shabby Princess, Happy Go Lucky kit.