Inspiration from multiple sources-

This is the layout that I submitted for LOAD today.

I was inspired by several people. I was inspired by Ali Edwards title treatment on the layout she posted for her blog today.

I learned how to make this type of font in Tiffany Tillman's 25 Days of Templates Holiday 2010 class. The steps are fairly straight forward:
Open a new blank document (12x12 inches, 300ppi, transparent background) then select the Horizontal Type Mask Tool. This tool can be found in the drawer of the Type tool, just click on that little triangle in the bottom corner of the Type tool button and the drawer should pop out so you can see the other type tool choices.
I set my type size at 2 inches and chose the font Adobe Caslon Pro. When you click on your document to type the background turns pink, don't freak out - it will go back to normal once you are done. Type your word (I tend to type phrases one word at a time so I can change individual word sizes later.)
You will see marching ants all around your word. Click the check mark and then go up to Edit and from the drop down menu click on Stroke (outline) Selection. A box will pop up allowing you to choose the width of your stroke (15-20 pixels is a good range) and the color of the stroke. Make sure the center radial button is selected for location, the blending mode should be set at Normal, and the opacity should be 100%. Leave the Preserve Transparency box unchecked. Click Okay.
Your selection should now be outlined and there are still those little ants marching all around your word. To finish up go to Select and from the drop down menu choose Deselect. The marching ants should now disappear.
You can then use your crop tool to get rid of excess background around your word. Be sure and save your work as a .png file so you can use it whenever you want. I use PSE 7, but it should be the same process for other versions.

I used to ooh and ahh over this kind of word art whenever I saw it and wish I could afford to buy it all. Now I can make my own. It takes a little time but I am so happy with the results (and dh is happy with the bottom line.)

I also was inspired in making this layout by Stacy Julian's Library of Memories class. I will admit I had a hard time wrapping my head around some of the things taught in that class, but with time and use I can see great things coming out of it. I was able to pull photos from lots of different time periods to illustrate the love and comraderie, the bonding, that I see going on between all my guys.

And finally, I was inspired by that style known in the scrapping community as minimalism. It's still not easy for me, but I am getting there. Practice makes perfect-ish, and I am always happy for an excuse to practice this craft.

Let me know if you try this technique out how it works for you!

Credits for this layout:
All A Flutter Neutrals by Julie Bullock
 Everyday Stuffs Papers by Captivated Visions
 Vanilla Creme by DeCrow Designs

The Fun of Failure

As I was reading Gretchen Rubin's book, The Happiness Project, I came across this phrase: 'the fun of failure.'  Well, I have to admit I have never thought of failure as fun. It is more something to be avoided at all cost. Failure, rejection, disappointment. They all fall under the same category in my book - Things That Are NOT Fun. So I was intrigued to read on in Ms. Rubin's book to see what fun she finds in falling on one's face.

Basically, she feels a sense of freedom in failure. At least she tried something new or difficult instead of just sitting on the sidelines wishing she had had the guts to try.  Her failures include lots of rejections in her efforts to be published as an author. But there are also successes which might never have come if she hadn't first tried, and failed, and picked herself up and tried again. (As you can see by that last sentence, I will probably never have to worry about being a published author.)

Her words prompted me to think about some recent happenings in my life, small and insignificant to anyone but me. One of the goals I have set for myself this year is to apply, and hopefully be accepted, for a position on the creative team of one or more digital designers. Shortly after deciding on this goal for myself, two of my favorite designers posted CT calls. So I applied. And was rejected, very kindly rejected, but rejected nonetheless. I was bummed. 'Maybe I am not good enough,' I thought. 'Maybe I am the only one who really likes what I do.' Yeah, it was a pretty good pity party.

Then I took some time and thought about why I was not chosen, and I could see that these designers were right in their decisions. They need creative team members who are kit scrappers, who can work within the constraints of a single kit and make beautiful layouts that showcase the designer's product and make other scrappers think, 'I have to have that kit.'

I am not a kit scrapper.  I can kit scrap, and do...sometimes. But it is not the way I do my best work.

I like to pull supplies from lots of kits to mix and match on my pages. I have a system in place for myself that enables me know what I have in hundreds of kits and therefore be able to pull from many kits to make a single layout where everything works really well together. My system is a simple three-ring binder with page protectors into which I put sheets I have printed out with the previews of all the digital kits I have. Most are listed according to store and designer, but I also have sheets of each Digi File I have from the Daily Digi. One day I will take the time to separate the Files according to designer, but for now I just print the Digi File preview, stick it in the Daily Digi section, and call it good. This way I can see at a glance which kits have  the colors or elements I am looking for. I flip through my notebook often just to savor all of that digi goodness, and to stay familiar with all that I have (and I have a lot.) This helps me to quickly know what I am looking for as well, and which kits might fit with whatever idea I am working on.

One day I am going to create a folder on my computer with my go-to products (the ones I always find myself reaching for - like that gem I like by Captivated Visions when I want a little bling, or the glitter set by Studio Flergs I always seem to use for a bit of sparkle.) I saw the idea for a go-to folder on a post at the Daily Digi and have filed it away in my head as a be-sure-and-do-this-some-time-soon project.

Anyway, I am not so bummed now that I have realized why I would not make the best CT choice. Possibly I would be a good choice for a template designer, but then again, maybe not. I haven't given up on the idea of being on a creative team, but before I apply again I am going to challenge myself to do quite a few one kit ONLY layouts and make sure that is the way I want to scrap a set number of layouts per month. If I decide its just not for me, well, that's okay.

On another note, I have been keeping up with my LOAD 211 project. I think so far this month I have completed 25 layouts. I tell myself that I am using this project to increase my creative output (make lots of layouts), but in reality I have to admit that I am really competitive and am trying to stay in the top five contributors category. Currently I am in third place, in case anyone is wondering.

While I am busting my tail trying to get lots of layouts done, I am also using this LOAD as a chance to explore different scrapping styles.

 I do some layouts in the clean and simple style.

I do some layouts in the layered, clustery, playground style.

I am exploring some retro, artsy styles.

As well as trying my hand at a minimalist style.

So far minimalism is kicking my butt ( I haven't yet embraced the concept that sometimes more is just ...more.) I am going to keep trying and see what I come up with.

I would also like to try more of an artsy, blended style, but that will be later in the month.

That's it for now. I would like to say that no child's school lessons were neglected during the writing of this blog post, but that would be an out and out lie. I am fixing to corral my kiddos and hit the history and science books. Until next time.

Happiness is...

Right now happiness is a tall glass of iced tea that I got instead of the ice cold Diet Coke that I really meant to get. Healthier choices are just jumping up and taking over my life.

I was feeling kind of down yesterday. Sometimes getting back into strict-adherence-to-our-budget mode does that to me. Since we were headed to Jackson for violin lessons and groceries I decided to stop in at Barnes and Noble and I picked up this:

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. And, yes, it was in my budget. I have a place for books in there. Usually the money goes for school books, but sometimes I get one just for me. But I digress.

I am pretty sure I first heard about this book on Ali Edwards' blog a year or more ago. Ms. Rubin wrote the book, not because she was unhappy, but because she wasn't as happy as she should be. Having a wonderful life she still found herself easily dejected and irritable, 'suffering from bouts of melancholy, insecurity, listlessness, and free-floating guilt.' She wasn't depressed and wasn't having a mid-life crisis, but was, in her words 'suffering from mid-life malaise -- a recurrent sense of discontent and almost a feeling of disbelief.'

That is so how I feel lately.

I am happy. (Did you read that, my big children.? I really AM happy. No cause for concern here. Okay? Okay.) I have a wonderful life. But sometimes I feel like I am watching it all go by in a detached, unconnected way. Rubin quotes the writer Collette who said, "What a wonderful life I've had! I only wish I'd realized it sooner!"

I want to realize it NOW. I want to be very present in the moment. I want to realize I am happy in the moment, not just when I think back on the moment.

So this morning I did something that makes me happy. I went out into the freezing cold and filled all my bird feeders. Then I just stood there, listening to all the sweet bird songs around me. Passing by one feeder on my way to put the seed bucket back in the shop, a startled bird flew up next to my head. The sound of birds wings is so uplifting. I breathed deep the cold, freshness of the air and thanked God for this moment.

Then I went inside to thaw out. We are 'supposed' to be getting 3 to 6 inches of snow here in central Mississippi later tonight, so when I say it is cold, it really is COLD.

Here is one more thing that is making me happy this morning.

Mmmm. A yummy smelling warm apple pie candle. Get one for yourself at Wal-Mart and feel happy.

LOAD 211 has begun!

3 days into February's LOAD (LayOut A Day) and I have already completed SIX layouts! I will be ecstatic if I can manage two layouts a day, but I only HAVE to get one a day completed to meet the LOAD requirements.

My first layout documents my fitness progress for the month of January in a photoless page. Journaling reads:
Its time to get serious about my health. I’m not getting any younger, after all. Lots of my friends are talking about things like cholesterol and heart disease, blood pressure, blood sugar, and those ever-present extra ‘few’ pounds.
The last time I checked, my blood sugar was fine. My blood pressure is back down to a good level without medication. My cholesterol would be in good shape if I could manage to walk 30 minutes a day. And then there are those ever-present extra ‘few’ pounds. Like about 90 of them.

I started out a couple of years ago with a goal of bettering my health, but got waylaid by serious foot pain that lasted well over a year. I tried to keep up the exercise in non foot-injuring ways, but it didn’t really work.

This year, however, I am on a roll. I have a great exercise plan. I joined Leslie Sansone’s Walk Club and am clicking off my miles every day. I have set some goals for weight loss and miles walked. I also have a goal of being able to walk up a flight of stairs at the dental school without getting totally winded. I want to reduce flab and build muscle. I want to be full of energy.

 So, I walk, fast, every day. I do knee lifts and kicks, hamstring curls and lots of lateral motion. I do standing ab work. I walk using weights, and stretchy bands, and a walk    be    belt. I burn lots of calories. I sweat. A lot.
 In January I started out walking 1 to 2 miles every morning. By mid January it was 2 to 3 miles every morning and sometimes again in the afternoon. On Saturdays I would do a fast 5 miles. When asked by a friend what my goal was, I set what seemed to me an almost impossible goal of 90 miles for the month. It was something to shoot for. By the end of January I had logged 112.5 miles. 22 1/2 miles more than my goal!

I am psyched! I am pumped! I am energized! I am walking my way to better health.
                                                        I am walking for ME!

Then I used a photo I had scanned of Lizzie when she was a year and a half old (oh so many moons ago) and made this happy little layout:

So much for Day 1, on to Day 2. I had this layout in mind for a couple of weeks. We seem to be on a bit of a fitness kick at our house (really weird) and Matthew is working on upper body strength. Theodore bought him a lovely rope for climbing and after a few tries he can scale that baby like a squirrel. I journaled this 2 page layout after the fashion of 'This is the house that Jack built' and then found out later that my dear sweet hubby had never heard of either Jack or his house. Poor deprived fellow!

Journaling reads:
This is the ridiculously expensive piece of rope that Theodore bought.
This is the boy who really wants the ridiculously expensive piece of rope that Theodore bought.
This is the tree picked out by the boy who really wants the ridiculously expensive piece of rope that Theodore bought.
This is the monster tied to the tree picked out by the boy who really wants the ridiculously expensive piece of rope that Theodore bought.
This is the first attempt to climb that monster tied to the tree picked out by the boy who really wants the ridiculously expensive piece of rope that Theodore bought.
This is the proud young man who climbed to the top on another endeavor to scale the rope after a change of tree following the first attempt to climb that monster tied to the tree picked out by the boy who really wants the ridiculously expensive piece of rope that Theodore bought.

Later that evening I made this layout of some pictures I shot of Jimmy reading Frog and Toad this summer. I love the colors in this one. I tried to embellish it but ended up just leaving it clean and simple, letting the photos shine.

And finally, today's prompt was to use a song title for your page title. I have done several of these recently and so was a little stuck for inspiration. So I browsed through my photos until I came to a series of pictures taken during a recent ice event (too small to be called an ice storm.) I made a simple grid for the photos and added a little journaling around the edges and a title. Then I gave it a matted effect and called it done.

That's all for now, folks.