Make your own Camera Strap

For a really thorough tutorial, you've got to check out this site from "made by petchy"...Here


1- Gather your fabric. You don't need much.

2- Make a pattern from newspaper. Outline your strap, then do another line about .5 inch out from the first. Trust me it's better to cut more fabric then less.

3- Turn your edges in and sew.

4- Put the strap slipcover on your camera strap, reattach the strap to the camera body.

5- VOILA- you're new camera strap. That can be changed according to your mood. I made two. It can be cleaned if it gets dirty.

Art Journal Zentangle

This started out as an Art Journal page with some affirmations and some quotes. I like to use Red and Green together. They are complimentary on the color wheel.

Do you Zentangle?

Here is my attempt at a Zentangle! This is incredibly relaxing and it really helps me keep my hand steady for the finer lines. The only Fine point Sharpie I had on hand was a purple one. I tried this in another medium, it was an Art Journal page. I'll scan and post next. I find it's important to use a pen you like that really grips the paper. Possibly a color that inspires you. Remember, it doesn't have to be done in all one color. It is alot of fun! Give it try next time you find yourself with some extra time. You may really surprise yourself!!

To find out more about Zentangle, click
Here

Rubik's Cube

I was in college when these came out in the early 80's and they frustrated me then but not as much as they frustrate me NOW! My 20 yr old college student son wanted one of these. So while in Chicago we ran into a Walgreens on Thanksgiving day. When we returned home he played around with it some then turned to me and said, "Mom would you like to time me to see how fast I can complete this"......Sure I said........I hit my watch and kind of ignored him figuring that I'd watch the last part in about 10 minutes.......2 minutes 16 seconds later, he handed it to me and said "DONE".....

Ugh! I then tried for about 5 minutes and couldn't even get one side. He gave me a few pointers but I so lack patience for this. I gave up 5 minutes later! My mind is not wired for this, at all!

But what a hoot that his mind is!

When was the last time you bought a CD?

I am really not sure when I've bought a CD last. I think it was around 2003.
I am LOVING, let me repeat LOVING the way I can get music now! How I wish I had an ipod when I was in high school. I can get any song I want for .99 cents, I can find the artist and the song title in minutes. Downloaded and listening to my new tune within, what? Five minutes? Three??? Not only did I never know who sang the song I wanted back in high school or what the title of the song was. The ultimate embarassment would be when I had to "perform", you know sing a few lines, hum a tune, give them a clue!! Since I can't carry a tune, my friends would laugh and then they'd take over and sing it to the helpful attendant. Then of course, I'd have to fork over $8-12 bucks for the entire CD, and I usually just listened to the one song. As I got a little older I started listening to the entire CD. Then I found out that there were other songs on the CD that I became more fond of than the one I bought it for. Amazing!!

But all that has ended now! Cuz, I'm downloadin' and backing up!
Yep, this is the life!

Yeah.....I think I'll keep my day job!

Came across this site and I was fascinated with the concept of drawing a self-portrait. I wanted to try it, to really s-t-r-e-t-c-h my artistic/creative muscles. Well, as you can see, it really needs more stretching. This was really fun. I only had 15 minutes while waiting for my daughter to get out of school and I was armed with 2 fine-point Sharpies in purple and red. I was lucky I had my sketch pad with me and this is what I got. Looking thru the rearview mirror. I also, took a picture for comparisons sake, but dummy me, I deleted it by accident. Oh well, I'll have to try this experiment again.

Digital Picture Viewer Keychain

My DD knows me well, for Christmas she got me this Digital Keychain. I had
seen them at the stores and I thought they were cute, but I'd never buy one
for myself. The fact that she thought I'd like this made it special to
me. So, I've loaded it up with our Beach pics from last summer and now it's ready to go. It's pretty cool. It has a slide viewer which I can adjust how long
between pictures. It has a clock & date stamp. The only negative is the viewing
field is pretty small at 1.5 inches. It charges thru the USB and takes no
external batteries. The charge is good for 8 hours of "on time".

It's just so cute!

Project 52

I have decided to join in on the PICTURE A DAY project at ScrapGirls. Then once a week we will do a Layout with the 7 pictures we've taken that week. I think this is a wonderful way for me to "get going" on my photography. I hope that it will help me to experiment more with my shots. Know my camera, adjust my aperture and settings.

Well, I plan to post some pictures or Layouts here as I get going.

Wish me luck!!

My Word of the Year

I love to play on the computer and try different things! I was just messing around and came up with this for my word of the Year!

Never drive faster.....

Never drive faster than your Guardian Angel can fly

Ok? Ok, honey?? My youngest is taking her driving test today! Already! She's had her permit for 180 days, she's accumulated the required 60 hours (and more) behind the wheel with ten of them being at night.

But, I still see her as my ....

my baby!

If you have a moment, please say a prayer for her and for all the young drivers that are just gaining their road experience. I pray that they don't assume they know what the other drivers are doing, that they take that second look just before they switch lanes. That they have the sense to put their cell phones down and not fiddle with the radio. That they allow themselves a few extra minutes to get where they need to be so they aren't rushed. That they are quick reflexed, conscientious and courteous drivers. Amen.

Routine

Today, everyone goes back to school or to work after the Christmas break. I'm planning to get back into my exercise routine. I do one of 4 things, I Swim, Step (stationary biking is the warm down), Weights or Run (ugh! Wish I enjoyed this, but I don't. I only do it because it's the best way to tone my legs). Rarely do I walk. I like to walk, but I don't do it as exercise it's more as a "mental escape" or scenery change for me.



About 4 yrs ago, I could never keep track of whether I worked out or not. When the kids had to be carted back & forth and back & forth , and I was doing lots of quilting in between I would think that I worked out "yesterday", but I really wasn't for sure. That's when I started using the kitchen calendar to write my workouts down. It was so easy and Visual. I could see at a glance if I've been slacking off or if I could use a break.


From this I could see how much I exercised that year. I decided to keep a yearly log on my Palm. The categories are the same as above: Swim, Weights, Steps, Run, Bike. It's been a little reward system, if you will. This year was not as good as last year in TOTAL DAYs worked out. Last year I totalled 250 days, this year only 227 days. I've figured out if I work out 5 days a week that would equal 260 days per year and if I work out 4 days a week then I'd have to do 208 days per year. So, really I'm about where I want to be. Not less than 4 days a week.

Quiet Responses........

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but harsh words stir up anger.

Proverbs 15:1

Have you ever tried to argue in a whisper? It is equally hard to argue with someone who insists on answering gently. On the other hand, a rising voice and harsh words almost always trigger an angry response. To turn away wrath and seek peace, choose gentle words.

Rush! Rush! Rush! Hurry, get there, do that! Don't forget! These are the types of statements that on occasion will cycle through my psyche. And with that comes a "hurried response" a louder than I planned response. Sometimes too quick a response. Not only have I not thought it out, it hasn't even occurred to me how the response would sound if I were the one listening. If only I could halt

a few seconds and take a deep breathe instead racing to answer....

As per my word for the year. I'm going to try to START responding more softly in all my engagements. Not just in a possible tiff here or there with my family. But in my responses to the support team on the phone, or some of my excited responses to the people I engage with on a day to day basis at work and the parents I see when attending school or sport functions. I know this may be 2nd nature for many of you, but it's not for me. It will be something I need to be mindful of! It will be another thing I will need to be mindful of!! Oh-evie!

Do you Doodle?

I think we all are capable of doodling? I doodle when I'm on the phone, when I am in meetings (cuz I'll have pen and paper), when I'm home and making lists of items to get from the grocery store. I love coming across people's doodles. Just think of what you can learn from them. Lots of times I can find out who likes who, or I can find out the "date of the doodle". Yeah, random stuff, but fun stuff too! When I was a kid I always doodled faces. I worked on the eyes and someone showed me how to do the pupil, where it looks like light reflects in them. I like to doodle in color too! Fine point sharpies are my marker of choice.

I was so happy to receive this Doodle book I heard about for Christmas. It's called "Doodling for Papercrafters" by Maelynn Cheung and you can find it HERE

Organizing my USB cords! Ugh

Why are all these cords "proprietary" ? Why? We have the USB cord to the Palm, to the Olympus Camera, Rio MP3 player, Sandisk Sansa, Sony Cybershot, Sony Alpha, and my Instinct Phone. Only one of these cords will "multi-task". The Standard USB cord I got with the Palm.

Thankfully, it did my Olympus Camera and my Rio. But why didn't Sony make one proprietary cord? My DD's cybershot cord will not work with my Alpha SLR, huh? Go figure!

So, feeling rather inspired to organize this mess. I labelled each end of each cord. I use the red background tape to signify "camera", the blue bkgd tape to signify "mp3/Phone" and the white tape is because this is the closest to a UNIVERSAL USB I have found.

I still am not 100% in love with the visual effect this leaves, but it's far better than the way it was.

If you've found a "system" or an item that helps you organize your cords please share it. Oh yeah, it has to be less than $10, too!

Very Random game- But if you believe in synchronicity then maybe there's something to it.

The game is PLAY BOOK and I found it on this blogpost:

http://www.letyourlifebloom.com/ from the November 28th post.


Play BOOK!
Book! Rules:
1- Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
2- Turn to page 56.
3- Find the fifth sentence.
4- Post that sentence along with these instructions in a note to your wall (blog, journal,etc), and post your sentence in a comment here as well.

My 5th sentence was:
“Description also satisfies the defiant human desire to preserve certain “unforgettable” perceptions against the annihilation of time.”


I really wanted to post the 6th sentence:
There are moments that, for the artist in all of us, seem too important to allow to pass into oblivion.

Oh Well.......

Christmas Cards

Our 2008 Christmas Card!

Merry Christmas

Busy, busy, busy time! But I wouldn't have it any other way! We always take a "all included" picture on our last day at the beach! Now, I'm starting an "all included" picture for Christmas. It really isn't hard to set up the tripod, so why didn't I do this before?


P.S. Today is my 23rd Wedding Anniversary! Wow!

Professional Pictures, Can't Sell without a Release

I guess I should feel flattered, but this could be a hassle! I took wedding pictures for this adorable couple this summer and as a Christmas gift to them, I wanted to make a funky little Digital Layout. I really don't know if this is their style, but I sure had fun making it.I just wonder why Walgreens requested a release? I said; "Well, I took the picture and I did the Layout in Photoshop". I told them I release myself! The clerk didn't give me any problems, but what if she had? Do I need to carry around my purchase information from ScrapGirls because I bought some digital elements from them......See the Date Stamp,the Vertical Diamond border, the "Always and Forever" and the butterflies. Please note,this is a gift, I am not selling this.

I'm gonna upload to a different Walgreens for my digi-Layouts next time! Who wants to be bothered?

The Christmas Card

You won't be getting this Christmas Card from us. I loved this card. I liked the colors and the quote. But it has been axed! You see, I'm married to a man with rather strong opinions and well, he 1- Didn't get the quote (not Christmassy enough) and 2- He didn't like the hat I photoshoped in (I guess I could've put it on the dog) and 3- His original shirt was Orange, not red (but see I changed the color to work with my theme). So, now I'm working on another card. And I better hurry, I'm running out of time.

Word for the Year

I am lousy at keeping New Years Resolutions! First of all, I can never think of the "perfect" resolution! I ping-pong and yo-yo between any and all of the ones below:
1) Lose weight 2) Exercise more 3) Make my bed every morning 4) Cook more or try new recipes 5) Cut and use coupons

You get my drift. I'm obviously pretty vague about 1 & 2 ; I should say lose 10 pounds by Easter, or Exercise for 30 min. a day. #3 is a super hard one for me because 3-4 mornings a week I am out of the house before DH is even out of bed. AND, #4 is well, it just will be something that I've resolved myself to not enjoying. Granted, I love to EAT and get SERVED but the actual task for me reminds me of work (performing multi-step testing to get an accurate result). I also think I'm a rather boring eater. I could eat the same thing for days and not grow tired of it. Now #5 I did do for over a year. I used my PALM to write down all the money I saved with my coupons and those BOGO (buy-one-get-one) Free promos and I learned a ton about when to buy what, how to stockpile and what is a good price for Meat or Laundry detergent.

Last year I came upon a few sites ( Ali Edwards and Christine Kane )that talked about choosing a WORD for the year instead of the New Years Resolutions which I break or forget I even made.

So, I've made up my mind! I have my Word! I think it'll work in lots and lots of
ways as I create my life. Really you must go check out Christine's blog, she starts December with a whole list of words to get your creative juices flowing. Then each day this month she has a guest blogger talk about the word they chose for 2008! I find it so Fascinating, really!! See for yourself HERE



So, without further adu, My Word for 2009:

Gone Digital

I am so honored today! On Saturdays the Scrapgirls NEWSLETTER
selects weekly LO (Layout) winners! I couldn't believe my eyes! One of my LO's was featured in the newsletter. I posted this LAYOUT in early November and I sorta forgot about it! It was a super fun LO to do and surprisingly I didn't have to "overthink" it too much! Once I figured out how I wanted to show the hands. That's where the frame came in for the left hand. All the products are from Scrapgirls (even a FREEBIE was used). I think I get $5 to the Scrapgirls BOUTIQUE and with all the sales they have this will suit my needs just fine!

The journalling reads: I was never one to pull out my wallet and show people my kids latest School pictures. But all that's changed since I went DIGITAL........

By the way, I totally love my Sprint INSTINCT (it's Sprint's version of the iphone)! Love, Love, Love it! My DH even asked for one for Christmas. We set him up with his very own yahoo email and now he will actually respond to email....... (I think cuz he has an excuse of writing on the phone so it's ok for him to keep it brief).

Photo Contest

I am just "pleased as punch", "happy as a clam", "as happy as a dog with two tails", because I won a something! A couple of months ago Mark took me up flying for my birthday, we planned to go up the morning of the Bluegrass Balloon Race so we could see all the balloons. I brought my camera (Sony Alpha dSLR) and hoped I could get a few decent pictures to submit for the photo contest they were running. See my earlier blog entry Bluegrass Balloon Fest for the pics I submitted.

I just found out that I won! I won? Me? I didn’t win a new car, nor a Me-llion dollars (think Dr.Evil in Austin Powers). But Still I WON! I WON!!

Here is the LINK to the CONTEST GALLERY.

And this is what I won!!!

Don't you just Love these FALL colors????

BlueGrass Balloon Fest

We woke up early this morning to greet the Hot Air Balloons!! Fantastic view from the air! Didn't even get air-sick this time. I guess it helps having something to do :)




After the Hare was released, the Hot Air balloons came up from all over
town! We had to be careful not to be above them as they went up.

Love the peacefulness of this picture!

Definitely can't be afraid of Heights!

One Day, I will do this!! i hope :)

The Tower gave us clearance to go ANYWHERE!

Note to self: Delete ALL of the pics on your memory cards prior to departure!

We think there were around Fifty balloons in this race.

Yellow- really?

Ok, so this isn't Yellow! But, isn't this a cool pic? Love it, Love it, Love it! It just makes me happy looking at it!

BTW, have a HAPPY 4TH of JULY!!! See you tomorrow!

Yellow- Day 4

This is a sign i made about 3 yrs ago and it hangs in my kitchen above the back door. When this

saying came out- I spotted these signs all over creation. I love to do things myself and put or

make them to suit my needs/ my colors. It's so not perfect, the wood piece was from Michaels and there are some little brown spots that somehow got thru the white base coat. But for now,

I'm keeping this right where it is! It's fun and a little whimsical and a good reminder for me.

Yep, those are my kitchen walls, yep, they are pretty darn yellow!

See you tomorrow :)

*DEB Graphic Frames BrushSet

Yellow- Day 3

Yellow Butterfly in my planter at the mailbox! I love garden paraphenalia. It's so
fun to put the little personal touches along with the flowers. My petunia's have not
had the best season though. They just aren't as vibrant as they usually are. Other
people have noticed the same thing about their petunia's. Which makes me feel
better, because then i can't say it's cuz I've neglected them.

Well, Day 3 and I made another post! Yipee! See you tomorrow!!


*DEB Graphic Frames Brush Set from Scrapgirls.com

Yellow Hat- Day 2

I love this yellow visor! Love visors in general. I'm having trouble finding the better visors right now. I guess I'll have to wait until I get to the Destin Outlets in August. I tend to find a good selection there. Where do you find good hats?

*DEB Graphic Frames BrushSet by Scrapgirls.com

Yellow Week- Day 1

The challenge to myself is to post YELLOW pics this week! I'll try to do it from today until Saturday. I'm just biting off a small piece. I know there are people who challenge themselves to post one pic a day, or one pic a month to their blogs and this really INSPIRES me. But ..... I am me and have my doubts if I'll be able to accept those types of challenges.

So, I've just made my own little "personal challenge". You are more than welcome to play along. I'd love to see what you do, so please leave a link here.

This pic was taken in Indianapolis this weekend at the Applebees in Castleton while I was waiting for my meal. I loved their Oriental Grilled Chicken Salad so much that I ordered it

three nights in a row. While waiting at the "Carside ToGo" spot I noticed their beautiful daffodils along the entire side of their restaurant. Since I just came from a swim meet I had my

good camera with me so I ran out and snatched a few pics. My DD had peanut butter and jelly, can you believe it. (But hey, she's old enough to know what she wants to eat while she's competing.)

*DEB Graphic Frames BrushSet from Scrapgirls.com

One Little Word Challenge

I did this for a little challenge at a neat place I just found on the web http://onelittleword.typepad.com/ . They've got alot going on over there. Lots of
creativity and cool artwork. Check them out if you get a chance.
The products used for this Layout are all from http://www.scrapgirls.com. Another
place I hang out and learn a ton from.

Happy Feet

Victoria Secret panties

How do you return underwear? Have you ever returned defective underwear?

I wore these panties twice and laundered them twice and look. The cotton

is breaking away from the band. This is really bad quality control on VS's part.

I love to buy my panties from VS, because they have the prettiest patterns and I ALWAYS KNOW HOW THEY WILL FIT, no surprises! Granted a couple yrs ago they decided to shorten the string bikini and not give us as much material. Hence they thought we must want to show more skin! Not me! I was very happy with the previous style. So I switched to the Hi-leg brief, or something like that.

Now look! I might as well buy my undies at JCPenney if this is going to happen!

I'm sure that it is made somewhere outside of the US and of course how will they ever know they have faulty underwear unless we can return, or complain or something!

I get those free coupons all the time for underwear and next time I go in I have to ask about their return policy. I love the way they sell there panties for 5/$25 such a deal!

But not when you can't wear them.

Any suggestions???

Happy Memorial Day

Master Bedroom

After 10 years in this house, I finally decided what I wanted to do. I had to make it acceptable to my masculine half (DH) as well! We both love water and my parents spent many days, hours,

even lived on their sailboat. It was a no-brainer once I discovered http://www.sxc.hu/profile/stockxchng . So, I just downloaded a bunch of cool Nautical pictures. I put them in Photoshop and cropped them to the size I wanted. I made them 300
dpi and uploaded the finished pics to Walgreens or Scrapbooks to share. I bought two 16x20
frames, four 10x13, three 12x12, six 8x10 frames. The hardest part was putting them on
the wall in the layout I wanted. I ended up making templates the exact size of the pictures and
moving those around before I hammered in the first nail. All in all, I only had to repeat one hole.

Also, special thanks to Bon and Sara (my teenage interior decorator).

Now, I've just brought a little piece of Florida into our mid-western home!

Kentucky Derby 134

Saturday May 3rd, 2008 the 7th race is the Derby race. Usually happens around 6pm, with about an hour of build-up.

Here are the contenders:

1-Cool Coal Man 20-1

2-Tale of Ekati 15-1

3-Anak Naka 30-1

4-Court Vision 20-1

5-Eight Belles 20-1

6-Z Fortune 15-1

7-Big Truck 50-1

8-Visionaire 20-1

9-Pyro 6-1

10-Colonel John 4-1

11-Z Humor 30-1

12-Smooth Air 20-1

13-Bob Black Jack 20-1

14-Monba 15-1

15-Adriano 15-1

16-Denis of Cork 20-1

17-Cowboy Cal 20-1

18-Recapturetheglory 20-1

19-Gayego 15-1

20-Big Brown 3-1

I think I'll put my money on Colonel John to Show.