Last day of 2010.

Introducing ... Project: Love, Me ...

Project Love me is a project 52 with weekly prompts designed to help you share your personal journey … 52 messages & stories from you to future generations … a collection for your loved ones … signed, “Love, Me.”

Project: Love, Me is much more than an “All About Me” album. It is about you, of course — but not a laundry list of facts or answers to simple questions, or even a chronological history. It’s an adventure of self-discovery as we focus on specific themes and delve deep with prompts to help you get to the heart of who you are and share that with others.

Here is the opening page of my album.

Kami, from Project Love Me, sums it up much better than I can about why I would want to do this.

Here is what she says: "I think about my parents when they were my age and I wonder who they were. I knew them as parents, but not as a people- what they dreamed, what brought them joy or what they feared the most?

I think about my grandparents and realize how little I really know about them at all. I know their names and where they lived. I have a general idea of how their lives were shaped. But I have no idea who they were, what obstacles they faced and how they faced them, what they thought about their world and how they lived in it.

I then look ahead 30 years from now and realize one day my daughter will be me- sitting here wondering who her mother really was when she was 35 and looking at me from a whole new perspective. I look ahead 60 years from now and wonder how much my grandchildren will know about me as a person and the world I lived in.

We are all individuals with our own likes and dislikes, struggles and successes. Life truly is a journey and along the way we learn all kinds of lessons. This project is about leaving our story for future generations, showing them who we are and what life has taught us- up to this point in our lives, so that when our children and grandchildren are ready to know us, we will be there for them. It’s a project you can start at any point in your life and it’s a project that you can repeat throughout your life to see how your perspective has changed and grown since the last time you completed the project."

If you are interested, you can find out more here:  http://projectlovemescrapbook.com/about-project/

Christmas Bokeh Photos

Merry Christmas! Ok, I am a huge fan of Bokeh type photos and I was hoping that my new camera the NEX 3 by Sony could be adjusted to give me some of those awesome shots.  I placed the camera in M mode and moved the settings to 0.5"  and F5.   I really wish that I could set the F stop a little lower but just couldn't find a way to do it. Overall, I was satisfied with the results.

To get those beautiful, blurry Christmas lights, use your lens with the lowest aperture.  Place your subject as far away from the tree as possible and get as close to the subject as possible.

Forever Yours

Forever Yours is rich in color and texture. Includes 18 solid and patterned 12x12 papers created at 300 dpi. Sixteen of the papers are in .jpg format, 2 are in .png format.

Elements include a bead spill, single beads, pearled butterflies, vintage buttons, a clip, flourishes, fabric flowers, frames, jeweled hearts, a diamond overlay, journaling pieces, a vintage key, a pearl, a rose, a snap, twine, and various ribbons.

The included alpha is stamp-inspired and includes Uppercase, Lowercase and Numbers, plus a blank stamp set for you to add text to coordinate for your layouts.


Here's a LO made with this beautiful kit.

Noel by Simply You, Simply Me

Kit contains 12 papers and 60 elements!

Here is a LO I made with this great kit.

Trying Out A New Camera

After dropping my camera into our pond (twice) and having it slip out of my hands and bounce down the bleachers at a baseball game, I finally had to admit I needed a new camera.  While Christmas shopping, we stopped at the electronics store and came across the new Sony NEX-3.  It was very light and promised to take near DSLR quality photos.  I decided to give it a try.

So far here is what I have discovered about this camera:

Pros
light weight - 2.2 lbs
video quality is good
quick shutter response time
continuous shooting at 7 frames per second


Cons
short battery life
navigation speed - the camera is slow when jumping between shoot mode and playback mode
there aren't many available lenses
flash has a weak range area

Here is a close up of my son taken with the camera.

Our dog

New Kit from Twirlyscraps

The new kit is called Ti Amo - Italian for 'I love you'. It contains 12 plain and patterned textured papers and 50 unique elements, including torn papers, an inked photo edge, decorative metal elements, ribbons, '5 reasons why I love you' notes, heart elements, doodles, decorative bunting, swirlies, 2 word arts, and lots more! This kit is perfect for scrapping photos of loved ones of all ages.  You can find it over at GDS http://www.godigitalscrapbooking.com/index.html

Here are a few example LO's made with this fantastic new kit.

Tator Tot Casserole

I promised myself that my blog would not be about my daily happenings, but still sometimes I think it's good to share some of the joys of day to day life. I have been feeling very blessed latey.So as a thank you to my hubby I am making one of his favorites tonight- Tator Tot Casserole.  It's a local favorite around my area but I had never heard of it until I moved here over a decade ago.  I'm going to include the recipe for anyone  who might be interested.

Tater Tot Casserole

2lbs ground beef

1 can cream of chicken soup*  

3/4 cup of milk

2 1/4 cups of cheddar cheese

1 bag of Tater Tops*  

Preheat oven to 400. Brown the hamburger and drain off any grease. Layer the hamburger in the bottom of a 9x13 pan.  Mix the can of cream of chicken soup with 3/4 cup of milk.  Then pour it over the hamburger.  sprinkle the cheddar cheese on top of the hamburger and soup.  Layer the tater tots on top of the cheese.  Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the tator tops are brown and crispy.

* I use Campbells Healthy Request Cream of Chicken Soup because there is no MSG in it.

* I use Crispy Crowns from Ore Ida instead of regular tator tots because they get crispier than ordinary tator  tots.

Free Collab Kit

You will not want to miss out on this beautiful Christmas collab over at GDS. 

http://www.godigitalscrapbooking.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_dnld_info&products_id=7868

Your first $10+ order (excluding coupons and gift certificates) qualifies you for this month's collab. Included in this kit is a wonderful double template from Andrea Gold that comes in 3 different sizes and 6 wonderful pieces of Word Art by JAB Designs. There are over 490 megs that includes the following:

* 49 Papers (12 x 12)
* 116 Elements
* 1 Double Template Set
* 6 coordinating WordArt pieces

For Your Personal Use

300 ppi for quality printing purposes.

My LOs were made with this fantastic new Collab kit "White Christmas" by the designers at GDS.

I made it!

I have recently found out that I have gotten my very first job as a CT member. I am proud to announce that I was chosen to become a member of the Supreme Team at godigitalscrapbooking.com.  I am very excited to have won a spot on the team and can't wait to get started.  Very soon you will be able to check me out here.
http://godigitalscrapbooking.com/index.html

Congratulations to my fellow Supreme Team X Members!


bombalurina59
BRITNKAYSMEMAW2
christellevandyk
DEANNAJ
HAY.PAULLY
JENN611
MARTI11
PUREPIXELS
SPARKLES
TREEPOT
TWEEDERBUG


I'm looking forward to working with you all!

Cookies and Creme Brownies

As I've said before I have 5 children and so I am always looking for fun and easy recipe.  Unfortunately I can't take credit for this recipe, I actually saw it on the back of the box. With a name like Cookies and Creme Brownies, how could I resist giving them a try?  They were very simple to make, and my children really liked them.  The brownies looked yummy.  I thought they were a little too sweet, but still think they would make a great dessert to take for a covered dish.

1 box fudge brownie mix (9x13 size)
1 3/4 cup Oreo cookie crumbs
1 container vanilla frosting.

Preheat oven to temperature listed on the box. Mix up the brownie mix as directed on the package. Then add 1 cup of cookie crumbs to the batter.  Pour into a greased 13x9 pan and bake for the time stated on the box.*  Allow the brownies to cool completely.  Spread the vanilla frosting on top of the brownies and then sprinkle the remaining cookie crumbs on top.

*I'm not crazy about gooey brownies so I might increase the cooking time by a few minutes the next time I make them.

Happy Birthday

Winter has arrived!

Woke up yesterday morning,to a small sprinkling of snow on the ground and all of my beautiful plants frozen.  I guess it's an appropriate way to start December, but I'm not ready for it.

cold

ISO?

Well if you are anything like me, learing all the different terms for your camera can seem a little intimidating so I'm hoping to explain a few that i have learned over the years.

What is ISO?

ISO measures the sensitivity of the image sensor (or film) to light.  The higher the number, the less light is needed to take a photo that is correctly exposed.

 Most people tend to keep their digital cameras in ‘Auto Mode’ but most cameras also give you the opportunity to select your own ISO. In Auto Mode the camera selects the appropriate ISO setting depending upon the conditions you’re shooting in. Most cameras will try to keep the ISO setting as low as possible in this mode.  Higher ISO settings allow you to shoot digital photos in low-light conditions, but such photos are more susceptible to noise and grainy images than photos shot at low ISO settings. With a digital camera, you usually can shoot at a variety of ISO settings.

Round 4

Well... I just submitted my round 4 LO.  I will find out on Tuesday night how I do. The kit we were given to use is called Caitlin and it is by Twirlyscaps. 

I'm Moving On

WHOO HOOO! I'm feeling very excited to today because I just found out that I have made it to the final round of competition for the Godigitalscrapbooking Supreme Team Competition.  Round 3 had a lot of sensational scrapbookers and so I feel very honored to have been chosen to move on to Round 4.  We were given the kit "Dainty" by HK Designs to work with. It was very easy to use because of the beautiful colors and really cute embellies. Here's a look at my round 3 entry.

Some new stuff.

Earlier this month, I decided to enter the Godigitalscrapbooking Supreme Team Challenge at http://godigitalscrapbooking.com/index.html.  I am competing for a  chance to get a 4 month position as a GDS Supreme Team Member as well as a lifetime member to the Supreme Team Alumni. Judging is done by the GDS Designers and is based upon creativity, uniqueness and showcasing of the kit. each level of the rounds you are given a digital scrapbook kit to base your LO on.  The kit for Round 1 was called called "What a Hoot" by Tricia Curtis. Here is my entry. Wish me luck.

Well, I have gotten to move on to Round 2, so here's a look at that LO. The kit for this round is called Winter Dreaming by Studio 4 Design Works.  It has some beautiful Christmas themed embellies.

I love Fall!!

falling leaves
hide the path
so quietly.
 
 
~John Bailey, "Autumn," a haiku year, 2001

I think that Nathanial Hawthorne explained just how I feel about fall in this quote "I cannot endure to waste anything as precious as autumn sunshine by staying in the house. So I spend almost all the daylight hours in the open air." With all the beautiful weather it really puts me in the mood to take photos for here are some from the past few days.

Swiss Festival

The Ohio Swiss Festival

Attending and participating in The Ohio Swiss festival has become a part of our family's traditions. It is a somewhat small event but our family loves it!  You can sample award-winning wine and cheese from local artisans. You can attend or be in the 2 parades,or listen to music ranging from polka to Americana  One of our favorite things at the festival is to watch the Steinstossen,The Throwing of the Stone.  During the Steinstossen, competitors attempt to throw a huge stone which weighs about 138 lbs as far as possible. There is a lighter stone for the ladies event, only 75 lbs.  There is also a 5K run, Yodeling Contest, Swiss Costume Contest, Queen Crowning and of course the Crowning of the Ohio Swiss Festival Grand Champion Cheese Maker.  This year Broad Run Cheesehouse was the grand champion, but my vote is  always for last years champion, Guggisberg Cheese Co. On a personal note, I think Guggisberg Swiss goes very well with a lager beer or a Zinfandel.

Here are some pictures of my son, who won Best Decorated Bike in the Kiddie Parade.

Here are a few of my youngest on his "bike".

A few new photos

No great artist ever sees things as they really are. If he did, he would cease to be an artist.- Oscar Wilde

I picked up a pizza today and while I was waiting I decided to take a few photos.  This was taken right beside the pizza parlor. My husband saw an old alley way and I saw art. This photo is a perfect example of why I love photography.  At any moment, or any where you may capture a moment that is unique to you and be able to share it for eternity with everyone that comes in contact with your art.

Actions

Today I tried out a few new photoshop actions.  I use these quite a bit for photo editing. 

Cool eyelash brush

The last time I was on the Deviant Art web site I came across these really amazing eyelash brushes that were available for free...yes free download.  They were courtesy of redheadstock. They work fantastic and make add a vey dramatic appearance to your eyes in a photo.  I use Photoshop Elements 7, and they worked perfectly with my program.  Here is an example of what I did with the brushes.  They really made my eyes stand out in the photo for my LO. Here is a link to the page where I found them. http://browse.deviantart.com/?qh=&section=&q=brushes+lash#/d102isv

credits for the products used on my LO can be found here.http://www.scrapbook.com/galleries/326267/view/2887693/-1/1.html

A Rainy Friday

Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain.

The kids are back to school

New Freebie for ya.

Freebie Time

New Freebie