{Life & Musings}

The Daily Question & a Layout

Every day I ask myself the same question.  "What to make for dinner?" 
I really hate that question.  For once I would like someone else to answer.  

You would think that pasta would be a slam dunk but NO! I have one kid that will not eat it. I struggle to get my kids to eat their veggies.  Please don't tell me your kids would rather eat veggies than candy. My kids love their carbs and it's a struggle to get them to eat protein.

Trying to please 5 peoples' various desires is tiring.  I have to get creative.  I'm always looking for new ideas and recipes. I read magazines and scour the internet.  9 times out of 10, I'll find one recipe in a cooking magazine to try.  The recipe needs to be simple.  Something quick is best.  It has to contain ingredients that they might recognize. 

So Max is out tonight at a dinner meeting or something in the city.  We are having Chili, which the kids love and he doesn't.  It's a recipe that I found in Cooking Light magazine. 

I promised you a layout.  Here it is.  Another digi layout from our anniversary trip. 

Template: Paislee Press
Embellishments: Taylor Made; Paiselee Press & Me.

Enjoy!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

The most wonderful time of the year for me is not the holidays, but they are a close second.  No, the most wonderful time of the year for me is the beginning of a new school year. I love the smell and feel of new school supplies.  Today is the beginning of new school year for me--well sort of.  I'm starting Shimelle's class on blogging today.

Yes, I've been blogging since 2005 (according to typepad), but I feel that my blog has gotten a little stale lately.  I have a fine line to walk between what I share on the website and what I say here.  If I share too much on my website, then there is really no reason to come here and read my "insightful" ramblings. 

So on day one the prompt is to show where you blog and maybe share a layout.

I blog on my laptop usually sitting on the kitchen counter. Here is a layout to go with how I'm feeling today.  It's an oldie, but a goodie and I think it's  is somewhat appropriate with the beginning of a new class for me.

Enjoy!

Graduation

I don't remember if I posted any pictures from graduation or not.  I think I probably didn't because I haven't scrapped them before today.  This is a quick little page for the inlaws/outlaws album.

template: Janet Philips
paper: fei fei-joyce serindipty papers; Jessica Sprague Echos of Asia
embellishments: MCO corner florishes 2

As I'm trying to remember what I used in the layout, I'm a little frustrated because I did a total rookie move.  I merged the layers to save the layout as a JPG but I forgot to un-merge them before i saved the PSD again and now the layers are lost.  What a lame move!  

Since I started working a lot in digital, I've had to kind of develop a file method that works for me.  I save the completed layout as a PSD, in case I need to change it. I also merge the layers and save it as a JPG file to print.  Then I reduce the size of the JPG and save it as "b" whatever the title, so I know that it's resized for blogs/web.  So that is 3 copies of the same layout.  Confusing, I know, if you don't digitally scrap but it's what works for me.

Enjoy!

A Repeat?

Template: Paislee-Press
Paper: kathryn wilson eastborne kit
Embellishments: Michelle Coleman Corner Florishes II

You may think you have seen this before and you have.  Well, it's a little different.  It's various pictures from our trip for the inlaws/outlaws albums.

Enjoy!

In the Spirit

In the spirit of the Halloween season, a layout:

 

Paper: Baers Garten Here Comes the Sun kit
Elements: Paislee Press October 31st kit

I'm trying to get in the Halloween spirit.  We have a group of neighbors down the street who go all out for EVERY holiday.  This halloween they've taken it up a notch, not that I thought that was possible.  Now my sad little pumpkin sign in my front yard will just not do.  I bought some Styrofoam tombstones today with skeleton pieces to stick in my yard.  Hopefully that will be enough. 

Enjoy!

A Disclaimer

You know how there are never pictures of you in your albums?  Well, that is most definitely not the case in this book, especially since the kids were not with us.  So I decided this album needed a disclaimer about my gorgeous look that I'm sporting in all of the pictures.

 

Template: Paislee-Press snapshots 2
Paper:  Paislee Press Sociologie Kit
Elements:  Paislee press zippy hippy stamp; Paislee Press Inkblots 

Have you ever added a disclaimer page to your albums?
Enjoy.

A Cover

Paper: fei-fei Joyce Serendipity Kit
Stamp: Fei-Fei Taylormade Small Talk Kit
Template: Paislee Press

How is this for a cover page for my album?

It just sort of came to me...in an email.  Yes, in an email from Paislee-Press with a link to a free collage template.  So I downloaded it and used half of the collage for my layout.  I think it turned out pretty good.  If you would like to download the template, click here

The past week has been a bit crazy and unfortunately this week doesn't look any better.  I'm going to try to create another layout tonight. 

Enjoy!

So Close

I'm so close to being done with this album that I can almost taste it.  You know what it tastes like?  Bittersweet.  It's bittersweet tasting because that means I'm done reliving the trip and it was such a great time.  You know one of those times that will never come again.  (Why is Foreigner's "Feels Like the First Time" going through my head right now???) 

And here is the latest layout....

Template: Taylormade
Papers: Eastbourne kit & Eastbourne add on kit from Kathryn Wilson+Paislee Press
Digital Stamp: embrace kit from Paislee Press

Enjoy!

Les Tulieries

Template: paislee press
Paper: Fei-Joyce Serendipity Papers; Shabby Princess Bella Collection
Embellishments: Eastbourne Elements Kathryn Wilson+Paislee Press; Sociologie Elements Paislee Press

Enjoy!

You Must Be Nearly Done, Right?

With the pictures from this trip, that is.  Yes, I am.  I was going through my iPhoto yesterday and I am almost done creating layouts from the trip.  Only a few more to go. 

Template: Paislee Press
Paper & Elements: Eastbourne kit from Kathryn Wilson + Paislee Press

I really wish that I had discovered this snapshot layered templates from Paislee Press earlier.  I probably would have done the whole trip with this Polaroid type of look.  I love that you can put journaling right underneath the individual pictures.  I'm half tempted to go back and re-do a few layouts.  I still might.  

I'm going to try to do another digital layout today.  Let's see what happens.  I'd love to wrap this up and get it printed.  I've decided not to print it into a book form.  I've got too much memorabilia from the trip that I want to include in the album too.  That is a challenge when you do a digital layout.  With a typical layout you could include it as part of the layout, but in a digital one, you can either scan it or somehow put attach it to the layout maybe?  I'm not sure yet.  I might just put it behind the layout in the album.  I kind of like that. But we will see.

Enjoy!