OLW

That is the topic of my layout this posting - One Little Word, and mine is FOCUS as I stated in an earlier posting. I want release all those feelings and situations of the past and focus on my year ahead without it bogging me down. In my layout, I represented the "letting the old me go" with a kit at The ScrapRoom from 2007 that needs to be used up once and for all! And the "focus on the year ahead" is the stenciled arrows and tracing with an opaque white pen as me looking ahead to the start of a new year. Its not my normal scrapping, but it made me happy and I'm glad I took that leap ahead and focused on what I wanted instead of the norm as before!

Thanks for stopping by!

Godspeed

Experimenting!

Not sure what anyone else does when you wake at 12:30AM and can't get back to sleep, but me, I tend to venture into my crafty area and dig in! I've been receiving daily videos from Creative Jump Start 2013 for the entire month of January and I can tell you I've picked up some awesome ideas to incorporate into my layouts, mini albums, and mixed media. I think there's still time to sign up, so just following the link above and check them out!

Here is a technique from Nathalie Kalbach that I found pretty darn sweet and just had to try! I have a bunch of 3" scrap strips sitting here & taped them together, grabbed my paints, the rubber brayer, and went to work....

dab on small dots of paints......

roll one way.....

and then the other......

grabbed a alpha stencil, mixed up my ink, and spritzed away!

Not sure exactly what I'll be doing with this in the future, but do see at least a tag or two to incorporate into layouts, and maybe, just maybe, some of it will show up in a mixed media project! Try it, you might enjoy the "freedom" this type of playing gives you!

Godspeed

Field trip!

The Portland Aquarium opened just before Christmas and we've been wanting to make a visit to check things out. Although they are just in the beginning stages and some of the exhibits aren't quite complete, we had a wonderful time exploring the fishes:

Can't wait to sort and develop the numerous photos we took today and get them scrapped!

Godspeed

changes....

Yep, got to start making some changes and I'm starting with the amount of time I spend on this computer! Hours and hours of the internet, Facebook, and all that other stuff associated with it has taken over my life and it needs to change, NOW! I love chatting with people, but lets face it, most of them I chat with I've never actually met in person. We have common interests, but I'm getting a bit too sucked in and its not healthy. I sit on my backside for HOURS on end when I should be cleaning, doing laundry, creating with my hands, baking, or even taking a stroll outside with Maggie on the leash.

So, I'm going to FOCUS on the amount of time I spend on here and set the timer for 15 minutes. Once that timer goes off, I have to force myself to do something constructive for at least an hour before returning. I'm even catching myself checking the internet with my phone at work!! I'm  an ADDICT!! and its time to break that bad habit, starting now.

Off here to set the timer for an hour of "constructive, get something done" time! While I'm at it, I think I'll just quickly jot down what I actually did, who knows, it may work! Wish me luck!

Godspeed

Bustin' into that stash this past week!

Yep, dug REAL deep to find the papers for this first layout. They are spooktacular by Teresa Collins from 2008. I actually thought I had used them and was pleasantly surprised when I found them! They were so perfect for this layout of my grandbabies and their friend at Halloween this past year....

I want to get my photos from Christmas 2012 done before moving onto others and Fancy Pants' St Nick were just the ticket....

I'm wanting to keep them simple, without alot of embellies, so I can focus on the photos and the good times we had during our holidays! More to come......

Godspeed

Layouts!

Feels really good to get back to my scrappy stuff! In the past few days, I've made a point to be creative in some way each and every day even if only for 10 minutes here or there. This first one is from my Cocoa Daisy October kit - the kids and grandbabies dressed up for Halloween. Could you imagine a reality TV show about them?! LOL!!

Most people do a December Daily for their Holiday photos, but I never seem to have time with working extra hours and all that goes into December. So, I decided I would just scrap my photos taken in December using whatever paper fit the subject, do them in 8.5x11 since most will be one or two photos, and put them into one album and call it "Our Holidays!" And I'm off to a good start with the following......

Thanks for stopping by!

Godspeed

Staying FOCUSed!

I've decided this is a great place to keep track of my weight loss and added my "pounds lost" badge to my blog. Its just a great reminder to me to stay on track, to stick with my healthier eating patterns, and FOCUS on me! And to date, I've lost 3.8lbs.! AWESOME!!

Godspeed

FOCUS on a healthier me for 2013!

This year I chose the word FOCUS and for good reason. Life tends to get me so distracted at times that I get so caught up in "the other stuff" that I forget to FOCUS on ME! Its not that I mind one bit, but I've also noticed my pants getting tighter - again! - and need to do something about it before it really comes back to haunt me in a big way!

I've joined MyFitnessPal.com and started writing down everything that passes my lips. I want to stick as closely to the 17 Day Diet as I can and get back to making those smarter eating choices. The Holidays are over, the cookies and goodies gone, and its time to FOCUS on putting good foods in my fridge and getting this weight back to a year ago when I felt good about my insides as well as my outsides.

So far the hardest part is giving up my coffee. I don't think its the caffeine as much as my love for coffee that is getting in my way! For now I'm not beating myself up, just drinking an extra water for each cup I drink.

Writing it down here keeps me accountable and besides, I can type quicker than I can write this out!

Godspeed