Some Matters of Business

First of all I think I owe it to those of you who visit me here regularly at "So Much to Say, So Little Time" that my blog name and look will be changing soon, thanks to the one and only Goofy Girl. I think I have decided on the name "An Open Book". It pretty much describes how I share here at my wee ol' blog. I wanted it to be less pink-ish for fall. (Yep, it's right around the corner and if it isn't, don't tell me cause I LOVE fall!)
Secodly I feel it is importat to otify you that you may otice there is oe letter that is ofte missig from my posts. You may otice oce i a while that the letter that comes after M and before O is missig. My N key is working i a schitzophrenic manner. This paragraph demonstrates how it shows up whe it wants to and unless I am meticulous at checking it - many of the places where a letter N should appear are missing! I am calling HP again today - because they fixed it in some ways - but the letter N is missig - and it spontaeously turns off. How lovely for a computer less tha a year old!
Okay - I'm back to checking for the missing Ns! Sorry - hope you were able to weed through that mess!
Lastly, I believe that Scrap Happy Mondays are officially over. I enjoyed it quite a bit - but since there is so little participation, I think that I am going to let myself off the hook, and not worry about getting it up each week to have only maybe one or two, and sometimes nobody else link to a page. If you are fellow scrapbooker, please comment here and let me know when you put a new page up - because I'd still love to see them. I will still share mine.
Ba deep ba deep - that's all folks!

Freebie for New Scrapbookers

I have had several people ask me about digital scrapbooking - both here and on some of the yahoo groups that I frequent. I get emails from a site, Scrap Girls, that sells digi-scrap stuff, and offers tutorials etc. and they have this kit that you can try for FREE! No kidding. Just follow that link and download it - and you are ready to use it in your scrapbooking/imaging program. Sorry for the little commercial, but I just had to share.

Scrap Happy: Week 14

I made this page from a picture I took of my son last week. I used some drop shadow effects and also blurred the image around the focal point - which was the boy on the scooter. I like it fairly well - but maybe other scrapbookers understand this feeling - I am not quite satisfied. However, the more I tweak it, the less I like it - so I've decided to leave it alone.
I also used too many fonts - but nothing quite gave it the look I wanted. I didn't have my own computer with all of my own favorite fonts on it - so that was part of the problem. And in case you didn't know - if you want to view someone's picture or scrapbook pages, you can click on the image to enlarge it! Makes reading the small journaling much easier.
I can't wait to see the pages you're making! Happy Scrappin'!

Scrap Happy - Week 13

Well, I have been scrappin' right along. Sometimes it seems I get a burst of enthusiasm for this creative outlet - and there is no stopping me. I never scrapbook with the intensity that some do - but when something really cool, like a picture or scenery or beautiful graphics come up, they make me want to use them in a page. That is the story behind this week's page. My son saw that his sister had fallen asleep on top of her bed last night and came to get me so I could "take a picture". (it really is a family sport - scrapbooking - isn't it?) I made this page with one of the four pictures I took that she approved: (although she tried to revoke it because she thinks her picture is distorted!)Of course with the vivid colors of her bedding and bedroom, I did not have any scrap-stuff that matched - so I improvised - I made the background paper. It was pretty fun to do - since she was dreaming - I listed things that she might be dreaming about, and then I softened them so that other things would show up. I also learned this week how to type text in a circle, so I thought I'd show off that new skill. I also cut out the letters for the word "dreams" and then sanded them a bit to soften. Fun!
DIGI-SCRAPPER TOOL ALERT: I got this incredibly awesome magazine - Better Homes & Gardens has a tutorial magazine out called The Ultimate Guide to Digital Scrapbooking for Adobe Photoshop users. It has some awesome tutorials. I have been learning more and more and more.
Here is another page that I made this week that I am rather pleased with:
These are some special kids I know that have taken a liking to each other. I made it as a sort of belated-birthday gift. I used a paper that I already had - but I put the words to their favorite song in the background. That was pretty neat. I love the way Adobe allows me to match colors. That is very important. This photo had some reds that worried me when I first started making the page - but that eyedropper tool was super to help me match it all up!
I am looking forward to seeing what you've been up to this week! Happy Scrappin'!

Scrap Happy - Week 13

I had a great time making this page today - commemorating my youngest daughter's 14th birthday. It did however take me hours to figure out how to blur the edges and fade her picture into the background. But it was so awesome once I figured it out. There was a lot of experimenting with techniques, brushes etc. I got some of my ideas from tutorials in the Digital Scrapbooking magazine. If you haven't heard of it and you are a digital scrapbooker - I highly recommend it. There's lots of fun pages, samples, contests, and reader pages. Wow!
This week you'll actually get to see TWO pages - pretty much the same page with two different pictures. She didn't like the picture I had in the first one (posted at the bottom) and so I redid the page with another picture. We both like the second one better. But I got her permission to share them both with you so you could see the difference. I made the first one in black and white - or actually sepia tone. It is truly the most "artsy" page I've ever made - and of course I had to because Kaitlyn is my little artiste! The picture in the first page really does go better with the overall theme of the page as well! Happy Birthday my Kaity-bug!

And yet another page that I had to make for my birthday girl - I've had a very productive scrapbookin' day!
I can't wait to see the pages y'all are making this week. Please link them up here!
Happy Scrappin'!

Scrap Happy - Week 12

I have been making new pages the past couple weeks - and it makes me so happy to just have a leisurely pace to work on them - and yet a motivator such as this meme! Even though there aren't many participants yet, I hope you will continue to put the word out about this for other scrapbookers - so that we can all get ideas and inspiration. My sister-in-law Vonda is an avid scrapbooker, and just being with her makes me want to scrapbook even more!
Here is this week's page:I had a lot of fun making this page from a terrific picture my daughter Kaitlyn took. She has a very artistic eye, however, I think this photo was done much by accident! However, I found it difficult to locate the perfect papers and elements for this picture. There isn't much scrapbooking stuff out there for "teen-boys".
I can't wait to see your pages this week!
Happy Scrappin'!

Scrap Happy - Week 11

I am back! It is only Sunday and I am already prepared for the Scrap Happy meme tomorrow! I even made a BRAND NEW page! Woo hoo! I have so little creative energy sometimes - and most of it is being invested in writing projects right now - but it was so nice to get a scrapbooking fix!
I took this fantastic picture of my girls with two of their bestest friends in the whole wide world when we were in WV in May-June. I love taking pictures - and they seem to capture happy memories, as well as sad ones. This was the day we were supposed to be packing the car, but the friends came over and we couldn't get things packed up - because we really didn't want to leave our friends!
Since were are here talking about this meme, would y'all like it if we had a "challenge" - some themes we could work towards occasionally - but you didn't have to work on that theme unless you wanted to - or would you prefer to keep this totally open all the time to anything people want to post??? Just a thought.
Happy Scrappin'!

Scrap Happy - Week 10

Ah, here we are again - another Monday Scrap Happy! Here's my page for the week:
I made this page with a super kit that I can't remember the name of right now - but it just fit this picture so well. My girls went to a "purity conference" with some friends and had a great time, learned a lot, and were inspired to give their hearts completely to the Lord!

Scrap Happy - Week 9

Hey everybody!
I'm just a bit late putting this up today! Sorry - things have been crazy. I'm dealing with a sick girl, piles of laundry, work and all kinds of other stuff! Here is a page for the week - it is still not a new one, however we did get my Adobe Photoshop reloaded when we took our computer back to XP - so next week should bring a new page or two or three! (I'm getting way ahead of myself!)
I did not make this page. It was created by my sister-in-law Vonda. I hope that she won't be upset that I am using it here. She is very talented. I will link to her gallery here once she sends me the link I lost when my computer crashed! She is a very special person in my life - and is responsible along with her mother for turning me on to digital scrapbooking. It is a hobby and a passion that we share and enjoy. I loved it when she made this page of the two of us. I will always treasure it. I am glad that we have had a chance to get to know each other, and I do count her as my sister in my heart!
Thanks Vonda for sharing this love of scrapbooking with me!
Happy Scrappin'!

Scrap Happy - Week 8

Hey all you scrappers! I have still not gotten my Photoshop program reloaded onto my computer since my crash - so I have no new pages to share! I am going to however share a page with you that I made last April:
I know that there are all sorts of products now that are for scrappin' your recipes - but this was an original idea of yours truly! My girl loved this Shrimp Scampi recipe so much that I made it for her on her birthday. It was when we had our house for sale in West Virginia - and the day I made it our realtor stopped by and said, "Oh my gosh that smells so good. I can smell it all the way to the car!" I chose paper colors to match the shrimp - and found the clip art online! I hope you will scrap some of your recipes and share them with me! YUM!
Now get scrappin'!

Scrap Happy - Week 7

Okay Scrap Happy participants, since your hostess is lame-o and didn't even get the meme up last week I am going to extend the contest deadline to this week! I am still going to offer a prize of $15 to your favorite online scrapbooking store -digital or otherwise. So let's get those pages posted.
Here is mine:
I made this page of my son wearing his daddy's welding hood. I thought this would get you inspired to make pages for Father's Day! It was the first attempt that I ever made at cutting a picture out. If you use Adobe Photoshop there are a bunch of great tutorials to help you with this online. I can't find the one I used since I lost all my bookmarks when my computer crashed - but I found this one that looks very user friendly! If you need help - email me and I will try to help you navigate the process at julientexasATsbcglobalDOTnet.
Post away Scrappers!

Apology to Scrappers

I am so sorry - with the holiday weekend - I completely forgot about Scrap Happy. One of my commenters reminded me about it - but alas it was too late when I received the comment. Stay tuned - we will be back after this slightly unscheduled break!
I WILL get things back to a regular basis - and you will NOT have to always remind me! I am so sorry people - I am usually on top of things - but lately - ugh! My "computer doctor" (a/k/a fantabulous hubby!) is at work as I type this!

Scrap Happy Meme - Week 6

Okay - I've really blown it the last two Mondays with this meme. In fact, nobody posted their pages here last week at all! Ugh. Last week we were busy traveling, and this week my computer has completely crashed - so no scrappin' for me! I can't even access an old page to post. What I am going to do is put the linky up for anyone who is interested in posting. I am going to have a drawing and give away a $15 gift certificate to the Digital Scrapbook store of your choice - all you have to do is post a page this week and next week - AND both weeks point people to the meme from your own humble little blog-dwelling! I will announce the winner on Friday - June 1st! Come on, let's get this thing going! I know it will be so fun - if only your hostess-with-the-mostess can remember to put the dang meme up each week!

I'm so sorry - now get back to scrappin' and bloggin' people!

Scrap Happy - Week 5

My apologies to all of my meme people! I am sorry - it seems I forgot that it was Monday. All the travelling, an asthmatic child that was having a sleepover who called me every 2 hours and a hubby emergency with the debit card - all that transpired wiped some of my memory clean!
Here is my page for this week:
I made this page with either a Scrap-a-Deal kit from 3Scrapateers or a Half-n-Half kit - they are both kits where you get part for a cheap price, and after you upload a page you made with the kit, you get the rest of it! It is kind of fun, and I was doing it regularly for a while. I will have to check it out again soon. It is a great way to collect graphics.
I can't wait to see your pages - and if I haven't commented, please know that I will catch up when I get home from my trip - Lord willing - by next weekend!
Happy Scrappin'!

Scrap Happy - Week 4

I almost missed this! I am on a trip WAAAAYYYY out of state!
I am missing my hubby today - which inspired my page for the week. The picture was taken on our anniversary last summer!
Hope your week is Scrap Happy!

Scrap Happy - Week 3

I hope that all my scrapper friends are burning up the computer screen with new pages! I am heading out in the wee hours of the morning tomorrow on a 2 week trip to West Virginia, but I will be checking back in through the week to see what pages show up here! I have had a very chaotic weekend, so I am posting an old page I made for my daughter Kendra's birthday LAST year. (The stinker just had the nerve to turn 16 a few weeks ago!) I used a piece of her wrapping paper to make the background. I just love this page - and they were some great pictures of her!
Can't wait to see your pages! Happy Scrappin'!

Scrap Happy - Week 2

Okay - so it is slow going here getting this meme started - but I know that if we are patient, and if all participants help get the word out, we will see other digital scrapbookers emerge from the shadows. Please grab the button and put the word out on your blogs, and wherever other scrapbookers gather. Let's get this thing going people - I want to see some pages!

Here is my page for week 2 - the pictures were taken at a Presidential Rally a couple of years ago. The America kit I used seemed perfect for the patriotic theme. I don't remember where I got it.
Let's see some of your pages! Post your page on your blog and link up here. Don't forget to only grab the link to the specific post where your page for this week is posted - it helps the rest of us find it without having to sort through all of your other posts.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me via email at julientexas at sbcglobal dot net.
Thanks! Happy Scrappin'!

PLEASE Help Me Advertise!

Dear Reader,
Hi there!
If you are visiting this blog - perhaps you have your own blog, no? I need some other bloggers to help me get the word out about my Scrap Happy Meme. Even if you don't scrapbook, if you would be willing to put up a post about the meme, or link it on your side bar - it would be so great! There is a button and a banner that you could grab and link up. If you need me to email you the link - please feel free to request that as well in the comments or by sending me an email at julientexas at sbcglobal dot net.
I'd appreciate it so much!
Thanks ~ Jewls

Scrap Happy - Week 1

Welcome to the first week of Scrap-Happy! If you are a scrapbooker, whether traditional or digital, you are welcome to join us. All you have to do is title a post on your own blog "Scrap Happy - Week 1" - post your scrapbook page and link up here at the bottom of this post in the Scrap Happy Mister Linky. Remember to get the address link that goes directly to the Scrap Happy post so that other participants don't have to weed through other posts to get their creative fix!
Feel free to post any info about how you created the page, what you used to create the page, what inspired the page, or anything else you would like to share.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me by messaging here - or email me at julientexas at sbcglobal dot net.
Without further adieu, here is my page for week 1:
I bought two kits a year ago to benefit a digital designer, Laura Vanderbeek when she was first diagnosed with cancer. The kits came in four parts - and to make this page, I used a mixture of kits 1 and 4. I have been waiting to use it for just the perfect picture with my friends. I think it turned out quite nice.
Just so you know, if you click on the picture it will enlarge it so you can view the page better.
Note: I just checked this feature out - and if you post the original image size it makes your page HUMONGOUS - Just FYI, you may want to post it in a "gallery size".
Happy Scrappin'!

Scrap Happy Meme

Another lovely banner by the one and only Goofy Girl!

Are you a digital scrapper or a paper scrapper with the computer savvy to scan and post your pages? Well this meme is for you! I want to pull our collective talents together to wow and inspire one another. All it requires is a weekly scrapbook page to post, and a blog where other participants can go and view it.
I don't care what size your pages are, what programs you use, or any of those technical things - feel free to post them to share with others if you'd like - but the purpose, the real deal behind this is to inspire one another toward creativity. So if you want to share where you got a certain kit, element, font, etc. feel free to share those things. If you want to explain how you were inspired to create your layout by a piece of architecture, puffy clouds or a grape juice stain on the carpet - share away. If you would like to include a tutorial for a certain technique that you used - teach us! Nothing is required however, except that you post a page to share each week and link back here in the Scrap Happy Mister Linky so that the rest of us can visit you!
I think it is important to state that I do not work for any scrapbooking-related company, have my own company or care about the who, what or where you buy your scrapbooking stuff. If I point to a specific supplier, or product, it will be because I like it - and for absolutely no other reason! There is nothing to sell or buy here - so just imagine us as a bunch of scrapbookin' friends getting together for a crop - and showing off our pages each week.
I started scrapbooking almost 10 years ago now, making my first pages when I was pregnant with my now 9 year old son. I have two huge-mongous albums to attest to my serious paper-scrappin' habit. However, the house we lived in at the time was around 900 square feet - so you can imagine, I didn't have a room or studio to set up, and honestly after I got it all drug out, and got the things out that I wanted to use, there was no creativity left in me! A year and a half ago my mother-in-law and sister-in-law introduced me to digital scrapbooking, and I love it!
Here are some of my pages -

The Joy of Sisters - about my kids

My Thoughts of You - a tribute to my father-in-law
It's Gonna Be a Cary Christmas - spending Christmas with my BIL

These are just the pages that I have posted since I started this blog in January of this year. I have plenty of others that I will share as time goes on. I plan on using weeks where I can't get to making a new page to post one of these old ones. I linked to these just to give you an idea of how a post should look - but this is your deal - create, inspire and dazzle us!
Scrap Happy - week #1 will commence on Monday, April 16th. This will give you plenty of time to make pages from those awesome Easter photos that you're sure to take this weekend, or whatever else creative you might put together! Be ready to come back here that day and post the link to your page in the Scrap Happy Mister Linky.
If you're interested in publicizing this, feel free to grab the banner and link it back to this post or email me at julientexas at sbcglobal dot net and I will be glad to send it to you via email.
Goofy Girl is working on a button for us as well!
Now that you're all inspired to scrapbook, let me point out a really beautiful Hoppy Spring Easter kit that I found at Cottage Arts! I can't wait to scrap some spring/Easter pictures with that!
Leave me a comment here to let me know that you are hoping to participate!
Happy Scrappin'!

Credit for the sample pages here go to (in order):
My mother-in-law, Myrtice Forsythe created the first two with the old-tyme flair
My sister-in-law, Vonda Bearden created the page with my daughter when she was about 4
My husband's aunt, Julia Cook made the page with the filmstrip of her grandson
and last is my page created a year ago for my daughter's 15th birthday - I used her wrapping paper for the background! You can click on any of them to enlarge them and look at them a little better.