What's Old is New Again

It's my favorite time of year again. My sister's birthday was Saturday and the whole family went out for dinner. It was a great chance to try out my new camera app. I've all but givven up using my actual camera because it's so much easier to just whip out my iPhone. As for the quality, it's pretty good really. My iPhone is 3 megapixels and my camera is 4. Anywho. I came across this awesome retro camera app for it that I love. You get a choice of 5 different "camera's" that each produce their own uniquely awesome results.

April also brings my birthday. I've decided that this year, rather than doing the family thing and then going out with my friends later I'd just do one big get together of everyone I'd want there. Or at least everyone in the country who I'd want there. And since it's me and I love planning these things it's become a Wonderland tea party. In that spirit I've dug up a freebie that I've had buried in my portable HD for about a year now. Click here to download.

Tradition

When the leaves begin to turn and there's a definite crispness in the air, before our thoughts turn to free candy and costumed shenanigans, it's time to remember the good things. Okay, so that sounded a bit trite, but Thanksgiving kind of is. It's all about tradition. Take the food served. squash, turkey, pumpkin pie all of these are foods readily available in the area at harvest time. Our diets are no longer dictated by geography or time of year yet we continue to prepare variations on the same dishes every year. It's tradition. Some of my favorite traditions are the strange ones unique to my family. They're more special because they're ours alone and came about accidentally in most cases.



Tradition 1: Several years ago I found myself home alone on Thanksgiving while everyone ran to and from lessons, stores and work. As well as our family of six we were expecting some family friends, bringing our dinner party to 10 and our prep time to nothing. I figured I'd help and after raiding the kitchen came up with a can of mixed marinated beans and a few fresh pears. Viola, 10 second salad. I've made it every years since. We all contribute a dish to our dinner now (though I think I'm the first to 'invent one :p) making it truly a family affair.






Tradition 2: My fathers birthday is a little before Thanksgiving and my Mom got him Planes, Trains and Automobiles one year. PTA is a John Hughes movie staring Steve Martin and John Candy as to travelers trying to get home in time for Thanksgiving. Every year after dinner we take our dessert into the living room to watch Dale and Neil struggle their way across the country. It's the only time we watch it and it's probably my favorite tradition.




It's my first Thanksgiving on my own, and while I am still going to be having dinner at the house with my family it's still going to be different going as a 'guest'. I'm looking forward to these traditions even more. It's nice when everything's changing, even when it's good change, to return to something familiar. I made my salad in my little kitchen with my crappy plastic dishes and I feel that same pride to be contributing that I felt at 12.

I've made the bean, pear cutouts available for you to download.

Happy Scrapping ♥

It's Good to Be Back

I've got a couple LO's from my trip up on my personal blog: http://bookworm-diva.blogspot.com/

Sorry for the short post.

Happy Scrapping ♥

The Uncertain Glory of an April Day

"O, how this spring of love resembleth
The uncertain glory of an April day;
Which now shows all the beauty of the sun,
And by and by a cloud takes all away."
-Shakespeare

Ah Springtime. Is there any better time of year? Flowers blooming, birds singing and the sun shining. It's currently 21 and sunny outside and yesterday we had a high of 26. I hope it keeps up, I am so over snow. In celebration I have created a some lovely word art with the poem above. Enjoy, but save it 'till tomorow eh? Get out and enjoy the weather! I sure will.

Download

Happy Scrapping ♥


And a happy eighteenth birthday to H.

Princesses and Paperbags

Good Morning to you all!

I hope your weather is as beautiful as ours. We've got a high of 21 coming up today and I just heard on the radio (z103.5 of course!) that this was a record making March due to the complete lack of snow - at least in Toronto. All very exciting, though I know we're due for at least one more blanket. It's probably coming next week, it always happens right around H's birthday.

As you may or may not know, I'm taking a not-entirely-voluntary semester off and reexamining what I want to do for the rest of my life. It's pretty clear that that is not tourism. I've always had a great love of books, and not just the stories in them either. The books themselves are every bit as sacred as the secrets they contain and this combined with the absolute meditative calm I feel in any library has lead me to believe that my future may lie in the Library and Information Sciences. Some digging has told me that the highest qualification you can get is a Masters. Now, I'm not the most scholarly, but I can get pretty awesome grade if I really really try. I had 100% in the Science Fiction class I took as a Gen-Ed last year for mopst of the semester and finished with a 95. Luckily this is not the be-all and end-all of Librarian education. I can get a library technicians certificate through College and that is what I am shooting for now, while keeping the Masters thing as a distant, idealist plan.

All this, coupled with my general love of books and reading has inspired me. I have started creating a collection based on some of my faveorite and most beloved stories. It will be a rather spread out and long-term project. I fully intent to continue adding to it and updating it whenever the mood strikes me. I have decided to sstart with some classics I, and most other Canadians (and I'm sure many of Americans as well) grew up on. Robert Munsch is a Canadian childrens writer who has created countless fun and light-hearted stories. I remember listening to many
of these stories on tape, as read by the author and I always loved the sound effects and the way he told them. Listening to them now, I still admire the way he seems to fully imerse himself into the story, much to the delight of his audience. The Munsch kit will include 3 stories at this point - Mortimer, Milicent and the Wind and, one of his most well know, The Paper Bag Princess. I had some troubl;e narrowing this list down and so I may also use the two runner-up - Jonathan Cleaned Up and Love You Forever (Which I know is a faveorite of many). I already have the Alpha done for Paperbag Princess. In fact, I think I'll make that today's Freebie.

What are your favorite Munsch tales?

More to come. I still don't have any of my usual tools and such because my portable HD is dead, so it'll be a bit slow, but I'm working on it :)

Happy Scrapping ♥

Wish Me Luck

Hey all.

So, things've been a but rocky here lately (what else is new eh?) but, it looks like their begining to even out. Four weeks if job hunting has resulted in an interview tommorow at a shoe store (awesome) and I've actually managed to save some money, so hopefully I'll have my first and last months rent after my first paycheck.

Also, because bad luck comes in 3's (I think that's actually supposed to be 'good things' but, it sounded good), not only have I had to move out and spent 3 increasingly frustrating and depressing weeks searching, fuitlessly (until now) for a job but, my wonderful little LaCie 200G portable hard drive died just before Christmas. Thankfully I had a 2 year waranty but, suckily, try can't get my stuff back for me. I have to take it someone who does that and pray that they can and then sign my life away to pay for it.

Now Im sure you've guessed what I'm going to say next and yes. On that HD was everyting I own. To do. With. Scrapbooking. As well as any pictures that were not photos. So that means, all my LO's, all my tutorials with accompanying screen caps, all my 'inspiration' and quotes I want to use and hundreds of dollars worth of supplies (mostly daily freebies which I can't replace).

So now you know :). Don't feel too bad for me though. Things are looking up.

Happy Scrapping ♥

Z ♥s Supernatural

Hi i'm Gen's sister Z. I just fineshed making this layout. She thought that it was good and that I should put it up. It is for Supernatural, a show that we watch together. It showes the two main characters, Sam and Dean. The show is about two brothers (Sam and Dean) who hunt demons. I am not able to watch this season because it has been moved to a later time at nigh. I am hoping to catch up on this season over the Christmas break.



Happy Scrapping ♥ - Z

My version of the '52 Week Challenge'

I've noticed many Scrapbook bloggers are doing some version of this challenge whether it be daily, weekly or monthly LO's and pictures. I don't really do much on a day to day interest that would be of any interest, so what I'm going to do instead is post a pic each week and talk about it a bit. This could be a recent picture or one from years ago. Hopefully this'll keep me more on track with posting and give me a chance to show off some photos.




In High School I was on the Green Team, or as our school named it the North Environmental Awareness Team (NEAT). It was a big part of my life at the time and I have many fond memories of events, weekly recycling rounds and the members themselves. I even had got to be VP in my final year with my friend as President. This picture was taken as a promo for our Hug-a-Tree-athon to raise money to get David Suziki as a Guest Speaker at the school. I remember it being bitterly cold (not quite cold enough to close the schools, but enough to be a little painful on exposed skin) and having to more or less bully everyone into coming out. Even so, we only got about half of them out there. It was also 'Fake Injury Day', hence the bandages and such. In the end we never did use the photo's, but it's a great memory and the crisp blue sky against the frozen snow looks great.

Happy Scrapping and remember to ♥ the earth.

Post-It Tuesdays (on Wednesday)

This looks awesome. Check out the original post and join in! Here's my first stickie. Late, of course.



M's been driving me nuts by using me makeup despite have recieved lots of quality stuff from me last Christmas in an attempt to rectify this very problem. Apparently it's not good enough and she would rather use my $4 eyeshadow than her $18 good stuff. W/E
:).

Who Needs a Fix?

Making a poster for M's Hot Chocolate fundraiser next week and I had to create a few things myself. I really like how they turned out, so I've added a few more coordinating things and zipped it all up for you. Morning Coffee is a mini-kit with only a few items in it and no alpha, but it's cute and fun. I also put in some things from my Friends Like Them kit, so if for whatever reason you did not download it, you now have a little preview. For the most part I used the Caffienated kit from Scrapgirls (♥) which I love.
Last night I learned a new trick. Actually I technically learned two. I'm so excited about how easy this technique is and how awesome it looks! I used it a lot in the creation of today's freebie, and in my poster. So today I have a tutorial for you.

You will need:

Photoshop (I'm now using CS2)

2D image of a coffee cup like this one:
I just google 'coffee cup' and then covered it with MJO_ChildhoodMemories_12x12_DotLines to give it a christmasey look.

Tools Used:
Burn Tool
Dodge Tool


All Aboard? Alright, let's begin.

1. Open your image. If you downloaded mine, find where you put it and get it up there in Photoshop.
   
2. Easiest way to remember which tool to use when, is to think about a piece of paper that has been burnt. The edges are darker than the rest of the page, because that's where it was burnt. Dodge does the opposite. We'll start with Burn. It can be found in the second section of your toolbar. Mine was originally set to the Dodge tool, but yours may already show Burn or show Sponge which is also under that menu.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. This part is very much like regular brushwork (the kind you would 'paint' with rather than 'stamp' on). Simply run the tool up and down the edges of your cup until you are happy with the look. Obviously it wont look 'quite right' until you've added the lighter part in the middle. I like to make a 'J' like hook near the bottom to add some extra realism. BTW, the dots are my way of showing you how to do it. It wont actually look like that :).
   
   
   
   
   
4. Once your done with the edges, select the Dodge tool (same menu as burn) and go up the centre, until your cup looks sufficiently rounded.
   
5. That's it. So easy, so you do it completely to your personal tastes.
   

Click the poster for the Morning Coffee download link.

Remember to leave a little love for a chance to win.

Happy Scrapping ♥

I ♥ Comments! (and freebies)

I have a request for you. As I've mentioned earlier, I love comments. Well, that should be work out just great, as you all clearly like downloading. Unfortunatly, somethings missing in that equation. I know my stuffs being downloaded, but I'm not getting comments. Don't get me wrong, I love that you're all liking my stuff enough to download it. The thought that my creations are being used in your memories is amazing! It's nice though, to get some feedback. A simple 'thanks!' or some constructive criticism or suggestions is all I ask. I know it's a pain, especially for those of you coming from Digifree or Creative Busy Hands. If you're like me, you have about 15 different tabs open at one time just waiting for 4shared to finish counting down. It can be overwhelming, but each one of those tabs contains a lot of work, and care and pride put in by someone who, no doubt, would like to know that that effort is being appreciated. And so, as an incentive to you all to leave comment, I'm going to be creating a special 'Commenter Appreciation' gift. For each post I will randomly select a few commenters to recieve this kit. There is no minmum length or any other condition. Just leave a comment and some way for me to send the gift should you win.

I also have a new freebie kit available that I literally, thought of and created within 24 hours. A record for myself, who took 3 months to complete 'Captain Quarters'. It's called 'Asphalt Gretzky' and was inspired by a Road Hockey game I passed on my way home from class last night. I have never participated in one, however Z will enjoy a game or two in the driveway when she can find someone to play with her.


Enjoy the new kit and please remember to comment. This is the seaon of giving after all. Why not take a second to make someones day?

Happy Scrapping ♥

Christmas Traditions

I was reading today's Scrapgirls newsletter and was reminded of some of my favorite Christmas traditions. There's the basic ones, like when we put up the tree and It's A Wonderful Life and Christmas dinner, and then there are some that are completly ours. Others may not understand them and many came about more by accident than anything else. For example, for as long as I can remember we always opened one gift on Christmas eve, then one year us girls all got matching pajama's and every year it has been the same. Santa always leaves a new set of ornaments on our tree, something going back to when we used to spend Christmas with my paternal Grandparents before my Grandmother passed away. Often these are gorgeous feathered birds which we would look foreward to putting up each year. Though not 'traditional' ornaments I thought they were the most beautiful things I had ever seen and always made sure to put the prettiest near the top. Then there are my personal traditions, like buying a new role of paper each year just for my gifts and my new book ritual. This started when, angry at being sent to bed when I wanted to play with my new gifts, I decided to spite my parents by reading 'this dumb book about a wizard'. That book turned was Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The rest is history.

So I have a proposal for you all. What are your favorite Christmas traditions? You can make an LO or just leave a comment. I'd love to hear about them :).

Bank Boredom

In line for the bank and bored out of my mind. This is why I don't come inside unless I have to. The machine is so much easier! More polite too sometimes.

So it's a new week and definitely the holiday season. This past weekend we had our local Santa Clause parade and the weekend before was the Toronto parade. I think I'll think up a Christmas themed tutorial for you all. Look for that by tommorow night :)

This post is mostly just an update. Like I said. I'm bored. And in the time it has taken me to meticulously type this out on my iTouch the line hasn't moved once. I have overheard some interesting conversations though. I really need to get out of this town.


**Bank Update**
30 minutes later I'm finally free and off to get a much needed London Fog.

Happy Scrapping ♥

City sidewalks, busy sidewalks, dressed in holiday style

Ah Christmas shopping. Is there any better time to be in the mall? Unless of course it's December 24th or a you happen to be in a Toys R Us when schools out. That's not a good scene. I went to drop off some resumes and pick up a new planner for myself (same brand as 09 ♥) and ended up spending several hours. I probably shouldn't have, in fact I definitely shouldn't have, nut it's just so festive. I actually didn't buy much in the end and still had a blast. Here's a freebie for you inspired by the Sears Wishbook.



I'm also toying with the idea of creating some freebies specifically for those following the Twitter feed. Get over there now just in case :).

Happy Scrapping ♥

Pumpkin Spice Freebie

With Thanksgiving coming up for so many of you, I thought I'd put up this great autumn themed alpha. It's a full set of Capitals and several bits of punctiation. I've also thrown in a little surprise :)

I'm fully in the christmas spririt thanks to the Toronto Santa Clause Parade yesterday afternoon and as a result I expect I'll have many seasonal freebies, tutorials and even a few quick pages for you in the coming weeks. Check back often and to be sure you don't miss anything you can now subscribe to my Twitter account! (On a side note, the background on my twitter page is a modified version of the one I've been trying to get up on the blog).

Happy Scrapping ♥

Leisk #7

I am proud to present Jack. A 6month grey striped Tabby and the latest addition to our family. Zoe got him for her birthday Wedneswday and today he finally has a name. He's absolutly adorabe and tiny and incredibly fast. Alsway underfoot and still exploring the house. I'm definitely in love.

The Best, Softest, Easiest Cookies Ever & A Freebie

These are the greatest cookies ever. My mom showed me this recipe. Incredibly soft and chewy and ready in a half-hour tops you'll never bake anything else. You can make any variation you want, so long as you have the cake mix.

Ingredients:
1pkg. Cake Mix 2 Eggs 1/3c. Oil Chocolate Chips/Dried Fruit/Sprinkles/etc. (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Mix Cake Mix, eggs, oil and add-in's in mixing bowl until dough forms
3. Drop evenly spaced onto greased cookie sheet
4. Bake 8 - 10 minutes
5. Remove from oven and let cool before removing from baking sheet. Cookies will be very soft.

Can be stored in an airtight container for a few days, but the softness doesn't last long in the open. Which is why is good these are so easy.

I made this adorable little recipe card to go along with it using the Dinner Party set from Shabby Princess, but can't offer it as a quick page or anything of the sort because it's not my stuff. I'd love to see some other recipe cards though if anyone has their own design.



And finally, here's the aforementioned freebie:

A New Fanaticism, Freebies and WTF Suri?

Hey all,

Yes, yes it's been months. I'm sorry, but absence makes the heart grow fonder...or...something like that.

In the time that I've been not blogging for my non-existent readers, I've been working and in the time I've not been working I've been getting addicted to a few new shows. Sex and the City (which really started last summer when L from the Del had a few seasons), Gossip Girl (I love the clothes and actually prefer it to the books), Chuck (adorable super-powered nerd anyone?) and finally...True Blood. I'm working my way through season two right now and O-M-G. The only negative is that I pretty much have to watch when no one else is around as there is just enough nudity that anyone who walked in the room at the wrong moment would probably be like WTF are you watching and that could get awkward. Same holds true for SatC, but I'm not supposed to be watching that anyways apparently.

So today I was browsing the Peices of Flair application on Facebook - which is an Office Space reference, which I love - for True Blood flair when I found this:

I love it because it's about Lafayette, promotes True Blood and bashes Twilight*. So, needless to say I added it then I made a DP for MSN and a new desktop background (side-note does anyone call them 'wallpapers' anymore? 'cause I have been and no one seems to know what I'm talking about). So if you want 'em:




















Of course, I mean no copyright infringment, I don't own any of this.

In other news Suri Cruise, in true celebutot fashion, is wearing heels. Or at least she was in Boston. They're not even those fake little plastic Disney Princess ones, which really, aren't supposed to be worn out. They're for dress up. As in put on them and Mommies old dress and feed baby from an invisible bowl of cereal. Now I don't know the first thing about the very-young and fabulous set, but I heard about this through my cousins Facebook. This distubs me for a few reasons. I love heels as much, and maybe more than the next woman (or man. Whatever floats your boat), but I'm 20, not 3. First we'll start with the health issue. It is no secret that high heels are damaging. It has been proven time and time again. There're the obvious blisters and pinched toes, but then there's the long-term damage to knee's and ankles, but we do it anyways because as women that's our perogative. Key word being women. Not toddlers.

Secondly high heels have always been associated with...well sex. Not outright, but have you ever noticed how in those movies where the girl gets made-over she ends up in heels? I mean they make your butt look smaller and force you to walk with a bit of a sexy sway. Would it be ok for a 3-year old to wear a shirt with a promiscious slogan on it (or dress like a Bratz doll)? My final words on the matter? This is wrong and potentially harmful to such a young girl. Love the rest of the outfit though. She really is adorable.


That's all for today, Happy Scrapping ♥


*Disclaimer I loved the book Twilight and somehow, in a bizzare fit of telepathy or foreshadowing or whatever knew that if my sister read it, she would get all obsessive and it would ruin it for me. It's happened before. Well she read it. She loved it and it actually wasn't so bad. Then...everyone else read it. Then everyone elses sister read it. And now it's this media-whoring, pre-teen exploiting, tabloid feeding typhoon of OMG's, squealing and obnoxiousness. just my opinion, if you're a rabid twi-hard (even the name sounds dirty...) please don't hurt me.

Captains Quarters Freebie

My latest kit is inspired by one of my favorite fashion trends this season - the Nautical look. Captains Quarters, as I've dubbed it, contains 7 (!) papers, a full alpha set with both capital and lowercase letters as well as several pieces of punctiation. I am in love with this dress by Dolce & Gabbana.

Unfortunatly I could never afford if without promising my first-born or something so I've designed these adorable little sailboats instead. It helped - a little. Not much though LOL.


Here's a close-up of the glitter detail on the boats.









There are a bunch of other things in there too so get downloading! And don't forget to comment.



Happy Scrappin ♥

Vacation Memories QP

I promised long ago that I would put up a kit designed by my sister. Unfortunatly, that is yet to be completed. In the mean time I have this awesome QP freebie that she just made. It's perfect for any vacation or summer photo's and has plenty of space for your own creative expansion and journaling. There's an overlay for the photo to give it a bit of a vintage feel, so make sure you place your photo below the layer named "Overlay" when your doing it.


Happy Scrapping ♥