Monday, December 17, 2007

Happy Holidays

I just wanted to pop in during this busy time of the year and wish everyone Happy Holidays!! Also, an update on everything that has been going on. I have not heard anything back from the base yet regarding my dr. appointments yet! I am still in standby mode and have an appt. during the first part of the New Year so hopefully something will have been figured out by then or I will probably have to go through more testing. So that is where that stands for now. I would also like to ask for everyone's prayers for a very special little girl who is in need of them right now. Her name is Audre and she is my friend Marci's daughter and is going through alot right now health wise with a very rare illness. Last I heard she was in the hospital so please pray for this special little angel and keep her in your hearts this holiday season.
TFL,
Tracy


Powered by ScribeFire.

Friday, December 7, 2007

What a week!!

I am so glad that it is almost over!! This week most of my time has been taken up with running back and forth to dr. appts. at the base. On Tuesday at my routine cancer check-up I was told by my dr. that she suspects that I have developed Lupus!! I was totally taken back and shocked by that statement!! What the heck!! So needless to say that began my the long week of tests and I am exhausted just from going back and forth! I don't believe that I have Lupus in any way shape or form. I think this is just their way of putting an answer to all of the problems that I have had since I went through chemo 15 1/2 years ago! I mean come on, nothing works right since I had it and I developed all sorts of complications which in other words would be organ failures up the ying yang! So like a good girl I take all these meds they give me to keep everything running and functioning as well as can be which to me is pretty damn good if I don't say so myself!! Lol!! I live each day to it's fullest and in no way shape or form do I ever want anyone's sympathy because life for me is awesome!! I feel my life is way more enriched because of what I have been through not depleted!! So man oh man don't be throwing another thing at me because in my book so what! Life is still going to get lived and lived to it's fullest regardless of any new diagnosis! To me illness is just the bad trying to hold us back and I am not and will not be held back for or by nothing so bring it on!! I know, I know today I am getting a little preachy but dang it we are given this awesome gift each day to live and enjoy what God has made!! Today I am really reflecting on how awesome life really is and that if you maintain the PMA (positive mental attitude) nothing, I say nothing can stand in your way whether you are a healthy individual or someone with some bad stuff that you are dealing with! Life is short so grab the bull by the horns and live it baby, live it!! Okay, I am done now!! Lol!! Oh, and before I forget I am off to Hannah's tonight for the Crop and let me tell you it is going to be awesome!! There are going to be lots of demos and give aways and of course a new "Queen of the Crop" that I will be crowning tonight!! So major fun is to be had by all!!! Hope to see you there!! TFL, Tracy

Friday, November 30, 2007

Live, Laugh, Love

I turned in this 3 frame hanging set DT project yesterday at our meeting and found out it was hard to part with!! Lol!! I used the Marah Johnson Marquis line of paper from Creative Imaginations which is to die for!! Love, love, love it! I made this piece with my studio in mind so that when I get it back it will grace my wall. I had a lot of fun using the Making Memories Specialty Glazes on this along with their family of acrylic paints as well! And then of course my favorite stand by item, that I just love, Judikins Diamond Glaze! This is another one of my can't live without products (trust me I can't!!). I took the pics at the store so the lighting isn't the greatest and photo shopped them to death so hopefully you can see the detail and enjoy them as much as I do!
Here are some close ups of the individual frames to help see the details.


Now, I am going to get my hinder busy and work on my Funky Vintage album for the store so that I can have it done to turn in by next Friday which is crop night at Hannah's! I love the Making Memories Funky Vintage line and can't wait to start working with it!! Love the colors! OOOOHHHHH, and before I forget, I am so excited about tomorrow!!!! Tomorrow Amy and I are going to Hannah's and taking the 3 awesome classes instructed by none other than Danelle Johnson using the Creative Cafe line of goodies!!! Can you tell I am beyond excited!!?! Is it tomorrow yet? Lol!! And just so you know I haven't forgotten that alot of you have asked to see pics of my studio once I have it finished. I am still working on it and once I have completely finished, pics ye shall see! I promise!
Time to get cracking!!
TFL!!
Tracy

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I want to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving!!!!! I hope your day is filled with family and friends and all the things to be thankful for!! Tracy

Sunday, November 18, 2007

A Whole Week!!!!!

Yes, a whole week has zoomed by and I don't really know where it went!?! I am in one of those black holes in space maybe? Could be for all I know!! Lol!! I am still working on finishing up some touches in my studio. It is taking me awhile but it is definitely a labor of love and I soo want this new "lay of the land" to work for me this time and help to speed up my process of scrapbooking cause lord knows I need to be able to find stuff way faster then I have been able to in the past! That, I swear, is where 90% of my times is spent just looking for stuff!! Crazy and desperate searching!! Lol! So, anyways, once I am finished I will post some pics of the way things end up and whether I love it or not. I also am still battling that cold thingy that I have had for over a month now and let me tell you this thing is brutal! Brutal I say because it makes you think you are feeling lots better and then bammmmmm back on the floor wondering what the heck hit you!! I just want it to go away and do it this time for good!! Is that tooo much to ask? Ok, that is enough for now maybe later tonight I will try and post some pics of something but for now I need to get back to working on this room so that I can work in here! From the Black Hole, TracyL

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Peace Filled Sunday

Ahhhhhhh..........it's Sunday and I am taking a day of rest! Now before you get too excited about the word rest let me tell you what it means to me. Rest to me is a day for my creative side to get the chance to soar un-cluttered with the living of day to day stuff! With this thought in mind I began an adventure on Saturday of making my studio space much more conducive to "being at rest"! I know, I know my idea of rest is definitely not every one's but hey it works for me! Lol!! Oh yeah back to what I did on Saturday......I took a long hard look at my space and decided it was way too cluttered (with scrapbooking stuff of course) to the point that I couldn't breathe in there! What is a creative soul to do when it is being smothered? Well, this one purged!! Lol!! Big time purged, like got rid of furniture even! I took and totally emptied one side of my room to start with of everything in it and then did a spring cleaning along with the help of my handsome hubby! Once that was done it was time to asses what really needed to come back into the space and what didn't. It was definitely a hard assessment to make since I think I need everything and more because God forbid I should need it and it isn't available! (Hence the feeling of being overwhelmed lately) I finally decided that all that was needed on that side of the room would be the computer desk with only the necessities which are the computer the all-in-one printer, a shelf system and the tv and stand, a small trash next to the computer and my paper shredder! Wow, that seems like alot but not anywhere near what was on that one side of the room before! I also washed walls so all hangy stuff is gone at the moment! I am absolutely loving this side of the room! So much so that I am not wanting to even approach the other side!! Lol!! It is way to scary over there!! That is where the majority of the huge storage units are that hold all my scrappy stuff and I do mean huge!! That whole side of the room overwhelms me with fear! What can I live without and what can't I? Will I be able to make this decision easily? Heck no!! That side needless to say is in hiatus until I have the strength to tackle it which is coming in spurts! At least I have one side done and it is definitely conducive to "being at rest"!! I have been planning the other side in my head as of now and hoping that once I go to put my ideas to work that they actually do work over there on the other side! Ok, enough of that kinda stuff; now it is time for some past layouts that I did a long time ago just so that my blog has some pics! Lol!!


There, I am done blogging for the day and need to go start some supper for the hungry man in the house. Life beckons!!
TFL!!,
Tracy

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Finished and waiting.........

for the rest of the stuff to come in for my Mini Album of the Month kit that I put together so that we can start selling it at Hannah's. I know, I know, I am the Queen of run on sentences!! Lol!! And I just keep on a running!! Anyway, the mini album is finished and in stand still mode for a little bit. It was definitely a labor of love! I just hope it is received well once it is up and running! I think as an artist we all feel that way about something we have made. It is that little lack of self confidence I guess. I am who I am though and that will never change and that is the way my work is too! I have been told that I take too long to create a layout and that I put way too much attention to detail! But, hey who has really got the right to say that anyways!! I mean heck, I am the one making it and I am the one that is enjoying the process so say what you want to but I am gonna do it the way I do it regardless and I am ultimately the one that has to be happy with what I do right?! And then if no one likes it so what!! Man, did I just go off on a tangent and vent or what!! I guess I just needed to give my self a reminder talk! The kind that if my Dad where still alive he would have given me whenever I was feeling down or doubtful about myself! Man, Daddy I miss you soooo much!! Okay now that I have tears in my eyes it is finally time to post the pics of the finished album. So here it is...........



Okay, that was just a teaser!! Lol!! Here are the inside pages...........





And now for my favorite photo of them all.........................................
Isn't she just the cutest!! This is one of my furry babies Sabrina and she was just letting me know that she wanted to help!! Gotta love it!!
Thanks for looking and thanks for putting up with my ramblings!,
Tracy

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Where has the time gone?

It is already November 7th and I just can't put my finger on it but somehow the time has just flown by and before we know it a new year will have arrived!! I always thought that time flew by so slowly when I was younger but it seems like the older I am getting the faster it goes. I should think it would be the other way around so that we could actually have more of it to appreciate with our aging wisdom, don't you think?! Lol!! That is my story and I am sticking to it!! Well, enough of that time stuff now for some eye candy! These are some layouts that I did in the past for another design team that I was on and some are just ones I did for me! Some more of my "Jewels" as I like to call my photos of family and friends!




I have to get these loaded to my slide show eventually and then I can cross another thing off of my list of to do's. Hope everyone is having a very safe and happy November! If you get a chance click on the comment button and say Hi!! I would love to hear from you!
TFL!!,
Tracy

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Ahhhhhhhh.........

I am sighing a total sigh of peace!! What a gorgeous day we are having here in the Mid-West!! Absolutely gorgeous!! Lol!! Okay, I will stop sitting here mesmerized by the day and give you some eye-candy to look at that is totally fitting with the fall season that is upon us. It is the much waited for peek at the mini-album kit that I am working on for Hannah's.


This mini-album is taking me longer then planned due to being sick! But, I am swinging away at it and hope to have it finished in time. Wish me luck! I am finding working on this mini-album very healing as well as an outlet for creativity which is no suprise to me with the photos that I am using. Isn't it just awesome how this hobby of ours can also be a very spiritual and theraputic process as well. That, I believe, is one of the reasons I first fell head over heals for scrapbooking! It came into my life at a time when I needed it most if you know what I mean. Now it is time for some more eye-candy!! I did this layout of my Niece Navarina awhile back and just absolutely love how it turned out and it was a scraplift of a layout that my bff Amy had done for Remembering When back last year I think. I totally fell in love with the design and just had to give this one a try!
Amy's work as we know is awesome!! She is one very talented scrapper!! Love you Girl!!
Well, that is all for today and who knows maybe tomorrow I will throw some more eye-candy your way but until then have a gorgeous day!!
TFL!!,
Tracy

Monday, October 29, 2007

Mondays......

are usually not the best day of the week for some reason but, I must say this one rocked!! I woke up this morning feeling tons better which in my book is awesome! I felt like getting stuff accomplished and didn't have any of the dizzy spells that make you want to go right to sleep that have been plaguing me with this cold. So, I went outside and took some pics of past layouts that I have finished.


Now that I have accomplished that much I am gonna take a break, make some supper, work in my studio, and go from there.
TFL!!,
Tracy

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Under the Weather...........

why do they call it that when someone is sick? I mean really I never understood it. Oh well, anyways I have been battling a bug for sometime now and lately it seems to have gotten the jump on me! Darn bug!! I have a ton of pics to post for you but it will have to wait till I am functioning a little better. I actually have been too "under the weather" to even scrapbook if that is even possible! I so want to be "above the weather" if you know what I mean! Well, I think I am going to go take some more meds and get comfy! TFL, Tracy

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Organized Chaos.......

Well, here as promised is the photos of my work table in it's organized chaos of messiness!

These photos are definitely unedited which is definitely obvious with the take-out box in the trash from Amy and I's lunch on our day of cropping in my space!! Lol!! Yes, Amy and I did not get enough of scrappin' just on Saturday at the all day crop so we got together yesterday and scrapped at my house!! She got a ton accomplished and I putzed around with my supplies that I have for the mini-album way too long before the mojo started to weakly kick in! Ok, now for the all day crop at Archiver's. It was awesome as usual! I started a layout, which is not completely finished yet because of my need for techniques, and here is a peak at what it looks like so far. This is a pic is of my oldest sister Kay when she was 7 years old in the 2nd grade when they took the school photos. I have scrapped this photo before and love it so much that I am scrapping it again! To me it just went so awesome with this line of paper from Cosmos Cricket named Gretel!! Love this paper!! The circles That you see are the cool chipboard ones from Technique Tuesday!! They ROCK!!! I need to do some more stitching on this layout and flowers and then the title. This layout by the way was a scraplift from a Creating Keepsakes mag from Feb. 2007 page 119. The Designer is Diana Lyn C. McGraw!! Her work ROCKS big time and this layout has haunted me in a good way ever since I first saw it! I just had to scraplift this one!! Thank you Diana for your inspiration!! Ok, I think I should get back to work again or nothing will get done on that mini-album.......I do tend to procrastinate..........ok I am walking away from the computer.......LOL!!
TFL!!
Happily Scrappin',
Tracy

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Another one of my Happy Days!!

Heading out to Archiver's in 4 hours to crop all day!!!!! As I have said before nothing could be better!!!!! And if you look at what time I wrote this you will also realize how psyched I am about going to the point of not being able to sleep so I got up early to pack for the day!! Crazy, I know, but hey it is my life! Lol!! I also made a promise in my last post to post a pic of the messy table and I totally forgot to take the pic so I will need to take one, hopefully tomorrow, because trust me the mess has not gotten any better infact it has done nothing but get much much more messy!! Ok that is it for now I need to get packing!! Have a Great Day!! Tracy

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Scrappin'

Wow, it has been awhile since I posted so for those of you who check me each day I am truly sorry I have been Scrappin'!!! I am in the process of a project for Hannah's which is going to be their 2nd mini-album kit! So as you can imagine I am working on putting this "baby" together. For fun I am gonna take a pic of my work table tonight so you all can see what a mess I get myself into when I am absorbed in a project and believe me it is a mess!! I am lucky I can find anything!! But, those of you out there who scrap totally get it don't ya!?! Once I am finished I will definitely post pics of the mini-album for all to see! It will go live on Hannah's website around the first of November where it can be purchased!! This is very exciting for me!! Can you tell!? Lol!! Now onto a huge shout out to my GIRL Sue!!!!! Whom by the way just recently became a Grandma for the first time!!! That has just got to be the coolest ever!! I can't wait to see pics!! You are always in my thoughts and in my heart!! Love you GIRL!! Ok it is now time for me to head back to the table of chaos! Lol!! Happily Scrappin', Tracy

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Whew!!!

Man, am I glad this week is coming to an end today!! If you read my post on Monday that was just the beginning!! Lol!! But, yesterday was awesome!! I got to spend the day with my bff Amy all day scrapbooking!!! It is definitely what I would call my happy place type of thingy!! We were at Archiver's by 10am and scrapped all day working on various projects for Hannah's and then we were lucky enough to also be able to stay for the Scrap Mania crop last night at Archiver's as well so we didn't even have to pack up until it was time to go home at 11pm!!! I truly believe that everyone needs a day of total non-stop creativity to keep their soul happy!! I am a crazy girl this I know but hey it works for me!!

Now, for the promised photo of my Frame that I did for Hannah's with my niece Navarina's school photo. Please excuse the really bad photos since I didn't take them before I handed in this project I had to take them at the store and needless to say they are definitely not good but will at least give you an idea.

See I told you the photos were bad and I tried everything that I know to fix them and just gave up because all I was doing was making them worse!!

I also finally finished a layout I have been working on for Hannah's using the Prima Paintables line of papers and Twinkling H2Os. This layout features my Mom during chemo for breast cancer when she lost all of her hair. My sister put tatoos on her bald head for fun and Mom loved them! As the would start to wear off she would help Mom with a new one and they ranged anywhere from roses to dragons and harley stuff!! To me this is a true testament of her personality! Mom has always lived life outloud with great exuberance! She is now a 4 year cancer survivor with many more years of living outloud to go!! I love you Mom!!!
TFL!,
Tracy

Monday, October 8, 2007

Busy Monday!!

Wow, today has been a busy day for me and I am not really sure why?! Lol!! I guess if you put stuff off till tomorrow, tomorrow will be Monday?! I think that is what happened to me, all the stuff I kept putting off to do has just all accumulated to today and I just can't put it off any more! Man, I hate when that happens!! I had to take the car in for it's check-up, work on grooming a dog that definitely doesn't want to be groomed, take some returns back to the store, put the new sticker on the license plate, figure out what we are gonna eat for supper and then actually cook it, clean my studio so that I can actually work in there, and the list goes on and on!! So far most of this is accomplished now but the clean studio so I am off to do that while I watch my favorite show "Dancing with the Stars"!! Hope everyone had an awesome day!! TFL!! :) TracyL

Sunday, October 7, 2007

It's Sunday!!!

This is my favorite day of the week!! To me it is not just part of the weekend to me it is all on it's own! A day of rest, restoration, renewal and a clean beginning! This is the beginning of my week and what better way to spend it then just putzing around doing things that are spiritually uplifting! Alot of different things can be spiritually uplifting but for me it is just spending the day in a creative mode, seeing things through an artistic eye, all the wonders that God has created on this beautiful earth right down to the veins in a leaf! Taking time to enjoy the beauty that surrounds us!! Open your mind to these things and let the creative juices flow and wrap themselves around everything that is in your environment inside and out! Looking at things through the creative eye allows us to see things in a whole new light! To be truly creative, because I am such a visual person, I have to surround myself with lots and lots of eye candy!! To me some of the most beautiful eye candy is right out my back door into the world that God created! It is full of so many gorgeous details, colors, textures, feelings, smells, and I could just go on and on!!! So, look at the world around you today with a different eye, take time to smell the roses persay! Let me know what you see today and what inspires you to create. Life is good!! Enjoy it!!

Saturday, October 6, 2007

New Printer!!

Yes, I finally got a new printer to replace the one that broke down!! I got the HP Photosmart C5250 All-in-One which is a couple of steps up from my old one. I finally got it installed today and running. It will probably take me alot of trial and error to figure out all the bells and whistles on this one but hopefully it won't take me too long! I got another all-in-one just for the simple fact that I love having it all compacted into one spot on my desk instead of taking up all that space to have more then one machine to copy, scan and print! This one is alot bigger size wise then the last one but I was still able to make it work. I haven't printed any photos on it yet but hope to do so pretty soon! I just pray nothing else breaks for a long time!! Wish me luck!! TFL!!, TracyL

I scrapped all day!!!

Life just keeps getting better and better!! Amy and I got up early this morning and headed out for Archiver's so that we were there shortly after they opened and scrapped in the store until about 2:30pm and then packed up our stuff to take a little break until the crop at Hannah's. The crop started at 6pm and went until midnight and let me tell you it was a blast!! Tonight we introduced a new idea that Amy tossed out to Dana about having a Queen of the Crop for the night. Dana was all for it so we picked up a tiara and a feather boa all in shades of purple for royalty for our crowned Queen to wear for the entire evening!! We did this to get people interested in our Design Team blog and get things going with a little excitement at the crops! We drew a name out of the drawing bag and that lucky person became our Queen of the Crop and was treated extra special! She received a bag full of awesome goodies from Hannah's along with the treat of sitting on a Throne to scrap!! She got to sit on a nice soft cushioned chair!! And on top of that she received an additional 10% discount on all of her purchases for the night! What more could a girl ask for?! I will be posting her photo on the Design Team Blog hopefully on Monday or shortly there after since it will be my week to take care of the blog. I think I just might come up with some polls or games for us to play on the blog too so that our loyal readers can join in the fun......hmmm......I guess you will just have to check it out to see what will happen next!!! Lol!! I just love the suspense!! I also want to say a huge THANK YOU to Dana for letting us do this little bit of fun and pampering on crop night!! I think everyone should get the chance to be Queen for the day, don't you?! I know I am totally up for anything that helps others realize how special they are!! Hmmmm.....I wonder who the next special person will be to get pampered as the "Queen of the Crop"? I guess you will just have to go to the crops and find out and who knows it just might be you!! TFL!!, TracyL

Thursday, October 4, 2007

Oh my faithful printer, scanner and copier.....

I am so sad to see you go!!! Last night while trying to print some photos my all-in-one printer decided to up and die!!! It literally shot a couple of springs along with some other pieces and parts that I can't even begin to tell you what they are right out on the paper tray! So, needless to say it is toast. Now off to find a replacement that has all I want along with excellent photo printing and of course an awesome low price to fit in the budget!! Why do things like this have to happen when we least expect it!! I had just got done printing a gorgeous photo and BAM......no more!! Wish me luck with finding what I need and at a good price! Once that is accomplished I will then be able to focus back on my DT stuff and being creative. TFL!! TracyL

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

As requested!!

My sister Kay has been teasing me that I never mention her in my blog so there you go Sis!! Lol!! You have been officially mentioned!! Lol!! Anyways she also wanted to see a pic of the mini-album that I had done for the design team at the store so here is a pic of the cover.
The rest can be seen "live" at Hannah's in the mini-album display at the store. Such a teaser huh?!! Lol!! Ok, now that I have had enough fun with teasing my Sis for the day I really need to accomplish some other stuff around this studio of mine! I started getting my clear stamps organized so that I can take them with me to crops in the hopes that I will use them more frequently and actually know what I have!! Yeah right!! We will see!!
TFL!!
TracyL

And...........

...the crop was awesome!! There was a pretty good sized group having fun shopping and working on layouts etc. so all in all it rocked! I know I personally got alot accomplished and am looking forward to this Friday's crop! You just can't beat having uninteruppeted crop time with food made by someone else and a store stocked full to shop in if you need something or just need inspiration! The best of everything! Here is one of the layouts that I got done for the store on crop night.

I also finished a frame using the same line of papers. They both feature my Great Niece Navarina who is now 16 years old! She is just growing up way to fast for me!! But don't they all grow up so fast before you know it?! I will try to post a pic of the frame once I get a photo of it taken. Hope everyone is having a great week!!
TFL!!
TracyL

Friday, September 28, 2007

Scrappin' 9am to 9pm!!!!

Oh my goodness what could be better then scrappin for 12 hours?! Nothing I tell you nothing could be better!! Tomorrow at Hannah's they are having their 12 hour crop to help raise funds for Breast Cancer which is a disease that has affected my family in a big way. My Mom, Jackie, was diagnosed with breast cancer a little over 3 to 4 years ago and nothing has been the same since. It was a very close call for her but being the fighter that she is today she is a survivor!! My Mom is the world to me and my family! So because of this affecting our lives tomorrow my Mom will definitely be in the forefront of my mind and I will be scrapping some pages of her journey. I also wanted to let all of those out there that have been affected by this disease know that you are in my thoughts and my prayers and that someday there will no longer be a reason for anyone to have to go down this path! We need a cure and we need it yesterday!! So come on and support the Breast Cancer Awerness events in your area and love one another!! We are all apart of the Human Family!! Enjoy your weekend! TFL!!, TracyL

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Lots of Excitement!!!

Oh my goodness!!!! It sure has been way too long since I stopped in and dropped a line!! Bad blogger!!! Anyways, fall is here and lots of exciting things are happening!! The DT that I am on for Hannah's has it's own blog!!!! We will give you pics of stuff we are working on that you will see soon in the store and just some fun stuff about us and of course the upcoming release of our mini book kits. The first one will be live on Oct. 1 if all goes as planned and is designed by Marci so check it out! I came home from the design team meeting today with tons of stuff to accomplish!! If you know me, one thing is for sure, I am an artsy fartsy, emphasis on the fartsy (slow), scrapper because I enjoy the process way too much!! So as you can imagine this is gonna be a busy rest of the month for me on top of I will be the designer doing the 2nd mini-book kit!! AHHHHHH!!! That is me running through the house screaming with excitement and trepidation! I definitely need to get my pokey butt moving and moving faster but not too much faster because then I will totally lose the reason I scrap which is so me! So wish me luck and plenty of enjoyment in the process!! Lol!! Also, I brought home from the store today the Silhouette by QuicKutz to learn how to use it and help others by doing demos at the store if needed! I have loaded the software and have it all set up and cut my first flourish with it and I must say it is awesome!! I just need to get the hang of the pressure on the blade thingy now so that it cuts all the way through the cardstock because I am of course a Bazzill snob and Bazzill is some good heavy duty cardstock if ya know what I mean!?! Lol!! Now I am going to sit down and work on my stuff which I will hopefully post a pic of once I get it finished for a change. I am so horrible at remembering to take pics of my stuff and I gotta start remembering to do it. Hope all of you are having an awesome night! TFL!!, TracyL

Monday, September 10, 2007

Brrrr!!!!!

It is a cold day here in the midwest and rainy on top of it! A good day to snuggle up with a good book and drink some hot cocoa, that is if you don't have a million and one things to do!! Lol!! I definitely have stuff to be doing and am trying my best to get motivated. Oh, by the way, I got hired on to the design team for a local scrapbook store named Hannah's!! Since the other LSS is closing I have been desperately searching for a new crop home and a place to find my supplies when needed and you know the saying from "Cheers"......... "Where everyone knows my name!". Right now there are 4 of us on the DT and we are getting projects to work on left and right so they will definitely be keeping us busy! So for now until the DT projects are accomplished my other stuff is on the back burner again! For our first set of projects I need to make an altered item, 2 to 3 layouts and some cards with the scraps. So my altered project is turning from an 3 fold lace up frame into a board book and I am right now working on doing mirror printing onto transparencies for my journaling in my book. Who knew something that seems so simple could end up being so hard!! What made it so hard was trying to use Word for my journaling and thinking that there must be a way to reverse my print right in the program!!! You would think!! Well heck no! After hours of trying to figure it out and I might add days of asking others for help, I finally decided why not do a search online for how to mirror text!! Duhhhhh!!!!!! Why does the simplest way to find something out always seem to be the last thing I think of?! Anyways, you can just do it in your printing preferences for your printer under the basics tab!!! Urghhhhhh!! Anyways, now it is time to type my little heart out and make some mirror text!! Hope you all in the midwest are enjoying a chill day inside and staying warm!! TFL!! TracyL

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Back to Reality!!

As time is flying by I am reminded more and more that it is time to get going on all of the projects that have been hanging in the shadows all summer long waiting for their chance to get finished! And boy oh boy do I have the pile of unfinished projects! They are unfinished for a reason though, like the one that just never really started to be the way I wanted it to be or the one that I need photos from someone to finish or the one that was a Christmas gift last year and the person the gift was for didn't get me the photos until the begining of summer! So basically now that the summer is winding down fast and fall weather should be coming along anytime now I am finally feeling inspired to get to these past ghosts of projects worked on and hopefully finished. Am I the only one with a ton of unfinished projects laying around waiting to be revived and hopefully finished someday? I sometimes feel like I am the only one if you know what I mean. This is my reality and I must face it! I have come up with an idea to help me accomplish this reality and get it done. This is my idea, such as it may be, to take each project and work on it for one week and one week only. If the project is finished at the end of one week yay for me but if it is not it will go to the end of the pile of projects again to cycle through and hopefully that way it will eventually get finished! I know it sounds crazy but crazy is what seems to work for me when it comes to any kind of challenge in my life and trust me this is a challenge! I get bored really easy when it comes to projects that take too long and hopefully this way will keep it fresh either that or I will dread the next project since it might be one that didn't get finished the first time around! AHHHHHH!! That seems to be the only thing that is hanging around my neck this week and eating at me so wish me luck!! I will try to update my progress as I make it and hopefully will find lots more to blog about then my lack! TFL!! TracyL

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Where does the time go?!

Wow! The weekend was evidently so much fun that the time just flew by!! Lol!! The crop on Saturday was awesome!! I got to spend some much needed time with my bf and a couple of other ladies that we met! Let me tell you these ladies rocked!! It is just such a comfort to sit down at a table with a group of ladies to crop and they all get this crazy, addicting thing we call scrapbooking!! It is just totally cool to be with people that get you if you know what I mean!! The crop was from 12pm to 12am at my local Archiver's which in itself is awesome! Then we got these Tim Holtz Embossing Powder Tins that had some Heidi Swapp goodies in it as our gift. They also had an area set up with the alcohol inks so that we could alter it if we wanted to and of course I had to alter mine! I mean heck what fun is it if I haven't gotten myself all full of ink!?! So I made mine Green and then put some of the Silver Lining rubons from WeRMemoryKeepers Precious Metals line of goodies! What fun!! I even accomplished a layout which for me is a task in itself since I am the slowest scrapper on the face of the earth since I way tooo much enjoy the process then the completed page! Isn't that terrible! I am a scrapbooker and it is more about the creative end of it then the memories for me! Oh well to each his or her own right! That is the beauty of this world!!! It takes different folks with different strokes to make the world go round!! Then of course on Sunday my hinder was a dragging! So I considered Sunday my day to just relax and putz in my studio. All in all a very good weekend! So how was your weekend? Did you do anything creative? TFL!! Tracy

Friday, August 17, 2007

What a long week!!

Wow!! When they say life can throw you lemons they weren't kidding! I am trying as hard as I can to make lemonade out of them but for some reason this time I am struggling. My big dream is to work in this wonderful industry called scrapbooking and actually get paid to do it. I have been on my lss's design team for 2 years and just learned a little over 2 weeks ago that they are closing! I am losing my home crop store and of course no more design team. A very sad day but I understand the reasoning behind the closing and the 2 girls that own the store are very special to me as friends and are like family so I wish them all the best. I have begun the search for a new lss cropping home and another design team to help me keep creating and doing what I love. So, I started checking out other stores in the area once I had an inkling that things were going to change and found a place and have tried going at least 1 to 2 times a month when they hold their crops. Many months ago (I can't remember how many) at one of the crops it was mentioned that this store was looking into starting a design team and if anyone was interested to give them my phone number and email address so that they could contact us. So of course I gave them my info in the hopes of being on a design team again! Keeping my fingers crossed haven't heard anything yet...........maybe soon?! I have done more layouts in the last 5 weeks then I have done in forever!! I have been in this contest which has really inspired me to step outside of the box and do stuff that I haven't done before or never really tried. Here is one of those layouts:






















Well that is all for tonight since tomorrow I need to get up early and be ready to go to an all day crop at Archiver's!! :) I am so excited to get out and have some fun and of course shop!!
Good Night,
Tracy

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Hi!!!!!!!

Oh my gosh!!! I can't believe I have taken another big step in life!!! Starting my own blog!! I know, I know, to some it is not that big a deal but for me...........WOW!!! Huge step!! I believe as humans wandering around on this great big planet that we should take as many big steps outside our comfort zone as possible. We have nothing to fear but fear itself, which is an awesome quote that someone wrote a really long time ago, which if I were a better blogger I would have also found out who that someone was for all of you but, this is my first time and we will just leave it at that! Be prepared for many run on sentences because I am the queen of those!! Lol!! Anyway world here I am in my own small section of the planet making a footprint and hoping to make many more. My blog will mostly be about scrapbooking since that is my major, and I do mean major, addiction in life!! I will post layouts I have done and someday I hope to post some challenges for us all to get our creative juices flowing since it is no fun to have dried up juices if you know what I mean!! Hope you all have a great night, I am going to go into my studio and get messy with all of my stuff, so I know I will have a great night! Oh by the way I am the night owl of all night owls so night is my time for sure, so don't be surprised to read a post from me that was written at 2:00am! Hey when the juices start flowing you got to ride the wave!!! TFL!!, Tracy