gettin' there...

i'm still working on the clean-up after Christmas. why does it take longer to clean everything up than it does to decorate?


i was THRILLED to have cleaned, organized and even purged my scrapbook area of the house. and i found new places to store things. now all my alcohol inks are in the same place, brads, flowers, ink pads, stamps....same place. it sort of helps to find things. of course i'm still trying to remember exactly where some of the stuff has been grouped!

but it feels good to have space on my table again. hooray for that!!

clear containers for much of my supplies. some supplies i've been able to store in same colour families. very helpful for the ribbon and flowers. one day i hope my buttons will get the same treatment!

i learned last year about using BINDERS AND CLEAR PLASTIC REPORT COVERS for storing packages of letters or stickers or rub-ons. i really liked that system. i also started a new binder just for my rub-ons. i have that terrible problem of falling in love with something...but forgetting that i had already bought it. the upside is unopened/unused packages can be returned and it definitely tells me that i really liked it!

i also went through and really purged all the teeny tiny scraps of patterned paper i had been hoarding. my kids will be happy when they realize the colourful papers they now have to create with! {truly they do not realize how lucky they are to have a huge selection of papers to choose from...right?!}

man i have a lot of stuff i need to get using. i have the photos...just need to take the time. sometimes i get overwhelmed by the ideas i see out in the scrapping world and the ideas floating in my head....and then i can't get my hands to put the stuff together.

between Christmas, clean-up, germies, cleaning, laundry, other committments...it is tough to have enough time to create something. most of the stuff i've done lately has been small stuff. like cards. yesterday i made a calendar for the kids. i also covered some chocolate bars in patterned paper and embellished them. {they are for a fundraiser...and they have not been selling. i'm hoping a pretty package will make them more desirable?!} it is a challenge to create when a little one HAS to be sitting on your lap....with the perfect view of whatever i'm doing....


i also worked on my project 52 this week. hopefully i'll get that posted tomorrow. or maybe even later today?

i should also post a photo of my finished 25 Days of Christmas album. i keep seeing other AMAZING albums completed....and feeling very self conscious about my own....so many album ideas out there these days...how could you choose just one?!

have you heard of Becky Higgins Project 365? i'll explain later, but as much as it sounds good....way too much work for me! maybe another year.

i'm slowly making my way through some blogs i follow. i usually do this in the morning while i drink my coffee. if i'm home! i like this part of my day...usually flies by too quickly.

i came across this photoshop tutorial on Kathy Thompson's site today. excellent! she is offering a few workshops with digital scrapbooking too. even if you don't like a page done digital...she has some great ideas for adding digital embellishment to a photo. she also has amazing photos...great for inspiration.

i don't print out my digital pages myself. our printer is now excellent for printing photos, so i may try some one day. in the past, i've done digital work on photos, then used those photos on my layouts. i still can't wait to get my digital photobook in the mail. i'm hoping it comes by the end of the week. the suspense is crazy!

i'll link the layouts that have digitally enhanced photos later this week. i've added brushes, stamps or text before sending my photo to the printer. {or sending them to get developped}



what program do you use for your photos? or do you?