Ho Ho Ho PNG

I was playing around in Photoshop Elements and learned how to make my own PNG files.  I prefer PNG files to brush files to "stamp" my photos.   I hope you like this.  Just open it in photoshop and drag over the photo you wish to use it on.   You can then move the PNG around on the photo or even change the color by using the Fill Color option.

Freebie!!

Project Life | Week 45

This week was easy to put together, it was my birthday, I went to Portland, OR for a work conference, and we had my mother in law's Surprise 70th Birthday Party.  All in all lots of things to document.  I used the Kraft Kit for my pages this week.  I only used one digital stamp this week on Carly's picture while she was painting her pottery.  I need to break down and buy a few more PNG files to use for stamps as I want to have a lot of variety.  I also bought my first clear stamps and acrylic blocks to use with them this week.  I used the clear stamps to stamp the week and "My Birthday" on the title card for this week.  I tried using a clear stamp on a photo, but I didn't wait long enough for the ink to dry.  (I am not a very patient  person). 

If you are ever in Portland and have the chance go to VooDoo Doughnuts.  I swear they are the best I have ever had.  

Thanks for looking.  Stacy

Project Life | Week 44

Here we go Week 44 in the books!  I love Halloween and this week I used the Halloween Themed cards from the Holiday Mini Kit by Becky Higgins for Project Life.  This week was a little harder to put together as I didn't have very good pictures of my girls in their outfits.  Carly was a minion from Despicable Me and Regan was a "tutu fairy".

The right side of my layout primarily showed our tree in our yard with the leaves a dull red.  I took the photo on Monday and by Friday all the leaves were on the ground.  Also included are pictures of Carly in her costume, my ticket stuff from "We're the Millers", and Carly's flattened penny from the Wizard of Oz Museum in Wamego.

My second page really documents my week.  It was a pretty crazy week around our house.  You really appreciate water when you don't have it.  It also contains a photo of Regan with her friends, Carly playing basketball and my beagle, Zeke.  

I used a 3- D sticker on the picture of Regan and her friends. Otherwise it is a pretty ordinary layout.  

Stacy

Freebie November through February Calendar

Today I was playing around in Photoshop Elements 11 and developed a calendar for the Project Life system.  I was able to put four calendars on one 8.5x11 canvas.  If you have the We R Memory keepers 3x4 punch, this should work perfectly.  I hope you all enjoy it.  For November I did a standard calendar and then for December, January, and February I went with a Monday through Sunday calendar, since that is how I run my Project Life weeks.  Enjoy!

   Click Here to Download

Project Life 2013| Week 43

Project Life, what a life transforming project for me.  Just so you all know I am not a scrapbook kinda girl.  I cringe of the thought of designing a layout, adding photos and embellishments.  However, Project Life by Becky Higgins has made scrapbooking a enjoyable experience for me.  If you don't know, Project Life is a new way of scrapbooking that just requires your pictures, an album, and a core kit.  That's it.  Easy Peasy!

I started with Project Life in September of this year.  Before that, most of my digital photos were living on my phone and computer.  I was lazy about printing them out and even if I did print them, they stayed in the sleeve they came in from the photo printer.  Project Life for me is a way to display my photos in a more meaningful way.  I document one week at a time from Monday through Sunday.  I like my weekends to be grouped together, as I plan my weekends that way.

Below you will see the the left side of my Project Life layout.  I am  using the Kraft Core kit which contains, title cards, journaling cards and filler cards.  I try to get a picture from everyday of the week, but if that is not possible I don't stress about it.  I am still documenting our everyday life.  On the left side of my layout mainly is my daughter Regan.  She is 12 and starting to exhibit pre-teen behavior, which means she hates for me to take her picture.

As this is my first Project Life post I took these photos with my iPhone.  I won't do that next time.  Next time I will use my DSLR.  Becky Higgins makes it really easy with the page inserts that are already set for your 4x6 and 3x4 photos and journaling cards, I use design A.  I use a hybrid Project Life in that I utilize digital elements in my Project Life along with the Core Kit.  I either downloaded the free the stamps and brushes I used in this layout or I made my own.  For instance I made the stamp that says "regan", kinda hard to find that one!  

The right side of my layout is more about my younger daughter Carly.  She had her annual Halloween slumber party on Friday night and then she and her teammates played basketball the next afternoon.  Needless to say they were a little tired.  Also pictured is our vent-free stove for our basement family room.  It gets nightly cold in the basement in the mid-west.  My husband and I also finally hung our power cat on the shed this weekend.

I even had enough pictures this week for an insert, my first.  The insert contains only pictures from our pumpkin carving.  The girls had a great time.  I have found that I prefer to print my journaling cards on my printer rather than handwrite them.  For two reasons, one my handwriting is atrocious, the second is that I can get more on a card when it is printed.  Also I learned this week how to use QR codes and used one to document a video I took of the girls while they were carving their pumpkins.

It is my hope to post on my Project Life creations on a weekly basis.  Hopefully on Tuesday evenings.  Thank you for looking.

Stacy

Keurig Update

I know it has been more than six months, more like 18.  But I have decided to work on my blog again.  And as promised an update on my Keurig Vue machine.  Bottom line is I still love it.  It still works as it should with no hiccups at all.  The coffee is fabulous, the iced tea is great and the kids even love the hot chocolate, even if it is HOT.

My Keurig is used everyday to brew at a minimum of three cups of coffee.  Often it also brews iced tea in the evening and with the weather cooling down, more hot chocolate will be made.  I do not regret my purchase of a Vue.

The Food Pusher: Chile Colorado Burritos

The Food Pusher: Chile Colorado Burritos: Chile Colorado Burrito.  My Mexican comfort food. Great Mexican food is hard to come by so far here in Des Moines, Iowa. This recipe ... My family tried this recipe tonight. My husband and I loved it, our girls not so much. The only thing we might due different is add a little spice to the meat while cooking. We like our food with a little more kick! Try it. I think you will like it. It is extremely easy to do.