Some Saturday...

:::SIGH::: This was quite a Saturday. I've been caring for my sick husband all day. :(

We're still not sure if it was the Chinese food last night, or a stomach bug, but -without going into detail - it wasn't pretty. I got quite a bit done though. My motives? The looming possibility that I might get sick... please, Lord, I don't want to get sick. When I wasn't caring for Rob today, I was getting caught up on housework all the while thinking about what wouldn't get done around the house that needed to if I get sick. I have so little faith, don't I? Maybe it's just the men in my life, but it always seems that when they get sick, everything stops for them (I'm not complaining about caring for Rob!). But when we get sick, it just keeps right on going. I think it's one of those rules of nature.

Though I didn't make it to the to the store today (for groceries anyway), I did manage to get a lot of my Christmas cards done. I'm doing two different groups, family and non-family. The non-family cards are some nice ones I bought at Target since I didn't think those at my church really cared to have a picture of Rob and I with the dogs staring at them. For the family, however, I made a little card in Photoshop that I'll be picking up tomorrow at Costco. Check it out:

I'm pretty happy with it. It took Rob and I several tries to get a decent picture in front of the tree with the boys. Oliver, for once, actually looks pretty good. I think Dudley, on the other hand, was too busy trying to eat Rob's hand... :) What do you think? Any suggestions for next time?

Next on my list, COOKIES!!!

We're also expecting some snow on Sunday night and Monday. Snow day? Mmmm... I hope so... :). I could do stuff I've been wanting to do for ages!! Can you tell I'm still basking in the glory of being done with school for the semester? I'm loving it!

Just a couple of things...

First, Jennifer, here's the link you were asking for!!

Shabby Princess Desktops

They are in PNG format, which works with Photoshop. So you can use Photoshop to put the pictures in the frames, then save it as a JPEG to use for your desktop. If you don't have Photoshop or can't figure it out, let me know and I'll do it for you if you want!

Second,

4 MONTHS!!!!!

We're four months from the wedding!! I had to change it in my about me section. I love these days...

Just a couple of things...

First, Jennifer, here's the link you were asking for!!

Shabby Princess Desktops

They are in PNG format, which works with Photoshop. So you can use Photoshop to put the pictures in the frames, then save it as a JPEG to use for your desktop. If you don't have Photoshop or can't figure it out, let me know and I'll do it for you if you want!

Second,

4 MONTHS!!!!!

We're four months from the wedding!! I had to change it in my about me section. I love these days...

Check it out!

I've just discovered something on my all-time favorite scrapping website, Shabby Princess... Monthly desktops! So, check out my new desktop:


That's all, good night.

Computer Magic

Without sounding too confident, I consider myself to be pretty tech-savvy. I'm marrying a computer geek for crying out loud, what do you expect? But, I discovered this new program called Adobe Photoshop Lightroom and it's AMAZING. I love photography and have done my share of experimenting with my measly camera (okay, it's not measly, but it's certainly not professional). I do love my camera, though. It's a Canon SD900 10mp beauty. I LOVE it.


I enjoy taking it to the Botanical Gardens and the Butterfly House, but I've only had it for a year so I haven't gotten to do that much. All of the pictures I'm posting today are from my old Canon S50 5.0mp. Which I loved almost as much.


Back to the program. I've always wondered how photographers can get their pictures to look so good. Obviously, much of it is pure talent, but I'm sure there's a little technical work involved. And, apparently this program is popular in the world of professional photography. I don't know for sure if it is or not, but it sure made some of my pictures look a lot better fiddling around with it. Now, mind you, I'm certainly no expert at what makes a good picture, but I think these few look infinitely better!

It's kind of hard to see, but this is a "Photo-Stitch" of the view from the "tower" at the Botanical Gardens, Before:

After:

Just a building at the Botanical Gardens, Before:

After:

Another shot of the Botanical Gardens, Before:

After:

Rob's favorite picture of himself :o) at the Butterfly House, Before:

After:

An orchid at the Butterfly House, Before:

After:

Another orchid shot, Before:

After:

I'm in love with this program! And it's so easy to use! All I did is play around with the settings and Voila! better looking pictures! (At least I think they look better...)

I'm excited to see what I can do with some of my other favorites...

Since it's kind of on the same lines... I thought I'd post my latest scrapbook page... Definitely not my best work, but I'm still playing with it. I LOVE the layout, but I can never figure out how to get my pictures to look like they belong... any suggestions to a scrapbooking rookie?

Digi-Scrapping

I haven't posted any digi-scrapbook pages lately, so I thought I'd put a few in that I've been working on. I guess I just never feel as if they are totally "done." I have a hard time calling things finished, they can ALWAYS be improved!

And, in case you haven't noticed all of my scrapbooking pages so far are for a Oliver/Dudley scrapbook...

Valentine's Day Design

I created next month's title image for the blog. I am pretty excited to be able to use some of my pink scrapping kits for Valentine's Day. Most of what I digi-scrap is about my dogs (both boys) and my house, so pink doesn't get used very much. Enjoy!


The paper and embellishments used are from Shabby Princess and it is the "Sprinkles" kit! I love this website!

Christmas Scrapbook Page

Just wanted to post the Christmas Scrapbook page for my Oliver/Dudley scrapbook. Enjoy!

He's Home!

Dudley came home yesterday! Nothing like being jerked back into puppyhood! Oliver was, and still is, a little jealous that I brought home another dog.... but he's warming up to him quite nicely. Little Dudley is settling in nicely as well! We've already started the rigorous process of potty training and, if I should say so myself, he's doing quite well. I'm so excited to have him home, and at the same time I'm exhausted! So, with that, I leave you with a family scrapbook page featuring our newest member, Dudley:



Oh, and by the way, I should have some great pictures of the house tomorrow! I haven't gotten out to see it in a few days (they didn't do anything because of the weather, anyway). But, in a matter of two days, they almost have it under roof. AAAHHHH!!! It's going so fast! Pictures to come tomorrow!

A couple more pages...

Just wanted to share a couple more digi-scrapbook pages I made tonight. Enjoy!

It's official...

I, Stephanie, am addicted to digital scrapbooking.

Check out the new page I made tonight! It doesn't take very long at all! No glue, no scissors! Just me and my mouse hanging out on Photoshop for an hour or two and, "VOILA!" A scrapbook page! And best of all, if I mess up the undo button is always waiting there for me!

Check it out!

My first page:

In my boredom today waiting for classes to start, I made my first digital scrapbook page. I'm hoping to dedicate this book to Oliver and new little Dudley when he comes home. I'm so happy and so excited about how well it turned out!!


I'm still pretty new at this and have been trying to stick to free papers and digital scrapbooking kits. This one came from Shabby Princess. I may break down and buy a dog one though!

What do you think?

My New Found Talent

I've always loved scrapbooking, the way it looks, the idea of keeping your memories in a way that tells a story. I tried scrapbooking and, quite frankly, was bad at it. I was so afraid of making a mistake and the money I was losing if I did, that it wasn't worth it. Until...

I discovered my blog and decorating it. I've taken the ideas from Julia, Suzanne, and the Shabby Princess and discovered my new talent. Using the papers form the Shabby Princess, I made the title picture of my blog. This was my first real attempt at Photoshop and my first real attempt at "virtual scrapbooking." But it makes total sense! I'm great with computers! I'm marrying a computer geek! I love scrapbooking! Why not scrapbook on the computer? Eureka!!!

So, I made my second piece of scrapbooking art - the next title picture for my blog to celebrate the new year and am quite proud of it. I was going to wait until it was time to put it on my blog for the big reveal, but I'm impatient and pretty proud of it, so I'm showing it early. Now don't get your hopes too high, it's not that great, but I'm happy with it!


Here it is!



I really like it! Now I really can't wait until I have more time on my hands to try it out with some of my pictures. After tomorrow!!! I'll surely be posting some of my creations!

Now, I'm off to do homework. I'm really gonna do it. I have to resist the internet. Must do it. It's my last one!!! Okay, I'm going. Have a great evening everyone!