krafTy mama

MIA

2009-11-08T13:58:00.001-06:00

Hello Blogland! Haven't seen you in awhile! I miss you though! Fourth grade sure is different from kindergarten! Maybe once I get it figured out I will be back! I miss my craft room as well! Hope everyone is well! Hope to see you soon!

*Live*Laugh*Love*Create*

Busy Day

2009-07-07T10:11:00.000-05:00

nothing to share today! Busy day! Taking Kaden to free children's movie program in town called the Canned Film Festival - gathers food for local food pantries. Then we are going swimming with some friends! BUT I did want to mention that my Photo Editing: Frames and Special Effects class at Jessica Sprague.com started yesterday and it is FAB! Of course it is! All of her classes are! I really encourage you to check out her site if you are into digi or WANT to get into digi! There are lots of freebies and tutorials and a forum!

*Live*Laugh*Love*Create*
Tessa

Cure for Monday Blahs

2009-07-06T10:07:00.000-05:00

a bright cheery layout! I did a blog train this weekend for Digiridoo - and picked up all the pieces to this I want Candy! kit! So bright and fun! I forgot to upload to the gallery but wanted to share! The picture is my cousin at her sister's wedding - isn't she cute?!?!?

I used an Andrea Gold template and then the freebie items from the kit. It was fun to do something pink and girly for a change! I am going to email it to her mom so she can do what she wants with it. They live in Alaska!

*Live*Laugh*Love*Create*
Tessa

80 Years of Excellence

2009-07-05T10:01:00.000-05:00

So as I posted yesterday we spent the 4th celebrating Andrew's grandmother AKA Double G's 80th birthday. We even had t-shirts to wear! It was a really good time!

Here is a layout I made of his grandmother. I think I will have it printed off, frame it and give it to her.

I used a template but changed it up, and all the papers and elements are random freebies, I knew I wanted to use yellow so I searched in picasa and made a new folder for the layout then used things in it to make layout! The alpha is called shake me though I don't remember who by it was of course also a freebie!

*Live*Laugh*Love*Create*
Tessa

Fourth of July!

2009-07-04T15:21:00.001-05:00

I just LOVE Independence Day! Maybe cause it's the only major holiday in the summer, maybe cause it's not about gifts or hearts, or eggs but just about family, and freedom!
Andrew is actually off today! Tonight is his grandma's 80th Birthday party!

I think I am finally getting the hang of digi!
Here is a layout I made using LAST year's 4th of July pics, using a template that I made!
But more on that later!

The papers and products are all from a freebie kit of Summer's, see link on bottom righthand corner of blog! I love her freebies! The July Border was a freebie from Scrappin with Liz - link also in bottom righthand corner!

*Live*Laugh*Love*Create*
Tessa

More Birthdays!

2009-07-02T15:15:00.000-05:00

The first week of July wears me out!
Today is my dad's birthday!
Happy Birthday Daddy!
My father is the most patient, soft-spoken most intelligent man I know!
And the most difficult to photograph! (The man NEVER looks at the camera! EVER!)
Love you Dad!

*Live*Laugh*Love*Create*
Tessa

Birthdays

2009-07-01T15:00:00.000-05:00

Birthdays - they're so much fun!

Everyone have fun when your birthday comes! (sorry kinder song gets stuck in my head)
But today IS a very special little boy's birthday!
My son Kaden is 5 today! Seriously - how is this possible?
The party was yesterday. He wanted an Indiana Jones themed birthday with cake!
He is totally into anything and everything Indiana Jones right now!

So here are some pics from the party and of his cake which I made!

He is such an amazing little boy! Ornery as can be at times but yet so sweet and loving! He has got personality to spare and I am afraid is going to wind up being the class clown! He remembers music lyrics and movie quotes better than some adults! He is very strong willed and opinionated! Once he sets his mind to something there is almost no stopping him! I know he will go far if we can just direct that energy and tenaciousness in the right direction!

Today is also Andrew's grandmas 80th birthday! Happy Birthday Double G! We are having a party on the 4th with the whole family to celebrate!

*Live*Laugh*Love*Create*
Tessa

Is it hot enough for ya?

2009-06-26T11:54:00.003-05:00

I don't know about where you are, but here it is HOT! Has been ALL week! And our window AC unit downstairs decided to crap out! YIKES! We are installing a new one today! But it has been a very sticky week! I have been playing around with digi and photoshop some more since I finally got it reinstalled after a frantic desperate call to Adobe to beg for the product code! Let's just say hubby is STILL in the doghouse for that one!
Right now it is Jessica Sprague's Spraground's 2nd birthday! She's been giving away freebies, posting challenges, and having a HUGE sale! Check out all the details HERE! I took her self paced class Up and Running with Digi - and it was GREAT! I highly recommend her classes to learn digi! I also took Your Life Your Stories, Art of Organizing with Picasa, and am signed up for her FREE class that starts July 6th!

I played around with the Quick Page Jessica had as a freebie today - it was perfect since my skills are rusty! I need to go through the up and running class again! Really nice thing about the class once you sign up and take it you have the files and videos forever!

So I whipped up this layout real quick to share with you!

All I did was add the picture and journaling!

*Live*Laugh*Love*Create*
Tessa

It's officially summer!

2009-05-24T07:05:00.003-05:00

...for me anyways! My last day of school was Thursday and I went in Friday to pack up. It was very sad. My years as a kindergarten teacher have been wonderful. Going to 4th grade scares me! I am also not doing summer school this year. Something about they gave preference to all day people this year!?!??!?!?!? So here I sit. I am hoping it will be good for the mojo! I am starting this week by going through my scrapbook room intensely! We are having a garage sale next Saturday so I am going to put alot of stuff in it! So happy start of summer to you hope to be *seeing* you alot this summer!

*Live*Laugh*Love*Create*
Tessa

Fashion from Mama!

2009-04-11T10:17:00.003-05:00

Many of you probably don't know that I was once a FASHIONISTA!

My whole world revolved around fashion and clothes and SHOES!
I don't really have the time and money to keep it up now with my two boys and hubby and demanding job (not in the fashion industry).
But that doesn't mean I don't still watch fashion trends - though I am more of a classic girl than a trendy one! And I like to be current at least!
So I thought I would share with you my 4 Fashion Finds for Summer-
these are items you MUST have to be hip this summer- if you are concerned with such things!

1. COLOR - yikes this is the HARDEST thing for me - I am not a bright color girl!
But it's straight from the runway! Especially yellow!
My fave pic this yellow polka-dot top from Forever 21
Isn't it cute?!?
Get it HERE!

2. The Gladiator Sandals - not sure about this one either - they look a little scary to me! But you can go as bold or delicate as you wish!
I prefer these delicate ones from Payless - check out Payless Shoes ONLINE! who knew?!?

Get them HERE!

3. Tribal - as in snake skin print animal prints etc. The trick to these is MODERATION! Don't go all out head to toe animal prints or you will look scary! But a focal piece a scarf or top or bag or these fabulous shoes will make you look fierce!
I just love these from DSW!
Can't get a pic so click the link HERE!

4. A white bag! Seriously how fun and fresh for summer! And it will look fab with those bright colors! Some great places to get one are TJ Maxx, Pennys, Payless, and Target.
I love this one from Payless!

Check it out HERE!

*Live*Laugh*Love*Create*
Tessa

Unity World Record Blog Hop

2009-03-28T09:11:00.006-05:00

Well if anything could get me blogging it's this!
Today is the World Record Unity Blog Hop!!!!
If you are just visiting me and want to start the hop from the beginning please go HERE to the Unity Stamp Co. Blog!

Either way thanks so much for stopping by!
Unfortunately my mojo is still missing so this isn't a new project but it's one I LOVE that I used a BUNCH of Unity on!

The papers are MME as well as most of the embellishments. I used 5 different Unity stamps! Such a great layout of my boys!!!
If you are familiar with Unity then you know there are some amazing HUGE quote stamps! Angela is always sharing GREAT quotes!

I had a REALLY hard time picking ONE quote for today! I decided to go with the topic of change since I am facing HUGE changes in my career at the moment!

This is the one I decided to go with today:

"If you can't change your fate, change your attitude." — Amy Tan

Thanks again for visiting me now you are off to Lisa's blog!

This and That
PP: MME
Embellishments: MME
Ribbon: Limelight Papercrafts
Stamps: Unity Stamp Co.
Ink: Pallet Dark Chocolate from PTI

*Live*Laugh*Love*Create*
Tessa

Thanks!

2009-03-14T12:33:00.003-05:00

I wanna say a huge THANKS to all my blog readers! Whether you leave comments or not just the fact you come to my blog warms my heart. So many of you came forward on my last post and were so kind and sweet and uplifting! Crafters truly are the nicest people around! I am doing better with the demons and I am about to be on the downhill slide of this school year - which hasn't been bad at all - quite the opposite - I LOVE this group so much - it is going to be VERY hard to send them on! But then it's summer! YAY! I have been researching and I think I need something to help me get through the Winter months - with the lack of sunshine and therefore vitamin D it seems to worsen my demons! I am truly a summer and sunshine girl! So I am better and back - but now I have to create something - I am a little afraid that I have forgotten how! I will definitely be in the Unity World Record Blog Hop so that is a start! I may not post as often on my blog - might be more random now. Thanks so much to all you wonderful bloggers and crafters I call my friends!

*Live*Laugh*Love*Create*
Tessa

What's up with me!

2009-03-05T19:58:00.002-06:00

I haven't blogged in awhile.
It's been even longer since I did anything crafty.
Going on 3 weeks now since I stamped or scrapped!
I don't know what is wrong.
I have been thinking alot about blogging.
Whether it is worth it or not.
I am having alot of personal issues right now too.
Nothing major - just battling some demons!
I don't know when I will blog again - craft wise anyway.
The fact that I haven't done anything crafty in so long worries me -
course I haven't done much of anything here lately.
I haven't forgotten my readers - though I wonder how many would come if it weren't for
the SCS group.
Been wondering a great deal about the people in my life.
Anyone who knows me very well knows I have serious issues with relationships - of any kind.
I guess I will sign off for now.......

*Live*Laugh*Love*Create*
Tessa

Saturday Snow

2009-02-28T08:28:00.004-06:00

So we are having a bit of a freak snow storm here!
I don't even know how much there is out there!
I am supposed to go get my hair cut at 11 so I hope it lets up soon!
I am SO over the snow by the way!
I am ready for SUMMER!
So I have a fun summery layout for you today!

It's of Kaden and his new Big Wheels he got for his birthday last year!
I used Cosmo Cricket's new line Little Man!
I just love it! Pretty simple layout.
Stamped the tire tracks in choc chip thought it added just the right touch
then added some buttons with twine and there you have it!

*Live*Laugh*Love*Create*
Tessa

Tipster Tuesday - CS

2009-02-24T08:04:00.000-06:00

This is one of my BEST scrappin/stampin tools!!!
It's is my handmade CS sampler ring!
I LOVE IT!
First I bought a sampler pack of all the SU color families.
Then I cut a 2.5x2.5 from each color and labled it, with a code in the corner for color family.
I also did this with the IN colors through the years and my PTI CS!
This way I can match ribbon if it's not on the spool, or find matching PP
or ribbon in the store!
It is one of the BEST things I have EVER done!

*Live*Laugh*Love*Create*
Tessa

VSN Obsession

2009-02-21T11:04:00.000-06:00

It's Virtual Stamping Weekend!!!!

My Challenge is up right now!
It's called OBSESSION!
I am challenging everyone to create a card based on your Obsession!

Check out the thread HERE!

I created a new card for this challenge and shared an old Twilight card. This is the one I created just for this challenge as my sample!
Why it's Bella and her shoes!

I love Shoes!!!
I paper pieced her using Basic Grey Offbeat papers and then colored the rest with my SU markers. Come play with us the rest of this weekend for VSN! there are lots of challenges and even some GREAT prizes!

Tools:
Stamps: Stamping Bella, Innie and Outie SEntiments bought at HL
CS: Blue Bayou, Whisper White
PP: Basic Grey Offbeat
Access: Wedding Flower from Michaels, Crystal Brad, Blue Bayou double stitched ribbon, Scalloped Oval Nesties, CM oval cutter, paper snips

*Live*Laugh*Love*Create*
Tessa

What day is it? Tipster Tuesday

2009-02-17T22:04:00.000-06:00

Not having school on Monday really messes me up on my days for the week! I almost forgot to post this!

As I posted this weekend - I FINALLY learned to turn a pic black and white and then add color back! It was one of my BIGGEST reasons for getting PSE! So what you do is
1. open photo in PSE
2. On the top toolbar click layer
3. From pull down menu choose New Adjustment layer
4. Choose Gradient Map
5. It might ask for name just click ok or name it if you want
6. A color bar will come up mine is purple and orange YIKES!
It's ok! Click on it and choose the black and white one!
7. You can then add more white to brighten or black to darken
- play with it to really make your picture POP!
8. Click ok till you are back to your NOW black and white picture.
9. In that layer choose the eraser tool and choose the size (in pixels at the top) to go in and erase the gradient layer - you can zoom in for more detail.
10. Go to file save as - choose name make sure you change it to jpeg and that's it! I save a high resolution if I am going to print.
In the above picture of Blake I added the color to his eyes and the GAP to make the blue stand out. Below is a layout I did with a similar pic!
Only I cheated and used a black and white picture, then just colored his eyes with a sharpie!
Which is an option for those of you without PSE!

*Live*Laugh*Love*Create*
Tessa

Love this Man!

2009-02-16T09:04:00.004-06:00

I have been working on lots of layouts I just haven't posted them!
So this week I am going to give you lots of layout eye candy!!!
Starting today!
With Valentine's Day just this weekend, I thought I could get away with posting one more lovey project. This is a layout of me and my hubby for my AAM book.
Pretty simple layout.
I used a Unity journaling spot stamp and sewed on the lace and ribbon.
The flowers are layered with a CS heart that I punched using a MS punch.

Tools:
CS: American Crafts, Whisper White, Really Rust
PP: MME
Stamps: Journaling spot by Unity Stamp Co
Ink: Pallet Dark Chocolate, Really Rust
Acess: Beachfront Orig Ribbon, Lace from HL, Pretties, Prima, MS Heart Punch, Sewing Machine

*Live*Laugh*Love*Create*
Tessa

PSE

2009-02-15T11:21:00.003-06:00

I am finally learning PSE!!! I only got it LAST July! Will share more about it on Tuesday for my tip! But check out this photo!

I turned it Sepia then added the color BACK to his eyes and the leaves around him! Loved this photo and some others but they had on junky clothes that SO didn't match and would have been hard to scrap, so I always turn them black and white or sepia! But I didn't know how to do that yet on PSE so I finally figured it out today with some help!

*Live*Laugh*Love*Create*
Tessa

"Police" Be Mine!

2009-02-14T11:08:00.005-06:00

My hubby's a cop in case you didn't know ~ so for Valentine's Day
I got this quirky littlesentiment in my head
and wanted to make a card using it!
I ordered these police images from High Hopes AGES ago! I don't know if they even still sell them! Oh I checked they do!
HERE is a link to this image he's called Patrolman Pete.
I colored him with my SU markers and Copic Skin White.
Isn't he adorable? I used last week's Taylored Expressions Cupcake Sketch for this card! I curled the strip the sentiment is on to give it some dimension. He will just love this! TFL! Will be back later with the card he made me!

Tools:
Stamps: Patrolman Pete from High Hopes, Worn Grid and V-Day circle from Unity
Ink: Pallet Noir, Real Red, Night of Navy, Not Quite Navy, So Saffron, Copic Skin White
CS: Real Red, Night of Navy, Whisper White, So Saffron
Accessories: SU Markers, Star Brads, Paper Snips, Rectangle punch to create ends of banner, button and DMC floss

*Live*Laugh*Love*Create*
Tessa

Kaden's Valentines

2009-02-14T11:03:00.004-06:00

This is the prototype for Kaden's valentines. His were a little simpler. Same design only no ribbon, and he colored the fishie images! He loves to color!
We then stapled them to a individual pack of goldfish crackers! How cute is that?!?!
I made altered tea tins for his Pre-School Teacher and Day Care Provider but um
FORGOT to take a picture! BAD BLOGGER! I know right! And they were SO cute!
Oh well, next year!

Tools:
Stamps: Toucan of My Love
Ink: Pallet Noir, Versamark
Access: Black Sheer Ribbon, Red Stickles, Shimmerz Angel Wingz
Tools: Big Shot, Nesties Lables One

*Live*Laugh*Love*Create*
Tessa

Happy Heart Day!

2009-02-14T10:04:00.000-06:00

Hope you have a wonderful Valentine's Day! I will be back later to share some V-Day projects with you!

*Live*Laugh*Love*Create*
Tessa

Fabulous Friday Four - 13th edition!

2009-02-13T10:04:00.000-06:00

Ok so maybe these things aren't fabulous - but they are things appropriate for today! Friday the 13th! Bwahhhhhhh!

4 things that FREAK me out!

1. Sirens - HATE them! (cops wife and I can tell when it's Police, Ambulance or Fire!)
2. The little bits of food that get stuck in the drain! EW!
3. Heights - not so much a fear of them more a fear of FALLING (I can rock climb but you will NEVER get me to bungee or skydive)
4. My boys getting hurt! After Kaden's accident I am sooo paranoid. I won't leave the boys with a sitter (other than our wonderful daycare provider or family), I am obsessive about them on the playground, it's bad! I am working on loosening up though. That was just the single most horrible thing I have ever gone through that I REALLY don't want to EVER again! I was a total wreck for days, weeks it still effects me!

*Live*Laugh*Love*Create*
Tessa

Save the Date!

2009-02-11T09:29:00.002-06:00

You know I LOVE Ashley's Etsy Inspired Challenges every Saturday right?!?!
Well there is going to be a Blog Hop with the Etsy Inspired Crew!!!!
There will be challenges, chatting and candy!!!
For all the deets check it out HERE!

*Live*Laugh*Love*Create*
Tessa

Tipster Tuesday - organization

2009-02-10T20:44:00.000-06:00

Organization has always been one of my big problems! I am getting better with it but still struggle.

Today I want to share my paper storage.
99% of my paper is stored on this shelf!

It is in those 12x12 holders on the top. I have it separated like this: Basic CS (GP white, SU neutrals, metalics, shimmer white, glossy white), Papertrey Ink CS, SU CS with dividers for Families, SU DP, American Crafts CS and Bazzill, and the other 3 are PP with dividers by Manufacturer (Basic Grey, MME, Cosmo Crickett, Making Memories, OTHER) and by Theme (boys, family, holiday, wedding, tropical). This pic was before my last sort so it's a little messy! But you get the idea! Oh and the holders are by Karen Foster! You can buy them online from JoAnn's - I think. That's where I got mine.
This shows a smaller box that is the same kind, same company. I have 4 of these and they hold my Wish RAK images, PIF and other image swap images, my envelopes and my scraps - I cut scraps into either 6x6 or A2 size and this box holds the A2 size.

I don't have a pic of my 6x6 scraps but I have alot cause I also did a couple paper swaps where we cut it to 6x6. It is on my desk, there just happens to be a compartment that it fits into perfectly!!!!
So maybe that will help someone with some organization!

*Live*Laugh*Love*Create*
Tessa

kraf*T*y mama

MIA

Busy Day

Cure for Monday Blahs

80 Years of Excellence

Fourth of July!

More Birthdays!

Birthdays

Is it hot enough for ya?

It's officially summer!

Fashion from Mama!

Unity World Record Blog Hop

Thanks!

What's up with me!

Saturday Snow

Tipster Tuesday - CS

VSN Obsession

What day is it? Tipster Tuesday

Love this Man!

PSE

"Police" Be Mine!

Kaden's Valentines

Happy Heart Day!

Fabulous Friday Four - 13th edition!

Save the Date!

Tipster Tuesday - organization

krafTy mama