A Card for Abby & Alyssa Update

Hi, everyone! I hope you all enjoyed your weekends & you were busy with very fun things! My weekend was weird, but I do have some good news to share.

First, an update on Alyssa. Alyssa got to spend some time with her new daughter Tatiana in the ICU yesterday. She also has started working on a deep breathing apparatus, and was able to stand up out of bed for the first time yesterday evening. It sounds like she is doing better and better. Thank you all again for your continued support!

Second, I made this card last week & decided to take some pictures last night {couldn't sleep ~ darn you, Wild Cherry Pepsi!} to have something cheerful to share on the blog.

Last week, I received a valentine sock monkey as a present from Dawn's daughter Abby. She was in the store with Dawn and was picking a sock monkey for her sister. Dawn told her I liked sock monkeys, too, and so then Abby insisted they had to pick one for me as well. Aw! So cute! :D So this is the sock monkey Abby picked for me:




And here is the sock monkey making friends with my other sock monkey pals. They are snuggled in there under a blanket a friend of mine made for my sock monkeys. She also made me a genuine sock monkey from real socks.




So I made Abby a thank you card using an old K & Company sock monkey 3D sticker. I hoard these sock monkey stickers like crazy because I only have a couple left and I love sock monkeys. But how could I not use one on a card for this sweet little girl?




I also decorated her envelope with some Technique Tuesday stamps and some pretty stickles. I stamped the Technique Tuesday "Big Timber" letters in Colorbox "Azurite" Fluid Chalk Ink & then outlined each letter with Ranger "Diamond" Stickles.




Dawn did tell me that I spelled her name incorrectly on the card and envelope {there's no "e"}, but she said it was okay because Abby is only three and doesn't know how to read yet. Which is good because that envelope took me a long time & I don't think I could have made myself redo it. We can only hope that she loses the card before she learns how to read.

Knowing Dawn as I do, though, I am sure she will save it forever in an archival shadow box stored inside a fireproof safe just to torture me.

Anyway, I hope Abby enjoys her sock monkey card as much as I am enjoying my new sock monkey friend! Thank you all again so much for your prayers, warm wishes, support and kind comments over the weekend ~ it meant so very much to me and also to my friends.

~Kathryn :D
Reporting live from the monkey house.

Update on Alyssa

Before I go to bed, I wanted to let you know the most recent update on Alyssa's condition.

Alyssa is out of surgery and in the ICU. Her right kidney was removed, and all bleeding was stopped. As of now, her pulse, blood pressure and other vital signs have returned to optimal levels. She will remain in the ICU for a few days as there is still risk for infection, but her family sounds very hopeful.

I am very relieved and also very grateful to all of you. Thank you all so much for your love, prayers and support ~ it means so much to me! You guys are the best!

UPDATE: Alyssa is now awake in the ICU and says she feels fine & wants to get up and walk around. It sounds like she is doing well & is on her way to making a full recovery!

Prayer/Healing Thought Request *UPDATED*

This evening my friend Alyssa suffered a kidney aneurysm as a complication of childbirth {the baby is fine}. To prevent her from bleeding out, the kidney was removed. The doctors are now attempting a procedure to restore blood flow to her leg which may need to be amputated due to complications from blood loss.

If you are a praying person, I would be so deeply appreciative if you would say one for my friend Alyssa and her family and the doctors who are treating her. If you're not a praying person, I would deeply appreciate positive, warm and healing thoughts sent her way as well.

This is Alyssa's fourth child and she is such an active, vibrant person. This is just so scary and unreal. I will let you know updates as I find them out.

Thank you so very much,

Kathryn

UPDATE: Alyssa is out of surgery. The bleeding has completely stopped and her pulse and blood pressure are improving. They are now the highest they have been since she was admitted. She is not entirely out of the woods yet, and will remain closely monitored. The family sounds very hopeful and they ask for continued prayers and warm wishes for a safe and full recovery. I will update again with any further news. Thank you all so much for your lose, prayers and support ~ it means so much to me!

New Video: Home is Where You Are

Hi, everyone!

Once again I have thrown down with my unfinished projects bin & once again I HAVE TRIUMPHED!!! Take that unfinished projects bin! You thought you could win this war? Well, think again!

Anywho, all misdirected aggression aside, this new video is a two-for-one for me. It crosses something off my unfinished projects list AND it crosses something off my project request list. YEAH!!! TAKE THAT PROJECT REQUEST LIST!!! The request was to to a home-themed mini album, which I have done here.




I finally uploaded my "Home is Where You Are" mini album video over on my YouTube channel. You can view the tutorial below, or you can follow this link to watch it on YouTube: Home is Where You Are Mini Album.



There won't be any tutorial or making of vids on this album because I worked on it during my UStream show, BUT I do have recordings of those shows, so you can see it coming together. Here are the links to the UStream recordings where I worked on this album:

Home Mini, Part One
Home Mini, Part Two
Home Mini, Part Three
Home Mini, Part Four
Home Mini, Part Five

Thanks so much for watching the video & I hope you enjoy the UStream recordings. I am having a good time getting all these projects cleared out of my unfinished projects bin. I am on a roll, and I'm going to ride this wave as long as I have the energy. Once it stops being fun, I'll have to change my approach, but for now it's been a ton of fun!

Something else that's fun about this album is that Jill won a kit from me of the exact same papers stamps & everything that I used on this album. {And even though she started hers after mine, she finished it before me, but never mind about that} But if you want to see how two albums using the same concept and the same format and the same supplies can still be totally different, check out her blog post about her finished album: Jill's Welcome Home Mini.

~Kathryn :D
Unfinished project ninja assassin!

P.S. I am now down to only ten YouTube project requests remaining ~ yay!

Superbowl Party on the Beach + Giveaway Alert!

Hi, everyone!

First, I just want to let you know that Darice is giving away 40 packs of their new collaboartive line of papers with Ranger. You can even choose whether you would rather receive the "Distress" pack or the "Adirondack" pack when you register to win! Check it out here: Core'dinations + Ranger Giveaway.

Now that's out of the way, let's talk parties! Since I am not into the whole football thing & don't plan on watching the Superbowl, we will be having a little Superbowl Party on The Beach! This year the Superbowl will be on Sunday, February 6, 2011 with kickoff at 6:30 PM Eastern USA time. So that's when we'll kick-off our UStream show! The show will run during the Superbowl.

We'll have UStream during the game, fun chatting & some random prize drawings. So if you've been less than impressed with the Superbowl commercials lately, come join us for some scrapping instead!

~Kathryn :D

P.S. UStream details such as links and times can be found on the right side-bar under "Watch me live!"

P.P.S. The Superbowl Party is in lieu of the February Virtual Crop, so there will be no crop this month.

What's Your Color IQ?

Hi, everyone!

Yesterday Mr. Lifeguard sent me a link to an online color hue IQ test. I was a bit stressed about taking it at first because I always thought I had a good eye for color & if I was wrong about that, I really didn't want to know. But I decided to take it anyway & much to my relief:




To test yourself, go to the X-Rite Online Color Challenge page and arrange the tiles as instructed: Online Color Challenge. It doesn't take too long & it is a fun little challenge!

~Kathryn :D
has perfect color vision but is as blind as a bat otherwise

P.S. Darice is giving away 40 packs of their new collaboartive line of Ranger Core'dinations cardstock. You can even choose whether you would rather receive the "Distress" pack or the "Adirondack" pack when you register to win! Check it out here: Core'dinations + Ranger Giveaway.

New Video: LOVE Mini Album

Hi, everyone!

I have an update in the war against the unfinished projects. They tried to recruit a new project of mine to their evil cause, but I was able to stop them & rescue the poor innocent mini before they had brought it over to the dark side.




Having rescued my now complete "LOVE" mini album from their evil clutches, I decided to do a video. Mostly to rub it in. I just uploaded the new video over on my YouTube channel. You can view the completed album below, or you can follow this link to watch it on YouTube: Love Mini Album.



There won't be any tutorial or making of vids on this album because I worked on it during my UStream show, BUT I do have recordings of those shows, so you can see it coming together. Here are the links to the UStream recordings where I worked on this album:

V-Day 2-in-1 Project: Love Cards + Mini, Part 1
V-Day 2-in-1 Project: Love Cards + Mini, Part 2
V-Day 2-in-1 Project: Love Cards + Mini, Part 3
V-Day 2-in-1 Project: Love Cards + Mini, Part 4

Thanks so much for watching the video & I hope you enjoy the UStream recordings. I am having a good time getting all these projects cleared out of my unfinished projects bin, as well as completing new projects when I start them and not allowing them to languish. I am still on a roll & feeling good!

~Kathryn :D
Revoltingly efficient lately

New Video: Gate Fold Mini Album

Hi, everyone!

So, all month I've been on a kick to finish unfinished projects, follow-up on projects requests, and basically just stop putting things off and actually get them done already.

This request is my oldest request ~ to do a tutorial on assembling a gate fold mini album like my Christmas 2008 album. Yes, you read that right. I've been putting off doing this tutorial for TWO YEARS! Who knows what my problem is? It's clearly some kind of sickness.

Anyway, so I finally uploaded the gate fold chipboard album tutorial video over on my YouTube channel. You can view the tutorial below, or you can follow this link to watch it on YouTube: Gate Fold Album Tutorial.



I hope you enjoyed the tutorial & have fun making a gate fold album of your very own. I will take great delight in actually taking something OFF my project request list since I am normally putting things ON it.

TGIF!

~Kathryn :D

More Steampunk Shares!

Hi, everyone!

I have been chugging right along with my "Steampunk Debutante" album. I just have two layouts left to do + the front cover. Below are the two most recent layouts. Remember that you can always click on a photo to see a larger image. Plus if you want a more detailed look, I will be sharing these on my UStream show today. UStream links, details and showtimes are on the sidebar under "Watch me live!"

The "Lace" Page:




This page has a black rosette trim layered over black lace. I used a strand of pearls to separate the trim from the lace and break up some of that dense black ~ and also to add a little touch of femininity. I added a Prima gallery rose, a tag from the paper collection, some velvet leaves and a Tim Holtz memo pin to the bottom left corner for a nice embellishment cluster. I used a Tim Holtz jump ring to dangle a 7 Gypsies charm from the memo pin.

The "Corset" Page:




This page uses the same image as the facing page. I figured that the owner would choose to put a large picture on the facing page & would cover up the lovely corset advertisement so I used it again here. The corset image is concealing a magnet holding this gate fold photo mat closed. I accented the corners of the mat with metal photo corners and some Wild Orchid Crafts flowers.

The "Corset Page Open:




This is what the corset page looks like fully open.

The "Lace" Page and the "Corset" page Together:




This is what the two pages look like side-by-side as they will be in the album.

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a great week!

~Kathryn :D

A Recent Conversation With My Sister ...

Disclaimer: this conversation took place over the phone.

Me: So, today I go to the dermatologist to see if my creepy mole is just normal creepy or melanoma creepy.

Her: That's good. At least you'll get it over with and you can stop worrying about it.

Me: Well, I didn't think I was worried about it, but then I had a dream last night that I had to wait three and a half hours in the dermatologist's waiting room and there was a psychotic murdering ghost in the waiting room with me.

Her: Was it one of those dreams where you're the only one who can see it & so everyone thinks you're crazy?

Me: No, the nurse told me that it's fine as long as you don't let the ghost know you can see it. But if you make eye contact then HE WILL KILL YOU!!!

Her: So, how did that go?

Me: I was doing okay until he came and sat so close to me he was practically on my lap. Then I got really scared.

Her: Did you ever find out why he was there?

Me: Yeah, they said he was the ghost of a murderer who was killed by police snipers while holding the patients in the office hostage.

Her: Wait ~ why did the murderer bring a goat with him to hold people hostage?

Me: What!? No, no, no! Not a goat. A ghost.

Her: Oh, that makes so much more sense. I was imagining a demon goat.

Me: A demon goat would have been creepier.

Her: Yeah, especially since he was sitting in your lap.



Then later I texted her from the waiting room.

Me: I have been waiting at the dermatologist for over an hour! I hate when doctors do this ~ so arrogant! ::grr::

Her: OMG! Your dream is coming true! DON'T LOOK AT THE GOAT!

Me: But he's staring RIGHT AT ME!!!



Then she emailed me a motivational poster to enjoy while I was waiting.




Isn't family just awesome?

~Kathryn :D

P.S. The mole was just normal creepy, not melanoma creepy, so no worries. Plus it's gone now anyways.

New Video: Double Slider Pocket/Tag/Card/Whatever Tutorial

Hi, everyone!

Out of all the requests I receive for videos, the most asked for has got to be the double slider pocket. I have dragged my feet on this one for a few reasons: it's not my original idea, it involves math, my ponytail is too tight, gnomes ate my homework, etc. Today I was making a thank you card and I decided to do it as a double slider. And then I thought to myself, "What the heck ~ might as well do a video tutorial and get it over with."

So I did.

Wasn't that an awesome story?

I uploaded the tutorial video over on my YouTube channel. You can view the tutorial below, or you can follow this link to watch it on YouTube: Double Slider Pocket Tutorial.



I hope you enjoyed the tutorial & have fun making tons and tons of double slider pockets for your minis. They're really fun and a great interactive element to add to an album. Non-scrappers go bananas for them. They think they're made with some kind of magic.

I know because I showed my double slider card to Mr. Lifeguard and he said, "Wow! Is that some kind of magic?"

Also this weekend I got another page in my Steampunk album done ~ go me! Here's a pic:




And here it is together with the facing page:




Enjoy!

~Kathryn
Life's better on the beach.

All Hail Remarkable Me! :D

Hi, everyone!

I just wanted to quickly post and let you all know that my head is now officially too big to get through the doorway to my scraproom! And that's pretty darn big because the scraproom has French doors. Why is my head so big, you ask? Is it that new volumizing shampoo I've been using from the makers of the Chia Pet?




No? You don't think that would be a good look for me? Well maybe this will look better:




My "Cavendish Lady" card was chosen by the Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge Design Team as one of their three "Remarkable" cards from last week's sketch! Go me! :D

Here is my card:




A huge thank you to Priscilla, Dawn & the rest of the Midnight Madness Team for leaving such lovely comments on my card challenge post & for selecting my card as one of their remarkables!

I am thinking, though, that maybe this needs to be it for card challenges for me. After all, if I quit now, I will have been remarkable 100% of the time. That's going to be pretty tough to maintain.

Clearly I peaked too early ~ it's only downhill from here.

~Kathryn :D
Life's a beach. Especially when you're remarkable.

P.S. I might be late to Thursday's UStream ~ I have an appointment to have my hair mowed.

New Video: Waterfall Flip Book Tutorial

Hi, everyone! I received a lot of requests to show you how to put together the waterfall flip book from the "Love the Fall" mini album. I did do a tutorial since I was putting one of the waterfall flip books in another 8"x8" mini album I've been working on. I uploaded the tutorial video over on my YouTube channel last night {as a bonus, the video also includes a quick flip through my steampunk album}. You can view the tutorial below, or you can follow this link to watch it on YouTube: Waterfall Flip Book Tutorial.



I hope you enjoyed the tutorial & have fun making this easy little flip book. It's definitely a quick & easy way to add a ton of photos and journaling to a layout!

~Kathryn
Life's better on the beach.

P.S. Today's date is 1/11/11! Funky!

My First Ever Card Challenge Submission!

Hi, Everyone!

Today is a banner day because, with this post, I am entering my first ever card challenge! As many of you know, I am completely card-phobic and it takes me longer to make one card than to literally do anything else. For an example of what I mean, check out the UStream recording of the time I tried to make an easel card: Starts Here at two hours and fifteen minutes into the recording and Ends Here. I think the whole thing took over three hours & I cried more than a few times during the process.

Anyways, my good buddy Dawn from Crafting on the Prairie called me a few days ago to share some very exciting news with me. She has been asked to be on the design team for the Midnight Madness card sketch challenge blog. Getting accepted on a design team is always exciting, but this was especially cool for Dawn because Midnight Madness is her very favorite card sketch blog in the whole world AND some of her very favorite card makers in the whole world are on their design team with her.

For some reason {why exactly still remains a mystery} I told her that I was proud of her accomplishment and that in honor of her achievement I would make a card for her first challenge as a design team member. And not only would I make a dreaded card {which is sacrifice enough in my opinion} but I would make it live on UStream {which is typically a very humiliating process}. Normally this is something that I would say to be nice and then try to weasel out of later. Unfortunately for me, Dawn knows me pretty well by this point, so to prevent me from doing that, she immediately emailed the blog owner AND THE WHOLE DESIGN TEAM and told them what I had agreed to do.

Dawn is such a jurkweasel sometimes.

So here are my submissions for the Midnight Madness Card Sketch Challenge #85. There were actually two sketches this month and I chose to create one card for each sketch. Mostly because I actually needed to send two cards this week.

The first sketch is the "fancy" sketch:



Here is my take on the "fancy" sketch:



I used Graphic 45's "Once Upon a Springtime" and Pink Paislee's "Parisian Anthology" collections to create this card. The main image is a stamp from the Cavendish Ladies' "Putting on the Ritz" collection. I stamped it several times on different patterns of paper from the "Once Upon a Springtime" collection, cut them out & layered them together to create her outfit. I then accented her outfit with Ranger Distress Stickles to make her hat, belt and shoes pop. I covered her fur collar and pearl necklace with Ranger Liquid Pearls in "White Opal" for some subtle shimmer. I'll be enclosing this card with my sister's coffee cup mini.

The second sketch is the "simple" sketch:



Here is my take on the "simple" sketch:



First, I turned the sketch on it's side. Then I used the Fancy Pants Designs "Happy Together" paper collection to create this card. The main image is a stamp from the Inkadinkado "Humorous Birthday" set. I stamped it on cream cardstock and colored it in with my EK Success Zig markers. Last, I added the Thickers as this one is for my brother's upcoming 23rd birthday.

I hope you enjoyed these cards! I actually had fun making them & unlike usual they came together pretty easily for me. Congratulations to Dawn or making the Midnight Madness design team!

~Kathryn
Life's a beach. As long as you don't have to make any cards.

January 2011 Crop Challenge #6: New Beginnings

January 2011 Crop Challenge #6: New Beginnings

The prize for this challenge is a mystery prize from yours truly. Could be good, could be bad ~ you won't know until it arrives!*

This challenge is the opposite of the last. I challenge you to use your most recently purchased item on a project. Use it up before it becomes just another item languishing in your stash.

To participate, create a layout or project using the most recently purchased item in your stash ~ no hoarding! The layout may be any size {12"x12", 8.5"x11", 8"x8", 6"x12", etc.} and can be either a one-page or two-page layout, but it must have photos and journaling to be considered complete. This project also lends itself to cards or other projects.

Enter the challenge by posting a link to your submission BELOW by 6:00 p.m. on Monday, January 11, 2011. The link can either be to a photo of your entry in an online gallery, or to a video on YouTube or to a post on your personal blog ~ wherever!

Remember that you have until 6:00 p.m. on Monday {that's Miami, FL EDT USA time which is GMT-4} so you have until then to submit an entry for each challenge. Prize winners will be chosen randomly on Monday and posted in a new "January 2011 Crop Prize Winners" thread in the forum on The Beach.

This is the last challenge of the crop. You get one entry for each challenge you participate in, so get scrapping!

~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.

*It's good.

January 2011 Crop Challenge #5: Use It Or Lose It

January 2011 Crop Challenge #5: Use It or Lose It!

The prize for this challenge is Dawn Edwards's custom wall hanging.

As the new year begins, many scrappers resolve to stop buying new stuff and start using all the great stuff they already have. To participate in this challenge, create something entirely from your stash & use nothing that you have purchased in the last six months.

To participate, create a layout or project with your older stash. The layout may be any size {12"x12", 8.5"x11", 8"x8", 6"x12", etc.} and can be either a one-page or two-page layout, but it must have photos and journaling to be considered complete. This challenge also lends itself to cards, tags and other projects.

Enter the challenge by posting a link to your submission BELOW by 6:00 p.m. on Monday, January 11, 2011. The link can either be to a photo of your entry in an online gallery, or to a video on YouTube or to a post on your personal blog ~ wherever!

Remember that you have until 6:00 p.m. on Monday {that's Miami, FL EDT USA time which is GMT-4} so you have until then to submit an entry for each challenge. Prize winners will be chosen randomly on Monday and posted in a new "January 2011 Crop Prize Winners" thread in the forum on The Beach.

You will get one entry for each challenge you participate in, so get ready to scrap! The last challenge will be posted at 11:00 p.m. Miami time!

~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.

January 2011 Crop Challenge #4: Get 'Er Done!

January 2011 Crop Challenge #4: Get 'Er Done!

The prize for this challenge is a little mini from my unfinished projects bin. I'll include the project I've started along with a little kit of goodies for you to finish it off & customize it to your own tastes.

This challenge is to drag something out of your own unfinished projects bin & finish it off once and for all! If you don't have an unfinished projects bin, then this is a freebie challenge where you can submit any kind of layout or card you like.

To participate, grab one of your unfinished projects and get 'er done! Layouts may be any size {12"x12", 8.5"x11", 8"x8", 6"x12", etc.} and can be either a one-page or two-page layout, but it must have photos and journaling to be considered complete. This project also lends itself to mini albums, tag swaps, altered items ~ you name it.

Enter the challenge by posting a link to your submission BELOW by 6:00 p.m. on Monday, January 11, 2011. The link can either be to a photo of your entry in an online gallery, or to a video on YouTube or to a post on your personal blog ~ wherever!

Remember that you have until 6:00 p.m. on Monday {that's Miami, FL EDT USA time which is GMT-4} so you have until then to submit an entry for each challenge. Prize winners will be chosen randomly on Monday and posted in a new "January 2011 Crop Prize Winners" thread in the forum on The Beach.

You will get one entry for each challenge you participate in, so get ready to scrap! The next challenge will be posted at 10:00 p.m. Miami time!

~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.

January 2011 Crop Challenge #3: Sparkle It Up!

January 2011 Crop Challenge #3: Sparkly It Up!

The prize for this challenge is Sue Hornsby's crocheted goodies.

Create a layout or project that is over the top glamourous. Bring out your bling, your mists, your glitter and make something that's dazzling!

To participate, create a blindingly sparkly and dazzling brilliant layout or project. The layout may be any size {12"x12", 8.5"x11", 8"x8", 6"x12", etc.} and can be either a one-page or two-page layout, but it must have photos and journaling to be considered complete. This challenge also lends itself to other projects, such as cards, art journal pages, tags, etc.

Enter the challenge by posting a link to your submission BELOW by 6:00 p.m. on Monday, January 11, 2011. The link can either be to a photo of your entry in an online gallery, or to a video on YouTube or to a post on your personal blog ~ wherever!

Remember that you have until 6:00 p.m. on Monday {that's Miami, FL EDT USA time which is GMT-4} so you have until then to submit an entry for each challenge. Prize winners will be chosen randomly on Monday and posted in a new "January 2011 Crop Prize Winners" thread in the forum on The Beach.

You will get one entry for each challenge you participate in, so get ready to scrap! The next challenge will be posted at 9:00 p.m. Miami time!

~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.

January 2011 Crop Challenge #2: I {HEART} the Beach!

January 2011 Crop Challenge #2: I {HEART} the Beach!

The prize for this challenge is Belinda Akers's "All I Need is Love" Inkadinkado stamp set. PLUS Belinda is also including six of her AWESOME foil tags.

We did this challenge last January & everyone had such a fun time with it. It was suggested last January that we do it each year to see how the site and its members have evolved, so here we go again! Simply make a layout abut how much you love The Beach and why. {I don't mean that place where you get sand in your shorts ~ I mean our web community}. So tell me, why do YOU love The Beach?

To participate, create a layout with what you love about The Beach. The layout may be any size {12"x12", 8.5"x11", 8"x8", 6"x12", etc.} and can be either a one-page or two-page layout, but it must have photos and journaling to be considered complete.

Enter the challenge by posting a link to your submission BELOW by 6:00 p.m. on Monday, January 11, 2011. The link can either be to a photo of your entry in an online gallery, or to a video on YouTube or to a post on your personal blog ~ wherever!

Remember that you have until 6:00 p.m. on Monday {that's Miami, FL EDT USA time which is GMT-4} so you have until then to submit an entry for each challenge. Prize winners will be chosen randomly on Monday and posted in a new "January 2011 Crop Prize Winners" thread in the forum on The Beach.

You will get one entry for each challenge you participate in, so get ready to scrap! The next challenge will be posted at 5:00 p.m. Miami time!

~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.

January 2011 Crop Challenge #1: Coffee Break

January 2011 Crop Challenge #1: Coffee Break

The prize for this challenge is Belinda Akers's Once Upon a Springtime 8"x8" paper pad. PLUS, Belinda is also including six of her AWESOME foil tags.

The first challenge of the new year is to make a layout or other project describing how you like to unwind and relax.

To participate, create a layout of project about how you unplug. You can either complete the Cupcakes & Coffee mini album project with me on UStream and submit it for this challenge, or create a layout or project or your own design. The layout may be any size {12"x12", 8.5"x11", 8"x8", 6"x12", etc.} and can be either a one-page or two-page layout, but it must have photos and journaling to be considered complete.

Enter the challenge by posting a link to your submission BELOW by 6:00 p.m. on Monday, January 11, 2011. The link can either be to a photo of your entry in an online gallery, or to a video on YouTube or to a post on your personal blog ~ wherever!

Remember that you have until 6:00 p.m. on Monday {that's Miami, FL EDT USA time which is GMT-4} so you have until then to submit an entry for each challenge. Prize winners will be chosen randomly on Monday and posted in a new "January 2011 Crop Prize Winners" thread in the forum on The Beach.

You will get one entry for each challenge you participate in, so get ready to scrap! The next challenge will be posted at 4:00 p.m. Miami time!

~Kathryn
Life's a beach. Scrapbook it.

Free Template: January Virtual Crop Coffee Cup Album

Hi, everyone!

I hope you're all having a great 2011 so far! I just wanted to write and let you know that Saturday is our January 2011 "Virtual Crop". The crop will be held on my UStream channel from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. and from 9:00 p.m. to Midnight on Saturday, January 8, 2011. All times are Eastern USA {GMT/UTC-5}.

Since it is the first crop of the year, I wanted to do something extra special with all of you and I have found an absolutely delightful mini album project to create together with you!



The very talented Wilna Furstenberg has graciously granted me permission to create her super adorable "Cupcakes & Coffee" Coffee Cup mini album live on the air with you. Her beautiful, printable, watercolor templates are available to download absolutely free from Wilna's Digital Shop at Two Peas In A Bucket. Wilna also has several variations of the coffee cup album available in her shop if you prefer one of them.

Looks cool! What do I need to do before Saturday to be able to participate?

You'll need to go to Two Peas In A Bucket and download the free template. If you don't have an account at Two Peas, you'll need to create one before you can download the tutorial.

Once you've downloaded the file, you'll want to print the instructions and the template PNG files. I used my photo printer to print the PNG files on cold press watercolor paper. I could have printed them on white cardstock, but I wanted the additional texture that the watercolor paper gives. My printer has a watercolor setting, so it worked great!



Once you've got your templates printed, you'll want to cut everything out. Basically, I cut away anything black. That gave me my photo frames and my coffee cup edges.





My photo printer printed the negative space of the PNG black as shown above, but my laser printer printed the negative space of the PNG white. You will either cut away the white parts or the black parts depending on how your computer/printer "sees" the file.

Once you're done cutting everything out, you'll need to print some photos. These are the photo sizes I used:

1 ~ 2.25"x3.5"
1 ~ 3" circle {or 3"x3" square}
3 ~ 3"x4" vertical
2 ~ 2"x2"
1 ~ 2.75"x3"
1 ~ 2.75"x3.5"
1 ~ 2"x2.5"

I printed all my photos with a 1/8" white frame. Some of these photos are going behind elements on the page so the frame doesn't matter, but I didn't want to keep track of which photos needed frames and which didn't, so I printed them all the same.

For this album, I chose pictures of my sister and me. They're from a variety of different years and events, but I mostly wanted to just show the two of us together having fun. I've made the album once to create this sample & I'll be making another copy during the virtual crop. That way my sister and I will each have a copy of this cute little book!



At some point before Saturday, you're also going to need to get your hands on a Starbucks cup. If you want to put the actual cup on the front cover like I did, you'll need a "Tall" cup. If you want to create the cover from the cup like Wilna did, you'll need a "Venti" cup. If you're not a coffee drinker, Starbucks also serves tea and hot cocoa. :D Or you can just make your own cover from chipboard.

I hope to see you there! I think it will be so fun to all be working on the same project together!

~Kathryn :D

P.S. There is also UStream today from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and from 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Today is actually a special day because I am going to attempt to make two cards! Can you believe it!? No!? That's okay ~ neither can I! For the full scoop, join me on my UStream Channel at 2:00 p.m. this afternoon!

P.P.S. I uploaded a video of the completed coffee cup mini over on my YouTube Channel for you to see how it looks. You can follow this link to view the video over on YouTube, or watch below: Coffee Cup Mini.



P.P.P.S. Actually, I have nothing else to say. I just wanted to add another post script.

Recently Overheard in the Krieger-Jackson Household ...

Me: Did you read my blog today?

Him: No.

Me: Oh.

Him: Why?

Me: Well, you made an appearance.

Him: Really? Let me check it out.

Me: ::sits quietly, acting innocent::

Him: ::sighs & gets up off couch::

Me: Where are you going?

Him: To hook up your photo printer.

Me: Oh? That's nice of you! Why are you doing that right now?

Him: Because I don't want my socks stolen.

Me: Ha ha! I win!

Him: You could just have asked nicely, you know.

Me: I suppose. Doesn't seem quite as fun, though.

New Video: One Less Item in the "Unfinished" Pile

Hi & Happy New Year! I wanted to let you know that I have finished off another project in the "Unfinished Projects Mountain" that is trying to take over my house. I swear that it has legs which it used to steal some of my Pop Tarts this morning. {Can't you just picture a bunch of mini albums scampering around the kitchen floor on little stick legs? Climbing on top of each other pyramid style to reach the Pop Tarts? No? Hmmm. The image is so clear to me ...}

Anyways, I finished the "Love the Fall" 8"x8" Chipboard Mini & uploaded the final video over on my YouTube channel. You can view the video below, or you can follow this link to watch it on YouTube: Love the Fall.



So that's one more project finished from the giant pile of 41 unfinished projects. That means I only have 38 to go!

::cries a little::

Okay, I'm better. ::sniffle:: Now that this mini is finished and on it's way to my customer, I am going to continue working on the big stack ~ probably on my tree album. I think that one is going to turn out really cute.

~Kathryn
Life's better on the beach.

P.S. Mr. Lifeguard has still not hooked up the photo printer to my new computer. I know he's been sick, but is that really an excuse? Perhaps I should hide his socks as punishment.