So Much Life, So Little Crafting

Man, this whole single mom shindig is really vexing.  I have not had the time to craft at all since June, and it is absolutely killing me.  For now, I am sticking to knitting and photography in my tiny bits of time when the girls are all four asleep or I have hired a sitter.  At least there is an end in sight: we are moving in six weeks!

First Layout

This was the first layout I got done this weekend:

Two New Files

These are the two files I have made so far this weekend, and I am sure there will be more to come.

I'm crafting again! Woo hoo!

I cannot wait to make some cute new files to share, because I am finally getting in a little time to craft this weekend.  Yay for my in-laws' help! 

June N'Titled Files

UPDATE: My files are available through my Etsy store. Thank you!

It sounds like June is our last month for the N'Titled program, so I guess it is finally time for me to get the rest of my files converted and actually uploaded to the store. Please be patient with me on this, as I am currently a single mother of four girls under nine and trying to sell our house.  I am hoping to have a little more file-making time once school is out for the summer.

Until I get the rest of my files posted, here are my contributions for the June N'Titled collection:

I made, at the very least, forty of the dinosaur files for my girls' valentines in February, and the "The Road..." has been used in several scrapbooks of my own and those of friends.  I have plans for "My Girl," as well.  As always, my files are available as jpg, svg, eps, wpc, ai, and gsd.  These files can be used on a Pazzles, Cricut Expression with SCAL, Black Cat, KNK, CraftROBO, Silhouette, Wishblade, etc.

May N'Titled Has Been Released

May N'Titled files are up in the store now!  There was a late start to this month, so there was a slight delay in the posting and delivery of the set this month.  There are a lot of fun files in there:

I have two files included in this month's set:

So Much Happening

I have been so busy packing that I haven't had the chance to post for several days.  All my scrapping stuff is packed away in a storage unit except for the necessities to work on my book about our trip to England and France.  It might be a bit of a struggle to hide my Pazzles and its accessories while I'm showing the house, but I think I can manage.  :)

Thanks to two dear friends, I have an upstairs that is almost completely packed and a great start on the downstairs.  It won't be long before I get the house on the market!  If nothing else, I invited a few friends over to hang out on Saturday night, so I'll have plenty of motivation to get the house presentable by then.  I wish I could have everyone over at once, but I just don't have the room for them.  I have to host in shifts.  lol

I hope everyone has had a lovely weekend and has a gloriously blessed week!

Afternoon Funnies

My husband and I could not stop laughing today, because our six year-old daughter was watching Cars and singing along with the songs.  Our two favorite phrases were, "Float like a Cadillac, sting like a beaver," and "Get your chicks on Route 66."  I am still laughing right now.  I love my kids!

April N'Titled is Ready

I tried to vary my designs a bit more this month, so they may not seem like they go together.  We have had a tradition of buying the girls new dresses on Easter (or digging out the ones that are new to them in whichever size they're wearing), so I knew I had to include a title which reflects this common practice.

Since I was trying to stay a little more universal, I opted for a really useful yet unique version of a common title for my second file:

Finally, my last file truly reflects the craziness in our home right now:

Here is a preview of the entire collection for April:

As always, the N'Titled files are available in the following formats: ai, wpc, svg, eps, jpg, gsd, knk.  Not all files include each format, but there will always be a compatible version (usually ai or eps) that can just as easily be imported.

Contemplating April's Designs

There is a lot going on in my house right now.  My husband lost his job, got a new one in 5.5 days, and now he's moving to Baltimore, Maryland without us.  I have to remain in Minnesota to sell the house and let our girls finish out the school year.  We're most likely here for another six months without him. 

That being said, I have several hats to add to my collection once my husband leaves: cook, bather, handywoman, etc.  I don't know how single mothers manage, because I'm already worried about everything, and he hasn't even left yet.  Yikes!  I have a feeling my April files will reflect the work to be done in his absence.

Guess What I Saw

Last night, I was scrapbooking with some girlfriends at our local scrapbook store, and I came across something very interesting hanging in the die cut area...

Do these designs look familiar?  That limited commercial license is coming in handy for my friend Patti.  She bought a used Pazzles Inspiration, I taught her how to get it going, and now she is a die-cutting queen.  Patti has taught card classes at this store for quite a while, so I'm not surprised to see her selling die cuts, and I'm quite pleased that mine are the first ones she chose.  Thanks Patti!

It's here! March N'Titled is here!

Here is the preview of March's N'Titled files at That's Scrap Inc.:

As always, each file contains versions for all cutters.  You will find gsd, svg, wpc, ai, knk, eps, and jpg versions of most files.  I believe I am the only one who does not included knk files, as I don't own their software, but I do include eps and ai versions that are easily imported into the knk software.  The current month is available fro $10, and any previous month is available for $15.  There are membership deals offered, as well, where you can pay ahead for a few months and download the new files as soon as they're ready.

Sidelined and Sidetracked

So, my newest project has gotten sidelined for a little while. I've gotten distracted by the pile of pictures from our trip to England and France in June 2009. Yes, I just got them printed. On the plus side, I had a handful of scrapbook pages ready and waiting for the printed photos.

As it is, I got sidetracked from both projects this evening. Instead of cutting out my new file or scrapping more of our European vacation, I sat down and designed my contributions for the March N'Titled membership at That's Scrap Inc. Have a look:

 As always, my files are available in jpg, eps, WPC, AI, GSD, and svg.

New files

While I was working on my household budget yesterday, I had an idea pop into my mind about a lovely layout for my beautiful girls.  I quickly pulled up Adobe Illustrator and got to work, and I love how my new file looks.  I want to make the layout before I post pictures of the file, so it might be a few days. 

In the meantime, I am working on the conversions and packaging for the files I have already completed.  The Santa Hat file will be up soon at That's Scrap Inc., as will a few other of my favorite mini albums.  I have been making a ton of them in the past year, so I'm excited to share my first three.  They will cover topics from Santa to the beach to school trips.  Keep an eye out for upcoming posts.

My First Fondant

This month is full of firsts, I guess.  I have never even seen a cake covered in fondant up close before, but I just made my first one.

Tomorrow is my second daughter's sixth birthday, but we're celebrating tonight due to the Super Bowl.  She begged for a pink cake with white dots, so I thought it was the perfect time to delve into fondant.  I have been addicted to "Ace of Cakes" on the Food Network for several months now, and I have been absolutely fascinated by fondant and gum paste ever since. 

To say that fondant can be frustrating would be a massive understatement.  By the time I got the hang of it, though, I was really enjoying myself.  My daughter's dot idea switched to flowers at the craft store, so here is my finished cake, complete with pink fondant and white flowers with a white fondant trim:

February N'Titled

The February collection is now available for purchase.  It is available as a stand-alone collection for $10 through 2/28 or $15 after, or it is also available as part of the monthly membership package.  This package is an automatic subscription to the N'Titled collections put out for the months of February through June for just $50 ($10 per month).  Each month includes at least 20 new files exclusive to the N'Titled collection.  As an added bonus, commercial use of these files is highly encouraged.  Check it out today!

All cutting files sold at That's Scrap Inc. include formats for the most popular software and cutting machines on the market (Pazzles, Cricut Expression, Black Cat, Gazelle, Funtime, etc.)

My First Contributions to TSI

UPDATE: These files are now available in my Etsy shop. Thank you!

Becoming a designer for That's Scrap Inc. has been in the works for quite some time now, but my hectic life kept getting in the way.  I am happy to report that I just emailed my first contributions to the N'Titled monthly cutting file membership.  I hope I am not the only person out there who spends a lot of time at the gym, trying to lose this dratted baby weight finally, because my three files for this month are a set:

As always, my files are available in wpc, svg, eps, gsd, and ai formats for use with the Pazzles Inspiration, Cricut Expression with SCAL, Black Cat, KNK, CraftROBO, Silhouette,Wishblade, and other cutters.

Photography Excitement

So, I have been totally in love with my Nikon D90 since my husband and I bought it in December of 2008, and that love was rewarded again just yesterday.

Recently, I posted several of my favorite photos from the Minnesota Zoo on my Facebook page and my Flickr page.  Happily, I added them to the pool of photos for the MN Zoo group on Flickr.  Little did I expect for them to ask to use one of them!

On one of our trips to the zoo with the kids last year, we were working our way through the inside exhibits when we came upon some of the flamingos.  While my girls were playing in a crawl-through kid's area with my husband, I decided to take a few shots of these goofy birds.  One, in particular, stood there with his wings spread, just waiting for me to take my shots.  It was as if he were saying, "I'm gorgeous.  Take my picture." Who was I to protest?  Guess which shot the zoo wants to use?  You got it!

I am beyond thrilled!  I have loved taking photos of my children, my friends, and my family, but this is more encouragement from an outside source.  Who could have guessed that my zoo shots would be the ones attracting attention?  I just hope that my appreciation of the animals and love of photography show in every shot.  Here are some more of my favorite zoo shots:

Changes

Many changes have been taking place in my life over the past year, and that bodes well for my crafting.  I have many new projects to share and some exciting news about how to have my designs in your arsenal.

As a teaser, here is a picture of my latest book design:



It is shaped like Santa's hat, but this file could be used for winter fun pictures and birthday pictures, too.  Perhaps I'll have to make another one just for this reason.  Is that a good enough excuse to break out my Pazzles Inspiration again?  Sure!

Please visit again soon, because I will be uploading more pictures and sharing more details on where you can find my designs.