Scrapiness

Next weekend is the start of the new season of Doctor Who, and in honor of the premiere, I changed my timeline image. I think it's my favorite one ever! I used Tangie Baxter's Doctor kit from Scrapbook Graphics...

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At work, we use a lot of QR codes to promote online content and I recently saw a tutorial on a digi site (sorry I can't remember which one!) about using them on scrapbook pages. It's a pretty cool idea. You can use link to create a code at a free site. I used QR Stuff. I tested these links on my screen using my phone and they took me right to YouTube videos. But, they didn't work for some reason on the web version, so I'll share the video links, too.

Here's a two-pager from my trip to Jenkinson's Aquarium. I loved this little turtle so much that I took video of him splashing around. 

Credits: Nerdy Scrappers' Something Fishy from One Story Down; Tracy Martin's Hand Cut Bits from One Story Down

BTWs... How cute is this fishy kit! I knew I had to use it when I saw it! :) Nerdy Scrappers Studio is new to One Story Down and I can't wait to see what else they create!


This page is about my crafty day with Melissa and Gracie. We went doll hunting and I am in one of their latest videos! 

Credits: The super awesome Monster High inspired kit School is Ghoul by Snips and Snails Designs & Mari Koegelenberg's from One Story Down and Domesticated Lady's Brand New Pencils Alpha from One Story Down.

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Block Party Weekend at OSD has become one of my favorite things every month. The designers create a collab and a bunch of coordinating sets. And then there are lots of good challenges to get me motivated to scrap! Here are some pages I created using this month's kits.

Credits: Mari Koegelenberg's Sunkissed Paper, The Edits' doilie from Retroscopic collab, Paula Kesselring's Retro Frames and Slides, Sissy Sparrows' 100 Days of Doodles, River Rose's Blooming Florals, Peeps & Milo's Marked Out Alpha - all from One Story Down

Credits: Snips N Snails, Little Butterfly Wings and The Edits' Retroscopic Collab, Sissy Sparrows' Another Era Borders - all from One Story Down

Credits: Little Butterfly Wings, Snips & Snails and the Edits' Retroscopic; Sissy Sparrows' Another Era Stackers,  and Tracy Martin's Snap Happy Alpha and Hand Cut Bits all from One Story Down

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Here's a page about the crazy summer we've been having in West New York. Credits: Kim Jensen's Recycled Newspaper Alpha, Stringbats and Concretely Grounded papers from The Lily Pad, Michelle Godin's Jumbo Masks, Keep Calm and Splatter On, Moody Blues elements, Dream On elements, Hello GoodBye Stitching from Lily Pad, Amy Wolff's Strike A Pose string From Lily Pad

And here's one from the Liberty Belle cruise at Disney. Credits: River Rose's Thank You from One Story Down

Summer's Greatest Hits

What??? Summer’s over? Where did it go? Feels like I just started to enjoy it. It’s hard to measure up this summer to 2011 – which was just super awesome. This year’s crazy weather – it was sooooooooo hot – made it rough, especially on my poor tomato plants.

But I did have some good times. Here are summer 2012’s greatest hits!

1. Birthday Week/Staycation I

Monet's garden

Yeah, I love celebrating my birthday! This year I had an awesome karaoke birthday party to ring in year 36. I also went to the New York Botanical Gardens and explored the grounds and Monet’s Garden. It’s one of my new favorite places in New York!

2. Good Eats!

Blue cheese burgers, Chicago style dogs, cucumber salad, homemade salsa = All-American 4th fest

Something about eating outside makes food taste so good! We had some great bbqs – especially our Fourth of July All-American fest. And then there were lots of good things to eat at Big Apple Block Party, Renegade Craft Show/Brooklyn Flea, Smorgasburg and the Parked Festival. We also had fun times with Aunt Lorraine and my cousins at Blue Moon and for mom’s birthday at Rumba Cubana. And now that my tomatoes are finally ripening, I’ve been making lots of yummy food and salads. But my favorite thing to make all summer has been frozen treats in my Mickey Ice Pop holders.

3. Movies!

I'm Batman

This has been one of the best summer’s for movies. Some of my faves: The Avengers, Dark Night Rises, Brave, Men in Black III, Snow White and the Huntsman, The Amazing Spider-Man, Ruby Sparks. Lots of great superhero action and good times with my sister and even my nieces.

4. Reading/Watching…

I love the Guild. 

I just discovered The Guild – Felicia Day’s web series about a band of gamers. It’s brilliant – and short!

I also loved the reboot of Dallas and have been watching stuff like True Blood, The Newsroom, Weeds, Episodes, Drop Dead Diva, Royal Pains. Summer TV is just so fun and fluffy. Ok, maybe Newsroom isn’t fluffy – it’s pretty serious, but that Aaron Sorkin writing can be pretty funny. And I re-watched all of How I Met Your Mother on Netflix.

I finally finished listening to The Outlander saga and moved on to another great John Green book, Paper Towns. I absolutely love this guy. Where was he when I was a teen? Oh yeah, he was in high school. He’s a year younger than me.

Some other books I read this summer: Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, The Secrets of the Fortune Wookiee, The Wizard of Oz, I’ve Got Your Number, You’re Not Doing It Right, Slaughterhouse V, Certain Girls, Deadlocked.

5. Olympics

Go Gabby!

I am not a big fan of sports, but I love the Olympics. All the sports all at once and then that’s it! My kind of event! But I really do get caught up in the stories and drama. I’m amazed at how the gymnasts move and how fast those swimmers can race. Some pretty crazy opening/closing ceremony stuff this year, too.

6. Staycation 2

 A balloon fish

I had a week off in August and it was super awesome! I saw some exhibits in NYC – the Terracotta Warriors at Discovery and the Enterprise at the Intrepid. I did some shopping.  I went to the beach with my friend Francie and then went to another beach with Penny! And I got to spend some time crafting, shopping and laughing with my good friend Melissa and her family.  

Penny at the beach!

Fun with newspapers

This week, I've been working on a big package that is running in most of our newspapers. One of our directors created a style and we've had to adapt it for the individual publications. Everyone always wants their own local flair.

So I haven't done anything cool since I've been back from vacation, but here's a fun skybox I did this week. No Photoshop-ing involved. It's all InDesign trickery, which I think is pretty cool!

Greetings from Craftapaloza

I am on vacation this week and today I'm hanging out with two of my favorite YouTube stars, Melissa and Grace of the Mommy & Gracie show, oh and Spats the cat, who is trying very hard to be my friend even though I am allergic to him. 

And since I can't think of what I want to work on next, I'm going to share some pages from the last week.

This little cutie is my niece-phews cousin. He's adorable and pretty charming, too. Credits: Lauren Grier and Shawna Clingerman's Beginning is Now and Lauren's Whatever Will Be. 

This was our last photo at Disney. Credits: Caroline S's You Are My Star from One Story Down

 My cute little pup has finally mastered "paw." Credits: Little Butterfly Wings' Sweet as Candy - Facebook Freebie; Lauren Reid's Wonky Stitched Templates from One Story Down; The Doodle Queen's Funky Alpha; CD Muckosky's Graffiti Spray Flutter Butters; Scraplift of Kimberlee's (Scrapandsass) For the Love of Bobby

These are some of the books I've read in the last year and a half. Credits: Kim Jensen's Everyday Boy paper from Lily Pad; Tracy Martin, Lauren Reed and Peeps & Milo elements from the Tell Me A Story collab at One Story Down; Hidden Heart's Art Mix from After 5 Designs; CD Muckosky's Lefty Lucy Alpha from Lily Pad; Amy Wolff's Jot It Down note card from Lily Pad

Fun with newspapers

In case you wonder what I do all day....

This was another poster page we did for the Rochester paper after another hometown athlete won gold.
It might look pretty simple, but it took about 5 designers to get this done!

One of my main duties each week is the Rochester Sunday front. Here was a big corporate profile, which I think turned out pretty cool.

Here was a skybox design. It's been fun working with all these great Olympics photos. 

And this is one of my favorite things I've ever done! This paper has a lot of motorsport stuff going on and I thought it would be fun to crush the title. 

I feel sad

I'm feeling kind of overwhelmed tonight. Maybe it's these sappy interview pieces they show at the Olympics or the commercials with Morgan Freeman voiceovers.

But it's also because I have friends who are hurting.

And then I looked at a pug rescue site.

I wish I had enough hugs to go around. I want to bitch and moan about how lousy my day, but I think about how many other people may have had it worse. I seriously want to cry right now. 

So my friends, I just want you to know I love you and I'm thinking about you. Hugs from me. And Penny, too. 

While I'm watching beach volleyball...

Well, between watching the Olympics and figuring out how to deal with the end of my Photoshop trial, I have been forgetting to blog! 

I've also been pretty busy at work. I had to work some overtime and have been getting stuck there late more often than I'd like. See...

It seems like summer is just slipping away in the meantime. But I'm off next week and I hope I get to do something fun.  Anyways, while i watch some more Olympics, I'll catch you up on what I've been scrapping!

I've done a few pages from the Botanical Garden. I think I have enough photos for a whole book. Maybe I will do a small album. This was Monet's garden, which was just so beautiful. It was like walking in a painting! Credits: Michelle Godin's Jumbo Mats & Masks, Teeny Tiny Alphas, Happy Mom's Day kit, Dreams & Wishes elements from Lily Pad and Newsletter Freebie papers

I love Michelle Godin's style so much. Makes me feel like I've gotten dirty painting! I wish I could be as creative as this girl, but I will settle for getting to work for her! Here's a page with her latest BOYC stuffs featuring a little chipmunk I met at the garden. Don't mock me. We don't have a lot of chipmunks here in WNY. Credits: Michelle Godin's Hello Goodbye Papers and Elements from Lily Pad 

 Here's one I did for my Block Party speed scrap last month at OSD. It was a pretty crazy chat considering we didn't have a working chat room! This was my favorite part of the garden - the rock garden. I could live there! Credits: One Fine Day by Sissy Sparrows, Flutter Expressions and Tracy Martin at One Story Down; Sissy Sparrows' Stackers from One Story Down

I need to get cracking on my Disney pages! This page was quite a monster. I had started it in Photoshop, but then my trial expired. So I downloaded Elements and I just wanted to cry the whole time I was using it. It felt so weird! I didn't know where things were or how to add shadows. Even the menus felt like they were in the wrong places because the name of the program is longer. I am such a nerd. But I finally gave in and got the full version of PS. Somewhere in between versions, the page that I had started got messed up. So I rebuilt this in Photoshop and added more stuffs.

That's just one part of this totally lame story. First I went crazy look through my office and through old DVDs to find this template. Then I extended it across two pages and added even more squares. I am seriously a crazy person! But I think this template and kit are just soooooo perfect for these photos! And now I love it! 

 Credits: Snips & Snails Designs' Play A Game alpha from One Story Down; Paula Kesselring's Black and White Only Alpha from One Story Down; Little Butterfly Wings' Geek Like me arrow from Daily Digi; Kim Jensen's Chalk Artist doodles from Lily Pad;  WendyZine's Toys in the Attic template

I have probably mentioned it before - my brother is Buzz Lightyear. Kim's new chalk doodles were just right for these pics. Credits: Kim Jensen's Chalk Artist and Concretely Grounded from Lily Pad

I forgot to mention in my journaling that I tried to get them to give me one of these drinks for free since they are using my name! This is an all Sissy Sparrows pages. I am loving those girls lately! Sissy Sparrows' They Said Papers and Stackers, Not Neat Alpha, Retro Rulez elements, 100 Days of Doodles, Hip Hooray Papers from One Story Down

Here are some pages featuring my favorite girlies! Credits: One Fine Day by Sissy Sparrows, Flutter Expressions and Tracy Martin at One Story Down; Sissy Sparrows' Stackers from One Story Down; JM Designs You're My Heaven from One Story Down; Tracy Martin's My Happy Place from Oen Story Down 

Kylie says Spider Man is the best movie we've ever taken her too. I wish I would have gotten a photo of T like this at Brave! Credits: Flutter Expressions' This Kit from One Story Down; Scraplift of page by Anna-Maria Wolniak

Here's one I just put together this weekend and I love it! My cute puppy and Kim's flowers make me want to swoon! Credits: Kim Jensen's Bloomin' Octagnal, Mad for Mod Papers, Paint it White stitches, My America tag from Lily Pad; Michelle Godin's Keep Clam and Spatter on from Lily Pad; Ardent Sparrow Doily Alpha from One Story Down; Tracy Martin's My Happy Place Button from One Story Down; Snips & Snail's Boho Chic Lace from One Story Down; Sissy Sparrows' 100 Days of Doodles from One Story Down; One Fine Day collab tape from One Story Down

 Another funny Penny shot... Credits: Amy Wolff and Little Butterfly Wing's Strike A Pose from One Story Down and Lily Pad

Seeing the girls on this bench at my grandma's reminded me of another moment! Credits: One Fine Day by Sissy Sparrows, Flutter Expressions and Tracy Martin at One Story Down; Tracy Martin's One Fine Day alpha from One Story Down;  JM Designs' Blah Blah alpha from One Story Down

Penny is weird. She like to sit there now.  Credits: Sissy Sparrow's Today's News from One Story Down; JM Design's Bits & Pieces from One Story Down

 And some pages for the All About Me files... This was a not so cool day at the beach. Credits: Under the Boardwalk by One Story Down Designers from Ali Edwards' blog

Here's one of my lists. I love Jersey! Credits: Michelle Godin's Vintage Maps: USA, Teeny Tiny Alphas, Subtle Spray alpha, Sloppy Stencil Alpha, Keep Calm and Spatter On, Hand Carved stamps, Grunge Canvas elements from Lily Pad

And another list about why I'm a nerd! Credits: Little Butterfly Wings' Geek Like Me from the Daily Digi

Greetings from Canada, Italy and Tampa

I haven't gone anywhere this summer but my friends have had much more interesting adventures! Here are some new postcards for my collection from Melissa, Krista and Mom and their summer trips!

I am pretty jealous of Melissa's trip on a Disney cruise and Krista's journey to Italy.

I'm soooooo tired

I have not been sleeping well lately. I worked six days last week. The Olympics are on. I went out Sunday night. I am just so tired it hurts. 

But I'm trying to stay awake because I'm cooking eggplant. I think I will have to eat it for lunch tomorrow because I might fall face first into my dinner!