I saw this over at ali Edwards blog and this has never rung truer to me than today.

THINGS THAT 
MATTER MOST MUST
NEVER BE AT THE
MERCY OF THE
THINGS THAT MATTER
THE LEAST.
- GOETHE

CK Special Issue: Creative Spaces

CK Special Issue: Creative Spaces is now on sale! Get your issue here at the CK website!  Enter code: SPACESBB when you order from the CK website and get free shipping! Yay for free shipping!

I love organizing my scrapbook space almost as much as I enjoy scrapbooking! I probably DO organize my space more than I actually scrap, at times! I have a narrow office space filled with too much stuff... I think I just keep shuffling stuff around the room to try and get that airy, clean feel that never comes. Maybe it's because I have too much stuff in it to begin with! Ahhhh.... a light bulb moment. My next big goal is to empty out that space and put only the things I absolutely. love. into it. This is going to be a challenge!

When I have a spare moment I will get to that and will post photos of the before and after.

In the mean time go and order your issue of Creative Spaces by CK and enjoy free shipping!

The Creative Connection

Good day to you all!

Just to let you know, if you didn't already, that The Creative Connection event registration is now live. It's being held in St. Paul, Minnesota September 15-17, 2010. There will be lots of fantastic speakers and demonstrations, etc. I so wish I could swing it. Kids are in school for us in the north east and I just don't see how I could possibly get out there. But, if you are lucky enough to be able to go... check it out here. It looks like it will be an amazing, fabulous, creative event!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there! We are so influential to so many people in our lives - especially our children. My mother-in-law is always telling me that the mother is the glue that holds a family together. This is a day to remember how much love our mothers have given us and how strong and loving, warm, and giving our mothers have been. I am so thankful and blessed to be a mother and am thankful for my mother, my grandmothers and all the women who have been in my life. My mother lives a long days drive away from where I live.  I often wished we lived so much closer so that we could get together more often. Even for just an afternoon tea.  Even though she is far, I will always feel near to her. Here's hoping you have a wonderful mother's day and can spend it with your mother, whether in heart and mind, near or far.

p.s. Here's a link to some yummy and pretty flower-shaped pancakes. If you're so inclined to cook a Mother's Day breakfast... these would be nice.

hugs and love,

Happy (inter)National Scrapbooking Day!

Happy (inter)National Scrapbooking Day Everyone!
I hope you find some time for yourself today to at least do just a little something related to scrapbooking. I haven't had much time myself, but am hoping to at the very least take some photographs, print out my Project 365 photos for the week and do one digital layout.

If you're lucky enough to have an (inter)National Scrapbook Day festival where you are - enjoy!
Remember it's all about the photos and the stories.

p.s. Check out mellybirddesigns.blogspot.com and http://www.catscrap.com/blog/?p=2270 where she has become the newest designer at Catscrap.com with her Bento designs!

Being a beginner...

My youngest is a bit of a perfectionist. He doesn't want to make any mistakes and gets frustrated when he doesn't draw something right, misses a ball when he's trying to play soccer, etc. Basically he wants to be perfect right away, no waiting. He will throw a tantrum, cry, crumple up paper, or kick or throw something. I think we never really get over that feeling - that frustration - we only learn to "mask" those feelings as adults. We learn to keep them under control. At least most of the time.

I'm learning something new right now. I feel like a beginner right now. I feel like a 6 year old. I feel frustrated when trying to learn something new. I want to be able to do things quickly, by instinct.... This article was helpful and hopefully will be useful to you too.  Click here.

my love/hate relationship with my dear imac

Oh how happy I was the day I got my imac. It zipped right along like a dream. No waiting. Everything just popped right up on my screen like magic. I. was. in. computer. heaven.

Fast forward three years and I am waiting and waiting for applications to start, or not start in some cases, most cases these days. Particularly when using photoshop and iphoto. That dreaded colorful, rainbow, spinning ball teases me with whether or not my application or website will open up.

Julia, from Apple care, was very helpful in helping me reset certain things. For the most part it seems to be humming along,  with a little hiccup here and there. That little hiccup being mainly the use of photoshop and iphoto. So, I have 231 days left on my apple care and I'm hoping my computer will not die on me.

So, here's the question. Do I buy a new imac, mac pro, or just go for a super duper macbook pro as my main compy? I do not want to have to buy a new computer every 3 years.

So my question to you is what would you do? What do you have? What computer could you not live without?

I love my giant 24 inch imac screen, but lately, a love affair it has not been.

Digital Designing

I have taken the leap into scrapbook digital design. It takes a bit more work than the average Joe may think... but it is really worth it. To see your own ideas, creations come to fruition. It takes time. It takes creativity. It takes patience and overcoming frustration. It takes a whole lot of tweaking. I am enjoying the process of learning and creating. However, I have a tendency to get caught up in what I'm learning that I can all too easily become too distracted and obsessed with it to the point where other things are somewhat neglected in my life (housework, cleaning, exercising, family, etc). You get the point. Am I alone out there? What I'm trying to get at is that it's important to find a balance between family, work and play.  One without the other and I'm left feeling a bit frustrated at the end of the day because I realize that I can not do it all - all of the time. It's a hard balance to find. I'm still working on it. Hopefully I'll find it soon. In the mean time, I suggest using a timer and setting it for 15 minute chunks of time.  This is working for me and it helps clear my head... not to mention I actually get some housework done too. :)  What do you do to find balance in your life?