Scrappers Give Thanks

I cannot say enough about how worthy a cause this is, ladies. If anyone reading my blog has not participated in this page-raiser yet, please consider doing so! Your submissions could help bring a smile to the faces of so many children!

My Pages:

Made with bits from: Kellie's Kreations


Made with bits from: Scrappy Princess


Made with bits from: Kellie's Kreations


Made with bits from: Kellie's Kreations

Christmas Decorating Plans

I know it's not time for Christmas... yet... but it's never too early to start planning for decorations, right?

It's not even really that early - decorations can go up next Friday. :) YAY!

Tree:
- Retrieve tree and decorations from mother-in-law's house on Thanksgiving. Make husband carry heavy tupperware containers. Console him with lots of kisses.
- Decorate with ornaments from last year. Small collection, but pretty.
- Buy cheap ball ornaments at the Dollar Tree ($2 for like 30), so that cats do not ruin nice ornaments. Test them by throwing a few at the sidewalk outside for shatter-index. Probably buy a cheap tree skirt to make clean-up easier (No idea about $$).
- Pop Dollar Tree popcorn ($1 - three bags) and string it on leftover thread from my sewing class, make HUGE popcorn garland to lay all over tree (cats do not like popcorn).
- Cut construction paper ($1)(also purchased from Dollar Tree) into 1/2-inch strips legnthwise, then cut each strip into 1 1/2 inch pieces. Glue together to make garland. Wrap around tree. Be excited.
- Hang christmas lights and possibly ornaments from each of the three front windows. (Mini Tree Lights = $2.50 at Wal*Mart - still shopping for plastic "non-breaking" ornaments).
- Buy box of candy canes - decorate the tree & are removable for stirring into cocoa! Genius! (88¢ at Wal*Mart)
- Look at Dollar Tree for cheap, cheesy christmas-themed tablecloths - use one for kitchen table, use the other two for living room side table, and desk/entertainment center. (Assuming around $3 - considering where I'm buying them)
- Maybe table runner to put on LP player? ($1?)
- Undecided about greenery - considering the kittens, I think no this year.

Mi chiamano Mimì

Sì. Mi chiamano Mimì,
ma il mio nome è Lucia.
La storia mia è breve.
A tela o a seta
ricamo in casa e fuori...
Son tranquilla e lieta
ed è mio svago
far gigli e rose.
Mi piaccion quelle cose
che han sì dolce malìa,
che parlano d'amor, di primavere,
di sogni e di chimere,
quelle cose che han nome poesia...
Lei m'intende?

Mi chiamano Mimì,
il perché, non so.
Sola, mi fo
il pranzo da me stessa.
Non vado sempre a messa,
ma prego assai il Signore.
Vivo sola, soletta.
Là in una bianca cameretta:
guardo sui tetti e in cielo;
Ma quando vien lo sgelo,
il primo sole è mio,
il primo bacio dell'aprile è mio!
Il primo sole, è mio.
Germoglia in un vaso una rosa...
Foglia a foglia la spio!
Cosi gentile il profumo d'un fiore!
Ma i fior ch'io faccio,
Ahimè! non hanno odore.
Altro di me non le saprei marrare.
Sono la sua vicina che la vien fuori d'ora a importunare.

Interestingly enough...

I really have nothing to talk about. I'm going to ASL in a few minutes and I'm slightly worried that Karen is going to try to sign with me about my absence Wednesday. I just am still not super comfortable with the language, is all.
My 'receptive skills' can do with a lot more practice, and I feel like I'm having trouble getting that. I really need to get with someone who has a car and go to the deaf lunches in Lexington. And maybe to that church service in...wherever it is.
In other news, iPods are bad for your grammatical health. The spell check on here is so thorough that you never have to check yourself.
More later, probably.

Testing

Blog posting app

Best Thing To Ever Be Mine

Braced yourself for the goodbye, cause that's all you've ever known
Then, I took you by surprise
I said, "I'll never leave you alone."

I said, "I remember how we felt, sitting by the flowers.
And every time I look at you, it's like the first time.
I fell in love with the careful son of a careless father.
He is the best thing that's ever been mine."

The first week of school

This week has just been a hot mess. Lots of things happening, and I'm a little slow to deal with them all. I had a breakdown over work, almost quit, and got a transfer-

Actually, I'm going to stop there for a moment. Oh, how I absolutely hate Starbucks. That store has just some of my worst work memories in it (which, if anyone reading this remembers my ill-fated work summer in south Florida, is saying something). The drinks are complex and did I mention coffee-filled, the store and storage area are tiny and cramped, the music is rarely worth mentioning, and the manager (well, now the manager's manager) is a nervous wreck all the time and freaks out over nothing. She's one of the least professional people I've ever met.

Anyway, I threatened to quit (no, I tried, they wouldn't let me) and instead got offered a transfer to the other coffee shop on campus, where She never is and where most people just come for a Coke or a smoothie anyway. So, I feel much better about working there. Thank goodness. I was beginning to think I was going to be stuck in The Place of Awfulness.

Kaylee and Jack discovered the empty cardboard that once housed a 12-pack of generic coke today. I wish I had pictures for you. They were super cute while they demolished it. Unfortunately, last weekend my camera's batteries decided to poop out and guess who hasn't managed to replace them yet?

Yeah, that would be me.

So, instead of pictures of kittens, I give you scrapbooking goodness.


This one was made almost entirely with Scrappy Princess' "Happy Go Lucky" and "Festival" free kits. The alpha, however, was made by K. Aragard and offered as a freebie on her website. Nathan and I took this picture in Hastings about a month ago. It's one of my favorites of ours.

4x6 Bug (+More Pages)

I have been bitten, it's true. I love 4x6 layouts - they're so much more accessible: easier to print, easier to store, easier to handle. So I've done a bunch of things over the past couple days with them. :)


Here's one:


A card for my friend Alan and Katina's wedding - printed on a 4x6 with a personal message written on the back. :) And along with their present, I tucked in a picture frame so that if they wanted to, they could frame the card.
Felt Paper by Kellie
Diamonds from the ArticLicious kit by Delicious Scraps
Gold Frame by Zaza
Eternal Companions embellishment from My4PrincessDesigns
Ribbon Templates by Brandi Murray from ScrapGirls
Tag Template by Delicious Scraps


LOL This page has nothing to do with Dee. I was playing with elements from Kellie's blog freebies, and came up with this page. I couldn't find any birthday pictures to put in there, so I just grabbed a random one of Dee! :)
Frame outline by Delicious Scraps
Everything else by Kellie


A quote card for the wonderful ladies that I visit teach each month. Simple, but pretty.
Word art by Hot Pink Pansy
Ripped Edges by Amanda Sok at ScrapGirls
Everything else by My4PrincessDesigns


1 Corinthians 13:4-8(first line). Absolutely love this kit, and love those verses. All there is to it. I'm going to print this up and put it on my dresser.
Credit goes to Valerie Foster

My July Desktop

Credits:
Freewheeling Alpha by Kristin Aagard
Simply World Art by Dodie V. Sarchet-Waller
Yarn Swirls #3 Summer and Curled Photo Frames by Katie Pertiet
Fabric Papers 14 by Zaza
Eclipse of the Heart Blog Train by Kellie
Memories Kit by S Bartolini

A present for my husband. :)

I started out wanting to make a page using only Monti's Kit, but then, like always, I had to have those ribbons, and then I wanted to add a little depth to the page - hence the second background and the stitching. And then it just wasn't complete without the journaling. I recolored the notecard and the journaling mat was made from a DS CU Template, with papers from Monti's kit. :) All in all, a great little do to stick in a 4x6 frame and decorate our apartment.

Credits:
Chocolate Love by Monti
Straight Stitches by Kellie
California Cool by Valerie Foster
BMU_SSEMB_RibbonCurls from ScrapGirls
Layered Tag by Delicious Scraps

Another Layout

I made this one from pictures of my cousin Alexandra. It's super cute! Everything, from the papers to the alpha came from KelliesKreations, a digital scrapbooking freebies site. The only thing I used that was not from her kits came from ScrapGirls.com. I am super obsessed with the Ribbon Template that I bought there, and want to use it all the time. :)
Here you go:

Digital Scrapbooking Frenzy!

So, yes. If you look at the Adkins Family Blog over there, you will see that I haven't updated for a while, but the last time I did, I changed the design to scrapbooking-type stuff. I have fallen in love with it.

So I thought I would share a few of my favorite layouts with you guys. :) Links to the main page of all websites listed for creations are at the bottom of the page. If you have any questions as to what specific elements came from what kits, just leave me a comment, and I'll get back to you promptly. :)


This was the second page I ever made. I used a lot of elements from the ScrapGirls Refresh Collection, and some from ComputerScrapbook.com's huge amount of free kits - mostly by Correen Silke and J Baechtold. The cluster of frames in the upper right is a freebie from ScrappyPrincess.com. I made this layout with the pictures that I had taken in March when I took my wedding ring for a "walk" among the plants and flowers of campus. The photos turned out really well, and while I may re-do this page later (I'll probably make a 4x6 album with 1 pic a page) - I'm happy with it as it stands now.


This is a page that I made for my best friend and her boyfriend. :) Waiting with baited breath for him to propose. This was one of the first layouts I ever did with a layout template, and I'm really happy with how it worked out! The template is from the ScrapGirls Refresh Collection. All papers, elements, and the alpha come from ComputerScrapbook.com, mostly by Correen Silke, Valerie Foster, and J Baechtold.


This is the cover page of a secret project for my best friend for her birthday. Made with the same template kit as the layout above, ScrapGirls Refresh Collection. I recolored a large portion of a kit by Valerie Foster from ComputerScrapbook.com to make it fit the page, and the ribbon is from RPenn's Express Yourself Collection from ScrappyPrincess.com.



I made this page for my husband, to cheer him up one day when he was feeling down. I did not use a layout template for this one, as you can see, I'm working on being dynamic with my layouts without templates. It's hard - now that I know they exist, I'm addicted to them! I love the soft colors in this one, and the pictures. This was made almost completely using RPenn's Express Yourself Collection from ScrappyPrincess.com. I also used alphas and embellishments from Correen Silke's kits on ComputerScrapbook.com



I made this layout after seeing my mother's outfit at my sister's birthday party - imagine my suprise when it matched EXACTLY ScrapGirls Refresh Collection! I was super excited to scrap it - and to use the Bursting template that I had recently bought from Scrapgirls as well. Interesting fact about the background paper: The circle mat on the layout is actually two papers - I deleted the base color on the swirly patterned page, and used Gimp's Value overlay to fade it into the blue paper. :) Designer-style papers made easy!




Two page layout for my dad for father's day. I love him so much, and he has been so supportive throughout my life, I wanted to do something special for him, and I don't have any money, and he loves creative stuff anyway. :) I used a lot of things in this kit, so bear with me while I hit the credits. The sketch for this layout came from DebbieHodge.com. I used papers and elements by Valerie Foster, J Baechtold, Correen Silke, and R Dickson, available at ComputerScrapbook.com. I also used bits from a father's day challenge mini kit by Marie, available at FreeDigitalScrapbooking.com.



Holy wow, Batman, it's a spread! My husband wrote a poem about our youngest cat, Kaylee Jo, and I scrapped it. This spread was part of a ScrapGirls embellishment challenge - to try and use a lot of them without it looking cluttered. I'm not sure if I love it or not, but it is another of the layouts I made without a template, so I'm including it. :) I used papers and elements by Valerie Foster, J Baechtold, Correen Silke, and R Dickson, available at ComputerScrapbook.com. And, oddly enough, this page only uses their stuff.


I got married around Christmas, so at the beginning of December my family held an Ornament Shower for me, and my grandmother slipped an index card with this quote on it in my gift. I actually made this layout as part of a spread to showcase our engagement pictures, but I don't have them ready for public viewing, so I stuck some other random pictures in there so I could show it off. I really like it. Template is from SimpleScrapper.com as well as the black paper, by Jeanette Bollinger. Embellishments are by Amanda Sok, from ScrapGirls.com, and Correen Silke from ComputerScrapbook.com.


This one is of my kittens - Jack and Kaylee. Aren't they precious? I used one of Marie's templates from FreeDigitalScrapbooking.com on the right hand side, and a piece from an Amanda Sok's Tear it Up template from ScrapGirls.com. Backgrounds are from ScrappyPrincess.com, and I used Amanda Sok's Bespoke Emblem's Set, the Little Labels set by Marie of FreeDigitalScrapbooking.com, and Refresh Collection from ScrapGirls.com.

That's it for this batch! Hope you enjoy them!

Credits:
www.freedigitalscrapbooking.comm
www.scrappyprincess.com
www.scrapgirls.com
www.simplescrapper.com
www.computerscrapbook.com

New Kitten

So I will admit to having had some doubts as to whether or not Kaylee and Jack would co-exist well. At least, in the early days.
Boy was I wrong. Yeah, there was some hissing and growling for a couple of hours. Jack was not happy. There was a THING in HIS bathroom. And it looked like the THING that guards the fishes in the glass of the cabinet. And he was not having it.
But then he got close enough to smell her.
Jack is a cat that loves smells. And he loves smelling girl cats. When I come home from visiting a friend with girl kittens, he loves on me like there is no tomorrow. He just can't wait to rub up on my arms, lick my hands, and sit in my lap.
And after he got a smell of her, Jack was a changed cat. He wandered around with her butt in his face for hours, trying to figure out who she was.
Kaylee, for her part, is a girl with some Moxy. She huddled in a corner for about an hour, then got adventurous and played with one of her bell-balls. That was the sound that first alerted Jack to the fact that there was a living critter in that bathroom. And then, she just kept finding high ground to view him from. At one point, they were playing with each other's paws underneath the bathroom door. And once Kaylee realized that he wasn't going to eat her, she started exploring.
Jack gained a healthy respect for her size, and claws, and she realized that this huge cat was friendly, and still a baby himself, and nothing to be scared of.
And now they're chasing each other all over the apartment. :)
Sometimes Jack gets a little overzealous - and when he does, Kaylee squeaks, and he backs off. I've never seen anything like it. He gives her this inquisitive purr/meow, and like he's saying "Oops, did I do that?" and then goes to sit down somewhere until Kaylee starts playing again. And Jack doesn't play with his toys anymore - he watches Kaylee play with them, and then plays with her.
It's like when an child finally gets a baby sibling.
It's adorable.
I love my kittens.

Kaylee Fantastico

Well, you've seen the cutest cat ever (that would be Jack Bauer, pictures below). Now meet his little sister, Kaylee Fantastico!






I would have more pictures, but she crawled under our LP cabinet to take a nap. She's really annoyed that Jack keeps trying to smell her butt. :P

World of Warcraft

has eaten me. Literally.

LOL I do, like, nothing else online anymore. I have a decent offline life still, but I spend all my time playing as either a pixelized gnome or a pixelized tauren.

Tina Void (Tinyvoid) is a warlock, formerly of Gnomergon, whose home residence now lies in Dalaran. She and her husband, Gervais, managed to escape the great city when the gnomes lost it to Mekgineer Thermaplugg's betrayal.

Tina, convinced that Gervais, who had been studying with the great Mekgineer, had had some part in the destruction of their home, left him, and her home country behind, fleeing to the north. It was there that the Master Jewelcrafter met with the wizards of the Kirin Tor in Dalaran. She took up the study of arcane magic for a short time, but found it an unsuitable companion for her need to avenge her fallen home city, and found herself falling in with the fel-based magic of the warlocks in the underbelly of the city.

Her training, feeding her rage and her need for revenge, was finally completed, and she returned to Dun Morogh, intent on delivering Gnomergon from the hands of the troggs. It was at this point that she discovered Gervais, on a mission of a very similar nature. The two became wary allies again, and have spent countless hours attempting to eliminate the troggs and the traitorous Thermaplugg.

Over the course of their adventures, Tiny learned the truth about Gervais' involvement with the destruction of their home city, which was none. After some time ,the two reconciled, and now live together in Dalaran, and have turned their attention from their ruined homeland to the frozen reaches of Northrend, and the destruction of the Lich King.


Nettlebloom Winterhoof, of Thunder Bluff, is a druid of great promise. From the inauspicious beginning of her father's death and her mother leaving her with tribesmen in Mulgore so she could adventure the rest of the world, Nettie (as she prefers to be called) has risen in esteem with the druids of Thunder Bluff and Moonglade, becoming quite a force of her own.

For Nettie, the world is a large, beautiful, deadly, spiritual place, filled with many races and many kinds of wisdom. While of course she reveres the great Earthmother, she believes that there is much to learn from the other races of Azeroth - both of the Horde and of the Alliance. She is particularly enthralled by the Night Elves' goddess Elune - seeing many parallels between that deity and the Earthmother.

Nettie was, of course, very glad to see her mother, Namirah, when she returned just after Nettie finished the Rites of the Earthmother. Their reunion had every possibility of being completely awkward, but the two have bonded well since Nami's return. After meeting her mother again, Nettie set out on an adventure of her own - attempting to collect and compile information from the other races of the Horde, that may someday be useful to the Tauren. Nettie has reservations about the closed-mindedness of some of her tribesmen, but hopes to find a way to convince the ever proud race that there is much to learn from the other races of Azeroth. She is currently concerned with the Bloodthistle of the Eversong Woods.

Over the course of her exploration, Nettie has joined forces with some of her Azerothian brethren in an organization called The Hand of the Flights. it's leader, Ranokal, was charged by Alexstraza, the great Aspect of Life, with protecting the interests of the dragon flights in Azeroth. Their immediate mission is to investigate and, ultimately, destroy the Lich King, whose scourge are causing such distress and decay to the land. Nettie, a healer, who searches for balance in all things, found herself immediately drawn to the idea of a world without the Scourge.

In accordance with her officer position within the Hand, Nettie found herself seeking out a Tauren who she had met, briefly, though an old friend named Palehoof. Eliath Stonecrusher is a Tauren Shaman, known for being a Spirit Walker - a being capable of sending aspects of his spirit to different locations than his physical self to complete various tasks: herb gathering, secret meetings, and surveillance being three that come immediately to mind.

What is soon to come in Nettie's story? I could tell you, but that would ruin the suspense...

Hubby's Mountain Man Beard

LOL. I asked him to grow it out because I hadn't ever seen him with a beard before.



I think he's super adorable. Of course, being that I married him, I should.

Jack Bauer

So yes, this is a picspam of the most adorable cat in the universe, Jack Bauer. He is a six month old gray tabby that my husband and I adopted about a month ago. He is impeccably clean, all the time, and spoiled rotten. He's also learned what it means when Mommy gets the camera out - and has started posing for us.
And yes, that is a photo shoot towards the end. He was being cute. I couldn't NOT take the pictures.















And yes, in that last one, I think he was mentally telling me where I could stuff the camera. :P