make it work

I bit the bullet and purchased a Cameo a few weeks ago and I have to admit I was regretful at first. It sat on my counter top for a good week before I even plugged it in. I thought to myself, "did I just buy this because everyone's talking about it?" I read tons of reviews on this. How awesome it was. How much you could do with it. I already own a Slice which I never use. Why do I NEED this? So here I was with SC's January kit staring at me. What to do, what to do. I finally took all the styrofoam bits out of it, skimmed the instruction manual and purchased a few dies through their online store. We (me, Jeff and Tyler) gathered around after inserting a 12x12 sheet of patterned paper. (The Denim Crate paper in the Ring Toss add on to be exact.) Tyler was startled by the noise at first but we all ooo'd and aahh'd watching it cut. Pretty cool seeing this machine at work. And then it's done. Being impatient and not realizing just how sticky the blue mat was, I forcefully pulled up the paper only to rip one my of cuts. Ooops. Newbie mistake. So I gingerly unstuck the rest of my die cuts, laid them all out and stared at them admiringly. I take back any regretful feelings I had before. This machine is really really cool and it will change the way I use a kit for sure. I will no longer put aside papers I never thought twice about before. (like said Denim paper) Is it worth the money? My honest answer..yes, it is. (this coming from a girl who fears big purchases and is a bit on the thrifty side) It's built really well and more importantly, it cuts like butter. I'm able to utilize a full sheet of 12x12 paper now or maybe just a smidgen of it. My only complaint is the tackiness of the blue mat and what it does to the rest of my paper. But again, that's a very minor complaint.  Overall, I give it 5 stars. The online shop makes it that much cooler. I think I may have Cameo'd on almost all of my layouts. I will be getting some great use out of my new machine.

Ready for the giveaway I talked about?
I've got one free spot for the first ever Studio Calico class!

Class starts January 1st! Post your comment here and I'll choose a winner on Friday!
xot

I told myself I wouldn't let my blog go into sleep mode as Christmas nears but it did of course. Too many things to get done not to mention just enjoying the time, you know? So that's what I've been up too as many of us are. I'm working on a couple of giveaways next week, something to kick off the new year. :) Merry Christmas everyone! Tina

progress!

My December Daily is now in the works...I think not having a cover or size nailed down was keeping me from moving forward. I had this freebie Starbucks cd in my car for a few years, still wrapped in plastic. While waiting at the bank drive thru, I finally opened it up and listened to the few songs on it. I looked at the cd cover and thought....hmm...this could be of use for the inside pages. I never thought of making it the actual cover until this weekend when I told myself to get this thing started now or you'll regret it. So here it is and I'm loving the process, even if Christmas is less than a week away.

Evidence of the process. My messy dining room table. I no longer find it inspiring or productive to create in my designated scrap room. I hate being away from my guys. Everything in that room...all the supplies and over abundance of scrap stuff is weighing me down big time. I purged quite a bit already but I'm thinking of taking it even further. It's just hard to let that stuff go, especially when you start going through it. I think "oh, I can use that" and "I love this paper, I can't part with that". Creating here is working for me now. I basically have everything I need in a carry tote...simplicity is the best inspiration. That combined with a view outside and a pretty bouquet of flowers.

Tyler slept over at his aunt and uncles Friday night as we enjoyed a night out to ourselves. Oh the holiday office party was ok...food was good, desert was even better but we didn't stay too long. We made our exit after shots of Crown were being poured. It just gets too crazy around there and from what I've heard today, a few fellas were actually cut off and escorted out, another man's wife was aggressively kissed and some not so kind words were exchanged. Yes, this is a company Christmas party I'm speaking of. Jeff and I had a much better time getting home and watching a movie. I know, we sound like a couple of duds, right?  Think what you will but this was one of the best nights we had together in awhile and although we missed our baby boy immensely, it was so nice to be able to have the volume up as we watched Fright Night and kick back a few beers and not worry about waking the boy. I was grateful for the night but Tyler was super clingy the whole weekend. I couldn't step anywhere without him being right next to me. I missed him so much, I even smelled his blanket before going to bed that night. Crazy momma thing I suppose.

You all ready for Christmas?!?! I sure am. :) I even purchased myself a little something from my own list and use them in these photographs. It's the Visual Supply Co film presets for ACR (available for Lightroom too). I told myself I would never buy another set of actions again but I couldn't say no after seeing the before and after. Love the grain and it's so spot on to film, it's not even funny.

xot.

currents (and a sneak)

time: 8:57 pmlocation: in bed (I really love blogging in bed, esp. in the winter) watching: Top Chef (again...it's background noise) eating/drinking: nothing/water (I'm on a must drink as much water kick) feeling: tired. (my body feels like jello) wondering: if the free ship option from Amazon will arrive before Christmas. (better not chance it) loving: how white it is outside (the roads are crap but the beauty of my surroundings makes up for it) thinking: about what I'm going to wear to the Friday's Christmas party. (I've purchased 3 dresses...none of them make me feel good)

a quickie peek before I turn in...

There's not one thing I don't love about this particular add on. The colors, the alphas, the Amy Tan stickers and the stamp. Oh..the stamp. xot.

edited...I had to pop back in to post the release of a new class starting January 2012 at Studio Calico.

check out that line up! It's going to be amazing guys and if you're planning on starting your Project Life for 2012, I would highly reccommend this class. And for $12 there's really no excuse not to sign up!

it was a good thing...

...that I took a some time away from blogging because all you would be reading is ranting and crying and rage.That is how the past 6 days have been. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't all bad but I've just felt as though the universe has been against me. Being a true believer in karma, I had to have done something wrong to deserve all this bad luck, right? It's all good now. (knocking feverishly on wood) I will be minding my p's and q's from now on. No testing fate any time soon. I know, this all sounds vague but trust me, some things are best left unblogged. In the meantime, I still have not fully done my December Daily in the scrapping sense. In the photo sense, yes...I have been partaking. And note taking. And ephemera keeping. It'll all come together soon. Maybe during Christmas break. Pffft. Who am I kidding.

Day 10: My niece stays over and after she leaves, we breath a sigh of relief and now feel like Tyler is a breeze to handle. This girl is a ball of chaotic energy. Zoom, zoom, go there, now I'm here, what's this, why that, etc, etc, etc. Love her though. She's still my little photo muse. Always will be.

Day 12: I have a 1/2 hour of daylight to work with and I've been wanting to get this bokeh shot for like ever. He wasn't feeling it so much, mostly because I was rushing the process and held off on lunch for said daylight. Also because his jumper was too tight but he got it for his birthday and I loved it. There's a moose printed of the front which of course is being covered by the tree. It's been an exhausting week and it's only Tuesday! oy. xot