You say you like free?

I was happy to find these two really cute digital mini-kits on Minitoko's blog today:

And to make things even better...they are both totally FREE! Simply check out Minitoko's shop here and enjoy! And don't forget to add her to your blog roll so you don't miss out on future freebies! If you're a fan of Kitschy Digitals you'll love her stuff!

Ever since school started I've been busy teaching, getting back to the gym and testing out paint colors on my scrapbook room wall. Well, I should say my soon-to-be new scrapbook room wall! I'm moving out of my old scrap room to another room in the house with much more natural light and much less susceptibility to extreme temperatures. 

I am still undecided on a color but it'll definitely be in the vintage blue family {if there is such a thing!}

I think my pal Ginger and I are also going to register for our second half marathon. It's the Healdsburg Wine Country Half Marathon at the end of October.

It should be a beautiful run through the Napa Valley {heck, the race starts at the Francis Ford Coppola Winery!} I mean, how bad could it be, right? Perhaps a nice pinot noir post-run? Well, at least after a nice big lunch! 

We officially started our training this week so wish us luck!

Happy Duran Duran Appreciation Day!

Yes, it's that time of year again! In honor of this special day for fellow Duranies such as myself I made this digital page last night:

I also was motivated to create this page in order to participate in the current challenge over at the These Are A Few of My Favorite Things challenge blog.

I've been on a digital scrapbook roll these past few days. I made these as well:

So in the spirit of Duran Duran Appreciation Day, please share your favorite Duran Duran memory. Here's mine:

Simon Le Bon picked me out of the audience to introduce him at the end of their show back in July of 2005. Yeah, every Duranie's dream, right?!? 

back to digital...

I've been working on lots of mini books lately and am in the midst of a Mou Saha 7gypsies-inspired album (I l.o.v.e. the yellow!) involving lots of painting and misting but I decided to change it up a bit yesterday since I bought some new digi goodness. Here's what I came up with:

I've been getting a bit frustrated with my Photoshop v 5.0 and am now considering v 8.0. Anyone have any thoughts? I'm liking the photo merging capability as well as easier quick-edit tools and it's only $75 on Amazon. I'll try the free 30-day trial version and get a hands-on feel for it. 

I'm so bummed I missed the SF Renegade Craft Fair last weekend. The good news is I discovered that it'll be back just in time for the holidays. I've marked my calendar for December 18 & 19th when it returns to SF. Yay!

Speaking of craft fairs, I'm hoping to make it to the SF Antique Fair next weekend. Looks like there should be a lot of fun finds there!

...and we're off!

....to the beginning of another school year, that is!

Here he is on his first day as a third grader:

I'm so proud of him!

I have to say I'm looking forward to going back to our "routine" which will include a not-so-fun return to the gym! 

So here is the cover and a few pages of the latest camping album I just finished. 

Happy Wednesday!

Where'd the Summer Go???

So I haven't blogged because I've been gone most of this short summer! Darren starts school a week from tomorrow. Yikes!

We came back from our last "big" camping trip of the summer at Wishon Village in Fresno County. The campground was a disappointment {can you say RV park? blah!} but the lake was gorgeous. The water was so clear and cold and the kids LOVED all of the granite rocks to climb and what they dubbed as "Rock Island." Here they are fishing on it:

Here's Darren showing off the only trout we caught on this trip:

Bruce diving off the rocks:

Yeah, we did more tie-dying {I think it's a tradition now!}

We brought Bella along on the trip!

Roasting s'mores with kids from the campsite across from us. Um, those kids are a whole other story!

On a scrapbooking note, here are the last few pages of my Style File mini book that I finished from Vee's online class.

front cover:

back:

Ginger & I scrapped at Scrapbook Territory last night and I just about finished yet another camping book. I'll post a few pictures soon.

Stuck at home on a Friday night

I managed to catch my husband's stomach virus and had to miss out on scrapping with the girls tonight at Scrapbook Territory.

Major bummers.

I'm sitting in my scrap room with my dog Bella and got caught up on my Style File class I'm taking from the fabulous Vee Jennings.

Here is what I have so far:

{gpoy: grab a picture of yourself!}

Enjoy the weekend!

I Will Follow...

Yeah, love that song by U2 but that's not what I'm talking about! :-P

I am curious as to why I have one public follower {thanks Marie! LOL} and yet have over 13,000 hits on my blog. 

I know. I'm confused!

If you are a follower, would you kindly join my follower list? I totally respect if you choose to follow blogs anonymously but I would love to leave some love on your blog if you visit here {even if it's only once in a while!}

OK - off to do a few days of catch-up on Vee's online workshop before I get too far behind! I promise to post some pictures tomorrow!