Thursday, April 21, 2011

Whole Lotta Layouts

It's been a stormy week here, so rather than being out running around in the rain, I actually stayed in and did some scrapbooking. The good news is, I am down to 10 pages to finish my 2009 album. The bad news is, I'm still waiting for a good sale to get some more prints made. If I finish the album before I get my next set of prints, I always have my fall-back project, the portrait album (this is a separate album of the studio 8x10s that used to be in frames).

I said before I was going to try not to post big batches of pages all at once, but I'm doing it again this time. Some of these I just didn't get around to posting before we went on vacation, and some I actually did all in one day.


Papers: DCWV (the background actually was a Christmas paper that I was able to cover up the holly and cardinal)
Border punch: Fiskars
Rubons: Making Memories
Letter Stickers: EK Success
Stamps: Stampin Up, Inkadinkado


Papers: DCWV
Stickers: old freebies from Creating Keepsakes


Papers: DCWV
Border Punch: Martha Stewart
Cricut Cartridges: Mini Monograms, George & Basic Shapes


Papers: DCWV
Rubons: Making Memories
Cricut Cartridge: ZooBalloo


Papers: DCWV
Border Punch: EK Success
Stickers: Paper Studio, American Crafts


Papers: DCWV
Border punch: Fiskars
Sticker: EK Success
Brads: Paper Studio


Papers: Provo Craft, K & Co
Die Cuts: K & Co
Cricut Cartridge: Tear Drop
Embossing folder: Cuttlebug

Friday, April 15, 2011

The Dream is Over

Well, our first cruise has come and gone. The Disney Dream is a beautiful ship and we had a wonderful time! A four night cruise definitely feels a little rushed, especially for newbies who want to check everything out. It seemed like we were always doing something and never really did get around to the relaxing part. A few more days on the ship would have helped that, I think.

We got home late last night, and I spent all day doing our laundry. At least while I was doing that, I was able to organize my photos. I got them all copied onto my computer and renamed the files. I even managed to post some of them on Facebook. We had a number of professional photos taken on the cruise, and I purchased the CD. I was disappointed to find that the second disc couldn't be installed. I sent an email to their customer service after their phone went unanswered (and FYI, the photographers are not employed by Disney). Hopefully I will get more than the automated response from them.

I did buy a scrapbook album and a kit, which has a few papers and some stickers. What I liked about this particular set is that it was dated 2011 and includes some "Inaugural Voyages" pieces. As usual, after a trip, I feel like I want to work on those scrapbook pages right away, but then I remember I am still stuck in 2009. I didn't take as many pictures on this trip, though, as I did during our Disney World vacation last year. I think the count for the cruise is a little over 300 photos between my new, waterproof point and shoot camera and my aging, yet beloved, Nikon D50. My poor Nikon had an accident a week before we left, though, and I broke my zoom lens. I still need to find a replacement, but fortunately, a photographer friend of mine had a lens he was willing to lend me.

Here is just a small sampling of photos from the trip:


This was in the terminal before we boarded the ship. The boys had no interest in character photos.

A view of the main pool area. Very tiny pools for such a large ship.


Our excursion in Nassau. The boys enjoyed this much more than the bus tour of the city which followed the zoo.


I was completely satisfied with how my new little Olympus Stylus Tough handled itself in the water.

Our whole gang before getting back on the ship at Castaway Cay.


One of the professional shots with the actual ship in the background, instead of a backdrop.


Another professional shot during dinner
We all dressed alike for Pirate Night. This was another pro shot.

Monday, April 4, 2011

Birthday Pages

We are less than a week away from our cruise now, so full-blown excitement is kicking in. It's fun to be able to say, "This time next week, we'll be on the boat." I even got the boys' suitcases out of the basement today and considered packing some of their stuff. For me, that is major progress.

I am still manging to sneak some scrapbook pages in here and there, and naturally, since I'm getting ready to leave town for the better part of a week, I can see the light at the end of my 2009 album. Unless I've forgotten to include anything else (I came across some pro portraits I needed to scrap), I think I am down to 14 layouts to complete the album.

I figured I'd share my pages from the boys' birthdays in 2009. These may be the last I post until after vacation. I have a few pages waiting to be scanned that I'll try and get posted before I leave, and who knows? Maybe I'll get a sudden burst of scrapping energy and crank out most of the rest of this album. Or maybe scrapping will have to be my reward for getting packed for the trip early....

Papers: DCWV
Cricut Cartridge: Alphalicious
Stickers: Hallmark


Papers: DCWV
Cricut Cartridge: Lyrical Letters
Stickers: Paper Studio, Mrs. Grossman's


Papers: DCWV
Stickers: Paper Studio
Border Punch: EK Success