Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Amazing Grace...

I saw the movie Amazing Grace last night. I thought it was a great movie. A wonderful testament about the challenges one man faced in order to change the opinion of so many. It is people like William Wilberforce who helped to shape the world that I know. I have never known slavery and for that I am grateful.

I did not know that the lyrics to Amazing Grace were written by a slave-trader. For some reason I had thought that they were written by a female slave. Guess I should have paid more attention in my history classes! But this slave trader *saw the light* and ultimately became a minister in England helping William Wilberforce in his campaign to end slave trading. Click on the music sheet to download a pdf file of the music. This is also available at the movie website.

Lyrics

Original verses

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.
'Twas Grace that taught my heart to fear,
And Grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that Grace appear,
The hour I first believed!
Through many dangers, toils and snares,
We have already come;
'Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And Grace will lead me home. (Lead me home!)
The Lord hast promised good to me,
His word my hope secures!
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.
Yea, when this heart and flesh shall fail
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess within the veil
A life of joy and peace.
The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, who called me here below,
Will be for ever mine.

Many hymnbooks omit one or more of the last three verses, but add the following at the end:

When we've been here ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Than when we'd first begun.

This verse is not by Newton, but has been attributed to John P. Rees (1828-1900) and was included in a 19th-century hymnal, Hymns Of The Christian Life. The verse was popularized in part by its inclusion in Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852), where it appeared with the two final verses of Newton's hymn (though in reversed order). These verses are said to be "a hymn, which he [Tom] had sung often in happier days."

Some versions include the verse:

Shall I be wafted through the skies,
On flowery beds of ease,
Where others strive to win the prize,
And sail through bloody seas.

This verse, borrowed from the Isaac Watts hymn "Am I a Soldier of the Cross?", has been included in recordings by Pete Seeger and Arlo Guthrie.

Note: The Lyrics were copied from Wikipedia

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Flower Freebie

A little flower that I made. It is a png file so just click the image then right click and choose save as.

I can do anything in Christ...

I can do anything in Christ.
Philippians 4:13

Credits for layout can be found here.
Lyrics used in layout are by Michael A. Schmid
Lead Pastor St. John's Lutheran Church Napa

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet...


Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.
Psalm 119:105

Credits for layout can be found here.

Look up at the heavens...


"Look up at the heavens and count the stars, if indeed you can count them." Then God said to Abraham, "So shall your offspring be."
Genesis 15:5

Credits for the layout can be found here.

The flowers appear on the earth...


The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing birds is to come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land...
Song of Solomon 2:12

Credits for layout are here

Turn up a child in the way he should go...


Turn up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6

Credits can be found here.

A Friend Loves at all Times...


A friend loves at all times.
Proverbs 17:17

Credits for the layout are here

Gorilla Habitat and Free Polaroid Frame

Here is a little layout I did from our trip to the San Diego Wild Animal Park.

Credits here

I made the polaroid frames trying to get that pop off the page look to them. Not as good as the ones the designers make but if you would like to download the one I made and play around with it be my guest. Click on the frame below to download the png version.


Saturday, February 24, 2007

Dictionary Definitions...

Looking for the perfect definition for your layout. There is a dictionary look up box on the right side of my blot. The definitions are provided by The Free Dictionary by Farlex.

Reality #7


For Week Seven, our mission is to scrap how you FEEL right NOW!! An emotion, a concern, a joy or just something you need to get out there. Thank goodness the day I read this I was feeling HAPPY! I wanted to scrap myself jumping up in the air, arms spread out, shouting for joy. Yeah...like I have a picture of me doing that! As I was thinking about being HAPPY...I started singing Zippity doo dah...Zippity ay...and an idea was born... My daughter took my husband and me to Disneyland for our birthdays. We all had a wonderful fun time, as you can see from the smiles on our faces. Scrapping myself and my daughter looking absolutely goofy but HAPPY seemed a good way to convey being HAPPY.

Credits for my layout can be found here. The reality challenge is going on at ScrapbookGraphics. You can find info on it in the challenge forum.

Friday, February 23, 2007

Using Labels in Blogspot

Don't you feel goofy sometimes when you discover something really neat, and when you proceed to tell people about it everyone else already seems to know about it????? Well I just discovered the label feature in Blogspot. Pretty cool. At the end of each post there is a label. If you click on the label all posts with that label on it will show up. Pretty nifty little feature. So you probably already knew about this...makes me wonder what other fun little features are hiding in blogspot!!!!!

I'm not sure if anyone will use them but so far I have two labels set up. Bible for all my bible reading spiritual layouts and Freebies for the scrapping elements that I share.

ETA: and look at the side bar...right under the dictionary look up box...I added my labels and it shows how many posts there are for each label.

My apologies...

On Tuesday I shared a *Clutter* definition tag. I started working on my Clutter layout and realized that the tag was not on a transparent background. For some reason when Windows was reloaded, my settings in PSP must have changed because the png file was saved with a white background. I have corrected it and you can click on the image in the original post to get the file with a transparent background.

As a small token to make up for my boo-boo...here is the same tag without the words. Just double click on the image...when the new image appears...right click and choose *save as* to download the png file.



Tuesday, February 20, 2007

*Freebie* Definition Tag

Flylady's February habit is to Declutter 15 minutes a day. Here is a little Clutter Definition Tag I made for a layout I have in mind to do. Feel free to download the tag and use it in any of your layouts. It is a png file and you can download it by right clicking on the image and choosing *save as*.

If you have NO idea who Flylady is and you live in CHAOS (can't have anybody over syndrome) check out Flylady's website.

I have a Flylady Album over at Digital Scrapbook Place if you would like to see my flylday layouts.

2/23/07 ETA: The png file has been re-uploaded because the first one did not have a transparent background! Also, I gave the wrong instructions for downloading...do NOT right click on the image in the blog. Double click on the image first...when the file appears, right click and choose *save as* to download the png file.

Reality #6


Credits for layout can be found here.

Our reality challenge for week six is about our car. Here is a little *car* incident that happened last November. Just slowing down to park and *wham*. Months later....I am still wary in parking lots. It seems if I am backing out, no one stops for me...but when I am driving along, people just want to back right into me. This is one of those life just is not fair things. It doesn't matter if I am the one backing up or the one driving...the other person thinks they have the right of way!!!!!

Reality Scraps - Week Six
OK...this will be short as I have a badly sprained ankle and can't sit at the computer long or my ankle starts throbbing...ugh....i'm such a klutz.

Thanks to my Studio Crew Colleague, Kait, our next challenge is to scrap your car (or whatever your mode of transportion is!!). It can be as easy as just your current car or some aspect of your car - how horribly dirty it is...maybe like your fridge..LOL, or why you love/hate the color, or a nice big scratch or dent that you just live with, or what you carry in your trunk in case of emergency (my mom's is absolutely filled with just about everything you could ever need if you broke down anywhere in the US!!).

Can't wait to see what you bring to this week's challenge and thank you Kait for the idea!!

As always I have a little posting bonus for those that play along....preview to follow...


The Jersey Boys...


Did you catch the song on my blog here? I turned automatic play off so just click the play button over on the left.

My friends and I saw The Jersey Boys in December. The rendention they did of Frankie Valli's *Can't Take my Eyes off of You* was fabulous.

We enjoyed the play so much. It brought back fond memeories of listening to their music on the oldie station when I was a teenager. Their music is so romantic, happy and upbeat. I still enjoy it. My daughter got me the sound track for Christmas and I listen to it every time I am in the car. It is great to listen to in the car cuz I can sing at the top of my lungs and not *irritate* anyone with my tone deaf singing voice:)

Credits for the layout can be found here.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Saturday, February 10, 2007

Reality #5


Credits for layout can be found HERE

Here is our reality challenge for week 5: I decided to interview my husband about his thoughts on retirmement.


Reality Scraps - Week Five

With Valentine's Day coming up, I thought an interview with a loved one would be a great way to not only scrap about the everyday life with our friend, parent, child or husband...but it might make a nice gift to give next week on the 14th. You can pick whatever topic you want to discuss, but try to make it about what they think or like to do AT THIS MOMENT. You can even interview yourself...LOL

Mine is almost ready and I should have it up soon. What I did was to interview my oldest son regarding the weekend he had just spent with his grandparent's (my mom and dad)!! I'm printing it out and adding some pictures the boys drew and we are sending it to Nana & Bestefar as a Valentine Day card/present.

Have fun with this.....i'm a big fan of "interviewing" subjects. I only wish I had done it more with my grandparent's before they passed away as I would love to "hear" what they had to say now.

As always, I will have a fun posting bonus, including another weekly planner template available for anybody that plays along and posts a link to their layout here in this thread. The Week Four Posting Bonus will be sent out via PM tomorrow.

I just want to thank all who are participating. It is so much fun to see your layouts week after week!!

Information about the reality challenges can be found at Scrapbookgraphics.


Friday, February 09, 2007

Make up is not just for girls...

This was just a short little memeory that I have of something my son said. It was just one of those adorable moments you never forget.

Credits:
Lipstick and kiss by Lauren Bavin
Journal box by Carol Leather
Background by Kimlizzy
Journalling strips by Ronna

Fonts: Lipstick Traces, PCZigZag and Goudy Old Style

Thursday, February 08, 2007

To Thine Own Self Be True...

This was a standard phrase my parents would say as I was growing up. As a child I thought it meant that I had better never tell a lie or I would be in BIG trouble. Now of course, I know that it is a line from Shakespeare:

”This above all: to thine ownself be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.”
-Shakespeare-Hamlet


When I think about it, this was fabulous advice. For if truth is love, and if you are true to yourself..then you will love yourself...when you love yourself you are free to love others...once you love others you are on the path to inner security. As Albert Einstein said...

"A human being is a part of the whole, called by us, "Universe," a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest -- a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but the striving for such achievement is in itself a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner security." : Albert Einstein -
(1879-1955) Physicist and Professor, Nobel Prize 1921


Wednesday, February 07, 2007

The first thing I made that I considered art...

Thank You Tumbnail
larger image

Growing up I was never an artist. I can't draw and I do not have an eye for color. Now my mom was a rubber stamper and created beautiful cards. Unfortunately, I did NOT inherit her talent! Back in 2003, I discovered digital scrapbooking and a program called Paint Shop Pro. I was reading the October 2003, Illuminating Visions, Rubber Stamping article by Karen Day; titled "Retiform: Creating "Boxed" Cards. I was looking at this article and I thought "Gee, I think I could do that in Paint Shop Pro." Of course the rest is history and I made the card. I even printed them out and gave them to my SIL as a Christmas gift. At the time I did not really consider this *art*. To me it was just understanding and learning how to use my program. I still do not consider my self an artist. I mean...I still don't have an eye for color...I use color schemer to determine complimentary colors. I still can't draw...aren't vectors great! But my friends and family are trying to convince me that there is *art* to digital scrapping. If that is so, then this card would be the first thing I made that could be considered art! I did not create the items used in the card, but I put various items together to make the card.

Credits:

Dictionary words - The Century Dictionary online

Sun and flower elements by Shelleyrae and downloaded from the SBB site (recolored)

Flowered background under the Thank You is from Maya's Digital Illusion CD, Retro Floral Background in the funshine folder (recolored)

Fonts: Murphy Script, Artistik, Comic Sans, Gigi, Batang, SBB Kristie, Albertus Medium, Papyrus, Croobie, Coronet, Curlz MT, and Forte

Program used was PSP7

2006 Year in Review...

2006 A Year in Review
Last year the Scrapbook-Bytes January Ezine included premade calander pages for 2006. Instead of making calanders, I used the pages to make layouts of our activities for the year. This has been a fun activity and sometimes when I wonder what the heck I do...I can look back and see what we have done during the year. I am going to print these in 8x8 and put them in Pioneer albums. I will put additional layouts I've done chronologically behind the appropriate month. OK...so I don't have all the layouts done for last year...and January of 2007 is already over...EGADS...I am already behind!!!!!

I really like the Scrapbook-Bytes ezine. the articles and tutorials are up to date and informative, there are lots of layouts to look at, and each month the Ezine is full of digital scrapbook kits and elements that can be downloaded at no additional cost. It is one of the best bargains around. I purchased the annual subscription because it makes the monthly cost a little less. But you can also purchase individual issues for past or future months.

Reality...

I am sooooo loving the reality challenge over at Scrapbook Graphics. If you want to know what it is all about, check it out here:
As of today I am totally caught up!!

Realty #1 - I know it is the time that everybody makes goals/resolutions for the new year and I just couldn't do it this year and have something else to "fail"!! LOL. So I decided to make what I called an anti-goal!! I know it isn't really a word, but to me it was more the idea of not making a goal and not having something that would be hard for me to achieve. Instead, it is something that I'm just going to recognize and understand and sort of "take time off" for the next year!! Almost like I'm just giving myself permission to not achieve it!! OK, clear as mud, huh? I guess my idea is to scrap something that you are going to give yourself a break on - whether it is a piece of cheesecake every now and then, a splurge on some books or CDs from Amazon.com, a night of take-out each week or skipping the gym on Fridays to watch those Melrose Place repeats....Whatever!!
Okie dokie...here is my Anti-goal for 2007...

Let It go

Let It Go
Credit can be found here Let It Go.

Reality #2 - Here is what I want you to scrap for week two of our Reality Scraps challenge....I'm sure there is something you have that you see everyday...like when you are washing the dishes, ironing the clothes, playing on the computer, watching TV, reading before bed or driving around town. It's not something that is necessarily expensive or big or has a long "history". It's something that makes you smile....maybe it is something you've had awhile and don't necessarily think about....BUT if it was missing you would know. It can be as simple as a special Bath & Body Works hand cream by the computer, a china statue on the windowsill by your kitchen sink or a little doodad on your keyring. Something that is in your EVERYDAY space. Scrap this however you want. This is Your page and Your reality so do what makes you happy!!!

Here is what I see every day:

My Kitchen Window

Credits can be found here.

Reality #3 - Alright, this is an easy one. Scrap your refrigerator!! Seriously, the fridge is part of our everyday. Is the inside of your fridge clean as a whistle? Is the outside door getting out of control with a thousand pictures and magnets and kiddie artwork? Do you tend to have a fridge that is so full you cannot find a single thing (this is totally my MIL)? Have you ever broken the fridge (my friend who has 3 boys, broke the door off once!!)? Lots and lots of topics about the fridge and its' role in your daily life!!

I actually had the *perfect* story to tell about my Fridge. Check this out:

What's Outside Your Fridge?
Click here for credits.

Reality #4 - This week i want you to scrap a moment - good, bad or just plain nothing!! Something from this coming week (or you can go back a couple weeks)...but I want it to be something from your everyday. You don't have to use a picture -journaling is ok. It might be something that you initially think isn't scrap-worthy (love that made-up word!!). Could be DH having a cup of coffee and reading the paper, kids studying, dog sleeping in the backyard or the sun coming in your front window in the morning.....

Drum roll please.....

Go Away!
Credits for this layout can be found Here!

Whew... I am all caught up and if I keep current I will have 52 layouts at the end of the year all about REALITY. Well it may just be my reality.... but I think my family will have a better glimps of me when all is said and done (and scrapped!).




Valentine's Day With Jesus...


Credits can be seen HERE

Sunday, February 04, 2007

A Time for Everything...



Ecclesiastes 3

I made this word art overlay in memory of my son's friend. You can DOWNLOAD The png file by clicking on the thumbnail. When image appears *right click* and choose save as.

**Sorry Link has expired**

2Samual 22:37

"Thou hast enlarged my steps under me; so that my feet did not slip." 2 Samual 22:37

I found this old picture at my mom's house. My son, my daughter, and my niece. I thought is was cute of them sitting on the steps.

Credits for the layout can be found here.

"See, I am sending an angel before you, to guard you on the way, and bring you to the place I have prepared. " Exodus 23:20


I did a collage of my mom's 80th birthday. She passed away eleven days later. This was the last time she was with all her family. Unfortunately I don't have many pictures from this day. The upper picture is my sister and her daughters with my mom. The bottom picture is my mom and dad. The angel is from www.eyecandee.com

Another Layout I did for Genesis 1:1















I used two photos that I got from the internet. The whale picture is from www.freeimages.co.uk/ I don't remember the site I got the "beach" picture from; but the artist is Joe Pilinceon.