this is a blog about memory keeping, funny stories & baked goods i make, and do my best not to eat. proper capitalization is always optional.

5.31.2012

instagram: lunch is

so..
i used to pride myself on being good about catching those 'little moments' in life.
the dude sleeping on the couch with a car on his face,
the way he silently played outside by himself..
and now (much like ANY silence from him)
that tendency to snap often everyday has dwindled.
i started to notice it as i was catching up on project life.

so i thought in may i'd do the fatmumslim photo a day.
figured then at least no matter what i'd have 7 days worth of pictures.
i think i got to day.. i dunno.. 8 & the prompt was pink.
i kinda thought to myself 'wth am i supposed to snap for that?!'
anyone who knows me, knows i'm so NOT a pink girl.
best i came up with was baby piggies..
but as this is MY kid's piggies we are talking about..
they are OBVIOUSLY waaaayyy more white than pink.

so, ya.. that's when i lost steam with that little jaunt into photo a day.
the prompts became increasingly difficult for me
partly because i kept forgetting about them..
and also because if i couldn't come up with something to snap right away, i lost interest.

don't get me wrong..
i still think it's a great idea..
but it just doesn't work for me.
i don't really care to capture a smell i love in my project life.
(mostly because i snapped a picture of my husbands cologne that makes me swoon.. and.. ya i don't really want to put that on paper.. i mean my blog is one thing.. but family scrapbook my dad may look at.. that's a whole 'nother story!)

so..
because my life is fairly mundane
(which is how i like it, cause interesting usually involves ANOTHER busted lip for the babe & the dude screaming because there is a crime-scene worthy amount of blood all over the floor!
i seriously think this kid is going for the record for consecutive busted lips, this is his 3rd in about 5 weeks)

wait.. where was i?
(i get sidetracked easily these days.. )
yea, so my life isn't that photo-worthy most days.
not unless you wanna see my sweat drenched brow
or the million & one crumbs i sweep up
or the carline, which frankly, i'm even tired of seeing..
anyways.
so the one semi-interesting thing i have in my day is lunch.
not that i do any kind of spectacular thing..
but to me, seeing what people eat for lunch is interesting enough.
i get ideas for 'everyday foods'

my lunch mostly consists of  either leftovers or fresh fruits/vegetables.
reading and/or blogging.
i've gotten into the habit of snapping pictures of it..
mostly because it's my own little carved out time for me.
(well until the dude is out for summer)
i put the babe down for a nap...
jump on the elliptical for a half hour..
then stuff my face & read.
it's sheer heaven on the backporch.
my heaven anyways..
even if it's so humid i feel like i'm standing in a sweat box,
& it's hotter than three shades of hell.

(lunch is: shrimp with tomatoes & feta, water & tess of the d'ubervilles)

so i thought about possibly asking you to join in my little adventure.
snap a picture of your lunch surroundings/activities.
at work, at home, in your car.
whatever 'lunch is' to you, snap it.
i'm on instagram... kristylynn79.
(duh, i bitched about it not being on android long enough i should be right?!)
i'm private, but just shoot me a follow request
&i'll follow ya back :)
so snap that 'lunch is' picture & upload it.
tag it with #lunchis

(lunch is: leftover lasagna soup, water & abraham lincoln vampire hunter)
i hope you'll join in.
like really really really hope.

(lunch is: turkey taco salad with gluten free tortilla chips, water, spotify & a new blog post)

xo-k



5.24.2012

photos: picmonkey & photosheet

i make no claims to be savvy with photo editing.
i was a straight up pre-programmed actions user on picnik.
and when picnik announced it's closing..
well, like many other users i was DEVASTATED.

and then, i heard about picmonkey.
have you heard about picmonkey?
if you haven't. you must check it out for yourself!
it was developed by former picnikers..
so you can imagine.
let me tell ya.. it's quite a bit cooler.

i am in LOVE with it.
(but i still miss my vampire skin action on picnik!)
i have been editing the last 10 weeks worth of pictures for project life using it.
there are A TON more 'actions' or 'filters' than picnik had.
and a HUGE selection of fonts as well.
..and not those lame ones picnik had!


so i get into picmonkey, like i said..
and i'm all relieved because i can edit my photos without having to invest in photoshop.
and then it hits me.
they don't have a 'collage' feature as of yet.

so, where i was making a 4x6 collage of my 2x2 pictures from my phone..
now i'm stuck.
cause the 2x2's wont print out at 2x2 just sending them to be printed.
and i don't print at home.
so, like i said i was stuck.

so i googled something like
'printing wallets without photoshop'.
although it probably wasn't that either.
anyways..
after a few searches i stumbled upon a thread on some website talking about
holy love of scrapbooking, why didn't i know about his before?

photosheet is AMAZING.
(youtube it, you'll see)
it's free.
it's easy.
it's a lifeeeeeeesaver!

so i downloaded photosheet.
watched the youtube videos
& got to work with my photos.


this is a 4x6 sheet.
print it off at the local walmart, cvs, costco, etc.
you get one 4x4 & two 2x2.
PERFECT for project life.
(these pictures are taken with instagram btw)

here's the even better part.
do you print out wallets for scrapbooking or project life,
only to be stuck with a lonely duplicate wallet you don't necessarily need?
i did too.
not anymore.


not only can you get two wallets printed now on a 4x6
(so it's an ACTUAL 3x4 thankyouverymuch)
with no extra "wallet" charge from the developer..
but just like the above picture with 3 photos,
you can print two DIFFERENT photos on one sheet.

awesome right?!?!
i thought so too!
which is why i'm sharing it with you..
in the event that you are as technologically challenged in photo editing as i am!

check 'em out.
ya won't be sorry!

xo-k

project life 2012: week nine

week nine was a busy week.
well, maybe not the week so much, but the weekend was.
my cousin got married on saturday
in st. augustine, florida.
we took advantage of the locale & did some sightseeing.
mason had never been before (and apparently neither had my dad)

i ventured way from my 'two color' scheme frame of mind.
there were A LOT of pictures to weed through.
and A LOT that i wanted to include.
along with maps/brochures/memorabilia etc.
i decided to stick with my 'neutrals'.
kraft. white. gray. black.

here's week nine:
two design G page protectors sandwhiched in the week.



the right side is just a few pieces from mon-thursday.
with a short blurb on the week in no particular detail.
then one of our (many) parking passes
& the map from the fort cut up to fit into the two bottom 4x6 sleeves.


here's the insert page by itself.
i decided to take cues from my old days as a yearbook editor in highschool.
each picture got a number cut out of kraft paper on my silhouette & stapled to it.
the first 3x4 slot holds journaling for the entire page, with numbers corresponding to the pictures.


here's a close up of that.
i went with minimal embellishments this week..
(ok none pretty much)
because it took the focus off the design
& put it on the memories for me.


here's the next set of pages
again another design G.
done pretty much in the same fashion as the first one.
each picture numbered & journaled in the 3x4 slot.
it was dark & I didn't get many good pictures inside the restuarant we ate at..
so i cut up a map in a souvenir booklet that had the place on it.
bottom is card that was attached to a gift bag left in our room (i think)
by the bride & groom.
hacked it up to show just their names
& at the very bottom the date (which is very faint)


the back side of design G.
pictures from the wedding which spill over onto the last page.
they had a photo booth which i coaxed mason into for some pictures.
our place card & some pictures of the boys dancing.
on the right more pictures of mason cutting it up.
(the brides brother accused him of stealing his game)
the bridesmaids were totally charmed by him.
a picture of rance in the elevator
(pretty sure that may have been his first time in one that weekend)
and then our tickets to the pirate museum.
would have liked to have had pictures but it operated under the strict
'NO PHOTOS ALLOWED' rule.
bummer :(


a close up of two of the 3x4s.
hubs totally surprised me by ducking in
&buying a fossil purse i was oogling but wouldn't let myself get.
this is only the second purse in our 12 year relationship he's bought, so it's a big deal people! :)
slapped down some of the tissue from inside & the tag from the bag.


this is 4x6 is from the front side design A.
i wanted to include snippets from before we left as well
& this was the best way i figured how :)

and that's week nine.
i've got 10 wrapped up & plotting out 11 as we speak.
gotta order some more pictures
& now that i've managed to finally finish my book maybe
i'll have a good 'nother run a playing 'catch up!'

questions on supplies? leave a comment.
want a closer look? click on a picture.

thanks! :)
xo-k

ps. if you were my wild olive swap buddy & you are reading this THANK YOU THANK YOU for you package. i have misplaced the card with your information on it & haven't been able to thank you properly, but i loved EVERYTHING! :)



5.17.2012

project life 2012: week eight

by now you may be getting tired of seeing all these pages..
but i only have two more weeks to share to the point i'm caught up, then you'll get a break for a while
(until it's time to catch up again, of course)
next it'll be an onslaught of birthday party stuff.
'cause my big little guy turns eight in a few weeks, and we are having a pirate party!
a pirates of the caribbean party, to be exact..

it's been interesting planning that one i tell you..
i don't know why this kid can't pick a 'current' trend to have a party around.
all the pirates of the caribbean stuff is being clearanced out everywhere, and i can't get my hands on ANY of it!

anyways,
here's week eight:


took my color cues from the frosted toast crunch cereal box,
but it seemed to work well with all my other pictures.
felt good to get the purple in there & use up some more scrap pieces!


the dude had a class field trip to the local grocery store this week.. no parents allowed..
we happened to need a few things that evening so we went back on our own
& he walked around showing me all the stuff he saw
he kept saying 'hi! remember me?' to all the employees..
it was silly & he was very excited to point out all the stuff he saw!


looking at tattoo's on pinterest prompted this one..
non-tattoo'd people always ask 'what about what it'll look like when you are 80?'
as if that's a deterrent for anyone who wants one.
i don't get it.. at the end of my life i want to look back
& know i had as many experiences in one life time i could..
who the heck cares at 80 what it looks like?!
i ain't planning on trying to attract anyone who wouldn't like me for me at ANY point in my life.
tattoo's or not!
(random rant, ya, i know!:)
and then a smash! pad from the new 'top 10' with the books i read in february.


lots of journaling this week.
this one about my grandmother's stay at the hospital in february.
lots of the same text that were in my 'i'm the worrier' post.


i cut up the cereal box & put it in this week.
one because i'm all about design
& in years to come the box will certainly have changed,
or the cereal cease to exist at all..
but i want to remember how everytime we went into the store it was a fight
over this stinking cereal, until i caved one week when it was on sale!


a cut out from my silhouette marking the babe's newest word
'bob bob'.. as in.. 'spongebob'
before you shake your head at me about this stinking cartoon..
know.. i have TRIED to eliminate it from our life.
kept the dude from watching it at home..
but at nana's (as with every grandma) the rules are ALWAYS out..
and her & papa let him watch it..
so i gave up.
and now, the only kid friendly channel the dude gets in his room is nick..
and spongebob is on ALL THE TIME..
so it was inevitable that the babe would pick up on it.
oh well.
and then sneaking some of my mom's wallaby darned at dinner one evening..
(those things are seriously addictive!)

and that's week eight.
loooving it.
questions about supplies? leave a comment.
want a bigger picture? click on it.

xo-k :)





5.16.2012

diy: glow in the dark easter egg hunt

so... i know easter is long gone until next year.
but i still wanted to share this incredibly fun idea we did this year.
& turned it into an outdoor party for 11 littles...

WHO HAD A BLAST!
and EVERYONE says they can't wait until next year.

(picture taken by my friend mindy)

we had a glow in the dark easter egg hunt.
it was SO much fun.
each parent chipped in eggs, glow sticks & candy for their kids
& we bought pizza to feed the littles while we stuffed eggs.

(picture taken by my friend mindy)

here's some advice we learned along the way:

-buy the BIG eggs, but don't buy them from the dollar store
(the small eggs won't hold everything without tape, and the dollar store brand won't stay shut)

-the best eggs were the BIG ones from big lots & walmart.

-to get your glow on, buy bulk packs of glow in the dark bracelets
(found at walmart, & the dollar store all for $1)

-SAVE the bracelet connectors!!!
(the kids are going to want to wear every glow thing they take out of the eggs)

-get small-ish candies, too big & you won't have room for the bracelet.

-make sure you turn off your sprinkler system
(because when you set the under 2 crowd out to hunt in the bushes close to the house, they are going to FREAK when they get sprayed by water in the dark!!)

in the end it took us longer to stuff the eggs than it took for the kids to find them.
but every single kid LOVED it.
from the youngest (which was rance) to the oldest (which was mason)
even the parents were excited with the glow in the dark eggs!
and...here in florida..
it's much more fun to run after your kid in the dark for chocolate hidden in glow in the dark eggs,
than in the 90 degree, full sun heat that leaves them boo-hooing when the crack open their egg to a mushy chocolate mess.
trust me.

the ONLY down side is it's a little difficult to get cute egg-hunting pictures.
sometimes you gotta settle for the memories
(and your friend's un-blurry pre-hunt pictures!)

we are most definitely having a second annual glow in the dark easter egg hunt next year.
the dude is already asking for it!

xo-k


5.15.2012

project life: week seven

and onto week seven!
i'm telling you once i put my mind to getting it down & moving on..
it all came together so quickly..

you may be noticing a theme.. or a trend i should say.
each week i pick two colors & try to stick with those to accent my pictures.
along with white/kraft/gray cardstock.
just what works for me. :)

here's week seven:

insert this week.
front side is the card i got for the hubs for valentine's day
(inside reads: OH! I remember! Because you put up with me!)
and the back the dude's class picture from school.
(i didn't include a picture of it, because i'm too lazy to blur out all the faces!)


and here's the spread without the insert.
left:
the babe with his lovey.
the dude singing dynamite in the car.
a dove wrapper.
making valentine's treats.
right:
the babe in the sink
mcd's indulgence
& the dude reading captain underpants.


i'm loving the most that i'm getting use out of soo much stuff that's been stuck in my stash FOREVER, like this ticket stub. 


cut up a piece of dear lizzy paper i'd been saving.
i love the paper, but i can't seem to work it into my stuff much!


and another piece that's been in my stash forever..
this heart doily.. i totally love it!


two little hearts the dude cut up for me.
shopping @ sam's club
another rance rambling.. and another stash item with that american crafts chipboard shape.


my friend steph has THE coolest bags for her scrapbooking store..
i always see people hack 'em up for their scrapbooking..
i finally got to cut one up & include it in my own stuff!



and that's week seven. :)
loving this spread.
i may have said that already though!
xo-k 



project life: week six

and onto week six
there are bits & pieces of this spread i'm not 100% crazy about..
but i've decided not to obsess over it all.
get it down & move on.
and when it comes together, it works out fine.
:)
week six:
(click on the pictures to make them larger)

masking tape + silhouette cut out

the dude has almost hit the 50lb mark.
(it's taken forever!!)
another silhouette cut out 'he said'.
a project life journaling card with text from a fb update.
and yet another silhouette cut out, my favorite to date!


i'm in love with my date stamp
& my days of the week 7 gypsies stamp.
oh.. and my silhouette :)

xo-k

ps-questions about supplies? leave me a comment! :)

5.14.2012

project life: week five

carved out some time today to take pictures of my completed weeks..
and can i just tell you..
the sense of completion with this method of scrapbooking is just.. AWESOME.
i have such a huge chunk of our life in 2012 down on paper.
little moments & big moments.
i.love.it.
LOVE IT.

here's week five:
(you can click on the picture to enlarge)


i am still on board with the week in review in the right hand corner.
love capturing the little pieces that don't make it to the 'limelight' so to speak. 


a tag from stinky's new mickey mouse stuffed animal
& a list of the books i read in january.
(it's a long list. WOOHOO!)


silhouette cut out.
this kid loves legos as much as his big brother! 


cut down a picture that the dude drew for me & put that in.
(he's pretty in-tune to my vampire addiction!)


and a double 4x6-er for our first date night of 2012
(our only so far.... )







if you have any questions about supplies, please feel free to ask..
(there are too many to list ;)

xo-k



5.12.2012

thirty one: casual cargo purse & wristlet wallet

when i became a independent consultant for thirty one i made the decision to not share a whole lot about that on the blog..
mostly because i didn't want my craft blog to turn into a place where you felt like i was just trying to sell you something.
i am so not a salesperson.

but..
i got this new bag about a month or two ago..
and i am just absolutely in love with it.
i am NOT a big bag person.
and i'm not a cutesy diaper bag person either.
i'm all about the incognito mama bag.

so i decided to snap a few pictures & make it like one of those 'what's in my bag' posts,
along with showing you an item or two from thirty one.

this is the bag.
it's the casual cargo purse in black with my initials embroidered in platinum.
i cannot tell you how in love i am with this bag!!
(in addition to a diaper/purse/mama bag, it would make an AWESOME camera bag. that's part of the reason i got it.. lots of room for my DSLR if i need to stick it in there!)


here's the inside of the bag stuffed full of stuff for mama & babe.


and here's everything that's in there.
and trust me, there is room for MUCH more.


my kindle fire.
my thirty one wristlet wallet.
gum & mints for mama.
lotion.
lip balm/chapstick.
hairtie, nail clippers (i can't stand to file my nails!), & advil.
my cell phone.
diapers & wipes.
table toppers.
sippy cup.
toys & books for entertainment.
mio.
two changes of clothes for stinky.
my thirty one small zipper pouch.
baby meds & piglet pez :)

a view of the inside so you can see how deep it is.


there are two interior side pockets on one side, and another zipper pocket on the other.
each end has a elastic pocket big enough for a sippy cup or water bottle.

then there is the thirty one wristlet wallet.
this is in the pattern black paisley parade.
i LOVE this wallet.
it has a zip around closure & a detachable wrist strap.
on the backside it has a velcro closure pocket as well.


the inside has a zipper pocket & PVC ID slot on one side
& four card pockets on the other side.


it's big enough to fit your smart phone as well, so it's great for a quick trip to the store, or when you have your hands full & don't want to carry in a baby & a whole diaper bag.


and that's my current diaper bag/purse/wallet set up.
interesting right?
i know. :)

i kid.
but i know the voyeur in all of us likes to see what everyone totes in their bag.
orrrrrr... maybe that's just me.

xo-k

project life: week 4

i figured while i was at it, i may as well post week 4 as well.
i'm so far behind in posting it'll take forever to catch up anyways.

it's pretty bad when you don't blog for a month,
come back & the whole dang website has changed
AND you've hit your photo limit.
talk about throwing someone for a loop.

anyways..
here's week 4.
(as always you can click on the photo to enlarge)


here it is with the insert.
and below without the insert.


i love all the little bits of the week that make it in.
the packaging from the gnocchi we tried this week.
a vampire diaries poster
Rance's new words & sounds.


the quote is on a piece of vellum,
 and the little square behind it is a picture waiting for me to finish the next week.
i'm actually caught up to the first week of march..
just need to take pictures & get 'em uploaded..
ya know.. now since i have a work around my imposed 'photo limit'.
:)

happy to answer any questions about supplies!

xo-k

5.11.2012

project life: week 3

i'm just gonna jump right into the pictures.
(and bear with me. the hubs has tried to help me with my photo storage dilemma.)


mason got a new bike & helmet this week, and i included the plastic tag that came with the bike
& the piece that was attached to the helmet.


here's the spread without the inserts.


my second insert was a print out of my currents blog for that same week.


and on the back side of that, a spelling test the dude had that week.
he has one every week, but they rarely make it home in one piece!


and of course i had to include the devastating news of picnik closing.
that rocked my photo editing world.
(but so far i'm VERY happy with picmonkey)

i'm not gonna even try to start listing all the supplies..
but if you have a question, i'm more than happy to ask
(just please please please make sure you leave an email address if it's not registered in blogger!)

be back soon with week 4! :)

xo-k

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