This weeks assignments

brought to you by me! featuring new products available at Two Peas in a Bucket. Each week I can't wait to see what the new releases will bring. Then I have to fight tooth and nail to get the ones I want (just kidding about that part, we have a pretty neat system that seems to be fair and working out well for the Digital Creative Team. ) The releases this week can be found here.

I was fortunate enough to get to work with Jen's Simple Start Templates, Brandy Buffington's Cabanarama kit and Shimelle Laine's Wrap it up Christmas Papers and Christmas Memories Page Templates. This is what I created.



unconditional love.



holiday shopping at Target.



birthday cheer.

Merry Christmas!!

Have a safe and Happy Holiday Season!! We are settling in after an eve of family, cheers and good food. We will open presents at home in the morning and probably stay in our PJ's all day. A perfect Christmas celebration : )

I little bit of creating

I am behind as usual and Christmas is only four days away. I did have a chance to work on my projects for Two Peas in a Bucket. yesterday. The boys were gone all day and it felt good to just spend a day being creative and the fact that one of them is going to be a special gift is an added bonus.

This first project features a new kit by Jen Martakis - This Year. I have been so inspired by Jen's creative designs. A sneak peek of what is coming in the store tomorrow was posted on her blog.



sweet pea.

This layout was created using one of Kate Teague's Year in Review templates. I love using templates as a starting point for my designs. This one was resized, I changed up the title and added some embellishments.



our year in review.

The last layout is part of Simply Beautiful Desk Top CD Calender kit by Jen Martakis. My sister Jennifer was married this past summer. I created this for her. I couldn't believe how easy it was. I already had edited photos, so I just had to add them to each month.



December Calendar page.

I hope to update tomorrow with my December Daily layouts and a bit about us.

An update, some layouts and a trip

We had a busy week . . finally got some snow and the cold weather has set in. Hayden started a new trimester at school after surviving his first high school final exams experience. We thought he did great and am happy with his progress and final grades. This trimester should be a bit easier for him, a lighter load and fun classes.

I got some fabulous kits to work with this week as a Digital Creative Team member for Two Peas in a Bucket. Jen Martakis released "simply beautiful" papers and elements and Betsy Tuma released some pretty cool edge effects.



simply beautiful friends.



one of a kind.



Marquette Mbank.


We have two hockey games in Marquette tomorrow - Hayden's team plays Houghton at 9:30 and 1:30 at the Berry Events Center at Northern Michigan University. After we get home we are packing the car and heading out to St. Paul for a couple of days. Madison has a follow-up appointment with her orthopedic surgeon Tuesday am at Gillette Childrens Speciality Healthcare.. We may even get in a bit of Christmas shopping at the outlets at Woodbury or the Mall of America.

Have a great Sunday!
go Lions - I think they really need to win another game : )

Hello December

well that was fast! It seems that as I get older days, weeks and months go by so fast. Hayden is already talking about driving and Madison will be 13 next month! so hard to believe. This would be one of the reasons that I scrapbook. I need to capture the moments, record the memories, and tell our story. If I don't, then who will?

Last year I participated in a December Daily challenge at Designer Digitals. I committed to taking photos and doing a layout for each day in December. I then uploaded my project to Shutterflyand my book was shipped. Memories preserved.

I am doing it again this year and started a support group at Two Peas in a Bucket
I am not sure I can complete a layout everyday, but I am going to take the photos and record the memories. If I don't complete my project until January of next year, that is okay.

So, as I prepare to accomplish this, I will leave you with a link to my book from last year . . . let me know what you think and if you are joining me on this journey, let me know.



December Daily 2008

Thankful

We had so much to be thankful for this year. Thanksgiving vacation is almost over and it will be back to work and school for 3 weeks until we arrive at Christmas. Every year we try to be prepared so we aren't doing this last minute, but then what would we have to look forward to besides a whirlwind 21 days of prep.

I am going to make a list (in order of importance) and tackle it head on.

This past week, the two peas in a bucket Digital Creative Team got to work on our first new releases. I posted two projects using Betsy Tuma's Sweather Weather-his Alphabet and The Extras.

Have a great week everyone : )





Full credits can be found here: my facebook flair and here: cold play

Weekend Hockey Update

We spent this past weekend in St. Ignace, right rear the Mackinac Bridge for a round robin tounament. It is such a fabulous little community but this time of year it is pretty quiet. Many of the hotels, restaurants and shops are closed for the season. Needless to say we didn't have much to do besides be at the rink anyway.

The other teams present were the host team, St Ignace, a team from Grand Rapids and a team from Bloomfield. We play two games on Saturday and one game Sunday and ended up with a 2-0-1 record. We tied St Ignace 4-4 in the early game Saturday, and beat Grand Rapids 2-1. On Sunday we played Bloomfield and won 3-0. Overall it was a pretty successful weekend and Hayden had a really good game on Sunday.

We are off for the Thanksgiving Holiday this coming weekend, but will then resume our every weekend schedule.

Just a few photos of Hayden - I like the red uniforms the best, and it is fitting that his number is 14 - since he is the only 14 year old on the team (but he plays like he is 16, lol - this would be according to some of his teammates.)

Tomorrow I hope to get some layouts done for my 2 Peas digital creative team assisgnments. I will post as soon as I get done.

Lucky Me : )

we are headed out for a weekend of hockey, but I wanted to get this posted. More details to come Monday. Have a great weekend.

Digital Scrapbooking : )

So you are ready to try Digital Scrapbooking.....

It is about time don’t you think? I scrapped more in the past 18 months since I went digital than I did in the previous 8 years. I have done several custom photobooks at Shutterfly and made more gifts than I thought was possible.

Inquiring Minds Want to Know: Since I started on posting on Facebook and sharing some of my digital scrapbooking layouts, I have had a few requests from friends who are ready to get started. The first question always is “where do I begin”?

This post is one of many in which I will try and answer that question : )

First, you need a good computer system with a high end graphics card and lots of memory and storage (you need a big place to store all those scrapping supplies and finished layouts). I always recommend that you also invest in an EHD (external hard drive), as a back-up system to your photos and supplies. Hard drives fail (more often than anyone really cares to admit) and you need to be prepared. I also subscribe to an off site recovery service. It is an affordable solution for recovery when you need it. (because at some point you will).

Next, purchase a software program. Right now I am using Adobe Photoshop Elements 8.0 . They just released 9.0, but I don’t have enough information to determine whether or not I should upgrade right now. There is always a learning curve when you do an upgrade and frankly I don’t have the time either. You can also invest in Photoshop CS (a much bigger investment). A lot of online stores offer student discounts for software purchases, anyone who is or has a child who is a student qualifies). I also have Lightroom by Adobe for all my photo processing. I love the presets with this program and can’t imagine editing photos without it.

Next, install the software and just play. I am a self taught digital designer after doing “traditional” scrapbooking for years. I learn something new just about every day.

Join some online sites/message boards/stores : )

I recommend the following:

http://twopeasinabucket.com

http://designerdigitals.com

http://oscraps.com

http://thedailydigi.com

http://creatingkeepsakes.com

sign up for their newsletters, poke around the message boards and view their galleries for inspiration. Most stores offer freebies (weekly or monthly) and offer a ton of advice for beginners. A really fun way to get started is to pickup some free digital templates. I love this site: Pencil Lines They have templates each week you can download.

buy this tutorial first:

http://www.designerdigitals.com/digital-scrapbooking/supplies/product_info.php/products_id/3944


actually any of Cassie’s tutorials are great. They come in PDF format and offer step by step instructions, and provide you with all the elements needed to create the lesson.  Two Peas free tutorials are also available to download and review.  Tons of help!!

You can also take classes http://debbiehodge.com/ , http://www.bigpicturescrapbooking.com/classes.php , http://www.reneepearson.com/ or http://www.jessicasprague.com/ some are more advanced than others. Ask questions before you decide which one is right for you.

Purchase this kit each month:  the daily digi
it is only $5.00!!!! and it is amazing how many elements you get. They offer a new kit each month.

Read Blogs!! here are just a few I have in my favorites right now:

Page Maps
Biograffiti
Ali Edwards
Cathy Zielske

creative inspiration blog
Vinnie Pearce

Blogs are a wonderful source of information and inspiration. I could spend an entire day just blog hopping : )

Search the internet for digital freebies - this is the best way to get some supplies to get you started until you discover your own style and figure out what you want to purchase. I also have a spending budget each month. It is pretty easy to go overboard with so many new releases each week. Unless there is a really big sale, I do my best to stay within my budget. Lord knows you can never have enough stitches or brushes.



So many fabulous opportunities have happened to me since I went over to the digi side of scrapbooking and for that I am thankful. But most of all I am glad that I am recording the everyday things about our little family. Someday I think my kids are going to appreciate that.

Okay, I think that is a ton of information for today. Get started and let me know if you have any specific questions. I will do my best to try and answer them and if I can’t, at least steer you in the right direction.


Now go scrap. I can’t wait to see what you create. : )

Hockey ramblings......

one of my favorite things about Will not coaching Hayden's hockey team this year is that he gets to actually watch the game and take photos. We specifically bought our high end zoom lens with that in mind. Taking photos in hockey rinks can be a challenge, adjusting to the lighting, dealing with the protective glass and safety netting is always something you need to figure out. This photo was taken at the Cornerstone Ice Center in Green Bay. We love the big rink there, lots of room for photos at a lot of different angles. I love that Will was able to capture this shot, the exact moment that Hayden's goal went into the net. You can see that the goalie didn't even move his glove yet. . . Hayden was pretty excited that he scored and we were pretty excited that we captured it on film.



Credits: Anna Aspnes at Designer Digitals - she makes the best grunge stuff : )

We have a winner!

thanks so much everyone for participating in my give-a-way....I just ran random number generator and the winner is




shirley!!
please email me your mailing information and I will put a big ol box of goodies in the mail to you : )

We still miss her

today will mark two weeks since we tragically lost our sweet Callie. Every day since the accident has gotten easier, we aren't crying anymore and aren't constantly thinking about our loss.

we still miss
her sweet little gallop when she ran....
how she didn't fear Mya at all and just wanted to play....
how she liked to attack Madison's feet when she sat on the potty....
and snuggle in our bed

we want to forget how she was lost
but never forget how much she meant to our little family.

rest in peace sweet callie girl - we still miss you : )

Note to Self - have camera in the car, you just never know

I was so delighted that I had the camera in the car when we decided to go through the car wash last week. I debated because Madison is just never quite sure about the car wash - but she did great. I love this photo of her, she knew the hard spray of water was coming.....and wow - look at the colors of the soap.

Have a great weekend everyone. Today I am scrapping and catching up on laundry. We don't have any hockey games this weekend and I am taking advantage. I will be back to post the winner of my give-a-way tomorrow nite.

A give-a-way

this is a photo of just a small portion of my very neglected scrap space. I have a wonderful spot built just for me when we built our master bedroom addition. Shortly after I found digital : ) but I have held on to so much for too long and I am ready to start letting it go. We just bought a new Dell desktop system and I am ready to reclaim the space for my digi scrapping....Edited to add: I have been digi scrapping exclusively for almost 2 years!! my stuff has been ignored for about that long, although I do stop in at least once a week to dust and borrow my good scissors : )

so I plan to fill up a Flat Rate Priority Mail box of paper scrap goodness and ship it off to one (or maybe two). Just leave a comment here. I will keep it open til 8:00 p.m. (est) Sunday and then pick a winner.

Good luck and thanks for playing : )

Patiently waiting . . . and a give-a-way

just a layout share today. Too much on my to do list at work, and more on my list for home.

I am planning to post a give-a-way this weekend. Dude, we bought a Dell desktop system and put it in my scrap area. I need to make a little more room, so for all my paper scrappers I will be putting together a huge box of goodness.

Happy Thursday, wish it was Friday.

Hockey is (his) Life

I wanted to share our journey involving Hayden playing hockey this year in Marquette. Shortly after last season in Munising he made the decision that he wanted to play at a higher level and try and make a travel team in Marquette. He spent the summer working out and skating at various hockey camps. He also skated with the Marquette Redman hockey team. He was clearly among some of the elite players in the area and even though he was one of just two fourteen year olds, he didn't show any fear and as the weeks went by, proved that he did belong.

Tryouts for the Bantam AA (13 & 14 year olds) were slated for the beginning of August. After trying really hard, he was overlooked. Next up were tryouts for the Bantam A Developmental Team. He made the team, but the formation had to be approved by the MJHC Board, so he also tried out for the Marquette Sentinels U16 A Team just in case. After much consideration, the hockey board decided to have true A team, which didn't include second year Bantams. Hayden found himself without a team, again. He started practice with the U16 Team and spent the past two months proving that he belonged among players who were 15 and 16 years old. We had games in DePere, Houghton and Green Bay. And although he is still learning "their" system of play, his outright speed and determination payed off. This past week, after the Marquette Senior High School team was announced, tryouts for U16 opened again. Finally, after months of not really knowing where he would play, Hayden is part of the U16 Team (which will become a U18 team because of the age of the goalie). What a long journey of uncertainly for Hayden, but so worth all his efforts.

We are proud and happy, even if it means getting a second job to pay for the cost, lol.

You can look forward to many more hockey layouts and recaps of the games as the season begins at full stride.

09-09-09

I am doing the 365 Project this year (more about this will be coming soon) - part of the process is taking at least one photo a day....but there was something about the date 09-09-09 that I thought needed more documentation....this is the result

A New Beginning

Today starts a new day for the Rogers Family. We are starting a blog. It will be a place to share a bit of our everyday life, our love for photography and my addiction to digital scrapbooking.

We hope you will follow us on this journey and we welcome your suggestions and ideas.


Love,
Will, Mary, Hayden and Madison