vol.25

New-ish Overlay set at 50% off for 3 more days!!

Hey!! So, it just occurred to me that I forgot to post this brand new senior overlay set in my digital shop. I shared on facebook, but completely forgot about posting to my blog!!

The set is called "FIRE" and is my newest senior overlay set. Having access to Amanda Holloway's photos was amazing... because well, she takes gorgeous photos. :)

Here is the entire set:

Like all new sets, it is on sale for a limited time at 50% off. It will revert back to regular price monday the 27th of February. :) Use code: FIRE upon checkout to receive your discounted price. :)

I'm going to blame forgetting to post this to my blog on the fact that tomorrow is my birthday and I'm turning the big 3-0!! :) I will no longer be able to say I'm in my 20's. But I know my best years are ahead of me.. or so I hope! ;) 

A quote for your week #85

Its monday again! :) Today's quote is a little heavier reading material, but anyone going through a tough time can relate to this quote. I know it sometimes seems easier to carry your burden alone in silence... but you need to remember that your true friends/family - the ones that really matter to you- will be there to make this walk WITH you. Having a friend to confide in, laugh with, or a shoulder to cry on will make all the difference to you, I promise... also a little secret... they won't always know when you need them, you may have to actually ask them for help. ;)

...and if you feel you are lacking in the friends department, maybe now would be a great time to look-up past friendships? Re-connect with an old friend, I'm pretty sure you'll be glad you did. :)

I'm gonna declare today national friendship day! ;)

I love spinach!

In smoothie form that is. :) In fact, right now if I had the choice I would choose this drink over a piece of chocolate.... CRAZY for me to admit that. I mean, I am a HUGE chocolate lover... but this smoothie has been pulling on my heart strings. ;)

In all honesty you can't taste the spinach at all. It just tastes like a fruit smoothie. But everyone knows how healthy Spinach is, and drinking one of these every day has made a big impact on how good I've felt. I have much more energy! I portion/measure everything out ahead of time (except for my milk and juice) so I can just pull out a ziplock baggie and throw my fruit into the blender. If you google green smoothie you will find that the variations and recipes are pretty much unlimited! After tweaking a few recipes this one is my favorite:

Green Smoothie

1/2 cup frozen mango
1/2 cup frozen pineapple
1-2 slices of frozen kiwi (I slice and freeze them)
1/2 fresh banana
1/4 apple juice
1/2 cup Almond Milk-Almond Breeze - Unsweetened Vanilla
1-3 cups of fresh spinach leaves ( I squish as much in as I can) :)

When I calculated the calories on this it was right around 200 calories. You can substitute whatever milk you'd like, and you can also slice your banana and freeze it ahead of time. If I have fresh bananas I prefer them for the texture. It seems that it balances out all the frozen fruit.

Frozen fruit is hard to measure, I should probably invest in some food scales.

I use a small blender I bought from Target (which I LOVE for ease of cleanup) so I am limited on just how much I cram in! :)

I've been eating healthier this year, and trying to stay under 1,200 calories a day. I'm drinking bunches of water, and exercising every day! I've maintained my dedication/motivation to  keep up with it, and I've exercised almost every day for the past 25 days. I pulled something in my back trying to stretch so I took 2 days off for that to heal, and was so discouraged I almost gave up... but I didnt! I got right back in there and started out with a lighter walking exercise, and rebuilt on that every day since. I've NEVER stuck with anything for that long.

I am trying to lose about 17 lbs and trying to tone up! :) I've lost 3 lbs so far, and really hoping I can keep the positive momentum up. :) I've been trying to cook healthier and If you guys dont mind I'll try to re-post recipes that I've personally found to be my favorites. :) Starting with this YUMMY green smoothie recipe. :)

I hope you are having a great day!! 

Simplicity Journaling Cards Listed!!

They are FINALLY listed!! The 6x4 Simplicity Journaling Cards are in the digital shop. To say I'm excited would be the understatement of 2012. :) I've been altering, testing, playing with these since the first of the year when I started project life!  :) Feels so good to have these finished up. Although I've still been able to keep up with my scrapbooking (that shows just how easy project life really is) it is somewhat freeing to be able to devote my time to using the cards instead of working on them. ;) I will have a much more thorough post coming up in the next week, sharing just how I've made things works for me. :) Hopefully it will help and inspire you too!!

 I wanted to keep these affordable for everyone, so I priced all of these goodies at 15.00. You receive all of this inside this zip file:

Included in this set: 

- 4 PDF files containing all cards + phrases + months + dividers that you can easily print from your computer, no need to own photoshop.

(be sure to choose NO scaling when printing, so the size isnt reduced)

- 30 6x4 Journaling Cards (9 unlined journaling cards + 9 of the same cards with lines + 9 base cards + 3 art prompt cards for kids) in png format.

- 2 8x10 sized art prompt pages for kids 

- Various photo templates for printing your own pictures (see image 3 for more detail) 

- 4 printable sheets with weekdays + months (included in a pdf and also as png format)

- 4 printable dividers for organizing your journaling cards... print as many as you'd like.

So, thank you for patiently waiting for me to finish these! I hope they help inspire you with your record keeping/scrapbooking! :) I've got to jet- I have this cooking in the crockpot and it is smelling YUMMY!!

Last day for the 50% off sale in the digital shop!

Last day for the 50% off sale in the digital shop!

Sorry, I have no quote prepared for today. :( I'll try to get one up this week! :)

Enjoy The Sunshine- a new print!

I just listed this new print titled "Enjoy The Sunshine"  in my etsy shop a few minutes ago. Some of you may remember me talking about working on awhile back... well I FINALLY finished it. I created it to remind myself to dwell more on the positive things in my life. I tend to be somewhat of a pessimist/worrier by nature, and I hope this will remind me that I need to enjoy the bits of sunshine in my life. Even if it is a cloudy, and gloomy day there are pieces of sunshine in my life... I just need to take the time to find them. :) I hope you have been enjoying your weekend! :)

Special moments and thoughts on project life...

Project life (created by Becky Higgins) has really helped me be more diligent about capturing special moments. It seems that it is really easy for me to just go about my day in somewhat of a fog and not notice these special picture taking opportunities. :) I don't have the pressure of project 365, but yet I'm still inspired throughout the week to keep my camera handy! I can totally fill up a week spread with pictures from one little 3 minute "picture opportunity" and that is perfectly fine. :) I like having that freedom, it is totally liberating and inspiring!

I should also note that I've kept things VERY simple for myself. I do very little embellishing on my pages, and I kinda let the photos do most of the speaking. I do have a few supplies I like to use:

So far, I've found that keeping things minimal is key for me. If I collect too much "stuff" I start to feel a little overwhelmed, and it starts to feel more like work for me instead of feeling fun. :) The journaling cards I created are my base and our photos and the everyday bits and pieces of our life are what completes or adds the icing to the cake. ;)

But, what I LOVE most, is that I am FINALLY printing pictures and they are not stuck on my computer. Last year I can probably count the number of pictures I printed on both my hands. I know, it is HORRIBLE. I'm using templates to get the most for my 6x4 photo sleeves, and I'll include those with the journaling cards. :)

Here is a little peek at those btw:

I've designed little 6x4 cards for the kids to color on, (and also 8.5x11 art prompts) for weeks when I'm running a bit short on pictures! The girls love to know they are helping me with the scrapbook and it really does help me out. :) I'll try to have a more thorough most when I actually list the cards, hopefully by next monday! But, I would love to know... are you using a similar system? If so, what do you like most about it?

50% off storewide sale in the digital shop!

Happy Monday! :) I'm having a 50% off storewide sale in the digital shop. :) Expires Feb 13th though! Also, a little peek at what I have been up to this last month- I started project life!

So far... I've kept up with it! WooHOO! So, I think it is safe to say the system works for me.. and it feels so nice to be keeping up on these little things. I'm not doing a picture every day, amd I think that has helped. I had fun designing my own cards, and I have had a couple suggest that I sell my cards, so I'm working towards formatting them and getting them all set up for that! I've designed a few more and it has been fun.

I've been using 4x6 sized horizontal cards, because it has worked with the page protectors I've been using. Working with the same size for pictures and everything else has really simplified it for me. Anyhow, I had a couple people experienced with project life take a peek at what I've done so far, and I'm taking they're considerations to mind and adding just a couple things. But the overall response was GREAT, so I'm really suuper excited to share. SOON! :)

 

New ZOZOBUGBABY Album Template + a giveaway!

I'm kind of late getting this posted, ( I posted on facebook as soon as it went live) and I'm SO sorry about that! I need to get better about posting new digital goodies on the blog as soon as they are added... it is so much easier to post a quick blub on facebook with a link. Shame on me- I know! But, you still have a few days left to grab this template at 50% off. :)

Just use code INSPIRED when you checkout. The code is good till monday night. :) Anyhow, I have to give a great big thank you to Julie Martin/Zozo bug baby for the bucket loads of inspiration her new spring line sent my way! I love how she mixes her patterns and colors, and Shannon Sewell's images were equally inspiring.  This album template is the first of many more childrens themed goodies I (hope) and plan to introduce in the future. I had a photographer ask if I had something similar planned for boys, and I definitely do! :)

Also- I offered up an Inspired Album template for a giveaway over on Zozo Bug Baby's blog... AND Julie was kind enough to also offer a 50.00 gift card to her shop. So, if you win you can plan your own little zozo shoot and have the album template to complete it! :) Just head on over to her blog for more details on how to enter. The contest ends Friday though- so don't drag your mouse... ;)

So- you can grab the Inspired Album template right here at half off (till the 6th) for just a few more days.

Happy first of February!! Mine and Jaydon both have a birthday this month, and February always seems to fly by... it will be March before we know it! :)

A quote for your week #84

Happy Monday! :) I hope you had a great weekend. We got together at my mom and dads and watched old slides on the slide projector. We also had Little Caesars Pizza and a couple different kinds of popcorn.... YUMMY.The girls kept asking when the movie was going to start... :)

I have to cut this a bit short, but I'll be back a little later today with some really exciting news! :)