Life

Vince has a new blog!

I would like to announce that my dear hubby Vince has a BLOG :) He actually started blogging way before I did. Since he's a web developer/programmer/geek guy, he actually built it from scratch using Wordpress, PHP and MySQL. No Typepad or Blogger to host or store all the data. Unlike my blog (which is hosted at Typepad), everything in his blog is all stored in and running from his server at home. Very impressive! :)

A new look

Today, I thought I'd give my 2 blogs a little lovin' and create new banners. Just simple and easy ones -- I haven't played with digi scrap in ages and my skills need to be updated. :) Anyway, I downloaded and played with this very cute and very pretty FREE digi-kit by Michelle Coleman of Little Dreamer Designs from a link in today's Memory Makers newsletter. Click here to download this yummy digi kit!

I also started posting in my photo-a-day blog after a 2-week hiatus. I've given up the idea of taking a picture a day (too much work! lol!), but I've embraced the idea of posting a photo everyday even with though the pics were taken in the past. (thanks for the idea Kimberly!) Thanks to Typepad's postdating feature, I can schedule my blog entries to post in advance. That takes a lot of pressure to post on a daily basis. So yay!

A Photo A Day

This year, I thought I'd join in on Project 365. A number of my scrapping friends are doing this too, so it'll be fun! I created a 2nd blog, A Photo A Day, just for this challenge. Have a look! I still need to do some tweaking and updates, and I'll be posting links for other photo blogs as well.

Speaking of updates, this blog also needs a new look. Maybe a new banner. Or maybe update some links. I'll try working on those this month.

Happy Sunday!

Blogging This And That

Ok, I've been really lazy updating this blog. It's not because I don't have anything to say, but I admit, with all the busy-ness of life, blogging was starting to become a real chore. I lost my blogging mojo.

And then just the past couple of days, I started reading The Pioneer Woman. (thanks Sabine for mentioning it!) Boy, I must've lived under a rock in the blogging world -- Pioneer Woman is awesome! I love her writing style - so funny, witty and engaging. It's as if she was having a real conversation with you. And her photography is pretty darn amazing too.

Speaking of amazing photography, check out The Blog is Found. (thanks Jenn for mentioning it!) Beautiful photographs! Talented photographers. I absolutely love their style. So fun and fresh. They make wide-angle, fish-eye snapshots look sexy!

So.... I think my mojo is back! And I have more posts and pics to update. I'll be posting them soon.

Happy Friday!

silly me!!!

I updated and added some links to my "Sites I Like" list last week and this morning, I just noticed some of the links have dropped of my list! Eek! It turns out that by default, my Typepad settings only show the first 20 items. And since the items are listed alphabetically, my links to say Pick of the Patch, Split Coast Stampers, Two Peas in a Bucket and The Bookers Club have dropped off my list. Oops..so I fixed it now, and all my links are back. :)

The Zero Boss

Wooh! The Zero Boss is posting again. He closed his blog down a while back (I think due to family stuff?), and I thought it was for good. But it's back up again. Wooh!  I remember a while back, he posted in Blogging Baby about him being "the world's most unhip parent" after reading Vince's post about Hi-5. And that post brought a lot of hits to www.clairezalamea.com and even propelled the site to be linked in the Hi-5 website - click here. (Thank you, Zero Boss!)

Anyways, I like the way he writes. His writing is very witty and when he talks about parenthood, he doesn't sugar coat anything. He's a bit of a jerk, sometimes, not so politically correct, but i think he's funny and insightful. Now I wonder what he would think about scrapbooking...hmm...

I'm adding his blog to my links and my RSS reader.

*edited to add a few moments later: After I posted this post, of course off I go and check The Zero Boss. And I see he disses Lisa Whelchel. hehehehehe. And oh get this, Lisa Whelchel is a scrapbooker! Very cool! Mr. Allen, don't you dare diss her scrapbooking! (hehehehehe.....just kidding, of course)

I Can Relate

Ever read Dooce? If you have a rambunctious, always on-the-go toddler in your midst, Heather's blog is a must-read. She writes about parenthood in such a hilarious yet heart-warming way. The way she feels about Leta is the way I feel about Claire, like in this post. Claire, you drive me crazy sometimes, but I wouldn't have you any other way. I love you.

Your Stuff Rocks!

There are the super famous scrapbooking celebrities. They are editors in magazines and have published their own books. They have their own scrapbooking lines. Their classes sell out in minutes. People get their autographs. We all know them by name - Ali Edwards, Heidi Swapp, Lisa Bearnson, Donna Downey, Cathy Zielske, Rhonna Farrer, Elsie Flannigan.

Then there are the almost famous scrapbooking celebrities. They are in manufacturer's design teams. They are probably hand-picked Garden Girls, previous CK Hall of Famers or contributing authors to the more famous scrappers. Think Jamie Waters, Tara Whitney, Carrie Colbert, Maria Grace Abuzman.

Then there are the hidden gems of the scrapbooking world. Not HOF'ers. Not Garden Girls. They've probably been published and praised too, but haven't quite risen to monumental stardom like the previously mentioned celebs. Some of them will be famous one day; some will stay hidden. It doesn't matter really, because I LOVE THEIR STUFF! I love their art, their passion for creating. There are thousands of these hidden gems in the scrapbooking world. I discover their stuff through blogs, online forums, online galleries and crops. And if they have a blog, I add their blog to my RSS feeder or link to my site.

So here's a shout out to all my favourite hidden gems. Here's just a few of them, some of them are long-time favourites, others are newly discovered...Wendy Gibson, Sonja McLean, Janet Friesen, Cathy Pascual, Angi Jones, Angi Bustamante, Michelle Guray. Thank you ladies for continuing to inspire me!!

Arts & Crafts Blogs

Here are some artsy craftsy blogs I stumbled into lately.

• Little Birds
• Angry Chicken
• A Bird in the Hand
• Cut-up-Paper

The first three caught my eye because they are into cute birds just like Tine Wiggens (and cute birds are the "In" thing in scrapbooking).

The last one is about collage, and I'm very very intrigued by collage. There is something mysterious and weirdly beautiful about this form of art. I recently bought a book called Creative Collage for Scrapbooks by Kelly Angard. I haven't read much about the techniques but wow, the eye candy there! Now while we are on the topic of collage, go have a look at Kelly's blog. And also, Claudine Hellmuth's blog. You will be inspired!

Tami has a blog!

Yippee! My good friend Tami set up a blog today - finally! I'm so excited! Her site is going to be really cool; I just know it. She is so freakin' talented. Her stuff is amazing. I can't wait to see what's in store. Congrats Tami!