Saturday morning Jam session

Sometimes I think I'm as addicted to my kid as I am to coffee.

I don't really care to waste time wondering if that's good to bad, but in the meantime... I thought it'd be nice if we had some photos of us doin' what we do when we're hanging at home on a saturday morning.  This jam session happened after we built a snow fort in the living room.  We froze our toes off the day before so I decided to be lazy and just bring the snow in so I could enjoy coffee and the couch while she enjoyed the snow.  

I think it's important to stop organizing, stop packing, stop worrying, stop everything and just enjoy being exactly where you are right this moment.

I usually forget that and just run around the house like an  angry person and stay up all night fretting and scheming.
So for my new year, I'm going to not plan to do anything or stop doing anything.  I'm going to just try to remember to enjoy what I have today, and realize that I can live with much less.

And I'm going to put down all the sad pages...





Along with the happy ones.



I'm still trying to get my december daily mini album finished, so I'll get to that...  it's just these darn impromptu photo shoots that get me side-tracked!



I feel like I don't know what the heck I scrapbooked about before Eleanor?  I don't know what I did? lol.  I know all parents say it, but it's so true...  have no clue what life used to be before I had a kid.  All I do know is that it's so much better.  No matter what hard times we're going through.

:)  xo Fitts

All dressed in Vintage

So I had the awesome pleasure of playing photographer for a beautiful friends wedding. I still have around a billionty more pics to edit... But for now I just thought I'd share a couple with the brides permission... Without revealing people or places... Just yet anyway.

What was awesome about this wedding was that the dress was in its third generation of brides... From grandma to mom to daughter... So sweet! Of course by this round,it needed a little TLC... But it was absolutely gorgeous!
My fav was the tule underskirt...

And the veil was a simple classic style... brilliant!

I have to hand it to you photographers out there... It's a week later, and I'm still sore.  That's probably the most excercise I've gotten in years!  If anyone else ever asks me to be the wedding photog...  I think I'll need to train a bit first.  Holy bajeez what a work-out!  And probably more fun than flipping tires...  at least in my opinion.  I could be wrong because I've never actually flipped a tire... lol.  But I know a lot of people who do it on a regular basis...

To me, fall is the best time of year and what was supposed to be a rainy day turned out to be absolutely perfect!! Who knows though... in a few years, fall could be in january.  Which would be cool cos that's my b-day month... tee hee...  then I could have a Halloween birthday party!

So overall, it was an awesome day and I was honored to be a part of it.  Congrats Meg!  You made a perfect bride and I hope your new life chapter brings happiness, joy, and blessings!

xo, Fitty

Apple seedy yes indeedy!

So despite the back of the hand slapping we always receive when we go here, we somehow ended up back at Russo's in Chesterfield for Apple picking this year.
We thought about not going and trying another place but... we thought misbehaving again at the same farm is more fun than behaving at a new farm?!
We think at least. Next year we'll discuss again briefly and then probably end up back there letting our kids ride in the wagons, move the gourds out of place, and throw hay.


Eleanor knows how to spell her name, but I don't think she knows how to spell mine.. which made it funny when I realized the wagon she picked had my name on it. Yes, that's how you spell Fitty on wagons.  On the interwebs it's F  I T T Y.  Wagons, K A R E N.  Got it?  Good.    And Collin on a wagon is spelled K A T H Y.   It has something to do with the Secret National and International Association of people who use wagons for secret agenty purposes.   How do I know about it... heh...

I love how this blog has turned into a big crunchy photo share...  I've been busy but I don't even have to promise that I'll be scrapbooking these pics...  they are just too yummy! I might even do a mini album!



This is the newest member of our clan, Collin.  I just can't stand the adorable that pours outta this one!!!  He's the little nugget belonging to one of my besties Mary.  Right now he's also the easiest to grab shots of because he's not running around chasing other running around boys while throwing rotten apples.  So I was able to snap a few of those bad boy blues!!



Can you stand it!

And with each new pic of Eleanor, I say it's my fav... just like the latest song you wrote, you might as well throw out the rest.. But in this case, I'll be keeping them all. This one reminds me of an Olivia Newton John record album cover... Have YOU never been mellow?



I probably shouldn't point out the dirt smudge on her nose... coz before I wrote that, I was the only one who noticed.



oh, and they have pumpkins too.. all mine lost their stems rolling around the back of my car... :( boo!



Horsey is the ewesh when it comes to what Eleanor carries around with her, but the little sewing kit she found in one of my bags is a new addition. I don't know if she thought she might need to sew some apples back together or something. When we got home she did tell me she was mad at me for not fixing Luke's stuffed Sonic yet... It hasn't been a week yet, but I guess I should get right on top of that. After all it is a neck wound and this is the stuffie ER!!


And with that, the lost boys and I bid you farewell! Happy OCTOBER!!! YAY YAY! I mean HAPPY I WISH IT FELT LIKE OCTOBER AND NOT A RAINFORST THAT MAKES IT HARD TO DECIDE WHETHER TO PUT THE AIR ON IN MY CAR OR JUST LEAVE IT OFF AND FEEL COLD AND STICKY AT THE SAME TIME OCTOBER OCTOBER!

Weekend Revisual: Project life July 20-21, 2013

Hi there frens!

Had a great weekend!  Just wanted to throw out some weekend pics, and then how we put them together for a weekend project life spread!

This first collage was actually made with a windows app called Turbocollage.  So far, a benefit is the ability to use a lot of pics in one collage.... like 20!  So I was able to sum up a birthday party pretty completely in three 4x3' spots on my PL layout.  Well... plus a couple 4x6's that stood out...

Here's some of the other pics we used:

And here's our spread!

And here's a video Roo did to tell you a very quick version of the entire weekend's activities...  she also goes on to demonstrate some Gelatos...  so if you're in need of toddler entertainment...  it's right here....  in a barbie dress.

Thanks and enjoy the rest of your crafty week!

Day in Revisual: Big time Rush Concert

Fashion Show Music

Sometimes ... life is really stinky.

And it makes you wonder how things like this:

fit into it.

She's next to me now telling me how her baby bear is growing up too fast as she's drawing on the chalkboard wall. The thought of her growing up makes me want to cry because I feel like the world isn't good enough for her. I feel like I'm not good enough for her sometimes too...

But we try to have fun as much as possible. 

These are pics from last weekend when we got a dusting of snow. We enjoyed it until the afternoon sun melted it almost away.

Our house got flipped, turned upside down...  well, two houses and we didn't bother to pick em up. They were just as much fun knocked over.

Hopefully we'll get enough snow to build a third house this weekend!

So this page was from pics of her popping her head through that side window of the knocked over house:

I plan on doing some of the other pics from that day this weekend.



Because keeping up with PL is actually easier than I thought. I don't do a pic from every single day..  but at least a highlight or two each week. We may have to dig into making some Valentine Cards for her classmates this weekend also...

I'm bad about tracking my materials ...  there's not too much stuff involved that didn't come from a SC kit. The embossing powder and heat gun I've had forever from being a CTMH consultant. But you can get that anywhere... Any craft supply store would have it.  You can also get it from me if you wanted?  lol.

I just watched a video by a well known scrapbooker, Shimelle Laine, and she talked about how Scrapbookers kinda hide their hobby from those who aren't into it.

And it's so true, because we feel it's not something that is a respected by most people as more than a waste of time.  I get crappy comments like "you must have nothing better to do." But I think it's important to leave time for things you enjoy...even if you're  a single mom of 17...  I didn't have much time for it when Roo was a screaming baby 24/7 but now she can do it with me... or any other art project she wants to at the time. It's the perfect kid bonding time.  So if it's between watching TV every night and scrapbooking... which one is a waste of time?

Here is the making of this last layout:

Twelve by 12' ROO flower layout

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZ1WNVK40Gs]

Enjoy!  And it's probably going to be a great night for staying indoors so craft on my frens!

p.s  I wish I had some good fashion show music to go with this vid...   dang.

xo fittsnersalad

Life is a project... Make it pretty damn it!

Just a project life installment here.

Sometimes there's no good reason for a photo shoot. That's the best kind! And Roo seems to think every minute has potential for good photo making... as do I.

So this scrap session is all about any ol saturday

Where not much of anything was going on...

but we had fun enough to document!

Please enjoy the making of this installment here below

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Planning is Important!

I say turn everything into a scrapbook! Like your planner!



Peter: "Hey Fitts, you up for roller skating this saturday at 6pm?  All the cool kids will be there!"

Me: "Yea sure, that sounds off the chain! Or should I say, off the left side wheels on my right foot! I'll be there for sure"

Peter: "Cool franks!  I'm so glad you could come, Wendy is going to be there and she hasn't seen you in like... EONS!"

Me: "No way! That's awesome!  I can't wait to catch up with her!"

and then my friend Mo texts me and says "ARE YOU SO EXCITED ABOUT GEORGE'S WEDDING TO PRINCESS BEAUTIFUL THIS SATURDAY!!!" 

and then I check my planner calendar thingie shoved in my way too many notebooks bag and there it is with little flower and heart stickers surrounding it. "George and Princess Beautiful get married"

So anyway, I'm on yet another mission to make my planner so damn cute that I can't go  a day without adoring it's pages and consuming the dated information!

Well, off to werky...  Have a FUN Wednesday and stay dry if you're in Jersey like me!

xo

Hay... A happy life tradition.

Yes, the pics in the hay that everyone has!

I have them too... And to go with my orange striped fall wardrobe... I have some orangey scrapcents!

October 6th, we went with our dear friends The ROSTA'S to the pumpkin patch...   We saw all the wood cutouts that almost looked just like the characters they intended to be.

This is made with the October studio calico kit... Which really had nothing to do with fall... But I went with a color scheme rather than a theme.



The sewing went a little wonky at some points, but it really doesn't matter in scrapbooking. There's no RULES! 

(put your shirt back on)  THERE'S ONE RULE!

I just LOVE that commercial!!!  I cracked up so hard the first time I saw it... and then the second... and then all the times I watched it on Youtube.

So where was I?  YES YES so there is a giant threadball of pink hell on the back of this page that I neglected to take a picture of.

I'm also getting bored with just shoving my pages into a plastic sleeve and into a binder.

I have this one 12x12 display item that i found on sale one day at AC Moore, and I LOVE IT!  It's like one of those photo flippers on a stand, but big. I'll take a pic of it when I get a chance...   so that's one way I like to display pages... but I tend to just throw in my latest creation, then switch em out.

Well, I better get my butt in gear so enjoy your weekend! 

Enjoy the colors! 

Enjoy the friends!

Enjoy the apples and the pumpkins!

AND Enjoy the ...  frost... to be totally current.

Sometimes... the day before is better than the day of...

Sometimes your daughter has a 3rd birthday.  Actually, it normally only happens once.  After 3, sometimes it skips 4 and goes right to 5... but it never goes back to 3 again. And you're at your moms house because she always has a picnic on labor day, so you bring your newly 3 year old daughter and you also bring your camera because you think you're gonna get some really good pics of her on the exact day she turns 3. But then it turns out to be the yuckiest most HUMIDIFIED day ever there was the whole summer and  your daughter spends the entire day in the pool with TURNY... (i love when nicknames evolve out of mispronunciations from toddlers ) .  Should be Tierney.  :)

So let's just say the birthday pics were a wash...  but the dancing vids from that day will be cherished!

Luckily the day before, I just happened to tote my camera to my friend Michelle's house for her son's 4th birthday party...  and sitting across from Roo, I was able to snap a series of her eating her philly swirl push up pop.  Though I could've easily included 15 pics, I chose my 5 faves and smooshed em into an instagram collage and then cut em apart after I printed them. And this is probably to be my last layout of summerness that I'll do until next year.



So just this past August I

finally got my hands on some Studio Calico kits.  So this is mostly from the August one ... or the September one... I'm not really sure because Roo mixed them together...

But hopefully I can dedicate some pages to just one kit exclusively..  because I LOVE THEM.

And I'm trying a new thing where I just kinda ...  turn off the brain and just go with it.  Ya know how when you think too hard, you just get frustrated and end up with nothing. This way, I just throw it all down and then edit later. Because after you've thrown down, inspiration surely follows and you suddenly just start getting ideas.

To make these sunshiney spotty lights, I used this simple app called "Bokehful".  You can make them in a few different shapes.. the hex is my fav...  as is prob. for most.

If I ever get a new iphone... I fear I may abandon my camera all together because between the apps and the ever-evolving quality of photos it takes...   I may just lose the need...

I've also been addicted to foam adhesives lately.  I feel this need to make things pop out..  So there are several different heights going on with the photos.  You can probably tell from the shadows... a couple are flat... then some are off the page a little, and some a little more.



There are some things in the works that me and my hubs are trying to plan.  Maybe some workshops or collage clubs.. lol.  But we'll keep you posted.  Would love to get together with some of my local friends and make some art!

Little girls... *sigh*

I'm going to try to enjoy this time while I have it.

-While she still lets me take 700 photos in a day.

-While she helps me with the outside work.

-While she doesn't mind getting dirty.

-While she thinks watering the vegetables warrants a "special" outfit. (well, that probably won't change... )

   and I'm pretty sure those   hand dimples will be gone soon... 

 

So I went to a scrapbook expo yesterday, and I have to say there was little to inspire.  No real trendy stuff going on, but it was still fun to walk around and browse.  There was one stand that stood out, www.jbsmercantile.com.  I would said besides the october afternoon booth, this was one of the only other that I spent some real minutes at.  So I'm definitely going to check out some more online.  The two little cards popping out of the top of this layout are from Jenni Bowlin.  Super cute vintage style stuff. 

I had started this layout friday night, then finished it up this morning. I had so many good photos from last saturday that I was hard to just use one here, but I think this one stands alone quite well. 

The main thing here is a popped up layered look.  I used some Color mist Sprinklers from October Afternoon to mist the background.. Actually, I misted the background and on top of all the pieces, so the photo ended up with some ink on it, but I just wiped it off her face and left most of the rest of it.   The spraying water in the photo already kinda looked like that, so I figured it really didn't make a difference.
 

  

 
So Eleanor and I had a fun couple weekends.  Now we have to get work on July 4th stuff,  she'll need a special outfit I'm sure.  She's already asking me when we're going to make her Princess Dress.  (every dress is a princess dress to her...   and her puma sneakers she calls her ballerina shoes...  ?) 
 

 
Like I said, I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts and I wish it could last forever...  Little girls are just sooo stinkin cute!