Tuesday, September 13, 2011

PostHeaderIcon Art Squared Challenge #5~Wings

I have been having a bit of an anti-computer mood this past week or so. I get to feeling from time to time that so much time is spent on a piece of technology that I forget to live in the "here and now." I have been evaluating a lot of things I do online and putting them into the list of either (1) it enhances/or brings pleasure to my life or (2) it's a total time waster and I am missing out with time with my family etc.  and well some things fall into (3) I really love it want to keep it...but how do I find the time for it and give it my best?
Oh what to do?!?!?!?!?!?!? I didn't stress over any of it today though...well not too much anyhow. I got messy and did the journal prompt on the Art Squared blog ~ #5 Wings.
It was oh so enjoyable...took me all day in between doing all the other stuff I needed to do. Tried some things I liked to do again....and things I want to avoid. Gotta practice placing my journal more at an angle though for when I want my my text to follow in more of a straight line. But it is what it is, right? 
Thanks bunches for popping by and taking a peek!!!!
Leaving comments will definitely get you a visit from me on yours =D.
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Sunday, September 11, 2011

PostHeaderIcon Remembering 9/11

It has been one LONG week!!! With last Monday being Labor Day, I let DD have the day off from school and  stay over at her dad's house, so we were already going to be playing "catch-up" for that day. We then had hair appt. for Thursday at 10 am. I figured since it was early we could go, grab a quick lunch and be home to do the day's assignments. DID NOT HAPPEN. The stylist was late, if she didn't cut hair so good, I would not have stayed. I then spent too much time at the book store looking for a study guide and then it was next door to the Old Navy for a pair of jeans and a little jacket for each of us. By the time we had lunch it was 2:30 so we splurged at Red Lobster and brought home left overs for supper. We finally made it through the door at 4:30. I don't know why we were both so tired but we immediately put on our pj's and by 5:30 we were sound asleep. We did wake up a couple of hours later and snacked on those left overs but then it was back to bed. 
I must say though that I am very proud of my DD. She finished all her assignments I gave her this week. And did quite well on all of them. 
It has been on my mind for a couple of weeks to do a journal page for 9/11. It has taken me a little bit to gather the images that felt just right to me. I wasn't exactly sure which way the page would go but I did want it to reflect that as a nation, this tragedy DID NOT defeat us. 
I did not know anyone personally that died that day. And much like everyone else, I can recall the exact moment I heard the news. And the job I had at the time (dialysis tech) there were plenty of  tv's to bombard us with the images of such a bold terrorism attack. How can people hate so much that they would be willing to die themselves? So many brave souls running to help and perished while doing so.
My heart continues to ache for them.
Since that day I have had friends and family in the military. 
Both my grandfathers served in WW2 for the freedoms we enjoy today. I never spoke them about this day but can only imagine how their heart sank. The last tragedy of this scope was Pearl Harbor. 
And just like that day in history~this was an act of war. 
Our country will never be the same ever again. The sense of peace will never be completely felt. 
But we can rejoice that as a country we are rising from the ashes and not letting fear of  terrorism keep us from being a proud democracy that enjoys freedoms that some countries only dream of.
GOD BLESS THE USA!!!!!!

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

PostHeaderIcon Butterfly Clusterz #2 from the talented CrztalRain

CryztalRain has released some fabulous new butterfly brushes this week~ Butterfly Clusterz #2 at Deviant Scrap. The png's are included if you don't want to use the brush format. I had such
a wonderful time playing around with these. The background on my piece is nothing
but brushwork and blending modes. I did find through playing a bit and giving my layers
a very slight shadow such as one you would give acrylic elements really helped
pop things up a bit and give it some "texture". As soon as I am able I will try to get this
one printed on a canvas for my art room in addition to a copy of it going into my art journal.
Other elements used in the piece are from CryztalRain's Art Therapy and Word Art pack.
I ♥ those kits. They are also available at Deviant Scrap. =D

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Thanks for peeking!!!

Monday, August 22, 2011

PostHeaderIcon Steampunk Celebrations and Tortured Maries~New kits from Beth Rimmer and Finecrafted Designs

I got to work with some great new kits last week from Beth Rimmer and Finecrafted Designs.
This week Beth has a new Steampunk themed kit out called Steampunk Celebration! at Deviant Scrap
I wasn't feeling too steamy but did make this wonderful page of my DD and niece with it.
Click on the page to see it in the gallery for full credits.
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And I always vow to eat dessert first when we go out to eat and never do. However I do leave room for one of the mini desserts at our favorite steak house. So this is just a reminder that I might want to do that. =D
It's created with Finecrafted Designs newest kit~Poor Tortured Marie.  at Deviant Scrap.
Click on the page to see the full list of credits in the gallery.
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Thanks for popping by!!!! And if you pick up these fabulous kits and create with them....come pop them into the gallery so that we might be inspired by you!
Huggles,
Balinda

Friday, August 19, 2011

PostHeaderIcon Library, Birthday's and French anyone?

We hit the ground running this week with a trip to the library Monday morning. Shaina really enjoys the library and it's something I wanted to make sure she still got to do being home schooled. We did that and I then sucked it up and met my ex husband for lunch so my daughter could visit with her dad. I didn't realize it at the time but it was on what would have been our 23rd anniversary. Very ironic, I thought.
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Wednesday was my son's 22nd birthday. I didn't get to see him because he was doing his orientation for Nursing clinicals. This is where you wish they were babies again so that you could hug and love on them at a moments notice. I might be much shorter than him now but he will always be my baby boy...and just a side note...I named him Christopher. It just irks me that he goes by Chris on his FB and his friends are too lazy to say his whole name.


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This is just a composition book I came across at Walmart. I am so going to use this design as inspiration for an art journal page.
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Wednesday was our first home school group meeting and Shaina's BFF, Kristy, came home with us. The girls really enjoyed the company of each other while doing their lessons. Shaina is on the left, Kristy on the right.
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And to prove it's been a rough week, Shaina passed smooth out listening to her iPod. She up and decided on Thursday that she wanted to learn french. So after stalking you tube and iTunes U....she stumbled upon a Celine Dion Album in french...so I downloaded that for her.
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I did do some scrapping but I will share those in another posting. Thanks for peeking in on me!
Balinda

Saturday, August 13, 2011

PostHeaderIcon Forgotten Values and the best photo ever!

It's just really hard to believe that Congress cannot get it's act together and balance a budget.
If there is no money to spend well don't spend it. I have listened to the bickering about it on 
TV until I finally just turned it off for over over week. Through the carelessness of our political leadership
the United States has lost it's Triple A credit rating. The Dow has been bouncing up and down worse than a rubber ball and the morals of our country seems to be slipping away faster than the sand through and hour glass. I worry about my mother's 401k and I worry that me and my husband don't even have a retirement plan. I worry about my kids and how are they even to afford the day to day living. 
I can only put my faith in God and pray daily that we can survive these turbulent times and maybe live to see a brighter day. With all this in mind this is the art journal page I made this week. There's to be a second part to it but that's for next week. 
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I was the appointed photographer at my brother's wedding this morning. It was not a fancy affair. Family only, outdoors and casual dress to Sunday best if you wanted.
Out of all the 450 photo's I took this was my very favorite one and I was very lucky to get it. They don't even know I took it.....yet anyway..LOL!
I used M4H's First Kiss action on it from her Love Bird's collection. I wanted it to have a bit of a retro feel but not too much.
My Dad took the casual route and my Mama took the Sunday best route. =D



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This week also finished up our first week of home school. A super big success. It was a lot of redoing assignments, sometimes me being very stern and unyielding and other times being the cheer leader.  It's been hard and easy all at the same time. But I can say without a doubt it's the best thing I ever did for my daughter.
Thanks for taking a peek in with me today!
Balinda

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

PostHeaderIcon An Accidental Art Doll! by Beth Rimmer ~ A great kit for your art dollie stash

Beth is really on a roll with her art dolls.  I almost never know exactly what I am going to create with her goodness until I just get my hands dirty and start playing. This time though I knew I wanted to have something merged with that cool top hat. I am not all that great at merging items together and really played around a lot with layer masks and am super pleased with the results. This is a fun page that will be added to my art journal. I like dogs fine but ultimately Cats Rule and Dogs Drool in my house hold of 3 kitties.  This sweet little kitty is quite upset that the little doggie is trying to fly under radar and invade her park.
An Accidental Art Doll! by Beth Rimmer at Deviant Scrap is just a wonderful addition of go to pieces if you like/or are interested in art dolls. 
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Saturday, August 6, 2011

PostHeaderIcon Project 365 Photos

This week wrapped up the last official days of Shaina's summer vacation. Monday marks the first day of 9th grade for us. I spent today getting all of her subjects installed on her new laptop. At first they didn't wanna go but after being a little bit persistent it all got placed properly where it belonged.
I am still trudging along with my Project 365. I know I have not shared photos for that in what seems like forever but let's remedy that now. These are not in any particular order and just a sampling of my past week.


Shaina's new laptop.
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I was given the total gym to keep for awhile so it's going to good use next to the treadmill. I learned a long time ago that out of sight is out of mind so in the living room it stays. And that's how it gets used daily.
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I had been wanting to try this brand of water flavors. Today I picked up strawberry watermelon. It's pretty darn good!


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Shaina opening her laptop.


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Seriously! Could it get any hotter!!!! And that's how hot it was at 5:30 in the afternoon.
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I cross stitched before I scrapbooked (paper scrapbooked). There was a shop in Bossier called Knots-n-Needles and I had thought it had went out of business when I went hunting for it again about 6 months ago. I had not made a thing in about 10 years but had seen the shop open but never stopped. But like I was saying about 6 months ago I went to go to it and it was GONE! I was so heart broke. Just by chance I had to turn around  in a parking lot and it was their parking lot!! It was Serendipity!!! I bought me a small kit to get me back in the groove with linen fabric. I have never cross stitched on linen so this should be quite the adventure!
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This is my fattest cat, Ghost. I was up late on the laptop with my feet up in the recliner. Since he usually sleeps with me and I was not in bed yet he made himself comfy.
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Are you doing Project 365 or any variation on it? I would love to visit your blog. We have made it halfway through...so yipppeee!!!! I absolutely adore this project!
Thanks for stopping by!
Balinda

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

PostHeaderIcon Busy Ladies at Deviant Scrap~Art Therapy Anyone?!?!?!

Today marks the first day of public school around here. It also marks the first day of NOT starting a new school year in one for us. We did not start school today. I am going to tackle that in a week or so. We just got my DD a new (her first) laptop to go with her first year of 9th grade. All of her work will be computer based. I chose the Switched on Schoolhouse curriculum and am excited to see how well she does with a more interactive format. Traditional teaching methods have really fallen flat for us. So it has been beyond busy getting prepared for all that fun.

Last week was a busy week for the designers I CT for. I love these ladies~they amaze me with their vision and creativeness in the creations of the kits and I am in constant awe of the other CT members who can use items in such clever ways I never would have thought to do.

So without further ado..Here is my page I created with Art (Doll) Therapy by Beth Rimmer at Deviant Scrap.
I fell in love with the red shoes in this kit. It reminded me of high school and my yellow high top reeboks that I wore the soles out of. They were fun, funky and very non-conformist. =D


These two pages were created with CryztalRain's Art Therapy and Art Therapy Words.  There is also a cool alpha to go along with them. I just didn't use it in either of my pages, Art Therapy Alpha. All of them can be found at Deviant Scrap.



I just had a ball playing with VooDoo HooDoo by Finecrafted Designs at Deviant Scrap.
We both live in Louisiana and I literally hooted in delight when I saw this one. It's so unique with it's theme.


The running theme for all of these kits is Art Therapy. Do you indulge in it? Have you ever tried it.
The old saying is a picture is worth a thousand words and this certainly holds true for arting your emotions. 
If you are looking for more inspiration I urge you to go take a peek at the gallery at Deviant Scrap. Each and every day I am inspired.
Hope to see you there!!!
Balinda

Sunday, July 31, 2011

PostHeaderIcon Wrapping up the Week

There's been a ton of activity at the house this week. It's the weekend that the hubby is home from work.
Sometimes it's a good thing and sometimes we drive each other bananas. So far, so good though.
Wednesday we had a really good prayer meeting. The pastor really got fired up and gave some really good scriptures to follow up and review the sermon with. I am a big note taker and I like the ability to study a bit further if I have some questions about the where's and why's of a particular subject. Then Thursday was
the WMU and Pastor's Conference at the church. I have never taken part in WMU (Women's Missionary Union) but am really feeling the calling to do so. It's about mission education, awareness and involvement in the church. The conference was nice and very informative and not at all like I expected (boring and drawn out).
Afterwards, I picked up my wonderful DD to go laptop shopping. I do the picking out and the ex pays for it. I was doing my best to be fair and keep the price about the same as I have spent on the curriculum. So 500 dollars was about my limit w/tax if I could swing it. And I did. I found lovely little 15.6 screen size HP with 4 Rams of memory and a 500 GB hard drive on sale at Office Max for $399. Add a $99 warranty on it and well we are pretty much even steven. It did not have the 101 key board like I would have liked but she doesn't care and it will more than work for daily school work. It is still sitting on the kitchen table in the box. I am thinking I am not even going to open it up until Monday. I don't want to be in a snizzle and rush or be bothered when I go to install the software for the school year or when first turning it on and just getting set up period.
This Sunday is 5th Sunday dinner on the grounds. It's something I asked if this church did when I joined and they said they used to but sorta fell out of the habit. So with a little nudge from me, it's started back up. It's nice to fellowship with my new church family and I am still getting to know some of them but before the year is out I will be more than in the swing of things and be an old hand at know what goes where and when and how..etc.  So first thing in the morning I will be getting up and making some dirty rice and hot water cornbread for our noon meal. I really do hope we have a full house.
And on that note, I will call it a night as I still have a few things I need to do before heading to bed.
Thanks for popping in to see me.
Balinda

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

PostHeaderIcon Procrastinator Extraordinaire

I must make a confession. I have peeked at my blog numerous times, thinking to myself that I need to post something. Mostly because I use it as a way to document my days, the normal day to day routine that afflicts us all. I also use it to document my growth in skills as an art journaler and and revel secretly inside when I conquer a new skill or stumble upon an effect that takes a page from just ok to me to "wow, I am really diggin' that!".
Eventhough I have not posted any Project 365 photos I have been taking them. I have tried to scrap them digitally but that is just not working for me. I had thought about having them bound into a book but for some reason I am resisting that idea also. What I did think about doing with them is being all art journalesque (slap some paint, scribble about the day etc) with  them. That idea made me smile. I am "documenting" my life and the quirkiness of it and I am still enjoying being crafty. I know some paper scrappers would cringe at the idea of paint and markers and possibly other NON-archival media touching a photo. I mean, that is what was DRILLED into our heads back when 1999 when I went to my very first OFFICIAL scrapbooking party held by my then SIL. If it was not acid free then it could not touch thee, seemed to be the motto.  After a very long 8 years of not scrapping and a lot of that time not even having a camera, I guess I am just over it. I have tons of photos that do need to be scrapped and am more than making up for it now with my ♥iPhone♥. I do need to document memories before I get senile or something for the kiddos though. So get ready to see that project shared.
Oh let's see what else...hmmmm...getting ready for school. I am entering in to the first full year of home schooling and it's also 9th grade. Oh what a challenge. The Switched On Schoolhouse curriculum was very highly recommended by another mom from church (who is also studying to be a teacher) and she even brought it up for me to peek into the program. I really liked the format and the fact that I could load it into a laptop and it be super portable. It's very interactive and has a Bible study class which I might do along with her. In addition to all of that, I have loaded up on the art supplies and twice a week we are going to have art class. That and music is was not offered at her school. She loves to draw and I really want to feed that passion. No it's not fine art, it's more like cartoon drawings but that does not matter. I got a book that will teach us both perspective and shading and if anything she will have an appreciation of art and will be having fun.
So with the curriculum purchased, it's now time to go laptop shopping. That is on the agenda for Thursday. I go and pick it out and then let her father know which one is acceptable since he knows NOTHING about computers. Does not even have internet at his house. So I am hoping to find something around $500 so he does not have a stroke. That will make us even on what we will have spent on her for school since he pays no child support.
Another goal of mine for the second half of the year is to do some actual scrapbooking. I have done mostly just art journal pages but now it's time to balance it all out so that my babies will have memories to revisit and not forget the stories of their grandparents or parents for that matter.
****And you might see me posting tons more, I have just really been busy but I do love to blog, it gives me a place to vent, share, cry, praise God or just to say I had an ordinary and perfect day.****
So I hope you will stay with me on my adventure through the rest of the year.
Balinda

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

PostHeaderIcon Beth Rimmer's Wings of the Phoenix

Beth Rimmer never disappoints with her wonderful and imaginative kits. And she surely did not with Wings of the Phoenix. And yes it has some wonderful phoenix's in it and the coolest of dragons. I just did not use them on the page I created. 
This is my soapbox statement for all the lazy bum's sucking up government funds intended for the people who really them them. It won't be long before no one will get the benefits and then where will we as a society?
Text reads: give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime~chinese proverb

PostHeaderIcon Parrothead Paradise by Finecrafted Designs

Finecrafted Designs has given us a taste of Jimmy Buffet and Margaritaville with her newest kit, Parrothead Paradise. Who can resist the idea of a shaker of salt and some awesome lazy beach time?
Run and go grab it for when you wanna scrap those vacation photos or just something fun and fanciful!!!!
Here is what I was inspired to do with it. =D It's a page for my art journal.

PostHeaderIcon Life's a Beach Kit Series by CryztalRain

Cryztal Rain has some new and fabulous papers and summery beachy kits for those fun-filled and water drenched pages. They are great for art journaling and traditional scrapped pages. Here's a few pages I have made using these great new kits.
Each photo is linked to the gallery for a listing of full credits.
Life's a Beach Add-On ~ Don't let the name fool ya. This add on has 9 papers and 106 elements. A full kit unto itself!!!!


Life's a Beach Kit ~ 18 papers and 128 elements

Life's a Beach ATC ~ 9 jumbo 7x5 papers, 6 5x7 postcard size papers and 84 elements.

This is a most wonderful addition to anyone's stash of beachy/summer go kits!

PostHeaderIcon A week away from technology

I will admit I reluctantly volunteered to help with S.M.A.K. (Summer Musical Activity for Kids) at church this past week. Not because I didn't want to help it's just that it started at 8:30 am AND I am learning that working with kids are not my calling. But it seems the more I resist the more opportunities seem to present  themselves to me to be a part of. I do not say no but I don't really go into them with the happiest of hearts. Is this God showing me that even if I am not comfortable with what I am needed for, I must do it anyhow because there may not be other's to do it. Is it that His work for us to do will not be for us to pick and choose. I trust He has the plan and am doing my best to "roll" with it.
Well in doing so, this left me with ZERO time for blogging, CT duties, or even time for much sleep last week. I must say it's a relief that it is over. It was a great success and I am still trying to recover and catch up on sleep and the happenings in the forums that I ♥ and emails. I have not even downloaded the photos I took last week of those precious kiddos off of my camera card yet to share with parents etc on FB. Note to self: get on that soon!
On my next couple of postings I am going to catch you up on the awesome products that have been released from the wickedly cool designers I CT for. So stay tuned. =D!
Balinda

Thursday, June 30, 2011

PostHeaderIcon Blog Makeover

Well I decided I wanted a bit of a blog makeover. I have a friend who could design my blog like I wanted but I am not sure how I want it just yet plus I am not ready to pay for it. So that will be on hold for awhile. I played around in blogger some and I really liked this template. I am played around a bit and for now it will do. It's hitting the midnight hour so I had best quite messing with it before I totally get it all wonky. I will be back in just a bit with another posting I am sure but until then I will leave a chocolate kiss trail for ya's to follow. =D
Balinda
edited post...so I didn't stick with the blogger one...but I think this one is nice too.

Monday, June 13, 2011

PostHeaderIcon Open House at Roswell~New from Beth Rimmer!

Ever been to an Open House at Roswell? Well now is your chance with Beth Rimmer's newest creation.
She has the quirkiest imagination and the most fun sense of humor!  So if you are a sci-fi fan like me or have some weird photos from the UFO museum (s) from downtown Roswell...again like me..LOL! you will have a blast creating with an Open House at Roswell from Deviant Scrap. And if you do grab and create with it PLEASE stop by the forum and upload it to the gallery. We would love to shower it with love!!!!
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And here is what I created with it...I immediately thought of E.T. when I saw the phone. =)
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Thanks for peeking in tonight!!!
Balinda

Sunday, June 12, 2011

PostHeaderIcon Doing the Happy Dance! I got accepted to CrystalRain's CT!!!!

I applied a bit ago to be on CrystalRain's  (formerly Totally Wild Dezines)creative team at her Deviant Scrap Store and by some stroke of fantastic luck she let me come on board (insert big cheesy happy grin). She has the most awesome of brushes and elements and an already talented group of ladies on her CT. I have not done brush work in awhile...well not since my days of making signature tags and in paint shop pro. And most definitely not too much in photoshop so I am more than a wee bit nervous but most definitely up to the challenge to show off her great products and push my creative limits all at the same time.

And if you are up to the challenge and want to get some pointers from her, she has a great interview in this month's Deviant Muse. It's the Deviant Scrap's store free ezine. It's packed jam full of tuts, challenges and eye candy to get those creative juices flowing like there's no tomorrow.  And the best part of all is that it's FREE!!!! So run over and pick up your copy right HERE. January through May are also available at the rock bottom price of free also. The doors are always open and the light's even on so you don't stub a toe pushing that cart full of goodies to the check out.

Thanks for popping by!!!
Balinda

Thursday, June 9, 2011

PostHeaderIcon New Friend and New Eyes

The husband came home in the early hours of last Friday morning and it's seems in no time flat he is gone again. I hate his job but it's an evil we must endure. I have had some pretty busy weeks but then again  who hasn't?
I have been able to squeeze in some time to meet Tracie Stroud from Scrap Orchard. I became a fan of her's on FB over a year ago and through there and friending her on her personal FB we realized we lived only 30 mins apart. You would think that getting together would be easy but trying to coordinate kiddos, church etc we only recently made a "real" effort. She truly was as sweet and kind as I imagined she would be. It's one of those rare things where you meet someone who really does not feel a stranger. No awkward pauses. We could have chatted for hours if we had not had our kiddo's with us. Even my 15 yo DD was getting restless.
We were giving the thumbs up that we both ended up not being weird serial killers. I am looking forward to many more lunch/play dates. 
I have been putting off getting a new pair of glasses for oh about 3 years but over the past 6 months my vision up close has went to crap. I told the hubby that when I got new glasses I was gonna get prescription sunglasses also. The more I thought about it though I came to the conclusion that contacts would be better.  Only thing though is that I have a huge fear of poking foreign objects actually on my eyeball. It just defies logic to me. But it's the cheaper alternative. My DD needed an new rx for her eyes also. She wanted to try contacts again. She tried for ONE day last year but of course Mom is doing it so it's an appealing alternative again. We have been wearing them for a little over a week and we both love them. I however only wear one in my left eye. It's kinda weird but it makes the supply of contacts last twice as long so I am very cool with that.
And here she is after her success in getting those buggers into the eyes correctly. She is beautiful with glasses but I am so excited to be able to see her eyes instead of the frame of her glasses. I was also excited that she liked them because she went to Survivor Youth Camp this past weekend. I will have to share more about that when I get the pics of her finally back home off of my phone.
That's just a little bit of a catch up on my news. Catch ya's on the flip side!!!!
Balinda

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

PostHeaderIcon Win Tracie Stroud's Newest Kit.

Tracie Stroud is giving out a chance to win her newest kit. Run and go and grab you a chance!!!!
----------------->CLICK ME<---------------------
Good Luck!!!!

Friday, June 3, 2011

PostHeaderIcon Guest Spot for Finecrafted Designs AND a Guest Writer for the Deviant Muse

I am super excited to be a guest writer for the Deviant Muse this month.
I tackled a subject not many people are willing to discuss openly but it's one very
dear to my heart. In addition to my contribution there are some great artist interviews,
tutorials and challenges that really stretch your creativity. Best part of all it's FREE!!!!
So go grab you a copy HERE and come hang out in the Deviant Scrap forum and
upload some of your creations to the gallery. It's an open but no outside linkies. =)
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I have also been asked to be a guest CT for the month of June for Finecrafted Designs. It's a super honor as I just adore her kits. I had asked the designers for a more "adult" religious kit and she took on the challenge and let me have a play with it. She created an Angel kit called Guardian Angels and the big kit is called His Spirit Moves Me. Below are the 2 pages I created.
To know the story behind them just click to be taken to the gallery.

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Thanks for peeking in today!!!!!

Saturday, May 28, 2011

PostHeaderIcon What About Bob?->Great New Kit from Beth Rimmer

With all the storms and connection problems with my pc and cell phone (both AT&T) and blogger being up and down on me I have not been able to post. I am beyond aggravated as I dearly love my blog. It's a great way for me to memory keep and even to vent.
I have been trying to get on here to share my page I made with Beth Rimmer's What About Bob? kit found at Deviant Scrap. It's a great kit to art journal with but I found it lent itself
perfectly to a photo of my Grandparents. That's my Daddy on the left and my Uncle on the right.
I feel very blessed to even have a copy of it. It's a gentle reminder to hold our loved ones dear and that all the elderly people you encounter in daily living were once vibrant young people. Treat them kindly and remember just because they are old does not mean they have no value in society. =)
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Saturday, April 30, 2011

PostHeaderIcon Introducing Diva's in My Garden by Beth Rimmer

I just LOVE hummingbirds and when Beth Rimmer's Kit Diva in My Garden was shown to me I KNEW I would be scrapping one of my many photos I had taken of these miniature beauties.
It's full of fun elements and wonderful backgrounds for both traditional and art journalers. It's a kit that can easily become a favorite. And it's on sale this week for 40% off.
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Thanks for Peeking in!!!
Balinda

PostHeaderIcon Testing, Tornados and Traveling

It has been quite the exhausting week! Not to mention emotional and downright scary with the horrible storm that has blown through the southern United States. We got the IOWA test done and out of the way. Now we just wait for the results to see what we might need to work a bit harder on or where we can continue to work at a steady pace or even work on a more advanced level.

On Tuesday night we got hit pretty hard with that storm that blew through. I was lucky and never lost power but we had quite a few tornados confirmed around the area. One of the worst things ever is a night time tornado. You can't see them. But if you have never been in one the experience is quite un-nerving and not anything you want to do again. As I am here at home that Tuesday, the DH was on his way from Missouri to Russelville, Arkansas with some other crews in preparation for storm cleanup and to get power back to people as quickly as possible. I was doing my best to monitor the weather reports along his route and keep him updated via text messages. Wednesday morning they got up and got sent to Hot Springs. This morning at breakfast they were told to load up go to to Alabama. They are in Bessemer, Alabama at the moment. No motel to stay in and thank goodness no tents either because he has had to do that a time or two. There's 18 wheeler trailers set up with bunk beds and air conditioning. There's a trailer for showers and he said some lady came and got his clothes to wash. Fingers crossed that they come back. There's alot of men there and things do get lost and mixed up. He will know tomorrow where exactly he will be working but since that seems to be a suburb or something of Birmingham I am sure it will be around there.

We must continue to pray for the people affected by this killer storm and for the men and women who are working and volunteering to get them back on their feet and basic services restored.

Since Shaina didn't really have an Easter break like public school I arranged for her to catch a ride with my brother back to Texas when his hitch ended this time. He works on a drilling rig. Not sure what his position is but he gets to sit in a little room and monitor guages etc. She will come back this coming Thursday when he comes back. This is actually a big deal because I have never let her stay with my brother. He is remarried. But not even when he was married to his first wife. She had a pain pill addiction and there was no way I was letting my babies stay over. In fact, I ended up with his kids at my house for that very reason. I spoke to her earlier and so far so good. She is having a great time.
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Thanks for peeking in on me!!! I really do appreciate all the visits!
Balinda

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

PostHeaderIcon Roses and Round Robins

Today is a very big day in our home....My DD is taking the IOWA test. For those who don't follow my blog regularly, I pulled her out of school back in January to home school. Nothing preplanned. It just happened to be last straw and the last time I would let her go there and be bullied. This was not the first time this year. No one deserves that and it's something I have wanted to do for a while anyhow. I could just never sway my ex to my way of thinking. Long story short..she is thriving. She is a little bit lonely with it only being me and her most of the time. But it will get better when I join a home school group. Her friend Kristy is home schooled and her father is an approved tester of the IOWA exam which Louisiana will let us take instead of the LEAP and iLEAP. The schools around here teach to pass the LEAP exams and it so aggravates me. What happened to old fashioned teaching? Educators are being forced to push ahead when the kids are barely grasping the basics. So I was a bit nervous that I was not covering the correct material to give her a chance to test well. She did good and finished in the alloted time and even told me that the things we did study did help her on the test. Tomorrow is day 2 and the final day. I let her stay with her friend Kristy so I would not have to drive her down so early in the morning. I figure at this point the best thing to do is let her have some down time so she will be relaxed and not nervous tomorrow. I think I am more nervous than she is/was though....I just don't want to let her down by not covering the correct materials for her to succeed.
I noticed when I left this morning my rose bushes were blooming like crazy. I gotta get some bug spray or something because something is chewing up the buds before they can fully bloom. I wish I could remember the name of this rose but it has the most heavenly scent and the blooms are huge especially if I crank out some miracle grow. I am also especially excited about the roses because me and the hubby...well him..I just supervised and tried not to have a cow when he was jerking them out of the ground...anyhow when they got moved to a new spot in the yard in the hopes of doing better. It's nothing short of a miracle they all survived much less have blooms on them.
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Beth Rimmer is hosting an Altered Book Round Robin at Deviant Scrap. Before I signed up for this my idea of a round robin was a fat little bird. But basically what happens is that you sign up and select a theme for yourself...ex...fairies, asian inspired, steampunk type, etc.... Once everyone's theme is selected and settled upon you go down the list creating a page for each person...They in turn create you a page of the interpretation of your theme. In the end you have a unique book from your fellow artist. Traditionally pages are mailed snail mail and made with real paints, paper etc..
But in this tech savvy society we can create digitally and email instead. It will be up the the recipient to have their pages bound in a book, made into a calendar, print out on a canvas, the possibilities are endless. I will have mine bound into a book.
The first theme I was assigned to tackle was to create a "Mood Doll" that evokes a mood or feeling. I was terrified I would not be able to do it. No idea what I was going to do. And of course I wanted my page to be loved by the recipient. This is what me and photoshop cooked up and I was pleased with it..actually astonished that I might have actually pulled this off. So off to the gallery to post and the old faithful yahoo to send the email....tick, tock, tick, tock....does she like it, hate it, is it not what she wanted? After much nervousness...it's very much loved..cuz well..I loved it too and wanted her to love it like I did.
Clicking on the page takes you to the gallery to view the credits.
"Melancholy"
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Monday, April 25, 2011

PostHeaderIcon Welcome Steamtown Explorers to the Party!

Introducing Steamtown Explorers by Beth Rimmer at Deviant Scrap. This woman is on a
roll with this awesome series of stupendous steampunkiness (errrr new word =) ).
I had so much fun with this kit I made 2 pages..that doesn't happen often but who can
resist making a page with a designer toliet...LOL!!!! There's so much that you can do with this one and a great kit to grab for your go to stash of goodies.
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Thanks for peeking in!!!
Balinda

PostHeaderIcon New goodies from Shawnery's Designs~Come be a little Funky and have some Afternoon Tea

Hey everyone! I have been super duper busy this month with taxes.....hence the reason for blog neglect but that bad business is OVER and the relief is beyond measure! Fingers crossed that the IRS and state agrees with my calculations...they were accepted but last year after the state accepted ours they "corrected" our forms and we went from a refund to owing them 614 dollars. I was so very sad. But while I wait I am back into art journaling and scrapping. It felt amazing to unwind and create!!!!

The awesome Shawnery Mathis has this wonderful new vintagy style kit out called
Afternoon Tea at Deviant Scrap. And see that neato font...come on!!! you know you do...it's a new one from her too called Funky.

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Thanks for peeking in!!!
Balinda

Thursday, April 7, 2011

PostHeaderIcon Welcome the Mermaid Rodeo to the Range!

It's called Mermaid Rodeo. It's deviated and fun but with enough traditional elements for
a traditional scrap page and ready for your scrapping pleasure.

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With my 3 kitties I was immediately drawn to the cats. This is one of those pages
that I created just for the pure pleasure of creating and I can't wait to get it
printed and added to my art journal. Full credits can be found by clicking on the
page and viewing in my gallery.
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Text Reads
The legend fortold that if 2 young cats
in love were tricked into eating a romantic
meal of tropical fish by a young mermaid they would be tranformed
into mercats. If their love proved to be true in 7 years they would
have the choice to return to land and live a mortal cats life or to
remain a mercat and live blissfully in aquatic paradise forever.


Thanks for peeking in!!!!
Balinda


Wednesday, April 6, 2011

PostHeaderIcon New from Shawnery's Designs

I am excited to announce that I have been accepted to be a part of Shawnery Mathis's (Shawnery's Designs) Creative Team. I almost didn't apply but I am glad that I took the chance.
She sells at the awesome store Deviant Scrap which stays full of deviated greatness.
She has 2 new products out this week Art Journaling Premades 2 and this wickedly fun font
Here's a couple of Oversized ATC's that I created using the premades in both and the Cool Words font in the second one.
Click the photos to be taken to the gallery to see full credits.

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Thanx for Peeking in!!!
Balinda

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About Me

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Balinda (RebelChick)
Just an everyday girl trying to find my way in the world to live life fiercely and passionately. I was a signature tagger for several years but art journaling has replaced that passion and it feeds my soul creativiely and spiritually. I also homeschool my DD, scrapbook, play around in photography, spoil my cats and drive my hubby insane on a daily basis. My faith in the Lord helps me juggle all these blessings. I keep this blog because it makes me happy. Sometimes I blog a lot and other times it collects a little dust. Thanks for visiting and being my friend.♥
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