the Big Fall Photo Cleanup!

Posted on November 1, 2018 by Kristie Sloan

We are working on beginning to clean up our digital photos, in 15 minute increments of time this month! Don’t keep putting it off, thinking you will do it later. It is never too late to start! I’ve created a FaceBook Group where there will be prompts to help get you started. Some people will be using FOREVER, and others will not. Either way, I would love to help you get started! Invite a friend to join you!

Once your photos are organized and you can find your favorites, it makes it so easy to use them to create something! I hope you will join us.

If you want to find out more about FOREVER.com by using a free 2 GB account, You can watch the first 5 minutes of this video to help you get started. Getting Started with Free 2GB

Cheers to YOUR Artful Adventures,

Baby’s First Year Mini Album

Posted on September 17, 2018 by Kristie Sloan

Here is a quick peek at the mini-album I made for my great-grandson’s first year.
It was from a project kit by Pine Cone Press Design, which I picked up at one of the scrapbook shows last year. If you like the binder, you can order it from them. It is called a “curved back spine album.” (I am not affiliated with them, I just like the way this cover turned out! Please note that their website is mis-stated in the video, as that was from printed information from them. I double checked and found an updated website, which is the link above.) The video is below.

First Year Baby Mini Album

I have been working in my FOREVER account and adding my digital photos there, and love the way I can find what I need. I have even been creating some fast photo books and printing them with FOREVER Print. However, I still love creating paper projects! So I hope you enjoy this quick look at this little album.

Also, you can find out more about the Perfect Paints I mention at this link. (Again, not affiliated.)

Cheers to YOUR Artful Adventures!

Summer 2018 Update

Posted on August 24, 2018 by Kristie Sloan

It has been a busy summer! We started off on Memorial Day weekend joining a group of Young Marines as they placed flags at the headstones at one of our national cemeteries. It was touching to see many who were there to honor loved ones, and who graciously joined in. What a picturesque outcome.

Liberty and freedom with a cost to many.

A one year old birthday party for our great grandchild, and a belated birthday party for another grandchild took us to Colorado.

One year old! Where has the time gone!

We went to Colorado via New Mexico and went through Santa Fe and Taos, which was an enjoyable drive. My husband had never been that way, and it was a welcome change from the normal drive through the northwest part of Texas. In Santa Fe, I enjoyed shopping at the Governor’s Palace. Palace is a relative term! It is always an amazing experience shopping directly from artisans. The Native Americans at the Governor’s Palace never dissappoint with their available goods.

Native American artisans selling at the Governor’s Palace in Santa Fe, New Mexico

One particular woman told me she was 85 and lives in Arizona. She only goes to Santa Fe during summer months, as she finds the other months too cold for her liking. She works on her jewelry items all winter, and brings them to Santa Fe during the summer. I actually bought more than one piece from her. It was fun to visit with each of the artisans whose work I was interested in.

We went to Dodge City, Kansas to meet up with one of our daughters to return a grandchild who had come home with us for a few weeks. We visited the Boot Hill Museum, and enjoyed learning more about Dodge City and its history. One thing I was surprised to find was the fact they had so many brick-paved streets! That was quite a surprise. Who would have thought that the famous Dodge City western town had so many paved streets! For any of you who have ever watched Gunsmoke, you may appreciate these photos.

Long Branch Saloon in Dodge City, Kansas.

Show at the saloon.

I was back in Colorado again for a grandchild’s graduation and our annual ScrapHappy reunion to meet up with some of my online scrapbook friends. This was my sixth year to meet up with them. I would have never imagined the fun it would be to make such long lasting relationships with likeminded strangers I originally met online. You can check out the ScrapHappy group and see if you’d like to join us!

Scrap Happy Reunion 2018

There was also a first time visit to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to attend the annual FOREVER conference, where FOREVER’s home office is located. It was complete with a dinner and 80’s party. It was so much fun seeing people’s ’80’s costumes! Using FOREVER, we were able to make a collaborative album, giving all attendees the ability to upload their best photos, and share them! (We had also made a collaborative album for our ScrapHappy event and shared photos. I have to say, I have more photos of myself participating in an event than I have had of any other event! Certainly many of you know what I am talking about!) Many of you will remember how I dressed in the 80s, and this was not it!

Who doesn’t like an 80s party?

As for the city of Pittsburgh, I may have to go back and explore the area again. I am truly impressed by the mission, passion, and integrity of FOREVER. Protecting people’s memories and their stories for the future is such an important thing in this digital era. If you have any questions about FOREVER, let me know!

I was back at “the farm” in Colorado in time to see 3 new baby goats, and 9 new baby pigs. There is pure chaos there! Pure chaos! However, there are quiet moments.

Quiet moments at the farm. One baby loving another.

A summer update would not be complete without including the great 2018 lawn! When we first moved to Texas, we were advised that there was no need to water our lawn as it would green up at the first rain. I highly doubted this information, but considering the source (who shall remain nameless to protect the not-so-innocent) my husband decided to give this method whirl. One dead lawn later, we tried to reseed the next year. As soon as it seemed to be doing well, it rained, and rained, and rained some more. It drowned the young grass, covered it with dirt, and then washed more dirt away. This year, summer # 3, we found out that the kind of grass needed there, can NOT be seeded, it can only be from sod or ‘plugs’ of grass planted. Lo and behold we found out how big our front yard was and how much it would cost to sod. The trees were trimmed to allow more sunlight (there is a reason I call it 7 Oaks here) and sod was put in. Let’s just say my husband says he will not ever look at nice grass again without seeing dollar signs. Please enjoy the view.

New front lawn at Seven Oaks. Yes, it really is that green right now!

Currently I am in the midst of reorganizing my scrapping and crafting inventory of items and equipment. I have added an open shelving unit to hold some of my things so that they can be more readily available for use. We also added shelving in a closet that had none, and will be much more user friendly! Too many purchases have caused the need to reign in the space things are taking up. Even though I have space that I could fill, I refuse to let my habit take over available empty rooms. They are meant to be available for friends and family, not be completely filled to the brim by craft supplies.

Enough about me and my summer. What has been your favorite part of this summer?

Creative Goals

Posted on January 20, 2018 by Kristie Sloan

It seems like every New Year’s day we tend to come up with things we want to do for the upcoming year. It doesn’t have to be anything specific, it can be anything that is important to YOU!

What will you make a creative priority this year?

What creative plans, goals or projects do you for 2018?

Maybe you want to continue doing something you love. Perhaps you want to delve in and learn something new. Whatever you decide, I wish you the most amazing creative year!

In February, I will once again attempt to create a scrapbook page each day of the month, during the LayOut a Day (LOAD) challenge. Even if I fall short, I will have completed more pages than if I didn’t even try! If you want to join in, you can find information here: LOAD218 If you just want to join in, you can do that without being a member of ScrapHappy, but it IS included in a membership.

Rag quilt for great-grandson.

Something else I want to tackle this year is a quilt. Last year, I completed a simple “rag quilt” for my oldest granddaughter to have for my great-grandson. I made it larger than a baby blanket so it could be cuddly for both mommy and baby. This year I would like to try a different kind of quilt. I know there are a variety of quilt-as-you-go ideas, and that’s what I want to do. If you have any ideas to share about that, please let me know!

That is just the tip of the iceberg for my creative plans for the year. I want you to know that I am still here, and will be updating the site with much more regularity. You can plan to see crafty projects, as well as scrapbook ideas.

What kinds of creative plans do you have for this year? Don’t be shy, let us know!

Cheers to YOUR Artful Adventures,

Hello September 2017!

Posted on September 1, 2017 by Kristie Sloan

It is hard to believe that summer is winding down. Many of you have children who have already headed back to school, and others will start back after Labor Day weekend. How did the summer fly by? At our house it has included some very special family members moving in with us! My oldest daughter, her daughter, and my granddaughter’s new baby all moved in with us during the summer. You never know what kind of a curve ball life is going to throw your way, and life can sure be interesting. So, during this phase of their move to Texas, we are fortunate to have a place in our home to make it all work!

Having a new little one in our family has been a reminder of making sure we have a great plan in place to keep our photos safe. Do you have a plan in place? I have alway worked to make sure that my photos are backed up in several places, and urge others to do so, too. Now I have a great way to help you do that, too! FOREVER is a company devoted to helping people keep their most precious photos safe. I will be telling you more about what FOREVER has to offer, and how to use it. Besides saving photos, I’ll also have a great way to offer you digital scrapbooking again! Lots of fun info will be coming soon!

Also, I’ll be announcing new CTMH Scrapbook Club kits this next week.

For now, I just wanted to pop in and say “Hello” and wish you a happy holiday weekend.

For many of those in Texas, who are suffering from the effects of Hurricane Harvey, our thoughts and prayers go out to them, and many of us are working in relief efforts in ways we can. Please consider donating to reputable charities to help. If you are in Texas, please check out volunteer opportunities!

Until next time,