Friday, January 2, 2009

New Technique And LOs For The New Year

OK, so it's the new year and I plan to slow it down for 2009!!! Last year, I tried to do everything...I rushed around and rushed around and finally I have to say ENOUGH!!!! I am a natural busy body, but I am thoroughly exhausted! You want to know how I bought in the new year? I was fast asleep! I had no desire to stay up and watch the ball drop, I mean once you've seen it...you've seen it!

I played Uno and Chutes and Ladders with Donovan, watched a little of Dick Clark's Rocking New Year's Eve special, made myself an apple martini to toast in the New Year and then went to bed!

I hate making resolutions because eventually I end up breaking them. There are however a few changes that I need to make in my life. There are 2 major things at the top of my stress list, I need to either change them or get rid of them, not matter how difficult it may be. Of course this is easier said than done since it could change my life drastically.

I need to be proactive with finding a new job. April marks my 10th year at my job and I've hated it for quite some time now, so I need to get on the ball...seriously!! There's nothing worse than forcing myself to get up and go to work everyday, knowing how much I don't want to be there. I love the people that I work with, but I hate how redundant my job is and the fact that there is nowhere for me to go! I hate the feeling that my skills have been rendered obsolete. I don't know who'll be hiring in this economy, but I'm going to search nonetheless!

I need to get on the ball with losing weight, which means I need to "just say no to sweets"! I AM going to lose at least 25 lbs this year. My plan is to shed 35 lbs by my 35th birthday in August, but something is better than nothing. My girls from high school, my sister, and I have started a weight loss challenge. We're each putting $25 in the pot and the person who loses the highest percentage of weight between Jan 5th and June 5th (our next spa weekend) gets the money. Oh, it's on now...they've tapped into my competitive nature and I wanna win, if only for the bragging rights!

I also NEED to get my finances in order and stop spending so frivolously!! 'Nuff said! There are more changes, but these are the things that I MUST change, NOW!

Hope you had a great New Year!!!

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Now on to the scrappy stuff! Dream Girl's Challenge # 19 is up!! To begin our first challenge in 2009 we decided that it would be perfect to create a layout using the word "NEW" in the title or journaling.

Product twist: Layout must be Black and White

Technique twist: handmade embellishment being the only additional color.

Click here to see what the rest of the Divas created!


journaling: Xander's new to the whole snow thing, but 'm sure next year big brother Donovan will introduce him to snow angels and snowball fights.

The theme for this month at scrap-diner.com is "The Simple Things". In keeping with the theme, I created a quick and easy technique that will help you use up one of the SIMPLEST items in your stash...STICKERS!! All of those random alpha stickers that you've had since you started scrapping are going to find a home in your albums. When you complete this technique, you will have a faux embossed piece of cardstock that you can use on your layouts and projects.

Supplies:
1 sheet of cardstock
several different packages of old alphabet stickers
acrylic paint
sponge brush applicator
spray adhesive
scissors

TIP: Cardstock stickers work best with this technique. If using stickers with a slick surface, just lightly run a sanding block across them to scratch the surface. This will help absorb the paint.)

Before beginning, remove all of the alphabet sheets from the packaging so they are readily available to peel off when needed.

Lightly spray the piece of cardstock with adhesive, working in sections so the adhesive doesn't dry before you get the stickers down. (This step helps keep the stickers down so they don't peel up after you apply the paint.)

Randomly apply the alpha stickers to the entire surface of the cardstock. Allow some stickers to hang over the edge for visual interest. Trim overhang with scissors. In my example, I put my title letters together first and then randomly adhered the rest of the alpha to the cardstock.

Use the sponge applicator to apply paint to the entire surface. The lighter the paint, the more coats you will have to apply. Just be sure to allow each coat to dry before applying the next. I used 3 coats of white paint in my example.

here's a closer look:

Once the final coat is dry, use as you wish on any project! For my example, I used a piece of die cut cardstock to trace the shape I wanted, inked the edge and adhered to a sheet of patterned paper. I then traced my faux embossed title letters with a black pen so they stood out from the rest.

It doesn't get any simpler than this, right?! Have fun creating your own look!!
journaling: you can add, subtract, count to 101 (to 10 in Spanish) and understand negative numbers.
You can spell: go, stop, cow, pig, dog cat, exit, car, one, cake, fire truck, the, & red all by yourself
You've know your shapes forever including the complex ones like crescent, hexagon, and octagon
You're learning to tell digital time, read numbers, and prices correctly
You know lots of Spanish words
You question everything and have a memory like an elephant!
Stay smart baby, learn something new everyday!
Thanks for taking a look!

16 comments:

Amanda L. said...

love this technique...good luck with your New Year's goals!!

Rochelle Spears said...

Great job on the LO for Dream Girls Challenge and love the technique!

Pamela said...

Good luck with slowing down! :) And with the rest of your goals...especially with your job search. I think everyone should have a job that they are happy with.

Megan Smith (aka Daisymeh) said...

Awesome work!

Unknown said...

woohoo you can do it Tanisha!! And love your technique - that is very clever!

Lily said...

wonderful resolutions! Just dont be so hard on yourself. You are a rockin' broad. Just keep that in mnd and the rest will come together. Love the sticker technique

Jennifer Beason said...

Fantastic technique with the stickers, I've got to try that!!!

Thanks for letting me know about the PP DT - I had no idea till I looked at your comment on my blog!!!:)

Happy New Year!

renee said...

Great technique. Good luck on the resolutions.

Anonymous said...

Girl you are going to lose more than that by August, just stay at it and keep being motivated. I am with you girl, I am telling you, you need to get that P90X and girl you gonna be sexy come April LOLOL .. cuz it WORKS .. I am loving that LO too girl it is gorgeous as is all your work.

About your job GIRL I so understand what you mean, I mean I am not stuck but I am just tired of the Air Force, and I have 6 or so more years to go before I retire and I am like umm NO I am done .. I feel you , it is like watching paint dry somedays LOL .. but girl head up and I will keep you in my prayers ...

Hey girl JENNIFER made the PP DT, I was SOOO happy .. there are chances for us girl .. TOOT TOOT.

Sasha

Helena said...

Oh I do hope the New Year will you everything you want, you really sound like you need a change! Best Wishes xxxx

I love your layout and that yellow snow flake is way cool!!

Thanks for sharing your technique, must get all my stickers together and sort them out, lol

Take care
xxxx

Dawn Bibbs said...

Hey there lady! Happy New Year to ya! What a great post. I don't normally make resolutions either. Like you, I don't normally stick with it. What a shame. However, this year, I DO want to get more scrapping done. I came to the conclusion that I took pretty much all of '08 off. I'm very ready to get back at it again. Speaking of scrapping, your LO's look great! Can't believe you've already got some pages done. SHOW OFF!! :-)lol

Nnairda's said...

Good luck with the weight loss! I'm already thinking about what I'm going to do when the baby gets here. I like the challenge that you guys are doing. Money is a great motivator. LOL!

Adriann

Unknown said...

I am sooooo trying that technique! Awesome job!

Love that snow layout with b&w + YELLOW! That's super cool.

I'm the same way with resolutions. I don't keep 'em, so I'm not making any new ones! Except one....I need to post about it on my blog soon! ;) Good luck on your weight loss challenge! I'm rootin' for you!

I hope you and your family have a Wonderful and Blessed 2009!!

Claireabelle said...

Great layouts! your boys are sooo cute!

Chelsey said...

awesome idea with the letters. Before you put it on your page, did you trace from something else and then use scissors to cut out your shape?

Aleks said...

Tanisha! This is totally wicked rad cool! I love it!!

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I live in New Jersey with my husband and our 2 sons. I work full time as a Medical Technologist and volunteer for the Community Emergency Response Team in my town. I've been scrapping for the past 8 years and I truly love it because it allows me to combine my love of photography and my love of paper into one art form. I love teaching scrapbook classes and providing freelance work. Please contact me via email if you are interested in commissioning my services: tanisharenee74@hotmail.com

All content, including text, photographs, and artwork are copyright 2011 by Tanisha R. Long (except where noted). My original artwork is shared for personal inspiration only, not for commercial use. This includes contests, submissions, and publications. Any other use requires my expressed written consent.
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