Making Digital Ink Tutorial in Photoshop

I posted the link to this tutorial in the forums at Scrap Orchard and Sunshine Studio Scraps, but it seems I replaced the file with some QPs. Oops! I know just enough about the tech stuff to get me into trouble - and most of the time I'm like a 3 YO - I want to learn everything myself!! So hopefully, I linked up the file correctly this time - if not, just post a message in the comment area & I'll have to PM you the complete zip file! ;)

Download Here!

My Heartstrings Have Been Tugged

I need to explain how we acquired an orphaned bunny (I usually don't go out looking for abandoned wild critters)- let me just say that it started with a frantic phone call I got right before lunch.

Ring Ring (the phone always rings more when I am the only one in the office!)

Me: Hello, UT Extension
Caller: What? Is this the Ag office? (That's how we're widely known, but it's an old term.)
Me: Yes, this is UT Extension but our Ag Agent is at a meeting. Can I take a message?
Caller: Well, I heard that this was the place to call if you found abandoned animals & that you release them back into the wild.
Me: Well, that's a new one. (People have no idea what our office really does because through the years different Agents have focused on different subjects and Extension Agents usually do lots of "favors" for their communities, further blurring the line of our job description.) No, why don't you try the Wildlife Resources office?
Caller: (Tugging on my heartstrings.)My great grandson found a baby rabbit & I'm sure the neighborhood dogs got it's mother or else I'd let it go around here, I have a feeling the neighborhood dogs would get it. (Without it's mother it probably wouldn't survive long in the "wilderness" either.)
Me: (I thought about Scott's booming voice & knew he'd say not to take it in, but I couldn't knowingly let this precious creature perish. Better to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission when it comes to Scott - it's EASIER anyway!)Well, we don't rescue wildlife and release them back into their environments but I have a full grown rabbit at home and have a smaller cage, water bottles, and food - so bring it in & I'll take it home.
Caller: Oh thank you!! I'll bring it right in.

So, that's how we acquired this precious creature. When the kids got home we tried to feed it some sugary strawberry juice - because it's what we had & I was thinking it would surely like a sugary substance (the baby bunny hadn't eaten since this family found it on Sunday). Cole and Jessica got on the computer to find out what else we should do & we got the cage padded down & ready. Tomorrow I'll get some baby formula and a better dropper, Jess volunteered to miss school and help me get those items and go to the Vet. A Vet visit is on my list but I want to make sure the bunny makes it through tonight & tomorrow. From what we read on the net, baby bunnies minus a mother usually don't make it. :( We're prepared for that option but we're hoping & prayin' the little guy pulls through. I'll keep you updated!

What is National Scrapbooking Day?

If you ask Scott, he'll tell you this is an every weekend celebration for me! I tend to crank out as many LOs as I can from Friday to Sunday - so I have NO TIME for laundry, dishes, etc... Ha! Good thing my kids are old enough to fend for themselves and Scott is an excellent cook! ;)
But seriously, every year this is a fantastic event where you can scarf up all kinds of great deals on digital scrapbook goodies - and usually sites have fun games you can participate in & give you a reason to go out & get a new EHD!! ;) So you'll be getting lots of great FREEBIES!

Make sure you stop by Scrap Orchard and participate in their chats, I'll be giving away some great templates - and they have LOTS of other fun events planned for the weekend of May 1-3!!

You don't want to miss their bingo game & can download a card here.

Traveling Laundry Service?

OK – I had this idea the other night for a business. You see, my husband has been working disaster recovery for a FEMA contractor since November. He’s been paying a laundry service to wash his clothes each week – I didn’t ask him how much & he didn’t tell me (maybe he’s afraid I’ll start charging that much for every load of laundry I do for him)! He was complaining that his clean clothes didn’t smell good and I noticed they were not as soft as they usually are (he came home once with a pile of clean clothes once – he begged me to re-washed them).

So I was thinking that maybe a traveling laundry service would be a good idea! There would have to be a couple washers and a couple dryers rigged up in a semi. Is that even possible? I would think so – if NASCAR can rig up a trailer to be ready for quick car repairs – surely you can rig up a semi for a couple washers and dryers? It would have to be a semi – that way you could go to the disasters – our customer base would be the FEMA contractors and subs. We’d just need a water source once we got where we were going.



Scott says it would never work – none of those guys would pay for their laundry to be washed. They’d rather sit at a local laundry mat for hours and feed their quarters into the machines. If the price was right I bet they’d let someone else do the laundry! Time is money too – and no one really likes doing laundry!

Let's Hear It For Friends!

I made this digi layout for a young friend of mine. Alex tells me her room is covered with pictures of those who are near & dear to her. It reminds me of the importance of friends, specifically at her age. I notice how my two don't have that set, constant group of friends because we've moved around, changed schools 4-5 times, or I've been too lazy to take them places - not to mention having to go to their dad's every other weekend. Living in a rural area doesn't make the best situation for close neighborhood hangouts. As I look at the photos of Alex and her friends - I see just how important they are to each other!