Carrie Stephens

Uncommon Goods - Construction Plate and Utensils for boys!

What little boy could resist his veggies if they came out on THIS Beep . Beep . Beep construction plate?

 
What a great Christmas gift idea for a 3-5yr old boy (possibly even older?) I love it!

~ Flair for your fridge ~ Special Christmas gift idea

AWESOME Chrismas gift Idea alert!! (I assume you won't have much more time to order these to receive before the holidays so, HURRY!!!!!!)

Something Blue Studios offers new Flair for your fridge!! 

These adorable, tiny magnets come neatly packaged just like this.  They are heavy duty and super adorable.  I have mine on my Fridge holding up TONS of artwork!  LOL 

This is the second time I have purchased a magnet product from Danielle.  ( I ordered 2 because I also won one of the sets on Miss Kim's blog!!! :))  Each time I have been really happy with my purchase so, once again this year I am putting it out there that these are great, super easy to custom make and I am sure a hard to buy for grandma/mother/friend who loves having pictures and art on her fridge would ADORE them!  :)

Photos at your fingertips - Professional results using Epson paper

I NEVER seem to be organized enough to gather all of my favorite photos that i want to have printed for crafting, scrapbooking or simply framing.

As much as I love to display photos around my house, I was always one of those people who *insert shame* left the picture that came with the frame, in the frame for months. LOL It wasn't until my family and friends would tease me a little and ask who the people were in the photos that I would actually get my act together and take my photos to the store to get all of my photos printed. I could never do just one at a time and i think that is the reason why I always put it off. I wanted to multitask and get them all printed at once but, I could never get organized enough with my pictures for that to ever happen.

I had a Kodak printer and although it was cheap on ink and paper, I thought I was happy with it until I got the Artisan 800 printer by Epson. This printer changed the way I felt about my photos and printing them off at home. No longer were they dull, they were bright and beautiful. I now believe that the paper is what makes all the difference. It is a little bit more costly than the "cheap stuff" but, it is totally worth the investment.

I have printed many of my digital scrapbook layouts, photos, cards and items for crafting on my Epson and i really am happy with the results. Not only that but, it is super easy to just click and print. I can choose to just pop in my camera card to the printer and print them out right from the card or, I can print after i play in PhotoShop. I get amazing results and I don't feel the guilt of being a slacker anymore.

My favorite paper for printing digital scrapbook layouts is:Epson Ultra Premium Photo Paper (I have used Premium and it works great too but, the ultra premium is more vibrant)

My favorite paper for printing cards and crafting material is: Epson Semigloss Scrapbook Photo Paper (This paper works excellent for printing out clip art and pieces for cards and crafts)

In other thoughts: for printing out multiple scrapbook layouts I am thinking maybe I might try getting a book printing using Shutterfly.  I have never actually had a photobook printed *sigh* again, my lack of organization and my battle to let go of the need for perfectionism and just get er done.

Have you gotten any of your photos/layouts printing in a hard bound book? which service did you use? Were you pleased with it?

Creative Memories - Design It! Competition...

Check out the Creative Memories Design it! Competition....
Who will be the first Creative Memories Design It! star? Your votes will decide!

Design It!
is a competition featuring the artwork creations of eight talented designers. Each designer has created a unique set of paper, stickers and more for your next scrapbooking project.

What’s at stake?
To vote for your favorite design, you must first sign up by clicking on the Registration tab. Once you've registered, click on the Vote tab to check out each designer's artwork. Voting will take place April 1-30 and the two pieces of artwork with the lowest number of votes will be eliminated each week. You'll be able to vote one time each day so check back daily.

The winning designer, as chosen by online voting, will be announced this fall. His or her artwork will be transformed into a retail product to be developed and released later this year by Creative Memories.

Take a moment and vote for your Favorite Design!! to make sure your favorite stays around for next week! :)

My own Custom Fabric Designs! *SpoonFlower*

When Meredith told me about the SpoonFlower site, I Just KNEW I had to try it out.

Let me tell you, I am SO pleased with the results, I am actually TICKLED! 

Nothing feels better than to work hard on something and then have it printed as a tangible item.  The same even goes when I print out my Digital Scrapbooking Layouts…out of my own designs. It feels amazing to see It not on a computer screen. Not only for self gratification but, I also like to be able to show my friends and family who don’t really understand what digital scrapbooking is.

So these are my own custom fabric design - I drew, scanned, vectored, colored and patterned all myself!  What do you think?

I can't wait to do more! :)   

Acer Aspire One - Such a cute little toy!

I must have been a good girl because this year for my birthday my {wonderful} husband got me a new toy!  The Acer Aspire One  in Sapphire blue.  Its sooooo tiny and cute.  I just love it!  

Its times like these when i really appreciate Scott's love for electronics.  I even got it early because he always gets excited when he gets me something good. :)   (My birthday isn't until march)  But that is totally ok with me, i have a hard time waiting anyway when he starts dropping hints.

So, i have been super busy and  I haven't gotten to really use it much yet, not a lot of time for laying around on the couch surfing the net. (Which is totally what i intend to use it for..LOL)This week I have had my butt parked at my desktop slaving away in photoshop :) 

As i sit here typing this out - I am thinking that there is one very obvious yet minor negative to having such a tiny little computer - the keyboard - aigh.. it seems like my chubby fingers just don't want to hit the right keys. I think it is definitely going to take some time to get used to typing anything at a quick speed on this thing but, I'm sure i will get used to it in time. 

I am really hoping that this can be my "net surfing"  and time wasting computer and i can stay away from the whole wasting time thing on my desktop PC and use that only for work related stuff.  Maybe i will get more work done then! LOL 

 I used to have to choose between watching TV and playing on the internet but, heck.. now i can do both at once :) and that is exactly what i am doing!  Watching American Idol and lounging on the couch.   I am all for multitasking so, this is kick butt!  

Oh and one must have accessory for this pretty, little, portable laptop is a wireless mouse.  I am so impressed with how the new logitech - "invisible optic" mouse works compared to the older one we had that died. I like this one better because  It doesnt have that annoying little laser and it is much more acurate.  I couldnt imagine trying to use  the little built in mouse pad to navigate.... it takes so much longer.

-Thanks again baby cakes -  *MWAH*  now maybe i will actually blog more ;)

maybe I will even blog soon about  my new gym experiences.  I have finally worked up the nerve to go and i have been a bit more consistant about going.  Hopefully this time i will keep it up darnit!!  I don't want to be such a quitter.  Anyway, time to get my butt to bed, I have a boat load of stuff to do tomorrow.   Toodles!

Goal setting - self improvement and celebrating who you are

Every day I think about self-improvement and "positive thinking."   Well, with the exception of this week.  I have a head cold that is making my eyeballs feel like they want to pop! LOL  I usually don't take many over the counter drugs...  But, the pressure has been so intense and even rinsing with saline (don't click this link if you are grossed out easily!) isn't cutting it.  It helps for 15 minutes but,  that's not good enough. LOL     

I have read several books on the topic and visit many blogs and web sites on the same topic.  I don't think it will ever sink into my head and stay there.  I know exactly what I need to do but, its trying to find that inner drive to actually do it that is the hard part.  It looks like I will be trying to follow Melissa's advice here on her blog.   If you haven't been to "Melissa Thinks out loud"  before, you simply must go.  I have known Melissa for a couple years now and I follow her blog whenever it is updated through my Bloglines account.   Melissa has found her true calling.  Her advice on how to regain your momentum makes perfect sense to me.  I know what it is that I must do and today, I start trying once again.. That is if i can even get my head clear enough to think about anything! LOL

Epson Artisan 800 Review

I have been spending time this week playing with my new toy,  The  Epson - Artisan 800 All-in-One Printer.  The newest printer in the Epson lineup! 

This sleek little number has got me excited about the possibilities of digital/hybrid crafting once again.    I really enjoyed my last printer, the Epson RX680  But, I must say that so far, the Artisan 800 blows its socks off with its functionality and style!

There are 2 different models of the Artisan, The 700 and the 800.   Although their is not a tremendous difference between the 2 models,  The difference in scanners made the decision easy for me.  The Artisan 800 has superior scanning capabilities, the 700 model scans at 2400dpi but, the 800 model scans at 4800 dpi.  A great scanner  is necessary for me,  It is a tool that I really use a lot in my graphic design and digital scrapbooking work.    

And talk about that style, definitely not as important as the way the printer works but, it is definitely a bonus! LOL   My kids  instantly noticed the new printer on my desk when they got home from school.  The Artisan is HOT!  With the sleek, low lines and LARGE lcd display, it is a beauty!   I love that it looks less like a bit clunky printer and more like a piece of stereo equipment!  I could totally put this baby in my entertainment unit and use the Wi-Fi  if i wanted to!  LOL

And speaking of Wi-Fi...  I wish everything came with it!   My husband loves that he can  print with ease from his laptop.   It also doesn't bother me when I am working and he is printing as this printer is uber quiet!  Oh and The scanner is also MUCH more quiet than the Epson RX680 that I previously used - another bonus!

Today I decided that I wanted to try out the scanning capabilities further.  I got out some of the albums that I borrowed from my mom.  I picked 2 old photos - scanned them and then printed.  All I can say is WOW, it looks like I have a new project on my hands. 

Those memories are so important and they are getting all faded and because they are in those old sticky albums (I am sure you know the ones I am talking about..ugh)   I have some big plans if I can get my head wrapped around exactly what i would like to do with them.  I would love to make them into a hard cover book.  But, for right now,  I am sure my mom is going to love these pictures that I gave a makeover! 

I took a picture of the old photos and the new prints that came out of the Artisan - side by side.  Again, I am really impressed with the color restore feature on the scanner and the print quality. 

One final word - If you would like your print quality to be superior on the Epson printer, you MUST use Genuine Epson paper.  Trust me, I tried others in my old RX680 and, you could see the difference, it was drastic!

I will be posting tomorrow about my christmas advent - matchbook boxes tomorrow So, stay tuned. 

My New Epson Scanner ROCKS!

I have never had a scanner that scanned  in my stuff so quickly and so quietly.  I have been sitting here for the past 30 minutes scanning in a bunch of stuff that i have been meaning to scan in for quite some time.  I always put it off because with my old printer it took awhile to get the finished product looking right.   It was also pretty slow. 

In March last year i got a Kodak Printer.  This had been my only printer for the past many months and i had settled with it.   It was nowhere near the quality that i wished for but, because of the price of the ink and paper....  It worked for me... 

That was until this month when  i got totally spoiled with an Epson RX680.   I should do a test and see if i used a higher quality paper in my Kodak if it would print similar.  I know that right now,  am really enjoying the prints that are coming off of the Epson RX680. add that in with the fast, easy auto scanning feature (it actually decides what kind of document you are scanning and chooses the best possible settings, making it super easy when you have lots to scan in.    Last night when i printed an 8x8 layout i was  shocked.  It just totally POPPED right out at me.

I was printing the 8x8 layout to get a feel for the wall project i was trying to do.  I have always wanted to display my layouts somewhere close to where i sit and do my work.  I wanted a way to be able to change out layouts when i do new ones.  Not only do i think i would LOVE it but, i think that my kids would get a big kick out of it.  I know that Dalyn always loves to see my layouts  :)   

Its been a long while since i have scrapped a layout though so, i haven't showed him anything new lately.   It would also be nice to have it as a conversation piece and something i can point to when asked  "so, what is it that you do again?"  LOL

It is a low budget project... I simply do not have much of a budget these days.. LOL   So, I am trying to come up with something super creative involving some cheapo 12x12 glass frames i found and perhaps some wooden rulers...   :)  I hope to have it finished by Monday So, i will post a picture to show you :)