Andrea's blog
Treat Your Mother Right
The teens at church reenacted this Mr. T video this morning for "children's time". I thought it would be an appropriate video to share today!
A Bazillion Blogs: My BlogRoll (abbreviated)
- Greg Newton - Minister at Disciples Fellowship
- Birmingham Events
- Scrap Etc. - scrapbook store located in Patton Creek
- AL Frugal Mom
- Hoover Library Kid Zone Events
- Cathy Zielske - editor for Simple Scrapbooks
- Heidi Swapp - product line designer, teacher, speaker, etc.
- Donna Downey - artist, scrapbooker, painter
- Ali Edwards - works with Creating Keepsakes, has written several books, very talented
- Elsie Flannigan - artist, product line designer, very quirky and pulls it off well
- Jennifer McQuire Ink - card maker, stamper
- Tara Whitney - photographer, scrapbooker
- Photojojo - photo craft ideas
- What I Wore Today - so much style, I only wish I could look so fun myself. I guess I'd need to go shopping more.
- Photo Battle Blog - I'm not sure if there's a point to this site or if anyone "wins", but it's hard not to vote!
Another Photo Genious Speaks to Me
Tonight I was reading an interview with Tara Whitney (an excellent family photographer), and one of her answers struck a happy chord in me. Although I'm not a pro photographer (nor do I want to be), I think she sums up my love for photographing my friends and family perfectly:
For me, my number one favorite thing about being a photographer is being able to share it with my friends and family. I LOVE taking photos of all of the people in my life. I LOVE being able to give them something they wouldn't normally get. Especially all of my mommy friends, the ones wielding their own cameras and not IN any pictures. And I hope that the people I love know that for me, turning the camera on them IS love. Especially with my own children-the act of photographing them is one way I show my love for them.
Photos + Words = Ali Edwards' Advice

I am ruthless when it comes to deleting my photos. As I mentioned above, I don't need more than five (and probably less than three) from a similar series of shots. I simply delete, delete, delete. It makes for a cleaner folder of photos, less to choose from when I create a page (which can be a good thing), and I think I learn a bit about my self as a photo-taker in the process. Obviously this whole process of deleting depends upon the event and the story you plan to tell.
NSD - National Scrapbook Day

Sa-sa-Salsa!
Ben makes world-famous fresh salsa. Seriously...it's so good, and now all of you know about it and this is the world-wide-web. There you have it. World Famous.
Pico De Gallo Salsa:
Mango-Cucumber Salsa:
Ooh...better go get a glass of water, my mouth is burning from the hotness already! Can't you just taste it?
Sorry, I cannot divulge recipe secrets....we might need to start a salsa business one day and if we gave you our recipe, no one would need to buy it from us (sorry, from Ben, not me...I'm just the taste tester and food photographer)!
Have a great day!
Gods in Alabama

Daisy Apron

7 Gypsies Project Video Demonstration
- You'll have to watch it upside-down...sorry. I'd love a setup where I could do an over-the-shoulder view, but my attempts at it didn't go well.
- I didn’t have the two small pieces of patterned paper that go on the inner two pages in my kit. Missed those somehow. But, if you have those, that’s what they’re for. Just ink ‘em and stick ‘em down!
- The inner pages are made from cardstock that I had in my stash. These also were not included in the kits that were passed out at the Event. There are two pieces and they should each be cut to 8 ½” x 4 ½”.
- There’s no sound on my video because I don’t feel right about adding music that I don’t have the publishing rights to. So, stick a CD in your computer and blast it if you need background music while you watch.
- The video is shown in 4X speed…the entire project takes about 15 minutes to create, but you can watch it in fast-forward in only 4 minutes. Ahh the magic of technology.
- I did not design the mini-book...a designer from 7Gypsies is the genious behind the design. So I can't take credit for any cute-ness! :)



More Scrap Etc. Pictures
I just bought four photos from Elizabeth Bailey (our official Scrap Etc. photographer) that totally define my weekend and show me working my booty off...although amazingly, I look pretty happy doing it!
Thursday I was assigned a registration table, so Paige and I registered all the last names starting with Q through Z. That's Paige in the background....and it looks like she's working harder than me at that moment. Throughout the day I got very good at saying the following:
"You are in group 'A' and this is your schedule for the weekend in the back of your lanyard. You're an early bird, so you'll be taking the Creative Cafe class on Friday night. This is your ticket. Be sure to bring it with you to the class. Your Q & A session with the teachers is tonight after our opening ceremonies, which begins at 6:00 in Tennessee C. Here is your bag and shirt. I think you're all set!"

Then Friday and Saturday, I could be found walking up and down the aisles of our classroom with Group A. I'm just glad to see that i'm smiling in this pictgure, and I don't look as exhausted as I probably was. Well, the photo was taken during our second class on Friday, so that was when I had more energy! We helped everyone make sure they had all the pieces for their kits, picked up trash, and answered questions during each class.

And then there was Saturday night at the SNL (Saturday Night Layouts) fiasco. This huddle photo was taken as I was frantically trying to gather together 15 people to pass out the individual pieces of the 7Gypsies mini-book project that I was supposed to teach. The smile on my face is because we had just made the decision that we would pass it out, and I would show the project, but I did not have to go through creating it step-by-step...there just wasn't time. Which was okay with me! I probably would have completely made a mess of the whole thing. Maybe I'll do a video for my blog about how to make it...and that will make up for not getting to do it in person for everyone.

Can i just say once again that I LOVE these ladies? Everyone worked so hard, and no matter how much we complained to each other about how tired we were and how hungry, and how dilirious, it never stopped us from going the extra mile to help one of the attendees with anything they needed. Three cheers for the volunteers!

All of Elizabeth's photos were fantastic, and I'm proud to say she was my roomie for the weekend and she definitely worked harder than I did, since she was helping in classes, taking photos, and working the register at the store. Whew!
The full gallery of Elizabeth's pictures, available for purchase ($1.99 per image) can be seen here: E Bailey Photography Scrap Etc. Gallery
Thanks Elizabeth!