Essentials of Scrapbooking: Get a good camera!

So you have been out taking photos with your little camera.  You get home to download them into the computer and they are just well....so so.   The photo's don't really capture the moments and somehow the feeling you had didn't come through in the pictures.

Maybe you could have zoomed in closer or framed the picture better.   If this is the case, you might want to try photo software to fix your photos.  Photo software features red eye reduction, cropping, lightening and darkening of your photos, brightening and other great features that allow you to fix your photos.  Oftentimes, photo software does the trick!

Camera's now offer tremendous features including HD, geo tagging, increased optical zoom, low light sensors, microphones, back light correction, panoramic photos, and more.  They've taken a lot of the guesswork out of how to operate the camera in various lighting situations and have made it so much easier to take great pictures.  

When you have exhausted all efforts to fix your photos with software, you may want to consider looking at camera's with updated features.  Your pictures should come out clearer and you'll have fun recording all the great moments you've experienced with family and friends.  Even more important though is that you'll be able to go back and relive those memories when you look at the beautiful photos you've taken.   

Here are some of our very favorite camera's for your review.

JarBox

If you've ever dropped a jar of food that you canned or dehydrated, you know that all of your hard work has just gone out the door.  You may have even grown the food yourself, then carefully prepared it.   To lose anything you've made simply by dropping it is heart wrenching.

Also, if you can at another person's house, you may need an easy way to tote your filled jars home.   I just ran across this tote, designed for your canning jars.  Not only is it good for toting your jars, but they are also great for storing them too!

By storing your jars in these storage containers, you won't need to worry about installing earthquake rails on your shelves.  What a great find!

The Homemade Pantry

The Homemade Pantry: 101 Foods You Can Stop Buying and Start Making

This is a favorite book of mine.  I learned to make things from scratch because my husband was allergic to MSG.  From there I became more and more curious on how to make foods from scratch.  I quickly learned that the homemade food tasted so much better than the store bought.  With this book you too can learn how to make foods from scratch.  Less additives and preservatives and better for you too!

In her debut cookbook, Alana Chernila inspires you to step inside your kitchen, take a look around, and change the way you relate to food. The Homemade Pantry was born of a tight budget, Alana’s love for sharing recipes with her farmers’ market customers, and a desire to enjoy a happy cooking and eating life with her young family. On a mission to kick their packaged-food habit, she learned that with a little determination, anything she could buy at the store could be made in her kitchen, and her homemade versions were more satisfying, easier to make than she expected, and tastier.  
            
Here are her very approachable recipes for 101 everyday staples, organized by supermarket aisle—from crackers to cheese, pesto to sauerkraut, and mayonnaise to toaster pastries. The Homemade Pantry is a celebration of food made by hand—warm mozzarella that is stretched, thick lasagna noodles rolled from flour and egg, fresh tomato sauce that bubbles on the stove. Whether you are trying a recipe for butter, potato chips, spice mixes, or ketchup, you will discover the magic and thrill that comes with the homemade pantry.
            
Alana captures the humor and messiness of everyday family life, too. A true friend to the home cook, she shares her “tense moments” to help you get through your own. With stories offering patient, humble advice, tips for storing the homemade foods, and rich four-color photography throughout, The Homemade Pantry will quickly become the go-to source for how to make delicious staples in your home kitchen. 

Project Life: Every day scrapbooking!

Project Life Scrapbooking

Do you love to scrapbook but seldom find the time?   Most people have a hard time carving out hours to create scrapbooks.  Others wait until big events such as vacations, babies or weddings to mark life events.  But what about all those days inbetween the big events?  Aren't they worth remembering too?

Ever long for an easier way to photo journal your life?  Something quick and easy, maybe something you could assemble while dinner is cooking or while you watch TV at night?

Becky Higgins has designed Project Life products that will make it easy to scrapbook your every day life.  Just keep a camera handy and take pictures of even ordinary things.  Add a description or memory on the journal cards and slip it in it's spot.  It's fast and fun!

Watch this quick video to see how easy it is to use Project Life to scrapbook every day things.

Project Life products are not found in the craft stores.  Kits are available by mail order only.   Here are some of the many supplies available to you.  These kits make great gifts too!

The beauty of Project Life is that you can utilize different sizes of page protectors depending on what you want to put in the album.   Here are samples of other kinds of page protectors you can use in your Project Life album. 

Getting Organized to Scrap Quickly

It is no secret that Project Life can be really easy if you keep your supplies neatly organized.   Then you can quickly pull out the supplies you need, journal, add photo and you are done.  Here are some great organizers that work beautifully for keeping your project life supplies organized.  After all, if you aren't organized, you aren't likely to work on your album, are you?

10 Healthy Quinoa Recipes

I just made the strawberry feta quinoa salad and it's delish!   Here are some more recipes for delicious meals made with quinoa.    

http://www.fitfoodiefinds.com/2012/08/10-healthy-quinoa-recipes.html  Courtesy of fit foodie finds.

If you can't find quinoa locally, here's a link to order on Amazon.

Your purchase will help fund this blog.  Thanks in advance!

Living off the grid

There has been so much talk lately about living off the grid.  Living off the grid means to have a lifestyle independent from utility companies such as gas, electric and water companies.   People who live off of the grid find alternate sources of heating and electricity, as well as alternative water sources.   Some have truly learned to live off of the land and what mother nature has given us.

The first question most people ask is "Why do that?  Why not have all of the everyday luxuries we've come to know and love?"  The answers vary from person to person.  Some prefer a simpler style of life.  Others fear doomsday is coming and a BOL (Bug Out Location) is necessary.  Some fear martial law is coming, or that the End Of The World As We Know It (EOTWAWKI) is right around the corner.  Reports have surfaced that the next bubbles to burst will be happening very shortly.  Some have predicted a total economic collapse, due to the fact the government spending is out of control and also the fact that the US government is spending too much money.  Some just want to get away from common commercialism and just dig in to a simpler, more gratifying style of life.

Here's one family's tale about switching from a modern urban lifestyle to living off the grid.




What do you think?  Do you think that you and your family would enjoy this type of lifestyle?   There's plenty of ideas here on how to transition to this kind of living.  Just food for thought now.  We'll be discussing this more in depth as we discover creative ways for enjoy a more sustainable lifestyle.

Just Getting Started

Well Hello!  I'm a creative person by nature.  In my spare time you can find me creating something, anything.  From food creations, to art, sewing, re-purposing an item, re-decorating, gardening, painting and super organization, I'm always on the go and forever being creative!

I love to cook and try new things.  Let's face it, eating the same things over and over is rather boring.  I love the challenge of a new recipe, especially something I've never made before.  I also believe in food prepping.  From canning to dehydrating to freezing, it's the best way to preserve food to enjoy all year long.  It's a long standing belief of mine that stocking up in advance is always a good idea.  You never know when a disaster might hit, a job is lost, or health issue could set in.  Maybe it's the Upstate New Yorker in me, but I always think it's a good idea to be prepared as much as possible and stock up on food and necessities.

Other reasons to "do it yourself" include public food safety.  In recent years, many many products have been recalled because of Ecoli and other bacteria.  Plus there are so many unnecessary ingredients in today's food that are unhealthy.  We've started sticking to a more natural diet, more "clean eating".  Though we aren't fanatics and indulge in sweets and things, our health has improved.   I believe everything in moderation.

Lastly, I also enjoy couponing and finding good deals.  I just love to save money, but I don't like to do without.  I love to find good deals on items we can use.  I use couponing to stock up on things we need, as well as to get gifts, stocking stuffers, etc.  Like everyone else, I get super busy at times and it's easier to just stay stocked on things than it is to run to the store at last minute.

In a nutshell, that's what I love to do.  Hope you enjoy this blog and the ideas I share with you!