Timeless Treasures

As a mom, I have many blessings flow in and out of my life that represent my daughter and I know (she is my number one focus:)

Today is no different because the blessing is her homeschool program.  My daughter attends an online public school.  Now when most people hear about an only child attending Homeschool, their first worry is in the quality of education and their second worry is that of socialization.  So today, I'm sharing a blessing of a homeschool program.  

You see, I too, worried about these topics until yesterday.  Though rather than the program itself I worried about being able to supplement her education as any teacher or program tries to do with meaningful lessons outside the school book - my answer yesterday was yes. 

During her social studies lesson, we were learning about medicine and the improvements that have been made throughout history.  We studied penicillin and its many uses, we studied pasteurization of milk products, and we studied about the most wonderful Helen Keller.  

Now while the book covered the very basic of Ms. Keller's triumph's, I felt it was lacking in teaching the heart of her story and the lesson that "those with disabilities can overcome and succeed triumphantly" and I remembered that when I was a child our class was taught not only through a book but through the 1962 movie "The Miracle Worker".  But being a last minute learning coach, I worried how will I find the movie?  

Ahhhh thank you dear YouTube.  There on youtube for a mother that wants to do her best by her child was the very movie she hoped for in its entirety.   I was so pleased!  

Together with snacks in the middle of a school day, my daughter and I sat watching Patty Duke give an awesome performance of Helen Keller.  It touched my heart again as I watched it touch my daughter's heart for the first time.  

So today my blessing is three fold - one for the Homeschool opportunity and the other for YouTube and Helen Keller, I've named it Timeless Treasures in honor of the story of Helen Keller.  I am very grateful for the blessing of being able to share in this way the lessons of my youth and my knowledge through homeschooling my daughter.  

Blessings to All, 

GigiCharm

  

Blessings Blog Day 17 - St. Valentines Day

Ahhh the blessing of Valentines Day - Whether you are newly in love or celebrating an old, time-tested love, or simply saying you are a special friend, we all enjoy the meaning of this special day.  

For our house, we celebrate with funny e-cards, candy, and usually a very special meal.  Besides painting our nails a brilliant shiny red and dressing up, something special I chose to do is make a special holiday page for my most special Valentine gift from Heaven.  My Kennedy!  

So whether you are making a special phone call or sending flowers to someone you love, I wish you the most special day ever, create something beautiful with your entire being on your Valentines Day!

Happy Valentines from Snaps and Buttons Galore.com!!!

10 Reasons to Love FaceBook

Blessings are sometimes hard to see - we can miss the obvious ones when they're staring us in the face and sometimes we find a blessing in something that seems unlikely.  

Today's blessing - FaceBook- perhaps for many will seem to fall into the "unlikely" category, but for me it is one of the many I missed and it was definitely something obvious.

Facebook is my go to - I can't be everywhere I want to be; with my friends; with my loved ones; at all the parties; at the bedside of a sick friend or family member; but I can be on Facebook - letting each and everyone of those mentioned know that I care and that I want to be with them even in the smallest of ways.  

To me this makes Facebook one of the best blessings from GOD I know in 2012 - Mark Zuckerberg may have created it(with help) and perhaps the last thing he intended was that Facebook would be used in such a way but there it is nonetheless.  Facebook serves those that serve GOD - We love eachother through Facebook, we embrace eachother in times of need through Facebook, and we pray for one another through Facebook.  

So today I decided to dedicate my creative energy to making a Scrapbook page about Facebook and Mark Z.  Thanks again Mark - Your Creative Genius has been an instrument for GOD's Goodness!

Blessings, 

GigiCharm

Creative Sparks - Blessing Blog Day 15

Creative Sparks

Today's blessing is one I should have probably wrote about on my first blog but sometimes the most evident is the thing we see last or at least a little down the road.  

This is the case with today's blessing.  Creative sparks are actually few and far between when it comes to Digital Scrapbooking - what hasn't already been done?  So when a new idea or pic inspires a creative spark - I let it burn.  

Creative sparks come from many different sources; perhaps they come from a movie we watched; a song we hear; taking a walk in a park; many things can lead to a creative spark, but what do we do with them?  Do we let them die out and remain on a shelf in our minds or do we add more logs on the fire and really get to cooking?  I think perhaps there is balance in the answer.  Balance in that sometimes an idea is just an idea but other times that spark can be turned into a true fire burning into our souls encouraging us onward in our dreams.  

Well, today's is just a playful spark I created yesterday, my new DigiTrims called County Fair were sparked as I began to create a summer calendar for my daughter and her best friend.  I think the end result was one of fun and whimsy, just like I hope my daughter's summers always remain. 

Enjoy those creative sparks in your life, you never know where the fire will take you!

SneakPeek at County Fair DigiTrims!

Until Tomorrow Blessings,

GigiCharm

Love Letters - Blessings Blog Day 14

Love Letters

Have you ever wrote a love letter? One to your honey, your boyfriend, or your partner?  If you are trying to be romantic and really set a mood with your love letter, it can be tough.  When it comes to putting emotions down in a letter to my special someone, the words don't flow as naturally for me as when I try to create something from art.  

Now my husband, he can always write me a love note that touches my heart and usually in 5 words or less.  That's a special talent. :) 

With today's blog, I am giving back to the blessings I have received over the last 11 years of love notes from my husband.  I have created a love note page, (I know forgive the mushy) and with Valentines Day just around the corner this is a project that you too can create for your someone special.  

Below are the Kuler.adobe colors chosen for my project and the page.  

Please Enjoy!

Until Tomorrow Blessings, 

GigiCharm

Blessing Blog 13 - Cowboy UP

CowBoy UP!

My family is a long line of cowboys. No they weren't infamous or notorious western hero's like the Lone Ranger but they loved anything and everything Western.  From horses and cattle wrangling to shoot'em up spaghetti westerns, if cowboy was in the air they were and are still participating.  

I love these men in our family history - these Cowboys.  They have taught me the true meaning of Cowboy UP!  Cowboy UP defined simply means when you get knocked off your horse, you brush the dirt off and climb back on.  That is courage in my world and alot of the men I love have this kind of courage and teach this kind of lifestyle to their children.  

In a world, where coddling our children has become synonymous with lawsuits against teachers or principals for discipline, I miss this kind of lesson.  Lessons where you do something wrong, you apologize or you don't make the team in your first try, you try try again.  This is Cowboy UP in my world - not western per say but straight forward and to the point - no dillydallying!  

I'm thankful that I grew up with men who were plain spoken - who said what they meant every time and if they apologized you knew it was sincere.  My daughter's Uncle Travis is one of these special men and I love him for being true to who he was born to be - A True Cowboy that knows the meaning of Cowboy UP. 

As a great cowboy, Wil Anderson said "It's not how your buried, it's how your remembered." Now that's true Cowboy UP!

Well here is my tribute to all the cowboys out there in Texas and the world over! 

Until Tomorrow Blessings, 

GigiCharm

Blessings Blog - Day 12

Most Wonderful Sunday Everyone!

Time!   Today's blessing is time.  Time is so little to enjoy or reflect on the moments we ought to be enjoying.  Time with loved ones both near and far, time with friends we miss from years gone by, and time for oneself is possibly for us mother's the most fleeting.  

This weekend while my daughter and husband were having a weekend adventure, I got that time to reflect and be joyful.  I chose to spend the time scrapping and ended up reflecting on pics of my beautiful daughter and her first birthday party.  

It's not unusual that another day of scrapping has given a reflection on blessing as I held each pic in my hand - looking at the faces of loved ones that we hadn't seen in years.  A dearly loved ex-colleague, my husband's childhood pals, and a grandmother who is now in Heaven with her Lord.  Those pics made me yearn for the clock to rewind both for me and for my daughter who won't fully know all the blessed gifts each of these dear friends gave to our lives or how deeply they adored her from her arrival in this lovely world.  

So today I am so thankful for time; time to reflect, times to enjoy, and of course time to scrapbook!  I hope you take a moment to enjoy those you love dearly both near and far.  

Until Tomorrow Blessings, 

GigiCharm

Snaps & Buttons Galore: Blessing Blog 11 - Starbucks and Scrapbooks

Snaps & Buttons Galore: Blessing Blog 11 - Starbucks and Scrapbooks: Happy Saturday:) This morning's blessing is from my mini-scrapbook retreat - being held at my home. Having a blast with new friends...

Blessing Blog 11 - Starbucks and Scrapbooks

Happy Saturday:)

This morning's blessing is from my mini-scrapbook retreat - being

 held at my home.  Having a blast with new friends in my 

ever-growing scrapbook world.  

Nothing I think pleases me more than scrapbooking my

 daughter - today I'm scrapping her 1st birthday (long overdue!)

 Until today the pics were in a gorgeous leather bound photo

 album and today they enter the digital world!  So fun.  Here's

 a glimpse of a page that includes some of the new papers

 coming soon to www.snapsandbuttonsgalore.com called

 Grape Satin and Pink Lemonade Sparkle.  Hope you

 enjoy your weekend! 

Until Tomorrow Blessings, 

GigiCharm

Landee See, Landee Do: Meltaway Cookies

Landee See, Landee Do: Meltaway Cookies: Let me create a little scenario for you... you are invited to a cookie exchange at the last minute and don't know what to make. OR, scenar...

Snaps & Buttons Galore: Blessings Blog - Education Me

Snaps & Buttons Galore: Blessings Blog - Education Me: Today's blessing is a 2 for one - making up for missing yesterday! :) The first one is the blessing that can distract me like no other, th...

Blessings Blog - Education Me

Today's blessing is a 2 for one - making up for missing yesterday! :)  The first one is the blessing that can distract me like no other, the one that either makes me laugh, makes me cry, or makes me proud every single day....well maybe not cry but certainly worry!  That blessing is my darling little girl, Kennedy - the blessings a child can bring are so many and yet today just seemed to be about her somehow.  

As a first-time mother, a mother of an only child, and a late-blooming mother there are always multiple reasons for both worry and joy.  You worry should I have had more children (if I could have) or perhaps I was too old to have children and this has made for complications in her life, each are reasonable worries (if there is such a thing) but what can I do? 

I am definitely too old now to have a child so I take my worry and choose joy! Joy can come from seeing her work on her homework, cleaning her room, or even just looking at photographs that I am so BLessed to have in my porfolio. So number 1 blessing is a pic of my beautiful daughter that blesses me each day with a new reason to feel blessed.  

Now my second blessing doesn't come with a pic simply the words I live by "You are never to old to Learn something new!"

I love these words, they both comfort and excite me.  When I think how much work and opportunities there are for each human to learn something new each day - it literally boggles my mind (in a good way).  Whether it's new medical information of how to better take care of ourselves or learning to build a 50+ page website on your own, the avenues are unending.  I am so blessed to both understand this and to act on it.  I love learning!  I will never be done!  

So there you have it two blessings all wrapped up in one!  

Until Tomorrow Blessings, 

GigiCharm 

Divine Baking: Deep Dark Chocolate Cookies

Divine Baking: Deep Dark Chocolate Cookies: Last week I went shopping for a KitchenAid stand-mixer, and I couldn't be more excited. I went to four different stores to compare prices. ...

Blessings Blog Day 8 - 2012 Relationships

Good Afternoon!:)

Relationships are changing. 

 Business's, friends, families, and the world over are full of new relationships.  Each day, myself alone I make connections with over 25 new acquaintances a day through my interest.  Our world seems to want to connect more, to serve one another more fully through relationships.  

I, like many, tire of direct marketing schemes that sell this or that, we want relationships with the items we choose and the right to show our loyalty on our own terms.  Terms like Facebook me, Like, tweet me, pin me, and blogs aplenty are words that almost everyone knows and uses in everyday language of relationships.  We are finding new ways to grow in our social sets through these many technological advances and I must say I am one of the many.  

In our busy, busy world, we all still want to connect with our friends and family but letters and dare I say it "even email" seems such a time-consuming effort when really you can say it all in 45 words or less in a update to one of the latest web tools.  

With my Facebook, I can be updated on the latest birth announcement from a dear friend far away the day the doctor announces - where in years past, I might have heard it through a grapevine the day after the baby was born.  All thanks to the convenience of status updates from our cell phones.  

The same goes for Twitter and Blogger, these sharing tools allows me to share deals of the day, coupons, contest, or even a recipe simply with the click of a button, depending who or where I want the information posted. 

With my new love - Pinterest.com - I find many ways to learn, share, and market the different items that I make, love or find interesting.  And the beauty is its a Community of Free Help - Each time I pin another friends blog or friends interest or product that they sell or promote - I'm helping them.  When the world tells me there is no beauty anymore and we are all a greedy lot - I tell them - NO - all of these sites tells me that while sometimes it may start out as greed based - it soon becomes a service to each person who reshares.  

How beautiful is that!  I love it so today's Blessing is to My Web of Relationships!  Try one of these share tools today to reach those you love and those you might help too!  And don't forget to like or share this blog with your friends and family too! :)

Until Tomorrow Blessings, 

GigiCharm

Tuxedo Peeps | Cheeky Kitchen

Tuxedo Peeps | Cheeky Kitchen

Homemade Kiss Gloss | Cheeky Kitchen

Homemade Kiss Gloss | Cheeky Kitchen

Blessings Blog - Day 7

Good Afternoon, 

After waking today, I went through my morning routine; wake up, workout (have to do this upon waking or I just won't do it),

 vitamins and breakfast, school with my daughter,

 and a few time-stealers (FB and Pinterest are my faves),

 and when it was all done - I knew I had

 chosen my blessing for the day.  

Routines - I must admit routines weren't always 

something I found to be a blessing; when I was young I liked spontaneity (like staying home from school to watch cartoons),  when I was a teen I liked a little more planning (like what are we doing Friday night on Thursday night:), and when I got married I liked it a little more - so I guess  you could say routines have been slowly growing on me (kinda like drinking water rather than soda).

Routines, surprisingly in 2012, are changing my life - Slowly but Surely. 

I find I add a new item to the routine each day such as drinking 2 bottles of water before noon; adding multi-vitamins; working out (love my Wii Fit Plus); and finding time to read my Kindle Fire magazine subscriptions.  

So today's blessing is a day in my calendar of Routines. 

Until Tomorrow Blessings, 

GigiCharm

Palettes of Color - Blessings Blog - Day 6

Good Morning, 

What a beautiful morning!  Today's blessing blog is in connection to yesterday's so if you haven't read yesterdays - hurry and read it below. :)


Okay, so yesterday I wrote about my Kuler.adobe.com blessings in my art, today I will be writing about how to add the colors you have chosen to your palette in an art program.


I am using an art program called Serif Craft Artist Platinum that can be bought at your local Target for around $30.00 - completely worth the $$.  I also use Artrage.com's program called ArtRage, this program gives a free trial version if you wish to try before you buy.  Excellent learning tools and a great forum to make great friends in a sharing community.  


Why is adding color/s a blessing?  As an artist, (I truly stretch the meaning of the word here) I love the convenience.  By adding the color/s to my palette, it allows me not only to simply click the color I wish but also to save the palette for another project.  This is a huge time saver.  


Here below are the steps to adding your color choice/s to your palette in Serif CA Platinum.  You can click on each image to enlarge. 


In the first pic, you will see that my arrow is pointing to the RGB line of numbers.  Each color choice has 3 codes; 1 red, 1 green, and 1 blue.  

In step 2, record each code on a separate piece of paper or typed as I did here (I keep all of my colors in a index file and on a disc.) 

In steps 3, I have opened my art programs S-CAP for short and clicked on more.  In step 4, I move over to the RGB entries, and enter my numbers.  Once I have entered my numbers I move to step 5 - add range, this will put my colors in the palette and save them for the project.  Go to step 6 to see the RGB code entered with the palette showing. 

In step 6 - simply click ok and your color palette  will be added.  (If you wish to choose all of the colors of green as shown here simply click add all) I have chosen add range and this adds 5 shades of my faded mint green in a monochromatic range. 

Step 7 - Create using your palette - Here is an example of my faded mint green using S-CAP''s glitter function.  Whatever you choose to do with your palette - ENJOY!

Until Tomorrow Blessings, 

GigiCharm

  

Digital Scrapbook Color Choices- Blessings Blog Day 5

Good Afternoon, 

Today's Blessing is owed to my love of color and my thanks to Adobe.com.  In Digital Scrapbook art as in all art, it is so important to make pieces that are colorfully pleasing to the eye.  If a color is too bright it can shock the beholder's eyes and take away from the photo.  If the color's don't harmonize say a light pink with a neon mustard, it can give the page personality but again, it might not make the photo stand out but rather fade away. 

Late last year I found a program that I try to share with each of my friends and family.  You can find it at kuler.adobe.com (no www. or http://) needed.  This is a free website that can offer you colors that will fit a theme when typed in the search bar or you can create your own palette by setting the base color as shown below.  

The website uses color levels to allow you and I to manipulate a palette to the choice we want - I have even used this to choose a wall color in my home.  I truly love this program. When using it I simply change the number or bar for the intensity I want and then set my base color.  I prefer the RGB settings with numbers but you can use what makes you feel most comfortable.  RGB stands for Red, Green, Blue  values- this is a color intensity  level changer.  I recommend highly playing with this feature, it's amazing how many variations of color can be made.  

There are different rules that bring a different selection of 5 colors to go with your "chosen" color. Below are the list of rules and their reactions:

1. Analogous - match color with adjacent hues.
2. Monochromatic - Focus on one color in a varied intensity or level in one hue. 
3. Triad - Contrasting colors.
4. Complementary - Two colors on two hues.
5. Compound - Multiple Color hues for interest.
6. Shades - subtle varieties in color hue.
7. Custom - letting you make the color choice. 

Below you will find the step by step pic using my faded mint green base color on how to change the levels with a click. 

Step 1 - Choosing Base

Step 2 - Changing the Rule

Step 3 - Playing with color

Watch as my palette changes as I 

click the different rules below. 

Step 4 - Choose your own

This next slide I have chosen palette for an upcoming

 baby shower theme with my mint green. 

Play with the colors until you find your Theme!

I hope you have enjoyed Day 5's Blessing Blog on Kuler.adobe.com and I sincerely hope you try it out soon with one of your many craft projects.  Look for my baby shower papers at www.snapsandbuttonsgalore.com next week!  

Coming up tomorrow, I will show you how to add your color palette to any art program you choose using Artrage.com and Serif Craft Artist Platinum. 

Until Tomorrow Blessings,

GigiCharm

Hunky Handy Husband - Blessings Blog - Day 4

Good Morning All, 

There are moments in a woman's life that can naturally be seen as a Blessing: the birth of her children, the life events of those children such as weddings, baptisms, and of course Grandchildren.  But then there are those blessings that sometimes go unnoticed.  

This mornings blessing is sincere yet humorous as I'm sure you will see and I know that a lot of ladies out there will thoroughly understand my plight. Because today, I am finding gratefulness for the Hunky Handyman that I call Husband and Best Friend.  You see, for almost a year now I have been without a Master Bathroom - time and decisions (what color flooring, what style of flooring) have stalled the process until last night at 8:30pm, when my Hunky Handy Husband decided to just get to it.  

Well this morning I have a Beautiful new bathroom floor and I have no one to thank for it except my Hunky Handy Husband and his darling assistant (our daughter, Kiki). So today, I dedicated my blessing to him and made a page that represents the one of the many Blessings I find in him - one by the way I fail to mention as much as I should.  

This mornings tribute entitled - Hunky Handy Husband.  :) Smiles Ladies, but he's mine!!!

Until Tomorrow Blessings, 

GigiCharm

Sweets & Treats Boutique: Cupcake Themed 1st Birthday Party

Sweets & Treats Boutique: Cupcake Themed 1st Birthday Party: One of our customers threw a cupcake themed first birthday party for her daughter and used a mix of our paper party straws to coordinate w...

Blessings Blog - Day 3

Good Morning Scrappers:)

What a beautiful day!  Hope it is beautiful wherever you are today but if not perhaps that makes it a great day to make a blessings page?  

Today, with the beautiful sunshine after the storms, I am going to be adding Sunsets to my blessing list. When thinking about sunsets, I was pleasantly surprised how no matter where you are, no matter who you are with,, nor what you are doing....a beautiful Sunset can still make you take pause and drink in a moment.  With it's awesome array of colors, from soft blues to brilliant salmons, nothing quite like a Sunset to take your breath away, naturally. Isn't that amazing? Can you think of something else that makes you stop and take it all in like a Sunset?

Well, for this Friday morning, here is my Sunset Journey page of a trip we took to RockWall, Texas.  Beautiful Lake Ray Hubbard and it's impressive Harbor on a Summer night.  So relaxing. 

(products used are the Dazzling Sunshine

 Papers from www.snapsandbuttonsgalore.com)

  Until Tomorrow Blessings, 

GigiCharm

Blessings Blog - Day 2

Good Afternoon, 

With all the storms rolling through last night, I must admit I got a bit of late start on my blog entry.  So here we are "in the afternoon". :)  I find that I am really enjoying the contemplative task of thinking each day about Blessings in my life.  From a creative standpoint, I think it's hard to choose which one first - because of course I want to use all my favorite papers and photos at once.  

This is when I have to put my creativity aside and really think about the word "Blessings. Blessings being a word that I only associated with meal times, so I got out a dictionary to look up all it's meanings. Here's what I found in my friend Webster. 

                

 Blessings [bles-ing] noun: Middle English before 900

1. the act or word of someone who blesses. 

2. a special favor, mercy, or benefit

3. favor or gift bestowed by GOD

4. the invoking of GOD's favor upon a person.

5. praise, devotion, worship; or grace before meal.

After reading this a couple of years ago, as a way to remind myself of how fortunate I was and how I wished the same for others, I started adding Blessings with a comma to the end of all my emails and letters.  It was my way of sending a prayer out into the universe to each person I encountered.  Since then, I must say my blessings have increased in love and true friendship. 

Today after looking at my photo files, I chose this picture of my family sharing a happy moment during what must have been a summer visit and titled the page Generations - Before & After Us.  I love the smiles of these ladies and though some of them are gone from our loving arms, they will never be gone from our hearts and minds.  Love you Aunt Evelyn and Great-Grandma Pratsman, we miss you!

Blessings Blog - Generations - Before & After Us.  (part of the Easter Spring Paper collection at www.snapsandbuttonsgalore.com)

         Until Tomorrow Blessings, 

GigiCharm

365 Days of Blessings Challenge Blog

Welcome to Snap & Buttons Galore.com's Blog of Blessings Challenge!  

With the new year here and ready for us to grab hold, 

I thought I would make the most of both my business and 

my spirit with a "365 days of Blessings" blog.  

Too often the days pass in a blur with busy works and I forget to stop 

and smell the flowers in my own life.  So for the next 365 days,

I will be posting one Digital Scrapbooking page that is dedicated to Blessings

 in my life.  I challenge each of you to join me in this journey of 

Thankfulness and feel free to share your blessings with all the friends 

of S&BG.com. 

You never know how your blessing might awaken someone else to a blessing

 in their life., one they had missed, or perhaps one forgotten.  Either way, 

please join the 365 days of Blessings Challenge and Celebrate those 

blessings of you, in you, and around you! 

 Here is my first entry: "I am Alive" 

Want the Snap Page Map, instructions, here they are below:

1. Add your chosen Background, I find a nice scroll pattern

 works well for backgrounds.

2. Add a secondary square to your page as background for

 your pics - lighter color than the pic is preferred to make the pic pop. Center

3. Add a photo about 5x7 if you are using a 12x12 paper background. 

4. Add Photo strip or 3 individual photos and group together

 for easy moving. 

5. Add the beginning sentiment (don't forget to play with your fonts).

6. Add the Ending sentiment - Large here to really add some flair. 

7. Embellish with any of your chosen elements.  Below is the page map pic. 

Until tomorrow, Blessings!

GigiCharm