I'm Back

So I have returned from my little excursion to the states, and will hopefully be able to jump right back into the swing of things. It is always refreshing to be away from my children for a short time, but inevitable that I start missing the very things they do to annoy me!! *smile* Oh well, what can you do.

Let's get this posting thing back on track too! I have already written other pieces to go along with EmmaLee's story but havn't published them yet, I feel they might be a bit outdated now and will work on that this week. I was contacted by another mother with a daughter also diagnosed with Netherton's Syndrome and was inspired to finish my journaling of living and dealing with it.

Thanks for your comments and interest in us and my blog!

Glass Etching

It is actually sooooo simple to do, and the results can be stunning. The only drawback of glass etching that I can see is the cost of the etching cream. It is EXPENSIVE! Oh man! A small 10 oz bottle of it was $34.99 at Michaels. Of course you should use a 40% off coupon and save yourself $14.00 to help ease the cost. I also purchased my mirrors at Michaels, for quite resonable prices.

Seriously I got a little carried away once I discovered how easy it was! I started with this small coaster set. Here's how:

Supplies:

piece of glass or mirror

plastic or paper stencil

etching cream

repositionable spray adhesive

flat bristle paintbrush

1. Clean your glass with Windex first, wipe until dry.

2. Spray the back of your stencil with the repositionable adhesive. ( I laid down scrap paper underneath to catch any overspray from the can.)

3. Position the stencil on your glass. Don't worry if you place it crooked or wrong, just peel it back up and position again.

4. Rub the stencil firmly to ensure complete contact with the glass, especially on any small pieces in the design.

5. Using the paintbrush, apply a thick layer of etching cream onto your stencil making sure to completely cover all open areas of the stencil. *Also be careful not to brush any extra cream in unwanted areas!!

6. Let cream stand for 5 minutes. ( I have found that adding additional time is not neccessary and doesn't improve the darkness of the etching very much, but it doesn't hurt if you accidentally leave it on too long.)

7. Wash cream completely off under running water. Dry, and clean with Windex again.

That's it! Just think about all the possibilities with all the stencils out there!

Glass Etching on votive holders is a little more difficult but worth the trouble for the beautiful outcome. When you think of all the glass items in your house that could be spruced up with some decorative etching I hope you'll be as excited as I am!

Catching Up...

What you've missed...

For Halloween EmmaLee was Princess Belle and Ethan was her Knight. She demanded that we call her Princess EmmaLee Belle for weeks afterward! Oh, and I was a scarecrow.

I absolutely love the wig on her. I was kinda hoping that she would too, since she will never have a full head of hair. I've always been open to the idea that she might want one someday, I thought maybe even as early as 5 or 6 years old. Nope, she did NOT like it, just too itchy.

And... EmmaLee turned 4. She wasn't very happy on her birthday, not even blowing out the candles. But obviously she liked the frosting. There WERE stars around the whole border of the cake, until she ran her fingers through it. I actually sat there and secretly watched her do it, I think every kid is allowed at least that on their birthday! lol! What made her finally smile? ELMO pajamas!!!!

My Layouts

Okay, so these are really old pictures in the layouts but I've never scrapped them on anything. And...I actually made everything for the layouts myself!! Pat. Pat. Yes, I'm patting myself on the back.

And yes, I realize that these still need some journaling or explanation...at the very least, a date.

M.I.A.

Wow! I'm just shy of 2 months without posting anything!! I don't know why, there isn't a good excuse or anything. You know how sometimes you just get stuck in a rut, you loose all drive to do anything productive. Well, I fall into those slumps occasionally. Okay more than occasionally, but whose keeping track? Well, I'm back now and I've decided to keep a regular posting schedule. Not sure what that will be yet. Hmmm, maybe once every two months LOL! No seriously, I will try to do at least twice a week, maybe more.

Thats all for now. Question: Does this post count?? lol!

Learning to Design...

I am slowly but surely learning how to design Digital Scrapbooking items. I have been using a trial version of PhotoShop Creative Suite 3 Extended. Technically it has expired so now I have to find a way to purchase it, or something lesser and cheaper! Here is what I have made so far...

A brown wavy paper.

Oops, it looks like I may have some stray shadow at the top, I'll be fixing that.

A brick wall scene.

I envision a graffiti saying next to a photo of my daughter doing something artistic. Or maybe just playing in paint! Actually the only funny picture I have so far is one with her eating a green crayon and smiling with big chunks of wax in her teeth!

Snowman Scene Paper

Let it Snow Word Art

The Snow letters have really cool texture too!

Just a few buttons too.

It's not much but its a small start I guess. I never knew how much you can do with all the tools in PhotoShop!! It's really fun to play around and learn. Plus there are some really great websites out there that offer tons of tutorials on how to make your own stuff!

Here's one:http://www.ellies-treasures.com/scrapbooking-tuts/scrapbooking-tuts.html

Working on Part Three...

So, I've been working on Part Three about my daughter with Netherton Syndrome, but I guess I'm finding it a little hard to write because I feel almost like I am complaining rather than explaining. I think an explanation needs to be preceded with a question, right?

It does prove very therapeutic to write my feelings down, and tell our story. I guess I'm just wondering if anyone is even reading it. I would greatly appreciate some comments with any questions you might have about us. Sure, ask anything... about the disorder, about our family, our life, etc.

-Anna Dawn