Drat! Monday keeps on sneaking up on me unannounced.

How dare you Monday?

I was not prepared.

How can the week have gone by so quickly? I don’t know but it FLEW by!

I LOVE Mint-spirational Monday because I love looking through the gallery at all the fabulous craftiness but I seem to keep forgetting lately. Every time I think ‘Monday’ I associate it with my afternoon Yoga class (downward dog anyone?) and The Bacherlorette (sadly the honest to goodness highlight of my week). Today I actually had a chance to discuss The Bachelorette WHILE AT yoga with one of my yoga friends which was, as you can imagine, like…..well, it was awesome. I can’t think of a clever metaphor right now.

Today we did a pose called the ‘Silly Monkey’…or was it the ‘Naughty Monkey’. I can’t remember. I think I giggled out loud when the instructor calmly said ‘this is the Silly/Naughty Monkey’ in his best yoga instructor voice. Let me tell you it is not that easy to main this pose which requires (picture it) that you to stand on one leg and touch your nose to the knee of your other leg with your hands clasped behind your back while giggling…and NOT fall over and make an ass of yourself. I tried to Google the pose to find a picture of someone doing it but I can’t. I suspect he may have made it up just for his own amusement. ‘Let’s see what I can get these crazy ladies to do next’…mwahahahaa (evil twisting of moustache). OMG it would be so creepy if my male yoga instructor had a moustache.

But back to The Bachelorette.

I can’ stop watching this show. I know its stupid and silly and fake but it’s AWESOME and I’m pulling for J.P.
Which is what we were discussing in yoga.

He is ADORABLE.

And he’s JEWISH. OMG. Sign me up.

If it doesn’t work out with Ashley, J.P gimme a call. (wink, wink).

ANYWHOOOOOOO. Back to scrapbooking. It was a slow week in the gallery. Perhaps because everyone is out enjoying the gorgeous summer weather. It certainly has been hot and sunny here. Let’s see what’s new in the gallery this week.

Sweet House | Lijezz
I may be biased because the Jolly Gingerbread Kit is one of my all time FAVORITE kits ever. But seriously, look at that life size gingerbread house. How awesome is that?

Broken | CupcakeJaime
At it’s core, scrapbooking is really about memory keeping and that means documenting the not so wonderful moments that life hands us as well as the joyful ones. I really love that this page dared to go to a sad place and to preserve the memory of a loved one in such a powerful way. I think the shattered photo says it all.

Spice Girl | Aemilius
I just LOVE the use of color on this one. The bold reds and blues are a perfect match for the bold and blocky layout.

MMB #61 – Red Robot | kimmyd33
You gotta love a good monochromatic layout! Love the bold red and black color choice which compliment the photos well. Cute costumes.

This is Life | Scrappie Irene
And ending on a relaxing note, this page is just so stunning and peaceful we should just stop and stare.
Breathe. Release. Relax.
Now be jealous that we weren’t the ones taking this picture.

Well, I’ve got the PVR set so it’s time for a little Bachelorette FUN! Yippeeee.
Now get scrapping and start posting ;)

It’s funny cause it’s true.

I wish procrastination was a marketable skill.

I’d totally rock it.

I’ve been blogging a bit about the adventures and frustrations of moving from a PC to a Mac and I am pleased as punch to report that for all intents and purposes the transfer is now COMPLETE.

[Insert big sigh of relief here.]

I’m embarrassed to tell you that I got my Mac around November…of last year. It sat on my desk all through Christmas, into the new year, through Valentine’s Day, my birthday, the spring and a massive computer crash at the beginning of the summer which was the TRUE catalyst for the switch.

I had wanted to get to it as soon as I got the computer but with Christmas right around the corner I knew I wouldn’t have the time to stop designing for a week or two and adjust to a new machine. Well the holidays and the excuses just kept coming and procrastination set in until one day I caught a nasty computer virus and I decided..well, I was forced to make the switch.

I know some of you have been contemplating, or are also in the process of making the move to the Mac so I thought I’d report back to you. I’m not going to lie, it was a chore. It took a while to move all my files over but it was very simple to do using an external hard drive to transfer all the data. I’ve come across a few files here and there that didn’t transfer correctly or are unreadable for some reason so I’ll try to  copy those over again. Email was the biggest pain in the butt mostly because there is SO MUCH conflicting information out there but it wasn’t too bad in the end. I was switching from Outlook Express on the PC to Thunderbird on the Mac and then ended up moving to Mac Mail and then decided to go with Entourage. I’ll admit that was NOT a fun day. The good news is that the whole thing took a lot LESS time than I had anticipated and I’ve adapted a lot quicker than I thought I would. I had envisioned weeks of frustration, feelings of regret, several angry outbursts and at least a couple moments of uncontrollable sobbing.

I am an optimist.

Truth be told, I only ALMOST cried once…ok, maybe twice.

Not too shabby.

I was convinced that the switch would be a really tough adjustment for me at the beginning…and it was, for several days. But thanks in no small part to YouTube, Google and some helpful friends I’ve been able to quickly solve every road block I’ve encountered and now I’m ready to roll.

I have to admit, I’m feeling pretty fancy.

But now that I’ve gotten over that initial hump I’m VERY relieved and very proud of myself for actually getting it done and so far I’m really enjoying the Mac. There are some Windows features that I miss but I have to say that overall, Mac is a much smoother and simpler ride particularly if you are not a computer whiz. Everything just works easier and better. Installing fonts, actions and applications is a million times easier on Mac. There are some awesome desktop features like Spaces and Expose that help you make the most of your desktop space. You can pretty much drag and drop just about anything and several things that were tasking on the PC are SO easy on Mac that I was baffled when I discovered them. With all the help available online it’s pretty hard to stay stumped for very long.

So the moral of the story is, don’t procrastinate kids because I’m loving my Mac and I wish I would have had the chance to make the move sooner.

Back to work!
xo.

Well OOPS. I totally got caught up and forgot about Mint-spirational Monday last week. Can you imagine? Oh the horror. It totally slipped my mind and by the time I’d remembered, it was already halfway through the week so I figured I’d give you a double dose this week. Let’s take a look at what’s cooking:

The World through Your Lens | by: Cherry Limeade
I {heart} this page!! I just LOOOVE the idea of handing the camera to the kids to see the world from their point of view. The photos totally make me smile. They are so adorable and I just love the way this page was scrapped with the fun bright colors and whimsical font. I think this would be SUCH a great challenge idea…wink, wink

Cowgirl | by: emilyk
Love this gorgeous page with tons of elements and layers. Brilliantly arranged without looking cluttered. The pictures just so sweet as well.

stylin’ | by: sarah&cali
When you happen to catch a candid moment like this it’s a good day. Future hairstylist to the stars perhaps? I just love the creative use of the comb in the title along with the understated design that really lets the photos take center stage.

Firecrackers | by: my2monkeys
With all the holiday celebrations in the US and Canada I’m surprised we didn’t see more patriotic holiday pages in the gallery. Perhaps it’s my fault for not releasing a new holiday kit? Hmmm. In any case, I LOVE this kit and I love this page. Such a great combination of LOADS of pattern. Awesome arrangement.

Kyra’s New ‘Do | by: mama_pajama
Wowza! Step aside, talk about a funky new ‘do! How AWESOME is this hair cut? The page is fantastic as well. I’m a real fan of the before/after thing and this page was done so well. I can’t believe how much more grown up she looks with that cool cut.

Love U Super Big | by: Katie
The layering on this page is wonderful and that sweet face is hard to resist! I really love the wings placed on either side of the photo.

Beach Baby | by: Cherry Limeade
The soft and stunning color combination is what pulled me to this page. I also love the color treatment on the photo as well as that AWESOME banner.

Daddys Helper | by: Mommy2Talesia
How adorable is this? I love the stack of photos with the splatter behind.

Casa del Wild | by: Lijezz
A fun page for a fun picture. I really liked the use of elements on this one. It’s a tough one because the images are so busy but I think this page strikes a perfect balance.

Long & Short | by: Gabby
I said it before and I’ll say it again…I LOVE before and after photos/pages and this one is no exception. Love the clever title as well as that super cute hair cut!

Summer Vacation | by: Cherry Limeade
The unexpected cropping on these photos are what really caught my eye and I totally LOVE it. What a clever way to shoot this!

32nd Birthday | by: shutterspeed
I really like the row of photos down the one side with the journaling on the other as well as the use of the calendar on the office note. Oooh and check out that exposed brick…drool. LOVE.

smile | by: Keela
This is playground perfection! I just love everything about this one.

Adventure Awaits | by: Aemilius
This page was the winner of our MMB Ad Challenge and I’m sure you can see why. The color colors and clean design are just fantastic.

smile | by: KirstieGai
The color combo is just gorgeous on this one and I SO love seeing the Color Coded Collection being used this way to create original color combos.

Whew! Lots of great pages. I’m feeling INSPIRED to design.
Thanks so much for posting your pages everyone! I SO enjoy seeing them
Keep posting!
xo
Miss Mint

I just got this email from my Dad who rarely forwards anything so I thought this was worth sharing. Technology is amazing, isn’t it? Without it you and I wouldn’t be having this conversation. Well at least not by weblog. Well check this out. Apparently getting lost in a crowd is a thing of the past. Utterly amazing or incredibly scary? A little of both?

This is a photograph of 2009 Obama Inauguration.

The picture was taken with a robotic 1474 megapixel camera (295 times the standard 5 megapixel camera). You can scan and zoom to any section of the crowd.Double click anywhere and scroll your mouse wheel to bring the image closer. The focus adjusts to give you a very identifiable close up.

It’s pretty incredible.

The clarity is frightening.

Aloha Mint Fans!

It’s Bossy Joscie here for a quick way to add texture to your hybrid cards. I love making cards with my minty supplies because it’s so quick and easy. And I can make as many as I want with one piece of digital paper printed many times.

Here’s what I used:

Miss Mint’s Teen Queen Kit
Bazzil Kraft Cardstock
Tonic Paper Trimmer
ATG Adhesive Gun or tape runner
Circle Punch
Scissors
Foam Adhesive
Washi Tape
Sewing Machine
Creative Charms Gradient Gems

When I first saw this notebook paper in the Teen Queen Kit, I thought that it would be so cute with a line of red machine stitches to complete the notebook paper look. I printed up a sheet of this notebook paper on plain white cardstock.

• I used my paper cutter to cut various sizes of notebook paper rectangles.
• I ran them through my sewing machine to add the red line.

• used some as is on my cards.
• printed and hand cut some sentiments from the kit.
• added some self adhesive gems.
• added washi tape.

• I punched shapes out of others.

• I also added more machine stitching to finish off my cards.

I hope you’re inspired to create some hybrid cards with your minty goodies!
Please share them in the gallery.

Love-Love,

Joscie, rhymes with bossy!