Recently Crissy of Dear Crissy sent me one of her prints for review. I’ve been waiting to post this until my print is back. I’ve sent if off to be matted and framed because I am so in love with the print and the concept. It’s also a grungy feel to the background, which suits me perfectly. However, there has been another delay with the framer and I couldn’t wait any longer to share!

Immediately when I seen Crissy’s Shop I was in awe. She is so talented and there are so many amazing things, it was hard to chose. The print that I chose is called ‘Held’ and it’s a precious {almost} black and white photo with a smidgen of color. It’s so perfect for my living room which is primarily tan with some black and very neutral colors. The quality of the photo is amazing. You can tell Crissy has a passion for art in her work. The printed quality is always something that worries me, but this was printed GREAT. It’s true to color and it’s on a nice thicker paper that is acid free. The print IS signed on the back. I love that because I know I have a unique and authentic piece!

BUY: You can find Crissy’s Shop and her beautiful work on Etsy.

GIVEAWAY: ONE lucky reader will get a Dear Crissy signed piece of their own {up to a $30 value}!

MANDATORY ENTRY: To enter, visit Crissy’s Shop and tell me which print you’d like to have!

EXTRA ENTRIES:

• Subscribe to One Scrappy Mom by reader or email – Links in right sidebar. {4 extra entries}
• “Like” OneScrappyMom on my Facebook Fan Page! {2 extra entries}
• Follow OneScrappyBlog on Twitter {2 extra entries}
• Tweet about giveaway {up to 5 time per day 1 extra entry each tweet} – “Win an authentic print of choice from @crissy & @onescrappyblog http://bit.ly/8YZ3WT Ends 8/12 US & Canada Only #giveaway“
• Connect with me on Google Friend Connect – Right Sidebar {3 extra entries}
• Enter any Giveaway at Serendipity Mommy {up to 5 giveaways – 2 extra entry each giveaway entered}
• “Like” Dear Crissy on their Facebook Fan Page! {2 extra entries}
• Follow Crissy on Twitter {2 extra entries}
• Connect with Crissy on Google Friend Connect – Right Sidebar on her blog {3 extra entries}
• Comment on any non-giveaway post here at OneScrappyMom
• Subscribe to Dear Crissy by reader

Make sure you leave 1 comment for each entry to get credit!! Contest ends Thursday, August, 12, 2010.

Disclosure: I was provided with a print from Dear Crissy for this review. Crissy has also provided the gifts for the winner of this giveaway. All views and opinions with regard to the products or company itself are my own and were not influenced, nor reviewed, by the company prior to posting. Offer valid US & Canada Only!

Congratualtions Number 157 – Crystal! Please check your email to claim your prize~

With the world we live in and the dependency on computers, there are often times where you hear people talking about losing data. Losing data is NEVER fun and can actually be very devastating. Luckily there are products that can help! Seagate has some amazing options for external hard drives. These are great for preserving your memories and holding back ups. Seagate sent me the FreeAgent Go Ultra Portable Drive. I also received the FreeAgent Go Dock+ for my FreeAgent Go Ultra Portable Drive.

Together these are flawless. I love that the dock is right on my desktop and I can set the drive on it and it’s ready to go. No cords, no cables. On the back of the dock there are 3 extra USB hubs for using. I can plug anything needed into there and it’s ready for use. This means no more lack of USB hubs!  The Go Ultra Drive is very sleek and thin with many wonderful features including:

• Available in a range of capacities, from 250GB to 1TB
• Multiple colors to suit your style and let you tell one FreeAgent Go from the next; 7 to chose from
• The thinnest portable drive available. Even the cables are compact
• Automatic backup for peace of mind
• Encryption technology keeps your files safe
• Easy synchronization means you always have the most current version with you
• Fast data transfer with USB
• Light Weight; 160g (.35 lb)

I love the simplicity of this hard drive and I have peace of mind knowing that it’s all backed up if something fails. The portable size makes this drive extra amazing. I have a small leather case for it and it’s very easy to grab and throw in your laptop back, back pack, purse or clutch.

BUY: You can shop for Seagate Products online or in local retailers nationswide!

NETWORK: You can find Seagate on Facebook and Twitter for new updates, tips and information!

Disclosure: I was provided with a Seagate FreeAgent Go Ultra Portable Drive & FreeAgent Go Dock+ for this review. All views and opinions with regard to the products or company itself are my own and were not influenced, nor reviewed, by the company prior to posting.

When you have kids, it’s hard to not want to capture every moment. I am one of those parents that likes to document EVERYTHING. Since my other camera is a dSLR and very large, I needed to get a smaller camera that was more practical. Recently I attended a concert and was not allowed to enter the event with my camera. I knew it was time for a compact camera. I’ve also been missing out on A LOT of picture opportunities because I never carried a camera with me. This completely bums me out because I don’t have a good document {in pictures} of my kids this past year. Most of the holidays I completely skipped over. Don’t get me wrong, I completely LOVE my dSLR but because of the size and having to adjust a lot of things, I just find my dSLR tucked away more then it’s out. I am SO happy with my Casio Exilim EX-Z35. It’s SO portable and there are so many things I just love about it.

I’ll explain. First this amazingly small camera is a powerful 12.1 mega pixels! I got very clear, non-pixelated pictures from the camera. There is a 3X zoom on it as well. For me the lack of further zoom was the one downfall of this camera. This camera is as simple or as complicated as you would like it. There is an “easy mode” which takes most of the tougher options off the camera and allows even a beginner to take a great picture. If you are a more advanced user this camera has features that can be changed and adjusted, such as shooting in B&W or Sepia, auto or manual focus, adjustable while balance, self timers, red eye reduction, best shot, face detection and more. There are 23 best shot modes included. There are some common ones like auto, portrait, pets and fireworks all of which adjust the camera settings for the best shot! There is also a video mode on this camera. I think this is probably one of my FAVORITE features on this camera. It’s simple to use and with the touch of a button it starts and stops recording! If you go into the best shot menu you can chose “YouTube”. There is software so that when you plug the camera in or put the card in the computer it will upload directly to You Tube. Or you can use the device like a mass media device and copy it onto your desktop to edit or upload. The video is so crisp and clean! The face detection on the camera picks out the faces and focuses in on them. I love that too because that is the part of the picture that is often more important! It adjusts instantly for optimum focus and background even if your subject is backlit or in front of a patterned backdrop. What about movement? No problem! This camera does it all. I’ve capture the kids on the go and video recorded the dog, all with no trouble and no back of the head shots!

These are pictures that were taken with the Casio and are not different out of the camera. I did not edit them. I did crop them some to fit them here, but otherwise they are directly from the camera. Now, I cropped in an photo editing program, but if you don’t have that option you can crop on the camera! There are 2 other things I REALLY love about this camera: the size & the battery! This little camera is . 8″ thin so it fits GREAT into a pocket, purse, diaper bag, luggage, etc. The battery is a rechargeable lithium ion battery! Oh how I LOVE rechargeable batteries, especially on a camera! It states that the battery fully charges takes approximately 1000 still images or approximately 21 h hours 30 minutes. I honestly think this is an understatement for this camera. We used the camera ALL 3 days of Memorial Day weekend. I took about 30 video clips and about 300 pictures. The battery is still FULL. I am very satisfied with the battery life and I know if I was at the zoo or park all day with the kids, the battery would have NO problem keeping up and I wouldn’t miss a memory or chance for a photo. The camera is very light weight and compact. It weighs approximately 4.6 ounces including the battery and memory card. A picture taken on the 12.1 mega pixels is large enough for a good size print. The largest size it shoots is 4000×3000 pixels.

This camera comes in a variety of colors for every user. It comes in traditional black and silver, or if you want to get a little more jazz, they have pink, blue and purple. The suggested retail price on this camera is $109.00. I think that is an amazing price! This camera has SO many great features and wonderful options that it is worth every penny.

You can find more specific technical specs here. I’ve had a few point and shoot cameras and I think this one is by far my favorite. There are just so many features that I love about it. The one downfall being the zoom, would not be enough of a deteriorate to stop me from purchasing this camera. It packs a powerful little machine in the small size! Casio is an amazing brand that we’ve all come to know and trust through the years. This is another amazing product by them.

Disclosure: I was provided with a Casio Exilim EX-Z35 for this review from Casio.  All views and opinions with regard to the products or company itself are my own and were not influenced, nor reviewed, by the company prior to posting.

Five years ago when I began digital scrapbooking I started in Corel Paint Shop Pro. I believe when I started it was version 7 or 8… around there. Through the years I’ve watched Corel grow and I am now using version XII and hoping to upgrade to X3 soon! I’ve been the BIGGEST fan of Corel products. I’ve never been disappointed in a purchase I have made. At one point I lost my key (actually I lost the whole disc in a move, but could download a trial from the site). I called customer service and I was very upset and on the verge of tears. The customer service rep was SO helpful. She was able to retrieve my code from the online registration and activation and I was on my way.

Recently Corel released a new product called Paint It! You can purchase it online from them or in several retail stores. It’s fairly new. It was released on April 30, 2010. Quoted from Corel:

Ideally suited for photography enthusiasts, scrapbookers, families and creative minds of any age, Paint it! features art tools and painting presets that faithfully replicate their traditional counterparts and a user interface that is both simple and intuitive. This makes it easier than ever for anyone to use their photos to create unique digital art keepsakes that are perfect for framing or sharing as special gifts with family and friends.

I have to say, I think even people with very basic computer knowledge could use this program and create a masterpiece! It’s very simple. You open up your photo and then along the right are the different options. Some of the options you can chose are: pencil drawing, colored pencil, pastel, impressionist, detailed watercolor, oil painting and many more!

This is a photo of my kiddos. The top is the original and the bottom is the Paint it! version. I used the colored pencil drawing setting to get this. I thought this would be amazing on a t-shirt or tote bag! There are brushes in the program that you can use to create more effects, but this one was just a straight plug and play version.

In this photo of my god-daughter I actually used a different setting. This is the detailed water color. Sized down it’s missing a lot of the TRUE beauty, but it’s very nice. It would be PERFECT as a print! In fact, I am going to print this one… in a much bigger size, likely 8×10 or 10×13. I just LOVE the creative look on it!

I did this one of my daughter using the pastel drawing setting. I went in with a brush and changed the eyes a little bit because I thought that they got lost some. That is the beauty of this program though, you CAN go after and change things and add things. I love the versatility of it! Even if you are a beginner, all you have to do is open your photo, select the style, and push the “play” button. It goes ahead and transforms leaving an image that is ready to save!

You can visit Corel on the web and see their great selection of software for any project you may have. I would also recommend following them on Twitter to stay up to date with new products and special offers!

BUY IT: You can shop online at Corel for a variety of software, or at selected retailers across North America, including Wal-Mart Canada, for a suggested retail price of $39.99.

GIVEAWAY: ONE lucky reader will get your OWN copy of Corel Paint it!

MANDATORY ENTRY: To enter, please visit Corel and tell me another product that you use or would like to use!

EXTRA ENTRIES:
1. Place my button on your sidebar – Code in left sidebar. {5 extra entries}
2. Blog about this giveaway with a link back to OneScrappyMom. Leave the URL to your blog post in the comment. {5 extra entries}
3. Subscribe to One Scrappy Mom by reader or email – Links in right sidebar. {2 extra entries}
4. “Like” OneScrappyMom on my Facebook Fan Page! {2 extra entries}
5. Follow Deals4mom on Twitter {2 extra entries}
6. Tweet about giveaway {1 time per day 1 extra entry each day}
“Win the NEW Corel Paint it! from @CorelDealsUS_CA & @deals4mom http://bit.ly/aWmK1a Ends 5/31 #corel #paintit #giveaway Please RT”
7. Vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs. {1 extra entry}
8. Follow Corel on Twitter {2 extra entries}
9. Follow Paint it! on Twitter {2 extra entries}
10. Connect with me on Google Friend Connect – Right Sidebar {3 extra entries}
11. “Like” Corel on Facebook {2 extra entries}

Make sure you leave 1 comment for each entry to get credit!! Contest ends Monday, May, 31, 2010.

Disclosure: I was provided with a copy of Corel Paint it! for this review. Corel has also provided the gifts for the winner of this giveaway. All views and opinions with regard to the products or company itself are my own and were not influenced, nor reviewed, by the company prior to posting. Offer valid to US & Canada Only!

Technorati Tags: blogging, contest, marketing, sales, twitter, corel, online shopping, giveaway, paint it, scrapbook

Congratulation to Number 19 – Sarah! I will be emailing you shortly to claim your prize! Thank you to everyone that played along!

Today I ordered my Mac Book Pro. I’ve been wanting one forever, but today I splurged and did it. I am tired of the PC crashing, hard drives failing. It seems no matter what happens it’s always something. This is an investment, not a purchase. Although they are costly it will help to ensure that I always have a nice reliable machine for both my digital scrapbooking and photography business. Whether I need to just get online and job search, complete the ADSR, or just check my email… I can do it all and not worry about a failing machine! I am surprised because it’s a custom build and with Dell that always took at least a MONTH, if not longer. However they are expecting this to arrive next week already. I am SO excited. Of course this means I will have to move my computer things over and I am not entirely excited about that, but I think I will manage just fine. I am SO happy to be a MAC owner!!

P.S. Mac I would do any thing to have a PINK Mac Book *wink*

It’s been a long time since I posted! I’ve been pretty busy here. Between my work online with Whuddle World, my Photography business, and other projects like making holiday invitations for parties and things… I am just wore out and have little time left to blog. It’s been a very busy summer here. So much has been going on.

The kids are delighted with summer. Although the summer here really has sucked. It’s been cooler then average and we really haven’t had alot of days that it’s been dying hot. We have used the Central Air a handful of times. We’ve been keeping busy taking the kids to the beach, swimming and other activies all summer long. It’s been nice to have alot of free time with hubby. The kids are enjoying it too. We’ve also spent alot of time with Mike and Liz and their kids. It’s great to have Xavier back hom and Alivia is starting to walk now!! She’s as adorable as ever!! Of course it’s alot to take in and life is just good right now…

I would really love to do some photography. I am stuck indoors so I have been doing mostly “things”. I don’t like the way people leave shadows and plus my kiddos get tired of me shooting them all the time. So I have been taking photos of some antique things. One thing I found on my mission of digging in my mom’s basement was some old piano sheet music. I thought it would look REALLY need photographed. I just have to figure out exactly what I want to do with it. I have to figure out some sort of arrangement/placement, etc. I think it will be a cool picture when I figure it out though. I have no idea what I will EVER use any of these pictures for, but I am having a blast playing around and even editing them in Photoshop. It’s fun :) Something new!

It’s been a long day here!! A long day of stalking sites and watching and waiting for the ADSR challenge to go up. It’s finally up though and I was able to get my page done right away. It wasn’t a hard challenge for me, but it made me use my inner thoughts and feelings. It’s a heartfelt page for my uncle. It seems like just yesterday he was here with us and we were getting him and the rest of the guys measured for tuxedos for our wedding. So here’s my page for Challenge 5:

You can see the layout here at DST with all the credits. I am  so happy with the result. I took photos today with my little Alivia. I’m excited with the way they turned out too, but I am far too tired to post them online. I’ll post a few of them soon! I promise!

We had a visit at our house last night… from St Nick… that jolly man left lots of goodies for my kids and that included candy that they didn’t need. They’ve been way too crabby all day because they’ve been up way to early to rip open socks full of candy and trickets and toys… oh the joy! Can you totally tell I am not feeling the holidays? I don’t know why, but I am just not. I am getting them in the shower shortly and then off to bed they go!! Time for mom to have some QUITE time!

Hubby’s back to work again, on nights. I hate when he works nights. I think the only thing that keeps me sain when he’s working nights is my security system. I love it. When I was pregnant with Alex we started looking at home security companies and all the benefits of them. Our garage had been broken in to one night while we were asleep. This scared me. Our garage is attached to our home. We rarely locked the door between the garage and the house. We quickly decided that this would be a GREAT benefit for not only our home, but our safety. I love the security of the sytem. I literally have no worries when I go to bed at night. Every door, every window is protected. My family is safe. I sleep well, they sleep well. When we go on vacation we never have to worry about our home. The security company watches over it and ensures that it’s kept free from strangers or anyone that shouldn’t be entering. Our belongings are safe. We actually get to save 20% a year on our home owners insurance too. That is so nice. It wasn’t all that expensive to have it installed and put in. It’s beyond paid for itself in the first year or two expecially with the insurance savings. I love the safe feeling.

We have remote controls for our key chains that we can turn the alarm on and off before we enter the house. They work so nice. We use them if we go for walks and stuff too. A motion detector also came with our system and they have it all set so that our puppy doesn’t set it off. Nice!! When it comes to security… these are definetly the FIRST things I’d consider… which makes me GLAD that I have one… expecially when my husband is working nights and I am home alone with the kids overnight. I love it. It makes it so much easier for me to sleep. I don’t know if I could sleep at all if it weren’t for this!

Anyhow… Okay I think I am going to SET my security system now that I’ve totally talked your ears off. I’m freezing my butt off and I want to cuddle up and get some rest. Maybe tomorrow I will actually scrap some. I had the most adorable photo session today with my god daughter!! She’s such an adorable baby! I love her so much. The pictures are amazing!!! I need to get scrapping them!! Later bloggers!!

I scrapped a page today. It wasn’t a challenge or anything, just one for fun. Well actually, it’s a CT layout. I am a guest for November and December for the wonderful Kiki Halbert. So I am having fun with her products for the next couple months. This is my first layout for her. I also used Jodie’s new wordart. It’s a photography pack and perfect for us photographers!! Anyhow, without further ado, here’s my layout:

You can see the layout here at DST with full credits. Hubby is on 3rds tonight so I am hoping to get a page or 2 more done since I’ve fallen behind. I got a ton of new pictures of my “G” baby (aka God-daughter) so I want to scrap some of them!! So I am going to put the kids to bed and get started on that… Here’s a picture I took of her with my phone though… I thought I’d share… I couldn’t resist. I love her little lips!!

She’s so adorable!! I love her so much!! Alright, I’ve gotta get my butt moving. I have to look up some insurance quotes for my brother. He actually bought a van to replace the car that broke down and needs way more in repair then it is worth. Anyway, he’s got to get the insurance and registration take care of tomorrow. Okay… Time to put my kiddos in bed and get them ready for school tomorrow… so mom can play!! Have a good night bloggers!!