thinking like a scrapbooker, volleyball, and stuffed shells

I just recently completed a challenge for the If It's Groovy Design Team. I can't show you the layout until it's posted over there, but it made me realize how much my ideas about taking photos have changed since I've become a scrapbooker. I'm just not taking pictures to look at later. I'm capturing moments. I'm freezing feelings. I'm telling a story. I'm turning the ordinary into extraordinary. It's the expression on a face. It's the sprinkles on the whipped cream. It's the sparkle on the shoes. It's the messiness of a room. I zoom in. I pan out. I look at all of the components of the environment and wonder "what a great scrapbook page" that will be. Yes, sometimes the photos still turn out crummy, but I don't always delete them. Crummy photos can still become non-crummy layouts. Show me one. Send me your fabulous layout that has a crummy photo. I'll show you mine soon.



This is the week 42 Lift-a Fiskateer layout. I pop-dotted some of the volleyballs. Sport layouts are a great time to give some "movement" to your page.


Last week, when I got to spend the morning with my new niece, Reina, I had a special request from my brother and sister in-law for...


CHEESE STUFFED PASTA SHELLS
1 box jumbo pasta shells (there are about 40 shells in a box)
28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes
15 oz. can of Italian style tomato sauce
2 garlic cloves minced
1# ground beef, browned and broken up

Stuffing:
1 # ricotta cheese
8 oz. shredded mozarella
1/2 C grated parmesan
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 Tbsp parsley flakes
2 C fresh spinach, chopped fine

Boil water and cook shells. Drain. Brown meat and drain. Make sauce with tomatoes, sauce, and garlic. You can add additional spices to your taste. Let simmer for 30 minutes. Stir ground beef into sauce. Mix all of the ingredients for your stuffing in a large bowl. Stuff each shell with a spoonful of "stuffing" and lay in a greased 9x13 pan. Pour sauce over shells, and gently mix to coat. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.