Cathy Zielske's Blog

Happy new year!

I've nearly completed one full month in 2012 of moving more and eating well. To celebrate, last weekend I headed over to Dick's with a $10-off coupon in hand and picked up a brand new swim suit. My old Speedo was showing a little more crack than should rightly be displayed on anyone, let alone a 45-year-old woman with a little extra padding on the back side of her body.

I love my new suit. It's super tight. It's super purply. The patterned looks like Barney took an acid trip and exploded. That's my kind of workout gear.

My skin is Casper-white, dimply and about as far away from swim suit model status as you could hope for. But when I put this thing on, I feel like a badass.

Two years ago I started tracking this whole quest for better health and less chub. Back then, I posted this photo:

I remember dropping all this coin at Lucy hoping it would be part of my motivation to keep on keepin' on.

Turns out, it worked. I was really committed to putting my Lucy activewear to good use. I was really looking forward to zipping up my coat and not having my stomach be the main focus.

But back then, I had absolutely ZERO confidence in my ability to focus and achieve. I was just throwing caution to the wind and hoping for the best.

Me in January 2010, wondering if the coat would ever truly zip comfortably and if that piece of hair would ever lay flat.

 

As I wrap up January in the Move More, Eat Well classroom, I realize after reading the stories being shared in our classroom community, that the process of self care is not an easy one. In fact, for a lot people, it's really damned hard.

I know for myself, moving more and eating well has never truly become automatic in the way that I'd hoped it would. It has, however, become something I really need to function better in the world. (Well, at least the exercise part… the eating well part, let's say that's always going to be a work in progress.)

One thing I love about all of it is that every day, or week, or month can be a complete renewal. A lot of people don't want to make bold changes on New Year's Day. And honestly, I can't blame them. The number of New Years that came and went with me still smoking like a chimney… let's just say I lost count.

But I know this: when you're ready, you're ready.

For those of you who are thinking about making changes, I invite you to join us in February, for a new year of better health and fitness. Make no mistake: you're the one who ends up doing all the work, but maybe your new year is just around the corner.

p.s. the coat zips now and I know: I really did get my money's worth.

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If you're interested in making changes to your overall health and fitness, Move More, Eat Well is a 12-month online workshop at Big Picture Classes. The focus of this class is to embark on a personal journey that works with your unique lifestyle in helping you to find ways to make the changes you'd like to see on a fitness and health level. Registration is open all year and you can jump in anytime to join the more than 1,550 women and men who've made the decision to try to make changes in their own lives. Move More, Eat Well revolves around a robust community of users who are all creating a scrapbook/journal of their progress. To learn more, click here.

 

Video Tutorial: How to Recolor PNGs

I designed a new set of 3 x 4 cards last week called Check Cards. The cards are perfect for use in your Project Life pockets and some might say they're kind of adorable.

The set comes as a PNG and ABR set, but also includes sheets of printable PDFs (cards come in black ink only) for those who don't have Photoshop. Today I wanted to show you how to change the color of the PNG files in Photoshop Elements. Once you have this basic approach down, you can apply it to any PNG file you can get your hands on. Following is a short video that demonstrates the steps plus also how to size the cards down for a perfect fit into Project Life Design A page protectors.

 

Watch the video at Vimeo by clicking here.

STEP BY STEP: RECOLORING A PNG
1. Open the PNG file.

2. Go to Edit > Fill Layer. Under Contents, click on Color….

3. From the Color Picker, choose a color you'd like to apply. Make sure "Preserve Transparency" is checked. Click OK. Then click OK again. The color will apply to only the image content.

STEP BY STEP: SIZING DOWN 3 x 4 CARDS in PSE
1. To change the width of the card to 2-7/8 wide (the actual width of Project Life cards), or 2.875, go to Image > Resize > Image Size. In the Width field, type in 2.875. Make sure that Scale Styles, Constrain Proportions and Resample Image are all checked. Click OK.

2. To change the height of the card to 3-15/16 (the actual height of Project Life cards), or 3.9375, go to Image > Resize > Canvas Size.

3. Click on the Center Anchor Point. Change the height to 3.9375.

4. This will add an equal amount of extra space to the top and bottom of your page. Your card is now sized correctly.

STEP BY STEP: PRINT MULTIPLE CARDS ON AN 8.5 x 11 DOCUMENT
1. Take your finished PNG file and flatten the file (Layer > Flatten Image), then double click on the locked Background layer to create a new Layer 0.

2. Create a new 8.5 x 11 document (File > New > Blank File).

3. From the upper control bar area under the Arrange Documents icon, choose Float All in New Windows.

4. Click on the PNG file window, then go to the Layer 0, click on the layer and drag over to the 8.5 x 11 document and release. The file should copy into the new document.

5. To add a trim line to the card file, go to Layer > Layer Style > Style Settings and check the box before Stroke, then change the stroke weight to "1 px." Click OK. Repeat for more cards.

FRACTION CONVERSION CHART
As mentioned in the video, I have this nifty little chart I use all the time when working on digital and hybrid scrapbooking projects. It converts fractions to decimals and millimeters which is very handy when converting for sizing in Photoshop or Photoshop Elements. Download, print and enjoy!

Download CZ_Fractions2Decimals

Questions? Comments? Post in the comments and I'll do my best to answer. And look for my full Project Life post on Thursday.

This set is on sale today at Designer Digitals. To purchase, click here.

And the seat in iShot That goes to…

The blog reader who gets a seat in iShot That! the art of iPhone Photography taught by Jim and Molly Newman is:

Susan, congrats! Email me at czdesign@comcast.net to claim your seat in class!

See you back here on my blog tomorrow.

Win a seat in iShot That! the art of iPhone Photography

One blog reader will win a seat in iShot That! the art of iPhone Photography taught by Jim and Molly Newman.

ABOUT THE CLASS: Think you need a bulky, pricey DSLR to get great photos? Think again.
The most popular “camera” released in the last few years is the Apple iPhone. In iShot That, learn to take advantage of iPhone’s built-in photo functions, plus the very best free and low-cost apps available for editing, organizing, and sharing your work. Create memorable portraits of family and friends. Capture your world with street photography. Transform everyday snapshots into eye-catching images. With iShot That!, iPhone’s photo power is at your fingertips.

Jim and Molly Newman are a husband & wife team based in Portland, Oregon. Jim is a longtime photography junkie who’s recently all but retired his bulky DSLR in favor of the lightweight, virtually invisible, infinitely inspiring iPhone. Molly is a former editor of Digital Scrapbooking and a regular instructor at reneepearson.com.

TO ENTER: answer this question in the comments below: do you scrapbook the photos you take on your phone? I'll choose a winner on Sunday night!

Comments are now closed. Check back to see if you're a winner.

Project Life—Week Three + a free download card and tutorial

And Week 3 is on the books, people. Welcome to my Project Life post for the week. Let's dive in, shall we?

OBSERVATIONS: I love this project. Can I just say that? It really does combine the best of what I love about scrapbooking (stories+photos+design) but breaks it down into little do-able chunks. Heck, it's even making me realize my own handwriting is pretty acceptable.

Aside from being more attuned to pulling out my camera (or my phone) and taking more pictures, I am also finding myself listening more, both for stories and for the things people are saying. Last week, I quoted Aidan from an overheard conversation. This week, I pulled a quote from an essay Cole had written about why he feels his school should do away with their uniform policy.

That I am proud that he referenced Pink Floyd should go without saying.

I also found myself out in a scrapbook store seeking out things I could use and add to my album. Imagine that! I bought stickers and staples. Some say I was completely out of control.

I'm still using the Day One app to jot down notes four times daily. This is making it really easy to sit down and type up my Week in Review card every Sunday afternoon.

Here's a look at the full pages:

I like the idea of quotes so much that I have a free card download for you today to start capturing some of the quotable phrases from your daily life!

This layered PSD file uses a free font called Museo Slab 500. Click here to download. Make sure to find the Museo Slab 500 font. The others cost money! Here is the file to download:

Download CZ_quotecardfreebie

This is a plain card on a white background. You could easily drag your finished quote onto any digital card file, such as my Days and Holidays 1 3 x 4 cards. Here is a quick tutorial showing you how to set the type and drag it onto a layered card file.

 

To see the steps for sizing 3x4 cards down to fit into Project Life pockets, click here. Questions? Comments? Be sure to leave them and I'll do my best to get back to you!

SUPPLIES:

InLinkz.com

A Tiny Templates Tutorial + a free fraction conversion chart download for you

I have a new digital product at Designer Digitals called Tiny Templates.

The idea is very simple. Seven 3 x 4 layered digital templates that allow you to create tiny little cards containing photos and a story. I created them for use in my Project Life album, and I'll be posting about my Week 3 of Project Life later in the week, but today the Tiny Templates are on sale and I thought I'd show you exactly how to use them, and how to size them to fit exactly into the Project Life Design A small pockets.

I put together a 20-minute video walking you through working with one of the templates, including how to size the templates down. Just a word of caution: you may see Tiny Elvis at some point during the clip.

You can watch the clip at Vimeo by clicking here.

I wanted to include the written instructions for resizing a 3 x 4 file to fit perfectly into the Project Life Design A page pockets. You can always trim them down after printing them at full size, but heck, why not just print them at the exact size and employ the use of crop marks for easy trimming? It's your choice!

SIZING DOWN 3 x 4 CARDS STEP-BY-STEP in PSE
1. To change the width of the card to 2-7/8 wide (the actual width of Project Life cards), or 2.875, go to Image > Resize > Image Size. In the Width field, type in 2.875. Make sure that Scale Styles, Constrain Proportions and Resample Image are all checked. Click OK.

2. To change the height of the card to 3-15/15 (the actual height of Project Life cards), or 3.9375, go to Image > Resize > Canvas Size.

3. Click on the top Anchor Point. Change the height to 3.9375.

4. This will add a small amount of extra space to the bottom of your page. You will need to adjust your elements to fit the space, including moving the Background layer clipping mask down to fit, or moving your photos or type layers down to fit.

FRACTION CONVERSION CHART
I have this nifty little chart I use all the time when working on digital and hybrid scrapbooking projects. It converts fractions to decimals and millimeters which is very handy when converting for sizing in Photoshop or Photoshop Elements. Download, print and enjoy!

Download CZ_Fractions2Decimals

Questions? Comments? Post in the comments and I'll do my best to answer. And look for my full Project Life post on Thursday.

 

 

 

Project Life, Week 2 + a free card download for you

Week 2 and it's all systems go! I realize my enthusiasm is at an all-time high, and I refuse to believe it's simply due to the fact that it's only the second week. Simply stated, I am digging Project Life.

OBSERVATIONS: This past week again found me much more conscious of telling stories and taking pictures. Using the Day One app, I've been jotting down notes throughout the day. Because it prompts me at four different times, it reminds me to stop, drop and write. I like that.

I've also been thinking more about ephemera. Now God knows I'm not the most cut-and-paste-y type of scrapbooker, but I really do want to include little bits here and there. Like this week, I included Aidan's passport photo and receipt. (She's heading to El Salvador in March for a mission trip and she is going sans parents. Gasp. I'm working through it, people. My baby is stretching her wings.)

I've also decided for now that each month will see a different patterned paper worked in for my journaling cards and backgrounds. This month it leans into an orange color scheme. Next month? Who knows. I want this to ebb and flow throughout the year, reflecting whatever colors or ideas I'm into and that complement the Clementine palette overall.

Here are the pages:

I like the mix of hybrid, computer-generated pieces and hand written elements. That's my goal—to combine them both throughout the year.

I also like the fact that my kids are photo takers and I included shots from their weeks as well. (The four guys at a Wild game came from Cole's camera, as did the shot of Aidan and Cole right next to it.)

I'm also planning to include some text messages as well. See, I just got texting this year so it's a whole new way of communicating to me. Definitely worthy of documenting in this album. (To take a screen grab of a text message on an iPhone, just hold down the Home key on the front of the phone, while also holding down the button on the top of the phone. Click them at the same time and you'll hear a camera shutter, and then find the screen grab in your Photos app. Then, just email the shot to your computer, and go from there!)

I realized after printing everything out that I typed "Cole's basketball time" on my Week in Review card, but you know what? I know what it means, right? Right. 

FREE DOWNLOAD FOR YOU: Did you notice my cute little "Thursday" card above? I found this awesome free font called Blackout, and decided to create two sheets of printable cards in PDF format. 

They come with crop marks and you simply print and trim and voila, they fit right into the Project Life pockets. Oh for cute!

Just something cute and fun that I thought you might like to have in your arsenal of Project Life goodies! Be sure to use your best photo printer settings to get a nice rich color as seen above. Enjoy!

Download CZ_FreeDayCards 

If you'd like to learn more about working with Layered Journaling Cards and sizing cards to fit into Project Life pockets, watch my video here.

SUPPLIES: Click on thumbnails.

InLinkz.com

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Project Life, created by Becky Higgins, is a flexible, easy-to-use, highly customizable way to save your memories in a fun, stress-free way. Learn more about getting started with Project Life by clicking here.

 

 

 

 

 

I've got a new mini workshop starting in a few weeks

I've been so wrapped up in the Move More, Eat Well classroom that it dawned on me yesterday, "Um, Cathy… you have another class starting in a few weeks!"

Indeed I do! Ten Tips for Better Type launches on Feb. 2. 

I'm exciting to offer this mini workshop for two reasons: 1. I love good use of type, and 2. People can learn the basics to make their type look better.

So much of good type is simply font, size, leading and alignment. These are the basic constructs of using type well and that is exactly what this class is designed to teach.

You will not learn how to make crazy type art or type collages. This is a beginners guide to more sophisticated typesetting. The first week is all about the overview and presentation; the second week is a page assignment with step by step videos.

The goal is to give you some solid foundations upon which to build better type on your scrapbook pages. The cost it $14. We will have a gallery and message board, and I will be hosting a video chat for registered students. Registration closes on Feb. 8. 

Questions? Comments? Leave them here and I'm happy to answer! Hope to see some of you in the workshop!

For more information, click here.

I'm no food blogger, but…

I want to share a very cherished recipe with you today, one I've been making since I was about 19 and the very first thing I learned to make (following a few disastrous forays into the lasagne realm when I was in high school.) Of course, there's a story behind this dish. Shall I?

In 1984, I graduated from Cascade High School in Everett, Washington. To mark the occasion, one of my closest friends invited us over to her parents' home for a celebratory dinner, grown-up style. We had amazing dinner music (This Mortal Coil), wine glasses—with no alcohol, of course—and the most delicious Italian dish I'd never before tasted: manicotti. Or, as the New Jersey Italians apparently called it, "Manigot."

I remember during this meal of really being aware that some form of adulthood was just around the corner. I'd spent the latter part of my senior year immersed in the new and exciting world of new wave and in just a few months, I'd be diving headlong into college and the Seattle scene. My friends would also be going off in their own directions. It was exciting if not a little bittersweet. 

After the meal, I begged my girlfriend's mother for the recipe. She explained that though she wasn't Italian in the least, her ex-husband was and that she had learned to make this years before in accordance with any Italian housewife worth her salt in the kitchen.

She shared the recipe with me and it has been one that I've trotted out over the years when I wanted a dish that would a) impress and b) taste amazing pretty much every single time.

It's funny, because years ago this seemed like such an undertaking to create. But I've recently brought it back into my repertoire, realizing how simple and basic this dish is. In a sense, I've demystified it in the past few months, and it's a good thing, too: my entire family eats it and likes it.

The other thing I love about this recipe is the ingredients are anything but extraordinary. They are simple and you can find them at any store. Yes, a little elbow grease is required to make the sauce and the pasta, but I promise you the results will be a melt in your mouth culinary delight.

We start with the ingredients for the sauce:

THE SAUCE
1 can tomato sauce (32 ounce can)
1 can tomato puree (32 ounce can)
1 can crushed tomatoes (32 ounce can)
2 cans tomato paste
7-10 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 8-0z. packages mushrooms (finely chopped, baby bellas or buttons work well)
olive oil
salt
pepper
oregano

This sauce is so simple! You chop up your mushrooms into a small dice. Then you heat up a few tablespoons of olive oil in a large stock pot over medium-high heat and toss 'em in. Sprinke in pepper and salt to taste (1/2 tsp of each), then throw in the garlic. Next, add in all of the cans of sauces and pastes. Stir and then I always add a cup and a half of water to thin it out a bit. I usually just fill the bigger cans with some water to help get all of the sauces out of the cans, then pour them into the pot.

Next, you cover the surface with a light coating of oregano, stir in it well, then cover with another thin layer of oregano, turn the heat to low, cover and simmer. All day long.

What if you or your kids don't like mushrooms? You can do what I do. I strain a little of the sauce to make a small pan of no-mushroom manigot. Or, you can just enjoy it because honestly, it doesn't come off as a mushroom-y sauce. Trust me.

Keep on low, stirring throughout the day. Enjoy how good your house smells during the process.

Next up, the manigot themselves. The shells are actually just crepes. Just flour, eggs, milk and oil. 

CREPE BATTER/MAKING THE PASTA
3 eggs
1/4 tsp salt
1-1/2 cups flour
1-1/2 cups milk
2 T vegetable oil

Combine adding milk and flour alternately and beat until you have a smooth, thin creamy mixture. (I use a hand mixer.) Add a few tablespoons of water to ensure it is thin enough to easily spread out on a hot griddle. (I end up adding 4 to 6 tablespoons of water to make the consistency a bit thinner. Or even a few more tablespoons of milk.) If you have time, put the batter in the fridge to let it rest for up to an hour.

To make the crepes, use a griddle or crepe pan. Heat to medium/medium high to start. Oil the pan and pour about 1/4 cup of the batter onto the pan, tilting the pan to create a large, thin crepe. The thinner the better. The goal is to create a 6-inch or so crepe, and not to overcook it. Trim off any excess of the crepes that come from the pouring and pan tilting motion. Lightly grease the pan before making each crepe. Store them between sheets of wax paper so they won't dry out while cooking. Make as many as your batter allows for. Mine usually makes between 20 and 25, which is more than you will need.

THE FILLING
part skim milk ricotta cheese (two small containers or one large)
2 - 3 teaspoons dried parsley (I omit this for my picky kids)
 2 cups shredded mozerrella
1/4 cup parmesan cheese (freshly grated)

Combine the rest of the ingredients in a bowl, and mix well. I usually include around 1/4 cup of the freshly grated parmesan in the mixture, saving more for sprinkling on top once the pans are assembled. 
Take one of the crepes and about 3 to 4 spoonfuls of the ricotta mixture into the center of the crepe and roll up like a burrito. Repeat.

ASSEMBLE THE DISHES
I use two 9 x 13 glass Pyrex casserole pans to assemble the dish. Ladle a generous amount of sauce in the pans. Lay in the manigot. Cover with more sauce and spread around to cover the exposed pasta areas. Sprinkle with parmesan, cover with foil and place into a 375 degree oven. 

Cook for 25 minutes covered, then take off the foil and cook for another 15 for a total of around 40 minutes. The pans should be bubbling.

Now this is a horrible shot, taken after the sun set in my incandescently lit kitchen, but you get the idea.

The surprising thing is that each manigot comes out to about 150 calories, and a scoop of the sauce around 50. It's not as high calorie as you'd think. That's just a bonus.

I love this dish for its taste and the memories it evokes each time I smell the sauce and with each bite that melts in my mouth.

It reminds me adulthood is just around the corner.

Happy cooking.

Here is a downloadable PDF of the recipe:

Download Manigot

Project Life—Week One + a video tutorial

And so Project Life 2012 is underway.

Is it just me? Or is starting on a Sunday just a good way to go? In my mind, a week begins on Sunday, and ends on Saturday. Right? Right. I think because last year I started in March, I never quite got that get in on the ground floor feeling that I have this year. Let's dive in.

OBSERVATIONS: I didn't realize how few photos I'd been taking until I started tackling Week 1 and thinking, "Hey! Stuff is happening. You should shoot it!" I found myself taking pictures at Target, at the grocery store, at the doctor's office—you name it. It actually made me feel a bit like Old Scrapbook Cathy, the Story Teller That Never Rested. But in a way, this is good. More daily appreciation for the simple stuff.

One of the ways I plan to take more photos is to use my iPhone. No, not the fun Instagram stuff; just the basic camera on my iPhone 4. It's with me all the time so I may as well use it. The quality is decent, especially for the project at hand.

Part of my goal this year is to make sure story is equal to photo. I want to get things down on cards. I'm using the Day One app on my phone and my computer to save little stories throughout the day so I have a stash of stories to pull and commit to the album on every Sunday, my Project Life page assembly day. I love that I get little prompts, four a day is how I have it set up, and I just write a line here or there. Pretty cool.

I have also planned on printing most of my photos at home, so I've stocked up on photo paper and ink. The other part of my process will include printable cards.

Here are my first two pages. It took me forever to get shots in focus of the pages. I ended up taking them out of the album and taking the stuff out of the pockets to reduce glare. If I find a better solutions in the coming weeks, you'll see the results here. For now, I'll be shooting them straight down on the desperately in need of refinishing dining/scrap room floor:

As I said, I'm a big fan of printable cards. This week, I used one of my new sets, Days and Holidays 01, one of my Phrase Cards and one of Ali Edwards' Hello Life Boxes and Brushes.

Each week, I also plan to summarize the week on one journal card as seen in the upper left.

I put together a video tutorial today to show how to use these journaling cards, but also how to tweak the sizes of any 3 x 4 layered journal card. The Project Life pocket cards measure just under 3 x 4, so if you want to know how size any 3 x 4 card file down, I'll show you today. Also, I'll show you how I gather multiple cards onto a single sheet of 8.5 x 11 cardstock to save paper.

 

If you'd like to see the video a bit larger over at Vimeo, click here.

Questions or comments? Leave them here and I'll do my best to answer!

SUPPLIES: Layered Journaling Cards No. 01 • Days and Holidays Cards No. 01 • Phrase Cards No. 01 • Hello Life Boxes and Brushes • Damask Tonals Sunshine Paper Pack

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Project Life, created by Becky Higgins, is a flexible, easy-to-use, highly customizable way to save your memories in a fun, stress-free way. Learn more about getting started with Project Life by clicking here.