Using Picnik!

This is a picture of my friends Satellite. The top picture is the original one taken at the park.

Using Picnik, I was able to crop the picture to remove the street in the background, brighten the colors using the Ortenish feature, add a border and add text. It also offers rounded edges. This is a very cool program that offers premium features for a small price. Most of the options are offered for free and no download is required. I love the way the new pic turned out!

If you haven't checked it out, give it a try! the address is picnik.com

Have a great day and stop back really soon!

California Dreamin

This layout started out as an old Halloween costume made of red velvet. Now that no one fits into the costume anymore, I decide to tear it apart and use the material as a back cover for my layout. I used a hot glue gun (my best friend) to adhere the material to a piece of 12x12 card board. this layout is another of my many 3D layouts. I used paper to make small fans under the bottom scallops. This added a bit more height than I anticipated, so I used card board to build up the rest of the layout so it would be level.

For the title, I used a piece of cream colored ribbon and used rub on letters to spell out California Dreamin. I've never used that technique before and I found that it worked really well. I'll definitely be using that one again!

Thanks for stopping by and come back real soon!

Vivid Imagination!

After being told forever that my layouts looked washed out and muted, I've began dabbling in editing programs to add color to my work. My layouts are always bright and colorful, but something happens to them between snapping the picture and uploading them.
I have been using Windows Photo gallery to brighten the colors in my pictures and I really like the outcome! My layouts are bright and much more colorful now.

If you find that some of the color is fading out of your work, try using an editing program like this one to help improve the quality of your photos!

Getting the Shot!

I have a hummingbird feeder right outside my living room window. I love to watch the hummingbirds come to eat each day.

I decided to try to get some shots of them and it proved to be much harder than I anticipated! What I've come to realize is that much of the success in photography can be attributed to patience and just plain luck. At least when it comes to hummingbirds!

I stood on my front porch, camera focused and ready for several minutes before getting any clear shots. The pictures may be few in this endeavor but the results, I feel, were well worth the wait!
Take some time to enjoy the beauty all around you today!

Thanks for stopping by!

Picniking!!

Picnik!

When you hear the word picnic...what comes to mind? Ants? Sandwiches?
Well, the word picnic, or in this case, Picnik has a whole new meaning to me!

My friend Jocelyn introduced me to Picnik after her photo shoot. It's another editing program that allows you to do so much with your photographs. The picture above was turned black and white and only the leaves were returned back to their original green. The program I had currently been using Picasa only allowed you to color a small area of the picture, where this program allows you to color any area you choose. It is a favorite option of mine to do color blocking.
Check out picnik next time you have some photo editing to do.

Won't you come into the garden?

Won't you come into the garden?
I'd like my roses to see you!


How perfect is that quote to tell someone how very beautiful you think they are? When I'm not thinking up my own titles or using song titles, I turn to poetry and quotes. Quotes are a great way to find a title for that difficult layout. There are several web sites that offer quotes based on nearly every topic imaginable.
So the next time you need a little title help...check out web sites for quotes! I'll bet you'll find just what you were looking for!

See you soon!

The Moment Has Arrived!!

Finally, after waiting for the site to launch and for my name to be added...it's here!

This is the first layout I ever posted and much to my surprise, it was picked to be published.

If you've never thought about submitting one of your layouts, you really should. you never know when you could be picked!

Jocelyn

My sister in law took her niece out yesterday to do some senior pictures. The pictures are so beautiful! This was the first one they posted and I just love it. I'm going with them today to finish up the shoot. It will be nice to be more of an observer for once rather than be the photographer! I can't wait!

Thanks for the visit and remember.....grab your camera and take some pictures today! These moments are just that...moments!

Poolside Peeps!

Our neighbor let the girls "babysit" their pool the last couple of days since it's been so nice outside. They gladly took her up on her request!

She's Got A Way

The title is taken from the song by Billy Joel

She's got a way about her
I don't know what it is
But I know that I can't live without her.
She's got a light around her
and everywhere she goes
a million dreams of love surround her
everywhere
She's got a way!

This is a 3 dimensional layout using card board to give lift in certain areas. There are actually three different layers(the bottom scalloped circle, the smaller pink circle and the photograph.).
It's a nice way (thought hard to see in photographs!) to a 3-D effect to your layouts!

Just Being Justin

My nephew is a funny kid. He makes me laugh the most when he's just being himself and not trying too hard to be funny. I love it when he's just being Justin!

This layout was done using K & Company Wild Saffron paper. The hearts are hand cut out of chipboard and covered with a piece of yellow colored paper. The flowers are punched out of retro punches size medium and Whale of a punch. The black letter stickers are from Fiskers.



The brads used as flower centers are handmade from fabric brads that I hand dipped and swirled with paint.


The chipboard letters that spell out Justin are actually bright pink letters from fresh paint. I painted them black, let them dry..applied crackle medium and let that dry, then painted them light tan. The crackle effect happens immediately. Altering letters allows you to use them even if they don't match your color scheme. By changing the colors using inks, paints, paper covering, stamps or whatever, you can get a lot more mileage out of some of your letters! Give it a try today!

Thanks for the visit and stop back real soon!

It's Official!!

Though the site is not entirely up and running, I got a glimpse of it this morning! It is currently down for maintenance again as they put the finishing touches on some things! I'm so excited to finally be published for the very first time! As soon as everything is running smooth, I'll be back to let you know!! It sure is cool to go to my place at Scrapbook.com and see an "Out For Publication" sign on one of my layouts!

Thanks for dropping by!

Finishing touches

I've been working on my garden some more (like I'm not in enough pain already!). I added some flowers that the neighbor gave me and put down some mulch. It's slowing getting finished! Now...to get that arbor started!

Mustang Sallys

When cousin Gary got his new Mustang, the girls couldn't wait to go for a ride. He even offered to let Brittany take it for a spin, but she said no! She said that it was too nice a car and it just went too fast! What a "Sally"! I would have taken it for a spin and maybe....not come back! Great car!

Thanks for the visit and stop back soon!

Onyx

The newest member of our family is Onyx, our little black kitten. He came as a stray and has made a nice addition to our family. He has been welcomed in by the dog and even our other cat Murphy.

My Little Biker Chick!

Brittany decided to spend an extra night with her Dad, so she was delivered back home on his bike. She's always enjoyed going for rides and asks to go as often as she can! I will always remember her as a little girl riding with him too. From about age 2, he started taking her on little rides down the road, and as they would buzz past me, she would give me the thumbs up sign! Too cute!

Thanks for visiting and come back soon!

The Waiting Is The Hardest Part!

I'm anxiously waiting for Scrapbook News And Review to launch their new site and debut their latest issue which will have my layout in it. The last email I received said they had some glitches they were trying to work out, but were pulling an all-nighter just to get it launched.

I'm so excited to see it and the wait is almost more than I can take! This is the first layout I've ever had published and it would figure that I would submit one right when their site goes down!

Hopefully, by morning, the site will be up and running and I will be able to see my work in a magazine. It's been a dream of mine for some time now.

Keep checking back as I update their progress!

Rad Bradz Debut!

If you use brads on your layouts, then Rad Bradz might be just what you are looking for!
This is a little project I've been working on for the last couple of years and I'm pleased to announce that I have listed them on my Etsy site. The are all handmade designs and due to the process used to make them, each brad you buy will have it's own unique characteristics! They come in packages of 6.

These would make a fun and colorful addition to your pages and cards. Check my Etsy site for color choices!


http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7502049

Thanks for stopping by and come back soon!

This is my newest layout of my daughter Erica. The picture was taken at Dow Gardens in front of a beautiful white cement bridge. Unfortunately, the bridge didn't photgraph as nice as I had had hoped and came out bright white and nearly invisible. So, I used the Picasa program to change the picture color to sepia and focus more on Erica, than the bridge.

To make the flower, I drew a tulip shape on thin cardboard and cut it out. Then I glued a coordinating piece of paper from the Wild Saffron collection by K&Company on top of it. After letting it dry for a bit , I used an Xacto knife to cut around the tulip shape. Using thin cardboard allows the finished piece to be bendable. I bent the flower in a couple of places to make it look more three dimensional and inked the edges. I made the stem using floral wire and floral tape. The long leaf is a piece of cardstock wrapped in floral tape. A foam adhesive circle was placed under the bloom to help hold it up. I used hot glue to attched it to the page.

I wanted to keep the layout simple to go with the saying on it.....Living is not enough. One must have Sunshine, Freedom and a little flower.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope to see you again really soon!

Good, Better,Best!

These are pictures of my scrap room transformation. My very first scrap room was a very tiny corner of our furnace room. I had a large wall unit and my hubby built me a desk out of Melamine. I had a small window and really enjoyed finally getting a room of my own. However, the newness wore off rather quickly and I started thinking about swapping my room and the laundry room, which was bigger. After all, how much room do you need to wash clothes? :)

Eventually, I got my wish and swapped rooms. The second picture shows the new room!

Not too long ago, I decided to paint my room a brighter color and went with a warm yellow. The last picture shows the new color!

Thanks for stopping by!

Justin's Collage!

I got my sister totally hooked on Picasa. This is a collage she made using the program!

Mom's Always Know!

Brian invited his mother over for dinner. During the course of the meal, Brian's mother couldn't help but notice how beautiful Brian's roommate, Jennifer, was. Brian's Mom had long been suspicious of a relationship between Brian and Jennifer, and this had only made her more curious. Over the course of the evening, while watching the two interact, she started to wonder if there was more between Brian and Jennifer than met the eye. Reading his mom's thoughts, Brian volunteered, 'I know what you must be thinking, but I assure you Jennifer and I are just roommates.' About a week later, Jennifer came to Brian saying, 'Ever since your mother came to dinner, I've been unable to find the can opener. You don't suppose she took it, do you?' Brian said, 'Well, I doubt it, but I'll send her an e-mail just to be sure.' So he sat down and wrote: Dear Mom: I'm not saying that you 'did' take the can opener from the house; I'm not saying that you 'did not' take the can opener. But the fact remains that it has been missing ever since you were here for dinner . Love, Brian Several days later, Brian received an email back from his mother that read: Dear Son: I'm not saying that you 'do' sleep with Jennifer, and I'm not saying that you 'do not' sleep with Jennifer. But the fact remains that if Jennifer is sleeping in her own bed, she would have found the can opener by NOW! Love, Mom Lesson of the Day...Never Lie to Your Mother.

Once A Princess, Always A Princess

This obsession with photography may have to get shelved for a while if I am ever going to get back into scrapping! It seems now I'm taking far too many pictures and ever getting to scrapping them. Today, I made an agreement with myself that I would do at least one page today.

Here is the result! This is a picture I took of Erica "Princess" at Canadian Lakes. I used the focal b&W program on Picasa to make the entire picture black and white except for the berries and leaves. I had some red berries at home left that I used to make the floral vine. See the tutorial here http://bootscraps.blogspot.com/2009/07/how-to-make-floral-vine.html


Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!

Down On The Farm!

we spent the day at my sister and brother in law's farm today. I took this great opportunity to get some great outdoor shots and barn shots.