A quickie :)

Okay...so that's probably not the best title for a post, is it? hehe!! Oh well. I just wanted to hop on and say...I got my prize package from the fabulous Miss Michelle Clement!! And the papers are just so fabulous and adorable!! I don't think I can bring myself to actually use them!! Maybe I'll just put them in a frame and hang them on my wall. Love 'em! And the stamps...so stinkin' cute!! I'm not a stamper but those babies are getting used...soon!! I was so excited opening the package!! It was like Christmas morning! So I just had to share that little bit of news and say "THANK YOU" to Michelle. I luuurrrvve it all!!

And, since I hate to make a post and not include any pictures, I thought I'd share a little sneaky-peek- of a couple of my DT projects for AC Bailey Designs. Here's the first peek:

And here's the second...

I used the super-fun "In the Mood" CD from Digital Scrapbook Memories for this month's projects. What a fun little CD...loaded with goodies!! That's all for now but I want to leave you with one more little random tidbit...did you know that today (July 28th) is Beatrix Potter's birthday?? How about that? Thanks for stopping by!! Have a great day!!

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Fun with...Panty Hose???

I've been playing with my camera a lot lately even though our photo-a-day challenge is over. I've still been carrying it around and trying things out. So...I broke out the panty hose the other day. Wha??? What do panty hose have to do with photography you ask?? {hehe!} Let me explain...way back in the day when I had a manual 35mm camera (gasp...remember those?? hehe!) I was very into the idea of filters. I wanted to try them all. Someone...I wish I could remember who...told me to take an old pair of panty hose, cut off a little piece, and put it over the lens and use a rubber band wrapped around it to hold it on. They told me that it was a great way to get a nice soft focus. Well...I gave it a try way back then and took some pictures of my brother on his Harley that I just loved. The panty hose gave the sunlight reflecting a nice star effect and it gave the picture a soft focus. So...I thought I'd break out the old panty hose and give it a try with my digital Rebel!! I wanted to find something that had that same sort of sunlight reflection going on just to see if it would have the same result. So these pictures are for demonstration purposes...not for their fabulous-ness. {hehe!!} I just wanted to show you the effect. So, here's the photo without any panty hose on the lens:

And here's basically the same shot with the panty hose filter:

Imagine that on a nice beachy scene...the star effect and the color would add a vintage feel. I kind of like that!! And then I did a little color adjusting in Photoshop just to show what it would look like if you don't care for the vintage tone:

It still has the star effect but not the color. So what do you think?? Think you'll be grabbing some panty hose and giving it a whirl?? I'll try to get some better examples...preferably with people in the photo. :-) And I did some more playing...this one is super simple and very retro. Remember the old photos that have the burnt edges...vignette type-pictures?? Well...I took a piece of black posterboard (but I'm sure cardstock would work) and poked a hole in the center about the size of a pencil. I put it over my lens and...

It looks like I did that in photoshop but I didn't. That was straight out of the camera. I know it's not an effect for everyone but I was having fun with it! So there are a couple cheap and fun ideas for you to play with the next time you grab your DSLR. Just remember to make sure the panty hose are stretched nice and tight over your lens. (Boy does that sound weird!!) So have fun with it and I'd love to see what kind of pictures you get with your panty hose and cardstock!! Have a great evening and thanks for stopping by!!

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Much Better Now...

First...I just want to say "THANK YOU" to everyone for the well wishes that you sent me while I was feeling icky. I am so happy to say that it has finally passed and I am feeling SO much better now!! Sooo....have you been checking out all of the awesome peeks from CHA Chicago??! I absolutely fell in love with everything from Sassafras Lass! Seriously...I love every single piece of it! And of course, the new Pink Paislee stuff is looking amazing, too! And did anyone see the fabulous "Going Green" line from "Tinkering Ink??" Oh my...it's a wonderful concept...recycled papers, but it's also gorgeous! That's on my list, too. And how about those super cute notepads from Hambly? I have to share a little story about those.

Aren't they adorable?? Well, everyone at AC Bailey has been so excited about all of the peeks and we were constantly adding links to any and all of the peeks that we could find. I just happened to make a little post on our message board about those adorable little notepads and I might have made a little plea for one of the books to my bestest buddies from the design team that were heading to Chicago. I might have mentioned that I would love it if someone could grab one for me. (I hope I'm not incriminating myself...perhaps I should plead the 5th now!!) Anyway, our fabulous Miss Gail Connor made a little post to update us on the situation in Chicago. Apparently the Hambly stuff was under lock and key and heavily guarded. {hehe} There were signs posted and things were tacked down....but anyway, I'll let the pictures tell the story...

The fabulous notepad adhered to the wall....argh..no chance of swiping it! {hehe!}

What?? Had they heard about the plan to lift one?? :-)

Gail came through for me!! I thought their little story was so cute and hilarious that when I read it at about 1:30 in the morning, I just had to put together a super quick little digi layout to share with them...here it is:

It was just a quickie but I do want to put together a good layout about the "Sieze the Notebook" caper. It was hilarious and I love the design team girls and owner, Erica, for making me laugh so hard at 1 o'clock in the morning! Those crazy ladies must have had a blast at CHA!! I'm so jealous but so glad to hear that everyone had a great time.

{{{JUST TO CLARIFY...GAIL DIDN'T REALLY STEAL ANYTHING. It was all just in fun and no notepads were harmed or stolen in the process. {hehe!} I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea about my AC Bailey girlies. It was just a joke.}}}

Okay...I mentioned in my last post that I had tried out for the Corina Nielsen CT call and posted a layout that I had made for the call. What I didn't mention was the fact that later taht day, I made two more layouts with her fabulous freebie kit. And I just wanted to share those...

Oh and I gave Jessica Sprague's Shazam technique a try on my picture for "my girl." I really liked the way it turned out and it was super easy!! Love playing with pictures in Photoshop!!

*whew!* That was a long-winded post!! But I just had so much to share!! {hehe!!} Oh shoot...one more thing to share...I posted my challenge for the mini-crop that's happening this weekend at AC Bailey. It's a simple little challenge to "Switch it Up" and use "boy" things for a girl page or girlie things for a boy page. Very simple. Here's the layout that I did for my challenge:

I seem to be loving black with pops of color these days!! Okay...I really am finished rambling now. Thanks so much for stopping by and thanks again for all of the well-wishes and for leaving messages on my new cbox that I added! And I finally decided to add a counter, too! Ooo...look at me moving up in the blogging world and getting all fancy with my free counter! {HA!} I hope everyone has a fabulous day!! Bu-bye!!

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Ick...sick girlie

warning....whining post to follow.


Ugh...I have been battling some sort of stomach virus since Friday and it kicked my butt yesterday. I feel much better today {fingers crossed} so I'm hoping that I'm finally on the mend. My poor SIL has had it longer and much worse than I have so I'm thankful that I didn't get it like that. Poor girlie...but she was on the mend yesterday so I think it's finally decided to go play somewhere else. *whew!* But, in the midst of my dying yesterday, I did manage to download an awesome digital freebie from Corina Nielsen!! And she's having a CT call and all you had to do was create a layout with her mini-kit. So....I did and I actually decided to give the CT call a try!! I know...it's a super long shot but I just had to give it a try. And I have to say, her new kit, "Live Outloud," looks amazing!! Such scrumptious colors...so vibrant and fun!! Oh...I guess I could share the layout that I did, huh?? Okie-dokie...here it is:

The gorgeous flowers were from a patterned paper...I just got rid of the paper (most of it...I left a little of the pink on the edges just because I thought it looked neat) and just used the flowers as sort of an overlay. I did do some adjusting to a couple of the flowers so they weren't too huge on Emily's face. Oh...and I made a word art sticker for the title...it's my new favorite thing to do!! hehe!! And I did a little adjusting to the picture to give it a little more oomph. I just made a copy of the picture in a new layer, turned that layer b&w and gave it a really high contrast, and then made that layer an overlay. I know the result isn't for everyone...some people may not like the high contrast but I liked it. {cheese!} So there it is...my entry for Corina's CT call. I'm sure she will be absolutely swamped with entries and just overloaded with amazing creations. Wish me luck...I'm sure going to need it!! Her call ends on July 21st so I guess I should know more after that and I'll be sure to give you any news after that. Thanks so much for stopping by!! Almost forgot!! Corina's new kit will be out next week...you should check it out at Funky Playground Designs.

Thanks for stopping!! Have a great day!!

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Open Mind for a Different View

(Anyone recognize the title?? Little tip of my hat to James Hetfield. It's from Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters.") Our word of the day for the photo-a-day challenge yesterday was "angle." So I decided to go for a different view for my picture. It's a picture of a simple little daisy but if you had seen me precariously perched practically on my belly trying to get the sun positioned just right behind that simple little daisy....geesh!! Maybe someone should've snapped a picture of that!! hehe!! But I did like the shot that I got...here it is:




And someone marked it as a favorite photo on Flickr...that's a first for me!! Woohoo!! And here are a couple other faves from our last week or so...

Our prompt for that one was "blue." It's just a big ol' golf umbrella that I borrowed from DH and set in the yard with the sun behind it.

And the prompt for that one was "round." I just love the marbles!! Must be the kid in me! Oh...and I almost forgot to mention our "Summer Camp" challenge happening at AC Bailey Designs. We have some really fun sketch challenges and a really cool member challenge from Brandy. We'd love it if you'd come over and check it out!! Thanks for letting me bombard you with pictures today!! Did I mention I'm loving this challenge?!?! Have a great day!!

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I Am One Lucky Duck! :-)

Oh my goodness!! I posted this at AC Bailey and rambled on like a boob over there but totally forgot to post it here!! I just won some fabulous monster goodies from the amazingly talented Michelle Alynn (Clement)!!! Her work is so incredible...I am in awe of her talent! I love to stop by her blog...it's such a happy little place sprinkled with all of her amazing artwork. Anyway...she was having a monster giveaway and all you had to do to enter was leave a comment about whether you liked monsters and why or why not. I did...and a few days ago, I was reading the comments left on my blog and guess who was there??? Michelle!! She had not only stopped by but left a comment for me and told me that I had won!! How fabulous is that!?!? You must check out her blog, if you haven't yet, and look around at all of her creations. But make sure you give yourself plenty of time...lots of eye candy. And did I mention that she creates for the fabulous Pink Paislee design team?? Oh and she designs for the always scrumptious Red Velvet Kit Club...yummy. And she does super cute digital kits for SIS TV...she is one busy little lady!! And she took the time to stop by my blog again today...thank you, Michelle!! So, there you have it...my gush about Michelle and the celebrity siting on my blog. hehe...hope I didn't sound like a crazy stalker chick with all of my babbling!! And you know I'll have to snap a picture of my monster goodies to share with you. I'm sure you'll all hear me squeal when they arrive. I can't wait to have a mailbox full of furry little monsters!! Oh yeh...and...more happy news...my prize package from Scraptivity arrived!! (For those that didn't hear me babble about that...I took part in a weekly challenge contest at Scrativity and got 1st runner-up...a prize package of $200 worth of goodies!! Woohoo!!) So...you know I had to dump it out and snap a picture to share!! Here it is...

Okay...so that's not the greatest picture but it is a ton of stuff!! Lots of fabulous stuff in there...Tinkering Ink, Luxe, Rouge De Garance...yummy stuff. Whew...did I bore everyone yet??? This was a serious "me" post...me, me, me...sorry about that...hehe!! Thanks for stopping by!!! Have a great evening!!

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Anybody "In the Mood??"

hehe...I know...cheesy title and cheap way to get attention, right?? Let me explain...I got a new digital CD for my AC Bailey design team requirements and I am loving it!! It’s the “In the Mood” cd from Digital Scrapbook Memories and it is loaded with goodness! It has fun little categories like “Festive,” “Playful,” and “Love.” I grabbed things from a bunch of different folders for this one!! I used a cool, graph-like paper from the “Love” category and added some fun little elements from the “Playful” and “Festive” folders to accent it. I used some circle stickers (found in “Festive” sticker folder) down the side of the photo and grouped them together to make them one single element and then added a little drop shadow. I used a piece of orange paper and the cookie cutter tool to make the journaling spot and then added the fun stamp from the Playful category. The light brown paper that I used for the journaling is from the “Love” category and I added lines from the “Festive” folder to finish it off. The font that I used was just a freebie from CK called “Ali.” And finally, the little date stamp is from the “Playful” folder. Quick and fun little summer layout!!

Since my “Summertime” layout had things from a lot of different folders, I thought I’d try making one with just the elements from one folder…sort of like using a kit to make a layout. All of the papers and elements on this layout are from the “Love” folder on the “In the Mood” cd except for the “love” word art sticker that I made using the CK Ali font. The picture originally had Sydney making a wish and blowing on a dandelion but I used the clone tool and got rid of that and added the fun swirlies. I liked the whimsical feel that it added to the picture. The hardest part about doing this layout was trying to keep myself from overloading it all of the really fun little hearts that are on the cd!!

I also had some gorgeous goodies from American Crafts to work with for my hybrid layouts. Let me just say...I LOVE this set of American Crafts papers SO much!! They are from the Amplified collection (Halstead 1) and they are gorgeous! For this hybrid layout, I used “The Twist” for the background and a piece of “British Invasion” for an accent…had to rough up the edges a bit. The branch detail and little paper flower are digital elements from the “Playground” cd that I printed and handcut and then topped it with Stardust Stickles. And the fabulous ribbon is Halstead 3 and it is gorgeous! And the layered foam element is one of five AC Details Halstead. And, of course, some foam and chipboard Thickers for the title!!

And finally...More of the fabulous American Crafts Amplified (Halstead1) papers!! I didn’t even realize that some of these papers had really cool finishes on them until I opened them. The background paper for this layout actually looks like the colors are vinyl…such a cool effect. And one of the papers has foiling…love that, too!! This is another hybrid layout…the notebook paper at the top was printed from the “Playground” cd. (The notebook paper at the bottom was just some random spare piece in my scraps pile.) The chipboard stars are from AC, too but the colors that I had didn’t match the papers so I just used the reverse side and added some doodling.AC papers used: Motown, The Stones, and British Invasion. Ribbon-Indie Halstead 3; AC Thickers, Stickles Stardust

So there you have it...my DT layouts for July. Lots of fun and gorgeous goodies for me to play with and I had a blast!! Thanks for stopping by!! I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend and I hope I've inspired you just a little, tempted you perhaps, and maybe even put you..."In the Mood." (I know...that was lame. hehe...sorry. Just couldn't resist!!)

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The Next Big Thing in Scrapbooking...

my six year old daughter!! hehe!! She sat down today with her box of scrapping goodies and she made three layouts all by herself! I usually help her out here and there at least a little but not this time. And she is so proud of herself and her work. She asked me if I wanted to take a picture of them and put them on the internet and I said, "Of course!!" So here's her favorite page from today...the pictures are of her and her BFF/cousin, Whitney when they were little.

Awww...ain't it cute??? I was very proud of her!! Yay, Sydney!! {{clapping!!}} I'm sure I'll post some more but I wanted to stretch it out over a couple days for her. Thanks for letting me be the proud mama...hehe!!

Oh my...I have been working with some really gorgeous paper from American Crafts for the AC Bailey design team! They are from the Amplified collection...so rich and gorgeous!! And cool names, too, like "British Invasion," "The Twist," and "Rock Opera." But...I can't reveal any of those just yet...next week. But I do have a layout that I did just for the fun of it, not as part of my DT requirements that I can share. It's super simple but I liked the way it turned out. I did a little sketch, (yep...can you believe it?? I sketched!!), inspired by a magazine ad that I saw and then used it for this layout. I actually intended on using the white space for my journaling but I ended up liking it just the way it was for some reason. Anyway, here it is:

I've been having a little trouble figuring out the best adhesive for pipe cleaners. I used glue dots but those crazy little things just don't want to stay on very well. grr. Little frustrating. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd love to hear them!! Well, that's all for today...thanks so much for stopping by!!!

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