A New Obsession...

I have to admit it...I've been bitten by the Through-the-Viewfinder bug! Have you given it a try?? Basically, you find an older camera with a super cool viewfinder...some of them have really cool markings or guides or numbers. Then you just put your digital camera's lens up to the viewfinder of your old camera and take your picture that way. Such a cool effect! I was lucky enough to find an old Minolta 35mm of my sister's that has a very cool viewfinder with numbers down the side. Here are just a couple of the shots that I took...they're straight out of the camera, other than a bit of cropping to get rid of excess black around the shot:

Now I need to start looking for some more old cameras to see what other kinds of viewfinders I can find. Give it a try...but I'll warn you...you'll be hooked, too!

Let's see...what else is happening...the fabulous Jodie McNally is in the Designer Spotlight over at Oscraps! She has some really fun challenges, freebies, and prizes...you should check it out!! Here are a couple layouts that I did for her retro challenges...one for the "i'm still obsessed" challenge and one for the "what's old is new again" challenge:

And she has some new word art in the store, too. Anyone like games?? She has a very fun "game night" pack:

And I've actually made a couple pages just for me...can you believe it?? :) I picked up Fei-Fei's Stuff's new "Make It Count" kit and made a couple pages.

I haven't done a big-picture-page in a while but I just loved that shot of my niece, Emily, with her little toesies and her colorful book so...I decided to make it huge! :)

Oooo...have you been following the "Capture the Flag" contest going on over at Funky Playground Designs?? It's a contest to find the next big digital designer and my friend Leah has been rockin' the competition!! Only two weeks left!! I'm so excited to see what she creates for this round!! (Shout out to Leah...holla! LOL!!) You are doing an amazing job, girl!!!

Okay...I think I've sufficiently bored you with my babbling and layouts. :) I'm off to bed...seems I've developed another sinus infection...yay. Thanks so much for stopping by!!

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A Good Cause...

Can you believe it's April already?? Thank goodness!! I can't wait for the warmer weather to start! We have some little buds on our trees and some flowers are starting to bloom...not many but at least it's a start. So not only is April wonderful because of the promise of Spring...it's also National Autism Awareness Month. (The layout above is a page I did about my sweet little niece, Emily called "i wish you would let me in.") It's such a misunderstood disorder and they're learning more and more about it all the time but we really need to do what we can to help spread awareness. It's so frustrating when people give the looks and the comments...like "that child needs some discipline." They have no idea what's really going on. It's much more complicated than just needing a time-out. If we could get the word out to parents and children alike, to raise awareness...to promote understanding and patience and tolerance...that would be such a wonderful thing!! Since today is Worldwide Autism Awareness day, I thought I'd tell you all about a really good cause. This amazing digital kit is available at Oscraps:

These amazing designers got together to create a beautiful kit to help a friend of Kitty's whose child was just diagnosed with a form of autism, just after her husband lost his job. They have no insurance and can't afford to pay any therapy. If you know anything about autism, you know that early intervention is key. It's a huge kit...just under 500 MB!! And it's 20% off today...$7.20 and it all goes to help a child in need. I'd love for you to help if you can. If you're not a digi scrapper, please consider giving a donation to Autism Speaks . And I understand that money is tight so if you're not able to make a monetary donation, please just take the opportunity some time throughout this month to bring up the subject of autism in some way. To your friends, on your blog, on a message board, in some way, let's help break the silence surrounding autism. Thank you for letting me stand on my soapbox a little today!! I'm hoping and praying for a day when autism is a thing of the past. Thank you for stopping by and have a great day!!

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