Ready, set ..Action

I read this cool article in Digital Scrapbooking Magazine about actions. I used the one on my Storm LO. On the site I found a ton of actions and downloaded them. Since I have CS3 now, I can use them all, gotta love photoshop! (Btw., if you have anybody in school or any connection to teaching, you can get a really good deal through the AcademicSuperstore.com. It saves you hundreds of dollars) Anyway, one of the actions is Isabel's pastel sketch and I used it on our house. I have always wanted to do a drawing of it and this was just perfect. I really like the results and you can play with it, make the lines stronger or lighter. Putting it on a LO took me a lot longer, LOL. For some reason I couldn't quite visualize the page the way I wanted. It came out okay though.

We went to a wedding this weekend and then today the couple's parents had a picnic during which they opened their presents. Kind of a nice idea, plus it was a gorgeous day (and I didn't have to cook for 2 days, yeah!) They all got to play volleyball and tossed a ball around, had pretty good food and generally a good time. Of course coming home now I have to go through all the blogs I read and try to catch up with my emails etc. This is turning into work, ladies!!! How do you all keep up with it?

Friday already?

wow, it's been days since my last post, I can't even believe it. With the kids being back in school you would think I had more time, but the days just flew by. The only thing I have been doing is creating LOs, LOL. I think I have a little problem here. I finaly finished the challenge from Jessica's site. We could chose from different pictures of inspiration and create a page using whatever we found appealing in those. Here is the page I did. The image I chose for my inspiration had a lot of brushwork on it, which I really liked. I just had fun with this one. Here are the credits




The other one is about Virginia Beach, actually the next 2 are. The first one is about this really fierce storm that came down the first afternoon we got there. It came on so quickly, the just chased everybody off the beach, people left umbrellas and stuff behind, the poor kid had to collect and secure all the beach chairs, of course he got soaked. I found this really cool action, it's called Old Toy Camera action, I found a write up about it in Digital Scrapbooking magazine and had to try it. Well, the palmtree pic is the result. I used it on the other ones too, but it's harder to see. I love the moody feel it adds.



You can find the credits here



Then last night I did this one about the kids feeding the sea gulls from our balcony. It was like the movie The Birds. I don't think our neighbors were too happy with us, but the kids had fun. I really like the way this one came out, pretty simple with lots of white space. Something a little different anyway. Credits are here.

At least today it is sunny again, it was so cold last night, I had to wrap myself in a blanket watching TV. It's supposed to be the end of August, not October! Now it's warm again and I will have to go and change my shirt.

In the evening I usually get together with DH to watch a short episode of some TV show that we rent from Netflix. We are waiting for NCIS to come out on DVD, so we are now watching Criminal Minds. I like it and the things they show just make me sick. Can that much evil really exist? The things that are being done to people and children.... it is just unbelievable. I truly believe that these things really go on. I must have led a sheltered life, it just horrifies me. This morning I read about this young woman on trial for microwaving her 1 month old baby to death because of a fight with her boyfriend. How sick can you be? Depressing to say the least. I just want to hold my children tight and keep them home forever so that they don't have to run into these kind of people, but I guess that won't be possible.

Well, on this lovely note I will leave you for now, keep your children safe and teach them to deal with stuff like that (not that you need my advice). I will go and change my shirt now, maybe that will make me feel better, LOL.

First day of school

Well, it's finally here! The dreaded first day of school. The kids are off and I have a few minutes to myself (well, more than a few minutes, but who is counting) I just wanted to get my latest LO posted before I hit the shower. I just finished this one yesterday morning, but the day was just a little busy.

I used Vinnie's kits again, I just love those papers. It's another take on the Saturday scraplift challenge. Here is the link to the credits.

Today is also my DDs birthday, all of 11 years old. I had her presents on the table this morning, lit a candle for her to find and blow out when she got up. I think she was happy with her presents. We had the party on Saturday, so this should be a quiet day. Maybe I'll make her a puff pastry cake, they all love that. Oh well, I have to go and hit the shower and practice piano for my lesson today. I hope I'll have a chance to do a little more later

Bugs and more

I love butterflies! I really do, they are graceful and beautiful. I love to take pictures of them and I have lots of them (they are great subjects for practicing with your camera too). Now here comes my DD (the middle one) and calls them bugs with wings. Total disdain and repulsion in her voice. How can this be? Where did we go wrong? She is definitely not a nature child. Anyway, I created this page for the challenge at the Spraground. We had to use this template by Sev. I really like it, it's different. Plus I was able to use papers from TempusFugit (Doris is her name, look at my sidebar). She has some pretty stuff in her collection of freebies. I actually blended a couple of her papers together for a lighter look. Fun!

You can find the credits here

Then yesterday morning there was this Designer Digital challenge on at 11AM. It's a short chat with a challenge to create a LO in 30 minutes. 30 minutes!!! It takes me that long just to find the right papers. Plus there were requirements. We had to use the window, 3 papers, stitching and 2 subjects and no title. This is what I came up with. Kind of crazy but it's okay for half an hour. Some people came up with some real beauties. Boy, I have a lot to learn!

Anyway, here are the credits for this one

Last but not least I did this one last night for the Saturday scraplift challenge (can you tell I like challenges?) I continued with the bike theme. My middle DD just learned how to ride a bike, it didn't take her long at all. She was so proud of herself and loves it (plus it's good for her) The bike she is riding is brand spanking new (she didn't even take the booklet off yet) and is part of her birthday presents. We had her party yesterday, but her birthday is tomorrow. Don't know why I am even saying that. Anyway, this LO continues with the biking stuff. I thought it was kind of fun with the bright colors, but in a week I probably won't like it anymore, LOL. And, of course, here are the credits.

I was so glad it was nice and sunny yesterday. We had a pool party for DD and those are so easy. Everything is outside, you don't get a big mess. You don't have to worry about playing games, just dump them in the pool and let them go at it! Perfect!

Maybe today we will be able to go golfing for a while. Hubby really wants to go. Me, I can take it or leave it. There are other things I'd rather do, but he needs some fun too. Okay, maybe I'll have more later. I have to look at Vinnie's latest freebies and do something with them, they are so pretty!

Hold on tight

I don't know why, but this stupid little zucchini plant really got to me last night. I was watching the girls riding their bikes and saw this little tendril grabbing on the stick, trying to get bigger. It kind of made me sad to see how little it was and then it reminded me of us human beings, how we have this great spirit that pops up whenever things don't go our way and we hold on tight and try again and keep on growing. I am usually not that deep, but it just struck me, so I created this little page about it. Plus I liked the template and this new kit from Katie that I just bought yesterday.

Here are the credits for this one.

Shutterfly book

I have been really busy with this the last few days! I finally got it done. There were some steps at the end that really drove me nuts. Some pages didn't line up, so I had to open them back up, fix them, save them again, upload them again etc. etc. Then there were some last steps to take with the pages, which I would have never been able to figure out. Thank goodness somebody at DD was willing to help me and I got it done. Here is the link if you want to check it out

http://community.shutterfly.com/gallery/post/start.sfly?postId=/gallery/1/post/GMGDJgwbOGDdswbA268ZrK

I had a 25% coupon, so it will cost me about $55 including shipping. For 20 pages that is really not too bad, if you think how much you pay for printing each page. I just hope it's going to be pretty. Well, I am pooped, more tomorrow

Just my type

challenge from Designer Digitals. I loved this blog challenge. The idea was to use a font that had some relation to the LO at hand. I used the Anke script font since it is my name. I finally was able to use the pictures from my swearing in ceremony. At least the pictures of me were halfway decent and not total horror pictures as usual.

Here are the credits

Boy, I haven't taken any pictures these last few days, I am going to have to crank up my camera again and practice my metering.

Yesterday at Karate we were taught a new form. Now I really love learning new forms, they are my favorite thing. It just seems that my brain needs so much more time to memorize stuff anymore. I know that Jr. learned this thing in about 5 minutes, so totally not fair! This one teenage girl was able to follow along perfectly and remembered every step right away. On the other hand she looked pretty awful doing it, so that made me feel better. At least when I do the moves they look like I mean it, there! Excuses for old braincells. Well, I finally got it, now of course to remember it! Practice, practice!

Vinnie Pearce

She is totally awesome! I always admired her LOs over at Designer Digitals and now she started designing. She has put a few freebies on her blog and soon she will be selling. She hasn't quite told everybody yet. I loved this latest mini kit so much, I created this page with it. Most of the goodies were already there, so it took no time at all to do this. I had fun with the picture for it, LOL. This was actually taken while on vacation in Williamsburg.

credits

I just finished

my next group of Cancun pages. Boy, it takes forever to just pick the photos, let alone find the paper to match and the embellies are actually the easiest part. I had fun with this one though, I wish I was there right now! Rachel was so funny, hiding under the towel and taking a nap in the heat of the day, so her! Well, this is it for today, my family must think I am glued stuck to my keyboard. My DH was hinting at some report about internet addiction, LOL. He is such a sweetie though. I mentioned reading in one of the forums that the Nikon D300 is a really good camera, but that it costs about 1800$ and he tells me to go and get it. "You will just be telling me for 2 months how outrageous the price is and hemm and haw and then you will eventually buy it anyway" Isn't he just hilarious? I do fell guilty though because I just bought my D40 thinking it would be more than enough for my needs. Yeah right! I will think about it. What do you guys think? Okay, now this is really it!
Just the credits for the pages

Now for some fun stuff

I finally got back into scrapping a little. Doris from tempusFugit had a challenge, so I completed that the other day. Those birds are so cute and these are from one of her beautiful freebie kits. You really should check out her site (check on my blog). I just bought that plant a couple of weeks ago. I always loved them and when I saw them on sale, I just couldn't resist.

Yesterday I finished this LO for the quote challenge at DD. It was actually an older challenge, but I only picked it up yesterday. I kind of like the way it turned out. We don't have the bunny anymore, he turned into quite a monster bunny. He lives on a farm now and has a bunch of friends over there (and my rooms don't smell like bunny anymore). Of course Max loves everybody anyway, he would get along with pretty much anything, including my African Grey (it might be the fear of his quite large beak too)

Here are the credits for this one

I still have to do the pages for my Cancun book, so I better get busy.

camera strap

Natalie from Cottoncandy is giving away one of her beautiful handmade camera straps. You can participate if you like by clicking on the link and follow her instructions. I would like to win this one here, I think it will go with pretty much everything.

Another award!

Here I am finally getting around to putting my second award on my blog. This was given to me by Jeanne. How very sweet of her! This one is a little different, according to her. It is more about blog friendship.

4 out of 5 have to be dedicated followers of your blog.
1 has to be new or recently new to your blog and live in another part of the world. I know I have used the same people before, but I am kind of restricted here, since not many people look at my blog and have a blog themselves. (see how few friends I have, LOL)

First of it would have to be Terry. She always leaves love on my blog and I really appreciate her friendship. She is a real sweetheart and certainly deserves all these awards.

Carol is another great blog friend of mine. She never misses a post and I love to follow her family stories too.

Then I have Dewnie. I have gotten so many cool sites, recipes and ideas from her, it's amazing! Plus she always tells me how great my stuff is, no wonder I like her!

Here is Jeanne. She is another sweetie! I love to read her blog, about her life musings and her daughter, who is on her own. Great stories and she always checks in on me too.

Now the far away one will have to be Doris. Not only does she have fabulous freebies, but she is like a sweet friend from the old country. It's great to be able to use my german occasionally and she is a real sweetie too!

Now I hope that everybody is happy about these awards and not ready to kill me because of them, LOL.

Photoshop Friday challenge

Yesterday I finally got back into Jessica's challenges. I l.o.v.e. her photoshop friday challenges, I always learn something new. Here is what I came up with. Basically you create an overlay and then cut part of it out to create the focal point. Boy, there is nothing like a little motivation to get a page done. The trick is to find a picture with a focus a little off center. Now I just have to get myself back into the photography class, it really is hard to miss all this time, I feel like I can't catch up now. Good thing we have all the info forever! I really love that about her classes.

credits

More vacation pictures

Okay, before all the memories fade, here are some more pictures from our vacation, which is now officially over (I wish it wasn't so) Life is back to normal, today was packed with stuff to do already. I haven't even paid my bills yet, I'll have to do that in the morning. Anyway here are the promised pics.

The first one is still in Williamsburg, at the bookstore that we have to visit every time. They have a Starbucks inside, hmmm.
Then we have Darkastle, a long wait, kind of fun, but not worth waiting an hour or more for.








Then we finally made it to the beach , Virginia Beach that is. Is was so hot, we couldn't walk in the sand without putting shoes on. We couldn't check in until 5PM, but we just went to the beach for a while. I was surprised as to how wide the beach was, Cancun is much more narrow with bodies everywhere!

The dolphins were very close to the beach every day. We loved to watch them swim back and forth and I caught this one jumping. I really liked that show

At night there was a lot going on, every corner had different entertainment, music, comedy etc. Look at the street light. I really loved the signs they had posted, they mean business there! Saturday night they had fireworks at 10PM. Good thing we were still running around and not trying to sleep yet!

Mornings looked like this and then there is daddy hanging with his little girl.

I forgot, the day we got there, which was Thursday, we had a really sudden thunderstorm, it was something else! Lightening everywhere and the guards chasing all the people off the beach, the kid trying to collect all the beachchairs so they wouldn't fly away. We were on our balcony overlooking the beach and took it all in. The pictures didn't come out that well, it was really dark and strange. This one kind of shows what it looked like.








After many tries, the kids were finally able to get the seagulls to come to the balcony to get some cheese nips from them. Wow, did anybody see the movie The Birds? That's what it felt like. They enjoyed it though and I got some pretty good pictures even though they were forever moving around. Do you see the cheese nip in midair in the first picture? (taken in manual I might add, padding myself on the back)

Anyway, I hope I didn't bore you all too much, I just picked a few pictures, there are tons more, but that's too much work to put on here.










Just a couple of LOs I finished yesterday for my Cancun book. That's it for today!

credits

Blog award

we just got back from vacation and I found I was nominated for this neat award by Doris from tempusfugit. I feel so honored, my very first award!! You all know what this means, right? I have to nominate 7 other blogs, oh the pressure!

Okay, here we go

1) Terry's Tales http://www.terry-terrystales.blogspot.com/ I love her blogging, she is funny, go check her out, she does some great LOs too!

2) Jeanne http://orjustme.blogspot.com/ Her blog header is hilarious and that's just the beginning....

3) Heather T. http://oohlalaartsy.blogspot.com/ She is so talented, I have always admired her LOs at DD and just found her blog!

4) Celia http://seemeinny.blogspot.com/ She is an Aussie living in NewYork and I love her perspective and her descriptive blogging. What a treat

5) Heather http://www.joyrevisited.blogspot.com/ She is beautiful and sweet and has gorgeous kids! Plus she is very talented too!

6) Carol http://www.caroldillon.blogspot.com/ Another Aussie! I love to follow her family adventures, her little boy is so cute! She is another great scrapper

7) Dawnie http://dawn-makingscents.blogspot.com/ This lady gets around! Her blog is full of great links for freebies and other goodies. She is another scrapper buddy and wonderful at that!

There are so many others out there, I could have filled another page!