Take a DEEP Breath and...

GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just LOVE that I was able to capture these pictures today at the end of the girls' swim lesson. Aren't their expressions great?! Amy voted for her class to jump off the diving board-she's never been on one before. Jessica's class got to go down the tunnel slide and she zipped out of there soooo fast.

This is the first time they've taken any sort of swim class. I am so pleased that they are having so much fun. I see in Jessica a big increase in confidence just being in the water. She loves her teacher and will even consent to being dipped into the water up to her eyes-not quite ready to go completely under. Amy has always felt confident in the water and just needs to get the arms and legs to coordinate better. Oh and to practice holding her breath under water. LOL

I'm so glad I remembered to bring the camera today. These will be fun to scrap. :o)

Just For Kim-Mosaic Cuttlebug

Here's a card I created today using the Mosaic Cuttlebug embossing folder(embossed on Honey cardstock). I'm not 100% sure I like it, but oh well. (and this is the reason I stamp lift so often-my designs sure are iffy) I used some Fall DCWV textured paper (orange), a scrap of Cranberry, scallop punched using my corner rounder. For the Delight in Everything flower I stamped in Archival Black and used my Prisma pencils and odorless mineral spirits to blend the colors (red, orange, yellow). I stamped the cranberry piece with flowers from Delight in Everything (using Cranberry ink). The other stamps are from a brand new set I got at Joann's using a 50% off coupon-making the set $4-who can pass that up? It's a Heidi Grace set.

Well, Kim, hope you like it at least! I'm sure I'll come up with other cards using it, but I sure do need some "inspiration."

I ended up recreating my watermark AGAIN, because I forgot when I saved it that I had to do it as a photoshop file (so I can continue to play with it) and not as a jpeg. Oops. Well, at least creating this one took a lot less time than the other one, so maybe I am learning the ropes a bit. LOL

Simple Card Using Petal and a Card From Joyce!

Here's a card I created yesterday when I was so stumped on using my Cuttlebug embossing folders. I was inspired by a card created by Brenda Harmless. I chose to use Petal just because it was a different color. I also used Free Spirit, CTMH's upcoming August Stamp of the Month. I second generation stamped the swirl image from the set. To make the faux scalloped edge, I stamped the circle image several times on white cardstock and punched them out. I lined them up on the edge of the petal piece. I then added white grosgrain ribbon side by side to make it appear wider and added a lavendar looking grograin on top.

I decided to play around with my watermark/signature today. I'm getting a little bit better, but I know I still have loads to learn. I can't wait until I am more proficient in using this Elements program!

Here's a card I received in the mail from my friend Joyce. Isn't it pretty??

She recently joined The Angel Company after having been an SU demo for a long time. It's a retired TAC vine image and she added the mat from the Far East mat stack. I think the company is DCWV. Thanks, Joyce for the gorgeous card! I love the embossing and how elegant the whole card looks!

I hope sometime soon I will have a new digital layout to share. Thanks for looking.

Monogram Card

I must confess that I got caught up in Harry Potter fever this past week. I was almost afraid to start reading the book because from what I'd been hearing, once started, you don't want to put the book down. Well, that's true! But, I finished this morning and was quite satisfied with how JK Rowling finished off this series. Whew! It's kind of sad to think there will be no more HP books to come. I find it awesome that this one woman has so much imagination!

Okay, so now that HP is out of my system, I have to tell you all that I had a perfect opportunity to create today in relative quiet. Steve took the girls out on an "adventure with Dave" as we call it (Dave is a good family friend whose kids are grown. He enjoys doing things with Steve and the girls). They went to Buffalo Bill Days. I ran a few errands, then sat down to play with some new goodies. Some of which were embossing folders for my Cuttlebug. Kim wants me to create something with the Moasic one I finally found (at Joann's) and/or Tiny Bubbles (love it when Js has a great coupon week like this week's 50% off ones and I can find some goodies to use them on). Wouldn't you know it, NOTHING came to me! I even started searching on the internet for some inspiration. Not too many samples were found and those I did find didn't use these two embossing folders. It was rather frustrating!

So, I'm pulling up a card I created for my Hostess Club. It's my take on a card created by another CTMH consultant whose name escapes me at the moment (I'm SO sorry). But, rather than just post that card, I also attempted to create a watermark for my pictures. I'm still a newbie when it comes to Photoshop Elements, so based on my limited understanding, this is what I came up with.

The card uses Adorable Backgrounds and Baroque. The cardstock is Ocean. The letter J is stamped in black, then stamped again using an embossing ink and heat embossed with clear embossing powder.

Maybe I'll get some time to play again tomorrow and come up with something using either of those two folders.

Thanks for looking and hope you find time to create today!

I've Been Tagged!

Kim tagged me as a Rockin' Girl Blogger! How neat! I'm to tag 5 blogs for your viewing pleasure. Some may have been tagged before, but you may not be aware of them, so I may tag them anyway.

1) Has to be Kim (Clearly Inspired) And not just because she wrote some really nice things about me on her blog!! We started our blogs at the same time and we have been encouraging each other and inspiring each other since then. We have become pretty great email buddies! She ROCKS because she is able to create something just about every single day to post. I don't know for sure how she does it! Oh and right now she's learning how to use Prismacolor pencils and has posted her first card using them. You HAVE to check it out. She's just all around awesome!

2) Wendy (inkinandthinkin) I "met" Wendy online on the CTMH bulletin boards not too long after I joined. I was then and continue to be amazed at her creativity and talent as well as her boundless energy. She ROCKS because she exudes a positive attitude and is a prolific paper artist. Check out her blog and you will see what I mean.

3) Beate (fresh & fun) I just discovered this blog yesterday. I subscribe to Splitcoaststampers newsletter and this gal creates many tutorials for them. As I wandered "blogdom" yesterday, I came across her blog and was totally impressed. She posts tutorials on her blog as well. I don't know her personally at all, am just an inspired admirer of her work. She rocks!

4) Card Positioning Systems Okay, I'm not sure this one really qualifies since it's not a "person" per se, but this blog rocks because they have card sketches posted. I found this one yesterday, too and because I've been intrigued by circle shaped cards and the sketch I see is for a circle card, I felt it deserves a nod for a Rockin' Blog!

5)Erica (From the Heart) is going to be my last, but not least, tag. Erica not only creates great paper art, she is also great at creating digital scrapbook pages! She very graciously helped me when I asked her some questions about how to create a digital page and referred me to some great digi sites. She is a busy lady, but manages to find time to create new, neat and great things regularly. She ROCKS!

Okay, that's my list and I'm sticking to it. I hope you enjoy checking out these blogs. There are SO many great blogs out there! Some in my side bar not "tagged" by me are all rockin' as well. I'm serious, you just click on one blog link, go to a new blog and you'll be amazed at where clicking on those links will take you. I think I need to institute a timer system to keep me aware of how fast time goes by when I'm wandering "blogdom." LOL

How About a Little Sparkle?

When I saw Yvonne Wickenkamp's card I KNEW I had to create one for myself. It is pretty much a total c.a.s.e (copy and steal everything) but there wasn't much I could change to make it better! The only thing really that is probably different is that she used a Bigger Brad in Baby Pink and I chose to use a Hollyhock circle concho and smaller brad in the center.

I used Friendship Blessings and Playful Flourishes in Blush, Hollyhock and Garden Green. The striped paper is from Best Friends. But what adds that ooomph is the Prisma glitter. Of course, you cannot see as much sparkle in this picture as you do in real life, but it sure adds a nice pop to the card. I used a wet glue pen with a narrow tip and then poured Prisma Glitter on it while it was till wet. Just to let you know when using Prisma Glitter, expect to find it everywhere when you are done! LOL

I also have to share that I am totally and completely awestruck by the sheer number of blogs that are out there in cyberspace!! I am becoming quite inspired by the creations I am seeing and the talent of the bloggers. Some I am subscribing to, but it is quite interesting how you can travel what I am calling blogdom by starting at one blog, clicking on a blog mentioned in a sidebar and it takes you to another blog that has a list. You can click your way to some pretty fantastic stuff! Oh my! :o) Not that any of those fantastically talented people would ever look at my blog, but I just have to say THANKS for sharing your creativity and your generosity in the tutorials posted. Once I might have thought I had tiny sliver of talent, but after seeing some of the work I've seen, oh my goodness, do I have a LOT to learn!

Thanks for looking and I hope you find some time to create something that makes you happy today.

Quick and Easy Card

Well, now that I shared my first digital layout, I thought I'd also share a card I made yesterday. I wanted something quick and easy and found a design I liked in Cards mag (July issue). All products are CTMH, except the buttons and thread.

Colors-Holiday Red and White Daisy
Inks-Holiday Red and Pigment White Daisy
Stamps-Small flower from Friendship Blessings and double row of dots from Simple Stitches.

After I stamped the pigment ink on the Holiday Red piece, I used my heat gun to speed up the drying time.

Thanks for looking and I hope you find some time to create today!

First Ever Digital Layout!

How cool is this?! For Mother's Day I got Photoshop Elements 5.0 and have waited patiently while Steve upgraded my computer (not the laptop-it couldn't handle the program at all) so that I could install it. Well, last weekend, he finished all the upgrades and I installed it. I've been emailing some online friends for tips/advice. I also purchased a couple of tutorials so that I could learn the program. Here is the result of one of the tutorials I bought!

This picture was also taken last weekend, as was the new photo in my header (for subscribers, you'll have to actually go to my blog to see it). Steve and the girls have been trying for weeks to catch some fish around town. Well, that wasn't happening, so Steve is now exploring fishing holes outside of town. Last weekend we went to Longmont and tried a place called Golden Pond. Seriously, I think of the movie whenever I see that name-LOL. I took this picture as we were walking around the pond looking for a good spot to cast the lines. I think it looks pretty neat myself and was a "perfect" photo to try for my first digital layout. Btw, no fish were caught here, nor at Union Reservoir which we also tried. Amy's getting pretty good at casting though!

Do not fear, I don't think I will go exclusively to digital scrapbooking, but it's something new and different for me (as if I don't have enough things to keep me entertained) and worth exploring.

Thanks for looking!

Here are a couple of cards I've made recently. The first is a stamplift of a card that is on the cover of the July issue of Cards magazine. Actually this is my second attempt at this card as I ultimately didn't like my first version. I think circular shaped cards I used Precious Paisley paper, Pink Carnation cardstock and a sentiment from Treasures of the Heart heat embossed with White Daisy embossing powder. I "faux" stitched the white using a white Souffle pen. I punched the holes with a 1/8th inch hole punch. I also used my circle Coluzzle to get the circular shape to the cards

This second card is for my dad whose 77th birthday is on the 13th! I received a card from my upline and I had to recreate it for myself. This is the result. I used Adorable Backgrounds, Typewriter Keys and a sentiment from Because of You. The colors are Brown Bag and Bamboo. I need to get it out in the mail tomorrow! :o)

Thanks as always for looking and I hope you find time to create something today!

What Makes Me Special Is You

I hope you had a great 4th of July! Ours was quiet, but nice.

I cleaned up my scraproom a bit and then made this card from a sketch. It's pretty simple, but I like how it came out.

I used scraps from Simple Pleasures paper, a circle Stickease from Simple Pleasures matted on a piece of Twilight cardstock, a bit of stamping using Simple Stitches and a sentiment from Kindred Spirits. Some ribbon and brads complete the card.

I hope you find some time to create today!

Delight in Everything

This card is inspired by a card created by Jamia Bankhead. I used Delight in Everything and Buttercup, Cranberry and Garden Green inks. I added brads and buttons for added interest and texture.

The fun part of this card is the use of a transparency. If you've been in a scrapbook store or looked in any recent magazine/idea book recently, you may have noticed the use of transparencies in the artwork. They add just a touch of "oomph" and are pretty easy to use. Here I stamped my image in clear embossing ink and added white embossing powder, then heat set it. Be careful not to heat too long! Once it cools cut out the images. I adhered them using glue dots.

The card size is 5 x 7.

Hope you find some time to create today!

Treasures of the Heart Card

I REALLY like how this card came out! I was inspired by a card posted by Brenda Harmless whose artwork I greatly admire. :o) It was pretty quick and easy, too.

I used an embossing folder in my Cuttlebug and then rubbed Heavenly Blue ink pad over the embossed design to help it stand out. I layered it on Heavenly Blue cardstock. The sentiment is from the CTMH stamp set called Treasures of the Heart. I'm happy that I was able to use my recently found scalloped oval punch! The white oval was cut using the oval Coluzzle.

All in all I'm pretty pleased with this card and hope it inspires you to create something new today.