Simply Darling!

Some of the photos taken of the girls at the family photo shoot. I'm just in love with these expressions, well I'm in love with what's around the expressions as well, what's a Grandma to do???

I used Andika Designs - Strawberries and Cream (from Digitals). I took one of the corner embellishments Tink had made and copied it until I had four of then I just kept turning them until I came out with the large multi-frame. Cool huh? The Sister and friends words were taken from one of Glenda Ketcham's kits - Wordart Sisters

That's the key you need to just keep playing. The background is several papers blended together and then I used the burn tool to enhance around the swirled edges. and the perimeter of the background. If you just use embellishments, papers, frames etc. in a kit as is you're really missing out. Play with the hue/saturation and change the color settings to better match what you're making. Duplicate, as I've done here and put your embellies together to create a whole new look. Enlarge, make smaller, group together, add shadows and styles for even more looks. Blend you papers, several together adjusting the opacity of some to change the look completely.

Just remember to always give credit to the designer and NEVER change and claim as your own! The designer has worked hard, putting in endless hours to create something beautiful and fun for your personal enjoyment. Don't spoil it by sharing or pirating! OK off my band wagon for a bit!

Love Is and Love Extended

Love ExtendedSeveral of the photos taken of Angi and Luke

Love Is . . .

I just loved these pictures of Angi and Luke.
I cheated though with these two pages and used Quickpages from Andika Designs White Out 12x12 Album at Digitals.
These pages are just so beautifully done and
what a snap to just insert my photos, add my text and be done.

Snowy Update

I was so sure the snow would be here and gone in a flash, little did I know that we would get inches last night.

I It started about 4 in the afternoon and snowed way into the night.

When I came home from town today Green Springs Golf course was vacant of golfers but perched on a mound was this Snowman! What a cute idea.

It's Snowing in Southern Utah

Well not today but earlier this week it snowed all day! Make me feel like I was home, only thing is here it's the moutains that surround us that are covered with powdered snow the lowlands are clear, the best of both worlds. I had to take these photos those, Palm Trees are not suppose to have snow are they? I heard on the radio this morning that you'd best be getting the Palm blankets on, I thought they were joking. Lo and behold on my way home today what do I see but palms with blankets tucked securely around the top portion (the neck I would say) just under where the frongs start. I wonder what happens to all the rest of the poor little naked Palm necks out there in this cold weather, I sure hope they don't die, that's one of my favorite things to see around here. Here's a few shots I took around our neighborhood the other day. Of course being the idiot I am with a camera I had to walk down to the golf course just so I could show family and friends who've been here it really did have snow on it. It's like anywhere else though. You become accustomed to your surroundings and forget to see the beauty. I never realized how tall the hills are behind our housing development until they have this beautiful veil of white on them. As I was stopped at the stoplight on the way home the intersection was a perfect view of Best Buy and the shopping center, and there rising majestically behind their rooftops were these beautiful snowcaps, I just hadn't realized how close or how tall they are! When I got a little further you could see the ledges leading into Zion each line of rock dusted with poweder. How beautiful it is!!

Daddy's Girl

You know there's nothing better for a Grandma than to get oodles of new photos of the kids to play with this is no exception. Another great shot of Luke and Pyper, I just love the way she's looking at her Daddy! I used a kit from Alessandra Designs - Daddy's Little Girl, appropriate name don't ya think? The word art is my own, if anyone is interested in using it post me a note here and I'll make it available to you.

Wonder - DST Gallery Standout

Well this is the second of my blending pages, this one with Zoie. I just love this picture of her, another from Photographer Erika Green. The captured, far away look was just perfect for this page. I wanted a dreamy, soft look like I achieved with Pyper's page. Thanks to Michelle at Cottage Arts who helped with the fonts for my word art (my quote by the way) I was really satisfied with how the page turned out.

I used a new kit, just released from Cottage Arts called O Christmas Tree and then blended in a snowflake paper from the Joyeux Noel Page Pak. Love both these kits for this deep wintery feel.

As soon as I posted tonight I saw where this page was picked as a Gallery Standout at Digital Shop Talk! This is a first for me I've not had a page picked there for any reason. Made me feel really good because I really love the pages that are showcased there! Check the thread out if you have time they really have some pages to inspire your creativity!

I got to thinking, after reading all the responses in the gallery to this page, that perhaps it would be fun to include the original photo here as well, that way it will give you more of a perspective of what you can accomplish by blending several papers with your photo. I think the key is to keep experimenting with the blend modes and masking away bits and pieces. It's amazing the combinations you'll come up with. But above all don't get frustrated, just have fun!

Dreaming

I work on the Creative Team for Cottage Arts. Michelle Shefveland is the owner and a true inspiration. She is a very talented lady! If you're not familiar with Cottage Arts you're really missing out. Please stop by and check out her store. Anyway, Michelle challenged the team to try the Ethereal look for Christmas, well I'm still working on that Christmasy page of Zoie, but I had this picture of Pyper and just had to try it with a 'not as Christmas' look. This is another photo from Erika Green Photography. She does a beautiful job capturing that dreamy look in Pyper.

I'm not as comfortable with this type of page, it took a lot of playing to achieve the blending of papers and elements that I thought looked right. I kept changing fonts, it's amazing how the font can set a mood of the page and I wanted one that conveyed this soft, dreamy feel. I finally ended up with Liorah. Everything here is from Cottage Arts except I did use a couple of Linda Sattgast's (Scrapper's Guide) styles. I love the finished look though and have already started another of Zoie which I think I can achieve more of a wintery feel with. I really like the contrast of the Black and White photo with the exposure of the red rose. So fun to try new things!

The quote is one of my own:
From the innocence of youth,
there do we receive
the hope
of our future.

This morning as I was checking the comments left on the page at DST I saw where I'd been featured in the Genuine Praise Blog. I wasn't familiar with this blog so please take a look, I think she has a super idea going here!

Well I've now been chosen as LOTD at Digitals. It's so uplifting when you've worked so hard on something and find out you've touched a cord with others as well! Made my day I'll tell ya!!

Sisters

Angi and the family went to Erika Green Photography Studio and had their photos taken. I was impressed with Erika's work and the poses she got the family to take. Every time I try to take Luke's picture his eyes are closed or he looks like he's at the end of a very bad weekend, lol. She managed to get wonderful pictures of him and Angi and of course my beautiful granddaughters. If you live in the SW Washington state area please check her work out I'm sure you won't be unhappy.

To do this page I used Strawberries and Cream from Andika Designs. Tink sells at Digitals and has some fabulous kits, please check her store out.

Christmas 2005

I just love these photos I found of Eddie and his Daddy, taken Christmas 2005. Eddie has changed so much in 3 years, so tall and so slim now. Wow where did this chubby little Cherub go to? Pictures like this, that show a great big hunk like Mitch cuddling with a little guy like Eddie just tug at my heartstrings, of course they're mine too, maybe that has something to do with it?? I just loved their Christmas tree and couldn't resist having it poke out the top of the frame.

I wanted to write something on the page but couldn't figure out where, then thought it would be fun to do vertical words within the stripes. They say -
Happy Happy
Merry Merry
Santa Claus
is coming to town
He Knows if
I've been bad or good
and I've been good
for goodness sake!
Font for this is Scrap Circles

I used new kits from Glenda Ketcham for this page, A Long Ago Christmas and Christmas Finery -

Best Gift

Here's all four Grandkids,
they truly are the Best Gift a Grandma could ask for!

This page made with Beth Rimmer's new kit
Christmas at Happy Jack, available at Digitals.

O Christmas Tree - Pixel Pick of the Day & LOTD

Today - December 9 - I got a notice from Gotta Pixel that they've picked this page again this time as LOTD! Thank you Gotta Pixel!!!

I did this page of memories (lots of journaling, lots of memories). As I looked at these photos and relayed to Momma on the phone what I was seeing my eye was drawn to different places in the dining room, other than the tree. It always amazes me what you see when you scan and enlarge an old photo. Often I've seen things in digital and enlarged on my monitor that I never saw when looking at the original. I agree there will always be something nostalgic and heartwarming to hold an old photo in your hand and wonder about it's origin. But it's amazing to let technology take over and see it in a whole new light. I'll post the journaling at the bottom of this post if you'd like to share my memories

I used Silvia Romeo's Cozy Christmas, perfect title don't you think? Silvia sells at several stores including Digitals, please check her things out. I also received notice this morning that this page was picked as a Pixel Pick in today's newsletter at Gotta Pixel. Sweet that others like what I do!

The journaling on this page reads:

A tree you might say?

It's not really the tree that drew me to this picture.
Yes, I must say, seeing it through the eyes of an adult instead of a Christmas crazed youngster I can see the limbs were a little helter skelter. The shape not trimmed to perfection. But the love, ah the love behind this tree would be hard matched today. This tree, as many before and many after, was taken from the woods in and around our family home. Momma, usually, would go out and search to find the perfect one and chop and drag it home. This was in the days when my memories were defined enough to take notice. I'm sure there were many years when my brother's were home when they went in search of the tree. Tinsel hanging like snow from the boughs. Carefully placed one at a time by Mom's loving hand, It's unusual to see the tree here, in the dining room. I asked Momma about it and she doesn't remember having it here, but those are the walls, the windows, the cup rack that always hung on the wall there.And upon that little shelf on the right is a small ships wheel, actually it's a lighter. So what you might ask, I remember as a very young child Billy and I fighting over that wheel, as I recall it never had fluid in it, so it never would light. But when you spun the wheel the little flap would pop up to reveal where the flame should rise. When I was in my 40's I asked my Mom if I could have this little memento of times gone by and she sadly told me she had thrown it away. So sad, a memory to remain in my mind but not my touch. Several years later on my birthday I opened a special gift from my Mom, and there wrapped in pretty paper was this little ships wheel that Billy and I had so fought over to play with.

Memories from the past that still color your present days.
What better a childhood could anyone ask for?