New Designs at Cottage Arts!

Cottage Arts has released some neat new products. I've made several pages here using a lot of them. I love the looks of the papers and elements, they work so well for blending and masking. Great effects.

This first is called Evening sky, it's some of the photos I have on my Reflections of My Year blog that I took the other night of the evening sky and the approaching storm.

The journaling reads: My Blessing for today
It's so easy to take for granted each day I'm given.
To overlook the simple beauty that surrounds me.
Today I am thankful for the glorious sunset that turned
the skies around me these vibrant shades of amber
constantly moving
spreading their threads open
and upward
embracing the whisper from the heavens.

Supplies all from Cottage Arts
Nature's Sketchbook Elements 1 Botanical Imprints - Word Art - Mat Old Paper - Border Cluster 1 Naturals 12 Paper Pak - Paper 03 Nature's Sketchbook Journals 1 - Journal 02
Nature's Sketchbook Papers 1 Botanical Imprints - Paper 01 Fall a Flutter Element Pak - Fall Swirl Let There Be Peace Page Pak - Folded Fabric Frame

Font - Lucida Handwriting



For this I used Nature's Sketchbook Ivy League - and Font Americana


I used my photo of the road (taken at Navajo Lake Utah this last fall) and blended it with Ivy Paper number 4 using the Hard Light blend mode in Photoshop (I use PS CS3). I then added a mask and erased with a feather brush (13) set at 75% Opacity and Flow. I kept erasing the outer edges to get rid on any hint of hard edge, blending it into the background.


I also used a blend mode, Soft Light, on the text, which gave me the effect I wanted but then it was too light to show properly so I duplicated the text layer and reduced it's opacity to 28%, which gave it just enough depth to be able to read and still look like it was part of the road.


This is just so fun to do, the possibilities are endless, you just need some imagination and keep playing until you hit the effect that says yes to you!

These last two are a 2-page spread about our trip this summer to Wyoming.


Journaling Reads:
This was way more than an adventure!
At over 9,000 feet the cabin presented
itself with some unique problems to
our breathing! We really hadn't given
it much thought when booking but
soon realized when we tried to trek
around anywhere. It was especially
fun when the power went out, it's
mighty dark in the middle of the
Wyoming woods!

I used these supplies from Cottage Arts -
Ragged Delights Element Pak - Twine Sewn Cardboard

Life Journey 12x12 Album Pak - QP 08- Frame 024 and
Natures Sketchbook Elements 1 - Botanical Imprints - Dog Tag - Pearl Old - Border Stitches - Tag w/String Overlayed and blended with Mat Old Paper
Font Rodeo King



And here's the last great photos of the four legged friends we saw along the way. In this page I used Ragged Delights - Twine Sewn Cardboard Positive Metal Attitudes Elements Pak - Rusty Spring Life Journey 12x12 Album Pak - QP 25 - Frame Trio
Font - Rodeo King

Cutting the Tree

OK with the encouragement of some friends I've been playing with some overlays. The beautiful kits I used to create this page are the handiwork of Beth Rimmer - Popscicle Toes and Across the Years. But the outer edge overlay is my own. I like the grungy look of it and so enjoy playing with masks, filters and such. So perhaps this is a new direction I'll head.

These are my Girls with the Family out cutting the tree for their Christmas living rooms. I have another that I want to do of the Reindeer and more shots of the family so hopefully this is going to be a 2-pager.

My Family; My Heritage

This page was chosen LOTD at Gotta Pixel!

I was looking for a page to work with Silvia Romeo's new kit Cherries Jubilee and stumbled upon this family photo in an old album of my Grandmothers. I know it's been there, but I just don't remember ever seeing it There aren't a lot of photos of the 5 of them so this is a precious addition to our family memories.

There is a lot of blending her between papers and photo to achieve this look.
Fonts Long Island - Dico Medium

I loved the quote, I searched family, heritage quotes online and ran across this one.

If you look deeply into the palm of your hand you will see your parents and all generations of your ancestors. All of them are alive in this moment. Each is present in your body. You are the continuation of each of these people. Thich Nhar Hanh

This is a composite of 3 photos - the bunny, the background photo and the photo of my sister-in-law. I used extraction and blending to form the page. Also two of Ale's actions for the sign and bench. The pole for the sign is cut from the side of one of her frames.

Check out Ale's kits under Alessandra Designs at Digitals

Ah Don't Cry

I found this photo, I hope it's Pyper, lol, if not I'll have to change the name. Amazing how the girls look so much alike at this age. Anyway I wanted to do something with Terri Walsh's Doctor, Doctor Word Art and Papers and I thought when I saw this sad little face that it would be perfect. Don't ya just want to scoop her up and give her big huggies and kisses? Terri sells at Digitals be sure and check out her stuff.

Acoya and Colton

Don't you just love these photos Cyndi took of the kids? I can't believe this is their backyard. Wow amazing how much snow everyone in the Pacific NW has gotten this winter. I'm sure the kids have all loved it but it's a little harder on the adults who have to shovel driveways and trek their way across town in snow and ice! Glad I decided to go home early this year!

Cyndi had emailed these two pictures of the kids and when I saw Terri Walsh's kit Let It Snow at Digitals I knew it'd be perfect for them. So easy to create, I blended the photos with the backgrounds, added the word art and voila here's a page. Of course since both photos were shot in the snow the white blended so easily. Just love how they turned out. Of course having such cuties for subjects sure didn't hurt either. Wonder how all these kids of ours ended up creating such beautiful children????

Artsy Photo Masks

Utah in the Winter has been a new experience and nothing could top it more than this gorgeous sky that showed up the other night. I was busy at the computer and happened to look up, ran and grabbed the camera and shot some breath taking winter skies. Not long after that Beth asked if I had something to try her new Artsy Photo Masks with, I knew I had just the thing. When I applied the mask instantly this verse from the America the Beautiful came to mind. Wonderful how things just seem to fall into place sometimes!

This page also uses Across the Years Papers 10, 14 and 18 blended together. I'm getting to the point I rarely make a page anymore where I don't blend papers or apply masks. A New Year's resolution I made was to learn new things to add to my bag of tricks. It's just amazing though how much I've learned the past few years. For any of you just beginning with a graphics program my words of advice would be to just keep playing and playing. The more you play the more you discover, the more you discover the more you use over and over again. Which in turn leads to your comfort level. When you're comfortable with your program what once was hard and time consuming now you'll do without much thought. I'm especially fond of learning shortcuts, it's just so cool to know which keystrokes will make you zoom along faster. Geez what a fun hobby this is!

Mom has this little spot just as you park at her Apartment Complex and I've always loved the look of the path and Street Lamps. It's short!, just a few feet but taken at this angle it lets the imagination wander and feel like the path extends forever. So, don't be stopped by what you see when you take photos, instead take what the mind sees but isn't there. Amazing what Beth's photo masks do for an ordinary photo. The quote is my own, you're more than welcome to use it, I'd love if you'd credit me though.
This page also used Beth's Popsicle Toes paper 9 with a Photo Filter applied -

When I was home in November my sister was taking me to visit Mom. We were just leaving her driveway when we spotted dear up the road. So Carol took off to see if I could get some photos, which I did. The bonus was that I also got this magnificent photo of the Hawk here. I was so happy when I got the photos from the Camera to the pc, thank goodness for my Zoom lens! I'd never have another camera without one.

Journaling Reads

I saw him glide through the air and land on the branches in the trees in front of us.
As I struggled to get my camera into position I was sure he’d take off.
But no, he waited and watched eyes alert and taking me and the rest of the scene in.
He sat majestically upon those branches surveying the land around him.
Beautiful fierce beak and eyes, such a magical creature coming forward from generations before.
He posed, in all his glory, and allowed me to take these photos.
To you I bow oh powerful Hawk, you are a predator in your world, but such a munificent creature you are in mine.

I used two of Joyce deJong's new kits at Digitals - Magic World and Magic World Vol 2 . I always think of this stately bird as coming from the medieval time. Joyce's kits were so perfect they had just the right coloring to give my photo that kind of feel. I blended a couple together to get the right shading for the background and was happy with the outcome.