{Friday Photo Bliss}

Wow! It's Friday already! Time is flying by. I missed last Friday's posting, but told myself I wouldn't miss this week! Summer is almost over and we have just a little over a week before the kids are back in school. And, what a crazy week this will be...finishing back to school shopping, working, open houses, and the list goes on...I'll need a vacation from all of this hustle and bustle.

After spending much time looking through my photos from the last week, I finally found one that I just loved. Not that I didn't like them all, but this one is just sweet.

We had been out boating our last day at the lake and she was worn out. The rocking of the boat just knocks her out. Even though she isn't a baby anymore (she'll be 7 on Sunday!), I still love watching her sleep.

So, do you have a {Friday Photo Bliss} photo to share??

I have to admit, I'm an "Action" junkie...if there's a photoshop action out there, I've found it and used it. I used an action on this photo, Faded DayDreams from CoffeeShop. I thought it was somewhat appropriate, right?

Since getting back Monday, I've been non-stop trying to get back into the swing of things. I have almost finished putting the final touches on my classes over at My Creative Classroom. It's been slow and Jing hasn't been the most cooperative! I have my usual classes lined up for this fall: Using Photoshop 101, Using Photoshop 102 and Photo Editing. I've also added a Using Photoshop 103 to my list! That one is still in the works and will be open for enrollment soon.

Hope you all have a great weekend!!

{Friday Photo Bliss}

So I subscribe to a blog - CoffeeTeaPhotography - I love what Rita has to offer over there. One thing she does that has inspired me is her {Friday Photo Bliss}. She takes a photo from her week that makes her happy and posts it. She encourages her followers to do the same on their blogs. So...my {Friday Photo Bliss} Photo is one of my girls...well two of my girls anyway.

We bought this pull behind tube for the kids (and adults!) to play on when we are here at the lake. This was their first go on the tube. I could hear them screaming and howling with laughter as they rode through the waves. They hung on for dear life as hubby tried to make them fall off. Do they look like they are having fun or what!? I wonder how much water they caught in their mouths...they never shut them while they were on the water!!

My long-time BFF from high school came down and brought her kids to spend a few days with us. We hung out on the back of the boat and laughed at all of the kids as they took turns on the tube. It has been ages since I laughed that hard. Each time I look at any of the photos from those days, I just giggle to myself. What a great time we all had! It truly made my week. So, this is my happy photo (well, there were many) for the week.

How about you? Do you have a happy photo that you would like to share?? Just add your link in my comments section!

Embellishments!!

Wow - can you believe I've posted twice in a week?? I'm happy to say, I finished some embellishments for my Fall kit - the first digital kit I've designed! I'm slowly putting it all together. There's so many little details I'm afraid I'll forget. I may have to find some guinea pigs to help me make sure it's all good before I totally release it. I haven't tried to upload it to 4Shared yet and I need to test that too...so many things to do. I'm very nervous about the whole thing, but I keep telling myself that I have to start somewhere...right? Ok, so here's a sneak peek at the embellishments that go with the papers I showed you last week:

There are a few tweaks that I need to make on these and I think I might add more to it, but this is the beginning of the embellishments. The ribbons are hard to see, but there are some organdy mixed in there. Let me know what you think!! I welcome all comments...but be gentle...it's my first creation. ;o)

It's funny as I'm creating these, I call my girls over to show off my work. Well, my 11 year old wanted to learn to do papers...so here is what she created before I kicked her off my computer!! I think I have created a monster...LOL!!



Can you tell she's into the bright neon colors?? I'm surprised it wasn't all purple - she's a purple freak. I can't wait to see what she does next.

Enjoy your week and stay tuned for more to come!!

I finally have the courage...

Well, I've been talking and talking about my hope to one day design digital kits. When I teach my classes at My Creative Classroom, I am always looking for kits that are neutral and free for my students to download. I hate having them download anything without running it by the designer first. I like the designers to know what I do and what we are using their kits for...it always makes me feel better knowing I have their approval. Anyway, after many, many hours of thinking and brainstorming and practicing and frustration, I finally have the courage to reveal some of my first kit. I have tons of practice stuff I've done, but this is the first I'm actually going 'public' with! So, here it is...a preview of just the papers. I still have to work on embellishments to go with these...

You can't really see a lot of the detail, but the solid colors have a tweed look and also a grungy look. Once I am done, I'll post better pictures of it all.

Since I've been at the lakehouse this summer, it's given me time to work on these and my photography. I have been working on using that zoom lens...it's not easy. It's heavy and makes my hands and arms shake when I use it. I have to literally rest it on my legs or something else while I'm taking pictures. Here's a couple of shots I've gotten using it...

Mikaela loves canoeing with her dad...she even knows what to do with the oars!

These are all photos that I ran some fun actions on of my girl! I love using actions on my photos...you can make them look so different with the click of a mouse!

I'll be back soon to post the rest of my Fall Kit! Stay tuned...

May is here!

And let the craziness begin! Some people think December is their busiest time of year, but not me! Don't get me wrong, December can be killer with all the holiday hustling and bustling, but I think May is by far much crazier in my household! Kids are in the midst of spring soccer and this year I have one who is playing volleyball. Saturdays are a joy...3 different games to get to and 99% of the time, they are overlapping in different towns! YIKES! But, I enjoy the fact that my girls are active and have fun doing these things.

I finished my last photography class last week and learned a lot. I think I mentioned in my last post that this class made me think outside the box when taking photographs. I still have a long way to go and lots of practicing before I perfect any part of my photography skills, but that's ok...I'll enjoy every step of the journey!

I've also been playing around learning CS3 and CS5. Talk about tons to learn. I worked with my mentor last week and actually made a sheet of digital paper (YAY me!) and I made a few elements too (a fuzzy fiber string and a brad!). I get so caught up in the great downloads out there, that I forget to create! I found lot of cool patterns, masks and actions to use in editing. Check out these photos below. I took a photo of my daughter and my sister in law's niece and had fun running a few actions in CS5. See the different effects you can get on the same photo?? Fun stuff!!

How sweet is this little face!? I just love this little girl and she is the perfect model...I shot this photo and then ran actions from Pioneer Woman and the Coffee Shop.




This pretty face is my oldest daughter. She'll pose for me sometimes. This old barn is at the end of our driveway and every day as I pass by it, I think of how cool it is. I wanted to convince one of my girls to let me take their picture on the fence in front of it...I convinced her! YAY! In these photos I've used actions from Pioneer Woman and Coffee Shop again. They have so many and they are all great!

Hope you all have a great week!

Oh my goodness!

Goodness! I can't believe that I am so far behind! I bet you all have thought I fell off the face of the earth, huh?? Well, I guess like everyone, life events have taken over and unfortunately, my blog has been pushed to the backburner. Things are somewhat settling down and I've had so many fun things going on, I'm ready to jump back in! You probably noticed I revamped the look of my blog. I found a new blog package that I liked and decided why not!

Over the last few months, I've been working on my digital scrapbooking skills, as well as my photography skills. I've been taking classes to fine tune my creative outlets! I'm beginning to design my own digital kits...something I've wanted to do since I discovered the digital side of scrapbooking. I'm excited and can't wait to get my first kit done. I have a mentor that I'm starting with this week and she's going to help me get going. I'll be sure to post once I have it complete! Not only that, I just finished beta-testing the new Adobe CS5!!! That was a thrill and I learned so much about Photoshop!! The product is now available for purchase at the Adobe site.

I'm still teaching photoshop classes on My Creative Classroom and plan to continue doing that each semester. Right now, we have a benefit for Haiti class open. Many instructors have created classes for this benefit. Great, great projects for everyone!! If you haven't checked it out, go do it now! For my part, we are doing this quick layout:

I'm finishing up a photography class this week. Just to show you the fun stuff I've worked on, here are a couple of my assignments. It was a great class to get me thinking outside the box when I'm out and about with my camera! I hope you enjoy!!

Sparkle of Spring

Ground Level (my daughter's wacky converse!)

Daily Rounds
(having 3 girls active in Soccer and Volleyball my life is filled with one of these 'rounds'!)

Morning Rituals

I hope you all have a great week!! Stop by and say hello...join my Flickr group and let me see what you are working on! I have one (link on the sidebar) for Digital Friends Fun and also one for Photography! Don't forget to check out My Creative Classroom for the great class offerings beginning this week!!

Mark Your Calendars!

Some of you may have already received my recent email...some of you maybe not. I am working on the 2nd ScrapPink event to raise money for the Susan G. Komen Foundation. We had an awesome turnout last September when we held our first weekend crop for ScrapPink and we are hoping to do the same this year!! So, check your emails and mark those calendars for September 18-20, 2009!! If you aren't on my email list (or you didn't receive the email), leave a comment and I'll send one to you!

I've been busy working - both the regular day job and working hard on digital classes for My Creative Classroom! Many people have asked if I would teach them digital, so I decided that would be my focus for the Fall Semester at MCC. If you haven't been over there, you can visit the website at: www.mycreativeclassroom.com and check it out. There is also a place where you can sign up for a newsletter. This will keep you up to date on all the amazing classes that are offered. Summer is sort of quiet there, but we'll have TONs of great stuff for the Fall!

I've been fine-tuning my photography skills lately. I took a class at Better Photo.com and it was great. I learned quite a bit about my camera and how to use all the fun buttons on it. I've really been obssessed with my flowers and fun things like that. I plan to spend some time today going through the photos and picking out some of my favorites to enter in the 4H fair at the end of the month. How cool is this photo?? I thought the Butterflyweed was cool...the bonus of the bee was even cooler. I can believe how clear his face came out in the photo!

This gorgeous yellow lily is in my backyard...I have been snapping pictures like a crazy person. Each time a new bloom pops open, I have the camera in hand, snapping away. My plan is to do a digital scrapbook with all of the flowers around my yard. I have a pretty large list so far. This book will be huge!

I went to the Western Loudoun Artists Studio Tour weekend and visited some amazing studios in my area!! It was a couple of weeks ago and it was a tour around the western portion of Loudoun County. These talented people opened their studios for two days to show the public what they have. I was so inspired. I learned how to make silver jewelry (the actual silver pieces!!) and I signed up for pottery classes!! I just received my jewelry supplies and can't wait to start making my own silver. My pottery class was awesome. I enjoyed the first one and can't wait to go back and do more fun stuff this weekend!! I'll be sure to post pictures when I get finished pieces of both pottery and jewelry!

I hope you all had a great 4th weekend! We had a wonderful time at the lake with our family. I wish we didn't have to come back to reality. I keep pointing out this run down little house that I think would make a great coffee shop. Can you believe Smith Mountain Lake doesn't have a coffee shop!? Mike hasn't taken me seriously yet...one day maybe he'll surprise me. I think it would be great to have a little coffee shop with a side room of kreative stuff.

Until next time, I'll leave with a few fun snapshots from the 4th weekend...of course they are of the kids...my favorite subjects for photos! The three blondies are mine, the little brown haired cutie and the baby are my brother in law's little people.