Brighten Up

We've had quite a bit of rain here in my neck of the woods. Not that I mind. I really enjoy the rain! But, I also enjoy the sun at this time of the year. So, I figured I would do a little digiscrapping to brighten things up.

This kit from Laitha's Designs fit the bill. It's called Glowing Mind...and boy, does it GLOW!

So I dug around in my photos for a little something colorful. While I was in Ohio this Summer to visit family, my two best girlfriends did their first 5k, The Color Run. PERFECT! Then, a few weeks later, one of their daughters did a similar 5k called Color Me Rad. So, armed with some great colorful photos, this is what I came up with. 

Colorful enough?? Even though I LOVE color in my every day life, I usually shay away from such bold colors in my digiscrapping. But, I figured I'd give it a shot. Turns out, I like it!! :)

Autumn...again and again, Autumn

Honestly, I would be happy with Autumn year round. I'm sure I've said that before, haven't I?

Autumns here in the Silicon Valley area are very different from the Autumns in Ohio, where I grew up. In Ohio we had the leaves, the colors, the cooler weather, the frost....ahhhh!! I love all of it! Here, we have a tiny bit of colorful leaves, but we do have weather changes...the hot dry days of Summer give way to cooler days, with clouds and occasional rain. The cooler nights start first, then, before we know it, there's light rain, washing off the dust that has been sitting around since July.

I love it. After 13 years here, I'm learning the seasonal patterns, and falling in love with them. The migratory songbirds started showing up here a few weeks ago. White Crowned Sparrows spend the winter here in the trees and bushes beside our patio. Their cheery song and striking head stripes are always a delight to me, even when they wake me up at the crack of dawn after only two or three hours of sleep. I can't help it, I'm a bird girl.

13 years. Yup. October 9th was our 13th anniversary...yet another reason why I love Autumn.

I've been drooling over the Project 365 kits from Digilicious Designs. When I saw the October edition, I fell in love!!! Luckily my longtime friend, Jaymie, sent me some Ohio leaf love with her adorable sons!

What's your favorite season??

Summer??

Is it just me or did Summer just fly by? This is the first weekend of Fall, and I, for one, am so happy! I love this time of the year. The days may be shorter, but the cooling temperatures speak to me in so many ways.

Anyway.

Summer. Yes, Summer. I'm just getting around to scrapping my Summer photos, along with a few photos for family and friends. It seems that everyone ends up at the beach for at least one day during the Summertime. I'm lucky enough to live just a short drive from the Central California coast, and we take advantage of it as often as we can.

I have good friends and family that live in the lovely, landlocked state of Ohio. They took their little girl for her first trip to the Atlantic Seaboard this Summer, and it was an instant hit. Even Teddy got in on the sun!

The kit I used for this fun layout is called Fisherman's Wharf by the lovely Aimee Harrison.

Pretty As A Peacock

I have to admit it, I love peacocks. There's just something about the beautiful colors in those feathers that capture my eye every time. So, naturally I was thrilled to work with the Pretty As A Peacock Bundle from Digilicious Designs! All of those great blues and purples with a ton of yummy accent colors, and even a perfect collection of glitter styles ta boot. 

Spring Flashback

In 1998 I took off for the weekend with my good friends Dedra and Nichole for a camping trip at an Ohio music festival. One of our favorite bands, Ekoostik Hookah, was hosting a weekend campout/music festival on Memorial Day weekend and we decided we needed a break. We packed up my big ol car (Myrtle the Rockabilly Love Machine) and headed out!

In short, we had a BLAST. Seriously. It was a weekend that we will remember for the rest of our lives. Music, sun, people, and lots of fun. So much fun that it started a tradition for us. Every Memorial Day Weekend and Labor Day Weekend for the next couple of years we headed to Hookahville.

This is just the first of the layouts that I'm creating with some photos from various trips. For these two pages I've used the mini kit "No Boundaries 1" from Sweetmade Inc. over at the Digital Scrapbooking Studio. The bright colors and funky feel were perfect for this project! 

News and a Moon

Sorry for the absence here. Hm. Does anyone even read here?? Well, just in case....March was busy! I did scrap, but just couldn't sit down long enough to post much! Don't ya just hate it when that happens??

I have some news. I mentioned it up there in the title of this post, did ya see it?? Recently, one of my favorite designers, Aimee Harrison, had a CT call and I decided to give it a shot. Honestly, I didn't figure I'd get on her CT...after all, I'm still a rookie compared to lots of digiscrappers out there. But I wanted to try. Long story short, I am now a member of the Aimee Harrison Design Studio Creative Team!

My first outing on my new CT was with an amazing collection called Moonlit Nights. All I had to do was see the title and I KNEW I would love it. Look at it, it's amazing. The collection has sparkly glitters and TWO great alphas. I'm pretty sure I'm going to be coming back to this collection again and again.

For my first LO with this kit, I went in a little bit of an art journal direction. One of my favorite "quotes" immediately popped in to my head as I was opening up the kit and poured over the elements. Moons and stars and glitter....I was in heaven!

I'm going to print this one out and add a bit of extra sparkle to it then hang it in my art room to inspire me during my jewelry creating time!

More February Creations

Created with the All About Me Bundle a collab between Nibbles Skribbles and SCrappyCocoa over at the Digital Scrapbooking Studio

Love is in the air...

It's February, and naturally the digiscrap world turns it's eye (and ear!) towards Valentine's Day. I'm not normally one to celebrate Valentine's Day, it's just not my thing. Never really has been. But, when I saw the Je T'aime Bundle from Aimee Harrison Design Studios...I kind of fell in love!

The colors spoke to me. There's red and pink in there, of course, but the dark blue, black, and grey really put a great spin on the traditional V Day colors. Once I got my hands on the bundle, I got to work!

One of my best girlfriends was having some fun on a rainy day with her youngest girl and the camera. I love it when they do this! It's hard being across country from them, but adorable pictures like this help!

This is a photo that Hubby and I snapped in October. For the past few years, we've gone tot he beach on our anniversary and snapped a picture while we're there. This one is from 2011, our 12th anniversary.
 

Last but not least, the kit has some really pretty pale colored elements and papers that have a rustic/vintage feel to them, in my opinion. So, I found this great old photo online and tried to tell their story. I have no idea who they are, or what their story is...but I thought they were adorable!

This kit really is fun and versatile. I can see it being used for lots of things other than Valentine's Day!

So. Since we're talking about the big V Day...what are your plans?

Got it!

I figured out what to do for my second LO with the Spectrum Collection!

A Thankful New Year

I'm making a point to count my blessings this year. Today I am happy for my feet that still work. They won't stay that way. 15+ years of untreated Rheumatoid Arthritis took a toll on them and they are already showing signs of degeneration. But they're OK now, and for that I am THANKFUL.

Created with the Count Your Blessings Kit from ViVa Artistry over at the digi chick.

What are YOU thankful for?

A bit of self...

As this year comes to an end, I've realized that I let myself get knocked off track with my goal to improve my health this year. In 2010 I lost 50lbs, and wanted to continue that trend this year. Unfortunately, I didn't. BUT I didn't gain it all back either, just 10lbs.

I need to get back on track.

In order to do that, I joined a group of ladies online who are trying to do the same thing. We all have different goals. My goal is to continue to lose weight, and keep myself moving.

As part of this group, we were all encouraged to share our starting "stats" and a photo if we wanted to. I was really petrified about taking that picture. In a brief moment of courage, I had Hubby take a picture of me wearing nothing but my sports bra and walking pants. I figured I might as well do it!

Of course, I hate the picture, but I shared it with the group. The ladies there are all wonderful and supportive. I didn't die from embarrassment. I'm still here.

I decided to take that picture, and turn it in to something that I LIKED. A little photoshop, some elements and papers from Tangie Baxter, and voila! A self portrait ATC. I call it "Cut It Out"

 The picture I took wasn't the best, and my face was half lit and partially cut off. So I grabbed a face shot from another image and worked it in to this one. I used the 'cutout' filter for everything because I liked the look of it. The elements that I used are all from a few different kits by Tangie Baxter, mostly from her Dia de los Muertos kits. I chose those because my birthday is on Nov 2nd, which is Dia de los Muertos. I'm not Mexican, but I love the thought behind that holiday. The skirt came from a clip art pack that I downloaded some time ago, and I can't remember where I found it.

I'd like to turn this in to a series of ATCs. Each one done at a different point in my journey to health. Sounds like a plan to me!

December's Turquoise

In my other creative pursuits I'm a beader/Jewelry Artist. One of the things I love most about making jewelry is using all of the amazing stones that come out of the dirt beneath our feet. I was excited when I discovered Aimee Harrison Design Studio's Birthstone Kits! Each month has its own birthstone themed mini kit. I was instantly in love!

December's birthstone is Turquoise. I created these two LO's with the December's Turquoise Kit! The first one features my lovely niece Kelsey Mae. The second one features a vintage photo that I scrounged from somewhere online, I can't remember exactly where. Oops!

 The font used on this LO is Old Typewriter from DaFont

I know I will find myself coming back to this kit. This particular spectrum of blues speak to me like no other. It's icy, or bright, or deep....so versatile!

I hope you're all staying warm this month and gearing up for the holidays!

Brighten Up!

With the recent rains and cooler weather here, things were starting to look a bit drab outside my window. So, I decided to play with a kit that was nice and bright. The kit I used is called Funky Friends from Ruby Lane Designs over at The Digital Scrapbooking Studio. It's bright, and, well, funky!

Of course, I had to use a picture of one of my best funky friends and her beautiful daughter!

And another LO using a photo of my adorable niece. She's such a cutie!

With Thanksgiving then Kiddo's 14th birthday having just passed, I'm in recovery mode here. Gotta take it easy so I don't over do it and end up making myself have a flare. I did a couple of layouts with the theme of thanks. For me, I'm thankful that I know some of the most amazing and beautiful women. They inspire me in so many ways.

For these two LOs I used the November Mega Kit - Give Thanks. I really liked the "non traditional" colors used in this kit. Lots of purples and warm oranges. It's a beautiful combo, and it suits my beautiful friends perfectly!

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! Now it's on to Winter and all of it's Holidays!

November Beauty

I don't know how many times I can say that this time of the year really is my favorite. Is anyone counting?? November 2nd was my 37th birthday, then on Nov 8th one of my best girlfriends, Ashley, had her birthday.


I met Ashley when I went to a bead store in San Juan Bautista, she and her mother were the owners. She had such an infectious laugh that I ended up spending a lot of time there. We became fast friends. That was about  years ago or so. Almost a year ago she decided to close the bead shop and move up closer to San Francisco with her boyfriend. We used to be able to have some great hangout time around my bead table here at home. But now, the distance and her work schedule make that difficult. When we do get together, we have such a great time! She's one of the sweetest women I have ever met, and I'm so happy to have her in my life.

Both of these layouts were created using the kit November's Topaz by Aimee Harrison Design Studio. The kit really captures the glow of November's birthstone. Warm golden yellow and bronze with hints of brown and cream. It's available over at the Digital Scrapbooking Studio

Ashley's smile really lights things up. She has a way of making the air around her just glow with sweetness!

Autumn Blessings

I have to say...I miss Autumn in Southern Ohio. The trees...the leaves...the final harvest in the fields...and the Autumn rains. I can smell it just typing those words. On, bonfires, I can't forget those. That crackle, the woodsmoke, and watching the embers glow after the fire dies down. There's nothing like it, at least not in this part of California.

Being so Autumn sick, I've been immersing  myself in Autumn creativeness. It's one way to shake the blues!

Both of these pages were created with the kit Autumn Blessings, a collaboration between Linda Cumberland and Julie Cohen from The Digital Scrapbooking Studio

I hope you're all enjoying Autumn!
Blessings.
Peace.
Joy

Fall Goodies at The Studio

As of a couple of weeks ago I am now a member of the Creative Team over at The Digital Scrapbooking Studio. Part of my duties as a CT member is to create with new products from designers at The Studio. With Fall being in full sing now, both of the kits I am featuring today are Fall themed. :)

First off, I created a couple of layouts with the beautiful Autumn Grove Bundle from Digilicious Designs. The subtle colors of this kit really spoke to me. It has a very vintage feel to it, but in a modern kind of way. Does that make sense?? Anyway. First off is my niece Milora and one of my favorite pictures of her.

Isn't she a cutie? Her mom (my sister in law) made her little outfit for her. I thought it was perfect for the modern vintage feel of the kit. Up next, one of my best girlfriends and her little boy. He's now two years old, and I've been holding on to these photos for a while now. They're just so precious.

 

I think the kit worked perfectly for a more masculine theme as well. This yummy brown paper really pulled me in. It's so simple, but the color is just divine!   

Up next, a really fun and funky kit, Autumnal from Ruby Lane Designs. I'm a huge fan of the rich jewel tones in this kit, they remind me of autumn in southern Ohio. Ruby Lane will be a guest designer over at The Studio in November, so check back for links to her beautiful creations! 

Another page featuring the lovely Milora! That smile is infectious, isn't it?

This LO features a vintage picture of Maude Fealey. She was an actress in early silent films and also in "talkies", she starred in nearly every movie directed by Cecil B. DeMille. On top of that she had a somewhat successful career as a playwright and stage actress. Her beauty is, to me, quite captivating. 

 

So, what are you working on for Fall?