Creative: Join The Creative Team I Work With!

Celebrate: Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to an amazing Dad. Commited, dedicated, wise, caring, thoughtful, fun and just plain awesome!!! The photo above was taken Spring of 2007 the girls with their Daddy.

Dad putting suntan lotion on Jasmine, swim lessons summer 2008 (above).

At the wedding last year.

We love you, Daddy!!!

Hope you have a great day,

Anika and Jasmine

Create: Learning Collaging for Canvas

The first 1.5 inches of each side would be wrapped on the side of a canvas. The line on the right hand side of the image will not show since it will be the crease of the canvas. Just posting this online so I can get a better view of it. I am not ready to print to canvas yet. They cost about $100 and I am not that happy with my brush work! Someday.

Here we go...take two:

Getting a little better.

Give Me Direction: Photo Mats (Photoshop Elements)

Hello. I love to mat photos that I place into frames. The color of the mat you select can truly make the photo pop. The same goes for paper or digitial scrapbooking.

Do not forget to mat your photos when you digitally scrap. Once or twice even. Play with different colors under your photo to see which really make it pop. My suggestion, with layouts which have more than one photo, is to select one photo to be the main focal point. Double mat this one (in two different colors). This will unconsciously bring more attention to it.

Here are instructions for matting photos in Photoshop and PSE. (There are a few ways to do it but this way is easiest for me.)

Place your photo wherever you want it, then on a new layer {under your photo}, use your square tool - or circle or whatever shape you like - create a shape. Then drag whatever paper you want your mat to be and put it on the layer above your shape, but below your photo, so your layers should look like this:

photo

paper

shape

With the paper layer selected, hit ctrl+g and it will clip it to the shape you created. Once it's placed how you like it, do ctrl+e to merge the paper and shape layers together.

 

You are finished!

“When one begins to purposefully perform acts of kindness, the spirit changes and soon doing good deeds becomes a focal point for our life; doing good begins to be the same as feeling good. The periods of emptiness when we search for the "meaning of it all" begin to fill with acts of kindness.”
- unknown

Creative: Mermaid Adventures

Finally found time to scrapbook! This photo was taken last week right in my own back yard! It is not always easy to create layouts that are not too feminine when it comes to pictures of my husband and the girls. I used Mermaid Lagoon kit by Britt-ish Designs and the font urania cz for journaling.
I plan to remove this photo, the journaling, the title and create a new layout with photos we may take at Ariel's Grotto this July at California Adventure. Our reservations for next month have been booked at the grotto. Summer has officially started for us so let the adventures begin!
(The kit can be found at Scrapmatters.com) Allow me to confess, I scrap lifted a layout from Britt herself. (Click here to see the layout I scrap lifted and additional layouts made with the kit in the scrapmatters shop.)

Freebie: Feeling Punchy?

Chellow, I found another cute kit by one of my favorite designers Vinnie Pearce called Punch Elements. I can imagine using this for school layouts, summer layouts or just journaling life in general!

Click here to download your free kit. There are a few inspirational layouts found on the download page too. Happy Summer!

Fantastic layout by parrfunkel!

Freebie: Ocean Breeze

Ciao! I found a nice freebie kit on the Two Peas In a Bucket website. The hibiscuis flower is pretty and I bet it can be colored too. Let me see a layout you create with it.

There are also about five layouts made with this kit on this same link as the download area to inspire you.

Click here for Ocean Breeze

(I do not promote or design for this designer or anyother Two Peas designers. I just share!)

Awesome: Sahlin Studios Creative Team Call

What would be greater that digital scrapbooking for fun? Doing it for one of my favorite designers Sahlin Studios! The admin part sounds fun for me...but I work a lot and have kids so someone with  more time on their hands should apply! Her designs are fabo!

Participate in the MouseScrappers.com template challenge Sahlin Studios is hosting here Check out the template....with the Mickey head! SO adorable!

Freebie: Tropical Paradise

This quick page is free from wm squared designs. The bright, summery fun colors are enough to encourage me to spend more time in the sun this weekend, take a few shots of my fam and pop them into this quickie page! Thanks for the great freebie, wm squared designs!

Grab it from her blog right here.
The kit which was used to make this freebie is great. The textured, matted alpha looks very useful. I like the fun factor these summer embellishments have. Stamped palm trees?! Popsicles?! I can NEVER own enough beach and summer themed kits. How about you?

Love this kit (I do not work for or promote for wm squared designs I just love this product.)