Playing with some actions!

Yeah, I totally wanted Photoshop CS4 so that I could play with actions..I admit it! As for my digi layouts and scrapping, PSE 6.0 is just fine, but...and it's been a big but for me, you can't do very many actions in PSE 6.0. I had a few actions installed but I really want to be able to use all the really cool ones I see out on the web...so...yeah, I bit the bullet and downloaded a trial version of CS4 (knowing full well, I'll be investing in it once my 30 days are up! LOL).

I haven't taken a lot of time to play with it...so much going on right now with the end of the school year and stuff...but, today, while in a moment of "what do I do with myself"-ness...I decided to just pick a random picture and use some of the free actions that I downloaded the other day from the Pioneer Woman's site! (great site by the way, you should totally check her out if you don't know of her already...great photo tip, recipes, all sorts of goodness can be found on her site!)

Now, first off...I just took a picture. Not a picture that I first did any adjusting too. I am just trying to see what these actions will do to a photo. I had a cute one of my boy Ozzi, so I used that. Here is the picture before I did anything to it:



then, I simply opened it into Photoshop CS4, and (I had already installed the actions) hit the Vintage action and viola..instant Vintage color and look!! I didn't stop there though...I figured, lets do the Quick Edge Burn, so I hit that and viola...love the edging it gave the pic!!



How freakin' cool! all I had to do was select the action, hit play and there it was!!! Gotta love the ease of that! I seriously think a girl could get hooked on playing around with these actions and I'm very sure that my investment into CS4 won't be for naught!

These are the only two actions I've tried out so far...they are my favorite looks so they got first try! I love anything vintage-y, shabby and aged...think I'll be printing out this picture and doing a "heritage" looking layout of my boy! Yay!

As for what else is going on in my life...let's see...Roger surprised me with a visit home! Yep, just waltzed right in the front door yesterday late in the day!! Gotta love surprises! He is here just a day, then off to Brazil for 5 days, then home again..not too bad!

My girl Cathy came over yesterday and we spent the afternoon playing in the sCRAP space! Got a cute card made with a new set of A Muse stamps I got (I'll post it tomorrow) and got a head start on some swap cards I need to do!

It's a long weekend, that's always a bonus and as we head into the new week..it's the last week of school for the girl!!!! YAY!! I am so looking forward to summer vacation...the ease of no schedules...warm weather...sun shiny days and a possible trip!!

So, there you have it...hope you all are having a fabulous Memorial Day weekend...be safe and...

Until next time,
Blessings!

Finally....Copics!

Is it really Sunday afternoon already? I mean....why is it weekends just go so fast? Although, truth be told, I'm looking forward to the next couple weeks coming, so that we can be done and finally on summer vacation! whoo hoo!!

It's been a really great weekend! Yesterday I got to spend the entire day playing with Copic markers and hanging with my girl Cathy! We headed out before the Copic bootcamp class we were taking, for a stop for lunch at the Pita Inn! Oh my heck, I just love Middle Eastern food...Falafels...oh yeah!!! I had a yummy salad and, of course, Falafel!! I swear, I could live on that stuff...hummus, falafels...pitas...soooo good!

After we ate, Cathy and I headed over to Craft Fancy for a Copic marker bootcamp being taught by Simone. We got 10 Copics as part of the class too...yippee!! I am always happy to add some more Copics to my collection! LOL

We spent 3 hours playing and learning all different techniques with the markers. It was fabulous! I learned a lot from Simone, a lot of tips and tricks and am now really jazzed about my markers! I had been trying to play with them, but was kinda frustrated as there seems to be a real learning curve with these babies! Now, I am feeling so much better equipped to create with them! I still have a lot of practicing to do, that's for sure, but with all the knowledge Simone gave me yesterday, I'll be able to play with them and get much better in time!

so, today...after finishing laundry, running to the grocery store and doing a quick clean up of the sCRAP room, I sat down and played! I made my first card using the Copics.

My mother-in-law just had knee replacement surgery (right at the time of my birthday in fact) so I thought a cute "feel better" card with a thank you included for my birthday gift would help to pick up her spirits while she recuperates!

I used my new Crafty Secrets stamp set "Feeling Yucky", some Crafty Secrets patterned paper, Stampin Up cardstock, Bazzill cardstock, Oval Nesties, ribbon and a cute vintage button, and Momento Tuxedo Black ink to create the card, as well as my Copics to color the little nurse in with!



Like I said, I need to really practice at the shading and that stuff, but I don't think she turned out too bad at all for my first attempt!

I used these Copics...



I hope she likes it as much as I enjoyed making it for her! That's pretty much how I spent the weekend, playing with paper and ink, what could be better!!? I'm off to grill the girl a steak and myself some chicken for dinner, so,

Until next time,
Blessings!

Today I am...

I was supposed to do this on Saturday, but the day just totally got away from me so lets just pretend..k?

I saw on someone's blog, this little version of a post. She does this every first of the month and I think that is such a cool thing, however, I decided that I would do this on the 9th of the month for the next year, starting with May 9th because, well, that is my birthday and technically, the start of "my" year! Like I said, I didn't get time on Saturday to post..and, I had a terrific birthday..didn't even spazz out about the fact that I was yet another year older..

Then came Mother's Day, another nice day for me, and so therefore, no time to post again! So....anyway, here it is...my "Today I Am" post! I will try my best to do this each month...but, forgive a girl if I forget...age and all ya know! LOL

Today I Am:

Listening:
to my hair bands! I seriously can't get enough of them. I do my 5 miles each morning to their spandex clad, big hair, pretty boy band music!! I never get tired of them...I don't think I ever will! Currently, I am really digging "Wind of Change" by The Scorpions.

Reading:
just started "Girl Meets God" by Lauren F. Winner. So far, not sure what I think...need a little more reading to fully decide on this one..

Obsessed With:
Mac makeup! Yep...started at Christmas time and it's still going strong! Also my scrapbooking obsession is always there and I have developed a real obsession with my eliptical!

Thinking About:
where to take the girl for a vaca this summer. Some thoughts are: New York City, San Francisco, Washington D.C., or Disney...still all up in the air right now...

Planning To:
start an Etsy shop. That's all right now...

Dreaming Of:
summer weather! I just want to be able to not think about what the temp is outside each day...just want warm, barefoot, days!

Enjoying:
Grey's and LOST....hate that they are ending this week...boo!

Vowing to:
always vowing to enjoy each moment, not let little things stress me out and to keep moving forward with myself...

Working on:
nothing currently! Need to get a project going and soon!

Excited About:
summer break! Not having to be up at the butt crack of dawn!

So, there you have it! Just a few things that are "me" today! I can tell you that having my birthday this year was wonderful for me...no stressing about getting older...I've taken matters into my hands....taken steps to make myself feel better about life, love and me, and it's working! I look forward to a new year, full of new experiences and comfortable healthy habits! I smile when I think about the possiblities ahead and I can't wait!

As for scrappy stuff....haven't really done much since the wedding album. I did manage to eek out a card for my mom...had fun playing with some new Crafty Secrets papers (new to me) and I wanted to give this card a really feminine feel...used some pretty antique trim I found at the local antique mall, used a chipboard butterfly to which I painted, spritzed with some Glimmer Mist and then added a touch of glitter to...some sewing, distressing and the addition of pearls (I love pearls) helped to finish it off! I also used my Nesties to make the "Mom" embellie and some Heidi Swapp gems for a little bling (I was too lazy to cut them apart..oh well..LOL)...




I do have a bunch of new scrappy fun stuff to play with, just gotta find the time to use it!


Until next time,
Blessings!

Drag Me To Hell - Official Trailer

Okay, ya'll know how much I love horror flicks...this one is gonna be a MUST SEE for me!! And...and...it's got Justin Long in it too..sweet!!!!

Shari's Wedding Album

I can now share with ya'll the album that I made for my sister Shari for her wedding. Shari had asked me awhile back if I would make her guest book for her. She didn't want to buy one of those cheap, cheesy ones at a store and she also wanted it to be more than just a sign in book, she wanted to be able to incorporate some pictures into it as well. I immediately said yes and then immediately panicked!! LOL I mean, come on, a wedding is a big deal and here I was going to make her book, one that would be her keepsake of her big day and something I had never done before!! In the end, I think she was really pleased with it (she cried and told me it was beautiful so I think that means she liked it!!) and I had a great time making it for her! It really caused me to think outside of the box too. I couldn't find any patterned papers that I liked (her colors were chocolate brown and ivory) so I went digi! Yep, this is truly a hybrid project. All of the patterned papers are digital papers by Katie Pertiet that I printed out and used. I also used Bazzill cardstock, and incorporated lots of distressing, machine sewing, stamping etc. Some of the pages I did by using a digital element (Rhonna Farrer's beautiful elements) and printing it directly onto cardstock! If you have any questions about something I used or did, just shoot me a comment!

At the wedding, I had a bunch of people comment to me on how beautiful the book was and the wedding coordinator, who is a digi scrapper, told me it was gorgeous and that I must really be an artist! Wow!! She then told me that she could never do anything like that, especially since she does only computer scrapbooking, to which I told her "no way, this is all digi papers I just printed!!" it was pretty funny!!

Anyway, here is the album if you'd like to take a peek!

Sealed in stone!!

That's it ya'll...I'm soooo moving to Arizona as soon as I can!! Mandi needs to finish off 3 more years of high school and then we are outta here!

Can I just tell you how freakin' hard it was to come back to the cold, grey, ugly Midwest after being in all that glorious heat!? Yeah, you all who wanna say "it's too hot...", I like hot!! I don't like months and months on end of cold!! I'll take searing temps over freezing temps any day, and that is that!!! LOL

Here's one of Mandi and I the day we left AZ..yeah, had to put a sweatshirt on for Chicago..ugh!



And, no trip to Arizona would be complete with a stop at Sonic and a Cherry Limeaid! This was Mandi's first visit to Sonic..she is now a fan as well!! LOL!!



Don't mind dorky me...I love my Cherry Limeaid and I saved up major calories all week so I could endulge in one..just a small one but it was sooooo delish!!

The wedding was fabulous! Shari looked gorgeous...totally gorgeous! I'm waiting on the photographer to have the pics up on his site so that I can order some and share them with ya'll! I didn't take one picture at the wedding! Well, come on..how was I gonna do that, being in it and all...no way I wanted to lug around a camera afterwards either...I knew that I could get some kick ass pics from the pro's so I'm not worried! Sorry...ya'll will just have to wait a bit for them!

Mandi looked beautiful! The hairdresser who did her "do" did such a fabulous job! I can't wait to share her pics either!! Both her and I survived the nerves of walking down the aisle (thankfully we walked with a guy), and the minister was wonderful...full of personality, totally laid back and he gave a "short" service!! LOL

All in all, it was a beautiful wedding and a ton of fun at the reception! I sure wish the time had been longer...3 days just isn't enough when you don't see your sista that often, but I'm looking to go back and visit in September...gotta work in a Carol Wingert class too!!

Anyway, that's it for now...not a ton to share...just been hanging out...haven't scrapped anything since the wedding album..oh yeah, now I can share that!! I'll post that tomorrow for anyone who is interested in seeing it! Shari totally loved it (whew!)...and I'll have to share the beautiful gift she gave me for being her Matron of Honor..hee hee...I cried...yeah, sappy but I did!

humm...lets see, anything else to say??? Not much...up to 5 miles a day now and it's feeling great...nothing like hair bands to get your feet moving...some of my fav's right now are:
Tesla
Dokken
Cinderella and of course,
The Scorpions!!

I actually asked the DJ at the wedding to play a favorite Scorpions tune (well..it is Roger and my song!! LOL) but he never did, I actually think I kinda scared him!! (Wuss!)...and, the crowd probably wouldn't have made it through it either..but, come on!!!

Anyway, I'll leave you with "our song" playing....it's an oldie but a goodie!!
Until next time,

Blessings!