My return to camp

I finished my first 2017 Slipper Camp Workout: 
"Printing out at least three great photos from 2017 and putting them in prominent places." 

In February 2016 I attended what we call "Art Camp" again.
This photo is from a walk with my dearest friends Lynn & Jill.
I digitally created a fun photo keepsake for them in Oct. 2016.
Now the photo is on the magnet board above my monitor. 

This Polaroid of Owen was already up. (Bonus for me--smile.) Interesting to note: Owen goes directly to that photo and makes a comment every time he comes in our house.

Owen is my grandson by way of my God-daughter Brittany. 

October 2016-- weekend in a cabin with my friend Nanette.
We hadn't seen each other in over 7 years.
Thanks to Slipper Camp exercise one I see this photo every day.
My dresser top looks like inspiration for another exercise, right?

I had my first birthday party in several years in 2016. The photo now happily resides on our fridge door.

Slipper Camp: A kinder, gentler boot camp designed to promote living well every moment.

Camp Motto: Being kind to yourself makes you strong.

Checkout my personal progress and all the tasks on http://www.artfultourist.blogspot.com/ (search key word slipper camp)

Follow along with the  Slipper camp tasks on the Live Safe, Live Well Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/kNACkofit?ref=br_rs

Starting Somewhere

“You have to start somewhere.” Here’s the somewhere I’m starting.

 Details of my departure

My brother died. I had no idea I would grieve for this long. I managed his meager but complex estate which took up a chunk of time as well as continuing to work through my grief.  He died in November of 2014.

I don’t keep a blog to make money. I tried to do it a bit in the past and it was too tricky for me to write and link and place ads and so on… I don’t edit my photos either. I’d rather be making art than creating a blog of perfection.

I lost my website. All 300+ pages. If everything that has ever been on the internet is still on the internet—would someone please find mine? I am relieved in some ways, but overwhelmed by putting it back up. 

I'm scheduling some posts ahead, so there is possibility of consistency for the next few weeks. 

David, me, and Sir Henry during our first summer with 

David (2011) in Florida. We loved eating tuna salad made with

our cousin Faye's homemade pickles.

Recipe by request

I put a picture of this classic family cake on my personal Facebook page and tagged lots of cousins. There were some wonderful comments and lots of "likes" so I am publishing the recipe here.

Burnett Plain Cake

—from the kitchen of Norma Anne Chattin by way of my Grandma Lizzie who claimed this recipe went further back than she did….

This is written the way she wrote it so it’s not in typical recipe fashion and that’s part of the charm.

Cream together:

·         1 cup butter

·         ½ cup Crisco shortening

·         3 cups sugar

Add:

·         1 teaspoon salt

·         ½ teaspoon baking powder

Alternately Add:

·         3 cups all-purpose flour

·         1 cup canned milk (not sweetened condensed but canned milk)

Add :

·         1 teaspoon vanilla

·         1 teaspoon other flavoring extract (mom likes lemon, I like almond, it’s also great with 2 teaspoons of REAL vanilla extract like Watkins)

Add one at a time:

·         5 large eggs

Beat really well and then beat it some more—the longer the better

Pour batter in to wax paper lined classic tube cake pan* and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Cake will be golden brown.

Remove from pan before completely cool and store in airtight container.

*A note on the pan—our tube cake pans have been passed along for ages and are the kind with a removable bottom which is why you need the wax paper lining. Use just enough wax paper to keep batter from leaking. The “crust” on this cake is one of its most magnificent features and the wax paper doesn’t allow the crust to form as well.

Something to Crow About

One of my digital greetings I use on Facebook.

Happy 10-year anniversary to www.NAChattin.com!

I’m no pioneer, but at the same time, I’m not a babe in the internet woods either. My web site, www.nachattin.com has been live since April 2002

Sir Henry set up the initial account for me to create www.NAChattin.com as a showcase area for my writing and creativity coaching. The site has introduced me to so many fabulous people and places. I’ve published over 500 pages, gone through three major format overhauls, and worn out 5 keyboards.

The internet has moved self-publishing from a few ‘Vanity Press” operations to a global phenomenon. I am reminded of the colonial era when anyone with access to a printing press and an opinion could create a newspaper. Or perhaps the early days of Rock ‘n Roll when performers could grab their guitar and walk into a place like Sun Studios to make a record.

As princess of my very own unwieldy domain, I have not changed the world and I definitely haven’t made my first million. Then again, that’s not what I set out to do. I have had a blast--and that is defenately my intention as I continue forward with life as the Artful Tourist.

Thank you to everyone that has ever visited my blog since 2007 or my web site. I am honored.

Time flies

Seriously, I missed posting for an entire month? Just assume if I'm not posting that I'm off having too much fun. Life is good.

Setting up a series of posts today to give me some air time in March.

2012 Digi-Scrap projects

I've been creating at least 3 new Digi Scrap designs every month this year with the goal of continuing this process. I'm using the prototypes and extras in my visual art journal too.

Here's one of the January entries that I created with a kit from Crow-About-Studios at Deviant Scraps. The kit is called "She's a Doll"

I've become a big fan of downloading photos from the Facebook pages of my friends and family. This is a photo taken from my niece Kate's album. Kate is my heart and her daughter Hailee is my heart's delight.

Dino Wall Art now on exhibit at Paper Temptress Community Blog

I'm designing for the Paper Temptress and loving the inspiration from all the amazing papers available through this company. I'll be posting one project per month for the community blog along with playing on their new "soon to be released" challenge blog too.

My first submission is called Dino Wall Art and it's a hybrid layout that has been framed to hang on our wall. I used the Silver Lustre text weight papers for printing my design and they make such an incredible difference on printed digital layouts. You have to see it. This paper puts a whole new spin on digitally based paper art.

The whole point of posting my designs to the PT blog is for you to go visit the PT blog so I can't give you lots of detailed pictures here. I will, however, give you a tiny peek to whet your appetite. Look for an additional post next week with more detailed information on the project including resources for the frame.

Even on this tiny sneak peek you can see the cool textures of the papers and ribbons that were all from Paper Temptress.

Be sure and scroll through all the recent posts on the PT blog for some great ideas and inspiraiton. The team members are all inspiring artists. Leave a comment too and tell them I sent you so they'll let me "keep my job" --smile.

Chocolate Covered Goodness

Artful Tourist blog posts may be viewed chronologically and in their entirely by visiting www.artfultourist.blogspot.com .


The Christmas season took over my heart and just about everything else for the past two months. I am so grateful for such a joyful and wonderful time of giving and receiving.

Working Backwards
Just as I teach in my workshops, when you get behind in journaling or scrapbooking, start with the most recent and work backwards as desired. Enjoy the moment you’re in right now. The moment of the last 48 hours has been one of gratitude. I created a new series of cards yesterday that I call “Chocolate Covered Recycling.”

The base for these are card blanks and envelopes given to me at least 4 years ago by my precious friend Bridget as a Christmas gift. They were white and sized 5” by 7”. For some reason, the stark white canvas and/or the size just kept me from opening and using these packs.

Adhering to my commitment to use more of what I have laying around—I pulled out these card blanks to start working on some thank you notes. Also sitting on my table in the studio were some mail catalogs that came in over the holidays.

Tip: I keep these mail catalogs around as a surface for “glue waste” on my projects. You can rub glue off the project and onto the surface of the catalog pages—then just turn the page and get a fresh surface for the next little scrap that needs gluing. Once the catalog pages are all glued together you can still pop it into the recycling bin.



The Godiva™ catalog was just too pretty to use as glue scraps and I started tearing and punching images out of the catalog to play with on the pure white background of the cards. All five cards I completed in about an hour are posted in the recycled project gallery that is new to the web site this week. http://www.nachattin.com/Gallerymain.html

Digital Greetings
Finally, in the interest of the environment this year we also prepared a digital Holiday card. I posted it on Facebook and emailed it to many others, but just in case you didn’t get your copy—here’s a reprint just for you. May your 2010 be filled with wonder and abundance,

Regular Features




Surf stops—web sites I’ve visited recently:


http://www.king.com/ to play the Chuzzle game which is really the old version of Bejeweled.






Mind Map with Mind Meister-- http://www.mindmeister.com/content/product






Touch of color—what color(s) influenced me— Silver sparkles






Pleasing sounds- Children laughing






Studio progress: Creating a mind map of my vision for the studio






In the kitchen— Steam fresh asparagus in the microwave with McCormick’s ™ vegetable seasoning and Promise™ spread






Austerity Plan progress ($15.00 per month for art supplies and tools): It’s all a blur for December, I don’t think I went over budget on my studio, but I did pick up a lot of stuff for gifting.






Points of Interest: (random things I’ve paid attention to lately) Snow fell in south Florida all month. We took the neighbor girls to CityPlace on Christmas Eve, Eve and had a blast.

My opinion and where it may lead: I married the right man for the job.

"Have a little faith...

there’s magic in the night. You ain’t a beauty but hey, you’re alright….and that’s alright with me.”
--Bruce Springsteen, Thunder Road

This has to be one of my all time favorite quotes. It’s like permission for all the “not media perfect” girls to feel as desirable as Mary who “like a vision she dances across the porch as the radio plays.”

Today, I don’t just apply those words to myself but I apply them to my creative endeavors too. Not everything has to be absolutely “media perfect.” If you get a photo you’re not crazy about you can adjust it in your software or layer a sheer covering like vellum over it or make it small as an accent or make it large as a blurry background or crop out a tiny area that you like…and that’s just with photos. Celebrate the moment with your creativity. Celebrate all the human imperfections that make the world interesting and transfer that celebration to your art.

My camera’s battery was on its last leg when we went downtown for the July 4th celebration this year. It might snap one picture and then it needed to rest for 5-8 minutes before another photo could be attempted. Just trying to turn the flash off for fireworks shots sent it into a blinking nothingness that wouldn’t allow the view screen to work.

I didn’t ever try to download those July 4th photos until today and even then, it was just to empty the camera before taking it out again. But just tooling around in PhotoShop™ for a few moments and I had a fun little photo. I finished it off with another favorite quote from one of my favorite movies.

Enjoy, relax and have a little faith.


Regular Features-----------------

Surf stops—web sites I’ve visited recently:

Embellished Dreams-Heidi Blankenship’s blog—This was one of the launch preview blogs for Spellbinder’s newest line of dies. They are called pendants and are really intracite dies that layer and layer and well, they’re almost too cool to describe…. Heidi is a member of Spellbinders’ Design Team and the team for Just Rite Stamps. All her blog entries are well photographed with lots of details.

Shameless Plug http://www.nachattin.com/gallerydigital.html —I added a new digital gallery to my web site recently. I hadn’t realized how many digital designs I had completed until I started adding them to the site. I still consider myself quite a novice, but I’m enjoying the process.

Touch of color—what color(s) influenced me— Navy blue and lime green. I went thrift store shopping with Sir Henry last weekend and I kept being drawn to these colors.

Most played song- That would be Thunder Road by Bruuuuuuce Springsteen-- weren’t you paying attention earlier?

Studio progress: Zip, nada, nothing, sigh…..I

In the kitchen— Party in Your Pasta Salad meal—great idea for busy day dinners and hot summer nights:
1 box Kraft bacon ranch pasta salad mix prepared as directed
Add about ½ to 2/3 pound of pre-grilled or cooked chicken tenders, cut veggies in bright colors like sweet red and yellow peppers, carrots, peas, broccoli, and cherry tomatoes.
Supplement with more mayonnaise and ranch seasoning or dressing as needed.
Add additional flavor with McCormick’s salad seasoning, more bacon bits, salt, pepper, and sprinkles of flax seeds.
Serve on a salad plate over a bed of mixed greens alongside slices of sharp cheddar cheese, wheat crackers, and seedless grapes.
Yields 6-8 servings

Austerity Plan progress ($15.00 per month for art supplies and tools): Once again, I have been too busy to shop for supplies and I haven’t started any projects this week either. I do have a list now so I’ll probably report some spending soon.

My opinion and where it may lead: When you have heart concerns, it’s heart disease. When you have kidney issues, it’s kidney disease. When you have a mental imbalance—it should be brain disease. Regardless of what you call it, health insurance coverage should be just that—coverage.
And while I’m at it—things like periodontal disease and eye sight that has to be corrected for the purposes of functioning every day should also be a health issue covered by fair and equitable health coverage for everyone in this country. Hey, the topic does say opinon….

After arriving home with 100+ photos I immediately began digital scrapping. These are from shots of my niece and her fiancé at their new little home on the lake. Next Henry took off to see our grandson so here’s a quickie of sweet Sam too.

There were no posts while I was traveling because I didn’t want to lug my ancient lap top around and I thought I could use other computers as I traveled. I did get a few moments on other computers, but I didn’t do more than post status on Facebook and return a few emails. After all, what are vacations for if not to get away?

Now that I’m home I’ve already done some digital scrapping and I created three traditional pages yesterday along with four cards last week during my recovery time from my journey. I mailed the cards without scanning, so those are lost to the wind, but I’ll scan the layouts soon. The layouts are nothing fancy, I'm just trying to finish the majority of our wedding book before our first anniversary-wry smile.

My last post before I left was about making handmade journals. I didn’t want to post any of the party decorations I was working on because I hated to give away the surprise. Naturally, I didn’t take too many pictures of those either…sigh. What I did was create some fun digital designs and then layered them onto cardstock, stands, and sticks to make 3-D décor for Katie’s shower.

Pictured here are some the original designs along with a shot of the balloon bouquet I made. Her theme was tie dye and we all dyed white baby things at the shower. I narrowed the field a little and made the decorations with a Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds kit downloaded free from http://www.digiscrapaddicts.com/

Regular Features

Surf stops—web sites I’ve visited recently:

www.hulu.com – Great safe site to watch TV shows and movies. I watched four seasons of “Rescue Me” in May and June and now I have a new favorite TV show.
http://candyscraps.typepad.com/scrappylinks/ -Feed your addiction with great links to cool sites, new products, and freebies every week.

Touch of color—what color(s) influenced me— I found some color combinations that are hot for weddings this year. I worked with one I liked on digital and traditional scrapping: deep burgundy and orange.

Most played song- Learning to Live on Love by Mike Cross. I couldn’t find a snippet on online, but you can hear some other samples from this gifted artist on his web site http://www.mikecross.com/discs.asp

Studio progress: Ashamed to say, it’s a wreck after getting Kate’s shower ready and then coming home with an irresistible urge to create cards and pages. I’ve done 4 cards and 3 traditional scrapbook pages since I got home. It’s on the list this week…

In the kitchen— inspired by the cheesy chowder from one our favorite Ashland restaurants since 1979 when I first landed at Randolph-Macon College—the Smokey Pig. http://www.thesmokeypig.com/ I created my own version.Essentially, sauté onions in chicken broth, add more broth and frozen soup veggie mix plus extra frozen corn and boil for 5 minutes before lowering heat and adding cheddar cheese soup and/or Ragu cheesy sauce or Velveeta. Season as desired, I added all-purpose Greek seasoning and something new to us called MoJo seasoning. Just comment on the blog if you want specific measurements.

Austerity Plan--- progress ($15.00 per month for art supplies and tools): Haven’t spent a penny in this direction so far in June. My opinion and where it may lead: Although it took a lot out of me to drive 2500 miles across six states—I’d do it again in a heartbeat (or at least after a week’s rest) to be with my loved ones. Mamma always said, “Family is family,” and I totally appreciate that.

My opinion and where it may lead: Although it took a lot out of me to drive 2500 miles across six states—I’d do it again in a heartbeat (or at least after a week’s rest) to be with my loved ones. Mamma always said, “Family is family,” and I totally appreciate that.

Catching Up

I've been too busy creating to blog--which is how it should be some weeks. My apologies. I've had my own version of March Madness and like the tournament--it's spilled into April. Here are some of my recent layouts in no particualar order. Click to enlarge if you want to see more detail. Coming soon are all the cards and altered art I've made...wheeeeeeeeeee

Look who tried Smilebox today

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

In my ongoing research into digital scrapping for beginners I tried out Smilebox today. My review:

Advantages to Smilebox:
** lots of templates already created using well-known designers and paper companies

**You can pick an album based on theme and number of photos you wish to include.

**It is easy and fast.

**You can add all kinds of music to play while album is running.

**The basic service is free.

**There are very thorough instructions at the end to email your creation or post it to Facebook or blog.

Disadvantages:
**it's not your design, you just put pictures and jounaling into their designs.

**There is a fee to print each album or you can sign up for their monthly service fee to print all albums

**When you use the free service your viewers have to look at ads beside your album and it won't open full screen

New, Improved, and New Again

I’ve been a busy woman on the computer this week. Prepare for information overload.

New Article: Finally, a continuation in the Quick Card Series has been published at Suite 101. I had to reactivate my writer status because it had been so long. The new topic is fast cards with stickers and rub-ons. The previous articles in the series can be linked there too if you’ve been away as long as I have….

New Gallery: On the web site I put up a gallery of the wedding and honeymoon pages I’ve created since August. I still haven’t scanned the photo guest book, but it hasn’t been completed yet either… http://www.nachattin.com/Gallerymain.html

Melting Pot Jewelry Gallery: I don’t know why the link to this gallery was not active, but now it is active and you can see samples from the workshop called “Jewels from the Melting Pot.” All the samples are pins or pendants. http://www.nachattin.com/gallerymeltingpotjewels.html

Cards: I have some February birthdays to honor and I’ve been making cards this week. The cupcake one is using leftovers from my most recent Pine Cone Press club kit. (I’m still following the Within Reach Doctrine this week). The accordion step card was inspired by a tutorial from Split Coast Stampers. http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=389752 The tutorial here will link you to their gallery and more.

Tutorial: I’ve started a series on the website about digital paper crafting. The introduction page is up with a link there to the first section on Cameras, Scanners, and Folders. I have been unable to find a resource that combines digital photo improvement with digital scrapping and I get asked about it all the time. I hope to get the cropping and lighting section up this week. http://www.nachattin.com/articledigitalovervw.html

New Product: My delightful friend and Pine Cone Press Club leader, Lynn Barwald, got me hooked on a new tool this week. Check out her website and more information on PCP here http://www.barwald.com/luckycharmcrafts.htm The tool is called Fingertip Craft Knife by Fiskars. The loop slides on your finger and gives you amazing control. I’ve tired a lot of craft knives and always come back to my faithful straight blade X-acto™ but now I am a changed woman. http://www.michaels.com/art/online/displayProductPage?productNum=sb0778

Freebie: Lisa Vollrath is offering great images for Valentines Day that you can print and/or save to print. Have some fun! http://countdown.tentwostudios.com

Oh my, oh my

I've waited too long and now I have too many different things to write about. I've been on a bit of digital kick lately so I'll start there. The layout above is not quite right, but I can't decide how to fix it. PLEASE, if you have suggestions let me know.

The papers on the layout are what's got me excited. I found a new resource for digital elements on a site called Marks paper company. www.markspaperco.com Their digital and traditional papers all look like fabric and I love the texture. The kit I bought featured more florals with these papers and I added holiday elements and a quote from my favorite resource, Designer Digitals.

Marks Paper Company is looking for designers to join their team. The information is on the site. They look like a fun new company to me.

Speaking of digital scrapping (and beyond) I've joined a cool new art community called Jean's Art Dolls. It's a forum and gallery of about 200 members registered and I estimate about 30-40 active. I love this group because they are very friendly, supportive, and open minded. They really foster the daring and the different yet they embrace the traditional and the beginner too. You can join them by visiting www.jeansartdolls.com

Jean invited me to be a part of their design team and I happily agreed. So far, I've taken more of a digital role since that area seemed to need some attention. This attention to digital has been the impetus for my new series of articles on digital paper crafting. You can follow along with me at http://www.nachattin.com/articledigitalovervw.html

Alrighty, I think this sums up most of my topics of the moment. Hopefully in upcoming posts I'll touch on the What Works series, templates, sketches, and some other fun things running through my mind. Be kind to yourself--it makes you strong.

Being (creatively) Kind to Yourself

Figuring it Out
One of my greatest “ah-ha” moments was when I accepted (and subsequently incorporated into my life) the phrase, “Being Kind to Yourself Makes You Strong.”
I was studying “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron at the time learning about creativity. The whole AW course was begun in response to my diagnosis of Fibromyalgia. I was feeling helpless, critical, and angry.

My first reaction to the being kind premise was that it sounded very selfish and self-indulgent. I had a vision of myself in fluffy high heel shoes and a lounging gown eating bon-bons. After all, I was heavily influenced by generations of hard-working, long sacrificing women who believed idle hands were the devil’s playground. Something wasn’t worth doing unless it was worth doing for the benefit of someone else.

Insert Light Bulb on Top of Head
What I finally grasped was that being kind to yourself doesn’t mean being selfish, it means nurturing yourself which ultimately benefits you and those around you. When you can give fully of yourself because you have been kind to your body and soul—everyone does benefit.

There are scads of ways to be kind to yourself. Simple, yet hard to achieve at times, activities such as exercising, taking in proper nutrients, resting, going for a walk, reading a meditation, and, of course, creating for creativity’s sake. Create something you will enjoy without regard for other’s opinions or tastes.

Doing projects like my art journal, pages of words and images created for myself, inspires me to create more traditional projects for others. Handmade gifts for the holidays are a staple in my life. They allow me to do more than I could if just buying things in the store.

When I create a gift for others though, I do give thought to the recipient’s tastes and décor since I want to communicate love in ways they understand. By allowing my self free reign in my journals and scrapbooks, I can better create for others as gifts.

Try a Project Just for Yourself
This year Sir Henry and I made handmade calendars for our generation and parents along with customized potato chip cans for nieces and nephews. I’ve created a web page with instructions and more photos of both projects:

Hybrid Calendars - http://www.nachattin.com/articledigitalcalendar.html
Digital Snack Can Covers - http://www.nachattin.com/articlepringle.html

We couldn’t show these projects before Christmas because we understand we have a few blog readers in the family (love you). So here are the projects now with the encouragement to creative souls to try them for YOURSELF and enjoy the freedom of no-restraint art to start your year off right.

Home again, Home again

Thanksgiving was abundant and busy for us as we traveled to Virginia. Our action packed trip was made in Henry's car, affectionately known as Bruinhilda because she can be a bit witchy at times. Recap: 1200 miles, 25 relatives, countless hugs, extravagant feasts of the traditional and shell fish variety, and ridiculously cold weather for this Florida flamingo... We are grateful for a safe and happy journey.

Kaleidoscope Your Layouts

Thanks to digital manipulation we can create scads of gifts and projects from layouts already assembled in our scrapbooks and photos we have on our computers. The samples above show a layout from my scrapbook inserted into the Kaleidoscope Kreator 2.0 and transformed into a completely different layout.

The generous folks at KK gave me a copy of this software when I was active as a designer in the industry. They now have a new version scheduled for release in January. http://www.kaleidoscopecollections.com/ The software was fun and easy to use. They usually use just photos in their samples but I loved the look of doing an entire layout. Plus I feel like I get more bang for the effort since I can keep one and give the other away.

Other gift ideas

My friend Paula sent me a link today for Scrapbook.com. I have no affiliation with this site but I immediately loved a couple cool things there. First they have a fun Christmas contest/promotion going with prizes and great deals. http://www.scrapbook.com/blog/view/133083.html

There's also a great blog entry about making holiday gifts from scrapbook supplies. I really love their photos and the instructions make it seem doable. http://www.scrapbook.com/blog/view/130843.html

Hopefully we'll clean and decorate our place this week. We had every intention of starting before Thanksgiving, but just couldn't put that in motion. Our neighbors up the street have already done scads of outdoor lights, blow up figures, and other festive regalia--we just can't get going that early. Perhaps we'll leave ours up until Valentine's day....smile.

Thanksgiving with digital...

I greet you with an attitude of gratitude. Lots of creative adventures around here as we prepare for the oncoming holidays.

Today Miss Betty mailed me some of her creativity—what a joy. I got a handmade card and an adorable magnetic note pad. I hope to scan, but I don’t have time at the moment. Thanks!

I’ve been wrapping gifts for folks I won’t see again before Christmas. I just love getting those ready early. I did finish my “special project” for gifts, but I’m still not spilling the beans about it since the recipients will be reading before it’s time to open.

Photos are of more digital projects I’ve had fun putting together:
Left layout is of my brother's family at Christmas last year and the layout on the right is from our wedding in August. Sir Henry's brother, sister, and daughter are featured. The ditial tools on these layouts came from Prima digital, Spellbinders, and Designer Digital. I love combining different items digitally just like I do in the studio.

If I started counting my blessings now, I could not finish in this lifetime. I am so grateful and wish you an abundant holiday full of uncountable blessings.

My first grandson page

I wonder how old fashioned my digital layouts will look by the time my grandson grows to be a man? Regardless of their appearance, I just want him to feel the love that pours into every element.

My feelings about digital scrapping are mixed. I’m exploring them in a series of articles I’m working on now. At the moment, I’m just trying to keep a sense of wonder and a sense of humor about it all. Like many things, the more I learn, the more I realize I don’t know.

Digital is defiantly right for certain situations. In the case of this layout, I had access to photos sent online and I didn’t have the right paper or ink quantity to begin the hybrid process. Plus, I wanted to finish this in an hour or two for posting and emailing to family.

As with any scrap process I don’t want to spend days completing—I worked from a sketch. Technically, it was a digital layout posted to the gallery of Designer Digitals. The majority of my digital downloads come from Designer Digitals http://www.designerdigitals.com/ -- they are just the easiest for me to use from the vast array of choices out there. I think I discovered them initially by referral from the amazing Jodi Kennedy of Pink Tomato/Creative Caffeine fame. http://pinktomatos.blogspot.com/

The background paper on this layout came from the first (and possibly only) Digital Die Cut Fusion set by Spellbinders. www.spellbinders.usa

I had a great weekend full of wonderful people, adventures, and ideas. I’ve tried to make notes and hope to post more soon. I’ve finished the majority of our wedding guestbook which was designed in scrapbook format. I really do like it. That was my project for the fun crop I attended on Saturday. There’s nothing better than paper, adhesive, and friends….

My primary efforts for the next month will be holiday gifts and cards. My plan at the moment will be a similar gift for everyone so I can’t write much about them yet. Maybe I’ll figure out some code words….grin. For now I wish you moments of joy.

Digital Fun

Am I behind the times or ahead of the times? It feels like both from my perspective. I used to do digital scrapping in the late 90's and even taught a class or two on the topic. When it came back into fashion, I didn't think I wanted one more thing to tie me to the computer. My carpal tunnel is bad enough now (in both wrists).





Spellbinders got me started on it again when the introduced digital packages that coordinated with their dies. It's a brilliant move on their part to combine die cuts and digital for hybrid scrapping--but they've been unable to publish new kits frequently and I'm no longer infatuated with their digital line. The concept however, has stuck and made me very happy. I published my Bruce layout here using their dies and some free digital downloads in August.





I'm considering doing my October gallery with hybrid projects so I don't want to spoil it with more photos too soon--but I've got some cute stuff to show you. Today's photos are projects using digital elements from Designer Digital Art Deco Collection. I have absolutely no affiliation with this company other than liking their products. They offer kits or individual parts and pieces which works well for me. The other great thing about this company is that they have free downloads every week and they have discounts every Thursday. Brilliant marketing --in my judgement.





I still consider myself a photo shop novice, so if it I'm using the wrong terminology here, please correct me. I will say if you are intimidated by digital scrapping, I certainly understand. To me it is like re-learning everything. However, once you get it going, it's really fast and so easy to change. I'm not ready to stop anytime soon.





AWESOME: 2 page layout using Art Deco Elements from Designer Digital and my photos from our trip to Wonder Works in Orlando before the shuttle launch. As of now this is a pure digital layout, but I haven't printed it yet--once I print I usually want to add flourishes from my studio. I'll post again if I do.





THANKS for reading and for all the great emails I've gotten. Please visit my newly revised web site--I'm still making updates regularly and I'd love to have your input.