I love this time of year in Utah...it is beautiful! The trees are all turning colors; it's chilly & windy today & I am loving it! We have 3 out of 5 birthdays in the next couple of months & of course; Halloween! I *heart* this time of year! I'm a total Halloween fantatic. Yes, I'm 40 & still love to dress up; decorate & the candy...oh the candy! ha!
So, you know that rule that we can only start decorating for Halloween once October hits? Well, rules are made to be broken...right? (at least creativity rules are, imo.) If the weather is all fall*ish & stuff...why not start decorating? The kids & I decided to break the rules this year.
We've already decorated for Halloween & you know what? It was so fun! The kids went down under the stairs & got out all of our Halloween bins filled with decorations, brought them upstairs & started taking everything out laughing & scarying each other & just having a blast! I love that the decorating & ambiance creating is as much fun for the kids as it is for me...we lit the yummy fall candles I love & now it feels like Autumn is here!
On the subject of decorating:
This year, we got all sorts of jars & printed off some of the Halloween digi kit goodies ; brushes ; & made treat jars, bell jars, etc!
close up:
I printed these labels out on Avery inkjet sticker paper & used the Halloween brushes & papers . The Swirl on the bell jar is a brush printed out on the clear sticker paper & then applied directly onto the outside of the glass...it gives a really cool look! The cards are printed out on Somerset Velvet Paper ; cut out, corners rounded & then just stuck in vintage flower frogs . I have a little black bird in there, too, but you can't see it very well in the photos.
& yes...a little macabre; the skull in the bell jar...ha! gotta get all creepy for Halloween....we LOVE it!
This week's release is full of fun & funky stuff...frames, tags, & holiday stuff! Christmas & Halloween are coming & we're gettin' ya ready! Love this single .99 Spooky Candelabra brush! I just made a pillow out of it for our Halloween decorating! I'll have to post the pic soon! And, for your Christmas cards, tags, gifts...check this .99 printable sheet! Can be printed out on cardstock for fabulous gift tags, or how about Avery sticker paper for your very own stickers! And for some holiday funky cards: O Christmas Tree & Holly Damask will get you all excited! Totally looking forward to this weekend's Card fest over at Two Peas ...come & check it out for some fab ideas!
and now for the 'tagged' or framed! Sande tagged me....& since it's her...I'll play! **thanks, Sande..love ya sweets!**
These are the rules for these winners...
1. The award may be displayed on a winner’s blog.
2. Add a link to the person who you received the award from.
3. Nominate up to seven other blogs.
4. Then add their links to your blog.
5. Add a message to each person that you have passed the award on to in the comments section of their blog.
so, I'll follow Sande's example & share my fave TOP SEVEN blogs I love & ....I"m tagging you, too!
Amy: yes, she's my sister, but she's also one of my best friends. We live hundreds of miles away, but we text & chat as much as we can. She's the kind o' person that is just plain inspiring! She lives what she believes, unabashadly! She's so gorgeous on the outside *and* the inside! I LOVE her blog...love seeing her pics of her cute kids & she makes me laugh. Oh. does she every make me laugh. Her laugh is contagious. love you, Ame!
Cherie: again, yes, I"m related to her...she is my youngest brother's wife...but, also one of THE most amazing people. She's got her head on straight. She has one of those 'wise & soothing' auras about her. My family is pretty high intesity & she just takes it all in but also keeps us in line! LOL! Not only is she a spiritual giant & an amazingly patient & loving mother...she's creative. Wow...she never ceases to amaze me with her 'eye'....for designs. for colors. for photography....love you, Cherie!
ok, since Sande's already up here...& so are Allison , Layle & Jessi ...hmmm...I'll have to pick someone else besided my local homeys! *wink*
so, I'll go to #3:
em ...don't hatte me for taggin you! hee hee! But, yea...she's so fun to read! Love her blog...love her free spirit...love her family!
Kim ---> cutest new mom, ever! She & her husband are THE cutest couple....we got to go to New Zealand & Australia together & we just fell in love with them! She's so creative & her voice is a 'day spa'.....she's so comforting & soothing! Love you, Kim!
& very unorthodox, I know...but, gypsyville is a total inspiration to me: not following the rules..oh well! :)
It's UP! The huge collaborative digital kit called, Silhouettes For Nie , is up over at Two Peas! First off, a HUGE thank you to Kristina & Jeff ~ owners of Two Peas! They were so happy & willing to let us get this all together over there! And...secondly...another HUGE thank you to all the fabulous designers involved in this kit!
Let me tell you...this kit is fab! It's huge, filled with tons o' goodies! And the great thing about collaborative kits is that you get a whole bunch of styles in one kit!
All weekend their story has been on my mind...I was telling my kids about it & of course got a lump in my throat as I told them about the cute little Nielson children & my kids' eyes were huge. ...thinking about that happening to their mom & dad. It hit home.
Please go on over to Two Peas & get yourself a huge fabulous kit & know that you are donating 100% of your $$ to the Nielsons' Recovery!
I found Nie Nie Dialogues blog through a friend of mine; Kelly McCaleb a while back. I loved Stephanie's blog; it was always uplifting & inspiring to read! Totaly eye candy & it just always made me happy.
Flash back to August 18th, when my sister , Amy, called me & asked
"Did you hear about Christian & Stephanie Nielson? They were in a plane crash.." she told me about the injuries, the tragedy & their 4 little children...my heart sank. I always hate hearing this stuff.
You know when you are on the internet & you don't put 2 & 2 together...you're clicking here & there & it's so fast paced, you just miss some things? ...well, I hadn't put it together that THE Nie Nie & Stephanie were the same. duh. So, as I was surfing various blogs, I put it together. even more heart sinking....
Their experience & their families' experiences have been shared all over the internet through their blogs, tv, newspapers...& I read Jane's blog everyday for updates. And, I've been so inspired by the family's courage & the rallying of the whole blog community!
I've been stewing over this; praying, thinking & wanting to do something...take action! What could I do to help them? I want to help!!!!
So, Two Peas is getting involved. Next week, we'll have a huge collaborative digital kit up for sale called: Silouhettes for Nie Nie.
I have to tell you; creating these 'inspiration cards' for the kit was very emotional. It was one of those 'artistic experiences' that just moves you..your soul. You know what I'm talking about...it was uplifting!
All proceeds will be donated to Nie Recovery ...every penny. This makes me happy! ...& seeing the other art from all of the other designers make me happy.
I'll keep you posted & have links for you, but please: consider buying this kit...it's for the road to recovery for this brave family. It sounds like it will take a miracle in this recovery. And, I believe in miracles!
Have a great day...hug your families & pray for the Nielsons!
I've been so excited to share this with you! I am a HUGE fan of Wacom products , so when they contacted me to be a part of their digital scrapbooking site, Pen Scrappers , I was so excited to do it! Check out my bio page & scrapbook pages here! The whole team is awesome! Love their pages...& some of my very fave digi scrappers ever!
My theme was: Camping. I designed a whole kit around this & used it in my pages with the Bamboo Fun tablet! One of my favorite things to do with the tablet is add my own handwriting & drawing on my layouts. Here, I just used my Brush Tool, set at a Hardness of 100% & at a Diameter of 5 pixels. Then, I zoomed in to 100% (I've found that if I don't, it gets shaky-looking.) & I wrote the title/journaling.
Another thing I love is actually drawing on my layouts. I love doodling & in this layout, I graffitied (it's OK, it's only a layout) on the tree; adding journaling & doodling to draw the eye to the tree.
So....today they launched the site & are hosting a contest to win a new Bamboo Tablet!Um...how cool is that? Let me tell you...you want. No. you NEED this tablet..it is so easy, so fun & really makes digital scrapbooking/designing soo fan*tastic! Just watch my video clip/bio & hopefully I'll talk you into it! LOL!
I have had so many people ask me how to use their graphic tablet in digital scrapbooking. A couple of years ago, I did an article in BHG's Scrapbooks, ETC. magazine on this. So, here are some of my tips & tricks:
1. Right out of the package, make sure you install the drivers for help on the 'jitters, or shakes'.
2. Tape a piece of acetate to the top of your tablet, to keep it smooth & pristine. The pen will glide so smoothly! But, if this bothers you & it's too slippery, tape a piece of regular paper onto it to give it some 'tooth' until you get the hang of it!
3. Zoom into your doc 100% so you will get cleaner lines.
4.To utilize the full capability of the pen/stylus, experiment with the pen pressure. You can draw & create thin or thick lines as you press down on your pen....very cool effect on your drawing or handwriting!
5. Experiment with using it as your mouse. I have heard a lot of digital scrapbookers say their wrists hurt when designing so much. I had the same problem a couple of years ago...my arm started hurting so much, I couldn't even straighten it! As soon as I started using the pen as my mouse, it went away & I haven't had a problem since! Even when I'm designing 6 hours a day!
6. Practice. Practice. Practice. It takes a bit getting used to, but I promise; you will LOVE it!
Seriously, I can not say enough about the tablet! It's amazing....
have a fab Wacom Day & go over there & enter to win! As the site says: 10 entrants win a nice new Bamboo Fun, one grand-prize winner takes home a Bamboo Fun, a camera, a printer and the kitchen sink (kitchen sink not available in the lower seven continents).
Deadline is October 31, 2008! so get scrappin' & when you post your layouts over there, come back here & link us up so we can vote for you! The most votes wins!!!!! Good luck!
