I have been welcomed to the Land of Digi

So, I realized that I NEVER posted my April writing...duh. Guess I am still falling short in my blogging attempts. Perhaps if I post when I have new creations or inspirational things to share, or find some incredible people to promote...that may get me going. I HAVE done better in my own personal journal writing. I'm not perfect or even consistent, but I have made progress. I heard about an app on a podcast, I think it was The Paperclipping Roundtable, where they were talking about journaling and making time to make notes and record your own life story. Izzy and Noell happen to be Mac lovers also. I use this app on my MacBook Pro laptop--it's called the Day One Journal. It does cost $9.99, but I was willing to pay that for daily reminders, password protection, dropbox enabled sourcing, etc. (I'm sure there are comparable apps for Android/Windows users.) Even Cathy Zielske uses it in conjunction with her Project Life goals! Anything Cathy uses has got to be awesome, right! Speaking of PL, I have invested in both the physical and digital paper protectors and plan to get some life recording done. If you have not heard of Project Life or want more information, go to Becky Higgins' site.

My biggest news is that I have been embraced by some very talented designers at Design House Digital who have given me the opportunity to be on their Creative Teams. First is Gennifer Bursett, who was one of the first people I communicated with at DHD. She is downright silly, committed, creative, knows how to juggle 50 things at once--you could spell her name as FUN! She recognized my talent and designing ability, encouraged me in contests, and made me feel very welcome. I pretty much just begged her to be on her Creative Team; she indulged my request, and that began my path to CT designing. The next person I met was Erica Coombs while at a DHD Digi Scrap Retreat. She is so sweet, talented, and easy going. After being around her, I recognized that I could learn a lot from her, and once again, asked if she had any CT openings. Graciously, she accepted me. Wahoo! The most recent designer is a newer one to DHD, Julianna Kneipp, who lives in Brazil. When I first saw her designs after she opened her store, my heart skipped a beat! Ju has a nostalgic, vintage style which resonates with me. I created a page, and sent her a submission. Apparently she liked my style, too. I feel very blessed to be associated with these talented ladies and the whole Design House Digital community! Here are some of the pages I've created as a CT member:

Gennifer Bursett-

Erica Coombs-

Julianna Kneipp-

Thanks for looking. Once again, I will try to blog better.

Blend, Blend, Blend

I don't really know what happened....my great intentions somehow got lost by the wayside. Well, I guess I do know how, but I'm not going to go into all that right now. So much has happened since I last blogged...I can truly see the value in nurturing your blog. For me, it's even harder because I am NOT a journal keeper. I was as a teenager..."He is sooooo cute!..."...that kind of stuff, but as I've gotten older and the true and meaningful part of life that might matter to someone, someday, hasn't been properly recorded. I know that I will regret it. I already do. My older girls are great at keeping a journal and I truly admire that in them, and so will their posterity someday. I'll just try to catch up on some of my creative adventures...

Last time I posted I said that I saw using Photoshop Elements (PSE) and that I was too intimidated to give Photoshop CS4 a try. Well....I am pleased to report that I cleared that hurdle, in fact, I don't even use PSE anymore. I just had to force myself to learn the harder program and I have been loving what results I've been able to achieve with it. Most notably, I find that the shadowing of elements, the ability to control/change the colors of things I put on a page, and the more powerful capabilities of photo editing available to me in CS is awesome. Sure, you can do a lot of that on PSE, but I was ready for more!

I have taken several online classes which have helped me to learn new skills in digi-scrapping. The ones I have enjoyed the most so far have been by Jana Morton at Creative Passion Classes --they have been about blending your photos into the background of your pages, as well as blending elements and creating true works of art on your scrapbook page. I totally recommend you check her out! Here are a few that I completed during her two courses:

I know that I have been experimenting with my style and HOW I like to create more, and I have found that fulfilling. I notice that I use blending modes more often in my layouts, change colors, mess around with blending elements, layering papers, etc.-basically I feel more CAPABLE of achieving new and more interesting results than I used to. It's fun and I feel more "artistic". Oolaalaa....I need to pay more attention to this little corner of mine on the web. That's my goal. We'll see how I do....