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....