I love a quickie!!

Here is a quickie lo I made at the beginning of the month...This one I created for the monthly Scraplift Challenge I host at 2SS. For this month's challenge, I asked participants to scraplift a card, layout or altered art project from any print publication (ie: Simple Scrapbooks, Creating Keepsakes, Paper Crafts, etc...)

Here is my inspiration piece: the original artwork is entitled "ernesto" by Yolanda Williams from Charlotte NC, and was featured on pg.127 of the July/August 2007 issue of Simple Scrapbooks

I just loved the clean lines of this layout and the awesome use of "white space". I am so attracted to these types of layouts... The simplicity of the design draws focus to the photos--perfection!! So why do I have such trouble with this concept? I don't know...you be the judge!

And here is my interpretation entitled, "Center of my Universe"


***just a note: my original photograph of my girls was a little out of focus, but I just loved the picture, and wanted to use it anyway...So I edited it in Photoshop using a blur tool.

Here's how i did it:

Open your photo in Photoshop
Select "Filter" from the toolbar
Select "Blur" from the drop down menu
Select "Radial Blur"
Select "Zoom" as your blur method
Adjust amount of blur to your liking
Adjust focal point in the grid box on the left hand portion of the drop down menu
Click ok

Getting warmed up...

After being gone on our vacation for two weeks, I am still attempting to get back into the swing of things here in my "real life". I was without internet access, and believe it or not, I enjoyed the reprieve from being connected. So upon my return, i was welcomed back with gobs of email. Just wading through that took the majority of one day!

This was the first year in many where I did not bring any scrap-related projects to work on...Two whole weeks without any paper, glue or scissors--oh, the horror!!

I took the morning yesterday to get re-acquainted with my neglected tools and supplies. You would think I would be brimming with creative ideas, but that was not the case. My lss asked me to make a store display with these cute Rusty Pickle Cap'n Jack papers....my first thought was of my talented friend Rachael's AHOY! layout...Hers is so much cuter than mine, but here's what I came up with based on Rachael's layout:

This picture was taken last summer on Cape Cod when we were at the Pirate Adventures in Orleans. They gave the kids pirate names, One-Eyed Olivia, and Half-Mast Hayden, then took them out on a treasure-seeking boating excursion aboard the Sea Gypsy in the bay. They fought Pirate Pete with the ship's water cannons, found the treasure chest, and celebrated their take of the booty with a nice drink of grog!! LOL It is so darn cute!

The title is made with Thickers, and the little name plaques are made with a 7Gypsies stamp.

Hopefully after this little warm-up exercise, I will have gotten my mojo back and flowing...check back for more goodies in the coming week!

I've been tagged!!

I've been tagged by the lovely Karen (Scrapbooking Princess), an sb buddy from IL2C...


So here are the rules:
1. Post these rules
2. Each person must post 8 random facts about themselves
3. 8 more people need to be tagged and you have to leave a comment on their blog saying so :)

Here are my random (and rather uninteresting) facts:

1. I had fresh strawberries and blueberries over my breakfast cereal this morning. They were sooo delicious!! The days are numbered are for those little beauties, as their peak season is slowly diminishing...

2. My favorite season is Fall. I can't wait for sweater weather! I love the cool crisp days, apple picking, and the spectacular fall foliage.

3. I think I got a good deal on this year's heating oil prices...I am paying a lock-in rate of $2.30/gallon--that is a dramatic decrease from what a paid last year, a whopping $2.68/gallon!! So I am happy to save that 38 cents per gallon--Yipppeeee Skipppeee!!

4. I have been slacking when it comes to keeping on top of the kids' reading and math skills this summer. So I have implemented a "summer school" program at our house for the last two weeks before the start of school...We have an hour and a half of lessons and reading each morning, and surprisingly the kids are really liking it...What's wrong with these children?! LOL

6. I am not a happy camper if I have to function without my morning coffee!

7. I am such a slacker, that I have yet to fully understand and use my camera (Nikon D50) to it's full potential. I have owned it for well over a year now--how pathetic.

8. I LOVE rollercoasters! I love the huge drops, and twists and turns, the loops and corkscrews, being turned upside down and thrown from side to side, it is all so thrilling!

1. Amy B
2. Amy (saltzworks)
3. Rachael
4. Penny B
5. Diane
6. Deborrah
7. Tracy P.
8. Shannon