Scrap-cation Success

I am home from my very relaxing and very enjoyable trip to San Diego. I had a great time, but I was so anxious to get back to my kids!

I got plenty of scrapbooking in, and was able to get 12 LOs done (or mostly done). So I thought I'd post some of the LOs I did and hopefully give you some inspiration and fun eye candy. Enjoy!

Take a Dip collab by Digi-Designs by Nicole and Nibbles Skribbles

Boom Boom Pow kit by Penny's Creative Team

Summer's Afternoon kit by FlowerScraps

My Favorite Guy kit (June blog train) from BlogTrainBlog

Darkness kit by Designs by Rozie

Beach House kit by Digi-Designs by Nicole and FlowerScraps

I won a little contest with this next one! We had to do a LO with this freebie add-on kit, and this is what I came up with! Always nice to be rewarded for the fun! This is Pirate's Life add-on kit by Designs by Kiki

Would you like a free template or two?? Leave me a comment and tell me which LO you'd like a template for. If I get enough comments, you'll get your gift!

Little Learner

Laurie's Scraps has a great new kit out today, called Little Learner. I LOVE this kit! It is great for girls and boys, and has some really great elements! Here is the layout I did with this kit

And here is a preview of the full kit. Great papers, lots of elements, so versatile!! Click on the preview to be taken to Laurie's site. And don't forget about her awesome sale - 35% off in all her stores for the rest of the month!! There are lots of goodies to be had! What are you waiting for - get out of here and check it all out!

A Sale!

I'm on vacation in San Diego right now - very fun and very ReLaxInG (no kids)!! First time on a vacation with just DH in 6 years!!! 6!!!! Wow! I'm actually doing a lot of scrapbooking because DH is at a conf. for work while we're here. So I get to do what I want while he's gone, then we have fun in the evenings!

Laurie's Scraps is having an awesome sale right now, so I had to make sure you knew about it. She has re-made lots of her older kits, and {somehow} made them even better! Click on the flier to head to her site. Don't miss out - it's a great deal!

Come back on Friday for a surprise!

Father's Day Re-cap

I just realized that I forgot to post a finished-product picture of the Father's Day gifts I did. So, without further ado.... (please excuse the lousy picture!)

I think they're so cute...in fact, if I had a desk, I would want some to put there too!

What do you think?

If you try this project, size your LO down to about 5.5" X 5.5" - I don't think the tiles are really 6X6. Even with that size I still had to do a little trimming around the edges. If they were for me, I would have added a real flower or some real ribbon or something like that, just to give them a little more dimension. I just don't think DH would appreciate that part as much as I would! Oh, and I printed these at Inkley's (I think they were 49 cents each - can't beat that!)

Some more photo edits

Here is a newer version of the photo I posted yesterday. For the class, we were to add the black frame around the edge and the little stars with a brush. Just to be a rebel, I added the darker vignette around the outside, and changed the saturation a little. I like this version a lot better than yesterday's, but their faces still just look washed out to me. Maybe I should try some hand-tinting there.

(Oh, and did I mention that these are my 4 beautiful children? This was after church on Easter, and they were so good to sit and pose for pictures!)

I actually used this photo in a LO I did some time ago. You can see it here if you'd like. I think I like what I did for this LO better than the picture above. What do you think?

Vintage, Hand-tinted Look

Here is what I have done with another assignment from my photo editing class with Jessica Sprague. Using adjustment layers and layer effects, I have turned this photo

into this!

I think I like the fully saturated look better, to be honest, but the hand tinting is fun.

The vintage look has its place - I just need a better photo for it! Or I need to have a better eye and know more what I'm doing!

Projects...

I had to post this LO that I just finished up - and of course, I LOVE IT!!

Kit is Floral Fusion by Digi-Designs by Nicole and Stolen Moments.

My wonderfully talented MIL made all the grand-daughters these AdoRaBle aprons for Christmas. Aren't they just the cutest!?!? I am so envious of her talent, but very thankful that she is so generous! I only wish my pictures did them justice!

Speaking of improving pictures...

I'm in the process of taking a class with Jessica Sprague. So far, it's pretty basic for me, but I have been enjoying it. Today, I fancied up this picture of DH and oldest son

Nothing terribly WOW-ish, but fun!

Sidenote: my son caught this fish, but wouldn't come near it once caught!

DH practically had to force him this close to get the picture! They're at a fish farm, and I love how you can see the fish swimming in the water (hey don't knock it - guranteed success = happy boy!).