Doing It the EASY WAY!

OK!  Feeling pretty darn dumb today!  I spent HOURS yesterday making that card look somewhat real, and layered.  Today, in about 15 minutes I figured out how to do it the RIGHT WAY!  OH MY GOODNESS!!!

The thing I'm learning, slowly but surely, is that if there is something you want to do, there is probably a button that does it.  I seem to be working on one or two buttons a day so I'm learning the VERY HARD WAY!

The main thing I learned today is how to add a "glow around the outside edge of any element...making it "3-D"  I did that manually yesterday, and I didn't do a very good job of it!

Another thing you may not be able to tell immediately is that you can turn object around so it looks like you are seeing it from a different angle... the bottom flower on each side was the result of duplicating the main flower and twisting it...and making it smaller.

Other new things are the stitches and brads.  I bought those babies from http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/:

• DigiKit - Element-ary Stitches No. 1 - By Carina Gardner
• DigiKit - Brads - By Vinnie Pearce (you get 200 brads for $2.00) beats the heck out of making them myself !!!  Actually, you can make even more than that by changing the hue... these were actually bright pink, I changed them to coral.

OH!  and one more thing I did to help it look 3D... The picture looks like I printed it and actually made a card from it... NOT!!!  I found a picture of a card and layered my faux card over the front and changed the perspective.  HA!  Gotta love that!

OK, I'm REALLY sick of this coral and brown now!  Time for something different!

A Card That Really Isn't...

Today's thang is to make a card that really isn't. I wanted to to draw everything from scratch...

• stamp
• paper
• trim
• whatever

Here ya go....

A card that really isn't:

see...

same thing, only different:

Boone, my inspiration:

Thank You for Loving Mom

The Spotted Chick (http://thespottedchick.blogspot.com/) now has a "That's Krafty Thursday" challenge...This week (the first) you just had to use Kraft paper somewhere on the card... any stamp.  That was great because it forced me to think about how the heck to use a "stamp" I just came up with.  I thought when I did it that it would make a good Mother's Day or Father's Day card... soooo

Kraft paper = Dad's day, in my mind ... 

One of the things I use to do when I used real stamps was sponge the outside edges...now that I'm trying to do as much as possible BEFORE I print my digital stamps I digitally colored these then "sponged" the edges... I NEED PRACTICE!!  One has too much, then next doesn't have enough...gotta practice!

 I decided to include this picture so you can see why I LOVE coloring on the PC!  I can print this page and be ready with 6 cards, with one page print! 

You can also see in this photo that I saved a version with the "sponging" done in a circle in case I decide to cut it in a circle.

If you look closely at the little boy's shirt... and the dress and hat on the card below, you will see that I used background paper, that I scanned and have saved. If I had known I was going to use the plaid on the card I would have used that for the boy's shirt... Oh well...next time.

Actually.... I am adding this part a few days later... all I had to do the change the boys shirt was open the photo file and change the shirt!  EASY ENOUGH!  Matches better :-)

LOOK what I made!!!...Stamp On Steroids!

I was given a new challenge this week!  I just never know what is around the corner!  

Four years ago a friend that I used to work with went to work as an Events Planner at a church here in Atlanta.  We haven't seen each other but one time since then.  This week she had a "problem" come up and remembered me...thinking I might be able to help her out.

Their church is having a conference next weekend and the pastor's wife wanted a 5 foot lady on the front of a punching bag.  LOOK what I came up with!!!  I'm excited because its another thing I have never done.  The coloring (dark skin, blonde hair) was her choice, I would have done something different...but  YEA!!!

If you look back at my post on April 2nd you will see that I came up with the face/hair that day.  GOD IS SO COOL!!!  I had NO CLUE why I have been learning and drawing the things I have been this month... now we know :-)

Kamryn learning Spanish

Needs to be cleaned up but still cute....

Every Good and Perfect Gift

Made this last night...

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. (James 1:17)

Got the drawing, now no clue how to use it!

But I want to know more!

I heard someone say the other day that to become really good at something it is better to do 12 things 4000 times than to do 4000 things 12 times. Well, I hate to admit it but I'm the person that does the 4000 things! As soon as I show myself, I can do something I'm ready to move on to the next something...so I never get REALLY good at anything...sure, I can do it, but not like a master. I would love to be like a master but there's just too many other things "out there" to learn!!
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Which brings us to today's thing....last week I wanted to learn how to color other people's stuff ... this week I want to draw my own!

I am just so jealous of folks that can draw from their heads. I so admire those people! And I would love to be able to do that! But, as described above, I can "do it" I'm just not good at it! I look at other people selling their art and say "I want to do that!" But I don't have that "it"...

So, begins the search for lessons on how to draw using a pc. I found a few out on the web so you get to see my first attempt at drawing (WITH A MOUSE!!!) Now, you have to understand that the ONLY reason I'm even showing you this is that I don't really believe that YOU are looking! (I'm just writing an online diary for myself)

First off, I plan to use my mouse as my scapegoat! What a MISERABLE tool for drawing! You think you are doing ok when suddenly the thing takes out across the page leaving a black tail in it's path! Now how did that happen?! I didn't tell it to lock in the "on" position! So, you guessed it, now I'm in the market for a drawing pad w/ pen! Some day....

Today my niece Mattie is my model. Gorgeous, beautiful Mattie... isn't she though?! I like to think of her as a Mini-Me.... Me "back then". OK! OK! I was never that beautiful, or that skinny, and she has a way with words that I can't touch! She writes in a way that makes you anxious to read more. BUT! She has the same passion I do for the Lord, and she loves to create with her hands... Like I said...Mini-Me :-)

So, I know this isn't exactly her...BUT I WAS USING A MOUSE!!! And it was my first time! AND I have no clue how to really use the software! So view with mercy!

OK, I didn't do her hair exactly right, and there's no real shadowing, but not horrible ... kinda like that company that gets you to "Draw this picture and then we'll teach you how to draw" ... I don't know if you would say "That's Mattie!" if you knew her. HEY, I WAS USING A MOUSE!!! OH! and did I mention that I have just enough room on my desk for the mouse to sit?! ZERO moving space! (another reason why the runaway mouse is so perplexing!)

Anyway, drawing lines was all I was trying to learn this time. WAY harder than I hoped it would be. ANY TIPS are MORE THAN WELCOME!!!

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I DID IT!!! Its a few hours later. I was thinking about what I wanted to do and it suddenly came to me how!!! OMG and Thank You Daddy GOD!

This is what I'm going for and I DID IT! I have my first "MY VERY OWN" drawing! HA! HAPPY DANCE!

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