2010 Calendars

I've been working on my 2010 calendar gifts - don't look if you think you might be getting one of these and you don't want to see the pictures early. You will notice that there is no calendar yet. I've been looking for a digital calendar stamp, but haven't found one yet, so I am resorting to doing that part in word. I'd even pay for one, if I could find a digital! Here's just a single sneak peek - I'm about half way done with the 12 months. I've left space to add the calendar when I move the art work into a word document!

CREDITS:

Bracket - Joni Gray (Sweet September addon)

Paper - Helly (Apologize) but she probably wouldn't recognize her own paper, because I altered the color (it was originally 3 colors like Neopolitan icecream in green, white and blue) and I merge it with my own background created with a Color Fill and Texture! I'm having fun!

I created this layout for my mom's calendar for 2009. The waterlily photo is mine. I used a bracket designed by TempusFugit (Seashore Splendor) http://www.tempusfugit.blogspot.com
The background paper is a PHOTO of the same pond where I took the waterlily photo! I laid it over a green background made with color fill and texture in Paint Shop Pro, just in case you might see through when I used the visibility toggle on the photo. (I was trying to mask the background a little!

The Clark family may recognize this lily - they've seen it before!

I'm on a roll now ...

I've been inspired - or I just woke up to the fact that all these presents I have planned will not design themselves! Here is a Yellow Rose layout for the calendar I am making for my mom.

CREDITS:

paper - digimom designs (DSO Aug 08)

paper - Helly (Apologize)

(these two papers were color adjusted slightly and merged!)

frame - Joni Gray (DSO Sept 09) - I also used the frame to create the flourishes I added at the top and bottom.

butterflies - Joni Gray (Sunset)

Zilker Botanic Gardens, Austin, TX

Our trip to Austin was HOT and DRY, and the gardens were showing it ... the best looking flowers in the entire garden were the water lilies and lotus flowers. I kind of wished that my feet were in the water too!

"Secret Gardens" section complete

I used page one as a template, and added page 3, 4, and 5 for this section (see previous post for digital credits.)

I'm glad to be up again

I've been sick in bed most of the week, with a severe Viral infection in my throat. I went to the doctor on Tuesday afternoon, and she ran a Strep culture, but it came back negative. Today - Friday - is the first day that I have even considered staying up! Believe me - 4 1/2 days in bed is NO TREAT!

I'm constantly "working in my head" on my album from our vacation! Today I created a page for a section I'm calling "Secret Gardens." Ocracoke was blooming beautifully - I took picture of the flowers around town almost everyday! Here is the page (thus far) that will be the beginning of the garden section of the album.

• Digital Credits:
• photo by poki
• edges - Cherity Anderson
• fence - Carolyn's Creations http://www.mdigicorner.blogspot.com/
• vine - Chaos Lounge
• butterflies - Eden Lane Designs http://www.edenlanedesigns.com/

A few more picture from Zilker Botanical Gardens

I had some time today to edit a few more pictures from our trip last Saturday down to Zilker Botanical Gardens in Austin. Here are some more of the flowers we photographed ...

(unedited - I was playing with some of my "toys" on the dial, to darken the background of this photo - I think it looks like it could have been taken in a studio with a black backdrop, but I promise it was taken in the "field")

Some more roses ...

I love lilies too ...

Rose Collage box

I made a box for mom (pencil holder, vase holder, whatever) that is 4" square opening with 4 x 6 inch sides. I created these pages to go on the sides. I'm giving it to her for her birthday with a vase inside. We'll transfer the flowers I got her last week, if they still look good.

May 5 - a walking tour

Mike and I talk a walk around the village on Monday morning - we stopped in to a couple of cool shops. (one will get a bunch of money from me before we leave next Sunday!)

There were lots of pockets of color everywhere! The azaleas are beautiful all along the OUTER BANKS - hope to get some pictures in Nags Head where they were in HUGE mounds. We did find a few blooming in front of Blackbeard's Lodge (it's a hotel)

We saw this gorgeous flower on a vine near the Sunflower Gallery - I wasn't sure what it is, still not...but Pat's best guess, and I agree, that it might be a double clematis! Gorgeous soft purple!

NEW NOTE: Pat & I went by Sunflower Gallery today and talked to the owner and she confirmted that this plant is a clematis.

LO with hummingbird picture

I was finally able to find just what I wanted to complete the layout I was doing with my hummingbird picture.

CREDITS: paper - PiggyScraps; fence & leaves - wimpychomperscreations.blogspot.com; flower strip - KJOI studios designer contest week 4 contestant 21845 (I changed the color)

Our trip to San Antonio

We had a great time in San Antonio over the weekend - on Sunday afternoon we went to the San Antonio Botanic Gardens, both Mike and poki just clicking away on their cameras. I was excited to see a hummingbird up close, and even more excited when I saw that I had actually gotten a fairly good (although over-exposed) picture. I will be doing a layout later, but wanted to show the photo.

More layouts from Vacation 2008

I found a forum today called Digital Scrap Obsession. While browsing through the forum threads, I ran across a color challenge for the month of August. I really liked the color combination. http://www.digital-scrapbooking.org/boards/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=182&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=10 Go check it out!

I wanted to get away from the lighthouses I've been doing, so I did a layout tonight of Lewis Ginter Botanic Gardens. I used some digital elements I found at Digital Scrap Obsession to design these monochromatic layouts. Thanks to: Kim Bob - DSO-CC-KB - for paper 7 (http://www.kimbsdesigns.blogspot.com/); Joni Gray (http://www.jonigray.blogspot.com/) for corner frame; and the dragonfly brads - not sure of source, since there wasn't a TOU in the folder I downloaded. I know I found them today, and they were already the perfect color! UPDATE: I found the designer http://mytreasuredscraps.blogspot.com/2008/

As always for the protection of the copyright of the designers, my layouts are published here only as merged documents. They cannot be edited!

Left side LO:

Right side LO:

Lewis Ginter Botanic Gardens, Vacation 2008 Day 13

Make a Smilebox slideshow

The Columbine!

This is the photo of the Columbine that I used to do the "Special effects - Kaleidoscope" on the previous picture!