Thank You, Thank You

I'm so excited that I've been given the opportunity to teach and design at the scrapbook store - Scrap 'N Friends. My first class was last week and I designed some "thank you" cards using a heat embossing reisit technique. A bit messy, but a lot of fun and heat embossing is one of my most favorite things, next to chipboard. The resist is clear emboss on white cardstock and then rubbed over with colored ink. When you get it as intense as you want it, you wipe off the embossed bits and it looks like a slightly tinted white. You can also leave the ink on so it looks like a dark watermark. I also did a bit of "double dipping". That's inking your stamp with versamark, then you ink it in whatever color you want. Stamp it and put clear detail embossing powder on it and heat it up. The color ready pops.
You can see these and the cards for February in person at the store, which seems to be my second home LOL. Stop in an say hi sometime!

New Year

Okay, yes, I realize I haven't written a thing since September. That should tell you something. LOL However, I have decided that I'm going to do a bit better about getting on here as well as working on more art. Really, I have no excuse. Jenna's in school, George is at work, and I only work 2 days a week at the scrapbook store, so sitting around doing nothing is no longer acceptable.


So what has been going on you ask? Well, not a bunch. I've been helping out at school doing the mom thing with the PTO, and as I mentioned earlier, I work at Scrap 'N Friends in Brookville Tuesdays and Thursdays while Jenna's in school. I'll be teaching my first real class this coming Thursday. This should be interesting. I like the cards I designed and I think the technique is really cool, but sometimes I go a little crazy with trying to squeeze too many ideas into a small timeframe. I hope I haven't made things too complicated. We'll see. I enjoy working up there - especially since I have most of my supplies etc. up there (My home away from home)and I can't seem to get any pages done unless I would haul all my stuff up there in bags that weigh more than a hockey bag with the skates in it every week. Makes more sense to just keep it there. So if you have any scrappin' questions or need help with a project that's where you'll find me in the afternoons.

Speaking of cards, I was pretty happy with this year's Christmas card artwork. I really need to go back to working on them sooner like I used to, no more leaving it until after Thanksgiving. It was all "painted" in Photoshop Elements. (Still waiting for Painter 11 - hint, hint to my hubby) It worked out pretty decent. The colors stay nice and bright when I do it that way. I do like to work bigger, and I would like to get back into the watercolors, but I just don't have much luck getting my colors to scrream like they do on the computer. I'm not one for subtle. I'll just have to experinent some more, I know there's a way to do it. If anyone has suggestions, I'd love to hear them.

Well, I better get the munchkin something to eat. I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! TTFN!

What was I thinking?

These last several weeks have been so nice weather-wise. We've also been lucky that our daughter hasn't had to play soccer on Sunday for the last 2 weekends as well, so that has afforded us a chance to go and take a few small hikes here and there - basically places that aren't too far. (The longer trips will be after the soccer season's over - Hocking Hills here I come!) I really enjoy these hikes that we've been taking, we always manage to see a wild critter other than a squirrel - I don't really consider them very wild being I see them in the yard all the time, plus it's another opportunity for me to get the camera out.
Now, I must admit I am like a Japanese tourist whenever I go somewhere new with the camera. I take way too many pictures - digital is a Godsend. I'm always afraid I'm going to miss something or there's always a better picture right after I just took one. Heaven forbid I leave the camera at home because then we end up seeing all sorts of stuff.
Back to the hikes. Clifton Gorge was absolutely beautiful, I loved it. I wasn't expecting it to be as rocky as it was but, no problem. I really want to go back again when the leaves really start changing. Fall's my favorite time of year. All the colors are just inspiring and I could do with a bit of inspiration as I've been having issues with that. I got some fantastic pictures I could use in some artwork, so I was excited about that. And of course we got to see some critters along the way.
Last weekend we went to Taylorsville Dam. I know what you're thinking - how exciting could that be. I mean we drive across it all the time, but I've never actually been in it, except during the Johnson family reunion which isn't even on that side to begin with. So, we pull into the parking lot, got our water and the camera and we start for the trail head. I should've known there would be issues when you have to go down a flight of steps and a fairly steep hill just to get to the trails. Fine, we hiked to the rock overlook, which was pretty neat, Jenna wanted to climb around the slump rock cave etc, but that's not on the trail. Always wanting to climb. We decided to keep following the trail around and I start noticing a pattern down a pretty steep hill - up a pretty steep hill. Now, I don't have issues with hills necessarily, but this was like a demented walking roller-coaster. I was so happy when we got down closer to the river and things stay pretty level. Oh, joy! Oh, happiness! That's were we saw the buck and the doe chasing him. We could hear him walking all around us. She changed her mind and went back in the field. Then we had to change paths. I look over and it's steeped than the other was! Some of the way we had to walk sideways, Jenna slid down a couple of the steeper hills. And they just kept going up! LOL By this time, I'm starting to worry about my hubby's knee (he had surgery on it this past Feb.) I don't think he was quite prepared for all the hills either and he had hiked there before. We come out into a clearing, thinking we're close to the parking lot cause we can smell the charcoal. We were, but we had to climb about 50 stairs I think and keep going up hill to get back to the parking lot. Ugh!
Needless to say, we all went to bed early that night. Jenna fell asleep in the car on the way home and still went to bed earlier than usual. It was a great hike though - but a little warning about all the hills would've been great.