Sunday, March 31, 2013

Bowing to the Easter Egg

We are still in Japan at the Art Journal Caravan, so thought I would do a Happy Easter Card.  I have been doing my Nez Creatures (Nez is Zen spelled backwards), so drew my bunny bottom, then added my doodles and colored using Copics, Inktense by Derwent pencils and micron (.01pen), the egg is from collection I did earlier.  The background paper is from Tangie's "Japan Kit".  So the page is all digital. I am loving the new update to my Cameo, the cuts are amazingly accurate and my new blade helps too.  So Happy Easter everyone, be happy and be safe. Hugs

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Whooooos feeling better?

Morning all, Happy Easter weekend, hope that bunny hops your way with bunches of love and yummmms.  I  needed a "get well" card for a 16 year old male, geeze these are hard.  I created a whacky little owl, did some doodling and then took him to PhotoShop and my Silhouette to create an element. I have been re-reading the entire 15 books of OZ so my imagination is on over drive, lol.  Frank Baum is such a wonderful story teller, I forgot how much I love all the books on this magical land.  

I also want to mention, I purchased the Elkins Creek blade and blade holder for my Cameo, oh my goodness, it is wonderful.  So if you have been thinking about it, think no more, just do it.  If you have any questions just ask Mark at Elkins he is fabulous about answering quickly, there is also some info on the Silhouette Plus Forum on the blades and blade holder with a coupon for first time buyers.

That's it for today, hugs

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Imagination and her Muse

I haven't done any cards this week, I have been playing with all my colors and doing some backgrounds for an Art Journal mixed media swap I joined.  I did this journal page for our AJC 2013 forum, it was just a fun quirky page using an upside down image, a mammal, a gem, and a rub-on.  It was all done with photoshop6.  The muse, the gems, the background and block were created at my table then scanned in and extracted to be used on the page.  The art doll is from Rebecca McMeen "Awakening"kit. So I am learning a little more every day, I am now quite comfortable without my mouse, lol and loving my tablet. I hope everyone has a grand weekend, hugs

Friday, March 15, 2013

Alice in OZ and dreaming

I am having an over load day, my head is spinning with ideas and I keep bouncing back and forth from one thing to another.  So I decided to just let it all go and play, that will usually help clear up my head, lol.  This was so much fun to do.  I did the older Alice with Corel Paint and Photo Shop, the top hat is from Tangie Baxter at Scrapbook Graphics.  The soooooo awesome illustrations from the Wizard of Oz are from a kit by January and Clementine Design at Deviant Scrap.  These are all illustrations from John R. Neil, who worked with Frank Baum as illustrator for his OZ series.  There are 15 books I think and I have read a few, but have made the commitment to read all of them this year.  I have not seen the new OZ movie but it is at the top of my list of must dos.  Hope everyone has a gentle Friday and a riotous weekend. Hugs

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Eggs and Vows

Morning everyone, oh my goodness there are no words to express how much I love my Bamboo Create, it has been a bit of a challenge using it as my mouse, just because it is so different, but the batteries died again in the mouse and I vowed I would not change them but use my tablet, lol, so I am getting a little bit more used to it and in time it will be just as easy as the mouse but with a lot more control.

I wanted to do an Easter page for my journal but wanted to keep it consistent with our itinerary and we are in Japan for Easter.  I remembered this proverb and thought I remembered it was from Japan and it was, so went with that as "proverbs" are one of our prompts.

I also wanted to create my own egg element, so my camera and I wrestled with that this weekend and I finally came up with one I was satisfied with, the rest of the page was done using Tangie's March Collection on Scrapbook Graphics.   All the high lighting and shadowing was done with the pen and Bamboo.  Hope your Monday is off to a good start, hugs

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Letters Home

A friend entrusted me with a parcel of letters she had from an Uncle stationed in Australia during WW11, I wanted to scan them in and play.  I put this together as a "Thank You" card to her for her sharing.  This is the first project I have done using the Bamboo Tablet and PS6 to blend and I have to say it is slick, what a difference it makes, the control so surpasses the mouse.  I did three ribbon treatments on the letter bundle, this is one of them. I am in heaven.  Hope everyone has a wonderful rest of the weekend, hugs

Saturday, March 9, 2013

I am a Blossom

I love it when a plan comes together, especially one that has taken a while to develop.  Last year I decided that I really wanted the Wacom Bamboo Create Tablet, but there were some things I needed to do first, I needed to bone up on my photoshop skills and needed an updated version, then I needed to save up for it.

I did it, I did it, the Bamboo is now hooked up and some wonderful play has taken place in the last 24 hours.  The tablet comes with some software and uses Corel to paint.  It has a feature called auto paint and will take a photograph and turn it into a painting, you choose the paper, the brush and the medium and then it goes to work, it is like a mini movie, lol, I have sat and watched for hours.  This is from one of my Pansey photos, I did some blend, etc in Photoshop after it was done, added the butterfly from Studio Manu "Yesterday Dreams" at www.Scrapbookgraphics.com and the Joy character is from Tangies AJC2013 Japan kit also Scrapbook Graphics.  There is just so much to all of this and I am off to dig a little more.  Have a wonderful weekend, hugs

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Bless the Beasts

Blessing the Beasts this morning, creating and playing with clipping masks in PS6, I did pull in the birds from Tangie's AJC2013-Japan kit.  It is rainy, wet and gray out there in N CA.  Hope everyone has a great
day, hugs

Monday, March 4, 2013

Big Fish

This is a page done for our ArtJournalCaravan 2013, we are now in Japan, and oh so many wonderful things to do.  I have pulled out some supplies I have not used in a while and just experimenting.  The background was done with Dylusion Inks, Faber Castell watercolor crayons and Ranger Ink Distress Pens.  The journal block was done on Binder's Tape, I love the dimension and how the tape takes the color, used micro pen for the weave and stitching and the Faber Castell water color crayons with the Ranger Distree Pens.  The fish elements are from Tangie's AJC2013-Japan Itinerary Kit. Then added my Haiku, I love it when I have the opportunity to write Haikus, they calm the mind and soul.  Hope everyone swims smoothly into the new week.  Hugs

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Hang on Toto


PostScript to this Post

One of the amazing features to PhotoShop is the ability to edit a page after it is "done".  I did not like the perspective of my Dorothy's House but could not figure out how to change it, even though I knew there was a way.  I have since found a tutorial on layers which explained the very simple process.  I have made the change as seen above.  Using PhotoShop is like visiting a HUGE museum, the first time you visit, you are disoriented, lost, confused and not sure why you visited in the first place.  The building held such treasures though, you go back and back for another visit, and before you know it, it feels like home, you know its niche and crannies and how to get to and from them.  So if you are struggling with PhotoShop or PSE, stick with it, give yourself some breathing time between sessions, just don't give up. Hugs



Original Post



The more I play the more I fall in love with PhotoShop.  I took a cloud photo a few years back and started playing with yesterday, then I had to do a house for it, oh my goodness, I can hardly wait for the new OZ movie.  Have a fun weekend, hugs

Friday, March 1, 2013

Happy Talk

Well car is all better and I had some fun fun play time.  I started playing with my lanterns in PhotoShop and put them in some twinkly stars and it just all happened, lol.  I have to go and do some of the errands that were so neglected while I played.  Have a fabulous weekend. Hugs