Sexy Dress

My friend Airynne modeling one of her gorgeous dresses.

Resources:

Just Hangin' Out Overlay Stax Set Freebie
by Kim Liddiard
Ghostwriter Alpha Freebie by Amber
Grey
P.O.S. Lens from Tra2 - The Revenge Actions

Font:

Prefix

Another Perfect Day

I made this mostly with stuff from Shabby Princess.
I just adore her freebies!!!

Journaling:

"A Perfect Day

Another perfect day
Because I woke up alive
Another perfect day
With you by my side"

Resources:

Totally Rad Actions: Slice like a Ninja, Super Fun Happy
Festival by Shabby Princess
Harvest Spice by Shabby Princess
Express Yourself by Ronna Penner

Ella's First Birthday Party

I took this picture on my friend's daughter Ella's first birthday party, a smiling picture that is in focus and not too dark or overexposed, yay! (believe me, the place was a challenge light wise :) )
Butterfly Cake for the win!

Quote:
"Happy birthday to me.
I like what I see!
There's plenty of junk food,
and the presents are free! "

(by Mike Artell)

Resources:

Promise Collection by Shabby Princess

Font:

DSP Tays Mom

Ken and the Ocean

This Layout was created for the Fonts 8/31 - 9/13 challenge at GetDigiWithIt.


I didn't do much to this LO. it just flew together!


I duplicated the background, set it to soft light, lowered the opacity and then moved it a tad.
I then added the pictures and faded it out with gradients on a mask.


Quote:

" I dropped a tear in the ocean and when they find it I'll stop loving you, but
only then."

Resources:

Taking a Day off! by Kristy Krouse

Font:

Kaileen

Kit Preview:

Wedding Add Ons

I wanted to scrap all the little things about my wedding that you can see in my pictures, but would not know the story of without writing it down.


I had trouble finding a paper that fit the theme but was low key enough to highlight the pictures and textures. Finally I blended 2 beautiful papers into one and desaturated the result to get my background.


Journaling:

"My Mum made beautiful decorations in red and white. I loved the fresh flowers,
arranged in glass vases, accented with painted clay hearts on wooden sticks.
Some said “I love You”, some just said “Love”, and some were without words."

"The day before the Wedding we blew up red and white ballons. The white
ones did not survive long though... But both Ken and my Mum decorated some of
the red ballons.
Some in Silver, some in Gold.
But all of them with “Ken & Mara”. "

" My Mum, Viola, made all the red decorations by hand
adding her personal touch to our Special Day.
I especially love the way she put together the tea light holders:
Wrapped with red ribbon, decorated with cute poofy stickers, completely adorable! "



"Norbert and Volker started BBQing early in the day, while we were still at the Court House.
The “Pig on a Stick” was more than delicious!
It was also the first food that
was gone, instantly devoured by all party goers ;) "

"Our Cake traveled all the way from Belgium to Germany, transported safely by Airynne despite minor
highway scares.
The Design was drawn by Ken himself, but sadly the colors came out a little off.
The choc/vanilla sheet was yummy though!"

"In addition to the meat, my mum had ordered different kinds of salad, made Tzatziki
and organized Turkish Pita Bread to go with it.
She also made oodles of yummy dessert, Tiramisu and Raspberry Cream, and the latter went splendidly with
the chocolate cake :)"

Resources:

Wedding by Karen Foster
Ribbon from Annika's Dress Freebie by Samara Gugler
Template by Janet Phillips (adapted)

Fonts:

LD Quick Note
University Roman LT

Kit Preview:

Wedding by Karen Foster

Ken

This layout was prompted by the GC: September- To the EXTREME... and the September Weekly Freebie Challenge at DSP.

Quote:
“No man is worth your tears, but once you find one that is, he won't make you cry”

Resources (all Freebies):
Old Bo Back Pack Freebie by Marcee Duggar
In the Pixie Forest 2 Freebie by Nicole Young
Zoobaloo Freebie by Nicole Young

Fonts:
A Damn Mess, Bearpaw

Beach Day Dancing

This was made for the September Weekly Freebie Challenge at DSP.

This plopper was just perfect for my Beach pictures
I adjusted to for 8.5x11, by resizing the length to 11, then duplicating the plopper and moving it into place to then mask the left 3/4 of the page.
I also masked a part for the journaling so that it looks cut out.
I copied the frame on the bottom,enlarged it, and masked the parts on the plopper that I needed for the inside of the frames.
Also added a drop shadow.

Journaling:

"Anne and Airynne
Oostende, Belgium

July 27, 2008"

"The most
memorable thing about
our Trip to the Beach in Oostende,
is Airynne and
Anne, carefree and
relaxed, singing “I kissed a Girl”
while dancing
towards the Ocean.
Priceless."

Resources:

Beachy Plopper Freebie by Meryl Bartho
DSP Mel's World Font (Club Digital August 08) by
Suzanne C. Walker

Godmother

This one was made for the DSP DET Contest Round 1.
I didn't make it to Round 2, but I got this gorgoeus LO done, with pics that I have been wanting to scrap for ages.


I picked my favorite pictures from the baptism of my godson for this LO.

Title in Romana Bt:

"There is a special love
for a Godmother,
for she was chosen."

Journaling in DSP Tays Mom(Club Digital July 08) by Suzanne C. Walker :

"May 28, 2006 was the Day that I became Godmother
to the most precious, cute
and mischievous
little Boy there is: Elias."
"SHAPE, Belgium. May 28,
2006"

For this LO I used one paper as the background and cut another one into strips and layered them on top.
The frames I duplicated twice and rotated them a bit to create the layered frames I used with all three pictures.
I rotated the photoclips and fixed the drop shadows to look more realistic.
I added a drop shadow to the text in cream, but not to the one in black.
The bottom picture was actually two. I like myself better on the first, Elias was cuter on the second. So I fit them together.

Resources:

Family Time by Rene Bross
DSP Tays Mom(Club Digital July 08) by
Suzanne C. Walker

Kit Preview:

Straßenbahn

I finally got my LO done for the Heritage Topic for the Week 3rd - 10th September is "Transportation" at DSP.
This one targets one of my main transportation means when I was a teenager and sick of bikes (or if it was simply too far or too nasty out to bike).


Journaling:

"A Straßenbahn (tram, tramcar, trolley, trolley car, or streetcar) is a railborne vehicle, of lighter weight and construction than a train, designed for the transport of passengers within, close to, or between villages, towns and/or cities, on tracks
running primarily on streets."


"I used to take the Straßenbahn to go shopping on Main
Street, before we ever had even the smallest mall in town.
I would take the Nr 2, or jump on the
Bus 40/41 to catch a Nr 3 tram. I always used the
back compartment, separated from the driver, like a trailer.
Today, the trams have just one, all sleek."

Resources:

Dripping Wet by Kim Liddiard
DSP Tays Mom(Club Digital July 08) by Suzanne C. Walker
Pictures from the Internet
Template by Janet Phillips (adjusted)

Kit Preview:

Trusty Sneakers

This one was made for the SAS-y Layout Design Challenge - Week 1 at SAS.

I tried to keep the LO simple, well because my sneakers and I are fairly simple too ;)

Journaling:
"Do you remember the Song “These Boots are made for walking”?
Well, my Sneakers are made for Dancing. And Hanging Out. And going to the Movies, or to Dinner. They love to go Shopping, go get Icecream, and visit with Friends.Overall, my Sneakers are made for Everything that is Fun."

(Capitalizing words like that is a habit of mine to change up the text visually... and to quiet my inner German that keeps screaming "Nouns need to be capitalized!")

I did not introduce any outside elements, actions or styles into this LO.
I used a mask to show the white background behind the paper, easing the parts of it that I did not want to show (which essently means to use a paintbrush with black, painting over the parts that are supposed to vanish. black=invisible, white=visible. it's is easier to correct mistakes if you use a mask because you can just paint over your mistake with the other color. also, you can use brushes set to less than 100% opacity to blend and fade), creating the crumbled white edge.
I then used another mask to cover up all the parts of the picture that I did not need (stone floor with moss).
Then I tried a trillion fonts for the title, settled on Bernhard BdCn BT, and started playing.
I overlayed it with 2 different papers (dotted one and darkest paper). I erased parts of the darker paper to make it look sprinkly and dark around the edges and oversharpened it a lot. Also adjusted the contrast to make it even darker and get an inky edge to the title.
I probably used 10 layers all together and some things I plain don't remember... ;)I then switched to another font and wrote down the journaling, referring to the song that jumped into my head and sparked the whole layout.

Resources
JulieO - Feeling Welcome

Fonts:
Bernhard BdCn BT
DSP Mel's World Font (Club Digital August 08) by Suzanne C. Walker

Anne's Last Night

One of my best friends just moved back to the states. All the pictures are from her last night in Belgium.


Journaling:
"It was Anne’s last Night in Belgium, so we took her out
to dinner at the Shanghai. We had fun, good food, and
Anne loved her new bangles and spectacle case (Skulls!).
It was a very bittersweet night.... We miss you hun!"


Resources:

On The Wings of Love by Colleen Lynch
Template by Karen Maggie (adjusted/rearranged)


Fonts:
DSP Mel's World Font (Club Digital August 08) by Suzanne C. Walker
Hank BT

Kit Preview:

On The Wings of Love by Colleen Lynch

Charity Kits @ SongbirdAvenue

Let me introduce you to the one place I spend money at every month since I started scrapping.




Every month they bring you a gorgeous kit from a different designer, giving away all the profit to a new charity.

Quote:

Here on the Avenue, we're committed to giving. Every month, we work with top digital designers to bring you the absolute best in digital scrapbook design. Don’t miss out on the most exclusive and high quality kits on the internet. For September's kit, we are so excited to have Two Sisters Designs with us. Angela and Emily Powers have such an amazingly unique and quirky style! We are proud to present "Autumn Woods". 100% of this month's profits will benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Thank you so much for stopping by. Without you, this dream isn’t possible. We are extremely proud of how giving our community is. Thank you for helping us help those in need. September Guest Designers... Two Sisters Designs

And here is a preview of this months kit:




Included in this kit are:
16 patterned papers,
8 coordinating solid papers,
1 button with threads,
1 button without threads,
2 fabric buttons (with and without shadows),
1 felt acorn with stitching,
1 felt leaf with stitching,
1 flower,
1 foam stamp tree,
scattered gold glitter leaves,
1 leaf sticker,
1 distressed leaf sticker,
1 distressed leaf stamp on paper,
1 scalloped trim note card,
1 white leaf stamp,
4 colored leaf stickers,
1 "memories" stamp,
1 sage leaf,
1 tree decal,
1 squirrel decal,
1 knotted polka dot ribbon,
1 geometric orange transparency,
1 acorn not paper (with and without shadows),
1 tree stamp,
1 tree sticker (with and without shadows),
1 blue polka dot tape,
1 upper case cut out alpha (A-Z),
lacquered wooden numbers (0-9),
and 1 12x12 inch psd layout template by Janet Phillips.
This kit is approximately 180 MB

And all of it, including the warm fuzzy feeling of giving, for $8!
What are you waiting for? ;)

Great Women

My mum. <3
Resources: Elegant Wordart Great Women (altered)
Cutie Patootie by eNKay Design
Cutie Patootie Add on by eNKay DesignTemplate by Lorene Hill (altered)

Kit Previews:

The Day the Wall fell

This LO was made for the Who? What? Where? When? Why? Ghallenge at GetDigiWIthIt.
The challenge topic really made me come out of my comfort zone....
It is about the day the Berliner Mauer (Berlin Wall) fell.

I included text about the wall an its fall in black ( from http://www.berlin-life.com/berlin/wall%29 and my journaling in white.


My Journaling:
"Do you remember the Day the Wall fell?
I do. As does every German who was old enough to see
that the World we knew was changed forever.
I was 10 years old, it was a bit over 2 weeks til my
birthday. My brother and I sat glued to the Tv, not
quite comprehending, but being swept away by the
happyness and joy we saw in the faces of the people
on top of the Wall.
I will always remember that joy, the celebration of
freedom, and the reaching out between East and West."


Text:
"Construction began on The Berlin Wall early in the morning of Sunday, August 13, 1961. It was a desperate – and effective - move by the GDR (German Democratic Republic) to stop East Berliners escaping from the Soviet-controlled East German state into the West of the city, which was then occupied by the Americans, British and French.
Berlin's unique situation as a city half-controlled by Western forces, in the middle of the Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany, made it a focal point for tensions between the Allies and the Soviets and a place where conflicting ideologies were enforced side-by-side. However, as more and more people in the Soviet-controlled East grew disillusioned with communism and the increasingly oppressive economic and political conditions, an increasing number began defecting to the West. By 1961 an estimated 1,500 people a day were fleeing to the West, damaging both the credibility and - more importantly - the workforce of the GDR. Soon rumours began to spread about a wall, and it wasn’t long after that those rumours were made a concrete reality.
In a masterfully-planned operation, spanning just 24 hours, the streets of Berlin were torn up, barricades of paving stones were erected, tanks were gathered at crucial places and subways and local railway services were interrupted, so that within a day the West of Berlin was completely sealed off from the East. As of that same day inhabitants of East Berlin and the GDR were no longer allowed to enter the West of the city (including the 60,000 who had been commuters). In response to international criticism that such drastic measures inevitably drew, the GDR claimed that the barricade had been raised as an ‘anti-fascist protection wall’, and that they had moved to prevent a third world war. "
"The version of the ‘Wall’ that started life in 1961, was in fact not a wall but a 96 miles barbed wire fence. However, after this incarnation proved too easy to scale, work started in 1962 on a second fence, parallel to the first but up to 100 yards further in.
In 1975 the Grenzmauer 75 (Border Wall ’75), it was the final and most sophisticated version of the Wall. It was made from 45,000 separate sections of reinforced concrete, each 3.6 m high and 1.5 m wide, and topped with a smooth pipe, intended to make it more difficult for escapers to scale it. The Grenzmauer was reinforced by mesh fencing, signal fencing, anti-vehicle trenches, barbed wire, over 300 watchtowers, and thirty bunkers.
As the Iron Curtain cracked the fall of the wall looked inevitable. In the evening of November 9th, 1989 Gunter Schabowski, Minister of Propoganda, read out a note at a press conference announcing that the border would be opened for "private trips abroad”. The news spread like wildfire and the German people immediately gathered in their thousands by the checkpoints, demanding passage. There was some confusion as to what the official line was and the border guards, uncertain of what to do and ill-equipped to deal with the huge and unyielding mob, were forced to let them pass. The Wall had fallen.
The days that followed saw chaotic celebrations erupt over the country as Germany celebrated the political fall of the Wall - and in the following days and weeks hundreds of citizens began physically tearing down the concrete division. These events were the first steps to the reunification of Germany, which was formally concluded on October 3rd, 1990. Today remnants of the Berlin Wall can be found at Bernauer Strasse and in front of the Neiderkirchnerstrasse, the former Prussian Parliament and current Berlin Parliament."

Resources:
Bohemia: Love Collection by My Mind's Eye
Pictures from the Web
Wordart by me
Template by chrissyw

Fonts:
DSP MelsWorld, LD Tall Pen, Royal Pain, University

Kit Preview:

Grandparents - R&M

These pictures are of family friends and their grand daughter from my wedding day.

Quote (provided by the "Who Said" Challengeat GetDigiWithIt):
"Nobody can do for little children what grandparents do. Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust over the lives of little children." ~Alex Haley

Resources:
Butterfly Kisses Elements by Kristy Krouse
Butterfly Kisses Papers by Kristy Krouse
Template from the "Time for Template" Challenge at GetDigiWithIt

Kit Preview:

LOTD at DivineDigital

54th Birthday, my layout about my mum's birthday, was chosen as Layout of the Day on DivineDigital!

My first ever LOTD! Wooot!!!

Happy Family

A spread from our trip to WV to see my DH family in 2007.

Dec 31 2007.

Resources:

Rum Daquiri by Scrapkitten
Template by Andrea Gold

Butterfly Happyness

“When a small child, I thought that success spelled happiness. I was wrong,
happiness is like a butterfly which appears and delights us for one brief
moment, but soon flits away.”


Anna Pavlova


"Airynne,
Amsterdam, August 24 2008"

Resources:

Butterfly Kisses Elements by Kristy
Krouse
Butterfly Kisses Papers by Kristy
Krouse