Got something FUN to share!!!

I found out something NEW!!!

Have you tried Picasa? Maybe you have never heard of Picasa!

I have used this program for my photo organizing and editing for quite awhile now. There is a free download for you to give it a try. I only had to try it for a few days and I knew I wanted it.

BUT - here comes the new find - they updated it recently to Picasa 3 and I found this super cool way to create collages. I created two real quick to show you. You can use about any number of photos you want and then you can add borders if you want in any number of thicknesse and colors. I love the look of just adding black borders. You can then print this out 5" x 7" or any size you want. It is a great way to share photos with others or this could even be a cut card or baby announcement.

I love how Picasa organizes my photos/albums. I can see at a glance all of my photos. I needed to find one photo recently and I couldn't remember what album it might be in so I just scrolled through my photos until I found it. And I can't imagine editing my photos any other way. This is the fast and simple way of cropping and fixing colors, etc. I do change the size of my photos in a different program and I do print from another program because I can get more custom sizes in that.

(EDITED to add) when Picasa is open, there is a bar across the top with choices - choose "CREATE" that has a drop down menu. Here you will find "COLLAGE". In "COLLAGE" there are several choices of styles and then you can pick a border or not, etc.

Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

(by the way, that is our youngest grandson)

Some GOOD stuff!!! Homemade rolls and Tattered Angels

I have some good stuff to share but first of all.......
My grandkids all LOVE my homemade rolls that are part of our holiday gatherings. This year was this little guys first try and I think he has joined the official cheer team for Grandma's rolls!!! He is just learning to hold things and so this picture is just too cute of him pretty much saying, "don't even try to take this away from me"!

The next piece of good news! Do you recognize the above logo? If not, you sure need to get acquainted. I seem to go through phases and my newest obsession is Glimmer Mist by Tattered Angels. My joy for December is that they ask me to do some guest design creations. Check out that page here.

Throughout this month, I am going to give you some close-ups of the creations I did for that feature. This first project is a simple mat for a picture that you would mount in a frame. I love the little opening with the large amount of matting. I thought it would be a fun holiday accent and it uses my favorite color of Glimmer Mist, Key Lime Pie.

I had just picked up a package of the Glimmer Screens and I thought this one looked similar to a wreath. I placed the screen on the mat, centered over the cut out opening. I sprayed the entire piece with the Key Lime Pie Glimmer Mist. (BIG HINT: the screen is covered with the Glimmer Mist and you can lift it off of your project and wash it but I just can't waste that wonderful spray, so I lifted it off and laid it out on a piece of plain white cardstock. That gave me a great green design, part of which I used on my CPS card for last week)

Now my next super cool discovery is how amazing the Coffee Shop Glimmer Mist is when it is sprayed on black cardstock. I ended up with a wonderful rusted look. The snowflakes were punched out of that sprayed paper.

Here is a good close-up of the green, the screen design and the rusted looking snowflake. I just wish you would really see the amazing GLIMMER or GLEEM the finished project has.

Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

Materials:

Mat - craft store

Glimmer Mist and Glimmer Screen - Tattered Angels

Rub-on greeting - Making Memories

Snowflake punch - Martha Stewart

Rhinestones - Mark Richards, Inc.

Card Positioning Systems and My Favorite Things stamps

Is this little guy CUTE!!?? My Favorite Things stamps was the sponsor this week for CPS and I picked out a little set of jungle animals, It's A Jungle Out There. These is a clear set of stamps and there are so many images on this one sheet.

1. I stamped my little elephant and embossed him with black embossing powder. I usually like to do that so that now whatever else I do for coloring, etc., he will really stand out.
2. I colored him in with Copic markers. These markers are great for doing some shading.

3. I stamped the little leaf stamp many times all around the border.

4. I colored in some of those leaves with a Copic marker

5. I put a mask over the colored elephant and sprayed the entire piece with Key Lime Pie Glimmer Mist. (To create a mask, simple stamp the image on a piece of lightweight paper like computer paper and cut that out. When you lay that over your original image it will protect it from whatever else you are going to do)

6. The elephant was given a coat of Gloss Accents by Ranger.

7. As I assembled my card, before I added my stamped piece, I sprayed the entire front of the card with a spritz of Sapphire Glimmer Mist. I didn't want to cover the white cardstock and the striped patterned paper, I just wanted a little bit of an accent with the spray.

8. A piece of twine tied around the card gave the finishing touch.

Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

DON’T FORGET card
Materials:
Cardstock
Stamps courtesy of MY FAVORITE THINGS

Patterned paper - October Afternoon
Glimmer Mist/Key Lime and Sapphire – Tattered Angels
Copic Markers
ColorBox black stamp pad and Top Boss Black embossing powder – Clearsnap
Green stamp pad – Fluid Chalk and Ancient Page
Twine
Brads – Karen Foster
Gloss Accents - Ranger

The SUNDAY TIMES - 11.30.2008 - Be a Blessing

Be agreeable,

be sympathetic,

be loving,

be compassionate,

be humble.

That goes for all of you, no exceptions.

No retaliation.

No sharp-tongued sarcasm.

Instead, bless—that's your job, to bless.

You'll be a blessing

and also get a blessing.

1 Peter 3:8 The Message Bible

Our hearts and minds are turned at this time of the year toward the good things in our lives and what we have to be thankful for. Even if things don't look so good for some reason, there is still something we can point out as being thankful for.

When I read the above verse, it made me also think that one way to look at things to be thankful for is in being a blessing to someone else. Takes the attention off of us and our problems. How about if we all took the attitude that it was "our job to bless"!!! Doesn't have to be big stuff, just "bless"!

Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

The photo shows off a Southern California Christmas

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!!

It's official - I am in love with creating Christmas/Winter cards and so I am going to try to share a whole bunch of them through December. I figure that really, the day after Thanksgiving, is a good time to start.
I created this from last weeks sketch, Laura's sketch #13, at 2 Sketches 4 You so I am a little late sharing mine but that is OK. I used a wonderful verse stamp from Unity that really isn't just for Christmas but it just seemed to fit so well.

I sprayed the verse piece with Stewart Superiors Memories Mists. It just helped that plain piece of white paper match my patterned papers. The snowflakes are coated with a new find, Deco Arts Craft Twinkles. You just brush it over your piece and when it is dry you have a great amount of sparkle.

This card is my CPS sketch card for this week. Read on for a pretty fun technique.

See that green patterned piece in the middle? Well, I used a Glimmer Screen from Tattered Angels. I had sprayed the screen with my favorite color of Glimmer Mist, Key Lime Pie and once the screen is covered with mist I just hate to waste it so I blotted it off with a plain piece of white cardstock so now I had a complete design on my paper, the opposite of the pattern that I got when I sprayed the screen. I just cut a piece of that for my little middle section. The entire card was sprayed with a little mist of the Key Lime Pie Glimmer Mist. I love the look that a slight spray of a color gives to the entire card front.

Be looking for a fun announcement from me soon regarding Glimmer Mists and Tattered Angels!

Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)

ALMIGHTY GOD card

Materials list:
Solid Cardstock – Core’dinations
Patterned Paper – Peppermint Stripe and Holiday Potpourri/Scent of Christmas/g.c.d. studios
Machine sewing
Tonic Paper Distresser
Blue Martini Memories Mists – Stewart Superior
Black stamp pad – Versafine
Snowflake punch – Papershapers
Greeting stamp – Unity Stamp Co.
Mini brads – Hobby Lobby
Glitter Glue - Craft Twinkles/Deco Art

SKETCH 92 – HAPPY HOLIDAYS card
Materials:
Cardstock – Core’dinations
Glimmer Screen and Key Lime Pie Glimmer Mist – Tattered Angels
Snowflake punch – Martha Stewart
Scallop circle punch – PaperShapers
Happy Holidays stamp – Printworks
Glitter Glue – Craft Twinkles/Deco Art

Shopping - Shopping!!!!

May you have a whole ton of things to be thankful for this season.

After you all finish up that amazing meal you have planned on Thanksgiving, if you need to know where to shop for scrappin' supplies - check out Emma's Paperie.

Let me tell you, if you have never ordered from Cindy, you must!!! She knows how to send out a super CUTE package! And she is so fast. I just love to order from her store.

She is having a rockin' Thanksgiving weekend sale too with the chance to win a Starbuck's card.

http://emmaspaperie.blogspot.com/2008/11/thanksgiving-specials.html

I have some exciting news coming too - a hint is on my side bar.

Setting the Thanksgiving Table

Decorated Pumpkin Placecards

There are so many ideas for cute placecards for a decorated table at Thanksgiving. These little decorated pumpkins are easy to create and make for a fun table decoration. I found these are a local craft store. They are small, lightweight, artificial pumpkins that are about 2-3" across.

1. One of my pumpkins was covered with pieces of patterned paper that were glued to the pumpkin with Mod Podge.

2. Two of the pumpkins that I have pictured here were painted with metallic paint, one a copper and one a brown/burgandy.

3. When these were dry, they were all painted with Sparkle Mod Podge by Plaid. If you haven't used this stuff, you need to pick some up on your next trip to the craft store. It is a great way to add some "bling"!

4. The felt leaves are by Queen & Co. I just cut one leaf for each pumpkin. The felt is self-adhesive, so I placed each leaf on a piece of green cardstock and then cut around each one. A long, straight pin was placed between the felt layer and the cardstock layer. The head of the straight pin was cut off first and then each one was bent at the stem of the leaf so that it could be pushed into the pumpkin.

5. The name tags were created and a hole was punched in each one. The straight pin was placed through the hole in the tag before it was pushed into the pumpkin. The material of my little pumpkins was rather soft but I did poke a preliminary hole with my paper piercer first. A dab of glue was put on the end of the straight pin that was going into the pumpkin.


Thanks for visiting, Linda (lbpost)