Bella Carta

A new song ..... {Unity HHH 5/29/0}

Not feeling verbose today :-) but sooooo glad I had time to play along for Unity's HHH!   And yes, I did "real" papercrafting, not just virtual pages, lol!

The first card feature white ink on kraft cardstock and I colored one of the birds red - clean and simple!

Second card uses white ink for the cupcake and is paper pieced!  A little "happy birthday" charm completes it.  I love those raspberries tones!

More fun with my orchids and PSE 7

I blogged the original photo yesterday, with the little water droplets on. I came outside after a recent rain and that's exactly how I found it.

I added those pics into a digi page and I used the Scrap Girls florid ink overlay on the photo - I think it gave it a really cool scratched, distressed effect.  The "today" and calendar is also from the florid ink overlays, the other kits used include Mod Bungalow and Framed Treasures (all from Scrap Girls),

This was in my garden the other day ....

The fairy tale was back on! {TTIC33 - New Moon Favorite Quote}

This week's challenge theme comes to us from Stampin Insanity- our very own Beth! This is what she writes for TTIC33 - New Moon Quotes: I love quotes that capture a moment - just a sentence or two that stick out and remain in your memory forever. My challenge is to choose one from New Moon (that is a challenge in and of itself ~ choosing just one) that sticks with you. One of my favorite quotes in the whole series is from Jake, of course, and since I have used it already, I will 'challenge' myself to find another. But as Challenge Mistress, I will wield my considerable power and share it anyway - even if it is a little long.

Jacob was simply a perpetually happy person, and he carried that happiness with him like an aura, sharing it with whoever was near him. Like an earthbound sun, whenever someone was within his gravitational pull, Jacob warmed them. It was natural, a part of who he was. No wonder I was so eager to see him. ~Bella Swan, New Moon, Chapter 6, p.145

Craft Portion: Create a project that captures the moment and complements the quote you've chosen.
Comment Portion: Explain why your quote is memorable to you and what about it 'grabbed' you initially. (remember to leave your comment on the TwilightTuesday.com blog)

I had such a great time going back through the book, trying to pick out quotes but I had a really hard time trying to pick "just one" to use for this challenge! But then I remembered this quote in the epilogue of New Moon ......

"The fairy tale was back on.  Prince returned, bad spell broken.  I wasn't sure exactly what to do about the leftover, unresolved character.  Where as his happily ever after?"

I have just installed my new Photoshop Elements 7 - but being a creature of habit, I continue to use my GIMP.  But this weekend, I decided to dedicate some time and try out my PSE 7.  I have to admit, I LOVE it!  there are a few things that I still haven't figured out, but mostly I'm amazed at how inituitive it is AND how easy the text editing works (GIMP is a bear on text).   So {gentle warning} I have several digital projects this week.  I figured that's the best way to learn, right?  Jump right in with both feet!

Anyway .... back to TTIC.  I modified the movie poster for this project.  I've used digital elements from Melisa's Scraps:  Victorian Goth {Bouquet of Pixels}, Kathy Goldstein: Make it Pop and Cullen Freebie {Bouquet of Pixels}, Brandy Hackman:  Mod Bungalow {ScrapGirls} and Amanda S. Florida Overlays {ScrapGirls}

Don't miss out on the design team's fab projects for this week:

Beth~ Dani~ Eve~ Jen~ Julie~ Margie~ Tonya

and check out TwilightTuesday.com for blog candy, sketch challenges, book discussions, everything Twilight forums and much more!

Now join in and play along with us!  Here are a few things that will make it easier for you:

For posting to a blog:

Please indicate that you are playing along with the Twilight Tuesday Inspiration Challenge on TwilightTuesday.com and please provide a link back to our site.

For posting on another gallery, such as Splitcoast Stampers:

Please indicate that you are playing along with the Twilight Tuesday Inspiration Challenge on Twilighttuesday.com and please provide a link back to our site.  Please use the appropriate keywords for our challenges; this week’s keyword is TTIC33. You can also add in more general keywords for SCS (such as Twilight, Twilight Tuesday Inspiration Challenge, etc.).

I should have been doing laundry ......

...... instead, I decided to do a new blog banner.    This one features elements from Scrap Girls -  the kits are Mod Bungalow, Noteworthy, Framed Treasures, and Pen & Ink Artists.  The title font is Pablo.   I love those butteflies!

Happy Holiday Weekend & a Heartfelt Thank You!

All gave some, some gave all

Three Cardinals {what do you think it means?}

Its been raining POURING CATS AND DOGS all week and it seems to be soaking up my creativ' mojo, so it will be a quiet week for me in blogland.

This morning, during a very brief interlude from the rain, three (3) bright, red cardinals landed in my driveway - appearing together.   I am certain there is significance to that - I'm just not sure what it is?  Any ideas?  I grabbed my camera, but didn't get the three birds in one frame, I did get a few snaps fired before they left again (but haven't retrieved those from my camera).

(the photo posted below is from Univ. of Texas).

Welcome to the great Northwest: TTIC32

This week's challenge isThe Great Northwest and comes to us from the enormously talented EVE of This is Bliss!

 If you have ever lived there you know what I mean. Maybe if you have only visited there you know what I mean. Maybe if you only heard about the filming of the movie you know what I mean. It is beautiful there. There is a reason for it's beauty....all the rain!

From the Space Needle to the forests. From the rain to the trees. From the lush green beauty of it all to the Olympic Peninsula. There are so many reasons to LOVE the great Northwest. Edward's family chooses to live there. Bella feels she has to live there, and hated visiting as a child. Don't forget the trips to Seattle, the coast, and into the forest. Have fun with this one!

Comment portion: If you could visit anywhere in the Northwest - where would it be and why?  (don't forget to post your comment on the TT blog, see below for the link).

 

Wow!  I have not had a lot of opportunity to explore the great Northwest and this is definitely on my "bucket list".  I would love a trip to Forks I would love to see those beautiful huge forests and those ginormous ferns!

 

I'll admit to being a bit stumped on this project.  Here in "my neck of the woods" we haven't had any rain for months .... now today, it has thundered and rained ALL DAY LONG.  {sigh} I love thunder!   {not crazy about lightening, though!}  Anyway .... all I want to do is curl in bed with a good book!

 

So, my project this week was my bookmark.  Its made with shrink plastic cut with my nestabilities in the second largest of the curvy rectangles.  I stamped it with two of my fav Unity stamps:  Home is Where Your Story Begins and Distressed Dots.  I tied an old skeleton key on the bottom, it gives the bookmark a really nice weight.

 

 

 

And I'm reposting one of my "older" challenge cards "oh baby, its raining!".  I believe its from TTIC6 - Rain.  I altered a digital photo still from the movie, and stamped and distressed it.   Its really one of my fav cards from the challenges.

 

Just a reminder, while we have a new challenge each week - you are welcome to go back anytime and do some of the older challenges.  You can find a complete listing of the challenges by clicking here.

 

 

Don't miss out on the design team's fab projects for this week:

Beth~ Dani~ Eve~ Jen ~ Margie~ Tonya

(edited to note that Julie is sitting out this week's challenge)

and check out TwilightTuesday.com for blog candy, sketch challenges, book discussions, everything Twilight forums and much more!

Now join in and play along with us!  Here are a few things that will make it easier for you:

For posting to a blog:

Please indicate that you are playing along with the Twilight Tuesday Inspiration Challenge on TwilightTuesday.com and please provide a link back to the Twilight Tuesday site.

For posting on another gallery, such as Splitcoast Stampers:

Please indicate that you are playing along with the Twilight Tuesday Inspiration Challenge on Twilighttuesday.com and please provide a link back to our site.  Please use the appropriate keywords for our challenges; this week’s keyword is TTIC32. You can also add in more general keywords for SCS (such as Twilight, Twilight Tuesday Inspiration Challenge, etc.).

Its Friday, time for a little KOTM blog hop, baby!

My project, it features the April 09 Kit of the Month from Unity Stamp Co:  Fresh Beginnings. 

 I used a sheet of plain white CS and sprayed it with my Adirondack sprays in Butterscotch and Cranberry.  I stamped twice wiht the solid image stamp and heat embossed with white EP.   The sentiment is also heat embossed. I used a spare 6 x 6 porcelain tile I had from a flooring project.  The paper is K & Co (Que Sera Sera), ribbon and some copper brads accent it, along with a large button.

NEXT -----> go check out Kim:  PaperTastic Creations for the next stop on the blog hop.

Unity has some incredible specials this week .<----- click to go check them out.

If you found you way here from a reader/subscription service and want to start at the beginning - click here for the list.

Have a great weekend!

Check this out ..... {a few random thoughts!}

I'm pretty scattered today .... but there are a few things I wanted to share with you  (consider yourself warned!)

1)  Peace, Love and Twilight!  The Twilight Tuesday Inspiration Challenge was featured the other day here:

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-9098-Scrapbooking-and-Stamping-Examiner~y2009m5d12-Twilight-Tuesday-graduation-inspiration-challenge

You'll want to check http://twilighttuesday.com/ on Friday for a fun announcement!

 

2) I will be participating in the Unity Kit of the Month Blog Hop on Friday. I have an altered project that I can't wait to show you!  The Blog hop will go Friday, Saturday and Sunday to give folks as much time as possible to check out all the cool projects.

3) I have a huge stack of books that I'm working my way through .... but wanted to share a few of my favs with you that I've recently finished.

Book 10:  In the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series from Alexander McCall Smith. If you're a  Mma Ramotswe fan, you won't be disappointed.  If you haven't read this series, you should start!

The Wishing Year from Noelle Oxenhandler:   I don't read alot of non-fiction, but I absolutely loved this book.    Two things really stuck with me, the chapter on "putting it out there" having the courage to verbalize your wishes and the recurrent theme on how ingrained we, as women are, that when something good is happening in your life, "the other shoe drops".  Gosh, I fall into that all the time and really have to work on taking the good without feeling guilty.

4) These books are currently on my list to be read next: 

5) I find words to live by here on this blog: Life Musings by Ro (I loved her post from yesterday).