chalk it up

It was my turn to host the challenge over on the CK mb. I had had this idea floating around in my head for a while & there is nothing like a public challenge to get things done! I pulled out the old chalks & let em fly. Here is my LO:

I used a stencil that I cut out with my Cricut "Life is a Beach"to create the shell border. I also used that cart to cut out the star fish & sand dollars. I highlighted the cut outs with chalk & used a resistance technique for the title. Honestly I am not sure why I don't pull my chalk out more often! I think that I may have to start participating in more challenges so I can really make the most out of all of the supplies that I have been hoarding over the years! LOL

Lo form the crop

I had fun at my crop Saturday night but I have to admit, I didn't get all that much done! I was able to get two LOs done. Here is one of them, I still have to put some finishing touches on the other one. The best thing about crops for me is always the visiting as well as introducing newbies to the art of scrapbooking. Our crops generally range in ability as far as the scrappers go & Saturday was no exception. I am sometimes dismayed by people's comments about themselves when they are just starting out . They feel that they should be able to instantly create masterpieces that are worthy of publication but like most things when you are stating out...that's just not the case! I hate to hear things like "I am just not creative" "I can't do this it takes to much time, money, etc" They beat themselves up and stress over everything. I even had a gal tell me that she was having fun but not sure that she was doing it right....What? There is no wrong way...what matters most is that it's your way! Enjoy the process, relish the memories & celebrate your family & it's history. That's what scrapbooking is about to me.

My little guy with his new hat. He just had to have it, silly boy. He does look adorable though...I love it!

Today I will be getting ready for my crop tomorrow night w/ the ladies of Grace. Can't wait to scrap with them again, it has been all summer since we have scrapped together. I will be working on my vacation photos & I plan on narrowing them down to specific LOs that I want to get done. When it comes to crops, less is more as far as supplies are concerned. I want to just take what I need for each LO. Sure, it takes a little extra planning but it is so worth it to me. I am going to plan each Lo & make a kit for each so that I just need to bring the basics & not my entire scrapbook area. So, after I drop the big boy off at preschool, I will snap open a Diet Pepsi & get to planning! Hopefully I will have some great LOs to post next week!

First week of school

Evan is loving preschool! He is so tired after his class, poor guy's used to a little nap during the day! Here we have the yearly porch shot. He doesn't look excited but he is. He has been wearing that back pack since his Grandma bought it for him, silly goose!

Here's the girl, so excited to get going & see all of her friends. This year she is lucky enough to have all her besties in class with her. All of them were in Kindergarten together too! I just pray that the fourth grade girly drama is kept to a minimum!

Looking forward to the schedule to settle back in so I can get some sort of normal routine going. It turns out that I will have about an hour & a half of daily free time. I am looking forward to all of the projects, books, friends, photos & everything else that that extra mommy time will provide!

I am shooting in manual!

f/5.7 1/64 ISO 800 Ok, so I have a DSLR & have been trying to really learn how to use it. Yesterday I challenged myself to shoot manually & here are a few shots. I still have so much to learn! I love the fact that I am starting to understand it though! I should add that these shots are not SOOC, I pse'd them a little. I did a clean edit though & only really adjusted for skin tone (which I am still trying to figure out!)

f/5 1/49 ISO 500

f/5.6 1/60 ISO 500

Finally, here is a LO I just completed with my sis & my brother's little girl. The goal was to get a pic comparing their red hair. Compared to Elli's bright coif Erica's barely even looks red!

School starts in a little over a week. We are enjoying the last few free days of summer. I love the easy, laid back days of summer but I am not going to lie...the thought of school gets me a little giddy. I always love the "newness" of it all, the fresh start, clean slate & unexpected bliss of it all. The crazy thing of it all, is that up until last week I was eager to send the little guy to preschool. I was imagining scrapbooking, reading, projects & coffee with the girls, but lately I have experienced an emotional pause. I, ultimately, am not ready. The true question of course is...is he ready? I imagine that the first week of school is going to be hard on momma!

Love seeing the two of these guys together...so glad that they are such great friends!

My baby girl is nine!

My Baby girl is now 9 years old & will soon be a fourth grader! It's crazy...that's all I can say. We've heard all of the cliches ...yep, it feels just like yesterday etc. She's my sweet girl & my life would be oh so boring with out her. She indulged me today & allowed me to snap a few birthday shots. She is a beauty & we are so blessed to have her in our lives!

Yep, the boy tagged along too. He insisted on wearing the hat. Well, let me correct that...he started out wearing the hat, then midway down the bridge he handed it off to me. I am not sure when I was designated the family pack mule! (Hey we've all been there, right?)

Love this one.

Miss sassy pants! I love ya baby!

Missing the beach. We had such a great time on our vacation...so many wonderful memories & hundreds of pictures to prove it! LOL Between my sister & I we took over 800 pics. I tried to be brutal with my deleting, but I still managed to have a ton! I just placed an on-line order for a portion of them. Even though I focused on a few of the events to order this round...my order was for 227 prints. That's about half (maybe less than half)! I am trying a new photo processor so I didn't want to order the whole enchilada just in case I am not pleased w/the way they turn out. Hopefully there won't be an be an issue, I have heard excellent things about them. This is one of my fav. shots. Erica took it & it was way over exposed but I played around in PSE & I actually kinda like how it turned out! Watcha think?

I really like the texture in this one. Always love shots with the pier in the background. Most of the shots at the beach were taken by my sister because I was always in the ocean boogie boarding.

Summer is wrapping up & soon the fall will be upon us. I am making a promise to myself to savor the last brief moments of summer!

"The boys"

Even though there are 4 boy cousins, when we talk about "the boys" we mean: Evan & Logan. They are mere months apart in age & nearly the same height (Logan's hair is a little fluffier) Had fun catching some images of the two guys together! Logan, my brother's son. I kids you not, he is a mini version of Pat!

I did alot in PSE to this shot. I have been playing around & just having fun with different styles. I love the look of this pic. Sepia w/ a burst of color.

This shot is a little different, I love the color & texture in the jeans. Evan looks so much blonder, I may play around with it a little more to darken it up. I have been trying to download some PSE actions but so far I have not had much luck. I love the idea of actions but have yet to actually try them. Hoping today I will have a break through. I have watched several tutorials. I had minor success this morning w/ a sharpening action but I haven't needed to use it yet & it isn't big & flashy like some of the other actions. I am hoping though, that I have figured out what I am doing & I can build on it for other actions. So far I have only tried free actions, I don't want to pay for any until at least I know how to load them!

The boy on a rock. Such great textures...love this place! I will post more pics from this amazing spot another day...love it!

I love a bargain & when it comes to scrappy bargains, nothing beats a stack! I have an overabundance of them! Over the years I have developed quite the collection. Thankfully, one of my ckmb friends has posted a 2 month long stack challenge. I look forward to going through several of my stacks & making a big dent in them! In this LO I used "Fun in the Sun" Summer glitter stack from DCWV. Love these pics of Evan playing in the rain.

Loving this Basic Grey line. Used it on three of these Los. Generally I am

a multi-photo gal when it comes to LOs but I loved this pic so much I felt that it stood alone & needed a Lo all to itself.
Had fun w/ the star stickers, buttons, & some pop dots. Really pleased w/ how it turned out!

Trying to start actually using some of the stacks that I have accrued over the years, this is from DCWV the alphabet stack. The silver sparkle worked perfectly w/ the pics. Love all of the sparkle & shine...perfect for recording that night!