Tonight...

I wanted to create for me.

I used a template freebie found at Oscraps in their Monthly Challenge "Copy Cat."  This was September's template.  I used the digital kit Then and Now by Paislee Press.  The two pictures were taken along the Medina River near San Antonio.

Some recent creations...

with CryztalRain's kit All Hallows Eve.

Stock Image from LisaJen @ Deviant Art.

Stock Image from Marcus Ranum (aka mjranum)
@ Deviant Art.

I have a few more photos...

I'd like to share with you today.

This is Lizzie aka Boo-boo.  She is one of the reason
there is no need to make the bed in the morning.

This is one of the books I got at a seriously discounted price while
Border's was going under...sigh...

And I'd like to share my addiction of finding and photographing
patterns with you!

This one kinda hurts to look at...lol...ack!  Double vision!

I drink a lot of water...

and it gets boring fast! A quick, easy way to add a touch of flavor is to cut up some cucumber and fruit of choice. Strawberries, oranges, raspberries, and blueberries all work well. Got some fresh mint? Add a sprig to your glass and enjoy!

I don't let my concoction sit for more than a day in the refrigerator as it gets a bitter flavor the longer it sits.

I made a number of promises to myself...

at the start of 2011. Photography was one of those promises. As was cooking...or baking. For Christmas 2010, my husband, Randy, got me an iPad. And I must say it has helped spark my creativity and the desire to "make." I've discovered a number of blogs and web sites that inspire me to "do." Allrecipes.com is one of those sites. It was there I discovered the recipe for Fresh Cherry Crisp. What I like about Allrecipes is that you can plug in a serving size number and the site will give the appropriate measurements for your serving size! How fabulous is that!

Scroll over for before and after image process with
Kim Klassen's UggLove Texture.

For 4 servings:

2 cups fresh cherries

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons all purpose flour

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup oats

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 stick of butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Combine cherries, granulated sugar and 2 tbls flour.  In a separate bowl combine flour, oats and brown sugar...cut in butter until crumbly.  Layer cherry mix followed by flour mix into four ramekins.  Bake at 375 for approximately 45 minutes or until nice and bubbly and crispy on top!

Enjoy!

Fall is in the air...

well, not really in San Antonio.  But it is all over digi-land!

Here is a Fall inspired page I created with FineCrafted's Beautiful Fall.

Stock image from LisaJen

I must admit, it has cooled off in S.A.  Mornings are in the 70's.  Days are in the 90's.  And of course, the days are shorter.  Its been nice actually, now that we got a sprinkle or two.  Many wild flowers have bloomed.  Its like spring, only its fall!

Happy Autumn everyone!

Black, white and tan...

Created with Altered Emporium's Freestyle Album,
Written Overlays and Falderals

I lied...

I have another post tonight! While bending over to grab a water bottle from beneath my desk, I noticed the light bouncing off the bottles creating wonderful patterns. I grabbed my Nikon and began shooting away. A little to the left, the pattern changes. A little to the right, oh, yeah, thats nice. And lets play with exposure; because we all know I have a thing for underexposed :)

RadLab:  Punch_out Clair_efy

RadLab:  Punch_out Clair_efy

RadLab:  Super Contrast Crunchy Glasses

These were captured and created for F52.

Okay...

one more post tonight...

The challenge over at Texture Tuesdays (see link lower right) was to use the verb "do" and/or the texture Autumn Burst. I was able to use both.

Reggie and Lizzie are too smart for their britches...errr...furr? The code word for "go on a walk" is do-doo-do-doo. It did not take long for these two to figure out what do-doo-do-doo means...

Here is a picture of Reggie on a do-doo-do-doo this week; processed with RadLab and textured with Kim Klassen's Autumn Burst.

Two weeks ago I created this...

but was in such a funky mood last week I did not post or share it anywhere.  I am excited about this piece as I tried new techniques...I transferred an image using masking tape, painted bubble wrap then used the bubble wrap as a stamp, and used painter's tape to mask off areas I did not want to stamp over while stamping.  The painter's tape worked extremely well as it is easily removed without sticking to any of the underlying work.

I have been in a funk...

all week long.  Not in the mood to create.  Not in the mood to even read about creating.  Sleepy.  All the time.  Moody.  Icky.

But the funk is over....Yes!  And I have created...

Created w/Altered Emporiums Dark Artsy, Metallic Overlays,
and Cracked Wall Texture.  The stock photo is from LisaJen @
Deviant Art.

Getting caught up...

on quick, simple layouts that emphasize the photo(s).

Living in this moment.
Being in this moment.
Enjoying this moment.

Picture taken by Victor M. Chavez

Check it out, its...

9/10/11...

Marta van Eck has re-released one of her kits Master of Puppets at Deviant Scrap.

January Girl
(title from Tori Amos' Black Dove,
please check out that YouTube video)

What does September mean to me...

It means cooler mornings, darker evenings, but temperatures still in the high 90's to 100's.

Texture by Kim Klassen

Gothic Children...

have invaded Deviant Scrap...

Dragon Hearth

Created with FineCrafted's Gothic Fairy Children
and fire from Your Inner Voice 

Peter Peter

Also with Gothic Fairy Children
pumpkin from my own stash

I adore art with magic and gothic flair...I adore the feel of deep, dark magic...things that go bump in the night...the weird, unusual and at times unfortunate.

Cracks in the road

A broken road lies ahead

a destiny unfilled.

So many feelings left unsaid

many things lost along the way.

So many things fallen through the cracks.

Lovers lost, friends forgot,

a broken road filled only with space.

Texture by Kim Klassen

Poem adapted from A Broken Road by Kayleigh 2007

I stepped away...

from the computer. For just a bit. And created my very own paper with card stock, gesso, pages torn from old books, stamps and ink.

Once the paper was made, I scanned it in. Then I added photos from Everything Vintage and journaling. Font is stamPETE.

It was wonderful getting my hands dirty!

Joy!  

That is a good word to describe this creative process.

Discovery!  

Thats another good word.

A few years ago I used to scrap with paper (now I'm all digital). I was never satisfied with my work, always falling short of the image I had in my head. But Art Journaling with paper, non-digial, or hybrid as I did above. WOW! I am very happy with the results. I'm working on another now. It will be a few days before it is ready. I hope I'll get satisfactory results again. So far, so good!