August layout page

In one of the groups I belong to, I am one of the people participating in a "calendar crop". There are 12 participants (12 months, 12 people :) - we each get a specific month to create a layout for. My month is August. I incorporated various icons that remind me of summer: green trees, green grass, the sandy beach, the ocean, the mountains, strawberries and apples, hot sun, cold lemonade, sunglasses. I also wrote a little verse and included it in the layout. I cut everything on my Cricut using these cartridges: Plantin Schoolbook, From My Kitchen, Just Because Cards and Doodlecharms. My photo isn't a very good one. I am going to retake and repost it within the next couple of days.

Editing Photos - PrintShop Deluxe

Quite a few people have asked me what program I use to do photo editing. I actually use two: PrintShop Deluxe and Adobe Photoshop Elements 7.
   Elements 7 is a very intensive, high learning curve program that produces fabulous results. It is not for the faint of heart or people who don't have a lot of time. It's most often used by professionals.
   PrintShop Deluxe is very user-friendly, and is perfect for those who just want to do basic touch-up and special effects. It has a lot of free clip-art and templates, or you can design your own. It also has two text features which enables you to create really neat text effects. PrintShop Deluxe is very affordable and quick and easy to learn.
   PrintShop Deluxe can be bought at Staples or OfficeMax. It is also available at http://www.broderbund.com/ (where I usually buy it). This program is so fun to use and you will love all the creativity you can add to your photos and layouts!

This is a picture of my daughter Shawna, taken at a family picnic. I want to use it on a scrapbook page, but with a totally different look. I open up PrintShop and place the photo above onto the page.

The first thing I do is correct the color - very easy to do in PrintShop. Next I add a soft edge around the image. I then add a light blue "radiant glow" around the photo. My final touch is to use the headline feature of the program - I type her name, add a color inline and outline, add a curve and a drop shadow. Voila! In just a few steps I have created an edited version of the original photo!

Dinner invitation with Wall Decor cartridge

Many days later, I finally created a card using "Wall Decor"! I used Bazzill Pink for the base, Core'dinations Black/Pink for the layer, the Chandelier (cut with Wall Decor) and the word "you" (cut with Beyond Birthdays). Three pink bling stones attached to sheer black ribbon across top; and 3 smaller black bling for the elliptical dots under the word you. I outlined the chandelier with Clear Star Sakuro gel pen, used Crystal Accents for the hanging crystal, and a gold gel pen for the candle flames. The pink paper with black chandeliers is by Paper Studio. The outside says "you...:, and on the inside it says "are invited to a celebration dinner, blah, blah, blah....." Thanks for looking and have an awesome day!