Our home for the next little while...

Well, the bags are packed and we're very excited to leave the great white north behind for the next 10 days and enjoy the warmer temperatures of the Caribbean.  I hope to post lots of pics from our holiday when we get back.  See ya later!  Happy New Year!

Newspaper Album

Okay, so you may have heard of a paperbag albums, the little flip books made from brown paper bags, approximately 5x5 inches, but have you ever heard of "newspaper" albums?  Awhile ago I downloaded this free class courtesy of Donna Downey.  It was free, so I nabbed it.  (tends to be a trend here, lol)  I admit I was skeptical at first, but then I really thought.. why not?  It's definitely an "outside the box" sort of art project.  I really appreciate Donna Downey's style of art.  There are no boundaries, right or wrong way of creating.  It's all about being inspired and going for it.  And, I might add it is a good use for the newspapers that barely make it to the kitchen table before they are tossed into the recycling bin in the garage.  Planning to add some black & white photos of the kids from '08.
   

Sneak peek for all you Blake fans.

I couldn't resist.  Just look at this precious face!  Today I'm busy working on pics from Blake's photo shoot.  I know I haven't posted much lately, but I have been working on lots of projects, both digi and non.  Hopefully today & tomorrow I'll post some of what I've been working on.  I hope you had a wonderful Christmas celebrating Jesus' birth.

Craziness.

Whirlwind is how i would describe the last two weeks.

I quit my job at the Chinese place, (I was a waitress) it was just too much working for this Momma.  The boys made it clear they want me home, and with Christmas coming up I could see myself burning out.  So, that era ends.  Who knows what era begins.  The time working there was definitely not wasted, I made some good friends, and discovered I really love Chinese food.  And I discovered I can waitress, and I can do it pretty well.  I never knew that about myself, so that in itself made the whole experience worth it.  Ever since my cousin Shari (from Edmonton) asked me way back in the summertime to take pics for her wedding Dec. 13, I had sort of kept the date in the back of my mind for her.   And after I stopped working weekends, (and thanks to a deal with Airmiles) I was able to go on really short notice.  Although I was not the primary photographer, I did capture some shots for her to remember the day by.
   

Storyboards using PS CS3

Question from my lovely cousin Lynette:
Q: I'm looking into getting PS CS3... have you done any storyboards yet, and if so... is PS pretty user-friendly for storyboards?

A: Without a doubt CS3 is definitely capable of handling storyboards, the options are endless.  I haven't dived too far into storyboards myself, only "dabbled".  Here's one i made of my niece Kaitlyn.  I consider myself a definite "beginner" at Photoshop.  I've only taken an Intro class so far, but hope to take some more courses soon.  How "user friendly" photoshop is I think really depends on how much knowledge of the program you have.  At first glance PS CS3 can be very overwhelming.  But with some time and practice it definitely becomes a whole lot easier to navigate.  Before you take the plunge consider a trial version of CS3 before you buy.  Also, if you're looking into creating storyboards and digital pages, I can't stress how valuable a class in PS CS3 is.  Hope that helps and good luck with your decision Lynette! :)