Sketchfest at Creative Scrappers!

A whole week of challenges and games and some great prizes! The DT have put together some great sketches, and really, these events at Creative Scrappers are some of the most organized, best-run online events that I've taken part in. The amazing Kristine even put together a complete pdf of all the challenge sketches, so you don't have to keep flipping through the threads to find your sketches. Mine are hanging above my desk right now... :-)

I think I'll be making use of the sketches to try to finish some more layouts for my parents' long-overdue album about their house... I'm hoping that I can wrap it this year! I finished one this week that turned out better than I thought it would when it was in process. It was one of those I-have-to-leave-this-alone layouts. You know the kind? The one that you stare at for half an hour without doing anything to it, until you finally have to pack it away for a while? Here's what finally happened.

New blog challenge!

There's a new blog challenge at The Paper Element. Rita Shimniok is the November Guest Designer, and she's got a perfect November challenge: Gratitude. And check out what she did with The Paper Element's Hot Chocolate line... Yummy!

I played with some Paper Element papers myself this weekend, at the CSI crop at A Cherry On Top. Here's some of my results... Isn't this Tinsel Town gorgeous??

And then a little with some older papers... This is TPE's Sugar line.

Blog challenges continue!

The blog challenges continue at The Paper Element! As a reminder, each completed challenge gets you one entry into the monthly drawing. And this month, we have a guest DT member, Rita Shimniok. That means that there's an extra opportunity this month for the drawing. Our scheduled blog challenges are on Saturdays; Rita will have a special midweek challenge later in the month.

And, for an update on my Photoshop adventures, here's the layouts created with some of the pictures I edited.

Glamour Witch: MME patterned papers and Core'dinations cardstock (Black Magic and Vintage collections); Adirondack dabber paint; AC Thickers and brads; Stickles; Ranger Distress Ink; stickles; misc. bling.

scary pair?: MME and Core'dinations papers (Black Magic collection); Bazzill chipboard and chipboard letters; Prima and Bazzill flowers; AC brad; Stickles; Ranger Distress Ink

I also worked on some Paper Element projects this weekend, but that'll be a later post!

Finally playing with Photoshop Elements!

I bought Photoshop Elements several months ago and just haven't had much chance to play with it. This afternoon, I finally sat for a couple of hours and tried to figure out a few basic things. I've used Photoshop before in technology classes at work, but I've never used it outside of the class setting... meaning, of course, that I've never made anything that was covered in the classes "my own." So, here's my results... Pedestrian, I know, but leaps and bounds for me. Check out the kids' Halloween costumes!

B/W background to highlight "Hannah the Glamour Witch:"

The Clone Stamp to take out the doorknob and deadbolt in the picture, which were right above and below the Glamour Witch's hat brim on the right side of the picture:

That's how I spent my Sunday afternoon, or at least part of it!