A couple of cuties......

celebrating their birthdays within a week of each other. Connor was too funny on the video. I'm bummed I didn't get to celebrate with him in person. I love 6x12 design and when I saw his outfit, BG Lime Rickey was the go-to line. I love that line. A QK heart, lemonade font, and the word. So I decided to give the ole sewing machine a whirl. Whatever made me think I could do straight lines w/that????? Just tilt your head. Snort. Anyway crooked is part of my charm bwhahahaha and it needed to be more than just a journaling square. So I can now say been there - done that. lol!!!! Finishing it off Amer Craft corners. Photo by Melissa Collins.

Owen came and hung out w/us at Ocean Beach and he was too adorable. I BELIEVE I HAVE CONQUERED TEMPLATES IN PSE 7. WOO HOO!!! I'M JAZZED I'M JAZZED!!!! Dancing about deliriously Now onto other things in photoshop. I goof w/every video and tutorial that come my way. Anyhoo, I dug into my STASH for this and it goes way back in the time machine. This is EK Success Beach (which was a long time coming) thinking it'll work because although in Jersey you're technically at the shore - hairsplitting. bwahahahaha. More stash - Heidi Grace alphas - perfect. I think they're Around the Block brads. Lil Davis chipboard. I used the timepiece in QK to make the balloons and embossed them w/the alpha, and the arrow. I also "lifted" the curled vellum trick from Amy Tara Koeppel. Very fun technique. Photos by Kevin Duffy Photography

Flashback Friday 9-25 Postcards from the Past

oooooooooooooo Had this going on - perfect for the challenge. My favorite gram, w/her boy Nick who called her mammy - she loved that he had his own name for her. A hybrid-very simple really - wanted to focus on the picture, and of course Nick's handwritten note. QK blossom (I love that font) and some bo-bunny.

journaling: Nick’s dad relocated to Virginia when he was a small boy, which invoked the divorce clause that “dad was allowed to have Nick for 6 weeks in the summer.” (I put that in there w/the thought it would never happen-so imagine my surprise) Well...because Ed had family in Florida we could either do a pickup or drop off and trip included a trip to Mammy’s (PA) one way or the other. it took nick awhile to settle in with dad - he was sooooo homesick and before the age of *gasp* emails, instant messaging and cell phones, all we had was snail mail and long distance phone calls. So mom, mammy and me would write to him telling him it was okay to have fun, love his dad’s new wife (he already had a relationship with janet) and track the days when we would pick him up.Occasionally (which is really being too kind) he would write back. And he did write a note to mammy which stated the essentials in a less than chatty way and she cherished it.

U.S. Capitol

Well.................I fought PSE 7 and PSE 7 WON! Sigh. I surrender!!! (waving white flag). bwahaha!!! So this was sorta/kinda vision I had for this. Actually I was trying to use the panorama feature. I wanted the 2 houses beside the capitol and use a BIGGER capitol - because well it's very cool.

SOOOOOO....I stole this idea from "My Parents House" They did a photo collage of a building (I think) and just printed a bunch of pix and cropped different parts and just plopped it on there, popped some out. It was very cool. Mine looks nothing like that. lol! I did pop out the dome. I connected all the parts with Daisy D hinge, and to offset the fact that I got graphic again, I used a half circle for the journaling, our BADGE for the title (ephemera rocks!) and wouldn't be done w/o prima - STARs!! ON MM 5th avenue papers, along w/some bazzill. The lo does not do the magnificence of this structure justice. Inside is just as awesome and awe inspiring. I don't have a vision for that page. Which is probably a good thing at this point. Snort.

Oh what a night..............................

by starting w/the photoshop elements template. I have to admit this was a lot LESS PAINFUL than the last time I attempted this. AND I'm in the zone so I'll be doing a few more. What can I say. It's how I roll.

SOOOOOOOOOOOO.......the photos tell the story...gasp. What a concept. We took the train, rode the subway-and what an experience that was. Another great people watching experience. We dined at Bobby Flay's Bar Americain restaurant. DH (he's just too adorable for words) snagged a business card so I could scrap it. The food and service was totally exceptional from appetizer to dessert. It was such a wonderful experience.

I took my little Nikon Coolpix camera because it was just easier and of course had to adjust. lol!!! What's an adventure w/o an adjustment or two. Maybe three.

We lingered in time square after dining. What fun it was to people watch there. Lots and Lots of people and they were out LATE too. Amazing. No one's on our streets at that time.

So I had this vision of the title I wanted and it came sorta/kinda close. The paper-MME & BG as well as the swirl came from a Kenner Road kit. I wanted the title to be fun and funky - which only foam stamps (and maybe some digi fonts-which one digi adventure atta time folks-there is only so much wine I can drink) lol!!! can do. I love the swirl which implies melody - so feel free to sing. Really Really loud because everyone has to know this song. And of course a perfect title. I'm not too proud to swipe it. bwahahaha! prima flower, a ticket that matched the colors - b/c can I FIND our tickets to the awesome play of the Jersey Boys???? NOOOOOOOOOOOO! Come to think of it I can't locate the program either. *insert eyeroll* OMG if you get to see it - GO! The actors were wonderful, they nailed the sound. It was captivating the moment they stepped on stage. I did brag about knowing every word to every song, but one snuck in there. I planned on singing along w/them BUT I was just sucked into the story, I forgot. This was a totally incredible experience.

9.12 tea party express

and we were there with a few 100 thousand of our closest friends. lol!!! It was GREAT and AWESOME. It was really like a tea party. People chatted about ideas, exchanged pleasantries. Flew kites. Ate pbj's. or just sat and watched and listened. There was passion, ideas, and knowledge. You couldn't help but soak it up and in. It was electric.

I have never participated in anything like this and didn't really know what to expect. (Tom did but he was tear gassed the last time. ack). There were people from the top of the capitol to the Washington monument. There were babies and old people. What a mob. snort. There was fun and laughter too. As well as concerns. There were signs and flags. Yeah baby! This is what America is all about.