It's Camera Time!!!

Hello friends!  It's a fabulous Friday here in California.  The wind seems to have died down a bit, after a few days of pollen flying everywhere!  I tend to stay inside when it's windy like that...just gives me a headache :(

Also... (I know I've said this before...BUT) I have been eating properly and started a new workout program.  I've been going to the gym for the past 3 years, but I just wasn't seeing much change.  I know that a BIG part of that was my eating habits, but I wasn't willing to give up my chocolate addiction!

Although it's still early in the learning process, I've been exercising with kettlebells. I have a trainer for the first time ever... boy does she do a good job!  She holds me accountable with what I'm eating which is HUGE for me!!!  The funny thing is that because I'm eating lots of veggies and a lot more protein, I don't feel the need for snacking.  I know... weird!  Now if you put a piece of chocolate cake in front of me, I'm gonna have a hard time saying no - but for the most part, I don't miss it.

It's really important to learn the proper way to swing the kettlebell cuz you can injure yourself easily.  If you are curious about it, please don't just pick one up and start swinging!  Find someone who is trained to teach you first - it's well worth it!!!

So now I have some fun news!  I'm posting today as a GDT for Fussy and Fancy :)  Once upon a time, in a land far far away...lol...I was one of the first dt members for Fussy and Fancy!  Funny how things sometimes come full circle.

The Challenge this week is to use a faux technique.  I chose to use faux emboss resist.  Here's my card featuring Photographer from Alicia's Little Shop.  I do love her with her cute camera :)  I'm also entering this in Alicia's Challenge HERE.

To create my background, I followed a tutorial by Gina K. on Stamp TV.  You can find it HERE. She calls it Waxed Paper Background.  This is as easy as can be!  I decided I wanted the background to be very colorful, so I inked it up with Picked Raspberry and Peacock Feathers Distress Ink. I love this color combo!

Don't you LOVE that adorable little die cut camera?  I found it at the Silhouette Online Store by Loni Stevens.  If you have a Silhouette, search for cameras and this one will pop up!  The center of the lens is a heart which I covered in glitter.

The Smile sentiment is from PTI, and the cute li'l butterfly is a wood piece I picked up at Michael's.  I inked it up with the Picked Raspberry, then covered it with Stardust Stickles.  I discovered the black & white twine by doodlebug designs at Amazon.  I'm so glad I ordered it, cuz it was just what I needed for this card!

If you're wondering what's under the card, it's a large, card-size version of the camera with a label.  I added Happy Birthday inside the label - shhhhhhh!  Don't tell, but I think I'm gonna use it for my son's girlfriend whose birthday is coming up :)  I'll share that with you as soon as it's done.

I guess I had a lot of words to get out today LOL!!!

See ya next time ♥

May God bless you, keep you and comfort your soul~

Do You Love Shoes?

Hello sweet friends!  I'm so glad you're here : D  It's been a very rough week...  One thing I've learned though is that no matter what we go through, there is ALWAYS something we can smile about.  Maybe I'm not happy at the moment, but if I look hard enough, I will begin to see that I am truly blessed.

How 'bout you?  Are you making a conscious choice to treat yourself as you would treat others?  I know that sounds backwards, but aren't we usually harder and more critical on ourselves than we are on others?  How many times have we gone out of our way to help a friend?  Let's begin to be more kind to OURSELVES : D

I declare today to be...  'Be Nice to Yourself Day' ... and the next one.... and the next one... and the next... hee hee!

Do you love shoes?  Does the thought of going shopping for shoes bring excitement?  Be nice to yourself today!  Is shoe shopping not in the budget?  Window 'shoe' shopping is free... and then maybe lunch with a friend is in the budget : D  As for me... I pretty much wear the same shoes everyday.  I begin the day going to the gym, so more times than not, you'll find me in a pair of sneakers!  But I do love getting together with a dear friend every day for coffee/tea/friendship ♥

Today's image is 'If the Shoe Fits' by Victoria Case for SCACD from The Fairylicious Collection.  You can find her, as well as her fairy friends *Here.*

She is overjoyed that her new shoes fit... and who doesn't love a comfortable pair of shoes???  She's stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento Ink and colored with the following copics: RV34 RV32 RV11 RV10 RV00; G24 G21 G40 BG000 BG0000; W7 W6 W5 W4 W3 W1 E50; E11 E00 E000; E49 E59 E25 E53.

To achieve the transparent, but sparkly appearance to her wings, I used Transparent Gloss Gel with Glamour Dust sprinkled on top.  Both sets of eyes, shoes and bottom of the shell also received a nice coat of gloss gel.  One thing I like about the gloss gel vs Diamond Glaze is the control-ability.  Both have great applicators, but the gloss gel is thicker and gives a more dimensional quality.  I suppose you could use multiple coats of Diamond glaze, but for smaller areas, I still prefer Transparent Gloss Gel - I really do!

Gorgeous dp is from the Kaisercraft Bonjour paper pad.  The top two layers have been distressed with Spun Sugar Distress Ink as well as the doily peeking out under the tulle I used as ribbon.  I LOVE tulle : D

Guess what I haven't used in a while?  My PINK (Rose) Paper Pen!  I discovered that I have two of these for some reason...  Do you love PINK???  Anybody want to WIN my 'other' Rose Viva Decor Paper Pen?

The first person letting me know by leaving a comment 

on this post only, WINS!  

Warning:  You may have to wrestle it out of my hands first lol!  

Here's a better view of the shiny parts from the gloss gel : )

See that cute lil tag?  I stamped the sentiment (Hero Arts) with Black Onyx VersaFine Ink Pad, distressed with Spun Sugar, a couple of paper pen pearls and tied on using Sew Easy Floss in 'Princess' Pink.  Can you believe that I actually used my Cricut (woot woot!!!) to cut out the tag?   My dusty old Cricut is seeing more use lately!  Have you entered my Cricut Cartridge Giveaway?  You can find the post *Here.*

Susana has a nice variety of Memory Box dies.  There is a Classic Tags set (currently out of stock *sad face*) one tag is similar to the size and style I used on this card.  You can find it *Here.*  Check out the other cool designs *Here.*

Because the base layer of dp is textured and slick, I've used Scor-Tape to adhere the middle layer to the bottom layer - AND because the tulle makes the bottom layer bulkier, as I've wrapped the ends behind the paper, I've also used Scor-Tape to adhere the layers to the card base. 

New Product Alert!

Crafters' Workshop Stencils (Some designed by Victoria Case!!!)

NEW 2012 Copic Markers - 12 piece set

Thanks for stopping by : D

May God bless you, keep you and comfort your soul~