Destress Therapy - K2S

When I first started my scrapping journey, I saw a couple videos explaining how to do text or image transfers from books or magazines.  Of course - I thought I'd be able to return to those videos at any time so I didn't bookmark them.  As my lack of forward thinking would have it,  I couldn't find the videos when I wanted to try the technique.  Recently I decided to search YouTube, instead of Google and found several videos!  The one I watched is at this link:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8DhFNZx8gQouTube  The first transfer I tried was from a book, and I concur with the video in that magazine transfers are easier than book transfers. 

My first use of these image transfers was on the LO below; I used magazine image transfers to create circle embellishments for my title.

Now, here's the fun thing for me...where I got these circles from....ready?  Check this out!....

I did an image transfer of the unprinted circles. I was amazed at how well even the patterned circles transferred! 

So - if you like easy, repurposed, handmade embellishments - give this technique a try!  It is fun!!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Hello - welcome to stop number four of the Up Blog Hop.  If you are following the map correctly, you have arrived here from Jennifer D's blog.  If you got here some other way, I encourage you to start at the beginning of the Blog Hop at LoveJoyPaper.

So, again welcome!  About this time last week I was getting worked into quite a tiz - the theme of this blog hop was my idea and I could come up with absolutely zero ideas.  I'm a slow scrapper so my fretting increased proportionally.  I finally decided that I would do a personal challenge incorporating the leafy theme of the Blog Hop.  I've completed two acrylic projects previously, but have always felt like I wasn't really embracing the unique opportunities acrylic provides a scrapper.  So, my personal challenge was to embrace those opportunities and use Up as the theme.

The base of my project is a Clear Scraps (www.clearscraps.com) tri-fold scallop frame.  I used two paper lines for the project - Secret Bird Society by Kaisercraft and Autumn Splendor by We R Memory Keepers.

The Explore panel is a picture of my oldest great niece with one of her first leaf experiences.  She didn't quite understand what those leaves were and what one was to do with them!  Hence - Explore was a perfect theme for the page.

I used Distress Crackle on the Wonder embellishment and then hit it with just a little distress ink.  On the exposed acrylic edges I used a Tattered Angels bare branch stamp with Staz-On ink to create an Up border (One Personal Challenge Point! (PCP)). The top scallops I outlined with Viva Glass Effect Gel.  I chose yellow and red were to mimic the Up leaf colors.

Working with a small amount of scrappy real estate sometimes provides creative opportunities.  I wanted to add some journaling, but not wanting to obscure this gorgeous picture, I cut a library card pocket from my Silhoutte for the journaling. This is one of my favorite Up pictures.  I took this picture more than 15 years ago during a golf trip to eastern Ohio.  I believe this is Granville Golf Course in Granville, Ohio.  One thing about Ohio - Up is absolutely BEAUTIFUL!  I do miss the colors.  Western Kentucky colors are no match to Ohio. 

Ah - I beleaf you may now understand Happy Up!  As I was walking around the pond with the dog, it occurred to me how often during this time of year I look UP to see the beautiful colors - more so than any other time of the year.  So, I believe Autumn's nickname should be Up!  It's a much more positive name too!!

Backside panels.  My sister, who has done many acrylic projects, told me that the trick to acrylics is to plan out the entire project.  I'm not much of a planner, but I even did sketches for this project!  I did learn, the hard way, that this planning not only involved the paper and their order, but also what is going behind the acrylic and what is going on top of the acrylic!  I earned another PCP for planning and execution.  

Pardon the blurriness of the picture.  The flower embellishment reminded me the Up sun...those last few precious warm days!!  This is another favorite picture.

I got help from Tim Holtz to make this cute word puzzle. 

This page was so much fun to make.  The leaf frame is Technique Tuesday chipboard.  I used Glimmer Mist to make it sparkle.  A couple weeks ago I visited an old book store.  I bought 3 vintage books - one dictionary, one 2nd grade reader and one 8th grade reader for the whopping price of $5.00.  I used a page from the dictionary on this page.  Finding Archival Mist was a bit of a challenge.  I had to order it from Overstock.com, as the Micheals near me doesn't carry it.   I love the rustic feel of this page.  The photographs are from the Appalachian Mountains near Ashville, NC.  If I live to be 102, it will be extremely difficult to find a region more beautiful than this at the peak of leaf season.  This page definitely earns another point in my personal challenge!

The final panel of my project is a picture of my DH from the first tee box at Eagle Sticks golf course in Zanesville, Ohio.  This page is where I did most of my true acrylic project learning.  At one point I was afraid the page would have to be scrapped, but thank goodness for UnDo is all I can say!  A real lifesaver for me! For a little while last Sunday, the author of this quote's name was Ralph Emerson Waldo

I hope you've enjoyed my acrylic project.  It was so much fun to do and I now have another finished project for our home. 

You'll be Moon Walking next at Laura's blog.  Again - thank you for visiting my blog and Happy Up!

Hello!!  Come in, make yourself comfortable.  Don't you love that little breeze today?  I've made some virtual refreshments.  How about a nice glass of hand squeezed lemonade?  Depending on when  you arrive, perhaps you'd like a nice glass of wine or a freshly brewed ice tea.  Plenty of veggies, a variety of cheeses and of course fresh fruit.  Try those nectarines - but grab a napkin - they are juicy!!  Or, if you have a sweet tooth, dip into the peach or blackberry cobbler and ice cream. You have a lot of blogs to visit - so eat up!  Tell my virtual butler Timmy what you'd like.  He loves working blog hops.  Don't worry - I won't run out!!

If you are on track, you have arrived here from Jennifer D's Scrapdrawer blog spot.  If  you are as lost as a snowboarder in August, head back to Amanda's blog and find your way through the 23 blogs in our tour this weekend. 

First, let me say Amanda's sketch was absolutely fabulous!  I plan to use it again in the future.  Not only is it a fabulous sketch, it was almost like a gift from above!  Since May, I have been working on a baby gift album and as I was getting to the end of the album, my ideas for 8 x 8 layouts were getting rare and time was getting short as well.  I used the sketch as the inspiration for the cover page of the album. 

With an 8 x 8 scrappy canvas, I decided the tri-layering of the sketch would be the element that would best meet and work the needs for this page.  This layout is the first page I've done with a white base and I loved the way it turned out.  I used scraps of the papers I used throughout the album to create the second layer.  The placement of the paper pieces was more random than planned and I loved how this layer turned out.  The sketch has a layered horizontal feature that I loved, but with the many patterned papers on the second layer, I opted to minimize the horizontal feature with a single ribbon.  I used Key Lime Glimmer Mist on the ribbon. 

An element that wasn't on the sketch, but I had so much fun making was the embellishment on the upper right corner. 

The element I'm most happy with on this embellishment is the transparency - ah...because I cut it and used just a little of it! One of the things that amazed me (more than once) while attending CKC Valley Forge a few weeks ago was how creatively parts of embellishments were used with awesome results. A baby step for me, but a step none the less!

The album this layout goes with was a gift.  On each page, space was provided for both pictures and journaling.  As I started this project, I went internet cruising for printable journaling pages.  All I got for my efforts was a nasty computer virus!  Alas, I found what I wanted on the Microsoft Office download page - lots of different lined papers that could be printed and shaped as I need for my layouts. I changed some line colors and whoo hooo I have journaling files I'll be able to use for a long time to come.  I simply print them on my color printer on 8-1/2 x 11 white scrappy cardstock.  I've included a file with this post of six of the pages.   Instead of offering a prize to just one or two, I'm offering it to everyone who visits this weekend!  

A couple examples of the journaling pages...

I know you must dash on to Amanda Johnson's blog next.  Again, thanks for visiting!   Happy scrappying!!

I knew the day was going to be good when I woke up and my back didn't hurt!  The beds at the Radisson have SleepNumber beds...dial in your firmness!  Mine is somewhere close to cement-hard.  My back hasn't felt this good in forever!! 

After a great dinner last night at Cheesecake Factory with sweet peeps Chrobi155, MaryJo, cafeRose and my sister, I was ready to learn some new scrappy stuff and SHOP SHOP SHOP!!   I set a tentative scrappy budget for each day.  Well, let me just say I BLEW through that budget,  but the stuff I got was just too cool!  Bling, SEI paper, Viva Pearl Pens and glass effects...I didn't even BEGIN to see every booth yet. 

Okay - first class for me was "Oh So Beautiful"  an acrylic mini-album class taught by Susan Frase, owner of Clear Scraps (www.clearscraps.com).  I've been waiting to take this class since FOREVER!  An absolutely beautiful album!  Not only is the project beautiful, but Susan taught us about the different kinds of acrylic used in scrapbooking and what can and cannot be done with each.  Did you know you can emboss extruded acrylic?  (the kind that has a clear or blue protective film on it).  Of course I had to go buy some to use on my own layouts!   My sister and I didn't get a whole lot done in class - but we received instructions with color pictures so it's all good!  Speaking of Life Is Good...

My second class today was a Button Farm class with a mini-album project called "Life is Good."  A fun project with a great application of embellishment layering.  Every paper we needed was pre-cut in the kit.  I was able to spend a couple hours this evening in my hotel room and finish the project!  I loved the paper - the Fancy Pants "It's the Little Things" line.  I'm may have to take a little extra of that paper home with me.   I can't wait to look for pictures in this cute album!  This was a delightful class!!

Let me back up just a second...during my morning shopping I was fortunate enough to meet up with Patty.  I also met Nana57 and told her my goal next year is for THREE reserved crop tables!!  I also saw MaryJo and Cherbi155 (although she was working at the Boxer booth so I couldn't speak to her) .

Quick dash to the room, an even quicker little bite of food and a hour or so more shopping until my final class of the day, Quick Quotes "Live Out Loud."  We were supposed to get two pages done, but even with a non-aching back, my brain was beginning to zone out.  The instructor always does a great job of restating the instructions.  This is the kind of of homework I don't mind to do!!  I love the colors of the paper line used!! 

The day was wrapped up with dinner at Chumley's followed by a few scrappy hours in the room.  It's almost bedtime now to get ready for another day of scrappy fun! 

Thanks for visiting.  Wish you were here!!!

I didn't mean for this color thing to have a Part II - but I used my new handmade color tool and I wanted to share my results.  The layout I decided to try my color tool on was a cobbler layout  - as in peach, cherry, blackberry....  My project is a scrapbook of my favorite recipes, family recipes and recipes from friends.  I'm making two scrapbooks at the same time for my great nieces Emily and  Rachel.  I had a picture of a peach cobbler and my neighbor who has tried to teach me how to make cobbler.  As the journaling says - I've not been successful making a cobbler though I tried several times. 

I did a quick sort through the color combinations and settled on one of about three possibilities that would work with the pictures.  Having made that decision so quickly was fabulous!  Now that I had a pallet of 3 colors, (my green was a little more blue than the color swatch) I was able to choose a stripe and a floral paper that I would have never brought together had it not been for my color helper.  Ever better - I found myself referring back to the color combination guide as I was choosing embellishments. I found that I made decisions quicker for the layout because I had a guide of three colors to work within. The color pallet helped keep me on track. 

Carol W shared a comment in my previous blog post about www.Adobe.com/products/kuler. Oh yes that is an awesome tool! Thanks for sharing it Carol.  I've only briefly played with it but I can certainly see myself using it to choose colors based on my photographs. Now I have two great sources for color! 

Thanks for stopping by! 

Color pallet - My green was a little more blue-green - but it still worked very nicely.

Some people are naturally blessed with an eye for putting colors together.  Obviously, it comes in handy when you are a scrapbooker - maybe it should be a prerequisite to the craft.  Fortunately, it is not, otherwise I would have been looking for another hobby.  I don't like to play cards; I work on computers all day for my job, so I do enjoy time away from the rascals; movies put me to sleep and I don't live in a climate where I can play golf year round (at least not yet)!  I wouldn't classify myself as being color challenged, but rather I lack confidence knowing if a color pallet truly "works."  I may have stumbled onto a confidence building helper.

Last weekend I went to my second-ever crop. As I was leaving, one of the ladies stopped by my table and offered me a scrapbooking catalog.  As I looked through it - not only did I drool over all the really cool products, but I also noticed color pallet combinations - dozens of them throughout the catalog.  Creative brain cells #568 and #7889 kicked in simultaneously...I could cut these different color combinations out of the catalog, mount them on paper and put them into a form that would be more readily available when I needed to confirm "my" color pallets or when in search of a color pallet. 

I also remembered that the March/April 2011 issue of Creating Keepsakes had several suggested color combinations for Spring.  I decided to put the scissors to the magazine and add those to my new color confidence tool! 

Did it bother me to put the blade to the magazine and catalog?  Maybe, just a little.  However, I knew by putting these color pallets into a form that could be quickly and easily referenced, the sacrifice was worthwhile.    I'll store the color pallet samples in or near my picture storage box so I can hopefully pull together pictures and colors in less time.  My normal layout routine is to decide on pictures then make several passes through paper possibilities. This can take me hours! Anything to make this task more efficient is worth a try!

Obviously, the color pallets I've collected here are for spring and summer - so more color combinations will be needed for Fall and Winter to make my color pallet tool complete. Color combinations change as well from year to year, so this set of colors may have a short life span - but it's a start to help me build color confidence.  Maybe the best part of my homemade color confidence tool is the low cost!  It's practically free!

Thank you for stopping by and visiting.  Have a wonderful day.  May something special happen today that will make a great layout - even if it's special because it's ordinary life! 

Hello Spring Blog Hoppers!  Thank you for visiting Destress Therapy.  I am hopeful the project I completed will stir and awaken a wonderful spring memory you  have.  You arrived at my blog from Bec_Scraps' blog.  She always has something wonderful to share and she's a tough blog to follow!  If you didn't arrive here from Becky's blog, I encourage you to go back to the start www.lovejoypaper.com (Amanda's blog) and go through the hop!" 

One of my favorite childhood memories of Spring is flying kites with my dad and older sister.  Great memories - but there was a problem - no pictures.  I invoked the first rule of scrapbooking and declared:  "there are no rules - and the lack of pictures shouldn't prevent this wonderful memory from being recorded".   I didn't want the layout to be void of pictures and decided to use pictures that unmistakably represents springtime.  This was also a way to bring the past and the present together.  The journaling serves the past; the pictures the present.

Having read the previous paragraphs you are now asking - "Where's the journaling"? 

I used Ranger Distress Ink to color white cardstock for the journaling spot.  My handwriting will never be a hallmark of any of my layouts, so it's best that it's hidden.  Besides, what a fun find it will be for someone to discover my kite flying memories one of these years. 

Journaling: 

One of my favorite childhood memories is kite flying. 

We could get the kites up so high in the sky we could barely see them.   

A challenge with every kite was not letting go of the kite string when it was time to add another spool of kite string.  We lost more than our share of kites to trees, electrical lines, roofs and, yes, the unfortunate disconnection between kite and kite flyer! 

 Kim, Karen and I walked to and from Orville Wright school each day, and walked home everyday for lunch.  I don’t know how much time we had for lunch, but we had enough time to do a little kite flying – I do remember that! 

 Dad really enjoyed flying kites with us and we made many trips to the grocery store to buy more kites as ours succumbed to the aforementioned elements that destroyed our kites. 

 I don’t remember a lot about the different designs of the kites, but I do remember the ominous and forbearing skull and cross bone kites  Karen like them - I did not.  As a kid, I was sure how well the kite flew was directly related to what was printed on it. 

The kite is a Silhouette file, but I used a little personal engineering to make it a journaling spot.  I cut a notch extension that allowed it to be attached to the journaling section. 

Next was the challenge of attaching the stem/tail to the layout page.  Adhesive didn't seem like a viable solution, so I punched small holes and made embroidery thread loops to hold the tail/stem in place.  I tied the thread off on the back of the layout. The butterflies help to hide the loops. 

 My title was also cut from the Silhouette.  The letter coloring was done with Ranger distress ink.  The letters were Glimmer Misted to add a little pazazz.  I found some printed paper in my stash that, with a little fussy cutting, became wind currents for my kite! 

I am so blessed to have dogwoods, daffodils, redbuds and star magnolias blooming in my yard at spring!  Ah! Spring

We all have memories that may not have the luxury of pictures to preserve them.  Don't let them be forgotten! I suspect your journaling will create a picture - not one on the page - but one in imagination of the reader. 

While creating this project, the thought occurred to me that I couldn't recall the last time I saw someone flying a kite.  Tonight as I left work I saw a beautiful kite gracefully dancing in the warm spring breeze.  Kites - timeless symbols of spring.

My Spring Blog Hop tease post focused on finding inspiration in a unusual place. If you are wondering about that you'll have to check back again.  As I put the finishing touches on this layout, it became clear that piece of inspiration must wait for a future layout.  Be sure to check back and see what it is!

Again, thank you very much for visiting with me.  I hope you have enjoyed Ah Spring! and I hope your part of the world is beginning to bloom and come alive again!

It looks like I'm the end of the hop so I'll ask you to go back and visit Amanda's Blog to finish up your tour! 

I'd love to hear about a memory you would like to preserve, but don't have the luxury of pictures.  Please feel free to leave me a comment. 

I'm trying to get my thoughts, ideas, pictures, embellishments and just everything together to do my Spring Blog Hop layout.  I've had so many ideas floating through my head that I've even made a sketch of the layout! 

Today at work I discovered the most interesting source of inspiration for my layout.  I looked at it and thought...now that would work on my layout!  Of course, this is meant to be a tease for the Spring Blog Hop on April 8 - 10 so you'll need to just wait and see what it is! 

I'm off to create now. (My chore of getting tax stuff together is done.)

Have a great day.  Thanks for checking my blog.

I haven't decided if I'll do a give away...if I do - what kinds of things do you enjoy receiving?  Paper, rubber stamps, pretty brads, ribbon?  Leave me a post so I can decide and get something ordered!

Have a great day!  Spring is on the way....the calendar says so!!

My second scraplift gave me an awesome "ah ha" moment.  The scraplift I chose is from the book, appropriately titled Lifted by Michelle Meisenbach. The sample I chose to lift is on page 63 and is posted below. 

I was drawn to this layout for several reasons.  First, I liked the bold title.  I also tried to chose a layout that had the same number and picture orientation of the pictures I planned to use.  Another strong element of this layout is the triangle created by the flowers.  It also used two patterned papers and different shades of a solid color. 

Perhaps if you didn't know I used the layout above as my starting point, you might not know my layout is inspired by this layout.  This turned out to be an "Ah Ha" moment for me.  I identified elements of a layout I liked and wanted to emulate, however my page evolved into something quite unique as compared to the original.  The original layout was a source of inspiration, but I was able to create a totally unique layout that I can claim as mine.  This is an important ah ha moment, as I've been quite resistant to even entertain scraplifting.  Scraplifting is not necessarily about copying; scaplifting can also be about establishing a starting point but making totally personal and unique twists and turns on the layout's journey. AWESOME!!!

The title took most of the page real estate that was used for journaling on the source layout.  The winter-themed font "Krystal" was perfect for the "Snow" part of my title so I felt is was a justified decision.  As I positioned my pictures, the only location for my journaling was between the pictures, but that wasn't sufficient space to tell the story.  I chose to create hidden journaling that also made a beautiful embellishment for the page.  I found two super cute Basic Gray glazed bird brads in my stash that I used as the journaling closures.  The ribbon is SEI.

Using my Silhouette, I cut the snowflakes.  The were an adventure to get "just right."  First I glimmer misted them, but that didn't give them enough "pop".  Next I outlined them with a fine point pen; still not enough spark.  Next I used an ink blending technique on the edges...closer to what I want - but still not quite.  Finally I used blue Distress Stickles to provide the last bit of sparkle.  I had a snowflake bling embellishment in my stash that I added to one of the flakes for a final "pop".

I don't think the pictures of the layout quite do it justice.  This layout has become one of my favorites!

Thank you for choosing to spend a few minutes on my blog today.  Have a great and blessed day. 

A few weeks ago I feared I'd lost every creative cell in my body.  I (reluctantly) decided I would embark on a self-imposed scraplifting challenge to learn more about scrapbooking techniques.  The first LO is below.  The page I lifted (Winter Glow) is an elegant and beautiful layout by Irma Peredine and appears in the January 2011 issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine. 

The first challenge was the pictures I chose - two of my cat Archie eating radish leaves.  The pictures are oriented landscape, not portrait.  So, immediately I had to make adjustments.  My goals for this LO was to learn how to layer different patterns of paper and to create a sense of continuation - as is done in the title and journaling of  "Winter Glow". 

My layout, "Eat Your Greens" is below.  A matching embellishment was added below the first picture on the advice of an extremely talented CK message board peep Ashley Horton.  I received several other suggestions, but was unable to incorporate them into this particular layout (I did try!). 

I was pleased with my mixing and matching of patterns and colors and was really pleased with the title and the unique handmade embellishment.  The embellishment idea came to me after reading Buffy Fan's blog about layering.  She recommended three elements in layering - something flat, texture and dimension.  A wonderful tip!! 

Happy scrapping!  Watch for the next scraplift layout from my personal scraplift challenge coming soon!

On Friday afternoon Mike yelled from the garage for me to grab the camera and "come on!"  So I grabbed and went - not really knowing where or why.  He said he had just seen an owl on the side of road and he wanted to get a picture.  So we drove about a mile from our house and sure enough there was the most beautiful Barred Owl (I know what kind it is now but I didn't know at the time.)  on the ground.  We took pictures and went back  home.  Mike went by where the owl was a little later and reported that the owl was gone.  (I had remarked I hoped there was nothing wrong with it - given that it was on the ground and didn't mind too much having  pictures taken.)

Fast forward to Sunday afternoon - I'm on my way to grocery store.  As I pass near where the owl was on Friday, I see it again - on the other side of the road in a driveway - close to the road.  That concerned me that maybe there was something wrong.  On my way home from the store I spotted the owl in the ditch - not far from where it has been an hour earlier. 

I did an internet search for owl (rapter) rescuers in our area.  I called several - the numbers were no longer in service.  I did speak with a nice lady near Bowling Green and she told me how to catch the bird.  I'm taking notes and Mike is in the background saying...we're not bringng the owl here!  She's recommending I bring the owl in the house....that would go over well with two cats and a dog! 

Mike then calls a friend of his who is a state trooper.  Billy calls back in a few minutes with the name of a person close by that rescues birds.  Mike calls her and she agreeds to come up and get the owl. 

Mike drives to where I saw the owl,  doesn't see it and comes back home.  As the both of us are going back, the phone rings and the bird lady Kathleen is in the vicinity.  The owl is no where to be seen.  We start looking through the tall grass and on both sides of road.  It's almost dark now and I'm really afraid the owl won't be found. 

We were so intent on looking for the bird on the ground - that's exactly where we looked.  Mike happened to look up on a nearby splitwood fence and saw the owl!  Better yet - it took flight across the road into a tree in the woods. 

Kathleen stated she believes the owl was probably hit by a car and was in shock.  She was relieved (as we were) that the bird had flown.  She said she felt like it had a chance for survival - given that it could fly.  We've had a couple of really brutally cold nights and I feel that if the bird was still alive after those temps - it was in pretty good shape. 

So - it was the great owl rescue that wasn't!  What a magnificent creature! 

This will make a great scrapbook page and I decided to put the details on my blog so I'll have the details when I need them! 

Thanks for reading this edition of Destress Therapy! 

Being the 3rd of 4 children and the third girl - I have a strong aversion to be like someone else.  I know of several childhood pictures where there we are - the stairstep girls - all dressed in the same outfit at Christmas.  There were other influences as well.  My DH and I had a strong disagreement when he decided we would purchase a dining room suite just like his brother's.  Didn't sit well with me.  This probably why I find it difficult to scraplift.  It's a GREAT idea and it works from some people - just not for me.  I love to look at the LOs of others and get ideas but to put picture A in space 1 just isn't for me.  As the song says....I gotta be me...

Yesterday on this blog I posted some designs I'd made using my Silhouette software.  Nothing too terribly sophisticated - but I figured my fooling around saved me a couple bucks!  (At this point my  DH would calll me "Clarabell" - my grandmother - quite a frugal woman....)

So I made two elements - a tag and a ticket.  I cut several and each and then wondered what I would do with them.  My sister has lent me her Tim Holtz "Curiosities" book so I started to browse.  I found a tag with elements that might fit with my current layout.  I don't have the same stamps or embellishments so it was going to be uniquely my own - but not created on my solitary island.  Thank goodness for the many super creative people who push this hobby forward and from whom I can gain inspiration to be creative. 

 I'm pretty darn happy with this LO.  This is for my family recipe book so I have to make 2 of each page.  I decided a while back (because I even hate copying myself!) that not-so-subtle differences in the pages will be fine.  It gives me a higher chance of finishing the project because repetition bores me.

So what was white pieces of paper last night are pretty cool hand made embellishments.  The printing on the tickets are rub-ons.  I have to remind myself to look at the pieces of somethings - not the whole.  I grabbed the words "Good" and "Guaranteed" from the phrases they were a part of.  I also set the metal embellie leaves to point toward the picture to give the work direction. 

I used my SIlhouette for the "Sweet Tweets" letters and the bird and of course the tickets and tag.  I also got to play with my Cord 'inations paper and Technique Boutique embosser. 

This LO was really a "Destresser" for me.  Having had two recent family deaths - a whole array of emotions and responsibilities have been swirling.  The success of my meager Silhouette creations and my attempt at imitating Tim Holtz has melted the stress away.  I just wish it could melt the mess away!

Thanks for reading Destress Therapy for today! 

I'll start with a disclaimer - I'm not sure how good I'm going to be at posting to this blog.  I'm not really sure what I'll write about - but I guess I'll find something - it seems that millions of people have no problem blogging.  So, if I don't know I'll be able to keep this up and I don't know what I'll post about...why create a blog at all?  The answer -- the Valentine's Day blog hop!  A CK board activity that should be fun to create something for and to see what others have created.  I have a few ideas and I'm looking forward to getting started. So if your first visit to this blog is for the Hop - Welcome to the Hop!!

Tonight I created my first Silhouette designs!  They aren't anything awesomely complex, rather current staples of scrapbookings - a tag and a ticket.  I was even able to figure out how to set the side cuts as perforations so that the ticket looks like it was on a roll!  I can't wait to play with them.

Thank you for stopping by!