Cute animal pics

Check out these little cuties! I was headed out the side door of my building for lunch and look what was waiting - a furry mommy and her babies. I'm not sure if they are foxes or coyotes, but they sure are cute. I really enjoyed snapping pics of these little guys playing...from the safety of the 2nd floor window!

New Lay Outs

One great thing about digiscrapping is that it's so easy to put away a LO if it's just not working or you have something else to do. Today, I was cleaning up my digi folders and came across 2 LOs that I started and never finished! So, I wrapped them up and here they are:

The first LO is from mine and SD's trip to Seattle last year! We had dinner with friends at the space needle. The papers and elements were all designed by me.

The second LO is from my niece's birthday and I used a kit called “Promise Collection” by http://www.shabbyprincess.com/

Hand Drawn Commercial Use Freebie - Flower

I’ve been practicing drawing in Illustrator. I LOVE it but, it’s a little harder to learn then Photoshop so I haven’t spent a lot of time with it. Today, I drew this pretty little flower and decided to share it with you all. Enjoy! Click here to download it and don’t forget to leave me some love!

`KJ

Practicing Patterns

We were out of town last weekend for my hubby’s 15 year reunion. I took a ton of pics that I’ll have to find time to scrap for you. Since we missed Friday and Monday as well, I’ve spent most of this week playing catch up at work and with homework.

Of course, I always seem to find time for scrapping or designing. Today, I did a little of both. I got this great tutorial on making patterned paper through my aspiring designers group. This pinks & purple feminine paper with lovely butterflies and pretty flowers is the result of my 1st attempt at a more complicated pattern. Not too shabby, huh? I also made the “fibery” pink paper on this LO. I used several creative use elements by GUNHILD STOREIDE to create my embellishments and the pictures are from my niece’s b-day party in 2006.

I finally got to give Karey her badge album last night so check back soon because I’m going to post the final LO’s here. I didn’t want to put them up sooner because I wanted to see the look on her face when she saw them. I have to say that her little girl is such a beautiful baby. I know I’m probably a bit biased, but I can’t help it…and she’s even prettier in person!

Commercial Use Word Art - Freebie

I really like this poem by Kirsti Dyer. I used it last week in a lay out I completed in memory of my dad (see June 3 post below). Today, I’m sharing the word art with you. You can grab it here. I made a couple vellum backgrounds, the “Daddy” I used in my LO, plus a grunge heart and “Mother”. I hope you like them! Don’t forget, you can always make your own vellum backgrounds and make fun new effects by layering on different papers. Have fun and enjoy being kreative!

`KJ

I can see clearly now...

This is an exciting day! I am seeing the world clearly for the first time - no glasses, no contacts, just my eyes working the way they’re supposed to. :o) Yesterday I had LASIK eye surgery and as you can see above, there’s a BIG difference in the way I see the world.

The graphic on the left represents what I used to see when I looked at the doctor’s eye chart without glasses. This is what it has looked like for as long as I can remember. You see, I have been wearing glasses since I was two (at least, that’s what mom tells me). Yes, two years old. I can’t even remember a time when I wasn’t wearing glasses or contacts.

The graphic on the right is what the eye chart looked like at my follow up visit this morning. Less than 24 hours after my surgery. This morning I was at 20/30 in each eye separately and 20/25 with both eyes – how amazing is that? Remember that "perfect" vision is considered 20/20. I was able to read the instructions on my eye drops from a normal distance – before, I would have needed to hold box less than 1 inch away from my eyes in order to read it with out glasses! As my hubby drove us to my eye appointment this morning, I marveled at being able to see street signs, tree leaves and license plates with out even squinting.

Ok, so maybe I am exaggerating just a little bit - I’m not seeing completely clearly. There is a little bit of haze – kind of like looking through fog. The doctor says that’s normal and should go away as my eyes heal. Also, my eyes hurt and when they get dry, it feels like I have sand in my eyes…but I am so happy b/c I can see such a difference. I have to wear sunglasses indoors for the next 3 days and outside for at least a month. I also have to wear goggles to sleep for the next 7 days (so I don’t accidentally rub my eyes).

The surgery didn’t hurt, but it was nerve racking! I won’t go into detail b/c every time I start talking about it, people get all queasy. But, I think it’s a great trade off for being able to see. Whoo hoo!

Has it really been 1 year?

Today’s LO is for my dad, who passed away 1 year ago today. I thought this would be a very hard day – while I am sad, it’s not as bad as I thought it would be. I guess time does heal all wounds.

In the view finder reel, I placed pics of my dad from infant to September 2006 (my wedding). I also placed pics of things that remind me of him:

* White diamonds perfume - he bought this for me for Christmas several times
* A circuit board - he was an electronics technician and loved to tinker with things
* Coke – dad’s favorite drink of all time
* Blueberry pie – his favorite dessert
* Pizza – we ate a lot of pizza when I was a kid, my dad loved it – especially Conan’s Pizza

The word art is the first verse of a poem by Kristi Dyer:
I find an old photograph
And I see your smile.
As I feel your presence anew,
I am filled with warmth
And my heart remembers love.

This poem expresses my feelings so eloquently…not all of my memories of my dad are pleasant, but as time passes, I remember only love.

Working on a present...

I’ve been working on a template pack that will be available at Scrapper’s Zone very soon. The templates are for badge albums (like the one above) which make perfect gifts for people who have to carry a badge to get into work everyday!

I used one of my templates to create the LO above. One of my best friends from high school had her first baby last week – I’m so thrilled for her. They emailed me some photos and I “borrowed" one to do this page. I’m going to do a whole badge album and send it to her. *Kareygirl, if you’re reading this, act surprised when you get my gift! ;o) I used a digiscrap kit called “For Nadya” by Bunny Cates (of digital-scrapbooking.org) & Kim Broedelet (of Kimb's designs).

I’m sorry I haven’t blogged in a while. I promise not to let it slip for this long any time soon. In my defense, I’ve been super busy trying to get ahead on my homework and work-work because I have Lasik surgery scheduled for this Thursday. I want to make sure I don’t leave anything unfinished so that I can let me eyes rest for a couple of days after the surgery. I’m so excited and so scared all at the same time. I’ve done a lot of research and I know the risk of complications is less than 1%...but there’s that little voice inside that keeps saying, “what if you’re that less than 1%?” But, I think it’s worth it to finally be able to see! I’ve worn glasses since I was 2! So, it’s about time.