while you were downloading ...

Each morning I enjoy a cuppa joe in this lovely souvenir coffee mug that Matt brought back from Alaska.  He brought one for Robert too!  His is more macho.  I suppose that would translate, larger!

Sorry I am behind on replies to your amazing and overwhelming number of comments y'all!  My goodness.  The old saying is true.  Be careful what you ask for!   I am overwhelmed with your generosity and thankful at the same time as your feedback really does make a difference in how my creative mind will flow!  Do y'all love the color purple, or what?  *look of amazement*

So ... while you were downloading since I posted *The Wild Ones*, we've emptied the nest! *mouth wide open and eyes popping out of head*

Yes, I cried.   Briefly.   My baby boy, John, turns 22 next month, along with his twin brother, Luke, who has lived on his own for nearly two years now!   All things in God's timing and we were all (kinda, sorta) prepared for this day of transition.   It's not like they have all moved out of the country, though we did just send off my oldest son back to Alaska for his second season in Dutch Harbor!   The twins remain in Copper and Mark is just up the hill a jaunt.  And, of course, my darling daughters are both in Washington state ... just a wee bit of a longer jaunt!  *grin*

Today is, as always, a joyful day!  While it is, indeed, Saturday, it is not a sadder day as I had thought it might be!  You will understand more fully when you take a peek at the photos below:

Matt and Max.  Not a mad Max, but a sad Max!

Photos processed in Photoshop with some amazing actions by the incredibly talented Annie Manning of Paint the Moon Photography (Salem, OR)!  I have mixed actions from her Picture Perfect Mega Set, Fresh and Miracle Makeover, along with a little tweaking of my own on the saturation, contrast and lighting.  I also used a commercial-use grunge mask from Katilin Thurzo of Rainbow Scrapbook Design.  I am not thrilled with my tweaking on the one above, but the one below turned out pretty cool as I was going for somewhat of a vintage look to compensate for the overly grainy outcome from my camera!

My camera is on about it's last point and click!  I never know what kind of results I will get, so I just keep on shooting and hope for a decent one out of the bunch!  LOL!  I'm thinking the light sensor (if I'm even close to naming it correctly) is going bad because everything will be going along okay and then without warning, everything goes dark.  I find the opposite when taking flash photos.  Sometimes the flash works wonderfully and then, poof, washout!

Do not these two photos tell all?   Well, almost.  I am not sure who appears more melancholy, my number one son (Matt) or our number two furbabe (Max)!  Anyhoo, this photo will be amongst the most memorable treasures of 2011.  Yesterday was, by far, our sadder day!  *wink* 

While proofing my post once again upon publishing, it just hit me why Max was sitting on the deck howling late last night.  Sweet little man that he is.  It is too quiet!  He is used to the boys driving in-and-out a few times between work and going out.  Our furbabes never cease to amaze us in their sensitivity to their people.  Max knew Matt was leaving and you can clearly see the sadness in his eyes.  He only howls when he is missing an integral part of our family, be it human or non!  Bless his heart.   

John had just moved out Wednesday night and Matt left us late yesterday afternoon.  We actually drove John to his new digs (the home of a long time friend to all four boys), which is a very short jaunt down the road!  His bedroom here at the house is still filled with clothes and other assorted belongings that will slowly make their way out!  LOL!

I took a few photos of Matt relaxing and pondering during his last few hours with us. He is laying in the hammock that he gave to me for Mother's Day.  Yes, you just know that I shall be thinking of him each time I climb in for some just me and nature time!  I love it!  And, I love my son.  *sigh* 

We had a good chat during my little spontaneous photo shoot.  Why is it I never feel as though I have enough photos of those I love?   It just seems that I am forever wishing to capture moments.   It might be an age thing, where I feel that having a photo to look at will help the memories linger as I get even older and, possibly, begin to forget or get them mixed up with each other!  ROFL!  I already do that with photos from back in the day!  You know, like from years ago when the children were little!  Were they ever?  *sigh*

I have raised six beautiful and amazing children.  Or, have they raised me?   LOL!  Perhaps, a bit of both, eh?  Being a, for the most part single, Mommy, Ma, Mama, Mom, Mother (there may be a few others I am forgetting ... purposefully!) has truly been the most enriching and rewarding part of my life, which has given me an education beyond that of any college or university in existence today!  While the occupation of motherhood may not have paid me in dollars and cents, it surely has added to my account of heart wealth (we measure that in gold, don't we?) and common sense (whatever it is we perceive common to be :)  Not to mention the importance of learning how to put into practice unconditional love and an immense amount of patience!  I often wondered if there was any more patience to be worked out in me.  Oh yes ... still workin' it!  *wink* 

Anyhoo, the dynamics of our family has not always fit into the norm (whatever that may be), so my emotions have been mixed.   I think at times I may confuse my joy for my children with some sadness for myself and I believe that I am finally understanding (a bit of a revelation), that in my process of always being happy for everyone else, it is perfectly fine and warranted to be happy for me too!  One might perceive that tidbit of information to resemble somewhat of a bittersweet moment!

So, today, I celebrate! We celebrate! My sweet man and I. Uhm, and I am quite sure that the young men who are the topic of this post are doing a little celebrating of their own!  *smile* 

To the future ...

I shall be back soon with a little something to go along with *The Wild Ones*.  Oh, and a little head's up y'all.  On June 1st, there is going to be a bit of *Monkeying Around* going on here in Scrapland ... toot, toot ... all aboard!  The June Blog Train shall be departing and making some one hundred stops with some fun stuff for your scrapping delight!  Don't miss the train!  *wink*

Tweet

Read more...

monday in the marketplace ... amazing and inspirational finds in scrapland and beyond ... and a killer photo book deal!

Happy Labor Day y'all!

I'm late due to more labor than I had anticipated on the home front today! ARGH!

Well, even if you are not in the USA, I still wish you a Happy Labor Day as I don't think there is a single one of you out there that is not "laboring" in one way or another!

And speaking of laboring, we have another grandchild on the way ... like any day now! His name is Mylles and his mother thought it would be pretty cool if she found herself actually in "labor" during the Labor Day weekend! Not going to happen as it is now just after midnight, Tuesday morning!

Today, being Monday, marks my first segment of Monday in the Marketplace.  Please, just pretend it is still Monday! He, he ... *grin*

I'm not sure about the rest of you, but Mondays are, generally, slow-going for me. I am not quite sure as to why that is, it just is! So, I thought since I typically spend the greater part of my Monday cruising around Scrapland ... and beyond, looking to see what might catch my eye in the way of inspiration or a GOOD deal, that I would share it with y'all too!

You might be wondering if I'm being compensated in any way for anything or anybody that I promote here at Bon Scrapatit Designs during my excursions out-and-about Scrapland and the answer is "no"! This is something that I've long wished to do, but with my health issues the past year and then my travels, I just never could seem to get it going! All things for a purpose and the right time has presented itself for me to share with y'all some of the people, places and things that catch my eye!

The items I shall be sharing with you today have all actually just about fallen right into my lap! Or, should I say, I just happened to be in the right places at the right time! LOL!

I was on Facebook trying to catch up a bit and saw the image below, which had just been posted by Bunny Cates, owner of Digi Scrap Obsession (DSO), whom I had just featured here on Friday!

Bunny had asked Gaye Lambert of GS Creations to draw her a Goth girl and this is what she came up with! Isn't she just THE cutest thang? LOL!

I have long admired Gaye's artistic abilities and this sweet illustration, Morning Jinxy, just reaffirmed that admiration earlier this morning!

Gaye has put her newest commercial-use doodle on sale for $1.50 this week, which is 25% off the regular price.  Click HERE to be taken straight to this adorable drawing in Gaye's store at DSO.  This sweet little gal will add a little whimsy to your layouts, bring a smile to the recipient of a homemade greeting card or even make for a pretty cool wall hanging, don't you think? *smile*  She has definitely found her way into my heart and I shall be picking her up tomorrow! *wink*

My next find was also one that I stumbled upon after having made a purchase and going back to check something out over at Memory Scraps! A designer there, Lauraskathi (Kathrin Pfetzing), who creates some really GORGEOUS designs, is retiring from designing and has put several of her scrapkits on sale for ONLY $2.00!

*40 Years* includes 21 papers, 112 elements and 2 alphas in 10 different languages, each of which can be downloaded separately! WOW! This gorgeous scrapkit is filled with happy colors and chock-full of scrapping goodness!

*Summer Vacation* boasts of 31 papers, 122 elements and 1 full alpha! This scrapkit is also on sale for ONLY $2.00 and is sure to scrap many a trip to the beach, an island get-away, or a tropical vacation. This kit is very versatile and will make for lots of wonderful everyday moments to be beautifully preserved as well!  The lovely patterned papers and meticulously extracted embellishments will make your layouts shine!  I cannot wait to snag these two!

You will find Kathrin's store at Memory Scraps HERE and while you are there, check out the other kits she has on sale for $2.00! More shopping on my list tomorrow!

Over at Digital Scrap Cafe this month, their talented designers have put together A Little Something for us! It is an AMAZING September collaboration for the super low price of $5.99!

I love the muted Fall colors that will scrap a multitude of events. You will find 70 papers, 122 elements and 4 templates in this plethora of scrapping delights! I'm sure you'll agree with me on the nice blending of traditional scrapbooking elements and darling doodles and I simply cannot fail to mention the sweet stitches and pretty paper flowers!

If you'd like A Little Something for your scrapping stash, click HERE!

The last of my finds out in the marketplace today were outside of Scrapland, yet very closely connected! LOL!

There is an awesome and pretty popular CoffeeShop I've been to a few times over the past several months and I just found my way back over there today since my time away! The CoffeeShop that I am referring to is owned by a very talented and generous young lady, wife and mother of two, Rita!

I shall let you stroll on over there at your leisure and scour the premises for all that your eyes can take in during one visit.  I guarantee you'll be back over-and-over again to digest all that Rita has to offer in the way of photography tools via actions, tutorials and more and the best part is that they are all free!   Rita's newest action is PowderRoom After Dark and you can find it HERE ... for free!  Oh, and you may as well grab yourself a cup of coffee because you will want to sit at the CoffeeShop for a spell! LOL!

If y'all stop on over and download, please make sure to leave Rita some love and let her know that I recommended her!  Thank you!  I know that she will really appreciate it since she and her entire family are still recovering from mono and she is still bestowing her readers with amazing gifts!

And, isn't Rita's puppy just the cutest?  OMGosh!  I love those big blue eyes against her chocolate coat!

Last, and certainly not the least, is a quick blurb for a killer deal from Shutterfly and Groupon!

I found this via a tweet with the hastag #digiscrap attached and, of course, just had to check it out! Am I glad I followed my curiosity as I am now the proud owner of a coupon that I only paid $10.00 for, which will allow me to purchase an 8x8, hardcover photo book from Shutterfly (plus shipping and handling)!  WOOT, WOOT!

I've been wishing to create a photo book for some time now, but whenever I get an email for a special from Shutterfly, I never follow through because they simply do not give me ample time to be able to design one the way I wish to! Yes, I know I can create and then wait to print when a good sale comes along, however, seeing as how I've not completed one yet to see whether or not I will be happy with preserving my memories this way on a regular basis, this deal via Groupon is perfect and will give me until November 22, 2010 to get 'er done! ROFL!

Here is where I registered to become a member of Groupon (I even uploaded an avatar and contributed to the forum! Can you tell I was excited? LOL!) and then purchased the coupon for Today's Deal: $10 for a 20-page 8"x8" Hardcover Photo Book from Shutterfly!

I just checked and 1200 have already been sold and the deal ends at midnight tonight (Tuesday).  What a great deal for a baby album, birthday book, family reunion, vacation, etc. I'm SO excited to finally have the incentive to get moving on putting a book together!  ROFL! So, if I go missing for any length of time, y'all will know what I am up to! He, he ...

I wish you all an AMAZING day and I will be back, hopefully later today, with a little goody for you as well as a really genius cake recipe that has everyone going gaga over here!  I'll give you a hint.  There are only two ingredients used and it is moist and delicious!  I am not a cake connoisseur, but this just might change my mind!

If any of you think you know what the recipe is, please post below! ;)

Tweet

Read more...

love that shot and a leather giveaway!

Luke’s First Day of College

Tutorial Used: “How to Apply a Texture to a Photo” by Misti Tracy

Happy last day of August everyone!

Many of you have already sent children off for a new school year, are still preparing to or, perhaps, you are homeschooling!
 
As most of you know, my babes are all grown up now and my youngest, twins, turned 21 last month.  One of the twins, Luke, has just started his first year at our local junior college and he is SO excited! I am equally as excited for him!

Luke stopped by after work yesterday, late afternoon, to share the good news with us.  I knew that he was enrolling (I filed FASFA apps for both Luke and John last Spring), but did not know that he would be attending his first class quite so soon! (climbing out from beneath the proverbial rock!)

My oldest son, Matt and Luke share a house together. Luke is in the beginning stages of trying to manage college classes, a full-time job as well as keeping house! Luke has been known to be the “mom” around his home! This not only entails his looking out after anyone who enters through the front door, but also keeping the household running as smoothly as humanly possible when occupied with ALL boys. Uhm, I mean ... MEN! LOL!

Until recently, there had been four or five young men living under the same roof. Needless to say, things were a bit chaotic most of the time and Luke was giving serious thought to relocating himself for he knew he could not go to school and deal with traffic in-and-out of the house at any given moment, 24/7. Well, as it turns out, two of the roomies decided to move on the end of July. I could hear the sign of relief in Luke’s voice as he was thinking that things would now be “all good” with just he and his brother sharing space! He, he ... okay, I’ll be nice, but y’all know how brothers can be at times too, eh? ROFL!

Anyhoo, Luke’s visit yesterday naturally led this Mama to snap a few shots to preserve this special and most wondrous occasion, as well as marking my first project as a new CT for an incredibly wonderful site I joined several months ago, Love that Shot! 

As a digital designer, I love working with textures, so the first tutorial that caught my eye was, “How to Apply a Texture to a Photo” by the lovely and talented Misti Tracy, co-owner of Love that Shot. I have tried playing around with this on my own a few times in the past, however, I struggled with the fine art of using the lasso tool to achieve the result that I was looking for.  Misti’s tutorial was the key to unlocking the magic of the lasso tool for me in loosely outlining my subject and using a bit more feathering than I had been working with prior!  Thanks again Misti! *wink*

Now, as with any tutorial, you learn the basics of how to accomplish the meat of it and then, of course, you experiment! That is what I did with the photo of Luke above. The background was very busy and distracting and Luke got lost amongst the bookcase full of books here in my little office space, so I worked on cropping, angling and blurring out the distracting background as well as applying textures to my photo!  And, I even decided to keep some texture on Luke’s face!

I am not thrilled about only having my cell phone camera to snap with at the present time (5 MP), but have risen above the disappointment with my use of post-production tools to give me an end result that I can live with!  Although, I am still looking to replace my camera, which started having some issues while I was in Washington in, hopefully, the very near future!

I am thankful to have found Misti and her sister, Michelle at Love that Shot and am looking forward to improving my skills in photography as well as some post-production in Photoshop!

If you are looking for some fun and unique ways to improve upon your photos, whether from behind the camera or via some manipulation in your photo editing program, come and check out what the girls have been up to at Love that Shot!  Misti and Michelle not only offer up some cool free stuff, but they also offer a monthly membership which gives members access to all of their tutorials, including supplies to work on each one with, along with exclusive discounts on digital products and FREE registration to their workshops! There is an active forum too! Comment, share, ask questions and connect with others who share your passion!

Oh, and while you are checking out the Love that Shot site, Misti and Michelle are having a new giveaway this week! Do y’all like leather? You’ll love what their talented brother has to offer us! Details can be found HERE!

Now, y’all know what tomorrow is, right? Well, besides being the first day of September! The September Blog Train, departs! WOOT, WOOT ... TOOT, TOOT ... stay-tuned! It is going to be a Fall Carnival for sure!

Until we meet again ...

Love and hugs,

Linda XOXO

P.S. Live Writer has not been working properly for me since my return from Washington and my working on my blog makeover.  Please excuse the lack of paragraphs when my feed is burned before I can get into Blogger and make corrections!  If someone can shed some light on this problem, I shall be most grateful. When I tick “edit using theme”, I have absolutely no control over the placement of anything!  However, when I type up my post without using the theme, everything appears normal before my eyes, but this is not the case when I hit the publish button!

Tweet

Read more...