Dabbling in Digital...going all the way!

My latest obsession....100% digital scrapbooking. I know, I know....people who know me well as a designer, know I am a traditional, "work the page" type of gal. Though I have done a lot of hybrid work, it's not until now - I have finally gone all the way!!!! (Blush)

It took upgrading to Photoshop Elements 8.0 to find that magic connection with my software. Prior to this version, it has been a very much a love/hate relationship - too frustrating to sustain. Oh and the added benefit of upgrading my computer...yeah that went a long way toward finding the perfect blend of software, hardware, designer bliss.

Now that we are all working together as a team - the creativity juices runneth over.

Here's a taste.

Cub-O-Ree
Designer: Dionne Blodgett
Design Date: 06/29/2010
Ingredients:
Polka Dot Potato/JenN2 Designs: Bonjour-Paper Pieces
Polka Dot Potato/LPing: Artist Garden Paper
Polka Dot Potato/LPing: Artist Garden Elements: Twisted Pin 1 & 2
2 Peas In A Bucket Fonts: Artist & Tasklist 

P90X – Day 2 (Lean) - Review

P90X – Day 2 (Lean) - Review

Monday – Bah! Always a tough day at work and jus t to add insult to injury the kids are on Spring Break – so I had to sneak out of the house while everyone else slept in. Oh well, good for them.

Since I did a few minutes extra before heading out the door, I prepared some scrambled eggs and packed all of my high protein foods. All this in an effort to avoid temptation at the office and risk blowing my P90X diet – Phase One – burn that fat baby!!!  Good news – it totally worked. I was on track, great choices, no mis-steps.  I have to up the overall calorie intake today – double workouts, lots to burn and avoid the bonk!

I have to say using http://www.livestrong.com/myplate/ to track my food intake makes the whole diet deal way easier – or in my case, it makes it possible.

The workout for Day 2 – Lean – CARDIO X

It was nice to start in slow with the yoga warm up. My hamstrings were feeling so tight all day, the warm up loosen up my muscles. Great workout! My two stumbling blocks – the high kick over the chair – what the heck was that called? Anyway, by the second round I was better able to keep up – the first round – not so pretty. My other struggle…. DREYA ROLLS!! Wow, they really kicked my butt – that would be the same butt I could hardly get off the ground even when pushing off after the roll – we will just work up to the “X”….{sigh}

Today is Day 3 of my P90X Journey. This will be a huge day for me because I am also doing Workout Boot Camp – it’s a hot day and I know this will be an extra tough day – we told to bring weights and jump ropes. Then I will finish up the night with my next P90X workout – on the schedule:  Shoulders & Arms, Ab Ripper X. 

That's all for now - think good thoughts for me.

P90X - Day 1 (lean)

Well, I had intended to start my P90X Lean Program on Monday, but things just worked out today and I found myself with some extra time on my hands....so why not? Lets get the party started early!

The first workout was tough, I was able to do about 95% of the exercises. I felt tired afterward, but also very pleased with the progress and excited about the whole program!

Diet - that is going to be my weak point as the program goes on. I am used to eating pretty much whatever I want. I know I will struggle, but I really want to do my very best.

Today I had a shopping list in hand and left the mini-me's at home when I headed to the grocery store. I loaded up on high protein foods that I like. At least I will be starting off on the right foot, so if things breakdown later - maybe it won't be a total disaster!

I am looking forward to Day 2 and beyond.

Now I still plan to keep up with my Workout Boot Camps. I just love that type of workout - never mind the occasional face full of mud. They are twice a week and I will just do my best to intertwine P980X and Boot Camp...until it kills me or I am completely fabulous! 

P90X - Preparing for my new adventure in fitness

P90X - Preparing for my new adventure in fitness

The time has come! After kicking around the idea of embarking on the P90X program for over a year, I have made the commitment to begin the program!

Now the hours of research, reading the personal stories of others, pouring over the preparation materials - will finally be put to use - in real life, my life.

I am sure that I am not 100% ready for the physical demands of the program. But anyone who knows me well understands my determination to complete the goals I set for myself.

My life motto has always been “Failure is not an option”, those words will surely be put to the test as I push myself well beyond my comfort zone in pursuit of a new level of fitness.

Follow my progress and send encouragement.  March 29^th will be my first day of the 90 day program.

Wish me luck!

Just when you think you are in decent shape.....

Just when you think you are in decent shape.....

All it takes is one good workout that incorporates moves outside of your "routine"! All of a sudden you are reduced to an exhausted heap of spaghetti like limbs, unable to perform simple functions.... like walking or speaking. With each step you feel it's quite possible that your knees will buckle beneath you.

You know you have a great workout when your arms and legs are still shaking on the drive home. Yes, that is what they mean by working the muscle to "failure".

That about sums up my experience from my first Workout Boot Camp. It was a great experience, I was pushed and I felt every bit of it....in a good way.

After getting and putting the kids to bed, I remembered to drink my recovery protein drink and ate a healthy dinner. That earned me a short burst of energy, so I put it to good use and did the P90X Ab Ripper Video to finish off the night!

I slept like a baby and cannot wait until the next Boot Camp!! 

Just another day at the beach

Life as a single mom of triplets has been filled with ups and downs so far, we are adjusting well! Things are falling into place and things are good, very good!

We had a nice day today, just chillin' at the beach. I even have a few photos to share:

Tattered Angels - Glimmer Mist - FAB NEW PRODUCTS!

Hello friends!

Hope everyone is doing well. My life is awesome!! I have been busy working on my new Design Team projects for Tattered Angels as a Glimmer Mist Chick! Hold on to your hats they are about to release some AWESOME new products!!

Here's a little sneak peek on some of the projects I have been working on.

PROJECT ONE: Acrylic hanging photo

Ingredients
Clearly Creative Acrylic Album
Fancy Pants Rub-ons
Prima Say it in crystals
Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist Colors: Pink Taffy, Vintage Pink, Pearl Robin’s Egg Blue
Tattered Angels Chipboard Butterfly
Tattered Angels Sheer Butterfly








Directions
Starting with the acrylic album I sprayed a generous amount of Glimmer Mist in two shades. I used a piece of cardboard to block the areas I did not want to spray. The drying time is increased because of the non-porous surface.

Next I sprayed the Sheer Butterfly in pink and blue and set aside to dry. I sanded down the chipboard butterfly so that it would absorb more Glimmer Mist for a deeper color.

Once dry I added white accents by hand.

The rub-on is applied directly to the photo.





The photo is attached to the back of the acrylic album, concealing the glue behind the butterfly and dried Glimmer Mist. The Prima crystals are layered over the top and finally the butterfly is attached with fibers and secured with glue dots.

PROJECT TWO: BUTTERFLY MASK ON ACRYLIC

Ingredients
Clearly Creative Acrylic Album
Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist Colors: Pink Taffy, Vintage Pink, Pearl Robin’s Egg Blue
Tattered Angels Sheer Butterfly (used as a mask)

Directions
When I created the Acrylic hanging photo I was able to sneak in this bonus project. As I sprayed my sheer butterfly for the other project, I just placed it over this acrylic piece just like a mask. The photos do not do this justice the sparkle of the Glimmer Mist look beautiful when the sunlight shines on it.







PROJECT THREE: MONOGRAM LETTER


Ingredients
Wood Monogram Letter
Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist Colors: Pearl, Iridescent Gold, Lemon Zest
Tattered Angels Fibers Coffee Shop
Tattered Angels Chipboard Crown
Tim Holtz Crackle Paint

Directions
Paint the monogram letter in crackle paint and allow to dry completely. Spray a generous amount of Glimmer Mist over the painted areas, allowing it to fill the cracked areas.

I sanded the chipboard piece lightly and sprayed with Iridescent Gold and Lemon Zest, then added the hand writing and accents. Finish by adding fibers and attaching crown.

PROJECT FOUR: OWL CANDLE

Ingredients:
Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist Colors: Pearl, Iridescent Gold and Suede
Tattered Angels Chipboard Owl
Tattered Angels Fibers Coffee Shop

Directions
Take your candle and lightly spray Glimmer Mist over the entire candle. You will need to allow plenty of drying time. Once dry you will have an amazing glimmery beaded finish. My chipboard owl is sprayed with Iridescent Gold to add a little extra shine. The owl is attached with a variety of fibers. This is a fast and easy way to add a custom look to your home décor.


PROJECT FIVE: WREATH

Ingredients
Wreath
Dried Flowers
Delish Chipboard
Raffia
Maya Road leaf ribbon
Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist Colors: Gold and Olive Vine, Iridescent Gold, Pearl.
Tattered Angels Chipboard Shapes
Tim Holtz Crackle Paint

Directions
Spray the entire wreath and ribbon in Gold and add accents in Olive Vine. Weave ribbon around wreath, securing between the vines.

Paint the chipboard letters in crackle paint, once dry, add Glimmer Mist. Tie on chipboard accents with raffia (spray raffia in gold before tying). Leave the ends loose on the raffia and use them to tie the letter directly to the wreath.

Lightly spray the dried flowers, allowing drying tie to see how much color has been absorbed before applying another coat. Attach the flower securely and add a final coat of Pearl Glimmer Mist.

TRY THIS - Techniques with Paint and Ink

Title: Yeah Fall
Format: 12 x 12

Ingredients
Adironack Alcohol Ink Latte
Delish Bikkies Chipboard Letters
KI Memories Lace Cardstock Flower Child Socialite
Pinwheel Flower Brads
Ranger Crackle Paint Peeled Paint
Scenic Route Sumner North Street Patterned Paper
Scenic Route Sumner Village Drive Patterned Paper
Scenic Route Sumner Jounaling Die Cuts
Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist Autumn Leaves
Tattered Angels Fibers Olive Vine
Zig Journaling Pen


Special Techniques

Glimmer Mist applied to pattered paper and lace cardstock with brayer.

Use a Craftmat to protect your work are. Layout your lace cardstock and spray Glimmer Mist lightly, then spread out with a brayer. Heat set to speed up drying time.

Spray glimmer mist around the edge of your patterned paper - use heat gun to speed up drying time.

Chipboard title painted with crackle paint, heat set and sprayed with glimmer mist

Paint a generous coat of crackle paint on your chipboard, the thicker you coat the chipboard the more crackly you will get. Optional - you may want to start with a base coat of paint before applying your crackle. Allow to air dry.

Once your chipboard is completely dry apply a coat of Glimmer Mist for a sparkly touch.

Here's a close up of the finished chipboard.



Pinwheel brads altered with alcohol ink and use to attach fibers directly to photo




The pinwheel brads where too shiny for this project. So I used alcohol ink to change the color.



Use a dabber to apply the ink directly to your metal embellishments. Allow to air dry or use a heat gun to speed up the process.

Assemble the pieces and you are done!

New Digital Program

There's a cool digital scrapbooking program called SCRAPBOOK MAX. I just started playing around with it and I have to say from a NON-Digital Scrappers point of view - it is really easy to use!!!

Not only is it easy, but it's FUN! The program comes loaded with a boat load of templates, page elements and fonts and whatever else you need to get on the digital bandwagon.

I am going to play with it a little more and then write up a full review - I just couldn't wait to at least tell you about it. Feel free to contact me for more info in the meantime.

Magisitical Memories Holiday Layout

Here's what I have been working on for Magistical Memories Chipboard...they have fabulous products, be sure to check them out!!
www.magisticalmemories.com

Complete Supply List

IngredientsUrban Lily California Polka Dot Patterned Paper

Urban Lily Just Add Color Peek Patterned Paper

Urban Lily Oh So Merry Mistletoe Patterned Paper

Adirondak Paint Dabber Snow cap

Creative Imaginations Red Rhinestones

Imaginisce Poinsettia

Magisitical Memories Jumbo Circles, Winter Breeze

Making Memories Christmas Blossoms

Queen and Co Felt Fusion Black Scroll

Zig Journaling Pen