Happy 2012! I've read so many great articles lately I almost don't know where to start with my link love....
Here's a really good one, if your resolution this year is to lose weight or get in shape - the Zen Habits
fitness guide. This quote sums it all up, really: "I’ve found that losing weight is simple: eat lots of veggies and plant or lean protein, reduce calories, do some kind of cardio, lift some weights to preserve muscle." -Leo Baubata of Zen Habits. He is absolutely right. The hard part is that most of us don't form healthy habits, so we might eat well and exercise intensely for a few weeks, then we get burned out and quit. I like his idea of starting with 5 minutes a day of exercise. If all you do is that, and swap water for sugary drinks or fresh veggies for a less healthy snack/side dish, you're on your way to getting healthier.
Another free graphic from The Graphics Fairy - I can see
this feather on a bunch of different projects.
This article about
deciding on a purpose for Project 365 gave me something to think about. I love the idea of the "lego a day" or something similar, but realistically, the only thing I photograph on an almost daily basis is...my kids. So I have to say, my purpose is simply to keep track of memories. I quietly started project 365 using the iPhone app. Here's my December snapshot:
[caption id="attachment_2421" align="alignnone" width="584" caption="December 2011 Project 365"]
[/caption]
I like that my December pictures are a mix of holiday-themed stuff and random things we did that had nothing to do with the holidays. The app I'm using is Project 365 Pro. It was 99 cents, and I got some itunes gift cards for Christmas so it was free in a way ;)
If you aren't trying to lose weight and get healthy this year, I bet this
chess cake would be delicious...or you could make it for a party and just have a small piece...
Some great
photoshop tutorials for digital scrappers - any other GIMP users interested in having them "translated" for GIMP? I've been working through a lot of photoshop tutorials in GIMP so I could write down the steps...
Okay, there were a lot more great things to read this week, but I got so busy reading I completely forgot to link them all. Hopefully you get a little inspiration out of these though!
[/caption]
Here are my latest digiscrap elements - two frames and one tag, all in a scallop shape with a bit of glitter. They are free for personal use only, which means use them in your scrapbook layouts or art/craft projects but not in anything that you'll sell, and don't redistribute them - if you know someone who would like them, please send them here. Thanks! {Contact me if you want to use any of my items for a commercial project.}
Download the high-res .png files here:
1) Frame with bee {the bee is courtesy of the fabulous Graphics Fairy blog}
2) Frame without the bee
3) Striped tag
I hope you enjoy using these! I would love to see if you make something using my graphics, so feel free to share your project in the comments for this post.
Digital tags and frames are easy to use in scrapbook projects. For paper projects, print then cut out the elements {but you might want to put the picture in the frame first and print it as one element}. For digital projects, tags are easy - just insert them into your layout as-is, or alter by adding a text layer or other embellishment on the tag.
To use the frames in digital scrapbook projects, my process is to use the ellipse select tool to select a circle from the picture I want to use. Then I copy the circle and paste it as a new layer to the frame image. Then I scale down the photo layer until it is the right size to go inside the frame {a few pixels bigger than the inside of the frame works best so you don't get any empty space}, and move the photo layer below the frame layer. Then I usually merge the two layers together and save it with a different filename so it doesn't write over the original frame image. {this is how it works for me in GIMP, the process in Photoshop should be very similar}. That leaves me with a framed photo that I can insert into a greeting card or digi scrap layout.
Linking here: 
. The writer of the review clearly has a personal reason to be upset by the book - but now I actually want to read it. Based on my personal experience as a yoga student, instructor, and as a general fitness instructor, I think reading about recent scientific studies would be really interesting. I love it when I can tell my students a scientific reason in addition to the yoga theory when they have a question about something. 
[/caption]
I was playing with a brush and some glitter, and ended up with a cute little note card featuring a glittery tree. This one is free for personal use, just like my 
[/caption]
This is the first time I'm offering a digital product I made, and it is free, with a couple of conditions:
1) Free for personal use only - that means not for any kind of commercial project - contact me if you want to use them for a commercial project.
2) I'd love to see what you make - so leave a comment if you want to share & I'll go look at your blog post. This isn't required, I'd just love to see something I made in use.
3) If you want to tell someone else about these items, please direct them to this blog post. Don't give away my images, and since they are for personal use, obviously don't sell them either.
I think that's about it. These terms apply to just the items in this post.
If you look at the image above, you'll see that I added numbers to each element so you can choose which one(s) you'd like to download. Click on the links below to get a high-resolution .png file of each one.
[/caption]
I thought this snapshot from a trip to Death Valley needed and aged appearance, so I stuck it in a polaroid frame {courtesy of the fuzzimo blog} and distressed it a bit. Now it has the perfect aged look.
I love Death Valley - it looks like something straight out of a dinosaur movie {well, minus all the lush vegetation - maybe more like a movie set on Mars?} but it's a very dusty place. Everything man-made there looks old and dusty.
If you've never been, it's a great place to go in spring or fall, but avoid the summer - temperatures get up around 120 F on a regular basis, and it's extremely dry - but in spring and fall, with temps in them 80s and 90s, you can swim in the warm springs and hike in short and t-shirts, and there are things to see there that I've never seen anywhere else. I plan to take my kids in a few years, when they are old enough to enjoy the trip and not just complain the entire drive down and back.
[caption id="attachment_2452" align="alignnone" width="467" caption="Digi Tag from Steampunk Brush set"]
[/caption]
This tag was just a fun, quick thing I made to play with the steampunk brush set I downloaded from the 
If anyone reading my blog knows more about any of these books or has read one, I'd love to hear if you liked it or not! I'm kind of an information junkie when it comes to hobbies - lately, I read everything I can find about digital scrapbooking, GIMP, gardening & garden design, paper crafts, and art journaling. 
[/caption]
At the time, digital cameras generally had 2 or 3 megapixels, so my photos from the trip are all very small by today's standards. I wanted to do something with this sunset shot though, because it's the best sunset shot I've ever taken. It actually isn't even quite sunset, so who knows where all the great orange came from. The photo is completely unedited - normally these kinds of photos are washed out, or the lighting ruins them, or something, so I never get good colors when I attempt sunset shots. I have no idea why this one, taken with a low-res low-quality camera, turned out so well. Here's a slightly larger version of just the photo:
[caption id="attachment_2431" align="alignnone" width="450" caption="Aalborg Sunset photo"]
[/caption]
I made the layout using supplies by Charlize Creations. I got the kit, called "You are Loved," from the 
[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_2416" align="alignnone" width="324" caption="Eiffel Tower Tag"]
[/caption]
Since I've been playing around with digital scrapbooking, I've been wanting to try making a few of my own elements and brushes and things. Now that I'm getting comfortable with GIMP, it's not as hard as I thought it would be. I have more ideas than time, unfortunately, but I'm hoping to have some more things done soon.
Linking this post to