OLW

Word Up # 55: JOY

a couple of weeks ago i saw these amazing kids from Staten Island's P.S. 22 perform on a morning news show...it was spectacular and i sat there in tears, SO completely inspired (my littlest was too...& kept begging me "put the singers back on mommy!!!)...besides their gorgeous voices, i think its the absolute and unmistakable joy on their faces...they are just singing and loving every minute of it...their joy is visible, it radiates...like i could reach out and touch it...how cool is that???   i mean really...with true JOY like they have...they really CAN rule the world, don't you think? 

and i got to thinking...even though i'm not 11 years old and i can't carry a tune, how can i infuse that exact kind of joy into my every day? how can i truly be present IN my day and soak up the joy that is offered to me?  i think i often get sidetracked by those tiny annoyances and frustrations that inevitably pop up...that line from the indigo girls' "closer to fine" often comes to mind "darkness has a hunger that's insatiable...and lightness has a call that's hard to hear"...and i think that is SO true...if i give an inch to that negativity, it'll sink me...i've got to reach and search for the lightness...the joy...so i will :)

so who or what is your joy?  or who or what gives you joy?  we'd love it if you would share it with us this round!

This week's sponsor is Memorable Seasons!  They are back for another round and Jill is offering a $30 Gift Certificate to the store.  How awesome, the lucky winner gets to select their own prize!  Be sure to check out the store for some great new products & some awesome deals. 

Gigi

Denise

Gudrun

Jessi

Karla

Lynn

Rev

Ronda

Don't forget to link up your creations to this post by Midnight Mountain time (-7 GMT), July 10th.  If it is your first time playing with us....welcome.  We encourage you to check out the F.A.Q for frequently asked questions.

GOOD favorites

dude! you wordsters really know how to bring your A game, hey?? as usual, oyu make it tougher and tougher each round to choose ONE winner...but...we managed to find our winner in this round....and it's ALL KINDS OF GOOD!!!! so let's give it up for our winner of the tattered angels gift certificate......

Melissa Mann - Florida, USA

and let's not forget these beauties that caught our eyes:

Word Up! Wednesday, see you there!

Jessi's tip/technique

hi jessi here.  I say "it's all good" & end my sentences with "hey".  Just teasing, hey.  It's actually Ronda filling for jessi.  A couple weeks ago I made some pendants using Hambly Pattern Papers & Hambly Rub-ons.  and now I am going to show how to make them.  We all have pattern papers we love, so why not show it off by wearing it?

Supplies:
Glass tiles
Silver bails
Clear Glue (like Diamond Glaze)
Strong Glue (E6000)

You can find some starter kits & glass tiles here on Etsy. 

Kristen Krafts

Sun & Moon Crafts

I picked out some of my favorite rub-ons from hambly. Love how graphic they are.  And then choose some of your favorite pattern paper.  Rub it on to the pattern paper.

Now spread the clear glue over the top of the rub-on and paper, having your glass tile ready to go. 

 Place your glass on top of the clear glue & smooth out any bubbles. 

Let the glue dry and then cut off the excess paper.  Sometimes I put the rub-on off to the side of the glass tile for a nice design touch.

How cute is the tile?  I warn you creating these are addicting!

Next take the E6000 and put a small dot on the back of the bail.  Then place the bail on the back of the glass tile, keeping in mind where the placement of the design.

To clean up my tile, I use a little bit of alcohol on a piece of cloth.

 

Now you have your own piece of wearable art created from your scrapbook supplies!!!  These make great gifts for people.  My daughter & I made them some for her friends together...so much fun.

Lots of Love,

Ronda

Word Up # 54: GOOD

if you could define me by a phrase, it would..."it's all good!" i am easy going....quick to smile...and think life is too short to get hung up on the small annoyances. this phrase i say in regards to just about everything....when things get tough, i smile and know that it will work out somehow...it's all good! when i am being sarcastic and cheeky....dude! it's all good!! when my kids start bickering....and i explain to them they are being silly and that they need to let it go. i usually end it with...it's all good, life is too short! i probably say it too much...but if i didn't say it...it wouldn't be me. and those who know me would miss it if they didn't hear it at least 5...10 times a day!! so this week, i figured, it was a fitting word choice!! GOOD. what's GOOD in your life? what GOOD came out of bad?? what GOOD do you look for when things go wrong?? let's celebrate the GOOD, right here, right now...what does GOOD mean to you???

show us your GOOD and we'll show you our goods, lol!! this week ronda decided she needed to spread some love on her wordsters and is generously donating a $30.00 gift certificate to the tattered angels store.....glimmer mist heaven! mind you, you do not need to get carried away with your mists like some people i know ;)...they do have other FAB products!! so yeah, go create! it's all good!!!

~jessi

Jessi

Denise

Gigi

 

Gudrun

Karla

Lynn

 

Revlie

Ronda

Don't forget to link up your creations to this post by Midnight Mountain time (-7 GMT), June 26th.  If it is your first time playing with us....welcome.  We encourage you to check out the F.A.Q for frequently asked questions.

YES favorites

Alrighty guys...beautiful layouts!!! Thank you so much for joining us! We looked through them all and I really don't think it's ever going to be easy picking just one. But as with every word we came together and chose one. So congratulations to

Annelie - New Zealand

She brought us back to reality with this heart felt layout:

She expressed words of encouragement for so many. So we thank her for sharing this with all of us ^_^  As the winner she will get the awesome 'Strawberry Lemonade' kit from Cocoa Daisy! We hope you enjoy!!!

And you just got to see the other layouts that caught our eyes...fabulous!

So yes, keep on creating and inspiring everyone and see you Wednesday!!!

Karla's tip/technique

Hello guys! Well, I'm here with another Photoshop trick to make your photos pop for your blogs with the use of drop shadows! It's a subtle way to add a little whimsy to any post.

So lets just get to the nitty gritty of it shall we? :)

1.) Start off by opening up a new canvas and opening up your picture. Then drag your picture on top of your canvas.(I do it by dragging the picture layer onto the canvas itself) Rename it if you want. I named mine picture.

2.) Select your picture layer (so that it has 'marching ants' around it) by pressing the apple key while clicking the picture in the layer pallet. (hold down the Ctrl for windows).

3.) Create a new layer (rename it shadow) and drag it under the picture layer. With the 'marching ants' still around the picture layer and with the shadow layer active, fill it in black with the paint bucket tool.

 

4.) Deselect the picture layer and click on the shadow layer. Go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Make it so the edges are good and hazy. I usually choose a setting of 8.5 - 9 but adjust to your taste.

 

5.) Now with the shadow layer still active. Go to Edit > Transform > Warp. Handles will appear. Take the two middle handle on each side and drag them until they almost hit the edge of the picture.

 

 

6.) When you are done with those then pull the very corners out some.

 

7.) Lastly drop the opacity down some if it's a bit too dark. I did mine to 70. And this is the final look :)

 

Play with it too. Here I made the corner of Chloe's picture super funky.

With her all I did was pull the handle of the bottom left of the shadow layer out and up. Then I pulled the bottom left corner of the picture layer out and down. Like you see here:

 

 

I dropped the opacity of the shadow layer and that was it ^_^ Just a little way to make your extra special pics on your blog look snazzy!

***One more tip...Try adding a thin border to your photos along with this technique. It's super easy. All you need to do is:

1.) Make sure your picture layer is active.

2.) Go to your Layer Styles. (it's the cursive 'F' on the bottom of your layer pallet) And go down to Stroke.

3.) Enter a stroke size of about 4 (adjust according to taste). Choose color (I usually go white) and set it to Inside.

You will end up with a nice clean border that will make your photo stand out even more. It is especially nice on darker photos. Here, take a look:

I hope you enjoy and happy posting guys!

-Karla

Word Up # 53: YES

The mushiness of YES.

Me: "Do you love me?"

Kody: "Yes."

Me: "Am I a good mommy?"

Kody "Yes."

Me: "How do you know?"

Kody: "Because you always tell me I'm handsome and you give me all the toys I want."

Me: "Really?"

Kody: "Yes."

Me: "Well then handsome...I love you."

Kody: "I love you too."

- It's nice to here the word YES when that's the answer you're looking for. Yes, you may. Yes, I understand. Yes, you got the part. Yes, i love you. How has the word YES impacted your life lately? Turn it into art and send it out way ^_^ We'll be waiting to see all the scrap goodness from your Wordsters!  Cocoa Daisy is generously donating this word up prize.  Do your thang and the beautiful, warm "Strawberry Lemonade Kit" could be yours!

-Karla

Denise

Gigi

Gudrun

Jessi

Lynn

Revlie

Ronda

 

and back with us again this week is the talented Jennifer Larson

 

and here is the beautiful mini she created

 

Don't forget to link up your creations to this post by Midnight Mountain time (-7 GMT), June 12th.  If it is your first time playing with us....welcome.  We encourage you to check out the F.A.Q for frequently asked questions.

REFLECT favorites

Once again we are blown away by such gorgeous work.  You pour your hearts into your work and we get to see such amazing creations.  Your words inspire & touch us.  Simply said.....Thank you.  We really do appreciate you. 

But we have to pick one and this week's winner will receive lots of goodies from Lily Bee Designs.  Congratulations to.....

Chelsea - Japan

and lets not forget these beauties that caught our eyes

Word Up Wednesday!

Lynn's tip/technique

Just want to share a little embellishment that I LOVE doing! First of all I make my own  albums and I LOVE having things dangling from the spine of my albums... so lets get started!
First of all I used a small frame that is just plain metal.... the opening is roughly 2 inches by 2 inches.... get out your paint and crackle paint as well! ( I just use the good old crackle paint....i know it requires another step but I LOVE the look I get from it!)


wait for your frame to dry then gather up some little embellishments to add to it!
I used a flower and some little letters and a tiny little picture of one of my kids....

I use these little metal attachers...(totally don't know what to call them!) to attach to the back of things to make it easier to hang.

attach picture to the back of frame and then attach  metal attacher...i used glossy accents to adhere everything.

Voila!!! the finished embellishment! I used some wire to attach some beads and another little metl flower and then used some bead chain so that I could hang it from the spine of my album! Have one with these everyone the possibilities are endless!

Word Up # 52: REFLECT

Charles Dickens said:

"Reflect on your present blessings, of which every man has many; not on your past misfortunes of which all men have some"

I LOVE that quote! A sweet little reminder to be more THANKFUL! How often in the past year, or even just the past few months have I reflected on the hardships in life... The things that have not been easy experiences? The things that today....don't even matter anymore. Sometimes I find myself reflecting on the past maybe a little too much.... As I thought of my word for this time round I realized it is time for me to reflect on my present blessings... Reflect on the things that do matter, appreciate all that I do have. So reflect on your present blessings and show them to us....

We have a superb prize pack for you this week!  There's a new company on the rise and you have probably been seeing it all over the place....Lily Bee Designs.  Well you have a chance to get your hands on BOTH of their debut collections...Three Little Birds & French Couture!!! Check this out..

 

So reflect on your present blessings and show them to us....

Lynn

 

Denise

 

Gigi

Gudrun

 

Jessi

taking a break but will be back real soon!

Karla

Ronda

Revlie (see more detailed pictures on her blog)

and we would like to introduce a very special guest designer this word up!  She has been a loyal wordster & we love her style....introducing

 

and here's what Jennifer had to say about herself...

I think someday scrapbooking will save the world, and I’m going to do it. Every day my family, my English students, and my pets give me inspiration. If I could scrap with nothing but patterned paper, buttons, letter stickers, and a pen, I’d be happy. If I could watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Lost, and Firefly again and again while eating popcorn and cake batter ice cream, I’d be even happier. Give me a cape, a tiara, and some adhesive, and the I’ll make the world safe for scrapbookers everywhere.

and here are her beautiful creations...

Don't forget to link up your creations to this post by Midnight Mountain time (-6 GMT), May 29th.  If it is your first time playing with us....welcome.  We encourage you to check out the F.A.Q for frequently asked questions.