Digital Scrapbook page..Randy's Parade

I am currently jumping for Joy, doing a long Happy Dance. I started Digitally Scrapbooking not to long ago. And the one thing I hated about the 'kits' is that all I seemed to be able to do is add stuff or take away stuff.

But a couple of days ago Patricia over at digitalscrapbooklessons.com posted a Photoshop Tutorial with a Free Template and a challenge. I think I'm addicted to Challenges. So I downloaded her template and downloaded a free kit from the page she gave as reference (there was some really cool free stuff you should go check it out).

I then very carefully read her directions because I would be doing something I hadn't done before. Every time I placed something in the file and held down my alt key moved my mouse around waiting for the two circles, and then clicked when they appeared - the entire house heard YES!!!!

Here is my page:

My husband is part of the local VFW's Color Guard and has done two parades this year. 

Life Drawing week 2

To all around me, I'm afraid of nothing. Well there is one thing I am afraid of: Failure. It can really keep a person from moving forward.

I'm failing quite miserably at this class, and I knew I would when I started it. But that doesn't make the frustration any easier to deal with. Well enough gripe.

Our homework assignment for the 2nd week was to take a picture and duplicate it as close to the actual picture, and then to draw the same picture upside down. Here is my attempt at the homework, I'm really hoping these are going to get better with practice.

Last weeks class I overcame the 'I want to quit' mental block twice actually. When we start class we start with quick exercises of Gesture drawing it's described as "You should draw, not what the thing looks like, not even what it is, but what it is doing. Feel how the figure lifts or droops - pushes forward here - pulls back there...." So I feel like I'm going along doing well, right? Wrong!

I do this:

and the teacher asks the model to put her robe on for a minute and she stands there and says "some of you aren't understanding, you need to draw what you feel the model is doing, if you are drawing a bunch of circles for all parts of the body, you are not feeling the difference between the weight on her feet or the lift of her arms."

Man, 2 by 4 to the side of the head. Ok Ok I can work through this.

The model goes back up and we are to start a 25 minute drawing, and I start this:

The teacher walks up and taps me on the shoulder "That is to small there is no way you can develop that into a 25 minute study." BAM 2 by 4 to the other side of the head and teeth grit together so tight my head started to hurt, Almost stood up and walked out. So after about 2 minutes of fighting with my self with pencil to the paper and my inability to make it move, I finally started on this:

My true frustration with this class is that there is no instruction, which on day one she said she didn't believe that is how we would learn, "if I teach you how to put down a line in this shape and this manner, all I am teaching you to do is to copy what I draw" was her statement and at the time I thought I understood it, But this is getting frustrating. Yet I haven't quit and will not quit!

Shape's study

Contour studies

I bought Make up..

I haven't purchased Make up in over 20 years. On the few occasions that I did wear make up..my first wedding, my second wedding, my temple sealing, my college graduation (A.S. in Fashion Design), my little sister's wedding, and a couple more very important occasions I currently can't remember. I borrowed the make up, either from my daughter or my little sister.

Since I have decided that my blog needs a header, I scheduled a photo shoot with a very wonderful friend and photographer. Then I looked in the mirror, and all I could think is 'Man when did I get OLD?'

There is no way this photo shoot is going to be 'Natural' like the rest of my pictures and a few other professional pictures. I have bags under my eyes - where the heck did those come from. The really odd thing it looks like they've been there for a while. Why the heck didn't anyone tell me. I know I'm scary but please if I have toilet paper hanging out of my pants, I'm not going to get mad if you tell me, I do.

I used to do some non-professional runway modeling in High School, JCPenny needs you that kind of stuff...so I had make up. And try as I might, I could not remember what brand I used to use. So I went with my Mom's tried and true Lancome. There was also no way I was going to try and figure out my base color, I'd be there all year.. getting older. So I sat at the Macy's counter and a wonderful lady put my face on for me.

My husband was so impressed he didn't blink an eye when he handed over his Macy's credit card, for a total of $200+. Now that's impressive, I didn't realize even my husband thought there was a massive difference.

My only problem is that if I start wearing it on a daily bases, I'm going to have to wear it every day. If I don't I'm going to start getting the 'do you feel good?' 'are you ok?' kind of questions we ask people when they look like they just got run over by a truck. I'm not really sure how much time and money I want to give up, to slow down the aging process, what do you think, about all this??

Hubby's Birthday

My husband turned 48 yesterday. It had been a while since we had Carne Asada for dinner, so that's what I made. We had no idea what we were doing, because last year was the first year he had asked for Dinner and cake, before that we always went to the Date Festival for his birthday. So this year was a bit confusing, because he asked if we were going to go to the Fair, but then also asked what we were going to do for dinner. Needless to say my husband is a bit on the confused side.

So the night before it was decided we would have dinner and cake like last year. I think he has changed his birthday tradition, so I better get better at inviting people, other than a phone call in the morning "Hey you guys want to come over for an early dinner tonight for Randy's Birthday", Cool see you then!

Plus I'm not to sure were my brain was because the camera sat on the table all night, and I took two pictures.

Happy Birthday Randy!

February Sewing Group

Yay, I'm back on track with the monthly sewing groups. Plus we are having them in a nice New Church Building. I had to bring my own long tables, because the new building only has two, but it was worth it because there is so much more room.

The ladies were a bit camera shy, so here is a shot of the construction zone:

We made Diaper Envelopes, I'm not sure who came up with this wonderful idea, but It's great. You put 2 or 3 diaper and the small diaper wipes plastic holder, and then you don't have to lug all your bags with you, from the chapel, or from the dinner table at the restaurant, so on and so forth.

Life Drawing

I've always been of the philosophy that I can do anything I set my mind to. But try as I might I can't draw. I've taken several computer illustration classes (I actually got really good at computer illustrating sewing instructions.) I took one Fashion Illustration course working with the 9 head elongated fashion model, that didn't workout very well. Again I did get really good at drawing the technical spec's for the fashion garment.

I just can't draw the human figure, I can't visualize it, I can't proportion it, no matter how hard I try. So what do I do. I try again. I enrolled in a Life Drawing class. Monday was a long day (well all mondays from now till the end of the semester will be long days for me) Class is from 4:40 to 10 pm.

And we actually spent that whole time drawing (and yes there was a nude model) I didn't run out of the room screaming! I will learn to draw the human figure to the best of my ability.

Luckily we started out with Gesture drawing, I'm really really good with scribbles:

Then moved to contour drawing - Not so good at all:

Then blind Contour - not to bad, in my opinion:

Oh FYI - I'm still in the middle of my Etsy shop makeover - The group has finished but I'm still several weeks behind. Hopefully I move on to a Blog Makeover - it needs it. I need more hours in the day.

I went Stampin...

I actually went out to make some cards. I thought it would be funny if I took a picture of my last Stampin Up catalogue and the new one, But I can't find it. And why would it be funny well because the year on the last one would be 1998. That is the year that my husband check on board the USS Fitzgerald, and he was gone 9 months out of the year, until Sept 2001. And you would think that him retiring from the Navy would make life easier but it didn't it got even worse from there.

So here I set more than 10 years later, finally able to take a breath. Except all I could do is stare at everyone else doing such beautiful work, because I was so tired.

Yet I agreed I was up for a monthly group, and I am even if I have to come home and finish my work the next morning, like I did today.

 I can't wait until life is good, I've wasted over 10 years waiting for that, and have come to the conclusion, that there will always be a trial in my life. I am 40 hear me, roar!

Wedding Dress Made Modest

I got the chance to modify another wedding dress. This one was a bit more challenging, because the entire dress had Rouching (that's the folds and pleating that gets created when the fabric is gathered). The middle part of the dress had tight gather's, done by using a stitching line and gathering up the fabric, easy. But the upper bodice were I would be placing the addition next to had big folds, more like large pleats.

I had to think long and hard as to how I was going to make the addition work. I finally decided there wasn't going to be an easy way out, even if I only had two days to do it in. So I just started hand manipulating the fabric over my pattern pieces.

The back was also a bit tricky because it had a lace up back, so the only thing that was going to work without having to recreate more lace up back (there was no time for it) was going to be a separating zipper. So that's what I did and decided to do it off to one side instead of up the center, it would have been distracting.

Some of you might have read my other post about this dress, and know that the dress left my house without me putting it back on the dress form and taking a picture of the finished project. I do that a lot. But Luckily a friend photographed the wedding, So here are some pictures:

You can visit her blog to see the rest of the Wedding pictures they are wonderful, Thank you Rachelle.