New Year, New Direction

I've decided to consolidate my craft related blogs into one.  From this point forward my digital creations will be posted on my main blog at https://serendipitycards.blogspot.com/.  I hope to see you there!

Mingus Park

Well, it has been a while!  One of my goals for 2019 is to complete a scrapbook for 2018.  According to my computer, there are over 9,000 files in my 2018 folder, so this could be a considerable challenge!
I used the June 2018 sketch from pagemaps.com for this layout:

I created them in My Memories Suite 9 using the following packs:

• Cute Things (paperst)
• Cherish This Moment (MMDCS)
• EveryDay (MMDCS)
• The Stache (marieh)
• A Perfect Day Kit (lthdsgn)
• Cuddle Season (SCA)
• Camera Shy (MMDCS)
• Bella Grace Add On Kit (jsscrap)

The doily from the Cuddle Season pack wasn't the right color so recolored it using the Recolor tool.  I really love that feature, it saves so much time because I don't have to dig forever to find perfectly matching papers and embellishments.

My Sister's Dog

My sister has a chihuahua named Tulsa. I will not lie, it was not love at first sight.  I'm not particularly fond of small dogs and especially not chihuahuas.  They're hyper, they bark all the time and are generally obnoxious.  For the first few years I referred to her as "The rat dog."  I think my cat actually did mistake her for a rat on their first encounter because she immediately went into stalking mode.

Eventually, however, that little chihuahua won me over.  She's not like most of her breed.  She is not hyper, she rarely barks and she's quite well behaved. I got to spend a few days with her last January and we became best friends.  I even let her sleep in my bed. My cat doesn't even have that privilege.  Of course, it could have something to do with the fact that the temperature in the room dropped into the low 50s at night. :)

Here's a page I created with some pics I took of her snuggled into her blanket.  All papers and embellishments are from FURever Friends by MMDCS.

My Memories - It's Not Just for Scrapbooking

I use My Memories for so much more than scrapbooking.  I also use it for making cards and signs and for art journaling just to name a few. Sometimes I use it to plan layouts, like this one.

Layout made with Streets Of N'awlins-(MMDCS)

Sometimes I use it to print elements I will use on a card or page.  For this art journal page, I re-sized the songbook page and re-colored and sized "faith".  Then I printed it to use on a mixed media art journal page.

"faith" was made with Silent Reverie-(MMDCS)
and re-colored (Color = 100,34,38)     

Sometimes my page is made entirely inside of My Memories as this one is.  I love being able to change the opacity of the different layers.

"UNITY" monogram from  Dreamy-(MMDCS)
Papers from  PSNuts-(MMDCS) and  Gnome in the Garden-(Carena )

Sometimes I use it to add verses to my photos like this.

Photograph by me.

I also use it to illustrate instructions.

Made with basic and custom shapes

My Memories Suite really is a very versatile tool.  I've been using it for many years now and plan to continue to use it for many more.  If you'd like to try it out, you can download it free for 30 days.  If you decide you like it, use coupon code STMMMS97442 for $10 off.

Summer Fun

Wow, two days in a row!  Today’s entry is for the June theme challenge hosted by Syrena.  The theme is Kid fun.  I think this layout fits the bill.  It’s of my oldest granddaughter and my youngest son playing in the wading pool on a sunny September day.  I used the Summer PinWheel Party kit, which was one of June's Design Club kits.

Lots and Lots of Birds!

The folks over at the MyMemories forum are running some great challenges with lots of prizes.  I decided to join in in hopes of getting my creativity back.

My first entry is for the layout challenge hosted by Elizabeth.  I decided to use the pictures I took during our vacation to Klamath Falls.  I used one of my photos for the background and changed the opactiy to 65%.  The other papers are from the Spring Fling collection by Touched By a Butterfly.

I created a second layout with the same photos, but a different paper pack.  This one is Sweet Autumn by Carena.  Both layouts are very simple and I’m not sure which one I like better.  I tried adding embellishments, but couldn’t find anything I really liked.