PHOTOSHOP

Well after a year of trying to figure out this difficult program called Photoshop I finally know how to layer. This is the biggest thing I wanted to learn to do. Thanks to my many friends and my wonderful Grandson that know Photoshop I have learned to layer!!



This digital collage has three layers.
The image of the girl
The image of a playing card
The image of a post card.

I have only just begun!!!

Thanks fo all of you that have put up with my questions about this.
We

IT'S THE MEME TAG!!!

Okay I have been tagged by Annette over at Just Annette
This is a meme tag and a bit different .....

Rules are as follows:

Open a document or folder.
Choose the fifth folder and then the fifth photo in that folder
do a post describing the photo
tag five friends to the "meme"

So, here's my fifth picture, in my fifth folder:

A photo of a collage I copied over a year ago because I thought it was cool!

So now I pass this tag onto the following 5 people who in turn will open their 5th photo folder and reveal the 5th photo in that folder.


1) Joni from " Just Joni/Morning Coffee"
2) Angelina from "Angelina's Trinkets"
3) Susan from "Black Berry Creek"
4)Nancy from "Never Enough ATC'S"
5) Becky from "Whimsical Musings"



LOOKING FOR EARL'S FAMILY
If any of you have every visited Joni at Just Joni/Morning Coffee. You know her story of her regular visits to the homeless in her town and the man named Earl that had a stroke just before the holidays. She has desperately been trying to find this man's family. He is sick and needs to be off the streets. You can go to her blog and read more about him but if anyone has seen this man and know who he is or who his family is please contact me and I will forward the information on to Joni.
Thanks so much


Earl L. Hill, a homeless man in California looking for his family, can you please help, if so notify me, Patti

A NEW TECHNIQUE

Well this past week I have been pretty busy with a new technique for my collages.


I had planned to do just a couple to see what the results would be...

The results were so pleasing that I couldn't stop!.....

I have discovered a new technique to use for my collages that has got me really excited! Thanks to Kathleen of Nadine and Kathleen (Beautiful Unsual Custom Cards), one of my Etsy Oceanteam buddies. She had a fabric that she thought would look good with a collage that I had made awhile back for my niece Mandy. I had already given the collage to Mandy so Kathleen ask me to recreate that collage and see what the collage would look like with the fabric she had in mind. My other Etsy Oceanteam buddy Brenda confirmed that it sounded like great idea so that next day I went to work...........

This was the original image I chose to make the collage with.

Here is what the collage looked like that I gave to my niece.

Here is that collage recreated with the fabric. Oh my goodness what a difference!!!!

I also had done some collages for Mandy's children for their birthdays coming up in February. Well with the new idea of using fabric as the background on stretched canvas I just had to try it. This new idea took off like wild fire! I did all 5 collages in just one day! I love the look and cannot wait to do more. The possibilities are endless!!!



Blue Princess
Pink Princess
Purple Princess
Lace PrincessTractor Ride and Pitching In



The best part is my collages now look complete and professional. I am thrilled. It just goes to show that 2 minds are better than one. Thanks Kathleen!!




I also completed three more comfort dolls last week.

I am going to make a point of visiting my blog buddies this week. Hope you are all creating that ATC for the Valentine Swap. Your partners will be posted on February 7th.

Oh, by the way, please make sure your link is visible so that your partner can contact you for your address. I have one Anonymous participant, Darlene Pringle. Darlene, please send me a link to your web site or an address where you partner can send her swap. I am sorry if I do not recognize your name but I usually recognize web site names. Thanks Darlene.

I am getting excited about our swap....HAPPY CREATING!!!

THIS IS GREAT!!

This is great! Looks like we have 17 participants for the Valentine ATC swap! It should be fun.
You can start working on your ATC at any time but I will be partnering you up and posting that list on February 7th. This ATC is one that I just completed for Mamma's Challenge on Flickr.


Also here are three more collages I did over the weekend. The two images of a farm are for my nephew Grayson, he is 10 years old and one for my niece Mandy who loves George Washington. I used pages from a National Geographic Magazine dated 1929 and the article was about Geogre Washington and a church that had reinstalled it's baptizmal font. The image was on the same chapter in the magazine. I used acrylic paint to make it look antique and embelished with buttons and yarn.



The farm collages were done on masonite using pages from a Little House on the Prairie book I had a duplicate of . I got the images online and I embellished the tires with buttons.

I also finished three more comfort dolls but I am having a problem downloading them from my camera tonight so I will have to post those later.

VALENTINE"S DAY ATC SWAP

Well it it is just a month until Valentine's Day 2009. Can you believe it? Time seems to pass so fast as I get older. I remember when I was 15 years old I could not wait to be 18. Now I dread my next birthday!

I am hosting a Valentine's Day ATC swap. Those of you that want to participate please leave a comment here and February 1st I will partner you up. That will give you time to get create your ATC and get it sent out to your partner.

Happy Creating and I am looking forward to all of your wonderful talent!

OKAY I HAVE BEEN TAGGED!!

This is a piece by Becky Loyal of Whimsical Musings and yes, she has tagged me to name 5 things I am addicted to and when I am finished I am to tag 5 other bloggers so here goes....

1. I am addicted to coffee
2. I have to have some sort of Chocolate everyday. Since I have been on a diet since May I love my Isagenix Chocolate Shake and I get to have two a day.
3. I am addicted to my sons and get the craving to hear their voices. They all live in other states so phone calls are important to me.
4. I am addicted to blogging and answering all of my emails.
5. I am addicted to house cleaning. I have to clean every Monday or I feel like I forgot to do something.

Having admitted all of those things I tag the following five people

1. Out of The Mouth The Heart Speaks
2. Garboodles Soup
3. Love Conquers All
4. Angelina's Trinkets
5. Just Annette

Okay girls...you have been tagged now you go tag 5 people.

Okay I am off to change to look of my blog!!

DO YOU REMEMBER ?

Okay how many of you remember Bobby Rydell? He was my idol when I was a teenager. Second to Elvis of course joined his fan club when I was 14 years old. I was crazy about this handsome young man.

Well the other day I heard my favorite song "Volare" and I said to my husband " I wonder whatever happened to Bobby Rydell?" He went online and found a website for Bobby Rydell and guess what? He is still activley entertaining! He still has a fan club and an email address! He is still a good looking older gentleman and an all around nice guy from what I read about him.


Anyway I thought it was interesting and wanted to share with all of my friends.

Who was your idol when you were a teenager?

HEAVY HEART TODAY

I have been thinking about my Mother all day and I was over come with grief. Maybe this is the first time since her death it has finally hit me that she is no longer here and never will be again. I still have the memory of her last hours and even though she didn't suffer but two days the memory of her gasping for her last breath and the complications of her illness I had to make decisions on. I want so much to feel her arms around me and welcome her kisses she used to fill my dimples with.

I had a break down today and cried like a baby as I held one of her favorite tops and looked at the picture of her taken Christmas 2007. It was the best picture of her I had seen in years. Even though she was blind from diabetes she looks as if she is looking right at me with the most beautiful smile. I guess I needed to cry and I probably will again. I still have questions I want to ask her or something I want to tell her and then I realize she is not here and it hurts. I think many in my family feel that way. I miss her so much. I just have to remember that she is heaven with our Lord and all his glory and then I am alright.

On a more cheerful note. I finished my 20 cards for the ZNE Calling All ATC Swappers Valentine Swap and they are ready to go out in the mail.

VALENTINE ATC 1 of 20 copies

I did 4 collages for my great nieces for their birthdays next month along with matching note cards and I also entered an altered envelope I did last Valentines day for an Etsy Cottage Style Challenge.

My altered envelope

I plan to give my blog a face lift this week and work on more Comfort Dolls. This raining season can really make you blue if you don't keep busy. I am so grateful for all the warm friendships I have discovered through my blog and Thank God for each one of you.

MORE COMFORT DOLLS

Here are a few dolls I have finished for the Comfort Doll Project. They will be mailed out tomorrow.

I am involved in several ATC Groups and have been asked to take over the CALLING ALL ATC SWAPPERS 1-4-1 Group on ZNE so I have made several ATC's over the past few months and finished 20 for all the members of the ATC SWAPPERS GROUP. Below are just a few. It is fun to see just what you can create to make a playing card piece of art. I won't post the 20 I did for the Swappers group or it won't be a surprise when they receive them right?

Don't forget I will be hosting a Valentines Day Swap soon and would love for all of you to join in .


This swap was for MAMMA"S Challenge over at Flicker. She has a theme each week and this created for the theme "Bling"

This was done for the theme "Africa"


The theme here was "Black and White"