September Blue

Project Life: Week 16 + Freebie

I hope your Week 16 was a great one! My week had it's ups and downs, but I am happy to say that it ended on a high note. I had a bit of a personal setback in a design opportunity that I really hoped to be part of. Unfortunately that was not meant to be. Sometimes disappointment can get the better of people. Sometimes it can empower them. I chose to be empowered. So instead of hanging up my Wacom Tablet and pen, I decided to push forward and keep on creating & designing. It makes me happy. It relaxes me. It's what I do best. A sneak peek of some papers I am working on are in this week's layout:

This summer I am taking part in a blog hop and have started to create a mini kit that will be available as a free download for my contribution to the event (more details on that in a future post). Instead of using paper from the Clementine or Cobalt Core Kit for the title, I used one of the papers I am creating for the kit. The paper is by no means complete-I still have some distressing to do, but by including it in this layout, it gives me motivation and provides a teaser for you of what's to come! The color of the Word Art Title Tag coordinates with the Cobalt Collection. You can download tags for both collections by clicking the link below.

Download SeptBlue_Week16

This week's layout uses Design A and the 6x12 divided page protectors. 

The plaid paper in the photo above is also paper I have been working on for the blog hop. Again, I still have distressing to do, but I am loving the way it is turning out! It reminds me of a pair of plaid shorts one of my boys wore when he was a toddler :) The journal card in the middle pocket is one I made myself. Be looking for a new set of Four by Six Journal Cards in the next week!

I was glad I had a few more photos to scrap from during the week rather than just photos from the weekend. Chris was gone all week and I do not sleep well at all when he isn't around. I think it goes back to when he was flying helicopters and would be gone on deployment-I was both the mom and the dad, taking care of everything from runny noses to rotating tires on the car-always aware of every little bump in the night. You would think that with the kids out of the house I could relax, but that is not the case. I was lucky to get 5 hours of sleep each night while he was gone! I snapped the photo "after midnight" with my iPhone one night (of course) when I was tossing and turning. Because we go by a 24-hour clock instead of 12-hour clock using AM or PM, the midnight hour in Europe registers as "0." I couldn't resist taking a photo of that!

I liked what I did with the left half of the Design A Page Protector-I used it for photos and journaling to document one event. Liela Talka is a European-wide event that means "The Big Cleanup." It just happens to coincide with Earth Day. It is basically a big community spring cleaning of the outdoors! The Public Affairs Office at the Embassy organized a cleanup of the grassy areas that surround the Embassy. Saturday morning Chris and I worked for a few hours and helped with the effort. Afterwards the Marines had a BBQ and we hung out at the Marine House with friends listening to music from the 80s Hair Bands. It was a great day to be outside!

Have a wonderful Week 17. I know ours started out great. We took the dogs to the beach for the very first time. I can't wait to scrap those!

 This post is linked with The Mom Creative

Project Life Week 13 + Freebie

I kinda lost my creative mojo yesterday so my layout wasn't posted like it usually is on a Monday. To be honest, even though the layout is complete (well, almost, but more on that later), I still haven't found it yet. Maybe the two big events at our house this week sucked it all out of me or maybe it was because I wasn't happy with the way my pictures turned out from Saturday night (more on that later too!). But just because the creative wheels weren't spinning was no reason not to work on my Project Life. That is the beauty of this system. You can be as creative or uncreative as you want.

This week I used products from the Cobalt Core Kit along with Page Protectors B and G. You can download this week's word art titles by clicking the link below.

Download SeptBlue_Week13

I mentioned above that we had two events at the house this week. An Admiral was in town and Chris hosted a dinner in honor of visit. There was a mixture of 12 American & Latvian military officers in attendance and the occasion was catered by Restaurant Line 36 in Jurmala. I met the restaurant's chef, Lauris, at one of the Latvian cooking classes last fall I attended and he was more than happy to cater the event! I was a bit disappointed because I wasn't able to be there though. There are times when Chris hosts dinners at the house and I just need to disappear (who wants to stick around and listen to all that talk anyways?). So I went out to dinner with my friend Anna, had a mojito and a few glasses of wine and great conversation. We haven't gone out in a while and it felt good to reconnect with her! 

The rest of the week was spent prepping for our beach party Saturday night. Several weeks ago I ordered awesome decorations for the party as well as a fun tropical skirt for the event. The mail system here has been unbelievably slow lately and it's been taking stuff 3-4 weeks or longer to arrive from the States. It's driving me crazy!!! Thursdays seem to be a big mail day and when we got a note saying we have a box, I was jumping for joy! Good news and bad news...

The skirt I ordered from Title Nine came in (along with a bunch of Mary Kay stuff I ordered), but the decorations did not. Grrr!!! My friend Robyn said "Well at least you'll have something to wear and your make-up will look good!" (she cracks me up). That may be true, but what was I supposed to do about decorations for this party?

Cricut to the rescue!

Instead of using my Thursday to scrapbook with the girls, I was making plumeria flowers with the Cricut machine. A lot of them. I had them hanging from door frames, light fixtures and the fireplace. They worked out great! I wish I had more photos of them, but I don't...

...why? Well, all of the photos I took of the evening I took with my iPhone. I know I have raved about the pics I get from my iPhone, but the iPhone isn't the best in low light. I should have taken the time to run upstairs and get my point and shoot, but with everything going on that night, I hadn't a moment to spare! So, as I mentioned in the beginning of this post, this spread isn't totally complete. I am waiting for several of my friends to forward me some photos from the evening and when they do, I will print them and place them in the 6x12 divided page protectors. Once I get those printed, I will include them in a future post!

I wanted to make a horizontal, bi-fold journal card to journal about the night. The photo above shows what I did. And the photo below shows how I placed it in the slot.

The night was a blast! We had invited the Attaché community as well as several friends from the Embassy. The foreign diplomats weren't sure what to expect, however! The Russian Attachés were a little confused on the dress for the evening (totally tropical). They kept calling Chris' secretary asking for clarification. But once they arrived they all had a good time! Lots of photos were taken by the palm tree and hanging garlands. I got a letter from the wife of the Swedish DATT saying how much they enjoyed the evening and how nice of a change it was from the formal receptions we usually attend!

In typical diplomatic protocol, the Attachés stayed for about two hours and left, but the Americans hung out for a while! We moved furniture around, cranked up the music and turned the living room into a dance floor. Beach balls were bounces and the margaritas were flowing. We had a great time dancing the night away! Again, I will post more photos when I get better copies from my friends!

Whew! I am so glad last week is over though! This week (week 14) marks the beginning of Candice Stringham's "Oh Shoot" Photography Class over at JessicaSprague.com. I've been wanting to take this class for a few years now and am looking forward to learning more about getting out of auto mode on the camera! 

Have a great Week 14 everyone!

 This post is linked with The Mom Creative and One Happy Mama

 

 

Project Life : Week 11 + Freebie

It feels great to be back on schedule with my weekly Project Life posts! I am really enjoying the process and glad I made the commitment to this method of documenting our lives. It's going to be pretty cool, come the end of the year, to look through our album and refer to my blog entries and realize what an amazing life we have-even if I am just documenting the boring day-to-day stuff! 

Here is what was going on in Week 11:

You know the routine: Click below to download this week's Word Art Titles! This week's layout showcases the Design G and Design A page protectors.

Download SeptBlue_Week11

The week started and ended on a social note! There was a new arrival in Chris's office this week and we had his family, as well as a few other friends, over for dinner on Sunday. My friend Ginny told me about an absolutely sinful dessert to try: a layer of chocolate cookie dough, topped with a layer of whole Oreo cookies, topped with a layer of brownie batter-baked and then served with vanilla ice cream! OMGosh...so much for the diet! It was delish! I will be posting the recipe later in the week, but below are a few snapshots of the process:

Although we had a great start to the beginning of the week, I still wasn't feeling 100% healthy and ended up having to go to the doctor on Monday. The Embassy doctor was out of town all week and that meant I had to visit a local doctor in town.

I was not looking forward to it all.

I remember living in Kiev, Ukraine and having to visit a local doctor. Bad experience-had to bring my own table dressings, the doc didn't speak very good English-it just wasn't pleasant. I didn't know what to expect here in Riga. But you know what? It was totally fine-unbelievably efficient! I had a 2:30pm appointment and when I arrived there was no waiting. The only paperwork I had to fill out was a form needing my name, birthdate, age, local address, email and phone number. That was it. Dr. Karina spoke perfect English, was very thorough and diagnosed me with bronchitis. She explained to me all of the meds I needed and wrote me a prescription to take to the Aptieka.

Oh no...a visit to the pharmacy. That uncomfortable feeling of the unknown set in again. Which Aptieka to go to? Do they speak English? How expensive are meds here? Will I have a long wait? Where will I park?

Again, it was a piece of cake (or chocolate chip cookie, Oreo, brownie dessert). The Aptieka was right across the street from her office, there was no waiting and no paperwork to fill out. The Pharmacist just grabbed the items from the shelves gave me directions on their use and I was on my way. Why can't it be this easy in the U.S.? I was done with everything by 3pm!

I took a photo of the meds that you can see in the second photo of this post (click on the image to make it bigger). When it came time to journal about it, I wanted to use a 4x6 journal card (I had a lot to say about this experience), and forgot there are none in the kits, so I went with a bi-fold journal card instead. You will notice in that second photo I mounted the card to the top of the protector. I've been doing this a lot lately. I am just worried about the wear and tear on the album and card if it is always being pulled in and out in order to read the inside of it. Mounting it to the front of the protector makes the journaling easier to access!

The bronchitis was taking a lot out of me. I really had very little energy to do anything. I did manage to play around with my iPhone photo apps a little bit, though. I took the above pic with Instagram. I've been working with Hipstamtic a bit more this week as well, but I am not sure if I like it as well as Instagram. Hipstamatic is a little more labor intensive-you have to know what kind of effect you are aiming to get by using a variety of lenses films and flashes before you snap the photo. So really the end result can sometimes be a surprise. It's hit or miss, but I am still playing around with it.

The week ended of course with Saint Patrick's Day! Almost a month ago, my trainer Lisa and I decided to go alcohol-free for 30 days. Of course that didn't work out for me as planned due to my trip to Germany, but since I've been back I haven't had a drop to drink-and I feel so much better because of it! Because I wasn't drinking, it meant Chris had a designated driver for St. Patty's Day. We started the night out by taking part in the dinner club the CLO at the Embassy puts together each month at a local restaurant. There were probably 20 of us altogether and had dinner a 3 Pavāru Restaurant (translated it means 3 Chefs). Although the food was good, both Chris and I didn't think it was worth the 31Ls each (that is $62 per person!). But the ambiance was nice, those who were in attendance were a lot of fun, the conversation was great and it was nice to be able to sit and talk to those folks from the Embassy that I rarely get the chance to! I snapped the photo above using Instagram. The decor in the restaurant was eclectic and I loved the lampshade chandelier! After dinner we went to several pubs where Chris enjoyed Guinness and Irish music. We got home at 3am and then Skyped with my sister and her husband until 3:30! Never again. We are getting too old to be out that late! 

Thanks for reading! I have a few surprises planned for this week! Keep checking back to see what they are! Have a great Week 12!

This post is linked with The Mom Creative and One Happy Mama

Project Life Week 10 + Freebie

I am happy to say that I am caught up with my Project Life layouts! Whoo hoo! It feels so good to be back on track! I had a "Project Life Epiphany" the other day. Next time I am away and have my computer with me, I'll just do digital pages that week and print them when I get home. That way I won't fall behind in my PL weekly posts. I've said it before, but I'll say it again, I am so glad I have the digital versions of the Clementine and Cobalt Core Kits! I think they are the perfect solution in those situations when I am not able to scrapbook my photos in the traditional way!

Download this week's Word Art Circles by clicking the link below.

Download SeptBlue_Week10

I spent this week playing "catch up" from being away last week. You know how it is. You return from vacation and you have a list of things to do: mail to sort through, groceries to shop for, laundry to do, suitcases to unpack. And I couldn't forget that I had photos to download, print and scrapbook from our trip. Needless to say I didn't take as many photos as I would have liked during Week 10, but I am showcasing the ones I did manage to snap:

I haven't purchased the horizontal journaling cards add-on kit that Becky released a few weeks ago. I keep forgetting to. So in order to accommodate those times when I do need 4x3 horizontal journal card, I always turn to the plain grid card. To jazz it up a bit, I add a 1" strip of coordinating paper on either side of the card. I did this on the cards that are below Zoe and Baron's photos.

My "kids". That is Zoe with her "baby". She was cuddled up with it, taking a nap in the sunbeams shining through the living room window. She sensed that I was trying to take her picture and suddenly she thought it was playtime-hence the bear's foot in her mouth. Baron was just waiting for his turn to play with the "baby". The two of them really go at it and play "keep away" with it from each other. I swear I have toddlers.

I was also trying to keep on top of my "iShot That!" iPhone Photography class this week. The black and white photo of me is one I took with the PhotoBooth app, just one of the apps featured in the class. What a fun app to play with! I thought this pic turned out pretty good and decided it was "scrapbook worthy". I want to do more with this app and take photos of me & Chris, as well as with some friends. It is going to be a very social weekend for us, so I am thinking I will have plenty of opportunity!

Do any of you Pin? I am a Pinterest fanatic. I have friends tell me that I am one of the few people they know who will actually make some of what is seen and pinned on Pinterest. The photo of the opened-face sandwich is a lunch I made this week that was inspired by a Pin. I found sun-dried tomato, pita-like bread at Maxima (one of our local grocery store chains here in Riga) and spread a little bit of roasted pepper low-fat Philly Cream Cheese on each half (yes, my Stateside friends, they do have Philly Cream Cheese here-I am not living in a third-world country). I topped it with bean spouts, chopped avocado, chopped Roma tomato and sprinkled it with a bit of salt and pepper. It was really good! (You can follow my boards on Pinterest by clicking the Pinterest circle button near the top of this blog! There is a lot of great inspiration there!)

Once again I used the digital version of the Clementine Core Kit to enhance my traditional layout. the circle tag in the photo above was from the 'extra elements' included in the digital kit. I just printed it, punched it out and attached it to my layout with pop dots. The journaling is referring to the photo below. I had a large duffle bag filled with canned and boxed goods we bought while at the commissary in Ramstein. I took a photo of the contents when we arrived home. Everything was intact and nothing was smashed or broken!

Thanks for reading! My Project Life posts will resume their regular schedule on Monday. Week 11 has been pretty good so far and I look forward to sharing it with you!

Project Life Week 9 + Freebie

I'm warning you now...this is going to be a long post! A lot happened during Week 9 and I can't wait to share it with you! Chris had a conference to attend in Germany this particular week and there was a separate program for spouses! Needless to say I was excited to travel along with him and have the opportunity to meet other military spouses from U.S. Embassies all over Europe. Not only that, but the conference was held at Ramstein Air Force Base-home of the big PX and Commissary. Cha-ching! We will be checking an extra bag on our return flight to Riga.

Again, this post will be a long one. Not only do I want to share my Project Life pages, but I want to share some before and after photos as well. I mentioned in my Week 8 post that I started "iShot That! iPhone Photography Class" at ReneePearson.com. The spouses program at this conference was only going to last 3 days and briefings were only in the morning. There were several tours planned for us during the week as well and that meant photo opportunities! I made the conscious decision before we left Riga to leave my Nikon D80 at home and only use my iPhone along with the apps that were featured in the class. So sprinkled throughout this post will be before and after pics along with the app and filter I used on the photo. Here we go:

Click the link below to download this week's Word Art Titles.

Download SeptBlue_Week9

This week's layout goes way beyond the 2-page spread. I knew from the beginning I was going to have to be organized when putting it together. I began by printing some of the page planners I created (you can download them from this post). But as the project moved along, I changed my mind several times as to which protectors I would use, added more pages, etc, so I ended up sketching out some of the protectors as well. Below is a photo of my sketches. You can see how I was labeling each section as to where photos, journal cards or filler cards were going to be placed. I placed checkmarks in the sections as I printed each photo so I wouldn't lose track.

Because Week 8 was only a one-page layout, that means Week 9 will start on the right-hand side. I used Design F Page Protector.

I just had to take a pic of the "Flat White" coffee Chris and I enjoyed at Costa Coffee before we got on the plane in Riga. I loved the design in the foam. The other photo in the same row was taken at the Frankfurt Airport. I thought these "smoking rooms" were pretty funny. Those who need their nicotine fix before or after their flight can do so in one of these small rooms. They are all glass and it looks as though smokers are put on display when they are inside. I can't imagine being inside one when it is filled with smoke!

(just as a reminder, if you would like to read the journaling, just click on the photo to make it larger)

(The spread below uses the Design F (of course because it is the back of the page above) and the 6x12 divided page protectors). The briefings we sat through were filled with lots of information, but with the exception of my place card, there were obviously no photo opportunities! After our meeting on Tuesday, we had a USO guided tour to Neustadt, Germany with a wine tasting along the Old German Wine Road. Neustadt is such a charming little town, filled with shoppes, cafes and restaurants. I was so happy to spend some time with Michele on this tour (that's her in the bottom left-hand corner). She lived in the apartment above us when we lived in Garmisch, Germany. We haven't seen each other since our family moved away in 1997! I just love the close-knit military community!

Time for a before and after. The photo of the mouse climbing a lantern was part of a large fountain in Neustadt. You can see in the before photo, the color is a little flat and lacks contrast. I took the photo on my iPhone using Camera+ and editing it in that app as well. I was able to crop it to 4x3 and used the "Clarity" style to bump up the contrast. Using the "Clarity" style on photos of architecture can do AMAZING things as you will see later in the post. Click the photo to open a larger window to view the subtle differences between the two photos.

The next photo is a little more dramatic. Again, I used the Camera+ app and cropped it to 4x3. Not only did I use the "Clarity" Style, but also added the "Vibrant" Effect to pop the color! I LOVE the results of this one!

Our USO Tour Guide, Sandy, was fabulous! The group really liked how she would point out surprising little details about the city and architecture that we otherwise may not have noticed. Take for example the bottom photo in the page protector below. These small, brass "stumbling stones" are scattered throughout Germany and are more than likely to go unnoticed if you weren't looking for them. Pounded into the cobblestone, the brass plates commemorate those deported and killed by the National Socialist regime. The artist, Gunter Demnig wanted to bring back to the present, the people who once lived in the neighborhood. Each stone is engraved with the person's name who once lived where the brass plate in placed, the year they were born, the year and place they were deported to (most likely a concentration camp) and their fate. Those who walk on the plates (and they are meant to be walked on), keep their memories alive by rubbing the dust and dirt off the metal and bringing back the shine. To bend over and read the inscription is interpreted as bowing to the victim in tribute. I love this.

On Wednesday we didn't have a tour, but attended a German cooking class sponsored by the USO. We made apple strudel, apple kuchen and zebra cake. YUM! In the 4x6 pockets below I placed two 4x3 photos in each to show what the desserts looked like before and after they went into the ovens. I used the labels from the digital version of the Clementine Core Kit, changed the color to match the Cobalt kit and typed the name of each dessert on the label in Photoshop. I then printed and mounted them to each picture.

Wednesday marked the last day of briefings for spouses which left Thursday wide open for a trip to Wissembourg, France, sponsored by the USO of course (gotta love the USO!). I was excited for this trip not only because we were going to a small, charming French village, but because this is one country Chris hasn't been to before me! Hahaha! 

Wissembourg is located in the very northern Alsace region of France, just over the German border. It is considered one of the country's "finest detours." We didn't spend as much time here as we hoped to. Our train leaving Landstuhl was almost an hour late, so it put us behind a bit. But we did have time for a great lunch at Restaruant du Saumon where we enjoyed different flammkueche-which can be described as very thin-crusted pizzas with no sauce, just various toppings of vegetables, salmon, meats and of course French cheeses. Paired with French wine, it was a great lunch!

My highlight of our trip to Wissembourg was a visit to Daniel Rebert Chocolatier, which is the #2 chocolatier in France! Oh my chocolaty goodness. I wish I would have bought more of this chocolate. It was by far the best I've ever tasted. I cut apart the little shopping bag and used it as filler in one of the slots in my page protector-I even cut out the phone number and website from the inside of the bag and attached it to the top (just in case I want to order something in the future!).

Time for another before and after.

(I have NO idea why the top photo is showing up so purple! It is NOT like that on my screen at all in Photoshop! Sorry about that! But I guess that makes the "after" that much more appealing!)

 The example below is a shot of the front of Daniel Rebert's. I cropped the photo to 4x6 within Camera+, applied the "Clarity" Style and "Fashion" Effect. I really like the way it turned out. The shop now looks "chocolately"! :) 

There were small canals winding through the town. Our USO Guide mentioned that Wissembourg is France's "Little Venice." The before/after picture below was cropped in Camera+ and only the "Clarity" style applied. "Clarity" really brings out the details!

This one is a bit more dramatic. I snapped the photo in Camera+, applied the  "Clarity" Style and saved it. I then opened the photo in an app called BeFunky(pro) and applied the "LomoArt 2" Effect and saved it. Finally I opened the photo in the app Label Dispenser and added the label. Pretty cool, huh?

The left hand side of the next layout just documents dinners we enjoyed with friends both Thursday and Friday night. One of the things I love about going out to dinner with a group of people in Germany is the way the check is handled at the end of the meal. I know it sounds silly, but the waitesses amaze me! They will visit the person paying for each party and ask what those in their group had to eat and drink. She will then quickly add everything on paper (or in her head) right there and payment is taken in cash on the spot (you usually round up for a tip). No referring to the menu for prices, no cash registers or calculator needed. They do it all right there. Amazing. I can't see that being done in the States!

The layout also demonstrates that you don't need photos or journaling for every slot in your protector. I cut paper from the Cobalt collection in 3x4 rectangles, rounded the corners and placed in the in the bottom row. I printed some word art from the digital Cobalt Kit and mounted it on one of the rectangles with pop dots.

On our last day in Germany, Chris and I took a drive up into Heidelberg. The last time I was here Dustin and Ryley were probably 7 and 3 years old! We just spent the day strolling the main street in Old Town, stopping for a wonderful lunch at a hotel restaurant off the square and had the best German meal of the week! German sausages, sauerkraut, and my favorite, spatzle! We needed to work off that lunch we had and decided to walk up to the entrance of the castle instead of taking the funicular. Glad we did, too! I got some good shots along the way! 

Last before and after. Again, done in Camera+ with "Clarity" Style applied. It just pops!

Finally, I needed a place to put maps, recipes and other papers I collected throughout the week. The Project Life Envelope Pages were perfect! I used one of the title cards from the Cobalt kit to label it and placed everything inside. It was a great trip!

Thank you so much for reading! I know it was a long post, but I was excited to share my travels with family and friends! I also wanted show those who are doing Project Life that you don't have to keep your weekly layouts confined to a two-page spread. In total ended up using 6 various page protectors for my Week 9! 

One more week and I'll be all caught up! I hope to have Week 10 posted by Friday!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Project Life Week 7 + 2 Freebies!

Once again it was one of those weeks that I didn't take a lot of pictures, but instead I have several "things" I wanted to showcase. It was a love-ly week for me-Valentine's Day, dinners out, socializing with friends and the start of Jessica Sprague's The Art of Poster Design Class. Here is my layout for week 7. Keep on reading for an AWESOME freebie at the end of the post!

For this week's layout, I used the page protectors in Design B and Design G and used product from the Clementine collection. Click the link below to download the Word Art Titles for Week 7 (this is the first of two freebies in this week's post).

Download SeptBlue_Week7Titles

Last week I shared photos of the Subway Art I created for Chris as his Valentine's Day gift. I appreciate the AWESOME response to this piece of art here on September Blue as well as other message boards I am active on. I wanted to put a smaller version of it in this layout and did so on the left hand side of the layout. 

I included strings with arrows at the end of them pointing to the various addresses we have lived at throughout our marriage. On the white circles I wrote the years we lived at those addresses. Also on this page I included a photo of the flowers Chris gave me for Valentine's Day. The colors in the original photo were very saturated. I lowered the saturation in Photoshop to fade the color a bit, cropped it and placed it in the bottom corner.

On the right hand side of the layout I included the card I made for Chris and the one he gave to me. The cards were a little bulky and weren't staying in their pockets very well. I ended up using paperclips from SMASH to keep them secure. I used the flags that come with the paperclips to label the cards.

A few weeks ago the Public Affairs Office at the Embassy asked if I would create a sticker for them that promoted the Embassy's Facebook page and Twitter accounts. The intended audience is the young adult population of Latvia and the stickers were to also include the QR codes that can be scanned with smart phones. It was a fun, quick project and the end result is pictured above. 

For Week 8 I really want to focus on taking more photos. I have my camera with me all of the time, I just need to get it out and use it! A new class called "iShot That!" began this week over at ReneePearson.com. It is a class about shooting with your iPhone camera. It's going to be great and can't wait to learn some creative photo techniques using my iPhone's camera!

I mentioned earlier in the post that Week 7 also marked the beginning Jessica Sprague's Art of Poster Design class. I love taking classes from her. Yes, I already have a degree in graphic design, but taking these classes keeps me on top of new techniques and gets my creative juices flowing! I also love the online community within the classes. Being able to communicate on a daily basis with others that share the same passion for memory keeping, digital design and Photoshop is wonderful! 

One of the posters we created this week was an exploration in using only one font along with some clip art to communicate goals, thoughts, a set of rules, etc. Jessica always provides the necessary elements to complete the poster in her example, but she encourages to use our own creativity and make something that suites our needs or tastes. And that is what exactly I did. Below is the poster that Jessica created for class:

Isn't that great? I love how creative you can get just by varying the size one font! I took some creative control and created something different:

I used the same font and banners Jessica included in the class materials, but I went with a totally different topic, color scheme and clip art. The words come from a pin on Pinterest. They are quoted from Audrey Hepburn (LOVE HER). When I first saw the wording I thought to myself how cool it would be to recreate a typographical piece of my own from these words. When this poster project came along, I knew it was the perfect time to do so and I created "All-American Girl."

I posted the picture of my poster on a my personal Facebook page and several other message boards that I take part in. The response was great and I thought I would give share my poster with you as a free download. Please note that this is not a typical size. It's 13x24. If you wanted to download and have it printed/framed at full size, it will have to be a custom job. You can always change the image size in Photoshop to make it smaller and print it at home if you'd like. I will leave this up as a free download for a limited time (through this Friday) Click the link below to download while you can. Enjoy!

BTW! I want to give a BIG shout out to The MomCreative! Every Tuesday, Jessica Turner, the founder, provides a place for all Project Lifer's to upload a link to their Project Life pages on their blogs! I just found out about this and I look forward to being able to share a link to my blog posts there! Thanks Jessica!

Download SeptBlue_AllAmericanGirl.jpg

Have a great Week 8!