Furbaby

Fur
Originally uploaded by mawkinberd

I had a good bit of inspiration in the last few days, and for the first time in a couple weeks, my eyes are killing me with allergy fuzzies. Sooooo.... I have a couple new layouts that I did today alone! :) This first one was inspired by Jacquie's new fantastic Pets - Dogs word art set. Awesome, huh? She finds awesome quotes and stuff. If you haven't checked out her blog before, I highly recommend it, and not just because I'm on her CT. She's fantastic!

I've learned a few new things about GIMP lately, which makes me rather happy. I still feel like a beginner with GIMP, even though I know that I'm probably closer to intermediate. But there is a huge amount of things that one can do with GIMP that I have yet to tap. So, I'm enjoying learning new things, like new Script-fu stuff. There are so many Script-fu settings in the "basic" model of GIMP that I'm not familiar with that are really helpful with sprucing up one's layouts. Besides that, I want to do more designing. I really enjoyed making that first set. (It's still down there, if you want to look at it. Just saying. :P)

I also made a little layout with Daniel and Joe for Easter egg hunting. Joe didn't really get the whole hunting thing. He saw lots of kids running, so he ran after them. He saw one purple egg, so he picked it up. So, Mommy got him a few eggs. After that, he got Daddy to open his eggs. It was precious. I did it with this Font Challenge's font, Happy Days.



I also have a couple of cute baby moments to share. Joe is so funny these days! He's starting to show that he has a sense of humor. For instance, we're not certain if he really does think that unh unh (the no version) mean yes or if he's just pulling our leg. (He shakes his head no simultaneously, and we're pretty sure he knows that means no.) It's really cute, though, to watch him do it. Plus, he is such a player! He loves to do things to get your attention and then pretend like he wasn't doing it. That, and he loves to play kiss and hug. He'll do that over and over. Talk about making your heart melt!

Ok, this is late at night for me. Mommy is getting sleepy! lol So I'll let you wonderful people go. Have a great night!

I love my dog!

iluvmydog
Originally uploaded by mawkinberd

Ok, so I couldn't make a layout with Ike yet. It's gonna take me some time to get there. But I did have this excellent picture from a few days ago when the dog, the baby and I were out playing outside, so I thought I'd give it a shot. I think it turned out pretty cute. :) The kit is Karmatic Impact by RebeccaPSP Designs, and the lovely word art is by Jacquie. :) I think it turned out pretty well. I've been playing with the colors lately for photos to see what sort of new looks I can come up with, so I'm pleased to see that this one worked out okay.

Things are going okay. Slowly but surely, life is evening out again. There's just really too much going on generally. It felt odd and calming to just sit down and do a quick layout again. I've missed it. I've even considered just forgetting about doing the music for Joe's first year album video and just leaving it as is so I can get rid of this sword of Damocles over my head, cuz I just have so many other projects I would rather start scrapping rather than worrying over it. Maybe I should just leave it as is. I don't know. But knowing me, I don't generally like leaving things as is. ;) I've got some new ideas about the music now, so I'm going to try to track them down. Hopefully, something will work well.

Have a lovely evening, everyone!

hyacinths

hyacinths
Originally uploaded by mawkinberd

I'm sorry I've been MIA this week. Actually, it's partly because I'm making the final edits of my scrapbook video of Joe's first year album. :) I haven't put nearly as much time into the scrapping itself. Today is a good day for finishing small projects, though. It's snowing outside, the baby is snoozing on my lap, and I'm having plenty of cozy time. Makes this layout even nicer to think about, too, since I'm much in a spring flower mood. ;) But all this lounging is making me sleepy. I need to get up and move around. I'd much rather play outside in the nice sun than wonder how many layers I need to add. Louisiana is not the place one would expect to see March snow, even if it isn't sticking. I know, I'm whining. Don't worry, I'll do much the same when it's over 100 degrees Fahrenheit around here.

Ciao, bellissimi!

Prairie Dog Bubble

Prairie Dog Bubble
Originally uploaded by mawkinberd

So, I have really awesome news. I already put something on my sidebar about it, but I wanted to say it, too... Jacquie asked me to be on her CT. Yay! I am absolutely honored to be a part of her team. Not only is she a wonderful artist with words, she also chooses great themes, is generous with her art, and is an all-around wonderful person. How could I say no to being a part of that? Unless, of course, I was crowded to the gills with stuff, which I am, sometimes, but she's absolutely worth the extra effort. Cool.

My LO (which I finished yesterday) actually uses some of her word art for the Scrap Mix challenge at MLAS, now hosted by TJ. Very fun! I've never done a LO quite like this before, so I was pleased with the chance to do something very different. Besides that, I scrapped a picture of myself! I don't do that very often. Guess I need to get in the habit; I'm almost done with Joe's first year album, so my next big project is my wedding album. Yikes! Pictures of me everywhere! lol Suppose I can manage. ;)

In other news, Joe got a bite over the weekend on his knee that started looking alarmingly red and scaly yesterday, so we went to urgent care to get it looked at. Now, I hate the emergency room. They always take too long. I thought urgent care would be better. It was in timing, but apparently people there aren't used to the rambunctiousness of toddlers. He was actually being relatively quiet, pushing a chair around the lobby right next to me, not screaming or crying, when I was told that pushing the chair was far too loud and not permitted. The receptionist thought turning on a cartoon would help things. (shakes head) After pulling him out of the water waste tray on the water cooler for the umpteenth time, I had to get the stroller. Now you could hear some noise. It was somehow more acceptable to have a baby screaming bloody murder because he's bored and cooped up than it was to have him happily pushing a chair around the lobby within a ten foot square area, well away from other patients. Search me, I don't understand it.

After all that stress, it was a relief to find out that he had a mosquito bite that was just a bit worse than usual. At least, that's what the doctor hoped. He had a good antihistamine and some rest last night, so I'm hoping he'll be significantly better when I see him tonight after work. (crossed fingers)

Hope everyone has a lovely Tuesday! :)