Catching Up...

So, after a busy weekend in Portland, we're back in our gorgeous little town. Portland was fun, but man--do NOT miss the traffic! Or the pollution!

It was Allen's 5th birthday, so of course had to make a layout with that:



I loved using Julia Makotinsky's kit at Little Dreamer Designs -- it was the only kit I bought. Only a couple more days left till they make the choice, I guess... I had fun lining the little stars up with the tram picture, as I had to blow out the sky (overexpose) in order to make the tram look good. The star was a perfect way to fill that space, which was bleeding into the layout!

I took a Naturescaping class while in Portland, too: all about gardening in such a way as to minimize your impact on the local ecology and watershed. The golden rule: the right plant in the right place. Using primarily native plants, or at least plants that fit perfectly with the soil and weather conditions, minimizes the need for pest management, attracts animals (and pest managers ;), and makes for a lovely, healthy garden with no need for extra watering or special care. After the class we dropped by a nursery, and I shot this incredible picture of a daffodil, outside, with my old trusty point and shoot!



Then finally, I wanted to use this strange picture that I shot (by mistake?) of Allen while we were riding on the streetcar. It was raining outside, and the light reflected off the drops, and also gave the reflection a pretty fuzzy quality. Changing the color made it blend really well, and this kit by Anna Aspnes (Designer Digitals) was SO fun to play with! She included *all kinds* of textures, overlays, grunged up stuff--really very cool and wonderful.



So, that's it for now... I'm working on some stuff--froggies are in the works. =)