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My Halloween themed 123 challenge.

Carole, last night was again spectacular, not anything like the night before, nor for anywhere as long either. I would have it was more of a KP3 or 4. As the light show was much further north. I stayed up until around 1am, then decided to go bed seeing as I didn't get to bed the night before until around 5am.

I don't get there anymore; I'm pretty much a hermit now. But years ago my mom lived in Manhattan and we used to take my young daughter there, especially to the zoo. And when I was a teenager in Brooklyn, I used to sneak into the City with my friends to the Schaefer Music Festival in Central Park. If we didn't have tickets (~$2), we would just hang out and listen.

Week 39 Background is two textured papers blended (from Creative Fabrica) then I added a texture and noise from PSP. Fonts used are Nuri Regular (either CF or Google fonts that came with my font viewer) and Hortense from Monotype, thanks to Michele F for I.D'ing it for me. It the first font I bought with a licence (other than CF with my soon-to-be-over membership), for a project that required that font.

Week 38 Background paper from Kim Jensen (at The Lily Pad) Winter Solstice paper- white-blue. I tweaked the color to me more like the color of the flowers. Font is Adeston Creative Fabrica. all 3 vectors have a very tiny bevel and tiny shadow.

An occurance like this doesn't happen very often, well, certainly not with such intensity. The last time was in 1976 in Saskatchewan. A long awaited occurance happened last night. KP7 (a measure of geomagnetic activity index). Was it worth being outside taking pictures, until I couldn't feel my fingers any more? Yes! It most certainly was. We also had our first frost last night. The Aurora danced intensely overhead and south throughout the night, from 9pm til shortly after 5.30am this morning. Needless to say I didn't get to bed until shortly before 5am. With your permission I'd like to post an image per day until Friday. (Which is when my P52 week begins) Each one being different. Auroras occur when charged particles launched along the Earth's magnetic field collide with gases in the Earth's upper atmosphere. Those collisions produce tiny flashes that fill the sky with colourful light. What does KP7 mean, you may ask! Well, it means a strong storm, bright, dynamic and colourful aurorae, which is clearly visible in the southern sky. KP8, would be a severe storm, bright dynamic colourful, clearly visible again in the southern sky.

I wanted an autumn feel and few places are as beautiful as Central Park, NY during this season. These are stock photos that I wish I'd taken. Cass's polaroid script came in handy, even if I did edit them a little. The elements and backgrounds are from a bunch of different sources including PS blog trains, CF, and Boo Land Designs. Again, the Change to Target brush was a lifesaver. The font is AutumnEmbrace for both the title and the little leaves.

Actually, if you access the workshop through the DIAMOND menu, it will lead to the same place. The only difference is getting a daily email with the link so everyone is working on the same thing at the same time, but it is the same since that WAS updated for 2025/

Twelve

Carole how many photos will we need for this year's calendar?

I'm there already! And lovin' it!

The calendars will be specific to 2025, however, I also plan on a blog post that would address this if you want to reuse the templates for other years.

I found this site with the explanation: https://www.theaurorazone.com/nuts-about-kp/

Whateveer Mother Nature does or creates, one never ceases to be amazed by her! Again the word ineffable come to mind.

Magical experience! Incredible!

OMG, the colors!

I used to go every year to look at the windows and the tree in Rockefeller Center. Then we would get something to eat. NYC at Christmas time is incredible. Oh, and once you're old and retired, you can be a hermit like me! 😄

I get that, I'd "like" to be a hermit....but work seems to get in the way of that 😁. New York (and generally the upper east coast areas) are so beautiful in the fall. Did you ever get to NY City at Christmas time? That's something I'd love to see.

I do the same thing.

I sent these toy trucks to Raja for his first birthday on August 31. After several lost package episodes, they finally arrived and he's having a ball. They haven't sent me any photos yet but here's a shot from Amazon of the trucks.

So beautiful. What a treat, you get to go to Central Park, what I see in movies and TV is how picturesque it is.

KP7 is forecast again tonight for Saskatchewan too! Oh that's a shame that it's raining. Clear skies forecast again for here. The probelm I have is dust polution from the combines in the area. Once the sun sets, it should get a little damp, supressing the dust particles in the air, for better shots.

KP of 7 is forecasted for tonight too! Unfortunately, here, it is pourring rain. For those looking for references: https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/aurora-30-minute-forecast# I also use an app on my phone called Aurora. I just wished my phone could take those pics, but it does not. It is too old and does not have that powerful camera feature that newer phones have.

What a truly spectacular shot! You did the image justice, by keeping the layout at it's absolute minimal. I also love the fact that you took the colours from the image, making the layout an extention of the photo.

You get used to it and when I'm using English I think in English most of the time. All things scrapbook related are in English for me and I find it sometimes difficult to explain in Dutch what I do to a friend. 😃

I often take screenshots of layouts I like so that I can try to replicate them using my stash. It's a great way to learn and have fun. But sometimes, it doesn't work out so well, but that's valuable too.

Another Steve Biro photograph, which puts me in mind of Sue T. He got this shot in 2019 after many attempts over the course of some time. This image went viral and he became quite well-known across the world. You can google Bruce. I kept it really simple since the photo is so stunning.

Gorgeous layout!

It might be the word "should". Brits use it differently than North Americans. For us, it has the connotation of something that OUGHT to be done. Just my tuppence.

I senced that it may have been interpreting the different language.

Beautiful layout and photo, Julie. I love the idea of adding frames to the photo; it makes the colorful photo stand out more. When I create pages using mostly designer resources, I see it as a learning process. I pay attention to how they created the cluster, added a brush, a texture, or whatever. Maybe later, if I remember, I can try to replicate it using my own resources—at least the ones I can create myself!

Adding my 2 cents... How often are there misunderstandings when talking to a person in front of us and using our own language? At home, at work, with friends and colleagues, and at family dinners... 😄 Talking and writing in a language other than one's first language only adds another layer of difficulty to comprehension. There are nuances that we can only fully comprehend in our first language. No wonder I add a lot of smileys to my posts here. 😉

I am in, too. 🙂

I did another one. I've been collecting fog photos and just recently got a river fog mini kit from Jessica Dunn. I used Segoe Script and Learning Curve fonts. The stars are glitter, colorized.

Oops... thought I’d posted this but hadn’t. Week 39 I wanted to photograph a rather majestic tree but this bull settled himself in my shot and wouldn’t move so I photographed him instead.

First of all, come and say HI once you register for this workshop. We want to know who else will be there, on our side to encourage us. Every page we will make will be different, based on each others' photos, stories, and preferences but we can all get inspired by everyone's projects. The workshop will start on October 21st. You might want to chitchat during the workshop, but you will want to wait until the end, once all the lessons are done since you will keep working through them all during the seven days. Now, let's get ready! (if you missed the registration link or if you found this thread before I announced it, HERE it is)

Toys and games come in a variety of types. Some are simple, others are very elaborate. Based on seeing how Xavier was entertained with very little, I can conclude that kids don't NEED a ton of elaborate or complex toys/games and can stay busy with just a few things. What simple games are preschool (or maybe school-age) kids enjoy? Let's share and if you have pics too, post them too.

can you explain what those numbers mean?

When our kids were young, (pre-mobile phones), we bought "learning" toys, ie my son loved play phones which made noises, talked, and played tunes, as well as his cooker, (mini kitchen). We loved board games, and creative toys, ie Lego and alternatives to Lego. I would also let them help with the washing up, with a bowl of warm water, and their plastic dishes, cutlery and plastic cups, (not toy, but crockery they eat from), whilst I wash the china plates and glasses. They loved doing that, and it allowed me to get the chores done. They learnt to do their own washing too. Also, when they are at their nan's, she did not have many toys, they played with the button box, and saucepan and wooden spoons etc. They would also find things to play with. The photo is one thing they did at their nan's house, with her dressing gown that was hanging on the door! (their feet hanging or tip toed!). It is a great family photo and memory. (not great quality photo, it was also pre mobiles). One thing I hate seeing is my great-nephew, now aged 7 relying on playing games on his mum and nan's phone to keep him "quiet", since he was a young toddler, rather than learn by playing with ordinary games. He does have other games, but he gets bored of them and wants the phone all the time, which keeps him "quiet"!! To me it is a bit like a dummy as a pacifier! It does not increase his learning skills and ability to be creative. Some of the schools now have made a pact not to give mobiles (cell phones), to kids under 14, it gives them a chance to grow, and learn without being dependant on the phone! Mine did not get a phone till they went to senior school.

And sometimes even in my own language somedays anything and everything is hard to grasp😔. I can't imagine thinking in one language and typing in another language.

Julie you did a superb page and kept true to your delicate style! It seems that there are a lot of us that don't like it too glittery! I often have to rethink and retry different ways and layouts before I finally decide on the one that you all can see here! Sometimes it is a hate or love affair.

So you're first out of the gate with Anna Aspnes's creations. And you've done a lovely job of it. I really enjoy seeing old photos displayed this way. You've made it delicate and reminiscent of the past, like a fond memory. Great stuff.

You're right Sue. I might have felt the layout was forced and unnatural, but it is good to step outside our usual zones and try something different. It's a good reminder for other aspects of our lives too. Not just layout styles!

I do like calendars and look forward to something new for 2025. We had a workshop in November of 2023 when I created a 2024 series for the wildlife of Botswana. I've also been re-using those templates for my 2024 Wild Cat Calendar that I do every month. The first calendar I created here on the Campus featured the TV show, Downton Abbey for 2023, intended for my granddaughter Anna for Christmas that year and I recall one of my classmates here did one for the show Outlander. I'll be looking for a new theme for this calendar workshop.

This morning, I watched the Halloween Effects2 Masterclass, and I loved the trick of using the Quick Script to speed up a technique I have used quite a few times since I learned it from the Pop-Up Masterclass. Back then, it was shown using the long way. It's good to learn both ways of doing it! Great effects are taught in this class. 👏

That's how I understood it. I'm happy you both did something different so I can see the possibilities. Either way, both layouts are as beautiful as you both always do.

Corrie,I think you may have misunderstood my comment. I like the colour you chose. After looking at your page, I should have used a colour other than white.

I appreciate that Julie. If it's of any help to you, I always start by putting the photos onto a bank page. In this case the polaroid images. From there I create the papers. The size, shape, placement and number of the papers will be taken into account, of where the text, journal, title and so on will go. Elements are more often than not created and placed last. Quite often rule of thirds play a part in the initial layout. Direction of a bird, mammal insect in which it is facing, is also important. I suppose, it's my eye that determines the layout I go with. Maintaining a balanced minimalistic layout is what I aim for.

Well, you did a fine job of this challenge and kept true to your style. I am struggling with the whole thing. Glitter is not in my repertoire either. I have started and discarded a few layouts already. (Love the pix and the paperclip.)

That folded paper looks real enough to touch!