Susan Ewart

We have love hearts in Canada and I loved them. I'm not sure if they are are still available though.

I never noticed this topic before. I'm not sure how to post stuff with a link. Would I need to use something like Dropbox that I'd like to for me people to download? I'm going to have to look into that.

This is so pretty. Love that plaid! I too had to sign in twice. I wonder if it's from a Windows update.

So cool isnt it Mary? And so easy. I have been embarrassed I couldnt figure it out on my own, but tonight I had to mention it. I'm glad I did.

OMG! The PSP angels are singing! Thank you beyond belief Sue. I have been wanting to do this for a very long time, it's embarrassing. I have been using the magic wand to select the whole image, then feather and I'd see nothing. Well, because obviously there is nothing beyond the edges to feather. These instructions were as advertised...Fool Proof! Thank you again. I am happy camper tonight. Glad to see Mary got into the lesson too.

AWESOME! thank you. This is above and beyond. My heart is singing right now (cover your ears, cant hold a tune so it goes without saying my heart wont be able to either). What tiny but mighty bird this is, just a little puff ball...with attitude. Before I leave the computer I will make the tutorial. tonight I will have my homework done for you. Lucky you, please send rain. I love the rain too. And the smell after the rain is often quite nice.

Let me try it and see how I do. and I'll report back. I need to let my camera battery charge, so now it's housework and hopefully I'll try that technique. I remembered that is part of what to do, but nothing feathers so i'm doing it wrong. I'll report back when I give it another. I often copy and paste the instructions and sometimes I forget and then I forget where it was at. I am working on copy/paste any instructions right away...but sadly I fail often.

Only if I can hire you as my builder. ?

so, DH Rob (darling husband Rob) and I was out in the backyard and we were looking at what part of the Mountain Ash is dead and what is still alive (that we would keep, because I love it and because it's a bird favorite and part of the squirrel highway to the next yard). I told him about the bug hotel and he was like, no problem. I guess after 35+ yrs together, he just goes with the flow. Gotta love it.

I think it's good to have several ways to get to the same ending. I just watched the Adjust What masterclass (liked learning about grouping the adjustment so it only affects that one layer). I recently did an iguana where I had to select areas, which i promoted to separate layers, to adjust that small area and not a global adjustment (over the who photo). This is one thing i will start practicing and learning more to do. I am now using adjustment layers prior to using photos in a layout. It's crude right now, but as I practice and learn more hopefully it will not look "adjusted". I will need to be comfortable with it as I switch to shooting in full time RAW. Thanks for your help and guidance, I am grateful for it.

I meant to thank you also for all these samples, they are beathtaking and I can study them and see all the nuances (techniques) in them. I did do selection>modify>set selection borders on all the photos and then used a gaussian blur instead of flood filling with a color. Putting the two shadow layers (reg and reverse) under them made the "blur" frame more opaque, but it was a new(to me) technique I tried, I thought it was interesting.

Wow, thank you. yes, I can do the mask version as I have taken the workshop (and finally have one mask version committed to memory...that is thanks to your advice of picking one thing and doing it over and over -thank you for that) and have watchd the masterclasses as well. For some reason I thought it was some kind of feathering the edge of photo to have it fade out to nothing. I believe you used it on a tag recently. yes, I just checked, it's the vole tag. I think I got it in my head that it was to do with making a selection and feathering or something. I did see a tutorial in the campus also using the eraser tool and I could have used that. It was at 1:30am and I wanted to finish and post. Today I am a zombie. Remember the days of reading a book before bed and not being able to put it down and then the next day you suffer from lack of sleep. that's me today, hahaha. Now, I have to shake the cobwebs out of my head and go do some dandelion portraits before the lawnmower gets them.

I totally agree with you both. I played around for a few hours and it didnt come together until the very end. Those strips and the short stitiching were a challenge and I was putting them all over and at the very end I put them where I did. I had wanted the head shot picture to have those co0l faded edges that Sue does, but do you think I can even remember how to do it. I tried a few things, looked for a tutorial but didnt find it. PSP was acting weird too, wouldnt go to layers when I clicked on them. I would do selection>modify>select selection borders on a photo that was under another photo on the corner and it would select edges around the photo and the edges of the photo above it, but only the part that was overlapping. Finally I just filled it to see what it would look like and the odd "extra" border wasnt there. It was very late at night so now I think maybe I just imagined it. ? That's why I like these challenges, because they can be hard, but I keep going until I am saftisfied with it.

This baby squirrel visited us only on one day. We've had a number of momma squirrels leave their kids with us to baby sit for a few hours. These babies are oblivious to harm and the dangers in it's surroundings. Even coming right up to my feet. The magpies had a keen interest in taking it home to meet their hatchlings. I spend 3 hours watching it and chasing off the magpies and male squirrels (who are just mean and nasty to the little ones) and the neighbours cats. His/hers mom only came twice to check on it. Not really Mother-of-the-Year material. They run around for a bit and then just where ever they are, they stop and sleep. I can go right up to it while is sleeps, sometime it would wake up look at me and go back to sleep. They would sleep 3 or 4 times. It's amazing they make it through this time. The picture of it sleeping is only about 2.5 feet off the ground. I used one paper from Gina Jones-A night in October Solid paper 02 (Digital Scrapbook) Font is Flower Love (Creative Fabrica) Photos: mine This was a tough one to design, took me some time to find something I was okay with.

Wow this is awesome. I think I know what to do. I had a Mountain Ash that is rotting, in fact a branch just fell off and part of the truck has mushrooms think we will take off the dying bits and I'll make a little pile of them for the bugs. The birds used to make nests in the trunk but it got too unstable for them too. I can let it go back to nature, it's in a part of the yard that nothing grows and no lawn mowing happens there. Thank you for taking this photo for me.

First laugh of day...Gerry you do not disappoint! thanks.

Thank you and Thank you Bonnie. I wanted to use the wood paper from that kit. I will look for that program.

Project 5 Again, I used the kits provided (except the one kit that is a 7z file that I cant open) and changed the papers/elments a bit, mostly darkened them. The frame was actually a polaroil frame that I used the custom selection to select the inner portion to delete to make the frame. I added a bevel. The bolt or silver item in the "O" of the title came from one of the kits in the bootcamp as there wasnt anything suitable for the "O". I followed the same shadow as in the tutorial. Is it too big? Given what item it is and that it's one a thicker frame it would be pretty far from the background paper. I was riffing off of the Penguins of Madagascar cartoon and "Kowalski" name in military shows. I did look up the Royal Canadian Air Force and found that there was 408 (Goose) Squadron formed June 24, 1941 that flew many missions in the war. It's patch/insignia (whatever it's called) has a flying goose. I didnt know the etiquette around using military likeness without permission so I turned to hollywood and used the penquins instead. And I loved that show, especially Kowalski the very capable Frist Lt. who had deep pockets filled of all kinds of things he'd pull out when needed by Skipper (his Captain)...who knew peguins had pockets in the first place. ? I tried to tilt the photo enough to look tilted but not look like the geese would be sliding off the photo. Just the way the ice is, it still looks like that's happening. Fonts are: Off War, Olivetti Typewriter Wide, Old Typewriter (all Creative Fabrica) Kit used: PSBT Nov 202 Songbird So Thankful Photo: mine Thank you for another wonderful Bootcamp. I have realy enjoy everyone's layouts. So nice to come home from work and head to computer to be inspired.

I'm sure my neighbours cringe at my "lawn" it's mostly weeds. Weeds are green, it's look the same to me as when it's mowed. I wont allow pesticides on the lawn that animals go on, I have reluctantly allow ant extermination around the perimeter of the house as I do not like ants in my house, thankfully the "ant garden" where the mound is for the birds is out by far end of the garage in the back yard.

Thank you for the explanation on Bug Hotels , it's really quite interesting. I inadvertently followed your no mow May objective too. I love dandelions and lately have been photographing them. I put a "no-mow" decree on the the backyard (to my husband) and it was gloriously yellow and the seed heads were stunning, until the wind blew them away, and I cut some to photograph (soon to be in a layout). I had also read that bees hibernate in the ground and they need the dandelions as the flowers aren't out early enough. I did not know this. My husband was saying he hasn't seen as many bees on the dandelions as there usually is. How sad is that. This year my tiny garden (I am a terrible a growing things)got a soil refresh and I was lifting up some small paver stones and there was an ant colony. I felt bad so I put the stones back and covered over with the really fine soil/dirt they seem to make . So, they still had their solid roof, then I used the cement pavers to mark the edges of the ant "garden" section and that's where the little brown birds go for their dust bath. They dont like the garden soil but they love whatever it is the ants make. Also the Magpies and Crows will use the ants to eat the mites off them (there's a word for it, but I forget right now).

Love this, the laughing cats are the best!

yes, I refer to the book too. so much to remember, and thankfully we dont have to if we have the book nearby.

Fiona, those are so cute. what a great idea. I have bird baths and bird feeders and this year I thought, what about the bees and the butterflies? So I have been researching a water station for them too. I've never heard of bug hotels and will have to look that up.