First Blog Post

Welcome!
After waiting for many years, I've decided to finally take the plunge and create a blog.  I think it may be more for
myself, to document what and how I create, but I hope you will enjoy it, too.
 
About me ~ I grew up in Wappingers Falls, NY.  75 miles north of "the city", New York City, that is, and 75 miles south of Albany, our state capital.  I did live in Tampa, FL, for 10 years.  Married Jim and had two children down there.  We moved back up to Ulster County in the Mid-Hudson Valley where I get to cross the Hudson River daily.
We've been married 29 years this March.  Our son is 23, living at home and our daughter is 19, away at college pursuing a degree in Physical Education.
 
I think I truly got started "crafting" back in 1992.  I saw a demo using rubber stamps, embossing powders and a heat tool.  I was hooked!  Of course, I was going to save $$ by creating my own cards and tags for the kids.  HA! I needed all the latest and greatest!  I'm sure there are some of you nodding along.  You've been there, too :)
To help supplement this, I submitted stamped items to Rubber Stamp companies and magazines.  Probably at least of third, or more, of the stamps and stamping products I have were the result of winning a contest!
I have been published in industry magazines, VampStampNews, Stamper's Sampler and Rubber Stamper.
I still do some rubber stamping, but over the years branched into some other areas.  I have enjoyed making books, particularly the "star book".  Using mixed media on a canvas always makes me feel like such an Artist.
Most of those have been gifts to friends and family.  I love making jewelry, both stringing and more delicate bead stitching. 
 
However, my Passion (capital "P") is Digital Scrapbooking.  I like all things digital/technical, so I'm a perfect fit for this.  Jim gave me Photoshop Elements V7 as a Christmas gift in 2009.  I purchased an e-book from www.scrapgirls.com and I was off and running.  No more glue, scissors, hard to fix mistakes with photos and paper.  Digital is so forgiving!
And, let me say, Scrap Girls has been a truly wonderful experience!  Such a great group of talented scrapbookers and very supportive.

So, what does a digital scrapbook page look like?  I'll share my first attempt at one. 

Certainly nothing elaborate, but I was so thrilled!  I worked hard to get the shading right to make the tags look like they were 3-D and layered on top.  That shading is a Snap, now!  I'll share more of my pages as we go along.  Thanks for looking!  I'd enjoy reading any comments you might have, too!

Diane