Backwoods Birthday

Well to start off I've been surfing lots of blogs lately, looking at card photos and layout styles in an effort to improve the interest of the photos I take for my blog.  There is a fabulous tutorial of sorts on photo taking at Becky Oehlers blog that I ran across and learned a few things there.  At least it got me thinking about spicing up my card photos - not sure my new photos here are the best example but at least it's a wholehearted try!  One thing she mentioned was that she touched up every photo she used for her blog.  So that's what I tried with this card photo - not just composition but retouching to max the quality of the image.  Let me know what you think.

Now about the card... This is a High Hopes Stamps image that I colored using my copic markers.  I used the Cosmo Cricket DP "Want S'More?" again.  I thought it was perfect for this back-woodsy image.  I used Stampin' Up paper in Soft Suede, Ruby Red and Mustard which match pretty perfectly with the DP.  A bit of distressing on all the edges and the addition of a few buttons (buttons perk up everything) seems to make the card work for me -- and I hope my coworker who is going to get this for his birthday!  He's sort of the outdoorsy type and should like it just fine.

I'd also like to call your attention to my new photo watermark design.  I ordered this online for $2 at Karen Giron's beautiful blogsite (The Sweetest Thing...).  She has a great selection -- different designs and colors available.  She creates them and emails them to you and I have to tell you she is very quick at processing your order and getting them off.  They are really cute designs and easy to order off her site through Paypal.  She even provides great step-by-step instruction on how to import the image with your photo imaging software.  It was easy peasy to do and I love my new design.  I'll tell you it's a lot faster than typing it in every time - that's my favorite part of it!  You can access the Watermark post on her site by clicking here.  I also have a link in my right side bar to that post. 

Thanks so much for visiting me today.  Please take a few minutes to check out the links to my other creations and to the other blog links where those talented women will inspire you as much as they do me.