how is everyone? i am recently back from computer hell. i have been telling hubby for months my virus software was turned off and he kept telling me i was wrong. my computer was doing more and more weird stuff and i finally sent him a few screenshots. so he looked again and did a scan and i had evil computer things all over the place. turns out somewhere i picked up an initial one that disabled my virus software but put in a dummy icon so when hubby looked at it it looked fine. but it was not fine. no it was very very not fine :( so most of yesterday was spent cleaning it up but we were finally victorious with no wiping and re-building - HOORAY!!!! so i am back in business!
today pezza went to see a movie in a theater for the first time ever. as a rule i don't do movies in theaters - such a huge rip off in my opinion. BUT we met up with hayden - they have been insisting they are going to be married one day. this has been going on for a year :) they are so super cute and hayden is the sweetest boy ever! we saw ice age continental divide - pretty hilarious. after that we wandered around old town leesburg and rummaged through the antique stores and such but left empty handed :(
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don't forget - my new class - Mixed Media Basics - is launching this week over on Color Me Creative! There is a slight delay in the start due to my computer fun yesterday :P but you can get registered and we will be up and running in the next day or so!
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as promised i have a book review for you today! i got a copy of Collage Couture from Julie Nutting at CHA in january and I have been playing with it lately.
talk about fun! let me start by saying that i can NOT draw. i have been working really hard on that this year though and this book is a huge step in the right direction!
But julie didn't stop there! Not only does she teach you how to draw the adorable girly girls she is known for - she also teaches how to make great backgrounds to go with them!
These are my first two girls done using Julie's book. yep - i drew them myself!!!!! Now i must say my initial attempts were really bad! so it does take a bit of practicing. however with julie's technique i got useable figures fairly quickly - in a matter fo days!
you saw the first one yesterday. this paris girly-girl uses a number of techniques/ideas in the book on the background as well as the girl herself.
Unlike the one i showed yesterday i decided to put a little face on this one. i am not sure which way i like it better - what do YOU think????
of course the dresses are the most fun! i am already itching to create a few more! and i think they would make great digi images too!
now i am not going to give you any details on the how-tos - that's what the book is for! i WILL give you more details on the book itself though!
the book is a good sized paperback - 8 1/2" x 11" - with 128 pages of glorious color photos and perfect instructions. what i really like about this book is that the wording/instructions are so very well done. not too much but not too little. the directions are straight-forward without being overwhelming. i appreciate that! i don't want to wade through a lot of wording i want to get down to business and play!
another thing i like - this is such a great way to use up lots of scraps! in fact this book does not require going out and buying loads of supplies. in fact you will likely have many of the items already on hand. The last portion of the book has other fun project ideas and instructions for your girly girls.
were there any drawbacks? i would have liked more info on hairstyles and hats that equaled the instruction on eyes, lips and clothes. but with so many examples throughout the book it is only a minor drawback.
overall, i would consider this to be a STAPLE book to have on your shelf - and i have ALOT of books. if you want to dabble in mixed media and figure drawing and can only buy one book - this is the one to start with.
Julie announced on her blog at the beginning of the month that she has gotten approval for book number two and i can't wait to get my hands on it! go check out more of julie's work on her blog! tell her i sent ya!
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