i thought i lost this blog...so i started a new one. find me here now :)

http://designs-by-krista.blogspot.com/

happy valentines day! here's a giveaway for ya :)

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elements

valentine's day will be here before you know it!! i just added this valentine kit to my shop, get a head start on some valentine cards =)

here's a little christmas gift for ya =) hope you have a merry christmas!!

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elements

yuck!! getting alot of spam in the comments on this blog now :(

any ideas of how to stop it?? just got a comment on the last post, so now probably every other day there will be another spam comment on it. ugh! i don't like it.

just added this kit to the shop

i just added this to my shop :)

just added this to the shop :)

added something new to the shop :)

thought i'd share some changes that are taking place with selling my stuff. i'm very excited to say i received an email from memory mixer asking if i'd like to sell my designs thru them ~ wow!! blew me away because they are a "real" company. so my head is spinning about that opportunity. then the next day i received an email from polka dot potato asking if i'd like to join them ~ they are into some interesting ventures outside of the digi world ~ so i have accepted their offer too. i'll be leaving scrapbook-bytes at the end of the month. so, exciting stuff to me ~ hopefully it will be the morale boost i need to really buckle down and get back to making stuff more regularly =)

* mari asked what camera and lens i used. i have a canon xsi, and the butterfly shots were taken with a 100mm macro lens and the bee was taken with a lensbaby composer and i got the add-on macro lenses with that (i used the 10x one). i love macro and probably have a macro lens on 9/10 of the time.

i haven't posted any pictures for awhile ~ so here's a few =)


really happy with this one

i had never seen one of these kind of butterflies in person

pretty happy with this one too

hey!! yeah, i'm still here :) and i need to buckle down and get back too it.

my dad has been sick for about 3 weeks and in the hospital for the last couple of weeks. he got rhabdomyolysis and was not doing well at all for a few days ~ i don't even think his doctors thought he was going to bounce back this time (he is 87 and i can not believe the determination the man has - wish i had gotten some of it from him, but i didn't) he was in renal failure for a couple of days and i think they thought his heart would be the next muscle to deteriorate and he'd have a heart attack so they said the family needs to talk to him about signing a dnr and dialysis... but, about a week ago his lab results and vital signs started improving and his kidneys started functioning again. so they moved him to transitional care and said he would be there at least a month ~ i don't think so ~ i'd say he is now as good as he was before he got sick. his heart doctor keeps saying "can't keep a good man down" and i guess that's true. amazing!! so, that's what's been going on with me.

just added this to the shop

added this to the shop today :)


ran across a snail today ~ so i held it captive for awhile =)

haven't posted any pictures in awhile ~ so here's a couple...

eeewww!! i'm not a big fan of frogs, but when they spend hours just lounging on the lily pads i can't resist taking some shots of them :)

*to answer the question about if i spiced up the colors in photoshop...i guess you could say i did ~ i always use actions on photos. i really don't know a thing about using photoshop to post process, but i love actions ~ just click a button and it can totally change the look of a photo. i just love vibrant color, lol, i know some of my pictures i look at and think whoa!! that could burn a whole in your retina or something they are so bright =) but look at some of the colors i use in kits, i'm not afraid of color.

i just uploaded this to the shop

and a couple of pictures...it has been so rainy lately so i've been getting shots of water drops.

this one is odd, but i think it's kind of cool :)

* ok ~ i'm a dim wit :P coupon should be fixed now

happy scrap day!! so, to make up for not having a giveaway for the day :( there is a crazy sale going on in my shop ~ 50% off everything ~ and to make it even better, use the coupon code happy_nsd for an extra 20% off!!! the coupon can be used for purchases of $1.50 or more. all this will end at midnight tomorrow night. enjoy the day =)

thanks for the comments about my pictures :) i love to use actions for post processing. sometime i'll post a straight out of the camera shot and then an after with actions. just recently i downloaded the 2 sets that pioneer woman has as giveaways...

pw actions

so if you have photoshop (not sure if they work in elements) give them a try. at the moment i love the one called "lovely and ethereal". used it on this shot of my clematis

and here is just a shot from my backyard. you'll be seeing lots of it thru the summer :P love to be able to just step out in the comfort of my own backyard and have things to get pictures of.

a couple more pictures...

a dandelion

lilac blooms

haven't posted any pictures for awhile ~ haven't gotten shots that i really like ~ but here's a few...

this is bob a/k/a big boy ~ he's not fat, just big boned. he looks pretty lumpy in this shot, lol

i love hosta's, so just a simple shot of one that's coming up

because i see birds everywhere these days, this picture to me looks like a big bird pecking a little bird on the head. they are those things that come from maple trees.

lately i've gotten some inquiries about how to use designs on blogs ~ and i don't have a clue =) but, thought i would share a link to a blog i ran across one time that gives instructions for customizing blogs:

easy custom blogs

i'm in the process of uploading this kit to the shop

i think blog designers are the only people using my designs these days ~ and i am thankful for that. every day i look at all the new designs out there and i just can't wrap my head around the popular style :( they are gorgeous that's for sure and there are so many uber talented ladies out there. first of all i'm not an artist ~ can't draw, can't paint. and i just can't get away from multi colored patterned papers, kills me to see the majority of kits only have solid papers these days. i don't know why i'm telling ya'll this ~ i guess because designing has become a huge struggle for me and it eats at me every day i just need to vent ~ if i'm not working on something it's in my head that i should be. i think being creative and having to be creative are 2 totally different things, so if you ever feel creative don't make it a thing you have to do.

i thought i'd bring this giveaway back =) just a shot of a piece of wood in my backyard ~ i thought it would make a good background.

natural background

i checked the blooms element download ~ and it worked for me, so keep trying :)

same with the elements for the spring kit.

:( sorry there seems to be so many problems with downloads ~ i guess these free sites for downloads aren't so great. i may go back to 4 shared.

i just added this to the shop =)

i was spreading mulch and came across a couple of ladybugs. i didn't get it focused where it should be ~ but i still like it. looks like it has a smiley face : )

*frame is by sweetmade

i just wanted to say a big thank you for the comments and emails re: my photography. wow! can't believe i can be inspiring =) thanks so much!!

so here's some from this past week...

poo ~ settled in under a bush doing a little birdwatching ~ looks like she is thinking what are you looking at, don't disturb me :) she is full of attitude

this is a macro of the middle of a periwinkle flower ~ perennial vinca vine

saw this shrub and fell in love with it ~ so i brought it home and planted it last week. it's a flowering quince.

some pictures to share =)

spring is here and things are blooming. this is a bradford pear tree. oh so pretty ~ but very stinky flowers.

this is kitty ~ looking at something up in the tree

i couldn't decide about this one ~ she looks so serious or mean. mainly i love her eyes ~ zoomed in they are gorgeous.

bummer ~ i was really on a roll for a week or so ~ now i'm back to nothing : (

so i'll share a few pictures...i don't think i've mentioned it here but i love macro photography for some reason and seem to take macro shots more than anything.

a couple more pansy shots

and unfortunately weeds are already growing like crazy. some are pretty though :) the flowers on this weed were teensy ~ only about an 1/8 of an inch ~ i used my extension tubes to get in this close. you'd never know they were so tiny, huh?

i'm in the process of uploading these and adding them to the shop :)

i'll sure be glad when my backyard is full of stuff to get pictures of ~ flowers, bugs, etc. slowly but surely things are starting to come back to life. here's a couple of shots...

i love vines and the way they wrap around

and i just thought these little leaves were the cutest :) it's a honeysuckle vine.

it's that time of year when spring fever sets in ~ although it's going back to cold for the rest of the week :( here's a little spring kit for you...oh yeah, i've read some things about 4shared and viruses, so i'm trying media fire for downloads.

*sorry about the elements link ~ it's fixed now

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elements