I can't believe we have hit mid year already!! Christmas pressies have been discussed, put on layby and some already purchased. Yes, I had loads of time on my hands whilst I had no internet so what better time to organize Christmas presents 6 months ahead of time...lol. I left everything till the last minute, last year, so I thought I would get a head start.
Mind you I also read a few books, then a few more books, and finished off with another 4 books just for the fun of it. It's strange when you have too much time on your hands then all of a sudden you can barely put a book down to get anything done. Go figure....

I managed to step back into my creative space last week for the first time since I've been offline! Can you imagine that? It was wonderful to to sit down and start creating in a spotless room. Boy, I had some fun!!

I was invited by sweet Tamar from the awesome kit club Tarisota, to be a guest designer for the month and of course I said YES!! They just released a new kit called 'Paper Treasures', the colors combination's are simply gorgeous and I just love all the little embellishments that Tamar hand picks that go so well together with the rest of the kit. Be sure to check out what else they have in the store at the moment as Tarisota also stocks fabric packs {as well as other goodies that take's Tamar's fancy} that co-ordinates perfectly with this month's collection as well as the August Style Studio {find out more about that HERE} Check out these projects I created with this month's kit:


Be sure to check out the gallery for close up's and to see what the other designer's created using this month's kit!! Thanks Tamar for inviting me over for the month ;)

That's it for today.....I am surfing around the net checking the latest releases for CHA.....I am head over heals for new 7 Gypsies and Pink Paislee/House of 3!! What are you loving right now and can you share a link please? Happy Days!!

......is this thing on??

YES.....I am back online, finally!! So much to catch up on, new blog post coming soon!!

Hello sweet people!!
Just a quick post to let you know I am having huge internet problems right now! I am hoping this problem will be resolved in the next two weeks. Thank you for the emails you have sent, I am able to read them once a week from a friends PC so if you do need to contact me in the next two weeks, email me here please: dideemartin(at)gmail(dot)com my personal email address is not working!

Big hugs, miss you loads!!
Didee xxoxoxo

Friday again.....wow this week has flown by. Today's photo is by Christina of 3 Sweet P's.......here is the before shot:


Here is a run down on how I edited the photo:

• Firstly, I ran Basic Editing from The Photographer's Tool Box by My Four Hens to lighten the photo
• To brighten the eyes I used Eye Pop from The Photographer's Tool Box
• I then ran All For One from Random Rocks - the newest freebie by My Four Hens over at Shabby Princess's blog feature. I fiddled with some of the layers to get the effect I liked best
• Lastly, I added a texture layer {see below for free texture} and changed the layer to overlay in the layer palette in Photoshop. I erased most of the texture from the little boys face and hair and lowered the opacity to 81%

Here is my edit:


Feel free to use my texture for your Fix-It Friday photo!! Have a wonderful weekend......I will be moving the girls into one room over the weekend, fun, fun, fun!

We all love a good giveaway and I am totally loving the tote bag giveaway by Roben-Marie Smith!!

Here's a little snippet about Roben-Marie from her website:


"   Roben-Marie Smith might still be plugging away as a public relations consultant, had the charm of mixed-media collage not lured her away a decade ago.  Instead, she spends sun-filled days enjoying the panoramic view from her Port Orange, Florida, studio, surrounded by paint, glazes, papers, ephemera, and rubber stamps from her own artsy line, Paperbag Studios.  A third grade blue ribbon in art ignited the initial creative spark, leading to diverse childhood crafting endeavors, including making stuffed animals and Christmas ornaments. 
Roben-Marie draws much of her inspiration from the art materials themselves, creating her own markings with lids, sticks, and other serendipitous tools.  She thrives on making and working in art journals, which she considers individual collages, and she keeps a tape recorder on her nightstand for those pre-slumber muse visits.   "

Roben-Marie is giving away this gorgeous tote bag she created for Stampington on her blog: 


Be sure to check out her video on how she created the tote! For more details on how you can win this beautiful tote, check out her blog post HERE. The giveaway runs ends on Sunday May 16 @ 5:00pm EST.....good luck!!