My First Post!!!

I finally decided to take the plunge into digital blogging!! Heck until I got into digital scrapbooking I didn't even know what a blog was! Now it's just part of everyday language for me.LOL! Basically I created this blog for the purpose of bragging about the designers that I create layouts for-hence the blog name "Pkdoll's Bragbook".

My name is Paula, better known as pkdoll in the forums, and I got into digital scrapbooking about 1 1/2 years ago. I was just getting started in learning to paperscrap, (which my first thoughts were wow this is way too time consuming and messy) when I went online and googled scrapbooking to look for supplies and ideas on what others were doing. That is when I discovered ScrapbookMax and the art of digital scrapping. I downloaded their trial software and started immediately creating layouts and thought this is GREAT! So I ordered the full blown software program and began my new venture of creating memories digitally. Let me tell you it is sooo much easier than the paper scrapping and I have never once looked back. I became soooo obsessed with it that I was doing pages and looking for other ways to make things and listening to all my newfound friends in the forums that it wasn't long before I purchased another program called Photoshop Elements. PSE blew me away with all the extra capabilities you had with making, enhancing, altering and creating things that I decided to take a class at my local technical college on learning photoshop basics and some advanced features as well. I immediately became hooked on the full blown Photoshop program that I just had to have it!! I do most of my page creations in PS now, but I still use SBM as well for some of the pages I create. A lot of times I will create some elements or do some photo editing in PS than bring it into SBM to put a page together. It all depends on what I am working on and which designer I am creating for. When I create for the designers at SBM I like to use the SBM program to show the ease and versatility of that program; but when I work on pages for the other designers it is all done in PS.
I was having a really hard time trying to decide what my first post was going to be about and here I am babbling about myself.LOL!! I would like to send a special "Thank you" to my good friend and one of the designers I CT for MICHELLE-also known as "Wolvsie" for creating my blog banner at the top. I LOVE how it turned out GF! Thank you sooooo much!! Also I want to thank all of the designers that I work with for giving me the opportunity to work with their wonderful kits and allowing me to grow in learning new techniques and creating memories!!! Thank you goes to MOONBEAM (Deanne Gow-Smith @ SBM) she was the very first one to ask me to be on her team-I was so honored for that invitation Deanne-what a boost for one's ego.:) - than there is Michelle (Wolvsie @ Crafty Scraps and SBM) she was my second, and it just so happens she lives by me as well and we have an awesome friendship going on!!:) Than I want to send a Thank you to Kim (Kimb's Designs @ DSO) and Linda (Jazzieal @ DSO )!! Jazzy is the head CT member for Kim Broedelet and she and Kim had asked me to be a guest CT one month and I never left! LOL!! I am also CTing for Jazzy's new designing career at Words to Delite. And than last but by no means least there is Fiona (Angelwithin designs @ SBM)! Thank you Fiona for honoring me with the invitation to create pages for you too. I have the highest respect for each and every one of you because designing digital papers and embellishments and word art takes a special talent and a HECK of a lot of work. After trying to make a few small elements and papers of my own I have a new found respect for those of you that can do this--it takes many hours and a lot of talent to come up with new and exciting kits for people to scrap their memories with. So here's my big THANK YOU!!!!! And I love all of you!!!

WOW! this post really got long didn't it!! Hope everyone is still with me here. I would like to post a few layouts now and I decided that I was going to do these for my brother and his family. I don't get to see him and his family very often and I miss them dearly--so when I went to visit them last year I took lots of pictures and coaxed and coaxed my brother into giving me photos that he had of his family (mostly the grandchildren-because that is what he had on the computer)-his kids are all grown and we just didn't have the time to scan all the pictures of them growing up--but I was extremely happy to get what I could from him! So here are a few LO's to start you with and I will add more in another post. I promise that I will not be so long winded in future posts! LOL!!




This is my brother's oldest daughter (My Niece) and her daughter. I used a collab kit by Kim Broedelet and Bunny Cates called "I Believe". Jazzieal (Linda) lost her daughter Lori suddenly in February and she loved Fairies, so they made this kit for her. I love working with this kit-it is so versatile, and magical and just gorgeous. The word art on this page is by Jazzieal.

These two beautiful ladies are my Nieces. It was so good to be able to visit with them last year and to see how they have grown into such wonderful caring women. I did this LO for a Quote Challenge at DSO. This is my first attempt at a blended overlay. Thank you CARENA for the tut on how to do this!! I used Kim Broedelet's Storybook Romance kit for this and you can find it at DSO.

Another one of my great niece -this time with her father. I just thought these pics were adorable!!! I used Fiona Storey's kit Photographs & Memories-and you should check out her other kits at SBM
Well that's it for today folks! I have lots more to show you-so please return often to see what else I have up my sleeve. :) I am hoping to offer you some freebies in the near future as well. Till next time take care and have fun!!
Paula