Deep Breaths.

Yesterday was a day of very though decisions, of realizing I have to let go of certain dreams so I can start working on making new ones happen. A day of being reminded that my friends are true and steadfast, no matter how far away we may be from each other. That I have the best family a girl could ever ask for. It's humbling, reassuring and a balm for my soul.

It was day of rude awakenings, of periods of numbness, of trying to center myself, get my thoughts in order and take action. Once and for all.

It's terrifying, lemme tell ya. But life has already given me the hardest test of endurance of all: losing a child. I got through it, survived it and after it all, life rewarded me with the most perfect and loving little girl. I can do it and I will.

I have to believe I can. I am surrounded by people who love and support me in any way they can and I will draw strength from that.

I found these pics I took of my beautiful Miami skies, which I have to believe I will be under again, soon. Because I can. And I will.

I thought they illustrated the road ahead pretty accurately, and they are just pretty.

Have a wonderful weekend, lovelies.

Font Love: My Top Type.

Font Love Thursday is back, and this time I am showing the love to my top fonts of all time. These are the ones I will use for ever and ever and I will never get tired of them.

Without further ado, here they are...

Of course I have to thank Katrina for the inspiration in styling this post. I loved the photo strip look and I had these super cool Katie Pertiet ones, so there you have it.

What are your all time fave fonts? Share with me and feed my font addiction, please? With sugar on top...

Happy Thursday, lovelies.

iPhone Photography Apps.

I really don't use my iPhone as much as I should to take pictures. With all the über cool photography apps out there, it's pretty hard not to take a cool pic even with a phone.

These are my current faves. Share yours with me, OK?

1. Hipstamatic

A classic. I love everything about it and they have been giving pretty good updates. The free stuff is so cool and I love being able to change the camera case.

2. Camera Bag

This gives me very cool effects too and you can also have a desktop version. Check it out for sure.

3. Project 365

I need to start this soon. How cool would it be? I'm gonna do it with pics of Nati. Promise...

4. PS Express

Very quick and easy way to edit your pics as soon as you take them so you can share them right from your iPhone.

5. Photocabine

Oh, la la! My fave. Love the cool music the desktop version plays, love the layout options for the strips. the scratchy effect on the pics. I say oui to it all.

6. Insagram

I just got this one, so I haven't been able to explore it much, but I love what peeps have been sharing all over the web with this app.

7. Pocketbooth

So much fun! Kinda like Photocabine, but has different effects and photo paper textures. I just took a bunch with this app and I'll be scrapping them soon. Must have, this one .

8. Camera+

A new one to me also, but what little I've been able to explore has been great. You can do tons of things to your pics with this app. Totally worth the buck ninety nine. Ha!

These are some of my favorite shots. All taken with Hipstamatic.

Happy Wednesday, lovelies.

Freebies for ya...

Ever since Karla asked me to make a few templates for her, back when I was in her DT, I have loved making them.

They make it all easier, and when the mojo decides to take a vacay, there is nothing like the boost of having a starting point with a template.

I have made many, many more since then, and I will be offering them to you as freebies here on No Shrinking Violet, from time to time.

Here are a few of my free template downloads. You can get them by clicking on the images below.

They are always available by going to the 411 section on the sidebar and clicking on "free templates".

Stay tuned, though. I have many more in the works and they will all be free. I hope you like and enjoy them, and that you show me what you made with them.

Kisses, lovelies.

New Week: New Look.

As promised, No Shrinking Violet got a facelift. I need to thank Katrina, the genius behind Pugly Pixel, for all I've learned form her amazing tutorials, for her templates and all the inspiration she has given me.

This new look comes from my fascination with all things mid 20th century. I love the illustrations, the typography that era inspired. The furniture and fashion design, all of which have become iconic. Just the whole feel of it has always spoken to me.

I started playing around with the idea and this is what came out. I hope you like it, and I would so love to hear what you think. I want to design blogs and your input would be much appreciated.

If you're interested in a blog redesign, send me an e-mail at:

anilumagloire@yahoo.com

Have a swell Monday, lovelies.

Had To Get These.

Y'all know I have undying love for my girl Karla Dudley, and she had made me wait for ages to release a new kit. Well, lemme tell ya, it was worth it. 

She came up with this amazing kit, part of her Essentials series: Number Essentials 1. It's beyond cool and the possibilities are endless. Follow this link to get yours.

Here's the first of many, many pages I will be making with it. The top five things my Nati is loving right now...

And...

Here's hoping you all have a great weekend.
Toodle loo.

Yep, More Old Photos.

I know it's Font Love Thursday, but it got bumped by this very cool photo I found... We'll be back to our regularly scheduled program next week. Ha!

So, here's another page made with more of those amazing old photographs my family's been sharing. This time it's my dad's family.

This pic is a fave cause it's his whole family (dad's seventh from the top of the stairs), and this picture was taken at my grandparents' home in Haiti. This beautiful house was completely destroyed during the earthquake that leveled that poor country, so any photograph picturing it is even more special for me now.

(click on picture to see it in full in another page)

I used the same template as yesterday, and that very cool paper is by Andrea Victoria at Designer Digitals. I thought it looked kinda Caribbean.

OK, I'm off to watch Happy Potter with my sister. 

Later gators.

More Family Photographs.

 Gotta love family groups on Facebook. I have been getting all these amazing old pictures I didn't even know existed. Very cool stuff.

This photograph is my great grandfather on my mom's side and I had to scrap it, pronto. I used that new Three Paper Peonies  digital kit I told you about on Monday. So versatile. Love it.

(click on picture to see it whole in another window)

I have more of these amazing photos to scrap, so I just might make it a "photo a day" this week. Gives me a great excuse to make more digi pages.

The template I used for the page is totally based on Ali Edwards' WITL templates from last year.

I hope you like.

Toodles.

Oh, Larry... I Love Ya'.

Just a sweet and short post to profess my undying love for Curb Your Enthusiasm. I had been waiting for ages for the new season to start and, man was it worth it.

If you're not watching yet, do!  You will thank me later by sending me flowers and chocolate.

Have a super happy Tuesday, lovelies.

Li'l Me.

Hey, I scrapped!  Yes I did. My sister started scanning all these old family pictures and I thought a page was in order. This is my dear cousin Erika and yours truly, at my grandparents' houses in Mexico City and Veracruz, I think. Gotta ask my mom.

We were inseparable and I still love spending time with her. We are very close in age and we were always the big girls. I so love that pic of my grandfather holding us both. Sigh...

I used this amazing new kit by Three Paper Peonies. Man, she made us wait for a new kit. Isn't it delicious?

Labels are Pugly Pixel and those crazy cool cabochon flowers are Sahlin Studio.

I'm gonna go stalk my sister's Facebook page to get more pics to scrap with this kit.

Hope you like.

Toodles.

Glitter Love.

Ever since I sent Katrina (my pal and author of the best design blog there is, Pugly Pixel) that link about how to make digital glitter, I found a renewed love for all things glittlery.

So, I fired up Photoshop and made a few glittery wallpapers for my MacBook. They are 1280x800 px. If you like any of them, feel free to click on the smaller images and save them to use in your computer.

I used some very cool brushes by Green Bulb Gang, which you can see here.

Click and save these to download the original size...

Enjoy and have a great weekend.

Can't Stop Looking At Them.

Time for another font love post. I have been lusting over these four fonts for months. Why, oh why are fonts so darn expensive?

No matter, I will have them all, sooner or later. Why do I feel like inserting an evil laughter soundtrack here?

Anyway, here they are. Aren't they absolutely gorgeous?

They are from My Fonts, of course. That place will be the ruin of me, I tell ya. But, to be fair, these are pretty accessible as fonts go, so I'll be able to add them to my collection soon. Yay!

Have a great one.

Oh, How I Love My Books...

I really do. Some days I'd go nuts if I couldn't give my brain the little break a book gives it. I gotta say, I love my Kindle as much as I love my iPhone, and that is a lot.

I am never ever without a book to read, and my current book is The Help by Kathryn Stockett. I wasn't too sure about it even with all the hype, but I am liking it so far. There are some things bothering me, but I am already halfway through it, so I'm gonna finish it.

ETA: Just finished it and I liked it. I expected much more, but it was entertaining. After the first half I could not put it down and had to finish it to see what would happen.

I liked some of the characters a lot, others not so much and I think it makes a truly horrific time for black people in the US, and particularly in Mississippi,  a little too... nice.

The ending was a little anticlimactic to me, cause I like my books to have closure. But that's just me. It felt like someone told her "OK, time to finish it",  and she did.

I don't think it deserves all the hype it's been getting, but it wasn't as bad as it's detractors say it is either. I enjoyed it quite a bit.

I'm kind of excited to see the movie. It's gonna be one of those cheesy, girly tearjerkers I love.

Happy day, pretties.

So Proud Of Her.

The other day my Nati came home all excited to show me the diploma she had gotten from her teacher at school for being such a well behaved girl.

First thing she asked me was to make her a post here on the blog, so here it is. A whole post just for the love of my life, my joy, my little girl.

She keeps giving me nothing but joy every day. I look forward to years of proud moments with you, Nati.

Your mommy loves you so, so much.

Toodles,

New Blog Design.

As much as I loved my pink and gray look, I felt the urge to showcase a different look. I used another combination I love: gray and turquoise.

Lately I am using gray a lot and you'll see that in my upcoming blog designs. I have lots ready to use and I still have so many ideas for designs I want to create.

I knew I liked this digital stuff, but I have come to realize blog/web design is what I really love and want to do.

So, here's the new one...

I played a little with Pugly Pixel's amazing blog template and made the header different with a scalloped edge. It's amazing how many different looks you can get out of this one template. Making the "blogable" surface 1000px wide, makes all the difference for me.  I never liked those super cluttered templates with just a little strip in the middle for posts.

I also love the wide sidebar and the fact that it can be a single or double row. Endless possibilites.

Thank you, Katrina for making such cool things available to us blog enthusiasts. You rule.

Those super cool mini Polaroid frames are Rhonna Farrer for House of 3.

As always, if you're interested in a new blog design, contact me at:

anilumagloire@yahoo.com

Okay, Photoshop is calling my name, so I'm off to create more stuff. Have a great week, my lovelies.

Blog-Web Page Design.

I think this is definitely something I want do. I have been having such a great time creating my blog's future themes, that I need to do this in a more serious way.

I am going to find a class to learn all about HTML and CSS and all those geeky cool things and see where this goes. 

I feel giddy every time I learn something new and I love the design part of it.  This is it for me!

Here is a peek at the designs you will be seeing here on No Shrinking Violet in the coming months.

So far I have seven ready to go, but I know I'll have many more before I have used all of these. I hope you like.

If you'd like me to design your blog for you, drop me a line at:

anilumagloire@yahoo.com

Circles template is Pugly Pixel.  Staples are Karla Dudley.

Have a great weekend, lovelies.

New Font, New Font!

Oh, yeah. There was no way I could resist this one. My Fonts is a very dangerous place for me. I love this font to death and it was worth every penny I paid for it.

It's beautiful name is Verner and it's part of a font family I must have. Soon, hopefully.

Ok, I'm off to think of ways to use my new lovely font.

Toodles,

Hipsta Shot.

I had sushi for lunch the other day and, for some strange reason, I got a Chinese fortune cookie with my meal.

I loved my fortune and thought it was very apropos, so here it is.

Of course by now you've all figured out I am in love with Pugly Pixel's labels and vintage fabric banners. They are just too cool not to use.

Here's hoping your fortune's nice to you too.

Toodles,

Whee!

Ah, lemme just say this beautiful Tuesday has been full of the coolest news and this is the cherry on top of my happy sundae...

Pugly Pixel, I love thee.

I found Katrina's blog by chance and I never loved a blog as much as I love hers. She is just pure coolness and her amazing aesthetics speak to mine. I love everything she does and her freebies are to die for. I got a Premium Membership and it's been the best $5 I have ever spent.

You need to go visit her. Now!

Of course that graph paper I made using one of her tutorials (best and easiest to follow) and the tape is Pugly Pixel also. I borrowed the images from her blog. You can see her glittery post here.

OK, I'm off to start the day. Have a wonderful one, lovelies.

Fashion Lust.

I was browsing Pinterest today, and my heart skipped a beat when I landed on these...

I have never loved a pair of shoes like I love these Vera Wang Lavender Label flats. I am a total flat gal and these are the perfect shape, and the bling overload is making me dizzy.

I dunno how, but I will have these shoes. Just sayin'.

I'm off to daydream about them some more. Happy day, lovelies.

They Kill Me Dead...

My sweet little girls, that is. Both Nati, my daughter and Paulina, my niece, are the most generous people I know.

They were wearing these über cool plastic rings the other day and when I told them I loved them, they both took them right off their beautiful little hands and just gave them to me.

Needless to say, they melt my heart on a daily basis and I love them more than words can say.

I wear my cool rings all the time, and they make me smile like a fool.

I made the red graph paper thanks to a super easy tutorial by Pugly Pixel. Pink tag and vintage fabric banners are Pugly Pixel, also.

Have a wonderful weekend, beautiful people.