One more Christmas wish to all of you from all of us!

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

To all my family and friends...

Despite all my good intentions, I did not get any cards sent out this year. :( That's a first for me I think, and I feel horrible! So I wanted to make one card and let you know how much I love and appreciate all of you.

We've been blessed with such an amazing circle of friends and family and we wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Surround yourselves with those you love and be safe! I love you all! x's and o's

Angel Blessings

I've always wanted to complete a page for one of the challenges at DigiDares.com, but somehow have never gotten around to it. I found myself there tonight and when I read the challenge I just knew I had to participate. The challenge was to scrap about a "Random Act of Kindness" that was done for you and how it made you feel. It reminded me of a few years ago when we were going through an extremely hard time financially at Christmas time. I'll let my page do the storytelling.

My journaling says:

This card is all I have as a reminder of the year we thought we would not have a Christmas. Finances were so tight that year that we were not able to purchase the traditional Christmas meal, and we were facing not being able to provide a single gift for the kids. It was so incredibly depressing to be in such a low state. Christmas dinner and some small gifts for the kids were provided to us because Debbie turned our name in for assistance from Washington County. I went alone to pick up that box of food and it was the most humbling experience of my life. I remember as I walked through the line, I cried the entire time, even as I drove away afterward.
When we showed up for church that Sunday we were blessed again by another box of food! We have no idea who provided it for us. We were only told that we were loved and someone felt encouraged by God to do this for our family. Again, it was such a humbling experience. We didn’t feel worthy of such amazing love! But, God thought differently, as did someone else.
All these years later I still have this card up on my corkboard as a reminder of two things. 1: When we think we are alone in our sorrows and things won’t ever be better, God is there with us and knows exactly what we need and provides for those needs in unexpected ways. 2: To always be thankful for what we have, because it can all be gone so quickly.

I hope that this Christmas finds you in a joyful place and that you are blessed with everything that you need and more. Know that even when things look dark, you are loved more than you know!

xoxo

The true meaning...

My absolute all time favorite Christmas cartoon! Sit back a couple minutes, relax and enjoy!

Warm Memory

I was going through my photos from last Christmas and one in particular just jumped out at me. It's one of my Brother-in-law, Jason, reading to his daughter, my niece, Jenna. She had just got the book for Christmas and he was just reading it to her. No biggie. But, what makes this photo extra special is the fact that Jason suddenly lost all his vision this last year. I know there is a medical reason, but I'm not clear on all of it. All I know is he was fine last year at this time, and now he can't see a thing. I can not even begin to imagine what that must be like for him. And not only for him, but for my sister, Missy, and my nephew and niece, Noah and Jenna. And he's young! Only 42, same age as my hubby. That's so scary to me. What a life altering situation! My sister had just learned how to drive before getting the news that he was losing his vision. What a blessing that was!

I just want my sister to know how very much I admire her for her strength and courage this past year. I wish she lived closer so I could've been/can be more of a help. But I am so proud of her. And of Jason, of course. They've been brave and taken things as they come and keep moving forward. But still, my heart aches for Jason. I can't imagine how I would cope.

I made this page for Missy and Jason. I hope the memory brings them joy.

You can get this page as a QP freebie on Ellie Lash's blog here. Enjoy!

"Cousins"

Hello everyone! I'm back tonight with a scrapbook page! I haven't had much mojo for scrappin' lately, since I've been making so many cards, but my very good friend, Teresa , aka TeresaBelle Designs, has completed her newest kit and I was so excited to make a page with it! The kit is called "Everybody" and it is on sale right now in her shop at ScrapbookBytyes. The full kit is on sale for $3 (50% off), and the whole bundle ($20 worth of products) is on sale for $6 if you use the coupon code "everybody12".  Here is the kit:

And here is the page I made using it:

I love how my page turned out! And aren't those two good good lookin' fellas? The little one is my Zach, and the older one is my only nephew, Noah. Now that is a CRAZY pair! lol

I also used  "Block Templates" by Scrappin' With Liz. I love her stuff, too!

Oh! And lest we forget... there's only 15 days till Christmas! Do you like my page above? How about a QP freebie? Here ya go:

 Enjoy!

xoxo

 

Merry Christmas

Hi everyone! I'm back with my newest card. I love this card! I'm super happy with how it turned out! My only regret is that I forgot to save it in layered format. I think this one would be a great hybrid card. I'm going to have to work on that...
Anyway, I used a sketch from Mojo Monday Challenge #167 for this card. It's a great sketch by Julee Tilman. You actually get to choose between making a square or a circle card, and I chose a circle because I've never made a circular card before! It was really fun, and like I said, I think it turned out great.
Of course, the kit I chose makes a ll the difference! This time I used "Cinnamon Cocoa" by Ellie Lash. It's not yet released, but keep coming back and I will let you know when it is! You will want to pick it up for sure! It's gorgeous!! For a small peek at it, Check out my card:

 And the inside:

If you like, I've made another layered template. You can pick it up by clicking on the image.

Enjoy and please leave me a comment below! I makes my day hearing from you!

Cold Outside

I don't know about where you are, but it has been COLD here. We did get some snow Monday night of last week, with enough ice to keep the kids home from school, but now it's slowly warming up again. I think we got to a high of 45 degrees today. Wow! I'm ready to break out the shorts again! NOT!!

Well, first and foremost, I want to wish my son, Tyler, a VERY Happy Birthday! He is 19 today! Tyler, I just want you to know how much I love you and how very proud I am of you. (and I hope I'm not embarrassing you, lol) You've had a rough year, but things are really looking up for you and I'm so happy for you! I love you so much!

Ok, the rest is short and simple. I made another new card tonight. I was hoping to get it done in time for the Some Odd Girls Hol-ODD-day Blog Hop, but I lost track of days and missed the deadline. But I LOVE how the card came out, so I wanted to share it with you anyway. Here is Baby, It's Cold Outside:

 And the inside:

Like I said, I used an image from Some Odd Girl. This is Cold Kaylee. Isn't she just adorable??
I also used the kit "Sweet Snowflakes" by Ellie Lash. I absolutely LOVE working with Ellie's kit! They are SO versatile and just plain CUTE!!

So, I'm sure you're now wondering "Where's the freebie template?" I'm sorry about that. You're going to have to wait on that for just a little while longer. I will be giving it away on Ellie's CT Blog to celebrate the 13 Days Before Christmas. You'll have to come on over and join us for lots of freebie goodness! Believe me, it'll be worth it! Ellie's Angels never cease to amaze me! Of course, it's easy when we have such amazing kits to work with! :)

Peace

Well, this is officially my very first Christmas card for 2010! And I'm very happy with how it turned out.

This one is made from a beautiful sketch by Arlana Patten over at Sweet Sketch Wednesday. I absolutely adore her sketches. They are so much fun to work with.  Here is my card:

 And the inside:

The image I used for this card is from Elizabeth O. Dulemba. She is an amazing illustrator of children's books, but she allows the download and use of her images for digi stamps. Very generous of her, huh? Make sure to check out her blog to see more of her work.

I also used a kit that was given away as freebie mini-kits on a Blog Hop sponsored by Jessica Sprague. It's called "Christmas Treasures". I hope you were able to pick it up while it lasted, because these ladies did an amazing job!

Here is the layered template. I hope you enjoy using it and get lots of Christmas cards made! Only 27 days left! ;)

Happy Holidays!

Well, Thanksgiving is officially over, but I hope you are enjoying the long holiday weekend!
Did you get enough to eat yesterday? I sure did! Lots of EVERYthing! hehe And it was such a great time to be able to share with my family! I love you all!!!

And now the countdown begins. Christmas is only 29 days away! Ack!! It's going to be upon us in the blink of an eye, I just know it. But I hope you are able to slow down from time to time and look around you and be thankful for what you do have. A beautiful family, a warm home, food to sustain you each day. Remember, Christmas isn't about the gifts we can and can't give, it's about the Gift that we have already received. As it's said, Jesus is the Reason for the Season. I hope you agree.

Just FYI...

If my blog looks a little wonky for a while, I'm working on it. I'm trying to change a few things and I'm a hands on, learn as you go, learner. So don't worry if it looks a bit strange, I'm working on it! :)

Thanks for understanding!

Let's Go Girls!

My next card is actually an invitation. I remember a couple years ago, all us girls went out Thanksgiving evening and saw a movie together. It was fun, because that is something we never get a chance to do! I thought it'd be fun to make up a little invitation to send to my Mom and sisters to see if they'd like to do that again! Here is my invite:

And the inside:

To make this, I used this weeks sketch from Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge #94, which of course, I have turned into a template for you ;) I also used a brand new collaboration kit by Creations By Rachael and Laura Banaziak, called "Gurrrl's Night". It will be available HERE on friday, so watch for it!

If you like my card, I'd love to hear from you! And if you use my template, I'd love to see what you come up with! Please leave me a comment below. I LOVE hearing from each of you!! Yes, even those of you who've never left me a comment before ;)

If you haven't notice, I quit using 4Shared, just because they're so unreliable. I have opened an account at MediaFire and Box. I think I like Box better between the two, but from what I can see, there is no way to leave comments at either site. Is this right? Or am I just missing it? Any help or insight is GREATLY appreciated!

And, here is the template you've been waiting for. It's pretty simple, but it's a great place to start and let your creativity to take shape. Click it to download, and Enjoy!

Hey Squirt!

Are you ready for another card template yet? I hope so! Cause I got one for you!

I have a little niece who's birthday we will be celebrating on Thanksgiving, so I took this opportunity to make her card. (Missy, don't show her! You'll ruin the surprise! ;) hehe) Here is "Hey Squirt!":

And the inside:
To make this card I used the sketch from Sweet Sketch Wednesday #76 (which will be yours for the taking in template form at the end of this post!). The stamp is from Doodle Dragon Studios. And the kit I used is "Just LION Around" by TeresaBelle Designs. I'm also entering it in Pixie Dust Studio Challenge #49, for the theme "Let's Go Safari" with the little elephant.

Here is a look at the kit I used, you can click the image to go straight to the shop!

Now for the goodie you've been waiting for! Click the image to download. Enjoy it and I hope that you'll link back to my site so I can see what you've created from my creations! I LOVE comments, too! So, if you like my templates, let me know!

Hold on Tight...

I've made another card I want to share with you!

I used another sketch from FridaySketchers, Challenge #129 (which I turned into a template that I will share as a freebie at the end of this post). If you haven't checked them out yet, you must! They have some very talented designers over there!

I also used an adorable stamp from Bugaboo Stamps to enter my card into their "Catch The Bug" Challenge. It's World Kindness Day and they are celebrating! We had to make a card in regards to being kind, ie; friendship, kindness, thinking of you. You get the idea. And here is my card:


And the inside:
I used "Sweet Pea" by TeresaBelle Designs for my papers and embellishments. I LOVE the color scheme in this kit!! Here's a look at that and the image is clickable to the kit in her store.

That's it for tonight. I better get to bed! Hubby says I have to go help him clean carpets tomorrow! FUN!! ;)

Oops! I almost forgot!! Here is that template I promised you. The image is clickable to download.

Well, here goes nothin'!

I made a card tonight that I am going to enter into two different challenges. I'm really happy with the card, I think it's super cute, and I plan to give it to one of my very best friends for Thanksgiving! Take a look:

and the inside:I am entering this at FridaySketchers for challenge #128. As the name implies, they are all about the sketches.

I'm also entering it at DoodleDragonStudio for their "Thanksgiving" theme challenge. The artist's name is Dustin Pike and he makes the most adorable digi stamps! Visit his personal blog to catch some of his freebies! That's where I got the little dragon for this card. Cute, huh?

I have one layout to share with you tonight too. I'm trying to get caught up a little with the kits that have come out while I wasn't feeling good, and this is one from Creations By Rachael. The kit is called "Frolic Thru Fall" and you can find it here. Here is the kit:

Here is the page I made with it. The photos are from Thanksgiving last year.

I based my layout on a sketch of a template by WMsquared. That kit is called, "Elements Included - Templates - Vol.1". With no money to buy templates, I improvised and made it myself! :D
I have turned my page into a QP if anybody is interested in using it. Just click the image to download.

And that's it! Thanks for stoppin' by! I'm thankful that you do ;)

Going back to my roots...

Well, in paper crafting anyway. ;)
When I used to scrapbook traditionally, I used to use my paper scraps for card making. And I Loved it! Then I found digital scrapbooking and started making my own card templates on my computer and making my cards digitally. Well, I haven't done any card making for quite some time and I've really been missing it! Especially whenever someone I love has a birthday, because that was my little way of showing them how much I love them. So... I've been surfing the net looking for ways to get back into card making again and I have found so many amazing sites! I would LOVE to be able to get into stamping, but then I'd have to get the special markers for coloring them in and yada, yada, yada... it's just too expensive. But I have found several amazing artist that make the most adorable digital stamps and sometimes give away freebies! Whoo hoo! I've just struck jackpot! Lol

I want to share a few of the sites I've found so far. Take a look:

1. Free Digital Stamps - This gal blogs everyday about new freebies that are out there for the taking. I love that!

2. MelJen's Designs - She gives away a digital freebie each Monday, and I love her style! So cute!

3. Mo's Digital Pencil - Her style is so adorable!!

4. My Scrap Chick - This gals paper piecing is stunning, and so cute!

I've also found tons of challenge sites and some great tutorial sites to get me back on track and learn new things, which I love!

Tonight I made a card using the sketch from Challenge #128 at SketchSaturday, and Ellie Lash's kit "A Sweet Day". Take a look:
Not nearly as beautiful as the others listed on their site, but it's my first, lol. I'm going to try and print it out in peices and put it together, something I've not done before. So we'll see how it turns out! I'll post another image if it's worthy, lol.

TOTALLY off topic, but...

I have to share this! It was posted on another digi-scrap blog and it just made me laugh! These guys are actually really good! But where does this type of thing really happen, where men spontaneously break out in song and dance? I would LOVE to see it! Watch this and have a great day!

Hey Ellie Lash fans!!!

Have I got some great news for you!! Ellie is having a sale in both of her stores this weekend. In fact, the sale starts TODAY!! Clicking on the banners will take you straight to her stores! So what are you waiting for? Go shopping!! ;)

DSD is coming!!

Digital Scrapbooking Day, that is. We're talking sales, challenges, games, and FREEBIES galore! To be more specific, check out what Creations By Rachael has to offer this weekend!
Did you see that?! She's having a sale at all of her stores! You can find her at Gotta Pixel, Scrap Matters, Plucky Pear, and The Digi Chick. She also has a new kit out this weekend, called "Sk8er Boy". Check out this awesome offer she has on that!

Keep your eyes open, because there will be so much going on this weekend all around digi land, and you do not want to miss any of it! I love a good blogtrain, so I'm looking forward to one from Scrapbook-Bytes, which TeresaBelle Designs will be a part of! You've got to grab her free mini kit! It is adorable!! But you'll have to wait until Saturday to get it!


Onto other news... For the last 4 weeks I have been a part of Ellie's Angels Team over at DSA. Myself and 4 other team mates from Ellie's Creative Team have been competing in the Battle Of The Creative Teams. It's been a lot of fun, but it's also been very challenging. Each week we had to make a layout to meet that weeks specifications, which were very detailed! AND we were ONLY allowed to use things that were in our designers shop during the duration of the challenge. I want to share with you the pages that I made for each weeks challenge and a short summary of what the challenge was.
Week 1 - We all had to pick a "recipe" to work from and we had to have the same "equation" somewhere on our page. We chose "Kids+A Sunny Day=___" as our equation. Here is my page:

Week 2 - We had to pick a layout from 2 of our team mates galleries and make one page inspired by them both. We also had to choose, as a team, to use either Today, Tomorrow, or Yesterday in the title of our page. You can find the 2 pages I drew inspiration from here and here. Here is "Silly Bands":

Week 3 - This time we had to make a monochromatic page, and we all had to use the same color. We also had to choose to do a page either about ourselves or about our teammates. We chose pink and to do an "All About Me" page:

And week 4 - For this last page, it was all about 10's. We had to choose ten products from our designers store, with 2 of the kits being chosen as our "common" product. Meaning we all had to use the same 2 products, but not necessarily the same thing out of the product. Then we had to do a list of 10. A list of any kind, but it had to be written out as a list with the numbers 1-10. I decided to go with "Why I Love Digital Scrapbooking":
You can find all the kits I used in all 4 of these pages in Ellie's shop at Sunshine Studio Scraps!

I hope you enjoyed my pages as much as I enjoyed creating them! And since I am always so far behind in posting my pages here, you can always check out my gallery for yourself! You'll find LOTS of pages in my Flickr account that have not been posted here on my blog. Take your time and look around! I hope you like what you see! (I'll be adding this link to the sideline here on my blog, so you can access it whenever you like)

Thanks for visiting! Have a GREAT weekend!