Share time :)

Hello everyone! I finally got sometime last night to scrap and I'm so pleased with how my project came out! As I mentioned before, I have been receiving daily emails form  Brave Girls Club and the message from yesterday was such an inspiration to me that I decided I wanted to put in on a wall hanging to inspire my family as well. I used digital supplies that I already had and made my page. Then I backed it with some thin cardboard (a Mt. Dew box, lol) but then I wasn't sure how I wanted to go about hanging it. Then I came across this post over at My Digital Art Studio and knew exactly what I wanted to do. When I saw this photo, I knew it immediately!

SO pretty!! So, here is my finished project:

 Here are some closer shots so you can see the detail a little better (remember, you can always click on the photos to see it bigger):

I hung it at the top of our staircase in the hallway. I hope it inspires anyone who sees it!

On to an update on Grandma. On Monday, the 1st, Grandma got put on Hospice. The new team came out to meet all of us and they were very nice. Sophie was the Social Worker and Lynn was the nurse. Grandma had another breathing episode while they were here. They took her BP and it was 226/138!! They ordered an oxygen machine and some meds to try to help calm her if/when this happens again. Which, so far it hasn't, Praise God!!

Then on Wednesday I got a call from Hospice and found out that the girls that took care of Papa are going to take over Grandma's care as well! We are so thrilled! We now have Trisha as her nurse and Teena is the CNA2. Right away Trish ordered a much smaller wheelchair., one that we can use in the house. We still had Papa's, but it's too big for Grandma and too big to maneuver through the house. Her new one arrived the very next day. I call  it Go, Go Grammy! It's the cutest little red framed wheelchair, perfectly sized for her. What a blessing!

Today, Teena came out and gave Grandma a head to toe bed bath. She did such an amazing job! Grandma got her hair washed, which she loved! :) What would we do without our Hospice family?! I don't want to know!

Before I go, I wanna give a birthday shout0out to my friend Kim!! I hope your whole weekend is blessed! I love you girl!

I hope you all have an amazing weekend! The weather here has been so beautiful! I'm really hoping we'll be able to get out and do something as a family this weekend, too. Be Blessed!

2 days in a row :)

I wanted to share with you something wonderful that I have found. On one of the blogs that I follow, HomegownHospitality, the author, Stephanie, is always sharing some profoundly encouraging words that she has learned from other sites that she follows. She always shares the link to the other sites, and yet I have never bothered to check them out for myself... until yesterday.One of the sites is for a daily devotional video by Kay Warren (wife of Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church) called "Choose Joy". Now, like I said, I just signed up yesterday for her devotions, but I already think I am going to greatly benefit from her after watching the first video. She seems very personable, down to earth. I can relate to her in that it has always been difficult for me to find joy in the everyday life. This is what Kay has to say about finding real joy: "Joy is the settled assurance that God is in control of all the details of my life; The quiet confidence that ultimately everything is going to be alright; And the determined choice to praise God in every situation." I hope that if you are in need of some true joy in your life, that you too will enjoy Kay's daily devotional. I wanted to share a photo that I was reminded of as I watch Kay's devotional today. If you sign up, you'll better understand the significance.

"And the two become one..."

Hey, I never said it was a good photo! lol

The other site is called The Brave Girls Club. They are a a couple of wonderful ladies who want to share what they have learned from going through difficult times themselves. Their daily email is so encouraging! I think we all need a pick me up once in a while. Someone to just remind us that we are enough! That we deserve to be happy. To quote Melody on their site, "Do something nice for yourself today.  Love the girl inside you and treat her to something real and lasting today." I hope you'll do that for yourself, I'm going to try to do that for myself as well.

I hope your weekend is blessed by family, friends and lots of fun!

Sorry...

Yes, I'm sorry, AGAIN! I know I've been a bad blogger, but life has been so crazy hard! I have told myself SO many times that I should get on here and blog. It always makes me feel better, to share a little of what's been going on in my life, and it's also a good way to keep you all updated on Grandma. Which is why I'm here today.


Grandma continues to get worse. She is no longer to stand up on her own and even has a very hard time doing it with help as well. Her dementia is really bad. Some days she's so incoherent we have no idea what she's talking about, and sometimes she even has a hard time making words at all. Other times she seems completely 'normal', able to carry on conversations, although her memory is horrible! Thankfully she has not forgotten people, but she doesn't remember what she was doing while she in the middle of doing it, ie. eating, with a spoon in her hand! Today she was looking for her sandwich with her right hand when she was holding it in her left hand. :( Lately she has been talking about Grandpa a lot in the present tense. "Papa's at the theater today watching a movie." ?? He didn't got to the movies when he was here with us, lol.

On the 14th we started having Transitions Palliative Care coming out to help us take care of her. We have been blessed to meet Sarah, the Social Worker, Deva, the Nurse and Lusia, the CNA. They have been such a blessing to us already!
Today, when I went in to get Grandma up, I noticed she was having a very hard time breathing.We got her up to use the bathroom, but she said she was going to pass out. Charles took her blood pressure and it was 160/101! We knew Deva was on her way, so we got her back into bed to wait on her to arrive. As soon as she did she took Grandma's BP again (within 1/2 an hour of the time Charles took it) and it was 200/60!! She did a full check up and couldn't find anything else wrong, but she decided it was time already to move from Transitions to Hospice. We had to sit down and decide what to do if she were to stop breathing all together or if she were to stroke out. Fortunately we already knew what Grandma's wishes were, but we went over it one more time to make sure. That was tough! I try very hard to disconnect my feelings from what I see and have to do for Grandma everyday. I feel like it's my only way of survival. I think I've been that way all my life. You won't see me cry very often. The problem with that is that I haven't figured out how to safely and healthily (is that a word?) release those bottled up feelings. I want to work on that, for my own health, mentally and physically.

Anyway, back to Grandma. Transitions has brought a hospital bed in for Grandma, which has been a huge blessing. As she isn't able to get up out of bed anymore, it makes it so much easier for me to take care of her. I have also learned so much having Deva and Lusia come out and show me different ways of doing things.I am eternal grateful for them!

Saturday, Grandma woke up with a sore left wrist. We check it out really good (there were no bruises, no redness or swelling) so we decided to watch it closely and wait. When we got up on Sunday, it was very swollen! So we took her to the ER. (Grrr! The 4 hour wait is a whole 'nother story!) They ran x-rays and found no broken bones and no bruising, so they figured she must have just sprained it somehow. How is a mystery to us since she doesn't really do anything for herself! We wonder if she just slept wrong on it. Anyway, it's completely healed now, although I am still keeping the brace on while she sleeps to protect it for a little longer.

So, there's a very small glimpse into my crazy life. Everyday I find myself doing things I never would've thought myself capable of. I lift mine eyes unto the Lord, where my strength comes from... Pslam 121:1-2

Layout Catch-up!

Hello, and Happy Tuesday to you all! I hope you are enjoying you summer vacation so far. We've had several days of sun and warm weather and I have been loving it! Tried to get out as much as possible. Even today, it was 70* even though you couldn't see the sun through the clouds. By this evening it was sprinkling, but it was still very warm and left the air smelling fresh and clean.

Ok, well, it's been a while since I've shared any of my layouts with you, so let me just get caught up. Be forewarned, this may be a long post, lol. I hope you enjoy!

Last time I shared, I left you with a beautiful kit by Sherwood Studio called "Catharsis". I LOVED working with that kit! It is so unique. I just knew what I was going to do with it and it all just seemed to fall into place. (I love when that happens!) Here is my page, "Art Therapy":

Credits:

Kit - 'Catharsis' by Sherwood Studio.

Template by Mye DeLeon (GP May Cluster Your Heart Out Challenge).

Font - Special Elite.

Now, orange is definitely not one of my favorite colors, but I really love how this next page turned out. I had this super cute pic of my kitty, "Sophie", that I wanted to scrap and when I came upon the May Indulgence Challenge over at Brownie Scraps I knew it would be perfect for my photo. (The challenge is to use every piece of the mini kit that they provide. Go check it out sometime! It's a fun one.) I tried a new-to-me technique on this page: cutting out a shape. I cut the section out of the white paper so that you can read the word "moments" from the page behind it. I see this technique so much around digiworld and I love the look! I'll definitely be trying this one again. And here is my page, "Sophie":

Credits:

Kit - 'Moments of Sunshine' by Jacabean Designs (Brownie Scraps May Indulgence Challenge).

Template by Crisdam Designs (Gotta Pixel Temp Challenge 11-2010).

Font - DJB_SWEETROBIN.

I absolutely LOVE the photos in my next page! This is my niece, Natalie. She is so adorable!! I just love her to pieces! And boy does she know how to have fun! Just try not to smile when you look at her ;)

These photos were taken a couple weeks ago when we had a party for my oldest niece, Tisha, who graduated from High School! (SUPER proud of her!!) Here is "Backyard Swingin'":

You smiled, didn't you? ;)

Credits:

Kit - 'Think Spring' SHCO Collab.

Template - 'Building Blocks Singles No. 5' by Tracie Stroud.

Alpha - 'Kinda Sketchy {Black}' by Ellie Lash.

Font - Boring Showers and Problem Secretary.

Summer is upon us, in full swing, and there are so many things we would like to do. I doubt we'll be able to do as much as we'd like to, but the kids and I had fun writing up a list of some ideas. A coupe days later I came across a challenge over at Ginger Scraps asking you to scrap a Summer Bucket List! What perfect timing! So here is what I came up with, "Summer Bucket List 2011":

Kit - 'Summer Day' collab by Ellie Lash and Sunny Day Scraps.

Template by Ramona the pest for the SO June Member Spotlight Challenge.

Fonts - Boris Black Boxx and CK Buddies.

Last weekend Hubby and I refurbished my old desk and made it into the desk I've been wanting for so long. I never seem to have enough room on my desk to be able to use my computer and also be crafty. I knew what I wanted, but I've never been able to find it and never had the money to buy it anyway, lol. Well, I guess I'll let my layout tell the rest of the story. Here is "Desk Remodel":

I entered this page in several different challenges: The June Font Challenge at Brownie Scraps, using Pea Nicki; Scrap Orchard's "What the Font" challenge, using Sea Dreams; and the June Sugar Swap Challenge over at Ginger Scraps. This is the page, by Emma (Hobbes130), that I lifted:

Credits for my page:

Kit - MScraps iNSD 2011 Blog Train Freebie:

Deca Designs - flower, butterfly, ribbon, lace, lined paper, light green paper; Erica Zwart - green patterned paper; Designs by Heather T - frame; ListGirl Designs - flowered paper; Ruth Melody Designs - glitter; Tracy Ann Little - pink paper, string; Yoshiko Designs - heart brad; Designs by Sweet Mesquite - green stitches; Pink Reptile Designs - pink ricrac; MandyMade - brown stitching.

Alpha - 'Sisters' by Ramona the Pest.

Fonts - Pea Nicki & Sea Dreams.

This last one had funny timing also. As usual, Zach had me cracking up over something he had said, but this time I had actually taken the time to write it down. (I always wish I had done that more often as the kids have grown up so fast.) The next day I found the June 6th "Everyday Magic Challenge" over at Scrap Matters. The challenge was to scrap a conversation! Perfect!! Here is "No Beat":

He is my dancin' fool! And my comic relief <3

Credits:

Kit - 'Work It Out' by Ellie Lash.

Musical elements - 'Birds of a Feather' by Ellie Lash.

Template by Blue Scraps for Brownie Scraps June Semi-Homemade Challenge.

Font - Pea Noodle's Girlfriends.

Now, before I go I thought I'd share a quick update on my life with Grandma. We have along over-due appointment tomorrow with a Neurologist. I'm praying he will finally have some answers for us. Her Primary Physician hasn't been much help at all. He has no patience with Grandma. He asks her questions and then talks over her and doesn't listen to what she has to say. I get so frustrated! He has had several tests ran, but never has any answers for us. He has mentioned once that we may be seeing the beginning affects of Parkinson's, but he's not sure. We had a CT Scan ran on the 16th. They found no tumors or signs of a stroke, but there is a lot of atrophy. Her muscles are showing signs of atrophy as well. She is not able to stand straight up anymore, it's almost like she walks in a sitting position, knees and hips bent. She barely has the strength to walk to the bathroom or to her room. I can't walk her anymore as she pulls so hard on me, and our weights are to close to the same that I'm not able to hold her up. Charles walks her so she gets some excercise, but I have her sit in her walker and I push her around the house ;) You gotta do what you can, right? Get creative! Anyway, I'll elt you know how the appointment oges tomorrow. Please say a prayer for her! Things are getting quite over-whelming for all of us here.

One day at a time.....

You Capture: Flowers

So, the other day I told you about the photography blogs I've been checking out. My Bar-be-cue photos were fun, but they weren't  a very good example of good photography, lol. But tonight I want to show you the photos I took for You Capture (which can be found on a blog called I Should Be Folding Laundry, lol. Isn't that funny? I always seem to find something else to do other than the laundry too, hehe.) This weeks challenge was to photograph flowers, so I went out into my yard and took a few shots of all the pretties that are blooming right now. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do! (As always, you can click the photo for a large view.)

White Lilac

(when we first planted this it was purple! Have no idea how that happened.)

Our Purple Lilac

My favorite Rhodie

This color is so beautiful!

Wisteria

(Smells SO good!)

I have no idea what this is called. It's just ground cover under our Roses (which aren't too pretty yet).

Lavender - LOVE the bee!

This smells so good also.

The bees were LOVIN' on the lavender today!

Well, that's it. I had fun, and I hope you did too ;)

Backyard Bar-be-que & an update

Hi {waves} remember me? Yeah, I own this blog. I know I've been MIA for a while, but I guess that's just the way things are going for me lately. I have so much on my plate that I have a very hard time getting a routine down anymore. I haven't even had much scrapping time lately, and when I do find the time, I find that my mojo is MIA! lol Oh well, such is life, right?

But, I am here today!

I've been really inspired lately by the blogs that host weekly photo challenges where they give you a prompt and you have to interpret that in your photos... Such as You Create and Simple Scrapper. Today I'm playing along with Simple Scrapper. The prompt for this week is "the backyard barbecue". Now, my hubby is our Barbecue King! Over the last couple years he has had a propane grill... then a smoker... and just recently he got a combination briquette grill/wood smoker. It is my favorite so far! I've missed the classic smell of a good briquette barbecuer. Reminds me of Summer!
Ok, back to the photo. Well, I couldn't pick just one. I went into my photo folders and found a few I've taken over the years (and realized I don't have any of him with his new grill!! Must fix that. And realized that the old propane bbq lasted a lot longer than I realized! lol He definitely deserves his new grill.) Here is my Man grilling his happy little heart out.

Taken in 2004

Taken in 2009

Taken in 2010

Aww, look how young he was in that first one! He's the best Hubby in the whole world! I don't know how I'd make it through each day without him. He's my best friend. And I love him more now than I did 16 years ago when we started our family. I love you, Babe! xoxo

A Plea for Help...

Hi everyone. I have a favor to ask of you and it will only take a minute of your time. I have a sweet friend, Teresa, who's 8 year old, Emma, is suffering from a fatal disease called Fanconi Anemia. What I am asking you to do will help her and so many others who have this disease. All I am asking is for you to go to this Facebook page and cast a vote for The FA Research Fund Inc.

This is Emma. She has touched my heart so deeply. I want to do everything I can to help. And if you need any more convincing, please read my friend, Teresa's, story that she shared here on her blog. There is nothing more heartbreaking than for a parent to watch helplessly as their child struggles for their life. And this little one has been through so much in her short little life. They are not asking for ANY money, just your vote.
__________

If you’d like to vote, here’s what you can do:
- Go here: http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/930995453-fanconi-anemia-research-fund-farf?src=vote_share

- You’ll need to “Like” Chase Community Giving (the company that is donating all the money to the charities – awesome group!).

- Then cast your vote for us.  You can only vote one time.  And no money donations can be accepted through them, so no worries about that!

- If you feel comfortable doing it, I’d love it if you could pass the link on to your family & friends!  The more votes the better! 

__________

Thank you SO much for your help and support! God bless you all!

Show 'N Tell

Hello! Happy Friday to you!! The last 2 days here have been absolutely beautiful! The temps have been about 75 degrees, and I could really get used to this! I even broke out the shorts, flip-flops and, of course, my signature fuchsia pink toenail polish ;) That screams summer to me, so bring it on!!

My kids only have 2 weeks and 2 1/2 days of school left, so Summer has to be coming soon, right? I hope the weather continues to cooperate.

So, I have 2 pages I want to share today. I haven't been spending as much time scrapping as I would've liked to lately. I've even had the time to do it (shock!) But every time I get online I end up surfing all my favorite scrapping and crafty blogs and websites! I get so many ideas running through my head that I'd like to try that I end up overwhelming myself and then getting nothing done in the end! LOL Well I take  that back.. I did get these done ;)

This first page is another one done with a kit by Sherwood Studio. The kit is so beautiful! As soon as I saw it I knew exactly what photos I wanted to use. I had just noticed, a few days before, all the pretty little Blue Bonnets (I think that's what they are :P) growing up along side of our gravel driveway by the fence. I was impressed by their beauty and their persistence to grow even though there is no soft soil or grass there. Here is my page: Spring Flowers

Kit - 'Garden Fairies' by Sherwood Studio.

Template by Designs by Camijo.

Fonts - Berylium and Beautiful.

My second page was done for the "Show Me the Mini" challenge over at Gotta Pixel. As soon as I saw the beautiful little mini kit put together by Trixie Scraps, I knew I had to join in. And since it's May, the month of Mother's Day, the challenge was devoted to a page of our Mom's. So it was my pleasure to make this page for my Mom :) I hope she likes it too! Here's my page: My Mother

Kit - "My Lovely Mother" by Trixie Scraps (Gotta Pixel May Show Me The Mini Challenge)

Template by Marni Designs (Brownie Scraps May Template Challenge)

Font - Digs My Heart

I have one more new kit by Sherwood Studio that I need to work with. It's called "Catharsis" and you can find it at TDC. Take a look at it. It is absolutely gorgeous! And I can't wait to dig my digital fingers into it! :) 

So, I'll be back to share my page when I get it done. 

Thanks for visiting me again! I appreciate all the sweet comments I get from all my friends, whether Real Life friends or Computer friends. You all make me smile! :D Enjoy your weekend!

Alright, well I am very happy with my new bloggity! I hope you like it too! If you like the kit I used it is called "Blue Skies & Sunshine" by Sherwood Studio, and you can find it here. I LOVE this kit with it's fresh colors, reminds me of Springtime!
It also reminds me of baby boys. And thats why I used it for the first page I want to share with you. In case you haven't heard, Christopher's girlfriend had her baby on April 27th. He's a precious, tiny little guy and he stole my heart ;) Here is my first page for him:

Kit - 'Blue Skies & Sunshine' by Sherwood Studio.

Template - 'Like 'Em Big 2' by PhotoCowgirl.

Word Art by Bethany.

Font - DJB Angel Baby.

Sherwood Studios is fairly new to me, but I fell in love with her stuff as soon as I saw it in my inbox in a Digichick newsletter. I just had to find out more about her, so I found her blog and fell even more in love! lol. I sent her a message asking about her CT (also sending her a link to my gallery and blog;)) And she liked what she saw and invited me to join! Yay!! I am SO excited! and can't wait to work with all her gorgeous kits!
Her newest kit is actually an iNSD Grab Bag. I had the pleasure of playing with it and here is my page:

Kit - 'iNDS Grab Bag' by Sherwood Studio.

Template by Dawn Inskip.

Font - Teen.

Isn't he just a handsome guy? Yes, God has blessed me abundantly! And I LOVE being a MOM! 

Speaking of which, I wish you all the best Mother's Day ever! Call and wish your own Mom a great day as well. And have a wonderful weekend.

Under Construction

I figured it's time for a little cleaning and remodeling. So please bear with me as I try for something a little newer and fresher ;)


Ok, the only thing I'd still like to change (but don't know how) is to change the fonts. I want something cute, but nothing they offer by default is cute :( 
If you have any info or can point me in the right direction, please leave me a comment! Thanks! I appreciate it! :)

Birthday Princess and a GSO!

I have two new pages to share tonight! I've been getting my scrap on lately! ;) All day I look forward to night time, when my boys and Grandma go to bed and I am not responsible for anyone and nobody is calling my name every couple seconds, lol. This is ME time. I need it, and I deserve it ;)

I love Daily Downloads! My favorites are over at GingerScraps blog. They always have the best stuff! But Gotta Pixel has some cute ones too. A couple weeks ago they had a cute mini by Etc. by Danyale. It was called "Royal Frog Life". As soon as I saw it I knew exactly what I was going to use it for! And, in fact, it was so cute I had to go buy the full kit as well! :) My niece, Akaila, turned 8 last July and I had yet to scrap her photos, because I was waiting on just the right kit, and this was it! Her birthday theme was Disney's "The Princess and the Frog", and here is her page (I hope she likes it!):

Kit - 'Royal Frog Life' by Etc. by Danyale.

Flowers from Ellie Lash kits 'Backyard Sweeties', 'Fairy Tea Party', 'My Favorite Things', and 'Drifting'.

Template - 'Like 'Em Big 2' by PhotoCowGirl.

Fonts - Justice, 3rd Man, and Nyala.

Speaking of the Daily Download over at GingerScraps, that is exactly what I used for my next page! And I have some exciting news to share! I just did this page last night and got it posted to the galleries pretty late. But when I woke up this morning and was going through my Google Reader my page was staring back at me!!! It was chosen as a Gallery Stand Out over at Me So Scrappy! I am so honored!!

These photos were taken at Rood Bridge Park when we were there last Summer for my niece Toni's 2nd birthday. This is my brother, Davie, and another niece, his daughter, Khloe. She is such a doll!! I love how this page turned out, and I hope my brother does too. Here is his page:

Kit - 'Daily' by HK Designs.

BG paper - 'Clean & Simple Cardstocks 1' by That Girl Design.

Template - 'Singled Out' by PhotoCowGirl.

Font - Pea Bandit.

That's it for tonight! I hope you have an amazing Friday!! And if I'm not on again before then, Have a BLESSED EASTER!! God bless...

An update and a new page

So, I finally ended up taking Buddy in to see the Vet this evening. I was really scared, because I was afraid they were going to tell me he had cancer or something horrible like that. Well, Praise God, it's not that bad. He has messed up a disc in his spine between his front shoulder blades which has been causing all his stiffness and pain. Spine injuries are typical in Doxies just because of their body shape, but we've been blessed all this time without any troubles, so it wasn't something I was even thinking about. I didn't think 'back' I was thinking 'neck' because that's were all the trouble seemed to be coming from. SO, he got an injection of Dexamethasone, a steroid/anti-inflammatory, and came home with a prescription of prednisone,  and Tramadol (a pretty powerful pain killer). Poor guy!! They also want us to kennel rest him for 7-10 days! Now, when I first got him back home I thought, "He's not going to need to be kenneled at least for a couple days. He's in so much pain he's not really even moving around much." HA! That injection worked wonders! He is his old self again already, within just a few hours! I'm so glad to see him feeling better, but now I'm wondering how on earth I'm suppose to keep the poor guy still! He feels so good, it's like he's rejoicing! lol He's not used to being kenneled, so he's going to HATE that! I've just been keeping him my lap and he'll sleep with me tonight and we'll see how it all goes. I'm just SO happy he's going to be ok! And thank you for your prayers :)

Back to scrappin' :)
I did the Cookie Cutter (template) Challenge at Ginger Scraps. I put my own spin on the template a little bit and here is my page: "Windows to the Past"

Kit - 'April Grab Bag - Grandma's Cottage' by PhotoCowGirl.

Template Freebie by Kathy Winters Designs.

As we've been cleaning out Grandma and Grandpa's old house we have come across some of the most amazing things! In this photo are some of the old antique camera's Grandpa has held onto. He also has two very old movie projectors (a Kodak and a Bell & Howell), with LOTS of family movie reels, and a slide projector (we haven't found any slides yet....). There is also an old gas run Coleman Iron (Model 4A). It has been so much fun going through this stuff! It's like finding hidden treasures! Someday we are going to go into an Antique shop just to see what they have to say. All of the items are worth more to us sentimentally than monetarily, but it would just be interesting what else we can find out, ie. how old some of these things are. You'll have to stay tuned for photos of some of the other things as I scrap them!

Have a wonderful Thursday! And God bless...

I love Challenges!

Well, digital scrapbooking challenges, anyway ;) The Scrap Matters Newsletter challenge was to make a page about your pet. Now, if you know me, you know that I have several, and I've had pets all my life. But I chose to do my layout on Buddy. Buddy is now almost 7 years old, but we found out shortly after we got him that he has epilepsy. That was really hard on me, because growing up we had another dog, Angel, that had epilepsy as well. I vividly remember her violently shaking in my arms as I tried to hold her tight enough to make it stop. If only childhood wished could come true ;)
I'm not sure what's going on with Buddy, but this week he just hasn't been himself. I'm not sure if he's sick or injured, but I'm afraid we're going to have to take him to the vet. I'm scared to hear what we might find out, because I can tell he's in some pain and I can't stand the thought of losing him. :( So, with him heavily on my mind, this page is for him. My Buddy.

Kit - 'Fly With Me' by Ellie Lash.
Alpha - 'Everyday Blessings' by Ellie Lash (recolored).

'Pets (cu)' by That Girl Designs.
Template by Unforgettable Moments.
Font - My Own Topher.

I also did this page for the Ginger Scraps Cookie Cutter Challenge (template challenge). You can find that here.

And if you think about it... will you say a prayer for Buddy? Thanks ;)

Happy Wednesday!

Well, we've had a beautiful beginning to this week. Sunshine and warmer weather. It's been SO nice! I'm really hoping it will stick around the rest of this week and through the weekend. I am in serious need of some sun therapy! ;)

Fortunately, I've been able to spend a little more time in Scrap therapy! hehe And want to share my newest pages with you.
First up, I have "Peanut"! Peanut is Cody's Dwarf Hamster. She is the tiniest, cutest, fastest little hamster I have ever seen! She is so fast, in fact, that it is really hard to get a good picture of her! The photos in the layout are from my Mom 's camera phone, so they aren't the greatest, but you can see how adorable she is ;)

Kit - "Petshop - Little Fuzzies" & "Detour" by Ellie Lash.

Template - "Strips and Stitches" by Pixie Keepsakes.

Fonts - Cafe Rojo and Arabic Typesetting.

With Easter coming, there are so many cute Easter kits available right now! I love Ellie's kit "Sweet Eggscape". It's a collab with Marshamella and Daphadilly Art. Now, we've never really gotten into the egg dying and hiding much. We did some when the older kids were young, but as they got older we focused more on the real reason for the holiday. Besides, I was never any fun to dye eggs with, I was always so nervous about spills and making messes :( Bad Mommy!  But I can proudly say, my children know why we celebrate Easter, and it has nothing to do with chocolate, bunny rabbits, or colored eggs. That being said, I did find a photo from 2007 when we made a special exception. We had the whole family over and all the kids dyed and hunted for eggs together, even the older ones. Here is my page, "I Found It!"

Kit & Template - "Sweet Eggscape" Collab by Ellie Lash, Marshmella Designs, and Daphadilly Art.

Alpha - "Eieio" by Ellie Lash.

"Finally..." is the name of my next page. These photos were taken when Charles and I finally got to go on our Honeymoon... 15 years after we were married! I love how this page turned out! Every time I look at this page I will remember the special time we spent together.

Kit - "Seaglass" by Litabells Designs.

Templates - "Flower Shop Templates" by PhotoCowGirl.

Fonts - sfLani, sfTwelveAgain and Problem Secretary. 

And lastly, I did a 2-pager. I absolutely love these photos of Cody. Everyday pics that show him just being himself. A silly grin, trying to ignore me, getting annoyed with me... lol. And his happy self. I love his smile! He's got one of those smiles that twinkles in his eyes. Here is "The Many Faces of Cody":

page 1

 Kit - "Denim Crush"  by Photocowgirl.

Template by Wendyzine Scraps.

and page 2

Kit - "Denim Crush"  by Photocowgirl.

Fonts - Angelina Script and Problem Secretary.

Thanks for visiting and I hope you liked my pages! Have a blessed day!

I'm BACK!!

Did anybody miss me? :P

If you've followed my blog at all recently, then you know a little bit about my Grandparents. Well, it is with mixed feelings that I tell you that on February 25th Grandpa went home to be with our Lord and Savior. I have yet to feel the sadness that is sure to come at some point, as I am so consumed with the joy of knowing he is no longer suffering. No more disease, pain, broken body. He is rejoicing with the angels (and hopefully being reunited with my Dad ;) ). He went very quietly and peacefully in his sleep, which is such a blessing to all of us. His funeral and burial services were beautiful. He was buried with full military honors, 21 gun salute and all. Grandma was given the flag that was draped over his casket, as well as the gun casings, which we now have displayed in a frame on top of the TV. Grandpa was an AMAZING man who is loved and missed so very much!
Grandma will continue to live here with us. She has had a few health issues herself recently, so we've still got our hands full, but I can't imagine her being anywhere else. I would worry constantly whether she was getting to proper care and LOVE that she needs. Right now we are on a mission to find help in getting her some new hearing aids. Did you know that Medicare does not cover them? Does that make any sense? Medicare = old people (hehe) and old people generally = hearing aids! How can they not cover them!? And so the journey continues into this new strange world of caring for Grandma :) <3

Alrighty, so, with all of that, there was quite a while when I was not able to do ANYthing on my compute :( I SO missed my digiscrapping, my therapy! So I HAD to make time for it. It is the one thing that is truly mine. ME time! So here I am, back at it, YAY! And I want to share with you some of the pages I've made. A few of them therapeutic in their own way.

We have been trying to get all of Grandma's stuff out of their old house and go through it to see what she wants kept, passed down, etc. In all f that I have found SO many old photos! What a treasure trove it has been! I was able to scan a few of them in and scrap them to preserve some special memories. Here we go...
This first one is a tribute to my amazing Grandma. Her life has been anything but easy, but through it all she has maintained two things: Her faith in God, and her beautiful smile. I love her!

Template - "Room To Journal" by PhotoCowGirl.

Kit - "Forever" by Ellie Lash.

The photo in this next one is of my Great Grandparents, Andrew and Hazel Helling, and their two children, Grandma, Clare, and Uncle Dean. I LOVE this photo! They just look like the perfect little family. Not mention, Grandma is SUCH a little doll! Hehe, the cow on Great Grandma's dress makes me giggle tho. ;)

Kit - "Barren Beauty" by Photocowgirl.

Template - "Barren Beauty Freebie" by Photocowgirl.

Fonts - Beautiful and Problem Secretary Normal.

Aww, this next page is very special to me. Every time Grandma talks about her and Grandpa she has to tell you they were together 33 1/2 years. She is very proud of that and yet, of course, wishes it could be longer. I wanted to make this page honoring those wonderfully blessed years. No greater love have I been such a close witness of. And I was/am blessed to be loved by them both.

Template - "Wild About You" by PhotoCowGirl.

Kit - "While We Were Out" (Scrappity-Doo-Dah Blog Hop Freebie).

Alpha - "Delicate Metal Alpha" by Creations By Rachael.

Fonts - Aquarelle and Teresa.

Did you notice something? All the templates I used are by the same AMAZING designer. I have been lucky enough to be on as a guest CT member for PhotoCowGirl this last month and I have LOVED it! She is incredible! WELL... Today I got a message from her asking me if I would like to stay on her CT full-time! YES!! I am SO excited! As I told her, I was secretly hoping she would ask ;) I'm really enjoying her products and look forward to getting to know all the girls there a little better. Thanks, again, Amanda!! You ROCK!!
By the way you can find all of her products here, at GingerScraps.net.

Until next time... I hope the sun is shining wherever you are!

My first Tutorial!

Ok, I have been asked a few times just recently about how my templates can be used to make traditional paper cards. I do make mine digitally, but you can also easily use the template for paper crafting, if you have a photo editing program. I use Photoshop Elements.

So, after downloading the files from my blog, and unzipping them on your own computer, you can open the PSD file in the photo editing program and the file will open up in a layered format. (Note: To save yourself the awful mistake of ruining this original file, be sure to duplicate it,close the original, and work off the copy.) And don't forget what I mention in the credits! I make the templates a full 12" so they are easier to work with when using full size scrapbooking paper. So you will want to size the template down now to whatever size you want your card to be when it's completed.

If you wanted to use the template for paper crafting, you would just open a new 8.5x11 file and  move each piece of the template over to the new work field. Lay them out and arrange them so that you can get as many pieces on one piece of paper as possible. If you have parts that don't fit on the new page, make another, the same size and move the rest of the pieces over. We're just trying to waste as little paper as possible with this step.

Now, when you have all your pieces laid out, go ahead and print the page(s) on card stock. You can now cut the pieces out and use them as your templates for your own traditional paper cards!!

Well, like I said, this was my first tutorial, so if I was clear as mud and you have any questions, feel free to leave me a comment or even email me at kjkreations@ymail.com. I'd love to hear how my templates are working for you!

I got an Award?!

Yes! How cool is that? Alright, I'll start from the beginning...
So, the day after I posted my last entry I lost my internet connection. (GRR! Stupid money!) Since I didn't have internet access for a few days I decided it would be a good time to sit and get a couple more cards made for my family and friends. (I'll share those in a minute) Needless to say, our friend who received the last card I shared really liked it. That makes me so happy! I feel like I give a little piece of my heart out with each card. <3 But what's really cool is, when I get my connection back, there is a comment under that post letting me know that my card was spotted by the Paper Craft Planet Blog! It was highlighted with 3 other beautiful cards/gifts. I am SO honored! See it here. Now if only I can figure out how to put the little award on my own blog, lol!!

So, you want to see the other cards I've made this weekend? Alright. I love sharing ;)

I made this one for a dear friend, who I actually met through my Grandma. She is the sweetest person I know!! I just love her. Here is Caryn's card:

 And the inside, which covers the entire inside of a 5x7 card:

The kit I used is "Pinky Swear" by Ellie Lash. I made the template based on a sketch from Karen Giron at  Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge #101. Here is the layered template if you would like to make your own card. Obviously, I rotated it to make my card ;) (image is linked)

This is one I made for my Poor Grandpa, who is going through a tough time lately. He just spent from Wednesday through Sunday in the hospital again.

And the inside, again it fills the whole inside:

For this one I used Ellie's kit "Happy To Be". I just love the warm colors of this kit. And my template for this one was based on a sketch by Arlana Patten at Sweet Sketch Wednesday challenge #86. Again, I played and flipped this one a little, too.Here is my layered template. (image is linked)

And, one last one. This is one for anyone who just needs a little pick me up ;)

And the inside: 

For this card I used a kit by Loreta Labarca Designs called "Fabulous Girl".  And my template is based of  another sketch by Karen Giron at Sweet Sketch Sunday Challenge #96. She makes the most fabulous sketches! I love 'em!
Here is my layered version:

Well, I hope you enjoyed my cards, and I would LOVE to see what you can create from my templates! Leave me a comment and maybe a link to your creations below! I LOVE hearing from you!!!