KJ Kreations

Share time :)

2011-08-05T18:00:00.000-07:00

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 :)

2011-07-29T03:19:00.000-07:00

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...

2011-07-28T02:04:00.000-07:00

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!

2011-06-28T01:00:00.000-07:00

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

2011-06-16T01:22:00.000-07:00

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

2011-06-14T02:50:00.000-07:00

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...

2011-05-23T22:20:00.000-07:00

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

2011-05-20T18:31:00.000-07:00

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!

2011-05-06T22:02:00.000-07:00

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

2011-05-04T23:51:00.000-07:00

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!

2011-04-22T00:26:00.000-07:00

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

2011-04-20T23:42:00.000-07:00

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!

2011-04-15T23:51:00.000-07:00

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!

2011-04-13T00:46:00.000-07:00

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!!

2011-04-01T00:16:00.000-07:00

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!

2011-02-02T00:56:00.000-08:00

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?!

2011-02-01T00:59:00.000-08:00

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!!!

Time to make a card...

2011-01-24T23:56:00.000-08:00

I have been so busy with life that I haven't had a chance to make any new cards lately. But today that had to change. As you may or may not already know we have recently moved my Grandparents in to our house. I feel SO blessed that we can do this for them, but at the same time, I never realized how much work it would be. As my hubby said the other day, "Who knew raising Grandparents was so exhausting!" :) Hehe God bless him! He has his hands so full. I don't know how he keeps going.
Anyway, today one of Grandma's friends from church came out to sit with her while I caught up on some much needed rest. Oh my, how I appreciated that! So, I wanted to make her a card to show my appreciation!
I followed a sketch posted at Paper Craft Planet, you can find the challenge here. You can see that my card resembles the sketch, but I felt a little creative so I changed it up just a bit and I LOVE the result. I hope our friend will too! Here is my card and the sketch:

I also made an inside to match, but it has my personal note to her, so I won't share that. But I do love for the inside of my cards to match my outsides. Just one of my "things", lol.

The kit I used is by Ellie Lash. It isn't available yet (one of the fabulous perks of being on her CT!), but keep watching my blog and I will let you know when and where you can get it! Believe me, it's Bloomin' Beautiful! ;)

Well, Monday's over and a new day is beginning! I hope it's a great one for you all!

He Loves Me...

2011-01-21T13:17:00.000-08:00

Well, my hubby DOES love me, but I'm talking about Ellie Lash's new kit "He Loves Me". I had the pleasure of working with it this week and I just LOVE it! It is SO cute, but also very elegant. You can find my newest QP set in Ellie's store, and, as always, it's 30% off this weekend only! The image is linked to the store, so check it out!

Of course, I also have a QP freebie for you. I hope you like it!

I also made a Freebie for Ellie's CT Blog. It includes a Paper Stack, Cluster and Word Art. Click the image to find that one.

I hope this is the beginning of a wonderful weekend for you! Enjoy!

Update...

2011-01-15T14:55:00.000-08:00

My Gingerbread QP pack is now available in the Ellie's personal Shop and it's 30% off this weekend! That makes it only $2.44. But after Sunday it will be full price at $3.49, so you better hurry if you want that discount! Here is it again:

I am now working with one of Ellie's newest kits, "He Loves Me". I LOVE this kit! It is SO adorable! In fact it's the kit I used to decorate my blog! ;) It's already in her shop, and at the same 30% discount through this weekend. Take a look, it's linked to the shop :

See? Isn't it too cute?! Don't you just LOVE that little froggy? My set will be finished very shortly and I just might have another freebie for you, too! So, watch for that!

Have a wonderful weekend!

And now the BIG news!

2011-01-10T15:46:00.000-08:00

I am SO excited to share some exciting news with you! I am always being told that I should sell some of my cards and scrapbook pages to make a little extra money. But I've never taken it too seriously. I do what I do because I love it! But! I thought about it some more, and since I love Ellie Lash's kits so much I decided to ask her if she would consider taking me on as a QP Artist. Guess what?! She said Yes!!WooHoo!

She has this adorable kit in her shop called Gingerbread that I had to honor of working with for my first set. Here is a preview of the kit:

And here is my first QP set, which is linked to the shop:

But, because I love you all so much I made a QP freebie that coordinates with the set to give you a little taste! ;)

I really hope you like it and I hope you will enjoy all my QP sets that are soon to follow! Oh! But I'm not only doing QPs, I will also be making Cluster Frames, Stacked Papers, and possibly some word art sets with some of Ellie's kits! I'm so excited ! I hope you are too! Thanks for supporting my new adventure!

xoxo~Krista

Happy New Year

2011-01-02T12:59:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone. I wanted to check in real quick and let you all know I am still here. In fact, I have some really exciting news to share, but I'm going to save that until next time.

I've been hoping and praying that the new year would be a start to better things, but Grandma and Grandpa have both been in and out of the hospital in the last week, in fact Grandma moved into the same room Grandpa had been released from just hours before! Grandpa is continuing his fight with Lymphoma and right now he's doing pretty good. He's been staying at out house because Grandma wasn't feeling well and we didn't want Grandpa to catch it. Well, we found out Grandma has a little bit of pneumonia. She's doing much better and should be out of the hospital in the next day or two. I think we will probably bring her here to our house too, just so we know they both have constant care and a healthy environment. Charles will go back to work on Monday, as well as the boys going back to school, so it is going to be a big adjustment, but I trust the Lord to supply for our needs, whatever they may be. I just ask that you will continue to keep us in your prayers. Both for strength and understanding for all of us, but also for the continued healing of both Grandma and Grandpa. I hate asking anything for myself, but if you would pray, please ask the Lord to provide the means for us to make the changes to our house that need to be made so that it is more accommodating to Grandma and Grandpa. We have a half bath downstairs, but really need a full bath for them. It would also be SO helpful to have some kind of hard floors instead of the carpet to be able to move Grandpa around in his wheelchair and make it easier and more sanitary cleaning up any messes. :(
Anyway, I thank each and everyone of you for your continued love and prayer. You are each a blessing to me! Your words encourage me more than yo know!

xoxo, Krista

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

2010-12-24T03:30:00.001-08:00

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

To all my family and friends...

2010-12-21T03:13:00.000-08:00

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

2010-12-19T01:23:00.000-08:00

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...

2010-12-10T23:30:00.000-08:00

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

Warm Memory

2010-12-10T11:33:00.000-08:00

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"

2010-12-09T23:25:00.000-08:00

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

2010-12-04T20:28:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-30T03:15:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-28T01:56:00.000-08:00

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!

2010-11-27T00:02:00.000-08:00

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...

2010-11-23T20:30:00.002-08:00

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!

2010-11-23T19:15:00.000-08:00

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!

2010-11-22T01:38:00.000-08:00

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...

2010-11-20T02:01:00.000-08:00

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'!

2010-11-17T00:56:00.000-08:00

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...

2010-11-11T01:05:00.000-08:00

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...

2010-11-10T00:24:00.000-08:00

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!!!

2010-11-05T14:49:00.000-07:00

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!!

2010-11-04T22:59:00.001-07:00

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!

SBB Featured Designer

2010-11-01T18:10:00.001-07:00

Hope you all had a great Halloween and aren’t too sick from all the candy! Hehe

TeresaBelle Designs is the featured designer at Scrapbook-Bytes from November 1-15th. And all her products are on sale for only $2! Don't pass up this chance to pick up all her amazing kits for a low, low price! Click the ad below to go directly to her store!

But before you go, take a look at some of her amazing kits:

Happy shopping!

Boo!

2010-10-31T15:40:00.000-07:00

Sorry I've been missing again. My Papa's been in and out of the hospital and not doing so good. So Charles and I have been spending a lot of time taking care of him and Grandma. In fact, tonight we are going to their house to hand out their candy to the little Trick-or-Treaters that they love to see each year.

So, in saying that, I just wanted to wish you all a

Have fun, but BE SAFE!

A little something from the past...

2010-10-18T19:49:00.000-07:00

As I was going through my Picasa account I came across a page that I made back in 2008. I SO love the little story on it, and since I've never posted it before, and it's the perfect time of year for it, I thought I'd share it with you.

Sorry, I can't give credit where it's due, but like I said, I made this a couple years ago, before I knew the importance of keeping track of that information. And don't laugh at the simplicity of the page, lol. It was a long time ago!! HeHe.

Anyway, I hope you like it, too.

Take a look!

2010-10-18T17:06:00.001-07:00

I am so blessed to work for such amazing designers! Today I want to show you what Rachael, of 'Creations By Rachael', has been up to.

Rachael just released two gorgeous new kits in her stores last week and you've got to see them! If you have any Fall photos you need scrapped, you'll find everything you need here. But these kits are so versatile they can be used for so many other themes as well.

Here is a look at "Colors Of Fall". It is absolutely beautiful! I love this kit for it's realistic elements. I love the flowers, the berries and all the leaves. The colors are bright and you can almost feel the crisp breeze blowing by. You can find it at Gotta Pixel, Scrap Matters and Plucky Pear. Take a look:

Wow, huh? I told you! And now take a look at "Frolic Thru Fall". This one is more fun with it's cute little scarecrow and silly little squirrel. The colors are a little less traditional than most Fall themed kits, but they work really well together! I love the bright turquoise and the rich browns together. It really adds to the crispy coolness of this beautiful time of year!
You can find "Frolic Thru Fall" at TheDigiChick. Take a look:

Here's a little hybrid project I did using a little bit of both kits, an old Starbucks bottle, 2 Alfredo sauce jars and some old ribbons left over from my paper scrapbooking days :)

And just one more thing! It was my turn to make a couple freebies for "Frolic Thru Fall". They're available for download on Rachael's blog. One is a cluster and the other is a clustered frame. If you haven't gone to pick them up yet, here's a look at what I made. I hope you like them!

I hope you are enjoying Autumn wherever you are! Get out there and take some photos of the beauty around you! And thanks for visiting me again!

Forget September...

2010-10-10T23:24:00.001-07:00

Lol, it wan't a good month for me anyway. I hope it was better for you! My FM has had me down for WEEKS! I haven't felt this horrible in a long time, and with all the pain and exhaustion came a horrible depression. I'm calling my Dr. tomorrow to see if there's something else we can do. I also want to talk to her about my diagnosis. I have read a lot of information on Lupus lately, since a dear friend of mine has it, and we share very similar symptoms. Lupus is often mistakenly diagnosed as Fibromyalgia, so I'd just like to make sure. Please keep me in your prayers (I hate asking that, it sounds so selfish, but I really need it right now.)

Anyway, on to more pleasant news. I have been accepted onto a new CT! Well, let me clarify that. She doesn't exactly have a team yet, but she will be putting one together very soon. I just happen to love her stuff and asked her if I could work for her, and she said "Yes!" Never hurts to ask, huh? ;)
So, I now create for TeresaBelle Designs! She has a new kit out in her store called "A Little Fall" and it looks like this: (Click on the image to go directly to the store.)

I used that, along with one of her older kits, "Feel The Grunge":

And came up with this page, "Falling Leaves":

Remember, you can click my layout to view it full size.

I think it turned out really cool! I LOVE the photo I used for the blended background paper, but was never sure how I was going to be able to use it. "Feel The Grunge" made it work perfectly! Now, for some reason I'm not sure of, the page turned out a lot darker when I resized it for the web than the original was. If you have any ideas on how I can fix that, I'd love to hear it! Feel free to email me or just leave me a comment below! I LOVE getting your comments. It brightens my day!

I have managed to get a few other pages done, but I'll post those as I'm able, just highlighting the best ones, lol.

In other news... ;)
Our team over at Ellie's is participating in the BOTCTs (Battle of the Creative Teams) over at DSA. It runs for 1 month, and each week we are given very specific rules on making our next page. We have a certain amount of time to make our layouts as described in each challenge. Our first challenge is up and we have until Friday to complete it! I'll be back with a little more details on that and my page when I get it completed.

But for now, I must say Good Night! I'm hoping and praying for a restful night and to wake up in the morning miraculously painfree!! Our God is able! He is an Awesome God!

September?? Already!?

2010-09-02T17:55:00.000-07:00

Seriously... how fast did this Summer fly by? It was definitely an interesting one for me. Had some ups, had some downs. But overall, it's all good.
About half of my summer was spent without a computer. Not so good. :( BUT we fixed my computer and it's running better than ever! Yay!
A couple of the designers I was CTing for have kind'a gone into hiding for various reasons :( BUT it has given me the opportunity to explore designing on my own. AND to find another new and addicting hobby, Geocaching! Yay!
I was hoping to be able to get out and camp more this summer, but for various reasons that didn't quite happen :( BUT Hubby and I were finally able to go away just the 2 of us and have the "Honeymoon" we never had when we married 15 years ago. Yay! Plus, geocaching has taken us places right around our home town that I had never seen/been to before, and I've lived here all my life! AND we are finally going to our annual Church Family Campout this weekend! We look forward to this every year! So, like I said... Ups and Downs, we take the good with the bad.

Well, in the craziness that was my summer I got behind in posting some of my layouts. So, that's what I'd like to do now, just to play a little catch up. You might even find a freebie at the end that you might like ;)

These first three was done clear back in June.
First is one I made using Creations By Rachael's kit "Sweet Pea". I also used "Big Title Templates" by Scrapping with Liz. Here is 'Toni':

This next one is another page from our yearly 4th of July Tradition, The CAT Walk. It's a 5k Run/Walk that raises funds for Cancer Awareness and Treatment. These photos are from last years walk, when we were ALL there to support Papa. This year I was not able to participate because of my Fibromyalgia, but I was still there! (saving us a spot for the parade! hehe)
On this page I used Ellie Lash's kit "Americana" and "Template Set #11: Corner Blocks" by Listgirl Designs by Christine Newman. Here is CAT Walk '09':

I made this one for the June 11th Scrap Orchard Challenge. I used 3 different kits on this page. I used "Tropical Punch" by design by dani, "Tropical Popsicle" by Miss Mint, and "Fresh" by Delicious Scraps (which I am unable to find in her shop anymore). I also used a template I made myself! ;) This is 'Tropical Paradise':

This next one was made with "Stars and Stripes" by Creations By Rachael.The Word Art is 'Patriotic WordArt' by The Scrapping Sisters. The template is by Sas Designs from "You and Me". Sorry, that kit was a CT Appreciation Collab. Only us scrappers who were on a Creative Team at the time were able to access and download that HUGE, amazing kit. Here is my page, and my cousins' ADORABLE new little girl, 'Americana Amy':

Oh! Another thing I got to do real early this summer, well I guess school was still in, but technically it was summer, lol. I went to Women's Retreat with the ladies from my church! That was a BLAST! We got to play on a zip line that ran down the hill just behind our cabin! That's all it took for a bunch of Mom's AND Grandma's to turn back into children! ;)
For this layout I used "Ready Set Play" by Plucky Pear Designs (Creations By Rachael and Late Night Scraps). The template is "Catch Up Template 2" by Jady Day Studio. Here is 'Adults At Play':

I loved this kit so much I had to use it twice! It's just so bright and fun!
I've had this photo of Zach for a couple of years now and I just love it. It just epitomizes the carefree life of children. Zach LOVED this horribly run down old swing set (it had been a hand down, then it was smashed right in the middle when a large branch fell from the tree in a big wind storm! Hubby pushed the bar back up, but it was never the same, but to Zach it was still the BEST!) He loved to lay on his tummy and fly! And when he was able to grab an apple from the tree to enjoy on his ride... well, that was all that much better! Here is 'Summer Fun':

Ok, I think it's getting a little long for one post. So, I'm stopping here and I'll come back to share the rest of them with you later. I won't promise anytime this weekend, because, like I said, I'll be CAMPING! And that's going to give me more photos to come back and scrap and share, hehe ;)
But, I DID promise a freebie, didn't I? How about a QP from Ellie Lash's newest kit, "Back To School"? I know a lot of kids have already started back to school, and others are heading back this next week. So now you'll have a page all ready for those first day photos! I hope you love it! And if you do, leave me a message! It makes my day to hear what you think! (Click the image to download)

Have a safe Labor Day Weekend, for those of you in the States, and a blessed weekend to everyone else!

Are ready for some fun?

2010-08-16T12:56:00.000-07:00

Creations By Rachael and Late Night Scraps (aka Plucky Pear Designs) have teamed up again and come up with this super fun kit, "Ready Set Play"! I love how bright it is and all the adorable elements! (Image is linked to the store)

And here are my pages:

I made a QP out of this page. It's available in this pack:

Choo! Choo!

2010-08-13T20:53:00.000-07:00

Welcome, passengers! You have successfully made it to your next stop along the Scrap Matters "Wizarding Magic" Blog Train! First off, let me show you the kit that is now in the SM Shop that coordinates with the goodies you are receiving.

Pretty awesome, huh? Ok, You should have just come from Loni's Blog. And here's what I have made just for you! Click the image to download.

I really hope you like it! Leave me a comment below or on my 4shared page if you could! I'd sure love hearing from you!

Now, on to the next stop at Kayla's Blog! And if you jumped on in the middle of the ride, or you get derailed along the way, you can find the list of all the stops on HayNay's Blog.

Thanks for visiting me! Buh-bye!

MIA... but not forever!

2010-08-03T20:45:00.000-07:00

I am so sorry for my absence the last couple of months. I have been having some SERIOUS computer problems. I started getting the "Blue Screen of Death" at the beginning of the summer, or thereabout, and it has only gotten far worse! It got to the point where my computer wouldn't even turn on at all! We have replaced the Power Supply and the Hard Drive, but we are still experiencing the same thing. My hubby is pretty sure we're going to have to replace the Motherboard next. This has been SUCH a NIGHTMARE!!

I was SO looking forward to Summer and not having to babysit, so I could scrap my hiney off ;) and even posted in a couple forums about wanting to step out into the designing world a little. I'm wanting to find a designer I can work with that will allow me to use their kits to make QPs and make a little money at it. If you are interested or know someone who may be, please give me a shout! Leave me a message here or email me at kjkreations@ymail.com. I am VERY anxious to get back to scrapping. I have so many new photos from this Summer that I need to get done.

Speaking of new photos, my Hubby and I just celebrated our 15th anniversary on July 15th and we finally got to go on our first Honeymoon! We are a blended family, so when we got married we were an instant family of 5 and were not comfortable leaving all the kids behind so soon (they were 2,3 and 4 yo). But this year we finally took some time to ourselves and we had SUCH a good time! It was really good for the both of us. It wasn't anything grand, but it was just the two of us, enjoying our time together, and that was such a blessing.

Anyway, hopefully I will be back full time very soon! I have missed my computer SO badly :( Wish me luck!

Even More Gorge pages...

2010-06-23T01:43:00.000-07:00

I've finished three more pages for my Columbia River Gorge book, and I wanted to share them with you.
First is June 22 "By The Numbers". We had to use 5 flowers, 4 papers, 3 ribbons/strings, 2 leaves, and 1 photo. This is Bridal Veil Falls:

Next, June 10th, "Member Spotlight Challenge". They provided a template for us to use. Here is my page for Latourell Falls.

And lastly, June 10th, "Scrap That Tune Challenge". They suggested 5 summer songs for us to choose from. We could use either the title or the lyrics from the song of our choice. I chose Grease's "Sumer Nights":

I hope you're enjoying my pages. I sure am enjoying the challenges! And how did you like my last post? Wasn't it adorable!? I love Grease. My hubby HATES it, but you know... It is a chick flick! :D

GREASE Fans will love this!

2010-06-22T15:04:00.000-07:00

I just saw this and HAD to share it. I know my sister is going to LOVE it! Whoever made this knew the movie VERY well. Got every detail in there. Too cute! Enjoy!

Lyrics | Grease - Summer Nights lyrics

More Gorge pages...

2010-06-21T21:06:00.000-07:00

Hey there! How was your weekend? Mine was pretty packed. Well, mostly on Saturday, actually. My whole family came over to our house for a party celebrating 2 birthdays (my son's 14th and my nieces 17th), my Grandparents 33rd Anniversary and Father's Day, all in one. I love having everyone out here together, but it sure wears me out. We spend the whole day before cleaning like maniacs, and then spend the next day cleaning again, lol! But, boy, does my house look nice now! hehe :D

I've finished a couple more pages of our Columbia Gorge Hike photos. I'm really pleased with how they've turned out, too. Scrap Orchard, where I've been doing these pages for the monthly challenges, gave us quite a scare! Somehow the whole challenge thread got deleted! ACK! But never fear! They have fully, or nearly fully, restored it to it's previous state. Thank you to all the awesome SO girls for jumping right in and getting it all worked out again. They even reposted all the links for the Daily Downloads, which is TOTALLY cool, because I came into the challenges half way through the month, so I missed the whole first half of the downloads!
Anyway, here are my next 2 pages:
June 17th, "Mystery Challege", we had to choose one of 17 quotes they supplied for us.

And June 18th, "Lift A Layout". We had to choose a page from Nietis Gallery to scrap lift, meaning to use as inspiration for our own page. Here is the page I chose, followed by my own page:

All my designers have taken some short breaks due to real life getting in the way of scrapping! Lol. But here are a couple of kits coming out soon. One from Ellie Lash and one from Creations By Rachael. Keep watching and I'll keep you posted! I can't wait to show you the pages I've made with them! :) But until then, be blessed!

I want to introduce you...

2010-06-17T19:19:00.000-07:00

Please meet the most adorable kid I know!! My sweet Zachary got his first pair of glasses today! And he is SO proud to wear them. His vision was SO much worse then we thought and he is just thrilled to be able to see so much better! He even picked out his own frames, all by himself! See? See? Isn't he too cute?! (I'm not biased at all, hehe ;))

I forgot the best part!

2010-06-17T00:38:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I forgot to show you how our day of hiking ended! On our way back toward home, via I-84, we pulled into Rooster Rock State Park. The sun had started to set and I wanted to get a shot of it over the river. It was a beautiful end to a beautiful day.
Ahhh... God's beautiful creation never fails to amaze me.

Alright, as I promised, here is what I have been working on.
Scrap Orchard's challenges this month are all travel related, so I used some of my photos from last weekend in my pages. I'd love to have a book printed of all those pages when I'm done. Now here is the problem, I just started their challenges on the 14th! lol. So I'm going to try and play a little catch up, but we'll see. ;)
Here is my page for June 14th's "Twisted Lift": And here is my entry for June 15th "From the Heart", a journaling challenge: I plan to do an individual page for each of the different falls, and I think the second page above would be a great cover. Just an idea I'm tinkering with...

New Releases at Sunshine Studio Scraps
Over at the SUN I got to work with Flutter Expressions beautiful kit "Memory Keepsake", which was added to the store on June 5th. The journaling on my page tells the whole story. Take a look: I am SO pleased with how this one turned out. I also used 'Template Set #11: Corner Blocks' by Listgirl Designs by Christine Newman, and the fonts are Palatino Linotype and Unnamed Melody.

Valarie Ostrom released "Little Critters" on June 12th. It's adorable! Such cute little animals! Here is my page: I also used a Freebie Template by WM Squared Designs and the font is Tempus Sans ITC.

Creations By Rachael New Release
You'll find Rachael's new kit, "Gone Fishing"at Gotta Pixel (papers & elements). They're only $1 each right now! So hurry over and get it! Here is my page: This page is also using one of Brandy Designs templates, "Fingerprints {grand}" and the font is Problem Secretary Normal.

Tomorrow I'll be back with another new release from Creations By Rachael. It is SUPER sweet! I can't wait to show you the page I made with it!

And now, I'm all caught up again :D And I am going to bed! The weather here has been cold, wet and grey the last few days, and I want nothing more than to stay in bed, curled up in my fuzzy pink blanket on days like this. So, good night! And sweet dreams.

Happy Hump Day!

2010-06-15T22:50:00.001-07:00

Can you believe we are already half way through June!? How insane is that?? The kids just got out of school, but at this rate, I'm gonna blink and school will be starting again tomorrow! lol

Well, I'm not just going to let Summer pass by and not enjoy it... This last weekend, while Tyler and Cody were at Beach Retreat with our church's youth group, Charles, Zach & I drove out to the Columbia River Gorge to see Multnomah Falls and so Charles could see how good the fishing is out at Bonneville Dam. Well, since I was driving, I decided to take the Historic Scenic Highway, instead of I84 all the way there. I absolutely LOVE the old highway. It's curvy and so beautiful! You also have access to so many more sights. So we made a change of plans and the first place we stopped was The Vista House. It is a beautiful building sitting at the top of a huge rock outcropping/cliff. And the view is spectacular! Here is a pic of The Vista House: And here it is from below:
And the view:

From there we drove East and stopped at Latourell Falls. I didn't get any good pics of that one up close, because I was afraid the spray was going to damage my camera. We got pretty soaked standing at the bottom of that one! We found a really cool place along that trail to stop and take a few pics of each other: Zach's quite the photographer, isn't he? He took the one of Charles and I.

Then it was on to Sheppards Dell:

And Bridal Veil Falls, which is SO beautiful with it's 2 tiers:

Wahkeena Falls was next, but, by now it's starting to get later in the day and we still haven't made it to Multnomah Falls yet. So we decide not to hike in to get a closer look at this one, but we will definitely go back and do that soon! (I hope!) Here is the view from the trailhead: The trail to that one is to the right and you pass over a little footbridge. I couldn't help but take a minute to take this beautiful shot before moving on:

From here we took the trail left, which takes you to Multnomah Falls. Along the way we saw this spot where the water was just running down the side of the rocks and I had to get Zach's photo there: Pretty, huh?

And we finally made it! Multnomah Falls! Of course with the weather being incredibly beautiful, the place was SO full of people. But we took our pictures anyway :) Here are my guys in front of the falls: And of course, the second highest waterfall in the US, (dropping 620 feet!) Multnomah Falls: Majestic, isn't it? I can't wait to go back and hike a little farther in.(a little more prepared this time! Lol You do NOT want to go hiking in flip flops! I wasn't expecting, when we left, that we were going to be hiking) Maybe next time we'll focus on one trail and and go the distance. I now have maps of all the trails and am just itching to go again! I hope you enjoyed the journey as well!

I will be back tomorrow to catch up on my pages. I've been doing some challenges over at Scrap Orchard and there have also been a few new releases. So, until then, find the beauty around you and take joy in it!

Digital therapy...

2010-06-09T01:59:00.000-07:00

Hello! I have three layouts to share with you tonight. I'm trying hard not to get all backed up again! LOL

For this first one, I used an adorable kit by Ellie Lash called "Organic", and also the Add-on. When I first saw this kit, I thought it was totally cute, but was disappointed because we don't have a garden, we don't shop at the Farmer's Market or visit U-Pick farms, so I didn't think I was going to get to use it... But then, when Charles and I were redoing the front yard, Zach spotted a packet of carrot seeds that he just had to have! And hey! If he wants to eat fresh grown veggies, am I really gonna say no? LOL!
So, Charles and Zach spent the better part of a Saturday working together to build a special planter, just for Zachy's carrots. Then they filled it with soil and planted their carrots. I was proud to see how hard Zach was working right along his Daddy. It was precious. And, of course, I took WAY too many pics! hehe But I do LOVE the page I made to remember this special day. First, here is the kit:

And here is my page:

Oh! I also used some awesome new CU products by That Girls Designs. I used "Stripes 1" and "Scalloped Frames". She's just getting started on her CU stash and I am SO excited to see what else she's got!

I have been wanting to scrap the photos in this next layout since I took them last November. That would be when I turned 38 and was not oh, so thrilled about it. lol But Mom didn't want my day to go by unnoticed, so she set out to make me a very special cake. :D She had just bought the pan and had never used it yet, so it was pretty experimental. hehe. When it was done, she was NOT very happy about it's appearance, but I loved it. Loooking at it made me smile, and it tasted wonderful, but most importantly, my Mom had set out to do something special just for me, and I truly treasure that.
For this page I used "I *Heart* You" by Project B Designs. Of course, I LOVE this kit! How could I not?? Look at all that pink! And I LOVE gerbera daisies!

And here is my page:

Alright, one last one. I just finished this one tonight and I'm very happy with how it turned out. I'm not very good with the graphic style of scrapping, but I really wanted to try it on this layout. I took this photo of Tyler on Mother's Day, and he doesn't like it. He told me, "If I had known you were going to use that one I would've posed nicer." The thing is... this is how Tyler looks most of the time lately. The fact that he's 18 has sunk in and he's kind'a taking advantage of his new found freedom. Unfortunately, I don't agree with a lot of his choices and sometimes I truly fear for him. I think we are both going through a learning stage right now. He is testing his boundaries, and I am having to learn to let go and let him make his own mistakes, praying that he's learning from them. I feel like he's forgotten who he was raised to be, who God plans for him to be. And I think he feels like I'm trying to control and smother him. Anyway, this page was a little therapeutic for me, but I will continue to pray for him, through this faze and until the day I breath no more.
Here is my page:

This was kind of a hodge-podge page. I used bits and pieces from so many different kits:
Black BG Paper - 'Serenity' by Brandy Designs.
Lined BG & Key - 'Interludes' by Bon Scrapatit.
Photo Mask - 'Re-Create Add-on' by Createwings Designs.
Screws - 'Love My Boys' by Creations By Rachael.
Mesh - 'Autumn Hues' by Creations By Rachael.
Stitched Border - 'Messy Machine Stitched Borders' by Brandy Designs.
Ink Splatter - 'Canvas' by Brusheezy.
Paint Mask - 'Feeling Froggy' by Creations By Rachael.
Leaves - 'Dont' Eat The Daisies' by Alexis Designs.
String Wrap - 'The Best Ships Are Friendships' by Alexis Designs.
Heart, Flowers & Ribbon - 'Romantic Blues' by Alexis Designs.
Fonts - Pegsanna HMK, Trashed, St. Nicholas, Sketch Rockwell, Rockwell Extra Bold, Repress Capitals Heavy, the Blue Cabin, Trajan Pro, the King & Queen font, Sandals, Sea Dreams, Turtle Club, Ring O Fire.

Thanks for visiting! I hope you are healthy and happy! Be blessed today!

Under Construction

2010-06-04T15:52:00.000-07:00

If my blog looks a little wonky for a while, don't worry. I'm working on a new background! Thanks for your patience!
(road barrier from "Detour" by Ellie Lash)

But before I go, let me share a new kit out at Sunshine Studio Scraps. It's called "Bring on the Music" and it is jam packed with awesomeness by 10 different amazing designers! You've got to see it for yourself! {image is linked to the kit in the store}

Have a great weekend! Be blessed.

xoxo, Krista

Do you like Freebies?

2010-06-03T22:47:00.000-07:00

Today is Freebie Friday over at Brandy Designs' blog. I'm in charge of the freebies for the month of June, so make sure to watch Brandy's blog to pick them all up!
Today I made a QP (or quick page) for you all. I used Brandy's kit "Believe", which is SO pretty, and her last free template from her blog template challenge. I put them together and this is what I have for you:

Now make sure you hurry over to Brandy's blog to pick it up!

I also scrapped a page using Sunshine Studio Scraps' Designers Collab, "Point Break". I joined a really cool challenge for the SUN's birthday. It's a Paper to Digi challenge. I'd never seen on of those, and the gallery that was chosen to scraplift from was AMAZING! So, of course, I had to play along! First of all, here is the gallery we were to find inspiration from. Amazing, huh? So it was really hard to pick just one page I wanted to lift, so I picked a couple extras and put them in my favorites folder to come back to later. But here is the page, by KathyT, that I chose for the challenge:

And here is my page:

You should come play along! The SUN is full of goodies right now, and more is being added every Saturday!

Speaking of New Releases, Creations By Rachael's new kit "Berry Sweet" is available now at The Digi Chick! Here is a reminder of that yummy kit:
Hurry and get it now, while it's on sale 20% off!

Well, that's all for tonight. I hope tomorrow is the start of a wonderful weekend for you, wherever you are! I'm hoping this rain will end and the sun will shine through! My kid's school gets out next Thursday and I am praying for LOTS of sun this summer!

xoxo, Krista

Another end to another month...

2010-05-31T19:04:00.000-07:00

Happy Memorial day, to those of you in the States! In our family we take a few extra minutes on this day to remember not just our service men and women, but also those in our family who have gone home to be with the Lord. My Dad is one of those who have gone ahead of us. We have made it a family tradition to go out and take Dad flowers and talk about him at his graveside on this day each year. My husband and kids never got to meet my Dad, as he passed when I was 17 years old. Dad and I had a very strained relationship for many reasons, one of them being that he was my 'step' Dad, even though I've never called him that, because I was only 7 months old when he met and married my Mom. Growing up he and I never seemed to find a common ground... Until now. Well, make that about 15 years ago. That would be when I met and married my hubby and his 2 kids. When I became a 'step' Mom I was able to see and understand his side of things SO much better. I only wish he had been around long enough for me to tell him how much I appreciate what he did for all of us. What a wonderful man he was for marrying my Mom, with her 2 little girls, and raising us to the best of his ability. What an amazing example of a husband he was to all of us kids. My Mom was always his first joy and priority. He was an amazing provider for our family, and definitely a man of God. If it had not been for his insistence that we attend church while I was growing up, I probably wouldn't have the relationship with my Heavenly Father that I do now. I wish that he could've met my Husband and children. He would have loved them all and they would've loved him, too. So, I today I take just a couple extra minutes to tell my Dad how much I love him and miss him. I love you, Dad!

Alright, enough, cuz now I can hardly see thru my tears... So, let's get back to scrapbooking ;)

Here is one that I completed a couple weeks ago, for Brandy's Design. When I saw this kit, my first thought was, "Hmm... None of my boys have ever been into dinosaurs :(" But then I got looking at the kit more closely and realized just how versatile it can be. I really liked the unique elements that Brandy included in this kit. And the color scheme is soft and natural. I really liked it! Take a look at the kit (which is linked to the product in the store), followed by my page:

The template I used is Blog Freebie #13 by Colie's Corner. And the fonts are Socially Awkward and Reservoir Grunge.

I also had some fun playing with some of Brandy's older kits for this next page! These are the products I used (again, linked to the store):

*A little news from Brandy Designs: Brandy has decided to close her shop at Scrapable for personal reasons. But, she can still be found at Polka Dot Plum! The template set was sold at Scrapable, so I'm not sure if/when it will be made available at PDP.

Here's my page:

I used a Word Art by Katie Pertiet. And the font is Larger Mime. I also used a photo action by Pioneer Woman called "Soft and Faded".

Now for a bit of a catch up again, but this time it isn't my fault. All of these pages where due at the same time! The SUN was down for a total of 16 days for remodeling, and tomorrow will be our first day back up! Yay! AND, It's also our 2nd birthday!! Whoo Hoo! So I hope you'll join us for TONS of new challenges and excitement this week! (Just remember, these kits won't be available until tomorrow, June 1st.)

Here is a page I just completed using Valarie Ostrom's "Boys Club Grab Bag". This kit is a great deal! You get 2 mini-kits, a full alpha AND a template pack! Remember, the page image is clickable to see it larger. (I will come back tomorrow and link the kit previews up to the products in the store, once they are available)

I LOVE the color scheme of this kit! And it's, obviously, very versatile as well! The template is Freebie 45 by ChrissyW, and the font is Century Gothic.

My next 2 pages are also made with kits you'll find at Sunshine Studio Scraps, but they were both made with kits by Ellie Lash. (Can I just say, I am LOVIN' being on her CT! Her style is SO my style! I can't get enough of the cute!)

My first page is made from her grab bag, which includes 2 full kits! It's FULL of total cuteness!

That is just one of the kits in the bag. The template is from a template pack called 'Lotsa Paperz' by ChrissyW ( I just LOVE her templates!!) And the font is DJB Coffeeshoppe Venti.

Ellie's other kit, available tomorrow in the SUN, is called "Little Grad's". Just in time for all those preschool and Pre-K graduations that are fast approaching! I decided to us this kit to showcase another educational milestone that Zach met not too long ago... learning to read!

The template is 'Layout Builders - Wave On Wave' by Amanda Heimann and the font is DJB Coffeeshoppe Venti. I love that font!!

A little note about Ellie: Her guest spot over at Scrapable has been extended another month! So you can find her there through June, as well as in the SUN! She has some adorable new kits coming out exclusively to Scrapable, too. I'll be back to share those with you soon!

And last, but surely not least... A couple of amazing new kits by Creations By Rachael.

Rachel is a guest designer at The Digi Chick for the month June! How exciting is that?! Her first exclusive kit there is called "Berry Sweet" and it is Oh, SO SWEET! I just love it! (Kits will be linked tomorrow, when available in the store)

I used this great template by wm[squared] from a Tuesday Template Challenge at Scrap Matters. The font is Pea Cari.

This last kit by Rachael is a collaboration with Late Night Scraps. They work together quite often under the name of Plucky Pear Designs. This kit is called "Star Light, Star Bright" and can only be found at Scrapbook Bytes. I love the dreaminess of this kit. There are so many unique elements and some gorgeous background papers. It's just beautiful!

I used another template by ChrissyW, 'In The Middle' Template pack. The font is SS Whimsy.

The template is 'For The Fans' Freebie by Tiny Toes Designs. I used a Photo action - 'Faded Day Dreams' by CoffeeShop. And the fonts are DJB Angel Baby and Love Ya Like A Sister.

Well, that's it! I hope you've found some inspiration, or at least enjoyed my pages! ;) I also hope that June brings you all the love and blessings you can handle, and then some more! Thanks for visiting my little corner of the world!

xoxo, Krista

So behind...

2010-05-14T21:55:00.000-07:00

Well, you know me. I get so busy scrapping and I forget to come back to post my pages here. I'm sorry!

Before we get started, a little bit of fair warning. It is a long post, but if you stick with me, I promise it will be worth it!

I know I say this all the time, but I really love how this page turned out. I just love these photos, and the memory of that wonderful day. On this particular trip we found 19 full sand dollars! It was just like finding treasures! So when I saw this saying, I knew it was perfect!

I used Erica Zane's kit "Sail Away".

Well, as I told you in my last post, Ellie Lash is a guest designer over at Scrapable this month. Her very first kit in that shop was called "Backyard Sweeties". Take a look. It is SO cute!

And here is my page, "Backyard Sweetie" (I know, real original title, huh? lol):

Ellie made the next kit for Sunshine Studio Scraps and she named it "Monsters!" Hehe. There's nothin' scary here! Just another adorable kit! Perfect for all those "Lil' Monsters" in your life! ;)

Here is my lil' monster, being silly at Cody's birthday party a few years back.
Ellie has two new kits just released at Scrapable today, "Sugar & Spice" and "Snips & Snails". But don't let the names fool you! They are very versatile and chock full of cuteness! See for yourself.

Here is my page from "Snips & Snails". These pics of Zach were taken on my very old Motorola Razor cell phone camera. They cleaned up not too shabby, huh? ;) He's just so stinkin' cute anyway, that it doesn't much matter. hehe
You gotta LOVE being the Mom of boys! LOL!

Rachael has been a very busy girl lately too! OH! But first, speaking of Creations By Rachael... I have some very exciting news! I have just officially been made permanent on her CT!!! Woo Hoo! I am SO thrilled! Thanks again, Rachael!

Ok, here is a gorgeous kit by Creations By Rachael, "Wings and Wildflowers". I absolutely love the color scheme, the beautiful papers and the unique elements. See for yourself:

Beautiful, huh? This kit is so packed full of beauty, I made two pages and you'd never know they were from the same kit! I love that!

Side note: I had such a great Mother's day this year! We had all 5 kids back home again for the weekend! I LOVED it! Thank you guys! You don't know how much I appreciated it! And thank you for indulging me and my need for pictures! :P I love you all!! xoxo!

Rachael's newest kit became available on Tuesday. It's called "Denim Days", and I absolutely love it! It's got such a rich color scheme, and Rachael has an amazing talent for designing such beautiful papers and unique and versatile elements.

I took this photo of Zach at the Oregon Zoo back in '05, and I have been waiting for the perfect kit to compliment it. This kit is definitely that kit! Look at the mischief in that boys eyes. I hope he never out grows that!
Look at my puppies! They were so adorable when they were tiny! No wonder I just had to have them! Too bad they had to grow up, huh? Lol, JK! I luv my doggies!

I used Brandy's two most recent kits, "Secret Garden" and "Fingerprints Set 3", to remember the year we planted all the lavendar in our front yard. Here are her kits:

My yard smells beautiful! And here is my page:

Sunshine Studio Scraps is being shut down for the next couple of weeks, but NO WORRIES! It's being given a face lift and it will reopen, better than before, on June 1st! Just in time for their 2nd birthday!!

Here are the last two pages I made before the shut down:

For the first one, I used "Intense Love" by Craft-tastrophic. It is beautiful with the purple and green color scheme.

This is one of my sisters' favorite pics of my niece, Akaila. I'm glad I was able to scrap it for her and I hope she likes it.

My last SUN page was made from Valarie Ostrom's kit, "Dear Mother".
I used one of my Mother's Day photos again, and I really like it in the black and white with the colors of this kit. And with all the good and bad... I truly do LOVE being the Mom.
Yeah, I know... They're all taller than me, except for Zach. And it won't be long till he passes me too! But I'll always be the Mom ;)

Alright, last one for tonight. This last kit is a Collaboration of the Polka Dot Plum Designers to raise money for the National Cervical Cancer Coalition, called "Perspective".

When I was asked to work with this kit, I did not know what it would be benefiting, but I could just tell that it was something special. I had an idea that I thought would be fitting of such an inspiring kit.

My Grandma has had a very hard time the last couple years dealing with the death of my Uncle Doug, her only son, to cancer. She has a friends at church who also just recently lost a son in a horrible accident. They have become very close friends, understand and feeling each others pain and helping each other to cope in the tough times. I wanted to make this page for them, letting them know that I love them both and pray for them still. I know it is a true comfort for both of them to know that they will be reunited with their boys when the Lord comes to take us all home together.

You are loved, Grandma and Molly, by God and by every heart your lives have touched! As a friend of mine says, "Be blessed, because you are a blessing."

xoxo, Krista

All better!

2010-04-30T22:25:00.000-07:00

I just came back to fix the images in that wonky post, and now I have some updated links! (all ads are clickable!)

First off, news from Brandy Designs. You can now find Brandy Designs' Scrapable store here, and here is her PDP store. She is having an amazing 50% off sale at BOTH of her stores, running from April 30 - May 2! Don't miss that, and don't forget to grab up that HUGE QP bundle from her blog!

Next, Ellie Lash's Scrapable store is now open! Click on her ad to go there!
And don't forget to visit her Sunshine Studio Scrap's store for more sale, sale, sale!

Now, here's what's going on with Creations By Rachael. She's having sales at ALL of her stores. Check out her ads:

Here is her NSD Grab Bag, only available at Scrap Matters:

Gotta Pixel:

Now, what are you waiting for? NSD, and the sales, will all be over Sunday night! And.... Go!

xoxo, Krista

Lookin' a little wonky!

2010-04-30T17:14:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the image sizes in my last post. I'll get those fixed asap (if you click on the image it will show you the full image, though). But right now Hubby and I are beautifying out yard! The sun is out, but it's not too hot. And we each got the 2 plants we've been wanting since we built our house 10 years ago! I got a purple wisteria and he got a Japanese maple! So pretty! :D

So, I better get out there with him before he comes looking for me! lol. I hope you are enjoying NSD!!! And have a GREAT weekend!

xoxo, Krista

Time for an update?

2010-04-30T07:00:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I think so. lol.

So, NSD is this weekend!! WHAT?! You don't know what NSD is?? Oh, no, that won't do! It's National Scrapbooking Day! Any kind of scrapbooking, traditional paper or digital! But here in the digi world of scrapbooking we pull out all stops! Sales, chats, challenges and FREEBIES!!! Oh yeah! For example, if you head on over to Brandy Designs blog, she's giving away a BUNCH of QPs that were made by all of us girls on her CT. You will love them all! Go check that out to get you started.

You'll also notice that she's opening a new store over at Scrapable. Check that out too, while you're there. She is re-releasing several of her kits plus she's got lots of new stuff exclusive to Scrapable. I am so excited to work with her new stuff!! In fact, I've already used one of her Template Packs, "Fingerprints Set 2" along with one of her older kits "Gone Huntin". Here is the page I made:

You will also still find Brandy's Designs at Polka Dot Plum. I don't have the link yet to her Scrapable store, but I will link you up as soon as I can. :)

Creations By Rachael is opening her new store this weekend, too! She can now be found at Scrap Matters, as well as her original haunts, Plucky Pear, Gotta Pixel and Scrapbook-Bytes. She has tons of great plans for NSD at each of her stores, which include sales, a blog hop, and a MASSIVE Grab Bag (which will only be available at SM)! You do NOT want to miss that! Here is a 2-pager I made using just a small bit of her Grab Bag:

Funny story... I actually made my hubby take off with me last Saturday for a special Road Trip to Astoria just so I would have pictures to scrap! We took Zach and went and found new things we'd never seen before and did new things we'd never done before. Unfortunately Zach is TERRIFIED of heights, So he and Charles stayed on the ground while I climb all the way to the top of Astoria Column. I wish I had counted the stairs, I just know I was cramping by the time I got to the top AND bottom! lol But the view from the top was outstanding! Well worth it! And we had a GREAT day!

Now for some SUPER EXCITING news of my own! I am now CTing for Ellie Lash!!! She is SUCH an amazing designer! And her style is right up my alley. I absolutely LOVE working with her kits! She has a great eye for color, texture and her doodled elements are absolutely adorable!! Here is the link to her blog. Go take a look for yourself and see how much fun she is! I am having a BLAST! Ellie took some time off from designing last year, but after about 6 months she found she was ready to come back, and I am SO glad she did! She was one of the original Sunshine Studio Scraps girls and that's where she has come back to set up shop (that's how I met her... while CTing for SUN). But, for the month of May she will be a Guest Designer over at Scrapable! (I don't have the link for that one yet either, but I will post it asap).

So far, I have had the privilege to work with 5 of her kits and have LOVED every one of them!

So far I've used "Rainy Day Ducks":

"Detour":

"My Favorite Things":

"Birds of a Feather", which is new in her SUN shop today:

and "Ladybug Hotel", a collab with Project B, also new today at SUN:

My last one will have to wait, because it's her first exclusive kit to Scrapable, and her store isn't quite open yet. Hopefully by later today...

That about wraps things up for now! I hope I've given you a little taste of what to expect this weekend. NSD is AWESOME!! I hope to see you around, shopping...and playing... and shopping, Lol! Have a wonderful weekend!

xoxo, Krista

Rachael's IL store closing...

2010-04-22T21:56:00.000-07:00

Creations by Rachael is closing her store at Inspiration Lane. Now is a great time to stock up on all of your favorite products as they are all 35% off!
You can also buy Rachael’s entire store for only $25! What a steal!

But don't wait! These offers end on April 25th. Hurry! Go! What are you waiting for? Run to Rachael's store now!

xoxo, Krista

A few random pages...

2010-04-16T01:12:00.000-07:00

Hello :) I hope you have been as blessed as I have by the gorgeous sunshine and warmer weather we've been having! Ahhh, Spring is indeed in the air! And I LOVE it!

Today I'm going to get you caught up on the last few pages I've made lately.

First, I've got a couple for Brandy Designs.

The first one is called "Blossom And Bloom":

I used Brandy's kit "Blossom Within". The blue ribbon and bows are from"'Believe", also by Brandy Designs. The template is by JennCK. And the fonts are Sketched Rockwell and celeste.

Next is "Cute As A Bug":

I made this from 'Flock Together', a collab by Brandy Designs and Marni Designs. The template was a blog freebie from Brandy. And the fonts are Sketch Rockwell and SS Whimsy.

And lastly, I have "Tea & Croissants":

This page was made from Brandy's most recent kit, "Tea And Cupcakes". I also used her "Messy Machine Stitched Borders" and another template blog freebie, all by Brandy Designs. The fonts are Aparajita and BodiniEF.

Here is one I made a while ago, using Alexis Designs' kit, "Spring's Grace". It's called "A Child's Wonder":

Like I said, the kit is "Spring's Grace" by Alexis Designs. I used a photo action by Jennilyn Designs called "Coloriffic PS Action". The template is by Itarbox for a template challenge at Polka Dot Plum. The font is A Little Pot.

I'm super proud of this last one. I think it turned out beautifully. Sometime's I'm amazed at how well, and fairly easy, some of my pages come together. Like they were just meant to be ;)

I made this for a scraplift challenge over at Scrap Matters. I LOVE their challenges over there! This page is called "Everyday Giggles":

This is made mostly from "Everyday" by Sahlin Studio. The off-white background paper is from "Simply You", and the stiped ribbon is from "Enjoy the Moment" freebie (recolored), also by Sahlin Studio. The stitched frame is by Chelle's Creations. And the template is by Trixie Scraps.

That's it for today! I hope you have a FABULOUS FRIDAY!! and a WONDERFUL WEEKEND!

xoxo, Krista

The SUN is always shining!

2010-04-13T22:56:00.000-07:00

Tonight I want to share the pages I've done recently for Sunshine Studio Scraps. I'm in the process of working on another one tonight, but that kit won't be released until this weekend. So you'll just have to wait ;)

"Akaila - Growing Up So Fast!"
I like the color scheme of this kit. It isn't something I would normally pick, but I'm glad I did! I just loved working with it! The kit is called "Time Flies {girl}" by Flutter Expressions and Simply.Scraps. The template is from "Midnight Snack Template Pack" by JennCK. I also used "Mask It! Set 1 Splat" by designz by Kristi. And the font is Problem Secretary Normal.

"Peace"

I LOVE these colors together. They're just so warm, like the sun! And I love the way this page turned out, also. I have been wanting to scrap these pics for a while now, and I'm glad I saved them. They're perfect for this kit! The kit is called "Concrete Sunrise" and it's by JennCK. The template is from "Be Inspired-Amanda" by WM Squared. The stitches are by gg digital designs.

DateStamps - 'The Only Date Stamps You'll Ever Need' by Stolen Moments.

"Fun in the Sun"

Aww, I LOVE this page! I took these photos last summer of Zach playing in the sprinkler in the backyard. I was impressed how my camera actually caught the water in mid-air like it did. That's so cool! But I really Love the close up of Zach. He has the most precious little Angel Kisses {freckles} across his nose and cheeks. I LOVE them, he hates them. Typical little boy, huh? ;)

The kit is "Denim And Daisies" Sunshine Studio Scraps March Collab. The Photo Action is "Coloriffic" by Jennilyn Designs. The Alpha is "Painted Alpha" by Sahlin Studio. And the font is SS Whimsy.

"Pure Joy"

And another sweet photo of my baby. {Shh! Don't tell him I called him that! He keeps trying to tell me he isn't a baby anymore. But he'll always be my baby;)} This photo was taken in '08 at our Church Family Camp. I love that they have a playground in the campground. The kids play there all weekend long! Well, when we're not in the water! lol

The kit I used is "Pure Joy" by Tami Miller. The template is from "Feature It Template Pack" by JennCK Designs. Again, I used "Coloriffic PS Action" by Jennilyn Designs. And the font is Teacher's Pet.

Like I said, I'll have another one shortly. And I can't wait to share it! Have a great day! Hopefully it's sunny and warm! Ah, Spring is here!

xoxo, Krista

I {love} Creations By Rachael!

2010-04-10T23:50:00.000-07:00

I have been SO blessed! Back in February I was accepted to be a guest on Rachael's CT. I figured I'd get to work with 1-2 of her kits and that'd the end of it. BUT here it is April and she is still allowing me to be on her CT, still as a guest, but I am just thrilled! I have now worked with 5 of her newest kits and I have absolutely loved every one of them! I'm a little behind in posting my pages I've made from them, so I'm going to get caught up on that now.

These first two pages were made from her kit "Two Thumbs Up". This kit was SO MUCH FUN! It had so many unique elements and papers.

#1. "Avatar"

#2. "Chick Flick"

Kit - '2 Thumbs Up' by Creations By Rachael. and Late Night Scraps.
Template by ChrissyW - Simple Scrapper Freebie.
Fonts - 2peas goofball, Segoe script, and Artistamp medium.
Photos found online.

This next kit is called "Pink Elegance". I absolutely LOVE this kit! SO beautiful! It also had some unique elements in it that I had never tried using before (the couch), so that was a new experience for me.

#1. "Simply Beautiful"

Kit - 'Pink Elegance' by Creations By Rachael.

Template by WM Squared.

Fonts - Tempus Sans ITC, Paintstroke & Rockwell.

#2. "Khloe"

Kit - 'Pink Elegance' by Creations by Rachael.

Pink glitter from 'XOXO' by Creations by Rachael.

Template - 'Head Start Templates Vol. 1' by litabells designs.

Photo Actions - 'Simple B&W' by One Moment In Time and 'Coloriffic PS Action' by Jennilyn Designs.

Font - Porcelain.

And the most recent kit was just released in the store last Friday. It's called "Happiness". I love the colors of this kit. It's just so warm and cozy, like a hug. ;) I had the perfect photos for this kit, too. Both of these pages are of my younger sister's children, Jenna and Noah, and their Springer Spaniel, Henry. He is the love of those kid's lives.

#1. "Happiness" ( I know, original, huh? lol)

Kit - "Happiness" by Creations By Rachael.
Template by JewelScraps.
Phtot Action - "Coloriffic PS Action" by Jennilyn Designs.
Font - A Little Pot.

#2. "Noah & Henry"

Kit - "Happiness' by Creations By Rachael.
Photo Action - "Coloriffic PS Action" by Jennilyn Designs.
Template - freebie 42 by ChrissyW.
Fonts - Boris Black Boxx and Arabic Typesetting.

I don't know how much longer Rachael's going to keep me around, but I still have my fingers crossed that I'll be made permanent. I really enjoy her and her CT gals! They ROCK!

I hope you enjoy my pages as much as I enjoy making them! I have so much fun and I love that my family loves them as much as I do! It's my little gift to each of them. I love you guys! MWAH!

xoxo,

Krista

A couple more pages...

2010-04-09T01:30:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share with you the last few pages I completed for ADSR5.

This one is for challenge #7. We had to use the word "Someday" as a prompt for our page and immediately this song popped into my head: "Love Song for our Savior" by Jars of Clay. And I knew I had the perfect photo for it as well...

Challenge #8 had us writing down our Bucket List... you know, things you want to accompish before you 'kick the bucket', so to speak. We had to come up with a list of 50 things. At first I thought this was going to be difficult for me, but it all came together pretty easily once I quit procrastinating and put pencil to paper and wrote my list. lol.

Numbers 9 and 10 were a little confusing for my partner and I. They were very similar challenges, where we had to scrap a page about where we find inspiration. I, of course , am inspired by all of God's artistry.

But #10 was in Intersection challenge, which meant we both had to work together on a single page.We knew we wanted to go with a similar inspiration, to make putting the page together easier and more pleasing to the eye. So we chose the beach, or coast line photos. I'm here in Oregon with the Pacific coastline, while my partner lives on the coast of South Africa! She put her portion together (her photo and the cluster around it) and found that amazing quote, while I put the rest of the page together. I REALLY like how this page turned out. And I SO want to go visit Caro's beautiful part of the world!
Well, that's it! The race was SO much fun, but at the same time, it was surprisingly stressful for both myself and my partner, Caro. I learned a lot of new things, techniques and such, and it also strengthen my friendship with Caro, who I happened to meet on the Creative Team for Sunshine Studio Scraps about a year ago. Whether we do it again next year remains to be seen. I can't say I wouldn't do it again, but boy, was I glad when it was over! LMBO!

XO, Krista

I'm a baaaad blogger :(

2010-04-07T22:24:00.000-07:00

My goodness. I am always amazed at how quickly life can sweep you off your feet and you never even knew what hit you. I have had a rough couple of months. Between the Amazing Digital Scrapbook Race, my Grandma getting very ill, followed by my family catching one bug after the other and 'sharing the love'... I thought things were never going to settle down! But they seem to finally be subsiding. Praise the Lord!

Rachael is this months' guest designer over at Digital Scrap Cafe! This is a new site to me, but it's a great little place! Click on the ad to go check it out yourself!

She also has a new kit coming out this Friday! Here's a sneaky Peeky for ya.

I love the color scheme of this kit! I'll be making a couple pages with it real soon, so watch for that! And don't forget to go pick it up Friday from Gotta Pixel!

I want to share a few more pages with you that I completed for the ADSR5.

As I told you in my last post (soooo long ago, lol) We had to make 2 ATC Trading Cards. One for a loved one and one for our team mate. I had never done ATC's before, so this was a new experience for me. I did really enjoy it, though, and I actually went and bought some badge sleeves to make a little brag book of ATC sized pages. I think they'd make great gifts! Here are the 2 I made for the Challenge:

The first one was, of course, for my amazing hubby!

And this one was made for my team mate and friend, Caro! For challenge #5 we had to scrap about chocoate! Now if you know me very well at all, you know I do not like chocolate! So, that's what I scrapped! hehe.

Challenge #6 was a Road Block, which meant only one partner could complete it, and I was having a horrible week at the time, so Caro did that page for our team! Thanks again, Caro! Love ya!

Ok, I'm, going now, and I will not make any promises to be back tomorrow, because you never know what tomorrow is going to hold, but I will be back! Thanks for hangin' with me! And thanks to all my firned and family for all the thoughts and prayers the last couple months. They were all very much appreciated!

You are a blessing,

Krista

The rest...

2010-02-19T19:19:00.000-08:00

I have quite a few pages this time, just because I want to get caught up again. And I'm going to attempt to keep up better this time. :)

The Amazing Digital Scrap Race 5 has begun! You've heard of the Amazing Race on tv? Well, this is the same thing, but we're running around the World Wide Web to find the clues to our next scrapping challenge. We're in the second week and on our 4th challenge. Here are my pages so far:

5.1: This is my partner in the race, and my friend, Caro.
Here is what I used on this page:
Kit - "Romantic Blues" by Alexis Designs.
Title made from "Her First Kiss" Alpha by Polka Dot Plum.
Font - Iris.

5.2: "5 things I love in my life":
Kit - 'Feels Like Home' by Sarah Bennett.
Black BG paper from 'Drewskie Solids' by Sarah Bennett.
Brown ric-rac from 'Sweet Sophisticate' by Digital Couture.
5 elements: buttons.
Alpha's:
'Simple Basics' by Sarah Bennett.
'Pretty Litttle Lady' by Sarah Bennett.
'Rayne Man' by AMurphy.
'Milk and Cookies' by Gina Cabrera.
Font: Lima Bean.
Template - Laurie's Scraps Template Challenge #9.

5.3 "Blue Eyes"
'All About Me' by ZigZagScraps - Blue Paper, Mask and Alpha.
'Taking Chances' by Wild Dandelion Designs - bow.
'Manger' by Wetfish Designs - flowers.
'My Friend Lilli' by Syrin - striped paper.
'Snow Day' by Tracey Howard Designs - white paper.
'Into The Night' by Stolen Moments - stitched frame.
'My Sweet Child' by Lilipruneau - lace.
'Date It Tags' by GG Digital Designs.
'Border Dates' by Erica Zane.
Font - Pea Summer Sweetness.

5.4 has us making ATCs, one for the one we love and one for our team mate. I'll show you those next post. I'm not quite done with my second one yet.

We are on challenge #3 for the Wrap Star Contest. We had to scrap about something we are proud of. Here is my page, "Family Hike":
I plan on making a second page to this one, because I have so many more photos of that day.
Here is what I used:
Kit - 'Colorado Nature' by Julie.itis. Alpha - 'Take Me Away Alpha' by Jennifer Fox.
Font - Plantagenet Cherokee.

Here are the pages I've done for Creations By Rachael:
1. "Dreams':
Kit - "Welcome" and "Emma" by Creations By Rachael.
Font - Susie's Hand.

2. "Casting Crowns":
Kit - 'Urban Chic' by Creations By Rachael.
Font - BritannicEFBold.

3. "Darius Rucker":
Kit - 'Urban Chic' by Creations By Rachael.
Template - 'Lot to Say 4' by Chrissy W.
Fonts - Boris Black Bloxx and Aparajita.

My Sunshine Studio Scraps pages:
1. "Spring Day":
Kit - "Revive" by Project B Designs.
Font - Susie's Hand.

2. "Forever Love":
Kit - 'Love Out Loud' by LDrag Designs.
Photo treatment - Coloriffic Action by Jennilyn Designs.
Fonts - Susie's Hand, PreludeFLF.

And last, but certainly not least... My latest for Brandy Designs.
"Fun in the Field":
Kit - 'Serenity' by Brandy Designs and em designs.
Template by Jen Yurko, from IL template challenge.
Font - Problem Secretary Normal.

Thanks for visiting me! And I hope you enjoyed my pages as much as I enjoy making them.

XOXO, Krista

Oh... I was doing so well....

2010-02-12T00:14:00.000-08:00

And then I fell behind again. :( So I am going to play catch up again, but I won't do them all at once, because I have been a busy scrapper! :) Apparently too busy to blog, lol.

Remember I told you that I'm CTing for Creations By Rachael this month? Well, the first kit I got to work with is called "Toothiness" it is a collab between Rachael and Eva Marina Scraps and can be found here. It was such a fun kit to work with, so I had no problem getting 2 layouts done with it right away. These are both of my little guy, Zach. In the first one he was 6 years old, and in the second one he was 8.
1. "First Tooth"

2. "Toofless Grin"

The rest of these are two of my nieces, Debbie's youngest girls.

3. This one was made mainly using "Give Love" by GET Designs. The striped paper is from Project B Designs from the "Warm Winter Wishes" collab she did with GET Designs. The white background paper is from Creations By Rachael and you can find that here. Here is "Sister's Love":

4. I really love how this one turned out. The kit is "With All My Heart" by Brandy Designs. I knew immediately what pictures I wanted to use with this kit. They just seemed to go hand in hand. I also used a template by Kristin's Scrap Designs. Here's Toni in "All My Heart":

5. This last one was done for the Wrap Star Contest I'm in over at Plain Digital Wrapper. This week we were given a kit by Starving Artist Designs. The kit is called "Tidings" and it is a beautiful Christmas-y kit. Our challenge was to make a LO of anything BUT Christmas. As soon as I saw the deep rich colors I, again, knew which photo I would use. One that I'd been wanting to scrap for a little while now and this kit was perfect for it. Akaila just got her first pair of glasses back in November and they look so cute on her. She looks so grown up when she wears them. So, here she is in "Vision of Beauty":

That' it for tonight. I have a few more, but I will save them for now and share them real soon.They include a page I did for Sunshine Studio Scraps and 2 pages I have completed for the Amazing Digital Scrap Race! WooHoo! I'll tell you more about that next time, too.

Until then, good night!
XOXO, Krista

Another one for my Lil' Bro

2010-02-07T15:58:00.000-08:00

Davie, I hope you like this one as much as I do! I tried not to let it get too girlie, asking for advice from my guys here, lol.

I used a kit by Alexis Designs called "Romantic Blues" for this page. It's a beautiful kit, and, obviously, very versatile. Of course, it helps that Davie took these gorgeous photos when he visited the Oregon Coast with some friends last summer. Look at that sky! How often do we get such beautiful days on our coast?! lol. This one's for you, Dave! Love ya!

Thanks for visiting me.
XOXO, Krista

WooHoo!

2010-02-07T13:06:00.000-08:00

This is the month I get to be a guest CT member for Creations By Rachael! I am SO excited to get started! She does amazing work! She has a new kit coming out very soon called "Urban Chic". It's funky and sassy, and I can't wait to get my hands on it! Here is a sneak peek:

Amazing, huh? Keep watching for it! I will, of course, have links to it when it's available, as well as my pages when I get my hands on this AMAZING kit!

XOXO, Krista

Dance

2010-02-06T22:07:00.000-08:00

I just completed a new LO for Sunshine Studio Scraps and I love how it turned out. I used a kit called "Making Memories Bundle" by Janice's Scrap. I also used "Kickers pack 2" and "Photo Treatment - Coloriffic PS Action" both by Jennilyn Designs. The fonts are Pocelain and Pea Bandit. Here is "Dance":

This is my daughter, Stephanie. She had been taking ballet lessons and I just think she looked so beautiful in this pose with her long thin frame. As I say on the LO, she has beauty and grace.
Thanks for looking!

Just for my lil' brother ;)

2010-02-03T00:07:00.000-08:00

I did a layout today with one of the many pics my brother and his fiance send me via pic messaging on our phones. I haven't tried using one of the photos until now because they are always so dark. The lighting is just real bad on phone pics. But this one didn't look too bad, so I decided to give it a try. I played with the lighting and coloring in my photo editing software and it came out pretty nice, I think!
I got the kit and template from Plain Digital Wrapper. They are having a "Wrap Star" Contest (lol, get it? wRap Star? :P) for the next 4 weeks, similar to the one I just completed over at Digi Scrap Addicts. (Which by the way, I was not too impressed by. I'll share more of that in a minute.)PDW provided an adorable kit called "FreeFall" by Southern Creek Designs and a template by Scraps of Candy. I had to use them both in my layout for this week. Here is the page I came up with , called "Bright & Shining Star":

That is the beautiful little Miss Khloe. She is 3 months old now and growing like a weed! Word is, she has gotten quite chunky since I've seen her last ;) And I can see it from the photos!

Sunshine Studio Scraps now has their February Grab Bag available in the store. You have GOT to check it out! It's only $3 during the month of Feb., but will go up to $6 come March 1st. It is PACKED with amazing product! Here is the preview, and it's linked to the store:

I made 2 pages with it already, but they are very similar. I made one and then realized there was a photo treatment action in there, so I got instructions on how to use it and had to make another page, which I am COMPLETELY IN LOVE with!Here are the pages, in order of completion:
#1.

#2.
See what I mean? I love it!

Ok, here's the scoop on DSA's Scrap-off. I do not want to come off as ungrateful, or bitter, I just need to let it be known that the scoring over there was WAY messed up. I think they needed to have more than one person running the show. I know they had several voters, but as far as I understand there was only one person keeping track of all the scores. And it was sadly lacking. Every week several people were left off the list completely. I was one of them on the last weeks judging. But the thing that really pushed it for me was the fact that my very good friend, CaroB71 was right there among the winners in regards to points, but she was completely missed on being put in the winners list! They just didn't even see her! After having to PM the gal that was doing the scores, she was offered a 3 month guest position, but the whole professionalism of the contest was so ridiculously lacking... it just didn't sit right with either one of us. :( Live and learn! I will not be back for their next scrap-off. Said and done!

And with that, I wish you a very good night and a beautiful day in the morning!

XOXO, Krista

Hello :)

2010-01-28T01:24:00.000-08:00

This is the last week of the DSA Scrap-off 2010. We didn't get any new mini-kits this week, but we did get to use anything and everything out of all the kits we've received in the previous weeks. I got busy and got my page done early this week and really love the way it came out, but I'm not sure it's "good" enough to submit as my last page. Like I said, I really love it, but I know I can do and have done better. So, I posted it in the gallery, but I haven't officially linked it as my last page yet. Here's a look, let me know what you think:

If I find some time I'm going to scan in an old photo and see if I can't come up with something spectacular. hehe. But, I do love the way the colors from the kits worked so well with our school colors of Maroon and Gold. Go Vikings!

I also found another challenge over at 'My Life And Scrap' that caught my attention. It's a Project 52 challenge, but it's called "My Life IN Scrap". Each week they give you a different prompt for your page, and they are all about yourself. This weeks was 'Your Home Town'. I had to jump at this one. I even went as far as "scrap-lifting" our own city's website for inspiration! lol Recently I've been completely fascinated by the history surrounding my home town. I can get caught up following one link after another all over the web reading for hours about how Forest Grove began, and who some of the first settlers were in this area. We still have several Historical homes and buildings in the area and I would love to visit them and see just how they've worked at restoring them to their original beauty.
Anyway, here is my page:

I used a beautiful new kit by Alexis Designs, called "Cappuccino". It's a beautiful kit full of unique elements. It would be perfect for scrapping heirloom photos.

That's it for tonight. Thanks for visiting me again in my little corner of the world. :) Good night.

Check this out!!

2010-01-25T17:28:00.000-08:00

If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes I wouldn't have believed it. But it truly happened and so I HAD to take a picture for proof. Lol! What do you think Tyler could have possibly been doing? Yes! He was DOING HOMEWORK!! I know, I was floored! And because of it he has now passed his English class. And I am so proud of him for that! One step closer to Graduation! Yay!

I just finished a layout for a "Mystery Layout Challenge" over at 'My Life And Scrap'. I'd never done one of those challenges before, in fact never even heard of it! But it was really fun, and I like the way my page turned out, even though it is much different than I have ever scrapped before. I don't usually do circle photos, it just feels odd to me. Lol. Anyway, here is "Winter Hat":
I used a kit by GET Designs and Project B, called "Warm Winter Wishes". Isn't it pretty?

Quick late night post

2010-01-23T23:22:00.001-08:00

I did a Speed Scrap tonight at Scrappity-Doo-Dah and here is the page that I made, Relaxin':

Kit - 'Chickadee January Grab Bag' ('You' by Lisetescrap).
Chicken wire from 'My Dad's The Man' by Tracie Stroud.
Fonts - Bleeding Cowboy and Tempus Sans ITC.
I hope you like it, Mom! :) Love ya!

Good night now.

New Look...

2010-01-23T16:49:00.001-08:00

I finally got around to making my new background. How do you like it? I used several different kits by two of my favorite designers, Brandy Designs and Creations By Rachael. As you know, I CT for Brandy Designs, and next month I get to guest CT for Creations By Rachael. I'm so excited! She's been one of my faves for quite sometime, and she has some amazing kits! I got the papers and glitter for my background from "XOXO". The swirls are from "My Secret Garden", and the brown flowers (recolored) are from "Autumn Hues". The wire "love" and ribbon in my header are also from "XOXO". From Brandy Designs I used "Rosey Posey" (not yet available, but watch for it! It's beautiful!) for the lace and "Hot Cocoa" for the white and pink flowers(recolored). I usually don't use more than 1 kit at a time, too much to choose from overwhelms me, lol. But I think this one turned out good! :)

I'm working right now on a couple different pages, so I'll be back when I finish them up. One of them is using a kit, by GET Designs, in which all the proceeds from it are going to help Haiti!

Thanks for visiting me again! :)TTFN! Ta Ta For Now!

Quick post...

2010-01-21T10:55:00.000-08:00

Can you handle 2 posts in one week? Lol. I just wanted to show you the 2 new layouts I did last night.

This first one is for Sunshine Studio Scraps. I used a gorgeous kit my mcp designs, called "Charmed". I really love this kit. It is so pretty! And it went perfectly with a beautiful pic I have of Toni from last Easter. I also used a template by Denise Beatty from The Digi Chick Template Challenge. Here is "Easter '09":

And this one is for Week 3 of the DSA Scrap-Off 2010. We only have 1 more week to go! I don't expect to win a CT position there, but it sure has been a fun challenge. It has stretched me and I've enjoyed the learning process. This weeks kits were provided by Jennifer Barrette, Jude, Polka Dot Plum, Viva Artistry, and Litabells Designs, and I think they were the prettiest so far. I had just taken this photo of Tyler a couple nights ago when he was acting like a tough guy. Lol, when he saw this page he said, "If I had known you were going to use that picture I would cleaned up and looked nicer." Hello! I'm a scrapbooker! If you wanna look nice in your pages, give me nice photos. Otherwise I work with what I've got! Lol. Anyway, here is "18":

I can't explain to you the difficulties I'm having trying to go through this time with Tyler. He wants so badly to be grown up, yet not quite able to make it on his own. And I just want to be able to go back in time when he would cuddle in my lap and give me hugs. I say it all the time, but time really does go too fast.

Thanks for visiting me again! :) I hope your day is blessed, because you are a blessing!

More Show N' Tell

2010-01-19T22:14:00.000-08:00

Grr! Does one post a week make me a bad blogger? I keep telling myself it would be easier to keep up if I just post after each page I make, but it just doesn't seem to happen that way. Probably because I do all my scrappin' so late at night, that by the time I finish a page I'm needing to drag myself to bed! LMBO! So, yeah, I have a few pages to share with you again :) I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

I've made another page of Toni. Yes, she is one of my favorite subjects. She just makes it so easy! She's so stinkin' cute and she just loves the camera. Not to mention, I spend all day everyday with her! LOL BTW: this photo of her is when she was much younger. For this page I got to use a beautiful kit by Chris Greiser called 'Cosmopolitan {Classic}'. You'll find it at Sunshine Studio Scraps. It's full of my FAV color! And some very unique elements. The template is by Cyndi Price for 1/5/10 Template Challenge at Scrap Matters. And I used the font 'Pea Devon Caps'. This is "Pretty In Pink":

This next one is the first page (hopefully) of many. I'm trying to Project 52 this year. I told you that last year I didn't do so well, and, well, I've already started slacking off again. BUT I have decided, to make it not so difficult, to do a Project 52. The plan is to take at least a couple photos during the week and scrap those on 1 page a week. Some weeks I may have all 7 days, some I may not, and that is ok! :)So, that being said... here it is the 4 week of January and I finally finished the first page. LMBO! I used a kit called "Project 365" by Brandy Designs. I actually didn't use asd much of the kit as I thought I would, but with all the pics so random, I had a hard time figuring out what else to put on the page. That one is going to take some getting used to. The flowers(recolored) are from "Hot Cocoa" also by Brandy Designs. And the font is 'Problem Secretary Normal'. Here is "Jan. Week 1":

My next page LOOKS like Toni again, but it's not! It is her big sis, Akalia, when she was 2 years old. She is another beautiful little girl. Both of my sisters and my brother were both blessed with beautiful baby girls. I got a bunch of handsome boys, who don't like their pictures taken and I'M the scrapbooker! Grr! Anyway, for this page I got to use an adorable kit by GET Designs called "Love In Bloom". You have to go check it out. It is perfect with Valentine's Day coming up on us so quickly! The template is by Jubeefish. And the font is 'Turtle Club'. This is "I {heart} Dora!":

This next one was my entry for week 2 of DSA's Scrap-Off 2010. By the way, my first weeks LO, the 2-pager of my Wedding wishes, only got 3 measly points! :( This next page got 6! I'm much happier with that, lol. And we are half-way through, we only have 2 weeks left. This weeks kits were by Ramona, Charlize Creations, BZB Designs and Creations By Correen Silke. And my font is 'Smiley Monster'. Here is "Cody":

This next page I did for a challenge that I've never tried before, but found very intriguing. GoDigitalScrapbooking.com has a challenge called Pick Your Palette. They provide the kit, all in grey-scale. You first have to submit a photo and a color scheme based on that photo. Then you have to make a page using that color scheme and recoloring all the pieces of the kit. Now, I change colors of bits and pieces of kits all the time, but I've never had to do a whole kit! It was more work than I thought it would be! It totally gave me a new appreciation for all the awesome designers out there!So thank you, thank you, thank you to all you designers who allow me to use your creations to make my kreations! ;) Back to the page, lol. I also used a word art by Bethany on this page. (BTW: This is my beautiful daughter, but I didn't get to bring her into the world, She came as a package deal with her Daddy when she was 4 years old :) Here is "Child Of God":

Alright, last one. I know, I really do need to post more than once a week, huh? This one is of my younger sisters beautiful little girl, Jenna. I'm really happy with the way this one turned out, because I'm not real good doing the tiny scatters yet, but I love them, so I gave it a try and I think it turned out ok! This kit is by Project B and it's called "Comfort Zone" and I also used the Mini-kit that matches. This is a great kit! I love the soft color scheme. Pretty! I also used "Easy Layout Templates Set 1" by Secret Garden. And the font I used is Angelina. This is "Happy Girl":

Alrighty, well, I guess there'll be no scrappin' tonight, as it is now late and I must drag myself to bed. lol Thanks for visiting my little part of the digi world, and I hope you have a blessed day! Good night.

I'm still here!

2010-01-11T21:25:00.000-08:00

Sorry! I'm falling behind again. But I'm back and now I can share with you the page I mentioned last time.
I used a new kit by Brandy Designs called "Hot Cocoa". I love this kit! I love the color combo, and it is full of unique elements and richly textured papers. The template is by WM [squared] for the 12/29/09 template Challenge at Scrap Matters. The alpha is "Another Day, Another Alpha"' by Allison Pennington. And the font I used is Pea Summer Sweetness. Here is my sweet niece, Toni, in "Cozy":

My next page was done for the Digi Scrap Addicts 2010 Scrap-Off Challenge. I didn't start out trying for a 2-pager, but that's what I ended up with. And I'm really pleased with how they turned out. One really cool thing about this challenge is that each week, the mini-kits they give us to work with are all the same color scheme. That way we can mix and match and have lots to work with. The hard part about that is that it's not a color combo I would usually choose to work with. But that's what makes it more of a challenge for me. The hardest part for me is trying to find photos that will work with the color combo.
Being the start of the new year I'm seeing all these pages of Resolutions and goals. I've also seen lots of wedding pages in the galleries and I wanted so badly to do a page of our wedding. So I decided to combine the 2 with a wish of mine for our 15th Wedding Anniversary, which is this July 15th. Unfortunately, we don't have any wedding photos that are frame worthy, and we were not given the photos on a disc, so I don't have any way of getting them onto my computer, either. This led me to pulling out my wedding gown and taking some photos of it. I think they turned out quite nicely :) I titled these pages "New Beginning":
Here are both pages together:

And a closer view of each page:

We are now into week 2, so I'll be back to share the next one when I complete it. :)

For my next page, I got to work with an adorable kit by GET Designs. The kit is called "Backyard Explorer". It's a perfect kit for your little explorers, the ones who like to put creepy crawlies in their pockets. lol I love the papers and it 's got some cute little unique elements. The alpha is "DSP_Definitively Defined Alpha". And the font is Pea Dalovely Damanda. Here is "Family Tree":

I LOVE this photo. I have been waiting for the perfect kit to scrap it, and I think this one compliments it perfectly. I took this photo in September of 2008 in a park around the corner from where we live. Those are my 5 children and my niece, Tisha, who is my 6th child :)

Ok, last one tonight. For this page I used the January Designers Collab from Sunshine Studio Scraps, called "Bubblegum Fun". This kit is SO much fun! The colors and the elements... You can use it for SO many different types of layouts. This page was done for a scrap lift Challenge, also at SUN. We lifted a page by a friend of mine, CaroB71. You can find her page here. And here is my take on it, "Silly Girl":
That photo cracks me up! That is my niece, Natalie, taken at another nieces birthday party. I asked her to say cheese and she cocks her little head to the side and posed for me instead. Hehe.

As for my photo of the day... I have been dong very well at keeping up! I haven't missed a day yet. I also haven't scrapped them yet. lol. That is on my to-do list, along with Scrap-off week 2, a page for GET Designs, Brandy Designs, and SUN. I'll be back to share soon. Until then... God bless you and goodnight!

Busy, Busy...

2010-01-05T01:15:00.000-08:00

Well, did you get your kids back in school today? Mine all went, but not very happily. Cody asked me about 5 times if he could stay home. He was tired, he said. Lol! Oh! Ok. That's not going to happen! But he went and so did the other 2. And I can tell you, they were all ready for bed tonight without having to fight them. I LOVED that! Hehe ;)

Well, I have been a busy scrapper the last couple nights. I've been using my chart and getting things done just the way I wanted to! Imagine how much more I could've accomplished last year had I been just a tiny bit more organized, lol.

Oh! And I want you to know that I have taken my Photo-of-the-Day everyday so far! I'm trying to figure out if the first "week" of January ended Saturday, because that's when the week ends? Or if I should scrap the full 7 day week. Hmm... giving that one more thought.

Anyway, on to my first page for tonight.

I finally finished that layout of my boys last Christmas! Yay! And I love how it turned out. I used Brandy Designs "Santa's Shoppe" kit and a template by Chrissy W. from her "Gotcha Cornered", template 4. Here is "YES!":

Those photo's are priceless! I love the expressions on my boys' faces. They were SO excited!

And for my last page for tonight, I used "Winter's Garden' by Alexis-Designs. The template is by eranslow for the Dec. 27th Template Challenge @ Scrap Orchard. This kit is SO pretty! It's full of so many beautiful elements and Word Art. I loved working with it! The photo is of my niece, Jenna, on Christmas. Here is "Beautiful Memories":

Isn't she just beautiful in her Christmas dress? I squatted down to get to her level to take her picture and she plopped down on the floor! I couldn't get her to stand up for nothing, so I just started snapping. She's so funny.

I actually finished another one, but I just realized the kit isn't even out in the store yet, so you'll have to wait until then to see my pretty page! ;) Be watching!

I am so excited! I am trying something new this year. You've heard of the Amazing Race on TV? Well, we have our own version of it here in the digi world, the Amazing Digital Scrapbooking Race, and I really wanted to try it this year. It requires a partner, so I asked my best digi-friend, Caro, if she was interested and she said "Yes!" WooHoo! It doesn't start until February, so as it draws closer I'll fill you in on more details. I'm just so excited!

Also, I'm participating in the DigiScrapAddicts Scrap Off 2010! Caro actually suggested I try this one. This is the first week of it and I haven't made my page for it yet. I think that had probably better be the next one I get done. This week they provided 4 free mini-kits for us to use, and that's ALL we can use. Well, of course our photos, but nothing else. The kits are beautiful and they all coordinate! Brilliant idea! I love it! I just have to find the perfect photos now...

Well, that's it for tonight. I hope the day greets you with a little bit of sunshine on your face. God bless you and good night.