Let's Go Girls!

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

And the inside:

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

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

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

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

Well, here goes nothin'!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

DSD is coming!!

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

Thanks for visiting! Have a GREAT weekend!

September?? Already!?

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?

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:

Digital therapy...

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!

Do you like Freebies?

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...

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