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

Busy, Busy...

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.

Another new beginning...

It's time to restart my Scrap Ticker. I have kept track all of 2009 of how many layouts I got done, over in the right hand side-bar. Well, I originally started out counting up to meet my goal of 100 pages in the year, which I thought was a very high aspiration for myself. But I was pleasantly surprised when not only did I meet it, but exceeded it! I created 129 pages in 2009! And I am so happy about that. I love to be able to go back and see how everyone has changed, what we did through the year, and how my scrapping style has changed and progressed. Yes, I 've always had pictures, but they all just sat in my computer and nobody ever saw them unless they happen to catch them running through my screensaver. Now I have them prettied up, printed out and in my album for everyone to share. I love that! So... I will restart my ticker. I don't know that I really have a goal for myself this year other than to beat last years ;)

And here is my first page of 2010! I didn't take any pictures on New Year's Eve, we were too busy having a great time. But I did want to remember that, so I made this page. "New Year's Eve 2010"

I was inspired to make this page from a challenge over at Scrap Matters. It was an Inspiration Point Challenge and they had chosen a movie poster as our inspiration. I loved the blockiness of the poster, so that's what I used to make my own template. Then I used "It's Gonna Be A Happy New Year" Collab by Jennifer Barrette and WM Squared, found here. I LOVE this kit! Full of pink, grey and black, adorable elements, and beautiful papers!

Now, I do NOT make resolutions, because I have NEVER been able to keep one. But there are a few changes that I would like to implement in my life and now is as good of time as any.

I want to find a better way to keep myself more organized this year, scrapbooking-wise. I always find myself scrambling to figure out what I need to get done, what I have done, and where everything is. So, I have made myself a spreadsheet on excel and printed it out so that I can keep better track of what I'm doing. This is what I made:

If I need to make any changes or adjustments to it I can easily enough, but at least I have everything on one page. I have a tendency to write myself little notes on post-its and then lose them or have a hard time remembering what I was trying to remind myself of in the first place. I'm hoping this will be a huge help for me.

I also am going to try again this year to do either Project 365, 52, or 12, I haven't committed myself to any one just yet. I think as soon as I feel like it's a "have-to" is when it's not so fun anymore and I stop it all together. So for now, I plan to take a photo a day and see where I go from there. Last years attempt only lasted a couple of weeks. I'm determined to do better this year. There are so many sites taking this on as a challenge with random freebies to help along the way, that I feel like I have a better chance of sticking with it this year... Only time will tell. :P But, I have taken a photo both days so far! Hehe Last year I showed them to you each day, but I din't think I'll do that this time. I feel like if I keep them to myself I'm more likely to scrap them at the end of the week, or month, which ever I choose. So, you'll just have to keep watching to see what happens! Until then... God bless and C'ya!