DigiScrap Drive-In's Daily Download

 Be sure not to miss a day of  "Tea for 2"; a gorgeous kit by Bean Bunny Designs. Go to DigiScrap Drive-In  for the month of  May's Daily Download!

I LOVE this new kit -Flutter and Swirls!

Moments in Time just put out a gorgeously fun kit called Flutter and Swirls at DigiScrap Drive-In! The colors are bright and happy, can be used for boys or girls, and there are so many fun pages that can be made. She also has an add-on and dotted papers that coordinate with the kit sold separately. She has amazingly fair prices too!

Here's a couple I did with the collection:

I am adding some journaling to complete this one but the kits makes it so cute I really don't need to do much more than name and date it.

 I have been looking for the right kit to scrapbook this baby's bath photo for so long and this kits is it!

Her prices are so reasonable too! If you get the chance you should go check it out!

ArtBlog Hop 3 :)

Really quick post for The Art Blog Hop. I drew this for my brother and sister-in-law, my niece Reagan. I try to do this as a gift for all my new nephews/nieces. Sometimes it takes me a while to get them done because life happens. This is the first one I did about 4 years ago. I am working on one now for my newest niece just born towards the end in April;  I need to finish it quickly because there is another niece coming any day now :).

My second week ArtBlogging

I know this is super-duper late - but I did it! I posted 2 pics to make-up for being so late :) 
Still life has always been intimidating to me. So I decided to increase my intimidation by doing my still life in Prismacolor colored pencils! I have all these beautiful colored pencils and I bought a  How-to-Book on using them. I went amazingly overboard buying prismacolor pencils. I played with them a few weeks,  got frustrated, and then put them away thinking someday I will get back to learning how to use them. So why not use them in my art journal at least - right? I prefer graphite but I really want to push my skill set.

If anything, I could illustrate children's books:)

This next one I call "non-still life" because our cat Mallow kept moving! So this is my quick sketch non still life:

 

Having a great weekend!

Too cool...I made LOTD!

 Layout of the day at DigiScrap Drive-In (DSDI) for May 11th, 2011:

 

Click image to enlarge :)

I have been participating in the challenges at DSDI

mainly because it's fun and my designer has her digi-home there.

I get to wear a new blinkie and I am so excited!

ArtBlog Hop Week 1 (for me anyway)

This was the assignment for last week:

*NEXT WEEK’S TOPIC:  Create a drawing from a worm’s eye view.  Imagine and draw how different things would look if you were the size of a worm.  Have fun creating and have a great week!

Well this was my take on what things would look like if I was the size of a worm - I think I misinterpreted the instructions! I may at a later time do another drawing from a worm size perspective.

I used graphite and charcoal. I have never tried to use them together before. I also used a layered technique for both mediums, and then lifted the a few layers with a kneaded eraser until I got a texture I liked. Never used that technique either! I know there's a name for it but I don't recall what it is. I will have to look it up and post it to the blog later on hopefully this week.

 Mother's Day was fantastic! My children made me breakfast in bed with chocolate milk to drink :). My sweet husband bought me beautiful roses, chocolate and made me my favorite dinner (he make the very best Alfredo sauce!). I got so many flowers, hugs and sweet sentiments from the kids. One of my children ( my 3rd bio child Taylor, who is the oldest of our two 15 years olds)  made me a card with a poem she wrote for me, made me a "Mother's Day" crown, a sweet smelling paper flower that will never die, and snicker doodle cookies in a heart shaped box. And she gave me a box of Happiness! She colored a little box she made with a lot of little slips of paper she individually colored and wrote "happiness" and smiley faces on both sides. It was amazingly cute and clever! She also cleaned the whole kitchen. My youngest girl, Maddie, (who is my fourth bio child and is 13 years old) cleaned the rest of the house - she even vacuum under the living room couch cushions! Maddie also had my picture as her FB picture for a day and wrote sweet and creative comments to me and about me on FB. All of my family let me have the day to myself mostly so I could scrapbook! 

I hope all the moms out there had a great Mother's Day :) .

Things I accomplished in April

WOW! Talk about busy.

I crocheted Easter gifts for all my children at home, I finished and fixed brag book quick pages, 15+ scrapbook pages along with my normal responsiblilites. I am still wanting to do a couple of more scrap pages and finish a crochet project, but there is no rush.

Here is the crocheted Tails that I said I would finish for Emmy's bday but ended up finishing it for Easter.

I forgot the little curls for his head but I'll add them ASAP.

I will post the others with the Easter scrapbook pages...

Busy Month

I did 12 scrapbook pages and 13 challenges in March! I got so much done. It is the first time I have ever attempted challenges. and I chose DigiDesignResort's (DDR) website. They are very nice and the challenges are lots of fun. If you register at their store you get a big kit called Natural Breeze. They have 12 challenges they split up into 2 parts; you get something for each part. They call them Cocktail Hour and Mixed Challenges. If you complete all the Cocktail Challenges you get one of their gorgeous kits If you complete all the Mixed Challenges you get a 30% off coupon for their shop, a bonus percentage off if you complete all 6 and use 50% of their Designers' products; 2-5 completed you get a 10% off coupon. They also have a Progressive scrap too which you get the 2nd half of a kit they give as a freebie to do their Use It All Challenge (Mixed Challenges). You can learn more in the Challenge Tracker  and forum. They also have a Speed Scrap but I wasn't able to participate in that. I love the fact they just want to know if you used one of their designers and not particularly whether you bought the kit at their shop. Lots of their designers do sell in other stores and give freebies out on their blogs and stores. I think it' fantastic they support their designers that way. DDR is also very generous and have great prices and sales.I am thinking about doing challenges also this month at DigiScrap Drive-In (DSDI). They are different in the way that they have have a point system instead and to achieve bonus points you need to use 90% of DSDI's products - then you get a $5 gift certificate if you complete 500 pts. They say you can do it in a month. the only thing is that one of the challenges requires you to buy a certain kit they choose but at a discount from their shop. I wouldn't mind it so much if it wasn't for the fact that this month's kit is not one I want or would choose. All that for a $5 GC? I am sure it's worth it. The points at DSDI roll over into the next month so that's a good thing. Their site is fun too with a 50's era theme. My designer is suppose to have her new home there but I don't know when. I like doing the challenges because I finish up pages I might not have done on my own and I keep up with the latest trends and the gifts are pretty cool too!

Speaking of gifts, I just won a SUPER kit from Cali Designs at DDR called  Eggceptionnal Easter. I love it!

She has lots of beautiful spring colors, pages, and cute-as-can-be elements! There are 160 pieces. Some of the elements you can put photos of children and babies in. She is amazing.

Here are some of the pages I did for the DDR challenges. At the beginning I didn't have many of their designers kits yet so I used their Natural Breeze kit a lot! I learned so much about re-designing and designing. I have linked the credits for each LO to their respective captions.

For the Tourist Trap Challenge

The Countdown Challenge.

The Scraplift Challenge

Color Challenge

Element Challenge

Font Challenge.

Wordart Challenge

Template Challenge

Topic Challenge  I took the photo of the sunset in the background too.

Progressive Scrap

Theme Challenge. Not my favorite, possibly one of my least favorites. I am not sure I would have done a page like this for myself. It makes sense to do a few about yourself to let your posterity know a little more about you as a person.

Well, That's pretty much it for today! I am doing a lot of crocheting this month for Easter. I will up date you on that later on. Thanks for stopping by!

My First Siggie!

I made my first signature and designed it totally (excluding the font, Subelair) on my own. I am very excited about it! I am doing the "Cocktail Challenges" from Digi-DesignResort for the month of March.

TA - DAH!

I didn't get accepted for Helly's CT. *sigh* She was very sweet and gracious about letting me know though. She was looking for something very specific this time, but encouraged me to apply again when she has another CT call (I believe the decline letter is the same for everyone who doesn't make it, but it is nice anyway).

I have had a busy couple of weeks. I am finishing up Emmy's doll and organizing and... well... wow, I can't remember what else out of the ordinary, really. Throw a little extra into my schedule and that is pretty much how it goes.

I did some more layouts - Wanna see?

For my CT duties (and my family of course):

They were so young - and this is the wrong date...lol. I will change it. This was done with "Love is in the Air" Mega Feb kit.

Me, scuba diving in Hawaii...ahhh. To be young and have energy again! Being in Hawaii again wouldn't hurt either. The Kit: Ocean Waves. The Designer: Leyla's Design

One of my favorite pictures of Laken...she has a gorgeous smile! It really does lighten the whole world. The Kit: A Scent of Spring. The Designer: Leyla's Design.

Spike, the Snowman. The Kit: Snow. The Designer: Leyla's Designs

 

Maddie's Baptism. She is so sweet! Cam baptized her. This was done with a few different papers and kits NOT from Scraps with a Mouse!

Emmy (one of our three very cute flower girls) at mine and Cam's wedding. The Kit: Use it All Mini - Challenge. The Designer: Butterfly Dsigns @ Digi-DesignResort.

Sheesh, 1:20 am... I am going to try to get some sleep. *Yawn*  G'night :)

Baby Me :)

Here's my finished LO for DigiSkrapNMomma's kit "Whispering Moments" at Scraps with a Mouse:

Yes, that's me :)

The Whispering Moments Mega kit different shades of pink and purple, which makes it perfect for little girl pages especially. Elements are basic and fun to work with. Ribbons, gems, fluffy bows and glittery butterflies along with decoratively faded designed papers make this kit sweet with a hint of glamour so it great for big girls too!

Ok... I have to say something because I am just so excited about it! 

I just applied for a CT position with a fantastic designer, Designs by Helly,  at 9th & Bloom! I love her designs! You must check out her blog - you won't be disappointed. Her new kit "Dreaming of Camelot" is my new favorite!

Gilly's Place and a New LO

I am home today with  multi-problems and multi-pain. My point-of-origin-pain (or   p.o.o.p.,   for short)  from my work injury is VERY aggravated, along with moderate trigger point pain, a moderate headache, hip joint pain and my gallbladder is attacking me (8/10 pain scale for the healthcare pros out there) so altogether it's a down day for me.  What the heck, it has been like this most of yesterday and last night. I am seeing less and less good days. But, I am not here to complain!

I was looking for distractions from my pain this morning, so I went to Gilly's Place blog and searched through her current and archived pages. She has fantastic gorgeous recipes and she does them up digiscrap-style. It's just awesome to see the cool ways she has done up the cards! She also has some free quick pages that are very cute. I am excited to try the recipes even though many I can't eat because of my GB, but doesn't stop me from making them for my family to enjoy. :) She has a yummy Blueberry Orange Muffin recipe currently up but you can get her archived recipes too. I highly suggest you check out Gilly's Place! You won't be sorry :)


I did a LO for AngelsLove Designs new kit "I Love You" found at Scraps with a Mouse. I think this is one of my favorites.

I still need to journal the date, and I my add some more journaling. I like that it is simple and doesn't overwhelm the picture so much that the picture gets lost. (do you see the little votive?) Maybe I will just add the date then. Although faded journaling in the back ground might look nice...hmmm.

I am also making a crocheted Tails, a character from Sonic the Hedgehog game, for Em (Emryll) for her birthday. If I finish Tails quickly I am going to design a small Chao (another sonic character) to go with Tails. Em really loves Sonic characters and is a huge fan of Shadow the Hedgehog. I haven't found a pattern for Shadow and he is a little complicate for me to design a pattern before her birthday. The design for Tails is from WolfDreamer, and she has a lot of video game characters and tons of Pokemon patterns for crochet that are some of the best I have seen. I will take a picture of finished Tails when it's ready and the Chao if  I am able to do it in time.

Very Cool Frames

 Go check out ApriltheScrapaholic blog!

She makes these very cool name frames. I first discovered her when I was checking out the digifree sites a few weeks ago and my oldest daughter's name, Laken, was done in a set. I was so thrilled! (It is hard to find her name on general personalize products you may find at a store and her name always has to be special ordered.) Well, when I went to her site she had so many names that aren't very common done in frame sets! She even takes special requests. So I put a request in for a frame set for one of my daughters with not very common name, Emryll.

This afternoon I was looking through digifree sites when I happened to find a digiscrap frame set with my daughter Emryll's name on it! I could not thank her enough!

 

 Cool, huh?

You should check ApriltheScrapaholic 's site because she also does very cool digiscrap kits too!

For My Valentine

Hi everyone!

For my hubby for Valentine's Day I created a desktop wallpaper with a kit by J. Crowley, aka Queen of Quirks, called Comic Junkie (along with a few elements from a couple of other kits and the scattered hearts in the background are from Nothing But Freebies). My husband is a Marvel Comics fan and a collector of comics/graphic novels, so I thought it was perfect for him. He sees it every time he uses his laptop! Much better than a card I thought :)

Cute couple huh?

The Comic Junkie kit has been retired :(

but J. Crowley has even more cute stuff at her store Queen of Quirks at jessicasprague.com.

Go check it out :)

Scrap Page LOs!

 I had way too much fun!

Taylor when she was 5 yrs old. Time goes by too fast...*sigh* (She now has her driver's permit!) I used a beautiful kit called "Scent of Spring" by AngelsLove @ Scraps With a Mouse.

New Years 2006

Look at those sweet little faces! Now they are all as tall as me or taller! Brandon is 6' 2" now...this was the year he just shot up! The growing pains were so bad, especially in his legs for 3 - 6 months. We were wrapping them in ace bandages, applying cold/hot compresses and he was taking ibuprofen more than 5 nights a week during that time. He was a real trooper through it all though. Now he towers over everyone.

I used Scraps with a Mouse's January Mega Kit called "New Beginnings". It is a huge kit that is great for fun pages to very elegant pages. I have to say it's one of my favorite kits because of it's versatility and range of colors...not to mention the sparkle!

Life's a Beach!

There is this huge rock a little distance from the shore that the girls' call "Mermaid Rock". When the kids were little it was one of their  favorite spots to go in the summer.

These LOs were done with another mega kit called "Life's a Beach" by DigiSkrapNMomma at Scrap's With a Mouse. They just got their February Collab kit "Love Is in the Air" and I have been having a lot of fun playing with it. Perfect for Valentine's Day pages and cards.  They are giving out different freebies from it soon I am told. You should go check them out!

"10 things" idea lists

I have been trying to come up with different "10 things" lists for a challenge LO ScrapMatters has going until the end of February. I searched the web and found some ideas that started me brainstorming (I know that FB has tons of these types of lists too. If any of mine are the same it is completely coincidental except for one :).  I thought I would share some of the lists I came up with or found so maybe it will make it easier for those of you who may ever need ideas for a "10 things" list.

10 Things:
- I like about my home town
- I don't like about _________ (TV, internet, food, laundry, my car, myself, etc.)
- I learned from my kids (or sister, brother, father, mother, aunt, uncle, step-someone, etc.)
- I learned from gardening
- I learned from sports or specific sport (dance, gymnastics, cheer, etc) that has made my life better.
- that are funny to me
- dreams I remember
- my children have taught me
- my cat (pet) has taught me
- about my spouse/boyfriend/girlfriend that I love and why
- I like about myself
- I want to improve (spiritually, mentally, physically, emotionally, etc)
- songs that are in my head right now
- I learned from my favorite hobby
- I learned not to do from__________ (in-laws, friends, the government, school, my cat, photography, etc)
- I learned from my career/job (motherhood, fatherhood, pet ownership,etc)
- that make my home "homey" and why
- I like about grandma's house
- I like/dislike about weddings
- I like to when I am on a road trip
- I like to do in the _________ (mornings, evenings, car, at home, etc)
- bands I like (books, movies, tv shows, flowers, colors, etc)
- I love about blogging
- my favorite places to go (travel, the park, museum, closet, etc)
- on my bucket list
- digiscraping has taught me
- childhood memories that shaped who I am today
- that frighten me
- silly things my kids do
- that make me smile (happy)


I suppose that is a big enough list to start! Hopefully some of them will be helpful or give you other ideas for lists. :)

Awesome Digital Photography Site

I found this digital photography site a while back and they never cease to amaze me with the ebooks, lessons, and tips they give. Most information is FREE. Out of the goodness of his heart!

I highly recommend you look into Digital Photography School's website and bookmark it if you are someone who wants more basic and advance knowledge of digital photography in many, many areas. There are in-depth tips for post-production too (PSE, PS and other photo editing programs). If you want to build your own light tent - he has that too. It's fun just to explore the site!

Three down, Three more to go...

I was late taking the pic of her getting her eyes checked. She has cute pink glasses.

Yesterday we picked up Taylor from school to go get her learner's permit!  The two oldest have their driver's license and now she is on her way! She just turn 15 in Dec.  The DMV had us sign a wavier form because she is under 15 1/2 years and is taking driver's ed now. Taylor has been saving up for driver's ed since she was 12 years old through babysitting jobs and such (she has been that excited about driving). I took pictures of her at the DMV with my cell phone; they are blurred a little. At about the 5th picture she said to me, "You are just embarrassing yourself, Mom.".   LOL.  I was just so proud of her and also still in a little bit of shock because she got the learner's permit earlier than I expected.

She is so excited!

This is about the time she told me I was embarrassing myself! LOL

Her children will know how much a permit costs when she was a teen.

There's a little plastic hamburger she had to look at and smile for the picture. You can see it if you look close.

I will take a picture of the permit she will get in the mail. Of course, she's not happy with the picture (who ever is?).I will be digiscraping these pics soon and will post the LO for you to see!

I Blog... I'm Blogging... I'm a Blogger....

Wow, this is a little more intimidating than I thought it would be. Just blogging out to the net.  I had not been interested in blogging before because I wondered "Who would want to read about me?". I recently changed my mind because the focus in my life has changed. I am rather excited about starting a blog too.

It's hard to decide what to write about on a semi-personal level . I fear that with my profile it will just be redundant! But, I have six children, who are my greatest joy and a wonderful, kind and loving husband. I believe that should be repeated :)

I was injured permanently working as an RN in the birthing center of my local hospital. I loved the birthing center! There is nothing I can compare to the beauty of the birth of a child, the mother holding the baby for the first time and sweet newborn faces! I was mainly worked Labor and Delivery and the birthing center's OR. I had so many fantastic experiences. The patients and families were wonderful to work for. It was my dream job. I am not able to do direct-patient care because of my injury so I can't work in a hospital. The injury is a little more extensive than I would care to admit, but it limits my nursing jobs greatly. There's is hope though. My injury has made me slow down which has helped me have a better relationship with my family. I have also rediscovered my passion for creating.

I love photography and I have a little mobile studio ( which I don't use as much as I wish I could). I love to draw - mainly with graphite. I have been scrapbooking for 15 years. Starting out as a Creative Memories Consultant and a little later I owned a 3200sq. ft. scrapbook store for two years and it was very successful. I sold it to an employee 11 years ago and it is still going strong. I just started digital scrapbooking (obsessively) about 3 months ago and I love it. Paper scrapbooking is difficult due to my injury so digiscrap is perfect. I am hoping with this blog I am able to show off and learn more about design for digiscraping.

  My family calling me, again, for the 5th time, so I will go see what's up!

Thanks for taking the time to read my lil' post - I do tend to jabber along. :)