Happy Halloween!

My boys are getting all geared up to head out and do some Trick-or-Treating this evening and I'm ready to get ill trying not to eat too much candy...but I always do,LOL! I need to have lots of great candy on hand for our busy neighborhood of kids and because my 5-year old has a severe peanut allergy. When he gets back from T-or-T-ing we have to take out all the 'peanut contaminated' candy (which ends up being most of it) and replace it with really interesting 'non-peanut contaminated' candy so he doesn't feel gypped. I did another layout yesterday after the boys played in the leaves.

Credits: Template by Heather Benson; Falling for Fall kit by Calico Designs; Fonts-28 days later and Angelina

I should be watching a ROCKIES game....

but unfortunately, the World series is over after 4 straight losses against the Red Sox :( . I've never been much of a baseball fan but I think everyone in Colorado had Rockies fever being the first time ever our team was in the World Series! There's always next year. I do love football, though and I am watching the Broncos game right now so I'm happy :) I haven't really been working on much but I did manage to get a layout done of the boys in their costumes.

Credits: Template by Misty Cato; Paper and ribbon from Pumpkin Patch freebie by Bannerwoman; Tag from Candy Corn Carnival-Elemental Scraps; Font-Angelina

Freebie, new kit & layouts!

Well it's our first snowstorm of the season here in Colorado and it's cold. We had a beautiful day in the upper 70's yesterday which allowed us to get our pop-up winterized, sprinklers blown out and lawn mowed one last time. I'm sure we'll still have some nice days to enjoy before real winter sets in.
I just released a new kit called "Touch of Brass" available here. I did a couple of layouts with it below and if you like them you can grab the free quickpages at the bottom of this post.
My sweet Kayla celebrated her 10th birthday on the 14th! She looks like she could care less. At least I spared her the humiliation of wearing a birthday hat, lol! Font-Beyond Wonderland; Kit- Touch of Brass-Calico's Digital Designs.

This is my son Hunter when he was 2 years old. He was spending the day at grandma's house and playing at her desk. Font-Beyond Wonderland; Kit-Touch of Brass by Calico's Digital Designs.

Download quickpages here

New Kit and a Freebie!

Here is a preview of my latest kit called My Favorite Star! It will be on sale in my store for 30% off for 1 week...grab it HERE! I'm always in need of kits that compliment boy photos so that was my inspiration for this kit. Scroll down a bit to get a freebie for stopping by!

Here is a layout I did of Hunter playing in the mud. I usually plant flowers in this dirt area in my front yard but this past summer I left it for the boys to play in. Of course when they dig really deep they reach my tulip and daffodil bulbs. What can ya do??? It makes for some good fun for them and good pictures for me :). Font-Amanda's Hand

Here are two Quickpages I made for you to test drive my latest product...Enjoy!

Download Quickpages

It's been awhile since I last posted...

I thought I should get on here and post an update and to say...Go Colorado Rockies!!!. I'm fine, just busy with life. Homeschooling is going well now that we have a bit of a routine but some days go better than others, that's for sure. I'm still in a designing dry spell but as soon as I get together a freebie to go with my new kit, I'll put it up. I've just been enjoying my favorite time of year. We took the boys (and two nephews) to Miller Farms and we took a hayride out into the fields to pick our own veggies/pumpkins. We then cooked them up in some tasty recipes. The boys couldn't wait to get home to eat their veggies!!! Here are some pictures of you care to see! I hope you're all getting some scrappin done! Here's a preview of my new soon-to-be-released kit:

Credits: My Favorite Star by me; Fonts-Edible Pet and Snidley

Ok, here's the deal on the 24-hour freebie...

I just tried to download the kit myself and I see it's still having issues, so....I'm just going to leave this freebie up for awhile! I really had no idea that this kit was going to go over as well as it did. You have all left the kindest comments and it's soooo appreciated!!!! I guess the time limit and the amount of downloads was just too much for 4 shared to handle. I was going to make this "24-hour freebie" my thing but I'm going to have to look into a different means for downloading. Anyway, for now.....relax and grab the download at your leisure. Happy Fall, Y'all!!!!!

Download blues :(

I see 4-shared is giving y'all fits over this kit, huh? Well I guess I should say that makes me feel good knowing the traffic is so high to get this kit, lol!. Not to worry, I will extend the download maybe 12 more hours than originally planned to help you out, how's that? I'll end it Tues evening at 8:45pm MDT. Good luck ;)

Falling For Fall - 24 hour Freebie!

This kit will be free on my blog for the next 24 hours so grab it quick! If you miss it, it will be available in my store for a very reasonable price :). Special Thanks to Atomic Cupcake. Scroll down if you would like to see a sample layout. I did this one using a picture of my son Riley, taken 2 years ago.

This download has expired. This product is now available in my store.

Credits: Falling For Fall kit by me; Font-Really bad typewriter

PumkinPatch Freebie

Credits: Special Thanks to Atomic Cupcake!
Finally I had a minute to post this freebie for you all! I'm getting ready to head to the pumpkin patch in the next week or so with my boys so I made some.....pumpkins :) I still need to finish scrapping my pumpkin patch pics from last year cause I got some cute ones. As you grab this freebie, take this time and PLEASE NOTE: I have two kits I'm getting very close to releasing and I decided I'm going to give them away FREE on my blog for 24 HOURS ONLY before they go in my store. I miss the days when I gave out mega freebies but I still want to support my store so I decided this is a good compromise. The first one will have the theme....Autumn, of course! I have a few finishing touches but it will be released within the next few days. You can subscribe to my blog so you wont miss it but once the 24 hours have passed, that will be it...no exceptions :) For now, grab this freebie and get out to that pumpkin patch!!!!!!

Pumkin Patch Freebie

I did another layout, WooHoo!

Credits: Template by Tami-Scraprallye; Kit-Birthday bliss by me; Fonts-A little Pot, Nueva

Although my schedule lately has been a bit busy, I managed to do this layout last night. My son's 5th birthday was Sunday and I wanted to show you his "Dirt Cake" with gummy worms (recipe here )! The recipe calls for you to layer this dessert in a flower pot and serve it with a garden shovel (or a sand pail and shovel). Since Hunter loves trucks, DH had this great idea to serve in in the back of a dump truck! It was a big hit with all nine boys at the party ...and the adults :)
I started homeschooling kindergarten with Hunter this week. He seems to enjoy it so far and I realize I need to improve my organizational skill if I have any hope of being successful with this! It seems like there's a lot to do in a day but I think it's just because we are new to it and haven't found our rhythm yet. When I get settled with this new schedule, I'll try to make a nice big freebie for you all! Until then, I may be a little scarce :)

3 new Products and 2 Freebies!

I finally finished making these 3 element packs to coordinate with my Quilter's stash paper packs! Buttons, pins, stitches and trims to "quilt" some cute layouts. You can grab these in MY STORE right now. Special Thanks to Atomic Cupcake!
I used my Quilter's Stash- Country Comfort paper and elements to make this layout of my two boys and their cousins. I also used my 3-in-1 Chipboard alpha template for the title. This Alpha is on sale in my store for 50% off so grab it quick and customize it fit any layout! I made a quickpage based on this layout to give as a freebie or you can just grab the frame and tag if you prefer. Grab them below...Enjoy!

Quilter's Stash Quickpage Freebie(png format)

Frame and Tag Freebie

If you haven't already visited...

Be sure to check out the fun stuff over at Seaside Scraps! Notice my name up there on that ad???? That's pretty darn exciting for me :) Well, DH had a birthday so I had a good excuse to make and eat some chocolate cake, YUM! He loves to cook so he made his birthday brunch and that was yummy, too!

By request...

LVMommy22 said...

i love this tag chris! (i can't wait to see what else goes with it, lol!) it's so cute, i could see it as a journaling block for a variety of types of pages: christmas, country, shabby chic, school days - and it would be darling with your quilt/calico papers! do you have a plain one handy? please please please?
:) M

Since I usually keep my original layered files, I was easily able to fill this request. If anybody else wants a blank one, you can grab it rght below the link for the autumn tag. Enjoy!

Low Tide sale at Seaside Scraps!

Hurry, it's only today and tomorrow! Click on the link for a preview of what's on sale. I have my Birthday Bliss kit marked down 35% so head on over...

Seaside Scraps Low Tide Sale

Autumn Tag Freebie!

It's been awhile since I've given out a freebie so here's a little something I had in my stash. It was made last autumn but I updated the bow since my other one looked cheesy,lol! I made a whole kit to match this but only about half of it still looks good to me so I may give the good pieces of it out in parts for free over the next month.
Thanks for thi input about quickbooks...I put them on my list of things to make and I will eventually get around to it. All the admin stuff that goes along with selling is eating up my designing time and that's not good! I need 48 hours in a day but then again, who doesn't. Enjoy the freebie. It's a little early for Autumn but it is my absolute favorite time of year and I like to get the most out of it. I go crazy with the fall decor in my house! Special thanks to Atomic Cupcake! By requst, I added a blank version of this tag, too (no preview).

Get the tag here
Autumn Tag
Blank tag

New Product and Another Store!

I created this alpha template the other day and I think it's pretty cool! I always like versatile elements that can be customized to fit any layout. You just grab two coordinating papers from your own stash for a customized alpha you can save and use over and over. Create as many alphas as you like and use your creativity to alter them even more to your liking. I created it in photoshop so right now it's only available as a layered .psd file. You use it the same way you use all the other templates you see around the scrappin town. If you're not familiar with using templates, I've included instruction with the download and Misty Cato has a tutorial here.

Click HERE to purchase

Do you remember a while back I said I was invited to be a designer at a few stores. I decided to try doing my own store due to time limitations and such, well I changed my mind,LOL! I'm now selling my designs at Seaside Scraps as well as my own store! This is a super cute site with wonderful members and team! I have more products in my own store at the moment but from now on, I will put the same products in both stores at the same prices.

Question about quick books

First, regarding my previous post, I guess I shouldn't assume everybody knows what a binky is, LOL! It's a pacifier but I'm not sure what it's called in other parts of the world. If I think back to the days before I had kids, I'm not sure I would've known the word "binky" either.
I was thinking about making some quickbooks to sell in my store but I'm not sure anybody likes to use them. If you do, what size do you prefer? 4x6? 8x8? and number of pages...10?20? Any feedback would be great. Thanks!

A visit from the "binky fairy"

I've been taking some time to do some tutorials and get some new ideas so I don't have anything new this week. I have a bunch of half-created stuff but I guess that doesn't count, LOL!
We've been trying to enjoy our last month of summer before school starts. I got Hunter's K12 stuff in the mail last week and we will start homeschooling on Aug 26th, the day after his 5th birthday. The binky fairy visited our house a few nights ago. I know age 4 is a bit old to still have a bink but he only used it at night since he was 3. He actually gave it up on Riley's birthday last month so we decided to officially give it to the binky fairy since he asked when we were going to do that. He got a big truck in exchange so he's a happy boy. I sucked my thumb until I was 7 so he's at least better off that me, LOL! Now we need to work on Riley, he's getting a little too dependant on his so we'll have to start restricting him to nighttime use only very soon!
I'm still waiting for one winner of my contest to contact me, so Angel, if you're out there, send me your e-mail to claim your free paper ;)

And the winners are...

Yep, that's right, I said winner"s"!!! While you were voting for this paper pack I made 2 more that needed names, too. When I originally set out to make this first paper pack I wanted it to look like the calico prints that I love to use for quilting. When I was done, I wasn't sure they had that look to them so I was at a loss for a name...hence the contest. I was happy to see that they did invoke a quilting feel to some of you :). While I was making the next two packs, I saw Jami posted the name "Quilter's Stash" I thought that would be a great name for a paper pack "series" I then decided to give each one a name on top of that to tell them apart...hence the multiple winners!
Congratulations to:

Jami- Quilter's Stash

Terrie- Seasonal Shades
Angel- Homespun Charm

Mum005- Country Comfort

Thank you to everyone who participated, it was a tough choice and a lot of creative names...I wish I could use them all! These paper packs will be in my store in the next day or two if you would like to purchase them. If you are one of the winners listed, please e-mail me with your choice of paper pack.

Last chance to vote!

I think I'm going to pick a winner this evening around 9 pm mountain/standard time. I have had so many wonderful suggestions...you gals are good at this! I've had some sent by e-mail, too. This is going to be tough! Please stop by in about 13 hours to see if you're the winner :) Thanks for voting!

Help name this paper pack & grab a FREEBIE!

Do you like this paper pack? If you do, it will be available in my store very soon. First it needs a name and if you think you have one, please leave me a comment with your suggestion. In a few days I will choose one I like and that person will get this paper pack for free! If this isn't your style and you came here just for the freebie, you can do that below. Enjoy!
Grab this freebie HERE

Back from camping, working on a new product

I actually got back from camping Monday afternoon but I had to climb through my laundry piles to get to my computer! Camping is the only thing I know of that can be relaxing and a lot of work all at the same time! The campsite was beautiful and we were just a few miles from Manitou Springs and Pikes Peak. There is so much to do in that area that we'll have to go back! For those that want to camp in that area, this is where we stayed and it was a wonderful campground.
I sat down the other night and made a new paper pack but can't think of a name for it. I've decided to let you pick a name for me. I'm working on a little freebie and when I get it done, I'll post it and a preview of my new paper pack. I will then have a little contest to pick a name. Keep an eye out!

Apologies! Still having download problems.

For those of you that are still having problems with your downloads, I'm trying to fix the problem. Everyone that purchased a kit and is having download problems, I will get you the kit one way or another, I promise!

grambie said...

I finally decided to download your little sample as a reminder of your full kit. Love the happy colors and elements that will make any celebration layout a joy. It is a wonderful treasure of happy elements and papers that are so versatile, yet retains that happy vision of family, friends, and love. I only hope that the download for the full kit is working today. I can't wait to download the full kit. Yes, I took the plunge although I had said no more purchases this month. Not only for the size, but for the professional visual appearance of everything within this magna kit. Leavin LUV! XOXOXO

Hi Grambie, I tried to e-mail you the links but it bounced back. I went ahead and e-mailed them to the e-mail provided on your paypal account. I sent them though YouSendIt so they may have ended up in your junk folder. If you did not receive the links, please e-mail me and let me know so I can re-send them. I also reset the links on zen cart but that doesn't seem to be doing the trick.I know how frustrating it is to purchase something and not get it ASAP. Thank you for being patient as I work out the kinks in my new store! You can contact me from the e-mail on my blog or through my store.
Well, I'm sitting at the campsite while DH is cooking quesadillas and the boys are happily playing. There's so much to see in this area but all the boys want to do is stay at the campsite, play in the dirt and go to the pool. We're going to bring them to the North Pole-Santa's Workshop tomorrow because I know they'll love that!

Happy Thursday!

Thank you to everyone that sent well-wishes on my new store and those that purchased items! It's greatly appreciated. I ran into a few snags with a couple of download problems so if anyone has any problems with incomplete downloads, please let me know. I suspect it may be the server that's hosting the files and if so, I want to find a new server before my store gets too full!

LVMommy22 said...

chris, your b-day kit looks like a party all on it's own! it's wonderful! have you thought of breaking it into two parts (ellies and papers)? you might get more sales since some people like one or the other. also, it helps people on a budget: they can buy one part at a time. just a thought! love it! thanks!

Thanks for the suggestion, I will consider doing this. I broke all my older, big kits up like that in the store but really didn't know if people prefer it that way. When I break them up, I have to price them a little differently to make up for the Paypal fees and such because I get charged twice instead of once. I will try to tackle it today!
On a personal note, I'm heading out for another camping trip this weekend for 3 nights. We're staying at the Garden of the Gods campground in Colorado Springs. There are some wonderful sights to see in that area. We will have to leave Kayla home with grandma since most attractions don't allow dogs. She will be very sad when she sees us driving away...she loves to camp. The campground will have internet access (roughin it, I know!) so I will most likely bring my laptop in case there are any problems with the store(good excuse, huh?).
Lastly, I would like to let you know of another new store that is having a 50% off sale on everything for a very limited time so hurry over to Karla's Kaleidoscope Designs and check it out! Also, my friend Lisa at Sassy Scraps is giving away some pretty floral frames in her store and grab them!

New Kit, New Store and a Freebie!

Introducing my new kit...Birthday Bliss! It's very bright and sparkly just like birthdays should be :). As for my new store...well it's up and running but still needs a lot of work to make it my own. I've decided to put my old freebies(except Felty Dog) in my store even though 2500 people already have them, LOL! I needed to fill my store with something :). Feel free to visit MY STORE or if you would like to purchase my new kit...click on the link below. Available as a full kit or separately as paper pack and element pack. Thank you for being patient while I work out the kinks! Oh, this kit will be 20% off until July 30th!

BUY NOW!

As promised, here is a little freebie sampler of my new kit. Download and Enjoy!
Special thanks to Atomic Cupcake!

Birthday Bliss Freebie

Sassy Scraps is having a CT call!!!

Wow, long time since I've posted! It's been a busy week and I've been working behind the scenes to get a real shopping cart going for my designs ( Zen Cart). It's the most common storefront you see while shopping for digital goodies. It's going to take me a bit to get it up and running so I'll use my current system until then. That birthday kit I wanted to make is in progress and that's been keeping me busy, too!
I wanted to help Lisa over at Sassy Scraps get the word out about her CT call...If you're interested in becoming part of her team, you can get the details here. Hurry! The deadline is quickly approaching!

Happy Birthday Riley!

Credits: Papers by me, papered chipboard action by Tandika Star at Digiscrapdisigner; frames by digiscrap.ch, tag by Fafbr, candle by Nicole at lowcountryscrapper, fonts; cooper std, script MT, Tekton pro

We have a busy day planned and lots to do for the party this afternoon. It should be fun!

mssbee said...

The cake sounds like fun, Happy Birthday, to your son.
Have you seen this Photoshop tutorial for making any car look like a car from the car's movie?

This is very cool, I can't wait to check it out in more detail later! Thanks for sharing!

Sales, Cake decorating and the end of 'TWO'

BIG thank you to those that purchased my kit! Very exciting for me! The sales were just about what I expected for the specialized nature of the kit. I'm thrilled that my store seems to run smoothly! Huge thank you to everyone who downloaded the freebie and left a nice comment! I haven't decided for sure, but I think my next kit is going to be birthday themed because I have so many birthdays coming up and that means lots of pictures. I better make it a BIG kit or do two different ones. I never know until I start playing what it's going to end up as, LOL!
Today was a sentimental day for me. My baby turns 3 tomorrow, so this was the last day of having a two-year old , ever again :( My older son (turning 5 in August) was out shopping with his dad so little Riley and I had some one-on-one time. I got out the video camera and made him do all the cute things he does on his last day of being 2. He also "helped" me decorate his cake for tomorrow. I let him choose the character pan he wanted and he chose 'Lightining McQueen' from the movie 'Cars'. When my oldest son was one, I took a cake decorating class just for the sole purpose of being able to make my boys special cakes on their birthdays. I've done all of their cakes except Hunter's first birthday. Last year they both wanted cupcakes for their birthdays so that was easy! Hunter wants the Superman cake next and that looks hard! I remember one year when I was young somebody made me a Raggedy Ann cake and of all my birthday cakes, that's the one I remember the most! Here's the few I've made (not including the one I made today) if you want to see :). I'll post Lightning McQueen after I take a pic tomorrow.

My little Builder Kit and coordinating Freebie

Here is a kit that's perfect for scrapping the little (or big) builder in your life. It contains 11 papers and all the elements shown. The stickers have custom drop shadows to give them that "peeling off the page" effect. Also included (not shown in the preview) are the tools in non-sticker format. Grab this kit now for an introductory price of only $1.50! Make sure you also grab the coordinating freebie shown below, Enjoy!

BUY NOW!


Here's a freebie for you to enjoy! It includes 3 papers, 2 frames and a wordart tag with custom drop shadow.

My little Builder Freebie

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Credits: Sweetheart Kit by Amy Teets; Fonts Sweetheart Script and Blackjack

Happy 97th birthday to my maternal grandma, Angelina! I took this picture and made this layout last year when she was 96 but doesn't she look great for her age! And she still has all her wits about her, too! At least once a week she heads up to "The Hill" (those form Colorado know what I'm talking about) to play the slots! She's a full-blooded Italian lady and one of 10 children. She had 5 children of her own and currently has 13 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren! I have many fond memories with her including her Sunday dinners. After church every Sunday, all my cousins and aunts and uncles would head over to her house for spaghetti and meatballs (and in the winter we would stay and watch the Broncos game, too). I also remember a few times she would take my brother's and me on the bus to downtown Denver to eat at Woolworth's and buy a toy! Such fun memories!

A layout and a sneak peak

Credits: 2-in-1 template by Sabdesbois; Kit- My Little Builder by Calico Designs (soon to be released)

While waiting for the Paypal stuff, I used my new kit to make a layout. These pictures, taken last summer, were the inspiration for this new kit. My boys love to build things and whenever dad gets his tools out, my boys get their tools out, too!

I have a question for the dial-up people

Be honest....how painfully slow is my page to open. It's been years since I've been on dial-up so I forgot how slow it is. I'm torn because I want to change my blog pages so the are shorter and easier to load but I also want newcomers to be able to enjoy Candy's memorial album and see it's the reason this blog began. Otherwise, newbies will go straight to the freebies and miss her album altogether as it will be burried deep in the archives,LOL! I thought about putting her layouts in one of those blog slideshows but those seem to bog things down, too. Let me know how slow it so I can do something about it.
Well, my kit has been done since yesterday but I'm still jumping through hoops to get the paypal account set up. In order to sell with Paypal, my account has to be verified and in order to do that I need to have a checking account. Well, Since my hubby has a verified paypal account, they wouldn't let me open another one since they only allow one paypal account per checking account and we have a joint checking account. So I had to open another checking account (still waiting for that to be confirmed) then I can verify my Paypal account...and that could still take a few more days. Ugh!

Almost ready to launch my first sale...

Thank you to an anonymous poster that sent me to Tracy Blankenship's blog to see how her store works. She uses Payloadz through Paypal that allows the link to be downloaded immediately after purchase. I should have it up and running by late tonight or tomorrow. Stay tuned.
**if you want another hint about my kit...it's perfect for the little (or big) builder in your life**

Vintage toys

Before I talk about the title of the post, I'd like to thank those of you that left encouraging comments about my future plans. I think what I'm going to do is test the waters first by selling a little kit on my blog with Paypal. I'm already close to being done making it but still need to make a coordinating freebie. I've purposely made this kit sorta specialized as you will see, it's not a kit that everyone will need or even want. It all started with an idea to take some pictures of my boy's toys, extract them and turn them into the base for a kit. Is your curiosity up yet, well you'll have to wait a few more days :) Doing a specialized kit that will most likely not have too many buyers will allow me to see how difficult it's going to be to have to e-mail the link after purchase, whereas a store would give you your link automatically. I'll give it a shot!
Anyway, about vintage toys...I love them! I didn't hold on to any of my childhood toys except my Holly Hobby ragdoll(probably 30 years old at least!) that's in storage in my mom's attic. I wish I would've kept my Raggedy Ann dolls (at one time I had every size they made of that doll from tiny to the one as big as me) Friday, my neighbor had a garage sale so I popped on over to see what she had (her boys are a little older than mine) I made out like a bandit for a total of $12 (that included a bike for Riley with a helmet!) I noticed my boys enthralled with a toy so I went over to see what it was and it was a toy I immediately recognized from my childhood. An original Little People Garage. I'm 40 so this toy is probably between 25-30 years old. It was missing one out of 4 cars and the 3 people it came with were Ernie and Mr Hooper(Seseme Street Little people) and the blue cowboy. The gas pump is missing, too. The decals are very worn but still there. I snagged it up for $1 and my boys played with it ALL day. Just out of curiosity I looked it up on E-bay and found an auction for the exact same one there. I'm curious as to what it will sell for. You can view the auction here. Have a wonderful day!

Happy 4th of July!

Credits: Quickpage and elements by Linda Sattgast at Scrapper's Guide

Credits: Around the block template by Tracy Drane; Country Colors kit by Linda Sattgast

Happy July 4th to those in the USA and happy Wednesday to everyone else! I took the top picture of my oldest son, Hunter when he was 11 months old! I thought it was about time I scrapped it since he will be 5 this summer! I had to dig in my archives to see if I had a patriotic picture of Riley, too, and I did. Have a safe and happy holiday!

Sharing thoughts about my future plans

I don't usually use this blog to babble on about my random thoughts but that's basically what this post is going to be doing. First off, I have some news that is exciting for me but most likely a disappointment to you, my faithful blog readers...I'm going to start selling my designs. I'm not sure in which manner I will go about doing that as I have some options but I will be doing it somehow...I think :) Here's where the random thoughts start. First of all, when I started this blog and put up my Felty dog kit, I never thought this blog would turn into what it has or that I would create more kits and give out all this free stuff and meet wonderful people so It was a pleasant surprise and I've enjoyed myself to no end. Well, over the past month, I've been contacted by 4 different sights inviting me to sell my designs (You can imagine how wonderful that makes me feel!) I turned down the first 2 offers because of reasons I will explain later but then I started thinking about it and thought maybe I should start selling my designs to help pay for the 3 subscription sites I belong to that have helped me to create the things I do (phew, run-on sentence!) There are 2 sites I'm considering selling at. I may choose one or both or I've even played with the idea of opening my own store eventually (like when I speed up my designing skills because you all know how slow I am, LOL). But here's the thing that makes my decision difficult. I already spend too much time on the computer and once I commit to selling my designs, I fear I will be compelled to be on even more as I will have deadlines and such. I don't want to miss my boys growing up because it passed me by while I was on the computer. I've also decided to homeschool my boys and will start that this fall as my oldest will be starting kindergarten (I really have no idea what kind of time commitment that will take since I'm new to that world, too). My biggest deterrent to selling stems from that fact that several years ago (about 10) I had a quilting obsession, not unlike my current digi obsession. Well, I had this wonderful idea to turn it into a business from the basement of my house. I did that for 5 years while working part time as a Dental Hygienist. I worked many hours quilting, made very little money and it was very uncreative work...basically felt like I was running a quilting sweatshop, turn 'em and burn 'em, know what I mean. In 2002, when I was pregnant with my first boy, I closed down my business and sold my quilting machine. I haven't made a quilt since, nor do I read quilting magazines or go to quilt shops...nothing! I vowed never to turn a hobby into a business again! So, here I am, at a crossroad, wondering which way do I go?
I may be absent for a bit because I don't have any new products created right now so while I do some designing, I'll make my decision of which road to take. If I do start selling, I will, of course, continue to give out freebies to promote my products but I think the days of the free mega kits have ended. Thank you all for helping to make this a very exciting time in my life with all your wonderful, supportive and inspiring comments, I wouldn't be where I am without you!

A page for Kayla :)

Credits: Template called Flowers&Boxes by Tracy Drane; WordArt and bird from Weeds & Wildflowers Coming Home freebie; Rope by Misty Cato; everything else from Kimberly Stewart Spring Is Coming; Font-Monotype Corsiva

I just love this template by Tracy...very creative! I was in the mood to do a layout of Kayla since I haven't done one in awhile. She looked so peaceful sleeping on the chair the other day, I had to snap a photo. I added a few filters to the picture using Picasa to give it a more dreamy look. I wonder what she was dreaming about....

Checking in...

Hi there blog readers!

LVMommy22 said...

hiya chris! i popped by to see if you'd posted any cool camping LOs yet ...

LOL! No I still haven't done any layouts...sad, I know :) I have been doing some tutorials, though, to help improve my designing skills so I haven't been completely unproductive! I am really going to try to get a layout of some sort done today. I've been taking some cute pics of the boys and Kayla. First, I may spend the day at the pool since it's going to be a hot one!

Thank you!

I'm glad everyone is liking the kit! Thank you to those that responded about storage space for my freebies...I've got it covered now :) I also wanted to let all you fishing people know that there's a free fishing kit over at Punky's Pixels so go grab it if you haven't already done so. Now I really should go and scrap my camping pictures but I can't bear to look at this kit anymore right now so I might wait a bit on that, LOL!

Go Camping Element Pack Freebie!

Ta-Da! Here is the coordinating elements and those 5 extra papers for all the campers out there! I did include one fishing quote just because I felt bad not including any fishing stuff in this kit. Somebody mentioned that there's a great fishing kit at www.atomiccupcake.com but unfortunately that one's not free. Well in order to get this one uploaded to 4shared, I had to remove one of my old freebies because I ran out of space. I couldn't decide what to remove so I removed the Felty Dog quickpage. If anybody knows of another reliable site with free space for storing my freebies, I'd like to know so I can keep them all going. For now...Enjoy this one! Please let me know if you have any problems with any of my freebies or if you notice something wrong...I tend to overlook things and misspell thing, too!

This item is no longer free but can be purchased in MY STORE

Thanks to Willow Creations for my header!

Don't you just love it??? This was made for me as a gift from Melanie at Willow Creations. She makes tags as a hobby and was kind enough to use my Felty Dog kit and make me this adorable header! Thanks Melanie!

Go Camping Paper Pack Freebie!

I really wanted this paper pack to have 20 papers but at the rate I'm going, camping season will be over before I get them done! Here's 15 papers for you and there are some elements on the way. I had a request for some rafting elements...I can't promise anything but I will keep it in mind ;). I realized while working on this kit that camping can encompass many things depending on where you live and the activities that you enjoy. This kit reflects the things that I relate to camping...mountains, wildlife, hiking, and eating. I realize that not everyone camps in the mountains and many people fish, boat, raft, etc... while camping. We don't partcularly care for catching fish or eating it so this kit will not have much if any fishing or boating stuff...sorry about that :) Before Greg and I had kids, we did own a boat for water skiing, then we sold it and bought jet skis, then we sold those and now we have the pop-up! Well, enjoy the papers and be on the lookout for some elements!

This item is no longer free but can be purchased in MY STORE

Back from camping

Credits: Quickpage from J. Baechtold (Scrapper's Guide); Vintage frames from Digiscrap.ch; Pristine action by Atomic cupcake; Font is Monotype Corsiva

Good afternoon! I didn't have a chance to post this before I left Friday but this was the layout I did for Greg for Father's day. I printed a small version and made a card out of it.
We just returned yesterday afternoon from our weekend camping trip. We decided to stay an extra night because we got a late start on Friday. We headed out at 11 friday and about 1o minutes from our house the brake controller on the trailer went out. We turned around and Greg worked on the problem until it was fixed so we didn't head out again until 4:30! The boys were such troopers about it so that helped. We only had about a 1 1/2 hour drive to our campsite near the town of Estes Park so we got there in time to set up the pop-up, eat dinner and make S'mores! I left my laptop at home and there was no cell service to speak of so it was a technology-free weekend and very relaxing...well as relaxing as camping can be with a 2 yo, a 4 yo and a dog, LOL! We did drive into town to grab a Starbuck's so I wasn't roughin' it too much! I took lots of pictures and there's some good scrapping material there so I need to get on the ball with my kit, so hang tight! If you want to view my pictures, you can do it HERE.

More camping stuff on the way

It seems there's enough interest in a camping kit to motivate me to do one, LOL! I've started making some elements and a paper pack. I want to release the papers first and I like to have 20 in my pack so it will take a few more days, I only have about half that so far. I also hope to get a Father's day card done with some pics I took of the boys today. I'll post that, too :) Thank you for all the great comments on the alpha, I'm trying to coordinate the kit to go with it. For now...happy scrapping!

Camp Enamel Alpha Freebie

'Tis the season for camping here in Colorful Colorado, so I'm going to kick things off with this camp enamel alpha. This may or may not be the theme of my next kit, I haven't decided yet if I want to do that or one of my other many ideas, LOL! We'll just have to wait and see where my creativity takes me. I do have a camping trip coming up Father's Day weekend which means I will have pictures to scrap...so maybe I should go with this...hmmmmmm. Credits: Thank you to Tandika Star at Digiscrapdesigner.com for products used in the making of this alpha.

This item is no longer available for free but it can be purchased in MY STORE

'Through This Life' charity kit

Is this kit amazing or what? If you would like to read more about where 100% of the proceeds for this kit will go or if you want to purchase it, GO HERE.
It was so exciting to be a part of a charity kit and to actually see my name on a product with other talented designers. I would love to do more charity kits in the future.

My contribution to a charity kit

In my previous post I mentioned I was going to be contributing to a charity kit for one the the designers at www.digiscrapdesigner.com. Carol's husband had terminal cancer and, unfortunately passed away early this morning. She is now left with enourmous hospital bills to pay. This is a preview of my contribution to a larger charity kit that is in the making. As soon as the kit is complete I will put a preview and a link up for those that would like to help out.

Happy Tuesday!

I just have to say Thank You, again for all the wonderful comments left about my latest freebie! It really makes me feel very happy and inspired :). My next little project is going to be a contribution to a charity kit. One of the designers at www.digiscrapdesigner.com needs help paying hospital bills for her husband with terminal cancer. I'm just going to add a little part to a larger kit. When the kit is complete, I will post a link to the store for those that may want to pick it up for a good cause. Until next time....happy scrappin'!

Final Grungy Athlete Freebie

WooHoo! I finally got it together and got this freebie done! Sorry for the delay. I lost my designing mojo big time and have been doing everything BUT being on my computer. No worries, though, this happens to me once in awhile and eventually it comes back and I go in turbo mode...but I'm not there yet...I had to struggle to get these done but I hate unfinished business so here they are! I have no idea what I'm going to do as my next project but when it hits me, I'll know :) It may be while with the rate I'm going, LOL! Enjoy!

This item is no longer free but can be purchased in MY STORE

Checking in...

I wish I could say I have a freebie for you today...but not yet. This is why I could never be a designer for pay, LOL, I work at a snail's pace. I will try to at least have a little something for you in the next day or two. Actually, I haven't had my TV on for 4 days so the boys and I have been doing active things outdoors instead...a good thing for all fo us! DH left on a train last night headed for Chicago for a seminar and he'll be gone for 6 days! He's never left home longer than one night since our kids have been born so this single parent thing should be interesting. I suspect I'll be wiped out at days end because DH usually cooks dinner and puts the boys to bed every night while I relax(or pick up the house a bit if it's a disaster)....spoiled I am! Anyway, I'm glad you have all been enjoying the kit so far and thank you for all the nice comments.
I want to remind you, again, to check out the spotlight section to see some layouts that have been done with my kits...I so appreciate seeing your work!

Grungy Athlete Elements part 1 Freebie!

Thanks for being patient! Here's part 1 of Grungy Athlete Elements. Eventually I will release part 2, LOL! I apologize to all those that have girls in sports because my clip art only had men!
If you're a non-sports person, you should download this for the buttons because they go nicely with the papers :) Enjoy!

This item is no longer available but can be purchased in MY STORE

Happy Mother's day..late

I want to send out a belated Happy Mother's day wish to all the moms out there...and that includes those that are moms to pets because, of course, that counts, too!I hope you all got spoiled. The plan for me was to sleep in but when the boys came in the room to give me my cards we were all snuggling in bed together and I got a craving for doughnuts! So, we went out to get our Starbucks and pastries and had a relaxing day. I finished it off with a yoga class in the evening. I was so excited about one of the yard sales I found Friday. My intention was to find clothes for my oldest son. I didn't find much at the first two but the third sale had a huge table of boys clothes in sizes 4, 5 and 6. Exactly what I needed. The clothes were in such good shape and they were high quality and smelled like they had just been washed (always a plus!). I asked her how much they were and she said 25 cents a piece! I bought 37 pieces of clothing and 4 toys for $10!!! What a deal!
I'm still working on some elements for the sports kits so be patient. I get an idea and start working on it, then midway I get another idea, open a new document and start working on it. The next thing I know, I have several windows open with things half done and nothing complete! I just need to put some finishing touches on the few things I have going and get them out there :) See you soon! Oh, for the pet lovers out there...I'm sure most of you have seen the awesome pet kit this month at Scraps for Charity....it is so cute and for such a good cause! I'm feeling inspired to do another pet kit of my own soon!

Another Layout

Credits: Template by Dumpty; Fonts-Allstar and Acme secret agent

This is my youngest son, Riley, he's 2 and a 1/2 and I think he will be a sports guy...he's a tuff little dude! Well, I hope you all have a wonderful day, I'm off to hit the yard sales!

A Thank You, a Layout and a Tip!

Credits: Scraplifted a layout by 74sim for Maria's weekly challenge; Wild tear action on frame by Atomic Cupcake; Felt action on brown tag by Tandika Star at digiscrapdesigner.com; stitches from Flip Flop Fun(re-colored); Font is Allstar.

This layout is sorta funny to me because I took this picture of my oldest son when he was 7 months old after he received this outfit from his uncle in Oregon. Well, he's 4 and 1/2 now and has never had the slightest bit of interest in sports. He has never wanted to play with balls of any kind, be it throwing, catching or kicking. Now, put a set of Lego's, K'nex or TinkerToys in front of him and he will build advanced structures beyond his age! He will be my scholar and this may very well be the only sport related picture I ever get of him, LOL!
Now, on to my "Thank You" to all the awesome comments you have left on here and 4-shared...you are the best! My ego has been boosted way up there! I guess I will continue with some more elements, LOL!
*TIP* just a little tip about the patches. Since I made those last year and released them before I made all these grungy papers, I noticed they are too clean looking to really match all this grunge. So.....if you noticed on my layout above, I grunged up the football patch a bit. Just create a layer above the patch, choose a dry or chalk brush, pick a dirt color brown and just make some smudges. Play around with the opacity until it looks like dirt and there you have it...grunge!